David William Heath (born February 16, 1969) 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 ...

. He is best known for his appearances in the

World Wrestling Federation 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, ...

(WWF) from 1998 to 2001 and intermittently throughout the mid-2000s under the ring name Gangrel. He has also made appearances for

All Elite Wrestling All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. It is owned and operated by Shahid Khan, Shahid and Tony Khan, with the latter serving as President (corporate title), president an ...

(AEW).

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1987–1994)

Heath was trained by

Boris Malenko Lawrence J. Simon (June 28, 1933 – September 1, 1994), better known by the ring name Boris Malenko ( rus, Бори́с Маленко́, p=bɐˈrʲis mɐˈlʲenkə), was an American professional wrestler and professional wrestling trainer. He i ...

in Florida. When his training was complete, he began performing in various

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

promotions in the Florida area. In the Independent Professional Wrestling (IPW) promotion he won the IPW Tag Team Championship, before moving to

Stampede Wrestling Stampede Wrestling was a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta. For nearly 50 years, it was one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies. Originally established by Stu Hart in 1948, the prom ...

, where he formed 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 ...

with Tom Nash known as "The Blackhearts". Heath and Nash competed under

masks A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment, and often employed for rituals and rites. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practical purposes, ...

as "Destruction" and "Apocalypse" respectively. They won the

Stampede International Tag Team Championship The Stampede International Tag Team Championship was the main tag team title in the Canadian professional wrestling promotion Stampede Wrestling. It was created in 1958 as the NWA International Tag Team Championship (Calgary version). When promo ...

as a team. In the early nineties, the Blackhearts were paired with Nash's wife

Luna Luna commonly refers to: * Earth's Moon, named "Luna" in Latin, Spanish and other languages * Luna (goddess) In Sabine and ancient Roman religion and myth, Luna is the divine embodiment of the Moon (Latin ''Lūna'' ). She is often presented as t ...

, wrestling in Joel Goodhart's Tri-State Wrestling, in

Herb Abrams Herbert Charles Abrams (July 9, 1955 – July 23, 1996), also known by the nickname Mr. Electricity, was an American professional wrestling promoter from Queens, New York, who founded the Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF) in 1990. Early life ...

' Universal Wrestling Federation, and finally

Giant Baba , best known by his ring name , was a Japanese professional wrestler, promoter, and professional baseball player. He is best known as a co-founder of All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), a promotion he founded in 1972 along with Mitsuo Momota ...

's All-Japan, where the team split up. During that time, the marriage between Nash and Luna broke up, and Heath and Luna became romantically involved. They eventually married on Halloween 1994. The

(WWF), where Luna worked at the time, even broadcast a segment of Luna's "Wedding to a Vampire". After the demise of the Blackhearts, Heath and Luna developed the Vampire Warrior

gimmick A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often with little intrinsic value. When applied to retail marketing, it is a unique or quirky feature designed to make a product or service "stand out ...

, inspired by the movie ''

The Lost Boys ''The Lost Boys'' is a 1987 American comedy horror film directed by Joel Schumacher, produced by Harvey Bernhard, and with the screenplay written by Jeffrey Boam, Janice Fischer, and James Jeremias, from a story by Fischer and Jeremias. The ...

'', under which, he wrestled in various promotions, including the Memphis-based

United States Wrestling Association The United States Wrestling Association (USWA) was a professional wrestling promotion based in Memphis, Tennessee. The company was founded when the Memphis-based Continental Wrestling Association merged with the Dallas-based World Class Champions ...

(USWA) in 1993 to 1994. Under this moniker, he won the USWA Southern Championship and the ''

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 ...

'' Rookie of the Year award in 1993.

