Billy Kidman
Billy Kidman was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States on May 11th, 1974 and is the Wrestler. At the age of 49, Billy Kidman biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 49 years old, Billy Kidman has this physical status:
Peter Alan Gruner Jr. (born May 11, 1974) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Billy Kidman.
He is currently signed to WWE, where he works as a producer.
As a wrestler, Kidman is best known for his work with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment (WWF/E) throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s. While in WCW, Kidman gained fame as a key member of several stables.
In addition to being a member of Raven's Flock, he also was a member of The Filthy Animals and later The New Blood.
As a member of these stables, Kidman participated in memorable feuds with top WCW names, including Hulk Hogan, Jeff Jarrett, and Rey Mysterio, Jr..
Kidman also found championship success while in WCW, where he became a three time Cruiserweight Champion, a two time World Tag Team Champion (once with Mysterio Jr. and once with Konnan) and a one time (and the final) Cruiserweight Tag Team Champion with Mysterio Jr.Upon WCW's purchase by the World Wrestling Federation, Kidman became a member of the WCW/ECW Alliance.
During his time in the WWF (later renamed to World Wrestling Entertainment), Kidman once again found success upon winning the Cruiserweight Championship an additional four times while the title was under the WCW banner and later the WWF/E banner, in addition to winning WWE's Tag Team Championship once with Paul London.
Early life and education
Gruner grew up in Allentown, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, where he graduated from Parkland High School. Gruner was a banker before he started training to be a professional wrestler and was good friends with fellow professional wrestler Chris Kanyon, who he met at the Wild Samoan training center in Pennsylvania. He is a cousin of fellow professional wrestler Mikey Batts.
Personal life
Gruner is Jewish. After being together for four years, Gruner married former WWE Diva Torrie Wilson on July 11, 2003. They lived together in Tampa, Florida when not traveling. The couple separated in mid-2006 and divorced in 2008.
A book detailing Gruner's career, Billy Kidman: The Shooting Star, was released in early 2014.
In 2014, Kidman began appearing on The JBL Show, where he attempts to promote his Twitter page but is always interrupted due to technical difficulties, which has become a running gag on the show.
Professional wrestling career
Gruner was trained by Afa Anoai, one of The Wild Samoans, and he wrestled his first match against Dan Kallis, who was on the independent circuit as Kid Flash, on September 11, 1994. He formed The Shooting Stars, an Ace Darling team, and the team would have a blast winning the ECWA Tag Team Championship.
Billy Kidman, or simply Kidman, first appeared in World Championship Wrestling in mid-1996, where he spent more than a year as an enhancement talent with no personality. Kidman was added to Raven's Flock in 1997, and to fit in with the Flock's gimmick of being outcasts, Kidman was given the gimmick of a heroin addict, where he often scratched his arms and branded his shooting star press the Seven Year Itch. The kidman had no personal success with the company, but he assisted Perry Saturn in defeating Raven in a match, effectively disbanding the group.
Kidman shed his grungy clothing and gimmick and began to appear as a clean-cut fan favorite, winning his first Cruiserweight Championship after disbanding Flock. Although Guerrera won the title a few weeks later, Kidman would regain it at World War 3 in Auburn Hills, Michigan. On an episode of Nitro to Rey Mysterio, the Kidman eventually lost the title.
Following this, Mysterio asked Kidman to be his tag team partner in a match for the World Tag Team Championship. Because the two teams' first attempt at a tag team didn't have the same success, the kidman at first was turned down. The two, on the other hand, met Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko for the titles, and they were able to obtain unwanted assistance from Raven and Saturn. At Spring Stampede, the kidman took on Mysterio in an attempt to regain the Cruiserweight Championship, but Mysterio retained his rank. The three teams feuded for several weeks, resulting in a three-way tag team match for the championships. Raven and Saturn's victory came due to Chris Kanyon's intervention. The kidman spent the next several months in various feuds. He won the Cruiserweight Championship one more time at a house show, but he had to return it to Iaukea the next day. Kidman also defeated Psicosis in a hair vs. mask match, and was close to defeating Jeff Jarrett for the United States Heavyweight Championship.
Kidman, along with Rey Mysterio, Konnan, and Eddie Guerrero, joined Filthy Animals at this time. Guerrero left the organization when he left WCW, and Kidman left the group when the majority of the members fell back. When the Animals turned face once more during the last few months of WCW's existence, he returned to them later.
Kidman rejoined Vince Russo's New Blood stable after his first departure from the Filthy Animals, signaling another heel turn. Kidman began to be a hotshot who refused to be held back by wrestlers above their prime, reflecting the gimmick of the New Blood. With Hulk Hogan, he became the most significant feud of his career, defeating him in three matches in a row. Kidman became a celebrity once more after the New Blood split up by engaging in a rivalry with Shane Douglas over the affection of his on-screen girlfriend Torrie Wilson. Wilson took on Kidman during the feud. In a match at New Blood Rising in August 2000, a kidman was physically injured, Douglas pulled a Kidman from the neck using the strap, and the player was forced to wait for several weeks to recover.
Following the Douglas feud, Kidman rejoined Mysterio Jr. once more. They qualified in the Cruiserweight Tag Team Championship tournament, but they fell in the finals to Elix Skipper and Kid Romeo. Kidman and Mysterio Jr. claimed the title from Skipper and Romeo on the final episode of Nitro. The World Wrestling Federation (WWF) bought WCW and Kidman's contracts by the WWF on night.
