Edward Ferrara (born November 22, 1966)
[ is an American retired ]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 ...
, writer and agent 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 ...
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 Nation ...
, often co-working alongside Vince Russo
Vincent James Russo (born January 24, 1961) is an American professional wrestling booker, writer, and pundit.
He is notable for his tenures with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE), World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Total Nonsto ...
. He is most known for, in WCW, portraying the character "Oklahoma", a mockery of WWF's commentator Jim Ross, and was the heaviest WCW Cruiserweight Champion
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 Natio ...
, although he was forced to vacate the title for exceeding the 220 lb weight limit. Ed Ferrara began his work in television production and writing, contributing to shows such as '' Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show'' and '' Weird Science'' on the USA Network
USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...
. Ferrara was also 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 spor ...
in Slammers Wrestling Federation known as Bruce Beaudine. He was most recently working on the creative team for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment.
Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the promot ...
.
Biography
Education
Ferrara graduated from Drew University
Drew University is a private university in Madison, New Jersey. Drew has been nicknamed the "University in the Forest" because of its wooded campus. As of fall 2020, more than 2,200 students were pursuing degrees at the university's three scho ...
in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
in theater arts and English.
Between 1994 and 1996, Ferrara was trained and wrestled in the California-based independent promotion - Slammers Wrestling Federation. Ferrara worked under the ring name of Bruce Beaudine and on April 11, 1996 he won the SWF heavyweight championship.
World Wrestling Federation (1998–1999)
In 1998, Ferrara was writing for television shows on the USA Network. Executives at USA learned that he was working as an independent wrestler on the weekends, and set up a meeting with him 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 ...
(WWF). He matched the credentials required for the job including previous experience in wrestling and working in television production. He secured an interview with Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy McMahon (; born August 24, 1945) is an American media proprietor and retired professional wrestling promoter, executive, and performer. From 1982 to 2022, he served as the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the ...
and began working with the WWF at the King of the Ring
King of the Ring was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and WWE Network event produced by WWE, a Connecticut-based professional wrestling promotion. The PPV event was held annually in June and was established in 1993 when the promotion ...
in 1998. He immediately clicked with his writing partner Vince Russo
Vincent James Russo (born January 24, 1961) is an American professional wrestling booker, writer, and pundit.
He is notable for his tenures with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE), World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Total Nonsto ...
.
Eventually, Ferrara and Russo were offered a better deal to work for WCW, and left the WWF to go work there.
World Championship Wrestling (1999–2001)
Ferrara and Russo began working for WCW in October 1999, and they placed themselves within the onscreen product of WCW. They migrated their "Crash TV" formula from the WWF. Matches were shorter in length, speaking segments both inside and outside the ring were more prominent, and a far greater emphasis was made on pushing midcard wrestlers to the point that everyone on the card had a gimmick and/or storyline. Successful products of their initial tenure at WCW included Screamin' Norman Smiley
Norman Anthony Smiley (born February 28, 1965) is an English-American retired professional wrestler and vocalist specializing in Gregorian Chants. He is best known for his appearances with the Mexican promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre fro ...
, 3 Count, the re-invention of The Outsiders, The Mamalukes
The Mamalukes were a professional wrestling tag team in World Championship Wrestling.
History
The Mamalukes were formed in late 1999 when Big Vito arrived in WCW and established a team with Johnny the Bull. They were managed by Tony Marinara. ...
, 'Psycho' David Flair
David Richard Fliehr (born March 6, 1979), better known by the ring name David Flair, is an American retired rofessional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in World Championship Wrestling (WCW), where he held the WCW United States ...
, The Revolution, The Filthy Animals
The Filthy Animals were a professional wrestling faction in World Championship Wrestling from 1999 until 2001.
Concept
The plan for the stable was to be WCW's version of the World Wrestling Federation's D-Generation X.Guerrero, Eddie. ''Cheatin ...
, and Chris Benoit
Christopher Michael Benoit (; May 21, 1967 – June 24, 2007) was a Canadian professional wrestler. He worked for various pro-wrestling promotions during his 22-year career including most notably the World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestlin ...
's main event push
Push may refer to:
Music
* Mike Dierickx (born 1973), a Belgian producer also known as Push
Albums
* ''Push'' (Bros album), 1988
* ''Push'' (Gruntruck album), 1992
* ''Push'' (Jacky Terrasson album), 2010
Songs
* "Push" (Enrique Iglesias s ...
, among others. There were some storylines which did not necessarily go over with fans the way they wished including Buzzkill
Buzzkill may refer to:
* ''Buzzkill'' (TV series)
* "Buzzkill" (''CSI: NY'' episode)
* "Buzzkill" (song), by Luke Bryan
*"Buzz-Kill", a song by Dune Rats from ''The Kids Will Know It's Bullshit''
*''Buzzkill'', a 2008 film by Second City See also
...
