Castor Strife Biography

Personal

Real Name:	J.J. Palazzo
Nicknames:	Niche Superstar, The Golden Dream, God of Snuff
Hometown:	Hollywood, California
Birthday:	10/15/1980
Height:	6'3
Weight:	245 lbs

History

Biography:

Details regarding the early life of Castor V. Strife are sketchy at best. He was born on October 15, 1980 in Pavia, Italy, in the region of Lombardy . At the age of 10, his parents moved to Los Angeles, California before eventually retiring in Arizona. Castor, by then 16, was working as an intern for Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer and decided to stay in Hollywood to pursue his dream of being a famous director. By the time he was in film school, he was working weekends in a local wrestling promotion where he would do video distribution in exchange for booking. Quite the prodigy in the ring, he learned the ropes rather quickly and had several tryouts for big-time organizations by the end of college. His trainers were Ares, Stan Vick, and Robby Leland (The Great White Void).

Early Days: NFW 1.0, ULTRATITLE Season 1, and NFW East

Joining NFW's ranks in 2001, Castor set out to show the world his vision using pro-wrestling as his platform. He made his mark early, going unbeaten in his first three matches before dropping a razor close match to then NFW World Heavyweight Champion Shane Southern. During NFW's Season 1, Castor was drafted into the North Division where he enjoyed mixed success until resigning from full-time competition by Week 11. Fortunately for him, the newly established NFW Eastern Conference was in dire financial straits and in need of cash. The surplus of revenue Castor received from his films wound up funding the East's operations, and led to him being named Chairman of the Eastern Conference by Commissioner Michael Manson. Each show ended as a "Castor Von Strife Production." (Reportedly, Castor's middle name is actually Valor, although some maintain it is Virtuoso). By the time Season 2 rolled around, Castor had a ceremonial role in the NFW East.

Hiatus, Comeback

From 2007-2008, Castor stayed out of the business completely due to drug problems that required multiple rehab stints. He made his return to NFW in late 2008. Initially tagging with Problem Child in Jimmy Mylde's 'Bold New Disaster', Castor decided to part ways from the group to once again focus on singles competition. One noticeable difference about Castor since his former days is the change in muscle mass. Initially weighing in at around 245 pounds, Castor came back 20 pounds heavier at 265, rumored to be on banned substances supplied to him by Jimmy Mylde (who himself has been indicted on steroid trafficking charges). Some even speculate that years of blackmarket Rx abuse has turned Castor delusional (as if he wasn't already).

Impulse and the NFW Television Title

In early 2009, Castor had a series of unwelcome run-ins with NFW Television Champion Impulse, culminating in their draw at Crash 50. At the first edition of NFW's new TV show, Reloaded, Castor surprised Impulse with an impromptu challenge for the TV title. When it was looking as if Impulse would pull off the victory, the top rope snapped as he leapt up for a super hurricanrana. If the fall itself didn't snap Impulse's neck, the ensuing Director's Cut from Castor certainly did. Castor made the pin and in doing so captured the TV title.

Castor cleaned out the TV division, culminating in a win over top contender Brock Alyas. A major turning point in Castor's career came at Supercrash 3, when in the elimination tag main event, he was the last man standing for Team NFW against Team Windham by defeating Troy Windham himself with The Director's Cut. Unfortunately, while celebrating the defeat of the man Castor claimed had been a lifelong nemesis (mostly imagined), JJ Deville snuck up and defeated Castor with his own finished to win the match.

After NFW World Heavyweight Champion Joe The Plumber left the organization due to brain injuries, it was announced that the title would be up for grabs in a four man tournament. Castor relinquished the TV title to compete in this tournament, along with Dorchester Stratton, Dan Ryan, and the returning Impulse. In the first round, Impulse defeated Dan Ryan, and Castor used Malik Anderson's family armbar to submit Dorchester. In the finals, Castor defeated Impulse with The Director's Cut to become the new NFW World Heavyweight Champion.

World Tour

In between his NFW TV title and World Title victories, Castor set out to dominate the wrestling world in outside organizations, the two biggest of the time being A1E and PRIME, where he captured both organizations' top titles, the A1E World Heavyweight Title and the PRIME Universal Title.

