Lex Lovett
Encyclopedia
Wayne Meyer is an American professional wrestler
, known by his ringname Lex Lovett, who competes in Southeastern independent promotions such as Independent Pro Wrestling and the National Wrestling Alliance
-affiliated NWA Florida as well as having toured the Middle East
, Europe
and Asia
.
From 2003 to 2006, he and Buck Quartermain
formed a tag team in Total Non-Stop Action and on the independent circuit. He has also briefly appeared in the X Wrestling Federation
and World Wrestling Entertainment
.
. At the age of 5, he began watching WWF Superstars
and Championship Wrestling from Florida then hosted by Gordon Solie
. It was during this time that he became a fan of Ric Flair
, Ricky Steamboat
, Blackjack Mulligan
and Barry
and Kendall Windham
. He drifted from wrestling as a teenager, however his interest returned when he and his college roommate Alex Lovett started watching during the "Attitude Era" in the mid-1990s. While at USF, he was a male cheerleader where he met his wife, Erika, and after graduating they coached the USF cheerleading team together. After graduating from the University of South Florida
with a degree in finance, he worked for Raymond James
in St. Petersburg as a junior analyst and taught business studies as a substitute teacher at Chamberlain High School in Tampa.
His roommate began wrestling as Alex Yeull Lovett soon after graduating and Meyer soon expressed interest in entering professional wrestling himself. Alex Lovett introduced him to Steve Keirn
at an IPW show and Keirn agreed to train him at his wrestling school. He was originally scheduled to start training in July 1999, however he postponed it after Alex Lovett died while touring Lima, Peru.
That November, he began training under Keirn and Jimmy Del Ray
learning wrestling moves, ring psychology, dieting, workout programs and general conduct. Prior to his debut, he chose the name Lex Lovett in honor of Alex Lovett. At the end of the year, he wrestled his first match teaming with "Venom" Tim Keirn against Drunk & Disorderly (Chris Nelson
and Vito DeNucci
).
area for promoter Frankie Reyes and later Howard Brodie
's NWA Florida territory. He feuded with the stable Tampa Clique, which at the time included Pepi Prado, Buck Q
, Scoot Andrews and Mike Sullivan
, during his first five months in the promotion. Still in his rookie year, he eventually defeated Pepe Prado for the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship
in Tampa on November 14, 2000. Several months later, he was involved in a controversial storyline in the feud between NWA Florida and IPW Hardcore when he accepted a title challenge from former referee Spanky Malone during an NWA Florida supercard at the Homer W. Hesterly Armory in Tampa on April 24, 2001. He pinned Malone with an Asai Moonsault in 56 seconds and was immediately attacked by 6 wrestlers from IPW Hardcore who were sitting at ringside. Lovett was hit by a fireball during the attack before the wrestlers were arrested by security.
After a nine-month reign, he lost the title to Jet Jaguar in Ybor City, Florida on July 18. Soon after, he participated in the NWA Super Junior Open tournament. Lovett successfully advanced to the tournament finals to face Scoot Andrews and Christopher Daniels
in a three way match. On August 21, he defeated Mike Thunder for the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship
in Tampa. He had faced Thunder while in Texas the previous month and was one of the top contenders when Thunder, despite having a torn ligament, defended the belt in Florida. Lovett was helped due to outside interference by Jason Rumble who attacked him following the match.
Two months later, Lovett defended the title against top junior heavyweights Jet Jaguar, Jimmy Rave, Brandon K and Jason Rumble in a "Fatal Five-Way" match at the NWA 53rd Anniversary show in St. Petersburg on October 13. Losing the title to Jason Rumble, he was later part of an interpromotional match between NWA Florida and Independent Professional Wrestling pitting Team NWA Florida (Lovett, Buck Q, Rod Steel, Chris Nelson and Vito DeNucci) against Team IPW (Scoot Andrews, Mike Sullivan, Jet Jaguar, Chaos and The Shane Twins
). The match was a "Wargames
"-style match and eventually ruled a no-contest.
His match with Jason Rumble was eventually seen by World Wrestling Federation
officials who were impressed with the match. He was invited to Cincinnati by Kevin Kelly
where he would be evaluated along with 14 other wrestlers by Jim Cornette
, Al Snow
, Tom Prichard
, Arn Anderson
, Raven
, Tommy Dreamer
and Bill DeMott
. He and the others worked on matches and promos with six wrestlers receiving contracts with the WWE, although three wrestlers were later released. On December 21, Lovett was given a tryout match against Crash Holly
on WWF Jakked.
