Tom Boric
Encyclopedia
Thomas "Tom" Boric is a retired professional wrestler
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...

 better known by his ring name
Ring name
A ring name is a stage name used by a professional wrestler, martial artist, or boxer. While some ring names may have a fictitious first name and surname, others may simply be a nickname, such as The Undertaker.-Wrestling:...

 Paul Diamond. He is best known for being one half of the tag team Badd Company
Badd Company
Badd Company was a professional wrestling tag team in the American Wrestling Association in the late 1980s, which later went by the name the Orient Express. It is rumored that the team name was derived from the rock band Bad Company...

 with Pat Tanaka
Pat Tanaka
Patrick "Pat" Tanaka is a semi-retired American professional wrestler best known for his work in the American Wrestling Association as one half of Badd Company and the World Wrestling Federation as one half of The Orient Express...

 and for his time in the World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...

 as Kato, one half of The Orient Express
The Orient Express
For the full article on Badd Company see Badd CompanyThe Orient Express was a professional wrestling tag team in the World Wrestling Federation in the early 1990s composed of Pat Tanaka and Akio Sato, who was later replaced by Kato....

 also with Pat Tanaka. Before he was a professional wrestler, Boric was a professional soccer player.

Early life

Boric was born in Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....

 (the region now known as Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

) in 1961 and grew up wanting to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a soccer player. When Boric was 13 years old the family emigrated from Croatia to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, settling down in Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...

, Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...

. Tom got a full soccer scholarship to Old Dominion University
Old Dominion University
Old Dominion University is a state university located in Norfolk, Virginia, United States, and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools...

 in Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....

.

Professional soccer career

After only three semesters at college, Tom got drafted to play goalkeeper for the recently formed Calgary Boomers
Calgary Boomers
The Calgary Boomers were a professional soccer team, that competed in the North American Soccer League during the 1981 season, after which they folded. They were owned by Nelson Skalbania, a Canadian businessman who moved the Memphis Rogues to Calgary, Alberta after the 1980 season.-1981 Roster:*No...

 of the North American Soccer League
North American Soccer League
North American Soccer League was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984.-History:...

. After the Boomers folded in 1981, Boric moved on to the Tampa Bay Rowdies whom he played for until the NASL closed in 1984.

After his professional soccer career ended, Boric began training for a professional wrestling career at a Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay Area
The Tampa Bay Area is the region of west central Florida adjacent to Tampa Bay. Definitions of the region vary. It is often considered equivalent to the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater Metropolitan Statistical Area defined by the United States Census Bureau. The Census Bureau currently...

 wrestling school run by Boris Malenko
Boris Malenko
Lawrence J. Simon better known by his ring name Boris Malenko, was an American professional wrestler who wrestled for the American Wrestling Association and National Wrestling Alliance in the 1960s and 1970s...

 along with his two sons Joe Malenko
Joe Malenko
Joe Simon is an American former professional wrestler best known under the ring name Joe Malenko. Malenko was born into a wrestling family, and his father Boris Malenko was a prominent wrestling figure in his own right. Dean Malenko is his brother.-Japan:Malenko is most known for his stints...

 and Dean Malenko
Dean Malenko
Dean Simon is a retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Dean Malenko. He is currently signed to WWE working as a road agent. He is best known for his time with Extreme Championship Wrestling , New Japan Pro Wrestling and World Championship Wrestling...

 who all had a hand in training him.

Texas-All Star Wrestling (1985–1986)

After training, Boric began wrestling as "Paul Diamond" in 1985. His first break came in the Texas All-Star Wrestling promotion in San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...

. He initially formed a tag team called American Breed
American Force (wrestling)
American Force was a professional wrestling tag team that wrestled in Texas All-Star Wrestling. The team consisted of Paul Diamond and Nick Kiniski...

 with Nick Kiniski
Nick Kiniski
Nick Kiniski is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his work with WCCW, PNW and AWA and for being one half of the tag team American Breed with Paul Diamond in Texas All-Star Wrestling.-Career:...

 (son of legendary wrestler Gene Kiniski
Gene Kiniski
Eugene Nicholas "Gene" Kiniski was a Canadian professional wrestler and the father of wrestlers Nick Kiniski and Kelly Kiniski. "Canada's Greatest Athlete" as he billed himself for promotional purposes was born outside of Edmonton, Alberta...

) in Fred Barend's Texas All-Star Wrestling
Southwest Championship Wrestling
Southwest Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that was owned by Joseph Blanchard and based in San Antonio, Texas, from 1978 to 1985, when it was purchased by Texas All-Star Wrestling and absorbed into that company.-Venues:...

