Al Snow

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1982–1995)

Sarven attended a professional wrestling try-out camp held by Ole Anderson and Gene Anderson. There he met Jim Lancaster, promoter of Ohio's Midwest Championship Wrestling, who agreed to train him. Lancaster later described Sarven as "a leader in the ring" who "had drive and natural ability". He made his debut on May 22, 1982. Sarven defeated Lancaster on May 5, 1985, for the Midwest Championship Wrestling title. He wrestled against Harley Race, Bruiser Brody, Kerry Von Erich, Ken Patera, Curt Hennig and Jimmy Garvin.

Sarven wrestled in various independent promotions throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, capturing both tag team and singles titles, but failed to make any big breaks.

In 1993 he competed in the WWF as a jobber losing to Marty Jannetty and The Undertaker under the name Steve Moore. He gained a reputation as "the best-kept secret in wrestling". Sarven helped train future Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Hall of Fame member and NWA World Heavyweight Champion Dan Severn. During this time he would sometimes wrestle as Shinobi, a ninja-style masked gimmick. He wrestled in the November 19, 1994, tournament for the vacant NWA World Heavyweight Championship, but he lost to Chris Candido, the eventual winner of the tournament.

Also fought in a couple of matches for World Championship Wrestling in 1993 and 1995.

From 1995 to 1997, Snow operated a professional wrestling school called "Body Slammers" in Lima, Ohio, employing D'Lo Brown as an assistant trainer. It has since branched out with one of his trainers running "Bodyslammers" in Ottawa, Canada.

Extreme Championship Wrestling (1994–1995)

After a tour of Japan, Sarven wrestled a match in Michigan against Sabu, an Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) regular, who suggested he try ECW. After making his debut against The Tazmaniac and losing via pinfall on December 10, 1994. Sarven faced Chris Benoit as Al Snow, in a 15-minute match that was hailed as one of the best of the year.

Smoky Mountain Wrestling (1995)

Sarven was also being courted by Jim Cornette for his Smoky Mountain Wrestling federation. ECW booker Paul Heyman agreed to let him work for both companies. Sarven soon found that he was not being utilized by ECW and went to Smoky Mountain full-time. In Smoky Mountain Wrestling, Snow teamed with Unabomb (Glenn Jacobs, later to be known as Kane) as the Dynamic Duo and defeated the Rock 'n' Roll Express for the SMW Tag Team Championship. Both wrestlers caught the attention of the World Wrestling Federation and were signed by the end of 1995.

World Wrestling Federation (1995–1997)

Sarven began working for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) when he signed a contract in August 1995. During his tenure in the company, Sarven wrestled under numerous gimmicks, such as Avatar, which saw him come to the ring unmasked, putting on a wrestling mask to wrestle, then removing it afterwards. The gimmick was based on Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and Mortal Kombat whose popularity the company wanted to capitalize on at that time. During his particularly short run under this gimmick, Sarven's WWF debut as Avatar took place on the October 23, 1995, episode of Monday Night RAW, defeating Bryan Walsh. About a month after his debut, he was scheduled to be the third man for The Underdogs at Survivor Series but for reasons unknown, was replaced by Bob Holly. After this, he started teaming with Aldo Montoya. His two final matches as Avatar were against Sycho Sid and 1-2-3 Kid. He was also to partake in the 1996 Royal Rumble match but once again, for unknown reasons, never appeared. His final match in February was against Isaac Yankem.

On February 20, 1996, Sarven wrestled as "Shinobi", a "ninja assassin" hired by Jim Cornette to dispose of Shawn Michaels, who defeated Shinobi in quick fashion. Avatar returned for one last appearance against Justin Bradshaw at a house show on March 17, 1996, at Madison Square Garden in a losing effort.

Sarven received his first mainstream exposure with the WWF as Leif Cassidy, the tag team partner of Marty Jannetty in February 1996. The duo were promoted as The New Rockers, a throwback to the original Rockers team of Jannetty and Shawn Michaels.

Jannetty left the WWF in December 1996, and Sarven was reduced to jobbing for mid-carders in January 1997. In the late 1990s, WWF and ECW began to cross-promote their organizations to counteract the success of World Championship Wrestling (WCW); Sarven was one of the wrestlers sent to Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). He left in July of that year and went to ECW. His last appearance in WWF in September 1997 was a loss to Tiger Ali Singh at WWF One Night Only.