-based NWA Wildside
, Jimmy Hart
's X Wrestling Federation
and Dusty Rhodes
' Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling
. Although scheduled for one appearance, he again impressed XWF officials who invited him to matches against Jimmy Reiher, Jr. and Low Ki
at a second XWF television taping.
By the time he returned to Florida, Lovett saw NWA Florida on the verge of folding and decided to contact promoter Ron Neimi to join rival promotion IPW Hardcore. One of the main figures involved in the NWA Florida vs. IPW Hardcore feud, the "old school" Lovett was promoted as a "heel
" among the "hardcore
" fans of IPW. He was originally supposed to become the tag team partner of Buck Quartermain but was replaced with Steve Madison
after Quartermain left the promotion. He and Madison teamed together for only a brief time before Lovett turned on him during a tag team match and attacked him. After he and Madison split up, he took on Vito DeNucci as his manager and feuded with Madison and Antonio Banks
.
. Lovett accepted and traveled to Japan where he later met with Hattori and Riki Chōshū
. During the four-day Magna01 Power Hall Series, he competed under the name Lex Meyer and faced Hiroshi Hase, Shiro Koshinaka
and Riki Chōshū & Kensuke Sasaki
in a tag team match. During the II and III series, he wrestled Yoji Anjo
as well as tag team matches with Kenzo Suzuki
against Koshinaka and Choshu and Sasaki against Takao Ōmori
and Koichiro Kimura. On July 19, he lost to NWA Florida Heavyweight Champion Scoot Andrews in a three-way match with Billy Fives
in St. Petersburg.
During the Burning Autumn tour, he faced Steve Madison on the first two nights and received high praise from the promotion. Lovett later took on Jose Maximo, Katsumi Usuda, Masamitsu Kochi and Shume Matsuzaki. After leaving Japan, he toured the People's Republic of China
with NWA Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling which took place from December 27, 2003 to January 4, 2004. On the third and last day of the tour, Lovett defeated Mike Rapada
at the Guangzhou Gymnasium
with 3,400 in attendance.
. He made his pay-per-view debut in a dark match with Rod Steel against David Young
and Tony Mamaluke on February 5, 2003. Although used as a preliminary wrestler during his first stint with the promotion, he eventually formed a tag team with Buck Quartermain and managed by former Survivor
contestant Johnny Fairplay. In July 2004, he faced Jeff Jarrett
for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
.
Later that year, Lovett defeated Scoot Andrews for the NWA Florida Southern Heavyweight Championship
on October 9, 2004. Lovett would face his tag team partner, substituting for an injured Roderick Strong
, in a match for the title at NWA Florida's supercard Rage in the Cage 7 on February 26, 2005.
He and Quartermain continued to appear in dark matches on TNA's weekly PPV's losing to Phi Delta Slam
(Big Tilly
and Bruno Sassi
) at Against All Odds, The Naturals (Chris Candido
and Andy Douglas
) at Destination X and 3 Live Kru (Ron Killings
and Konnan
) a three-way match with The Naturals at Lockdown
on April 21, 2005. On May 27, he and David Young lost to The Naturals at TNA Impact!
.
On June 10, Lovett put his title on the line against NWA World Heavyweight Champion
A.J. Styles
at the main event of the Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup. Although Lovett came close to victory managing to use his signature move, the "Lex Buster", Styles was able to kick out and pinned Lovett with his own finishing move, the "Styles Clash" for the win. After the match, Lovett addressed the fans thanking them for their support and officially announced his retirement.
In August 2005, he appeared in the corner of Buck Quartermain in his match against Glacier
at a Coastal Championship Wrestling event. This match was to decide the number one contender for the CCW heavyweight title. The next month, he faced Quartermain in a four-way match with Mike Sullivan
and Bruce Steel at an IPW Hardcore event on September 17.
