Craig Pittman

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Craig Pittman
Statistics
Ring name(s) Sgt. Craig Pittman
Billed height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[1]
Billed weight 250 lb (110 kg/18 st)[1]
Born 1959[1]
Resides Long Island, New York[1]
Trained by WCW Power Plant[1]
The Assassin[1]
Terry Taylor[1]
Retired 2004

Craig Pittman (born 1959[1] on Long Island, New York[1]) is a retired United States Marine and professional wrestler. He served in the Marine Corps until the early 1990s. He then wrestled professionally as Sgt. Craig "Pitbull" Pittman in World Championship Wrestling. After leaving WCW in 1997, he wrestled in independent promotions until 2004, when he retired to become a deputy sheriff.

Contents

[edit] United States Marine Corps

Pittman joined the United States Marine Corps and achieved the rank of sergeant. He was a wrestler in the Marines and won several championships. His biggest victories came in the 1989 and 1991 USA Senior Greco-Roman Championships, in which he won the heavyweight division.[2][3] He also placed seventh in the heavyweight division at the 1989 FILA Greco-Roman World Championships.[4]

[edit] World Championship Wrestling

After leaving the military, Pittman trained as a professional wrestler at the WCW Power Plant under Terry Taylor and The Assassin.[1] Pittman made his wrestling debut as Sgt. Craig Pittman, a heel character, on February 5, 1994.[5] During his run he made famous the saying "The beatings will continue until morale improves". He won his first match by pinning Brian Anderson just before the time limit expired.[6] His first pay-per-view appearance, at the 1995 Great American Bash, resulted in a loss to "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan by disqualification.[7]

Pittman feuded with Cobra in 1995. According to the storyline, he had been Cobra's commanding officer during the Vietnam War. During a mission, he left Cobra behind, which led to Cobra seeking revenge in WCW.[8] This feud led to a match at 1995's Fall Brawl, in which Pittman defeated Cobra by submission.[9] Eventually, Pittman turned face when he hired Teddy Long to be his manager.[1] In November 1995, Pittman also appeared at WCW's first World War 3 pay-per-view. In a sixty-man battle royal, he became the forty-second wrestler eliminated when Hugh Morrus threw him over the top rope.[1]

In 1996, Pittman wrestled mainly as a jobber, losing most of his matches to main event wrestlers.[1] He made two final pay-per-view appearances in 1996. The first came at Slamboree 1996 as part of a "Lethal Lottery" tournament. In a storyline in which wrestlers were supposedly assigned partners in a random drawing, Pittman teamed with Scott Steiner in a loss to Rick Steiner and The Booty Man.[10] Pittman also appeared at 1996's World War 3 as part of the sixty-man battle royal, which was won by The Giant.[11]

[edit] Later career

Pittman left WCW in the late 1990s for the National Wrestling Alliance's Mid-Atlantic area. He wrestled there until retiring in early 2004. He also fought in a mixed martial arts competition in Japan. He won he first fight but lost his second, which can be seen in the documentary Choke.

Since his retirement from wrestling, Pittman has worked as a deputy sheriff in Sevier County, Tennessee.[12]

[edit] In wrestling

[edit] Championships and accomplishments

  • 2-time USA Senior Greco-Roman Champion (1989 and 1991)[2][3]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Wrestler Profiles: Craig Pittman. Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved on 2007-11-27.
  2. ^ a b 1989 USA Senior Greco-Roman Championship. National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum. Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
  3. ^ a b 1991 USA Senior Greco-Roman Championship. National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum. Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
  4. ^ 1989 FILA World Championships Greco-Roman Results. National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum. Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
  5. ^ Wrestling Debuts Part 2. Wrestling Information Archive. Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
  6. ^ WCW 1994. The History of WWE. Retrieved on 2008-01-26.
  7. ^ The Great American Bash 1995. Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
  8. ^ Cobra. Weird World of Wrestling. Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
  9. ^ Fall Brawl 1995. Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
  10. ^ Slamboree 1996. Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
  11. ^ World War 3 1996. Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved on 2008-01-26.
  12. ^ 'Pitbull' Pittman trades wrestling for law enforcement. The Mountain Press. Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
  13. ^ a b Genickbruch: Die Wrestlingseite des alten Europa (German). Retrieved on 2008-01-25.