Many wrestlers have come and gone through WWE over the decades. Most wrestlers’ careers are short, lasting only a few years before they’re not renewed. Some are even shorter than that, lasting for only a single year before moving on.
That’s what happened to one largely forgotten superstar who, despite wrestling in WWE for only one year, loved it enough to visit SmackDown this past Friday.
One-legged wrestler Zack Gowen brings his family to SmackDown
Twenty years ago, Zack Gowen was one of the most unique wrestlers on SmackDown. He was diagnosed with cancer at an early age and took his leg from him. But that didn’t stop him from fulfilling his dream by becoming a professional wrestler.
Gowen had to wear a prosthetic leg to walk to the arena but there were times when his leg would be taken or used as a weapon against him. To adapt, Gowen learned to wrestle on one leg, including hitting a one-legged diving moonsault to win his matches.
Gowen’s WWE career was incredibly short but filled with high-profile associations. His debut segment on SmackDown in May 2003 saw him share the ring with both Roddy Piper and Mr. America (who was Hulk Hogan in a not-so-subtle disguise).
Gowen’s association put him in the crosshairs of Vince McMahon, who was all over SmackDown at the time. McMahon put Gowen in what was billed as a real/literal handicap match when Gowen and Stephanie McMahon had to wrestle the Big Show. However, the duo won after both Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar helped them out.
McMahon then beat Gowen in a one-on-one match and Gowen’s career never recovered. He was gone from WWE by February 2004 and afterwards made the rounds of the American independent circuit.
Now, after almost two full decades after his WWE debut, Gowen came to WWE backstage along with his children to show them where their father once plied his craft.