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| Name | Bobby Eaton |
|---|---|
| Names | Bobby Eaton is an American semi-retired professional wrestler, who made his debut in 1976. Eaton is most famous for his work in tag teams, especially his days as one-half of the team the Midnight Express. Under the management of Jim Cornette, Eaton originally teamed with Dennis Condrey and, later on, with Stan Lane. He has also worked with a number of other tag team partners, including Koko B. Ware, Steve Keirn, and "Lord" Steven Regal. During their time as a team, the two were involved in a storyline feud with Terry Gordy and Michael Hayes before Gordy and Hayes became famous under the name The Fabulous Freebirds. |
| Name | Eaton, Bobby |
| Alternative names | Eaton, Robert Lee |
| Short description | Semi-retired professional wrestler |
| Date of birth | August 14, 1958 |
| Place of birth | Huntsville, Alabama |
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| Name | Curt Hennig |
|---|---|
| Names | Curt Hennig (March 28, 1958 – February 10, 2003), also known by the ring name Mr. Perfect, was an American professional wrestler, manager and color commentator who worked for, among other promotions, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), the American Wrestling Association (AWA), World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). He was the son of wrestler Larry "The Axe" Hennig, and father to current WWE superstar Michael McGillicutty. |
Category:1958 births Category:2003 deaths Category:American professional wrestlers Category:American Roman Catholics Category:People from Hennepin County, Minnesota Category:Professional wrestling announcers Category:Professional wrestling managers and valets
Category:WWE Hall of Fame Category:Cocaine-related deaths in Florida
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| Name | Ric Flair |
|---|---|
| Names | Ric Flair |
| Billed | Charlotte, North Carolina (born February 25, 1949) Also known as "The Nature Boy", Flair is one of the most well known professional wrestlers in the world.He is currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) |
Category:1949 births Category:American adoptees Category:American professional wrestlers Category:American writers Category:Living people Category:North Carolina Republicans Category:People from Charlotte, North Carolina Category:People from Minneapolis, Minnesota Category:Professional wrestling executives Category:Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame Category:Professional wrestling managers and valets Category:Professional wrestling trainers Category:Survivors of aviation accidents or incidents Category:WWE Hall of Fame Category:People from Beaver Dam, Wisconsin
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| Name | Brian Pillman |
|---|---|
| Names | Flyin' BrianBrian PillmanYellow Dog |
| Height | |
| Real height | |
| Weight | |
| Birth date | May 22, 1962 |
| Death date | October 05, 1997 |
| Birth place | Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Death place | Bloomington, Minnesota |
| Billed | Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Trainer | Stu Hart |
| Debut | November 25, 1986 |
Brian William Pillman (May 22, 1962 – October 5, 1997) was an American football player and professional wrestler best known for his appearances in the World Wrestling Federation, Extreme Championship Wrestling, and World Championship Wrestling.
Pillman had a legacy as "The Loose Cannon", a wrestling gimmick that would see him do a series of worked-shoots that would gain him a degree of infamy for his unpredictable character. He was also known for being extremely agile in the ring, although an accident in April 1996 limited his in-ring ability.
| Name | Brian Pillman |
|---|---|
| Dateofbirth | May 22, 1962Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Dateofdeath | October 05, 1997Bloomington, Minnesota |
| Height ft | 5 |
| Height in | 10 |
| Weight lbs | 228 |
| College | Miami (Ohio) |
| Position | Linebacker |
| Databasefootball | PILLMBRI01 |
| Years | 198419851986 |
| Teams | Cincinnati BengalsBuffalo Bills*Calgary Stampeders |
Pillman quickly formed a tag team with Hart's son Bruce known as Bad Company (not to be confused with Badd Company). In April 1987, Bad Company won the Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Championship, defeating Ron Starr and the Cuban Assassin in the finals of a tournament. Their reign lasted until October 1987, when the titles were held up following a controversial ending to a match between Bad Company and their opponents, Jerry Morrow and Makhan Singh. Bad Company defeated Morrow and Singh in a rematch in November 1987 to regain the titles, eventually losing them to Morrow and the Cuban Assassin in July 1988.
While in Stampede Wrestling, Pillman had his girlfriend at the time, Trisa Hayes (also known as Beulah McGillicutty), portray his sister in order to get him over as a face by seating her at ringside and having heel wrestlers taunt her so that he could rescue her.
Pillman turned heel in September 1992, frustrated by Brad Armstrong's knee injury and vacating the WCW World Light Heavyweight title, when he was scheduled to wrestle Armstrong for the title at the Clash of the Champions. In November 1992, he formed a team with Barry Windham, gunning for the NWA and WCW World Tag Team Championships held by Ricky Steamboat and Shane Douglas. Windham and Pillman lost to Steamboat and Douglas at Starrcade on December 28. Their team lasted until January 1993, as Windham had his sights on the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Pillman continued the tag team title hunt by forming a tag team with "Stunning" Steve Austin known as the Hollywood Blonds. On the March 27, 1993 edition of WCW Power Hour, the duo won the championships from Steamboat and Douglas. The team quickly became popular for their brash attitudes, and critically acclaimed matches with Steamboat and Douglas through the spring of 1993.
After the feud with Steamboat and Douglas ended, they went on to feud with The Four Horsemen, mainly Ric Flair and Arn Anderson, mocking their ages and parodying Flair's interview show "A Flare for the Gold", with their own "A Flare for the Old". They would lose the NWA and WCW World Tag Team Titles to Anderson and Paul Roma at Clash of the Champions XXIV (Lord Steven Regal substituted for Pillman, who sufferd a leg injury in a tag team match on an episode of WCW Main Event prior to the Clash of Champions). After the Hollywood Blonds separated in October 1993, Pillman became a face, feuding with his old partner Austin. He would also go after the WCW World Television Championship, held by Lord Steven Regal, with whom he wrestled to a 15-minute time limit draw at Spring Stampede.
At the end of 1995, Pillman developed his "Loose Cannon" gimmick, cultivating a reputation for unpredictable behavior. During this period of time, Pillman changed his once Hollywood Blond and Flyin' Brian clean athletic look for an edgy, out of control image. Almost all of the time Pillman could be seen wearing leather vests, sunglasses, jewelry and graphic T-shirts with skulls, monsters and sayings on them. Pillman frequently blurred fact and fiction with his worked-shoots. In a match with Eddie Guerrero on the January 23, 1996 edition of Clash of the Champions, Pillman grabbed commentator Bobby Heenan by the collar, causing Heenan (who had a history of neck problems) to blurt out "What the fuck are you doing?" live on the air (Heenan has since stated that he didn't know it was Pillman grabbing him and he blurted out the remark because he thought he was a fan grabbing him).
