Mike Quackenbush Michael " Mike " Spillane ( March 18 , 1976 ) , is an American author , podcaster , professional wrestling trainer , and semi - retired professional wrestler , better known by his ring name Mike Quackenbush . He is the host of " The Grizzly Bear Egg Cafe , " " CHIKARA Podcast - A - Go - Go , " and " Deep Blue Something " podcasts . He is the former host of the podcasts " The Trending Show " and " Daddy on Board " , both of which are now defunct . He has written seven books including the two memoirs " Headquarters ( 2001 ) " and " Secret Identity : Essays From Both My Lives ( 2004 ) " . Both memoirs were re - released as e - books for the Kindle in May 2010 . From 1998 to 2008 , Quackenbush penned a regular column entitled ' From Bell To Bell ' for " The Wrestler " magazine and ' The International Report ' for Pro Wrestling Illustrated , among other publishing credits . Quackenbush is the founder of both The Wrestle Factory and Chikara . In wrestling , he is a former NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion and one half of the Chikara Campeones de Parejas with Jigsaw . Quackenbush is best known as the patriarch of the Chikara family and for his work on the independent wrestling circuit , the latter of which has spanned 20 years . In 2016 , Sports Illustrated ranked him number 78 on their Top 101 Wrestlers of All Time list . Professional wrestling career . Early career . Quackenbush began taking bookings for multiple local independent companies , including PCW and SCW in late 1998 . Growing up , Quackenbush idolized Japanese professional wrestler Jushin Thunder Liger and adopted the nickname " Lightning " in tribute to him . Entering the business untrained , Quackenbush received training from wrestler Ace Darling , who took Quackenbush in as his protege . In 1999 , he was ranked # 128 by Pro Wrestling Illustrated in the annual PWI 500 as well as being named the June Flavour of the Month by the publication . Quackenbush eventually befriended independent wrestlers Reckless Youth and Don Montoya . They began teaming together as a trio , dubbed The Black T - Shirt Squad ( abbreviated to The BTS ) , due to all three wearing black t - shirts in their wrestling attire , by fellow wrestlers , which eventually was used as their ring name . Quackenbush started taking most bookings with his fellow stablemates opposed to performing as a singles wrestler . Combat Zone Wrestling ( 1999 , 2004 – 2005 ) . Quackenbush first appeared in Combat Zone Wrestling ( CZW ) on June 19 , 1999 , at " Down In Flames " , where he defeated Reckless Youth and Ric Blade in the opening three - way dance . On May 14 , 2005 , he won CZW ' s " Best of the Best 5 " elimination tournament in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania after defeating Arik Cannon , Claudio Castagnoli , B - Boy , Kevin Steen and Super Dragon . He also held the CZW World Junior Heavyweight Championship twice . Chikara ( 2002 – present ) . Quackenbush founded a professional wrestling school branded " The Wrestle Factory " in January 2002 along with Reckless Youth , where both men were appointed as head trainers for the school . They opened the promotion Chikara in May of the same year . At the inaugural show on May 25 , 2002 , Quackenbush teamed with fellow BTS stablemates Reckless Youth and Don Montoya in a match , where they defeated the Gold Bond Mafia ( CM Punk , Colt Cabana and Chris Hero ) . On the last show of 2002 Quackenbush finished his first feud in Chikara , by pinning Mitch Ryder . The following year Quackenbush formed the SuperFriends tag team with Chris Hero and went the whole year undefeated . In 2004 Quackenbush teamed up with Team F . I . S . T . ( Icarus and Gran Akuma ) and started a feud with the Toxic Trio ( Eddie Kingston , BlackJack Marciano and Jigsaw ) . The two teams faced each other on May 22 , 2004 , at " Aniversario 3 : Dodging the Sophomore Jinx " , where Quackenbush and F . I . S . T . were victorious and as per stipulation of the match , Kingston and Marciano were shaved bald . In the spring of 2004 Quackenbush started disappearing from Chikara shows , just as Larry Sweeney ' s Sweet ' n ' Sour International rose to prominence . He returned on October 30 during the first annual " torneo cibernetico " match at " The Cibernetico Cometh " under a mask and the ringname Spyrazul as a member of the Sweet ' n ' Sour International . However , at the end of the match Spyrazul attacked his own team mates , removed his mask and walked out