WCW: "Wildfire" Tommy Rich, Part 2

Rich then returned to the Memphis area, where he formed a team with Eddie Gilbert known as "Fargo's Fabulous Ones". The previous Fabulous Ones, Steve Keirn and Stan Lane, walked out on the territory. They held the AWA Southern Tag Team titles in 1984, then dropped them to Phil Hickerson and the Spoiler (Frank Morrell). Afterwards, Gilbert turned heel and Rich and he had a brief, but intense feud, which memorably began on television when the two were presented with a "Tag Team of the Year" award by announcer Lance Russell and two guests. Gilbert, unaware his former partner was at the taping, badmouthed Rich, then the International Heavyweight Champion, until Rich came out to confront him. Rich immediately got the upper hand, running Gilbert into the steel ringpost several times, bloodying him in the process before the cameras went to a commercial. After the commercial break, Gilbert told Russell he wanted Rich to come back out so he could apologize to him in person, stating he was wrong for still being bitter about the break-up of the team, and was fueled by jealousy of Rich's championship title reign and new found star status. When Rich accepted Gilbert's apology, Gilbert suddenly turned on him and, in front of a stunned audience and a speechless Russell, rammed Rich's head into the ringpost, just as Rich had done to him moments earlier.

After competing in Southeast Championship Wrestling, Rich would again return to the Memphis area in 1987 and contribute to one of the greatest feuds in wrestling history. Austin Idol vs. Jerry Lawler went on for over a year and culminated in a hair vs. hair match at the Mid-South Coliseum. Rich hid under the ring for the entire event only to emerge during the cage match, causing Lawler to lose the match and his hair, which led to a heel turn for Rich. After Bill Dundee later joined the feud on Lawler's side, it would climax with a tag team scaffold match that saw Lawler and Dundee emerge victorious and Paul E. Dangerously, Rich and Idol's manager, suffer a broken arm when he fell off the scaffold trying to escape from the fan favorites. From there, Rich went to the AWA and turned face again, engaging in feuds with Adrian Adonis and Kevin Kelly; in one memorable event that took place on ESPN's AWA Championship Wrestling, Rich and Kelly faced off in an arm-wrestling challenge when Sherri Martel, Kelly's manager, interfered on her protégé's behalf, leading Rich to retaliate by tearing off Martel's dress and leaving her in her underwear.

In 1989, Rich returned to the Georgia area. The National Wrestling Alliance, having been bought by Ted Turner in late 1988, was in the middle of a face lift and Rich was part of a host of veteran wrestlers to enter the promotion during this period. At first he was referred to as "former NWA World Champion", etc., but was soon relegated to midcard status. The push received by big names like Ricky Steamboat and Terry Funk and young talent like Brian Pillman and Great Muta, essentially bumped older talent like Rich, the The Iron Sheik and Wild Bill Irwin to the fringe.

Rich would mount an unsuccessful challenge to NWA US Champion Lex Luger in a series of title matches during this time period. He even dropped a match to the much older and soon to be retired Harley Race at the Great American Bash in July 1990. Despite this, Rich continued to work the mid-card, primarily as a singles wrestler, through 1990. He even lost a significant amount of weight, which helped to revive a little bit of interest in his career.

In 1991, in another attempt to revive his career, he joined Alexandra York's York Foundation and became "Thomas Rich". He teamed with the other members, Terrence Taylor and Richard Morton to win the WCW Six-Man Titles.

When the York Foundation disbanded in early 1992, he became a heel jobber until he left WCW for the independent circuit. From 1993 to 1996, he wrestled for the USWA and Smoky Mountain Wrestling mostly as a heel. In 1995 he attempted to regain the NWA World title, now relegated to independent status, from Dan Severn, but was unsuccessful.

He next went to ECW in 1996 as the "Big Don" Tommy Rich and joined the Full Blooded Italians (FBI), a heel group that included Little Guido and Tracy Smothers. He left ECW sometime in 2000 and has been wrestling in the independents ever since.

Richards had a cousin who also wrestled, Johnny "Crash" Rich. Davey Rich was billed as a cousin but was a former Jarrett Promotions preliminary wrestler named David Haskins.

WCW: "Wildfire" Tommy Rich

Ring name(s) Tommy Richardson,Mr. R,Tommy Rich,Thomas Rich,The Big Don
Billed height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Billed weight 248 lb (112 kg)
Born July 26, 1956,Hendersonville, Tennessee
Trained by Jerry Jarrett,Jerry Lawler,Dick Steinborn,Tojo Yamamoto
Pro Wrestling Debut 1974

Thomas Richardson (born July 26, 1956), better known by his ring name, "Wildfire" Tommy Rich, is a professional wrestler. He is best known for his wrestling career in Georgia and Memphis throughout the 1980s.

Tommy "Wildfire" Rich started wrestling in 1974 in the regional promotions in Tennessee. Throughout the 1980s, he alternated his time between Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama territories of the NWA. He won dozens of NWA regional titles during this time. He is best known as one of the original stars of the TBS wrestling shows from the 70s and 80s. His bloody feuds with "Mad Dog" Buzz Sawyer, Ole Anderson, Ivan Koloff, the Fabulous Freebirds, and every other major heel to come through the Georgia territory made Rich one of the most popular wrestling stars of the period.

On April 27, 1981, in Augusta, Georgia, he became one of the youngest NWA World Heavyweight Champions in pro wrestling history. He dropped the belt back to former champion Harley Race four days later in Marietta. Many who follow wrestling couldn't understand the logic in the short title reign, although it was believed to give Rich a rub as a title challenger while at the same time leading the fans to believe that a world title might change hands at any time.

He had a memorable and bloody feud in Georgia Championship Wrestling with "Mad Dog" Buzz Sawyer for the NWA Georgia National Title. The feud lasted close to two years and culminated in 1983 in the "Last Battle of Atlanta," which featured Sawyer and Rich in a fully enclosed, Last Man Standing cage match, which Rich won to blow off the feud. This match / cage is rumored to be the inspiration behind WWE's Hell in a Cell match. Sawyer and Rich tried forming a team for a short period of time afterwards to feud a new team called the Road Warriors. The team didn't last very long, and Sawyer went to the WWF and later Florida Championship Wrestling, and Rich was directed into a feud with Ted Dibiase.

WCW: Johnny Rich

Wrestler: Johnny Rich
Real Name: Rod Wilsford
Birthday: November 21, 1958
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Marital Status: Single
Height & Weight: 6'1" - 245 lbs
Trained by: Tojo Yamamoto
Wrestling Debut: : 1978

Johnny Rich (born John Richardson on November 21, 1956 in Hendersonville, Tennessee) is an American professional wrestler. He is the cousin of wrestler Tommy Rich.

Rich started wrestling in 1976 in Alabama's Southeast Championship Wrestling under the name Roy Rogers. He soon changed his name to "Johnny Rich" because his cousin, Tommy Rich, was very popular with the fans.

He achieved some success as a member of the "Rat Patrol" with Scott and Steve Armstrong. The Rat Patrol feuded with Ron Fuller's Stud Stable, which included Arn Anderson in the early 1980s.

In the mid-1980s, Rich wrestled in Southeast Championship Wrestling with his cousin Tommy and Steve Armstrong, feuding with Robert Fuller's version of the Stud Stable. He lost a "loser-leaves-town" match to them and came back as a masked wrestler called The Intern.

In 1987, Rich wrestled in the American Wrestling Association and called himself Johnny "Crash" Rich. He had some mid-level success there as a baby-face.

In the late 1980s, he wrestled in the NWA's Jim Crockett Promotions where he teamed with his cousin Tommy and his "brother", Davey Rich.

In the early 1990s, he was a jobber in World Championship Wrestling on WCW Saturday Night.

He retired in the mid-1990s but came back in 2004 to work on the independent circuit in the Alabama area, where he can still be found today.

WCW: "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, Part 3

In late 2005, Rhodes signed a WWE Legends deal and was brought onto the Creative Team as a "creative consultant", starting on September 8, 2005. He made an appearance on WWE Homecoming in which he, along with other legends, beat up the young and cocky Rob Conway, to whom Rhodes delivered a Bionic elbow.

He made sporadic televised appearances after Homecoming, including one on June 19, 2006 to promote his recently released DVD teasing him becoming General Manager of RAW. On October 23, 2006 he returned to television to be in the corner of Ric Flair during Flair's match with Kenny of The Spirit Squad.

He was among the three choices of tag team partners for Ric Flair in his match at Cyber Sunday against the Spirit Squad for the World Tag Team Championship. In the end Roddy Piper was picked and won the title with Flair.

On the November 20, 2006 episode of "RAW," Rhodes defeated Spirit Squad member Nicky with an elbow drop in a short bout.

At Survivor Series 2006, he participated in a 4 on 4 Survivor Series match which pitted himself along with Ron Simmons, Sgt. Slaughter, and Ric Flair, against the Spirit Squad. Rhodes team was victorious.

On the February 12, 2007 taping of RAW it was announced that Dusty Rhodes will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2007.

A three-DVD collection titled The American Dream: The Dusty Rhodes Story was released by WWE Home Video on June 6, 2006. It features a retrospective of Rhodes' life, 25 matches (not all full matches) spanning his entire career, and over 40 of his interviews.

Jakks Pacific released two WWE Classic Superstars action figures of Rhodes in 2006. The first was attired in black trunks reminiscent of his 1980s appearance in the NWA. This figure was a part of the WWE Classic Superstars Series 10. The second figure was attired in his yellow and black polka dot outfit from his 1989-1991 WWF run and included a removable headband, tanktop, and nightstick. This figure was released boxed as an internet store exclusive.

A third Dusty Rhodes figure in the WWE Classic Superstars line is slated for release in 2007 as part of the lines 13th series. The figure will be clad in red tights and its appearance (including hair style) will be based on Rhodes' look in the 1970s.

Mike Jones's Virgil character in the World Wrestling Federation was named, by Bobby Heenan, as an inside joke on Dusty's real name. When Jones jumped to World Championship Wrestling, Heenan continued the joke by having his characters name made "Vincent", in reference to WWF owner Vince McMahon. The joke continued later in WCW when Jones changed his name again, this time to Shane, the same as Vince's son's, Shane McMahon.

