Zach Gowen

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Zach Gowen
Ring name(s)	Zach Gowan Zach Gowen Tenacious Z
Billed height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Billed weight	169 lb (77 kg)
Born	March 30, 1983 (1983-03-30) (age 26) Livonia, Michigan
Resides	Detroit, Michigan
Billed from	Detroit, Michigan
Trained by	Truth Martini Tommy Johnson
Debut	March 16, 2002

Zachary Gowen (born March 30, 1983) is an American professional wrestler. Gowen has competed for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) on their SmackDown! brand, as well as Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA).

Gowen was diagnosed with cancer as a child. Because of that, he lost his leg at the age of 8. It was a necessary move, as according to his doctors and parents, he would have died if the amputation had not been done. Gowen walks with a prosthesis and claims he can wrestle with or without it. However, he wrestles most of his matches without it due to the inherent marketability of seeing a one-legged wrestler compete. He is known for his high-flying ability as well as his "one-legged" moonsault.

Contents 1 Career 1.1 Training 1.2 Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2003, 2005, 2006) 1.3 World Wrestling Entertainment (2003-2004) 1.4 Independent circuit (2004-Present) 1.5 Ring of Honor (2006, 2008) 2 In wrestling 3 Championships and accomplishments 4 References 5 External links

Career

Training

In 2002, Zach was trained by Truth Martini and Brian "The Playboy" Shotwell in Livonia, Michigan. The training school was named House of Truth by Student Tom Balish. Popular workers that trained and worked out there include Chris Sabin, Alex Shelley, Jimmy Jacobs and many other popular Midwest indy wrestlers.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2003, 2005, 2006)

Gowen first gained national exposure wrestling for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling during early 2003 under the name Tenacious Z, but soon left TNA, after signing a developmental contract for World Wrestling Entertainment.

Gowen later returned to TNA on May 15, 2005 at their Hard Justice pay-per-view event, as the second entrant in the 20-Man Gauntlet for the Gold match. He lasted just under five minutes in the ring before being eliminated by Shark Boy. The next month, Gowen wrestled at the Slammiversary pay-per-view, losing in a six way match. He also appeared on TNA Impact!, wrestling Mikey Batts to a no contest before leaving the promotion once again later that year. In October 2006, at Bound For Glory, Gowen returned to TNA during the Kevin Nash X-Division Open Battle Royal Gauntlet match as the sixth entrant, but was eliminated by Johnny Devine.

World Wrestling Entertainment (2003-2004)

He made his World Wrestling Entertainment debut on the May 15, 2003 edition of SmackDown! as a planted fan in the audience. As Mr. America (a masked Hulk Hogan) was making his way to the ring, he acknowledged Gowen personally as a loyal fan near the walkway, giving him the American flag he was carrying. Later, when Mr. America was being unfairly beaten by Roddy Piper and Sean O'Haire, Gowen jumped the wall dividing the fans from the wrestler's walkway and entered the ring to aid him. Gowen shielded Mr. America's body with his own. His legless condition was then revealed when Roddy Piper grabbed Gowen and in an attempt to drag him away from Mr. America, pulled Gowen's prosthetic leg completely off and into his own hands. This began a short collaboration of Gowen and Mr. America, and a feud pitting the two against Roddy Piper and Sean O'Haire. This storyline culminated at WWE Judgement Day (2003) where Mr. America with Zach Gowen in his corner defeated Roddy Piper with Sean O'Haire in his corner. Gowen's partnership with Mr. America put him on bad terms (kayfabe) with Mr. McMahon (the onscreen persona of Vince McMahon), as McMahon was convinced Mr. America was Hulk Hogan in disguise.

On the June 26 edition of SmackDown!, McMahon told Gowen that if he would join his "Kiss My Ass Club", he would be awarded a WWE contract. Instead Gowen hit McMahon with a low-blow.^[1] As a result on July 3, 2003 to win his WWE contract, Gowen, along with supporter Stephanie McMahon, faced off against the Big Show in what Mr. McMahon billed as the first "real" handicap match (referring to Gowen and his amputee status in addition to the two vs. one parameters of the match). With run-in help from Kurt Angle and then Brock Lesnar, the team of Gowen and McMahon were able to defeat the Big Show and thus won Gowen a WWE contract as per the stipulations of the match.

Gowen's win further fueled the ill-feelings toward him from Mr. McMahon. This feud culminated in a one-on-one match between the two at Vengeance (2003) in which McMahon with Sable in his corner defeated Gowen.

