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 Gowen in 2014 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Zachary Mark Gowen[2] (1983-03-30)March 30, 1983 (age 42)[2] Ypsilanti, Michigan, U.S.[2] |
| Children | 4 |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Pogo the 1 Legged Boy[1] Tenacious Z[2] Zach Gowen[2] |
| Billed height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)[2][3] |
| Billed weight | 155 lb (70 kg)[2][3] |
| Billed from | Detroit, Michigan |
| Trained by | Tommy Johnson[2] Truth Martini[2] |
| Debut | March 16, 2002[2] |
Zachary Mark Gowen (born March 30, 1983) is an Americanprofessional wrestler and promoter. He is primarily known for his time withWorld Wrestling Entertainment from 2003 and with other promotions such asTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA),Ring of Honor (ROH) and Xtreme Intense Championship Wrestling (XICW).
Gowen's left leg wasamputated when he was eight years old. He was the second amputee to compete in WWE afterKerry Von Erich.[2]
Gowen was diagnosed withcancer as a child, and lost his left leg due toamputation at the age of eight.[2] He was a fan ofprofessional wrestling from a young age, and citesShawn Michaels andRey Mysterio as two of his favorite wrestlers.[4]
Gowen is an alumnus at Churchill High School in Livonia, Michigan, Class of 2001.
After being trained byTruth Martini, Gowen made hisprofessional wrestling debut on March 16, 2002, in a loss to Martini.[2] While training Gowen made the decision to wrestle without his prosthetic leg as he found it difficult to wrestle with the "dead weight".[4]
Gowen first gained national exposure wrestling forTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling during early 2003 under the name Tenacious Z. On the January 29 NWATNA PPV, Tenacious Z defeated Truth Martini in a dark match. On the February 5 NWATNA PPV, Tenacious Z defeatedB.G. James. On the February 12 NWATNA PPV, Tenacious Z,Ron Killings andJorge Estrada defeated BG James,Glenn Gilbertti andMike Sanders. Afterwards Gowen left TNA, opting not to sign an official contract on the advice of Martini, who advised him WWE were likely to offer him a contract.[5] In February 2003, Gowan signed a development contract with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).[2][5]
Gowen later returned to TNA on May 15, 2005, at theirHard Justice pay-per-view event, as the second entrant in the 20-ManGauntlet for the Gold match. He lasted just under five minutes in the ring before being eliminated byShark Boy.[6] The next month, Gowen wrestled at theSlammiversary pay-per-view, losing in asix-way match.[7] He also appeared onTNA Impact!, wrestlingMikey Batts to a no contest before leaving the promotion once again later that year.[8] In October 2006, atBound for Glory, Gowen returned to TNA during theKevin NashX-Division Open Battle Royal Gauntlet match as the sixth entrant, but was eliminated byJohnny Devine.[9]
He made hisWorld Wrestling Entertainment debut on the May 15, 2003 episode ofSmackDown! as aplanted fan in the audience, who attempted to helpMr. America when he was being attacked byRoddy Piper andSean O'Haire. During the segment, Piper pulled off Gowen's prosthetic leg.[10] This began a short collaboration of Gowen and Mr. America, and afeud pitting the two against Roddy Piper and Sean O'Haire. This storyline culminated at theJudgment Day pay-per-view on May 18 when Mr. America, accompanied by Gowen, defeated Piper, who was accompanied by O'Haire.[11]
Gowen's partnership with Mr. America put him on bad terms withMr. McMahon, as McMahon was convinced Mr. America was Hulk Hogan in disguise.[12][13] On the June 26 episode ofSmackDown!, McMahon told Gowen that if he would join his "Kiss My Ass Club", he would be awarded a WWE contract. Instead Gowen attacked McMahon.[14] As a result, Gowen andStephanie McMahon were put in a match againstBig Show on the July 3 episode ofSmackDown!, in what McMahon billed as the first "real"handicap match (referring to Gowen and hisamputee status in addition to the two vs. one parameters of the match). With help from bothKurt Angle andBrock Lesnar, Gowen and Stephanie McMahon defeated Big Show, winning Gowen a contract.[15] Gowen's win further fueled the ill-feelings toward him from Mr. McMahon.[16] Thisfeud culminated in a one-on-one match between the two atVengeance on July 27 in which McMahon defeated Gowen.[17]
Gowen then lost several singles matches to wrestlers includingShannon Moore,Nunzio, andJohn Cena, with Gowen being attacked byMatt Hardy, Moore's mentor, following each loss.[18][19][20] The storyline was cut short on the August 21 episode ofSmackDown!, when Gowen defeated Brock Lesnar bydisqualification after Lesnar broke Gowen's leg in storyline.[21]
Gowen was absent from television for nearly a month, returning in an interview on the October 2 episode ofSmackDown! promoting his in-ring return for the following week.[22] In his in-ring return, Gowen lost to Moore following interference from Hardy, reigniting their feud.[23] As a result, Gowen and Hardy faced off in a singles match atNo Mercy on October 19, which Gowen won.[24] On the October 23 episode ofSmackDown!, Gowen lost toTajiri in a singles match, and afterward was attacked by two of Tajiri's associates.[25] Gowen did not return to WWE television due to suffering an injury, and was later released from his WWE contract on February 4, 2004.[2][4][26]
Following his release from WWE, Gowen decided to focus on his education and work limited professional wrestling dates.[4] He appeared for severalindependentpromotions, includingIndependent Wrestling Association Mid-South (IWA Mid-South) where he played thecharacter of an egotisticalheel (villain).[4] Gowen was part of theJeff Peterson Memorial Cup in 2004.[4]
InAll American Wrestling, he is also a part of the "Michigan Invasion" heel stable (along with fellow Michigan wrestlers Truth Martini, "Amazing" N8 Mattson, Eddie Venom and Brian Gorie). On April 14, 2007, Gowen and his mystery partner Krotch defeated "Michigan Invasion" members Truth Martini and "Amazing" N8 Mattson to become newAAW Tag Team Champions.[27] They then lost the championship to Trik Davis andConrad Kennedy III in a four-way elimination match on June 16, 2007.
