Mark Thomas Smith (September 24, 1970 – November 22, 2011) 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 ...

, 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 ...

, Bison Smith. He was best known for his appearances with Pro Wrestling Noah in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

; and

World Wrestling Council The World Wrestling Council (WWC; Spanish: "Consejo Mundial de Lucha") is a professional wrestling promotion based in Puerto Rico. It was originally established as Capitol Sports Promotions in 1973 by Carlos Colón, Victor Jovica, and Goril ...

and International Wrestling Association in

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. In January 2009, he joined the American

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

Ring of Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011; the promotion was subs ...

. After being trained by Donovan Morgan and

Michael Modest Michael K. Cariglio (born July 19, 1971) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his stage name, Michael Modest (sometimes shortened to Mike Modest). Modest ran the promotion Pro Wrestling Iron with tag partner Donovan Morgan and F ...

, Smith began wrestling 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. ...

. He began competing for the International Wrestling Association in Puerto Rico in 2003, and held the IWA World Heavyweight Championship on two occasions, the

IWA World Tag Team Championship The IWA World Tag Team Championship is a Tag Team Championship defended in Puerto Rico.The titles were first introduced in the first incarnation of the International Wrestling Association, where they are defended. They also made a brief appearan ...

once, the

IWA Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship The IWA Intercontinental Championship is a secondary professional wrestling Championship (professional wrestling), title defended in Puerto Rico. It was originally defended in the original International Wrestling Association (Puerto Rico), Inte ...

once, and the IWA Hardcore Championship one time. He also wrestled for Pro Wrestling Noah, and on May 23, 2008, he won the

GHC Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling tag team Championship (professional wrestling), title in Japanese Professional wrestling promotion, promotion Pro Wrestling Noah. It was created on October 19, 2001, when Big Van Vader, Vader and 2 Cold Scorpio, Sc ...

with Akitoshi Saito and again on April 14, 2010, with Keith Walker. He also won the Global Tag League tournament with Saito in 2008. In January 2009, he debuted for Ring of Honor, where he was pushed as "unstoppable", before he joined

Prince Nana Nana Osei Bandoh (born August 1, 1979), better known by his ring name, Prince Nana, is an American professional wrestling manager and former professional wrestler of Ghanaian descent. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he serves a ...

Embassy A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a Sovereign state, state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase ...

faction.

Early life and career

Smith was born in

Arcadia, California Arcadia is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located about northeast of downtown Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley and at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. It contains a series of adjacent parks consisting of t ...

and moved to

Fresno, California Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...

when he was one year old, where he was raised. He began

weightlifting Weightlifting or weight lifting generally refers to physical exercises and sports in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells, barbells or machines. People engage in weightlifting for a variety of different reasons. These can ...

at the age of 13. He played

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

at the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver, and the U ...

, where he was an

offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line ( ...

. After his final year at college, Smith worked as a furniture mover. He later moved to

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

Professional wrestling career

Training and early career

While in California Smith trained at the All Pro Wrestling

under Donovan Morgan and Mike Modest. He debuted in 1998. He also wrestled under a mask in 2000 as "Super Destroyer 2000" managed by Buddy Sotello Esq. as part of the "Sotello Syndicate", along with tag team partner Vinnie "the Innovator" Massaro.

Independent and Japanese promotions

Smith toured in Japan first in July 2001. On June 7, 2003, Smith won the Pro Wrestling IRON Heavyweight Championship, by defeating Bart Blaxson, and held the title for nearly two years before he dropped it on April 28, 2005, to California wrestler Malachi. He competed for the International Wrestling Association (IWA) in

, where, on November 1, 2003, he defeated Glamour Boy Shane to win the IWA World Heavyweight Championship, which he held for over a month, before losing it back to Glamour Boy Shane. On July 16, 2004, he defeated Slash Venom to win the vacant IWA Hardcore Championship. He lost it later that month to Chet Jablonski. On September 25, 2004, Smith won the New Breed Wrestling Association's top championship, the NBWA Championship, when he and Morgan defeated B. J. Whitmer and

ODB ODB may refer to: People * Ol' Dirty Bastard (1968–2004), American rapper and founding member of the Wu-Tang Clan * ODB (wrestler) (born 1978), Stage name of American professional wrestler Jessica Kresa * Original David Baker (born 1972), a monik ...

in a tag team match, where the person who won the

pin A pin is a device, typically pointed, used for fastening objects or fabrics together. Pins can have the following sorts of body: *a shaft of a rigid inflexible material meant to be inserted in a slot, groove, or hole (as with pivots, hinges, an ...

, won the Championship. He competed sporadically for the next few months, and won the

from Glamour Boy Shane on November 20, 2005. He held the Championship for over a year, before losing it to Slash Venom on December 12, 2005, in a

steel cage match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Gimmick, gimmick matches" in the Glossary of professional wrestling terms, jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick m ...

