King Kong Hogan

David Goodman can remember it like it was yesterday - the day he decided to become a professional wrestler… the day he met his idol.

The year was 1988. David, like many kids his age, was a huge fan of professional wrestling so when he was lucky enough to find out that the country fair in his small corner of the world would be having wrestling that year, he begged his mother to attend. After weeks of badgering, she relented, praying for the day her son would outgrow that “fake stuff.” David was elated and spent his every waking moment discussing with his friends and family the show and what might happen. Out of all the aging has-beens and never-weres who were lining the card that night, there was one man who David was overjoyed to see - the man known as Red River Jack. Jack was a wild man inside the ring and outside of it and his bloody wars were often the fodder of David’s favorite pro wrestling magazines that he stored in a trunk in his bedroom to read over and over again.

The day of the big show arrived and David was overjoyed. He sat in his seat, shaking with anticipation. Before the bell rang, his mother gave him some money and told him to go to the concession stand to get them hot dogs and sodas. The dutiful son obliged, walking up towards the line. He was still running down the list of matches for the night in his head, thinking about the names he knew and daydreaming about those he didn’t… when he suddenly realized there was a near giant standing in front of him in line. Could it be? Do monsters need hot dogs too? But when he heard the gravel-throated voice in front of him bark “Two beers please” to the lady working the stand, David instantly knew. After getting his order, he turned around, nearly bumping into young David. David looked up at his hero, stars in his eyes as Jack spoke to him - “Sorry, kid” and went on his way. His brush with greatness was over but David was elated and couldn’t wait to tell his story to anyone who would listen. The night’s Main Event saw Jack dispose of his opponent with a leaping piledriver and score the victory. What a day.

To this day, the man formerly known as David Goodman will tell that story. To fans. To the boys in the locker room. To the press. It was his origin story and it was a good one.

Today, David Goodman will tell you he always wanted to be a pro wrestler but his parents would tell a different story. Young David Goodman wanted to be a sports writer and worked hard towards the goal, writing for the campus newspaper in high school and later in college. Goodman left his small town to go to college at West Texas State. He told his parents he wanted the adventure but truth be told, West Texas State’s legacy was the high number of professional wrestlers it had produced - including Red River Jack. Goodman’s life changed when a football coach took one look at his size and recruited him to the team. The team wasn’t very good but Goodman was a highlight, using his size and natural athleticism to carve up opposing defenses. Unfortunately for Goodman, the free-spirited West Texas State football team had more than a few troublemakers and Goodman often found himself in trouble. After a well-orchestrated prank at a unpopular professor’s home, Goodman found himself kicked out of school. Alone in a strange town, Goodman was faced with the choice of going home with his tail between his legs or finding a way in Texas to pay the bills.

The year was 1998 and the world was on the brink of the “boom period” for professional wrestling. Goodman had fallen out with his childhood love - as many kids do - but quickly found himself drawn to the violence he loved as a kid.

Enter Blackjack Lynch. Goodman, still in Texas, started attending the matches in Dallas put on by Lynch’s PCW. PCW was struggling to survive against the national promotions like the IIWF, UWF, and EMWC but it was hanging in there based on the diehard loyalty of the Texas fans and the overwhelming popularity of the Lynch family.

Blackjack Lynch, always with a sharp eye on how to make a buck, instantly loved what he saw out of David Goodman. He took the kid under his wing, teaching him the ropes… all with the goal of making him a monster heel for the Iron Claw to put down. Of course. Within six months, Lynch was satisfied with his work and put Goodman out into the ring under a mask, calling him the Masked Bruiser. The Masked Bruiser wasn’t quite ready for the big time though and his lack of training was obvious.

One night, a veteran in the locker room got in his ear, letting him know that Blackjack was wasting Goodman’s potential in the hunt for a quick big payday. With proper training, this veteran thought Goodman had a chance to be a big star, not just a three month piece of cannon fodder for Blackjack. Goodman took the advice and left PCW, infuriating Blackjack Lynch in the process, and ventured to Amarillo to train under Terry Shane Jr. and Oliver Strickland at The Yard.

The Yard was not an easy place to train. An outdoor training school in the dead of the Texas summer was a good way to end up sunburned and stricken with heat exhaustion but Goodman kept coming… and kept coming. Strickland and Shane took turns stretching the youngster, teaching him the ways of the business the hard way… yet Goodman kept coming… and coming. After another six months of full-time training, Shane and Strickland proclaimed Goodman ready for the ring and put him to work in their own local Amarillo promotion.

Bruiser Brody/Cactus Jack/Necro Butcher/Luke Harper

Whichever pays the bills