THURSDAY VETERAN SPOTLIGHT 5/2/24 - William Wyeth
For this edition of the THURSDAY VETERAN SPOTLIGHT, I wanted to write about a guy who might not have ever been a huge name in the world of independent wrestling, but did more for it behind the scenes than many know.
This week’s veteran is none other than WILLIAM WYETH.
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I first saw William Wyeth in 2007 in a match for the American Wrestling Alliance, based out of Union City, NJ. Trained by both Jay Lethal and Azrieal at the AWA Wrestling Academy, Wyeth worked his way up the card, working with some of the best talent in New Jersey, including Joe Hardway, Eric Cooper, Rob Vegas, Mike Donovan, and Mo Sexton.
Once AWA became American Championship Entertainment in September 2007, Wyeth was in the midst of a year-long reign as Web Television Champion. The enforcer of the infamous Hollywood Inc, Wyeth wasn’t afraid to take punishment as much as he dished it out. There was an infamous match where Wyeth got busted open in a match against Sexton and proceeded to bleed buckets while finishing the match.
After losing the Web TV title to Thomas “the Gate” Rodriguez, Wyeth became a tag team specialist, winning the ACE Tag Team Championships with a multitude of partners over the next decade: “Hollywood” Hardway, “Captain” Christopher Rockwell, Jorge Luis Rivera, Tom Scanlon, and “Absolute” Alvin Alvarez.
Wyeth was also “the ACE of Clubs”, representing himself in several of the most prominent factions in the promotion. Besides Hollywood Inc, Wyeth was the leader of the dark and brooding Fallen, the hired gun of the ACES alongside ACE Owner Mike Morgan, and the crown jewel of the Mike Lewis Enterprise.
On December 8, 2012, Wyeth achieved his ultimate dream, winning the ACE Heavyweight Championship from “the Devil’s Outlaw” Stockade at ACE Worlds Collide. He held onto the gold for over one year, defending the title against a who’s who of ACE opponents.
Behind the scenes, Will’s impact was as strong as anyone’s in the company. For a number of years, Will was the chief editor of ACE Action Zone, an internet show produced by ACE for a number of years. Once the company moved to a DVD based product, Will also handled production duties on that. Will’s talents were so impactful that he trained the late, great Mikey Viruet how to produce shows as well. The teenage Mikey gained a wealth of knowledge from his close friend, ultimately taking over for Will in the early 2010s.
One of Will’s best music videos ever came from February 2010, when he put together, in my opinion, the greatest show intro video in independent wrestling history for St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.
Will even helped produce Women Superstars Uncensored DVD for Sean “the MiC” McCaffrey for several years.
Most of all, Wyeth’s wrestling knowledge came into play, becoming the apprentice to Mike Morgan on the creative side of ACE, helping pitch ideas for shows and performers. Some of his ideas helped ACE during its greatest events in the ACE Arena in Union City, as well as in the Morgan Jr. Arena in Wallington, NJ.
Jon Harder, the founder of this website, had this to say regarding William Wyeth.
“I genuinely respect the Hell out of Will. As a performer, he was not the flashiest wrestler, but he was the most methodical. He was able to get fans to hate him in a multitude of ways. He could brawl with the best of them. One of the more vicious matches I ever saw him have was against Tom Scanlon at St. Valentine’s Day Massacre in 2010. It was a Fans Bring the Weapons Match, and Will tore his body apart in front of a packed house at the ACE Arena.
The stuff he did backstage for ACE during his time cannot and will not be forgotten by me. I remember so many people believed that Will was “playing the game” for his own success, but from being a part of the creative meetings alongside Mike Morgan, Will, Ken Carrera, Mikey, and I, I never once saw Will attempt to pitch himself in anything. In fact, Will pushed more ideas for the guys than anyone else in the room, save Mike himself. Will cared more about ACE’s success than his own “push”. I will defend that point to the moon itself.
Most of all, I can say that despite his “evil” side, Will is such a quality dude. He’s one of the guys I wish I could’ve maintained a better outside of wrestling friendship with. His knowledge of old school wrestling is insanely strong, and he was the reason I got the WWE Network when it first came out. (Long story.) He’s a great family man, and dedicated to his wife and daughters. I wish him nothing but the best and he deserves his props.”
As Jon mentioned, Will has been married to his wife for over a decade and is the father of two daughters, who are both wrestling fans. Chips off the old block.
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Congratulations to William Wyeth for being recognized in this week’s THURSDAY VETERAN SPOTLIGHT. Best of luck to him and continued success in life.
AS AN ADDED BONUS, Jon Harder sent me over his never before released Titantron video that he had made for William Wyeth, back when he was ACE Web Television Champion in 2007. Totally a blast from the past.
