Being "The Notorious 187" isn't a character. At one time, it was a way of life. To say that Homicide has had a rough upbringing is an understatement. As a child, he made some wrong decisions that led him to a life of gangs and crime. He realized that wasn't the life for him. He was a very good athlete, competing for Eastern District High School in Brooklyn, NY. He excelled in baseball and football. In his senior year, he was named Most Valuable Player in baseball, playing first base and left field. As good as he was in baseball, he was better in football. He was strong safety for his team and caught the eye of many college recruiters across the country. He even received a scholarship offer to play for the University of Miami. However, Homicide had already been a father and had responsibilities at home he needed to tend to. It was more important to him to remain in New York.

Although he passed up on college ball, Homicide knew that he was destined to shine in another profession: wrestling. As a teen, while other kids were infatuated with the likes of Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Randy Savage, and The Ultimate Warrior, Homicide looked up to the likes of Japanese wrestlers like Giant Baba, Antonio Inoki and Mitsuhara Misawa. He began to train himself in 1993. After training himself for two years and knowing he wasn't doing it the right way, Homicide attended a wrestling clinic in New Jersey, which was being run by former National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) Tag Team champion "The Ragin' Bull" Manny Fernandez. Fernandez trained Homicide on other aspects that he wasn't aware of such as psychology.

Homicide made his in-ring debut in 1994 against War Zone. He competed wearing face paint, calling himself Latin Terror. He soon dumped that gimmick and wanted to be himself. He adopted the name Homicide and set off on a journey to be the very best at what he does. Homicide spent the early part of his career wrestling in and around the New York City area.

The first promotion he could call home and had many memorable matches in was Jersey All Pro Wrestling (JAPW). He wrestled his first JAPW show on September 12, 1997 in Bayonne, NJ. He teamed with Kane D, JR Styles and Carjacker to beat Magic, Flash Wheeler and The Blood Angels. It wouldn't be the last time Homicide would team with Kane D, as they would later go on to form The Nation of Immigration in JAPW.

December 5, 1997 marked the night JAPW were going to crown their first ever tag team champions. Homicide formed a partnership with Don Montoya and the two of them were set to face off against The Blood Angels- Diablos Macabre and Lucifer Grimm. JAPW named the event "Night of the Barbed Wire," which was appropriate because the match to crown the first JAPW Tag Team champions was a barbed wire match. The Blood Angels walked out of Bayonne, NJ as the first champs.

Homicide's first singles feud in JAPW was against Jay Lover. They had their first battle on October 31, 1997 at "Halloween Hell." That ended in a no contest. The rematch was set to take place on February 6, 1998 at "Valentine's Day Massacre." To make sure there would be a winner, they battled in a Weapons Match, which saw Homicide lose the bout.

On March 22, 1998, JAPW held their first annual convention in Newark, NJ. The convention took place in the afternoon, while the show took place at night. Many of Extreme Championship Wrestling's (ECW) athletes were on hand for the convention, as well as "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Al Snow, The Wild Samoans- Afa & Sika, and Capt. Lou Albano. The evening portion was a star-studded show, the biggest in JAPW at that point. Results of the show saw Abdullah the Butcher defeat Bandido, The Pit Bulls defeat The Misfits, Super Nova (Who competes as Nova in Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) and Mike Bucci in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)) defeat Reckless Youth, Ace Darling and Devon Storm in a 4 Way, New Jack, Spike Dudley and Axl Rotten defeat The Dudley Boyz- Buh Buh Ray, D-Von and Big Dick, and Rob Van Dam defeat Tommy Dreamer. Also that night, Homicide won his first major indy title when he and Kane D defeated The Blood Angels and The Sickness in a 3 Way Dance to win the JAPW Tag Team Titles in the main event.

Unfortunately for the Nation of Immigration, they dropped the titles in their first defense on May 20, 1998 when they were beaten by The Sons of Gestapho- Crazy Ivan and Lord Zieg. The Sons of Gestapho vacated the titles in early July 1998, so a 3 Way Dance was set up involving The Sons of Gestapho, The Nation of Immigration and The Haas Bros.- Charlie & Russ- that took place on July 22, 1998 in North Bergen, NJ. The Haas Bros. walked out with the titles.

Early in his career, Homicide was often compared to former ECW Tag Team champion New Jack because of the physical similarities, which bothered him. Homicide is just being himself as is New Jack but they are two totally different wrestlers. New Jack depends on brawling to get ahead in his matches, while Homicide mixes it up. The exterior of Homicide shows that he is a gangsta, but his style is not that. Homicide can brawl like Mick Foley, is as stiff as Misawa, and can be as dominating as The Road Warriors. This unique mix is what sets Homicide apart from New Jack. The two finally met in the ring on July 22, 1998, the same night Homicide lost the JAPW Titles. He defeated New Jack by DQ.

