Burt Young[]
A big fan of "Genocide" Jack Barton as a child, when his hero opened the BIG CLASH federation, the man called ORPHAN tried his best to join. At 17 Burt Young couldn't legally wrestle, but his enthusiasm was appreciated so Barton put him on the ring crew. For the first year of Burt Young's stint with the company, he'd set up the ring, sell merchandise, and train in it for the hour before the show started. The audience mostly heckled him, but it didn't phase the kid. At 18 his year of unpaid slave labour was rewarded with a try out match against fellow hopeful Don Gomez. It didn't go well. Young was crushed, and packing his bags to go home when fortune knocked. Gary Tooms was arrested for a DUI, leaving tag champions, MechaDemons, without opponents for a TV taping. In a bind, Jack Barton gave Young one more try out match, teaming with "Razor" Rex Porter against the champs. The champions appreciated how much merchandise Young had moved for them, while Porter wanted out of the dog house for his drunk partner, all three worked towards making Young look like a million dollars. With the fans actually popping for the rookie, Jack Barton figured he could sign the kid to a contract for low numbers.
Orphan[]
Most of the regulars were familiar with the punk setting up the ring, so Jack Barton decided to make Young a masked wrestler. Dawning a silver mask with blue tears streaming down the eye sockets, Young was sattled with the gimmick of a disturbed youth who'd lost his parents, angry at the world, seeking a father figure.
The Glorious Bastards[]
Paired up with aging veteran "Glorious" Gary Moore to form "Glorious Bastards," a curtain jerking tag team. The basic premise was that Moore was using Orphan, who was desperate for approval, the young upstart taking the old man back to his former glory. The two spent the spring opening shows against another green team, The Unbalanced. The feud didn't set the world on fire, the dynamic with Moore did get the "Glorious One" some serious heel heat, while making Orphan seem quite sympathetic, and outside of storylines Moore helped further train the kid. At the end of spring, Moore betrayed Orphan, leaving him on the end of a vicious beating to save his own skin. The program was so successful that Orphan found himself making his PPV debut at "Boiling Point" against Gary Moore. Moore murdered him in under five minutes, but the one sided destruction made him even more sympathetic with the crowd.
Summer of Fire[]
He'd picked up some basic psychology from Moore, but Orphan still needed more refine. Over the "Blazing Summer" Tour, Orphan was put in a best of 7 series with fellow masked newcomer CRAZY KILLER (Don Gomez). Given the poor reaction that their try out match received, there was some serious concern that the series could ruin their careers. Working together to script out ballsy spot fests, the two men formed a strong friendship, which came across in the series. Each match they'd be adding new moves to their repertoire, and the audience were really into the matches (since each series match counted, it felt special on a house show). The reactions were so strong the last match of the series was added to the "Mega Clash '01" PPV, with a ladder match so over-the-top it made both men's careers (and Orphan won).
The Mysterious RAY[]
The PPV reaction was so strong, Orphan was finally included on BIG CLASH's weekly television show LIVE! With Jack Barton trying to build a tour of Mexico, some luchadors were added to the roster, including forth generation luchador, Mysterious Reyes Jr. The two made their television debuts against one another, with Reyes coming out on top, but the crowd getting firmly behind Orphan still marking form his PPV ladder match. Insulted that the young punk was getting stronger reactions, Reyes grabbed a microphone challenging Orphan to a mask vs. mask match. Figuring the audience would accept him even without the gimmick, Orphan agreed. Over the next season, the two men were teamed up, and faced off, in a series of tag team matches. The program built around a mutual respect, with a hint of bitterness. Late vignettes even included Reyes Jr. appologizing to for asking the match since they were now "Friends," but having to go through with it as it was announced. No one bought the respect, but the sentiment was appreciated. Going down to Mexico, with a large family in the front row, Reyes Jr. was the heavy favorite at the "Tequilla Sunrise" PPV. The crowd was stunned when Orphan won with an inside cradle 3 minutes in. A large ceremony followed, with Reyes unmasking, and congratulating Orphan. Despite a cold crowd, Orphan had one again proved himself. In the backstage, Mysterious Reyes Sr. wandered the arena, looking to console his son... finding the young man accepting a payoff from "Razor" Ron Porter who'd BET on the match. Disowned by his family, the most hated man in Mexico, Reyes was repackaged as the Deadly RAY, and he blamed Orphan for his lot in life. A blood feud was born. On the next episode of BIG CLASH live, Deadly RAY took a camera crew, broke into Orphan's home, and burned the last remaining pictures of his family. A follow-up match ended in a double countout, and saw the two men brawling across the building. A third match, had Orphan bring out Mysterious Reyes Sr. to talk to his son, only to have the DEADLY RAY beat him unmercifully. On the "Killing Fields" PPV, the match was thrown out when the Deadly RAY set Orphan's mask on fire. Orphan was hospitalized for the next season, while RAY spent the cycle campaigning for a hair versus mask match. "You didn't beat me for my mask, YOU can't beat me!" While recouping, Orphan trained at the Monster Factor in Europe, further building his moveset, and adding some bulk to his weight. When the "Cold As Ice" PPV came around, Orphan once again put his mask on the line, decisively beating his archnemesis. This effectively ended the first chapter of their feud, turning Deadly RAY into the top heel in the promotion, while building Orphan a strong audience.
