Al Snow

Allen "Al" Ray Sarven (born July 18, 1963) is an American semi-retired professional wrestler, color commentator, and actor better known by his ring name of Al Snow. He is currently signed with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and is best known for his work in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment. Since 2010, Snow has worked as a road agent for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and with its developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling, as a show producer.

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1982–1995)

Sarven attended a professional wrestling tryout camp held by Ole and Gene Anderson. There he met Jim Lancaster, promoter of Ohio's Midwest Championship Wrestling, who agreed to train him. Lancaster later described Sarven as "a leader in the ring" who "had drive and natural ability". He made his debut on May 22, 1982. Sarven defeated Lancaster on May 5, 1985 for the Midwest Championship Wrestling title.

Sarven wrestled in various independent promotions throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, capturing both tag team and singles titles, but failed to make any big breaks. In 1993 he competed in the WWF as a jobber losing to Marty Jannetty and The Undertaker under the name Steve Moore. He gained a reputation as "the best-kept secret in wrestling". Sarven helped train future Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Hall of Fame member and NWA World Heavyweight Champion Dan Severn. During this time he would sometimes wrestle as Shinobi, a ninja-style masked gimmick. He wrestled in the November 19, 1994 tournament for the vacant NWA World Heavyweight Championship, but he lost to Chris Candido, the eventual winner of the tournament.