CM Punk, part 3

Punk was assigned to Ohio Valley Wrestling, a WWE developmental territory. On September 26, 2005 in his OVW television debut, Punk suffered a ruptured eardrum and broken nose at the hands of Danny Inferno, after he was hit by an overly stiff right hand. Despite the injury, Punk finished the match and quickly recovered.

On November 9, 2005, Punk became the OVW Television Champion after defeating Ken Doane. This led immediately to a feud between Punk and Brent Albright, who had previously been feuding with Doane for the television championship and had lost his chance to wrestle Doane after Punk had hit him with a chair so he himself could wrestle Doane. This led to a series of matches, including one which ended in overtime with Albright having Punk submit to Albright's finisher, the Crowbar, however Punk was able to keep the championship as he had not agreed to the extra time. On January 4, 2006, Punk lost the OVW Television Championship during a three way dance between himself, Albright and Doane. Doane was injured halfway through the match and could not continue and was replaced by Aaron "The Idol" Stevens. Punk submitted to Albright's Crowbar and was eliminated but after interference by Punk, Stevens was able to get the pin on Albright to become the new OVW Television Champion. The feud continued after a short period in which Albright and Punk were a tag team, but they became opponents again after Albright wanted the respect of Punk who would never give it to him and instead proceeded to "punk out" (get the better of) Albright repeatedly. This continued for weeks with Punk always getting the better of Albright until a double turn occurred on February 1, 2006 when Albright turned heel during a tag match allowing The Spirit Squad to beat Punk and, in doing so, turning Punk face.

During this time CM Punk had a minor appearance at WrestleMania 22 on April 2, 2006 as one of the gangsters who rode a 1930s era car to the ring before John Cena's entrance.

When Matt Cappotelli vacated the OVW Heavyweight Championship due to a brain tumor, a tournament was held to crown a new champion. The finals were Brent Albright vs CM Punk with Albright defeating Punk to become the new champion. Punk and Albright continued their feud with Albright becoming more and more unstable and paranoid about maintaining his championship after several close call matches against Punk, resulting in acts such as threatening Maria. On May 3, 2006, Punk finally defeated Brent Albright in a strap match to win the OVW Heavyweight Championship. As champion, Punk retained the title in matches against opponents such as Shad Gaspard, Ken Kennedy, Johnny Jeter, and Mike "The Miz" Mizanin.

On July 28, 2006 Punk and Seth Skyfire defeated Shad Gaspard and the Neighborhoodie to win the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship at a house show. With the victory Punk became the second OVW wrestler to have held each of the promotion's three championships, following Brent Albright, and along with Skyfire the first to hold two championships simultaneously. They would lose the Tag Team Championship on August 2, 2006 to Deuce Shade and "Domino" Cliff Compton after an injured Skyfire tagged in an already injured Punk.

This lead to a feud between Punk and Skyfire after a rematch for the Tag Team Championship on August 7, 2006 in which a healthy Punk purposefully tagged in an injured Skyfire to be beaten by Shade and Compton. On August 30, 2006 a match was scheduled to take place between Punk and Skyfire for the OVW Heavyweight Championship however prior to the match Skyfire was attacked by Charles "The Hammer" Evans, who Skyfire had also been feuding with, and was replaced in the match by Chet Jablonski (Chet the Jet) who pinned Punk to win the OVW Heavyweight Championship. As he no longer possessed the championship OVW no longer required him so he was removed from the roster and brought up to the WWE roster full time. He continues to make sporadic appearances for the company such as at the 400th episode of OVW on television.

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CM Punk, part 2

In ROH Punk faced off against ROH World Champion Samoa Joe for the championship in a famous three match series. The first match, on June 12, 2004 at World Title Classic in Dayton, Ohio, resulted in a 60 minute time-limit draw when neither Punk nor Joe could pin or cause the other to submit in the sixty minutes. The second match between Samoa Joe and CM Punk was planned to have occurred on December 4, 2004 but because Steve Corino was pulled from a match with Samoa Joe by Pro Wrestling ZERO-ONE the second match was hastily rescheduled on October 11, 2004 for October 16 in Punk's hometown of Chicago, Illinois. At Joe vs. Punk II on October 16 they wrestled to a second 60 minute draw. In addition to becoming Ring of Honor's best selling DVD at that point, the match received the first 5-star rating by Dave Meltzer's Wrestling Observer Newsletter for a match in North America since 1997. Joe ended the series by defeating Punk in the third and final match on December 4, 2004 at All-Star Extravaganza 2 in which there was a no time limit stipulation.

In June 2005, Punk accepted a deal with the WWE, after a try-out match against Val Venis on its Sunday Night HEAT show. Even though he had accepted the deal, Punk went on to defeat Austin Aries to win the ROH World Championship on June 18, 2005 at Death Before Dishonor III with the Pepsi Plunge.

Immediately after the match Punk proceeded to turn heel and started an angle where he threatened to bring the ROH World Championship to WWE with him. For weeks, Punk teased the ROH locker room and the ROH fans as well as mocking the championship he possessed, going so far as to sign his WWE contract on it. A notable part of this angle was Mick Foley making several ROH appearances, attempting to convince Punk to do the right thing and defend the title on his way out.

On August 12, 2005 in Dayton, Ohio Punk lost the ROH World Championship to James Gibson in a four corner elimination match consisting of himself, Gibson, Samoa Joe and Christopher Daniels, who re-debuted after a year and half long absence following the Rob Feinstein controversy a few minutes after Punk turned heel, when Gibson countered the Pepsi Plunge with a Super Tiger Bomb. His final scheduled match in Ring of Honor took place at Punk: The Final Chapter on August 13, 2005 against long-time friend Colt Cabana in a 2 out of 3 falls match, which he lost. In his last match, he was visibly crying, and was showered with streamers when he posed in the middle of the ring.

Punk made a special appearance at the ROH show Unscripted II on February 11, 2006, when the original card had to be scrapped due to Low Ki leaving ROH the week prior and most of the roster contracted to TNA being pulled from the show due to a snowstorm that TNA officials thought might prevent performers from reaching a pay per view they were running the next day. In the main event, Punk teamed with Bryan Danielson to wrestle and ultimately defeat Jimmy Rave and Adam Pearce in a tag team match.

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CM Punk

Phil Brooks (born October 26, 1978), better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) on its ECW brand. Before debuting in ECW, he was best known for his work on the independent circuit, especially as a member of the Ring of Honor (RoH) roster where he was a former ROH World Champion, head trainer of the wrestling school and was considered to be one of the three icons of ROH (along with Samoa Joe and Homicide). His professional wrestling gimmick is that of a follower of "straight edge", a culture which he follows in real life and of which he utilizes different aspects depending on his alignment.

