Chris Masters

Chris Mordetsky
Born	(1983-01-18) January 18, 1983 Santa Monica, California
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Chris Masters Chris Mordetsky
Billed height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Billed weight
Billed from	Los Angeles, California
Trained by	OVW Wrestling School UPW Ultimate University
Debut	2002

Christopher Mordetsky (born January 8, 1983) better known by his ring name "The Masterpiece" Chris Masters, is an American professional wrestler, who is currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment performing on its SmackDown! brand.

Career

Mordetsky competed as an amateur bodybuilder in California before his wrestling career. He began training at Ultimate Pro Wrestling (UPW) and was accepted to the World Wrestling Entertainment company, where he trained at its farm territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW). At OVW, he developed his wrestling skills and refined his character, achieving success in both the singles and tag team divisions.

When Mordetsky was called up to the main roster, WWE [1] showed promo style introductory videos outlining him as The Masterpiece — touting him as having a body so perfect, it would appear he was sculpted out of stone.

2005

"The Masterpiece" Chris Masters, as he was called, began his debut in the WWE as a heel, drawing attention to his physique in bodybuilding poses during his entrance to the match. His first match against jobber Steven Richards was seen very negatively by the fans, as his sloppy in-ring demeanor broke Steven Richards' nose. Masters caused the injury using the Polish hammer, a wrestling move popularized by "Polish Power" Ivan Putski. The Polish hammer continued to be a signature move of Masters' for months after this first match, but with warning that it would only be used in striking an opponent's chest.

Masters made a claim that his Master Lock hold was unbreakable, and began a series of contests he would call "Master Lock Challenges". Originally he would call out plants from the crowd, placing a $1,000 prize of his own money to be paid to anyone who could break free from the Masterlock. He engaged in feuds with lower-card wrestlers, calling out Val Venis and Sgt. Slaughter, who both failed his "Challenge". Using heel tactics, he often attacked the wrestlers beforehand and frequently cheated (using a low-blow to escape Sgt. Slaughter's cobra clutch, for example). Masters increased the offered reward each week up to $20,000 and sometimes threw in a bonus. For example, on the May 16, 2005 edition of RAW[2] while in Omaha, he offered $6,000 and a one-way ticket to anywhere in the US, claiming that "anywhere is better than Omaha, Nebraska."

On July 18, 2005, [3] after defeating 400-pounder Rosey in the Master Lock Challenge, Masters stated "it doesn't matter how big they are!". That claim prompted Big Show to come down to the ring and offer to take Masters up on his challenge; Masters refused and quickly left the ring. A feud between the two was hinted at for a couple of weeks but never came to fruition.

In late August [4], Masters entered into a feud with the iconic Shawn Michaels after interrupting a promo by the latter. In a tag team contest with Carlito against Michaels and Ric Flair, Masters gained a big submission victory by using the Master Lock on a bloodied Ric Flair, who had been attacked by Carlito earlier in the evening.

On the September 5, 2005, edition of RAW [5], Shawn Michaels became the longest-lasting competitor to take The Master Lock Challenge. Despite Michaels' best efforts, Masters still won the challenge after releasing the hold, hitting Michaels with a chair and re-applying his deadly finisher. At Unforgiven 2005, Masters had his first televised defeat, narrowly losing to Michaels in a singles match.

On October 21, 2005 [6], Chris Masters invaded SmackDown! with Edge, attacking Rey Mysterio. This invasion earned both men a match at Taboo Tuesday where Masters and Edge's replacement Gene Snitsky would team up in a loss against Rey Mysterio and Matt Hardy.

At Survivor Series , Bobby Lashley almost broke the Master Lock in the Team RAW vs. Team SmackDown Survivor Series match. However, Masters never had the hold completely locked in before Lashley powered out of it. Therefore, the hold was never "broken".

Chris Masters had his first WWE Championship match on the November 28, 2005 edition of RAW [7]. It was a Triple Threat Submission Match with Kurt Angle vs. John Cena. Masters was struck with a chairshot from Cena, who ultimately retained the title, forcing Masters to tap out to Cena's newly-debuted STF-U.

