Herman Stevens Jr. (born June 17, 1965) is an American attorney and former

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

, best known for his attorney

gimmicks A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often with little intrinsic value. When applied to retail marketing, it is a unique or quirky feature designed to make a product or service "stand ou ...

as Clarence Mason in the

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and var ...

(WWF) and as J. Biggs in

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nati ...

(WCW) from 1999–2000.

Early life

As a child, Stevens always wanted to be a performer in the wrestling industry. While in college, he unsuccessfully attempted to obtain an internship with WCW. When Stevens was in law school, he befriended

Ernie Ladd Ernest Ladd (November 28, 1938 – March 10, 2007), nicknamed "The Big Cat", was an American professional football player and professional wrestler. A standout athlete in high school, Ladd attended Grambling State University on a basketball sc ...

, who managed to get him a meeting with the WWF. Stevens went to New York to meet with

Vince McMahon Vincent Kennedy McMahon (; born August 24, 1945) is an American media proprietor and retired professional wrestling promoter, executive, and performer. From 1982 to 2022, he served as the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the ...

and was eventually signed to a contract.

Professional wrestling career

World Wrestling Federation (1995–1997)

Stevens entered the WWF in 1995 as Clarence Mason (whose stage name was a play on

Clarence Darrow Clarence Seward Darrow (; April 18, 1857 – March 13, 1938) was an American lawyer who became famous in the early 20th century for his involvement in the Leopold and Loeb murder trial and the Scopes "Monkey" Trial. He was a leading member of t ...

and

Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and 4 short stories, all of which involve a c ...

), a lawyer primarily introduced to play off the publicity lawyers had gotten during the ongoing O. J. Simpson

trial In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal ...

. His character and speaking style were based on

Johnnie Cochran Johnnie Lee Cochran Jr.Adam Bernstei ''The Washington Post'', March 30, 2005; retrieved April 17, 2006. (; October 2, 1937 – March 29, 2005) was an American lawyer best known for his leadership role in the defense and criminal acquittal ...

. Clarence Mason was introduced as the legal counsel for

Jim Cornette James Mark "Jim" Cornette (born September 17, 1961) is an American author and podcaster who has previously worked in the professional wrestling industry as an agent, booker, color commentator, manager, promoter, trainer, and occasional prof ...

, who was attempting to reverse a decision at an

In Your House 3 In Your House 3 (retroactively titled In Your House 3: Triple Header) was the third In Your House professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It took place on September 24, 1995, at ...

pay per view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...

event that had seen Yokozuna and the British Bulldog, whom Cornette was managing, lose the

WWF Tag Team Championship The World Tag Team Championship was the original professional wrestling world tag team championship in the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) promotion, and the promotion's third tag team championship overall. Originally established by the then- ...

held by

Diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engin ...

and Shawn Michaels. Following this, Mason continued his association with Cornette and his stable of wrestlers. In August 1996, Mason left the Cornette stable and managed Crush (Brian Adams). Adams had been arrested in March 1995 and spent some time in jail; upon his return the WWF gave him a biker gimmick and used his real-life incarceration as part of a storyline, with Mason as his attorney. Later that year Mason became manager of

Faarooq Ronald Nasir Simmons (born May 15, 1958) is an American retired professional wrestler and football player. He performed for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) under his real name, and in the World Wres ...

and the two formed The Nation of Domination, a heel stable loosely based on the Nation of Islam and Black Panther Party, Mason still managed Owen & Bulldog while with The Nation, but got fired by the Bulldog in March 1997. In mid-1997, Faarooq "fired" Mason from the Nation of Domination, according to Mason in a shoot interview, he requested to be taken out of the Nation because he was uncomfortable with their racial comments in storylines and interviews that they were doing, the other reason was because

wanted managers to start taking more bumps and getting involved in matches and Mason was written off television and released from his WWF contract.

World Championship Wrestling

Stevens resurfaced in WCW as J. Biggs, where he managed

Chris Kanyon Christopher Morgan Klucsarits (January 4, 1970 – April 2, 2010) was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) from 1994 to 2 ...

. A few months later, Kanyon dropped his association with Biggs, which left him to search for a new client. This time, Biggs picked the newly established tag team of Harlem Heat 2000, which consisted of

Stevie Ray Lash Steven Huffman (born August 22, 1958) is an American semi-retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Stevie Ray. Stevie Ray is best known for his seven-year tenure with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) from 1993 to 200 ...

and Big T. The team feuded with Booker T. Biggs gained a (

kayfabe In professional wrestling, kayfabe, as a noun, is the portrayal of staged events within the industry as "real" or "true", specifically the portrayal of competition, rivalries, and relationships between participants as being genuine and not staged ...

) court order against Booker T, which stated he could not use the letter "T" after defeating Booker at

SuperBrawl 2000 SuperBrawl 2000 was the tenth SuperBrawl professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). The event took place on February 20, 2000 from the Cow Palace in Delray Beach Delray Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population of Delray Beach as of April 1, 2020 was 66,846 according to the 2020 United States Census. Located 52 miles (83 kilometers) north of Miami, Delray Beach is in the ...

References

External links

Catching up with Clarence Mason article, WWE.com

* ttp://www.wrestleview.com/info/faq/nod.shtml Nation of Domination FAQ from WrestleView.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, Clarence 1965 births African-American lawyers Florida lawyers Living people The Nation of Domination members People from Delray Beach, Florida Professional wrestling managers and valets 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people 20th-century professional wrestlers