| Nick Mitchell | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Nicholas Cole Mitchell[1] |
| Born | (1982-11-09)November 9, 1982 (age 42)[1] Magnolia, Texas, U.S.[2] |
| Alma mater | Northwestern State University Blinn College |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Mitch[2] Nick Mitchell[2] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)[2] |
| Billed weight | 250 lb (113 kg)[2] |
| Trained by | Al Snow[2] Deep South Wrestling[2] Ohio Valley Wrestling[2] |
| Debut | 2004[2] |
| Retired | 2007 |
Nicholas Cole Mitchell (born November 9, 1982) is an American retiredprofessional wrestler andmixed martial artist. He is best known for his appearances withWorld Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in 2006 under thering nameMitch as part of theSpirit Squad.
Mitchell played football for theBeaumont Drillers while atBlinn College. After not being accepted for aNational Football League combine, he focused on a career in wrestling and participated in thefourth season ofTough Enough. Despite not winning, he signed a developmental contract withWWE, and was assigned to their developmental territory,Deep South Wrestling, where he wrestled as "Big Time" Nick Mitchell. He was later moved toOhio Valley Wrestling (OVW) where he joined the Spirit Squad faction. After the Spirit Squad were called up to theRaw roster, they debuted in January 2006, and won theWorld Tag Team Championship three months later. Following the split of the team, Mitchell was released from his WWE contract in May 2007. Mitchell then had a brief career inmixed martial arts.
Mitchell graduated fromThe Woodlands High School in 2001.[3] In high school, Mitchell played four years ofvarsityfootball, on both sides of the ball.[3] He received a full scholarship toNorthwestern State University of theSouthland Conference, but was expelled for fighting during hisfreshman season.[3] After attendingBlinn College inBryan, Texas for two semesters, Mitchell joined theBeaumont Drillers of theNational Indoor Football League in 2003.[3] After a season with them, he attended aNational Football League combine, but was told to go home after officials found out he had been expelled from college for fighting.[3]
Mitchell took part in thefourth season ofWorld Wrestling Entertainment's reality seriesTough Enough in 2004.[2][3][4] He was the first to be eliminated.[5] Despite not winning, he was still signed to a WWE developmental contract and assigned to the company'sdevelopmental territory,Deep South Wrestling.[3][4] Several other competitors fromTough Enough were also signed, includingDaniel Puder,Mike Mizanin, andMarty Wright, but near the end of 2006, Mitchell and Mizanin were the only two left on the main WWE roster.[6] He began wrestling under the name "Big Time" Nick Mitchell, and competed against wrestlers includingKid Kash andJohnny Parisi.[4]
Mitchell later suffered a knee injury, and although it was feared that he had torn hisAnterior cruciate ligament, he was moved toOhio Valley Wrestling (OVW) where he joined theSpirit Squad.[4] Within days of his debut, the Squad was called up to the main WWE roster.[4]
As part of The Spirit Squad, a group consisting of five wrestlers who used the in-ring personas of male cheerleaders, he adopted the name Mitch.[4] As a result of his ACL injury, his ability to wrestle was curtailed and Mitch spent the first few months of his time in the Spirit Squad in a non-wrestling role.[3] On January 23, 2006, they had their WWE television debut as a group, appearing onRaw and helpingJonathan Coachman win aRoyal Rumble qualifying match againstJerry "The King" Lawler by performing cheers for Coachman and distracting Lawler.[7] They later became a part of the ongoing scripted feud between WWE chairmanVince McMahon andShawn Michaels. Thevillainous McMahon brought in the Spirit Squad to attack Michaels on numerous occasions, including placing them in multiplehandicap matches.[8][9]
They also wrestled in the tag team division, and on April 3, onRaw, won theWorld Tag Team Championship whenKenny andMikey defeatedBig Show and Kane, with outside help from the other three Spirit Squad members as they attacked The Big Show in order to gain the advantage.[10][11][12] After winning the championship, all five members of the team were recognized as the champions, allowing any combination of them to defend the championship.[4]
