Paul Neu (born July 9, 1966) 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 o ...

. He is perhaps best known under the ring name P. N. News and for his stints 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 ...

and

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 Nati ...

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1987–1991)

After debuting in 1987 and a two-year run in the Don Owen owned, Portland Territory as The Avalanche, Neu traveled to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

to compete for the Catch Wrestling Association under the ring name Cannonball Grizzly in 1989.

World Championship Wrestling (1991–1992)

Upon his return to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in 1991, Neu joined

. He made his debut for the promotion on the May 11 episode of ''

World Wide Wrestling ''WCW WorldWide'' was an American syndicated television show that was produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) that aired from October 8, 1975, to March 31, 2001. At the time of its cancellation, ''WorldWide'' was the longest-running, uni ...

'' as P. N. News, a

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

gimmick fashioned after

P.M. Dawn P.M. Dawn was an American hip hop and R&B act that formed in 1988 by the brothers Attrell Cordes (known by his stage name Prince Be, sometimes credited as Prince Be the Nocturnal) and Jarrett Cordes (known as DJ Minutemix) in Jersey City, New J ...

, where he defeated Terry Bronson in 44 seconds. He soon began a brief feud against World Television Champion "Stunning" Steve Austin. At

The Great American Bash The Great American Bash is a professional wrestling event currently produced by WWE, a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut. Created by Dusty Rhodes, the event was established in 1985 and was originally produced by the National Wr ...

, News and

Bobby Eaton Bobby Lee Eaton (August 14, 1958 – August 4, 2021) was an American professional wrestler best known as "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton. He was most famous for his work in tag teams, especially as one-half of The Midnight Express. Under the managem ...

defeated Austin and his partner

Terry Taylor Paul Worden Taylor III (born August 12, 1955) is an American retired professional wrestler better known by his ring name Terry Taylor and for his time as an in-ring performer in National Wrestling Alliance, World Championship Wrestling, and Wo ...

in a scaffold match. During a house show on June 21, News inadvertently injured Dave Sheldon, who was performing under the ring name the Angel of Death. The injury came about when News botched his

Broken Record A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog signal, analog sound Recording medium, storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove ...

finishing move during their match, as he splashed Sheldon's knees instead of his torso, which sidelined Sheldon for almost an entire year in order to recover. As a result, News was taken off television, his feud with Austin was dropped, and he was used solely at house shows and sporadically at pay-per-views. Despite this, News faced Austin in a match for the World Television Title at

Clash of the Champions XVII ''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). ...

on November 19, but was unsuccessful in winning the title. After their feud, News was moved down the card and on December 21 at

Starrcade Starrcade was a recurring professional wrestling event, originally broadcast via closed-circuit television and eventually broadcast via pay-per-view. It was originally held from 1983 to 2000, first by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) from 1 ...

, News teamed with

Steve Armstrong Steven James (born March 16, 1965), better known by his ring name Steve Armstrong, is an American professional wrestler. He is the son of fellow wrestler "Bullet" Bob Armstrong, and has three brothers who also wrestled: Scott, Brad, and Brian. ...

in a losing effort to

Ron Simmons Ronald Nasir Simmons (born May 15, 1958) is an American retired professional wrestler and football player. He performed for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) under his real name, and in the World Wres ...

and Thomas Rich. On January 21, 1992, News made his final television appearance, defeating

Diamond Dallas Page Dallas Page (born Page Joseph Falkinburg Jr., April 5, 1956), better known by his ring name Diamond Dallas Page (often stylized as DDP), is an American actor and retired professional wrestler. In the course of his wrestling career Page has wre ...

at Clash of the Champions XVIII. Following this, News wrestled solely on house shows before being released on March 15, 1992.

