Thomas Boric (born May 11, 1961)
is a Croatian 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 ...
better known by his
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 ...
Paul Diamond. He is best known for being one half of the tag team
Badd Company
Badd Company was a professional wrestling tag team in the American Wrestling Association in the late 1980s, which later went by the name the Orient Express. They used the song "Bad Company", by the band of the same name as their theme song.
His ...
with
Pat Tanaka
Patrick Tanaka (born August 5, 1963) is an American professional wrestler best known for his work in the American Wrestling Association as one half of Badd Company and the World Wrestling Federation as one half of The Orient Express. He is the so ...
and for his 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 ...
as Kato, one half of
The Orient Express
The Orient Express was a professional wrestling tag team in the World Wrestling Federation in the early 1990s composed of Pat Tanaka and Akio Sato, who was later replaced by Kato.
History
American Wrestling Association
After Badd Company ...
, also with Tanaka. Before he was a professional wrestler, Boric was a professional
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
player.
Early life
Boric was born in
Zagreb, Croatia
Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...
in 1961 and grew up wanting to follow in his father's footsteps and become a
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
player. When Boric was 13 years old the family emigrated from Croatia to
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, settling down in
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...
. Tom got a full soccer
scholarship
A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need.
Scholarsh ...
to
Old Dominion University
Old Dominion University (Old Dominion or ODU) is a public research university in Norfolk, Virginia. It was established in 1930 as the Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary and is now one of the largest universities in Virginia with ...
in
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...
.
Professional soccer career
After only three semesters at college, Boric was selected as the 6th overall pick of the 1981 NASL draft to play
goalkeeper
In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...
for the recently formed
Calgary Boomers
The Calgary Boomers were a Canadian soccer team that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) for the 1980–81 Indoor and 1981 outdoor seasons. The team was based in Calgary and played their home games at Stampede Corral during t ...
of the
North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to:
*North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league
*North American Soccer League (2011–2017)
The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...
. After the Boomers folded in 1981, Boric moved on to the
Tampa Bay Rowdies
The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Champions ...
whom he played for until the NASL closed for good in 1984.
After his professional soccer career ended, Boric began training for a professional wrestling career at a
Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater in ...
wrestling school run by
Boris Malenko
Lawrence J. Simon (June 28, 1933 – September 1, 1994), better known by the ring name, Boris Malenko ( rus, Бори́с Маленко́, p=bɐˈrʲis mɐlˈɛnko, pron), was an American professional wrestler and professional wrestling trainer. ...
along with his two sons
Joe Malenko
Jody Simon (born June 4, 1956) is an American pharmacist and retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Joe Malenko. He is the son of Boris Malenko and the older brother of Dean Malenko.
Professional wrestling career
Japan
...
and
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 ...
who all had a hand in training him.
Professional wrestling career
Texas-All Star Wrestling (1985–1986)
After training, Boric began wrestling as "Paul Diamond" in 1985. (The name had been previously used by Toronto-born wrestler Paul Lehman in the 1960s.)
His first break came in the Texas All-Star Wrestling promotion in
San Antonio, Texas
("Cradle of Freedom")
, image_map =
, mapsize = 220px
, map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1= State
, subdivision_name1 = Texas
, subdivision_t ...
. He initially formed a tag team called
American Breed
The American Breed is an American bovid hybrid of cattle with a small percentage of American Bison blood. It was developed in the 1950s by a New Mexico rancher looking for beef cattle which could survive on poor fodder in the arid Southwest.
I ...
with
Nick Kiniski
Nicholas Kiniski (born August 25, 1961) is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his work with WCCW, PNW and AWA and for being one half of the tag team American Force with Paul Diamond in Texas All-Star Wrestling. He a ...
(son of legendary wrestler
Gene Kiniski
Eugene Nicholas Kiniski (November 23, 1928 – April 14, 2010) was a Canadian athlete who played football for the Edmonton Eskimos and then became a three-time professional wrestling world heavyweight champion. "Canada's Greatest Athlete", as he b ...
) in Fred Barend's
Texas All-Star Wrestling
Texas All-Star Wrestling (TASW) is a professional wrestling promotion that was established by Bob Murphy in Humble, Texas in 1994. It is the oldest independent promotion in the state of Texas and one of three based in the Greater Houston area a ...
