Sal Rinauro
Ring name(s)	El Chico Loco[1] Kid Xtasy[1] Mellow[1] Sal Del Rio[1] Sal Rinauro Sal the Pizza Boy[1]
Billed height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[1]
Billed weight	185 lb (84 kg) [1]
Born	(1982-09-12) September 12, 1982 (age 29)[1]
Billed from	Los Angeles, "Salifornia"[1]
Trained by	John Phoenix
Debut	2000[1]

Salvatore "Sal" Rinauro^[1] (born September 12, 1982)^[1] is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in Ring of Honor and Full Impact Pro in addition to being a member of The Embassy.

Career[link]

Ring of Honor[link]

After honing his skills at NWA Wildside as well as winning the promotion's Junior Heavyweight Championship, Rinauro debuted under the name "Mellow" as a member of Special K in Ring of Honor. After beating Antonio Blanca earlier in the show, Rinauro (now using his real name) competed for and won a Ring of Honor Contract by defeating Steve Madison, Claudio Castagnoli, and Jerelle Clark at Do or Die 5 on August 20, 2005.^[2] Rinauro, along with Tony Mamaluke, won the ROH World Tag Team Championship at the show Joe vs. Kobashi on October 1, 2005 by defeating B.J. Whitmer and Jimmy Jacobs.^[3][4] During their reign, they successfully defended against teams such as Whitmer and Jacobs, Homicide and Ricky Reyes, and Colt Cabana and Milano Collection A.T..^[5][6][7] They lost the title to Austin Aries and Roderick Strong of Generation Next at Final Battle 2005 on December 17, 2005.^[3][8] Rinauro also appeared at Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's Slammiversary event in 2005, as a fan who was attacked by Jeff Jarrett before the King of the Mountain match, causing Jarrett to be (storyline) arrested.

After losing the title, Rinauro competed in the 2006 Trios Tournament at Tag Wars 2006 with Tony Mamaluke and Jay Fury, competing against the likes the Briscoe Brothers.^[9] In 2006, Rinauro's partner Tony Mamaluke signed with World Wrestling Entertainment to be a part of the new ECW brand, leaving Rinauro to start a singles career once more. At Death Before Dishonor IV, it was revealed that Rinauro was the newest member of The Embassy.^[10] That night, he teamed with fellow Embassy member Jimmy Rave and they successfully defeated Colt Cabana and Jay Lethal.^[10]

The two continued teaming for a few months, but after the Embassy disbanded, the team suffered a roadblock. On October 28, 2006, Rave split the team up. Since then, Rinauro makes occasional appearances in ROH.

Full Impact Pro[link]

Rinauro also works for ROH's sister promotion Full Impact Pro. He achieved tag team success in FIP after winning the Tag Team Championship once with Spanky by defeating Jimmy Rave and "Fast" Eddie Vegas on August 6, 2005.^[11] After a singular title defense against Rave and his new tag parnter Jay Lethal on September 2, they lost the title to The Heartbreak Express that same night.^[11] He also won the Florida Heritage Championship by defeating Erick Stevens on November 9, 2007.^[12] After successful title defenses against Tyler Black, Delirious, and Joey Ryan, he dropped the title to Chris Jones on October 11, 2008.^[12]

Deep South Wrestling[link]

On July 26, 2007, Rinauro and Caleb Konley defeated Simon Sermon and "Pretty Boy" Floyd to win the vacant Tag Team Championship. Rinauro and Konely would end up being the final DSW Tag Team Champions after DSW closed down on October 11, 2007.

Independent circuit[link]

Currently, Rinauro can be found wrestling throughout the Georgia independent circuit, including Rampage Pro Wrestling, Great Championship Wrestling, NWA Anarchy, Independent Wrestling Network and Southern Extreme Championship Wrestling.

He appeared as an enhancement talent on the November 18, 2008 edition of ECW where he was defeated by debuting DJ Gabriel.

In October 2009, Rinauro wrestled on two shows for Chikara, being defeated by Mike Quackenbush and Claudio Castagnoli.

Sal Rinauro made a volunteer appearance for Great Championship Wrestling in Phenix City on February 12, 2009, as part of the Miracle of Maegan event to benefit Maegan Johnson, a local girl who suffered a brain trama just several weeks prior. Rinauro teamed with another volunteer, Austin "Consequences" Creed as part of the Road to Goad Tournament, defeating John Bogie & Kareem Abdul Jamar (now Chikara's Sugar Dunkerton) before falling to the Southside Trash.

