Thomas Merrett Howard (born December 26, 1969) is an American

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

, and actor. He is best known for his Green Beret role in K-1 and

Pro Wrestling ZERO1-MAX (stylized as Pro Wrestling ZERO1), formerly known as Pro Wrestling Zero-One and Pro Wrestling Zero1-Max (stylised in all capital letters) and often referred to simply as Zero1, is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded in 2001. I ...

in Japan. As a veteran competitor and instructor, Howard has worked for

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 ...

(wrestler-instructor),

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 ...

(wrestler),

Pro Wrestling Zero-One (stylized as Pro Wrestling ZERO1), formerly known as Pro Wrestling Zero-One and Pro Wrestling Zero1-Max (stylised in all capital letters) and often referred to simply as Zero1, is a Professional wrestling in Japan, Japanese professional wrest ...

(wrestler-instructor), Universal Fighting-Arts Organization (wrestler-instructor), K-1 (fighter – MMA, kickboxing),

Cage Rage Cage Rage Championships, also known as Cage Rage, was a United Kingdom-based, mixed martial arts promotion that premiered on 7 September 2002 in London. Cage Rage went into liquidation and is now no longer trading. Cage Rage had been owned and ma ...

(fighter), IFL (fighter),

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, ...

(wrestler),

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 ...

(wrestler),

Inoki Genome Federation (IGF) was a Japanese professional wrestling and mixed martial arts promotion founded by Antonio Inoki in 2007. History Antonio Inoki left New Japan Pro-Wrestling, a promotion he founded in 1972, to start the IGF. The first IGF show was held on J ...

(wrestler), HUSTLE (wrestler), Asistencia Asesoria y Administracion (wrestler) and Ultimate Pro Wrestling (wrestler-instructor). In 2006, Howard retired from competition and began working in the entertainment industry (film, television and commercial). He has numerous US and International credits as an actor, stuntman, producer, technical producer, action coordinator, and fight scene choreographer. Howard is also co-owner of The Fight Pros,http://www.thefightpros.com a company specializing in providing consulting, casting and production for the Film/TV & Commercial industries, and Rebirth Productions, a production company specializing in creating and developing unscripted television properties.

Career

Professional wrestling

In 1993, Tom Howard began training under Jesse Hernandez and Bill Anderson in

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

lucha libre Lucha libre (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term used in Latin America for professional wrestling. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has developed into a unique form ...

and

puroresu is the predominant style of professional wrestling that has developed in Japan. The term comes from the Japanese pronunciation of , which is shortened to puroresu. The term became popular among English-speaking fans due to Hisaharu Tanabe's act ...

at the School of Hard Knocks wrestling training school. His first match was against Bobby Bradley Jr. at the

Silver Nugget Casino Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical cond ...

in October 1994. In early 1995, Howard began appearing on NWC (

National Wrestling Conference The National Wrestling Conference (NWC, originally the National Wrestling Council) was a professional wrestling promotion that was founded in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 1994 by T.C. Martin. With a mix of former World Wrestling Federation stars and ta ...

) Television in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

and quickly became popular wrestling under the name Zuma'', a surfer gimmick from Zuma Beach, California. He went on to wrestle as "KGB", under a

KGB The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...

agent

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 1995, Howard was recruited to wrestle on television in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

where he quickly became popular wrestling for

Asistencia Asesoría y Administración Antonio Peña Promotions, S.A. de C.V. d/b/a Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide is a Mexican Lucha Libre (professional wrestling) promotion based in Mexico City, Mexico. Commonly referred to as simply AAA (pronounced "triple A"; an abbreviation of its o ...

as KGB, using the same gimmick. Howard lived in Mexico City and appeared on AAA's television show for 2 years. In 1996, Howard returned to the United States to compete in

Antonio Inoki Muhammad Hussain Inoki (born ; February 20, 1943 – October 1, 2022) was a Japanese professional wrestler, martial artist, politician, and promoter of professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. He was best known by the ring name , a homag ...

