Richard (Dick) Morley is known as the "father" of the programmable logic controller (PLC) since he was involved with the production of the first PLC for General Motors, the Modicon, at Bedford and Associates in 1968.^[1] The Modicon brand of PLC is now owned by Schneider Electric. PLC has been recognized as a significant advancement in the practice of automation, and has an important influence on manufacturing industry.

Dick Morley is also a visionary in advanced technological developments. An entrepreneur in high technology companies, he holds more than 20 patents. His MIT-based background in physics provided the needed education for innovation. An inventor, machinist, author, consultant and engineer, his peers have acknowledged his contributions with numerous awards from groups such as Inc. magazine, the Franklin Institute, the Society of Manufacturing Engineers and the Engineering Society of Detroit . He has also been inducted into the Manufacturing Hall of Fame.

The Society of Manufacturing Engineers offers the Richard E. Morley Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award for outstanding technical accomplishments in the manufacturing profession by engineers age 35 and under.^[2]

Mr. Morley works out of his barn in New Hampshire where he and his wife have been home to 40 foster children.

This section is in a list format that may be better presented using prose. You can help by converting this section to prose, if appropriate. Editing help is available. (December 2010)

Other points of interest include:
> Father of Anti-lock Braking System
> Daniel Webster College Lecturer
> Teaching at AMC at Harvard
> Father of the floppy disk
> Machinist (designed early CNC machines)
> CHAOS
> NCMS, Past Chairman of the Board
> Worcester Polytechnic Institute Advisor
> International speaker on technology and innovation
> Writer/contributor for Wired, Control, inTech and Manufacturing Automation magazines
> Writer/author of two storyboards and several books
> Angel investor (100+ companies)
> Founder of Andover Controls and Modicon
> Worked on radar design, personal rapid transit, languages and computer design
> ISA and SME life member

Misc. Achievements and Awards:
2007–2008 SME Manufacturing Enterprise Council Member
2006–2008 NH Judge - Hi Tech Council Product of the Year
2006 Process Automation Hall of Fame (Control magazine)
2005 SME Board of Directors
1996 Automation Hall of Fame Prometheus Award
1995 SME Fellow
1993 Parallel Processor Design — Flavors
1991 Howard N. Potts Medal
1990 Entrepreneur of the Year
1981 Gould Science & Engineering Fellow
Boeing Technical Excellence Award

References[link]

1. ^ "Dick Morley - 'Father of the Programmable Logic Controller' ", The Extension, vol 4 issue 2, March-April 2003
2. ^ http://www.sme.org/cgi-bin/get-press.pl?&&20100019&PR&&SME& 2010 SME Richard E. Morley Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award Recipients Announced

External links[link]

• "The Barn", Dick Morley's website
• Interview with Dick Morley
• The father of invention: Dick Morley looks back on the 40th anniversary of the PLC

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Alex Rizzo (January 12, 1968 – May 16, 2002) was a professional wrestler, best known for his work in Extreme Championship Wrestling as Big Dick Dudley, the eldest of the Dudley Family.

Professional wrestling career[link]

Rizzo began training with Johnny Rodz alongside the likes of Taz, Phil Theis and the Santiago Twins and became one of the first students to graduate from the now infamous school in Brooklyn. He claimed his first professional matches came in late 1986 in Puerto Rico alongside fellow Rodz students and future ECW alumni Rocco Rock and Abdullah the Butcher. He returned to the U.S. after his tour of Puerto Rico and began Wrestling on the East-Coast independent scene under the name of Alexander the Great. While being a monster wrestler with a great physique, Rizzo rarely became the star attraction. Still, he continued honing his skills, until coming to a Philadelphia-based organization, Eastern Championship Wrestling (ECW), in 1994. He entered just as the federation began to take off, breaking away from its National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) ties and becoming Extreme. This allowed Rizzo a chance to shine, and he took it, transforming into Big Dick Dudley, the man from Dudleyville a creation he said was thought up between himself, Taz and Tommy Dreamer.

With his partner, Dudley Dudley, the "brothers" became a strong group in ECW, with their strong-arm antics. Big Dick became known for his powerhouse finisher, the Total Penetration, a double arm chokeslam into a tigerbomb, as well as his dangerous habit of attacking fans at ringside. Soon, the Dudley Family grew, including Buh Buh Ray, D-Von, Snot, Spike, Psycho Sam & Dances With Dudley, creating a very dangerous family. Big Dick, being the eldest as well as the largest, formed the heart of the group, planning out attacks and leading the group. He also had to deal with brotherly problems, including feuds with D-Von and Spike.

Although Big Dick was the leader of the family, he rarely was given title shots, instead content to sit back and direct his brothers in their quests for gold. His aid to Buh Buh Ray and D-Von helped create the great tag team that was the Dudley Boyz, and his giant stature made Spike even more popular in their feud. As some of the Dudley family left, the remaining members, Buh Buh Ray and D-Von, became Tag Team Champions. They soon became top heels in the company. He also carried on an almost year-long feud with Spike, the biggest brother against the smallest, with the fans firmly on the side of the underdog. In 1999, after many disagreements with Paul Heyman over what Rizzo felt was a lack of use of his character he finally left the company. Rizzo went on record after his departure saying that he felt he never got the opportunities he deserved, going as far as saying that he felt that given the chance he could have become the top draw in the company.