Rinauro became a permanent fixture in Great Championship Wrestling based on his initial appearance, and now wrestles weekly for the promotion. Currently the GCW Interstate Champion, Rinauro has embroiled in several feuds, with "Suicidal All Star" Mike Kross, "The Urban Legend" Murder One, and former Embassy associate and tag team partner in ROH, Jimmy Rave. Recently GCW secured a television deal to broadcast on cable 24 in Atlanta Georgia; the Pilot broadcast featured the main event of Sal Rinauro vs. Murder One, and the second broadcast featured a main event of him vs. Mike Kross.

Rinauro also wrestles for RAMPAGE Pro Wrestling, a promotion based out of Warner Robins Georgia. He has held the RPW Intercontinental Championship, continued his feud with Jimmy Rave, and also has had several outstanding matches with Austin "Consequences" Creed, who also appears as a regular of the promotion. He has also held the RPW heavy-weight and cruserweight titles. In summer 2010 Rinauro was named Commissioner of RPW after Nick Patrick left. Rinauro was involved in the 4-corners match to crown the 1st ever RPW T.V. champion where he was unsuccessful. Rinauro faced heavy-weight champion Shaun Banks at Sizzlin Summer Bash 2 where he was unsuccessful. He joined the feud between Jimmy Rave & Kyle Matthews in a non-wrestling role until he resigned in December. On December 18 Rinauro returned as GM to team with Matthews, Drew Adler, Michael Stevens, & Adrian Hawkins against Jimmy Rave, Chip Day, Corey Hollis, Mike Posey, & Jeremy Vain where he was eventually eliminated although his team was victorious. Rinauro participated in a few matches over the next few weeks. On April 2 he challenged Jeremy Vain for the NWA RPW T.V. title where he was unsuccessful. On May 1 Rinauro was the special enforcer in the cage match between Rave & Matthews. Rinauro turned heel joining Rave and costing Matthews the match. On May 15 Rinauro teamed with Vain in a semi-final match in the NWA RPW tag team title tournament against Frankie Valentine and Matthews where they were unsuccessful. Earlier in the night Rinauro teamed with Hollis, Day, & Rave in a losing effort against the NWA RPW tag team champions the Usual Suspects & the NWA world tag team champions the Dark City Fight Club. On May 29 Rinauro faced off against his old rival J-Rod in a losing effort.

Sal is currently working on his self-proclaimed auto biography. " It's hard being a Salifornia kid".

In wrestling[link]

• Finishing moves

• Salutations^[13] (Corkscrew 450° somersault diving leg drop)^[1]

• Signature moves

• Atomic drop,^[1] sometimes inverted^[1]
• Dropkick^[1]
• Hurricanrana^[1]
• Slingshot tornado DDT^[1]
• Springboard 180° corkscrew kick^[1]
• Stunner, as a hip toss counter^[1]

• Nicknames

• "The Big Deal"^[1]
• "Unrated"^[1]

Championships and accomplishments[link]

• Deep South Wrestling

• DSW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Caleb Konley^[14]

• Full Impact Pro

• FIP Florida Heritage Championship (1 time)^[12]
• FIP Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Spanky^[11]

• Great Championship Wrestling

• Great Championship Wrestling Interstate Championship (3 times)

• NWA Anarchy

• NWA Anarchy Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Seth Delay^[15]

• NWA Wildside

• NWA Wildside Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[16]

• Peachstate Wrestling Alliance

• PWA Cruiserweight Championship (1 time)^[1]

• Rampage Pro Wrestling

• RPW Cruiserweight Championship (2 times, current)^[17]
• RPW Intercontinental Championship (1 time)^[17]

• Ring of Honor

• ROH Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Tony Mamaluke^[3]

• Ultimate Christian Wrestling

• UCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[1]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Sal Rinauro's official website
• Accelerator wrestler biographies