World Wrestling Peace Festival The World Wrestling Peace Festival was a professional wrestling supercard event produced by Japanese professional wrestler Antonio Inoki, which took place on June 1, 1996 at the Los Angeles Sports Arena in Los Angeles, California. The event ...

in Los Angeles. While in Los Angeles, Howard took a break from wrestling to train in

Sambo , aka = Sombo (in English-speaking countries) , focus = Hybrid , country = Soviet Union , pioneers = Viktor Spiridonov, Vasili Oshchepkov, Anatoly Kharlampiev , famous_pract = List of Practitioners , oly ...

with

Gokor Chivichyan Gokor Chivichyan ( hy, Գոքոր Չիվիչյան; born May 10, 1963) is an Armenian-born American judo, submission grappling, and mixed martial arts instructor. Chivichyan currently trains professional and amateur fighters at the Hayastan MMA A ...

Gene Lebell Ivan “Judo” Gene LeBell (October 9, 1932 – August 9, 2022) was an American martial artist, stunt performer, actor, and professional wrestler. Nicknamed "The Godfather of Grappling", he popularized grappling in professional fighting circ ...

for

No Holds Barred No holds barred or No Holds Barred may refer to: * ''No Holds Barred'' (1952 film), a film starring The Bowery Boys * ''No Holds Barred'' (1989 film), a film starring Hulk Hogan * ''No Holds Barred'' (Biohazard album) (1997) * ''No Holds Barred ...

competition. In late 1996, Howard and Rick Bassman formed

Ultimate Pro Wrestling Ultimate Pro Wrestling (UPW) was a California-based independent pro wrestling company owned and operated by Rick Bassman, that operated from 1999 to 2007. The company had working relationships with Pro Wrestling Zero1 and World Wrestling Entertai ...

. Tom acted as the head instructor for the school, Ultimate University and also began competing in the ring regularly for UPW. He went under his real name and adopted the gimmick of a

Green Berets The United States Army Special Forces (SF), colloquially known as the "Green Berets" due to their distinctive service headgear, are a special operations force of the United States Army. The Green Berets are geared towards nine doctrinal m ...

drill instructor A drill instructor is a non-commissioned officer in the armed forces, fire department, or police forces with specific duties that vary by country. Foot drill, military step, and marching are typically taught by drill instructors. Australia Austr ...

. Tom's former students include

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 ...

wrestlers such as

John Cena John Felix Anthony Cena ( ; born April 23, 1977) is an American part-time professional wrestler, actor, and former rapper. He is currently signed to WWE. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he is tied w ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

Chris Masters Christopher Todd Mordetzky (born January 8, 1983) is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) under the ring name Chris Adonis as a member of Strictly Business. He is a former two-time National ...

Aaron Aguilera Aaron Aguilera (born February 28, 1977) is an American professional wrestler and actor best known as Jesús and Uno on World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), MTV's Wrestling Society X, All Japan Pro Wrestling as Zodiac and Lucha Libre USA as Lujo E ...

Luther Reigns Matthew Robert Wiese (born September 22, 1971) is an American former professional wrestler and actor. He is best known for his tenure in WWE, where he performed on its SmackDown brand under the ring name Luther Reigns. Professional wrestling care ...

Sakoda Sakoda (written: 迫田) is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: * James Sakoda (1916–2005), psychologist and pioneer in computational modeling * Louie Sakoda (born 1986), American football player * Ryan Sakoda (born 1 ...

, Heidenreich, Nathan Jones and

Sylvester Terkay Sylvester Matthew Terkay (born December 4, 1970) is a retired American professional wrestler, actor,and mixed martial artist best known for his run in WWE. He has held NWA Zero-One's United States Championship twice and Ultimate Pro Wrestling's ...