After Big Dick left ECW he would spend time in many different organizations over the next couple of years including making his Puerto Rico return for Carlos Colon's WWC becoming a mainstay over the next few years wrestling the likes of a young Carly Colon, Abdullah the Butcher and the infamous Invader I. He had reasonable success in WWA becoming one of the bigger heels in the company but never capturing any titles possibly due to the fact that his tours tended to be reasonably frequent but brief. It was during his time in Puerto Rico that he worked in front of the biggest crowds of his career stating that some of his heel antics caused near riots during events.

In 1999 helped found the semi-popular XPW, known, like ECW, for its hardcore antics. At one point, Big Dick took home the XPW World Heavyweight Championship. He would go on to earn belts in the NWA Jersey faction and the USPW federation. But things soon began to go downhill for the senior member of the Dudleyz. In only two years, Big Dick was involved in four auto accidents, including a serious motorcycle crash that left him with a broken neck. This kept Big Dick on the sidelines of wrestling for over a year.

Personal life[link]

Outside of the ring, Rizzo was good friends with Buh Buh Ray Dudley and Nicole Bass. He also has one daughter, Alexandria, born in 1990 with Donna Adamo and one son, A.J. (Alex Jr.) born in 1997 with a different spouse.

Rizzo also had a reputation of being a legitimate "badass", as tough outside the ring as inside the ring. For example, in a shoot interview with the Dudley Boyz produced by RF Video, Bubba Ray Dudley claims to have seen him beat up five people on his own in a nightclub on Long Island. He was also known to have a "dead" hand, due to nerve damage from putting it through a plate glass window. As a result, he was unable to feel any pain in the hand.

On May 16, 2002, Rizzo was found dead in his apartment due to kidney failure.

In wrestling[link]

• Finishing moves
  • Total Penetration (Chokebomb pin)
  • Dick Driver (Overhead gutwrench backbreaker)

Championships and accomplishments[link]

• Northeastern Wrestling
  • NEW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[1]

• Northern States Wrestling Alliance
  • NSWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[1]

• NWA Jersey
  • NWA Jersey Hardcore Championship (1 time)^[2]
  • NWA Jersey Heavyweight Championship (1 time, first)^[3]

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI ranked him #200 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI 500 in 1998^[4]

• USA Xtreme Wrestling
  • UXW Heavyweight Championship (2 times)^[5]
  • UXW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Sam Dudley ^[5]

• Xtreme Pro Wrestling
  • XPW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

See also[link]

	Biography portal
	Professional wrestling portal

• Big Dick Dudley Memorial Show

References[link]

External links[link]

• "Alex Rizzo". Find a Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6717170. Retrieved August 9, 2010. 

Dick Tiger
File:Dick Tiger.jpg
Statistics
Real name	Richard Ihetu
Rated at	Middleweight
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Reach	71 in (180 cm)
Nationality	Nigerian
Born	(1929-08-14)August 14, 1929 Amaigbo, Nigeria
Died	December 14, 1971(1971-12-14) (aged 42)
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	82
Wins	60
Wins by KO	27
Losses	19
Draws	3

Dick Tiger CBE (born Richard Ihetu August 14, 1929 - December 14, 1971) was a boxer from Ubahu village, Amaigbo, Nigeria, who emigrated to Liverpool and later to the United States of America. Tiger was a member of the Igbo ethnic group.^[1] Tiger was a talented boxer, commercial venturer, and Biafran rebel.

Professional career[link]

Dick Tiger was one of the greatest fighters to come out of Africa. He became a two-time undisputed world middleweight titlist and helped keep boxing alive during the 1950s boxing industry recession. Tiger earned an undisputed Light-Heavyweight world championship. In 1962, Tiger won the world middleweight boxing championship.

On May 20, 1965, Tiger floored Rubin "Hurricane" Carter three times and won a unanimous 10-round decision. Tiger took on Gene Fullmer and won the world's Middleweight title by decision in fifteen. Later in a rematch he drew in fifteen and in the rubber match won by knockout in seven rounds.

Tiger was an "in-house fighter" at New York City's Madison Square Garden.

Retirement and death[link]

After retiring from boxing, Tiger worked as a guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. One day, he felt a strong pain in his back. Tested by doctors, he was diagnosed with liver cancer. Tiger had been banned by the Nigerian government in his country because of his involvement in the Biafran movement; however, the ban was lifted immediately after news about his condition arrived in Nigeria.

He died of liver cancer on December 14, 1971; he was 42 years old.^[2]

Biafran rebel cause[link]

Tiger developed a portfolio of investments before the outbreak of the Nigerian Civil War. Tiger was appointed CBE by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, but he returned his insignia as a protest for what he perceived as a lack of support by Great Britain to the Biafran cause.

