Jackson Hunter

The ravages of age have carved Jackson Hunter's already angular features into a gaunt, hawk-like visage with piercing slate grey eyes. He seems to always be furrowing his brow or scowling. His receding salt-and-pepper hair is shaved to a stubble of a similar consistency to the wispy thin beard that covers his face. Lean and sinewy even in his prime, Hunter is almost gangly, probably less than his billed "220 pounds." In the ring, he wears shiny, loose-fitting black pants with silver snakeskin patterning (allegedly to cover the heavy knee-braces he wears).

Jackson Hunter was the only child of a single mother from a working class section of Saskatoon, Canada. With dreams of stardom in his head, at the age of 18, he packed up and departed for Calgary to train in Wayne Colton's vaunted "Colton Cave." Discharged from the Cave after three months for his headstrong and defiant attitude, Hunter attempted to ply his trade on the Canadian independent scene, but found that the influence of the Colton family prevented him from obtaining steady work. Directionless, he joined the Canadian army for a short time before being discharged from that as well for insubordination. Finally, he settled in to a series of low-paying auto mechanic jobs.

A chance reunion with Colton's right-hand man Glen Sand (who wrestled under the ring name “Mehmood Sandor” as member of Raj Bhullar's Golden Palace Army) in 1995 reignited Hunter's interest in professional wrestling as a career path. With Sand's mentorship, Hunter quickly found his way back to Calgary's Chinook Wrestling. Fans were taken with Hunter's surprising agility, state-of-the-art offense, brash personality, and flashy appearance (like Dennis Rodman, Hunter's hair color changed often before settling in to a spiky, gelled, aqua blue.) He quickly formed a tag team with fellow high-flying trainee Curtis "The Bird of Prey" Kestrel, and The Predators became something of an attraction for the territory.

Hunter was considered something of an iconoclast in the isolated territory of Chinook Wrestling, blending lucha libre and Japanese junior maneuvers into the hard-hitting Canadian style. This, combined with his abrasive demeanour, often put him at odds with the Colton family, especially perennial rival Jeremiah “The Sheriff” Colton. Nevertheless, with the blessing of Glen Sand, Hunter remained a fixture at Chinook Wrestling, and soon, other promotions began to notice “The Velociraptor.” Hunter became a regularly-appearing junior heavyweight gaijin in the early days of Japan's Tiger Paw Pro, with his closely-fought defeat at the hands of the legendary LION Tetsuo in late 2004 cementing his place as a world-class contender.

Hunter, however, chose not to capitalize on this success, returning to Calgary following the deaths of Wayne Colton and Glen Sand. With a power vacuum at the top of Chinook Wrestling, it was here that he first established his reputation as a master politician and agent provocateur. Abandoning his previous partner Curtis Kestrel, he allied with Xavier “X-Man” Colton, who likewise felt that the older Colton family members had conspired to hold him back. In the chaos, Hunter captured the Commonwealth Championship (the Dominion of Canada Wrestling League's grandest championship) on two occasions in 2005 and 2006.

Jackson Hunter soon found that his reckless, high risk wrestling style quickly took a toll on his body, and his pathological need to maintain his spot at the top proved to be his undoing. Nagging injuries mounted, and after losing the Commonwealth Championship to Johnny Detson in early 2008, Hunter was effectively forced out of active competition. Chinook Wrestling itself ceased operations later that same year.

Since 2009, Jackson Hunter has tried on multiple occasions to mount a comeback to the ring, but found almost every door closed, with most ring doctors unwilling to certify him for a full-time return to action. He would blame the Colton family and their loose allegiance with the Lynch family for barring him and his cousin Riley Hunter from North American wrestling (the complete lack of evidence of this conspiracy is immaterial to Hunter). Hunter was about to leave the industry once and for all to concentrate on his long form wrestling podcast “Just Hear Me,” when he was approached by his old contacts in the Korogun Corporation for a unique opportunity and given a managerial licence for top AWA prospect Maxim Zharkov. Forming the “Axis of Evil” stable with Juan Vasquez (while silently grifting from him in the background), Jackson Hunter has burrowed into the very fabric of the AWA. With medical clearance to return the ring impending, will he exploit the entire wrestling industry just to settle a few old grudges?

Just watch him.

Terry Funk in 1989, or Chris Jericho in NJPW 2018.

[The entryway is bathed in eerie turquoise and magenta lighting as “Vale of Shadows” by Gunship plays through the arena. A lean looking figure in a floor-length high-collared suede coat the color of charcoal appears.]

RO: Introducing first/And his opponent... Fighting out of the Broken Arrow Ranch, Saskatchewan... Weighing in at 220 pounds...

JAAAACKSON... HUNNNTERRR...

[The look of Hunter's face betrays his antipathy for the fans, for the crew, and for pretty much everyone in general. He skulks down the aisle, not in a particular hurry to fulfill anyone's schedule.]

[Hunter uses the ropes to pull himself up to the apron, turning out to face the crowd. He extends his arms upward, flashing a Nixon-ian peace sign with each hand, then steps into the ring, discarding the coat. He wears baggy black and silver snakeskin pants.]

Heel