. In 1998, Howard signed a developmental contract with the

. Tom's time was split as an instructor for the UPW and on the road performing in dark matches across the country. On June 26, 2001 Howard pinned Tony Jones to capture the

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

title. On August 22, Howard became UPW's Shoot Champion when the Southern California title was renamed. Howard competed against

Shinya Hashimoto was a Japanese professional wrestler, promoter and actor. Along with Masahiro Chono and Keiji Mutoh, Hashimoto was dubbed one of the "Three Musketeers" that began competing in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) in the mid-1980s and dominated the prom ...

for a

Fighting Athletes PPV – Shingeki I in Japan and was signed to a contract with the company. On August 30 – Shingeki II, Tom Howard knocked out

Lee Young Gun Lee may refer to: Name Given name * Lee (given name), a given name in English Surname * Chinese surnames romanized as Li or Lee: ** Li (surname 李) or Lee (Hanzi ), a common Chinese surname ** Li (surname 利) or Lee (Hanzi ), a Chinese s ...

Tokyo, Japan Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

. On May 8, 2002 Howard defeated

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 ...

to unify the UPW and Shoot titles in

Santa Ana, California Santa Ana () is the second most populous city and the county seat of Orange County, California. Located in the Greater Los Angeles region of Southern California, the city's population was 310,227 at the 2020 census, making Santa Ana the List of ...

. Then on July 7 Howard & Nathan Jones defeated

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 ...

Rapid Fire Maldon Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Rapids are hydrological features between a ''run'' (a smoothly flowing part of a stream) and a ''cascade''. ...

at Sumo Hall in Japan on a Zero-One pay-per-view. On December 15, Howard &

Matt Ghaffari Siamak "Matt" Ghaffari ( ; fa, سیامک غفاری, ; born November 11, 1961, in Tehran, Imperial State of Iran) is an Iran-born American amateur wrestler, MMA Fighter and professional wrestler. Matt Ghaffari was a two-time USA Olympic team mem ...

beat

Naoya Ogawa (born 31 March 1968) is a Japanese Olympic and world champion judoka, retired professional wrestler, and mixed martial artist. He won a total of seven medals at the All-Japan Judo Championships (second only behind Yasuhiro Yamashita), and set a r ...

to win the

NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Championship The Intercontinental Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling tag team title in Japanese promoting Pro Wrestling Zero1, typically reserved for (but not exclusive to) heavyweight (>) wrestlers. It was created on June 14, 2001, three month ...

on a Zero One PPV. On July 13, 2001, Tom Howard and Sean McCully defeated Yuki Ishikawa and

Yoshiaki Fujiwara is a Japanese Professional Wrestler and trainer. He is famous for his long career in wrestling, having worked in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), Pro Wrestling ZERO-ONE (ZERO-ONE), and the two incarnations of shoot style promotion Universal Wrest ...

when Howard used No. 42 on Fujiwara. On May 19, 2002 Shinya Hashimoto, Naoya Ogawa and Yoshiaki Fujiwara defeated Tom Howard, The Predator and

. On May 23, Tom Howard and The Predator defeated Emblem (

Shinjiro Ohtani is a semi-retired Japanese professional wrestler and the current acting president of Pro Wrestling Zero1 (Zero1). He is currently inactive from pro-wrestling competition due to a cervical spine injury substained in April 2022. A product of the N ...

and

Masato Tanaka is a Japanese professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) in Japan where he was a one-time FMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Champion and a one-time WEW World Heavyweight Champion and in Ext ...

). On June 27, Tom Howard, The Predator and Nathan Jones defeated Shinya Hashimoto and Emblem. On June 29, Tom Howard and The Predator defeated Shinya Hashimoto and

Kohei Sato is a Japanese professional wrestler contracted with Pro Wrestling Zero1. Sato is also a former mixed martial artist. Career A former judoka and amateur wrestler, Sato made his transition to mixed martial arts after meeting Kazunari Murakami a ...

