Allen Ray Sarven (born July 18, 1963) is an American
professional wrestler, better known by his
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 ...
Al Snow. He is best known for his tenures in
Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) was an American professional wrestling promotion that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and operated by its parent company HHG Corporation. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as Nationa ...
and the
World Wrestling Federation/
World Wrestling Entertainment. Snow has also held various backstage positions for professional wrestling promotions. Snow worked as a
road agent for
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (abbreviated as TNA Wrestling or TNA) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment, a Canadian media company owned by busines ...
from 2010 to 2017 and has promoted
Ohio Valley Wrestling since 2018.
Professional wrestling career
Early career (1982–1995)
Sarven attended a professional wrestling try-out camp held by
Ole Anderson and
Gene Anderson. There he met Jim Lancaster, promoter of Ohio's Midwest Championship Wrestling, who agreed to train him.
Lancaster later described Sarven as "a leader in the ring" who "had drive and natural ability".
He made his debut on May 22, 1982. Sarven defeated Lancaster on May 5, 1985, for the Midwest Championship Wrestling title.
Sarven wrestled in various independent promotions throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, capturing both tag team and singles titles, but failed to make any big breaks. In 1993 he competed in the WWF as a jobber losing to
Marty Jannetty and
The Undertaker
Mark William Calaway (born March 24, 1965), better known by his ring name the Undertaker, is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Calaway ...
under the name Steve Moore. He gained a reputation as "the best-kept secret in wrestling".
Sarven helped train future
Ultimate Fighting Championship
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...
(UFC) Hall of Fame member and
NWA World Heavyweight Champion Dan Severn
Daniel DeWayne Severn (born June 8, 1958), nicknamed "the Beast", is an American retired professional wrestler, retired mixed martial artist and amateur wrestler. A UFC Hall of Fame member, Severn is considered one of the leading pioneers of ...
.
During this time he would sometimes wrestle as Shinobi, a
ninja
A , or was a spy and infiltrator in pre-modern Japan. The functions of a ninja included siege and infiltration, ambush, reconnaissance, espionage, deception, and later bodyguarding.Kawakami, pp. 21–22 Antecedents may have existed as ear ...
-style masked
gimmick. He wrestled in the November 19, 1994, tournament for the vacant NWA World Heavyweight Championship, but he lost to
Chris Candido, the eventual winner of the tournament.
From 1995 to 1997, Snow operated a
professional wrestling school called "Body Slammers" in
Lima, Ohio
Lima ( ) is a city in Allen County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 35,579. It is located in northwest Ohio along Interstate 75 in Ohio, Interstate 75, appr ...
, employing
D'Lo Brown as an assistant trainer. It has since branched out with one of his trainers running "Bodyslammers" in
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...
.
Extreme Championship Wrestling (1995)
After a tour of Japan, Sarven wrestled a match in
Michigan
Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
against
Sabu, an
Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) was an American professional wrestling promotion that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and operated by its parent company HHG Corporation. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as Nationa ...
(ECW) regular, who suggested he try ECW.
After making his debut against
The Tazmaniac and losing via pinfall on February 4, 1995, Sarven faced
Chris Benoit
Christopher Michael Benoit ( ; May 21, 1967 – June 24, 2007) was a Canadian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He worked for various pro-wrestling promotions during his 22-year career, but is notorious for Chris Benoit double-murd ...
as Al Snow, in a 15-minute match that was hailed as one of the best of the year.
Smoky Mountain Wrestling (1995)
Sarven was also being courted by
Jim Cornette for his
Smoky Mountain Wrestling federation. ECW booker
Paul Heyman agreed to let him work for both companies. Sarven soon found that he was not being utilized by ECW and went to Smoky Mountain full-time.
In Smoky Mountain Wrestling, Snow teamed with Unabomb (Glenn Jacobs, later to be known as
Kane) as the
Dynamic Duo and defeated the
Rock 'n' Roll Express for the
SMW Tag Team Championship.
