Konnan
Ring name(s)	Conan the Barbarian[1] El Centurión[1] K-Dogg Konan Konnan[2] Konnan el Barbaro[1] El Relámpago[1] Max Moon[1][2] The Latin Fury[1]
Billed height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[3]
Billed weight	250 lb (110 kg)[3]
Born	(1964-01-06) January 6, 1964 (age 48)[4] Santiago de Cuba, Cuba[1]
Resides	Chula Vista, California
Billed from	Mexico City, Mexico[2][3]
Trained by	Super Astro[1][2] Negro Casas[1][2] Eddie Guerrero[1] Rey Misterio, Sr.[1][2]
Debut	January 6, 1987[2]

Carlos Santiago Espada Moises^[4] (born January 6, 1964),^[4] also known as Charles Ashenoff and better known by his ring name, Konnan, is a Cuban professional wrestler and rapper.^[2][5] Konnan is well known in Mexico due to his appearances on Mexican television, particularly with the Asistencia Asesoría y Administración, and has in the past been described as "the Mexican Hulk Hogan", reflecting his mainstream popularity.^[6]

After serving in the United States Navy, Ashenoff began his professional wrestling career in Mexico, wrestling in both Empresa Mexicana de la Lucha Libre and Asistencia Asesoría y Administración. In the latter, he also acted as a booker and the first AAA Americas Heavyweight Champion. From 1992 to 1993, he worked in the World Wrestling Federation as Max Moon, and in 1996, he began working full time for World Championship Wrestling (WCW). In WCW, he helped bring in other Mexican wrestlers to the promotion, as well as being a member of the Filthy Animals alliance. In 2002, he joined Total Nonstop Action Wrestling where he was a part of two major alliances: 3Live Kru and The Latin American Xchange. He left the company in 2007 after filing a lawsuit against it, which was eventually resolved.

Early life[link]

Born in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, Konnan's family relocated to the United States while he was a child. He had a troubled childhood in Miami, Florida, during which he was expelled from several schools before graduating from Southwest Miami Senior High School in 1982. Ashenoff served time in prison after joining a street gang.^[1][7] After his incarceration was over, Ashenoff fled Miami due to conflicts with other drug dealers. He was given a choice of either going to jail or entering the Military. He decided to join the United States Navy and served for four years.^[7][8] While in the Navy, he trained as a boxer, becoming the Californian Middleweight Amateur Boxing Champion in 1982 and 1983.^[7] He also represented the United States in fights around the world.^[7]

Professional wrestling career[link]

During his residence in San Diego, Ashenoff became a bodybuilder^[8] then later a wrestler, following a meeting with wrestling promoter John Roberts.^[7] Comparing the masked and caped wrestlers he met to "superheroes", Ashenoff was impressed by the colorful Mexican wrestling culture. He subsequently traveled to Tijuana, Mexico where, alongside Psicosis, Rey Mysterio, Jr., Halloween and Damián 666, he trained under the tutelage of various veteran luchadores.^[2] Wearing a mask and billed as El Centurión ("The Centurion"), Ashenoff debuted for the Universal Wrestling Association (UWA).^[7] He competed in an eight man tag team match for the sum of $200 MXP ($19.13 USD / €16.03 EUR).^[5][9]

Feeling that he was being held back, Ashenoff departed the UWA for Empresa Mexicana de la Lucha Libre (EMLL), where he was pushed into the main event. In the EMLL, Ashenoff adopted the ring name Konnan El Barbaro ("The Barbarian"). He lost his mask to Perro Aguayo in a Lucha de Apuesta, mask versus hair match.^[7] After the match, a young boy—introduced as Konnan's brother—entered the ring crying and handed Konnan his mask back, generating considerable bonhomie towards Konnan from the sympathetic crowd (in lucha libre, losing one's mask can be a major, career shaping event). Konnan went on to become the first ever CMLL World Heavyweight Champion by winning a tournament in Mexico City on June 9, 1991. He, however, lost the title to Cien Caras in his first title defense on August 18, 1991.

Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (1992–1996)[link]

In 1992, Konnan, along with several other EMLL wrestlers, joined Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA).^[7] Shortening his ring name to simply "Konnan", he feuded with Cien Caras.^[10] Following interference from Jake Roberts, Konnan lost a two out of three falls retirement match by count-out to Caras at TripleMania I on April 30, 1993 in front of 48,000 fans in Mexico City, setting the all-time attendance record for a Mexican wrestling event.^[7][11] Konnan did not comply with the stipulations of the match and returned to defeat Roberts in a hair versus hair match at TripleMania II on May 27, 1994 in Tijuana.^[7]

Later in 1994, Konnan began a storyline where he betrayed his tag team partner, Perro Aguayo, and formed a villainous alliance known as Los Gringos Locos with Eddie Guerrero, Art Barr and Madonna's Boyfriend.^[7] Aguayo gained his revenge on Konnan by defeating him in the only, AAA pay-per-view, "When Worlds Collide", in a steel cage match.^[7] He eventually became the AAA booker.^[12] Konnan defeated Killer on February 2, 1996 in Querétaro to become the first ever AAA Heavyweight Champion.^[13] He vacated the title after leaving AAA in October 1996 to form his own promotion, Promo Azteca, and the title remained inactive until 2004. Konnan's Mexican wrestling career was hampered in the late-1990s by his American wrestling commitments, and Promo Azteca closed in 1998. He made a return to the Mexican wrestling circuit in the 2000s after a six year absence, selling-out arenas in Mexico City and Guadalajara.^[14]

World Wrestling Federation (1992–1993)[link]

After he was approached by talent scout Pat Patterson, Konnan spent eight months in the American World Wrestling Federation as Max Moon in 1992. The Moon character, created by Konnan,^[15] was that of a cyborg who wore an outfit (purchased by the WWF at the cost of $1,300) bedecked with circuitry and a pyrotechnic gun during his approach to the ring. Konnan was given many ring names, including his own name, the Comet Kid, Maximillion Moon, El Electrico, and eventually Max Moon. His character hailed from "The Future" or "Outer Space", his entrance music was a techno song, and his finishing move was the flying bodypress (a somersault onto his opponent with them on his shoulders). His attire was blue leather, silver foam tubing and a mask. On his way to the ring, he shot sparkles into the crowd.

Debuting in the WWF on September 1, 1992 in Hershey, Pennsylvania under the name the Comet Kid, he pinned Duane Gill. After three televised matches, Konnan left the WWF following a disagreement with WWF owner Vince McMahon. Konnan believed that he was being discriminated against and resented McMahon's refusal to give him a guaranteed contract. The Max Moon gimmick was subsequently given to Paul Diamond, before being abandoned.^[16]

Extreme Championship Wrestling (1995)[link]

Konnan once again attempted to expand his activities out of Mexico in the mid-1990s. After meeting Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) booker Paul Heyman while on a wrestling tour of Singapore, Konnan joined ECW in 1995 and feuded with The Sandman. He appeared at ECW November to Remember on November 18, 1995, squashing Jason Knight.^[7] He also wrestled at an event co-promoted by ECW and the AAA in Chicago, Illinois.^[10]

World Championship Wrestling (1990–2001)[link]

Konnan's first appearance with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was at Starrcade on December 16, 1990.^[17] Teaming with his trainer and mentor, Rey Mysterio, Sr., Konnan entered the Pat O'Connor Memorial International Cup Tag Team Tournament, and they defeated Norman Smiley and Chris Adams in the quarter-finals, but lost to eventual winners, the Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott) in the semi-finals.^[17]

United States Heavyweight Championship; Dungeon of Doom (1996–1997)[link]