Officially coming out of retirement, Lovett appeared on the first episode of TNA Impact! and lost to "The Alpha Male" Monty Brown
on October 1. He and Quartermain made their return to TNA losing to The Naturals on October 29. They continued to appear in a part time capacity on TNA Impact during the next year losing to Team 3-D
on January 7 and the James Gang
on January 21, 2006; they also lost to The Naturals at an Elite Wrestling Entertainment event that same night. He and Quartermain made only infrequent appearances throughout the next few months. Lovett, who was not under contract to TNA, made several inquires into whether he was going to be used in the future in order to quit his full-time job. When he received no response for the promotion, Lovett finally gave his notice in March 2006.
via disqualification at a show for Elite Wrestling Entertainment in Brandon, Florida
. Later that night, he joined Buck Quartermain, Erick Stevens and Steve Madison in the main event losing to Mike Sullivan, Shawn Murphy and The New Heavenly Bodies (Chris Nelson & Vito Denucci) in the "Captain's Fall" elimination match.
In May, he made a one-time appearance in the WWE developmental territory Deep South Wrestling teaming with Gymini Jake
in the DSW Tag Team Championship tournament. Defeating Eric Perez
and Montel Vontavious Porter in the opening rounds, they advanced to the finals where they lost to High Impact (Mike Taylor and Tony Santarelli).
Throughout 2006 and into 2007, he and Quartermain would continue teaming off and on in various independent promotions. Although defeating the tag team Black Market in a handicap match while in Elite Wrestling Entertainment, he and Lovett lost to The Down Boys (Tom Lawlor and J.P. Ice) at a Pro Wrestling Warfare show on March 11.
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...
, known by his ringname Lex Lovett, who competes in Southeastern independent promotions such as Independent Pro Wrestling and 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...
-affiliated NWA Florida as well as having toured the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, 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...
and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
.
From 2003 to 2006, he and Buck Quartermain
Jason Seguine
Jason Seguine is an American professional wrestler and former football player, known by his ringname Buck Quartermain, who competes in Southeastern regional promotions including Independent Pro Wrestling and the National Wrestling Alliance-affiliated NWA Florida...
formed a tag team in Total Non-Stop Action and on the independent circuit. He has also briefly appeared in the X Wrestling Federation
X Wrestling Federation
Xtreme Wrestling Federation was an American professional wrestling promotion. The organization's heyday was from early November of 2001 to late February of 2002. Its birth coincided with the World Wrestling Federation's acquisition of AOL Time Warner's World Championship Wrestling. XWF's slogan...
and 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...
.
Early life and career
Meyer was born near Tampa, FloridaTampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
. At the age of 5, he began watching WWF Superstars
WWF Superstars
WWF Superstars is an arcade game manufactured by Technos and released in 1989. It is the first WWF arcade game to be released. A series of unrelated games with the same title were released by LJN for the original Game Boy...
and Championship Wrestling from Florida then hosted by Gordon Solie
Gordon Solie
Jonard Frank Labiak , better known as Gordon Solie, was a Florida-based professional wrestling play-by-play announcer working for World Championship Wrestling...
. It was during this time that he became a fan of Ric Flair
Ric Flair
Richard Morgan Fliehr is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ric Flair. Also known as "The Nature Boy", Flair is one of the most well-known professional wrestlers in the world....
, Ricky Steamboat
Ricky Steamboat
Richard Henry Blood , better known by his ring name Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, is a retired American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE working as a road agent. He was one of the few wrestlers who stayed a babyface throughout his career...
, Blackjack Mulligan
Blackjack Mulligan
Robert Jack Windham , better known by his ring name Blackjack Mulligan is a former professional wrestler and a former American football player...
and Barry
Barry Windham
Barry Clinton Windham is an American semi-retired professional wrestler and the son of wrestler Blackjack Mulligan. He is best known for his appearances with the National Wrestling Alliance and World Championship Wrestling ....
and Kendall Windham
Kendall Windham
Kendall Windham is a former professional wrestler. He is the son of Blackjack Mulligan and the brother of Barry Windham.-Florida Championship Wrestling:...
. He drifted from wrestling as a teenager, however his interest returned when he and his college roommate Alex Lovett started watching during the "Attitude Era" in the mid-1990s. While at USF, he was a male cheerleader where he met his wife, Erika, and after graduating they coached the USF cheerleading team together. After graduating from the University of South Florida
University of South Florida
The University of South Florida, also known as USF, is a member institution of the State University System of Florida, one of the state's three flagship universities for public research, and is located in Tampa, Florida, USA...
with a degree in finance, he worked for Raymond James
Raymond James
Raymond James Financial is a diversified financial services holding company whose subsidiaries engage primarily in investment and financial planning, in addition to investment banking and asset management...
in St. Petersburg as a junior analyst and taught business studies as a substitute teacher at Chamberlain High School in Tampa.
