Steven James Bisson (December 10, 1975 – December 4, 2008) was an American

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

who wrestled 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 ...

Steve Bradley. He competed in various North American independent promotions as well as spending over three years in

World Wrestling Entertainment 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 ...

developmental territories including

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 ...

Heartland Wrestling Association The Heartland Wrestling Association (HWA) was a Midwestern independent professional wrestling promotion based in Cincinnati, Ohio. A former developmental territory for World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation during the 199 ...

Memphis Championship Wrestling Memphis Championship Wrestling (MCW) was a professional wrestling promotion run by Terry Golden, based in Memphis, Tennessee. The promotion's first event was on February 20, 2000, and it remained active until mid-2001. It was employed as a World ...

and

Ohio Valley Wrestling Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) is an American professional wrestling promotion and former developmental promotion based in Louisville, Kentucky. The company is currently run by Al Snow and Matt Jones and Louisville mayor elect, Craig Greenberg. O ...

. He was also the owner and head trainer at Wrestling Federation of America (WFA), a New Hampshire based independent promotion. Notable graduates include Alex Arion, Antonio Thomas, Brandon Locke, Brian Fury, Matt Spectro, Scott Reed,

Nicole Raczynski Nicole Raczynski (born April 19, 1979) is an American former professional wrestler. She is best known for her tenure in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring names Roxxi Laveaux, The Voodoo Queen, and Roxxi. She is also known for her time ...

and Max Smashmaster.

Biography

Early career and Power Pro Wrestling

At the age of 15, Bradley made his professional debut in 1991 becoming a mainstay of various East Coast promotions during the 1990s. He wrestled for a taping for

WWF Superstars of Wrestling ''WWF Superstars of Wrestling'' (later shortened to ''WWF Superstars'' and to ''Sunday Morning Superstars ''), also referred to as ''Maple Leaf Wrestling'' in Canada was an American professional wrestling television program that was produced by ...

where he teamed with Joe DeLeon losing to

The Bodydonnas The Bodydonnas were a professional wrestling tag team in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in the mid-1990s, consisting of Chris Candido as Skip, Candido's real-life girlfriend Tammy Lynn Sytch as Sunny, and Tom Prichard as Skip's kayfabe cousi ...

on April 2, 1996. In 1998, Bradley signed a 3-year developmental contract with the World Wrestling Federation and began training under

Tom Prichard Thomas Prichard (born August 18, 1959) is a retired American professional wrestler and author. He is the older brother of Bruce Prichard. Professional wrestling career Early career (1979–1986) Tom Prichard began his career in Los Angeles ...

at WWF Headquarters in

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 2020 ...

, with

Kurt Angle Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9, 1968) is an American retired professional wrestler, Wrestling at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's freestyle 100 kg, Olympic gold medalist in American freestyle wrestling, and former Collegiate wrestling, ...

. Assigned to Memphis-based

, both he and Angle began feuding with each other over the PPW Heavyweight title eventually defeating Angle for the title on August 7, 1999 and becoming the first man to pin Angle in his professional career. Their feud would be voted "Underrated Feud of the Year" by ''

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 ...

'' that same year. In March 1999, he won the third annual

ECWA Super 8 Tournament The Super 8 Tournament is an annual professional wrestling tournament held by the East Coast Wrestling Association. The tournament is contested by eight wrestlers in a one-night single-elimination format. History The ECWA Super 8 Tournament was f ...

defeating

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

and

Devon Storm Christopher Ford (born March 4, 1974) is an American professional wrestler, best known for his tenure in World Championship Wrestling under the ring name Crowbar, where he was a one time Hardcore Champion, a one time World Tag Team Champion wi ...

, before beating

Christopher Daniels Daniel Christopher Covell (born March 24, 1970), better known by the ring name Christopher Daniels, is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and is the Head of Talent Relations. He is best kno ...

in the finals. He later feuded with

Vic Grimes Victor Grimes (born January 3, 1963) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), Xtreme Pro Wrestling (XPW), and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). Grimes began his wre ...

, defeating him for the PPW Young Guns Championship on July 19. He lost the PPW Heavyweight title to Grimes on September 18 before regaining it a week later on September 25, 1999.

