Mike Bennett (wrestler)
Encyclopedia
Mike Bennett is an American 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...

. He wrestles on the 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...

 and is signed to 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).

Independent promotions (2002–2010)

Bennett made his professional wrestling
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...

 debut in 2002. The following year, Bennett made a single appearance for the East Coast Wrestling Association
East Coast Wrestling Association
East Coast Wrestling Association is an American professional wrestling promotion, founded by promoter Jim Kettner in 1967. It is home to the annual Super 8 Tournament, one of the longest-running independent wrestling tournaments in the country...

, when he lost to Big Benny.

Bennett also wrestled for Eastern Pro Wrestling (EPW). On April 27, 2007, Bennett lost to Derek Destiny. On February 29, 2008, Bennett lost to Nick Westgate. The following day, Bennett, who was accompanied by Gia Savitz, defeated Thom Kane. On January 16, 2010, Bennett unsuccessfully challenged Nick Westagte for the EPW Television Championship. On March 5, Bennett won the 'Rhodes Island Rumble' battle royal
Battle royal (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a battle royal is a multi-competitor match type in which wrestlers are eliminated until one is left and declared winner...

 to become the number one contender to the EPW Heavyweight Championship.

Bennett and Bryce Andrews appeared on the April 9, 2007 episode of WWE Heat
WWE HEAT
WWE Heat was a professional wrestling television program produced by World Wrestling Entertainment...

, where they faced Cryme Tyme
Cryme Tyme
For animated series named Crime Time, visit Crime TimeCryme Tyme was a professional wrestling tag team that was signed to WWE.The team consisted of JTG and Shad , an over-the-top parody of stereotypical street thugs.-Early lives:Of Haitian and...

. On October 6, 2009, Bennett wrestled against Kip James at the TNA Impact!
TNA iMPACT!
Impact Wrestling is a professional wrestling television program for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling that currently airs in the United States and Canada on Spike...

tapings.

In a match for the Northeast Wrestling (NEW) promotion in March 2010, Bennett was a participant in a five-way match for the NEW Heavyweight Championship, which was won by Matt Taven. At NEW's Spring Slam show on April 15, 2011, Bennett lost to Matt Hardy
Matt Hardy
Matthew Moore "Matt" Hardy is a semi-retired American professional wrestler. He is best known for his stints in World Wrestling Entertainment and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....

.

In 2010, Bennett debuted for Squared Circle Wrestling (2CW) by defeating Matt Taven on September 25. Three months later at 2CW's Nightmare Before Christmas show in December, Taven defeated Bennett in a rematch.

New England Championship Wrestling (2003–2005; 2009–2010)

Bennett debuted for New England Championship Wrestling
New England Championship Wrestling
New England Championship Wrestling was an independent professional wrestling promotion based in the Northeastern United States and has promoted events since 2000...

 (NECW) on November 14, 2003, losing to Johnny Idol. The following March, Bennett earned his first win in NECW by defeated Bob Evans. In August 2004, Bennett began feuding with Ru Starr, trading victories with him, until Starr won the rubber match
Rubber match
According to Paul Dickson's The New Dickson's Baseball Dictionary , a "rubber game" is "The last and deciding game of a series when the previous games have been split; e.g., the seventh game of the World Series." This tie-breaking sense of "rubber" apparently originated in the English game of...

 on February 12, 2005. In March, Bennett moved into a feud with Michael Sain, losing to him in two singles match that month, and again in a Stretcher match on April 16. He earned his first victory over Sain in June. He spent the next several months wrestling against competitors including Frankie Arion, Pat Masters, and Fergal Devitt
Fergal Devitt
Fergal Devitt is an Irish professional wrestler currently contracted by New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he is currently in his second reign as the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion...

, before taking a four-yeat hiatus from NECW.