Hidden Faces[]
On the next episode of BIG CLASH LIVE! Orphan's former mentor, "Glorious" Gary said he had a tag team title shot, and was looking to put aside past differences by picking Orphan to be his partner. His first title shot! Orphan agreed, still seeing Moore as a father figure, and reformed the Glorious Bastards to take on then tag champs the Unbalanced. Minutes into the match, Gary Moore not liking their chances, AGAIN abandoned his partner. Orphan was taken apart in a handicap match, until Crazy Killer made the save. He was DQed for Killer's efforts, but the fans ate it up, and promoters took notice, teaming the two masked men up as The Hidden Faces. Not enjoying the way they were being treated as steppng stones, the Unbalanced beefed up their numbers becoming more of a stable. Many gang beatings followed, as two men continued to beat pairings of the stable, hoping to qualify for a title match. This was finally blown off at the PPV "Wreckage '03" when the Hidden Faces were given a shot in a TLC match. Falling off a ladder, Crazy Killer blew out his knee in the opening minutes, leaving Orphan to wrestle against four men for the better part of twenty minutes. Orphan eventually lost to the numbers, but the road leading to it turned him into a serious singles star.
Slaughterhouse[]
Wanting to attach himself to the rising prospect, "Genocide" Jack Barton decided to continue to tag angle. With Crazy Killer out on injury, Orphan was asked to pick a DREAM PARTNER for another shot against the Unbalanced on BIG CLASH LIVE! Orphan didn't take long before naming his childhood hero, "Genocide" Jack Barton. Forming the "Slaughterhouse" the hot prospect, and top star, destroyed the Unbalanced winning BIG CLASH's tag team titles. The Unbalanced wanted revenged, and were added by "Handsome" Hector Santana who was feuding with Barton for the world title. The Slaughterhouse would spend the summer defending the belts against combinations of the two, and the Mecha Demons. Teaming with the Top star, gave Orphan obscene credibility and the team really rose his merit in the company. Having turned over a new leaf, "Glorious" Gary Moore asked his former protege if he could join the Slaughterhouse, wanting it to be more of a stable. At Orphan's request, "Genocide" Jack Barton agreed, and Moore joined a six man tag match at the "Boiling Point '03" PPV. The night of the match, Gary Moore turned on his partners, and the two men were beaten viciously. The next night an angry Jack Barton demanded a rematch, the Slaughterhouse defending against the Obscenely Beautiful Connection (Gary Moore & Hector Santana), where Barton left the ring, brawling with Santana, leaving Orphan to get downed by Moore with help from the Unbalanced. The team was ended, on a down note, with Barton seemingly blaming Orphan for the loss, but the title run had helped Orphan, and he wasn't about to give up now.
