Craig Pittman (born March 7, 1959) is a former

United States Marine The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

and

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 ...

. He served in the Marine Corps until the early 1990s. He then wrestled professionally as Sgt. Craig "Pitbull" Pittman 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 ...

(WCW). After leaving WCW in 1997, he continued to wrestle in independent promotions until 2004. Prior to his professional career Pittman was a successful amateur wrestler. He has also fought in four

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 ...

bouts.

Early life

In his early childhood Pittman grew up in Brooklyn, New York, but moved with his family to

Freeport, New York Freeport is a village in the town of Hempstead, in Nassau County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York state. The population was 43,713 at the 2010 census, making it the second largest village in New York by population. A settlemen ...

when he was young. Pittman attended Freeport High School, where he was recruited to the Wrestling team by coach Terry Haise. In his senior year, Pittman won the state championship in

Wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

. During a subsequent trip to national championships, Pittman was offered a

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholarsh ...

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

which he accepted. However, after Pittman's

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ara ...

year the Wrestling program was shut down and without the scholarship he was forced to return to the east coast. Back home, Pittman attended Nassau Community Junior College where he also wrestled, again reaching the national championships where he was disqualified in the first match due to a bodyslam.

United States Marine Corps

After the community college, Pittman joined the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

and achieved the rank of

sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

. He was a

Wrestler Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat sport ...

in the Marines and won several championships. His biggest victories came in the 1989 and 1991 USA Senior Greco-Roman Championships, in which he won the heavyweight division. He also placed seventh in the heavyweight division at the 1989 FILA Greco-Roman World Championships.

Professional wrestling career

World Championship Wrestling

Undefeated streak and feuding with Cobra (1993–1995)

After leaving the military, Pittman trained as a professional wrestler at the

WCW Power Plant The WCW Power Plant was a professional wrestling school in Atlanta, Georgia, owned and operated by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). The school was founded by wrestler Jody Hamilton, who opened the training center in 1989 in Lovejoy, Georgia. ...

under

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 ...

and The Assassin in 1993. Pittman made his wrestling debut as Sgt. Craig Pittman, a villainous

character Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...

at a

live event A house show or live event is a professional wrestling event produced by a major promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in on the exposure that they and their wrestlers receive du ...

on February 5, 1994. He won his first match by

pinning Pinning may refer to: * Pinning, the effect of certain weapons that cause their targets to be pinned down * Pinning ceremony (nursing), a symbolic welcoming of new graduates into the nursing profession * Pinning force, a force acting on a pinned ...

Brian Anderson just before the time limit expired. He made his televised debut as one of the judges for Marquess of Queensberry Rules between

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 ...

and

Lord Steven 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 t ...

on the April 30 episode of ''

Worldwide Worldwide may refer to: * Pertaining to the entire world * Worldwide (rapper) (born 1986), American rapper * Pitbull (rapper) (born 1981), also known as Mr. Worldwide, American rapper * ''Worldwide'' (Audio Adrenaline album), 2003 * ''Worldwide' ...

''. His first televised match was on the November 5 episode of ''

Pro Pro is an abbreviation meaning "professional". Pro, PRO or variants thereof may also refer to: People * Miguel Pro (1891–1927), Mexican priest * Pro Hart (1928–2006), Australian painter * Mlungisi Mdluli (born 1980), South African retired f ...

'' by defeating Ken Kendall. His character was repackaged in early 1995 and

vignette Vignette may refer to: * Vignette (entertainment), a sketch in a sketch comedy * Vignette (graphic design), decorative designs in books (originally in the form of leaves and vines) to separate sections or chapters * Vignette (literature), short, i ...

s promoting his debut aired on television beginning with the February 19 episode of ''Worldwide''. He made his televised re-debut by defeating Todd Morton on the February 26 episode of ''Worldwide''. Pittman made his

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 ...

debut 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 ...

, against

"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan James Edward Duggan Jr. (born January 14, 1954), better known by his ring name "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE on a Legends contract. His best-known character is that of an American patriot, which ...

