Frankie Kazarian

###

Palm Springs, California, US

**Frank Benedict "Frankie" Gerdelman** (born August 4, 1977) is an American professional wrestler. He was signed with Ring of Honor (ROH) under the ring name **Frankie Kazarian** and is a two-time ROH World Tag Team Champion with Christopher Daniels.

He also appeared for New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) with his partner Christopher Daniels.

## Professional wrestling career

Kazarian began training with Killer Kowalski in Malden, Massachusetts in 1998, and wrestled his debut match after one month's training, facing Freight Train Dan. After remaining at Kowalski's school for eight months, Kazarian returned to Southern California and began wrestling on the [independent circuit, primarily in the Empire Wrestling Federation, where he continued his training and teamed with Josh Galaxy as "Bad Influence".

TNA commentator Mike Tenay revealed in a late 2007 shoot interview that during a World Championship Wrestling event in San Diego, California in 2000, a fan appeared to him and boldly declared that "someday, [Tenay] will be calling one of [his] matches". That fan was none other than Kazarian himself.

### Other promotions (2014–2018)

On April 5, Bad Influences appeared in two events. First, they defeated The Bravado Brothers (Harlem Bravado & Lancelot Bravado) at Dragon Gate USA's Mercury Rising. After, they defeated The Irish Airborne (Dave Crist & Jake Crist) at WrestleCon. In November and December 2015, The Addiction took part in New Japan Pro Wrestling's 2015 World Tag League, where they finished with a record of three wins and three losses, failing to advance from their block.

## Personal life

Gerdelman knew wrestling due to Hulk Hogan's role in *Rocky III* and after he watched WrestleMania I. His favorite wrestler was The Ultimate Warrior, followed by Shawn Michaels, Ricky Steamboat, Tito Santana and The British Bulldogs.

Gerdelman married fellow professional wrestler Tracy Brookshaw on January 7, 2010. In October/November 2012, Gerdelman and Brookshaw welcomed their first child, a son, which was confirmed in early 2013. Kazarian is known to be a massive fan of the heavy metal band Metallica.

## Other media

Kazarian made a cameo appearance on an episode of *The Man Show* where Jimmy Kimmel and Adam Carolla learned how to wrestle. He also appeared in the film *Backyard Dogs* in 2000 as "Snake Duggan" and was on an episode of *Distraction* with Curry Man and Samoa Joe. Kazarian was also referenced in Mike Vallely's documentary, *Mike V's Greatest Hits*, in which one part of it involved the pro skater spending part of his time as a wrestler. He also made a cameo appearance in MTV's *Made* when The Motor City Machineguns were making a Michigan choir boy into a professional wrestler.

He is also the bass guitarist of the band VexTemper, whose song "Get Addicted" is currently used as his and Christopher Daniels' entrance theme in ROH.

## In wrestling

* **Finishing moves**
	+ *Back to the Future* (Straight jacket bridging electric chair drop)
	+ *Fade to Black* (Kneeling back-to-belly piledriver)
	+ *Flux Capacitor* (Rolling moonsault side slam)
	+ Half nelson choke with bodyscissors – PWG
	+ Shining wizard – 2011
	+ *Tomikaze* (Inverted double underhook facebuster) – 2014–present; adopted from Tommy Rogers
	+ *Wave of the Future* (Swinging reverse STO)
* **Signature moves**
	+ Belly-to-belly suplex
	+ Brainbuster
	+ DDT, sometimes while slingshotting
	+ Double leg drop
	+ Hangman's neckbreaker followed by a DDT
	+ Multiple kick variations
		- Back
		- Jumping high
		- Rope aided corner drop to a seated opponent
		- Running single leg drop
		- Spin
	+ Slingshot leg drop
	+ Snap suplex
	+ Springboard back elbow
	+ Springboard discus leg drop
* **Nicknames**
	+ "Heavy Metal Rebel"
* **Entrance themes**
	+ "Get Yourself Addicted" by VexTemper (Used while teaming with Christopher Daniels)

## Championships and accomplishments

* **DDT Pro-Wrestling**
	+ Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship (1 time) – with Christopher Daniels

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Milner, John M.. Frankie Kazarian . SLAM! Sports. Retrieved on 2009-01-24.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 TNA Wrestling profile . *Total Nonstop Action Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2010-02-23.
3. ↑ Intelius search
4. ↑ Family Tree Legends
5. ↑ http://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=100856
6. ↑ http://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=107887
7. ↑ NJPW World Tag League Results & Standings . *Pro Wrestling Torch*. Archived from the original on 2015-12-09. Retrieved on 2015-12-06.
8. ↑ http://www.tnanews.com/exclusive-interview-frankie-kazarian-reveals-brought-tna-thinks-gfw-whether-saw-face-company-thoughts-hulk-hogan-eric-bischoff-hi/#.U42-nvl\_s41
9. ↑ Gerweck, Steve 2010-01-08. TNA stars tie the knot on Thursday . *WrestleView*. Retrieved on 2010-01-09.
10. ↑ 10.00 10.01 10.02 10.03 10.04 10.05 10.06 10.07 10.08 10.09 10.10 10.11 10.12 Kaz profile . Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved on 2008-09-17.
11. ↑ Meltzer, Dave 2010-04-18. TNA Lockdown PPV match-by-match coverage . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2010-04-19.
12. ↑ Meltzer, Dave 2011-02-13. TNA Against All Odds PPV report . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2011-02-14.
13. ↑ Caldwell, James 2011-05-15. Caldwell's TNA Sacrifice PPV results 5/15: Complete "virtual time" coverage of live PPV - Sting vs. RVD, four title matches, Chyna PPV return . *Pro Wrestling Torch*. Retrieved on 2011-06-03.
14. ↑ Caldwell, James 2011-06-02. Caldwell's TNA Impact report 6/2: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of Impact Wrestling on Spike TV - Angle & Morgan vs. Jarrett & Steiner . *Pro Wrestling Torch*. Retrieved on 2011-06-03.
15. ↑ Sapp, Sean 2015-01-19. Ring Of Honor TV Report (1/19): Alberto El Patron Debuts, World Title Match . WrestlingInc. Retrieved on 2015-01-19.
16. ↑ Trionfo, Richard 2014-12-14. RING OF HONOR TELEVISION REPORT: TAG WARS; WHICH THREE TEAMS WILL FACE reDRagon? . PWInsider. Retrieved on 2015-01-19.
17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 411’s TNA Impact Report 1.17.08 . *411Mania*. Retrieved on 2009-10-17.
18. ↑ Wilkenfeld, Daniel 2010-02-25. WILKENFELD'S TNA IMPACT REPORT 2/25: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of Spike TV broadcast . PWTorch. Retrieved on 2010-02-27.
19. ↑ Addiction vs Liger & Burger at Global Wars! . *Ring of Honor* (2016-04-19). Retrieved on 2016-04-19.
20. ↑ Ironman Heavymetalweight Title . Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved on 2016-08-12.