Spotlight on Justin Credible
In 1992, Paloco saw an advertisement for the Hart Bros. Training Camp and quickly packed his belongings and headed up to the cold north of Calgary, Alberta, Canada to being training for a career in wrestling. He trained under the legendary Hart family, as well as future tag team partner, Lance Storm. He made his debut on October 16, 1992 and his road to becoming an impact player was a long and bumpy road.
Polaco competed under the name of PJ Walker early in his career. As a wrestler, Walker competed primarily in the northeast. Competing in the northeast is beneficial for a wrestler looking to get noticed by WWE. His first career highlight came on September 24, 1993 as he captured the Renegade Wrestling Federation (RWF) Title from Bob Evans in Seekonk, MA. That would be the first of many titles Walker would gain in his career.
Walker was noticed by WWE in 1993. They would bring him in to do jobs on television. Back then, Monday Night Raw was one hour long, and had several squash matches thrown into the mix. Walker did the squashes, and got squashed. In his WWE debut, he lost to former World Championship Wrestling (WCW) champion Lex Luger. Walker was destined to join the unofficial WWE Hall of Shame with the likes of Barry Horowitz, The Brooklyn Brawler and Duane Gill, but he was slowly showcasing some potential.
In late spring 1993, Sean Waltman, wrestling as The Kid and had a string of jobs on Raw, faced off against Razor Ramon. This match made it possible for anything to happen in WWE as The Kid scored the huge upset of Ramon. Ramon would actually become a face after this, as he was ridiculed by Money Inc: Ted DiBiase & Irwin R. Shyster. Later that summer, Shyster had a match on Raw against PJ Walker. Razor distracted Shyster long enough for Walker to score another Monday night upset. The streak didn't last long as Walker got no recognition for the win, and did the job in his next match.
WWE saw more in Walker. Instead of becoming a perennial WWE jobber, he was signed to a contract. WWE was aware that he spoke Portuguese and wanted to capitalize on that, especially since they got TV clearance in Portugal. So Walker was transformed into the ridiculous Aldo Montoya, the Portuguese Man O' War. In his debut in the new gimmick, they made Montoya out to be a big deal. He was even offered a spot in the Million Dollar Corporation by Ted DiBiase. Montoya refused.
Once the TV deal fell through, so did Montoya's push. He regulated to jobber to the stars. He was just another jobber, but with a gimmick. He did make his PPV debut in January 1995, competing in the Royal Rumble, which was won by Shawn Michaels.
Still under contract to WWE, Montoya was sent to the United States Wrestling Association (USWA), which was based in Memphis, TN. Creatively, WWE didn't have anything for Montoya, so not to waste him, he competed in Memphis, which was an area used before they had a development system. He worked alongside the tag team of PG-13, and Montoya got rid of the mask and was calling himself PG 187. PG 187 actually worked for both USWA and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). ECW head honcho, Paul Heyman, saw something in PG 187, but would not push him until he was released from his WWE contract.
When brought into ECW full time, PG 187 needed another marketable gimmick. He was dubbed Justin Credible, and was managed by Jason. He started as a joke, but once he scored a big victory over Jerry Lynn in September 1997, no one was laughing.
Paul Heyman had hyped the ECW return of The Great Sasuke, who was returning for the first time since the first ECW PPV Barely Legal. Sasuke's return took place in Queens, NY without an advertised opponent. On October 17, 1997, Sasuke was upset by Justin Credible, which made headlines in Japan. Sasuke would look to gain revenge on Credible at another time.
Credible made his ECW PPV debut at the November 1997 event The November to Remember. He was booked against Mikey Whipwreck, the original upset kid. It was believed that Credible would get the win due to the fact that he beat Sasuke a month earlier. Unfortunately for Credible, he jobbed to Mikey when Jason's interference backfired. Their rematch had the same outcome, which pissed of Credible.
