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Montel Vontavious Porter

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Alvin Burke, Jr. United States
Born (1973-10-28) October 28, 1973 (age 50)[1]
Liberty City, Florida
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Antonio Banks/Bank$
Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP)
Billed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[2]
Billed weight[undue weight? – discuss][2]
Billed fromMiami, Florida
Trained bySoulman Alex G[3]
Norman Smiley

Alvin Burke, Jr. (also known as Hassan Hamin Assad and Antonio Banks, born October 28 1973),[1] is an American professional wrestler currently working for World Wrestling Entertainment on the SmackDown! brand under the ring name Montel Vontavious Porter, or MVP,[2] where he is the reigning United States Champion and one-half of the WWE Tag Team Champions with Matt Hardy.[4]

Career

Early life and career

Burke first entered professional wrestling after serving 9½ years of an 18½ year sentence in prison for armed robbery and kidnapping.[1][5][6] At the start of his career he wrestled in many different companies on the independent circuit using the name Antonio Banks, as well as in both Full Impact Pro[7] and early Total Nonstop Action Wrestling weekly pay-per-views.[8] [9]

World Wrestling Entertainment

In 2005, after a number of house shows and dark matches, Burke signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and was assigned to their developmental territory Deep South Wrestling.[3] It was there that he first developed the Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP) character: an arrogant, self-obsessed athlete. As part of the character he utilized numerous references to "305", the area code of his hometown, Miami-Dade County, in the form of chants, hand gestures, and logos.

SmackDown!

MVP during a SmackDown! house show

As MVP, he made his first appearance on World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) television on the August 4 2006 episode of SmackDown!, being described by announcers as a coveted free agent.[10] The initial storyline involved MVP appearing backstage and in arena crowds, often flanked by women and a bodyguard, and talking to SmackDown! General Manager Theodore Long about the contract his (unseen) agent was aggressively negotiating.[11] [12] Throughout all of this MVP was often described by commentators as arrogant, as he would stop conversations in the middle to answer his cell phone or admire his own jewelry while people were speaking to him. A press conference announcing the signing of Porter to "the largest contract in SmackDown! history" was shown on WWE.com. view This lead to his in ring debut for the brand at October's No Mercy pay-per-view.

After a heralded entrance with an NFL-like inflatable tunnel and pyrotechnics, he defeated the unknown wrestler Marty Garner.[13] During the match, commentators Michael Cole and JBL decried the choice of opponent, since it had been implied that it would be someone "more competent"[14], and openly mocked his ring gear and called him "pathetic" when the fans chanted Power Ranger at him. On the following week's SmackDown! MVP demanded a tougher opponent to prove his mettle, and received just that in the form of Kane, who was making his SmackDown! debut after moving from RAW. MVP did his best to delay the match. Despite being largely on the receiving end of their bouts, MVP started out the feud by narrowly scoring wins over Kane in a street fight[15] and a cage match[16] before losing to him in an Inferno match at Armageddon, from which he (kayfabe) suffered 1st degree burns.[17] Because of the burns he was "out of action" for a short time, during which color commentator JBL expressed rage with the fans for cheering a match where the only way of achieving victory is to set an opponent on fire.[18]

When the Kane feud died down, MVP began a new one with United States Champion Chris Benoit over Benoit's title.[19] To warm up for his match with Benoit, MVP appeared on SmackDown! introducing various supposed Champions from around the world, giving them exaggerated measurements, then proceeded to defeat them in short order.[20] [21][22] When he finally faced Benoit at WrestleMania 23 he seemed to have his number, but lost the match in the end.[23] A subsequent rematch at Backlash went much the same way, with MVP suddenly losing to an Inside Cradle after looking like he was about to win for much of the match.[24] For Judgment Day, MVP secured a two out of three falls match against Benoit, and defeated him in two straight falls (both pins), to take the title,[25] his first in WWE.

His first major feud over the Championship was against Matt Hardy, whom he started claiming to be better than at everything[26] after defeating him at the Great American Bash.[27] When MVP was (legitimately) diagnosed with the heart condition Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome,[28] it was written into the storyline with MVP blaming the condition for his losing an arm wrestling match against Hardy.[29] When Porter was given an interview segment during SmackDown!, the VIP Lounge, he used it to bow out of a scheduled boxing match at Saturday Night's Main Event — only to have Evander Holyfield replace him, who ended up punching out Porter during the bout.[30]. On the August 24 episode of SmackDown!, MVP bragged to General Manager Teddy Long that he could win the WWE Tag Team Championship with anyone, prompting Long to grant him a Championship match alongside the next person who entered the room; Matt Hardy.[31] The next week, MVP and Hardy defeated the champions, Deuce N' Domino to win the titles ,making MVP a double champion.[32]