World Wrestling Federation (1993–1995)

In 1993, Heath received a tryout match with the World Wrestling Federation when he faced Kevin Kruger in an unaired match for

Wrestling Challenge ''WWF Wrestling Challenge'' is a professional wrestling television show that was produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now known as WWE). It was syndicated weekly and aired from 1986 to 1995. The show became simply known as ''WWF C ...

on June 14 in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

. In late October 1993, the WWF began a Florida swing to their

house show A house show (also commonly called a live event) is a professional wrestling event produced by a major Professional wrestling promotion, promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in o ...

tour, and Heath made several appearances teaming with The Cuban Assassin and

Little Louis Valaida Snow (June 2, 1904. Other presumed birth years are 1900, 1901, 1903, 1905, and 1907 – May 30, 1956) was an American jazz musician and entertainer who performed internationally. She was also known as "Little Louis" and "Queen of the Tru ...

in six-man matches against

The Bushwhackers The Bushwhackers were a professional wrestling tag team who competed first as the New Zealand Kiwis and then as The Sheepherders during their 36-year career as a tag team. They wrestled in the World Wrestling Federation, Jim Crockett Promotions ...

and

Tiger Jackson Bandai Namco Entertainment's ''Tekken'' media franchise is known for its diverse cast of characters hailing from various nationalities, all coming together to compete in the King of Iron Fist tournament. In addition to the human characters, '' ...

. On the February 28, 1994 episode of RAW, Heath made his televised debut for the WWF and lost to

Earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

. He was portrayed as a masked

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 ...

and dubbed "The Black Phantom", working as an

enhancement talent In professional wrestling slang, a job is a losing performance in a wrestling match. It is derived from "doing one's job,” a euphemism to hide kayfabe-related information. When a wrestler is booked to lose a match, it is described as "a job". ...

against numerous stars, including

Razor Ramon Scott Oliver Hall (October 20, 1958 – March 14, 2022) was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his tenures with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) under his real name and with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE ...

, The 1-2-3 Kid,

Lex Luger Lawrence Wendell Pfohl (born June 2, 1958), better known by the ring name Lex Luger, is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, bodybuilder, and gridiron football player. He is best known for his work with Jim Crocke ...

Bob Holly Robert William Howard (born January 29, 1963) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Hardcore Holly. After debuting in 1987, Holly worked for World Organization of Wr ...

, Tatanka,

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 ...

Typhoon A typhoon is a tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere and which produces sustained hurricane-force winds of at least . This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, accounting for a ...

and others. His last match was on the July 9, 1995 edition of Wrestling Challenge, where he fell to the 1-2-3 Kid once more.

Extreme Championship Wrestling (1995, 1997)

In 1995, Heath appeared in

Extreme Championship Wrestling Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) was an American professional wrestling promotion that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and operated by its parent company HHG Corporation. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as Nationa ...

(ECW) for a short period, feuding with

Tommy Dreamer Thomas James Laughlin (born February 13, 1971) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and professional wrestling promotion, promoter better known by the ring name Tommy Dreamer. He is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestli ...

over Dreamer's affiliation with Heath's real-life wife Luna. He made his debut at

Barbed Wire, Hoodies & Chokeslams Barbed Wire, Hoodies & Chokeslams was a professional wrestling house show, live event produced by Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) on June 17, 1995. The event was held in the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States. Exce ...

in June 1995. Heath made a one-night return to ECW when he teamed with

Marty Jannetty Fredrick Martin Jannetty (born February 3, 1960) is an American retired professional wrestler who has worked for promotions including the World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (WWF/E), the American Wrestling Association (AWA), World Champion ...

as they lost to

Al Snow Allen Ray Sarven (born July 18, 1963) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Al Snow. He is best known for his tenures in Extreme Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation/ World Wrestling Entertainm ...

and Amish Roadkill on September 27, 1997.

Various promotions (1996–1998)

Heath worked in various promotions for the next two years. He worked in the independents throughout the States and mainly in Florida. He returned to USWA in 1996. Also worked in Japan for International Wrestling Association Japan from 1996 to 1997 and Puerto Rico in 1997. In 1998, he worked for

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Puroresu, Japanese professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on October 21, 1972, by Giant Baba after he left the Japanese Wrestling Association to create his own promotion. Ma ...

World Championship Wrestling (1997–1998)

Throughout 1997 and early 1998, Heath appeared as

on ''

WCW Pro ''WCW Pro'' is an American televised wrestling show that was presented by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Along with ''WCW WorldWide'', it was part of the WCW Disney tapings. The rights to ''WCW Pro'' now belong to WWE and 161 episodes of Mi ...