Mikey was in need of knee surgery. The two had a rematch in Buffalo, NY at a TV taping. This was being hyped as Mikey's homecoming. It was a painful one as Credible finally got the win but worked the leg over and working Mikey's injury into an angle.
The Great Sasuke was set to make his return to ECW at the ECW Arena on January 10, 1998 at House Party. It would be the rematch from Queens, NY. And it had the same ending. Credible's stock rose some more that night, and just like he did with Mikey, Credible worked over Sasuke's knee injury. Later that month on the 31st at Hostile City Showdown, one of Sasuke's friends, Gran Hamada, looked to gain a measure of revenge for Sasuke. Credible disposed of Hamada.
In February 1998, Tommy Dreamer's grandfather passed away. It was his grandfather that paid for Dreamer's training to be a professional wrestler. Since Dreamer was the backbone of ECW, the ECW Arena held a ten-bell salute for him. However, before the salute was over, Credible looked to make an impact by interrupting the moment, triggering a feud between the two, which would last just before the demise of ECW.
Cyberslam 1998 was the site of their first one on one match between the two since Credible beat Dreamer in Queens, NY back in December 1997. It was a First Blood Match, and Credible got the victory over Dreamer in a match that also involved some barbed wire.
After recovering from reconstructive knee surgery, Mikey Whipwreck was ready to make his return to the ring on May 3, 1998 at WrestlePalooza in Atlanta, GA. Credible did the same thing he did in Bufflo: he won the match. This was the blow-off to their feud.
Throughout the summer of 1998, Credible had a series of house show matches, as well as some televised clashes, with Jerry Lynn. It was dubbed the "Super Summer Series." The final match of the series took place at Heatwave in Ohio, where Credible won the series against Lynn. It wouldn't be the last time these two would cross paths.
Credible continued to go through of ECW's popular performers. The Sandman, who was seemingly ECW for life, signed with WCW in the summer of 1998. On August 8, 1998, The Sandman competed in his final match in ECW before leaving for WCW. At The ECW Arena, Credible added another victim to his list and sent The Sandman packing for Atlanta.
The rivalry between Credible and Dreamer continued to escalate and resulted in only the second Stairway to Hell Match at Guilty As Charged in January 1999. Credible got yet another victory over the "Innovator of Violence."
Soon after this match took place, "The Franchise" Shane Douglas, a long time heel in ECW who was the cornerstone of the company, was contemplating retirement. At a show that took place in February 1999 in Queens, NY at the Elks Lodge, Douglas was looking to pass the torch. At this point, Douglas had made a face turn. Credible and Lance Storm interrupted the passing, thinking they were going to be the next Franchise. Instead, it was Tommy Dreamer. The Impact Players were born, and waged war against Dreamer & Douglas.
Asbury Park, NJ played host to the 1999 Living Dangerously on March 21. On that night, Dreamer & Douglas defeated the Impact Players when Douglas pinned Credible. At Cyberslam 1999 on April 3, 1999, Credible looked to gain revenge on Douglas, as the two tangled one on one. Credible lost again to "The Franchise." Lance Storm joined in and the Impact Players laid out Douglas as well as Dreamer.
Douglas was getting frustrated over his internal problems with Paul Heyman. Heyman had booked a rematch between Douglas and Credible for the May 16, 1999 Hardcore Heaven in Poughkeepsie, NY. Credible was expected to finally get the win over Douglas and blowing off this feud. However, Douglas no-showed the event and Credible was left with no advertised opponent the week leading up to the show. Instead, he battled Sid Vicious to a no contest.
Justin Credible's next opponent was a logical choice. After defeating such athletes as Jerry Lynn, Mikey Whipwreck, Tommy Dreamer, The Sandman, and caning Shane Douglas right out of ECW, there was one marquee name he had yet to face: Sabu. After competing against one another in several tag team matches, Credible pinned the suicidal Sabu at Anarchy Rulz on September 19, 1999 in Illinois.