on Sweeney , who ended up being pinned by Jigsaw to end the match . In March 2005 the Chikara Wrestle Factory assumed control of the Combat Zone Wrestling wrestling school . Quackenbush served as head trainer of the joint facility for the two year duration , until the schools separated in March 2007 . Quackenbush re - formed his SuperFriends tag team with Chris Hero and together the two of them entered the 2005 Tag World Grand Prix . They would make it to the finals of the tournament , where they were defeated by " AC / CC " ( Arik Cannon and Claudio Castagnoli ) , after Hero turned on Quackenbush . Together Hero , Castagnoli and Cannon would form the highly successful stable and later tag team The Kings of Wrestling , with whom Quackenbush , Reckless Youth and Jigsaw would feud with the rest of the year . In late 2005 Quackenbush suffered a career - threatening back injury . He would make his in - ring return on March 18 , 2006 , at a westside Xtreme wrestling event , where he defeated Ares for the wXw World Heavyweight Championship . In his Chikara return on March 31 , he would drop the title back to Ares . He then recruited Jigsaw and Shane Storm to help him battle the Kings of Wrestling , who had replaced Arik Cannon with Quackenbush ' s former partners Team F . I . S . T . Quackenbush set his sights on Chris Hero and defeated Gran Akuma and Icarus with his new finishing maneuver Quackendriver III . At the conclusion of the year Quackenbush , Storm and Jigsaw saved Claudio Castagnoli from a beatdown at the hands of his Kings of Wrestling partners . 2007 started with Quackenbush , Jigsaw and Storm defeating Team Canada ( Jagged , Shane Matthews and Max Boyer ) , Team TNA ( Alex Shelley , Chris Sabin and Sonjay Dutt ) , Team Mucha Lucha ( Lince Dorado , El Pantera and Sicodelico , Jr . ) and finally Miyawaki , Yoshiaki Yago and Kudo to win the inaugural King of Trios tournament . The following month on March 25 Claudio Castagnoli defeated Quackenbush to win the right to represent Chikara in the first ever King of Europe Cup . That same month " Chikara Podcast – A – Go – Go " was launched . The weekly video podcast debuts a new episode every Monday night and is available through iTunes , YouTube and other online outlets . On April 22 , 2007 , Quackenbush refereed a match between former partners Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli and counted the pinfall that forced Castagnoli to re - join the Kings of Wrestling . The following month Quackenbush faced Hero in a match two years in the making and defeated him after debuting a new submission maneuver , the Chikara Special . Following the match , Quackenbush announced that since he knew Hero would never be able to break the Chikara Special , he would teach it and the counter to it to every " tecnico " wrestler on the Chikara roster . However , to Quackenbush ' s amazement it did not take long for Hero to break the hold and apply it himself in a match against Equinox . In order to find out who leaked the move , Quackenbush sent Tim Donst to infiltrate the " rudo " stable the Order of the Neo - Solar Temple , led by UltraMantis Black . Meanwhile , Quackenbush and Shane Storm gained three straight victories , which would give them the right to challenge for the Chikara Campeonatos de Parejas ( Tag Team Championship ) , but on June 14 , 2008 , Donst returned from his assignment and informed Quackenbush that his partner Shane Storm had been the one who leaked the move to UltraMantis Black , who in turn taught it to Hero . Quackenbush attacked Storm , who would find new partners in Vin Gerard and Colin Delaney , while renaming himself Stigma . On September 7 , 2008 , Jigsaw , who had unmasked himself while in Ring of Honor , returned to Chikara and saved Quackenbush and Donst from the UnStable . Quackenbush returned the favor the following month , but refused to re - form the team with Jigsaw until he put his mask back on . On December 14 at the season seven finale Quackenbush and Jigsaw , under a mask , defeated Stigma and Delaney in a tag team match . In early 2009 Quackenbush and Jigsaw gained three points , but were unable to defeat the Campeones de Parejas The Osirian Portal ( Amasis and Ophidian ) on April 25 . After May ' s anniversary shows Quackenbush decided to take some time off from in - ring competition in order to heal his injured back . In 2010 Quackenbush became embroiled in a feud with Bruderschaft des Kreuzes ( BDK ) , who had formed on the final show of 2009 and were