When Ric Flair left for WWE in 1991, taking the WCW Title with him, his old Florida Heavyweight Championship belt was used as a replacement at The Great American Bash for the title match between Lex Luger and Barry Windham until a replacement could be made.

In storylines featured in the WWE video game SmackDown! vs RAW 2006, an obscure stipulation on a World Heavyweight Championship match that forces the title to not change hands is named "The Virgil Runnels Amendment", a reference to the Dusty finish.

During an interview on WWE's The American Dream DVD set, Rhodes claims that his most popular promo of all time was his "Hard Times" interview during his feud with Ric Flair. The promo -- which references out of work steel workers, factory runners and other blue collar individuals -- apparently resonated so strongly with wrestling fans that people came to him in arenas in tears to thank him for honoring their plight.

Outkast's Andre 3000 makes a reference to Dusty Rhodes and his signature Bionic Elbow on the title track off their 1994 debut album Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik

He has two sons that are professional wrestlers, Virgil Runnels III (best known as Goldust or Dustin Rhodes) and Cody Runnels.

WCW: "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, Part 2

He was fired from Jim Crockett Promotions because of a taboo on-screen bloodletting during an altercation with The Road Warriors. Rhodes bladed himself while Road Warrior Hawk took a spike from his outfit and "jammed" it in Dusty's eye. It looked very vivid at the time (even though it was planned out), and it infuriated then-owner of WCW, Ted Turner. Rhodes was then fired from WCW. Following this, Rhodes returned to Florida to compete in Florida Championship Wrestling, where he captured the PWF Heavyweight title, and also returned to the AWA for a few appearances.

Rhodes came to the WWF as the yellow polka-dotted "Common Man" Dusty Rhodes, a gimmick some felt was intended to humiliate him. He was managed by Sapphire. During his time in the WWF, Rhodes was embroiled in a heated feud with Randy Savage and his manager/partner Sensational Queen Sherri who in turn found a rival in Sapphire. After a particularly intense confrontation between the two couples, Savage's girlfriend Miss Elizabeth allied herself with Rhodes and Sapphire and was instrumental in helping them win the WWF's first mixed tag-team match during WrestleMania VI. However, Sapphire left Rhodes during SummerSlam 1990 for The Million-Dollar Man's money, which resulted in a feud with the latter.

Rhodes later returned to WCW and joined the broadcast team, usually working with Tony Schiavone on WCW Saturday Night. He would be paired with Schiavone and Bobby Heenan on pay-per-views.

Rhodes was originally on the side of WCW in its battle with the nWo. At Souled Out 1998, Larry Zbyszko asked Rhodes, who was working the PPV broadcast, to accompany him to the ring for his match against Scott Hall. Zbyszko won the match by disqualification due to interference by the nWo, but in the postmatch melee Rhodes turned on Zbyszko and joined the nWo in a shocking moment that actually forced Schiavone off the broadcast in shock; he would later return, ripping Rhodes for his actions for most of the rest of the night (kayfabe).

He eventually left WCW and went to ECW where he put over former ECW Champion, "King of Old School" Steve Corino. Rhodes returned once more to WCW, re-igniting his feud with Ric Flair.

He appeared on Total Nonstop Action Wrestling shows, becoming the Director of Authority at their November 7 pay-per-view, TNA Victory Road 2004. At the same time, Rhodes became a true powerhouse behind the scenes of TNA, acting as head booker and writer. In May 2005, TNA President Dixie Carter asked Rhodes to move onto a creative team, which would have included several other names, including Jeremy Borash, Bill Banks and Scott D'Amore. Rhodes balked and resigned as booker, waiting out the rest of his contract with TNA, which expired soon after.

For several years, Rhodes operated Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling, a small Georgia-based promotion. Rhodes' son, Virgil Runnels III, known in wrestling as Dustin Rhodes, followed his father into the business, most notably as the eccentric WWE character Goldust.

WCW: "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes

Ring name(s) Dusty Rhodes
Billed height 6 ft 2 in (185 cm)
Billed weight 288 lb (131 kg)
Born October 12, 1945, Austin, Texas
Resides Brooksville, Florida
Trained by Joe Blanchard
Pro Wrestling Debut 1968

"The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes (born Virgil Riley Runnels, Jr. on October 12, 1945 in Austin Texas) is an American professional wrestler. Rhodes currently works with World Wrestling Entertainment.

Rhodes started his career as a rule-breaking heel, tagging with fellow Texan Dick Murdoch to form the tag team The Texas Outlaws in the American Wrestling Association. Many wrestling fans do not know that the beloved "American Dream" was once the hated "'Dirty' Dusty Rhodes". In 1974, Rhodes turned face after turning on tag team partner Pak Song and manager Gary Hart during a match in Florida against Eddie and Mike :Graham, leading him to break out as a solo babyface superstar, primarily in Florida, referring to himself as "Stardust", the "White Soul King", and the "American Dream", a working class hero. Rhodes ascended to the top of several National Wrestling Alliance promotions in Florida (where he also wrestled wearing a mask as The Midnight Rider), Georgia, and eventually with Jim Crockett Promotions in the Mid-Atlantic, which was the forerunner of World Championship Wrestling. Here, he formed teams with Manny Fernandez, Magnum T.A. as "America's Team" and Nikita Koloff as The Super Powers. Rhodes was a World 6-Man Tag Team Champion with the Road Warriors. Currently, Rhodes is working as a booker for World Wrestling Entertainment.

Rhodes had legendary feuds with stars such as Abdullah The Butcher, Pak Song, Terry Funk,Kevin Sullivan, Blackjack Mulligan, Nikita Koloff, Harley Race, "Superstar" Billy Graham, "Crippler" Ray Stevens and most notably, The Four Horsemen (especially Ric Flair and Tully Blanchard). Rhodes, Flair, and Race each fought each other many times over the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Rhodes won the NWA World Title three times; twice by defeating Race (in 1979 and 1981) and once by defeating Flair (1986).

Rhodes also was a booker for WCW (which was then known as Jim Crockett Promotions) while they were competing with the World Wrestling Federation (now known as World Wrestling Entertainment) after he won the Television Title in 1985. He is credited with inventing many of the WCW pay-per-view names and gimmicks, such as War Games, BattleBowl, and Lethal Lottery.

The term Dusty Finish refers to one of Rhodes' favorite techniques, ending a match in controversy after the referee is knocked unconscious.

WCW - Dustin Runnels

Virgil Riley Runnels III (born April 11th, 1966; often called Dustin Runnels) is an American professional wrestler who has competed in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). He is probably best-known for his WWE character Goldust, a sexually ambiguous movie star. He has also wrestled as Dustin Rhodes in WWE, WCW, and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). He is the son of Dusty Rhodes, one of the best-known wrestlers of the 1970s and 1980s.

Dustin Rhodes received his first National exposure in The World Wrestling Federation in the later part of 1990. In December of 1990, Dustin Rhodes defeated Ted DiBiase in a 10-minute challenge match on WWF television. Then at the Royal Rumble on January 19, 1991 Dustin Rhodes and his father, Dusty Rhodes were defeated by Ted DiBiase and his kayfabe bodyguard, Virgil in a tag-team match.

In February 1991, Runnels went to World Championship Wrestling, where he feuded with Larry Zbysko at the mid-card level. In April, Alexandra York offered him to join her heel York Foundation stable, but he turned her down. This started a feud with Foundation member Terrence Taylor that lasted several months. York, in reality, was Runnels' first wife, Terri.

At different times, he had Barry Windham, Sting, Ricky Steamboat and Nikita Koloff as his tag partners.

October 1992 saw him reform his team with Windham to again win the Tag Team Titles. In November, Windham turned on him and started a brief feud.

In January 1993, he won the United States Title and also began a feud with Rick Rude that would run through August. In October, he started feuding with Paul Orndorff and Steve Austin over the title, eventually losing it to Austin in December.

He became involved in a feud with Bunkhouse Buck and Col. Robert Parker in March 1994. Parker eventually brought in Terry Funk and Arn Anderson to feud with Dustin. Dustin brought in his father, Dusty, who had a previous long lasting feud with Funk, to help him. This feud lasted until December when Parker brought in The Blacktop Bully to feud with Dustin. Dustin and the Bully were both fired in March 1995 when they both "bladed" (cut themselves) during the King of the Road Match at the Uncensored 1995 PPV after they were told not to.

In September 1995, Runnels made his debut in the WWF as Goldust. He would wear a gold colored jumpsuit and face paint along with a platinum blonde wig (over his short platinum blond hair) and play "mind games" with opponents. His primary psychological tactic was to make opponents think he was homosexual, usually by groping them and expressing affection. At the same time a major rift had grown between him and his father, supposedly over his marriage to Terri.

When Runnels left WWF he took some time off, patched up his differences with his father (the two had not spoken for years) and rejoined WCW, starring in several vignettes (in August 1999) as a strange, white face painted dream villain, Seven. After seeing several of the promos that aired for the Seven character, Turner Standards and Practices thought that people would mistake his gimmick for that of a child predator, so they dropped the gimmick before he even wrestled. When he actually debuted in the ring, he took the Seven suit off and cut a promo on stupid gimmicks. He became Dustin Rhodes again and feuded with Jeff Jarrett. During this time he referred to himself as "The American Nightmare", a play on his father's "American Dream" nickname.

He feuded with Terry Funk in early 2000 after turning on him and was given time off due to differences with Vince Russo. He had gotten himself into trouble with Russo while appearing on the Internet radio program, WCW Live! when he made many disparaging remarks towards the WCW Creative team and Russo in particular, calling him a "sawed-off midget" and an "asshole". He came back in February 2001 to help his father feud with Ric Flair and Jeff Jarrett. When Vince McMahon bought WCW a month later, he did not acquire Dustin's contract.

