Training and early years (1990–1991) In 1990, Mero decided to become a wrestler, traveling to
Tampa, Florida to train under the Malenkos. He debuted in June 1990 in Suncoast Pro Wrestling, against Chris Zaharias. He was initially a
villain and
managed by
Teddy Long. He debuted at the
inaugural SuperBrawl pay-per-view, on May 19, 1991, where he was introduced as Long's newest client. He made his televised in-ring debut on the June 1 episode of
World Championship Wrestling against enhancement talent Kip Abee. Badd made his pay-per-view debut at
The Great American Bash, where he lost to
The Yellow Dog by
disqualification after Long tried to remove Yellow Dog's mask. Badd was heavily
pushed upon his debut, being placed in the rankings of the top ten contenders for the
World Heavyweight Championship due to a dominant undefeated streak. He put his lip stickers on the faces of his defeated opponents after matches. On August 25, he participated in a tournament for the vacated
United States Heavyweight Championship, where he faced Yellow Dog to a no contest in the quarter-final. As a result, both men were eliminated from the tournament. Badd suffered his first
pinfall loss on television on the September 5
Clash of the Champions XVI: Fall Brawl, where he was pinned by the United States Heavyweight Champion
Sting. Badd continued his dominance with a win over
Jimmy Garvin at
Halloween Havoc and unsuccessfully challenged
Brian Pillman for the
Light Heavyweight Championship on the November 19
Clash of the Champions XVII. On the December 22 episode of
Main Event, Badd teamed with
Diamond Studd to take on
Tom Zenk and
P. N. News in a tag team match, which Badd's team lost. After the match, Badd was attacked by Studd and
Diamond Dallas Page until Zenk and News came to his rescue. As a result, Badd
turned into a
fan favorite. Shortly after, he began using "Badd Blaster", a
confetti gun that he would fire before his matches. and
Tracy Smothers in the first half of 1992. He feuded with Page and his teammate
Scotty Flamingo and the two competed in a series of televised and non-televised matches throughout 1992, including a
boxing match on the November 18
Clash of the Champions XXI, which Flamingo won in the third round after Page filled Flamingo's boxing glove with water. Mero got involved in a
rivalry with
Cactus Jack after the two were randomly placed as tag team partners via Lethal Lottery for
Starrcade but failed to get along. The duo teamed for the first time on the December 26 episode of
Saturday Night, where they defeated
Tex Slazenger and Shanghai Pierce. They had a confrontation after the match, during which Jack delivered a
double underhook DDT. At Starrcade, Mero's team lost in their Lethal Lottery match after Mero knocked Jack out with a
Tutti Frutti. Mero faced Jack in a match on the January 13, 1993
Clash of the Champions XXII, where he lost. Badd began his next major program with
Maxx Payne after Payne injured him with a
Payne Killer on February 9. During this rivalry, Payne stole the Badd Blaster and Badd attempted to reclaim his gun. Badd lost a match to Payne by forfeit on the June 16
Clash of the Champions XXIII after Payne took him out with the Badd Blaster. Badd donned a mask due to the sustained injuries and faced Payne in a series of matches. He defeated Payne at the
Beach Blast pay-per-view but lost to him in a
no disqualification match on the July 31 episode of
Saturday Night. Badd defeated Payne in a
mask versus guitar match on the August 18
Clash of the Champions XXIV, to claim Payne's guitar. The two ended their feud on the October 30 episode of
Saturday Night, where both men shook hands and buried the hatchet after a confrontation with
Paul Orndorff. He was randomly paired with
Brian Knobbs in a Lethal Lottery at the
Battlebowl pay-per-view, where Badd's team won to qualify for the
Battlebowl battle royal. He eliminated
Rip Rogers before being eliminated by Paul Orndorff.