Feeling that he had accomplished all that he could in Mexico and desiring to expand his popularity north of the border, Konnan returned to WCW on a full-time basis on the January 22, 1996 edition of Nitro. Promising, at the state of the show in an interruptful promo at the announcement table, to defend his "Mexican Heavyweight Championship" against Psicosis the next week.^[16] As a WCW employee, he was largely responsible for the hiring of several prominent Mexican wrestlers by WCW, including Rey Mysterio, Jr., Psicosis, Juventud Guerrera and La Parka.^[7] Konnan defeated The One Man Gang for the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship on January 29, 1996.^[7] During his reign, he continued to defend his IWAS and AAA Heavyweight Championships in Mexico (these championships were billed as a "Mexican Heavyweight Title" wherever Konnan wore one or the other to a WCW ring). He lost the United States Title to Ric Flair on July 7, 1996 at Bash at the Beach following interference from Flair's valets, Miss Elizabeth and Woman.^[7][18] Several months after losing the United States Championship, Konnan became a villain and joined the Dungeon of Doom.

nWo (1997–1999)[link]

Konnan as a member of the nWo Wolfpac with a fan.

Konnan joined the New World Order (nWo) on July 14, 1997. During his first stint in the nWo, Konnan feuded with the Luchadores whom he had brought to WCW. During this storyline, he wrestled in a Mexican Death match at Road Wild against Rey Mysterio, Jr. and a match against Juventud Guerrera at Uncensored in March 1998. When the nWo divided into two rival factions on the May 4, 1998 episode of Nitro, Konnan sided with the nWo Wolfpac, led by Kevin Nash.^[7] The Wolfpac feuded with nWo Hollywood, led by Hollywood Hogan and became tweeners. Konnan developed an increasingly hip-hop based gimmick and was nicknamed K-Dawg. On the November 30, 1998 episode of Nitro, Konnan defeated Chris Jericho for the WCW World Television Championship.^[7] His reign lasted until December 28, 1998, when he lost to nWo Hollywood member Scott Steiner on Nitro following interference from Buff Bagwell.^[19] When the two halves of the nWo reunited in January 1999, Konnan was thrown out of the nWo for standing up for Rey Misterio, Jr and was attacked by Lex Luger. As a result, he became a fan favorite and teamed with Misterio to fight the nWo. After feuding with nWo member Lex Luger, Konnan and Mysterio, Jr. were defeated by The Outsiders at SuperBrawl IX, with The Outsiders removing Mysterio's mask in the process. Konnan later criticized WCW for not respecting Mexican wrestling culture by writing storylines that saw several Mexican wrestlers unceremoniously unmasked (Juventud Guerrera, Psicosis, and Mysterio unmasked in WCW). He compared asking a luchadore to remove their mask to "going to Japan and telling the Japanese they have to eat with a fork instead of chopsticks".^[20]

No Limit Soldiers; Filthy Animals (1999–2001)[link]

Konnan spent several months feuding with Disco Inferno,^[7] and then he began a rivalry with Stevie Ray. He and Mysterio formed an alliance with Master P and his No Limit Soldiers and fought with the West Texas Rednecks. After Master P left WCW, Konnan formed a stable known as the Filthy Animals. He and Mysterio, representing the Filthy Animals, defeated Harlem Heat (Booker T and Stevie Ray) for the WCW World Tag Team Championship on October 18, 1999.^[7] They were scheduled to defend the titles against Harlem Heat in the MGM Grand Garden Arena on October 24, 1999 at Halloween Havoc, but on the night of the event Misterio was announced as being injured.^[7] The title was then contested in a three way tag match pitting Konnan and Billy Kidman, representing the Filthy Animals, against Harlem Heat and the First Family (Hugh Morrus and Brian Knobbs). Harlem Heat regained the title after Stevie Ray pinned Morrus. Konnan and Kidman defeated Harlem Heat for the title the next night on Nitro,^[7] but lost to Creative Control (Patrick and Gerald) on November 22, 1999.^[21]

Konnan was inactive throughout early 2000, as he was suspended for three months by Bill Busch after requesting his release from WCW, unhappy with the way he was being used.^[16] Shortly after returning from suspension and reforming the Filthy Animals, Konnan was sidelined once again, this time with a legitimately torn triceps muscle,^[7] damaged when Van Hammer threw Juventud Guerrera at him during a match and Guerrera's elbow connected with Konnan's upper arm as he attempted to catch him.^[10] Throughout 2000, the Filthy Animals feuded with other stables, including the Misfits In Action, the Natural Born Thrillers and Team Canada.^[7] At Greed on March 18, 2001, Lance Storm and Mike Awesome (representing Team Canada) defeated Hugh Morrus and Konnan in one of his last appearances with the promotion before it was sold to the WWF in March 2001.

