: James Rocha (born May 4, 1967) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 ...

. He is best known for his appearances with

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established on October 21, 1972 when Giant Baba split away from the Japanese Wrestling Association and created his own promotion. Many wrestlers had left with Baba, ...

(AJPW) 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 ...

(WCW) under the

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 ...

s Jim Steele and Wolf Hawkfield.

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1991–1993)

Rocha began his career in Florida for International Championship Wrestling Alliance in October 1991. He would also wrestle for 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 Wrestling ...

(USWA) in Tennessee between February and March 1992.

World Championship Wrestling (1993–1994)

Rocha trained in 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 ...

and turned pro in late 1993 where he used the name "Jungle" Jim Steele. Steele worked for

WCW 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 ...

for the next year but was not pushed. He left the promotion in 1994.

Extreme Championship Wrestling (1995)

Steele appeared in

ECW ECW may refer to: Professional wrestling * Extreme Championship Wrestling (originally Eastern Championship Wrestling), a professional wrestling promotion that operated from 1992 to 2001 * The Alliance (professional wrestling) (originally the WCW/E ...

Barbed Wire, Hoodies & Chokeslams Barbed Wire, Hoodies & Chokeslams was a professional wrestling live event produced by Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) on June 17, 1995. The event was held in the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States. Excerpts from Ba ...

in June 1995 to face 911.

All Japan Pro Wrestling (1994–2002)

Steele debuted in

in late 1994, where he continued to wrestle as Jim Steele. In late 1994, Steele entered the 1994

World's Strongest Tag Determination League __NOTOC__ The , more commonly known in the West as the Real World Tag League, is an annual professional wrestling tournament held by All Japan Pro Wrestling since 1977, usually, run on the first weeks of December. The first tournament was actually ...

tournament, forming a team with

Dan Spivey Daniel Eugene Spivey (born October 14, 1952) is an American retired professional wrestler best known under the ring names "Dangerous" Dan Spivey, Dangerous Dan The Left Hand Man, Danny Spivey, Mr. America, and Waylon Mercy, and initially worked ...

but the team finished in last place with 2 points. In 1995, Steele was given a new name: Lacrosse but the new name did little for his All Japan career as he spent the next 2 years having little to no direction as he received only 1 title shot at the

All Asia Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling tag team title in Japanese promotion All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). It was created on November 16, 1955, in the Japan Wrestling Association (JWA) when King Kong Czaya and Tiger Joginder Singh defeated JWA founder ...

and was left off tournaments. In early 1997, Steele helped form the Triangle of Power with "Dr. Death" Steve Williams and

Gary Albright Gary Mitchell Albright (May 18, 1963 – January 7, 2000) was an American professional wrestler best known for his work in Japan, first with UWF International (UWFi), and later All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). In AJPW, Albright was a two-time Worl ...

, however it did little for his career. In late 1997, Steele left the Triangle of Power and was given another gimmick becoming Wolf Hawkfield, a gimmick based on the Wolf Hawkfield character from the

Virtua Fighter is a series of fighting games created by Sega-AM2 and designer Yu Suzuki. The original ''Virtua Fighter'' was released in October 1993 and has received four main sequels and several spin-offs. The highly influential first ''Virtua Fighter'' game ...

video game series. The character proved to be successful as Steele's stock rose. He formed a team with

Johnny Smith Johnny Henry Smith II (June 25, 1922 – June 11, 2013) was an American cool jazz and mainstream jazz guitarist. He wrote "Walk, Don't Run" in 1954. In 1984, Smith was inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame. Early life During the Great D ...

and the two entered the 1997 World's Strongest Tag Determination League where they finished in 5th place with 10 points. On January 9, 1998, Hawkfield and Smith defeated

Jun Akiyama is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to DDT Pro-Wrestling, where he is a former KO-D Openweight Champion. He is best known for his time working for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he was the president, representative director, co-he ...

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 ...

to win the All Asia Tag Team Championship. In the spring, Hawkfield then entered the 1998

Champion Carnival The is a professional wrestling tournament held by All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). The tournament is also known by the nickname and is sometimes abbreviated to CC. Created by AJPW founder Giant Baba, the tournament has been held annually since ...

but finished in 12th place with 4 points. On October 6, Hawkfield and Smith lost the All Asia Tag Team Championship to

Tamon Honda (born August 15, 1963) is a Japanese semi-retired professional wrestler and former Olympic amateur wrestler who is currently a freelancer. He most recently worked for Pro Wrestling Noah. He is a former tag team champion, winning the All Asia Ta ...

and

Jun Izumida Junji Izumida (泉田純; Izumida Jun; October 28, 1965 – January 25, 2017) was a Japanese professional wrestler who worked for Pro Wrestling Noah. Career Sumo wrestling Before being a professional wrestler, Izumida was a sumo wrestler, mak ...

. Following the title loss, Hawkfield's stock once again dropped as he wasn't used for either the 1998 World's Strongest Tag Determination League and the 1999 Champion Carnival and he also received no title shots in 1999. Hawkfield returned to an All Japan tournament by entering the 1999 World's Strongest Tag Determination League teaming with Gary Albright but they finished in 7th place with 2 points. In early 2000, Hawkfield entered the 2000 Champion Carnival, but lost in the first round to Jun Izumida. In the summer of 2000,

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 ...

left All Japan and went on to form

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 ...

. Misawa would ultimately take the majority of the native roster and a few foreigners with him. Hawkfield, along with the majority of the gaijin side, remained in All Japan. Following the exodus, Hawkfield reverted to Jim Steele and formed a new tag team with

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 ...

