Larry Sweeney
Encyclopedia
Alexander K. Whybrow was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 professional wrestler
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...

 and manager
Manager (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a manager is a secondary character paired with a wrestler for a variety of reasons. The manager is often either a non-wrestler, an occasional wrestler, an older wrestler who has retired or is nearing retirement or, in some cases, a new wrestler who is breaking into the...

, better known by his ring name
Ring name
A ring name is a stage name used by a professional wrestler, martial artist, or boxer. While some ring names may have a fictitious first name and surname, others may simply be a nickname, such as The Undertaker.-Wrestling:...

 Larry Sweeney. He performed primarily on the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 independent circuit
Independent circuit
In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indy circuit refers to the many independent promotions which are much smaller than major televised promotions. They are roughly analagous to a minor league for pro wrestling, or community or regional theatre.Specific promotions on the...

, but also competed in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

.

Professional wrestling career

Sweeney's first professional match took place at the Windy City Pro Wrestling
Windy City Pro Wrestling
Windy City Pro Wrestling was an American regional professional wrestling promotion based in Chicago, Illinois. Established by retired wrestler Sam DeCero in 1988, the promotion was one of several major regional territories in the Midwest during the late 1980s, along with Dick the Bruiser's World...

 Battle of the Belts 2000 on May 20, 2000, at the Hammond Civic Center
Hammond Civic Center
Hammond Civic Center is a 4,500-seat multi-purpose arena in Hammond, Indiana. The arena opened in 1938. It is well known for hosting various local concerts, WWE Wrestling, TNA Wrestling, MMA fighting, & sporting events for the area & is the home arena for the Calumet College of St...

 in Hammond, Indiana
Hammond, Indiana
Hammond is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area. The population was 80,830 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Hammond is located at ....

. He wrestled under the ring name 'El Zapatista' and participated in a 3-ring, 120-man battle royale. He did not decide to pursue a career in professional wrestling until 2002, when he was living in India and training in amateur wrestling at the Sri Satpal Pehlewan Akhara at the Chattrasol Stadium in Model Town, Delhi, India. After returning to the states and completing his studies, he enrolled in the Chikara Wrestle Factory in Allentown, Pennsylvania
Allentown, Pennsylvania
Allentown is a city located in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is Pennsylvania's third most populous city, after Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and the 215th largest city in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 118,032 and is currently...

, in September 2003, under head trainer Mike Quackenbush and co-instructors Chris Hero
Chris Hero
Chris Spradlin is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Chris Hero. He is a mainstay of many independent wrestling promotions, including Ring of Honor, and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla as well as Pro Wrestling Noah in Japan...

 and Skayde
Skayde
Jorge Rivera Serrano is a Mexican professional wrestler who is best known for Lucha Libre. He has been a tecnico throughout his wrestling career. He is currently training wrestlers at Arena Xalapa.-Professional wrestling career:...

. Sweeney also received training from Buddy Rose
Buddy Rose
Paul Perschmann was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, "Playboy" Buddy Rose.-Career:Paul Perschmann was trained by Verne Gagne and Billy Robinson in the early 1970s...

 and Colonel DeBeers
Edward Wiskoski
Edward Wiskoski is a former American professional wrestler best known as Colonel DeBeers in the AWA . He also wrestled as Derek "The Mongoose" Draper and Mega Maharishi...

 in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

, before debuting on May 1, 2004, in Ludlow, Massachusetts
Ludlow, Massachusetts
Ludlow is a town in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 21,103 as of the 2010 census. It is located in western Massachusetts, north of Springfield, east of Chicopee, southeast of Granby, southwest of Belchertown, west of Wilbraham and is considered part of the...

.

On June 16, 2005, he defeated veteran wrestler Glen Osbourne
Glen Osbourne
Glen Osbourne is an American professional wrestler, perhaps best known for his appearances with Eastern Championship Wrestling in the early 1990s, where he was the youngest holder of the ECW World Television Championship...

 for the PWE Heavyweight Championship in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania
Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania
Mechanicsburg is a borough in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, USA, eight miles west of Harrisburg. It is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area. Mechanicsburg was settled in 1806 and incorporated as a borough on April 12, 1828...

. He went on to hold the title for 11 months before losing it to Mike Quackenbush in May 2006; in the meantime he had become a regular for many of the larger independent wrestling companies in the US. In July 2006, he represented Chikara at MXW's InterPromotional Incident. On July 31, 2006, Sweeney made an appearance on Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...