. On June 30, Shinya Hashimoto and Masato Tanaka defeated The Predatora and Tom Howard. On July 28, Tom Howard, The Predator and C. W. Anderson defeated Shinya Hashimoto,

Tatsuhito Takaiwa (born Go Yong-Il (Hangul: 고 용일), July 5, 1972) is a Zainichi-Korean professional wrestler. Takaiwa is one of the more well-traveled junior heavyweights in Japan, having wrestled for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), and Pro Wrestling Zero1, ...

and Masato Tanaka. On 7/30/02 Tom Howard and The Predator defeated Shinya Hashimoto and Yoshiaki Fujiwara. On July 31, Shinya Hashimoto, Kazuhiko Ogasawara and

Ryouji Sai (born Choi Young-ii June 3, 1980) is a Japanese professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and promoter who currently owns and operates Pro Wrestling Land's End, where he is a former All Asia Heavyweight Champion. He is best known for working fo ...

defeated Tom Howard, The Predator and

Samoa Joe Nuufolau Joel Seanoa (born March 17, 1979), is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name Samoa Joe who is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Joe is currently a double champion - in his first reign both as AEW ...

. On August 2, 2002, Shinya Hashimoto, Yoshiaki Fujiwara and Tatsuhito Takaiwa defeated The Predator, Tom Howard and C. W. Anderson. On March 2, 2003 Zero-One True Century Creation II, Tom Howard &

defeated

Gary Steele Gary Harvey is a British retired professional wrestler better known as Gary Steele, who has competed in European, North American and Japanese promotions and has been a popular longtime mainstay of NWA UK Hammerlock since the mid-1990s. A forme ...

& Steve Corino. On March 9, Emblem (Shinjiro Ohtani and Masato Tanaka) defeated Tom Howard/King Adamo for the PWF Tag Team Title. On April 11, 2003 Tom Howard & Steve Corino beat

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 ...

Tsuyoshi Kikuchi (born November 21, 1964) is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. He is best known for All Japan Pro Wrestling and Pro Wrestling NOAH. Kikuchi idolized and patterned his style after the Dynamite Kid. Professional wrestling career All Jap ...

(11:33) when Howard used the No. 55 on Kikuchi. On April 13, 2003

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 ...

Akitoshi Saito is a Japanese professional wrestler who is best known for his work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah). Early life Before pro wrestling, Akitoshi Saito was trained in karate by Masashi Aoyagi. Saito seconded Aoyagi i ...

beat Tom Howard & Steve Corino (11:06) when Akiyama used an Exploder on Corino. October 22 Howard defeated

Adam Pearce Adam John Pearce (born June 24, 1978) is an American professional wrestling executive and former professional wrestler. He is currently employed by WWE as Director of Live Events, producer, trainer, coach, and on-screen authority figure. He is ...

to regain the UPW Heavyweight Championship title in Santa Ana, California. On January 4, 2004 in HUSTLE,

Mil Máscaras Mil Máscaras (born Aarón Rodríguez Arellano, July 15, 1942) is a Mexican luchador (professional wrestler) and actor. He is regarded as one of the greatest wrestlers of the lucha libre tradition in Mexico – along with El Santo and Blue Demon ...

Dos Caras José Luis Rodríguez Arellano (born February 21, 1951) is a Mexican ''Luchador Enmascarado'' (masked professional wrestler) who wrestles under the ring name Dos Caras (Spanish for "two faces"). His most active years were in the 1970s and 1980s ...

Sicodelico Jr. Aaron Rodríguez (born June 13, 1976) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Sicodelico Jr. Rodríguez is the son of Sicodelico and the nephew of Mil Máscaras and Dos Caras, and the cousin of Alberto Del Rio (Dos Car ...

defeated Howard & Steve Corino &

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

. On January 31, Tom Howard defeated

Prince Nana Nana Osei Bandoh is an American professional wrestler and manager of Ghanaian extraction, better known by his ring name, Prince Nana. He has stated that he is an Ashanti prince. Early life Although Nana was born in the United States, he clai ...

in Tokyo. On February 20, at the UPW 5th Anniversary Show, Howard &

defeated

Scott Hall Scott Oliver Hall (October 20, 1958 – March 14, 2022) was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his tenures with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) under his real name and under the ring name the Diamond Studd and with the ...