'' and ''

WCW Worldwide ''WCW WorldWide'' is an American syndicated television show that was produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) that aired from October 8, 1975, to March 31, 2001. At the time of its cancellation, ''WorldWide'' was the longest-running, unin ...

'', wrestling

Chris Jericho Christopher Keith Irvine (born November 9, 1970), better known by the ring name Chris Jericho, is an American-Canadian professional wrestler, rock musician, and actor. As a wrestler, he has been signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) , where he ...

Rey Mysterio Óscar Gutiérrez Rubio (born December 11, 1974), better known by his ring name Rey Mysterio, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. Widely regarded as both one of the greatest '' luch ...

Dean Malenko Dean Shelly Simon (born August 4, 1960), better known by the ring name Dean Malenko, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a senior producer. He is best known for his time in the World Wres ...

, and

Scotty Riggs Scott Antol (born March 1, 1967) is a retired American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) from 1993 to 1999 under the ring names Scotty Riggs and Riggs. Antol i ...

in singles matches, and in tag matches, teaming with Todd Griffith and Johnny Boone once each against

Public Enemy Public Enemy is an American Hip-hop, hip hop group formed in Roosevelt, New York, in 1985 by Chuck D and Flavor Flav. The group rose to prominence for their political messages including subjects such as Racism in the United States, American r ...

, and with Michael Nova against

The Faces of Fear The Faces of Fear was a professional wrestling tag team of The Barbarian and Meng in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) that existed between 1996 and 1999. The two were first paired together in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) as part of ...

Return to WWF (1998–2001)

In 1998, Heath was hired by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) due to the support of then writers

Bruce Prichard Bruce Prichard (born March 7, 1963) is an American professional wrestling executive, booker, and producer and a former manager, commentator, and occasional professional wrestler who works for WWE as Executive Director - CWT. In addition to ...

and

Vince Russo Vincent James Russo (born January 24, 1961) is an American professional wrestling writer, booker and pundit. He is notable for his tenures with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE), World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Total Nonstop ...

, who believed in the merit of a vampire gimmick. Heath was given the name Gangrel, which was derived from a vampire clan from the

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, or abbreviated as RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out ...

'' Vampire: The Masquerade''. The gimmick involved an entrance which saw him rising from a ring of fire on stage, followed by a slow walk to the ring set to a sinister instrumental music theme. He also carried a

goblet A chalice (from Latin 'cup', taken from the Ancient Greek () 'cup') is a drinking cup raised on a stem with a foot or base. Although it is a technical archaeological term, in modern parlance the word is now used almost exclusively for the ...

of "blood" with him and, during his entrance, would stop on the ring steps, take a drink, and spit it into the air. Gangrel made his TV debut on the August 16, 1998 episode of ''

Sunday Night Heat ''WWE Heat'' (formerly known as ''Sunday Night Heat'' and also known as ''Heat'') is an American professional wrestling television program that was produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and aired from August 2, 1998 to May 30, 2008. Or ...

'', defeating Scott Taylor. He then formed a gothic faction, called

The Brood ''The Brood'' is a 1979 Canadian psychological body horror film written and directed by David Cronenberg and starring Oliver Reed, Samantha Eggar, and Art Hindle. Its plot follows a man and his mentally ill ex-wife, who has been sequestered by a ...

, with

Edge Edge or EDGE may refer to: Technology Computing * Edge computing, a network load-balancing system * Edge device, an entry point to a computer network * Adobe Edge, a graphical development application * Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed by ...

and And or AND may refer to: Logic, grammar and computing * Conjunction, connecting two words, phrases, or clauses * Logical conjunction in mathematical logic, notated as "∧", "⋅", "&", or simple juxtaposition * Bitwise AND, a Boolean oper ...

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

. The Brood became known for their "blood baths", which involved the lights going out for a moment, and when they came back on, the targeted wrestler being covered in blood. The three temporarily joined up with

The Undertaker Mark William Calaway (born March 24, 1965), better known by his ring name the Undertaker, is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Calaway ...

and his

Ministry of Darkness The Ministry of Darkness was a villainous professional wrestling stable in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) in 1998-1999 during the Attitude Era. Led by The Undertaker, the Ministry was a controversial group with pseudo-witchcra ...

faction. Gangrel got one of his first title shots at the

1999 Royal Rumble The 1999 Royal Rumble (marketed as Royal Rumble: No Chance in Hell) was the 12th annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It took place on January 24, 1999, at t ...