. Neither Diamond nor Kiniski were actually American, (Diamond is Croatian/Canadian while Kiniski is Canadian) so the team name was quite ironic.
The team won the
TASW Tag Team Championship from the Maoris (Tudui and Wakahi) on May 25, 1985, and held them until
Al Madrill and
Chavo Guerrero
Salvador Guerrero IV (born October 20, 1970) better known by his ring names Chavo Guerrero and Chavo Guerrero Jr., is an American professional wrestler. He has previously worked for World Championship Wrestling (WCW), World Wrestling Federatio ...
took the titles from them on June 5, 1985.
The titles would be vacated later that same month when Chavo Guerrero refused to wrestle in a rematch against Diamond and Kiniski because Chavo's father
Gory Guerrero
Salvador Guerrero Quesada (January 11, 1921 – April 18, 1990), better known as Gory Guerrero, was one of the premier Mexican American professional wrestlers in the early days of Lucha Libre when most wrestlers were imported from outside Mexico ...
was the special referee chosen for the match. Madrill teamed up with Black Gorman instead but lost the match. After the match, Madrill attacked Chavo Guerrero splitting the team and forcing the titles to be held up.
When Chavo won the rights to name a new partner he chose to give the titles to "American Breed" instead, only now American Breed consisted of Paul Diamond and a rookie named
Shawn Michaels
Michael Shawn Hickenbottom (born July 22, 1965), better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE as Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative. Widely regarded as one of ...
,
as Kiniski had left the promotion a few weeks prior.
Diamond and Michaels lost and then regained the titles from the "Masked Hoods" (
Ricky Santana
Ricardo Santana Ortiz (born November 21, 1958), better known as Ricky Santana, is a professional wrestler of Cuban descent who has worked for World Championship Wrestling, World Wrestling Federation, World Wrestling Council and the National Wrestl ...
and Tony Torres)
before being beaten for the titles on January 27, 1986, by Al Madrill and Magnificent Zulu.
Both Michaels and Diamond began to add more to their wrestling skills, thanks in part to fellow wrestler
Chris Adams, who split his time between
World Class Championship Wrestling
World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), later known as the World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA) (1986–1991) was an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter Ed ...
and Texas All-Star at the time.
Continental Wrestling Association (1986–1988)
In 1986, Diamond moved on to
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...
, where he worked for
Jerry 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 Apr ...
and
Jerry Jarrett
Jerry Winston Jarrett (born September 4, 1942) is an American retired professional wrestling promoter and professional wrestler. Along with his long-term business partner Jerry Lawler, Jarrett is a key figure in the history of professional wrestli ...
's
Continental Wrestling Association
Continental Wrestling Association (later the Championship Wrestling Association) was a wrestling promotion managed by Jerry Jarrett. The CWA was the name of the "governing body" for the Championship Wrestling, Inc. promotion which was usually ref ...
. In the fall of 1986 Diamond teamed up with a young
Jeff Jarrett
Jeffrey Leonard Jarrett (born July 14, 1967) is an American professional wrestler and promoter. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he also serves as Director of Business Development.
Beginning his career in his father J ...
to win the
CWA/AWA International Tag Team Championship from
Tarzan Goto
, better known by his ring name , was a Japanese professional wrestler who wrestled on the independent circuit most of his career. He is best known for his exploding steel cage matches against Atsushi Onita in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling ( ...
and
Akio Sato on November 3, 1986. The team lost the titles back to Goto and Sato less than 2 weeks later.
In late 1986, the tag team specialist Diamond was teamed up with
Pat Tanaka
Patrick Tanaka (born August 5, 1963) is an American professional wrestler best known for his work in the American Wrestling Association as one half of Badd Company and the World Wrestling Federation as one half of The Orient Express. He is the so ...
, who was also seen as a tag team specialist, to form
Badd Company
Badd Company was a professional wrestling tag team in the American Wrestling Association in the late 1980s, which later went by the name the Orient Express. They used the song "Bad Company", by the band of the same name as their theme song.
His ...
.
They held the federation's tag team titles four times and the two won the CWA/AWA International Tag Team Championship, beating Tarzan Goto and Akio Sato on December 15, 1986. The first reign was short lived as
The Sheepherders
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, ...
(
Luke Williams and
Butch Miller) defeated the young duo on January 10, 1987.
Badd Company quickly regained the titles only to lose them to Tarzan Goto and Akio Sato on February 5, 1987.