Jimmy Rave
Rave in May 2008
Ring name(s)	Jimmy Rave[1] Mr. XTC[1]
Billed height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[1][2]
Billed weight	201 lb (91 kg; 14.4 st)[2]
Born	(1982-12-08) December 8, 1982 (age 29)[1] Atlanta, Georgia[1]
Resides	Marietta, Georgia[3]
Billed from	Atlanta, Georgia "Ghana, West Africa by way of Atlanta, Georgia" "The Underground"[2]
Trained by	Murder One[1]
Debut	1999[1]

James Guffey^[1] (born December 8, 1982)^[1] is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Jimmy Rave. He is best known for working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA).^[4] He is currently working regularly for Rampage Pro Wrestling, where he leads the Jimmy Rave Approved stable.^[5]

Professional wrestling career[link]

Trained by Murder One, Guffey debuted in October 1999 as the masked Mr. XTC. He later adopted the ring name Jimmy Rave. Rave wrestled for numerous professional wrestling promotions on the independent circuit, amongst them Combat Zone Wrestling, Full Impact Pro and NWA Wildside, where he won both the NWA Wildside Junior Heavyweight Championship and the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship twice, toured Japan with the Dragon Gate promotion on two occasions and competed in the Best of the Super Juniors for New Japan Pro Wrestling in 2008, and made several appearances with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as well as an appearance on World Wrestling Entertainment's Sunday Night Heat program in March 2005.^[1][2]

Ring of Honor (2003–2007)[link]

Rave debuted in Ring of Honor in 2003. He later became a member of The Embassy, a stable led by Prince Nana, and was nicknamed "The Crown Jewel of the Embassy".^[6]

Rave has gained notoriety for having received excessive heel heat from ROH fans. In ROH it was common for fans to throw streamers over the wrestlers they support. Rave, however, had become a sort of cult recipient as fans threw rolls of toilet paper at him instead.^[2] ROH announced on November 6, 2006, that the throwing of toilet paper had been banned from all ROH shows after Jimmy Rave tried to attack a fan who threw a roll at him after his match.^[7]

Rave developed a habit of stealing other wrestlers finishers and claiming them as his own. An example would be when he began to use the Rave Clash (a copy of Styles' own Styles Clash), and said he invented it and A.J. Styles stole it from him. After losing a match to Styles in ROH where the stipulation was the loser could no longer use the Rave/Styles Clash, Rave began to use the Greetings From Ghana (a copy of Triple H's Pedigree) as a finisher and would again claim that he had in fact invented that move too.

On January 14, 2006 in Philadelphia, Rave and Alex Shelley of The Embassy attacked ROH World Champion Bryan Danielson after a successful title defense.^[8] At Tag Wars 2006, Rave, along with Shelley and Abyss, won the 2006 Trios Tournament.^[8] Rave used his title shot earned at the Tag Wars 2006, but came up short in his match with Danielson at the Fourth Anniversary Show.^[8]

In 2006, Rave had sporadically been tagging with Alex Shelley in search of the ROH Tag Team Titles, but after Shelley left the company in mid-year, Rave returned to singles action briefly.^[8] He found himself on the losing side of several encounters with Davey Richards.^[8] Soon Nana brought in a new tag partner, Sal Rinauro, and the two began working through the tag ranks.^[8]

In September 2006, Prince Nana announced his departure from Ring of Honor, ending The Embassy. Jimmy Rave would then go on a losing streak, until he scored a major upset by pinning ROH World Championship number one contender Homicide.^[8] The rest of the year and the early part of 2008, Rave feuded with Nigel McGuinness, culminating in a match on March 4, 2008, in Liverpool, England, where McGuinness finally managed to pin Rave in a Fight Without Honor to end the rivalry.^[8] Following the match, Rave was temporarily sidelined from in-ring action due to a broken jaw. In storyline the injury was credited with McGuinness hitting him with a lariat, but in reality Rave had broken his jaw a month earlier in a match against Samoa Joe. During his recuperation Rave was prescribed with pain medication, which later led to an addiction.^[9]

On May 22, 2007 it was announced that Rave had signed a contract with Ring of Honor.^[10] On August 2, 2007, however, it was announced that Rave had left both Ring of Honor and Full Impact Pro.^[11]

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2007–2009, 2011)[link]

In August 2007 it was announced that Rave had signed a contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.^[4] He returned to the promotion at No Surrender on September 9, 2007, where he appeared alongside Christy Hemme and Lance Hoyt (later known as Lance Rock).^[12] The trio was subsequently named The Rock 'n Rave Infection, with Hemme, Rock and Rave adopting the mannerisms of a rock band and carrying Guitar Hero game controllers to the ring. He then became a jobber to the X Division, and the Tag Team division with Lance Rock, putting over such teams as Team 3D, LAX, Prince Justice Brotherhood and the Motor City Machine Guns.

