Travis Tomko

Travis David Tomko(born March 23, 1976) is an American retiredprofessional wrestler.He is best known for his appearances withWorld Wrestling Entertainment(WWE) from 2003 to 2006 under thering nameTyson Tomko,withNew Japan Pro-Wrestlingfrom 2006 to 2008 under his real name, and withTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling(TNA) between 2006 and 2010 under themononymousnameTomko.Championshipsheld by Tomko include theIWGP Tag Team ChampionshipandTNA World Tag Team Championship.

Travis Tomko
Tomko in 2007
Birth name	Travis David Tomko
Born	(1976-03-23)March 23, 1976 Jacksonville, Florida,U.S.
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Arma Tattoo Tomahawk Tomko Travis Bain Travis Bane Travis Tomko Tyson Tomko
Billed height	6 ft 6 in (198 cm)
Billed weight	275 lb (125 kg)
Billed from	Tombstone, Arizona Jacksonville, Florida
Trained by	Jim Cornette Nightmare Danny Davis Hack Meyers Ohio Valley Wrestling
Debut	June 14, 2002
Retired	February 22, 2016

Professional wrestling career

World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment (2002–2006)

Ohio Valley Wrestling (2002–2003)

Tomko was signed to aWorld Wrestling Federation(WWF) developmental contract in April 2002 and assigned toOhio Valley Wrestling(OVW) to sharpen his skills.While in OVW he was a member of the Disciples of Synnstableand along with stablemateSevencaptured theOVW Southern Tag Team Championship,on March 5, 2003, though they lost them less than a month later to theAcolytes Protection Agency(APA).

Raw (2003–2006)

In July 2003, Tomko began workingdark matchesfor theRawbrand.He made his television debut on the April 19, 2004,Raw,inCalgary,Alberta,Canada, interfering in aChristianversusChris Jerichomatch on Christian's behalf and helping him pick up the win.Hisgimmickwas that of "The Problem Solver", and acting as an "enforcerfor hire "for Christian and his kayfabe girlfriendTrish Stratusin their feud with Chris Jericho.His singles matches were few and far between; his main goal was ensuring victory for his clients, usually by interfering. When Christian suffered alegitback injury, Tomko continued to stand by Stratus and aid her in gaining an advantage in feuds against Jericho,Victoria,andSteven Richards,among others.The duo occasionally paired together formixed tag team matches.Upon Christian's return, Tomko immediately paired with him again, filling the same role as before.Following the on-screen split between Stratus and Christian (their dispute was seemingly over Tomko's services), Tomko remained Christian's enforcer. The duo also wrestled as atag teamon occasion, sometimes aligning themselves with Christian'sformer tag team partner and real-life friendEdge.In June 2005, Tomko, Christian, and Edge joined forces withEric Bischoffin his crusade againstExtreme Championship Wrestling(ECW).

Tomko and Christian were separated in June 2005 when Christian wasdraftedtoSmackDown!.Now on his own, Tomko waspushedas a "monster heel",winning singles matches against manyjobbersby (kayfabe)knock outafter hitting abig bootto the back of the head. OnRaw,he knocked out both World Tag Team Champions,The Hurricane and Rosey.His winning streak ended after he was pinned byJohn CenaonRawtwo weeks in a row.Tomko then went on to form a tag team withSnitsky,however, they were not given much of a push.

On April 3, 2006, Tomko quit WWE on good terms.He then began to work inJapan.

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2006–2008)

Tomko debuted inNew Japan Pro-Wrestling(NJPW) on July 1, 2006, participating in an eight-man tag match which he won. A few days later, Tomko andGiant Bernardtook part in a tournament to determine the interimIWGP Tag Team Championsand reached the finals before losing toShiro KoshinakaandTogi Makabe.Tomko participated in a tournament for the vacantIWGP Heavyweight Championship,which had been vacated byBrock Lesnar,and lost in the first round toYuji Nagata.He also participated inG1 Tag League 2006in block B with Giant Bernard and reached the semi-final before losing to the eventual winners,Masahiro ChonoandShinsuke Nakamura.