Punk's first venture into wrestling was a stint in a backyard wrestling federation called the Lunatic Wrestling Federation with his friends in the mid-late 1990s where he first started using the ring name CM Punk when he was put into a tag team named the Chick Magnets with CM Venom after another performer skipped out on the card. After leaving the federation because unlike his friends Punk genuinely wanted to be a wrestler and saw it as more than simple fun Punk enrolled as a student at the "Steel Domain" wrestling school in Chicago, where he was trained by Ace Steel, Danny Dominion and Kevin Quinn to become a professional wrestler and as part of the training wrestled at St. Paul's Steel Domain Wrestling. It was in the Steel Domain that he met Scott Colton, who soon adopted the stage name Colt Cabana. Punk and Cabana became best friends and spent most of their early career together working in the same independent promotions, as opponents or allies In the independents Punk, along with fellow Steel Domain graduates Colt Cabana, Chuckie Smoothe, Adam Pearce and manager Dave Prazak, formed a stable named the Gold Bond Mafia.

Punk's home promotion for his early career is usually considered to be Independent Wrestling Association: Mid-South (IWA:Mid-South). During Punk's time in IWA:Mid-South he had high profile feuds with Colt Cabana and Chris Hero while also rising to the top of the roster winning the IWA Mid-South Light-Heavyweight Championship twice and the IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Championship on five separate occasions. Notably his feud with Hero included a 55-minute TLC match, a 93-minute two out of three falls match and several 60-minute draws. Punk's matches with Cabana led him to being hired by Ring of Honor promotion. During his time in IWA:Mid-South he would also meet, wrestle against and become a friend of Eddie Guerrero. From February 2003 until May 2004 Punk refused to wrestle for IWA:Mid-South. Punk claims that this was in protest to Ian Rotten's treatment of Chris Hero; however Hero himself has stated he believes there were other reasons and Rotten's treatment of him was just an excuse by Punk to stop working for the company. Eventually Punk returned to IWA:Mid-South and continued to perform as a wrestler and commentator for them until 2005 when he was signed to World Wrestling Entertainment. His last appearance in IWA:Mid-South was on July 2, 2005 in which he competed in a sixty-minute time limit draw against Delirious.

Punk joined Ring of Honor initially as a babyface, but was quickly turned heel in a feud with Raven that featured numerous variants of no disqualification matches. At the same time Punk joined the wrestling promotion NWA:Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he was paired with Julio Dinero as, ironically, members of Raven's TNA stable The Gathering.

Punk started climbing the ranks of ROH with notable achievements including coming second at the Second Anniversary show during the tournament to crown the first ROH Pure Champion, losing to A.J. Styles in the finals, and winning the ROH Tag Team Championship twice with Colt Cabana as the Second City Saints, both times defeating the Briscoe Brothers to win the championship. Circa October 2003 Punk was hired as the first head trainer of the Ring of Honor wrestling school, having previously been a trainer for the Steel Domain and Primetime Wrestling.

Meanwhile in TNA on February 25, 2004 Punk had a physical scuffle with Teddy Hart that was broken up by Sabu outside of a restaurant shortly before a TNA show stemming from an ROH show in which Hart performed three unplanned spots putting several other wrestlers in danger of injury. Punk has since stated that this had no bearing on his TNA career and that instead the reason he stopped appearing on TNA was that TNA officials believed that he and Dinero had not gotten over as heels. Punk had turned on Raven and then formed a tag team managed by their old rival James Mitchell, and so the angle had been put on hold. Punk quit TNA in March 2004 during the Rob Feinstein controversy after having a dispute with the TNA offices over his ability to compete in ROH following a TNA order that their contracted wrestlers were to no longer wrestle in ROH.

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Elijah Burke

Elijah Samuel Burke (born January 1, 1978 in Jacksonville, Florida) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE wrestling on its ECW brand.

Burke is a former officer for the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office in Florida who would become an amateur boxer in Jacksonville's Club 5 and Club Plush where he claims to have had a 98-1 win/loss record. According to his WWE.com profile, Burke has a record of 103-1 with 102 knockouts in his amateur career. Both of these records are unsubstantiated. Still, according to WWE's kayfabe, the only loss he sustained was a disqualification, after he knocked his opponent out and refused to back down to his corner.

After signing with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), he was sent to their developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW). There, he won the OVW Heavyweight Title on December 8, 2004. Burke was offered a spot in the Spirit Squad by the WWE Creative Team, but turned it down, forcing him to stay in Ohio Valley Wrestling on a longer stint before moving to Smackdown! with Sylvester Terkay.[citation needed]

After training with OVW, Burke would be brought up to the main roster of SmackDown! on July 28, 2006 working a mixed martial arts cornerman gimmick with the also debuting former MMA fighter Sylvester Terkay. His first WWE match saw him defeating Scott Wright and he would also break Vito's 4 month winning streak while on SmackDown!, albeit with Terkay's assistance.

On November 7, 2006, Elijah Burke and Sylvester Terkay debuted on the ECW brand by cutting a backstage promo. The following week, Burke replaced Tazz, who had knee surgery, as color commentator alongside play-by-play announcer Joey Styles. Two weeks later, Burke returned to the ring; he and Terkay lost to The Hardys. At the ECW brand's December to Dismember pay-per-view, Burke and Terkay defeated the Full Blooded Italians, a feat which the duo have since repeated. The pair were later dubbed The Knock-Out / Tap-Out Connection, in reference to Burke's amateur boxing career and Terkay's Mixed Martial Arts background.

On January 18, 2007, Terkay was released from WWE. Since then, Burke has wrestled in singles matches, and appeared in a segment where WWE owner Vince McMahon showed disdain for members of the original ECW and called Burke to the ring, naming him "The Future Of ECW". Burke was then attacked by Tommy Dreamer, Rob Van Dam, Sabu, and The Sandman, who would later form the ECW Originals stable. Burke then became the official leader of the "New Breed", a group of new ECW stars including Matt Striker, Marcus Cor Von and Kevin Thorn, who proceeded to feud with the ECW Originals. At WrestleMania 23, The New Breed faced off against The ECW Originals but were ultimately defeated.

After several weeks of trying to recruit fellow roster mate and new ECW superstar CM Punk, Burke and the New Breed were successful on April 10. However, just two weeks later, CM Punk betrayed the New Breed, attacking Burke after a match. The next week, Kevin Thorn quit the New Breed due to lack of interference in his match with CM Punk. The same night, Matt Striker and Marcus Cor Von were defeated by the Major Brothers, a debuting tag team. After being pinned, Burke screamed at Striker creating tension between the two. The New Breed would then feud with the ECW Originals, CM Punk and the Major Brothers at the same time. At Judgement Day, Burke was defeated by CM Punk. Then, at One Night Stand, Burke, Marcus Cor Von and Matt Striker were defeated by Tommy Dreamer, Sandman and CM Punk in a Tables Match. On June 19, 2007, Burke lost to Chris Benoit (which would be Benoit's last match before his death) in a match that would decide who would face either CM Punk or Marcus Cor Von for the vacant ECW World Championship at Vengeance.On June 26, 2007, Burke lost to CM Punk in a best two out of three falls match, which would see the winner becoming the number one contender to Johnny Nitro's ECW Title. On July 10, Burke would rebound with a decisive victory over Balls Mahoney.

