Early career (1991–1993) Born in
Red Bank, New Jersey, Chad Slivenski trained under Don Owens and made his wrestling debut on September 11, 1991. He spent two years on the
East Coast and
Mid-Atlantic "
indy circuit", as well as stints in the
United States Wrestling Association and
Smokey Mountain Wrestling, prior to joining
Tod Gordon and
Eastern Championship Wrestling in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in late 1993.
Extreme Championship Wrestling (1993–1996) Slivenski made his ECW debut as Chad Austin on its third major show, the two-day
NWA Bloodfest, at the
ECW Arena on October 1, 1993. On both nights, he wrestled The
Bad Breed (
Ian and
Axl Rotten) with Todd Shaw and
Don E. Allen respectively, as well as losing to
Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka. These matches were later broadcast on the first episodes of
ECW Hardcore TV during the next few weeks. On November 14, 1993, Austin was the sole survivor of a six-man elimination tag team match with Watsumi the Rising Sun and Joe College against the American Ninja, Johnny Paradise and The Comet at
Kenwood High School in
Essex, Maryland. Slivenski was part of two other memorable
Hardcore TV moments that year. On December 13, he was scheduled to face
Mr. Hughes but the lights unexpectedly went out, and when they came back on again, the entire ECW locker room was engaged in a brawl in the ring. A week later, Slivenski was brought out by
Terry Funk as a mock
Sabu impersonator and attacked by Funk. When Sabu's then manager
Paul E. Dangerously confronted Funk, he was chased off. In front of a sold-out crowd at the ECW Arena, Slivenski scored an upset victory over
Pitbull #1 in his ECW debut at
Holiday Hell 1993 on December 26, 1993. When his opponent continued attacking him after the match,
The Sandman came to his rescue. Slivenski continued to be a regular at the ECW Arena during the next year. On February 5, 1994, he lost to
911 in the opening match of ECW's
The Night the Line Was Crossed. In the first half of 1994, he also faced
The Public Enemy (
Rocco Rock &
Johnny Grunge),
Johnny Hotbody, The Sandman,
Hack Meyers and
Shane Douglas. On April 9, he challenged
Ricky Blues at the
Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation's Kenwood Khaos in Essex. That summer, he appeared on three major ECW shows. On June 24, his match against Don E. Allen at
Hostile City Showdown 1994 ended in a no-contest when 911 interfered and incapacitated both men with a
chokeslam. A month later at
Heat Wave 1994, Slivenski was disqualified in his match against
ECW Television Champion Mikey Whipwreck as well as their rematch in
Wildwood, New Jersey a week later. Five days later in
Montgomeryville, Pennsylvania, he teamed with
Rockin' Rebel and
Jason Knight in a
six-man tag team match to defeat Don E. Allen, Dino Sendoff and
Hack Meyers. On August 13, he defeated
"Ironman" Tommy Cairo at
Hardcore Heaven 1994. He also wrestled Mr. Hughes,
Sabu,
Damien Stone,
Steve Richards,
Rockin' Rebel and
Chris Benoit on
Hardcore TV over the summer. and, the following week, wrestled Shane Douglas for the
ECW Heavyweight Championship. This resulted in Tod Gordon coming out and ordering everyone to the back, with the exception of Axl Rotten and Pitbull #2, and reenter the ring under
Royal Rumble-style rules. The event was later included as part of
ECW Extreme Warfare, Vol. 1. On January 7, 1995, Slivenski lost to JT Smith at the ECW Arena and to
The Tazmaniac at the Big Apple Dinner Theater in
Kennett Square, Pennsylvania on February 24. The following night at ECW's
Return of the Funker, he and Joel Hartgood lost to
The Pitbulls (Pitbull #1 and
Pitbull #2) in front of 1,150 fans. At
Hardcore Heaven 1995, a tag team match between himself and The Broad Street Bully against Dino Sendoff and Don E. Allen ended in a no contest when 911, as he did the previous year, entered the ring and choke slammed all four men. He and Don E. Allen also lost to
Dances with Dudley &
Dudley Dudley at
Gangsta's Paradise on August 16. Slivenski also defeated
Raven for the
MEWF Mid-Atlantic Championship on October 1, 1995. He lost the title to
Corporal Punishment on November 12, and after it was declared vacant the next month, lost to
Devon Storm in a match to determine the new champion. On April 1, 1996, Slivenski was involved in a real-life "
shoot" with
New Jack when he took part in a
tag team "double tables" match with
The Blue Meanie against
The Gangstas at an
April Fool's Day television taping for ECW Hardcore TV. Slivenski had replaced Meanie's original partner, Stevie Richards, who had suffered a cracked orbital bone during an altercation with Tommy Dreamer and Shane Douglas. According to New Jack, as with the
Mass Transit incident, he "didn't like his attitude" and had particularly taken offense when Slivenski approached him to discuss the match beforehand. At the end of the match, New Jack dove off the top rope with a steel chair and onto Slivenski injuring his face. Afterwards, he took the chair and hit him five times breaking his leg as well. He later began using the move, referred to as the
187, as his finisher and has credited Slivenski, albeit sarcastically, for its creation.
Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation and the Independent circuit (1996–1999) Leaving ECW shortly after this incident, Slivenski began competing in the
Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation (MEWF). A month before his run-in with New Jack, he had wrestled
Steve Corino in
Baltimore. His injuries caused him to miss a year of ringtime before eventually returning to the ring in early 1997. In one of his first matches back, he was scheduled to headline a
National Wrestling League show in
Boonsboro, Maryland with
Devon Storm on April 22, 1997, but the match was cancelled when Storm was unable to appear. A year later, he lost to The Cat Burglar in a 3 Way Dance with
Steve Corino for the
MEWF Light Heavyweight Championship on September 18, 1998. On October 1, 1999, he wrestled Jake Daniels for
The Bad Crew's Hardway Wrestling in
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He also wrestled for Atlantic Terror Championship Wrestling and
Cueball Carmichael's
Independent Pro Wrestling Alliance.
Maryland Championship Wrestling (2000–2003) In early 2000, Slivenski started wrestling for
Maryland Championship Wrestling (MCW). On January 19, 2000, he teamed with
"Wiseguy" Jimmy Cicero in a match for the then vacant
MCW Tag Team Championship and lost to The Holy Rollers (Earl the Pearl & Rich Myers) in a 3 Way Dance with The Badstreet Boys (
Joey Matthews &
Christian York) in
Glen Burnie, Maryland. On April 14, he became the
MCW Cruiserweight Champion in
Annapolis by defeating
Adam Flash and Quinn Nash in an elimination match. Around this time, he and
kayfabe brother Chip Bowman joined Cicero's "heel" stable Total Quality Management with
MCW Tag Team Champions Cueball Carmichael & Dino Devine. Two weeks later, he and Chip joined Cicero in a 6-man tag team match against
King Kong Bundy and The Ghetto Mafia (2-Dope & Sydeswype) in Lusby, Maryland on April 29. Over the next seven months, Slivenski successfully defended his title against Mikey Whipreck, Qenaan Creed and Black Dragon. and Ronnie Zukko at the
2000 Shane Shamrock Memorial Cup on July 19. That summer, he and Qenaan Creed became involved in a 3-month feud over the title. He finally lost the title to Creed a month later in
Odenton. At the end of the year, he and Dino Devine lost to
Van Hammer & The Cowboy, a local
WZBH disc jockey, in
Laurel on December 16, 2001. On January 30, 2002, he appeared with Total Quality Management in their final match together in front of an estimated 1,200 fans at an MCW Rage TV taping in Glen Burnie. Slivenski's team lost when Carmichael was pinned and, according to the pre-match stipulations, TQM was forced to disband. Soon after the TQM's breakup, Slivenski formed a tag team with former stablemate Dino Divine called The Slackers. On February 16, they defeated Van Hammer & The Cowboy in a rematch on MCW Rage TV in
Harrington, Delaware but lost to
Gillberg &
Steve Wilkos of the
Jerry Springer Show at Michael's Eighth Avenue in Glen Burnie a month later. In his pro wrestling debut, Wilkos put both men in the
sleeperhold to get the victory. The Slackers bounced back by winning the
MCW Tag Team Championship from The Badstreet Boys on the May 22nd edition of Rage TV. In early 2003, The Slackers became involved in a feud with The Bruiser when, on January 29, they interfered in his match against
Danny Doring costing him the
MCW Heavyweight Championship. Slivenski managed to beat him in a singles match on March 12 and, with Devine, in a tag team match with
Romeo Valentine on May 15. Slivenski and Devine remained tag team champions until MCW's final show, the 5th annual 2003 Shane Shamrock Memorial Cup in Glen Burnie on July 16, 2003. In a special interpromotional match, they lost to The Ghetto Mafia in a 3 Way Dance with
MEWF Tag Team Champions Team Punishment (Derek Wayne & Buzz Stryker) to unify both titles. On November 15, 2003, he lost to Hyjinx in a Four Corners match with OGB and Brandon Mercury for the
NWL Cruiserweight Championship in
Newville, Pennsylvania. On January 11, 2004, Slivenski and Divine captured the
MEWF Tag Team Championship from Suicide & Bruiser and held the titles for the next three months. Two weeks later, he lost to Chris Nightmare in
Smyrna, Delaware for Maximum Championship Wrestling on January 24. He also made another NWL/HoPWF appearance on February 14 where he unexpectedly won the NWL Cruiserweight Championship from OGB in a
lumberjack match in
Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania. Prior to the match, he introduced the 6'8" 330-pound Dorian DeVille as his new manager and had helped Slivenski win the title with outside interference. He was stripped of the belt the next month after failing to make a scheduled title defense in Newville on March 6. Three weeks later, he showed up at an MEWF show at the Northpoint Flea Market in Dundalk, Maryland. Slivenski returned to the NWL to participate in a fundraising event for wrestler Adam Helsley, who was severely injured in a car accident the previous year, where he wrestled The Dynamic Sensation at
Paw Paw High School in
Paw Paw, West Virginia on May 8. Also appearing on the card was
Morgus the Maniac,
John Rambo and former
WWF World Tag Team Champion Headshrinker Samu. Two months later, he regained the NWL Cruiserweight title from Hyjinx in a no-disqualification match in
Martinsburg, West Virginia on July 17. Slivenski would hold the title for over eight months, the second-longest reign in the title's history, until losing it to Fumar in
Hagerstown, Maryland on April 2, 2005. The previous month, he had wrestled Morgus the Maniac at a Maryland Wrestling Alliance card in Glen Bernie. He also returned to the ECW Arena after nearly a decade where, as Chad Austin, he participated in a 5-team Royal Rumble-style tables elimination match at
IWA Mid-South's "Something to Prove" show on June 11. Substituting for Silas Young, he and
Eric Priest were the first entrants and were met by ROH students Davey Andrews and Shane Hagadorn. Both Slivenski and Hagadorn's teams were simultaneously eliminated when
Eddie Kingston powerbombed Hagadorn onto an already prone Slivenski though a table. The match was eventually won by
The Iron Saints (Vito and Sal Thomaselli) becoming 5-time
IWA Mid-South Tag Team Champions. Later that year, Slivenski reunited with Dino Devine in Fort Meade Wrestling to defeat their old MCW rivals The Holy Rollers at the
Fort Meade Army Base in Odenton, Maryland on October 1, 2005.
Maryland Championship Wrestling (2006–present) When Maryland Championship Wrestling resumed operations in late 2006, The Slackers were among the first alumni to return to the promotion. On February 26, 2006, The Slackers briefly won the MCW Tag Team titles in a 4 Way Dance with The Holy Rollers and Jason Static & Judas Young at MCW's "Resurrection" in Dundalk, Maryland. Later that night, however, they lost the titles to
The James Gang (
BG James &
Kip James) in a 3 Way Dance with The Holy Rollers Slivenski lost the match after Pierce hit him with a
light tube. A few months later, The Slackers teamed with
Tito Santana in a 6-man tag team match to defeat Buck and Phat Blues Security at MCW's "Tribute To The Legends" show in Dundalk on September 10, and beat Buck Chyld & Doyle Day at "Monster Mash" on October 29. On November 11, they lost to Bruiser & Genesis in a 4 Way Dance against the Rehoboth Beach Crew and Phat Blues Security at
North Carroll High School in
Hampstead, Maryland. At MCW's Holiday Homecoming, Slivenski and Devine lost to The Ghetto Mafia in a grudge match at Michael's Eighth Avenue in Glen Burnie on December 28, 2006. On February 25, 2007, The Slackers defeated the Rehoboth Beach Crew (Stevie Riggs & LK) at MCW's 9th Anniversary Show at the MCW Arena in Dundalk. The following month, he and Devine faced two of the three members of the RBC at "March Madness: When Monsters Collide"; while Devine lost to L.K., Slivenski beat Tyler Hilton to win the
MCW Rage Television Championship. On April 21, The Slackers teamed with
Doink the Clown in a 6-man tag team match to defeat the Rehoboth Beach Crew (Tyler Hilton, Stevie Riggs & LK) at Aggravated Assault '07. The event was held at the Arena Club in Bel Air, Maryland with over 1,000 in attendance. After six weeks as champion, Slivenski re-lost the title to Hilton at Xtreme Measures II in Dundalk. That fall, he was one of several wrestlers nominated by fans in an
online vote to challenge Hilton for the title at the upcoming "Kickoff Chaos" supercard on September 9. The other nominees included his tag team partner Dino Divine, Stevie Riggs and LK of the Rehoboth Beach Crew, Buck Chyld, Ramblin Rich and Patrick Brink. On December 8, he wrestled at a Maximum Championship Wrestling supercard, "The Road to Full Access 4", in Blue Ridge Summit and lost to MCW Heavyweight Champion Matt Turner in a non-title match. At Holiday Homecoming '07, Slivenski lost to
Ruckus at Michael's 8th Avenue in Glen Burnie. He made another appearance a month later losing to Zachary Shane at Baltimore's Tall Cedar Hall on April 20. Later that year, he and Kylie Pierce lost an
intergender tag team match to Angela & The Baltimore Bully at MCW's "Raven’s Kickoff" in
Canton, Maryland on September 5, 2008. On November 7, 2009, he lost to Queenan Creed a 3 Way Dance with Andrew Ryker at the New Green Room in Dundalk. ==Championships and accomplishments==