Adam Pearce
Encyclopedia
Adam Pearce is an American professional wrestler
and actor. He is the current NWA World Heavyweight Champion
in his fourth reign and the NWA British Commonwealth Heavyweight Champion
in his first reign. He is also a former PWG Champion
.
and baseball
in high school
. Between his junior and senior years, Pearce suffered from Acute Muscular Compartment Syndrome
in both of his lower legs and underwent surgery. As a result, he had "pretty much learn how to walk all over again" and he stopped playing sports. During his convalescence, he met professional wrestling
trainers Sonny Rogers and Randy Ricci, and began training with them in November 1995.
professional wrestling promotion
s, especially in Milwaukee and Wisconsin
. At this time, he also began traveling throughout Michigan with Dave Prazak
, and he began working for Dan Curtis' Northern States Wrestling Alliance (NSWA). He was part of the "East Coast Invasion" angle where he had an early breakout match near Thanksgiving 1997 against Reckless Youth
. Pearce sided with the local Michigan babyfaces
charged with fighting off Youth, Don Montoya, Lance Diamond
, and Twiggy Ramirez. A rematch between Pearce and Youth took place in Ian Rotten
's Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South
(IWA-Mid South) company, where Pearce had captured their IWA Mid-South Light Heavyweight Championship
by defeating Cash Flo.
He began wrestling for most notably for Carmine DiSpirito's Mid American Wrestling promotion, and through DiSpirito was booked on a tour of Europe
in 1998. Upon his return to the United States, he underwent further training at the Steel Domain Training Center, where he was the first student, under Ace Steel
and Danny Dominion. Together Steel, Dominion, and Pearce became regulars in Minnesota, working under the St. Paul Championship Wrestling (later Steel Domain Wrestling) banner. Once again, Pearce's feud with Eaton grabbed headlines as they engaged in a Garbage Can Match. It was one of the first "ECW
" style matches in the area. He went on to feud with Danny Dominion over the Northern States TV Title, which was showcased on ex-AWA announcer Mick Karch's weekly TV show, "Slick Mick's Bodyslam Revue". Later, future Domain trainees CM Punk
and Colt Cabana debuted in Minnesota and begin their careers under the guidance of Steel, Dominion, and Pearce. Later on, Pearce became a member of the Gold Bond Mafia with CM Punk, Colt Cabana, Dave Prazak
, and Chuck E. Smooth.
At the same time, Pearce began working in All-Star Championship Wrestling based in Green Bay, Wisconsin
, as the promotion's top babyface and later, top heel
. His matches against Dino Bambino were viewed as being among the area's best, and their 1999 Cage Match in Green Bay was voted the 1999 Upper Midwest Match of the Year. Pearce captured the ACW Heavyweight Title by defeating longtime rival Adrian Lynch in Green Bay, and held it until losing to Rob Norwood in a 3-Way-Dance months later. During this time, Pearce also made appearances in Nashville, Tennessee
for Bert Prentice's Music City Wrestling and in Pittsburgh for Norm Connors' Steel City Wrestling.
Pearce made several World Wrestling Federation
(WWF) appearances as a jobber, where he was noticed by Terry Taylor
. When Taylor moved to World Championship Wrestling
(WCW) Pearce was contacted by Paul Orndorff
. After attending the WCW Power Plant
, Pearce was offered a WCW developmental contract but he declined, as he did not feel that relocating to Atlanta was a viable option for him. After a stint in the short-lived WXO promotion in early 2000, Pearce had another tryout with WCW, but described WCW as being "disorganized and chaotic". Pearce felt "burnt out" and decided to take time off from professional wrestling.
and Kevin Kelly
. Through Kelly, he met Rick Bassman and began working for Bassman's Ultimate Pro Wrestling (UPW) promotion. In UPW, he was teamed with Aaron Aguilera in a tag team called "Hardkore Inc". Pearce has worked several UPW events, most notably against Diamond Dallas Page
at UPW's biggest event, Overload, held in Las Vegas. He also wrestled Chris Masters
in Masters' last independent match before being signed by WWF (now WWE).
He also was signed to be a part of the King of Indies 2001 Tournament, promoted by Roland Alexander's All Pro Wrestling
(APW). He faced and was defeated in the opening round by Doug Williams
. Pearce also competed in IWA-Mid South's 2001 Sweet Science Sixteen
, defeating Chris Hero
and B.J. Whitmer
before losing to Ace Steel
. Pearce was generally inactive in a national sense, making sporadic appearances on California independent shows put on by Millennium Pro Wrestling and AWS (both based in Los Angeles
) and WCWA (based in San Diego). He also made a few appearances for Mid American Wrestling (based in Milwaukee). This would change when Gary Yap contacted Pearce about the soon-to-be-debuting EPIC promotion. He then signed on to wrestle in EPIC promotion, and after it failed he moved to Pro Wrestling Guerrilla
(PWG). He was an early fixture of the promotion, and feuded with Joey Ryan, Aaron Aguilera
, and Frankie Kazarian
among others. He became the second ever PWG Champion
when he defeated Kazarian on February 22, 2004 at Taste the Radness. He was the promotion's first heel champion feuding with Aguilera and Babi Slymm
until he lost the title on July 10, 2004 back to Kazarian at PWG's One Year Anniversary Show Reason for the Season in a Steel Cage "Loser Leaves PWG" match.
Pearce was then very active in Southern California, working for Bart Kapitzke's Alternative Wrestling Show, as both wrestler and matchmaker. Many in the SoCal industry credit Pearce's booking as the reason for a huge upswing in AWS's attendance despite the lack of well-known or flown-in talent. Pearce won the AWS Title under a mask as "The Masked Spymaster II", defeating Babi Slymm (The mask of the Masked Spymaster II was later given as a gift to Colt Cabana for his MTV Wrestling Society X
character, Matt Classic). Pearce lost the title months later to Human Tornado
in a cage match at AWS' Halloween Slaughterhouse II. Shortly thereafter, he began a feud with former tag team partner Aaron Aguilera. The feud advanced and was tied into a huge WarGames
cage match in March 2006, where AWS drew their largest attendance to date. The feud ended in July 2006 when Aguilera defeated Pearce in a brutal strap match. Pearce was also very instrumental in early NWA Pro events in the area, serving as the booker and matchmaker.
, Extreme Tiger
, Nicho el Millonario, and Rey Misterio, Sr.
. XLUM's premiere event of 2004 entitled Jaulamania drew a sold out crowd to see El Hijo del Santo
on top, while Pearce and his cohorts worked underneath, and ran in on a bloody cage match, attacking Damián 666 and Halloween. Other notable matches included a wild 8-Man-Tag filmed by Fox Sports Español which saw Pearce and his partners (Al Katrazz, Aaron Aguilera, and Jason Allgood) brawl all over the famous Auditorio de Tijuana. Pearce eventually turned babyface, even cutting promos in Spanish as part of his Dusty Rhodes
-esque character. Pearce left Mexico when XLUM folded in early 2005.
Pearce also became involved with the Los Angeles New Japan
Dojo and trained there in addition to being a part of their short-lived television product, Toukon Fighting Spirit, which aired for 6 weeks in Los Angeles County. Pearce was involved in a storyline with New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) talent Toru Yano
, which eventually led to them tagging as "The Beer and Sake Connection." This led to Pearce's Japanese debut for NJPW on May 15, 2005 at the Tokyo Dome
in a dark match against Don Frye's sparring partner, George Castro. Pearce was additionally offered a tour in place of Florida based wrestler Steve Madison
, but was forced to decline due to work obligations.
in Florida, facing Sal Rinauro
and Azrieal
. Pearce credits CM Punk
, Cabana, Samoa Joe
, Daniels and Steel with receiving a booking in FIP. From FIP, he moved into Ring of Honor
(ROH). Pearce appeared at ROH's Glory by Honor IV show in September 2005. At that point, the storyline had him displeased with the way Commissioner Jim Cornette
had been treating him, not giving him high-quality matches or title shots.
