Gregg Groothuis Gregg Groothuis ( May 1 , 1970 ) is an American professional wrestler , known by his stage name Jack Bull , who competed in North American independent promotions including Impact Zone Wrestling , the National Wrestling Alliance and Ultimate Pro Wrestling as well as Japanese promotions HUSTLE , New Japan Pro Wrestling and Pro Wrestling ZERO1 . In March 2005 , Groothuis signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment . He was initially assigned to Deep South Wrestling and then to Ohio Valley Wrestling at the end of the year . During his time in Ohio Valley Wrestling , his bitter feud with Joey Mercury finally ended with a surprise victory in December 2006 . Career . Early life and career . Born in Orange , California , Gregg Groothuis moved to Venice , Florida where he spent most of his childhood . He began watching " Championship Wrestling from Florida " as early as 7 years old and was a fan of Sting , Dusty Rhodes and The Road Warriors ( Hawk & Animal ) . His ring name was inspired by an interview by Dusty Rhodes in which he described looking into a ring full of bulls " " . . the head bull was the Jack Bull ; the one who stood out from the others " " . He excelled at sports during his teenage years , especially , track , weight lifting and football , where he was a top recruit from the State of Florida as a tight end . Graduating with Honors and President of Venice High School , he earned an athletic scholarship to Marshall University in Huntington , West Virginia and graduated with a B . A . Psychology and then a Masters in Science in Organizational Training and Development . While at Marshall he played college football where he moved from tight end to Center due to having two All Conference upper classmen in front of him . This was until a devastating car accident ended his college football career . He had met Marc Mero while working out at a local Venice gym . A former wrestler for World Championship Wrestling , Mero had been involved in running independent shows in Florida at the time and had offered to help him break into professional wrestling . However , already accepted to Marshall College , he instead declined the offer and instead chose to go to school . While attending grad school , Groothuis was working part - time as a bouncer for a local bar . The particular bar that he worked at occasionally hosted wrestling events and , at one of these , he was asked to be a last minute replacement for a local wrestler that was unable to show up . He was offered training by the promoter , however he was in the middle of studying for his comps and final exams and turned the offer down . He began training in martial arts soon after this however , being taught by a prominent Japanese Jiu - Jitsu master in the Huntington - area , and considered taking part in the Ultimate Fighting Championship but Gregg couldn ' t dedicate the time needed to excel while working full - time and preparing his Master ' s Thesis and studying for comps . After receiving his post - graduate degree , Groothuis moved to Phoenix to help his mother and aunt with expanding their business . By this time , he decided to began training at a wrestling school . He was originally going to train at Shawn Michaels ' Texas Wrestling Academy in San Antonio , Texas , but instead chose to study at Bill Anderson ' s " School of Hard Knocks " school in San Bernardino , California after meeting Superstar Billy Graham . He spent months training under Ricky Reyes and Rocky Romero with several other students including Pinoy Boy before making his debut in Ultimate Pro Wrestling . Through Ricky Reyes , Groothuis appeared at the promotion ' s Saturday light shows then held at the LA Boxing Club in Huntington Beach . Among his early opponents included Horshu , John Cena , John Heydenreich and Nathan Jones . He also had a memorable match with future Ultimate Pro and Pro Wrestling ZERO1 star Skulu training with him for over a month before meeting in the ring . " UPW " Reunion " : Season ' s Beatings " , a DVD released by the promotion , featured a Four Corner match between himself , Ruckus , Bison and Horshu . As well as wrestling in various Southwestern independent promotions , he also toured Japan with Pro Wrestling ZERO1 , HUSTLE and New Japan Pro Wrestling . Wrestling as the New Jersey Power Warrior and Russian 54 , Groothuis appeared at " Hustle 5 " losing to Judo O at the Yokohama Arena and " Hustle 6 " where he and The Pirahnian Monster XX lost to Mr . USA & Katsuhisa Fujii at the Aichi Prefectural Gym in Nagoya , Japan . Both events were shown live on Japanese PPV . He also had a brief stint in IWA Puerto Rico as well as appearances in dark matches on " WWE Velocity " . Impact Zone Wrestling . Moving back to Phoenix in 2002 , Groothuis began training at Navajo Warrior ' s wrestling school . Later becoming an instructor there , he also began wrestling regularly for his Phoenix - based promotion Impact Zone Wrestling and eventually won the heavyweight title in a championship tournament two years later . On February 5 , 2003 , Groothuis substituted for one of the IZW Tag Team Champions during a title defense