Mason Raige

One of over 30 wrestlers attending an OVW/WWE tryout camp headed by Jim Cornette, Danny Davis, Tom Prichard and Rip Rogers between April 15–17, he and Dickie Rodz defeated Grim Reefer and James Newblood on April 29 although he and Rodz would be defeated in a tag team tournament losing to Matt Striker & Joey Braggiol in the semi-finals the following night. That same day, he would drive from New York to New Jersey to defeat Prince Nana at the NWA Cyberspace Retribution '99 supercard.

He has also appeared in World Wrestling Entertainment as an on-camera personality in early 2007, most notably as one of The Undertaker's druids at WrestleMania 23 as well appearing on Monday Night Raw as one of Vince McMahon's personal security guards.

Returning to action on August 19, he lost to Jacob Duncan in a handicap with Anthony Vein. After losing to Paul Birchill in a dark match on November 8, he returned to New York although failing to regain the NYWC Heavyweight title from Dickie Rodz on November 28. Easily defeating Damian Adams on December 1 to become the number one contender to the OCW Heavyweight Championship, he later defeated Vinny Viagra & Damian Adams in a handicap match on January 7 before losing to Charles Evans and Justin LaRoche in a tag team match with The Real McCoy at an OVW television taping on January 24. Teaming with Maverick, Plazma, Tony Burma, Mike Spinelli and Jerry Lynn, Raige lost to Dickie Rodz, Dan Dynasty, Jamie Van Lemer, MEGA and The Angus Brothers in the annual 10-man "Psycho Circus" elimination match on January 27 and to "The Big Deal" Daniel Rodimer at an OVW television taping several days later. The following month, he defeated Vinny Viagra for the OCW Heavyweight Championship in Ashland, Kentucky on February 3, 2007.

After appearing on the cover of Newsday on an article for the Hicksville wrestling school, he left his teaching job and began wrestling full-time. He later started teaming with Dickie Rodz as Rodz N' Rage and eventually defeated Wayne & Tyler Payne for the NYWC Tag Team Championship on January 29, 2005.

After being seen by World Wrestling Entertainment road agents at an NYWC event, he was invited to a WWE tryout match in February 2005 and was later offered to join Ohio Valley Wrestling as part of the WWE developmental program. Moving to Louisville, Kentucky, he would split his time between New York and OVW, he and Dickie Rodz retained the NYWC Tag Team titles despite losing to Brett Matthews & Brian Myers and, at an NWA Cyberspace that same night, defeated Supreme Lee Great and Thrillology on March 26, 2005.

Facing Brett Matthews & Brian Myers in several matches during the next several weeks, although retaining the tag team titles via disqualification on May 21, he and Rodz would finally lose the titles to Brett Matthews & Brian Myers on June 4, 2005. Several weeks later, after a tag team match between against Danny & Billy Angus ended in a no contest, Raige would have to be escorted from the building by security on June 25. The following month, Raige made his first appearance on WWE television as a security guard during a brawl between Edge and Matt Hardy at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey on July 11.

Feuding with Dickie Rodz and The Solution throughout late 2005, Raige was at one point suspended from the promotion by NYWC Commissioner Mikey Whipwreck and later defeated Dan Dynasty in a particularly violent match on December 17, 2005. Following the match, Raige powerbombed Dynasty on a bed of barbed-wire.

During this time, after watching MTV's Tough Enough series, Raige became interested in a career in professional wrestling and began training at the now-defunct Critical Mass Pro Wrestling in Hicksville, Long Island on January 7, 2003. Training with Team Taz graduate John Curse, Mike Mayhem and Mikey Whipwreck among others, he began wrestling in the New York area with NWA Cyberspace and the New York Wrestling Connection during the next two years. In November 2004, he wrestled on the first MXW Pro Wrestling show.

As a child growing up in Farmingville, New York, Raige was a fan of Hulk Hogan during the "rock 'n wrestling connection"-era often watching WWF Superstars of Wrestling and WWF Wrestling Challenge as well as attending events at Nassau Coliseum during the 1980s. He graduated from the State University of New York at Oswego with a degree in communications studies and philosophy in 1994 and began teaching English and journalism in Smithtown High School.