. He challenged

D-Generation X D-Generation X (DX), is an American professional wrestling Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Stable, stable, and later a tag team, who consisted of various members mostly Generation X wrestlers, most notably Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Ch ...

member

X-Pac 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 World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) under the ring names 1– ...

for his WWF European Championship in a losing effort. He competed in the Royal Rumble match later that night and again the following year. After splitting from the Ministry, The Brood began a

feud A feud , also known in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, private war, or mob war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially family, families or clans. Feuds begin ...

with the

Hardy Boyz The Hardy Boyz are an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of brothers Jeff and Matt Hardy. They are both signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where they are former three time TNA Tag Team Champions. They also make app ...

and their manager Michael Hayes. During the feud, Gangrel suddenly turned on Edge and Christian and aligned himself with

Matt Matt may refer to: *Matt (name), people with the given name ''Matt'' or Matthew, meaning "gift from God", or the surname Matt *In British English, of a surface: having a non-glossy finish, see gloss (material appearance) *Matt, Switzerland, a mu ...

and

Jeff Hardy Jeffrey Nero Hardy (born August 31, 1977) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) and also appears on partner promotion WWE on its NXT (WWE brand), NXT brand. He is re ...

. He called the group The New Brood.

Terri Runnels Terri Lynne Boatright Runnels A transcript of the article can be found a (born October 5, 1966) is an American retired professional wrestling manager, television host, and part-time professional wrestler. Runnels began her professional wrestling ...

also began to show interest in the Hardy Boyz, however, and they eventually would win Terri's services as a manager, thus dumping Gangrel. Gangrel became a singles wrestler following the breakup of The New Brood; he was mainly used as a mid carder. In late 1999, he brought in his real-life wife Luna Vachon as his manager until she was fired. Gangrel continued working for the WWF until being taken off the main roster in November 2000 and was released in June 2001.

Independent circuit (2001–present)

Heath wrestled for an independent promotion based in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

, called New Era Pro Wrestling. He competed in a casket match against NEPW, defeating Gutter. Heath (as Vampire Warrior) wrestled for North American Wrestling (NAW). As Vampire Warrior, he wrestled in the

main event In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...

of the ICWA's Show ''Revolution 5'', losing to

Joe Legend Joseph Edward Hitchen (born September 2, 1969) is a Canadian professional wrestler and trainer, known under his ring name Joe E. Legend. He also wrestled for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) from 2000 to 2001 under the ring name Just ...

in a

casket match 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. ...

for the NWA: ICWA France Heavyweight Championship. In 2009, he was involved with the ''Hulkamania'' Australian Tour event in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Teaming up with Black Pearl, he lost to

The Nasty Boys The Nasty Boys are a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags. The team were active from the mid-1980s through the 1990s. Their gimmick was that of anti-social punks who specialized in hardcore wrestling and ...

in an Australian Street Fight. He has also wrestled for Vendetta Pro Wrestling,

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 ...

, Territory League, and Busted Knuckle Pro Wrestling. On January 23, 2010, Gangrel was inducted into the Legends Pro Wrestling "Hall of Fame" by Jack Blaze in

Wheeling, West Virginia Wheeling is a city in Ohio County, West Virginia, Ohio and Marshall County, West Virginia, Marshall counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The county seat of Ohio County, it lies along the Ohio River in the foothills of the Appalachian Mo ...

, at their annual "LPW Over The Edge" event. On May 11 and 12, 2013, he participated in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

-based Alpha Omega Wrestling's two-day "Pride of the Ring II" supercard in

Indio Indio may refer to: Places * Indio, Bovey Tracey, an historic estate in Devon, England * Indio, California, a city in Riverside County, California, United States People with the name * Indio (musician), Canadian musician Gordon Peterson * Índi ...