World Television Champion (1994–1996) Badd received his first
world championship opportunity on the February 12, 1994, episode of
Saturday Night, where he challenged
Rick Rude for the
International World Heavyweight Championship in a losing effort. During this time, Badd formed a tag team with
Michael Hayes and began a feud with
Harlem Heat. Hayes turned on Badd during a no disqualification match against Harlem Heat on the February 19 episode of
Saturday Night. As a result, Badd would be facing Hayes, the following night at
SuperBrawl IV, where Hayes was replaced by Jimmy Garvin, whom Badd defeated. Badd began pursuing the
United States Heavyweight Championship after he lost a
tuxedo match against champion
Steve Austin on the May 7 episode of
WorldWide, after
Col. Robert Parker pulled off Badd's pants. Badd received another title shot on the June 23
Clash of the Champions XXVII, where Austin initially retained the title by pinning Badd after hitting him with a foreign object, but the
referee reversed the decision, during which Badd pinned Austin. However, due to the controversial finish, Austin retained the title. Badd substituted for the injured
Sting as
Lord Steven Regal's challenger for the
World Television Championship at
Bash at the Beach, where he failed to win the title. However, Badd remained in the title contention. Mero beat Regal for the title at
Fall Brawl to gain his first singles championship in WCW. Badd made his first successful title defense against
Bobby Eaton on the October 1 episode of
WorldWide. and the November 16
Clash of the Champions XXIX. Badd was scheduled to defend the title against Honky for a third time at
Starrcade but Honky left the company before the event and was replaced by
Arn Anderson, whom Badd defeated to retain the title. Badd
dropped the title to Anderson on the January 8, 1995, episode of
Main Event. Badd failed to win the title in subsequent rematches on the January 25
Clash of the Champions XXX, February 18 episode of
Saturday Night and February 19 episode of
Main Event. Badd defeated Anderson in a boxer-versus-wrestler match at
Uncensored to end the rivalry. Badd competed in the mid-card throughout 1995, until he defeated Brian Pillman to become the #1 contender for the United States Heavyweight Championship at
Fall Brawl. Badd received his title shot on the September 30 episode of
Saturday Night against Sting, but failed to appear as he had been attacked by the Television Champion
Diamond Dallas Page. Badd defended the title against Page at the inaugural
World War 3 pay-per-view, with the stipulation that if Badd won, he would gain Page's
Diamond Doll as his
valet. Badd defeated Page to retain the title and won the services of Kimberly, but he freed her. She continued to be in Badd's corner and the rivalry with Page continued. Badd defeated Page to retain the title at
SuperBrawl VI in 1996. Badd lost the World Television Championship to
Lex Luger during a house show on February 17, but defeated Luger to regain the title on February 18. He lost the title to Luger again on the March 9 episode of
Saturday Night, after Page delivered a
Diamond Cutter to Badd on the floor. This was Badd's final appearance in WCW. He left the company because he strongly objected to the ongoing
angle with Kimberly Page.
World Wrestling Federation (1996–1999) Intercontinental Champion (1996–1997) After leaving WCW, he immediately signed a contract with the
World Wrestling Federation (WWF), where he began competing under his real name because WCW acquired the rights to the Johnny B. Badd name. He debuted in WWF as a
fan favorite at
WrestleMania XII, on March 31, 1996, where he rescued his wife,
Rena "Sable" Mero from
Hunter Hearst Helmsley. Mero made his in-ring debut, the following night on
Monday Night Raw, where he defeated
Isaac Yankem DDS. The following night after his in-ring debut on Action Zone, he partnered with
Ahmed Johnson to take on
Camp Cornette at the
San Diego Sports Arena. Beginning with the April 15 episode of
Raw, Sable began accompanying Mero to the ring during his matches with various outfits and whips and he adopted the
nickname and a Jungle Gimmick called "Wildman", Both Mero and Sable adopted the
nickname World Wrestling Federation's 1 2 Punch . Mero defeated Helmsley in his pay-per-view debut at
In Your House 8. Mero qualified for the
King of the Ring tournament by defeating
Skip on the June 10 episode of
Raw. He defeated
Owen Hart in the quarter-final, the following week on
Raw, Mero began a
rivalry with
Goldust after Goldust won a match between the pair on the July 1 episode of
Raw. On the September 6 episode of
Raw, Mero participated in a
tournament for the
Intercontinental Championship, which was vacated by
Ahmed Johnson due to injury. Mero defeated Stone Cold Steve Austin, Owen Hart and
Faarooq to win the title on September 23 episode of
Raw. He
dropped the title to rival Hunter Hearst Helmsley, the following night on
Raw after Perfect goaded Mero into defending the title against Helmsley and hit him with a
steel chair. Mero led a team of
Jake Roberts,
The Stalker and newcomer
Rocky Maivia against Helmsley,
Crush, Goldust and
Jerry Lawler in a
four-on-four elimination tag team match at
Survivor Series. Mero was eliminated by Crush but his team won the match. Mero faced Helmsley for the Intercontinental Championship at
In Your House 12, where Mero won by
count-out. Mero participated in the
1997 Royal Rumble match as the #16 entrant. He was eliminated by the eventual winner
Stone Cold Steve Austin. On the February 3 episode of
Raw, Mero received his
last opportunity for the
Intercontinental Championship against
Hunter Hearst Helmsley, where he failed to win the title. Later that month, he tore his
anterior cruciate ligament, and spent seven months rehabilitating.
