David Williams (born August 25, 1972), 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 ...

, David Young, is 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 ...

. Though he has mainly appeared with

NWA Wildside NWA Wildside was an American independent professional wrestling promotion based in Cornelia, Georgia, with an office in Atlanta, Georgia, operating between September 1999 and April 2005. It was originally formed when National Championship Wrestli ...

and

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 ...

, Young has also competed for

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 ...

AAA AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming * AAA (video game industry) - a category of high budget video games *'' TripleA'', an open source wargame Mu ...

and ZERO-ONE.

Professional wrestling career

Williams was a professional wrestling fan from an early age, and announced his intention to become a wrestler to his parents at the age of five. On August 17, 1989 a seventeen-year-old Williams attended a wrestling show at which his friend was working as a

security guard A security guard (also known as a security inspector, security officer, factory guard, or protective agent) is a person employed by a government or private party to protect the employing party's assets (property, people, equipment, money, etc.) ...

, and was asked to wrestle. He began training the next day with the

Dalton, Georgia Dalton is a city and the county seat of Whitfield County, Georgia, Whitfield County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. It is also the principal city of the Dalton metropolitan area, Dalton Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encomp ...

-based ''Mountain Wrestling Federation'' under Larry Santo, and adopted the

"David Young".

NWA Wildside (1999–2002)

Young, dubbed "the Messiah of the Spinebuster", spent his early career in

National Championship Wrestling NWA Wildside was an American independent professional wrestling promotion based in Cornelia, Georgia, with an office in Atlanta, Georgia, operating between September 1999 and April 2005. It was originally formed when National Championship Wrestli ...

as a singles wrestler before joining the team Body Count with "Heavy Metal"

Ric Savage Frank Huguelet (born June 5, 1969) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name "Heavy Metal" Ric Savage. He is the host of '' Savage Family Diggers'', a reality treasure hunting show airing on Spike TV. He also ...

. Young and Savage feuded with Rusty Riddle and

Kid Kash David Tyler Cash (born July 31, 1969), better known by his ring name Kid Kash, is an American mixed martial artist and retired professional wrestler, best known for his tenures with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), Total Nonstop Action Wre ...

for the

world tag-team titles. Young stayed with NCW as it grew into

where Young became known as a

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 ...

specialist, teaming with Shane Austin as "The Sex Pistols". On August 19, 1999 The Sex Pistols defeated

Bart Sawyer Steven Stewart (November 30, 1965-September 12, 2023), known by his ring name Bart Sawyer, was an American professional wrestler, color commentator, and occasional actor. He was best known for his time in Championship Wrestling USA and the Unit ...

and Terry Lawler in

Loganville, Georgia Loganville is a city in Walton and Gwinnett counties, Georgia, United States. The population was 16,516 as of 2023. Loganville is located about east of Atlanta and is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. History An early variant name was " ...

for the NWA Wildside (Georgia) Tag Team Championship. On November 4, Austin was replaced by

Rick Michaels Rick Michaels (born September 8, 1974) is a retired American professional wrestler. Professional wrestling career Extreme Championship Wrestling (1992–1993) Michaels debuted for Extreme Championship Wrestling on June 23, 1992, under the gimmi ...

, with Young and Michaels naming themselves Bad Attitude. On November 20, 1999 in

Cornelia, Georgia Cornelia is a city in Habersham County, Georgia, United States. The population was 4,160 at the 2010 census, up from 3,674 at the 2000 census. It is home to one of the world's largest apple sculptures, which is displayed on top of an obelisk-sh ...

, Young and Michaels lost the Tag Team Championships to The Road Hoggs (Joe Harley and Pan Head Nelson). Bad Attitude continued to pursue the Wildside Tag Team Championships, and on January 11, 2000 they defeated The Underdogs (Mark E. Mark and Big Eddie Cool) for the NWA Wildside Tag Team Championship, which they held until February 19, when they were defeated by

The Rock 'n' Roll Express The Rock 'n' Roll Express is a professional wrestling tag team consisting of professional wrestlers Robert Gibson and Ricky Morton. The duo began teaming together in Memphis in the early 1980s, followed by Mid-South Wrestling (later to be known a ...