Catch Wrestling Association (1992–1998)

After leaving WCW, Neu returned to the Catch Wrestling Association in late 1992 under his Cannonball Grizzly ring name and gimmick. On November 5, 1995, Grizzly and John Hawk defeated August Smisl and

Ulf Herman Ulf Nadrowski (born April 4, 1966) is a German professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ulf Herman. He is best known in the United States for his appearances in Extreme Championship Wrestling where he was part of The Full Blooded Ital ...

to win the

World Tag Team Championship The world tag team championship is the name usually given to the primary tag team championship (professional wrestling), championships in professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotions, promotions. Nomenclature The name of the promo ...

for the first time. On December 16, Grizzly and Hawk lost the titles to Smisl and Tony St. Clair. After the loss, Grizzly began teaming with his cousin Bruiser Mastino, with their tag team being known as The Brotherhood. On July 7, 1996, Grizzly and new tag team partner Jesse James Armstrong won the World Tag Team Title before losing them to August Smisl and Ulf Herman on August 3. After the title was vacated, Grizzly and Wildcat Brookside won the title on December 21 after defeating Tony St. Clair and Mick Tierney in a tournament. They would hold the title until it was vacated in July 1997. On October 10, 1998, Grizzly would then face Brookside to determine who would claim the vacant Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship, but he lost the match via countout. Neu left the promotion in late 1998.

British wrestling (1993-2016)

Neu was also a familiar face in

British Wrestling Professional wrestling in the United Kingdom spans over one hundred years but became popular when the then new independent television network ITV began showing it in 1955, firstly on Saturday afternoons and then also in a late-night midweek slot. ...

at this time, wrestling for

All Star Wrestling All Star Wrestling (ASW) is a British professional wrestling promotion operated by Brian Dixon and based in Birkenhead, England. Founded as Wrestling Enterprises of Birkenhead in October 1970, it has also been known over the years as All Star P ...

as American Avalanche and for

Orig Williams Orig Williams (20 March 1931 – 12 November 2009) was a Welsh professional wrestler and wrestling promoter. Williams spent his wrestling career in the persona of a villainous heel under the pseudonym "El Bandito", and after retiring as a fighte ...

' BWF as Raging Bull, including appearances on Williams' ''Reslo''

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province, Argentina). Historically, it has ...

TV wrestling show on S4C. Fellow wrestler

Robbie Brookside Robert Edward Brooks (born 11 March 1966), better known by his ring name Robbie Brookside, is an English retired professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he works as a trainer/producer for the NXT brand. He has toured all ov ...

Video Diary A video blog or video log, sometimes shortened to vlog (), is a form of blog for which the medium is video. Vlog entries often combine embedded video (or a video link) with supporting text, images, and other metadata. Entries can be recorded i ...

filmed in 1993 for BBC2, includes footage of Neu both in the ring and backstage out of character. Neu, as Avalanche, has continued to make appearances for All Star into the 21st century, often teaming with Joe E Legend as an arrogant American heel tag team, or as part of the World Riot Squad heel faction.

Extreme Championship Wrestling (1999)

On September 17, 1999, Neu, under his P. N. News ring name and character, debuted in

in a losing effort to

Spike Dudley Matthew Jonathan Hyson (born August 13, 1970) is an American retired professional wrestler best known for his tenure in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as Spike Dudley. Prior to WWE, Hyson began performing as Spike Dudley in the 1990s with E ...

. At Re-enter the Sandman in October 1999, News joined Da Baldies, a heel stable composed of wrestlers who were all

bald Hair loss, also known as alopecia or baldness, refers to a loss of hair from part of the head or body. Typically at least the head is involved. The severity of hair loss can vary from a small area to the entire body. Inflammation or scarrin ...

. At

November to Remember November to Remember (commonly abbreviated to N2R) was a professional wrestling event produced by Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). It was held during the month of November from 1993 to 2000. Starting with the 1997 edition the event was broadca ...

, Da Baldies (News, Spanish Angel,

Tony DeVito Anthony DeVito (born January 20, 1972) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation, Extreme Championship Wrestling and Ring of Honor. Professional wrestling career Early caree ...

and

Vito LoGrasso Vito Joseph LoGrasso (born June 18, 1964) is an American actor and professional wrestler, best known for his work in World Championship Wrestling as Big Vito and more recently World Wrestling Entertainment and working for their " developmental te ...

