Chris Raaber
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Chris Raaber (born September 6, 1981) is an
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
n
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 ...
Bambikiller (occasionally spelled Bambi Killer). He runs his own promotion European Wrestling Association. Raaber is a former one time (Zero1) World Heavyweight Champion, one-time wXw Heavyweight Champion and four-time EWA World Heavyweight Champion.


Professional wrestling career


Europe

In 1997, Chris Raaber met with Michael Kovac who was wrestling in Europe; by then Raaber accepted Kovac's offer to teach him to wrestle. At the age of 16, Raaber made his debut in Independent Wrestling World wrestling in
Hannover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...
,
Niedersachsen Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...
,
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, against Gary Mountain as he lost by disqualification. Less than a year into his career, Raaber won the WFU Rookie Trophy by defeating German Kid in the finals of the tournament. During his early years, Raaber wrestled for several German promotions including German Wrestling Association, German Wrestling Federation and NWA Germany. After a short stint in North America, Raaber returned to Germany, making his debut for
Westside Xtreme Wrestling Westside Xtreme Wrestling, commonly shortened to wXw, is a German professional wrestling promotion based in Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. wXw has been one of the leading professional wrestling promotions in Germany, and most of its event ...
in May 2001. After winning a number one contenders tournament, Raaber faced Mad Cow for the vacant wXw World Heavyweight Championship, which he lost. However, on February 3, 2002, he won another number one contenders tournament and defeated Thomas Blade for the wXw World Heavyweight Championship. He later vacated the title in July 2002. During his time as champion, he won the ACW International Championship from Aykut in May and in June he made his
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
debut where he won the EWA World Heavyweight Championship. Raaber lost his ACW International Championship back to Aykut in September only to win it back in December, he lost the title to Mr. Natural Wonder in March 2003. As the EWA World Heavyweight Champion, Raaber wrestled throughout western Europe, making his debut in France. On December 14, 2004, Raaber lost the championship to Cannonball Grizzly but regained it on April 3, 2005. On April 2, 2006, Raaber won the ICW Italian Championship in a fatal four way but would lose it a month later to Kaio. In December, he would lose to Joe E. Legend in the semi-final of the EPW Iron Man Tournament and the next day would defeat him by DQ in a match for the EPW Heavyweight Championship. In August 2007, Raaber made his debut in Finland and took on Finland's top star, Starbuck and would retain his World Championship. In September, Raaber would win the Königsschlacht Battle Royal at the European Wrestling Association. On April 5, 2008, Raaber made it to the final of the King Of Kutenholz Tournament before losing to Karsten Kretschmer. In the spring of 2009, Raaber had to vacate the EWA World Heavyweight Championship when he signed a development contract with
World Wrestling Entertainment 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, ...
. Raaber returned to Europe in early 2010 and made a sudden impact the EWA Iron Man Cup 2010 on April 24. In November he would tour with American Wrestling Rampage. On April 9, 2011, Raaber won his fourth EWA World Heavyweight Championship when he defeated Tiny Iron for the vacant title. In October 2012, Raaber won the Catch Wrestling World Grand Prix by last defeating Nelson Frazier, Jr.


America

As he was wrestling throughout Europe and he met with
Ian Rotten John Benson Williams (born June 1, 1970) is an American professional wrestler and Promoter (entertainment), promoter better known by his ring name Ian Rotten. He has wrestled in the Global Wrestling Federation (GWF), Extreme Championship Wrestli ...
during one of their shows in Germany then started training the American style of wrestling, Raaber was sent on a learning excursion to the United States where he enter the Funking Conservatory a professional wrestling school in
Ocala, Florida Ocala ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marion County, Florida, United States. Located in North Central Florida, the city's population was 63,591 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, up from 56,315 at the 2010 census and making ...
, run by Dory Funk Jr. and became the FC International Champion. While in the US he appeared on
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 ...
as part of R and B Security with
James Storm James Allen Cox (born June 1, 1977) is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name James Storm. He currently competes on the independent circuit. He is best known for his time in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). He sta ...
, Cassidy O'Reilly and Chris Harris, although he didn't have any matches his memorable moment was being
chokeslam A chokeslam is a type of body slam in professional wrestling, in which a wrestler grasps an opponent's neck, lifts them up, and slams them to the mat. It is common in televised wrestling because it is simple and relatively safe, yet looks powerf ...
med to a table by
Scott Steiner Scott Rechsteiner (born July 29, 1962), better known by the ring name Scott Steiner, is an American professional wrestler. Steiner is perhaps best known for his time in World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and has also wrestled for Jim Crockett ...
on ''
Nitro Nitro may refer to: Chemistry *Nitrogen, a chemical element and a gas except at very low temperatures, with which many compounds are formed: **Nitro compound, an organic compound containing one or more nitro functional groups, -NO2 **Nitro ligand ...
''. In 2007, Raaber participated in the Campeonato Internacional De Lucha Libre X-Trema CWS 2007 for Colombian Wrestling Superstars and made it to the final before losing a battle royal to Lloyd Anoaʻi. In spring 2009 it was revealed that Raaber had signed a developmental contract with
World Wrestling Entertainment 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, ...
and was sent to
Florida Championship Wrestling Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) was a professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion based on the former National Wrestling Alliance member promotion, Championship Wrestling from Florida, which operated from 1961 until ...
. He made his debut on May 28, losing to Eric Escobar. Raaber changed his in-ring name to Christoph Herzog and made several FCW TV appearances before being released in late 2009.