WCW: Renegade

Ring name(s) Rio, Lord of the Jungle,Renegade
Billed height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Billed weight 255 lb (116 kg)
Born October 16, 1965,Atlanta, Georgia
Died February 23, 1999
Billed from Parts Unknown
Trained by Terry Taylor,Jody Hamilton,WCW Power Plant
Debut 1992

Richard C. Williams (October 16, 1965 - February 23, 1999) was an American professional wrestler, better known as Renegade.

Rick Williams began wrestling in 1992 after a stint as a male stripper. He went by the name Rio, Lord of the Jungle but achieved no real success on the independent circuit.

Williams's career peaked in 1995 when he was hired by World Championship Wrestling. During early 1995, Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage were involved in the main-event feud with a group called the Dungeon of Doom who consisted of various wrestlers. For a big upcoming tag team match Hogan and Savage began claiming that their mystery partner would be "the Ultimate Surprise" and showing a silhouette of a man with long hair and tassels tied to his arms, implying that the Ultimate Warrior was the man in question. When the day arrived out ran a very familiar-looking man to very familiar-sounding theme music. He was called The Renegade, billed by Hogan as "the man that's gonna bring Hulkamania into the 21st Century", and wrestled in the exact same style as the Ultimate Warrior.

Managed by Jimmy Hart, Williams soon overran many heels and eventually won the WCW Television Championship from Arn Anderson. By this stage, however, the real Ultimate Warrior had appeared in several wrestling magazines, dispelling the belief of some fans that Williams was the Ultimate Warrior, forced to wrestle under a new name (like John Tenta, Ed Leslie and Ray Traylor) due to his original name being trademarked by the World Wrestling Federation, which the court sided in favor of Warrior. Renegade's fanbase quickly evaporated, he dropped the Television Championship to Diamond Dallas Page. During the November 6, 1995 edition of Nitro, Renegade was buried on TV by a heel Jimmy Hart when Hart "re-possessed" the gimmick saying, "You're not a Renegade! You're just plain Rick!". He then receded into the background.

Over the next two years, Williams was steadily de-pushed, eventually languishing as a jobber on the WCW "b-shows" WCW Thunder and WCW Saturday Night and put in a feud with former tag team partner and jobber Joe Gomez that went nowhere. He was used as a stunt double for the Ultimate Warrior when he joined WCW for a short period in 1998. WCW opted not to renew Williams's contract in late 1998 and Williams, severely depressed, committed suicide in February 1999. Arn Anderson, who initially put him over, would lament his death in an interview saying that too much was expected of him by WCW being where he was in his wrestling career to be pushed to the level of Hogan.

WCW: Lord Steven Regal

Ring name(s) Steve Regal,Lord Steven Regal,Steven Regal,William Regal,Sir William Regal
Billed height 191 cm (6 ft 3 in)
Billed weight 109 kg (240 lb)
Born May 10, 1968,Codsall Wood, Staffordshire
Billed from Blackpool
Trained by Marty Jones
Pro wrestling debut 1983

Darren Nathaniel Matthews (born May 10th, 1968) is an English professional wrestler, better known by his ring name William Regal. He is currently wrestling on the SmackDown! brand of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and in Deep South Wrestling.

The left-handed Matthews made his ring debut wrestling in carnivals on the piers of Blackpool at the age of fifteen. He also wrestled professionally in England, where he regularly teamed with Robbie Brookside, before going to the United States in 1992. He wrestled his first few matches under the name Roy Regal before settling on the name Steve Regal, a name he saw in an American wrestling magazine (in use by "Mr. Electricity" Steve Regal).

Matthews started in WCW as Steve Regal, beginning as a face. He was turned into the heel Lord Steven Regal in 1993, claiming descent from William the Conqueror. At times charmingly arrogant in this persona, one of his memorable statements to a post-match interviewer was, "Do you know what my New Year's resolution is going to be? To wake up a half an hour earlier so I can hate you more," he smirked.

He was given a manager, Sir William and he won the Television Title four times. He teamed up with fellow aristocrat Jean-Paul Levesque, later known as Triple H, but after Levesque left WCW, he was replaced by Alabama-born Bobby Eaton. Regal formed the team The Blue Bloods and had some hilarious vignettes where he tried to teach Eaton the finer points of dining and the proper usage of the Queen's English. He renamed him "Earl Robert Eaton" and soon added "Squire" David Taylor, as well. They came close to winning the WCW Tag Team Titles, but never did. Among his feuds in WCW were Ricky Steamboat, Johnny B. Badd, Ultimo Dragon, The Belfast Bruiser and the team of Dick Slater and Bunkhouse Buck. Regal also had a match with Shinya Hashimoto for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship during his stint in WCW. It was widely rumored that he was fired from WCW after no-selling Goldberg's offense and for using chain wrestling moves that showed Goldberg's limited knowledge of such holds. However, in his book, he states that was not true.

Regal's initial appearance in the WWF was on the June 29, 1998 edition of RAW is WAR, in which he defeated Droz via submission with the Regal Stretch. Regal had no particular gimmick in this showing, and he would not be seen on WWF television again until he returned that fall with a "Real Man's Man" builder/lumberjack style looking gimmick that was based on the image of The Brawny Man. Vignettes for the character showed him doing "manly" things like chopping wood, shaving with a plain razor, and squeezing his own orange juice. He debuted in October 1998 and entered a feud with X-Pac. The two faced off in the opening round of the tournament for the vacant WWF Championship at the 1998 Survivor Series. The match ended in a double countout, eliminating both men from the tournament. The feud, and Regal's gimmick, failed to capture the audience's imagination, though today the "Man's Man" persona is well remembered and the source of much good-natured fun from many fans.

Regal checked into rehab in January 1999 and was released from the WWF in April. After checking out of rehab, Regal was invited back into the wrestling world, making a somewhat brief return to WCW. While there, he gained exceptional status compared to the final months of his original tenure with the company.

Similar to his former run, much of Regal's performance took place in tag team bouts. He continued his role as a rulebreaking heel and had small feuds with teams such as the Filthy Animals. However, as WCW continued to lose the ratings war with WWF, Regal was again released in February 2000.

WCW - Ron Reis

Ring name(s) The Yeti,Reece,Big Ron Studd,Big Bomb Jones,Evil,Vanilla Gorilla
Billed height 7 ft 2 in (218 cm)
Billed weight 326 lb (166 kg)
Born April 26, 1970,San Jose, California
Trained by Big John Studd
Pro Wrestling Debut March 12, 1994

Ron Reis is an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with WCW in the late 1990s as The Yeti and Reese.

Ron Reis was trained in wrestling by Big John Studd. He joined WCW in 1995, appearing at Halloween Havoc encased in a giant block of ice as The Yeti, a member of the Dungeon of Doom. The Yeti later thawed out, and was revealed to be a large mummy. After Dungeon member The Giant defeated Hulk Hogan for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship at Halloween Havoc 1995, Reis assisted with the post-match beating of Hogan when he administered a tandem bearhug with The Giant. His ring attire was subsequently changed so that he looked like a ninja. The inital look of The Yeti would, however, receive a following among the Internet Wrestling Community.

Reis later joined Raven's Flock as Reese, with Raven explaining that Reis' size had made him an outcast from society, leading him to seek acceptance within the Flock. Reis acted as Raven's enforcer, though he was unable to prevent Goldberg defeating Raven for the WCW United States Championship, and suffered an embarrassing loss to the far smaller Juventud Guerrera at the 1998 Great American Bash. The Flock eventually disbanded on September 13, 1998 at Fall Brawl when Perry Saturn defeated Raven to win the freedom of the Flock. Like many of the former Flock members, Reis lacked direction after the angle finished, and was released by WCW in 1999.

After being released, Reis toured Japan as Big Bomb Jones (a take on Big Van Vader created by Antonio Inoki) throughout 2000. In 2001 he returned to America and began working for Dusty Rhodes' Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling promotion as Big Ron Studd, a reference to his trainer. He formed a tag team with Ray Lloyd, and they won the TCW Tag Team Championships on January 3, 2002. The titles were vacated later that year.

Reis reemerged in Vince Russo's Christian orientated Glory Wrestling promotion in 2005 as the abstract character Evil, losing to Joshua the Carpenter on February 20.

WCW: Bruce Reed

Ring name(s) Bruce Reed,,"The Natural" Butch Reed,,"Hacksaw" Butch Reed,
Billed height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Billed weight 260 lb (118 kg)
Born July 11, 1954,Detroit, Michigan
Billed from Kansas City, Missouri
Wrestling Debut 1978

Butch Reed (born Bruce Reed on July 11, 1954 in Detroit, Michigan) was a professional wrestler best known for his stints in the World Wrestling Federation and the National Wrestling Alliance.

Butch Reed started wrestling in 1978 in the Kansas City area after briefly playing professional football for the Kansas City Chiefs.

Reed wrestled in the NWA in the early 1980's and made a name for himself in Florida Championship Wrestling and Mid-South Wrestling from 1983 through early 1986 as "Hacksaw" Butch Reed. He won all of the titles there and feuded with Dick Slater, Magnum T.A., Junkyard Dog, and Dutch Mantel. Around this time, he also had a famous one-hour time-limit draw with NWA Champion "Nature Boy" Ric Flair.

He went back to Kansas City and obtained Slick as his manager in 1986. That summer, he lost a loser leaves town match to Bruiser Brody and left with Slick.

They went to the WWF where Reed dyed his hair blonde and became "The Natural" Butch Reed, an updated version of Sweet Daddy Siki. He feuded with Koko B. Ware and then with Intercontinental Champion Ricky Steamboat but no-showed the match where he was going to win the title and ended up in the WWF's dog house (the Honky Tonk Man won instead). Consequently, Reed exited quickly in the first Survivor Series main event (though his team, captained by Andre the Giant, would win the match), and in the 1988 Wrestlemania IV Championship Tournament, losing to eventual tournament winner "Macho Man" Randy Savage.

He left the WWF shortly after Wrestlemania IV and went to the NWA's Jim Crockett Promotions as "Hacksaw" Butch Reed. He resumed his Mid-South feud with Junkyard Dog and was briefly managed by James J. Dillon before his contract was "sold" to Hiro Matsuda's "Yamasaki Corporation". He also wrestled then-NWA TV Champion Sting for the TV title, but was unsuccessful at capturing the belt.

