Ric Converse
Richard "Ric" Converse is an American professional wrestler. He is one of the top "heels" on the Southeastern independent circuit, especially in the Carolinas, and currently competes for CWF Mid-Atlantic where he is a record 6-time CWF Mid-Atlantic Champion. He has wrestled for a considerable number of other independent wrestling promotions, most notably, Count Grog's Southern Championship Wrestling, NWA Carolinas, and Pro Wrestling ZERO1-MAX. He was also a star in the short-lived AWA Superstars promotion holding both the promotion's world heavyweight title and tag team title during 2006 and 2007.
Early life
Converse was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. In 1998, he graduated from Robert B. Glenn High School in Kernersville, North Carolina. A victim of bullying as a child, Converse was inspired after watching Hulk Hogan on television and decided on a career as a professional wrestler when he was only 8-years-old. On September 15, 1998, Converse enrolled at Ken Spence's School of Pro Wrestling and spent the next four months in training.Professional wrestling career
Early career (1999–2002)
Converse made his professional debut on January 23, 1999, wrestling a tag team match with Mr. X against Dr. Feelgood and Double Trouble at Winston-Salem's VFW Hall. He went on to wrestle for a number of local "indy" promotions during the first two years of his career: Alternative Championship Wrestling, Carolina Championship Wrestling Alliance, New Empire Wrestling, Ringside Championship Wrestling, Southern Wrestling Alliance, and the World Wrestling Alliance. He also had a brief stint in Count Grog's Southern Championship Wrestling.It was during this period that Converse developed a cocky "heel" in-ring persona, calling himself "Slick Ric" and "Slick Diddy", parodies of pro wrestler "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair and rapper P. Diddy respectively. His first major feud was with the Lumbee Warrior. Ten months into his rookie year he scored his first-ever victory by pinning the Warrior in July 1999. The two men eventually formed a tag team together, "Sudden Impact", which led to his first title victory on March 17, 2001, with an ECPW Tag Team title victory alongside his erstwhile rival. On September 7, 2001, he and Persephone teamed up a WWA show in Statesville, North Carolina, to defeat Mikael Yamaha and Amber Holly in a mixed tag team match. The following summer, Converse had won the major single titles of three different promotions in a three-week period. He was named "Performer of the Year" by the pro wrestling website IndyInsiders.com that same year.
FWA-Carolinas (2002–2004)
Converse began wrestling for FWA-Carolinas, one of two US affiliates for the Frontier Wrestling Alliance, in early-2002 where he aligned himself with manager Brad Stutts' Hostile Youth Project with GeeStar, Special K, and J.T. Sparxx. He and GeeStar specifically feuded with Mikael Yamaha and Amber Holly, then FWA Women's World Champion, both in FWA-Carolinas and other promotions. Their first match, on April 26, 2002, at Final Judgement in Graham, North Carolina, resulted in Converse pinning Yamaha after knocking him out with Holly's championship belt. At Spring Showdown on May 11, they were joined by J.T. Sparxx for a 6-man tag team match against The Gemini Kid, Mikael Yamaha, and Amber Holly. The match ended with a second victory for the HYP when Converse pinned Yamaha after Stutts hit his opponent with a briefcase. Converse followed this up by winning the FWA-Carolinas Cruiserweight Championship from Sexton Tyler on July 20 at Payback. A third and final mixed tag match took place at Explosive Elements on August 17, 2002, at A.L. Brown Middle School in Kannapolis, North Carolina, which saw Sexton Tyler, Mikael Yamaha, and Amber Holly defeat Corey Edsel, Ric Converse, and GeeStar.The following year Converse appeared on the first episode of CWF Championship Wrestling where he lost his title to J-Money, ending his seven-month championship reign. He subsequently entered the heavyweight division and spent the next few months feuding with FWA-Carolinas Heavyweight Champion Corey Edsel who had previously left the HYP months earlier. The two finally met on August 9, 2003, in Wentworth, North Carolina. Outside interference from Brad Stutts unintentionally caused Converse to lose the match. Afterwards, Converse turned against Stutts and hit him with his finisher. He was the last of the original HYPmembers to leave the group.
The Converse-Edsel feud continued throughout the year and, on December 27, 2003, Converse defeated Corey Edsel for the title at the FWA-Carolinas Anniversary Show. On January 17, 2004, he teamed with Shane West and Garry Stevens in a losing effort to Corey Edsel, Bounty Hunter, and Rob McBride. At the end of the month, Converse defeated both Edsel and ACW Heavyweight Champion Quinson Valentino to unify CWF and ACW titles. Converse was one of the wrestlers Valentino thanked upon his retirement four years later. Over the next four months, Converse successfully defended the title against Rob McBride, Bounty Hunter, Kid Justice, Trent Wylde, and Joey Silvia. He also took part in tag team matches. On March 6, he and Brad Rainz were beaten by Bounty Hunter and Otto Schwanz. He also teamed with Shane West and Garry Stevens to beat Brass Munkey, American Steel Ninja, and Corey Edsel on April 17. Converse was later awarded a new title belt by legendary announcer Bob Caudle which resembled the old NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship. He also continued his rivalry with Edsel and lost to him in a non-title match on May 15. Their next meeting on July 10 ended in a double-countout. On August 28, he entered the 2004 Johnny Weaver Cup tournament in Thomasville, North Carolina, and lost to Corey Edsel in the finals. Another match on September 15 ended in a time-limit draw. Converse finally lost the title to Corey Edsel on October 2.
Converse was unable to regain the title from Edsel in subsequent rematches, however, he did win an impressive victory over David Flair on October 23. He formed a brief partnership with Trent Wylde and Brad Attitude at the end of the year joining them in one or two 6-man tag team bouts. On November 20, the three wrestled Orlo, Kid Justice, and Jesse Ortega. A week later, he and Trent Wylde lost a tag team match to J-Money and Will B. Smooth at an interpromotional SWA/CWF Mid-Atlantic show. On December 4, 2004, Converse and Wylde were defeated by Corey Edsel and Orlo.
