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|name=David William Heath
|name=David William Heath
|image =Gangrel_live.jpg
|image =Gangrel_live.jpg
|names=David Heath<br>'''Gangrel'''<br>Blackheart Destruction<br>The Black Phantom<br>The Druid<br>El Vampiro<br>Lestat The Vampire<br>The Vampire Warrior<br>Warlock<br>
|names=David Heath<br>'''Gangrel'''<br>Blackheart Destruction<br>The Black Phantom<br>The Druid<br>El Vampiro<br>Lestat The Vampire<br>The Vampire Warrior<br>Warlock<br>'''Vampire Warrior'''<br>
|height=6 ft 3 in (189 cm)
|height=6 ft 3 in (189 cm)
|weight=264 lb (110 kg)
|weight=264 lb (110 kg)

Revision as of 03:43, 26 February 2009

David William Heath
Born (1969-02-16) February 16, 1969 (age 55)
Tampa, Florida
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)David Heath
Gangrel
Blackheart Destruction
The Black Phantom
The Druid
El Vampiro
Lestat The Vampire
The Vampire Warrior
Warlock
Vampire Warrior
Billed height6 ft 3 in (189 cm)
Billed weight264 lb (110 kg)
Billed fromThe Other Side of Darkness
Trained byBoris Malenko
Joe Malenko
Dean Malenko
Debut1988

David William Heath (born February 16, 1969) is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring names Gangrel and Vampire Warrior.

Career

Beginning

Heath began his career by training with Dean Malenko in Florida. When his training was complete, he began performing in various independent federations in the Florida area. In Independent Professional Wrestling (IPW), he became a tag team champion, as well as in Stampede Wrestling, where he and Tom Nash, wrestling under masks as The Blackhearts (as Destruction and Apocalypse, respectively), won the Stampede International Tag Team titles.

In the early nineties, the Blackhearts were paired with Nash's wife Luna, wrestling in Joel Goodhart's Tri-State Wrestling, in Herb Abrams' Universal Wrestling Federation, and finally Giant Baba's All-Japan, where the team split up.

During that time, the marriage between Nash and Luna broke up and Heath and Luna became romantically involved. They eventually married on Halloween 1994. The WWF, where Luna worked at the time, even broadcasted a segment of Luna's "Wedding to a Vampire".

After the demise of the Blackhearts, Heath and Luna developed the Vampire Warrior gimmick, inspired by the movie The Lost Boys, under which, he wrestled in various promotions, including the Memphis-based United States Wrestling Association. Under this moniker, he won the USWA Southern Championship and the Pro Wrestling Illustrated Rookie of the Year award in 1993.

In 1995, Heath appeared in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) for a short period, feuding with Tommy Dreamer over Dreamer's affiliation with real-life wife Luna Vachon.

World Wrestling Federation

In 1998, Heath was hired by the WWF due to the support by then writers Bruce Prichard and Vince Russo, who believed in the merit of a vampire gimmick. Heath was given the name Gangrel, which was derived from a vampire clan from the White Wolf role-playing game Vampire: The Masquerade. The gimmick involved an entrance which saw him rising from a ring of fire on stage, followed by a slow walk to the ring set to a sinister instrumental music theme. He also carried a goblet of "blood" with him and, during his entrance, would stop on the ring steps, take a drink, and spray it into the air.

Gangrel made his TV debut on the August 16, 1998 episode of Sunday Night Heat; he was victorious in his in-ring debut against Scott Taylor. He would go on to be undefeated for several months into his WWF career.

He went on to form a gothic stable, called The Brood, with fellow WWF wrestlers Edge and Christian. The Brood became known for their "blood baths", which involved the lights going out for a moment, and when they came back on, the targeted wrestler being covered in "blood". The three eventually joined up with The Undertaker and his "Ministry of Darkness" faction, but the larger grouping didn't last long.

Gangrel got one of his first title shots at the 1999 Royal Rumble. He challenged D-Generation X member X-Pac for his WWF European Championship in a losing effort. He competed in the Royal Rumble Match later that night and again the following year.

