Dale Torborg
Dale Christian Torborg (born October 24, 1971) is an American baseball trainer and former professional wrestler.[1] He is the son of former Major League Baseball manager Jeff Torborg. He is currently the conditioning coordinator for the Chicago White Sox.
| Dale Torborg | |
|---|---|
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| Birth name | Dale Christian Torborg |
| Born | October 24, 1971[1] Mountainside, New Jersey[1] |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | The MVP[1] The Demon Dale Torborg[1] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 7 in (201 cm)[1] |
| Billed weight | 275 lb (125 kg)[1] |
| Trained by | DeWayne Bruce WCW Power Plant The Warlord[1] Jim Neidhart |
| Debut | 1995 |
| Retired | 2007 |
Baseball career
Torborg attended Northwestern University, and played college baseball for the Northwestern Wildcats. He played professional baseball after graduating from college. His career began in 1994 with the Kingsport Mets of the Appalachian League. According to Torborg, he suffered two injuries that led to the end of his baseball career. The first occurred when he attempted to pickoff a runner while playing first base. Torborg broke his humerus bone when his arm was tangled with the base runner's arm. Torborg's final injury, which proved to be career ending, occurred when took a fastball to the face which broke his zygomatic bone and caused a change in his depth perception.[2][3]
Professional wrestling
World Championship Wrestling
In 1995 on the way to Los Angeles, Torborg met Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage. The two of them spoke with him about going into pro wrestling. Torborg was trained by The Warlord and Jim Neidhart and debuted in 1998. He debuted in WCW and was said to have been a member of the WCW Pit Crew and was training in the WCW Power Plant.
In 1995, he then worked for the American Wrestling Federation as The MVP, a baseball player character. After the AWF closed he was employed by World Championship Wrestling and was sent to the Power Plant to train. Some of the wrestlers in the Power Plant at that time were Bill Goldberg, Lodi, Chuck Palumbo, Mark Jindrak, Jimmy Yang, Evan Karagias, Shane Helms, Allan Funk, Christie Wolf, Ron Reis and many more future superstars. In 1998, he started to get a push as the MVP but after two matches as the MVP, he was asked to portray a character named The Demon. WCW head Eric Bischoff struck a deal with the rock band Kiss to create a Kiss-themed wrestler, "The Demon", a gimmick modeled on the stage persona of Gene Simmons. Torborg originally was told he was the Demon and was abruptly taken out due to Brian Adams having much more experience in the ring. Adams admitted to never feeling comfortable as the character. The gimmick was played twice by Brian Adams, rejected by him without wrestling a single match, and given to Torborg. He was managed by Asya (Christi Wolf), whom he later married.
The "Demon" character was originally supposed to be the beginning of a stable called The Warriors of KISS, in which the other original members of the band would have a wrestler representing their look and gimmick.[4] KISS was guaranteed their "Demon" themed wrestler would wrestle a Main Event match with the contract they made with WCW. This was supposed to happen at a special 1999 New Year's Eve PPV against Vampiro. The PPV and the match were taken off the table, however, after Eric Bischoff lost his position in September 1999. In order to fulfill the contractual obligation, he was booked in a "Special Main Event" match at Superbrawl in early 2000. Uncharacteristic to "Main Event" matches, it was the fourth match on the card and saw Torborg face The Wall which saw The Wall win with a chokeslam. Because Bischoff lost his position before the character's wrestling debut, The Demon character got off to a rocky start, losing to Terry Funk in its debut. Bookers at the time wanted to make Eric Bischoff look bad. Torborg contends that the character was hurt because the KISS concert to debut The Demon was one of the lowest rated segments in the history of WCW Nitro up to that point and even though Bischoff believed in the character, others believed it was dead on arrival.[5]
Afterwards, he was known simply as "The Demon" and placed in a stable with Vampiro and the Insane Clown Posse called The Dark Carnival. He later turned against the group and feuded with Vampiro. When WCW was bought out by the then-World Wrestling Federation in 2001, Torborg opted to go back to baseball as a strength coach and not do his scheduled tryout for the WWE.
