Brian Curtis Hildebrand (January 21, 1962 â€" September 8, 1999) was
an American professional wrestling manager, wrestler and referee who
sometimes went by the name of Mark Curtis. Although trained in
brawling, technical, and high-flying wrestling techniques, he spent
most of his career as a manager and referee.Hildebrand started out as
a manager in 1984 in the independent territories in the northeastern
United States. He was a heel manager, and he managed Cactus Jack at
one time as an evil Jewish character named Hymie P. Weiss. In 1986, he
began training at Dominic DeNucci's wrestling school in Freedom,
Pennsylvania.He went on to Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW) in 1992,
where he was a referee under the ring name Mark Curtis and also
wrestled occasionally as Kowabunga, fully costumed like a Ninja
Turtle. Throughout his tenure in SMW as a referee, Hildebrand was
known for wearing suspenders with his outfit. He also had brief heel
work where he was allied with Jim Cornette, and made appearances in
USWA along with Cornette. When SMW closed in 1995, he went on to work
as a referee in Extreme Championship Wrestling, under his real name.
After leaving ECW he went on to work as referee Mark Curtis in World
Championship Wrestling. During his time in WCW, he earned the nickname
The Shooter after a fan attempted to interfere in a match between
Psychosis and Dean Malenko on the September 8, 1997 edition of Nitro.
As the invading fan slid under the bottom rope to enter the ring,
Hildebrand, who happened to have glanced over just as the man jumped
the guard rail, kneed the fan in the face and placed the man in a
guillotine choke, and held him there until WCW security could take him
into custody. Play-by-play announcer Tony Schiavone and color
commentator Bobby Heenan found this amusing, with Heenan observing
"The smallest referee in the world just took him down!"Hildebrand's
likeness is used for the cartoon referee in WCW/nWo Revenge.
an American professional wrestling manager, wrestler and referee who
sometimes went by the name of Mark Curtis. Although trained in
brawling, technical, and high-flying wrestling techniques, he spent
most of his career as a manager and referee.Hildebrand started out as
a manager in 1984 in the independent territories in the northeastern
United States. He was a heel manager, and he managed Cactus Jack at
one time as an evil Jewish character named Hymie P. Weiss. In 1986, he
began training at Dominic DeNucci's wrestling school in Freedom,
Pennsylvania.He went on to Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW) in 1992,
where he was a referee under the ring name Mark Curtis and also
wrestled occasionally as Kowabunga, fully costumed like a Ninja
Turtle. Throughout his tenure in SMW as a referee, Hildebrand was
known for wearing suspenders with his outfit. He also had brief heel
work where he was allied with Jim Cornette, and made appearances in
USWA along with Cornette. When SMW closed in 1995, he went on to work
as a referee in Extreme Championship Wrestling, under his real name.
After leaving ECW he went on to work as referee Mark Curtis in World
Championship Wrestling. During his time in WCW, he earned the nickname
The Shooter after a fan attempted to interfere in a match between
Psychosis and Dean Malenko on the September 8, 1997 edition of Nitro.
As the invading fan slid under the bottom rope to enter the ring,
Hildebrand, who happened to have glanced over just as the man jumped
the guard rail, kneed the fan in the face and placed the man in a
guillotine choke, and held him there until WCW security could take him
into custody. Play-by-play announcer Tony Schiavone and color
commentator Bobby Heenan found this amusing, with Heenan observing
"The smallest referee in the world just took him down!"Hildebrand's
likeness is used for the cartoon referee in WCW/nWo Revenge.
Share this
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
Join us for free and get valuable content delivered right through your inbox.