Mad Dog O'Malley is a retired Irish-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 ...
who competed 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 ...
and
Mid-Atlantic 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 ...
during the 1990s and early 2000s. He was one of the region's most dominant
"heels" for much of the decade, billed as a 500 lbs. Irish
brawler
The beat 'em up (also known as brawler and, in some markets, beat 'em all) is a video game genre featuring hand-to-hand combat against a large number of opponents. Traditional beat 'em ups take place in scrolling, two-dimensional (2D) levels, ...
from
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
(or
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
at times
), and a top star for the
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 ...
winning both the
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 ...
and the
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 Tea ...
twice with
Joe Thunder
Joseph Anthony Carter (born 26 August 1968), better known by his ring name Joe Thunder, is a retired United States, American professional wrestling, professional wrestler and Personal trainer, trainer who competed on the East Coast of the United S ...
.
O'Malley also had success in other promotions, most notably,
Cueball Carmichael
Chris Jackson (born June 10, 1960) is an American professional wrestler, trainer and promoter, known by his ringname Cueball Carmichael, who competes in the Mid-Atlantic and East Coast independent circuit. He has wrestled and won titles in the ...
's
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, ...
and
Maryland Championship Wrestling
MCW Pro Wrestling (formerly known as Maryland Championship Wrestling) is a regional independent wrestling promotion based in Joppa, Maryland. It has regularly run events in the Mid-Atlantic region since the late 1990s.
History
Maryland Champions ...
. He and Carmichael appeared at MCW's inaugural Shane Shamrock Memorial Cup in 1998.
Career
Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation (1993–1997)
Making his debut in 1993,
Mad Dog O'Malley quickly made a name for himself 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 ...
and
Mid-Atlantic 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 ...
as a 400 lbs. Irish
brawler
The beat 'em up (also known as brawler and, in some markets, beat 'em all) is a video game genre featuring hand-to-hand combat against a large number of opponents. Traditional beat 'em ups take place in scrolling, two-dimensional (2D) levels, ...
"from the dog pounds of
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
, Ireland". O'Malley, similar to
superheavyweight
Super heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and competitive bodybuilding.
Boxing
In amateur boxing, the super heavyweight division is a weight class division for fighters weighing in excess of 91 kilograms (200 pounds). Introduced for th ...
s such as
Bam Bam Bigelow
Scott Charles Bigelow (September 1, 1961 – January 19, 2007) was an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Bam Bam Bigelow. Recognizable by his close to 400-pound frame and the distinctive flame tattoo that spanned most ...
, gained attention for his surprising agility given his size.
["The PWI 500." '']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 ...
''. Fort Washington, Pennsylvania: London Publishing Company. (Winter 1996): pg. 56. Within a year, he began wrestling for Dennis Wippercht and
Tim "Lucifer" Burke's
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 ...
in
Essex, Maryland
Essex is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. Essex has a long history dating back to 1909. The population was 39,262 at the 2010 census and is growing in population each year. The t ...
. On 26 February 1995, he pinned
Morgus the Maniac
Morgus Watson (born March 1, 1961), better known by his ring name Morgus the Maniac is an American professional wrestler who has competed on the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern independent promotions including the Eastern Wrestling Alliance, Mid-E ...
to win the
promotion's heavyweight championship though O'Malley lost the belt to Corporal Punishment a month later.
At the event, O'Malley had originally defeated The World's Greatest Wrestling Clown and afterwards put out an open challenge to the rest of the MEWF roster. He successfully defeated two other wrestlers, Billy Brat and Johnny Taylor, and was in the middle of wrestling the Ultimate Comet when referee Dave the Wave was
bumped from the ring. In the confusion, Corporal Punishment entered the ring, attacked the Ultimate Comet, and was able to pin O'Malley by the time the referee came to. At the end of the match, fellow referee Jeff Jones confronted Dave the Wave and berated him on the outcome of the match. Their argument escalated into a full-blown fist fight which had to be broken up by
Axl Rotten
Brian Knighton (April 21, 1971 – February 4, 2016), better known by the ring name Axl Rotten, was an American professional wrestler. In the early 1990s, he was a part of the tag team The Bad Breed with Ian Rotten. He had a short stint with Worl ...
, Dr. Pain and the Ultimate Comet, the three sending Jones back to the locker room and setting up a "referee vs. referee" match between the two men.
He later began teaming with
Joe Thunder
Joseph Anthony Carter (born 26 August 1968), better known by his ring name Joe Thunder, is a retired United States, American professional wrestling, professional wrestler and Personal trainer, trainer who competed on the East Coast of the United S ...
and the two briefly held the
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 Tea ...
, defeating then reigning champion
Michael Sweet
Michael Harrison Sweet (born July 4, 1963) is a singer and guitarist from Whittier, California; he is the co-founder, songwriter, guitarist and lead singer of the Christian metal band Stryper. He's also had a successful solo career, and briefly ...
and
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 ...
(substituting for Sweet's Models Inc. tag team partner
Johnny Handsome
''Johnny Handsome'' is a 1989 American neo-noir crime thriller film directed by Walter Hill and starring Mickey Rourke, Ellen Barkin, Forest Whitaker and Morgan Freeman. The film was written by Ken Friedman, and adapted from the novel ''The Thre ...
