 Williams in 2007 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Craig Williams[1] (1983-05-01)May 1, 1983 (age 42)[3] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Human Tornado[1] El Negro[2] El Snowflake[3] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)[3] |
| Billed weight | 170 lb (77 kg)[3] |
| Billed from | [3] Ejersa Goro,Harar,Ethiopia[3] Hollywood, Alabama[4] |
| Trained by | American Wild Child[2][3] Revolution Pro Wrestling[1] |
| Debut | November 29, 2003[3] |
| Retired | 2018[5] |
Craig Williams[1] (born May 1, 1983),[3] better known by hisring name,Human Tornado, is an American semi-retiredprofessional wrestler. Hischaracter was that of a 1970sblaxploitation streetpimp.
He performed primarily on theCaliforniaindependent circuit, most prominently forPro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG),Empire Wrestling Federation, and Alternative Wrestling Show. He also performed forRing of Honor,Combat Zone Wrestling,Jersey All Pro Wrestling, and the short-livedMTV promotionWrestling Society X.
Human Tornado is a formertwo-timePWG World Champion andone-timePWG World Tag Team Champion (withEl Generico).
Five months after his professional wrestling debut on the Californian independent circuit,[1] Human Tornado made his debut forPro Wrestling Guerrilla on April 17, 2004, in a tag team match, where he and Supa Badd were defeated by Charles Mercury and Top Gun Talwar.[6] On August 19, 2005, Tornado won his first Championship with the company, when he andEl Generico, the team known collectively as the2 Skinny Black Guys, defeatedArrogance ofChris Bosh andScott Lost to win the vacantPWG Tag Team Championship.[7] Two months later on October 1, Tornado and Generico lost the titles to the team ofSuper Dragon andDavey Richards.[8] Afterwards Tornado went on to feud with thePWG World ChampionJoey Ryan. During the feud Tornado defeated the World Champion twice in a row, but both times Ryan was able to walk away with his title, as the first victory came via countout and the second in a non-title match.[9][10] In the second match Tornado appeared as El Snowflake, the character he portrayed in theJack Black movieNacho Libre.[1] Finally, on January 13, 2007, Tornado defeated Ryan in aGuerrilla Warfare match to end his thirteen-month reign and win the PWG World Championship.[11] However, his reign would turn out to be a short one, as just one month later, he lost the Championship to his former tag team partner El Generico.[12] After the loss of his title Tornado turnedheel and after losing a rematch to Generico on April 8, he laid the blame of losing the title on his newly found valetCandice LeRae.[13] After months of abuse, LeRae finally turned on Tornado on September 1 and cost him his first round match in the2007 Battle of Los Angeles tournament.[14] After the match Tornado assaulted LeRae, who was then saved byChris Hero, which began a long and heated feud between the two wrestlers.[15]
On October 14 Tornado defeated Hero in the first singles match of their feud.[15] After Tornado and his alliesClaudio Castagnoli andEddie Kingston defeated Hero, LeRae andNecro Butcher in a no disqualification six person tag team match on January 5, 2008, Tornado received a one-on-one match against LeRae the following day and defeated her via disqualification when Hero interfered in the match.[16][17] After PWG World ChampionLow Ki suffered a knee injury, the title was vacated and put up for grabs in afive man tournament. On February 24, 2008, Tornado defeated first Necro Butcher in the first round and thenRoderick Strong andKarl Anderson in a three-way final match to win the PWG World Championship for the second time.[18] Shortly afterwards Tornado tore hisACL and dislocated his knee, while wrestling forJuggalo Championship Wrestling, and as a result, his in-ring time was significantly reduced during his second World Title run.[19] After refusing to vacate the title, Tornado was ordered to defend it against the number one contender, Chris Hero, in asteel cage Guerrilla Warfare match on July 6, 2008, at PWG's fifth anniversary show, titledLife During Wartime.[20] At the event Hero, with the help of LeRae, defeated Tornado to win the World Title, after which Tornado went on to heal his injuries.[21]
Tornado returned to PWG on February 21, 2009, to cash in on his rematch clause against Hero in a three-way match, which also includedColt Cabana.[22] After being pinned by Hero, Tornado, seemingly turningface, attempted to make peace with him, but got blown off.[22] Tornado solidified his position as a face in May by re-forming the tag teamDark & Lovely withScorpio Sky. The team entered the2009 Dynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament, but were defeated in the first round by the team ofKenny Omega andChuck Taylor.[23] On July 31 Tornado re-united with another former tag team partner, El Generico, and together the two of them defeated the PWG World Tag Team ChampionThe Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson) in a non-title match at PWG's sixth anniversary show.[24] However, at the following event the2 Skinny Black Guys' dreams of regaining the Tag Team Championship were crushed as Chuck Taylor defeated El Generico in a number one contender's match.[25] Tornado entered the2009 Battle of Los Angeles contested for the vacant PWG World Championship, but was defeated in the quarterfinals of the tournament by Roderick Strong.[26] On January 30, 2010, Tornado defeatedSuper Crazy in what would turn out to be his final match for the promotion,[27] as on February 4, he suddenly announced his retirement from professional wrestling on hisFacebook page.[28] On February 27 atAs the Worm Turns Tornado gave a retirement speech to the PWG audience.[29]