In October 2008 Rave suffered a neck injury at Bound for Glory IV in the Steel Asylum match. The injury was minor as he quickly recovered and appeared at Turning Point and on Impact!.^[13]

On February 11, 2009, Rave was released from his TNA contract along with his former tag team partner, Lance Hoyt.^[14]

On June 13, 2011, at the tapings of the June 16 edition of Impact Wrestling, Rave made a one night return to TNA, losing to Austin Aries in a three–way first round match of a tournament for a TNA contract, which also included Kid Kash.^[15][16] On October 26, Rave defeated Kyle Matthews in a dark match at the Impact Wrestling tapings in Macon, Georgia.^[17] In December 2011, Rave took part in TNA's India project, Ring Ka King.^[18]

Return to Ring of Honor (2009)[link]

On March 21, 2009, at ROH's 7th Anniversary Show Rave made a surprise return to the company when Prince Nana announced him as Bison Smith's mystery tag team partner. Rave and Smith lost the tag match to Bryan Danielson and the also returning Colt Cabana when Cabana pinned Rave.^[19] Rave spent the rest of the year feuding with Grizzly Redwood and Necro Butcher. On September 19 Rave was defeated by Necro Butcher in a dog collar match and has not appeared for the company since.^[20] Rave later revealed that ROH released him due to his drug addiction.^[21]

Independent circuit (2009–present)[link]

Jimmy Rave made his debut with Great Championship Wrestling on April 3, 2009, with a victory over his trainer, Murder One. Murder and Rave would subsequently battle throughout the summer, in a series of matches in which Rave finally defeated Murder for the GCW Heavyweight Championship. Of these battles, the July 16 street fight between the two that saw them brawl all over the GCW building, and the August 29 Mayhem in Milledgeville road show match, both stand out as two of the best matches the promotion had seen in over two years. Rave lost the championship belt in September to Johnny Swinger, who revealed himself to be plotting against Rave for months, while mascarading as a babyface. Rave would eventually regain the GCW Heavyweight championship a month later in October. His feud with Sal Rinauro, which began on May 14, 2009 with a hardfought match that saw Rave win after 30 minutes of action, picked up once again, as Rinauro (returning from a hiatus from the organization) returned to challenge Rave for the GCW title on November 12, only to once again be defeated by him.

Rave currently also competes for Rampage Pro Wrestling, an organization overseen by former WWE referee Nick Patrick, and former Deep South Wrestling owner, Jody Hamilton, debuting in May 2009 and taking over head booker duties in June 2010. Rave continues to be one of the most popular stars there, defeating the likes of Adrian Hawkins, and Jeremy Vein, on his way up to contention for the heavyweight title, at the time held by Bull Buchanan. On December 6, 2009, he defeated Sal Rinauro to win the Rampage Pro Wrestling (RPW) Intercontinental Championship.^[22]

In January 2010 Rave suffered a broken nose, which would sideline him for six weeks,^[23] and as a result he was stripped of both the GCW Heavyweight and the RPW Intercontinental Titles.^[24][25]

On February 21, 2011, Dragon Gate USA announced that Rave would be making his debut for the promotion on April 1 in Burlington, North Carolina.^[26] In his debut Rave entered the Breakout Challenge Series, defeating Kyle Matthews, Lince Dorado and Sugar Dunkerton in his first round match. Later in the night, Rave was defeated in the finals of the tournament by Arik Cannon.^[27] On April 3 at Open the Ultimate Gate, Rave was defeated by Johnny Gargano in a singles match.^[28] On July 31, Rave was given the opportunity to wrestle for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, but was defeated by Adam Pearce in the four–way match, which also included Chance Prophet and Shaun Tempers.^[29] Rave returned to Ring of Honor on December 16, 2011, appearing on an episode of the ROH Video Wire, challenging The Embassy's new Crown Jewel Tommaso Ciampa to a match at Final Battle 2011.^[30] At the pay-per-view on December 23, Rave was defeated following interference from members of the Embassy.^[31]

