Magnum T.A.

Terry Wayne Allen (born June 11, 1959) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Magnum T.A..

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1980–1984)

Allen started wrestling in 1980 and joined the National Wrestling Alliance, where he began competing for the Championship Wrestling from Florida and the Pacific Northwest Wrestling territories. While in the CWF, Allen would win the Global Tag Team Championship on five different occasions before then moving to Mid-South Wrestling. Upon debuting in Mid-South, Allen renamed himself to Magnum T.A. and adopted a character known as the "American Heart Throb", based on Allen's slight resemblance to actor Tom Selleck, who at the time was starring in the popular television series Magnum, P.I.. Allen adopted the ring name after André the Giant suggested that he combine the Magnum name with the initials of his real name. After competing in Mid-South, he won the North American Heavyweight Championship, his first major title, after defeating Mr. Wrestling II on May 13, 1984. Magnum would hold the title for five months before he lost it to "The Cat" Ernie Ladd on October 16. On November 22, Magnum lost to Ladd via disqualification in a title rematch.