Steve Blackman

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Steve Blackman
Blackman 2011.JPG
Data
Ring name Steve Blackman
height 1.88 m
Fighting weight 112 kg
birth September 28, 1963
Annville, Pennsylvania
Trained by Tony Altomare
Stu Hart
debut 1986

Steve Blackman (born September 28, 1963 in Annville, Pennsylvania , USA ) is an American martial artist and former professional wrestler, who achieved best fame through his career with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). His nickname is 'The Lethal Weapon', Blackman was six times hardcore champion during his career and also held the title the longest if you add up the times of all his reigns.

Professional wrestling career

Stampede Wrestling, South Africa and first WWF appearances (1986-1989)

Steve Blackman began his career as a bodybuilder and weightlifter before turning to professional wrestling in 1986 and starting his training at Tony Altamore's Wrestling School in Connecticut . In Canada he competed for Stu Hart 's Stampede Wrestling . In 1988 he made his first appearance on March 9th at a house show in Watertown, New York, and immediately won his debut match against David Sammartino. He then appeared again in a match with Outback Jack and Brady Boone against The Islanders and Sivi Afi at WWF Superstars on May 8th. He was then to be taken on a full-time contract with the WWF in 1989, but had to refrain from doing so after contracting malaria infection while wrestling in South Africa.

Recovery (1991–1997)

After a two-year recovery period from malaria, during which he lost a large part of his muscle mass, he spent another four years in physiotherapy to rebuild his condition, which he also used for extensive martial arts training, especially in Tae kwon do . When he was back in shape to fight, he contacted his friends Brian Pillman and Owen Hart for a new trial position with the WWF.

World Wrestling Federation (1997-2002)

Debut and early years (1997-2000)

Blackman's renewed WWF debut was on an episode of Raw is War on November 3, 1997 , when he jumped the security line to help Vader repel a Hart Foundation attack . Vince McMahon selected a martial arts gimmick for Blackman. Blackman was eventually used as a replacement for the injured Del Wilkes in Team USA at the Survivor Series 1997 against Team Canada, where he was the first participant to be eliminated by counting.

In the following years Blackman supported Ken Shamrock in his fight against the Nation of Domination. Eventually, he became a heel after teaming up with Shane McMahon . After he switched to heels, he always took a sports bag with martial arts weapons to the ring to use during or after the match - kendo sticks in particular became his trademark. During this time he started a feud against his former partner Ken Shamrock that would last all summer and culminated in an Iron Circle match at Fully Loaded 1999 and a Lion's Den match at Summerslam 1999, from which Blackman emerged as a loser.

Blackman and Al Snow subsequently acted as a tag team, unofficially called Head Cheese , as Snow had made Blackman wear a cheese hat to complement Al Snow's mascot Head . Blackman had a reputation for being very serious and showing no emotion. This led to a comedy duo gimmick for their tag team, with Al Snow acting as a clowning joke and Blackman always acting with a straight face. This led to various comedy interludes.

Hardcore period (2000-2002)

After Head Cheese broke up, Blackman turned to the WWF hardcore scene. At the time, the hardcore title was defended 24/7 after this special regime was introduced by Crash Holly . Due to this regulation, there were often matches in places that were rather untypical for a wrestling match, for example backstage areas, supermarkets or hotels. With Blackman as Hardcore Champion, surprise attacks no longer necessarily ended in a title change. As a martial arts specialist, Blackman was so dangerous in duels that even surprise attacks did not always bring the desired success. The first time Blackman lost the title for any length of time was against Shane McMahon, due to the intervention of Test , Albert , Edge and Christian . Mick Foley then temporarily suspended the 24/7 rule to prevent McMahon from evading a rematch against Blackman at Summerslam 2000. During this match, both McMahon and Blackman climbed onto the stage structure, here Shane McMahon was attacked by Blackman with a kendo stick and fell about 6 meters into the depth. Blackman performed a diving elbow from 6 meters to land the pinfall to regain the title. After Blackman had repeatedly defended his title on various occasions, he finally lost it in late 2000 to Raven , the man with the most hardcore title reigns. On February 18, 2001, Blackman won the title for the last time at a house show and had to give it back to his rival Raven that same night.

In early 2001 Blackman formed a tag team again, this time with Grandmaster Sexay . Blackman again played his role as a serious and emotionless wrestler. A recurring element was Grandmaster Sexay's attempt to get Blackman to dance with him after the matches. After Grandmaster Sexay was released from his WWF contract in the summer of 2001, Blackman was rarely seen in the ring due to an injury. He made his last active appearance on June 25, 2001 on an episode of Raw as part of the WCW Invasion storyline. In October 2002 the WWE decided not to renew his contract.

According to the WWE

Blackman opened a self-defense school in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania called BlackmanMMA in mid-2003. Blackman and the UFC Hall of Famer ( MMA) fighter and wrestler Ken Shamrock teamed up to promote a clothing line for professional fighters called Ground 'n 'Pound gear (GnP). In July 2006 Blackman reopened the martial arts school "Steve Blackman's Fighting Systems" , which offers both MMA and professional wrestling courses. As part of the Pennsylvania Fighting Championship (PFC), he also organized MMA events in his home town of Harrisburg.

On December 10, 2007, Blackman made a guest appearance at Raw is War's 15th birthday party, where he was eliminated by Flash Funk as a participant in a Battle Royal. Lots of people showed interest in seeing Blackman back in the ring more often. Blackman also said on the WWE.com website that he would miss it sometimes and be tempted to return.

Personal

Blackman is married and has one daughter. The family lives in Harrisburg , Pennsylvania , where Blackman runs Blackman Bail Bonds , a bond brokerage agency.

Preferred fighting techniques

successes

title

  • 1 × Stampede British Commonwealth Heavyweight Championship

Awards

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g OWOW profile . Retrieved October 20, 2013.
  2. ↑ Steve Blackman, Brady Boone, & Outhouse Jack vs The Islanders
  3. ↑ powerslam Staff: What's going down ... Elsewhere: . In: Power Slam Magazine , SW Publishing LTD, August 2003, p. 7. 109. Retrieved March 3, 2010. 
  4. ↑ Lordsofpain.net . Retrieved October 20, 2013.
  5. ^ Catching up with Steve Blackman: Part 2 . WWE.com. September 2, 2010. Retrieved September 2, 2010.
  6. ↑ Blackman Bail Bonds | Harrisburg Bail Bonds | Bail bonds. In: www.blackmanbailbonds.com. Retrieved June 5, 2016 .
  7. ↑ a b Finishing Moves List . Other arena. Retrieved August 28, 2009.
  8. ↑ Steve Blackman. In: www.wwe.com. Retrieved June 5, 2016 .
  9. ^ Pro Wrestling Illustrated Top 500 2001 . The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved October 25, 2016.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Blackman, Steve
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American wrestler
DATE OF BIRTH September 28, 1963