, The Maestro, Buff Bagwell, and Madusa
Debrah Ann Miceli (born February 9, 1964), better known as Madusa, is an Italian-born American monster truck driver and former professional wrestler. She is currently working for National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) as a producer. In 2015, she has ...
winning the Cruiserweight title.
Another storyline that didn't go over well with fans was Ferrara's controversial parody of WWF commentator Jim Ross, in which he took the onscreen name of Oklahoma and began parodying Ross on WCW programming, even going as far as to mimick Ross' Bell's Palsy affliction. He had previously done an impersonation of Ross in the WWF during an angle with Tiger Ali Singh
Gurjit Singh Hans (born March 9, 1971) is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) from 1997 to 2002 under the ring name Tiger Ali Singh. He is the son of professional wrestler ...
where he was called from the audience as a fan and did his Ross impression.[ Ross would state that his impersonation was "personal" and "very hurtful". ]Jim Cornette
James Mark "Jim" Cornette (born September 17, 1961) is an American author and podcaster who has previously worked in the professional wrestling industry as an agent, booker, color commentator, manager, promoter, trainer, and occasional prof ...
would later spit in his face and challenge him to a fight for making fun of his long-time friend, Jim Ross. He defeated Madusa for the Cruiserweight Title.
Their initial stint was epitomized by the reintroduction of the nWo after months of storylines which ultimately saw Bret Hart
Bret Hart (born July 2, 1957) is a Canadian-American retired professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE under a legend's contract. A member of the Hart wrestling family and a second-generation wrestler, he has an amateur wrestling back ...
win the world title at the expense of his nemesis Goldberg Goldberg or Goldberger may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Goldberg Ensemble, a British string ensemble
* ''Goldberg Variations'', a set of 30 keyboard variations by Johann Sebastian Bach
* ''The Goldbergs (broadcast series)'', American radio ...
. However, both Bret Hart and Goldberg got injured a few days prior to a major WCW pay-per-view. WCW later formed a booking committee which consisted of former bookers including Kevin Sullivan, Kevin Nash
Kevin Scott Nash (born July 9, 1959) is an American actor and retired professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE under a legends contract. He is best known for his tenure with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) where he performed under his ...
, J. J. Dillon and Bob Mould
Robert Arthur Mould (born October 16, 1960) is an American musician, principally known for his work as guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for alternative rock bands Hüsker Dü in the 1980s and Sugar in the 1990s.
Early years
Born in Malone, ...
. This would also mark the beginning of the end for the friendship between Russo and Ferrara who both took opposing positions. Russo refused to work in the booking committee as he felt he was jobbed out by the backstage politics of the company whilst Ferrara decided he would stay on as he had just relocated his entire family to Atlanta and so felt compelled to continue his work as a writer. This would be the last time Russo and Ferrara would willingly work with one another in a wrestling environment, until being reunited in TNA years later (see below).
The success of the booking committee was limited at best. Ratings had plummeted and WCW was in a state of disrepair. Russo's and Ferrara's "Crash TV" writing style, which enjoyed immense popularity among the WWF's predominately Northern and Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
audiences from urban areas, was openly resented by rural, traditional Southern wrestling fans who made up the majority of WCW's fanbase. The new committee also led to the mass exodus of the most promising mid-card wrestlers in the company. Now known as The Radicalz
The Radicalz (sometimes titled The Radicals) was a professional wrestling stable in the World Wrestling Federation. The members were former World Championship Wrestling (WCW) wrestlers Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Perry Saturn, and Dean Malenko ...
, Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko
Dean Simon (born August 4, 1960), better known by the ring name Dean Malenko, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is currently signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a senior producer. He is best known for his time with Extreme ...
, Eddie Guerrero
Eduardo Gory Guerrero Llanes (October 9, 1967 – November 13, 2005) was an American professional wrestler. He was a prominent member of the Guerrero wrestling family, being the son of first-generation wrestler Gory Guerrero. Eddie Guerrero i ...
and Perry Saturn
Perry Arthur Satullo (born October 25, 1966) is an American retired professional wrestler known by his ring name, Perry Saturn. Since debuting in 1990, Saturn wrestled for promotions including Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), World Champions ...
all walked out of WCW as Kevin Sullivan stated he had no plans to use them on subsequent programming. It was rumored that 17 wrestlers had asked for their release that night but only 5 of them got their successful release (this included Shane Douglas
Troy Allan Martin (born November 21, 1964) is an American professional wrestler and promoter, better known by his ring name Shane Douglas. He is best known for his tenures in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), World Championship Wrestling (W ...
but he would return in April of that year). Within 2 months the booking committee was disbanded and in a desperate attempt to salvage their ailing product, WCW hired back Russo and Eric Bischoff
Eric Aaron Bischoff (born May 27, 1955) is an American television producer, professional wrestling booker, and performer. He is best known for serving as Executive Producer and later Senior Vice President of World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and ...
to help out. This led to Ed Ferrara getting demoted to a road agent position.