, California. He was defeated in a four-man elimination match the first day and lost an AOW Heavyweight Championship match to Eric Watts on the second. On May 18, 2013, Gangrel made his debut for Chikara, managing The Day Walkers (Alexandre Barnabus Castle and Mathias Cage) to the second round of the 2013 Tag World Grand Prix. In August 2013, Gangrel toured Saskatchewan, Canada, with

High Impact Wrestling Canada High Impact Wrestling Canada (HIW) was a professional wrestling promotion, based in Regina, Saskatchewan Regina ( ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-l ...

as part of the "Blood Wars" Tour. On June 6, 2014, at

House of Hardcore House of Hardcore (HOH) was an American wrestling promotion founded by Professional wrestling, professional wrestler Tommy Dreamer. Its slogan is "No Politics, No BS, Just Wrestling." In its history, HOH has run events in twelve states and thre ...

4 Gangrel teamed with Joe Caldo and Hurricane Helms to defeat Vik Dalishus, Bill Carr, and Cerebus in a six-man tag team match. On June 7, at House of Hardcore 5 Gangrel teamed with Cerebus and Fungus to defeat Vik Dalishus, Dan Barry and Bill Carr in a six-man tag team match. On June 14, at House of Hardcore 6 Gangrel teamed with

Matt Striker Matthew Kaye (born June 26, 1974) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, professional wrestling Sports commentator, commentator, actor and former high school teacher, signed to Major League Wrestling, using the ring name ...

to face

Rikishi A , or, more colloquially, , is a sumo wrestler. Although used to define all wrestlers participating in sumo wrestling matches, the term is more commonly used to refer to professional wrestlers, employed by the Japan Sumo Association, who par ...

& X-Pac in a losing effort. In 2013 and 2014 Gangrel appeared with the West Coast Wrestling Connection based in Portland and Salem, Oregon. In 2015, Gangrel appeared for Big Time Wrestling events in Vermont, Maine, and Virginia. He also was a featured competitor for the Las Vegas-based Paragon Pro Wrestling. On July 18, 2015, in Kitchener, Ontario, Gangrel won the Pure Wrestling Association Ontario championship, defeating EZE Eric Cairnie. He lost the championship the next day to "Reckless" Ryan Swift. On February 14, 2016, Gangrel appeared for Professional Wrestling Live in Solihull, West Midlands, UK at Kingshurst Labour Club and became the PWL Heavyweight Champion. Gangrel successfully defended this title on two occasions, but was defeated by local wrestler Jamie Firkin wikt:a.k.a., a.k.a. 'Johnny Thunder' on February 25, 2016. After initially defeating Thunder, a sneak attack enabled Thunder to cash in a guaranteed title match contract he held from a previous Money in the Bank match win. Gangrel appeared at Over the Top Wrestling, Over the Top Wrestling's Eighth Year Anniversary show at The Hangar in Wolverhampton, England on October 28, 2022, where he defeated Mad Kurt.

Sporadic WWE appearances (2004, 2007)

Gangrel reunited with former Ministry of Darkness member Viscera (wrestler), Viscera in 2004, returning as a hired goon of John Layfield (wrestler), John "Bradshaw" Layfield during a feud with The Undertaker. They were defeated by The Undertaker on the September 23 episode of ''SmackDown''. On the 15th Anniversary of RAW, 15th Anniversary ''WWE Raw'' special on December 10, 2007, Gangrel participated in a 15-man Battle royal (professional wrestling), battle royal, but was eliminated by

All Elite Wrestling (2020, 2022, 2024)

On November 7, 2020, Gangrel made his debut for

at Full Gear (2020), Full Gear during the Elite Deletion match between Matt Hardy and Sammy Guevara, chastising Hardy for his disloyalty when Gangrel mentored him (referring to his time in the New Brood) before making an unsuccessful attempt to aid Guevara. 18 months later, on the May 27, 2022 episode of AEW Rampage, Gangrel would return to AEW to accompany The Young Bucks to ring during a tag team match they had with Serpentico, Jon Cruz and Tyler Rust, Taylor Rust. Following the match, which saw the Young Bucks victorious, Gangrel was betrayed by The Young Bucks, who attacked him. He would then be rescued by The Hardy Boyz, who he then reunited with and assisted him in attacking Brandon Cutler. On May 26, 2024 at Double or Nothing (2024), Double or Nothing, he emerged from beneath the mat to assist former Brood stablemate Adam Copeland in fighting off The House of Black during Copeland's barbed wire steel cage match with Malakai Black.

