Christopher Wright (born January 7, 1971) is an American professional wrestler, 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 ...

, C. W. Anderson. He is best known for his appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling from 1999 to 2001.

Early life

Wright grew up in North Carolina and was an ardent fan of Jim Crockett Promotions, admiring wrestlers such as

Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American professional wrestler. Regarded by multiple peers and journalists as the greatest professional wrestler of all time, Flair has had a career spanni ...

, Dusty Rhodes and Bobby Eaton. Upon his graduation from high school in 1989, Wright was drafted by the San Diego Padres as a catcher, but rejected the offer, instead choosing to attend college, where he studied computing while playing baseball and softball.

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1993–1999)

After graduating from college, Wright sought a new weekend sport to replace baseball. Several of his friends were wrestling professionally, and Wright decided to become a professional wrestler as well. With no formal training, he wrestled (and lost) his first match on December 4, 1993, under a mask as "El Chico". While wrestling for Carolina Championship Wrestling Alliance (CCWA), Pat Connors, who was also working the same show, was watching Wright's match and was impressed with his skills and appearance. Connors wrestled as Pat Anderson, a member of the Anderson family. Connors approached the booker of CCWA, Jim Massingale, and asked him if he would put Wright and himself together as a tag team. Massingale allowed it and Connors had the match lined up before he approached Wright. Connors introduced himself to Wright and the two talked for a while. Connors offered Wright the tag team work and he accepted.

Gene Anderson Gene Anderson may refer to: * Gene Anderson (actress) (1931–1965), British actress * Gene Anderson (basketball) (1917–1999), American professional basketball player * Gene Anderson (wrestler) Eugene Avon Anderson (October 4, 1939 � ...

had died before C. W. came along so Connors contacted Rocky Anderson who was the head trainer of Gene's gym. Connors asked for permission to make Wright an Anderson and Rocky told Connors to use his judgement. Anderson spent two weeks trying to think of an appropriate forename, eventually settling on his initials, C. W., at the suggestion of an interviewer; he thus became "C. W. Anderson". Connors and C. W. Anderson wrestled as cousins of the Anderson family. During their time as a tag team, Wright and Connors won tag team championship titles in 9 different wrestling promotions including the NWA World Tag Team Championship titles. They also held the Carolina Championship Wrestling Association (CCWA), Continental Wrestling Alliance (CWA) and Southern Wrestling Association (SWA) Tag Team Championship titles at the same time in 1994. Anderson later met Ole Anderson but claimed that he was disillusioned by the experience. In 1996, Anderson opened his own professional wrestling school in Smithfield, North Carolina, which he later named "The Anderson Academy" where he trained wrestlers such as Chilly Willy, Lodi and Toad. It was during this time that Anderson joined the Organization of Modern Extreme Grappling Arts, a promotion run by Matt and Jeff Hardy. In 1998, Anderson trained at the World Championship Wrestling run Power Plant under DeWayne Bruce and Pez Whatley. While there he was told by

J. J. Dillon James Morrison (born June 26, 1942) is an American retired professional wrestler and manager, better known by his ring name, J. J. Dillon. Professional wrestling career J. J. Dillon had an extensive wrestling career. He broke into wrestling at th ...

and Paul Orndorff that he lacked the talent and physique to become successful as a wrestler. After spending eighteen months in the Power Plant without being utilized on WCW television, Anderson opted to leave the Power Plant, turning down a six-year WCW contract offer.

Extreme Championship Wrestling (1999–2001)

On June 6, 1999, Anderson accompanied a friend to an Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) tryout in Georgia and was convinced to get in the ring by

Nova A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...

. His work impressed ECW owner Paul Heyman, and Anderson was hired. In his first match for ECW, Anderson teamed with Skull Von Krush against Danny Doring and

Roadkill Roadkill is an animal or animals that have been struck and killed by drivers of motor vehicles on highways. Wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVC) have increasingly been the topic of academic research to understand the causes, and how it can be mi ...

. In ECW, Anderson formed

The New Dangerous Alliance The Dangerous Alliance was a professional wrestling stable who was active in the American Wrestling Association (AWA) in 1987 and in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Extreme Championship Wrestling in the early 1990s. The group derives its ...

with Billy Wiles,

Elektra Electra was a daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra in Greek mythology. Electra or Elektra may also refer to: Greek mythology *Electra (Pleiad), one of the Pleiades * Electra, one of the Danaids, daughter of Danaus and Polyxo * Electra (Oc ...

and Lou E. Dangerously. After that group separated, Anderson joined forces with Simon and Swinger. On January 7, 2001, at the final ECW

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...

