Zach Gowen Zachary " Zach " Mark Gowen ( March 30 , 1983 ) is an American professional wrestler . Gowen has competed for World Wrestling Entertainment and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling . Gowen ' s left leg was amputated when he was eight years old . He was the only one - legged competitor in professional wrestling before former US Army veteran Chris Melendez became a wrestler . Early life . Gowen was diagnosed with cancer as a child , and as a result lost his left leg due to amputation at the age of eight . He was a fan of professional wrestling from a young age , and cites Shawn Michaels and Rey Mysterio as two of his favorite wrestlers . Professional wrestling career . Early career . After being trained by Truth Martini , Gowen made his professional wrestling debut on March 16 , 2002 , in a loss to Martini . While training Gowen made the decision to wrestle without his prostethetic leg as he found it difficult to wrestle with the " dead weight " . Gowen won his first title on August 17 when he teamed with Kamikaze to win the IWR Tag Team Championship but would lose them back Anthony Rivera & Truth Martini the next day . Gowen first gained national exposure wrestling for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling during early 2003 under the name Tenacious Z , but soon left TNA , after signing a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment ( WWE ) . World Wrestling Entertainment ( 2003 – 2004 ) . He made his World Wrestling Entertainment debut on the May 15 , 2003 episode of " SmackDown ! " as a planted fan in the audience , who attempted to help Mr . America when he was being attacked by Roddy Piper and Sean O ' Haire . During the segment , Piper pulled off Gowen ' s prosthetic leg . This began a short collaboration of Gowen and Mr . America , and a feud pitting the two against Roddy Piper and Sean O ' Haire . This storyline culminated at the Judgment Day pay - per - view when Mr . America , accompanied by Gowen , defeated Piper , who was accompanied by O ' Haire . Gowen ' s partnership with Mr . America put him on bad terms with Mr . McMahon , as McMahon was convinced Mr . America was Hulk Hogan in disguise . On the June 26 episode of " SmackDown ! " , McMahon told Gowen that if he would join his " Kiss My Ass Club " , he would be awarded a WWE contract . Instead Gowen attacked McMahon . As a result , Gowen and Stephanie McMahon were put in a match against The Big Show , in what McMahon billed as the first " " real " " handicap match ( referring to Gowen and his amputee status in addition to the two vs . one parameters of the match ) . With help from both Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar , Gowen and Stephanie McMahon defeated the Big Show , winning Gowen a contract . Gowen ' s win further fueled the ill - feelings toward him from Mr . McMahon . This feud culminated in a one - on - one match between the two at Vengeance in which McMahon defeated Gowen . Gowen then lost several singles matches to wrestlers including Shannon Moore , Nunzio , and John Cena , with Gowen being attacked by Matt Hardy , Moore ' s mentor , following each loss . The storyline was cut short on the August 21 episode of " SmackDown " , when Gowen defeated Brock Lesnar by disqualification after Lesnar broke Gowen ' s leg in storyline . The following week , Lesnar threw Gowen down a flight of stairs . Gowen was absent from television for nearly a month , returning in an interview on the October 2 episode of " SmackDown " promoting his in - ring return for the following week . In his in - ring return , Gowen lost to Moore following interference from Hardy , reigniting their feud . As a result , Gowen and Hardy faced off in a singles match at the No Mercy pay - per - view , which Gowen won . On the October 23 episode of " SmackDown " , Gowen lost to Tajiri in a singles match , and afterward was attacked by two of Tajiri ' s associates and was legitimately knocked unconscious . Gowen did not return to WWE television due to suffering an injury , and was later released from his WWE contract on February 4 , 2004 . Independent circuit ( 2004 – present ) . Following his release from WWE , Gowen decided to focus on his education and work limited professional wrestling dates . Gowen returned to the independent circuit on February 13 , 2004 where he lost of triple threat match to Chris Sabin which also included Jimmy Jacobs . He appeared for several independent promotions , including Independent Wrestling Association Mid - South ( IWA Mid - South ) where he played the character of an egotistcal heel ( villain ) . Gowen was part of the Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup in 2004 . He also wrestled in Canada for the first time in 2004 for Border City Wrestling . On September 24 , 2005 , Gowen defeated Truth Martini for the IWR King Of The Indies Championship but would lose it back to him only 35 days later . In June 2006 , for AAW : Professional Wrestling Redefined , Gowen and Jimmy Jacobs participated in a tag team tournament and made the finals before losing to Dan Lawrence and Ryan Boz . On June 14 , Gowen won Twin Wrestling Entertainment ' s Nacho Cup . In February 2007 , Gowen won the CAPW Junior Heavyweight Championship and lost it in May to Super Hentai . In All American Wrestling , he is also a part of the " Michigan Invasion " heel stable ( along with fellow Michigan wrestlers Truth Martini , " Amazing " N8 Mattson , Eddie Venom and Brian Gorie ) . On April 14 , 2007 , Gowen and his mystery partner Krotch defeated " " Michigan Invasion " " members Truth Martini and " Amazing " N8 Mattson to become new AAW Tag Team Champions . They then lost the championship to Trik Davis and Conrad Kennedy III in a four - way elimination match on June 