 Snow in 2013 | |
| Personal information | |
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| Born | Allen Ray Sarven (1963-07-18)July 18, 1963 (age 62) Lima, Ohio, U.S. |
Spouses | |
| Children | 2 |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Al Snow[1] Avatar[1] Five Star Ninja[2] Leif Cassidy[2] Shinobi[1] Diamond Dave[1] Masked Ninja[1] Small Show[1] Steve Moore[1] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)[3][4] |
| Billed weight | 235 lb (107 kg)[3][4] |
| Billed from | Lima, Ohio[3] China by way ofAngel Grove, California (as Avatar)[3] |
| Trained by | Jim Lancaster[1] |
| Debut | March 13, 1982[5] |
Allen Ray Sarven (born July 18, 1963) is an Americanprofessional wrestler, better known by hisring nameAl Snow. He is best known for his tenures inExtreme Championship Wrestling and theWorld Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Entertainment. Snow has also held various backstage positions for professional wrestling promotions. Snow worked as aroad agent forTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling from 2010 to 2017 and has promotedOhio Valley Wrestling since 2018.
Sarven attended a professional wrestling try-out camp held byOle Anderson andGene Anderson. There he met Jim Lancaster, promoter of Ohio's Midwest Championship Wrestling, who agreed to train him.[6] Lancaster later described Sarven as "a leader in the ring" who "had drive and natural ability".[7] He made his debut on May 22, 1982. Sarven defeated Lancaster on May 5, 1985, for the Midwest Championship Wrestling title.[7]
Sarven wrestled in various independent promotions throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, capturing both tag team and singles titles, but failed to make any big breaks. In 1993 he competed in the WWF as a jobber losing toMarty Jannetty andThe Undertaker under the nameSteve Moore. He gained a reputation as "the best-kept secret in wrestling".[6] Sarven helped train futureUltimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Hall of Fame member andNWA World Heavyweight ChampionDan Severn.[7] During this time he would sometimes wrestle as Shinobi, aninja-style maskedgimmick. He wrestled in the November 19, 1994, tournament for the vacant NWA World Heavyweight Championship, but he lost toChris Candido, the eventual winner of the tournament.
From 1995 to 1997, Snow operated aprofessional wrestling school called "Body Slammers" inLima, Ohio, employingD'Lo Brown as an assistant trainer.[8] It has since branched out with one of his trainers running "Bodyslammers" inOttawa.[9]
After a tour of Japan, Sarven wrestled a match inMichigan againstSabu, anExtreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) regular, who suggested he try ECW.[6] After making his debut againstThe Tazmaniac and losing via pinfall on February 4, 1995, Sarven facedChris Benoit as Al Snow, in a 15-minute match that was hailed as one of the best of the year.[10]
Sarven was also being courted byJim Cornette for hisSmoky Mountain Wrestling federation. ECW bookerPaul Heyman agreed to let him work for both companies. Sarven soon found that he was not being utilized by ECW and went to Smoky Mountain full-time.[6] In Smoky Mountain Wrestling, Snow teamed with Unabomb (Glenn Jacobs, later to be known asKane) as theDynamic Duo and defeated theRock 'n' Roll Express for theSMW Tag Team Championship.[7] Both wrestlers caught the attention of the World Wrestling Federation and were signed by the end of 1995.
Sarven began working for theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF) when he signed a contract in August 1995. During his tenure in the company, Sarven wrestled under numerousgimmicks, such asAvatar, which saw him come to the ring unmasked, putting on awrestling mask to wrestle, then removing it afterwards. The gimmick was based onMighty Morphin Power Rangers andMortal Kombat whose popularity the company wanted to capitalize on at that time. During his particularly short run under this gimmick, Sarven's WWF debut as Avatar took place on the October 23, 1995, episode ofMonday Night RAW, defeating Bryan Walsh. About a month after his debut, he was scheduled to be the third man for The Underdogs atSurvivor Series but for reasons unknown, was replaced byBob Holly. After this, he started teaming withAldo Montoya. His two final matches as Avatar were againstSycho Sid and1-2-3 Kid. He was also to partake in the 1996Royal Rumble match but once again, for unknown reasons, never appeared. His final match in February was againstIsaac Yankem. On February 20, 1996, Sarven wrestled as "Shinobi", a "ninja assassin" hired byJim Cornette to dispose ofShawn Michaels, who defeated Shinobi in quick fashion. Avatar returned for one last appearance againstJustin Bradshaw at a house show on March 17, 1996, atMadison Square Garden in a losing effort.