World Wrestling Federation

After the WWF ended their developmental agreement with

, Bradley was brought into

IWA Puerto Rico The International Wrestling Association is a conglomerate of professional wrestling promotions that originated in Puerto Rico and currently operates there and in the state of Florida. Founded in 1999 by promoter Víctor Quiñones (who had also cr ...

where he feuded with

Savio Vega Juan Rivera (born August 10, 1964) is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler. He is known for his work in the World Wrestling Council, where he won the WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship three times and the WWC Puerto Rico Heavyweight Champion ...

and won the

IWA World Tag Team Championship IWA World Tag Team Championship is a Tag Team Championship defended in Puerto Rico.The titles were first introduced in the first incarnation of the International Wrestling Association, where they are defended. They also made a brief appearance i ...

twice with Andy Anderson as Club WWF. He was eventually assigned to Memphis Championship Wrestling, a new developmental territory, in early 2001 and began wrestling with

Essa Ríos Essa or ESSA may refer to: Places * Essa, Ontario, Canada * Saltash (Cornish: Essa), a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, UK * Essa Academy, Bolton, England, UK * Stockholm-Arlanda Airport (ICAO code) People Given name * Essa (rapper) ...

and Lita on WWF house shows and dark matches on television tapings throughout the United States. He appeared at

WrestleMania X-Seven WrestleMania 17 (stylized as WrestleMania X-Seven) was the 17th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It took place on April 1, 2001, at the Reliant Astrodo ...

to take part in

WrestleMania Axxess WrestleMania Axxess is a professional wrestling fan convention held by WWE during the week of WrestleMania. The event typically runs for four days—from Thursday to WrestleMania Sunday—and features WWE talent and alumni autograph signings, inte ...

. He also participated in a spot at Wrestlemania X-Seven as a golf cart driver thrown from his cart. Spending the next two years in Ohio Valley Wrestling and the Heartland Wrestling Association, Bradley would win the

HWA Tag Team Championship The HWA Tag Team Championship is the tag team titles contested for in the Heartland Wrestling Association. It was established in 1996 when the Head Bangers (Mosh and Thrasher) became the first champions. Title history Key See also *Heartla ...

three times with

Val Venis Sean Allen Morley (born March 6, 1971), better known by the ring name Val Venis, is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Entertainment (WWF/WWE) from ...

and

Lance Cade Lance Kurtis McNaught (March 2, 1981 – August 13, 2010) was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) where he performed under the ring names Garrison Cade and Lance Cade. After be ...

. and eventually became involved in booking for the promotion before being released from his developmental contract in July 2002.

Later career

After WWF, he worked 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 New England for

New England Championship Wrestling New England Championship Wrestling (NECW) is an independent professional wrestling promotion based in the Northeastern United States that has promoted events since 2000. Currently owned and operated by Sheldon Goldberg, is one of the top indepe ...

and the Wrestling Federation of America where he worked until his last match in 2005. He also operated the Top Rope Wrestling Academy, a wrestling school based in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Death and legacy

Bradley was found dead on December 4, 2008, in a parking lot across the street from where he once operated a pro wrestling school in

Manchester, New Hampshire Manchester is a city in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. It is the most populous city in New Hampshire. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 115,644. Manchester is, along with Nashua, one of two seats of New Hamp ...

. Bradley's cause of death was not determined. In trying to determine whether drugs could have played a factor in his death, autopsy results were inconclusive. Bradley was

indicted An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concept often use that of an ...

on possession of

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...

charges only a month before his death. Police do not believe any foul play was involved, however. In 2017, Bradley was mentioned by

in his

WWE Hall of Fame The WWE Hall of Fame is a hall of fame which honors professional wrestlers and professional wrestling personalities maintained by WWE. Originally known as the "WWF Hall of Fame", it was created in 1993 when André the Giant was posthumously ind ...

speech, and thanked him for being an "unsung hero".

Championships and accomplishments

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

Super 8 Tournament The Super 8 Tournament is an annual professional wrestling tournament held by the East Coast Wrestling Association. The tournament is contested by eight wrestlers in a one-night single-elimination format. History The ECWA Super 8 Tournament was f ...

(

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

) *

( 4 times) - with

Sean Morley Sean Allen Morley (born March 6, 1971), better known by the ring name Val Venis, is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Entertainment (WWF/WWE) from ...

(1)

(3) * International Wrestling Association :*

(

2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...

) - with "Lone Wolf" Andy Anderson *

:* MCW Southern Heavyweight Championship (

) *

New England Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame The New England Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame and Fan Fest is an American professional wrestling hall of fame. It was established in January 2008 to honor select wrestling personalities who have made significant contributions to professional wrestlin ...

:*Class of 2009 *

:* PPW Heavyweight Championship ( 4 times) :*PPW Young Guns Championship (2 times) *''

'' :*Ranked him No. 83 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 2002 *PWF Northeast Wrestling :*Mentor of the Mayhem (2013) *

Yankee Pro Wrestling Top Rope Promotions (formerly known as Yankee Pro Wrestling and South Coast Championship Wrestling) is a North Eastern independent professional wrestling promotion based in New Bedford, Massachusetts and is the largest promotion in the Southern Ne ...

:*YPW Interstate Championship (1 time)

References

External links

Obituary at Indy Wrestling NewsCageMatch.de - Steve Bradley
*obit.brewittfuneralhome.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Bradley, Steve 1975 births 2008 deaths 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers American male professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from Massachusetts Professional wrestling promoters Sportspeople from Boston Unsolved deaths