The eWrestling Encyclopedia
The eWrestling Encyclopedia
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"The Next Level" Mike Bradley
Image of "The Next Level" Mike Bradley
Statistics
Real name Michael Charles Bradley
Ring Names "The Next Level" Mike Bradley, "Meta" Mike Bradley, The Deepest Bag of Tricks in Wrestling, The Brookline Brawler
Height 6'1"
Weight 220 pounds
Date of birth September 24, 1987
Place of birth Boston, Massachusetts
Date of death {{{death_date}}}
Place of death {{{death_place}}}
Resides Camden, Maine
Billed from Brookline, Massachusetts
Trainer Danielle Bradley
Current
federation(s)
GZWA
Previous
federation(s)
FIP, GPW, XWF, EAW, WEW
Handled by DJSamurai37
Win/Loss Record 8-6-1 (5-4-1 GZWA, 1-1 XWF, 2-1 EAW)
Debut January 2010
Retired {{{retired}}}

Michael Charles Bradley (born September 24, 1987 in Boston, Massachusetts) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name "The Next Level" Mike Bradley. He is currently signed to GZWA where he is a two-time GZWA Television Champion.

Background[]

Mike was a three-year starter for the Brookline High School Warriors varsity football team at corner back and wide receiver, and also captained the school's indoor and outdoor track teams as a junior and senior. His athletic prowess earned him scholarship offers from schools such as Clemson, Iowa, Tennessee, and West Virginia.

Mike is also an accomplished break dancer. Along with the Chaotic Styles Crew, he has won tournaments on every continent except Antarctica, and has also appeared as a dancer and extra in numerous music videos, movies and stage shows. He turned down the aforementioned scholarship offers to continue his dance career.

Wrestling career[]

Mike entered wrestling in January 2010 and had tryout matches with various regional promotions in the United States throughout the year. In an interview with the Maine Sunday Telegram, he described his decision and experience.

"I got tired of kicking everybody's ass in break dancing. I figured it was time to give someone else a shot. People joked about me reminding them of guys like AJ Styles or Rob Van Dam, but when I actually decided to get into wrestling, they got away from those comments like it was the plague. I trained at my sister's martial arts school and at a local wrestling camp, and then I toured around, trying to get a feel for it. Some of those indies were a little unglued, others were real serious. Eventually I decided it wasn't out of the question, but I wanted to make sure I could find some arrangement where I wouldn't be away from my wife all year."

"The Deepest Bag of Tricks in Wrestling"[]

Mike gained notoriety for his ability to make something out of nothing during matches. He would use moves that were not normally in his arsenal to finish off an opponent, or escape danger in the most clever or jaw-dropping ways. One notable example occurred during a match in the short-lived Grand Prix Wrestling promotion, wherein he sandbagged an opponent who tried to deliver a belly-to-back suplex, causing both men to fall forward. As the opponent kept his hands locked while trying to pick him up, Mike immediately rolled over on the unfortunate individual to record a pinfall. Bob Rodriguez, the play-by-play announcer for the match, delivered this call:

"Bradley wins!... The Mind of Meta strikes again!... He's got the deepest bag of tricks in wrestling, and he pulled another rabbit out of his hat right there!"

GZWA[]

2011: First long-term contract[]

Mike signed with GZWA in the summer of 2011. He lost his debut match to Joel Hall after a low blow. He then won his next five matches, the first three as the tag team partner of Skinner Morris. After petitioning Xion Zeros, the team was split, and Mike defeated Morris on the November 17, 2011 edition of Primetime by forcing Morris to submit to the Boston Strangler.

2012: Feud with Andre Holmes[]

On the December 23, 2011 edition of Primetime, Mike won his second straight singles match, defeating The Fallen's Andre Holmes via count-out. An irate Holmes attacked Bradley after the match, forcing him to be taken out on a stretcher. The attack sparked a personal vendetta towards Andre.

Holmes pinned Bradley on January 23, 2012 in a Fatal 4-Way. On March 2, after losing to Dolph Ziggler on Primetime, Bradley extracted revenge by taking a kendo stick to Holmes and Amanda Cortez after the main event.

Their feud culminated when Bradley lost to Holmes at the Devils May Cry pay-per-view in an ambulance match for the no. 1 contendership to the GZWA Television Championship.