16 , 2007 . Starting on September 19 , Gowen made his first tour of Japan with All Japan Pro Wrestling which ended on November 18 . Gowen debuted for Xtreme Intense Championship Wrestling in 2008 and would eventually become the XICW Light Heavyweight Champion on February 22 , 2009 . A week later he also won the 3XWrestling Heavyweight Championship but lost it on the same night to the former champion Casanova . Gowen got to the semi final of the Malcolm Monroe Memorial Tournament 2009 but lost to Necro Butcher . In mid - 2012 Gowen debuted in Cleveland - based Prime Wrestling teaming with another handicapped wrestler , Gregory Iron . They would face off against The Dead Wrestling Society ( Krimson and Kirst ) for the Prime Wrestling Tag Team Championships , but would be unsuccessful as the match would end as a no contest after Iron was powerbombed by Kirst on his head , knocking him out . At the next Prime TV taping he wrestled Kirst but lost after Iron attacked Kirst . After the match , Gowen turned on Iron and joined forces with the Sons of Michigan . At Prime Wrestling ' s 5th Annual Wrestlelution internet pay - per - view , Gowen would take on Gregory Iron with the Sons Of Michigan at his side . Gowen though , would be defeated by Iron . After the match , Gowen turn on N8 Mattson , re - aligning himself with Iron . Continuing on as a tag team in Prime Wrestling , Gowen and Iron would call themselves " The Handicapped Handguns " . The two would defeat The Dead Wrestling Society in January 2013 to become the Prime Tag Team Champions . In March , both Gowen and Iron came to an agreement to change their tag team name to the " Handicapped Heroes " mainly due to the amount of school shootings that occurred earlier in the year for they did not want to promote any form of violence . The next month , Gowen would be kicked - out of a show in the famous Agora Theatre and Ballroom by Prime Wrestling Commissioner , Vic Travagliante . This would leave Iron to defend the tag titles on his own , allowing him to be defeated by The Brotherhood of Mushtachioed Brawlers . Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ( 2005 - 2006 ) . Gowen returned to TNA on May 15 , 2005 at their Hard Justice pay - per - view event , as the second entrant in the 20 - Man Gauntlet for the Gold match . He lasted just under five minutes in the ring before being eliminated by Shark Boy . The next month , Gowen wrestled at the Slammiversary pay - per - view , losing in a six way match . He also appeared on " TNA Impact ! " , wrestling Mikey Batts to a no contest before leaving the promotion once again later that year . In October 2006 , at Bound For Glory , Gowen returned to TNA during the Kevin Nash X - Division Open Battle Royal Gauntlet match as the sixth entrant , but was eliminated by Johnny Devine . Ring of Honor ( 2006 , 2008 , 2010 ) . Gowen made his Ring of Honor ( ROH ) debut on October 7 , 2006 , losing to Delirious in a singles match . Gowen would later return to ROH on February 22 , 2008 in Deer Park , New York , immediately aligning himself with The Age of the Fall . On November 12 , 2010 , he appeared at an ROH show in Detroit , where he was announced as the newest member of Truth Martini ' s House of Truth faction . He teamed with ROH World Champion Roderick Strong and Michael Elgin in a loss to the Briscoe Brothers and Christopher Daniels . After a tag team loss to Grizzly Redwood and Bobby Dempsey at the following day ' s event in Toronto , Elgin and Martini turned on Gowen and kicked him out of the House of Truth . Juggalo Championship Wrestling ( 2007 – 2008 ; 2011 – present ) . Gowen debuted in Juggalo Championship Wrestling as a part of their 2007 internet wrestling show SlamTV ! . Initially a villain , his hard work ethic and wrestling abilities earned him the respect of the juggalo audience , per storyline . Following a failed attempt to win the JCW Heavyweight Championship from then - champion Trent Acid , Gowen formed the tag team Pimp & Gimp Connection with Human Tornado . The team made an immediate impact and earned themselves a spot in the 8 Team Tag - Team Elimination match for the JCW Tag Team Championship at Bloodymania . They failed to capture the championship after Gowen was eliminated by Doug Basham . In the following season , Zach formed a tag team with Conrad Kennedy to compete in the JCW Tag Team Tournament for the vacant championship . Tornado , though , saw villainous manager Scott D ' Amore leaving Kennedy ' s dressing room and grew suspicious . Two weeks later , Kennedy attacked Gowen after the team lost their match against The Bloody Brothers . Human Tornado ran into the ring to save Gowen , forcing Kennedy to retreat to the stage , where Scott D ' Amore met with him . The following week , a match was set for Bloodymania II between Pimp & Gimp Connection and Conrad Kennedy with a mystery partner . The match , however , was scrapped after Gowen legitimately no - showed the event . Zach returned to the company on March 23 , 2011 , where he defeated Jimmy Jacobs . He formed a tag team at Up in Smoke with U - Gene , who believed that he could be Gowen ' s second leg . Though U - Gene cost his team the match by distracting the referee , Gowen forgave him and announced that the team would wrestle again at the next event . On July 28 , Gowen and U - Gene defeated the Ring Rydas to win the JCW Tag Team Championship . However , Gowen forfeited the championship after realizing that U - Gene cheated to win , causing U - Gene to attack him and disband the team . Both men wrestled each other at Bloodymania 5 , with Gowen emerging victorious after U - Gene was caught cheating again . Personal life . Gowen attended Eastern Michigan University where he studied Secondary Education and Mathematics .