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Marty Wright / The Boogeyman, part 2

For the next few weeks The Boogeyman won numerous squash matches. Invariably these matches were short on actual wrestling content, instead focusing on the antics of The Boogeyman. Opponents were generally "flattened" in the ring, left with worms in their mouths and/or spit on their faces. His official pay-per-view debut was at December's Armageddon when he came to the ring to confront Vito and Nunzio who were dressed as Santa Claus and an elf. Though Nunzio was able to escape, Vito ended up with worms shoved into his mouth.

Boogeyman's first major feud occurred with JBL and his "fixer" Jillian Hall, beginning with his stalking the duo throughout a number of shows. During an episode of SmackDown! he caught a fleeing Hall and shoved worms down the back of her skirt. In another, during a Piper's Pit segment, he not only sniffed the "growth" on Jillian's face, but licked it and bit it off.

Layfield and The Boogeyman eventually met in a one on one contest at the 2006 Royal Rumble, with Boogeyman picking up the win in under two minutes.

A subsequent feud with Booker T, which saw him again stalking a wrestler and his female companion (this time Booker's wife Sharmell) culminated at WrestleMania 22, when Boogeyman pinned Booker T after kissing Sharmell while holding a mouthful of worms. The match was exceptionally short because shortly before WrestleMania Boogeyman tore his left biceps at a house show. To explain his absence to rehab his injury, Booker T and Sharmell obtained a restraining order against the Boogeyman, who actually had surgery on April 4, to repair his biceps tear.

As SummerSlam approached, The Boogeyman began appearing in TV spots to promote the event. Vignettes also began airing advertising his return to SmackDown!, however, on September 20 WWE.com reported that Wright had been released from the company. It was later reported that he had been doing "the bare minimum" in regards to getting back into shape and had missed several required doctor checkups. Although management warned him about this, he failed to change his behavior and they let him go. Less than a month later, on October 6, WWE.com announced that Wright had been re-hired and would be sent to be trained at Booker T and Stevie Ray's wrestling school in Houston, Texas.

Booker T was reportedly very impressed with Marty's renewed dedication and enthusiasm at his Wrestling Academy, and according to the Wrestling Observer, Wright was rehired mainly due to Booker's insistence. Wright returned on the October 27, 2006 SmackDown!, starting a feud with Mike "The Miz" Mizanin and Kristal Marshall. During the feud he again terrorized and stalked his opponents, spitting worms at them and scaring them at every opportunity, and eventually ended The Miz's undefeated streak at the Armageddon pay-per-view.

The Boogeyman then feuded with Finlay, who ended The Boogeyman's undefeated streak when Hornswoggle interfered. On the February 2 edition of SmackDown! during a title match against Chris Benoit for the U.S. Title, Boogeyman abducted Hornswoggle, distracting Finlay and giving Benoit a chance to win the match with a roll-up.

On the February 16 edition of SmackDown! the Boogeyman presented a little person of his own, Little Boogeyman. His purpose was to counteract Hornswoggle, who was proving a problem in one-on-one matches with Finlay. The Boogeyman and the Little Boogeyman lost to Finlay and Hornswoggle in a mixed tag team match at No Way Out 2007. The team lost a rematch the following week on SmackDown!, after Boogeyman was pinned by Hornswoggle

The Boogeyman appeared in a promo backstage at WrestleMania 23. He was in a room with Donald Trump and tried to scare him but failed, getting commanded by Trump to get him a sandwich. He did, however, terrify former Miss USA, Tara Conner who, upon seeing the Boogeyman, ran off looking terrified and disgusted.

On OVW's 400th anniversary show, the Boogeyman made an appearance, losing to Ryan Wilson in a table match.

The Boogeyman returned to in ring action when he joined a feud between Kane, William Regal and Dave Taylor, teaming up with Kane. This also marked the return of Little Boogeyman. The feud would be short lived as Boogeyman and Little Boogeyman would then start another feud with Finlay and Hornswoggle. Boogeyman and Little Boogeyman were defeated in mixed tag match by Finlay and Hornswoggle at Saturday Night's Main Event 2007.

On the June 11 edition of RAW, Boogeyman was drafted from SmackDown! to ECW as part of the WWE Draft. He won his ECW debut match against Matt Striker on June 12, 2007 with a Boogeybomb.

On ECW tuesday July 12th, 2007 Matt Striker got his revenge on The Boogeyman by inviting him to be educated on worms. After The Boogeyman began to become violent and aggressive during the lesson Matt Striker introduced Big Daddy V. When The Boogeyman grabbed Matt Striker and attempted to attack him, Big Daddy V stopped the attack on Matt Striker by beating down The Boogeyman with a punch and a Standing Samoan drop through a desk. Big Daddy V then threw The Boogeyman through Matt Striker's chalkboard, breaking the board as The Boogeyman fell out of the ring.

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Marty Wright / The Boogeyman, part 1

Martin (Marty) Wright (born October 31, 1964 in Phoenix, Arizona) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name The Boogeyman. He is currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment wrestling on its ECW brand.

Wright began his career originally intending to be a professional bodybuilder. He won some competitions, but the only recorded such victory noted online is the 2002 National Physique Committee Southern States Contest from August 2-3, 2002 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in the men's over 35 years, super heavyweight division.

Wright applied to take part in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Tough Enough IV and on October 15, 2004, attended a fifty man, two day event in Venice Beach, California, where eight finalists were chosen. Wright survived the first day of eliminations, but on the second day he admitted that he was 40 years old (5 years past the contest's cutoff of 35) and not 30 as he had claimed. As a result he was cut from the Tough Enough prospectives.

Though he'd been cut from Tough Enough, WWE officials invited him to come to their developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) for possible training. He trained between January and June of 2005, making his OVW debut on June 25, 2005.

During a dark match pitting the team of Seth Skyfire and Robert Fury against Robbie Dawber and his partner, Wright entered the ring and squashed all three men, no-selling the offense of Skyfire in the process. He then announced that he was The Boogeyman before leaving the building.

The Boogeyman gimmick further evolved into a "monster" face who would appear when another wrestler said his name and attack him, while not selling any offense he received.

On the July 11, 2005 episode of WWE Raw, horror movie style vignettes began airing to promote the debut of Wright in his "Boogeyman" persona. After a few weeks The Boogeyman the vignettes were moved from RAW to SmackDown!, but his planned debut was delayed when he hyperextended both knees and needed time to recover.

The Boogeyman made his first appearance on the October 13, 2005 SmackDown!. He was brought in by UPN Network Executive Palmer Cannon, who claimed he was going to be a part of another (unspecified) UPN show that never came to be due to an on-set "accident" involving The Boogeyman (it was implied he'd "done something" to another member of the cast, but never elaborated on). Cannon said he brought him to the SmackDown! brand as part of a "new talent initiative." The Boogeyman then proceeded to recite a version of the nursery rhyme Buckle My Shoe before smashing an oversize alarm clock on his own head. Boogeyman continued to "terrorize" other Superstars for the next couple of months.

