Glen Osbourne (born June 5, 1971) 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 ...

, perhaps best known for his appearances with

Eastern 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 ...

in the early 1990s, where he was the second ever, and the overall second youngest holder of the promotion's World Television Championship. Since debuting in 1990, he has wrestled on the

East Coast East Coast may refer to: Entertainment * East Coast hip hop, a subgenre of hip hop * East Coast (ASAP Ferg song), "East Coast" (ASAP Ferg song), 2017 * East Coast (Saves the Day song), "East Coast" (Saves the Day song), 2004 * East Coast FM, a ra ...

independent circuit In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indie circuit is the collective noun, collective name of independent professional wrestling promotions which are smaller than major televised promotions. It is roughly analogous to a minor lea ...

Professional wrestling career

Tri-State Wrestling Alliance (1990-1992)

Osbourne got his start in the

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

-based Tri-State Wrestling Alliance (TWA), run by radio personality Joel Goodhart, and became an early contributor to the city's

hardcore wrestling Hardcore wrestling is a form of professional wrestling where disqualifications, count-outs, and all other different rules do not apply. Taking place in usual or unusual environments, hardcore wrestling matches allow the use of numerous items, inclu ...

style (

Paul Heyman Paul Heyman (born September 11, 1965) is an American professional wrestling manager, former promoter, photographer, and executive. He is currently signed to WWE, appearing on the SmackDown brand as manager for Undisputed WWE Universal Heavyweig ...

made his first ECW Television appearance by smashing his portable phone over Glen Osbourne's head). The TWA was unique for its time because they regularly booked big-name talent to work with their homegrown stars. Other notable TWA alumni include The Sandman,

Rockin' Rebel Charles Williams (January 13, 1966 – June 1, 2018) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Rockin' Rebel. He was best known for his appearances on the U.S. independent circuit with promotions such as Eastern Cham ...

, Jimmy Jannetty,

Larry Winters Larry Winters (April 14, 1956 – January 27, 2015) was an American professional wrestler and trainer who competed in the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and East Coast independent circuit during the 1980s and 90s. He has wrestled in the American Wrestlin ...

Tony Stetson Anthony Matteo (born March 21, 1959) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, "Hitman" Tony Stetson. He is best known for his time in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) during the 1990s. Stetson was one of ECW's ini ...

Johnny Hotbody John Weiss (born February 19, 1963) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Johnny Hotbody. In Eastern Championship Wrestling, he won the ECW Championship, ECW Tag Team Championship, and ECW Television Champions ...

, Max Thrasher, and D.C. Drake. During this time, Osbourne attended

West Chester University West Chester University (also known as West Chester, WCU, or WCUPA, and officially as West Chester University of Pennsylvania) is a public research university in and around West Chester, Pennsylvania. The university is accredited by the Middle ...

, majoring in

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 ...

Eastern Championship Wrestling (1992-1993)

Although its shows drew well, the TWA ceased operations suddenly in 1992. The gap was soon filled by Eastern Championship Wrestling, precursor to

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 ...

, helmed by

Tod Gordon Tod Gordon (born June 19, 1955, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American businessman. Gordon is the president of Carver W. Reed Co. Inc, a Philadelphia jewelry store and loan office that was established in 1860. He is also the founder of defu ...

. The team of Osbourne and Max Thrasher, known as Nightbreed, were entered into a tournament to crown the first holders of the

Tag Team Championship A championship or title in professional wrestling is a recognition promoted by professional wrestling organizations. Championship reigns are determined by professional wrestling matches, in which competitors are involved in predetermined rivalr ...

. They defeated The Flames in the first round, but eventually lost to The Super Destroyers in the finals. Following the loss, Thrasher viciously turned on Osbourne and hired Hunter Q. Robbins as his manager. The two engaged in a bloody feud which lasted for several months. After getting the best of Thrasher, Osbourne set out to pursue a singles career. In September 1992, he defeated The Sandman in a match for the vacant Television Championship, becoming the youngest wrestler in history to hold the honor. He was forced to vacate the belt in early 1993, but was entered into a tournament to determine a new champion. He defeated Johnny Hotbody and "Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert before losing to "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka in the finals. Osbourne left ECW later that year.

Independent circuit (1993-present)

Osbourne ventured out onto the independent circuit in 1993. After brief stints in the NWA and ACW, he joined the Delaware-based

East Coast Wrestling Association East Coast Wrestling Association (ECWA) is an American professional wrestling promotion A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling that has little relationship to ...

in the summer of that year. During this run he wrestled stars such as

Tito Santana Merced Solis (born May 10, 1953), better known by the ring name Tito Santana, is a retired American professional wrestler and middle school teacher. Santana has stayed a babyface his entire career and he is best known for his appearances with ...

, Cheetah Master,

Ace Darling Michael Maraldo (born June 27, 1974) is an American professional wrestler, best known by his ring name Ace Darling. Darling has wrestled in various independent promotions in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, most notably for the East Coast W ...