The Nation of Immigration weren't going to just walk away from attempting to regain the JAPW Tag Titles. They challenged the champs The Haas Bros. to a match, which took place on August 25, 1998 in North Bergen, NJ. The Nation beat The Haas Bros. in their type of match- a Weapons Match. Then following month, on the 25th, they made their first defense of their second reign when the beat Low Ki and Zombie in Bayonne.

In October 1998, The Nation became embroiled in a feud with the team known as D-Sex- Trent Acid and Billy Reil. Their first meeting took place on October 23, 1998 at "Halloween Hell" in a Weapons Match, which saw The Nation emerge victorious. They had rematch on November 20 with the same result. D-Sex were hell bent on winning those titles and made a third challenge for the titles. Third time was the charm as they beat The Nation on January 29, 1998 in Bayonne, NJ. On February 26, 1999, Homicide and New Jack had their second meeting in a JAPW ring. In a 3 Way Dance, New Jack teamed with Ruckus to beat The Dogs of War and The Nation of Immigration at "Valentine’s Day Massacre."

At around this time, Homicide began to train wrestlers at The Doghouse in New York along with Low Life Louie and Laithon. If you go to an indy show in the northeast, and Homicide is not on it, odds are the students he taught and sometimes beat respect into are. He has trained and helped further train such wrestlers as Low Ki, The Solution- Havok & Papadon, Low Life Louie, The Christopher Street Connection- Mase & Buff E, Reefer, Eddie Guapo, "The Brooklyn Bull" Steve Mack, current JAPW champ Dan Maff, Deranged, The Dirty Rotten Scoundrelz- EC Negro & KC Blade, Becky Bayless, and so much more. He continued to train talent there until the New York State Athletic Commission closed it down in January of 2003.

Homicide continued to make strides in JAPW and was a fixture in the promotion. On May 21, 1999, JAPW held it's fourth "Night of the Barbed Wire." The main event was a Barbed Wire Match, which saw Lou Diamond & Glenn Strange defeat The Nation of Immigration. Once this show was over, Homicide set his sights on overtaking the singles division in JAPW. On July 9, 1999 at JAPW "Scar Wars '99," Homicide defeated JAPW Heavyweight Champion Don Montoya to win the title for the first time in Bayonne, NJ. He did have one successful defense on August 6, 1999 when he retained against Flash Wheeler.

23 days later, JAPW held their second annual convention in Secaucus, NJ. The convention was once again heavily represented by ECW as well as other wrestlers such as "The Macho Man" Randy Savage, Gorgeous George aka George Frankenstein in Pro Pain Pro Wrestling (3PW), Dawn Marie, The Iron Sheik, and the reunion of the original Four Horsemen- Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard, Arn Anderson, Ole Anderson, and manager JJ Dillon. The evening portion saw such matches take place like future WWE Women's champ Jazz beat former member of the blue World Order (bWo) Thomas "The Inch Worm" Rodman, Low Ki defeat Crazy Ivan and Judas Young and New Jack defeating Low Life Louie in a Cage Match. That night, Homicide pulled double duty. First, his first JAPW Title reign came to a screeching halt as he lost the title to Chino Martinez in a Cage Match when New Jack interfered. Homicide returned later in the night to compete in the main event, which was another Cage Match for the vacant JAPW Suicidal Title. Jay Lover defeated Lou Diamond, Kane D, Low Life Louie, and Homicide to become the first Suicidal champion.

It was soon after that Homicide would be stepping into the ring with many of his students, and showing them exactly who is the real deal. He teamed with Da Hit Squad- Steve "Monsta" Mack and Dan "Mafia" Maff- to succumb in defeat to Johnny D & The Haas Bros. on October 29, 1999 in a Caning Match. Homicide competed at the fifth JAPW "Night of the Barbed Wire," but for once was NOT involved in a brutal Barbed Wire Match. Instead, it was teacher vs. student as Low Ki defeated his mentor in Bayonne, NJ.

Homicide was looking to be a Triple Crown winner in JAPW and had the chance to complete the trifecta on December 17, 1999 at JAPW "Season's Beatings." He squared off against Low Life Louie in a Christmas Tree Death Match for the vacant JAPW Suicidal Title. Both men were involved in the first Suicidal Title match, but this time, Louie left with the title.

The loss didn't stop "The Notorious 187" from competing in more hardcore matches. At the JAPW "Millennium Murder" on January 28, 2000, Homicide competed in a Suicidal 3 Way Dance against Axl Rotten and Derrick Domino and saw Axl walk out as the winner. Then, Homicide was booked to compete at JAPW's "Valentine Day's Massacre" in a Weapon's Match main event and teamed with Glenn Strange to lose a hard fought match to Low Life Louie & Jay Lover. Louie & Homicide eventually put their differences aside and teamed on March 10, 2000 in Ramsey, NJ to face and get defeated by Bad Breed- Axl & Ian Rotten- in a Weapons Match.