, which he lost by disqualification when he refused to let go of the '' Code Red'' when Duggan was in the ropes. This marked Pittman's first loss but he remained undefeated as he was not pinned or submitted. Pittman began his first

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 ...

against Cobra in the summer of 1995. According to the storyline, he had been Cobra's commanding officer during the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

. During a mission, he left Cobra behind, which led to Cobra seeking revenge in WCW. This feud led to a match between the two at

Fall Brawl Fall Brawl was an annual professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and was held in September from 1993 through 2000. The name was derived from the fall edition of ''Clash of the Champions'', ca ...

, which Pittman won by

submission Deference (also called submission or passivity) is the condition of submitting to the espoused, legitimate influence of one's superior or superiors. Deference implies a yielding or submitting to the judgment of a recognized superior, out of re ...

after attacking him from behind before the match while a recruit of Pittman distracted Cobra. However, Pittman lost a rematch to Cobra on the September 23 episode of '' Saturday Night'', thus ending Pittman's undefeated streak in WCW. In November 1995, Pittman also appeared at WCW's first World War 3 pay-per-view. In a sixty-man

battle royal Battle royal (; also royale) traditionally refers to a fight involving many combatants that is fought until only one fighter remains standing, usually conducted under either boxing or wrestling rules. In recent times, the term has been used in a ...

, he became the forty-second wrestler eliminated when

Hugh Morrus William Charles DeMott II (born November 10, 1966) is an American retired professional wrestler and road agent and trainer. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as Hugh Morrus and World Wrestling Federatio ...

threw him over the top rope. Following the pay-per-view, Pittman began a quest to find a

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

to guide his career. After propositioning the likes of

Jimmy Hart James Ray Hart (born January 1, 1944) is an American professional wrestling manager, executive, composer, and musician currently signed with WWE in a Legends deal. He is best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World ...

Bobby Heenan Raymond Louis Heenan (November 1, 1944 – September 17, 2017) was an American professional wrestling manager, color commentator, wrestler, and comedian. He performed with the American Wrestling Association (AWA), the World Wrestling Federation ...

, and

Steve McMichael Stephen Douglas McMichael (born October 17, 1957), nicknamed "Mongo", "Ming" and "Ming the Merciless", is an American former professional football player, sports broadcaster, and professional wrestler. McMichael played college football for the U ...

, Pittman connected with

Teddy Long Theodore Robert Rufus Long (born September 15, 1947) is an American former professional referee and manager known for his work for WWE and WCW serving as an on-screen authority figure. Long began his career in the National Wrestling Alliance and ...

turning Turning is a machining process in which a cutting tool, typically a non-rotary tool bit, describes a helix toolpath by moving more or less linearly while the workpiece rotates. Usually the term "turning" is reserved for the generation of ...

face The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may aff ...

in the process.

Mid-card competitor (1996–1997)

In 1996, Pittman wrestled mainly as a mid-carder, losing most of his matches to main event wrestlers. He received his first opportunity for the World Heavyweight Championship against

on the March 23 episode of '' Saturday Night'', where Flair retained the title. He made two final pay-per-view appearances in 1996. The first came at

Slamboree 1996 Slamboree (1996) was the fourth Slamboree professional wrestling pay-per-view List of NWA/WCW closed-circuit events and pay-per-view events, event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). The event took place on May 19, 1996 from the River ...

as part of a "Lethal Lottery" tournament. In a storyline in which wrestlers were supposedly assigned partners in a random drawing, Pittman teamed with

Scott Steiner Scott Rechsteiner (born July 29, 1962), better known by the ring name Scott Steiner, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). Steiner is perhaps best known for his time in World Championshi ...

in a loss to

Rick Steiner Robert Rechsteiner (born March 9, 1961) is an American real estate broker and retired professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Rick Steiner. Steiner is best known for his tenure with World Championship Wrestling (WCW), where he was ...

and

The Booty Man Edward Harrison Leslie (born April 21, 1957) is an American retired professional wrestler, best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) under the ring name Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake. He later worked for World Championship W ...

., in fall 1996, Pittman quietly turned heel again and dropped Long as his manager, Pittman also appeared at 1996's World War 3 as part of the sixty-man battle royal, which was won by

The Giant A giant is a being of human appearance, sometimes of prodigious size and strength, common in folklore. Giant(s) or The Giant(s) may also refer to: Mythology and religion *Giants (Greek mythology) *Jötunn, a Germanic term often translated as 'gi ...