For the next few weeks The Boogeyman (who was unknown to be a face or heel) appeared in unexpected places backstage (closets, vans, et cetera), reciting different nursery rhymes and holding up clocks before screaming his catchphrase "I'm The Boogeyman and I'm comin' to get cha!" and laughing maniacally. This would leave the performer(s) that had discovered him both confused and creeped out, usually ending with them backing out of the room slowly while the commentators remarked on how strange the whole situation was.

At the 2005 Survivor Series, The Boogeyman turned out to be a face as he helped SmackDown! General Manager Theodore Long defeat his RAW counterpart, Eric Bischoff, with a Pumphandle slam. He made his official in-ring SmackDown! debut on the December 2, defeating Simon Dean in a squash that saw him repeatedly scream, "I'm the Boogeyman!" at a confused and terrified Dean. It was during this match that another regular part of his persona came to light when he took a handful of live worms from his pocket and stuffed them into his mouth as commentators Michael Cole and Tazz screamed in disgust.



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Jimmy Wang Yang

James Eas Yun (born May 13, 1981) is a Korean-American professional wrestler. Yun is best known for his work in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as one-third of the Jung Dragons, Yang, and the independent circuit as Jimmy Yang. After a brief stint as Akio, a henchman for Tajiri in late 2003-early 2004, he returned to the WWE in 2006 on the SmackDown! brand as Jimmy Wang Yang.

In June 1999, Yun signed with World Championship Wrestling (WCW), making his WCW television debut in January 2000. He was originally a part of the Jung Dragons stable along with Jamie-San and Kaz Hayashi. In late 2000, when Jamie-San unmasked and left the group, forming a tag team with former 3 Count member Evan Karagias, the team of Hayashi and Yang feuded with Karagias and Jamie until the WWF purchased WCW.

In March 2001, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) acquired Yun's contract and assigned him to the company's Heartland Wrestling Association developmental territory. With no plans to call him to the main roster, the WWF eventually released Yun.[citation needed]

After his brief stint as a WWF developmental talent, Yun agreed to join All Japan Pro Wrestling where he wrestled as both a part of its tag team division and its singles junior heavyweight division.

In September 2003, following a stellar match with Tommy Dreamer on Sunday Night Heat, Yun was signed to a three year developmental deal with the renamed World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). He, along with the Japanese-American Ryan Sakoda, made their WWE debuts on October 19, 2003 at WWE No Mercy. Yun was renamed Akio (a reference to legendary Japanese wrestler Mr. Saito) and aligned himself with Sakoda, forming the heel tag team Kyo Dai (Japanese for "brothers"), the henchmen of the actual Japanese wrestler Tajiri.

Sakoda was eventually released from WWE, Tajiri was traded to RAW and Yun was left on his own to become a lower card wrestler and Velocity mainstay, competing primarily in the cruiserweight division until he was released on July 5, 2005.

After being released from WWE Yun wrestled in Ring of Honor (ROH), debuting on October 1, 2005, at the New Yorker Hotel in Manhattan, losing to James Gibson. He lost once again the following night to Christopher Daniels and again two weeks later to Roderick Strong, causing him to (kayfabe) take some time away from the company.

He returned to ROH in January 2006 where he recorded his first win in ROH, teaming with Matt Sydal and Jack Evans in the Trios Tournament, although the team were ultimately defeated by The Embassy. Yun stayed with the company for several months, wrestling as Jimmy Yang and using the same martial arts based persona he adopted in WCW. His entrance music was the theme from the spoof martial arts film The Last Dragon, and he even brought in the film's star Taimak (referred to in his appearances as 'Bruce Leroy', the name of his character) to help him in a feud with Embassy member Jimmy Rave.

In May 2006, Yun made a return to WWE, as Akio, on an edition of HEAT, working as a jobber in a try-out match with Charlie Haas. This match impressed the WWE and they would re-sign him once more.

Beginning with the August 25, 2006 edition of SmackDown! vignettes began airing featuring Yun dressed as a babyface cowboy and calling himself Jimmy Wang Yang. In the vignettes, Yang questioned why people would assume stereotypical Asian things about him while proclaiming that he was much more of a redneck, and that was something he was proud of. The vignettes played for several weeks with Yang focusing more on his redneck leanings, until the September 29 SmackDown! when he made his in-ring debut in a loss to Sylvan, who illegally used the ropes for leverage to get a pin and had a feud with Sylvan. Weeks later, on November 3, Yang debuted his valet, Amy Zidian, though she was released from WWE just a month later.

In December 2006, Yang feuded with Gregory Helms over the WWE Cruiserweight Championship. Yang challenged Helms for the Cruiserweight title and lost to him on Armageddon. Later, he participated in a Cruiserweight open at No Way Out for the Cruiserweight title. In early 2007, Wang Yang would begin a feud with Chavo. On June 15 edition of Smackdown, Wang Yang finally became the number 1 contender for the Cruiserweight Championship, after feuding with Cruiserweight Champion Chavo Guerrero for almost two months. He later teamed up with Shannon Moore to Defeat Daivari and Jamie Noble in a Tag Team Match. At Vengeance, Yang lost to Chavo after a Frog Splash. On the July 6th edition of SmackDown, Yang faced off in a match against Chris Masters which he eventually lost. After the match, The Great Khali came and attacked Yang. On July 13, Yang was defeated by Finlay and attacked by Hornswoggle post-match.

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Chris Benoit family's 'drug cocktail'

Chris Benoit family's 'drug cocktail'

Wrestler Chris Benoit had a cocktail of drugs in his body when he murdered his wife and son, and even his seven-year-old son tested positive for anti-anxiety pills.

Benoit killed his wife and son, placed Bibles next to their bodies and then hanged himself on the cable of a weight machine in the family home.

According to Associated Press (AP), investigators have confirmed Benoit's body contained elevated levels of testosterone, as well as the anti-anxiety drug Xanax and the painkiller hydrocodone. However, he tested negative for alcohol.

Benoit's seven-year-old son Daniel was found to have Xanax in his system when he died, AP reported, and the wrestler's wife, Nancy, also tested positive for prescription drugs.

She had Xanax, hydrocodone and the painkiller hydromorphone in her body, according to AP.

full story here:
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22093823-2,00.html


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Spinning the Chris Benoit Tragedy to Protect the WWE & Vince McMahon?