, broadcast live from the Meadowlands Arena in New Jersey, where he played an imposter Nick Hogan
Nick Hogan
Nicholas Allan Bollea , also known as Nick Hogan, is an American reality personality & actor, best known as the son of semi-retired professional wrestler Hulk Hogan and for his appearances on the reality show Hogan Knows Best alongside his father, mother Linda, and older sibling Brooke.Bollea was...

 in a segment titled "Orton Knows Best". Later that year, he was the subject of the 'Introducing' feature article in the national magazine The Wrestler.

2007 saw him go on to a feud with Bryan Alvarez
Bryan Alvarez
Bryan Alki Alvarez is a semi-retired American professional wrestler and the editor and publisher of Figure Four Weekly, a newsletter that has covered professional wrestling since 1995. Alvarez credits a portion of his pro wrestling training to pro wrestler Buddy Wayne, and is credited in training...

 over the ICW/ICWA Texarkana Television Championship. On May 11, 2007, in McKeesport, Pennsylvania
McKeesport, Pennsylvania
McKeesport is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, in the United States; it is located at the confluence of the Monongahela and Youghiogheny rivers and is part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The population was 19,731 at the 2010 census...

, he won the IWC Super Indy Title after defeating "Black Machismo" Jay Lethal
Jay Lethal
Jamar "Jay" Shipman better known by his ring name Jay Lethal, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to Ring of Honor , where he is the ROH World Television Champion...

, Azrieal
Federico Palacios
Walter Kirney is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for working under the ring name Azrieal for independent promotions such as Ring of Honor and Jersey All Pro Wrestling.-Total Nonstop Action Wrestling:...

, and Shima Xion in a one-night tournament. He has since gone on to feud for the title with "Fabulous" John McChesney, who defeated him for the title on July 7. After chasing McChesney for over six months, Sweeney regained the title on January 19, 2008, after winning a Texarkana Death Match. On July 20, 2007, Sweeney was crowned the first CWE Undisputed Champion after defeating Eddie Kingston
Eddie Kingston
Edward "Eddie" Moore is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Eddie Kingston. He is best known for competing in Chikara, Combat Zone Wrestling, Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South and Ring of Honor...

 and Chris Hero in separate matches in Youngstown, Ohio
Youngstown, Ohio
Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Mahoning County; it also extends into Trumbull County. The municipality is situated on the Mahoning River, approximately southeast of Cleveland and northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...

.

He competed in a War Games match for the NWA Upstate promotion in Rochester, New York
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...

, in April 2007, after successfully defending the ICW/ICWA title against Eddie Kingston in a strap match the night before at Colgate University
Colgate University
Colgate University is a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York, USA. The school was founded in 1819 as a Baptist seminary and later became non-denominational. It is named for the Colgate family who greatly contributed to the university's endowment in the 19th century.Colgate has 52...

. Sweeney made his debut with the Hawaii based promotion Action Zone Wrestling on January 7, 2008, CIMA
Nobuhiko Oshima
, better known by his ring name Cima , is a Japanese professional wrestler who currently wrestles for Dragon Gate and its international expansion Dragon Gate USA...

 at their event Battleclash III, a match billed on his 'ain't no doubt about it' DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....

 as the 66th Pearl Harbor anniversary showdown. He also participated in a Boxer vs Wrestler match against Larry Barnes (44-3-0, 17 KO's) on April 5, 2008, in New Rochelle, New York
New Rochelle, New York
New Rochelle is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state.The town was settled by refugee Huguenots in 1688 who were fleeing persecution in France...

, at New Rochelle High School for the New York State Wrestling Federation.

In November 2008 he announced the formation of his own company, Bad Brothers of Wrestling (BBOW). Sweeney promoted two shows, in April 2007 and October 2008, at Colgate University
Colgate University
Colgate University is a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York, USA. The school was founded in 1819 as a Baptist seminary and later became non-denominational. It is named for the Colgate family who greatly contributed to the university's endowment in the 19th century.Colgate has 52...

 and announced plans to run shows at schools and carnivals, primarily in the Midwest.