Both wrestlers caught the attention of the World Wrestling Federation and were signed by the end of 1995.
World Wrestling Federation (1995–1997)
Various gimmicks (1995–1996)
Sarven began working for the
World Wrestling Federation (WWF) when he signed a contract in August 1995. During his tenure in the company, Sarven wrestled under numerous
gimmicks, such as Avatar, which saw him come to the ring unmasked, putting on a
wrestling mask to wrestle, then removing it afterwards. The gimmick was based on ''
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
''Mighty Power Rangers'' (''MMPR'') is an American superhero television series that premiered on August 28, 1993, on the Fox Kids programming block. It is the first entry of the ''Power Rangers'' franchise, and became a 1990s popular culture, ...
'' and ''
Mortal Kombat
''Mortal Kombat'' is an American media franchise centered on a series of fighting game, fighting video games originally developed by Midway Games in 1992.
The original ''Mortal Kombat (1992 video game), Mortal Kombat'' arcade game spawned Lis ...
'' whose popularity the company wanted to capitalize on at that time. During his particularly short run under this gimmick, Sarven's WWF debut as Avatar took place on the October 23, 1995, episode of ''
Monday Night RAW'', defeating Bryan Walsh. About a month after his debut, he was scheduled to be the third man for The Underdogs at
Survivor Series
Survivor Series, branded as Survivor Series: WarGames since 2022, is a professional wrestling event produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving ( ...
but for reasons unknown, was replaced by
Bob Holly. After this, he started teaming with
Aldo Montoya. His two final matches as Avatar were against
Sycho Sid and
1-2-3 Kid. He was also to partake in the 1996
Royal Rumble match but once again, for unknown reasons, never appeared. His final match in February was against
Isaac Yankem. On February 20, 1996, Sarven wrestled as "Shinobi", a "ninja assassin" hired by
Jim Cornette to dispose of
Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels (born Michael Shawn Hickenbottom on July 22, 1965) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he is the Senior Vice President of Talent Development, Creative, and oversees the creative aspects of th ...
, who defeated Shinobi in quick fashion. Avatar returned for one last appearance against
Justin Bradshaw at a house show on March 17, 1996, at
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...
in a losing effort.
New Rockers (1996–1997)
Sarven received his first mainstream exposure with the WWF as Leif Cassidy, the
tag team
Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establis ...
partner of
Marty Jannetty in February 1996. The duo were promoted as The New Rockers, a throwback to the original
Rockers team of Jannetty and
Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels (born Michael Shawn Hickenbottom on July 22, 1965) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he is the Senior Vice President of Talent Development, Creative, and oversees the creative aspects of th ...
. Eventually, Jannetty left in December 1996, and Sarven was reduced to
jobbing for mid-carders in January 1997. In the late 1990s, WWF and ECW began to cross-promote their organizations to counteract the success of
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling (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 W ...
(WCW); Sarven was one of the wrestlers sent to
Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) was an American professional wrestling promotion that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and operated by its parent company HHG Corporation. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as Nationa ...
(ECW). He left in July of that year and went to ECW. His last appearance in WWF in September 1997 was a loss to
Tiger Ali Singh at
WWF One Night Only.
Return to ECW (1997–1998)
Sarven found success back in ECW in August 1997, billed once again as Al Snow. Sarven developed a new character gimmick after reading about
abnormal psychology and finding a
mannequin
A mannequin (sometimes spelled as manikin and also called a dummy, lay figure, or dress form) is a doll, often articulated, used by artists, tailors, dressmakers, window dressers and others, especially to display or fit clothing and show off dif ...
head on the street near the ECW Arena during a
Mummers Day parade. He got the idea to portray an individual with a
schizophrenic disorder using the head as a prop for
projection. In this role, Sarven received a lot of fan and management support for his
J.O.B. Squad storyline, which promoted him as being
driven insane by his years as a
jobber for the WWF.