Personal life[link]

Guffey has admitted to having past problems with drug addiction, which he blames for his underwhelming performances in 2009. After leaving Ring of Honor, he checked into a rehab and eventually got a job as the director of the Bartow County Peer Support, Wellness and Respite Center.^[21][32] Guffey blamed his addiction on traumatic events in his life, including being molested as a child, his mother drinking herself to death when he was seventeen, and being locked in a youth detention center.^[9]

In wrestling[link]

• Finishing moves

• Double underhook^[33]
• Ghanarhea^[34] (ROH) / The Move that Rocks the World^[35] (TNA / RPW) (Swinging leg hook fireman's carry slam)^[2]
• Greetings From Ghana (Double underhook facebuster)^[1] – parodied from Triple H
• Heel Hook (Single leg Boston crab / Twisting ankle lock combination)^[36]
• Rave Clash (Belly to back inverted mat slam into pinning position,^[1] sometimes from the second rope)^[37] – parodied from A.J. Styles

• Signature moves

• Cross armbar^[1]
• Disco 2000 (Sitout pumphandle slam)^[38]
• Doppler Effect (Running knee strike to a seated opponent's face)^[1][2]
• From Dusk Till Dawn (Spinning headscissors takedown transitioned into either a Fujiwara armbar or a crossface)^[1]
• Fujiwara armbar^[1]
• Full nelson / Camel clutch combination^[1]
• German suplex^[1]
• Gravity Killer (Running or a standing tornado DDT)^[1]
• Hangman's neckbreaker^[1]
• Scoop brainbuster^[1]
• Spear^[1]
• STO,^[2] sometimes onto the knee^[1] or the ring apron^[39]
• Swinging neckbreaker^[1]
• Tiger suplex^[1]

• Nicknames

• "The Crown Jewel of the Embassy"^[1]

• Managers

• Jade Chung^[6]
• Daizee Haze^[1]
• Prince Nana^[1][6]
• Dave Prazak^[1]
• Mr. Milo Beasley^[1]
• Angel Williams^[6]
• Christy Hemme^[1]

• Entrance themes

• "Leave You Far Behind (instrumental remix)" by Lunatic Calm^[40]
• "The Promise" by Crook Bandoh
• "Parade of the Charioteers" by Miklós Rózsa^[41]
• "I Against I" by Mos Def
• "The House of the Rising Sun" by The Animals^[42]
• "Valor" by Dale Oliver
• "Give It To Me Jimmy" by Dale Oliver
• "Infection" by Dale Oliver^[43]

Championships and accomplishments[link]

• Combat Zone Wrestling
  • CZW Iron Man Championship (1 time)^[1]
• Full Impact Pro
  • FIP Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Fast Eddie Vegas^[1]
  • FIP Tag Team Championship tournament (2005)^[1]
• Great Championship Wrestling
  • GCW Heavyweight Championship (2 times)^[44]
• Hardkore Championship Wrestling
  • HCW Hardcore Championship (1 time)^[1]
  • HCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Darin Childs
• National Wrestling Alliance
• World
  • NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship (2 times)^[1]
• Regional
  • NWA Wildside Junior Heavyweight Championship (2 times)^[1]
• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI ranked him #181 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2009^[45]
• Rampage Pro Wrestling
  • RPW Intercontinental Championship (1 time)^[22]
• Ring of Honor
  • Trios Tournament (2006) – with Alex Shelley and Abyss^[1]
• Supreme Action Wrestling
  • SAW International Championship (1 time)

References[link]

External links[link]

Professional wrestling portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jimmy Rave

• Jimmy Rave on Twitter
• Jimmy Rave at the Internet Movie Database
• Online World of Wrestling profile

Vincent Jerrelle Clark^[1][2][3] (born December 8, 1975) is a retired American professional wrestler. He is best known for his stints in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.

Early life[link]

Clark became interested in wrestling as a child after watching Lanny Poffo and the The Killer Bees. He was athletic from an early age, studying competitive gymnastics at the age of four. After badly breaking his arm, he moved on to martial arts. In junior high school, Clark began amateur wrestling, eventually earning a scholarship to Morgan State University. At MSU, Clark began studying towards a Bachelor of Arts in graphic design. He later went on to receive his Associate of Science in computer graphics. In addition to his studies, he also became an athletic standout as he took part in pole vaulting in 1995), football in 1996 and 1997 and even became a cheerleader in 1998 and 1999, where his squad won a national championship at the Black College National Championships in the Small School Division. They later went on to place eighth in the National Cheerleading Association nationals in Daytona Beach, Florida in 1999.

