After training with theJunkyard Dog, Begnaud made his professional wrestling debut in 1998 as Redd Dogg, and began competing for Southwesternindependent promotions.[1]
Mack restarted Theodore Long's Thuggin' And Buggin' Enterprisesstable, which eventually turned into a group ofAfrican Americans who worked a raceangle in which they felt they were victims of racism and were being held down by "The Man".Jazz later joined the group in April. As part of the race angle, Mack often competed in a "White Boy Challenge" onRaw, where he would proceed tosquashwhite wrestlers. During this time, Mack formed atag team withChristopher Nowinski. Nowinski's inclusion within the stable, despite him being white, was explained by Nowinski claiming that he was also held down by "The Man" because of his intelligence. Together, Mack and Nowinski found some success as atag team, their most notable victory being against theDudley Boyz atBad Blood on June 15. Mack's undefeated streak in the White Boy Challenges was ended on June 23 when he was defeated byGoldberg in under 30 seconds.[11] The team of Mack and Nowinski continued until Nowinski suffered an injury and was diagnosed withpost-concussion syndrome, which subsequently resulted in his retirement soon after.[12]
To replace Nowinski, Theodore Long announced thatMark Henry would become Mack's new tag team partner. Despite only being a team for short while, Mack and Henry were fairly successful and scored some upset victories over some prominent tag teams.
In November 2003, Mack suffered a knee injury which prevented him from wrestling.[13] He was supposed to return to action between March and June 2004, but was sent back to OVW and workedRaw dark matches throughout June and July 2004. Mack made his return to WWE television on July 26, 2004, where he participated in an over the top rope battle royal for an opportunity to compete for theWorld Heavyweight Championship.[14]
On November 4, Mack was released from his contract along with a few others, including his wife Jazz.
After his release, Begnaud began competing on theindependent circuit, most prominently for inNWA Cyberspace.[15] In late 2005, Begnaud and Jazz opened Dirtysouth Championship Wrestling, an independent promotion based in Louisiana.[1] However, DCW would be renamed Downsouth Championship Wrestling due to copyright issues in early 2006 before ceasing operations in early 2007.[1]
On September 15, 2006, it was reported on WWE.com that Begnaud, along withMarty Jannetty andBrad Armstrong, had been hired by WWE.[16] He started wrestling atECW house shows on September 30, 2006.[1] On January 18, 2007, Mack along with several other superstars (including his wifeJazz) were again released by WWE.[17]
Second return to the independent circuit (2007–2008, 2011–present)
After leaving WWE, Begnaud would make sporadic appearances on theindependent circuit under his Rodney Mackring name before winning the All-American Wrestling Tag Team Championship withHeidenreich on May 18, 2008 after defeating Latinos Locos.[1][18][19] However, the title was vacated soon after due to interference in the original title match.[18][20]
After a 3 year hiatus due to the birth of his twins,[21] on June 11, 2011, Begnaud wrestled for the first time in three years and, under his Rodney Mack ring name, he defeated Brad Michaels in a match forNWA Oklahoma.[22] Exactly six months later, Mack defeated Faroh of Phunk to win the NWA Mississippi Heavyweight Championship, his first championship in over nine years. On February 10, 2012, Mack wrestled Scot Summers for theNWA Texas Heavyweight Championship, but was unsuccessful in regaining the title.[22] Following this, Mack would go on to lose the NWA Mississippi Heavyweight Title to Cale Conners on March 18.[23]Mack made an appearance at a Southeast Championship Wrestling charity event in Greenville, Mississippi.
On May 21, 2016, Mack defeated Scott McKenzie to become the AIWF Southwest Champion in Athens, TX.[24] Through 2016 and 2017, Mack mainly competed for theNational Wrestling Alliance (NWA). In 2018 and in 2019 he has primarily appeared forAnarchy Championship Wrestling.[24]
Begnaud, under his Rodney Mack ring name, made hismixed martial arts debut on June 7, 2008, knocking out Joe Nameth by ground-and-pound in 21 seconds in the first round.[26][27] He lost his second match with Andrew Staples via submission by a rear naked choke.[28]
In July 2016, Begnaud was named part of aclass action lawsuit filed against WWE which alleged that wrestlers incurred traumatic brain injuries during their tenure and that the company concealed the risks of injury. The suit was litigated by attorney Konstantine Kyros, who has been involved in a number of other lawsuits against WWE.[32] US District JudgeVanessa Lynne Bryant dismissed the lawsuit in September 2018.[33]
^Will, Gary; Duncan, Royal (2000). "Texas: NWA Texas Heavyweight Title [Von Erich]".Wrestling Title Histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Pennsylvania: Archeus Communications. pp. 268–269.ISBN0-9698161-5-4.
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