, Blue Thunder, and

The Bushwhackers The Bushwhackers are a professional wrestling tag team who competed first as the New Zealand Kiwis and then as The Sheepherders during their 36-year career as a tag team. They wrestled in the World Wrestling Federation, Jim Crockett Promotions, ...

. In 1996, Osbourne joined the

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

-based

Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation The Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation was a Mid-Atlantic independent professional wrestling promotion based in Essex, Maryland. Founded by promoter Dennis Wippercht and wrestler Tim "Lucifer" Burke in 1991, the MEWF was one of the leading independ ...

(MEWF) and formed a tag-team with Rockin' Rebel known as Darkside. Together they dominated their division, winning the MEWF tag-team titles 5 times between 1996 and 1997. They also won the Virginia-based International Pro Wrestling Association tag team titles twice. During this time, Osbourne and Rebel were being scouted by 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 ...

. They worked for the company occasionally in dark matches and on

house shows 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 ...

, both in singles and as a team, between 1994 and 2001. They also appeared regularly for the NWA. Glen Osbourne was inducted into the

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

in 1996. On February 22, 1997, he won the

ECWA Heavyweight Championship ECWA Heavyweight Championship is the top title contested in the independent professional wrestling promotion East Coast Wrestling Association East Coast Wrestling Association (ECWA) is an American professional wrestling promotion A professio ...

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

, defeating Cheetah Master in a classic 30-minute match. He defended the title against stars such as

Mick Foley Michael Francis Foley (born June 7, 1965) is an American actor, author, retired professional wrestler, and color commentator. He is currently signed to WWE under the company's Legends program, acting as a company ambassador. Foley worked for m ...

, Andrew Martin, and

Christian Cage William Jason Reso (born November 30, 1973) is a Canadian professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Christian Cage. He is best known for his tenure in WWE under the ring name Christ ...

. He would later win the

ECWA Mid Atlantic Championship ECWA Legacy Championship is the secondary championship contested in the independent professional wrestling promotion, East Coast Wrestling Association.The current champion is Sam Shields, who is in his first reign. Title history Combined rei ...

from Ty Street in 2000. In 1998, Osbourne won the Pennsylvania Championship Wrestling Tag Team Titles with

. While in PCW, he feuded with stars such as

Edge Edge or EDGE may refer to: Technology Computing * Edge computing, a network load-balancing system * Edge device, an entry point to a computer network * Adobe Edge, a graphical development application * Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed by ...

Mike Barton Michael Polchlopek (born December 27, 1965) is an American retired professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) from 1993 to 1999 under the ring names Bart Gu ...

Simon Diamond Patrick Kenney (born May 26, 1968) is an American retired professional wrestler and baseball player, better known by his ring name, Simon Diamond. He is currently working for the National Wrestling Alliance as Director of Talent Relations. Diamo ...

, and

Julio Dinero Brian Wohl (born April 14, 1972) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known for his ring name Julio Dinero. His real name is sometimes mistakenly given as Brian Wall. Professional wrestling career Wohl debuted in 1994 after tra ...

. In 1999, he defeated

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 Fr ...

for the PCW Heavyweight Championship. He won the King of PCW Tournament later that year. Osbourne would also team with Derek Domino as The Natural Born Killers in the NWA and ECWA, and with Kevin Sullivan as The Dark Shadows in the TWA. In 2001 and 2002 Osbourne appeared with

Combat Zone Wrestling Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) is an American independent wrestling promotion. In 1998, John Zandig and five of his students, Ric Blade, T.C.K, Lobo, Nick Gage and Justice Pain, along with trainer Jon Dahmer, began to run professional wrestling sh ...

, where he feuded briefly with

John Zandig John Corson (born April 4, 1971), better known by the ring name John Zandig, is an American professional wrestler and promoter. He is the founder and former owner of the promotion Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW). Early life Corson was born in Se ...

despite a severely injured neck and arm. Their rivalry ended at

ECW Arena 2300 Arena is a multipurpose indoor arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania used primarily for professional wrestling, boxing, mixed martial arts, and concert events. Originally known as Viking Hall, the venue has since been named Alhambra Arena, The ...

with a televised barbed wire/chain match. In 2003 Osbourne pinned

Christian York Jason Spence (born April 13, 1977) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Christian York. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling, Extreme Championship Wrestling and Impact Wrestling. Ch ...

in a tournament final match to become the first Dynamite Championship Wrestling Heavyweight Champion and 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 Riptide, The Bouncer and Johnny Thunder called The Pain Syndicate. He also reunited with Rockin' Rebel to win the POW Tag Team Championships, and toured