Homicide sought to regain the JAPW Tag Team Titles, this time with the man he beat for his first JAPW Title reign, Don Montoya. The duo challenged and defeated JAPW Tag Team champs Da Hit Squad on September 22, 2000 in the main event of "September Slaughter." They had one successful defense on October 27, defeating NC-17- Kane D & Chino Martinez- before losing them back to Da Hit Squad on November 17 in Bayonne, NJ.

"The Notorious 187" looked to close out 2000 as a champion. On November 18, in a Falls Count Anywhere, Barbed Wire, Singapore Cane Match, Homicide defeated longtime rival Jay Lover to win the vacant JAPW Title for a second time at Viking Hall aka ECW Arena at the JAPW 3rd Anniversary Show. He had his first defense of this reign when he beat Laithon at "Season's Beatings" on December 8, 2000.

Homicide was in negotiations to join ECW at one point in 2000. During the few times they met in JAPW, Homicide had befriended New Jack, who was looking to hook Homicide up with a spot. He did have a meeting with Tommy Dreamer, who set up Homicide with his debut angle. He was going to enter ECW as an ally of New Jack in his war against Da Baldies- Angel & DeVito. The plan was to hook up with New Jack as the New Gangstas, but then he would turn on New Jack and join Da Baldies. However, New Jack had a falling out with ECW and left the promotion just before Homicide was to debut. So the angle was dropped and Homicide never entered ECW.

Shortly after the demise of ECW, on February 2, 2001, former ECW champion The Sandman made his JAPW debut when he challenged JAPW champion Homicide in Bayonne, NJ. Their match ended in a no-contest when they were both attacked by New Jack & Da Hit Squad. The following night at Viking Hall, The Sandman and Homicide joined forces to defeat Da Hit Squad at "New Beginning."

That weekend began the double shots being put on by JAPW. They would hold back-to-back shows once a month. On March 23, 2001, during "March Madness" weekend in JAPW, Homicide defended the JAPW Title against Monsta Mack. That match resulted in a no contest when Crazy Ivan interfered. Later that night, in the main event, Da Hit Squad teamed with Jerry "Da Bull" Todisco to beat The Sandman, Billy Reil and Homicide. The next night at Viking Hall, Homicide sided with Da Hit Squad and they defeated The Sandman, Billy Reil and Johnny Hot Body.

Homicide continued to reign as the JAPW champion. He made more defenses in the month of April. On the 20th, he defeated JAPW New Jersey champ Crazy Ivan in the main event of a rare champion vs. champion. The next night at Viking Hall, Homicide defeated J-Train. They had a rematch on May 18 in Bayonne at "The Upset," and the result was the same: Homicide beating J-Train. The next night was another rematch for Homicide from the month of April, but this time Homicide beat JAPW New Jersey champion Crazy Ivan at Viking Hall in Philly.

July 7, 2001 at "Royal Consequences," Homicide finally met his match: the man he helped train, Low Ki. Low Ki had a big night at Viking Hall that evening. First, he beat Nick Berk to win the JAPW Light Heavyweight Title. Then, in the main event, he beat his mentor Homicide to win the JAPW Heavyweight Title and walk out as a dual champion. Homicide demanded a rematch, and quickly got it 13 days later at the 4th Anniversary Show in Bayonne, NJ. Low Ki, again, had a tough night. Being a true fighting champion, he retained his JAPW Light Heavyweight Title when he beat Xavier and Minoru Fujita and a 3 Way Dance. Then, in the main event, Low Ki retained the JAPW Heavyweight Title when he beat Homicide.

Homicide was hell bent on regaining the JAPW Title. On August 18, 2001, he got another match against Low Ki. However, Low Ki, in the same match, was also defending the JAPW Light Heavyweight Title against Xavier. So this was a 3 Way Dance held in Viking Hall. Homicide pinned Low Ki to begin his third reign as champion. Due to the pre-match stipulation, Xavier claimed the JAPW Light Heavyweight Title.

Homicide's third JAPW Title reign saw him have successful defenses against the likes of JAPW Light Heavyweight champion Xavier, The Insane Dragon, Dixie, Mike Kruel, and Elax. He even formed a team with Low Ki. They were able to beat the JAPW Tag Team champs Da Hit Squad on October 13, 2001 in Hackettstown, NJ in a non-title match. This set up the November Pain show on November 9 for the titles, but Da Hit Squad got the better of Homicide & Low Ki.

"The Notorious 187" was also making his mark on another tri-state area indy, Frank Goodman's USA Pro. On January 11, 2002 at "All Hell Breaks Loose," Homicide once again did battle against Low Ki, and Low Ki once again got the best of his mentor. They had a rematch at USA Pro "Deer Park Destruction 3" in Long Island on February 16, 2002. This match ended in a draw.

