Mike Sanders

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For the former National Basketball Association (NBA) player, see Mike Sanders (basketball).

Mike Sanders (born July 20, 1969 in Atlanta, Georgia) is an American professional wrestler and stand-up comedian, formerly working with WWA, TNA and WCW.

Mike Sanders


Statistics
Ring name(s)	Mike Sanders "Above Average"
Billed height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Billed weight	225 lb (102 kg)
Born	July 20, 1969 Atlanta, Georgia
Trained by	Paul Orndorff at the WCW Power Plant
Debut	1998

1 Career
2 Personal life
3 Wrestling facts
- 3.1 Finishing and signature moves
4 Championships and accomplishments

[edit] Career

Before becoming a wrestler, Mike Sanders was a Communications Officer in the United States Army. Sanders trained at the WCW Power Plant before debuting in World Championship Wrestling in June 2000 as the mouthpiece of the Natural Born Thrillers. In 2000, he defeated Ernest "The Cat" Miller to become the WCW Commissioner, and abused his power to the advantage of the Thrillers.

When WCW was purchased by the World Wrestling Federation in March 2001, Sanders' contract was acquired as part of the deal. Sanders was sent to the Cincinnati, Ohio based Heartland Wrestling Association, then a WWF developmental territory, where he formed a tag team with Lance Cade. Sanders was the booker in HWA and his progress impressed WWF management. However, according to Raven, Sanders demise started when he was in the locker room at a WWE event shortly after Triple H tore his quad. Locker room etiquette in wrestling requires you to go up to everyone and introduce yourself. Triple H was in attendance, on crutches. Sanders did not go up to him and introduce himself. Raven believes that this basically threw all the progress he made within the eyes of WWF management out the window. He was released by the WWF in 2002.

Sanders was hired by the World Wrestling All-Stars promotion in late 2002 and toured Europe as the onscreen commissioner of the promotion. In January 2003 he joined Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. He was released in August 2003.

In 2004, Sanders started wrestling for Georgia Championship Wrestling and Universal Championship Wrestling.

Sanders still wrestles occasionally, but has not been working a regular schedule. Sanders returned to the ring on February 20, 2005 in Vince Russo's Ring Of Glory, where he and Disco Inferno defeated Adam Jacobs and Johnny Swinger who was known in WWE as Johnny Parisi.

Sanders now also works as a stand up comedian in Orlando, Florida.