Mark Cross (RLS CAS)

Entering at PRIZE BDTH Show, October 2018.

**Marcus Crosby** *(born 11th January 1986 in Bradford, West Yorkshire)* is an English professional wrestler currently signed to Wrestling upLOUD!, and performing in PRIZE Wrestling League due to an agreement between the two promotions, alongside his partner Jay Bones, as **CrossBones.**

He is a former upLOUD! Team Champion with Bones.

## Career:

### Training (2004-2006):

Crosby trained in nearby Leeds under esteemed trainer Carey Eccles (who also famously trained The Maverick) for nearly two years, wanting to be as good as possible by the time he was actually performing full-time.

During this time, Crosby appeared on BWF shows under his real name as a jobber for their in-house wrestling school, putting over their star pupils. He also appeared a couple of times for Exhibition Wrestling: Japan as The Cross during his time, though no footage remains of this.

### Japan MIGHTY! Wrestling (2006-2010):

Still performing as The Cross, Crosby jumped to JMW following his training period ending, and though few details are known of JMW outside of Japan at this time due to the small crowds and insular production, it is known that he fought the likes of Matsuda and Hubris to win a single Heavyweight Championship at some point in 2009.

He would leave the promotion on good terms in 2010 to take up a role in-ring and in the booking department of Wrestling upLOUD!, on the recommendation of his trainer.

### Wrestling upLOUD! (2010-*present*):

Now known as Marcus Cross, and soon after just Mark Cross, his debut in upLOUD! saw him shift from a fairly mundane wrestling gimmick to that of a smoking, wise-cracking mercenary-type who would work as bodyguard for a number of superstars including Andy Fortis, Q-Nique and Frank Veen.

He would wrestle during this time, careful not to let his ambitions get in the way of his "job" with other wrestlers, until Dead Weight 2012, when he would be drawn to face upLOUD! Champion Veen while still supposedly protecting him. He would lose the match, but turn face in the process, for the first time, becoming something of an anti-hero.

This would be his most successful period, winning two UltraViolent Championships- both from Fortis- in 2013 before a calf injury and then a serious stomach bug would keep him out for much of 2014. He returned at the Show of Force PPV in Reykjavik, competing unsuccessfully in the Bloody Warfare Battle Royal to crown a new World Champion. He then embarked on a long feud with Mr. Meaner, losing to him in matches across the rest of 2014 before winning a few back in early 2015. The feud culminated at exSTREAM 2015, where Meaner wrote Cross off the show with a spot involving a Powerbomb off the stage. Cross took time off, in reality, to work on his increasing booking responsibilities.

In December 2015, he resigned from the booking team, citing exhaustion, but signed a new contract as an in-ring performer. He began teasing a "new comrade" around this time, which culminated in the debut of Jay Bones as his partner in CrossBones, a sort of two-man private military organisation. The duo would work for whoever hired them, usually heels like crooked boss Alex A, and became known for their signature double clothesline maneuver, which was eventually referred to as Death by Clothesline.

The pair would work mainly in bigger, multi-faction feuds commonly found in the promotion- usually extremely violent, morally ambiguous takes on the usual good vs. evil struggle- before winning the Team Championships from The 20Minuters at exSTREAM 2017. They held the titles for a year before losing them to the Kings of Wrestling at the following year's exSTREAM event in Amsterdam. They are expected to get a rematch when upLOUD! returns for a new season.

## PRIZE Wrestling League (2018):

CrossBones made the jump across to PRIZE Wrestling League following the news that their rivals the Kings of Wrestling would compete for the newly created PRIZE Tag Team Champions. They discreetly manipulated their way into the match using the partnership being set up by the two promotions, which PRIZE seemed to approve of, hence them letting the match stand.

At the PRIZE June Special 2018 in Birmingham, Bones was unable to prevent his partner being choked out by Faisal Khan as the Kings of Wrestling picked up a win, and the titles. Khan demanded a rematch for the PRIZE July Special 2018 in Hamburg, Germany due to the ease with which they won, claiming it demeaned the titles. This was later confirmed by PRIZE, and they lost the rematch in much the same way as the first one; with Cross passing out to the *Choker*. The feud ended with another loss at Bring Down The House Show in October 2018.

## In-Wrestling:

### Signatures:

**Overhead Belly-to-Belly Suplex**

**Belly-to-Belly Suplex**

### Finishers:

**Crossbeam** *(Pumphandle Slam)*

**Death by Clothesline** *(Corner Clothesline/Clothesline from Hell)*

## Accomplishments:

**JMW Heavyweight Championship**

**Wrestling upLOUD! UltraViolent Championship** *(x2)*

**Wrestling upLOUD! Tag Team Championships** *(with Jay Bones as CrossBones)*

## Trivia:

* Cross is a passionate lover of Yorkshire Tea, taking boxes of it with him wherever he goes. This, according to JMW contemporary Matsuda, caused a stir at a Japanese airport when the duo returned from a bonding break in the UK.
* Cross is also an avid supporter of Bradford City Football Club, as is Mikey Ace1, with the two regularly getting together to watch matches. The two have also spoken positively about the work of Kick It Out!, the anti-racism football group.
* There was no prior relationship between Cross and partner Jay Bones, the possibility of them teaming due to the naming potential and similarity of gimmick only occurred when several other partners for Cross had already been ruled out.

## Behind-the-Scenes/Notes:

1. This is true in real-life. Up The Bantams! ;)