He returned at Spring Breakdown on April 18, 2009, teaming with Guy Alexander to defeated TJ Richter and Mr. Munroe. At NECW Tag Team Classic in September, Bennett and Alexander defeated Richter and Munroe in the first round of a tournament, but their match against Scott Osborne and Brandon Locke ended in a double countout, eliminating both teams from the tournament. At the NECW television tapings on January 23, 2010, Bennett defeated David Cash
David Cash
David Cash better known by his ring name Kid Kash, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. He is also known for his work in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment.-Professional wrestling career:Kash's father was a boxer and...

.

Top Rope Promotions (2006–present)

Bennett debuted for Top Rope Promotions
Top Rope Promotions
Top Rope Promotions, formerly known as Yankee Pro Wrestling, is a Northeastern independent professional wrestling promotion based in New Bedford, Massachusetts and is the largest promotion in the southern New England-area rivaling other Northeastern promotions including Chaotic Wrestling, the...

 (TRP) on February 17, 2006, where he defeated Stryker. On March 24, Bennet, as part of NRG, defeated Freightrain. The following month Bennett defeated Billy Warhawk. Bennett continued on a winning streak, defeating Joe Chece, Spike Dudley, DC Drake
DC Drake
Don Clyde "DC" Drake is a former American professional wrestler. He became the Heavyweight Champion for the National Wrestling Federation and Tri-State Wrestling Alliance which later became Extreme Championship Wrestling.-Training:...

, and on June 23, he competed in the 2006 Kowalski Cup. He defeated Romeo Roselli
Romeo Roselli
Giovanni Roselli best known as Romeo Roselli is a professional wrestler and actor best known for his stint with World Wrestling Entertainment on the Raw brand as one half of the "Heart Throbs" and is not to be confused with another wrestler by the name of Kid Romeo.-Career:Roselli began wrestling...

 and Chece en route to the final, where he defeated Slyck Wagner Brown to win the tournament. He suffered his first loss on July 1, when he was defeated by Antonio Thomas, and two weeks later he lost to Roselli. On September 1, Bennett defeated Dudley in a street fight to win the NRG Heavyweight Championship. The following night, he lost to Dudley in a steel cage match, and lost a Loser Leaves Town steel cage match to Dudley on September 29.
Despite this, Bennett returned to TRP on January 5, 2007, teaming with Bryce Andrews to defeat 'Chunky But Funky' to win the TRP Tag Team Championship. After losing to The Aldren Brothers in a non-title match in February, Bennett and Andrews won a two out of three falls match to retain the championship on April 6. The following night, they lost to The Heart Throbs
The Heart Throbs
The Heart Throbs is the name of a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Antonio Thomas and Romeo Roselli, currently wrestling on the independent circuit. Thomas and Roselli are billed as being popular "with the ladies", and typically approach the ring while performing pelvic thrusts to the...

 (Antonio Thomas and Romeo Roselli) in a non-title match, and at the following show in May, Bennett lost to Roselli in a singles match. On June 9, Bennett and Andrews defeated Kristian Frost and Brutus Beefcake. In July, Bennett aligned himself with Luscious Latasha, with the pair defeating Dudley and Leah Morrison in a mixed tag team match on July 15. In April 2008, Bennett lost to Dudley in a street fight. On May 30, Bennett lost to Andrews in a First Blood match. He continued competing in TRP for the remainder of the year, wrestling against Dudley, Brian Fury, Bushwhacker Luke, and Jason Blade. He formed a semi-regular tag team with Ryan Waters in January 2009, and the pair lost to the reigning TRP Tag Team Championship, The Alden Brothers on January 9.