This booking continued until January 2006, when Pearce became involved in ROH's war with Combat Zone Wrestling
(CZW) by challenging, and then pulling Necro Butcher
over the rail at a show in Cleveland, Ohio. For this feud, Pearce put his differences with Cornette aside and became one of the main ROH wrestlers leading the fight against CZW. Because of Pearce's speaking and promo skills, he was appointed Lieutenant Commissioner of ROH during the storyline to voice Cornette's intentions on ROH events that he could not attend. During the seven month feud, Pearce was a part of many brawls with CZW's Chris Hero and Necro Butcher, and he was part of the match at ROH's 100th show, which saw CZW defeat ROH after Claudio Castagnoli
betrayed ROH. Pearce suffered a severe cranial laceration early in the match which required 20 staples to close. At Death Before Dishonor IV on July 15, 2006, Pearce competed in and helped ROH win the 8th Cage of Death match, teaming with Samoa Joe
, Ace Steel
, B. J. Whitmer, and Bryan Danielson
(later replaced by Homicide) to defeat CZW's Chris Hero
, Claudio Castagnoli, Necro Butcher, Nate Webb, and Eddie Kingston
. Post-match Pearce and J.J. Dillon attacked and handcuffed Homicide to the ring post to allow Cornette to administer a beating. This action elevated Pearce into a main event level feud with Homicide, which began with Pearce turning on former friend and partner, BJ Whitmer, and siding with a returning Steve Corino
. This was pivotal in the Corino versus Homicide feud which saw Homicide team with Samoa Joe to defeat Pearce and Corino at Suffocation.Pearce at this point named ROH School Graduate, Shane Hagadorn, his "man-servant" and the two began working as a tag team.
Pearce's highest level ROH match since Cage of Death also came in a cage against Homicide at The Chicago Spectacular: Night 2, which Pearce lost. Pearce had originally challenged Homicide to the first strap match in ROH history, only to have Homicide rebuke it and throw out the cage challenge. Pearce went on to attack and seemingly cost Homicide his chance at the ROH World Title at Final Battle 2006 in Homicide's match against Bryan Danielson. ROH Senior Officials would have nothing of it and restarted the match, which Homicide eventually won. The feud with Homicide seemingly went to the wayside, as Pearce started interaction with Pelle Primeau and Delirious
.
Pearce then formed a stable known as "The Hangmen Three", with BJ Whitmer, Brent Albright, and Shane Hagadorn. In April 2008 "Sweet N'Sour" Larry Sweeney
purchased the contracts of The Hangmen and merged them into Sweet N'Sour Inc. Whitmer balked and was quickly beaten down and kicked out of the group while Albright quit on May 10, 2008. On June 7, 2008, Pearce teamed with Hero and Eddie Edwards
in a loss to Brent Albright, Delirious, and Pelle Primeau taped for ROH's Respect is Earned II pay-per-view event. After the match he revealed the NWA World Title to be the item he had been mysteriously carrying in a briefcase and struck Albright in the head with it. This marked the first time ROH recognized Pearce as NWA Champion since he had won the title in September 2007. On June 27, 2008 in Dayton, Ohio
, Pearce defeated ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness
via disqualification in a Title vs. Title match. Originally McGuinness had pinned Pearce to win his NWA World Title but the decision was reversed when the NWA's Over The Top Rule was enforced and since Pearce had been thrown over the top rope, McGuinness was disqualified and both men retained their championships.
Pearce's feud with Albright picked up steam, as on June 28, 2008 Pearce and newest Sweet N'Sour Inc. member Go Shiozaki
lost to Brent Albright
and FIP World Champion Roderick Strong
when the referee stopped the match after Albright landed repeated knee strikes to the head of Pearce. Post-match, Pearce threw a fireball into the face of Albright, resulting in Pearce being suspended for 30 days while Albright was out of action to convalesce and recover from the burns. On August 2, 2008, the feud took another turn when Brent Albright defeated Pearce via submission with the crowbar to win the NWA World Championship. This came after NWA Officials presented Pearce with a replica NWA "Red" title belt, repeating history as Jack Brisco
defeated Harley Race
for the NWA Red Belt after Race was presented with it by Sam Muchnick
in 1973. On September 20, 2008, Pearce continued his year-long feud with Albright, defeating him at Glory by Honor VII to begins his second reign as champion.
On September 25, 2008, it was announced Pearce had departed Ring of Honor due to company cost cutting measures. On October 26, 2008, Ring of Honor announced that Adam Pearce would become the new Head Booker of the company, replacing Gabe Sapolsky.
Despite his backstage role, Pearce made occasional wrestling appearances in ROH, notably during Caged Collision
pay-per-view in Chicago on January 31, 2009, taking the pin in the Steel Cage main event. He also appeared at the "7th Anniversary Show" in New York, NY on March 21, 2009, losing to Bobby Dempsey in 30 seconds, and at "Eye of the Storm 2" on December 18, 2009 in Manassas, VA, where he teamed with Matt Classic in a loss to The Set.
On August 15, 2010, Pearce was replaced as the head booker of Ring of Honor due to what he described as "a difference of ideology".
over the NWA Heritage Title on NWA Pro events throughout the US on their "Wrestling Summit" arena events, notably at the Orleans Arena
in Las Vegas, among other arena venues. Waltman took the title in El Paso, Texas
on April 21, 2007, only to lose it back to Pearce in Laredo, Texas
on April 29.
Pearce faced Brent Albright
in the finals of the Reclaiming the Glory
tournament to crown a new NWA World Heavyweight Champion
. He had lost in the semi-finals to Bryan Danielson, but Danielson pulled out due to injury and Pearce replaced him. Pearce defeated Albright in Puerto Rico at an International Wrestling Association
event to become the new NWA World Heavyweight Champion, the first champion since the belt was stripped from TNA. On October 13, 2007, he defended the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
in Irving, Texas
against Sicodelico, Jr.
. The match ended in a 30-minute draw with Pearce retaining the belt.
On October 27, 2007, he was one of the six participants in a WarGames cage match, teaming Karl Anderson
and C. Edward Vander Pyle
against Los Luchas and Sicodelico Jr. He and his team lost the match and were all busted open.
On May 10, 2008, he defended the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
in King and Queen County, Virginia
against Damien Wayne. The match went the full 60 minute time limit with Pearce retaining the title. Pearce was managed in the contest by Baby Doll
, the former valet for Tully Blanchard
.
On August 2, 2008, Brent Albright defeated Pearce via submission with the crowbar to win the NWA World Championship. On August 30, 2008, Pearce challenged and was defeated by Albright in Mexico City
in a rematch for the NWA World Title. This match was part of the debut of NWA Mexico, promoted by Blue Demon, Jr.
. Pearce pulled a pair of Brass Knuckles to presumably use on Albright, but Albright knocked them loose and hit Pearce for the pinfall. Post match, Pearce got into a slapping match with Blue Demon, Jr. over the decision.
On September 20, 2008, Pearce continued his year-long feud with Brent Albright, defeating him at Glory by Honor VII to begins his second reign as champion.
On October 25, 2008, in Mexico City
, Mexico
, Blue Demon, Jr.
defeated Pearce to win the NWA Championship. Pearce defeated Dru Onyx
on January 23, 2010, in Quebec City
, Quebec
, for the NWA British Commonwealth Heavyweight Championship
.
Pearce defeated Blue Demon Jr, then holder of the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
, and Phil Shatter
in a three way match to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship for a third time on March 14, 2010 at NWA New Beginnings. Then at the NWA Legends Fanfest on August 7, 2010, Pearce successfully defended the NWA World Heavyweight Championship against Bryan Danielson. Pearce's third title reign ended on March 6, 2011, when he was defeated for the title by Colt Cabana at the NWA Championship Wrestling from Hollywood
television tapings.
After leaving Ring of Honor
, Pearce began working as head booker for NWA Championship Wrestling from Hollywood
until stepping down due to 'family obligations'. Pearce's resignation allowed Joey Ryan to take over the book. Pearce continues to perform on the television show and acts as a producer for the series (credited as A.J. Pearce).
