Steve Blackman Steve Blackman ( September 28 , 1963 ) is a American professional wrestler who is best known for his career in the World Wrestling Federation ( WWF ) . Nicknamed ' The Lethal Weapon ' , Blackman won the Hardcore Championship six times in his tenure with the company . Professional wrestling career . Stampede Wrestling and South Africa ( 1986 - 1989 ) . Steve Blackman began as a competitive bodybuilder and weightlifter before entering professional wrestling in 1986 in Connecticut , training at Tony Altamore ' s wrestling school . Him and his tag team partner Dangerous Dan Damage Snowberger were pushed for a short time as champs . In Calgary , he worked for Stu Hart ' s Stampede Wrestling . He competed briefly as a jobber in 1988 and was being considered for a full - time contract with the WWF when he contracted malaria and dysentery while wrestling in South Africa in 1989 and " was on his death bed for two years " . Recovery ( 1991 - 1997 ) . After finally beating his two year bout with malaria , during which he lost much of his muscle - mass , Blackman spent another four years in physical therapy to recover his conditioning , and incorporated martial arts training , specifically escrima and tae kwon do , into his physical therapy . Once back in fighting shape Blackman contacted his friends Brian Pillman and Owen Hart for a new WWF try - out . World Wrestling Federation ( 1997 - 2002 ) . Debut and early years ( 1997 – 1999 ) . Blackman made his WWF debut on the November 3 , 1997 episode of " Raw is War " when he jumped the guardrail , to help Vader fend off an attack from the Hart Foundation . Vince McMahon opted for a martial arts gimmick . Blackman was a replacement for the injured Patriot on Team USA ( Vader , Goldust , and Marc Mero ) , at Survivor Series 1997 , against Team Canada ( British Bulldog , Jim " The Anvil " Neidhart , Phillip Lafon , and Doug Furnas ) . The following year , Blackman joined Ken Shamrock in his efforts to combat the Nation of Domination . Eventually Blackman broke out on his own , establishing his trademark entrance involving swinging glow - in - the - dark eskrima sticks before walking to the ring . He eventually turned heel after siding with then - heel Shane McMahon . During his run as a heel , he brought a gym bag full of martial arts weapons with him to the ring , including kendo " shinai " . Blackman would attempt to use the weapons in the bag during or after the match . This was also during the time when he feuded with his former partner , Ken Shamrock . The two engaged in a heated feud throughout the summer , with it culminating in a Lions Den match at Summerslam 1999 . In late - 1998 , Blackman competed in the WWF Brawl for All tournament , defeating Marc Mero in the first round . However , he had to withdraw due to injury , allowing Mero to advance by default . Blackman and Al Snow then formed a tag team that was known unofficially as Head Cheese , as Snow made Blackman wear a cheesehead hat to complement the mannequin head that Snow carried to the ring . Blackman had a reputation for being very serious and not displaying emotion , so the two put on comedy duo skits with Blackman as the straight - faced man . Many of the skits involved Snow ' s attempts to come up with a gimmick for their team . In one backstage scene , Snow proposed that the duo develop a TV show wherein they travel through time and solve mysteries . Another memorable sketch involved Snow scheduling an unsuspecting Blackman to perform stand - up comedy at a retirement home , with humorously disastrous results . Hardcore division ( 2000 - 2002 ) . After the Head Cheese team went their separate ways , Blackman entered the WWF ' s Hardcore Division . At the time , the title was defended 24 hours a day , 7 days a week as established by Crash Holly . Because of this , WWF often ran matches wherein the champion was attacked and defeated in locations not typically associated with wrestling matches , such as backstage or in a hotel . With Blackman as champion , however , surprise attacks no longer resulted in title changes : within the matches , Blackman was so dangerous in hand - to - hand combat that surprise attacks were not effective enough to defeat him . During his stint as Hardcore Champion , Blackman ' s full martial arts talent was utilized . The first time he lost the title for a significant amount of time was against Shane McMahon , largely due to interference from Test , Albert , Edge , and Christian , with Mick Foley suspending the 24 / 7 rule to make sure McMahon didn ' t try to get out of facing Blackman in a rematch . At SummerSlam , Blackman fought McMahon for the title . During that match , they both climbed the TitanTron with Blackman able to knock Shane off with a Singapore cane , then performed a diving elbow drop for the pin fall . Blackman would go on to defend the title on several occasions , but he would ultimately lose the title on a more permanent basis to Raven in late 2000 . Early in 2001 , Blackman formed another tag team , this time with Grandmaster Sexay . Blackman again played the straight - faced man : a recurring element was that Grandmaster would always try to convince Blackman to dance with him after their matches . In the summer of 2001 , Lawler was released from his WWF contract . At around the same time , Blackman suffered an injury , and was released in October 2002 . After WWE . Blackman opened a self - defense school in Harrisburg , Pennsylvania called " " BlackmanMMA " " in mid - 2003 . Blackman and MMA fighter ( UFC Hall of Famer ) and wrestler Ken Shamrock were brought in to help promote a clothing line for professional fighters , called Ground ' n ' Pound gear ( GnP ) . As of July 2006 , Blackman has re - opened " " Steve Blackman ' s Fighting Systems " " , which features MMA classes as well as professional wrestling training with Classic Championship Wrestling , a local independent wrestling promotion in Harrisburg , Pennsylvania . Blackman has hosted 4 MMA events in the Harrisburg , PA starting in 2009 and the most recent being on November 20 , 2010 , at the Zembo Mosque . The events are part of the Pennsylvania Fighting Championships ( PFC ) . Blackman resurfaced in July 2007 as a guest on Nancy Grace ' s show during the media blitz surrounding the Chris Benoit double murder and suicide , where he argued with fellow former wrestler Marc Mero . He also made appearances on " Larry King Live " and Dan Abrams ' MSNBC talk show to discuss the same topic . Blackman made a guest appearance in the WWE later that year during the Raw 15th Anniversary Special , appearing in a 15 - man battle royal . He was eliminated by Flash Funk . He has been mentioned on WWE NXT several times by Daniel Bryan . Many people have shown interest of Blackman making a return to the WWE , also on Blackman ' s ' Where are they now ' page on WWE . com he admitted , ' Sometimes I get really tempted ' and ' I miss it out there . ' Personal life . Blackman is married and the couple have a daughter together .