Jason Gallardi is a professional wrestler currently working for True Honor Wrestling under the ringname Jay Swift. He is a THW Triple Crown winner, having won the tag team, International and World Championships, and is also the 2011 Gateway to Glory match winner. Previously, he has worked for the NIWF, where he won the Provincial Championship upon his debut, FCW, and HCW, where he was the first HCW Chaos World Champion, and the only one to win it twice. He is to be inducted into the THW Hall of Fame, Class of 2012, in July 2012.
| Jay Swift | |
|---|---|
| [[Image:|px|Image of Jay Swift]] | |
| Statistics | |
| Real name | |
| Ring Names | Jay Swift |
| Height | 6' 0 |
| Weight | 230 lbs |
| Date of birth | December 19, 1984 (Age 27) |
| Place of birth | Phoenix, Arizona |
| Date of death | N/A |
| Place of death | N/A |
| Resides | Phoenix, Arizona |
| Billed from | Phoenix, Arizona |
| Trainer | University of Arizona |
| Current federation(s) |
THW |
| Previous federation(s) |
UPCW, NIWF, FCW, HCW |
| Handled by | |
| Win/Loss Record | |
| Debut | May 18, 2007 |
| Retired | N/A |
Beginnings[]
Swift was born on December 19, 1984 to Victor Gallardi and Catherine Sampson Gallardi in Phoenix, Arizona. Little is known about his childhood. His father was believed to be a chiropractor, though that is not confirmed. His mother worked as a medical assistant at Phoenix Memorial Hospital from 1989 to 2000. Swift's initial interests in wrestling are not known, but it is believed that his father got him interested. Once he entered high school, Swift tried out for, and made the varsity high school wrestling team. His high school career turned out to be phenomenal as he went 184-0 through his entire four years and won four state championships at his weight class. He was the centerpiece for what was an otherwise moribund wrestling team. However, during his sophomore year, he faced adversity as his mother's twin sister Cassandra, on orders from his uncle Rick, killed his father. For 11 years, he believed that she killed his mother too, but he would eventually find out that his mother fought back and killed her in self-defense, then disappeared and emancipated him for his own good. Swift would finish high school living alone and making ends meet by a combination of working at various fast food restaurants and his parents life insurance.
Fortunately for Swift, his wrestling skills got him attractive scholarship offers from the top wrestling programs such as Minnesota and Iowa State. However, he decided to stay in Arizona and attend the University of Arizona. There, he would continue his amateur dominance, winning four national championships. Upon graduation from Arizona in 2007, Swift was left with a very difficult decision: it was to train for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, as he had an offer from the US Olympic team, or try and make ends meet in the professional ranks. After his final collegiate win, Swift made the decision to go pro.
UPCW, NIWF and professional beginnings[]
UPCW[]
Literally days after his commencement ceremony, after sending out tapes to various promotions, Swift signed with an independent Canadian wrestling promotion known as United Provincial Championship Wrestling on May 12, 2007. The day after, on May 13, he met a southern Californian woman, an aspiring wrestler in her own right, to become his manager, Marina Valdivia. Five days later, on May 18, Swift, as a heel, wrestled in his first professional match, a triple threat Provincial Championship number one contender's match with Azrael and Misty Blaze, which the latter would win after pinning the former.The same night, it was announced that UPCW was merging with their parent company, the NIWF. Five days later, at UPCW's final show, Swift was entered in a battle royal to determine the UPCW representative in a fatal four way for the Unified World Championship at the Hellbound Pay-Per-View. Swift finished fourth in an impressive performance. UPCW became NIWF Friday Night Terror, and both his and Marina's contracts were one of the select few picked up by the NIWF.'
NIWF[]
On May 27, at NIWF Hellbound, Swift was in a triple threat I Quit match for the now renamed NIWF Provincial Championship against the champion Bret Harris and Misty Blaze. Swift made Harris quit, and thus, in just his third professional wrestling match ever, Swift got his first taste of championship gold and immediately became the face of Friday Night Terror. That same night, he interfered in the main event and cost DeWolf the match, sending the former world champion into a career tailspin in which he would never recover from. A few short days later, Swift defeated Harris again in a steel cage match to send him off the Terror brand. Both he and Marina started to become majorly prominent on the fledgling brand, with Marina getting in the ring herself. At NIWF Global Warfare on June 24, 2007, Swift defeated Johnny Dreamer in a tables match to successfully defend his championship. Furthermore, he and Marina joined Kris Destiny and Tomas Montgomery to form the Syndicate. In July, Swift picked up a huge win over NIWF legend Julio Stitchez, further cementing his rising stock in the company. That same month, at the PPV, Swift retained his championship against Tony DeLuca. In August, he would again defend his title against Tim Timmons. With Marina claiming the NIWF Women's Championship, the couple was by far the two faces of Terror. August though, brought change. Swift made another defense against Jamal 5000 and was selected to participate in his first world championship and main event at Baddlands on August 26, 2007 against Julio Stitchez and Kyle Murphy. Days before however, Marina had backstabbed Kris Destiny and Swift chose to go with her and leave the Syndicate, ending the faction. While Swift lost the match (Julio pinned Kyle) due to interference by Kris Destiny, revenge was taken as he, Marina, Anthony Bloodbath and Zero McHannon beat down the worthless hack and formed the Death Sentence in the process.