Professional wrestling career[link]

During his tenure in college, Clark began training as a professional wrestler under Jeremy McCulough in 1997, and completed his training in 1998 before returning to college to finish his degree in 1999. After graduating, he moved back to Florida and concentrated on getting his family situated. Clark debuted in Orange City, Florida in 2000 as Lil' Balla, losing to Cutthroat Saxon. He continued to wrestle on the independent circuit in Florida, subsidising his income by working as a stuntman in a pirate-themed stunt show and became an art teacher at a local high school.

Clark continued to work and train with Cutthroat Saxon (who later renamed himself to Cutthroat Bonez) and together they soon formed The Cutthroats, a pirate-themed gimmick with Clark changing his ring name to Cutthroat Skull. Clark worked for several promotions in Florida, including IPW Hardcore and NWA Florida. While he was wrestling for the Orlando-based No Name Wrestling, promotion he received a tryout match with the Nashville-based Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion, facing Elix Skipper in a dark match. The match went well, and Clark wrestled on a pay-per-view and several more dark matches. When TNA relocated their headquarters to Orlando in late 2004, Clark was offered a contract, which he accepted. Clark then began wrestling under his real name and was placed in a tag team with Mikey Batts. The team's most recognized victory was an "X Division Tag Team Dominance" challenge, where they defeated the team of Michael Shane and Kazarian to earn the bragging rights as the "X Division's Most Dominant Tag Team". The team would lose to Shane and Kazarian in a subsequent rematch. The team was then separated in October 2005 when Batts was signed to a developmental deal by World Wrestling Entertainment. Left without a partner, Clark became a singles wrestler. On the June 8, 2006 edition of Impact! Clark lost a match to fellow X Division wrestler Sonjay Dutt. Weeks later on the July 14 edition of Impact!, Clark would lose to then-X Division Champion Senshi in a non-title bout. Following this, Clark returned to the independent circuit, working for Full Impact Pro and Pro Wrestling Riot, teaming up with Nooie Lee as the team of 2 Fast 2 Furious.

On October 29, 2011 at the 2011 Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup, after advancing to the quarterfinals of the tournament and ultimately losing, at the end of the show, Clark announced that he was retiring from professional wrestling.

Personal life[link]

Clark is married to Rebecca. On March 25, 2005, the couple gave birth to a son, Jerrelle Aython Clark.^[4] On July 11, 2008, they gave birth to another son, Michael Josiah Clark.

In wrestling[link]

• Finishing moves

• 630° senton^[1][2]
• Teabag Driver / KTFO (Flipping reverse tombstone piledriver)^[1]

• Signature moves

• Dragon Wing Sleeper (Chickenwing / Dragon sleeper combination)^[1][2]
• Clark Bar (Tiger feint crucifix armbar)^[1][2]
• Jerrelle Driver '00 (Diving knee drop bulldog)^[1]
• Jerrelle Driver '05 / Last Train to Clarksville (Overhead gutwrench backbreaker rack dropped forward into a piledriver)^[1]
• Plastic Surgery (Rope hung cutter)^[1]
• Pumphandle suplex^[1][2]
• Standing corkscrew moonsault^[1][2][3]

• Nicknames

• "Mr. 630°"^[1][2][3]

Championships and accomplishments[link]

• National Wrestling Alliance

World

• NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[1][2]

Regional

• NWA Florida Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Mikey Batts^[2]
• NWA Florida X Division Championship (1 time)^[1][2]

• No Name Wrestling

• NNW Overall Championship (1 time)^[1][2]

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated

• PWI ranked him #413 of the best singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2007

• Revolution Championship Wrestling

• RCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Cutthroat Bonez^[1][2]

• Sports Entertainment eXtravaganza

• SEX Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[1][2]

• Southern Championship Wrestling

• SCW Cruiserweight Championship (1 time)^[1]

• Sunray Pro Wrestling

• SPW Cruiserweight Championship (1 time)^[1][2]