. Neither Diamond and Kiniski were actually American, (Diamond is Croatian/Canadian while Kiniski is Canadian) so the team name was quite ironic. The team won the TASW Tag Team Championship
Texas All-Star USA Tag Team Championship
The Texas All-Star USA Tag Team Championship was a major tag team title in Texas All-Star Wrestling. The title was first established in Southwest Championship Wrestling in 1981 when it was the SCW Southwest Tag Team Championship...

 from the Maoris (Tudui and Wakahi) on May 25, 1985 and held them until Al Madrill
Alberto Madril
Alberto Madril is an American retired professional wrestler who most often wrestled as Al Madril, and used the Indian Deathlock as a finishing move.-Career:...

 and Chavo Guerrero took the titles from them on June 5, 1985. The titles would be vacated later that same month when Chavo Guerrero refused to wrestle in a rematch against Diamond and Kiniski because Chavo’s father Gory Guerrero
Gory Guerrero
Salvador Guerrero Quesada , better known as Gory Guerrero, was one of the premier Hispanic professional wrestlers in the early days of Lucha Libre when most wrestlers were imported from outside of Mexico. He wrestled primarily in Empresa Mexicana de la Lucha Libre between the 1940s and 1960s...

 was the special referee chosen for the match. Madrill teamed up with Black Gorman instead but lost the match. After the match, Madrill attacked Chavo Guerrero splitting the team and forcing the titles to be held up.

When Chavo won the rights to name a new partner he chose to give the titles to ”American Breed” instead, only now American Breed consisted of Paul Diamond and a rookie named Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels
Michael Shawn Hickenbottom , better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American television host and retired professional wrestler. He presents the Outdoor Channel show MacMillan River Adventures, and is currently signed to WWE, where he has served in an ambassadorial role since December...

, as Kiniski had left the promotion a few weeks prior. Diamond and Michaels lost and then regained the titles from the “Masked Hoods” (Ricky Santana
Aldo Ortiz
Aldo Ortiz , better known as Ricky Santana, is a professional wrestler who has worked for World Championship Wrestling, World Wrestling Federation, World Wrestling Council and the National Wrestling Alliance.-Professional wrestling career:...

 and Tony Torres) before being beaten for the titles on January 27, 1986 by Al Madrill and Magnificent Zulu. Both Michaels and Diamond began to add more to their wrestling skills, thanks in part to fellow wrestler Chris Adams, who split his time between World Class Championship Wrestling
World Class Championship Wrestling
World Class Championship Wrestling ' was a regional professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter Ed McLemore, by 1966 it was run by Southwest Sports, Inc., whose president, Jack Adkisson, was better known as wrestler Fritz Von Erich...

 and Texas All-Star at the time.

Continental Wrestling Association (1986–1988)

In 1986, Diamond moved on to Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....

 where he worked for Jerry Lawler
Jerry Lawler
Jerry O'Neil Lawler is an American professional wrestler, wrestling commentator, musician, businessman, commercial artist and film actor, known throughout the wrestling world as Jerry "The King" Lawler. He is currently signed to WWE, working on its Raw brand as the color commentator and occasional...

 and Jerry Jarrett
Jerry Jarrett
Jerry W. Jarrett is an American promoter and former professional wrestler, and the father of wrestler Jeff Jarrett. He is the co-founder and former part-owner of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...

’s Continental Wrestling Association
Continental Wrestling Association
The Continental Wrestling Association was a wrestling promotion managed by Jerry Jarrett. The CWA was the name of the "governing body" for the Championship Wrestling, Inc. promotion which was usually referred to as Mid-Southern Wrestling...

. In the fall of 1986 Diamond teamed up with a young Jeff Jarrett
Jeff Jarrett
Jeffrey Leonard Jarrett is an American professional wrestler and wrestling promoter. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , an organization he co-founded along with his father and in which he holds some stock but not total control...

 to win the CWA/AWA International Tag Team Championship
CWA/AWA International Tag Team Championship
The CWA/AWA International Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team title defended in the Continental Wrestling Association...

 from Tarzan Goto
Tarzan Goto
, better known by his ring name , is a Japanese professional wrestler who has wrestled on the independent circuit most of his career. He is best known for his exploding steel cage matches againest Atsushi Onita and Pat Tanaka in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling ....

 and Akio Sato on November 3, 1986. The team lost the titles back to Goto and Sato less than 2 weeks later. In late 1986, the tag team specialist Diamond was teamed up with Pat Tanaka
Pat Tanaka
Patrick "Pat" Tanaka is a semi-retired American professional wrestler best known for his work in the American Wrestling Association as one half of Badd Company and the World Wrestling Federation as one half of The Orient Express...