On March 20, Benentt faced Stevie Richards
Stevie Richards
Michael Manna is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Stevie Richards. Also known by his ring names, Steven Richards and Dr...

 in a match for the vacant TRP Heavyweight Championship, but was unsuccessful. On April 4, however, Bennett defeated Richards to win the TRP Heavyweight Championship for the first time. He successfully defended the championship against Jimmy Preston
Jimmy Preston
Jimmy Preston was an R&B bandleader, alto saxophonist and singer who made an important contribution to early rock and roll....

 on July 12, Isys Ephex on September 18, and Ken Anderson on November 8. On January 1, 2010, Bennett defeated Kenny Dykstra to retain his TRP Heavyweight Championship, and retained it again against Colin Delaney
Colin Delaney
Colin Matthew Delaney is a American professional wrestler, best known for wrestling for World Wrestling Entertainment. He has also wrestled for promotions such as 2CW Squared Circle Wrestling, Chikara, NWA Upstate, Pier 6 Wrestling, Buffalo Championship Wrestling, NWA Empire, LakeShore Wrestling,...

 on February 5, and against J. Freddie in a No Disqualification match on February 21. On April 9, at The Anniversary, the TRP Heavyweight Championship was vacated when a match between Bennett and Freddie ended in a no contest. The following month, Freddie defeated Bennett in a Last Man Standing match.

At the 2010 Kowalski Cup Tournament, Bennett defeated TRP Interstate Champion Guy Maestro in a non-title match, provoking a feud between the two. In November, Bennett defeated Maestro in a strap match, with Ox Baker
Ox Baker
Douglas A. Baker better known professionally as Ox Baker, is an American former professional wrestler and actor, and was feared for his dreaded finishing move, the Heart Punch, sometimes called the "Hurt Punch", after Baker's famous catchphrase "I love to hurt people!" He has appeared in several...

 as the guest enforcer. at Spindle City Rumble in December, Bennett defeated Maestro by countout, and so did not win the championship. On January 1, 2011, Bennett lost to Guy Alexander in a steel cage match for the Interstate Championship. On February 19, Bennett debuted "Brutal" Bob Evans as his 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...

 in TRP, and went on to defeat Frankie Arion.

Ring of Honor (2008–present)

Bennett made his 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) debut in 2008. In his first match he lost to 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...

 at Proving Ground in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

 on January 11. His next appearance came three months later at Bedlam In Beantown in March, when he lost to Jason Blade. After attending a tryout camp in March 2010, which he heard about through announcer Kevin Kelly
Kevin Kelly (announcer)
Kevin Foote is an American professional wrestling manager, pundit, sportscaster and ring announcer, better known by his ring name, Kevin Kelly...

, Bennett appeared at the Ring of Honor Wrestling television tapings in July and August. Bennett signed a one-year contract with ROH in August 2010. In his next appearance he lost to 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...

 on September 10, but earned his first ROH victory at Tag Title Classic II on December 17, when he defeated Colt Cabana.
Video packages about Bennet began airing on ROH's television program, Ring of Honor Wrestling in November 2010, promoting his television debut. On the December 6 episode of Ring of Honor Wrestling, Bennett and his manager "Brutal" Bob Evans appeared in the crowd to watch a match between the ROH World Television Champion
ROH World Television Championship
The ROH World Television Championship is a professional wrestling world television championship owned by the United States–based Ring of Honor promotion. It is currently the third ranked championship in ROH. With the introduction of the ROH World Television Championship, the television type...

 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...

 and Christopher Daniels
Christopher Daniels
Daniel Christopher Covell is an American professional wrestler, best known in the United States by his ring name "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels. He is also known for performing under the ring name Curry Man. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , while also...

. Bennett made his in-ring television debut when he defeated Nick Dinsmore
Nick Dinsmore
Nicholas "Nick" Dinsmore , better known by his ring names Eugene and U-Gene, is an American professional wrestler...

 on the January 10, 2010 episode. During the February and March episodes of Ring of Honor Wrestling, Bennett took part in the "Top Prospect Tournament". He defeated Adam Cole
Adam Cole
Austin Jenkins is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Adam Cole. He competes for several independent promotions, including Combat Zone Wrestling, Maryland Championship Wrestling, Northeast Wrestling and Ring of Honor....

 in the first round, Andy Ridge in the semi-finals, and Kyle O'Reilly
Kyle O'Reilly
Kyle Greenwood is a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Kyle O'Reilly. He competes for several independent promotions including Extreme Canadian Championship Wrestling, Evolve, and signed a contract with Ring of Honor in September 2010.- Extreme Canadian Championship...

 in the final. Following each match in thr tournament, Bennett was congratulated and given advice by Steve Corino
Steve Corino
Steven Eugene "Steve" Corino is a Canadian professional wrestler, who currently works for Pro Wrestling Zero1, Ring of Honor and numerous other independent promotions. Corino is a former NWA World Heavyweight Champion and ECW World Heavyweight Champion.-Early years :Corino began wrestling in 1994...

