HOME





Norman Smiley
Norman Anthony Smiley (born February 28, 1965) is an English-American retired professional wrestler and vocalist specializing in Gregorian Chants. He is best known for his appearances with the Mexican promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre from 1991 to 1995 and with the American promotion World Championship Wrestling from 1997 to 2001. He currently works for WWE as a trainer for NXT. Championships held by Smiley over the course of his career include the CMLL World Heavyweight Championship and the WCW Hardcore Championship. Early life Smiley was born in Northampton, England in the United Kingdom. In the early 1970s, his parents divorced and Smiley and his mother emigrated to Miami, Florida in the United States. Smiley attended Miami Beach Senior High School, where he took part in amateur wrestling and powerlifting. He graduated in 1984. Professional wrestling career Early career (1985–1991) Norman Smiley trained under Boris Malenko and Dean Malenko before making his ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

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 National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) territory Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) (which had aired its programming on TBS). For much of its existence, WCW was one of the top professional wrestling promotions in the United States alongside the World Wrestling Federation (WWF; now known as World Wrestling Entertainment ( WWE)), at one point surpassing the latter in terms of popularity. After initial success through utilization of established wrestling stars of the 1980s, the company appointed Eric Bischoff to executive producer of television in 1993. Under Bischoff's leadership, the company enjoyed a period of mainstream success characterized by a shift to reality-based storylines, and notable hirings of former WWF talent. WCW also gained attention ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

CMLL World Heavyweight Championship
The CMLL World Heavyweight Championship ( es, Campeonato Mundial de Peso Completo del CMLL) is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship established in 1991 and promoted by Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). CMLL introduced the championship to signal their independence from the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), whose titles they had continued to promote after leaving the alliance in the late 1980s. As part of the move away from the NWA, CMLL established championships designated as "CMLL World Championships" for several weight divisions. The Heavyweight Championship was the first CMLL title to be created, and the inaugural champion was Konnan el Bárbaro, who won the title on June 9, 1991. The current champion is Hechicero, who is in his first reign. He defeated Diamante Azul in the finals of a tournament to win the vacant title on October 16, 2018. Sixteen different wrestlers have held the championship, split over twenty separate championship reigns. In most p ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Universal Wrestling Federation (Japan)
The original Japanese-based Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF) was a Japanese professional wrestling promotion from 1984 to 1986, formed by wrestlers who had left New Japan Pro-Wrestling. It was a pioneer in shoot-style wrestling, which emphasized legitimate techniques and realism. It was revived as the Newborn UWF in 1988. Newborn UWF lasted until 1990. It was revived again in 1991 as Union of Wrestling Forces International (UWF International or UWFi), which in turn lasted until 1996. Although short-lived, the UWF spawned a number of successor "shoot-wrestling" promotions collectively nicknamed the " U-Kei", and also served as a predecessor for Japanese mixed martial arts, with many of its alumni founding proto-MMA organizations such as Shooto, Pancrase and RINGS, eventually leading to the creation of Pride FC. Original UWF The original roster included Rusher Kimura, Akira Maeda, Ryuma Go, Mach Hayato, and Gran Hamada. Soon, however, they were joined by Yoshiaki Fuj ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Independent Circuit
In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indie circuit is the collective noun, collective name of independent professional wrestling promotions which are smaller than major televised promotions. It is roughly analogous to a minor league for pro wrestling, or community theatre, community or Regional theatre in the United States, regional theatre. Specific promotions on the independent circuit are referred to as indie promotions or indies. A wrestler is said to be in the indies or working the indies if they are wrestling in one of the independent promotions, or working the indie circuit if they are performing in different independent promotions. Origins The indie scene in the United States dates back to the days of regional territories. When a promoter ran opposition in even one town controlled by a National Wrestling Alliance sanctioned territory, they were often called an "outlaw" territory. This is considered by some to be a forerunner to indies since some stars o ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to the south by the Straits of Florida and Cuba; it is the only state that borders both the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. Spanning , Florida ranks 22nd in area among the 50 states, and with a population of over 21 million, it is the third-most populous. The state capital is Tallahassee, and the most populous city is Jacksonville. The Miami metropolitan area, with a population of almost 6.2 million, is the most populous urban area in Florida and the ninth-most populous in the United States; other urban conurbations with over one million people are Tampa Bay, Orlando, and Jacksonville. Various Native American groups have inhabited Florida for at least 14,000 years. In 1513, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León became th ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Tampa Bay Times
The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single year for the first time in its history, one of which was for its PolitiFact project. It is published by the Times Publishing Company, which is owned by The Poynter Institute for Media Studies, a nonprofit journalism school directly adjacent to the University of South Florida St. Petersburg campus. History The newspaper traces its origins to the ''West Hillsborough Times'', a weekly newspaper established in Dunedin, Florida on the Pinellas peninsula in 1884. At the time, neither St. Petersburg nor Pinellas County existed; the peninsula was part of Hillsborough County. The paper was published weekly in the back of a pharmacy and had a circulation of 480. It subsequently changed ownership six times in seventeen years. In December 1 ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Times Publishing Company
Times Publishing Company is a newspaper and magazine publisher. Its flagship publication is the ''Tampa Bay Times'' (formerly the ''St. Petersburg Times''), a daily newspaper serving the Tampa Bay area. It also publishes the business magazine ''Florida Trend'' and the daily newspaper ''tbt*''. Times Publishing Company is based in St. Petersburg, Florida, and is owned by the Poynter Institute, a nonprofit journalism school in St. Petersburg. The current chairman and CEO of Times Publishing Company is Paul Tash, who also serves as editor of the ''Tampa Bay Times''. On January 1, 2012, the ''St. Petersburg Times'' was renamed the ''Tampa Bay Times'', with ''tbt*'' (which was an acronym for "Tampa Bay Times") only referred to by that name. Properties The Times Publishing Company owns several other publications, most of which are co-branded with the ''Tampa Bay Times''. * ''tampabay.com'' is the online presence of the ''Times''. Articles are free to view. Subscribers to the prin ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