In 1989, he formed a team called Doom with Ron Simmons. They wore masks and were managed by Woman. She wanted them to beat Rick and Scott Steiner for the NWA World Tag Team Titles but they couldn't. Woman fired them and the Steiners took their masks in a match at the Clash of Champions.

Theodore Long became their manager and they won the Titles. They feuded with the Road Warriors and the team of Ric Flair & Arn Anderson (and later Anderson and Barry Windham, as Flair was involved in the "Black Scorpion" angle) before losing the titles to Michael Hayes and Jimmy Garvin in February 1991.

The promotion became WCW and Reed turned on Simmons, which started a feud. Simmons won the feud when he defeated Reed in a cage match at Super Brawl on May 19, 1991.

Reed then teamed with Cactus Jack and The Barbarian.

He left WCW in 1992 and wrestled in the United States Wrestling Association where he feuded with Junkyard Dog again before moving on to the Global Wrestling Federation in 1994. His stay there was brief and he was soon back on the independent scene in a semi-retirement stage so he could participate in the rodeo circuit in Kansas City.

Reed retired in 2002 after wrestling for Harley Race's WLW promotion and winning the title there.

Butch Reed once again returned to the ring in 2005 for Mid States Wrestling, and in July, 2006 for the USWF promotion, in Somerset, Kentucky.

http://sabreswritingblog.blogspot.com/

Raven, Part 2

Raven dominated ECW in 1995-1996 and enjoyed two reigns as ECW World Heavyweight Champion during his tenure in ECW. His group of followers, Raven's Nest, included many names over his two-year stint in the company, including Cactus Jack, Stevie Richards, Tony Stetson, Johnny Hot Body, The Pit Bulls, The Dudley Boys, Brian Lee, The Bruise Brothers, Beulah McGillicutty, Kimona Wanalaya, Lori Fullington, The Blue Meanie, Super Nova, Chastity, and Lupus. He started a legendary feud with Tommy Dreamer that lasted for the next two years, before Dreamer finally defeated him at the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in June 1997. Also, during his first stint in ECW, he successfully defended the ECW World Heavyweight Title against Terry Gordy and Steve Williams, among others, giving Dr. Death his first loss in a singles match in the U.S. in many years. In June 1997, Raven faced Tommy Dreamer in a "Loser Leaves ECW" Match in a losing effort. Raven who didn't have all too much left to do in ECW received a huge offer from World Championship Wrestling.

In 1997 Levy left ECW and joined WCW, as an "unsigned free agent" (for storyline purposes). On June the 30th 1997, Raven is seen sitting in the front row at WCW Monday Nitro and the announcers recognize him as a champion from an independent organization. Then on August 21, 1997 at Clash of the Champions Raven brutally defeated Stevie Richards in an "unsanctioned" match then took a seat in the front row. The storyline continued that Raven would frequently appear in the front row for the next few months, slowly forming what would be known as The Flock. Raven eventually signed a (kayfabe) contract with WCW with J.J. Dillon that stipulated that he could wrestle only when he wanted and under his own rules. Thus, Raven's Rules is born.

On November 23, 1997 at World War III Raven met Scotty Riggs in a match in which Raven dropped Riggs into a chair, damaging Riggs' eye. Riggs later joined the Flock, as would Billy Kidman, Van Hammer, Horace, Lodi and Sick Boy. Leading the Flock, he enjoyed some moderate success, but nothing on the level of his former ECW main event status. He won the WCW U.S Heavyweight Championship as well as the WCW World Tag Team Championship, with Perry Saturn. The former reign lasted only a day as Raven defeated Diamond Dallas Page at a Pay Per View and lost the belt the following night to Bill Goldberg on WCW Monday Nitro.

Raven had a notable feud with Perry Saturn after losing the U.S Title to Goldberg. He blamed the flock and Saturn in particular for his loss. This led to a series of matches, the last of which happened at WCW Fall Brawl 98. Without the Flock, Raven began a series of depressing interviews and walked out on several matches. In October at WCWs Halloween Havoc 98, Raven refused to wrestle Chris Jericho for the Television Title, but eventually was convinced to return to the ring. He lost the match and wasn't seen until 1999. Rumors of a feud with Roddy Piper were in the works, but that was scrapped for an unknown reason. He was reunited with his former valet Chastity, who WCW claimed was his sister, and moved into other storylines, creating feuds with Chris Kanyon, Bam Bam Bigelow, and Hak (The Sandman). He later joined with Vampiro, and the Insane Clown Posse in a short-lived stable called The Dead Pool. In a meeting which involved every contracted WCW wrestler, when Eric Bischoff offered anyone their release right then and there, Raven was the only one to stand up and walk out, as he was dissatisfied with WCW's creative direction. As a final effort to try to get Raven to stay on the WCW roster, Eric Bischoff told Raven about a storyline which involed Raven beating his opponent and "taking their souls". This made Raven interested in staying with the company however, when Raven found out how the storyline would end (Dustin Rhodes a.k.a Goldust being behind the whole thing) he lost interest and asked for his release. Raven left the company in 1999.

WCW:`Raven, Part 1

Scott Levy (born September 8, 1964) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Raven. He is currently wrestling for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, and is a former NWA and ECW World Heavyweight Champion. He is also the innovator of numerous types of "gimmick" wrestling matches, such as the Clockwork Orange House of Fun match.

Scott Levy studied criminal justice at the University of Delaware and originally wanted to be a lawyer. He would break into the wrestling business in 1988 as Scotty The Body in Memphis' Continental Wrestling Association, where he was the boy-toy of Missy Hyatt, who used him to her and Eddie Gilbert's advantage.

After leaving Memphis, Levy competed in his home state of Florida until he was let go after an argument with part owner Steve Keirn. Levy next competed briefly with Vancouver's All Star Wrestling; he wrestled as a face there and got over with the fans, but ended up leaving due to promoter Al Tomko's preference to push his sons, Todd (AKA Rick Davis) and Terry (AKA The Frog) in All Star's top spots, as well as Tomko making false allegations about Levy being in legal trouble. From there, he went to Portland's Pacific Northwest Wrestling. He was one of the main heels for most of his three years there, winning all of the titles and feuding heavily with Steve Doll; after taking a brief break from competing, he returned to PNW as a face and began a feud with top heel The Grappler.

His first national TV exposure was in the Global Wrestling Federation as Scotty Anthony. He was a member of The Cartel with Cactus Jack, Rip Rogers, and Makhan Singh.

He got his first major exposure as a wrestler in 1992 in World Championship Wrestling in the light-heavyweight division under the name Scotty Flamingo managed by Diamond Dallas Page, and won the short lived WCW Light Heavyweight Title (also known as the first incarnation of the WCW Cruiserweight Championship) on June 20, 1992 by defeating Brian Pillman. After the match, many other wrestlers lined up in the back to praise the quality of the match. Brad Armstrong defeated Levy to win the Light Heavyweight title.He had feuds with Brian Pillman, Brad Armstrong and Johnny B. Badd. He won a "boxing" match over the former Golden Gloves champion Badd at the Clash of Champions on November 18, 1992 when his ring corner men, Diamond Dallas Page and Vinnie Vegas, loaded his gloves with water so he could KO Badd. He left later that year.

In early 1993, Levy joined the World Wrestling Federation as manager Johnny Polo, a spoiled, rich kid, and was placed with Adam Bomb. He was also manager of the Quebecers tag team, whom he led to a few reigns as WWF World Tag Team Champions. He occasionally wrestled, worked as a color commentator, Co Host of Radio WWF, and, behind the scenes, worked as a producer for the WWF's Monday Night RAW TV program. Levy left in 1994 due to not wrestling and at times not even being on the show.

In 1995, now bulked up to approximately 230 lb (104 kg), Levy debuted in Extreme Championship Wrestling under the name Raven (a reference to the poem by Edgar Allan Poe). In a dramatic departure from his former characters, Levy began portraying a depressed, nihilistic, sadistic, misanthrope. He made his debut with Stevie Richards, attacking Tommy Dreamer, claiming Dreamer was his enemy when they were children at Summer Camp. He also debuted with the valet, Beulah McGillicutty, a girl who liked Dreamer as a child, but is now seeking revenge. Raven and Dreamer had a great deal of matches with Raven coming out victorious every time.

Another major ECW feud was with Sandman. He "brainwashed" his son to join his cult like following, and turned him against his father. Raven would get at Sandman by having his son deny his relationship with his father, and he would do Raven's taunt to slowly eat away at Sandman. This led to many bloody matches, which Sandman's son interfered to help his father. After the match, the two embraced, but Raven came from behind with a Kendo Stick, and smacked his enemy. Steven Richards and the Blue Meanie came out with a giant wooden cross, and tied Sandman down to it. They then lifted it up, and "crucified" him. The fans gave a negative reaction. At the time, Kurt Angle was backstage, and the offensive angle caused him to leave and threaten a lawsuit if his name appeared on the same episode as the "crucifixion." Raven came out, and gave a questionable apology for his actions. To this day Raven claims that the angle wasn't an insult to Jesus Christ, but an insult to The Sandman, by using religious iconography to convey an artistic standpoint. The footage of the "crucifixion" was never used by ECW, and indeed, was not publicly seen until it appeared on the WWE Home Video DVD The Rise and Fall of ECW.

GUEST ED: TNA: In danger of becoming a modern day WCW?

GUEST ED: TNA: In danger of becoming a modern day WCW?:

"In the attempt of taking things to the next level and try to become a serious competitor to WWE, is TNA in danger of turning themselves into a modern day WCW? The quality of recent TNA programming and the recent PPV seem to be indicating that the answer to the question is yes."

WCW: Robbie Rage

Height: 5 ft 10 in
Weight: 254 lb
Birthday: 1970
Birthplace: Atlanta, Georgia
Hometown: Atlanta, Georgia
Trained by: WCW Powerplant
Debut: 1995
Previous identities: The Pink Pantser
Finishing and signature move(s): Nut Buster

Robert J. Krapik is a professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with WCW and on the independent wrestling scene as Robbie Rage. While in WCW, he was part of the team High Voltage with Kenny Kaos.
In the Summer of 2000, Robbie Rage left WCW for good and returned to New Japan Pro Wrestling.

