Thomas Carter (born September 18, 1974) is an American 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 Reckless Youth. He has competed in numerous North American

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

promotions including the

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 ...

Combat Zone Wrestling Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) is an American independent wrestling promotion. In 1998, John Zandig and five of his students, Ric Blade, T.C.K, Lobo, Nick Gage and Justice Pain, along with trainer Jon Dahmer, began to run professional wrestling sh ...

and Chikara, where he was one of the original founders alongside

Mike Quackenbush Michael Spillane (born March 18, 1976), is an American podcaster, author, professional wrestling trainer, professional wrestling promoter, and retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Mike Quackenbush. He has hosted several p ...

. In January 1998,

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 ...

senior editor A managing editor (ME) is a senior member of a publication's management team. Typically, the managing editor reports directly to the editor-in-chief and oversees all aspects of the publication. United States In the United States, a managing edito ...

Bill Apter William Stanley Apter (born October 22, 1945) is an American journalist and photographer specializing in professional wrestling. He was an editorial staff member and photographer for several magazines during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, notably ''P ...

called Reckless Youth "one of the most recognizable independent stars" in the United States.

Professional wrestling career

Early career

Carter was part of a small group of " backyard wrestlers", including

D'Lo Brown Accie Julius Connor (born October 22, 1970), better known by his ring name D'Lo Brown (also formatted as D-Lo Brown), is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in Impact Wrestling and WWE. Brown is also known for his ...

, while growing up in New Jersey. Carter and his friends eventually began renting an actual

wrestling ring A wrestling ring is the stage on which a professional wrestling match usually occurs. It is similarly constructed to a boxing ring and is traditionally square-shaped. Configuration and construction The configuration and construction of the trad ...

from Larry Sharpe's

Monster Factory The Monster Factory is a professional wrestling school located in Paulsboro, New Jersey owned and operated by Danny Cage. It is considered to be the first publicly available professional wrestling school. Larry Sharpe opened the Monster Factor ...

. Within a few years, Sharpe eventually offered to book the young men on his shows if they joined his wrestling school and sold tickets for live events. Carter made his pro debut in September 1995. He also trained at

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 ...

's Bodyslammers Gym in

Lima, Ohio Lima ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in northwest Ohio along Interstate 75 in Ohio, Interstate 75 approximately north of Dayton, Ohio, Dayton, southwest of Toledo, Ohio, T ...

during his rookie year.

Great Lakes Wrestling

Youth made his debut for Great Lakes Wrestling in a

ladder match A ladder match is a type of match in professional wrestling, most commonly one in which an item (usually a title belt) is hung above the ring, and the winner is the contestant who climbs a ladder and retrieves the item. The ladder itself becom ...

with Steve Nixon. He later started a stable alongside "Dirty" Don Montoya and Diamond (later Simon Diamond) called East Coast Invasion. Youth went on to win the GLW World title and competed in the final match in GLW defeating "Dirty" Don Montoya in a

two out of three falls 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 ...

on January 17, 1997.

Combat Zone Wrestling

Youth's first appearance in

(CZW) was against

Justice Pain Christopher Wilson (May 16, 1978 – January 24, 2020) was an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name, Justice Pain. Pain was best known for his time in Combat Zone Wrestling, as well as Xtreme Pro Wrestling and Pro Wrestlin ...

, at ''The Staple Gun''. He then faced

and Ric Blade in a three-way match at ''Down In Flames'' on June 19, 1999. Youth would also have a memorable three-way match at ''Un F'N Believable'', against

Trent Acid Michael Verdi (November 12, 1980 – June 18, 2010), best known by his ring name Trent Acid, was an American professional wrestler. He worked as a tag team wrestler for most of his career, primarily as part of The Backseat Boyz with Johnny Kashm ...

and Blade. He then faced

Minoru Fujita (born September 5, 1977) is a Japanese professional wrestler who works as a freelancer. He is known for working at Gatoh Move Pro Wrestling. He is the current Super Asia Champion in his first reign. Career Fujita started in Big Japan Pro Wrest ...

at the next three shows, all in a losing effort. His final appearance in CZW was a fatal four-way against Nick Berk,

Nick Mondo Matthew Timothy Burns (born March 28, 1980), better known by his ring name "Sick" Nick Mondo, is a retired American professional wrestler. Since his in-ring retirement in 2003, he has become a filmmaker, actor and stuntman and, at one point, worke ...

