STEVIE RAY

Standing at 6'5" and weighing in at 292 pounds, this menacing big man combines his tough upbringing with a fierce nature to pound opponents in rapid succession. Stevie's youth on the streets where he quickly learned to fend off trouble with a street-smart attitude gives him the edge he needs to thrive in WCW.

Stevie Ray (along with younger brother Booker T.) got their wrestling break in 1989, when they met wrestler Scott Casey while on vacation in Houston, Texas. Casey felt that the brothers had the size and look to make it in the business, and he talked the two into moving to Texas to train with him. They agreed, and six months later they made their respective pro debuts in the Texas-based WWA promotion. Stevie and Booker remained in the WWA for the next three years, and worked both as a team and as singles wrestlers. Eventually the team got the attention of the bigger Global Wrestling Federation promotion, and they subsequently signed with the GWF. Known as the Ebony Experience (and managed by Gary Hart) the team captured the GWF tag team titles on July 31, 1992 from the team of Gary Young and Stevie Dane. A few months later the Experience lost the titles, and Stevie became sidelined with a knee injury.

In the 1993, the team's big break came when they signed with World Championship Wrestling. They were immediately thrown into the spotlight, debuting on July 7, 1993 as the partners of Sid Vicious in a "tune up match" against 2 Cold Scorpio, Marcus Alexander Bagwell and Van Hammer. They were originally known as Stevie Ray and Booker T. of Harlem Heat, but for a short period of time they were called Kole (Stevie) and Kane (Booker) until their wishes were granted and they were allowed to go back to their original names.

In 1994, Harlem Heat acquired the managerial services of "Sensational" Sherri Martel, and used her guidance to win the WCW world tag team titles on December 8, 1994 over Marcus Bagwell and The Patriot. The team would go on to hold the titles on nine different occasions, making them one of the greatest tag teams in WCW (and wrestling) history.

In 1997, Stevie was put on the sidelines due to injury. During his absence, Booker took to the singles ranks and enjoyed tremendous success, winning singles titles. Upon Stevie's return to action in 1998, he chose to go against his brother and joined forces with the New World Order (black and white stable). The two brothers engaged in a feud, and over the last few years have gone back and forth between teaming and feuding at various times. At one point, Stevie voluntarily proclaimed himself WCW Television Champion (the title his brother held at the time) when Booker was sidelined with an injury, and defended the title against lower scale competition in Booker's absence. Later at WCW Souled Out in January of 2000, Stevie Ray brought a wrestler known as Big T (Tony Norris) into WCW to replace Booker in the Harlem Heat team.

Hot in the ring and on the tube, Stevie Ray has appeared in several commercials, most notably an ad for Snapple. When he's not on the road, this mega motorsports fan likes to spend time in his current hometown, Houston, Texas.

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