, who was also seen as a tag team specialist, to form Badd Company
Badd Company
Badd Company was a professional wrestling tag team in the American Wrestling Association in the late 1980s, which later went by the name the Orient Express. It is rumored that the team name was derived from the rock band Bad Company...

. They held the federation's tag team titles four times and the two won the CWA/AWA International Tag Team Championship, beating Tarzan Goto and Akio Sato on December 15, 1986. The first reign was short lived as The Sheepherders
The Bushwhackers
The Bushwhackers were a professional wrestling tag team that also competed as The Sheepherders during their long career. They wrestled in the World Wrestling Federation and Jim Crockett Promotions as well as a nearly 40 year run on the independent wrestling circuit...

 (Luke Williams
Brian Wickens
Brian Wickens is a professional wrestler best known as Luke Williams, one half of the tag team known as "The Sheepherders" on the independent scene and in the National Wrestling Alliance and as The Bushwhackers in the WWF.-Career:Luke Williams started wrestling for NWA New Zealand in 1964...

 and Butch Miller
Butch Miller (wrestler)
Butch Miller is a retired professional wrestler best known as one half of the tag team known as "The Sheepherders" on the independent scene and in the National Wrestling Alliance and as one half of The Bushwhackers in the WWF.-Career:Butch Miller started wrestling for NWA New Zealand in 1964 where...

) defeated the young duo on January 10, 1987. Badd Company quickly regained the titles only to lose them to Tarzan Goto and Akio Sato on February 5, 1987. The third run with the tag team titles came on May 9, 1987 when the team beat Mark Starr
Mark Starr
Mark Ashford-Smith is an American professional wrestler best known by his ring name Mark Starr. He has competed as a member of several tag teams.-Wrestling career:Starr competed in the Memphis, Tennessee-based Continental Wrestling Association...

 in a handicap match, but lost them back to Mark Starr and his new tag team partner Billy Joe Travis. Badd Company had one last run with the International tag team titles as they won the vacant titles on May 25, 1987 and held them until July 6, 1987 where they lost the titles to Bill Dundee
Bill Dundee
William "Bill" Cruickshanks is a Scottish born-Australian professional wrestler better known by his stage name Bill Dundee. Cruickshanks is the father of Jamie Dundee and the father-in-law of wrestler Bobby Eaton....

 and Rocky Johnson
Rocky Johnson
Rocky Johnson is a retired Canadian professional wrestler. Quite popular in his own right in the 1970s and 1980s, he is also known for being the father of actor and professional wrestler Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson...

 (who were the last International tag team champions).

Badd Company also won the CWA’s main tag team titles in Memphis, when they defeated Jeff Jarrett and Billy Joe Travis for the AWA Southern Tag Team Championship
AWA Southern Tag Team Championship
The AWA Southern Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team title in the Tennessee area from the 1940s through the late 1980s. It was originally named the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship from its inception through 1977, when it was renamed the AWA Southern...

 on August 8, 1987. Tanaka and Diamond soon lost them as the Nasty Boys
The Nasty Boys
The Nasty Boys are a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags, active from the mid to late 1980s and throughout the 1990s. Their gimmick was that of anti-social punks who specialized in hardcore wrestling and brawling...

 took the gold from them just over a month later.

American Wrestling Association (1988–1990)

After working as a team for almost a year, Badd Company moved on from the CWA to the American Wrestling Association
American Wrestling Association
The American Wrestling Association was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 to 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo...

. In the AWA they were given identical ring gear, and were accompanied by flamboyant manager Diamond Dallas Page
Diamond Dallas Page
Dallas Page , better known by his ring name "Diamond" Dallas Page , is an American retired professional wrestler, fitness instructor and actor...

, who always had a number of valets, known as the Diamond Dolls, with him.

The team's first feud was against The Midnight Rockers
The Rockers
The Rockers were a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty that teamed from 1985 to 1992. The team worked for Central States Wrestling, the American Wrestling Association, Continental Wrestling Federation, Continental Wrestling Association and the World...