In early 2006 Tornado took part in the tapings of the first seasonWrestling Society X.[1] The shows were taped in late 2006 and aired onMTV in 2007.[1] At the tapings Tornado defeatedLuke Hawx and was defeated by6-Pac.[1] He was also involved in a short feud withJack Evans, which included a dance-off on WSXtra and a ten-minute time limit draw in the main event of the final episode of WSX.[30]
On October 14, 2006, Tornado made his debut forCombat Zone Wrestling as part of the stableBLKOUT. Tornado andRuckus entered the tournament to crown the newCZW World Tag Team Champions, but were defeated in the second round byThe Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli).[1] After the match Ruckus andSabian turned on Tornado and kicked him out of the BLKOUT.[1] Later in the evening, afterNick Gage suffered an injury, Tornado took his place in the finals of the tournament, teaming up withJustice Pain, but was once again defeated by the Kings of Wrestling.[1] On December 9 Ruckus defeated Tornado in a singles match.[1] Tornado returned to CZW on July 14, 2007, to compete in theBest of the Best 7 tournament. He defeated Ruckus in the first round, but was defeated byJoker in the four-way semifinal match.[31] On October 13, Tornado faced Ruckus in aladder match for theCZW World Heavyweight Championship. Tornado managed to pull down the World Title, but the referee did not see it, due to being distracted by the rest of BLKOUT and in the end Ruckus was able to retain his title.[31] After the match Tornado and Ruckus made peace and Tornado has not returned to the company since.[31]
Human Tornado debuted inJuggalo Championship Wrestling during the first season ofSlamTV! atWestside Wars. Alongside tag team partnerNosawa, he defeatedMad Man Pondo and Necro Butcher.[32] Tornado continued with a successful singles run through episode 11.[33] The following week, he andZach Gowen formed the tag teamPimp & Gimp Connection.[33] The team made an immediate impact and earned themselves a spot in the 8 TeamTag-Team Elimination match for theJCW Tag Team Championship atBloodymania.[33] The team failed to capture the championship after Gowen was eliminated byDoug Basham.[33]
In the following season, Gowen formed a new tag team withConrad Kennedy, leaving Tornado to return to singles competition.[34] In the second episode, Human Tornado saw heel managerScott D'Amore leaving Kennedy's dressing room and grew suspicious.[35] During the third episode, filmed on April 25, Tornado landed awkwardly while entering the ring and legitimately suffered severe injuries to his knee.[19][36] The following week, Kennedy attacked Gowen after the team lost their match against The Bloody Brothers. Human Tornado ran into the ring to save Gowen, forcing Kennedy to retreat to the stage, where Scott D'Amore met with him.[37] The following week, a match was set forBloodymania II where Pimp & Gimp Connection were to take on Conrad Kennedy and a mystery partner.[38] As a result of Gowen legitimatelyno-showing the event, the match was scrapped and Tornado teamed with The Weedman in a loss to JCW Tag Team Champions The Bloody Brothers (Ian and Lane).[39]
Human Tornado made hisRing of Honor debut on October 19, 2007 inLas Vegas, Nevada defeating Shane Hagadorn andTony Kozina to make it to the2007 Survival of the Fittest elimination match, where he was the first participant eliminated by the eventual winner, Chris Hero.[1] Two nights later at the Cow Palace inSan Francisco, California he lost to Chris Hero in a one on one match.[1] He would compete at the ROH show "Reckless Abandon" inDayton, Ohio on November 30, 2007, where he lost a three-way match withDavey Richards andErick Stevens.[1] Tornado was scheduled to appear on the December 1, 2007, ROH show inChicago, Illinois (which was then calledTrios Tournament 2007), but he, along with Jack Evans, Ruckus, and Necro Butcher, all got into a weather-related car accident on their way to the show. Jack suffered a concussion, but the other passengers were unharmed.[40]
On February 22, 2008, inLong Island, New York, Tornado made his return to ROH in a four-way match won by Jason Blade.[1] The following night inNew York City he tagged withDelirious in a match, where they were defeated byThe Age of the Fall (Jimmy Jacobs andTyler Black).[1] Almost two years later, on January 29, 2010, Tornado returned to ROH, when the company took part inWrestleReunion 4, competing in a match, where he was defeated byKevin Steen.[41] Tornado was advertised to take part in the February 5 and 6 tapings ofRing of Honor Wrestling, but his appearances were cancelled after he suddenly announced his retirement from professional wrestling the day before the first tapings.[28] However, on March 26 he made a surprise return to the company, competing in a six-way match won by Colt Cabana.[42] The following day he was defeated byShawn Daivari in a singles match.[43] According to reports Tornado wrestled the events to make up for the two shows he missed in February.[44]
On November 10, 2012 Human Tornado returned to CZW in a tag team match against BLK OUT. On April 4, 2013 Human Tornado made his in ring return at Pro Wrestling Syndicate's Super Card Night 1 in Metuchen, New Jersey.
On November 16, 2018, Tornado debuted forGame Changer Wrestling, in a losing effort againstPenelope Ford at "Joey Janela's LA Confidential."
On October 21, 2021 Tornado faced off against Wrestler and Michael Jackson impersonator Santana Jackson at Lucha Wrestling Puroresu's Extreme Lucha Show in Santa Ana California. Tornado would go on to win the match by pinfall.
Current as of 2024, Craig Williams is touring with the Micro Mania Midget Wrestling tour.
Williams appeared briefly in the 2006 sports-comedy film,Nacho Libre, as theluchadorEl Snowflake who competed in abattle royal, but did not succeed in winning.El Snowflake is based on Williams'sHuman Tornado gimmick, complete with similar ring gear, and the use of his real-life signature move, theHouse party (dubbed, theSnowflake kick).
