William C. Welch
(born December 18, 1977) 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 ...
, 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 ...
The Messiah.
Professional wrestling career
Welch's professional career began on November 11, 1996, after being trained at the Slam U. Wrestling Gym in
Sun Valley, Los Angeles, California. He worked for the school's parent company, the Slammers Wrestling Federation for a time, losing his first professional match there to El Sprito. In the Slammers Wrestling Federation, he worked under the name Iron Mike Ehrhardt.
Xtreme Pro Wrestling (1999–2001)
On November 20, 1999, Welch made his
Xtreme Pro Wrestling debut under a
mask
A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment and often they have been employed for rituals and rights. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practic ...
as The Blunatic, where he lost to
Nicole Bass.
The following week, The Blunatic teamed with Felony to face Bass in a
handicap match, but was again defeated.
[ On December 17, Welch debuted his new ring name The Messiah, a ]holy man
''Holy Man'' is a 1998 American television satirical comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Herek, written by Tom Schulman, and starring Eddie Murphy, Jeff Goldblum, Kelly Preston, Robert Loggia, Jon Cryer, and Eric McCormack. The film was a ...
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 ...
, where he defeated Johnny Webb.[ The Messiah soon rose up the card and eventually became a main eventer while wrestling against Extreme Championship Wrestling alumni such as Sabu, Chris Candido and New Jack. The Messiah cemented his spot as one of XPW's main stars when he won both the World Heavyweight and the King of the Deathmatch Championships to become the company's first and only double champion.][
]
Combat Zone Wrestling (2002–2006, 2007, 2010)
After leaving XPW due to both personal issues and an uneasy feeling over the promotion's pornographic ties, Welch made his debut in Combat Zone Wrestling on January 12, 2002 under his Messiah ring name and gimmick, where he accepted then-World Heavyweight Champion
At boxing's beginning, the heavyweight division had no weight limit, and historically the weight class has gone with vague or no definition. During the 19th century many heavyweights were 170 pounds (12 st 2 lb, 77 kg) or less, tho ...
Justice Pain's open challenge. At the first Tournament of Death on August 31, Messiah competed in the tournament despite not being an official entrant. Though he managed to defeat Adam Flash in the first round, Messiah lost to Nick Mondo in the semi-finals.[ Despite the loss, Messiah defeated Flash to win the Iron Man Championship on October 12 before later defeating Justice Pain for the World Heavyweight Championship on December 14.][ After losing the Iron Man Title to Nick Mondo on February 8, 2003, Messiah later lost the World Heavyweight Title to ]Zandig
John Corson (born April 4, 1971), better known by the ring name John Zandig, is an American professional wrestler and promoter. He is the founder and former owner of the promotion Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW).
Early life
Corson was born in Sewell ...
on October 25.[ Messiah would go on to win the World Heavyweight Title two more times before leaving the company in December 2006.][ On July 10, 2010 at the CZW and ]Jersey All Pro Wrestling
Jersey All Pro Wrestling (JAPW) was an independent wrestling promotion based in New Jersey, United States.
History
1997
Jersey All Pro Wrestling was an independent wrestling promotion that was founded by "Fat" Frank Iadeavia and Angel Surita ...
co-event Acid-Fest: A Tribute to Trent Acid, Welch returned to compete as The Messiah in a 28-man battle royal, which was ultimately won by Helter Skelter.[
]
Independent circuit (2007, 2009, 2011)
After leaving CZW in 2006, Messiah wrestled three matches for Pro Wrestling Unplugged in 2007 before taking a hiatus.[ On July 25, 2009, Messiah returned to wrestle a match for the Alternative Wrestling Show, which he lost to Johnny Goodtime.][ On July 10, 2011 at the second Acid-Fest event, Messiah and Adam Flash defeated Devon Moore and Drew Blood in a tag team match.][
]
Return to CZW (2014)
He was set to appear at CZW Down With The Sickness 2014 event in an 8 Man Tag Team Match. Due to personal issues Messiah did not return.
CZW Hall Of Fame (2019)
On February 9, 2019 at CZW 20th Anniversary show in Voorhees, New Jersey, Welch was inducted into the CZW Hall Of Fame. He was inducted along with Adam Flash, B Boy, Lufisto, Sonjay Dutt and Trent Acid.
Southern California Death Match Hall Of Fame (2019)
On July 20, 2019 at Santino Brothers Wrestling “Don’t Get Made, Get Even” show in Huntington Park, California, Welch was the second induction into the SoCal Death Match Hall Of Fame. He was inducted along with Supreme. Both men are credited with pioneering Death Match Wrestling in California with their memorable semi main event Death Match at XPW
Xtreme Pro Wrestling (XPW) is an American independent professional wrestling promotion owned by Rob Zicari.
Zicari originally ran the promotion out of Los Angeles from 1999 to 2003. He appeared on shows as the on-camera owner under the name Ro ...
“Go Funk Yourself” event on July 22, 2000 at the L.A. Sports Arena in Los Angeles, California.
Other media
Welch, as The Messiah, is a playable character in the video game '' Backyard Wrestling 2: There Goes the Neighborhood''.
Personal life
On August 1, 2002, Welch was attacked in his home by two men and had his thumb cut off during the assault.[ The attempted ]hit
Hit means to strike someone or something.
Hit or HIT may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities
* Hit, a fictional character from ''Dragon Ball Super''
* Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization in ...
made national media coverage and was featured on the September 21, 2002 episode of ''America's Most Wanted
''America's Most Wanted'' (often abbreviated as ''AMW'') is an American television program whose first run was produced by 20th Television, and second run is under the Fox Alternative Entertainment division of Fox Corporation. At the time of i ...
''.[
Welch married Renell Madison on October 14, 2006.]
Championships and accomplishments
* Combat Zone Wrestling
** CZW Iron Man Championship ( 1 time)[
**]CZW Hall of Fame
The CZW Hall of Fame is an American professional wrestling hall of fame maintained by the Philadelphia-based hardcore-oriented promotion Combat Zone Wrestling. It was established in 2004 (2019)
*Insane Wrestling Federation
**IWF Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Adam Flash[
*Mexican pro Wrestling
**MEXPRO Heavyweight Championship (1 time, current)
*Millennium Pro Wrestling
**MPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)]NWA Florida
Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it closed down. It is also referred to as ...
**NWA Florida King of the Deathmatch Championship (1 time)
*Pacific Championship Wrestling
**PCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Messiah, The
1977 births
American male professional wrestlers
Male actors from Detroit
Professional wrestlers from Michigan
Living people
CZW World Heavyweight Champions
XPW World Heavyweight Champions
20th-century professional wrestlers
21st-century professional wrestlers
CZW Iron Man Champions