. He began competing for the

ese promotion, Pro Wrestling Noah, in 2005, where he competed mainly in tag team matches. He made his Pro Wrestling Noah debut on May 29, 2005, where he, Akitoshi Saito, and

Takashi Sugiura is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working for Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah). Sugiura, an accomplished amateur wrestler, joined Noah's dojo in 2000, making his professional debut on December 23, 2000, and thus becoming the first wrestl ...

defeated

Akira Taue is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his runs in All Japan Pro Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Noah, where he worked for all of his career in both promotions. A former sumo wrestler who went under the name , he retire ...

, Takuma Sano, and Jun Izumida. In his next appearance two days later, Smith and

Low Ki Brandon Silvestry (born September 6, 1979) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Low Ki. He is known for his time with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, TNA Wrestling, Ring of Honor and Major ...

were defeated by

KENTA Kenta (廉侍) is a masculine Japanese given name. (written: , , , or in katakana). Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese baseball player *, Japanese film director *, Japanese kickboxer *, Japanese professional wrestler *, Japane ...

and

Kenta Kobashi (born, March 27, 1967) is a Japanese professional wrestling promoter and retired wrestler. Broadly referred to by the nickname , he is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time. He is best known for his two run ...

. He teamed with fellow Americans, and his trainers,

and Donovan Morgan in June to defeat

Takeshi Rikio Takeshi Inoue (born December 20, 1972) known by his stage name , is a Japanese retired professional wrestler, who worked for Pro Wrestling Noah. He is also a former sumo wrestler. Sumo career He made his sumo debut in March 1988, after leavi ...

Muhammad Yone , better known by his ring name , is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working for Pro Wrestling Noah, where he is a multi-time GHC Tag Team Champion, a one time GHC Openweight Hardcore Champion and winner of the Global Tag League in ...

, and

Yoshinobu Kanemaru is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling, where he is a member of House of Torture and a former member of Bullet Club. He also works as a backstage producer for NJPW. Professional wrestling career ...

, which was followed by a defeat for his team, also including Akitoshi Saito and Masao Inoue, to

Mitsuharu Misawa was a Japanese professional wrestler and promoter. He is primarily known for spending 18 years with All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) and subsequently leading the 2000 All Japan Pro Wrestling mass exodus, which culminated in him forming Pro W ...

, Akira Taue, and Jun Izumida. Smith didn't appear again in Pro Wrestling Noah until he went on a tour with them in November 2005, where he usually teamed up with fellow "

gaijin is a Japanese word for foreigners and non-Japanese citizens in Japan, specifically being applied to foreigners of non-Japanese ethnicity and those from the Japanese diaspora who are not Japanese citizens. The word is composed of two kanji: a ...

s", or foreigners, most commonly Low Ki. He also teamed with

Nigel McGuinness Steven Haworth (born 23 January 1972), better known by his ring name Nigel McGuinness, is an English professional wrestling, professional wrestler and commentator. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he serves as a color commentato ...

, Doug Williams and Scorpio on various occasions throughout November and December 2005. At the start of 2006, Smith returned to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, where he began competing for New Wrestling Superstars. In August 2006, Smith began regularly wrestling for Fusion Pro Wrestling. He also wrestled for the

American Wrestling Federation The American Wrestling Federation (AWF) was a professional wrestling federation founded by Paul Alperstein active from 1994 to 1996. The promotion was based in Chicago, Illinois, but held shows in many other eastern states of the United States. Th ...

(AWF), and on November 11, 2006, he won the AWF Heavyweight Championship by defeating Steve Gatorwolf. In July 2007, he returned to the IWA in Puerto Rico, where he won the IWA World Heavyweight title for the second time by defeating

Chicano Chicano (masculine form) or Chicana (feminine form) is an ethnic identity for Mexican Americans that emerged from the Chicano Movement. In the 1960s, ''Chicano'' was widely reclaimed among Hispanics in the building of a movement toward politic ...

on July 15. He later lost the Championship to Blitz on September 30, 2007. In October 2007, while touring Japan with Pro Wrestling Noah, he suffered a broken breastbone. In 2008, he returned to Pro Wrestling Noah, and, with Akitoshi Saito, won the

on May 23, by defeating

Naomichi Marufuji (born September 26, 1979) is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to Pro Wrestling Noah. Marufuji is a four-time GHC Heavyweight Champion, as well as the first of two men to win Junior Heavyweight Championships in all three major Japanese ...

and

. Smith and Saito also won the Global Tag League 2008. On April 14, 2010, Smith teamed up with Keith Walker to win the GHC Tag Team Championship from

h and Muhammad Yone. On August 31, however, Walker's father died. Walker later chose not to immediately return to Japan, and on September 10 both Smith and Walker were stripped of the GHC Tag Team Championship. On January 15, 2011, Smith unsuccessfully challenged Takashi Sugiura for the

GHC Heavyweight Championship The is the professional wrestling world heavyweight championship created and promoted by Japanese promotion Pro Wrestling Noah, which was merged with DDT Pro-Wrestling to form CyberFight in 2020. It is one of CyberFight's two top men's world ...