In the storyline, Snow, upset at his lot in life, asked
Cactus Jack what he had to do to get anywhere in wrestling. Jack said to Snow that to become famous he had to "get a little head" (meaning he had to be willing to sleep with/have sex with the
booker). Snow, however took this literally, and thus he started coming to the ring with the mannequin head (with the words "Help Me" written backwards on its forehead, an action Snow himself began to do) whom he talked to as if it were a real person, which prompted ECW crowds to chant ''"We want Head"'', an intentional
double entendre
A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, one of which is typically obvious, and the other often conveys a message that would be too socially unacc ...
. ECW promoters handed out
styrofoam mannequin heads at wrestling shows, and audience members started waving them and shouting, "Head! Head! Head!" in time to "
Breathe" by The Prodigy, his entrance music. The entire audience would then throw the heads into the ring before the match started. The biggest match of his ECW career came when he wrestled for the promotion's
World Heavyweight Championship, losing to
Shane Douglas at
Wrestlepalooza in 1998.
Return to the WWF/E (1998–2008)
Hardcore Championship pursuits (1998–1999)
Sarven was then recalled to the company in May 1998, where he continued his gimmick of talking to "Head", creating some of the more memorable humorous skits of "
The Attitude Era" including fighting himself in a
hardcore match (which he won by putting himself through a table) and his short lived comedy tag team with
Steve Blackman.

Snow received some mainstream publicity in 1999 when
Wal-Mart
Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...
pulled his action figure from their shelves after Sabrena Parton, a professor at
Kennesaw State University, complained that "Head" was a "decapitated woman's head" that sent an inappropriate message about violence towards women. Parton was quoted as saying "What kind of message would this toy send children about brutalization of women?" Sarven used the story as part of an
angle
In Euclidean geometry, an angle can refer to a number of concepts relating to the intersection of two straight Line (geometry), lines at a Point (geometry), point. Formally, an angle is a figure lying in a Euclidean plane, plane formed by two R ...
in which the controversy caused Al Snow to develop depression.
At
WrestleMania XV, Snow lost a
WWF Hardcore Championship triple threat match involving
Hardcore Holly
Robert William Howard (born January 29, 1963) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Hardcore Holly.
After debuting in 1987, Holly worked for ...
and
Billy Gunn. During the summer of 1999, at the conclusion of a storyline where Head was impaled with a spike by
Prince Albert, Snow replaced Head with a
chihuahua named Pepper, who he claimed talked to him. A variety of segments were broadcast showing Snow's interactions with the dog, including bringing Pepper to the ring to either "participate" in matches or be held by the broadcast team. This led to a storyline where
Big Boss Man kidnapped Pepper. Big Boss Man agreed to return the dog if Snow defeated him in a match for the Hardcore title; however, after losing the match he reneged and kept the dog. Later, in a segment on ''
WWF SmackDown!'', Big Boss Man invited Snow to his hotel room to discuss the situation, before serving Snow dinner which was then revealed to be Pepper. (In a 2008 interview, Snow said that this angle had been based on a story of
Mr. Fuji having done something similar with his partner Professor Tanaka's dog.) The feud culminated at a "Kennel from Hell" match at
Unforgiven
''Unforgiven'' is a 1992 American revisionist Western film produced and directed by Clint Eastwood from a screenplay by David Webb Peoples. It stars Eastwood as William Munny, an aging outlaw and killer who takes on one more job years after ...
, which consisted of a regular cage which was surrounded by a
Hell in a Cell structure, with "a trained pack of wild dogs" in between the two, and the objective was to escape both cages without being attacked by the dogs. Snow won the match.
Various alliances and feuds (1999–2004)
Snow would later team with real life friend
Mick Foley and became tag team champions with him for a short amount of time, but
turned heel by betraying him due to Foley's jokes about him in his
autobiography
An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...