) on 8 July 1995, before losing the titles to Quinn Nash and
Adam Flash
Douglas Adam Becker (born on October 22, 1971) is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Adam Flash. Over his career, he has worked for various independent promotions, including Maryland Championship Wrestling, Independe ...
the following day.
Other notable tag team partners on the "indy circuit" included Bobby Taylor, The Inferno Kid, Lucifer, Morgus the Maniac, Cueball Carmichael, and Buster Maccabi.
Over the next two years, O'Malley wrestled
Pat Patterson, Jr.,
"Hollywood" Bob Starr,
Bluedust, and The Wiseguys (
Jimmy Cicero
Matthew Bowman (born January 2, 1969) is an American professional wrestler, best known by his ring name "Wiseguy" Jimmy Cicero, who has worked for the United States Wrestling Association, Extreme Championship Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federa ...
&
Steve Corino
Steven Eugene "Steve" Corino (born May 29, 1973) is a Canadian semi-retired professional wrestler currently signed with WWE as a trainer and producer for their developmental territory NXT. He is best known for his tenure with Extreme Championship ...
). In 1997, he teamed with Lucifer to face his former tag team partner Joe Thunder and Gino Caruso.
Maryland Championship Wrestling (1998–1999)
By the late-1990s, O'Malley was also competing in other Mid-Atlantic independents such as
Cueball Carmichael
Chris Jackson (born June 10, 1960) is an American professional wrestler, trainer and promoter, known by his ringname Cueball Carmichael, who competes in the Mid-Atlantic and East Coast independent circuit. He has wrestled and won titles in the ...
's
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, ...
and
Maryland Championship Wrestling
MCW Pro Wrestling (formerly known as Maryland Championship Wrestling) is a regional independent wrestling promotion based in Joppa, Maryland. It has regularly run events in the Mid-Atlantic region since the late 1990s.
History
Maryland Champions ...
. During this time, he battled "Hollywood" Bob Starr and Morgus the Maniac in
dog-collar matches throughout the Mid-Atlantic as well as impressive wins over
The Iron Sheik
Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri ( fa, حسین خسرو علی وزیری, romanized: Hossein Xosrô 'Ali Vaziri; born March 15, 1942), better known by his ring name the Iron Sheik, is an Iranian retired professional wrestler, amateur wrestler and a ...
,
Nikolai Volkoff
Josip Hrvoje Peruzović (October 14, 1947 – July 29, 2018), better known by his ring name Nikolai Volkoff, was a Yugoslav-American professional wrestler best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). Although Volkoff often p ...
,
Cactus Jack,
"Superfly" Jimmy Snuka
James Reiher Snuka (born James Wiley Smith; May 18, 1943 – January 15, 2017) was a Fijian American professional wrestler. He is better known by the ring name Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka.
Snuka wrestled for several promotions from the 1970s to 2010 ...
,
Raven
A raven is any of several larger-bodied bird species of the genus ''Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between "crows" and "ravens", common names which are assigned t ...
,
The Headbangers
The Headbangers are a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Mosh (Charles Warrington) and Thrasher (Glenn Ruth). As the name of the team implies, their gimmick is that they are a pair of metalheads, complete with heavy metal related T-shi ...
, and
The Honky Tonk Man
Roy Wayne Farris (born January 25, 1953), better known by the ring name The Honky Tonk Man, is an American retired professional wrestler. He previously wrestled for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) ...
.
["The PWI 500." '']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 ...
''. Fort Washington, Pennsylvania: London Publishing Company. (Holiday 1998): pg. 76.
Upon entering MCW, O'Malley formed an alliance with Cueball Carmichael and began feuding with former
MCW Heavyweight Champion The Bruiser. One of his earliest appearances was on 16 August 1998, with he and Cueball Carmichael in a tag team match with The Bruiser and
King Kong Bundy
Christopher Alan Pallies (November 7, 1955 – March 5, 2019) was an American professional wrestler, actor and stand-up comedian, better known by his wrestling gimmick and ring name, King Kong Bundy. Under this gimmick, he portrayed a pugnacious, ...
. On 20 September, shortly after the death of
Shane Shamrock
Brian Stephen Howser (February 8, 1975 – August 18, 1998), known by his ring name Shane Shamrock, was an American professional wrestler best known for his time Maryland Championship Wrestling. He is the only wrestler to win the Light Heavywei ...
, O'Malley and Carmichael made an appearance at the promotion's memorial show held at the Patapsco Arena in Baltimore, Maryland. He served as the
corner man for Carmichael in his bout against The Bruiser. He later interfered in the match allowing Carmichael to win the match. He would face The Bruiser in a match himself the following month at MCW's Heavyweight Championship Tournament. On 4 November 1998, O'Malley took part in MCW's "Legends Come to Town" in
Glen Burnie, Maryland
Glen Burnie is an unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Baltimore. The population of Glen Burnie was 67,639 at the 2010 census.
History
In 1812, Elias Glenn, a d ...
wrestling
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. C ...