At around this time, Raven made his return to ECW. He and Dreamer captured the ECW Tag Titles, and now had bull’s-eyes on their chests. The Impact Players wanted to gain their first taste of ECW gold. On October 23, 1999, at the ECW Arena, this match main evented the show. Rhino had aligned himself with the Impact Players, which resulted in a no contest. However, on this night, The Sandman made his return to the company and had the back of Dreamer, and not so much Raven's. On November 7, Rhino & The Players defeated Sandman, Raven and Dreamer in the main event of the PPV.
After more months of feuding, The Impact Players finally wrestled away the ECW Tag Titles from Dreamer & Raven on January 9, 2000 at Guilty As Charged. The reign was short-lived, as Dreamer and Masato Tanaka joined forces to upset the champs at a taping for ECW on TNN on February 26, 2000 in Cincinnati, OH.
Raven had formed an alliance with ECW champion Mike Awesome, and they defeated Dreamer & Tanaka on March 4, 2000 at the ECW Arena. The Impact Players took exception to this and a 3 Way Dance had to be made. That match took place at Living Dangerously on March 12, 2000. The Impact Players regained the titles.
Financially, Paul Heyman was having trouble paying his wrestlers. Because of this, he allowed them to accept bookings with indy promotions. It is well known that Credible had formed a friendship in WWE during his stint there with the infamous Clique: Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, and X-Pac. Michaels was running his own school and indy promotion in Texas called the Texas Wrestling Alliance (TWA). On March 21, 2000 Credible ventured to San Antonio, TX and defeated Venom aka Paul Diamond for the TWA Title. The reign ended that same night when Credible handed the title over to Michaels.
Prior to the April 22, 2000 Cyberslam at the ECW Arena, Miek Awesome had signed with WCW while holding the ECW Title. He was forced to job it to WWE superstar, Tazz, days after his debut in April. Tazz returned to the ECW Arena for Cyberslam, making his only defense of his second reign against the most unselfish man in the ECW locker room, Tommy Dreamer. Dreamer won the title, but was challenged by Credible just moments after winning the title. He said he didn't care for the tag team titles, so he threw his belt down. Twenty minutes later, Credible was the new ECW champion and walked away with Dreamer's manager, Francine.
Lance Storm was furious over this, because they were now forced to vacate the tag titles. Storm also saw ECW sinking and signed on with WCW. His final match was to take place on May 14, 2000 at Hardcore Heaven in Milwaukee, WI. The main event was supposed to be Credible defending the ECW Title against Dreamer. An angle was shot earlier in the evening where Dreamer was laid out, and the clash of the Impact Players was now the new main event. Storm did the job to Credible, and he too packed his bags for Atlanta.
Over the next several months, Credible continued to defend the ECW Title. His motivation to keep it was Francine. She said he would not get laid if he lost the title. 'Nuff said. However, his title reign ended on October 1, 2000 at Anarchy Rulz. He lost it to one of his most hated rivals, Jerry Lynn, in St. Paul, MN. At The November to Remember on November 5, Credible got a chance to regain the title. It was Double Jeopardy. It was two matches taking place at once. The winners would then advance into one more match for the ECW Title. Credible pinned Jerry Lynn while Steve Corino defeated The Sandman. Corino than beat Credible to be the new ECW champion.
Credible would receive another shot at winning the ECW Title at the Massacre on 34th St. on December 3, 2000. ECW champion Steve Corino was forced to defend against Credible and Lynn in a 3 Way Dance in New York City. Corino was victorious.
December 23, 2000 was the end of an era. It was the final ECW show held at the ECW Arena. The main event was another 3 Way Dance for the ECW Title. This time it was ECW champ Corino defending against Credible and The Sandman. Corino once again walked out with the title. This was the final ECW match held in the building.
Guilty As Charged was the final televised ECW show and it took place on January 7, 2001. It was for the ECW Title and the match was a 3 Way Tables, Ladders, Chairs, & Canes Match. Corino once again defended against Credible and The Sandman. The Sandman won the match while an era came to an end.