On July 31, 2011, Pearce won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship for the fourth time by defeating Chance Prophet, Jimmy Rave
and Shaun Tempers in a four-way match to win the vacant title.
that he is joining the cast of the upcoming 2011 film She Wants Me
. On the Wrestling Inc. site it stated also the Pearce has a small role on the said film
. The film will lead to star including Charlie Sheen
, Josh Gad
, Wayne Knight
and co-star with singer-actress/author Hilary Comrie
.
debut at 'Conflict of Interest to the Extreme 2010'. He defended the NWA World Heavyweight Championship against the first nation sensation Wavell Starr
, and later in the event attacked Shane Douglas
with the NWA Title belt, avenging Douglas' casting aside of the same title in 1994.
Adam J. Pearce at Juggalo Championship Wrestling's event Above The Law. There he aligned himself with Officer Colt Cabana, whom he later helped win the JCW Heavyweight Championship
.
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
and actor. He is the current NWA World Heavyweight Champion
NWA World Heavyweight Championship
The National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in the National Wrestling Alliance. Its lineage has been traced from the first World Heavyweight Championship, which traces its lineage to Georg Hackenschmidt's 1905 title and...
in his fourth reign and the NWA British Commonwealth Heavyweight Champion
NWA British Commonwealth Heavyweight Championship
The NWA British Commonwealth Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling championship that serves as the major title in the NWA UK Hammerlock promotion...
in his first reign. He is also a former PWG Champion
PWG World Championship
The PWG World Championship is a professional wrestling world championship in the Pro Wrestling Guerrilla professional wrestling promotion. It was first introduced in 2003 as the PWG Championship...
.
Early life and training
Pearce lettered in both footballAmerican football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
and baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
in high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
. Between his junior and senior years, Pearce suffered from Acute Muscular Compartment Syndrome
Compartment syndrome
Compartment syndrome is a limb threatening and life threatening condition, defined as the compression of nerves, blood vessels, and muscle inside a closed space within the body . This leads to tissue death from lack of oxygenation due to the blood vessels being compressed by the raised pressure...
in both of his lower legs and underwent surgery. As a result, he had "pretty much learn how to walk all over again" and he stopped playing sports. During his convalescence, he met professional wrestling
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
trainers Sonny Rogers and Randy Ricci, and began training with them in November 1995.
Early career
Pearce had his debut match on May 16, 1996, a few weeks before he graduated from high school. Pearce quickly began wresting for independentIndependent circuit
In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indy circuit refers to the many independent promotions which are much smaller than major televised promotions. They are roughly analagous to a minor league for pro wrestling, or community or regional theatre.Specific promotions on the...
professional wrestling promotion
Professional wrestling promotion
A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling. Promotion also describes a role which entails management, advertising and logistics of running a wrestling event...
s, especially in Milwaukee and Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
. At this time, he also began traveling throughout Michigan with Dave Prazak
Dave Prazak
Dave Prazak is a professional wrestling manager and commentator. He works for many independent wrestling promotions in America. He is the founder of the all female wrestling promotion Shimmer Women Athletes.-Managing:...
, and he began working for Dan Curtis' Northern States Wrestling Alliance (NSWA). He was part of the "East Coast Invasion" angle where he had an early breakout match near Thanksgiving 1997 against Reckless Youth
Reckless Youth
Thomas Carter is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Reckless Youth. He has competed in numerous North American independent promotions including the East Coast Wrestling Association, Combat Zone Wrestling and Chikara, where he was one of the original founders alongside...
. Pearce sided with the local Michigan babyfaces
Face (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a babyface or face or in simple words, a fan favorite is a character who is portrayed as a heroic relative to the heel wrestlers, who are analogous to villains...
charged with fighting off Youth, Don Montoya, Lance Diamond
Pat Kenney
Patrick Joseph Michael "Pat" Kenney , known also by his ring name, Simon Diamond, is a retired American professional wrestler, currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as a road agent...
, and Twiggy Ramirez. A rematch between Pearce and Youth took place in Ian Rotten
Ian Rotten
John Benson Williams is an American professional Wrestler better known by his ring name Ian Rotten. He has wrestled in Global Wrestling Federation , Extreme Championship Wrestling , and his own wrestling promotion IWA: Mid-South.-Early career:After becoming a fan of Dusty Rhodes and "Superstar"...
's Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South
Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South
Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South is an independent professional wrestling promotion based in Louisville, Kentucky.- History :...
(IWA-Mid South) company, where Pearce had captured their IWA Mid-South Light Heavyweight Championship
IWA Mid-South Light Heavyweight Championship
The IWA Mid-South Light Heavyweight Championship was one of the major titles in the Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South. The title debuted as the Lightweight Title in 1996, evolving to the current weight class in 1998....
by defeating Cash Flo.
He began wrestling for most notably for Carmine DiSpirito's Mid American Wrestling promotion, and through DiSpirito was booked on a tour of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
in 1998. Upon his return to the United States, he underwent further training at the Steel Domain Training Center, where he was the first student, under Ace Steel
Ace Steel
Chris Guy is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Ace Steel. He is perhaps best known for his time with Ring of Honor and occasional appearances for World Wrestling Entertainment, as well as his stint with its Ohio Valley Wrestling developmental territory...
and Danny Dominion. Together Steel, Dominion, and Pearce became regulars in Minnesota, working under the St. Paul Championship Wrestling (later Steel Domain Wrestling) banner. Once again, Pearce's feud with Eaton grabbed headlines as they engaged in a Garbage Can Match. It was one of the first "ECW
Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1992 by Tod Gordon and closed when his successor, Paul Heyman, declared bankruptcy in April 2001...
" style matches in the area. He went on to feud with Danny Dominion over the Northern States TV Title, which was showcased on ex-AWA announcer Mick Karch's weekly TV show, "Slick Mick's Bodyslam Revue". Later, future Domain trainees CM Punk
CM Punk
Phillip Jack "Phil" Brooks , better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE and working on its Raw brand currently serving his second title reign as WWE Champion....
and Colt Cabana debuted in Minnesota and begin their careers under the guidance of Steel, Dominion, and Pearce. Later on, Pearce became a member of the Gold Bond Mafia with CM Punk, Colt Cabana, Dave Prazak
Dave Prazak
Dave Prazak is a professional wrestling manager and commentator. He works for many independent wrestling promotions in America. He is the founder of the all female wrestling promotion Shimmer Women Athletes.-Managing:...
, and Chuck E. Smooth.
At the same time, Pearce began working in All-Star Championship Wrestling based in Green Bay, Wisconsin
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Green Bay is a city in and the county seat of Brown County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, located at the head of Green Bay, a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It has an elevation of above sea level and is located north of Milwaukee. As of the 2010 United States Census,...
, as the promotion's top babyface and later, top heel
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
. His matches against Dino Bambino were viewed as being among the area's best, and their 1999 Cage Match in Green Bay was voted the 1999 Upper Midwest Match of the Year. Pearce captured the ACW Heavyweight Title by defeating longtime rival Adrian Lynch in Green Bay, and held it until losing to Rob Norwood in a 3-Way-Dance months later. During this time, Pearce also made appearances in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
for Bert Prentice's Music City Wrestling and in Pittsburgh for Norm Connors' Steel City Wrestling.
Pearce made several World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
(WWF) appearances as a jobber, where he was noticed by Terry Taylor
Terry Taylor
Terry Taylor , is an American retired professional wrestler best known for his time in the National Wrestling Alliance, World Championship Wrestling, and the World Wrestling Federation...
. When Taylor moved to World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
(WCW) Pearce was contacted by Paul Orndorff
Paul Orndorff
Paul Parlette Orndorff, Jr. is a retired American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling as "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff...
. After attending the WCW Power Plant
WCW Power Plant
The WCW Power Plant was a professional wrestling school located in Atlanta, Georgia and owned and operated by World Championship Wrestling. The Power Plant, which was developed from a school operated by Jody Hamilton, was in operation throughout the 1990s...