. The new team entered the 2000 World's Strongest Tag Determination League where they finished in 4th place with 10 points. In 2001, Steele entered the 2001 Champion Carnival where he finished 8th place with 2 points. For the rest of 2001, Steele would continue to team with Barton, in the fall of 2001, the two joined the All Japan Branch of

Masahiro Chono is an American-born Japanese-American retired professional wrestler and actor best known for his 26 year stint with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). As the leader of nWo Japan, Team 2000 and Black New Japan, he was the promotion's top heel for m ...

's stable:

Team 2000 Team 2000 was a professional wrestling stable that competed in New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Throughout its tenure, T2000 was New Japan's top heel stable. History Background In August 1998, Masahiro Chono was leader of nWo Japan and won the IWGP H ...

. In late 2001, Steele and Barton entered the 2001 G1 Tag League where they became the runners-up, losing to

Tencozy Tencozy (occasionally spelled "Ten-Koji") is a professional wrestling tag team that has competed in New Japan Pro-Wrestling and All Japan Pro Wrestling. They are seven-time tag team champions ( six-time IWGP Tag Team Champions and one-time NWA W ...

in the finals. In 2002, Steele would have a busy year as he and Barton challenged for the

World Tag Team Championship The world tag team championship is the name usually given to the primary tag team championships in professional wrestling promotions. Nomenclature The name of the promotion is often preceded to the term "world tag team championship" as the ...

on two occasions but came up short each time. In the spring, Steele entered the 2002 Champion Carnival finishing in 3rd place with 6 points. In the summer, Steele and Barton won the Stan Hansen Cup in a four-way tag team match. By the end of 2002, Steele and Barton left All Japan and signed with

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares ...

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2002–2004)

Steele and Barton entered New Japan in the fall of 2002. They entered the 2002 Triathlon Tournament teaming with

Yuji Nagata is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). A two-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, World Heavyweight Champion and a GHC Heavyweight Champion, making him a four-time world champion in major professional ...

. They made it to the finals but lost to

Manabu Nakanishi is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and former amateur wrestler, who was primarily associated with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He is a one-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, one-time G1 Climax winner and three-time IWGP Tag Team Champi ...

Osamu Nishimura is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working as a freelancer. Nishimura formerly worked for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and MUGA World Pro Wrestling (MUGA). Professional wrestling career Early years (1991–1998) Nishimura debuted ...

, and

Yutaka Yoshie , is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working as a freelancer in Japan, performing most notably for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he is a former World Tag Team Champion. He has previously worked for promotions such as New Japan ...

. In February 2003, Steele and Barton entered a #1 Contenders Tournament for the

IWGP Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling world tag team championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of the NJPW's governing body, the . The title was introduced on December 12, 1985 at an NJPW live event. The ...

which they emerged victorious defeating Makai Club members:

Tadao Yasuda is a Japanese retired sumo wrestler (''rikishi''), professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. He competed in sumo from 1979 to 1992 under the ''shikona'' of Takanofuji Tadao, achieving the rank of ''komusubi'', and afterwards turned to prof ...

and

Kazunari Murakami (born November 29, 1973) is a Japanese professional wrestler and retired mixed martial artist currently working for Pro Wrestling Noah. Murakami is best known for his work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) during the late 1990s and early 2000s, ...

, unfortunately the title match would be delayed when Steele suffered a leg injury putting him out for months. After recovering from his injury, Steele returned in the fall of 2003 as he teamed with Barton in the 2003 G1 Tag League. During the tag league, Steele and Barton would receive their IWGP Tag Team Title shot against champions:

Hiroshi Tanahashi is a Japanese professional wrestler. He works primarily for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, his accolades in NJPW include a record setting eight reigns as IWGP Heavywei ...

and Yutaka Yoshie, but they lost. In the tag league, Steele and Barton finished in 6th place with 6 points. After a few more months in New Japan, Steele and Barton left in early 2004.

Return to All Japan Pro Wrestling (2004)

In late 2004, Steele returned to All Japan now using the gimmick Love Machine Steele. Steele teamed with the

GREAT MUTA is a Japanese professional wrestler and professional wrestling executive currently signed to Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah), where he is a former GHC Heavyweight Champion. He is best known for his work as in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Ne ...

in the 2004 World's Strongest Tag Determination League but the team finished 4th place in their block with 4 points. After the tournament, Steele left All Japan again.

World Wrestling Council (1997–1998, 2001–2002)

During his time in Japan, Steele competed for the

World Wrestling Council The World Wrestling Council (WWC) (Spanish: "Consejo Mundial de Lucha"), is a Puerto-Rican professional wrestling promotion based in Puerto Rico. It was originally established as Capitol Sports Promotions in 1973 by Carlos Colón Sr., Victor J ...

promotion in

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

. In November 2001, Steele won the WWC Puerto Rican Championship, but lost the title three weeks later. Steele worked for WWC on and off until 2008, in which he retired shortly thereafter.

Championships and accomplishments

( 1 time) - with

**Stan Hansen Cup (2002) - with

#1 Contenders Tournament (2003) - with Mike Barton *''

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 143 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 Publishi ...

in 1999 *

WWC Puerto Rico Heavyweight Championship The WWC Puerto Rico Championship is the secondary professional wrestling championship that is defended in the World Wrestling Council based in Puerto Rico. The title was created in January 1974 and, as its name suggests, is defended exclusively wi ...

( 1 time) **

WWC Television Championship The WWC Television Championship is a tertiary championship that is currently defended in the World Wrestling Council. The title was initially created in 1986 and used until 2003, then from February 3, 2007 until July 11, 2008. The title was brought ...

( 1 time)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Steele, Jim 1967 births American male professional wrestlers Expatriate professional wrestlers in Japan Living people People from New Port Richey, Florida Professional wrestlers from Florida All Asia Tag Team Champions WWC Puerto Rico Champions 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers WWC Television Champions