Soon after, Paul Heyman appeared on Raw in February as the new color commentator. This was the final nail in the coffin for ECW. WWE.com announced that Credible had signed a contract with the company. On February 12, 2001, Credible returned to Raw and helped X-Pac win a match, thus forming X-Factor. Albert would later join the group.
On April 29, 2001 at Backlash, X-Factor overcame the challenge of The Dudleys: Bubba Ray, D-Von & Spike. X-Factor slowly became an afterthought in WWE. Credible found himself working the Jakked/Metal tapings. It looked as if he was back to square one.
The summer of 2001 saw WWE begin the WCW invasion. It quickly went flat. Looking to pump new life into the angle, WWE tried something big. On July 9, Kane & Chris Jericho faced off against WCW representatives Lance Storm & Mike Awesome. Rob Van Dam & Tommy Dreamer made their WWE debuts by attacking Jericho & Kane. Tazz, The Dudleys, Raven, Rhyno, and Credible all ran in to fend off Van Dam & Dreamer...or so we thought. They all turned around and jumped Jericho & Kane. Paul Heyman presented the rebirth of ECW. At the end of the night, ECW had merged with WCW to form The Alliance and Stephanie McMahon was brought in as the new "owner" of ECW.
The resurgence of ECW didn't help the career of Justin Credible. There were way too many wrestlers now in the WWE locker room, and Credible was lost in limbo. In the fall of 2001, Credible was sent to Puerto Rico to tour with the International Wrestling Association (IWA) along with a number of WWE talents not being used. After The Alliance was "put of business" at the November 2001 Survivor Series, Credible was sitting out due to the angle, and was eventually released from WWE on January 20, 2002.
Just like D'Lo Brown, Raven and Jerry Lynn, this was the best thing to happen to Credible. He luckily established himself while in ECW, so it was easy to overlook his second stint in WWE. On February 9, 2003, Steve Corino defeated Mikey Whipwreck to win the vacant Premiere Wrestling Federation (PWF) Universal Title in Pottstown, PA. Moments after the match, Credible defeated Corino to win the title.
Credible was one of the many ECW stars that were offered bookings for the rival Xtreme Pro Wrestling (XPW), based in California and run by Rob Black of the porn industry. On February 14, 2003, Credible debuted for the company by confronting XPW champ Shane Douglas. Douglas went on to beat Credible in a defense of the XPW Title on March 8.
Credible returned to the east coast later that month. On March 16, 2003, Credible dropped the PWF Title back to Steve Corino in Pottstown, PA. On April 4, Credible debuted for Frank Goodman's USA Pro in Queens, NY. He defeated Raven in the main event. Credible also worked for Jac Sabboth's Impact Championship Wrestling (ICW) and on April 12, 2003, he defeated Jerry Lynn to win the ICW Title in Passaic, NJ.
Credible returned to a national company on April 16, 2003 when he debuted for the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA:TNA), forming a group with former ECW standouts such as Perry Saturn, New Jack and The Sandman. Credible once again picked a fight with Jerry Lynn, reigniting their war. On June 18, on the NWA:TNA One Year Anniversary show, Credible beat Jerry Lynn, but the fight raged on. The following week, Lynn beat Credible in a Lights Out Match. A week later on July 2, Lynn beat Credible again, this time in a Chain Match. The post-match brawl saw Credible use his trademark move, That's Incredible, on Lynn on top of the chain. In one of his final NWA:TNA appearances, Lynn once again beat Credible, this time it was Last Man Standing.
ICW show on May 17, 2003 in Queens, NY at the famed Elks Lodge, which saw some matches with PWF wrestlers. The main event saw ICW champion Justin Credible vs. PWF champion Steve Corino vs. Jerry Lynn vs. Homicide. Both titles were on the line. Credible won the match and walked out with both titles. He would be stripped of the PWF Title the following month because he won it on an ICW show.