In acircus-based independent wrestling promotion, Squared Circle Revue, Gowen portrays a one-leggedboy, under the ring name, Pogo The 1 Legged Boy.[28]
In Prime Wrestling, Gowen formed a tag team withGregory Iron known as "The Handicapped Handguns". The duo defeated The Dead Wrestling Society in January 2013 to become the Prime Tag Team Champions. They held the championship for three months, until losing it to Marion Fontaine and Jeremy Madrox on April 19.[29] As the "Handicapped Heroes", Gowen and Iron also won the Clash Tag Team Championship on April 27.[30] On October 20, 2013, The Handicapped Heroes regained the Prime Tag Team Championship.[31]
Gowen made hisRing of Honor (ROH) debut on October 7, 2006, losing toDelirious in a singles match. Gowen would later return to ROH on February 22, 2008, inDeer Park, New York, immediately aligning himself withThe Age of the Fall. On November 12, 2010, he appeared at an ROH show inDetroit, where he was announced as the newest member ofTruth Martini'sHouse of Truth faction. He teamed withROH World ChampionRoderick Strong andMichael Elgin in a loss to theBriscoe Brothers andChristopher Daniels.[32] After a tag team loss to Grizzly Redwood and Bobby Dempsey at the following day's event inToronto, Elgin and Martini turned on Gowen and kicked him out of the House of Truth.[33]
Gowen debuted inJuggalo Championship Wrestling as a part of their 2007internet wrestling showSlamTV!.[34] Initially avillain, his hard work ethic and wrestling abilities earned him the respect of thejuggalo audience, perstoryline.[34] Following a failed attempt to win theJCW Heavyweight Championship from then-championTrent Acid, Gowen formed the tag team Pimp & Gimp Connection withHuman Tornado.[35] The team made an immediate impact and earned themselves a spot in the 8 TeamTag-Team Elimination match for theJCW Tag Team Championship atBloodymania.[35] They failed to capture the championship after Gowen was eliminated byDoug Basham.[35]
In the following season, Gowen formed a tag team withConrad Kennedy to compete in the JCW Tag Team Tournament for the vacant championship.[36] Tornado, though, saw villainous managerScott D'Amore leaving Kennedy's dressing room and grew suspicious.[37] Two weeks later, 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.[38] The following week, a match was set forBloodymania II between Pimp & Gimp Connection and Conrad Kennedy with a mystery partner.[39] The match, however, was scrapped after Gowen legitimatelyno-showed the event.
Gowen returned to the company on March 23, 2011, where he defeatedJimmy Jacobs. He formed a tag team at Up in Smoke withU-Gene, who believed that he could be Gowen's second leg. Though U-Gene cost his team the match by distracting the referee, Gowen forgave him and announced that the team would wrestle again at the next event. On July 28, Gowen and U-Gene defeated theRing Rydas to win theJCW Tag Team Championship.[40] However, Gowen forfeited the championship after realizing that U-Gene cheated to win, causing U-Gene to attack him and disband the team.[40] Both men wrestled each other atBloodymania 5, with Gowen emerging victorious after U-Gene was caught cheating again.[40]
Gowen made hisAll Elite Wrestling (AEW) debut on the May 8, 2025 episode ofCollision as an audience member. During the show, he would be attacked byRicochet, who proceeded to steal his prosthetic leg.[41] On May 14 atDynamite: Beach Break, Gowen was defeated by Ricochet.[42]
Gowen attendedEastern Michigan University, where he studied Secondary Education and Mathematics.[4] He has four children with his wife.[43]
In 2016, Gowen competed in the Indianapolis qualifying round of theeighth season ofAmerican Ninja Warrior. He fell on the third obstacle, the fly wheels, and did not move on to the city finals.
Gowen released a memoir, "High Risk Maneuvers" in 2018 and currently tours as a motivational speaker for kids.[44]
In August 2023, He delivered a presentation titled "Don't Quit Your Daydream" atWestern Nevada College. During this event, he recounted overcoming significant life obstacles, emphasizing the importance of perseverance and self-belief.[45]