Spinning the Chris Benoit Tragedy to Protect the WWE & Vince McMahon?
By Jack Kramer
Jul 15, 2007

A toxicology report on Chris Benoit still has not been released. The spin however continues its daily onslaught. As the debate rages many are saying that former wrestlers friendly to the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) are spinning to protect the organization and its leader Vince McMahon. I'm not certain that is a fair assessment.

full story at:
http://www.nationalledger.com/artman/publish/article_272614739.shtml


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Chris Benoit Conspiracy Theories Frustrate Investigators

Chris Benoit Conspiracy Theories Frustrate Investigators
By Josh Hart
Jul 8, 2007

Did Chris Benoit really do what police have said? There are still some that believe that the very popular wrestler may have been the ultimate victim and that someone else ended the lives of Nancy, Daniel and Chris. Police say that he is the one and that he did it over a three day period. Others wonder when World Wresting Entertainment (WWE) found out about the tragedy and why if they knew, they continued with a three hour tribute about the man Vince McMahon would later call a monster.

full story at:
http://www.nationalledger.com/artman/publish/article_272614596.shtml


see also:
http://conspiracycom.blogspot.com/2007/07/chris-benoit-conspiracy.html


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Chris Benoit: Investigators Reconstruct the Last Hours Inside the Home

Chris Benoit: Investigators Reconstruct the Last Hours Inside the Home
By Jim Roberts
Jul 7, 2007

An investigative team has claimed to uncover the real story of what happened during the last hours inside the home on the tragic weekend that superstar wrestler Chris Benoit of the WWE allegedly killed his wife and child. Investigators have told American magazine The National Enquirer that they have reconstructed in detail how they believe the horror unfolded in the Benoit's once-peaceful dream house-resulting in the death of Chris’ wife Nancy, 43, and son Daniel, 7.

full story here:
http://www.nationalledger.com/artman/publish/article_272614579.shtml


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Chris Benoit's Family Secrets In "People" Magazine

Chris Benoit's Family Secrets In "People" Magazine
Last Update: Jul 6, 2007 3:43 PM
Posted By: Travis Bard

This week, "People" takes a look at the life of wrestler Chris Benoit and reports new details on his suicide and double murder that claimed the lives of his wife Nancy and son Daniel.
Fayette County investigators released new details of the crime scene to "People" on July 2: Daniel, with what were described as old needle marks on his arm, was found in his bed in his pajamas with his stomach down and head turned to the side; he suffered internal damage to the throat but no sign of trauma around his neck.

full story at:
http://www.myeyewitnessnews.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=9703b59a-1699-46ea-9f01-09a34f7cadbc


technorati tags: raw, wrestling, smackdown, pro wrestling, pro wrestling blog, ecw, wwe divas, tna, pro-wrestling, news Chris Benoit,Daniel Benoit,Nancy Benoit

Chris Benoit Case Messier, Steroid Cover Up Question for Vince McMahon

Chris Benoit Case Messier, Steroid Cover Up Question for Vince McMahon
By Josh Hart
Jul 5, 2007

The case of a wrestler that killed his family seemingly gets messier by the day. World Wrestling Entertainment performer Chris Benoit killed his wife and son and now the fallout continues with charges of a cover up. Poor Vince McMahon, the fingers are all pointing at him and the WWE. Is that really fair?

full story here:
http://www.nationalledger.com/artman/publish/article_272614540.shtml


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Experts downplay ‘roid rage’ factor in Benoit murder-suicide

Experts downplay ‘roid rage’ factor in Benoit murder-suicide

Even though his personal doctor prescribed massive amounts of anabolic steroids to wrestler Chris Benoit, domestic violence experts are downplaying the possible role of steroids in his murder-suicide death.

Steroid usage has been linked to angry outbursts called “roid rage” and depression when usage stops. But in the case of Benoit, who killed his wife and 7-year-old son over a two-day period during the weekend of June 24 before committing suicide on a third day, they see a pattern of premeditation.

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WWE statement on Benoit

World Wrestling Entertainment is stunned and saddened by the details released by local authorities concerning the double homicide-suicide involving Chris Benoit, his wife, Nancy, and his son, Daniel.

However, WWE is concerned with the sensationalistic reporting and speculation being undertaken by some members of the media following the press conference held by the Fayette County Sheriff's Department and the District Attorney. During the press conference, the investigating authorities made the following points, all of which run contrary to the media speculation that "roid rage" was a factor in the senseless murders and suicide:

full story at:
http://msn.foxsports.com/other/story/6966376


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WWE: Dave Taylor

David Steven Taylor (born May 1, 1957) is an English professional wrestler currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment wrestling on its SmackDown brand. He also worked as a trainer for the Deep South Wrestling (DSW) professional wrestling promotion, a subsidiary of World Wrestling Entertainment.

A third generation wrestler, Taylor was trained by his father Jack and grandfather Eric. After winning several awards as an amateur wrestler, Taylor made his professional debut in the late 1970s under the ring name Dave "Rocky" Taylor.

Taylor eventually joined All Star Promotions, and defeated Dave Finlay for the All-Star British Heavyweight Championship in King's Lynn on June 4, 1991. He held the title for two years before losing to Tony St. Clair on May 4, 1993 in Croydon. After St. Claire vacated the title in 1995, Taylor entered a tournament for the belt, and defeated Marty Jones in the tournament final in August 1995 in Croydon. His second reign lasted until 1996, when he was defeated by Marty Jones in Croydon

In the early 1990s, Taylor began wrestling for the German Catch Wrestling Association. On December 21, 1991 in Bremen, he and Chris Benoit defeated Franz Schumann and Miles Zrno for the CWA Tag Team Championship. They vacated the titles in June 1992 after Taylor suffered an injury and Benoit left the CWA to compete in Japan. Taylor won the CWA Tag Team Championship on a second occasion on July 18, 1993, teaming with Miles Zrno to defeat Larry Cameron and Mad Bull Buster. Cameron and Buster regained the titles on October 24, 1993 in Hanover.

In the mid 1990s, Taylor travelled to the United States of America and joined the Atlanta, Georgia-based World Championship Wrestling promotion. Taylor, renamed Squire David Taylor, formed a stable with Lord Steven Regal and Earl Robert Eaton known as the Blue Bloods. After Eaton (an American) left the group, Taylor and Regal feuded with him. Taylor continued to team with Regal until Regal was fired from WCW in 2000, at which point Taylor also left the promotion.

In 2001, Taylor joined the World Wrestling Federation, acting as a trainer and wrestler in the Heartland Wrestling Association, a subsidiary of the WWF. Taylor eventually left the WWF after they asked him to relocate to Cincinnati, Ohio, where the HWA was located.

In May 2002, Taylor, William (formerly Steven) Regal and Dave Finlay opened the Atlantan Blue Bloods Wrestling Academy, a professional wrestling school.

On April 7th, 2004 Taylor made an appearance in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as a mentor/coach of Team Britain during the America's X-Cup Tournament.

In February 2005, Taylor came back to the UK for a three weeks with Brian Dixon's All Star Wrestling where he responded to some comments made by "The Highlander From Hell" Drew McDonald.

Taylor was hired by WWE in January 2006 to train wrestling students at Deep South Wrestling in McDonough, Georgia. On March 23, 2006, Taylor returned to the ring in DSW to once again team with Wiliam Regal.