Pillman outed Kevin Sullivan as booker during the February 1996 SuperBrawl VI pay-per-view in an I Respect You Strap match where the loser announces that they respect the other wrestler, much like an "I Quit" match. Pillman grabbed the microphone, saying, sarcastically, "I respect you, booker man". The words "booker man" were cut from the commercial tape. Pillman was fired by WCW President Eric Bischoff in February 1996 after SuperBrawl VI. In Bischoff's autobiography he said that Pillman was fired so that he could go and develop the "loose cannon" gimmick in ECW then return to World Championship Wrestling with more legitimate heat. Bischoff claims it was a plan he and Pillman came up with together. It would later backfire on Bischoff as Pillman did not return.
He gained the backstage ire of New Jack when he referred to the tag team consisting of New Jack and Mustafa (The Gangstas) as "Niggas with Attitudes" (not as a racist comment, but in reference to the rap group N.W.A) when crashing one of their interviews. With his "Loose Cannon" persona, Pillman became the talk for all three major promotions, as he successfully left WCW, he was on his way to the WWF, and he was scheduled to wrestle Shane Douglas in ECW, until tragedy struck on April 15, 1996 when Pillman was badly injured after falling asleep while driving his Hummer H1 in Kentucky and driving into a tree trunk, flipping the vehicle. He was in a coma for a week and suffered a shattered ankle, forcing doctors to fuse it together in a fixed position.
Following WrestleMania 13, Pillman aligned himself with his friends Bret Hart, Owen Hart, Davey Boy Smith, and Jim Neidhart as part of the anti-American Hart Foundation, all of with whom he was familiar from his Stampede Wrestling roots. He began feuding with his former partner, Steve Austin. In the course of the feud, Austin was given on-screen credit for damaging Pillman's ankle in October 1996 after placing it in between the seat and backrest of a folded chair and then jumping on the chair (this particular style of attack has since been dubbed "The Pillmanizer," in honor of this incident, despite Shane Douglas performing exactly the same maneuver to Raven in ECW nearly a full year earlier). After his feud with Austin, he feuded with Goldust over Marlena until his death.
On the November 4, 1996 episode of Monday Night Raw, Pillman took part in the infamous "Pillman's got a gun" angle with Steve Austin. When Pillman initially arrived to the WWF, he aligned himself immediately with his longtime friend and former tag team partner Austin, serving as his lackey while he recovered. However when Pillman began noticeably favoring Austin's nemesis, Bret Hart, Austin had enough and brutally attacked him in the ring during an interview on an episode of WWF Superstars in October 1996. Austin and Pillman had been feuding for several weeks, and Austin had finally decided to take matters into his own hands and visit Pillman, whom he had already injured, at his home in Walton, Kentucky. WWF interviewer Kevin Kelly sat in Pillman's house with a camera crew and the Pillman family, while Pillman's friends surrounded the house to protect him. Austin was attacked by Pillman's friends as soon as he arrived but quickly subdued them. He then proceeded to break into Pillman's home and advance on his nemesis. Pillman responded by producing the same 9 mm Glock that he had displayed earlier and pointing it at a hesitant Austin, while Kelly and Pillman's wife Melanie screamed for help. The camera feed was then disrupted, with the scene fading to black. The on-scene director contacted commentator Vince McMahon and reported that he had heard "a couple explosions." The transmission was restored shortly before the end of Raw, and viewers witnessed Pillman's friends dragging Austin from the house while Pillman aimed the gun at him and announced his intention to "kill that son of a bitch!" Pillman also slipped up by making the mistake of saying "fuck" on live television, which meant that it could not be edited out. The WWF (and Pillman personally) eventually apologized profusely for the entire angle, with Pillman claiming that the profanity "just slipped out".
Some time during the night or early morning prior to the October 5, 1997 In Your House: Badd Blood pay-per-view in St. Louis, Pillman died in a Bloomington, Minnesota hotel room at the age of 35. An autopsy found that a previously undetected heart condition, arteriosclerotic heart disease, had led to his death.
Category:1962 births Category:1997 deaths Category:American football linebackers Category:American professional wrestlers Category:Calgary Stampeders players Category:Cincinnati Bengals players Category:Cardiovascular disease deaths in Minnesota Category:Ed Block Courage Award recipients Category:Miami RedHawks football players Category:Miami University alumni Category:Sportspeople from Cincinnati, Ohio
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| Name | Arn Anderson |
|---|---|
| Names | Arn AndersonSuper OlympiaMarty Lunde |
| Height | |
| Weight | |
| Birth date | September 20, 1958 |
| Birth place | Rome, Georgia |
| Resides | Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Billed | Minnesota |
| Trainer | Ted Allen |
| Debut | January 1982 |
| Retired | August 25, 1997 |
By the end of 1996, Anderson rarely competed in the ring as years of wear and tear on his body finally started to catch up with him. On the August 25, 1997 episode of WCW Monday Nitro, Anderson formally announced his retirement from the ring. While standing in the ring, surrounded by Ric Flair and newest Horsemen members Steve McMichael and Benoit, Anderson declared that his last official act as the "Enforcer" for the Four Horsemen was to offer his "spot" in the group to Curt Hennig, as he was forced to retire due to extensive neck and upper back injuries. He would work one or two tag matches officially since then, including teaming with David Flair on an episode of WCW Thunder, but his physical involvement was extremely limited in those bouts.
On the September 14, 1998 edition of Nitro, alongside Steve McMichael, Dean Malenko, and Chris Benoit, Anderson ceremoniously reintroduced Ric Flair to WCW after his 12-month hiatus. In doing so, they reformed the Horsemen who then feuded with WCW President Eric Bischoff. Flair would win the presidency of WCW from Bischoff at Uncensored '99 and turn heel in the process. Anderson remained Flair's right-hand man during this time as he attempted to keep Flair's delusional hunger for power at bay.
In 2000, Anderson was a member of the short-lived Old Age Outlaws. Led by Terry Funk, the group of veteran wrestlers battled the revived New World Order. WCW would be purchased by the World Wrestling Federation in 2001, ending Anderson's tenure there.
Anderson made a special appearance at the October 2006 Raw Family Reunion special, in which he was in Ric Flair's corner for his match against Mitch of the Spirit Squad. Anderson was in the corner of Flair, Sgt. Slaughter, Dusty Rhodes, and Ron Simmons at Survivor Series 2006, where the four faced the Spirit Squad, but was ejected from the arena during the match.
On the March 31, 2008 Raw, Anderson came out to say his final goodbye to Ric Flair and thank him for his career. In October of that year, at the No Mercy event, he was backstage congratulating Triple H for retaining the WWE Championship in a match with Jeff Hardy.
During a backstage segment between DX and Guest Host Dusty Rhodes on the August 31, 2009 Raw, Anderson made a brief appearance as the man behind the voice of the skit of the Shockmaster, who was later revealed to actually be Santino Marella. Anderson ran off-camera when he realized he had been spotted by Triple H.