2013-2015: Television Champion[]

Mike enjoyed his greatest run of success between 2013 and 2015. At the Riot Control pay-per-view on May 10, 2013, he defeated Genesis and Christopher Daniels in a Triple Threat match to become GZWA Television Champion. He went on a small winning streak after that match, and successfully defended his title twice in that stretch - once in a rematch with Genesis, and again in another Triple Threat match, this time against his sister Danielle Bradley and Carnage. He lost the title to Amanda Cortez in a third Triple Threat match at the Final Encounter pay-per-view on June 13, 2014, but reclaimed the title from Cortez in an ultimate submission match at Dead or Alive on January 9, 2015. As of March 2016 he is the longest-reigning Television Champion in GZWA history for both individual (for his first reign) and combined reigns.

2015-2016: Retirement and comeback[]

After losing the Television Title to Chris Matthews at Devils May Cry on June 12, 2015, Mike was forced to retire after it was discovered that he suffered severe cardiac complications during the match. However, on the December 18, 2015 edition of GZWA Primetime, he returned to announce that he had undergone an emergency heart transplant and was undergoing physical therapy to make his return to the ring. After the show, Mike was attacked by Nikki Bella and Tyler Breeze, but at Riot Control on February 18, 2016, Mike returned as a surprise entrant in the Riot Match and made four eliminations, including Tyler Breeze, before being eliminated. After the show he announced his intentions to continue wrestling for GZWA while also pursuing a contract with another promotion to get more regular work in.

XWF[]

Mike signed with XWF on February 15, 2012 and won his debut match on the February 18 edition of Inferno, defeating X-Treme Champion Brian Michaels. He lost his most recent match to Test on March 3, 2012.

EAW[]

Mike signed with EAW on February 17, 2012. He lost his debut on the February 22, 2012 episode of Turbo in a Fatal Four-Way against Jason Skilled, Version 1, and the match's winner, Hassan Khalid. He has won his last two matches, forcing both Rum 'n' Raisin and Philip Phillips to submit to the Boston Strangler.

Personal Life[]

Mike married the former Jessica Isaacson in May 2011. They live in Camden, Maine, in the house where Mike's grandfather lived from 1976 until his passing in December 1997. He affectionately refers to it as "The House that Frank Built," which is accurate - Frank Bradley was a master architect and former engineer with the U.S. Navy who built the house almost single handedly.

Jessica gave birth to the couple's first child, Andrew Francis Bradley, on March 16, 2012.

Mike's sister, Danielle, trained him in breakdancing, wrestling, and martial arts, and briefly partook in tag team wrestling with Mike on the indy circuit. She now runs a martial arts school in Burlington, Massachusetts.

In his spare time, Mike enjoys video games, poker, Magic: The Gathering, cooking, improv, and snowboarding. He has tired from competitive breakdancing but still organizes and runs events in New England.

In Wrestling[]

Championships and accomplishments

  • GZWA Television Champion (two times)
  • 2011 GZWA Slammy Awards - Breakout Star of the Year (nominated)

Finishing moves

  • Boston Strangler (rear naked choke with body scissors)
  • Final Boss (standing moonsault side slam)

Signature moves

  • Brookline Bounce (inverted facelock into leg drop bulldog)
  • Hang 20 (corkscrew moonsault)
  • Meta Shot (leaping reverse STO)
  • End of Days (deep arm drag into shining wizard)
  • Brookline Bridge (spear into bridge pin)
  • Superkick

Signature spots

  • The Matrix (fall into reverse pushup + b-boy swipe + Austin Thesz Press)
  • Bitch Please (one-handed bulldog on a flying/diving opponent + strut)
  • Kip-up kendo stick shot
  • Swing for the Fences (baseball-style kendo stick shot with theatrics)

Theatrics and agility moves

  • "And if you don't know.... now you know!" (signature phrase)
  • Kip-up
  • Skin-the-cat
  • Somersaults to duck strikes
  • Shoulder rolls to escape holds

Other moves

  • Roundhouse kick
  • Series of rights + backflip + splash/clothesline
  • Alternating left-hand chops and right-hand punches
  • Standing hurricanrana
  • Multiple DDT variations (jumping, tornado, floatover)
  • Spinebuster
  • Pele kick
  • European uppercut
  • Front-flip leg drop
  • Standing dropkick/dropsault
  • Spinning handstand into leg drop
  • Pimp slap

Entrance themes

  • DJ Shadow "Organ Donor (Extended Overhaul)"
  • Daft Punk & Queen "We Will Robot Rock You"
  • Dropkick Murphys "Going Out in Style"
  • X-ecutioners feat. Mike Shinoda, Mr. Hahn, and Wayne Static "It's Goin' Down"
  • Current: Knife Party "Give It Up"
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