• Other titles

• USFW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Cutthroat Bonez^[1][2]

References[link]

External links[link]

Professional wrestling portal

• Official website
• Mr. 630, Jerrelle Clark Speaks With TNAHeadlines.com!
• Exclusive Interview with Mikey Batts and Jerrelle Clark
• Jerrelle Clark at the Internet Movie Database

Mark Smith^[4] (September 24, 1973 – November 22, 2011) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Bison Smith. He best known for his appearances with Pro Wrestling Noah in Japan; and World Wrestling Council and International Wrestling Association in Puerto Rico.^[6] In January 2009, he joined the American promotion Ring of Honor.^[2]

After being trained by Donovan Morgan and Michael Modest, Smith began wrestling on the independent circuit. He began competing for the International Wrestling Association in Puerto Rico in 2003, and has held the IWA World Heavyweight Championship on two occasions, the IWA Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship once, and the IWA Hardcore Championship one time. He also wrestled for Pro Wrestling Noah, and on May 23, 2008, he won the GHC Tag Team Championship with Akitoshi Saito and again on April 14, 2010, with Keith Walker. He also won the Global Tag League tournament with Saito in 2008. In January 2009, he debuted for Ring of Honor, where he was pushed as "unstoppable", before he joined Prince Nana's Embassy faction.

Early life and career[link]

Smith was born and raised in Denver, Colorado. He began weightlifting at the age of 13.^[1] Smith played American football at the University of Colorado, where he was an offensive lineman.^[4] After his final year at college, Smith worked as a furniture mover.^[1] Smith later moved to California.^[1]

Career[link]

Training and early career[link]

Following his move to California, Smith trained at the All Pro Wrestling promotion under Donovan Morgan and Mike Modest.^[1] He debuted in 1998.^[1]

Independent and Japanese promotions[link]

Smith toured in Japan first in July 2001.^[1] On June 7, 2003, Smith won the Pro Wrestling IRON Heavyweight Championship, by defeating Bart Blaxson, and held the title for nearly two years before he dropped it on April 28, 2005 to California wrestler Malachi.^[3] He competed for the International Wrestling Association (IWA) in Puerto Rico, where, on November 1, 2003, he defeated Glamour Boy Shane to win the IWA World Heavyweight Championship, which he held for over a month, before losing it back to Glamour Boy Shane.^[3] On July 16, 2004, he defeated Slash Venom to win the vacant IWA Hardcore Championship.^[3] He lost it later that month to Chet Jablonski.^[3] On September 25, 2004, Smith won the New Breed Wrestling Association's top championship, the NBWA Championship, when he and Morgan defeated B.J. Whitmer and ODB in a tag team match, where the person who won the pin, won the Championship.^[4] He competed sporadically for the next few months, and won the IWA Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship from Glamour Boy Shane on November 20, 2005.^[3] He held the Championship for over a year, before losing it to Slash Venom on December 12, 2005 in a steel cage match.^[3]

He began competing for the Japanese promotion, Pro Wrestling Noah, in 2005, where he competed mainly in tag team matches.^[4] He made his Pro Wrestling Noah debut on May 29, 2005, where he, Akitoshi Saito, and Takashi Sugiura defeated Akira Taue, Takuma Sano, and Jun Izumida.^[7] In his next appearance two days later, Smith and Low Ki were defeated by KENTA and Kenta Kobashi.^[8] He teamed with fellow Americans, and his trainers, Michael Modest and Donovan Morgan in June to defeat Takeshi Rikio, Mohammed Yone, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru, which was followed by a defeat for his team, also including Akitoshi Saito and Masao Inoue, to Mitsuharu Misawa, Akira Taue, and Jun Izumida.^[9][10] Smith didn't appear again in Pro Wrestling Noah until he went on a tour with them in November 2005, where he usually teamed up with fellow "gaijins", or foreigners, most commonly Low Ki.^[11][12][13] He also teamed with Nigel McGuinness, Doug Williams and Scorpio on various occasions throughout November and December 2005.^[14][15][16]

