Gary Steele

Infobox Wrestler
name=Gary Steele

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names=Gary Steele
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weight= convert|248|lb|kg|abbr=on|lk=on
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birth_place=Gravesend, England, United Kingdom
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debut=May 1995
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Gary Steele is a British professional wrestler, who has competed in European and North American promotions and has been a popular longtime mainstay of NWA UK Hammerlock since the mid-1990s. A former Southern UK Champion, Steele was involved in a series of strap matches with rival Guy Thunder during the late 1990s and has occasionally teamed with Jake "the Snake" Roberts. A trained submission wrestler and martial artist, Steele also appeared at the Pro Wrestling ZERO-ONE PPV supercards "Fighting Athlete" in March 2001 and True Century Creation II in March 2002.

While competing in the United States with the National Wrestling Alliance, Steele defeated Naoya Ogawa in a three way match with Brian Anthony in Charlotte, North Carolina on September 25, 1999 to become one of the youngest wrestlers to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship although he lost the title back to Ogawa less then a week later at Thomaston, Connecticut on October 2.

He was managed by "Business Advisor to the Stars" Mike White (now working as a Sports Journalist for BBC Radio Humberside) at one stage.

Returning to Great Britain, he became the first NWA United Kingdom Heavyweight Champion after defeating Johnny Moss in a tournament final at Telford Shropshire, England on November 2, 2001.

Almost two years after Ogawa had vacated the title, Steele lost to then NWA World Champion Shinya Hashimoto in a round robin triangle match with Steve Corino at McKeesport, Pennsylvania on December 15, 2001. [ cite web |url=http://www.wrestling-titles.com/nwa/world/nwa-h.html |title=N.W.A. World Heavyweight Title |accessdate=2007-04-17 |author= |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |year=2003 |month= |format= |work= |publisher=Puroresu Dojo |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ]

Championships and accomplishments

*Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling¹
**NWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
*NWA UK Hammerlock
**NWA United Kingdom Heavyweight Championship (1 time) (First)
*Pro Wrestling Illustrated
**PWI ranked him # 294 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI 500 in 1998.
**PWI ranked him # 249 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI 500 in 1999.
**PWI ranked him # 206 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI 500 in 2000.
**PWI ranked him # 202 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI 500 in 2001.

¹The Mid-Atlantic promotion he was wrestling in when he won the championship has been in operation since the late 1990s. While it operates out of the same region and has revised some of the regional Mid-Atlantic championships, it isn't the same promotion once owned by Jim Crockett, Jr. and sold to Ted Turner in November 1988. That promotion went onto be renamed World Championship Wrestling.

References