Mark Sciarra (born February 7, 1954), 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 ...

Rip Rogers, is an American retired

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 ...

Early life

Sciarra was born in

Seymour, Indiana Seymour is a city in Jackson Township, Jackson County, Indiana, Jackson and Redding Township, Jackson County, Indiana, Redding Townships, Jackson County, Indiana, United States, located 62 miles south of Indianapolis, and 55 miles north of Louisvi ...

on February 7, 1954. He graduated from Seymour High School in 1972 and went on to attend Indiana Central College, graduating in 1976. Sicarra worked as a teacher for a year before deciding to become a professional wrestler.

Professional wrestling career

Rip Rogers started wrestling in 1975. He formed the "Convertible Blondes" with

Pez Whatley Pezavan Whatley (January 10, 1951 – January 18, 2005) was an American professional wrestler best known for his time with NWA Mid-America. Professional wrestling career Whatley played football and wrestled for Notre Dame High School in Chat ...

and

Gary Royal Gary Rowell, known as "Gorgeous" Gary Royal, is an American professional wrestler. In the early part of his career, he was a member of the Convertible Blonds, a heel stable working for the Poffo family Rip Rogers and Ricky Starr when Starr left h ...

Angelo Poffo Angelo John Poffo (April 10, 1925 – March 4, 2010) was an American professional wrestler and wrestling promoter. He ran International Championship Wrestling for a number of years, holding cards in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Arkansas. He is t ...

International Championship Wrestling International Championship Wrestling was an independent professional wrestling promotion based in Lexington, Kentucky, which operated from 1978 until 1984. It was run by Angelo Poffo, the father of Randy Savage and "The Genius" Lanny Poffo. Th ...

(ICW) and won the Tag Team Titles with Royal. As with

The Fabulous Freebirds The Fabulous Freebirds were a professional wrestling tag team who attained fame in the 1980s, performing into the 1990s. The team usually consisted of three wrestlers, although in different situations and points in its history, just two performed ...

defending regional NWA tag team championships with any two of the three members, the Convertible Blondes also used the so-called "

Freebird Rule The Fabulous Freebirds were a professional wrestling tag team who attained fame in the 1980s, performing into the 1990s. The team usually consisted of three wrestlers, although in different situations and points in its history, just two performed ...

" to defend the ICW Tag Team Championship in this manner. He left the ICW following a dispute with Angelo Poffo's son Randy Poffo, better known by his ring name

Randy Savage Randy Mario Poffo (November 15, 1952 – May 20, 2011), better known by his ring name "Macho Man" Randy Savage, was an American professional wrestler and professional baseball player, best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation ( ...

. In 1979, Rogers went to the

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 ...

's Portland territory,

Pacific Northwest Wrestling Pacific Northwest Wrestling (PNW) (also known as Big Time Wrestling and Portland Wrestling) is the common name used to refer to several different professional wrestling companies, both past and present, based in Portland, Oregon, United States. ...

, where he was aligned with

Buddy Rose Paul E. Perschmann (November 27, 1952 – April 28, 2009) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Playboy Buddy Rose. He wrestled primarily for the AWA, WWF, and for promoter Don Owen in Pacific Northwest W ...

and

Ed Wiskoski Edward Wiskoski (January 10, 1945 – January 22, 2025) was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his appearances in the American Wrestling Association under the ring name Colonel DeBeers from 1985 to 1990. Early life Wiskos ...

. He would also make trips to Vancouver's

All-Star Wrestling All Star Wrestling (ASW), also known as Super Slam Wrestling (SSW), is a British professional wrestling promotion founded by Brian Dixon in 1970 and based in Birkenhead, England. Founded as Wrestling Enterprises of Birkenhead in October 1970, i ...

. In 1984, he went to the Mid-Atlantic territory,

Jim Crockett Promotions Jim Crockett Promotions, at times branded as Eastern States Championship Wrestling and Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, is a Family business, family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United Sta ...

