Tom Howard

: "For the Pianist and Composer of the same name, see Tom Howard (musician)"Infobox Wrestler
name=Tom Howard


names= Zuma
KGB
The Big Time
Green Beret
Tom Howard
height= 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
weight= 255 lb (116 kg)
birth_date =birth date and age|year=1969|month=12|day=26
birth_place = Salt Lake City, Utah
resides= Dallas, Texas
trainer=Jesse Hernandez and Bill Anderson
debut=1993
death_date =
retired=|

Tom Howard (born Thomas Merrett Howard December 26, 1969 in Salt Lake City, Utah) is an American professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, kickboxer and actor. He is best known for his Green Beret role in K-1 and Pro Wrestling ZERO1-MAX in Japan.

Career

Wrestling

In 1993, Tom Howard began training under Jesse Hernandez and Bill Anderson in professional wrestling, lucha libre and puroresu at the School of Hard Knocks wrestling training school. His first match was against Bobby Bradley Jr. at the Silver Nugget Casino in October 1994. In early 1995, Howard began appearing on NWC (National Wrestling Conference) Television in Las Vegas and quickly became popular wrestling under the name Zuma.

In 1995, Howard was recruited to wrestle on television in Mexico where he quickly became popular wrestling for AAA Lucha Libre as KGB - Howard lived in Mexico City and appeared on AAA's television show for 2 years. In 1996, Howard returned to the United States to compete in Antonio Inoki's World Wrestling Peace Festival in Los Angeles, CA. While In Los Angeles, Howard took a break from wrestling to train in Sambo with Gokor Chivichyan & Gene Lebell for No Holds Barred competition.

In late 1996, Howard and Rick Bassman formed Ultimate Pro Wrestling. Tom acted as the head instructor for the school, Ultimate University and also began competing in the ring regularly for UPW. Tom's former students include WWE wrestlers such as: John Cena, Victoria, Chris Masters, Aaron Aguilera, Luther Reigns, Sakoda, Heidenreich, Nathan Jones and The Predator. In 1998, Howard signed a developmental contract with the World Wrestling Federation. Tom's time was split as an instructor for the UPW and on the road performing in dark matches across the country.

On June 26, 2001 Howard pinned Tony Jones to capture the Southern California Heavyweight title. On August 22, Howard became UPW's Shoot Champion when the Southern California title was renamed.

Howard competed against Shinya Hashimoto for a Zero One Fighting Athletes PPV - Shingeki I in Japan and was signed to a contract with the company. On August 30 - Shingeki II: Tom Howard knocked out Lee Young Gun in Tokyo, Japan. On May 8, 2002 Howard defeated Christopher Daniels to unify the UPW and Shoot titles in Santa Ana, California. Then on July 7 Howard & Nathan Jones defeated Steve Corino & Rapid Fire Maldon at Sumo Hall in Japan on a Zero One pay-per-view. On December 15, Howard & Matt Ghaffari beat Shinya Hashimoto & Naoya Ogawa to win the NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Championship on a Zero One PPV.

On 7/13/01 Tom Howard and Sean McCully defeated Yuki Ishikawa and Yoshiaki Fujiwara when Howard used No. 42 on Fujiwara. On 5/19/02 Shinya Hashimoto, Naoya Ogawa and Yoshiaki Fujiwara defeated Tom Howard, The Predator and Steve Corino. On 5/23/02 Tom Howard and The Predator defeated Emblem (Shinjiro Ohtani/Masato Tanaka). On 6/27/02 Tom Howard, The Predator and Nathan Jones defeated Shinya Hashimoto and Emblem (Shinjiro Ohtani/Masato Tanaka. On 6/29/02 Tom Howard and The Predator defeated Shinya Hashimoto and Kohei Sato. On 6/30/02 Shinya Hashimoto and Masato Tanaka defeated The Predatora and Tom Howard. On 7/28/02 Tom Howard, The Predator and C.W. Anderson defeated Shinya Hashimoto, Tatsuhito Takaiwa and Masato Tanaka. On 7/30/02 Tom Howard and The Predator defeated Shinya Hashimoto and Yoshiaki Fujiwara. On 7/31/02 Shinya Hashimoto, Kazuhiko Ogasawara and Ryouji Sai defeated Tom Howard, The Predator and Samoa Joe. On 8/2/02 Shinya Hashimoto, Yoshiaki Fujiwara and Tatsuhito Takaiwa defeated The Predator, Tom Howard and C.W. Anderson.