Following the sale of WCW, Konnan toured Australia and Europe throughout 2001 with the newly formed World Wrestling All-Stars promotion.^[7] In addition to wrestling, Konnan acted as a color commentator. He also studied criminology during a period in which he briefly considered working alongside his father as a private investigator.^[22]

Konnan also worked in Puerto Rico's World Wrestling Council as a friend of the Colón Family until he turned heel. A very intense event happened in Humacao, Puerto Rico when Konnan blasted Carlos Colon's daughter Stacy Colón with a guitar that started a riot with the fans inside and outside the arena.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2002–2007)[link]

Konnan appeared on the inaugural Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) pay-per-view on June 19, 2002 in the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Alabama. He entered the Gauntlet for the Gold match for the vacant NWA World Heavyweight Championship,^[7] but he was chokeslammed and subsequently eliminated by Malice. He returned to TNA on February 12, 2003 and formed a villainous alliance, the Authentic Luchadores, with fellow Latino wrestlers Juventud Guerrera, Super Crazy and the Spanish Announce Team.^[7] The stable feuded with Jerry Lynn until April 2, 2003, when Lynn claimed that he had been heavily influenced by lucha libre and that he respected his Mexican opponents, thus earning the friendship of Konnan.^[2]

The 3Live Kru[link]

In May and June 2003, Konnan began teaming with B.G. James and Ron Killings, and in July 2003 the trio formed a heroic alliance known as the 3Live Kru. The Kru first wrestled as a unit on August 13, 2003, defeating The New Church (Sinn, Vampire Warrior and Devon Storm). On November 26, the Kru defeated Simon Diamond, Johnny Swinger and Glenn Gilberti in a six man tag team match with the vacant NWA World Tag Team Championships on the line. The championship was held by all three members of the Kru,^[7] until January 28, 2004, when they were defeated by Kevin Northcutt and Legend in Nashville.^[23] After several abortive attempts to regain the tag title, the Kru began supporting Ron Killings's bid to become NWA World Heavyweight Champion. The Kru later feuded with Jarrett's mercenaries, The Elite Guard (Chad Collyer, Hotstuff Hernandez and Onyx). On July 14, 2004, the 3Live Kru, Dusty Rhodes and Larry Zbyszko defeated Jarrett, Ken Shamrock and the Elite Guard in a ten man tag team match. The Kru began feuding with Team Canada in August 2004, and at the inaugural three hour TNA pay-per-view, Victory Road on November 7, 2004, Konnan and James defeated Team Canada members Bobby Roode and "Showtime" Eric Young for the NWA World Tag Team Championship. Their reign lasted one month, with Team Canada regaining the title on December 5, 2004 at Turning Point with the help of the injured Johnny Devine.^[23]

Throughout early-2005, the Kru feuded with Michael Shane and Kazarian, Team Canada and The Naturals. Dissension arose after James's former tag team partner from the WWF, Billy Gunn, joined TNA as "The New Age Outlaw" and began trying to convince James to reform their highly successful tag team, the New Age Outlaws.^[7] Konnan and Killings feuded with The Outlaw and "The Alpha Male" Monty Brown, with James's loyalties divided. Brown and The Outlaw, who had by now renamed himself "Kip James", defeated Konnan and Killings at No Surrender on July 17, 2005, with James declining to help either team. Konnan and Killings became increasingly frustrated, at one point referring to themselves as the "2Live Kru". The two teams faced one another in a No Surrender rematch on August 14, 2005 at Sacrifice, with James appointed guest referee by Director of Authority Larry Zbyszko, and James reaffirmed his loyalty to the Kru by attacking Kip, enabling Konnan to pin him and win the match. The Kru, apparently undivided, celebrated together following the match.^[2]

