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Revision as of 19:58, 24 November 2006 by BooyakaDell (talk | contribs) (→Career: irrelevent & besides, its uncited, too)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)| Peter Gruner | |
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| File:EvanKidman2.jpg | |
| Born | May 11, 1974 Allentown, Pennsylvania |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Kid Flash Kidman Billy Kidman |
| Billed height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) |
| Billed weight | 195 lb (89 kg) |
| Trained by | Afa Anoai |
| Debut | 1994 |
Peter Jacob Gruner (born May 11, 1974 in Allentown, Pennsylvania) is an American professional wrestler known by his ring name Billy Kidman.
Kidman is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Career
Gruner grew up in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the state's Lehigh Valley region. He joined the WCW and ultimately gained fame as a key member of several strong wrestling factions. In addition to being a member of Raven's Flock, he also was a member of the Filthy Animals and later New Blood. As a member of these factions, Gruner participated in memorable rivalries with top WCW names, including Hulk Hogan, Jeff Jarrett, Rey Mysterio, and others.
In 2000, Gruner appeared in the movie, Ready to Rumble, along side many WCW stars.
When the WWF purchased WCW, Gruner, still wrestling as Billy Kidman, was among the first to join WWF as a heel in the WCW Alliance. Gruner's impact on the cruiserweight division was immediately felt when he won the Cruiserweight Championship in July 2001.
Kidman turned face after the WCW/ECW Alliance broke up. He went on to capture the Cruiserweight Championship for the seventh time by defeating Jamie Noble at Survivor Series, later Kidman was placed with a new tag team partner, Paul London. The team went on to win the WWE Tag Team Championship from The Dudley Boyz on July 8, 2004.
The champion run of this face team came to an abrupt end after Kidman turned his back on London, leaving him to wrestle a tag team title match on his own. The heel turn came off the back of a legitimate injury on an August 24, 2004 taping of SmackDown!, where Billy Kidman's Shooting Star Press caused Chavo Guerrero to suffer a concussion and be taken to the hospital.
The pair fought at No Mercy (2004), where Kidman injured London with a shooting star press, while London was strapped to a stretcher. When Chavo returned, he faced off with Kidman in a storyline resulting from the injury.
Gruner was released from his WWE contract on July 7, 2005, following months of speculation that the cumulative affect of his multiple injuries would force him to retire.
Gruner has since wrestled on occasion for the National Wrestling Alliance making appearances on its NWA Italy tour. There were talks that Kidman was considering signing with TNA, but told TNA after a few months of speculation that he was enjoying his time off with wife and former manager Torrie Wilson, and has no plans on returning in the ring anytime soon.
On March 12, 2006, British wrestling promotion, Frontier Wrestling Alliance, officially announced that Kidman would be making an appearance on an FWA show, when the promotion visits the Colchester Hippodrome on Sunday, April 30th. Kidman broke the news himself during a phone in on "The Fight Network" radio show a few days beforehand.
During this first tour of the UK since leaving WWE, Kidman would make a few appearances in other independent British promotions. Other than his notable FWA 3-way match with Jodie Fleisch and Jonny Storm, Kidman would also wrestle British wrestling legend Robbie Brookside in a losing effort during a British rules match to determine the first Real Quality Wrestling Heavyweight Champion.
While in England, Gruner gave an interview to The Sun, a London-based tabloid newspaper, in which he said that he was interested in wrestling for TNA. In the course of the interview, Gruner claimed that he was fired from WWE for criticizing the company's decision to downgrade wrestlers from business class to economy class in overseas flights. After returning to the United States, Kidman wrestled a dark match, while wearing a mask, before a WWE show in July 2006.
In wrestling
- Finishing and signature moves
- Shooting star press / Seven Year Itch
- BK Bomb (Sitout spinebuster slam, sometimes performed from the middle or top rope)
- Kid Krusher (Inverted double underhook facebuster)
- Kid Factor / K-Factor (Sitout facebuster, powerbomb counter)
- Kidmankaze (Springboard shooting star press)
- Fireman's carry into a neckbreaker on the knee
- Springboard bulldog
- Springboard legdrop
- Managers
Championships and accomplishments
- ECWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ace Darling
- 2004 inductee to the ECWA Hall of Fame
- Trans-World Wrestling Federation
- TWWF Cruiserweight Championship (1 time)
- USWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) (with Ace Darling)
- WCW Cruiserweight Championship (3 times)
- WCW Cruiserweight Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Rey Misterio, Jr.
- WCW World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Rey Misterio, Jr. (1) and Konnan (1)
Personal life
Gruner is married to WWE diva Torrie Wilson, with whom he resides in Tampa, Florida. The couple's Tampa residence was featured on the 55th episode of MTV Cribs. However on October 17, 2006, Wilson announced on her MySpace blog that she was in the stages of divorcing her husband, although the post was quickly removed.
Gruner's cousin, Michael Altieri, is also a professional wrestler, and was partly trained by Gruner.
References
- Billy Kidman at Bodyslamming.com.
- "Kidman: Why I was Fired" (interview with British newspaper The Sun).