against the Killer Klowns at the Rodeo Nights in Phoenix . Midway through the match however , Groothuis walked out on his partner allowing the Killer Klowns to win the tag team titles . Groothuis later won the IZW Tag Team Championship himself when he and Chris Kole defeated G . Q . Gallo & Lawrence Tyler on February 3 , 2004 . After they lost the titles , the two engaged in a long running feud which lasted half a year . His feud with Chris Kole was finally reached its conclusion when he defeated him in a Loser Leaves Town match on August 17 , 2004 . In October , he beat Kharma and teamed with Hollywood Yates at an Ultimate Pro Wrestling losing to Rikishi & Skulu at the end of the month . Feuding with Lawrence Tyler during the next few weeks , he lost to Tyler on November 9 but came back to defeat him in a 2 / 3 falls match to retain the IZW Heavyweight title on November 23 . Defeating Nick DeCarlo on January 4 , 2005 , he suffered a disqualification loss to Bryan Danielson that same month . On February 1 , he beat Cowboy Jack Durango and , two weeks later , teamed with Navajo Warrior & Hawaiian Lion in a 6 - man tag team match defeating Lawrence Tyler , Jack Durango & Train on February 15 . On March 1 , he lost a match against Train for the IZW Heavyweight title . The following day , he signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment . Other IZW mainstays such as Derrick Neikirk , Antonio Mestre and Lawrence Tyler were also signed to WWE contracts . On March 15 , he defeated The Lynch Mob ( Ryan Lynch & Lucha Reigns ) in a Handicap match and , the next night , he made his last appearance with Impact Zone Wrestling losing to The Honky Tonk Man being pinned after the Shake , Rattle and Roll . Deep South Wrestling . Groothuis was assigned to its developmental territory Deep South Wrestling and , on September 1 , he appeared on the promotion ' s debut show defeating " Irish " Ryan O ' Reilly . Angel Williams was his valet during their match , however she did not appear with Bull in later matches . Several days later , he and Ryan " Silverback " Reeves lost to The Regulators and , on September 15 , he lost to Freakin Deacon . He soon began picking up a string of victories during the next weeks with victories over Eric Alexander , Vik Delicious and , accompanied by Daisy Mae , Ryan O ' Reilly . On October 20 , he wrestled two matches in one night defeating Palmer Cannon and Freakin Deacon by disqualification . In less than 30 seconds into the match , Freakin Deacon attacked Groothuis causing Cannon ' s disqualification . Both Freakin Deacon and Cannon continued attacking Groothuis , including whipping him into the ring steps , until Nick Patrick arrived to break it up . When Groothuis faced Freakin Deacon later that night , his head was bandaged . During the match , Freakin Deacon was disqualified after assaulting the referee however he continued to further injure Groothuis until Mac Johnson and High Impact ( Tony Santorelli & Mike Taylor ) ran into the ring on his behalf . This was his last DSW appearance before being assigned to Ohio Valley Wrestling in December . Ohio Valley Wrestling . In his OVW debut , Groothuis lost to CM Punk on December 3 and , a week later , he and Kasey James lost to The Riggs Brothers at a house show . Four days later , he appeared in a dark match losing to Deuce Shade . On January 21 , 2006 , a match between him and Roadkill ended in a double disqualification . Although defeating him the following night , Groothuis would lose matches to Chet The Jet , Elijah Burke and Roadkill during the next two months . On March 11 , Groothuis defeated Pat Buck , Discord , Chuck Evans , Luis Almodovar and Mikey Batts in a six - way match . Following this victory , he became a villain with an evangelist Glossary of professional wrestling terms # Gimmickin - ring persona and sang " " Amazing Grace " " before matches . He would lose matches to Chet The Jet and , in a tag team match , he and Vic Devine lost to Ryan Reeves and Mikey Batts three days later . He also lost to The Miz on March 26 . On April 15 , under the name Generic Bay Bland , he lost to Jason Riggs and , almost a week later , he and Pat Buck lost The Riggs Brothers . On May 3 , he lost a no disqualification match to OVW Television Champion Seth Skyfire . During the match , The Miz and his former valet Roni Jonah began taunting Skyfire . Skyfire then left then ring and began fighting with The Miz outside the ring . The referee began counting out Skyfire , but was stopped by Groothuis who challenged him to a no disqualification match . Returning to the ring , Skyfire agreed and called for the bell then pinned him with a rollup seconds later . Although losing to Cody Runnels and Elijah Burke on June 3 , he won a battle royal to become the number one contender to the OVW Heavyweight Championship two days later . He and Deuce n ' Domino also defeated Runnels , Burke and Mikey Batts in a 6 - man tag team match on June 8 . During the next two days , he and Burke traded victories against one another . At the July 16th OVW Six Flags show , he teamed with Rahim , Pat Buck and Deuce n ' Domino in a 10 - man match losing to Roadkill , KC James , Cody Runnels and Mo and Chet the Jet at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom . He and Pat Buck lost to Roadkill and Kasey James on June 17 and , four days later , he lost to Seth Skyfire in a rematch for the OVW Television title . At the OVW Six Flags show on June 30 , he faced The Highlanders ( Rory and Robbie McAllistair ) . In early - July , Groothuis began a storyline involving his alcoholism . On July 7 , he missed his scheduled match and later showed up at the event intoxicated alongside ODB . Winning a Gauntlet match to earn a title shot for the OVW Heavyweight title on June 15 , he defeated Lennox Lightfoot in a dark match that same week . On July 21 , he passed out in the corner during a match . The following night , he teamed with Cody Runnels and Discord to beat Rod Steele , Jon Bolen and Andy Vein . On July 27 , he also teamed with Runnels and Shawn Osborne to defeat Aaron Stevens , Kasey James and Mike Mondo . The next night at OVW Six Flags show , he won a Rumble match . On August 2 , he defeated Johnny Punch in a dark match . Later that week , he teamed with Cody Runnels and Shawn Spears to beat Vic DeVine , John Bolen and Steele and won a battle royal at the OVW Six Flags show . Among the participants included John Bolen , Pat Buck , Elijah Burke , Eddie Craven III , Mike Kruel , Lennox Lightfoot , Ranger Milton , Shawn Osborne , Johnny Punch , Seth Skyfire , Rod Steele , Shad Gaspard , Neighborhoodie , Los Locos ( Ramón and Raúl ) and The Untouchables . Losing to CM Punk on August 16 , he defeated Vic D . Vine in several matches later that month . On September 9 , he defeated Shawn Osborne and , during the next few weeks , he began appearing with Sosay as his valet . The following month , he again defeated Vic D . Vine and The Bear , Raul of Los Locos dressed in a bear suit . He also defeated TJ Dalton by countout on November 1 . During the fall , Groothuis began feuding with Joey Mercury . Losing to Mercury on November 5 , he challenged Mercury to a drinking contest which he won . He also beat him via disqualification in a mixed tag team match teaming with Katie Lea against Mercury and Beth Phoenix . On November 29 , Groothuis attempted an escape artist stunt involving heavy chains . During the stunt , Mercury came out attacking his publicist Sosay and then hit Groothuis with a chair . Mercury again attacked Groothuis after he had defeated Aaron Stevens at an OVW television taping several days later . However , he and Steve Lewington defeated Idol Stevens and Joey Mercury on December 9 and , with CM Punk , beat them in a rematch at an OVW television taping . On December 20 , also defeated Joey Mercury in a Grudge match . On January 3 , 2007 , he defeated The Original Sinn in a dark match and Daniel Rodimer three days later . On January 10 , Groothuis appeared with Sosay to perform a " Feat of Strength " with help from Justin " The Ox " LaRoche and Charles " The Hammer " Evans . LaRoche and Evans turned on Groothuis however and continued attacking him until Idol Stevens intervened and ran them off . On January 17 , he and Atlas Debone ( with Sosay ) lost to Charles Evans & Justin LaRoche at an OVW television taping . Three days later , Groothuis was one of many wrestlers including Seth Skyfire , Thomas Farra , Tracy Taylor , Mike Taylor and Tony Salantri who were released from developmental contracts as part of a general cost - saving measure . Return to the independent circuit . Returning to the independent circuit , Groothuis lost to Tank Toland at a Hoosier Pro Wrestling event in Columbus , Indiana on March 3 . A month later , he made a surprise appearance at an IZW show interfering in a match against " Hawaiian Lion " John Williams and Jon VonCross . As a result , Williams won via disqualification . Siding with VonCross in his ongoing feud with Williams , Groothuis was in his corner when he faced Williams for the IZW Heavyweight title on May 8 . On May 22 , Groothuis defeated Mike G . in Tempe , Arizona . He also made a brief return to OVW appearing at an OVW television taping on June 13 and , two days later , defeating Nickolas Sinn at the OVW Six Flags show . On July 2 , Groothuis took on Williams himself but failed to unseat the champion . On January 2 , 2008 , Groothuis was scheduled to perform a stunt during an interpromotional supercard between IZW and NWA Arizona , the latter promotion closing and merging with IZW . Held at the Broadway Recreation Center in Mesa , Arizona , he was stopped by IZW Board of Director ' s representative Strangler Steve King and then attacked by " The Limited Edition " Tommy Drake . Feuding with Tommy Drake during the next weeks , he defeated Drake on January 29 . He and Lil ' Nate also defeated Drake & Sexy Sonny Samson in a tag team match on February 12 . On July 1 , at an interpromotional event between IZW and NWA Pro , he pinned Dean Radford at The Sets in Tempe , Arizona . He also appeared in the corner of " Wolf " Hollywood Yates in his match against The Great Ryan Lynch , accompanied by Steve King , on July 17 . On August 12 , he and Steve King defeated Tyson Tyler and Tommy Drake .