On June 28, 2010 edition of Raw, Anderson came out with Michael Hayes, Mike Rotunda, and Dean Malenko to congratulate Ricky Steamboat because a DVD highlighting his career was to be released the following day. However, the group, along with Jerry Lawler were attacked brutally by the Nexus faction. The next week on the July 5, 2010 edition of RAW, Anderson spoke with WWE Champion Sheamus backstage. Sheamus refused to get involved in the fight with the Nexus or help any of the WWE locker room as he saw them all as threats to his title. He was quoted as saying (referring to the Nexus invasion storyline): "If you don't get together with some of these guys in the locker room and stop the bleeding; a month from now you may just be a great white shark patrolling around an empty mudhole." Sheamus initially laughed off Anderson's advice, but looked to consider it after Anderson left.
Anderson also appeared at the old school Raw, talking to John Morrison with Dean Malenko before the former was attacked by Sheamus. He reappeared two weeks later, congratulating Jerry Lawler for at last getting a shot at the WWE Championship, which he stated was long overdue.
Although he was billed as such at various times, Arn is not related to Gene Anderson, Lars Anderson, Ole Anderson, C.W. Anderson or Ric Flair. He was given the Anderson name and was originally billed as Ole's brother, and then later billed as Ole's nephew, because of his resemblance to Ole in appearance and wrestling style and billed as Ric Flair's cousin. Flair is not related to any of the Andersons, but he is a longtime friend of Arn.
As stated in his biography, in a match in 1994, Arn was thrown into the ring ropes. The top rope broke from the turnbuckle, but he was able to land on his feet. Six months later, the same event happened again, but this time he landed full-force on to the concrete and hit his head, neck, and upper back. He never took time off to heal. As time passed, with no down time, the injuries worsened. In his biography, Anderson states that the first sign of problems was, during a match, his left arm suddenly went numb and unresponsive. Later on, they found a rib, possibly torn away from the spine during the accident, was popping in and out of joint, causing shoulder discomfort and weakness.
Upon seeing his chiropractor in Charlotte, North Carolina, and consulting medical experts in Atlanta, Georgia, the damage was found to be much more severe and surgery was deemed the only option to keep his left arm functioning at all. Surgery occurred in Atlanta in late 1996 (resulting in a left posterior laminectomy of the 3rd, 4th, and 5th cervical bones and a fusion of the 7th cervical and 1st thoracic bones) and was successful in repairing most of the damage, but there does remain some muscle weakness, loss of fine motor control, and loss of muscle mass in his left arm. He spent many weeks in the hospital during that time, crediting his recovery to his wife, his physical therapist, and the fact he did not want his children to be fatherless. However, he would be readmitted in March 1997 with symptoms akin to cardiac arrest and pulmonary failure, but was released soon afterwards.
In July 1997, while working out, a friend saw him at a gym and gave him a hearty slap on the back (he recounts this in his retirement speech). He dropped the water bottle he was carrying and could not regain use of his left arm for several hours. He realized that to step back in the ring and take another injury to the neck could leave him paralyzed or worse. Hence, his retirement and subsequent speech on WCW programming.
Category:1958 births Category:American color commentators Category:American professional wrestlers Category:American sportspeople of Swedish descent Category:Living people Category:People from Charlotte, North Carolina Category:People from Rome, Georgia Category:Professional wrestling announcers Category:Professional wrestling managers and valets Category:Professional wrestling trainers Category:Survivors of stabbing
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| Name | William Regal |
|---|---|
| Names | Steve Regal (born May 10, 1968), is an English professional wrestler, currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment and competing on the Raw brand under the ring name William Regal. He is also known for his time in World Championship Wrestling under the ring name Steven Regal. Having started his career wrestling on the carnival circuit in England, Matthews moved on to wrestle around the world in countries such as Germany and South Africa, before being called up to World Championship Wrestling in 1993. In 2000, after being once again fired from WCW, Matthews joined the World Wrestling Federation (now World Wrestling Entertainment), where he became commissioner. More recently he has been General Manager of Raw and also the 2008 King of the Ring. |
Category:1968 births Category:English memoirists Category:English professional wrestlers Category:Fictional kings Category:Living people Category:People from Codsall Category:Professional wrestling executives Category:Professional wrestling coaches and trainers Category:Professional wrestling trainers
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| Name | Scott Casey |
|---|---|
| Names | Cowboy Scott Casey |
| Height | |
| Weight | |
| Birth date | |birth_date=January 11, 1954 |
| Birth place | Amarillo, Texas |
| Resides | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Billed | Dallas, Texas |
| Debut | 1970s |
| Retired | 1990 |
Scott Casey(born January 11, 1954) is a retired American professional wrestler who is probably best known for his stint in the World Wrestling Federation between 1987 and 1990. His brother, Steve, was also a wrestler who appeared in the National Wrestling Alliance in the late 1980s and for the Global Wrestling Federation in the early 1990s as 'Steve Dane'. Casey, originally from Amarillo, Texas, now resides in Las Vegas, Nevada. A month later, on September 11 he defeated Tully Blanchard to win the SWCW Southwest Heavyweight Championship. In September, Casey also held the SWCW Southwest Tag Team Championship with Buddy Mareno, replacing the 'injured' Bobby Jaggers.
After leaving SCW he went to World Class Championship Wrestling where he was managed by Sunshine.
NWA Western States Tag Team titles w/Reggie Parks defeating Randy Tyler & Bobby Jaggers June 1976.
NWA Texas Heavyweight title defeating Moondog Mayne May 1977.NWA (Central States) World Tag Team titles w/Mike George defeating Buck Robley & Crusher Blackwell December 1, 1977.
SCW (Southwest) Undisputed World Heavyweight title defeating Adrian Adonis August 30, 1983.SCW (Southwest) Heavyweight title defeating Tully Blanchard September 11, 1983.
WCCW (World Class) Television title defeating Dennis Condrey for vacant title April 1, 1985.
In 2006 Casey was honored by the Cauliflower Alley Club.
