Steven James Bisson (December 10, 1975 – December 4, 2008) was an American

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

who wrestled under the

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name or nickname used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons ...

Steve Bradley. He competed in various North American independent promotions as well as spending over three years in

World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

developmental territories including Power Pro Wrestling,

Heartland Wrestling Association The Heartland Wrestling Association (HWA) was a Midwestern independent professional wrestling promotion based in Cincinnati, Ohio. A former developmental territory for World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Entertainment, World Wres ...

, Memphis Championship Wrestling and

Ohio Valley Wrestling Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) is an American professional wrestling promotion, professional wrestling promotion and former developmental territory based in Louisville, Kentucky. The company is currently run by Al Snow, Matt Jones (radio host), Ma ...

. He was also the owner and head trainer at Wrestling Federation of America (WFA), a New Hampshire based independent promotion. Notable graduates include Alex Arion, Antonio Thomas, Brandon Locke, Brian Fury, Matt Spectro, Scott Reed, Nicole Raczynski and Max Smashmaster.

Biography

Early career and Power Pro Wrestling

At the age of 15, Bradley made his professional debut in 1991 becoming a mainstay of various East Coast promotions during the 1990s. He wrestled for a taping for

WWF Superstars of Wrestling ''WWF Superstars of Wrestling'' (later shortened to ''WWF Superstars'' and to ''Sunday Morning Superstars''), also referred to as ''Maple Leaf Wrestling'' in Canada, was an American professional wrestling television program that was produced b ...

where he teamed with Joe DeLeon losing to The Bodydonnas on April 2, 1996. In 1998, Bradley signed a 3-year developmental contract with the World Wrestling Federation and began training under

Tom Prichard Thomas Prichard (born August 18, 1959) is an American retired professional wrestling, professional wrestler and author better known by the ring name Dr. Tom Prichard. He is the older brother of Bruce Prichard. Professional wrestling career ...

at WWF Headquarters in

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, outside of New York City. It is the sixth-most populous city in New England. Stamford is also the largest city in the Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, Weste ...

, with

Kurt Angle Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9, 1968) is an American retired professional wrestler and amateur wrestling, amateur wrestler. He first earned recognition for winning a Wrestling at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's freestyle 100 kg, gold me ...

. Assigned to Memphis-based Power Pro Wrestling, both he and Angle began feuding with each other over the PPW Heavyweight title eventually defeating Angle for the title on August 7, 1999 and becoming the first man to pin Angle in his professional career. Their feud would be voted "Underrated Feud of the Year" by ''

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...

'' that same year. In March 1999, he won the third annual

ECWA Super 8 Tournament The Super 8 Tournament is an annual professional wrestling tournament held by the East Coast Wrestling Association. The tournament is contested by eight wrestlers in a one-night single-elimination tournament, single-elimination format. History T ...

defeating Ace Darling and Devon Storm, before beating

Christopher Daniels Christopher Daniel Covell (born March 24, 1970), better known by the ring name Christopher Daniels, is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he works as the Head of Ta ...

in the finals. He later feuded with Vic Grimes, defeating him for the PPW Young Guns Championship on July 19. He lost the PPW Heavyweight title to Grimes on September 18 before regaining it a week later on September 25, 1999.

World Wrestling Federation

After the WWF ended their developmental agreement with Power Pro Wrestling, Bradley was brought into IWA Puerto Rico where he feuded with Savio Vega and won the IWA World Tag Team Championship twice with Andy Anderson as Club WWF. He was eventually assigned to Memphis Championship Wrestling, a new developmental territory, in early 2001 and began wrestling with Essa Ríos and Lita on WWF house shows and dark matches on television tapings throughout the United States. He appeared at

WrestleMania X-Seven WrestleMania X-Seven, also known as WrestleMania 17, was a 2001 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It was the 17th annual WrestleMania and took place on April 1, 2001, at t ...

to take part in

WrestleMania Axxess WWE World at WrestleMania, formerly known as WrestleMania Axxess, is a professional wrestling fan convention held by WWE during the week of WrestleMania. The event typically runs for four to five days—from Thursday to Sunday or Monday—and fea ...

. He also participated in a spot at Wrestlemania X-Seven as a golf cart driver thrown from his cart. Spending the next two years in Ohio Valley Wrestling and the Heartland Wrestling Association, Bradley would win the HWA Tag Team Championship three times with

Val Venis Sean Allen Morley (born March 6, 1971), better known by his ring name Val Venis, is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Entertainment (WWF/WWE) from 1998 to 20 ...

and

Lance Cade Lance Kurtis McNaught (March 2, 1981 – August 13, 2010) was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) where he performed under the ring names Garrison Cade and Lance Cade. After be ...

. and eventually became involved in booking for the promotion before being released from his developmental contract in July 2002.

Later career

After WWF, he worked in the

independent circuit In professional wrestling, the independent circuit (often shortened to the indie circuit or the indies) is the collective name of independently owned promotions which are deemed to be smaller and more regionalized than major national promotions. ...

in New England for New England Championship Wrestling and the Wrestling Federation of America where he worked until his last match in 2005. He also operated the Top Rope Wrestling Academy, a wrestling school based in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Death and legacy

Bradley was found dead on December 4, 2008, in a parking lot across the street from where he once operated a pro wrestling school in

Manchester, New Hampshire Manchester is the List of municipalities in New Hampshire, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. Located on the banks of the Merrimack River, it had a population of 115,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Manches ...

. Bradley's cause of death was not determined. In trying to determine whether drugs could have played a factor in his death, autopsy results were inconclusive. Bradley was

indicted An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offense is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use that concept often use that of an indi ...

on possession of

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...

charges only a month before his death. Police do not believe any foul play was involved, however. In 2017, Bradley was mentioned by

in his

WWE Hall of Fame The WWE Hall of Fame is a List of halls and walks of fame, hall of fame which honors professional wrestlers and professional wrestling personalities maintained by WWE. Originally known as the "WWF Hall of Fame", it was created in 1993 when An ...

speech, and thanked him for being an "unsung hero".

Championships and accomplishments

East Coast Wrestling Association East Coast Wrestling Association (ECWA) is an American professional wrestling promotion, founded in 1967 by promoter Jim Kettner. It is home to the annual Super 8 Tournament, one of the longest-running independent wrestling tournaments in the co ...

:* Super 8 Tournament (

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

) *

:* HWA Tag Team Championship ( 4 times) - with Sean Morley (1)

(3) * International Wrestling Association :* IWA World Tag Team Championship ( 2 times) - with "Lone Wolf" Andy Anderson * Memphis Championship Wrestling :* MCW Southern Heavyweight Championship ( 2 times) * New England Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame :*Class of 2009 * Power Pro Wrestling :* PPW Heavyweight Championship ( 4 times) :*PPW Young Guns Championship (2 times) *''

'' :*Ranked him No. 83 of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the ''

PWI 500 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...

'' in 2002 *PWF Northeast Wrestling :*Mentor of the Mayhem (2013) * Yankee Pro Wrestling :*YPW Interstate Championship (1 time)

References

External links

Obituary at Indy Wrestling NewsCageMatch.de - Steve Bradley
*obit.brewittfuneralhome.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Bradley, Steve 1975 births 2008 deaths 20th-century male professional wrestlers 20th-century American professional wrestlers 21st-century male professional wrestlers 21st-century American professional wrestlers American male professional wrestlers Professional wrestling promoters Professional wrestlers from Boston Unsolved deaths in New Hampshire