Meatball

In May 2013, Ellinger returned full-time to his previous job as a cargo handler in between doing wrestling shows for MCW.

In 2001, Ellinger received basic wrestling training from Nate Webb, made his ring debut and thereafter wrestled part-time on federations including National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), Independent Wrestling Revolution (IWR) and World Wrestling All-Stars (WWA). In August 2009, he joined Micro Championship Wrestling (MCW) and subsequently received training from Pat Tanaka.

Ellinger attended River Grove Rhodes Elementary School until 1985 and East Leyden High School until 1989. After he left school, he traveled through the United States, Europe and Japan, which led to him taking a job as a cargo handler for a local airline from 1990 until 2009.

Richard Ellinger (born September 27, 1970), better known by his ring name Meatball, is an American professional wrestler who is signed to Micro Championship Wrestling.

Ellinger was born in River Grove, Illinois, United States. His father, Richard Ellinger (born 1938), is of German descent, and his mother, Frances Schmidt (1942–2009), was of German-Italian descent. He has an elder sister, Valerie Caso (née Ellinger; born 1966), and two elder step-brothers, Thomas and Bill Morton, from his mother's second marriage to Earl Morton.