Travis Tomko

Travis Tomko
Born	April 1, 1976 Jacksonville, Florida
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Travis Bane Tomko Tyson Tomko
Billed height	6 ft 6 in (198 cm)
Billed weight	286 lb (130 kg)
Billed from	Tombstone, Arizona
Trained by	Jim Cornette (OVW) Danny Davis (OVW) Shawn Michaels Hack Myers
Debut	1999

Travis Tomko (born April 1, 1976 in Jacksonville, Florida), is an American professional wrestler, currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling under the ring name Tomko. Tomko is perhaps best known for his appearances on the RAW brand of World Wrestling Entertainment as Tyson Tomko.

Career

Ohio Valley Wrestling

Tomko began training under Hak Myers in 1999 to become a professional wrestler. After years on the Florida independent circuit he was signed to a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) developmental contract in April 2002 and assigned to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) to sharpen his skill.

While in OVW he was a member of the Disciples of Synn stable and along with stablemate Seven captured the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship, on March 5, 2003, though they lost them less than a month later to The Acolytes Protection Agency.

RAW

In July 2003, Tomko began working dark matches for the WWE RAW brand. He made his television debut on the April 19, 2004 RAW, interfering in a Christian vs. Chris Jericho match on Christian's behalf and helping him pick up the win. His gimmick was that of "The Problem Solver", and acting as an "enforcer for hire" for Christian and Trish Stratus in their feud with Chris Jericho. His singles matches were few and far between; his main goal was ensuring victory for his clients, usually by interfering.

When Christian suffered a (legit) back injury, Tomko continued to stand by Stratus and aid her in gaining an advantage in feuds against Jericho, Victoria, and Steven Richards, among others. Upon Christian's return, Tomko immediately paired with him again, filling the same role as before.

His gimmick eventually evolved into that of a straight man to Christian's over-the-top character with delusions of grandeur, and Tomko could often be seen on camera shaking his head in disbelief at the situations Christian had put them in.

The duo also wrestled as a tag team (Christian and Tyson Tomko) on occasion, sometimes aligning themselves with Edge as well. Whenever the duo acted alongside Edge, fans considered Tomko a third party to the occasional reunion of Edge and Christian, often jobbing in six-man tag matches.

In June 2005, Edge, Christian and Tomko joined forces with Eric Bischoff in his crusade against Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). They were separated on June 30 when Christian was drafted to SmackDown!.

At Royal Rumble 2005, during Christian's rapper feud with John Cena, Christian asked Tomko to give him a beat; Tomko famously responded "No". This response is now frequently used on pro wrestling message boards.

Now on his own, Tomko was pushed as a "monster heel", winning singles matches against many jobbers by (kayfabe) knock out after hitting a big boot to the back of the head. On RAW, he knocked out both World Tag Team Champions, Rosey and The Hurricane. His winning streak ended after he was pinned by John Cena on RAW two weeks in a row.

Japan

In April 2006, Tomko requested and was granted his release from WWE in order to wrestle in Japan. He was reportedly upset that he was no longer being pushed in the tag team he'd recently formed with Gene Snitsky, as Goldust had taken his place and the duo was "repackaged" as Freaks.

For a while after his release, Tomko worked the independent circuit again, including dates with the World Wrestling Council. He eventually landed in New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), and participated in a tournament started in July 2006 to crown a new IWGP World Champion, which had been vacated by Brock Lesnar.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

On the November 23, 2006 episode of TNA iMPACT!, Tomko made his debut in a run-in during a NWA World Heavyweight Championship number one contender's match between Christian Cage and Sting, attacking Sting and siding with Cage. He is once again acting as Christian's enforcer.

On the January 11, 2007 episode of iMPACT!, Tomko went one on one against NWA World Heavyweight Champion Abyss in a non-title match. To avoid interference, Jim Cornette locked Christian in a cage, and also had Kurt Angle at ringside. During the bout, Angle got into a brawl with Samoa Joe, leaving Cage to release himself and assault Abyss, causing Tomko to be disqualified.

Wrestling facts

• Finishing and signature moves

• Yakuza Kick / Chainsaw Kick (Running big boot)
• Chainsaw Neckbreaker (Argentine neckbreaker)
• Belly-to-belly piledriver - OVW
• Suplex powerslam - NJPW
• Gorilla press slam
• Rolling cutter
• Running powerslam
• Spinning side slam
• Gorilla press into fallaway slam

• Managers

• Christian Cage
• Wolfie D
• Trish Stratus
• Synn

• Nicknames

• The Problem Solver
• Absolute

Championships and accomplishments

• Ohio Valley Wrestling

• OVW Southern Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Seven

Trivia

• Tomko's tattoos reference Egyptian symbols and his Blackfoot Indian heritage. They took 120 hours to complete.
• Before becoming a wrestler, Tomko spent three years working as a bodyguard for the band Limp Bizkit.

External links

• Tyson Tomko at ObsessedWithWrestling.com