Ric Converse

Richard "Ric" Converse (born December 26, 1979) is an American professional wrestler.

He is one of the top "heels" on the Southeastern independent circuit, especially in the Carolinas, and currently competes for CWF Mid-Atlantic where he is a record 6-time CWF Mid-Atlantic Champion.

He has wrestled for a considerable number of other independent wrestling promotions, most notably, Count Grog's Southern Championship Wrestling, NWA Carolinas, and Pro Wrestling ZERO1-MAX.

In 1998, he graduated from Robert B. Glenn High School in Kernersville, North Carolina.

A victim of bullying as a child, Converse was inspired after watching Hulk Hogan on television and decided on a career as a professional wrestler when he was only 8-years-old.

On September 15, 1998, Converse enrolled at Ken Spence's School of Pro Wrestling and spent the next four months in training.

Converse made his professional debut on January 23, 1999, wrestling a tag team match with Mr. X against Dr. Feelgood and Double Trouble at Winston-Salem's VFW Hall.

He went on to wrestle for a number of local "indy" promotions during the first two years of his career: Alternative Championship Wrestling, Carolina Championship Wrestling Alliance, New Empire Wrestling, Ringside Championship Wrestling, Southern Wrestling Alliance, and the World Wrestling Alliance.

He also had a brief stint in Count Grog's Southern Championship Wrestling.

It was during this period that Converse developed a cocky "heel" in-ring persona, calling himself "Slick Ric" and "Slick Diddy", parodies of pro wrestler "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair and rapper P. Diddy respectively.

His first major feud was with the Lumbee Warrior.

Ten months into his rookie year he scored his first-ever victory by pinning the Warrior in July 1999.

The two men eventually formed a tag team together, "Sudden Impact", which led to his first title victory on March 17, 2001, with an ECPW Tag Team title victory alongside his erstwhile rival.

On September 7, 2001, he and Persephone teamed up a WWA show in Statesville, North Carolina, to defeat Mikael Yamaha and Amber Holly in a mixed tag team match.

The following summer, Converse had won the major single titles of three different promotions in a three-week period.

He was named "Performer of the Year" (2002) by the pro wrestling website IndyInsiders.com that same year.

Converse began wrestling for FWA-Carolinas, one of two US affiliates for the Frontier Wrestling Alliance, in early-2002 where he aligned himself with manager Brad Stutts' Hostile Youth Project (HYP) with GeeStar, Special K, and J.T. Sparxx.

He and GeeStar specifically feuded with Mikael Yamaha and Amber Holly, then FWA Women's World Champion, both in FWA-Carolinas and other promotions.

Their first match, on April 26, 2002, at Final Judgement in Graham, North Carolina, resulted in Converse pinning Yamaha after knocking him out with Holly's championship belt.

At Spring Showdown on May 11, they were joined by J.T. Sparxx for a 6-man tag team match against The Gemini Kid, Mikael Yamaha, and Amber Holly.

The match ended with a second victory for the HYP when Converse pinned Yamaha after Stutts hit his opponent with a briefcase.

Converse followed this up by winning the FWA-Carolinas Cruiserweight Championship from Sexton Tyler on July 20 at Payback.

A third and final mixed tag match took place at Explosive Elements on August 17, 2002, at A.L. Brown Middle School in Kannapolis, North Carolina, which saw Sexton Tyler, Mikael Yamaha, and Amber Holly defeat Corey Edsel, Ric Converse, and GeeStar.

The following year Converse appeared on the first episode of CWF Championship Wrestling where he lost his title to J-Money, ending his seven-month championship reign.

He subsequently entered the heavyweight division and spent the next few months feuding with FWA-Carolinas Heavyweight Champion Corey Edsel who had previously left the HYP months earlier.

The two finally met on August 9, 2003, in Wentworth, North Carolina.

Outside interference from Brad Stutts unintentionally caused Converse to lose the match.

Afterwards, Converse turned against Stutts and hit him with his finisher.

He was the last of the original HYPmembers to leave the group.

The Converse-Edsel feud continued throughout the year and, on December 27, 2003, Converse defeated Corey Edsel for the title at the FWA-Carolinas Anniversary Show.

On January 17, 2004, he teamed with Shane West and Garry Stevens in a losing effort to Corey Edsel, Bounty Hunter, and Rob McBride.

At the end of the month, Converse defeated both Edsel and ACW Heavyweight Champion Quinson Valentino to unify CWF and ACW titles.

Converse was one of the wrestlers Valentino thanked upon his retirement four years later.

Over the next four months, Converse successfully defended the title against Rob McBride, Bounty Hunter, Kid Justice, Trent Wylde, and Joey Silvia.

He also took part in tag team matches.

On March 6, he and Brad Rainz were beaten by Bounty Hunter and Otto Schwanz.

He also teamed with Shane West and Garry Stevens to beat Brass Munkey, American Steel Ninja, and Corey Edsel on April 17.

Converse was later awarded a new title belt by legendary announcer Bob Caudle which resembled the old NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship.

He was also a star in the short-lived AWA Superstars promotion holding both the promotion's world heavyweight title and tag team title (with Xsiris) during 2006 and 2007.

Converse was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.