In 3/2/03 Zero-One True Century Creation II: Tom Howard & Samoa Joe defeated Gary Steele & Steve Corino. On 3/9/03 Emblem (Shinjiro Ohtani and Masato Tanaka) defeated Tom Howard/King Adamo for the PWF Tag Team Title. On April 11, 2003 Tom Howard & Steve Corino beat Mitsuharu Misawa & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi (11:33) when Howard used the No. 55 on Kikuchi. On April 13, 2003 Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito beat Tom Howard & Steve Corino (11:06) when Akiyama used an Exploder on Corino. October 22 Howard defeated Adam Pearce to regain the UPW Heavyweight Championship title in Santa Ana, California. On 1/31/04 Tom Howard defeated Prince Nana in Tokyo. On January 4, 2004 - Z1 Hustle-1: Mil Máscaras & Dos Caras & Sicodelico Jr. defeated Howard & Steve Corino & Dusty Rhodes. On 2/29/04 Kohei Sato and Hirotaka Yokoi defeated Tom Howard and Zebra Man. On 7/9/04 Tom Howard defeated Steve Corino, Jason The Legend and Psycho Simpson in a cage match. On February 20 at the UPW 5th Anniversary Show, Howard & Christopher Daniels defeated Scott Hall & Kevin Nash. The on October 30, Howard defeated Oliver John to retain the UPW Heavyweight title. On February 23, 2005 Howard & The Predator defeated Sean O'Haire & Chuck Palumbo. Finally, on July 20, Howard defeated Matt "Horshu" Weise to retain the UPW Heavyweight title.

Tom "Green Beret" Howard has also been featured in several video games in the US and Japan such as Fire Pro Wrestling, King of Coliseum and King of Coliseum 2.

Pro fighting- K1/MMA

In 2003, Tom Howard signed a 2 year fight contract with K-1.

He has fought K1 fighters Hong Man Choi, Carter Williams, Kristof Midoux and "Blue Wolf" Dolgorsürengiin Serjbüdee.

He has competed under both K-1 kickboxing rules and MMA rules.

In August 2006, Tom Howard was recruited by the Tokyo Sabres to fight in the International Fight League.

In February 2007, Howard competed in the Cage Rage Championships at Wembley Arena in London England.

In December 2007, Howard was defeated by Eric "Butterbean" Esch in the main event of the World Cage Championship in Jasper, Alabama.

Instructor/trainer

* Acted as Trainer/Instructor for Hulk Hogan Celebrity Championship Wrestling

* Trained Actor Jack Black in Pro Wrestling / Lucha Libre for film Nacho Libre

* Hosted / Starred in series Ultimate Pro Wrestling Training, Volumes 1, 2 & 3 - Video/DVD (SPY Video)

* Head Instructor for Ultimate University / UPW - Development territory for WWE - Instructed WWE wrestlers such as: John Cena, Victoria, Chris Masters, Jesus Aguilera, Luther Reigns, Sakoda, Heidenreich, Nathan Jones and The Predator

* Co-hosted / Guest Starred: Ultimate Fighting Training series with Mark Kerr for Panther Video

*Instructor for UFO - Universal Fighting Organization - Japan (Television/Pay Per View)

Acting career

Howard has had various roles in film, television and other media.

Film

* Sum Tum (2007) -
* Daredevil (2003)
* Blue Atomic (1999)
* True Vengeance (1997)

Television

* Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling (2008)
* Faking It (2004)
* Bodyslam (2002)
* Los Luchadores (2001)
* Nikki (2001)
* Dismissed (2001)
* (2000)
* The Drew Carey Show (1999)
* G vs E (1999)
* Sugar Ray Leonard’s Fight Zone

Commercials

* World Wrestling Entertainment (World Series Commercial)
* Planned Parenthood

Championships and accomplishments

*Pro Wrestling ZERO1-MAX:*NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Matt Ghaffari

* Ultimate Pro Wrestling:*UPW Heavyweight Championship (2 times):*UPW Southern California Heavyweight/Shoot Championship (1 time)

External links

* [http://www.upw.com/superstars/tomhoward.htm UPW.com Profile]