, whom they defeated for the AWA World Tag Team Championship
AWA World Tag Team Championship
The American Wrestling Association World Tag Team Championship was professional wrestling world tag team championship in the American Wrestling Association from 1960 until the promotion folded in 1991.-History :...

 on March 19, 1988. During their year long title reign, Badd Company would feud heavily with Chavo and Mando Guerrero
Mando Guerrero
Armando Guerrero Llanes , better known as Mando Guerrero, is a retired professional wrestler. He also was the trainer for the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling, an all female professional wrestling promotion.-Movie stuntman career:...

 and the team known as the Top Guns (Ricky Rice
Ricky Rice
Ricky Rice is an American professional wrestler who competed in Midwest regional promotions during the late 1980s, most notably with tag team partners Derrick Dukes and Jon Paul DeMans as The Top Guns in Eddie Sharkey's Minneapolis-based Pro Wrestling America and the American Wrestling...

 and Derrick Dukes
Derrick Dukes
Derrick Dukes is an American professional wrestler best known for his stint in the American Wrestling Association in the late 1980s as one half of the tag team The Top Guns with Ricky Rice. The team was originally made up off Rice and Jon Paul DeMans...

). They teamed with Madusa Miceli
Debra Miceli
Debrah Ann Miceli is a Monster truck driver and former professional wrestler. She is best known under her ring names Madusa or Alundra Blayze. Her early career was spent in the American Wrestling Association, where she held the AWA World Women's Championship one time...

 to face the team of the Top Guns and Wendi Richter
Wendi Richter
Wendi Richter is a retired American professional wrestler. She began her professional wrestling career in companies such as the National Wrestling Alliance, where she teamed with Joyce Grable, with whom she held the NWA Women's World Tag Team Championship twice. In the 1980s, she joined the World...

 at the first AWA PPV, SuperClash III. Both Badd Company’s Tag Team Title and Wendi Richter’s AWA World Women's Championship
AWA World Women's Championship
The AWA World Women's Championship was the female title in the American Wrestling Association from 1961 until 1990.-Title history:Silver-shaded lines in the history indicate periods of unknown lineage.-See also:*American Wrestling Association...

 were on the line, but since Richter pinned Miceli, Badd Company remained the champions. Diamond and Tanaka’s reign ended on March 25, 1989 as they lost to “the Olympians" (Brad Rheingans
Brad Rheingans
Brad Rheingans is a former Greco-Roman and professional wrestler.-Career:Rheingans was an NCAA champion in 1975 for North Dakota State University and wrestled in the 1976 Olympics, placing fourth...

 and Ken Patera
Ken Patera
Ken Patera is a former professional wrestler, Olympic weightlifter, and Strongman competitor.-Weightlifting/Strongman career:Patera is a former Olympic weightlifter and American powerlifter...

). Shortly after losing their titles they split from Page, and had a short feud against each other before wrestling in singles competition until early 1990. Just before moving to the WWF, Diamond teamed with The Trooper Del Wilkes
Del Wilkes
Del Wilkes is a former American professional wrestler. Over the span of 14 years, he performed in various promotions such as American Wrestling Association, All Japan Pro Wrestling...

 for a short run at the AWA Tag Team Titles against The Destruction Crew (Mike Enos and Wayne Bloom
Wayne Bloom
Wayne Bloom is a former professional wrestler who wrestled in World Championship Wrestling, the American Wrestling Association, and the World Wrestling Federation between 1988 and 1999....

). Diamond and Trooper actually defeated The Destruction Crew, but were not awarded the titles when it was determined that Diamond pinned the wrong person.

Starting out and The Orient Express (1990–1992)

Diamond signed with the World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...

 in 1990, working mainly on the lower card against a rookie Dustin Rhodes, Hillbilly Jim
Hillbilly Jim
Jim Morris , best known to fans as Hillbilly Jim, is an American professional wrestler and disc jockey. He was one of the World Wrestling Federation's most popular wrestlers of the mid-to-late 1980s.-Career:...

, and Al Perez
Al Perez
Al Perez is a retired American professional wrestler.-Professional wrestling career:Perez began wrestling as an amateur in high school and was one of the top athletes in his home state of Florida. He started professional wrestling in 1982.He formed a team in ICW with Joe Savoldi known as the "New...

, usually in a losing role. When Akio Sato decided to leave the US wrestling scene in the later days of 1990, it left Pat Tanaka without a partner in The Orient Express
The Orient Express
For the full article on Badd Company see Badd CompanyThe Orient Express was a professional wrestling tag team in the World Wrestling Federation in the early 1990s composed of Pat Tanaka and Akio Sato, who was later replaced by Kato....

