Birth name | John Corson |
---|---|
Born |
Sewell, New Jersey, U.S. |
April 4, 1971
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) |
John Zandig Sex Machine Fat Boy The Ultraviolent Icon Zandig The Boss |
Billed height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) |
Billed weight | 256 lb (116 kg) |
Billed from | The Combat Zone |
Debut | 1994 |
John Corson (born April 4, 1971), better known by the ring name John Zandig, is an American professional wrestler and promoter. He is the founder and former owner of the promotion Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW).
Corson was born in Sewell, New Jersey. Before he was a professional wrestler, Corson was an explosives and demolition expert.
Corson began training as a wrestler in 1994 and adopted the ring name John Zandig in 1999. Shortly after debuting, Zandig opened a professional wrestling school, in New Jersey in order to hone his skills. The school eventually evolved into a professional wrestling promotion, Combat Zone Wrestling, and relocated to Philadelphia in late 2001. From its early stages, CZW was orientated towards hardcore wrestling; Zandig himself has been involved in many ultraviolent matches since the company's inception, involving such objects as thumbtacks, fluorescent light tubes, barbed wire, and a weed wacker. On one occasion, he was hung from meat hooks.
Zandig wrestled in Japan as the leader of CZW to compete for Big Japan Pro Wrestling. In the early 2000s, Zandig appeared in a Japanese television commercial alongside the Japanese actress Ai Kato for a soft drink product named C1000 (by Takeda Food.Co), where he was knocked out by Ai's lariat. At Cage of Death 8, Zandig lost to Nick Gage in a four-way Cage of Death match that included Lobo and LuFisto. Due to a prematch stipulation, Zandig was forced to retire as a result of losing. On March 10, 2007, Zandig teamed with Toby Klein to face and defeat DJ Hyde and Mitch Ryder in a no rope barbed wire match. Zandig was filling in for Necro Butcher, who couldn't make it to the show. After the match, Zandig stated that his return was for one night only.