Sarven received his first mainstream exposure with the WWF asLeif Cassidy, thetag team partner ofMarty Jannetty in February 1996. The duo were promoted as The New Rockers, a throwback to the originalRockers team of Jannetty andShawn Michaels. Eventually, Jannetty left in December 1996, and Sarven was reduced tojobbing for mid-carders in January 1997. In the late 1990s, WWF and ECW began to cross-promote their organizations to counteract the success ofWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW); Sarven was one of the wrestlers sent toExtreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). He left in July of that year and went to ECW. His last appearance in WWF in September 1997 was a loss toTiger Ali Singh atWWF One Night Only.
Sarven found success back in ECW in August 1997, billed once again as Al Snow. Sarven developed a new character gimmick after reading aboutabnormal psychology and finding amannequin head on the street near the ECW Arena during aMummers Day parade. He got the idea to portray an individual with aschizophrenic disorder using the head as a prop forprojection. In this role, Sarven received a lot of fan and management support for hisJ.O.B. Squad storyline, which promoted him as beingdriven insane by his years as ajobber for the WWF.
In the storyline, Snow, upset at his lot in life, askedCactus Jack what he had to do to get anywhere in wrestling. Jack said to Snow that to become famous he had to "get a little head" (meaning he had to be willing to sleep with/have sex with thebooker). Snow, however took this literally, and thus he started coming to the ring with the mannequin head (with the words "Help Me" written backwards on its forehead, an action Snow himself began to do) whom he talked to as if it were a real person, which prompted ECW crowds to chant"We want Head", an intentionaldouble entendre. ECW promoters handed outstyrofoam mannequin heads at wrestling shows, and audience members started waving them and shouting, "Head! Head! Head!" in time to "Breathe" by The Prodigy, his entrance music. The entire audience would then throw the heads into the ring before the match started. The biggest match of his ECW career came when he wrestled for the promotion'sWorld Heavyweight Championship, losing toShane Douglas atWrestlepalooza in 1998.
Sarven was then recalled to the company in May 1998, where he continued his gimmick of talking to "Head", creating some of the more memorable humorous skits of "The Attitude Era" including fighting himself in ahardcore match (which he won by putting himself through a table) and his short lived comedy tag team withSteve Blackman.
Snow received some mainstream publicity in 1999 whenWal-Mart pulled his action figure from their shelves after Sabrena Parton, a professor atKennesaw State University, complained that "Head" was a "decapitated woman's head" that sent an inappropriate message about violence towards women. Parton was quoted as saying "What kind of message would this toy send children about brutalization of women?"[11] Sarven used the story as part of anangle in which the controversy caused Al Snow to develop depression.
AtWrestleMania XV, Snow lost aWWF Hardcore Championship triple threat match involvingHardcore Holly andBilly Gunn. During the summer of 1999, at the conclusion of a storyline where Head was impaled with a spike byPrince Albert, Snow replaced Head with achihuahua named Pepper, who he claimed talked to him. A variety of segments were broadcast showing Snow's interactions with the dog, including bringing Pepper to the ring to either "participate" in matches or be held by the broadcast team. This led to a storyline whereBig Boss Man kidnapped Pepper. Big Boss Man agreed to return the dog if Snow defeated him in a match for the Hardcore title; however, after losing the match he reneged and kept the dog. Later, in a segment onWWF SmackDown!, Big Boss Man invited Snow to his hotel room to discuss the situation, before serving Snow dinner which was then revealed to be Pepper. (In a 2008 interview, Snow said that this angle had been based on a story ofMr. Fuji having done something similar with his partner Professor Tanaka's dog.[12]) The feud culminated at a "Kennel from Hell" match atUnforgiven, which consisted of a regular cage which was surrounded by aHell in a Cell structure, with "a trained pack of wild dogs" in between the two, and the objective was to escape both cages without being attacked by the dogs. Snow won the match.
Snow would later team with real life friendMick Foley and became tag team champions with him for a short amount of time, butturnedheel by betraying him due to Foley's jokes about him in hisautobiography,Have A Nice Day, and his growing jealousy of Foley's tag team partner,The Rock. He would later turn face again due to fan reaction. Snow was often the butt of Foley's jokes during Foley's tenure as the Commissioner in 2000. However, they are close friends in real life.[13] Foley continued to use Snow as the butt of many jokes in his second book,Foley Is Good: And the Real World Is Faker than Wrestling.