, where he formed "The

Hollywood Blonds The Hollywood Blonds is a name used by several professional wrestling tag teams over the years. The original Blonds were Buddy Roberts and Jerry Brown, who used the name in the 1970s. Rip Rogers and Ted Oates wrestled as The Hollywood Blonds in th ...

" with Ted Oates and won the National Tag Team Titles. By early 1986, he was in the Memphis territory,

Continental Wrestling Association Continental Wrestling Association (later the Championship Wrestling Association) was a wrestling promotion managed by Jerry Jarrett. The CWA was the name of the "governing body" for the Championship Wrestling, Inc. promotion which was usually ...

, feuding with

Dutch Mantel Wayne Maurice Keown (born November 29, 1949) is an American professional wrestling manager, booker and retired professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Dutch Mantel (also spelled Dutch Mantell). Since May 2022, Mantell has co-host ...

. In September 1986, "The Hustler," managed by his then-wife Brenda Britton, joined

Continental Championship Wrestling Continental Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion based in Knoxville, Tennessee, and Dothan, Alabama, from 1985 until 1989, owned by Ron Fuller. The promotion evolved out of the NWA-affiliated Southeastern Championship W ...

and immediately feuded with "The Exotic"

Adrian Street Adrian Street (5 December 1940 – 24 July 2023) was a Welsh Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and author nicknamed "Exotic" who came to prominence in the 1970s and 1980s. During his career, Street was best known for his Androgyny, a ...

and Miss Linda, until leaving the Gulf Coast area in March 1987. Rogers wrestled as a heel in

Bob Geigel Robert Frederick Geigel (October 1, 1924 – October 30, 2014) was an American professional wrestling promoter and professional wrestler. He operated the Kansas City, Missouri-based Heart of America Sports Attractions promotion from 1963 to 19 ...

's Central States promotion during most of 1987. The Ripper spent most of 1988 and 1989 in Calgary Stampede Wrestling. Strangely given his history and reputation he was mainly a lower to mid card performer. Yet he always seemed to get a rise out of the crowd as an antagonizing heel. Rogers received a small push near the end of his run in Stampede (the territory shut up shop at the end of '89). When he teamed with longtime Stampede veteran Kerry Brown as part of the Midnight Cowboys tag team. They had a running feud with popular International Tag Team Champs Bad Company, which included Bruce Hart and Flyin'

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 ...

. In 1989, he wrestled for the

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 ...

(WWC) 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 ...

as one of their top heels with partner Abbuda Dein. He was back in the NWA in time for it to be renamed

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). He wrestled in WCW from 1991 to 1994 as a jobber and he lost several matches to Pillman. Rogers later substituted for Pillman, being the scapegoat in the ill-fated Yellow Dog angle. His biggest win was at

Battlebowl BattleBowl was a one-time professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). The show took place on November 20, 1993, at the Pensacola Civic Center in Pensacola, Florida. The event featured only the " ...

in 1993 where he teamed with

Road Warrior Hawk Michael James Hegstrand (January 26, 1957 – October 19, 2003) was an American professional wrestler. He was best known as Road Warrior Hawk, one half of the tag team known as the Road Warriors (or the "Legion of Doom"), with Road Warrior Anima ...

(who attacked him prior to the match but later used him to his advantage during the finish) and defeated

Davey Boy Smith David Smith (27 November 1962 – 18 May 2002) was an English professional wrestler best known for his appearances in the United States with the World Wrestling Federation under the ring names Davey Boy Smith and The British Bulldog. Smith ...

and

Kole Kole Weathers is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She is a short-lived member of the Teen Titans who possesses the ability to generate crystals. Kole was introduced and killed during the events of ' ...

to qualify for the battle royal main event, though he was the first man eliminated in that 16-man bout. While working for WCW in 1991 he also competed in

Global Wrestling Federation Global Wrestling Federation was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Dallas, Texas. It started in June 1991 and folded in September 1994. At one time its shows were presented on the ESPN television network. Often the promotion p ...

where he joined The Cartel, which included Scotty Anthony, Makhan Singh and Cactus Jack. They were the top heels for several months and he created a lot of havoc while there. After that run, he occasionally wrestled in 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 ...

