Information about Alvin Burke, Jr.

Alvin Burke, Jr.
Alvin Burke in his (in)famous athletic suit ring gear, which garnered him chants of "Power Ranger" from crowds<ref name="IGNInt" />
Statistics
Ring name(s)	Antonio Banks/Bank$ Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP)
Height	{} (c. 1999)<ref name="flinmate" />
Weight	180 lb (0 kg) (c. 1999) <ref name="flinmate" />
Billed height	{}<ref name="WWEProfile" />
Billed weight	252 lb (0 kg)<ref name="WWEProfile" />
Born	September 28 1973 (1973--) (age 34)<ref name="flinmate" /> Liberty City, Florida
Resides	Miami, Florida
Billed from	Miami, Florida
Trained by	Soulman Alex G[1] Norman Smiley
Debut	2003[2] |

Alvin Burke, Jr. (also known as Hassan Hamin Assad and Antonio Banks, born October 28 1973),^[3] is an American professional wrestler currently working for World Wrestling Entertainment on the SmackDown! brand under the ring name Montel Vontavious Porter, or MVP,^[4] where he is the reigning United States Champion as well as one-half of the reigning WWE Tag Team Champions with Matt Hardy.^[5]

Career

Early life and career

Burke first entered professional wrestling after serving 9½ years of an 18½ year sentence in prison for armed robbery and kidnapping at the age of 16.^[6]<ref name="flinmate" />^[7][8] After his training he made his pro wrestling debut in 2003 for many different companies on the independent circuit using the name Antonio Banks, including appearances with Full Impact Pro^[9], NWA Florida, Ring of Honor and on early Total Nonstop Action Wrestling weekly pay-per-views.^[2][10][11]

World Wrestling Entertainment

In 2005, after a number of house shows and dark matches, Burke signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and was assigned to their developmental territory Deep South Wrestling.<ref name="OwWProfile" /> It was there that he first developed the Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP) character: an arrogant, self-obsessed athlete partially inspired by the fictional NFL wide receiver Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) from the film Jerry Maguire and his real-life counterpart, Terrell Owens.^[2]. As part of the character he utilized numerous references to "305", the area code of his hometown, Miami-Dade County, in the form of chants, hand gestures, and logos.

SmackDown!

As MVP, he made his first appearance on WWE television on the August 4, 2006 episode of SmackDown!, being described by announcers as a coveted free agent.^[12] The initial storyline involved MVP appearing backstage and in arena crowds, often flanked by women and/or a bodyguard, and talking to SmackDown! General Manager Theodore Long about the contract his (unseen) agent was aggressively negotiating.^{[13] [14]} Throughout all of this MVP was described by commentators as arrogant, as he would stop conversations in the middle to answer his mobile phone or admire his own jewelry while people were speaking to him. Finally, on September 26, video of a press conference announcing the signing of Porter to "the largest contract in SmackDown! history" was uploaded to WWE.com. ^view

MVP's in-ring debut for the brand was set for October's No Mercy pay-per-view, and for it he received a heralded entrance with an NFL-like inflatable tunnel and pyrotechnics before defeating the unknown wrestler Marty Garner.^[15] During the match, commentators Michael Cole and JBL decried the choice of opponent, since it had been implied that it would be someone "more competent"^[16], and joined in with fans mocking his athletic suit styled ring gear, calling him "pathetic" while the fans chanted Power Ranger.^[17] On the following week's SmackDown! MVP demanded a tougher opponent to prove his mettle, and received just that in the form of Kane, who was making his SmackDown! debut. Despite being largely on the receiving end of their bouts, MVP started out the feud by narrowly scoring wins over Kane in a street fight^[18] and a cage match^[19] before losing to him in an Inferno match at Armageddon, from which he (kayfabe) suffered 1st degree burns.^[20] Because of the burns he was "out of action" for a short time, during which color commentator JBL expressed rage with the fans for cheering a match where the only way of achieving victory is to set an opponent on fire.^[21]

When the Kane feud died down, MVP began a new one with United States Champion Chris Benoit over Benoit's title.^[22] Porter credits his working with Benoit for improving his in-ring skill.<ref name="IGNInt" /> During the build up for the match with Benoit, MVP appeared on SmackDown! introducing various supposed Champions from around the world, giving them exaggerated measurements, then proceeded to defeat them in short order.^{[23] [24][25]} When he finally faced Benoit at WrestleMania 23 he seemed to have his number, but lost the match in the end.^[26] A subsequent rematch at Backlash went much the same way, with MVP suddenly losing to an Inside Cradle after looking like he was about to win for much of the match.^[27] For Judgment Day, MVP secured a two out of three falls match against Benoit, and defeated him with two straight pins to take the title,^[28] his first in WWE.