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

. In August 2004 Glen won the Unlimited World Championship in the Susquehanna Wrestling Organization. Osbourne's pursuit of the belt lasted nearly nine months and culminated in a three-way match with (then-champion) "Luscious" Johnny Graham and "Sexy" Shane Shadows. Osbourne spent the first few months of 2005 wrestling on the Florida circuit before returning to the Mid-Atlantic region to wrestle for the SWO, Pro Wrestling Entertainment and the World Wide Wrestling Alliance (he was the Heavyweight Champion in each promotion). In the Spring of 2006, Osbourne won the World Professional Wrestling Tag Team Titles with his partner The Cremator. In early 2007, Osbourne turned on Cremator and they began a violent feud. The rivalry ended on June 9, 2007, with Osbourne defeating Cremator in a

casket 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 ...

during WPW's annual Summer Extravaganza card in

Reading, Pennsylvania Reading ( ; Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Reddin'') is a city in and the county seat of Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city had a population of 95,112 as of the 2020 census and is the fourth-largest city in Pennsylvania after Philade ...

. September 2006 saw Osbourne return to his home-base of many years, Delaware's

. He also debuted in Pennsylvania's Blackball'd Wrestling Organization and continued to appear for U.S. promotions such as Dynamite Championship Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Entertainment, Devastation Wrestling Federation, New Age Wrestling, WPW, and the World Wide Wrestling Alliance. On August 24, 2007, he pinned

Larry Zbyszko Lawrence Whistler (born December 5, 1951), better known by the ring name Larry Zbyszko, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is perhaps best known for his feud with his mentor, Bruno Sammartino, during the early 1980s as well as his w ...

for the WWWA U.S. Heavyweight Title. In September 2008, Osbourne defeated fellow independent wrestling veteran Ace Darling in a loser-must-retire match, as well as teaming with Nate Hatred to win the World Professional Wrestling Tag Team Championship for a second time. Glen Osbourne was ranked in the ''

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 ...

'' Top 500 issue for 12 straight years (1994–2005) reaching a peak ranking of #128 in 1998. He reappeared in the 2008 edition ranking #175.

Championships and accomplishments

*Blackball'd Wrestling Organization **BWO Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Delaware Championship Wrestling **DCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Dynamite Championship Wrestling **DCW Heavyweight Championship (3 times) *

(

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 ...

) ** ECWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship (

) **

( Class of 1996) *

ECW Television Championship The ECW World Television Championship was a professional wrestling television championship in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). It was introduced in 1992 as part of National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) affiliate and ECW precursor, Eastern Champio ...

( 1 time) *

Independent Professional Wrestling Alliance The Independent Professional Wrestling Alliance (IPWA, sometimes shortened to the Independent Pro Wrestling Alliance) was an American independent professional wrestling promotion that held events in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, ...

IPWA Tag Team Championship The IPWA Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team championship in the Independent Professional Wrestling Alliance (IPWA). The inaugural champions were Death & Destruction (Frank Parker and Roger Anderson), who defeated the Ame ...

(2 times) - with

*Independent Superstars of Professional Wrestling **ISPW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with

MEWF Heavyweight Championship The Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation (MEWF) Heavyweight Championship is the highest ranking singles title in the Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation, one of three in the promotion. The title was created when Ricky Blues defeated Agent Orange at an ...

( 1 time) **

MEWF Tag Team Championship This is a chronological list of MEWF tag team champions. The MEWF Tag Team Championship is the oldest championship title in the Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation having been established when the Lords of Darkness (Pain and Agony) defeated Cream T ...

( 3 times) - with

*Pennsylvania Championship Wrestling **PCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **PCW Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with

(1) and

Flash Flanagan Christopher Kindred (born April 6, 1974) is an American professional wrestler who has appeared in numerous independent wrestling leagues, such as Xtreme Championship Wrestling, as well as the global phenomenon companies, World Wrestling Entertainm ...

(1) **King of PCW (1999) *Pro Wrestling Entertainment **PWE Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *

**PWI ranked him #300 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 Publishi ...

in 2010 *Susquehanna Wrestling Organization **SWO Unlimited World Championship (1 time) *Trans-Atlantic Wrestling Network **Trans-Atlantic Television Championship (1 time) *World Professional Wrestling **WPW Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with The Cremator (1) and Nate Hatred (1) *

World Wide Wrestling Alliance The World Wide Wrestling Alliance (WWWA, 3WA), formerly known as NWA Ohio, is a defunct American professional wrestling promotion. However, NWA Ohio Owner & Promoter Dave Nelson's claim of ownership of the WWWA name is disputed. History Founded ...

**WWWA Heavyweight Championship (2 times) **WWWA Intercontinental Championship (1 time) **WWWA Television Championship (1 time) **WWWA United States Heavyweight Championship (1 time) * Other titles **ACW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **LWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **NAW Pennsylvania Commonwealth Championship (1 time) **POW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with

References

External links

Bodyslamming.com profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Osbourne, Glen 1971 births 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers American male professional wrestlers Living people Sportspeople from Philadelphia Professional wrestlers from Pennsylvania West Chester University alumni