- William Welch
Infobox Wrestler
name=William Welch
names=Iron Mike Ehrhardt
The Blunatic
(The) Messiah
height=6 ft
weight=220 lb
birth_date = Birth date and age|1977|12|18|mf=y
death_date =
birth_place =Detroit, Michigan
trainer=Carlito Montana
Slam U Training School
debut=
retired=|William C. Welch [http://www.csulb.edu/%7Ed49er/archives/2000/fall/diversions/v8n5-wrestling.html] (born
December 18 ,1977 inDetroit, Michigan ) is an American professional wrestler, better known by hisring name (The) Messiah.On
August 1 ,2002 , Welch was attacked by two unknown assailants in his home, who subsequently cut off his right thumb. His former promoter, Rob Black was named as a suspect on an episode ofAmerica's Most Wanted about the incident. Since the episode's airing, nobody has been accused or arrested by police in connection to the attack and the case remains unsolved. [http://www.lordsofpain.net/news/2002_/articles/1032670940.php]Career
Welch's professional career began modestly after being trained at the Slam U Wrestling Gym in
Sun Valley, California . He worked for the school's parent company the Slammers Wrestling Federation for a time, losing his first professional match there toEl Sprito . In the Slammers Wrestling Federation, he worked under the name Iron Mike Ehrhardt. Recognition came for Welch after he joinedXtreme Pro Wrestling . Working his way up the card with his new gimmick, Messiah, he eventually became a main eventer who wrestled with well known formerExtreme Championship Wrestling stars like Sabu,Chris Candido andNew Jack .While XPW folded, Messiah continued to compete in the CZW promotion. Messiah has also competed in
IWA Mid-South ,Pro Pain Pro Wrestling (3PW), as well as other promotions. He has competed in Italy twice, as well as been in a world wide video game. ("" forXbox andPlayStation 2 ) He has held theCZW World Heavyweight Championship three times; having a nearly one-year long run with the belt fromMarch 6 ,2004 toFebruary 5 ,2005 . After losing the CZW Heavyweight Title toRuckus in February 2005, The Messiah slowly faded away from CZW.In April 2007, Messiah officially left CZW and returned as a regular member of Pro Wrestling Unplugged, feuding with
Adam Flash .On December 8, 2007, Messiah returned to CZW at their biggest event of the year, Cage of Death IX. He faced Ruckus and a returning Nick Gage in a three-way dance for Ruckus' CZW World Heavyweight Championship.
In Wrestling
*Finishing and signature moves
**"Fall From Grace" (Inverted Death Valley driver)
**"Carlito's Way " (Elevated cutter) - Named as a tribute to his trainer, Carlito Montana
**"Godsmack " (Spinning fireman's carry stunner)
**"Cross Factor" (Sitout facebuster, sometimes from the top rope)
**Arm drag followed into an armbar
**Belly to belly suplex, sometimes into the turnbuckle
**Elevated Boston crab with a knee to the back
**Facewash
**Figure four leglock
**Headscissors takedown into a DDT
**Leg lariat
**Springboard moonsault
**Spinning side slam
**Back mounted full nelson
**Suicide dive
**Sunset flip powerbomb*Entrance themes
**"Falling Away from Me " byKorn
**"Messiah" byFear Factory
**"Prayer" byDisturbed
**"The Clincher " byChevelle Championships and accomplishments
*
Combat Zone Wrestling :*CZW Heavyweight Championship (1)::Won from Justice Pain onMay 11 2002 inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania , U.S.::Lost to Justice Pain onJune 8 2002 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA:*
CZW Iron Man Championship (1)::Won from Adam Flash onOctober 12 2002 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA::Lost to Nick Mondo onFebruary 8 2003 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA:*
CZW World Heavyweight Championship (2)::Won from Justice Pain onDecember 14 2002 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA::Lost to John Zandig onOctober 25 2003 inPistoia ,Italy :*CZW World Heavyweight Championship (3)::Won from John Zandig on
March 6 2004 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA::Lost to Ruckus onFebruary 5 2005 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA*NWA Florida:*NWA Florida King of the Deathmatch Championship (1)::Defeated Madman Pondo, Prime Evil and Chaos on
November 30 2002 inPinellas Park, Florida , USA (first and final champion)*Insane Wrestling Federation:*IWF Tag Team Champion (1)::with Adam Flash::Defeated The Lynch Mob on
June 27th 2003 inHamtramck, Michigan USA ::Lost toCorporal Robinson & "The Dangerous One" The DBA onSeptember 26th 2003 in::Hamtramck, Michigan USA*Millennium Pro Wrestling:*MPW Heavyweight Championship (1)::Defeated Tech IX, Samoa Joe, B-Boy, Frankie Kazarian, & Super Dragon in a Gauntlet Tag Match on
March 23 2002 inWest Hills, California , USA (final champion)*Pacific Championship Wrestling:*PCW Heavyweight Championship (1) [cite web|url=http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/results/other/2003-01.html | title=Independent Wrestling Results - January 2003 | accessdate=2008-07-05|publisher=onlineworldofwrestling.com] ::Defeated B-Boy on
January 25 2003 in City of Industry, California, USA::Stripped onMarch 2 2004 for being unable to defend*River City Wrestling:*RCW Tag Team Championship (1) [cite web|url=http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/results/other/2007-01.html | title=Independent Wrestling Results - January 2007 | accessdate=2008-07-04|publisher=onlineworldofwrestling.com] ::with Scott McKenzie (known as The Country of Caucasian Knights or C.o.C.K)::Defeated The Texas Treats on
January 27 2007 inSan Antonio, Texas , USA*
Xtreme Pro Wrestling :*XPW King of the Deathmatch Championship (1)::Won from Supreme onNovember 11 2000 inReseda, California , USA::Stripped after being fired from XPW onAugust 25 2001 in Los Angeles, California, USA:*
XPW World Heavyweight Championship (1)::DefeatedNew Jack (who was not the champion) onMay 26 2001 in Los Angeles, California, USA::Stripped after being fired from XPW onAugust 25 2001 in Los Angeles, California, USA*
Pro Wrestling Illustrated :*PWI ranked him # 241 in the2001 PWI 500References
External links
* [http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/columns/markrose/messiah.html Wrestling Columns: The Story of The Messiah] by Mark Rose
* [http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/m/messiah.html Profile at Online World of Wrestling]
* [http://www.bodyslamming.com/other/messiah.html Other Superstars - The Messiah]
* [http://www.cagematch.de/?id=2&nr=987&gimmick=The+Messiah CageMatch.de - ] ger
*imdb name|id=0582097 |name=The Messiah
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