Three weeks later, McMahon scheduled another handicap match, with The Spirit Squad facing Michaels.[13][14] The match never started, however; instead The Spirit Squad attacked Michaels, ripping apart his ring attire and, as part of thestoryline, shattering his knee with asteel chair.[13] McMahon then calledTriple H to the ring to attack Michaels with asledgehammer; however, Kenny snatched the sledgehammer away, disrespecting Triple H, which led to him attacking the group.[13] Triple H and Michaels revivedD-Generation X (DX), since their teased reunion in 2002,[15] and as a team began a feud with the Spirit Squad.[16][17] DX played various sophomoric pranks on the team and the McMahons (Vince andShane), as well as defeating The Spirit Squad in handicap matches atVengeance and a clean sweep in an elimination handicap match atSaturday Night's Main Event XXXIII.[17][18][19][20]
During their feud with DX and their alignment with McMahon, the team also wrestled other teams inRaw's tag division over their World Tag Team Championship. The group successfully defended the tag team championship against the teams ofJim Duggan andEugene,Charlie Haas andViscera, andSnitsky andVal Venis.[18] They then entered a lengthy feud withThe Highlanders,[21][22] whom they eventually defeated to retain the title atUnforgiven.[23]
The Spirit Squad as a whole later began a losing streak with separate members losing singles matches toRic Flair on consecutive episodes ofRaw.[24][25][26] After two consecutive losses to the debutingCryme Tyme, Kenny attacked Mikey on the October 23 episode ofRaw and announced that he was going to defeat Flair. Kenny was successful, despite Flair attempting to even the odds by bringing other WWE Legends,Dusty Rhodes,Sgt. Slaughter, and"Rowdy" Roddy Piper, to the ring with him.[27][28] It was then announced that Flair and a legend, selected by interactive voting, would wrestle the team for the World Tag Team Championship at theCyber Sundaypay-per-view in early November.[28] The fans chose Piper, and he and Flair defeated Kenny and Mikey to win the championship.[29]
The group was "killed off" on the November 27Raw after they were defeated in a five-on-three match by Flair and DX.[30] Later that night, in a backstage segment, DX placed all members into a crate stamped "OVW,Louisville, Kentucky", a reference to the developmental territory from which the Spirit Squad had come.[31]
Mitchell was released from his WWE contract on May 15, 2007. He subsequently retired from professional wrestling.[32]
After over 15 years of retirement, Mitchell returned to professional wrestling for one night on September 17, 2022, losing to Lou Gotti in a bout for Tomahawk Professional Wrestling inLufkin, Texas.
After being released by WWE, Mitchell began training for a career inmixed martial arts (MMA) under Rocky Long, a former mixed martial artist.[3] He made his MMA debut on April 9, 2010, losing to futureUFC starDerrick Lewis via second round technical knockout.[33] Mitchell was set to fight again on December 11, 2010, but pulled out at the last minute due to an injury.[34]
In 2006, Mitchell began a relationship withTorrie Wilson. In 2007, the couple started a business together called "Officially Jaded", a fashion boutique.[35][3] Their relationship ended in 2011.
As a professional wrestler, Mitchell suffered numerous injuries, including damaging adisc in his neck and injuring his knee, as well as breaking his nose three times within one month.[citation needed]
| 1 match | 0 wins | 1 loss |
| By knockout | 0 | 1 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 0–1 | Derrick Lewis | TKO (punches) | WG-Worldwide Gladiator | April 9, 2010 | 2 | 1:33 | Pasadena, Texas, United States | [33] |
a Mitch defended the championship with either Johnny, Kenny, Mikey, or Nicky under theFreebird Rule.
Another former WWE wrestler, Nick Mitchell, who was Mitch of the Spirit Squad and later the live-in boyfriend of Torrie Wilson (not sure if they are still together or not), was to main event an MMA iPPV show on 12/11 called Pure Combat III in Houston. However, the entire show was canceled when the card fell apart. Jason David Frank of "Power Rangers" fame and Mitchell were the two big stars for a night club show in Houston. Frank's opponent tested positive for hepatitis and no sub could be gotten. Mitchell was then announced as being injured at the last minute. And 20 minutes before the show was to start, it was then canceled.
