Vince Verhei

Vincent Aaron Verhei (born October 10, 1975 in Bothell, Washington) is a former professional wrestler and a current contributor to Figure Four Weekly, a newsletter that has covered professional wrestling since 1995. Verhei competed as an independent wrestler exclusively in the Pacific Northwest during the 1990s.
Since 2005, Verhei has contributed to Figure Four Online, a subscription website run primarily by his friend and fellow former professional wrestler Bryan Alvarez and Bryan's brother-in-law Tony Leder. Several times a week, Alvarez and Verhei produce their own Internet podcast, The Bryan and Vinny Show, where the pair review professional wrestling and mixed martial arts (MMA) programming, in an observational comedic style similar to that found in the newsletter, often including 'shout-outs' (wherein new subscribers have the opportunity to broadcast a short message relayed via email to Alvarez for free during the podcast), humorous songs and soundbites known as 'drops', and (as of 2008) in-studio calls from listeners. The Tuesday night edition of The Bryan and Vinny Show is usually free for anyone to download, while other editions done during the week are available only to subscribers of the website.
On June 12, 2008, Dave Meltzer's Wrestling Observer website merged with Figure Four Online, and both newsletters are now available online through that website. Other features found on Wrestling Observer/Figure Four Online include access to a growing archive of past Figure Four Weekly and Wrestling Observer newsletters, other podcasts pertaining to MMA and wrestling, and an active discussion forum where Verhei serves as an informal moderator.
As of 2008, Verhei also hosts his own solo podcast, The Vinny V Sports Report, with Alvarez serving as producer and unofficial co-host. He also contributes humorous tape reviews for the Figure Four Weekly newsletter and recently opened his own webpage at www.vinnyvsportsreport.com, which also hosts the podcast.
Professional wrestling career
Vince Verhei's career was mostly spent wrestling for various independent promotions in the Pacific Northwest as 'Shoulders Torelli' and later 'Vinny V' during the mid-to-late 1990s. He once participated in a 'Hair vs. Hair' match with Alvarez (who wrestled as 'Chico Alvarez') that was reportedly so awful that both men went into self-imposed retirement for several years. The now-infamous bout is featured on the Super Chico DVD sets that were once available from the Figure Four Online website.
Return to the ring
A fundraiser was held in which Bryan Alvarez stated that if it reached 400, he would do one more match with Verhei. He also stated that anyone who donated at least $25 would get a special DVD. The amount was surpassed and in fact exceeded $3000, with donation amounts ranging from one cent to $250, and the scheduled match was posted on YouTube on September 17 2006. The DVD was released on December 8 2006 . Verhei defeated Alvarez to win the YWF Title, the main belt in Alvarez's original backyard wrestling organization in the mid-1990s.
Controversy
Feud with Anchor
For several years, Verhei has maintained an occasional bitter rivalry with frequent Figure Four Online board visitor Anchor (real name allegedly Andrew Crawford) over various issues, including the abuse of the 'one free shout-out per subscriber' policy Alvarez instituted in order to keep the podcast running smoothly. He further decreed that any subscriber wishing to receive further shout-outs would have to contribute 5, and that said shout-out would have to be limited to 150 words or less. Anchor would subsequently send in the required monies (and more) every week in order to deliver lengthy manifestos which often had little to do with wrestling, and even recorded his own theme music (entitled 'the Anchor World Order Theme' or 'aWo Theme') and demanded that this song be played before and after his shout-out was read on-air. Annoyed by Anchor's hubris, Verhei took to insulting him on-air, including a memorable diatribe wherein he suggested that Anchor 'shut up and drink Fanta...' and ending with a homosexual slur. As mentioned during a recent (November 2008) podcast, however, the feud seems to have abated for the time being.
Hatred of Total Nonstop Wrestling
Verhei has been quite adamant over the years about his intense dislike of the Total Nonstop Wrestling product, particularly their Thursday night broadcast, , which is usually reviewed during the Friday edition of The Bryan and Vinny Show. Verhei has stated on many editions of the B&V podcast that he personally finds the creative direction of the TNA product baffling and often insulting to the audience's intelligence. While this opinion is usually shared by many others (including co-host Alvarez), Verhei's displeasure is particularly vociferous and compounded by the fact that the show is required viewing due to his position with Figure Four Online.
In wrestling
*Finishing and signature moves
**Vinny's Small Package ()
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Championships and Accomplishments
*The YWF (Backyard wrestling league)
:*YWF Championship (1 time)
*Fishing & Hunting News Magazine
:* (Former) Associate Editor

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See Also

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