Sam Shaw (January 17, 1984) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), assigned to its developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW).
Professional wrestling career
Early career
Sam Shaw would make his professional wrestling debut on September 21, 2007, at World League Wrestling where he teamed up with Tookie Tucker and defeated Marco Cordova and Otis Idol. Shaw lost to Bruce Santee on August 3, 2009 at Full Impact Pro. On August 21, 2010 took on VFX at Victory Pro Wrestling in a match for VPW New York State Championship and was also part of a 23 Man Gold Rush Rumble and lost both matches. On May 18 Shaw teamed up with QT Marshall and lost to The Briscoes. He has also wrestled sporadically for Pro Wrestling Extreme.
Vintage Wrestling (2009-2015)
On April 18, 2009, Shaw debuted for Vintage Wrestling defeating Nooie Lee on his debut. Just over a month later on May 30, Shaw defeated Glacier to become the first Vintage Heavyweight Champion. Over the months Shaw would defend his championship on multiple occasions against the likes of Tyson Tomko and Jesse Neal. Shaw would finally lose the championship to Thomas Marr on February 2, 2010. On April 17, Shaw would become a second time champion after winning the vacant Vintage Heavyweight Championship and would lose it to Jesse Neal on September 11. In 2011, Shaw participated in the King Of The State tournament and reached the finals before losing to Francisco Ciatso. On May 14, Shaw would win his third Vintage Heavyweight Championship by defeating Aaron Epic. On September 3, Shaw was part of a title vs title match where the Vintage Heavyweight Championship and the Vintage Internet Championship were on the line, Shaw won the match after Simon Sez was disqualified which also meant the championship would not change hands. He lost the Vintage Heavyweight Championship to Francisco Ciatso on June 6, 2012. His last match for the company took place a month later in a fatal four-way match for the Vintage Heavyweight Championship which Milo Beasley won.
Florida Underground Wrestling (2011-2012)
On August 8, in his debut match for Florida Underground Wrestling, he took on Romeo Razel and Sideshow in a three-way match and won, this would lead to a shot at the FUW Heavyweight Champion, Bruce Santee, which Shaw lost. On June 28, 2012 he took on Wes Brisco FUW Cuban Heavyweight Championship which he lost. His last match for FUW came in the form of a win on June 30 against James Alexander.
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2010, 2012-2015, 2017)
Shaw's first appearance for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling was on August 8, 2010 in Hardcore Justice as Lupus, Shaw attacked Tommy Dreamer in his match against Raven before he was attacked by special referee Mick Foley with a Mandible Claw. Shaw's first match for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling came on August 9, 2010, in a dark match against Jesse Neal which he lost.
In 2012, Shaw was a participant in the monthly Gut Check on IMPACT. Although Shaw's chances were nearly ruined after a brutal attack by Aces & Eights gang, Shaw got a second chance the following week and was defeated by Doug Williams in his Gut Check match. The Gut Check judges were impressed and awarded Shaw a contract and a spot on the TNA roster. In actuality, Shaw was signed to a developmental cotract. Shaw returned to Impact Wrestling on November 22, defeating fellow Gut Check winner Alex Silva.
On June 21, 2015, Shaw posted on Twitter that it is "Time to explore new artistic ventures" and thanked TNA signaling his time with the company had ended.[1]
Shaw returned on January 10, 2017 for a one night only booking at TNA Xplosion where he lost to Marshe Rockett.
Ohio Valley Wrestling (2012-2013)
Shaw was then assigned to TNA's developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), making his televised debut on October 13, 2012. He then began teaming with Alex Silva, forming a regular tag team over the coming weeks known as Team GutCheck. On December 1, Shaw and Silva defeated Jessie Godderz and Rudy Switchblade to win the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship. They lost the title to Crimson and Jason Wayne on January 16, 2013. Shaw and Silva won the tag titles back on February 27 and held the titles until April 3 when they were defeated by The Coalition (Crimson & Jason Wayne). From April 10, Shaw wrestled solely as a singles competitor for the remainder of his time in OVW. On June 19 Shaw won a OVW Television Championship match against Randy Royal by disqualification however, did not capture the title.
Global Force Wrestling (2016-2017)
On November 19, Shaw made his Global Force Wrestling and Tried-N-True Pro Wrestling debut at TNT/GFW Road To The Gold, taking part in the Tried-N-True Title Tournament. He won his first round match defeating TNA's Chris Melendez. He advanced to the second round where he defeated Alex Taylor.
On March 18, 2017 at TNT/GFW The Art Of War II Shaw defeated Crimson in a Tournament Final to win the vacant Tried-N-True Championship.
In Wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Breaking Point (Diving leg drop)
- Shaw Bomb
- Kata Gatame
- Samton Bomb
- Shawshanked
- Irish Car Bomb
- Signature moves
- Belly-to-belly Suplex
- Dropkick
- Inverted Facelock Backbreaker followed by a Neckbreaker
- Leg Drop
- Thesz Press
- Nicknames
- "The Stimulus"
- "Creepy Bastard"
- Managers
- Entrance Themes
- "Wanting You" by Christy Hemme
- "Dead Flowers" by Dale Oliver
- Teams and stables
- New School with Alex Silva (as Sam Shaw)
Championships and accomplishments
- Vintage Heavyweight Championship (3 times)
