Jason Payne

Jason Allen Payne (born [|June 8], [|1972] in [|Louisville], [|Kentucky]) is an [|American] [|professional wrestler], better known by his [|ring name] of Jason Payne. Jason Payne (sometimes referred to as simply 'Payne' or 'The Dog of War') currently wrestles for New ERA of Wrestling (N.E.W.),New Frontier Wrestling (N.F.W.), TEAM Wrestling, and is booked to appear on Championship Wrestling Association (C.S.W.A.) at Anniversary: Gold Rush.

While still a child growing up near Louisville, Kentucky, Jason showed a great interest in professional wrestling. The main reason for this stemmed from the fact that his maternal grandfather was an avid wrestling fan himself, having attending many wrestling events throughout the [|60’s] and [|70’s]. Young Jason was taken to his grandparent’s house every Saturday for a visit, which just happened to be the same day the wrestling shows would come on the local station. As his grandfather cheered on his good guys, and booed and yelled at the bad guys, Jason was instantly hooked. By the time he was in his early teens, Jason had been watching wrestling almost religiously every week. He knew every wrestler, every move, every manager, every angle, every champion. While most kids his age were thinking about cars and girls and college, Jason was consumed with wrestling.
 * __Early Life, before wrestling__**

It was a chance meeting while still in high school that Jason first met legendary grappler Dave ‘The Bear’ Schultz. Though Schultz’s fame never escaped out of the South, he was a legend in the territory and someone whom Jason had grew up watching on television. Schultz was running a small wrestling school and using his students as performers in high school gyms and bingo halls throughout the area. Jason thought that having a wrestling event at his high school would be a great way to raise funds for the athletic teams and inquired to Dave what he needed to do to book his services. Schultz gave the kid a small business card and asked him to call him whenever he wanted to book the show. Well, the show never got booked, and that business card stayed on Jason’s bedroom mirror for the next three years until Jason graduated high school. After scraping through high school, the last thing on Jason’s mind was college. One morning he saw the card on his mirror and decided to give Dave a call. Surprisingly, Schultz remembered the young kid he had met three years ago, but was surprised when the young man told him he wanted to become a wrestler. Dave invited the young man to come down to his school and show him the ropes. Jason took to wrestling so well that Dave invited him to come back. Over the course of the next few months Jason soaked up everything that he could at the Basham-Schultz Wrestling Academy. Around the same time, another young man with big aspirations of wrestling began his training at the wrestling school. A skinny kid by the name of Chris McMillan walked through the door of the Academy one day. Payne and McMillan hit it off right from the start. It became a common sight for the both of them to stay after the normal training sessions in order to work on moves together.
 * __Breaking Into Wrestling__**

McMillan and Payne’s extra work paid off, as Dave began booking the two on some of his house shows. Putting the pair under masks and billing them as ‘The Assassins’, they began their careers putting over the more established of Schultz talent. But although the pair had a great deal more losses than wins, it was evident that their chemistry was something not commonly seen. Chris and Jason would travel together to the shows, going over spots, coming up with ideas to try in matches. Eventually, Schultz decided to unveil them as a new tag team, this time without masks. Jason began to use the name Jason Payne while McMillan billed himself as ‘Mr. Dread’. Together the two were called, ‘The Dogs of War’. The story behind the team was that they were a pair of dishonorably discharged [|Marines]. Apparently they were both so out of control that the Marines found them unfit for military service. Still performing as heels, they gained a noteriety for violent matches, as well as technical prowess. Winning most of thier matches through underhanded tactics, The Dogs of War became Tag-Team Champions for a short while. As time wore on, neither Payne nor McMillan seemed destined to progress from the regional territory where they had made a name for themselves. Payne, now with a young wife who was pregnant, decided to leave behind his wrestling lifestyle and joined the United States Navy. However Payne's Navy career was short lived as an incident happened which involved him striking an officer. After spending 45 days in the brig, he was found guilty under the Uniformed Code of Military Justice and summarily discharged under dishonorable conditions. The exact details of the incident are unknown as the records of the hearings have been sealed by a military tribunal. Payne's wife soon left him. Out of a job and in need of money, Payne began bouncing in bars and wrestling part time throughout the East Coast. By this time, Basham-Schultz wrestling promotion had gone out of business. Wondering up the coast, Jason was surprised to see Chris McMillan on T.V. wrestling for a promotion entitled New Frontier Wrestling. Jason hadn't spoken to Chris since he left the wrestling business almost three years prior. Contacting Chris, he explained what had happened and asked Chris if he could sign on with N.F.W. It took a few days but N.F.W. brought Payne on board for a try out period. Officials liked what they saw, seeing promise in the young Payne and brought him on full time. Though no one except upper management in N.F.W. had ever heard of 'The Dogs of War', Jason Payne pitched the idea of a fued with McMillan. McMillan at this time had elevated himself to mid-card status and was in line for the N.F.W. Television Title. Payne would attack McMillan out of jealousy for having 'abandoned' him years ago. McMillan agreed and N.F.W. officials liked what they heard and put the program into motion.
 * __The Dogs of War__**
 * __Into The Military__**
 * __Back To Wrestling__**
 * __Fued with 'Mr. Dread'__**

