- published: 27 Jul 2012
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- author: SwitchbladeWrestling
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Atlanta
Atlanta (
/ətˈlæntə/, stressed /ætˈlæntə/, locally /ætˈlænə/) is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia with a 2010 population of 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest in the U.S. It is a major component of a growing southeastern megalopolis known as the Piedmont Atlantic Megaregion. Atlanta is the county seat of Fulton County, and a small portion of the city extends eastward into DeKalb County.
Atlanta began as a settlement located at the terminus of a railroad line, and it was incorporated in 1845. Today, the city is a major business city and the primary transportation hub of the Southeastern United States (via highway, railroad, and air), with Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport being the world's busiest airport since 1998. The World Cities Study Group at Loughborough University rated Atlanta as an "alpha(-) world city." With a gross domestic product of US$270 billion, Atlanta's economy ranks 15th among world cities and sixth in the nation. The city is a center for services, finance, information technology, government, and higher education. Metro Atlanta contains the country's third largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies, and is the world headquarters of The Coca-Cola Company, Turner Broadcasting, The Home Depot, AT&T Mobility, UPS, and Delta Air Lines. As of 2010, Atlanta is the seventh most visited city in the United States, with over 35 million visitors per year.
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Iran
Coordinates: 32°N 53°E / 32°N 53°E / 32; 53
Iran (
i/ɪˈrɑːn/ or /aɪˈræn/;Persian: ایران [ʔiˈɾɒn] (
listen)), officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (Persian: جمهوری اسلامی ایران Jomhuri-ye Eslāmi-ye Irān), is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran", which in Persian means "Land of the Aryans", has been in use natively since the Sassanian era. It came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia ( /ˈpɜrʒə/ or /ˈpɜrʃə/). Both "Persia" and "Iran" are used interchangeably in cultural contexts; however, "Iran" is the name used officially in political contexts.
The 18th-largest country in the world in terms of area at 1,648,195 km2 (636,372 sq mi), Iran has a population of around 79 million. It is a country of particular geopolitical significance owing to its location in the Middle East and central Eurasia. Iran is bordered on the north by Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. As Iran is a littoral state of the Caspian Sea, which is an inland sea, Kazakhstan and Russia are also Iran's direct neighbors to the north. Iran is bordered on the east by Afghanistan and Pakistan, on the south by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by Iraq and on the northwest by Turkey. Tehran is the capital, the country's largest city and the political, cultural, commercial and industrial center of the nation. Iran is a regional power, and holds an important position in international energy security and world economy as a result of its large reserves of petroleum and natural gas. Iran has the second largest proven natural gas reserves in the world and the fourth largest proven petroleum reserves.
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Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers.
Memphis had a population of 662,897 at the 2010 census, making it the largest city in the state of Tennessee, the third largest in the Southeastern United States, and the 20th largest in the United States. The greater Memphis metropolitan area, including adjacent counties in Mississippi and Arkansas, had a 2010 population of 1,316,100. This makes Memphis the second largest metropolitan area in Tennessee, surpassed only by metropolitan Nashville, which has overtaken Memphis in recent years. Memphis is the youngest of Tennessee's major cities. A resident of Memphis is referred to as a Memphian, and the Memphis region is known, particularly to media outlets, as the "Mid-South".
Because it occupies a substantial bluff rising from the Mississippi River, the site of Memphis is a natural location for settlement. The area was first settled by the Mississippian Culture and then by the Chickasaw Indian tribe. For 10,000 years they occupied the bluffs along the river, building a large mound on the bluff. European exploration came later, beginning in the 16th century with Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto and French explorers led by René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle.
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Mexico
Mexico (i/ˈmɛksɨkoʊ/; Spanish: México, IPA: [ˈmexiko] ( listen)), officially the United Mexican States (Spanish: Estados Unidos Mexicanos (help·info)), is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States of America; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico. Covering almost two million square kilometres (over 760,000 sq mi), Mexico is the fifth largest country in the Americas by total area and the thirteenth largest independent nation in the world. With an estimated population of over 113 million, it is the eleventh most populous country and the most populous Spanish-speaking country. Mexico is a federation comprising thirty-one states and a Federal District, the capital city.
In Pre-Columbian Mexico many cultures matured into advanced civilizations such as the Olmec, the Toltec, the Teotihuacan, the Zapotec, the Maya and the Aztec before the first contact with Europeans. In 1521, Spain conquered and colonized the territory from its base in México-Tenochtitlan, which was administered as the Viceroyalty of New Spain. This territory would eventually become Mexico as the colony's independence was recognized in 1821. The post-independence period was characterized by economic instability, the Mexican-American War and territorial cession to the United States, a civil war, two empires and a domestic dictatorship. The latter led to the Mexican Revolution in 1910, which culminated with the promulgation of the 1917 Constitution and the emergence of the country's current political system. Elections held in July 2000 marked the first time that an opposition party won the presidency from the Institutional Revolutionary Party.
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Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home to a large number of colleges and universities. It is most notably known as a center of the music industry, earning it the nickname "Music City".
Nashville has a consolidated city–county government which includes seven smaller municipalities in a two-tier system. As of the 2010 census the population of the city of Nashville, not including the semi-independent municipalities, stood at 601,222. The population of Davidson County as a whole, including all municipalities, was 626,681. Nashville is the second largest city in Tennessee, after Memphis, and the fourth largest city in the Southeastern United States. The 2010 population of the entire 13-county Nashville metropolitan area was 1,589,934, making it the largest Metropolitan Statistical Area in the state. The 2010 population of the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Columbia combined statistical area, a larger trade area, was 1,670,890.
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Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (
i/ˌpɛnsɨlˈveɪnjə/), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a US state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States, and the Great Lakes Region. The state borders Delaware to the southeast, Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, Ontario, Canada to the northwest, New York to the north, and New Jersey to the east.
Pennsylvania is the 33rd most extensive, the 6th most populous, and the 9th most densely populated of the 50 United States. The state's four most populous cities are Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, and Erie. The state capital is Harrisburg. Pennsylvania has 51 miles (82 km) of shoreline along Lake Erie and 57 miles (92 km) of shoreline along the Delaware Estuary.
Pennsylvania is 170 miles (274 km) north to south and 283 miles (455 km) east to west. Of a total 46,055 square miles (119,282 km2), 44,817 square miles (116,075 km2) are land, 490 square miles (1,269 km2) are inland waters, and 749 square miles (1,940 km2) are waters in Lake Erie. It is the 33rd largest state in the United States. Pennsylvania has 51 miles (82 km) of coastline along Lake Erie and 57 miles (92 km) of shoreline along the Delaware Estuary.
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Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( /ˈpɪtsbərɡ/, PITS-burg) is the second largest city in the U.S. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of both Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley. Nationally, it is the 22nd largest urban area in the United States. The population of the city in 2010 was 305,704, while that of the seven-county metropolitan area stood at 2,356,285.Downtown Pittsburgh retains substantial economic influence, ranking at 25th in the nation for jobs within the urban core and 6th in job density. The characteristic shape of Pittsburgh's central business district is a triangular tract carved by the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, which form the Ohio River. The city features 151 high-rise buildings, 446 bridges, two inclined railways, and a pre-revolutionary fortification. Pittsburgh is known colloquially as "the City of Bridges" and "the Steel City" for its many bridges and former steel manufacturing base.
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Russia
Russiai/ˈrʌʃə/ or /ˈrʊʃə/ (Russian: Россия, tr. Rossiya; IPA: [rɐˈsʲijə] ( listen)), also officially known as the Russian Federation (Russian: Российская Федерация, tr. Rossiyskaya Federatsiya; IPA: [rɐˈsʲijskəjə fʲɪdʲɪˈratsɨjə] ( listen)), is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects. From northwest to southeast, Russia shares borders with Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland (both via Kaliningrad Oblast), Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia, and North Korea. It also has maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk, and the US state of Alaska by the Bering Strait. At 17,075,400 square kilometres (6,592,800 sq mi), Russia is the largest country in the world, covering more than one eighth of the Earth's inhabited land area. Russia is also the eighth most populous nation with 143 million people. It extends across the whole of northern Asia and 40% of Europe, spanning nine time zones and incorporating a wide range of environments and landforms. Russia has the world's largest reserves of mineral and energy resources and is the largest producer of oil and natural gas globally. Russia has the world's largest forest reserves and its lakes contain approximately one-quarter of the world's fresh water.
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St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis /seɪnt ˈluːɪs/ (French: Saint-Louis or St-Louis, [sɛ̃ lwi] ( listen)) is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States, and is the second-largest city in the state. With a population of 318,069 in July 2011, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) population of 2,812,896 is the 18th-largest in the country. The Greater St. Louis combined statistical area's (CSA) population of 2,878,255 is the 16th-largest CSA in the country, the fourth-largest in the Midwest. The Greater St. Louis area is the largest metropolitan area in Missouri.
The city of St. Louis was founded in 1764 by Pierre Laclède and Auguste Chouteau, and after the Louisiana Purchase, it became a major port on the Mississippi River. Its population expanded after the American Civil War, and it became the fourth-largest city in the United States in the late 19th century. It seceded from St. Louis County in March 1877, allowing it to become an independent city and limiting its political boundaries. In 1904, it hosted the 1904 World's Fair and the 1904 Olympic Games. The city's population peaked in 1950, then began a long decline that reversed only at the beginning of the 21st century.
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United States
The United States of America (commonly abbreviated to the United States, the U.S., the USA, America, and the States) is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to the east and Russia to the west, across the Bering Strait. The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The country also possesses several territories in the Pacific and Caribbean.
At 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km2) and with over 312 million people, the United States is the third or fourth largest country by total area, and the third largest by both land area and population. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries. The U.S. economy is the world's largest national economy, with an estimated 2011 GDP of $15.1 trillion (22% of nominal global GDP and over 19% of global GDP at purchasing-power parity). Per capita income is the world's sixth-highest.
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A.J. Styles
Allen Neal Jones (born June 2, 1977), better known by his ring name A.J. Styles is an American professional wrestler currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). He, James Storm, Jeff Jarrett and Abyss (who wrestled under the name Justice) are the only wrestlers to perform on the inaugural NWA-TNA pay-per-view event on June 19, 2002, and still be employed by the company in a wrestling role today. Since he joined TNA, Styles has been a four-time World Heavyweight Champion, having held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship three times and the TNA World Heavyweight Championship once, the very first TNA X Division Champion, while also sharing the record for most reigns (six) with Jay Lethal, a five-time World Tag Team Champion (4 NWA and 1 TNA), and a two-time Television Champion. With having won the TNA X Division, NWA World Tag Team, and NWA World Heavyweight Championships, Styles was the first to complete the TNA Triple Crown Championship. Styles would later complete the Triple Crown three more times, making him the only man to complete it more than once. His victory over Booker T for the TNA Legends (now Television) Championship made him the first man to have ever won the TNA Grand Slam Championship, which he has done twice. Also, he is the only wrestler in TNA to have held every male championship owned and sanctioned by TNA at any point during the company's history. All totaled, he has won 17 championships in TNA. In 2010 he became the first TNA contracted wrestler to rank in at #1 on Pro Wrestling Illustrated annual PWI 500 list.
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Abbas Jadidi
Abbas Jadidi (Persian: عباس جدیدی, born January 13, 1969 in Tehran) is an Iranian wrestler who competed in the Freestyle Heavyweight (90–100 kg) category at the 1996 Summer Olympics, losing controversially to Kurt Angle and winning the silver medal.
At the 1993 world championships, Jadidi defeated American Melvin Douglas. However, a post-event urinalysis revealed the presence of a banned substance, thus stripping him of his title.
Jadidi was once mentioned in a promo by Kurt Angle during his rivalry with Samoa Joe. Angle said he once wrestled an Iranian man during the 1996 Summer Olympics. He talked about doing the honourable thing, and giving the man a rematch; much like the rematch he gave Joe after he ended his undefeated streak. Jadidi was the former coach of Iranian Junior Freestyle champion, 2004 Olympic wrestler, undefeated WEC fighter and American Combat Association co-owner Kamal Shalorus.
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Abyss (wrestler)
Christopher J. "Chris" Parks (born October 4, 1973), better known by his ring name "The Monster" Abyss, is an American professional wrestler signed with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA).
Through TNA's working relationship with Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA), Abyss also works regularly for the Mexican promotion, where he one half of the reigning AAA World Tag Team Champions with partner Chessman. He is a former NWA World Heavyweight champion, being the first of only two men to hold the title while competing under a mask. In TNA, he was the fourth man to complete the Triple Crown Championship and the second to complete the Grand Slam Championship.
Chris Parks was born in Washington, D.C. He attended high school in Cleveland, Ohio, where he played American football. He attended Ohio University.
Chris Parks was trained by Roger Ruffin of the Northern Wrestling Federation (NWF). He won his debut match by disqualification. For the first few years of his career, Parks worked in the NWF as the Original Terminator, Chris Justice, and then Prince Justice.
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Adam Copeland
Adam Copeland (born October 30, 1973) is a Canadian retiredprofessional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring name Edge. He is best known for his time with WWE.
Copeland was trained by former professional wrestlers Sweet Daddy Siki and Ron Hutchinson. Throughout the 1990s, he wrestled in North American independent promotions early in his career. During his time in these promotions, he competed in singles and tag team competition, the latter with Christian, his storyline brother. In 1997, Copeland signed a developmental deal with the WWF and began competing for the company later that year; he made his televised debut the following June under the ring name Edge. In June 1999, he won the WWF Intercontinental Championship, making it his first title reign with the company. He and Christian went on to win the WWF Tag Team Championship on seven different occasions. During this time, they gained notoriety in the tag team division, partly due to their participation in Tables, Ladders, and Chairs matches.
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Al Snow
Allen Ray Sarven (born July 18, 1963) is an American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name of Al Snow. He is best known for his work in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment. Since 2010, Snow has worked as a road agent for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and with its developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling, as a trainer and show producer.
Sarven attended a professional wrestling tryout camp held by Ole and Gene Anderson. There he met Jim Lancaster, promoter of Ohio's Midwest Championship Wrestling, who agreed to train him. Lancaster later described Sarven as "a leader in the ring" who "had drive and natural ability". He made his debut on May 22, 1982. Sarven defeated Lancaster on May 5, 1985 for the Midwest Championship Wrestling title.
Sarven wrestled in various independent promotions throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, capturing both tag team and singles titles, but failed to make any big breaks. He gained a reputation as "the best-kept secret in wrestling". Sarven helped train future Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Hall of Fame member and NWA World Heavyweight Champion Dan Severn. During this time he would sometimes wrestle as Shinobi, a ninja-style masked gimmick. He wrestled in the November 19, 1994 tournament for the vacant NWA World Heavyweight Championship, but he lost to Chris Candido, the eventual winner of the tournament.
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Alberto Del Rio
Alberto Rodríguez (born May 25, 1977) is a Mexican professional wrestler signed to WWE, performing under the ring name Alberto Del Rio and appearing on the SmackDown brand. He is a former two-time WWE Champion, while also being the 2011 Royal Rumble winner, outlasting 39 other participants to win the largest Royal Rumble match ever, and 2011 Mr. Money in the Bank (Raw). Before working for WWE, Rodriguez used the name Dos Caras, Jr. as both a mixed martial artist and luchador in mostly Mexico and Japan. He worked in both of Mexico's main wrestling promotions and achieved success in Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), where he is a former CMLL World Heavyweight Champion.
Son of noted luchador Dos Caras, nephew of Mil Máscaras and Sicodelico, and cousin to Sicodelico, Jr. and Hijo de Sicodelico, Rodríguez is part of one of the most well known Mexican wrestling families. The name Dos Caras translates to Two Faces, referring to the symbol of a double headed eagle on his mask.
Born in San Luis Potosí as the son of luchador Dos Caras. Rodríguez graduated from Universidad Autonoma de San Luis Potosí where he earned a degree in architecture. Growing up in a family of wrestlers Rodríguez decided to take up Greco-Roman wrestling, training under Leonel Kolesni and Juan Fernández. He earned a place on the Mexican national team in Greco-Roman wrestling and while competing on the national team obtained several accomplishments.[unreliable source?] In 1997, he placed third at the World Junior Championships, in the Czech Republic.[unreliable source?] He also won the Central American and Caribbean Games in his weight division three times and won a medal at the Pan American Games. Rodríguez was on track to compete at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, but due to a lack of funding and support, Mexico did not send a wrestling team that year.
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Andrew Martin
Andrew James Robert Patrick Martin (March 17, 1975 – March 13, 2009) was a Canadian professional wrestler. Under the ring name Test, Martin wrestled for the World Wrestling Federation (now known as WWE) from 1998–2004, and 2006–2007. He last worked for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name "The Punisher" Andrew Martin.
While under contract with WWF/WWE, Martin enjoyed success as a singles competitor, becoming an Intercontinental Champion, European Champion and Hardcore Champion. Martin was also successful in the tag team division, becoming a WWF and WCW Tag Team Champion with Booker T.
In the mid 1990s, Martin met professional wrestler Bret Hart in a restaurant. After Hart offered to train him to wrestle, Martin spent eight months training under the teachings of Bret and Leo Burke. Martin debuted in 1997, wrestling on the Canadian independent circuit under the ring name "Martin Kane" and "T.J. Thunder". Martin continued his training with Dory Funk, Jr. at Funk's Funkin' Dojo, a training center.
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André the Giant
André René Roussimoff (19 May 1946 – 27 January 1993), best known as André the Giant, was a French professional wrestler and actor. His best remembered acting role was that of Fezzik, the giant in the film The Princess Bride. His size was a result of acromegaly, and led to him being called "The Eighth Wonder of the World".
In the World Wrestling Federation (now known as WWE), Roussimoff was a one-time WWF Champion and a one-time WWF World Tag Team Champion. In 1993, he was the first inductee into the WWF Hall of Fame.
André Roussimoff was born in Grenoble, France to parents of Bulgarian and Polish ancestry. As a child, he very early displayed symptoms of his gigantism, reaching a height of 6'3" (190.5 cm) and weight of 240 pounds (110 kg) by age 12. Unable to fit on the school bus, he was driven to school by playwright Samuel Beckett, a friend of his father. Roussimoff was a good student, but he dropped out after the 8th grade since he did not think having a high school education was necessary for a farm laborer. He then worked on a farm, completed an apprenticeship in woodworking, and next worked in a factory that manufactured engines for hay balers. None of these brought him any satisfaction.
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Arda Ocal
Arda Ocal (Turkish: Arda Öcal) (born May 7, 1981, in North York, Ontario) is a Turkish Canadian TV personality, announcer and writer, currently with The Score Television Network. He was formerly a co-host of the daily lifestyle program Daytime on the Canadian channel Rogers Television in Mississauga, Ontario, before beginning to host and provide color commentary for their flagship Brampton Battalion OHL hockey broadcasts. Previously, he also served as editor-in-chief for Think Impact (a division of Impact, one of Canada's largest entrepreneurial organizations).
He is currently an on air personality on The Score Television Network. Ocal hosts "Aftermath TV" which appears twice weekly on The Score Television Network following the broadcasts of Monday Night Raw on Tuesday afternoon and Friday Night Smackdown, as well as "Aftermath Radio" after WWE Monday Night Raw, which he hosts with former WWE referee Jim Korderas. In 2011 Aftermath Radio won a Wrestling Radio Award for Show of the Year. He is also a broadcaster with the Score Fighting Series, a Score created Canadian MMA weekly televised program. Ocal also provides MMA fight picks on the Score's flagship application, ScoreMobile. In the course of his duties he has interviewed a variety of notable international superstars and aired segments of these interviews on his show. These include: Bret Hart, former WWE champion Sheamus,Honky Tonk Man,The Iron Sheik,Drew McIntyre,Chris Jericho,Gail Kim and Sgt. Slaughter.,UFC president Dana White, Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney, among many others.
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Barry Windham
Barry Clinton Windham (born July 4, 1960) is an American semi-retired professional wrestler and the son of wrestler Blackjack Mulligan. He is best known for his appearances with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW).
In NWA/WCW, he was a one-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, a one-time United States Heavyweight Champion, a one-time Television Champion, a one-time Western States Heritage Champion, a four-time NWA (Mid Atlantic)/WCW World Tag Team Champion and a one-time NWA United States Tag Team Champion with Ron Garvin. In WWF, he was a two-time World Tag Team Champion with his brother-in-law, Mike Rotunda. On March 31, 2012, Windham was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as a member of the Four Horsemen.
Windham was trained by his father Blackjack Mulligan and popular world champion Harley Race. He debuted on November 27, 1979 against J.J. Dillion in Odessa, Texas when he was 19 years old. Much of his early career was in the NWA's Championship Wrestling from Florida territory where Gordon Solie was the head announcer. He was a fan favorite for most of the early and middle periods of his career, having great success in singles and tag action. Windham had notable feuds with Kevin Sullivan and his army. With his brother-in-law Mike Rotunda, Windham formed a tag team in 1984. The duo captured the NWA Florida United States Tag Team Championship three times between March and May 1984.
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Bart Scott
Bartholomew Edward Scott (born August 18, 1980) is an American football linebacker for the New York Jets of the National Football League. He was signed by the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2002. He played college football at Southern Illinois.
Scott was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2006.
Scott attended Southeastern High School in Detroit where he played running back and linebacker on the football team. Scott's assistant coach, Reinard Davis, recalled that "[Scott] went 110 percent on every snap and never came off the field. He was unbelievable." During his senior year, Scott recorded 76 tackles and led the team in rushing with 635 yards. More than one hundred schools sent out recruiting letters; however, low SAT scores made colleges shy away. Scott later improved his test scores to ensure eligibility.
During July workouts for a Michigan high school all-star game, Scott was impressive on the field, thus catching the interest of coach Bryan Masi. Masi contacted Dan Enos, a friend and an assistant coach at Southern Illinois. As a result of the conversation, SIU offered Scott a scholarship.
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Big Van Vader
Leon Allen White (born May 14, 1955) better known by his ring names Big Van Vader or Vader, is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. White is perhaps best known for his time with New Japan Pro Wrestling, World Championship Wrestling, World Wrestling Federation and All Japan Pro Wrestling in the 1990s. A super-heavyweight wrestler capable of significant aerial maneuvers as well as power moves, he was both a face and a heel in several professional wrestling promotions. During his career, he became an eight time world champion (three times in World Championship Wrestling, three times in New Japan Pro Wrestling and two times in All Japan Pro Wrestling).
While working out at a gym, White was spotted by a man who remembered him from his college football days who suggested he look into professional wrestling. Trained by Brad Rheingans, White got his first national exposure in the American Wrestling Association. He went by the moniker "Baby Bull", which was later changed to "Bull Power". White honed his skills during this time, and his ring work improved significantly, so much so that he was given a match with Stan Hansen for the AWA World Heavyweight Championship.
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Bill Goldberg
William Scott "Bill" Goldberg (born December 27, 1966) is a former professional wrestler best known for his time in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). He is famous for his lengthy undefeated streak in singles competition) The official count is listed as 173-0, although some have disputed the legitimacy of that total.
Goldberg is recognized by WWE as a two-time world champion: a one-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion and one-time World Heavyweight Champion, with both reigns represented by the Big Gold Belt. He was the first of four men to hold a version of the Big Gold Belt in both WCW and WWE, later followed by Chris Benoit, Booker T and Big Show. He is also recognized by WWE as a two-time WCW United States Heavyweight Champion and one-time WCW World Tag Team Champion (with Bret Hart).
Before he was a professional wrestler, Goldberg was a football player. After retiring from wrestling, he began working as a commentator for the mixed martial arts promotion EliteXC until its closure. He is currently hosting the television show Garage Mahal on the DIY Network.
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Bill Hinzman
Samuel William "Bill" Hinzman (October 24, 1936 – February 5, 2012) was an American actor and film director.
Hinzman's first role was the cemetery zombie in the horror film Night of the Living Dead (1968). Hinzman also played roles in the films Legion of the Night (1985), Santa Claws (1996), Evil Ambitions (1996), and The Drunken Dead Guy (2005).
His final role was in River of Darkness, where he played a lead role alongside Kurt Angle, Kevin Nash and Sid Eudy.
He later directed the films The Majorettes (1986), and Flesheater (1988).
Hinzman died on February 5, 2012, from cancer. His death occurred the same day as that of Josephine Streiner, a crew member who also played a zombie in Night of the Living Dead.
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Billy Kidman
Peter Alan Gruner, Jr. (born May 11, 1974) is an American professional wrestler, trainer, and wrestling producer, better known by his ring name Billy Kidman. Kidman is best known for his work with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and his current workplace of the WWE throughout the late 1990s, early to late 2000s, and now into the early 2010s. He trained the likes of Wade Barrett in Florida Championship Wrestling.
He joined World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and ultimately gained fame as a key member of several strong wrestling factions. In addition to being a member of Raven's Flock, he also was a member of the Filthy Animals and later New Blood. As a member of these factions, Gruner participated in memorable rivalries with top WCW names, including Hulk Hogan, Jeff Jarrett, and Rey Mysterio. Kidman wrestled for WCW for many years and won tag team gold with partner and real life friend Mysterio. After leaving the group, he won the WCW Cruiserweight Championship three times. Gruner also met his now ex-wife Torrie Wilson while the two were working in WCW.
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Bob Backlund
Robert Lee "Bob" Backlund (born August 14, 1949) is an American professional wrestler with an in-ring career that spanned over 30 years. Over that time, he was a two-time WWWF/WWF Champion. Backlund holds the records for the second longest reign as WWE Champion in history, behind Bruno Sammartino.
Backlund was also an accomplished amateur wrestler wrestling for the North Dakota State University Bison in the late 1960s to early 1970s. Backlund continues to work in the pro wrestling business in various capacities. In 2000, Backlund unsuccessfully ran for a Connecticut seat in Congress on a Republican ticket.
In 1969 during his freshman year, Backlund was an All American in both football and wrestling (191 lbs finishing 3rd) while at Waldorf Junior College in Forest City, IA. During his sophomore campaign, Backlund focused on wrestling and once again earned All American Honors (190 lbs and National Runner Up). Backlund was an amateur wrestler at North Dakota State University, winning the Division II NCAA Championship at 190 pounds in 1971. In 1972 Backlund moved up to the Heavyweight class and finished 5th at the NCAA DII Nationals. Graduate of Princeton, MN High School where he was a state finalist in wrestling. He graduated from North Dakota State University with a degree in physical education.
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Bob Holly
Robert "Bob" Howard (born January 29, 1963) better known by his ring name Bob "Hardcore" Holly, is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his 15-year stint with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
After debuting in 1990, Holly worked for Smoky Mountain Wrestling and other independent promotions, before joining WWE full-time in 1994. Initially portraying the character of a NASCAR driver, Thurman "Sparky" Plugg, his name was soon changed to Bob "Spark Plug" Holly, before forming a team with "Bodacious Bart", known as The New Midnight Express in 1998. After becoming known simply as "Hardcore Holly" in 1999, he was joined by on-screen cousins, Crash and Molly. In 2002, he suffered a broken neck, which sidelined him for over a year. Upon his return, he engaged in minor feuds with wrestlers such as Mr. Kennedy and Rob Van Dam, before forming a tag team with Cody Rhodes in 2007. Holly was released from WWE in 2009.
During his career, Holly has held the WWF/E Hardcore Championship seven times, the WWF/E Tag Team Championship three times (with 1-2-3 Kid, Crash Holly and Cody Rhodes), and the NWA World Tag Team Championship once with Bart Gunn.
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Bobby Lashley
Franklin Roberto "Bobby" Lashley (born July 16, 1976) is an American mixed martial artist, actor, and former collegiate amateur wrestler as well as a former professional wrestler. During his professional wrestling career, he was best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), where he was a one-time United States Champion and a two-time world champion, having had two reigns as ECW World Champion.
Lashley attended Missouri Valley College, where he won three national college amateur wrestling championships between 1996 and 1998 and placed fourth in 1995. In 1997 and 1998, he was the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) National Wrestling Champion. Lashley later joined the United States Army, where he continued to wrestle. He was training for the Olympics in 2003, when he suffered a knee injury while doing business at a bank where a robbery broke out. The injury ended his Olympic plans, and Lashley went into pro wrestling soon after.
In November 2004, Lashley began working in the professional wrestling area and signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment. He was assigned to the development territory Ohio Valley Wrestling, where he was known as Blaster Lashley, and was a member of the Bolin Services stable along with Mike Mondo and Ken Doane. However during that time Bolin Services began to crumble with Lashley refusing to help Doane win matches, resulting in him turning face and going by his Bobby Lashley name.
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Bobo Brazil
Houston Harris (July 10, 1923 — January 20, 1998) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Bobo Brazil. Even though he is "Bobo", a promoter mispronounced it and it stuck .He is credited with breaking down barriers of racial segregation in professional wrestling. Harris is considered one of the first successful African American professional wrestlers, and is often referred to as "the Jackie Robinson of professional wrestling".
Houston Harris was born in Little Rock, Arkansas but later lived in East St. Louis, Illinois, and Benton Harbor, Michigan. He played baseball and worked in a steel mill.
Harris was trained by Joe Savoldi after meeting him at matches at the Naval Armory. Originally, Harris was to be known as "Boo-Boo Brazil", but a promoter misprinted his first name as "Bobo" in an advertisement and it stuck.
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Booker Huffman
Robert Booker Tio Huffman (born March 1, 1965), better known by his ring name Booker T, is an American professional wrestler and wrestling commentator, currently signed to WWE, on its SmackDown brand.
Booker is best known for his time in World Championship Wrestling (WCW), the World Wrestling Federation (WWF)/WWE, and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), holding 35 major titles between those organizations. He is the most decorated wrestler in WCW history, having held 20 titles in the organization, including a record six WCW World Television Championships, and a record ten WCW World Tag Team Championships as one half of Harlem Heat with his brother, Lane "Stevie Ray" Huffman (he claimed an eleventh reign in the WWF with Test).
Between WCW and the WWF/WWE, Booker is a six-time world champion: a five-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion (his fifth reign occurred in the WWF) and a one-time World Heavyweight Champion. He is the only black man to become a world champion in both WCW and the WWF/WWE. He was the winner of the WWE King of the Ring tournament in 2006, the sixteenth WWE Triple Crown Champion and the eighth WWE Grand Slam Champion. Also the ninth, and final, WCW Triple Crown Champion, he is the most recent of four men in history to achieve both the WWE and WCW Triple Crown Championships.
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Booker T (wrestler)
Robert Booker Tio Huffman (born March 1, 1965), better known by his ring name Booker T, is an American professional wrestler and wrestling commentator, currently signed to WWE, on its SmackDown brand.
Booker is best known for his time in World Championship Wrestling (WCW), the World Wrestling Federation (WWF)/WWE, and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), holding 35 major titles between those organizations. He is the most decorated wrestler in WCW history, having held 20 titles in the organization, including a record six WCW World Television Championships, and a record ten WCW World Tag Team Championships as one half of Harlem Heat with his brother, Lane "Stevie Ray" Huffman (he claimed an eleventh reign in the WWF with Test).
Between WCW and the WWF/WWE, Booker is a six-time world champion: a five-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion (his fifth reign occurred in the WWF) and a one-time World Heavyweight Champion. He is the only black man to become a world champion in both WCW and the WWF/WWE. He was the winner of the WWE King of the Ring tournament in 2006, the sixteenth WWE Triple Crown Champion and the eighth WWE Grand Slam Champion. Also the ninth, and final, WCW Triple Crown Champion, he is the most recent of four men in history to achieve both the WWE and WCW Triple Crown Championships.
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Bret Hart
Bret Hart (born July 2, 1957) is a Canadian American writer, actor and retired professional wrestler currently signed with WWE under a Legends contract. Like others in the Hart wrestling family, Hart has an amateur wrestling background, including wrestling at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal College. Along with his famed "Hit Man" nickname, Hart was known by the monikers "The Excellence of Execution", "The Best There Is, The Best There Was, and The Best There Ever Will Be" and "The Pink and Black Attack"—the latter being in reference to his ring attire, as well as his signature mirrored sunglasses, which he routinely gave away to a young audience member before matches.
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Brian Gerard James
Brian Gerard James (born May 20, 1969) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he works as an agent, producer and occasional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) as "The Road Dogg" Jesse James or simply Road Dogg. He is a former member of D-Generation X and the tag team partner of Billy Gunn, with who he joined with the New Age Outlaws in the WWF and The James Gang and Voodoo Kin Mafia in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA).
In WWE, James is a one time Intercontinental Champion, a one time Hardcore Champion, and a five time Tag Team Champion with Gunn. The company also described him as "one of the most popular Superstars of WWE's "Attitude Era". In TNA, he became a two time NWA World Tag Team Champion with Konnan and Ron Killings. James is also a one time world champion after becoming the first-ever WWA World Heavyweight Champion in 2001.
James is the son of retired professional wrestler Bob Armstrong, and one of the Armstrong brothers.
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Brian Kendrick
Brian David Kendrick (born May 29, 1979) is an American professional wrestler known for his work in World Wrestling Entertainment, where he wrestled under his name, as Spanky, and finally as "The" Brian Kendrick. He has also worked for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under his real name.
Kendrick has wrestled for numerous promotions in his career. While situated in these promotions, he has won various championships, both in tag team and singles competition. He was the last ever MCW Southern Light Heavyweight Champion, a title he held three times, and also won the MCW Southern Tag Team Championship with American Dragon. In addition, Kendrick was the first NWA International Junior Heavyweight Champion.
During his time in WWE, Kendrick and his tag team partner Paul London became the longest reigning WWE Tag Team Champions since the title's inception. Together they also held the World Tag Team Championship for a brief period.
Kendrick was born in Fairfax, Virginia, and is the son of Barbara Kendrick and the oldest of three children—a brother named Neal and a sister named Shannon. He later moved to Olympia, Washington where he attended North Thurston High School in Lacey, Washington. During his senior year, he worked as a dishwasher in a pizza parlor while saving money to attend wrestling school.
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Brian Lawler
Brian Christopher Lawler (born January 10, 1972) is an American professional wrestler. He is the son of color commentator and professional wrestler Jerry "The King" Lawler and brother of wrestling referee Kevin Christian. He is well known for his career in World Wrestling Entertainment, where he performed as Grand Master Sexay as part of the tag team Too Cool with Scotty 2 Hotty and Rikishi.
Lawler began his career as one half of the masked tag team "The Twilight Zone" with Tony Williams under the individual ring names of Nebula (Lawler) and Quasar (Williams). They both soon unmasked, Brian continued to wrestle in the United States Wrestling Association under the name "Too Sexy" Brian Christopher. He was used as a top fan favorite as well as making his mark as one of the promotion's top villains. There, he feuded with wrestlers such as Jeff Jarrett, Bill Dundee, Tom Prichard, and the Moondogs, and even his father Jerry Lawler. Among his partners were Tony Williams (as the New Kids), Doug Gilbert, Scotty Flamingo, and "Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert.
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Brock Lesnar
Brock Edward Lesnar (/ˈlɛznər/; born July 12, 1977) is an American professional wrestler, actor, former mixed martial artist and amateur wrestler, signed with WWE and appearing on its Raw brand. He is also a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and former #1 ranked mixed martial arts (MMA) Heavyweight by Sherdog; he was ranked #5 before he announced his retirement at the end of 2011. Lesnar is an accomplished amateur wrestler, winning the 2000 NCAA heavyweight wrestling championship and placing second in 1999, losing in the finals to 1999 world freestyle wrestling champion and future New England Patriots offensive lineman Stephen Neal.
He gained prominence in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) from 2002 to 2004, where he is a former three-time WWE Champion, becoming the youngest WWE Champion at age 25 with his first reign. Lesnar was the 2002 King of the Ring and the winner of the 2003 Royal Rumble. After leaving WWE, Lesnar pursued a career in the NFL. He played during the preseason for the Minnesota Vikings, but ended up being a late cut. Lesnar returned to professional wrestling at the end of 2005, and joined New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), where he won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in his first match. He was officially stripped of the title by NJPW in July 2006, and took the physical belt with him to Inoki Genome Federation (IGF), where he was still recognized as IWGP Champion until June 2007.
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Brooke Hogan
Brooke Ellen Bollea (born May 5, 1988), better known by her stage name Brooke Hogan, is an American singer, actress, model, socialite, and television personality, and the oldest child of professional wrestler Hulk Hogan. Brooke Hogan is currently signed with "TNA Impact Wrestling" as TNA Knockouts Executive. She appeared on the reality-television series Hogan Knows Best, which focused on her family, and which premiered on July 10, 2005 on VH1. Since the cancellation of Hogan Knows Best, she has starred in the now-cancelled reality series spin-off, Brooke Knows Best, which focuses on her life independent from her parents and living with two roommates.
Hogan released her debut album in 2006, titled Undiscovered. In 2009, she released her second studio album, The Redemption.
Brooke Hogan was born in Tampa, Florida, the older child of Hulk Hogan (Terry Gene Bollea) and Linda Bollea. She has one younger brother, Nick Hogan (Nick Bollea).
In high school, she took dance classes, voice lessons, piano lessons, and gymnastics. She joined the cheerleading squad of her Clearwater, Florida school, Clearwater Central Catholic, in her freshman year. Hogan graduated from high school at the age of sixteen.
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Bruno Sammartino
Bruno Leopoldo Francesco Sammartino (born October 6, 1935) is an Italian-American former professional wrestler, best known for being the longest-running champion of the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), holding the title across two reigns for over 11 years in total, as well as the longest single WWE Championship reign in professional wrestling history.
Sammartino's wrestling style was more mat-oriented which was typical of wrestlers from his era. His brawling, power moves, and personal charisma helped him become the most popular American wrestler in the 1960s and 1970s.
Born in Pizzoferrato, Abruzzo, Italy on October 6, 1935, Sammartino was the youngest of seven brothers and sisters. Four older siblings died during his time in Italy. During his childhood, Sammartino's family hid from German soldiers in a mountain called Valla Rocca, during the latter stages of World War II. During this time, Sammartino's mother, Emilia, would sneak into their German-occupied town for food and supplies. She once was captured and another time shot in the shoulder during such trips. Eventually, Sammartino caught rheumatic fever but was nursed back to health by his mother with hot blankets and leeches. In 1950, he moved to the United States and settled in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where his father had already lived for several years.
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Carly Colón
Carlos Edwin "Carly" Colón, Jr. (born on February 21, 1979) is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler better known internationally by his ring name Carlito. He is best known for his work in the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), but was released from his contract on May 21, 2010. In his native Puerto Rico, he is known as both Carly Colón and Carlito. Colón occasionally still performs in the World Wrestling Council (WWC). He is a 13-time WWC Universal Heavyweight Champion.
In 2003, Colón signed a developmental contract with WWE. He worked in Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) for sixteen months, mostly wrestling in tag team matches while making appearances in WWC. On October 7, 2004, Colón made his debut performing on the main event of SmackDown! as Carlito Caribbean Cool. Colón is a former United States Champion and Intercontinental Champion and has been part of both the Raw and SmackDown brands. He is the only wrestler to win a championship on two separate debuts in WWE and the second Puerto Rican to become Intercontinental Champion after Pedro Morales. At WrestleMania XXV, Colón and his brother, Eddie Colón, became the only tag team to unify the WWE Tag Team Championship and World Tag Team Championship.
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Charlie Haas
Charles Doyle "Charlie" Haas II (born March 27, 1972) is an American professional wrestler and former collegiate amateur wrestler. He competes on the independent circuit, and is signed to Ring of Honor (ROH). He is best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
Haas was an amateur wrestler in high school, and attended Seton Hall University on a wrestling scholarship, before becoming a stockbroker. He became a professional wrestler in 1996, and teamed regularly with his brother, Russ, with the two winning numerous championships on the independent circuit, including the CZW World Tag Team Championship and the JAPW Tag Team Championship. After signing contracts with WWE, The Haas Brothers were assigned to WWE's developmental territories, where they won the MCW Southern Tag Team Championship on three occasions. After Russ' death in 2001 due to a heart attack, Haas began wrestling in singles competition, winning the HWA Heavyweight Championship once.
Haas formed a team with Shelton Benjamin and the two debuted on SmackDown in December 2002. They won the WWE Tag Team Championship twice, and dubbed themselves The World's Greatest Tag Team before they split in 2004. Haas won the WWE Tag Team Championship once more with Rico, and gained Miss Jackie as a valet. Haas then transferred into singles competition before being released from WWE in 2005. After a short stint in Jersey All Pro Wrestling (JAPW) and other independent promotions, Haas was re-signed to WWE in April 2006. He formed a short-lived team with Viscera, before reforming the World's Greatest Tag Team with Benjamin. After Benjamin transferred to the ECW brand, Haas began wrestling with a comical luchador persona, before developing a character where he imitated other wrestlers and WWE Hall of Famers.
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Chris Benoit
Christopher Michael "Chris" Benoit (French pronunciation: [bəˈnwɑ]) (May 21, 1967 – June 24, 2007) was a Canadian professional wrestler whose career and life ended in a murder–suicide. During his professional wrestling career, Benoit worked for such major promotions as Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and the World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Entertainment (WWF/WWE).
Among other accolades, Benoit is a two-time world champion: a one-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion, one-time World Heavyweight Champion (tied for third longest reign in history). Both of his world title reigns were represented by the Big Gold Belt: Benoit is one of four men to have held the Big Gold Belt in both WCW and WWE, alongside Bill Goldberg, Booker T and Big Show. He is also a record-tying five-time WCW/WWE United States Champion, having held the championship twice in WCW, and three times in WWE. The twelfth WWE Triple Crown Champion and seventh WCW Triple Crown Champion, he is the second of four men in history to achieve both the WWF and WCW Triple Crown Championships.
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Chris Jericho
Christopher Keith Irvine (born November 9, 1970), known professionally as Chris Jericho, is an American-born Canadian professional wrestler, musician, media personality, actor, author and businessman. He is signed to WWE, appearing on its Raw brand in addition to being the lead singer of heavy metal band Fozzy. He is also well known for his time in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), and internationally in Canadian, Mexican and Japanese promotions.
Jericho has won 30 championships between WWF/E, WCW, and ECW - the three most prominent American promotions in the 1990s and early 2000s. He is credited as being the first Undisputed WWF Champion, having unified the WWE Championship and World Championship (formerly the WCW Championship) in 2001.
In WWE Jericho is a six-time world champion, having won the Undisputed WWF Championship once, the WCW/World Championship twice and the World Heavyweight Championship thrice. He is also a record nine-time Intercontinental Champion, and the fourth WWE Grand Slam Champion.
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Chris Kanyon
Christopher Klucsarits (January 4, 1970 – April 2, 2010) was an American professional wrestler, best known for his work in World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation, under the ring names Chris Kanyon (or simply Kanyon) and Mortis.
After college, he began training under Pete McKay Gonzalez, Ismael Gerena and Bobby Bold Eagle at the Lower East Side Wrestling Gym in Manhattan at some point between December 1991 and January 1992. He wrestled his first match on April 5, 1992 in Levittown, New York at the Island Trees Junior High School, and wrestled one match as Chris Morgan before adopting the ring name Chris Canyon and later changed it to Chris Kanyon. Kanyon worked as a physical therapist for the next three years, wrestling on weekends and in the evenings, before finally deciding to become a full-time professional wrestler in 1995. Early in his career, Kanyon formed a tag team with Billy Kidman which saw both men wrestle in the uniform of hockey players.
In late 1994, he made several appearances with the World Wrestling Federation as a jobber, facing wrestlers such as Shawn Michaels, Diesel, Tatanka and Bob Holly. His friend and future manager James Mitchell saw potential in him and sent him for training with The Fabulous Moolah in South Carolina and with Afa at the Wild Samoan wrestling School.
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Chris Parks
Christopher J. "Chris" Parks (born October 4, 1973), better known by his ring name "The Monster" Abyss, is an American professional wrestler signed with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA).
Through TNA's working relationship with Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA), Abyss also works regularly for the Mexican promotion, where he one half of the reigning AAA World Tag Team Champions with partner Chessman. He is a former NWA World Heavyweight champion, being the first of only two men to hold the title while competing under a mask. In TNA, he was the fourth man to complete the Triple Crown Championship and the second to complete the Grand Slam Championship.
Chris Parks was born in Washington, D.C. He attended high school in Cleveland, Ohio, where he played American football. He attended Ohio University.
Chris Parks was trained by Roger Ruffin of the Northern Wrestling Federation (NWF). He won his debut match by disqualification. For the first few years of his career, Parks worked in the NWF as the Original Terminator, Chris Justice, and then Prince Justice.
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Christian (wrestler)
William Jason Reso (born November 30, 1973) is a Canadian professional wrestler and actor, better known by the ring names Christian and Christian Cage, who is signed to WWE and appearing on its SmackDown brand, where he is the current WWE Intercontinental Champion.
Reso was trained by former professional wrestlers Ron Hutchinson, Dory Funk, Jr., and Tom Prichard, and made his wrestling debut in June 1995. Reso wrestled in Canadian independent promotions early in his career. During his time in these promotions, he competed in singles and tag team competition, the latter with Edge, his storyline brother. In 1998, Reso signed a developmental deal with the WWF and began competing for the company the following year. After signing with the WWF, Reso made his debut and captured his first title with the company, the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship. He and Edge went on to win the WWF Tag Team Championship on seven different occasions. During this time, they gained notoriety in the tag team division, partly due to their participation in Tables, Ladders, and Chairs matches. In 2001 the team parted ways and Reso signed with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) in 2005.
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Christopher Daniels
Daniel Christopher Covell (born March 24, 1971) is an American professional wrestler, best known in the United States by his ring name "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels. He is also known for performing under the ring name Curry Man. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he is currently one half of the TNA World Tag Team Champions, while also working for several independent promotions. He has also worked with Ring of Honor (ROH) in the past, and between TNA and ROH has won 14 total championships, nine of which being tag team titles (seven in TNA, two in ROH).
He is known as The King of Indies for his work with independent promotions all over the world, including Frontier Wrestling Alliance (FWA), International Wrestling Cartel (IWC), and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG).
Daniels began his professional wrestling career at Windy City Pro Wrestling in Chicago during the early 1990s. In 2000, he tagged in the World Wrestling Federation with Aaron Aguilera as "Dos" one half of Los Conquistadores. He also challenged Taka Michinoku for the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship in a losing effort in his Fallen Angel gimmick on WWF Shotgun Saturday Night. He also wrestled for hardcore wrestling promotions XPW and ECW.
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Christopher Nowinski
Christopher John Nowinski (born September 24, 1978) is an author and a former professional wrestler with World Wrestling Entertainment. Nowinski is renowned for being WWE's first Harvard alumnus, as he graduated with an A.B. in sociology. He is also recognized as the youngest Hardcore Champion in WWE history. Following his wrestling career, he wrote Head Games: Football's Concussion Crisis, which examined the long-term effects of head trauma among athletes.
Nowinski was one of the three finalists on WWE's first series of Tough Enough, which Maven Huffman won. After failing to win the competition, Nowinski made appearances in independent promotions before finally being hired by WWE and entering its developmental territories. Nowinski competed as Chris Harvard, capitalizing on his status as an alumnus of Harvard University. Nowinski made his first major independent appearance in London, England for the Frontier Wrestling Alliance promotion at its Lights Camera Action show on December 14, 2001. Nowinski competed in its main event teaming up with Alex Shane to defeat Drew McDonald and Flash Barker. Though this was the only show Nowinski did for the promotion, he regards it as the best promotion he has ever worked for outside of WWE.
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Christy Hemme
Christina Lee "Christy" Hemme (born October 28, 1980) is an American professional wrestling valet, retired professional wrestler, and former model and singer currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling performing as ring announcer and interviewer.
Hemme was born in Poway, California, but she grew up in Temecula, California. She enjoyed racing street bikes and dirt bikes. She was a "self-described" tomboy. She grew up watching wrestling and favored The Undertaker.
She was a cheerleader for two years at Temecula Valley High. She graduated in 1998 at age seventeen. Hemme attended Mt. San Jacinto College, where she majored in dance.
After graduating, she relocated to Los Angeles, California to pursue a career in modeling. Hemme initially joined a burlesque dance team known as "The Purrfect Angelz". She performed at Easyrider tours and Harley motorcycle rallies. She went on to appear in magazines such as Maxim,Playboy, Rolling Stone, and Stuff. In addition, she appeared in the music video of the Trace Adkins songs "Chrome", and "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk" and in videos for bands Blink-182 and Sonic. She also had parts in commercials for AT&T and TrimSpa, and she was a spokesmodel for Hawaiian Tropic. Other early jobs included a waitressing job at Hooters.
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Chyna
Chyna (born Joan Marie Laurer; December 27, 1970) is a former American professional wrestler, actress, pornographic actress and former bodybuilder. She is best known for her career with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) from 1997 to 2001, where she was billed as "Chyna: 'The Ninth Wonder of the World'" (André the Giant was already billed as the eighth). She began her WWF career as Paul "Triple H" Levesque's on-screen bodyguard, and the duo also dated in real-life. They were both members of the popular D-Generation X stable, a storyline alliance of several wrestlers, until 1999.
Chyna holds the distinction of being the only Diva in WWE history to compete, full time, in the men's division. She was the first woman to enter the Royal Rumble, qualify for the King of the Ring tournament, and be the number one contender for the WWF Championship. In 1999, she became the first and only woman to hold the WWF Intercontinental Championship, which she held twice. She also held the WWF Women's Championship once, before leaving the company in 2001. She claims that Levesque's affair with Stephanie McMahon, daughter of WWF owner Vince McMahon, was a factor in her departure. After originally retiring from professional wrestling in 2004, Chyna made a return in May 2011 by joining Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA).
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CM Punk
Phillip Jack Brooks (born October 26, 1978), better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler signed to WWE and appearing on its Raw brand as the reigning WWE Champion.
In professional wrestling, Brooks is a seven time World Champion, having held the ROH World Championship and ECW Championship once, the World Heavyweight Championship three times and the WWE Championship twice.
In addition to these championships Punk has also won the World Tag Team Championship (with Kofi Kingston), and the WWE Intercontinental Championship making him the nineteenth WWE Triple Crown Champion and the man to achieve this honor fastest at 203 days. Between WWE and Ring of Honor (where he is also a two-time World Tag Team Champion), Punk has won a total of eleven championships. He was also the winner of the 2008 and 2009 Money in the Bank ladder matches (the only wrestler to win the match twice in a row), and was the 2011 Superstar of the Year Slammy Award winner.
Punk initially came to prominence through his career on the professional wrestling independent circuit, primarily as a member of the ROH roster, where he was the first head trainer of the ROH wrestling school as well as winning both of their championships. In 2005, Punk signed a contract with WWE and was sent to its developmental promotion, Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), where he won every championship available in the promotion. Throughout his career, Punk has consistently used the gimmick of being straight edge, a lifestyle he follows in his actual day-to-day life. Depending on Punk's alignment as a crowd favorite or villain, he emphasizes different aspects of the culture to encourage the desired audience reaction.
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Cody Rhodes
Cody Runnels (born June 30, 1985) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Cody Rhodes. Runnels is signed to WWE where he wrestles on its SmackDown brand.
Runnels is the half-brother of Goldust as well as the son of Dusty Rhodes, and worked as a referee in his father's promotion during high school. Runnels started wrestling professionally in 2006, using his real name, wrestling for Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW). While situated at OVW, he won various championships, both in tag team and singles competition, including the OVW Heavyweight Championship. He made his WWE television debut on July 16, 2007, under the ring name Cody Rhodes. In December 2007, Rhodes captured his first title with the company, the World Tag Team Championship with Hardcore Holly, and the two held it for six months.
Rhodes formed a secret alliance with Ted DiBiase during 2008. In the course of a match held on June 29 he turned on Holly by switching sides to join DiBiase, with whom he became World Tag Team champion. The new champions dropped their titles in August, only to win them back a week later. Rhodes and DiBiase were joined by Manu shortly afterwards, forming a faction of multi-generation wrestlers, although this alliance was to be short-lived. In January 2009, Rhodes and DiBiase formed a new alliance, The Legacy, with Randy Orton. Rhodes was moved to the SmackDown brand in April 2010, as part of the Supplemental Draft, and won the WWE Tag Team Championship with Drew McIntyre in September of the same year. In August 2011, Rhodes won the WWE Intercontinental Championship, his first singles championship in WWE, holding it for over seven months until he lost it at WrestleMania 28. He won the title back one month later at Extreme Rules (2012).
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Consequences Creed
Austin Watson (born September 4, 1986) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Consequences Creed. He is signed to WWE, and works in its developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling as Xavier Woods. He was formerly one-half of the FCW Florida Tag Team Champions with Wes Brisco.
He previously worked for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he was a two-time World Tag Team Champion--once with Adam "Pacman" Jones and Ron "The Truth" Killings as Team Pacman, and once with Jay Lethal as Lethal Consequences. He has also worked for NWA Anarchy and other independent promotions under the ring name Austin Creed. His wrestling persona is based on Apollo Creed from the Rocky movie series.
Watson was born in Columbus, Georgia in 1986 and graduated from Sprayberry High School in Marietta, Georgia in 2004. That same year he began studying psychology and philosophy at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. Watson graduated from Furman University with two degrees a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and philosophy on May 29, 2008. At his time at Furman University, Watson had a brief stint as an accomplished cheerleader.
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Curt Hennig
Curtis Michael "Curt" Hennig (March 28, 1958 – February 10, 2003) was an American professional wrestler, manager and color commentator who performed under his real name for the American Wrestling Association (AWA), the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). In the WWF, he found his greatest success as Mr. Perfect, a nickname introduced in his second run with the company which gradually became his official ring name as use of his real name was phased out; Hennig used the same ring name in his third and final run, however his real name was widely acknowledged. He was the son of wrestler Larry "The Axe" Hennig, and father to current WWE (formerly the WWF) superstar Michael McGillicutty.
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D'Lo Brown
Accie Julius Connor (born October 22, 1970) better known by his ring name D'Lo Brown (also written D-Lo Brown), is an American professional wrestler. Well known for his appearances with World Wrestling Entertainment, he works as an agent for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.
Connor has held forty-eight championships in various promotions during his career. Among other accolades, he is a four-time WWF European Champion,one-time WWF Intercontinental Champion and one-time NWA World Tag Team Champion.
Connor began his wrestling career in New Jersey as Ace the Animal. He then wrestled Earthquake in the WWF in 1993 under his given name as a jobber. This led to his first widely known accomplishment in Smoky Mountain Wrestling, becoming the head of security for The Gangstas. When the Gangstas left SMW in 1995, he signed a deal with the WWF and was sent to the Heartland Wrestling Association for more training while making more appearances as a jobber on WWF television.
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Dale Oliver
Dale Byron Oliver (Born 1970) is an American music composer who works for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. Formerly a backing guitarist for the American country music group BlackHawk, Oliver serves mainly as a composer of theme music used in professional wrestling.
Since 2003, Oliver writes, records, and produces music under contract exclusively for TNA Wrestling. Oliver writes the majority of TNA's event and wrestler theme songs and has done so since the company's inception. Oliver plays the instruments and provides the vocals for most of the theme songs himself.
In 2010, Oliver collaborated with TNA superstar Jeff Hardy and his band, Peroxwhy?gen on two songs. The first was a remix of the song "Modest" by Hardy. The other was a remix of the Peroxwhy?gen song "Another Me" which Hardy uses as his entrance theme. In 2011, Oliver again teamed with Hardy to work on the track "Resurrected", which Hardy announced on his official twitter page. He then began using the theme at TNA's pay per view event "Bound For Glory" on October 16, 2011. He has appeared playing the guitar in the 2012 music video Longnecks and Rednecks sung by Serg Salinas featuring country duo Montgomery Gentry.
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Daniel Puder
Daniel Puder (born October 9, 1981) is an American professional wrestler and retired professional mixed martial artist.
As a mixed martial artist, Puder trained at the American Kickboxing Academy, in San Jose, California. Puder is undefeated in MMA competition, holding a a record of eight wins and zero losses.
As a professional wrestler, Puder trained at Ohio Valley Wrestling. Puder is, best known for having won the $1,000,000 Tough Enough challenge during his time in World Wrestling Entertainment and Ohio Valley Wrestling. Puder had previously worked for Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling.
Puder was involved in amateur wrestling during high school. In high school at Monta Vista High School, in Cupertino, California, Puder finished first place in his weight division in the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Central Coast Section, in amateur wrestling, while wrestling with a broken hand.
Puder was also involved in entrepreneurship during high school, starting several businesses.
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Davey Boy Smith
David "Davey" Boy Smith (November 27, 1962 – May 18, 2002) was a British professional wrestler, also known as (The) British Bulldog, who was born in Golborne in North West England, United Kingdom. Smith is known for his appearances with Stampede Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Described by WWE (previously the WWF) as "one of the most physically impressive individuals in WWE history", Smith found success as both a singles and tag competitor, holding every major title in the organization except the WWF Championship. Smith competed in multiple pay-per-view main events in the WWF and WCW, and challenged for the top titles of both promotions.
Smith was trained by Ted Betley in Winwick, England before relocating to Calgary, Alberta, Canada to further his training under Stu Hart. While training with Hart, Smith met Stu and Helen Hart's youngest daughter Diana, whom he married in 1984. They had two children, Harry (born on August 2, 1985) and Georgia (born on September 26, 1987). He and Diana were divorced in 2000.
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Dean Malenko
Dean Simon (born August 4, 1960) is a retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Dean Malenko. He is currently signed to WWE working as a road agent. He is best known for his time with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Considered by many to be one of the most technically gifted professional wrestlers of all time, Malenko's in-ring talents would earn him the nickname, "The Man of 1,000 Holds". He was also known as "The Iceman" for his cold and calculating demeanor.
In the WWF, he was a 2-time Light Heavyweight Champion. In WCW, he was a 1-time United States Champion, a 4-time Cruiserweight Champion and a 1-time World Tag Team Champion with Chris Benoit. In ECW, he was a 2-time Television Champion and a 1-time Tag Team Champion with Chris Benoit.
Malenko was born into a wrestling family, and his father Boris Malenko was a prominent wrestling figure. He started out as a referee in the Tampa area and even worked briefly as a referee for the WWF in the mid-1980s. He has wrestled all over the world and has spent much time wrestling in Mexico and Japan. He wrestled with his brother Joe from 1988 to 1992, forming a tag team, until his brother retired. On January 24, 1992, Malenko defeated "The Superstar" for the Suncoast Pro Wrestling (SPW) Southern title in Palmetto, Florida. Malenko defeated Jimmy Backlund for the ICWA Light Heavyweight title on March 12, 1992, in Tampa.
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Diamond Dallas Page
Dallas Page (born Page Joseph Falkinburg, Jr.; April 5, 1956), better known by his ring name "Diamond" Dallas Page (DDP), is an American retired professional wrestler, fitness instructor and actor, signed to WWE in a Legends contract[citation needed]. In the course of his wrestling career, which spanned two decades, Page has wrestled for mainstream wrestling promotions World Championship Wrestling (WCW), the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE), and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA).
Page first broke into the wrestling business in 1988, as a manager in the American Wrestling Association, where he worked for nine months before signing with WCW in 1991. There, he continued as a manager until late 1991, when he became a wrestler. Over a decade in WCW, Page became a three-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion, two-time WCW United States Heavyweight Champion, four-time WCW World Tag Team Champion and one-time WCW World Television Champion. He is the fourth WCW Triple Crown Champion.
After WCW was sold in 2001, Page signed with the WWF, where he became a one-time WWF European Champion and one-time WWF World Tag Team Champion. Due to a series of injuries, he allowed his contract with the company to expire in 2002. He worked for TNA from 2004 to 2005. Page is now an actor in small-budget films, as well as a fitness guru and motivational speaker.
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Dick Slater
Richard Van Slater (born May 19, 1951), better known by his ring name "Dirty" Dick Slater, is a retired American professional wrestler who wrestled in the 1970s, 1980s, and mid 1990s for various promotions including Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling and World Championship Wrestling (WCW).
Slater began wrestling with Mike Graham at Robinson High School, in Tampa, Florida. He attended the University of Tampa with Paul Orndorff. From there he began wrestling in Championship Wrestling from Florida and Georgia Championship Wrestling. He worked as a booker in Knoxville, Tennessee after Ron Fuller sold his promotion to Jim Barnett. He wrestled in Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling (later World Championship Wrestling), where he appeared on the first Starrcade. He also worked in Mid-South Wrestling Association, where he was managed by Dark Journey. Made some trips to the World Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico. He wrestled briefly in the World Wrestling Federation as a babyface under a "Rebel" gimmick, but soon returned to WCW. He wrestled there until receiving his back injury that ended his career.
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Dixie Carter-Salinas
Dixie Carter-Salinas (born October 6, 1964), more commonly known as Dixie Carter, is an American professional wrestling promoter and businesswoman, who is the president of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA).
Carter was born in Dallas, Texas to parents Robert W. and Janice Carter. She graduated from The Hockaday School in 1982 and subsequently attended the University of Mississippi, graduating in 1986 with a Bachelor of Business Administration. While a student, Carter was active on the Student Programming Board, and was a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma women's fraternity. In addition, Carter worked as an intern with Levenson and Hill, a marketing and advertisement firm in the Las Colinas suburb of Dallas, Texas. Upon graduating, Carter became a full-time employee of Levenson and Hill, receiving a promotion to the position of vice president at the age of 27. In 1993, she started her own business in Nashville, focusing primarily on sport and music representation.
In 2002, the president of Monterey Peninsula Talent (a booking agency) contacted Carter and informed her that Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, a professional wrestling promotion, required a marketing and publicity outlet. Carter began working with TNA, but, two months later, was informed by Jeff Jarrett (a part-owner of TNA) that a key financial backer (HealthSouth Corporation, which was having financial problems due to its being investigated for accounting irregularities) had withdrawn support from TNA, and that the company was in dire straits as a result.