Scott Putski

Scott Bednarski, better known by his ring name Scott Putski, is an American professional wrestler best known for his work with Texas independent promotions. Putski is the son of wrestler Ivan Putski, with whom he teamed up on several occasions.

During late 1991 until mid 1992 he had a short but memorable stint in the Dallas-based Global Wrestling Federation, where he had great success as both a singles and a tag-team competitor. All matches mentioned in this section took place at the Dallas Sportatorium.

On March 20, Putski and Terry Simms captured the GWF Tag Team Titles from the Coast to Coast Connection ("Hollywood" John Tatum & "California Studd" Rod Price). Less than a month later, on April 17, the belts were held up following a match between Putski and Simms and the Goodfellows (Gary Young and Steven Dane). Young and Dane would go on to win the rematch on May 1 and become the undisputed champions.

Putski would be without a championship for less than a month. On May 29 he defeated Johnny Mantell in tournament final to capture the GWF North American Championship, the federation's top singles title, which had been declared vacant after "Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert left the GWF for the Memphis-based USWA. Putski would hold the title until being fired in August. On August 21 Rod Price was awarded the title.

After several tours of Japan and stints in the independent scene, including losing his mask of Konnan 2000 to Rubén Púas Olivares on May 8, 1993 at Plaza de Toros Monumental, Monterrey, N.L., Putski debuted in the WWF in 1997, as part of the WWF Light Heavyweight Division; their attempt to compete with rivals WCW's more established Cruiserweight Division. Putski achieved little success in the WWF, being outshone by more successful, smaller cruiserweight wrestlers like Brian Christopher, Taka Michinoku, Christian, Scott Taylor and Aguila.

By 1998, Putski was featured on WCW Saturday Night, the company's low profile show primarily reserved for up-and-comers and squash matches. He managed to score a few wins using his patented Putski Bomb, better known as the Rydeen bomb, and started teaming up with the likes of Scotty Riggs on WCW's higher profile shows. This only lasted for a brief time however.

Putski eventually made his way into Professional Championship Wrestling, a promotion based in Arlington, Texas. Here he would finally find success, acquiring the PCW Tag Team Championship in 2002 as a part of the Cowboys from Hell.

Psychosis

Ring name(s) Psicosis,,Psychosis,,El Salvaje,,Nicho El Millionaro,,Nicho,,Psicosis the Millionaire,,El Jet de TJ,El Millonario de Tijuana
Billed height 182 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Billed weight 96 kg (216 lb)
Born May 19, 1971,Tijuana, Baja California
Trained by Rey Misterio, Sr.,Fobia
Professional wrestling debut: March 10, 1989


Dionicio Castellanos Torres (born May 19, 1971) is a Mexican professional wrestler (best known by the stage names Psychosis or Psicosis) currently performing as Nicho El Millionaro in Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre. He is a two-time WCW Cruiserweight Champion and has performed for World Wrestling Entertainment, Extreme Championship Wrestling, Asistencia Asesoria y Administracion, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, and Xtreme Pro Wrestling.

Castellanos started wrestling as Psicosis for the Asistencia Asesoria y Administracion promotion in his native Baja California in March 1989, after being trained by Rey Misterio, Sr. and his brother, Fobia. Some of his biggest feuds were with Rey Mysterio and El Hijo del Santo. He frequently feuded with La Parka although he would team with him later in WCW, Juventud Guerrera and Juvi's father, Fuerza Guerrera. Also, he appeared in the movie/documentary "101 Reasons Not To Be A Pro Wrestler".

Psicosis first made a name for himself in the United States in joining ECW in 1995. He is most remembered for putting on some fantastic matches against Misterio Jr. during this time. It is widely agreed on that the two performers were instrumental in introducing the high flying Mexican style to American wrestling fans of the mid-late '90s.

He then switched to World Championship Wrestling as Psychosis in 1996. His Nitro Professional wrestling debut: match took place at WCW Monday Nitro July 8, 1996 against Eddie Guerrero during WCW's tour of Disney MGM Studios. Through the early years, Psychosis would typically face other luchadores, frequently getting a spot during Pay-Per-View events. He faced La Parka at Spring Stampede March 19, 1998 a match in which he won. Many people don't know (mostly because WCW never ackowledged it) that Psychosis was actually a member of the nWo in Konnan's Promo Azteca. Other members included Rey Misterio (not to be confused with Rey, Jr.) and Holloween/Ciclope.

In 1999, Psychosis joined Eddie Guerrero's Latino World Order (LWO). The group, made up entirely of Mexican wrestlers, would be disbanded at the hands of the nWo shortly after.

Later in his career, Psychosis was frequently managed by Sonny Onoo and had a regular tag team with La Parka. Psychosis originally lost his mask to Rey, Jr. during a tour of Mexico. Psychosis removed the mask and handed it to Rey, Jr. while simotanously covering his face with a towel. The reason for this was that Psychosis was not supposed to lose his mask. He would later go on to lose his mask to Billy Kidman on an episode of Nitro. On occasion, he was also paired with Juventud Guerrera. When Guerrera won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title on WCW TV and then got injured, Vince Russo stripped Guerrera and had Psychosis and La Parka go for the vacant title, which Psychosis won. He then lost it to Jushin Liger the same night.

During the April 19, 1999 edition of WCW Monday Nitro, Psychosis defeated Blitzkrieg, Juventud Guerrera, and Rey Mysterio in a 4-way bout to win the WCW Cruiserweight Championship for the first time. This reign would be short-lived, however, as he would lose it to Rey Mysterio not long after.

On September 27, 1999, Psychosis competed in a máscara contra caballera (mask vs. hair) match against Billy Kidman. Kidman won, and like both Juventud Guerrera and Rey Mysterio before him, Psychosis was forced to unmask.

Psychosis had a second, rather forgettable Cruiserweight Title reign in WCW. When the previous champion Lenny Lane (who portrayed a flamboyant homosexual on television) got WCW in hot water with the GLAAD, Lane was pulled from television. Psychosis was given the belt only to lose it to Disco Inferno.

The Prisoner

Birthday: April 17, 1958
Hometown: Bloomington, Minnesota
Height:6 ft 5 in (196 cm)
Weight:297 lb (135 kg)
Trained by: Brad Rheingans
Debut: 1982
Previous Gimmicks: Thor, Kevin Kelly, Kevin The Magnificent, Nailz, The Prisoner
Kevin Wacholz (born April 17, 1958 in Bloomington, Minnesota) was a professional wrestler who once worked for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1992 as Nailz. He was also known as "Mr. Magnificent" Kevin Kelly in the American Wrestling Association in the 1980s.

Kevin Wacholz (born April 17, 1958 in Bloomington, Minnesota) was a professional wrestler who once worked for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1992 as Nailz. He was also known as "Mr. Magnificent" Kevin Kelly in the American Wrestling Association in the 1980s.

Kevin Wacholz started wrestling in 1982 in the American Wrestling Association as Kevin Kelly, a babyface midcarder. By 1986, he was a top heel and challenged for the AWA World Heavyweight Championship. He was managed by Madusa Miceli and often teamed with Nick Kiniski as "The Perfect Tag Team" to contend for the AWA World Tag Team title. He was also using the moniker, "Mr. Magnificent" Kevin Kelly. In 1987, he was issuing arm wrestling challenges and was managed by Sherri Martel. This caused him to feud with Tommy Rich, who answered one of his challenges on an edition of AWA Championship Wrestling on ESPN. Kelly appeared to have the arm-wrestling match against Rich lost when Martel interfered on Kelly's behalf, for which Martel paid when Rich tore off her dress as payback.

He left the AWA for the independent promotions before it folded in 1991.

Wacholz entered the WWF in 1992 as Nailz, an ex-convict who, in a series of promos alleged that he was abused by former prison guard (and now fellow WWF wrestler) Big Boss Man while in prison and also claimed to be innocent of his crimes. Following Big Boss Man's squash match over Dave Roulette on a WWF syndicated program, Nailz – dressed in orange prison garb and hell-bent on revenge – charged the ring and brutally attacked Big Boss Man, eventually using a nightstick to injure his one-time tormentor.

Nailz squashed Virgil at SummerSlam 1992 and continued to feud with Big Boss Man, who had recovered from Nailz's beating. Eventually, Big Boss Man defeated Nailz in a Night Stick match at the 1992 Survivor Series, putting an end to their feud.

Nailz was set to feud with then recent face wrestler The Undertaker. The two had a stare down that aired on a WWF syndicated program, but the feud never went anywhere. Rumors had been stated that he was supposed to wrestle The Ultimate Warrior in a feud, but this was untrue. The Warrior claims otherwise on his site, however, and he said that this planned program with Nailz was part of the reason he left the WWF in 1992.

Wacholz was fired from the WWF in December 1992, reportedly after he attacked Vince McMahon over a dispute over money. Wacholz apparently started choking Vince McMahon until he was turning blue in the face.

The incident led to a series of lawsuits between Wacholz and McMahon. Wacholz fired the first shot, alleging that McMahon had sexually harassed him on a number of occasions; McMahon denied the claim, but Wacholz proceeded to file a wrongful termination lawsuit. The WWF filed a counterclaim against Wacholz, but later dropped the matter.

Wacholz later went on to testify against McMahon and the WWF when they were being indicted for giving their athletes steroids, saying that McMahon told him to take steroids and that he personally hated McMahon. Wacholz's testimony backfired in a way, as it seems that his inconsistent stories to the court led to McMahon's acquittal in the trial.

He went to World Championship Wrestling in 1993 for a short stay as The Prisoner to feud with Sting.

In 1996, Wacholz used his Nailz gimmick in Tito Santana's American Wrestling Federation.

Wacholz retired in 2000. Word is he wants to set up a car garage in Yoker some time in 2007.