TV title Stage ONE[]
At a three hour special broadcast of BIG CLASH LIVE! a one night tournament was held for the vacant television title. As the tournament moved on, ORPHAN found himself paired up with members of the Unbalanced all evening. Defeating "NOB" Nathan O'Brian in the first round, before taking on "Demented" Mark Foster in the semis, then put against "Sane" Gibson Steele in the finals. The Unbalanced did everything they could to seriously injure ORPHAN, with in-ring cruelty, and out of ring gang beatings, but couldn't get the job done, ORPHAN beating Steele in the finals for his first singles title. After the match, The Unbalanced once again massacred ORPHAN, this time trying to crucify him. "Genocide" Jack Barton came out of the back, helping his former tag partner run off the stable, both singles champion's standing tall, burying the hatchet, and providing some closure for Slaughterhouse. With the official "rub" of Barton, and his first singles title, ORPHAN had finally broken through to become a serious player in the BIG CLASH.
TV title Stage Two[]
ORPHAN would continue to feud with "Sane" Gibson Steele over the television title, taking him to time limit draws on a weekly basis. A defense against "Razor" Ron Porter saw one of the most acclaimed matches in LIVE! history, with ORPHAN busting his ass, trying to return the rub Porter had done to help the kid get hired. Providing all the work rate for the cards, the fans took notice, every television tapping would see another dozen silver masks in the crowd. It was announced a month in advance that ORPHAN would defend the title on the "Hellfire" PPV, against recently returning Deathmatch King, Splatterizer. However, a week before the show, Splatterizer was SCALPED by Texas legend, "Chief" John Razorback in a rival promotion. Not wanting to lose a prominent position on the card, ORPHAN challenged the Alamo Pro star to an interpromotional match. Razorback accepted the challenge, but was outraged that the match was opening the PPV, and promptly set the ring on fire. Security escorted Razorback out, but the ring was destroyed, and it looked like the PPV would be cancelled. With a ten thousand seat venue, this was the kind of setback that could really hurt BIG CLASH. Proving himself to be a company man, ORPHAN grabbed a microphone issuing an open challenge for a falls count anywhere match for his title. The house blew up, as a returning CRAZY KILLER came out to accept. The two men wrestled all around the building for forty five minutes, while a new ring was set-up. During the course of the brawl, there was a brief Hidden Face reunion, as the two were attacked by the Unbalanced, and worked together to fight them off. Buynig time for the ring to be rebuilt, the two men made their way back to ringside, where ORPHAN finally pinned Crazy Killer in the middle of the ring. The almost hour display by the rookies known more for spotfests, was given a rare FIVE STAR rating by the WFMagazine. They not only saved the PPV, but made the repeat highly desirable.
TV Title Stage Three[]
A rematch of his acclaimed defense against "Razor" Ron Porter was interrupted halfway by Porter's returning tag partner, "Straight Edge" Gary Tooms, who beat ORPHAN like a red headed stepchild. Tooms claimed that ORPHAN's career was based on him missing a show, and felt "Everything you got, deserves to be mine!" ORPHAN continued to spend the season defending the belt on every broadcast against all comers, while Tooms felt his time was better spent harassing ORPHAN. All the complaints eventually paid off, as Gary Tooms was given a TV title shot at the "Beginning of the End" PPV. Realizing the error of his ways, Tooms offered ORPHAN a handshake. Always happy to please older male potential father figures, ORPHAN accepted, and was cheap shotted. Gary Tooms beat ORPHAN senseless, and stole one of the kid's masks. Wearing the blooded, stolen mask, Gary Tooms started calling himself "Crying Man." Mocking Orphan, but parodying himself. Working with the idea that a mask was all it took, Tooms started emulating ORPHAN's moveset, trying to repeat famous moments from his history, patterened himself after the TV champ. The grotesque feud finally came to an end at "Mega Clash '03" when ORPHAN defeated Tooms in a mask vs. mask match.