His roommate began wrestling as Alex Yeull Lovett soon after graduating and Meyer soon expressed interest in entering professional wrestling himself. Alex Lovett introduced him to Steve Keirn
Steve Keirn
Stephen "Steve" Paul Keirn is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for being part of the tag team The Fabulous Ones, with Stan Lane, and later for a run in the World Wrestling Federation as Skinner, a gimmick that portrayed him as a tobacco spitting alligator hunter from...
at an IPW show and Keirn agreed to train him at his wrestling school. He was originally scheduled to start training in July 1999, however he postponed it after Alex Lovett died while touring Lima, Peru.
That November, he began training under Keirn and Jimmy Del Ray
Jimmy Del Ray
David Ferrier is a retired American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, "Gigolo" Jimmy Del Ray. Del Ray is best known for his appearances in the World Wrestling Federation as one half of the Heavenly Bodies with his tag team partner, Tom Prichard...
learning wrestling moves, ring psychology, dieting, workout programs and general conduct. Prior to his debut, he chose the name Lex Lovett in honor of Alex Lovett. At the end of the year, he wrestled his first match teaming with "Venom" Tim Keirn against Drunk & Disorderly (Chris Nelson
Chris Nelson (wrestler)
Christopher Tipton is an American professional wrestler, better known as 'Casanova' Chris or 'Classy' Chris Nelson. He is half of a tag team called The New Heavenly Bodies with "Vivacious" Vito DeNucci...
and Vito DeNucci
Vito DeNucci
Larry Lenz Brannon is a semi-active American professional wrestler, better known as Vito DeNucci or 'Vivacious' Vito. He is half of a tag team called The New Heavenly Bodies with "Casanova" Chris Nelson. Together, they have held the NWA World Tag Team Championship three times.-Career:Dr...
).
NWA Florida
He spent the next several months in the St. PetersburgSt. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It is known as a vacation destination for both American and foreign tourists. As of 2008, the population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau is 245,314, making St...
area for promoter Frankie Reyes and later Howard Brodie
Howard Brodie
Howard Brodie was a renowned sketch artist best known for his World War II combat and courtroom sketches.-Pre-war career:...
's NWA Florida territory. He feuded with the stable Tampa Clique, which at the time included Pepi Prado, Buck Q
Jason Seguine
Jason Seguine is an American professional wrestler and former football player, known by his ringname Buck Quartermain, who competes in Southeastern regional promotions including Independent Pro Wrestling and the National Wrestling Alliance-affiliated NWA Florida...
, Scoot Andrews and Mike Sullivan
Mike Sullivan (wrestler)
Mike Sullivan is an American professional wrestler who competes in Southeastern independent promotions including Full Impact Pro, Future of Wrestling, International Professional Wrestling and NWA Florida...
, during his first five months in the promotion. Still in his rookie year, he eventually defeated Pepe Prado for the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship
NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship
The NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world championship and secondary title in the National Wrestling Alliance that was for the lighter wrestlers. It started in 1945 and still exists today. The title was unified with the National Boxing/Wrestling Association's...
in Tampa on November 14, 2000. Several months later, he was involved in a controversial storyline in the feud between NWA Florida and IPW Hardcore when he accepted a title challenge from former referee Spanky Malone during an NWA Florida supercard at the Homer W. Hesterly Armory in Tampa on April 24, 2001. He pinned Malone with an Asai Moonsault in 56 seconds and was immediately attacked by 6 wrestlers from IPW Hardcore who were sitting at ringside. Lovett was hit by a fireball during the attack before the wrestlers were arrested by security.
After a nine-month reign, he lost the title to Jet Jaguar in Ybor City, Florida on July 18. Soon after, he participated in the NWA Super Junior Open tournament. Lovett successfully advanced to the tournament finals to face Scoot Andrews and Christopher Daniels
Christopher 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...
in a three way match. On August 21, he defeated Mike Thunder for the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship
NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship
The NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world championship and secondary title in the National Wrestling Alliance that was for the lighter wrestlers. It started in 1945 and still exists today. The title was unified with the National Boxing/Wrestling Association's...
in Tampa. He had faced Thunder while in Texas the previous month and was one of the top contenders when Thunder, despite having a torn ligament, defended the belt in Florida. Lovett was helped due to outside interference by Jason Rumble who attacked him following the match.