Russ Haas had teamed with his brother, Charlie, in JAPW before earning WWE developmental contracts. They had been successful in many indy feds, including JAPW and Jim Kettner's East Coast Wrestling Alliance (ECWA). On September 24, 2001, Russ Haas suffered a heart attack, shockingly at the young age of 27. He was working hard to make a comeback so he and his brother Charlie can make it to WWE. Unfortunately, Russ lost his battle on December 15, 2001 due to heart complications. JAPW paid tribute to the fallen wrestler on February 2, 2002 in Bayonne, NJ. In the main event, Homicide defended his JAPW Title against JAPW New Jersey champion Dixie and JAPW Light Heavyweight champion The Insane Dragon in a 3 Way Dance. Dixie won the match, and the other titles. Other results from that show saw Slyk Wagner Brown beat Matt Striker, Mike Kruel beat Low Ki and Charlie Haas beat Crowbar and Simon Diamond in a 3 Way Dance.

February 23, 2002 was a big night in indy wrestler, as a new and promising promotion opened it's doors called Ring of Honor (RoH). At their debut show, "The Era of Honor Begins," Homicide teamed with his long-time friend Boogalou, collectively they were known as The Natural Born Sinners, to face off against multiple time USA Pro Tag Team champs The Boogie Knights in Philly. The Sinners lost the match by DQ. They had a rematch on March 30 at "Round Robin Challenge" and beat The Boogie Knights in Philly.

Homicide returned to USA Pro on May 18, 2002 at "Blood, Sweat and Tears" to face off against former Baldie DeVito. He won that match and Homicide began to compete for USA Pro on a regular basis. Eight days later, Homicide won his fourth JAPW Title in Seaside Heights, NJ when he defeated Dixie at "Memorial Day Massacre." After the match, Chris Candido made his way to the ring and brawled with the new champion. After they got separated, Candido set his sights on WWE Tough Enough II contestant Pete, who also brawled with Candido.

On June 7, 2002, one of indy wrestling's biggest rivalries began to grow. In Bayonne, NJ, Homicide was scheduled to defend the JAPW Title against former ECW and NWA champion Steve Corino in the main event. In one of their first meetings, Homicide came out on top. These two would renew this rivalry in RoH a short time later. The next night, USA Pro held their annual Big Dick Dudley Memorial show. Low Ki & Xavier teamed up to defeat Da Hit Squad and The Natural Born Sinners in a 3 Way Dance to win the USA Pro Tag Team Titles.

Homicide dusted off his Mr. Bigg gimmick and reverted to his alter ego on June 21, 2002. He defeated Nikita Allanov to win the NWA East Brass Knuckles Title in McKeesport, PA. He lost the title on August 2, 2002 in a tag team match, where he was pinned by Devin Devine in McKeesport, PA.

Homicide continued to team with Boogalou in RoH as The Natural Born Sinners. They had a victory over The Carnage Crew- DeVito & HC Loc- and battled Da Hit Squad in a brawl. It was soon after that Boogalou had a falling out with RoH because they wanted to make Homicide a singles wrestler. At around this time, Rob Black's Xtreme Pro Wrestling (XPW) called up Homicide wanting him to join their company. The problem with that was they wanted to Homicide to do several things. For starters, they wanted him to dump his current moniker and adopt a dead Presidents character. Homicide said forget it. They also wanted him to quit working for RoH and work for XPW exclusively without telling RoH, but Homicide wouldn't do that. RoH made a lucrative deal with Homicide to remain in RoH anyways.

Homicide was now in much demand. He was wrestling throughout the east coast and making several trips to Japan and Puerto Rico. On September 13, 2002, Homicide lost the JAPW Title to Slyk Wagner Brown at "Never Forget." Seven days later, Homicide regained the JAPW Title from Slyk in Bayonne in the main event of "Family Crisis."

At the October 5, 2002 RoH show, RoH was prepared to make Homicide a singles star. Homicide competed in a Scramble Match, by himself, against The SAT, Special K and Divine Storm. Homicide won the match all by himself. The Backseat Boyz then challenge Homicide to a match right then and there, and Homicide accepted. Steve Corino, emerging from his role of color commentator, now assumed the role of Homicide's partner. Just as quickly as he volunteered to be his partner, Corino turned on Homicide, igniting a war.

Homicide continued to win titles. On November 15, 2002 in Queens, NY, he beat The W*inger to win the Big Japan Junior Heavyweight Title. Homicide would end up being the last man to hold the title. The next night, Homicide defeated current RoH champion Samoa Joe in Wakefield, MA at "Scramble Madness."

His finest moment in USA Pro took place on November 22, 2002 at the Eight Anniversary Show in Queens, NY. He competed in two separate matches. First, he defeated Xavier, Joey Matthews and Mike Kruel to win the USA Pro Xtreme Title. Later that night, he beat The Amazing Red to win the USA Pro US Title.

December 7, 2002 marks a night that will forever be etched in the mind of Homicide, the wrestling fan. He had the opportunity to tag with the legendary Abdullah the Butcher to face The Carnage Crew. The event was called "Night of the Butcher" and saw one of RoH's bloodiest matches of all time as Homicide & Abby defeated The Crew. In his final show of 2002, at RoH "Final Battle," Homicide defeated the up and coming Jay Lethal, who would change his name to Hydro in RoH when he joined up with Special K.

