Don West (wrestling)
| Don West | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | June 20, 1963[1] Chicago, United States [2] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Don West |
| Billed height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) [1] |
| Billed weight | 181 lb (82 kg; 12.9 st)[1] |
| Debut | June 19, 2002 |
Donald "Don" Ronald West (born June 20, 1963) is an American professional wrestling color commentator and television personality. In the late 1990s, West achieved a degree of fame for his loud, energetic, abrasive sales pitches on late night television, and his blunt obvious observasions, with his persuasive style turning him into a minor pop culture figure. Since 2002, West has worked for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, providing color commentary alongside Mike Tenay during episodes of TNA iMPACT! and TNA pay-per-views. He was recently released from the Nashville, Tennessee WNSR radio station. [3]
Career
West was born in Chicago, Illinois. He attended Purdue University, where he majored in sports broadcasting.[2]
Shop at Home Network
West initially became involved with television shopping when he applied for a job with the Shop at Home Network as the host of a sports memorabilia show, Sports Collectibles. Despite his degree in sports broadcasting (and the fact that his brother Dale was the chief financial officer of the Shop at Home Network), West was rejected on the basis of his "scrabbly voice". In 1991, West began selling knives on television, and in March 1993, he was finally given the job with the Shop at Home Network that he had applied for. Between 1993 and 2001, sales rose from US$3 million to US$150 million. In addition to sports memorabilia, West also pitched products such as Beanie Babies and Pokémon collectibles.[2]
Between November 1996 and March 1997, Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan parodied West and his co-host, Eddy Lewis, on three episodes of Saturday Night Live.[2][4]
In 2001, West amicably left the Shop at Home Network and began hosting a sports talk show on WNSR.[2]
In 2000, West was contacted by World Championship Wrestling booker Vince Russo, who invited him to join the company. West declined the offer in favor of "the sure thing" (WCW was purchased by its chief competitor, the World Wrestling Federation, in March 2001).[2]
According to the December 9, 2007 episode of Shop At Home's The Sports Room show with hosts Kevin Hite and Shawn Leflar, Don West would be a guest host on the December 16, 2007 episode of The Sports Room.
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
In 2002, West was hired by Jeff Jarrett, who had been introduced to West by Russo, to serve as the color commentator for his newly-formed professional wrestling promotion, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. West made his professional wrestling debut on June 19, 2002, commentating on the inaugural TNA pay-per-view alongside Ed Ferrara and Mike Tenay. Ferrera departed TNA in August 2002, reducing the commentary team to Tenay and West.[2]
Aside from commentating, West accompanies Jeremy Borash on the YouTube-based show TNA Today, where he promotes new TNA merchandise and special packages, called "Don West's Insane Daily Deals." He is also an unlockable character along with providing commentary in the first ever TNA video game, TNA iMPACT!.
On the December 14, 2006 episode of iMPACT!, Kurt Angle put West in an ankle lock, making West pass out (kayfabe); he was replaced that night by Jim Cornette. [5]
On the February 26, 2009 episode of iMPACT!, West verbally assaulted and walked out on his commentary partner Tenay, leaving him to call the remainder of the show alone.[6] The following week, West once again verbally assaulted Tenay, took the sides of heel wrestlers, and then once again walked out on Tenay.[7]The week after that West showed up late, in a drunken state and again walked out on Tenay, after Tenay suggested West to leave. Since then, West has been back at the announcers table as a heel commentator.
Championships and accomplishments
References
- ^ a b c "Don West at Cagematch.de". Retrieved 2007-03-27.
- ^ a b c d e f g Nation, R. (January 31, 2006). "The evolution of Don West". Canoe.ca. Retrieved 2007-03-27.
- ^ "Don West at wwe.com". Retrieved 2007-03-27.
- ^ "Don West at the SNL Archives". Retrieved 007-03-27.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "TNA Impact December 14, 2006 Results". Retrieved 2006-12-14.
- ^ "TNA Impact February 26, 2009 Results". Retrieved 2009-02-27.
- ^ "TNA Impact March 5, 2009 Results". Retrieved 2009-03-05.