Two months later, Lovett defended the title against top junior heavyweights Jet Jaguar, Jimmy Rave, Brandon K and Jason Rumble in a "Fatal Five-Way" match at the NWA 53rd Anniversary show in St. Petersburg on October 13. Losing the title to Jason Rumble, he was later part of an interpromotional match between NWA Florida and Independent Professional Wrestling pitting Team NWA Florida (Lovett, Buck Q, Rod Steel, Chris Nelson and Vito DeNucci) against Team IPW (Scoot Andrews, Mike Sullivan, Jet Jaguar, Chaos and The Shane Twins
Shane Twins
The Shane Twins are a professional wrestling tag team that consist of twin brothers Mike and Todd Shane. They were best known for their appearances in World Wrestling Entertainment as Gymini.-History:The Shane Twins debuted in the Florida based Independent Pro Wrestling promotion in 1998...
). The match was a "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:...
"-style match and eventually ruled a no-contest.
His match with Jason Rumble was eventually seen by 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...
officials who were impressed with the match. He was invited to Cincinnati by 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...
where he would be evaluated along with 14 other wrestlers by 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...
, Al Snow
Al Snow
Allen Ray Sarven is an American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name of Al Snow. He is best known for his work in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment and currently works for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as a road agent.-Early career:Sarven...
, Tom Prichard
Tom Prichard
Thomas Prichard is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, working in their developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling as a trainer using his ring name Tom Prichard...
, Arn Anderson
Arn Anderson
Martin Anthony Lunde better known by his ring name Arn Anderson, is a former American professional wrestler and author. His career has been highlighted by his alliances with Ric Flair and various members of the wrestling stable, The Four Horsemen, in the NWA/WCW...
, Raven
Scott Levy
Scott Anthony Levy , better known by his ring name Raven, is an American professional wrestler, wrestling producer, wrestling writer, and occasional author and actor currently working for Juggalo Championship Wrestling , where he is co-holder of the JCW Tag Team Championship, as well as other...
, Tommy Dreamer
Tommy Dreamer
Thomas James "Tom" Laughlin is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Tommy Dreamer. He is currently working for various promotions on the independent circuit. He is best known for his time spent with Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment...
and Bill DeMott
Bill DeMott
William Charles "Bill" DeMott II is an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment as Hugh Morrus and Bill DeMott respectively and as Crash The Terminator in Extreme Championship Wrestling and Japan...
. He and the others worked on matches and promos with six wrestlers receiving contracts with the WWE, although three wrestlers were later released. On December 21, Lovett was given a tryout match against Crash Holly
Mike Lockwood
Michael John "Mike" Lockwood was an American professional wrestler best known for his time with World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment under the ring name Crash Holly....
on WWF Jakked.
IPW Hardcore
During the next year, Lovett spent five months on the independent circuit and made appearances for promoter Bill Behrens in the GeorgiaGeorgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
-based NWA Wildside
NWA 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....
, Jimmy Hart
Jimmy Hart
James "Jimmy" Ray Hart is a professional wrestling manager, executive, composer, and musician currently signed with WWE. He is best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling under his nickname "The Mouth of the South." He has managed many professional...
's X Wrestling Federation
X Wrestling Federation
Xtreme Wrestling Federation was an American professional wrestling promotion. The organization's heyday was from early November of 2001 to late February of 2002. Its birth coincided with the World Wrestling Federation's acquisition of AOL Time Warner's World Championship Wrestling. XWF's slogan...
and 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...
' Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling
Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling
Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling was a Southeastern independent professional wrestling promotion based in Marietta, Georgia. It was founded by retired wrestler and former NWA World Heavyweight Champion Dusty Rhodes in 2000 and, during its three years in operation, held events throughout the...
. Although scheduled for one appearance, he again impressed XWF officials who invited him to matches against Jimmy Reiher, Jr. and Low Ki
Low Ki
Brandon Silvestry is an American professional wrestler. He is best known under his ring names Low Ki, Senshi in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, and Kaval in World Wrestling Entertainment. He is a former one-time PWG World Champion and a former ROH Champion...
at a second XWF television taping.
By the time he returned to Florida, Lovett saw NWA Florida on the verge of folding and decided to contact promoter Ron Neimi to join rival promotion IPW Hardcore. One of the main figures involved in the NWA Florida vs. IPW Hardcore feud, the "old school" Lovett was promoted as a "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...