Further change occurred days later when Swift was defeated for the Provincial Championship by Fido. Just a few short weeks after this, the Terror brand was disbanded and he and Marina were both moved to the Sunday Night Storm brand. At September's pay per view, Rumble Roulette, Marina would backstab Swift and on October 8, having broken up over the weekend, the two had their first match ever against each other in the Storm Championship tournament semifinals, which was a victory for Marina. Swift would continue to be in the NIWF, with his last match being at NIWF Terror Tactics on October 29, 2007. A four way involving Destiny, AJ Miller and Zero to determine who would challenge for the NIWF World Championship, Swift fell short after Zero pinned Miller. At this time however, Swift was negotiating a new contract with the NIWF, which was set to expire on October 31. But on that night, the NIWF pulled a legitimate screwjob on Marina, humiliating and degrading her in front of a worldwide audience. Disgusted by management's actions, Swift allowed his contract to expire and he closed negotiations with the NIWF.
Fusion Championship Wrestling[]
First Run[]
Shortly after his NIWF departure, Swift became a part of the United Wrestling Alliance by signing with both FCW and HCW (then known as XHCW and UHWF respectively). He made his debut on Monday Night Genocide on November 19, 2007 in a losing effort to Kaanen Thorne. After a brutal battle the following week at the Last Call Brawl with former Syndicate stablemate Tomas Montgomery, Swift was a part of the roster, but aside from beating Jake E. Dangerously at UWA Supercade in December (as a UHWF representative no less), there was not much notable that occurred as 2007 ended. In 2008, after tough breaks to start the year, Swift finally pulled through as he defeated KJ Holliday in a bullrope match on March 3, 2008 to win the vacated Extreme Championship. The next week, he immediately had a successful title defense. Swift managed to defend the title three times and during his reign, he'd join the Profit Posse alongside the world champion Trax, Montgomery and Chris Clemens. However, on April 7, Swift lost the title in controversial fashion to Boxer. The Posse was falling at the seams and after the April 21 Genocide, Swift was released from his contract.
Second Run[]
Three months later however, Swift and FCW agreed to terms and he returned to the company. He started out well, avenging his loss to Boxer by defeating him in a triple threat match, however, that, and a Shores of Victory match 6th place finish in August would be the only highlights in this go around. After three months of frustration, Swift walked out of the company, never to return. Swift has stated that his second run in FCW was by far the lowest point of his entire career.
Honor Championship Wrestling (2007-2009)[]
Swift signed with HCW (then UHWF) along with FCW following his NIWF departure. Unlike his FCW tenure however, his time in HCW managed to take him to the next level. In his second match in HCW in November 2009, he won a battle royal at the Championship Chaos PPV to gain a UHWF TV Title shot. On December 3, 2007, Swift became a champion again as he defeated Kris Calloway with help from his new manager/girlfriend Violet Matthews. This marked Swift's first championship win since the NIWF Provincial Championship. He finished out 2007 strong with a win over Jake Dangerously at UWA Superrcade to win a future UHWF World title shot, which would come in handy later. Going into 2008, the UHWF split into two brands: the flagship Monday Night Hardcore brand, and the upstart Friday Night Chaos brand. Swift would be assigned to Chaos, and just like NIWF Friday Night Terror, he would be one of the faces of the fledgling show.