. Pittman would go on to wrestle in WCW through the first 5 months of 1997, gaining opportunities at the United States Heavyweight Championship against Eddie Guerrero on ''Saturday Night'' on March 4, and his final match in WCW taking place on the 24th of May on Saturday Night, a shot at the World Television Championship against

Independent circuit

Pittman left WCW in mid-1997 for 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 ...

's Mid-Atlantic area. Pittman arrived in Florida Underground Wrestling for several months finally coming out of retirement to defeat "The Cuban Assassin" Fidel Sierra. On the July 10, 1998, Sgt. Craig Pittman would receive a shot at the

NWA World Heavyweight Championship The NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship is a world heavyweight professional wrestling championship owned and promoted by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), an American professional wrestling promotion. The current champion is Tyrus, who is in ...

, battling and losing to the champion at the time Dan "The Beast" Severn. Afterwards he retired from wrestling. In June 2011, Pittman came out of retirement to wrestle in two MMA style shoot fights both against Brent Dali in which in Pittman won both for Florida Underground Wrestling.

Mixed martial arts record

Pittman also had four

bouts. He fought in Vale Tudo Japan 1995 a mixed martial arts competition that took place in Japan on April 20, 1995. The tournament was ultimately won by

Rickson Gracie Rickson Gracie (; born November 21, 1958) is a Brazilian 9th-degree red belt in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu and a retired mixed martial artist. He is a member of the Gracie family: the third oldest son of Hélio Gracie, brother to Rorion and Relson Grac ...

. Pittman won his first fight against ninjitsu practitioner Wayne Emons by arm triangle choke. His lost his second fight against

Yuki Nakai is a retired Japanese people, Japanese mixed martial artist. He currently teaches Shooto and Jiu-Jitsu, and is the president of the Japanese Confederation of Jiu-Jitsu. He competed in Shooto, an early MMA promotion where he won the Shooto World W ...

, a 150 lb shoto practitioner, by armbar. Vale Tudo Japan 1995 was well documented in the documentary ''Choke'', a 98-minute film by filmmake
Robert Goodman
which follows three of the participants (

Todd Hays Todd Dennys Hays (born May 21, 1969) is a former American bobsledder who competed from 1994 to 2006. Competing in two Winter Olympics, he won the silver medal in the four-man event at Salt Lake City in 2002, breaking a 46-year medal drought fo ...

and

Koichiro Kimura was a Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler, also known under the ring name . Kimura was known for his work in promotions like Dramatic Dream Team, W*ING, Fighting World of Japan Pro Wrestling and All Japan Pro Wrestling, among ...

) as they prepared for and fought in the event. On October 1, 2011, Pittman competed at Real Fighting Championships 25 in Tampa Florida losing a Unanimous Decision to Rodney Bell. On October 13, 2012, competed at Operation Octagon 21 in Sterling, Virginia where be beat Tony Horn by Unanimous Decision. His MMA record currently stands at 2-2. , Win , align=center, 2–2 , Tony Horn , Decision (unanimous) , Operation Octagon 21 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Sterling, Virginia Sterling, Virginia, refers most specifically to a census-designated place (CDP) in Loudoun County, Virginia, United States. The population of the CDP as of the 2010 United States Census was 27,822. The CDP boundaries are confined to a relatively s ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–2 , Rodney Bell , Decision (unanimous) , Real Fighting Championships 25 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–1 ,

, Submission (armbar) , Vale Tudo Japan 1995 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 7:32 ,

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Wayne Emons , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , Vale Tudo Japan 1995 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:12 ,

, Japan ,

Championships and accomplishments

*Amateur Wrestling **USA Senior Greco-Roman Champion (2 times; 1989 and 1991)

References

External links

*
National (Amateur) Wrestling Hall of Fame profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pittman, Craig 1959 births African-American male professional wrestlers American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing collegiate wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Greco-Roman wrestling American male professional wrestlers American male sport wrestlers Living people People from Freeport, New York United States Marines 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople Professional wrestlers from New York (state) 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers