Biff Wellington

Biff Wellington
Birth name Shayne Alexander Bower[1]
Born April 18, 1965[2]
Calgary, Alberta, Canada[2]
Died June 24, 2007 (aged 42)
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) Biff Wellington
Beef Wellington
Buddy Hart
Wellington Wilkins Jr.
Billed height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[2]
Billed weight 226 lb (103 kg))
Trained by Hart Family
Hiroshi Hase
Mr. Hito
Debut December 1986[2]
Retired May 1996

Shayne Alexander Bower (April 18, 1965 – June 24, 2007), better known by his ring name Biff Wellington, was a Canadian professional wrestler born, raised, and died in Calgary, Alberta.

Professional wrestling career

Shayne Bower trained with the Hart Brothers (Bret and Owen Hart), but he mainly trained with Mr. Hito and Hiroshi Hase.[1] He debuted in December 1986.[2] He started his career as Biff Wellington in Stampede Wrestling as a villain, but then transitioned to a fan favorite, which he was for the remainder of his time there.[2] In Stampede, Wellington frequently tagged with Chris Benoit.[2] In 1989, Wellington and Benoit beat Makhan Singh and Vokhan Singh to become Stampede Wrestling's International Tag Team Champions.

After Stampede Wrestling shut down in December 1989, Wellington worked in various promotions in Canada, such as Canadian National Wrestling Alliance (CNWA) and Canadian Rocky Mountain Wrestling (CRMW).

Wellington had a couple tryouts for the World Wrestling Federation in July 1991. Wellington had a match in Calgary, Alberta at the Olympic Saddledome during a house show on July 8.[3] Wellington defeated an unknown jobber.[3] The next night on July 9 at Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton, Alberta, Wellington beat Hugh Thomas with a Tombstone Piledriver (kneeling belly-to-belly piledriver).[3] Despite the victories, Wellington never received a contract with the WWF and returned to the Canadian Indies.

In June 1992, Wellington and Benoit appeared in World Championship Wrestling at Clash of the Champions XIX, representing Canada in the NWA World Tag Team Championship tournament; they were defeated by Brian Pillman and Jushin Thunder Liger in the first round.[1] Later that year, Wellington was recognized as the first CRMW North American Heavyweight Champion.

Between 1988 and 1994, Wellington worked on 28 consecutive tours with New Japan Pro Wrestling. In Japan, he feuded with Jushin Thunder Liger and continued to team with Benoit, who was known in Japan as The Pegasus Kid or Wild Pegasus.[2][1] He also worked in the Maritimes as Buddy Hart, and in Mexico.[2]

Wellington had a brief stint in Extreme Championship Wrestling between 1995 and 1996. He sustained an eye injury in an accident during a match against Taz in May 1996. Wellington then became dependent on prescription medication to prevent nerves in his eye from dying.[4] He retired from active competition after the incident, although he occasionally wrestled in promotions near his hometown such as Extreme Canadian Championship Wrestling.

Personal life

His parents found his body at his home in bed on June 24, 2007, as they were concerned because they had not heard from him since June 20.[1] Medical officials examining the body believe he had been dead for a few days,[4] believed initially to be due to a heart attack, as he had suffered numerous strokes in 2006.[1]

In wrestling

Championships and accomplishments

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Oliver, Greg (June 24, 2007). "Bif Wellington dead at 44". SLAM! Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved December 21, 2009.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Oliver, Greg (July 21, 2004). "Biff Wellington has no grudge against Benoit". SLAM! Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved December 21, 2009.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "WWF 1991 Results". The History of the WWE. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Shayne Bower's Online World of Wrestling profile". Online World of Wrestling. Archived from the original on April 10, 2008. Retrieved April 8, 2008.
  5. ↑ "CRMW North American Heavyweight Championship title history". Puroresu Dojo. Archived from the original on September 17, 2010. Retrieved September 17, 2010.
  6. ↑ http://www.cagematch.net/?id=2&nr=8808&page=4&s=0

External links