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Dolph Ziggler
Nicholas Theodore "Nick" Nemeth (born July 27, 1980) is an American professional wrestler, who is contracted to WWE. He wrestles on the Raw brand under the name Dolph Ziggler. He is also known for his performances with WWE as Spirit Squad member Nicky in 2006.
Nemeth signed a development contract with WWE in 2004, and was sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW). He was brought up to the Raw brand in 2005 as Kerwin White's sidekick. He was, however, sent back to OVW shortly afterwards, where he joined the Spirit Squad. They debuted on Raw in January 2006, and won the World Tag Team Championship once before returning to OVW that November.
In September 2007, Nemeth was assigned to Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), where he formed a tag team with Brad Allen. The pair won the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship once, and Nemeth later won the championship for the second time with Gavin Spears as his partner. He returned to Raw as Ziggler in September 2008, and was drafted to the SmackDown brand in April 2009. At the SmackDown tapings on July 28, Ziggler won the WWE Intercontinental Championship for the first time. He held the championship for five months, until January 2011. He was awarded, and lost, his first World Heavyweight Championship on February 15, 2011. That March he returned to the Raw roster, and won the WWE United States Championship for the first time three months later.
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Don Muraco
Donald Muraco (born September 10, 1949), better known by his ring names "The Magnificent Muraco" and "The Rock" Don Muraco, is a retired American professional wrestler. Wrestling from the 1970s to the 1990s, Muraco is a former two time WWF Intercontinental Champion, a former two time ECW Heavyweight Champion, one Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship, and was the 1985 King of the Ring, the first-ever in WWF/WWE history.
A former state champion in amateur wrestling in Hawaii in 1967, Muraco chose professional wrestling over football and spent the first year of his career learning the ropes in Vancouver, Portland, Florida and Los Angeles before he got his first break, accepting an offer from Verne Gagne to work in the American Wrestling Association (AWA). A fan favorite at this early stage of his career, Muraco formed a tag team with Jimmy Snuka and squared off many times with the likes of Larry Hennig, Ivan Koloff and Dusty Rhodes. In 1973 Muraco left the AWA for the San Francisco territory, having become tired of life in Minneapolis.
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Drew McIntyre
Andrew "Drew" Galloway (born June 6, 1985) is a Scottish professional wrestler signed with WWE, where he wrestles on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Drew McIntyre.
He began training from the age of 15 in England, before moving back to Scotland to begin his career. Before long he became a regular in British Championship Wrestling (BCW) using the gimmick "Thee" Drew Galloway, winning their Heavyweight Championship twice along with the Heavyweight Championship of Insane Championship Wrestling. He also found success abroad in Irish Whip Wrestling, winning their top title. During this time he completed an undergraduate degree in criminology.
After touring the independent circuit around the British Isles, Galloway moved to the United States in 2007 to sign with WWE. Along with a brief stint on the SmackDown brand, he spent time in developmental territories Ohio Valley Wrestling and Florida Championship Wrestling, winning the Heavyweight and Tag Team Championships later, before returning to SmackDown and quickly winning the WWE Intercontinental Championship. In 2010, he held the WWE Tag Team Championship with Cody Rhodes.
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Dustin Rhodes
Dustin Patrick Runnels (born April 11, 1969) is an American professional wrestler. Runnels is best known for performing as Goldust in WWE and is also known for performing in various companies such as World Championship Wrestling and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as Dustin Rhodes. Among the other names Runnels has performed under are Black Reign and Seven.
Runnels is the son of "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes and the half brother of Cody Rhodes.
Between WWF/E and WCW, Rhodes won 17 total championships. In World Championship Wrestling, he was a two-time United States Champion, a one-time Six-Man Tag Team Champion, a two-time World Tag Team Champion, and a one-time NWA World Tag Team Champion. In World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment, he is a three-time Intercontinental Champion, a seven-time Hardcore Champion, and a one-time World Tag Team Champion.
Rhodes debuted as a fan favorite in the World Wrestling Federation in late 1990, wrestling as Dustin Rhodes. In December 1990, Rhodes defeated Ted DiBiase in a televised ten-minute challenge match. On January 19, 1991 at the Royal Rumble, Rhodes and his father Dusty lost to Ted DiBiase and Virgil in a tag team bout, and left immediately after.
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Dwayne Johnson
Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his ring name The Rock, is an American actor and professional wrestler who is signed to WWE, appearing on the Raw brand. He is often credited as Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.
Johnson was a college football player. In 1991, he was part of the University of Miami's national championship team. He later played for the Calgary Stampeders in the Canadian Football League, and was cut two months into the 1995 season. This led to his decision to become a professional wrestler like his grandfather, Peter Maivia, and his father, Rocky Johnson. He gained mainstream fame as a wrestler in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) from 1996 to 2004, and was the first third-generation superstar in the company's history. Johnson was quickly given a push as a heroic character in the WWF, originally billed as "Rocky Maivia", and then as "The Rock". He would subsequently turn into a villain as a member of the Nation of Domination in 1997. Two years after he joined the WWF, Johnson won the WWF Championship, and became one of the most popular wrestlers within the company's history for his engaging interviews and promos. Johnson is regarded by many as one of the greatest talkers in professional wrestling history, Rock was voted third by the fans for his microphone ability behind Roddy Piper and Stone Cold Steve Austin who were second and first respectively.
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Earl Hebner
Earl William Hebner (born May 17, 1949) is a professional wrestling referee currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, and the twin brother of Dave Hebner. He is perhaps the most famous professional wrestling referee today, best known from his time as the senior referee for the World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment and later on in the same role on their Raw brand from 2002-2005. As Senior Referee, Hebner officiated most main events during his time with the company from 1988-2005. He played an extremely prominent role in the inaugural The Main Event card in 1988, in which André the Giant controversially "defeated" Hulk Hogan for the WWF Championship, as well as the infamous "Montreal Screwjob" during the main event of the 1997 Survivor Series. He also participated in an on-screen angle in mid to late 2000 where he became biased against the McMahon-Helmsley Faction for constantly and deliberately defying his authority as a referee and attacking him, ultimately culminating with his kayfabe firing from WWE.
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Eddie Guerrero
Eduardo Gory "Eddie" Guerrero Llanes (October 9, 1967 – November 13, 2005) was a Mexican-American professional wrestler born into the Guerrero wrestling family. He wrestled in Mexico and Japan for several major professional wrestling promotions. In the United States, Guerrero wrestled in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Guerrero's gimmick was that of "Latino Heat", a crafty, resourceful wrestler who would do anything to win a match. His catchphrase became "I Lie! I Cheat! I Steal!," which was used in one of his entrance themes. Guerrero partly used this phrase in his autobiography Cheating Death, Stealing Life.
Despite being a villain for most of his career, he got over in and outside the ring being the youngest, yet most popular and successful of the Guerrero brothers. Guerrero was widely regarded as one of the most respected and gifted technical wrestlers in history. Throughout his career, Guerrero encountered various substance abuse problems outside of wrestling, including alcoholism and an addiction to painkillers. His real-life problems were sometimes integrated into his storylines. Notwithstanding these issues, Guerrero won 23 titles during his career, including the WWE Grand Slam Championship.
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Edge (wrestler)
Adam Copeland (born October 30, 1973) is a Canadian retiredprofessional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring name Edge. He is best known for his time with WWE.
Copeland was trained by former professional wrestlers Sweet Daddy Siki and Ron Hutchinson. Throughout the 1990s, he wrestled in North American independent promotions early in his career. During his time in these promotions, he competed in singles and tag team competition, the latter with Christian, his storyline brother. In 1997, Copeland signed a developmental deal with the WWF and began competing for the company later that year; he made his televised debut the following June under the ring name Edge. In June 1999, he won the WWF Intercontinental Championship, making it his first title reign with the company. He and Christian went on to win the WWF Tag Team Championship on seven different occasions. During this time, they gained notoriety in the tag team division, partly due to their participation in Tables, Ladders, and Chairs matches.
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Eric Bischoff
Eric Aaron Bischoff (born May 27, 1955) is an American entrepreneur, professional wrestling booker and on-screen personality who is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. He is best known for serving as Executive Producer and later President of World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and later, the General Manager of World Wrestling Entertainment's Raw brand.
With an amateur background in Tae Kwon Do, Bischoff also sporadically performed as an in-ring competitor, and is a former WCW Hardcore Champion. He wrote an autobiography, titled Controversy Creates Cash, that was released in 2006 under WWE Books.
Bischoff started in wrestling working for the American Wrestling Association under owner Verne Gagne and would eventually become an on-air interviewer and host until the AWA folded in 1991. Bischoff at first worked in the sales department on the AWA's syndicated programming, and became an on-air personality virtually by accident and at the last minute. Larry Nelson, whom at the time was employed by the AWA as an announcer, was arrested under suspicion of a DUI. Because of Nelson's sudden unavailability, Verne Gagne and his son, Greg, opted to recruit Bischoff (who initially had no desire to be in front of the camera) to fill-in on the interviews. Bischoff believed that the Gagnes thought that he would be a good replacement due to his immediate availability in the television studio, and the fact that he was already wearing a suit and tie.
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Ezekiel Jackson
Rycklon Stephens (born April 22, 1978) is an American bodybuilder and professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, working on its SmackDown brand under the ring name Ezekiel Jackson. He is a former WWE Intercontinental Champion. He is also a former one-time world champion, having won the ECW Championship in February 2010, and is recognized by WWE as the final ECW Champion.
Stephens signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment in March 2007 and debuted in Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) in late June. In his debut match on June 27, he teamed with Keith Walker to defeat Kofi Kingston and Eric Pérez. He continued to compete in the promotion in both tag team and singles matches. On February 8, 2008 he competed in a match with tag partner Bryan Kelly in a losing effort against Steve Lewington and Heath Miller in a mini-tournament to face WWE Tag Team Champions John Morrison and The Miz. On May 6, 2008, Stephens wrestled his final match in FCW before being called up to WWE's main roster.
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Frank Trigg
Dewey Franklin Trigg III (born May 7, 1972) is an American mixed martial artist, color commentator, pro wrestler and co-host of MMAWeekly radio show and TAGG radio show. As a fighter, Trigg is a veteran of the UFC, Pride Fighting Championships, Rumble on the Rock, Icon Sport, BAMMA, World Fighting Alliance, and has even made a few professional wrestling appearances in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.
Born in Kendall, New York, a small town outside of Rochester, New York, Trigg was one of seven children raised by an African-American father and a Italian-American mother, Trigg's early years were not always easy. Growing up in a home with seven brothers, money was tight. That's how Trigg discovered grappling. Naturally, with so many boys in the household, sibling rivalry was rampant, particularly when it came to athletics. Excelling in sports was a highly revered goal, and Trigg's natural athleticism made people take notice.
Trigg developed an early interest in martial arts. However, the sport’s requisite discipline and sacrifices were intense on the grade schooler, and he lost interest until he discovered he had a gift for wrestling at the age of 12. It was then that he resumed his martial arts studies seriously.[citation needed]
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Gail Kim
Gail Kim (born February 20, 1977) is a Canadian professional wrestler of Korean descent, who is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where she is the current and longest reigning TNA Women's Knockout Champion. She is also known for working with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), where she won the WWE Women's Championship in her first match.
She began her career wrestling as La Felina on the Canadian independent circuit, before joining WWE in 2002 as Gail Kim. In her WWE debut match, she won the WWE Women's Championship. After being released by WWE in 2004, Kim joined TNA in September 2005. There, she joined the tag team America's Most Wanted as their valet. After the dissolution of the group, Kim performed as a singles wrestler, eventually going on to become the inaugural TNA Women's Knockout Champion in October 2007. She later left TNA in August 2008, to return to WWE three months later, making her televised return in March 2009. She announced on August 5, 2011 that she had quit WWE via her Twitter account. The following October she returned to TNA.
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Greg Valentine
John Wisniski, Jr. (born September 20, 1951) is an American professional wrestler, better known as Greg "The Hammer" Valentine. He is the son of wrestler Johnny Valentine.
Born in Seattle, Washington, Valentine traveled around Texas in his teens with his father. During a summer vacation, he decided to drop out of college and become a wrestler. His father initially tried to deter him, but eventually ceded to his wishes and sent him to Canada in 1970 to train under Stu Hart in Calgary. Wisniski remained in Canada for a year, wrestling his debut match in July 1970 against Angelo "King Kong" Mosca (he lost in around five minutes). Six months later, Wisniski relocated to Detroit to complete his training under The Sheik.
Initially reluctant to take his father's ring name, Wisniski wrestled as Baby Face Nelson before becoming Johnny Fargo, one half of The Fargo Brothers with Don Fargo between 1971 and 1974. The Fargo Brothers initially competed in the Buffalo and Cleveland based National Wrestling Federation before moving on to Texas. They split in 1974 and Wisniski went to Florida, where he began performing as Johnny Valentine, Jr., hopeful that he could live up to his father's legacy. He later changed his ring name to Greg "The Hammer" Valentine, and was billed as Johnny Valentine's brother, not his son, because of fears that the elder Valentine would be thought of as too old to be a legitimate threat. Valentine remained in Florida for a year while also working in Los Angeles and in Japan under Antonio Inoki in 1975 and early 1976.
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Gregory Helms
Gregory Shane Helms (born July 12, 1974) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) where he wrestled as The Hurricane and Gregory Helms. He is also known for his time with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) where he wrestled as "Sugar" Shane Helms.
Helms first began wrestling in 1991 at the age of 16, and wrestled in numerous independent promotions, including the Organization of Modern Extreme Grappling Arts, winning numerous light heavyweight and tag team championships. In 1999, he signed with WCW, and gained fame as "Sugar" Shane Helms, a member of 3 Count. During his time there he won both the WCW Hardcore Championship and the WCW Cruiserweight title. When WCW was bought by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) (now WWE), Helms' contract was kept by WWF. Helms renamed himself "The Hurricane" and won the WWE Cruiserweight Championship. He later picked up a sidekick, Rosey, and they won the World Tag Team Championship together.
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Harley Race
Harley Leland Race (born April 11, 1943) is a retired American professional wrestler and is a current promoter and trainer. During his career as a wrestler, he held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship 8 times. He worked for all of the major wrestling promotions, including the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), the American Wrestling Association (AWA), the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). He was the first NWA United States Heavyweight Champion. Race is one of six men inducted into each of the WWE Hall of Fame, the WCW Hall of Fame, the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame.
Race was an early fan of professional wrestling, watching programming from the nearby Chicago territory on the DuMont Network. After overcoming polio as a child, he began training as a professional wrestler as a teen under former world champions Stanislaus and Wladek Zbyszko, who operated a farm in his native Missouri. While in high school, an altercation with another classmate led to the principal kneeing Race in the back of the head as he tried to break up the fight. Enraged, Race attacked him, resulting in his expulsion. Already 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) and 225 lb (102 kg), Race decided to get his start in professional wrestling.
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Hermie Sadler
Herman Marion Sadler III (born April 24, 1969) is an American race car driver/announcer and professional wrestling promoter from Emporia, Virginia. He is also an advocate for autism research, as his daughter Hailie Dru, was diagnosed with the disorder in 2001. His younger brother Elliott Sadler is also a NASCAR driver.
Sadler graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1991 with a BA in Industrial Relations, serving as an equipment manager for the school's lacrosse team. He also was a roommate at the school with Benny Parsons' son Keith.
Sadler began racing in go-karts alongside younger brother Elliott in their hometown of Emporia. He then began running late models in Virginia. In 1992, Sadler made his debut in the NASCAR Busch Series at Orange County Speedway. He started 19th but finished 25th after wrecking his #32 Oldsmobile. He would run four more races that season, with a best finish of 20th at Dover International Speedway.
Sadler began running the Busch Series full-time in 1993. Driving the #25 Shell Oil/Virginia is for Lovers Oldsmobile for Don Beverly, Sadler picked a win at Orange County, finished tenth in points, and was named Rookie of the Year. He followed that up with another win and a fifth place points finish the next season. After that season ended, Sadler teamed with his father Herman to run the #1 Chevrolet sponsored by DeWalt Tools. Although he did not win, Sadler had six top-ten finishes and a thirteenth-place finish. 1996 yielded a pole at the Milwaukee Mile, but Sadler continued to drop and finished 15th place in points. He also made his debut in the Winston Cup series, starting 30th and finishing 37th at the Miller 400[disambiguation needed
] in the #26 Chevrolet owned by William Slate.
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Hiroshi Tanahashi
Hiroshi Tanahashi (棚橋 弘至, Tanahashi Hiroshi?, born November 13, 1976) is a Japanese professional wrestler who works primarily for New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he is a former five-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, with his fifth reign holding the record for most successful defenses, with eleven.
Before entering the world of professional wrestling, Hiroshi Tanahashi was a baseball player in high school. He started wrestling while attending Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto and was fairly successful. During this time he was noticed by New Japan Pro Wrestling talent scouts and was invited to try out for the New Japan Dojo. His try out was successful and he was accepted as a trainee.
After graduating from the New Japan Dojo, Tanahashi made his debut in October, 1999 in a match against Shinya Makabe. He became viewed as a big prospect and was given big wins over lucha libre legend Negro Casas in July, 2000 and American Scott Hall in September 2001. His star continued to rise and in the 2002 G-1 Climax (one of New Japan Pro Wrestling's most important annual tournaments) Tanahashi pinned Kensuke Sasaki in under two minutes. After this Tanahashi was paired with Kenzo Suzuki in a tag team named the Kings of the Hills. This pairing was popular but came to an end after a real life incident. In November, 2002 Tanahashi was stabbed in the back by Hitomi Hara (a TV Asahi news reporter he had dated for a brief amount of time). Tanahashi was hospitalized, but would recover. Ironically this incident may have been the best thing to happen to his career. The stabbing was widely reported across Japan and a strong interest to see Tanahashi return was created. On February 16, 2003 Tanahshi returned as a singles wrestler to a sold out crowd in Tokyo in a match against Manabu Nakanishi.
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Homicide (wrestler)
Nelson Rodriguez Erazo (born March 20, 1977) is an American professional wrestler of Puerto Rican descent, better known by his ring name, Homicide. He is best known for working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he was a former X Division Champion and three time World Tag Team Champion having won the NWA World Tag Team Championship twice and the TNA World Tag Team Championship once with his former partner, Hernandez. He is also known from his time in Ring of Honor, where he held the World Championship.
A native of Brooklyn, Erazo was a wrestling fan from the age of five and decided that he wanted to become a wrestler at the age of fifteen. After amassing a series of athletic qualifications including football and amateur wrestling, he was offered a scholarship to the University of Miami, which he rejected, preferring to pursue "fast money". Erazo trained himself as a wrestler in a bodega, debuting on March 5, 1993. After wrestling for three years without any formal training, Erazo attended a professional wrestling school in New Jersey operated by Manny Fernandez.
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Hulk Hogan
Terry Gene Bollea (born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American professional wrestler, actor, television personality, and musician signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA).
Hogan enjoyed mainstream popularity in the mid 1980s through the early 1990s as the all-American character Hulk Hogan in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF—now WWE), and was notable in the mid-to-late 1990s as Hollywood Hogan, the villainous nWo leader, in World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Following the closure of WCW, he made a brief return to WWE in the early 2000s before revising his heroic character by combining elements of his two most famous personas.
Hogan was later inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005. He is a 12-time world champion being a six-time WWF/WWE Champion, six-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion, as well as a former WWE World Tag Team Champion with Edge. He won the Royal Rumble in 1990 and 1991, making him the first to win two consecutive Royal Rumbles. He was also the first WWE wrestler to win the WWE Championship three times. In his first reign as WCW World Heavyweight Champion, Hogan held the title for 469 days from July 17, 1994 to October 29, 1995—the longest ever reign for this championship.
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Héctor Guerrero
Héctor Manuel Guerrero Llanes (born October 1, 1954) is a Mexican-American professional wrestler, better known simply by his paternal name, Héctor Guerrero. He is currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as a Spanish color commentator and a road agent.
He is also brother of the late wrestler Eddie Guerrero
Héctor Guerrero Llanes was born in Mexico City, Mexico, but his family relocated to El Paso, Texas in the United States of America when he was young. Guerrero attended the University of Texas at El Paso, graduating with a bachelor's degree in physical education. Guerrero trained as a wrestler under his father, Gory, and debuted in 1973 using the shortened name "Héctor Guerrero". Early in his career, he wrestled primarily in California, often teaming with his brothers Chavo Guerrero, Sr. and Mando.
In the mid-1980s, Guerrero wrestled for NWA: Jim Crockett Promotions as the masked Lazer-Tron. Guerrero teamed with Jimmy Valiant and feuded with the New Breed. Guerrero went on to feud with Denny Brown for the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship, and teamed with Manny Fernandez as "The Latin Connection" until Fernandez turned on him to join Rick Rude and Paul Jones. In the late 1980s, Guerrero wrestled in the American Wrestling Association, winning the AWA World Tag Team Championship with Dr. D.
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Iron Sheik
Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri (Persian:حسین خسرو علی وزیری) (born March 15, 1943) is a semi-retired Iranian professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name The Iron Sheik. He is known for ending the near six-year World Wrestling Federation Championship reign of Bob Backlund, and for being the man Hulk Hogan defeated for his first WWF Championship.
A heel throughout the 1980s, he later gained popularity on Opie and Anthony, Kidd Chris, The Howard Stern Show, and on the internet due to his shoot interviews and outbursts on the wrestling industry and the hatred he expressed for various wrestlers.
Khosrow was born in Tehran, Iran. He made a name for himself as an amateur wrestler, and also worked as a bodyguard for Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and his family for several years.
Khosrow competed to become part of the Iranian Olympic Greco Roman team for the 1968 Summer Olympics held in Mexico.
After this, he moved to the United States and became the assistant coach of two US Olympic squads in the 1970s. In 1971, he was the Amateur Athletic Union Greco-Roman wrestling champion at 183.5 pounds. He was assistant coach to the USA team for the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich.
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Ivan Koloff
"The Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff (born Oreal Perras on August 25, 1942, Montreal, Quebec, Canada) is a former Canadian professional wrestler who once held the WWF World Heavyweight Championship.
Perras was raised on a dairy farm in rural Ontario along with his six brothers and three sisters.
Since first watching professional wrestling on TV at the age of eight, he wanted to become a wrestler, and would often wrestle with his brothers growing up. At age 18, he left high school and joined Jack Wentworth's wrestling school in Hamilton, Ontario, where he would lift weights and learn wrestling holds. Ivan stood 5' 7 1/2" tall, and weighed approximately 270 pounds. Towards the end of his career he dropped a considerable amount of weight and was tipping the scale at 205 pounds.
Perras debuted as an Irish rogue heel character named Red McNulty, billed from Dublin, Ireland and wrestling with an eyepatch. For the next three years, he wrestled around the Toronto area, eventually quitting his regular job to wrestle in the north-western area of Canada. There, Perras acquired much wrestling experience, and from there he made his first trip to Japan.
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Jacques Rougeau
Jacques Rougeau Jr. (born June 13, 1960) is a retired French-Canadian professional wrestler from Saint-Sulpice, Quebec, best known for his appearances in the 1980s and 1990s with the World Wrestling Federation under his own name, and as The Mountie. Rougeau has held fifteen championships during his career. Among other accolades, he is a former Intercontinental Champion and three-time World Tag Team Champion (with Carl Ouellet) in the WWF.
The Rougeau family as a whole has been very involved in professional wrestling; Jacques is the younger brother of Raymond Rougeau, the son of Jacques Rougeau, Sr., and the nephew of Jean "Johnny" Rougeau, all of whom have worked as professional wrestlers and promoters of wrestling matches. Jacques' sister Johanne also promoted wrestling matches in Montreal, and brother Armand wrestled for smaller federations.
Jacques Rougeau began his career in 1977, working in Stu Hart's Calgary, Alberta based Stampede Wrestling promotion. In the 1980s he began wrestling in the United States, achieving success in Alabama and Tennessee, and in 1985 he and Ray were signed by the World Wrestling Federation.
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James Maritato
James Maritato (born March 12, 1972) is an American professional wrestler, of Italian origin, currently working on the independent circuit. He is best known for his work in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) under the ring names Little Guido Maritato and Nunzio.
While attending Nanuet Senior High School (located in Rockland County, New York), Maritato competed in football (as part of the school's 1989 team that went undefeated, untied, and unscored upon) and wrestling. He was later trained as a professional by Billy Robinson, debuting in the professional ranks in the early 1990s, with his first match against a wrestler known as Parsippany Smith Fields (real name Eric Fox), according to his shoot interview. Maritato then went to Japan to compete in the shoot style UWF International promotion. He also competed in Amarillo, TX promotion USWF under the name James Stone.
He stayed in UWF until 1995 where he joined Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) under the name Damian Stone. He was later given the gimmick of Little Guido and put in the comedy stable the Full Blooded Italians (F.B.I.), alongside an African American named "The Italian Stallion" J.T. Smith, Tracy Smothers, and "The Big Don" Tommy Rich. None of whom, with the exception of Maritato, were really Italian.
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James Storm
James Allen Cox (born June 1, 1977) is an American professional wrestler who competes under the ring name "The Cowboy" James Storm. Since 2002, Storm has been employed by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he, along with A.J. Styles and Jeff Jarrett, is one of three wrestlers to have worked continuously for the promotion since its first broadcast in June of that year.
Primarily a tag team wrestler, Storm has held 11 tag team championships during his time with TNA, winning the NWA World Tag Team Championship seven times and the TNA World Tag Team Championship four times, as a member of the tag teams America's Most Wanted, alongside "Wildcat" Chris Harris, and Beer Money, Inc., alongside Bobby Roode. In October 2011, Storm achieved his first major singles accomplishment, when he defeated Kurt Angle to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.
James Cox was an amateur wrestler while in high school. In addition, he was a talented basketball player, and was awarded a scholarship to Austin Peay State University (which he was forced to relinquish after injuring his shoulder).
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Jason Reso
William Jason Reso (born November 30, 1973) is a Canadian professional wrestler and actor, better known by the ring names Christian and Christian Cage, who is signed to WWE and appearing on its SmackDown brand, where he is the current WWE Intercontinental Champion.
Reso was trained by former professional wrestlers Ron Hutchinson, Dory Funk, Jr., and Tom Prichard, and made his wrestling debut in June 1995. Reso wrestled in Canadian independent promotions early in his career. During his time in these promotions, he competed in singles and tag team competition, the latter with Edge, his storyline brother. In 1998, Reso signed a developmental deal with the WWF and began competing for the company the following year. After signing with the WWF, Reso made his debut and captured his first title with the company, the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship. He and Edge went on to win the WWF Tag Team Championship on seven different occasions. During this time, they gained notoriety in the tag team division, partly due to their participation in Tables, Ladders, and Chairs matches. In 2001 the team parted ways and Reso signed with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) in 2005.
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Jay Lethal
Jamar "Jay" Shipman (born April 29, 1985) better known by his ring name Jay Lethal, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to Ring of Honor (ROH). He is best known for working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he was a six-time X Division Champion and a one-time World Tag Team Champion with Consequences Creed.
Jamar Shipman was born to Ronald and Shirley Shipman on April 29, 1985 in Elizabeth, New Jersey and is the middle child of three brothers and two sisters. On July 7, 2001, at age sixteen, Shipman entered a contest held by Jersey All Pro Wrestling (JAPW) which entitled the winner to six months free training in the JAPW professional wrestling school. Shipman won, and spent half a year training, at the end of which the JAPW school closed down. Shipman then began training under Extreme Championship Wrestling alum Mikey Whipwreck and Dan Maff.
Shipman made his wrestling debut under the ring name Jay Lethal on December 7, 2001, at JAPW's Seasons Beatings Tour Night 2, in a match where he defeated Rainchild. He won his first Championship, the JAPW Television Championship, on September 13, 2002, in Bayonne, New Jersey, at Never Forget, defeating the champion, Ghost Shadow, and Rain in a 3-way match. His reign lasted an unprecedented and unreplicated eleven months, with Lethal finally losing to Crazy Ivan on August 22, 2003 in Rahway, New Jersey at Counter-Strike. Lethal also held the JAPW Light Heavyweight Championship, defeating the champion, Azrieal, Insane Dragon and Jack Evans on February 28, 2004, at Revolution, in a four way match. Azrieal tried to regain the title for eight months, but repeatedly lost to Lethal. On December 10, 2004, at Seasons Beatings, Azrieal gained one more shot at the JAPW Light Heavyweight Championship by challenging Lethal to a "belt versus loser leaves town" match, which would see Azrieal leave JAPW if he lost. Azrieal was able to win the match, thus ending their lengthy feud.
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Jeff Hardy
Jeffrey Nero "Jeff" Hardy (born August 31, 1977) is an American professional wrestler, painter, poet, singer-songwriter and musician who is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). He is also known for his stint with the World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (WWE).
Before gaining prominence in WWE, Hardy performed for the Organization of Modern Extreme Grappling Arts (OMEGA), a promotion he ran with his brother Matt. After being signed by WWE, the brothers worked as jobbers, before gaining notoriety in the tag team division, partly due to their participation in Tables, Ladders, and Chairs matches. With the addition of Lita, the team became known as Team Xtreme and continued to rise in popularity. As a tag team wrestler, Hardy is a six-time World Tag Team Champion and a one-time WCW Tag Team Champion. Noted for his seemingly fearless airborne moves, Hardy's offensive toolbox more resembles a stunt man's than a pro wrestler's.
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Jeff Jarrett
Jeffrey Leonard Jarrett (born April 14, 1967) is an American professional wrestler and wrestling promoter. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), an organization he co-founded along with his father, Jerry. He is currently heading TNA's off-shoot promotion Ring Ka King in India. He is well-known from his multiple runs in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and World Wrestling Federation (WWF) during the 1990s.
A third-generation wrestler, Jarrett has held seventy championships in various promotions throughout his career. Within TNA, he is currently recognized as an eleven-time world champion, having been a six-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, four-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion, and one-time AAA World Heavyweight Champion. He has also accumulated five additional world title reigns, being a three-time USWA Unified World Heavyweight Champion and two-time WWA World Heavyweight Champion. He achieved notable championship success in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), becoming a six-time Intercontinental Champion (a record from 1999–2004), and one of three men to hold both the Intercontinental and European Championships simultaneously. While he never captured the WWF Championship, Jarrett challenged for the title and is recognized by the promotion as a four-time world champion, given his four reigns with the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, which is now a WWE (formerly WWF) trademark. He is the first wrestler to be a two-time King of the Mountain, and also won Mexican promotion Asistencia Asesoría y Administración's (AAA) Rey de Reyes tournament in 2004. Between the WWF, WCW, and TNA, Jarrett has held twenty-two total championships as well as other numerous regional titles.
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Jeremy Borash
Jeremy Borash (born July 19, 1974 in Minneapolis, Minnesota), is an American professional wrestling play-by-play commentator, announcer, ring announcer, booker, interviewer, producer and website designer. He was involved in World Championship Wrestling, the now defunct World Wrestling All-Stars promotion, and has been a very influential staff member of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling since its inception in 2002. He currently serves as the backstage interviewer for TNA, and is a member of the TNA creative team[citation needed] as well as hosting TNA online content such as TNA Today.
Jeremy Borash was born just outside of Minneapolis, Borash started a career in broadcasting at the age of 15, hosting both a nightly radio talk show and live television show in the Twin Cities. Borash's radio show on KSMM in Minneapolis, and television show "Jeremy Borash Live!" won several Minnesota broadcasting awards, as well as leading to on-air positions at KSTP and KDWB in the Twin Cities.
After graduating from Brown Institute for Broadcasting in Minneapolis, Borash took a position at the age of 19 as a program director/morning show host at KOOL 92 FM in Fort Dodge, Iowa. His popular "Borash in the Morning" show featured a wide variety of entertainment, including such acts as actually hypnotizing local politicians on the air, skydiving from 13,000 feet over Fort Dodge, and his popular breakfast drive through, where Borash would personally deliver free breakfast to his listeners cars as they drove by. His involvement in local community activities included serving on the board of the United Way, as well as Honorary Chairman for the March of Dimes, which received national attention when Borash became the youngest person ever nominated for radio's prestigious Marconi Award for Broadcasting as America's Small Market Personality of the Year in 1996.
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Jerry Lynn
Jeremy "Jerry" Lynn (born June 12, 1963) is an American professional wrestler. He has worked for Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), and Ring of Honor (ROH). Lynn is a two-time world champion, having won the ECW World Heavyweight Championship once and the ROH World Championship once.
Lynn started wrestling in March 1988 in various independent promotions in the Minnesota and Michigan areas, one being Pro Wrestling America, and a brief stop in the Tennessee-based Smoky Mountain Wrestling. After the PWA folded, Lynn wrestled for the Global Wrestling Federation (GWF) based in Dallas, Texas. While in GWF, Lynn captured the GWF Light Heavyweight Championship. Lynn also engaged in a two year feud with The Lightning Kid which gave both men considerable exposure.
Lynn first became known to a larger wrestling audience in World Championship Wrestling as the masked Mr. J.L. The high-flying Lynn joined the WCW cruiserweight division, where he competed against the Mexican luchadores and a variety of wrestlers from around the world such as Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, Eddie Guerrero, Sabu, Chris Jericho and Alex Wright. Lynn suffered a broken arm on December 18, 1995, in a match against Dean Malenko that would air one week later on Nitro on Christmas night. He also wrestled a couple of matches on Saturday Night as himself, most notably wrestling Lex Luger. One of his last major matches took place at the Clash of the Champions XXXV, where he suffered a six-man tag team loss while teaming with Konnan and La Parka against Chris Jericho, Super Calo and Chavo Guerrero, Jr.. While he was injured, Eric Bischoff fired him from WCW.
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Jim Cornette
James Mark "Jim" Cornette (born September 17, 1961) is an American professional wrestling manager, commentator, promoter, and booker who is currently working for the Ring of Honor promotion.
As a manager, he has worked for Jim Crockett Promotions, World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Federation and from 1991 to 1995, was the owner of Smoky Mountain Wrestling. He has also worked as an on-screen character in an authoritative role; as "Commissioner" of Ring of Honor (in a previous stint with the company) and "Management Director" (and off-screen road agent) for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.
Cornette currently acts as Executive Producer of Ring of Honor Wrestling, as well as serving as the on-air authority figure.
Born in Louisville, Kentucky, Cornette always loved wrestling, reportedly installing a ten-foot antenna on top of his house as a youth so he could watch as much regional wrestling as possible. He began working at wrestling events at the age of 14, serving as a photographer, ring announcer, magazine correspondent, and public relations correspondent. In 1982, promoter Jerry Jarrett made the 21-year old Cornette the manager of Sherri Martel and gave Cornette the gimmick of a rich kid turned inept manager whose clients kept firing him after one match. The most notable wrestlers in this angle were Dutch Mantell and Crusher Broomfield (who would later gain fame as The One Man Gang and Akeem, The African Dream).
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Jim Duggan
James Edward Duggan (born January 14, 1954), better known by his ring name "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment in the 1980s, when it was known as World Wrestling Federation (WWF), and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). His best known character is that of an American patriot, which sees him use a 2x4 length of wood as a weapon, the battle cry "Hooo!" and the U-S-A! cheer.
Duggan is a survivor of kidney cancer, an illness he was diagnosed with during his time with WCW. Duggan has claimed to have wrestled in all 50 States in America as well as in the countries/territories of Australia, Austria, The Bahamas, Belgium, Bermuda, Canada, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, France, Germany, Guam, the Netherlands, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, Scotland, England and Wales (In The United Kingdom.)
In the WWF, Duggan was the winner of the first-ever Royal Rumble match in 1988 and in WCW, he was a one time United States Heavyweight Champion and a one time (and the final) World Television Champion.
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Jim Korderas
Jimmy Korderas (born March 19, 1962), better known by his referee name, Jim "Jimmy" Korderas is a Canadian professional wrestling referee who worked for World Wrestling Entertainment for over 22 years.
Korderas began working as a professional wrestling referee in 1985 at Maple Leaf Gardens. At first he was hired as a driver by his friend Elio Zarlenga. At the time Zarlenga was second in command only to Jack Tunney, and suggested making Korderas a referee. His first match was between Special Delivery Jones and Red Demon.
At WrestleMania IV, Korderas was legitimately knocked unconscious after hitting his head, rendering himself unconscious, after Jimmy Hart decked him with his trademark megaphone. As a result, he had to be physically assisted from the ring.
On May 23, 1999, Korderas was the referee at Over the Edge in 1999 for the match between "Blue Blazer" Owen Hart and The Godfather. He was in the ring when Hart fell from the ceiling into the ring and died. According to reports, Hart yelled to Korderas and told him to move because Hart did not want to land on Korderas.
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Jimmy Korderas
Jimmy Korderas (born March 19, 1962), better known by his referee name, Jim "Jimmy" Korderas is a Canadian professional wrestling referee who worked for World Wrestling Entertainment for over 22 years.
Korderas began working as a professional wrestling referee in 1985 at Maple Leaf Gardens. At first he was hired as a driver by his friend Elio Zarlenga. At the time Zarlenga was second in command only to Jack Tunney, and suggested making Korderas a referee. His first match was between Special Delivery Jones and Red Demon.
At WrestleMania IV, Korderas was legitimately knocked unconscious after hitting his head, rendering himself unconscious, after Jimmy Hart decked him with his trademark megaphone. As a result, he had to be physically assisted from the ring.
On May 23, 1999, Korderas was the referee at Over the Edge in 1999 for the match between "Blue Blazer" Owen Hart and The Godfather. He was in the ring when Hart fell from the ceiling into the ring and died. According to reports, Hart yelled to Korderas and told him to move because Hart did not want to land on Korderas.
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Jimmy Snuka
James William "Jimmy" Reiher (born May 18, 1943) is a semi-retired Fijian professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring name Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka. Originally from the Fiji Islands, Snuka wrestled for several promotions in the 1970s and 1980s. Snuka was the first ECW Heavyweight Champion and held the title on two occasions. He is best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in the early to mid-1980s and is credited with introducing the high-flyer style of wrestling to the WWF. His children Jimmy Reiher, Jr. and Sarona Reiher are also wrestlers.
Reiher was active in amateur bodybuilding in Hawaii in the 1960s. He also enjoyed some success as a professional bodybuilder, earning the titles of Mr. Hawaii, Mr. Waikiki and Mr. North Shore. Reiher opted to go into the more lucrative career of professional wrestling due to his uncertainty of making a living in bodybuilding. While working at Dean Ho's gym in Hawaii, Snuka met many of the wrestlers who worked in the South Pacific region and decided to try the sport. Snuka made his debut as Jimmy Kealoha fighting Maxwell "Bunny" Butler in Hawaii in 1970. He later moved to the mainland and wrestled for Don Owen’s NWA Pacific Northwest territory where he held the belt as Heavyweight Champion six times. He first won the title by pinning Bull Ramos on November 16, 1973. It was in this territory, that Reiher transformed himself into Jimmy Snuka. Snuka also held the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship six times with partner Dutch Savage. Snuka also had a two year feud with another rookie, Jesse "The Body" Ventura.
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John Cena
John Felix Anthony Cena (/ˈsiːnə/; born April 23, 1977) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its Raw brand.
In WWE, Cena has won 19 championships in total, including 12 world titles (having won the WWE Championship a record 10 times and the World Heavyweight Championship twice). In addition, Cena has also won the WWE United States Championship three times, and is a four-time Tag Team Champion, having held the World Tag Team Championship twice (once each with Shawn Michaels and Batista), and the WWE Tag Team Championship twice (once each with David Otunga and The Miz). Cena also won the 2008 Royal Rumble match, and is a two-time Superstar of the Year Slammy Award winner (2009 and 2010). He also has the fourth highest number of combined days as WWE Champion behind Bob Backlund, Hulk Hogan and Bruno Sammartino.
Cena started his professional wrestling career in 2000, wrestling for Ultimate Pro Wrestling, where he held the UPW Heavyweight Championship. In 2001, Cena signed a contract with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and was sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) where he held the OVW Heavyweight Championship and the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship (with Rico Constantino).
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John Hugger
John Hugger (born April 20, 1977) is an American professional wrestler. He is perhaps best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling as Johnny the Bull, World Wrestling Entertainment as Johnny "The Bull" Stamboli. He has also worked for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, Asistencia Asesoría y Administración and Lucha Libre USA under the ring name Relli
.
While attending college in Atlanta, Georgia and working as a doorman at the Club Oxygen nightclub, Hugger exercised at the Main Event Fitness gym, which was owned by World Championship Wrestling employees Lex Luger and Sting. During one of his visits to the gym, WCW employee Diamond Dallas Page met with Hugger and encouraged him to train as a wrestler. Hugger subsequently attended the WCW Power Plant training center and took part in a $250 USD tryout alongside 19 other people. The tryout featured press ups, sprinting, squats and freestyle wrestling in temperatures of over 100 degrees. Hugger passed the tryout, but did not immediately begin training as a wrestler. Six months later, he was attacked and stabbed six times. Hugger resolved to change his lifestyle, which he believed had resulted in his assault, and enlisted in the Power Plant.
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John Layfield
John Charles Layfield (born November 29, 1966) is an American professional wrestler, a former commentator/host for mixed martial arts promotion Vyper Fight League and financial analyst for Fox News. Layfield is best known by his ring names, Bradshaw, John "Bradshaw" Layfield or JBL while working for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), where he was the longest reigning WWE Champion in SmackDown history with a reign lasting 280 days.
Layfield's main gimmick as John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) – a wealthy, gladhanding, big-mouthed, fiery-tempered businessman – was based on Layfield's real-life accomplishments as a stock market investor. Layfield is a regular panelist on Fox News Channel's The Cost of Freedom, has appeared on CNBC, and has written a best-selling book on financial planning called Have More Money Now. (ISBN 0-7434-6633-0). Layfield also hosts a weekend talk radio program, syndicated nationally by Talk Radio Network, in which he discusses his conservative political views. Layfield is also employed by Northeast Securities as its Senior Vice President.
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Kane (wrestler)
Glenn Thomas Jacobs (born April 26, 1967) better known by his ring name, Kane, is an American professional wrestler and actor signed to WWE and appearing on its Raw brand.
Born in Torrejón de Ardoz, Spain, Jacobs began his wrestling career in 1992 working in independent circuits. He wrestled in Smoky Mountain Wrestling as Unabomb where he won the SMW Tag Team Championship as a member of The Dynamic Duo, and in the United States Wrestling Association where he won the USWA Heavyweight Championship as Doomsday. He later joined the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE) in 1995, where he wrestled under various gimmicks before debuting as Kane, in 1997. The character's half-brother is The Undertaker, with whom Kane has teamed up as the Brothers of Destruction.
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Karen Jarrett
Karen Jarrett (formerly Angle, née Smedley) (born October 12, 1972 in Greensburg, Pennsylvania) is an American professional wrestling valet and personality, formerly working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) as the Senior Vice President of the TNA Knockouts Division. She is the former wife of professional wrestler and Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle, and currently married to TNA founder and wrestler Jeff Jarrett.
Karen was never involved in a storyline in World Wrestling Entertainment while her then-husband, Kurt Angle, was under contract. She, herself, was never under contract - but she briefly appeared at Unforgiven in 2001 as a part of the big celebration with the Angle family following Kurt Angle's victory over Steve Austin for the WWF Championship. She also made an appearance on the WrestleMania XX DVD set in a bonus segment regarding Kurt.
Karen Angle was introduced in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) in the summer of 2007 when Samoa Joe and Kurt Angle were feuding for an all-at-once Triple Crown Championship (Kurt held the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, and Joe held the TNA X Division and TNA World Tag Team Championship). Karen was supposedly wanting to divorce Kurt, claiming that he was emotionally abusive toward both her and their children. At the Hard Justice pay-per-view, however, Karen betrayed Joe during his match with her husband, resulting in Kurt winning the Triple Crown (thus turning her heel).
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Katarina Waters
Katarina Leigh Waters (born November 10, 1980) is a German-born English professional wrestler and valet, currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Winter. She is best known for her time in World Wrestling Entertainment, performing on its Raw brand under the ring name Katie Lea. Prior to signing with WWE, she spent many years on the independent circuit, particularly in the Frontier Wrestling Alliance, where she used the ring name Nikita.
After signing with WWE, she competed in their former developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling, where she became a two time Women's Champion before being called up to the main roster. After being released from WWE in April 2010, Waters joined TNA in August 2010 adopting the new ring name Winter. During her first year in the promotion she managed to win both of the promotion's women's championships, teaming with Angelina Love to win the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship in December 2010 and winning the TNA Women's Knockout Championship in August 2011.
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Ken Patera
Ken Patera (born November 6, 1942 in Portland, Oregon) is a former professional wrestler, Olympic weightlifter, and Strongman competitor.
Patera is a former Olympic weightlifter and American powerlifter. He competed at Brigham Young University and won several medals at the Pan American Games (including gold), and finished second in the 1971 World Weightlifting Championships. He was the first American to clean and jerk 500(503½) lbs (227 kg), which he accomplished at the 1972 Senior Nationals in Detroit. He was also Mr. USA in weightlifting. He is also the only American to clean and press 500 lb (230 kg), and was arguably the last American to excel at weightlifting on an international level. He was a serious competitor to the Soviet legend Vasily Alexeev at the 1972 Summer Olympics, but he failed to total and was not among the medal recipients. After the press (a lift in which Patera was disproportionately talented) was eliminated from competition, Patera retired from weightlifting. He also competed in the Shot Put, finishing 6th in the 1968 Olympic Trials.
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Ken Shamrock
Kenneth Wayne Shamrock (born Kenneth Wayne Kilpatrick; February 11, 1964) is an American mixed martial artist, UFC Hall of Famer and professional wrestler. Shamrock emerged as one of the biggest stars in the history of mixed martial arts, headlining over 15 main events and co-main events in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Pride Fighting Championships during the course of his career and set numerous pay per view records with his drawing power. Shamrock is widely considered to be a legendary figure and icon in the sport of mixed martial arts. Shamrock was named The World's Most Dangerous Man by ABC News in a special entitled "The World's Most Dangerous Things" in the early part of his UFC career, a moniker which has become synonymous as his nickname.
Shamrock became known early on in the UFC for his rivalry with Royce Gracie. After fighting to a draw with Gracie in the inaugural Superfight, he became the first UFC Superfight Champion after defeating Dan Severn at UFC 6; the title was eventually renamed the UFC Heavyweight Championship when weight categories were introduced to the UFC. He was also the first foreign MMA Champion in Japan, winning the title of King of Pancrase. During his reign as the UFC Superfight Champion, he was widely considered the #1 mixed martial artist in the world. Shamrock was also ranked by Inside MMA as one of the top 10 greatest mixed martial arts fighters of all time.
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Kendo Kashin
Tokimitsu Ishizawa (石澤常光 Ishiziwa Tokimitsu), better known by his ring name Kendo Kashin (ケンドー・カシン), is a Japanese professional wrestler. Though in Japan he is a widely known professional wrestler, in the West he is probably best known for his forays into mixed martial arts organization PRIDE Fighting Championship, where he defeated Gracie Jiu Jitsu fighter Ryan Gracie.
Ishizawa was an outstanding Amateur wrestling star of Waseda University before being scouted and initiated into the New Japan Pro Wrestling promotion on September 21, 1992, wrestling against Tiger Mask III. During the NJPW vs. UWFi feud, he was taught the shoot style by Kazuo Yamazaki. After defeating Yuji Nagata to win the 1996 Young Lion Cup, he left on a learning excursion to Austria's CWA promotion, where he disguised himself under a mask and called himself Kendo Kashin.
He returned to New Japan as Kashin in May 1997 at the Osaka Dome, facing his mentor, Kazuo Yamazaki. Kendo Kashin quickly rose up the ranks of the Junior Heavyweight division, utilizing a cross armbreaker and other armbar techniques to quickly submit opponents. After defeating Koji Kanemoto to win the 1999 Best of the Super Juniors Tournament, he defeated Kanemoto again in August of that year to capture the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship for the first time.
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Kerry Von Erich
Kerry Gene Adkisson (February 3, 1960 – February 18, 1993) was an American professional wrestler under the ring names Kerry Von Erich, The Modern Day Warrior, and The Texas Tornado and was part of the Von Erich family of professional wrestlers. He is best known for his time with his father's promotion World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), where he spent eleven years of his career, and his time in World Wrestling Federation (WWF). Adkisson held forty championships in various promotions during his career. Among other accolades, he was a five-time world champion: a four-time WCWA World Heavyweight Champion and one-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, and a one-time WWF Intercontinental Champion.
Kerry was the son of wrestler Fritz Von Erich. His brothers, David, Kevin, Mike, and Chris, were also wrestlers. Kerry was also a standout in high school track and field and possessed a record-breaking discus throw. He debuted in his father's promotion, NWA Texas/Big Time Wrestling on June 17, 1979 against Gary Hart. In Big Time Wrestling, he held many Texas Tag Team and American Tag Team titles.
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Kevin Nash
Kevin Scott Nash (born July 9, 1959) is an American professional wrestler and actor. As of 2011, Nash is signed to a five year contract with WWE under their WWE Legends program. Nash has wrestled under several ring names, but is most notably known by his real name in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), and in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF)/World Wrestling Entertainment/WWE, where he has also been billed as Diesel.
Between WWE, WCW, and TNA, Nash has won a total of 21 championships. He is a six-time world champion: a five-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion, and one-time WWF Champion. He was the longest-reigning WWF Champion of the 1990s, having held the title for 358 days. He has achieved notable success in the tag team division as well, being a twelve-time world tag team champion: a nine-time WCW World Tag Team Champion, two-time WWF World Tag Team Champion and one-time TNA World Tag Team Champion. He is also a one-time WWF Intercontinental Champion and a two-time TNA Legends Champion. In addition to championships, he won the 1998 WCW World War 3. Nash was a member of The Kliq, a group which included Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Scott Hall and Sean Waltman. He is also one of the three founding members of the New World Order (nWo), along with Hulk Hogan and Scott Hall.
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Kofi Kingston
Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah (born August 14, 1981), is a Ghanaian American professional wrestler signed to WWE and appearing on its Raw brand under the ring name, Kofi Kingston. He and R-Truth are the current WWE Tag Team Champions. Since debuting with WWE, he has won the Intercontinental Championship three times, the United States Championship twice, the World Tag Team Championship once with CM Punk and the WWE Tag Team Championship twice, once with Evan Bourne and once with R-Truth.
He made his official wrestling debut in 2006, when he faced Tony Omega at Chaotic Wrestling on February 24th. He faced Evan Siks on June 4 for the PWF Mayhem Heavyweight Championship. He competed primarily in the New England area, including stints in National Wrestling Alliance – New England, Millennium Wrestling Federation, New England Championship Wrestling, the Eastern Wrestling Alliance, and Chaotic Wrestling.
In September 2006, he signed a developmental contract with WWE and was assigned to Deep South Wrestling (DSW), a Georgia based developmental federation. He debuted in the new company, as Kofi Nahaje Kingston, in a dark match loss to Montel Vontavious Porter on September 21. For the rest of 2006 and the beginning of 2007, he appeared in DSW, as well as its Kentucky based sister promotion Ohio Valley Wrestling, where he was in a tag team dubbed the "Commonwealth Connection" with Harry Smith. In 2007, under the ring name "Kofi Nahaje Kingson", he had his first exposure to the main WWE roster, when he worked dark matches on March 5 and 26 before episodes of Raw against Charlie Haas and Trevor Murdoch, respectively. When he returned to the developmental federations, he shortened his original ring name to "Kofi Kingston" and continued to use both ring names throughout his duration there. He also worked live events, defeating Shelton Benjamin on May 5, and Val Venis on May 6.
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Konnan
Carlos Santiago Espada Moises (born January 6, 1964), also known as Charles Ashenoff and better known by his ring name, Konnan, is a Cuban professional wrestler and rapper. 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.
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.
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Kurt Angle
Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9, 1968 in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania) is an American professional wrestler, amateur wrestler and actor. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is a former five-time TNA World Heavyweight Champion. He is also known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment (WWF/E), and for being the only Olympic gold medalist in the history of professional wrestling.
Angle was involved in amateur wrestling during both high school and college. In college at Clarion University of Pennsylvania, he won numerous accolades, including being a two-time National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I champion. After graduating, he won a gold medal in freestyle wrestling at the 1995 World Wrestling Championships. Angle then competed in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, where he won a gold medal in heavyweight freestyle wrestling. Kurt Angle is also one of only four people to complete a Grand Slam in amateur wrestling which is the junior nationals, the NCAAs, the World Championships and the Olympics. He was named the greatest shoot wrestler and one of the top 15 college wrestlers of all time by USA Wrestling.
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Lance Storm
Lance Evers (born April 3, 1969) known professionally by his ring name Lance Storm, is a semi-retired Canadian professional wrestler, currently appearing in the Ring of Honor promotion. He is best known for his work in World Wrestling Entertainment, Extreme Championship Wrestling, and World Championship Wrestling. He runs a pro wrestling school the, Storm Wrestling Academy, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Lance Storm was trained by Ed Langley and Brad Young of the Hart Brothers Wrestling Camp at the Silver Dollar Action Centre in Calgary where he became friends with fellow student Chris Jericho. Jericho has stated that despite the name of the school, the only involvement any of the Hart brothers had in their training was a "thirty-minute cameo" by Keith Hart to collect the student's fees. Lance would later debut against Jericho in 1990 as Lance T. Storm. Early on, he mainly wrestled in Calgary but also spent time in Japan in Wrestling Association "R". Along with Jericho, Storm debuted in Smoky Mountain Wrestling in 1994, forming a tag team known as the Thrillseekers. After Jericho was injured, Storm continued to compete in singles competition for a few months, even winning the "Beat the Champ" TV Title. He then left SMW and moved on to a Winnipeg-based West Four Wrestling Alliance, where he teamed once again with Jericho.
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Lex Luger
Lawrence Wendell "Larry" Pfohl (born June 2, 1958), better known by his ring name Lex Luger, is an American former professional wrestler and football player currently working with WWE on their wellness policy. He is best known for his work with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).
Among other accolades in professional wrestling, Luger is a three-time world champion, having held the WCW World Heavyweight Championship twice and the WWA World Heavyweight Championship once; a record-tying five-time NWA/WCW United States Heavyweight Champion who owns the record for consecutive days and most total days spent as champion; and the 1994 WWF Royal Rumble winner (with Bret Hart). Readers of Pro Wrestling Illustrated voted Luger the Most Popular Wrestler of the Year 1993.
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Lisa Marie Varon
Lisa Marie Varon (née Sole; born February 10, 1971), is an American professional wrestler, bodybuilder and fitness competitor of Puerto Rican and Turkish descent.[citation needed] Varon is best known for her time in World Wrestling Entertainment under the ringname Victoria and her current tenure in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ringname Tara.
Varon started competing in fitness competitions and won ESPN2's Fitness America Series in 1997. In 1999, she placed second at a fitness event in New York to earn her International Federation of BodyBuilders Professional Fitness Card.
Through a chance meeting, Varon met World Wrestling Federation (WWF) performer Chyna who encouraged her to become a wrestler. She trained in the WWF's developmental territories for three years before being moved to the main roster to compete full time under the ring name Victoria. Her first TV appearance was at WrestleMania XVI as one of The Godfather's Hos. She debuted in June 2002, four months later she was pushed to win the WWE Women's Championship, a title she held twice in her wrestling career. In TNA she was a four-time TNA Women's Knockout Champion and a one-time TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champion with Brooke Tessmacher, making her a seven-time Women's Champion.
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Low Ki
Brandon Silvestry (born September 6, 1979) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known under his ring names Low Ki and Senshi in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, and Kaval in World Wrestling Entertainment. He is a former one-time PWG World Champion and a former ROH Champion. In addition, he has won a number of tournaments and other championships on the independent circuit, and was the winner of the second season of WWE NXT in 2010.
Silvestry began wrestling in late 1998 under the ring name Low Ki, which he admits came from the lyrics of the song "No Diggity". He began wrestling for Jersey All Pro Wrestling (JAPW) in 1998, challenging Homicide and Kane D for the JAPW Tag Team Championship. The following year he challenged for the JAPW Light Heavyweight Championship twice, unsuccessfully, but defeated Crazy Ivan and Judas Young to win the second Best of the Light Heavyweights tournament.
In 2000, he began making several appearances in the World Wrestling Federation on their programs Metal and Jakked, where he competed against the likes of Raven, Crash Holly, Christian and Essa Ríos. The following year he made it through to the finals of All Pro Wrestling's King of the Indies tournament, losing the crown to American Dragon. It was also during 2001 that he defeated Nick Berk and Homicide in separate matches on the same evening to win both the JAPW Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight Titles; he would successfully defend both titles in separate matches at their Fourth Anniversary Show later that month in July. He lost both titles in a Three Way match the following month to Homicide, with Xavier as the other competitor.
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Marc Mero
Marc Mero (born July 9, 1963) is an American retired amateur boxer and professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation as Marc Mero and with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and World Championship Wrestling under the ring name Johnny B. Badd. In 2007 he founded the non-profit organization Champion of Choices.
Mero was born in Buffalo, New York. His parents divorced when he was eight years old, with his mother supporting him and his three siblings by working two jobs. At the age of 12, Mero began playing hockey, eventually becoming his league's Most Valuable Player. In 1973, Mero's family relocated to Liverpool, New York, where Mero played for the Mid State Youth Hockey League. At age 15, Mero began playing for the Syracuse Stars Junior Hockey Team.
Mero began playing football in his senior year, with his high school team winning the New York State Title under the tutelage of future University of Central Florida coach George O'Leary. In the same year, Mero began training as a boxer under Golden Gloves coach Ray Rinaldi. Mero went on to win four New York State titles, including the New York Golden Gloves tournament. Mero intended to become a professional boxer, but his career was sidelined after his nose was broken in an accident. He briefly pursued a bodybuilding career, placing third in the Mr. New York State bodybuilding contest.
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Mark Henry
Mark Jerrold Henry (born June 12, 1971) is an American powerlifter, Olympic weightlifter, strongman, and a professional wrestler with WWE, where he performs on its SmackDown brand. He is a 1992 Olympian, and winner of the 2002 Arnold Strongman Classic. Since joining the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE) in 1996, he has become a one-time WWF European Champion and a two-time world champion, having held the ECW Championship in 2008, and the World Heavyweight Championship in 2011.
Henry was a weightlifter, and competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, where he placed tenth in the super heavyweight division. Three years later, at the 1995 Pan American Games, Henry won a silver medal in the super heavyweight division. The following year, he became a North America, Central America, Caribbean Islands (NACACI) champion. In 1996, Henry signed a ten-year contract with the WWF. Henry was trained by former Canadian professional wrestlers Stu and Bret Hart and Leo Burke. He made his television wrestling debut in September 1996. In January 1998, Henry joined the stable Nation of Domination. After the disbanding of the group, he acquired the moniker "Sexual Chocolate", which led him to participate in controversial angles.
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Marty Jannetty
Frederick Marty Jannetty is an American professional wrestler, best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation as part of tag team The Rockers with partner Shawn Michaels, and later as a singles competitor. While in the WWF, he became a one time Intercontinental Champion and a one time Tag Team Champion with the 1-2-3 Kid. With Michaels, The Rockers became two time World Tag Team Champions in the American Wrestling Association.
Jannetty began his wrestling career in April 1984, wrestling in the National Wrestling Alliance's Central States division. He wrestled in singles and tag team competition with various partners, including "Bulldog" Bob Brown and Dave Peterson and with Tommy Rogers as the Uptown Boys, until joining forces with fellow rookie Shawn Michaels in late 1985. The two teamed as The Midnight Rockers and quickly won the Central States Tag Team Championship from The Batten Twins.
In 1986, the duo left the NWA for the American Wrestling Association. In the AWA, Jannetty and Michaels quickly built a reputation as a talented tag team, performing many acrobatic moves in tandem and electrifying crowds with their athleticism. The two won the World Tag Team Championship twice, first defeating Buddy Rose and Doug Somers and then Original Midnight Express for their second and final reign. They also won the Southern Tag Team Championship twice after defeating the Rock 'n' Roll RPMs on two separate occasions before jumping to the World Wrestling Federation in 1988.
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Matt Barela
Matthew Ramón Barela (born March 12, 1974) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where, under the ring name Anarquia, he was a member of the Mexican America stable with Rosita, Sarita and Hernandez. He currently works for various promotions on the independent circuit, including Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW).
Barela debuted in 1999 for Ohio Valley Wrestling with Raul LaMotta as the tag team Los Locos (Ramón and Raúl Loco). They eventually won the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship status, but eventually split, after which Barela adopted the new ring name Low Rider. Barela worked to main event status, eventually achieving the OVW Heavyweight Championship twice, most notably by defeating James "Moose" Thomas. Barela as Low Rider portrayed a hot headed crowd favorite. He would mix his interviews with bits of Spanish. Eventually at Rage in the Cage January 8, 2011, he was defeated in a three-way cage match by Cliff Compton.
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Matt Bloom
Matthew Jason "Matt" Bloom (born November 14, 1972) is an American professional wrestler signed to WWE and working on its Raw brand under the ring name Tensai. Between 1997 and 2004, Bloom wrestled for World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment under the ring names Prince Albert, Albert, and A-Train. During his time in the promotion, he became a one time Intercontinental Champion. After leaving WWE, Bloom, adopting the ring name Giant Bernard, began working for New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he became a two time IWGP Tag Team Champion, holding the record for both the longest reign and the most title defenses alongside Karl Anderson as Bad Intentions. Bernard and Anderson are also one time GHC Tag Team Champions in Pro Wrestling Noah. He holds notable wins over current WWE Champion CM Punk and 12 time World Champion John Cena.