Sun-Sentinel
The ''Sun Sentinel'' (also known as the ''South Florida Sun Sentinel'', known until 2008 as the ''Sun-Sentinel'', and stylized on its masthead as ''SunSentinel'') is the main daily newspaper of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, as well as surrounding Broward County and southern Palm Beach County. It circulates all throughout the three counties that comprise South Florida. It is the largest-circulation newspaper in the area. Paul Pham has held the position of general manager since November 2020, and Julie Anderson has held the position of editor-in-chief since February 2018. The newspaper was for many years branded as the ''Sun-Sentinel'', with a hyphen, until a redesign and rebranding on August 17, 2008. The new look also removed the space between "Sun" and "Sentinel" in the newspaper's flag, but its name retained the space. The ''Sun Sentinel'' is owned by parent company, '' Tribune Publishing''. This company was acquired by Alden Global Capital, which operates its media properties ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Tribune Publishing
Tribune Publishing Company (briefly Tronc, Inc.) is an American newspaper print and online media publishing company. The company, which was acquired by Alden Global Capital in May 2021, has a portfolio that includes the ''Chicago Tribune'', the ''New York Daily News'', ''The Baltimore Sun'', the ''Orlando Sentinel'', South Florida's ''Sun-Sentinel'', ''The Virginian-Pilot'', the ''Hartford Courant'', additional titles in Pennsylvania and Virginia, syndication operations, and websites. It also publishes several local newspapers in its metropolitan regions, which are organized in subsidiary groups. Incorporated in 1847 with the founding of the ''Chicago Tribune'', Tribune Publishing operated as a division of the Tribune Company, a Chicago-based multimedia conglomerate, until it was spun off into a separate public company in August 2014. The company confirmed its sale to hedge fund Alden Global Capital on May 21, 2021. The transaction officially closed on May 25. Prior to th ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Powerlifting
Powerlifting is a strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athlete attempting a maximal weight single-lift effort of a barbell loaded with weight plates. Powerlifting evolved from a sport known as "odd lifts", which followed the same three-attempt format but used a wider variety of events, akin to strongman competition. Eventually odd lifts became standardized to the current three. In competition, lifts may be performed equipped or un-equipped (typically referred to as 'classic' or 'raw' lifting in the IPF specifically). Equipment in this context refers to a supportive bench shirt or squat/deadlift suit or briefs. In some federations, knee wraps are permitted in the equipped but not un-equipped division; in others, they may be used in both equipped and un-equipped lifting. Weight belts, knee sleeves, wrist wraps, and special footwear may also ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Amateur Wrestling
Amateur wrestling is a variant of wrestling practiced in collegiate, school, or other amateur level competitions. There are two international wrestling styles performed in the Olympic Games: freestyle and Greco-Roman. Both styles are under the supervision of the United World Wrestling (UWW; formerly known as FILA, from the French acronym for International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles). A similar style, commonly called collegiate (also known as scholastic or folkstyle), is practiced in colleges and universities, secondary schools, middle schools, and among younger age groups in the United States. Where the style is not specified, this article refers to the international styles of competition on a mat. In February 2013, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) voted to remove the sport from the 2020 Summer Olympics onward. On 8 September 2013, the IOC announced that wrestling would return to the Summer Olympics in 2020. The rapid rise in the popularity of the combat ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Miami Beach Senior High School
Miami Beach Senior High School (Beach High, MBSH) is a secondary school located at 2231 Prairie Avenue Miami Beach, Florida, across from the Miami Beach Convention Center and Botanical Garden. It is located at the corner of Prairie Avenue and Dade Boulevard. The school is in Miami-Dade County and is part of the Miami-Dade County Public Schools, the fourth-largest school district in the United States. In addition, Miami Beach Senior High is the second oldest in Miami-Dade County (after Miami Senior High School). In 2009, the school was recognized as a magnet school. In 2010, Miami Beach Senior High was recognized as an International Baccalaureate World School, meaning a select group of students get to attend a two-year program that allows them to graduate with a special diploma. The school was the first in the city of Miami Beach to receive the designation. History Miami Beach High opened in 1926. It was originally located at 1424 Drexel Avenue, in the heart of the South Beach ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]