Juggernaut (wrestler)

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Juggernaut
An image of Juggernaut.
Statistics
Ring name(s) Juggernaut
Billed height 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Billed weight 400 lb (180 kg)
Born May 9, 1976
Cranbrook, British Columbia
Resides Calgary, Alberta
Billed from Rocky Point, British Columbia
Trained by Jim Hughes[1]
Michelle Starr[2]
Debut January 17, 1998
Website Juggernaut-Wrestling.com

Craig Renney[1] (born May 9, 1976) is a Canadian professional wrestler best known by his ring name, Juggernaut. He has competed for North American independent promotions such as Stampede Wrestling, Extreme Canadian Championship Wrestling and the National Wrestling Alliance as well as international organizations such as Pro Wrestling ZERO1-MAX and New Japan Pro Wrestling. He also had a brief stint in World Championship Wrestling in 2000.

Contents

[edit] Career

Renney grew up in Cranbrook, British Columbia and became interested in wrestling at age seven while watching a televised match between Bruno Sammartino and Gorilla Monsoon.[3] He gained combat sport by earning black belts in both judo and jujutsu, and he trained as a wrestler in Edmonton, Alberta to train as a wrestler.[4][5] He made his debut in Edmonton and wrestled in several matches there before moving to Tampa, Florida.[5] Starting out, he wrestled for Independent Pro Wrestling, making $30 per match or less and sometimes competing in exchange for food and drinks.[5]

The following year, he wrestled against Jimmy Snuka at the Washington State Fair in Vancouver, Washington.[6] He continued to compete in various independent promotions, facing such veterans as Greg Valentine, Jim Neidhart, and The Bushwhackers.[6] At an event in Montana, he worked in a booked loss to The Honky Tonk Man.[5] Juggernaut began competing regularly with Extreme Canadian Championship Wrestling (ECCW) in 1999 and formed a tag team with Biohazard known as Toxic Insanity.[7] They won the NWA/ECCW Tag Team Championship on March 26, 1999 by defeating Michelle Starr and Johnny Canuck.[8] Two months later, they also won the NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship.[9] They defended both belts until they dropped the Canadian Tag Team Championship on July 22.[9] They regained the title two days later but were stripped of all of their belts that August.[8][9] Juggernaut held the NWA/ECCW Tag Team Championship once more, winning the belts with Dr. Luther on March 31, 2000 but losing them the same night.[8]

During this time, Juggernaut also competed as a singles wrestler. On September 12, 1999, he defeated Michelle Starr to win the NWA/ECCW Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship.[10][11] The following month, he dropped the belt to Johnny Canuck in a three way match.[10] He regained the belt in a rematch but was stripped of the title in December.[10] A tournament was held for the vacant championship, which Juggernaut won to regain the championship.[10] He then became involved in a feud with Kurrgan, and the two traded the belt back and forth. Kurrgan beat Juggernaut for the title on February 25, 2000, but Juggernaut won it back two months later.[10] He held the belt for a day before dropping it back to Kurrgan.[10] When Kurrgan was stripped of the title for being unable to compete at a show in July, Juggernaut won the vacant championship by defeating Leatherface (Rick Patterson).[6][10] At Juggernaut's request, the match was a two out of three falls tables match.[6] During the match, he was legitimately unable to move for several minutes and suffered memory loss after Leatherface hit him with a chair.[6]

In 2000, Juggernaut began touring Asia as a wrestler. He competed in Korea for the World Wrestling Association.[4] Two weeks after returning to Canada, he accepted an invitation from the International Wrestling Association of Japan (IWA Japan).[5] While in Japan, he achieved his dream of wrestling in Tokyo's Korakuen Hall.[4][5] Three months later, World Championship Wrestling was taping WCW Thunder in Kelowna, British Columbia and recruited Juggernaut and three other local wrestlers for a match. They faced KroniK in a handicap match with a two-minute time limit. KroniK won the match in one minute and forty-nine seconds, pinning Juggernaut after performing the High Times.[6]

Returning to ECCW, Juggernaut defeated Moondog Manson on February 9, 2001 to win the ECCW Hardcore Championship.[12] He held the title for almost four months before dropping it to Lumberjack Bubba.[12] He began competing for several other independent promotions, including Calgary, Alberta-based Stampede Wrestling. In 2002, he defeated former Extreme Championship Wrestling World Heavyweight Champion Tommy Dreamer.[7] In 2005, he won his sixth and final NWA/ECCW Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship by defeating Scotty Mac.[10] He held the belt until January 27, 2006, when he dropped it to Sweet Daddy Devastation.[10] Later that year, he teamed with TJ Wilson to win the Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Championship.[13] They did not lose the belts, but they were forced to vacate the title when Wilson left the promotion to sign with World Wrestling Entertainment.[13] Meanwhile, he continued to wrestle overseas, competing in such countries as India, Singapore, Malaysia, and Brunei.[7]

In 2007, Juggernaut announced his intention to retire from professional wrestling. Although he was healthy, he decided to retire before he suffered any injuries that would hurt him in his future life outside the ring.[14] On his website, he posted a list of the ten wrestlers he wished to face before retiring. The list includes such wrestlers as Samoa Joe, Aaron Idol, Bryan Danielson, and Steve Corino.[15]

[edit] In wrestling

  • Finishing and signature moves
  • Managers
  • Miss Cheyenne[7]
  • Bill "Big Thrilla" Flesher[7]
  • Princess Lily[7]

[edit] Championships and accomplishments

  • New Pro Wrestling America
  • New Pro Wrestling America Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[4]
  • Prairie Wrestling Alliance
  • Prairie Wrestling Alliance Mayhem Championship (1 time)[4]
  • Prairie Wrestling Alliance Tag Team Championship (1 time) with Tex Gaines[4]
  • Premier Championship Wrestling
  • Premier Championship Wrestling Xtreme Championship (1 time)[7]
  • Premier Wrestling Federation
  • Premier Wrestling Federation Extreme Championship (1 time)[4]
  • The Future of Wrestling
  • TFW Heavyweight Championship (2 times)[4]
  • TFW Tag Team Championship (1 time) with Adam Firestorm[4]
  • Western Canadian Extreme Wrestling
  • WCEW Extreme Tag Team Championship (1 time) with Dr. Luther[4]
  • PWI ranked him # 292 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI 500 in 2005
  • PWI ranked him # 327 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI 500 in 2003
  • PWI ranked him # 328 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI 500 in 2002
  • PWI ranked him # 393 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI 500 in 2001
  • PWI ranked him # 420 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI 500 in 2000
  • PWI ranked him # 497 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI 500 in 1999

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Clark, Duncan. "Falling through a table. Getting set on fire. Busting through barbed wire. It's all in a day's work for Juggernaut", The Daily Townsman, 1999-12-07, pp. 6. 
  2. ^ Profil von Juggernaut (German). Cagematch: The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved on 2008-04-11.
  3. ^ Boyd, Christine. "A testosterone-fueled soap opera", East Kootenay Weekly, 1998-10-28, pp. 5. 
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wrestler Profiles: Juggernaut. Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved on 2008-04-11.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Clevett, Jason (2003-10-15). The dues paid by Juggernaut. SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved on 2008-04-11.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Clevett, Jason (2003-10-16). A collection of Juggerstories. SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved on 2008-04-11.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g PWI 500 Ratings. Juggernaut Wrestling. Retrieved on 2008-04-11.
  8. ^ a b c d NWA/ECCW Tag Team Championship. Extreme Canadian Championship Wrestling. Retrieved on 2008-04-11.
  9. ^ a b c d NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship. Extreme Canadian Championship Wrestling. Retrieved on 2008-04-11.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j NWA/ECCW Championship. Extreme Canadian Championship Wrestling. Retrieved on 2008-04-11.
  11. ^ ECCW/NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Title. Wrestling Titles. Retrieved on 2008-04-11.
  12. ^ a b c ECCW Hardcore Championship. Extreme Canadian Championship Wrestling. Retrieved on 2008-04-11.
  13. ^ a b c Stampede International Tag Team Title. Wrestling Titles. Retrieved on 2008-04-11.
  14. ^ Patton, Kristi (2007-05-10). Juggernaut ready to take his last stand. SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved on 2008-05-22.
  15. ^ Juggernaut Retirement Hitlist. Juggernaut Wrestling. Retrieved on 2008-05-22.

[edit] External links