threatening to take over Chikara , with its members quickly winning the Young Lions Cup , Campeonatos de Parejas and King of Trios , while also having one of its members as the Chikara Director of Fun . After UltraMantis Black declared that " rudos " and " tecnicos " would have to come together in order to stop BDK , Quackenbush announced on August 11 that he would join his seven man team facing BDK in the annual " torneo cibernetico " match on October 23 . After defeating The Young Bucks ( Matt and Nick Jackson ) and BDK members Lince Dorado and Pinkie Sanchez , Quackenbush and Jigsaw were looking to get a shot at BDK ' s Claudio Castagnoli and Ares and their Campeonatos de Parejas . However , on August 27 Quackenbush and Jigsaw failed in their attempt at getting a third point by losing to BDK members Daizee Haze and Sara Del Rey , after some shady officiating from the stable ' s own referee Derek Sabato . The following day Quackenbush and Jigsaw restarted their march towards three points by defeating the House of Truth ( Josh Raymond and Christian Abel ) . On September 18 they picked up their second point by defeating BDK ' s Lince Dorado and Tim Donst . On October 23 Quackenbush represented Chikara in the " torneo cibernetico " match , where the company ' s originals faced BDK . He managed to eliminate Tim Donst from the match after countering his Inverted Chikara Special into the original Chikara Special , but was immediately afterwards eliminated himself by BDK ' s Claudio Castagnoli . The following day Quackenbush and Jigsaw once again failed in their attempt at getting their third point in a match against BDK members Pinkie Sanchez and Tursas . This failure led to Quackenbush ' s and Jigsaw ' s former partner Stigma reminding them that he and Quackenbush still had the three points they had earned two and a half years earlier , but Quackenbush made it clear that he wanted to win the " Campeonatos de Parejas " with Jigsaw , not Stigma . On November 22 Quackenbush and Jigsaw competed in a four – way elimination match with Sara Del Rey and Daizee Haze , The Osirian Portal and F . I . S . T . ( Icarus and Chuck Taylor ) and after eliminating all three teams , finally earned the three points needed in order to challenge for the " Campeonatos de Parejas " . On December 12 , 2010 , at the season nine finale " Reality is Relative " Quackenbush and Jigsaw cashed in their points and defeated Ares and Castagnoli two falls to one to win the Campeonatos de Parejas for the first time . Quackenbush and Jigsaw made their first successful defense of the title on February 19 , 2011 , defeating The Batiri ( Obariyon and Kodama ) . For the 2011 King of Trios , Quackenbush and Jigsaw formed a trio with Japanese " joshi " legend Manami Toyota , who had made her Chikara debut alongside Quackenbush the previous September , and on April 15 defeated Amazing Red , Joel Maximo and Wil Maximo in their first round match . The following day , the trio was eliminated from the tournament in the quarterfinal stage by Team Michinoku Pro ( Dick Togo , Great Sasuke and Jinsei Shinzaki ) . On September 18 , Quackenbush and Jigsaw lost the Campeonatos de Parejas to F . I . S . T . ( Chuck Taylor and Johnny Gargano ) in their third defense . From May to October 2011 , Quackenbush took part in " " , a tournament used to determine the first ever Chikara Grand Champion . Quackenbush ended up winning his block of the tournament with a record of four wins and one loss to set up a final match with the winner of the other block , Eddie Kingston . On November 13 at Chikara ' s first internet pay - per - view , High Noon , Quackenbush was defeated by Kingston in a match to determine the first Chikara Grand Champion . Beginning on February 26 , 2012 , Quackenbush began feuding with the new Gekido stable of 17 , assailAnt , combatAnt , deviAnt and The Shard . assailAnt , combatAnt , deviAnt later revealed that they were former dropouts of the Chikara Wrestle Factory , while The Shard was a former training partner of Jigsaw and 17 revealed that he had modeled his career after Quackenbush ' s and claimed to be just as talented as him , but had never gotten recognized for it . The group announced that its intention was to expose Chikara ' s " dark underbelly " . On June 2 at Chikara ' s second internet pay - per - view , , Quackenbush , Eddie Kingston , Jigsaw , Green Ant and Soldier Ant defeated Gekido in a ten man tag team match , after which Quackenbush grabbed 17 ' s hand and broke his fingers , sidelining him for nine weeks . On August 18 , Quackenbush and 17 faced off in a tag team match , where Quackenbush and Jigsaw faced 17 and The Shard . Quackenbush lost the match , being disqualified for " excessive punishment " after hitting 17 with all four versions of his " Quackendriver " , ending 17 ' s Chikara career in the process . Following the match , Jigsaw confronted Quackenbush about his new mean streak . Quackenbush later explained that he no longer needed to control his temper and play by the rules to maintain an image , since at High Noon Eddie Kingston had taken over his role as the face of Chikara . On September 14 , Quackenbush entered the 2012 King of Trios , teaming with Jigsaw and Manami Toyota , just like the previous year . In their first round match , the trio defeated Gekido members combatAnt and deviAnt and Colony member Soldier Ant . After the match , Quackenbush continued his mean streak by attacking combatAnt , eliminating also him from Chikara . The following day , Quackenbush , Jigsaw and Toyota were eliminated from the tournament , after losing to Team Sendai Girls ( Dash Chisako , Meiko Satomura and Sendai Sachiko ) . On November 18 , Quackenbush set his sights on eliminating The Shard from Chikara , however , his attempt was stopped by Jigsaw , who superkick ed his former Campeones de Parejas partner and then left the arena with The Shard . On December 2 at Chikara ' s third iPPV , Under the Hood , Quackenbush represented Chikara in an eight man tag team match , where they were defeated by Gekido , led by Jigsaw . Afterwards , Quackenbush made peace with assailAnt , who turned " tecnico " and jumped from Gekido to Chikara . On April 6 , 2013 , Quackenbush teamed with his idol Jushin Thunder Liger to defeat Jigsaw and The Shard in a main event tag team match . Following the event , Quackenbush took a hiatus from in - ring action to heal a tibia fracture suffered during the match and wrist and rib injuries suffered earlier . Quackenbush later claimed that he had no plans to return to the ring . When Chikara returned from its one - year hiatus on May 25 , 2014 , with the You Only Live Twice iPPV , Quackenbush was revealed as the promotion ' s new Director of Fun . In May 2016 , Quackenbush announced he was coming out of his retirement to take on Johnny Kidd in Kidd ' s retirement match on May 28 . The match , contested in eight three - minute rounds , ended in a 1 – 1 draw . Quackenbush wrestled another match on December 3 , 2016 , losing to Drew Gulak in Gulak ' s Chikara farewell match . National Wrestling Alliance ( 2007 – 2010 ) . Quackenbush defeated Tiger Mask at the now defunct " Fight Sports Midwest " , to capture the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship on May 11 , 2007 . Throughout the match , Quackenbush unlaced and loosened Tiger Mask ' s mask , a major sign of disrespect amongst masked wrestlers . In the finish of the match Quackenbush completely pulled off his opponent ' s mask and used the distraction to pin him for the title . In a promo after the match , Quackenbush explained that he did everything to get the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship and that he was , in no way , proud of it . He said he viewed the belt as his ticket to Japan , as Japanese promotions had not booked him in any events . He has since defended the title in Chikara against the likes of Black Tiger and Akira Raijin . On November 6 , 2010 , Quackenbush lost the title to Craig Classic at Pro Wrestling Fusion ' s " November Coming Fire " pay - per - view , ending his reign at 1 , 275 days , the second longest reign in the title ' s history . Ring of Honor ( 2007 , 2008 , 2009 ) . On April 27 , 2007 , Quackenbush made his debut for Ring of Honor , at " The Battle of Saint Paul " . Throughout the remainder of the year , he made multiple appearances , several times teaming with Jigsaw . He has competed against the likes of Claudio Castagnoli , Matt Sydal and Bryan Danielson . Although he did compete in one six man tag team match at Ring of Honor ' s " Transform " show on January 12 , 2008 , he did not compete in ROH again till March 2009 when he wrestled , and lost to , Bryan Danielson and Jerry Lynn in singles matches on March 20 and March 21 , respectively . Independent Wrestling Association Mid - South ( 2007 ) . In September 2007 Quackenbush won the 2007 Ted Petty Invitational held by Independent Wrestling Association Mid - South by defeating Billy Roc , Joey Ryan and Josh Abercrombie