" among the "hardcore
Hardcore wrestling
Hardcore wrestling is a form of professional wrestling that eschews traditional concepts of match rules in favor of matches that take place in unusual environments, using foreign objects that are not normally permitted...
" fans of IPW. He was originally supposed to become the tag team partner of Buck Quartermain but was replaced with 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...
after Quartermain left the promotion. He and Madison teamed together for only a brief time before Lovett turned on him during a tag team match and attacked him. After he and Madison split up, he took on Vito DeNucci as his manager and feuded with Madison and Antonio Banks
Antonio Banks
Hassan Hamin Assad , better known by his ring name Montel Vontavious Porter , is an American professional wrestler currently signed to New Japan Pro Wrestling , where he was the inaugural IWGP Intercontinental Champion...
.
World Japan Pro
In 2003, Lovett was contacted by Steve Madison and later Masao "Tiger" Hattori offering to participate in a tour with World Japan ProFighting World of Japan Pro Wrestling
Fighting World of Japan Pro-Wrestling, frequently shortened to World Japan or WJ, and also known as "Riki Pro", was a professional wrestling promotion formed in Japan in 2003....
. Lovett accepted and traveled to Japan where he later met with Hattori and Riki Chōshū
Riki Choshu
Mitsuo Yoshida , better known by his stage name Riki Chōshū , is a Korean-Japanese professional wrestler who is most known for his longtime work in New Japan Pro Wrestling as a wrestler and a booker...
. During the four-day Magna01 Power Hall Series, he competed under the name Lex Meyer and faced Hiroshi Hase, Shiro Koshinaka
Shiro Koshinaka
is a Japanese professional wrestler who has competed in All Japan Pro Wrestling, New Japan Pro Wrestling and Wrestle Association "R" during the 1980s and 1990s...
and Riki Chōshū & Kensuke Sasaki
Kensuke Sasaki
is a Japanese professional wrestler who currently wrestles for various promotions through his own agency, Kensuke Office. He is the first of two men ever to hold all 3 of puroresu's major heavyweight titles , the other being Yoshihiro Takayama.-Early years :Kensuke Sasaki...
in a tag team match. During the II and III series, he wrestled Yoji Anjo
Yoji Anjo
, is a Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. He was born in Suginami, Japan on December 31, 1969.-Professional wrestling career:...
as well as tag team matches with Kenzo Suzuki
Kenzo Suzuki
Kenzo Suzuki is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is perhaps best known for his appearances with New Japan Pro Wrestling and in the United States with World Wrestling Entertainment...
against Koshinaka and Choshu and Sasaki against Takao Ōmori
Takao Omori
is a Japanese semi-retired professional wrestler, currently competing for New Japan Pro Wrestling. He has formerly competed in All Japan Pro Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Noah and Pro Wrestling Zero1.-All Japan Pro Wrestling :...
and Koichiro Kimura. On July 19, he lost to NWA Florida Heavyweight Champion Scoot Andrews in a three-way match with Billy Fives
Billy Fives
Billy Fives is an American professional wrestler and former shoot fighter who has competed in North American independent promotions including Combat Zone Wrestling, East Coast Wrestling Alliance, Major League Wrestling and the X Wrestling Federation as well as toured South America, the Caribbean,...
in St. Petersburg.
During the Burning Autumn tour, he faced Steve Madison on the first two nights and received high praise from the promotion. Lovett later took on Jose Maximo, Katsumi Usuda, Masamitsu Kochi and Shume Matsuzaki. After leaving Japan, he toured the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
with NWA Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling which took place from December 27, 2003 to January 4, 2004. On the third and last day of the tour, Lovett defeated Mike Rapada
Mike Rapada
Michael Rapada best known as "The Colorado Kid" Mike Rapada is an American professional wrestler.-Career:Mike Rapada started out in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It took three months, but eventually he convinced Jeff Jarrett to hire him...
at the Guangzhou Gymnasium
Guangzhou Gymnasium
The Guangzhou Gymnasium is an indoor arena in Guangzhou, China. The arena used mainly for basketball. The facility has a capacity of 10,000 people and was opened in 2001. It was designed by Paul Andreu.-External links:*...
with 3,400 in attendance.
Total Nonstop Action and the independent circuit
Soon after his return to the United States, Lovett began wrestling for Total Nonstop Action WrestlingTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling is a privately held professional wrestling promotion founded by Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Jarrett. The company broadcasts its events on television and the Internet fifty two weeks a year with over a million weekly viewers on its primary television program, Impact...