After splitting from the Ministry, The Brood began a feud with The Hardy Boyz and their manager Michael Hayes. During the feud, Gangrel suddenly turned on Edge and Christian and aligned himself with Matt and Jeff Hardy. He called the group The New Brood. Unfortunately for Gangrel, Terri Runnels also began to show interest in the Hardy brothers and they eventually chose her over him. Gangrel became a singles wrestler following the breakup of The New Brood; he was mainly used as a mid carder. In 2000, he brought in (real-life wife) Luna Vachon as his manager until she was fired. Gangrel continued working for the WWF until he was released in 2001, reportedly for weight problems.

2004-2007

The years between 2004 and 2007 saw Heath bouncing back and forth between the newly renamed World Wrestling Entertainment and the independent circuit. He made a couple appearances for WWE in 2004, returning to have a short feud with The Undertaker, but nothing came of it. Following that, he and Luna wrestled many tours all over the world. The pair did a lot of wrestling with the United Kingdom based All Star Promotions. In 2005, Heath was given another WWE contract and appeared in Ohio Valley Wrestling, the primary developmental territory of WWE. He was again released, however, before anything came of it. In 2006, Heath was re-signed as a potential for WWE's newest brand, ECW, to appear in a vampire stable with Kevin Thorn and Ariel. WWE held off from reintroducing him to the main roster due to his ongoing weight problems. At the September 21 Deep South Wrestling (DSW) event, he made an appearance and wrestled Tommy Suede. He continued to wrestle in DSW while he waited to be called up to one of the main rosters. On January 18, 2007, Gangrel has been released from World Wrestling Entertainment.[1]

On the 15th Anniversary WWE Raw special December 10, 2007, Gangrel participated in a 15-man Battle Royal and was eliminated by Al Snow.

Independent circuit (2007-present)

Gangrel now wrestles for North American Wrestling (NAW) under the name "Vampire Warrior" and lives on the California coast. Gangrel still wrestles for All Star Promotions in the United Kingdom.

Gangrel and Rikishi will be opening a wrestling school in Southern California on New Year's 2009 called KnokX Pro Academy.

Personal life

Heath has married three times, first to his "high school sweetheart",Laura, with whom he has two sons, David Jr. and Donovan a.k.a Jesse and later fellow wrestler Luna Vachon[2] (during which he was stepfather to Luna's sons, Joshua and Van from her previous marriage to Tom Nash). [3] The two divorced in 2006 but, according to Heath, remain best of friends. Heath is also a grandfather.[2] He married Kiara Dillon in Las Vegas on June 13, 2008. In 2005, Heath was baptized along with Luna Vachon by fellow wrestler Nikita Koloff at an Athletes International Ministry convention.[4]

Adult Film Career

Heath signed a deal to direct 12 films for 'New Porn Order" under his Vampire Warrior ring name [5] . His debut film is tentatively titled Miami Rump Shakerz 2[5].

In wrestling

Championships and accomplishments

  • APW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Billy Blade[6]
  • All-Star Championship Wrestling
  • ACW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  • European Wrestling Promotion
  • EWP Ironman Hardcore Knockout Tournament winner in 2003
  • Maximum Pro Wrestling
  • MXPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  • TWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Blackheart Apocalypse
  • Other titles
  • USWF Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Tom Nash
  • NWL Heavyweight CHAMPIONSHIP

References

  1. ^ WWE.com article "WWE releases Superstars"
  2. ^ a b AdultFYI - Conversations with Gangrel; Gangrel on "Prince of Porn" Evan Stone: It's the Little Man Complex
  3. ^ RAW Magazine, February 2000.
  4. ^ [1] [2]
  5. ^ a b Adams, Eddie. NPO Signs Former WWE Wrestler to Directing Deal September 21, 2007. Accessed November 12, 2007. AVN Media Network. <http://www.avn.com/index.cfm?objectid=3F242D97-ABBF-427E-ED57546AF0E8EBCE>
  6. ^ "All Pro Wrestling Title Histories". titlehistories.com. Retrieved 2008-07-11.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gangrel&oldid=273350516"