Kevin Nash Kevin Scott Nash (born July 9, 1959) is an American actor and retired professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE under a legends contract. He is best known for his tenure with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) where he performed under his r ...

. On February 29, Kohei Sato and Hirotaka Yokoi defeated Tom Howard and Zebra Man. On July 9, Tom Howard defeated Steve Corino, Jason The Legend and Psycho Simpson in a cage match. Then on October 30, Howard defeated

Oliver John Oliver Peter Martin John (born February 9, 1959) is a German personality psychologist and professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is ...

to retain the UPW Heavyweight title. On February 23, 2005 Howard & The Predator defeated

Sean O'Haire Sean Christopher Haire (February 25, 1971 – September 8, 2014) was an American professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and kickboxer, better known by his ring name Sean O'Haire. Haire was best known for his appearances with the professio ...

Chuck Palumbo Charles Palumbo (born June 15, 1971) is an Italian-American television personality, motorcycle and automotive designer/fabricator, home designer/builder, and retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with professional w ...

. Finally, on July 20, Howard defeated Matt "Horshu" Weise to retain the UPW Heavyweight title. Tom "Green Beret" Howard has also been featured in several video games in the US and Japan such as Fire Pro Wrestling, King of Coliseum and King of Coliseum 1 & 2.

Kickboxing and mixed martial arts

In 2003, Tom Howard signed a 2-year fight contract with Japanese

kickboxing Kickboxing is a combat sports, combat sport focused on kicking and punch (strike), punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is pract ...

and

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

promotion, K-1. When asked about making the transition from Japanese Puroresu (Pro Wrestling) to K1 MMA and Kickboxing Howard was quoted in Maxfighting.com as saying: "Jumping into this sport so late, I have been playing the catch up game since I started. My philosophy is to train my hardest, do my best and be happy with the outcome. I am not afraid of getting hurt and will fight anyone that they want to put in front of me at any time. I am not saying that to sound like a tough guy but the reality is that they (the K1 office) use their infinite wisdom to do their job in booking the fights and I need to do my job." When asked in the same article about how he got into wrestling and fighting in Japan, Howard explained: "I was doing pro wrestling in Japan on television for several years with a promotion called Zero-One – The back story to this explains my introduction to K1: Zero One was an offshoot company of New Japan Pro Wrestling established by Shinya Hashimoto. Hashimoto was looking for a new Gaijin (foreign) wrestler to introduce, so I was brought over to wrestle him on a big pay per view called Shingeki. This was when Japanese Pro Wrestling was mimicking MMA so we wore MMA gloves and the matches had MMA rules. I guess the match was highly regarded because we made the covers of the wrestling magazines and even mainstream sports papers. After that I started to get a following in Japan and spent the next several years going back and forth between Japan and the USA for monthly tours. At the end of one of my annual contracts I received word from my manager and friend Rick Bassman that K1 was interested in signing me to a multi year/fight deal and everything just worked out from there. As I said before, I was a huge fan of K1 and had been following it heavily with all of the time I was spending in Japan." He made his K1 MMA debut against France's Kristof Midoux on New Year's Eve at

K-1 PREMIUM 2003 Dynamite!! ''K-1 PREMIUM 2003 Dynamite!!'' was an annual kickboxing and mixed martial arts event held by K-1 on New Year's Eve, Wednesday, December 31, 2003 at the Nagoya Dome in Nagoya, Japan. It featured 6 K-1 MMA rules fights, and 4 K-1 rules fights. Th ...

. He then fought Mongolian Wrestling champion

Dolgorsürengiin Serjbüdee Dolgorsürengiin Serjbüdee ( mn, Долгорсүрэнгийн Сэржбүдээ) is a Mongolian retired professional wrestler, best known for his time with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he wrestled under the ring name Blue Wolf. He a ...