Over the following weeks, Kip James began assisting the 3Live Kru, and on October 23, 2005 at Bound for Glory, he saved Konnan from a beating at the hands of Team Canada. On the November 26 episode of Impact!, B.G. James brought Kip James and the 3Live Kru to ringside, then asked Killings and Konnan whether James could join the stable. Following a heated argument between the still skeptical Konnan and B.G., both Killings and Konnan gave their assent, and the "'4Live Kru" was born. At Turning Point the 4Live Kru faced Team Canada in an eight man tag match.^[7] In the course of the match, Konnan attacked both B.G. and Kip James.^[7]

The Latin American Xchange[link]

On the December 31, 2005, episode of Impact!, Konnan told B.G.'s father, Bob Armstrong, that he was a "hothead" and invited Armstrong to accompany him backstage for an apology. Instead of apologizing, Konnan turned heel by leading Armstrong into an ambush at the hands of Apolo and the debuting Homicide.^[7] The trio, later identified as The Latin American Xchange (LAX),^[7] then instructed an unconscious Armstrong to tell B.G. and Kip to "take care of their own business". At Final Resolution on January 15, 2006, Konnan and Homicide defeated The Naturals. After Apolo was released by TNA, he was replaced by Machete, who was in turn evicted from LAX by Konnan and Homicide. In subsequent weeks, Konnan began feuding with Bob Armstrong. On the April 8, 2006 episode of Impact!, Konnan faced Armstrong in a "Arm Wrestling Challenge"; the contest ended in a no-contest after LAX member Hernandez attacked Armstrong. At Lockdown on April 23, 2006, Konnan was defeated by Armstrong in an arm wrestling contest held within the confines of a steel cage; following the bout, each member of the LAX received ten lashes from the James Gang.^[24]

In May 2006, Konnan became the Impact! Spanish color commentator. In the same month, he and the LAX began a storyline that saw them refuse to wrestle (as well as himself and Moody Jack refusing to commentate), claiming that Latinos were discriminated against within TNA. After LAX were forced to resume wrestling by Jim Cornette, they began feuding with A.J. Styles and Christopher Daniels, with whom Homicide and Hernandez traded the NWA World Tag Team Championship back and forth. LAX then feuded with America's Most Wanted and Team 3D, losing the NWA World Tag Team Championship to Team 3D at Lockdown.^[25]

In early 2007, Konnan underwent hip replacement surgery, and his appearances in TNA from then on saw him frequently using a wheelchair. In June, Konnan left TNA for AAA in Mexico.^[26] He successfully underwent kidney transplant surgery in July 2007.^[27] In March 2008, Konnan sued TNA for racism and discrimination, alleging that while the company said that they would help pay for his hip replacement surgery, they did not. To add leverage to the suit, Konnan claimed that TNA helped pay for Scott Steiner's operation, but did not pay for Ron Killings's surgery from around the same time.^[28]

Return to AAA (2007–present)[link]

After leaving TNA, Konnan later returned to Asistencia Asesoría y Administración, where Juventud Guerrera claimed in 2009 that Konnan is the "real boss" of the promotion.^[29] In AAA he is the leader of the company's top rudo stable La Legión Extranjera (Foreign Legion).

Personal life[link]

In March 2009, Konnan and Jack Evans were involved in a backstage fight with Juventud Guerrera.^[29] The fight started after Guerrera accused Konnan of defecating in his bag, which Konnan owned up to, and then Evans, with whom Guerrera had had a match that evening, grabbed Guerrera from behind, provoking the fight.^[29] Guerrera suffered a broken nose in the incident.^[29] In late May 2012, Konnan revealed for the first time he is bipolar.