, but Bennett rejected it and mocked Corino, provoking a feud
Feud (professional wrestling)
A professional wrestling feud is a staged rivalry between multiple wrestlers or alliances of wrestlers. They are integrated into ongoing storylines, particularly in events which are televised...

 between the two men. At the 9th Anniversary Show
9th Anniversary Show
9th Anniversary Show was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Ring of Honor . It took place on February 26, 2011, at the Frontier Park Field House in Chicago. It was the ninth annual event in the Anniversary Show chronology, with the first taking place in 2003 after the company...

 pay-per-view
Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...

, Bennett pinned Corino to win a four-corner survival match, also involving Kyle O'Reilly
Kyle O'Reilly
Kyle Greenwood is a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Kyle O'Reilly. He competes for several independent promotions including Extreme Canadian Championship Wrestling, Evolve, and signed a contract with Ring of Honor in September 2010.- Extreme Canadian Championship...

 and Grizzly Redwood. As a result of his victory in the 'Top Prospect Tournament', Bennett earned a match for the ROH World Television Championship against Christopher Daniels at Defy or Deny on March 18. Bennett and Evans had a verbal confrontation with Corino at the start of the show, and Corino prevented Evans from helping Bennett during his ROH World Television Championship match, which Bennett went on to lose. In a singles match between the two at Manhatten Mayhem IV, Bennett defeated Corino and attacked him following the match with the aid of Evans. In a rematch at Revolution: Canada in early May, Bennett once again prevailed due to Evans' help. Bennett received another shot at the ROH World Television Championship on October 1, but the title match with 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...

 ended in a fifteen minute time limit draw. Shortly after this, he began an angle where he proclaimed that he had already won the match and proclaimed himself to be the true champion.

Personal life

Bennett has an older brother. He graduated from Carver High School
Carver High School (Massachusetts)
' is a public school located in Carver, Massachusetts. It is located at 60 South Meadow Rd. and has an enrollment of 489 students in grades 6-8, and 537 students in grades 9-12. The school's mascot is the Crusaders and the school colors are Maroon and Silver/Gray. The principal is Mr. Scott Knief...

 in 2003. Bennett is friends with Kevin Kelly, and regards Kelly as a mentor within the professional wrestling business.

He was listed as one of the top 75 wrestling bodies in the world by Muscle Men in 2010.

In wrestling

  • Finishing moves
    • Box Office Smash (Wrist–lock sitout side slam)

  • Managers
    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...

    • Grayson Alexander
    • Gia Savitz
    • Bob Evans

  • 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
    • "The Epic"
    • "Miracle"
    • "The Prodigy"

Championships and accomplishments

  • Neo Revolution Grappling
    • NRG Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

  • Pro Wrestling Illustrated
    Pro Wrestling Illustrated
    Pro Wrestling Illustrated is a professional wrestling magazine. PWI is currently based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania and published by Kappa Publishing Group.-History:The first issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated was released in 1979...

    • PWI ranked him #114 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2011

  • 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...

    • Top Prospect Tournament (2011)

  • Top Rope Promotions
    Top Rope Promotions
    Top Rope Promotions, formerly known as Yankee Pro Wrestling, is a Northeastern independent professional wrestling promotion based in New Bedford, Massachusetts and is the largest promotion in the southern New England-area rivaling other Northeastern promotions including Chaotic Wrestling, the...

    • TRP Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
    • TRP Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Bryce Andrews
    • Kowalski Cup (2006)

External links

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