Kliff Hanger
Encyclopedia
Ronrico "Rico" Alexandjro Lewis (born April 30, 1975) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name
"The Black Diamond" Kliff Hanger, who is best known for working for Ring of Honor
, the National Wrestling Alliance
, and various independent promotions in the southern area of United States. He has performed under other identities, including Chip Allgood (with Dale Johnson) of the tag team The Casanova Cliq, and his debut moniker of Ivy Leege. He is the longest reigning NWA CyberSlam Champion.
as the fifth of seven children born to Donald "Big Rico" Lewis, who was a single parent. He ventured into amateur wrestling, from grades four through graduation, winning many tournaments in the 55 kg and under categories. Lewis left home before graduation from Columbus South High School and supported himself since he was 17. He briefly attended Franklin University
in Columbus, before leaving to pursue professional wrestling part-time and working in the trucking industry. His first exposure to professional wrestling came in the early 1980s while watching Mid-South Wrestling.
He performed in the Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, and most notably in Canada's Renegade Wrestling Alliance (RWA). Ontario promoter "Sweet" Steve Hart quickly crowned The Casanova Cliq as his RWA Tag Team Champions, and they went on to feud with the well-established tag teams The All Knighters and The Hollywood Hunks. When tag team partner Dale Johnson left professional wrestling in the mid 1990s, The Casanova Cliq tag team was dissolved. Lewis then took a break from wrestling.
After several unpaid tryouts in several cities for Extreme Championship Wrestling
(ECW), Lewis was accepted onto the ring and errands crew for ECW for fourteen months during 1999 and 2000.
. NWA Promoter Bill Behrens recommended that he go to a real pro wrestling school for additional seasoning. Behrens then supplied contact information to pro wrestling Hall of Fame wrestler "Handsome" Harley Race in Missouri. After his initial tryout on September 15, 2001 was deemed a success, Rico moved from Columbus, Ohio to Jefferson City, Missouri shortly thereafter (training was held in nearby Eldon, Missouri). Lewis never wrestled any matches for Harley Race's World League Wrestling promotion, instead opting to "start over and re-learn the business" under Race and his trainers.
with an entire wrestling outfit featuring the confederate flag. The Kliff Hanger character ventured north for three years to Cincinnati, Ohio based Heartland Wrestling Alliance (HWA). While in HWA, he twice wrestled Nigel McGuinness
(now Desmond Wolfe in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling). He also had matches with several HWA stars, including Matt Stryker, Ric Byrne
, Jon Moxley
, Cody Hawk, and had a running feud with HWA Senior Official Joe Kopasz. Rico often states to be grateful for the experience of being allowed to express himself creatively, working with definitely much better talents than himself, and credits Desmond Wolfe for explaining how to be an "over" wrestling personality. He also credits Desmond Wolfe with being a very valuable in-ring mentor along with then-HWA President Les Thatcher.
related titles, the AWA-Supreme Championship Wrestling World Television Title, the AWA-SCW Mid-American Title (twice), and the AWA-SCW Tag Team Titles (with Apollo The H.N.I.C) in 2005 and 2006. After competing in various Nashville based independents including T.J. Weatherby's Showtime All-Star Wrestling
and Tony Falk's United States Wrestling Organization, Lewis was invited to step up to the big leagues again at NWA Top Rope Wrestling. On February 7, 2009, Hanger captured the NWA
CyberSlam Championship and is the longest reigning champion to date. He eventually was upended by Lawrence The Sharp Dressed Man. Hanger also feuded (mostly verbally) with NWA Top Rope Wrestling promoter Mike Sircy. It was in NWA Top Rope where he turned heel
, and shed "The Black Redneck" Confederate flag persona and became "The Black Diamond," basically an extension of his real personality. As part of the gimmick, he often flaunted his real jewelry, fashion tastes, and impeccable style.
(ROH) debut in Indianapolis, Indiana on October 10, 2009 at Survival of the Fittest. Kliff Hanger lost the dark match main event to ROH star Grizzly Redwood.
Kliff Hanger has crossed paths in the ring with professional wrestling stars U-gene! (Nick Dinsmore
), ECW World Champion Jerry Lynn
, and NWA World Champion "Rugged" Ronnie Garvin.