In early 2000, he began to team with Steve Blackman as an "odd couple" tag team called Head Cheese (the "cheese" part being given various explanations, including Snow's claim that Blackman was a voracious eater of cheese and later his attempt to force him to wear aGreen Bay Packers "Cheesehead" hat). AtWrestleMania 2000 the two suffered a loss against Test and Albert. Also in the same year, Snow won theWWF European Championship fromPerry Saturn. He then began atongue-in-cheek gimmick of entering the ring to variousEuropean countries' native music, with his theme song sung in the language of the country, and wearing attire which would suit the stereotype of that country. This continued until he lost the title toWilliam Regal.
In 2001, Snow tried to rally support from the fans to vote for him as the new Commissioner of the company following Foley's on-screen firing by Vince McMahon in December 2000. By March 2001, a match was set up between Snow and Regal to determine the new Commissioner, which resulted in Regal winning. Snow then took some time off from the ring in order to commit more time for the reality showTough Enough. He made his return to the ring in October 2001 during theInVasion era and challengedChristian for the WWF European Championship atSurvivor Series, which he lost.
Snow's last championship reign came on March 11, 2002, when he defeatedGoldust to win his last Hardcore Championship. He lost the title to his formerTough Enough student,Maven, a few days later. He was drafted toSmackDown! as part of the2002 Brand Extension,[14] where he teamed up with Maven.[15] After taking time off again for another season ofTough Enough, Snow returned as a member of theRaw roster in October[16] and eventually became a commentator forSunday Night Heat alongsideJonathan Coachman. When Coachman sided withEric Bischoff,[17] Snow followed suit, turning heel.[18] The two feuded withJim Ross andJerry Lawler,[19] and briefly replaced them at theRaw announce table after a victory atUnforgiven in 2003.[20] WhenTough Enough IV came toSmackDown!,[21] Snow was on the scene and turned face once again.
On April 12, 2004, episode of Raw, Snow dressed up as theFive Star Ninja a portray of Shinobi which he lost toTajiri.[22]
In September 2004 Snow leftSunday Night Heat as a commentator and went toVelocity. He continued to coach forWWE Tough Enough season 4. He did not wrestle any matches for WWE in 2005. Instead, he continued working in the independents.
In June 2006, Snow returned to wrestling full-time as a member of the newECW brand. His first appearance in the new brand was in the WWE vs ECWBattle Royal at the "WWE vs. ECW Head to Head" special, where he was accompanied by Head. He was eliminated from the match.[23] On the June 13, 2006, debut ofECW on Sci-Fi, Snow participated in an Extreme Battle Royal, which was won bySabu.[24] Over the next four months, he was used sporadically, mostly as ajobber, losing to people such asTest[25] andKevin Thorn.[26] Snow was taken off the ECW roster in October 2006.
Snow then returned with the company as a trainer atOhio Valley Wrestling in 2007. On the February 3, 2007 OVW TV tapings, Snow was named the new OVW Troubleshooter byDanny Davis in response toDanny Basham's WWE release. On Raw XV, the 15th-Anniversary special on December 10, 2007, Snow participated in the 15th Anniversary Battle Royal where he eliminatedDoink the Clown andGangrel. He was eliminated byFlash Funk. After WWE ceased affiliations with Ohio Valley Wrestling in February 2008, Sarven was released from his position as a trainer.
Snow was allowed to compete on theindependent circuit while under contract with the WWE. Snow would feud withChris Candido for Northeast Wrestling in Connecticut in the fall of 2004. On May 7, 2005, Snow teamed withD'Lo Brown losing toMick Foley andShane Douglas at Mark Curtis Memorial Reunion in Johnson City, Tennessee. In 2006, Snow was pinned by theMillennium Wrestling Federation (MWF)Heavyweight Champion "Sudden Impact" Dylan Kage ofPaul Bearer's Trifecta stable atMWF Fireworks On The 4th.[27] Snow would return to WWE's active roster full time in June 2006.
After being released in February 2008 by WWE, Snow has regularly competed in several independent promotions in the U.S. and Europe, especially in the U.K. and Germany. In March 2009, he made an appearance inChikara'sKing of Trios tournament, teaming up withGlacier andD'Lo Brown.
On October 21, 2022, Snow and Kal Herro won the OFE Tag Team as the Newest Rockers. Snow wore attire that he wore as Leif Cassidy.