, ''
Have A Nice Day'', and his growing jealousy of Foley's tag team partner,
The Rock. He would later turn face again due to fan reaction. Snow was often the butt of Foley's jokes during Foley's tenure as the Commissioner in 2000. However, they are close friends in real life. Foley continued to use Snow as the butt of many jokes in his second book, ''
Foley Is Good: And the Real World Is Faker than Wrestling''.
In early 2000, he began to team with Steve Blackman as an "odd couple" tag team called Head Cheese (the "cheese" part being given various explanations, including Snow's claim that Blackman was a voracious eater of cheese and later his attempt to force him to wear a
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...
"
Cheesehead" hat). At
WrestleMania 2000 the two suffered a loss against Test and Albert. Also in the same year, Snow won the
WWF European Championship from
Perry Saturn. He then began a
tongue-in-cheek gimmick of entering the ring to various
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
an countries' native music, with his theme song sung in the language of the country, and wearing attire which would suit the stereotype of that country. This continued until he lost the title to
William Regal.
In 2001, Snow tried to rally support from the fans to vote for him as the new Commissioner of the company following Foley's on-screen firing by Vince McMahon in December 2000. By March 2001, a match was set up between Snow and Regal to determine the new Commissioner, which resulted in Regal winning. Snow then took some time off from the ring in order to commit more time for the reality show ''
Tough Enough''. He made his return to the ring in October 2001 during the
InVasion era and challenged
Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
for the WWF European Championship at
Survivor Series
Survivor Series, branded as Survivor Series: WarGames since 2022, is a professional wrestling event produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving ( ...
, which he lost.
Snow's last championship reign came on March 11, 2002, when he defeated
Goldust to win his last Hardcore Championship. He lost the title to his former ''Tough Enough'' student,
Maven, a few days later. He was drafted to ''
SmackDown!'' as part of the
2002 Brand Extension, where he teamed up with Maven. After taking time off again for another season of ''
Tough Enough'', Snow returned as a member of the ''
Raw'' roster in October and eventually became a commentator for ''
Sunday Night Heat'' alongside
Jonathan Coachman. When Coachman sided with
Eric Bischoff, Snow followed suit, turning heel. The two feuded with
Jim Ross and
Jerry Lawler
Jerry O'Neil Lawler (born November 29, 1949), better known as Jerry "the King" Lawler, is an American retired color commentator and professional wrestler signed to WWE under a Legends contract.
Prior to joining the World Wrestling Federati ...
,
and briefly replaced them at the ''Raw'' announce table after a victory at
Unforgiven
''Unforgiven'' is a 1992 American revisionist Western film produced and directed by Clint Eastwood from a screenplay by David Webb Peoples. It stars Eastwood as William Munny, an aging outlaw and killer who takes on one more job years after ...
in 2003. When ''
Tough Enough IV'' came to ''SmackDown!'', Snow was on the scene and turned face once again.
On April 12, 2004, episode of Raw, Snow dressed up as the Five Star Ninja a portray of Shinobi which he lost to
Tajiri.
Commentator and ECW (2004–2006)
In September 2004 Snow left ''Sunday Night Heat'' as a commentator and went to ''Velocity''. He continued to coach for
WWE Tough Enough
''WWE Tough Enough'' is an American professional wrestling reality competition series that was produced by WWE, wherein participants undergo professional wrestling training and compete for a contract with WWE. There were two winners per season ...
season 4. He did not wrestle any matches for WWE in 2005. Instead, he continued working in the independents.
In June 2006, Snow returned to wrestling full-time as a member of the new
ECW brand. His first appearance in the new brand was in the WWE vs ECW
Battle Royal
Battle royal (, also battle royale) traditionally refers to a fight involving many combatants, usually conducted under either boxing or wrestling rules, where the winner is the one who registers the most wins. In recent times, the term has been ...
at the "WWE vs. ECW Head to Head" special, where he was accompanied by Head. He was eliminated from the match. On the June 13, 2006, debut of ''ECW on Sci-Fi'', Snow participated in an Extreme Battle Royal, which was won by
Sabu. Over the next four months, he was used sporadically, mostly as a
jobber, losing to people such as
Test and
Kevin Thorn. Snow was taken off the ECW roster in October 2006.
