Brian Mailhot (born August 12, 1975) is an American
professional wrestler
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...
and
mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...
fighter, better known for his short stint in
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
's
SmackDown!
''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes simulc ...
brand under the
ring name
A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...
of Palmer Canon.
Early career
Mailhot debuted in 1999 for the Eastern Wrestling Alliance, losing to Larry Huntley in a match in Portland, Maine. After his first match Mailhot elected to take more time to focus on his in ring training and worked for the Eastern Wrestling Alliance in a character role as their commissioner. As commissioner he
feuded with Alexander Worthington III, often countering Worthington's devious exploits with his power as commissioner although he did not wrestle a match again until early 2002 when his dealings with Worthington finally escalated to an in ring encounter.
Chaotic Wrestling
In 2002 he began working for
Chaotic Wrestling
Chaotic Wrestling (CW) is an American independent wrestling promotion, which has been operating throughout New England since 2000; with its current home base in North Andover, Massachusetts.
Chaotic Wrestling is known for producing successful, ...
in
as "Big League" Brian Black. He formed a
tag team
Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...
with The Mighty Mini, and the partners won the CW Tag Team Championships on two occasions, in 2003 defeating Atrition and 2004, defeating Peter Mulloy and Brian Buffet. Mailhot won his first singles championship, the vacant
New England Championship, on April 30, 2004, in a twenty-eight man
royal rumble
The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after the Royal Rumble match, a modified battle roya ...
. He won the
Heavyweight Championship on March 18, 2005, defeating Maverick Wild, but vacated the title on April 1 after signing a contract with
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
in March 2005.
All-Star Wrestling Association
During this time Mailhot was also wrestling for the now sold and renamed
All-Star Wrestling Association based in
Nashua, New Hampshire
Nashua is a city in southern New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 91,322, the second-largest in northern New England after nearby Manchester, New Hampshire, Manchester. Along with Manc ...
. He debuted as Brian Black on February 21, 2004, in a loss to
Adam Booker, which led to a short feud between the two. Following that he captured the AWA Tag Team Championship on May 15, 2004 in
Claremont, New Hampshire
Claremont is the only city in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 12,949 at the 2020 census.
History Pre-colonial native populations
Before colonial settlement, the Upper Connecticut River Valley was home to the Pe ...
with The Mighty Mini, his tag partner from
Chaotic Wrestling
Chaotic Wrestling (CW) is an American independent wrestling promotion, which has been operating throughout New England since 2000; with its current home base in North Andover, Massachusetts.
Chaotic Wrestling is known for producing successful, ...
. This turned into a phantom switch, though, when Mailhot changed to a new persona the next show. Since the switch took place outside of their typical venue in Nashua it was simply ignored and the titles were returned to
The Swerve
''The Swerve: How the World Became Modern'' (paperback edition: ''The Swerve: How the Renaissance Began'') is a 2011 book by Stephen Greenblatt and winner of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction and 2011 National Book Award for Nonfi ...
. On May 22, 2004, he debuted a German character of his own creation, ''Otto Von Schwartz''. Taking full advantage of his
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
heritage and ability to speak
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
, he worked as a heel, feuding primarily with
Greg "The Hammer" Valentine
Jonathan Anthony Wisniski (born September 20, 1951) is a retired American professional wrestler, better known as Greg "The Hammer" Valentine. He is the son of wrestler Johnny Valentine.
Over five decades, Valentine held more than 40 championships ...
. He captured the AWA Heavyweight Championship from Valentine on September 25, 2004, but dropped it on April 9, 2005. He then departed to the WWE developmental
Deep South Wrestling
Deep South Wrestling (DSW) is a professional wrestling promotion in the state of Georgia. Deep South worked in tandem with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as a developmental territory from September 1, 2005, until April 18, 2007. Deep South w ...
.
World Wrestling Entertainment
Deep South Wrestling (2005)
Mailhot began training in WWE's auxiliary developmental territory,
Deep South Wrestling
Deep South Wrestling (DSW) is a professional wrestling promotion in the state of Georgia. Deep South worked in tandem with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as a developmental territory from September 1, 2005, until April 18, 2007. Deep South w ...