At the start of 2006, Smith returned to the United States, where he began competing for New Wrestling Superstars.^[4] In August 2006, Smith began regularly wrestling for Fusion Pro Wrestling.^[4] He also wrestled for the American Wrestling Federation (AWF), and on November 11, 2006, he won the AWF Heavyweight Championship by defeating Steve Gatorwolf.^[4] In July 2007, he returned to the IWA in Puerto Rico, where he won the IWA World Heavyweight title for the second time by defeating Chicano on July 15.^[3] He later lost the Championship to Blitz on September 30, 2007.^[3] In October 2007, while touring Japan with Pro Wrestling Noah, he suffered a broken breastbone.^[4] In 2008, he returned to Pro Wrestling Noah, and, with Akitoshi Saito, won the GHC Tag Team Championship on May 23, by defeating Naomichi Marufuji and Takashi Sugiura.^[3] Smith and Saito also won the Global Tag League 2008.^[3] On April 14, 2010, Smith teamed up with Keith Walker to win the GHC Tag Team Championship from Takeshi Rikioh and Muhammad Yone.^[17] On August 31, however, Walker's father died. Walker later chose not to immediately return to Japan, and on September 10 both Smith and Walker were stripped of the GHC Tag Team Championship. On January 15, 2011, Smith unsuccessfully challenged Takashi Sugiura for the GHC Heavyweight Championship.

Ring of Honor[link]

Smith made his Ring of Honor (ROH) debut at Full Circle on January 16, 2009 in Manassas, Virginia by interrupting a match between Rhett Titus and Sean Denny, and attacking both men.^[18] The next night at Injustice II, Smith interrupted a match between Grizzly Redwood and Chris Escobar, and attacked both men.^[19] At the Caged Collision pay-per-view, which was taped on January 31, Smith attacked Bryan Danielson, during a number one contender's match, powerbombing him on the floor and giving him a concussion. Smith made his in-ring debut on February 6, at Proving Ground 2009 Night One. He quickly defeated Sal Rinauro gaining the victory with the Skull Vise Slam.^[20] The next night at Proving Ground Night Two, Smith gained his second victory, defeating John Kermon.^[21] On the March 4 edition of the ROH Video Wire, it was revealed that Prince Nana, a manager who had just recently returned to ROH, was controlling Smith.^[22] Smith had his first loss in ROH on March 13 at Stylin' and Profilin', when he lost to Danielson by countout.^[23] Smith made his debut in the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City in a losing effort teaming with the returning Jimmy Rave against Bryan Danielson and the returning Colt Cabana on March 21.^[24] Smith, with Rave and Ernie Osiris, then joined the newly reformed Embassy faction, led by Prince Nana.

Death[link]

Smith died November 22, 2011 in Puerto Rico due to heart complications.^[5] Smith was in Puerto Rico because he was due to fight Eddie Colon the same week during World Wrestling Council's Crossfire show. The event started with a tribute to Smith by Willie Urbina with the WWC roster in the arena.

In wrestling[link]

• Finishing moves
  • Bisontennial^[3] (Belly to back inverted mat slam, sometimes from the second rope)
  • Head vice, sometimes transitioned into a side slam or an STO
  • Lariat^[3]

• Signature moves
  • Diving shoulder block
  • Frankensteiner
  • Half nelson suplex
  • Military press slam
  • Release powerbomb

• Nicknames
  • "The Big Buffalo"

• Managers
  • Prince Nana

Championships and accomplishments[link]

• All Pro Wrestling
  • APW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Boyce LeGrande^[4]

• American Wrestling Federation
  • AWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[4]

• International Wrestling Association
  • IWA World Heavyweight Championship (2 times)^[3]
  • IWA Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[3]
  • IWA Hardcore Championship (1 time)^[3]
  • IWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Miguel Perez

• New Breed Wrestling Association
  • NBWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[4]

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI ranked him #196 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2010^[25]

• Pro Wrestling IRON
  • PWI Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[3]

• Pro Wrestling Noah
  • GHC Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Akitoshi Saito (1)^[3] and Keith Walker (1)^[17]
  • Global Tag League (2008) – with Akitoshi Saito^[3]
  • Global Tag League Outstanding Performance (2009)- with Akitoshi Saito^[26]
  • Global Tag League Technique Prize (2011)- with Masao Inoue^[27]

References[link]

External links[link]

Professional wrestling portal

• Profile at Green Destiny
• Profile at Purolove.com
• Profile at Cagematch.net
• Profile at Online World of Wrestling
• Interview with Bison Smith