Category:Living people Category:American professional wrestlers Category:Professional wrestling trainers Category:1954 births
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| Name | Ricky Steamboat |
|---|---|
| Names | Dick Blood better known by his ring name Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, is an American professional wrestler who is one of the most well-known professional wrestlers of the late 1980s and early 1990s. He is currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment working as a road agent. He was well-known among wrestling fans as being one of the few wrestlers who stayed a babyface throughout his lengthy career. He is best known for his work with the American Wrestling Association (AWA), the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). |
Category:American professional wrestlers Category:1953 births Category:Living people Category:American sportspeople of English descent Category:American sportspeople of Japanese descent Category:People from New York Category:People from Charlotte, North Carolina Category:Professional wrestling executives Category:Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame Category:Professional wrestling referees Category:Professional wrestling trainers Category:WWE Hall of Fame
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| Name | Rey Mysterio, Jr. |
|---|---|
| Names | La Lagartija Verde (The Green Lizard)Colibrí |
| Resides | San Diego, California is a Mexican American professional wrestler, best known by his ring name Rey Mysterio. He is currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), wrestling on its SmackDown brand. Gutiérrez was trained by his uncle Rey Mysterio and wrestled early on in Mexico where he learned the Lucha Libre high flying style that has been his trademark BC13. Despite his small size, Gutiérrez has achieved success wrestling in both the heavyweight and cruiserweight weightclasses, as well as tag team competition. He is also known for the way he follows the Mexican luchador traditions. |
Mysterio later became a "giant killer" by defeating large opponents such as Kevin Nash, Bam Bam Bigelow, and Scott Norton. He faced Nash at Uncensored in a match where Lex Luger interfered and helped Nash in winning the match. Although he participated in several notable matches with some of the heavyweight top card wrestlers, it was made very clear to him that he would never receive a push to become a main eventer. This was due to Eric Bischoff utilizing cruiserweights as alternative, mid-card entertainment as opposed to the more conventional style that led WCW programming. As one of the top wrestlers in the cruiserweight division, Mysterio would go on to voice his disdain in regards to not being pushed:
The next night on the March 15 Nitro, he defeated Billy Kidman to win his fourth Cruiserweight Championship. The following week, Mysterio and Kidman teamed with each other and defeated Flair's Four Horsemen stablemates Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko to win the WCW World Tag Team Championship, making Mysterio a double champion. Mysterio successfully defended his Cruiserweight Title against his tag team partner Kidman at Spring Stampede before losing the title on the April 19 edition of Nitro to Psychosis in a Fatal Four-Way match that also involved Juventud Guerrera and Blitzkrieg. On the following edition of Nitro, he defeated Psychosis to win his fifth Cruiserweight Championship.
On the October 18 edition of Nitro, Mysterio and Konnan teamed up together (after Konnan joined the Filthy Animals) to defeat Harlem Heat for the World Tag Team Championship. On the August 14 edition of Nitro, Mysterio and Juventud defeated The Great Muta and Vampiro to win the World Tag Team Championship. They were stripped of the title, however, after Ernest Miller pinned Disco Inferno with the stipulation that if he pinned Disco, Mysterio and Guerrera would be stripped of the title. The Filthy Animals then feuded with the Natural Born Thrillers in the fall of the year. At Fall Brawl, the Filthy Animals fought the Thrillers to a no contest in an Elimination tag team match. Mysterio reformed his tag team with Kidman and the two challenged for the World Tag Team Championship in a Triangle match at Halloween Havoc, facing the champions Natural Born Thrillers and the Boogie Knights, where the Thrillers retained.
At the beginning of 2001, the Filthy Animals feuded with Team Canada, to whom they lost in a Penalty Box match at Sin. At SuperBrawl Revenge, Mysterio unsuccessfully challenged Chavo Guerrero, Jr. for the Cruiserweight Title. Kidman and Mysterio participated in a Cruiserweight tag team tournament for the newly created WCW Cruiserweight Tag Team Championship and advanced to the final round where they ended up losing to Elix Skipper and Kid Romeo. On the March 26 (and the final) edition of Nitro, they defeated Skipper and Romeo in a rematch to win the Cruiserweight Tag Team Titles before WCW was sold to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).
On the June 17 edition of SmackDown!, he defeated Chavo Classic for a record-setting eighth Cruiserweight Championship. He successfully defended the title against Classic's son Chavo Guerrero at The Great American Bash. While Mysterio was Cruiserweight Champion, Spike Dudley turned heel after plowing Mysterio through a table and joined the other Dudleys before winning the Cruiserweight Title from Mysterio on the July 29 edition of SmackDown!. At Survivor Series, he participated in a Fatal Four-Way match for the Cruiserweight Title involving the champion Spike, Chavo Guerrero, and Billy Kidman. Mysterio lost when Dudley pinned Guerrero to retain.
house show.]]
The match at WrestleMania was part of a storyline in which Guerrero turned on Mysterio and beat him up after abandoning him during a match against MNM for the Tag Team Championship. Then after a no disqualification match against Chavo, Eddie came out and slammed Mysterio on the steel steps, displaying Eddie's increasing frustration with being unable to defeat Mysterio. Guerrero and Mysterio continued to feud, with Guerrero threatening to reveal a secret he and Mysterio shared involving Mysterio's real-life son Dominik, unless Mysterio deferred to Guerrero's authority. Guerrero later revealed that, in the storyline, he was Dominik's biological father. The storyline went that Guerrero knew Mysterio was having trouble starting his own family, so Guerrero left Dominik as a baby with Mysterio and his wife Angie to raise. In subsequent weeks, Guerrero threatened to take custody of Dominik, drawing up custody papers and having his lawyer present them to Mysterio. At SummerSlam, Mysterio defeated Guerrero in a ladder match for the custody of Dominik. Their feud ended when Guerrero gained a victory over Mysterio in a steel cage match. On November 13, 2005, Eddie Guerrero was found dead in his hotel room in Minneapolis, Minnesota. That same day at a WWE "Super Show" where SmackDown! and Raw were both taped, Mysterio gave an emotional speech about Eddie, and in a show of respect removed his mask (though he put his head down, so no one could see his face). Mysterio went on to defeat Shawn Michaels in an interpromotional match later that night. After the match, Michaels and Mysterio hugged in the ring and Mysterio pointed up to the sky, crying, in memory of Guerrero. After Survivor Series, Mysterio faced Big Show in a match billed as "David vs. Goliath" in a SmackDown! special show. Now the Tag Team Champions, Mysterio and Batista's match with Big Show and Kane was billed as "Champions vs. Champions." At Armageddon, Mysterio and Batista lost this "Raw vs. SmackDown!" match when Kane pinned Mysterio after a chokeslam. On the December 30 edition of SmackDown!, MNM invoked their rematch clause, defeating Batista and Mysterio with help from Mark Henry to regain the Tag Team Championship. Mysterio and Batista lost a Steel Cage match in an effort to reclaim the titles the following week, again courtesy of interference by Henry.
On the April 7 edition of SmackDown!, Mysterio – who was billed as being an "underdog champion", made his first successful World Heavyweight title defense against Randy Orton. Mysterio went on to retain his title again during a WrestleMania rematch on SmackDown! against Kurt Angle, three weeks later. The week before the title defense took place saw the start of a feud between the then-United States Champion John "Bradshaw" Layfield and Mysterio. The rivalry kicked off after JBL stated he deserved the World Heavyweight title during his celebration of becoming the U.S. Champion. The feud with JBL saw Mysterio face off against any opponent of JBL's choosing in the three weeks leading up to his title match against Mysterio at Judgment Day. Mysterio was defeated by Mark Henry and The Great Khali in separate non-title matches before wrestling Kane to a "no contest"; Mysterio retained his title against JBL at Judgement Day. The feud intensified when JBL lost the U.S. Title to Bobby Lashley five days later on SmackDown! after being tricked by Mysterio to take on all comers like he himself had. This led JBL to vow that if he did not win his rematch against Mysterio, he would quit SmackDown!.