. On May 2, 2005 he had a
dark match
Professional wrestling has accrued a considerable amount of jargon throughout its existence. Much of it stems from the industry's origins in the days of carnivals and circuses. In the past, professional wrestlers used such terms in the presence ...
against Todd Hansen, with Hansen gaining the victory.
SmackDown! (2005–2006)
Mailhot, under his Brian Black ringname made his televised debut with WWE on the January 6, 2005 episode of ''
SmackDown!
''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes simulc ...
'' as a local competitor during the
Kurt Angle
Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9, 1968) is an American retired professional wrestler, Wrestling at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's freestyle 100 kg, Olympic gold medalist in American freestyle wrestling, and former Collegiate wrestling, ...
Invitational where he was quickly defeated by Angle. Later that year he would appear as an
authority figure
In the fields of sociology and political science, authority is the legitimate power of a person or group over other people. In a civil state, ''authority'' is practiced in ways such a judicial branch or an executive branch of government.''The Ne ...
called Palmer Canon. His character was ostensibly a representative of the oppressive "
Network
Network, networking and networked may refer to:
Science and technology
* Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects
* Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks
Mathematics
...
". This
gimmick
A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often with little intrinsic value. When applied to retail marketing, it is a unique or quirky feature designed to make a product or service "stand ou ...
reflected what WWE perceived as increasing interference by
UPN
The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that launched on January 16, 1995. It was originally owned by Chris-Craft Industries' United Television. Viacom (through its Paramount Television unit, which prod ...
regarding the content of ''SmackDown!'', most notably UPN's demand that WWE remove Mark Copani's controversial
Muhammad Hassan character from television. His character and booking of matches that the fans disliked led to mainly
heel
The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower Human leg, leg.
Structure
To distribute the compressive for ...
reactions.The gimmick was reminiscent of both
Right to Censor
The Right to Censor (frequently referred to as RTC) was a villainous professional wrestling stable in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now known as WWE) from mid-2000 to mid 2001. The group was a parody of the Parents Television Council (PTC ...
, a
stable
A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...
created to parody the
Parents Television Council
The Parents Television and Media Council (PTMC), formerly the Parents Television Council (PTC), is an American media advocacy group founded by conservative Christian activist L. Brent Bozell III in 1995, which advocates for what it considers t ...
, and
The Network
The Network was an American six-piece new wave band. they released their debut album ''Money Money 2020'' on Adeline Records on September 30, 2003. After a 15-year hiatus, the band became active again in 2020, releasing a follow-up album titl ...
, an
ECW ECW may refer to:
Professional wrestling
* Extreme Championship Wrestling (originally Eastern Championship Wrestling), a professional wrestling promotion that operated from 1992 to 2001
* The Alliance (professional wrestling) (originally the WCW/E ...
stable led by
Cyrus
Cyrus ( Persian: کوروش) is a male given name. It is the given name of a number of Persian kings. Most notably it refers to Cyrus the Great ( BC). Cyrus is also the name of Cyrus I of Anshan ( BC), King of Persia and the grandfather of Cyrus ...
which claimed to represent
TNN. The name Palmer Canon might have been a play with the initials ''
"P.C."''. This connection between his name and political correctness was made more evident when commentator
Tazz
Peter Senerchia (born October 11, 1967), better known by the ring name Taz (also spelled Tazz) is an American radio personality, color commentator, and retired professional wrestler signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a commentator and manage ...
called him P.C. when Canon came to do ringside commentary. His character also consisted of booking matches behind the back of Theodore Long (e.g. he made
Eddie Guerrero
Eduardo Gory Guerrero Llanes (October 9, 1967 – November 13, 2005) was an American professional wrestler. He was a prominent member of the Guerrero wrestling family, being the son of first-generation wrestler Gory Guerrero. Eddie Guerrero is ...
the number one contender, despite Long's wishes to have that right go to Rey Mysterio). He also introduced
Marty Wright as "The Boogeyman" as a decision by the network for ratings, added "The Juniors", a midget wrestling division and the tag team "The Dicks" (
John Toland
John Toland (30 November 167011 March 1722) was an Irish people, Irish rationalist philosopher and freethought, freethinker, and occasional satirist, who wrote numerous books and pamphlets on political philosophy and philosophy of religion, whi ...
and
Chad Wicks
Charles "Chad" Wicks (born March 6, 1978) is an American retired professional wrestler best known for his time with the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). While part of WWE, Wicks wrestled as Chad Toland in its Ohio Valley Wrestling branch and l ...