Masters portrayed the role of a bailiff during the mock trial for then General Manager Eric Bischoff on the December 5, 2005 edition of RAW, with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon as judge. Upon being called to the stand to testify for Bischoff's defense, he was asked to give his name, which he did saying his name was Chris Masters. He was immediately accused of perjury and disqualified as a witness, as McMahon surprisingly broke kayfabe and stated that Masters' real name was Chris Mordetsky.

On December 12, 2005 [8], Chris Masters defeated Viscera on an episode of RAW to gain a spot in the Elimination Chamber match for John Cena's WWE Title at New Year's Revolution. Viscera was pushed as being too big to lock on The Master Lock until being grounded. This would be Masters' first Elimination Chamber match. On the December 26, 2005 edition of RAW [9], Chris Masters faced Chavo Guerrero, in a Beat The Clock Match to determine who would be the final entry into the Elimination Chamber. Masters had to defeat Chavo in 5 minutes and 56 seconds, which was the time set by Shawn Michaels (when he defeated Snitsky in the opening match of the show.) Chavo Guerrero managed to survive the Master Lock until the clock ran down, meaning Masters was unable to beat the clock.

2006

On January 8, 2006 at New Year's Revolution, Masters lost the Elimination Chamber match when Carlito double-crossed him by delivering a low blow while he had Cena in The Master Lock then rolling him up for a pin. On January 9, 2006, after some heated words with Carlito, both men had a tag match against two men who were also having difficulties, Kurt Angle and Shawn Michaels. During the match, Michaels walked backstage, leaving Angle to fend for himself. Masters saw the opportunity and applied the Master Lock to Angle, thus gaining the victory. On January 16, 2006 [10], Masters challenged John Cena to take part in a Master Lock Challenge. Cena accepted the challenge and displayed signs that he might in fact break out of the hold, until Edge attacked Cena with his title belt and ended the challenge.

At the Royal Rumble on January 29, 2006, Masters again worked together with Carlito, but Carlito again double-crossed him and eliminated him from the match. On the February 6, 2006 edition of RAW [11] both men were entered into an eight-man tournament, known as the Road to WrestleMania Tournament, to determine the number one contender for a WWE Championship match at WrestleMania 22. In Master's first round match up Masters would use the ropes to aid him in a victory against Kane, and secure himself a second round match up against a winner of a later match between Carlito and Rob Van Dam; RVD would win this match. The next week on RAW [12], RVD was able to beat Masters and advance to the tournament final.

After this Masters continued to feud with one half of the World Tag Team Champions,Big Show while Masters on/off team mate Carlito would feud with Kane. On the March 6, 2006 [13] edition of RAW [14] it was announced that Masters and Carlito would get a tag team title match at WrestleMania 22. At WrestleMania 22, the pair lost the match. Carlito and Masters argued amongst themselves after the match.

During the next RAW [15] Masters and Carlito began to feud with Carlito first attacking Masters from behind, seemingly blaming him for their loss the night before. This led to a match between the two men during Backlash 2006 which Carlito won.

After this, Masters entered the hunt for the WWE Intercontinental Championship but Masters would soon be suspended by the WWE. Before being suspended, Masters was on the May 22, 2006 edition of RAW [16] losing a match to John Cena by submission to the STF-U and would return to the ring during an OVW TV taping on August 6, 2006 He had lost much of his muscle mass, appearing much slimmer, although still having some definition in his arms and abdomen[17].

On the August 28, 2006 edition of RAW[18], Chris Masters made his return against John Cena with "The Masterpiece" gimmick still intact. Along with less muscle mass, he sported a goatee and moustache to which Jerry "The King" Lawler referred to him as a "leaner and meaner" Chris Masters. However, this change of image was short-lived as Masters lost the goatee and regained some of his muscle mass.

Throughout the months of Masters' return, it would seem that he had been put down to low-card matches having a short feud with the debuting Super Crazy which Masters came out on the losing end of the matches between the two. The pair would also compete, along with four other Superstars, in a Six-Pack Challenge Match for the Intercontinental Championship in which neither Masters or Crazy were able to win. Masters eventually regained his mid-card position soon after getting his first victory since his re-debut, against Jerry Lawler on the November 6, 2006 edition of 'RAW' [19] in a match where GM for a night Eric Bischoff forced Lawler to be first handcuffed to the top rope. Masters' continued feud with Jerry Lawler for a few weeks with Lawler also losing a Master Lock Challenge before defeating Masters in a singles match.