It was revealed that Mysterio would have to defend his title against ECW wrestler Sabu at One Night Stand. In the weeks leading up to his title defense, Mysterio defeated Cruiserweight Champion Gregory Helms in a Champion vs. Champion match but was defeated by Rob Van Dam at WWE vs. ECW Head to Head on June 7. At One Night Stand, Mysterio (who was wearing a mask with the letters "ECW" written on the back, despite being a fan favorite was booed by ECW fans) retained his title in a match after he and Sabu were ruled unable to continue following a triple jump DDT through a table from Sabu. Booker attacked Mysterio from behind backstage with the help of Booker's wife Queen Sharmell. The next week on SmackDown!, Mysterio gained revenge by attacking Booker and his "court". Subsequently Guerrero challenged Mysterio to an "I Quit" match. In that match, Chavo injured Mysterio's knee, using the match to write Mysterio out of the storyline for a while to get knee surgery. 2008.]]
On the August 31 edition of SmackDown!, Mysterio won a "Championship Competition" to become the number 1 contender for the World Heavyweight Championship, defeating Batista and Finlay. On the September 7 edition of SmackDown!, Mysterio had an "I Quit" match with Chavo Guerrero, which he won after hitting Guerrero's knee with a chair repeatedly in a similar manner to which Mysterio had been put out of action.
Mysterio then began a feud with Finlay, an opponent chosen by JBL. The rivalry was marked as "Fight vs. Flight", a competition between the two contrasting fighting styles of both wrestlers – Finlay's physicality, versus the high-flying Mysterio. On October 28, after fighting to a "no contest" at No Mercy, followed by a double-disqualification in a number one contender's match for Batista's World Heavyweight title on the next SmackDown! (The Undertaker would succeed the pair), he defeated Finlay in a Stretcher match at Cyber Sunday. During this feud, he conceded one match to Finlay on an episode of SmackDown! and was part of the winning team at Survivor Series which consisted of both wrestlers on opposing sides (although Mysterio was second to be eliminated). The rivalry ended after Survivor Series as Finlay turned face.
He re-entered the world title picture when he emerged victorious in the Beat the Clock challenge for the chance to face the World Heavyweight Champion Edge at Royal Rumble. However, he was unsuccessful in winning the championship. WWE.com announced on February 14 that Mysterio suffered a biceps injury during an overseas tour. Despite the injury, Mysterio faced Edge for the title again at No Way Out.
Mysterio was drafted back to SmackDown! during the 2009 WWE Draft on the April 13 episode of Raw, in the process making the Intercontinental Title exclusive to SmackDown for the first time since mid-2002. He then began a long-time feud with Chris Jericho, resulting in Mysterio defending and retaining his title at Judgment Day. At Extreme Rules, Jericho managed to unmask Mysterio and pin him for the Intercontinental Championship, however his face was never shown, as he covered it. As a result, Mysterio and Jericho were booked in a Title vs. Mask match at The Bash, in which Mysterio was victorious after tricking Jericho with a second mask. On August 2, WWE announced that Mysterio would be suspended for 30 days, effective September 2, for violating the company's Wellness Policy. In an interview with Mexican newspaper Record, Mysterio stated that he was suspended for a drug he was using for his knee and arm. Mysterio stated that he had a prescription for the drug, but was unable to produce it in time to prevent his suspension due to being on vacation and doing a promotional tour. On the September 4 episode of SmackDown (taped on September 1), Mysterio lost the Intercontinental Championship to John Morrison.
On the May 28th edition of SmackDown, Mysterio fought The Undertaker unsuccessfully, to qualify for the World Heavyweight Championship title match at Fatal 4-Way but in fact injured him and forced Taker to pull out from the competition. On June 4, 2010, Mysterio won a Battle Royal involving the whole SmackDown roster by lastly eliminating Kane to earn The Undertaker's vacated spot, joining then-champion Jack Swagger, Big Show, and CM Punk at the pay-per-view. Fortunately, he was able to put his hands on the World Heavyweight Championship for the second time in his entire career. For the next one month, Swagger continuously assaulted Mysterio using his "Ankle Lock". He also saved Big Show and Kane respectively from his attacks. Mysterio became weak and used ankle braces to support.
At Money in the Bank, Mysterio defeated Swagger to retain the title, however Swagger continued attacking the ankle after the match until Kane, who had earlier won the SmackDown Money in the Bank ladder match, came to the ring to chase Swagger away, seemingly to protect Mysterio. However, Kane returned with a referee and cashed in his title shot, defeating Mysterio for the World Heavyweight Championship in a very short duration. Seemingly denying his rematch clause, on the July 20 Smackdown tapings, Mysterio defeated Swagger in a 2 out of 3 falls match to remain the #1 contender for the World Heavyweight Championship, earning a title match against Kane at Summerslam. However, during the weeks before SummerSlam, Kane had marked Mysterio as the one who had attacked The Undertaker putting him in a vegetative state (which was a storyline put in place to explain Undertaker's absence due to the injury he had sustained against Mysterio in the Fatal Four Way qualifying match.) Mysterio retaliated saying that Kane was the true culprit. After the match at SummerSlam, which Mysterio ultimately lost, Kane had attempted to put Mysterio in a casket only for The Undertaker to emerge from the casket and ended up clearing his name when Kane was revealed to be the one behind the attack on him (The Undertaker). The following SmackDown he lost via submission to the debuting Alberto Del Rio.
On the August 27, 2010 edition of SmackDown, he lost a No Disqualification match to Kane, and afterwards was attacked by Alberto Del Rio on his injured left arm, fracturing Mysterio's wrist and sparking a feud between the two. Mysterio returned on the first episode of SmackDown! on Syfy and confronted Alberto Del Rio, where he hit Del Rio's personal Ring Announcer with a 619 after Alberto escaped the ring. On the October 8 edition of Smackdown, Mysterio defeated Del Rio, and thus ending his undefeated streak. On the October 15, 2010 episode of Smackdown, Mysterio defeated Cody Rhodes making him the second member of the Smackdown Bragging Rights Team. On the October 22, edition of Smackdown, Mysterio teamed up with Big Show and Kofi Kingston to defeat The Miz, Sheamus and Ezekiel Jackson in an Interpromotional six-man tag team match. At the Pay-Per-View, despite being on the same team, Mysterio was attacked by Del Rio and was forced backstage. However, he later returned to help Edge defeat the rest of Team Raw giving SmackDown the victory. The following edition of Smackdown, Mysterio participated in a Triple Threat #1 contender's match for Kane's World Heavyweight Championship at Survivor Series also involving Edge and Alberto Del Rio, but was unsuccessful in winning as Edge became victorious. Mysterio then continued his feud with Del Rio which culminated on the January 7, 2011, edition of Smackdown in a 2 out of 3 falls match, which Del Rio ultimatly won by countout due to interference from his personal ring announcer Ricardo Rodriquez.