. Bad Attitude reclaimed the Tag Team Titles on June 17 in a

two out of three falls 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 ...

, making Young a three time NWA Wildside Tag Team Champion. Bad Attitude set their sights on the World Tag Team Championship, and on August 15 in

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

they defeated Curtis Thompson and Jeff Justice for 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 ...

. As a result, they were stripped of the Wildside Tag Team Championship on August 19. They held the World Tag Team Championship until February 3, 2001, when they lost to

Joey Matthews Adam Birch (born July 18, 1979), better known by the ring name Joey Mercury, is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenures in WWE and Ring of Honor. Birch was trained by fellow wrestler Jimmy Cicero and made his wrestl ...

and

Christian York Jason Spence (born April 13, 1977) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Christian York. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling, Extreme Championship Wrestling ...

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. Bad Attitude reclaimed the title in their home territory, Cornelia, on February 17, but soon lost them once more, losing to Dan Factor and

David Flair David Richard Fliehr (born March 6, 1979), better known by the ring name David Flair, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in World Championship Wrestling (WCW), where he held the WCW United States Cha ...

on March 22 in

Athens, Georgia Athens is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Downtown Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta. The University of Georgia, the state's flagship public university and an Research I university, ...

. They took the title a third time the next day in

Toccoa, Georgia Toccoa is a city in far Northeast Georgia near the border with South Carolina. It is the county seat of Stephens County, Georgia, United States, located about from Athens and about northeast of Atlanta. The population was 9,133 as of the 2020 ...

, with what would be their final reign lasting until April 24, when they lost to The New Heavenly Bodies (Casanova Chris and Vivacious Vito) in Tampa. Michaels and Young eventually parted ways in a somewhat acrimonious split, and Michaels went on to win the NWA Wildside (Georgia) Heavyweight Championship. During a December 22, 2001 title defense against

AJ Styles Allen Neal Jones (born June 2, 1977), better known by his ring name AJ Styles (or A.J. Styles), is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand extension, ...

, Young interfered, enabling Styles to pin Michaels and win the belt. This led to a

three-way dance Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a storyline. ...

on March 23, 2002 at ''Hardcore Hell 2002'', with Young eventually taking the win and becoming the Wildside Heavyweight Champion. He held the title until June 1, when he lost to

Jason Cross William Jason Massengale (born June 13, 1979) is an American professional wrestler,ring name, Jason Cross. He is best known for his appearances with NWA Total Nonstop Action and NWA Wildside in the 2000s. Professional wrestling career NWA Wi ...

. After Cross retired from wrestling, Adam Jacobs won the vacant title, but failed to appear for an August 3 title defence against John Phoenix. Young, a Wildside mainstay, was substituted into the match, and defeated Phoenix to become a two-time Wildside Heavyweight Championship. He held the belt until September 22, 2002 when he lost to Edward Chastaine "Iceberg".

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2002–2007)

David Young joined

in June 2002, and wrestled a dark match against Apolo on June 19. He worked in TNA as a lower-card

heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower leg. Structure To distribute the compressive forces exerted ...

. On September 24, 2003, Young acted as the tag team partner of

Simon Diamond Patrick Joseph Michael Kenney (born May 26, 1968) is an American retired professional wrestler and baseball player, better known by his ring name, Simon Diamond. He is working for the National Wrestling Alliance as Director of Talent Relation ...

when Diamond's usual partner,

Johnny Swinger Joseph Dorgan (born July 3, 1975) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), using the ring name Johnny Swinger. Dorgan is also known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling and Ext ...

, was sidelined with

appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the Appendix (anatomy), appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, fever and anorexia (symptom), decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these t ...