The feud with Steve Corino spread into USA Pro. Homicide, the reigning USA Pro Xtreme & US champion, was going to make sure he was a true fighting champion, much like Low Ki was when he held two titles in JAPW, wrestling in two separate matches. On January 17, 2003, Homicide defended both titles in two back-to-back matches against Corino. At "A Wrestling Odyssey," Homicide beat his rival in two straight falls in Queens, NY. The next night, in Woodbridge, NJ, Homicide successfully retained his JAPW Title by defeating former ECW Tag & USA Pro champion Balls Mahoney in a No DQ Match.

Corino & Homicide, arguably the best feud of 2003, spilled their rivalry back over to RoH at the First Anniversary Show on February 8, 2003 in Queens. In their first match in RoH, Corino got the best of Homicide. The loss prompted a riot inside the Elks Lodge, which was 50% shoot and 50% work. Several of the people in the riot were other workers.

Homicide branched out to the three major indy promotions in the northeast and was fast becoming the man to watch. Unfortunately for him, he dropped the JAPW Title on February 22, 2003 to Mafia aka Dan Maff in Woodbridge, NJ at "Tough Love." This would be Homicide's final reign as JAPW champion, as of this writing.

Homicide was involved in an interesting match during USA Pro's "March Madness" on March 8, 2003. As the reigning USA Pro Xtreme & US champion, Homicide was booked to wrestle the USA Pro champion, Balls Mahoney. They would wrestle each other in three straight falls for all three titles. The showdown took place in Queens, NY, the site of many of Homicide's great matches. In the first fall, Homicide retained the USA Pro US Title by defeating Balls in a Dog Collar Match. In the second fall, Homicide retained the Xtreme Title when he beat Balls in a Tables Match. In the third fall, Balls retained the USA Pro Title by defeating Homicide with help from Mafia.

RoH held "Night of the Champions" in Philly on March 22, 2003 and it would showcase one of the final times Homicide would team with Da Hit Squad. Da Hit Squad would officially part ways soon after this event. Homicide and Da Hit Squad battled CW Anderson, Samoa Joe and Jack Victory to a no contest. Homicide returned to USA Pro on April 4, 2003 at "Blood, Sweat and Tears 2" in Queens to defend his titles against "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels. In two straight falls, Homicide defeated Daniels in superb matches. After the match, USA Pro owner Frank Goodman came out and stripped Homicide of the titles because Homicide was scheduled to miss the next show due to a tour of Japan.

Homicide would find Daniels to be his opponent again, this time in RoH. On April 12, 2003 at "Epic Encounter" in Philly, Homicide once again defeated "The Fallen Angel." Homicide pulled double duty that night when he returned in the main event in an I-Quit Bunkhouse Riot Match where he teamed with J-Train, Low Life Louie, Iceberg, and former NWA champion "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes to beat Jack Victory, CW Anderson, David Young, and Tank.

Looking to gain some gold in RoH, Homicide had one of his first encounters against CM Punk on April 26, 2003 in West Mifflin, PA at "Round Robin Challenge II." In a #1 Contender's Match, Homicide overcame Punk's challenge. Homicide got his shot at RoH champion Samoa Joe, a man he has victories over, on May 31, 2003 in Philly. Unfortunately for Homicide, Joe came out on top. He was able to rebound from the loss with a victory over John Walters, former NWA X Division champion Chris Sabin and former ECW champion Justin Credible in a 4 Corners Match during a RoH in Cambridge, MA.

After his tour of Japan, Homicide returned to USA Pro on June 27, 2003 at "Now or Never" in Queens. When he was stripped at the last USA Pro show he was on, he said he wanted a crack at both belts at this show. However, as is the norm in that company, plans changed. Instead, Homicide was given the task of taking on the recently released former ECW & World Championship Wrestling (WCW) Tag Team champion Perry Saturn. Homicide ended up on the losing side of the match. Your welcome. The following night, in one of RoH's best matches up to that point, Trent Acid defeated Homicide in a Tables & Ladders Match at "WrestleRave 2003" in Philly in that show's main event.

Homicide once again had the privilege to be in the company of greatness. On August 9, 2003, RoH held a show entitled "Wrath of the Racket" in Dayton, OH. This show saw legendary manager Jim Cornette make his RoH debut. Cornette was at ringside for the main event, which saw Homicide team with former NWA World and current NWA X Division champ AJ Styles to beat Christopher Daniels & Dan Maff.

Homicide had a busy night at RoH's "Bitter Friends, Stiffer Enemies." He pulled double duty that night. First, he faced and defeated Prince Nana. Then, he faced off against Steve Corino. Homicide defeated his archrival when Corino passed out to the STF.

Jersey Championship Wrestling (JCW) has been holding their annual J Cup tournament since 2000. Judas Young, Low Ki and Reckless Youth were the previous winners going into the 2003 J Cup. Homicide was invited to compete in the tournament on August 24, 2003. Homicide made it all the way to the finals by defeating Reefer, Alex Shelley and Slyk Wagner Brown in the first three rounds respectively, before losing to Jay Lethal in the finals.