On March 19, 2007, Sports Illustrated posted on its website an article in its continuing series investigating a steroid and HGH ring used by a number of professional athletes in several sports. That article mentioned several current and former WWE wrestlers, including Mysterio who was alleged to have obtained nandrolone and stanozolol. WWE subsequently stated that the allegations preceded the Talent Wellness program WWE launched in February 2006. On August 27, 2009, WWE announced that Gutiérrez would receive a 30 day suspension due to a violation of the wellness program.
Gutiérrez is friends with Noah "Wuv" Bernardo, of P.O.D. The two met while in high school and P.O.D. performs Mysterio's theme song, Booyaka 619. He is a Roman Catholic, frequently crossing himself before every match and bearing numerous religious tattoos on his body, most notably a cross on his chest attached to rosaries as well as other crosses and allusions to God.
Mysterio has been a subject of several DVDs during his wrestling career, including "Rey Mysterio: 619", which was released in 2003, and the WWE produced "Rey Mysterio: The Biggest Little Man", which was released on October 23, 2007. He was also featured on the DVD "Before They Were Wrestling Stars: Rey Mysterio Jr" in 2007 which featured matches from his time in Mexico.
In the UK, Silver Vision released a Rey Mysterio DVD as part of their Best of WWE collection. This featured his matches from SummerSlam 2005, Wrestlemania 22, No Mercy 2006, and SummerSlam 2007. Rey made a cameo appearance in the 2003 slasher film "Freddy vs. Jason" jumping. Oscar made a guest appearance on the Disney XD show Zeke and Luther as himself.
:*Tornado DDT – ECW / WCW
Category:1974 births Category:American Roman Catholics Category:Living people Category:American professional wrestlers of Mexican descent Category:American people of Mexican descent Category:People from Chula Vista, California Category:People from San Diego, California
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| Name | Randy Rose |
|---|---|
| Names | "Ravishing" Randy RoseSuper Pro |
| Height | |
| Weight | |
| Birth date | July 19, 1956 |
| Birth place | Nashville, Tennessee, United States |
| Debut | 1977 |
| Retired | c. 1992 |
"Ravishing" Randy Rose (born July 19, 1956 in Nashville, Tennessee) is a professional wrestler.
After spending some time in International Championship Wrestling, Rose would reunite with former partner "Loverboy" Dennis Condrey in the AWA under manager Paul E. Dangerously. Now known as "Ravishing" Randy Rose, he and Condrey called themselves "The Original Midnight Express", and claimed the right to the name, which had since been used by Condrey and Eaton and later by "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton and "Sweet" Stan Lane) in the NWA.
They would defeat Jerry Lawler and Bill Dundee for the AWA World Tag Team titles on October 26, 1987, in Memphis, Tennessee. They would have a two month title reign, losing the titles to the returning Midnight Rockers (Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty) on December 27, 1987 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Condrey and Rose resurfaced in the NWA (with Dangerously) in November 1988. During the November 5 episode of World Championship Wrestling, Jim Cornette kayfabe received an anonymous phone call. The caller ridiculed Cornette over Eaton and Lane's loss of the NWA World Tag Team Championship to the Road Warriors on October 29. Cornette recognized the caller and baically asked him to come say it to his face. At that point, Dangerously and the Original Midnight Express hit the ring and proceeded to pummel Cornette and Stan Lane, who was wrestling in a singles match. By the time Bobby Eaton showed up, it was three on one. Cornette showed up the next week on TBS carrying his blood stained suit jacket and the feud was on.
The teams wrestled at Starrcade '88, but nothing was solved. The Midnight's vs. Midnight's would be the hottest feud in the NWA for months, building up to a 6-man tag match involving the managers on pay-per-view in February 1989. The one who got pinned would have to leave the promotion. However, the NWA was under new ownership and in transition at the time and many wrestlers were coming and going. At the last minute, Condrey decided to leave the NWA. Jack Victory was brought in as his replacement and the match went forward, but at this point no one really cared.
Rose would leave the NWA for a time and Dangerously would go on to bring in the Samoan Swat Team or SST as his new team. Rose would return to the NWA for a brief time in mid 1989. In 1990 and 1991, Rose wrestled for Georgia All-Star Wrestling and the Global Wrestling Federation.
Rose was also very involved with charity work during his wrestling career and tried to use his status as a pro wrestler to raise money.
Category:American professional wrestlers Category:Living people Category:1956 births
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| Name | Larry Zbyszko |
|---|---|
| Names | Larry Zbyszko |
| Height | |
| Weight | |
| Birth date | December 05, 1951 |
| Birth place | Chicago, Illinois |
| Resides | Avalon Park, Florida |
| Billed | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Trainer | Bruno SammartinoNewton Tattrie |
| Debut | 1973 |
Zbyszko's ring name has in the past been misspelled Zbysko or Zybysko. The correct spelling of the name, Zbyszko, is derived from the name of Polish wrestler Stanislaus Zbyszko.
Zbyszko was one of the attractions in the 1976 Latin America Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight championship, held in Guatemala City, under Jose Azzari promotions. Three days after the end of the tournament (Mil Máscaras won the title, defeating Jose Azzari in the final), an earthquake destroyed much of that Central American nation.
Zbyszko returned to the WWWF in 1976 and formed a tag team with Tony Garea, with whom he won the WWWF World Tag Team Championships on November 21, 1978 in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Their reign lasted until March 6, 1979, when they were defeated by the Valiant brothers in Allentown.
Zbyszko feuded with Bugsy McGraw, Abdullah the Butcher and "Superstar" Billy Graham in addition to wrestling Killer Kowalski and Baron Mikel Scicluna. In 1978 he summarized his mat-based ringwork with the statement, "I just believe in science over brawn".
At the end of the decade, Zbyszko became frustrated with his inability to shed his label as Bruno Sammartino's protégé. He challenged Sammartino to an exhibition match, claiming this was the only way he could step out of Sammartino's shadow. Sammartino eventually agreed to the match after Zbyszko threatened to retire if he was not granted the match. The trainer and pupil faced one another in Allentown on January 22, 1980, with Sammartino dominating the early stages of the match. After Sammartino threw him out of the ring, an irate Zbyszko seized a wooden chair and struck Sammartino, leaving him in a pool of blood in the middle of the ring and instantly turning Zbyszko into a reviled heel. So despised was Zbyszko by partisan Sammartino fans in the northeast that his car was repeatedly damaged and taxis in which he was travelling were overturned by fans. Zbyszko was struck with an iron pole following a match with Ivan Putski, and was stabbed in the buttock following a match with Pedro Morales in the Washington Avenue Armory in Albany, New York. After turning against Sammartino, Zbyszko was approached by the WWWF's "Unholy Trio" of managers (Fred Blassie, The Grand Wizard, and "Captain" Lou Albano), but he decided to continue wrestling without a manager. Sammartino and Zbyszko fought one another repeatedly in a lengthy feud that stretched throughout 1980. In the course of the feud, Zbyszko began referring to himself as "The New Living Legend" (a reference to Sammartino, who was often addressed as "The Living Legend"). The feud culminated in a steel cage match at Showdown at Shea at Shea Stadium in Flushing, New York on August 9, 1980 that saw Sammartino defeat Zbyszko in front of an audience of 36,295.
