Shayne Alexander Bower (April 18, 1965 – June 24, 2007), better known by his

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 ...

Biff Wellington, was a Canadian

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 ...

who was born, raised, and died in

Calgary, Alberta Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Canadian Prairies, Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,30 ...

Professional wrestling career

Shayne Bower trained with the

Hart Brothers Hart often refers to: * Hart (deer) Hart may also refer to: Organizations * Hart Racing Engines, a former Formula One engine manufacturer * Hart Skis, US ski manufacturer * Hart Stores, a Canadian chain of department stores * Hart's Reptile W ...

school by Keith Hart,

Mr. Hito (April 25, 1942 – April 21, 2010), better known as Mr. Hito, was a Japanese professional wrestler who competed in North American and Japanese regional promotions from the 1950s until the mid-1980s. Most notably, he was the tag team partne ...

and

Hiroshi Hase is a Japanese politician who is currently the governor of Ishikawa Prefecture. He served as the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology under Prime Minister Shinzō Abe. Prior to his appointment in the Cabinet, he also se ...

. He made his debut in December 1986 using the name "Biff Wellington" in

Stampede Wrestling Stampede Wrestling was a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta. For nearly 50 years, it was one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies. Originally established by Stu Hart in 1948, the prom ...

as a

villain A villain (also known as a "black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character a ...

, but then transitioned to a fan favourite, which he was for the remainder of his time there. In Stampede, Wellington frequently tagged with

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 ...

. In 1989, Wellington and Benoit beat Makhan Singh and Vokhan Singh to become Stampede Wrestling's International Tag Team Champions. After Stampede Wrestling shut down in December 1989, Wellington worked in various promotions in Canada, such as the Canadian National Wrestling Alliance (CNWA) and Canadian Rocky Mountain Wrestling (CRMW). Wellington then received tryouts for the

World Wrestling Federation 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 ...

at the

Olympic Saddledome Scotiabank Saddledome is a multi-use indoor arena in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Located in Stampede Park in the southeast end of downtown Calgary, the Saddledome was built in 1983 to replace the Stampede Corral as the home of the Calgary Flam ...

during a live event on July 8 and the next night, July 9, at the

Northlands Coliseum Northlands Coliseum is a now-unused indoor arena located in Edmonton, Alberta, situated on the north side of Northlands. It was used for sports events and concerts, and was home to the Edmonton Oilers of the World Hockey Association (WHA) and N ...

Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anchor ...

, with Wellington beating fellow Canadian Hugh Thomas with a tombstone piledriver ( kneeling belly-to-belly piledriver). Despite impressing WWF management, Wellington did not receive a contract with the WWF and returned to the Canadian indies. In June 1992, Wellington and Benoit appeared in

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nation ...

Clash of the Champions XIX ''Clash of the Champions'' is an American series of professional wrestling television specials that were produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) in conjunction with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). ...

, representing Canada in the

NWA World Tag Team Championship The NWA World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship created by the National Wrestling Alliance. From 1948 to 1982, the NWA allowed member promotions to create their own territorial version of the "NWA World ...

tournament; they were defeated by

Brian Pillman Brian William Pillman (May 22, 1962 – October 5, 1997) was an American professional wrestler and professional football player best known for his appearances in Stampede Wrestling in the 1980s and World Championship Wrestling (WCW), Extreme Ch ...

and

Jushin Thunder Liger , better known as and later , is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He is the longest-tenured member of the NJPW roster, having wrestled for the company since h ...

in the first round. Later that year, Wellington was recognized as the first CRMW North American Heavyweight Champion. Between 1988 and 1994, Wellington worked on 28 consecutive tours with

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares ...

. In Japan, he feuded with Jushin Thunder Liger and continued to team with Benoit, who was known in Japan as the "Pegasus Kid" or "Wild Pegasus". He also worked in the Maritimes as Buddy Hart, and in Mexico. Wellington had a brief stint in

Extreme Championship Wrestling HHG Corporation, doing business as Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), was a professional wrestling promotion and media company that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as National Wrest ...

between 1995 and 1996. He sustained an eye injury in an accident during a match against

Taz Taz or TAZ may refer to: Geography *Taz (river), a river in western Siberia, Russia *Taz Estuary, the estuary of the river Taz in Russia People * Taz people, an ethnic group in Russia ** Taz language, a form of Northeastern Mandarin spoken by ...

in May 1996. Wellington then became dependent on

prescription medication A prescription drug (also prescription medication or prescription medicine) is a pharmaceutical drug that legally requires a medical prescription to be dispensed. In contrast, over-the-counter drugs can be obtained without a prescription. The rea ...

to prevent nerves in his eye from dying. He retired from active competition after the incident, although he occasionally wrestled in promotions near his hometown such as

Extreme Canadian Championship Wrestling Elite Canadian Championship Wrestling (ECCW) (formerly known as NWA: Extreme Canadian Championship Wrestling and Extreme Canadian Championship Wrestling) is a Western Canada-based professional wrestling promotion and a former member of the Nati ...

. A year later in 1997, Wellington returned to Calgary wrestling for Can-Am Wrestling Federation Wrestling until his last match in 2000.

Death

In later years, Bower suffered from health issues mostly stemming from his back, also suffering strokes and battling drug addiction. Bower's parents found his body in bed at his home on June 24, 2007; they were concerned because they had not heard from him for four days. Medical officials examining the body believe he had been dead for a few days due to a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

. Coincidentally, his body was found on the same day his former tag partner,

, committed suicide, two days after

killing Killing, Killings, or The Killing may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Killing'' (film), a 2018 Japanese film * ''The Killing'' (film), a 1956 film noir directed by Stanley Kubrick Television * ''The Killing'' (Danish TV serie ...

his

wife A wife (plural, : wives) is a female in a marital relationship. A woman who has separated from her partner continues to be a wife until the marriage is legally Dissolution (law), dissolved with a divorce judgement. On the death of her partner, ...

and son. The two were friends.

Championships and accomplishments

*Canadian Rocky Mountain Wrestling **CRMW North American Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Can-Am Wrestling Federation **Can-Am Heavyweight Championship (1 Time) *

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publish ...

** Ranked No.420 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the

PWI 500 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishi ...

in 2007. *

Stampede International Tag Team Championship The Stampede International Tag Team Championship was the main tag team title in the Canadian professional wrestling promotion Stampede Wrestling. It was created in 1958 as the NWA International Tag Team Championship (Calgary version). When promote ...

( 1 time) – with

References

External links

Biff Wellington
at Online World of Wrestling * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wellington, Biff 1965 births 2007 deaths 20th-century professional wrestlers Canadian male professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from Calgary Stampede Wrestling alumni Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Champions

Professional wrestling career

Death

Championships and accomplishments

See also

References

External links