Homicide competed on USA Pro's "Meltdown 2" in Queens on August 29, 2003. On that show, Homicide battled Deranged in a great match, which saw Deranged take two Cop Killas aka Vertebreakers from Homicide en route to victory for the "Notorious 187." However, it's what happened after the match that made waves. Tim Arson, who was recovering from a neck injury, was doing color commentary for USA Pro's video release of the show. Arson made comments about The Doghouse on a wrestling hotline, which Homicide took exception to. Homicide challenged him to a shoot whenever Arson healed. The shoot never took place.

Homicide squared off against Trent Acid, again, on September 6, 2003 at RoH's "Beating the Odds" in Wakefield, MA. It what was considered match of the night, Homicide got the victory over Acid, who was accompanied to the ring by his Backseat Boyz tag team partner Johnny Kashmere.

September 2003 was the first time Homicide toured with Zero One in Japan during the "Regeneration" tour. On September 11, 2003, at the Yamagata Sports Center, Homicide defeated Vansack Acid. Two nights later at the Sapporo Teisen Hall, Homicide teamed with Steve Corino and Jason the Legend to beat The Predator, King Adamo & Vansack Acid. On September 17 at the Tottori Dome, Homicide wrestled and lost to Ikuto Hidaka. To close out his first Zero One tour, Homicide battled former ECW World champion Masato Tanaka at the Kitami Municipal Sports Center and lost to Tanaka.

Homicide performed well on his first Zero One tour, and was invited back just days later for the second tour of the month, which was three shows long. On September 19, on the opening of the tour, Homicide fell in defeat to Jun Kasai at Korakuen Hall. The next night, Homicide main evented his first Zero One show when he teamed with Zandig and Nick Gage of CZW to lose to the first WCW Cruiserweight champion Shinjiro Otani, former ECW champion Masato Tanaka & Hideki Hosaka when Tanaka pinned Homicide. Homicide closed out the three-day tour when he teamed with Tom Howard to lose to L.A. The Giant & Sean McCully.

In late September, Homicide had another memorable weekend. First off, on September 26, Homicide met CM Punk for the first time in USA Pro at "Extreme Resurrection." Unfortunately, the match came off flat because it was the first match after intermission and it had to follow the brutal hardcore match between Low Life Louie and DOI's own The Motivator. Punk won the lackluster match after a low blow. The following night, Homicide realized a dream and went one on one with Terry Funk at JAPW "Funkin' Homicide." The Funker got the win over Homicide after a piledriver on a steel chair.

At this point, Homicide was set to make his Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) debut. He was brought in for their October 11, 2003 show, where he faced future tag partner B-Boy, who was making his return to CZW. B-Boy got the win over Homicide after Trent Acid interfered on B-Boy's behalf at "Uprising."

Homicide got another shot to prove he can hang with RoH champion Samoa Joe. However, this next encounter would be a non-title match. In one of his rare singles losses in RoH, Samoe Joe bowed down in defeat to Homicide on October 25, 2003 in Spencerport, NY at "Empire State Showdown" in a No Holds Barred Match. Despite the victory, Homicide would have to wait for his turn to get a title shot.

JAPW held their Sixth Anniversary Show in Secaucus, NJ on November 8, 2003. Homicide teamed with Dan Maff to defeat the team of former ECW champions Raven and Steve Corino after interference from "The Franchise" Shane Douglas. The main event of this show saw Jerry "The King" Lawler defeat JAPW champion Al Snow to win the title with Mick Foley as a special guest referee. Later that month, on the 22nd, Homicide made his 3PW debut at he lost a “Special Attraction Match” to Xavier in Philly.

Homicide's rivalry with Steve Corino grew bigger as the days went by. In order punish one another, they agreed to meet one on one on November 29, 2003 in a Barbed Wire Match at RoH's "War of the Wire." The ropes were replaced with barbed wire. Farmington, MA were about to witness two guys punishing each other just because they don't like each other. Corino got the win over Homicide when Homicide's second, Julius Smokes, threw in the towel.

Homicide had the opportunity to face a Japanese opponent on American soil. On December 27, 2003, RoH held a joint show with All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) called "Final Battle" in Philly. Homicide competed against Satoshi Kojima, who is a former AJPW Tag and New Japan Pro Wrestling International Grand Prix Wrestling (NJPW IWGP) Tag champion, as well as a former Major League Wrestling (MLW) champion. Kojima got the victory to end 2003.

Speaking of MLW, Homicide was booked to compete for the promotion earlier this year. On January 9, 2004, Homicide faced and defeated Low Ki at "Reloaded #1." After the match, Homicide was attacked by former NWA X Division champion Jerry Lynn. The attack was going to set up an angle between the two, but MLW folded shortly thereafter. The following night, Homicide traveled to Wimington, OH to square off against current NWA X Division champion AJ Styles. Styles defeated "The Notorious 187" in a good match.

