As a result, both men were eliminated from the tournament. On August 25, he participated in a tournament for the vacated United States Heavyweight Championship, where he faced Yellow Dog to a no contest in the quarter-final. He put his lip stickers on the faces of his defeated opponents after matches. īadd was heavily pushed upon his debut, being placed in the rankings of the top ten contenders for the World Heavyweight Championship due to a dominant undefeated streak. Badd made his pay-per-view debut at The Great American Bash, where he lost to The Yellow Dog by disqualification after Long tried to remove Yellow Dog's mask. He made his televised in-ring debut on the June 1 episode of World Championship Wrestling against enhancement talent Kip Abee. He debuted at the inaugural SuperBrawl pay-per-view, on May 19, 1991, where he was introduced as Long's newest client. He was initially a villain and managed by Teddy Long. Goode") and he was given the character of a flamboyant Little Richard look-alike. Badd (as a nod to the Chuck Berry song " Johnny B. Rhodes repackaged Mero with the ring name Johnny B. He was eventually signed to a contract by booker Dusty Rhodes. Mero competed in his first match on the episode of WorldWide, where he was defeated by Sid Vicious. Mero appeared with WCW as an enhancement talent for several months. Several months after his FSCPW debut, Mero attended a World Championship Wrestling television taping and was given a tryout, losing to Doom in a squash match.
World Championship Wrestling Early years (1991–1993)
#FLAMINGO NXT LOGO PROFESSIONAL#
He debuted in 1991 in the Floridian Sun Coast Professional Wrestling promotion. In 1990, Mero decided to become a wrestler, traveling to Tampa, Florida to train under the Malenkos. Professional wrestling career Training (1990–1991) He briefly pursued a bodybuilding career, placing third in the Mr. Mero intended to become a professional boxer, but his career was sidelined after his nose was broken in an accident. Mero went on to win four New York State titles, including the New York Golden Gloves tournament. In the same year, Mero began training as a boxer under Golden Gloves coach Ray Rinaldi. Mero began playing football in his senior year at Liverpool High School, with his team winning the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Title under the tutelage of future University of Central Florida coach George O'Leary. At age 15, Mero began playing for the Syracuse Stars Junior Hockey Team. In 1973, Mero's family relocated to Liverpool, New York, where Mero played for the Mid State Youth Hockey League. At the age of 12, Mero began playing hockey, eventually becoming his league's Most Valuable Player. His parents divorced when he was eight years old, with his mother supporting him and his two siblings by working two jobs.
He won the promotion's World Television Championship three times during the course of his career before departing the company due to creative differences in 1996. Mero was heavily pushed as a mid-carder as "Johnny B. Today, Marc Mero contributes much of his time to the nonprofit organization he founded in 2007, Champion of Choices. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) under his real name and with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) under the ring name Johnny B. Marc Mero (born July 9, 1960) is an American former amateur boxer and professional wrestler, as well as a motivational speaker. Badd in WCW)īuffalo, New York/Wild Jungles (as "Wildman"/"Marvelous" Marc Mero in WWF)