Count Grog

A native of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Mosorjak was an early fan of professional wrestling, watching Pittsburgh Studio Wrestling in the mid-1960s, and became "hooked" after attending his first live event, headlined by Bruno Sammartino and Battman versus Prof. Toru Tanaka and Ivan Koloff, in February 1970.

Inspired by Ron Dobratz's Illustrated Wrestling Digest, he established his own monthly newsletter called "Inside the Squared Circle", and later "Ringside Seat" with Mark Curtis, while still in high school.

These "kayfabe sheets" featured the latest news and results from "the territories" and included reports, monthly recaps, and photos.

A number of future wrestling personalities were staff members on Mosorjak's newsletters such as Mark Curtis, Ken Jugan, Norman Dooley, Pete Lederberg, and Elio Zarlenga.

Eddie Gilbert and Jim Cornette also worked as photographers.

His publications covered not only mainstream wrestling, then the "Big Three" (American Wrestling Alliance, National Wrestling Alliance and the World Wrestling Federation), but covered the leading independents throughout the country.

He worked for Pittsburgh promoter Gene Dargen during this period, with duties such as putting up posters and calling in radio shows, where he befriended fellow fans Ken Jugan and Mark Curtis.

In his senior year, Mosorjak started working in various capacities for local independent promotions, both as a referee and manager, under the name Greg "Punk Rock" Mason.

His initial training was learned "on the job" as well as assistance from friends Zoltan the Great and Mark Curtis, and Luis Martinez.

Greg Mosorjak (born June 21, 1961 ), better known as Count Grog, is an American professional wrestling manager, referee, ring announcer, commentator, promoter, and booker.

By 1982, he was a regular referee for Zoltan's 3 Rivers Wrestling, having previously written its programs, and made his managerial debut in CCWA, an independent based in Smithfield, North Carolina.

A year later, he started promoting wrestling events as part of West Virginia Championship Wrestling in Morgantown, West Virginia, also appearing in the promotion under his "Punk Rock" persona.

Some of his early years in the business was spent touring the Northeast and Southern independents with his first charges, Zoltan the Great and J.W. "Snakeman" Hawk, feuding with Bobo Brazil, Luis Martinez, JR Hogg, and Mike Schulli among other regional stars.

It was around this time that he got an opportunity to work for Joseph Blanchard and Southwest Championship Wrestling, however, he was involved in a car accident while traveling with Jugan to a television taping in Kingwood, West Virginia.

His injuries, which included a dislocated shoulder, left him unable to appear on the Blanchard shows though he did work matches for The Original Sheik when he toured West Virginia.

In 1984, following his graduation from West Virginia University, Mosorjak left pro wrestling to pursue other business and personal interests (while attending WVU he was roommates with the nephew of Farhat).

He later claimed that he had also grown frustrated with the industry at the time, working indy shows in Ohio and West Virginia for little to no pay, describing one incident in which he drove 200 miles to work a show and was stiffed by the promoter.

Between 1985 and 1992, he attended North Carolina State University at Raleigh and Appalachian State University, graduating with a bachelor's degree in political science from the former institution.

A well-known wrestling personality in the Southeastern United States, especially in the North Carolina independents, he is best remembered for his long-running feud with "Boogie Woogie Man" Jimmy Valiant during the 1990s.

He was also the founder and longtime manager of the "heel" stable "The Brotherhood".

Initially consisting of Major DeBeers and Boris Dragoff, the group included some of the region's top stars such as "Beastmaster" Rick Link, "Ragin' Bull" Manny Fernandez, K. C. Thunder and Frank "The Tank" Parker.

He has been called the "least employee friendly boss around" by Pro Wrestling Illustrated for allegedly frequently turning against his own wrestlers.

Mosorjak is currently the promoter and on-screen commissioner for G.O.U.G.E (Gimmicks Only Underground Grappling Entertainment) based in Raleigh, North Carolina.

In 1993, Mosorjak returned to wrestling working primarily in North Carolina as a referee.

While in the Carolina Championship Wrestling Alliance, he briefly feuded with television announcer Henry Dean which saw Mosorjak wrestle his first wrestling match which ended in a 10-minute draw.

He left refereeing soon afterwards to go back to managing.

As a manager, he has worked for Cueball Carmichael's Independent Professional Wrestling Alliance, OMEGA and Southern States Wrestling and from 1994 to 2004, was the owner of Southern Championship Wrestling.

He made his first appearance as "Count Grog", a Transylvanian nobleman modeled after Count Dracula, on August 19, 1994, at a show for Atlantic Championship Wrestling in Carolina Beach, North Carolina.

He eventually left CCWA with his first protege, the Intruder, to start Southern Championship Wrestling in November 1994.

Mosorjak began the Southern Championship Wrestling (SCW) promotion in 1994.

SCW promoted shows primarily in eastern and central North Carolina, with its home arena at the Kings Barcade in downtown Raleigh and later the historic Dorton Arena.

It also had a weekly television show which aired Tuesdays on Channel 6 in Durham, Chapel Hill, and Carrboro, and Saturday mornings on Channel 10 in Raleigh.

Among the promotion's mainstays included C. W. Anderson, Caprice Coleman, Cham Pain, Dewey Cheatum, Scab, Natrone Steele, Lazz, Lexie Fyfe, Mickie James, Matt Stryker, Shawn Alexander, Seymour Snott, The Stro, Trailer Park Heat, Venom, The Bad Street Boys (Joey Matthews and Christian York), Dangerous Minds (Toad and Lodi), Death & Destruction (Frank Parker and Roger Anderson), and The Dupps (Bo and Jack Dupp).

Future WWE superstars Shane Helms, Shannon Moore, Edge and Christian, Lita and The Hardy Boyz (Matt and Jeff Hardy) also spent their early careers in SCW.

The promotion's unique mix of traditional Southern-style 'Rasslin and modern hardcore wrestling attracting Extreme Championship Wrestling's Chilly Willy, Steve Corino, Julio Dinero, New Jack as well as older Mid-Atlantic legends Ivan Koloff, Manny Fernandez, and Jimmy Valiant.

In addition to being the owner, he also continued managing in SCW as "Count Grog".

One of his first maneuvers was the formation of a "heel" stable which he called "The Brotherhood".

The group initially consisted of Major DeBeers and Boris Dragoff, however, it would eventually include many of the region's top "rulebreakers".

On January 7, 1995, under Count Grog's management, Boris Dragoff won a one-night championship tournament in Creedmoor, North Carolina, to crown the first SCW Heavyweight Champion.

A year later, he helped the Dream Team (Billy Simmons and Sean Powers) in winning the SCW tag team titles from The Rat Pack (Jimmy Cicero and Brian Perry) though they refused Grog's invitation to become a part of The Brotherhood.