, Guilty as Charged, Anderson lost to Tommy Dreamer in an "I Quit" match. As part of his preparation for the bout, Anderson watched the "I Quit" match between Magnum T. A. and Tully Blanchard from Starrcade 1985.

Independent circuit (2001–2006)

Following the closure of ECW, Anderson wrestled in Dusty Rhodes' Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling, where he formed The Extreme Horsemen, 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 ...

modeled after The Four Horsemen, with Barry Windham and Steve Corino. The stable later wrestled in Major League Wrestling, where they were joined by P.J. Polaco and Simon Diamond. Anderson also wrestled for

Ring of Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011, when the promotion was so ...

and various independent promotions in North Carolina. From 2002 onwards, Anderson made numerous tours of

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, most prominently for Pro Wrestling Zero1-Max (by May 2006, he had toured with the company on 36 separate occasions). In 2004, he was given a tryout match by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, but was not hired. On June 10, 2005, Anderson appeared at Hardcore Homecoming, an ECW reunion event organized by Shane Douglas. The event saw Anderson team with Simon Diamond in a loss to Chris Chetti and Mikey Whipwreck. He went on to appear at Hardcore Homecoming events in September 2005 and November 2005. Anderson was hospitalized in 2005 after a supplement named Superdrol gave him

jaundice Jaundice, also known as icterus, is a yellowish or greenish pigmentation of the skin and sclera due to high bilirubin levels. Jaundice in adults is typically a sign indicating the presence of underlying diseases involving abnormal heme meta ...

and caused his liver to stop functioning. He returned to the ring after several months, during which he lost 40 lb (18 kg) in weight.

World Wrestling Entertainment (2004, 2005, 2006–2007)

Throughout 2004 and 2005, Anderson made numerous appearances with World Wrestling Entertainment, wrestling in

dark matches 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 o ...

and on '' Velocity''. On June 12, 2005, he appeared at the WWE promoted ECW reunion show ECW One Night Stand, sitting at ringside next to Chris Chetti and

. On May 4, 2006, Anderson and several other Extreme Championship Wrestling alumni were hired by WWE to work on their new brand, ECW. Throughout June and July, Anderson wrestled at ECW house shows and in '' ECW on Sci Fi'' dark matches. On August 1, he became known as Christopher W. Anderson. He made what would be his only ECW television appearance on August 22, 2006, losing to

CM Punk Phillip Jack Brooks (born October 26, 1978), better known by the ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler, sports commentator, actor, and retired mixed martial artist currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Best known for ...

. Anderson was released by WWE on January 18, 2007, along with ten other superstars.

Independent circuit (2007–2020)

C. W. Anderson then worked in independent promotions including

Vanguard Championship Wrestling The vanguard (also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force. History The vanguard derives f ...

where he defeated TNA wrestler Sonjay Dutt. CW re-debuted recently working for NWA Charlotte. Anderson showed up dropping 40 lbs attributing it to his new workout P90x. On April 25, 2009, he worked for GSW German Stampede Wrestling at International Impact losing to "Bad Bones" John Kay. On June 27, 2009, he appeared at an ECW type reunion show called "Legends of the Arena" and wrestled against 2 Cold Scorpio. On August 4, 2010, it was confirmed that Wright would be taking part in TNA's ECW reunion show, Hardcore Justice, on August 8. At the event he was defeated by

2 Cold Scorpio Charles Bernard Scaggs (born October 25, 1965) is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name 2 Cold Scorpio (sometimes spelled Too Cold Scorpio). He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling, Extrem ...

. CW Anderson was announced for the 2nd ever match of the new Extreme Reunion organization; which is conceived as a continuation of the original Extreme Championship Wrestling. His opponent was announced as ECW Alumnus, Al Snow. On June 29, Extreme Rising's 2nd show in Queens, NY, CW lost a match against "Pitbull" Gary Wolfe. The following night, in Philadelphia, he lost a match to Balls Mahoney and had a confrontation with The Sandman. In 2013, Anderson performed in OMEGA. On January 15, James Storm, Jeff Hardy, Matt Hardy & Shane Helms defeat CW Anderson, Gunner, Lodi & Steve Corino. On May 25, 2013, Matt Hardy & Shane Helms defeat CW Anderson & Steve Corino. On October 12, 2013, Anderson was defeated by Hardy in the first round for the OMEGA Championship. On October 5, 2013, at Vanguard Championship Wrestling, Anderson defeated Tommy Dreamer in an I Quit match. On November 30, 2013, at WrestleCade, Anderson was defeated by Dreamer in an I Quit match. Now he is the AWE heavyweight Champion after winning the title at Waynesboro Virginia High school. Anderson appeared on the December 17th episode of NWA Power and wrestled in a tournament qualifying match for the NWA TV Title. He wrestled against Sal Rinauro and Zicky Dice in a Triple Threat, in which Zicky Dice won. On the March 3rd edition of Power, Anderson won a "last chance match" alongside Caleb Konley, defeating the Dawsons and earning a contract with the