. The next week, Young assumed that he was now a member of

Glenn Gilbertti Glenn Gilbertti (born November 12, 1967) is an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as Disco Inferno (briefly changed to Disqo) from 1995 to 2001. During his six-year tenure with ...

stable A stable is a building in which working animals are kept, especially horses or oxen. The building is usually divided into stalls, and may include storage for equipment and feed. Styles There are many different types of stables in use tod ...

, the New York Connection (NYC), along with Diamond and Swinger, but Gilberti insisted that he first had to "prove himself" by defeating The Sandman. Young lost, and was subsequently beaten down by Gilberti and his clients. The following week, Young earned a spot in the group by helping them defeat the

3 Live Kru The 3 Live Kru (3LK) was a professional wrestling stable in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). It debuted in July 2003, and was initially a trio consisting of Ron Killings, Konnan and B.G. James. Each member exemplified an ethnic stereotyp ...

in a six-man tag match. The stable began to fall apart, and on January 14, 2004 split into two tag teams; Gilberti and Young, and

Simon and Swinger Simon Diamond and Swinger were a professional wrestling tag team in Extreme Championship Wrestling and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. During their time in ECW, they were managed by Dawn Marie. The duo have won both the NWA World Tag Team Champ ...

. Gilberti and Young went on to feud with the

Insane Clown Posse Insane Clown Posse, often abbreviated as ICP, is an American hip hop duo. Formed in Detroit in 1989, ICP's best-known lineup consists of rappers Violent J (Joseph Bruce) and Shaggy 2 Dope (originally 2 Dope; Joseph Utsler). Insan ...

, with Young claiming to be afraid of clowns. Young then began regularly losing his matches, with his losing streak leading Gilberti to

turn To turn is to rotate, either continuously like a wheel turns on its axle, or in a finite motion changing an object's orientation. Turn may also refer to: Sports and games * Turn (game), a segment of a game * Turn (poker), the fourth of five co ...

on him. On August 11, Young finally broke his losing streak by pinning Gilberti in a "Final Gut Check match", then left TNA for several months. He returned on December 24, losing to

Abyss Abyss may refer to: Religion * Abyss (religion), a bottomless pit, or a passage to the underworld * Abyss (Thelema), a spiritual principle within the system of Thelema Film and television * ''The Abyss'' (1910 film), a Danish silent film s ...

. Young appeared sporadically with TNA for several months, and on July 17 at No Surrender 2005 he reforged his alliance with Simon Diamond, who offered to make him "a diamond in the rough". On February 22, 2007, TNA released David Young. At

Slammiversary Slammiversary is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) List of TNA pay-per-view events, event produced by the American promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. It is one of TNA's “Big Four” PPV events (along with TNA Hard To Kill, Hard ...

, on June 19, 2022, Young made an unannounced appearance as a participant in the Reverse Battle Royal, which he failed to win as he was eliminated by

Georgia Championship Wrestling (2004–2008)

Young joined Georgia Championship Wrestling in mid-2004, forming a tag team with Sonny Siaki. Young and Siaki became the first ever GCW Tag Team Champions on July 27, 2004 in

Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee ...

when they defeated John Bogey and

. They held the title until October 30, when they lost to A.J. Steele and

Bull Buchanan Barry Buchanan (born January 15, 1968) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment (WWF/WWE) under the ring names Recon, Bull Buchanan and B² and for his appeara ...