, Pearce was offered a WCW developmental contract but he declined, as he did not feel that relocating to Atlanta was a viable option for him. After a stint in the short-lived WXO promotion in early 2000, Pearce had another tryout with WCW, but described WCW as being "disorganized and chaotic". Pearce felt "burnt out" and decided to take time off from professional wrestling.
Californian independent circuit
After eight months, Pearce returned to wrestling at the urging of both Christopher DanielsChristopher Daniels
Daniel Christopher Covell is an American professional wrestler, best known in the United States by his ring name "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels. He is also known for performing under the ring name Curry Man. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , while also...
and Kevin Kelly
Kevin Kelly (announcer)
Kevin Foote is an American professional wrestling manager, pundit, sportscaster and ring announcer, better known by his ring name, Kevin Kelly...
. Through Kelly, he met Rick Bassman and began working for Bassman's Ultimate Pro Wrestling (UPW) promotion. In UPW, he was teamed with Aaron Aguilera in a tag team called "Hardkore Inc". Pearce has worked several UPW events, most notably against Diamond Dallas Page
Diamond Dallas Page
Dallas Page , better known by his ring name "Diamond" Dallas Page , is an American retired professional wrestler, fitness instructor and actor...
at UPW's biggest event, Overload, held in Las Vegas. He also wrestled Chris Masters
Chris Masters
Christopher Todd Mordetzky is an American professional wrestler best known by his ring name Chris Masters. He is best known for his tenure with WWE.-Early career:...
in Masters' last independent match before being signed by WWF (now WWE).
He also was signed to be a part of the King of Indies 2001 Tournament, promoted by Roland Alexander's All Pro Wrestling
All Pro Wrestling
All Pro Wrestling Gym Wars is a professional wrestling television program produced by APW which originally aired weekly on Saturday mornings on KFTY Channel 50 in the San Francisco Bay Area, beginning December 5, 2009. The series features the professional wrestlers of All Pro Wrestling competing in...
(APW). He faced and was defeated in the opening round by Doug Williams
Doug Williams (wrestler)
Douglas Clayton Durdle is an English professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Doug Williams. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Douglas Williams...
. Pearce also competed in IWA-Mid South's 2001 Sweet Science Sixteen
Ted Petty Invitational
The Ted Petty Invitational tournament is an independent wrestling tournament in North America, run and promoted by Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South. Created as the Sweet Science Sixteen in 2000 by Ian Rotten, the tournament was originally supposed to showcase the top technical...
, defeating Chris Hero
Chris Hero
Chris Spradlin is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Chris Hero. He is a mainstay of many independent wrestling promotions, including Ring of Honor, and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla as well as Pro Wrestling Noah in Japan...
and B.J. Whitmer
B.J. Whitmer
Benjamin Whitmer is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, B.J. Whitmer. He is best known for his appearances with Ring of Honor between January 2003 and March 2008...
before losing to Ace Steel
Ace Steel
Chris Guy is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Ace Steel. He is perhaps best known for his time with Ring of Honor and occasional appearances for World Wrestling Entertainment, as well as his stint with its Ohio Valley Wrestling developmental territory...
. Pearce was generally inactive in a national sense, making sporadic appearances on California independent shows put on by Millennium Pro Wrestling and AWS (both based in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
) and WCWA (based in San Diego). He also made a few appearances for Mid American Wrestling (based in Milwaukee). This would change when Gary Yap contacted Pearce about the soon-to-be-debuting EPIC promotion. He then signed on to wrestle in EPIC promotion, and after it failed he moved to Pro Wrestling Guerrilla
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla is a professional wrestling promotion that is run by wrestlers themselves as it was created by Southern California wrestlers Disco Machine, Excalibur, Joey Ryan, Scott Lost, Super Dragon, and Top Gun Talwar...
(PWG). He was an early fixture of the promotion, and feuded with Joey Ryan, Aaron Aguilera
Aaron Aguilera
Aaron Aguilera , is a Mexican American professional wrestler and actor best known as Jesús and Uno on World Wrestling Entertainment and MTV's Wrestling Society X...
, and Frankie Kazarian
Frankie Kazarian
Frank B. Gerdelman is an Armenian-American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Frankie Kazarian or simply Kazarian. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
among others. He became the second ever PWG Champion
PWG World Championship
The PWG World Championship is a professional wrestling world championship in the Pro Wrestling Guerrilla professional wrestling promotion. It was first introduced in 2003 as the PWG Championship...
when he defeated Kazarian on February 22, 2004 at Taste the Radness. He was the promotion's first heel champion feuding with Aguilera and Babi Slymm
Tony Drake
Tony Drake is an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances in the short-lived Wrestling Society X. He currently competes on the independent circuit using the ring name Babi Slymm.-Professional wrestling career:...
until he lost the title on July 10, 2004 back to Kazarian at PWG's One Year Anniversary Show Reason for the Season in a Steel Cage "Loser Leaves PWG" match.
Pearce was then very active in Southern California, working for Bart Kapitzke's Alternative Wrestling Show, as both wrestler and matchmaker. Many in the SoCal industry credit Pearce's booking as the reason for a huge upswing in AWS's attendance despite the lack of well-known or flown-in talent. Pearce won the AWS Title under a mask as "The Masked Spymaster II", defeating Babi Slymm (The mask of the Masked Spymaster II was later given as a gift to Colt Cabana for his MTV Wrestling Society X
Wrestling Society X
Wrestling Society X was a short-lived professional wrestling-based television series produced in 2006 by Big Vision Entertainment. The weekly television series formerly aired on MTV, MTV2, MTV Tr3s, and over a dozen other MTV outlets throughout the world...
character, Matt Classic). Pearce lost the title months later to Human Tornado
Human Tornado
Craig Williams , better known by his ring name, Human Tornado, is an American retired professional wrestler. His character was that of a stereotypical 1970s blaxploitation street pimp. He performed primarily on the Californian independent circuit, most prominently for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, the...
in a cage match at AWS' Halloween Slaughterhouse II. Shortly thereafter, he began a feud with former tag team partner Aaron Aguilera. The feud advanced and was tied into a huge WarGames
WarGames match
The WarGames match was a gimmick match used originally in the National Wrestling Alliance and later held annually in World Championship Wrestling , usually at their Fall Brawl pay-per-view event in September.-History:...
cage match in March 2006, where AWS drew their largest attendance to date. The feud ended in July 2006 when Aguilera defeated Pearce in a brutal strap match. Pearce was also very instrumental in early NWA Pro events in the area, serving as the booker and matchmaker.
Mexico and Japan
Upon leaving PWG, Pearce almost immediately debuted in Mexico for Promociones XLUM, where he feuded with Venum BlackVenum Black
Jullián Carrillo is a Mexican professional wrestler who is best known for Lucha Libre and in Asistencia Asesoría y Administración . He has also wrestled in the WWF in 1997 because of the AAA and WWF partnership...
, Extreme Tiger
Extreme Tiger
Extreme Tiger is a Mexican professional wrestler currently competing in Asistencia Asesoría y Administración , where he is currently the 2011 Rey de Reyes.-Professional wrestling career:...
, Nicho el Millonario, and Rey Misterio, Sr.
Rey Misterio, Sr.
Miguel Ángel López Díaz, better known as his ring name Rey Misterio, Sr. is a Mexican professional wrestler, trainer and actor. He is the uncle of well-known luchador Rey Mysterio, Jr. His name directly translates to "Mystery King" in English...
. XLUM's premiere event of 2004 entitled Jaulamania drew a sold out crowd to see El Hijo del Santo
El Hijo del Santo
Jorge Guzmán Rodríguez , better known as El Hijo del Santo , is a Mexican professional wrestler, political activist and one of the most successful stars in Lucha Libre...
on top, while Pearce and his cohorts worked underneath, and ran in on a bloody cage match, attacking Damián 666 and Halloween. Other notable matches included a wild 8-Man-Tag filmed by Fox Sports Español which saw Pearce and his partners (Al Katrazz, Aaron Aguilera, and Jason Allgood) brawl all over the famous Auditorio de Tijuana. Pearce eventually turned babyface, even cutting promos in Spanish as part of his Dusty Rhodes
Dusty Rhodes (wrestler)
Virgil Riley Runnels, Jr. , better known as "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, is a semi-retired American professional wrestler currently working for WWE...