Professional boxing record[link]

60 Wins (27 Knockouts), 19 Defeats (2 Knockouts), 3 Draws[3]
Res.	Record	Opponent	Type	Rd., Time	Date	Location	Notes
Loss	60-19-3	Emile Griffith	UD	10	1970-07-15	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Win	60-18-3	Andy Kendall	UD	10	1969-11-14	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Win	59-18-3	Nino Benvenuti	UD	10	1969-05-26	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Win	58-18-3	Frank DePaula	UD	10	1968-10-25	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York	The Ring magazine's "Fight of the Year" (1968)
Loss	57-18-3	Bob Foster	KO	4 (15), 2:05	1968-05-24	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York	Lost The Ring, WBC & WBA World Light Heavyweight titles
Win	57-17-3	Roger Rouse	TKO	12 (15), 0:12	1967-11-17	Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada	Retained The Ring, WBC & WBA World Light Heavyweight titles
Win	56-17-3	José Torres	SD	15	1967-05-16	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York	Retained The Ring, WBC & WBA World Light Heavyweight titles
Win	55-17-3	Abraham Tomica	TKO	5 (10)	1967-02-05	Mile One Park, Port Harcourt
Win	54-17-3	José Torres	UD	15	1966-12-16	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York	Won The Ring, WBC & WBA World Light Heavyweight titles
Loss	53-17-3	Emile Griffith	UD	15	1966-04-25	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York	Lost The Ring, WBC & WBA World Middleweight titles
Win	53-16-3	Peter Mueller	KO	3 (10), 0:57	1966-02-18	Westfalenhalle, Dortmund, Nordrhein-Westfalen
Win	52-16-3	Joey Giardello	UD	15	1965-10-21	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York	Won The Ring, WBC & WBA World Middleweight titles
Win	51-16-3	Rubin Carter	UD	10	1965-05-20	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Win	50-16-3	Juan Carlos Rivero	TKO	6 (10)	1965-03-12	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Loss	49-16-3	Joey Archer	SD	10	1964-10-16	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Win	49-15-3	Don Fullmer	UD	10	1964-09-11	Cleveland Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Win	48-15-3	Jose Monon Gonzalez	TKO	6 (10)	1964-07-31	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Loss	47-15-3	Joey Giardello	PTS	15	1963-12-07	Atlantic City Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey	Lost The Ring, WBC & WBA World Middleweight titles
Win	47-14-3	Gene Fullmer	RTD	7 (15), 3:00	1963-08-10	Liberty Stadium, Ibadan	Retained WBA & Won vacant The Ring, WBC World Middleweight titles
Draw	46-14-3	Gene Fullmer	PTS	15	1963-02-23	Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada	Retained WBA World Middleweight title
Win	46-14-2	Gene Fullmer	UD	15	1962-10-23	Candlestick Park, California, California	Won vacant WBA World Middleweight titles
Win	45-14-2	Henry Hank	UD	10	1962-03-31	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Win	44-14-2	Florentino Fernández	TKO	6 (10)	1962-01-20	Miami Beach, Florida
Win	43-14-2	William Pickett	UD	10	1961-12-16	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Win	42-14-2	Hank Casey	SD	10	1961-05-15	New Orleans, Louisiana
Win	41-14-2	Spider Webb	KO	6 (10), 2:41	1961-04-15	St. Nicholas Arena, New York, New York
Win	40-14-2	Gene Armstrong	TKO	9 (10), 1:21	1961-02-18	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Win	39-14-2	Wilf Greaves	TKO	9 (15), 1:20	1960-11-30	Edmonton Gardens, Edmonton, Alberta	Won Commonwealth (British Empire) Middleweight title
Loss	38-14-2	Wilf Greaves	SD	15	1960-06-22	Edmonton Gardens, Edmonton, Alberta	Lost Commonwealth (British Empire) Middleweight title
Win	38-13-2	Víctor Zalazar	MD	10	1960-04-01	Boston Arena, Boston, Massachusetts
Win	37-13-2	Gene Armstrong	UD	10	1960-02-24	Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois
Win	36-13-2	Holly Mims	MD	10	1959-12-30	Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois
Loss	35-13-2	Joey Giardello	UD	10	1959-11-04	Cleveland Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Win	35-12-2	Joey Giardello	UD	10	1959-09-30	Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois
Win	34-12-2	Gene Armstrong	PTS	10	1959-09-02	Convention Hall, Camden, New Jersey
Loss	33-12-2	Rory Calhoun	SD	10	1959-07-17	War Memorial Auditorium, Syracuse, New York
Draw	33-12-2	Rory Calhoun	PTS	10	1959-06-05	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Win	33-12-1	Randy Sandy	PTS	10	1959-05-12	Empire Pool, Wembley, London
Loss	32-11-1	Randy Sandy	PTS	10	1959-05-12	Liverpool Stadium, Liverpool, Merseyside
Win	32-10-1	Yolande Pompey	PTS	10	1958-10-14	Empire Pool, Wembley, London
Loss	31-10-1	Spider Webb	PTS	10	1958-06-24	Empress Hall, Earl's Court, Kensington, London
Win	31-9-1	Billy Ellaway	KO	2 (8)	1958-05-01	Liverpool Stadium, Liverpool, Merseyside
Win	30-9-1	Pat McAteer	KO	9 (15)	1958-03-27	Liverpool Stadium, Liverpool, Merseyside	Won Commonwealth (British Empire) Middleweight title
Win	29-9-1	Johnny Read	KO	6 (8)	1958-03-27	Harringay Arena, Harringay, London
Win	28-9-1	Jimmy Lynas	KO	7 (8)	1958-02-03	King's Hall, Belle Vue, Manchester
Win	27-9-1	Jean Ruellet	PTS	8	1958-01-13	City Hall, Hull, Yorkshire
Win	26-9-1	Paddy Delargy	KO	6 (10)	1957-11-28	Embassy Sportsdrome, Birmingham, West Midlands
Draw	25-9-1	Pat McAteer	PTS	10	1957-11-11	Maindy Stadium, Cardiff
Win	25-9	Jean Claude Poisson	PTS	10	1957-10-21	Maindy Stadium, Cardiff
Win	24-9	Phil Edwards	PTS	10	1957-09-09	Maindy Stadium, Cardiff
Win	23-9	Alan Dean	PTS	8	1957-07-25	Liverpool Stadium, Liverpool, Merseyside
Loss	22-9	Willie Armstrong	PTS	8	1957-07-15	Engineer's Club, West Hartlepool, County Durham
Win	22-8	Marius Dori	TKO	7 (8)	1957-06-04	Harringay Arena, Harringay, London
Win	21-8	Terry Downes	TKO	5 (8)	1957-05-14	Town Hall, Shoreditch, London
Win	20-8	Johnny Read	TKO	2 (8)	1957-04-29	National Sporting Club, Piccadilly, London
Win	19-8	Alan Dean	PTS	8	1956-11-09	Tower Circus, Blackpool, Lancashire
Loss	18-8	Alan Dean	PTS	6	1956-10-18	Liverpool Stadium, Blackpool, Lancashire
Win	18-7	Jimmy Lynas	PTS	8	1956-07-02	Tower Circus, Blackpool, Lancashire
Win	17-7	Wally Scott	TKO	4 (8)	1956-05-28	Engineer's Club, West Hartlepool, County Durham
Win	16-7	Alan Dean	PTS	8	1956-05-10	Liverpool Stadium, Blackpool, Lancashire
Win	15-7	Dennis Rowley	KO	1 (8)	1956-05-03	Liverpool Stadium, Blackpool, Lancashire
Loss	14-7	George Roe	PTS	8	1956-03-22	Liverpool Stadium, Blackpool, Lancashire
Loss	14-6	Jimmy Lynas	PTS	8	1956-03-01	Tower Circus, Blackpool, Lancashire
Loss	14-5	Gerry McNally	PTS	8	1956-01-27	Tower Circus, Blackpool, Lancashire
Loss	14-4	Alan Dean	PTS	6	1955-12-08	Liverpool Stadium, Blackpool, Lancashire

