Max Thrasher

Philip Andrew "Phil" Livelsberger (born February 7, 1962), better known by the ring name Max Thrasher, is an American retired professional wrestler, promoter and trainer.

He is best known for his tenure in Eastern Championship Wrestling, as one-half of The Night Breed with Glen Osbourne, and the Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation where he won the MEWF Heavyweight Championship three times, the MEWF Mid-Atlantic Championship two times and the MEWF Tag Team Championship two times (once each with Dino Casanova and Lucifer).

Livelsberger also trained a number of independent stars including, most notably, Morgus the Maniac, Adam Flash and Kevin Featherstone.

Livelsberger started his career in the Atlantic Wrestling Federation and had a brief stint in Jim Crockett Promotions as a preliminary wrestler.

Livelsberger was born February 7, 1962, to Leo P. Livelsberger and his wife and raised in Hanover, Pennsylvania.

He is one of seven children.

His father was a hospital worker, while his mother was a homemaker.

Livelsberger became a fan of professional wrestling after seeing an episode of WWWF All-Star Wrestling when he was six years old.

Livelsberger attended Delone Catholic High School where he took part in football, rugby, and wrestling.

He also studied karate for eight years.

He played football for Delaware Valley College and worked as a debt collector to partly pay his way through school.

Livelsberger left DelVal to compete in full contact karate but returned after two years and graduated in 1984 with a bachelor's degree in biology.

He also earned a degree in animal care from the University of New York in 1985.

Over the next few years, Livelsberger had a number of jobs including work as a brick mason, dog groomer, and sous chef.

Livelsberger struggled to break into pro wrestling during his mid-20s, owing largely to his lack of connections and was turned down by several wrestling schools due to his size.

In late 1986, he got in contact with Bob Miller who owned the Mason-Dixon Gym in New Oxford, Pennsylvania.

Miller had recently started a local training facility out of the gym with National Wrestling Federation wrestler Damien Kane.

At the time, Livelsberger was earning minimum wage as a waiter but another restaurant employee agreed to co-sign a loan so he could pay the $1500 tuition.

One of their first students, he spent the next six months training under hard conditions.

The school did not have a wrestling ring and students had to work on a cement floor.

In July 1987, Livelsberger was one of several students featured in a story on the school by the Hanover Evening Sun.

Livelsberger made his pro debut on August 22, 1987, against Larry Winters in front of around 2,500 fans for a Mason-Dixon show at Heiges Field House.

He was accompanied by Darren Wyse as his manager.

Miller started running shows under the Mason-Dixon Sports / Atlantic Wrestling Federation banner and within two months Livelsberger was working as the group's booker.

After a handful of shows, Miller closed down the gym and Livelsberger took over the AWF in early 1988.

Ed Zohn was brought on as a partner and later served as the on-screen AWF President.

Livelsberger also opened his own wrestling school, initially out of a garage in his hometown of Hanover and later in York, Pennsylvania.

Using a mix of established Mid-Atlantic talent and his wrestling students, Livelsberger promoted regular events at the Hanover State Armory.

In addition to wrestling, his students also set up the ring, put up posters and sold tickets for AWF events.

In April 1988, Livelsberger defeated Sweet Daddy Falcone in a tournament final to become the promotion's first heavyweight champion.

During his rookie year, Thrasher was contacted by Jim Crockett Promotions to work as a preliminary wrestler.

Thrasher made his JCP debut against Brad Armstrong at the Baltimore Civic Center on June 11, 1988.

He subsequently wrestled Blackjack Mulligan, Jimmy Valiant and The Rock 'n' Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson) at house shows in North Carolina.

His appearances for the promotion stopped after then booker Dusty Rhodes was fired by Turner Broadcasting in November 1988.

He spent much of his early career on the local independent circuit wrestling as "The Bounty Hunter" but began using the ring name Max Thrasher to separate himself from other wrestlers using the name at the time, particularly the masked wrestler who appeared on World Championship Wrestling television during 1989.

The following year, Thrasher feuded over the AWF Heavyweight Championship with Bam Bam Bigelow.

For their first match in York, AWF President Ed Zohn brought in Don Muraco as a special referee.

Wrestling journalist Bill Apter, who was travelling with Bigelow at the time, was present for their match in Elkins, West Virginia.

He emerged as a top heel performer in the Mid-Atlantic U.S. during the 1990s and wrestled for several prominent independent promotions: the National Wrestling Federation, National Wrestling League, Trans World Wrestling Federation, Tri-State Wrestling Alliance and Maryland Championship Wrestling.

He has also wrestled overseas in Greece, Guam, the Philippines and Japan.