Trent Bradley

Trent Bradley

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First Appearance

Latest Appearance

XDWF 1999

New-Found Wrestling

Federations

Free Agent

Age

35

Birthplace

Scranton, PA

Finisher

Keystone Kloverleaf

Wrestling Style

Technician

Championships

XDWF World Champion

DVPW World Champion

XDWF World Tag Team Champion

CWF PRO Champion

UPCW Lightheavyweight Champion

NFW Television Champion

Handler

RAO

Images

Trent Bradley (born Trenton Austin Bradley on November 30, 1974) is a wrestler in New-Found. Bradley is perhaps best known for his runs in the XDWF and CWF, but also enjoyed successful stints as matchmaker for various promotions. He was New-Found's Television champion before leaving the promotion after it fell into financial hardship during the summer of 2009.

Early Life

Bradley was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania to Irish Catholic parents. He excelled in athletics throughout school, although he never did well in the classroom. After spending two years on the bench as a quarterback for West Scranton High School, he quit the football team in order to pursue wrestling. Bradley became All State at 189 pounds by his senior year, and was offered a full wrestling scholarship by Penn State University. To the anger and dismay of his father, Trent turned down this offer and enrolled at a small pro wrestling school in Philadelphia.

Career

UPCW

Trent Bradley made his debut at the age of 19 in the United Pro Championship Wrestling promotion in Ohio. Bradley became Light Heavyweight champion very quickly, although he would trade the title with the Flying Tiger for the next two years.

XDWF

By the time he had turned 23, Bradley was a hot prospect in the wrestling world. David Poole, the owner of the Xtreme Dream Wrestling Federation, signed Trent to a three year contract. For the next 16 months, Bradley wrestled on the undercard in hardcore matches. Fed up with the fans and management, Trent snapped. He attacked and injured El Diablo, and took his spot in the "Grab the Gold" tournament. The new ruthless Bradley tore through the competition in the tournament en route to winning and securing a shot at XDWF World champion Gothic Knight. In June of 2001, Trent Bradley captured his first World title and earned the nickname "Main Event" due to his success in big matches. Bradley would win another XDWF World title before the promotion ceased operations in the winter of 2001.

Japan

After the XDWF's closing, Bradley was disgusted with the wrestling scene in the United States. Instead of signing with Primetime Championship Wrestling, Trent decided to try his hand in Japan. Bradley achieved his greatest success in Japan, becoming a national celebrity and one of the few gaijins (foreigners) to receive a standing ovation at the Budokan in Tokyo. During this time, he would also make sporadic appearances in the Championship Wrestling Federation.

CWF

In 2003, Drew Carrig made an open challenge to any wrestler for his CWF PRO championship. Trent Bradley accepted the challenge and defeated Carrig for the title before dropping it back to him a few weeks later. For the next three years, Bradley would make appearances for the CWF when his Japanese schedule would permit as well as working backstage. Perhaps his greatest contribution would be as a road agent, working with young wrestlers like Gabriel (later Steven) Steele. When the promotion closed in 2006, Bradley purchased the film library and copyrights which would become important three years later.

Back to Japan and Injuries

After returning to Japan following the CWF's death, Bradley once again became a top touring star. However, he would suffer a string of severe injuries that changed not only his in-ring style but also force him to scale back his wrestling schedule. A torn ACL, several concussions, and finally a tear of the ulnar nerve in his right elbow would put Trent Bradley on the sidelines for over a year.

CWF: Reborn

Rumors swirled in March of 2009 that the Ultratainment television network was trying to lure several prominent wrestling promotions to their station. Having failed, Trent Bradley convinced the network to help him resurrect the Championship Wrestling Federation. However, when fans tuned in expecting to see the stars of the old CWF, they were disappointed to find an almost entirely new roster. The CWF revival would finally be ended after Steven Steele reneged on a deal to return to the CWF, instead resigning with the Hostility Wrestling Federation. Due to the embarassment of failing to turn the new CWF into a success, Bradley began to hate Hostility.

New-Found

Bradley weighed his options following the CWF's final closing. With offers on the table from nearly a dozen promotions, including GCW, Bradley decided to sign with New-Found Wrestling in hopes of competing with Hostility. In his first NFW appearance, he bashed a steel chair over the head of Television champion Jacque Noreault. On May 8, 2009, Bradley defeated Noreault for the Television championship on Elite Combat. He left the promotion in July after it fell into financial hardship and had to reschedule several shows.

Career Highlights

1994: Breaks into wrestling with the UPCW.
1998: Signs with XDWF.
June 2001: Defeats Gothic Knight to become XDWF World champion.
August 2001: Bradley again becomes XDWF World champion.
December 2001: XDWF closes it's doors.
February 2002: Trent Bradley begins touring in Japan.
April 2003: Bradley returns to America to face Drew Carrig for the CWF PRO title.
2003-2006: Trent balances wrestling in Japan with sporadic appearances for the CWF and other small American promotions.
October 2006: The CWF declares bankruptcy; Bradley purchases the promotion's copyrights and film library.
December 2007: Suffers several major injuries in Japan, before missing over a year of action due to surgery to repair a torn ulnar nerve.
March 2009: Bradley restarts the CWF on the Ultratainment network with a new roster. The promotion fails within two months, leaving Bradley motivated to return to the ring.
April 2009: Trent Bradley signs with New-Found Wrestling, marking the first time in over seven years that he will wrestle exclusively for an American promotion.
May 2009: Trent defeats Jacque Noreault for the NFW Television title.