Bloom attended Peabody High School, where he earned three letters in football and basketball, two in track and field, and one in baseball. He went on to attend the University of Pittsburgh, where he played American football as an offensive tackle and an offensive guard.
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Matt Hardy
Matthew Moore "Matt" Hardy (born September 23, 1974) is a semi-retired American professional wrestler. He is best known for his stints in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA).
Before signing with WWE, Hardy, with his brother Jeff, founded a wrestling organization called Organization of Modern Extreme Grappling Arts (OMEGA). While there, Hardy held many championships including the Heavyweight and Tag Team Championship, which he held with Jeff. The promotion folded in October 1999 when they signed contracts with WWE. The Hardys gained notoriety in WWE's tag team division due to their participation in Tables, Ladders, and Chairs matches. As a tag team wrestler, Hardy is a six-time World Tag Team Champion, a one-time WWE Tag Team Champion, and a one-time WCW Tag Team Champion.
Apart from his success as a tag team wrestler, Hardy is a one-time world heavyweight champion, having won the ECW Championship in 2008. He also has won other singles championships, having held the Hardcore, European, Cruiserweight, and United States Championship on one occasion each. All totaled, Hardy has won 13 championships in WWE.
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Matt Wiese
Matthew R. "Matt" Wiese (born September 22, 1971) is an American actor and former professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring name Luther Reigns, where he performed on its SmackDown brand.
Wiese was born in Danville, Illinois before moving with his family and being raised in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan. At age 16, he left to fend for himself and became involved with criminals and gangs while living in the ghetto. At age 19, he was involved in a fight with a gang member before he was shot, stabbed, and had his throat slit. Wiese survived the attack. A few years later, he was arrested for aggravated assault on a police officer before being subsequently sentenced to Five years in jail. Upon his release, he became an Assistant Manager for a McDonald's in Hell's Kitchen and after five years in the position, a friend recommened that he try out for the Power Plant, World Championship Wrestling's professional wrestling school.
Upon completing his training in the Power Plant, Wiese started his wrestling career as an enhancement talent in World Championship Wrestling in 1997 using the ring name Horshu. To complement the name, his hair was shaved into a horseshoe pattern and he would try to work the word "shu" into his promos, which most notably spawned his catchphrase "There's no business like 'shu' business, baby!". He was also among six wrestlers who "auditioned" for an anti-New World Order faction called Piper's Family on the March 3, 1997 episode of Monday Nitro, spearheaded by "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. After being tested in 30-second impromptu match with Piper, Wiese was quickly defeated via sleeper hold after attempting to use dirty tactics to defeat Piper. The idea of this faction was quietly dropped by WCW.
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Maven Huffman
Maven Klint Huffman (born November 26, 1976) is an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) between October 2001 and July 5, 2005 under the name Maven. In 2008 he became a guest expert on the Home Shopping Network.
Maven was born to an African-American father and an caucasian mother. After his mother died he was adopted by his mother's brother and his wife. Maven graduated from Eastern Mennonite University of Harrisonburg, Virginia in 1998. Before becoming a professional wrestler, Maven was a middle school teacher, teaching Grade 6, at Twality Middle School in Tigard, Oregon.
Maven's Aunt whom he called Mom, died on February 12, 2004, after a long battle with cancer.
Maven won a year's contract with the company after he won the first series of Tough Enough, a reality television show used to find new WWE stars, in 2001. Soon after, Maven would receive further training at Heartland Wrestling Association.
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Mick Foley
Michael Francis "Mick" Foley, Sr. (born June 7, 1965) is a American semi-retired professional wrestler, author, comedian, actor, voice actor and former color commentator. He has worked for many wrestling promotions, including WWE, WCW, ECW and TNA. He is often referred to as "The Hardcore Legend", a nickname he shares with Terry Funk. He is currently signed to a Legends contract with WWE, where he makes special guest appearances and serves as an ambassador.
Throughout his wrestling career, Foley has wrestled both under his real name and under various personas (most notably Dude Love, Cactus Jack and Mankind). He is a four-time World Champion (three WWF Championships, and one TNA World Heavyweight Championship). He is an 11-time Tag Team Champion (eight WWF Tag Team Titles, two ECW World Tag Team Titles, and one WCW World Tag Team Championship). He was also the first WWF Hardcore Champion, and held the TNA Legends Championship (now known as the Television Championship) once. Following his retirement from wrestling full-time, Foley appeared occasionally with WWE as a special guest referee and later as a color commentator for the SmackDown brand. Upon his departure from WWE in 2008, he signed with TNA, where he was a storyline stock holder of the company. All totaled, Foley has won 17 championships between WCW, ECW, WWF/E, and TNA.
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Mikael Judas
Michael Cole is an American professional wrestler best known by the ring name Mikael Judas and for his tenure in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Murphy.
Mikael Judas debuted in June 1999 and began working for many independent promotions located in the southeast of the United States.
Mikael Judas became a part of NWA Wildside as the 1 Man Mafia Mikal Adryan in May 2002 as part of The Elite Swingers.
In June 2003 that group disbanded and he and Murder 1 became The Dark City Soldiers in June 2003. December 2003 Jeff G. Bailey offered Judas a chance to be a part of the NWA ELITE with Rainman, Azreal and Jason Cross.
Judas has had Dark matches with both WWE and TNA.
After the death of NWA Wildside, Judas became a top star with NWA Anarchy, including winning the NWA Anarchy Heavyweight Championship at Hostile Environment in 2005. Currently Judas is the 2 time NWA Anarchy Heavyweight Champion, having defeated former champ, Shadow Jackson and is managed by Mr. Cid Istic Esq.
Judas is one of the top fan favorites with NWA Charlotte as well. His presence in the company has been felt by all and has become a force to be dealt with after joining the group III
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Mike Awesome
Michael Lee Alfonso (January 24, 1965 – February 17, 2007), better known by his ring name Mike Awesome, was an American professional wrestler best known in America for his work in Extreme Championship Wrestling, World Championship Wrestling, and in World Wrestling Federation and also in Japan for his work with Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling under the name The Gladiator. Mike Awesome was a two-time World Heavyweight Champion.
Alfonso moved on to Japan, joining Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) in September 1990 and using the name The Gladiator. In 1993, he joined forces with Ricky Fuji, Big Titan, and Dr. Luther in the original Team Canada stable; the stable disbanded in 1994.
In 1993, Alfonso appeared in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) for a short period (as "Awesome" Mike Awesome) before returning to FMW. In 1994, the Gladiator captured his first title, teaming with Big Titan to defeat Atsushi Onita and Katsutoshi Niyama in the finals of the FMW Brass Knuckles Tag Team Championship Tournament. They lost the title that April, but Awesome won them again with new partner Mr. Pogo in October. In 1995, he joined the group, Lethal Weapon, reuniting with Ricky Fuji. As the Gladiator, he faced and defeated Hayabusa for his first major singles title, the FMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship in September 1995, but was forced to vacate it due to a legitimate injury the next February. In May 1996 he won the title for a second time, then unified it with the FMW Independent Heavyweight Championship after defeating W*ING Kanemura in that December. The next August, teaming with Hisakatsu Oya and Mr. Gannosuke he won the vacated FMW World Street Fight 6-Man Tag-Team Titles, holding all three belts at once, but within a month lost all three during a feud with Masato Tanaka.
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Mike Lockwood
Michael John "Mike" Lockwood (August 25, 1971 – November 6, 2003) was an American professional wrestler best known for his time with World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (WWF/E) under the ring name Crash Holly or simply Crash.
Lockwood wrestled on the independent circuit, and briefly for Extreme Championship Wrestling, before he signed a contract with the World Wrestling Federation in 1999. He debuted as Hardcore Holly's on-screen cousin, "Crash Holly". Lockwood earned his greatest success in WWE's hardcore division, winning the title 22 times, leading to him being nicknamed "The Houdini Of Hardcore". In June 2003, he was released from WWE and joined Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as "Mad Mikey", but died in November 2003, just four months later.
In WWF/E, he was a one-time European Champion, a one-time Light Heavyweight Champion, and a 22-time Hardcore Champion. He was also a one-time Tag Team Champion with Hardcore Holly as part of the tag team The Holly Cousins.
Lockwood made his wrestling debut in 1989, as "Johnny Pearson" in Bay Area Wrestling, where he competed until 1994. He dislocated his shoulder about five times, and ended up having to take a year and a half out to recover. He then competed on the independent circuit as "Irish Erin O'Grady", and in 1996, moved to All Pro Wrestling (APW), where he became known as "The Leprechaun Erin O'Grady". Lockwood became especially famous for his matches with Vic Grimes.
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Mike Tenay
Michael William "Mike" Tenay (born August 15, 1954) is a professional wrestling play-by-play announcer currently employed by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). Prior to signing with TNA in 2002, he had a notable tenure with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) from 1994-2001. Known by the nickname "The Professor", Tenay is a highly respected historian of professional wrestling due to his extensive research and knowledge of the business. Current TNA Executive Producer and former WCW president Eric Bischoff has described Tenay as "a walking encyclopedia of knowledge."
Tenay is a five-time recipient of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter award for Best Television Announcer.
Mike Tenay made his WCW announcing debut during the WCW-co-promoted AAA When Worlds Collide pay-per-view in November 1994. Every announcer in WCW, including lead announcer Tony Schiavone, declined to work the broadcast. During this first broadcast, he and Chris Cruise called the match of Los Gringos Locos (Eddy Guerrero and Art Barr) vs. Hijo del Santo and Octagon, judged by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter as a "legendary" five-star match. Following the success of that event, WCW added more luchadores to the roster, and Tenay would appear as a guest announcer during their pay-per-view matches due to his extensive knowledge of holds and maneuvers as well as lucha libre ring psychology. Tenay would later serve as a full-time play-by-play announcer for secondary television shows such as WCW Worldwide and WCW Saturday Night, where he was known as "Iron" Mike Tenay. He was also backstage interviewer for Uncensored 1995.
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Monty Sopp
Monty Kip Sopp (born November 11, 1963) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known under the ring name Billy Gunn and for his eleven year long tenure in the World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment. He has also worked for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Kip James. In WWE, Sopp was a one time Intercontinental Champion, a two time Hardcore Champion, and the 1999 King of the Ring, but found his greatest success as a tag team wrestler, becoming a ten time World Tag Team Champion.
When Sopp first arrived in the World Wrestling Federation, he used the name Billy Gunn and teamed with his on-screen brother, Bart Gunn, as The Smoking Gunns. In early 1995, they won their first Tag Team Championship by defeating the makeshift team of Bob Holly and The 1-2-3 Kid. They held the titles until WrestleMania XI when they were defeated by the team of Owen Hart and Yokozuna. They won the titles again in September 1995.
On February 15, 1996, the Gunns vacated the title because Billy was in need of neck surgery. After Billy returned from hiatus, The Smoking Gunns won the Tag Title for the third time by defeating The Godwinns in May. After the match, The Godwinns' manager Sunny turned on her team in favor of the Gunns. On September 22 at In Your House: Mind Games, the Gunns lost the Tag Team Title to Owen Hart and The British Bulldog. After the match, Sunny abandoned The Gunns, saying that she would only manage title holders. Billy, frustrated with losing both the championship and Sunny, walked out on Bart, breaking up The Smoking Gunns.
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Mr. Kennedy
Kenneth Anderson (born March 6, 1976) is an American professional wrestler and occasional actor. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) under the ring name Mr. Anderson. He is a former two-time TNA World Heavyweight Champion, making him an overall two time world heavyweight champion. He wrestled under the ring name Mr. Kennedy during his time with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) between 2005 and 2009.
Before being promoted to the main WWE roster, Anderson wrestled for numerous promotions in his career. While performing in these promotions, he won various championships, both in tag team and singles competition. Anderson was assigned to WWE's developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) in Louisville, Kentucky in 2005.
After signing with WWE, Anderson made his debut on the SmackDown! roster in August 2005. In September 2006 he captured his first and only title with the company, the WWE United States Championship, and would hold onto it for a month. The following year, at WrestleMania 23, Anderson won the annual Money in the Bank ladder match, a contract, which guarantees a match for one of WWE's world titles. He was released from his WWE contract on May 29, 2009. He returned to the independent circuit before signing a contract with TNA in 2010.
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Muhammed Lawal
Muhammed Lawal (born January 11, 1981) is an American mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. He is signed with Bellator Fighting Championships as an MMA fighter, and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) as a wrestler.
He is the former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion. Nicknamed King Mo, he is a former three-time U.S. Senior National Wrestling Champion. He wrestled at the University of Central Oklahoma for three years ('00, '01, '02), winning one NCAA division II national championship in 2002, and compiling an overall record of 103-22.
Lawal was a Big 12 Conference champion and Division 1 All-American in 2003 for Oklahoma State, and claimed three U.S. National Championships (2005, `06, `08). Lawal won the NCAA Division II championship at the University of Central Oklahoma. After his collegiate career, Lawal participated in Real Pro Wrestling, becoming the champion in its only season. In 2005, Lawal became a U.S. national team member, earning 7th place at the World Championships in Budapest. For over three years, Lawal was the number 1 ranked wrestler in the United States in the 84 kilogram division.
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Nelson Frazier, Jr.
Nelson Frazier, Jr. (born February 14, 1972) is an American professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring names Mabel, Viscera, Big Daddy V, and King V. He is best known for his work with (the) World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (WWF/WWE). He is currently signed with All Japan Pro Wrestling.
Throughout his career he has held championships in a number of promotions, including the top titles of the United States Wrestling Association off-shoots Memphis Wrestling and Memphis Championship Wrestling, and the World Wrestling Council promotion of Puerto Rico. He has also held the Hardcore and World Tag Team titles of WWE, and was also the 1995 King of the Ring.
Frazier began his professional wrestling career under the ring name "JD Layson", one half of the team "The Harlem Knights" with his partner and kayfabe brother Bobby. The team wrestled in the United States Wrestling Association and the Pro Wrestling Federation (PWF), winning the PWF Tag Team Championship on two occasions, before being signed by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in July 1993.
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Nick Aldis
Nicholas Harry "Nick" Aldis (born November 6, 1986) is an English professional wrestler and actor. He is currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Magnus. Aldis also appeared on the United Kingdom revival of Gladiators, where he was known by the name Oblivion.
After being proficient in swimming and tennis, Aldis began bodybuilding, which ultimately led to his training to be a professional wrestler. After beginning his training at the age of 16, he made his professional debut in 2005 where he competed against Doug Williams in a highly contested two out of three falls match, which Aldis lost two falls to one. Early title matches include a DAM Promotions event where he teamed up with Bash to take on the DAM Tag Team Champions Big Dave and The Bulk for the titles and he also went up against Ashe for the LDN Championship at Summit Wrestling, he would lose both matches. In 2007 he would face the WAW British Heavyweight Champion Brett Meadows for the title and lost. His last match before joined Total Nonstop Action Wrestling was a win against Marty Scurll. During his time in England he wrestled primarily at Joint Promotions, All Star Wrestling and World Association Of Wrestling.
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Nick Dinsmore
Nicholas "Nick" Dinsmore (born December 17, 1975), better known by his ring names Eugene and U-Gene, is an American professional wrestler. Best known for his work for World Wrestling Entertainment, Dinsmore is currently working on the independent circuit for promotions such as Juggalo Championship Wrestling and Ohio Valley Wrestling.
Dinsmore debuted in 1997, and soon began wrestling in the United States Wrestling Association.
In Ohio Valley Wrestling, he formed a successful tag team with Rob Conway, called The Lords of The Ring. The team had a record ten reigns as Southern Tag Team Champions. Dinsmore also held the OVW Heavyweight Championship a record ten times. While still in OVW, Dinsmore also made some appearances as a jobber in the World Wrestling Federation, first on an episode of Shotgun Saturday Night in 1999. He wrestled in the WWF as Doink the Clown on two later occasions, and as one half of Los Conquistadores (with Rob Conway). Dinsmore also appeared in World Championship Wrestling, wrestling on two episodes of Thunder (losing to Ernest Miller and Kanyon), and on two episodes of Nitro (first teaming with Lenny Lane to lose a handicap match to Scott Steiner, then losing a singles match to Wrath).
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Nigel McGuinness
Steven Haworth (born January 23, 1978) is an English retired professional wrestler, better known by the ring names Desmond Wolfe and Nigel McGuinness. As McGuinness he first gained notoriety working for Ring of Honor (ROH) in the United States and Pro Wrestling Noah in Japan. He was the longest reigning ROH Pure Champion, holding the title for 350 days, while also being a former ROH World Champion, holding the championship for 545 days. In October 2009 Haworth signed a contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he worked as Desmond Wolfe until June 2011. The following August, Haworth, once again working as Nigel McGuinness, returned to ROH to work as a color commentator. Haworth retired from in-ring competition on December 17, 2011.
Haworth, born in London, grew up in Staplehurst, Kent, where he attended Maidstone Grammar School. Haworth was a wrestling fan from the age of twelve, particularly enjoying The Hart Foundation and The British Bulldogs, and attended SummerSlam 1992 while wearing Ultimate Warrior face paint. After attending Les University, Haworth relocated to America in the 1990s in order to attend Kent State University, and graduated in 1997 with a degree in chemistry.
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Nora Greenwald
Nora Kristina Greenwald (born September 7, 1977), better known by her ring name Molly Holly, is an inactive American professional wrestler. Greenwald is best known for her appearances with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
Greenwald began her professional wrestling career in WCW, where she also worked as a trainer. In WWE, Greenwald debuted as one of The Holly Cousins, an alliance of storyline cousins. She was later aligned with The Hurricane. In a Hair versus Title match at WrestleMania XX in March 2004, Greenwald had her head shaved as a result of losing a match against Victoria. Greenwald is also a two time Women's Champion and one of the few women to hold a male title in WWE, holding the Hardcore Championship once.
Greenwald was born to parents Rick and Bonnie Greenwald. She has two brothers, Luke who lives in Utah and Chancey who is a dental hygienist. Growing up, Greenwald had no plans to be a wrestler, but she claims to have wanted to be on American Gladiators for a while. She trained to be a powerlifter from age 14 to age 18, and at age 14, she broke the Minnesota state powerlifting record (75 pounds) for her age group by lifting 100 pounds. She also trained as a gymnast. Later, she began wrestling for fun, not because she "wanted to be on TV."
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ODB (wrestler)
Jessica Kresa (born June 6, 1978) is an American professional wrestler and actress better known as ODB (short for One Dirty Bitch/Broad), currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where she is currently in her first reign as one half of the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champions, while also being a former three–time TNA Women's Knockout Champion.
Kresa's athletic background is in ice hockey, which her father encouraged her to pursue. She was the captain of the first girls' team at her high school and played at St. Cloud State University for two years. She began watching professional wrestling as a child. She enjoyed watching wrestlers such as The Killer Bees. She originally desired to be on the show American Gladiators. She hired a personal trainer in anticipation of her wrestling training.
Kresa got her start when she tried out for the first season of the World Wrestling Federation's reality show, WWF Tough Enough. She made the top 25, but missed the final cut for the show. Back home in Minnesota, she began training and was soon wrestling in independent wrestling promotions all over the Midwest, facing men such as Ken Anderson and Shawn Daivari. Kresa received her first national exposure in early 2003 as ODB, wrestling Trinity in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. She returned to TNA in early 2004 as Poison and was placed in a brief feud with Trinity. She appeared again in TNA during October 2004 and defeated Tracy Brooks.
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Orlando Jordan
Orlando Jordan (born April 21, 1974) is an American professional wrestler. Jordan is best known for his tenure in World Wrestling Entertainment, where he was a one-time United States Champion. Following his departure from WWE, he spent nineteen months signed with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.
Jordan made his WWE TV debut on the May 31, 2003 episode of Velocity defeating Jamie Noble. On June 26, 2003, Jordan made his first SmackDown! appearance as a fan favorite at Madison Square Garden against then-villain John Cena. Although he did not win the match, he was impressive enough that when Cena attacked Jordan after the match was over, The Undertaker, with whom Cena was feuding, came to the ring and helped Jordan to his feet.
After being a fan favorite for several months, Jordan turned into a villain by joining John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL)'s Cabinet and being appointed as his "Chief of Staff". This happened when he saved J.B.L. from an attack from The Undertaker. A few months after joining, Jordan began changing his look by growing out his hair. While a part of The Cabinet, Jordan, along with the Basham Brothers (who became the newly appointed "Co-Secretaries of Defense"), helped JBL manage to keep his WWE Championship for nine months by interfering in his title matches against Eddie Guerrero, Booker T, the face run of The Big Show, and The Undertaker, who was the first person to show Jordan respect.
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Owen Hart
Owen James Hart (May 7, 1965 – May 23, 1999) was a Canadian professional and amateur wrestler who worked for several promotions including Stampede Wrestling, New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and most notably, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), where he wrestled under both his own name, and ring name The Blue Blazer. A member of the Hart wrestling family, Hart was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada the youngest of 12 children to Stampede Wrestling promoter and WWE Hall of Famer Stu Hart and Helen Hart.
Among other accolades, Hart was a one-time world champion: a one-time USWA Unified World Heavyweight Champion; a two-time WWF Intercontinental Champion; one-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion; one-time WWF European Champion and four-time WWF World Tag Team Champion. He was also the winner of the 1994 WWF King of the Ring. Hart has been cited by a number of peers as one of the WWF's greatest professional wrestlers.
Hart died on May 23, 1999 when an equipment malfunction occurred during his entrance from the rafters of Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri, U.S., at the WWF's Over the Edge pay-per-view event.
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Paul London
Paul Michael London (born April 16, 1980) is an American professional wrestler best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
After being trained at the Texas Wrestling Academy, London began competing for Ring of Honor where his high risk offensive moves contributed to his popularity with the fans. He later competed for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Zero-One, and various independent promotions, winning numerous championships and won the ECWA Super 8 Tournament in 2003.
London made his debut in WWE in late 2003 and immediately began teaming with fellow cruiserweight Brian Kendrick, known as Spanky at the time. After Kendrick left WWE, London formed a tag team with Billy Kidman with whom he won the WWE Tag Team Championship. After their split, London began competing in the cruiserweight division and won the WWE Cruiserweight Championship. In late 2006, Kendrick returned and the two reformed as a team. London and Kendrick were managed by Ashley Massaro. London and Kendrick won the WWE Tag Team Championship, becoming the longest reigning WWE Tag Team Champions since the title's creation and the World Tag Team Championship. The team split when Kendrick was drafted to the SmackDown brand in June 2008 and London was released later that year. In 2009, he returned to the independent circuit, competing for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, where he is one half of the former PWG World Tag Team Champions with partner El Generico under the team name ¡Peligro Abejas!.
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Pedro Morales
Pedro Morales (born October 22, 1942) is a retired Puerto Rican professional wrestler. He began his wrestling career as a teenager in 1959 and continued through to the late 1980s. Morales was the first man in wrestling history to win all three major men's titles in the World Wrestling Federation: the WWF World Heavyweight Championship, the Intercontinental Championship and the WWF World Tag Team Championship. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 1995. Morales was also the first Latin American and Hispanic wrestler to win the WWWF Championship and the WWF Intercontinental Championship and to enter the WWF Hall of Fame.
Morales debuted in 1959 at the Sunnyside Gardens, beating Buddy Gilbert. He wrestled on the West Coast during the 1960s, taking on regional stars of the day such as Fred Blassie and The Destroyer, the latter from whom he took the World Wrestling Association's World Heavyweight Championship on March 12, 1965. Morales lost the title on July 23 to "Crazy" Luke Graham, but took it back from him on October 17. He held the title for nine months before being defeated by Buddy Austin on August 5, 1966. Morales then concentrated on tag team wrestling, co-holding the WWA tag belts four times during 1966-68, with four different partners: Luis Hernandez, Mark Lewin, Victor Rivera, and Ricky Romero. During a stint in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), Morales held the Hawaiian U.S. title for two months in 1969.
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Perry Saturn
Perry Arthur Satullo (born October 25, 1966) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Perry Saturn. Since debuting in 1990, Saturn wrestled for Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and Total Nonstop Action (TNA).
Satullo enlisted in the United States Army for four years at the age of seventeen, becoming an Army Airborne Ranger before eventually embarking on a career in professional wrestling.
Satullo began training at Killer Kowalski's school in Malden, Massachusetts around 1988, taking the ring name Saturn from the Roman god of the same name before later tweaking it to Perry Saturn. He debuted on October 27, 1990 in Waltham, Massachusetts, wrestling for the United States Wrestling Association (USWA). Satullo also wrestled in Kowalski's International Wrestling Federation as The Iron Horseman, a cowboy complete with black leather stetson and chaps. Satullo eventually won the IWF Light Heavyweight Championship. Satullo began wrestling for independent promotions throughout New England, as well as touring Japan with New Japan Pro Wrestling in 1993. In 1992 he worked as a jobber in WWF.
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Petey Williams
Peter "Petey" Williams III (born August 26, 1981) is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is a two time X Division Champion and a former captain of Team Canada. He is also referred to by the nickname "The Canadian Destroyer," a reference to his front flip piledriver finisher of the same name.
Williams was trained alongside Chris Sabin by Scott D'Amore at the Can-Am Wrestling School. Williams debuted in D'Amore's Windsor, Ontario-based Border City Wrestling promotion in 2002. He spent the next four years working on the independent circuit in Canada for Border City Wrestling, Blood, Sweat and Ears and in the Northern United States for promotions such as NWA Cyberspace and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. In March 2005 Petey wrestled in the UK at International Showdown for The Wrestling Channel's first year anniversary at a sold out Coventry Skydome. He made a one-time appearance in Ring of Honor on June 18, 2005 at Death Before Dishonor III as the mystery opponent of the returning A.J. Styles.
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Phill Shatter
Chadwick "Chad" Lail (born 1982) is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) promotion, where he performs under the ring name Gunner. In TNA, Lail was a member of the Immortal stable and a former one-time TNA Television Champion. In addition to wrestling for TNA, Lail also performs for various promotions on the independent circuit under the ring name Phill Shatter.
After serving in the Iraq War, Phill Shatter signed with NWA Anarchy along with fellow Iraq War veteran Truitt Fields. Although they began competing as a tag team, Shatter eventually turned on Fields and joined manager Jeff G. Bailey's NWA Elite stable.
Shatter feuded with Iceberg before receiving a championship match against NWA Anarchy Heavyweight Champion Ace Rocwell. Shatter won the match and the title.
Shatter later won the NWA National Heavyweight Championship from Crusher Hansen on January 17, 2009, and is the longest reigning champion in the title's history. Shatter would drop the championship to Chance Prophet on February 19, 2011, after signing a contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA).
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Randy Orton
Randal Keith "Randy" Orton (born April 1, 1980) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE wrestling on its SmackDown brand. Orton is a third-generation professional wrestler; his grandfather Bob Orton, Sr., father "Cowboy" Bob Orton, and uncle Barry O all competed in the professional wrestling industry.
Before being promoted to the main World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) roster, Orton trained in and wrestled for Mid-Missouri Wrestling Association-Southern Illinois Conference Wrestling for a month. He was then sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), where Orton held the OVW Hardcore Championship on two separate occasions.
After signing with WWF, Orton became a member of the stable Evolution, which quickly led to a WWE Intercontinental Championship reign, his first title with the company. Orton also acquired the moniker "The Legend Killer" during a storyline where he began disrespecting Hall of Famers and physically attacking veterans of the industry outside of appropriate restrictions. At age 24, Orton became the youngest person ever to hold the World Heavyweight Championship. With this win, Orton departed from Evolution and a feud with his former stablemates began. In 2006, Orton joined forces with Edge in a tag team known as Rated-RKO. Together, Orton and Edge held the World Tag Team Championship. After the team disbanded, during mid-2007, Orton gained two WWE Championship reigns in one night. Orton formed the group The Legacy with Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase in 2008, however, they would disband in 2010 with Orton returning to singles competition. Overall, Orton has won eleven total championships in WWE, including being a nine-time world champion, having won the World Heavyweight Championship three times and the WWE Championship six times. He is also the winner of the 2009 Royal Rumble match.
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Raven (wrestler)
Scott Anthony Levy (born September 8, 1964), better known by his ring name Raven, is an American wrestling producer, wrestling writer, and occasional author, actor and professional wrestler currently working for different independent promotions. During his career he has held multiple championships across the world.
He is a three-time World Champion, having won the ECW World Heavyweight Championship twice and the NWA World Heavyweight Championship once. He also held the WCW United States Championship once, and is the record holder for most reigns as WWF/E Hardcore Champion with 26 reigns. He is the 2005 King of the Mountain winner at Slammiversary in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, being only the second person ever to win the annual event. Between WCW, TNA, WWE and ECW Levy has held 36 total championships. He also briefly wrestled for the Ring of Honor promotion in 2003.
Levy is also the innovator of numerous types of "gimmick" wrestling matches, such as Clockwork Orange House of Fun match, Raven's Rules match and Hangman's Horror match.
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René Goguen
René Goguen (born December 15, 1983) is a French Canadian professional wrestler, better known by his ring name René Duprée. Goguen is best known for his tenure in World Wrestling Entertainment, where he is a one-time World Tag Team Champion with Sylvain Grenier as the tag team La Résistance and a one time WWE Tag Team Champion with Kenzo Suzuki. Upon winning both titles, Goguen became the youngest wrestler in WWE history to win the World Tag Team Championship (at age 19) and the WWE Tag Team Championship (at age 20). His World Tag Team Championship win also made him the youngest man in WWE history to win any title. He is also the son of celebrated Canadian Maritimes wrestling promoter Emile Duprée.
As his father Emile was a wrestling promoter, Goguen was exposed and encouraged into wrestling at a young age. Goguen became a professional wrestler in 1997 at age 14, and began working for his father's Grand Prix Wrestling promotion. A few years later, he signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment, and was sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling to further develop his skills.
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Rey Mysterio
Rey Gutierrez Mysterio Jr. (born December 11, 1974) is a Mexican American professional wrestler in World Wrestling Entertainment currently wrestling on the RAW Brand. In WWE, Gutierrez was trained by his uncle Rey Misterio, Sr. and wrestled early on in Mexico where he learned the Lucha Libre high flying style that has been his trademark.
Gutierrez originally worked for Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA) in Mexico, from 1992 to 1995. He wrestled in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) from 1995 to 1996 and World Championship Wrestling (WCW) from 1996 to 2001, as Rey Misterio, Jr./Rey Mysterio, Jr. but dropped the "Junior" from his name when he began working for WWE in 2002.
Mysterio is known for having a high flying style, which helped kick-start the cruiserweight wrestling revolution in the United States in the late 1990s during his time in WCW. In WCW he won the WCW World Tag Team Championship three times, and the WCW Cruiserweight Tag Team Championship once with Billy Kidman as part of the Filthy Animals. In WWE, Mysterio is a three time world champion having held the World Heavyweight Championship twice, the WWE Championship once and is currently listed as the lightest world champion in WWE history. He has also held the WWE Tag Team Championship a record-tying four times, and the WWE Intercontinental Championship twice. He also held the WCW/WWE Cruiserweight Championship a record eight times (five times in WCW, three in WWE). All totaled, he has won 21 titles between WWE and WCW. Mysterio was the 21st person to win the WWE Triple Crown Championship, and was the winner of the 2006 Royal Rumble.
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Rey Mysterio, Jr.
Rey Gutierrez Mysterio Jr. (born December 11, 1974) is a Mexican American professional wrestler in World Wrestling Entertainment currently wrestling on the RAW Brand. In WWE, Gutierrez was trained by his uncle Rey Misterio, Sr. and wrestled early on in Mexico where he learned the Lucha Libre high flying style that has been his trademark.
Gutierrez originally worked for Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA) in Mexico, from 1992 to 1995. He wrestled in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) from 1995 to 1996 and World Championship Wrestling (WCW) from 1996 to 2001, as Rey Misterio, Jr./Rey Mysterio, Jr. but dropped the "Junior" from his name when he began working for WWE in 2002.
Mysterio is known for having a high flying style, which helped kick-start the cruiserweight wrestling revolution in the United States in the late 1990s during his time in WCW. In WCW he won the WCW World Tag Team Championship three times, and the WCW Cruiserweight Tag Team Championship once with Billy Kidman as part of the Filthy Animals. In WWE, Mysterio is a three time world champion having held the World Heavyweight Championship twice, the WWE Championship once and is currently listed as the lightest world champion in WWE history. He has also held the WWE Tag Team Championship a record-tying four times, and the WWE Intercontinental Championship twice. He also held the WCW/WWE Cruiserweight Championship a record eight times (five times in WCW, three in WWE). All totaled, he has won 21 titles between WWE and WCW. Mysterio was the 21st person to win the WWE Triple Crown Championship, and was the winner of the 2006 Royal Rumble.
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Rhino (wrestler)
Terrance "Terry" Gerin (born October 7, 1975) is an American professional wrestler and actor, better known by the ring name Rhino (also spelled Rhyno in WWE). He is best known for his career in Extreme Championship Wrestling, World Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico, World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). He is currently employed by Juggalo Championship Wrestling and Ring of Honor.
Gerin is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having held the ECW World Heavyweight Championship (last champ in original ECW), and the NWA World Heavyweight Championship once each. He is also a three-time WWF Hardcore Champion, a two-time (and final) ECW World Television Champion and a one-time United States Champion, which he won in the WWF during the Invasion storyline. He also has held several independent championships in his career as well.
Gerin trained as a wrestler at the Can-Am Wrestling School located in Windsor, Ontario under Scott D'Amore, who he later reunited with in TNA. He debuted in 1994 on the Detroit independent circuit under the ring name Terry Richards, and made an appearance as enhancement talent on an episode of WWF RAW in November 1995, losing to Henry O. Godwinn, As well as making an appearance on the August 5, 1995 episode of WCW Saturday Night in a losing effort against "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan. Gerin later adopted the ring name Rhino Richards and began wrestling in Canada, where he formed a stable known as "THUG Life" with Joe Legend, Zakk Wyld (Keith Assoun), Christian Cage, Bloody Bill Skullion, Brett Kimball, and Sexton Hardcastle (later named Edge). He had feuds with Beautiful Brian Fury and Alexis Machine which were part of HotSeat Productions.
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Ric Flair
Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ric Flair. Also known as "The Nature Boy", Flair is considered to be one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time with a professional career that spans 40 years. He is currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), and is noted for his lengthy and highly decorated tenures with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and the World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (now known as WWE). Flair is officially recognized by WWE, TNA and PWI as a 16-time World Heavyweight Champion (seven-time NWA Champion, seven-time WCW Champion and two-time WWF Champion) although his actual tally of World Championship reigns varies by source—Flair considers himself a 21-time world champion.
In World Championship Wrestling (WCW), he also had two stints as a booker—in 1989–1990 and 1994. Flair also became the first and only man to have won the WWF Championship in a Royal Rumble match, when he accomplished this in the 1992 edition of the event. In 2012, Flair became the first ever double inductee in the WWE Hall of Fame, first inducted in 2008 for his individual career, and for a second time in 2012 as a member of the Four Horsemen. He is also an NWA Hall of Famer (class of 2008). Flair's hair styles and mannerisms are based on those of Buddy Rogers, who previously and famously used the "Nature Boy" gimmick in the 1950s and '60s. Coincidentally, Flair also followed Rogers in becoming the second man to win both the WWF and the NWA World Heavyweight Championships.
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Rick Rude
Richard Erwin Rood (December 7, 1958 – April 20, 1999), better known by his ring name "Ravishing" Rick Rude, was an American professional wrestler who performed for many promotions, including World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), in the 1980s and 1990s.
Among other accolades, Rude was a four-time world champion (three-time WCW International World Heavyweight Champion, and one-time WCWA World Heavyweight Champion), one-time WWF Intercontinental Champion, and one-time WCW United States Champion.
The self-proclaimed "Sexiest Man Alive", Rude was noted for his chiseled physique as well as being one of the greatest talkers in the history of professional wrestling. He is also notable for being a member of the original incarnation of D-Generation X, alongside Shawn Michaels, Triple H, and Chyna.
Born in St. Peter, Minnesota, Rood attended Robbinsdale High School in Robbinsdale, Minnesota with Tom Zenk, Brady Boone, Nikita Koloff, Curt Hennig, John Nord, Joseph Laurinaitis and Barry Darsow, all of whom later became professional wrestlers.
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Ricky Steamboat
Richard Henry Blood (born February 28, 1953), better known by his ring name Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, is a retired American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE working as a road agent. He was one of the few wrestlers who stayed a babyface throughout his career.[citation needed] 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).
In the NWA and WCW, he was a one-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, a four-time United States Heavyweight Champion, a four-time World Television Champion, a twelve-time World Tag Team Champion (eight-time under the WCW banner,one-time (though unofficial) under the NWA banner, and three-time under the Mid-Atlantic banner), and a two-time Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Champion. In the WWF/E, Steamboat was a one-time Intercontinental Champion and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009.
While little is known about Steamboat's personal life, it is a known fact that he went to high school in New York. He was a two time New York State Wrestling qualifier.
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Rico Constantino
Americo Sebastiano Costantino (born October 1, 1961) is a retired Italian American professional wrestler and wrestling manager. He is best known by his ring names Rico Costantino and Rico in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) from 2001 to 2004. He is currently an Officer for the Nevada Taxi Cab Authority.
Prior to embarking on his wrestling career, Costantino entered Northwestern Military & Naval Academy. He graduated near the top of his class and at one point considered enrollment at West Point. Instead, Costantino returned to Las Vegas and settled into a career as a paramedic. This led to enrollment in the police academy, from which he graduated first in the entire state of Nevada. Costantino was also on the SWAT team at one point, paving the way for his next career as a bodyguard.
Costantino was a contestant on American Gladiators. He was challenged by Gemini (Michael Horton) to find out if "he had what it took" to be a contestant for the show. He would end up defeating Gemini in his best event, the Joust, one of the few contenders to do so (Horton lost only 8 of his 50 Jousts on his three seasons of AG).
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Riki Chōshū
Mitsuo Yoshida (Japanese: 吉田光雄; hangul: 곽광웅 , hanja: 郭光雄 , Kwak Gwang-ung) (born December 3, 1951), better known by his stage name Riki Chōshū (長州力 Chōshū Riki), is a Korean-Japanese professional wrestler who is most known for his longtime work in New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) as a wrestler and a booker. He is considered one of the most influential wrestlers in Japan in the 1980s and 1990s and known as the first wrestler to popularize the Sasori-Gatame, better known in English as Scorpion Deathlock or Sharpshooter. After Chōshū left New Japan Pro Wrestling in 2002, he formed Fighting World of Japan Pro Wrestling (WJ), which was later known as Riki Pro as he was the main promoter of the promotion. In October 2005, he returned to New Japan as a site foreman, a booker, and a part-time wrestler.
Kwak Gwang-ung represented South Korea in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, as a wrestler. He didn't place in the tournament.
He debuted in New Japan Pro Wrestling in August 1974. In the mid-1970s, Chōshū was sent to North America to gain experience. Wrestling under his real name, he appeared in George Cannon's "Superstars of Wrestling" promotion as a heel, managed by Superstar (or Supermouth) Dave Drasen. Chōshū had a brief feud with the top fan favorite of Cannon's promotion, Luis Martinez.
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Rikishi (wrestler)
Solofa F. Fatu, Jr. (born October 11, 1965) is an American professional wrestler, best known under the ring name Rikishi.
Solofa Fatu, Jr. first got the fans attention in 1985 as he worked for Gino Brito and Dino Bravo’s “International Wrestling" territory based in Montreal. While in Montreal, Fatu worked as Prince Alofa, a high flying babyface often working as a team with the territory’s top faces. While working in Montreal, Solofa hung out with his cousin Samula Anoa'i who was working in the area as the heel "The Great Samu". When the Montreal territory closed up, the two cousins signed with the World Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico and became The Samoan Swat Team (Samu & Fatu). The team adopted the “Samoan savage" gimmick that had made their fathers so well known and feared throughout the wrestling world, working barefoot and never speaking English on camera. The team became the first ever WWC Caribbean Tag Team Champions on November 7, 1987 when they beat Invader I and Invader III. The duo held the title for just over a month before dropping them to Mark and Chris Youngblood before leaving the promotion.
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Rob Strauss
Robert "Rob" Strauss (born October 1, 1983) is an American professional wrestler, who is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Robbie E. He is a former TNA Television and TNA X Division Champion. He has also competed in Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic independent promotions under the ring name Rob Eckos, including Chaotic Wrestling, the East Coast Wrestling Association, Hardway Wrestling, Jersey All Pro Wrestling, the National Wrestling Alliance, Pro-Pain Pro Wrestling and Mikey Whipwreck's New York Wrestling Connection.
Eckos began watching professional wrestling at the age of 4 and was a fan of The Ultimate Warrior, Sting and Shawn Michaels. He saw his first live event at a local wrestling show in Woodbridge, New Jersey headlined by "Iron" Mike Sharpe and later became interested in becoming a professional wrestler. When he turned 16, Eckos began training at Kevin Knight's Camp IWF in Woodland Park, New Jersey, where he practiced regular drills and exercises for four months until his debut against Chad Warwick on October 1, 2000.
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Rob Van Dam
Robert Alexander Szatowski (born December 18, 1970), better known by his ring name Rob Van Dam (RVD), is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. He is best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment, and Extreme Championship Wrestling.
Szatkowski has held 22 championships between ECW, WWE and TNA, as well as several regional titles in various promotions during his career. He is a former WWE champion, ECW champion and the TNA World Heavyweight champion once each. On the independent scene he has also won the World Heavyweight Championships for both American Wrestling Rampage and World Stars of Wrestling once each. He is the only man to achieve both WWE and ECW's version of the Triple Crown. Part of ECW's Triple Crown included the ECW World Television Championship, of which RVD's 700 day reign was the longest.
Szatkowski grew up in Battle Creek, Michigan and graduated from Pennfield High School. Rob made his first appearance on WWF television in 1987 in a skit with "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase. At the time, DiBiase was selecting plants from the audience and offering to pay them to perform degrading acts and offered the 16 year old Szatkowski $100 to enter the ring and kiss his foot, which he did. This early appearance was later included as a bonus feature on WWE's Before They Were Superstars DVD and on WWE's Rob Van Dam: One of a Kind DVD.
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Roddy Piper
Roderick "Roddy" George Toombs (born April 17, 1954), better known by his ring name "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, is a Canadian semi-retired professional wrestler and film actor who is currently signed to WWE. In professional wrestling, he is best known for his work with WWE. Although he is Canadian, due to his Scottish heritage, he was billed as coming from Glasgow in Scotland and was known for his signature kilt and bagpipe entrance music. He earned the nickname "Rowdy" by displaying his trademark "Scottish" rage, spontaneity and quick wit. Despite being a crowd favorite for his rockstar-like persona, he often played the villain. He was also nicknamed "Hot Rod". Never a world champion, he accumulated 34 championships in various promotions during his career. Piper was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005.
Toombs was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He attended Windsor Park Collegiate. His father was an officer with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police while they lived in The Pas, Manitoba. After being expelled from junior high[citation needed] and having a falling out with his father, Piper hit the road and stayed in youth hostels wherever he could find them.
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Roderick Strong
Chris Lindsey (born July 26, 1983) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Roderick Strong. Strong currently competes in several independent promotions, most notably Ring of Honor (ROH), Full Impact Pro (FIP), and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG).
He initially debuted as The Jester on the Floridian independent circuit, before quickly changing his name to Roderick Strong. He worked for IPW Hardcore and NWA Florida, before debuting for ROH in September 2003. In mid-2004, Strong joined forces with Alex Shelley, Austin Aries, and Jack Evans, collectively known as Generation Next. As part of Generation Next, Strong won the ROH World Tag Team Championship with Aries. Strong later turned on Aries, forming a new faction, the No Remorse Corps with Davey Richards and Rocky Romero. During this time, he was also competing for ROH's sister promotion, FIP, and debuted for PWG. Strong also toured Japan with Dragon Gate and had a brief stint in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling in 2005.
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Ron Killings
Ronnie Aaron "Ron" Killings (born January 19, 1972) is an American professional wrestler and rapper. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on its Raw brand and is one half of the Tag Team Champions alongside Kofi Kingston. Since working for the company, he has also been a one time United States Champion under the ring name R-Truth and a two time Hardcore Champion under the ring name K-Kwik. Killings has also worked for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as K-Krush and later as Ron "The Truth" Killings, where he became the first African-American NWA World Heavyweight Champion, a title he held on two occasions, in addition to becoming a two time NWA World Tag Team Champion and a one time TNA World Tag Team Champion.
Jackie Crockett of the National Wrestling Alliance first tried to convince Killings to become a professional wrestler, but he was determined to focus on his music career. Killings spent two years working on his music career and then contacted Crockett once more and expressed an interest in becoming a wrestler. Crockett, by now the senior cameraman for World Championship Wrestling, took Killings to several WCW and Pro Wrestling Federation events, introducing him to wrestling personalities.
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Ron Simmons
Ronald "Ron" Simmons (born May 15, 1958) is an American former professional wrestler and American Football player. He performed for World Championship Wrestling under his real name and in the World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment (WWF/E) under both his real name and the ring names Faarooq Asaad (sometimes spelled Asad) and Faarooq (sometimes spelled Farooq).
In WCW, he was a one time World Heavyweight Champion; as the first of two African Americans to win the title, he is recognized by WWE as the first Black world champion in professional wrestling history, followed by Booker T. He was also a one time World Tag Team Champion with Butch Reed and a one time United States Tag Team Champion with Big Josh. In the WWF, he was a three time Tag Team Champion with Bradshaw as one half of the Acolytes Protection Agency. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2012.
Prior to becoming a professional wrestler, Simmons was an American college and professional football player who was a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL), Canadian Football League (CFL) and United States Football League (USFL) for four seasons during the 1980s. He played college football for Florida State University, and was recognized as an All-American. He played professionally for the NFL's Cleveland Browns, the CFL's Ottawa Rough Riders and the USFL's Tampa Bay Bandits.
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Rudy Charles
Daniel Engler (born November 20, 1977 in Evansville, Indiana) is an American professional wrestling referee, better known by his ring name, Rudy Charles, best known for his time as a referee in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he was the promotion's senior referee. Also has worked in 2011 with SWE, Supreme Wrestling Entertainment, in Wisconsin.
Charles trained as a referee under former United States Wrestling Association referee Mark Vance, whom he met at a wrestling show in the Evansville Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Coliseum, and refereed his first match on July 6, 1996.
In 1997, Charles enlisted in the Indiana Army National Guard, and underwent four months of training.
Charles joined TNA shortly after its inception in June 2002, and was quickly named senior referee. In addition to working for TNA, Charles runs a high school football website, along with his brother.
Rudy Charles was the wrestling referee for the season three premiere of Pros vs Joes.
Rudy Charles has run several family oriented wrestling promotions in his hometown of Evansville, IN. He has run shows at the historic Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Coliseum (former home to the USWA), the Vanderburgh County 4-H Fairground (home to the Frog Follies classic car festival) and the CK Newsome Center, an urban community center for inner-city children.
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Sabu (wrestler)
Terry Michael Brunk (born December 12, 1964) is an American professional wrestler, known by his ring name Sabu. He is well known for his extreme wrestling style. Throughout his wrestling career, Brunk has most notably competed in Extreme Championship Wrestling, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment's ECW brand. He is currently the X-LAW International Champion and is employed by Juggalo Championship Wrestling. Brunk is a three-time world heavyweight champion, having won the ECW World Heavyweight Championship twice and the NWA World Heavyweight Championship once.
Brunk was trained by his uncle, Ed Farhat (The Sheik), and was initially trained to be a technical wrestler. He began his wrestling career in 1985 in the Sheik's promotion, Big Time Wrestling, and was billed as being from Saudi Arabia under the ring name "Sabu the Elephant Boy" (use of "The Elephant Boy" was dropped in his later days), as well as Terry S.R (the S.R. standing for Sheik's Revenge). During the 80's he would wrestle for various independent promotions in Michigan, Ohio, Canada and Hawaii. He was not billed as Terry Brunk, since it could confuse him with Terry Funk.
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Samoa Joe
Nuufolau Joel "Joe" Seanoa (born March 17, 1979) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Samoa Joe. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.
Before debuting in TNA in June 2005, Seanoa competed in the Ring of Honor (ROH) independent promotion, where he held the ROH World Championship for a record 21 months. Upon joining TNA, Seanoa embarked upon an 18 month-long undefeated streak, in which he never lost a match by pinfall or submission. That streak came to an end at the Genesis event in 2006, when he tapped out to Kurt Angle's ankle lock submission hold.
Throughout his career, Seanoa has won numerous championships, including the Ring of Honor World championship and the Pure championship. Within TNA, he is a former TNA World Heavyweight Champion, a four-time TNA X Division Champion, and a two-time TNA World Tag Team Champion. He has also won the 2005 Super X Cup Tournament, the 2008 King of the Mountain match (the only one to retain the world championship in the match), and the TNA Triple Crown.
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Santino Marella
Anthony Carelli (born March 14, 1979) is an Italian-Canadian professional wrestler,mixed martial artist and judoka, better known by his ring name Santino Marella. He is currently signed to WWE, competing on its Raw Brand, where he is the reigning United States Champion. He is a two-time Intercontinental Champion and former Tag Team Champion with Vladimir Kozlov.
In the United States, Carelli took wrestling classes at and worked for the Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) a developmental territory for the national World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Upon joining OVW, Carelli was given the ring name Johnny Geo Basco. While there, he was involved in an infamous incident with Jim Cornette, the company's head booker and part-owner. After a storyline where he was supposed to act afraid of the Boogeyman but instead laughed, Cornette yelled at and slapped Carelli, leading to Cornette being removed from his position as booker of OVW by WWE.
Paul Heyman was appointed OVW booker to replace Cornette and changed Carelli's ring name from Johnny Geo Basco to Boris Alexiev, giving him a Russian shoot fighter gimmick. As Alexiev he made his debut on April 12, 2006 along with his manager and "comrade", Mr. Strongko. With his new gimmick he was booked to dominate opponents with stiff strikes and submission style wrestling, including a 10-second win over a wrestler named Dewey. He signed a developmental deal with WWE on August 11, 2006, and continued working in OVW.
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Sarah Stock
Sarah Stock (born March 4, 1979) is a Canadian professional wrestler. She competes for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) under the ring name Sarita and for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) under the ring name Dark Angel. In TNA, she is a former two-time TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champion, having held the title once with both Taylor Wilde and Rosita. Stock has wrestled for many independent promotions throughout North America, facing both male and female wrestlers.
Stock began her career in Canada and moved back and forth across the country, competing for various promotions. She then moved to Mexico, where she competed for Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA) and later for CMLL. She has also wrestled for Federación Internacional de Lucha Libre, where she held the Women's Championship, and Lucha Libre Femenil, where she held the Juvenil Championship.
Stock was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba and graduated from Winnipeg's St. John's-Ravenscourt School. She then attended the University of Manitoba, where she was an honors student and completed a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in chemistry. Stock is trilingual, with the ability to speak English, French, and Spanish.
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Scott Hall
Scott Oliver Hall (born October 20, 1958) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF ̶ now WWE) in the early and mid 1990s under the ring name Razor Ramon, as well as for his period in the mid 1990s and early 2000s with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) under his real name. Since the late 2000s, Hall has become known for his much publicized battles with alcoholism and drug addiction, which he initially struggled with in the late 1990s during his time in WCW.
Hall began his career in 1984 in Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF), before working in territories across Jim Crockett Promotions as part of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). In 1985, Hall moved to the American Wrestling Association (AWA), winning the AWA World Tag Team Championship once with Curt Hennig in January 1986. Following further stints in the NWA and the World Wrestling Council - where he would briefly hold the WWC Caribbean Heavyweight Championship - Hall signed with the World Wrestling Federation in 1992. Hall would wrestle as Razor Ramon, a Latino-heel persona modeled after the characters of Tony Montana and Manny Ribera from the movie Scarface. While in the WWF, Hall would win the WWF Intercontinental Championship four times, before leaving for WCW in 1996.
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Scott Levy
Scott Anthony Levy (born September 8, 1964), better known by his ring name Raven, is an American wrestling producer, wrestling writer, and occasional author, actor and professional wrestler currently working for different independent promotions. During his career he has held multiple championships across the world.
He is a three-time World Champion, having won the ECW World Heavyweight Championship twice and the NWA World Heavyweight Championship once. He also held the WCW United States Championship once, and is the record holder for most reigns as WWF/E Hardcore Champion with 26 reigns. He is the 2005 King of the Mountain winner at Slammiversary in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, being only the second person ever to win the annual event. Between WCW, TNA, WWE and ECW Levy has held 36 total championships. He also briefly wrestled for the Ring of Honor promotion in 2003.
Levy is also the innovator of numerous types of "gimmick" wrestling matches, such as Clockwork Orange House of Fun match, Raven's Rules match and Hangman's Horror match.
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Sean Morley
Sean Allen Morley (born March 6, 1971) is a Canadian professional wrestler 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, the European Championship once, and the World Tag Team Championship once with Lance Storm. In Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre, he is a one time World Heavyweight Champion.
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. 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.
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Sean Waltman
Sean Michael Waltman (born July 13, 1972) is an American professional wrestler currently signed with WWE in their developmental program. He wrestled there under the ring names 1–2–3 Kid and X-Pac off and on from 1993–2002, World Championship Wrestling (WCW) under the ring name Syxx, and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) under the ring name Syxx-Pac and also under his real name. Waltman is the only wrestler in history to have held the TNA X Division Championship, the WCW Cruiserweight Championship, and the WWE Light Heavyweight Championship. Waltman is a member of the group known in wrestling as The Kliq, which also consists of Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Kevin Nash, and Scott Hall.
After being trained by former professional wrestling brothers Boris and Joe Malenko, Waltman began his career as The Lightning Kid, working his way through various independent organizations such as Pro Wrestling America (PWA) and the Global Wrestling Federation (GWF), winning the PWA Light Heavyweight title, the PWA Iron Horse TV Title and the GWF Light Heavyweight Championship. Throughout the early part of his career, Waltman worked extensively with wrestler Jerry Lynn in both North America and Japan. The duo even teamed up to win the PWA Tag Team titles twice in 1993.
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Sgt. Slaughter
Robert Remus (born August 27, 1948), better known by his ring name Sgt. Slaughter, is an American former WWE personality and semi-retired professional wrestler. From the late 1970s to the early 1990s, Slaughter had success in the National Wrestling Alliance, American Wrestling Association, and World Wrestling Federation. In the 1980s, an alternate version of the Sgt. Slaughter character was incorporated into the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toy line as well as its animated series and comic books.
Remus attended Eden Prairie High School in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, where he wrestled and played football.
Sgt. Slaughter held numerous regional titles early in his career and experienced his first major success in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) capturing the NWA World Tag Team Championship with Don Kernodle. During the late 1970s, Remus worked the American Wrestling Association (AWA) territory under a mask as Super Destroyer Mark II with managers Lord Alfred Hayes and Bobby Heenan.
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Shane Douglas
Troy Shane Martin (born November 21, 1964) is an American professional wrestler and promoter, better known by his ring name "The Franchise" Shane Douglas. In the course of his career, which has spanned nearly three decades, Douglas has wrestled in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Championship Wrestling and briefly in the World Wrestling Federation. Martin later worked for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. Martin is former four time ECW World Heavyweight champion and one-time NWA World Heavyweight champion.
Martin was born one of six children, the son of a veteran of World War II, who died in 1991. He graduated cum laude from Bethany College in 1986 with a bachelor's degree in history and political science. He is an alumnus of the Psi Chapter of Beta Theta Pi. After earning his degrees, he was offered to join the Saba University School of Medicine but declined in order to continue wrestling.
Martin was trained by Dominic DeNucci in the Pittsburgh suburb of Freedom, Pennsylvania, alongside Mick Foley in the mid-1980s. He had been wrestling professionally to earn money since 1982. When he started, he used the character of Troy Orndorff, the fictional nephew of Paul Orndorff. In 1986, he wrestled Randy Savage at a WWF Superstars of Wrestling taping using his real name. He would also wrestle "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff in the debut episode of WWF Wrestling Challenge, once again using his real name. Later that year, he began wrestling as a fan favorite for the Universal Wrestling Federation using the name Shane Douglas, which was given to him by "Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert and Missy Hyatt ("Shane" coming from Martin's middle name, and "Douglas" from Michael Douglas, who at the time had just appeared in Wall Street). Douglas defeated Gilbert for the World Television Championship on August 3, 1987, but did not rise above mid-card status. Douglas soon lost the title on September 2 to Terry Taylor.
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Shane McMahon
Shane Brandon McMahon (born January 15, 1970) is an American executive, currently serving as the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of YOU On Demand. A former executive and professional wrestler for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), he is the son of WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon and U.S. Senate candidate Linda McMahon. He is also the older brother of Stephanie McMahon and brother-in-law of professional wrestler Paul "Triple H" Levesque. He spent over 20 years in WWE, leaving in January 2010.
In WWE, he is a one-time European Champion and a one-time Hardcore Champion. McMahon is considered a fourth generation McMahon as he follows his great-grandfather, Jess McMahon, his grandfather Vincent J. McMahon, and his father Vincent K. McMahon.
McMahon began his on-screen career as a referee named Shane Stevens in 1990 and was the first performer to walk out to greet the audience at WrestleMania VI. Shane McMahon also refereed during the 1991 Royal Rumble match. He soon left behind the blue shirt and bow-tie and took on the role of a backstage official at WrestleMania VIII in an attempt to break up a brawl between Randy Savage and Ric Flair.
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Shawn Daivari
Dara Daivari (born April 30, 1984) is an Iranian American professional wrestler, currently performing on the American independent circuit as Shawn Daivari. He is best known for his work with World Wrestling Entertainment as simply Daivari and with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as Sheik Abdul Bashir.
Daivari grew up admiring Mick Foley and Bret Hart. His childhood hero was Shawn Michaels. He participated in his first professional wrestling match at age 15. He started his career in the Midwest with All-Star Championship Wrestling. He is known for representing Iran for international title matches
On October 18, 1998, Daivari appeared on WCW Monday Nitro as a fan being interviewed by Mike Tenay.
He appeared on February 26, 2003's TNA Xplosion and wrestled a tag team match against Mike Sanders and Glenn Gilberti with Ken Anderson. He also appeared on the October 5, 2003 edition of WWE Sunday Night Heat as "Sheik" Shawn Daivari, losing his match against Tommy Dreamer. He also made four appearances for independent promotion Ring of Honor between April and July 2004.
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Shawn Hernandez
Shawn Hernandez (born February 11, 1973) is an American professional wrestler of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent, better known by his ring names, "Hotstuff Hernandez" and "Hernandez".
Hernandez is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is a member of the Mexican America stable with Rosita, Sarita and Anarquia. Hernandez is a former five-time World Tag Team Champion, having held the NWA World Tag Team Championship twice and the TNA World Tag Team Championship once with Homicide and the TNA title once also with Matt Morgan and Anarquia. He is also known for his time in Mexico, working for Asistencia Asesoría y Administración. He has also wrestled for independent promotions such as Ring of Honor, and in Japan.
Following the end of his Arena Football career, Hernandez trained under Tugboat Taylor and later under Rudy Boy Gonzalez in the Texas Wrestling Academy. He debuted in Texas All-Star Wrestling in November 1996.
In 2000 and 2001 Hernandez worked for the World Wrestling Federation as a jobber, appearing on episodes of WWF Jakked and in dark matches. He also wrestled dark matches for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, and competed for Texas All Star Wrestling, Extreme Texas Wrestling and NWA Southwest. He also toured Japan on numerous occasions and worked for Ring of Honor in 2003.
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Shawn Michaels
Michael Shawn Hickenbottom (born July 22, 1965), better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is a retired professional wrestler, and an American television host. He is currently signed to WWE, where he has served as an ambassador for the company since December 2010. Hickenbottom consistently wrestled for WWE, formerly the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), from 1988 until his first retirement in 1998, due to injury. He appeared in non-wrestling roles from 1998 to 2000, and resumed his in-ring career in 2002, retiring in 2010. He also hosts the show MacMillan River Adventures, airing on the Outdoor Channel.
Hickenbottom began his wrestling career with Mid-South Wrestling, now known as Universal Wrestling Federation, and American Wrestling Association (AWA). During his time with AWA, he performed in partnership with Marty Jannetty, as The Midnight Rockers; winning the AWA World Tag Team Championship twice. Hickenbottom and Jannetty briefly signed with World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1987, while in contract with AWA. They returned to AWA, only to go back to the WWF in 1988.
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Sheamus
Stephen Farrelly (Irish: Stíofán Ó Fearghaile) (born 28 January 1978) is an Irish professional wrestler and actor, best known by his ring name Sheamus. He is signed with WWE and competes on the SmackDown brand as the reigning World Heavyweight Champion.
Prior to joining WWE, Farrelly was also a two-time International Heavyweight Champion during his tenure in Irish Whip Wrestling. He is a three-time World Champion, having held the WWE Championship on two occasions and is the current World Heavyweight Champion in his first reign. He also won the King of the Ring in 2010 and the Royal Rumble in 2012, as well as the WWE United States Championship once.
Farrelly was born in Cabra, Dublin and was raised within the city. His father, Martin, was an amateur bodybuilder. Farrelly speaks fluent Irish, having attended Scoil Caoimhin Primary and Secondary School, a Gaelscoil During his school years he sang in the Palestrina Choir until the age of thirteen, as part of which he appeared on the Late Late Show and Live at Three television programmes. He played Gaelic football for the Erin's Isle team where he was declared sports star of the month. He also played rugby for the National College of Ireland, where he gained a National Diploma.