On the October 20 episode of SmackDown!, Regal announced that Taylor would be joining him on the brand. The two debuted the same night against the team Scotty 2 Hotty and Funaki, and picked up the win after dominating their opponents. Though the pair reformed their previous tag team, Regal and Taylor would not reuse the Blue Bloods gimmick instead portraying themselves as sadistic fighters. However, the team was quickly put into jeopardy in their second match together when Taylor suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee leaving him injured. Taylor took a more relaxed role for a couple of weeks as a corner man for Regal and only wrestled a few short house shows matches. Taylor would quickly heal from his injury and the pair went on to feud with Paul London and Brian Kendrick in the hunt for the WWE Tag Team Championship.After defeating London and Kendrick on several occasions, at Armageddon 2006, they would go into a Tag Team match which would turn out as 4-way ladder match adding MNM and the Hardy Boyz, with London and Kendrick coming out on top.

After WrestleMania 23, Regal and Dave Taylor began a feud with Kane when after a match between Kane and Dave Taylor, Taylor and Regal attacked Kane. The Boogeyman soon joined the feud as Kane's tag team partner. On the May 25 edition of Smackdown!, Regal and Taylor competed in a number 1 contenders match for the WWE Tag Team Championship against Brian Kendrick and Paul London which they lost when Deuce 'N Domino interfered, making both competitors the number 1 contenders.

Taylor is married to Lisa Wynn Taylor, with whom he has a daughter, Natalie. Dave also has an adult daughter in England, from a previous marriage.

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WWE:Jamie Noble

Jamie Noble (born James Howard Gibson on December 23, 1976) is an American professional wrestler currently wrestling for World Wrestling Entertainment on its SmackDown! brand. He is also known for his appearances with Ring of Honor and World Championship Wrestling in its cruiserweight division.

Gibson started wrestling in 1995 after being trained by Dean Malenko, briefly working for the Jacksonville, Florida based Renegade Championship Wrestling. He was also trained by local talents in WV, known as Joey Morton and "Adorable" Danny Ray. His first national exposure was in World Championship Wrestling. He wore a mask to hide the fact that he was Caucasian and was called Jamie-San; as part of Leia Meow's Jung Dragons with Jimmy Yang and Kaz Hayashi. They feuded with "3 Count" (Shane Helms, Shannon Moore and Evan Karagias). He eventually unmasked and became Jamie Knoble to form a tag team with Karagias.

Knoble later signed with World Wrestling Entertainment under the name Jamie Noble. He made his debut as a heel on the June 6, 2002 episode of SmackDown! by attacking the Hurricane and was joined by Nidia in a trailer park trash gimmick. He won the WWE Cruiserweight Championship and feuded with Tajiri and Billy Kidman. Noble and Nidia both turned face by befriending Torrie Wilson and Billy Gunn. He also started a feud with Rey Mysterio for the Cruiserweight Championship. Noble made his second heel run by secretly turning on Nidia. She finally left him after she was "blinded" by Tajiri's mist and Noble did things he thought she couldn't see and lied to her about them. He was released on September 15, 2004 when his steroid usage came to light following a staph infection.

After his no-compete clause expired, he began wrestling promotions all over the world including New Japan Pro Wrestling, Heartland Wrestling Association, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, Ring of Honor and Italian Championship Wrestling, as James Gibson. On June 28, 2005, it was confirmed that he would be returning to World Wrestling Entertainment after a one year absence and fulfilling his independent circuit commitments.

Before returning to WWE, he became the ROH World Champion when he wrestled as James Gibson in an elimination four-way match against CM Punk (champion), Samoa Joe, and Christopher Daniels on August 12, 2005. He lost the title to Bryan Danielson on September 17, 2005.

Jamie Noble made his return to WWE on the December 17, 2005 edition of Velocity and would later frequently team with fellow cruiserweight Kid Kash; during May 2006, Noble and Kid Kash debuted a gimmick, where they would wear dog collars as well as bark and bite. The pair were soon named The Pit Bulls and would enter the hunt for the WWE Tag Team Championship. However, the team came to an end after Kid Kash's release from the company on September 27, 2006.

Afterwards, Noble would return to competing in the cruiserweight division and jobbing to the stars. He was last seen at No Way Out in a cruiserweight Gauntlet Match for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship where he was eliminated by his former WCW teammate, Jimmy Wang Yang.

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WWE: Shannon Moore

Shannon Brian Moore (born July 27, 1979) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment wrestling on the Smackdown! brand.

Moore befriended Matt and Jeff Hardy as a boy, and competed in their backyard wrestling circuit. After the Hardy brothers began wrestling professionally, they trained Moore, and he debuted on April 8, 1995 against Jeff. Moore began working the independent circuit, wrestling for the North Carolina-based Southern Championship Wrestling and National Championship Wrestling promotions as Kid Dynamo. In addition, he frequently wrestled for OMEGA, the promotion operated by the Hardys. In the late 1990s Moore began wrestling for the Tennessee-based Music City Wrestling promotion.

In 1999, Moore was hired by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) by Hulk Hogan, who had been granted the authority to employ twenty-one young cruiserweights for the Atlanta-based promotion. He was placed in a team known as 3 Count by Jimmy Hart. 3 Count, which consisted of Moore, Evan Karagias and Shane Helms, was a trio of young male wrestlers who utilised a boy band gimmick. 3 Count debuted in WCW in November 1999, and began lip-synching the song "Can't Get You Out Of My Heart" in the ring before their matches.

On the February 28, 2000 episode of WCW Monday Nitro in Minneapolis, Minnesota, all three members of 3 Count defeated Brian Knobbs to win the WCW Hardcore Championship with all 3 members of the team simultaneously pinning him. By doing this, Moore became the youngest Hardcore champion in WCW history, a record he held until the company folded. 3 Count reigned as "co-champions" until March 19, at Uncensored where Knobbs regained the title by pinning all three men consecutively.

3 Count were not involved in the Millionaires Club versus New Blood angle that took place during the summer of 2000 because Helms was (legitly) sidelined with a broken nose. When the team reconvened late in the summer of 2000 they began performing a new song, "Dance With 3 Count". Ultimate Fighting Championship mixed martial artist Tank Abbott (kayfabe) became an avid fan of 3 Count, and began protecting them during their performances, attacking anyone who disrupted them, eventually acting as their talent manager and occasional inserting himself as a back-up dancer.

3 Count began to fall apart in late 2000, with Karagias joining forces with Jamie-San, a former member of the Jung Dragons. At Starrcade 2000, Moore and Helms defeated San (renamed Jamie Noble) and Karagias and the remaining Jung Dragons in a three way tag team ladder match. The six men went on to feud with one another in early 2001, with Helms pinning Moore in a cruiserweight elimination match at SuperBrawl Revenge on February 18. Moore and Karagias joined forces once again to take part in a tournament for the WCW Cruiserweight Tag Team Championships, but were eliminated by Billy Kidman and Rey Mysterio, Jr..