AtWrestle Kingdom in Tokyo Dome,Tomko teamed up withD'Lo BrownandBuchananto take onTomohiro Ishii,Togi MakabeandToru Yano,Makabe pinned Buchanan. Tomko lost to Togi Makabe in the first round of theNew Japan Cup 2007.On March 11, 2007, Tomko andGiant BernarddefeatedManabu NakanishiandTakao Omorito win theIWGP Tag Team Championship.Tomko and Bernard joined Masahiro Chono's BLACK faction and would eventually defect to RISE. The pair wonG1 Tag League 2007by defeatingHiroshi TanahashiandKoji Kanemoto.

AtWrestle Kingdom in Tokyo Dome II,Tomko and Bernard defeatedThe Steiner Brothers.They lost the titles on February 2, 2008, to Great Bash Heel membersTogi MakabeandToru Yano.Tomko was released early in March 2008 after NJPW decided not to renew his contract. NJPW were struggling financially and could not afford to keep him going. They did however, re-sign his tag team partner Giant Bernard.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2006–2008)

Christian's Coalition (2006–2007)

Main article:Christian's Coalition

Tomko (left) withChristian Cagein August 2007.

On the November 23, 2006 episode ofTNA Impact!,Tomko made his debut in arun-induring aNWA World Heavyweight Championshipnumber one contender's match between Christian Cage andSting,attacking Sting and siding with Cage, once again acting as Christian's enforcer.On the January 11, 2007 episode ofImpact!,Tomko went one on one againstNWA World Heavyweight ChampionAbyssin a non-title match. To avoid interference,Jim Cornettelocked Christian in a cage, and also hadKurt Angleat ringside. During the bout, Angle got into a brawl withSamoa Joe,leaving Cage to escape the cage and interfere in the match, causing a disqualification.On the March 1 edition ofImpact!he beat Samoa Joe for a chance for an NWA title shot against Cage.

On the March 8 edition ofImpact!,Christian's Coalition lost to Kurt Angle,Rhinoand Samoa Joe bydisqualificationafter interference from Abyss whoBlack Hole slammedAngle.AtDestination X,while getting out of the limo onto the black and blue carpet, Christian Cage received a telegram from Tomko stating that Tomko was in Japan and would come back if Cage would give him a title shot. Once Tomko returned from Japan, Cage offered Tomko a spot on Team Cage atLockdown,but Tomko said he would not choose a team until he got a title shot at the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. It ended up being that Jim Cornette came out and said that the main event onImpact!that night would be one member from Team Cage fighting one member from Team Angle. Whichever team member won, Tomko would go to the team the member was from. It would be Abyss from Team Cage fighting Kurt Angle from Team Angle. In the end, Kurt Angle won by pinfall, but after the match, Tomko signed on to Team Cage instead of Team Angle, making him the final member of Team Cage to fight Team Angle at Lockdown along with Abyss,A.J. Styles,Scott Steiner,and Christian Cage.A match was held to see who would go into the cage first. It would be a match between Samoa Joe and Styles,Jeff Jarrettinterfered to become the fifth member of team Angle. Tomko entered that match as the third member, and was successful, until being gored through the cage door. In the end Jeff Jarrett hit Abyss with a guitar full of tacks, and Sting got the pin.

On the following episode ofImpact!,Tomko took part in Team Cage's attack on Abyss for being a liability to the team's success after Abyss and Cage failed to win theNWA World Tag Team ChampionshipfromTeam 3D.One week later, Tomko and Scott Steiner were given a tag team title shot of their own, but failed thanks to botched interference fromThe Latin American Xchange(LAX).AtSacrifice,Tomko and Steiner met LAX and 3D in a three-way match for the title, but failed again.

After this loss,Rick Steinerdebuted in TNA and helped Scott attack Tomko.Tomko remained in what was from then on once again known as Christian's Coalition, once again focused on aiding Cage. Some friction did set in after Cage cost Tomko his May 31, 2007King of the Mountainqualifying match by distracting him with a chair. Tomko had been placed in the match against fellow Coalition member A.J. Styles because original contestant Jeff Jarrett no-showed (due to his wife's death). Christian was able to convince Tomko to continue on as his ally, which later came in handy as Tomko would go on to do much of the brunt work in the Coalition's feud against the returned Abyss and Sting, though he would be twice pinned by Abyss at PPV's after taking a Black Hole Slam each time.However, the Coalition finally avenged these losses with another bloody beatdown of Abyss which also featured the laying-out of Sting on the July 26Impact!.