. The WWF decided to reunite the team known as Badd Company
Badd Company
Badd Company was a professional wrestling tag team in the American Wrestling Association in the late 1980s, which later went by the name the Orient Express. It is rumored that the team name was derived from the rock band Bad Company...

, only this time with Paul Diamond wearing a mask to hide the fact that he was not Asian
Asian people
Asian people or Asiatic people is a term with multiple meanings that refers to people who descend from a portion of Asia's population.- Central Asia :...

 and using the name of Kato, During this time, the team had a very well received match with their old enemies the Rockers at the 1991 Royal Rumble
Royal Rumble (1991)
Royal Rumble was the fourth annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on January 19, 1991 at the Miami Arena in Miami, Florida....

, Wrestlemania 6 and another good match against the New Foundation at the 1992 Royal Rumble
Royal Rumble (1992)
Royal Rumble was the fifth annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on January 19, 1992 at the Knickerbocker Arena in Albany, New York...

, which were the only PPV appearances for the New Orient Express.

Sato briefly rejoined the team in 1991 to team with Tanaka and Kato for a series of 6-man tag-team matches on WWF house shows, but left the WWF after only a handful of matches. Tanaka would leave the WWF in early 1992.

Max Moon (1992-1993)

In the fall of 1992, Diamond got a brand new gimmick in "Maximillian Moon" ("Max Moon" for short). Diamond wasn’t originally intended to play Max Moon. It was a gimmick created for Konnan
Konnan
Carlos Santiago Espada Moises , also known as Charles Ashenoff and better known by his ring name, Konnan, is a Cuban professional wrestler and rapper of Puerto Rican descent...

, but Konnan left the WWF after a backstage disagreement. Since Diamond fit the costume, he was chosen to take over the character. The suit was a very elaborate powder blue bodysuit with markings that were supposed to look like a circuit board
Printed circuit board
A printed circuit board, or PCB, is used to mechanically support and electrically connect electronic components using conductive pathways, tracks or signal traces etched from copper sheets laminated onto a non-conductive substrate. It is also referred to as printed wiring board or etched wiring...

 and white protruding rings around his arms making him look rather "outlandish". The elaborate outfit also came with two wrist devices that shot out fireworks and a jet pack
Jet pack
Jet pack, rocket belt, rocket pack, and similar names are various types of devices, usually worn on the back, that are propelled by jets of escaping gases so as to allow a single user to fly....

 that was supposed to make Max Moon look like a man of the future.

Diamond (as Max Moon) would wrestle and defeat Terry Taylor
Terry Taylor
Terry Taylor , is an American retired professional wrestler best known for his time in the National Wrestling Alliance, World Championship Wrestling, and the World Wrestling Federation...

 in a series of house show matches during the rest of 1992, but otherwise, his biggest victories came against Rick Martel
Rick Martel
Richard Vigneault is a retired Canadian professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation between 1980 and 1995 under the ring name Rick Martel...

 and Repo Man
Barry Darsow
Barry Darsow is a former American professional wrestler who is known as Smash, one half of the tag team Demolition, and as Krusher Kruschev, Repo Man, and The Blacktop Bully...

, both by disqualification.

On January 11, 1993, Max Moon wrestled and lost an Intercontinental Championship
WWE Intercontinental Championship
The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand...

 match to former tag team partner/long time rival Shawn Michaels on the very first Monday Night Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...

. The loss to Michaels was a sign of things to come for the Max Moon gimmick as he began losing to midcarders such as Skinner
Steve Keirn
Stephen "Steve" Paul Keirn is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for being part of the tag team The Fabulous Ones, with Stan Lane, and later for a run in the World Wrestling Federation as Skinner, a gimmick that portrayed him as a tobacco spitting alligator hunter from...

 and Rick Martel
Rick Martel
Richard Vigneault is a retired Canadian professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation between 1980 and 1995 under the ring name Rick Martel...

. The Max Moon gimmick only appeared at one PPV, participating in the 30 Man Elimination match at the 1993 Royal Rumble
Royal Rumble (1993)
Royal Rumble was the sixth annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on January 24, 1993 at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California. The main event was a Royal Rumble match, a battle royal in which two wrestlers...

, where he was in the ring less than 2 minutes. In late February, Paul Diamond’s contract with the WWF expired and was not renewed.

Eastern/Extreme Championship Wrestling (1993–1994)

Diamond and Pat Tanaka reunited as “Badd Company" to work for Eastern Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1992 by Tod Gordon and closed when his successor, Paul Heyman, declared bankruptcy in April 2001...