Chikara (2004–2009)

After being trained at the Chikara Wrestle Factory, Sweeney made his debut for the promotion on July 10, 2004, at the second annual Young Lions Cup, as the leader of Sweet 'n' Sour International, a stable of wrestlers who had been denied wildcard spots in the tournament. Throughout the tournament Sweeney's stable mates interfered in his matches and in the end he defeated Jigsaw
Jigsaw (wrestler)
Jigsaw is an American professional wrestler currently competing in the Chikara and Dragon Gate USA professional wrestling promotions...

 to win the Chikara Young Lions Cup
Chikara Young Lions Cup
The Young Lions Cup is a professional wrestling championship contested for in the American professional wrestling promotion Chikara.-History:...

 in only his seventh professional match. Jigsaw was looking for a rematch with Sweeney, but he was more interested in the bigger Chikara names, such as Chris Hero and Mike Quackenbush. On October 30, 2004, Sweeney's stable met a group led by Jigsaw in an eight on eight torneo cibernetico
Torneo cibernetico
A Torneo Cibernetico is a type of elimination tag-team match that frequently appears in Lucha Libre promotions.The match is a 16-man elimination tag team match consisting of 2 teams of 8. It uses standard Lucha Libre tag-team rules with elimination occurring with a pinfall, submission,...

 match. Sweeney was pinned by Jigsaw, after his stable mate Spyrazul turned on him and then unmasked himself as Quackenbush. On November 19 Sweeney lost the Young Lions Cup to Jigsaw in his first defense.
Sweeney entered the 2005 Tag World Grand Prix with Share Cropper, but they were eliminated from the tournament in the first round by Shane Storm
Stigma (wrestler)
Stigma is an American professional wrestler, best known for his work in the Chikara professional wrestling promotion, where he is a former Young Lions Cup Champion and King of Trios winner...

 and Mister ZERO. On May 20 Sweeney and Cropper were defeated by Jolly Roger and Lance Steel in a "Crybaby/Slave for a Month" match and as a result the entire Sweet 'n' Sour International were forced to wear diapers the following night. Sweeney refused to do this and after Crossbones pulled off his towel to reveal the diaper, Sweeney fired all of his stable mates and disbanded Sweet 'n' Sour International.

The following month Sweeney brought his ICW-ICWA Texarkana Television Championship to Chikara and debuted his new bodyguard, Mana the Polynesian Warrior
Mana the Polynesian Warrior
Nikora Mana Tuhakaraina is a New Zealand professional wrestler, better known by his ringname Mana the Polynesian Warrior. He competes in North American independent promotions including Ballpark Brawl, Combat Zone Wrestling, Jersey All Pro Wrestling, Major League Wrestling, the National Wrestling...

. On March 31 Sweeney lost the Texarkana Television title to Milano Collection A.T. and after Sweeney and Mana were defeated on April 21 by Lance Steel and Lance Steel, Mana turned on Sweeney. The following month Sweeney debuted his new talk show segment, Winner's Circle, and then cleanly defeated Mana before regaining the Texarkana title from Milano Collection A.T. Sweeney then started a feud with Eddie Kingston, to whom he would lose the Texarkana title on July 22. During the feud Sweeney and Kingston performed an angle, where Sweeney ran over Kingston with a car. Sweeney recaptured the Texarkana title in Canada, but on November 18, 2006, at Talent Borrows, Genius Steals Kingston defeated him in a "Yellow Belly Strap match" to win the feud.

In 2007 Sweeney's Ring of Honor
Ring of Honor
Ring of Honor ' is an American professional wrestling promotion, founded in 2002 by Rob Feinstein and Gabe Sapolsky. From 2004 to 2011, the promotion was under the ownership of Cary Silkin before being sold to the Sinclair Broadcast Group in May 2011...

 relationship with Chris Hero entered Chikara, when on April 22 he helped Hero defeat Claudio Castagnoli
Claudio Castagnoli
Claudio Castagnoli is a Swiss professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, working in its developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling under the ring name Antonio Cesaro...

 and thus force him back into the Kings of Wrestling. The following month Hero, Sweeney and Castagnoli joined forces with Team F.I.S.T. (Icarus
Icarus (wrestler)
Icarus is a professional wrestler, who performs primarily in the Chikara professional wrestling promotion, where he is a former Campeon de Parejas and King of Trios winner...

, Gran Akuma
Gran Akuma
Gran Akuma is a professional wrestler who currently works for Chikara and Combat Zone Wrestling, where he uses the ring name AKUMA. He has also worked for the Florida based Full Impact Pro. In Chikara, he was a member of the Kings of Wrestling stable, while also being a part of Team F.I.S.T. with...

 and Chuck Taylor
Chuck Taylor (wrestler)
Dustin Howard is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Chuck Taylor. He is currently competing most notably in Chikara, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, Evolve Wrestling and Dragon Gate USA...