On the PPV that followed,Hard Justice,Tomko, along with Styles and Christian, had taken part in a "Doomsday Chamber of Blood Match", which Abyss picked a week after winning the contract to make it. The match was a barbed-wire six sides of steel cage match in which the objective was to make an opponent bleed and pin that opponent. The Coalition was able to lock Sting out for a while, but after he appeared in the ring, Tomko would be the first man busted open. After a long match, Christian would escape the cage, and Styles was pinned by Abyss.

Teaming with Styles (2007)

Main article:A.J. Styles and Tomko

AtNo Surrenderhe and Styles won a 10-tag team gauntlet match to win title shots atBound For Glory.At Bound for Glory on October 14, A.J. Styles and Tomko won theTNA World Tag Team ChampionshipfromTeam Pacman.

Styles and Tomko defeated LAX on the November 1 edition ofImpact!to retain the TNA Tag Team title.Styles and Tomko's success led to some uncertainty within the Coalition, causing Tomko to ask Christian what the chain of command was. Christian said that when he wasn't around, it was Styles - disappointing Tomko. AJ would go on to make some foolish decisions without Tomko's advice or help, starting with a take-down match against Scott Steiner that night. The last major choice Styles made for the Coalition was to join forces with Kurt Angle, forming theAngle AllianceatGenesisby assisting Angle in retaining hisTNA World Heavyweight Championship.This plan quickly fell apart, as Christian and Angles could not cooperate, leaving them to fight over Styles and Tomko. The tension between Christian and Kurt would make Styles doubt himself, and he'd often turn to Tomko for advice, which Tomko would not give, telling Styles that he got into this mess himself since he was the one in charge. Tomko's continued distancing of himself from both groups would lead him to separate from the Alliance two weeks before Final Resolution on an episode ofImpact!,stating that from now on he works for Tomko. He and A.J. Styles defeatedKevin NashandSamoa Joeto retain the TNA World Tag Team Championship atFinal Resolution.When Styles interfered on behalf of Kurt Angle to help him retain theTNA World Heavyweight Championshipagainst Christian Cage, staying with the Angle Alliance and turning his back on Cage, Tomko was not present with him, leaving both Christian and Angle, staying true to his word.

Kurt Angle's henchman (2008)

On the January 3Impact!clarified Tomko's new outlook. While Styles worried about Christian's wrath in Kurt Angle's dressing room, Tomko explained to him that he's on his own.The following week, in an interview, Tomko said Styles got himself into the situation - matter of fact, he created it - and that Tomko knew it was no-win, generally stayed out of it, and now is making his own decisions. That same night, Tomko had his first singles match since becoming independent againstShark Boy,who in storyline was injured, andquickly defeatedhim.AtAgainst All OddsTomko cost Christian the world title, then reluctantly aligned with Kurt Angle, following Styles' example so they could stay partners - with no intention of being a team player to the point of becoming a lapdog again.He also became frustrated with Styles constant attraction toKaren Angle,claiming it's hurting the team's focus and even exploding on Styles on an episode ofImpact!.

At the 2008LockdownPPV, Tomko was captain of his own team in theLethal Lockdown match,though his team lost to Team Cage afterRhinopinnedJames Storm.The following episode ofImpact,Styles and Tomko lost the TNA Tag Team Titles toEric YoungandKazin controversial fashion relating to Young's alter-ego of "Super Eric".This resulted in the titles being vacatedand put on the line in a tournament atSacrifice,which was won byThe Latin American Xchange.Following the tournament, Tomko returned from a storyline injury suffered in Japan, and expressed unhappiness towards Styles for participating in the tournament with Super Eric, who was responsible for their title loss in the first place. Styles, in turn, expressed frustration over having to follow others for the past months and wanted to break out on his own. Following that, Tomko wished Styles the best of luck and officially disbanded their tag team.

Tomko continued to act as Kurt Angle's henchman, notably harassingKaren Angleon the debut of her interview segmentKaren's Angleon the July 31 episode ofImpact!.He was then scheduled to feud withMatt Morganbut the program was cut short when Tomko parted ways with TNA in late July 2008, with reports circulating that he was unhappy with management. His final television appearance was on the August 7 edition ofImpact!in an 8-man gauntlet in which he was pinned by Samoa Joe.

Tomko had planned on working regularly for theInoki Genome Federationin Japan but they cancelled many of their upcoming shows, opening up his schedule to appear one last time with TNA on a non-contractual basis. On the September 11, 2008, edition ofImpact!he appeared as the third of three challengers to Samoa Joe as a part of Kevin Nash's challenge.

