| Gangrel |
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| Gangrel
Height: 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) Weight: 254 lb (109 kg) Real name: David Christian Heath Hometown: Tampa, Florida Pro debut: 1988 Finishing move: Implant DDT Favorite quote: "It's time for a bloodbath!" Other aliases: Blackheart Apocalypse, The Black Phantom, The Druid, El Vampiro, Lestat The Vampire, The Vampire Warrior, Warlock Career highlights: ACW Heavyweight Champion, IPWA Tag Team Champion (2) (w/Rusty Brooks), MXPW Heavyweight Champion, NWA Florida Tag Team Champion (w/Tom Nash), Stampede International Tag Team Champion (w/Tom Nash), USWA Southern Heavyweight Champion, USWF Tag Team Champion (w/Tom Nash) Trained by: Boris Malenko, Joe Malenko, Dean Malenko Heath began his career by training with Dean Malenko in Florida. When his training was complete he began performing in various Independent federations in the Florida area, including Independent Professional Wrestling (IPW) where he became a Tag Team champion. While working for Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF) he was paired with Luna Vachon as his valet. The two would become romantically involved and eventually marry. In 1995 Heath wrestled in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) for a short period, feuding with Tommy Dreamer over Dreamer's affiliation with real-life wife Luna Vachon. While there he was noticed by World Wrestling Federation (WWF) officials and signed a contract with the WWF. He made his WWF TV debut on the August 16, 1998 episode of Sunday Night Heat victorious in his in-ring debut against Scott Taylor. Heath was given the character name Gangrel, which was derived from a vampire clan from the White Wolf roleplaying game Vampire: The Masquerade. The Gangrel gimmick involved an entrance which saw him rising from a ring of fire on the elevated stage, followed by a slow walk to the ring set to a sinister instrumental music theme. He also carried a goblet of "blood" with him and, during his entrance, would stop on the ring steps, take a drink, and spray it into the air. He was billed as being "from the other side of darkness." As Gangrel, Heath formed a gothic stable, called The Brood, with fellow WWF wrestlers Edge and Christian. The Brood became known for their sneak attack "Blood Baths" which involved the arena lights going dark for a few moments and when they came back on the targeted wrestler being covered in "blood". The three eventually joined up with The Undertaker and his "Ministry of Darkness" stable but the larger grouping didn't last long. Before the Brood was formed, Gangrel had a long feud with Edge. A possible connection between the two happened during one Raw event in which Gangrel told Edge after beating him up that "the blood of Gangrel flows through you, Edge." Nothing more was ever brought to light from that saying, though one could speculate what that connection could have meant with the two characters. After splitting from the Ministry The Brood began a feud with The Hardy Boyz and their manager Dok Hendrix. The feud took a turn when Gangrel suddenly turned on Edge and Christian and aligned himself with Matt and Jeff Hardy calling the group The New Brood. Unfortunately for Gangrel, Terri Runnels also began to show interest in the Hardy brothers and they eventually chose her over him. With The New Brood broken up Gangrel became a singles wrestler, mostly as a mid carder. In 2000 he brought in (real-life wife) Luna Vachon as his manager until she was fired. Gangrel continued working for the WWF until he was released in 2001. After his release from the WWF Heath did a short stint with World Wrestling All-Stars, including winning a pay-per-view match against his wife, Luna. In 2002 Heath signed with NWA: Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) and, at TNA's first PPV, competed in the 20 man "Gauntlet for the Gold" match to crown the first NWA World Heavyweight Champion of the TNA era once again going as The Vampire Warrior. He stayed with the promotion, making occasional appearances, until 2003 while still making appearances in smaller independent promotions. Gangrel also made a brief cameo appearance in Mullingar based promotion XHW, becoming involved in an altercation with DDG while backstage at an independent show. He appears on the XHW videogramme St Patricks Day Riot 2002. The years between 2004 and 2006 saw Heath bouncing back and forth between the newly renamed World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and the Independent circuit. He made several appearances for WWE in 2004, most notably returning to have a short feud with the Undertaker. He used the Gangrel name with his old entrance music and gimmick but nothing solid came of it. Following that he and Luna wrestled many independent tours all over the world. The pair did a lot of wrestling with the United Kingdom based All-Star Promotions. In mid-2005 Heath was given another short-lived WWE contract and appeared in their Ohio Valley Wrestling, the primary developmental territory of WWE, but was again released before anything came of it. In 2006, Heath was resigned as a potential for WWE's newest brand, ECW. However, the WWE has held off from reintroducing him to the main roster due to his ongoing weight problems. On the September 21 Deep South Wrestling event he made a surprise appearance wrestling Tommy Suede. He continued to wrestle in DSW under his real name while he waited to be called up to one of the main rosters. On January 18, 2007, in an article on WWE.com it was reported that Gangrel had been released from World Wrestling Entertainment. On 13 February 2007 David Heath returned to the United Kingdom to All Star Wrestling his first show back was at the Spa Centre in Leamington Spa where he wrestled James Mason and got the win Then 5 days later competed at Pacific Road complex in Birkenhead, England in an 8-man tag match. In this match he was teamed up with Joe Legend, "Iceman" Steve Strong and TNT against The all-Star Wrestling Team which consisted of "Wildcat" Robby Brookside, British Heavyweight Champion James Mason, The showstopper celtic warrior and Nick Aldis It is rumored that He signed a contract to TNA but is set to remain in England for another 3 months |