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Shelton Benjamin
Shelton James Benjamin (born July 9, 1975) is an American professional wrestler and former amateur wrestler best known for his tenure in World Wrestling Entertainment. Benjamin has an amateur wrestling background, including wrestling in high school and at the University of Minnesota. In addition, Benjamin has acted as an assistant coach in amateur wrestling. He first spent time in Ohio Valley Wrestling, where he held the Southern Tag Team Championship four times. WWE then moved him to the main roster and put him into an alliance with Kurt Angle and Charlie Haas, known as Team Angle (and later the World's Greatest Tag Team). During his tenure with the company, he won the Intercontinental Championship three times, the United States Championship once, and the WWE Tag Team Championship twice with Haas. He currently wrestles for Ring of Honor (ROH), where he is one half of the World Tag Team Champions with Charlie Haas.
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Sherri Martel
Sherri Schrull (born Sherri Russell, February 8, 1958 – June 15, 2007) was an American professional wrestler and manager, better known by her ring names, Sherri Martel and Sensational Sherri.
Martel began her professional wrestling career as a manager. She joined the American Wrestling Association (AWA) in the mid-1980s and held its AWA World Women's Championship three times. In the late 1980s, she joined the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), where she held the WWF Women's Championship. Also in the WWF, Martel continued to act as a manager to wrestlers such as Randy Savage, Ted DiBiase, and Shawn Michaels. She appeared in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in the 1990s. In the latter, Martel acted as the manager for the tag team Harlem Heat. After leaving WCW, she made a few wrestling related appearances until her death in 2007.
Martel was first introduced to professional wrestling as a child, when her mother took her and her sister to shows in Mississippi. In 1974, Martel approached Grizzly Smith for advice on becoming a wrestler, but he questioned her conviction and told her to come back to him in five years when she was an adult. She eventually married her second husband and gave birth to a son named Jared, but she soon divorced her husband. During this time, she again became interested in becoming a professional wrestler and sought training from "Mr. Personality" Butch Moore in Memphis, Tennessee. She started wrestling as Sherri Martine, but decided she needed more training. She continued to train at The Fabulous Moolah's school, where Moolah changed her name to Sherri Martel and sent her to wrestle in Japan in 1981. Moolah claims that Martel frequented night clubs and liked to party, which resulted in Moolah kicking her out of the school.
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Shinsuke Nakamura
Shinsuke Nakamura (中邑 真輔, Nakamura Shinsuke?, born February 24, 1980) is a Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist currently working for New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he is a former three-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion.
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Shoichi Funaki
Shoichi Funaki (船木 勝一, Funaki Shoichi?) (born August 24, 1968) is a Japanese/American professional wrestler best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment, where he was a one-time Cruiserweight Champion and a one-time Hardcore Champion.
Funaki started as a shoot style wrestler in Yoshiaki Fujiwara's Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi promotion and moved to its successor promotion, Battlarts. He later found the lucha libre style more to his liking, so he moved to the Great Sasuke's promotion, Michinoku Pro Wrestling. In that promotion, he joined with Taka Michinoku, Dick Togo, Men's Teioh and Shiryu in the Kai En Tai stable. Funaki also wrestled in the Universal Wrestling Association (UWA) where he won the UWA World Middleweight Championship from El Pantera on March 19, 1997, in Japan.
In March 1998, Funaki, along with Teioh and Togo, joined the World Wrestling Federation. Initially, they feuded with Taka Michinoku and defeated him and his partner Justin Bradshaw in a 3-on-2 handicap match at Over the Edge: In Your House. They lost to Michinoku and The Headbangers at King of the Ring 1998 in a six-man tag team match.
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ShoMiz
ShoMiz was a professional wrestling team from World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) consisting of Big Show and the Miz. They were active in 2010 and won the Unified WWE Tag Team Championships. They were also featured in two WWE PPV events, Wrestlemania XXVI and Extreme Rules (2010).
On January 18, 2010, after Big Show helped WWE United States Champion the Miz by attacking The Miz's rival, MVP, Raw guest host Jon Heder arranged for Big Show and the Miz to form a tag team to take on Triple H and Shawn Michaels of D-Generation X (DX).
At the February 8 episode of Raw, Big Show and the Miz, both heels, was in an Elimination Triple Threat tag team match for the Unified WWE Tag Team Championships against the Straight Edge Society (consisting of CM Punk and Luke Gallows) and the champions, DX. After DX eliminated the Straight Edge Society, ShoMiz pinned DX, making ShoMiz the winners and new tag team champions. At the Elimination Chamber (2010) PPV, Big Show illegally interfered in the Miz's United States title match against MVP, leading to the Miz beating MVP. The next night on Raw, ShoMiz successfully retained their tag team titles against MVP and his partner, Mark Henry. ShoMiz also retained their titles by beating DX on the March 1 episode of Raw.
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Sid Eudy
Sidney Raymond "Sid" Eudy (born July 4, 1960) is an American professional wrestler, best known as Sid Vicious in World Championship Wrestling, and as Sid Justice and Sycho Sid in the World Wrestling Federation. He is a six-time world champion: a two-time WWF Champion, two-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion, a two-time USWA Unified World Heavyweight Champion and a one-time WCW United States Heavyweight Champion.
Eudy entered the wrestling industry after an encounter with Randy Savage and his brother Lanny Poffo. After being trained by Tojo Yamamoto, Eudy made his debut as he teamed with Austin Idol and wrestled the team of Nick Bockwinkel and Jerry Lawler. He then adopted the masked wrestler persona known as Lord Humongous. After competing mainly on the continental wrestling circuits (Alabama, Mississippi, Memphis, and Georgia), he captured several regional titles while there. He also competed in New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he challenged Tatsumi Fujinami for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship under the name Vicious Warrior, but was unable to win the title. Eudy then made a very brief stint in World Class Championship Wrestling, where he adopted one of his most notable ring names: Sid Vicious, which he took from the punk rock musician of the same name who played bass for the Sex Pistols.
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SoCal Val
Valerie Elizabeth Wyndham (born March 27, 1986) is an American professional wrestling valet, better known by her ring name, SoCal Val. She is currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.
Wyndham was approached by a promoter at a wrestling show and offered the possibility of being a manager. She debuted in March 2002 for the Golden State Championship Wrestling independent promotion in Anaheim, California. She acted as the manager of Pinoy Boy. She promptly betrayed him by berating him after he was defeated by Scott Lost and then left with Lost. From the age of fifteen, she acted as a manager, ring girl, and timekeeper. She appeared for several other promotions in Southern California before her family moved across the country to Orlando, Florida when she was sixteen. Wyndham developed the character of SoCal Val, a wealthy, petulant, ruthless villain, who was based on Stephanie McMahon of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), whom Wyndham admired.
In addition to working for multiple independent promotions, Wyndham appeared with WWE in early 2005 on SmackDown! as part of a vignette featuring Luther Reigns. She regularly appears with the Orlando based promotion TNA Wrestling, working variously as a ring girl and merchandise model beginning in June 2005. She appeared at TNA's No Surrender pay-per-view on July 17, 2005 alongside ring announcer Jeremy Borash and used to be an interviewer on the now defunct TNA Global Impact!.
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Solofa Fatu
Solofa F. Fatu, Jr. (born October 11, 1965) is an American professional wrestler, best known under the ring name Rikishi.
Solofa Fatu, Jr. first got the fans attention in 1985 as he worked for Gino Brito and Dino Bravo’s “International Wrestling" territory based in Montreal. While in Montreal, Fatu worked as Prince Alofa, a high flying babyface often working as a team with the territory’s top faces. While working in Montreal, Solofa hung out with his cousin Samula Anoa'i who was working in the area as the heel "The Great Samu". When the Montreal territory closed up, the two cousins signed with the World Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico and became The Samoan Swat Team (Samu & Fatu). The team adopted the “Samoan savage" gimmick that had made their fathers so well known and feared throughout the wrestling world, working barefoot and never speaking English on camera. The team became the first ever WWC Caribbean Tag Team Champions on November 7, 1987 when they beat Invader I and Invader III. The duo held the title for just over a month before dropping them to Mark and Chris Youngblood before leaving the promotion.
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Stan Stasiak
George Stipich (April 13, 1937 - June 19, 1997), better known by his ring name Stan Stasiak, was a Canadian professional wrestler and fifth World Wide Wrestling Federation Champion. He is the father of professional wrestler Shawn Stasiak.
Born George Stipich, Stasiak made his wrestling debut in Quebec, Canada. He used the nickname "Crusher" early in his career and used a bear hug as a finisher. Later on in his career, he adopted the heart punch as his finishing move.
During his third stay with World Wide Wrestling Federation, he would get one of the biggest opportunities of his career. Stan "The Man" Stasiak won the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship on December 1, 1973, defeating Pedro Morales. Unlike wrestlers today, Stasiak was given little notice about winning the title before it took place. According to him, he was sitting in the dressing room in Philadelphia and the road agent came to discuss the match. Stan considered this a formality as he had been having the same discussion, nearly verbatim, in every major city on the Eastern seaboard for the last two months. However this time, it was different. The agent told Stasiak that Morales was to give him a belly to back suplex and as the ref makes the count, Stan raises his shoulder up after two, while Morales' shoulder stays down, thus the title changes hands. According to friend and fellow wrestler Frank Dusek, the company wanted to make Bruno Sammartino its champion again but did not want Sammartino to defeat current champion Pedro Morales in the process. Stasiak was used as a transition champion, defeating Morales for the belt and holding it for just nine days before losing it to Sammartino on December 10, 1973.
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Stephanie McMahon
Stephanie McMahon Levesque (née Stephanie Marie McMahon; born September 24, 1976) better known by her maiden name Stephanie McMahon, is an American corporate executive who is currently the Executive Vice President, Creative, for World Wrestling Entertainment,. She is also a former professional wrestling valet and occasional wrestler. She is the daughter of WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon and Linda McMahon, the younger sister of Shane McMahon, and wife of WWE wrestler and executive Paul "Triple H" Levesque.
McMahon began appearing regularly on WWE in 1999 as a part of a storyline with The Undertaker. After a brief on-screen relationship with Test, she was engaged to Triple H—who she married both on-screen and later in real life—which resulted in the McMahon-Helmsley Faction storyline. She has held the WWF Women's Championship once. In 2001, she was the on-screen owner of Extreme Championship Wrestling during The Invasion. The following year, she was the SmackDown General Manager, but stopped appearing regularly on television after an "I Quit" match with her father Vince. After making part time appearances for several years, she began appearing regularly on Raw in 2008 as the Raw brand General Manager.
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Steve Blackman
Steve Blackman (born September 28, 1963) is a American professional wrestler who is best known for his career in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). Nicknamed 'The Lethal Weapon', Blackman won the Hardcore Championship six times in his tenure with the company.
Steve Blackman began as a competitive bodybuilder and weightlifter before entering professional wrestling in 1986 in Connecticut, training at Tony Altamore's wrestling school. In Calgary, he worked for Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling. He competed briefly as a jobber in 1988 and was being considered for a full-time contract with the WWF when he contracted malaria and dysentery while wrestling in South Africa in 1989 and "was on his death bed for two years".
After finally beating his two year bout with malaria, during which he lost much of his muscle-mass, Blackman spent another four years in physical therapy to recover his conditioning, and incorporated martial arts training, specifically escrima and tae kwon do, into his physical therapy. Once back in fighting shape Blackman contacted his friends Brian Pillman and Owen Hart for a new WWF try-out.
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Steve McMichael
Stephen Douglas McMichael (born October 17, 1957) is a former American college and professional football player who was a defensive lineman in the National Football League (NFL) and is currently the head coach of the Chicago Slaughter of the Indoor Football League. McMichael played college football for the University of Texas and was an All-American. He played for the New England Patriots, Chicago Bears, and Green Bay Packers, winning Super Bowl XX with the Bears. McMichael later became a professional wrestler, wrestling for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and becoming a member of the legendary Four Horsemen
Born in Houston, Texas, McMichael attended the University of Texas, where he played for the Texas Longhorns football team from 1976 to 1979. As a senior in 1979, he was a consensus first-team All-American.
McMichael was drafted out of Texas in 1980 by the New England Patriots. He was acquired by the Chicago Bears as a free agent in 1981. He would become one of their starting defensive tackles and help lead them to a Super Bowl win in 1985. He had a streak of 101 games started until 1990, when his playing time was reduced. He led the Bears with 111⁄2 sacks in 1988. He had 108 tackles in 1989. McMichael was named to the NFC's Pro Bowl teams for the 1986 and 1987 seasons.
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Stevie Richards
Michael Manna (born October 9, 1971) is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Stevie Richards. Manna currently works for Lucha Libre USA and previously worked for Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and, briefly, World Championship Wrestling (WCW). He has also made appearances for Ring Of Honor (ROH). Manna has held the WWE Hardcore Championship 22 times and was a two-time ECW World Tag Team Champion and a one time NWA National Heavyweight Champion.
Stevie Richards was trained at Iron Mike Sharpe's wrestling school in Brick Township, New Jersey after being discovered by Dan Haney of the World Wide Wrestling Alliance based out of Colmar/Hatfield, Pennsylvania.
On February 25, 1992, Richards participated in the first ever Eastern Championship Wrestling (Extreme eventually replaced the Eastern) match, as Steve Richards in a 20-minute time limit draw with Jimmy Jannetty. In 1995 Richards began to adopt the gimmicks of one Scott Levy (Scotty Flamingo, Scotty the body, Johnny Polo) he would score a win as Stevie Flamingo, the next week as Stevie the body he would score an upset victory over JT Smith then, the next week as Stevie Polo he would score his first loss to Tommy Dreamer, Richards irrate over the loss claimed that "he would produce the real Johnny Polo". The next week he would live up to his promise Levy appeared in a new gimmick as Raven. From that point on, Richards acted as a flunky for Raven in ECW, calling him "Boss". While teaming with Raven, Richards won the ECW World Tag Team Championship on two occasions.
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Tazz
Peter Senerchia (born October 11, 1967) is a retired American professional wrestler and color commentator best known by his ring name Tazz, originally Tazmaniac and later shortened to simply Taz. Tazz is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling where he works as a color commentator.
He is best known from his tenure in Extreme Championship Wrestling, where he was a two time World Heavyweight Champion, a two time World Television Champion, a three time World Tag Team Champion, a two time (and the first ever) FTW Heavyweight Champion, and the fourth ECW Triple Crown winner (the final in the original ECW).
His World Wrestling Entertainment career as an in-ring performer came to an early halt in 2002 when mounting injuries forced him to retire and become a color commentator, which he continued to do until his contract with WWE expired in April 2009. Two months later, Senerchia debuted in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling at their Victory Road pay-per-view under the ring name Taz and eventually reprised his role as a color commentator for TNA's broadcasts, replacing Don West.
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Ted DiBiase
Theodore Marvin "Ted" DiBiase, Sr. (born January 18, 1954) is a retired professional wrestler, manager, ordained minister and color commentator. DiBiase achieved championship success in a number of wrestling promotions, holding thirty titles during his professional wrestling career. He is best recalled by mainstream audiences for his time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), where he wrestled as "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase.
Among other accolades in the WWF, DiBiase was the first WWF North American Heavyweight Champion, a three-time WWF Tag Team Champion (with Irwin R. Schyster) and the 1988 King of the Ring. DiBiase also created his own championship, the Million Dollar Championship. He was well known for his cutting-edge heel promos, which were often concluded with his trademark evil laugh; DiBiase has been described by WWE as the organization's "most despised villain" during the late 1980s. He held the WWF Championship belt in 1988 after purchasing it from André the Giant, but this period is not recognized by WWE as an official title reign. Nonetheless, DiBiase frequently performed in main event matches and has been cited as one of the finest in-ring technicians in history.
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Terri Runnels
Terri Lynne Boatright Runnels (born October 5, 1966) is a former World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Federation professional wrestling manager, television host and occasional wrestler. Runnels began her professional wrestling career in World Championship Wrestling as Miss Alexandra York, manager of the York Foundation. After six years, she joined the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), where she worked for eight years. She was also one of the first WWE Divas.
In the early years of her career with the WWF, she managed her real-life husband Dustin Runnels (known on-screen as Goldust) and was a member of the Pretty Mean Sisters alliance. She also managed both The Hardy Boyz and Edge and Christian following the Terri Invitational Tournament in 1999. Subsequently, she had an on-screen rivalry with The Kat, managed The Radicalz stable, and worked as a host and interviewer. During her time with the WWF, she briefly held the WWE Hardcore Championship, her only championship during her career. After leaving the wrestling business, Runnels became involved in philanthropic work.
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Terry Funk
Terrence "Terry" Funk (born June 30, 1944) is an American professional wrestler and actor known chiefly for the hardcore wrestling style he adopted in the latter part of his career that inspired many younger wrestlers, including Mick Foley. Funk has appeared in the NWA, AWA, WWF/E, WCW, ECW, USWA, ROH, and TNA.
Funk held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship once and ECW World Heavyweight Championship once (ECW awarded him the honorary lifetime title of ECW Champion due to his contributions to the promotion). In addition, he won the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship once, the IWA World Heavyweight Championship twice, the ECW World Heavyweight Championship once (the reign was under Eastern Championship Wrestling name), the 3PW World Heavyweight Championship once. He is the only man to have been inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, the WCW Hall of Fame, the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame, the NWA Hall of Fame, the Hardcore Hall of Fame, and the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame. Funk was a primary subject of the documentary film Beyond the Mat. Funk is often noted for the longevity of his career, which has included multiple "retirement" matches.
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Terry Gerin
Terrance "Terry" Gerin (born October 7, 1975) is an American professional wrestler and actor, better known by the ring name Rhino (also spelled Rhyno in WWE). He is best known for his career in Extreme Championship Wrestling, World Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico, World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). He is currently employed by Juggalo Championship Wrestling and Ring of Honor.
Gerin is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having held the ECW World Heavyweight Championship (last champ in original ECW), and the NWA World Heavyweight Championship once each. He is also a three-time WWF Hardcore Champion, a two-time (and final) ECW World Television Champion and a one-time United States Champion, which he won in the WWF during the Invasion storyline. He also has held several independent championships in his career as well.
Gerin trained as a wrestler at the Can-Am Wrestling School located in Windsor, Ontario under Scott D'Amore, who he later reunited with in TNA. He debuted in 1994 on the Detroit independent circuit under the ring name Terry Richards, and made an appearance as enhancement talent on an episode of WWF RAW in November 1995, losing to Henry O. Godwinn, As well as making an appearance on the August 5, 1995 episode of WCW Saturday Night in a losing effort against "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan. Gerin later adopted the ring name Rhino Richards and began wrestling in Canada, where he formed a stable known as "THUG Life" with Joe Legend, Zakk Wyld (Keith Assoun), Christian Cage, Bloody Bill Skullion, Brett Kimball, and Sexton Hardcastle (later named Edge). He had feuds with Beautiful Brian Fury and Alexis Machine which were part of HotSeat Productions.
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Tha Trademarc
Marc Predka (born April 21, 1975) better known by his stage name Tha Trademarc, is an American hip hop artist. He first came to prominence when he and his first cousin, WWE wrestler John Cena, collaborated on the 2005 album You Can't See Me, including Cena's entrance theme "My Time Is Now". He also appeared in the music videos of the songs, "Bad Bad Man" and "Right Now" with John Cena respectively. Prior to the album, Trademarc appeared on Cena's first WWE DVD Word Life He now works as a classroom specialist for the Peace Corps of America.
In August 2007, Trademarc appeared at Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's (TNA) Hard Justice pay-per-view as the "new boyfriend" of Karen Angle, later revealed to be a ruse when Karen and Trademarc helped Karen's "estranged" husband Kurt Angle win the match. He appeared again on iMPACT! the next week. While working with TNA he also re-recorded Kurt Angle's entrance music, mixing in a rap he did over a Lunatic Fringe beat with the TNA-composed "My Quest" to form the hip hop theme "Gold Medal". In 2008, he released his first solo debut album Inferiority Complex. He recently worked with independent artist T-Nova on a few tracks that have yet to be released.
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The Honky Tonk Man
Roy Wayne "Presley" Farris (born January 25, 1953), better known by his ring name The Honky Tonk Man, is an American professional wrestler. A 1975 graduate from University of Memphis with a B.S. degree in Education, Farris coached high school football for two seasons at Munford High School in Munford, Tennessee. Currently working on the independent circuit, he previously worked for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and World Wrestling Federation (WWF)--now WWE. He is best known for his first run with WWF, where he held the WWF Intercontinental Championship for a record 64 weeks, and lost it to Ultimate Warrior in the very first pay-per-view of SummerSlam. He is the cousin of professional wrestler and color commentator Jerry "The King" Lawler.
Farris began his career in Memphis Wrestling in 1978. He wrestled frequently in Birmingham, Alabama with SECW / CCW / CWF as Dynamite Wayne Farris. Originally a low-card wrestler, he later achieved greater success when he teamed with Larry Latham to form The Blond Bombers tag team with Sgt. Danny Davis as their manager. The Blond Bombers were involved in heated feuds with several baby faces across the two competing Tennessee promotions, appearing in both Nick Gulas Nashville based territory, and Jerry Jarrett's Memphis area. Their signature moment was the now famous "Tupelo Concession Stand Brawl" against Jerry Lawler and Bill Dundee. He then had stints in the American Wrestling Association, NWA Mid-Atlantic, World Wrestling Council, NWA Southeastern, and Stampede Wrestling through the early '80s, winning multiple singles and tag team championships in each.
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The Miz
Michael "Mike" Gregory Mizanin (born October 8, 1980) is an American professional wrestler, reality television star, media personality, and actor better known by his nickname and ring name The Miz. He is currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment on its Raw brand. Mizanin first gained fame as a cast member on MTV's The Real World: Back to New York, which first aired in 2001, and its spinoff series, Real World/Road Rules Challenge. He later entered the fourth season of Tough Enough, a televised competition that would award the winner a WWE contract, and became the first runner-up. Mizanin has also made appearances on television shows including Battle of the Network Reality Stars, Fear Factor, Identity, Ghost Hunters, Dinner Impossible, Psych and Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?.
Mizanin trained and wrestled with Ultimate Pro Wrestling and Deep South Wrestling, where he became the first Deep South Heavyweight Champion. Mizanin was sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), working in tag team matches and winning the tag team title, the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship, on one occasion.
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The Undertaker
Mark William Calaway (born March 24, 1965) is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name The Undertaker. He is signed to WWE and is the company's most tenured competitor. Calaway began his wrestling career with World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) in 1984. He joined World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as "Mean" Mark Callous in 1989. When WCW did not renew Calaway's contract in 1990, he signed with the World Wrestling Federation in October and, after shortening his name from Kane the Undertaker to simply The Undertaker, has remained with the company since.
The Undertaker has two contrasting personas. The first is the role of The Deadman, an undead, occult-like figure, which has consisted of many different styles. He debuted his original Deadman persona during his own on-camera debut at Survivor Series (1990). At this event, the Undertaker was clad as a Western mortician. Next, in October of 1998, the Undertaker appeared as the leader of the Ministry of Darkness (with similar apparel). Since WrestleMania XX, the Undertaker has appeared as a hybrid version of the Deadman character, using elements of the previous Deadman incarnations.
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Thea Trinidad
Thea Megan Trinidad (born December 27, 1990) is an American professional wrestler of Puerto Rican descent. She competes for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Rosita and for other promotions under the ring name Divina Fly. In TNA, she is a former Knockouts Tag Team Champion with Sarita.
On February 20, 2010, She made her debut for Women Superstars Uncensored (WSU), under the ring name Divina Fly in a losing effort against Brittney Savage. On June 6, 2010, Divina Fly and Niya, collectively known as The Fly Girls, competed for the WSU Tag Team Championships but lost to the reigning champions, Cindy Rogers and Jana. On September 11, 2010, Divina Fly won a match against newcomer Candy Cartwright with a Fly Cutter.
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Tim Woods
George Burrell "Tim" Woodin (July 28, 1934 – November 30, 2002) was an American former professional wrestler. He was best known under his ring name Mr. Wrestling.
Woodin began his wrestling career at the age of 29 using the name "Tim Woods". He was then given the name "Mr. Wrestling" by Nebraska promotor Joe Dusek, and subsequently adopted both a white wrestling mask and white singlet to complete the character. Mr. Wrestling became a major superstar in the Georgia, Florida, Texas and Mid-Atlantic territories. He wrestled in the World Wide Wrestling Federation in the northeast, at the upper end of the preliminary wrestlers. Starting in the Seventies, he would alternate between his masked persona as Mr. Wrestling and wrestling unmasked as Tim Woods, depending on the territory.
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Tito Santana
Merced Solis (born May 10, 1953) better known by his ring name Tito Santana, is an American professional wrestler whose heyday spanned from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, though he continues to appear on the independent circuit. He is best known from his time in the World Wrestling Federation. Competing almost exclusively in the WWF from 1979 to 1993, Solis helped bridge the gap between the 1980s "Rock 'n Wrestling Connection" era to the 1990s "New Generation" era. He also won the first match in WrestleMania history.
Solis played tight end for West Texas A&M University, where he was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity. The team was quarterbacked by future professional wrestler Tully Blanchard, who would introduce him into the world of professional wrestling. After graduation, Solis was cut by the Kansas City Chiefs during training camp. He played one season for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League, appearing in 13 regular-season games.
He pro debuted in Championship Wrestling From Florida in 1977, also worked in Georgia Championship Wrestling in 1977-78, until he joined the World Wrestling Federation in 1979. After a near 3 year run in the American Wrestling Association form 1980-1982 he returned to World Wrestling Federation in 1983.
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Tom Prichard
Thomas Prichard (born August 18, 1959) is an American professional wrestler better known as Tom Prichard. He is the brother of Chris and Bruce Prichard.
Tom Prichard began his career in Los Angeles, around 1979, working for Gene and Mike LeBell's Los Angeles Olympic Auditorium wrestling promotion, where he held several championships in that organization, including the Americas tag team title with Chris Adams. After LeBell closed the L.A. promotion down in 1982, Prichard competed in various NWA territories for the next four years before settling in the southeast, where he had his greatest success of his career.
Prichard joined the Continental Wrestling Federation in the late 1980s, and feuded with "The Dirty White Boy" Tony Anthony. Their feud included a very controversial angle where Anthony's valet came out with a black eye and begged Prichard to help her, only for Anthony to attack him from behind, cuff his hands behind his back, and hang him. On October 3, 1988 in Birmingham, Alabama, he defeated Anthony in the finals of a tournament to win the vacant CWF Heavyweight Championship. Prichard lost the title to Wendell Cooley on April 7, 1989 in Knoxville, Tennessee, but regained the belt on June 23 of that year. He lost the title to Dennis Condrey a month later on July 22 in Dothan, Alabama, before once again regaining it after defeating Condrey on December 6 of that same year. Prichard held the title until the CWF closed later that month.
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Tommy Dreamer
Thomas James "Tom" Laughlin (born February 14, 1971) is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Tommy Dreamer. He is currently working for various promotions on the independent circuit. He is best known for his time spent with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). After leaving WWE after a nine year stint in 2010, Dreamer worked a year for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). Among other accolades, he is a fourteen-time WWF/E Hardcore Champion and a two-time world champion, having won the ECW World Championship twice, and is the only man to have won this title in both the original company and in the WWE relaunch.
In addition to his most recent role, Dreamer is known for the time he spent in the Philadelphia-based Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) promotion, of which he has been called the "heart and soul". Though he only held the ECW World Heavyweight Championship once in his time with the company – for a total of about 30 minutes – he was regularly embroiled in the company's most visible angles on-screen and involved in the booking, some of the business decisions, and, like a number of other ECW wrestlers, was part of the day-to-day operations of the company off-screen. He is known as the "Innovator of violence."
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Tommy Mercer
Tommy Mercer (born February 21, 1985) is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) under the ring name Crimson. He also works for various promotions on the independent circuit, including Absolute Intense Wrestling (AIW), NWA Main Event and Showtime All-Star Wrestling (SAW). Mercer served five years in the United States Army, which included two tours of Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Mercer was born and raised by a single mother in Cleveland, Ohio. He attended North Ridgeville High School, where he played football and basketball, but wasn't able to continue to pursue a career in either of them without an athletic scholarship. After graduation Mercer joined the United States Army in order to fund his college studies. He ended up serving for five years, which included two tours of Iraq in the 101st Airborne Division as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
During his second tour of Iraq, Mercer decided to pursue a career in professional wrestling and upon his return to the United States, entered the NWA Main Event wrestling school in Clarksville, Tennessee, where he was trained by Jeff Daniels. He would make his professional wrestling debut in 2007, working for independent promotions in Nashville, Tennessee. He would eventually make his debut also for NWA Main Event, starting a storyline rivalry with his trainer Jeff Daniels. On June 3, 2010, Mercer won his first professional wrestling championship, when he defeated Matt Boyce for the NWA Mid-American Television Championship.
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Travis Tomko
Travis David Tomko (born March 23, 1976) is an American professional wrestler, known by his ring name Tomko, who most recently worked for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he previously was a member of Christian's Coalition and the Angle Alliance and often worked alongside A.J. Styles. He was also notable for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment as Tyson Tomko. Tomko is an accomplished tag team wrestler, having won tag team championships in TNA Wrestling (with Styles), Ohio Valley Wrestling (with Seven), and New Japan Pro Wrestling (with Giant Bernard).
Tomko was signed to a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) developmental contract in April 2002 and assigned to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) to sharpen his skills. While in OVW he was a member of the Disciples of Synn stable and along with stablemate Seven captured the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship, on March 5, 2003, though they lost them less than a month later to the Acolytes Protection Agency.
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Trenesha Biggers
Trenesha Biggers (born December 25, 1981) is a model and professional wrestler who worked for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Rhaka Khan. She was in the final top 25 in the 2005 WWE Diva Search.
Before entering wrestling, Biggers played college basketball at the College of Southern Idaho. She also played Division I volleyball at Florida State University. She later began working as a model and entered the WWE Diva Search, but was eliminated during the top 25. World Wrestling Entertainment later expressed interest in Biggers and signed her to a developmental contract. She was assigned to Deep South Wrestling. Biggers trained with Marty Jannetty for two months prior to reporting to Deep South Wrestling.
Biggers debuted in World Wrestling Entertainment's Deep South Wrestling (DSW) as the valet of The Regulators. Later, she and Angel Williams began a feud with Kristal Marshall, Tracy Taylor, and Michelle McCool. On February 9, 2006, Biggers participated in a bikini contest; however, there was no winner due to an interruption by Palmer Canon. Biggers and Williams later accompanied Canon in a match against Tommy Dreamer, who had McCool, Taylor, and Marshall in his corner. On May 4, 2006, WWE released Biggers from her developmental contract.
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Triple H
Paul Michael Levesque (born July 27, 1969) is an American professional wrestler, wrestling executive, and actor better known by his ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of the ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley. Currently, Levesque works in the front office of WWE as the Executive Vice President of Talent and Live Events, and as Triple H appears on television as the (storyline) Chief Operating Officer, and part-time wrestler.
Levesque began his wrestling career in the International Wrestling Federation as Terra Ryzing before joining World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1994. After briefly using the Ryzing name, he changed his character to Jean-Paul Lévesque, a French-Canadian aristocrat which would be similar to his character Hunter Hearst Helmsley, that he used in his early years with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) from 1995 onward. He later abbreviated his name to Triple H and adopted an alternative image in the D-Generation X (DX) stable. After the dissolution of DX, Triple H was pushed as a main event wrestler, winning several singles championships. As part of a storyline Triple H married Stephanie McMahon, who later became his real-life spouse. In 2003, Triple H formed another stable known as Evolution, and reformed DX with Shawn Michaels in 2006 and 2009. He is heavily involved in the writing process of WWE programming, and holds complete creative control over his television character's storylines, win/loss record, and championship reigns.
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Trish Stratus
Patricia Anne Stratigias ( /strætɨˈdʒiːəs/; born December 18, 1975), better known by her ring name Trish Stratus, is a Canadian professional wrestler, actress and television personality currently signed with WWE. She is also a former fitness model.
After beginning her career as a fitness model, Stratus began working for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), which was later renamed World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Early in her career, she was involved in sexually themed storylines, such as managing the team T & A and an affair with Vince McMahon. As Stratus spent more time in the ring, her wrestling skills and popularity strengthened. Because of this, she was a one-time WWE Hardcore Champion, three-time "WWE Babe of the Year" and was proclaimed "Diva of the Decade". After nearly seven years in the business, Stratus retired from professional wrestling at WWE Unforgiven on September 17, 2006, after winning her seventh WWE Women's Championship, the most in WWE history. Since retiring, Stratus has occasionally come out of retirement to compete in one-off matches.
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Tully Blanchard
Tully Arthur Blanchard (born January 22, 1954) is a semi-retired second generation American professional wrestler. He is best known as an original member of the Four Horsemen.
He worked for most of the major professional wrestling organizations in the United States: the National Wrestling Alliance, American Wrestling Association, World Championship Wrestling, and the World Wrestling Federation (now known as WWE). As of March 31st, 2012, Tully Blanchard was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as a member of the Four Horsemen.
As the son of wrestling promoter and former American Wrestling Association star Joe Blanchard, Tully Blanchard was involved in professional wrestling at a very young age. He began selling programs and refreshments at the arenas at the age of ten, and worked as a referee when he was older. Blanchard attended West Texas State University, where he played American football, first as a quarterback and then as a defensive end, alongside fellow future wrestlers Tito Santana and Ted DiBiase.
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Umaga (wrestler)
Edward Smith "Eki" Fatu (March 28, 1973 - December 4, 2009) was a Samoan-American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Umaga. He was best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment, where he was a two-time Intercontinental Champion.
He was a member of the Anoa'i wrestling family and frequently worked as a part of a tag team – variously named The Island Boyz, the Samoan Gangstas, and 3-Minute Warning – with his cousin Matt Anoa'i. During Fatu's first stint with WWE, he was known as Jamal and Matt was billed as Rosey. In late 2005, Fatu returned to WWE. Repackaged under the ring name "Umaga", Fatu went undefeated for many months on WWE's Raw brand throughout much of 2006, before suffering his first defeat under the Umaga name in January 2007.
His mother, Vera, was the sister of Afa and Sika of the Wild Samoans, and his later Umaga gimmick would be compared to their "wildness". His two older brothers, Sam (better known as Tonga Kid and Tama) and Solofa Jr. (better known as Rikishi), are also professional wrestlers who have achieved success of their own.
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Velvet Sky
Jamie Szantyr (born June 2, 1981) is an American professional wrestler currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Velvet Sky. She is a former TNA Women's Knockout Champion and TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champion with her former Beautiful People partners Madison Rayne and Lacey Von Erich. While as a team the three defended the title under the Freebird rule and hold the longest reign for the championship. She also works outside of TNA as Talia Madison and Miss Talia.
Prior to debuting, Szantyr was trained by Jason Knight and Kevin Landry at the House of Pain Pro Wrestling Dojo. After completing her training, she began working as a valet and wrestler on the independent circuit using the ring names Miss Talia, Talia Doll, and Talia Madison. On the independent circuit, she formed a tag team known as T&A with April Hunter. She was booked to her first wrestling championship during her time in World Xtreme Wrestling, getting the WXW Women's Championship after winning a battle royal on May 29, 2004.
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Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon (born August 24, 1945) is an American professional wrestling promoter, announcer, commentator, film producer, actor and former occasional professional wrestler. McMahon is the Chairman, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of professional wrestling promotion WWE. Upon acquiring World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), McMahon's WWE became the sole remaining major American professional wrestling promotion (until the national expansion of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and Ring of Honor).
As an on-camera character, he can appear on all WWE brands (though the majority of the time, he appears on Raw). McMahon plays a character known by the ring name Mr. McMahon, based on his real life persona. In the world of WWE, he is a two-time world champion, having won the WWF Championship and ECW World Championship. He was also the winner of the 1999 Royal Rumble.
Vince is the husband of Linda McMahon, with whom he ran WWE from its establishment in 1980 until she resigned as the CEO in September 2009.
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Vladimir Kozlov
Oleg Aleksandrovich Prudius (Russian: Олег Александрович Прудиус; Ukrainian: Олег Олександрович Прудіус, Oleh Oleksandrovych Prudius; born on April 27, 1969) is an Ukrainian American professional wrestler currently signed to Inoki Genome Federation, a Wrestling Promotion in Japan. He was also known by his ring name Vladimir Kozlov (Russian: Владимир Козлов). When competing for WWE, he won the Tag Team Championship once with Santino Marella. He is trained in freestyle wrestling, rugby, football, sambo, kickboxing, judo, and mixed martial arts.
Prudius has also worked as a stage and screen actor, notably having a small role in Spike Lee's 25th Hour., and a walk-on role in the second season of the HBO hit series The Wire. Prudius also had a role in Grindhouse, appearing in the "Werewolf Women of the SS" trailer; he was credited under his real name and his WWE persona for the appearance. He is a former Ohio Valley Wrestling Heavyweight Champion.
Prudius has won numerous achievements, becoming the 2005 USA Open Heavyweight Sambo Champion and a United States Kick-Boxing Association (USKBA) International Heavyweight Grappling Champion. He has also played American football for the Ukrainian National Team as well as Santa Barbara City College..
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Wade Barrett
Stuart Alexander "Stu" Bennett (born August 10, 1980) is an English professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE where he performs on its SmackDown brand under the ring name Wade Barrett. He won the first season of NXT in 2010 and made his Raw debut in June of that year, rising to prominence as the leader of the Nexus, a villainous stable composed of the NXT contestants. Barrett headlined five WWE pay-per-view events during the remainder of 2010, challenging for the WWE Championship in three of those.
After moving to SmackDown in January 2011, Barrett formed a new stable known as The Corre, which included former Nexus members. He challenged for the World Heavyweight Championship at the 2011 WWE Elimination Chamber and won his first singles championship, the WWE Intercontinental Championship, in March. Prior to his WWE debut, Barrett competed in various independent promotions under his own name, and the ring names of Stu Sanders and Lawrence Knight.
Bennett was born in Penwortham and lived in Preston, Lancashire until the age of six, when he moved to Wales with his family. He has an older brother named Martin. As a child, Bennett was a fan of "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith. Before becoming a professional wrestler, Bennett was a bareknuckle boxer while living in Liverpool. Bennett has a degree in marine biology from University of Liverpool. He worked in a science laboratory and later as a Recruitment Consultant at Venn Group's London Office, whilst training to become a wrestler.
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Wade Keller
Wade Keller (born May 22, 1971) is a wrestling columnist. He runs the Pro Wrestling Torch newsletter, which is regarded as one of the most influential newsletters in professional wrestling.
Keller founded Pro Wrestling Torch (a/k/a PWTorch, or simply "The Torch") in October 1987, when he was a junior in high school. The newsletter is published weekly from his Minnesota home, as well as a website, PWTorch.com, which was launched in 1999. Keller's work includes weekly columns, news reporting and analysis, as well as interviews in both print and audio format. He works closely with wrestlers, promoters, and wrestling fans to gather the information for his features.
One of Keller's yearly features is the Torch Talk, in which he conducts interviews with wrestlers. Keller is also the host of ”Pro Wrestling's Ultimate Insiders”, a series of interviews with prominent wrestling personalities that are released on DVD. The first edition featured Vince Russo and Ed Ferrara, former writers for the WWE and WCW, while the second edition was conducted with Matt and Jeff Hardy. Another was conducted with ECW and XPW wrestler New Jack.
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Warrior (wrestler)
Warrior (born James Brian Hellwig on June 16, 1959) is an American retired professional wrestler who notably performed under the ring names The Ultimate Warrior and Warrior. He is best known for his appearances in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) from 1987 to 1991 and again in 1992 and 1996, and in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1998.
He won the WWF World Championship when he pinned Hulk Hogan in the main event of WrestleMania VI. Hellwig legally changed his name to Warrior in 1993. Warrior retired from professional wrestling in 1999 and embarked on a public speaking career. On June 25, 2008 he returned to wrestle Orlando Jordan in Barcelona, Spain defeating him in a match booked by the Italian Nu-Wrestling Evolution promotion. Warrior was described by World Wrestling Entertainment as having been "the ultimate archetype of strength and intensity", as well as having been "one of the most intense and physically impressive competitors to ever appear in the WWE".
Warrior was born as James Brian Hellwig. He was the eldest of five children and was raised by his mother (along with, later, his stepfather) after his father left his family when young James was 12. He spent a year at Indiana State University. It was also during this time he began to compete in amateur bodybuilding.
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William Regal
Darren Kenneth Matthews (born 10 May 1968) is an English professional wrestler, author and color commentator currently signed to WWE and competing on the SmackDown 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 leaving WCW, Matthews joined the World Wrestling Federation (later World Wrestling Entertainment and now just WWE), where he became commissioner. More recently he has been General Manager of Raw, the 2008 King of the Ring and is currently the Official Match Coordinator for NXT Redemption.
Never a world champion, Matthews has, nonetheless, achieved considerable championship success in professional wrestling. Throughout his career, he has won more than 60 titles worldwide, including four in WCW and 13 in WWE. He has overcome multiple drug problems as well as a major heart defect during his career, and he has written an autobiography, Walking a Golden Mile.
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Yokozuna (wrestler)
Rodney Agatupu Anoaʻi (October 2, 1966 – October 23, 2000) was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his time with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) where he wrestled under the ring name Yokozuna. The term yokozuna refers to the highest rank in professional sumo wrestling in Japan. Although the "Yokozuna" character was portrayed as a champion sumo wrestler, Anoaʻi had never competed as an actual sumotori. Though Yokozuna wrestled as a representative of Japan, he was of Samoan origin and was accordingly billed as hailing from Polynesia (although he was managed by Mr. Fuji, who would follow Anoaʻi to the ring with a wooden bucket of salt, and waving a Japanese flag).
In the WWF, Anoaʻi was a two-time WWF Champion and two-time Tag Team Champion (with Owen Hart), as well as the winner of the 1993 Royal Rumble. Anoa'i was the first wrestler of Samoan descent to hold the WWF Championship as well as the first Royal Rumble winner to receive a world title shot at WrestleMania, as a result of a direct stipulation. He defeated WWE Hall of Famers Bret Hart and Hulk Hogan, in consecutive pay-per-view victories at WrestleMania IX and the 1993 King of the Ring, to win his two WWF Championships. He was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2012.
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Yoshihiro Tajiri
Yoshihiro Tajiri (田尻 義博, Tajiri Yoshihiro?, born September 29, 1970), is a Japanese professional wrestler, perhaps best known for his appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment. He is currently working in Japan as TAJIRI.
Tajiri had originally wanted to become a kickboxer and trained in kickboxing, but after watching countless wrestling matches from Mexico, he entered the Animal Hamaguchi Wrestling gym and soon won its test match tournament. He debuted professionally in 1994 for Michinoku Pro Wrestling beating Akihiro Yonekawa and also wrestled for Wrestle Association-R. On 16 October 1994 Tajiri made his debut for IWA Japan under his real name. In 1996 he joined Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre.
In 1996 he left CMLL and joined the hardcore wrestling promotion Big Japan Pro Wrestling in Tokyo. He debuted for BJW under the name Aquarius and beat Unicorn in his first match. On 19 July 1996 he beat Dr. Wagner Jr for the CMLL World Light Heavyweight Championship and lost it to him on 27 July. On July 23, 1997 Tajiri would team up with Ryuji Yamakawa to win the vacant BJW Tag Team Championship and lost it to Gedo and Jado on December 22. The team would regain the titles eleven days later and lose it to Shadow Winger and Shadow WX. He beat Gedo to become the first BJW Junior Heavyweight Champion he would later be stripped of the title when he left the company.
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Yuji Nagata
Yuji Nagata (永田 裕志, Nagata Yūji?, born April 24, 1968) is a Japanese professional wrestler. He was known for his perennial tweener status, currently a solid fan favorite, and his stiff, shoot style wrestling technique.
A two time IWGP Heavyweight Champion and Zero1 World Heavyweight Champion, Nagata is the fourth longest-reigning IWGP Heavyweight Champion with a reign of 392 days. He held the record for most successful title defenses with 10, until Hiroshi Tanahashi broke the record at Wrestle Kingdom VI.
Before turning professional, Nagata was a successful amateur wrestler. Competing in the Greco-Roman style, Nagata represented Japan in the Asian Championships twice, placing fifth in 1993 and placing fourth in 1994, in one World Cup at the Espoir level in 1988, and in the 1991 World Championships, placing twenty-first.
Nagata joined New Japan Pro Wrestling in April 1992 and trained in the New Japan Dojo. He debuted on September 14 of that year, facing Hiroyoshi Yamamoto. Nagata increased in stature during the 1995 inter-promotional angle pitting NJPW loyalists against UWF International wrestlers. Taught the shoot-style by Kazuo Yamazaki, who had returned to NJPW after leaving UWFI, Nagata learned the style that has been his trademark ever since.
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Zack Ryder
Matt Cardona (born May 14, 1985), better known by his ring name Zack Ryder, is an American professional wrestler signed to WWE and appearing on its Raw brand.
Cardona wrestled mostly with his tag team partner Brian Myers/Curt Hawkins on the independent circuit and initially in WWE, where they won the WWE Tag Team Championship. After the team split in 2009, Cardona was featured sparingly on WWE television. In 2011, Cardona used YouTube and Twitter to establish a niche fan following, which translated to a rise in status in WWE.
Cardona debuted with New York Wrestling Connection (NYWC) in 2004, using the name Brett Matthews. By 2005 he began regularly teaming with Bryan Myers and the duo of Myers and Matthews went on to defeat the NYWC Tag Team Champions Dickie Rodz and Mason Raige by disqualification, for which titles do not change hands. At the next event on June 4 they won a rematch decisively to become Tag Team Champions. Later that month they were attacked by The Dead Presidents (Lo Lincoln and Boog Washington) to set up a feud where they eventually lost their titles against them in July. on August 27. On September 23 they were entered into a three way match with the champions but Team Tremendous (Dan Barry and Ken Scampi) ended up with the belts. After continuing to win matches they re-earned a match against Team Tremendous and won the titles for the second time on January 25, 2006. They held the titles until they faced the B.S. Xpress (Tony Burma & Mike Spinelli), who defeated them for the gold on March 26.
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Angle, Kurt Filmography
- Singlet: The Dana Kelly Story (2013)
- Pain & Gain (2013)
- Singlet: The Dana Kelly Story (2013)
- The Epic Journey of Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson (2012)
- WWE: 50 Greatest Finishing Moves in WWE History (2012)
- The Lighthouse (2012)
- Death from Above (2012)
- Drummer for the Mob (2012)
- Beyond the Mat (2012)
- Lockdown (2011)
- Sacrifice (2011)
- Against All Odds (2011)
- Waking Up (2011)
- WWE: Rey Mysterio - The Life of a Masked Man (2011)
- River of Darkness (2011)
- WWE: OMG! - The Top 50 Incidents in WWE History (2011)
- The True Story of WrestleMania (2011)
- No Surrender (2011)
- Best of King of the Ring (2011)
- Genesis (2011)
- Big Show: A Giants World (2011)
- Waking Up (2011)
- WWE: Greatest Stars of the New Millenium (2011)
- WWE: Greatest Rivalries - Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart (2011)
- Randy Orton: The Evolution of a Predator (2011)
- Warrior (2011)
- Slammiversary VIII (2010)
- Bound for Glory (2010)
- Breaking the Code: Behind the Walls of Chris Jericho (2010)
- WWE: Top 50 Superstars of All Time (2010)
- Destination X (2010)
- Dylan Dog: Dead of Night (2010)
- WWE: Shawn Michaels - My Journey (2010)
- WWE: Satan's Prison - The Anthology of the Elimination Chamber (2010)
- Genesis (2010)
- Lockdown (2010)
- Victory Road (2010)
- Against All Odds (2010)
- No Surrender (2010)
- The John Cena Experience (2010)
- Slammiversary (2009)
- Bound for Glory (2009)
- Victory Road (2009)
- Hard Justice (2009)
- Turning Point (2009)
- No Surrender (2009)
- Sacrifice (2009)
- Genesis (2009)
- TNA: Jeff Jarrett: King of the Mountain (2009)
- Final Resolution (2009)
- End Game (2009)
- WWE: The Best of SmackDown - 10th Anniversary 1999-2009 (2009)
- Destination X (2009)
- Against All Odds (2009)
- The Real Angle (2009)
- WWE Summerslam: The Complete Anthology, Vol. 3 (2009)
- WWE: History of the World Heavyweight Championship (2009)
- Lockdown (2009)
- Chains (2009)
- WWE: Hulk Hogan (2009)
- The Rock: The Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment (2008)
- Nature Boy Ric Flair: The Definitive Collection (2008)
- NEW: Spring Slam 3 (2008)
- The Life and Times of Mr. Perfect (2008)
- TNA Wrestling: Against All Odds (2008)
- TNA Wrestling: Best of the Bloodiest Brawls - Scars and Stitches (2008)
- TNA Wrestling: Bound for Glory IV (2008)
- TNA Wrestling: Destination X (2008)
- TNA Wrestling: Final Resolution (2008)
- TNA Wrestling: Global Impact! (2008)
- TNA Wrestling: Hard Justice (2008)
- TNA Wrestling: Lockdown (2008)
- TNA Wrestling: No Surrender (2008)
- TNA Wrestling: Sacrifice (2008)
- TNA Wrestling: Slammiversary (2008)
- TNA Wrestling: Turning Point (2008)
- TNA Wrestling: Victory Road (2008)
- Viva la Raza: The Legacy of Eddie Guerrero (2008)
- WWE Royal Rumble: The Complete Anthology, Vol. 3 (2008)
- WWE Summerslam: The Complete Anthology, Vol. 4 (2008)
- WWE: Hell in a Cell (2008)
- WWE: The History of the Intercontinental Championship (2008)
- WWE: The Twisted, Disturbed Life of Kane (2008)
- TNA Wrestling: Lockdown (2007)
- The Shawn Michaels Story: Heartbreak and Triumph (2007)
- TNA Wrestling: Bound for Glory (2007)
- TNA Wrestling: No Surrender (2007)
- WWE: John Cena - My Life (2007)
- TNA Wrestling: Sacrifice (2007)
- TNA Wrestling: Victory Road (2007)
- TNA Wrestling: Slammiversary (2007)
- WWE: The New & Improved DX (2007)
- TNA Wrestling: Destination X (2007)
- TNA Wrestling: Turning Point (2007)
- Kurt Angle Action Short (2007)
- TNA Wrestling: Final Resolution (2007)
- NEW: Wrestlefest XI (2007)
- NEW: Electric City Slam (2007)
- TNA Wrestling: Genesis (2007)
- TNA Wrestling: Against All Odds (2007)
- TNA Wrestling: Hard Justice (2007)
- WWE: Rey Mysterio - The Biggest Little Man (2007)
- TNA Wrestling: Instant Classic - The Best of Christian Cage (2007)
- WWE: McMahon (2006)
- WWE Hall of Fame 2006 (2006)
- Scream Awards 2006 (2006)
- TNA Wrestling: Bound for Glory (2006)
- WWE: The History of the WWE Championship (2006)
- TNA Wrestling: Genesis (2006)
- ECW One Night Stand (2006)
- WWE Great American Bash (2006)
- TNA Wrestling: No Surrender (2006)
- WWE vs. ECW: Head to Head (2006)
- TNA Wrestling: Turning Point (2006)
- WWE Vengeance (2006)
- WrestleMania 22 (2006)
- WWE Royal Rumble (2006)
- WWE No Way Out (2006)
- Summerslam (2006)
- WWE New Year's Revolution (2006)
- WWE Judgment Day (2006)
- Survivor Series (2005)
- WWE A.M. Raw (2005)
- WWE Tough Enough Download (2005)
- WWE Judgment Day (2005)
- WWE Taboo Tuesday (2005)
- WrestleMania 21 (2005)
- WWE No Way Out (2005)
- WWE Hall of Fame 2005 (2005)
- WWE Royal Rumble (2005)
- WWE Armageddon (2005)
- WWE Homecoming (2005)
- WWE WrestleMania: The Complete Anthology, Vol. 4 (2005)
- WWE Vengeance (2005)
- WWE Unforgiven (2005)
- Tombstone: The History of the Undertaker (2005)
- ECW One Night Stand (2005)
- Summerslam (2005)
- The Rise & Fall of ECW (2004)
- Mick Foley's Greatest Hits & Misses: A Life in Wrestling (2004)
- WrestleMania XX (2004)
- WWE Armageddon (2004)
- WWE Great American Bash (2004)
- WWE Judgment Day (2004)
- WWE No Mercy (2004)
- WWE No Way Out (2004)
- WWE Tribute to the Troops (2004)
- John Cena: Word Life (2004)
- Hard Knocks: The Chris Benoit Story (2004)
- WWE: The Stone Cold Truth (2004)
- Cheating Death, Stealing Life: The Eddie Guerrero Story (2004)
- Summerslam (2004)
- Survivor Series (2004)
- Royal Rumble (2004)
- WWE Vengeance (2003)
- WWE: Trish Stratus - 100% Stratusfaction (2003)
- Royal Rumble (2003)
- Before They Were WWE Superstars 2 (2003)
- WWE: Brock Lesnar: Here Comes the Pain (2003)
- WWE No Mercy (2003)
- WWE Bloodbath: Wrestling's Most Incredible Steel Cage Matches (2003)
- Rey Mysterio: 619 (2003)
- Survivor Series (2003)
- WrestleMania XIX (2003)
- Summerslam (2003)
- WWE No Way Out (2003)
- WWE Rebellion (2002)
- WrestleMania X8 (2002)
- WWE Velocity (2002)
- WWE Unforgiven (2002)
- WWE Vengeance (2002)
- King of the Ring (2002)
- Royal Rumble (2002)
- WWF No Way Out (2002)
- WWE: Stone Cold Steve Austin - What? (2002)
- Before They Were WWF Superstars (2002)
- WWE: Triple H - That Damn Good (2002)
- WWF Backlash (2002)
- Summerslam (2002)
- WWE Judgment Day (2002)
- WWE Global Warning Tour: Melbourne (2002)
- WWE No Mercy (2002)
- Survivor Series (2002)
- WWE Armageddon (2002)
- WWF: Action! (2001)
- Summerslam (2001)
- WWF Excess (2001)
- WWF: Hardcore (2001)
- Divas in Hedonism (2001)
- WWF Judgment Day (2001)
- Lita: It Just Feels Right (2001)
- WWF Vengeance (2001)
- King of the Ring (2001)
- WWF Rebellion (2001)
- Invasion (2001)
- WWE: Undertaker - This Is My Yard (2001)
- WWF Unforgiven (2001)
- Survivor Series (2001)
- WWF No Way Out (2001)
- WrestleMania X-Seven (2001)
- WWF Backlash 2001 (2001)
- WWF No Mercy (2001)
- WWF Insurrextion (2001)
- Royal Rumble (2001)
- WWF Rebellion (2000)
- Kurt Angle - It's True! It's True! (2000)
- WrestleMania 2000 (2000)
- WWF Armageddon (2000)
- WWF Backlash (2000)
- WWF Insurrextion (2000)
- WWF No Mercy (2000)
- Summerslam (2000)
- No Way Out (2000)
- WWF Judgment Day (2000)
- King of the Ring (2000)
- WWF Unforgiven (2000)
- Royal Rumble (2000)
- Fully Loaded (2000)
- Survivor Series (2000)
- Survivor Series (1999)
- WWF Armageddon (1999)
- WWF Metal (1998)
- Atlanta 1996: Games of the XXVI Olympiad (1996)
Famous quotes by Kurt Angle:
"You do not boo an Olympic Gold Medalist. I'm the best in the world. I came here for you. You dont' boo me."
"There are many young Americans that are very distant from our political process."
"can't believe it, but it's next."
"here."
"It's true; this stuff can't be made up, folks."
"Join me in Olympic Heros for Abstinence. The best sex is no sex."
"You do not boo an Olympic Gold Medalist. I'm the best in the world. I came here for you. You dont' boo me."
"There are many young Americans that are very distant from our political process."
"can't believe it, but it's next."
"here."
"It's true; this stuff can't be made up, folks."
"Join me in Olympic Heros for Abstinence. The best sex is no sex."
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Funny or Die: Olympic Trials with Kurt Angle
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:10
- Updated: 19 Dec 2012
Wrestling superstar and Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle tries out for the 2012 Olympic team sixteen years after winning the gold.
http://wn.com/Funny_or_Die_Olympic_Trials_with_Kurt_Angle
Wrestling superstar and Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle tries out for the 2012 Olympic team sixteen years after winning the gold.
WWE Smackdown!: John Cena and Kurt Angle in a Battle Rap
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:16
- Updated: 19 Dec 2012
Battle Rap
http://wn.com/WWE_Smackdown!_John_Cena_and_Kurt_Angle_in_a_Battle_Rap
Kurt Angle vs Shelton Benjamin 8/22/05
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 13:27
- Updated: 19 Dec 2012
Gold Medalist Kurt Angle brings all his intensity when he battles Shelton Benjamin. From Monday Night Raw 8/22/05. #wweclassics
http://wn.com/Kurt_Angle_vs_Shelton_Benjamin_8_22_05
Gold Medalist Kurt Angle brings all his intensity when he battles Shelton Benjamin. From Monday Night Raw 8/22/05. #wweclassics
- published: 12 Jul 2012
- views: 26952
- author: WWEFanNation
Kurt Angle dislikes chants
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 8:25
- Updated: 19 Dec 2012
Kurt Angle can't perform due to crowd chants. Vintage Angle WWE stuff
http://wn.com/Kurt_Angle_dislikes_chants
Kurt Angle can't perform due to crowd chants. Vintage Angle WWE stuff
- published: 31 Mar 2007
- views: 822752
- author: Decret
Kurt Angle RAW About WWE
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:17
- Updated: 05 Dec 2012
Raw interview with former WWE star Kurt Angle on going to TNA and problems with WWE.
http://wn.com/Kurt_Angle_RAW_About_WWE
Raw interview with former WWE star Kurt Angle on going to TNA and problems with WWE.
- published: 27 Sep 2007
- views: 1685885
- author: kccitv
Kurt Angle's Olympic Gold Medal Win
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 13:59
- Updated: 19 Dec 2012
1996 Olympic Summer Games from Atlanta, GA. Finals. USA's Kurt Angle vs. Iran's Abbas Jadidi
http://wn.com/Kurt_Angle's_Olympic_Gold_Medal_Win
1996 Olympic Summer Games from Atlanta, GA. Finals. USA's Kurt Angle vs. Iran's Abbas Jadidi
- published: 04 Jan 2006
- views: 1288765
- author: Britthebest04
Lockdown 2008: Samoa Joe vs. Kurt Angle
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 28:47
- Updated: 18 Dec 2012
It was one of the biggest showdowns between the two kings of submission - Samoa Joe and Kurt Angle. The year was 2008 and the prize - the World Heavyweight Championship. Relive this exciting match from start to finish and then catch Lockdown Sunday, April 15th live from the Nashville Municipal Auditorium. Details at www.tnalockdown.com . Watch IMPACT WRESTLING every Thursday night at 9/8c on SpikeTV
http://wn.com/Lockdown_2008_Samoa_Joe_vs_Kurt_Angle
It was one of the biggest showdowns between the two kings of submission - Samoa Joe and Kurt Angle. The year was 2008 and the prize - the World Heavyweight Championship. Relive this exciting match from start to finish and then catch Lockdown Sunday, April 15th live from the Nashville Municipal Auditorium. Details at www.tnalockdown.com . Watch IMPACT WRESTLING every Thursday night at 9/8c on SpikeTV
- published: 27 Feb 2012
- views: 87042
- author: TNAwrestling
The Rock Vs. Kurt Angle Vs. Undertaker 3/3
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 8:32
- Updated: 19 Dec 2012
From Vengeance 2002.
http://wn.com/The_Rock_Vs_Kurt_Angle_Vs_Undertaker_3_3
Kurt Angle vs Brock Lesnar - WrestleMania 19 Full Match
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 27:08
- Updated: 19 Dec 2012
Kurt Angle vs Brock Lesnar WrestleMania 19 Full Match
http://wn.com/Kurt_Angle_vs_Brock_Lesnar_WrestleMania_19_Full_Match
Kurt Angle vs Brock Lesnar WrestleMania 19 Full Match
- published: 08 Aug 2012
- views: 62618
- author: MartyWWEHD
TNA Greatest Moment: Kurt Angle's Moonsault
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 0:57
- Updated: 16 Dec 2012
We count down the greatest moments in TNA Wrestling history before Slammiversary on Sunday, June 10 from Arlington, Texas
http://wn.com/TNA_Greatest_Moment_Kurt_Angle's_Moonsault
We count down the greatest moments in TNA Wrestling history before Slammiversary on Sunday, June 10 from Arlington, Texas
- published: 15 May 2012
- views: 36008
- author: TNAwrestling
Kurt Angle and John Cena Segment (WWE RAW 8/29/2005)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 12:46
- Updated: 19 Dec 2012
The Birth of the Feud..Copyright to WWE.inc All Rights Reserved.
http://wn.com/Kurt_Angle_and_John_Cena_Segment_WWE_RAW_8_29_2005
The Birth of the Feud..Copyright to WWE.inc All Rights Reserved.
