Gregory Iron
Encyclopedia
Gregory Allen Smith better known by his ring name
Gregory Iron, is an American
professional wrestler
, who performs regularly in Absolute Intense Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Ohio, AAW, and Chikara promotion
s.
. Born one month too soon, and weighing but one pound at birth, Smith has had throughout his life to battle against cerebral palsy
, which has left his right arm withered and with extremely limited range of motion. Says Smith, "the only time it bothers me is little stuff like if I need to open a bag of pretzels. I can't do it."
As a child he was subject to bullying, which Smith today attributes to other children not being unable to understand his condition. He developed his own unique set of coping skills for dealing with bullying, centered on his being willing and able to tell his own story, and to do it in a self-effacing and sometimes humorous manner.
At the same time, his family life left him with little support. While his father, Dwane, worked to support the family, Dwane's wife Gloria became addicted to drugs and would sell off family possessions, and use rent money, to purchase drugs. The couple separated, and Greg, in Gloria's custody, was left to raise his two younger brothers, until Gloria went to jail and Dwane won custody of the boys.
Smith's grandmother, a great fan of Hulk Hogan
, introduced him to professional wrestling. "She meant a lot to me, and everything I do in wrestling is in her honor."
Iron appeared on the very first episode of Pro Wrestling Ohio, televised on Sports Time Ohio, on November 20, 2007, defeating Johnny Gargano
in what has often been called an upset. This defeat of Gargano launched Iron's first major feud, as Gargano denied that he could lose to a wrestler with Iron's condition. A brutal attack by Gargano during a PWO taping in February, 2008, left Iron unable to compete for three months. When Iron returned to action, In August, 2008, the feud was settled in a Last Man Standing match, won by Gargano.
No stranger to in-ring injury, in a preshow battle royal
, Iron was suplex
ed on his head several times, giving him a severe concussion, causing bleeding in the brain and putting him in intensive care for three days. His coming back from such injury, combined with his overcoming cerebral palsy to compete, has recently caught the attention of several wrestling promotions, and fans appreciating his ability to wrestle a good match despite his condition.
Iron allows opponents to mock his condition and his right hand, as a means to put him over as a face and his opponent as a heel. "That's what it is there for. You are the bad guy. A horrible person would make fun of my hand. That only gets the crowd more excited and on my side."
Iron is also the longtime tag team
partner of Hobo Joe, in the "Homeless Handicapped Connection," billed as mutually overcoming many obstacles to compete. They capped a feud with Sex Appeal (Bobby Beverly and Bobby Shields, accompanied by Nickie Valentino) by enlisting the help of another handicapped wrestler, Zach Gowen
. With Gowen's assistance, Iron and Hobo defeated Sex Appeal for the PWO Tag Team Championship, Iron's first title.
Iron is perhaps best known as a wrestler for his feud with Gargano, the tag-team defeat of Sex Appeal, and for a Chikara match with Lince Dorado
in August, 2010, during the eighth Young Lions Cup
- in which "a handicapped underdog [tried] to overcome the bully, and the crowd loved it!"
On July 23, 2011, Iron's career jumped out of relative obscurity: after partnering in a tag match with Colt Cabana, Iron remained in the ring a few moments, and was surprised by Cabana's return to the ring with WWE Champion
CM Punk
.
Punk had this to say about Iron:
During a live national interview on Fox and Friends, Iron talked about the challenges he's overcome, and issued a challenge of his own: either the WWE adds him to its 2012 Royal Rumble
, or Vince McMahon
meets Iron in the ring one-on-one. The WWE has not yet responded to the challenge.
Iron is the centerpiece in the first of a proposed series of film documentaries entitled "Handicapped Heroes," by Tom Kwiat:
Ring name
A ring name is a stage name used by a professional wrestler, martial artist, or boxer. While some ring names may have a fictitious first name and surname, others may simply be a nickname, such as The Undertaker.-Wrestling:...
Gregory Iron, is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
professional wrestler
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...
, who performs regularly in Absolute Intense Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Ohio, AAW, and Chikara promotion
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...
s.
Early life
Gregory Smith was born in 1986 in Cleveland, OhioCleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
. Born one month too soon, and weighing but one pound at birth, Smith has had throughout his life to battle against cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy is an umbrella term encompassing a group of non-progressive, non-contagious motor conditions that cause physical disability in human development, chiefly in the various areas of body movement....
, which has left his right arm withered and with extremely limited range of motion. Says Smith, "the only time it bothers me is little stuff like if I need to open a bag of pretzels. I can't do it."
As a child he was subject to bullying, which Smith today attributes to other children not being unable to understand his condition. He developed his own unique set of coping skills for dealing with bullying, centered on his being willing and able to tell his own story, and to do it in a self-effacing and sometimes humorous manner.
At the same time, his family life left him with little support. While his father, Dwane, worked to support the family, Dwane's wife Gloria became addicted to drugs and would sell off family possessions, and use rent money, to purchase drugs. The couple separated, and Greg, in Gloria's custody, was left to raise his two younger brothers, until Gloria went to jail and Dwane won custody of the boys.