In the lead-up to the December 7, 2008, TNA showFinal Resolution,Mick Foley assigned himself as thespecial guest enforcer for the match betweenKurt Angle andRhino. Angle said he had hired "another former World Champion" and someone who had co-held a world tag team title with Foley. This person would debut during Angle's match to "take care of Foley". And on the night in question, Al Snow revealed himself to be the mystery ally of Angle, who interrupted the match by slapping Foley. The distraction allowed Angle to beat Rhino.
In March 2010, Sarven received a tryout as an agent for TNA Wrestling.[28] He made his return to television on the July 15, 2010, edition ofImpact!, aligning himself with fellow ECW alumniTommy Dreamer,Raven,Stevie Richards,Rhino,Brother Devon,Pat Kenney and Mick Foley in their invitation by Dixie Carter to TNA.[29][30][31] The following week, TNA presidentDixie Carter agreed to give the ECW alumni their own reunion pay–per–view event,Hardcore Justice: The Last Stand, as a celebration of hardcore wrestling and a final farewell to the company.[32] At the event Snow was defeated by Rhino in a three-way match, which also includedBrother Runt.[33] After that, he appeared onscreen in his real-life role as company agent on multiple occasions, often alongside fellow agents Ace "D'Lo Brown" Conner and Pat Kenney. Sarven currently holds the title of producer for the company. In Spring 2011, Snow returned to OVW, dividing his time between his TNA duties and work as a show producer for OVW. In November of that year, OVW became TNA's official developmental territory.[34]
In May 2012, Snow began appearing as a judge in the monthlyGut Check segment onImpact Wrestling.[35] The following July, Snow started a storyline rivalry withJoey Ryan, who had been denied a spot on the TNA roster, following his appearance on TNA Gut Check.[36] After Snow tricked Ryan into signing a contract for a match,[37] the two met on October 14 atBound for Glory, where Snow wrestled only his second match for TNA, losing to Ryan, following interference fromMatt Morgan.[38]
On January 12, 2013, Snow took part inJoker's Wild (which aired May 3, 2013), teaming with recent rivalJoey Ryan, in a loss againstMatt Morgan andRobbie T.
On the August 7, 2014, edition ofImpact Wrestling, Snow returned to team withTeam 3D (Bully Ray andDevon) andTommy Dreamer againstEthan Carter III,Rhino,Big Rycklon andGene Snitsky in an eight-man Hardcore War in a winning effort.[39]
On the February 13, 2015, edition ofImpact Wrestling (which was taped on January 29), Snow returned to TV as a heel, where he was seen in theSSE Hydro, calling out Scottish wrestler andBritish Boot Camp 2 contestant,Grado. Grado would come out to the ring where Snow would give him the opportunity to retire from wrestling, Grado would not take the offer. On the February 20 edition ofImpact Wrestling (also taped January 29) Snow would face Grado in a losing effort, after which he would then go on to shake Grado's hand turning face in the process. Afterwards, theBeat Down Clan (BDC) would go on to attack both Snow and Grado, but were saved by the debutingDrew Galloway, would fend off the BDC and who would then stand tall in the ring alongside Al Snow and his friend, Grado. AtBound for Glory 2015 Snow competed in the Bound for Gold Gauntlet. On the March 29, 2016Impact Wrestling Snow returned as a heel attacking Grado backstage.
On the April 5, 2016Impact Wrestling TNA Management DirectorBilly Corgan suspended Al Snow for the week without pay and said next week he must apologise. When Al Snow returned from his suspension week, he entered the ring and said the ease new talents get today with earning respect and a name in the professional wrestling business, drove him crazy as he and others of his and generations before him needed to get some for quite a long time and fight hard to prove themselves worthy back then. He invited Mahabali Shera to the ring and apologized to him for attacking him and Grado, breaking Grado's arm in the process. Shera shook hands with him, only for Al Snow to betray and attack him once they went out of the ring. At a backstage segment, Al Snow said angrily he doesn't need to apologize and explain himself to rookies and if they want his apology and respect they need to defeat him in a match.
A week after, Al Snow had a match with Shera in which before and a bit during the match he has blamed the wrestling changes on the fans and said they are cowards for sitting behind the barricades and not coming to the ring to face him. Shera gave a good fight, but Al Snow eventually won the match. In the May 10 episode ofImpact!, Shera and Snow had a rematch where Al Snow played games and almost won with his cheating tactics, however, he eventually failed to win due to Grado involving himself in the match, making sure Shera wins. At backstage, a bit later, Al Snow was interviewed and talked angrily, cursing Grado and Shera in the process. On May 24 episode ofImpact!, Al Snow went on to win a back and forth street fight against Grado with the help of the debutingBasille Baraka andBaron Dax, thus forming the tag team faction known asThe Tribunal. On November 10, episode ofImpact, The Tribunal attacked him until Shera made the save, turning face once again in the process. On December 8 episode ofImpact Wrestling, Snow and Shera defeated The Tribunal in a Double Strap Match to end the feud. On June 19, 2017, Al Snow was released from Impact Wrestling.