On the December 4, 2006 episode of RAW [20], Jonathan Coachman set up a Master Lock Challenge against John Cena for the WWE Championship. Masters appeared to have had the contest won, he released the hold for a short time, allowing Cena to reverse the hold into his own Master Lock, forcing Masters to submit to his own signature move, retaining his title and making Cena the first to win the Master Lock Challenge.

On the Christmas 2006 "Tribute to the Troops" [21] event, a United States Army soldier, Staff Sergeant José Avila, broke free from the Master Lock with help from Santa Claus (JBL). Though he could be considered the first person to break the hold, he did not do it under his own power as JBL kicked Masters from behind, allowing Avila to break the hold. After Masters released Avila, JBL then hit Masters with his Clothesline from Hell. On the January 15, 2007 edition of RAW [], Masters announced that Avila's win was not official due to 'outside interference', a stipulation that Masters would use in later challenges that were lost in the same manner.

2007

At the start of 2007, Masters would restart his feud with Carlito which would lead to several matches between the two. The first was a one-on-one contest at New Year's Revolution [22]; which Masters won. In a rematch the next night on RAW, Carlito came out victorious.

On the January 15 edition of RAW [23], Ron Simmons, with interference from Super Crazy, almost became the third superstar to "win" the Master Lock Challenge. However, it would have not counted and still considered unbroken as it was not achieved by the wrestler alone. On an interesting note, Masters was not even able to apply it to The Great Khali due to Khali's size.

The Master Lock was finally (and officially) broken on the March 19 edition of RAW [24] by ECW World Champion Bobby Lashley. After Lashley broke the Master Lock, the Master Lock Challenge was canceled.

On the May 7 edition of RAW [25], Masters had the distinction of being the first challenger for Santino Marella's newly-won WWE Intercontinental Championship. Masters was unable to defeat the newcomer, losing via a roll-up. On the May 14 edition of RAW [26], he lost yet again to Santino Marella, but on the May 28 edition of RAW [27], he faced Marella in his own Masterlock Challenge and actually won for the first time against Santino. On the June 4 edition of RAW [28], Masters was once again defeated by Santino by a roll-up pin. This match turned out to be his last match as a part of RAW.

On June 11 edition of RAW [29], Chris Masters was drafted from RAW to SmackDown! as part of the 2007 WWE Draft. While on Smackdown! he has so far been used sporadically, and has also been in a couple of Masterlock Challenges. He has now entered into a feud with Chuck Palumbo and has been in several matches including a Masterlock Challenge in which Masters was going to trick Palumbo but it then backfired so Masters fled. Following this, Masters was suspended for 30 days for failing a drug test. Masters returned to Smackdown! on the Oct. 5 edition of Smackdown applying the Masterlock to Chuck Palumbo

Wrestling facts

Masters applies the Master Lock to René Duprée

• Finishing and signature moves
  • Master Lock (Swinging full nelson)
  • Polish Hammer (Double axe handle blow to the chest) - 2005
  • Wheelbarrow suplex
  • Delayed vertical suplex
  • Military press slam
  • Pendulum backbreaker submission
  • Scoop falling powerslam
  • Bearhug
  • Full nelson slam
  • Electric chair drop
  • Backbreaker rack, sometimes transitioned into a modified neckbreaker
  • Inverted DDT

• Nicknames
  • "The Living, Breathing Statue"
  • "The Matrix"
  • "Superfreak"
  • "Roman General"
  • "The Masterpiece"

• Previous managers
  • Sherri Martel
  • Beth Phoenix

Championships and accomplishments

• Ohio Valley Wrestling
  • OVW Southern Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Brent Albright
• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI ranked him # 116 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the year on the 2005 PWI 500 list

Personal life

Mordetsky has stated that his two role models growing up were Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair; both of whom he has feuded with while in WWE.

Has a large tattoo of a crucifix on the inside of his right forearm.

Despite popular internet belief, Chris Masters has never dated Beth Phoenix; they did, however, work together in OVW as (kayfabe) boyfriend & girlfriend. Mordetsky has been pictured with his real life fiancée at the premiere of Kane's movie, See No Evil.

External links

• WWE Profile
• UPW Profile
• Online World of Wrestling Profile