TV[link]

• Appeared as a guest on an episode of the American television series What's My Line?. The panel correctly guessed his occupation.

See also[link]

• List of WBC world champions

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Makinde, Adeyinka (2005). Dick Tiger: The Life and Times of a Boxing Immortal. Tarentum, PA: Word Association Publishers. ISBN 1-59571-042-6. 

External links[link]

	Book: Dick Tiger
Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print.

• Professional boxing record for Dick Tiger from BoxRec
• Emeagwali, Philip, "DICK TIGER: Photo Essay"
• Makinde, Adeyinka, DICK TIGER WEBPAGES
• YOUNG DICK TIGER, Nephew of Dick Tiger TIGER BOXING GYM in Los Angeles

Don Fullmer (February 21, 1939 – January 28, 2012) was a boxer and a brother of the former world middleweight champion Gene Fullmer. ^[1] Eight years younger than his more famous brother, Don followed Gene into the gym in West Jordan, Utah, to learn how to box. He fought as an amateur for four years and did not lose in sixty-five fights. Another brother, Jay, was also active in boxing.^{[citation needed]}

Don turned professional in 1957 as a middleweight and beat some top contenders during his early career, such as Rocky Fumerelle, Rocky Rivero, and Joe DeNucci. However, he also lost to some good fighters, such as former champions Terry Downes, Dick Tiger, José Torres and Emile Griffith, as well as Joey Archer.^{[citation needed]}

In 1964 he beat Jimmy Ellis, who later went on to win the World Boxing Association version of the heavyweight championship. The win against Ellis began a winning streak for Fullmer and he went on to defeat Griffith and Archer in rematches. This streak ended when he lost to Nino Benvenuti in Rome in 1966. Benvenuti went on to win the middlweight title, and after Fullmer beat Carl "Bobo" Olson he fought a rematch with Benvenuti for the title in 1968. He knocked the Italian down but lost a fifteen-round unanimous decision. While never a recognized world champion, Fullmer did win a bout billed as for the "World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship" when he defeated Joe Hopkins in 1967. This title was the precursor to the current super middleweight championship. Few in the boxing world recognized the legitimacy of that title.^[2]

