David Heath (born February 16, 1969 in Tampa, Florida) is an American professional wrestler better known by his Ring names The Vampire Warrior and Gangrel currently contracted to World Wrestling Entertainment and is thought be appearing with the revived ECW brand. He is also well known for living a "gothic lifestyle", with his in-ring behavior believed not to be as far from reality as some would assume. He is married to fellow wrestler and manager Gertrude "Luna" Vachon.
| David Heath | |
|---|---|
| File:Lunaandgangrelpromo.jpg | |
| Born | February 16, 1969 Tampa, Florida |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Blackheart Destruction The Black Phantom The Druid El Vampiro Lestat The Vampire The Vampire Warrior Warlock Gangrel |
| Billed height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) |
| Billed weight | 240 lb (109 kg) |
| Trained by | Boris Malenko Joe Malenko Dean Malenko |
| Debut | 1988 |
Career
Starting Out
Heath began his career by training with Dean Malenko in Florida. When his training was complete he began performing in various Independent federations in the Florida area, including Independent Professional Wrestling (IPW) where he became a Tag Team champion.
While working for Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF) he was paired with Luna Vachon as his valet. The two would become romantically involved and eventually marry.
World Wrestling Federation
In 1997 Heath wrestled in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) during a time when they had a limited talent exchange program and friendly relationship with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). While there he was noticed by WWF officials and signed a contract with the WWF.
Heath was given the character name Gangrel, which was derived from a vampire clan from the White Wolf roleplaying game Vampire: The Masquerade. The gangrel gimmick involved an entrance which saw him rising from a ring of fire on the elevated stage, followed by a slow walk to the ring set to a sinister type rap-instrumental-like music theme. He also carried a goblet of "blood" with him and, during his entrance, would stop on the ring steps, take a drink, and spray it into the air. He was billed as being "from the other side of darkness".
As Gangrel, Heath formed a gothic stable, called The Brood, with fellow WWF wrestlers Edge and Christian. The Brood became known for their sneak attack "Blood Baths" which involved the arena lights going dark for a few moments and when they came back on the targeted wrestler being covered in "blood". The three eventually joined up with The Undertaker and his "Ministry of Darkness" stable but the larger grouping didn't last long.
Before the Brood was formed, Gangrel had a long feud with Edge. A possible connection between the two happened during one Raw event in which Gangrel told edge after beating him down that "The Blood of Gangrel flows through you Edge". Nothing more was ever brought to light from that saying, though one could speculate; more to that story was never mention again or what that connection could have meant with the two characters.
After splitting from the Ministry The Brood began a feud with The Hardy Boyz and their manager Dok Hendrix. The feud took a turn when Gangrel suddenly turned on Edge and Christian and aligned himself with Matt and Jeff Hardy calling the group "The New Brood". Unfortunatley for Gangrel Terri Runnels also began to show interest in the Hardy brothers and they eventually chose her over him.
With The New Brood broken up Gangrel became a singles wrestler. In 1999 he brought in (real-life wife) Luna Vachon as his manager until she was fired. Gangrel continued working for the WWF until he was released from in 2001.
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
After his release from the WWF Heath did a short stint with World Wrestling All-Stars, including winning a pay-per-view match against his wife, Luna.
In 2002 Heath signed with NWA: Total Nonstop Action (TNA) and, at TNA's first PPV, competed in the 20 man "Gauntlet for the Gold" match to crown the first NWA World Heavyweight Champion of the TNA era once again going as The Vampire Warrior. He stayed with the promotion, making occasional appearances, until 2003 while still making appearances in smaller independent companies.
2004-2006
The years between 2004 and 2006 saw Heath bouncing back and forth between the newly renamed World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and the Independent circuit.
He made several appearances for WWE in 2004 using the Gangrel name with his old entrance music and gimmick but nothing solid came of it.
Following that he and Luna wrestled many independent tours all over the world. The pair did a lot of wrestling with the United Kingdom based All-Star Promotions.
In mid-2005 Heath was given another short-lived WWE contract and appeared in their Ohio Valley Wrestling, the primary developmental territory of WWE, but was again released before anything came of it. It is thought that WWE released him because they thought that he had gained too much weight.
In 2006, Heath was resigned as a potential for WWE's newest brand, ECW, as part of a faction of vampires. However, due to a weight problem, he was not brought up into the main roster. He has been scheduled for an appearence in the Big Show v.s Undertaker Match.
In wrestling
- Finishing and signature moves
- The Impaler (Implant DDT)
- Trapping suplex
- Triple running elbow drops
- Bloodbath (Spits "blood" at opponent;most comparable to the Asian mist)
- An actual blood bath. The lights in the arena go out as Gangrel's music plays. When the lights turn back on, one or more opponents are covered in a red bloodlike substance.
- Previous managers
- Luna Vachon
- Bert Prentice
- Quotes
- "It's Time For a Bloodbath!"
- "Blood is thicker than water!"
- "I love Lita"
Wrestler(s) Managed
Championships and accomplishments
- 1-time USWA Southern Heavyweight Champion
- 1-time NWA Florida Tag Team Champion (with Tom Nash)
- 2-time IPWA Tag Team Champion (with Rusty Brooks)
- 1-time ACW Heavyweight Champion
- 1-time USWF Tag Team Champion (with Tom Nash)
- 1-time Stampede International Tag Team Champion (with Tom Nash)
- 1-time MXPW Heavyweight Champion
- Heath won the 1993 Pro Wrestling Illustrated Rookie of the Year Award.