- published: 10 Sep 2012
- views: 10613
- author: MrAttodiFede
Kurt Angle vs. Doc of Aces and Eights - Dec 6, 2012
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:59
- Updated: 19 Dec 2012
Kurt Angle gets a match against one of the Members of the Aces and 8s. Watch IMPACT WRESTLING every Thursday night at 8/7c on Spike TV. For more information about IMPACT WRESTLING and international listings go to www.impactwrestling.com Watch Pay-Per-Views live at http Merchandise at www.shoptna.com
http://wn.com/Kurt_Angle_vs_Doc_of_Aces_and_Eights_Dec_6,_2012
Kurt Angle gets a match against one of the Members of the Aces and 8s. Watch IMPACT WRESTLING every Thursday night at 8/7c on Spike TV. For more information about IMPACT WRESTLING and international listings go to www.impactwrestling.com Watch Pay-Per-Views live at http Merchandise at www.shoptna.com
- published: 07 Dec 2012
- views: 21028
- author: TNAwrestling
VENGEANCE 2002 The Rock Vs Kurt Angle Vs Undertaker
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 28:35
- Updated: 19 Dec 2012
VENGEANCE 2002 The Rock Vs Kurt Angle Vs Undertaker for the WWE Undisputed champion All WWE programming, talent names, images, likenesses, slogans, wrestling moves, and logos are the exclusive property of World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. © 2012 World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserve
http://wn.com/VENGEANCE_2002_The_Rock_Vs_Kurt_Angle_Vs_Undertaker
VENGEANCE 2002 The Rock Vs Kurt Angle Vs Undertaker for the WWE Undisputed champion All WWE programming, talent names, images, likenesses, slogans, wrestling moves, and logos are the exclusive property of World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. © 2012 World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserve
- published: 27 Jul 2012
- views: 78335
- author: WilliamWWE100
TNA Greatest Moment: Kurt Angle's TNA Debut
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:26
- Updated: 18 Dec 2012
In June, we celebrate 10 years of TNA with Slammiversary - we count down some of the biggest moments in TNA history voted by you, the fans!
http://wn.com/TNA_Greatest_Moment_Kurt_Angle's_TNA_Debut
In June, we celebrate 10 years of TNA with Slammiversary - we count down some of the biggest moments in TNA history voted by you, the fans!
- published: 08 Jun 2012
- views: 53011
- author: TNAwrestling
Champion: The Best of Kurt Angle (Part 1)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 210:22
- Updated: 14 Dec 2012
KURT ANGLE is regarded as the most accomplished wrestler of the last decade and before all is said and done, he will most likely be celebrated as the greatest Pro Wrestler of all time.
http://wn.com/Champion_The_Best_of_Kurt_Angle_Part_1
KURT ANGLE is regarded as the most accomplished wrestler of the last decade and before all is said and done, he will most likely be celebrated as the greatest Pro Wrestler of all time.
- published: 11 May 2012
- views: 2493
- author: TNAwrestling
Kurt Angle vs. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin vs. The Rock vs. Rikishi - Fatal 4-Way WWE Championship Mat
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:27
- Updated: 19 Dec 2012
Four of WWE's best square off for the WWE Title.
http://wn.com/Kurt_Angle_vs_Stone_Cold_Steve_Austin_vs_The_Rock_vs_Rikishi_Fatal_4-Way_WWE_Championship_Mat
Four of WWE's best square off for the WWE Title.
- published: 04 Dec 2012
- views: 48582
- author: WWEFanNation
WWE '13 Community Showcase - Kurt Angle (Xbox 360)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:58
- Updated: 19 Dec 2012
WWE '13 Community Showcase: Kurt Angle (Xbox 360) Download Details: caws.smacktalks.org Video Formula: www.youtube.com Facebook: facebook.com Twitter: twitter.com
http://wn.com/WWE_'13_Community_Showcase_Kurt_Angle_Xbox_360
WWE '13 Community Showcase: Kurt Angle (Xbox 360) Download Details: caws.smacktalks.org Video Formula: www.youtube.com Facebook: facebook.com Twitter: twitter.com
- published: 02 Nov 2012
- views: 32078
- author: Smacktalks
Turning Point Preview: Kurt Angle vs. Devon
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:09
- Updated: 02 Dec 2012
On Sunday night, TNA Wrestling and Direct Auto Insurance present "Turning Point" live on Pay-Per-View and online around the world at TNAOnDemand.com! The event will feature Kurt Angle vs. Devon from The Aces and Eights!
http://wn.com/Turning_Point_Preview_Kurt_Angle_vs_Devon
On Sunday night, TNA Wrestling and Direct Auto Insurance present "Turning Point" live on Pay-Per-View and online around the world at TNAOnDemand.com! The event will feature Kurt Angle vs. Devon from The Aces and Eights!
- published: 10 Nov 2012
- views: 12852
- author: TNAwrestling
Sting, Austin Aries and Kurt Angle Want to Put a Stop to @TheAcesAnd8s
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:34
- Updated: 24 Nov 2012
Sting called out the group who call themselves The Aces and 8s, however only more came out to voice their same concerns about the renegade group. Watch IMPACT WRESTLING every Thursday night at 8/7c on Spike TV. For more information about IMPACT WRESTLING and international listings go to www.impactwrestling.com Watch Pay-Per-Views live at http Merchandise at www.shoptna.com
http://wn.com/Sting,_Austin_Aries_and_Kurt_Angle_Want_to_Put_a_Stop_to_@TheAcesAnd8s
Sting called out the group who call themselves The Aces and 8s, however only more came out to voice their same concerns about the renegade group. Watch IMPACT WRESTLING every Thursday night at 8/7c on Spike TV. For more information about IMPACT WRESTLING and international listings go to www.impactwrestling.com Watch Pay-Per-Views live at http Merchandise at www.shoptna.com
- published: 27 Jul 2012
- views: 20312
- author: TNAwrestling
Brock Lesnar vs. Kurt Angle: WrestleMania XIX
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:04
- Updated: 19 Dec 2012
In his first WrestleMania, Brock Lesnar competes in the main event for the WWE Championship against Kurt Angle.
http://wn.com/Brock_Lesnar_vs_Kurt_Angle_WrestleMania_XIX
In his first WrestleMania, Brock Lesnar competes in the main event for the WWE Championship against Kurt Angle.
- published: 05 Apr 2012
- views: 107498
- author: WWEFanNation
Kurt Angle Teams up With Garett Bischoff in a Match Against Aces And 8s - Nov 15, 2012
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:31
- Updated: 18 Dec 2012
In an effort to exact his revenge on the group who sidelined him, Kurt Angle picks a tag team partner to face off against the Aces and 8s. Watch IMPACT WRESTLING every Thursday night at 8/7c on Spike TV. For more information about IMPACT WRESTLING and international listings go to www.impactwrestling.com Watch Pay-Per-Views live at http Merchandise at www.shoptna.com
http://wn.com/Kurt_Angle_Teams_up_With_Garett_Bischoff_in_a_Match_Against_Aces_And_8s_Nov_15,_2012
In an effort to exact his revenge on the group who sidelined him, Kurt Angle picks a tag team partner to face off against the Aces and 8s. Watch IMPACT WRESTLING every Thursday night at 8/7c on Spike TV. For more information about IMPACT WRESTLING and international listings go to www.impactwrestling.com Watch Pay-Per-Views live at http Merchandise at www.shoptna.com
- published: 16 Nov 2012
- views: 20980
- author: TNAwrestling
Kurt Angle has his injury examined on IMPACT
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 0:30
- Updated: 19 Dec 2012
Watch IMPACT WRESTLING every Thursday night at 8/7c on Spike TV. For more information about IMPACT WRESTLING and international listings go to www.impactwrestling.com Watch Pay-Per-Views live at http Merchandise at www.shoptna.com
http://wn.com/Kurt_Angle_has_his_injury_examined_on_IMPACT
Watch IMPACT WRESTLING every Thursday night at 8/7c on Spike TV. For more information about IMPACT WRESTLING and international listings go to www.impactwrestling.com Watch Pay-Per-Views live at http Merchandise at www.shoptna.com
- published: 14 Dec 2012
- views: 9287
- author: TNAwrestling
Before The Bell Extra: Kurt Angle
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:00
- Updated: 30 Nov 2012
A "Before The Bell" Extra with Kurt Angle - Slammiversary airs Sunday, June 10 live on Pay-Per-View
http://wn.com/Before_The_Bell_Extra_Kurt_Angle
A "Before The Bell" Extra with Kurt Angle - Slammiversary airs Sunday, June 10 live on Pay-Per-View
- published: 07 Jun 2012
- views: 8085
- author: TNAwrestling
photo: AP / Pablo Martinez Monsivais
19 Dec 2012
WASHINGTON. US President Barack Obama backs a new bill to revive an assault weapons ban and other new gun laws, the White House said Tuesday, fleshing out his nascent response to a shocking school massacre. Obama also called an ardently pro-gun senator who has shifted his position on firearms laws since Friday's carnage in Connecticut and has begun meeting top cabinet officials to consider his options, his spokesman Jay Carney said ... ....(size: 4.9Kb)
photo: AP / Charles Krupa
18 Dec 2012
Article by WN.com Correspondent Dallas Darling. "Most people reason dramatically, not quantitatively." -Oliver Wendell Holmes. On the same day that a 20-year-old, described as brilliant but remote, walked into an elementary school in Connecticut and massacred 26 children and adults, the school where I teach went on "lock-down." Four students with a handgun were arrested ... That morning before school, he had posted on Twitter and Facebook....(size: 14.0Kb)
photo: Creative Commons / Joachim Huber
18 Dec 2012
Article by WN.com Correspondent Dallas Darling. When a Stanford geneticist, Gerald Crabtree, published a provocative and controversial new view on evolutionary change, namely that humans are actually getting dumber, he should have also added that humans are still developing an extermination gene ... Paleontologist Tim Flannery would more than likely agree with Crabtree ... Strange strings of gravel also overlaid some bones ... (1) Kane, Alex ... 195....(size: 9.4Kb)
photo: AP / Narciso Contreras
19 Dec 2012
GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations appealed on Wednesday for $1.5 billion (920.1 million pounds) to provide life-saving aid to Syrians suffering from a "dramatically deteriorating" humanitarian situation ... "The magnitude of this humanitarian crisis is indisputable," said Radhouane Nouicer, U.N ... Inside Syria, U.N ... ....(size: 1.5Kb)
photo: AP / Jason DeCrow
18 Dec 2012
An increasing number of US congressmen have called for a national dialogue about measures to curb gun violence following the shooting last week at a primary school in Connecticut that killed 26 people, including 20 children and six adults. White House officials have said that President Barack Obama would make preventing gun-related violence a priority in his second term in office and stricter laws would be part of the effort. ... ....(size: 19.2Kb)
The Examiner
18 Dec 2012
Last week news broke that WWE was looking to make considerable changes to it's roster by recruiting past talent to return to the company to fill out it's mid-card ... The pair would debut at Team Angle under the leadership of Kurt Angle, winning the WWE Tag Team titles on several occasions Benjamin went onto a fruitful singles run in WWE winning the Intercontinental and U.S. titles ... Follow Pro Wrestling Examiner @KevKellam on Twitter ... ....(size: 2.5Kb)
The Examiner
18 Dec 2012
Since 1904, hundreds of thousands of men and women have wrestled in the U.S… hundreds have stepped onto the mat representing the U.S. at the Olympics… but only 125 have earned a bronze, silver or gold medal for team U.S.A. at the Summer Games. Here are the names of the U.S. wrestlers who have brought home precious medals from the Olympics, from the 1904 Olympics in St ... 60 kg/132 lbs. ... Kurt Angle – gold (Clarion University) 130 kg/286 lbs.....(size: 11.2Kb)
The Examiner
17 Dec 2012
Pro wrestling fans are notoriously fickle. No matter how great the wrestling product is, wrestling fans always find something to complain about ... It's true what they say. You can't satisfy 100% of the audience, 100% of the time. And one can make the same argument for Total Nonstop Action ... The ratings never seem to move upwards ... Those men, alongside established names like Sting, Kurt Angle and Jeff Hardy, make for a good start ... Production ... ....(size: 4.3Kb)
The Examiner
13 Dec 2012
Wrestling News World.com is reporting that New Orleans, Louisiana has emerged as the leading candidate to host Wrestle Mania 30 next year. The article also mentioned Chicago, Illinois, Dallas, Texas and Detroit, Michigan were all under consideration ... Kurt Angle seems to have picked up another injury this week as he Tweeted the following last night.. Hey My friends, Got a little Injury But I Will Be Back Very Soon ... WWE ... ....(size: 2.1Kb)
The Examiner
11 Dec 2012
two members of the Aces and Eights, Television Champion Devon vs. Kurt Angle and Matt Morgan and Joey Ryan vs ... Although injured, Kurt Angle, did work the tapings last night ... You can follow Angle at https.//twitter.com/RealKurtAngle?tw_i=277997256450387969&tw_e=screenname&tw_p=tweetembed. ....(size: 1.3Kb)
The Examiner
11 Dec 2012
Monday, Dec. 10, 2012, marked the night that TNA had their tapings for "Impact Wrestling" and below are the SPOILERS for the episode that will air on Dec ... 20, 2012 ... SEE ... Kurt Angle challenges Devon for the TNA TV title. Devon defeats Angle after one of the Aces and Eights members hits Angle with a steel pipe ... ....(size: 1.6Kb)
The Examiner
10 Dec 2012
The Examiner
10 Dec 2012
Here are the results from the show ... Kurt Angle, Samoa Joe, Wes Brisco and Garrett Bischoff defeat The Aces and Eights (Television Champion Devon, D.O.C., Mystery Man and Armbreaker) via pin fall ... Photo credit. ... ....(size: 1.2Kb)
The Examiner
10 Dec 2012
TNA Impact Wrestling held their Final Resolution pay-per-view on Dec ... Here is a look at what went down on TNA's most recent PPV ... The big eight-man match pitting Kurt Angle, Samoa Joe, Garrett Bischoff and Wes Briscoe against Aces and Eights featured no double turn as many predicted. There was a moment at the end where Briscoe speared DOC out of the ring, which might have been to save him from an Angle hammer shot, but the good guys won....(size: 3.1Kb)
The Examiner
10 Dec 2012
TNA Impact Wrestling presented their last pay per view of the year, TNA Final Resolution ... Hit - Angle, Joe, Brisco and Bischoff beat Aces and Eights. The giant 8 man tag team matches between Aces and Eights starts with Cevon attacking Angle to start the match hot ... Kurt Angle gets a hot tag and throws some suplexes ... It's often said that TNA shouldn't try to copy WWE, but when it comes to production and camera angles, they probably should....(size: 7.6Kb)
The Examiner
09 Dec 2012
The next match is an eight-man tag pitting Kurt Angle, Samoa Joe, Wes Briscoe and Garrett Bischoff taking on four members of Aces and Eights ... The big question is whether or not Bischoff and Briscoe turn against Angle, maybe with D-Lo Brown as well ... However, with nothing on the line and no real angle, this should just be a great match....(size: 3.4Kb)
MSNBC
09 Dec 2012
These people of the present and past were born on this date.. Actor Kirk Douglas is 96. Actress Dina Merrill ("Operation Petticoat," "Butterfield 8") is 87. Actor Dick Van Patten ("Eight is Enough") is 84. Actor-writer Buck Henry is 82. Actress Judi Dench is 78. Hall of Fame defensive end Deacon Jones is 74. Advertise . AdChoices. Advertise . AdChoices. Advertise . AdChoices. Actor Beau Bridges is 71 ... Free is 59 ... Wrestler/actor Kurt Angle is 44 ... ....(size: 4.5Kb)
The Examiner
07 Dec 2012
Miss - Kurt Angle vs ... Just before the bout, Angle is seen in the locker room speaking with his young boys Wes Brisco and Garrett Bischoff. Angle goes right after Doc, forgoing his usual amateur wrestling style. The two go to the outside and Doc throws Angle into the steel steps. Angle comes back with three really smooth German suplexes. Doc cuts Angle back down with a boot. Angle makes a comeback and hits his signature Angle Slam....(size: 6.2Kb)
| Kurt Angle | |
|---|---|
 Angle at a WWE Q&A in August 2005. |
|
| Ring name(s) | Kurt Angle |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[1] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[2] |
| Billed weight | 240 lb (110 kg)[2] |
| Born | (1968-12-09) December 9, 1968 (age 43)[3] Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Resides | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Billed from | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States[2] |
| Trained by | Dave Schultz Dory Funk, Jr.[4] Tom Prichard[4] |
| Debut | October 15, 1998 |
Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9, 1968 in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania) is an American professional wrestler, amateur wrestler and actor. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is a former five-time TNA World Heavyweight Champion. He is also known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment (WWF/E), and for being the only Olympic gold medalist in the history of professional wrestling.
Angle was involved in amateur wrestling during both high school and college. In college at Clarion University of Pennsylvania, he won numerous accolades, including being a two-time National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I champion. After graduating, he won a gold medal in freestyle wrestling at the 1995 World Wrestling Championships. Angle then competed in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, where he won a gold medal in heavyweight freestyle wrestling. Kurt Angle is also one of only four people to complete a Grand Slam in amateur wrestling which is the junior nationals, the NCAAs, the World Championships and the Olympics. He was named the greatest shoot wrestler and one of the top 15 college wrestlers of all time by USA Wrestling.
Initially turning down an offer to join the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), Angle signed a multi-year contract with the company in 1998. His first big push in the company was in February 2000, when he held both the European Championship and the Intercontinental Championship at the same time. A few months later he won the King of the Ring tournament. Not long after, Angle began pursuing the WWF Championship, which he went on to win later in the year, capping off a rookie year which the company has referred to as the greatest in WWE history.[5] He continued to be a part of main event matches until August 2006, when Angle was granted a release from his contract. Throughout his tenure in the company, he was a six-time world champion (four-time WWF/E Champion, World Heavyweight Champion and WCW Champion), he also held the United States Championship, Intercontinental Championship, European Championship, Hardcore Championship and WWE Tag Team Champion once each. In addition, he was the winner of the King of the Ring tournament in 2000, the tenth Triple Crown Champion, and the fifth Grand Slam Champion. In addition, he is one of three wrestlers (Edge and Big Show being the others) to have held every currently active male championship in the WWE.
After leaving WWE, Angle joined Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he became the second wrestler in TNA to win TNA's Triple Crown and the first man to hold all three TNA championships simultaneously. While in TNA, his real-life wife Karen began accompanying him to the ring and playing a part in his on-screen storylines. Angle has also made appearances for New Japan Pro Wrestling as well as Inoki Genome Federation, where he held their version of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. In addition, he is a five-time TNA World Heavyweight Champion, the second Triple Crown winner in TNA history—being the only one to hold all the required titles at once (while also holding the IWGP Title, making him a quadruple champion for a brief time).
Angle is the only wrestler in history to be a Triple Crown winner in both WWE and TNA. He is the first man to have held the WWE, WCW, TNA, IWGP, and World Heavyweight Championships in his career. Angle is also a two time King of the Mountain winner, winning at the 2007 and 2009 Slammiversary PPV event, making him the only wrestler to have been both King of the Ring (WWE) and King of the Mountain (TNA). Between WWE, TNA, and Japan, Angle has won 12 World Championships and 19 total championships. In 2010 the Wrestling Observer Newsletter named Angle the Wrestler of the Decade of the 2000s.[6]
Amateur wrestling career[link]
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's freestyle wrestling | ||
Competitor for the  United States |
||
| Olympic Games | ||
| Gold | 1996 Atlanta | 100 kg |
| World Championships | ||
| Gold | 1995 Atlanta | 100 kg |
| World Cup | ||
| Bronze | 1992 Moscow, Russia | 100 kg |
| Silver | 1995 Chattanooga, US | 100 kg |
Angle started amateur wrestling at the age of six.[7] He attended Mt. Lebanon High School,[8] where he won varsity letters in football and wrestling and was an All-State linebacker.[8][9][10] He went undefeated on the freshman wrestling team at Mt. Lebanon High and qualified for the state wrestling tournament his sophomore year.[8] Angle also placed third in the state wrestling tournament as a junior and was the 1987 Pennsylvania State Wrestling Champion as a senior.
Upon graduating from high school, Angle attended the Clarion University of Pennsylvania, where he continued to wrestle at an amateur level.[11] He was a two-time National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I champion,[12] national runner-up in 1991, and a three-time NCAA Division I All-American. In addition, Angle was the 1987 USA Junior Freestyle champion, a two-time USA Senior Freestyle champion, and the 1988 USA International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles Junior World Freestyle champion.[13]
After graduating from college, Angle continued to wrestle. In 1995, he won a gold medal at the World Championships in Atlanta, Georgia.[12] Following this victory, Angle began preparing for the 1996 Summer Olympics under Dave Schultz at the Pennsylvanian Foxcatcher Club,[14] training between eight and ten hours a day.[15] In January 1996, not long after Angle began training at the club, Schultz was murdered by John Eleuthère du Pont, the sponsor of Schultz's team of Olympic prospectives.[16][17][18] As a result, Angle quit Eleuthère du Pont's team, searched for new sponsors, and joined the Dave Schultz Wrestling Club in Schultz's memory.[19]
Angle faced further hardships while taking part in the 1996 Olympic Trials, when he suffered a severe neck injury, fracturing two of his cervical vertebrae,[20] herniating two discs, and pulling four muscles. Nonetheless, Angle won the trials and then spent the subsequent five months resting and rehabilitating. By the Olympics, Angle was able to compete, albeit with several pain-reducing injections in his neck.[12] In the fall of 2006, Angle stated that he temporarily became addicted to the analgesic Vicodin after injuring his neck.[21] He won his gold medal in the heavyweight (90–100 kg; 198–220 lb) weight class despite his injury,[13] defeating the Iranian Abbas Jadidi by officials' decision after the competitors wrestled to an eight minute, one-one draw. The bout saw Jadidi earn a point after two minutes and 46 seconds by turning Angle, and Angle earning a point of his own with a takedown after three minutes and eleven seconds. The officials' decision was protested by Jadidi.[22]
Shortly after his victory, Angle turned down a contract with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).[13][23] In the same year, he became a marketing representative for Protos Foods, the manufacturers of OSTRIM, an ostrich meat based foodstuff.[16][23]
In April 2011, Angle revealed that he was planning a comeback to amateur wrestling for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.[24][25][26] It was announced in April 2012 that he would be unable to make the trials for the US team due to a knee injury.[27]
Professional wrestling career[link]
Extreme Championship Wrestling (1996)[link]
On October 26, 1996, Angle was convinced by fellow Pittsburgh native Shane Douglas to attend the taping of an Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) event named High Incident.[13] He provided guest commentary during a match between Taz and Little Guido, but left the building after Raven "crucified" The Sandman by attaching him to a cross using barbed wire.[28] Angle, shocked by the controversial imagery and afraid that his career prospects would be damaged if he was associated with the incident, threatened to sue ECW owner Paul Heyman if he was shown on television in the same broadcast as the stunt.[13]
In 1997, following the incident, Angle worked for a year as a sportscaster on Pittsburgh's local Fox affiliate WPGH-TV.[29][30] He also did a commercial for Pittsburgh-based pizza chain Pizza Outlet.
World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment[link]
Debut and various rivalries (1998–2000)[link]
In October 1998, Angle began a career in professional wrestling and signed an eight-year contract with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). He was assigned to the Power Pro Wrestling developmental territory in Memphis, Tennessee, where he began training. Angle's first appearance on WWF television was on the March 7, 1999 episode of Sunday Night Heat, where he took part in an angle with Tiger Ali Singh. This angle involved Singh paying him money to blow his nose on the American flag. Angle instead blew his nose on Singh's flag and fought him off. His first official WWF match was a dark match victory over Brian Christopher on April 11, 1999. In the following months, he wrestled in house shows and other dark matches in preparation for his televised debut.
After several weeks of vignettes, Angle made his in-ring debut on November 14, 1999 at the Survivor Series, defeating Shawn Stasiak.[31] In his initial push, he remained undefeated for several weeks, eventually losing to the debuting Tazz at the Royal Rumble.[32] Angle's television character was an "American hero" gimmick based on his gold medal win at the 1996 Summer Olympics. In his promos, Angle presented himself as a role model and stressed the need to work hard to realize one's dreams, stressing the 3 Is, "Intensity, Integrity, and Intelligence". In his promos and ring entrances, Angle would always wear replicas of his gold medals around his neck. Despite standing for many principles that are associated with "good guy" wrestlers, Angle's character was arrogant, talked down to the audience, and behaved as if he thought he was better than the fans, leading to him quickly becoming a villain. Angle won both the European Championship and the Intercontinental Championship in February 2000,[32] billing himself as the "Eurocontinental Champion". He dropped both of his titles without ever conceding a fall in a two falls Triple Threat match with Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho at WrestleMania 2000. The match had been agreed to on Angle's behalf by his mentor, Bob Backlund.
Pursuit of the WWF Championship (2000–2001)[link]
Throughout mid-2000, Angle and Edge and Christian ("Team ECK") feuded with Too Cool and Rikishi, with Angle defeating Rikishi in the finals of the King of the Ring tournament.[33] He went on to feud with Triple H after a love triangle between Angle, Triple H, and Triple H's wife Stephanie McMahon developed.[34] As a change to the intended storyline of Stephanie turning on her husband and going with Angle, he lost to Triple H at Unforgiven.[33] Following his feud with Triple H, Angle received another push and began pursuing the WWF Championship, defeating The Rock at No Mercy, after interference from Rikishi.[33] With his victory over the Rock, Angle became the first wrestler to have won both an Olympic Gold medal and the World title. Angle retained the WWF Championship for the rest of the year in matches with The Undertaker at Survivor Series and in a six way Hell in a Cell match at Armageddon.[35]
After beating Triple H at the Royal Rumble, Angle eventually lost the title to The Rock at No Way Out, after holding the WWF Championship for four months. He then feuded with Chris Benoit, whom he defeated at WrestleMania X-Seven but lost to him at Backlash in an Ultimate Submission match; Benoit defeated Angle four falls to three in sudden-death overtime. Continuing the feud, Angle again defeated Benoit in a two out of three falls match at Judgment Day. Benoit pinned Angle after an Angle Slam in a "Pinfalls Only" fall, and then Angle made Benoit submit with the ankle lock in the "Submissions Only" fall. Angle won the third fall, a Ladder match, with the help of Edge and Christian.
The Invasion; Team Angle (2001–2002)[link]
When World Championship Wrestling and ECW formed The Alliance and invaded the WWF in mid-2001 (dubbed as "The Invasion"), Angle became a face character and began a storyline where he joined forces with WWF Champion Steve Austin to repel them. At Invasion, Angle and Austin captained a team of five WWF superstars against five handpicked members of the Alliance. As part of the angle, Team WWF lost to Team Alliance when Austin turned on his team to join The Alliance. At the close of the match, Austin nailed Angle with a Stone Cold Stunner, causing him to get pinned by the other team.[36] After winning and losing the WCW Championship,[37][38] WCW United States Championship,[39][40] and the WWF Hardcore Championship in matches with Alliance members,[41] Angle was booked to defeat Austin in a SummerSlam rematch for his second WWF Championship at Unforgiven.[42] He dropped the title back to Austin on the October 8, 2001 episode of Raw when WWF Commissioner William Regal joined The Alliance and cost Angle the match.[43] As part of the storyline, Angle subsequently turned into a villain again and joined the Alliance himself; during a WrestleMania X-Seven rematch between Vince McMahon and Shane McMahon, he interfered seemingly to aid Vince but instead struck the members of team WWF with a steel chair.[44] Angle, however, ultimately returned to the WWF side by enabling The Rock to defeat Austin in a "Winner Takes All" match between the WWF and The Alliance at Survivor Series. He remained a villain by claiming sole responsibility for the destruction of The Alliance.[42]
After dropping the WCW United States Championship to Edge, the duo were booked into a lengthy feud. During this feud, Edge helped the fans with the already started "you suck" chants every time Angle entered a WWE ring, usually in tune with Angle's entrance music.[45] The chants followed Angle throughout the rest of his WWE career. In the course of the feud, the naturally balding Angle lost a "hair versus hair" match to Edge at Judgment Day, and his head was shaved bald.[46] Angle has retained the shaved head since. Following the loss of his hair, Angle's storyline called for him to wear a wig and insult bald people,[47] leading to a feud with Hollywood Hogan, who stripped Angle of his wig.[48] Angle later scored a submission victory over Hogan at King of the Ring.[49]
In October 2002, Angle became the fifth WWE Grand Slam Championship winner when he won the WWE Tag Team Championship with Chris Benoit at No Mercy 2002. Their team was successful but problematic, as the two bickered constantly, with Benoit often fed up with Angle's over-the-top antics.[50] After dropping the title to Edge and Rey Mysterio on an episode of SmackDown!,[51] Angle won his third WWE Championship at Armageddon, defeating The Big Show, with the help of Brock Lesnar.[52] While still in his third reign, Angle began a new storyline when he gained the services of manager Paul Heyman and "Team Angle".[53]
Feuding with Lesnar and Guerrero (2003–2004)[link]
He then began feuding with Brock Lesnar, who had won the 2003 Royal Rumble match,[54] after Lesnar claimed to be the new top superstar on SmackDown!. Angle dropped the WWE Championship in the main event of WrestleMania XIX to Lesnar.[55]
On April 11, 2003, Angle underwent neck surgery performed by Dr. Hae-Dong Jho to repair nerve and spinal damage, calcium buildup, bone spurs, and intervertebral disc problems. Rather than have Dr. Jho remove the afflicted discs and fuse his vertebrae together, Angle opted for a less conventional surgery where Jho removed only the spurs and selected portions of the discs. The alternative surgery reduced Angle's rehabilitation time from one year to three months.[56] He returned as a face character in June. Shortly after returning, Angle defeated Lesnar and Big Show in a Triple Threat match at Vengeance to regain the WWE Championship. During this time, Lesnar seemed to become an ally to Angle. Lesnar, however, secretly worked with Vince McMahon on a plot against Angle, turning on him during a steel cage match between himself and McMahon in which Angle was the special guest referee, and stated that he never tolerated losing the belt to him at Vengeance.[57] After retaining the title in a singles bout at SummerSlam by making Brock Lesnar tap out to the ankle lock, he dropped the title to Lesnar in an Iron Man match on an episode of SmackDown!.[58][59] Angle then formed a five-man team to rival Lesnar's team at the Survivor Series, with Angle's team coming out victorious.[60]
Angle then got involved in a feud with Eddie Guerrero. Initially being a firm friend and ally to Eddie during the latter's feud with his nephew Chavo, Angle turned on him when it was announced that Guerrero, not Angle, was the number one contender for the WWE Championship, thus becoming a villain once again. At No Way Out, Guerrero defeated Lesnar to win the WWE Championship, and Angle won a match to become new number one contender. After losing to Guerrero at WrestleMania XX, Angle began to once again suffer from legitimate neck problems.[61] As a response, he was made the on-screen General Manager of SmackDown!,[62] with his absence from the ring attributed to injuries suffered after Big Show chokeslammed him off a ledge.[63] Angle continued his feud with Guerrero throughout 2004. He cost Guerrero the WWE championship against John "Bradshaw" Layfield in a Texas Bull Rope match at The Great American Bash by participating in the worked finish; Angle came down to the ring and showed a replay where JBL's shoulder hit the corner pad before Guerrero's hand.[64] Angle was later fired by Vince McMahon as General Manager in July 2004, after discovering that he was faking his handicapped status.[65]
In November 2004, Angle initiated the Kurt Angle Invitational, a worked weekly segment where "hometown heroes" (plants), challenged him to a match, with Angle promising to give his Olympic gold medal to the first person to last more than three minutes in the ring with him.[66] The Invitational was won by Eugene in July 2005 starting a new angle for both men.[67] As a result, Angle faced Eugene at SummerSlam, defeating him by making him tap out to the ankle lock.
On November 4, 2004, episode of SmackDown!, taped in St. Louis, Missouri, during an unscripted segment of Tough Enough, Angle challenged the finalists through a squat thrust competition.[68][69] Chris Nawrocki won the competition, and the prize Nawrocki won was a match against Angle.[70] Angle quickly took Nawrocki down, breaking his ribs, then made him tap out with a neck crank.[70] After Angle defeated Nawrocki, Angle challenged the other finalists.[70] Daniel Puder, an American professional mixed martial artist, accepted Angle's challenge.[70] Angle and Puder wrestled for position, with Angle taking Puder down, however, in the process, Puder locked Angle in a kimura lock.[69][70][71] With Puder on his back and Angle's arm locked in the kimura, Angle attempted a pin, one of two referees in the ring, Jim Korderas, quickly counted three to end the bout, despite the fact that Puder's shoulders weren't fully down on the mat, bridging up at two.[69][70][71] Puder later claimed he would have snapped Angle's arm, thus making Angle tap out on national television, if Korderas had not ended the match.[70] Dave Meltzer and Dave Scherer gave these following comments:
"It was real. If you don't follow fighting, Puder had Angle locked in the Kimura, or keylock as Tazz called it, although Tazz didn't let on the move was fully executed. Not only was Angle not getting out of the move, but most MMA fighters would have tapped already. Angle couldn't tap for obvious reasons. The ref counted a three even though Puder's shoulders weren't fully down, trying to end the thing, because the reality was Angle would have been in surgery had it gone a few seconds longer or had Puder not given up the hold." ― Dave Meltzer[69][71]
"As you would expect, Kurt Angle was less than happy backstage at Smackdown after almost being forced to tap out to Tough Enough contestant Daniel Puder. Downright ticked off would probably be the best way to describe his mood. The unscripted nature of the contest was the main reason that Angle was made to look so bad since Puder just reacted to the situation and could have forced Angle to submit had the referees not thought quickly and counted a pin that wasn’t there on Puder." ― Dave Scherer[69]
The Wrestling Machine (2005–2006)[link]
In January 2005, Angle took part in the Royal Rumble, but was eliminated by Shawn Michaels, who had returned to the ring to eliminate in retaliation.[72] After mocking Michaels by defeating his former tag team partner, Marty Jannetty,[73] and attacking former manager, Sherri Martel,[74] Angle defeated Michaels in an interpromotional match at WrestleMania 21, which won Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) Match of the Year Award.[72] He continued to feud with Michaels upon being drafted from SmackDown! to Raw in the 2005 WWE Draft Lottery,[75] losing to Michaels at Vengeance.[76] Angle later challenged John Cena for the WWE Championship at Unforgiven, where Angle won the match by disqualification, thus not winning the title. Angle also challenged Cena again in a Triple Threat match along with Michaels at Taboo Tuesday, in a losing effort.
Angle returned to the SmackDown! brand in January 2006, where he was pushed to gain the vacant World Heavyweight Championship in a twenty man battle royal, turning face in the process for the first time since 2004.[77][78] He retained the title against Mark Henry at the Royal Rumble. Shortly after the match, The Undertaker made his return and challenged Angle for the title. Angle retained the title in a match with Undertaker at No Way Out[79] before dropping it to Rey Mysterio in a Triple Threat match, which also included Randy Orton, at WrestleMania 22.[80]
At Judgment Day, Angle was defeated by Mark Henry via countout. On May 29, 2006, Angle was drafted to the newly created ECW brand. It was during this time that he acquired the nickname "The Wrestling Machine,"[81] wearing a mouth guard and quickly squashing opponents. Upon coming to ECW, he issued an open challenge for One Night Stand, which was accepted by Orton.[82] Angle defeated Orton at One Night Stand,[83] later losing to him in a rematch at Vengeance. Angle appeared sporadically on WWE television throughout mid 2006. On August 25, 2006, Angle was granted an early release from his WWE contract because of health reasons.[84][85] Angle stated in the Kurt Angle: Champion documentary DVD that he asked for his release from WWE because Angle couldn't take time off and he was working hurt, severely on some occasions. He also states that when he quit, WWE lost their very top talent, as he was at the very top of the payroll.[86]
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling[link]
Debut and World Championships (2006–2007)[link]
A few weeks after his WWE contract expired, Angle signed a contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). The new signing was viewed by some as a promotion not having concern for the health of a wrestler.[87] On September 24, 2006, during the closing segment of No Surrender, TNA President Dixie Carter announced that TNA Wrestling had signed Angle to a contract, with Jim Cornette introducing video footage of Angle training in a six-sided TNA ring.[88] On the December 28, 2006 episode of TNA Impact!, this was announced as the "Moment of the Year" for TNA.[89]
Angle made his TNA debut on October 19, confronting Samoa Joe after Joe refused to relinquish the NWA World Heavyweight Championship belt that, according to the storyline, he had stolen from Jeff Jarrett.[90] The two men ended up fighting while Jarrett took the title back.[90] Angle was then the special enforcer for the Title vs. Career match between Jarrett and Sting at Bound for Glory, but, as part of the worked finish, he took out referee Rudy Charles and assumed the referee's role for the rest of the match-up.[91] Angle's first match in TNA took place on the November 16 airing of Impact!, where he was booked to defeat Abyss with the ankle lock and be attacked after the match by Samoa Joe.[92] At Genesis, Angle defeated Samoa Joe, ending Joe's undefeated push.[91]
At Final Resolution, Angle was booked to defeat Samoa Joe in a thirty minute Iron Man match 3–2 to earn a shot at the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at Against All Odds,[93] which he lost to Christian Cage after interference from Tomko and Scott Steiner.[94] This led to a feud between Angle and Steiner, with Angle pinning Steiner at Destination X.[95] After Angle defeated Steiner, he was picked to lead a team of four other wrestlers against a team of Christian Cage's choice in a Lethal Lockdown match at April's Lockdown. Angle chose Samoa Joe, Rhino, Sting, and Jeff Jarrett for Team Angle, while Cage chose A.J. Styles, Scott Steiner, Tomko, and Abyss. The man who gained the winning pinfall would become the number one contender to Christian Cage's NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Team Angle was victorious after Jeff Jarrett hit Abyss with a gimmicked guitar full of thumbtacks and allowed Sting to score the pin.[96] Cage was set to defend the NWA World Heavyweight Championship against Sting and Angle in a triple threat match at Sacrifice.[97] The day of the PPV, the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), the owners of the NWA World Heavyweight and the NWA World Tag Team Championships, stripped Cage of the title and Team 3D of the tag team title.[98] NWA Executive Director Robert K. Trobich stated the reason was that Cage refused to defend the NWA Title at NWA live events.[98] At the PPV event, Cage, still holding the physical NWA Championship belt, defended what was billed as the "World Heavyweight Championship" against Angle and Sting. Angle was the victor of said contest by making Sting submit, who had technically just pinned Cage, and was announced as the new "World Heavyweight Champion".[99] The Impact! following the event, Angle came to the ring with a new championship belt, and announced he was the new "TNA World Heavyweight Champion".[100] Afterward, Cage and Sting came to the ring and the three began to argue over who was the new TNA World Heavyweight Champion. Due to the controversial finish to their match at Sacrifice, the title was declared vacant by Cornette. A tournament was held for the title which culminated in a King of the Mountain match at Slammiversary on June 17, 2007.[100] At the event, Angle became the TNA World Heavyweight Champion by defeating Cage, Samoa Joe, A.J. Styles, and Chris Harris.[101] He then attacked Joe after denying a request for a handshake, reigniting their feud.
At Victory Road, newly-crowned X Division Champion Samoa Joe teamed with Kurt Angle to face TNA Tag Team Champions Team 3D, with the stipulation that if a wrestler pinned the other opponent, he won his championship.[102] As part of the planned outcome of the match, Joe pinned Brother Ray of Team 3D to win both tag team belts, which he held by himself.[102] On the following episode of Impact!, Joe (now holding the X Division and Tag Team Championships, with Angle holding the TNA and (IGF recognized) IWGP Heavyweight Championships) challenged Angle to a match at Hard Justice where it was winner take all.[103] While illustrating how he would take away everything important in Angle's life, Joe brought Angle's wife Karen into the fray, as she demanded a divorce.[104] During the match, however, Karen turned on Joe and aided her husband.[105] As part of his next push, Angle won, gaining all the championships and becoming the second Triple Crown champion in TNA and the first to hold all three titles at the same time. Including the IWGP Title, this made Angle a quadruple champion.[105] Angle, however, dropped both the X Division and Tag Team Titles to Jay Lethal and Team Pacman, respectively, at No Surrender. At Bound for Glory, Angle lost the TNA World Title to Sting, but won it back on the October 25 episode of Impact!.
The Angle Alliance (2007–2008)[link]
Main article: The Angle Alliance
Angle then joined forces with A.J. Styles and Tomko as The Angle Alliance at Turning Point against Samoa Joe, Kevin Nash, and Scott Hall. Styles had planned for Christian's Coalition and The Angle Alliance to team up together, but Christian Cage demanded to be the leader of The Angle Alliance after Cage denied Angle's request of being his "lackey". At Final Resolution, Angle successfully defended the TNA World Heavyweight Championship against Cage due to interference from Styles and again at Against All Odds with help from Tomko. At Lockdown, Angle lost the TNA World Heavyweight Championship to Samoa Joe after being pinned.
The Main Event Mafia (2008–2009)[link]
Main article: The Main Event Mafia
After suffering a neck injury, Angle was out of action. In the storyline, he returned to Impact! to ask his estranged wife Karen to reunite with him, but she declined his offer. Later that night, after Styles suffered a beating at the hands of Team 3D, Booker T, and Tomko, Angle added to the mugging by hitting Styles with a steel chair. At Slammiversery, Angle lost to Styles, being pinned after interference from Karen. At Victory Road, Angle and Team 3D won a six-man tag team Full Metal Mayhem match defeating the team of Christian Cage, Rhino, and Styles. At Hard Justice, Angle once again lost to Styles – this time in a Last Man Standing match. The feud continued on the next episode of Impact!, with Styles winning Angle's gold medal in a mock amateur wrestling match. The next week Angle challenged Styles to a ladder match for the Olympic Gold Medal. As they both stood on the top of the ladder, the arena went dark and Jeff Jarrett's music played. When the lights turned on, Styles had a guitar and performed an Acoustic Equalizer on Angle to win the match.
Angle began a feud with Jarrett after No Surrender when Jarrett hit Angle with his guitar, a match that involved him, Christian Cage and Samoa Joe for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. On the October 2 episode of Impact, Mick Foley announced that he would be the special enforcer for Angle's match with Jarrett at Bound for Glory IV. Angle lost to Jarrett in this match, being pinned after taking the mandible claw from Foley and a guitar shot and Stroke from Jarrett. He started attacking other superstars backstage in order to get a rematch against Jarrett. On the first HD Impact!, Angle, Booker T, Kevin Nash, and Sting started a new stable of legends called The Main Event Mafia. Scott Steiner joined the group the following week. Angle then defeated Abyss at Turning Point in a Falls Count Anywhere match. After weeks of torturing Jeff Jarrett to give him a rematch, Jarrett said that if Angle could defeat Rhino at the second Final Resolution of 2008, with Mick Foley as the Special Enforcer, he would grant it. Angle defeated Rhino to earn a rematch with Jarrett at Genesis after Al Snow made a surprise appearance and distracted Foley for Angle to cheat. At Sacrifice, Angle lost his leadership of the Mafia to Sting because of their match's stipulation. On June 21 at Slammiversary, Angle won (so he wouldn't leave TNA) the TNA World Heavyweight Championship for the third time in a King of the Mountain match with help from Samoa Joe. On the following episode of Impact!, Angle regained leadership of the Main Event Mafia after he and the rest of the Mafia, attacked Sting while introducing Joe as their newest member. At No Surrender Angle lost his championship to A.J. Styles in a five-way match which also included Matt Morgan, Sting, and Hernandez.[106]
Various feuds (2009–2010)[link]
After defeating Morgan at Bound for Glory,[107] Angle came out on the following episode of Impact! and put over the younger talent of the company. Afterward, he was assaulted by the debuting Desmond Wolfe,[108] who defeated him via knockout in a street fight the following week.[109] At Turning Point Angle defeated Wolfe in a rematch.[110] The following month at Final Resolution Angle faced Wolfe in a "Three Degrees of Pain" two out of three falls match. Wolfe managed to gain the first fall by pinning Angle following the Tower of London, but Angle forced him to tap out with the ankle lock to win the second fall. In the final fall, which could only be won by escaping the Six Sides of Steel, Angle managed to escape first and won the match.[111] On the January 4, 2010, live, three hour, Monday night edition of Impact! Angle received a shot at A.J. Styles' World Heavyweight Championship, but was defeated in the main event of the show.[112] Two weeks later at Genesis Angle received one last shot at the World Heavyweight Title, but was once again defeated by Styles, who turned heel with the help of Ric Flair and nailed him with the title belt. As a result, Angle was barred from challenging for the belt as long as Styles is the title holder.[113] Due to the circumstances surrounding the loss, Hulk Hogan gave Angle another shot at Styles and the TNA World Heavyweight Championship on the January 21 episode of Impact!, but this time he lost the match after referee Earl Hebner, who was later revealed to have been paid off by Flair, called for the bell in an incident similar to the Montreal Screwjob. Angle responded to the incident by spitting in Hogan's face, threatening to quit TNA and go back to WWE.[114] Angle apologized to Hogan, after being saved by him from Scott Hall and Syxx-Pac.[115] At Against All Odds Angle took part in the 8 Card Stud Tournament to crown a new number one contender, but was defeated in the first round by Mr. Anderson, after Anderson used Angle's dog tags to bust him open.[115] On the following episode of Impact! Angle promised to make Anderson suffer for disrespecting the U.S. soldiers, but was in the end once again laid out by him, effectively starting a feud between the two.[116] At Destination X Angle defeated Anderson in a rematch.[117] Angle and Anderson were booked in a rubber match inside a steel cage at Lockdown.[118] On the April 5 episode of Impact! Anderson defeated Angle in a ladder match to win possession of the key to the cage door.[119] At Lockdown, Angle defeated Anderson in a steel cage match and afterwards announced that he would now be taking some time off from wrestling.[120]
Rankings climb (2010)[link]
Angle returned on the May 20 episode of Impact! and was ranked number two by the Championship Committee in the inaugural top 10 rankings for a World Heavyweight title shot. Angle, however, decided to take his name out of the running for a title shot and vowed to fight his way through the top 10 and earn his spot at the top of the company.[121] At Slammiversary VIII Angle started his climb back to the top by defeating Kazarian, who was ranked number ten.[122] Angle continued his climb, defeating Desmond Wolfe, who was ranked number nine prior to the match, on the June 24 episode of Impact!, and D'Angelo Dinero, ranked number eight, at Victory Road.[123][124] Prior to his match with Dinero, Angle announced that should he lose on his way to the top of the rankings, he would retire from professional wrestling[125] On the July 22 episode of Impact! Angle defeated number seven ranked Hernandez and followed that up three weeks later by defeating number six ranked A.J. Styles.[126][127] On the August 19 episode of Impact! the TNA World Heavyweight Championship was vacated and instead of continuing his climb, Angle was entered into an eight man tournament for the title, defeating X Division Champion Douglas Williams in his first round match.[128] At No Surrender Angle first wrestled Jeff Hardy to a twenty minute time limit draw, after which Eric Bischoff ordered a five minute extra time. After that and a second five minute extra time also ended in draws, it was ruled that, due to a cut, Angle wouldn't be allowed to continue the match, ending the match in a no contest.[129] After wrestling a draw on the September 16 episode of Impact!, it was announced that both Angle and Hardy would advance to the finals at Bound for Glory, where they would compete with Mr. Anderson in a three–way match.[130]
Feud with Jeff Jarrett (2010–2011)[link]
At Bound for Glory Angle was defeated by Hardy, when he turned heel and pinned Anderson, after an interference from Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff, who then went on to form an alliance named Immortal, with Hardy, Abyss and Jeff Jarrett.[131] On the following episode of Impact! Angle came out to make his retirement speech, after his failed attempt to win the World Heavyweight Champion, but was interrupted by Jarrett, who announced that he had made a deal with Hogan and Bischoff in order to end Angle's career at Bound for Glory, before attacking him, when he was restrained by TNA's security officers Gunner and Murphy.[132] The following week Angle returned, trying to get his hands on Bischoff and Ric Flair, before being stopped by TNA's security officers.[133] Angle returned three weeks later on the November 11 episode of Impact!, saving Samoa Joe from Jeff Jarrett, Gunner and Murphy.[134] After not appearing again for two weeks, Angle made another return on the December 2 episode of Impact!, saving Samoa Joe from Jeff Jarrett and Abyss.[135] On the January 6, 2011, episode of Impact! Angle interrupted Jarrett's $100,000 Mixed Martial Arts Challenge and signed a contract to face him at Genesis in an MMA exhibition match, since he had promised not to wrestle again.[136] The match was thrown out in the third round after Jarrett blinded Angle. After the match Jarrett bloodied Angle, before announcing that he was ending his mixed martial arts career and promised that his wife, Karen Jarrett (formerly Karen Angle), would be joining the retirement party.[137] On the January 13 episode of Impact! Karen made her return and stopped Angle just as he was about to attack Jeff, telling him that she would not allow him to ruin their personal lives and promised to tell all about their divorce the following week.[138] The following week Karen slapped Kurt, providing a distraction which allowed Jeff to beat him down. At the end of the show Crimson saved Angle from a beating at the hands of Immortal and Fortune.[139] The following week Ric Flair reinstated Angle in order to place him and Crimson in a seven–on–two handicap match against Jarrett, James Storm, Robert Roode, Kazarian, Rob Terry, Gunner and Murphy. The match ended with Jarrett pinning Angle for the win. Afterwards, Angle was saved from another beatdown by the returning Scott Steiner.[140] The following week Fortune turned on Immortal and aligned themselves with Angle, Crimson and Steiner.[141] On February 13 at Against All Odds Jarrett defeated Angle in a singles match and as a result Angle was forced to walk Karen down the aisle, when she and Jarrett renewed their wedding vows on the March 3 episode of Impact!. After the match Angle hinted at a possible retirement by leaving his wrestling boots in the ring.[142] On March 3 Angle proceeded to destroy the wedding set with an axe and forced wedding guest, New York Jet Bart Scott to tap out with the ankle lock.[143] On April 17 at Lockdown, Jarrett defeated Angle in an "Ultra Male Rules" Two out of Three Falls steel cage match, with help from Karen.[144] On the May 12 episode of Impact!, Angle revealed Chyna as his backup in taking care of the Jarretts.[145] At Sacrifice, Angle and Chyna defeated the Jarretts in a mixed tag team match.[146] Later that same month, Angle signed a new three-year contract with TNA.[147] With Karen out of the picture, Angle defeated Jarrett on June 12 at Slammiversary IX in what was billed as the "final battle" between the two to retain his Olympic gold medal and become the number one contender for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.[148] However, on the following episode of Impact Wrestling, Jarrett challenged Angle to a Parking Lot Brawl and agreed to sign a contract that would force him to move to Mexico without Angle's children, should he lose the match. Angle ended up winning the fight after choking Jarrett with a shirt, forcing him to say "adiós".[149]
Regaining the World Heavyweight Championship (2011–present)[link]
With his feud with Jarrett behind him, Angle aligned himself with Sting to feud with the rest of Immortal, including the group's newest member, TNA World Heavyweight Champion Mr. Anderson.[150] On the July 14 episode of Impact Wrestling, Angle helped Sting regain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship from Anderson.[151] On August 7 at Hardcore Justice, Angle defeated Sting, after hitting him with a chair he snatched away from Hulk Hogan, to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship for the record-breaking fifth time.[152] On the following episode of Impact Wrestling, Angle explained that he did not agree with Sting, who, using the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, wanted to hand the promotion back to Dixie Carter, as he had found out that she had lied to him about not knowing of the relationship between Karen and Jeff Jarrett. When Sting confronted Angle, he was attacked by Hogan, which led to Angle revealing that Hogan had been the one who had exposed Carter's lie to him. Angle also revealed that his goal was now to ruin Carter's youth movement in TNA by eliminating the younger wrestlers one-by-one and started by attacking Bound for Glory Series leader Crimson after the main event.[153] Angle made his first televised title defense on the September 1 episode of Impact Wrestling, defeating Sting in a rematch, following interference from special enforcer Hulk Hogan and the rest of Immortal.[154] The following week, Angle's title match with Mr. Anderson ended in a disqualification, following interference from Immortal, which led to a three-way match between Angle, Anderson and Sting on September 11 at No Surrender, where Angle managed to retain the title, following interference from Hogan.[155][156] On October 16 at Bound for Glory, Angle successfully defended the title against Bobby Roode.[157]
On the following episode of Impact Wrestling, Angle lost the TNA World Heavyweight Championship to Roode's tag team partner, James Storm.[158][159] Angle returned on the November 17 episode of Impact Wrestling, attacking James Storm and revealing himself as the man who had attacked and bloodied him also the previous week, costing him his match with Bobby Roode for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.[160] On December 11 at Final Resolution, Angle was defeated by Storm in a singles match.[161] On January 8, 2012, at Genesis, Angle defeated Storm in a rematch.[162] On the following episode of Impact Wrestling, Storm defeated Angle in a number one contender's match.[163] Angle returned on the February 16 episode of Impact Wrestling, costing Jeff Hardy his shot at the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.[164] On March 18 at Victory Road, Angle defeated Hardy in a singles match, pinning him while grabbing a hold of the ring ropes.[165] On April 15 at Lockdown, Hardy defeated Angle in a rematch, contested inside a steel cage.[166] On the following episode of Impact Wrestling, Angle defeated A.J. Styles, following interference from Styles' rivals Christopher Daniels and Kazarian.[167] The following week, Angle warned the two Immortal associates never to interfere in one of his matches again.[168] On May 13 at Sacrifice, Angle defeated Styles in a rematch, following another interference from Daniels and Kazarian. After the match, Angle made the save for Styles, chasing Daniels and Kazarian out of the ring.[169]
Japanese promotions (2007–2009)[link]
On February 18, 2007, Angle made his debut in New Japan Pro Wrestling, teaming with former IWGP Heavyweight Champion Yuji Nagata to defeat fellow TNA wrestler Travis Tomko and fellow WWE alumnus Giant Bernard.[4]
Angle was booked to face Brock Lesnar in a champion versus champion match for the Inoki Genome Federation on June 29, 2007, and defeated him by submission for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship,[170] and he challenged him to an MMA fight.[171] On December 19, 2007, Angle defended the IWGP World Title successfully against Kendo Kashin.[172]
On January 4, 2008, Angle made his third successful IWGP World Championship defense when he defeated Yuji Nagata at the New Japan Pro Wrestling supershow Wrestle Kingdom II in Tokyo Dome by forcing Nagata to tap out to the ankle lock.[173] On February 17, 2008, Angle lost the IWGP title to Shinsuke Nakamura in a unification match, thus ending the IWGP championship controversy.[174] Kurt Angle is not recognized as an IWGP Heavyweight Champion by New Japan. He returned in August during the G1 Climax in two special tag matches A.J. Styles as his opponent with Shinsuke Nakamura and Masahiro Chono as Angle's partners and Hiroshi Tanahashi and Shinjiro Otani as Styles' partners. Angle's team won both matches.[175]
He returned on January 4, 2009, at Wrestle Kingdom III in Tokyo Dome in a special eight man tag match, where he, Kevin Nash, Chono, and Riki Chōshū faced G.B.H. (Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson, Takashi Iizuka and Tomohiro Ishii), with Angle getting the win for his team.[176] Angle then went on to defeat Bernard in a singles match at New Japan's ISM tour on February 15.[177] After Hiroshi Tanahashi retained the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Nakamura in the main event, Angle challenged him for the title, which Tanahashi accepted.[177] Tanahashi defeated Angle on April 5 at New Japan's Resolution '09 to retain the title.[178]
Acting career[link]
In regards to his future, Angle has expressed interest on several occasions in pursuing an acting career after retirement from professional wrestling.[22] In the spring of 2008, Angle made his film debut in the short film Chains. He played a racist prison deputy, credited as The Deputy.[179]
In the fall of 2008, Angle played the role of maniacal serial killer Brad Mayfield in the movie End Game. In addition, on an episode of Pros vs. Joes season three, he was teamed up with Jimmy Smith and Kendall Gill against the Joes.
Angle made an appearance on Criss Angel Mindfreak, during the segment "Car Wreck Vanish." He also made an appearance in the 2011 film Warrior as the Russian mixed-martial arts champion, Koba. Kurt stars alongside Kevin Nash, Sam Nicotero, Bill Laing, Mary Rutledge, and Bill Hinzman in the movie River of Darkness, directed by Bruce Koehler.[180] In the movie, he portrayed the town sheriff, Will Logan.[181] On the Right After Wrestling program on Sirius Satellite Radio channel 98, Angle told hosts Arda Ocal and Jimmy Korderas that he would become a part time wrestler after his contract expires in 2011 to focus on Angle Foods and his acting career.[182]
Filmography[link]
- 2009: End Game – as Brad Mayfield
- 2009: Chain's – as The Deputy (Short Film)
- 2010: Death from Above – as Thule [183]
- 2010: Devil Dogs – as Steve Stagger (pre-Production)
- 2010: Dylan Dog: Dead of Night – as Wolfgang (2010)
- 2010: River of Darkness – as Sheriff Will Logan (2010)
- 2010: Beyond the Mat – as Coach Kamen[184]
- 2011: Warrior – as Koba (2011)
Television[link]
- 2011:Extreme Makeover: Home Edition – Himself (1 episode)
- 2009:Howard Stern On Demand – Himself (2 episodes, Eric the Midget Visits the Studio, Kurt Angle Wants Robin)
- 2009:Criss Angel Mindfreak – Himself (1 episode, Car Wreck Vanish)
- 2008:Pros vs. Joes – Himself (1 episode)
- 2007:Inside MMA – Himself (2 episodes)
- 2006:2006 Scream Awards – Himself
- 2005:MTV's Made – Himself (1 episode)
- 2002:Late Night with Conan O'Brien – Himself (1 episode)
- 2001:The Weakest Link – Himself (1 episode)
- 2001:The Tonight Show with Jay Leno – Himself (1 episode)
- 2000:The Big Breakfast – Himself (1 episode)
Personal life[link]
Angle attended Clarion University of Pennsylvania, graduating with a degree in education in 1993.[185] In his later life, Angle got a Clarion University Golden Eagle, wearing a singlet, tattooed on his upper back.[citation needed]
Angle has four older brothers (one of whom, Eric, is also a wrestler) and a sister, Le'Anne, who died in 2003. His father, Dave, a crane operator,[186] was killed in a construction accident when Angle was sixteen, and Angle dedicated both his career and his autobiography It's True, It's True to him as a result. Angle claimed in an interview that, following the death of his father, he regarded his wrestling coach, David Schultz, as a paternal figure. While training Angle, Schultz was murdered in January 1996 by John Eleuthère du Pont, the sponsor of Schultz's team of Olympic prospectives.[16][17][18]
He married Karen Smedley[187] on December 19, 1998,[188] and the couple have a daughter, Kyra, who was born on December 2, 2002.[citation needed] They also have a son, Kody, who was born on October 26, 2006.[citation needed]In August 2007, Karen debuted in TNA as Angle's regular valet.[citation needed]In September 2008, it was reported that Karen had filed for divorce from Kurt.[189]
In 2008, Angle was selected to be featured on the cover for metal band Emmure's second album The Respect Issue where he is depicted on the front and back covers for the record as well as in the inlay. Angle also further promoted the album by wearing an Emmure shirt during fights broadcasted on TNA Impact!.[190]
In 2009, It was reported that TNA co-founder Jeff Jarrett was romantically linked to Karen Angle, beginning while Karen and Angle were separated.[191] This resulted in TNA president Dixie Carter, placing Jeff Jarrett on leave of absence.[192][193][194][195] The situation was revealed in July 2009 when a caller claiming to be a former TNA employee called in on The Bubba the Love Sponge Show.[196][197] Dixie Carter commented on the situation on Impact, stating "a personal situation that affected the company and it put all of us in a very difficult position." She said Jeff was placed "on leave as both a talent and in his capacity with the company and I'd like to leave it at that." In December 2009, Jarrett returned to TNA and he would marry Karen on August 21, 2010.[198]
In 2010, It was reported that Angle was engaged to actress Giovanna Yannotti.[199] On September 30, 2010, Yannotti announced that the couple was expecting their first child.[200] On January 22, 2011, Yannotti gave birth to a daughter named Giuliana Marie Angle.[201]
Angle is a fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers.[202]
Substance abuse allegations[link]
Wellness Policy violation[link]
On March 6, 2007, Sports Illustrated reported that Angle's name was found in the client database of a Florida wellness center suspected of being a front for distributing performance-enhancing drugs.[203] The magazine alleged Angle had received prescriptions for trenbolone (which is not approved for human use by the FDA) and nandrolone, both anabolic steroids. Angle responded on his official website: "I did not improperly receive prescriptions. It is well documented that in my career I have broken vertebrae in my neck on five occasions and each time the course of treatment was under the care and supervision of my doctors. Any attempt to link me to the athletes in the current news accounts who may have improperly sought performance-enhancing drugs is without foundation."[204]
Approximately two weeks later on March 19, 2007, Sports Illustrated posted on its website another article in its continuing series investigating a steroid and HGH ring used by a number of professional athletes in several sports. That article mentioned that 10 other professional wrestlers were implicated to have received performance-enhancing drugs from the same drug ring including four WWE wrestlers and Eddie Guerrero.[205] Kurt never failed a drug test for pain pills. He did, however, fail a steroid test under WWE's Wellness Policy because his prescription for Deca-Durabolin had expired.[206]
Legal troubles[link]
Angle was arrested at his home by Moon Township, Pennsylvania police on September 28, 2007, on a charge of driving under the influence after being reported by a woman who claimed that he almost hit her while leaving a local restaurant. Officials said Angle failed a field sobriety test but refused a blood test. Angle was charged with driving under the influence and careless driving,[207] but he denies the charges.[208] On September 9, 2008, Angle was cleared of all charges pertaining to his DUI arrest.[209]
On August 15, 2009, Pittsburgh-based NBC affiliate WPXI reported that Angle had been arrested. His girlfriend stated that she had filed a protection from abuse (PFA) order and that he was stalking her in the Robinson Township area. Angle was charged with "driving while operating privilege is suspended, prohibited acts-possession, harassment and prohibited acts". Hygetropin, a human growth hormone, was found in his car; Angle maintained that he had a prescription for the drug.[210] On September 15, a District Court Judge dropped the harassment, suspended license, and drug charges against Angle. On November 9, 2009, the PFA charges were dropped after he and former girlfriend Trenesha Biggers reached an agreement to avoid contact with each other.[211]
On March 25, 2011, Angle was arrested in Grand Forks, North Dakota and charged with "being in control of a motor vehicle while intoxicated" after failing a field sobriety test.[212][213][214] Angle later pled guilty to the charges and was sentenced on April 20 to one year of unsupervised probation, a chemical dependency evaluation, a $250 fine, $225 in court fees, and a ten day suspended jail sentence.[215][216]
Angle was arrested on September 4, 2011, by Virginia State Troopers for allegedly driving under the influence. Angle was placed in Warren County Jail, before posting $2,000 bail and being released in the early morning.[217][218] State police revealed that Angle's initial breath test at the scene, where he was stopped by police showed a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.091 percent, which was above the legal limit of 0.08 percent.[219] The test was later ruled not admissible and when a second test, taken at the police station, showed a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.06, the DUI charge was dropped. Angle was still charged with reckless driving.[220] On November 8, 2011, Angle entered a plea of no contest and was fined $1,500.[221]
In wrestling[link]
.jpg)
- Finishing moves
- Angle Slam / Olympic Slam, sometimes from the top rope or an elevated position[4]
- Ankle lock, sometimes followed by grapevining the opponent's leg[4]
- Crossface chickenwing[222] – 2000; adopted from Bob Backlund
- Signature moves
- Bodyscissors[223]
- Double leg takedown, often transitioned into a pin or a suplex[224]
- European uppercut[4]
- Frog splash[110] – TNA
- Headbutt[225]
- Moonsault, sometimes from the top of a cage[4]
- Multiple suplex variations[4]
- Rear naked choke[226]
- Triangle choke[110]
- Nicknames
- "The American Hero" (WWF / NJPW)
- "The Most Celebrated Real Athlete in WWF History" (WWF)
- "The Olympic Gold Medalist" (WWF/E / TNA)
- "The Olympic Hero" (WWF)
- "Your Olympic Hero" (WWF)[3]
- "The Wrestling Machine" (WWE)
- "The Godfather of The Main Event Mafia" (TNA)
- Entrance themes
- World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment
- "Medal" by Jim Johnston (November 14, 1999–January 2, 2006)
- "I Don't Suck" by Jim Johnston
- "Medal (Remix)" by Jim Johnston (January 29, 2006–July 11, 2006)
- "Medal (Revisited)" by Jim Johnston (July 11, 2006-August 8, 2006)
- Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
- "My Quest" by Dale Oliver (September 24, 2006–November 8, 2007)
- "Gold Medal" by Tha Trademarc (November 11, 2007–present)
- "Main Event Mafia" by Dale Oliver[229] (used while a member of The Main Event Mafia; October 2, 2008–June 21, 2009)
- "Immortal Theme" by Dale Oliver[230] (used while a member of Immortal; 2011–2012)
- World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment
Championships and accomplishments[link]
Lucha de Apuesta record[link]
See also: Luchas de Apuestas
| Wager | Winner | Loser | Location | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hair | Edge | Kurt Angle | Nashville, Tennessee | 02002-05-19May 19, 2002 | Hair vs. Hair match at Judgment Day[46] |
Notes[link]
- ^ "Sports Reference Olympic biography". Sports-Reference.com. http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/an/kurt-angle-1.html. Retrieved September 20, 2011.
