Al Snow is a professional wrestling legend. Al wrestled his first match in 1982 at 18 years old and has been involved in the wrestling industry ever since. The Lima, Ohio native was able to reach the pinnacle of sports entertainment by becoming a WWE Superstar.
Al established a great reputation early on in his career as one of the best trainers in the industry. This led to an opportunity to be the head trainer for four seasons on MTV’s WWE reality TV series, ‘Tough Enough.’ Al was also the head trainer at OVW during our time as an official Developmental Territory of the WWE.
After departing from the WWE in 2008, Al went on to work for TNA (Impact) Wrestling for nearly a decade and held various roles with the company. When the in-ring wrestling ended for Al, he knew he wasn’t ready to leave the industry.
In June of 2018, Al purchased OVW from founder and wrestling legend Danny Davis and began the process of rebuilding the company back to prominence in the world of professional wrestling.
Although he’s no longer active in the ring, Al is just as passionate about wrestling with the focus on developing future stars in the industry.
Doug Basham is a former 2-Time WWE World Tag Team Champion that got his start right here at OVW. He was the first student of OVW when his uncle, “Nightmare” Danny Davis opened the school in 1993. “The Machine” was one of the first featured stars on OVW’s Television Program alongside Nick Dinsmore, Rob Conway, Damaja, Flash Flanagan, and more. Doug currently teaches the OVW Academy’s Advanced Class and oversees the OVW Academy’s Residency Program.
Jay DeNiro comes to OVW from Green Bay, Wisconsin with 25 years of wrestling experience. As a coach for the incoming beginners at the OVW Academy, DeNiro shares “the right way” to start in professional wrestling. He works with each student to instill proper footwork, body control, timing, and demonstration of intent during the beginner’s class. This firm foundation sets up each attendee of the OVW Academy with the tools needed to ensure safety as they begin their career path as a professional wrestler.
In the wrestling world, he is known as ECW’s Super Nova, Nova, Hollywood Nova, The Leader of the Jersey Shore Crew at OVW, and Simon Dean in the WWE. In the business world, he’s Mike Bucci. After an impressive career as a professional wrestler, this ECW Original and former WWE Talent Development Manager has made a name for himself in the industry of finance. Even at an early stage in his career, he recognized the unique financial struggles that professional wrestlers face. His work in the banking industry has helped him create a Financial Management course that helps aspiring professional wrestlers create a plan for future financial success.
Bio Coming Soon!
“Cornbred” Bryan Roof began his career at OVW in 2004, winning over audiences with his overalls-clad hillbilly antics and bluegrass banjo dancing. While his in-ring performances brought smiles to many faces, it was his talents as a camera operator that gave Cornbred his greatest successes in professional wrestling. His resume of production roles includes paid work with nearly every major wrestling company in the United States. Working at ringside and backstage with some of the greatest talents and minds in professional wrestling, Cornbred learned to use a camera lens to capture and tell stories to audiences around the world. These experiences and techniques are passed down to OVW Academy students to instill a respect for the professionals who work behind the scenes to make professional wrestling television programs come to life.
Kharn Alexander started his career in professional wrestling at OVW in 2006. After many years as a part of the OVW Roster, Kharn took a hiatus from professional wrestling to explore an acting career. Kharn procured his Bachelors in Fine Arts in Acting from Ball State University and his Masters in Fine Arts in Theatre Performance from the University of Southern Mississippi. He has played numerous roles both on stage and on screen. Kharn combines his learnings from wrestling with his acting experience to teach the OVW Academy’s On Camera Presentation class. Kharn’s approach to teaching helps his students gain confidence in public speaking and creating entertaining characters to tell compelling stories through the medium of professional wrestling.
Bio Coming Soon!
Josh Patterson is an award-winning sports journalist. With over two decades as a writer and a decade as a professional wrestling referee, Josh is able to bridge the gap between the writing world and the wrestling world. He has worked for the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, Northeast Indiana’s largest newspaper, since 2016 covering a variety of sports, most notably football, soccer, baseball and hockey. Patterson currently teaches the OVW Academy’s Basic English and Writing course, where students learn how to use the written language to advance their careers in professional wrestling.