Feud with Sable and departure (1997–1999) Mero returned to WWF television on the October 6 episode of
Raw is War, where he dropped the Little Richard look and cut his hair and trimmed his facial hair and became "Marvelous Marc Mero" a pun on
Marvelous Marvin Hagler and was a boxer and wrestler mashup. He debuted a new finishing move,
TKO to win his match against
Miguel Pérez, Jr. As 1998 began, Mero's obsession with Sable continued, which led to a temporary alliance with
Goldust and his valet,
Luna Vachon, in which the three humiliated Sable during matches, but it turned into a short feud when Goldust became physical with Sable. At
WrestleMania XIV, Mero and Sable defeated Goldust and Luna in a
mixed tag team match. The storyline was resolved in a match between Mero and Sable at
Over the Edge, in which Mero feigned remorse, offering to lie down and allow her to pin him, before defeating Sable with an
inside cradle, which resulted in her leaving the WWF for a short time and Mero completed his villainous turn. After he dropped Sable as his valet,
Jacqueline became his manager. However, his association with Jacqueline did not prove to be successful as he failed to qualify for the
King of the Ring tournament against
Jeff Jarrett on the June 22 episode of
Raw is War and competed in the
Brawl for All on the following week's episode of
Raw is War, where he was defeated by
Steve Blackman in the first round. Mero and Jacqueline faced Sable and newcomer
Edge in a mixed tag team match at
SummerSlam, which Mero lost after Edge dropped Sable on him to pin him for the victory. Mero's misfortunes continued when he failed to regain the Intercontinental Championship after losing to
Val Venis in a
tournament in October. Mero's last appearance on WWF television in the United States was on the November 30 episode of
Raw is War, where he faced
Light Heavyweight Champion Duane Gill. He promised to
retire if he did not win the match. Gill won the match with the help of
The J.O.B. Squad. He wrestled one final time at the United Kingdom-exclusive pay-per-view
Capital Carnage, where he teamed with Jacqueline as a reluctant partner against Sable and
Christian in a losing effort. In 1999, both Mero and Sable left the WWF. At the time, Mero had three years remaining on his contract, with a guaranteed salary of $350,000.
Return to WCW (2000) On April 26, 2000, Mero returned to World Championship Wrestling, appearing with his trainer, Ray Rinaldi, in the audience on an episode of
WCW Thunder and confronting
Tank Abbott. Mero opted not to return to WCW on a full-time basis due to his physical condition at the time. They remained with the company until its closure in 2002.
NWA Total Nonstop Action (2004–2005) In 2004, Mero began wrestling for
NWA Total Nonstop Action (NWA TNA) reprising his
Johnny B. Badd character without a moustache and long hair. He debuted in TNA on the October 2, 2004 episode of
Xplosion, where he participated as a
fan favorite in a
tag team match with Russ Rollins against Rod Steele and Bruce Steele, which Badd's team won. After the match, Badd smashed
Jeff Jarrett's guitar on Rollins' head, thus
turning into a
villain. However, his villainous turn was short-lived as he turned back into a fan favorite during his
Impact! debut on November 5, where he defeated
Vito Thomaselli. He appeared with the company sporadically throughout late 2004 and early 2005. Badd's most notable moment during his TNA career took place on the November 19 episode of
Impact!, when he defeated
Raven, with the help of
Diamond Dallas Page. Badd then appeared at the
Turning Point pay-per-view in December, where he teamed with
Pat Kenney against
Glen Gilberti and
Johnny Swinger in a tag team match, which Mero's team won. His last televised match in TNA was a six-man tag team match on the December 31 episode of
Impact!, where his team was victorious. He made his last appearance in TNA at the
pre-show of the
Final Resolution pay-per-view on January 16, 2005, where he was paired with
Sonny Siaki in a tag team match against
The Naturals, which Naturals won.
Retirement (2006) Mero retired from in-ring competition in 2006, opening and operating the
Marc Mero Body Slam Training Institute in
Altamonte Springs, Florida. Today, Marc Mero contributes much of his time to the nonprofit organization he founded in 2007, Champion of Choices. ==Personal life==