John Toland (wrestler)
Encyclopedia
John Michael Toland is an American
professional wrestler
best known for his work in independent promotion
Ring of Honor
, under the name Tank Toland. Toland is also notably known for wrestling as James Dick for World Wrestling Entertainment
on its SmackDown brand.
's developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling
starting in May 2003, teaming with Chris Cage
. The babyface duo won the Tag title three times. During 2005 Toland turned heel and began to team with Chad Wicks, who posed as his cousin, Chad Toland they wrestled as the Blond Bombers
and on April 12, 2005 the team won the OVW Tag Team Title from the Thrillseekers (Matt Cappotelli
and Johnny Jeter
). Toland also went on to hold the OVW Heavy Weight Title from which he took from his former partner Chris Cage. He held it until he had to surrender it due to his first torn biceps that required surgery. While in OVW Toland was voted by the fans to be both the most popular babyface as well as most popular heel, which made him one of the major draws for the company.
Toland made his debut as a heel on WWE Friday Night SmackDown as James Dick along with his partner, Chad Toland
who was now using the name Chad Dick on October 14, 2005 as The Dicks. Their gimmick was dressing up like chippendales and using body oil (which was really water) to spray in their baby-face opponents eyes. After The Mexicools
won their 8-man tag match with their partners Road Warrior Animal
and Heidenreich
by defeating Paul Burchill
and William Regal
and MNM
, The Mexicools were ambushed by the Dicks, and in the process they threw the then current WWE Cruiserweight Champion
, Juventud
out of the ring and laid out Super Crazy
and Psicosis using two of their signature tag team finishers.
On the October 28 episode of SmackDown, The Dicks appeared once again, helping MNM capture the WWE Tag Title when they attacked Heidenreich before Paul Burchill was about to receive the Doomsday Device finisher. This began a brawl with all the teams as the Dicks began attacking Road Warrior Animal. This allowed MNM to hit the Snapshot on Heidenreich and win the WWE Tag Title.
On the November 5 episode of Velocity, The Dicks made their in ring debut in WWE defeating jobbers
James Prentice and Kevin Antonio. On the November 25 episode of SmackDown, The Dicks made their official SmackDown! debuts, defeating Heidenreich and Road Warrior Animal after blinding Road Warrior Animal with body oil.
On February 22, 2006, however, The Dicks were released from their WWE contracts. Their last match in WWE was on SmackDown which was broadcast on February 24, 2006, where The Dicks were defeated by The Boogeyman
. Both men returned to Ohio Valley Wrestling, where Toland and Wicks began an angle together.
In May 2006, While still wrestling for OVW, ROH and other promotions, Toland became the head instructor for OVW/WWE's developmental amateur class. He was responsible for training new students as well as WWE contracted wrestlers that were new to the wrestling business.
, being called "The All Natural Superior Athlete" Tank Toland. He made his debut at Suffocation on October 17, competing in a Four Corners Survival match against Roderick Strong
, Chris Hero
and Mark Briscoe
. Toland wrestled several shows for ROH in 2006, his final being at The Chicago Spectacular: Night Two, before taking time off from the company due to a torn biceps that required surgery.
At the Fifth Year Festival: Dayton on February 23, Toland returned to ROH after being hired by Larry Sweeney
as the new personal trainer to his client, Chris Hero. In his return match, he defeated Mitch Franklin, a student from the ROH Wrestling School. He was a member of Sweeney's Sweet 'n' Sour Inc. faction. On June 27, 2008, he made his return to the faction, teaming with Shane Hagadorn. Toland was the biggest and most powerful wrestler in ROH and his confident/cocky demeanor along with his comedic interactions with Bobby Dempsey made him a fan favorite.
Sometime in 2009 Tank Toland took a break from Ring of Honor and is currently not working with the company, although there have been many rumors of his return.
Along with being a professional wrestler, Toland holds multiple degrees in Exercise Physiology, Kinesiology, Teaching Health and Physical Education and has a minor in Psychology. Toland was a successful teacher of health and physical education before making the transition to professional wrestling. He is also now working part time as a substitute teacher at Atlantic City High School.
In 2009, Toland got engaged to professional wrestler Jillian Fletcher, better known by her ring name Jillian Hall
, who he met when they were both training at Ohio Valley Wrestling. They have since separated but have remained friends.
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...
best known for his work in independent promotion
Independent 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...
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...
, under the name Tank Toland. Toland is also notably known for wrestling as James Dick for World Wrestling Entertainment
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...
on its SmackDown brand.
World Wrestling Entertainment
Toland wrestled in World Wrestling EntertainmentWorld 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...
's developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling
Ohio Valley Wrestling
Ohio Valley Wrestling is an American independent professional wrestling promotion based in Louisville, Kentucky. OVW is run by owner Danny Davis and was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance from 1997 until 2000...
starting in May 2003, teaming with Chris Cage
Chris Pavone
Kris Pavone is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment , where he wrestled under the ring name Caylen Croft. He was one half of the Dude Busters tag team with Trent Barreta. He currently wrestles on the independent circuit.Pavone debuted in...