-esque character. Pearce left Mexico when XLUM folded in early 2005.
Pearce also became involved with the Los Angeles New Japan
New Japan Pro Wrestling
is a major professional wrestling promotion in Japan, founded by Antonio Inoki in June 1972 and owned by Yuke's since 2005, when Inoki sold the promotion. Naoki Sugabayashi is the current President of the promotion and has held that position from 2007. Owing to its TV program aired on TV Asahi, it...
Dojo and trained there in addition to being a part of their short-lived television product, Toukon Fighting Spirit, which aired for 6 weeks in Los Angeles County. Pearce was involved in a storyline with New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) talent Toru Yano
Toru Yano
, is a Japanese professional wrestler, trained by and currently signed to New Japan Pro Wrestling , where he is a former IWGP Tag Team Champion.-New Japan Pro Wrestling :...
, which eventually led to them tagging as "The Beer and Sake Connection." This led to Pearce's Japanese debut for NJPW on May 15, 2005 at the Tokyo Dome
Tokyo Dome
Tokyo Dome is a 55,000-seat baseball stadium located in Bunkyo Ward of Tokyo, Japan.The stadium opened for business on March 17, 1988. It was built on the site of the Velodrome which was next door to the site of the predecessor ballpark, Kōrakuen Stadium...
in a dark match against Don Frye's sparring partner, George Castro. Pearce was additionally offered a tour in place of Florida based wrestler Steve Madison
Steve Madison
Steven Philip Favata is an American professional wrestler, known by his ringname "Modern Miracle" Steve Madison, who competes in Southeastern independent promotions including AWA World-1 South, Full Impact Pro, Future of Wrestling, NWA Florida and Dusty Rhodes' Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling...
, but was forced to decline due to work obligations.
Ring of Honor
In July 2005, Pearce debuted for Full Impact ProFull Impact Pro
Full Impact Pro is an American independent professional wrestling promotion based in Florida. Their shows are taped and then sold as DVDs. Full Impact Pro was the sister promotion of Ring of Honor until 2009...
in Florida, facing Sal Rinauro
Sal Rinauro
Salvatore "Sal" Rinauro is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in Ring of Honor and Full Impact Pro in addition to being a member of The Embassy.-Ring of Honor:...
and Azrieal
Federico Palacios
Walter Kirney is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for working under the ring name Azrieal for independent promotions such as Ring of Honor and Jersey All Pro Wrestling.-Total Nonstop Action Wrestling:...
. Pearce credits CM Punk
CM Punk
Phillip Jack "Phil" Brooks , better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE and working on its Raw brand currently serving his second title reign as WWE Champion....
, Cabana, Samoa Joe
Samoa Joe
Nuufolau Joel "Joe" Seanoa is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Samoa Joe. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling....
, Daniels and Steel with receiving a booking in FIP. From FIP, he moved into Ring of Honor
Ring of Honor
Ring of Honor ' is an American professional wrestling promotion, founded in 2002 by Rob Feinstein and Gabe Sapolsky. From 2004 to 2011, the promotion was under the ownership of Cary Silkin before being sold to the Sinclair Broadcast Group in May 2011...
(ROH). Pearce appeared at ROH's Glory by Honor IV show in September 2005. At that point, the storyline had him displeased with the way Commissioner Jim Cornette
Jim Cornette
James Mark "Jim" Cornette is an American professional wrestling manager, commentator, promoter, and booker. As a manager, he has worked for Jim Crockett Promotions, World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Federation and from 1991 to 1995, was the owner of Smoky Mountain Wrestling...
had been treating him, not giving him high-quality matches or title shots.
This booking continued until January 2006, when Pearce became involved in ROH's war with Combat Zone Wrestling
Combat Zone Wrestling
Combat Zone Wrestling is a independent wrestling promotion. In 1999, John Zandig and four of his students, Ric Blade, Lobo, Nick Gage and Justice Pain began to run backyard wrestling shows in New Jersey and Delaware, showcasing a brand of hardcore wrestling dubbed as "ultraviolence"...
(CZW) by challenging, and then pulling Necro Butcher
Necro Butcher
Dylan Keith Summers is an American professional wrestler best known by his ring name Necro Butcher. Throughout the years he has worked for various promotions, including Beyond Wrestling, Firestormpro, Ring of Honor, Full Impact Pro, IWA-Mid South, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, Big Japan Pro Wrestling,...
over the rail at a show in Cleveland, Ohio. For this feud, Pearce put his differences with Cornette aside and became one of the main ROH wrestlers leading the fight against CZW. Because of Pearce's speaking and promo skills, he was appointed Lieutenant Commissioner of ROH during the storyline to voice Cornette's intentions on ROH events that he could not attend. During the seven month feud, Pearce was a part of many brawls with CZW's Chris Hero and Necro Butcher, and he was part of the match at ROH's 100th show, which saw CZW defeat ROH after Claudio Castagnoli
Claudio Castagnoli
Claudio Castagnoli is a Swiss professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, working in its developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling under the ring name Antonio Cesaro...
betrayed ROH. Pearce suffered a severe cranial laceration early in the match which required 20 staples to close. At Death Before Dishonor IV on July 15, 2006, Pearce competed in and helped ROH win the 8th Cage of Death match, teaming with Samoa Joe
Samoa Joe
Nuufolau Joel "Joe" Seanoa is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Samoa Joe. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling....
, Ace Steel
Ace Steel
Chris Guy is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Ace Steel. He is perhaps best known for his time with Ring of Honor and occasional appearances for World Wrestling Entertainment, as well as his stint with its Ohio Valley Wrestling developmental territory...
, B. J. Whitmer, and Bryan Danielson
Bryan Danielson
Bryan Danielson is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE where he wrestles on its SmackDown brand as Daniel Bryan, and currently holds the SmackDown Money in the Bank briefcase, which enables him to have a World Heavyweight Championship match at any time of his choosing...
(later replaced by Homicide) to defeat CZW's Chris Hero
Chris Hero
Chris Spradlin is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Chris Hero. He is a mainstay of many independent wrestling promotions, including Ring of Honor, and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla as well as Pro Wrestling Noah in Japan...
, Claudio Castagnoli, Necro Butcher, Nate Webb, and Eddie Kingston
Eddie Kingston
Edward "Eddie" Moore is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Eddie Kingston. He is best known for competing in Chikara, Combat Zone Wrestling, Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South and Ring of Honor...
. Post-match Pearce and J.J. Dillon attacked and handcuffed Homicide to the ring post to allow Cornette to administer a beating. This action elevated Pearce into a main event level feud with Homicide, which began with Pearce turning on former friend and partner, BJ Whitmer, and siding with a returning Steve Corino
Steve Corino
Steven Eugene "Steve" Corino is a Canadian professional wrestler, who currently works for Pro Wrestling Zero1, Ring of Honor and numerous other independent promotions. Corino is a former NWA World Heavyweight Champion and ECW World Heavyweight Champion.-Early years :Corino began wrestling in 1994...
. This was pivotal in the Corino versus Homicide feud which saw Homicide team with Samoa Joe to defeat Pearce and Corino at Suffocation.Pearce at this point named ROH School Graduate, Shane Hagadorn, his "man-servant" and the two began working as a tag team.
Pearce's highest level ROH match since Cage of Death also came in a cage against Homicide at The Chicago Spectacular: Night 2, which Pearce lost. Pearce had originally challenged Homicide to the first strap match in ROH history, only to have Homicide rebuke it and throw out the cage challenge. Pearce went on to attack and seemingly cost Homicide his chance at the ROH World Title at Final Battle 2006 in Homicide's match against Bryan Danielson. ROH Senior Officials would have nothing of it and restarted the match, which Homicide eventually won. The feud with Homicide seemingly went to the wayside, as Pearce started interaction with Pelle Primeau and Delirious
Delirious (wrestler)
Hunter Johnston is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Delirious. He is currently wrestling for Ring of Honor, International Wrestling Cartel, Chikara, Pro Wrestling Noah, and Jersey All Pro Wrestling...