Japan

Throughout Raaber's career, he has toured Japan on several occasions under the name Bambikiller for the most part. Raaber debuted for
Pro Wrestling Zero1 , often referred to simply as Zero1 and sometimes referred to as Pro Wrestling Zero1 Catch as Catch Can (stylized as ZERO1 and PRO WRESTLING ZERO1 CATCH AS CATCH CAN, respectively), is a Professional wrestling in Japan, Japanese professional wre ...
in summer 2005 when he participated in the Fire Festival and gained four points, not enough for advancement. In 2006, Raaber became a representative member for an interpromotional company called Global Professional Wrestling Alliance which is run by the founder
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 ...
and joined along with other wrestling organizations. On October 27, 2006, he lost the EWA World Heavyweight Championship to
Takao Omori is a Japanese professional wrestling, professional wrestler, working for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he is a one-time Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship, Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion and seven-time World Tag Team Championship ( ...
but would regain it on November 11. In October 2008, he participated in the Continent Confrontation Tournament. On July 11, 2010, Raaber defeated
Kohei Sato is a Japanese professional wrestler contracted with Pro Wrestling Zero1. Sato is also a former mixed martial artist. Career A former judoka and amateur wrestler, Sato made his transition to mixed martial arts after meeting Kazunari Murakami and ...
to become the World Heavyweight Champion and would lose the title on September 9, 2010, to
Daisuke Sekimoto (born February 9, 1981) is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently signed to Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) in the Strong BJ division. He is also known for his appearances in Pro Wrestling Zero1-Max. He is a three-time BJW World Strong Hea ...
. In 2012, Raaber participated in that years Real World Tag League, paired with Franz Dynamite and only managed to win one match. In November 2013, Bambi Killer came together with D'Lo Brown and Kenso to form the DK (Dark Kingdom) stable. Bambikiller faced New Japan Pro Wrestling star
Hiroshi Tanahashi is a Japanese professional wrestler, sports executive and Podcast, podcaster. He is signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he serves as the president and representative director of the promotion, and is also an active wrestler. Widel ...
at GL1 Gloucester Leisure Centre Oct 4th in England for Superstars Of Wrestling.


Championships and accomplishments

* Catch Wrestling Europe ** CWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time, current) *Athletik Club Wrestling **ACW International Championship (2 times) *Bullhead City Wrestling **Bullhead City Wrestling Championship (1 time) *European Pro Wrestling **EPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *European Wrestling Association **Catch Wrestling World Grand Prix (2012) **Iron Man Cup (2010) **EWA World Heavyweight Championship (5 times) *Federation Francaise de Catch Professional **FFCP Heavyweight Championship (1 time) * Funking Conservatory **FC International Championship (1 time) *Independent Wrestling World **WFU Rookie Championship Trophy **ICW Italian Championship (1 time) *Nigerian Pro-Wrestling Federation **BRF Intercontinental Championship (1 time) *Power Of Wrestling **POW Catch Weltcup (2014) **POW World Heavyweight Championship (2 times) *Power Wrestling Entertainment **PWE World Championship (1 time, inaugural) **PWE World Title Tournament (2012) *Pro-Wrestling SUN **WDB Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Saki Maemura *
Pro Wrestling Zero1 , often referred to simply as Zero1 and sometimes referred to as Pro Wrestling Zero1 Catch as Catch Can (stylized as ZERO1 and PRO WRESTLING ZERO1 CATCH AS CATCH CAN, respectively), is a Professional wrestling in Japan, Japanese professional wre ...
** World Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) *Qatar Pro Wrestling **QPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Wawan Wrestling Championship **WWC Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *
Westside Xtreme Wrestling Westside Xtreme Wrestling, commonly shortened to wXw, is a German professional wrestling promotion based in Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. wXw has been one of the leading professional wrestling promotions in Germany, and most of its event ...
**wXw #1-Contender Tournament (2001, 2002) ** wXw World Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time)


References


External links


All Japan Pro Wrestling profile

Catch Wrestling DojoMyspace profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raaber, Chris 1981 births Living people 20th-century male professional wrestlers 21st-century male professional wrestlers Austrian male professional wrestlers Professional wrestling executives Sportspeople from Leoben WXw Unified World Wrestling Champions Zero1 World Heavyweight Champions CWA World Heavyweight Champions