Monster Factory is a

professional wrestling school Professional wrestling has accrued a considerable amount of jargon throughout its existence. Much of it stems from the industry's origins in the days of carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that o ...

located in

Paulsboro, New Jersey Paulsboro is a Borough (New Jersey), borough situated on the banks of the Delaware River in Gloucester County, New Jersey, Gloucester County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, within the Philadelphia metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United State ...

, owned and operated by Danny Cage. It is considered to be the first publicly available professional wrestling school. Larry Sharpe opened the Monster Factory wrestling school with

"Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers Buddy Rogers (born Herman Gustav Rohde Jr.; February 20, 1921 – June 26, 1992), better known by the ring name "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers, was an American professional wrestler who was one of the biggest professional wrestling stars in the begin ...

in 1983. The school's first famous pupil was Scott "Bam Bam" Bigelow, whose success brought a lot of attention to the school.

Pretty Boy Larry Sharpe's Monster Factory (1983–2011)

Sharpe's first pupils included

Tony Atlas Anthony White (born April 23, 1954) better known by his ring name Tony Atlas, is an American bodybuilder, Powerlifting, powerlifter, and Professional wrestling, professional wrestler who has held multiple titles and championships in each sport. ...

King Kong Bundy Christopher Alan Pallies (November 7, 1955 – March 4, 2019) was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, stand-up comedian and actor better known by his wrestling gimmick and ring name, King Kong Bundy. Under this gimmick, he ...

, and

Bam Bam Bigelow Scott Charles Bigelow (September 1, 1961 – January 19, 2007) was an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Bam Bam Bigelow. Recognizable by his close-to-400-pound frame and the distinctive flame tattoo that spanned mo ...

, who Sharpe broke in at New York City nightclub

Studio 54 Studio 54 is a Broadway theatre, Broadway theater and former nightclub at 254 West 54th Street (Manhattan), 54th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York, U.S. Opened as the Gallo Opera House in 1927, it served ...

. Some were attracted to train at the school by Bigelow's success, which made the school notable enough to attract future attendee

Raven A raven is any of several large-bodied passerine bird species in the genus '' Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between crows and ravens; the two names are assigne ...

while Tatanka would end up at the school by a chance meeting with Rogers in a video rental store.

2008 fire

In February 2008, the school was threatened by a fire which had started at the building adjacent to the school, ANA Laboratories, and the building was evacuated by the school trainers. The fire was confined to the laboratory until its roof collapsed; however, according to Camden County Chief Fire Marshal Paul Hartstein, only a

firewall Firewall may refer to: * Firewall (computing), a technological barrier designed to prevent unauthorized or unwanted communications between computer networks or hosts * Firewall (construction), a barrier inside a building, designed to limit the spre ...

prevented the fire from reaching the school. The school had been in the middle of drills when the fire broke out, although all the students were safely evacuated to the outside parking lot.

The World Famous Monster Factory (2011–present)

In 2011, Danny Cage purchased the name from Larry Sharpe. Monster Factory relocated to the Paulsboro Wrestling Club in Paulsboro,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. Following the move, Cage began to supplement training with seminars featuring WWE scout

Gerald Brisco Floyd Gerald "Jerry" Brisco (born September 19, 1946) is an American retired professional wrestler. Brisco is best known for his time in the wrestling promotion WWE, where he was a backstage producer, and, during the 1990s, an on-screen charact ...

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 ...

lead announcer Kevin Kelly,

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 ...

Rip Rogers Mark Sciarra (born February 7, 1954), better known by his ring name Rip Rogers, is an American retired professional wrestler. Early life Sciarra was born in Seymour, Indiana on February 7, 1954. He graduated from Seymour High School in 1972 a ...

Les Thatcher Leslie Malady (born October 28, 1940), better known by the name Les Thatcher, is an American former Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He helps run Elite Pro Wrestling Training, a professional wrestling school in his hometown of Cinci ...

, as well as wrestlers

Montel Vontavious Porter Hassan Hamid Assad (born Alvin Antonio Burke Jr.; October 28, 1973), better known by his ring name Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP), is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, Manager (professional wrestling), manager, and sub ...

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 ...

Stevie Richards Michael Stephen Manna (born October 9, 1971), better known by his ring name Stevie Richards, is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and media personality. Since June 2024, Richards has hosted ''#The Stevie Richard ...