Developmental and departure (2007–2008)
Snow then returned with the company as a trainer at
Ohio Valley Wrestling in 2007. On the February 3, 2007 OVW TV tapings, Snow was named the new OVW Troubleshooter by
Danny Davis in response to
Danny Basham's WWE release. On Raw XV, the 15th-Anniversary special on December 10, 2007, Snow participated in the 15th Anniversary Battle Royal where he eliminated
Doink the Clown and
Gangrel. He was eliminated by
Flash Funk. After WWE ceased affiliations with Ohio Valley Wrestling in February 2008, Sarven was released from his position as a trainer.
Independent circuit (2003–2006, 2007, 2008–present)
Snow was allowed to compete on 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. ...
while under contract with the WWE. Snow would feud with
Chris Candido for Northeast Wrestling in Connecticut in the fall of 2004. On May 7, 2005, Snow teamed with
D'Lo Brown losing to
Mick Foley and
Shane Douglas at Mark Curtis Memorial Reunion in Johnson City, Tennessee. In 2006, Snow was pinned by the
Millennium Wrestling Federation (MWF)
Heavyweight Champion "Sudden Impact" Dylan Kage of
Paul Bearer's Trifecta stable at ''MWF Fireworks On The 4th''. Snow would return to WWE's active roster full time in June 2006.
After being released in February 2008 by WWE, Snow has regularly competed in several independent promotions in the U.S. and Europe, especially in the U.K. and Germany. In March 2009, he made an appearance in
Chikara's
King of Trios tournament, teaming up with
Glacier
A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...
and
D'Lo Brown.
On October 21, 2022, Snow and Kal Herro won the OFE Tag Team as the Newest Rockers. Snow wore attire that he wore as Leif Cassidy.
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling / Impact Wrestling (2008–2017)
In the lead-up to the December 7, 2008, TNA show
Final Resolution,
Mick Foley assigned himself as the
special guest enforcer for the match between
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 ...
and
Rhino. Angle said he had hired "another former World Champion" and someone who had co-held a world tag team title with Foley. This person would debut during Angle's match to "take care of Foley". And on the night in question, Al Snow revealed himself to be the mystery ally of Angle, who interrupted the match by slapping Foley. The distraction allowed Angle to beat Rhino.
In March 2010, Sarven received a tryout as an agent for TNA Wrestling. He made his return to television on the July 15, 2010, edition of ''Impact!'', aligning himself with fellow ECW alumni
Tommy Dreamer,
Raven,
Stevie Richards,
Rhino,
Brother Devon,
Pat Kenney and Mick Foley in their invitation by Dixie Carter to TNA. The following week, TNA president
Dixie Carter
Dixie Virginia Carter (May 25, 1939 – April 10, 2010) was an American actress. She starred as Julia Sugarbaker on the sitcom ''Designing Women'' (1986–1993) and as Randi King on the drama series ''Family Law (American TV series), Family La ...
agreed to give the ECW alumni their own reunion pay–per–view event,
Hardcore Justice: The Last Stand, as a celebration of hardcore wrestling and a final farewell to the company. At the event Snow was defeated by Rhino in a three-way match, which also included
Brother Runt. After that, he appeared onscreen in his real-life role as company agent on multiple occasions, often alongside fellow agents Ace "D'Lo Brown" Conner and Pat Kenney. Sarven currently holds the title of producer for the company. In Spring 2011, Snow returned to OVW, dividing his time between his TNA duties and work as a show producer for OVW. In November of that year, OVW became TNA's official developmental territory.
In May 2012, Snow began appearing as a judge in the monthly
Gut Check segment on ''Impact Wrestling''.
