Shawn Osborne

Shawn Osborne
Birth name	Shawn McGrath
Born	(1976-05-09)May 9, 1976 Phoenix, Arizona[1]
Died	January 26, 2011(2011-01-26) (aged 34) Tampa, Florida
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Shawn Osborne[1] Number One[1]
Billed height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[1]
Billed weight	230 lb (100 kg)[1]
Trained by	Les Thatcher Cody Hawk Ohio Valley Wrestling
Debut	March 8, 2003[1]

Shawn McGrath^[1] (May 9, 1976 – January 26, 2011)^[1][2] was an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Shawn Osborne. He is best known for his stint with World Wrestling Entertainment as a developmental talent, most recently wrestling for its developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling.

Professional wrestling career

Early career (2003)

On March 8, 2003, McGrath debuted in Heartland Wrestling Association (HWA) against Cody Hawk in Wilmington, Ohio.^[1] He wrestled under the name Number One for Black Militia. Later McGrath changed his name to Shawn Osbourne, using the "Bad Seed" nickname. He broke free from the Black Militia faction becoming a face in the process. He defeated current HWA Champion Rory Fox for his first and only HWA Heavyweight Championship. He lost the championship a few months later and left HWA soon after. McGrath later wrestled for Impact Zone Wrestling in late 2005 and early 2006.^[1]

World Wrestling Entertainment

Developmental territories (2003-2008)

McGrath wrestled a couple dark matches for World Wrestling Entertainment's (WWE) Raw and SmackDown before signing a developmental contract with WWE in June 2006.^[3][4] He was assigned to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), and debuted a month later under the ring name "The Bad Seed" Shawn Osborne.^[5] In September, McGrath formed a faction with Eddie Craven, Mike Kruel and Roucka known as Bad Kompany in which they would challenge for the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship in a losing effort to Cody Runnels and Shawn Spears.^[6]

On February 8, 2007, Osborne made an appearance in Deep South Wrestling, losing to G-Rilla in a dark match.^[1] It was later announced that Osborne had been moved to DSW.^[1] In DSW, he would form a tag team with Jon Bolen, although the team ended when DSW was dropped by WWE as a developmental territory and Osborne subsequently returned to OVW. After OVW was also dropped by WWE, Osborne relocated to Tampa, Florida to train in Florida Championship Wrestling, debuting in a losing effort to G-Rilla.^[7] He was then released from his contract in February 2008.^[1]

Independent circuit (2008-2011)

Since his release, McGrath resumed competing on the independent circuit, most notably for Ring of Honor's sister promotion Full Impact Pro.

Death

McGrath died on January 26, 2011, due to an apparent suicide.^[2] He sent a suicide note to several friends, detailing his reasons for committing suicide.^[2]

In wrestling

• Finishing moves
  • Bad Slam (Belly to back side slam)^[1]

• Signature moves
  • Diving overhead chop^[1]
  • Elbow drop^[1]
  • High knee^[1]

• Nicknames
  • "The Bad Seed"^[1]

Championships and accomplishments

• Heartland Wrestling Association
  • HWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[8]

• HWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Benjamin Kimera^[9]

References