This feud became one of the most hotly contested an personal fueds in N.F.W. history and would go on to last several years. It also was one of the most controversial. Segments saw Payne stalking McMillan's wife and children, and even breaking into thier home. Payne and McMillan interfered in each other's matches in an almost psychotic game of one-upmanship. Their rivalry waged across the northeast before culminating in a Dog Collar match at the NFW PPV "Futureshock". After a long and brutal match which saw both performers get busted open, Jason Payne scored the win with outside interference from DC Stratton. McMillan and Payne continued to fued off and on throughout the following months. In the fall/winter of 2003, Payne and McMillan reunited in ACF and GLCW under the old Dogs of War banner. DoW managed to win the ACF Tag titles, but failed to grab the GLCW straps though they had several shots at the gold. Within months, GLCW was no more and ACF underwent a name change to NAWA. Payne was able to capture the NAWA Hardcore title, and was involved in a bitter rivalry with one of the NAWA announcers over that title when that promotion went under in the winter of 2003. During this time, NFW underwent a complete overhaul and announced it plans to hold a tournament for the grandest prize, the Ultratitle. Payne and McMillan put aside tagging and put their names in the tournament. Payne started out very slowly in the tournament, losing four straight matches. Some were beginning to question Payne'a ability, or perhaps his schedule, since he was working with ACF/NAWA and GLCW during this period. McMillan on the other hand was very successful early on in the tournmanet before succumbing to injury. However prior to that, fate intervened and the Dogs of War found themselves once again booked in a rematch from Futureshock. A Dog Collar Match. It was make or break time for Payne as he was dead last in the points race and needed a win if he wanted to have any hope of making an impact in the tournament.
 * __Other Promotions__**
 * __The 'New' N.F.W and Payne/McMillan II__**

Like the previous encounter, this one was a brutal, bloody slugfest. There was no outside interference like last time as these two men tore into one another with a fury seldom seen in the sport. During the match, Payne went to the top rope to finish McMillan off. However McMillan pulled Payne off the top rope and Payne's neck snapped as the chain came taunt against his neck. Motionless on the floor, McMillian rolled Payne back in the ring for the easy win. Payne suddenly came to life, though it was clear something was terribly wrong with him. Fighting back from the brink of paralysis, Payne was able to edge out McMillan in one of the gutsiest shows of athleticsm ever seen in NFW. Payne's injuries forced him out of action for over six months. Since Payne was not in contention for the N.F.W. Ultratitle, heas granted free agency and began accepting bookings from other promotions. Jason signed a three year deal with New ERA of Wrestling. Payne wasted no time getting back into the swing of things. Booked into the first ever BattleBRAWL, Payne took on the best that New ERA had to offer. This event was significant because the winner of the BattleBRAWL would be crowned the new N.E.W. Television Champion. In the end, it came down to Cameron Cruise, Madonna Wayne Grossard (known as MWG), and Jason Payne. Payne looked to have things won, but the crafty MWG eliminated both Cruise and Payne to win the BattleBRAWL, and the Television Title.
 * __New ERA of Wrestling__**

Payne was immediately entered into a tournament to find a new #1 contender to MWG. Payne went into the finals to face Cameron Cruise. In a shocking turn of events, Cameron Cruise delivered a Reality Check to Payne, but then had Payne cover himself in order to give Payne the T.V. Title shot. On a January 29, 2005 episode of RAUCOUS, the Television Title was held up after Payne and MWG pinned each other's shoulder to the mat, and there was no clear winner.