.
Pearce then formed a stable known as "The Hangmen Three", with BJ Whitmer, Brent Albright, and Shane Hagadorn. In April 2008 "Sweet N'Sour" Larry Sweeney
Larry Sweeney
Alexander K. Whybrow was an American professional wrestler and manager, better known by his ring name Larry Sweeney...
purchased the contracts of The Hangmen and merged them into Sweet N'Sour Inc. Whitmer balked and was quickly beaten down and kicked out of the group while Albright quit on May 10, 2008. On June 7, 2008, Pearce teamed with Hero and Eddie Edwards
Eddie Edwards (wrestler)
Eddie Edwards is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for wrestling with Ring of Honor , where he is a former ROH World Champion. He also had previous reigns as a former ROH World Tag Team Champion with his partner Davey Richards as The American Wolves and as the inaugural ROH World...
in a loss to Brent Albright, Delirious, and Pelle Primeau taped for ROH's Respect is Earned II pay-per-view event. After the match he revealed the NWA World Title to be the item he had been mysteriously carrying in a briefcase and struck Albright in the head with it. This marked the first time ROH recognized Pearce as NWA Champion since he had won the title in September 2007. On June 27, 2008 in Dayton, Ohio
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
, Pearce defeated ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness
Nigel McGuinness
Steven Haworth is an English professional wrestler, better known by the ring names Desmond Wolfe and Nigel McGuinness. As McGuinness he first gained notoriety working for Ring of Honor in the United States and Pro Wrestling Noah in Japan...
via disqualification in a Title vs. Title match. Originally McGuinness had pinned Pearce to win his NWA World Title but the decision was reversed when the NWA's Over The Top Rule was enforced and since Pearce had been thrown over the top rope, McGuinness was disqualified and both men retained their championships.
Pearce's feud with Albright picked up steam, as on June 28, 2008 Pearce and newest Sweet N'Sour Inc. member Go Shiozaki
Go Shiozaki
is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working for Pro Wrestling Noah, where he is the current GHC Heavyweight Champion. In addition to Noah, he has previously worked in the American-based promotion Ring of Honor and its former sister promotion Full Impact Pro, where he won the latter's...
lost to Brent Albright
Brent Albright
Brent Alan Albright is an American professional wrestler, perhaps best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment, during which he appeared on Friday Night SmackDown! as Gunner Scott...
and FIP World Champion Roderick Strong
Roderick Strong
Chris Lindsey is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Roderick Strong. Strong currently competes in several independent promotions, most notably Ring of Honor , Full Impact Pro , and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla .He initially debuted as The Jester on the Floridian...
when the referee stopped the match after Albright landed repeated knee strikes to the head of Pearce. Post-match, Pearce threw a fireball into the face of Albright, resulting in Pearce being suspended for 30 days while Albright was out of action to convalesce and recover from the burns. On August 2, 2008, the feud took another turn when Brent Albright defeated Pearce via submission with the crowbar to win the NWA World Championship. This came after NWA Officials presented Pearce with a replica NWA "Red" title belt, repeating history as Jack Brisco
Jack Brisco
Freddie Joe Brisco was an American professional wrestler, better known as Jack Brisco or Uvalde Slim. He performed for various territories of the National Wrestling Alliance , becoming a two-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, and multi-time NWA Tag Team Champion with his brother Gerald Brisco...
defeated Harley Race
Harley Race
Harley Leland Race is a retired American professional wrestler and current promoter and trainer. During his career as a wrestler, he held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship 7 times...
for the NWA Red Belt after Race was presented with it by Sam Muchnick
Sam Muchnick
Sam Muchnick was an American professional wrestling promoter from St. Louis, Missouri. He is often deemed as wrestling’s equivalent of Pete Rozelle , and he was instrumental in establishing the National Wrestling Alliance, which became the industry’s top governing body, in 1948...
in 1973. On September 20, 2008, Pearce continued his year-long feud with Albright, defeating him at Glory by Honor VII to begins his second reign as champion.
On September 25, 2008, it was announced Pearce had departed Ring of Honor due to company cost cutting measures. On October 26, 2008, Ring of Honor announced that Adam Pearce would become the new Head Booker of the company, replacing Gabe Sapolsky.
Despite his backstage role, Pearce made occasional wrestling appearances in ROH, notably during Caged Collision
Caged Collision
Caged Collision was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Ring of Honor. It took place on January 31, 2009 at the Frontier Fieldhouse in Chicago Ridge, Illinois, and aired on pay-per-view on April 17, 2009. Nine matches took place the event's card, with seven that aired on the...
pay-per-view in Chicago on January 31, 2009, taking the pin in the Steel Cage main event. He also appeared at the "7th Anniversary Show" in New York, NY on March 21, 2009, losing to Bobby Dempsey in 30 seconds, and at "Eye of the Storm 2" on December 18, 2009 in Manassas, VA, where he teamed with Matt Classic in a loss to The Set.
On August 15, 2010, Pearce was replaced as the head booker of Ring of Honor due to what he described as "a difference of ideology".
National Wrestling Alliance
Outside of ROH, Pearce has also been feuding with Sean WaltmanSean Waltman
Sean Michael Waltman is an American professional wrestler currently signed with WWE in their developmental program. He wrestled there under the ring names 1–2–3 Kid and X-Pac off and on from 1993–2002, World Championship Wrestling under the ring name Syxx, and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ...
over the NWA Heritage Title on NWA Pro events throughout the US on their "Wrestling Summit" arena events, notably at the Orleans Arena
Orleans Arena
The Orleans Arena is a 9,500 seat multi-purpose arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is home to the Las Vegas Wranglers ice hockey team, Las Vegas Sin lingerie football team and was the home of the Las Vegas Gladiators arena football team in 2007, and is also an occasional home for the UNLV Rebels...
in Las Vegas, among other arena venues. Waltman took the title in El Paso, Texas
El Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
on April 21, 2007, only to lose it back to Pearce in Laredo, Texas
Laredo, Texas
Laredo is the county seat of Webb County, Texas, United States, located on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. According to the 2010 census, the city population was 236,091 making it the 3rd largest on the United States-Mexican border,...
on April 29.
Pearce faced Brent Albright
Brent Albright
Brent Alan Albright is an American professional wrestler, perhaps best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment, during which he appeared on Friday Night SmackDown! as Gunner Scott...
in the finals of the Reclaiming the Glory
Reclaiming the Glory
Reclaiming the Glory was a professional wrestling tournament held between June 2, 2007 and September 1, 2007. Promoted by the National Wrestling Alliance, the tournament was the result of the dissolution of the licensing agreement between the NWA and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
tournament to crown a new NWA World Heavyweight Champion
NWA World Heavyweight Championship
The National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in the National Wrestling Alliance. Its lineage has been traced from the first World Heavyweight Championship, which traces its lineage to Georg Hackenschmidt's 1905 title and...
. He had lost in the semi-finals to Bryan Danielson, but Danielson pulled out due to injury and Pearce replaced him. Pearce defeated Albright in Puerto Rico at an International Wrestling Association
International Wrestling Association
The International Wrestling Association is a wrestling promotion in Puerto Rico, started in Japan in 1994 by promoter Victor Quiñones. The Hispanic division was created in 1999. The company was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance until 2001, but again became a member in 2007...
event to become the new NWA World Heavyweight Champion, the first champion since the belt was stripped from TNA. On October 13, 2007, he defended the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
NWA World Heavyweight Championship
The National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in the National Wrestling Alliance. Its lineage has been traced from the first World Heavyweight Championship, which traces its lineage to Georg Hackenschmidt's 1905 title and...
in Irving, Texas
Irving, Texas
Irving is a city located in the U.S. state of Texas within Dallas County. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city population was 216,290. Irving is within the Dallas–Plano–Irving metropolitan division of the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan area, designated...
against Sicodelico, Jr.
