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Terry Gerin - Career

Terry Gerin - Career: Encyclopedia II - Terry Gerin - Career

Terry Gerin grew up in inner city Detroit. His father died when he was fourteen, and his mother often had to work up to three jobs to support their family. Gerin made his debut in professional wrestling in and around the independent promotions of Detroit as Terry Richards. He once was a jobber for World Championship Wrestling, losing to Road Warrior Hawk in a match in 1995. He won the world title for Pro Wrestling Worldwide (PWW), an independent westling promotion based out of Grand Rapids as Rhino Richards. He was a mem ...

Terry Gerin: Encyclopedia II - Terry Gerin - Career

Terry Gerin - Career

Terry Gerin grew up in inner city Detroit. His father died when he was fourteen, and his mother often had to work up to three jobs to support their family.

Gerin made his debut in professional wrestling in and around the independent promotions of Detroit as Terry Richards. He once was a jobber for World Championship Wrestling, losing to Road Warrior Hawk in a match in 1995. He won the world title for Pro Wrestling Worldwide (PWW), an independent westling promotion based out of Grand Rapids as Rhino Richards. He was a member of "THUG Life" with Joe Legend, Christian Cage, Bloody Bill Skullion and Sexton Hardcastle in Canada. He later later joined Extreme Championship Wrestling in 1999 and became a star there. Rhino was the ECW World Television Champion as well as the ECW World Heavyweight Champion when the company folded in 2001.

Terry Gerin - WWF/WWE

When ECW folded in 2001, he joined World Wrestling Federation, wrestling under the slightly different name Rhyno. He debuted on RAW on March 19, 2001 in the weeks leading up to WrestleMania X-Seven to help Edge and Christian win the Tag Team Titles from The Hardy Boyz (though they lost them later that night to The Dudley Boyz when Spike Dudley made his debut. During the TLC match he interfered again to help Christian climb the ladder and collect the belts. Several months later, he won the WCW United States Championship by defeating Tajiri after the WWF's purchase of WCW. He seriously injured his neck in late 2001, and had to undergo cervical fusion surgery that kept him out of action for slightly over a year. The returning Rhyno, made his WrestleMania in-ring debut at WrestleMania XIX, teaming with Chris Benoit in a Three-Way with Team Angle and Los Guerreros. He was never utilized in a major pushed singles role, but did hold the WWE Hardcore Championship on three occasions. His most recent run was as part of a tag team with another former ECW star Tajiri, challenging and losing to then-WWE World Tag Team champions La Résistance.

Following an incident at a "Post-WrestleMania 21 party" at the Universal Sheraton in California, Rhyno was released by World Wrestling Entertainment. During the incident Rhyno damaged public property, shattering a large flowerpot vase in the foyer of the hotel during a heated argument with his wife (whom he was in the process of divorcing). WWE management brought Rhyno back to his hotel room, and Rhyno flew home from Los Angeles the following day, as opposed to staying for the RAW taping. Along with his friend Matt Hardy, Rhyno was released by WWE on April 11, 2005. After the incident, his wife took sole custody of their daughter.

Despite the incident and his WWE release, Rhyno appeared at the WWE-sanctioned ECW One Night Stand reunion show on June 12, 2005. He interrupted a promo by Rob Van Dam, pulling off the knee brace Van Dam wore and pounding on his injured knee. Rhyno set up for a gore but the house lights went off and when they came on, Sabu was in the ring. He lost to Sabu.

Terry Gerin - Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

Rhino made his debut in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling on July 17, 2005 (reverting to using an "i" in his name as he did in ECW, instead of a "y" as the WWE had trademarked the "Rhyno" moniker), by hitting then-NWA World Heavyweight Champion Raven with the Gore! following his match with Abyss, thus joining Planet Jarrett. These events led to a match being scheduled between the team of Rhyno and Jarrett and the team of Raven and the returning Sabu at the TNA Sacrifice 2005 pay-per-view on August 14, 2005.

During the Sacrifice preshow, Director of Authority Larry Zbyszko informed Jarrett, who had lobbied for a title shot for several weeks, that if he could pin Raven, he would receive a shot at the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at the September 11, 2005 TNA Unbreakable. However, should Jarrett lose the match, he would be prohibited from receiving a world title shot for one year. Later that night, during the tag match, Jeff Hardy returned to TNA, attacking Jarrett and enabling Rhino to Gore! and pin Raven. An irate Jarrett, furious at having lost his shot at the title, watched as Zbyszko announced Rhino to be the new number one contender immediately after the PPV went off the air.

Rhino faced Raven at Unbreakable in a match which saw him accidentally Gore! a shopping cart in an homage to his WWF Hardcore Championship bout with Raven at WWF Backlash 2001. Despite interference from Jarrett, Raven retained his title after DDT'ing Rhino. He went on to tour Australia on the International Assault tour in early October.

Rhino fought Jeff Hardy in the main event of the first episode of TNA iMPACT! on Spike TV on October 1, 2005. The match was declared a no-contest after both Abyss and Sabu interfered. At TNA Bound For Glory 2005 on October 23, Rhino, Abyss, Sabu and Hardy faced each other in a Monster's Ball match, which Rhino won after hitting a middle-rope Rhino Driver on Hardy. Later that night, Rhino won a 10-man Gauntlet match to determine who would face Jeff Jarrett for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship after Kevin Nash, Jarrett's scheduled opponent, was rushed to the hospital due to what appears to be a legit injury. Rhino won the match, and the title. This also made Rhino turn face. He will be teaming up with Team 3D to take on Jeff Jarrett and the NWA World Tag Team Champions, America's Most Wanted, at the TNA Genesis 2005 PPV on November 13, 2005. He lost the NWA World Title to Jeff Jarrett on the November 3, 2005 2-hour Primetime specials edition of TNA iMPACT! Rhino and Team 3D defeated Jarrett and America's Most Wanted after hitting the Gore on Jarrett. It was announced that Jarrett would defend the title against Rhino at Turning Point. On the November 19 edition of TNA iMPACT!, Rhino was pitted against "The Monster" Abyss. When it seemed that Abyss had the match won, the lights went dark and Sabu was seen next to the ring holding a steel chair wrapped in barbed wire. This distracted Abyss so that Rhino could Gore! him for the win.

Starting with the November 26 episode of iMPACT!, TNA started airing promos about Rhino's career and personal life in preparation for his title rematch at Turning Point 2005. He lost the rematch, but it took a guitar shot and all of Team Canada (James Storm was injured earlier, so AMW couldn't help) for Jarrett to win.

The iMPACT! following Turning Point, Rhino defeated Joe Doering with The Gore. After the match, he talked about how Jarrett had to use his goons to win; and that their paths would cross again. Towards the end of the show, he appeared on the ramp looking at Jarrett and his goons, alongside Christian Cage, and Team 3D.