Andrew Vassos (born January 10, 1976) 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 ...

, 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 ...

, Donovan Morgan. Best known for his near five-year run as a

Pro Wrestling NOAH (stylised as Pro Wrestling NOAH) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion, founded in 2000 by former All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) ace Mitsuharu Misawa after he had led a mass exodus in which 24 of AJPW's 26 contracted wrestlers left the ...

mainstay in

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 ...

and

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 ...

in the United States, Morgan received TV work with

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 ...

and 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 ...

in 1997–2001. Morgan would often open WWE and WCW live events by wrestling the first or second match on the show. Morgan also received an invite to wrestle in ECW in 1999 but turned it down as Morgan had other commitments.

Professional wrestling career

Vassos graduated from Ripon Christian High School in 1994 at the age of eighteen, and attended Modesto Junior College for a year before deciding to become a professional wrestler. He left college at the age of twenty and attended the APW Boot Camp in

Hayward, California Hayward () is a city located in Alameda County, California in the East Bay subregion of the San Francisco Bay Area. With a population of 162,954 as of 2020, Hayward is the sixth largest city in the Bay Area and the third largest in Alameda Coun ...

where he was trained by

Michael Modest Michael K. Cariglio (born July 19, 1971) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his stage name, Michael Modest (sometimes shortened to Mike Modest). Modest ran the promotion Pro Wrestling IRON with tag partner Donovan Morgan and Fra ...

and Ric Thompson for two years. He debuted in

All Pro Wrestling All Pro Wrestling is an American professional wrestling promotion and training school, based in Hayward, California. The company was founded by Roland Alexander and managed by him until his death on November 5, 2013. It is located 45 miles so ...

on June 29, 1996, in

as "Donovan Morgan", facing Dwayne Jones. Soon after his debut, Morgan began feuding with his trainer, Michael Modest. Morgan's first title win in APW was on January 25, 1997, when he and his partner, Robert Thompson, defeated Modest and Steve Rizzono for the APW Tag Team Championships in a

Two out of three falls 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 ...

, winning two straight falls. They held the titles until August 1, when they lost to Tony Jones and Jay Smooth. Morgan continued his feud with Modest, and on July 7 they faced one another in a match for the vacant APW Universal Heavyweight Championship. Modest was victorious, but Morgan continued to pursue the title, eventually defeating Modest for the Universal Heavyweight Championship on September 5 in what was considered a major upset. Modest regained the title less than a month later on October 3. In early 2000, Morgan formed 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 ...

with Vinny Massaro and Vanilla Frost called "The New Breed". On April 15, 2000, Morgan defeated Boyce LeGrande for the APW Internet Championship in the finals of a one night tournament (the previous champion,

Christopher Daniels Daniel Christopher Covell (born March 24, 1970), better known by the ring name Christopher Daniels, is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and is the Head of Talent Relations. He is best kno ...

, had been signed by

and subsequently stripped of the belt). After Morgan won the Universal Heavyweight Championship for a second time, defeating Ed Moretti on October 7, 2000, he was informed by APW Commissioner Gabe Ramirez that he was not allowed to hold two titles simultaneously, so he vacated the Internet Championship on October 28. After Morgan lost the Universal Heavyweight Championship to Vic Capri on April 28, 2001, he immediately began pursuing the Internet Championship once more, beating Vinny Massaro on May 19. He was stripped of the title on November 27 after he left APW along with Modest and several other wrestlers following a disagreement with APW owner Roland Alexander. Until he left APW, Morgan acted as the head camp instructor of the APW

professional wrestling school 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 ...

. He was replaced by Spanky and The American Dragon. Morgan 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 Modest known as "Excellence, Inc.", and the duo was signed to contracts in

with the

NOAH Noah ''Nukh''; am, ኖህ, ''Noḥ''; ar, نُوح '; grc, Νῶε ''Nôe'' () is the tenth and last of the pre-Flood patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5– ...

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

on July 14, 2001. Morgan and Modest became Noah regulars often facing Japanese legend

Mitsuharu Misawa was a Japanese amateur and professional wrestler and promoter. He is primarily known for his time in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), and also for forming the Pro Wrestling Noah promotion in 2000. In the early 1990s, Misawa gained fame alongside ...

. Morgan and Modest formed a stable in Noah with fellow

gaijin is a Japanese word for foreigners and non-Japanese citizens in Japan, specifically being applied to foreigners of non-Japanese ethnicity and those from the Japanese diaspora who are not Japanese citizens. The word is composed of two kanji: and ...

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 ...

and

Bison Smith Mark Smith (September 24, 1973 – November 22, 2011) was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Bison Smith. He's best known for his appearances with Pro Wrestling Noah in Japan; and World Wres ...

known as Team KAOS. After almost 5 years of wrestling in Japan full time Morgan and Modest would exit Pro Wrestling NOAH in 2006 after their contracts had expired. Morgan soon retired from Pro Wrestling in June 2006. After leaving All Pro Wrestling, Morgan and Modest decided to open their own dojo, "The Tetsu Academy". They later opened their own promotion in conjunction with the training center, "Pro Wrestling Iron", located in Hayward, Ca which held its first show on May 31, 2002, in

Ukiah, California Ukiah ( ; Pomo: ''Yokaya'', meaning "deep valley") is the county seat and largest city of Mendocino County, California, with a population of 16,607 at the 2020 census. With its accessible location along the U.S. Route 101 corridor, Ukiah serves ...

. Morgan and Modest eventually negotiated a talent swap agreement with Pro Wrestling Noah in Japan that saw Japanese wrestlers such as Misawa,

Yoshinori Ogawa Yoshinori is a masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Yoshinori can be written using many different combinations of kanji characters. Here are some examples: *義徳, "justice, virtue" *義憲, "justice, constitution" *義法, "justice ...

