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Thursday, February 16, 2012

Black History Month: MVP

MVP (WWE)
By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger on Twitter

I had planned on writing about Montel Vontavious Porter at some point this month, but feel even more compelled to do so now after hearing him on the Art of Wrestling podcast with Colt Cabana. MVP we all know is a talented wrestler, but he's got quite a back story.  I would highly recommend listening to this podcast and learning more about his life story.

MVP grew up just outside Miami.  He admits that his life was rough from the start.  He grew up poor.  MVP's mother worked two jobs and went to school to try to make life better for her family.  He goes into great detail describing his teenage years, committing some pretty horrendous crimes.  Unlike many of friends from back then, MVP is still alive to tell his story.

He spent time in juvenile detention and prison as well.  He used those experiences to become a major player in the world of wrestling.  MVP worked his way up through the indies before finally making it into the WWE.

Love that entrance
His character was originally a pompous, egomaniac.  I loved it.  The character was great from his work in the ring, on the mic, even his entrance. I even made his Playmaker my finishing move on my custom wrestler on Raw vs. SmackDown! for the Wii.  MVP had some memorable feuds in the WWE, including Matt Hardy and Chris Benoit.  In fact, the two wrestled several times for the U.S. title, including at Wrestlemania 23.  Benoit eventually dropped the title and MVP was a legit star.

I wasn't a big fan of his face turn, as I felt like the character was best suited as a heel.  I loved his VIP Lounge as well.  He sites this particular one as his favorite.  They ripped their scripts up before going out to shoot the segment.  Kudos to them.  The two went on to wrestle that year at the Royal Rumble.



MVP in New Japan
MVP asked for his release from the WWE more than a year ago.  He followed his passion and headed to Japan.  He's having success over there and I wish him nothing but the best in his career.  Hopefully one day he'll make it back to the WWE, as I feel like his life story could be one young people in this country could learn from.  Thanks to him for being so open and honest about his life and the mistakes he made.

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