 (the forerunner to “Extreme Championship Wrestling") in late 1993. The team made their debut at NWA Bloodfest: Part 1 on October 1, 1993 where they beat "Bad Breed" (Ian
Ian Rotten
John Benson Williams is an American professional Wrestler better known by his ring name Ian Rotten. He has wrestled in Global Wrestling Federation , Extreme Championship Wrestling , and his own wrestling promotion IWA: Mid-South.-Early career:After becoming a fan of Dusty Rhodes and "Superstar"...

 and Axl Rotten
Axl Rotten
Brian Knighton is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name, Axl Rotten.-Early years:After watching a professional wrestling match on television, Knighton decided to become a wrestler...

). Tanaka and Diamond got a shot at the ECW Tag Team Champions
ECW Tag Team Championship
The Extreme Championship Wrestling World Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in Extreme Championship Wrestling...

 Tony Stetson
Tony Stetson
Tony Matteo is a semi-retired American professional wrestler, best known by his ring name "Hitman" Tony Stetson, who has competed in Northeastern independent promotions during the late 1980s and 1990s...

 and Johnny Hotbody later in the night, which Badd Company lost.

The next night at NWA Bloodfest: Part 2, Badd Company fought against Public Enemy
The Public Enemy (professional wrestling)
The Public Enemy was a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Rocco Rock and Johnny Grunge. The duo competed in many promotions, including Extreme Championship Wrestling , World Championship Wrestling , National Wrestling Alliance , and the World Wrestling Federation...

 (Rocco Rock
Rocco Rock
Theodore James Petty was an American professional wrestler better known as "Flyboy" Rocco Rock, one half of The Public Enemy.-Career:...

 and Johnny Grunge
Johnny Grunge
Michael "Mike" Durham was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Johnny Grunge...

) in one of their very early matches. Later in the show, Badd Company and the Public Enemy would clash again, this time in a Three way, steel cage match that also included Bad Breed. This time, Public Enemy was victorious. At Terror at Tabor on November 12, 1993, Badd Company beat the makeshift team of Don E. Allen and Mr. Hughes
Curtis Hughes
Curtis Hughes is an American professional wrestler, better known under the ring name Mr. Hughes. He is best known for his stints in the World Wrestling Federation. In addition to the WWF, Hughes has also worked for World Championship Wrestling, the American Wrestling Association, the American...

. After the match, Badd Company called out Public Enemy resulting in an impromptu match between Paul Diamond and Rocco Rock which Diamond won. Public Enemy quickly got very brutal revenge on Badd Company as they defeated the duo in a “South Philly hood" match the very next day at November to Remember. At Holiday Hell 1993 on December 26, Pat Tanaka defeated Rocco Rock in a “Body Count" match.

As 1993 turned to 1994, Badd Company set their sights on ECW Tag Team Champions Kevin Sullivan
Kevin Sullivan (wrestler)
Kevin Francis Sullivan is an American professional wrestler and booker, perhaps best known for his role in WCW as "The Taskmaster" and his leading of the "Dungeon of Doom".-Early career:...

 and The Tasmaniac
Tazz
Peter Senerchia is a retired American professional wrestler and current color commentator best known by his ring name Tazz, originally Tazmaniac and later shortened to simply Taz...

; they defeated them twice in non-title matches. At "The Night the Line was Crossed" on February 5, 1994, Tanaka and his one night only partner The Sheik
Ed Farhat
Edward George Farhat was an American professional wrestler best known as by his ring name The Sheik...

 defeated Sullivan and The Tasmaniac. Unfortunately, the team had been stripped of the titles the night before. When Tanaka was rejoined by Diamond, the team lost to the (once again) Tag Team Champions when the gold was finally on the line. On March 27, 1994, Badd Company wrestled its last match for ECW, a house show victory over Rockin' Rebel
Rockin' Rebel
Chuck Williams is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Rockin' Rebel. He is best known for his appearances on the U.S...

 and Pittbull #1

World Championship Wrestling (1994)

By the time Badd Company wrestled its last match for ECW, Tanaka and Diamond had already signed with World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...

; Tanaka had even made his on screen debut as "Tanaka-San". Paul Diamond showed up with the Kato mask on using the name "Haito" (sometimes spelled "Hyeeto") only days after their last ECW match. The duo reprised their "Orient Express" gimmick but could not use the name since the WWF owned the trademark to it. The two men wrestled a couple of matches together but they never achieved any notoriety in WCW. Badd Company / The Orient Express finally split up for good by the end of 1994.