Gruner (who was then wrestling as Billy Kidman) was one of twenty-five people involved in the purchase when the WWF purchased WCW. Gruner appeared on WWF television as a tweener for The Alliance as The Invasion began. In the first televised WCW match on SmackDown, Gregory Helms won the Cruiserweight Championship from him in July 2001. Kidman, the WCW Cruiserweight Champion, advanced to defeat the WWF Light Heavyweight Champion X-Pac at Invasion. Kidman was later diagnosed with an injury in the Invasion angle, and thus had no effect on other WCW wrestlers. Kidman won his fifth Cruiserweight Championship after defeating X-Pac on October 11 of SmackDown!
Kidman, a fan favorite, was drafted to SmackDown following the demise of The Alliance. As part of the brand extension, it was included. Kidman won his first Cruiserweight Championship in his return match against Tajiri. However, Tajiri regained the name at Backlash. In an intergender tag team match against John Cena and Dawn Marie, Kidman and his real-life girlfriend Torrie Wilson defeated John Cena and Dawn Marie. After beating Jamie Noble at Survivor Series, he went on to win his record-breaking seventh Cruiserweight Championship. Matt Hardy at No Way Out a few months later, but he recovered the title three months later.
Kidman spent the next few years as a pillar of the cruiserweight division before forming a tag team with newcomer Paul London in early 2004. They gradually progressed up the tag team ranks before winning the Tag Team Championship from the Dudley Boyz on July 8, 2004. Proving that the victory was not an upset, the team went on to defeat the Dudley Boyz in a rematch for the title.
Since Kidman turned his back on London, their championship bid came to an abrupt end. The heel turn came after a legitimate injury on August 24, 2004 taping of SmackDown! When Kidman's shooting star press mistakenly caused Chavo Guerrero Jr. to suffer a concussion, he blamed the footwear. Kidman was on the front row for the shooting star press this week, but he stalled, climbed the turnbuckles, and then walked backstage, feeling guilty of injuring Guerrero. London was left alone to defend the title against Kenzo Suzuki and René Duprée, but was essentially defeated. As a result, London and Kidman confronted each other at No Mercy, where Kidman defeated London before appearing on the London newspaper while strapped to a stretcher. This was the complete Kidman's heel turn, as he began to blame the fans for wanting him to be more brutal with his in-ring style. On Chavo's return, kidman and Guerrero broke their feud, with the former being victorious in the final match. In the coming months, the kidman then competed against London over the Cruiserweight Championship. Kidman was hospitalized for three months after suffering a fractured orbital bone at the start of 2005.
Gruner was fired from his WWE deal on July 6, 2005. Gruner said the departure was due to a clash with the company's decision not to ban booking wrestlers on first-class flights overseas.
Kidman began touring the United Kingdom after being dropped off from WWE. During the tour, he competed for the Frontier Wrestling Alliance in a three-way match against Jody Fleisch and Jonny Storm. In a losing effort to determine the inaugural Real Quality Wrestling Heavyweight Champion, Robbie Brookside wrestled British wrestling legend Robbie Brookside.
Kidman made his International Wrestling Association debut in 2007 against Ray González, which he lost. The Kidman competed against Australian wrestlers TNT and Mark Hilton before winning the WSW World Heavyweight Championship in Newcastle on the third night.
Kidman and Sean Waltman competed in a triple threat match in McAllen, Texas, on July 8, 2007. Since Total Nonstop Action Wrestling officially pulled out of the National Wrestling Alliance, Team 3D had previously vacated the position. However, Kidman and Waltman lost the match to Karl Anderson and Joey Ryan.
Kidman returned to WWE in 2007 to help prepare young wrestlers in the Florida Championship Wrestling, then a youth wrestling division. He wrestled his last match, losing to Afa Jr. Gruner in 2010 as a producer. WWE published a report on September 21, 2011 about Gruner and his work as a producer.
Gruner, along with former wrestlers Jamie Noble, Goldust, and other WWE wrestlers, broke up the brawl between John Cena and Brock Lesnar on April 9, 2012. Gruner appeared on WWE's European tour in November 2013 as Paul Heyman's doctor, but under the guise of "Dr. Weisenburg." On the episode of SmackDown Live on August 23, 2016, he appeared alongside Jamie Noble to discourage Dolph Ziggler from attacking AJ Styles.
Due to COVID-19 laybacks, the Kidman's job was postponed until the company's April 15, 2020. He returned on September 25, 2020, a year ago.
Championships and awards
- East Coast Wrestling Association
- ECWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ace Darling
- ECWA Hall of Fame (Class of 2004)
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Ranked No. 31 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the year in PWI 500 in 1999
- Ranked No. 313 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the "PWI Years" in 2003
- Revolution Xtreme Wrestling
- RXW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Trans-World Wrestling Federation
- TWWF Cruiserweight Championship (1 time)
- World Championship Wrestling
- WCW Cruiserweight Championship (3 times)
- WCW Cruiserweight Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Rey Mysterio Jr.
- WCW World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Rey Mysterio Jr. (1) and Konnan (1)
- World Series Wrestling
- WSW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment
- WCW/WWF/E Cruiserweight Championship (4 times)
- WWE Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Paul London
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- Worst Feud of the Year (2000) vs. Hulk Hogan