Hustle (2009)

Tomko debuted in June 2009 under a mask and the ring name Arma in theJapanesewrestling promotionHustle,where he formed avillainoustag team called "Armageddon" with fellow former WWE starRené Duprée,who served as his partner Geddon.This team would disband shortly thereafter when Geddon turned face and changed his ring name back to René Bonaparte. On July 30, 2009, Bonaparte defeated Arma in Tomko's final Hustle appearance.

Return to TNA Wrestling (2009–2010)

On the November 19, 2009, edition ofImpact!Tomko officially returned to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling in an interview withLauren,seemingly as aface.He made his in-ring return on the December 17 edition ofImpact!,where he, A.J. Styles, Kurt Angle, Abyss andBobby Lashleydefeated Scott Steiner,Doug Williams,Brutus Magnus,Dr. StevieandRaven.On the January 14 edition ofImpact!Tomko turned heel as he was revealed as the man who had attacked Styles multiple times during the past three months, successfully scoring a match for Styles'TNA World Heavyweight Championshiplater that night as a result. However, Styles defeated him to retain the title.On the February 4 edition ofImpact!,Tomko lost to Kurt Angle in an8 Card Stud TournamentQualifying match. On the March 4 edition ofImpact!,Tomko lost toJeff Jarrett.On the March 22 edition ofImpact!,Tomko was defeated byRob Terryin a match for theTNA Global Championship.He was seen in a group of heels Eric Bischoff had directed to remove Abyss' mask, and on the May 13 edition ofImpact!,Tomko lost toOrlando Jordanvia submission which turned out to be his last match in TNA.On August 19, 2010, Tomko's profile was placed in the alumni section on TNA's official website.

Independent circuit (2013–2016)

On September 4, 2013, Tomko made his debut inRing Warriors,where he claimed to be the next Ring Warriors Grand Champion. The following week, Tomko defeated Michael Sain. On November 2, 2013, Tomko challenged Bruce Santee for the NWA FUW Bruiserweight Championship, but the match ended in no contest.On February 1, 2014, Tomko wrestledFrancisco Ciatsoat the USA PRO WRESTLING 20th Anniversary Show in Orlando, Florida. Tomko won by disqualification when Ciatso introduced a chair into the match. On January 21, 2016, Tomko made a tweet on Twitter that he his returning to the ring. Tomko faced Locke and QT Santee at FHW Wrestling inPalm Beach, Florida.on January 22, 2016. On February 13, 2016, Tomko faced Tommy Vandal at Independent Championship Wrestling inMiami, Florida.On February 22, 2016, Tomko faced James "The Kid" Sabin at Florida Hardcore Wrestling and ended up in a disqualification when Sabin hit the referee with the chair.

Other media

Tomko appeared in the video gamesTNA iMPACT!andTNA iMPACT!: Cross The Lineas a playable character, as well as having various WWE action figures produced byJakks Pacific.

Personal life

Prior to his wrestling debut, Tomko served as abodyguardtonu metalbandLimp Bizkit.He appeared in their2000music videofor "My Generation."Tomko owns a gym inDelray Beach, Florida,called Purlife Fitness Center, an organic restaurant called PurLife Cafe, and a property investment company called Coastal Properties Investment Group (Coastal P.I.G.) InFlorida Keys, Florida.

Championships and accomplishments

Tomko (left) withA.J. StylesasTNA World Tag Team Championsin March 2008.

• New Japan Pro-Wrestling
  • IWGP Tag Team Championship(1 time) – withGiant Bernard
  • G1 Tag League(2007) – with Giant Bernard
• Nikkan Sports
  • Best Tag Team Award (2007)with Giant Bernard
• Nu-Wrestling Evolution
  • NWE World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• Ohio Valley Wrestling
  • OVW Southern Tag Team Championship(1 time) – withSeven
• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • Ranked No. 25 of the top 500 wrestlers in thePWI 500in 2008
• Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
  • TNA World Tag Team Championship(1 time) – withA.J. Styles
  • Gauntlet for the Gold(2007–TNA World Tag Team Championship) – with A.J. Styles
• Wrestling Observer Newsletter
  • Worst Worked Match of the Year(2004)vs.Stevie RichardsatUnforgiven

External links

• Travis TomkoonTwitter
• Travis Tomko's profile atCagematch.net,Wrestlingdata,Internet Wrestling Database
• Travis TomkoatIMDb