) to form the Kings of Wrestling superstable. The stable was later joined by Mitch Ryder, Shayne Hawke
Shayne Hawke
Shayne Hawke is an Canadian professional wrestler. Hawke is best known for his work with Chikara and International Wrestling Syndicate.-Early career:...

 and Max Boyer
Max Boyer
Maxime "Max" Boyer is a Canadian professional wrestler, best known for his time in the Chikara and International Wrestling Syndicate professional wrestling promotions...

. On December 9 Castagnoli defeated Hero, who afterwards left Chikara for good, thus disbanding the Kings of Wrestling. Sweeney continued to team with Mitch Ryder and Shayne Hawke as the Fabulous Three and together they made it to the quarter finals of the 2008 King of Trios tournament, before losing to the Golden Trio of Delirious
Delirious (wrestler)
Hunter Johnston is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Delirious. He is currently wrestling for Ring of Honor, International Wrestling Cartel, Chikara, Pro Wrestling Noah, and Jersey All Pro Wrestling...

, Hallowicked
Hallowicked
Hallowicked is a professional wrestler, who performs primarily in the Chikara, Dragon Gate USA and Evolve Wrestling professional wrestling promotions. Throughout his career he has also worked for promotions such as Combat Zone Wrestling, Full Impact Pro, Jersey All Pro Wrestling, Pro Wrestling...

 and Helios
Ricochet (wrestler)
Trevor Mann is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name Ricochet. He currently performs mainly for the American promotion Dragon Gate USA and its parent promotion, Japanese Dragon Gate. In both promotions he is a member of the Blood Warriors stable...

. After a series of trios losses, Ryder fired Sweeney from the group on June 15, 2008, after which Sweeney turned tecnico
Face (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a babyface or face or in simple words, a fan favorite is a character who is portrayed as a heroic relative to the heel wrestlers, who are analogous to villains...

 for the first time in his Chikara career. After months of trying to earn the trust of former Kings of Wrestling stable mate Claudio Castagnoli, he finally agreed to team with Sweeney on December 14. However, in the match against the Fabulous Two Sweeney turned on Castagnoli by hitting him with brass knucks and re-joined Ryder and Hawke.

On January 25, 2009, at Revelation X Sweeney called out Castagnoli, despite knowing that he was at the time wrestling in Japan for Pro Wrestling Noah
Pro Wrestling Noah
is a major Japanese professional wrestling promotion, founded in 2000 by former All Japan Pro Wrestling ace Mitsuharu Misawa. NOAH is broadcast weekly in Japan...

. Chikara Director of Fun Leonard F. Chikarason came out and announced that since Shayne Hawke was unable to make it to the show, the Fabulous Three were taken out of the 2009 King of Trios. That same night Sweeney and Ryder defeated Los Ice Creams (El Hijo del Ice Cream and Ice Cream, Jr.), but this would end up being Sweeney's for the moment final appearance for the company, as afterwards Ryder left the company and the Fabulous Three quietly disbanded.

Ring of Honor (2006–2009)

On December 23, 2006, Sweeney made his debut in Ring of Honor
Ring of Honor
Ring of Honor ' is an American professional wrestling promotion, founded in 2002 by Rob Feinstein and Gabe Sapolsky. From 2004 to 2011, the promotion was under the ownership of Cary Silkin before being sold to the Sinclair Broadcast Group in May 2011...

 (ROH), interfering on behalf of the Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli) in their win against the Briscoe Brothers
Briscoe Brothers
The Briscoe Brothers are the professional wrestling tag team of Jay and Mark Briscoe. They are currently wrestling for the American promotions Ring of Honor, Full Impact Pro, Combat Zone Wrestling, as well as occasionally for the Japanese promotion Pro Wrestling Noah.Their wrestling careers have...

 (Jay and Mark Briscoe). The following night, Hero announced that Sweeney was in ROH as his new agent. Since then, Sweeney has gone on to form Sweet 'n' Sour Inc., an agency consisting of Sweeney's "clients" Chris Hero, Sara Del Rey
Sara Del Rey
Sara Amato is an American professional wrestler, better known by her ring name, Sara Del Rey. She is a mainstay for Chikara and Shimmer Women Athletes. She has also appeared for many other independent promotions in the United States, including Ring of Honor, IWA Mid-South, All Pro Wrestling, as...

