Michael McCord (born October 26, 1949) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Austin Idol.

[3][8] He initially worked for Graham's Championship Wrestling from Florida promotion as a referee before debuting as a wrestler in early 1972 under the ring name Dennis McCord.

In late 1972 and early 1973, McCord appeared in Sydney, Australia with World Championship Wrestling, where he and Jimmy Golden won a tournament to become the inaugural NWA Austra-Asian Tag Team Champions (they forfeited the titles in January 1973).

[11] In July 1973, McCord faced Chief Jay Strongbow in a memorable match in Madison Square Garden in New York City.

He competed in Georgia until losing a loser leaves town match to Harley Race in November 1974, returning to Florida later that month.

[13] Following the accident, McCord reportedly developed a fear of flying, which led him to largely restrict his future wrestling career to the Mid-South.

[8] McCord re-emerged in March 1978 in Fritz Von Erich's Texas-based NWA Big Time Wrestling promotion under the new persona of "the Universal Heartthrob" Austin Idol.

[17] In January 1980, Idol was named the inaugural NWA National Heavyweight Champion (the title was vacated later that year in unclear circumstances).

Idol's other opponents during the tour included Giant Baba, Jumbo Tsuruta, Mil Mascaras, and Rocky Hata.

In October 1980, Idol defeated Billy Robinson to win the CWA World Heavyweight Championship; he lost the title to Bobby Eaton later that month.

In Georgia, Idol formed a tag team with his former enemy Kevin Sullivan, with the duo feuding with the Fabulous Freebirds.

[4][21] In March 1981, Idol and Mantell lost the CWA World Tag Team Championship to Bill Dundee and Tommy Rich.

[19] In May 1981, Idol began wrestling for the Carolinas-based Jim Crockett Promotions as a heel, facing opponents such as Johnny Weaver, The Masked Superstar, Ricky Steamboat, and Wahoo McDaniel.

[19] During his time in Jim Crockett Promotions, an angle saw Idol bring an 8 mm film camera to ringside and record other wrestlers' matches, angering them.

[25] Idol returned to Continental Wrestling Association in February 1983; upon arrival, he was named the inaugural AWA International Heavyweight Champion.

In September 1983, Idol defeated Ken Patera to become AWA International Heavyweight Champion for a second time, only to lose the title to Stan Hansen two days later.

In November 1983, Idol and Dutch Mantell defeated The Midnight Express for the CWA World Tag Team Championship; the title was later quietly abandoned.

In July 1985, Idol defeated Jimmy Golden to regain the NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Championship (Northern Division); his third reign ended the following month when he lost to Adrian Street.

[28] Idol returned to the Continental Wrestling Association in August 1985, teaming with Jerry Lawler in a short feud with the Fabulous Freebirds.

In December 1985, he and Lawler defeated Bill Dundee and Dutch Mantel to win the AWA Southern Tag Team Championship.

The title was vacated later that month when Lawler lost a loser leaves town match to Dundee, and Idol left the Continental Wrestling Association once again.

They successfully defended the titles in bouts against teams such as Hiroshi Wajima and Takashi Ishikawa and Jumbo Tsuruta and Tiger Mask before losing to Ashura Hara and Genichiro Tenryu on September 3.

Throughout the remainder of the tour, Idol primarily competed in six-man tag team matches alongside Hansen and Joel Deaton.

For the bulk of the tour, Idol teamed with Tommy Rich, with the duo facing wrestlers such as The Great Kabuki, John Tenta, Shunji Takano, and Takashi Ishikawa.

Idol formally retired in 1998 after appearing on the debut television episode of the Memphis, Tennessee-based Power Pro Wrestling promotion.

[8] In 2021, Idol's likeness was featured as a playable character in the RetroMania Wrestling video game on Steam, Nintendo Switch, PS4, and Xbox One.

In 2021, Idol founded the stable "Idolmania Sports Management" - consisting of Jordan Clearwater, Marshe Rocket, BLK Jeez, and Tyrus - in the National Wrestling Alliance.

[6] Professional wrestling manager and referee Scott Bowden described Idol as "a marginal worker... somewhat limited" but with "an excellent grasp of psychology" and being "great on the stick".

[14] Writing in 1986, journalist Dave Meltzer noted that Idol was "not considered a strong worker" but that he "got over on his looks and his arrogant interviews, both as a heel and a babyface" and had "a good physique".

[2] In 1978, he adopted the new character of Austin Idol, a verbose bleach blonde braggart who called himself "the Universal Heartthrob" and fancied himself attractive to women and wore tie-dyed ring attire.