Zbyszko feuded with Nick Bockwinkel throughout 1986, losing to him in a Texas death match at Rage in a Cage on April 28, 1986. In the course of the feud, he also vied with Bockwinkel's ally Ray Stevens and boxer Scott LeDoux. Zybszko lost to LeDoux in a boxing match at WrestleRock '86 on April 20, 1986 and fought him to a double count out at Battle by the Bay on June 28, 1986.
On May 2, 1987, Zbyszko helped Curt Hennig defeat Nick Bockwinkel for the AWA World Heavyweight Championship by handing him a roll of dimes to knock Bockwinkel out with. He was suspended "for life" by the AWA as a result of an assault on Bockwinkel during Bockwinkel's rematch with Hennig in July 1987. As Bockwinkel retired shortly after the incident, Zbyszko began claiming to have retired both Bockwinkel and Bruno Sammartino.
It was also during this time that Hart was asking for NWA World Title shots for both Zbyszko and Perez. It was claimed by Hart and even announcer Jim Ross that Zbyszko and Perez both had the ability to beat Flair for the title, but neither received title shots and the NWA quickly dropped the overtures. Crockett Promotions was under new ownership and both Zbyszko and Perez were essentially left with out an angle. Zbyszko signed with the AWA in February 1989 and the NWA Western States Heritage Championship, which Zbyszko still held at that point, was subsequently retired.
Early in his title reign, Zbyszko would feud with Wahoo McDaniel and Sgt. Slaughter. He would face Greg Gagne on June 23, 1989 at War in the Windy City, and David Sammartino, who he defeated at the Tri-State Winter Challenge on January 27, 1990. He then began feuding with Mr. Saito, who defeated him for the AWA World Heavyweight Championship on February 10, 1990 in the Tokyo Dome during a tour of Japan. Zbyszko regained the title at SuperClash 4 on April 8, 1990, in Saint Paul and successfully defended it against The Trooper, Brad Rheingans, and Nikita Koloff (who he defeated on May 5, 1990 at Twin Wars '90) toward the end of his reign. He was stripped of the title after leaving the AWA for World Championship Wrestling on December 12, 1990, and the AWA declared bankruptcy in 1991.
At Halloween Havoc, The Enforcers began feuding with Barry Windham and Dustin Rhodes, and broke Windham's hand by slamming the door of his car on his hand. Following this act, Zbyszko gave himself the sobriquet the "Cruncher". Windham was replaced by Ricky Steamboat, and at Clash of the Champions XVII on November 19, 1991 in Savannah, Georgia, the Enforcers lost the titles to Steamboat and Rhodes.
In December 1991, the Enforcers joined Paul E. Dangerously's Dangerous Alliance, which also included Rick Rude, "Stunning" Steve Austin, Bobby Eaton and Madusa. They feuded with Ricky Steamboat, Dustin Rhodes, Barry Windham, Nikita Koloff, Sting and the WCW World Heavyweight Champion Ron Simmons. On May 17, 1992 at WrestleWar 1992: WarGames, the Dangerous Alliance lost a War Games match to their rivals after Zbyszko accidentally hit Eaton in the arm with the turnbuckle that he had dismantled, forcing Eaton to submit as a result of the pain. As a result of his blunder, Zbyszko was fired from the stable by Dangerously, turning him into a face for the first time since 1980. He briefly feuded with Austin and Eaton before retiring from full time competition to become a color commentator. As a commentator, Zbyszko began referring to himself simply as "The Living Legend", as many WCW fans were unfamiliar with his feud with Bruno Sammartino.
Along with Dusty Rhodes and Chris Cruise, Zbyszko hosted WCW Pro on Saturday mornings. In 1994, Lord Steven Regal began harassing Zbyszko, prompting him to return to the ring. On May 2, 1994 in Atlanta, Zbyszko defeated Regal for the WCW World Television Championship. He held the title until June 23, 1994 when Regal regained the belt in Charleston, South Carolina.
In 1996, Zbyszko was promoted to the WCW Monday Nitro broadcast team, where he announced during the first hour with Tony Schiavone. In 1997, he was challenged by New World Order (nWo) member Scott Hall, but opted not to face Hall. Zbyszko remained in the broadcast booth for most of 1997, occasionally refereeing matches involving Hall and the nWo. On December 28, 1997 at StarrCade 1997, Zbyszko returned to the ring for a match against Bischoff for control of WCW Monday Nitro with Bret Hart acting special referee. Hart ensured that the nWo did not interfere, and Zbyszko won the match, regaining control of Nitro for WCW. He continued to feud with Hall and his lackey, Louie Spicolli, culminating in a match between Zbyszko and Hall at Souled Out 1998 on January 24, 1998. Zbyszko won the match by disqualification after Dusty Rhodes betrayed him, joining the nWo.
Zbyszko went back to commentating until 1999, when he faced Curt Hennig in a retirement match and lost. He returned in January 2000 as a member of the Old Age Outlaws with Terry Funk, Arn Anderson and Paul Orndorff to feud with the revived nWo, then returned to commentary in February until WCW was purchased by the World Wrestling Federation in March 2001.
In late 2001, Zbyszko requested that World Wrestling Entertainment cease referring to Chris Jericho as "The Living Legend", claiming that this infringed upon his common law trademark. After WWF refused to comply, with Chairman Vince McMahon personally addressing Jericho as "The Living Legend" during a televised broadcast, Zbyszko launched a lawsuit against WWF. In addition, he challenged McMahon to a shoot fight during a 2002 World Wrestling All-Stars pay-per-view.
In 2002, Zbyszko had a short feud with Chris Harris in the Nashville, Tennessee-based USA Championship Wrestling promotion. On March 2, 2002, Zbyszko defeated Harris for the USA North American Heavyweight Championship. He held the title until March 30, 2002 when Harris regained the belt at the Tojo Yamamoto Memorial Show. On August 27, 2005 at WrestleReunion in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, Zbyszko faced Diamond Dallas Page, with the provision that he would receive five minutes alone in the ring with the sixty-nine year old Bruno Sammartino if he won. Page knocked Zbyszko out with his signature Diamond Cutter, however, then pulled Zbyszko on top of him, thus giving him the win by pinfall. Sammartino then entered the ring and began throttling the still-prone Zbyszko until he was dragged away.
