Monty Brown


Montaque Brown is an American former professional wrestler and National Football League linebacker. He is perhaps best known for his time with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling where he wrestled under his real name, and with World Wrestling Entertainment, where he wrestled on its ECW brand under the ring name Marcus Cor Von. In both companies, he utilized the nickname "The Alpha Male". As an American football player, he competed at Super Bowl XXVIII for the Buffalo Bills.

American football career

Brown attended Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Michigan, where he was an All-American American football linebacker with the Ferris State Bulldogs, breaking and setting several defensive records. Brown was the first Ferris State Bulldogs athlete to be named both a first-team Academic All-American and a first-team All-American. In 1992, Brown ranked fifth as a national finalist for the Harlon Hill Trophy and was named conference co-player of the year in 1992. As a senior, Brown was named the Most Valuable Player of the Ferris State Bulldogs. In his final year, Brown was named the C.M. Frank National Defensive Player of the Year. He was inducted into the Bulldog Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009.
After Brown graduated, talent spotters recruited him to the Buffalo Bills, and he played football professionally for four years, competing in Super Bowl XXVIII for the Bills in 1994. On April 17, 1996, Brown signed with the New England Patriots as a restricted free agent, and Brown immediately became a starter as the right outside linebacker. In just two games for the Patriots, Brown made 23 tackles. Brown stated that one of his reasons for signing with the Patriots was to be closer to the World Wrestling Federation headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut. He stopped playing football due to an ankle injury, and decided to train as a professional wrestler.

Professional wrestling career

Brown was trained to be a professional wrestler by Dan "The Beast" Severn and Sabu, and made his in-ring debut in 2000. He began his career in Michigan's All World Wrestling League, where he wrestled against competitors including his trainer Sabu. During this time, he teamed with Chris Sabin.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

Early appearances (2002, 2004)

In 2002, Brown made several appearances with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, including challenging NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ron Killings, but did not become a permanent part of the company, as his face persona did not connect with fans. His last appearance with the company in 2002 was on August 28. For a time in mid-2003, he worked for the All World Wrestling League/Big Time Wrestling.
He returned to the company on March 10, 2004, attacking the Insane Clown Posse during a match in progress. He now had an in-ring persona of being from the Serengeti, which involved him wearing leopard and tiger-print trunks, and possessing the mannerisms of an African predatory animal. At TNA Final Resolution pay-per-view, Brown defeated Kevin Nash and Diamond Dallas Page in a three-way elimination match to receive a match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. He lost his championship match to Jarrett later that night.

Planet Jarrett (2005)

Two months later, Brown turned heel during the main event of March's Destination X event by attacking Page to help Jarrett retain to the championship. Brown soon joined the Planet Jarrett stable and spent several months feuding with Jarrett's enemies: Kevin Nash, Sean Waltman, Diamond Dallas Page, and A.J. Styles. Late in the year, he began teaming with fellow Planet Jarrett member Kip James, helping him battle the 3Live Kru in an attempt to convince Kru member B.G. James to reform his former tag team, the New Age Outlaws, with Kip. Brown and James faced Kru members Ron Killings and Konnan at Sacrifice in August in a match with B.G. as special guest referee, with both Kip and the remainder of the Kru urging him to take their respective side. B.G. eventually took the side of Konnan and Killings, costing Brown and James the match. Following the defeat, Brown insisted that he be the one to lead the team. On August 26 he turned his back on Jarrett, claiming that their agreement was broken.