. The babyface duo won the Tag title three times. During 2005 Toland turned heel and began to team with Chad Wicks, who posed as his cousin, Chad Toland they wrestled as the Blond Bombers
Blond Bombers
The Blond Bombers is a name used by several tag teams in professional wrestling. The first team to use the name was the combination of Rip Hawk and Swede Hanson. It was later used by Pat Patterson and Ray Stevens, who began teaming in 1965...
and on April 12, 2005 the team won the OVW Tag Team Title from the Thrillseekers (Matt Cappotelli
Matt Cappotelli
Matthew Lee "Matt" Cappotelli is an American professional wrestler, last working in Ohio Valley Wrestling, which was the primary developmental territory for World Wrestling Entertainment until February 7, 2008...
and Johnny Jeter
Johnny Jeter
John "Johnny" Jeter is an American professional wrestler best known for his appearances in World Wrestling Entertainment as Spirit Squad member Johnny on the Raw brand in 2006....
). Toland also went on to hold the OVW Heavy Weight Title from which he took from his former partner Chris Cage. He held it until he had to surrender it due to his first torn biceps that required surgery. While in OVW Toland was voted by the fans to be both the most popular babyface as well as most popular heel, which made him one of the major draws for the company.
Toland made his debut as a heel on WWE Friday Night SmackDown as James Dick along with his partner, Chad Toland
Chad Wicks
Charles "Chad" Wicks is an American professional wrestler best known for his time with the World Wrestling Entertainment...
who was now using the name Chad Dick on October 14, 2005 as The Dicks. Their gimmick was dressing up like chippendales and using body oil (which was really water) to spray in their baby-face opponents eyes. After The Mexicools
The Mexicools
The Mexicools were a professional wrestling stable and tag team, that were signed to World Wrestling Entertainment's SmackDown! brand. The team consisted of three well-known Mexican wrestlers of the late 1990s: Super Crazy, Psicosis and Juventud...
won their 8-man tag match with their partners Road Warrior Animal
Road Warrior Animal
Joseph Aaron "Joe" Laurinaitis is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring names, Road Warrior Animal and Road Warrior...
and Heidenreich
Jon Heidenreich
Jon Heidenreich is an American professional wrestler, better known simply as Heidenreich. He is best known for his tenure with World Wrestling Entertainment, where he was a one time WWE Tag Team Champion with Road Warrior Animal as a part of the Road Warriors.-Early career:Prior to professional...
by defeating Paul Burchill
Paul Burchill
Paul Birchill , better known by his ring name Paul Burchill, is an English professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment , where he signed after training and debuting for the Frontier Wrestling Alliance in his home country.-Frontier Wrestling Alliance...
and William Regal
Darren Matthews
Darren Kenneth Matthews , is an English professional wrestler, author and color commentator currently signed to WWE and competing on the SmackDown brand under the ring name William Regal. He is also known for his time in World Championship Wrestling under the ring name Steven Regal...
and MNM
MNM
MNM was a villainous professional wrestling stable in World Wrestling Entertainment and Ohio Valley Wrestling that consisted of Joey Mercury , Johnny Nitro, and their manager Melina Perez....
, The Mexicools were ambushed by the Dicks, and in the process they threw the then current WWE Cruiserweight Champion
WWE Cruiserweight Championship
The World Wrestling Entertainment Cruiserweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment and was originally a World Championship Wrestling title. It was challenged by cruiserweights at a maximum weight of 215 lbs...
, Juventud
Juventud Guerrera
Eduardo Aníbal González Hernández , better known as Juventud Guerrera, is a Mexican professional wrestler who is best known for his work in many wrestling promotions worldwide, including all the major American wrestling promotions, such as World Wrestling Entertainment, World Championship...
out of the ring and laid out Super Crazy
Super Crazy
Francisco Islas Rueda is a Mexican professional wrestler, or Luchador, best known by his ring name Super Crazy. Islas is most known for his three year run in the original ECW...
and Psicosis using two of their signature tag team finishers.
On the October 28 episode of SmackDown, The Dicks appeared once again, helping MNM capture the WWE Tag Title when they attacked Heidenreich before Paul Burchill was about to receive the Doomsday Device finisher. This began a brawl with all the teams as the Dicks began attacking Road Warrior Animal. This allowed MNM to hit the Snapshot on Heidenreich and win the WWE Tag Title.
On the November 5 episode of Velocity, The Dicks made their in ring debut in WWE defeating jobbers
Job (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling slang, the term job describes a losing performance in a wrestling match. It is derived from the euphemism "doing one's job", which was employed to protect kayfabe. As professional wrestling is scripted, inevitably a wrestler will be required to lose to an opponent.The term...
