So an Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman walk into a pub... Bennett made his professional debut in June 2004 as a surprise entrant in a 30-man battle royal being held by the now-defunct NWA Hammerlock Wrestling in the United Kingdom. He debuted under the ring name The Pinnacle, feeling sure that this was the name that would make his career. That lasted about two matches, when it was pointed out to him that The Pinnacle was a sh*tbox name: after that he was plain old Stu Sanders, named after Mal Sanders, a highly-regarded veteran wrestler on the UK circuit. In 2004, the UK wrestling scene wasnt filled with giant, heavily muscled men. Many of the wrestlers Sanders found himself sharing a card with barely even lifted weights, and with his height and size he stuck out a mile. It was only natural that he, Andrew Galloway and Stephen Farrelly - better known later on as Drew McIntyre and Sheamus - gravitated towards one another and bonded. Hed work with the pair of them for a large number of shows in the UK and Ireland from early 2006. For a crowd used to seeing huge, musclebound men on WWE television, the three of them looked like stars before they even locked up. The three men would try out for the WWE and get signed to developmental deals together, something Farrelly always claimed he knew would happen. Bennett was more pessimistic, recognising that the WWF/E hadnt historically wanted too many obviously foreign wrestlers on the roster at once, and considering that it was more likely that only one of them would be signed. Thats got to be a good thing to be wrong about.
Professional writer, punk werewolf and nesting place for starfish. Obsessed with squid, spirals and story. I publish short weird fiction online at desincarne.com, and tweet nonsense under the name Jack The Bodiless. You can follow me all you like, just don't touch my stuff.