On April 7, 2018, it was reported Snow purchasedOhio Valley Wrestling.[40]
In January 2021, Snow sold a majority interest in OVW to a group led by radio hostMatt Jones, and former21c Museum Hotels CEO and current mayor ofLouisville, Kentucky,Craig Greenberg. Snow continues to run the promotion's day-to-day operations.[41]
On August 27, 2022, Snow andDoug Basham defeated Adam Revolver and Joe Mack at OVW The Big One.
Snow was heavily featured in the docuseriesWrestlers, aNetflix released series focused on OVW that was released September 13, 2023.[42] Following the series release, OVW had their first Thursday night sold-out show in eight years.[43]
He had a cameo as the Nome King in the feature filmDorothy and the Witches of Oz (2012) withChristopher Lloyd, as well as starring in the action filmOvertime, and the comedy filmAgua Caliente. He had an uncredited role in the drama filmRudy (1993). Snow also appeared inThey're Just My Friends (2006) and co-stars alongside Tiger Chung Lee inMountain Mafia (2009). In 2006, he played himself in the independent feature filmThe Still Life.
Snow can also be seen as the brutal serial killer Grim, also known as "The Reaper's", inFeathered Italian Films[44] latest slasher filmsThe Legacy[45] andHell House.[46] Head also cameos in "The Legacy". He was one of the leads in the sci-fi/action/comedy filmOvertime (2011) by director Matt Niehoff.
Snow had a quick line in the wrestling documentaryBeyond the Mat. He also participated in the wrestling documentary,Bloodstained Memoirs.[47]
Al Snow also appeared as a coach onWWE Tough Enough (then calledWWF Tough Enough) during the show's first three seasons.
On November 10, 2012, Snow, along with several other TNA workers, was featured in an episode ofMTV'sMade.[48]
Snow completed his work as the "Man in Black" for the independenthorror filmLake Eerie on October 23, 2013. The film starsLance Henriksen,Betsy Baker and was released in Summer 2015. Snow also played "Henchman" inJessica Sonneborn's horror filmAlice D.
Snow has starred as the lead in independent films byLittle Monsters Entertainment including Dan Remington in "Unnatural" (Oct. 2024), and Kentucky Joe in "Home-less for the Holidays" (Nov. 2024).
Al Snow is the co-founder of "Collar X Elbow", a clothing brand forindependent wrestling fans.[49]
Near the end of 2015, Al Snow and Simon Van Der Wolf started a training academy, originally based in the UK but since expanded to include branches in many other countries. They along with other professional wrestlers (includingJoe E. Legend,Doug Williams, Phil Powers, Jonny Storm, John Klinger, and many more) held tryouts in February 2016. In April 2019, local media in Louisville reported that the academy had applied to theKentucky Department of Education for formal accreditation as a vocational school. The academy has developed a two-year, 60-credit hour program (on the semester system) in all aspects of the wrestling business, ranging from in-ring performance to writing and TV production. Assuming state approval is received, the Louisville academy will start accepting applications for the vocational program in May 2019 and start accredited instruction that August.[50]
Snow has been married three times. He married Pam Sarven in 1986 and the couple had two children. They divorced in 2004. His second wife was fellow wrestlerCynthia Lynch who wrestled under the name of Bobcat.[51] They married in 2009 and divorced in 2015. In 2017, he married his third wife, Jessica Gousha. In 2021, Snow saved the life of a child from an ocean riptide atSanta Rosa Beach.[52]
On August 29, 2017, Prowrestling.net[53] broke the news that Snow had signed a deal with ECW Press to release an autobiography. Co-written by Ross Owen Williams, who also co-authoredBob Holly's autobiographyThe Hardcore Truth, the book was released in April 2019. In the press release, Snow said "we want the book to cover more than what I did in front of the cameras. There are so many stories from the road—things that only seem to happen to me—that have made me who I am today. I've always considered every new situation as a potential learning experience and this book will give me the opportunity to share that, for better or for worse."
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