, wrestling for a time with a promotion in

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

known as Circle City Wrestling. He finally settled in

Ohio Valley Wrestling Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) is an American professional wrestling promotion, professional wrestling promotion and former developmental territory based in Louisville, Kentucky. The company is currently run by Al Snow, Matt Jones (radio host), Ma ...

(OVW) in 1997. He teamed with Dave the Rave and formed the "Suicide Blondes" with Jason Lee. When he retired from active competition in 2000, he was named head trainer at OVW. At the age of 48, Rogers was hit by a car and sustained injuries which forced him to completely retire from in-ring competition; according to a 2011 story on OVW, the accident left him "with a stiff limp". Rogers currently runs an advanced wrestling class at OVW, where he teaches up and coming wrestlers. As head trainer for OVW, Rogers has been involved in training over thirty wrestlers who appeared in

WWE 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, ...

Impact 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 busine ...

, notably including

John Cena John Felix Anthony Cena ( ; born April 23, 1977) is an American actor and professional wrestler. As a wrestler, he has been signed to WWE , where he is the current WWE Championship, Undisputed WWE Champion in his record 14th reign, which is ...

Brock Lesnar Brock Edward Lesnar ( ; born July 12, 1977) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and former Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist, Amateur wrestling, amateur wrestler and professional American football player. As a ...

Dave Bautista David Michael Bautista Jr. (born January 18, 1969) is an American actor and retired professional wrestler. Regarded as one of the most prolific professional wrestlers of his generation, he rose to fame for his multiple stints in WWE betwee ...

Randy Orton Randal Keith Orton (born April 1, 1980) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He has been signed to WWE since 2000, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown brand. Orton is widely regarded as one of t ...

Bobby Lashley Franklin Roberto Lashley (born July 16, 1976) is an American professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of The Hurt Syndicate and is one-half of the AEW World Tag Team C ...

Mark Henry Mark Jerrold Henry (born June 12, 1971) is an American former powerlifter, Olympic weightlifter, strongman, and retired professional wrestler currently signed to WWE under a Legends contract. Henry is a two-time Olympian (1992 and 19 ...

, and

The Miz Michael Gregory Mizanin (born October 8, 1980) is an American professional wrestler, actor, and television personality. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name The Miz. Mizanin first gained fame a ...

. Rogers was known for his berserk reaction after losing a match. Even after being cleanly pinned, Rogers would vociferously protest to the referee that his opponent had cheated. Usually, he would claim that his hair or trunks had been pulled by the other wrestler to score the victory. These claims would be accompanied by a frenzied voice and wild pantomimes of hair and trunk pulling. Rogers wrestled his last match on August 6, 2010, for Pro South Wrestling losing in a 6-man tag match in Alabama.

Boxing career

Rogers also fought in 3 professional boxing matches in 1996 at 41 years old. His record stands at 1 win, 1 loss, 1 draw, with 1 TKO. He was trained by longtime friend Bobby "Sweetpain" Duchi, a veteran professional boxer, kickboxer, and champion weightlifter.

Other media

Rogers made an appearance in the 1993 music video for "Human Wheels" by fellow Seymour native

John Mellencamp John J. Mellencamp (born October 7, 1951), previously known as Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for his brand of heartland rock, which emphasizes traditional instrumentation ...

. Rogers has made some appearances on ''

The Pat McAfee Show ''The Pat McAfee Show'' is a three-hour daily sports talk show hosted by sports commentator and former National Football League player Pat McAfee. Premiering on September 9, 2019, the program was originally distributed by DAZN and via Westwood O ...

'', when it was part of

Barstool Sports Barstool Sports is an American blog website and digital media company headquartered in New York City that publishes sports journalism and pop culture-related content. It is owned by Dave Portnoy, who founded the company in 2003 in Milton, Massa ...

Personal life

Sciarra is married.