The third run with the tag team titles came on May 9, 1987, when the team beat
Mark Starr
Mark Ashford-Smith (December 26, 1962 – June 7, 2013) was an English professional wrestler best known by his ring name Mark Starr. He competed as a member of several tag teams.
Wrestling career Continental Wrestling Association (1986–198 ...
in a handicap match,
but lost them back to Mark Starr and his new tag team partner Billy Joe Travis. Badd Company had one last run with the International tag team titles as they won the vacant titles on May 25, 1987
and held them until July 6, 1987, where they lost the titles to
Bill Dundee
William Cruickshanks (born 24 October 1943) is a Scottish-born Australian professional wrestler and author better known by his stage name Bill Dundee. Cruickshanks is the father of J. C. Ice, Jamie Dundee and the father-in-law of wrestler Bobby E ...
and
Rocky Johnson
Rocky Johnson (born Wayde Douglas Bowles; August 24, 1944 – January 15, 2020) was a Canadian professional wrestler. Among many National Wrestling Alliance titles, he was the first Black Georgia Heavyweight Champion as well as the NWA Televisio ...
(who were the last International tag team champions).
Badd Company also won the CWA's main tag team titles in Memphis, when they defeated Jeff Jarrett and Billy Joe Travis for the
AWA Southern Tag Team Championship
The AWA Southern Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team title in the Tennessee area from the 1940s through the late 1980s. It was originally named the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship ''(Mid-America version)'' from its ince ...
on August 8, 1987.
Tanaka and Diamond soon lost them as
the Nasty Boys
The Nasty Boys are a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags. The team were active from the mid-1980s through the 1990s. Their gimmick was that of anti-social punks who specialized in hardcore wrestling and brawl ...
took the gold from them just over a month later.
American Wrestling Association (1988–1990)
After working as a team for almost a year, Badd Company moved on from the CWA to the
American Wrestling Association
The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The territory was originally part o ...
. In the AWA, they were given identical ring gear and were accompanied by flamboyant manager
Diamond Dallas Page
Dallas Page (born Page Joseph Falkinburg Jr., April 5, 1956), better known by his ring name Diamond Dallas Page (often stylized as DDP), is an American actor and retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. In the course of his wrest ...
, who always had a number of valets, known as the
Diamond Dolls, with him.
The team's first feud was against
The Midnight Rockers, whom they defeated for the
AWA World Tag Team Championship
The American Wrestling Association (AWA) World Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in the American Wrestling Association from 1960 until the promotion folded in 1991.
History
When the NWA Minneapolis ...
on March 19, 1988.
During their year long title reign, Badd Company would feud heavily with
Chavo and
Mando Guerrero
Armando Guerrero Llanes (born June 9, 1950), better known as Mando Guerrero, is a retired Mexican American professional wrestler. He also was the trainer for the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling, an all-female professional wrestling promotion. He ...
and the team known as the Top Guns (
Ricky Rice
Ricky Rice is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearance with the Minneapolis-based promotions Pro Wrestling America and the American Wrestling Association.
Professional wrestling career
Early career
Trained ...
and
Derrick Dukes
Derrick Dukes (born January 4, 1965) is an American retired professional wrestler and boxer. He best known for his appearances in the American Wrestling Association in the late-1980s as one-half of the tag team "The Top Guns" with Ricky Rice.
Pr ...
). They teamed with
Madusa Miceli to face the team of the Top Guns and
Wendi Richter
Victoria "Wendi" Richter (born September 8, 1961) is an American retired professional wrestler. She began her professional wrestling career in companies such as the National Wrestling Alliance, where she teamed with Joyce Grable, with whom she ...
at the first AWA PPV,
SuperClash III.
Both Badd Company's Tag Team Title and Wendi Richter's
AWA World Women's Championship
The AWA World Women's Championship was the women's professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a dramatic enactment of wrestling as a spectator sport. As is the norm for this sport, women's professional wrestling is organized by wrestli ...
were on the line, but since Richter pinned Miceli, Badd Company remained the champions. Diamond and Tanaka's reign ended on March 25, 1989, as they lost to "the Olympians" (
Brad Rheingans
Brad Rheingans (born December 13, 1953) is an American former Greco-Roman wrestler and professional wrestler. He was a member of the United States' Greco-Roman wrestling teams for the 1976 and 1980 Summer Olympics, as well as winning two gold med ...
and
Ken Patera
Ken or KEN may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Ken'' (album), a 2017 album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer.