Fullmer retired from the ring in 1973. In his retirement, he worked for the Salt Lake County Fire Department. Along with his brothers, he ran the Fullmer Brothers boxing gym in West Jordan. The gym provided kids to work out for free.^[3]

Death[link]

Don Fullmer died of leukemia on January 28, 2012, aged 72. He and his wife, Nedra, had five sons.^[1]

References[link]

1. ^ ^{a b} "Boxing legend Don Fullmer dies at age 72". Deseret News (Salt Lake City). January 28, 2012. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700219996/Boxing-legend-Don-Fullmer-dies-at-age-72.html?s_cid=s10. Retrieved January 29, 2012. 
2. ^ Goldman, Herbert (February 2000). "Answerman". Boxing Digest 42 (2): 62. 
3. ^ "Rescue mission begins for Fullmers". Deseret News (Salt Lake City). January 4, 2010. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705355999/Rescue-mission-begins-for-Fullmers.html. Retrieved January 29, 2010. 

External links[link]

• Professional boxing record for Don Fullmer from BoxRec
• Fullmer Brothers Boxing website

Sean Morley
Morley in the trademark towel of his Val Venis character
Ring name(s)	The Big Valbowski[1][2] Chief Morley[1] Glamour Boy Sean[1] Scott Borders[1][2] Sean Austin[1] Sean Morgan[1] Sean Morley[1][2] Señor Penis[1] Steel[1][2] Val Venis[1][3] The Canadian Combatant[4] Too Hip[1]
Billed height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)[3]
Billed weight	240 lb (110 kg)[3]
Born	(1971-03-06) March 6, 1971 (age 41)[1][2] [5] Oakville, Ontario[2]
Resides	Phoenix, Arizona[1]
Billed from	Las Vegas, Nevada[5]
Trained by	The Missing Link[1][5] Jason Robertson[1][5] Dory Funk, Jr.[1][5] Tom Prichard[1][5]
Debut	1995[2][5]

Sean Allen Morley^[1] (born March 6, 1971)^[2][5] is a Canadian professional wrestler^[2][5] better known by his ring name Val Venis, during his time with World Wrestling Federation, later known as World Wrestling Entertainment. He has also worked for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.

During his career in WWF/E, Morley held the Intercontinental Championship twice,^[6] the European Championship once,^[7] and the World Tag Team Championship once with Lance Storm.^[8] In Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre, he is a one time World Heavyweight Champion.^[9]

Professional wrestling career[link]

Training and early career[link]

He began his wrestling training in the early 1990s under the tutelage of Jason and Dewey "The Missing Link" Robertson and debuted on the Canadian independent circuit before making his way to the international circuit, finding work with All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) in Japan, Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) in Mexico, and World Wrestling Council (WWC) in Puerto Rico where he was one half of a tag team known as the Canadian Glamour Boys with Shane Sewell.^[5] In Japan, he was known as Sean Morgan as the name Morley was difficult to pronounce due to the lack of phonetic differences between the L and R in Japanese. In Mexico, he adopted a robot-like mask and gimmick, changed his name to Steele, and won the CMLL World Heavyweight Championship.^[9]

Morley also toured the UK in the mid 1990s.

World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment (1998–2009)[link]

Debut; European and Intercontinental Champion (1998–2000)[link]

Morley was signed to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1998 and given the gimmick of a porn star named Val Venis. The character was introduced with a series of vignettes that showcased Venis' life style on and off the set, the most notable of these featuring Venis in bed with prominent real-life porn star Jenna Jameson.^[5]

He debuted on the May 18, 1998 edition of Raw is War, defeating Scorpio.^[3][5][10] Almost immediately, he was involved in an angle with the Kaientai stable, involving him having an affair with Yamaguchi-San's kayfabe wife, Shian-Li Tsang. As a result, the members of Kaientai had a series of unsuccessful matches against him.^[3][5] Venis made his pay-per-view debut at Fully Loaded: In Your House, defeating Jeff Jarrett.^[5][11] On the August 3 edition of Raw is War, his tag team partner Taka Michinoku would eventually betray him, which led to him and Kaientai tying Venis up backstage where Yamaguchi-San attempted to castrate him with a sword.^[12] The next week, however, he reported that he was saved by "a little shrinkage" and help from his friend, John Wayne Bobbitt.^[13] He then challenged the four Japanese wrestlers to a match, which they accepted under the conditions that it must be a gauntlet match, meaning that Venis would have to fight all four of them individually in one match. The match ended with Michinoku executing the Michinoku Driver on Venis and getting the three-count, ending his undefeated streak.^[5][10] The feud ended a week later, after Venis fought Michinoku to a no contest.^[5][10]

Morley at King of the Ring with Trish Stratus.

