Chris Nelson (wrestler)

Chris Nelson
Birth name Christopher Tipton
Born (1974-12-22) December 22, 1974
Winter Haven, Florida
Residence Port St Lucie, Florida
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) Chris Nelson
Casanova Chris
Chris Avery
Timmy Thompson
Billed height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Billed weight 223 lb (101 kg)
Trained by Buddy Valentine
Randy Hogan
Debut 1991

Christopher Tipton (born December 22, 1974) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name as Casanova Chris or "Classy" Chris Nelson. He is half of a tag team called The New Heavenly Bodies with "Vivacious" Vito DeNucci. Together, they have held the NWA World Tag Team Championship three times and been ranked in the top 10 in the world in 2001-2002.

The New Heavenly Bodies are the third longest ranking NWA World Tag Team Champions ever with a total reign time of 328 days. Their longest single reign was 248 consecutive days, which is also the third longest reign as well.

Career

Independent Circuit (1991-1998)

Chris Nelson started his career in 1991, and has been wrestling ever since. Nelson was trained by a veteran NWA and WCW jobber, Randy Hogan. Buddy Valentine taught Nelson how to work a match, work the crowd and survive in the wrestling business.[1] Valentine taught Nelson how to carry a match and how to be an excellent heel. Nelson has worked for the World Wrestling Federation (now World Wrestling Entertainment), World Championship Wrestling, and the National Wrestling Alliance, as well as numerous promotions on the independent circuit. Nelson was ranked as one of the top five "Jobbers" in the world in the mid-1990s due to his over 300 television matches for the two big companies. Nelson also worked over 3,000 matches in his 20-year career.

National Wrestling Alliance (1998-present)

Although Nelson started out as a singles wrestler, he is best known for his tag team work. The New Heavenly Bodies were formed after a joke between then NWA President Howard Brody and veteran NWA official Frankie Reyes. They were working as Drunk and Disorderly for several years but Brody did not like that gimmick and smugly suggested calling them the New Heavenly Bodies. After a few laughs, all involved thought that it might actually work. Jimmy Del Ray, a former member of The Heavenly Bodies in the WWE and Smokey Mountain Wrestling, was on board as their manager. Del Ray did more than manage, teaching them the proper way to be a tag team and working them very hard to accomplish their goal. Nelson and Vito Denucci became extremely close and tight-knit as a tag team and also as friends and constant road companions. On April 24, 2001, the New Heavenly Bodies defeated Bad Attitude at the Fort Hesterly Armory in Tampa, Florida, winning the NWA World Tag Team Titles in the process. Over the next two years, the Bodies were on the road defending their NWA Tag Titles. The belts were defended from Dallas to Boston and every point in between. The hard work and road time paid off for the NHB, landing them in the top 10 in the world in the tag team rankings according to Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Nelson was ranked #174 and Denucci was ranked #176 in the PWI top 500 in 2002. The Bodies had three World Title runs for the NWA dropping the titles to the Shane Twins in Lima, Peru after Nelson suffered a severe head injury that left his wrestling future in question.

Against doctor's orders, Nelson continues to wrestle with Denucci whenever they get the itch. On April 3, 2010, Nelson and DeNucci defeated the Dark City Fight Club (Jon Davis and Kory Chavis) to win the NWA Florida Tag Team Championship. On April 16, 2010 Nelson and DeNucci lost the titles back to the Dark City Fight Club. As for Nelson and DeNucci, they remain the best of friends in and out of the ring. Both living in South Florida, they enjoy golfing together or watching MMA. Nelson is a Senior Officer for the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice and is married to wife Kristine. He has two children, a girl and a boy, named Elizabeth and Caleb. Chris and Vito have been in discussions with publishers with plans on writing their autobiographies. They promise that their book will be a different kind of look at professional wrestling and will include many of their wild and famous road stories and also how their almost 20-year friendship has endured the trials and tribulations of their 12-year partnership and life in the crazy world of pro wrestling.

Nelson continues to help young wrestlers who need advice on their careers or on life in general. He is also involved behind the scenes with Ringwarriors, a company owned by business partners Howard Brody and Larry Brannon (Vito Denucci). Ringwarriors runs mostly in South Florida but also does shows frequently in the Bahamas. There are many future endeavors planned for Ringwarriors including TV and overseas tours. Chris was recently quoted saying, "So much for retirement! Pro wrestlers never really retire anyway!"

In wrestling

Championships and accomplishments

References

  1. ↑ Chris Tipton - Biography - IMDb
  2. ↑ "NWA World Tag Team Title (Board of Directors Version)". National Wrestling Alliance. Retrieved 2010-05-11.
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