* ''Ken'' (film), 1964 Japanese film.
* ''Ken'' (magazine), a large-format political magazine.
* Ken Masters, a main character in t ...
).
Shortly after losing their titles they split from Page, and had a short feud against each other before wrestling in singles competition until early 1990. Just before moving to the WWF, Diamond teamed with The Trooper
Del Wilkes
Delbert Alexander "Del" Wilkes, Jr. (December 21, 1961 – June 30, 2021) was an American professional wrestler and college football player, better known by his ring names, The Trooper and The Patriot. Over the course of his nine-year career, W ...
for a short run at the AWA Tag Team Titles against The Destruction Crew (Mike Enos and
Wayne Bloom
Wayne Bloom (born March 22, 1958) is an American retired professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the American Wrestling Association (AWA) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW) under his birth name ...
). Diamond and Trooper actually defeated The Destruction Crew, but were not awarded the titles when it was determined that Diamond pinned the wrong person.
World Wrestling Federation (1990–1993)
Debut and The Orient Express (1990–1992)
Diamond signed with 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 ...
in 1990, working mainly on the lower card against
Dustin Rhodes
Dustin Patrick Runnels (born April 11, 1969) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Dustin Rhodes. He is best known for his multiple tenures with WWE f ...
,
Hillbilly Jim
James Morris (born July 5, 1952) is an American retired professional wrestler and current radio host, better known by his ring name, Hillbilly Jim. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) from 1984 to 1991, ...
, and
Al Perez
Al Perez (born July 23, 1960) is a retired American professional wrestler. He held 16 titles during a 20-year career, including the WCWA World Heavyweight Championship.
Professional wrestling career
Early career
Perez began wrestling as an amat ...
, usually in a losing role. Orient Express member
Akio Sato decided to take a position in the Titan (WWF) front office focusing on the WWF television rights sold to Japan TV networks following the 1990 Survivor Series. Following Survivor Series 1990 the "C-team" house shows were no longer taking place and many wrestlers left television following the event. The move left Pat Tanaka without a partner in
The Orient Express
The Orient Express was a professional wrestling tag team in the World Wrestling Federation in the early 1990s composed of Pat Tanaka and Akio Sato, who was later replaced by Kato.
History
American Wrestling Association
After Badd Company ...
. The WWF decided to reunite the team known as
Badd Company
Badd Company was a professional wrestling tag team in the American Wrestling Association in the late 1980s, which later went by the name the Orient Express. They used the song "Bad Company", by the band of the same name as their theme song.
His ...
, only this time with Paul Diamond wearing a mask to hide the fact that he was not
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
and using the name of Kato.
During this time, the team had a very well received match with their old enemies the Rockers at the
1991 Royal Rumble, and another acclaimed match against the
New Foundation at the
1992 Royal Rumble, which were the only PPV appearances for the New Orient Express. Kato spent a great deal of the 1992 campaign flying solo, posting a notable victory over The Brooklyn Brawler at Maple Leaf Gardens on February 9, 1992, in addition to collecting wins against the likes of grinders such as Jim Powers, Phil Apollo, JW Storm, Kid Collins, and Dale Wolfe. He also would serve as the first opponent for the re-debut of Crush under his "Kona Crush" persona.
Sato briefly rejoined the team in 1991 to team with Tanaka and Kato for a series of 6-man tag-team matches on WWF house shows, but left the WWF after only a handful of matches. Tanaka would leave the WWF in early 1992. Diamond continued to wrestle as Kato until that October, primarily being used as an
enhancement talent
In professional wrestling slang, a job is a losing performance in a wrestling match. It is derived from the euphemism "doing one's job", which was employed to protect information related to kayfabe from being revealed. The term can be used a numbe ...
.
Max Moon (1992–1993)
In the fall of 1992, Diamond got a brand new
gimmick
A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often with little intrinsic value. When applied to retail marketing, it is a unique or quirky feature designed to make a product or service "stand ou ...
in "Maximillian Moon" ("Max Moon" for short). Diamond wasn't originally intended to play Max Moon. The gimmick, then called Relampago, was created for
Konnan
Charles Ashenoff (born Carlos Santiago Espada Moises; January 6, 1964),''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'', Dave Meltzer, ed., May 10, 2010, issue.Sims, Steve"Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame/Founded by Dave Meltzer - Konnan". Accessed August 1, 2016. O ...