NWA World Heavyweight Championship pursuit (2005–2006)

At Unbreakable on September 11, Brown declared his intention to challenge for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at Bound For Glory. After defeating Lance Hoyt at Bound For Glory, Brown took part in a ten-man Gauntlet for the Gold match for number one contendership to the Championship, but eliminated himself from the match, by taking Jeff Hardy and himself over the top rope simultaneously. Brown did win number one contendership at November's Genesis with a singles victory over Jeff Hardy. After an altercation with the newly debuted Christian Cage, Brown agreed to put his championship shot on the line in a match against Cage at Turning Point in December. He lost the match to Cage, however, losing his championship opportunity in the process.
On the December 17 episode of Impact!, Brown renewed his alliance with Jarrett, with both men bitter towards TNA management in storyline. On the January 7, 2006 episode of Impact!, Jarrett and Brown enacted a skit mocking Sting, who had recently signed with TNA and was set to team with Christian Cage against Brown and Jarrett at Final Resolution. The Alpha Male posed as the Sting of 2006, complete with make-up and baby stroller. Sting and Cage defeated Brown and Jarrett at Final Resolution when Sting pinned Jarrett after a Scorpion Death Drop. After Christian Cage won the World Heavyweight Title, Brown received a shot at Destination X, but did not win the title. Following Destination X, Brown underwent surgery on his knee, which had previously "blown out". He returned to in-ring competition on April 29, 2006 in a match in Germany and TNA television on the May 18 episode of Impact! — where he demanded to be included in the King of the Mountain match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at Slammiversary in June. After he failed to qualify for the King of the Mountain match, he engaged in a short feud with Rhino and Samoa Joe before his TNA contract expired and left the company.

World Wrestling Entertainment (2006–2007)

On November 16, 2006, World Wrestling Entertainment announced that Brown had signed a contract with the company through their official website. He debuted for their ECW brand, under the ring name "The Alpha Male" Marquis Cor Von on January 16, 2007, in a win over fellow TNA alumnus Cassidy Riley. Reportedly the name change was motivated by World Wrestling Entertainment's desire to have him appear under a name they could trademark. One week later, the spelling of the first name was tweaked to Marcus.
On the edition of January 23 of ECW, Cor Von defeated Wes Adams. Not long after his debut, he was made a part of the forming New Breed stable. On the edition of February 6 of ECW on Sci Fi, Cor Von defeated Balls Mahoney. He and Kevin Thorn defeated Tommy Dreamer and The Sandman a week later. On the edition of February 27 of ECW, Cor Von, Elijah Burke & Kevin Thorn defeated Rob Van Dam & Tommy Dreamer & Sandman. On March 13, Cor Von was in an Extreme Battle Royal involving both the ECW Originals and the New Breed, but failed to win the match. On the edition of March 20 of ECW on Sci Fi, Cor Von and Kevin Thorn defeated ECW Originals Rob Van Dam and Sabu, with their feud with the ECW Originals climaxing in an 8-man tag at WrestleMania 23 where The New Breed lost.
The next night on Raw, Cor Von and Kevin Thorn participated in a 10-Team Battle Royal for the world tag team titles which was won by The Hardy Boyz. On the edition of April 3 of ECW on Sci Fi, The New Breed defeated The ECW Originals in an 8-Man "Extreme Rules" match. On the edition of April 10 of ECW, Cor Von defeated Rob Van Dam. On the edition of April 24 of ECW, The New Breed faced The ECW Originals in an Elimination match but lost. At One Night Stand, The New Breed faced CM Punk and The ECW Originals in a Six-man Tag Team Tables Match, which they lost. In late June 2007, Cor Von took several months off for unspecified "family issues". After a three-month inactivity, WWE announced on September 19, 2007 that Cor Von was released from his WWE contract without making his return to WWE television. Cor Von subsequently retired from professional wrestling officially after being released.

Personal life

Brown attended Bridgeport High School, where he played basketball for three years under coach Jimmy Sanders, with whom he is good friends. During his early professional wrestling career, Brown supplemented his income by running his own t-shirt company. After leaving WWE and retiring from professional wrestling, Brown began working on a range of athletic clothing called "Scripture Clothing". As of 2011, Brown works as a personal trainer in his home state of Michigan.

In other media

Brown appeared as Marcus Cor Von as a playable character in the video game WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008.

Championships and accomplishments