WWE signs six competitors to developmental contracts
by Phil Speer
Nov. 21, 2003
Six competitors have been signed recently by WWE to developmental contracts, meaning that the company believes they have the potential to one day make the WWE roster.
Demond Thompson, Mark Magnus, Chris Cage and John “Tank” Toland will continue to train at Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), WWE’s developmental territory in Louisville, Ky. Two others, Brent Albright and Bobby Lashley, have also been signed and will report to OVW after the first of the year.
Thompson is a trained wrestler although he’s appeared on OVW television mostly as a valet.
“He’s a great kid,” OVW trainer Jim Cornette said. “He went to the amateur class here, and he learned how to wrestle, and he’s really good. But he’s so small – like 140 pounds – that it’s not his calling.”
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So Thompson became Morris, a valet for Rene Dupree when the La Resistance member competed in OVW. When Bradshaw visited the territory, he thought Morris was hilarious, and he brought him up to WWE television, where he was christened Bruce the Butler. More recently, he’s been appearing in vignettes alongside Ernest “The Cat” Miller.
“He’s hilarious,” Cornette said of Thompson. “Actually, I think if he gets comfortable, he’ll end up outshining The Cat.”
Mark Magnus, a native of Syracuse, N.Y., transferred two years ago to the University of Louisville from the University of Buffalo so he could attend OVW classes. Cornette describes Magnus as a natural for the business because he has the look, size and presence. Plus, Magnus has a legitimate IQ of 148.
Chris Cage and Tank Toland have wrestled together in OVW as Adrenaline. In addition to his wrestling talents, Cage is also an accomplished artist who earned a full scholarship to Youngtown State University.
“He looks like a 23-year-old Bret Hart,” Cornette said. “His nickname is the Hitman. Honestly, with his hair, his face and his style of wrestling, he looks a lot like Bret did in his 20s.”
Toland is a product of OVW’s tryout camp earlier this year. A native of Atlantic City, Toland has an impressive amateur background that includes football, baseball, wrestling, power lifting and swimming. A four-year varsity baseball player in high school, Toland had the highest batting average, the most home runs and the most stolen bases on his team. “So he’s strong and fast,” Cornette said. “The reason why I’m so high on him is, he’s legitimately 5-7, but he’s 220 pounds, and he’s as wide as he is tall. This kid can go. And he’s cut too.
We’re really excited about him.”
While those four competitors are “homegrown” OVW products, Albright and Lashley were discovered by WWE officials through other arenas.
Lashley is currently the No. 4 ranked amateur wrestling in his weight class and had been training for the Olympics, but has elected to pursue sports entertainment instead.
Albright, from Oklahoma, has wrestled for five years in the area and has competed recently at WWE television events.
In other contract-related news, Jim Ross, executive vice president for talent relations, told WWE.com that John Heidenreich and Matt Morgan have agreed to terms on long-term contracts.
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