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Torborg appeared with White Sox catcher A. J. Pierzynski on an episode of TNA Impact! on December 8, 2005. Along with veteran wrestling manager and color commentator Bobby Heenan. Torborg and Pierzynski presented A.J. Styles, Chris Sabin and Sonjay Dutt with memorabilia from the 2005 World Series until they were interrupted by The Diamonds in the Rough. Simon Diamond, the leader of the Diamonds and himself a former baseball player, mocked Pierzynski's .256 batting average, telling him that he needed a designated hitter. Diamond then slapped Torborg, leading to a brawl. As a result, Torborg, Sabin and Dutt, with Pierzynski in their corner, faced the Diamonds at Turning Point 2005 on December 11. At Turning Point, Dutt pinned Diamond following interference from then-Boston Red Sox outfielder Johnny Damon.
On the January 18, 2007 edition of iMPACT!, Pierzynski and Torborg attacked Lance Hoyt, helping James Storm win, who was also aided by Miss Tennessee.[6] At Against All Odds 2007 Torborg, with Pierzynski in his corner, was defeated by Hoyt, who had David Eckstein in his corner.[1] Torborg and Pierzynski's appearance were some of the highest rated episodes for TNA.[7]
Baseball coaching
When WCW was purchased by the World Wrestling Federation in March 2001, Torborg left wrestling and joined the Montreal Expos as a coach. His duties with the Expos included strength and conditioning coaching, assisting with infield drills and batting practice pitcher. At the time his father, Jeff Torborg, was the manager of the Expos.[8][9]
Torborg later served as the strength and conditioning coach for the Florida Marlins during his father's tenure as manager from 2002 to 2003. He made news when he scared Marlins pitcher Antonio Alfonseca into hiding in a trainer's room after Alfonseca swore at him in Spanish while refusing Torborg's request for a weigh-in.
In January 2004, Dale was hired by the Chicago White Sox baseball team as a roving strength trainer. Torborg has been a part of two World Champion baseball teams: 2003 Marlins and 2005 White Sox.
Torborg had a small role in the film Transporter 2, as well as numerous commercials over his acting career. He also worked with Tom Selleck for the movie Mr. Baseball, as well as with Madonna and Geena Davis for the movie A League of their Own.
Personal life
Torborg married Christie Wolf on October 5, 2000.[10] He and Christie welcomed their first child, a daughter named Sierra Raye on August 18, 2005.[11]
References
- "The Kiss Demon profile". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved August 11, 2009.
- Swancey, Jason (May 29, 1999). "Wrestlemaniacs; If you think wrestling is easy, the WCW's training program will change your mind in a hurry". Sarasota Herald Tribune. Sarasota, Florida.
- Crasnick, Jerry (May 26, 2002). "Coach a big hit in the ring; Torborg moonlights as a pro wrestler". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Bloomberg News. p. 50. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
- KISS ASYLUM: July '99 News Archive
- Where Are They Now? The Kiss Demon
- Total Nonstop Action Wrestling On Spike TV! - NEWS Archived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- "2007 Ratings". July 26, 2010.
- Neal, III, La Velle E. (June 10, 2001). "Major League Baseball insider; Twins banking on Mauer's potential". Star Tribune. Minneapolis, Minnesota.
- "NHL owner among eight Red Sox suitors". The St. Petersburg Times. St. Petersburg, Florida. June 9, 2001.
- Dale Torborg (Demon) and Asya got married on 9/15
- Most importantly the birth of his daughter Sierra Raye August 18th! Sierra weighed 6lbs 12oz. and was 19½ inches at birth. She is Dale and his wife Christie's first child.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference (Minors)
- Dale Torborg on IMDb
- Dale Torborg at Bodyslamming.com