AWA Mid-Atlantic (2004–2006)
On December 18, 2004, Converse regained the heavyweight championship from Edsel in Burlington, North Carolina. Earlier that year, the CWF had become the official AWA Superstars affiliate for the Mid-Atlantic United States and the title was renamed the AWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship. His second reign as champion lasted over six months with wins over Xsiris, Brad Attitude, Otto Schwanz, The Gemini Kid, "Wild" Shane West, Jesse "El Fuego" Ortega, Donnie Dollars, and Mitch Conner. On May 21, 2005, Conner defeated Converse in a non-title match. A month later, he was also on the losing end of a 6-man tag team match with The $outh$ide Playas against Shane West, The Shadow, and Garry Stevens. Converse defended the title in a singles match against Stevens on June 24, which he won, but lost the title to him in a "King of the Road" match three weeks later at Friday Night Fights 2.Despite losing the title, Converse continued to be successful in the singles division defeating Bobby Ramone, Mitch Connor, and Julios Augustus during the summer. On August 19, he and Brad Attitude defeated Garry Stevens and Michael McAllister in a tag team match. The next night, however, he and The $outh$ide Playas lost a 6-man tag team match to Stevens, Mitch Conner, and The Shadow. Converse and Jesse Ortega defeated Garry Stevens and Super Spoiler in yet another tag match on September 10. A week later, he unsuccessfully challenged Steve Corino for the AWA World Heavyweight Championship in a bout lasting nearly 40 minutes. Converse also made appearances in other companies during this time, Big Time Wrestling and Carolina Wrestling Association, with he and Brad Thomas defeating Beau James and Sheik of Araby on September 27 in the former promotion.
On October 1, Converse won the 5th annual 30-man "CWF Rumble" to earn a title show for the championship of his choice. He and Chris Vega were the first two entrants and eliminated Alex Adonis, Donnie Dollars, Coco Rojo, Brad Attitude, and Marcellus King to win the event. He lasted a total of 36 minutes and 57 seconds setting a new record as the longest time in the CWF Rumble and, as of 2012, remains unbroken. The following month, he wrestled Shannon Moore at a November 5 CWF show in Burlington, North Carolina. He was also accompanied by Harley Race in his match against Jake Manning for a Carolina Wrestling Association show on November 17; he returned to the CWA a month later where he and Jesse Ortega lost a tag team match to Jake Manning and Jason Jones. On December 3, Converse teamed with Joey Silvia beat The Street Sweepers in a Bounty match. Two weeks later, Converse defeated Garry Stevens in a "Winner Take All" Steel Cage match at BattleCade VI to regain the AWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship. Due to the pre-match stipulations, Converse also received a title shot against then AWA World Heavyweight Champion Steve Corino. Corino lost the title to Shinjiro Otani only a week prior to their scheduled match, which saw Converse successfully retain the AWA Mid-Atlantic title.
In early-2006, Converse formed a brief partnership with Joey Silva. On January 7, 2006, they defeated Alpha & Omega. On February 4, they joined Xsiris in a 6-man tag team match to wrestle Marcellus King, Brandon Day, and Tony Kozina. A week later, he wrestled Johnny Blaze on a special "legends" show for Carolina Championship Wrestling at the sold-out Mulberry Rec Center in Lenoir, North Carolina, also featuring Amber O'Neal, Krissy Vaine, The Midnight Express, The Rock 'n' Roll Express, Total Protection, Tom Prichard, Bob Armstrong, Brad Armstrong, George South, Ronnie Garvin, Tully Blanchard, and Dusty Rhodes. On February 18, Converse again teamed with Joey Silva and Xsiris to wrestle Alpha & Omega and Brandon Day which ended in a no-contest. Trent Wylde joined the match on the pretense of helping Converse after Silva was injured, bowing out at the last minute, and Xsiris became incapacitated. Silva later returned to ringside where he and Wylde turned on Converse. Wylde, who had previously been banned from the promotion, was reinstated by Commissioner William L. Cross at the request of Converse following the attack. Silva and Wylde subsequently formed "The New Dynasty" which was intended to mock the stable which Converse had founded.
On a March 11 television taping for CWF Championship Wrestling, interference from Silva and Wylde cost Converse his match against Marcus King, losing via countout. On April 9, he defended his title in Pro-Wrestling WORLD-1 against Justin Smith. On April 22, he defeated Tracy Smothers at CWF's Carolina Sports Arena. The following week at Gate City Superclash in Greensboro, North Carolina, he faced Joey Silvia, Trent Wylde, and Steve Green in a 6-man tag team match with Xsiris and Jesse Ortega, which Converse's team lost. On May 13, a "best of four" team series was held between Team Dynasty and Team Converse at AC Fitness in Greensboro. Team Dynasty ended up winning the match series when Greene defeated Ric Converse in a no-submission, falls count anywhere "West Market Street Fight". This also allowed Greene to pick the opponent for Converse's next title defense. The opponent was revealed to be Converse's teammate Xsiris with their match ending in a no-contest. It was strongly hinted by The New Dynasty the Xsiris was their newest member, and while it appeared as though Xsiris was going to side with the group during their match, he ended up staying loyal to Converse. Afterwards, Converse challenged The New Dynasty to a 6-man tag match between members of the Original Dynasty versus Silva and Wyle's recent incarnation, which was accepted by his arch-rivals. The two teams met at CWF's Summer Action Series on June 10 which saw Converse, Xsiris, and Brad Attitude beat Steve Greene, Joey Silvia, and Trent Wylde.