, but Konnan left the WWF after a backstage disagreement. Since Diamond fit the costume, he was chosen to take over the character.
The suit was a very elaborate powder blue bodysuit with markings that were supposed to look like a
circuit board
A printed circuit board (PCB; also printed wiring board or PWB) is a medium used in Electrical engineering, electrical and electronic engineering to connect electronic components to one another in a controlled manner. It takes the form of a L ...
and white protruding rings around his arms making him look rather "outlandish". The elaborate outfit also came with two wrist devices that shot out fireworks and a
jet pack
A jet pack, rocket belt, or rocket pack is a device worn on the back which uses jets of gas or liquid to propel the wearer through the air. The concept has been present in science fiction for almost a century and became widespread in the 1960s. ...
that was supposed to make Max Moon look like a man of the future.
Diamond debuted as the Komet Kid and then would change his name to Max Moon. He would wrestle and defeat
Terry Taylor
Paul Worden Taylor III (born August 12, 1955) is an American retired professional wrestler better known by his ring name Terry Taylor and for his time as an in-ring performer in National Wrestling Alliance, World Championship Wrestling, and Wo ...
in a series of house show matches during the rest of 1992, but otherwise, his biggest victories came against
Rick Martel
Richard Vigneault (born March 18, 1956) is a Canadian retired professional wrestler, trainer, and television presenter, better known by his ring name, Rick Martel. He is best known for his appearances with the American Wrestling Association, the ...
and
Repo Man, both by disqualification. On the December 7, 1992, episode of
WWF Prime Time Wrestling
''WWF Prime Time Wrestling'' is a professional wrestling television program that was produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). It aired on the USA Network from January 1, 1985, to January 4, 1993. A precursor to ''Monday Night Raw'', ''Pr ...
, Max Moon teamed with High Energy (
Owen Hart
Owen James Hart (May 7, 1965 – May 23, 1999) was a Canadian-American professional wrestler who worked for several promotions including Stampede Wrestling, New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and the World Wrest ...
and
Koko B. Ware
James W. Ware, Jr. (born June 20, 1958), better known by his ring name Koko B. Ware is an American retired professional wrestler. He debuted in 1978 and became widely popular in 1986. He later went on to the World Wrestling Federation, where he ...
) in a six-man tag team match against
The Beverly Brothers
The Beverly Brothers were a professional wrestling tag team comprising Mike Enos and Wayne Bloom in the World Wrestling Federation. They were also known as The Destruction Crew in the American Wrestling Association and the Minnesota Wrecking Crew ...
and
The Genius. Max Moon and High Energy won the match when Moon pinned The Genius.
On January 11, 1993, Max Moon wrestled and lost an
Intercontinental Championship match to former tag team partner/longtime rival Shawn Michaels on the very first ''
Monday Night Raw
''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that currently airs live every Monday at 8 p.m. ET on the USA Network in the United States. The show fe ...
''. The loss to Michaels was a sign of things to come for the Max Moon gimmick as he began losing to
midcarders such as
Skinner
Skinner may refer to:
People and fictional characters
*Skinner (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with that surname
* Skinner (profession), a person who makes a living by working with animal skins or driving mules
*Skinner, a rin ...
. The Max Moon gimmick only appeared at one PPV, participating in the
30 Man Elimination match at the
1993 Royal Rumble, where he was in the ring less than 2 minutes. In late February, Paul Diamond's contract with the WWF expired and was not renewed.
Eastern Championship Wrestling / Extreme Championship Wrestling (1993–1994)
Diamond and Pat Tanaka reunited as "Badd Company" to work for
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 ...
(the forerunner to "Extreme Championship Wrestling") in late 1993. The team made their debut at
NWA Bloodfest: Part 1 on October 1, 1993, where they beat
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 Wrestlin ...
(
Ian Rotten
John Benson Williams (born June 1, 1970) is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Ian Rotten. He has wrestled in the Global Wrestling Federation (GWF), Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), the United States Wrestling A ...
and
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 ...
).
Tanaka and Diamond got a shot at the
ECW Tag Team Champions
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 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 ...
and Johnny Hotbody later in the night, which Badd Company lost.
The next night at
NWA Bloodfest: Part 2, Badd Company fought against
Public Enemy
"Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe p ...