In wrestling

  • Nicknames
    • MVP
    • The Franchise Player
    • The Ballin' Superstar[33]
    • Mr. 305

Championships and accomplishments

Personal information

Burke has been diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome — a rare syndrome that causes the heart to beat faster than usual.[28]

Burke has numerous tattoos: a portrait of Malcolm X on his upper left chest,[36] the funerary mask of King Tut on his left upper biceps,[37] and an Eye of Horus on the back of his left arm.[38]

Media

In mid-August Burke taped an episode of Family Feud with Batista, John Cena, Mr. Kennedy, King Booker, Queen Sharmell, Candice Michelle, Layla El, Maria, and Michelle McCool. It's scheduled to air in November.[39]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Inmate Release Information Detail". Florida Department of Corrections. Retrieved 2007-05-26.
  2. ^ a b c "WWE.com Superstars > SmackDown > Montel Vontavious Porter > Bio". Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  3. ^ a b "Montel Vontavious Porter profile". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  4. ^ "wwe.com Smackdown match result". Retrieved 2007-08-31.
  5. ^ "Alan Wojcik interviews Antonio Banks". Retrieved 2006-12-21.
  6. ^ "WWE wrestler making most of MVP opportunity". Retrieved 2007-05-06.
  7. ^ "Full Impact Pro results". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  8. ^ "TNA.com Xplosion results - 2003". Retrieved 2007-04-07. April 16, 2003: Nashville, TN
    Erik Watts defeated Antonio Banks.
  9. ^ "TNA.com iMPACT! results - 2004". Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  10. ^ "SmackDown! results - August 4, 2006". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
  11. ^ "SmackDown! results - August 11, 2006". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
  12. ^ "SmackDown! results - August 18, 2006". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  13. ^ PWI Staff (2007). "Pro Wrestling Illustrated presents: 2007 Wrestling almanac & book of facts". "Wrestling’s historical cards". Kappa Publishing. p. 122.
  14. ^ "No Mercy 2006 results". WWE.com. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  15. ^ "SmackDown! results - November 17, 2006". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  16. ^ "SmackDown! results - November 24, 2006". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  17. ^ "MVP remains in burn unit". Retrieved 2006-12-21.
  18. ^ "SmackDown! results - December 22, 2006". WWE.com. Retrieved 2007-04-07. Former WWE Champion JBL voiced his displeasures with the direction SmackDown has gone, and he placed the blame on Theodore Long for the burning of MVP. JBL also blamed the fans, calling them "sick human beings."
  19. ^ "SmackDown! results - March 9, 2007". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  20. ^ "SmackDown! results - March 16, 2007". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  21. ^ "SmackDown! results - March 23, 2007". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  22. ^ PWI Staff (2007). "Pro Wrestling Illustrated, July 2007". "Arena reports". Kappa Publishing. p. 132. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  23. ^ McElvaney, Kevin (2007). "Pro Wrestling Illustrated, July 2007". "WrestleMania 23". Kappa Publishing. pp. 74–101. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  24. ^ "Backlash 2007 results". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  25. ^ "Judgment Day 2007 results". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-05-21.
  26. ^ Difino, Lennie. "Most Varied Perception". WWE.com. Retrieved 2007-08-05.
  27. ^ "The Great American Bash 2007 results". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved 2007-08-05.
  28. ^ a b "MVP's Most Valuable Program". WWE.com. Retrieved 2007-08-10.
  29. ^ "SmackDown! results - August 19, 2007". WWE.com. Retrieved 2007-08-19.
  30. ^ Dee, Louie. "MVP = TKO". WWE.com. Retrieved 2007-08-19.
  31. ^ "August 24, 2007". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-09-02.
  32. ^ "August 31, 2001". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-09-02.
  33. ^ "SmackDown! results - August 10, 2007". WWE.com. Retrieved 2007-09-26.
  34. ^ "WWWF / WWE United States Heavyweight Title". Wrestling-Titles. Retrieved 2007-06-30.
  35. ^ "WWE (Smackdown) Tag Team Title". Wrestling-Titles. Retrieved 2007-09-02.
  36. ^ "Image of MVP". WWE.com. Retrieved 2007-08-05.
  37. ^ "Image of Alvin Burke, Jr". Montel-Porter.org. Retrieved 2007-08-05.
  38. ^ "Image of Alvin Burke, Jr". Montel-Porter.org. Retrieved 2007-08-05.
  39. ^ Medalis, Kara A. "Diva Dish: FHM goes Extreme". WWE.com. Retrieved 2007-08-10. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

External links

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