Smith's grandmother, a great fan of Hulk Hogan
Hulk Hogan
Terrance Gene "Terry" Bollea , better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American Semi-retired professional wrestler, actor, television personality, and musician currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
, introduced him to professional wrestling. "She meant a lot to me, and everything I do in wrestling is in her honor."
Professional wrestling career
At first, Iron pursued professional wrestling in the weight room, inventing his own regimen since his right hand would not allow him to execute most lifts in the traditional way. In this way he added 30 pounds of muscle to his frame. In early training with J. T. Lightning, Iron took a great deal of punishment, asking for no pity, and modifying wrestling holds so they could be applied using his one good arm.Iron appeared on the very first episode of Pro Wrestling Ohio, televised on Sports Time Ohio, on November 20, 2007, defeating Johnny Gargano
Johnny Gargano
John Anthony Nicholas "Johnny" Gargano is an American professional wrestler, who performs primarily in the Absolute Intense Wrestling, Chikara, Dragon Gate USA, Evolve Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Ohio professional wrestling promotions. He has also made appearances for World Wrestling...
in what has often been called an upset. This defeat of Gargano launched Iron's first major feud, as Gargano denied that he could lose to a wrestler with Iron's condition. A brutal attack by Gargano during a PWO taping in February, 2008, left Iron unable to compete for three months. When Iron returned to action, In August, 2008, the feud was settled in a Last Man Standing match, won by Gargano.
No stranger to in-ring injury, in a preshow battle royal
Battle royal (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a battle royal is a multi-competitor match type in which wrestlers are eliminated until one is left and declared winner...
, Iron was suplex
Suplex
A suplex is an offensive move used in professional sport wrestling . The move consists of one wrestler picking up his or her opponent off the ground and then using a large portion of his or her own body weight to drive the opponent down on the mat. Nearly all suplexes have the attacker going down...
ed on his head several times, giving him a severe concussion, causing bleeding in the brain and putting him in intensive care for three days. His coming back from such injury, combined with his overcoming cerebral palsy to compete, has recently caught the attention of several wrestling promotions, and fans appreciating his ability to wrestle a good match despite his condition.
Iron allows opponents to mock his condition and his right hand, as a means to put him over as a face and his opponent as a heel. "That's what it is there for. You are the bad guy. A horrible person would make fun of my hand. That only gets the crowd more excited and on my side."
Iron is also the longtime tag team
Tag team
Tag team professional wrestling is a variation in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. A tag team may comprise two wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of established teams who wrestle regularly as a unit and have a team name...
partner of Hobo Joe, in the "Homeless Handicapped Connection," billed as mutually overcoming many obstacles to compete. They capped a feud with Sex Appeal (Bobby Beverly and Bobby Shields, accompanied by Nickie Valentino) by enlisting the help of another handicapped wrestler, Zach Gowen
Zach Gowen
Zach Gowen is an American professional wrestler. Gowen has competed for World Wrestling Entertainment on their SmackDown! brand, as well as Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
. With Gowen's assistance, Iron and Hobo defeated Sex Appeal for the PWO Tag Team Championship, Iron's first title.
Iron is perhaps best known as a wrestler for his feud with Gargano, the tag-team defeat of Sex Appeal, and for a Chikara match with Lince Dorado
Lince Dorado
Lince Dorado is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler. He is best known for working for Chikara and currently performs for the several independent promotions.-Debut:...
in August, 2010, during the eighth Young Lions Cup
Chikara Young Lions Cup
The Young Lions Cup is a professional wrestling championship contested for in the American professional wrestling promotion Chikara.-History:...
- in which "a handicapped underdog [tried] to overcome the bully, and the crowd loved it!"
On July 23, 2011, Iron's career jumped out of relative obscurity: after partnering in a tag match with Colt Cabana, Iron remained in the ring a few moments, and was surprised by Cabana's return to the ring with WWE Champion
WWE Championship
The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...
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....
.
Punk had this to say about Iron:
You're awesome! You overcome more than I ever have just waking up every morning. The fact that you became a pro wrestler, I'm only assuming it's because it was something you wanted to do. You didn't let anybody tell you that you couldn't do it ... I saw something special watching you in this ring.
During a live national interview on Fox and Friends, Iron talked about the challenges he's overcome, and issued a challenge of his own: either the WWE adds him to its 2012 Royal Rumble
Royal Rumble
The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling pay-per-view event, produced every January by WWE, a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut. The event was created in 1988, with its inaugural event taking place on January 24, 1988 at the Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario...
, or Vince McMahon
Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon is an American professional wrestling promoter, announcer, commentator, film producer, actor and former occasional professional wrestler. McMahon is the current Chairman, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of professional wrestling promotion WWE...
meets Iron in the ring one-on-one. The WWE has not yet responded to the challenge.
Iron is the centerpiece in the first of a proposed series of film documentaries entitled "Handicapped Heroes," by Tom Kwiat:
This is an in depth look into Extraordinary Athletes that suffer from sort of physical disability.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Handicapped Parking (Reverse STO)
- Signature moves
- Crippled Crossface (Arm trap crossface)
- Diving elbow drop
- Fisherman suplex
- Plancha
- 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- "Handicapped Hero"
- "Crippled Crusader"
- "One-Armed and Dangerous"
Championships and accomplishments
- Pro Wrestling Ohio
- PWO Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Hobo Joe