Credible branched out to Ring of Honor (RoH) and made his debut for the company on June 14, 2003, aligning himself with HC Loc & Tony DeVito of The Carnage Crew. The trio made an example of Mikey Whipwreck. Seven days later Credible returned to Queens, NY for USA Pro, where he defeated former five-time USA Pro champion, Balls Mahoney. In his last USA Pro appearance for almost a year, Credible upended The Sandman at Fan Fest on July 20. It was teased that night that Credible would join Knight Life, but that never happened.
Credible also did some work for The Blue Meanie & Jasmin St. Claire's promotion Pro-Pain Pro Wrestling (3PW). On August 16, 2003, Credible beat the hardcore legend, Terry Funk, in Philadelphia, PA to win the 3PW Title. Credible would be stripped of the title in November due to him wanting to take part in a tour of All Japan.
In November, Credible teamed with Jamal to compete in the All Japan Real World Tag League. They were pretty successful, making it to the finals before jobbing to Satoshi Kojima & Kaz Hayashi. On December 5, 2003 in Budokan Hall, Credible teamed with Barry Buchanan and Gigantes aka Malice and defeated the team of Nobutaka Araya, Tomoaki Honma & Kazushi Miyamoto.
Ever since Credible joined The Carnage Crew in RoH, they had been embarked in a war with Special K. In the final RoH show of the year, at the Afternoon Showcase on December 27, The Carnage Crew battled members of Special K to a no contest.
RoH and Jersey All Pro Wrestling (JAP) held a joint show on January 9, 2004. On the show, Shane Douglas once again got the better of Justin Credible. Post match saw Credible get jumped by Special K and getting saved by The Carnage Crew.
Steve Corino began to run shows in the United States in a promotion called Pro Wrestling World 1 (PWW1). The promotion was the US offshoot of the Japanese Zero-One promotion. The group held their first shows on February 6, 7 and 8. On the first night, Credible teamed with Lynn to beat Low Ki & Spanky. The second night saw a battle of the Extreme Horsemen as CW Anderson & Simon Diamond beat Steve Corino & Credible. The third night saw Low Ki beat Justin Credible o win the PWF Title, which would later be renamed to the Zero-One Openweight Title.
RoH celebrated their second anniversary on Valentine's Day of this year. Credible & The Carnage Crew lost to Dixie, Hydro aka Jay Lethal and Izzy on the show in Braintree, MA. The show was highlighted by the tournament to crown the first Pure Wrestling champion. AJ Styles beat CM Punk in the finals.
In March, Credible worked a tour for Zero-One. In one of his high-profile matches on the tour, he teamed with Sabu and The Gladiator aka Mike Awesome to lose to Masato Tanaka, Kinatro Kanemura, & Tetsuhiro Kuroda.
March 13, 2004 was the night that RoH held it's second ever Scramble Cage Match. The war between The Carnage Crew and Special K was getting bigger, bringing in new people into this feud. By this time, Masada was added to the Carnage Crew stable. The four members teamed with legendary former NWA champion Dusty Rhodes to defeat Special K members Dixie, Izzy, Slim J, Hydro, Angel Dust, and Abyss.
PWW1 held their second set of shows on April 8, 9 and 10. On the first night, Credible jobbed to Dustin Rhodes. The second night saw Credible team with Simon Diamond to beat The Christopher Street Connection. The final night of the triple shot saw CW Anderson, Simon Diamond and Justin Credible beat Ricky Landell, Alex Law and Greg Spitz.
After all this, it's easy to see that he's not just the coolest, not just the best, but Justin Credible. He had a lot of creases he needed to iron out in his career, and he overcame a lot of them. With the prosperous future in Japan and constantly getting booked on indy shows throughout the country, Justin Credible is making strides as one of the most sought after wrestlers. Justin Credible makes his return to USA Pro on June 19 when he is tentatively scheduled to face off against Dan Maff. For more information on Justin Credible, check out http://www.thecarnagecrew.com/,
http://www.usaprowrestling.net/, and
http://www.rohwrestling.com/.
John Gjoni
johnftw7533@aol.com
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