Jim Powers

Jim Powers (born James Manley) on January 4, 1958 in New York City) is an American professional wrestler who most notably wrestled for the World Wrestling Federation in the mid-to-late 1980's and early 1990's. Throughout most of his career, he was recognized as a preliminary wrestler - someone used as fodder for a more well-known wrestler who the audience knows does not stand a chance to win the match. This is also referred to as "enhancement talent".

Powers was discovered and brought into the WWF in late 1984 by Big John Studd.

He arguably reached the peak of his career in the WWF when, in March 1987, along with fellow preliminary wrestler Paul Roma, he formed a handsome tag team called The Young Stallions. The team seemingly received their name by accident when play-by-play commentator Vince McMahon referred to them once as "a couple of young stallions". This was an understatement, as Powers possessed huge biceps and a chiseled torso, while Roma's physique resembled that of a Greek God.

Powers and Roma were still viewed as enhancement talent when, during the August 8, 1987 episode of WWF Superstars, they scored an upset disqualification victory over the WWF Tag Team Champions, Hart Foundation. The victory launched their brief run as featured performers and the team was even one of only two surviving teams (the other being The Killer Bees) in the elimination tag team match at the first annual Survivor Series pay-per-view on November 26, 1987.

It wasn't too long before WWF owner Vince McMahon seemed to lose interest in the idea of pushing the Young Stallions. This may have been due, in part, to the fact that Powers and Roma did not get along with each other. The team was placed in featured matches on television and at house shows, but most times ended up on the losing end. Following yet another loss, this time to Demolition on the March 19, 1989 episode of WWF Wrestling Challenge, the team began arguing after matches. Soon, they were split up (off camera). After being hit in the head with a megaphone by Dino Bravo during a 1990 match on WWF Superstars, Roma (who accused the Rockers of attacking him rather than Bravo) formed a heel Tag Team with fellow wrestler Hercules named Power & Glory. Powers, in the meantime, faded back into the enhancement scene. During this time, he most notably became the first man to lose to Ric Flair when Flair made his WWF debut on the September 30, 1991 episode of Prime Time Wrestling.

After falling off the map completely for a couple years, Powers resurfaced in World Championship Wrestling in the spring of 1995. He was scouted and then managed for a brief time by Teddy Long. The highlight of his WCW run was arguably the time he was attacked and spray-painted during a mid-1996 match by the New World Order. The reason for the attack was simply that the NWO wanted to address the crowd. It didn't really have anything to do with Jim Powers. Not much else did either and Powers eventually faded off the scene entirely, leaving WCW in early 1999.

Jim Powers is currently training hard for his return to the ring on March 9, 2007 in Suffern, New York. He will be teaming with Tito Santana, Gino Caruso and Rocky Jones against The Honky Tonk Man, The Kodiak Bear, The Masked Superstar, and Vic Devine.

Lanny Poffo

Height: 6 ft 0 in
Weight: 228 lb.
Birthday: December 28, 1954
Hometown: Downers Grove, Illinois
Other Gimmicks: The Genius
Debut: 1973
Managers: Jimmy Hart
Finishing and Signature moves: Honor Roll, Moonsault

Lanny Poffo is an American professional wrestler. He is the son of Angelo Poffo and the brother of wrestling superstar "Macho Man" Randy Savage.

Lanny was not as popular as his brother, but he had a decent wrestling career in the WWF in the 1980s. In the ring, he would often read poems that he himself penned, wrestle in an effeminate manner, and would also throw out frisbees to the fans. Early in his career, he was known as Leaping Lanny Poffo, the Wrestling Poet. He made some publicity by competing in a Bunkhouse Battle Royal in full knight's armor, but he was eliminated quickly. Prior to being repackaged as the Genius, Poffo was what smart fans refer to as a "JTTS" or "Jobber To The Stars" which means that while he was almost exclusively "enhancement talent" who was not usually booked in any serious way to win, he was allowed to get in a fair amount of offense in his matches, and won some on occasion. Poffo was also one of the first, if not the very first, wrestlers to use the moonsault in the WWF.

In 1989, he turned into a heel wrestler and became The Genius, adopting a highly intelligent, "better than you" persona and wearing a cap and gown to the ring. His poems (which had previously ribbed the heel wrestlers) now ridiculed the face wrestlers, and he now behaved in an even more effeminate manner to infurate the crowd. In addition, the Genius also served as a manager (and occasional tag team partner) for Mr. Perfect. Later, he was the manager of the Beverly Brothers (Mike Enos and Wayne Bloom).

In an early 1990 edition of WWF Saturday Night's Main Event, The Genius beat WWF World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan by countout due to Mr. Perfect hitting Hogan with the championship belt. Later in the show, Mr. Perfect and Lanny took a hammer to the belt, shattering it to pieces. It is said that this destroyed belt became the first WWF Hardcore Championship belt.

He signed a WCW contract in the 1990s, but they never used him, and he sat at home and collected a paycheck. However, it is rumored that Poffo did in fact work WCW events as WCW's mascot, Wild Cat Willie.

Outside of wrestling, Poffo has released a collection of poems and limericks, most of which were related to drug and alcohol awareness, directed toward young children. He was last seen on television in infomercials as an endorser of Tony Little's Gazelle Freestyle exercise machine. Fans have noted that Poffo is barely recognizable from his WWF heyday (apart from shaving his famous Genius beard, he now has a more muscular physique).

Craig Pittman

Height: 6'2"
Weight: 270 lbs.
Birthday: 1959
Hometown: Long Island, New York
Trainer: The Assassin & Terry Taylor at the WCW Power Plant
Managers: Theodore Long
Craig Pittman was a professional wrestler and a United States Marine.

Craig Pittman was born in 1959 on Long Island, New York. He joined the United States Marine Corps upon graduating and achieved the rank of sergeant. He was a wrestler in the Marines and won several championships.

Craig trained to wrestle professionally and made his Professional wrestling debut: in 1994 in World Championship Wrestling as Sgt. Craig Pittman. (modelled on Sgt. Slaughter). He was nicknamed "The Pit Bull" because of his tenacity when he locked on his "Code Red" Armbar Submission hold.

Pittman feuded with Cobra and eventually hired Theodore Long to be his manager. Pittman left WCW in the late 1990's for the National Wrestling Alliance's Mid-Atlantic area. He wrestled there until retiring in early 2004.

Pittman entered ICW Pro Wrestling immediately upon leaving WCW. He battled Mean Marc Ash for the ICW title and then became Ash's tag team partner. Pittman also fought in a mixed martial arts competition in Japan. He won he first fight but lost his second. Can be seen in the documentary CHOKE.

2-time USA Senior Greco-Roman Champion (1989 and 1991)

Roddy Piper

Ring name(s) Roddy Piper,The Masked Canadian,The Piper Machine,Hot Rod,Roddy the Piper
Billed height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Billed weight 234 lb (106 kg)
Born April 17, 1954,Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Resides Hillsboro, Oregon
Billed from Glasgow, Scotland
Trained by Tony Condello,,Stu Hart
Debut 1973

"Rowdy" Roddy Piper (born Roderick George Toombs on April 17, 1954) is a Canadian professional wrestler. Raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, he is billed from Glasgow, Scotland and is known for his signature kilt and bagpipe entrance music. He earned the nickname "Rowdy" by displaying his trademark "Scottish" rage, spontaneity and quick wit, and is also nicknamed "Hot Rod". He currently makes appearances for World Wrestling Entertainment on the RAW brand.

After being expelled from junior high and having a falling out with his father, Toombs hit the road and stayed in youth hostels wherever he could find them. By the age of 16, he was the youngest wrestler in the history of professional wrestling and he made his pro debut in Winnipeg, against Larry Hennig. Piper lost the match in ten seconds. He was a boxer and an amateur wrestler before he started to become a pro wrestler. He won the Golden Gloves boxing championship. He was awarded a Black Belt from the world-renowned 'Judo' Gene Lebell. He has held more than 38 professional wrestling titles. He has won more than 7,000 professional matches.

From 1973-1975 Piper was a jobber in the AWA, Kansas City, the Maritimes, and Texas working for Paul Boesch's NWA Houston Wrestling promotion and in Dallas working for Fritz Von Erich's Big Time Wrestling. While in Texas Piper impressed many of the guys including Red Bastien who arranged for him to go to Portland. However, what was supposed to be a brief run in California turned out to be a long term stint as booker Leo Garibaldi and publicist Jeff Walton were impressed with Piper and saw the money making possibilities he had as a heel.

By late 1975 and early 1976 Piper was a top heel for Mike Lebell's & Gene Lebell's NWA Hollywood Wrestling. In 77-78 also started to work for Roy Shire's NWA San Francisco Wrestling in addition to remaining with the LA office. Los Angeles was where Piper developed his Rowdy Character as one of the most hated heels in Los Angeles since the days of Classy Freddy Blassie, with one of his most notorious doings being the continuous insults directed at the area's Mexican community, which he later promised to amend by playing the Mexican national anthem on his bagpipes only to anger the fans further by playing "La Cucaraca" on the bagpipes instead [1]. Piper also served as manager for several heels in Los Angeles and worked as a referee from time to time. Piper feuded with all the faces in the area and had a long and bloody feud with Chavo Guerrero. During Piper's California stint, he would go on to win: the legendary Americas (Los Angeles Version) title 5 times, the U.S. title (San Francisco Version) (1), NWA World Light Heavyweight Title (1), Americas Tag Team Title (7) with various partners like Crusher Verdu (2), Adrian Adonis (1), Ron Bass(1), Pak Choo (1), The Hangman (Gene Lebell) (1), and one time with Chavo Guerrero with Piper as The Masked Canadian. Finally in 1978 Piper along with Ed Wiskoski won the prestigious NWA World Tag Team Titles (San Francisco Version).

By 1979, he left the California promotions for even more fame in Don Owen’s Pacific Northwest Territory where he teamed with Killer Tim Brooks, Rick Martel and Mike Popovich to win The NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Title (5). Piper went on to win the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Title with victories over both Lord Jonathan Boyd and "Playboy" Buddy Rose.