After feuding with Kaientai, Venis got his first title shot in the WWF at SummerSlam 1998 against European Champion D'Lo Brown for his championship. Venis was disqualified and as a result, Brown retained the title.^[5][14] Venis got involved in a storyline where he slept with other people's wives. He started a feud with Dustin Runnels, on the September 14 edition of Raw is War when Venis showed Runnels his new porn movie, featuring Venis in bed with Dustin's wife, Terri Runnels. She then became his on-screen girlfriend.^[15] This culminated in a match at Breakdown: In Your House, which Venis won.^[5][16] On the October 12 edition of Raw is War, Venis participated in a tournament for the Intercontinental Championship, defeating Marc Mero in the first round before losing in the semifinals to Ken Shamrock.^[5] On the same night, Runnels returned to his Goldust gimmick.^[17] Venis continued his feud with Goldust, with Goldust gaining a victory at Judgment Day: In Your House.^[5][18] The two faced each other again at Capital Carnage, and Val went on to win the match, to end the feud.^[5][19] When Terri said she was pregnant, Val dumped her.^[20]

At the end of the year, he formed a short lived tag team with The Godfather, unofficially dubbed "Supply and Demand".^[5] They began teaming on the December 7 edition of Raw is War against The Acolytes.^[5][10] Their team only lasted a week, including a match against Mark Henry and D'Lo Brown at Rock Bottom: In Your House,^[5][21] and a match against the Brood.^[5][10] On the February 1, 1999 edition of Raw is War, he started a feud with Intercontinental Champion Ken Shamrock after Venis made a film starring him and Shamrock's kayfabe sister Ryan called Shaving Ryan's Privates.^[3][5] At St. Valentine's Day Massacre: In Your House, Venis defeated Shamrock with the help of special guest referee Billy Gunn to win the Intercontinental Championship.^{[3][5][22][23]} The next night on Raw is War, Venis defended the title against Gunn and retained the title.^[24]

A few days later, he broke up with Ryan and eventually lost the Intercontinental Title to Road Dogg after only a one month reign as champion.^[3][5][24] Venis began a feud with Road Dogg and made his WrestleMania debut at WrestleMania XV, where he challenged for the Intercontinental title in a Four Corners Elimination match which also included Ken Shamrock and Goldust. Venis failed to win the match.^[5][25] Throughout the rest of the year, he found himself having "woman troubles" with Nicole Bass,^[26] Chyna,^[27] and Debra.^[28][29] Venis reunited with the Godfather and they began challenging for the Tag Team titles. On the July 12 edition of Raw is War, they faced the Hardy Boyz for the titles, but the Hardy Boyz retained the titles by getting disqualified.^[5][24] Venis and the Godfather started a feud with Droz and Albert. The next week on Raw is War, Venis and Godfather, Droz and Albert, and the Acolytes challenged the Hardys to a fatal four way elimination tag team match for the titles, where the Hardys went on to retain the titles.^[5][24]

He started a feud with Steve Blackman and defeated him at Unforgiven.^[5][30] His next feud was with Mark Henry, whom he beat at Rebellion.^[31] He engaged in feuds with several main eventers including The Rock,^[5][32] Mankind,^[5][32][33] and Steve Austin.^[5][32] In late 1999, Venis started a feud with European Champion The British Bulldog over the title. At Survivor Series, Venis teamed up with Mark Henry, Gangrel, and Steve Blackman to face the British Bulldog and the Mean Street Posse with his team winning the match.^[5][34] At Armageddon (1999), Venis pinned the British Bulldog in a triple threat match with D-Lo Brown to win the WWF European Championship.^{[3][5][35][36]}

On the February 10, 2000 episode of SmackDown!, he dropped the European Title to Kurt Angle, ending his two month reign.^[5][37] Around this time, Morley largely disappeared from WWF television programming until mid-May, due to a legitimate neck injury which limited his mobility.^[38] At King of the Ring, he participated in the King of the Ring tournament where he was defeated by Rikishi in the semi-finals.^[39] This culminated in a feud between Venis and Rikishi which led to Venis turning heel by aligning himself with Trish Stratus. With Stratus as his manager, and a new look - including a haircut, white boots and trunks - and the near total disposal of the porn star gimmick, he defeated Rikishi to win his second Intercontinental Championship,^{[3][5][37][40]} and aligned himself with Test and Albert.

They continued their rivalry as Venis defended the title in a rematch at Fully Loaded. During the match, Venis was put over by taking a splash from Rikishi from the top of a 15-foot high steel cage and still going on to defeat Rikishi later in the match to retain the title.^[40][41] Val's manager, Stratus, inadvertently lost Venis' Intercontinental title to Chyna in a mixed tag team match involving the pair against the team of Chyna and Eddie Guerrero at SummerSlam 2000.^[5][42]

Right to Censor (2000–2001)[link]