Zero One in Japan formed an offshoot United States promotion called Pro Wrestling World-1 (PWW1), which was headed up by Steve Corino. The promotion debuted and ran shows on February 6, 7 and 8. On the first night of the three-night set, Homicide defeat Yoshihito Sasaki with the STF. The next night, Spanky, who was recently released from his WWE contract, defeated Homicide. On the final night, Homicide once again took on CM Punk and fell in defeat to him.

Teddy Hart was making a name for himself in indy wrestling. He is trying very hard to be a loose cannon, much like Brian Pillman was before his untimely death in 1997. Teddy has been doing things to piss off his peers, which isn't cool. JAPW set up a match between Hart and Homicide, who was sure to teach the unruly Hart a lesson in respect. They met in Rahway, NJ at "Revolution." In a great match, Homicide beat the living crap out of Hart and got the win. The match went all over the building. They were set to meet at the next JAPW in a rematch, but the rematch has yet to take place.

Homicide toured Zero One in March of 2004 during their "Sweep Away" tour. On March 5 in Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Homicide teamed with CW Anderson to lose to Leonardo Spanky & Low Ki when Spanky pinned Homicide. The next night, Homicide teamed with Low Ki to beat CW Anderson & Vansack Acid at the Odawara Arena Sub Arena.

Zero One held their Hustle 2 PPV event on March 7, 2004 at the Yokohama Arena in Japan. In the opening match, Homicide teamed with Low Ki to lose to Kaz Hayashi and Leonardo Spanky when SPanky pinned Homicide after a Frog Splash. Other results of the event saw Steve Corino beat CW Anderson, Shinjiro Otani & Satoshi Kojima defeating Dusty & Dustin Rhodes, who teamed for the first time in Japan in years and Masato Tanaka, Kintaro Kanemura & Tetsuhiro Kuroda defeating The Gladiator aka Mike Awesome, Sabu & Justin Credible.

Homicide remained on tour with Zero One in March. On the 12th, at the Odate Citizen Gymnasium, Homicide teamed with The Predator and Vansack Acid to fall in defeat to Masato Tanaka, Tetsuhiro Kuroda & Yoshihito Sasaki when Kuroda pinned Homicide. The following night, at the Hakodate Citizen Gymnasium, Homicide teamed with Takao Omori and Shiro Koshinaka to beat Kohei Sato, Hirotaka Yokoi & Ikuto Hidaka. On March 14, Homicide got the opportunity to win some gold on the tour. At the Sapporo Media Park Spica, Homicide challenged the Zero One Junior Heavyweight champion Wataru Sakata. Sakata defeated Homicide in his fifth title defense. Homicide ended the tour on March 17 when he teamed with Low Ki to beat Josh Daniels & Vansack Acid when Homicide made Acid tap out to the STF at the Fukushima Big Palette.

PWW1 held their second set of three-day shows on April 8, 9 and 10. On the first night of the short tour, Homicide teamed with Masato Tanaka to defeat CM Punk & CW Anderson. On the second night, Homicide teamed with Low Ki and Spanky to defeat The SAT and CM Punk. On the final night, Josh Daniels upset Homicide.

Homicide had gotten past his rivalry in RoH with Steve Corino, and now had his sights set on the RoH champion Samoa Joe. On April 23, the battled one another in St. Paul, MN. The match ended in a no contest and after the match concluded, Homicide threw a fireball at Joe. The following night, to rebound from the no contest, Homicide defeated "The American Dragon" Bryan Danielson at a RoH show in Chicago. The final night of Homicide's three-day weekend concluded on April 25, 2004. He competed for Afa's World Xtreme Wrestling (WXW) promotion in Allentown. On that night, WXW held their first annual Samoan Cup Tag Team Tournament. Homicide reunited with Boogalou to reform The Natural Born Sinners. In the one night tournament, The Sinners beat The Goodfellas- Shorty Smalls and Deuce, The Samoan Island Tribe- Samu and Mana, The SAT, and the Dirty Rotten Scoundrelz to win the tournament.

CZW held a show on May 1, 2004, setting up their "Best of the Best IV" show on July 10. Teddy Hart appeared on the show, challenging Homicide to meet in the first round. Homicide had accepted, and the first round had been set. Several weeks later, Teddy cancelled his USA Pro booking, and didn't give back his deposit to Frank Goodman. Goodman went on his hotline proclaiming that Teddy owes Goodman $250. Goodman made it public that if Homicide could collect the money from Teddy, Homicide would keep the money. Funny how Teddy cancelled his July 10 CZW booking due to "injuries" he suffered at a bar.