In late 1980 Piper ventured to the Mid-Atlantic territory where he grew to achieve even bigger fame. He beat Jack Brisco for the Mid-Atlantic title and Ric Flair for the US belt which turned into a huge feud. In 1981, Piper started with the Georgia territory as an antagonistic heel commentator. This is where he started to get worldwide attention. In 1982 due to showing up late for a match he was fired and reportedly blackballed. Piper maintains this in his book, but others dispute this. He did receive an offer from Gary Hart to go to World Class Championship Wrestling but the money was not good enough. Instead he went to Puerto Rico for a month or so and was able to get booked again by Jim Crockett shortly thereafter. It was in Crockett's promotion that Piper was attacked by a fan, leading him to turn face. In Wrestling to Rasslin', Gerald W. Morton and George M. O'Brien described the transformation: "the drama finally played itself out on television when one of his [Piper's] hired assassins, Don Muraco, suddenly attacked the commentator Gordon Solie. Seeing Solie hurt, Piper unleashed his Scottish fury on Muraco. In the week that followed, like Achilles avenging Patroklas, he slaughtered villain after villain.... In the arenas fans chanted his name throughout his matches." As a face, Piper feuded with Sgt. Slaughter and more notably Greg Valentine. Piper's feud with Valentine culminated in a famous dog collar match at the first Starrcade. Valentine would end up damaging the eardrum in Piper's left ear with the collar's chain leaving Piper with permanent hearing loss.

Later in 1996, Piper joined WCW. He appeared at Halloween Havoc to "break Hogan's monotony." In his first appearance, Piper famously asked Hogan, "Do you think [the fans] would've loved you so much, if they hadn't hated me?"

Piper's WCW tenure is best remembered for his long-running feud with Hogan, at the time a heel, over which of them was wrestling's true icon. Piper and Hogan wrestled in a non-title match as the main event of 1996's Starrcade, WCW's biggest pay-per-view event of the year. Piper defeated Hogan with a sleeper hold.

Piper faced Hogan in a title match at SuperBrawl VII. This time, Hogan beat Piper when Randy Savage interfered and joined the New World Order. Promos showed Piper locking himself in the Alcatraz prison and vigorously exercising in order to prepare for the highly anticipated match. During the spring of 1997, Piper would join forces with Ric Flair and The Four Horsemen in their battle with the nWo. Shortly there after, Piper and Flair would feud before Piper disappeared from the scene. Piper briefly returned in October 1997 to face Hogan once again in a steel cage match.

In early 1998, Piper once again returned to feud with Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, and Bret Hart. In early 1999, Piper had a short run as United States Champion, became WCW Commissioner, and resumed his feud with Ric Flair over control of WCW. Piper also had a short feud with Buff Bagwell in the summer of 1999. In late 1999, Piper would once again be featured on WCW Television, in an angle with Vince Russo, who was now portraying himself as the "Powers That Be" (an un-seen power that was controling WCW). At Starrcade 1999, Piper was the special referee in the WCW title match featuring Bill Goldberg & Bret Hart. Forced by Russo, Piper called for the bell when Hart locked in the Sharpshooter on Goldberg, when it was apparent that Goldberg hadn't submitted. The feud between Piper and the Powers That Be ended shortly after and Piper disappeared, never to be seen on WCW TV again.

In the fall of 2000, WCW terminated Piper's contract.

On November 27, 2006, it was announced on WWE.com that Piper has Hodgkin's Lymphoma, and is to undergo radiation therapy. This was also confirmed on Piper's official web site where he posted messages of thanks to all his fans and supporters.

Flyin'" Brian Pillman

Brian William Pillman (May 22, 1962 – October 5, 1997) was an American professional wrestler and American football player.

Pillman developed throat polips at around 2 years old. They came back multiple times throughout his life, which resulted in him spending much of his youth in hospital. He underwent over 40 operations to remove it, leaving him with his signature raspy voice.

While attending Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, Pillman played football for the Miami Redhawks as a linebacker where he set records for "tackles for loss". He went undrafted to the National Football League, joining the Cincinnati Bengals (his home town team) as a free agent in 1984 and later the Canadian Football League for the Calgary Stampeders in 1986. He also played for the Buffalo Bills in preseason action in 1985, but was the last player cut before the start of that season. His attempts to make the roster of the Bengals were covered in a series of articles in The Cincinnati Enquirer. During his football career, Pillman began taking steroids and painkillers in order to perform, resulting in him having problems with drug addiction for the rest of his life.

Following the end of his football career, Pillman remained in Canada and began training as a wrestler under Stu Hart and his sons. He debuted under his real name in 1986 in Hart's Calgary, Alberta-based Stampede Wrestling promotion.

Pillman quickly formed a tag team with Hart's son Bruce known as Bad Company. In April 1987, Bad Company won the Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Championship, defeating Ron Starr and the Cuban Assassin in the finals of a tournament. Their reign lasted until October 1987, when the titles were held up following a controversial ending to a match between Bad Company and their opponents, Jerry Morrow and Makhan Singh. Bad Company defeated Morrow and Singh in a rematch in November 1987 to regain the titles, eventually losing them to Morrow and the Cuban Assassin in July 1988.

While in Stampede Wrestling, Pillman used his girlfriend at the time, Beulah McGillicutty, to get him over as a face by seating her at ringside and having heel wrestlers taunt her so that he could rescue her.

In 1989, Pillman returned to America and began wrestling for World Championship Wrestling, where he was known as "Flyin'" Brian Pillman due to his athletic ability and variety of aerial maneuvers. He held the WCW United States Tag Team Championship with Tom Zenk and also held the short-lived WCW Light Heavyweight Championship, feuding with Brad Armstrong, Jushin Liger, Richard Morton, and Scotty Flamingo. Pillman later feuded with Barry Windham, who he harassed while dressed as the masked Yellow Dog after losing a retirement match (Pillman was eventually reinstated). During this year he may have had a daughter who is now 17 years old, and is living on her own in Saskatchewan.

In 1992, Pillman turned heel, forming a tag team with "Stunning" Steve Austin known as the Hollywood Blondes. In March 1993, the duo won the WCW World Tag Team Championship, which they held for five months. The team quickly became popular for their brash attitudes, pithy catchphrases and critically acclaimed matches with Ricky Steamboat and Shane Douglas. They also feuded with Ric Flair and Arn Anderson, mocking their ages and parodying Flair's interview show "A Flair For the Gold," with their own "A Flare for the Old."

After the Hollywood Blondes separated, Pillman became a tweener, feuding with wrestlers such as Brad Armstrong, Eddie Guerrero, Alex Wright and Marcus Bagwell. In late 1995 at Fall Brawl 1995, Pillman formed a team with Arn Anderson, and began feuding with Ric Flair and Sting. At Halloween Havoc 1995, Flair betrayed Sting and reformed the Four Horsemen with Pillman, Anderson and Chris Benoit.

In 1995 he wrestled the first match on the very first WCW Monday Nitro defeating Liger.

Throughout 1995, Pillman developed his "Loose Cannon" gimmick, cultivating a reputation for unpredictable behaviour. He frequently blurred fact and fiction with his worked-shoots, and outed Kevin Sullivan as booker during the February 1996 Superbrawl VI pay-per-view. During a live episode of WCW Clash of the Champions, Pillman grabbed commentator Bobby Heenan by the collar, causing Heenan (who had a history of neck problems) to blurt out "What the f**k are you doing?" on air. Pillman was fired by WCW President Eric Bischoff in early 1996. In Eric Bischoff's autobiography he said that Pillman was fired for a reason.

WCW:Shanghai Pierce

Ring name(s) Henry Orpheus Godwinn,Mark Canterbury,Shanghai Pierce
Billed height 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Billed weight 297 lb (135 kg)
Born March 16, 1964,West Virginia
Billed from Arkansas
Trained by George South,Italian Stallion
Professional wrestling debut: 1989


Mark Canterbury (born March 16, 1964 in West Virginia) is an American professional wrestler, currently working for World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring name Henry Orpheus Godwinn (often abbreviated to Henry O. Godwinn or Henry Godwinn).

Canterbury trained under George South and the Italian Stallion before debuting in 1989 under the ring name "Mean" Mark Canterbury. He quickly formed a tag team with Dennis Knight (wrestling as Tex Slazenger) known as the Texas Hangmen.

In October 1992, the duo began wrestling for World Championship Wrestling, with Canterbury adopting the ring name Shanghai Pierce. They remained with the promotion until 1994.

In the mid-1990s, Canterbury joined the World Wrestling Federation, where he was renamed Henry Orpheus Godwinn and given the gimmick of an Arkansan pig farmer who carried a bucket of "slop" to the ring, which he would throw upon his opponents. Canterbury was originally a heel, and assisted the Million Dollar Corporation on several occasions. However, when the leader of the Corporation, Ted DiBiase, was asked on an episode of WWF Action Zone whether or not Canterbury was a member of the Corporation, DiBiase instead insulted Canterbury. This inspired Canterbury to turn face by "slopping" DiBiase, and led to a brief feud between Canterbury and Corporation member Sid.

Godwinn engaged in a feud with the aristocratic Hunter Hearst Helmsley. The feud culminated in December 1995 in an "Arkansas Hog Pen match" that was won by Helmsley.

In 1996, Canterbury was reunited with Knight, who had been renamed Phineas I. Godwinn. The duo were portrayed as being cousins and were collectively known as The Godwinns. Over the following two years, The Godwinns held the WWF World Tag Team Championship on two occasions and were managed by Cletus Godwinn, Hillbilly Jim and Sunny.

In 1997, in a match between The Godwinns and the Legion of Doom, Canterbury suffered a cracked C7 vertebra when the Legion of Doom botched a Doomsday Device. He was advised by doctors to rest for 15 weeks, but returned to the ring in less than eight weeks.

In 1998, Canterbury entered the Brawl For All, a shoot-fighting tournament held by the WWF. He lost in the first round to Bradshaw.

Later that year, the Godwinns dropped their pig farmer gimmicks and became "Southern Justice", the bodyguards of Tennessee Lee. Six months later, Canterbury herniated his C7 vertebra and pinched a spinal nerve, necessitating spinal fusion surgery. This came as a result of him returning to the ring too early after his neck injury. He evenutally left the WWF and retired, due to the neck injury suffered in 1997.

