National Wrestling Alliance (1971–1987) Heard started wrestling as Ron Bass in 1971 in the Gulf Coast territory. He was known as "Cowboy" Ron Bass, Sam Oliver Bass, and "Outlaw" Ron Bass, depending on which territory he was working at the time. In the early 1980s, he wrestled in
Championship Wrestling from Florida and
Jim Crockett Promotions, frequently teaming with
Black Bart as The Long Riders in both promotions.
World Wrestling Federation (1987–1989) In 1987, Bass (using the "Outlaw" name) went to the
World Wrestling Federation (WWF), where he voiced challenges to the likes of
WWF Champion Hulk Hogan and
Brutus Beefcake. A feud between Bass and
Blackjack Mulligan appeared to be in the works over which one was the toughest wrestler to come out of Texas, but Mulligan abruptly left the WWF before any matches could take place between the two. Bass would then settle into a role in the midcard position, wrestling against
Hillbilly Jim,
Lanny Poffo and
Sam Houston. He also participated in the very first
Royal Rumble He was eliminated at the latter event by the
Junkyard Dog; a feud between the two began in the months after WrestleMania after Bass choked and dragged the Dog with his
bullwhip, "Miss Betsy," in a sneak attack on
Wrestling Challenge. He also joined
Gorilla Monsoon at the broadcast table one week on
Wrestling Challenge to cover for
Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, who was recovering from his storyline injury from
Ken Patera. At the
1988 King of the Ring tournament, Bass qualified for the final after beating a young
Shawn Michaels but was paid by
Ted DiBiase to fake an injury. Bass began a feud with Beefcake in August 1988, gouging Beefcake's head open with his spurs ("Bret" and "Bart") on an episode of
Superstars of Wrestling; the attack caused Beefcake to miss his scheduled
Intercontinental championship match against the Honky Tonk Man at the first
SummerSlam event on August 29. Bass and Honky co-captained a five-man contingent against a team captained by Beefcake and the
Ultimate Warrior at the
second Survivor Series in November. Bass and teammate
Greg Valentine were eliminated by Warrior in succession in the final minute of the match. On the January 7, 1989 ''
Saturday Night's Main Event XIX'', Bass lost to Beefcake via
sleeperhold in a
hair vs. hair match. He competed in the
1989 Royal Rumble (sans hair). He continued to work in the independents until retiring for good in 2013. Bass starred in the film
Silent Times directed by Geoff Blanchette and Christopher Annino, which was released in 2018. Bass plays a 1920s professional football coach named Coach Joseph Arcarese. ==Personal life and death==