Championships and accomplishments

Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling Grand Prix Wrestling (GPW) was a professional wrestling Promotion (marketing), promotion run and owned by Emile Duprée. It toured parts of New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia. It has no connection with Paul Vachon's Grand Prix Wr ...

:* AGPW International 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 ...

) *Big Time Wrestling **BTW Ohio Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with

Bobby Fulton James Hines (born October 4, 1960) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Bobby Fulton. He was one-half of the tag team the Fantastics with Tommy Rogers. Professional wrestling career James Hines started wr ...

Central States Wrestling Heart of America Sports Attractions, Inc., operating as the Midwest Wrestling Association, Central States Wrestling and the World Wrestling Alliance, was an American professional wrestling promotion that ran shows mainly in Kansas, Missouri, Nebr ...

NWA Central States Television Championship The NWA Central States Television Championship was the secondary singles championship for the Heart of America Sports Attractions / Central States Wrestling promotion from 1977 until the promotion ceased to exist in 1988. Because the championship ...

( 1 time) *

Georgia Championship Wrestling Georgia Championship Wrestling is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The promotion was affiliated with what had been the world's top sanctioning body of championship titles for decades b ...

NWA National Tag Team Championship The NWA National Tag Team Championship was the primary tag team championship in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA)-affiliated Georgia Championship Wrestling professional wrestling promotion from 1980 until 1986. History The championship w ...

( 1 time) – with Ted Oates *

:* ICW United States Tag Team Championship (

) – with Ricky Starr (1) and

(1) *

NWA Mid-America NWA Mid-America was a professional wrestling promotion territory under the umbrella of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) that promoted shows in Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama from 1940 until 1981. The company was founded in 1940 by Nick Gulas ...

NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Championship The NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling title that was originally defended in the United States of Tennessee and Alabama. The current champion is Jeremiah Plunkett. History In 1957 "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers be ...

( 1 time) *

OVW Heavyweight Championship The OVW Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling World heavyweight championship owned by the Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) promotion. The original championship was designed and created in 1997 by Reggie Parks. The title was introduced o ...

( 3 times) :*

OVW Southern Tag Team Championship The OVW Tag Team Championship formerly known as the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship is the tag team titles of Ohio Valley Wrestling Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) is an American professional wrestling promotion, professional wrestling promoti ...

( 3 times) – with Dave the Rave (2) and Jason Lee (1) *

Southeastern Championship Wrestling Continental Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion based in Knoxville, Tennessee, and Dothan, Alabama, from 1985 until 1989, owned by Ron Fuller. The promotion evolved out of the NWA-affiliated Southeastern Championship W ...

:* NWA Southeast United States Junior Heavyweight Championship (

) *

WWC Caribbean Heavyweight Championship The WWC Caribbean Heavyweight Championship is a secondary title contested for in the Puerto Rican professional wrestling promotion, the World Wrestling Council (WWC). The title has been in use since 1975. Prior to being defended in the WWC, it wa ...

( 1 time) :*

WWC World Tag Team Championship The WWC World Tag Team Championship is the tag team title contested for in the Puerto Rico, Puerto Rican professional wrestling promotion, the World Wrestling Council. History Abroad (2017) On February 11, 2017, Thunder and Lightning defended t ...

(

) – with

Abbuda Dein Rocky Iaukea is a retired American professional wrestler, known by his ringname Prince Iaukea, who competed in the Pacific Northwest and Southeastern United States with the National Wrestling Alliance during the 1980s, and in Japan during the ea ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rogers, Rip 1954 births 20th-century male professional wrestlers 20th-century American professional wrestlers 21st-century male professional wrestlers 21st-century American professional wrestlers American male professional wrestlers Living people People from Seymour, Indiana Professional wrestlers from Indiana American professional wrestling trainers University of Indianapolis alumni Stampede Wrestling alumni OVW Heavyweight Champions NWA National Tag Team Champions OVW Tag Team Champions NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Champions WWC Caribbean Heavyweight Champions WWC World Tag Team Champions