In 1982, Gordy (along with Michael "P.S." Hayes and Buddy Roberts as the Freebirds) went to World Class Championship Wrestling and had a heated and memorable feud with the Von Erichs (David, Kevin, Kerry and Mike) that was famously kicked off when Gordy slammed the cage door on Kerry during his cage match at WCCW Star Wars against Ric Flair where Michael Hayes was the special guest referee, inciting a riot among fans attending.
The Freebirds spent a very brief time in the World Wrestling Federation in 1984, but were fired soon after.
Afterwards, The Freebirds spent some time in World Championship Wrestling (WCW), where they split to feud briefly, but later reunited.
In 1989, Gordy helped Hayes to reform the Freebirds, with Jimmy Garvin, in WCW. Later, he alongside of "Dr. Death" Steve Williams defeated the Steiners to become World Tag Team Champions.
Gordy and Williams returned to World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1992 and won the WCW World Tag Team titles in a tournament at the Great American Bash card in Albany, Georgia.
In 1996, Gordy showed up in Extreme Championship Wrestling to challenge Raven for the ECW World Heavyweight Title, as the "internationally recognized #1 contender". He lost, but went on to team up with Tommy Dreamer and later to reunite with "Dr. Death" Steve Williams to wrestle The Eliminators. He also wrestled Bam Bam Bigelow. Gordy lost the match because of outside interference from The Eliminators.
Gordy had a brief run in the WWF as The Executioner in 1996 and 1997. He teamed up with Mankind, both managed by Paul Bearer, and feuded with The Undertaker. The Executioner came to the ring under a mask and carrying an axe. He made his television debut at the In Your House pay-per-view, Buried Alive, where he interfered in The Undertaker's Buried Alive match with Mankind, hitting Undertaker with a shovel and burying him with the help of Mankind and several other wrestlers. However, at In Your House 12: It's Time, The Undertaker defeated The Executioner in an Armageddon Rules match, and Gordy left the promotion shortly afterwards. His final televised appearance was on the January 12, 1997 episode of WWF Superstars, where he lost to Goldust, after which Paul Bearer turned on him by hitting him with his urn. He was advertised to be one of the 30 participants in the 1997 Royal Rumble match, but did not make an appearance.
On July 16, 2001, Gordy passed away.
On April 2, 2016, Gordy was posthumously inducted by his son Ray Gordy into the WWE Hall of Fame as part of The Fabulous Freebirds alongside Hayes, Roberts, and Garvin.