Homicide also began to compete for Ian Rotten's Independent Wrestling Association (IWA) Mid-South promotion, which is based in Indiana and Kentucky. He competed in several shows during the month of May in IWA Mid-South. On May 7 in LaFayette, IN, Homicide teamed with West Coast indy wrestler B-Boy to beat Matt Sydal & Delirious. IWA Mid-South then held a tournament to crown new tag champions on May 29. On that night, Homicide once again teamed with B-Boy and they defeated M Dogg 20 & Josh Prohibition, but then were defeated by Tracey Smothers & Chris Hamrick in the next round, who eventually won the tournament. The following night, Homicide teamed with B-Boy and Chris Hero to beat CM Punk, Samoa Joe and BJ Whitmer in an elimination match.

May 14, 2004 was going to be a night of wrestling for USA Pro. They debuted in Jamaica, Queens at Club Amazura and presented "Deadly Sins." Homicide was booked to go against Sabu for the first time ever. They first ever meeting ended in a no contest due to interference from Dan Maff and Sonjay Dutt. After the hard-hitting match, Homicide then competed for RoH the next night and defeated Spanky.

Homicide had finally gotten a rematch for the RoH Title on May 22. His rivalry with Samoa Joe raged on, and even went beyond the title. After a tough back and fourth match, Samoa Joe made another successful defense, defeating "The Notorious 187." The two had a rematch, this time it was non-title and it was in IWA Mid-South. On June 11, the RoH champion once again beat Homicide, this time by submission. The following night, Joe defended the RoH Title against CM Punk in a match that ended in a 60-minute draw. After the lengthy battle, Homicide jumped Joe after the match, continuing the rivalry.

Franklin Square, NY was the sight of Homicide-Sabu II. USA Pro presented "Meltdown 2" on June 19, 2004. The match spilled throughout the ringside area and saw many brutal chair shots. Sonjay Dutt spent time looking for a table to be used, but it wasn't meant to be. Sabu pinned "The Notorious 187" in a great match and both men shook hands with one another. Sabu-Homicide III is set to take place in September in Queens, NY.

IWA Mid South held their annual King of the Death Match tournament on June 25 and 26 in Indiana. All the tournament matches were sick and barbaric hardcore matches. Homicide was invited to compete in the tournament, but never got past the first night. He met hardcore icon Low Life Louie in the first round of the tournament in a Barbed Wire Boards Match. Louie showed why he ruled hardcore wrestling and defeated Homicide in the first round. Homicide may have started that weekend on a bad foot, but ended it on a high note when, as a last minute replacement for CM Punk, he defeated Slyk Wagner Brown to capture the JCW Title.

WXW held their annual Sportsfest super show on July 9, 2004 in Allentown, PA. It was broadcast live in Pennsylvania and featured current WWE superstars Batista and Rosey as well as WWE Hall of Famer Greg "The Hammer" Valentine, The Tonga Kid, WWE Hall of Famer "Magnificent" Don Muraco, Mana the Polynesian Warrior, as well as other WXW regulars. Homicide competed on the show, and defeated the man he beat for the JAPW and JCW Titles, Slyk Wagner Brown.

The following night, CZW held their "Best of the Best IV" show. In the opening round, Homicide battled Chri$ Ca$h and Jack Evans, who replaced the "injured" Teddy Hart. Evans took a hell of a beating for his pal Teddy, but also showed he could take it like a man. The rules of the first round was once a man was eliminated in a 3 Way Dance, which all the first round matches were, the two remaining would advance to face each other later in the next round. Homicide pinned Ca$h, setting up Homicide vs. Evans in the second. The beat down continued in the second round, as Homicide eliminated Evans from the tournament. Homicide advanced to the semi-finals, where he lost to Roderick Strong. Sonjay Dutt eventually beat Strong to win the tournament.

July 17, 2004 was set to be the rebirth of RoH because it was the first show after the company parted ways with Rob Feinstein. The show was appropriately called "Reborn: Completion" and was held in Elizabeth, NJ. In continuation of the Homicide-Samoa Joe rivalry, they faced off in the main event, which was a 6-man tag match. Joe recruited The Briscoe Bros.- Mark & Jay- and they faced off against The Rottweilers- Homicide & The Havana Pit Bulls- Ricky Reyes & Rocky Romero. Samoa Joe & The Briscoes won the match by DQ when Homicide hit Mark Briscoe with a fireball. All hell broke loose, but then Low Ki made his return to RoH, protecting the RoH Title and Joe...or so we thought. Low Ki turned on Joe and joined The Rottweilers to present a new chapter in RoH.

Nothing ever came easy to Homicide. From his participation in gangs in Brooklyn to being forced to turn down to turn down a scholarship to the University of Miami to being typecast by both wrestling promoters and fans, Homicide has faced and overcome every obstacle ever put in his way to become a polished, well-rounded veteran on the indy scene as well as around the world. If you attend a show these days, and Homicide isn't book, you can bet their is a piece of him on the show as one of his many students are putting on a great match as a tribute to their mentor. Homcide also has a place on this site as he was recently named #1 on the DOI 250, which ranks the top 250 indy wrestlers in North America.

John Gjoni
Johnftw7533@aol.com

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