Derick Neikirk

Baseball career Before entering professional wrestling, Neikirk played catcher for the Mesa Community College baseball team in the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference (ACCAC). In 1996, he was named to the All-ACCAC Team. That year, he was picked by the Detroit Tigers in the 19th round of the Major League Baseball draft

At age 21, Neikirk played in Detroit's rookie-class, minor league team, the Gulf Coast League Tigers of the 1996 Gulf Coast League in Lakeland, Florida. He played catcher in 18 games out of a 60-game season. While there, he played catcher in 9 games out of a 140-game season. While there, he played catcher in 42 games out of an 86-game season. Much of his career has been spent portraying a heel (villain) through an arrogant demeanor and by turning on allies.

Early career Neikirk trained under Les Thatcher for a career in professional wrestling. although this title reign is not recorded in the company's official history. That year, Neikirk was rated number 481 on Pro Wrestling Illustrateds annual PWI 500 list of the top wrestlers in the world. On August 31, 2003, Neikirk wrestled a match on WWE's Sunday Night Heat television program in which he was defeated by Test. In 2003, he improved his PWI 500 ranking and was placed at number 442.

He later wrestled for Ultimate Pro Wrestling (UPW), where he formed a tag team with Mike Knox. The team was also part of a stable known as The Outlaws. Neikirk and Knox later moved to IZW, where they were known as Team Elite. They defeated Navajo Warrior and Hawaiian Lion on January 18, 2005 to win the IZW Tag Team Championship. On January 6, 2004, Neikirk turned on Knox by superkicking him in the face. He explained this action by saying that he was tired of carrying the team and that Knox had "dropped the ball". That night, Neikirk and Knox faced each other as part of a six-man match, but Neikirk turned on his teammates and left the ring. Neikirk and Knox had a blow off match on May 25. Neikirk won the match, but the referee then reversed his decision and awarded the victory to Knox. Competing as a singles wrestler, Neikirk won the DSW Heavyweight Championship on December 22 that year by defeating Mike Mizanin. He finished the year ranked number 367 in the PWI 500. He held the Heavyweight Championship for six months before dropping it to Roughhouse O'Reilly. On August 3, 2006, Team Elite faced High Impact (Mike Taylor and Tony Santarelli) for the DSW Tag Team Championship. Neikirk and Knox lost the match, which led to them splitting up and feuding.

Florida Championship Wrestling (2007–2008) In 2007, Team Elite reunited and won the DSW Tag Team Championship on March 8 with a victory over The Major Brothers. They held the title until WWE ended its association with DSW on April 18, 2007. Neikirk and Knox were sent to Florida Championship Wrestling, another WWE developmental territory, where they continued to form a tag team. Neikirk also appeared on WWE's Extreme Championship Wrestling program as one of Paul Heyman's bodyguards.

In January 2008, he was suspended by WWE for a violation of the company's Wellness Program. He was released from his WWE contract on January 8.

Return to IZW He then returned to Impact Zone Wrestling, where he won the NWA Arizona Heavyweight Championship on December 30, 2008 in a match against G.Q. Gallo. The match ended in controversy, however, because both men's shoulders were on the mat as the referee counted the pinfall. Neikirk raised his shoulder just before the final count and was awarded the victory and the title belt. The title was declared vacant until the two men could face each other again on January 27, 2009. This rematch ended in a draw, but Gallo defeated Neikirk to win the vacant title on March 10. Neikirk regained the title, which had been renamed the Arizona Heavyweight Championship, that summer. He held the belt until dropping it to Mike James on August 11. NWA Representative Greg DeMarco then tried to strip James of the belt and return it to Neikirk, but Neikirk refused to accept the title.

Return to WWE and retirement After wrestling two matches for Dragon Gate USA as an enhancement talent in 2010, Neikirk returned to WWE and wrestled one dark match in 2011, a loss to Johnny Curtis on SmackDown. He retired shortly after, coming back two nights only in 2016 for the short-lived indie promotion Western States Wrestling.

Championships and accomplishmentsElite Xtreme WrestlingEXW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)Deep South Wrestling' DSW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) IZW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Mike Knox NWA Arizona Heavyweight Championship (1 time)