), though all were later released. Wright's release only lasted two weeks, however.
On the February 3, 2006 edition of ''SmackDown!'',
William Regal
Darren Kenneth Matthews (born 10 May 1968), better known by the ring name William Regal, is an English retired professional wrestler. He is known for his over 20 years spent in WWE, as both a performer and an on-screen authority, and for his ti ...
and
Paul Burchill
Paul Birchall (born 8 October 1979), better known by his ring name Paul Burchill, is an English retired professional wrestler best known for his time with WWE. Prior to joining WWE, Burchill wrestled for the Frontier Wrestling Alliance and other ...
told Canon that they no longer wanted to be a tag team so they could go their separate ways. During this discussion Burchill informed Canon that his family heritage traces back to pirates, and that he wanted to do a pirate gimmick on ''SmackDown!'' Later, on the April 21, 2006 edition of ''SmackDown!'', Canon remarked that
The Miz
Michael Gregory Mizanin (born October 8, 1980) is an American professional wrestler, actor, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name The Miz.
Mizanin first gained fame a ...
was acting inappropriately, and had him escorted from the arena by security.
On April 20, 2006, Mailhot abruptly flew himself home from a WWE tour in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
and gave his notice to WWE officials, citing harassment from
Chris Benoit
Christopher Michael Benoit (; May 21, 1967 – June 24, 2007) was a Canadian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He worked for various pro-wrestling promotions during his 22-year career including most notably the WWE, World Wrestlin ...
,
John "Bradshaw" Layfield
John Charles Layfield (born November 29, 1966), better known by the ring name John "Bradshaw" Layfield (abbreviated to JBL), is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and Gridiron football, football player. He is curre ...
and his "
Wrestler's Court" as the reason for his resignation. He was granted his release on April 27, 2006.
This forced the postponement of the Miz's planned wrestling debut, as the Palmer Canon/Miz
feud
A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one part ...
had to be canceled.
Post–WWE
Mailhot returned to
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropol ...
.
Brian made his amateur MMA debut on August 23, 2008 at Untamed 22 as Brian "Hacksaw" Mailhot. It was promoted by Full Force Fighting Championships, at the Plymouth Memorial Hall. He defeated Tony Rea via KO by slam in 1:01 of the second round.
He has wrestled for All Out Mayhem in southern and eastern Maine since his departure from WWE in 2006. He won the AOM Heavyweight Championship from Captain Freedom in South Portland, Maine on November 20, 2010 only to lose it later in the night to
Larry Zbyszko
Lawrence Whistler (born December 5, 1951), better known by the ring name Larry Zbyszko, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is perhaps best known for his feud with his mentor, Bruno Sammartino, during the early 1980s as well as his ...
.
Championships and accomplishments
*All Out Mayhem
**AOM Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
*All-Star Wrestling Association
**AWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
**AWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with The Mighty Mini
*
Chaotic Wrestling
Chaotic Wrestling (CW) is an American independent wrestling promotion, which has been operating throughout New England since 2000; with its current home base in North Andover, Massachusetts.
Chaotic Wrestling is known for producing successful, ...
**
Chaotic Wrestling Heavyweight Championship
The Chaotic Wrestling (CW) Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling championship in Chaotic Wrestling. The current champion is Davienne, who is in her second reign.
Title history
As of , , there have been 47 reigns between 30 champio ...
(
1 time)
**
Chaotic Wrestling New England Championship
The Chaotic Wrestling (CW) New England Championship is a professional wrestling title in American independent promotion Chaotic Wrestling. The title was first won by "Latin Fury" Luis Ortiz in Revere, Massachusetts on February 23, 2001. There have ...
(
1 time)
**
Chaotic Wrestling Tag Team Championship
The Chaotic Wrestling (CW) Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling tag team Championship (professional wrestling), championship in United States, American Independent circuit, independent promotion Chaotic Wrestling. It was first won by ...
(
2 times
"2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...
) – with The Mighty Mini
**
Third Triple Crown Champion
References
External links
Brian Mailhot at Gerweck.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mailhot, Brian
American male professional wrestlers
1975 births
Sportspeople from Portland, Maine
Living people