Shortly after, Venis underwent a complete change in persona and became a member of the Right to Censor (RTC) stable.^[5][43] Venis joined RTC after being kayfabe abducted by Bull Buchanan and The Goodfather.^[43] He became a censorship-based character, directly contrasting with his previously provocative on-screen character. Of this change, Morley said in an interview that "the porn star gimmick and storylines kind of overshadowed my work," and that he wanted a more serious persona to better highlight his in-ring abilities and move towards being one of the WWF's top heels.^[38] Right To Censor feuded with the Acolytes and the Dudley Boyz, culminating in an eight-man tag team match at Unforgiven 2000, which RTC won.^[44] At No Mercy, Venis teamed up with Steven Richards to face Chyna and Mr. Ass. After interference from Eddie Guerrero, RTC picked up the win.^[45] Venis started a feud with Chyna, culminating in a match at Armageddon which Venis won.^[46]

At WrestleMania X-Seven, RTC faced Tazz and the APA in a six man tag match which RTC lost.^[43][47] The next night on Raw is War, he faced the champion Kane for the Hardcore Championship but lost the match.^[5][48] Venis stayed in RTC until they disbanded right before the Invasion storyline, feuding with Chyna and "The One" Billy Gunn during his tenure with the group. When RTC broke up and the Invasion began, Venis disappeared from WWF television while recovering from surgery on his hip to remove bone spurs from his motorcycle racing days. After recovering, he was kept off television along with several other wrestlers, for whom WWE bookers could not come up with any storylines.

The Big Valbowski (2002)[link]

Venis returned to action back in his old gimmick, at the 2002 Royal Rumble, where he entered at #20 in the Royal Rumble match but was shortly after eliminated by Stone Cold.^[5][49] On Raw he had two very short feuds with Stone Cold Steve Austin and Mr. Perfect before being drafted to SmackDown! during the brand extension.

On SmackDown!, he began calling himself "The Big Valbowski" and he aligned himself with babyfaces Edge,^[5] Randy Orton,^[5] Billy Kidman,^[5] and Hardcore Holly^[5] and feuded with Chris Jericho, Deacon Batista, and Reverend D-Von. He was soon sidelined, however, after a legitimate injury caused by gym equipment falling on him at a gym in Canada during late July 2002. After his accident, he was removed from television until doctors cleared him to return to in-ring action.^[5]

He returned to working SmackDown! dark matches in September 2002 and made one last televised appearance as Venis on October 26, 2002 at Rebellion, where he returned to team with Chuck Palumbo in a losing effort against Reverend D-Von and Ron Simmons.^[5]

Chief of Staff (2002–2003)[link]

Lance Storm (left) and Morley (right) were Tag Team Champions for one week.

He returned to television on the November 18 edition on Raw under his real name, Sean Morley. He was appointed "Chief of Staff" by Raw General Manager, Eric Bischoff, turning heel once again by acting as Bischoff's assistant and going by Chief Morley.^[5][50] Morley began a feud with the Dudley Boyz in March 2003. On the March 24, 2003 edition of Raw, he officially became one half of the World Tag Team Champions with Lance Storm after Storm's partner, William Regal, was sidelined with an illness.^[5][51][52] Storm and Morley successfully defended the World Tag Team Titles on an edition of Heat prior to WrestleMania XIX against Rob Van Dam and Kane with help from the Dudley Boyz,^[5][53] only to lose them to Kane and RVD the next night.^[5][54]

Mid-card status (2003–2009)[link]

Morley was "fired" from his assistant job by Bischoff after he lost a match to Jerry "The King" Lawler in which Jim Ross' job was on the line.^[5][55] He was quickly "rehired" by co-General Manager, Stone Cold Steve Austin. After returning as Val Venis, he participated in a battle royal at Judgment Day 2003 for the vacant Intercontinental Championship, won by Christian.^[5][56] Throughout mid-2003, 2004, and the first half of 2005, Venis became a face again, but did not get much in the way of a push. Venis began wrestling as a mid-carder on Heat and on an edition of Heat, he faced Intercontinental Champion Christian in a match for the Intercontinental Title, which Christian won.^[5][57] He reformed his previous tag team with Lance Storm as faces, but the partnership faded and Venis became utilized mainly as a "jobber to the stars".^[5]

In the summer of 2005 he formed another team, V-Squared, with Viscera.^[5] While wrestling on Heat, they squashed a number of other tag teams including the World Tag Team Champions Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch in a non-title match.^[5][58] On the December 5 edition of Raw, V-Squared participated in a fatal four way match for the World Tag Team Championship, including the champions Big Show and Kane, The Heart Throbs, and Snitsky and Tyson Tomko but were defeated.^[5][59] Venis and Viscera continued to team in 2006, getting another shot at Big Show and Kane's titles, while occasionally having solo matches.^[5][60] In March 2006, Venis suffered a kayfabe injury at the hands of the Spirit Squad which allowed him to take time off for legitimate elbow surgery, during which about a dozen more bone spurs were removed, six others were shaved down, and a nerve was transplanted.^[5][61]

Daivari wrestling with Venis.