) defeated

New Jack Jerome Young (January 3, 1963 – May 14, 2021) was an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name New Jack. He was best known for his time with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), where he became notorious for his willingnes ...

and The Hardcore Chair Swingin' Freaks (

Axl Rotten Brian Knighton (April 21, 1971 – February 4, 2016), better known by the ring name Axl Rotten, was an American professional wrestler. In the early 1990s, he was a part of the tag team The Bad Breed with Ian Rotten. He had a short stint with Wor ...

and

Balls Mahoney Jonathan Rechner (April 11, 1972 – April 12, 2016), better known by his ring name Balls Mahoney, was an American professional wrestler. He is perhaps best known for his appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) during the late 199 ...

) in a

handicap match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

. On November 19, News and LoGrasso lost to The Hardcore Chair Swingin' Freaks in a Loser Leaves Town match, ending Neu's stint in ECW.

Hiatus and Return (2000–2012)

On November 17, 2000, Neu, as Cannonball Grizzly, returned to wrestling and won the European Wrestling Promotion's first-ever Hardcore Knockout Tournament after defeating Hercules Harrison in the semi-finals and then Big Tiger Steel in the finals. Ten days later, he won the EWP World Heavyweight Championship after defeating

Bam Bam Bigelow Scott Charles Bigelow (September 1, 1961 – January 19, 2007) was an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Bam Bam Bigelow. Recognizable by his close to 400-pound frame and the distinctive flame tattoo that spanned most ...

. On November 26, 2003, Grizzly lost the World Heavyweight Championship to Thunder. On December 17, 2011, Grizzly defeated Thunder to reclaim the EWP World Heavyweight Title. On October 6, 2012, he defended the World Heavyweight Championship against

Fit Finlay David Finlay Jr. (born 31 January 1958) is an Irish retired professional wrestler currently signed to WWE as a trainer/assistant coach. He is known for his work with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) under the ring name Fit Finlay from 1995 t ...

, although their match ended in a no contest and thus resulted in Grizzly retaining the World Heavyweight Title.

Personal life

Neu was married to a woman named Connie. He has since married Anja von Stanic, whom he also trained as a professional wrestler in 2007 and managed him while both were members of a stable called The Firm before Anja retired from professional wrestling in 2008.

Championships and accomplishments

* Catch Wrestling Association **

CWA World Tag Team Championship The CWA World Tag Team Championship was a major professional wrestling tag team title defended in the Continental Wrestling Association. It lasted from 1980 through 1983. Title history Footnotes References See also *Continental Wrestling ...

( 3 times) – with John Hawk (1), Jesse James Armstrong (1) and Wildcat Brookside (1) **Vienna Catch Cup (1998) *European Professional Wrestling **EPW Iron Man Tournament (2004, 2005, 2006) *European Wrestling Association **EWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *European Wrestling Promotion **EWP Iron Man Championship (1 time) **EWP World Heavyweight Championship (2 times) * Pacific Northwest Wrestling **

NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship The NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling championship sanctioned by the National Wrestling Alliance and defended in its member promotion Pacific Northwest Wrestling, which promoted shows in the U.S. states of O ...

( 2 times) – with Mike Golden (1) and Buddy Rose (1) *Professional Wrestling Alliance (Germany) **PWA Weltmeisterschaft Championship (1 time) **PWA World Cup 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 Publi ...

'' **PWI ranked him #86 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 Publi ...

in 1991 *Riotgas Wrestling Alliance **RWA International Championship (2 times) *

**Rookie of the Year (1991) *''

Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four W ...

'' ** Worst Worked Match of the Year (1991) with

vs.

Steve Austin Steve Austin (born Steven James Anderson; December 18, 1964), better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American media personality, actor, and retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most ...

and

in a scaffold match at

*Other titles **EWA Iron Man Championship (5 times)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:News, P. N. 1966 births American male professional wrestlers Living people Professional wrestlers from Nebraska Sportspeople from Omaha, Nebraska