Shayne Alexander Bower (April 18, 1963 – June 24, 2007), 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 ...

Biff Wellington, was a Canadian

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 was born, raised, and died in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Professional wrestling career

Shayne Bower trained with the Hart Brothers school by Keith Hart, Mr. Hito and

Hiroshi Hase is a Japanese politician and semi-retired professional wrestler who is currently the governor of Ishikawa Prefecture. As a professional wrestler, Hase primarily worked for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), and also for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJ ...

. He made his debut in December 1986 using the name "Biff Wellington" in

Stampede Wrestling Stampede Wrestling was a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta. For nearly 50 years, it was one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies. Originally established by Stu Hart in 1948, the prom ...

as a

villain A villain (also known as a " black hat", "bad guy" or "baddy"; The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.126 "baddy (also baddie) noun (pl. -ies) ''informal'' a villain or criminal in a book, film, etc.". the feminine form is villai ...

, but then transitioned to a fan favourite, which he was for the remainder of his time there. In Stampede, Wellington frequently tagged with

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 ...

. In 1989, Wellington and Benoit beat Makhan Singh and Vokhan Singh to become Stampede Wrestling's International Tag Team Champions. After Stampede Wrestling shut down in December 1989, Wellington worked in various promotions in Canada, such as the Canadian National Wrestling Alliance (CNWA) and Canadian Rocky Mountain Wrestling (CRMW). Wellington then received tryouts for the

World Wrestling Federation 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, ...

at the

Olympic Saddledome Scotiabank Saddledome is a multi-use indoor arena in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Located in Stampede Park in the southeast end of downtown Calgary, the Saddledome was built in 1983 to replace the Stampede Corral as the home of the Calgary Flames ...

Calgary, Alberta Calgary () is a major city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a Metropolitan area, metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the List of ...

during a live event on July 8 and the next night, July 9, at the

Northlands Coliseum Northlands Coliseum is a defunct indoor arena in Edmonton, Alberta. It was used for sports events and concerts, and was home to the Edmonton Oilers of the World Hockey Association (WHA) and National Hockey League (NHL), and the Edmonton Oil Kin ...

Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

, with Wellington beating fellow Canadian Hugh Thomas with a tombstone piledriver ( kneeling belly-to-belly piledriver). Despite impressing WWF management, Wellington did not receive a contract with the WWF and returned to the Canadian indies. In June 1992, Wellington and Benoit appeared in

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 ...

Clash of the Champions XIX ''Clash of the Champions'' is an American series of professional wrestling television specials that were produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) in conjunction with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). ...

, representing Canada in the

NWA World Tag Team Championship The NWA World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling World Tag Team Championship, world tag team championship created by the National Wrestling Alliance. From 1948 to 1982, the NWA allowed List of National Wrestling Alliance territories ...

tournament; they were defeated by

Brian Pillman Brian William Pillman (May 22, 1962 – October 5, 1997) was an American professional wrestler and professional football player best known for his appearances in Stampede Wrestling in the 1980s and World Championship Wrestling (WCW), Extreme ...

and Jushin "Thunder" Liger in the first round. Later that year, Wellington was recognized as the first CRMW North American Heavyweight Champion. Between 1988 and 1994, Wellington worked on 28 consecutive tours with

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional-wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, and based in Nakano, Tokyo. It is currently majority owned by card-game company Bushiroad, with TV As ...

. In Japan, he feuded with Jushin Thunder Liger and continued to team with Benoit, who was known in Japan as the "Pegasus Kid" or "Wild Pegasus". He also worked in the Maritimes as Buddy Hart, and in Mexico. Wellington had a brief stint 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 ...

between 1995 and 1996. He sustained an eye injury in an accident during a match against

Taz Taz or TAZ may refer to: Geography *Taz (river), a river in western Siberia, Russia *Taz Estuary, the estuary of the river Taz in Russia People * Taz people, an ethnic group in Russia ** Taz language, a form of Northeastern Mandarin spoken by ...

in May 1996. Wellington then became dependent on

prescription medication A prescription drug (also prescription medication, prescription medicine or prescription-only medication) is a pharmaceutical drug that is permitted to be dispensed only to those with a medical prescription. In contrast, over-the-counter drugs ca ...

to prevent nerves in his eye from dying. He retired from active competition after the incident, although he occasionally wrestled in promotions near his hometown such as Extreme Canadian Championship Wrestling. A year later in 1997, Wellington returned to Calgary wrestling for Can-Am Wrestling Federation Wrestling until his last match in 2000.

Personal life

He had a daughter named Alexandra Shayne Bower from a previous relationship.

Death

In later years, Bower suffered from health issues mostly stemming from his back, also suffering strokes and battling drug addiction. Bower's parents found him dead in bed at his home on June 24, 2007; they were both concerned because they hadn't heard from him in four days. Medical officials examining the body believe he had been dead for a few days of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

at the age of 44. He is survived by his daughter Alexandra, parents and brother. Coincidentally, his body was found on the same day that his friend and former tag partner,

, committed suicide by hanging. Benoit had killed his 43-year-old wife Nancy and 7-year-old son Daniel two days earlier.

Championships and accomplishments

*Canadian Rocky Mountain Wrestling **CRMW North American Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Can-Am Wrestling Federation **Can-Am Heavyweight Championship (1 Time) *

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.420 of the top 500 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 2007. *

Stampede International Tag Team Championship The Stampede International Tag Team Championship was the main tag team title in the Canadian professional wrestling promotion Stampede Wrestling. It was created in 1958 as the NWA International Tag Team Championship (Calgary version). When promo ...

( 1 time) – with

References

External links