Max Ironside

Character Name: Max Ironside

Nickname: The Handicapped Hero

Hometown: Battle Creek, Michigan

Height: 5'7"

Weight: 169 lbs

Alignment: babyface

In-Ring Style: one-handed speedy technician

Pic Base: Gregory Iron

Bio: Max has been an indy darling for the last eleven years, having trained at Wild Ones in Phoenix in the same training class that turned out Kasey Summers in 2009 (after a year of doing gimmicked hardcore matches for little to no pay just to earn the experience). He grew a bit of a cult following over the years, mainly for his hard work ethic and his self-effacing humor. The fact that he overcame cerebral palsy to become a wrestler in the first place (his right hand is deformed as a result of this, his arm withered with limited use) garnered him a little bit of buzz in the industry prior to his injury. He was being scouted by a few higher end promotions when he was unfortunately suplexed on his head several times during a match with Andrew Lexington which caused bleeding on the brain, ending with him in the hospital for several months. From November 2017 to January 2018, he was completing rehab training at Machine Works Gym in Indianapolis, working very closely with one of his heroes, Larry Gowan. Following that, he joined the Defiant Wrestling Federation where he went on to challenge Aidan Carlisle multiple times. He almost made her tap out once but his dreams of unseating her as champion hit a wall when the company closed its doors. After that, he competed in a single match overseas for Unleashed and took part in Vengeance Pro's hardcore tournament prior to their re-branding from FAW. He was injured at the hands of Kasey Summers while working a few matches for World Wrestling Headquarters, being forced to take time off to recover. From there, he signed with Crescent City, a fledgling promotion based out of New Orleans, competing with them from the very first show until they closed their doors abruptly in August of 2018. Since he was already in town, jumping into Bayou Independent Wrestling was a bit of a no-brainer. When they split the roster and formed YoungBloods, he was happy to make the shift, working with some of the hottest rookies on the planet. Unfortunately he picked up an injury in a match with former partner Bruce Wang and was sidelined from December 2018 thru February 2019. When he finally got the medical all-clear, his YoungBloods contract had lapsed, leaving him to search for a new home.

He thought he'd found one in OCW, relocating from Louisiana to Florida, only to find that the company was filled with bullies, racists and legitimate psychos. He found support from a few roster members, including the Dravers twins and Ed Houston, although the rest of the locker room remained openly hostile. After a great match against former Defiant talent James Raven in the Block Party tournament finals that saw him being eliminated, he parted ways, opting not to take any further bookings. He tried his luck in the rumored reboot of Vengeance Pro only for that to fall flat before the event even took place. Once that fell through, he signed on with Overpowered Wrestling, a company that was just taking shape from the Overpowered Tournaments run by Christian Kincaid. He has enjoyed moderate success with the company.

In 2020, Max found his way to Alberta Wrestling, hoping it would be his ticket to stardom. This seemed to be poised to happen as he won a series of matches, cementing himself as one of two final contenders for their World Championship. He went on to face Priscilla Kelly, losing in a 2 of 3 falls match. He bounced back and earned another shot, only to fall short again. On the heels of this (and the abuse his wife suffered at ringside during the match during a very graphic and disgusting spot), Max decided it was best to part ways with the company and search for something that may be a better fit and less degrading. He's worked a few matches with Southern Rebellion Wrestling once they opened up competition to males and he is still working for Overpowered, just not seeing as much action as he would like. 

Attire:

Most often, wrestles in the above: neon green, black, white and electric blue zebra-striped trunks, matching kneepads (often wears one blue kneepad that has the handicapped logo on it) and white wrestling boots. Wears a vintage black leather vest to ringside that he removes prior to the match. 

Theme song: "Back For More" by Five Finger Death Punch

Entrance: The lights flash wildly enough to cause seizures and Max appears at the top of the ramp, hand-in-hand with his beautiful wife Rayna. He makes his way to the ring, slapping hands with fans along the ramp. He makes his way around the ring, making sure to interact with all the fans he can before handing off his vest to his wife and getting in the ring, pausing to wipe his feet on the apron before stepping through the ropes.

Strengths:
1. Innovation and modifying moves are his specialty. He's had to adapt pretty much every move he's learned to do with one arm so he's gotten quite good at it.
2. Respects the hell out of the business and his fellow competitors. Will NEVER cheat or play dirty.
3. Charismatic and energetic, Max is able to captivate a crowd. It helps that he's a feel-good story about overcoming the odds.

Weaknesses:
1. Too nice. Hides his depression behind a smile which has a tendency to wear him down internally.
2. Has a tendency to lose his temper when someone makes disparaging remarks about handicapped people or his wife or has the audacity to resort to dirty tactics. 
3. Will balk at hardcore matches. Early in his career, this was all he was booked in and he has an extreme distaste for them now. Will compete if required but will not be happy about it and won't find any joy in harming his opponents that way.

Favorite moves:
1. diving elbow drop
2. sliding forearm smash
3. fisherman suplex
4. one-armed snap suplex
5. plancha
6. springboard back elbow
7. suicide dive
8. over-the-shoulder arm drag
9. one-handed bulldog
10. spinning headlock takedown

Signature move(s):
1. Crippled Crossface (arm-trap crossface) *can be used as a submission finish*
2. Special Needs (reverse Russian legsweep)
3. One-Armed Bandit (corkscrew elbow drop)
4. Mjölnir's Wrath (springboard fist drop off the second rope) *generally done with his "bad hand" and meant to rub his handicap in the opponent's face, literally. Reserved for those who have openly mocked him or provoked him in some way regarding his disability, only.*

Finisher(s):
1. Han-decapitation (facebreaker knee smash)
2. Accessible Parking (double knee armbreaker to schoolboy roll up)