Sicodelico, Jr.
Aaron Rodríguez , better known by his ring name Sicodelico, Jr., is a Mexican professional wrestler. Rodríguez is the son of Sicodelico and the nephew of Mil Mascaras and Dos Caras, and the cousin of Alberto del Rio...
. The match ended in a 30-minute draw with Pearce retaining the belt.
On October 27, 2007, he was one of the six participants in a WarGames cage match, teaming Karl Anderson
Karl Anderson
Chad Allegra is an American professional wrestler better known by his stage name Karl "Machine Gun" Anderson currently working for New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he is currently one half of the IWGP and GHC Tag Team Champions with partner Giant Bernard.-Personal life:Allegra grew up in Asheville,...
and C. Edward Vander Pyle
Marty Lurie
Marty Lurie , is in his 8th year as an American professional wrestling manager and commentator better known by his stage name C. Edward Vander Pyle or Mr. Vander Pyle...
against Los Luchas and Sicodelico Jr. He and his team lost the match and were all busted open.
On May 10, 2008, he defended the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
NWA World Heavyweight Championship
The National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in the National Wrestling Alliance. Its lineage has been traced from the first World Heavyweight Championship, which traces its lineage to Georg Hackenschmidt's 1905 title and...
in King and Queen County, Virginia
King and Queen County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 6,630 people, 2,673 households, and 1,897 families residing in the county. The population density was 21 people per square mile . There were 3,010 housing units at an average density of 10 per square mile...
against Damien Wayne. The match went the full 60 minute time limit with Pearce retaining the title. Pearce was managed in the contest by Baby Doll
Nickla Roberts
Nickla Ann Roberts is an American semi-retired professional wrestler and valet, better known by her ring name, "The Perfect 10" Baby Doll...
, the former valet for Tully Blanchard
Tully Blanchard
Tully Arthur Blanchard is a semi-retired second generation American professional wrestler. He is best known as an original member of the Four Horsemen....
.
On August 2, 2008, Brent Albright defeated Pearce via submission with the crowbar to win the NWA World Championship. On August 30, 2008, Pearce challenged and was defeated by Albright in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
in a rematch for the NWA World Title. This match was part of the debut of NWA Mexico, promoted by Blue Demon, Jr.
Blue Demon, Jr.
Blue Demon, Jr. is a Mexican luchador and professional wrestler. He is the allegedly adopted son of the legendary original Blue Demon and is the first Mexican and the second masked wrestler to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship . Blue Demon, Jr.'s real name is unknown.-Origins and heritage...
. Pearce pulled a pair of Brass Knuckles to presumably use on Albright, but Albright knocked them loose and hit Pearce for the pinfall. Post match, Pearce got into a slapping match with Blue Demon, Jr. over the decision.
On September 20, 2008, Pearce continued his year-long feud with Brent Albright, defeating him at Glory by Honor VII to begins his second reign as champion.
On October 25, 2008, in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Blue Demon, Jr.
Blue Demon, Jr.
Blue Demon, Jr. is a Mexican luchador and professional wrestler. He is the allegedly adopted son of the legendary original Blue Demon and is the first Mexican and the second masked wrestler to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship . Blue Demon, Jr.'s real name is unknown.-Origins and heritage...
defeated Pearce to win the NWA Championship. Pearce defeated Dru Onyx
Dru Onyx
Rodney Lloyd Anthony Kellman , better known by his ring name Dru Onyx and Soa Amin, is a Canadian professional wrestler, He is a currently the co-holder of the NWA Canadian Tag Team Championishp...
on January 23, 2010, in Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, for the NWA British Commonwealth Heavyweight Championship
NWA British Commonwealth Heavyweight Championship
The NWA British Commonwealth Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling championship that serves as the major title in the NWA UK Hammerlock promotion...
.
Pearce defeated Blue Demon Jr, then holder of the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
NWA World Heavyweight Championship
The National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in the National Wrestling Alliance. Its lineage has been traced from the first World Heavyweight Championship, which traces its lineage to Georg Hackenschmidt's 1905 title and...
, and Phil Shatter
Phill Shatter
Chad Lail is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion, where he performs under the ring name Gunner. In TNA, Lail is a member of the Immortal stable and a former one-time TNA Television Champion...
in a three way match to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship for a third time on March 14, 2010 at NWA New Beginnings. Then at the NWA Legends Fanfest on August 7, 2010, Pearce successfully defended the NWA World Heavyweight Championship against Bryan Danielson. Pearce's third title reign ended on March 6, 2011, when he was defeated for the title by Colt Cabana at the NWA Championship Wrestling from Hollywood
NWA Championship Wrestling from Hollywood
NWA Championship Wrestling from Hollywood is a professional wrestling television program for the National Wrestling Alliance that currently airs on KDOC-TV Los Angeles in the United States. The series premiere was on September 17, 2010....
television tapings.
After leaving Ring of Honor
Ring of Honor
Ring of Honor ' is an American professional wrestling promotion, founded in 2002 by Rob Feinstein and Gabe Sapolsky. From 2004 to 2011, the promotion was under the ownership of Cary Silkin before being sold to the Sinclair Broadcast Group in May 2011...
, Pearce began working as head booker for NWA Championship Wrestling from Hollywood
NWA Championship Wrestling from Hollywood
NWA Championship Wrestling from Hollywood is a professional wrestling television program for the National Wrestling Alliance that currently airs on KDOC-TV Los Angeles in the United States. The series premiere was on September 17, 2010....
until stepping down due to 'family obligations'. Pearce's resignation allowed Joey Ryan to take over the book. Pearce continues to perform on the television show and acts as a producer for the series (credited as A.J. Pearce).
On July 31, 2011, Pearce won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship for the fourth time by defeating Chance Prophet, Jimmy Rave
Jimmy Rave
James Guffey is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Jimmy Rave. He is best known for working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
and Shaun Tempers in a four-way match to win the vacant title.
Acting
Adam pursue his acting stint when he confirmed himself via twitterTwitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
that he is joining the cast of the upcoming 2011 film She Wants Me
She Wants Me
She Wants Me is an upcoming film starring Josh Gad, Hilary Duff and Kristen Ruhlin, written and directed by Rob Margolies.- Plot :Sam is a writer, working on a feature film...
. On the Wrestling Inc. site it stated also the Pearce has a small role on the said film
She Wants Me
She Wants Me is an upcoming film starring Josh Gad, Hilary Duff and Kristen Ruhlin, written and directed by Rob Margolies.- Plot :Sam is a writer, working on a feature film...
. The film will lead to star including Charlie Sheen
Charlie Sheen
Carlos Irwin Estevez , better known by his stage name Charlie Sheen, is an American film and television actor. He is the youngest son of actor Martin Sheen....
, Josh Gad
Josh Gad
Joshua “Josh” Gad is an American film-, television-, and stage-actor best known for playing Elder Arnold Cunningham in the Broadway musical The Book of Mormon and the role of Ryan Church in the television series Back to You. Gad has also appeared in episodes of ER, The Daily Show, Modern Family...
, Wayne Knight
Wayne Knight
Wayne Eliot Knight is an American actor, comedian, and voice actor perhaps best known for his role as Newman in the TV sitcom Seinfeld...
and co-star with singer-actress/author Hilary Comrie
Hilary Duff
Hilary Erhard Duff is an American actress, singer-songwriter, entrepreneur, and author. After working in local theater plays and television commercials in her childhood, she achieved fame playing the title role in the Disney Channel television series Lizzie McGuire. She also reprised her role in...
.