(
Rocco Rock
Theodore James Petty (September 1, 1953 – September 21, 2002) was an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name "Flyboy" Rocco Rock. Rock is best known for his appearances in Eastern Championship Wrestling / Extreme Championsh ...
and
Johnny Grunge
Michael Lynn Durham (July 10, 1966 – February 16, 2006) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Johnny Grunge. He is known for his appearances with Eastern/Extreme Championship Wrestling, World Championship Wrestl ...
) in one of their very early matches.
Later in the show, Badd Company and the Public Enemy would clash again, this time in a
Three way,
steel cage 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 ...
that also included Bad Breed. This time, Public Enemy was victorious.
At
Terror at Tabor
Terror at Tabor was a professional wrestling live event produced by Eastern Championship Wrestling (ECW) on November 12, 1993, the day prior to November to Remember. The event was held in the Tabor Community Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in ...
on November 12, 1993, Badd Company beat the makeshift team of Don E. Allen and
Mr. Hughes.
After the match, Badd Company called out Public Enemy resulting in an impromptu match between Paul Diamond and Rocco Rock which Diamond won.
Public Enemy quickly got very brutal revenge on Badd Company as they defeated the duo in a "South Philly hood" match the very next day at
November to Remember
November to Remember (commonly abbreviated to N2R) was a professional wrestling List of ECW supercards and pay-per-view events, event produced by Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). It was held during the month of November from 1993 to 2000. Star ...
. At
Holiday Hell 1993 on December 26, Pat Tanaka defeated Rocco Rock in a "Body Count" match.
As 1993 turned to 1994, Badd Company set their sights on ECW Tag Team Champions
Kevin Sullivan and
The Tasmaniac; they defeated them twice in non-title matches.
At
The Night the Line Was Crossed
The Night the Line Was Crossed was a professional wrestling house show, live event produced by Eastern Championship Wrestling (ECW) on February 5, 1994. The event was held in the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States.
Exce ...
on February 5, 1994, Tanaka and his one night only partner
The Sheik defeated Sullivan and The Tasmaniac. Unfortunately, the team had been stripped of the titles the night before. When Tanaka was rejoined by Diamond, the team lost to the (once again) Tag Team Champions when the gold was finally on the line. On March 27, 1994, Badd Company wrestled its last match for ECW, a house show victory over
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 ...
and
Pitbull #1
World Championship Wrestling (1994)
By the time Badd Company wrestled its last match for ECW, Tanaka and Diamond had already signed with
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 ...
; Tanaka had even made his on screen debut as "Tanaka-San". Paul Diamond showed up with the Kato mask on using the name "Haito" (sometimes spelled "Hyeeto") only days after their last ECW match. The duo reprised their "Orient Express" gimmick but could not use the name since the WWF owned the trademark to it. The two men wrestled a couple of matches together
but they never achieved any notoriety in WCW. Badd Company / The Orient Express finally split up for good by the end of 1994.
Various promotions (1994–2001)
After leaving ECW and WCW in 1994. Diamond worked for
IWA IWA may refer to:
Organizations International
* International Water Association
* International Webmasters Association
* International Woodworkers of America, United States and Canada
* International Workers Association, an anarcho-syndicalist fed ...
in Puerto Rico. Later that year he worked for
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 ...
as Max Moon but the costume was yellow. Also, he began working in the
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 ...
. In 1996 he worked for
American Wrestling Federation as Kato.
Diamond worked for Jerry Lawler's promotions in Memphis 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 ...
in 1997 where he held the
USWA World Tag Team Championship
The USWA World Tag Team Championship was the primary professional wrestling tag team championship promoted by the Memphis, Tennessee-based United States Wrestling Association (USWA). The Continental Wrestling Association and World Class Wrestling ...
alongside
Steven Dunn
Steven Lyle Doll (December 9, 1960 – March 22, 2009) was an American professional wrestler, best known for his tenure in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) as Steven Dunn in the tag team Well Dunn.
Professional wrestling career
Early care ...
.
After USWA folded in September 1997, Diamond worked for
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 ...
for a couple of months in late 1997 where he feuded with
Bull Pain
Frank Vizi (born June 9, 1961) is a German born American professional wrestler, better known by the ring names Bull Pain, Rick Gantner and Psycho. He is best known for his appearances with promotion such as the American Wrestling Association, Worl ...