, Bob Evans,

Robbie E Robert Strauss (born October 1, 1983) is an American professional wrestler and Manager (professional wrestling), manager. He is signed to WWE, where he is a Producer (wrestling), producer, the on-screen assistant to the NXT general manager Ava (w ...

The Powers of Pain ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

, and

Sean Waltman Sean Michael Waltman (born July 13, 1972) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE under a legends contract. He is best known for his appearances for the WWE, World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) under the ring names ...

. The Monster Factory also conducts birthday parties and ring rentals. The Monster Factory puts on monthly shows that feature matches from the school's students as well as established stars. In late 2013, Cage had his first pupil signed to a

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, ...

development deal. Stephen Kupryk, known at the Monster Factory as Tommy Maclin and now as Steve Cutler, left the Monster Factory in January 2014 and made his NXT debut as Cutler in June 2014. In November 2014,

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

fighter

Matt Riddle Matthew Fredrick Riddle (born January 14, 1986) is an American professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. He is signed to Major League Wrestling (MLW), where he is the reigning MLW World Heavyweight Champion in his first reign. He ...

enlisted in the school. Additionally, Monster Factory students and graduates have appeared as extras and performers on ''

WWE Raw ''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It currently airs Live television, live every Monday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on Netflix. The show fe ...

'', ''

WWE SmackDown ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It airs Live television, live every Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on USA Netwo ...

'', ''

WWE NXT ''WWE NXT'', also known simply as ''NXT'', is an American professional wrestling television program. It is produced by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, featuring wrestlers from the promotion's NXT brand division. The show c ...

'', and

television since Cage assumed control of the school.

Apple TV+ documentary series

In March 2023, a six episode documentary series produced by

Vox Media Vox Media, Inc. is an American mass media company founded in Washington, D.C. with operational headquarters in Lower Manhattan, New York City. The company was established in November 2011 by CEO Jim Bankoff and Trei Brundrett to encompass ''S ...

entitled ''Monster Factory'' was released by

Apple TV+ Apple TV+ is an American subscription over-the-top streaming service owned by Apple. The service launched on November 1, 2019, and it offers a selection of original production film and television series called Apple Originals. The service w ...

. The series follows the lives of Danny Cage and six of his students: Notorious Mimi, Gabby Ortiz, Goldy, Bobby Buffet, and Lucas "Twitch" DiSangro. It also features appearances from Monster Factory alumni Kevin Kelly, Q. T. Marshall,

D'Lo Brown Accie Julius Connor (born October 22, 1973), better known by his ring name D'Lo Brown (also formatted as D-Lo Brown), is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to TNA Wrestling, where he works as a producer. He is best known for his t ...

and

The Headbangers The Headbangers are a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Mosh (Charles Warrington) and Thrasher (Glenn Ruth). They are currently signed to WWE as ambassadors. As the name of the team implies, their gimmick is that they are a pair of ...

, as well as

Mandy Leon Amanda Leon (born March 3, 1992) is an American professional wrestler and model, where she performs under her real name as a member of The Calling. Early life Leon was born in Brooklyn, New York but grew up in both Lancaster and Harrisburg, P ...

Anthony Bowens Anthony Bowens (born December 18, 1990) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a former one-time AEW World Tag Team Champion and one-time and longest reigning AEW World Trios Champion as a f ...

, and

Crowbar A crowbar, also called a wrecking bar, pry bar or prybar, pinch-bar, or occasionally a prise bar or prisebar, colloquially gooseneck, or pig bar, or in Australia a jemmy, is a lever consisting of a metal bar with a single curved end and flat ...

Notable alumni

The Monster Factory's graduates include: {, , valign=top , *

Balls Mahoney Jonathan Rechner (April 11, 1972 – April 12, 2016), better known by his ring name Balls Mahoney, was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler best known for his appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and WWE, W ...

Barry Hardy Barry W. Hardy (born July 5, 1962) is an American professional wrestler and trainer who has competed in North American independent promotions since 1987, including East Coast Wrestling, Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation, the National Wrestling A ...

* Paul "Big Show" Wight *

Chris Candido Christopher Barrett Candito (March 21, 1972 – April 28, 2005) was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. Candito is best remembered for his tenures with professional wrestling promotion, promotions such as World Championship ...

