Brent Albright

Brent Albright (born November 28, 1978) is an American retired professional wrestler, perhaps best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment, during which he appeared on SmackDown! as Gunner Scott.

Aside from WWE, Albright is a one-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, having won the title while performing for Ring of Honor.

Albright made his professional wrestling debut for All Pro Wrestling (APW) on October 10, 1998, as Vinnie Valentino, in a losing effort against Vinny Massaro.

He would gain his first win came in his second match in January 1999 when he, Chris Ward, and Tony Jones defeated Jason C. Clay, Nathaniel Sweete, and Rick Turner.

Albright continued to wrestler for APW throughout his early years.

Albright wrestled several times for the World Wrestling Federation in 2001 and 2002, where he lost to cruiserweights such as Essa Rios.

Later in 2003, he wrestled under the name Slater Vain for some of WWE's (formerly WWF) tertiary shows.

He also teamed with Chris Cage in a tag match on the August 9, 2004 episode of WWE Raw against the team of Rhyno and Tajiri.

Albright signed a development contract in early 2004 and was sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW).

During his time with OVW, Albright was both OVW Heavyweight Champion and OVW Television Champion, as well as co-holder of the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship with WWE wrestler Chris Masters.

Albright was the first 'Triple Crown' winner in OVW, winning all 3 major titles.

Albright was the first OVW 'Beat the Champ' TV champion, which is now simply called the OVW TV title.

He defeated Seth Skyfire on January 26, 2005, to win the title.

He held that title until April 30, 2005, when he won his first OVW Heavyweight Championship by defeating Matt Morgan with the Crowbar.

Albright vacated the TV title shortly after winning the OVW title.

He was also the first person to hold two titles simultaneously in OVW.

He held the OVW championship until August 3, when he lost to Johnny Jeter.

Shortly after losing the OVW title, Albright began a feud with Ken Doane over the OVW TV title in a feud that started over Doane accusing Albright of disrespecting the belt.

In October 2005, in the midst of the feud with Doane, Albright also began feuding with CM Punk when Punk refused to shake Albright's hand after he had pinned him in a match.

Punk would assault Albright prior to a TV title match against Doane and take his place, winning the belt when Albright accidentally hit the champion with a chair.

He became a frequent challenger to Punk's TV gold, ultimately falling each week when Punk would find a way to weasel out the victory, be it a time-limit or an injury.

In December 2005, Albright, Ken Doane and CM Punk competed in the first ever Triple Threat match in Ohio Valley Wrestling for the TV Title.

Punk won the match when he made Albright submit to the Anaconda Vice while Albright also had Doane in a Sharpshooter.

On January 4, 2006, Albright was in a rematch with Doane and Punk for the title.

Doane was forced to leave the match early due to injury and was replaced by Aaron Stevens.

Albright seemingly gained his revenge on Punk, eliminating him from the match with the Crowbar, only to have Punk return and attack him, leading to Stevens winning the championship.

On the January 11, 2006, OVW show, Albright won a chance for a match against Stevens for the TV Title at an upcoming WWE house show in Louisville, Kentucky by actually teaming up with CM Punk in a match against Paul Burchill and Ken Doane.

Punk and Albright won the match when Punk made Burchill submit to the Anaconda Vice, but Albright went on to lose the rematch against Stevens.

The feud between Punk and Albright took a new turn when the two began teaming together weekly, competing with each other in a game of oneupmanship.

Punk challenged Albright to see who could make their opponent submit the quickest in a match with The Highlanders.

Albright made Rory submit in less than a minute, only to be attacked by Punk and choked out with the Anaconda Vice.

Afterwards, just like many times before, Punk would tell Albright that he had been 'Punk'd'.

After saving Punk from a 5 on 1 attack by the Spirit Squad, Albright told Punk that they would never be able to settle their differences as long as the Spirit Squad was around.

The next week, Punk and Albright teamed up to take on all 5 members of the Spirit Squad in a match that saw Albright set-up Punk.

Albright turned on Punk, giving the impression that being 'Punk'd' for months had finally gotten into his head to the point to where he was obsessed with returning the favor on Punk.

Albright introduced a new element to their feud upon his heel turn: his grandfather's thick leather strap, which Albright used to continually whip Punk.

On the March 1, 2006 OVW show, CM Punk and Albright met in the finals of a tournament to crown a new OVW Heavyweight Champion (vacated by Matt Cappotelli).

Punk suffered a knee injury in the match, and consequently had to be carried out on a stretcher, only to be attacked and whipped by Albright with the strap.

Albright dragged Punk back to the ring, and after surviving a comeback by Punk, managed to lock in the STF.

Though Punk did not submit, Albright managed to hold the lock in so that Punk would pass out, giving Brent the victory and making him a two-time OVW Heavyweight Champion.