, and

Takao Omori is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he is a one-time Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion and seven-time World Tag Team Champion. He is also part of the All Japan Board of Directors. He ...

appear on PWI shows. Morgan and Modest continued to team in PWI and defeated

Los Maximos The S.A.T. (Spanish Announce Team) is a professional wrestling tag team mostly seen in independent promotions that consisted of brothers Jose Maximo (Kelvin Ramirez, born October 13, 1983) and Joel Maximo (Julio Ramirez, November 28, 1979) who w ...

in a match to decide the first ever PWI Tag Team Championships on June 11, 2004. In July 2004 Modest and Morgan wrestled in front of 79,458 fans at the world famous Tokyo Dome where Donovan Morgan pinned Ricky Marvin for Pro Wreslting NoAH's largest show in its history. In addition, they continued to train wrestlers at the Tetsu Academy. August 31, 2005 marked the end of the Tetsu Academy, with a final show at the PWI dojo in

on August 27, 2005. On September 21, 2002, Morgan and Christopher Daniels, known collectively as

The Prophecy ''The Prophecy'' is a 1995 American fantasy thriller film starring Christopher Walken, Elias Koteas, Virginia Madsen, Eric Stoltz, and Viggo Mortensen. It was written and directed by Gregory Widen in his feature directorial debut, and is the f ...

, won a tournament to crown the first ever

ROH Tag Team Champions The ROH World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship owned by the Ring of Honor (ROH) promotion; it is contested for in their tag team division. The championship was created and debuted on September 21, 200 ...

, defeating Modest and his partner, The American Dragon aka (Daniel Bryan). They held the titles until March 15, 2003, when they were defeated by

A.J. Styles Allen Neal Jones (born June 2, 1977), better known by his ring name AJ Styles (also stylized as A.J. Styles), is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. Regarded as one of the best ...

and

Amazing Red Jonathan Figueroa (born April 26, 1982), better known by his ring name Amazing Red, is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler and promoter. He is best known for working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he is a former three-time ...

. Morgan and Modest left ROH soon after following disputes over accommodation and schedule clashes with their Japanese commitments. On the February 18, 2006 episode of ''

TNA Impact! ''Impact!'' (stylized as ''IMPACT!''), also known as ''IMPACT! on AXS TV'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by the American promotion Impact Wrestling (formerly known as Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA)) tha ...

'', Morgan teamed with Michael Modest and Ryan Drago as La Migra. The trio were defeated by

The Latin American Xchange The Latin American Xchange (LAX) is a professional wrestling stable that has wrestled in various incarnations primarily for Total Nonstop Action / Impact Wrestling and currently in Major League Wrestling (MLW). The group achieved initial succes ...

. On the March 3, 2006 episode of ''

TNA Xplosion ''Xplosion'' was a professional wrestling television program that was produced by the Impact Wrestling promotion. Launched in 2002, the show featured highlights from Impact's flagship television program, exclusive taped matches, and other conte ...

'', Morgan and Modest were defeated by

The Naturals The Naturals were a professional wrestling tag team made up of Andy Douglas and Chase Stevens. They are best known for their work in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where they are former three-time NWA World Tag Team Champions. History ...

. Morgan became a mortgage broker in 200

and continued into the world of financial services in 2008. Morgan is currently an advisor and financial consultant in Florida.

Championships and accomplishments

APW Worldwide Internet Championship The APW Worldwide Internet Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the independent professional wrestling promotion All Pro Wrestling. Title history As of , , there have been 53 reigns between 39 champions ...

(

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 ...

) **

APW Tag Team Championship The APW Tag Team Championships were introduced on November 20, 1996, when Michael Modest and Steve Rizzono became the first to win the titles. They defeated Frank Dalton and Joe Applebaumer in the finals of an eight team tournament to win the tit ...

( 1 time) – with Robert Thompson **

APW Universal Heavyweight Championship The APW Universal Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship contested in All Pro Wrestling. It was introduced on October 12, 1996, when Robert Thompson became the first champion. Title history Combin ...

(

) *

Cauliflower Alley Club The Cauliflower Alley Club is a non-profit fraternal organization, which includes a newsletter and website, comprising both retired and active professional wrestlers and boxers in North America. Established in 1965 by Mike Mazurki and Art Abram ...

**Future Legend Award (

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

) *

East Coast Wrestling Association East Coast Wrestling Association (ECWA) is an American professional wrestling promotion, founded by promoter Jim Kettner. It is home to the annual ECWA Super 8 Tournament, Super 8 Tournament, one of the longest-running independent wrestling tourn ...

Super 8 Tournament The Super 8 Tournament is an annual professional wrestling tournament held by the East Coast Wrestling Association. The tournament is contested by eight wrestlers in a one-night single-elimination format. History The ECWA Super 8 Tournament was f ...

Defeated AJ Styles (

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

) *Midwest Championship Wrestling **MCW Lightweight Championship (1 time) *North American Wrestling **NAW Light 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. 73 of the 500 best singles wrestlers 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 2004 *Pro Wrestling Iron **PWI Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with

**10-Man Battle Royal (2002) *

ROH Tag Team Championship The ROH World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship contested for in the American professional wrestling promotion Ring of Honor. The championship is generally contested in professional wrestling matches, ...

( 1 time, inaugural) – with

**ROH Tag Team Championship Tournament (2002) – with Christopher Danielshttp://prowrestlinghistory.com/

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Donovan 1976 births 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers American male professional wrestlers Living people Professional wrestlers from California Sportspeople from Modesto, California Modesto Junior College alumni American expatriate sportspeople in Japan Expatriate professional wrestlers in Japan ROH World Tag Team Champions