- ^ a b c "TNA Profile". TNA Wrestling. http://www.tnawrestling.com/roster/Wrestler-Roster/item/1578-kurt-angle. Retrieved October 11, 2007.
- ^ a b Milner, John; Kamchen, Richard. "Kurt Angle". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/Bios/angle.html. Retrieved September 20, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Kurt Angle's Profile". Online World of Wrestling. http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/k/kurt-angle.html. Retrieved September 3, 2007.
- ^ "European Championship - Kurt Angle". WWE. http://www.wwe.com/classics/titlehistory/euro/358824. Retrieved April 14, 2012.
- ^ a b Beltrán, William (August 3, 2010). "Según el Wrestling Observer… ¿Quiénes son los mejores los mejores de la década?" (in Spanish). SuperLuchas Magazine. http://superluchas.net/2010/08/03/segun-el-wrestling-observer%E2%80%A6-%C2%BFquienes-son-los-mejores-los-mejores-de-la-decada/. Retrieved August 5, 2010.
- ^ Angle, Kurt (2001-09-18). It's true, it's true (Hardcover ed.). HarperEntertainment. pp. 13. ISBN 0-06-039327-0.
- ^ a b c Angle, Kurt (2001-09-18). It's true, it's true (Hardcover ed.). HarperEntertainment. pp. 53. ISBN 0-06-039327-0.
- ^ Angle, Kurt (2001-09-18). It's true, it's true (Hardcover ed.). HarperEntertainment. pp. 27. ISBN 0-06-039327-0.
- ^ Angle, Kurt (2001-09-18). It's true, it's true (Hardcover ed.). HarperEntertainment. pp. 62. ISBN 0-06-039327-0.
- ^ Angle, Kurt (2001-09-18). It's true, it's true (Hardcover ed.). HarperEntertainment. pp. 48. ISBN 0-06-039327-0.
- ^ a b c Angle, Kurt (2001-09-18). It's true, it's true (Hardcover ed.). HarperEntertainment. pp. 4. ISBN 0-06-039327-0.
- ^ a b c d e Loverro, Thom. The Rise & Fall of ECW: Extreme Championship Wrestling (p.173)
- ^ Angle, Kurt (2001-09-18). It's true, it's true (Hardcover ed.). HarperEntertainment. pp. 123. ISBN 0-06-039327-0.
- ^ Martinez, M. (July 31, 2007). "Professional wrestler talks shop at West Valley Mall". Tri-Valley Herald. http://www.insidebayarea.com/trivalleyherald/localnews/ci_6506271. Retrieved July 31, 2007.
- ^ a b c "Kurt Angle, 1996 Olympic Gold Medal Wrestler Signs Multi-Year Deal With World Wrestling Federation". Business Wire. October 17, 1998. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_1998_Oct_17/ai_53092508. Retrieved July 14, 2007.
- ^ a b Angle, Kurt (2001-09-18). It's true, it's true (Hardcover ed.). Harper Entertainment. pp. 5. ISBN 0-06-039327-0.
- ^ a b "Heir Sentenced Up to 30 Years For Killing of Olympic Wrestler". The New York Times. May 14, 1997. http://www.nytimes.com/1997/05/14/us/heir-sentenced-up-to-30-years-for-killing-of-olympic-wrestler.html. Retrieved August 29, 2007.
- ^ Angle, Kurt (2001-09-18). It's true, it's true (Hardcover ed.). HarperEntertainment. pp. 139. ISBN 0-06-039327-0.
- ^ Angle, Kurt (2001-09-18). It's true, it's true (Hardcover ed.). HarperEntertainment. pp. 2. ISBN 0-06-039327-0.
- ^ Rossi, Rob. "Grappling with addiction". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/olympics/s_479415.html. Retrieved January 15, 2008.
- ^ a b King, Peter. "Gripping Finish". SI.com. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/events/1996/olympics/daily/aug1/wrest.html. Retrieved July 14, 2007.
- ^ a b Angle, Kurt (2001-09-18). It's true, it's true (Hardcover ed.). HarperEntertainment. pp. 200. ISBN 0-06-039327-0.
- ^ Caldwell, James (April 29, 2011). "TNA News: Kurt Angle planning Olympics comeback in 2012, discusses re-signing with TNA & part-time schedule". Pro Wrestling Torch. http://www.pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/TNA_News_1/article_49689.shtml. Retrieved June 8, 2011.
- ^ McNichol, Rob (June 7, 2011). "Angle reveals Olympic plans". The Sun. http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/wrestling/3622980/Kurt-Angle-confirms-he-wants-to-compete-at-London-2012-Olympics.html. Retrieved October 19, 2011.
- ^ "Kurt Angle on his hardest task - making an Olympic return in 2012". BBC. 2012-02-16. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/17027704. Retrieved 2012-02-14.
- ^ "Kurt Angle's hopes of wrestling at London 2012 ended by injury". BBC. April 12, 2012. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/17695309. Retrieved May 23, 2012.
- ^ Loverro, Thom. The Rise & Fall of ECW: Extreme Championship Wrestling (p.172)
- ^ Thomas Chamberlin (February 2001). "It's True: He's a Real American Hero". Wrestling Digest. Archived from the original on February 28, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080228195703/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FCO/is_5_2/ai_68951388/pg_2. Retrieved September 2, 2007.
- ^ Agostino, David (August 12, 2005). "A grateful Angle comments on hometown reception". WWE. http://www.wwe.com/inside/news/archive/200511angle1. Retrieved September 2, 2007.
- ^ PWI Staff. Pro Wrestling Illustrated presents: 2007 Wrestling almanac & book of facts. "Wrestling's historical cards" (p. 104–105)
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- ^ Caldwell, James (January 8, 2012). "Caldwell's TNA Genesis PPV results 1/8: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of live PPV - Roode-Hardy, Angle-Storm". Pro Wrestling Torch. http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/tnappvs/article_56739.shtml. Retrieved January 8, 2012.
- ^ McQuade, Jay (January 12, 2012). "McQuade's TNA Impact Wrestling report 1/12: Roode-Hardy for TNA Title, Angle-Storm #1 contender match, Bischoffs angle". Pro Wrestling Torch. http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/tnaimpact/article_56895.shtml. Retrieved January 13, 2012.
- ^ Turner, Scott (February 17, 2012). "Turner's TNA Impact results 2/16: World Title match opens show, Lockdown main event set, N.Y. Giants star in angle". Pro Wrestling Torch. http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/tnaimpact/article_58209.shtml. Retrieved February 17, 2012.
- ^ Caldwell, James (March 18, 2012). "Caldwell's TNA Victory Road PPV results 3/18: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of live PPV - Sting-Roode main event, Angle-Hardy, Storm-Ray". Pro Wrestling Torch. http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/tnappvs/article_59264.shtml. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
- ^ Caldwell, James (April 15, 2012). "Caldwell's TNA Lockdown PPV results 4/15: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of live PPV - Roode-Storm main event, Angle-Hardy, Lethal Lockdown opener". Pro Wrestling Torch. http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/tnappvs/article_60411.shtml. Retrieved April 15, 2012.
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- ^ Turner, Scott (April 26, 2012). "Turner's TNA Impact Wrestling results 4/26: First-ever Open Fight Night, Tag Title match, Flair throws a party for Bischoff". Pro Wrestling Torch. http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/tnaimpact/article_60794.shtml. Retrieved May 13, 2012.
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- ^ a b "International Wrestling Grand Prix Heavyweight Title". Wrestling-titles.com. http://www.wrestling-titles.com/japan/newjapan/iwgp-h.html. Retrieved June 24, 2008.
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- ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1374846/
- ^ Kurt Angle Wrestles Kevin Nash Down a River of Darkness
- ^ Wrestler horror RIVER OF DARKNESS wraps; exclusive first photos
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- ^ McNichol, Rob (July 21, 2009). "Jarrett in limbo after TNA row". The Sun (London). http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/wrestling/2547434/Jeff-Jarrett-in-limbo-after-TNA-row-over-Kurt-Angles-wife-Karen.html.
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- ^ Meltzer, Dave (September 30, 2010). "Thurs. update: Lots of TV tonight, Hall of Famer expects child soon,Ratings good and bad, Scoring". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. http://www.f4wonline.com/content/view/17754/. Retrieved September 30, 2010. "Giovanna Yanotti, the actress/fiance of Kurt Angle, announced today that the couple is expecting their first child."
- ^ Meltzer, Dave (January 22, 2011). "Sat. update: Angle rushed home from European tour, fiance labor induced, Team RKO put back together". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. http://www.f4wonline.com/content/view/19161/. Retrieved January 23, 2011. "Kurt Angle rushed back to Pittsburgh from the European tour last night when he got a phone call that his pregnant fiance, actress Giovanna Yannotti, had been rushed to the hospital with extremely high blood pressure and passed out. The doctors felt it necessary to induce labor and she gave birth to Giuliana Marie Angle, a 5.5 pound 18 inch long baby. The baby is said to be doing well, although she is about three weeks premature. At last word, the mother was still in intensive care with doctors today attempting to get her blood pressure under control."
- ^ "Q&A: The Mixed Martial Arts And Crafts Of Kurt Angle". Big Lead Sports. July 23, 2011. http://thebiglead.com/index.php/2011/07/23/qampa-the-mixed-martial-arts-and-crafts-of-kurt-angle/. Retrieved May 9, 2012.
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- ^ Angle, Kurt (March 8, 2007). "Angle responds". Kurt Angle's Official Website. http://www.kurtangletna.net/letter.htm. Retrieved March 8, 2007.
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- ^ "Did Kurt Angle Ever Fail A WWE Drug Test For Pain Killers?". TNAWrestlingNews.com. July 29, 2007. http://www.tnawrestlingnews.com/headlines/187761305.shtml. Retrieved July 29, 2007. [dead link]
- ^ "Kurt Angle Wrestles DUI, Careless Driving Charges". WPXI.com. http://www.wpxi.com/sports/14263911/detail.html. Retrieved October 3, 2007.
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- ^ Kurt Angle cleared from DUI
- ^ "Wrestler Kurt Angle Arrested". WPXI. August 15, 2009. http://www.wpxi.com/news/20411616/detail.html. Retrieved August 15, 2009.
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- ^ Caldwell, James (March 25, 2011). "TNA News: TMZ reports Kurt Angle arrested Friday morning on intoxication charge following TNA house show". Pro Wrestling Torch. http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/TNA_News_1/article_48730.shtml. Retrieved March 26, 2011.
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- ^ "State of North Dakota vs. Kurt Steven Angle". North Dakota Courts Records Inquiry. http://publicsearch.ndcourts.gov/CaseDetail.aspx?CaseID=1173408. Retrieved March 31, 2011.
- ^ Caldwell, James (April 20, 2011). "Angle News: Kurt Angle sentenced for reckless driving following March arrest, new information on arrest". Pro Wrestling Torch. http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/TNA_News_1/article_49451.shtml. Retrieved April 20, 2011.
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- ^ "Breaking - Kurt Angle arrested Sunday". Pro Wrestling Torch. September 4, 2011. http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/quicknews/article_52952.shtml. Retrieved September 4, 2011.
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- ^ Mayhew, Kaitlin. "Wrestler's initial BAC result was 0.091 percent". The Northern Virginia Daily. http://www.nvdaily.com/news/2011/09/wrestlers-initial-bac-result-was-0091-percent.php. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
- ^ Meltzer, Dave (October 5, 2011). "Wed., update: Angle charges taken down, White talks legend future, MSG tickets Foley, Flair & Edge". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. http://www.f4wonline.com/more/more-top-stories/96-wwe/22439-wed-update-angle-charges-taken-down-white-talks-legend-future-msg-tickets-foley-flair-a-edge. Retrieved October 6, 2011.
- ^ Caldwell, James (November 9, 2011). "TNA News: Judge rules in Kurt Angle reckless driving case - Angle fined, avoids jail time, more details on arrest revealed". Pro Wrestling Torch. http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/TNA_News_1/article_54989.shtml. Retrieved November 9, 2011.
- ^ Leighty, Jr., Robert (July 31, 2009). "From the Bowery: WrestleMania 2000". 411Mania. http://www.411mania.com/wrestling/video_reviews/109867/From-the-Bowery:-WrestleMania-2000.htm. Retrieved January 11, 2010.
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- ^ Endres, Cody (May 30, 2009). "TNA EPICS TV REPORT 5/29: Tag team showcase of AMW vs. Daniels & Styles, Team 3D vs. Road Warriors, Styles vs. Angle "main event"". PWTorch. http://www.pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/TV_Reports_9/article_32439.shtml. Retrieved January 11, 2010.
- ^ Caldwell, James (October 19, 2006). "CALDWELL'S IMPACT REPORT 10/19: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of Go Home show". PWTorch. http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/TV_Reports_9/article_18140.shtml. Retrieved January 11, 2010.
- ^ Martin, Adam (April 1, 2006). "SmackDown Results – 3/31/06 – Kansas City, MO (Build for WM22...)". WrestleView. http://www.wrestleview.com/news2006/1143877172.shtml. Retrieved January 11, 2010.
- ^ Schaefer, A. R. (2002). Olympic Hero: Pro Wrestler Kurt Angle. Capstone Press. p. 5. ISBN 0-7368-1310-1.
- ^ Droste, Ryan (2008-06-09). "Slammiversary PPV Results - 6/8 - Southaven, MS (KOTM, AJ & Angle)". WrestleView. http://www.wrestleview.com/news2008/1212984742.shtml. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
- ^ "Emergence". Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. http://shoptna.com/emergence.aspx. Retrieved November 13, 2009.
- ^ "Immortal Theme". Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. http://shoptna.com/immortal---theme.aspx. Retrieved 2011-09-23.
- ^ "Kurt Angle and Don Curtis to enter Hall of Fame". WCFCourier. http://wcfcourier.com/sports/blogs/half_nelson_half_fiction/kurt-angle-and-don-curtis-to-enter-hall-of-fame/article_1e30d14a-f4e6-11e0-87a1-001cc4c002e0.html. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
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- ^ a b "Pro Wrestling Illustrated Award Winners Feud of the Year". Wrestling Information Archive. Archived from the original on June 16, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080616062707/http://www.100megsfree4.com/wiawrestling/pages/pwi/pwifoty.htm. Retrieved June 24, 2008.
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References[link]
- "2007 Wrestling Almanac & Book of Facts". Wrestling's Historical Cards (Kappa Publishing). 2007.
- "Pro Wrestling Illustrated, May 2006". Arena Reports (Kappa Publishing). May 2006.
- Angle, Kurt (2002). It's True! It's True!. HarperEntertainment. ISBN 0-06-109893-0.
- Loverro, Thom (2006). The Rise & Fall of ECW: Extreme Championship Wrestling. WWE Books. ISBN 1-4165-1058-3.
External links[link]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kurt Angle |
- KurtAngleTNA.net (Official Website)
- TNA Impact Wrestling Profile
- Angle Foods
- Kurt Angle on Twitter
- Kurt Angle on Facebook
- Kurt Angle at The National Wrestling Hall of Fame website
- Kurt Angle at the Internet Movie Database
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Angle, Kurt |
| Alternative names | Angle, Kurt Steven |
| Short description | An American professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and 1996 Olympic gold medalist |
| Date of birth | December 9, 1968 |
| Place of birth | Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
http://wn.com/Kurt_Angle
Related pages:
http://it.wn.com/Kurt Angle
http://id.wn.com/Kurt Angle
http://es.wn.com/Kurt Angle
http://ru.wn.com/Энгл, Курт
http://nl.wn.com/Kurt Angle
http://pt.wn.com/Kurt Angle
http://pl.wn.com/Kurt Angle
http://fr.wn.com/Kurt Angle
http://de.wn.com/Kurt Angle
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Angle
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
| John Cena | |
|---|---|
 John Cena, 2008 |
|
| Ring name(s) | John Cena[1] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[2] |
| Billed weight | 251 lb (114 kg)[2] |
| Born | (1977-04-23) April 23, 1977 (age 35)[3] West Newbury, Massachusetts[2] |
| Resides | Tampa, Florida[4] |
| Billed from | Classified (UPW)[5] West Newbury, Massachusetts (WWE)[2] |
| Trained by | Ultimate Pro Wrestling[5] Ohio Valley Wrestling[6] |
| Debut | 2001[6] |
John Felix Anthony Cena[7] (/ˈsiːnə/; born April 23, 1977)[3] is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its Raw brand.[8]
In WWE, Cena has won 19 championships in total, including 12 world titles (having won the WWE Championship a record 10 times[9] and the World Heavyweight Championship twice). In addition, Cena has also won the WWE United States Championship three times,[10] and is a four-time Tag Team Champion, having held the World Tag Team Championship twice (once each with Shawn Michaels and Batista),[11] and the WWE Tag Team Championship twice (once each with David Otunga and The Miz). Cena also won the 2008 Royal Rumble match, and is a two-time Superstar of the Year Slammy Award winner (2009 and 2010).[12] He also has the fourth highest number of combined days as WWE Champion behind Bob Backlund, Hulk Hogan and Bruno Sammartino.
Cena started his professional wrestling career in 2000, wrestling for Ultimate Pro Wrestling, where he held the UPW Heavyweight Championship. In 2001, Cena signed a contract with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and was sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) where he held the OVW Heavyweight Championship and the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship (with Rico Constantino).
Outside of wrestling, Cena has released the rap album You Can't See Me, which debuted at No.15 on the US Billboard 200 chart, and starred in the feature films The Marine (2006), 12 Rounds (2009), and Legendary (2010).[13] Cena has also made appearances on television shows including Manhunt, Deal or No Deal, MADtv, Saturday Night Live, Punk'd, and Psych. Cena was also a contestant on Fast Cars and Superstars: The Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race, where he made it to the final round before being eliminated, placing third in the overall competition.
Contents |
Early life[link]
John Cena was born April 23, 1977, in West Newbury, Massachusetts,[3] the son of Carol and John Cena, Sr.[14] He is the second eldest of five brothers – Dan, Matt, Steve, and Sean.[15] After graduating from Cushing Academy, Cena attended Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts.[16] In college he was a Division III All-American center on the college football team,[17] wearing the number 54,[16] which is still used on some of his WWE merchandise.[18][19] He graduated from Springfield in 1998 with a degree in exercise physiology,[20] after which he pursued a career in bodybuilding,[21][22] and also worked as a chauffeur for a limousine company.[23]
Professional wrestling career[link]
Training (2000–2001)[link]
UPW[link]
Cena started training to become a professional wrestler in 2000 at the California-based "Ultimate University" operated by Ultimate Pro Wrestling. Once he was placed into an in-ring role, Cena began using a semi-robotic character known as The Prototype.[24][25] Some of this period of his career was documented in the Discovery Channel program Inside Pro Wrestling School.[26] While in UPW, Cena held the UPW Heavyweight Championship for just shy of a month in April 2000.[27]
OVW[link]
In 2001, he signed a developmental contract with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and was assigned to its developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW).[28] During his time there, Cena wrestled as both The Prototype and Mr. P, and held the OVW Heavyweight Championship for three months and the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship (with Rico Constantino) for two months.[29][30][31]
World Wrestling Entertainment[link]
Debut (2002–2004)[link]
Cena made his television debut answering an open challenge by Kurt Angle on June 27, 2002.[32] Inspired by a speech given by WWE Chairman Vince McMahon to the rising stars of the company, exhorting them to show "ruthless aggression" to earn a place among the legends, Cena took advantage of the opportunity to face Angle. Cena managed to counter the Angle Slam and the ankle lock submission hold,[33] but ultimately lost to a hard amateur wrestling-style pin.[33] Following the near-win, Cena became a fan favorite and started feuding with Chris Jericho, defeating Jericho at Vengeance.[32] In October, Cena and Billy Kidman took part in a tag team tournament to crown the first WWE Tag Team Champions of the SmackDown! brand, losing in the first round.[34] The next week, Cena turned on and attacked Kidman, blaming him for their loss, becoming a villain.[32]
Shortly after the Kidman attack, on a Halloween themed episode of SmackDown, Cena dressed as Vanilla Ice performing a freestyle rap.[32] The next week, Cena received a new character: a rapper who cut promos while rhyming.[32] As the gimmick grew, Cena began adopting a variant of the 1980s WWF logo – dropping the "F" – as his "signature symbol", along with the slogan "Word Life".[35] Moreover, he was joined by an enforcer, Bull Buchanan, who was rechristened B-2 (also written B² and pronounced "B-Squared").[32] Buchanan was later replaced by Red Dogg,[32] until he was sent to the Raw brand in February.
For the first half of 2003, Cena sought the WWE Championship and chased the reigning champion, Brock Lesnar, performing weekly "freestyles" challenging him to matches.[36][37][38] During the feud, Cena unveiled a new finishing maneuver: the FU, a Fireman's carry powerslam, named to Brock Lesnar's F-5, with his first victim being Rikishi.[39] Cena won a number one contenders tournament against Lesnar at Backlash. However, Cena was defeated by Lesnar. At Vengeance Cena lost a singles match against The Undertaker.[32][40] At the end of the year, Cena became a fan favorite again when he joined Kurt Angle as a member of his team at Survivor Series.[41][42]
United States and WWE Champion (2004–2005)[link]
In early 2004, Cena participated in the Royal Rumble match at the 2004 Royal Rumble,[43] making it to the final six before being eliminated by Big Show and the Match being won by Chris Benoit.[44] The Royal Rumble elimination led to a feud with Big Show,[45][46] which Cena won the United States Championship from Big Show at WrestleMania XX.[47] During his reign, Cena came into contention with SmackDown General Manager Kurt Angle over issues arising with René Duprée and Torrie Wilson.[48] The reign ended almost four months later, when he was stripped of the belt on July 8 by Angle after he accidentally knocked him over, thus attacking an official.[49] Cena won the championship back defeating Booker T in a best of five series that culminated at No Mercy,[50] only to lose it to the debuting Carlito Caribbean Cool the next week.[51] After the loss to Carlito, the duo began a feud, which Cena was stabbed in the kidney while at a Boston-area nightclub by Carlito's bodyguard, Jesús.[52][53] This worked injury was used to keep Cena out of action for a month, while Cena was filming The Marine.[30] Immediately on his return in November, Cena won the United States Championship back from Carlito debuting a "custom made" spinner-style championship belt.[54][55]
Cena took part in the 2005 Royal Rumble match, making it to the final two. Cena and Raw brand wrestler Batista went over the top rope at the same time, ostensibly ending the match. Vince McMahon, however, appeared on stage and re-started the match in sudden death rules, with Batista eventually eliminating Cena.[56] The next month, Cena defeated Kurt Angle to earn a spot in the SmackDown brand's WrestleMania 21 main event match,[57] beginning a feud with WWE Champion John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) and his Cabinet in the process. In the early stages of the feud, Cena lost his US belt to Cabinet member Orlando Jordan,[58] who proceeded to "blow up" the spinner championship with JBL and returning a more traditional style belt.[59] Cena defeated JBL at WrestleMania winning the WWE Championship, giving Cena his first world championship.[60] Cena then had a spinner WWE Championship belt made,[61] while JBL took the original belt and claimed to still be WWE Champion,[61] until Cena reclaimed the original belt in an "I Quit" match at Judgment Day.[62]
Cena was drafted to the Raw brand on the June 6, 2005, becoming the first wrestler selected by General Manager Eric Bischoff in the annual draft lottery.[63] Cena immediately entered a feud with Bischoff, after refusing to participate in the "war" against the Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) roster at One Night Stand.[64] With Bischoff vowing to make Cena's stint on Raw difficult, he hand picked Jericho to take Cena's championship from him.[65] During their feud, even though Cena was portrayed as the fan favorite and Jericho as the villain, a vocal section of live crowds, nonetheless, were booing Cena during their matches.[66] More crowds followed suit during Cena's next feud with Kurt Angle,[67] who took over as Bischoff's hand-picked number-one contender after Cena defeated Jericho in a You're Fired match on the August 22 Raw.[68] As the feud continued and the dissenters grew more vocal, sometimes seeming to outnumber fans by wide margins,[69] the announce team was forced to acknowledge the booing on television and began calling Cena a "controversial champion", claiming some people disliking him on account of his "in-ring style" and his chosen fashion.[70] Despite the mixed and negative reactions, Cena held on to his championship through his feud with Angle, losing to him by disqualification[71] – which titles do not change hands in WWE – at Unforgiven and pinning him at Survivor Series.[72] The feud with Angle also saw Cena add a secondary, submission based, finishing maneuver – the STFU (a Stepover Toehold Sleeper, though named for a Stepover Toehold Facelock) – when he was put into a Triple Threat Submissions Only match on the November 28 Raw.[73]
WWE Championship feuds and injury (2006–2007)[link]
Cena lost the WWE Championship at New Year's Revolution, but not in the Elimination Chamber match that he had been advertised to participate in beforehand. Instead, immediately after winning the Elimination Chamber, he was forced into a match against Edge, who cashed in his Money in the Bank contract – a "guaranteed title match for the WWE Champion at a time and place of the owners choosing." After two quick spears pinned Cena, winning the championship.[74] Three weeks later, Cena won the championship back at the Royal Rumble.[74] After winning the championship, Cena began feuding with Triple H, which the crowd began booing Cena and cheering the intended villain, Triple H.[75][76] Cena beat Triple H at Wrestlemania 22 to retain his WWE Title.[6] The negative reaction towards Cena intensified when facing Rob Van Dam at One Night Stand. Taking place in front of a crowd of mostly "old school" ECW fans at the Hammerstein Ballroom, Cena was met with raucous jeering and chants of "Fuck you, Cena", "You can't wrestle", and "Same old shit". When he began performing different moves into the match, the fans began chanting "You still suck". Cena lost the WWE Championship at One Night Stand, with Van Dam pinning Cena after interference from Edge.[77]
In July, after Edge won the championship from Van Dam in a Triple Threat match that also involved Cena,[78] re-ignited the feud between him and Cena from earlier in the year. After Edge went about retaining the title by dubious means – getting himself disqualified[79] (for which Championships do not change hands) and using brass knuckles[77] – he introduced his own version of Cena's "custom" belt, this one with his logo placed on the spinner.[80] Cena eventually won the championship back in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match at Unforgiven. The match had an added stipulation that had Cena lost he would leave the Raw brand and go to SmackDown.[81][82] Cena returned his version of the spinner belt on the next night's Raw.[83]
On the heels of his feud with Edge, Cena was placed in an inter-brand angle to determine the "Champion of Champions" – or which was the most dominant champion in WWE's three brands. Cena, the World Heavyweight Champion King Booker, and the ECW World Champion The Big Show engaged in a mini-feud leading to a Triple Threat match at Cyber Sunday, with the viewers voting on which of the three championships would be placed on the line.[84] At the same time, Cena became involved in a storyline with non-wrestler Kevin Federline, when he began appearing on Raw with Johnny Nitro and Melina. After getting into a worked physical altercation with Federline on Raw,[84] Federline appeared at Cyber Sunday to hit Cena with the World Heavyweight Championship during the match, helping King Booker retain his championship.[77] 2006 ended with Cena beginning a feud with the undefeated Umaga over the WWE Championship,[85] while 2007 began with the end of his storyline with Kevin Federline. On the first Raw of the new year, Cena was pinned by Federline with an assist from Umaga, although later in the night he was able to get his hands on Federline performing an FU on him.[86]
One night after the Royal Rumble, an impromptu team of Cena and Shawn Michaels defeated Rated-RKO (Edge and Randy Orton) for the World Tag Team Championship, making Cena a double champion.[87] On the April 2 episode of Raw, after losing a WWE Championship match to Cena at WrestleMania 23,[88] Michaels turned on Cena, costing them the championship in the second of two 10 team battles royals, by throwing Cena over the top rope and eliminating the team. The Hardys (Matt and Jeff) eventually won the match and the championship.[89] For the rest of the month, Cena feuded with Michaels, Orton, and Edge until The Great Khali declared his intentions to challenge for Cena's championship attacking and "laying out" all three of the top contenders[90] before assaulting Cena himself and stealing the physical belt.[91] For the next two months, Cena feuded with Khali over the championship, eventually becoming the first person in WWE to defeat him by submission at Judgment Day[92][93] and then by pinfall at One Night Stand.[94][95] Later that summer, Randy Orton was named the number one contender for the WWE championship,[96] starting a feud between the two. Leading up to SummerSlam, Orton delivered a number of sneak-attacks, performing three RKOs to Cena, but in the actual match, Cena retained the championship.[97] A rematch between the two occurred at Unforgiven, with Orton winning by disqualification after Cena ignored the referee's instructions and continued to beat on him in the corner.[98]
During a match with Mr. Kennedy on the October 1, 2007 episode of Raw, Cena suffered a legitimate torn pectoral muscle while executing a hip toss.[99] Though finishing the match and taking part in the scripted attack by Randy Orton after the match, surgery the following day found that his pectoralis major muscle was torn completely from the bone, estimating at the time to require seven months to a year of rehabilitation.[100][101] As a result, Cena was stripped of the title in an announcement by Vince McMahon on the next night's episode of ECW,[102] ending what was the longest WWE Championship reign in over 19 years.[103] Cena's surgery was performed by orthopedic surgeon James Andrews at St. Vincent's Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama.[99] Two weeks later, in a video update on WWE.com, Dr. Andrews and Cena's physical trainer both said that he was several weeks ahead of where he was expected to be in his rehabilitation at that time.[104] Despite his injury, Cena attended the annual WWE Tribute to the Troops show filmed at Camp Speicher in Tikrit, Iraq on December 7, and aired on December 24.[105]
Return and various feuds (2008–2010)[link]
Cena made an unannounced return as the final participant of the Royal Rumble match, winning the match, and the traditional WrestleMania title shot, by last eliminating Triple H.[12] Instead of waiting until WrestleMania, the title shot was cashed in against WWE Champion Randy Orton at February's No Way Out pay-per-view[106] in a match where Cena won by disqualification, resulting in him not getting the championship.[107] The night after No Way Out, Cena was placed back into WrestleMania XXIV's WWE Championship match, making it a Triple Threat match also involving Triple H,[108] during which he was pinned by Orton.[109] At Backlash, Cena failed to regain the title in a Fatal Four-Way elimination match, in which he was pinned by Orton.[110] Triple H won the title during that match. During the match, Cena eliminated JBL,[110] renewing their feud from 2005. Cena defeated JBL at Judgment Day and then at One Night Stand in a First Blood match.[111][112] JBL, however, defeated him in a New York City Parking Lot Brawl at The Great American Bash in July.[113]
On the August 4 episode of Raw, Cena became a World Tag Team Champion for a second time, teaming with Batista to defeat Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase,[114] but failed to retain the titles the following week against the former champions.[115] Batista defeated Cena at SummerSlam;[116] shortly after, he was named one of four contenders for CM Punk's World Heavyweight Championship in the Championship scramble match at Unforgiven. He was replaced by Rey Mysterio, however, after announcing Cena had suffered a herniated disc in his neck, which would require surgery.[117] Cena underwent successful surgery to repair the injury.[118][119]
Cena made his in-ring return at the November pay-per-view event, Survivor Series, defeating Chris Jericho to win his first World Heavyweight Championship.[120] The two continued their rivalry up to Armageddon, where Cena retained his championship.[121] Cena lost the championship at No Way Out, to Edge after Kofi Kingston was attacked by Edge, who took his place in the Elimination Chamber match.[122] Cena was given an opportunity to regain the title at WrestleMania XXV in a Triple Threat match also involving Big Show, which Cena won.[123]
Cena lost the championship back to Edge in a Last Man Standing match at Backlash after interference from Big Show, who chokeslammed Cena through a big spotlight.[124] This angle resulted in Cena beginning a feud with Big Show. Cena defeated Big Show at Judgment Day[125] and at Extreme Rules in a Submission match by applying the STFU.[126]
At the July pay-per-view, Night of Champions, he participated in a Triple Threat match for the WWE Championship, which also involved Triple H and WWE Champion Randy Orton. Cena, however, did not win the match.[127] Two months later, at Breaking Point, Cena defeated Randy Orton for the WWE Championship in an "I Quit" match to win his fourth WWE Championship.[128] At Hell in a Cell, Cena dropped the title to Orton in a Hell in a Cell match.[129] Three weeks later, at WWE Bragging Rights, Cena defeated Orton in a 60-minute Iron Man match.[130]
Two months later, Cena would lose the title to Sheamus at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs in a Tables match.[131]
In February 2010, Cena regained the WWE title at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view in an Elimination Chamber match after last eliminating Triple H. However, immediately after the match Mr. McMahon declared that he would immediately defend his title against Batista, who had been involved with Cena in Vince McMahon and Bret Hart's rivalry. Cena lost that match to Batista, and the WWE Championship and marking one of the shortest WWE Championship reigns in history.[132] The following night after the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, Cena asked for a rematch for the title at WrestleMania, which McMahon gave him the opportunity to as long as he defeated Batista that night. Later that night, Batista intentionally got himself disqualified by kicking Cena in the groin to set up their match at WrestleMania XXVI.[133] At the event, Cena defeated Batista to win back the WWE title.[134] At the April pay-per-view, Extreme Rules, Cena defeated Batista in a rematch for the WWE title in a Last Man Standing match.[135] He faced Batista one more time in an I Quit match at Over the Limit which he won.[136]
Feuding and joining The Nexus (2010–2011)[link]
See also: The Nexus
On the June 7, 2010 episode of Raw, Cena was suddenly thrust into a new storyline when during his main event match against CM Punk, he was attacked by all eight former contestants of WWE NXT Season 1, with Wade Barrett as their leader. Punk, his follower Luke Gallows, and other personnel around the ring were attacked as well, but Cena took the worst of the attack and was carried out on a stretcher. This group would later refer to themselves as The Nexus.[137]
At June's Fatal 4-Way event, Cena lost the WWE title to Sheamus in a fatal four-way match that also involved Edge and Randy Orton due to interference by Nexus.[138] The following month, in a WWE title rematch against Sheamus in a steel cage match at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view, the group interfered, thus costing Cena the chance of regaining the championship.[139] Cena later formed an alliance with Edge, Chris Jericho, John Morrison, R-Truth, The Great Khali and Bret Hart to face the Nexus at SummerSlam, where Cena's team defeated Nexus with the returning Daniel Bryan, a former member of Nexus, who replaced Khali after getting injured.[140]
Nexus's actions, however, did not stop after SummerSlam. Hoping to end Nexus for good, Cena challenged Wade Barrett to a match at Hell in a Cell only to lose due to interference by two fans, later identified as Husky Harris and Michael McGillicutty. Due to the stipulations in place, Cena was forced to join Nexus.[141] Cena had originally planned to destroy Nexus from within as a member of the group, but the Raw general manager ordered him to follow orders from Barrett, or else he would be fired. At Bragging Rights, Cena and Nexus member David Otunga defeated "Dashing" Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre to win the Tag Team Championship.[142]
Later in the show Cena was forced to help Barrett to win his WWE Championship match against Randy Orton. If Barrett didn't win the match Cena would be fired. Cena twisted his words around and attacked Barrett, giving Barrett the win via disqualification but not Orton's title.[142] The following day, Cena and Otunga lost the Tag Team Championship to fellow Nexus members Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel, when Barrett ordered Otunga to lay down and lose the title.[143] At Survivor Series, Cena officiated a match for the WWE Championship between Wade Barrett and Randy Orton. As a part of a pre-match stipulation, if Barrett didn't win the championship, Cena would be fired from the WWE.
Orton defeated Barrett to retain the title, thus ending Cena's career in the WWE.[144] The following day on Raw, Cena gave a farewell speech, before costing Wade Barrett the WWE Championship by interfering in his rematch with Randy Orton.[145] A week later, Cena invaded Raw, first as a spectator, but he then attacked members of Nexus, explaining that he would still take down Nexus one by one, despite not having a job in the WWE anymore.[146] On the December 13 episode of Raw, Cena was rehired by Barrett, in exchange that he would face him at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs in a Chairs Match.[147] Prior to TLC, Cena teamed up with Randy Orton and Rey Mysterio to defeat Wade Barrett, The Miz and Alberto Del Rio at The WWE Tribute to the Troops. On December 19 at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, John Cena was victorious against Wade Barrett in a Chairs match in the main event of the evening.
On the December 27 episode of Raw, The Nexus, minus Wade Barrett, announced they were under new management and offered to bury the hatchet with John Cena, to which Cena refused. The Nexus attacked Cena, leaving a Nexus armband in the ring during the process. As the group retreated, CM Punk, who had attacked Cena with a steel chair twice the week before, came to the ring to, what looked like attack John Cena, but instead put on the armband left behind to symbolically announce his allegiance with The Nexus.[148] The next week, Wade Barrett returned to Raw and confronted CM Punk over the issue of who the leader of The Nexus was and who was responsible for Cena's attack the week before. Barrett was placed into a Triple Threat Steel Cage Match that night that would determine the No. 1 contender for the WWE Championship. CM Punk added his own stipulation to the match saying if Barrett lost, he would be banished from the group, but if he won he would remain leader. Wade Barrett would lose the match after CM Punk interfered by ripping of Barrett's armband.[149]
On the January 17 episode of Raw, Cena returned and faced Punk in a match. During the match, a man, who would later be revealed to be Mason Ryan, attacked Cena. During the 2011 Royal Rumble match, Cena would eliminate most of the Nexus, ending his feud with them.
Record-breaking WWE Champion; various feuds (2011–present)[link]
Cena competed in the 2011 Royal Rumble match at the pay-per-view, making it to the final five before being eliminated by The Miz, the current WWE Champion at the time, who wasn't an official participant in the match. At the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, Cena won the Elimination Chamber match to face The Miz at WrestleMania XXVII for the WWE Championship.[150] On the February 21 episode of Raw, Cena replied to The Rock's comments about him from the previous week, as The Rock returned as the announced guest host of WrestleMania, where he made a rap about Rock. That same night, Cena was placed into a WWE Tag Team Championship match, with him teaming with The Miz, where they defeated Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater to become WWE Tag Team Champions. After the match, Wade Barrett invoked Gabriel and Slater's rematch clause straight away, where they won their titles back, after Miz attacked Cena.[151] After weeks of insults to each other, Cena met Rock face-to-face on the March 28 episode of Raw, where Cena would hit his Attitude Adjustment finishing move on Rock.[152] At WrestleMania, Cena and Miz would fight to a double count-out, but guest host Rock would restart the match, only for him to hit his Rock Bottom finishing move on Cena, allowing Miz to retain his title.[153] The next night on Raw, Cena and Rock agreed to face each other at WrestleMania XXVIII, making it the first match to be set up at WrestleMania one year in advance. At Extreme Rules, Cena would defeat Miz and Morrison to become WWE Champion.[153] Cena went on to defend the title against The Miz at Over the Limit in an "I Quit" match[154] and R-Truth at Capitol Punishment[155]
At Money in the Bank, CM Punk defeated Cena to win the WWE Championship, and left the company with the title.[156][157][158] A tournament was then conducted to determine the new WWE Champion for the "vacant" WWE title, which was won by Rey Mysterio on the July 25 episode of Raw. That same night, Cena challenged and defeated Mysterio to become WWE Champion for a record breaking ninth time.[159] Following the match, CM Punk returned to the company, with the WWE Championship he won at Money in the Bank, leading to a title unification match at SummerSlam, where Punk defeated Cena to become "undisputed" WWE Champion. Punk would lose the championship following the match to Mr. Money in the Bank Alberto Del Rio.[160] On the August 22 episode of Raw, Cena defeated Punk to become number one contender for the WWE Championship, and would defeat Del Rio at Night of Champions to become WWE Champion.[161] Cena would then lose the title back to Del Rio two weeks later at Hell in a Cell, in a Triple Threat Hell in a Cell match also involving Punk, after Ricardo Rodriguez and Del Rio locked Cena outside of the Cell.[162] Cena lost his rematch at Vengeance in a Last Man Standing match, due to interference by The Miz and R-Truth.[163] After a few weeks of Miz and Truth attacking Cena and other employees, Cena was allowed to choose his partner to challenge Miz and Truth at Survivor Series. Cena would announce that he had chosen The Rock to be his partner. At the pay-per-view, after Cena and Rock defeated Miz and Truth, Rock gave Cena another Rock Bottom.[164]
On the December 12 episode of Raw, during his match with Mark Henry, Cena was attacked by the returning Kane.[165] The following week on Raw, Cena would call out Kane for his actions last week, but Henry would come out instead. Kane would then come out soon after, and once again attacked Cena.[166] The following week, Kane would explain to Cena that the reason he had attacked him was in disgust of Cena's "Rise Above Hate" t-shirt slogan, stating that hate is a "natural impulse" and shouldn't be contained. He then led the fans in attendance who were not fond of Cena into chanting "Cena Sucks!" as Raw went off the air.[167] Kane would then attack Cena's friend Zack Ryder, which led him to lose his United States Championship.[168][169] At the Royal Rumble, Kane and Cena would fight each other to a double countout only for Kane to get the upper hand on Cena and Ryder, who was watching in a private room in a wheelchair, after the match.[170] At Elimination Chamber, Cena defeated Kane in an Ambulance match to end the feud.[171]
After Elimination Chamber, Cena and The Rock would start verbally attacking each other. At WrestleMania XXVIII, Cena faced the Rock in the main event match which had been building for a year and that was billed as "once in a lifetime" and as the biggest and most important match in John Cena's career. The climax of the match came when Cena let his arrogance get in the way of victory causing him to make the mistake of attempting the People's Elbow on the Rock, as the Rock countered with a Rock Bottom to seal the victory.[172]
The following night on Raw, Cena would address the Rock, with the crowd chanting "Your a Loser". Stating that though he lost his career's most important match, he would own up and accept his loss. Cena would call out the Rock to congratulate him only to be interrupted by Brock Lesnar, who proceeded to hit Cena with an F5.[173] On the April 9 episode of Raw Cena attacked Lesnar at the opening,[174] after John Laurinaitis announced that Cena would face Lesnar at the main event of Extreme Rules.[175] John defeated David Otunga later in the main event only to get hit with another F5 by Lesnar.[176] On April 16, it was announced on WWE.com that Lesnar versus Cena would be an Extreme Rules match.[177] On the next episode of Raw, Cena was confronted by Edge who would acknowledge Cena's loss to the Rock causing him to have a lack of focus, Edge would go on to tell Cena to wake up from his loss to the Rock and beat Brock Lesnar for all the superstars that supported the WWE is Lesnar's absence.[178] Later that night, Cena showed his lack of confidence by bringing a chain to the contract signing and refusing to fight Lesnar.[179] Cena received a Kimura lock and lacerations to the head during the match, but managed a victory against Lesnar,[180] though he strained the muscles in his arm.[181] This dovetailed into a rivalry with John Laurinaitis, who was angered at Cena because of his victory against Lesnar and his mockery and declared himself as Cena's opponent at Over the Limit.[182] Cena would go on to lose the match against Lauranitis due to interference from Big Show. [183] The following night on Raw, Lauranitis would announce that Cena would be facing Show at No Way Out.[184]
Other media[link]
Film[link]
WWE Studios, a division of WWE which produces and finances motion pictures, produced Cena's first movie — The Marine, which was distributed theatrically by 20th Century Fox America beginning on October 13, 2006. In its first week, the film made approximately US$7 million at the United States box office.[185] After ten weeks in theaters, the film grossed $18.7 million.[185] Once the film was released on DVD, it fared better, making $30 million in rentals in the first twelve weeks.[185]
His second film, also produced by WWE Studios, was 12 Rounds.[186] Filming began on February 25, 2008 in New Orleans;[186][187] the film was released on March 27, 2009.
Cena co-starred in his third film produced by WWE Studios, titled Legendary, which was played in selected theaters starting on September 10, 2010, for a limited time,[188] then it was released on DVD on September 28, 2010.[189]
That same year, Cena starred in the children's film Fred: The Movie, a film based on Lucas Cruikshank's YouTube videos of the same name, where he plays Fred's father.[190] The movie was released on the Nickelodeon channel in September 2010.[191]
Guest appearances[link]
Before his WWE debut, Cena made an appearance on the Internet stream show Go Sick as Bruebaker, an angry, cursing wrestler in 2001.[192]
During his WWE career, Cena has appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! three times. Cena has also appeared on morning radio shows; including the CBS and XM versions of Opie and Anthony as part of their "walkover" on October 10, 2006. Other appearances have included Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Fuse's Celebrity Playlist, Fox Sports Net's The Best Damn Sports Show Period, MADtv, G4's Training Camp (with Shelton Benjamin), and two appearances on MTV's Punk'd (August 2006 and May 2007), as the victim of a practical joke. He also served as a co-presenter, with Hulk Hogan, at the 2005 Teen Choice Awards, as a guest judge during the third week of the 2006 season of Nashville Star, and appeared at the 2007 Nickelodeon UK Kids Choice Awards.[193]
In January 2007, Cena, Batista, and Ashley Massaro appeared representing WWE on an episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,[194] giving the children of the family whose house was being renovated WWE merchandise and eight tickets to WrestleMania 23.[195] Two months later, he and Bobby Lashley appeared on the NBC game show Deal or No Deal as "moral support" to long time WWE fan and front row staple, Rick "Sign Guy" Achberger. Edge and Randy Orton also appeared, but as antagonists.[196] On April 9, 2008, Cena, along with fellow wrestlers Triple H and Chris Jericho, appeared on the Idol Gives Back fund-raising special.[197] In March 2009, Cena made an appearance on Saturday Night Live during the show's cold opening sequence.[198] On March 7, 2009, he was a guest on NPR's quiz show Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! in a Not My Job sequence titled "Sure, pro wrestling is a good gig, but when you win, do they throw teddy bears into the ring?"[199]
Television[link]
In 2001, between his training in Ultimate Pro Wrestling and Ohio Valley Wrestling,[21] Cena was involved in the UPN produced reality show Manhunt. Cena portrayed Big Tim Kingman, leader of the group of bounty hunters who chased down the contestants who acted as fugitives. The show, however, was mired in controversy when it was alleged that the portions of the show were rigged to eliminate certain players, scenes were re-shot or staged to enhance drama and contestants read from scripts.[200][201][202]
Cena was also featured on the ABC reality series Fast Cars and Superstars: The Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race, which aired in June 2007,[203] making it to the final round before being eliminated on June 24, placing third in the competition overall.[204]
In 2007 Cena was also interviewed for the CNN Special Investigations Unit documentary, "Death Grip: Inside Pro Wrestling", which focused on steroid and drug use in professional wrestling. When asked if he had taken steroids he was heard to reply, "I can't tell you that I haven't, but you'll never prove that I have."[205] The day after the documentary aired WWE accused CNN of taking Cena's comments out of context to present a biased point of view, backing up their claim by posting an unedited video of his answering the same question—filmed by WWE cameras from another angle—in which he is heard beginning the same statement with "Absolutely not".[206] A text interview on the website with Cena later had him saying the news outlet should apologize for misrepresenting him,[207] which CNN refused in a statement, saying they felt the true answer to the question began with the phrase "My answer to that question".[208] They did, however, edit the documentary on subsequent airings to include the "Absolutely not".[208]
Cena hosted the Australian Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards with Natalie Bassingthwaighte on October 11, 2008 in Melbourne, Australia.[209]
He guest starred as Ewan O'Hara in an episode of the fourth season of the comedy drama Psych, as the brother of Juliet O'Hara, played by Maggie Lawson.[210]
He also guest starred in the seventh episode of Disney Channel's Hannah Montana Forever as himself.
Make-A-Wish Foundation[link]
John Cena has granted over 250 wishes for Arizona children with life-threatening illnesses through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and is the biggest wish granter in Make-A-Wish history.[211][212] In 2009, Cena received the Chris Greicius Celebrity Award.[213]
Endorsements[link]
Before his professional wrestling career, Cena appeared in an advertisement for Gold's Gym.[214] As a wrestler he has endorsed the energy drink YJ Stinger,[215] appearing in commercials beginning in October 2003, and Subway,[216] for whom he filmed advertisements with their spokesperson Jared Fogle in November 2006 that began airing the next January. For a time in 2007 he also endorsed two "signature collections" of energy drinks and energy bars sold by American Body Builders.[217] In 2008, Cena filmed a commercial as part of Gillette's "Young Guns" NASCAR campaign.[218]
In 2009, Cena expanded his relationship with Gillette by introducing a new online campaign called "Be A Superstar" featuring himself alongside WWE Superstars Chris Jericho and Cody Rhodes. The campaign features motivational videos.[219]
Fashion[link]
For the extent of his WWE career, Cena's attire has attempted to reflect the most current thug fashions and stylings within the hip hop culture that his character represents. Cena started out wearing "throwback jerseys" until WWE produced specific Cena merchandise which he began wearing.[220] While Cena was a member of the SmackDown! brand, one of his WWE produced t-shirts bore the suggestive spoonerism "Ruck Fules". Whenever it appeared on television the image was censored, not by the network, but by WWE to sell more shirts under the premise that it was "too hot for TV."[221] He also wore a chain with a large padlock, occasionally using it as a weapon,[222] until WrestleMania 21, when it was replaced with a chromed and diamond studded "Chain Gang" spinner medallion—reminiscent of the ones worn by members of G-Unit—matching his spinner title belt.
Around the time The Marine was released, Cena began wearing attire more military related, including camouflage shorts, dog tags, a Marine soldier cap and a WWE produced shirt with the legend "Chain Gang Assault Battalion."[223] Shortly after WrestleMania 23, when promotion for The Marine ended, the military attire diminished and was replaced with apparel bearing his new slogan "American Made Muscle" along with denim shorts, not seen since he was a member of the SmackDown roster.[224] He then wore shirts that promoted Cenation and his trademark line "You Can't See Me." From late 2011 until Wrestlemania XXVIII, Cena again switched to camo shorts (honoring the U.S. Armed Forces), to coinincide with his black "Rise Above Hate" T-shirt promoting WWE's "Be a Star" anti-bullying campaign.
Music[link]
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Sample from "The Time Is Now" by John Cena & Tha Trademarc.
|
| Problems listening to this file? See media help. | |
In addition to his wrestling career, Cena is a rapper and a hip hop musician. Cena performed his fifth WWE theme song, "Basic Thugonomics," himself, and it was featured on the WWE soundtrack album WWE Originals. He also recorded a song,"Untouchables", for the company's next soundtrack album WWE ThemeAddict: The Music, Vol. 6. He collaborated on the song H-U-S-T-L-E remix along with Murs, E-40, and Chingo Bling.[225]
Cena's debut album, You Can't See Me, was recorded with his cousin Tha Trademarc. It features, amongst other songs, his entrance theme, "The Time is Now", and the single "Bad, Bad Man", for which a music video was made that parodied 1980s culture, including the television show The A-Team. A video was also made for the second single, "Right Now," and premiered on the August 8 Raw. Cena and Tha Trademarc were later featured on a track by The Perceptionists named "Champion Scratch." Cena will appear on Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins' upcoming album Still Cool featuring other guests.[226]
- Albums
- You Can't See Me
- Released: May 10, 2005
- Chart positions:[227][228] 15 U.S. Billboard 200, 10 U.S. Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, 3 U.S. Rap, 103 UK Albums Chart
- Singles: "The Time Is Now", "Bad Bad Man" (featuring Bumpy Knuckles), "Right Now"
Filmography[link]
Film[link]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Ready to Rumble | Gym Trainer | Uncredited extra |
| 2006 | The Marine | John Triton | |
| 2009 | 12 Rounds | Danny Fisher | |
| 2010 | Legendary | Mike Chetley | |
| Fred: The Movie | Fred's Imaginary Dad | ||
| 2011 | The Reunion | Sam Cleary | |
| Fred 2: Night of the Living Fred | Fred's Imaginary Dad |
Television[link]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Manhunt | Big Tim Kingman | |
| 2007 | Fast Cars and Superstars: The Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race | Himself | |
| 2009 | Saturday Night Live | Himself | Tracy Morgan/Kelly Clarkson (season 34: episode 18) |
| 2010 | Psych | Ewan O'Hara | "You Can't Handle This Episode" (season 4: episode 10) |
| True Jackson, VP | Himself | "Pajama Party" (season 2: episode 12) | |
| Hannah Montana | Himself | "Love That Lets Go" (season 4: episode 7) | |
| Generator Rex | Hunter Cain | Voice role "The Hunter" (season 1: episode 13) |
Personal life[link]
Cena writes left-handed.[229] He is a fan of Japanese anime and has mentioned that his favorite anime movie is Fist of the North Star.[230] He has also said he is a fan of the video game series Command & Conquer and noted that it was his favorite game.[231] Cena is also a fan of the Boston Red Sox,[230] Tampa Bay Rays,[232] New England Patriots,[233] Boston Celtics[230] and English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur.[234] Cena collects muscle cars and has over 20, some of which are one-of-a-kind.[235]
While promoting his 2009 film, 12 Rounds, Cena announced his engagement[236][237] to his girlfriend Elizabeth Huberdeau. They were married on July 11, 2009. On May 10, 2012, Cena filed for a divorce.[238]
In wrestling[link]
- Finishing moves
- Killswitch / Protobomb (Twisting belly to belly side slam) (OVW / UPW)
- AA - Attitude Adjustment (formerly FU)[233][239] (Fireman's carry transitioned into a takeover or a powerslam, sometimes from an elevated position) - 2003-present
- STF (formerly STFU)[239] - 2005-present
- Signature moves
- Diving leg drop bulldog[240]
- Dropkick, sometimes from the top rope[6]
- Emerald Flowsion
- Five Knuckle Shuffle[241] (Running delayed fist drop, with theatrics, sometimes diving from the top rope)
- Fisherman suplex[6][240]
- Gutwrench suplex
- Spin-out powerbomb
- Running leaping shoulder block[6]
- Running one–handed bulldog[240]
- Sitout hip toss[6]
- Spinebuster[6] – 2002–2005; used rarely thereafter
- Throwback[6][240] (Running neck snap to a bent–over opponent) - used the last time in 2011
- Twisting belly to belly suplex[240]
- Nicknames
- "The Doctor of Thuganomics"[242]
- "The Champ" (as either the WWE Champion or the World Heavyweight Champion)[243] – 2005–present
- "The Chain Gang Soldier"[209]
- "The Cenation Leader"[2] – 2011–present
- Entrance themes
- "Slam Smack" by R. Hardy (FirstCom Production Music) (June 27, 2002 – November 7, 2002)[244]
- "Insert Bass Here" by DJ Case (FirstCom Production Music) (November 14, 2002 – February 13, 2003)[245]
- "Basic Thuganomics" by John Cena (March 27, 2003 – March 10, 2005; April 5, 2009 for his entrance at WrestleMania XXV; March 12, 2012 for his "Cena Rap" against The Rock)
- "We Are One" by 12 Stones (WWE; October 3, 2010 – November 21, 2010; Used While a part of Nexus)
- "The Time is Now" by John Cena and Tha Trademarc (March 17, 2005–present)
Championships and accomplishments[link]
- Ohio Valley Wrestling
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- PWI Feud of the Year (2006) vs. Edge[246]
- PWI Feud of the Year (2011) vs. CM Punk[247]
- PWI Match of the Year (2007) vs. Shawn Michaels on Raw on April 23[248]
- PWI Match of the Year (2011) vs. CM Punk at Money in the Bank[249]
- PWI Most Improved Wrestler of the Year (2003)[250]
- PWI Most Popular Wrestler of the Year (2004, 2005, 2007)[251]
- PWI Wrestler of the Year (2006, 2007)[252]
- PWI ranked #1 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2006 and 2007[253][254]
- Pro Wrestling Report
- Match of the Year (2006) vs. Rob Van Dam at ECW One Night Stand 2006
- Ultimate Pro Wrestling
- UPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[27]
- World Wrestling Entertainment
- World Heavyweight Championship (2 times)[255]
- World Tag Team Championship (2 times)[11] – with Shawn Michaels (1) and Batista (1)
- WWE Championship (10 times)[256]
- WWE Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with David Otunga (1), and The Miz (1)[142]
- WWE United States Championship (3 times)[10]
- Royal Rumble (2008)
- Slammy Award winner – 2009 and 2010 Superstar of the Year
- Slammy Award for Holy $#!+ Move of the Year (2010) Sends Batista through the stage with an Attitude Adjustment.
- Slammy Award for Game Changer of the Year (2011) – with The Rock
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- Wrestler of the Year (2007, 2010)[257]
- Best Box Office Draw (2007)[257]
- Best on Interviews (2007)[257]
- Feud of the Year (2011)[258] vs. CM Punk
- Match of the Year (2011)[258] vs. CM Punk at WWE Money in the Bank
- Most Charismatic (2006–2010)[257]
- Most Charismatic of the Decade (2000–2009)[259]
- Best Gimmick (2003)[257]
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- ^ a b Gray, Andy (February 4, 2009). "John Cena talks Red Sox-Rays, future WWE stars and his top diva". Sports Illustrated. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/extramustard/02/04/john-cena-interview/. Retrieved March 24, 2009.
- ^ "dailymail.co.uk". Daily Mail (London). January 23, 2008. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-509897/Wrestling-superstar-big-fan-Spurs.html.
- ^ John Cena: My Life (DVD). World Wrestling Entertainment. 2007.
- ^ Moore, Jim (February 16, 2009). "Cena works hard on his rags to riches story". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. http://www.seattlepi.com/moore/400249_moore16.html. Retrieved February 16, 2009.
- ^ Varsallone, Jim (March 23, 2009). "Cena, WWE score knockout in 12 Rounds". The Miami Herald: 3.
- ^ Abravanel, Lesley (May 10, 2012). "WWE superstar John Cena files for divorce; wife hires Miami attorney". MiamiHerald.com. http://blogs.herald.com/scene_in_the_tropics/2012/05/wwe-superstar-jon-cena-files-for-divorce-wife-hires-miami-attorney.html.
- ^ a b "Home > Superstars > Raw > John Cena > Bio". WWE.com. World Wrestling Entertainment. http://www.wwe.com/superstars/raw/johncena/bio/. Retrieved February 3, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e Golden, Hunter (January 13, 2009). "Raw Results – 1/12/09 – Sioux City, IA". WrestleView.com. http://www.wrestleview.com/news2009/1231831212.php. Retrieved March 25, 2009.
- ^ "Five Knuckle Shuffle". John Cena > Photos. WWE. Archived from the original on March 31, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080331204925/http://www.wwe.com/superstars/raw/johncena/photos2/fiveknucklephotos/. Retrieved February 20, 2008.
- ^ "John Cena And Method Man: Thuganomics 101". MTV News. March 12, 2004. http://www.mtv.com/bands/w/wwe/news_feature_040312/. Retrieved March 26, 2009.
- ^ Dunham, Jeremy (October 23, 2006). "IGN: SmackDown Countdown 2006: John Cena". IGN. http://ps2.ign.com/articles/741/741171p1.html. Retrieved March 26, 2009.
- ^ Hardy, R. "Slam Smack". FirstCom Production Music (FirstCom Music Library). [2]
- ^ DJ Case. "Insert Bass Here". FirstCom Production Music (OneMusic Library). [3]
- ^ "Feud of the Year". Wrestling Information Archive. Archived from the original on April 3, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070403015617/http://www.100megsfree4.com/wiawrestling/pages/pwi/pwifoty.htm. Retrieved April 12, 2007.
- ^ Pro Wrestling Illustrated 33 (3): 74–75. 2012.
- ^ "Match of the Year". Wrestling Information Archive. Archived from the original on April 15, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080415152012/http://www.100megsfree4.com/wiawrestling/pages/pwi/pwimoty.htm. Retrieved April 17, 2008.
- ^ Pro Wrestling Illustrated 33 (3): 80–81. 2012.
- ^ "Most Improved Wrestler of the Year". Wrestling Information Archive. Archived from the original on February 10, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070210194911/http://www.100megsfree4.com/wiawrestling/pages/pwi/pwiimp.htm. Retrieved April 12, 2007.
- ^ "Most Popular Wrestler of the Year". Wrestling Information Archive. Archived from the original on February 10, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070210195543/http://www.100megsfree4.com/wiawrestling/pages/pwi/pwimpoty.htm. Retrieved April 12, 2007.
- ^ "Wrestler of the Year". Wrestling Information Archive. Archived from the original on February 10, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070210195351/http://www.100megsfree4.com/wiawrestling/pages/pwi/pwiwoty.htm. Retrieved April 12, 2007.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated Top 500 – 2006". Wrestling Information Archive. Archived from the original on March 12, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070312171359/http://www.100megsfree4.com/wiawrestling/pages/pwi/pwi50006.htm. Retrieved April 12, 2007.
- ^ "2007 PWI 500 edition of Pro Wrestling Illustrated – cover". Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Archived from the original on October 5, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20071005172548/http://pwi-online.com/art/PWD9107S.jpg. Retrieved September 3, 2007.
- ^ "World Heavyweight Championship title history". World Wrestling Entertainment. http://www.wwe.com/inside/titlehistory/worldheavyweight/20081103JohnCena. Retrieved December 12, 2008.
- ^ "WWWF/WWF/WWE World Heavyweight Title". Wrestling-Titles. http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwf/wwf-h.html. Retrieved May 17, 2007.
- ^ a b c d e Meltzer, Dave (January 26, 2011). "Biggest issue of the year: The 2011 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards Issue". Wrestling Observer Newsletter (Campbell, CA): 1–40. ISSN 10839593.
- ^ a b Meltzer, Dave (January 30, 2012). "January 30 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Gigantic year-end awards issue, best and worst in all categories plus UFC on FX 1, death of Savannah Jack, ratings, tons and tons of news". Wrestling Observer Newsletter (Campbell, CA). ISSN 10839593.
- ^ Beltrán, William (August 3, 2010). "Según el Wrestling Observer... ¿Quiénes son los mejores los mejores de la década?" (in Spanish). SuperLuchas Magazine. http://superluchas.net/2010/08/03/segun-el-wrestling-observer%E2%80%A6-%C2%BFquienes-son-los-mejores-los-mejores-de-la-decada/. Retrieved August 5, 2010.
Further reading[link]
- Ian Hamilton (2006). Wrestling's Sinking Ship: What Happens to an Industry Without Competition. Lulu.com. ISBN 1-4116-1210-8.
External links[link]
|
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: John Cena |
- John Cena on Twitter
- John Cena at WWE.com
- Professional wrestling record for John Cena from The Internet Wrestling Database
- John Cena at Online World of Wrestling
- John Cena at the Internet Movie Database
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Cena, John Felix Anthony, Jr |
| Alternative names | The Prototype; Mr. P; Cena, Juan |
| Short description | Professional wrestler, an amateur hip hop musician and actor |
| Date of birth | April 23, 1977 |
| Place of birth | West Newbury, Massachusetts |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
http://wn.com/John_Cena
Related pages:
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http://es.wn.com/John Cena
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This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cena
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This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
| Shelton Benjamin | |
|---|---|
 Shelton Benjamin at a house show in November 2006 |
|
| Ring name(s) | Shelton Benjamin |
| Billed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[1] |
| Billed weight | 248 lb (112 kg)[1] |
| Born | (1975-07-09) July 9, 1975 (age 36)[2] Orangeburg, South Carolina |
| Resides | Spring, Texas |
| Billed from | Orangeburg, South Carolina[1] |
| Trained by | Ohio Valley Wrestling |
| Debut | November 14, 2000[2] |
Shelton James Benjamin[2][3] (born July 9, 1975) is an American professional wrestler and former amateur wrestler best known for his tenure in World Wrestling Entertainment. Benjamin has an amateur wrestling background, including wrestling in high school and at the University of Minnesota. In addition, Benjamin has acted as an assistant coach in amateur wrestling. He first spent time in Ohio Valley Wrestling, where he held the Southern Tag Team Championship four times. WWE then moved him to the main roster and put him into an alliance with Kurt Angle and Charlie Haas, known as Team Angle (and later the World's Greatest Tag Team). During his tenure with the company, he won the Intercontinental Championship three times, the United States Championship once, and the WWE Tag Team Championship twice with Haas. He currently wrestles for Ring of Honor (ROH), where he is one half of the World Tag Team Champions with Charlie Haas.[4]
Contents
|
Amateur wrestling[link]
Benjamin grew up in Orangeburg, South Carolina.[1] He began wrestling while in the tenth grade at Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School.[5] While in high school, Benjamin achieved a 122–10 win-loss record and was a two-time South Carolina state high school heavyweight wrestling champion, earning the title in both 1993 and 1994.[1][2][5][6] Benjamin also was a Junior College National Track Champion in the 100 meter and won the junior college national wrestling heavyweight title in 1996 while attending Lassen Community College in Susanville, California.[5][6] He was then accepted to attend the University of Minnesota, where he achieved a 36–6 win-loss record.[2] Moreover, while attending the university, Benjamin was a two-time All-American heavyweight wrestler.[5] After graduation, he served as an assistant coach at the University and trained with future OVW tag team partner Brock Lesnar.[5][6] In 1997, Benjamin went 36–6 with 12 pins and placed sixth in the Big Ten Championship.[6] Instead of trying to qualify for the 2000 Summer Olympics, Benjamin decided instead to try to pursue a professional wrestling career.[6]
Professional wrestling career[link]
World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment[link]
Ohio Valley Wrestling (2000–2002)[link]
Benjamin was offered and accepted a contract from the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and was placed in Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) as one half of a tag team with Brock Lesnar, who was a wrestling teammate at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.[7] Together they were known as the "Minnesota Stretching Crew,"[6] and they held the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship on three occasions.[8] The first two reigns occurred during February and July 2001.[6] They were scripted to win the title for a third time from Rico Constantino and The Prototype on October 29, 2001.[6] After Lesnar was called up to the main roster in November 2001, Benjamin formed a tag team with Redd Dogg Begnaud called "The Dogg Pound" and once again won the OVW Southern Tag Team Title on July 17, 2002.[2][6] Throughout the remainder of 2002, Benjamin wrestled at several house shows for the main WWE roster and eventually on Sunday Night Heat as a face character.[6]
The World's Greatest Tag Team and WWE Tag Team Champion (2002–2004)[link]
Main article: The World's Greatest Tag Team
Benjamin was offered a full-time World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) contract in September 2002.[6] He joined WWE's Smackdown brand as a villain on December 26, 2002, forming Team Angle along Charlie Haas, with Olympic gold-medalist wrestler Kurt Angle as their on-screen mentor.[9] Their first official match together in WWE was on the January 2, 2003 episode of Smackdown against Edge and Chris Benoit.[10]
They continued their storyline feud with Benoit until No Way Out, when Benoit teamed with Brock Lesnar to defeat Team Angle.[11] The duo were scripted to win their first WWE Tag Team Championship just a month after their debut by defeating the champions, Los Guerreros (Eddie and Chavo Guerrero) on February 6, 2003.[12] The two then went on to compete in their first WrestleMania match at WrestleMania XIX, retaining their tag title in a Triple Threat match against Los Guerreros, and Chris Benoit and Rhyno.[6] Team Angle later lost the title to Eddie Guerrero and his new partner Tajiri at Judgment Day in a ladder match.[6] The storyline concluded on the June 12, 2003 episode of SmackDown!, when Angle confronted Benjamin and Haas and fired them from Team Angle.[13] They began referring to themselves as The World's Greatest Tag Team and won the tag title back on the July 3 episode of Smackdown.[14] They lost the title on September 18, after Benjamin suffered a legitimate knee injury during a match against Los Guerreros.[15] Benjamin was sidelined for approximately one month,[6] but the pair competed together again, taking part in a Fatal Four-Way match at WrestleMania XX.[16]
Intercontinental Champion (2004–2007)[link]
On March 22, 2004, Benjamin was drafted to the WWE Raw brand as part of the 2004 WWE Draft.[17] After arriving, Benjamin quickly became a face when he scored an upset pinfall victory over Triple H with the help of then World Heavyweight Champion Chris Benoit.[18] Benjamin then feuded with Triple H, beating him three times in total all: once by pinfall, once by count-out, and once by disqualification.[19] As part of the storyline, Benjamin then feuded with the other members of Triple H's stable Evolution. Benjamin defeated Ric Flair at Backlash and lost to Randy Orton in an Intercontinental Championship match at Bad Blood.[20][21]
During a match with Garrison Cade on WWE Heat, Benjamin punched Cade's knee brace, legitimately breaking his hand in the process and briefly taking him out of action.[6] Benjamin returned in the fall of 2004 and was chosen by the fans to compete for the Intercontinental Championship in a match against then-champion Chris Jericho at Taboo Tuesday. Benjamin was scripted to win the match,[22] giving him his first singles title in the company.[2] During his reign as Intercontinental Champion, Benjamin retained the title against challengers such as Christian at Survivor Series,[23] Maven at New Year's Revolution,[24] and Chris Jericho at Backlash.[25] Benjamin lost the title to Carlito when he debuted on Raw during the June 20, 2005 episode, ending the longest Intercontinental Championship reign of the decade.[26]
Benjamin's next storyline began on the December 5, 2005 episode of Raw, when Shawn Michaels was scripted to give Benjamin a speech to get him "psyched" for their tag match together later in the night.[27] As a part of the scripted ending to the match, Michaels was preparing to finish the match when Benjamin tagged himself in and missed a crossbody, allowing Carlito to pin Benjamin.[2] Benjamin was then depicted as having a "losing streak" over the next several weeks,[2] which led to Benjamin's noisy, scolding, and domineering "Momma" (played by comedian/actress Thea Vidale) coming to Raw to confront Benjamin. Momma slapped and yelled at Benjamin every time he lost a match.[28] Before long, she assisted Benjamin in his matches, often interfering on his behalf.[29] This led to Benjamin once again becoming a villain. In 2006, Benjamin had a staged on-screen rivalry with then-Intercontinental Champion Ric Flair. On the February 20 episode of Raw, Benjamin defeated Flair to regain the Intercontinental Championship after Momma faked a heart problem, causing enough of a distraction to allow Benjamin to cheat and win the title.[30] Benjamin continued to feud with Flair, but Momma no longer accompanied him to ringside. As part of the scripted events, Benjamin stated that she was undergoing heart surgery in the hospital and that he held Flair responsible.[31]
Benjamin competed in the second Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania 22.[32] Benjamin then had an on-screen rivalry with the winner of that match, Rob Van Dam, in an attempt to take Van Dam's Money in the Bank contract. During this time, Benjamin emphasized his new heel persona with a new gimmick: wearing shades, jewelry, and occasional colored shirts while entering the ring.[33] At one point, Benjamin was defeated by his former tag team partner, the returning Charlie Haas, during an episode of Raw. A predetermined stipulation added to this loss meant that Benjamin had to defend the Intercontinental Title in the same match as his shot at Van Dam's contract,[34] meaning at Backlash it would be a "Winner Takes All" match. Rob Van Dam won at Backlash and became Intercontinental Champion.[35] Benjamin regained the title from Rob Van Dam in a Tornado Tag Team match, pitting Benjamin, Triple H and Chris Masters against Van Dam and WWE Champion John Cena;[6] both the WWE Championship and WWE Intercontinental Championship could be won by whoever pinned the appropriate champion. After Triple H Pedigreed Van Dam, he turned his attention to John Cena and went for the pin on the WWE Champion. Benjamin got to Van Dam first, picking up the pin and his third Intercontinental Championship.[36] Subsequently, Benjamin feuded with Carlito and others for his Intercontinental Championship before losing the title to Johnny Nitro in a Triple Threat match also involving Carlito at Vengeance.[37]
During December 2006, Benjamin's former tag team partner Charlie Haas came out to celebrate with Benjamin after he defeated Super Crazy.[38] The World's Greatest Tag Team was officially reunited when they defeated The Highlanders on the December 11, 2006 episode of Raw.[39] The duo feuded with Cryme Tyme and competed mainly on Heat.[40]
The Gold Standard and United States Champion (2007–2010)[link]
On the November 20, 2007 airing of ECW on Sci Fi, Elijah Burke introduced Benjamin as the newest ECW superstar. Benjamin, who had dyed his hair blond before leaving Raw, began wearing gold wrestling attire and referring to himself as "The Gold Standard". On ECW, Benjamin began once again receiving more airtime and higher profile matches, defeating Tommy Dreamer in his debut.[41] Benjamin then qualified for the Royal Rumble match and won an over the top rope preview. Benjamin appeared in the Rumble match, entering at number 17, but was eliminated by Shawn Michaels.[42] He suffered his first loss since coming to ECW to Kane by count-out, on the January 29, 2008 episode of ECW on Sci Fi. On the February 22 episode of SmackDown!, Benjamin defeated Jimmy Wang Yang in a qualifying match for the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania XXIV,[43] which was won by CM Punk. After WrestleMania, Benjamin briefly feuded with Punk, before he began an on-screen rivalry with Kofi Kingston, who defeated Benjamin on the April 22 episode of ECW. On ECW's 100th episode, however, Benjamin defeated Kingston, thus ending the latter's undefeated streak. To end the feud, Kingston then defeated Benjamin in an ECW Extreme Rules match.
As part of the 2008 Supplemental Draft, Benjamin was drafted to the SmackDown! brand.[44] On the July 11, 2008 airing of SmackDown!, Benjamin defeated United States Champion Matt Hardy in a non-title match, earning himself a future title shot. At The Great American Bash, Benjamin once again defeated Hardy to win the United States Championship.[45][46] Throughout his reign as champion, he retained the title several times against competitors such as R-Truth and Hurricane Helms. On the 500th episode of SmackDown!, on March 20, 2009 Benjamin lost his United States Championship to Montel Vontavious Porter, ending Benjamin's reign at 243 days.[47] Benjamin then participated in the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania XXV, but failed to win as CM Punk won the match for the second year in a row.[48] On June 29, 2009, Benjamin was traded back to the ECW brand.[49] The following night, Benjamin returned to the brand in a losing effort to the debuting Yoshi Tatsu.[50] However, he would defeat Tatsu in a rematch the following week on ECW.[51] After a tag team match, Benjamin was attacked by his partner Sheamus after Benjamin was pinned. Over the following weeks, Benjamin and Sheamus began feuding with and traded wins against each other on ECW and Superstars, resulting in Benjamin becoming a face character. The feud lasted until Sheamus was moved to the Raw brand on October 26. The next night on ECW, Benjamin lost to Sheamus in Sheamus' final match on the brand.[52] Benjamin wrestled Christian at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs for the ECW Championship in a Ladder Match, but came up on the losing end. On the final episode of ECW on Syfy, Benjamin formed an alliance with Vladimir Kozlov. Together, they defeated three members of the ECW roster: Vance Archer, Caylen Croft and Trent Barreta. On the February 26th episode of Smackdown, Shelton Benjamin debuted, once again qualifying for the Money in The Bank Ladder Match at WrestleMania 26, beating CM Punk. However Benjamin failed to win the Ladder match.[53] He defeated the returning Joey Mercury in his last match at the SmackDown tapings on April 20 in a dark match.[54] On April 22, 2010, Benjamin was released from his WWE contract, along with Jimmy Wang Yang, Kung Fu Naki, Slam Master J, Mickie James and Katie Lea Burchill.[55]
Independent circuit (2010–present)[link]
Benjamin made his independent circuit return on July 24, 2010, in San Diego, California against Scorpio Sky. On July 31, 2010, during the World Wrestling Council's "La Revolución" show in Puerto Rico Benjamin defeated Ray González to win the WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship.[56]
At Crossfire, 27 November, Benjamin lost the WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship to Carlito.[57]
On March 8, 2011, Benjamin wrestled in a dark match prior to the SmackDown tapings in Houston, Texas, defeating Curt Hawkins.[58] On March 9, 2011 Shelton Benjamin won the MWF Heavyweight Championship.
Benjamin is booked to appear on the World Wrestling Fan Xperience (WWFX) Champions Showcase Tour in Manila, Philippines on February 4, 2012, where he will be wrestling under the name his real name.[59]
Ring of Honor (2010-present)[link]
On September 11, 2010, at Glory By Honor IX, Benjamin and Charlie Haas made their Ring of Honor debuts in a match, where they were defeated by The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli).[60]
Benjamin and Haas returned to ROH at the Ring of Honor Wrestling television tapings on December 9, where they defeated the Bravado Brothers.[61] The following day, at the second set of television tapings, they defeated the All-Night Express of Kenny King and Rhett Titus, and participated in an eight-man tag team match, teaming with the Briscoe Brothers against the Kings of Wrestling and the All-Night Xpress, which ended in a no contest.[62] On December 18 at the Final Battle 2010 pay-per-view Benjamin and Haas announced that in 2011 they would be wrestling regularly for Ring of Honor.[63] At the following pay-per-view, 9th Anniversary Show, on February 26, 2011, Benjamin and Haas defeated the Briscoe Brothers in the main event of the evening to earn another shot at the Kings of Wrestling and the ROH World Tag Team Championship.[64][65] On April 1 at Honor Takes Center Stage, Benjamin and Haas defeated the Kings of Wrestling for the ROH World Tag Team Championship.[4] On June 26 at Best in the World 2011, Benjamin and Haas successfully defended the ROH World Tag Team Championship in a four-way match against the Briscoe Brothers, the Kings of Wrestling and the All-Night Express.[66] The following day ROH announced that both Benjamin and Haas had signed contracts with the promotion.[67] On December 23, at Final Battle 2011, Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team lost the ROH World Tag Team Championship to the Briscoe Brothers.[68] On May 12, 2012, at Border Wars, Benjamin and Haas regained the ROH World Tag Team Championship from the Briscoe Brothers.[69]
New Japan Pro Wrestling (2012)[link]
On December 9, 2011, New Japan Pro Wrestling announced that Benjamin would be joining MVP for a tag match against Masato Tanaka and Yujiro Takahashi at Wrestle Kingdom VI in Tokyo Dome on January 4, 2012.[70] Benjamin and MVP were victorious in the match, after MVP submitted Takahashi.[71]
Personal life[link]
Benjamin is an avid video gamer, winning WWE's THQ Superstar Challenge, a video game tournament that takes place every year during WrestleMania weekend, four years in a row before retiring in 2007.[72][73] He spends time every day playing.[73] Benjamin is also proficient in art, creating comic book level work. He considered a career in the field.[74]
Benjamin, along with Dave Batista and Josh Mathews, represented WWE at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in an effort to encourage fans to register to vote in the 2008 Presidential election.[75]
In wrestling[link]
- Finishing moves
- 450° splash[2] – 2000–2002
- Dragon whip[76] / Money Clip[2] / Shell Shocka[2] – 2003; used as a signature move from 2004–present
- Paydirt[77] (Jumping reverse STO) – 2007–2010
- Superkick[2] – 2003–2006; used as a signature move from 2007–present
- T-Bone Suplex[1] (Exploder suplex lifted and dropped into a modified powerslam pin)[2] – 2005–present
- Signature moves
- Entrance themes
- "Medal" by Jim Johnston (2003; Used while a part of Team Angle)
- "Desperate Times" by Jim Johnston
- "Shout Out" by Jim Johnston
- "Vapor Rock" by Jim Johnston
- "World's Greatest (2003-2004, 2007, 2008; Used while teaming with Charlie Haas)
- "Ain't No Stoppin' Me" by Lou$tar[87] (WWE; 2004–2008)
- "Ain't No Stoppin' Me (Remix)" by Axel[88] (2008–2010)
- "T.N.T." by AC/DC[89] (2011-present; Used while teaming with Charlie Haas)
Championships and accomplishments[link]
- Black Athlete Sports Network
- African–American Wrestler of the Year (2005)[90]
- Ohio Valley Wrestling
- OVW Southern Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with Brock Lesnar (3) and Redd Dogg (1)[91]
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- PWI Tag Team of the Year (2003) with Charlie Haas[93]
- PWI ranked him #9 of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2005[94]
- Ring of Honor
- ROH World Tag Team Championship (2 times, current) – with Charlie Haas[4][69]
Footnotes[link]
- ^ a b c d e f "Shelton Benjamin's WWE Bio". World Wrestling Entertainment. http://www.wwe.com/superstars/wwealumni/sheltonbenjamin/. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t "OWoW Profile". Online World of Wrestling. http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/s/shelton-benjamin.html. Retrieved 2007-06-17.
- ^ Intelius search
- ^ a b c Caldwell, James; Radican, Sean (2011-04-01). "ROH Internet PPV report 4/1: Caldwell & Radican's "virtual-time" coverage of live ROH PPV from Atlanta". Pro Wrestling Torch. http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/otherppvs/article_48952.shtml. Retrieved 2011-04-02.
- ^ a b c d e Scales, Jason (February 2002). "It's all about the Benjamin". Wrestling Digest. Archived from the original on 2007–02–21. http://web.archive.org/web/20070221000919/http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FCO/is_5_3/ai_81826834. Retrieved 2007-06-18.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Milner, John (2005-04-17). "Shelton Benjamin's Profile". SLAM! Wrestling. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/Bios/benjamin.html. Retrieved 2007-06-18.
- ^ "Ohio Valley Wrestling Alumni". ovwrestling.com. Archived from the original on June 9, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070609075607/http://ovwrestling.com/alumni.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-17.
- ^ "OVW Southern Tag Team Title". wrestling-titles.com. http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/ky/ovw/ovw-t.html. Retrieved 2007-06-17.
- ^ "SmackDown! Results – December 26, 2002". Online World of Wrestling. http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/results/smackdown/021226.html. Retrieved 2007-06-17.
- ^ "SmackDown! Results – January 2, 2003". Online World of Wrestling. http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/results/smackdown/030102.html. Retrieved 2007-06-17.
- ^ "No Way Out 2003 – February 23, 2003". Pro Wrestling History. http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wwf/nowayout.html#2003. Retrieved 2007-06-17.
- ^ "WWE Tag Team – Benjamin & Haas". World Wrestling Entertainment. http://www.wwe.com/inside/titlehistory/wwetag/330086. Retrieved 2007-06-17.
- ^ "SmackDown! Results – June 12, 2003". Online World of Wrestling. http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/results/smackdown/030612.html. Retrieved 2007-06-17.
- ^ "SmackDown! Results – July 3, 2003". Online World of Wrestling. http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/results/smackdown/030703.html. Retrieved 2007-06-17.
- ^ "SmackDown! Results – September 18, 2003". Online World of Wrestling. http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/results/smackdown/030918.html. Retrieved 2007-06-17.
- ^ "WrestleMania XX – March 14, 2004". Pro Wrestling History. http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wwf/mania.html#20. Retrieved 2007-06-17.
- ^ "RAW Results – March 22, 2004". Online World of Wrestling. http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/results/raw/040322.html. Retrieved 2007-06-17.
- ^ Blackjack Brown (2004-04-04). "Benjamin stuns HHH – and WWE". Chicago Sun Times.
- ^ "RAW Results – April 5, 2004". Online World of Wrestling. http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/results/raw/040405.html. Retrieved 2007-06-17.
- ^ "Backlash 2004 – April 18, 2004". Pro Wrestling History. http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wwf/backlash.html#2004. Retrieved 2007-06-17.
- ^ "Bad Blood 2004 – June 13, 2004". Pro Wrestling History. http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wwf/badd.html#2004. Retrieved 2007-06-17.
- ^ "Taboo Tuesday 2004 – October 19, 2004". Pro Wrestling History. http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wwf/taboo.html#2004. Retrieved 2007-06-17.
- ^ "Survivor Series 2004 – November 14, 2004". Pro Wrestling History. http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wwf/survivor.html#2004. Retrieved 2007-06-17.
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- ^ a b Pineiro, Anthony (August 1, 2010). "Resultados "La Revolución": Shelton Benjamin nuevo Campeón Universal – Gilbert aparece y le causa la derrota a Ray González – Carlito supera la prueba del Vampiro Canadiense" (in Spanish). SuperLuchas Magazine. http://superluchas.net/2010/08/01/resultados-%E2%80%9Cla-revolucion%E2%80%9D-shelton-benjamin-nuevo-campeon-universal-%E2%80%93-gilbert-aparece-y-le-causa-la-derrota-a-ray-gonzalez-%E2%80%93-carlito-supera-la-prueba-del-vampiro-canad/. Retrieved August 1, 2010.
- ^ Piñeiro, Anthony (November 28, 2010). "Resultados: Crossfire Carlito se corona Campeón Universal- El Rabioso Blitz regresa- Gilbert nuevo Campeón de Puerto Rico" (in Spanish). SuperLuchas Magazine. http://superluchas.net/2010/11/28/resultados-crossfire-carlito-se-corona-campeon-universal-el-rabioso-blitz-regresa-gilbert-nuevo-campeon-de-puerto-rico/. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
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- ^ Caldwell, James; Radican, Sean (2010-09-11). "9/11 ROH internet PPV live results: Caldwell & Radican's coverage of "Glory by Ho nor IX" - ROH Title match, Haas & Benjamin debut". Pro Wrestling Torch. http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/otherppvs/article_43710.shtml. Retrieved 2010-09-11.
- ^ Martin, Adam (2010-12-10). "Spoilers: 12/9 ROH HDNet tapings in Louisville". WrestleView. http://www.wrestleview.com/viewnews.php?id=1292006998. Retrieved 2010-12-18.
- ^ Martin, Adam (2010-12-11). "Spoilers: 12/10 ROH HDNet tapings in Louisville". WrestleView. http://www.wrestleview.com/viewnews.php?id=1292089862. Retrieved 2010-12-18.
- ^ Caldwell, James (2010-12-18). "Caldwell's Ring of Honor PPV report 12/18: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of "Final Battle 2010" - Strong vs. Richards, Generico vs. Steen". Pro Wrestling Torch. http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/otherppvs/article_46163.shtml. Retrieved 2010-12-18.
- ^ Caldwell, James (2011-02-26). "Caldwell's Ring of Honor PPV report 2/26: Complete "virtual time" coverage of "9th Anniversary Show" - Strong vs. Homicide ROH Title match, Briscoes vs. Haas & Benjamin main event". Pro Wrestling Torch. http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/otherppvs/article_48078.shtml. Retrieved 2011-02-27.
- ^ Alvarez, Bryan (2011-02-26). "Daniels update and other ROH iPPV notes -- updated". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. http://www.f4wonline.com/content/view/19621/. Retrieved 2011-02-27.
- ^ Radican, Sean (2011-06-26). "Radican's "Best in the World" internet PPV report 6/26: Ongoing "real-time" coverage of live PPV from New York City". Pro Wrestling Torch. http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/otherppvs/article_51045.shtml. Retrieved 2011-06-28.
- ^ Caldwell, James (2011-06-27). "ROH News: Ring of Honor announces the signing of ROH tag champions to contracts". Pro Wrestling Torch. http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/ROH_News_29/article_51064.shtml. Retrieved 2011-06-28.
- ^ Namako, Jason (2011-12-24). "ROH Final Battle iPPV Results - 12/23/11". WrestleView. http://www.wrestleview.com/viewnews.php?id=1324707181. Retrieved 2011-12-24.
- ^ a b Namako, Jason (2012-05-12). "ROH Border Wars iPPV Results- 5/12/12". WrestleView. http://www.wrestleview.com/viewnews.php?id=1336878002. Retrieved 2012-05-13.
- ^ PWTorch Staff (2011-12-09). "NJPW: Shelton Benjamin joining MVP for Dome show". Pro Wrestling Torch. http://www.pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/quicknews/article_55849.shtml. Retrieved 2011-12-31.
- ^ "NJPW 40th anniversary Tour. レッスルキングダムⅥ in 東京ドーム" (in Japanese). New Japan Pro Wrestling. http://www.njpw.co.jp/match/detail_result.php?e=470. Retrieved 2012-01-04.
- ^ Kapur, Bob (2007-05-11). "Shelton Benjamin hard to faze". SLAM! Wrestling. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2007/05/11/4172053.html. Retrieved 2007–06–18.
- ^ a b Gaudiosi, John (2007-05-18). "Shelton Benjamin: WWE Superstar and PSP Fan". Archived from the original on June 23, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070623085906/http://www.us.playstation.com/News/Editorials/54. Retrieved 2007-06-18.
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- ^ Caldwell, James (2009-11-18). "CALDWELL'S WWE SUPERSTARS TV REPORT 11/19: Complete coverage of Henry vs. Rhodes on WGN". Pro Wrestling Torch. http://www.pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/TV_Reports_9/article_36886.shtml. Retrieved 2009-11-29.
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- ^ a b c "Managers". http://www.cagematch.de/?id=2&nr=823&view=manager#manager.
- ^ Rote, Andrew (2007-12-02). "Shelton Benjamin raises the bar". World Wrestling Entertainment. http://www.wwe.com/shows/ecw/archive/11272007/articles/sheltonbar. Retrieved 2008-03-27.
- ^ "Entrance themes". http://www.cagematch.de/?id=2&nr=823&view=themes#themes.
- ^ "WWE Music Volume 8 CD". World Wrestling Entertainment. http://www.wweshop.com/Product_detail.asp?cat=cat-newreleases&productId=35-00612. Retrieved 2008-03-27.
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- ^ Thompson, Korbid (2006-01-03). "2005 African-American Wrestler of the Year". http://www.blackathlete.net/artman2/publish/In_the_Black_42/2005_African-American_Wrestler_of_the_Year_1411.shtml. Retrieved 2007-06-18.
- ^ "OVW Southern Tag Team Championship history". http://www.ovwrestling.com/titles#southern_tag_team.
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- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated Award Winners – Tag Team of the Year". Archived from the original on May 22, 2011. http://web.archive.org/web/20110522012359/http://www.100megsfree4.com/wiawrestling/pages/pwi/pwittoty.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-17. [unreliable source?]
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External links[link]
|
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Shelton Benjamin |
- Ring of Honor profile
- WWE Alumni Profile
- Benjamin at Online World of Wrestling
- Shelton Benjamin at the Internet Movie Database
- Benjamin's page at The National Wrestling Hall of Fame
|
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Benjamin, Shelton |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | Professional wrestler |
| Date of birth | July 9, 1975 |
| Place of birth | Orangeburg, South Carolina |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
http://wn.com/Shelton_Benjamin
Related pages:
http://it.wn.com/Shelton Benjamin
http://es.wn.com/Shelton Benjamin
http://ru.wn.com/Бенджамин, Шелтон
http://nl.wn.com/Shelton Benjamin
http://pt.wn.com/Shelton Benjamin
http://pl.wn.com/Shelton Benjamin
http://fr.wn.com/Shelton Benjamin
http://de.wn.com/Shelton Benjamin
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shelton_Benjamin
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
- "King Joe" redirects here. For the monster, see King Joe (Ultra monster). For the New Zealand professional wrestler who competed in Australasia during the 1970s and 80s, see Samoan Joe.
| Samoa Joe | |
|---|---|
 Samoa Joe at a TNA live event in 2007. |
|
| Ring name(s) | King Joe[1] Samoa Joe[2] Samoan Joe[3] Joe Seanoa[2] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[4] |
| Billed weight | 280 lb (130 kg)[4] |
| Born | (1979-03-17) March 17, 1979 (age 33)[2] Orange County, California[1] |
| Resides | Orange County, California[4] |
| Billed from | The Isle of Samoa |
| Trained by | Cincinnati Red[2] John Delayo[2] William Regal[5] Yoshiaki Fujiwara Johnny Hemp[2] |
| Debut | September 1999[2] |
Nuufolau Joel "Joe" Seanoa[6] (born March 17, 1979)[1] is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Samoa Joe. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.
Before debuting in TNA in June 2005, Seanoa competed in the Ring of Honor (ROH) independent promotion, where he held the ROH World Championship for a record 21 months. Upon joining TNA, Seanoa embarked upon an 18 month-long undefeated streak, in which he never lost a match by pinfall or submission. That streak came to an end at the Genesis event in 2006, when he tapped out to Kurt Angle's ankle lock submission hold.
Throughout his career, Seanoa has won numerous championships, including the Ring of Honor World championship and the Pure championship. Within TNA, he is a former TNA World Heavyweight Champion, a four-time TNA X Division Champion, and a two-time TNA World Tag Team Champion. He has also won the 2005 Super X Cup Tournament, the 2008 King of the Mountain match (the only one to retain the world championship in the match), and the TNA Triple Crown.
Contents
|
Early life[link]
Seanoa was born and raised in Southern California. He resided mainly in Huntington Beach and spent time during his childhood in Ewa Beach, Hawaii. Seanoa's family founded a Polynesian dance troupe in the United States called Tiare Productions. Seanoa made his on stage debut at the 1984 Summer Olympics opening at the age of five. He became a California State Junior Judo Champion and was an all league football player while attending Ocean View High School.[7] Before becoming a wrestler, Seanoa worked as a mortgage broker.[8]
Professional wrestling career[link]
Joe was the first graduate of the UIWA West Coast Dojo, training under Cincinnati Red, along with Johnny Hemp and, occasionally, John Delayo. He debuted in December 1999 in a match against "Uncle" Jess Hansen just three months after beginning training.
Ultimate Pro Wrestling (2000–2001)[link]
Joe quickly signed with former World Wrestling Federation developmental affiliate Ultimate Pro Wrestling (UPW), where he feuded with John Cena and made an appearance on WWF Jakked against Essa Rios,.[9] He tagged with Mike Knox at UPW Proving Ground on December 12, 2000 in the Galaxy Theatre of Santa Ana, California and defeated the debuting Al Katrazz with Basil. He eventually captured the UPW Heavyweight Championship.[10] He later became the longest reigning UPW Heavyweight Champion ever.
Pro Wrestling Zero1 and Pro Wrestling Noah (2001–2002)[link]
In June 2001, Joe made his way to Japan, wrestling for Shinya Hashimoto's Pro Wrestling Zero1 promotion, fighting in its Shingeki series of pay-per-views,[11] as well as the annual Burning Heart tournaments.[12] During this time, Joe also began wrestling for southern California promotion Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, where he had an on-screen rivalry with Super Dragon.
Joe continued to work for the promotion throughout 2002, participating in a number of their biggest shows and tournaments. After forming a team with Keiji Sakoda, they became the first-ever holders of the NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Championship, though their reign is no longer officially recognized by the promotion.[13][14] He worked as both Samoa Joe and, later, King Joe, but ultimately chose to leave the promotion when he was asked to take on a more gimmicky character.
In October 2007, he made his debut for Pro Wrestling Noah at the Yokohoma Red Brickhouse, Joe teamed with Yoshihiro Takayama to take on the team of Mitsuharu Misawa and Takeshi Morishima. Joe captured the win for his team after pinning Misawa with an Island Driver, one of his finishing maneuvers. Two days later, on October 27, Joe again faced Misawa, this time for the GHC title in a one-on-one match at the Budokan Hall. Both competitors had exchanged and overcame their respective signature moves throughout the match but it was Misawa who won the pinfall after striking the back of Joe's head with his elbow thus marking his sixth successful title defense.
Ring of Honor (2002–2007)[link]
Back in the United States, Joe joined the ranks of the East Coast-based Ring of Honor (ROH) promotion in 2002. He made his debut at "Glory by Honor" as Christopher Daniels's "hired assassin", brought in to take out Daniels's chief enemy, Low Ki.[15] Originally booked for just the one match against Low Ki, Joe impressed fans with his extremely stiff and hard-hitting style that resembled a mixed martial arts fighter more than a wrestler, which led to ROH booking him full time.[16]
Joe quickly rose through the ranks and became ROH Champion, defeating Xavier for the belt, which soon became the ROH World Championship on May 17, 2003 after defeating The Zebra Kid at "Frontiers of Honor" in London, England.[17][18] He held that title for twenty one months before losing it to Austin Aries at "Final Battle 2004" on December 26, 2004.[18] During this time, he had a trilogy of title defenses against CM Punk (the second match earning a 5 star rating from Dave Meltzer's Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the first American match in seven years to do so).[15] Soon after losing the ROH World Championship to Austin Aries, Joe became the promotion's fifth Pure Champion, defeating his on-screen protégé Jay Lethal for the belt on May 7, 2005 at "Manhattan Mayhem" in New York City.[19][20] He held the title for over three months before losing it to Nigel McGuinness on August 27 at "Dragon Gate Invasion".[19][20]
In October 2005, when Japanese heavyweight superstar Kenta Kobashi made a "once-in-a-lifetime" trip to the United States, he was signed to two Ring of Honor shows. ROH officials selected Joe to face him in a singles match on the first night and a tag match on the second.[15][21] Joe proved to be a formidable opponent for Kobashi, in a back and forth match, which Dave Meltzer again gave a five-star rating. The match went on to win the Wrestling Observer Newsletter award for "Match of the Year". In 2006, Joe was one of the principal wrestlers representing Ring of Honor in their war against rival Philadelphia promotion Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW). The war culminated in a five-on-five Cage of Death match at "Death before Dishonor IV". Joe helped ROH dominate in the match, until, after picking up CZW wrestler Chris Hero for one of his finishers, the Muscle Buster, he was attacked by fellow ROH wrestler Bryan Danielson. Danielson repeatedly hit his injured knee with a steel chair, forcing him to quit the match. Joe was later replaced in the match by Homicide, who went on to win the match for ROH.[22] Joe later teamed with Homicide to fight against the Briscoes, and, like Homicide, found himself back in the ROH world title hunt. Joe, however, came up short against champion Bryan Danielson in several matches, including a match that went to a 60 Minute Draw and the final one being a cage match on December 8.[15] At the December 9 show, Joe called out the Pro Wrestling Noah promotion, claiming "Ring of Honor is right here!" This was not his first encounter with NOAH; at the September 16, 2006 ROH show, after a speech by wrestling legend Bruno Sammartino, Joe got into an argument and pull-apart brawl with Noah star Takeshi Morishima. Subsequently a match was signed for February pitting Joe against Morishima which Joe won.[15]
On January 31, Joe announced that he would no longer be a full time performer in ROH after March 4.[23] All shows that led up to that date would be billed as the "Samoa Joe Farewell Tour". On March 4, he beat longtime rival Homicide in his final ROH match with a Muscle Buster from the second rope.[15] On November 22, Joe made a one night only return for Rising Above, defeating Tyler Black in a non-pay-per-view main event.
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2005–present)[link]
Undefeated streak (2005–2006)[link]
On June 14, 2005, it was announced that Joe had signed a contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA).[24] He made his official debut five days later at the Slammiversary pay-per-view, defeating Sonjay Dutt in a match that saw him dubbed "The Samoan Submission Machine" by announcer Mike Tenay.[25] Joe was a participant in the Christopher Daniels Invitational Super X Cup, defeating Sonjay Dutt and Alex Shelley to advance to the tournament finals at Sacrifice. Joe won the tournament by defeating A.J. Styles, but only with help from Daniels.[26] As a result of Daniels' interference, however, TNA Director of Authority Larry Zbyszko made Daniels defend his X Division Championship in a three-way match against both Joe and Styles at TNA Unbreakable. This match marked Joe's first title shot in the company, though Styles was booked to win the match. Joe's undefeated streak was still officially intact, as it was Daniels that had been pinned, not Joe.[27] This match is to date the only match in TNA's history to receive a rating of five stars from Dave Meltzer.[28]
At Genesis on November 13, he teamed with Daniels, Alex Shelley, and Roderick Strong (a team that Daniels called "The Ministry") against Sonjay Dutt, Chris Sabin, Matt Bentley, and Austin Aries in an eight man elimination match. Following the victory by Daniels and Joe (Shelley and Strong were eliminated earlier in the match), Joe attacked Daniels, beating him around the ringside area until he had busted him open. He then threw Daniels into the ring, and delivered a Muscle Buster. Joe then went out to grab a steel chair from ringside and brought it into the ring, after which he gave Daniels a second Muscle Buster, this time onto the chair, supposedly giving Daniels a level-3 concussion.[29] In response to these actions, Styles called Joe out on an episode of Impact!, saying his attack of Daniels violated an unwritten code of respect in the X Division. Prior to Turning Point, Joe attacked Styles, saying he did not respect the X Division code (a vast departure from his Ring of Honor persona, who is a stalwart defender of their written Code of Honor). Joe defeated Styles at Turning Point and won the X Division Championship.[30] Joe could not injure Styles, however, Daniels came out and stopped him.[31] Daniels was later slated to face Joe at Final Resolution in 2006 for the X Division Championship. During the build-up to the match, Joe stated that he intended to end Daniels' career. During the match, Styles came down to the ring to cheer for Daniels. Not long after making Daniels bleed from his head, Joe stopped going for the pin, instead dropping knee after knee on Daniels' head. Styles, concerned about Daniels' health, signaled for the match to be stopped by throwing in the towel, allowing Joe to retain the X Division title.[32] Joe proceeded to win rematch of the three-way at Unbreakable, thus retaining his title.[33] This three-way feud continued until Destination X, when he lost the title to Daniels in an Ultimate X match, a match in which there is no pinfall or submission, thus keeping his undefeated streak.[30][34]
Joe was then taken out of the X Division and matched with an initially unannounced opponent. On the March 25 edition of Impact!, it was announced that he would take on Sabu at Lockdown. Despite that, he still had a scheduled X Division title match, and, on April 13's Impact! (TNA's Thursday debut), Joe regained the X Division title after delivering an Island Driver from the middle turnbuckle to Christopher Daniels.[30] Joe then successfully defended his X Division title against Sabu at Lockdown.[35] At Sacrifice, Joe partnered with Sting in a tag team match against Jeff Jarrett and Scott Steiner. Joe and Sting were victorious, but after the match, Joe left the ring and allowed Sting to be attacked.[36] Joe explained this by stating that he agreed to only watch Sting's back "from bell to bell" (implying that once the second bell rang, his duties were over), but still had issues with Steiner. Joe added Scott Steiner to his undefeated streak, at Slammiversary.[37]
During the Impact! tapings on May 15, Joe was injured as he performed a kick, and it was reported that he tore every knee ligament except the anterior cruciate ligament. He suffered a first degree tear to the posterior cruciate ligament and a second degree tear to the medial collateral ligament. Joe would remain out of action for two weeks. After returning, Joe lost his X Division Championship in a triple threat match with Sonjay Dutt and Senshi. Senshi pinned Dutt to win the championship after Steiner laid out Joe with a steel chair.[30] Joe would have his chance at revenge when he participated in a four-way number one contender match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship along with Sting, Christian Cage, and Scott Steiner at Victory Road on July 16. Joe lost this match when Sting pinned Steiner.[38]
Title chase; World Heavyweight Champion (2006–2008)[link]
Joe beat Jeff Jarrett at No Surrender in a "Fan's Revenge Lumberjack match". After the match, he took Jarrett's NWA World Heavyweight Championship with him, telling Jim Cornette that if Jarrett or Sting (Jarrett's scheduled opponent at Bound For Glory) wanted the belt, they could take it from him.[39] On the October 12 episode, Joe agreed to return the belt to the Jarrett-Sting winner under one condition—the winner had to agree to give him a title shot. This offer was turned down, and finally Joe was given the choice of giving back the title or be fired. Kurt Angle made his debut and got into a brawl with Joe after he again refused to give back the belt, and during the brawl, Jarrett took the belt back. At Bound for Glory on October 22, Joe defeated Raven, Brother Runt and Abyss in a Monster's Ball match. The match ended when special referee Jake Roberts performed a DDT to Raven, allowing Joe to deliver the Muscle Buster to Raven for the pinfall. Later in the night, Joe was involved in a pull-apart brawl with Kurt Angle after Jim Cornette announced that he would be fired if he interfered in the main event match that involved Angle as special enforcer.[40] At Genesis, Joe lost to Angle after tapping out to Angle's ankle lock. This ended his eighteen month undefeated streak.[41] Throughout the rest of 2006 into 2007, Joe continued to feud with Angle picking up a victory by submission in their rematch at Turning Point,[42] before suffering a legitimate knee injury in a tag team match that pitted Rhino and Kurt Angle against Joe and A.J. Styles. On January 14, 2007 at Final Resolution, Joe faced Angle in a thirty minute Iron Man match. With seconds remaining, Joe had Angle in the ankle lock. Although Angle tapped out, he did so just after time had expired. As a result, Angle won the match three falls to two.[43]
On the February 14 edition of Impact!, Joe won a gauntlet match to become the number one contender to Christian Cage's NWA World Heavyweight Championship at Destination X. Joe lost to Cage after Cage reversed the Coquina Clutch into a pinning combination and used the ropes for leverage.[44] On the May 24 edition of Impact!, Joe qualified for the King of the Mountain match at Slammiversary by defeating Sting with a Samoan drop after Christopher Daniels hit Sting with a baseball bat; Joe lost the King of the Mountain match, when Kurt Angle hung the belt. He then qualified to compete in the Match of Champions at Victory Road by defeating Jay Lethal and Chris Sabin for the X Division title on the July 12 episode of Impact!.[30] At the Match of Champions, Joe scored the winning pinfall on Brother Ray after Kurt Angle hit the Angle Slam and won the TNA World Tag Team Championship from Team 3D, making him the first wrestler in TNA to hold multiple TNA championships.[30] He later opted to hold both the titles by himself. At Hard Justice, Joe put up the X Division title and both Tag Team titles against Kurt Angle's TNA World title as well as the IGF's version of the IWGP World Championship. Joe, however, lost all his titles thanks to interferences by Karen Angle, enabling Kurt to become the second TNA Triple Crown Champion. Joe became the first man to defeat Christian Cage by pinfall or submission in TNA, forcing him tap out to the Coquina Clutch at Bound for Glory, thus ending Cage's twenty-three month undefeated streak by pinfall or submission in TNA.
Joe was then announced as the teammate of Kevin Nash and Scott Hall in their match against the Angle Alliance at Turning Point. Hall, however, no-showed the event. Before the match, Joe was asked to cut a promo alleviating heat from the company and introducing Eric Young as Hall's replacement. Joe went five minutes overtime and ranted against Hall (whom he sarcastically referred to as "The Phantom of the Impact Zone"), Nash and some other superstars, which legitimately upset Nash and TNA President Dixie Carter at ringside. Before calling Young to come to the ring he told the TNA ringside staff, "Are you mad? Go ahead, fire me, I don't care". Joe, Nash and Young defeated the Angle Alliance when Joe pinned Tomko after a Muscle Buster. After the match, Joe and Nash briefly argued and shoved one another backstage, with Joe apologizing at a talent meeting the following day.[45] On-screen, though, Joe continued to direct his frustration towards TNA management, going as far as to trash a Christmas party organized by Matt Morgan. In storyline, after complaining to Jim Cornette that he did not have a match at Final Resolution, Cornette decided to team Joe with Kevin Nash, who was to receive a title shot with Scott Hall when he returned. At Final Resolution, Joe, along with his tag team partner Kevin Nash lost to the team of A.J. Styles and Tomko. This occurred after Nash refused to tag himself into the match leaving Joe to fend for himself. In addition, Nash "flipped off" Joe whilst leaving the ringside area. After Nash had screwed Joe at Final Resolution, a furious Joe stormed to the backstage area on the hunt for Nash, only to find him welding a baseball bat for protection and refusing to fight Joe unless they got paid. Nash explained to Joe that he was teaching him a lesson about the wrestling business and told Joe he could help him to the top if he followed his direction. In good faith, Nash gave Joe the bat and implored to hit him if he was not satisfied with his explanation. Joe was still fuming, but let Nash go without incident. On the January 24 edition of Impact!, Joe went on a rampage, attacking several TNA employees, culminating in his attacking of Jeremy Borash after being announced as the MVP of 2007.
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At Against All Odds, Joe served as the special enforcer for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship match where Kurt Angle defended his title against challenger Christian Cage. During the contest, A.J. Styles interfered and Joe fought Styles to the back, but Tomko came out and attacked Cage giving Angle the win. On the February 14 edition of Impact!, Joe formed an alliance with Cage and Kevin Nash, to compete with Kurt Angle's Angle Alliance. It was also announced that Joe would be given the next TNA World Heavyweight Championship opportunity against Angle. Over the next few weeks, Joe and his new found alliance would attack the Angle Alliance leading up to their match at Destination X. Joe vowed that he would eliminate the Angle Alliance so he would receive a fair title match with Angle at Lockdown. On the March 6 edition of Impact!, Joe, Christian, and Nash faced a member of the Angle Alliance to determine who would get a five minute advantage during their match at Destination X. Joe lost his First Blood match to Tomko, but Nash defeated Styles in a Street Fight while Cage defeated Angle in a Six Sides of Steel match. Joe's team won the match when he made Tomko tap out to the Coquina Clutch. Achieving his goal to eliminate the Angle Alliance, nothing now stood in the way of Joe getting a fair title shot at Lockdown.
At Lockdown, Joe defeated Angle to win his first TNA World Championship and become TNA's third Triple Crown Champion.[30] The stipulation of the match was if Joe had lost, he would have had to retire from professional wrestling. He defeated Angle in a rematch on Impact! and then retained against Scott Steiner and Kaz at Sacrifice. At Slammiversary, Joe became the first champion to ever retain his title in a King of the Mountain match.<[46] Joe was then challenged to a match by Booker T at Victory Road, which he accepted. At Victory Road the match went to a No Contest when Sting hit Joe with a baseball bat and Booker pinned him while Sharmell made the three count. At Hard Justice, Joe defeated Booker after a guitar shot, thus reclaiming physical possession of the title belt, which Booker had kept after Victory Road. At Bound for Glory IV, he fought Sting in a losing effort to defend the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, ending his reign at 182 days.
On the October 30 edition of Impact!, Joe and AJ Styles formed a faction of younger wrestlers also featuring Jay Lethal, Consequences Creed, Petey Williams, Eric Young, ODB and The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin), calling themselves "The Frontline", to oppose the The Main Event Mafia of Kurt Angle, Sting, Kevin Nash, Booker T and Scott Steiner. At Turning Point Nash defeated Joe by pinning him with his feet on the ropes following a steel chair shot, a low blow and after ramming Joe's head to an exposed turnbuckle. At Final Resolution, The Front Line lost to The Main Event Mafia in a 4-on-4 tag match and Styles failed to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.[47] On the December 18 edition of Impact!, Joe and Styles defeated Sting and Nash in a Six Sides of Steel match. Following the match, Joe was attacked by the members of the Main Event Mafia and suffered injuries which would sideline him for the rest of the year.[48]
Nation of Violence (2009)[link]
On the January 29 episode of Impact!, a short video was shown in which Joe, sporting a new buzzcut hairstyle, tribal facepaint, and much heavier frame stated he would like to introduce the Main Event Mafia to both the "real" Joe and his "nation of violence".[49] At Destination X, Joe got himself disqualified in his return match against his old rival and Main Event Mafia member Scott Steiner. That same week on Impact!, Joe once again got disqualified this time in a match with Sheik Abdul Bashir. He took him backstage, hung him upside down, and tortured him.
The following week, he competed in a 20-man Six Sides Of Steel match where the last two men standing would be determined the captains of the Lethal Lockdown Match at Lockdown. He entered last and won the match by pinning rival Kurt Angle via the Muscle Buster. He then later stated backstage that he did not wish to be captain, but would still be part of the team. His teammates were Jeff Jarrett, A.J. Styles and the returning Daniels. They faced off against The Main Event Mafia at Lockdown, and won the match.[50] At this time he also revealed that he was taking orders from a "secret advisor" who he was seen talking to many times backstage although the person's identity was not revealed. He then feuded with Kevin Nash as his next victim of the Mafia and finally beat his old mentor at Sacrifice.[51]
At Slammiversary, Joe betrayed A.J. Styles and turned on all the fans by helping Kurt Angle win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship in the King of the Mountain match, and thus turned heel.[52] On the June 25 episode of Impact!, Joe officially joined The Main Event Mafia after having spent the last five months taking them out. This was revealed by Angle, to be a master plan to fool the TNA Frontline and the attacks were all planned by Joe and the Mafia in advance. Joe then went on to explain that he joined the Mafia for the money that was invested by Jenna Morasca and for the power and also debuted a new rap themed, entrance music. Throughout the night, he carried out attacks with the Mafia on Styles and Daniels and the leader of the Mafia, Sting, who was kicked out of the Mafia as leader and once again replaced with Kurt Angle.[53] At Victory Road, Joe faced Sting in a grudge match. Late in the match, Taz made his TNA debut and helped Joe beat Sting, thus revealing himself as his new adviser.[54] At Hard Justice Joe defeated Homicide to win the X Division title for the fourth time.[55] After winning this title, Joe feuded with his longtime rival Daniels and defeated him at No Surrender.[56] On the October 8 edition of Impact! Joe lost the X Division title to Amazing Red after Bobby Lashley interfered in the match.[57] At Bound for Glory Lashley defeated Joe in a submission match with a referee stoppage.[58] On the following edition of Impact! Kurt Angle turned into a fan favorite, thus signaling the end of the Main Event Mafia.[59] The following month at Turning Point Joe unsuccessfully challenged TNA World Heavyweight Champion A.J. Styles for the title in a three-way match, also involving Daniels.[60]
Various feuds (2009–present)[link]
At Final Resolution Joe took part in the "Feast or Fired" match and won the briefcase containing a shot at the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.[61] After being off TV for several weeks, Joe returned on the February 4 edition of Impact!, by attacking A.J. Styles, who had recently turned heel with Ric Flair, and announcing that he would be using his "Feast or Fired" briefcase to get a shot at Styles' World Heavyweight Championship at Against All Odds, turning face in the process.[62] At the pay-per-view Styles retained his title against Joe in a No Disqualification match refereed by Eric Bischoff.[63] After losing a match against new TNA acquisition Orlando Jordan on the following Impact!, Joe was abducted by masked men.[64] On March 29 he resurfaced in a video package on an episode of Impact!.[65] Joe made his return on the April 19 edition of Impact! appearing as a surprise member of Team Hogan (Abyss, Jeff Jarrett and Rob Terry) in an eight man tag team match against Team Flair (Sting, Desmond Wolfe, Robert Roode and James Storm), in which he scored the deciding pinfall by pinning Roode after a Muscle Buster. Joe then left the Impact Zone and did not celebrate with his fellow team members.[66] The following week Joe inexplicably assaulted the X Division Champion Kazarian, after his title match with Shannon Moore.[67] In the following weeks Joe went on to randomly attack wrestlers like Douglas Williams, Brian Kendrick and Matt Morgan, the last of whom lost the TNA World Tag Team Championship thanks to the attack.[68][69]
On the May 20 edition of Impact! Joe was ranked number ten in the first ever TNA Championship Committee rankings for a World Heavyweight Championship title shot.[70] He began his climb up the rankings by defeating Hernandez on June 17, number four ranked A.J. Styles on July 1 and by wrestling number two ranked Jeff Hardy to a ten minute time limit draw on the July 22 edition of Impact!.[71][72][73] After the match with Hardy, Joe was upset with the production crew for starting a countdown to the time limit draw, when Joe specifically requested not to start one because he thought it would reveal the ending of the match early. Because of his outburst, Joe was suspended from TNA indefinitely.[74][75] Joe returned from his suspension on August 23 at the tapings of the August 26 edition of Impact! to defeat Orlando Jordan.[76] The following week on Impact!, Joe aligned himself with Jeff Jarrett and Hulk Hogan in their war with Sting and Kevin Nash.[77] At No Surrender Joe and Jarrett defeated Sting and Nash in a tag team match, when Joe choked out Sting, after Jarrett had hit him with his baseball bat behind Joe's back.[78] At Bound for Glory Joe and Jarrett faced Sting, Nash and their newest ally D'Angelo Dinero in a handicap match, after Hulk Hogan, who was scheduled to team with Joe and Jarrett, was forced to pull out due to a back surgery. At the end of the match Jarrett abandoned Joe and left him to be pinned by Nash. Later in the night it was revealed that Hogan was in fact in the building as he helped Jeff Hardy win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship and formed a new heel alliance with Hardy, Eric Bischoff, Jeff Jarrett and Abyss.[79]
Joe tried to attack Jarrett on the October 21 edition of Impact!, but was stopped by TNA's security officers Gunner and Murphy, before being beat down by Jarrett.[80] Joe returned two weeks later, attacking Jarrett, Gunner and Murphy.[81] At Turning Point Jarrett defeated Joe, after choking him out with a baton, following interference from Gunner and Murphy.[82] The following month at Final Resolution Joe faced Jarrett in a submission match. After a pre–match assault and later an interference by Gunner and Murphy, Jarrett managed to force Joe to submit with an ankle lock.[83] Earlier that same day it was reported that Joe's contract with TNA had expired.[84] On December 17, 2010, TNA president Dixie Carter announced on her Twitter page that Joe had re–signed with the promotion.[85][86] Joe returned on the January 6, 2011, edition of Impact!, confronting D'Angelo Dinero and claiming that he had not been using his donations to help the needy, like he was supposed to.[87] Two weeks later Okato was revealed as the camera man, whom Joe had hired to follow Dinero and from whom he had gotten the video footage to support his claim.[88] On February 13 at Against All Odds Joe defeated Dinero in a singles match, but was afterwards attacked and bloodied by him.[89] On the March 10 edition of Impact!, Dinero defeated Joe in a rematch between the two, after hitting him with a chain.[90] On April 17 at Lockdown, Joe defeated Dinero in a steel cage match to end the feud.[91]
Joe's next feud would be with the undefeated Crimson, whom he would abandon in the ring and the hands of Abyss on two occasions, claiming that he himself had not needed anyone's help during his own undefeated streak, becoming a tweener in the process.[92][93][94] On June 12 at Slammiversary IX, Joe was defeated by Crimson in a singles match, and afterwards shook Crimson's hand.[95] Afterwards, Joe began showing frustration as his losing streak continued with losses against Rob Van Dam, Devon, Kazarian and Bobby Roode.[96][97][98][99] After losing all nine of his matches in the Bound for Glory Series to determine the number one contender to the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, Joe finally ended his long losing streak on the August 4 edition of Impact Wrestling by defeating D'Angelo Dinero via submission, but the decision was reversed after he refused to release his hold following the match. Joe then accused TNA management of being against him and proclaimed that from now on the blood would be on their hands.[100] After voicing his intention of ruining the Bound for Glory Series, Joe attacked its participants Devon, D'Angelo Dinero and rankings leader Crimson, who was forced to pull out of the tournament following the attack, after suffering a storyline ankle injury.[101][102] On the final week of the Bound for Glory Series, Joe went to interfere in a match between Gunner and Rob Van Dam, but was stopped by guest color commentator Matt Morgan, who was sidelined with a torn pectoral muscle. This led to a brawl later in the evening, which ended with Joe hitting Morgan in the arm with a steel chair.[103] On September 11 at No Surrender, Joe continued his losing streak as he was defeated by Morgan in a grudge match.[104] On the following edition of Impact Wrestling, Joe ended his losing streak by defeating Morgan in a submission match.[105] After returning from his injury, Crimson scored two more victories over Joe, first defeating him in a singles match on the October 6 edition of Impact Wrestling, and then in a three-way match, also involving Matt Morgan, at Bound for Glory on October 16.[106][107]
On the January 5, 2012, edition of Impact Wrestling, Joe and Magnus defeated A.J. Styles and Kazarian to win the four week long Wild Card Tournament and become the number one contenders to the TNA World Tag Team Championship.[108][109][110] Three days later at Genesis, Joe and Magnus failed to capture the TNA World Tag Team Championship from Crimson and Matt Morgan.[111] Despite the loss, Joe and Magnus remained together as a tag team, attacking Crimson and Morgan on the next two editions of Impact Wrestling.[112][113] On the February 2 episode of Impact Wrestling, Joe and Magnus defeated Crimson and Morgan in a non-title match to earn another shot at the TNA World Tag Team Championship.[114] On February 12 at Against All Odds, Joe and Magnus defeated Crimson and Morgan to win the TNA World Tag Team Championship.[115] Joe and Magnus then defeated Crimson and Morgan in two rematches, the first on the February 23 episode of Impact Wrestling and the second on March 18 at Victory Road, to retain the championship.[116][117] On the March 22 episode of Impact Wrestling, Joe and Magnus successfully defended their title against Mexican America (Anarquia and Hernandez).[118] On April 15 at Lockdown, Joe and Magnus defeated The Motor City Machine Guns in a steel cage match to retain the TNA World Tag Team Championship.[119] During the first "Open Fight Night" on April 26, Joe and Magnus successfully defended the TNA World Tag Team Championship against the team of Jeff Hardy and Mr. Anderson, after which they were attacked by Christopher Daniels and Kazarian, who had asked for a title shot earlier in the event.[120] On May 13 at Sacrifice, Joe and Magnus lost the TNA World Tag Team Championship to Daniels and Kazarian.[121]
International Wrestling Association (2009)[link]
Joe debuted in the International Wrestling Association at Noche de Campeones, a special event held on February 14, 2009.[122] There he was booked against El Chicano, the reigning IWA Undisputed World Unified Heavyweight Champion.[122] Chicano won the match by pinfall.[122] Prior to the show, Joe spent time with fans in a "Meet and Greet" event.[123]
Personal life[link]
Seanoa was married on July 27, 2007.[124] Seanoa is close friends with fellow wrestlers CM Punk, Homicide, Christopher Daniels, A.J. Styles, and Rob Van Dam.[16][125] Seanoa has also appeared on Van Dam's internet based reality show RVD TV numerous times.[125][126]
Seanoa avidly trains in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, judo and Muay Thai at LA Boxing in Costa Mesa, California. He is often noted as a sparring partner for Team Punishment member Justin McCully and is often in attendance in the locker room for Team Punishment fighters such as Tito Ortiz and Kendall Grove, with whom he maintains friendships.[125][127]
Seanoa made brief appearances on the American version of the television show Distraction, participating in the round where wrestlers perform moves on contestants while they answer questions.[125]
In wrestling[link]
- Finishing moves
- CCS Enzuigiri[2] (Jumping twisting enzuigiri while facing away from a cornered opponent) – Independent circuit; used as a regular move in TNA
- Chimera-Plex[2] (German suplex followed into a dragon suplex and finished with an X-Plex) – Independent circuit
- Coquina Clutch (TNA) / The Clutch (TNA) / The Choke (Independent circuit) (Rear naked choke, sometimes transitioned into a suplex)[4][128][129]
- Island Driver (Sitout side powerslam, sometimes from the second rope, or an over the shoulder reverse piledriver)[2][128]
- Muscle Buster, sometimes from the second rope[4][128]
- Signature moves
- Atomic drop
- Chop to the back of a seated opponent followed by a football kick to the chest and finished with a jumping knee drop or running senton
- Death Valley driver,[2] sometimes from the second rope[130]
- Elbow Suicida (Suicide dive transitioned into a flying forearm smash)[131]
- Facewash[2]
- Inverted atomic drop followed by a running single leg dropkick and finished with a running senton
- Forearm smash to a cornered opponent sometimes followed by a CCS Enzuigiri[2]
- Lariat[2][128]
- Multiple suplex variations
- Olé Kick (Running arched big boot to the face of an opponent seated on a chair next to a guardrail)[2]
- Powerbomb followed into prawn hold transitioned into either a thigh-held single leg Boston crab, an STF or a crossface[135]
- Samoan drop[136]
- Samoan Elbow (Feint leg drop transitioned into an elbow drop to the opponent's chest)[2]
- Sidewalk slam[2]
- Snap scoop powerslam followed into either a cover attempt or a crucifix armbar
- STF[2][128]
- STJoe (One-armed side slam, as a counter to an oncoming opponent)[131]
- With Magnus
- Snapmare (Joe) / Diving elbow drop (Magnus) combination[114][115]
- Entrance themes
- Samoa Joe's various entrance themes in the past were typically customized to start with the menacing "Godzilla March Theme" horn riff, signifying Joe's presence while allowing for different tracks over the years. TNA would end this tradition with their own custom theme, though it starts with a similar riff.