WFX Wrestling
Adam Pearce made his WFX WrestlingWFX Wrestling
Wrestling Fan Xperience is a Canadian Professional wrestling promotion that was established in 2007. WFX specializes in producing live pro wrestling events that strive to provide a distinctive fan interactive experience as well as innovative concepts...
debut at 'Conflict of Interest to the Extreme 2010'. He defended the NWA World Heavyweight Championship against the first nation sensation Wavell Starr
Wavell Starr
Wavell Starr is a Canadian independent professional wrestler, who has worked for a number of independent Professional wrestling promotions including Ohio Valley Wrestling and High Impact Wrestling where he won his first Championship in professional wrestling...
, and later in the event attacked Shane Douglas
Shane Douglas
Troy Alan Martin is an American professional wrestler and promoter, better known by his ring name "The Franchise" Shane Douglas. In the course of his career, which has spanned nearly three decades, Douglas has wrestled in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Championship Wrestling and briefly...
with the NWA Title belt, avenging Douglas' casting aside of the same title in 1994.
Juggalo Championship Wrestling
On July 20, 2011, Pearce debuted as U.S. MarshalUnited States Marshals Service
The United States Marshals Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice . The office of U.S. Marshal is the oldest federal law enforcement office in the United States; it was created by the Judiciary Act of 1789...
Adam J. Pearce at Juggalo Championship Wrestling's event Above The Law. There he aligned himself with Officer Colt Cabana, whom he later helped win the JCW Heavyweight Championship
JCW Heavyweight Championship
The JCW Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling heavyweight championship in Juggalo Championship Wrestling. It was established in 1999 at JCW's first show, the taping for the DVD JCW Volume 1, with Evil Dead winning a 20-man battle royal...
.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Jumping piledriver
- The Rack Bomb (Backbreaker rack dropped into a powerbomb)
- Signature moves
- Diving splash
- Figure four leglock
- Flying fist drop
- Middle-rope elbow drop
- NicknameNicknameA nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
s- "Scrap Iron"
- "The Scrap Daddy"
- "The Maniac in Black"
- ManagersManager (professional wrestling)In professional wrestling, a manager is a secondary character paired with a wrestler for a variety of reasons. The manager is often either a non-wrestler, an occasional wrestler, an older wrestler who has retired or is nearing retirement or, in some cases, a new wrestler who is breaking into the...
- Jim CornetteJim CornetteJames Mark "Jim" Cornette is an American professional wrestling manager, commentator, promoter, and booker. As a manager, he has worked for Jim Crockett Promotions, World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Federation and from 1991 to 1995, was the owner of Smoky Mountain Wrestling...
- C. Edward Vander PyleMarty LurieMarty Lurie , is in his 8th year as an American professional wrestling manager and commentator better known by his stage name C. Edward Vander Pyle or Mr. Vander Pyle...
- Dave PrazakDave PrazakDave Prazak is a professional wrestling manager and commentator. He works for many independent wrestling promotions in America. He is the founder of the all female wrestling promotion Shimmer Women Athletes.-Managing:...
- Carmine DeSpirito
- Shane Hagadorn
- Larry SweeneyLarry SweeneyAlexander K. Whybrow was an American professional wrestler and manager, better known by his ring name Larry Sweeney...
- Jim Cornette
- Theme MusicMusic in professional wrestlingMusic in professional wrestling serves a variety of purposes. The most common uses of music in professional wrestling is that of the entrance theme, a song or piece of instrumental music which plays as a performer approaches the ring...
- "Walk" by PanteraPanteraPantera was an American heavy metal band from Arlington, Texas. Formed by the Abbott brothers, Vinnie Paul and Dimebag Darrell in 1981, bassist Rex Brown would join in late 1981 with vocalist Terry Glaze. Looking for a new and heavier sound, Pantera had Terry replaced in 1987 with Phil Anselmo as...
- "Skeletons of Society" by SlayerSlayerSlayer is an American thrash metal band formed in Huntington Park, California, in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. Slayer rose to fame with their 1986 release, Reign in Blood, and is credited as one of the "Big Four" thrash metal acts, along with Metallica, Megadeth and...
- "Free BirdFree Bird"Free Bird" is a song by the American southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd...
" by Lynyrd SkynyrdLynyrd SkynyrdLynyrd Skynyrd is an American rock band prominent in spreading Southern Rock during the 1970s.Originally formed as the "Noble Five" in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1964, the band rose to worldwide recognition on the basis of its driving live performances and signature tune, Freebird... - "Black Betty (Remix)" by Ram JamRam JamRam Jam was an American 1970s rock band, best known for their 1977 hit single, "Black Betty".The band members were Bill Bartlett , Pete Charles , Myke Scavone , and Howie Arthur Blauvelt . Also, Jimmy Santoro, who toured with the band in support of their debut album, joined on guitar for the...
- "Prelude to a Bludgeoning" by Matt JenkinsMatt JenkinsMatt Jenkins is an American country music artist. Signed to Universal South Records in 2003, he released two singles in 2005, including "King of the Castle", a #51 on the Hot Country Songs charts, but did not release an album. He also appeared on the Fox Networks reality show Nashville, which was...
, The Girthtones
- "Walk" by Pantera
Championships and accomplishments
- All-Star Championship Wrestling
- ACW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- ACW Television Championship (1 time)
- Alternative Wrestling Show
- AWS Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Independent Wrestling Association Mid-SouthIndependent Wrestling Association Mid-SouthIndependent Wrestling Association Mid-South is an independent professional wrestling promotion based in Louisville, Kentucky.- History :...
- IWA Mid-South Light Heavyweight ChampionshipIWA Mid-South Light Heavyweight ChampionshipThe IWA Mid-South Light Heavyweight Championship was one of the major titles in the Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South. The title debuted as the Lightweight Title in 1996, evolving to the current weight class in 1998....
(1 time)
- IWA Mid-South Light Heavyweight Championship
- National Wrestling AllianceNational Wrestling AllianceThe National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
- NWA World Heavyweight ChampionshipNWA World Heavyweight ChampionshipThe National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in the National Wrestling Alliance. Its lineage has been traced from the first World Heavyweight Championship, which traces its lineage to Georg Hackenschmidt's 1905 title and...
(4 times, current) - NWA Heritage ChampionshipNWA Heritage ChampionshipThe NWA Heritage Championship is a title controlled by the National Wrestling Alliance and defended in the NWA, NWA Pro and NWA Championship Wrestling from Hollywood.-Title history:-External links:**...
(2 times) - NWA British Commonwealth Heavyweight ChampionshipNWA British Commonwealth Heavyweight ChampionshipThe NWA British Commonwealth Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling championship that serves as the major title in the NWA UK Hammerlock promotion...
(1 time, current)
- NWA World Heavyweight Championship
- Mid-American Wrestling
- MAW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Pro Wrestling GuerrillaPro Wrestling GuerrillaPro Wrestling Guerrilla is a professional wrestling promotion that is run by wrestlers themselves as it was created by Southern California wrestlers Disco Machine, Excalibur, Joey Ryan, Scott Lost, Super Dragon, and Top Gun Talwar...
- PWG ChampionshipPWG World ChampionshipThe PWG World Championship is a professional wrestling world championship in the Pro Wrestling Guerrilla professional wrestling promotion. It was first introduced in 2003 as the PWG Championship...
(1 time)
- PWG Championship
- Pro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling Illustrated is a professional wrestling magazine. PWI is currently based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania and published by Kappa Publishing Group.-History:The first issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated was released in 1979...
- PWI ranked him # 44 of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2008
- Ring Of HonorRing of HonorRing of Honor ' is an American professional wrestling promotion, founded in 2002 by Rob Feinstein and Gabe Sapolsky. From 2004 to 2011, the promotion was under the ownership of Cary Silkin before being sold to the Sinclair Broadcast Group in May 2011...
- NWA World Heavyweight ChampionshipNWA World Heavyweight ChampionshipThe National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in the National Wrestling Alliance. Its lineage has been traced from the first World Heavyweight Championship, which traces its lineage to Georg Hackenschmidt's 1905 title and...
(1 time)1
- NWA World Heavyweight Championship
- Steel Domain Wrestling
- SDW Northern States Television Championship (1 time)
- Ultimate Pro Wrestling
- UPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)