Chris Harris Chris Harris may refer to: Sportspeople * Chris Harris (basketball) (1933–2022), English basketballer * Chris Harris (cricketer) (born 1969), New Zealand cricketer * Chris Harris (darts player) (born 1977), Welsh darts player * Chris Harris (rowe ...

Damian Priest Luis Martínez (born September 26, 1982) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Damian Priest and is a former one-time World Heavyweight Champion. He is also know ...

Domino Dominoes is a family of tile-based games played with gaming pieces. Each domino is a rectangular tile, usually with a line dividing its face into two square ''ends''. Each end is marked with a number of spots (also called '' pips'' or ''dots'' ...

Giant Silva Paulo César da Silva (born July 21, 1963) is a Brazilian former national basketball player for the Brazilian national basketball team and later mixed martial artist and professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Giant Silva. He stands ...

* Gillberg , valign=top , *

The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American Epic film, epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling The Godfather (novel), 1969 novel. The film stars an ensemble cast inc ...

Ian Riccaboni Ian Riccaboni (born January 13, 1987) is an American professional wrestling commentator, sports broadcaster, author, and politician. He is signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (English commentator), Ring of Honor (as play-by-play commentator) and ...

J. T. Southern J. T. Southern (born January 4, 1964) is an American retired professional wrestler. Though he achieved most notoriety during his 1992 feud with Van Hammer in World Championship Wrestling, Southern also competed for Verne Gagne's American Wrestli ...

Nick Comoroto Nicholas Comoroto (born April 22, 1991) is an American professional wrestler who wrestles for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and its sister promotion, Ring of Honor (ROH). Comoroto began his career in 2013 on the independent circuit. In 2019, he sign ...

* Notorious Mimi *

The Pitbulls The Pitbulls (sometimes written as The Pit Bulls) were a professional wrestling tag team who consisted of "Pitbull #1" Gary Wolfe (wrestler), Gary Wolfe and "Pitbull #2" Anthony Durante. They were best known for their tenure in Extreme Champions ...

Preston Vance Cody Vance (born January 15, 1992) better known by his ring name Preston Vance, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a former member of The Dark Order and La Faccion Ingobernable. He also ...

* Q. T. Marshall , valign=top , *

Ray Odyssey Ray Samalonis (born January 31, 1968) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, better known by his ring name "Surfer" Ray Odyssey. Professional wrestling career Odyssey competes primarily in Northeastern United States, Nor ...

Rocco Rock Theodore James Petty (September 1, 1953 – September 21, 2002) was an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name "Flyboy" Rocco Rock. Rock is best known for his appearances in Eastern Championship Wrestling / Extreme Championsh ...

Sheamus Stephen Farrelly (born 28 January 1978) is an Irish Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw brand under the ring name Sheamus. Prior to joining WWE, he wrestled on th ...

Sonjay Dutt Retesh Bhalla (born April 7, 1982) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a Glossary of professional wrestling terms#agent, producer and Glossary of professional wrestling terms#manage ...

Steve Maclin Stephen Kupryk (born May 26, 1987) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he performs under the ring name Steve Maclin, and is a former TNA World Champion and the inaugural TNA Internat ...

Tank Toland John Joseph Toland (born August 31, 1980) is an American former professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Tank Toland. Toland is best known for his appearances on the independent circuit with promotions such as Ring of Honor, Ohio Va ...

* Tatanka *

Tony Stetson Anthony Matteo (born March 21, 1959) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, "Hitman" Tony Stetson. He is best known for his time in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) during the 1990s. Stetson was one of ECW's i ...

* "Virgil" Mike Jones

Trainers

Current trainers

* Danny Cage *

Missy Sampson Missy or Missie is a feminine first name, often a short form of Melissa. People * Mathilde de Morny (1863-1944), French aristocrat and artist * Michele "Missy" Avila (1968-1985), American murder victim * Missie Berteotti (born 1963), American L ...

Previous trainers

* Larry Sharpe (deceased) *

The Blue Meanie Brian Heffron (born May 18, 1973), better known by his ring name The Blue Meanie, is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation between 1995 and 2 ...

* Billy Wiles * Q. T. Marshall

References

External links

Official website
1983 establishments in New Jersey Professional wrestling schools Paulsboro, New Jersey