, personal trainer Tank Toland
John Toland (wrestler)
John Michael Toland is an American professional wrestler best known for his work in independent promotion Ring of Honor, under the name Tank Toland...

, and Bobby Dempsey. Matt Sydal was briefly apart of Sweet & Sour Inc. during the summer of 2007, but left when Sweeney signed him to a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...

. Daniel Puder
Daniel Puder
Daniel Puder is an American professional mixed martial artist, who is currently undefeated in MMA competition, holding a a record of eight wins and zero losses...

 was also briefly part of the stable in January 2008 but later quietly departed ROH. In February 2008 he declared a hostile takeover attempt of ROH and signed Adam Pearce
Adam Pearce
Adam Pearce is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is the current NWA World Heavyweight Champion in his fourth reign and the NWA British Commonwealth Heavyweight Champion in his first reign. He is also a former PWG Champion....

, Brent Albright
Brent Albright
Brent Alan Albright is an American professional wrestler, perhaps best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment, during which he appeared on Friday Night SmackDown! as Gunner Scott...

 and Shane Hagadorn in the wake of this declaration. That same month he perpetrated the simulated rape of Allison Danger by Bobby Dempsey on his interview segment "The Larry Sweeney show starring Larry Sweeney". In November the segment earned Sweeney a 'Turnbuckle Turkey' award from the magazine "Inside Wrestling". On April 11, 2008, he signed Eddie Edwards
Eddie Edwards (wrestler)
Eddie Edwards is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for wrestling with Ring of Honor , where he is a former ROH World Champion. He also had previous reigns as a former ROH World Tag Team Champion with his partner Davey Richards as The American Wolves and as the inaugural ROH World...

 into the group as well.

On May 10, 2008, Brent Albright quit the group following a loss where he and Chris Hero dropped a Scramble Match to Delirious and Pelle Primeau (also included were Jack Evans and Ruckus). Sweeney ordered him to beat down Bobby Dempsey with the rest of the group but instead he delivered suplexes to every member aside from Sweeney who escaped from the ring. On June 6, Sweeney made an offer to No Remorse Corps leader Roderick Strong
Roderick Strong
Chris Lindsey is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Roderick Strong. Strong currently competes in several independent promotions, most notably Ring of Honor , Full Impact Pro , and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla .He initially debuted as The Jester on the Floridian...

 to join him in his stable. Strong declined as he had done in the past only to find himself attacked and beaten down by his NRC stable mate Davey Richards
Davey Richards
Wesley David Richards is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Davey Richards.Richards is currently under contract with Ring of Honor, where he is the current ROH World Champion, but also wrestles for several companies on the independent circuit, including Pro Wrestling...

. Richards proceeded to tear away his NRC t-shirt to reveal he was wearing a Sweet N'Sour Inc. shirt underneath, joining the stable. On June 28, 2008, in Chicago Ridge, Illinois
Chicago Ridge, Illinois
Chicago Ridge is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 14,127 at the 2000 census.-History:Chicago Ridge takes its name from ridges left behind when trainloads of dirt were brought out by the Wabash Railroad during construction of the Columbian Exposition of...

, Sweeney proudly welcomed the newest member of Sweet N'Sour Inc, Go Shiozaki, into the fold as well as welcome back returning member Tank Toland.

During his time in ROH, Sweeney wrestled only four matches for the promotion; he defeated Claudio Castagnoli in a singles match at Final Battle 2007, competed in a six-man tag in spring 2008, defeated Roderick Strong in a gauntlet match in August 2008 and wrestled in a tag team match with Davey Richards in December 2008. His largely non-wrestling role in ROH earned him the 2007 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Award for Best Non-Wrestler of the year, an award he won again for 2008.

On October 19, 2008, Sweeney made an appearance at Shimmer Women Athletes
SHIMMER Women Athletes
Shimmer Women Athletes is an American, Chicago based female independent professional wrestling promotion which held its first event on November 6, 2005...

 taping, the sister promotion of ROH. He cut a promo about how his client in ROH Sara Del Rey would get her Shimmer Championship
Shimmer Championship
The Shimmer Championship is a professional wrestling championship in Shimmer Women Athletes. It is competed for in Shimmer Women Athletes, and has been defended on shows of sister promotions Ring of Honor and Full Impact Pro. Championship reigns are determined by professional wrestling matches, in...

 rematch in ROH. Later in the evening he would pull Del Rey out of the ring to save her from MsChif
MsChif
Rachel Collins is an American professional wrestler who is better known by her ring name MsChif. She has been wrestling since 2001 and in that time has worked for several independent promotions across the United States, with guest matches in England and Japan...

 and Serena Deeb
Serena Deeb
Serena Deeb is an American professional wrestler. She is best known for her time with World Wrestling Entertainment, appearing on the SmackDown brand and also known for her time with the developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling. under the ring name Serena...

. On April 20, 2009, Sweeney announced on his official MySpace page that he had quit ROH over monetary issues. On December 19, 2009, at Final Battle 2009
Final Battle 2009
Final Battle 2009 was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Ring of Honor , which was only available online. It took place on December 19, 2009 from the Manhattan Center in New York City...

, ROH's first live pay-per-view, Sweeney returned to the company as a color commentator, but did not make any appearances after that.

Hiatus and return (2010)

On August 14, 2010, Sweeney wrestled his first match in 14 months, losing to Dan Lawrence at an All American Wrestling event.
On July 26, 2010, Sweeney returned to Chikara at Chikarasaurus Rex: King of Show, where he, disguised as Vökoder, a cyborg, previously portrayed by Tim Donst
Tim Donst
Timothy "Tim" Donst is an American professional wrestler, performing primarily in Chikara, where he is a former Young Lions Cup holder. He is known for his amateur wrestling background, which became the focal point of his persona....

, stared down his Bruderschaft des Kreuzes
Bruderschaft des Kreuzes
Die Bruderschaft des Kreuzes is a professional wrestling stable in the Chikara promotion.-Background :...

 partner Pinkie Sanchez. Vökoder made his next appearance on August 29, eliminating Sanchez from The Countdown Showdown battle royal. While it was at this point still a mystery who was portraying Vökoder, Sweeney went public with his hatred for Sanchez on the In Your Head radio show. On October 19 it was announced that Vökoder would take the final open spot on UltraMantis Black
UltraMantis Black
UltraMantis Black is a professional wrestler, who performs primarily in the Chikara professional wrestling promotion, where he is the leader of the Order of the Neo–Solar Temple, while also regularly commentating on matches in which he is not competing...

's Team Chikara in the torneo cibernetico match, where they would face BDK. During the torneo cibernetico match on October 23, Vökoder was unmasked as Sweeney. He managed to eliminate Sanchez from the match, before being eliminated himself by Claudio Castagnoli. Sweeney posted a blog entry on Chikara's official site on December 29, 2010, where he announced he would return to the promotion in 2011, but would pass away before doing so.

During the first night of Chikara's 2011 King of Trios tournament on April 15, a memorial service was held in Sweeney's memory before the show. Many of Sweeney's fellow wrestlers also wrestled with a pink and purple armband, while Mike Quackenbush and Jigsaw used his signature moves to win their match. Eddie Kingston also used the song "Highwayman" by The Highwaymen
The Highwaymen (country supergroup)
The Highwaymen were an American supergroup comprising four country music artists well known for, among other things, their involvement and pioneering influence on the outlaw country subgenre: Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson...

, which was one of Sweeney's favorite songs, as his entrance theme on the second night. Shortly afterwards, Chikara named the tournament to crown the first ever Chikara Grand Champion
Chikara Grand Championship
The Chikara Grand Championship is a professional wrestling championship owned by the Chikara promotion. The first champion was crowned on November 13, 2011, at the High Noon pay-per-view, when Eddie Kingston defeated Mike Quackenbush at the conclusion of a six-month long, twelve-person...

, the 12 Large: Summit in memory of Whybrow. At the finals of the tournament on November 13, 2011, at High Noon
Chikara High Noon
High Noon was a professional wrestling internet pay-per-view event produced by the Chikara promotion, that took place on November 13, 2011 at the Asylum Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The event marked Chikara's first ever live pay-per-view and it was headlined by the finals of a tournament...

, Whybrow's brother Oliver presented tournament winner Eddie Kingston with the championship belt.

Personal life

Whybrow was born in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

, and was raised in Wilmette, Illinois
Wilmette, Illinois
Wilmette is a village in New Trier Township, Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is located north of Chicago's downtown district and has a population of 27,651. Wilmette is considered a bedroom community in the North Shore district...

