10 Things We Learned From Dark Side Of The Ring: Billy Jack Haynes
5. His Own Bid To Become McMahon Flopped
Haynes started the Oregon Wrestling Federation when he left the WWF in 1988, but that didn't sit well with some of his peers. A lot of people warned him that the move was completely disloyal to promoter Don Owen (who ran shows in Portland and had shown a lot of faith in Billy Jack right near the start of his wrestling career), but Haynes wouldn’t listen. He pressed ahead with plans to turn the OWF into a big deal locally, and he eventually planned to branch out to become 'the next Vince McMahon'.
Yes, seriously.
Billy Jack admitted to VICE that his head was all over the place back then. He was too heavily into drugs to properly focus on business, and that (along with ignoring past relationships with Don) led to some resentment. Worse, Haynes became known as somebody who'd potentially bounce payoffs and screw a lot of workers around. He had zero credibility as a promoter, so the OWF folded in 1989.
Dave Meltzer called the collapse of the Oregon Wrestling Federation “pretty spectacular”. The company didn’t draw big crowds from the off anyway, but it was a total mess behind the curtain. Later in 'Dark Side', it's alleged that Haynes was borrowing money from some pretty shady investors to get things off the ground. The mafia were mentioned, for example.
Any hopes Billy Jack had of turning his career around to become the next big time promoter like McMahon were dashed by his addictions and general lack of true business sense. Not many thought he was trustworthy or capable.