on his way to the finals where he eliminated both Claudio Castagnoli and Chuck Taylor to win the tournament . Quackenbush also captured the IWA Mid - South Heavyweight Championship . Quackenbush made his debut in Japan for Michinoku Pro , defeating Shibaten in the village of Takazawa . He wrestled for the same company , the next night , defeating Rei . In a four way elimination match against Chris Hero , Eddie Kingston and Chuck Taylor , Quackenbush put his IWA Mid - South Heavyweight Championship and IWA Mid - South Light Heavyweight Championship on the line . Quackenbush was pinned by Chuck Taylor , thus capturing the IWA Mid - South Light Heavyweight Championship . Eddie Kingston then pinned Quackenbush , capturing the IWA Mid - South Heavyweight Championship . Dragon Gate USA ( 2009 – 2011 ) . On July 25 , 2009 , Quackenbush appeared on Dragon Gate USA ' s first pay - per - view Enter the Dragon in an eight man tag team Chikara showcase match , where Quackenbush , Jigsaw , Fire Ant and Soldier Ant defeated Gran Akuma , Icarus , Amasis and Hallowicked . Following the match Quackenbush started a promo , which was interrupted by Yamato , who low - blowed him . Jigsaw and Gran Akuma ran to make the save , but Akuma turned on his fellow Chikara wrestlers and assisted Yamato in assaulting Quackenbush and Jigsaw . On September 6 at the second PPV titled Untouchable Quackenbush and Jigsaw defeated Yamato and Akuma . On November 28 at the third PPV Freedom Fight Quackenbush entered the tournament to crown the first Open the Freedom Gate Champion , but was eliminated in the first round in a four - way match with Jorge Rivera , Super Crazy and the winner of the match , Cima . On January 23 , 2010 , at the fourth PPV , Fearless , Quackenbush and Jigsaw defeated Cima and Super Crazy in a tag team match . At the two following shows , " Open the Ultimate Gate " and " Mercury Rising " , on March 26 and 27 , Quackenbush and Jigsaw lost to Genki Horiguchi and Susumu Yokosuka and defeated The Young Bucks ( Matt and Nick Jackson ) in tag team matches . On May 7 at " Open the Northern Gate " Quackenbush and Jigsaw defeated Kamikaze USA representatives Gran Akuma and Akira Tozawa in a tag team match and were then assaulted by their team mates Yamato and Shingo . At the following day ' s tapings of the " Uprising " pay - per - view , Quackenbush and Jigsaw were defeated by the team of Naruki Doi and PAC . After the match Quackenbush challenged Yamato to a tag team match , before he and Jigsaw were once again jumped by the members of Kamikaze USA . On July 24 at the tapings of the " Enter the Dragon 2010 " pay – per – view , Quackenbush , Jigsaw and Hallowicked teamed up with the Open the Dream Gate Champion Masato Yoshino to defeat Kamikaze USA ' s Yamato , Gran Akuma , Akira Tozawa and Jon Moxley in an eight man elimination tag team match . On September 25 at " Untouchable 2010 " , Quackenbush competed in a three – way match , which was won by BxB Hulk and also included Akira Tozawa . The following day at " Way of the Ronin " , Quackenbush wrestled in a six – way match , which was won by Brodie Lee . On February 21 , 2011 , Dragon Gate USA announced that Quackenbush had decided to disband the Chikara Sekigun stable and take a leave of absence from the promotion in order to concentrate on defending his newly won " Campeonatos de Parejas " in Chikara . WWE ( 2016 ) . On February 8 , 2016 , Quackenbush began work for WWE as a guest trainer and coach at their Orlando , Florida - based Performance Center . His role expanded to include production consultation for WWE ' s developmental brand , NXT . Other promotions and endeavors . Quackenbush has toured Canada , Mexico and several European countries during his career . In 2004 , he briefly united six championships from three different countries ( USA , Mexico and Germany ) into the " I - Crown " . During his 2000 hiatus from wrestling , Quackenbush wrote his novel " Headquarters " , produced a direct – to – video project called " Crusaders " and hosted an improv comedy show and jousting tournament . He returned to the ring in April 2000 , after just two full months off . On December 11 , 2010 , Quackenbush wrestled his idol Jushin Thunder Liger at a Jersey All Pro Wrestling event . In the end , Liger defeated Quackenbush to retain his JAPW Light Heavyweight Championship . On February 2 , 2013 , at the inaugural National Pro Wrestling Day event , Quackenbush wrestled Colt Cabana on the afternoon show in a losing effort .