The following July, Snow started a storyline rivalry with
Joey Ryan, who had been denied a spot on the TNA roster, following his appearance on TNA Gut Check. After Snow tricked Ryan into signing a contract for a match, the two met on October 14 at
Bound for Glory, where Snow wrestled only his second match for TNA, losing to Ryan, following interference from
Matt Morgan.

On January 12, 2013, Snow took part in
Joker's Wild (which aired May 3, 2013), teaming with recent rival
Joey Ryan, in a loss against
Matt Morgan and
Robbie T.
On the August 7, 2014, edition of ''Impact Wrestling'', Snow returned to team with
Team 3D (
Bully Ray and
Devon
Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...
) and
Tommy Dreamer against
Ethan Carter III,
Rhino,
Big Rycklon and
Gene Snitsky in an eight-man Hardcore War in a winning effort.
On the February 13, 2015, edition of ''Impact Wrestling'' (which was taped on January 29), Snow returned to TV as a heel, where he was seen in the
SSE Hydro, calling out Scottish wrestler and
British Boot Camp 2 contestant,
Grado. Grado would come out to the ring where Snow would give him the opportunity to retire from wrestling, Grado would not take the offer. On the February 20 edition of ''Impact Wrestling'' (also taped January 29) Snow would face Grado in a losing effort, after which he would then go on to shake Grado's hand turning face in the process. Afterwards, the
Beat Down Clan (BDC) would go on to attack both Snow and Grado, but were saved by the debuting
Drew Galloway, would fend off the BDC and who would then stand tall in the ring alongside Al Snow and his friend, Grado. At
Bound for Glory 2015 Snow competed in the Bound for Gold Gauntlet. On the March 29, 2016 ''Impact Wrestling'' Snow returned as a heel attacking Grado backstage.
On the April 5, 2016 ''Impact Wrestling'' TNA Management Director
Billy Corgan suspended Al Snow for the week without pay and said next week he must apologise. When Al Snow returned from his suspension week, he entered the ring and said the ease new talents get today with earning respect and a name in the professional wrestling business, drove him crazy as he and others of his and generations before him needed to get some for quite a long time and fight hard to prove themselves worthy back then. He invited Mahabali Shera to the ring and apologized to him for attacking him and Grado, breaking Grado's arm in the process. Shera shook hands with him, only for Al Snow to betray and attack him once they went out of the ring. At a backstage segment, Al Snow said angrily he doesn't need to apologize and explain himself to rookies and if they want his apology and respect they need to defeat him in a match.
A week after, Al Snow had a match with Shera in which before and a bit during the match he has blamed the wrestling changes on the fans and said they are cowards for sitting behind the barricades and not coming to the ring to face him. Shera gave a good fight, but Al Snow eventually won the match. In the May 10 episode of ''Impact!'', Shera and Snow had a rematch where Al Snow played games and almost won with his cheating tactics, however, he eventually failed to win due to Grado involving himself in the match, making sure Shera wins. At backstage, a bit later, Al Snow was interviewed and talked angrily, cursing Grado and Shera in the process. On May 24 episode of ''Impact!'', Al Snow went on to win a back and forth street fight against Grado with the help of the debuting
Basille Baraka and
Baron Dax, thus forming the tag team faction known as The Tribunal. On November 10, episode of ''Impact'', The Tribunal attacked him until Shera made the save, turning face once again in the process. On December 8 episode of ''Impact Wrestling'', Snow and Shera defeated The Tribunal in a Double Strap Match to end the feud. On June 19, 2017, Al Snow was released from Impact Wrestling.
Ohio Valley Wrestling (2018–present)
On April 7, 2018, it was reported Snow purchased
Ohio Valley Wrestling.
In January 2021, Snow sold a majority interest in OVW to a group led by radio host
Matt Jones, and former
21c Museum Hotels CEO and current mayor of
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...
,
Craig Greenberg. Snow continues to run the promotion's day-to-day operations.
On August 27, 2022, Snow and
Doug Basham defeated Adam Revolver and Joe Mack at OVW The Big One.
