| C.W. Bergstrom | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1957-02-24)February 24, 1957 (age 68) Portland, Oregon,United States |
| Website | C.W. Bergstrom onMyspace |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | C.W. Bergstrom Principal Bergstrom |
| Billed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Billed weight | 265 lb (120 kg) |
| Billed from | Milwaukie, Oregon |
| Debut | December 3, 1988 |
C.W. Bergstrom (born February 24, 1957) is an American semi-retired professional wrestler who was active in North American regional promotions during the early 1990s including a memorable stint in theUnited States Wrestling Association (USWA) asPrincipal Bergstrom. He was one of the last major stars inDon Owen'sPacific Northwest Wrestling during its final years and was the last wrestler to hold theNWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship.[1]
Born and raised inPortland, Oregon, C.W. Bergstrom made his debut inPacific Northwest Wrestling in December 1988, losing toArt Barr in his very first match. A month later, he took part in a joint show withWorld Championship Wrestling, losing to Mike Golden at theKaiser Convention Center inOakland, California on January 14, 1989.[2] In March 1989, he began teaming up withThe Grappler and defeated Scott Peterson and Billy Two Eagles on March 12. He and Denton lost toThe Southern Rockers (Steve Doll andScott Peterson) the next month.[3]
On April 21, he andScotty the Body entered the championship tournament for the then vacantNWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship but were eliminated byThe Southern Rockers (Steve Doll & Scott Peterson) who also defeated Al Madril and Joey Jackson andColonel DeBeers andNord the Barbarian to win the tournament. He also acted as a special guest referee in a televised match between Al Madril and Jeff Warner on January 27, 1990. Warner was disqualified when he attempted to use a foreign object that Madril had brought to the ring.[4]
Bergstrom lost to Denton twice later that year, including a disqualification loss inSalem, Oregon on October 19, and lost to him in a tag team match withBill Francis against Denton andBrian Adams in Portland on December 23, 1989. During the next year, he would lose to Denton on June 23 and, in a tag team match with Craig Valeri, lost to Denton andThe Equalizer on December 29, 1990. Throughout 1991, he faced Denton and the Equalizer with several tag team partners including Larry Oliver andBart Sawyer and also defeated Denton inEstacada, Oregon on May 22.[3]
On June 22, Bergstrom fought"Pretty Boy" Doug Masters to a time-limit draw. During the match, Bergstrom suffered a serious knee injury attempting a leapfrog. When color commentatorJimmy Jack Funk attempted to help Bergstrom leave the ring, he was attacked by Masters as well causing Funk to enter the match on Bergstrom's behalf until medical personnel were able to take Bergstrom back to the dressing room. Bergstrom was Master's second opponent of the night, the first beingMike Winner.[5][6] Later that year, he andMike Winner lost to Len Denton & Don Harris and, inVancouver, Washington on December 29, 1991.[3]
The following year, Bergstrom captured theNWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship fromRon Harris on April 21, 1992 and held the title until the promotion folded three months later.
After PNW's closure, Bergstrom arrived in theMemphis-basedUnited States Wrestling Association where he had a brief but memorable run asPrincipal Bergstrom. In one of his earliest matches in the promotion, he lost toJeff Gaylord via disqualification in a "strap on a pole" match at theMid-South Coliseum on May 24, 1993. Losing toJerry Lawler on May 31, he continued to feud with Jeff Gaylord beating him on June 14 andDanny Davis on June 21. Defeating Jeff Gaylord on July 5, he and Melvin Penrod, Jr. defeated USWA Tag Team ChampionsNew Jack andHomeboy for the titles later that night.
They successfully defended the titles for several weeks, including a title defense againstWell Dunn (Rex King andSteve Doll) on July 12, and defeatedJeff Jarrett andThe Moondogs (Moondog Spike &Moondog Cujo) in a 6-man tag team match withUSWA Southern Heavyweight ChampionThe Vampire Warrior on July 26. They eventually lost the tag team titles to The Moondogs at the Mid-South Coliseum on August 2. Splitting up immediately after losing the titles, Bergstrom defeated Melvin Penrod in a "Loser Leaves Town" match a week later. After another loss to Jeff Jarrett, Bergstrom left the promotion wrestling his last match against Colin Scotts on September 13, 1993.[7][8] He was later involved in talks with theWorld Wrestling Federation to bring in his character to feud withThe 1-2-3 Kid asThe Principal, but nothing ever came of it. The WWF would later useShane Douglas in a similarin-ring persona during hissecond stint with the company.
On June 22, 1994, he appeared at a wrestling show forArt Barr teaming withBilly Jack Haynes andRey Misterio, Jr. in a 6-man tag team match againstPsicosis,Ryuma Go and Col. DeBeers. This card was organized as a sort of reunion show featuring former PNW stars as well as Mexicanluchadores ofAsistencia Asesoría y Administración.[9]
Bergstrom would remain inactive during much of the 1990s, but returned to action in local independent promotions in the old Pacific Northwest territory. In July 1999, he headlined a wrestling event for promoter John Skinner at the Medford Armory losing to Steve "The Gigolo" Rizzano. This was the first wrestling event held inMedford, Oregon in nearly a decade.[10] Returning to Eugene four months later, he teamed with Lou Andrews and Big Daddy Thunder in a 6-man tag team match fighting to a double-disqualification against Len Denton, Bruiser Brian and Billy Two Eagles on November 13, 1999.[3]
On October 23, 2005, Bergstrem defeated Governor Wilson Kaine to win the CPW Heavyweight Championship. He also defeated Critter at an event forSandy Barr's IGA Wrestling inPrineville, Oregon on December 10.[11] He spent the next two years with Championship Pro Wrestling and NWA Oregon winning the NWA Oregon Heavyweight title three times. He won the NWA Oregon Heavyweight Championship from Colossus at theBenton County Fairgrounds inCorvallis on January 6, 2007.[12] On January 31, Bergstrom defeated Heavyweight Champion Dr. Kliever at the Chehalem Armory Center inNewberg. This was a fundraising event for theNewberg High Schoolwater polo teams and, according to the Chehalem Park and Recreation District's Jim McMaster, this was the first wrestling event to be held in the city in over twenty years.[13]
That same year, he competed for BAW Championship Wrestling. Although losing to "Big Ugly" JD Bishop on April 20, he beat Drake Frost andAlexis Smirnoff, Jr. during the summer. While in New Revolution Wrestling, he and Ritchie Magnett feuded with the NRW Tag Team Champions thePacific Coast Blondes (Cameron Starr & Hearthrob Hanson) facing them in a series of matches during the summer, including aCanadian Lumberjack match in June 2007. Bergstrom defeated Tod Ruhl who submitted to across arm breaker at the "Final Friday" supercard inGresham, Oregon on July 27, 2007. When Ruhl's valet Megan Nicole Desire attempted to distract the referee, Bergstrom pulled her into the ring. Bergstrom was immediately attacked by the Pacific Coast Blondes and Tod Ruhl, but was saved by Pete Storm who helped Bergstrom clear the ring.[14]
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