.
After the IWA Mid-South, he worked for "Music City Wrestling" until a torn triceps muscle put him out of action for six months in 1998.
He worked for
Power Pro Wrestling
Memphis Power Pro Wrestling (Power Pro Wrestling) was a Memphis, Tennessee based professional wrestling promotion that was founded by Randy Hales. It was affiliated with Memphis Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Federation. It was the fi ...
from 1998 to 1999.
Diamond had set up an agreement to join Shawn Michaels'
Texas Wrestling Academy
The Texas Wrestling Academy (formerly known as The Shawn Michaels Wrestling Academy) is a professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a r ...
.
Diamond also wrestled for the Texas Wrestling Alliance under the name of "Venom", holding the TWA title twice and also being involved in Shawn Michaels return to wrestling after a 1998 back injury that was thought to have put a permanent end to his wrestling career. When Michaels handed the wrestling academy to head trainer Rudy Gonzalez, Diamond and his family moved to Tampa then to Winnipeg where Diamond opened up a wrestling school called "Paul Diamond Hard Knocks Pro Wrestling Academy," while helping out his terminally ill father.
Diamond return for two show at
WWF house shows as the TWA champion defeating
Funaki on September 18 and 19, 1999 in San Antonio and Austin, Texas. On April 4, 2000, he lost to
Shawn Michaels
Michael Shawn Hickenbottom (born July 22, 1965), better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE as Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative. Widely regarded as one of ...
in a Hardcore Street Fight. Diamond worked for Canadian Wrestling Federation in Winnipeg from 2000 to 2001.
Diamond retired from active competition in 2001 to focus on the wrestling academy.
Return to ECW (1997–1998)
Diamond made his return 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 ...
in September 1997. His role was more of a jobber losing to
Rob Van Dam
Robert Alexander Szatkowski (born December 18, 1970) is an American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name Rob Van Dam (frequently abbreviated to RVD). He is best known for his tenures in Extreme Championship Wrestling ...
,
Tommy Dreamer
Thomas James Laughlin (born February 13, 1971), is an American professional wrestler and promoter better known by the ring name Tommy Dreamer. He is signed to Impact Wrestling and is the owner and promoter of the House of Hardcore (HOH) promo ...
,
Spike Dudley
Matthew Jonathan Hyson (born August 13, 1970) is an American retired professional wrestler best known for his tenure in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as Spike Dudley. Prior to WWE, Hyson began performing as Spike Dudley in the 1990s with E ...
and
Justin Credible
Peter Joseph "PJ" Polaco (born October 16, 1973) is a retired American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) under the ring name Justin Credible. He ...
. He had a feud with
Al Snow
Allen Ray Sarven (born July 18, 1963) is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Al Snow. He is best known as a wrestler for Smoky Mountain Wrestling, Extreme Championship Wrestling, and World Wrestling Entertainment. Sn ...
. Diamond defeated Snow at "Fright Fight", but lost to him at
Ultimate Jeopardy
Ultimate Jeopardy was a professional wrestling event produced by Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). The event took place in 1994, 1996 and 1997.
The 1995 event was scheduled for November 23, but was cancelled. The planned main event for that s ...
and
Better Than Ever. The feud continued into 1998 with Snow getting the majority of the wins due to his Head gimmick getting over.
Return to wrestling (2005-2008)
In 2005 Diamond returned to action for the first time in four years. His only active involvement has been Rocket City Wrestling in
Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in t ...
, wrestling sometimes twice, as Diamond and as Max Moon while also being involved in the booking. He reunited with Tanaka for the first time in 12 years on March 25, 2006, for Blue Water Championship Wrestling in Port Huron, Michigan as they lost to Kevin Baker and Michael Barnes. They continued teaming until their last match on April 18, 2008, defeating Joshua Masters and Kennedy Kendrick for All Star Wrestling Florida in Port Richey, Florida.
Personal life
In May 2012, he began working for the
Decatur Parks and Recreation Department. He was married to Lisa Motley, who sometimes worked as his valet Cherry Velvet.
[ They have two children (Kiana and Quentin).][ Quentin played goalie (like his father) in Huntsville for ]Bob Jones High School
Bob Jones High School is a public high school in Madison, Alabama, United States. The school is a part of Madison City Schools. Despite its name, it is not affiliated with Bob Jones University of Greenville, South Carolina; rather, it is name ...