TV Title Stage Four[]
ORPHAN ended the year with a successful title defense over The DEADLY RAY, the two men headlining a New Year's Eve BIG CLASH LIVE! After the match he was congratulated by mentor, "Glorious" Gary Moore who had made a New Year's resolution to stop being evil. Wanting to turn over a new leaf, Moore challenged ORPHAN to a friendly match, to see how far his pupil had come. Promoted as ORPHAN beating the man who took the tag titles off him, the defense against Moore was at the top of the card of the big 1/4/04 "Bloodfest" PPV. Under Purist's Dream rules, the two men had a surprisingly technical encounter, with ORPHAN looking to impress his teacher. At the fifteen minute mark, getting bored with the good guy routine, "Glorious" Gary grabbed a fistful of tights, cheating to win the TV title. The final rematch occurred at "Wreckage '04" where ORPHAN failed to reclaim the belt, after being viciously attacked by a masked man named Sleeper.
Journey to the End of Night[]
In his first match, Sleeper seriously injured ORPHAN's friend Crazy Killer, just for being ORPHAN's friend. Subsequent interviews showed Sleeper to be obsessed with ORPHAN's mask, and his plan was to break ORPHAN, until he gave up the masked tradition. ORPHAN defeated every hired gun that Sleeper threw his way, from BLOODLUST, to Sam Winter, to Frank Scalpel. Sleeper brought in famed Puro star Exciter Exceeder to wrestle ORPHAN in a mask versus mask match at the "GoreMania '04" PPV. Another mask for ORPHAN's collection. At the end of the contest, Sleeper again attacked Orphan; claiming that he was ORPHAN's biological father, and while his foster parents had died, ORPHAN still had family. Orphan was part of a long line of Luchadors under the "Sleeper" mask, and the one he was wearing was an insult to the tradition. The angle received a WORST ANGLE OF THE YEAR award from WFMagazine. The two men were signed to a high profile mask vs. mask match at "The End of Night '04," only to have Sleeper get injured by a vengeful Gary Tooms. Tooms being the only person who bought Sleeper as the parent, hoped hurting him would upset the ORPHAN. The match was replaced with ORPHAN putting his mask on the line against last minute substitute Toom's hair in a last man standing match, with ORPHAN subsequently won.
World Title Contender[]
With the Tooms win getting away from the Sleeper storyline, ORPHAN was amongst the top faces in the promotion. Wanting to keep the status quo, "Genocide" Jack Barton decided to defend his BIG CLASH heavyweight title against ORPHAN at the "Mega Clash '04" PPV. The two men main evented to a decent buy rate, and despite a clash of styles, put on a surprisingly good twenty five minute match, before Barton decisively beat his former tag partner. A lot of fans were vocal about wanting ORPHAN to go over, but Young couldn't complain, he headlined the show of the year against, his childhood hero.
2nd TV title reign[]
Of course the glass ceiling hit him on the next TV show, where ORPHAN curtain jerked with Hillbilly Hayes against the Burning. Not understanding why he was once again opening, ORPHAN decided to make his own breaks. Later in the show, when one match ran short, and TV Champion Black Hole wasn't defending, ORPHAN came out, calling the champ out. Happy to defeat a name who'd wrestled earlier in the show, and the night before against the world champ, Black Hole put the belt on the line, and lost. Osamu Junko (previously Exciter Exceeder) embittered over the loss of his mask, then proceeded to feud with ORPHAN over the TV title. Crimson Blaze also started gunning for the belt, added by Burning partner, "Arsonist" Aaron, but all just added notches to ORPHAN's belt.
Back to the Top[]
At the "The LAST Clash '04," "Genocide" Jack Barton was injured defending the belt against "Glorious" Gary Moore. Upon finding out the seriousness of the injury, Barton reluctantly dropped the world title to "Handsome" Hector Santana. About to return from a long injury, Splatterizer demanded his in-ring return be a title match against ORPHAN, the match he was scheduled to have at Hellfire '03. When "Hellfire '04" came around, Santana defended the belt against Hillbilly Hayes, in a match that hadn't had any time to hype, while ORPHAN main evented with the TV title against Splatterizer. Both champions were victorious, but Santana was incensed, why should a secondary title get top billing? Enraged, Santana challenged ORPHAN to a title versus title match on the traditional "New Year's Eve BIG CLASH LIVE!" Where on national television in the highest rated segment in the show's history, the former ring attendant finally broke through the glass ceiling.