Ring of Honor

Smith made his

(ROH) debut at ''Full Circle'' on January 16, 2009, in

Manassas, Virginia Manassas (), formerly Manassas Junction, is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. The population was 42,772 at the 2020 Census. It is the county seat of ...

, by interrupting a match between Rhett Titus and Sean Denny, and attacking both men. The next night at ''Injustice II'', Smith interrupted a match between Grizzly Redwood and Chris Escobar, and attacked both men. At the Caged Collision pay-per-view, which was taped on January 31, Smith attacked

Bryan Danielson Bryan Lloyd Danielson (born May 22, 1981) is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs on a part time basis. He is also known for his tenure in WWE, where he performed under t ...

, during a number one contender's match,

powerbomb A powerbomb is a professional wrestling throw in which an opponent is lifted (usually so that they are sitting on the wrestler's shoulders) and then slammed back-first down to the mat. The standard powerbomb sees an opponent first placed in a s ...

ing him on the floor and giving him a

concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include headache, dizziness, difficulty with thinking and concentration, sleep disturbances, a brief ...

. Smith made his in-ring debut on February 6, at ''Proving Ground 2009 Night One''. He quickly defeated

Sal Rinauro Salvatore Rinauro (born September 12, 1982) is an American professional wrestler, performing for the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). He is best known for his work in Ring of Honor, Full Impact Pro and National Wrestling Alliance in addition to ...

gaining the victory with the Skull Vise Slam. The next night at ''Proving Ground Night Two'', Smith gained his second victory, defeating John Kermon. On the March 4 edition of the ''ROH Video Wire'', it was revealed that

, a

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

who had just recently returned to ROH, was controlling Smith. Smith had his first loss in ROH on March 13 at ''Stylin' and Profilin, when he lost to Danielson by

countout 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 ...

. Smith made his debut in the

Hammerstein Ballroom The Hammerstein Ballroom is a ballroom located within the Manhattan Center at 311 West 34th Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The capacity of the ballroom is dependent on the configuration of the room; it seats 2,000 people for theat ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in a losing effort teaming with the returning Jimmy Rave against Danielson and the returning

Colt Cabana Scott Colton (born May 6, 1980), better known by the ring name Colt Cabana, is an American professional wrestler, color commentator, and podcaster. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a wrestler and as a coach, and he performs the same ...

on March 21. Smith, with Rave and Ernie Osiris, then joined the newly reformed

faction, led by Prince Nana.

Death

Smith died on November 22, 2011, in

due to heart complications. Men in Smith's family had a history of early deaths linked to heart disease, Smith's maternal grandfather died at the age of 43 due to heart disease, and several of his maternal great-uncles also passed away from heart-related issues. Heart disease was a recurring condition in Smith's family. Smith was in Puerto Rico because he was due to fight Eddie Colon the same week during

's ''Crossfire'' show. The event started with a tribute to Smith by Willie Urbina with the WWC roster in the arena.

Championships and accomplishments

* All Pro Wrestling ** APW Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with Boyce LeGrande *

** AWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time) * International Wrestling Association ** IWA World Heavyweight Championship (

2 times "2 Times" is the debut single of English singer Ann Lee. It was released in Italy in December 1998 by X-Energy as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999), and was issued worldwide the following year. The single peaked at number tw ...

) **

( 1 time) ** IWA Hardcore Championship ( 1 time) **

( 1 time) – with Miguel Perez *New Breed Wrestling Association **NBWA 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 ...

'' **PWI ranked him #196 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 2010 *Pro Wrestling IRON **PWI International Wrestling Championship (1 time) * Pro Wrestling Noah **

(

) – with Akitoshi Saito (1) and Keith Walker (1) **

Global Tag League The Global Tag League is a professional wrestling round-robin tag team tournament held by Pro Wrestling Noah. It was created in 2008. The Global Tag League is held under a points system, with two points for a win, one for a time limit draw and n ...

(

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

) – with Akitoshi Saito **Global Tag League Outstanding Performance (2009)- with Akitoshi Saito **Global Tag League Technique Prize (2011)- with Masao Inoue

References

External links

Profile at Green Destiny

Profile at Purolove.com
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Bison 1970 births 2011 deaths 21st-century male professional wrestlers 21st-century American professional wrestlers People from Fresno, California Colorado Buffaloes football players American male professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from California GHC Tag Team Champions Global Tag League winners