Snow was heavily featured in the docuseries ''
Wrestlers
Wrestling is a Martial arts, martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling ...
'', a
Netflix
Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
released series focused on OVW that was released September 13, 2023. Following the series release, OVW had their first Thursday night sold-out show in eight years.
Acting career
He had a cameo as the Nome King in the feature film ''
Dorothy and the Witches of Oz'' (2012) with
Christopher Lloyd, as well as starring in the action film ''Overtime'', and the comedy film ''Agua Caliente''. He had an uncredited role in the drama film ''
Rudy'' (1993). Snow also appeared in ''They're Just My Friends'' (2006) and co-stars alongside Tiger Chung Lee in ''Mountain Mafia'' (2009). In 2006, he played himself in the independent feature film ''
The Still Life''.
Snow can also be seen as the brutal serial killer Grim, also known as "The Reaper's", in ''Feathered Italian Films'' latest slasher films ''
The Legacy'' and ''Hell House''. Head also cameos in "The Legacy". He was one of the leads in the sci-fi/action/comedy film ''Overtime'' (2011) by director Matt Niehoff.
Snow had a quick line in the wrestling documentary ''
Beyond the Mat''. He also participated in the wrestling documentary, ''
Bloodstained Memoirs''.
Al Snow also appeared as a coach on ''
WWE Tough Enough
''WWE Tough Enough'' is an American professional wrestling reality competition series that was produced by WWE, wherein participants undergo professional wrestling training and compete for a contract with WWE. There were two winners per season ...
'' (then called ''WWF Tough Enough'') during the show's first three seasons.
On November 10, 2012, Snow, along with several other TNA workers, was featured in an episode of
MTV's ''
Made''.
Snow completed his work as the "Man in Black" for the independent
horror film
Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...
''
Lake Eerie'' on October 23, 2013. The film stars
Lance Henriksen,
Betsy Baker and was released in Summer 2015. Snow also played "Henchman" in
Jessica Sonneborn's horror film ''Alice D''.
Snow has starred as the lead in independent films by
Little Monsters Entertainment including Dan Remington in "Unnatural" (Oct. 2024), and Kentucky Joe in "Home-less for the Holidays" (Nov. 2024).
Business endeavors
Al Snow is the co-founder of "Collar X Elbow", a clothing brand for
independent wrestling fans.
Al Snow Wrestling Academy
Near the end of 2015, Al Snow and Simon Van Der Wolf started a training academy, originally based in the UK but since expanded to include branches in many other countries. They along with other professional wrestlers (including
Joe E. Legend,
Doug Williams, Phil Powers, Jonny Storm, John Klinger, and many more) held tryouts in February 2016. In April 2019, local media in Louisville reported that the academy had applied to the
Kentucky Department of Education for formal accreditation as a vocational school. The academy has developed a two-year, 60-credit hour program (on the semester system) in all aspects of the wrestling business, ranging from in-ring performance to writing and TV production. Assuming state approval is received, the Louisville academy will start accepting applications for the vocational program in May 2019 and start accredited instruction that August.
Personal life
Snow has been married three times. He married Pam Sarven in 1986 and the couple had two children. They divorced in 2004. His second wife was fellow wrestler
Cynthia Lynch who wrestled under the name of Bobcat. They married in 2009 and divorced in 2015. In 2017, he married his third wife, Jessica Gousha. In 2021, Snow saved the life of a child from an ocean riptide at
Santa Rosa Beach.
''Self-Help: Life Lessons from the Bizarre Wrestling Career of Al Snow''
On August 29, 2017, Prowrestling.net broke the news that Snow had signed a deal with ECW Press to release an autobiography. Co-written by Ross Owen Williams, who also co-authored
Bob Holly's autobiography ''The Hardcore Truth'', the book was released in April 2019. In the press release, Snow said "we want the book to cover more than what I did in front of the cameras. There are so many stories from the road—things that only seem to happen to me—that have made me who I am today. I've always considered every new situation as a potential learning experience and this book will give me the opportunity to share that, for better or for worse."
