John Benson Williams (born June 1, 1970) 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 ...

better known by his ring name Ian Rotten. He has wrestled in the

Global Wrestling Federation Global Wrestling Federation was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Dallas, Texas. It started in June 1991 and folded in September 1994. At one time its shows were presented on the ESPN television network. Often the promotion pr ...

(GWF),

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 ...

(ECW), the

United States Wrestling Association The United States Wrestling Association (USWA) was a professional wrestling promotion based in Memphis, Tennessee. The company was founded when the Memphis-based Continental Wrestling Association merged with the Dallas-based World Class Wrestlin ...

(USWA), and his own

wrestling promotion A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling that has little relationship to the rules of the amateur olympic form. "Promotion" also describes a role which entails manag ...

IWA: Mid-South.

Professional wrestling career

Early career

After becoming a fan of

Dusty Rhodes Virgil Riley Runnels Jr. (October 11, 1945 – June 11, 2015), better known as "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, was an American professional wrestler, booker, and trainer who most notably worked for the National Wrestling Alliance, Jim Crocket ...

and "Superstar" Billy Graham while growing up in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, John Williams, began his career under the name Johnny Lawler, the storyline illegitimate son of

Jerry "The King" Lawler Jerry O'Neil Lawler (born November 29, 1949), better known as Jerry "The King" Lawler, is an American color commentator and professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, although he has not performed as a full-time commentator since Ap ...

. After a short stint as hockey gimmick Zach Blades, Williams went to wrestle in the

The Bad Breed

In GWF, Williams formed

The Bad Breed The Bad Breed was the professional wrestling tag team of Axl Rotten with his storyline brother/real life protégé Ian Rotten. The team achieved their greatest fame in the Philadelphia professional wrestling promotion Extreme Championship Wrestli ...

, 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 Brian Knighton as brothers Ian and Axl Rotten, respectively. They defeated the Texas Mustangs (

Bobby Duncum, Jr. Bobby Edward Duncum Jr. (August 26, 1965 – January 24, 2000) was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his stint in World Championship Wrestling as a member of The West Texas Rednecks. Professional wrestling career Ea ...

& Johnny Hawk) for the

GWF Tag Team Championship The GWF Tag Team Championship was the tag team title in the Global Wrestling Federation in Texas. The title existed from 1991 until 1994, when GWF closed. The title was featured on the promotion's show that aired nationally on ESPN. It is known a ...

in January 1993, losing the titles shortly thereafter. In June 1994 in

, the Bad Breed started a feud with

The Public Enemy ''The Public Enemy'' (''Enemies of the Public'' in the UK) is a 1931 American all-talking pre-Code gangster film produced and distributed by Warner Bros. The film was directed by William A. Wellman and stars James Cagney, Jean Harlow, Edwar ...

over the

ECW Tag Team Championship The ECW World Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). It was introduced in National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) affiliate and ECW precursor, Eastern Championship Wrestli ...

, but never won the title.

Later career

The Rotten brothers briefly feuded with each other prior to Williams' termination from ECW in late 1995. He moved to

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

, where he started a wrestling hotline followed by the

IWA Mid-South Independent Wrestling Association (IWA) Mid-South (also known as IWA Mid-South, IWA-MS, and IWA Mid South Wrestling) is an American independent professional wrestling promotion based in New Albany, Indiana. It was formed by Ian Rotten in 1996 ...

promotion in early 1996. IWA was controversial for its use of violent and bloody

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 ...

. In 2008, IWA and Williams were investigated by Indiana State Police over the violence in their shows. In 2011, IWA shut down and was restarted by a third party, with Williams making occasional appearances.

Personal life

Williams is the father of John Calvin Glenn, known also by the ring name of J.C. Rotten.

Championships and accomplishments

**ACW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with

Drake Younger Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name ...

( 1 time) - with Axl Rotten *

Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South Independent Wrestling Association (IWA) Mid-South (also known as IWA Mid-South, IWA-MS, and IWA Mid South Wrestling) is an American independent professional wrestling promotion based in New Albany, Indiana. It was formed by Ian Rotten in 199 ...

IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Championship The IWA World Championship is the major title in the Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South based in Louisville, Kentucky. The title debuted at the "Crowning of a Champion" event on April 3, 1997, when Tower of Doom won a twelve man tournamen ...

( 8 times) **

IWA Mid-South Tag Team Championship The IWA Mid-South Tag Team Championship is a tag team title in the IWA Mid-South promotion. The title debuted in 1997, but was abandoned before the year was out, and had a brief revival in 2002. The title was brought back from 2004 to 2008 and the ...

( 5 times) - with Axl Rotten (2), Cash Flo (1), Tarek the Great (1) and

Mad Man Pondo Kevin Canady (born June 24, 1969) is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Mad Man Pondo. Best known for his hardcore wrestling style, Canady has wrestled for various wrestling promotions, including Independent Wrestling ...

(1) **

IWA Mid-South King of the Deathmatch The Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South King of the Deathmatch is an annual professional wrestling tournament running since 1997 in which a number of wrestlers compete in various deathmatches, in (for the most part) a single-elimination tour ...

( 1997, 2001) *

Juggalo Championship Wrestling Juggalo Championship Wrestling (formerly Juggalo Championshit Wrestling) is an American independent professional wrestling promotion founded in 1999 by Violent J (Joseph Bruce) and Shaggy 2 Dope (Joseph Utsler), better known as the hip-hop duo In ...

JCW Tag Team Championship The JCW Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling tag team championship in Juggalo Championship Wrestling Juggalo Championship Wrestling (formerly Juggalo Championshit Wrestling) is an American independent professional wrestling promo ...

( 1 times) - with Lane Bloody *

NWA New Jersey NWA or Nwa most commonly refers to: * N.W.A ("Niggaz Wit Attitudes"), a hip hop group from Compton, California, US * National Wrestling Alliance, a professional wrestling organization NWA or Nwa may refer to: Music * New Weird America, a subgen ...

** NWA United States Tag Team Championship ''(New Jersey version)'' ( 1 time) - with Blaze * NWA Revolution **NWA Revolution Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Danny McKay *

Westside Xtreme Wrestling Westside Xtreme Wrestling, commonly shortened to wXw, is a German professional wrestling promotion based in Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. wXw has been one of the leading professional wrestling promotions in Germany, and most of its eve ...

wXw World Heavyweight Championship The wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship, contested in the German professional wrestling promotion, Westside Xtreme Wrestling. The championship was established in 2001 as the wXw Wor ...

( 1 time) **wXw Hardcore Championship (1 time)

References

External link

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rotten, Ian 1970 births American male professional wrestlers Living people Professional wrestling promoters ECW Originals members People from Baltimore Professional wrestlers from Maryland 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers GWF Tag Team Champions