Return to ECW (1997–1998)

Sarven found success back in ECW in August 1997, billed once again as Al Snow. Sarven developed a new character gimmick after reading about abnormal psychology and finding a mannequin head on the street near the ECW Arena during a Mummers Day parade. He got the idea to portray an individual with a schizophrenic disorder using the head as a prop for projection. In this role, Sarven received a lot of fan and management support for his J.O.B. Squad storyline, which promoted him as being driven insane by his years as a jobber for the WWF.

In the storyline, Snow, upset at his lot in life, asked Cactus Jack what he had to do to get anywhere in wrestling. Jack said to Snow that to become famous he had to "get a little head" (meaning he had to be willing to sleep with/have sex with the booker). Snow, however took this literally, and thus he started coming to the ring with the mannequin head (with the words "Help Me" written backwards on its forehead, an action Snow himself began to do) whom he talked to as if it were a real person, which prompted ECW crowds to chant "We want Head", an intentional double entendre. ECW promoters handed out styrofoam mannequin heads at wrestling shows, and audience members started waving them and shouting, "Head! Head! Head!" in time to "Breathe" by The Prodigy, his entrance music. The entire audience would then throw the heads into the ring before the match started. The biggest match of his ECW career came when he wrestled for the promotion's World Heavyweight Championship, losing to Shane Douglas at Wrestlepalooza in May 1998. He lost to Bam Bam Bigelow at A Matter of Respect. His last match with ECW was a loss to Axl Rotten in June 1998.

Return to the WWF/E (1998–2008)

Sarven was recalled to the World Wrestling Federation in May 1998, where he continued his gimmick of talking to "Head", creating some of the more memorable humorous skits of the "Attitude Era" including fighting himself in a hardcore match (which he won by putting himself through a table). He verbally feuded with Jerry Lawler. This led to Snow's first match back at King of the Ring, teaming with Head losing to Too Much. He defeated Sgt. Slaughter in a boot camp match on Monday Night Raw on September 15. Then defeated Marc Mero at Judgment Day: In Your House. He wrestled in a tournament for the vacated WWF Championship at Survivor Series (1998) where he defeated Jeff Jarrett and lost to Mankind in the second round. In October and November 1998, he feuded with Tiger Ali Singh. Snow then formed the J.O.B. Squad with Bob Holly and 2 Cold Scorpio. Later, The Blue Meanie and Gillberg joined. JOB Squad disbanded when Scorpio was released by the WWF in February 1999. Later that month at St. Valentine's Day Massacre: In Your House, Snow lost to Bob Holly for the WWF Hardcore Championship.

At WrestleMania XV, Snow lost a WWF Hardcore Championship triple threat match involving Hardcore Holly and Billy Gunn. During the summer of 1999, at the conclusion of a storyline where Head was impaled with a spike by Prince Albert, Snow replaced Head with a chihuahua named Pepper, who he claimed talked to him. A variety of segments were broadcast showing Snow's interactions with the dog, including bringing Pepper to the ring to either "participate" in matches or be held by the broadcast team. This led to a storyline where Big Boss Man kidnapped Pepper. Big Boss Man agreed to return the dog if Snow defeated him in a match for the Hardcore Championship; however, after losing the match he reneged and kept the dog. Later, in a segment on WWF SmackDown!, Big Boss Man invited Snow to his hotel room to discuss the situation, before serving Snow dinner which was then revealed to be Pepper. (In a 2008 interview, Snow said that this angle had been based on a story of Mr. Fuji having done something similar with his partner Professor Tanaka's dog.) The feud culminated at a "Kennel from Hell" match at Unforgiven, which consisted of a regular cage which was surrounded by a Hell in a Cell structure, with "a trained pack of wild dogs" in between the two, and the objective was to escape both cages without being attacked by the dogs. Snow won the match.

Snow received some mainstream publicity in 1999 when Walmart pulled his action figure from their shelves after Sabrena Parton, a professor at Kennesaw State University, complained that "Head" was a "decapitated woman's head" that sent an inappropriate message about violence towards women. Parton was quoted as saying "What kind of message would this toy send children about brutalization of women?" Sarven used the story as part of an angle in which the controversy caused Al Snow to develop depression.