Payne and MWG continued to fight over the vacated Television Title for months, finally leading into a match at the pay-per view, Internation Intrigue. MWG ordered the match to be a Blood Frenzy Dance Party Death Match. Both wrestlers tore each other up in this one. Late in the match, Payne looked to have the match won. However MWG poured some suspicious chemicals onto a chair, and then put Payne's face in the chair with a DDT in order to secure the victory.

After this match, Payne developed mental issues, seeming to be obsessed with MWG, and going so far as trying to emulate him in forms of dress, and behavior. Payne interfered in a triple threat match for the Television Title involving Cameron Cruise, Mr. Entertainment, and MWG. His intereference led to MWG losing the Television Title to Mr. Entertainment. However Chris McMillan, Payne's old tag partner showed up on the scene knocking Payne out, and abducting him to an unknown location for 'rehabilitation'.

In recent televised promos, Payne seems to have gone back to his old self. He is being advertised at being at N.E.W.'s next pay-per view, BattleBRAWL. However in what guise Payne will show up in is a mystery to everyone. As Payne's rivalry with MWG waged in N.E.W., New Frontier Wrestling announced a second season of Ultratitle competition. Payne was one of the first names to sign up, and was placed in the Eastern Conference out of Japan. Payne's opening match was a close loss to Maggot, and Payne feared that his second season was going to end up as his first one. Enlisting the help of his mentor, Dave 'The Bear' Schultz, Payne found the will to compete once again and ran off a three match win streak. However that streak came to an end at the hands of Lyndsay Troy in one of the best matches of the Season. The rest of Payne's regular season was marred with ups and downs as he finished out of the top ten in the standings, however he did qualify for a Wild Card spot. As the regular season was drawing to a close, Payne began to become an outspoken critic of the Eastern Conference. His main point of agitation seemed to be the constant push of controversial and shocking gimmicks, such as the bi-sexual Beau Micheals, and the self made porn entreprenuer, Yori Yakamo Jr. Most of Payne's complaints fell on deaf ears as most within N.F.W. were not satisfied with Payne's work ethic in the first place. Payne would show up to wrestle in matches and collect his salary, but outside of that he did very little promotion activity with the company and showed no interest whatsoever in it's operations. Many speculate that this was due to his schedule promoting his fued with MWG over in N.E.W., but Payne has never confirmed that.
 * __N.F.W. Season II__**
 * __Too Hot For N.F.W.__**

Week 9 of Season II saw Payne booked in a triple threat match with Yori Yakamo Jr, and Jonathan Marx. Stunning both N.F.W. offices and much of the pro wrestling world, Payne cut scathing promos aimed directly at N.F.W., most notably Craig Miles and Quentin Sullivan who Payne placed most of the blame for the decline of N.F.W. In reality, Sullivan and Miles have very little to do with the Eastern Conference, however that did not stop Jason from 'telling all' about how they had ruined wrestling. Payne even had a parody of the Paris Hilton sex tape filmed in Quentin Sullivan's home without his knowledge.

Payne's new shoot style promos were not the only thing to grab people's attention. During the actual match, Payne gave Yori a black eye after bashing his elbow into the side of his face. Payne also refused to cooperate with Marx, sandbagging him when Marx tried to perform a supplex. Marx retaliated by choking Payne out with a shoot style sleeper. This brought down the ire of Micheal Manson, who revealed himself to be the head booker of the Eastern Conference.

Manson made a match with Payne and himself with the stipulation of being a submission match. What on paper looked to be an almost certain defeat, turned into a mocekry of a match as Jason Payne came out wearing a clown outfit, and Manson brought a goat to the ring for Payne to milk. Manson asked Payne to proclaim his greatness and dominance in order to get his paycheck. At first it seemed that Jason was going to give in, but Payne threw the microphone in Manson's face, kicked the goat over, and then broke the milking chair over Manson's back. Telling Manson to 'stick it', he left the ring. Security immedately subdued him with nightsticks. Manson looked over at the ring announcer and announced that Payne had quit, even though he obviously had not. Security led Payne off, however that would not be the last we would see of Payne.

As Yori celebrated his victory over Unknown soldier with Jonathan Marx, (who assisted Yori in that victory), Payne ran out to the ring and leveld Marx with the chair, and assaulted Yori viciously before being pulled off and maced by security.