Robert J. Knapik (born 1970) is an American former

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

. He is best known for his tenure with

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (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 Natio ...

under the ring name Robbie Rage and as a part of the

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 establish ...

High Voltage High voltage electricity refers to electrical potential large enough to cause injury or damage. In certain industries, ''high voltage'' refers to voltage above a certain threshold. Equipment and conductors that carry high voltage warrant spe ...

with Kenny Kaos.

Early life

Knapik grew up in

Plymouth, Massachusetts Plymouth (; historically known as Plimouth and Plimoth) is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. Located in Greater Boston, the town holds a place of great prominence in American history, folklore, and culture, and is known a ...

and played a variety of sports while growing up, including

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...

, hockey, and soccer. Throughout his childhood, he suffered

abuse Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of a thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other t ...

from his father. Knapik began working out to relieve stress, and eventually began taking steroids at age 18. After graduating high school, he attended college, but left after it did not work out.

Professional wrestling career

World Championship Wrestling and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (1996–2000)

Knapik attended a wrestling show in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

in 1995 at the suggestion of a friend, and after calling various promoters and wrestling promotions, he was signed to a contract with

later on in the year. Along with

Kenny Stasiowski Kenneth M. Stasiowski (born June 18, 1970) is an American former professional wrestler. He is best known for his stint with World Championship Wrestling, where he performed under the ring name Kenny Kaos and wrestled as a part of the tag team High ...

, Knapik began training in WCW's Power Plant wrestling school. Upon completion of their training, Knapik and Stasiowski debuted on WCW television under the ring names Robbie Rage and Kenny Kaos, respectively, and they formed the tag team

. High Voltage regularly appeared against mid-card opponents on the WCW television shows ''

Saturday Night Saturday Night may refer to: Film, television and theatre Film * ''Saturday Night'' (1922 film), a 1922 film directed by Cecil B. DeMille * ''Saturday Nights'' (film), a 1933 Swedish film directed by Schamyl Bauman * ''Saturday Night'' (1950 fil ...

'' and '' WorldWide'' during the late 1990s, while also appearing as jobbers on '' Nitro''. In 1997, Rage and Kaos travelled to Japan to perform for

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority share ...

. Upon arriving, they began feuding with nWo Japan, the Japanese version of the New World Order (nWo) before representing WCW in the Super Grade Tag League. Upon their return to the United States, Knapik joined Tim Catalfo's Obake Gym and befriended Yuji Nagata, who was also wrestling in WCW. After suffering a

rotator cuff tear A rotator cuff tear is an injury where one or more of the tendons or muscles of the rotator cuff of the shoulder get torn. Symptoms may include shoulder pain, which is often worse with movement, limited range of motion, or weakness. This may limi ...

, Knapik was sidelined from wrestling for seven months. During this time, High Voltage disbanded as Kaos began competing as a singles wrestler before being nominated by Rick Steiner to become his new tag team partner, resulting in Kaos becoming one half of the World Tag Team Champions. On the December 17, 1998, episode of ''

Thunder Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending upon the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a long, low rumble to a sudden, loud crack. The sudden increase in temperature and hence pressure caused by the lightning pr ...

'', Rage, while sporting a brace to nurse his arm injury, returned to confront Kaos over the matter of allying with Steiner rather than himself to claim the title. On the December 21 episode of ''Nitro'', Rage distracted Kaos in order to allow Lex Luger to defeat him via submission before once again confronting Kaos over High Voltage's split. However, before the

angle In Euclidean geometry, an angle is the figure formed by two rays, called the '' sides'' of the angle, sharing a common endpoint, called the '' vertex'' of the angle. Angles formed by two rays lie in the plane that contains the rays. Angles ...

could develop any further, Knapik was released from his contract during his recovery.

Return to NJPW and retirement (2000–2002, 2005–2007)

After leaving WCW, Knapik, under the ring name Rob Rage, returned to NJPW in 2000 and found success in the mid-card as singles wrestler until leaving the promotion on July 20, 2002. Knapnik went on a hiatus soon afterwards before returning to wrestling by joining the

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

on August 28, 2005. He remained with the WWC until September 14, 2007, when he wrestled his final match during the promotion's Septiembre Negro Tour. After retiring from wrestling, Knapik began working as a

personal trainer A personal trainer is an individual who creates and delivers safe and effective exercise programs for apparently healthy individuals and groups, or those with medical clearance to exercise. They motivate clients by collaborating to set goals, p ...

Personal life

During his recovery for a rotator cuff tear, Knapik became

depressed Depression may refer to: Mental health * Depression (mood), a state of low mood and aversion to activity * Mood disorders characterized by depression are commonly referred to as simply ''depression'', including: ** Dysthymia, also known as p ...

before being released from WCW during his recovery. Soon afterwards he began using, and ultimately became addicted to, painkillers and

ecstasy Ecstasy may refer to: * Ecstasy (emotion), a trance or trance-like state in which a person transcends normal consciousness * Religious ecstasy, a state of consciousness, visions or absolute euphoria * Ecstasy (philosophy), to be or stand outside o ...

in order to combat his depression. Knapik also lost his home, several cars and a house in

due to being unable to pay for them all. After becoming sober, Knapik became a born again Christian. Knapik has two tattoos. One is a tribal design on his right forearm, while the other is a signature design surrounding

kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are still used, along with the subse ...

on his left forearm.

Championships and accomplishments

*Northern Amateur Wrestling Alliance **NAWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time) * NWA Wildside **NWA Wildside Television Championship (1 time) *''

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publi ...

'' **''PWI'' ranked him #186 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the year in the ''PWI'' 500 in 1998

References

External links

Profile at OWW
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rage, Robbie 1970 births Living people American male professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from Massachusetts 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers