Mike Verna

Mike Taverna (July 18, 1991) is an American professional wrestler best known simply by the ring name Mike Verna. Verna performs regularly on the independent circuit in New York promotions including New York Wrestling Connection and Five Borough Wrestling.
==Career==
===Warriors Of Wrestling (2013-2014)===
Verna made his debut on November 9, 2013 in Warriors Of Wrestling (WOW) at WOW Pain 'n Gain, where he was defeated by Ronnie Styles in a dark match.
Verna wrestled his first title match on April 5, 2014 for the WOW No Limits Championship against defending champion Chris Banks, involving challengers Logan Black and Michael Massacre. Verna challenged again for the No Limits title on April 12 at WOW Beyond The Limit, where he and challengers Dirtbag Dan and Riley met Banks in a Four Way match.
===Fighting Spirit Wrestling (2013-2016)===
On December 13, 2013, Verna debuted in Fighting Spirit Wrestling (FSW) at FSW Immortals Holiday III teaming with Hakim Ali to defeat Cholo & Ian Aldwin.
Verna's first title match was on June 7, 2014 at FSW Legends Never Die where he defeated Talon to win the FSW Heavyweight Championship. He successfully retained the title in a rematch against Talon held at FSW Last Resort. On August 18 at FSW Finish Him!, Verna retained the title against the challenge of Papadon. Verna's title reign came to an end on September 13 at FSW Battlefield in a Four Way match won by Joe Ettell, involving challengers Sam Shields and Talon. On October 11, Verna had a title rematch at FSW Ludus Maximus 3rd Anniversary Show but was unable to defeat Joe Ettell for the Heavyweight title.
Verna reclaimed the FSW Heavyweight title on June 27 at FSW Legend Never Dies after winning a Four Way TLC match against Joe Ettell, Talon and defending champion Ian Aldwin. He had a successful title defense on October 17 at FSW Ludus Maximus 4th Anniversary Show. On November 14 at FSW Ready Set Fight, Verna defeated Ian Aldwin in a title rematch. On December 12 at FSW Immortals Holiday 5, Verna retain the Heavyweight title in a Five Way match against challengers Greg Jones and Magma and Suntan and Whiplash.
On January 29 at FSW Kill Them All, Verna retained the title against Joel Maximo and again on February 26 at FSW Only The Strong against Whiplash. He met Joel Maximo in a rematch, defeating him on April 1 at FSW The Lion's Den.
===Five Borough Wrestling (2014-2017)===
Verna's debut in Five Borough Wrestling (FBW) was on June 21, 2014 at FBW Hard Knocks where he joined the F.B.I. (Little Guido & Tony Mamaluke) in defeating Ricky Reyes & The Scumbag Nation (Logan Black & Riley). On July 25 at FBW Boiling Point, Verna joined forces with The Big O, forming the tag team of The Mega Muscles. At Boiling Point, they defeated The Scumbag Nation (Logan Black & Riley). The Mega Muscles had their first title match on October 5 at FBW Octoberfest where they became the first-ever FBW Tag Team Championship after defeating The Scumbag Nation. On December 5 at FBW Last Wish successfully defended the Tag Team titles against The Beaver Boys (Alex Reynolds & John Silver).
On January 23, 2015 at FBW Wrestlelution, The Mega Muscles continued their successful title reign, defeating Milk Chocolate (Brandon Watts & Randy Summers). On March 26 at FBW Celtic Clash, The Mega Muscles won a Four Way tag team match, defeating Milk Chocolate and The Beaver Boys and Flawless And Lawless. On May 8, The Mega Muscles' title reign ended at FBW Die Trying where they lost the tag titles to Flawless And Lawless.
On February 5, 2016, Verna returned at FBW Standing Tall to join a 30-May Battle Royal won by Anthony Gangone. During the April 29 edition of FBW Proving Ground, Verna defeated Talon to become a Number One Contender for the FBW Heavyweight title. On that same date, he won a Four Way match, defeating Anthony Gangone, Eddie Kingston and defending champion Brian Myers to win the FBW Heavyweight Championship.
Verna began his title defense on January 28, 2017 at FBW Back 2 The Legion where defeated Hanson. On April 15 at FBW Proving Ground 2017, Verna successfully retained the Heavyweight Championship in a Four Way against Brian Cage and JT Dunn and Bull James. Verna lost the title on September 22 at FBW All In in a Three Way match involving Anthony Gangone and Darius Carter. On October 20 at FBW For The People, Verna was defeated by former WWE superstar Jack Swagger.
===New York Wrestling Connection (2014-2017)===
On October 25, 2014, Verna debuted in New York Wrestling Connection (NYWC) at NYWC House Of Madness where he challenged Joe Ettell for the FSW Heavyweight Championship. On November 29 at NYWC Draw The Line Verna was involved in a Three Way match against Talon and defending FSW Heavyweight Champion Joe Ettell.
Verna's next title match in NYWC was on September 26, 2015 at NYWC Till I Colapse, teaming with Talon to challenge for the NYWC Tag Team Championship in a Three Way Tag Team match; against defending champions Flawless And Lawless (Blake Morris & Rex Lawless). The following year in 2016 on February 27 at NYWC Psycho Circus XIV, Verna teamed with Anthony LaCerra, Jesse Vane, Talon & The Big O to challenge for the NYWC Heavyweight Championship held by Stockade in a "Psycho Circus" title match with Stockade teaming with fellow Hounds Of Hatred teammates Apollyon, Bam Sullivan and Boo Sullivan. On November 26 at NYWC Draw The Line, Verna teamed with Blake Morris in a Tag Team Gauntlet match for the Number One Contendership to the NYWC Tag Team titles. On December 27 at NYWC Tour De Circus, Verna was involved in a Four Way title match against Joe Gacy, Randy Summers and defending champion Tyler Murphy for the NYWC Fusion Championship.
Verna returned in 2017 on January 28 at NYWC Sideshow, where he wrestled defending NYWC Heavyweight Champion Stockade in a title match. On February 25 at NYWC Psycho Circus XV, Verna won a Joker's Wild Battle Royal. On March 25 at NYWC Aftermath, Verna wrestled fellow New York talent The Big O, in a NYWC Fusion Title match, ending in a No Contest finish. His last NYWC match of 2017 was on October 21, where he wrestled a Grudge match against Talon, resulting in a No Contest finish.
===The Dynasty (2015-2017)===
Debuting on June 19, 2015, Verna wrestled at The Dynasty's event Fight Pub, where he continued his feud with Talon, defeating him in this Dynasty encounter. On July 25 at Dynasty Stay Ugly, Verna defeated Sean Burke in a Dynasty Heavyweight Title Tournament Qualifying match. He joined the tournament on August 29 at Dynasty Diamonds Are Forever II: Redux where he defeated Kyle Brad during the first round. He defeated Captain Wayno in second round to advance to the third and final round where he defeated Mike Orlando to win the vacant Dynasty Heavyweight Championship, becoming the first-ever champion.
On June 5, 2016, Verna had his first title defense at Dynasty Too Rad, where he faced Kyle Brad in a title match that ended in a No Contest finish. At Dynasty Come Together, Verna successfully defended his Heavyweight title in a Three Way match against challengers Kyle Brad and Mike Orlando. He maintained his winning title match streak at Dynasty Go Big Or Go Home, defeating Clutch Adams and later at Dynasty Big Trouble In Little Cairo against Maxwell Jacob Feinstein. On November 19 at Dynasty Winter Wars - The Battle For The Gold, where he wrestled TNA World Heavyweight Champion Eddie Edwards, wagering his title against Verna's Dynasty Heavyweight Championship. The match ended with Edwards becoming a double champion, after winning Verna's title.
Verna returned in 2017 on February 18 for Dynasty Chapter 3: High School Havoc where he defeated TNA's Robbie E in a singles match. On July 1 at Dynasty No Escape Verna's singles match against Slyck Wagner Brown ended in a No Contest finish.
===Tier 1 Wrestling (2015-2017)===
Verna made his Tier 1 Wrestling (Tier 1) debut on October 2 in a Tier 1 Rumble In The Concrete Jungle in a Six Way Elimination match. He wrestled on December 4 at Tier 1 Rise Or Die Trying in a Four Way match against VSK, Blake Morris and Ethan Page.
On August 6, 2016 at Tier 1 A Savior Among Us, Verna joined a Tier 1 Tag Team Championship Tournament, teaming with Talon as team Sons Of Brooklyn, but where eliminated in the First Round by Certified Sexy (Geno Da God & Nutrious X). Verna returned on April 22, 2017 at BCP/Tier 1 The One Who Knocks in a title match against defending champion Matt Riddle for the PROGRESS Atlas Championship but was not successful in winning the title. The following day on April 23 at Tier 1 True Will Verna successfully defended the FBW Heavyweight Title against David Starr. The two later teamed during the event, to win the Tier 1 Tag Team Championship from The Cutthroat Kings (Joey Ace & Logan Black). On June 11 at Tier 1 BROoklyn, Verna and Stockade successfully retained the Tier 1 Tag Team Titles against Team PAWG (Jordynne Grace & LuFisto). He later defeated Darius Carter to win the Tier 1 Championship.
===BriiCombination Wrestling (2016-2017)===
Verna debuted in BriiCombination Wrestling (BCW) on July 29, 2016 at BCW When Sparks Fly, where he lost to General Romero.
Returning on January 31, 2017 at BCW The Return Of Friday The 13th, Verna reunited with The Big O as team Mega Muscles to win a tag team match against The BriiCartel (Manny Ortiz & Ultimo Maya) by disqualification. On May 26 at BCW A Champion Will Rise, Verna joined a BCW Heavyweight Championship Tournament where he eliminated Talon in the first round. On June 23 at BCW And Then There Were Eight, Verna was eliminated in the Quarter Final of the tournament by Darius Carter.
==In wrestling==
*Finishing and signature moves
**Deal Breaker
**High-angle senton bomb
**Krypton Bomb
**Sky High (Sitout spinebuster)
**Texas cloverleaf
*Managers
**PJ Stackpole
*Tag teams and stables
**The Mega Muscles (w/ Big O)
**The Amityville Project (w Ryan Galeone)
**Sons of Brooklyn (w/ Talon)
**The Closers (w/ Rick Roland)
**The O Team (w/ Big O, Anthony LaCerra, Talon & Anthony Nese)
**The Big Deal (w/ Dylan Postl & Rick Roland)
*Nicknames
**"The Man of Steel"
*Entrance themes
**"Hail to the King" by Avenged Sevenfold
==Championships and accomplishments==
*The Dynasty
:*Dynasty Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
*Fighting Spirit Wrestling
:*FSW Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
*Five Borough Wrestling
:*FBW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Big O as The Mega Muscles
==External links==
* Profile
* Facebook
Category:1991 births
Category:2013 debuts
Category:American wrestlers
Category:Living people
Category:Male wrestlers
Category:New York wrestlers
Category:Fighting Spirit Wrestling alumni
Category:Five Borough Wrestling alumni
Category:Maryland Championship Wrestling alumni
Category:Tier 1 Wrestling current roster
Category:Warriors Of Wrestling current roster
Category:Worlds Finest Wrestling alumni
Category:Future Is Now Pro Wrestling alumni
Category:Bigger Better Wrestling Federation alumni
Category:The Dynasty alumni
Category:Bologna Wrestling Team alumni