, and

Tony Mamaluke Charles John Spencer (born July 19, 1977) is a retired American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling under the ring name Tony Marinara and with Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrest ...

in 2003.

Personal life

Youth married his wife Kathy on November 4, 2000; together they had three children. Youth pursued the career of accounting, a side job he worked while on the independents, and is currently the Director of the Tax Department at Jones Apparel.

Championships and accomplishments

*American Championship Pro Wrestling **ACPW Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Big Time Wrestling **BTW Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *

** ECWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Champion (1 time) **

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

(Class of 2001) *Global Wrestling Alliance **GWA Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Great Lakes Wrestling **GLW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Hardkore Championship Wrestling **HCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **HCW Incredible 8 winner (2003) *Independent Wrestling Union **IWU Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *International Pro Wrestling **IPW Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *IPW Hardcore ** IPW Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup winner (2003) *

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 ...

** IWA Mid-South Light Heavyweight Champion (1 time) *

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 ...

JAPW New Jersey State Championship The JAPW New Jersey State Championship was a title in the Jersey All Pro Wrestling professional wrestling promotion. It became an official title on September 25, 1998. Flash Wheeler become the first champion in a 20-man battle royal. It was ...

(1 time) *

Jersey Championship Wrestling Game Changer Wrestling (GCW), formerly known as Jersey Championship Wrestling (JCW), is an American Independent circuit, independent professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion based in New Jersey. The promotion was origina ...

** JCW Championship (1 time) **JCW Television Championship (1 time) **

Jersey J-Cup The Jersey J Cup, also known as the Chris Candido Memorial J-Cup Tournament, is an annual professional wrestling tournament held by Funkdafied Wrestling Federation (FwF), typically between April and June. Modeled after the Super J-Cup by New Japan ...

winner (2002) *

Maryland Championship Wrestling MCW Pro Wrestling (formerly known as Maryland Championship Wrestling) is a regional independent wrestling promotion based in Joppa, Maryland. It has regularly run events in the Mid-Atlantic region since the late 1990s. History Maryland Champions ...

** MCW Cruiserweight Champion (1 time) **MCW Shane Shamrock Memorial Cup winner (2002) *Mid Eastern Wrestling Federation **MEWF Cruiserweight Championship (1 time) *

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA ...

** NWA North American Heavyweight Champion (2 times) *New Jack City Wrestling **NJCW Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Northern States Wrestling Alliance **NSWA Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Pennsylvania Championship Wrestling **PCW Americas Championship (1 time) **PCW Commonwealth Championship (1 time) **PCW Junior Heavyweight Championship (2 times) **PCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with

Lance Diamond Lance Diamond (born William Shingles), (July 3, 19452015 in review: ...

**PWI ranked him 50 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the

PWI 500 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishi ...

in 1998 *

Steel City Wrestling Steel City Wrestling (SCW) was a professional wrestling promotion that was founded in Latrobe, Pennsylvania in 1994 by Norm Connors. It was the top promotion in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area during the 1990s, along with the National Wrestling A ...

** SCW Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

References

External links

* * *
TomCarter.usCagematch profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reckless Youth American male professional wrestlers Chikara (professional wrestling) Living people People from Memphis, Tennessee People from Mount Holly, New Jersey 1974 births NWA North American Heavyweight Champions GCW World Champions Professional wrestlers from New Jersey 20th-century male professional wrestlers 21st-century male professional wrestlers