After WCW was purchased by the World Wrestling Federation in March 2001, Moore signed a contract with them and was assigned to the Heartland Wrestling Association (HWA), a Louisville-based WWF developmental territory. He teamed with Karagias in HWA until Karagias was released by the WWF. Moore would make his TV debut on the July 13, 2002 episode of Velocity.

After competing in the cruiserweight division for several months as a face, Moore became a heel acolyte of then heel, Matt Hardy, who had begun proselytizing a philosophy known as "Mattitude" and calling himself "Matt Hardy Version 1.0". Moore became a "Mattitude Follower" (abbreviated "MF'er"), and started dressing like Hardy and accompanying him to ringside. Moore would often lose to a more physically dominant opponent or (unsuccessfully) attempt to help Hardy win his matches, both things that would result in Hardy attacking Moore in order to vent his frustrations claiming that he had "failed to comprehend [Hardy's] coaching!"

Moore did, however, assist Hardy in his bid to lose several pounds in order to qualify for a WWE Cruiserweight Championship title shot, which he won when Moore came through again, this time distracting then babyface, Billy Kidman to enable Hardy to get the win and the title.

On April 24, Crash Holly also became an MF'er. He was subordinate to Moore and as such was also referred to as a "Moore-on". The group was short-lived though as Crash was released from WWE on June 30.

Moore and Hardy continued to work together until November 17, when Hardy left SmackDown! and joined the RAW brand. As a result Moore was a face again and Paul Heyman (SmackDown!'s then, general manager) decided to punish Hardy vicariously for leaving his show by forcing Moore to face a series of much larger opponents. In successsive weeks, Moore was squashed by Matt Morgan, Nathan Jones and The Big Show before unexpectedly defeating A-Train in an upset victory on the December 11 episode of SmackDown!. The following week, WWE Champion Brock Lesnar was scheduled to defend his title against a random wrestler, with the name of his opponent selected arbitrarily by a lottery machine. Moore was selected as Lesnar's opponent, and Lesnar defeated him with ease, then revealed that all the balls had borne Moore's named, with Lesnar having rigged the process in order to ensure that he would have a much smaller opponent. Immediately after the match, Moore and Hardcore Holly were scheduled to face A-Train and Matt Morgan in a tag team match, with Holly gaining a title shot if he won and being fired if he lost. Despite Moore being incapacitated, he and Holly were able to win the match.

At WrestleMania XX Moore took part in a "Cruiserweight Open" for the Cruiserweight Championship, but was eliminated by Ultimo Dragon. His next high profile appearance was on the July 8, 2004 episode of SmackDown!, which saw Moore wrestle under a mask as "El Gran Luchadore". Moore faced John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) in the match for the WWE Championship, and was initially dominated by his much larger opponent. However, a second Luchadore (the disguised Eddie Guerrero) took Moore's place, prompting Layfield to run away, thus giving Moore the victory by count out.

Moore competed in the cruiserweight division and as a jobber for the remainder of 2004 and the first half of 2005. In early 2005 he adopted the gimmick of a punk, and began wearing punk clothing to the ring. On March 21, 2005 he was concussed and suffered Whiplash after his Hummer was involved in a head-on collision with a vehicle driven by an inebriated United States Army Sergeant in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He quickly recovered from his injuries, but was fired by WWE on July 5, 2005.

Moore returned to the independent circuit soon thereafter, although the no-compete clause in his contract (which prohibits WWE employees who are fired or who negotiate a contract release from appearing on television within a given time period) did not expire until November 1 of that year. One of Moore's more high profile appearances came at an American Wrestling Association show where Moore featured in a 30-man AWA Light-Heavyweight Title Tournament that took place in Burlington, North Carolina. Moore defeated Dexter Poindexter, Ricky Landell, and "Amazing" N8 Mattson before losing to "Krazy K" Kirby Mack in the finals. He also wrestled A.J. Styles on a United Wrestling Association charity show on February 2, 2006. Proceeds benefitted Ricky Morton who was jailed at the time for unpaid child support.

During this time Moore opened a professional wrestling school known as the "School of Punk". He also became a guest star on Matt & Jeff Hardy's online reality show, entitled, "TheHardyShow.com".

Moore debuted in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) on November 16, 2005, losing to Chris Sabin in a dark match. He made his television debut on the December 17 iMPACT!, appearing on stage holding a sign reading "The X Division needs to get Punk'd." Upon joining the roster, he was known as "Prince of Punk" Shannon Moore.

On the January 1, 2006 episode of iMPACT!, Moore began a program with A.J. Styles, attacking him during a tag team match and preventing him and partner Christopher Daniels from winning the NWA World Tag Team Championship. He continued to stalk Styles, attacking him and stealing his "Mr. TNA" award plaque, leading to a street fight between the two, which Moore won.

The entire time he was with TNA Moore was not under a contract with the company, choosing instead to wrestle while they negotiated one. However, instead of signing with TNA he opted to return to WWE, wrestling his last match in TNA alongside Americas Most Wanted (Chris Harris and James Storm) and Alex Shelley against Rhino, Ron Killings, Styles, and Daniels. Moore was pinned following a Styles Clash by Styles in the match, which aired the day after he'd officially left the company.

On March 14, 2006, wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer claimed that Moore had committed to a verbal agreement with World Wrestling Entertainment. Three days later WWE.com confirmed it and released an interview with Moore talking about his imminent return to the company. During the interview Moore's response to the question of what he has been up to during his time away from WWE was as follows:

“ Well, I’ve been keeping busy on the independent circuit, and I went over to Japan for a while, which was great for me. I also did some work down south. Plus, I opened a small wrestling school, and I have four students that I’ve been training down here over the last few months. ”

In July 2006, Moore became a WWE heel again and was part of WWE's ECW brand, making his first appearances in vignettes and calling himself "The Reject" while still dressed in the fashion of his "Prince of Punk" gimmick. His in ring debut was a loss to CM Punk on September 12, a week after Punk had confronted Moore and called him a poseur before slapping him across the face. After one more loss to Punk, Moore was a face once more and relegated to jobber status on the ECW brand, and making only sporadic appearances.

On the February 16, 2007 edition of Friday Night SmackDown! Moore suddenly switched brands, appearing in an in-ring brawl with other SmackDown! cruiserweights, which was itself a prelude to a "Cruiserweight Open" at No Way Out, which Moore also took part in, but was eliminated by the defending Cruiserweight Champion Gregory Helms.On the May 8th Smackdown Taping He lost to Eddie Colon.

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WWE: Michael "The Miz" Mizanin, part 2

Despite losing the Tough Enough contest, Mizanin had piqued the interest of WWE, and he was eventually offered a developmental contract. Mizanin was sent to Deep South Wrestling to train under Bill DeMott, relocating to McDonough, Georgia in the process, and in July 2005 he wrestled two dark matches for WWE, teaming with former Tough Enough champion Matt Cappotelli to face The Highlanders. On December 1, 2005, Mizanin defeated Mike Knox in the finals of a tournament to crown the first Deep South Heavyweight Champion.

