| - Zach Gowen - |
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| Height: 5 foot 11 Weight: 155 pounds From: Livonia, MI |
| Zach Gowen is one of the most inspirational competitors ever to set foot in a WWE ring. At age 8, the Detroit native had his left leg amputated to prevent the spread of cancer. But Gowen didn�t let that stop him; he went on to participate in Little League, and he made the wrestling and basketball teams at Churchill High School in Livonia, Mich. Much like today in WWE, he felt more comfortable competing on one leg, so for all of those sports, he would take off his prosthetic leg. Gowen says he was never that good at amateur wrestling. His love was always for the professional variety -- sports entertainment. The day before his fourth birthday, he attended WrestleMania III at the Pontiac (Mich.) Silverdome, and saw his hero, Hulk Hogan, bodyslam and pin legendary Hall of Famer the late Andre the Giant. Soon after, Gowen�s physical problems began. In second grade, he was playing soccer when a ball collided with his left knee and pain coursed throughout his body. The following summer, the knee literally snapped while he was bowling. When the cast was removed, doctors noticed a grapefruit-sized tumor underneath his flesh. It turned out to be osteogenic sarcoma, a form of cancer that weakens the bones. To prevent it from spreading to the rest of his body, doctors amputated his left leg in January 1992. That was followed by a year of chemotherapy so devastating that he can�t hear out of his left ear to this day. Gowen not only learned to survive with one leg, but to flourish. After earning an academic scholarship to Eastern Michigan University, he began training for a career in sports entertainment. Gowen, who had been practicing back flips on his trampoline since fourth grade, could execute maneuvers -- moonsaults, 450-splashes -- that the vast majority of wrestlers with two legs cannot do. He had his first WWE match in the main event of the July 3, 2003, episode. It�s practically unheard of for a Superstar to "main event" his very first match, but Gowen isn�t just any Superstar. |