's top ranked soccer team and in April 2015 signed an athletic scholarship to play at Tennessee Wesleyan College
Tennessee Wesleyan University (TWU) is a private Methodist university in Athens, Tennessee. It was founded in 1857 and is affiliated with the Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church. It maintains a branch campus in Knoxville, where i ...
. He is currently married to Dawn Doyle.
Championships and accomplishments
*American Wrestling Association
The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The territory was originally part o ...
**AWA World Tag Team Championship
The American Wrestling Association (AWA) World Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in the American Wrestling Association from 1960 until the promotion folded in 1991.
History
When the NWA Minneapolis ...
( 1 time) – with Pat Tanaka
Patrick Tanaka (born August 5, 1963) is an American professional wrestler best known for his work in the American Wrestling Association as one half of Badd Company and the World Wrestling Federation as one half of The Orient Express. He is the so ...
*Canadian Wrestling Federation
**CWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
*Central Wrestling Federation
**CWF Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Tracy Smothers
Tracy Stanton Smothers (September 2, 1962 – October 28, 2020) was an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling, Smoky Mountain Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation, and Extreme Champ ...
*Continental Wrestling Association
Continental Wrestling Association (later the Championship Wrestling Association) was a wrestling promotion managed by Jerry Jarrett. The CWA was the name of the "governing body" for the Championship Wrestling, Inc. promotion which was usually ref ...
**AWA Southern Tag Team Championship
The AWA Southern Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team title in the Tennessee area from the 1940s through the late 1980s. It was originally named the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship ''(Mid-America version)'' from its ince ...
( 1 time) – with Pat Tanaka
** CWA International Tag Team Championship ( 5 times) – with Pat Tanaka (4), and Jeff Jarrett
Jeffrey Leonard Jarrett (born July 14, 1967) is an American professional wrestler and promoter. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he also serves as Director of Business Development.
Beginning his career in his father J ...
(1)
*Mountain Wrestling Association
**MWA Light Heavyweight Championship (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 #158 of the best 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 1992
**PWI ranked him # 99 of the 100 best tag teams of the "PWI Years" with Pat Tanaka in 2003.
*Texas All-Star Wrestling
** TASW Texas Tag Team Championship ( 3 times) – with Nick Kiniski
Nicholas Kiniski (born August 25, 1961) is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his work with WCCW, PNW and AWA and for being one half of the tag team American Force with Paul Diamond in Texas All-Star Wrestling. He a ...
(1), and Shawn Michaels
Michael Shawn Hickenbottom (born July 22, 1965), better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE as Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative. Widely regarded as one of ...
(2)
**TASW Six-Man Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with DJ Peterson & Shawn Michaels
Michael Shawn Hickenbottom (born July 22, 1965), better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE as Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative. Widely regarded as one of ...
*Texas Wrestling Alliance
The Texas Wrestling Academy (formerly known as The Shawn Michaels Wrestling Academy) is a professional wrestling training school that was operated by Shawn Michaels and Rudy Boy Gonzalez. The school has produced many well-known wrestlers such ...
**TWA Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
*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 World Tag Team Championship
The USWA World Tag Team Championship was the primary professional wrestling tag team championship promoted by the Memphis, Tennessee-based United States Wrestling Association (USWA). The Continental Wrestling Association and World Class Wrestling ...
( 1 time) – with Steven Dunn
Steven Lyle Doll (December 9, 1960 – March 22, 2009) was an American professional wrestler, best known for his tenure in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) as Steven Dunn in the tag team Well Dunn.
Professional wrestling career
Early care ...
* International Wrestling Association
**IWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
References
External links
NASL/MISL career stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Diamond, Paul
1961 births
20th-century professional wrestlers
21st-century professional wrestlers
Men's association football goalkeepers
AWA World Tag Team Champions
Calgary Boomers players
Canadian expatriate professional wrestlers in the United States
Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States
Canadian male professional wrestlers
Croatian male professional wrestlers
Canadian soccer players
Expatriate soccer players in the United States
Faux Japanese professional wrestlers
Living people
Masked wrestlers
Naturalized citizens of Canada
North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players
North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players
Old Dominion Monarchs men's soccer players
Professional wrestling executives
Sportspeople from Zagreb
Tampa Bay Rowdies (1975–1993) players
USWA World Tag Team Champions
Yugoslav emigrants to Canada