He continued to tag with Matt Cappotelli throughout the second half of 2005 in WWE dark matches and house shows until Cappotelli, nominally of Ohio Valley Wrestling, was diagnosed with a brain tumor after an injury at a taping in December 2005.

On January 3, 2006, it was reported that Mizanin was transferred to Ohio Valley Wrestling. On the January 18, 2006, OVW TV show, Mizanin made his debut as "The Miz", with a "Miz TV" segment, where he was shown talking backstage. He talked with Chris Cage, who was supposed to be his tag team partner in OVW, but Cage said he was quitting the business after someone had cut off Johnny Jeter's hair and wished Mizanin good luck with his wrestling career. As Chris Cage left Mike then met with his old tag team partner Matt Cappotelli and Christy Hemme as later that night they had a six person tag team match as Christy Hemme, Matt Cappotelli, and Mike Mizanin defeated The Highlanders.

On the January 28, 2006, edition of the OVW TV show, The Miz wrestled his first match against Rene Dupree. Chet the Jet and Seth Skyfire came to ringside during the match and acted as a diversion to allow Rene Dupree to gain the upper hand on The Miz. As The Miz was about to finish Rene Dupree, Chris Cage came out and attacked Seth Skyfire. When The Miz left the ring to try to control Chris Cage he ended up losing the match by count out.

At the February 8, 2006 TV taping, The Miz and Chris Cage captured the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship, defeating Chet the Jett and Seth Skyfire. In what was deemed a "disciplinary move," WWE released Chris Cage over the weekend of March 18, 2006 making it necessary for Miz and Cage to drop the titles. On March 19 Deuce Shade defeated The Miz in a singles contest to win the titles for his team The Untouchables (Deuce Shade & Domino).

On March 8, 2006, WWE.com featured a video of "The Miz" stating that he was headed to Friday Night SmackDown! and throughout April, SmackDown! aired video packages hyping his debut. However, when Mizanin actually attempted to make his debut on the April 21 SmackDown! (taped April 17) he was (kayfabe) barred from entering the arena by "network executive" Palmer Cannon who told him that he had been "canceled" before having security escort him from the premises.

With the April 21 show being pre-taped to allow WWE to tour Italy, both WWE and The Miz were caught unaware when Palmer Cannon abruptly quit the company on April 20. As a result, the planned Miz/Cannon program had to be shelved and Miz was left with nothing to do until WWE.com announced that he would serve as SmackDown!'s "host" on May 31.

Miz debuted as "host" on June 2 announcing the planned card at the top of the show and attempting to hype up the crowd. Other "host" duties included backstage interviews and hosting a bikini contest. The hosting duties seemed sporadic at best, with some weeks having little to no Miz at all.

Starting in July, Miz, along with Ashley Massaro, became host of the annual Diva Search competition appearing on both RAW and SmackDown!. At the start of his new hosting duties, in front of the live RAW crowd, Miz was noticeably nervous and flubbed his lines, including calling contestants by the wrong name. Though he seemed to get better as the weeks went on he quickly became the butt of on-air jokes by other WWE Superstars.

After the end of the Diva Search competition, The Miz returned exclusively to SmackDown! and adopted a cocky heel persona, starting his in-ring competition with a win over Tatanka on September 1. After this win he, along with commentator Michael Cole, began to note whenever possible that he was "undefeated", though he only wrestled five matches over the next two months. At the same time he began a feud with Diva Search winner Layla El, who spurned his advances on more than one occasion, leading to Miz helping Kristal Marshall defeat her in various competitions. Soon, however, Miz and Kristal found themselves being stalked by the returning Boogeyman, beginning a feud during which The Boogeyman handed Miz his first defeat at Armageddon.

Following a brief absence from TV, Miz returned to SmackDown to host an interview segment called Miz TV.

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WWE:Michael "The Miz" Mizanin,part 1

Michael "The Miz" Mizanin (born October 8, 1980) is an American professional wrestler working for World Wrestling Entertainment on the SmackDown! brand.

He is probably best known for his time on numerous MTV reality shows prior to becoming a professional wrestler.

Mizanin attended Miami University, where he was a member of the Theta Chi Fraternity, and studied business at the Richard T. Farmer School of Business. That freshman year, he roomed with former Miami RedHawks hockey star Nick Jardine, and bodybuilding male gymnast Todd J. Hartman.

Mizanin later relocated to southern California in order to attend acting classes. He also visited high schools and colleges, delivering motivational speeches.

Mizanin dropped out of college in order to appear on the tenth season of MTV's reality television program The Real World in 2001. He went on to appear in multiple spin-offs, including seasons 5, 7, 8, 9 and 10 of The Real World/Road Rules Challenge with contestants from MTV's Road Rules. He appeared on the Challenge seasons Battle of the Seasons, The Gauntlet, The Inferno, Battle of the Sexes 2, and The Inferno 2. He was known for doing well on the challenges and made it to the end of them all except for Battle of the Sexes 2, winning Battle of the Seasons and The Inferno 2.

It was during an episode of The Real World that Mizanin first displayed an alter ego known as "The Miz". In contrast to Mizanin's usually placid demeanor, The Miz was angry, confrontational and headstrong. Mizanin later realized that "The Miz" would make an excellent professional wrestling gimmick.

Mizanin had a number of relationships during his various "Challenge seasons"; during The Gauntlet he dated Trishelle Cannatella of The Real World: Las Vegas, during The Inferno he had a relationship with Kendal Shepard of Road Rules: Campus Crawl and during Battle of the Seasons he had another brief relationship with Tara McDaniel of Road Rules: Northern Trail.

He's also known for his roller coaster friendship with Coral Smith on The Real World and various seasons after.

In 2004, he appeared on the Bravo reality show Battle of the Network Reality Stars where his team finished second.

Mizanin was also a contestant in the Reality Stars episode of Fear Factor. His partner was his former girlfriend and cast mate, Trishelle Cannatella, and the two of them ended up winning the competition.

On April 20, 2007, he appeared on the game show Identity, where he appeared as a stranger, and contestant John Kim correctly identified his identity as a professional wrestler.

Pursuing the goal of becoming a professional wrestler which he had harbored from an early age, Mizanin joined Ultimate Pro Wrestling, where he trained in the Ultimate University. He made his in-ring debut in 2003.

In October 2004, Mizanin entered the fourth season of Tough Enough, a televised competition which would award the winner a World Wrestling Entertainment contract and the sum of $1,000,000. Despite coming last in an arm wrestling tournament on November 25, Mizanin outlasted six other wrestlers. On December 12, 2004, at the WWE pay-per-view Armageddon 2004, Mizanin faced the other remaining entrant, Daniel Puder, in a three round "Dixie Dogfight" (boxing match). Neither man achieved a knockout, and the contest was awarded to Puder on the basis of crowd reaction. On the December 16 episode of SmackDown!, Puder was announced as the winner of Tough Enough by head trainer Al Snow.

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