He did voiceovers that played over the intercom when non-English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
speaking La Parka
Adolfo Margarito Tapia Ibarra (November 14, 1965) is a Mexican '' luchador enmascarado'' ( masked professional wrestler), who currently performs as L. A. Park for Major League Wrestling in the United States, where he is a former MLW World Tag ...
was doing interviews
An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.Merriam Webster DictionaryInterview Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016 In common parlance, the word "interview" r ...
, often getting La Parka in trouble with his opponents with the comments he created over the intercom.
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2002, 2009–2010)
From June to August 2002, Ferrara did color commentary on the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment.
Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the promot ...
weekly pay-per-views alongside Mike Tenay
Michael William Tenay (born March 1, 1955) is an American podcast presenter and retired professional wrestling play-by-play announcer known for his time as an announcer for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TN ...
and Don West when the company started.[ At the time when the company was cutting costs due to lack of financial backing, Ferrara chose to leave][ after being told that he would not be receiving a paycheck on a regular basis and that he would only be paid when the company was able to make that money back.
Ferrara returned to the TNA creative team as of the September 20, 2009, TNA pay-per-view event ]No Surrender No Surrender may refer to:
Politics
* "No Surrender!", a British Unionist slogan originating from Siege of Derry now used in Northern Ireland, Scotland, and England
*No Surrender (to the IRA), a political chant since used by England football fans
...
, being paired with Vince Russo
Vincent James Russo (born January 24, 1961) is an American professional wrestling booker, writer, and pundit.
He is notable for his tenures with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE), World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Total Nonsto ...
once again. On June 30, 2010, it was reported that Ferrara was no longer working for TNA.
Later years
After WCW folded, Ed Ferrara debuted in NWA Wildside
NWA Wildside was an American independent professional wrestling promotion based in Cornelia, Georgia, with an office in Atlanta, Georgia, operating between September 1999 and April 2005. It was originally formed when National Championship Wrestlin ...
and criticized the concept of women participating in wrestling.[ This began a feud with ]homosexual
Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...
wrestler Lazz.[ A Five Minute Survival Match was booked for the Wildside Anniversary Show that year between the two.][ If Ferrera survived five minutes with Lazz, he got five minutes with the Wildside creative mind, NWA VP Bill Behrens.][ Lazz accidentally knocked out referee Jimmy Rivers, allowing Behrens to come out and hit Ferrara with a ]tennis racket
A racket, or racquet, is a sports implement used for striking a ball or shuttlecock in games such as squash, tennis, racquetball, badminton and padel. In the strictest sense a racket consists of a handled frame with an open hoop across which a ...
.[ Lazz then hit his finisher, the Britney ]Spear
A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fasten ...
, and Behrens entered the ring and physically slammed the unconscious hand of Rivers.[
In July 2004, he wrote a book titled ''Dark Consequences'' consisting of five horror short stories. In late 2005, a 3-disc DVD boxset was released entitled ''Pro Wrestling's Ultimate Insiders'' which consists of interviews with him along with co-writer ]Vince Russo
Vincent James Russo (born January 24, 1961) is an American professional wrestling booker, writer, and pundit.
He is notable for his tenures with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE), World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Total Nonsto ...
about their time in 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 ...
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 Nation ...
. Ferrara spent most of the subsequent years teaching at Columbia College in Chicago, Illinois.
In 2005, his former writing partner Kevin Murphy named a character after him on the TV series Desperate Housewives
''Desperate Housewives'' is an American comedy-drama soap opera television series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Marc Cherry, Cherry Productions. It aired for eight seasons on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from Octobe ...
.
In July 2013, Ferrara obtained his Masters of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.)
is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admini ...
degree in creative writing from the University of Southern Maine
The University of Southern Maine (USM) is a public university with campuses in Portland, Gorham and Lewiston in the U.S. state of Maine. It is the southernmost of the University of Maine System. It was founded as two separate state universit ...
's Stonecoast program. Ferrara currently resides in Florida where he teaches "Creative Writing for Entertainment" at Full Sail University
Full Sail University is a private for-profit university in Winter Park, Florida. It was formerly a recording studio in Ohio named Full Sail Productions and Full Sail Center for the Recording Arts. The school moved to Florida in 1980 and began ...
.
In 2014, Ferrara was a regular host on Major League Wrestling Radio.
Championships and accomplishments
*Slammers Wrestling Federation
**SWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
*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 Cruiserweight Championship
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 Nationa ...
( 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 ...
**PWI ranked him # 445 of the 500 best 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 1996.
* ''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 Gimmick (1999)
References
External links
Online World of Wrestling profile
CageMatch profile
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferrera, Ed
1966 births
Living people
American male professional wrestlers
American writers of Italian descent
American television writers
American male television writers
Columbia College Chicago faculty
Drew University alumni
Professional wrestling executives
Professional wrestling managers and valets
Professional wrestling writers
Screenwriters from Illinois
WCW/WWE Cruiserweight Champions