Independent circuit (2003–2006, 2007, 2008–present)

Snow was allowed to compete on the independent circuit while under contract with the WWE. Snow would feud with Chris Candido for Northeast Wrestling in Connecticut in the fall of 2004. On May 7, 2005, Snow teamed with D'Lo Brown losing to Mick Foley and Shane Douglas at Mark Curtis Memorial Reunion in Johnson City, Tennessee. In 2006, Snow was pinned by the Millennium Wrestling Federation (MWF) Heavyweight Champion "Sudden Impact" Dylan Kage of Paul Bearer's Trifecta stable at MWF Fireworks On The 4th. Snow would return to WWE's active roster full time in June 2006.

After being released in February 2008 by WWE, Snow has regularly competed in several independent promotions in the U.S. and Europe, especially in the U.K. and Germany. In March 2009, he made an appearance in Chikara's King of Trios tournament, teaming up with Glacier and D'Lo Brown.

On October 21, 2022, Snow and Kal Herro won the OFE Tag Team as the Newest Rockers. Snow wore attire that he wore as Leif Cassidy.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling / Impact Wrestling (2008–2017)

In the lead-up to the December 7, 2008, TNA show Final Resolution, Mick Foley assigned himself as the special guest enforcer for the match between Kurt Angle and Rhino. Angle said he had hired "another former World Champion" and someone who had co-held a world tag team title with Foley. This person would debut during Angle's match to "take care of Foley". And on the night in question, Al Snow revealed himself to be the mystery ally of Angle, who interrupted the match by slapping Foley. The distraction allowed Angle to beat Rhino.

In March 2010, Sarven received a tryout as an agent for TNA Wrestling. He made his return to television on the July 15, 2010, edition of Impact!, aligning himself with fellow ECW alumni Tommy Dreamer, Raven, Stevie Richards, Rhino, Brother Devon, Pat Kenney and Mick Foley in their invitation by Dixie Carter to TNA. The following week, TNA president Dixie Carter agreed to give the ECW alumni their own reunion pay–per–view event, Hardcore Justice: The Last Stand, as a celebration of hardcore wrestling and a final farewell to the company. At the event Snow was defeated by Rhino in a three-way match, which also included Brother Runt. After that, he appeared onscreen in his real-life role as company agent on multiple occasions, often alongside fellow agents Ace "D'Lo Brown" Conner and Pat Kenney. Sarven currently holds the title of producer for the company. In Spring 2011, Snow returned to OVW, dividing his time between his TNA duties and work as a show producer for OVW. In November of that year, OVW became TNA's official developmental territory.

In May 2012, Snow began appearing as a judge in the monthly Gut Check segment on Impact Wrestling. The following July, Snow started a storyline rivalry with Joey Ryan, who had been denied a spot on the TNA roster, following his appearance on TNA Gut Check. After Snow tricked Ryan into signing a contract for a match, the two met on October 14 at Bound for Glory, where Snow wrestled only his second match for TNA, losing to Ryan, following interference from Matt Morgan.

On January 12, 2013, Snow took part in Joker's Wild (which aired May 3, 2013), teaming with recent rival Joey Ryan, in a loss against Matt Morgan and Robbie T.

On the August 7, 2014, edition of Impact Wrestling, Snow returned to team with Team 3D (Bully Ray and Devon) and Tommy Dreamer against Ethan Carter III, Rhino, Big Rycklon and Gene Snitsky in an eight-man Hardcore War in a winning effort.

Ohio Valley Wrestling (2018–present)

On April 7, 2018, it was reported Snow purchased Ohio Valley Wrestling.

In January 2021, Snow sold a majority interest in OVW to a group led by radio host Matt Jones, and former 21c Museum Hotels CEO and current mayor of Louisville, Kentucky, Craig Greenberg. Snow continues to run the promotion's day-to-day operations.

On August 27, 2022, Snow and Doug Basham defeated Adam Revolver and Joe Mack at OVW The Big One.

Snow was heavily featured in the docuseries Wrestlers, a Netflix released series focused on OVW that was released September 13, 2023. Following the series release, OVW had their first Thursday night sold-out show in eight years.