As a result of his feud with McMahon, Gowen was then forced into a match with former WWE Champion Brock Lesnar, who was in the process of being put over with a recent heel turn (meaning Lesnar's on-screen character was now being portrayed as a "bad guy.") In his hometown of Detroit, Gowen won his match via disqualification when Lesnar attacked him with a steel chair. After the match, the assault continued. With his family watching at ringside, Gowen's only leg was worked over by Lesnar using his signature F5 maneuver and the steel ring post. Gowen's mother intervened to end the attack. Weeks later, Lesnar kidnapped Gowen, who now used a wheelchair, and threw him down a flight of stairs. As a result, (On July 31, 2003) Gowen was the object of a feature report on SmackDown! and was not seen on-screen for over a month.

When he returned, Gowen continued a previous short-lived feud with Matt Hardy (which had been originally aborted to institute the Lesnar heel angle). The Gowen/Hardy feud culminated at No Mercy (2003) where Gowen defeated Hardy (who had Shannon Moore in his corner) in a one on one match, marking his first clean victory in the WWE. He then lost a match with Shannon Moore thanks to Hardys' interference.

On the following episode of SmackDown! Gowen lost a clean match against Tajiri and was not seen on-screen thereafter. Months later in February 2004 it was announced Gowen was released from his WWE contract.

Independent circuit (2004-Present)

Although Gowen has taken a hiatus from the world of televised professional wrestling to pursue his college degree at Eastern Michigan University, he continues to appear in his hometown of Detroit for Xtreme Intense Championship Wrestling and Independent Wrestling Revolution. He also travels and appears for independent promotions such as Border City Wrestling, All American Wrestling, NWA Wisconsin, Cleveland All Pro Wrestling, Juggalo Championship Wrestling, IWA East Coast, and more.

In Juggalo Championship Wrestling Zach Gowen began wrestling as a heel on the first episode of "Slam TV". Gowen still works for JCW and, after turning from heel to face during a singles run, he became part of a tag team known as the Pimp and Gimp Connection, Zach's gimmick being that of a hypothetical gimp whilst his partner, Human Tornado, is billed as a Pimp. The two entered an 8 team elimination match for the (then) vacant JCW Tag Team titles at the Gathering of the Juggalos 2007 which were later won by Mad Man Pondo and the Necro Butcher.

In All American Wrestling, he is also a part of the "Michigan Invasion" heel stable (along with fellow Michigan wrestlers Truth Martini, "Amazing" N8 Mattson, Eddie Venom and Brian Gorie).

On April 14, 2007, Zach Gowen and his mystery partner Krotch defeated "Michigan Invasion" members Truth Martini and "Amazing" N8 Mattson to become new AAW Tag Team Champions.^[2] They would then go on to lose the titles to Trik Davis and Conrad Kennedy III in a 4-way elimination match on June 16, 2007.

On January 3, 2009, Gowen debuted for Great American Wrestling in Maroa, Illinois where he wrestled Matt Cage for the GAW Central States Title. Despite pinning Cage for the win and the title, the match was then ruled a no contest due to outside interference and referee attacks on the part of Gowen and Cage respectively.

Ring of Honor (2006, 2008)

Gowen made his Ring of Honor debut on October 7, 2006, losing to Delirious in a singles match. Gowen would later return to ROH on February 22, 2008 in Deer Park, New York, immediately aligning himself with the The Age of the Fall.

In wrestling

• Finishing moves
  • One-legged moonsault - Innovated
  • Zach Attack (Leg drop bulldog)

• Signature moves
  • Modified figure four leglock
  • Running single leg dropkick
  • Springboard moonsault
  • Swinging neckbreaker

• Managers
  • Stephanie McMahon

• Nicknames
  • "Z"

Championships and accomplishments

• All American Wrestling
  • AAW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Krotch ^[2][3]

• Blue Water Championship Wrestling
  • BWCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

• Cleveland All-Pro Wrestling
  • CAPW Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[4]

• Independent Wrestling Revolution
  • IWR King of the Indies Championship (1 time)
  • IWR Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Kamikaze

• Mid American Wrestling
  • MAW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Silas Young

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year (2003)^[5]
  • PWI Rookie of the Year (2003)

• Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
  • Worst Worked Match of the Year (2006) TNA Reverse Battle Royal at Bound for Glory

• New Wrestling Association
  • NWA Legends Championship (2, current)

• Twin Wrestling Entertainment
  • TWE Nacho Cup (2006)

• Other titles
  • TZW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Super Meetsee

References

• Profile at onlineworldofwrestling.com
• Interview at Lords of Pain

External links

• Zach Gowen at MySpace
• Zach Gowen at the Internet Movie Database
• Online World Of Wrestling Profile
• ProWrestlingPress.com Zach Gowen Interview
• "Wrestling in a Bottle: Zach Gowen and the WWE - The History of a Failed Experiment"
• "Why Zach Gowen is Bad For the Pro Wrestling Industry"
• Truth Martin Interview on HitTheRopes.com