Independents (1994–2001)

Diamond worked for Jerry Lawler's promotions in Memphis after working for WCW, first for the United States Wrestling Association
United States Wrestling Association
The United States Wrestling Association or USWA was a professional wrestling promotion based in Memphis, Tennessee. It was founded by former CWA owner Jerry Jarrett.-Foundation:...

 where he held the USWA World Tag Team Championship alongside Steven Dunn
Steve Doll
Steve Doll was an American professional wrestler, best known for his tenure in the World Wrestling Federation as Steven Dunn in the tag team Well Dunn.-Professional wrestling career:...

. After the USWA, he worked for “Music City Wrestling” until a torn triceps muscle put him out of action for six months in 1998. Diamond had set up an agreement to join Shawn Michaels’ Texas Wrestling Academy
Texas Wrestling Academy
The Texas Wrestling Academy is a professional wrestling training school that was operated by Shawn Michaels and Rudy Boy Gonzalez...

 as a trainer. Diamond also wrestled for the Texas Wrestling Alliance under the name of "Venum", holding the TWA title twice and also being involved in Shawn Michaels return to wrestling after a 1998 back injury that was thought to have put a permanent end to his wrestling career. When TWA and the wrestling academy closed, Diamond and his family (wife Lisa and two kids) moved from Tampa to Winnipeg where Diamond opened up a wrestling school called "Paul Diamond Hard Knocks Pro Wrestling Academy". Diamond semi-retired from active competition in 2001 to focus on the wrestling academy; his only active involvement in recent years has been Rocket City Wrestling in Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville is a city located primarily in Madison County in the central part of the far northern region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Huntsville is the county seat of Madison County. The city extends west into neighboring Limestone County. Huntsville's population was 180,105 as of the 2010 Census....

 wrestling sometimes twice, as Diamond and as Max Moon while also being involved in the booking.

Personal life

He is married to Lisa Motley, who sometimes works as his valet Cherry Velvet. They have 2 kids (Kiana and Quentin).

In wrestling

  • Finishing moves
    • As Paul Diamond / Kato
      • Superkick
    • As Max Moon
      • Springboard crossbody

  • Signature moves
    • Backbreaker
    • Corkscrew back elbow
    • Double underhook suplex
    • Dropkick
      Dropkick
      A dropkick is an attacking maneuver in professional wrestling. It is defined as an attack where the wrestler jumps up and kicks the opponent with the soles of both feet; this sees the wrestler twist as he or she jumps so that when the feet connect with the opponent one foot is raised higher than...

    • Inverted suplex slam
    • Running lariat
    • Scoop slam
    • Sidewalk slam
    • Snapmare
    • Vertical suplex

  • With Pat Tanaka
    Pat Tanaka
    Patrick "Pat" Tanaka is a semi-retired American professional wrestler best known for his work in the American Wrestling Association as one half of Badd Company and the World Wrestling Federation as one half of The Orient Express...

    • Aided leapfrog body guillotine
    • Slingshot DDT (Slingshot catapult (Diamond) into a jumping DDT (Tanaka))
    • Superkick-Plex (Superkick (Diamond) into a bridged German suplex (Tanaka))

  • Managers
    Manager (professional wrestling)
    In professional wrestling, a manager is a secondary character paired with a wrestler for a variety of reasons. The manager is often either a non-wrestler, an occasional wrestler, an older wrestler who has retired or is nearing retirement or, in some cases, a new wrestler who is breaking into the...

    • Brandon Baxter
    • Downtown Bruno
    • Diamond Dallas Page
      Diamond Dallas Page
      Dallas Page , better known by his ring name "Diamond" Dallas Page , is an American retired professional wrestler, fitness instructor and actor...

    • Mr. Fuji
      Harry Fujiwara
      Harry Fujiwara is an American former professional wrestler and manager, best known by his ring name Mr. Fuji. He was infamous for often throwing salt in the eyes of face wrestlers...

    • Chastity
      Denise Riffle
      Denise Riffle is an American former professional wrestling valet, better known as Chastity.-Early career:...

    • Cherry Velvet
    • Tessie

  • Entrance themes
    Music in professional wrestling
    Music in professional wrestling serves a variety of purposes. The most common uses of music in professional wrestling is that of the entrance theme, a song or piece of instrumental music which plays as a performer approaches the ring...

    • "Bad Company
      Bad Company (song)
      "Bad Company" is a song from the hard rock band Bad Company. It was released as the third single from their debut album Bad Company in 1974. Co-written by the group's lead singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke, the song's meaning comes from the movie of the same name featuring Jeff Bridges...