World Title Run[]
Demanding an immediate rematch, "Handsome" Hector Santana challenged ORPHAN for the world title at 1/4/05's "Bloodfest" PPV, with ORPHAN proving his title win wasn't just a fluke. From there, he was challenged by BIG CLASH legend, Splatterizer, who claimed the TV title lose had been a result of ring rust. The two met up at "Wreckage '05" where Orphan again showed the world he was the real deal. ORPHAN continued to request opponents like Crazy Killer and the Deadly RAY, the younger guns, but was handed more and more older stars. ORPHAN went on the air calling for a youth movement, only to be rebuked by his former mentor. "Genocide" Gary Moore felt he should be the world champion, he took Barton out, and if he had to go through his protege for the title, he would. At "Goremania '05" ORPHAN almost defeated his long time nemesis, only to have Moore's new protege, Black Hole run in and cost ORPHAN the belt.
Slaughterhouse No.2[]
On the following BIG CLASH LIVE! ORPHAN brought in his dream partner, "Genocide" Jack Barton reforming the Slaughterhouse to take on Moore and Black Hole. The Slaughterhouse won, when their opponents fled the arena. The problem was, a returning Barton paired off against Moore, while ORPHAN was stuck out of the world title picture with Hole. Storylines seeing Moore ducking Barton, with nothing better to do, the weekly shows saw Slaughterhouse go to work on the tag scenes. Defeating the Burning, Unbalanced, and eventually MechaDemons for their second world tag titles. "The End of Night '05" saw the two singles rivalrys come to a head, with Barton recapturing the world title, and ORPHAN soundly defeat Black Hole. Unfortunately for Barton, he'd returned too soon, which meant he'd have to do the one thing he hated most, put over young talent.
2nd World Title Run[]
A year after their first encounter, at "Mega Clash '05" the reigning tag team champions went head to head in a title versus mask match. At the twenty minute mark, Barton's leg started acting up again, leaving him victim to a small package. ORPHAN had cleanly defeated the company's top draw. With the company's top star out of action, ORPHAN was the new defacto ACE. There was going to be a shake-up, and the young star was thrown to the wolves.
HISTORY Repeating[]
ORPHAN was immediately challenged by his long time friend, CRAZY Killer. The two put on a match of the year contender, at the "Explosion in the City" PPV. After the match, "Chief" John Razorback decided to "invade." Not liking the way there last match went down, ORPHAN offered to put his mask on the line against Razorback's hair. The two sold out the Staples Centre, this time in the main event, with ORPHAN coming out on top, scalping the monster. After the match, Splatterizer brutallized the champion, outraged that they'd let Razorback back into the fed. ORPHAN put his world title on the line against Splatterizer at the "Perfect Clash," where he won by DQ, but the war was far from over. The feud intensifying, the two men met at "Extreme Showdown" in a mask versus mask match, with ORPHAN again coming out on top. The former world champion, having to unmask. Returning from injury, SLEEPER continued to claim to be ORPHAN's biological father, and picking up where he left off, challenged ORPHAN to a mask versus mask match. At "Written in Blood" ORPHAN again came out on top, forcing SLEEPER to unmask in a MOTYC. ORPHAN would spend the summer defending the title against the Mecha Demons, before the return of another old enemy. Seeing an opportunity, Gary Tooms returned to his CRYING MAN gimmick, despite having lost the mask. Outraged, ORPHAN put his mask and title on the line one more time, forcing Tooms to give up the gimmick at "Extreme Showdown II." With house shows and television ratings at all time highs, ORPHAN was the face of BIG CLASH. On top of the world, he only had one challenge left, "Genocide" Gary Moore. The man who had beaten him for his world title, TV title, and tag title... had he grown enough to finally beat him? The two appeared at the "Last CLASH '05" and wrestled one another for close to an hour... just as it looked like ORPHAN was going to finally do it, a double pin occurred. The title had to be vacated.
The BIG Rumble[]
The vacant world title was put up in a 100 man royal rumble. ORPHAN had the misfortune of drawing number 3. At least 60 men that hated him stood in the way of his victory, and at least another 30 others gunning for him. For close to three hours, ORPHAN wrestled his heart out, being responsible for tossing Black Hole, Sleeper, Splatterizer, The Kings Among Men, and MetalDragon. After the dust was clear it was down to him and two men... "Genocide" Jack Barton tossed "Genocide" Gary Moore, before turning his attention to the exhausted ORPHAN. The two sparred for another twenty minutes, before ORPHAN did the unthinkable, knocking Barton out.