Kliff Hanger is still wrestling in various independent promotions, but has streamlined his focus more on the Confederate based promotions World Wrestling Cartel, Southern Xtreme Wrestling, Showtime All-Star Wrestling, NWA Tope Rope Wrestling, and Ring of Honor.
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:...
"The Black Diamond" Kliff Hanger, who is best known for working for 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...
, the National Wrestling Alliance
National Wrestling Alliance
The 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...
, and various independent promotions in the southern area of United States. He has performed under other identities, including Chip Allgood (with Dale Johnson) of the tag team The Casanova Cliq, and his debut moniker of Ivy Leege. He is the longest reigning NWA CyberSlam Champion.
Early life
Rico Lewis was born in Columbus, OhioColumbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
as the fifth of seven children born to Donald "Big Rico" Lewis, who was a single parent. He ventured into amateur wrestling, from grades four through graduation, winning many tournaments in the 55 kg and under categories. Lewis left home before graduation from Columbus South High School and supported himself since he was 17. He briefly attended Franklin University
Franklin University
Founded in 1902, Franklin University is the third-largest private university in Ohio.Classes are taught at five Midwest locations in Ohio and Indiana, as well as online. The university was founded to serve the needs of adult students, and has since grown to become Central Ohio's foremost educator...
in Columbus, before leaving to pursue professional wrestling part-time and working in the trucking industry. His first exposure to professional wrestling came in the early 1980s while watching Mid-South Wrestling.
Early career (1994–2000)
Lewis's first professional match (under the alias Ivy Leege, a play on words to acknowledge his academic background) took place in Spencer, West Virginia at the National Guard Armory for NWA Tri-State Wrestling, promoted by former NWA President Richard Arpin on November 5, 1994.He performed in the Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, and most notably in Canada's Renegade Wrestling Alliance (RWA). Ontario promoter "Sweet" Steve Hart quickly crowned The Casanova Cliq as his RWA Tag Team Champions, and they went on to feud with the well-established tag teams The All Knighters and The Hollywood Hunks. When tag team partner Dale Johnson left professional wrestling in the mid 1990s, The Casanova Cliq tag team was dissolved. Lewis then took a break from wrestling.
After several unpaid tryouts in several cities for Extreme Championship Wrestling
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...
(ECW), Lewis was accepted onto the ring and errands crew for ECW for fourteen months during 1999 and 2000.
Harley Race Wrestling Academy (2001–2002)
Lewis wrestled his only match of 2001—as well as the only match under his real name—on August 3, 2001 in Cornelia, Georgia for NWA WildsideNWA Wildside
NWA Wildside was an American independent professional wrestling promotion based in Cornelia, Georgia, with an office in Atlanta, Georgia, operating between September 1999 and April 2005....
. NWA Promoter Bill Behrens recommended that he go to a real pro wrestling school for additional seasoning. Behrens then supplied contact information to pro wrestling Hall of Fame wrestler "Handsome" Harley Race in Missouri. After his initial tryout on September 15, 2001 was deemed a success, Rico moved from Columbus, Ohio to Jefferson City, Missouri shortly thereafter (training was held in nearby Eldon, Missouri). Lewis never wrestled any matches for Harley Race's World League Wrestling promotion, instead opting to "start over and re-learn the business" under Race and his trainers.
Heartland Wrestling Alliance (2002–2005)
Lewis moved to Louisville, Kentucky after five months of "re-training" and created a character called Kliff Hanger. On a whim, a fellow wrestler Vito Andretti found a cowboy hat backstage at a show and dared Kliff to wear it and make fun of the fans since he did not have a Kentucky accent. This was similar to the antics created by comedian Andy Kaufman during his foray into professional wrestling in the 1980s against the Tennessee fans. This heel posturing was the creation of a volatile character known as "The Black Redneck" Kliff Hanger. "The Black Redneck" wore tight clothes that were very stereotypical of old west cowboy culture. Hanger eventually wrestled as a babyfaceFace (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...
with an entire wrestling outfit featuring the confederate flag. The Kliff Hanger character ventured north for three years to Cincinnati, Ohio based Heartland Wrestling Alliance (HWA). While in HWA, he twice wrestled 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...
