Heidenreich was trained by the California-based UPW before he was first signed to a WWE developmental contract in 2001.
Heidenreich was sent back down to Ohio Valley Wrestling to further hone his skills after his recklessness in the ring came close to seriously injuring Stevie Richards on multiple occasions.
Heidenreich went on from the man of poetry to feuding with MNM after they attacked him when he was eating chocolate with the Divas, during an event in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
Heidenreich was eventually given another chance by WWE and in the fall of 2003, after several dark matches, he began showing up on Raw, trying to convince "Stone Cold" Steve Austin to give him a tryout with the organization.
When Heidenreich returned to WWE in the late summer of 2004, he made quite the impression, having been heralded by a series of vignettes that paired him with manager Paul Heyman.
The feud would continue into 2005, when 'Taker defeated Heidenreich again, this time in a casket match at the Royal Rumble, a match marred by interference from Kane and Snitsky.
Heidenreich also played professional football as an offensive lineman for the Atlanta Falcons, Washington Redskins, and New Orleans Saints of the National Football League.
In late August 2005Heidenreich's family was stranded in Louisiana when Hurricane Katrina hit the area, he was unable to contact them and had begun a search to find them.
Booker T defeated JonHeidenreich in a No Disqualification Match...Mark Jindrak defeated Luther Reigns...Kurt Angle defeated Mike Haywood in an Olympic Challenge...World Tag Team Champions, Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero, defeated John Bradshaw Layfield and Orlando Jordan via Disqualification.
JonHeidenreich defeated Spike Dudley...Chavo Guerrero, Joey Mercury, and Johnny Nitro defeated Paul London, Hardcore Holly, and Charlie Haas...Jimmy Jacobs defeated Eddie Guerrero via Disqualification...Matt Morgan defeated Sho Funaki...Booker T wrestled Kurt Angle to a No-Contest.
Heidenreich defeated Joey Mercury...United States Champion, Chris Benoit, defeated Orlando Jordan...World Heavyweight Champion, Batista, defeated Simon Dean...Ken Kennedy defeated Booker T...William Regal and Paul Birchill defeated Sho Funaki and Scotty Too Hotty...Randy Orton defeated Rey Mysterio.
To all who know JonHeidenreich the gridiron image he now presents is anything but a ring gimmick, but instead a symbol of a prior life full of the thrill of football conquests and related off-field battles.
Impressed by Goldberg's transition from the football field to the squared circle, Jon began to envision the possibilities that might also be open for him, but really didn't translate that dream into action until, by chance, he one day met wrestling's Buff Bagwell who encouraged him to go for it in the squared circle.
Being scouted recently by the scheming Schwag to add more muscle to his already awesome army amalgam, Heidenreich sees his future potential as great and his immediate contribution as undeniable.
Heidenreich also buried defensive linemen over seas as he competed in NFL Europe for the Rhine Fire.
Heidenreich’s farewell in UPW and departure for WWE was done in grand style as John was the last man standing in his final UPW match, a 16-man battle royal.
On the same episode of Raw that JonHeidenreich made his successful in ring debut, Victoria competed in a fatal four-way match to determine the #1 Contender for Molly Holly’s Women’s Championship.
www.upw.com /UPWstars_WWE_TV.htm (3403 words)
Obsessed With Wrestling(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-13)
The real name of John Heidenreich is actually John Brandes who just so happens to have been on the roster for the 92 Redskins and also was mentioned to have join the wrestling industry.
September 6, 2005: John Heidenreich finally got in contact with his wife, children and father, who thankfully were alive and safe..
October 22, 2005 - Velocity: John Heidenreich & Road WarriorAnimal vs William Regal & Paul Burchill was a no-contest..
Thatâs because Tuesday morning I awoke to find that everyoneâs favorite wrestler, JonHeidenreich, was officially released by WWE.
Obviously, I am not truly dismayed by the sensible decision to release Heidenreich, but it did strike me as a little upsetting, if only because I was saving my favorite Big Jon story for a column at some point in the future.
To these two kiddos, the Legion of Doom, or the Road Warriors, or whatever you prefer to call them, consisted of Animal and Jon F. Heidenreich.
Wrestling Observer - Features(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-13)
Match Results: Rob Van Dam beat (Big) JonHeidenreich;Hurricane & Rosey beat Pat Cusick & Bobby Rude; Heat GM Stevie Richards & Victoria did not have a match with Test & Molly Holly; Garrison Cade & Mark Jindrak beat The Dudleys
Al says Heidenreich is a "brutal, and I do mean brutal, competitor." RVD's backflip out of the corner is met with a devastating clothesline.
Heidenreich catches him coming off the ropes with a spinning Boss Man Slam.
Ultimate Pro Wrestling - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-13)
Its wrestling school, Ultimate University, has become popular for sending over 20 of its graduates to the WWE and others to Zero One in Japan.
It has been a stepping stone in the development of many past and present WWE Superstars including the likes of John Cena, Chris Masters, Victoria, JonHeidenreich, Mike "The Miz" Mizanin, Melina and Ryan Sakoda.
It has also featured some of the more well known independent wrestling stars in the world, including Christopher Daniels and Samoa Joe.
After 30 minutes of wrestling and exchanging comments with the fans, Heidenreich managed to get the pin on Tracy Smothers.
Smothers was sitting on top of Heidenreich, when the big man used his legs to hook Smothers' arms and roll him into the pin.
HoPWF President John Rambo informed the fans that a contract would be signed for Tracy Smothers to take on JonHeidenreich in the main event of the June 10, 2006, HoPWF Martinsburg, WV, Apollo Theater event!
the wrestling blog » The Reverse Little Things - 072204(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-13)
So Paul Heyman (who quit RAW, then showed up in an “agent-like” role on SD) is going to be managing JonHeidenreich, who was last seen on RAW, having gotten a contract from Stone Cold, and mysteriously taken off of the RAW Superstars page of WWE.com?
Uh… All I know is if they want people to take the brand split seriously, there’s no reason they can’t keep better track of who’s on what roster.
I’ll give them until Jon’s actual physical debut on SD before I get all angry about this, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t bother me a bit.
One of the top five best men to ever live, Jimmy Buffett
i <3 rainbow brite, TALL PEOPLE ONLY CLUB, JonHeidenreich, The elms, the best thing since sliced bread, GellieManFANS, Daniel Dabney Fan Club, OVW Arena, the jimmy buffet club
Nothing spectacular, which is a shame, but a solid three hours with nothing embarrassing, some good wrestling, and a couple of fun backstage Raw/SD/crossover segments (Gene Snitsky: “I like your poetry.” JonHeidenreich: “I like what you do to babies.” HA!).
Best match was either the cruisers or Shelton/Christian.