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"The Show" Jordan Richards
"The Show" Jordan Richards, whose real name is Herbert James Richard Jordan (born November 19, 1972), is an American professional wrestler/manager, who currently works for Mad Asylum Xtreme Wrestling, based in Williamston, SC. Richards has been directly involved with professional wrestling since 2001. Richards has been a life-long fan of professional wrestling, having been introduced to the sport by his uncle and cousins, who he spent a great deal of time with during his childhood. Richards also attended weekly NWA live events at the Greenville Memorial Auditroium in Greenville, SC, where he watched such greats as Ric Flair, Rick Steamboat, Dusty Rhodes, Blackjack Mulligan, Jimmy Snuka, The Masked Superstar, Ivan Koloff, Ray Stevens, Paul Jones, Johnny Weaver, the Brisco Brothers,Greg Valentine, The Minnesota Wrecking Crew, the Road Warriors, and the Four Horsemen. Richards has been a fan of Ric Flair since watchibng his first matches. Richards is somewhat of a Flair afficianado, stating on many occasions that "I know more about Ric Flair than Ric Flair does." Richards always had a desire to become a professional wrestler. He never really thought he would have the opportunity.
Early Career
Richards began his wrestling career as a trainee for the now-defunct United Wrestling Federation, based in Greenville, SC and Hendersonville, NC. Richards had originally tried out for Brody Ray Chase's Greenville, SC-based World Wrestling Council. Chase ran a wrestling school out of his promotion, and Richards knew this was his chance to get into the sport. Richards befriended Chase in the months leading up to his tryout. After a successful tryout in February 2001, Richards was scheduled to begin training with Chase shortly thereafter. Following a dispute that had arisen between several WWC wrestlers and Brody Ray Chase (the issue has since been amicably resolved), Richards defected to the UWF, just purchased by Norton Lewis, one of the disgruntled former WWC wrestlers. Richards resumed his training, which was overseen by kayfabe brothers and trainers Norton and Cruizer Lewis, along with trainers Big Money, Mikal Adryan (now Mikael Judas), Jeff Lewis, and Vinnie Pain, all of whom were major stars for the new UWF.
As Jordan Richards was training in the UWF, he would work live events as a member of the UWF "Security" force, a customary practice for independent wrestling promotions. Richards had the privilege of singing the national anthem before a UWF live event at Wade Hampton High School in Greenville, SC, just two weeks after the World Trade Center terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. In the summer of 2001, while still a trainee, Richards was elevated to the position(kayfabe) of UWF "Head of Security." During this period, Richards became more physically involved with storylines in the UWF. By the fall of 2001, Richards was nearing the completion of his training. Norton Lewis, who was also the head booker for the UWF, decide to use Richards as the (kayfabe) UWF "Commissioner." Richards was play the role of a babyface Commissioner, interested in bringing "law and order" to the chaos that had taken over the UWF.
Norton Lewis was part of a stable of heel wrestlers known as "The Brotherhood," which included Cruizer Lewis, Jeff Lewis (kayfabe Lewis nephew), Mack Truck, and Deon Johnson. The group had begun to reak havoc on the UWF. Richards, along with the babyfaces of the UWF, raged war with "The Brotherhood" for several months until the group disbanded because of internal strife. Richards and Norton Lewis continued their personal vendetta, actually trading the position of UWF Commissioner before the company closed its doors in 2002. Lewis was no longer able to devote the proper amount of time to promoting and booking UWF events, prompting the promotion to close. Richards began taking bumps during his tenure as UWF Commissioner, prompting several compliments from fellow wrestlers about the realism of the bumps he took.
WWC Return
Richards did not actively participate in professional wrestling for a couple of years after the closing of the UWF. He did keep in contact with his former trainer Norton lewis and occasionally attended live events that Lewis was wrestling in. In 2005, Lewis contacted Richards about the possibility of returning to the World Wrestling Council, which Lewis, Richards, and others had left in 2001. Brody Ray Chase and Norton Lewis had resolved their issues and Lewis was going to come back to the WWC to wrestle and become the head booker. Lewis wanted Richards to assume the role of WWC Commissioner after the successful run he had in the UWF. Chase agreed and Richards was brought in as a babyface commissioner in the spring of 2005.
Richards' feud with Norton Lewis was reprised upon his being named the WWC Commissioner, this time with more ferocity than the UWF wars. Lewis had alligned himself with another heel stable, known as the "True Icons," a group including Brody Ray Chase (owner and promoter of the WWC), Jeff Lewis, and Shadow Jackson, who had also worked in the UWF. One WWC live event in particular was among the most brutal ever witnessed. Richards was attacked by the entire "True Icons" stable, taking a bump form each member, before being through outside the ring. Norton Lewis rammed Richards' head into the steel cornerpost. This prompted Richards to blade, causing him to bleed profusely as he was beaten by the heel group. Richards continued to rage war with the "True Icons," enlisting the help of namy of the babyface WWC superstars.
During the winter of 2006, a new babyface stable had formed, called the "Old School Quad." The "OSQ" featured Brody Ray Chase and long-time friends and partners Rikki Regal and "The Big Dawg" Mikki Free. Also a member was former Chase trainee and highly successful independent wrestler "The Ticking Time Bomb" Scottie Wrenn. The "OSQ" was a wildly popular group who instantly solidified itself as the lead babyfaces in WWC. Jordan Richards became an antagonist for the "OSQ," singling out Mikki Free as a "traitor and hypoctrite to everything that was supposed to be old school." This singling out instigated a heel-turn for Richards, something he and Free had been lobbying for for several weeks. Richards had become a member of the WWC booking committee at this time, and he and Free pitched the idea to Chase. After several weeks of fence-riding, Chase relented. The heel-turn was an immediate success and the fans wasted no time in making Richards a reviled heel, giving him trmendous heat at his every appearance.
It was after Richards' heel-turn that one of the WWC's greatest swerves was perpetrated. Richards, due to the stipulations of a previous match, was forced to wrestle Mikkie Free in a five-minute match at a WWC live spectacular on April 8, 2006. This match was to be contested under a "No Disqualification" format. Richards had hinted in the weeks leading up to the match that he had a surprise for Free on April 8th. Richards came to the ring for the scheduled match with the entire heel roster of WWC at his side. During the match, several heels attempted to attack free, only to be thwarted by the "Big Dawg." Finally, all of the heels jumped Free at once, prompting Brody Ray Chase to storm the ring with a steel chair. The heels cleared the ring, leaving only Chase and Free inside. As Free got to his feet, Chase waffled him with the steel chair, legitimately lacerating his forehead. The crowd was in stunned silence and Richards began celebrating, shouting "I told you I had a surprise!" Rikki Regal then came out "confront" Chase. As Regal and Chase were "arguing," Regal hit Free with a devastating clothesline, rendering Free helpless. Richards celebrated with Chase and Regal, even getting a pinfall victory over Free to add further insult to the swerve.
Richards, Chase, and Regal formed a mega-heel stable called "The Gold Standard." The trio was joined by "The One Man Mafia" Mikal Adryan, who Richards had already begun managing several weeks prior to the swerve. "The Gold Standard" was dominant, with Adryan holding the WWC Heavyweight Title and Chase and Regal holding the WWC Tag Team Titles. With Richards as the WWC Commissioner, the group received preferential treatment, allowing them to hold onto their championships and remain perennial main event superstars. "The Gold Standard" continued to feud with Mikki Free and Scottie Wrenn, even competing with each other in what would turn out to be the WWC's last match. The former "Old School Quad" members engaged in a "KliQ-style curtain call" at the conclusion of the match.
MAXW