Derick Neikirk

Derick Lee Neikirk (also spelled Derek Neikirk or Derrick Neikirk; born September 5, 1974) is an American professional wrestler and former professional baseball player.

He has competed for several promotions, and currently competes for Impact Zone Wrestling (IZW), a territory of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) based in Phoenix, Arizona.

He has also wrestled in several other promotions and was signed to a contract with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) for several years.

Much of his career has been connected with fellow wrestler Mike Knox, as the two have held championships together as a tag team and have feuded on multiple occasions.

Before entering professional wrestling, Neikirk played catcher for the Mesa Community College baseball team in the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference (ACCAC).

In 1996, he was named to the All-ACCAC Team.

At age 21, Neikirk played in Detroit's rookie-class, minor league team, the Gulf Coast League Tigers of the 1996 Gulf Coast League in Lakeland, Florida.

He played catcher in 18 games out of a 60-game season.

His statistics were as follows: 47 plate appearances, 38 at bats, 8 hits, 4 runs, 1 run batted in (RBI), 5 walks, 7 strikeouts, and 8 total bases.

Also, Neikirk ground into a double play 4 times, was hit by a pitch 3 times, and made 1 sacrifice hit.

He had a batting average of .211, an on-base percentage of .348, a slugging percentage of .211, and an on-base plus slugging (OPS) of .558.

That same year, Neikirk was promoted to the high-A-class, minor-league team, the Visalia Oaks, of the 1996 California League, in Visalia, California.

While there, he played catcher in 9 games out of a 140-game season.

His statistics were as follows: 29 plate appearances, 27 at-bats, 4 hits, 3 runs, 2 RBIs, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts, and 4 total bases.

He also had a batting average of .148, an on-base percentage of .207, a slugging percentage of .148, and an OPS of .355.

In 1999, at age 24, Neikirk returned to baseball playing for the independent minor league team, the Adirondack Lumberjacks, of the 1999 Northern League, in Glens Falls, New York.

While there, he played catcher in 42 games out of an 86-game season.

His statistics were as follows: 118 at-bats, 31 hits, 3 doubles, 1 triple, 2 home runs, and 42 total bases.

He had a batting average of .263 and a slugging percentage of .356.

On a weighted-average, 80-point scale, Neikirk's Baseball Cube scouting report is as follows:

Throughout his professional wrestling career, Neikirk has competed primarily in the United States.

He was also wrestled in Egypt and has worked for the World Wrestling Alliance in Europe and for Enezma in Mexico.

Much of his career has been spent portraying a heel (villain) through an arrogant demeanor and by turning on allies.

Neikirk trained under Les Thatcher for a career in professional wrestling.

In 2002, he formed a tag team known as The A Squad with Chet Jablonski.

On July 10, 2002, The A Squad defeated Ice Cream Man and Cody Hawk to win the HWA Tag Team Championship, although this title reign is not recorded in the company's official history.

That year, Neikirk was rated number 481 on Pro Wrestling Illustrated's annual PWI 500 list of the top wrestlers in the world.

On August 31, 2003, Neikirk wrestled a match on WWE's Sunday Night Heat television program in which he was defeated by Test.

In 2003, he improved his PWI 500 ranking and was placed at number 442.

He later wrestled for Ultimate Pro Wrestling (UPW), where he formed a tag team with Mike Knox.

The team was also part of a stable known as The Outlaws.

Neikirk and Knox later moved to IZW, where they were known as Team Elite.

On January 6, 2004, Neikirk turned on Knox by superkicking him in the face.

He explained this action by saying that he was tired of carrying the team and that Knox had "dropped the ball".

That night, Neikirk and Knox faced each other as part of a six-man match, but Neikirk turned on his teammates and left the ring.

Neikirk and Knox had a blow off match on May 25.

Neikirk won the match, but the referee then reversed his decision and awarded the victory to Knox.

They defeated Navajo Warrior and Hawaiian Lion on January 18, 2005 to win the IZW Tag Team Championship.

They held the title belts until March 15, when they dropped them to California Connection (Peter Goodman and Antonio Mestre).

That year, he was picked by the Detroit Tigers in the 19th round of the Major League Baseball Draft