. The card also included independent wrestlers
Joey Matthews
Adam Birch (born July 18, 1979), better known by the ring names Joey Mercury and Joey Matthews, is an American professional wrestler who is best known for his two tenures in WWE. Birch was most recently signed to Ring of Honor, where he worke ...
,
,
Jimmy Cicero
Matthew Bowman (born January 2, 1969) is an American professional wrestler, best known by his ring name "Wiseguy" Jimmy Cicero, who has worked for the United States Wrestling Association, Extreme Championship Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federa ...
,
Julio Sanchez, and
Tom Brandi
Thomas Brandi (born July 9, 1966) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in the World Wrestling Federation from 1996 to 1998 under the ring name Salvatore Sincere. Brandi is also known for his appearances with t ...
,
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 ...
's
The Blue Meanie
Brian Heffron (born May 18, 1973), better known by his ring name The Blue Meanie, is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation between 1995 and 2 ...
&
Nova
A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...
,
Stevie Richards
Michael Stephen Manna (born October 9, 1971), better known by his ring name Stevie Richards, is an American professional wrestler. Over the course of his career, Richards has performed for major professional wrestling promotions including Easte ...
,
Terry Funk
Terrence Funk (born June 30, 1944) is an American retired professional wrestler, rapper, disc jockey and actor. Funk is known for the longevity of his career – which spanned more than 50 years and included multiple short-lived retirements – a ...
, and former
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 ...
star
Yokozuna
, or , is the top division of the six divisions of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers (''rikishi''), ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous tournaments.
This is the on ...
.
On 7 January 1999, O'Malley wrestled the WWF's
Joey Abs
Jason Arhndt (born October 15, 1971) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) under the ring name Joey Abs as part of the Mean Street Posse. He also performed usin ...
of the
Mean Street Posse
The Mean Street Posse (also initially known as the Greenwich Posse) was a professional wrestling stable in the World Wrestling Federation. The group consisted of Pete Gas, Rodney, and Joey Abs. The Posse's gimmick was that they were friends of ...
at an MCW show in Glen Burnie. In October of that year, O'Malley was one of several MEWF wrestlers to participate in a fundraiser for
North Carroll High School
North Carroll High School was a public high school located in Hampstead, Maryland, Hampstead, Maryland, United States, in Carroll County, Maryland, Carroll County.
The North Carroll High School building is located at 1400 Panther Drive. The schoo ...
, the "Pro Wrestling Spectacular", attended by an estimated 1,500 fans. Among the wrestlers on the card included Max Thrasher,
Morgus the Maniac
Morgus Watson (born March 1, 1961), better known by his ring name Morgus the Maniac is an American professional wrestler who has competed on the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern independent promotions including the Eastern Wrestling Alliance, Mid-E ...
,
Bob Backlund
Robert Louis Backlund (born August 14, 1949) is an American retired amateur and professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in the World Wide Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Federation from 1976 to 1984 and in the 1990s, wher ...
,
Gillberg,
Earthquake
An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...
and
George "The Animal" Steele
William James Myers (April 16, 1937 – February 16, 2017), better known by his ring name George "The Animal" Steele, was an American professional wrestler, school teacher, author, and actor. His career lasted from 1967 until 1988, though he mad ...
.
Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation (2000–2003)
On 7 January 2000, nearly five years after losing the MEWF tag team title, O'Malley and Joe Thunder were awarded the belts when then champions The Good, The Bad and The Ugly broke up; the titles were eventually vacated. During the first half of 2000, he made several attempts to win the MEWF Heavyweight Championship from Lucifer. Though losing to him in a cage match several months earlier, O'Malley challenged Lucifer at an MEWF house show in
Dundalk, Maryland
Dundalk ( or ) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 67,796 at the 2020 census. In 1960 and 1970, Dundalk was the largest unincorporated community in Mar ...
on 24 June. He confronted the champion at the start of the show, who was then conducting an
in-ring interview, and took issue with Lucifer's announcement to the crowd that he would be defending the heavyweight title against the "younger and newer competition in the MEWF". O'Malley ended up attacking Lucifer and, though getting the better of him, he was pinned by the champion in the main event later that night.
O'Malley appeared less and less frequently during the MEWF's last years; his final major appearance was at a
memorial show for
Dino Casanova
David Mark DiMeglio (February 8, 1967 – March 1, 2002) was an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Dino Casanova. He competed in independent promotions in the Northeastern United States including Eastern Championship ...
in Baltimore on 9 June 2002, where he won a
battle royal
Battle royal (; also royale) traditionally refers to a fight involving many combatants that is fought until only one fighter remains standing, usually conducted under either boxing or wrestling rules. In recent times, the term has been used in a ...
. O'Malley retired shortly before the MEWF closed in 2004.
Championships and accomplishments
*
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 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 Tea ...
(2 times) – with Joe Thunder
*
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 #497 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 1998
**PWI ranked him #421 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 1996
References
External links
Mad Dog O'Malley at Cagematch.de
{{DEFAULTSORT:OMalley, Mad Dog
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
American male professional wrestlers
Irish male professional wrestlers
Sportspeople from Dublin (city)