. He made his pay-per-view debut in a dark match with Rod Steel against David Young
David Young (wrestler)
David Williams , better known by his ring name, David Young, is an American professional wrestler. Though he has mainly appeared with NWA Wildside and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, Young has also competed for Ring of Honor, Asistencia Asesoría y Administración and ZERO-ONE...
and Tony Mamaluke on February 5, 2003. Although used as a preliminary wrestler during his first stint with the promotion, he eventually formed a tag team with Buck Quartermain and managed by former Survivor
Survivor (TV series)
Survivor is a reality television game show format produced in many countries throughout the world. In the show, contestants are isolated in the wilderness and compete for cash and other prizes. The show uses a system of progressive elimination, allowing the contestants to vote off other tribe...
contestant Johnny Fairplay. In July 2004, he faced Jeff Jarrett
Jeff Jarrett
Jeffrey Leonard Jarrett is an American professional wrestler and wrestling promoter. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , an organization he co-founded along with his father and in which he holds some stock but not total control...
for 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...
.
Later that year, Lovett defeated Scoot Andrews for the NWA Florida Southern Heavyweight Championship
NWA Florida Southern Heavyweight Championship
The Florida version of the NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship was the major singles professional wrestling championship in the National Wrestling Alliance's Florida territory, Championship Wrestling Florida. It existed from 1962 until 1987, when the title was abandoned. It was revived by NWA...
on October 9, 2004. Lovett would face his tag team partner, substituting for an injured 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...
, in a match for the title at NWA Florida's supercard Rage in the Cage 7 on February 26, 2005.
He and Quartermain continued to appear in dark matches on TNA's weekly PPV's losing to Phi Delta Slam
Phi Delta Slam
Phi Delta Slam is a professional wrestling tag team, consisting of Big Tilly and Bruno Sassi. They wrestle principally on the Floridian independent circuit.-History:...
(Big Tilly
Big Tilly
James Tilquist is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name Big Tilly. He is best known for being a member of the tag team Phi Delta Slam as well as his appearances in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
and Bruno Sassi
Bruno Sassi
Bruno Sassi is an American professional wrestler best known for being a member of the tag team Phi Delta Slam, as well as his appearances in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
) at Against All Odds, The Naturals (Chris Candido
Chris Candido
Christopher Raul Candito was an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Chris Candido...
and Andy Douglas
Andy Douglas
Andy Douglas is a retired American professional wrestler. He is known for his work in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling where he was a member of The Naturals alongside his tag team partner Chase Stevens.-Career:...
) at Destination X and 3 Live Kru (Ron Killings
Ron Killings
Ronald Aaron "Ron" Killings is an American professional wrestler and rapper. He is currently signed to WWE working on its Raw brand. Since working for the company, he has been a one time United States Champion under the ring name R-Truth and a two time Hardcore Champion under the ring name K-Kwik...
and Konnan
Konnan
Carlos Santiago Espada Moises , also known as Charles Ashenoff and better known by his ring name, Konnan, is a Cuban professional wrestler and rapper of Puerto Rican descent...
) a three-way match with The Naturals at Lockdown
Lockdown (2005)
Lockdown was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion, which took place on April 24, 2005 at the TNA Impact! Zone in Orlando, Florida. It was the first event under the Lockdown chronology and the fourth event in the 2005 TNA PPV schedule...
on April 21, 2005. On May 27, he and David Young lost to The Naturals at TNA Impact!
TNA iMPACT!
Impact Wrestling is a professional wrestling television program for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling that currently airs in the United States and Canada on Spike...
.
On June 10, Lovett put his title on the line against 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...
A.J. Styles
A.J. Styles
Allen Neal Jones , better known by his ring name A.J. Styles is an American professional wrestler currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
at the main event of the Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup. Although Lovett came close to victory managing to use his signature move, the "Lex Buster", Styles was able to kick out and pinned Lovett with his own finishing move, the "Styles Clash" for the win. After the match, Lovett addressed the fans thanking them for their support and officially announced his retirement.
