Scott Norton

Early life Norton started out as a professional arm wrestler. and gained the nickname "Flash" due to his quickness in winning matches. While touring the arm wrestling circuit in Japan, Norton was approached by New Japan Pro-Wrestling about becoming a professional wrestler, but he turned it down initially. and Purple Rain Tours.

Professional wrestling career Early career (1989–1990) After finally deciding to enter professional wrestling, Norton was trained to wrestle by former Olympic wrestler Brad Rheingans. but was stripped of the title two weeks later after attacking several wrestlers.

The working agreement between NJPW and WCW meant that the Steiner Brothers would tour Japan on a regular basis, often wrestling against Scott Norton alongside a variety of partners. On November 5, 1991, Norton acted as a substitute for the injured Scott Steiner in an IWGP Tag Team Championship match. Norton and Rick Steiner were unsuccessful on the night and lost the tag team titles to Hiroshi Hase and Keiji Mutoh. a team that won the IWGP Tag Team Championship from the Hell Raisers. Jake "The Snake" Roberts and Brutus Beefcake, Masa Saito and Manabu Nakanishi and The Barbarian and Haku in non-title competition. The team also and made it to the finals of the 1993 Super Grade Tag League, where they lost to Keiji Mutoh and Hiroshi Hase.

After breaking up with Hernandez, Norton failed to achieve much notoriety in the singles ranks nor in the tag team division, where he teamed with a variety of partners such as Mike Enos, Ron Simmons, Masahiro Chono, Osamu Kido, and Road Warrior Hawk.

World Championship Wrestling (1993) Norton returned to the U.S. and signed with World Championship Wrestling in 1993. The promoters first tried to get Norton over with the fans as a villain by feuding with Sting, but Norton quit before Slamboree '93: A Legends' Reunion and was replaced by The Prisoner.

World Wrestling Federation (1994) Norton made an appearance on a WWF house show in Sunrise, Florida on October 9, 1994. He was defeated by Thurman "Sparky" Plugg.

World Championship Wrestling (1995–1999) Norton returned to WCW in September 1995, where he briefly feuded with Shark, after the latter inadvertently helped Randy Savage defeat Norton on the September 11 edition of WCW Monday Nitro.

Fire and Ice (1996) During a WCW Saturday Night taping, Norton squared off against Ice Train. The bout ended in a double count out when both men clotheslined the other, knocking each out. After the match, the two shook hands and Norton explained to announcer Gene Okerlund that he felt that they would make a formidable tag team because of their similar wrestling styles. The team was quickly named Fire and Ice. At Slamboree, Norton and Ice Train were randomly drawn to be on the same team and easily defeated the makeshift team of Big Bubba Rogers and Stevie Ray. The team advanced to the "Lord of The Ring" battle royal, but neither won the match. but Fire and Ice were not deterred. After a pre-PPV loss to The Rock 'n' Roll Express at Bash at the Beach, dissension started to appear between the two, a dissension that turned into battle as Norton attacked Ice Train after another team loss. Norton defeated Ice Train at Hog Wild in a submission match, but lost to Ice Train in a rematch a month later.

After Fire and Ice ended, Norton split his time between WCW and NJPW, achieving more success in NJPW than WCW most notably in the tag team division. Norton and Shinya Hashimoto teamed up and won the Super Grade Tag League in 1996 after beating Keiji Mutoh and Rick Steiner in the finals.

New World Order and Vicious and Delicious (1996–1999)

In late 1996, Norton joined the New World Order (nWo), which gave his WCW career some direction after the breakup of Fire and Ice. but were never able to win the World Tag Team Championship.

During his nWo days, Norton traveled back and forth to NJPW, where he was a member of nWo Japan, and became NJPW's gaijin ace while also becoming one of the few wrestlers to be a regular member of both factions. On September 23, 1998, he won the vacant IWGP Heavyweight Championship by defeating Yuji Nagata. before losing the title to Keiji Mutoh.

Norton soon began playing a smaller role in WCW, becoming part of the nWo "B-Team", which often placed him in mid-lower card matches; although he would continue to squash jobbers frequently in singles competition. While in NJPW, however, Norton was seen as a main eventer and constant threat to world champions. He left WCW completely in 1999 after losing a match against Goldberg on the September 30 episode of Thunder and began focusing his efforts on NJPW, where he was part of Masahiro Chono's Team 2000.

Return to NJPW (1999–2006) On March 17, 2001, Norton defeated Kensuke Sasaki in Nagoya, Japan to capture the IWGP Heavyweight Championship a second time. Following the 2006 New Japan Cup, he left NJPW after 16 years, becoming a freelancer in the process.

Late career (2006–2022)

In mid-2006, Norton started his own independent promotion, Wild West Championship Wrestling, based in the southwest of United States, where he acted as both a booker and wrestler until its closure later that year. The next day, Norton, Frye and Dick Togo lost to Chono, Eric Young and Kohei Sato.

On October 7, 2012, Norton teamed with Keiji Mutoh to defeat the team of Masanobu Fuchi and Taiyo Kea in a tag team match on the first event of All Japan Pro Wrestling's 40th Anniversary Tour.

Norton returned to NJPW on January 4, 2017, at Wrestle Kingdom 11 in Tokyo Dome, taking part in the New Japan Rumble, from which he was eliminated by Michael Elgin. The following day, Norton teamed with Cheeseburger and former nWo Japan stablemates Hiro Saito, Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima in a ten-man tag team, where they defeated Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Bone Soldier, Kenny Omega, Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa).

On April 29, 2017, Norton faced NYWC Heavyweight Champion Bull James at April Reign in a losing effort.

On April 5, 2022, Norton was announced on NJPW's official X account, that he would be joining The Good Brothers (Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows), Hikuleo, El Phantasmo and Chris Bey as an official member of Bullet Club for one night only in a 12-man Tag Team Match vs United Empire's Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb, TJP, Aaron Henare and Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis) at Windy City Riot on April 16, which resulted in a losing effort.

Personal life Norton is married to his wife Tammy. His book, Scott Norton: Strong Style, with assistance from Adam Randis, who has been a longtime fan of Norton, IWGP Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Tony Halme (1) and Hercules Hernandez (1) G1 Tag League (1999) – with Keiji Mutoh Super Grade Tag League (1996) – with Shinya Hashimoto Greatest Gaijin MVP (2002) Oregon Pro Wrestling Federation OPWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time) Pro Wrestling Illustrated Ranked No. 47 of the 500 top wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1993 Western Alliance Entertainment WAE Heavyweight Championship (1 time) Wrestling Observer Newsletter Best Gimmick (1996) – nWo Feud of the Year (1996) New World Order vs. World Championship Wrestling