(aka "Blue Wolf") at

K-1 MMA ROMANEX This is a list of events held and scheduled by the K-1, a kickboxing promotion based in Hong Kong. The first event, K-1 Sanctuary I, took place on March 30, 1993 at Kōrakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. 2023 events 2022 events 2021 events ...

in May 2004. This bout was particularly brutal with Howard being kneed in the head and face a total of 46 times. It was after this fight that K1 changed their MMA rules to make throwing knees to the head of a grounded opponent illegal. In his next K1 MMA fight, Howard fought against American kickboxer and K1 US Champion Carter Williams in Hawaii at

Rumble on the Rock Rumble on the Rock (also known as K-1 Rumble on the Rock) was an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company in promotion with K-1 and operated by Fighting and Entertainment Group and Rumble World Entertainment. Headquartered Hawaii, R ...

6. This fight ended when Williams threw a fury of punches on the ground causing cuts that required Howard to receive a total of 36 stitches. In June 2005, Howard fought in Hiroshima, Japan on the K1 Grand Prixs show under kickboxing rules against 7' 2", 400 lb. South Korean

Choi Hong-man Choi Hong-man (Korean language, Korean: 최홍만, Hanja: 崔洪萬; born October 30, 1980), often anglicised to Hongman Choi, is a South Korean kickboxer, mixed martial artist, and former ssireum wrestler. In Asia, he is called "Che Man", "Te ...

. This fight was featured in K1's Best Knockouts as Choi caught Howard with a knee to the Head causing a 6" cut up his forehead and knocking him halfway across the ring. In August 2006, Tom Howard was recruited by the Antonio Inoki's

Tokyo Sabres The International Fight League was an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion billed as the world's first MMA league. It was founded on January 7, 2006, and closed on July 31, 2008.

to fight in the

International Fight League The International Fight League was an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion billed as the world's first MMA league. It was founded on January 7, 2006, and closed on July 31, 2008.

. His premier fight with the promotion came on September 6, 2006 against

Krzysztof Soszynski Krzysztof Soszyński (; born August 2, 1977) is a Polish–Canadian actor and retired mixed martial artist. An 11-year competitor from 2003 until 2014, Soszynski fought in the UFC, Strikeforce, the Los Angeles Anacondas of the IFL, and was a cont ...

. In February 2007, Howard competed in the

Cage Rage Championships Cage Rage Championships, also known as Cage Rage, was a United Kingdom-based, mixed martial arts promotion that premiered on 7 September 2002 in London. Cage Rage went into liquidation and is now no longer trading. Cage Rage had been owned and ma ...

at Wembley Arena in London, England against Wolfslaire fighter Tom Blackledge. This fight ended quickly when Howard escaped from a takedown attempt and turned into a headkick by Blackledge causing a 5" cut which ended the fight and required 8 staples to close. In December 2007, Howard fought

Eric "Butterbean" Esch Eric Scott Esch (born August 3, 1966), better known by his nickname "Butterbean", is an American retired professional boxer, kickboxer, mixed martial artist, and professional wrestler who competed in the heavyweight division. He is also a televis ...

in the main event of the World Cage Championship in Jasper, Alabama.

Instructor or trainer

* Trained several pro athletes in kickboxing and conditioning such as Deron Williams of NBA's Utah Jazz and PGA Pro Golfer Hunter Mahan * Trained DVD on TV hosts Dave Holmes and Jennifer Lothrop on camera for FX airing of the film "The Marine" * Acted as Trainer, Instructor and Technical Producer for Hulk Hogan Celebrity Championship Wrestling * Trained Actor

Jack Black Thomas Jacob Black (born August 28, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is known for his acting roles in the films '' High Fidelity'' (2000), ''Shallow Hal'' (2001), ''Orange County'' (2002), '' School of Rock'' (2003), ''E ...

in Pro Wrestling / Lucha Libre for film Nacho Libre * Hosted and Starred in series Ultimate Pro Wrestling Training, Volumes 1, 2 & 3 – Video/DVD (SPY Video) * Head Instructor for Ultimate University / UPW – Development territory for WWE – Instructed wrestlers such as:

, Jesus Aguilera,

, Heidenreich, Nathan Jones,

The Miz Michael Gregory Mizanin (born October 8, 1980) is an American professional wrestler, actor, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name The Miz. Mizanin first gained fame a ...