(now Desmond Wolfe in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling). He also had matches with several HWA stars, including Matt Stryker, Ric Byrne
Ric Byrne
Aric Byrne Connely is an American professional wrestler and author best known under the ring name/pseudonym Ric Byrne....
, Jon Moxley
Jon Moxley
Jonathan Good is an American professional wrestler known by his ring name Jon Moxley. He is signed to WWE, wrestling in their developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling , under the ring name Dean Ambrose...
, Cody Hawk, and had a running feud with HWA Senior Official Joe Kopasz. Rico often states to be grateful for the experience of being allowed to express himself creatively, working with definitely much better talents than himself, and credits Desmond Wolfe for explaining how to be an "over" wrestling personality. He also credits Desmond Wolfe with being a very valuable in-ring mentor along with then-HWA President Les Thatcher.
NWA, AWA, Tennessee
Hanger captured four AWAAWA
AWA may be an abbreviation for:* Advanced World Alliance , a treaty between individuals instead of nations or tribes* Amalgamated Wireless Australasia Limited , Australian manufacturer of radio and communications equipment...
related titles, the AWA-Supreme Championship Wrestling World Television Title, the AWA-SCW Mid-American Title (twice), and the AWA-SCW Tag Team Titles (with Apollo The H.N.I.C) in 2005 and 2006. After competing in various Nashville based independents including T.J. Weatherby's Showtime All-Star Wrestling
Showtime All-Star Wrestling
Showtime All-Star Wrestling is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. SAW has local broadcasts every Saturday night on Nashville’s WNAB, and throughout the country on syndicate...
and Tony Falk's United States Wrestling Organization, Lewis was invited to step up to the big leagues again at NWA Top Rope Wrestling. On February 7, 2009, Hanger captured the NWA
NWA
-Nwa:*Nwa, Kale, a village in Burma*Nwa, Cameroon, a commune in the Nord-Ouest region of Cameroon-Groups or organizations:* Northwest Airlines, a defunct U.S...
CyberSlam Championship and is the longest reigning champion to date. He eventually was upended by Lawrence The Sharp Dressed Man. Hanger also feuded (mostly verbally) with NWA Top Rope Wrestling promoter Mike Sircy. It was in NWA Top Rope where he turned 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...
, and shed "The Black Redneck" Confederate flag persona and became "The Black Diamond," basically an extension of his real personality. As part of the gimmick, he often flaunted his real jewelry, fashion tastes, and impeccable style.
Ring of Honor, Wrestling Stars, and The Future
Kliff Hanger made his 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...
(ROH) debut in Indianapolis, Indiana on October 10, 2009 at Survival of the Fittest. Kliff Hanger lost the dark match main event to ROH star Grizzly Redwood.
Kliff Hanger has crossed paths in the ring with professional wrestling stars U-gene! (Nick Dinsmore
Nick Dinsmore
Nicholas "Nick" Dinsmore , better known by his ring names Eugene and U-Gene, is an American professional wrestler...
), ECW World Champion Jerry Lynn
Jerry Lynn
Jeremy "Jerry" Lynn is an American professional wrestler who is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
, and NWA World Champion "Rugged" Ronnie Garvin.
Kliff Hanger is still wrestling in various independent promotions, but has streamlined his focus more on the Confederate based promotions World Wrestling Cartel, Southern Xtreme Wrestling, Showtime All-Star Wrestling, NWA Tope Rope Wrestling, and Ring of Honor.
Championships and accomplishments
- NWA Top Rope Wrestling
- NWA CyberSlam 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 #498 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2010
- PWI ranked him #499 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2008
- Renegade Wrestling Alliance
- RWA Tag Team Championship (2 times)
- Supreme Championship Wrestling
- AWA-SCW Mid-American Championship (2 times)
- AWA-SCW Tag Team Championship (2 times)
- AWA-SCW World Television Championship
Further reading
- Pilot Challenge magazine feature article: 2005, Ashley Leis, Ed.
- Redneck World Magazine feature article: 2004, Frank Fraser, Ed.