His first major feud over the Championship was against Matt Hardy, whom he started claiming to be better than at everything^[29] after defeating him at the Great American Bash.^[30] When MVP was (legitimately) diagnosed with the heart condition Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome,<ref name="WPW" /> it was written into the storyline with MVP blaming the condition for his losing an arm wrestling match against Hardy.^[31] When Porter was given an interview segment during SmackDown!, the VIP Lounge, he used it to bow out of a scheduled boxing match at Saturday Night's Main Event — only to have Evander Holyfield replace him, who ended up punching out Porter during the bout.^[32] On the August 24 episode of SmackDown!, MVP bragged to General Manager Teddy Long that he could win the WWE Tag Team Championship with anybody, prompting Long to grant him a Championship match alongside the next person who entered the room; Matt Hardy.^[33] The next week, MVP and Hardy defeated the champions, Deuce N' Domino to win the titles, making MVP a double champion.^[34]

In wrestling

• Finishing and signature moves
• Playmaker (Overdrive)
• Sitout side powerslam - early 2007
• Malicious Intent (Spinning Capoeira kick) - Independent circuit
• T.T.B. - Take (it to) The Bank / Tribute To Benoit (Arm trap crossface) - Independent circuit
• Player's Boot (Running big boot to a cornered opponent's face or to a standing opponent)
• Ballin' Elbow (Elbow drop with theatrics)
• Live From The 305 (Springboard shooting star press) - DSW
• Most Valuable Moonsault (Split-legged moonsault) - DSW
• Facebreaker knee smash
• Snap overhead belly to belly suplex
• Multiple side knee lifts to the opponent's head locked in a three-quarters face lock
• DDT
• Football kick
• Nicknames
• MVP
• The Franchise Player
• The Ballin' Superstar^[35]
• Mr. 305
• Mr. Fed Ex
• Theme music
• "Get Back" by Ludacris (FIP)
• "Move Bitch" by Ludacris (ROH)
• "I'm Comin'" by Silkk The Shocker (WWE)

Championships and accomplishments

• Coastal Championship Wrestling
• CCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• Future of Wrestling
• FOW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Punisher
• World Wrestling Entertainment
• WWE United States Championship (1 time, current)^[36]
• WWE Tag Team Championship (1 time, current)^[37] - with Matt Hardy
• Xtreme Wrestling Alliance
• XWA Heavyweight Championship (2 times)

Personal information

Burke has been diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome — a rare syndrome that causes the heart to beat faster than usual.^[38]

Burke has numerous tattoos: a portrait of Malcolm X on his upper left chest,^[39] the funerary mask of King Tut on his left upper biceps,^[40] and an Eye of Horus on the back of his left arm.^[41]

Media

In mid-August Burke taped an episode of Family Feud with Batista, John Cena, Mr. Kennedy, King Booker, Queen Sharmell, Candice Michelle, Layla El, Maria, and Michelle McCool. It's scheduled to air in November.^[42]

References

External links

• Alvin Burke, Jr. (Montel Vontavious Porter) at WWE.com
• Alvin Burke, Jr. (Montel Vontavious Porter) at Online World of Wrestling
• Alvin Burke, Jr. (Antonio Banks) at the Internet Movie Database
• Alvin Burke, Jr. (Antonio Banks) at TV.com

Persondata
NAME	Burke, Alvin, Jr.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Hassan Hamin Assad, Antonio Banks, Montel Vontavious Porter
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Professional wrestler
DATE OF BIRTH	October 28 1973
PLACE OF BIRTH	Liberty City, Miami, Florida
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH