Former NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Champion Brett Wayne Sawyer Dead At 63

Former NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Champion Brett Wayne Sawyer, real name Brett Moyan, has died aged 63. He passed away on Friday, September 8, according to a report from Fightful. As of this writing, details pertaining to his death are unknown.

Sawyer's wrestling career began in 1976 when he was 16 years old. He was trained by Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat and his older brother, Bruce Sawyer. He originally competed under the ring name "Hacksaw" Brett Sawyer and honed his craft before moving to the Pacific Northwest and finding success in the 1980s. He also competed for Georgia Championship Wrestling, where he and his brother, "Mad Dog" Buzz Sawyer, feuded with The Road Warriors and ultimately defeated them for the NWA National Tag Team Titles in 1983.

Sawyer is best known for his tenure in the NWA, where he held several titles in addition to the aforementioned. In addition to the previously mentioned titles, he won the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship and the NWA Flordia Tag Team Championship. While he's primarily known for enjoying tag title runs alongside his brother, he also found success teaming with Rocky Johnson, Jim Backlund, and Tom Prichard. As a solo competitor, he also held the NWA National Heavyweight Championship on one occasion.

The late wrestler also competed outside of America, having toured with NJPW and various promotions in South America. He also had a brief run in WCW as Brett Wayne. He eventually retired from in-ring competition in 1998 and opened a wrestling school.