Brian Kendrick Brian David Kendrick (born May 29, 1979) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in WWE. Kendrick is also known for his appearances with Ring of Honor (ROH), Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), New Japan Pro-Wrestli ...

Mike Knox Michael Knoxville Hettinga (born July 17, 1978) is an American professional wrestler best known under the ring name Mike Knox. He currently performs for the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). Hettinga is best known for his work in World Wrestli ...

Frankie Kazarian Frank Benedict Gerdelman (born August 4, 1977) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and musician currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), performing under the ring name Frankie Kazarian. In addition, Kazarian also pe ...

Paul London Paul Michael London (born April 16, 1980) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is best known for his time with WWE. After being trained at the Texas Wrestling Academy, London began competing for Ring of Honor where his high risk ...

, B-Boy, Hollywood Yates ("Wolf" on American Gladiators), Mike O'Hearn ("Titan" on American Gladiators), Evan Marriott (Reality show "Joe Millionaire") and The Predator * Co-hosted and Guest Starred: Ultimate Fighting Training series with Mark Kerr for Panther Video *Instructor for UFO – Universal Fighting Organization – Japan (Television/Pay Per View)

Producer

*FX's DVD on TV – "The Marine" 2009 – Technical Producer *Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling – 2008 – Technical Producer *Ultimate Pro-Wrestling Training – Volume 1: Building a foundation – 2000 – Producer *Ultimate Pro-Wrestling Training – Volume 2: The next step – 2000 – Producer *Ultimate Pro-Wrestling Training – Volume 3: Building a match – 2000 – Producer *Planned Parenthood – Commercial – 2000 – Producer

Film and television

Howard has had various roles in film, television and other media.

Film

Muy Thai Giant Muy or MUY may refer to: * Muy River (Wetetnagami River), a tributary of the Wetetnagami River in Quebec, Canada * Muyang language, an Afro-Asiatic language spoken in northern Cameroon assigned the ISO 639 code muy * Mouyondzi Airport, Republic ...

(2008) *

Sum Tum Sum most commonly means the total of two or more numbers added together; see addition. Sum can also refer to: Mathematics * Sum (category theory), the generic concept of summation in mathematics * Sum, the result of summation, the additio ...

(2007) – * Daredevil (2003) * Blue Atomic (1999) * True Vengeance (1997) *

JFK John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...

(1991)

Television

* The Good Guys (2010) * Death Valley - "Pilot" (2010) * FX's DVD on TV - "The Marine" (2009) *

Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling ''Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling'' was an American reality television program, which ran for eight episodes on CMT in 2008. The first episode aired on October 18. In Australia, it premiered in July 2009 on the FOX8 channel. It w ...

(2008) * Inoki's IGF - Japan (2008–2009) *

Cage Rage World Championship - England A cage is an enclosure often made of mesh, bars, or wires, used to confine, contain or protect something or someone. A cage can serve many purposes, including keeping an animal or person in captivity, capturing an animal or person, and displayin ...

(2008) * World Wrestling Allstars - South Africa (2008) * K1 Grand Prix Hiroshima - Japan (2006) *

Samurai TV -Japan were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the ''daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They had ...

(2005–2006) * Zero One Fighting Athletes -Japan (2004–2006) *

Pro Wrestling Noah - Japan Pro is an abbreviation meaning "professional". Pro, PRO or variants thereof may also refer to: People * Miguel Pro (1891–1927), Mexican priest * Pro Hart (1928–2006), Australian painter * Mlungisi Mdluli (born 1980), South African retired f ...