In August 2005, he appeared in the corner of Buck Quartermain in his match against Glacier
Ray Lloyd
Raymond M. Lloyd is an American martial artist, professional wrestler, and actor. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling in the late 1990s under the ring name Glacier.-Early life:...
at a Coastal Championship Wrestling event. This match was to decide the number one contender for the CCW heavyweight title. The next month, he faced Quartermain in a four-way match with Mike Sullivan
Mike Sullivan (wrestler)
Mike Sullivan is an American professional wrestler who competes in Southeastern independent promotions including Full Impact Pro, Future of Wrestling, International Professional Wrestling and NWA Florida...
and Bruce Steel at an IPW Hardcore event on September 17.
Officially coming out of retirement, Lovett appeared on the first episode of TNA Impact! and lost to "The Alpha Male" Monty Brown
Monty Brown
Monty Brown is an American professional wrestler and former National Football League linebacker, also known as Marcus Cor Von. He is best known for his time with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment, where he wrestled on its ECW brand under the ring name Marcus Cor Von...
on October 1. He and Quartermain made their return to TNA losing to The Naturals on October 29. They continued to appear in a part time capacity on TNA Impact during the next year losing to Team 3-D
Dudley Boyz
Team 3D was a professional wrestling tag team, consisting of Brother Ray and Brother Devon, formerly sporadically joined into a stable by Brother Runt on several intervals...
on January 7 and the James Gang
New Age Outlaws
The New Age Outlaws, later known as the James Gang and the Voodoo Kin Mafia, were a professional wrestling tag team in World Wrestling Federation, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , Jersey All Pro Wrestling, and Maryland Championship Wrestling consisting of B.G...
on January 21, 2006; they also lost to The Naturals at an Elite Wrestling Entertainment event that same night. He and Quartermain made only infrequent appearances throughout the next few months. Lovett, who was not under contract to TNA, made several inquires into whether he was going to be used in the future in order to quit his full-time job. When he received no response for the promotion, Lovett finally gave his notice in March 2006.
Recent years
On April 1, Lovett beat Vito Denucci with manager Bill AlfonsoBill Alfonso
William Matthew "Bill" Alfonso is a former professional wrestling referee and manager. He achieved his greatest success in Extreme Championship Wrestling in the mid to late 1990s...
via disqualification at a show for Elite Wrestling Entertainment in Brandon, Florida
Brandon, Florida
Brandon is a census-designated place in Hillsborough County, Florida, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the CDP had a total population of 103,483.-Founding:...
. Later that night, he joined Buck Quartermain, Erick Stevens and Steve Madison in the main event losing to Mike Sullivan, Shawn Murphy and The New Heavenly Bodies (Chris Nelson & Vito Denucci) in the "Captain's Fall" elimination match.
In May, he made a one-time appearance in the WWE developmental territory Deep South Wrestling teaming with Gymini Jake
Shane Twins
The Shane Twins are a professional wrestling tag team that consist of twin brothers Mike and Todd Shane. They were best known for their appearances in World Wrestling Entertainment as Gymini.-History:The Shane Twins debuted in the Florida based Independent Pro Wrestling promotion in 1998...
in the DSW Tag Team Championship tournament. Defeating Eric Perez
Eric Perez
Eric Alexander Pérez is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler who currently performs under the ring name Eric Escobar. He is best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment , where he spent most of his career in developmental territories...
and Montel Vontavious Porter in the opening rounds, they advanced to the finals where they lost to High Impact (Mike Taylor and Tony Santarelli).
Throughout 2006 and into 2007, he and Quartermain would continue teaming off and on in various independent promotions. Although defeating the tag team Black Market in a handicap match while in Elite Wrestling Entertainment, he and Lovett lost to The Down Boys (Tom Lawlor and J.P. Ice) at a Pro Wrestling Warfare show on March 11.
Championships and accomplishments
- Independent Professional Wrestling
- IPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- NWA FloridaNational 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 Florida Junior Heavyweight ChampionshipNWA Florida Junior Heavyweight ChampionshipThe NWA Florida Junior Heavyweight Championship was a the top title for lighter wrestlers in the National Wrestling Alliance's Florida territory, Championship Wrestling from Florida. The title itself began in 1942, seven years before CWF was founded...
(2 times) - NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (Florida version) (1 time)
- NWA World Junior Heavyweight ChampionshipNWA World Junior Heavyweight ChampionshipThe NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world championship and secondary title in the National Wrestling Alliance that was for the lighter wrestlers. It started in 1945 and still exists today. The title was unified with the National Boxing/Wrestling Association's...
(1 time)
- 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 # 216 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI 500 in 2004