Championships and accomplishments
*Appalachian Mountain Wrestling
**AMW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
*
Border City Wrestling
** BCW Can-Am Tag Team Championship (
1 time) – with Denny Kass
*Cal-International Pro Wrestling
**CIPW Americas Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
* Global Wrestling Alliance
** GWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
** GWA Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
** GWA Tag Team Championship (5 times) – with Mike Kelly
** Bodyslammers Gym Tournament (1994)
* Great Lakes Championship Wrestling
** GLCW Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
**GLCW Tag Team Championship (2 times, current) - with Mike Curkov & Kal Herro
* High Risk Pro Wrestling
** HRPW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
** HRPW World Heavyweight Title Tournament (2010)
*
Jersey All Pro Wrestling
**
JAPW Heavyweight Championship (
1 time)
*Legends Pro Wrestling
**Inducted into the LPW Hall of Fame (2011)
* Masterz of Mayhem
** MoM Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Mickey Doyle
* Midwest Championship Wrestling
** MCW-ICW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
** MCW Midwest Tag Team Championship (2 times)
** MCW Midwest Territorial Championship (1 time)
** MCW-ICW United States Tag Team Championship (6 times)
* Midwest Territorial Wrestling
** MTW Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
** MTW Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Ray Roberts
**MTW Heavyweight Championship Tournament (1994)
* Motor City Wrestling
** MCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
** MCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Denny Kass
* One Fall Wrestling
** OFW Tag Team Championship (1 time, current) - with Kal Herro
* ''
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 ...
''
** Ranked No. 52 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the ''
PWI 500'' in 1999
** Ranked No. 329 of the top 500 singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003
* Pro Wrestling Ulster
** PWU Championship (1 time)
*Qatar Pro Wrestling
**QPW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with
Apolo
*
Smoky Mountain Wrestling
**
SMW Tag Team Championship (
1 time) – with
Unabomb
**
SMW United States Junior Heavyweight Championship (
1 time)
*Squared Circle Expo
** SCX Tag Team Championship (1 time, current) - with Kal Herro
*Top of the World Wrestling
** TOW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with
Pierre Carl Ouellet
*Ultimate Wrestling Experience
**UWE United States Championship (1 time)
*Universal Championship Wrestling
**UCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
* USA Pro Wrestling
** USA Pro Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
* USA Xtreme Wrestling
** UXW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
* Zona de Combate – Federacion Nacional de Lucha Libre (Chile)
** ZDC Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
* ''
Wrestling Observer Newsletter
The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts.
Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four Wee ...
''
**
Most Underrated (1996)
**
Worst Worked Match of the Year (1999)
*
World Wrestling Alliance
**
WWA Heavyweight Championship (
1 time)
*
World Wrestling Association
The World Wrestling Association (WWA) (Asociación Mundial de Lucha Libre in Spanish language, Spanish) is a lucha libre promotion based in the Tijuana-area of Mexico. It was founded in 1986 by Benjamin Mora Jr.. It featured some of Mexico's best ...
**
WWA World Tag Team Championship (
1 time) – with Mickey Doyle
*
World Wrestling Federation
**
WWF European Championship (
1 time)
**
WWF Hardcore Championship (
6 times)
**
WWF Tag Team Championship (
1 time) – with
Mankind
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Snow, Al
1963 births
American male professional wrestlers
Living people
Ohio Valley Wrestling
Professional wrestlers from Ohio
American professional wrestling announcers
Professional wrestling promoters
American professional wrestling trainers
Sportspeople from Lima, Ohio
ECW Originals members
Toy controversies
WWF European Champions
WWF/WWE Hardcore Champions
20th-century male professional wrestlers
20th-century American professional wrestlers
21st-century male professional wrestlers
21st-century American professional wrestlers
SMW Tag Team Champions
SMW United States Junior Heavyweight Champions
World Tag Team Champions (WWE, 1971–2010)