Matt Wiese Matthew R . " Matt " Wiese ( September 22 , 1971 ) is an American actor and former professional wrestler . He is best known for his tenure in World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring name Luther Reigns , where he performed on its SmackDown brand . Early life . Wiese was born in Danville , Illinois before moving with his family and being raised in Hell ' s Kitchen , Manhattan . At age 16 , he left to fend for himself and became involved with criminals and gangs while living in the ghetto . At age 19 , he was involved in a fight with a gang member before he was shot , stabbed , and had his throat slit . A few years later , he was arrested for committing aggravated assault on a police officer before being subsequently sentenced to five years in jail . Upon his release , he became an assistant manager for a McDonald ' s in Hell ' s Kitchen and after five years in the position , a friend recommened that he try out for the Power Plant , World Championship Wrestling ' s professional wrestling school . Professional Wrestling Career . World Championship Wrestling ( 1997 - 1998 ) . Upon completing his training in the Power Plant , Wiese started his wrestling career as an enhancement talent in World Championship Wrestling in 1997 using the ring name Horshu . To complement the name , his hair was shaved into a horseshoe pattern and he would try to work the word " shu " into his promos , which most notably spawned his catchphrase " There ' s no business like ' shu ' business , baby ! " . He was also among six wrestlers who " auditioned " for an anti - New World Order faction called Piper ' s Family on the March 3 , 1997 episode of Monday Nitro , spearheaded by " Rowdy " Roddy Piper . After being tested in 30 - second impromptu match with Piper , Wiese was quickly defeated via sleeper hold after attempting to use dirty tactics to defeat Piper . The idea of this faction was quietly dropped by WCW . AWA Superstars of Wrestling ( 1999 - 2003 ) . After his stint in WCW , Wiese made his way Ultimate Pro Wrestling for more training . After his finishing up in UPW , Wiese debuted in AWA Superstars of Wrestling under his Horshu ring name . During his time there , he won the World Heavyweight Championship and held the title for a total of nine months . However , he was stripped of the title due to missing mandatory title defenses . Horshu left the promotion shortly afterwards . After an interview with Vince McMahon , he received a developmental contract from World Wrestling Entertainment in June 2003 . He soon signed on and was sent to wrestle in Ohio Valley Wrestling , WWE ' s then - developmental territory , where he competed under the ring name Inspector Max Impact . World Wrestling Entertainment ( 2004 - 2006 ) . After a few non - televised matches before Raw in 2003 in 2004 , Wiese was promoted to World Wrestling Entertainment ' s main roster in April 2004 under the name Luther Reigns , where he became the " assistant " to then - SmackDown ! general manager Kurt Angle . Reigns later made his in - ring debut as a heel at The Great American Bash by defeating Charlie Haas , a former member of Kurt Angle ' s team , with whom Angle was feuding at the time . In September , Reigns and Angle introduced the newly drafted Mark Jindrak as a new member of their team during their tag team match against Big Show and Eddie Guerrero , which subsequently led to Jindrak entering the ring and attacking Big Show alongside Angle and Reigns and then shaving his head bald . This led to a four - month feud with Big Show . Reigns and Jindrak then formed a new Team Angle with Angle as the leader . From September 2004 until mid - February 2005 , Reigns and Jindrak helped Angle win most of his matches as well as dealing with his enemies . Reigns and Jindrak also began to compete for the Tag Team Championship on occasion . However , the faction split in mid - February as Reigns and Jindrak went off on their own to feud with The Undertaker . On the February 17 episode of SmackDown ! , Undertaker defeated Jindrak , after which Reigns smashed a television camera over Undertaker ' s head . On February 20 , Wiese wrestled against The Undertaker at No Way Out . Jindrak was thrown out before the match started and although Reigns managed to hold his own , Undertaker ultimately won the match . Following this , the team of Reigns and Jindrak began to have a falling out . Reigns became upset at Jindrak for tapping out in a " Double Jeopardy " handicap match against the Undertaker on the February 24 edition of SmackDown ! when Reigns refused to tag in . After the match , Reigns and Jindrak briefly argued before coming to blows , and had to be pulled apart by officials . The following week on the March 3 edition of SmackDown ! , Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio defeated Jindrak and Reigns to retain the Tag Team Championship . After the match , Jindrak tried to help Reigns up to his feet after he was pinned , but Reigns smacked Jindrak in response . The two argued until Jindrak knocked Reigns out with a left hook , leading to Jindrak turn face . On the March 10 edition of SmackDown ! , Jindrak and Reigns competed in a singles match , which ended with Jindrak pinning Reigns after a left hook , effectively ending their team . Reigns later took part in a 30 - man interpromotional battle royal at WrestleMania 21 as a representative of the SmackDown ! brand , but was unable to win as fellow SmackDown ! superstar Booker T would go on to win the match . After this , Reigns resumed his feud with Big Show after saying that Big Show embarrassed the SmackDown ! brand at WrestleMania 21 when Show lost to Akebono in a sumo match . Reigns unsuccessfully tried to tip over a Jeep to prove he was stronger than Show , who then successfully tipped the Jeep over . Big Show subsequently defeated Reigns in a singles match on the following edition of SmackDown ! . Reigns then wrestled mainly on Velocity , winning the majority of his matches until he requested his release from the company , which was fulfilled on May 11 , 2005 . According to Wiese , the reason he requested his release was due to creative differences with Paul Heyman , as Heyman originally planned to have him and René Duprée moved to Raw to perform as a tag team . Wiese instead wished to form a stable with Christian and Tyson Tomko with Christian as the leader of the stable . However , Heyman repeatedly dismissed the idea and Wiese instead negotiated his release . Retirement ( 2005 - 2006 ) . Following his departure from WWE , Wiese attempted to become a real estate salesman , but his plans ultimately fell through . Instead , Wiese returned to wrestling under his Horshu ring name and returned to Ultimate Pro Wrestling in mid - 2005 to face Tom Howard for the UPW Heavyweight Championship , but was unable to win the title . On October 13 , Horshu lost to The Patriot in a match for Impact Zone Wrestling . Before returning to wrestling on June 17 and defeating Sheik Hussein in an impromptu match in his debut for Scott Norton ' s Wild West Championship Wrestling . He returned to WWCW on September 16 , where he wrestled Aaron Aguilera to a no contest after Norton interfered . Later on in the night , Horshu teamed with Heidenreich in a losing effort to Norton and Aguilera in what turned out to be Wiese ' s final match Personal life . In early 2006 , he began working as a bodyguard , most notably for the AVN pornography convention in Las Vegas . On April 19 , 2010 , it was reported that Wiese had suffered a stroke in December 2009 . Weise stated that he believed his steroid use , which began during his time at Arizona State University , and the painkiller addiction he developed from wrestling were contributing factors to the cause of the stroke . Wiese stated that the stroke " had to happen " and that it " was a gift from God . "