NFW World Champion

At Reloaded 10, Castor went to a 30 minute draw with Dan Ryan. It was announced the rematch would occur at Supercrash IV in Toronto's Skydome. There, Castor and Dan Ryan went to a 60 minute time limit draw. At the same event, Eric Dane manipulated Castor's protege Alex Austin into signing a contract that would leverage Castor V. Strife Productions on the outcome of a submissions match between the two. Seeking to show their boss that they could handle business on their own, Austin and Lana Dremire slipped the contract into Castor's paperwork unnoticed, and the bout was agreed to. After the Ryan/Strife draw, Dane appeared to inform Castor that he now owned his production company, as well as the home it was based in, and the contracts of his employees. His price for giving it back? A shot at the NFW World Heavyweight Championship.

Castor then embarked on a cross-country tour via bus and rental car, meeting fans, promoting himself, and training for matches. NFW personality Devin Millwood followed Castor and recorded this tour for episodes of ESEN's Beyond Castor Strife, which aired in the run-up to the eventual title bout with Eric Dane.

At Reloaded 12, Castor faced Dane in a no-DQ match, where the odds were considerably stacked against him. With Dane's entourage at ringside (including Alex Austin, who was now in Dane's employ), Castor was forced to battle outside interference while he and Dane fought all over the arena. Despite suffering a separated shoulder, Castor was able to overcome the odds and defeat Dane via the Director's Cut. During the match, Alex Austin turned on Dane and left the building.

ULTRATITLE 2012

While preparing for his match with Dane, Castor entered the newly announced 2012 ULTRATITLE tournament, representing NFW. With a field of 128 competitors, this would be the largest tournament since ULTRATITLE 1996.

Castor rolled over his early bracket challengers Jaguar, Sammy Brown, and Khristain Keller to advance to the Sweet 16. His next opponent, former EPW and CSWA EN World Champion Anarky, would prove to be a significant challenge. Despite a back-and-forth match, Castor would claim victory yet again, moving on to the Elite 8. There, he dominated ACW's Oprhan to advance to the Final Four. In a one-night event to decide the tournament winner, Castor defeated two-time tournament champion Joey Melton, while Eli Flair came out on top against Jack Harmen. The finals were set: Castor Strife versus Eli Flair, mentor to Impulse, for the championship trophy.

Castor and Eli fought tooth and nail, with both men trading the upper hand repeatedly throughout the match. In the end, Castor defeated the legend to become 2012 ULTRATITLE Champion, capping off an extraordinary year of title defenses and tournament victories.

The Greatest Show on Earth

After ULTRATITLE and the victory over Eric Dane, Castor's value was at an all-time high. With crowds teeming to see him, he had a well-earned night of rest when he helped call the action at Reloaded 14 during a Stairway To Hell #1 Contender's match for his World Championship. In that match, Impulse overcame Eric Dane, Rook Black, and Legion to once again become the top contender to the NFW World Heavyweight Title, setting up a fourth showdown with Castor Strife.

Meanwhile, another rematch loomed. Dan Ryan, who attacked Castor at the conclusion of the ULTRATITLE finals, made it clear he wanted a match. Castor responded publicly, challenging the former champion to return to NFW for the bout. Ryan declined, countering that Castor had an open invitation to EPW, where he would be more than happy to host the event. Castor also declined, but the two met half-way: both men would finance a special ESEN super-fight, Castor Strife versus Dan Ryan III, in Dallas, Texas at Cowboys Stadium. The event broke the record for attendance at a pro-wrestling show, with a crowd of more than 100,000. In the end, Castor Strife prevailed by defeating Dan Ryan in a match that saw Dan dominating the opening minutes before succumbing late.

Latter Years NFW and Beyond

After winning Random Rumble 2014, Castor Strife secured a shot at his second NFW World Heavyweight Title against Jack Harmen at Futureshock II, expected to be the biggest event in NFW history. Unfortunately, NFW has been on hiatus since this period, leaving Castor Strife in semi-retirement since then. Nobody has heard from him in a couple of years, aside from his investment in a pro wrestling subscription service called Open Promo.

Now, Castor has unexpectedly signed with Wrestle UTA, his intentions unknown from the start.

Other Feds:

Past: NFW, A1E, PRIME

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The United Toughness Alliance is a fictional wrestling promotion. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imaginations or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Character images are copyright © Ben Halkum and may not be used without permission.

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