Zbyszko made a full-time return to TNA on June 23, 2004, assisting Ron Killings in his feud with Jeff Jarrett. On July 14, 2004, Killings, Zbyszko, Dusty Rhodes, Konnan and B.G. James defeated Jarrett, Ken Shamrock and "The Elite Guard" (Shawn Hernandez, Chad Collyer and Onyx) in a "ten man guitar on a pole match".
Along with Harley Race and Terry Funk, Zbyszko was appointed to a body known as the Championship Committee. The Committee would watch matches on TNA Impact!, most of which had a ten-minute time limit, and determine a winner in the eventuality of a draw. As on practise few professional wrestling matches end in a draw, the Committee was gradually phased out.
In February 2005, Zbyszko joined Planet Jarrett, Jarrett's dominant heel stable. He disappeared several weeks later.
On June 19, 2005, at TNA Slammiversary 2005, the returning Zbyszko was named Director of Authority, replacing Dusty Rhodes. His first act as DoA was to give Jeff Jarrett's place in the King of the Mountain match later that night to Raven. At TNA Sacrifice 2005 on August 14, Zbyszko responded to Jarrett's request for a shot at the NWA World Heavyweight Championship by informing him that he would receive a title shot if he won his tag team match that night, but would be banned from receiving a title shot for a year if he lost the match. As Jarrett's partner, Rhino, won the match, neither stipulation was applicable.
Zbyszko remained neutral for several months, but in October 2005 he became exasperated with Raven, who continually accused him of robbing the NWA World Heavyweight Championship and refusing to grant him a rematch. At TNA Genesis 2005 on November 13, Zbyszko told Raven to resign from TNA or have his life "made hell". After Raven refused to resign, Zbyszko forced him to wrestle P.J. Polaco. Much to Zbysko's chagrin, Raven defeated Polaco. Nevertheless, Zbyszko continued his personal crusade against Raven, and to that end booked him into a Raven's House of Fun Match, again with an unknown opponent, for the December 3 episode of Impact!. The opponent turned out to be the entire Diamonds in the Rough stable (Simon Diamond, Elix Skipper, and David Young). Despite interference from Cassidy Riley on Raven's behalf, he was pinned and lost the match.
Raven went on to defeat his former tag team partner Chris K. at TNA Turning Point 2005. At TNA Final Resolution 2006 on January 15, 2006, Raven was scheduled to face a mystery opponent, with the stipulation that he would receive a shot at the NWA World Heavyweight Championship if he was victorious, but would be fired if he was defeated. Raven lost to the returning Sean Waltman after Zbyszko, who refereed the match after the original referee was knocked unconscious, distracted Raven so that Waltman could deliver a X Factor and then counted to three despite Raven placing his foot on a ring rope. Following the match, Zbyszko ordered the TNA security to escort Raven from "my arena", then mocked Raven until he was confronted by Jackie Gayda about an undisclosed issue.
At TNA Lockdown 2006 on April 23, 2006, the debuting Christy Hemme handed commentator Mike Tenay an envelope containing a message from "TNA management" stating that Zbyszko had been placed on probation due to his conduct, while Raven had been reinstated. Raven then entered the arena and approached the ring, causing Zbyszko to evade him until he was removed by security guards. At TNA Victory Road 2006 on July 17, 2006, Zbyszko lost to Raven in a hair versus hair match. He would then go on to lose a match to Eric Young at TNA Bound for Glory 2006, he was fired a week later.
Four Territories of the AWA Superstars of Wrestling have broken away from AWA Superstars of Wrestling, however, and joined with Championship Wrestling of Tennessee to create the American Wrestling Affiliates. Brian Logan took his championship reign and belt with him and Zbyszko is once again recognized as the AWA Superstars World Heavyweight Champion as AWA Superstars of Wrestling retroactively refused to recognize the title change. He dropped the title to Ricky Landell on October 11. He has just had his book published, Adventures in Larryland, by ECW press.
In 2009 Full Impact Pro hired Zbyszko as the executive director of the FIP Championship committee.
Zbyszko Competed at the ROH show on January 29 as a part of Wrestle Reunion 4 where he had a match with Scotty 2 Hotty.
In March, 2010 Zbyszko started appearing at live events for the WFX in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Shortly after his debut, he was named the interim commissioner of the promotion, and makes regular appearances. He competed in one match for the promotion thus far, teaming with Jesse Godderz (of Big Brother fame), to compete against Bushwacker Luke and Eugene Dinsmore.
Zbyszko defeated Palmer Canon for the All Out Mayhem Heavyweight Championship on November 20, 2010 in South Portland, Maine.
Category:1953 births Category:American color commentators Category:American judoka Category:American professional wrestlers Category:American sport wrestlers Category:Living people Category:People from Chicago, Illinois Category:People from St. Johns County, Florida Category:Professional wrestling announcers Category:Professional wrestling executives Category:Professional wrestling managers and valets Category:Professional wrestling trainers Category:Sportspeople from Pennsylvania
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| Name | Chris Benoit |
|---|---|
| Names | Chris BenoitPegasus Kid |
| Billed | Edmonton, Alberta, CanadaAtlanta, Georgia |
| Trainer | Stu Hart and a two-time world champion: a one-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion and one-time World Heavyweight Champion (tied for third longest reign in history), with both reigns represented by the Big Gold Belt. Benoit is one of three men to have held the Big Gold Belt in both WCW and WWE, alongside Bill Goldberg and Booker T. |
| Image1 | Cripplercrossface.JPG |
| Image1 cap | Benoit with the Crippler Crossface (Arm trap crossface) on MVP. |
| Image2 | BenoitHbWm23.jpg |
| Image2 cap | Chris Benoit performing a diving headbutt to MVP at WrestleMania 23. |
| Image3 | Chris Benoit and Rikishi - King of the Ring 2000.jpg |
| Image3 cap | Benoit performing a diving headbutt on Rikishi at King of the Ring 2000.}} |
1Benoit's reign with the championship isn't officially recognized by World Wrestling Entertainment. No reign prior to December 1997 is recognized by the promotion.
2Benoit underwent a special recall election in 2008 due to the double murder-suicide of his wife and son. The recall was supported by a majority of 53.6% of voters, but was below the 60% threshold necessary to remove him.
Category:1967 births Category:2007 deaths Category:Canadian expatriate professional wrestling people in the United States Category:Canadian football offensive linemen Category:Canadian immigrants to the United States Category:Canadian murderers Category:Canadian murderers of children Category:Canadian professional wrestlers Category:Canadian Roman Catholics Category:Familicides Category:Franco-Albertan people Category:Murder–suicides Category:Parents who killed their children Category:People from Edmonton Category:Professional wrestlers who committed suicide Category:Sportspeople from Alberta Category:Suicides by hanging in Georgia (U.S. state)
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