Third World Title Run[]
Out of respect to his hero, the first challenger for the belt was "Genocide" Jack Barton, the two meeting at a sold out Astrodome for the "BIG TIME" PPV. After thirty minutes, ORPHAN managed to put the former ACE down for the three count, silencing any doubters about his skills. ORPHAN then went down to Mexico, to defend the belt against the Deadly RAY at the "South of the Border" super show. One challenge remained, heading to a sold out Tokyo Dome, for the PPV "BIG in JAPAN" against his perpetual thorn "Glorious" Gary Moore. The brick wall. The two men wrestled in front of the crowd for forty minutes, before ORPHAN finally pulled it off, defeating Moore. The sky was the limit, and things were picking up...
The End[]
Despite record breaking gates, "Genocide" Jack Barton decided to close the league. Injuries kept him on the sidelines, and without him as the centre of attention, he found the shows boring. Considering BIG CLASH his home, ORPHAN refused to work for other promotions, but continues to work Reunion shows. A strong focus on his feuds with Mecha Demons and Moore for his old fans.
Titles & Accolades[]
3 x BIG CLASH world champion (last) 2 x BIG CLASH TV champion (first & longest)
3 x BIG CLASH world tag team champions (Twice w/"Genocide" Jack Barton, once with "Glorious" Gary Moore)
2004 All Men Are Brothers Winner (w/The Slaughterhouse 5)
2007 All Men Are Brothers Winner (w/The Slaughterhouse II <captain>)
2005 Triple Threat - Trios Cup Finalist
Television Title Tournament winner
The BIG Rumble Winner
DVDs[]
ORPHAN in the DARK[]
Noted for killing himself for non-televised house shows, a documentary highlights all the serious injuries he received while working dark matches. While most of the footage is handheld, many of the matches included are MOTY quality.
Match Listings:
-Burt Young (Orphan) vs. Hecter Gomez (Crazy Killer) *Big Clash Try Out match
-The Glorious Bastards (Orphan & Gary Moore) vs. The Burning (Spring Fever Tour '02)
-ORPHAN vs. CRAZY Killer Best of 7 series Match 5 (Summer of Fire '02)
-ORPHAN & Mysterious Reyes Sr. vs. The Deadly RAY & Gary Moore (The End of Night darkmatch)
-ORPHAN vs. "Highspot" Hector Santana (Summer of Fire '03) -ORPHAN & CRAZY Killer vs. "Razor" Ron Porter & Gary Tooms (Destruction Tour '04)
-ORPHAN vs. Broken Angel (Hellfire Tour '05)
-ORPHAN & CRAZY Killer vs. Mecha Demons *TLC match from Fan Weekend 4/14/07
ORPHAN Behind the Mask[]
A documentary traces ORPHAN's lack of family ties, and how much the mask means to him. It also goes into the importance of Masks in BIG CLASH, and "Genocide" Jack Barton starting his career as the Death Mask. The program ends with a timeline of ORPHAN's mask defenses, while the defenses themselves are included in full as extras.
Match Listings:
-ORPHAN vs. The Mysterious Reyes [3.25] *
-ORPHAN vs. The Deadly RAY (Mask vs. Hair) [13.45] ***
-ORPHAN vs. MetalLucifer [7.35] ** (handheld)
-ORPHAN vs. Crying Man [11.57] ***
-ORPHAN vs. BLOODLUST [13.21] ***1/2
-ORPHAN vs. Exciter Exceeder [14.48] ***3/4
-ORPHAN vs. BLACK HOLE [17.22] ***
-ORPHAN vs. "Chief" John Razorback (Mask vs. Hair) [9.23] ***
-ORPHAN vs. Splatterizer [14.19] ***1/4
-ORPHAN vs. SLEEPER [22.23] ****
-ORPHan vs. Crying Man [16.44] ****1/2