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA ...

Retirement (2020–2021)

On June 19, 2020, Anderson announced his retirement from wrestling. In a video posted on his Facebook page, Anderson stated that he was ready for the next chapter of his life to begin, and felt like he had lost sight of what's important in his life. He also stated that he had no plans to appear on any podcasts or interviews, feeling that it was time to fully move on from wrestling.

Late career (2021–present)

In 2021, Anderson came out of retirement and is now working in a tag team with Preston Quinn as the Extreme Horsemen.

Championships and accomplishments

Anderson (right) as NWA World Tag Team Champion in 1996. *America's Most Liked Wrestling **AML Championship (1 time) **AML Tag Team Championship (2 times, current) - with Damien Wayne (1) and Preston Quinn (1, current) *Carolina Championship Wrestling Association **CCWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **CCWA Tag Team Championship (3 times) - with Pat Anderson *Continental Wrestling Alliance **CWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Pat Anderson *Delaware Championship Wrestling ** DCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Red Hot Russ *High Volume Pro Wrestling ** HVPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Jacksonville Wrestling Alliance **JWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Live Action Wrestling **LAW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) * Major League Wrestling ** MLW Global Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) - with Simon Diamond ** MLW Global Tag Team Tournament (2002) - with Simon Diamond *Midwest Wrestling United **MWU Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *NIWA **NIWA Television Championship (1 time) *

** NWA World Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) - with Pat Anderson * NWA 2000 **NWA 2000 American Heritage Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **NWA 2000 Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Pat Anderson (1) and Cueball Carmichael (1) *Palmetto Pride Championship Wrestling **PPCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Premier Wrestling Federation **PWF Universal Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **PWF Universal Six Man Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Steve Corino and John Skyler **PWF United States Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **PWF Universal Tag Team Championship (3 times) - with Steve Corino **PWF Television Championship (1 time) **Shinya Hashimoto Memorial Legacy Cup (2014) **Match of the Year (2002, 2003, 2005, 2014) **Most Hated Wrestler of the Year (2004) *Pro Wrestling International **PWI International Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Pro Wrestling WORLD-1 **WORLD-1 Great Lakes Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Bull Wheeler **WORLD-1 Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Steve Corino * Pro Wrestling Zero1 ** NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) - with Steve Corino ** ZERO1-MAX United National Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) *RAGE Wrestling Wars **RAGE Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Preston Quinn *Ring Wars Carolina **RWC Heavyweight Championship (1 time) * Southern Championship Wrestling **

SCW Heavyweight Championship The SCW Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling heavyweight championship in Southern Championship Wrestling (SCW). It remained active until November 20, 2004 when SCW was closed. The inaugural champion was Boris Dragoff, who defea ...

( 1 time) **

SCW North Carolina Championship The SCW North Carolina Championship was a professional wrestling regional championship in Southern Championship Wrestling (SCW). It remained active until November 20, 2004, when SCW was closed. The title was briefly revived in G.O.U.G.E. Wrest ...

( 2 times) ** SCW Tag Team Championship (

4 times "4 Times" (stylized as "4 TIMES") is the 50th single by pop/ R&B singer Koda Kumi. It was released on August 17, 2011 and debuted at No. 6, remaining on the Oricon charts for nine consecutive weeks. In commemoration of it being the fiftieth singl ...

) - with Pat Anderson (2), Cueball Carmichael (1), and Dewey Cheatum (1) *Southern Wrestling Association **SWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Pat Anderson *

**VCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **VCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Phil Brown *X3 Wrestling **X3 Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, C. W. 1971 births 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers American male professional wrestlers Anderson family Living people People from Johnston County, North Carolina Professional wrestlers from North Carolina Professional wrestling trainers MLW World Tag Team Champions NWA World Tag Team Champions