. Young formed a stable known as "Bad Company" with Bull Buchanan, The Wrestler (Ted Allen), and Sonny Siaki. However, on March 5, 2005 Buchanan and Young turned on Siaki and accepted the

managerial 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 ...

services of Greg Brown. Young then went on to win the GCW Heavyweight Championship from Siaki, and on April 23 he and Buchanan won the GCW Tag Team Championship in a three-way tag match. On June 11, Buchanan teamed with Chris Stevens, the latter of whom replaced Young due to Young being unavailable for the title defense, and Buchanan and Stevens lost the GCW Tag Team Championship to John Bogie and Lee Thomas. Upon returning, Young teamed with Stevens to regain the titles on June 25. Young lost the GCW Heavyweight Championship to

Erik Watts Erik Watts (born December 19, 1967) is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation in the 1990s. He is the son of wrestler Bill Watts. ...

on August 13, 2005. In October 2005, the promotion was renamed Great Championship Wrestling. On December 11, 2005, Young regained the GCW Heavyweight Championship from Watts. On January 1, 2006, Young and Stevens lost the GCW Tag Team Championships to Watts and Bogie. On April 22, 2006, Young lost the GCW Heavyweight Championship to Deathrow. Young also appeared at Georgia Wrestling Promotions teaming with

Bill DeMott William Charles DeMott II (born November 10, 1966) is an American retired professional wrestler, road agent, and trainer. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as Hugh Morrus and World Wrestling Federatio ...

to take on a hometown team in the main event. The following week he appeared again with DeMott as they went on to lose against Tank and Iceberg the main event. Young continued to work for the company during its transition into "Great Championship Wrestling", and was featured on top in major feuds with Sonny Siaki and Johnny Swinger. After a bitter rivalry that lasted for three months with Siaki, the two were slated to battle on September 4 at the 2008 Fred Ward Memorial. However, on August 22, 2008, Great Championship Wrestling severed ties with Young, ending a long-standing business relationship.

Personal life

David has 2 daughters, Amber and Kristina, and a son, Chris. The Williams family lives in Chatsworth,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

Championships and accomplishments

Ericules Wrestling Promotions **EWP Heavyweight Championship (1 Time) Great Championship Wrestling **GCW Heavyweight Championship (2 times) **GCW Columbus Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **GCW Tag Team Championship (5 times) – with

Sonny Siaki Sonny Siaki (born July 23, 1974) is an American retired professional wrestler of American Samoan descent. He is best known for his time in NWA Total Nonstop Action, where he was a one-time TNA X Division Champion. Early life When Siaki was ...

(1),

(1), Chris Stevens (2), and

Elix Skipper Elix Skipper (born December 15, 1967) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling, where he was a one-time WCW Cruiserweight Champion and a one-time WCW Cruiserweight Tag ...

(1) *Hardkore Championship Wrestling **HCW Hardcore Championship (1 time) *

**NCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and governing body owned by Billy Corgan and operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA be ...

( 3 times) – with Rick Michaels **NWA Smoky Mountain Tag Team Championship (1 time, current) – with Sigmon **NWA Southern Television Championship (1 time) ** NWA Wildside 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 ...

) ** NWA Wildside Tag Team Championship (

) – with Shane Young (1) and Rick Michaels (1) *NWA Worldwide **NWA Worldwide Television Championship (1 time) **NWA Wrestle Birmingham Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Elix Skipper *

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 #372 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 2009 *

Ultra Championship Wrestling-Zero Ultra Championship Wrestling-Zero (UCW-Zero, formerly known as American Professional Wrestling) is an American independent professional wrestling promotion based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Founded by promoter Steve Neilson in 2002, it is a Utah-based ...

UCW-Zero Heavyweight Championship The UCW-Zero Heavyweight Championship is the primary singles championship title in Ultra Championship Wrestling-Zero. It was first won by Blitz Mason in March 2003 and defended throughout the state of Utah, most often Salt Lake City, Utah, but ...

( 1 time)

Notes

References

Interview with David YoungInterview with David Young

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Young, David 1972 births Living people Professional wrestlers from Tennessee Sportspeople from Knoxville, Tennessee American male professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from Marietta, Georgia People from Lawrenceville, Georgia 20th-century male professional wrestlers 20th-century American professional wrestlers 21st-century male professional wrestlers 21st-century American professional wrestlers NWA World Tag Team Champions NWA Georgia Heavyweight Champions NWA Georgia Tag Team Champions