Mike Hughes

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Mike Hughes


Statistics
Ring name(s)	Hangman Hughes "Kowboy" Mike Hughes
Billed height	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Billed weight	256 lb (116 kg)
Born	November 7, 1974 (1974-11-07) (age 33) Stratford, Prince Edward Island, Canada
Debut	1999
Website	Kowboy.newscott.com

Mike Hughes (b. November 17, 1974) is a Canadian professional wrestler who has competed on the North American independent promotions throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s as a co-founder and mainstay of Real Action Wrestling ^[1] as part of the heel stable the "Kardinal Sinners" which includes "The Natural" Bobby Rude, Kingman and the Acadian Giant. ^[2]

Briefly appearing in World Wrestling Entertainment in 2003, he is presently a leading star in the Puerto Rican-based International Wrestling Association. ^[3]

1 Early career
2 Real Action Wrestling
3 Recent years
4 Championships and accomplishments
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Early career

Born in Stratford, Prince Edward Island, Hughes met Edge, Christian and Glen Kulka at a local gym while touring Canadian independent promotions during the late 1990s. After expressing interest in a professional career, the three encouraged him and Kulka suggested contacting promoter Emile Dupre to begin training.

During 1998, Hughes began training under "Handsome" Hubert Gallant and the Cuban Assassin among other wrestlers in Dupre's Grand Prix promotion in Shediac, New Brunswick (he would later befriend fellow student Kingman, both of whom would eventually become charter members of Kardinal Sinners two years later).

[edit] Real Action Wrestling

Making his debut in Grand Prix Wrestling in 1999 later touring with Leo Burke and The Beast, he traveled to the United States for a brief stint in EWA before returning to the Maritime territory and establishing Real Action Wrestling with promoter Skot Gallant that same year. Although planning to tour Puerto Rico, he was convinced by Gallant to jump to RAW and help promote the promotion resulting in Grand Prix promoter Emile Dupre blacklisting Hughes from the promotion and the Maritime territory.

After the promotion was sold to Warren Olsen in 2000, Hughes stayed with the promotion and eventually won the promotion's heavyweight championship. During the next two years, he and the heel stable "Kardinal Sinners" including "The Natural" Bobby Rude, Kingman and the Acadian Giant dominated the promotion until its close in July 2002.

[edit] Recent years

After competing on the independent circuit for a time, he began wrestling semi-regularly for the British promotion All-Star Wrestling in January 2002. Making an appearance on WWE Heat in May 2003, he would later compete in the first ever Maritime Cup tournament in October 2003 making it all the way to finals before losing to current TNA star Robert Roode.

In early 2004, he would be brought into the International Wrestling Association by Luke Williams. Facing many of the top stars in the promotion including Apolo and Ricky Banderas, he would eventually win the promotion's Hardcore title.

In 2007, he appeared on the documentary television series "Wrestling Reality" which featured many Canadian independent wrestlers including “Wildman” Gary Williams, Sidewinder, Marisa, Titus and Krysta Lynn Scott. ^[4]

He and Brody Steele, a former member of the Kardinal Sinners, defeated Yoshihiro Tajiri and Hiroshi Nagao for the WWA Korea World Tag Team Championship on May 14, 2007. ^[5]

On September 30th 2007, he defeated Duke MacIsaac in North Sydney, Nova Scotia to win the ECPW Heavyweight Championship.