Other media

In May 2015, Heath appeared uncredited as a prisoner with Crohn's disease in ''The Human Centipede 3 (Final Sequence)'', starring Dieter Laser and Laurence R. Harvey. He appeared on the 10th episode of the WWE Network series, ''The Edge & Christian Show'', released on May 2, 2016. Also in 2015, he was in a music video for rapper SonReal, on the song "For the Town". In 2024, Heath starred in The After Dark as leader of the old world vampires.

Video games

Personal life

Heath has two children, David Jr 1986 and Donavan 1991, with his High School Sweetheart Laura Buscemi(1984 to 1992), he was married three times to then to fellow wrestler Luna Vachon from 1994 to 2006 (during which he was stepfather to Luna's sons Joshua and Van from her previous marriage to Dan Hurd), to Kiara Dillon from 2008 to 2013, and lastly, he married Susan Nelson in February 2022. His signature fangs are the result of dental implants he received early on in his career with the WWF. It was reported it cost more than $10,000 for each one. Heath briefly directed pornography, but gave it up because of his concerns that it was going to affect his wrestling career.

Championships and accomplishments

* All Pro Wrestling **APW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Billy Blade * Americas Wrestling Federation (Puerto Rico) **AWF World Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time) * All-Star Wrestling (British Columbia) **ASW Trans-Canada Heavyweight Championship (3 times) * Atlantic Wrestling Council **AWC Heavyweight Championship (1 time) * Boca Raton Championship Wrestling **BRCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Lakay * European Wrestling Promotion **EWP World Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **EWP Ironman Title Hardcore Knockout Tournament (2003) * Hoodslam **Hoodslam Golden Gig Championship (1 time) * International Pro Wrestling Association **IPWA Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Rusty Brooks * Legends Pro Wrestling **LPW Hall of Fame (Class of 2010) * Maximum Pro Wrestling :*MXPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) :*MXPW Tag Team Championship (1 time, inaugural) – with Dave Johnson :*MXPW Tag Team Title Tournament (2003)– with Dave Johnson * National Wrestling Alliance, NWA Florida **NWA Florida Tag Team Championship (NWA Florida Tag Team Championship#Title history, 1 time) – with Tom Nash **NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship (1 time, current) * National Wrestling League **NWL Heavyweight Championship (1 time) * Oceania Pro Wrestling ** OPW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Dusk * Paragon Pro Wrestling ** PPW American Championship (1 time) *

**List of Pro Wrestling Illustrated awards#Rookie of the Year, Rookie of the Year (1993) **Ranked No. 102 of the top 500 wrestlers in the ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated#PWI 500, PWI 500'' in 1999 * Pro Wrestling live ** PWL Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **PWL Tag Team Championship (1 time)– with Mad Dog Maxx **PWL Great British Championship (1 time) * Pro Wrestling Revolution **PWR Heavyweight Championship (1 time) * Pure Wrestling Association ** PWA Ontario Championship (1 time) *

(Stampede International Tag Team Championship#Title history, 1 time) – with Tom Nash * Extreme Championship Wrestling#Tri-State Wrestling Alliance and NWA Eastern Championship Wrestling (1989–1994), Tri-State Wrestling Alliance **TWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Blackheart Destruction *

** Memphis Wrestling Southern Heavyweight Championship, USWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (Memphis Wrestling Southern Heavyweight Championship#Title history, 1 time) *Vanguard Championship Wrestling **VCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **VCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Kevin Thorn * West Coast Wrestling Connection ** WCWC Pacific Northwest Championship (WCWC Pacific Northwest Championship#History, 3 times) **WCWC Legacy Championship (3 times) ** WCWC Tag Team Championship (WCWC Tag Team Championship#History, 3 times) – with Mikey O'Shea (1) and Sinn Bodhi (2) * SWF UK & KAPOW Wrestling ** SWF & KAPOW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with TWitcH * American Wrestling Federation (AWF) ** AWF World Championship (1 time) ** AWF Television Championship (1 time)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gangrel 1969 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 Masked wrestlers American pornographic film directors Professional wrestlers from Tampa, Florida Stampede Wrestling alumni NWA Florida Tag Team Champions Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Champions 1988 professional wrestling debuts