Hooper's SOMEONE YOU DON'T KNOW BUT SHOULD #1 - Vincent Michaels
- 20 hours ago
- 3 min read
Welcome to the inaugural edition of Hooper’s Someone You Don’t Know But Should on Hardway HQ!
I am the aforementioned Hooper, and it’s a real privilege to be back writing…SOMEWHERE!
A long time ago, I wrote a monthly piece for a website called Snap Mare. The owner of the site allowed me free reign, and I wrote about the future of the business back in 2011-2012. Man, I have to see what happened to those I wrote about.
Now, thanks to Jon Harder, I’m able to come back and start fresh!
The whole purpose of Somebody You Don’t Know But Should is to acknowledge an up-and-coming performer or performers that you should absolutely know about. I love local independent wrestling, and with the young talents coming through the door, unproven and developing, I want to give them a bit of exposure.
With that said, let’s get the ball rolling.
In this inaugural edition, Someone You Don’t Know But Should is a guy who was trained by an absolute phenom. With the gift of gab and the ability to rile up any audience, this young talent has the potential to be a top level rudo in the independent wrestling scene for years to come.
This man is none other than VINCENT MICHAELS.
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Vincent Michaels is a junior heavyweight, currently based out of the tri-state area.
The first time I ever watched him wrestle was at an American Championship Entertainment show in September 2022. He competed in a four-way match for the ACE Fight For Flight Championship, losing to Love Jones, in a contest alongside Rob Chase and “the Feline of Lucha Libre” Black Zemis.
I learned after the show that he trained at the Black and Brave Academy.
The state-of-the-art wrestling school, located in Davenport, IA, is run by Marek Brave and WWE Superstar Seth Rollins. To learn their craft under the learning tree of two of the greatest independent talents ever is a life-changing experience.
Michaels is no different. Learning the ropes and fundamentals of the wrestling industry under Rollins and Brave’s tutelage helped forge his path into the industry.
In the modern-day, Michaels is “the Sun of Wrestling”. Most likely due to his “sunny” deposition, Michaels has fans in the palm of his hand, despising him for his despicable actions.
Recently, in December 2025 at Pro Wrestling Magic Kingdom Come X, Michaels lost a hair-vs-hair match against upcoming talent Alex Rivera. A match very rarely done anymore, Michaels, falling victim to Rivera’s Kata Hijame judo choke, was put into the barber’s chair and shaved BALD.
That has made him a madman. Following a tag team loss to Alex and Antonio Rivera, Michaels snapped and attacked his tag team partner Franco Constanzo. Earlier in the month, they formed the Leather Jacket Mafia. Ultimately, Michaels made Constanzo sleep with the fishes. The Sun shone brightly at One.
In his first match post head-shaving, he actually won the Matt Pro Wrestling MPH Medal on January 9, 2026 in Mantoloking, NJ in a complete shocker.
The biggest strength to Michaels’ game is his mouth. He can jaw-jack, incite, and make a crowd hate him with a microphone in his hand. In the modern game, there aren’t many that can get venom from the fans via character work. It’s a lost art.
For Vincent Michaels, he is truly one of the few that can. As a fan, I hope to see more of that over the next few years. He is legitimately talented on the stick.
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If you live in the New Jersey area, go make the trek and watch a Vincent Michaels match whenever you can. With the proper buzz, I can see him really become a top level name in the scene within the next few years.
“The Sun of Wrestling” is worth the watch.
HOOPER OUT!
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