James Prentice and Kevin Antonio. On the November 25 episode of SmackDown, The Dicks made their official SmackDown! debuts, defeating Heidenreich and Road Warrior Animal after blinding Road Warrior Animal with body oil.
On February 22, 2006, however, The Dicks were released from their WWE contracts. Their last match in WWE was on SmackDown which was broadcast on February 24, 2006, where The Dicks were defeated by The Boogeyman
Marty Wright
Martin "Marty" Wright is an American professional wrestler and actor best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring name The Boogeyman.-Tough Enough:...
. Both men returned to Ohio Valley Wrestling, where Toland and Wicks began an angle together.
In May 2006, While still wrestling for OVW, ROH and other promotions, Toland became the head instructor for OVW/WWE's developmental amateur class. He was responsible for training new students as well as WWE contracted wrestlers that were new to the wrestling business.
Ring of Honor
In late 2006, Toland began wrestling for the Philadelphia based promotion Ring of HonorRing 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...
, being called "The All Natural Superior Athlete" Tank Toland. He made his debut at Suffocation on October 17, competing in a Four Corners Survival match against 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...
, 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 Mark Briscoe
Briscoe Brothers
The Briscoe Brothers are the professional wrestling tag team of Jay and Mark Briscoe. They are currently wrestling for the American promotions Ring of Honor, Full Impact Pro, Combat Zone Wrestling, as well as occasionally for the Japanese promotion Pro Wrestling Noah.Their wrestling careers have...
. Toland wrestled several shows for ROH in 2006, his final being at The Chicago Spectacular: Night Two, before taking time off from the company due to a torn biceps that required surgery.
At the Fifth Year Festival: Dayton on February 23, Toland returned to ROH after being hired by Larry Sweeney
Larry Sweeney
Alexander K. Whybrow was an American professional wrestler and manager, better known by his ring name Larry Sweeney...
as the new personal trainer to his client, Chris Hero. In his return match, he defeated Mitch Franklin, a student from the ROH Wrestling School. He was a member of Sweeney's Sweet 'n' Sour Inc. faction. On June 27, 2008, he made his return to the faction, teaming with Shane Hagadorn. Toland was the biggest and most powerful wrestler in ROH and his confident/cocky demeanor along with his comedic interactions with Bobby Dempsey made him a fan favorite.
Sometime in 2009 Tank Toland took a break from Ring of Honor and is currently not working with the company, although there have been many rumors of his return.
Personal life
Toland grew up on the beaches of Margate City, New Jersey where he was a Lieutenant lifeguard on the Beach Patrol. He attended Atlantic City High School where he was a captain of both his football and baseball teams. He was also active in both school programs and community charity work. Toland continues to stay active within the community and the support of various charities.Along with being a professional wrestler, Toland holds multiple degrees in Exercise Physiology, Kinesiology, Teaching Health and Physical Education and has a minor in Psychology. Toland was a successful teacher of health and physical education before making the transition to professional wrestling. He is also now working part time as a substitute teacher at Atlantic City High School.
In 2009, Toland got engaged to professional wrestler Jillian Fletcher, better known by her ring name Jillian Hall
Jillian Hall
Jillian Faye Fletcher is an American professional wrestler who is currently signed to Women Superstars Uncensored. She is also known for her tenure in World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring name Jillian Hall or simply Jillian...
, who he met when they were both training at Ohio Valley Wrestling. They have since separated but have remained friends.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Power Trip (Thrust spinebuster)
- Spear
- Tank Turret (Discus double axe handle)
- With Chad DickChad WicksCharles "Chad" Wicks is an American professional wrestler best known for his time with the World Wrestling Entertainment...
- Finishing moves
- Bearhug (John) / Diving leg drop (Chad) combination
- Signature moves
- Double fireman's carry flapjack
- Finishing moves
- 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- "The Tank"
- "The All Natural Superior Athlete"
Championships and accomplishments
- Ohio Valley WrestlingOhio Valley WrestlingOhio Valley Wrestling is an American independent professional wrestling promotion based in Louisville, Kentucky. OVW is run by owner Danny Davis and was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance from 1997 until 2000...
- OVW Southern Tag Team ChampionshipOVW Southern Tag Team ChampionshipThe OVW Southern Tag Team Championship is the tag team titles of Ohio Valley Wrestling. Created in 1997, the first champions were Nick Dinsmore and Flash Flanagan. As of 2011, the current champions are Ted McNaler and Adam Revolver, known as The Elite in their fourth reign...
(4 times) – with Chris CageChris PavoneKris Pavone is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment , where he wrestled under the ring name Caylen Croft. He was one half of the Dude Busters tag team with Trent Barreta. He currently wrestles on the independent circuit.Pavone debuted in...
(3) and Chad TolandChad WicksCharles "Chad" Wicks is an American professional wrestler best known for his time with the World Wrestling Entertainment...
(1)
- OVW Southern Tag Team 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 #339 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI 500 in 2009