, with two siblings. He graduated from New Trier High School
New Trier High School
New Trier High School is a public four-year high school , with its major campus located in Winnetka, Illinois, USA, and a second campus in Northfield, Illinois, with freshman classes and district administration...

 and Oberlin College
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...

. As a junior at Oberlin, he travelled to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 for a study-abroad program, and became interested in wrestling after seeing it there. He later moved to and resided in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

. Whybrow suffered from bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder or bipolar affective disorder, historically known as manic–depressive disorder, is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a category of mood disorders defined by the presence of one or more episodes of abnormally elevated energy levels, cognition, and mood with or without one or...

 and had a mental breakdown
Mental breakdown
Mental breakdown is a non-medical term used to describe an acute, time-limited phase of a specific disorder that presents primarily with features of depression or anxiety.-Definition:...

 in 2009, which he called "the absolute worst event" of his life at the time.

Prior to becoming a professional wrestler, Whybrow worked as a house painter, blacksmith's apprentice and Kaplan
Kaplan
Kapłań is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Klukowo, within Wysokie Mazowieckie County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland.-References:...

 tutor.

Death

Whybrow was found dead on the morning of April 11, 2011, at the age of 30, after committing suicide by hanging himself from a turnbuckle pole at a Lake Charles, Louisiana
Lake Charles, Louisiana
Lake Charles is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Located in Calcasieu Parish, a major cultural, industrial, and educational center in the southwest region of the state, and one of the most important in...

 wrestling school. He was survived by his parents and his two siblings.

In wrestling

  • Finishing moves
    • 12 Large Elbow (Diving elbow drop)
    • 68 Comeback Special (Hangman's neckbreaker followed into a DDT
      DDT (professional wrestling)
      In professional wrestling a DDT is any move in which the wrestler has the opponent in a front facelock, and falls down or backwards to drive the opponent's head into the mat...

      )
    • Boa Constrictor (Seated dragon sleeper)

  • Signature moves
    • Bionic elbow
    • Double underhook suplex
    • Falling fist drop
    • Piledriver
    • Slingshot suplex
    • Sweeney Stomp (Multiple stomps while circling a fallen opponent)

  • Wrestlers managed
    Manager (professional wrestling)
    In professional wrestling, a manager is a secondary character paired with a wrestler for a variety of reasons. The manager is often either a non-wrestler, an occasional wrestler, an older wrestler who has retired or is nearing retirement or, in some cases, a new wrestler who is breaking into the...

    • Chris Hero
      Chris Hero
      Chris Spradlin is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Chris Hero. He is a mainstay of many independent wrestling promotions, including Ring of Honor, and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla as well as Pro Wrestling Noah in Japan...

    • Sara Del Rey
      Sara Del Rey
      Sara Amato is an American professional wrestler, better known by her ring name, Sara Del Rey. She is a mainstay for Chikara and Shimmer Women Athletes. She has also appeared for many other independent promotions in the United States, including Ring of Honor, IWA Mid-South, All Pro Wrestling, as...

    • Matt Sydal
    • Tank Toland
      John Toland (wrestler)
      John Michael Toland is an American professional wrestler best known for his work in independent promotion Ring of Honor, under the name Tank Toland...

    • Bobby Dempsey
    • Daniel Puder
      Daniel Puder
      Daniel Puder is an American professional mixed martial artist, who is currently undefeated in MMA competition, holding a a record of eight wins and zero losses...

    • Adam Pearce
      Adam Pearce
      Adam Pearce is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is the current NWA World Heavyweight Champion in his fourth reign and the NWA British Commonwealth Heavyweight Champion in his first reign. He is also a former PWG Champion....

    • Brent Albright
      Brent Albright
      Brent Alan Albright is an American professional wrestler, perhaps best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment, during which he appeared on Friday Night SmackDown! as Gunner Scott...

    • Shane Hagadorn
    • Go Shiozaki
      Go Shiozaki
      is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working for Pro Wrestling Noah, where he is the current GHC Heavyweight Champion. In addition to Noah, he has previously worked in the American-based promotion Ring of Honor and its former sister promotion Full Impact Pro, where he won the latter's...

    • Eddie Edwards
      Eddie Edwards (wrestler)
      Eddie Edwards is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for wrestling with Ring of Honor , where he is a former ROH World Champion. He also had previous reigns as a former ROH World Tag Team Champion with his partner Davey Richards as The American Wolves and as the inaugural ROH World...