In wrestling[link]

• Finishing moves

• Tequila Sunrise^[2] (Arm trap single leg Boston crab)^[30]

• Signature moves

• DDT,^[2][31] sometimes reversed
• Drop toe-hold^[32]
• Electric chair facebuster^[32]
• Indian deathlock^[33]
• One-handed bulldog^[31]
• Rolling thunder lariat^[2][31]
• 187^[2] (Cradle DDT)^[30]
• Facejam^[2] / K-Factor^[34] (Sitout facebuster, often preceded by a mule kick)^[31][32]
• Running low-angle dropkick to a seated opponent
• Spin-out powerbomb^[33]
• Splash Mountain^[35] (Crucifix powerbomb, sometimes from the second rope)^[33]
• Springboard arm drag^[32]
• Super German suplex^[32]
• Tilt-a-whirl headscissors takedown^[32]
• Top-rope headscissors takedown,^[32] sometimes reversed^[33]
• Wheelbarrow suplex^[33]
• Zip Lock (Arm trap standing leglock)^[2]

• Managers

• Jimmy Hart^[36]
• Kevin Sullivan
• Vincent
• Torrie Wilson
• Tygress

• Nicknames

• "K-Dawg"^[1]

• Entrance themes

• "Tear It Up" by J.Hart and H.Helm (WCW; used while a part of the New World Order; 1996–1998)
• "Rockhouse" by J.Hart and H.Helm (WCW; used while a part of the New World Order; 1998)
• "Wolfpac Theme" (WCW; used while a part of the nWo Wolfpac; 1998–1999)
• "Bow Wow Wow" by Konnan featuring Madd One
• "Dawgz" by Konnan (TNA; used while part of the Latin American Xchange)
• "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor

Championships and accomplishments[link]

• Asistencia Asesoría y Administración

• AAA Americas Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[37]
• AAA Parejas Increibles Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Cibernético^[38]
• IWC World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[39]

• Championship Wrestling USA Northwest

• Championship Wrestling USA Northwest Tag Championship (1 time) – with Beetlejuice^[2]

• Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre

• CMLL World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[40]

• International Wrestling All-Stars

• IWAS World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[41]
• IWAS World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Rey Mysterio, Jr.^[42]

• Latin American Wrestling Association

• LAWA Heavyweight Championship (2 times)^[43]

• Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

• NWA World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with B.G. James and Ron Killings (1)^{[Note 1]} and B.G. James (1)^[44]

• World Championship Wrestling

• WCW United States Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[45]
• WCW World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Rey Mysterio, Jr. (1) and Billy Kidman (1)^[46]
• WCW World Television Championship (1 time)^[47]

• World Wrestling Council

• WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[2][48]
• WWC World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Carly Colón^[49]

• Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards

• Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 2009)

Luchas de apuestas record[link]

Footnotes[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Professional wrestling portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Konnan

• AAA profile
• Konnan Online
• Konnan at the Internet Movie Database
• Konnan on Myspace
• Konnan on Twitter
• An interview with Konnan, conducted by Bill Apter
• "An interview with Konnan, conducted by Shawn Walters". Archived from the original on 2006-03-17. http://web.archive.org/web/20060317161552/http://www.pwtorch.com/artman/publish/article_14282.shtml. 
• Video: Konnan Discusses Chris Benoit On Nancy Grace
• Tha O Show Episode 174 Konnan Interview

Victor "Vic" Grimes^[2] (born January 3, 1963) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling, Xtreme Pro Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation.

Professional wrestling career[link]

All Pro Wrestling[link]

Grimes began his career in California's All Pro Wrestling promotion, where he had a series of matches against Erin O'Grady. This "little man vs. big man" feud between the two even escalated to the point of O'Grady running into Grimes with a car.

World Wrestling Federation[link]

Jim Cornette saw a tape of Grimes and O'Grady's feud in All Pro Wrestling and scheduled them for a dark match before an edition of Monday Night Raw. WWF officials were so impressed by the match that they signed both men to contracts on the spot. Grimes would be moved to the Memphis developmental territories before being brought up to television under the ring name Key. He made his televised WWF debut on the July 26, 1999 episode of Raw. As Key, Grimes formed a short-lived drug dealer character along with Droz and Prince Albert and feuded with The Godfather. The Godfather suffered an injury, however, just as the feud between the two was developing, which led to Grimes being taken off TV.

Extreme Championship Wrestling[link]

The WWF encouraged Grimes to work for the Extreme Championship Wrestling promotion to further develop his skills. There, Grimes joined Tony DeVito and Spanish Angel, replacing P.N. News, in Da Baldies. The highlights of his ECW tenure were a fast-paced match against Kid Kash, an ECW World Heavyweight Title shot against Mike Awesome, and a Danbury Street Fight with Tommy Dreamer.

