Gangrel

The Vampire Warrior

The Black Phantom

In 1993, Gangrel, under his real name **David Heath**, received a tryout match with the World Wrestling Federation when he faced Kevin Kruger in an unaired match for *Wrestling Challenge* on June 14 in Columbus, Ohio. In late October 1993, Heath made several appearances teaming with The Cuban Assassin and Little Louis in six-man matches against The Bushwhackers and Tiger Jackson.

On the March 28, 1994 episode of *Raw*, Heath made his televised debut for the WWF and lost to The 1-2-3 Kid. He was portrayed as a masked heel and dubbed "**The Black Phantom**", working as an enhancement talent against numerous stars, including Earthquake, Razor Ramon, The 1-2-3 Kid, Lex Luger, Bob Holly, Tatanka, Davey Boy Smith, Typhoon and others. His last match was on the July 9, 1995 edition of *Wrestling Challenge*, where he fell to the 1-2-3 Kid once more.

In 1995, Heath appeared in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) for a short period, feuding with Tommy Dreamer over Dreamer's affiliation with Luna Vachon.

In early 1998, Heath appeared with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) on *WCW WorldWide*, teaming with Michael Nova in a losing effort against the Faces of Fear.

In 1998, Heath was hired by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). Heath was given the name **Gangrel**. The gimmick involved an entrance which saw him rising from a ring of fire on stage, followed by a slow walk to the ring set to a sinister instrumental music theme. He also carried a goblet of "blood" with him and, during his entrance, would stop on the ring steps, take a drink, and spit it into the air.

Gangrel made his television debut on the August 16, 1998 episode of *Sunday Night Heat*, defeating Scott Taylor. He then formed a gothic faction, called The Brood, with Edge and Christian. The Brood became known for their "blood baths", which involved the lights going out for a moment, and when they came back on, the targeted wrestler being covered in blood. The three temporarily joined up with The Undertaker and his Ministry of Darkness faction.

Gangrel received one of his first title shots at the 1999 Royal Rumble. He challenged D-Generation X member X-Pac for his WWF European Championship in a losing effort. He competed in the Royal Rumble match later that night and again the following year, with both opportunities being unsuccessful.

After splitting from the Ministry, The Brood began a feud with the Hardy Boyz and their manager Michael Hayes. During the feud, Gangrel suddenly turned on Edge and Christian and aligned himself with Matt and Jeff Hardy. He called the group The New Brood. Terri Runnels also began to show interest in the Hardy Boyz, however, and they eventually would win Terri's services as a manager, thus dumping Gangrel.

Gangrel became a singles wrestler following the breakup of The New Brood; he was mainly used as a mid carder. In late 1999, he brought in Luna Vachon as his manager until she was released. Gangrel continued working for the WWF until he was released in 2001.

Gangrel reunited with former Ministry of Darkness member Viscera in 2004, returning as a hired goon of John "Bradshaw" Layfield during a feud with The Undertaker. They were defeated by The Undertaker on the September 23 episode of *SmackDown*.

In 2006, Gangrel was re-signed as a potential for WWE's newest brand, *ECW*, to appear in a vampire stable with Kevin Thorn and Ariel, but he never appeared. On the 15th Anniversary of *WWE Raw* special on December 10, 2007, Gangrel participated in a 15-man battle royal, but was eliminated by Al Snow.

He appeared on the tenth episode of the WWE Network series, *The Edge and Christian Show*, released on May 2, 2016.