- "Another Body Murdered by Faith No More and Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E.[139] (ROH)
- "Mama Said Knock You Out" by LL Cool J[139] (ROH)
- "The Champ is Here" by Jadakiss[139] (ROH)[139]
- "Crush You Up" by Dale Oliver (TNA)[140]
- "On Fire" by Dale Oliver (TNA)[141]
- "Nation of Violence" by Dale Oliver (TNA)[142]
Championships and accomplishments[link]
- Ballpark Brawl
- Natural Heavyweight Championship (1 time)1[143]
- Extreme Wrestling Federation
- Xtreme 8 Tournament (2006)[144]
- Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South
- Revolution Strong Style Tournament (2004)[2]
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- PWI ranked him #4 of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2006 and 2008[145][146]
- PWI Feud of the Year (2007)[147] vs. Kurt Angle
- PWI Most Popular Wrestler of the Year (2006)[148]
- Pure Wrestling Association
- PWA Pure Wrestling Championship (1 time)[2]
- SoCal Uncensored
- Rookie of the Year (2000)[149]
- Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
- TNA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[30]
- TNA World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – by himself (1),3 with Magnus (1)[30][115]
- TNA X Division Championship (4 times)[30]
- King of the Mountain (2008)[46]
- Maximum Impact Tournament (2011)[150]
- Super X Cup (2005)[2]
- Turkey Bowl (2007)[2]
- Wild Card Tournament (2011) – with Magnus[110]
- Triple Crown Champion (1 time)
- Mr. TNA (2006)[151]
- Mr. X Division (2006)[151]
- Feud of the Year (2006–2007) with Kurt Angle[151][152]
- Finisher of the Year (2007) Muscle Buster[152]
- Twin Wrestling Entertainment
- TWE Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[2]
- Ultimate Pro Wrestling
- United Independent Wrestling Alliance
- UIWA Tag Team Championship (2 times)[2]
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
- 5 Star Match (2004) vs. CM Punk at ROH Joe vs. Punk II on October 16
- 5 Star Match (2005) vs. AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels at TNA Unbreakable on September 11[28]
- 5 Star Match (2005) vs. Kenta Kobashi at ROH Joe vs. Kobashi on October 1
- Best Brawler (2006)[154]
- Match of the Year (2005) vs. Kenta Kobashi, ROH Joe vs. Kobashi, October 1
- Most Outstanding Wrestler (2005)
1After being stripped of the title, Samoa Joe's reign was stricken from the promotion's records and the title returned to Eddie Osbourne, the man Samoa Joe defeated for the title.[155]
2After the title was vacated, Samoa Joe and partner Keiji Sakoda's reign was stricken from the promotion's records.
3After winning the championship for the first time, Samoa Joe held the title by himself.
Notes[link]
- ^ a b c Milner, John; Kamchen, Richard (2005-12-04). "Samoa Joe's bio at Slam Sports.com". Canadian Online Explorer. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/Bios/samoa_joe.html. Retrieved 2008-10-17.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah "Samoa Joe profile". Online World of Wrestling. http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/s/samoa-joe.html. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
- ^ Wrestling Observer Live radio, broadcast February 25, 2007
- ^ a b c d e "Stats from Joe's TNA profile". TNA Wrestling.com. http://www.tnawrestling.com/roster/Wrestler-Roster/item/1567-samoa-joe. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
- ^ Interview on Wrestlecast with The Sun newspaper, 2007-01-22
- ^ Downey, Mike (2008-08-14). "So far, Beijing Games have been unbelievable". Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-olydowney14-2008aug14,0,6012044.story. Retrieved 2009-04-21.
- ^ Unstoppable: the Best of Samoa Joe. TNA Home Video. 2006. http://store.nexternal.com/shared/StoreFront/product_detail.asp?CS=dns&RowID=236.
- ^ Banks, Bill (2005-09-13). "An Exclusive Interview With Samoa Joe, once sushi joelini had stolen sushi of a sushi shop called sushirini.". TNAwrestilng.com. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. http://web.archive.org/web/20070927190755/http://www.tnawrestling.com/fullnews.php?home=203. Retrieved 2007-04-23.
- ^ Hamilton, Ian. Wrestling's Sinking Ship: What Happens To An Industry Without Competition. Lulu Press, 2006. (pg. 67) ISBN 1-4116-1210-8
- ^ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (4th Edition 2006). Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
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- ^ a b c Caldwell, James (2012-02-12). "Caldwell's TNA Against All Odds PPV results 2/12: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of live PPV - Roode-Hardy-Storm-Ray TNA Title main event". Pro Wrestling Torch. http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/tnaimpact/article_58034.shtml. Retrieved 2012-02-12.
- ^ Turner, Scott (2012-02-24). "Turner's TNA Impact report 2/23: Sting says he's "done," NFL star involved in main event, TV & Tag Title matches". Pro Wrestling Torch. http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/tnaimpact/article_58513.shtml. Retrieved 2012-03-02.
- ^ Caldwell, James (2012-03-18). "Caldwell's TNA Victory Road PPV results 3/18: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of live PPV - Sting-Roode main event, Angle-Hardy, Storm-Ray". Pro Wrestling Torch. http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/tnappvs/article_59264.shtml. Retrieved 2012-03-18.
- ^ Turner, Scott (2012-03-23). "Turner's TNA Impact Wrestling results 3/22: Victory Road fall-out, Dixie & Sting & Hogan close the show, three title matches". Pro Wrestling Torch. http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/tnaimpact/article_59426.shtml. Retrieved 2012-03-23.
- ^ Caldwell, James (2012-04-15). "Caldwell's TNA Lockdown PPV results 4/15: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of live PPV - Roode-Storm main event, Angle-Hardy, Lethal Lockdown opener". Pro Wrestling Torch. http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/tnappvs/article_60411.shtml. Retrieved 2012-04-15.
- ^ Turner, Scott (2012-04-26). "Turner's TNA Impact Wrestling results 4/26: First-ever Open Fight Night, Tag Title match, Flair throws a party for Bischoff". Pro Wrestling Torch. http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/tnaimpact/article_60794.shtml. Retrieved 2012-04-27.
- ^ Caldwell, James (2012-05-13). "Caldwell's TNA Sacrifice PPV results 5/13: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of live PPV - Roode-RVD main event, Angle-Styles, Hardy-Anderson". Pro Wrestling Torch. http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/tnappvs/article_61356.shtml. Retrieved 2012-05-13.
- ^ a b c Piñeiro, Anthony (2009-02-15). "IWA: Resultados "Noche de Campeones" Súper Crazy y LAX se coronan campeones, Samoa Joe pierde ante Chicano" (in Spanish). SuperLuchas. http://superluchas.net/2009/02/15/iwaresultados-%E2%80%9Cnoche-de-campeones%E2%80%9D-super-crazy-y-lax-se-coronan-campeones/. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
- ^ "Joe comparte con la fanaticada" (in Spanish). Puerto Rico Wrestling. 2009-02-15. http://prwrestling.com/noticiasprw2/394.php. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
- ^ TNA sent out a mobile message stating that Samoa Joe was married over this past weekend in California.
- ^ a b c d De Marco, Greg (2008-10-23). "The Wrestling 5 & 1 10.23.10: Maryse vs. Velvet". 411Mania. http://www.411mania.com/wrestling/columns/158701. Retrieved 2010-11-24.
- ^ J., Andy (2008-02-13). "Interview Highlights: RVD speaks about leaving wrestling, kharma, marijuana, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/WWE_News_3/article_24490.shtml. Retrieved 2010-11-24.
- ^ James, Dustin (2010-06-25). "The MMA Top 10 06.25.10: Week 26 - The Top 10 Pro-Wrestlers That Should Have Tried MMA". 411Mania. http://www.411mania.com/MMA/columns/143437. Retrieved 2010-11-24.
- ^ a b c d e f "Cagematch profile". http://www.cagematch.de/?id=2&nr=676.
- ^ "Sacrifice PPV Results - 5/13/07 - Orlando, FL (Cage vs Sting vs Angle)". WrestleView. http://www.wrestleview.com/news2006/1179111782.shtml. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
- ^ "ROH - Glory By Honor V Night 1 DVD Review". 411mania. http://www.411mania.com/wrestling/video_reviews/49448/ROH---Glory-By-Honor-V-Night-1-DVD-Review.htm. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
- ^ a b c "411’s TNA Impact Report 7.23.09". 411mania. http://www.411mania.com/wrestling/tv_reports/111276/411s-TNA-Impact-Report-7.23.09.htm. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
- ^ "411's TNA Impact Report 07.30.09". 411mania. http://www.411mania.com/wrestling/tv_reports/111990/411%5C%5Cs-TNA-Impact-Report-07.30.09.htm. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
- ^ "TNA - The Best of Samoa Joe: Unstoppable DVD Review". 411mania. http://www.411mania.com/wrestling/video_reviews/46053/TNA---The-Best-of-Samoa-Joe:-Unstoppable-DVD-Review.htm. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
- ^ Keller, Wade (2009-09-20). "TNA No Surrender Results: KELLER'S PPV REPORT including detailed match report, star ratings, analysis, quotebook". PWTorch. http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/PPV_Reports_5/article_35495.shtml. Retrieved 2009-09-20.
- ^ Brad Garoon and Jacob Ziegler, 411mania (July 9, 2007). "ROH - Joe vs. Kobashi DVD Review". http://www.411mania.com/wrestling/video_reviews/37454/ROH---Joe-vs.-Kobashi-DVD-Review.htm. "Match 9: Kenta Kobashi vs. Samoa Joe"
- ^ "ROH - Fight of the Century DVD Review". 411mania. http://www.411mania.com/wrestling/video_reviews/47159/ROH---Fight-of-the-Century-DVD-Review.htm. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
- ^ "TNA Impact – 2008 08 14". Online World of Wrestling. http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/results/tnaimpact/_080814/. Retrieved 2012-02-12.
- ^ Ultimate Pro Wrestling Training Volume 2: The Next Step. Santa Ana, California: Ultimate Pro Wrestling. 2000. Event occurs at approx. 26 minutes. "Known as the Samoan Suplex Machine, Samoa Joe brings years of judo training and raw grid iron attitude to UPW."
- ^ a b c d "Wrestler Entrance Music". Online World of Wrestling. http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/information/music/enter/. Retrieved 2009-12-28.
- ^ "Samoa Joe (Crush You Up)". The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. http://www.ascap.com/ace/search.cfm?requesttimeout=300&mode=results&searchstr=494364971&search_in=i&search_type=exact&search_det=t,s,w,p,b,v&results_pp=25&start=1. Retrieved 2010-06-20.
- ^ "Samoa Joe Theme 07 (On Fire)". The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. http://www.ascap.com/ace/search.cfm?requesttimeout=300&mode=results&searchstr=497408016&search_in=i&search_type=exact&search_det=t,s,w,p,b,v&results_pp=25&start=1. Retrieved 2010-06-20.
- ^ "Emergence". Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. http://shoptna.com/emergence.aspx. Retrieved 2009-11-13.
- ^ "Ballpark Brawl results". http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/results/ballparkbrawl.html.
- ^ "EWF tournament results". Online World of Wrestling. http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/results/ewf/. Retrieved 2008-07-05.
- ^ "PWI Top 500 - 2006". Wrestling Information Archive. http://www.100megsfree4.com/wiawrestling/pages/pwi/pwi50006.htm. Retrieved 2007-04-26.
- ^ Clark, Ryan (2008-09-18). "The Complete 'PWI 500' List For 2008". Pro Wrestling Illustrated. WrestlingInc.com. http://www.wrestlinginc.com/news/2008/918/randy_orton_346514.shtml. Retrieved 2010-08-04.
- ^ "PWI Feud of the Year". Wrestling Information Archive. http://100megsfree4.com/wiawrestling/pages/pwi/pwifoty.htm. Retrieved 2008-11-11.
- ^ "PWI Most Popular Wrestler of the Year". Wrestling Information Archive. http://www.100megsfree4.com/wiawrestling/pages/pwi/pwimpoty.htm. Retrieved 2007-04-26.
- ^ "SoCal Uncensored Awards 1999 and 2000". SoCal Uncensored. Archived from the original on 2005-02-13. http://web.archive.org/web/20050213053416/http://www.socaluncensored.com/titles/awards/scw99.htm. Retrieved 2010-10-26.
- ^ Caldwell, James (2012-01-05). "Video - Samoa Joe earns TNA World Title shot". Pro Wrestling Torch. http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/quicknews/article_56640.shtml. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
- ^ a b c Sokol, Chris (2006-12-29). "Impact: Angle gets his rematch against Mr. TNA". SLAM! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2006/12/29/3059786.html. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
- ^ a b Martin, Adam (2008-01-24). "Full 2007 TNA Year-End Awards Results: Finisher, Tag Team, Feud, more". WrestleView. http://www.wrestleview.com/news2006/1201236111.shtml. Retrieved 2011-07-15.
- ^ a b UPW title history
- ^ Meltzer, Dave (January 22, 2007), "2006 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards", Wrestling Observer Newsletter (Campbell, CA): 1–12, ISSN 1083-9593
- ^ Ingram, William (2007-02-14). "Samoa Joe Stripped of Title, Jim Ross & More". Wrestle Talk Radio. http://www.wrestletalkradio.com/readnews.php?id=5763.
External links[link]
|
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Samoa Joe |
- Samoa Joe at MySpace
- TNA Profile
- Online World of Wrestling Profile
- The Whit Online: Ring of Honor legend on his farewell tour by Neil Borenstein
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Samoa Joe |
| Alternative names | Seanoa, Nuufolau |
| Short description | Professional wrestler |
| Date of birth | March 17, 1979 |
| Place of birth | Orange County, California |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
http://wn.com/Samoa_Joe
Related pages:
http://fr.wn.com/Samoa Joe
http://nl.wn.com/Samoa Joe
http://pt.wn.com/Samoa Joe
http://de.wn.com/Samoa Joe
http://it.wn.com/Joe Seanoa
http://pl.wn.com/Samoa Joe
http://es.wn.com/Samoa Joe
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samoa_Joe
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
| Brock Lesnar | |
|---|---|
 Lesnar at a WWE Raw show in 2012. |
|
| Ring name(s) | Brock Lesnar |
| Billed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Billed weight | 266 lb (121 kg) |
| Born | (1977-07-12) July 12, 1977 (age 34)[1] Webster, South Dakota, United States[2] |
| Resides | Alexandria, Minnesota, United States |
| Billed from | Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States |
| Trained by | Ohio Valley Wrestling |
| Debut | October 2000 |
Brock Edward Lesnar[1] (/ˈlɛznər/; born July 12, 1977) is an American professional wrestler, actor, former mixed martial artist and amateur wrestler,[3] signed with WWE and appearing on its Raw brand.[4] He is also a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and former #1 ranked mixed martial arts (MMA) Heavyweight by Sherdog; he was ranked #5 before he announced his retirement at the end of 2011.[5] Lesnar is an accomplished amateur wrestler, winning the 2000 NCAA heavyweight wrestling championship and placing second in 1999, losing in the finals to 1999 world freestyle wrestling champion and future New England Patriots offensive lineman Stephen Neal.[6]
He gained prominence in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) from 2002 to 2004, where he is a former three-time WWE Champion, becoming the youngest WWE Champion at age 25 with his first reign. Lesnar was the 2002 King of the Ring and the winner of the 2003 Royal Rumble.[7][8] After leaving WWE, Lesnar pursued a career in the NFL.[9] He played during the preseason for the Minnesota Vikings, but ended up being a late cut.[10] Lesnar returned to professional wrestling at the end of 2005, and joined New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), where he won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in his first match.[11] He was officially stripped of the title by NJPW in July 2006, and took the physical belt with him to Inoki Genome Federation (IGF), where he was still recognized as IWGP Champion until June 2007.[12]
Lesnar started a career in MMA and won his first fight in June 2007.[13] He then signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in October 2007. He lost his UFC debut against Frank Mir, but defeated Heath Herring in his sophomore fight. He subsequently captured the UFC Heavyweight Championship from Randy Couture on November 15, 2008, then avenged his loss to Mir at UFC 100 to become the Undisputed Champion. After being sidelined from fighting in late 2009 due to diverticulitis, Lesnar returned to defeat the Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion Shane Carwin at UFC 116. Lesnar lost the Heavyweight belt against Cain Velasquez at UFC 121. He was once again stricken with a bout of diverticulitis in May 2011 and had surgery to try to cope with the ailment.[14] Lesnar returned at UFC 141 in December 2011, where he lost to Alistair Overeem and promptly retired from the UFC.[15] In April 2012, Lesnar returned to WWE.
Contents |
Early life[link]
Brock Lesnar was born in Webster, South Dakota. He attended Webster High School in Webster, where he had a wrestling record of 33–0–0 in his senior year.[16] Lesnar admits he graduated last of 54 students in his class.[17] Lesnar later attended the University of Minnesota on a full wrestling scholarship for his junior and senior years of college; his roommate was fellow professional wrestler Shelton Benjamin who served as Lesnar's assistant coach.[18] Lesnar won the 2000 NCAA wrestling championship as a heavyweight after placing second in 1999.
Prior to joining the Minnesota Golden Gophers, Lesnar wrestled at Bismarck State College in Bismarck, North Dakota.[2] Lesnar finished his amateur career as a two-time NJCAA All-American, 1998 NJCAA Heavyweight Champion, two-time NCAA All-American, two-time Big Ten Conference Champion, and the 2000 NCAA heavyweight champion with a record of 106–5 overall in four years of college.[19]
Professional wrestling career[link]
World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment (2000–2004)[link]
Training and debut (2000–2002)[link]
In 2000, after leaving college, Lesnar signed up with the World Wrestling Federation. He was sent to its developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling. There, he formed a tag team known as "The Minnesota Stretching Crew" with his former college roommate, Shelton Benjamin. Lesnar and Benjamin won the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship on three occasions.[20] He wrestled several dark matches in 2001 and 2002 before being called up to the main roster.[11]
Lesnar debuted on WWF television on the March 18, 2002 episode of Raw, the night after WrestleMania X8, coming through the crowd and attacking Al Snow, Maven, and Spike Dudley during the course of a match. He was accompanied by Paul Heyman, who was seen giving instructions to Lesnar.[21] When the brand extension was introduced in the WWF, Lesnar was drafted to the Raw brand.[22] Later, Heyman was confirmed to be Lesnar's agent and gave Lesnar the nickname "The Next Big Thing".[23] Brock's first feud was with the Hardy Boyz. Lesnar and Jeff Hardy squared off at Backlash in Lesnar's first official televised match.[11] He won the match by knockout.[24] The next night on Raw Lesnar faced off against Matt Hardy, defeating him in the same fashion.[25] At Judgment Day, Lesnar once again gained the upper hand on the Hardy Boyz before tagging his partner, Heyman, in to make the pin.[26]
Main event status (2002–2003)[link]
In June 2002, Lesnar won the King of the Ring tournament, defeating Rob Van Dam in the final round.[7] This victory earned him a shot at the WWE Undisputed Championship at SummerSlam.[26] On July 22, Lesnar joined the SmackDown! brand.[27] After a quick feud with Hollywood Hulk Hogan in August 2002, Lesnar began feuding with the Undisputed Champion The Rock.[28] At the main event of SummerSlam, Lesnar defeated The Rock to become the WWE Undisputed Champion.[26] With his victory at age 25, Lesnar became the youngest WWE Champion in history (a record that was previously held by The Rock and stands to date).[26] With the WWE Undisputed Championship being defended on both brands, Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff expected Lesnar to be able to return to Raw the following night. However, SmackDown General Manager Stephanie McMahon announced that Lesnar's contract only required him to defend the title on SmackDown!, forcing Bischoff to establish a new world championship for his brand. With the new World Heavyweight Championship on the Raw brand, the now disputed WWE Undisputed Championship simply became known as the WWE Championship.[29]
Lesnar's rapid rise to the top of WWE in 2002 led to a feud with The Undertaker, which involved a match at Unforgiven.[26] It ended in a double disqualification leading to Lesnar retaining the title. The next month, at No Mercy, he faced The Undertaker again, this time in a Hell in a Cell match. Leading up to the match, Lesnar broke the Undertaker's hand with a propane tank.[30] Despite Heyman begging McMahon not to let The Undertaker use his cast as a weapon, the request was denied and the match went on as planned.[31] In a match that saw both wrestlers and even Heyman covered in blood, it ended when Lesnar reversed an attempted Tombstone piledriver into his finishing F-5 maneuver for the win.[26] Six days after his Hell in a Cell match with The Undertaker, Lesnar successfully retained his WWE title in a Handicap match with Heyman at the Rebellion pay-per-view against Edge.[32]
Lesnar's next opponent was The Big Show. Heyman was convinced more than anyone that Lesnar could not win, trying to talk him out of defending the title.[33] Lesnar refused and lost the championship in Madison Square Garden at the Survivor Series pay-per-view to Big Show, Lesnar's first pinfall loss in WWE. When the champion tried to pin the 500-pounder following an F-5, he was betrayed by Heyman who pulled the referee out of the ring allowing Big Show to capitalize by chokeslamming Lesnar on a steel chair. Show went on to pin Lesnar and win the title. As a result, Lesnar became a fan favorite.[34] Following Survivor Series, Heyman made it clear that Lesnar would not get a rematch, even going so far as to sneak a special clause in his contract.[35] In order to gain his revenge on Big Show and Heyman, Lesnar interfered in his first title defense, which came against Kurt Angle the next month at Armageddon. Lesnar hit the F-5 on the champion, which enabled Angle to pin him and win the title. On the next edition of SmackDown, however, Angle introduced Heyman as his manager and, despite promising Lesnar a match for his title earlier in the evening, declared that Lesnar still would not get a title shot. Lesnar was then beaten down by Big Show and Angle following the main event, but the former champion got his revenge after the show went off the air. While getting attacked again and berated by Heyman, Lesnar recovered and began to fight off both men. He eventually clotheslined Big Show out of the ring and then knocked him out with a steel chair when he returned, leaving Angle alone with Lesnar. Lesnar then chased the champion, who had escaped to the outside, and resumed his assault that culminated when Lesnar used the F-5 to propel Angle's right knee into the steel ringpost. As paramedics tended to a screaming Angle, Lesnar finished off the assault with a kneebreaker on the ringside barricade, (kayfabe) breaking the champion's leg.
With Angle temporarily put out of action, Lesnar's rivalry with Heyman and the Big Show resumed, which culminated in a match at the Royal Rumble in January 2003. A spot in the Royal Rumble match was on the line, and winning the match would be Lesnar's only hope for a potential title shot. Lesnar defeated Big Show to gain entry into the match and entered at #29, the second to last competitor to enter the match. He eliminated Matt Hardy and Team Angle, which was composed of the debuting (at the time) Charlie Haas and his former OVW teammate, Shelton Benjamin who were mentored by the WWE champion. Lesnar made it to the final two, with the only remaining entry being a returning Undertaker who entered the match last. Lesnar went on to win the match by eliminating Undertaker, which now guaranteed him a title match which he would receive at WrestleMania XIX.[34]
After the Royal Rumble, Lesnar's feud with Angle, Heyman, and their allies continued as Angle retained the title at the Rumble by defeating Chris Benoit. Lesnar and Benoit faced off against Angle, Haas, and Benjamin at No Way Out the following month and Lesnar's team won the match. This helped to forward the feud leading into the main event at WrestleMania.[34] During the match, Lesnar attempted and botched a shooting star press, a move typically done by cruiserweights but a move Lesnar knew how to perform, having done so in developmental matches. However, Lesnar overestimated the distance he could jump to execute the move. As a result, he did not get enough rotation on his leap and instead of landing with his body on top of Angle's, Lesnar jammed his head and neck by hitting Angle's side and ribcage. This stunned Lesnar and forced Angle to improvise the finish of the match. Lesnar suffered a severe concussion from the botched move, but still managed to pin Angle after an F-5 to win his second WWE Championship.[34] The rivalry ended after this, as Angle was forced to undergo neck surgery and missed several months.
After WrestleMania Lesnar turned his attention to John Cena, who had returned from injury in February 2003 and who had been F-5'd into a ringpost in the same manner Angle had been. Cena claimed Lesnar nearly ended his career and even named his new finishing move the "FU" as a jab at the new champion.[36] The feud ended relatively quickly in a match at Backlash when Lesnar defeated Cena. On the following SmackDown, Lesnar returned to his rivalry with Big Show after he injured Rey Mysterio badly during their match at Backlash. Show's attack resulted in Mysterio being carried out on a stretcher and back board and Big Show took Mysterio off the stretcher and swung the back board into the ringpost, compounding the injury.[34] Lesnar called out the Big Show, who demanded that Lesnar put his title on the line against him. This led to a Stretcher match at Judgment Day for the title. Lesnar successfully retained his title with help from Rey Mysterio and a forklift.[37] During the scripted rivalry, on SmackDown!, Lesnar lifted Big Show over in a Superplex, which caused the ring to collapse on impact.[38]
As Lesnar and Big Show continued their rivalry, Kurt Angle returned from his neck surgery and he and Lesnar began to form a more friendly rivalry, as the two were allies yet contenders for the title. At the first ever SmackDown brand-exclusive pay-per-view in July, Vengeance, Lesnar took on Angle and Big Show in a No Disqualification Triple Threat match for his title, which ended after Angle hit his Angle Slam on both Big Show and Lesnar, pinning the champion to become WWE Champion for a fourth time.[34]
Lesnar continued to chase Angle's title, however, despite their friendship. Vince McMahon found his way into the angle, at first berating Lesnar, who had involved himself in McMahon's rivalry with Zach Gowen, for losing to Angle. This all turned out to be a huge swerve that came into focus on the August 7, 2003 SmackDown in Kelowna, British Columbia. That night, Lesnar and McMahon were to face each other in a steel cage match with Angle as the special guest referee as per McMahon's orders on the previous week's program. During the course of the match, Lesnar had passed out due to a staged backstage incident and McMahon was set to pin him but Angle refused to allow McMahon to win that way. As the two men began to argue, Lesnar rose to his feet, revealing the ruse to the crowd, and F-5'd Angle. He then brutally beat Angle in the cage while McMahon watched, and celebrated with the owner of the company afterward, turning heel in the process.
At SummerSlam, [39] Lesnar lost to Angle when Angle made Lesnar tap out to the ankle lock.[40] After that, Lesnar began brutalizing smaller wrestlers and attacking his rivals on a more consistent basis. He returned to using the F-5 to propel his opponents' legs into the ringpost, as he did to Spanky and Gowen, and interfered in Angle's matches on two separate occasion.
On September 18, 2003, Lesnar received his third shot at Angle in as many months when he faced the champion in a sixty-minute Iron Man match for the title in what went down as one of the greatest matches in the history of SmackDown.[41] Lesnar employed an early strategy where he assaulted the champion with a steel chair early in the match, getting himself disqualified to lose the first fall but allowing himself a chance to do a fair amount of damage. Lesnar won the next three falls by hitting Angle with the F-5 and pinning him, putting Angle's own ankle lock on him and forcing him to submit, and then getting Angle counted out after hitting a second F-5 on the floor. Angle recovered to pin the champion after an Angle Slam, but Lesnar won two additional falls by first leveling him with the championship belt while the referee's back was turned and then hitting a superplex from the top. That made it five falls to two in favor of the challenger with the match more than halfway over. In the final ten minutes of the match, Angle moved to within one fall after a pin and a submission with the ankle lock. For the final two minutes of the match, Lesnar tried to dodge Angle by leaving the ring on several occasions. Angle finally caught the champions with 1:12 left and hit a series of German suplexes, keeping Lesnar locked up for nearly 45 seconds. Lesnar, however, was able to hold on to the referee and kicked Angle below the belt with :35 left. However, since Lesnar was still holding the official he was not disqualified, and with nineteen seconds remaining Angle appeared to be out of it. However, Lesnar fell into a trap set by the champion and Angle locked in the ankle lock again. This time, Angle applied a grapevine hold to the lock, wrenching hard on Lesnar's ankle for the final fifteen seconds of the bout. However, Lesnar was able to withstand the hold for the remaining time and as a result, by a final count of five falls to four, won the match and his third WWE Championship.[42]
With Angle finally out of his hair for the first time in nearly a year, Lesnar returned to feuding with The Undertaker. Lesnar had previously cost Undertaker the title in a match against then-champion Kurt Angle, which granted him a shot at Lesnar's title.[43] At No Mercy, Lesnar defeated Undertaker in a Biker Chain match.[44] However, the rivalry came to an end when Undertaker instead chose to focus on McMahon.
After Paul Heyman returned to WWE as general manager of SmackDown, Lesnar aligned himself with his former manager. Since he had also since been aligning himself with his former rival The Big Show for several weeks after his betrayal of Angle, this brought Lesnar almost full circle from the year prior, where Heyman and Big Show had conspired with each other to rid Lesnar of his title. With Survivor Series coming up, Lesnar decided to challenge Angle to a traditional Survivor Series elimination tag team match, with Lesnar picking four additional wrestlers and Angle doing the same. Lesnar chose Big Show as his first pick, with Heyman adding a returning Nathan Jones and a debuting Matt Morgan to bring the team number to four. Angle, in the meantime, chose Chris Benoit and The APA to join his team. However, Faarooq was injured during a match with Lesnar and Big Show and Angle's team was forced to not only find a replacement for him, but to fill the fifth spot. Lesnar's team picked A-Train to fill that spot for them after he attacked John Cena, who refused to accept an invitation to join Lesnar's team. Cena instead joined Angle's team, and Angle added Hardcore Holly as the fifth member; Lesnar had injured Holly the year before and he hadn't wrestled since.[45] In the climax of the match, Chris Benoit became the second person to make Lesnar tap out.[44]
Lesnar faced Benoit in a singles bout two weeks later for the WWE Championship on SmackDown!, where Lesnar won after Benoit passed out to Lesnar's debuting Brock Lock submission hold.[46] He then began a brief feud with Hardcore Holly, defeating him at the Royal Rumble in January 2004 to retain his title.
Feuding with Goldberg and departure (2003–2004)[link]
The Survivor Series event marked the first time Lesnar met Goldberg from the Raw brand, a man to whom Lesnar had been compared due to their similar physiques and undefeated streaks in wrestling. Lesnar claimed in a backstage interview that he could beat anybody in the world, leading to Goldberg interrupting the interview and introducing himself to Lesnar, shaking hands with him before leaving with a staredown.[44] Lesnar followed this rivalry with a feud involving Hardcore Holly.[47] In the storyline, Holly wanted revenge on Lesnar for legitimately injuring his neck during a previous match between the two in 2002 which left Holly in need of neck surgery and out of action for a year. At the Royal Rumble in 2004, Lesnar defeated Holly to retain the WWE Championship.[48] Later in the Royal Rumble match, Lesnar attacked Goldberg and delivered an F-5, enabling Kurt Angle to eliminate him.[44]
In February, Lesnar faced Eddie Guerrero for the title at No Way Out. Goldberg interfered in the match and was able to help Guerrero turn the tide in the match. Lesnar still had his chance to win by nailing an F-5 onto his title belt that Lesnar brought into the ring, but Guerrero countered with a DDT to drive the champion into the belt. After a frog splash, Guerrero pinned Lesnar to win the WWE Championship. An angry Lesnar then began feuding with Goldberg, blaming him for losing his title, and a match was set up between the two at WrestleMania XX.[49] During the feud with Goldberg, Lesnar was at odds with Stone Cold Steve Austin, who was shown suggesting to Goldberg that he attack Lesnar at No Way Out.[50] When Lesnar attacked Austin on Raw and stole his four-wheeler, Austin was inserted as the special guest referee for the Wrestlemania match.[51] Behind the scenes, it was widely known that the match would be Goldberg's last in WWE.[citation needed] Only a week before Wrestlemania, however, rumors surfaced that Lesnar, too, was leaving in order to pursue a career in the National Football League.[citation needed] As a result, Lesnar's match with Goldberg became a fiasco as the fans at Madison Square Garden jeered and heckled both wrestlers vociferously.[52] Goldberg gained victory after delivering a Jackhammer to Lesnar and both men subsequently received Stone Cold Stunners from Austin.[52]
New Japan Pro Wrestling (2005–2007)[link]
On October 8, 2005, Lesnar won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in a three-way match at a New Japan Pro Wrestling show in the Tokyo Dome, which included the then-champion Kazuyuki Fujita and Masahiro Chono.[53] He won the match by pinning Masahiro Chono after an F-5, which he had renamed the Verdict, since WWE owns the trademark on the F-5 name.[11] After the match, he stated that this name was referring to his lawsuit against WWE. The match was his first pro wrestling match since leaving WWE.[11] Lesnar is one of the few American wrestlers to have held this title.[53]
On December 6, WWE filed a motion for a temporary restraining order to prevent Lesnar from continuing to work with NJPW, but the court did not grant it, and thus Lesnar had two non-title victories against Manabu Nakanishi and Yuji Nagata.[54][55] Lesnar successfully defended his championship on January 4, 2006, against former champion Shinsuke Nakamura.[54] On January 13, WWE once again filed an injunction against Lesnar to stop him from defending the IWGP Heavyweight Championship on March 19. Evidently this was not enforced (nor granted), as he went on to have a tag team match with Shinsuke Nakamura against Akebono and Riki Chōshū at the Sumo Hall on February 19, which was won after a Verdict to Chōshū.[54][56] On March 19, at the Sumo Hall, Lesnar retained his championship against former Sumo Wrestling Grand Champion Akebono when Lesnar hit him with the championship belt and a DDT.[57] Lesnar went on to successfully defend his title against the winner of the New Japan Cup, Giant Bernard, on May 3, 2006, in Fukuoka. This was the first American vs. American title match in NJPW since Vader vs. Stan Hansen in 1990.[58]
On July 15, 2006, New Japan Pro Wrestling announced that Brock Lesnar had been stripped of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship as he would no longer be returning to defend the title due to "visa issues." A tournament was held on July 16 to determine the new champion, which was won by Hiroshi Tanahashi, the man Lesnar was originally scheduled to face. Lesnar continued to possess the physical IWGP Championship belt until late June 2007.[12]
Approximately one year later on June 29, 2007, Lesnar defended his IWGP Heavyweight Championship (IGF promoter Antonio Inoki had stated he still viewed Lesnar as the "proper" IWGP Champion, as he was not defeated for the title) against TNA World Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle in a champion versus champion match. Angle defeated Lesnar with the Ankle lock to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship as recognized by IGF and TNA.[12] and challenged him to an MMA fight.[59] This was Lesnar's last match as a professional wrestler until 2012 when he re-signed with WWE.
Lawsuit[link]
Lesnar had previously signed a no-compete clause in order to be released from his contract with WWE, which prohibited him from working for any other sports entertainment or mixed martial arts companies before June 2010. Lesnar had anticipated leaving wrestling entirely, but his inability to secure a career in professional football led to him challenging this ruling in court.[60] WWE responded by demanding damages as a result of Lesnar allegedly breaching the agreement by appearing at a New Japan Pro Wrestling show in 2004.[61] In July 2005, the two sides dropped their claims and entered negotiations to renew their relationship.[62] WWE had offered Lesnar a contract, but on August 2, 2005, WWE's official website reported that Lesnar had withdrawn from any involvement with the company.[63] The lawsuit was then entered into settlement on September 21, but talks broke down.[64][65]
On January 14, 2006, Judge Christopher Droney stated that unless WWE gave him a good argument between then and January 25, he would rule in favor of Brock Lesnar, giving him a summary judgment. This would have enabled Lesnar to work anywhere he wanted immediately.[66] WWE was later granted a deadline postponement.[67] On April 24, World Wrestling Entertainment announced on their official website, WWE.com, that both parties had mutually come to a settlement and on June 12, a federal judge dismissed Lesnar's lawsuit against WWE after both parties requested for the case to be dismissed.[68]
Return to WWE (2012)[link]
On April 2, 2012, Lesnar returned to the WWE at the end of Monday Night Raw, attacking John Cena.[69] The following week, general manager John Laurinaitis introduced Lesnar as the new face of the WWE, he then announced Lesnar would face Cena at the Extreme Rules PPV. Cena then interrupted and slapped Lesnar in the face, the two then brawled which resulted in Cena getting a busted lip. On April 16, it was announced, via the official WWE website, that Lesnar would face Cena in an Extreme Rules match.[70] At the pay-per-view, Lesnar bloodied Cena with MMA-style strikes, but would ultimately lose the match.[71]
The following night on Raw, Chief Operating Officer Triple H returned to confront Lesnar over his new contract demands, saying wouldn't be authorizing any of them. Lesnar would then attack Triple H, apply a Kimura lock and break his arm.[72] On the May 7 episode of Raw, Paul Heyman, serving as legal representative for Lesnar, announced that Lesnar had quit the WWE.[73]
National Football League (2004–2005)[link]
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No. 69
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Personal information
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| Date of birth: (1977-07-12) July 12, 1977 (age 34) | |||||||
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Career information
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| High school: Webster High School | |||||||
| College: Minnesota | |||||||
| Undrafted in 2004 | |||||||
| No regular season or postseason appearances | |||||||
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Career history
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Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2004
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After his final match at WrestleMania XX, Lesnar sidelined his career in WWE to pursue a career in the National Football League.[9] This move upset many in WWE, as the company felt they had invested heavily in Lesnar. World Wrestling Entertainment confirmed Lesnar's departure on their official website WWE.com by the statement
Brock Lesnar has made a personal decision to put his WWE career on hold to prepare to tryout for the National Football League this season. Brock has wrestled his entire professional career in the WWE and we are proud of his accomplishments and wish him the best in his new endeavor.[74]
Lesnar later told a Minnesota radio show that he had three wonderful years in WWE, but had grown unhappy and had always wanted to play pro football, adding that he did not want to be 40 years old and wondering if he could have made it in football. In an interview about starting with the NFL, Lesnar made the statement
This is no load of bull; it's no WWE stunt. I am dead serious about this... I ain't afraid of anything, and I ain't afraid of anybody. I've been an underdog in athletics since I was 5. I got zero college offers for wrestling. Now people say I can't play football, that it's a joke. I say I can. I'm as good an athlete as a lot of guys in the NFL, if not better... I've always had to fight for everything. I wasn't the best technician in amateur wrestling. But I was strong, had great conditioning, and a hard head. Nobody could break me. As long as I have that, I don't give a damn what anybody else thinks.[75]
Lesnar played for the Minnesota Vikings, where he created controversy in some games by starting minor fights and got heat from the Kansas City Chiefs for a sack on quarterback Damon Huard, which drew a big response from the crowd.[76] Huard was hit hard and had to go to the sidelines and sit out a few plays.[76] After playing in the preseason, Lesnar ended up being a late cut.[10] He declined an invitation to play as a representative of the Vikings in NFL Europa because he wanted to be closer to home with his family.[10]
Mixed martial arts[link]
| Brock Lesnar | |
|---|---|
| Born | Brock Edward Lesnar (1977-07-12) July 12, 1977 (age 34)[2] Webster, South Dakota, United States[2] |
| Residence | Alexandria, Minnesota, United States |
| Nationality | American[2] |
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)[77] |
| Weight | 265 lb (120 kg; 18 st 13 lb) |
| Division | Heavyweight |
| Reach | 81 in (206 cm) |
| Style | Wrestling |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Fighting out of | Alexandria, Minnesota, United States |
| Team | DeathClutch Gym |
| Trainer | Head Trainer: Marty Morgan[78] Coach: Erik Paulson[79] Boxing: Peter Welch[80] Jiu-Jitsu: Rodrigo Medeiros[81] |
| Wrestling | NCAA Division I Wrestling |
| Years active | 2007 – 2011 (MMA) |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 8 |
| Wins | 5 |
| By knockout | 2 |
| By submission | 2 |
| By decision | 1 |
| Losses | 3 |
| By knockout | 2 |
| By submission | 1 |
| Other information | |
| University | University of Minnesota |
| Spouse | Rena Mero |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
|
|
|
Hero's (2007)[link]
On April 28, 2006, Lesnar appeared inside the ring after the final match of K-1 Hero's Las Vegas and announced his intent to join the MMA promotion. He trained with Minnesota Martial Arts Academy under Greg Nelson, and University of Minnesota Assistant Head wrestling coach Marty Morgan.[82] Brock Lesnar announced on August 12 in Las Vegas that he had signed a deal with the K-1 promotion.[83] His first fight was scheduled for June 2, 2007, on the K-1 Dynamite!! USA show against Choi Hong-man of Korea.[84][85] However, prior to the match, Choi Hong-Man was replaced by Min Soo Kim. Lesnar submitted Min Soo Kim due to strikes in 1 minute 9 seconds of the first round to win his first official MMA match.[13]
Ultimate Fighting Championship (2008–2011)[link]
During UFC 77, it was announced that Brock Lesnar had reached a deal to fight with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).[3] On February 2, 2008, Lesnar made his debut with the promotion in an event titled UFC 81:Breaking Point against former UFC Heavyweight Champion, Frank Mir.[86] Lesnar secured an early takedown, but was deducted a point for hitting Mir on the back of the head. Following another takedown by Lesnar, Mir managed to secure a kneebar and force a submission at 1:30 of the first round.[86] Due to the large size of his hands,[87] Lesnar was wearing 4XL gloves for the fight, making him the second man in Nevada's combat sports history to wear such gloves after Choi Hong-man.[88] At UFC 82, it was announced that former UFC Heavyweight Champion and UFC Hall of Fame inductee Mark Coleman would fight Lesnar at UFC 87:Seek and Destroy.[89] Coleman was forced to withdraw from the fight due to a training injury, and Lesnar's opponent was changed to Heath Herring.[90] In the early seconds of the first round, Lesnar dropped Herring with a straight right. For the rest of the fight, Lesnar kept the fight on the ground and went on to win by unanimous decision.[91]
Lesnar's next opponent was Randy Couture for the UFC Heavyweight Championship at UFC 91:Couture vs Lesnar on November 15.[92] Lesnar beat Couture via a technical knockout in Round 2, becoming the UFC Heavyweight Champion.[93]
On December 27, 2008, at UFC 92, Frank Mir defeated Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira for the Interim Heavyweight title and was to face Lesnar for the Undisputed UFC Heavyweight Championship at UFC 98. Immediately after winning the Interim Heavyweight title, Mir found Lesnar in the crowd and shouted at him "You've got my belt."
However, due to a knee injury to Mir, the title unification match with Lesnar that was originally slated to be the UFC 98 main event was postponed. The news broke during the broadcast of UFC 96 that the bout had been cancelled and was replaced by Rashad Evans vs. Lyoto Machida for the UFC Light-Heavyweight Championship."[94] Lesnar won the postponed rematch with Mir at UFC 100 on July 11, 2009, via Knockout after dominating his opponent for the duration of the bout. The win earned Lesnar Beatdown of the Year honors from Sherdog for 2009. It's an award he shares with Anderson Silva after his win over Forrest Griffin.[95] During his post-match celebration, Lesnar flipped off the crowd who had been booing him. He made a disparaging comment about the PPV's primary sponsor Bud Light, claiming they "won't pay me nothin'", promoting Coors Light instead. He then stated he might even "get on top of [his] wife" after the show. He would later apologize for his actions in his post-fight press conference, where he held a bottle of Bud Light.[96]
In January 2009, Brock Lesnar signed a supplement endorsement deal with Dymatize Nutrition. A CD containing training footage of Lesnar was included with boxes of Dymatize Xpand and Energized Xpand.[97]
On July 1, 2009, it was reported that the winner of the Shane Carwin vs. Cain Velasquez fight at UFC 104 would face Brock Lesnar in his second title defense on a date yet to be determined; however, the UFC then reconsidered the contendership bout and Lesnar was scheduled to defend his belt against Shane Carwin at UFC 106 on November 21.[98]
On October 26, 2009, it was announced that Lesnar had pulled out of the UFC 106 card in which he was set to face Shane Carwin for the UFC Heavyweight Championship due to an illness. UFC President Dana White said that Brock had been ill for three weeks, claiming he had never been this sick in his life and that it would take him a while to recover; his fight with Carwin was rescheduled for UFC 108 in early 2010.[99] Lesnar initially sought treatment in Canada, but later told reporters that he had received "Third World treatment" from malfunctioning equipment at a hospital in Brandon, Manitoba, and that seeking better medical treatment in the United States saved his life. Lesnar, who describes himself as a conservative and a supporter of the US Republican Party, went on to criticize Canadian-style health care further and said that he shared his experience in an effort to speak "on the behalf of the doctors in the United States that don't want health care reform to happen and neither do I."[100]
On November 4, it was confirmed that Lesnar was suffering from mononucleosis and that his bout with Carwin would have to wait a bit longer, thus the fight for UFC 108 was cancelled.[101] On November 14 at the UFC 105 post-fight conference, Dana stated, "He's not well and he's not going to be getting well anytime soon." and that an interim title match might need to be set up.[102] In addition to mononucleosis, it was revealed that Lesnar was suffering from a serious case of diverticulitis, an intestinal disorder, which would require surgery.[103] After further diagnosis, on November 16 Lesnar underwent surgery to close a perforation in his intestine that had been leaking fecal matter into his abdomen, causing pain, abscesses, and overtaxing his immune system to the point that he contracted mononucleosis. From the level of damage to Lesnar's system, the surgeon estimated that the intestinal condition had been ongoing for around a year.[104]
In January 2010, Lesnar announced on ESPN SportsCenter that he was scheduled to make a return to the UFC in the summer of 2010.[105] A match between Frank Mir and Shane Carwin took place on March 27 at UFC 111 to determine the UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion, and Brock's next opponent.[106] Shane Carwin defeated Frank Mir by KO in the first round, becoming the new Interim Champion. After the fight, Brock came into the ring and stated "It was a good fight, but he's wearing a belt that's a make believe belt, I've got the real championship belt."[107]
Lesnar faced Shane Carwin at UFC 116 to unify the heavyweight titles.[108] After Carwin knocked him down early in the first round, Lesnar survived a ground and pound attack. Early in the second round, Lesnar was able to take Carwin down, attain a full mount, then move into side-control and finish the fight with an arm triangle choke. With the victory, Lesnar again became the Undisputed UFC Heavyweight Champion, earning his first UFC Submission Of The Night and giving Carwin his first loss.
Lesnar's next defense was against undefeated top contender Cain Velasquez on October 23, 2010, at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California at UFC 121.[109] Dana White announced via SportsNation that the UFC would be bringing back UFC Primetime to hype up Lesnar vs. Velasquez at UFC 121.[110] Lesnar was defeated by Velasquez for the UFC Heavyweight Championship via TKO in the first round at UFC 121 on October 23, 2010.[111]
On January 11, 2011, it was revealed that Lesnar would be one of the coaches of The Ultimate Fighter Season 13, opposite to Junior dos Santos,[112] with the two expected to face each other on June 11, 2011 at UFC 131.[113] Lesnar, however, was struck with another bout of diverticulitis and had to withdraw from the bout on May 12, 2011.[114] He was replaced by Shane Carwin who lost against dos Santos at UFC 131.[115]
Lesnar underwent surgery on May 27, 2011, to help battle his problems with diverticulitis. UFC president Dana White said that Lesnar had a 12-inch piece of his colon removed.[14]
ESPN The Magazine, in its May 2011 issue, did a story listing the highest paid athlete based on base salary and earnings for the most recent calendar year or most recent season in 30 sports. Brock Lesnar topped the list for mixed martial artists at $5.3 million, which included his reported bout salaries and estimated pay-per-view bonuses.[116]
In the summer of 2011 Lesnar announced that he was ready to get back into the Octagon, stating that "I feel like a new man, healthy, strong, I feel like I used to feel."[117]
His return match was scheduled to be at UFC 141 on December 30 in Las Vegas against former Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem.[118] Lesnar had to cut weight for the fight in order to meet the 265lb weight limit and entered the Octagon with a potential title shot at the new champion Junior dos Santos for the match victor.[119] During the match, Overeem targeted his opponent's midsection and was able to land several strikes before delivering a powerful kick that dropped Lesnar to his knee and left him prey to a barrage of punches resulting in the referee stopping the fight and declaring Overeem the winner via TKO at 2:26 of the first round.[120][121] After the defeat, Lesnar announced his retirement from mixed martial arts, mentioning his struggles with diverticulitis and saying "tonight was the last time you'll see me in the octagon".[120][121] UFC President Dana White commented that while he wasn't aware of the decision, Lesnar's decision to retire was not a surprise to him.[121]
Other media[link]
Lesnar makes an appearance in the video game WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain, which is named after the quote that former WWE commentator Tazz attributed to Lesnar, "here comes the pain."[122] Other video games in which Lesnar has appeared include WWE SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth, WWE WrestleMania XIX, WWE Crush Hour,, WWE Raw 2 Madden NFL 06, UFC 2009 Undisputed, UFC Undisputed 2010, PlayStation 2 version of Wrestle Kingdom and most recently, WWE '12. as a Legend.[123][124][125][126] With the release of UFC Undisputed 2010 Lesnar became the first man to appear on the cover of a WWE and UFC video game as he was the cover star on Here Comes the Pain.
Lesnar was on the cover of Flex Magazine.[127] Lesnar was featured in Minneapolis' City Pages in February 2008.[128] In February 2008 Lesnar was featured on the cover of Muscle & Fitness magazine.[129]
WWE Home Video released a DVD in 2003 titled Brock Lesnar: Here Comes the Pain. The DVD covered Lesnar's career up to 2003 which featured some of his biggest matches. Lesnar owns an MMA clothing line called "DeathClutch".[130]
Personal life[link]
Lesnar grew up on a farm in South Dakota, and later joined the National Guard at the age of seventeen.[16] In January 2001, Lesnar was arrested for receiving large amounts of what was alleged to be steroids. The charges were later dropped when it was discovered the substances were in fact a legal growth hormone. His lawyer later described the growth hormone as a "vitamin type of thing."[131]
Lesnar has one daughter, Mya Lynn who was born on April 10, 2002, with his ex-fiancée, Nicole.[132] He left Nicole in 2003 in order to begin a relationship with Rena "Sable" Mero who had been recently divorced from Marc Mero. Lesnar and Mero were engaged in 2004, separated in 2005, then reconciled later that year and married on May 6, 2006.[133] Lesnar has one stepchild with Mero: Mariah, a stepdaughter born to Mero and her late husband, Wayne Richardson.[134] The couple had their first child together, a son named Turk in June 2009.[135] The couple had their second child, a son named Duke in July 2010.[136]
Lesnar has numerous tattoos, with the most prominent being a stylized skull in the center of his back and a large sword on his chest.[128]
He is known to be very conservative of his private life and avoids discussing it in interviews:
| “ | It's very basic for me. When I go home, I don't buy into any of the b.s. Like I said, it's pretty basic: Train, sleep, family, fight. It's my life. I like it. I've been in front of the cameras for 10, 12 years. I was a star at the University of Minnesota. I went on to World Wrestling Entertainment. Wannabe NFL player. And here I am, the UFC heavyweight champion. I just don't put myself out there to the fans and prostitute my private life to everybody. In today's day and age, with the Internet and cameras and cell phones, I just like being old school and living in the woods and living my life. I came from nothing and at any moment, you can go back to having nothing.[137] | ” |
On December 15, 2011, Lesnar was charged with hunting infractions of a trip to Alberta on November 19, 2010. On a court appearance in Medicine Hat in December 20, two charges were dropped but pleaded guilty to the charge of improper tagging of an animal. Lesnar was fined $1,725 and given a six-month hunting suspension.[138][139]
Mixed martial arts record[link]
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 8 matches | 5 wins | 3 losses |
| By knockout | 2 | 2 |
| By submission | 2 | 1 |
| By decision | 1 | 0 |
| Result | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 5–3 | Alistair Overeem | TKO (kick to the body & punches) | UFC 141 | 02011-12-30December 30, 2011 | 1 | 2:26 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Announced retirement after fight |
| Loss | 5–2 | Cain Velasquez | TKO (punches) | UFC 121 | 02010-10-23October 23, 2010 | 1 | 4:12 | Anaheim, California, United States | Lost UFC Heavyweight Championship |
| Win | 5–1 | Shane Carwin | Submission (arm triangle choke) | UFC 116 | 02010-07-03July 3, 2010 | 2 | 2:19 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Defended UFC Heavyweight Championship. Unified UFC Interim Heavyweight Championship; Submission of the Night |
| Win | 4–1 | Frank Mir | TKO (punches) | UFC 100 | 02009-07-11July 11, 2009 | 2 | 1:48 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Defended UFC Heavyweight Championship. Unified UFC Interim Heavyweight Championship |
| Win | 3–1 | Randy Couture | TKO (punches) | UFC 91 | 02008-11-15November 15, 2008 | 2 | 3:07 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Won UFC Heavyweight Championship. |
| Win | 2–1 | Heath Herring | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 87 | 02008-08-09August 9, 2008 | 3 | 5:00 | Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States | |
| Loss | 1–1 | Frank Mir | Submission (kneebar) | UFC 81 | 02008-02-02February 2, 2008 | 1 | 1:30 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 1–0 | Min-Soo Kim | Submission (punches) | Dynamite!! USA | 02007-06-02June 2, 2007 | 1 | 1:09 | Los Angeles, United States |
In wrestling[link]
- Finishing moves
- Brock Lock (Over the shoulder single leg Boston crab – WWE or a side bearhug – OVW)[11]
- F-5 (WWE) / Verdict[11] (NJPW) (Spin-out fireman's carry facebuster)[11]
- Shooting star press UVW
- Signature moves
- Backbreaker[11]
- Double or a triple powerbomb[11]
- Kimura lock[140]
- Knee lift to the opponent's midsection[11]
- Multiple suplex variations
- Multiple turnbuckle thrusts[11]
- Managers
- Nicknames
- "The Next Big Thing"[11]
- "War Machine"
- "The Beast"
- "The Freak"
- "The Anomaly"
- Entrance themes
- World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment
- "Unknown Title" by Jim Johnston (April 8, 2002 - June 3, 2002)
- "Next Big Thing" by Jim Johnston (June 10, 2002 – March 14, 2004; April 2, 2012 - May 7, 2012)
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- "Shout at the Devil" by Mötley Crüe
- "Enter Sandman" by Metallica
- World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment
Championships and accomplishments[link]
Collegiate wrestling[link]
- Big Ten Conference
- Big Ten Conference Champion (1999, 2000)
- Ranked the #1 Heavyweight in the Big Ten Conference (2000)
- National Collegiate Athletic Association
- NCAA Division I Runner-up (1999)
- NCAA Division I Champion (2000)
- North Dakota State University's annual Bison tournament
- Heavyweight Champion (1997–1999)[141]
- National Junior College Athletic Association
- NJCAA All-American (1997, 1998)
- Junior College National Champion (1998)
Mixed martial arts[link]
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- UFC Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Submission of the Night (1 time)
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
- Best Box Office Draw (2008–2010)[142]
- MMA Most Valuable Fighter (2008–2010)[142]
- Sherdog Awards
- Beatdown of the Year (2009)[143]
- Fighter's Only World MMA Awards
- Breakthrough fighter of the year (2009)[144]
Professional wrestling[link]
- New Japan Pro Wrestling
- Inoki Genome Federation
- Ohio Valley Wrestling
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- PWI Feud of the Year (2003) vs. Kurt Angle[145]
- PWI Match of the Year (2003) vs. Kurt Angle – a 60 minute Iron Man match on SmackDown!, September 16[146]
- PWI Most Improved Wrestler of the Year (2002)[147]
- PWI Wrestler of the Year (2002)[148]
- PWI ranked him #1 of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2003[149]
- World Wrestling Entertainment
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
- Best Brawler (2003)[151]
- Best Wrestling Maneuver (2002) F-5
- Feud of the Year (2003) vs. Kurt Angle[152]
- Most Improved Wrestler (2002, 2003)[153]
1Lesnar's first reign was as WWE Undisputed Champion.
See also[link]
References[link]
- ^ a b "Biography for Brock Lesnar". IMDB.com. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1137025/bio. Retrieved March 23, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e "Brock Lesnar profile". SLAM! Sports. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/Bios/lesnar.html. Retrieved April 13, 2007.
- ^ a b "UFC signs former WWE star Brock Lesnar". 411mania.com. http://www.411mania.com/MMA/news/61900/UFC-signs-former-WWE-star-Brock-Lesnar.htm. Retrieved October 20, 2007.
- ^ http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1176683-wwe-news-paul-heyman-will-keep-brock-lesnar-relevant-while-hes-off-television
- ^ "Sherdog Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings: Heavyweight". SHERDOG.com. October 27, 2010. http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/2/Sherdog-Official-Mixed-Martial-Arts-Rankings-27767. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
- ^ "Grappling with his future". ESPN. http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=1830855. Retrieved October 27, 2008.
- ^ a b c "WWE King Of The Ring Results 6–23–02". Lords of Pain. Archived from the original on February 27, 2009. http://web.archive.org/web/20090227044302/http://lordsofpain.net/news/2002/articles/1024888184.php. Retrieved May 9, 2008. [unreliable source]
- ^ a b "Brock Lesnar (spot No. 29) wins the Royal Rumble Match". WWE. Archived from the original on March 19, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080319105152/http://www.wwe.com/shows/royalrumble/3973952/. Retrieved March 22, 2008.
- ^ a b "Lesnar talks about starting with the NFL". SLAM! Sports. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2004/03/16/384461.html. Retrieved April 26, 2007.
- ^ a b c Meltzer, Dave (October 25, 2007). "White banking on Lesnar's success". Yahoo! Sports. http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news?slug=dm-102507lesnar&prov=yhoo&type=lgns. Retrieved March 21, 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Brock Lesnar profile". Online World of Wrestling. http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/b/brock-lesnar.html. Retrieved April 22, 2007.
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External links[link]
|
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Brock Lesnar |
- Brock Lesnar's official Deathclutch website
- Professional MMA record for Brock Lesnar from Sherdog
- UFC profile
- Brock Lesnar Profile at National (Amateur) Wrestling Hall of Fame
| Achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Randy Couture |
14th UFC Heavyweight Champion November 15, 2008 – October 23, 2010 |
Succeeded by Cain Velasquez |
|
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Lesnar, Brock Edward |
| Alternative names | Lesnar, Brock |
| Short description | Professional wrestler |
| Date of birth | July 12, 1977 |
| Place of birth | Webster, South Dakota |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
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This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