      " by Bad Company (AWA / ECW)
    • "The Final Countdown" by Europe
      Europe (band)
      Europe is a Swedish rock band formed in Upplands Väsby in 1979 under the name Force by vocalist Joey Tempest, guitarist John Norum and drummer Tony Reno. Although widely associated with glam metal, the band's sound incorporates heavy metal and hard rock elements...

       (AWA)

Championships and accomplishments

  • American Wrestling Association
    American Wrestling Association
    The American Wrestling Association was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 to 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo...

    • AWA World Tag Team Championship
      AWA World Tag Team Championship
      The American Wrestling Association World Tag Team Championship was professional wrestling world tag team championship in the American Wrestling Association from 1960 until the promotion folded in 1991.-History :...

       (1 time) – with Pat Tanaka
      Pat Tanaka
      Patrick "Pat" Tanaka is a semi-retired American professional wrestler best known for his work in the American Wrestling Association as one half of Badd Company and the World Wrestling Federation as one half of The Orient Express...


  • Canadian Wrestling Federation
    • CWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

  • Central Wrestling Federation
    • CWF Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Tracy Smothers
      Tracy Smothers
      Tracy Smothers is an American professional wrestler.-Early career:Tracy started his career in the Memphis promotion on Saturday morning TV. Steve Armstrong and Tracy Smothers started teaming as The Southern Boys in Florida Championship Wrestling in 1987 where they feuded with The New Breed...


  • Continental Wrestling Association
    Continental Wrestling Association
    The Continental Wrestling Association was a wrestling promotion managed by Jerry Jarrett. The CWA was the name of the "governing body" for the Championship Wrestling, Inc. promotion which was usually referred to as Mid-Southern Wrestling...

    • AWA Southern Tag Team Championship
      AWA Southern Tag Team Championship
      The AWA Southern Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team title in the Tennessee area from the 1940s through the late 1980s. It was originally named the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship from its inception through 1977, when it was renamed the AWA Southern...

       (1 time) – with Pat Tanaka
    • CWA International Tag Team Championship
      CWA/AWA International Tag Team Championship
      The CWA/AWA International Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team title defended in the Continental Wrestling Association...

       (5 times) – with Pat Tanaka (4), and Jeff Jarrett
      Jeff Jarrett
      Jeffrey Leonard Jarrett is an American professional wrestler and wrestling promoter. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , an organization he co-founded along with his father and in which he holds some stock but not total control...

       (1)

  • Mountain Wrestling Association
    • MWA Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

  • Pro Wrestling Illustrated
    Pro Wrestling Illustrated
    Pro Wrestling Illustrated is a professional wrestling magazine. PWI is currently based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania and published by Kappa Publishing Group.-History:The first issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated was released in 1979...

    • PWI ranked him # 99 of the 100 best tag teams of the "PWI Years" with Pat Tanaka in 2003.

  • Texas All-Star Wrestling
    • TASW Texas Tag Team Championship
      Texas All-Star USA Tag Team Championship
      The Texas All-Star USA Tag Team Championship was a major tag team title in Texas All-Star Wrestling. The title was first established in Southwest Championship Wrestling in 1981 when it was the SCW Southwest Tag Team Championship...

       (3 times) – with Nick Kiniski
      Nick Kiniski
      Nick Kiniski is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his work with WCCW, PNW and AWA and for being one half of the tag team American Breed with Paul Diamond in Texas All-Star Wrestling.-Career:...

       (1), and Shawn Michaels
      Shawn Michaels
      Michael Shawn Hickenbottom , better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American television host and retired professional wrestler. He presents the Outdoor Channel show MacMillan River Adventures, and is currently signed to WWE, where he has served in an ambassadorial role since December...

       (2)

  • Texas Wrestling Alliance
    Texas Wrestling Academy
    The Texas Wrestling Academy is a professional wrestling training school that was operated by Shawn Michaels and Rudy Boy Gonzalez...

    • TWA Heavyweight Championship (2 times)

  • United States Wrestling Association
    United States Wrestling Association
    The United States Wrestling Association or USWA was a professional wrestling promotion based in Memphis, Tennessee. It was founded by former CWA owner Jerry Jarrett.-Foundation:...

    • USWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Steven Dunn
      Steve Doll
      Steve Doll was an American professional wrestler, best known for his tenure in the World Wrestling Federation as Steven Dunn in the tag team Well Dunn.-Professional wrestling career:...

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