During Living Dangerously in March 2000, a breakdown in communication between New Jack and Grimes led to both men tumbling off a 20-foot high scaffolding rig onto concrete. New Jack suffered brain damage and was temporarily blinded in his right eye, which kept him out of wrestling for several months. Grimes would depart ECW not long after this incident.

Xtreme Pro Wrestling[link]

Following ECW's closing, New Jack would come to Xtreme Pro Wrestling, and his feud with Grimes would be re-ignited when Grimes surprisingly attacked New Jack from behind with a guitar at Payback's a Bitch event; New Jack was involved in a verbal dispute with XPW CEO Rob Black when Grimes appeared through the mat from under the ring and attacked New Jack, aligning himself with Black's faction, "The Black Army". The beginning of the newly-ignited feud featured both men in an infamous tag match, with Grimes teaming with The Messiah and New Jack aligning himself with Supreme; the match's infamy came from a freak accident where New Jack was powerbombed by Grimes through a flaming table, and New Jack was on fire for over 10 seconds.^[3] Other major points of the feud featured New Jack diving off the Los Angeles Grand Olympic Auditorium balcony over 30 feet onto two tables, with Grimes on top of both, at Redemption in May 2001, as well as Grimes throwing New Jack off the same balcony through many tables stacked below at New Year's Revolution in January 2002.

The feud culminated in February 2002 in a scaffold match, as towards the end of the match, Jack broke from the script and legitimately shocked Grimes with a taser before throwing Grimes from the scaffold and sending him crashing to the ring 40 feet below; there were over 12 tables stacked on top of each other to break the fall, but Grimes missed all but two of them and came within less than a foot of missing the ring completely. Grimes broke his fall on the top rope, dislocating his ankle and suffering multiple other injuries in the process. In the 2005 documentary Forever Hardcore, New Jack claimed that his intentions were to throw Grimes so hard that he would fall head-first onto the steel turnbuckle and die, as retaliation for the now infamous Danbury Fall. The scaffold was moved a couple of feet back, however, which caused Grimes to hit the tables instead of the turnbuckle.^[4]

When Shane Douglas took control of XPW following Baptized in Blood 3, Grimes would remain with the promotion and engage in feuds with Douglas and Snuff. One memorable incident from his feud with Douglas occurred during a tag match between Douglas and Lizzy Borden against Grimes and Lucy, which saw Grimes botch a superbomb on Borden through a table on the outside of the ring, as Borden missed the table completely and landed head first on the floor.^[5] Grimes would also wrestle against several cruiserweights such as Psicosis, Little Guido, and Altar Boy Luke.

Wrestling Society X[link]

After XPW folded, Grimes went on to work for various Californian independent promotions before he took part in MTV's new wrestling show, Wrestling Society X. He made his debut for the WSX dubbed as "Vicious" Vic Grimes on March 14, 2007 alongside Arik Cannon in a 3-on-2 handicap match against The Cartel, who Cannon had been attacked by a couple of weeks ago. However, Grimes and Cannon lost to The Cartel.

Two episodes later, Cannon and Grimes competed against Luke Hawx and Al Katrazz, during which Grimes missed a spear on Katrazz and landed into some light tubes at ringside, allowing Cannon to be pinned by Katrazz. Grimes would remain with the promotion until its closure.

In wrestling[link]

• Finishing moves
  • Grimes Clash (Belly to back inverted mat slam, sometimes from the second rope)^[2]
  • Grimes Cutter (Fireman's carry cutter)^[2]
  • Grimes You Up (Fallaway powerbomb)^[1]

• Signature moves
  • Fallaway slam^[2]
  • Powerbomb^[2]
  • Running hip attack to the head of an opponent seated and leaning against the bottom turnbuckle^[2]
  • Senton bomb,^[2] sometimes while performing a corkscrew^[2]
  • Sitout crucifix powerbomb^[2]
  • Victimizer (Reverse piledriver, sometimes from the second rope)^[2]