In September 2006, Canterbury wrestled several tryout matches with World Wrestling Entertainment. On September 15, 2006, WWE announced that he had been signed to a contract. He debuted in Deep South Wrestling, LLC on 11/30 as a tag partner for Ray Gordy.

He and Ray Gordy then wrestled in a dark match at the December 2, 2006 Smackdown taping, defeating the team of Rob Conway and Tatanka.

WCW: The Patriot

One of the coolest masks this side of Lucha Libre......

Ring name(s) Dream Weaver, The Trooper, The Patriot
Billed height 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Billed weight 275 lb (125 kg)
Born December 21, 1961, Columbia, South Carolina
Trained by Brad Rheingans, The Fabulous Moolah
Professional Wrestling Debut 1988
Retired 2002

Del Wilkes was born December 21, 1961 in Columbia, South Carolina. He was a masked pro wrestler best known as The Patriot.

Del Wilkes began his athletic career as an offensive guard for the University of South Carolina Gamecocks football team. He started wrestling in 1988 in the American Wrestling Association as The Trooper, where he wrote out tickets for his opponents after defeating them. He formed a tag team with D.J. Peterson and they won the World Tag Team Titles in a feud with Mike Enos and Wayne Bloom. Wilkes went to the Global Wrestling Federation as The Patriot after the AWA folded in 1991 and quickly became the top face there by winning both the North American Title and the Television Title. He feuded with Al Perez, Eddie Gilbert and The Dark Patriot while there. In early 1993, Wilkes went to wrestle in All Japan Pro Wrestling after the GWF folded and he had success with Jackie Fulton who wrestled as "The Eagle" to Wilkes' Patriot gimmick.

In 1994, Wilkes went to World Championship Wrestling to form a team with Marcus Bagwell called Stars N Stripes. They feuded with Paul Orndorff and Paul Roma and won the World Tag Team Titles twice. In 1997, Wilkes wrestled in the World Wrestling Federation and feuded with Bret Hart. The premise of this feud was that Hart had just started his anti-American Hart Foundation, and the Patriot was, as the name implied, a man who stood up for America. He defeated Hart on television in a non-title match on July 28, 1997 (after interference from Shawn Michaels), but never won the WWF Title from Hart when it was on the line (at IYH: Ground Zero). His WWF theme music was the same theme music later used by the more popular Kurt Angle, who was also portrayed as someone who stood up for America.

After leaving the WWF, Wilkes wrestled in the independent circuit until 2002, at which time he retired. Since his retirement, Wilkes admitted that he had used steroids and cocaine during his career starting with his college football days. He spent 9 months in prison in 2002 for forging a prescription due to his addiction to pain killers. He is now cleaned up and off drugs. As of 2002, Wilkes was a used car salesman in Columbia, South Carolina.

La Parka

Ring name(s) La Parka,L.A. Park,L.A. Par-K,Adolfo Tapia,Principe Island,El Gringo (Monclova Coahuila)
Billed height 6 ft 2 in (183 cm)
Billed weight 255 lb (116 kg)
Born November 14, 1965,Torreón, Coahuila
Trained by Raul Reyes,Alberto Mora
Debut 1982

Adolfo Tapia Ibarra better known as La Parka is a professional wrestler from Mexico most famous to American fans for his days as "The Chairman of WCW." He currently wrestles as LA Par-K since Triple A owns the rights for the La Parka gimmick. He unauthorizingly uses Michael Jackson's Thriller as his theme music.

Adolfo Tapia started wrestling in 1982, but he did not really start making a name for himself until he started wrestling as the masked La Parka in 1992. His costume and mask are a skeleton resembling the outfits used in Mexico's Day of the Dead ceremony. He is a very flamboyant wrestler, sometimes wearing sombreros to the ring, playing guitar on the chair he always brings to the ring, strutting and dancing in the ring, and even strutting on the turnbuckle.

His biggest and longest running feud in Mexico was against Lizmark. They feuded for years. He also feuded with Jerry Estrada, Konnan, Super Calo, La Calaca and Pierroth, Jr. He frequently teamed with Psychosis. He was part of the "When Worlds Collide" joint AAA/WCW PPV in 1994 and wrestled briefly in ECW in 1995.

In 1996, he went to WCW and picked up his feud with Super Calo. He became known as "The Chairman of WCW" because he would hit his opponents with a chair, stand it up and pose on it after strutting. In 1997, he reformed his team with Psychosis with Sonny Onoo as their manager. They feuded with Wrath, Mortis, and Ultimo Dragon. By 1998, he had left Onoo and feuded with Disco Inferno and Psychosis. He was used on some WCW PPV's but never got a push to the top. In June 1998, he tore his ACL in a match after a Goldberg spear. He returned in September and got into some trouble for competing in Mexico without Eric Bischoff's permission.

In November 1998, he joined Eddie Guerrero's Latino World Order (LWO) with Psychosis, Juventud Guerrera, Los Villanos, El Dandy, Silver King, Héctor Garza, Damien, and a reluctant Rey Misterio Jr.. They feuded with Konnan and Perry Saturn. The LWO disbanded in January 1999 when Guerrero was injured in a car accident. La Parka started teaming with Silver King and picked up his feud with Super Calo again. He briefly feuded with Eddie Guerrero upon his return since Eddie caused the LWO to disband.

When Vince Russo and Ed Ferrara took over booking in late 1999, they had Ferrara's voice speaking English over the intercom while La Parka would be doing interviews in Spanish in the ring. The voiceovers would comically explain La Parka was a fan of Skeletor from Masters of the Universe, hence his in-ring wear. This ended after a few weeks when La Parka heard something he did not want said and tossed the mic down as Ferrera was speaking. By early 2000, he had left WCW for Mexico where he had some trouble with the AAA promotion over the use of the La Parka name. They had it trademarked and he did not want to work for them, so he changed his name to L.A. Park and debuted with AAA's rival, Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre. In January of 2004, Park and Shocker defeated Los Guerreros Del Infierno for the CMLL World Tag Team Championship. Rey Bucanero and Último Guerrero would win their titles back in a rematch in March but L.A. Park challenged Último Guerrero for the CMLL Light-Heavyweight title at the CMLL 71st anniversary show but was unsuccessful. He continued wrestling in CMLL as well as independent promotions in Tijuana and else where in the country.

2002 and 2003 saw him wrestle for XPW, All Japan Pro Wrestling, Major League Wrestling and the revived AWA Superstars. In 2004, he made brief appearances in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, using his chair on his opponents, but was soon back in Mexico teaming with Shocker. In 2005, L.A. Park can be found wrestling in his native Mexico and in the United States for LXW and UCW and occasionally for FCW.

As of June 2006, he's currently still performing on the CMLL, has become a heel and has had a very successful run of matches on Mexico, mainly due to his current feud with Dr. Wagner Jr., which have a very positive fan reaction. In one of their most recent matches, which happened on the Arena Mexico in June 9, 2006, L.A. Park won when he faked a foul and Dr. Wagner Jr. was disqualified.

WCW: Air Paris

Frank Paris (born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1977) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his stage name, Air Paris. He competes primarily on the independent circuit in Georgia, and is most famous as having been the former tag team partner of A.J. Styles during their time in World Championship Wrestling.

Paris joined the Cornelia, Georgia-based NWA Wildside promotion, and on May 13, 1999 in Loganville, Georgia he defeated Bart Sawyer to win a tournament to crown the first NWA Wildside Junior Heavyweight Champion. He was stripped of the title on October 28 for failing to defend it within thirty days, but regained it on November 4 in Gainesville, Georgia, defeating Andy Anderson. His second reign ended on May 20, 2000 in Cornelia when he lost to Onyx.

Controversy arose in Nashville, Tennessee on December 9, 2000, when Paris and his tag team partner, Rob Williams, defeated reigning NWA World Tag Team Champions David Young and Rick Michaels. While the NWA claimed that the match had been a non-title affair, the local authorities recognised the title change. On December 22, 2000, Young and Michaels defeated Paris and Williams, thus regaining champion status within the Nashville area.

On January 6, 2001 in Cornelia, Paris defeated Jesse Taylor for the NWA Wildside Television Championship. His reign lasted only a few hours, as A.J. Styles would challenge him that same evening. Paris accepted the challenge, and lost after Jeff G. Bailey, Steve Martin and Onyx interfered on Styles' behalf.

Paris also wrestled for the Nashville, Tennessee-based Music City Wrestling promotion, where he formed a tag team with Cassidy O'Reilly known as the Hot Shots. On August 14, 1999 in Nashville, Paris and Reilly defeated Ashley Hudson and Corey Williams to win the vacant NWA North American Tag Team Championships. They lost the titles to The Colorado Kid and Mike Rapada on December 25 of that year in Nashville. The Hot Shots disbanded when Reilly began teaming regularly with Chase Stevens, and Paris then formed a new tag team with Big Bully Douglas, and on April 14, 2000, in Hopkinsville, Kentucky they defeated Hudson and Williams for the titles.

During his second tag reign, Paris began competing as a singles wrestler, and on May 11, 2000 in Fairview, Tennessee he defeated Mike Rapada for the NWA North American Heavyweight Championship. He lost the title to Chris Harris nine days later on May 20 in Nashville. He and Douglas separated in September 2000, vacating the tag titles in the process.

The feud between Paris and Styles was observed by talent scouts representing WCW, a global promotion based in Atlanta, Georgia which used NWA Wildside as a developmental territory, and both men were offered contracts in early-2001. Paris and Styles (renamed Air Styles) were placed in a tag team named "Air Raid", with the gimmick of the team being that both men would dress in G-suits.

Air Raid made appearances on WCW Thunder, and on the March 5, 2001, episode of WCW Monday Nitro they were entered in a tournament for the newly created WCW Cruiserweight Tag Team Championships. They were eliminated from the tournament in the first round by the eventual winners, Elix Skipper and Kid Romeo. After WCW was purchased by the World Wrestling Federation in March 2001, both men lost their jobs, and subsequently returned to the independent circuit.