(2006) * Universal Fighting Organization (UFO)- Japan (2006) * Faking It (2004) * Bodyslam (2002) *

Los Luchadores ''Los Luchadores'' is a live-action children's television series that aired on Fox Kids in 2001 produced by Saban Entertainment and Shavick Entertainment. Ownership of the series passed to Disney in 2001 when Disney acquired Fox Kids Worldwide, wh ...

(2001) *

Nikki Nikki may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Nikki (Barbie), a fashion doll in the Barbie toy line * Nikki (comics), a Marvel Comics character * Nikki and Paulo, from the TV series ''Lost'' * Nikki, the mascot of Swapnote * N ...

(2001) * Dismissed (2001) * Inside: Pro Wrestling School (2000) *

The Drew Carey Show ''The Drew Carey Show'' is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from September 13, 1995 to September 8, 2004. Set in Cleveland, Ohio, the series revolved around the retail office and home life of "everyman" Drew Carey, a fictionalized ...

(1999) *

G vs E ''G vs E'' (later retitled ''Good vs Evil'') is an American supernatural comedy-drama television series that had its first season air on USA Network during the summer and autumn of 1999. For the second season the series switched to Sci-Fi Channel ...

(1999) *

AAA Lucha Libre - Mexico AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to: Airports * Anaa Airport in French Polynesia (IATA airport code AAA) * Logan County Airport (Illinois) (FAA airport code AAA) Arts, entertainment, and m ...

(1997–1998) * Sugar Ray Leonard's Fight Zone (1998)

Commercials

(World Series Commercial) *

Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...

Kickboxing record

, - , Loss , align=center, 0–1 ,

, KO (knee strike) , K-1 World Grand Prix 2005 in Hiroshima , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:11 ,

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui h ...

, Japan , , -

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 0–8 , Butterbean , Submission (neck crank) , Extreme Cage Fighting , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:40 ,

Laredo, Texas Laredo ( ; ) is a city in and the county seat of Webb County, Texas, United States, on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Laredo has the distinction of flying seven flags (the flag of t ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 0–7 , Butterbean , Submission (armlock) , World Cage Championship , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:47 ,

Jasper, Alabama Jasper is a city in and the county seat of Walker County, Alabama, United States. Its population was 14,352 as of the 2010 census. Named in honor of Sergeant William Jasper, an American Revolutionary War hero, Jasper was settled around 1815 and ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 0–6 , Tom Blackledge , KO (head kick) , Cage Rage 20 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:29 , London, England , , - , Loss , align=center, 0–5 ,

, TKO (punches) , International Fight League , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:47 ,

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 0–4 ,

Christian Wellisch Christian Wellisch (born September 13, 1975) is a Hungarian-American former professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 2001 until 2009, he competed for the UFC, WEC, and King of the Cage. Mixed martial arts career Wellisc ...

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , Valor Fighting: Showdown At Cache Creek , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:11 ,

Brooks, California Brooks is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Yolo County, California, located in the Capay Valley in the northwest of the county. Brooks' ZIP Code is 95606 and its area code 530. The Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation is headq ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 0–3 , Carter Williams , KO (punches) , Rumble on the Rock , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:16 ,

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island o ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 0–2 ,

, TKO (knees) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:44 , Saitama, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 0–1 , Kristof Midoux , Submission (rear naked choke) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:21 ,

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...

, Japan ,

Championships and accomplishments

( 1 time) – with

:*UPW Heavyweight Championship (2 times) :* UPW Southern California/Shoot Championship (1 time)

References

1) https://web.archive.org/web/20110929005702/http://board.deathvalleydriver.com/lofiversion/index.php/t7341.html Tom Howard interview on Maxfighting 2) https://web.archive.org/web/20110716233150/http://www.thefightpros.com/index.html Pro Wrestling and Fighting services to the Film & Television Industries

External links

The Fight Pros.com Profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Tom 1969 births Living people American male professional wrestlers American male kickboxers Kickboxers from Utah Heavyweight kickboxers American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from Utah Heavyweight mixed martial artists CAtegory:Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Sportspeople from Salt Lake City Professional wrestlers from Utah