Acting career

He had a cameo as the Nome King in the feature film Dorothy and the Witches of Oz (2012) with Christopher Lloyd, as well as starring in the action film Overtime, and the comedy film Agua Caliente. He had an uncredited role in the drama film Rudy (1993). Snow also appeared in They're Just My Friends (2006) and co-stars alongside Tiger Chung Lee in Mountain Mafia (2009). In 2006, he played himself in the independent feature film The Still Life.

Snow can also be seen as the brutal serial killer Grim, also known as "The Reaper's", in Feathered Italian Films latest slasher films The Legacy and Hell House. Head also cameos in "The Legacy". He was one of the leads in the sci-fi/action/comedy film Overtime (2011) by director Matt Niehoff.

Snow had a quick line in the wrestling documentary Beyond the Mat. He also participated in the wrestling documentary, Bloodstained Memoirs.

Al Snow also appeared as a coach on WWE Tough Enough (then called WWF Tough Enough) during the show's first three seasons.

On November 10, 2012, Snow, along with several other TNA workers, was featured in an episode of MTV's Made.

Snow completed his work as the "Man in Black" for the independent horror film Lake Eerie on October 23, 2013. The film stars Lance Henriksen, Betsy Baker and was released in Summer 2015. Snow also played "Henchman" in Jessica Sonneborn's horror film Alice D.

Snow has starred as the lead in independent films by Little Monsters Entertainment including Dan Remington in "Unnatural" (Oct. 2024), and Kentucky Joe in "Home-less for the Holidays" (Nov. 2024).

Business endeavors

Al Snow is the co-founder of "Collar X Elbow", a clothing brand for independent wrestling fans.

Al Snow Wrestling Academy

Near the end of 2015, Al Snow and Simon Van Der Wolf started a training academy, originally based in the UK but since expanded to include branches in many other countries. They along with other professional wrestlers (including Joe E. Legend, Doug Williams, Phil Powers, Jonny Storm, John Klinger, and many more) held tryouts in February 2016. In April 2019, local media in Louisville reported that the academy had applied to the Kentucky Department of Education for formal accreditation as a vocational school. The academy has developed a two-year, 60-credit hour program (on the semester system) in all aspects of the wrestling business, ranging from in-ring performance to writing and TV production. Assuming state approval is received, the Louisville academy will start accepting applications for the vocational program in May 2019 and start accredited instruction that August.

Personal life

Snow has been married three times. He married Pam Sarven in 1986 and the couple had two children. They divorced in 2004. His second wife was fellow wrestler Cynthia Lynch who wrestled under the name of Bobcat. They married in 2009 and divorced in 2015. In 2017, he married his third wife, Jessica Gousha. In 2021, Snow saved the life of a child from an ocean riptide at Santa Rosa Beach.

On April 6, 2026, via his social media accounts, Sarven announced that he had received the honorary tile of Kentucky Colonel. The certificate was signed by Governor Andy Beshear with a certificate date of March 25, 2025.

Self-Help: Life Lessons from the Bizarre Wrestling Career of Al Snow

On August 29, 2017, Prowrestling.net broke the news that Snow had signed a deal with ECW Press to release an autobiography. Co-written by Ross Owen Williams, who also co-authored Bob Holly's autobiography The Hardcore Truth, the book was released in April 2019. In the press release, Snow said "we want the book to cover more than what I did in front of the cameras. There are so many stories from the road—things that only seem to happen to me—that have made me who I am today. I've always considered every new situation as a potential learning experience and this book will give me the opportunity to share that, for better or for worse."

Championships and accomplishments

Appalachian Mountain Wrestling

AMW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Border City Wrestling

BCW Can-Am Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Denny Kass

Cal-International Pro Wrestling

CIPW Americas Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Global Wrestling Alliance

GWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

GWA Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

GWA Tag Team Championship (5 times) – with Mike Kelly

Bodyslammers Gym Tournament (1994)

Great Lakes Championship Wrestling

GLCW Heavyweight Championship (2 times)

GLCW Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Mike Curkov & Kal Herro

High Risk Pro Wrestling

HRPW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

HRPW World Heavyweight Title Tournament (2010)

Jersey All Pro Wrestling

JAPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Legends Pro Wrestling