While he was out, Viscera began teaming with Charlie Haas, leaving Venis to team with Snitsky upon his return in a team that didn't last long.^[5] Venis began a feud with Eugene on Heat when Eugene interrupted and attacked him during a "Kiss Cam" segment on December 4.^[5][62] On the following edition of Heat, Venis and Eugene had a match which Eugene won.^[5][63] On the December 18 edition of Raw, Val participated in a #1 contender's battle royal, won by Edge.^[5][64] In February 2007, Venis was given a video program entitled Sex University on WWE.com, which lasted until April when it and its archives were removed from the site. On the March 19, 2007 edition of Raw, he participated in a Money in the Bank qualifying battle royal, won by Edge.^[5][65]

In late 2007, he began a feud with Santino Marella. During the feud, Marella gave Venis a sneak attack, causing him an injury.^[5][66] The two had a match on the October 15 edition of Raw, which Marella won.^[5][67] On the February 18, 2008 edition of Raw, he lost to Mr. Kennedy in a Money in the Bank qualifying match.^[5][68] On the March 25 edition of ECW on Sci Fi, he participated in a twelve-on-twelve tag team match involving all the participants of the battle royal.^[5][69] At WrestleMania XXIV, he participated in a pre-show number one contender's battle royal, with the winner facing ECW World Heavyweight Champion Chavo Guerrero later that night. Kane went on to win the battle royal. Morley spent the rest of 2008 out of action due to an injury.^[5][70] On January 9, 2009, Morley was released from his WWE contract after over a decade of working for the company.^[71] Morley toured in Japan with NJPW, losing to Hiroshi Tanahashi on March 22, 2009, and with Hulk Hogan's Hulkamania tour of the world which started in Melbourne, Australia.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2010)[link]

On the January 4, 2010, live, three-hour, Monday night edition of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's Impact! television show Morley made his debut for the company in a backstage segment with the Beautiful People.^[72] On the January 14 edition of Impact! Morley had another segment, complete with revamped theme music, where he explained that he was no longer an adult film star, but rather an adult film producer. This led to Daniels coming to the ring and attacking him, setting up a match at the Genesis pay-per-view.^[73] At the pay-per-view Morley defeated Daniels in his first match for the company with his patented Money Shot.^[74] On the January 28 edition of Impact! Morley suffered his first loss in TNA, losing to Desmond Wolfe in an 8 Card Stud Tournament qualifying match.^[75] On the March 4, 2010 edition of Impact!, Morley pinned Jeff Jarrett in an impromptu Falls Count Anywhere match by order of Eric Bischoff, turning heel for the first time in TNA.^[76] However, the next day Morley announced on his Facebook page that largely due to the move of Impact! to Monday nights, his original plan to wrestle for both TNA and CMLL had to change and therefore he was done with TNA.

Personal life[link]

Sean speaks social Spanish, which he learned during the time he spent in Mexican Lucha libre promotions.^[77] Sean and his wife have two daughters, Celina Rose and Jordan Maree.^{[citation needed]} Sean's sister, Alanah Morley, married Adam "Edge" Copeland on November 8, 2001.^[78] Alanah and Copeland divorced on March 10, 2004.^[79]

In wrestling[link]

Morley executing an elbow drop

Venis during the Hulkamania Tour in November 2009.

• Finishing moves
  • Big Package^[80] (Bridging cradle suplex)^[1][5] – 1998–2000; used as a regular move from 2002–present
  • Money Shot (WWE)^[3] / Diving splash with theatrics (TNA)^[81]
  • Venis Flytrap (Reverse figure four leglock)^[5][80]

• Signature moves
  • Half nelson slam^[5]
  • High knee^[5]
  • Knee drop^[5]
  • Mounted punches^[5]
  • Piledriver^[5]
  • Russian legsweep^[5][82]
  • Spinning spinebuster^[5]
  • Spin-out powerbomb^[1][5]

• With Lance Storm
  • Hart Attack^[83]

• Nicknames
  • "The Big Valbowski" (WWE/TNA)
  • "Your Feature Presentation" (TNA)

• Managers
  • Mrs. Yamaguchi-San
  • Terri Runnels
  • Nicole Bass^[84]
  • Ryan Shamrock^[84]
  • Trish Stratus^[84]

• Entrance themes
  • "Hello Ladies" by Jim Johnston
  • "Chief Morley Theme" by Jim Johnston (composer)
  • "Cool Dude (Remix)" by Dale Oliver (TNA)

Championships and accomplishments[link]

• Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre
  • CMLL World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[9]
  • International Gran Prix (1997)^[85]

• Elite Xtreme Wrestling
  • EXW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Dexter Verity^[86]

• Heartland Wrestling Association
  • HWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Steve Bradley^[87]

• International Wrestling Association
  • IWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ricky Santana^[88]

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI ranked him #25 in the top 500 singles wrestlers during the PWI 500 in 1999^[89]

• World Wrestling Council
  • WWC Television Championship (1 times)^[90]
  • WWC World Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Glamour Boy Shane (2) and Rex King (1)^[91]

• World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment
  • World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Lance Storm^[8]
  • WWF European Championship (1 time)^[7]
  • WWF Intercontinental Championship (2 times)^[23][40]

References[link]

External links[link]

Professional wrestling portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sean Morley

• Sean Morley's political views blog and website
• Val Venis in Online World of Wrestling