    • Davey Richards
      Davey Richards
      Wesley David Richards is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Davey Richards.Richards is currently under contract with Ring of Honor, where he is the current ROH World Champion, but also wrestles for several companies on the independent circuit, including Pro Wrestling...

    • Greg Valentine
      Greg Valentine
      John Wisniski, Jr. is an American professional wrestler, better known as Greg "The Hammer" Valentine. He is the son of wrestler Johnny Valentine.-Training:...


  • Nickname
    Nickname
    A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....

    s
    • "Sweet and Sour"
    • "The Super Agent"

  • Entrance themes
    Music in professional wrestling
    Music in professional wrestling serves a variety of purposes. The most common uses of music in professional wrestling is that of the entrance theme, a song or piece of instrumental music which plays as a performer approaches the ring...

    • "More, More, More
      More, More, More
      "More, More, More" is a song written by Gregg Diamond and recorded by American disco artist Andrea True, who performed under the name "The Andrea True Connection"...

      " by Andrea True Connection
      Andrea True
      Andrea True was an American adult film star and singer from the disco era. In addition to her given name, she had multiple stage names, including Inger Kissin, Singe Low, Sandra Lips, Andrea Travis, and Catherine Warren, .She is best known for the disco tune "More, More, More", released in 1976,...

    • "Float On
      Float On (Modest Mouse song)
      "Float On" is a single released by indie rock band Modest Mouse. It also appears on their album Good News for People Who Love Bad News. The track is generally considered to be the band's signature song.The song was nominated for a Grammy in 2005....

      " by Modest Mouse
      Modest Mouse
      Modest Mouse is an American indie rock band formed in 1993 in Issaquah, Washington, by singer/lyricist/guitarist Isaac Brock, drummer Jeremiah Green, and bassist Eric Judy. They are based in Portland, Oregon. Since their 1996 debut album, This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think...

    • "Superfly
      Superfly (song)
      "Superfly" is a song by Curtis Mayfield, the title track from his 1972 soundtrack album for the film of the same name. It was the second single released from the album, following "Freddie's Dead ", and reached #8 on the Billboard Pop chart. The lyrics celebrate the craftiness and determinaton of...

      " by Curtis Mayfield
      Curtis Mayfield
      Curtis Lee Mayfield was an American soul, R&B, and funk singer, songwriter, and record producer.He is best known for his anthemic music with The Impressions during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's and for composing the soundtrack to the blaxploitation film Super Fly, Mayfield is highly...

    • "Don't Bring Me Down
      Don't Bring Me Down
      "Don't Bring Me Down" is a song by the band Electric Light Orchestra, and is the last track from their 1979 album Discovery. It is their highest charting hit in the US to date.-History:...

      " by Electric Light Orchestra
      Electric Light Orchestra
      Electric Light Orchestra were a British rock group from Birmingham who released eleven studio albums between 1971 and 1986 and another album in 2001. ELO were formed to accommodate Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne's desire to create modern rock and pop songs with classical overtones...

    • "Holiday Road
      Holiday Road
      "Holiday Road" is a 1983 single written and recorded by Fleetwood Mac guitarist Lindsey Buckingham. The song was featured in the 1983 film National Lampoon's Vacation and was played during the opening titles. The song was also used in the sequels National Lampoon's European Vacation and Vegas...

      " by Lindsey Buckingham
      Lindsey Buckingham
      Lindsey Adams Buckingham is an American guitarist, singer, composer and producer, most notable for being the guitarist and male lead singer of the musical group Fleetwood Mac. Aside from his tenure with Fleetwood Mac, Buckingham has also released six solo albums and a live album...


Championships and accomplishments

  • Chikara
    • Young Lions Cup II
      Chikara Young Lions Cup
      The Young Lions Cup is a professional wrestling championship contested for in the American professional wrestling promotion Chikara.-History:...


  • Championship Wrestling Experience
    • CWE Undisputed Championship (1 time)

  • International Wrestling Cartel
    • IWC Super Indy Championship (2 times)
    • Super Indy VI tournament (2007)

  • Pro Wrestling Entertainment
    • PWE Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

  • Pro Wrestling WORLD-1
    • WORLD-1 Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with King Kaluha

  • Ultimate Championship Wrestling
    • UCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

  • Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
    • Best Non-Wrestler (2007, 2008)

  • Other
    • ICW-ICWA Texarkana Television Championship (27 times)

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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