2008[]
On the premiere episode of Friday Night Chaos, Swift defeated UHWF World Champion Tomas Montgomery in a non-title hair vs. hair match to qualify for a six man elimination chamber match at the Battle II. Facing Reaper, Muhammad, Death Defier, Aiden Cooper and some other guy in an elimination chamber match, Swift defeated them all, last eliminating Reaper, to become the first ever UHWF Chaos World Champion. However, the next month would be rocky as he lost the TV title the next week to Reaper and then the Chaos World title at Heartbreak Hell to Kris Calloway in the first ever Desert Deathmatch. Swift however, managed to qualify for the Money in the Bank match at WrestleFest 4, though he would not win. Despite this, he would rebound the next month has his UWA Superrcade title shot would be cashed in at IWG Resurrection. Swift would defeat champion Reaper and Paul Humildad in a triple threat match to regain the Chaos World Championship. Back on top of the Friday Night Chaos mountain, Swift would reign supreme, defending his title in a steel cage match against Shane Harris on the final episode of Friday Night Chaos before the Hardcore and Chaos brands merged into Hardcore. In his first match on the Monday night brand, he and TV Champion Kris Calloway defeated UHWF Champion Nick Kelly and UHWF US Champion Thunder "Smoke" Jackson in a steel cage match. In June, at the Jackson Steele Invitational, a 16 person tournament was announced to determine who would get a title shot that same night. Swift managed to get to the finals, resulting in a unification match, but he lost the match. Winds of change started blowing after that, with the old guard of UHWF gradually leaving. He had a chance to win the UHWF World Championship at Honor, in a Hell in a Cell match, but it was won by US Champion Thunder "Smoke" Jackson. By this time, he and Violet Matthews split, and he dumped her harshly by spearing her into the floor of a gym. At Heatwave in August, Swift had another chance at the title against Jackson, but again fell short. Following UHWF being renamed HCW, Swift was "injured" in another world title match by Anthony Tarantino. In reality, Swift was taken off television to focus on his FCW commitments.
Return to HCW and face turn[]
In October, after his FCW departure, Swift returned to HCW as a face. He immediately got revenge on Anthony Tarantino defeating him at Hell on Earth and putting him on the injured list. He didn't take long to rise back to where he was, gaining wins at PPV's such as Championship Chaos and Countdown to Destruction. These wins, combined with meeting and starting a new relationship with a woman named Clarissa Vega, gave Swift a personal boost going into the new year.
2009 and the end of HCW[]
Jay Swift continued to gain impressive victories and at the Battle III, he had a chance to get an HCW World Championship match at WrestleFest V in the Battle match, in which he placed 4th. Soon afterwards, he would start a feud with the Franchise Killer. However, this feud would not see a conclusion as in March 2009, a massive walkout occurred in protest of how owner Jackson Steele was running the company. Swift was involved with the walkout, and shortly afterwards, Steele closed the doors on HCW, ending what Swift believed would be the most amazing memories of his career, however, he would be wrong.
True Honor Wrestling (2009-current)[]
2009[]
After a small stint in Japan, Swift signed with the fledgling True Honor Wrestling promotion in April 2009. However, he could only be used as an announcer for a few months due to his Japanese commitments. There was no hint of Clarissa Vega, but they were still dating at this time. After sitting on the sidelines for three months, Swift made his debut in THW at Honor Role against Peter Davis, which he would win. However, during that same night, he, Derekk Redmond and Davis attacked Anthony Bloodbath, creating a heel turn for Swift. The next week, Clarissa confronted him about his actions in the ring, but she delivered a low blow to AJ Miller turning him heel as well. While the AAC had success, it was often tumultuous. Just weeks after formation, Redmond was dropped from the group due to injury and was replaced by Shane Harris. Swift would defeat his old rival Kris Calloway at Summer Slaughter in a US vs Canada feud, in Vancouver. Two weeks later, Peter Davis, the International Champion, lost his championship to Alex Mercer. Swift and Shane turned on Davis, kicking him out of the group and replacing him with Mercer. Again, this wouldn't last as Mercer and Shane were injured, but the Connection stayed alive with the addition of Samantha Love. At Addicted to Chaos, Swift lost to rookie Gemini, igniting a feud between them. One month later at Oblivion, Swift defeated Gemini in a Desert Deathmatch for the vacant THW International Championship, his first title win in over a year. At International Incident, he defeated Gemini and Neville Sinclair in a triple threat match to defend the championship. After this however, there was more tumultuous events. Swift turned on Love and ended the All-American Connection. Swift closed out the year losing the International Championship to Gemini in a TLC match at Frozen Fury.
2010[]
Swift began 2010 by participating in the first ever Honor Cup tournament. He defeated Miranda Rivers in the quarterfinals and Wulf Erikksen in the semifinals before losing to Marina Valdivia in the finals at THW Honorable Mention. However, Swift would cost Marina the World Championship later that night. Following this, he formed an alliance known as the Society of Vengeance with Miranda Rivers. The two would defeat Marina and Hada Long-Rhodes at Bloodlust before Swift moved on to a feud with Hada. Swift took out Hada and ended her career, then began a feud with Gabbi Sparks. In the meantime, Swift defeated Mr. Mexico at Annual Annihilation and would find out that Clarissa was pregnant with his first child. Swift's feud with Gabbi culminated at Apocalypse in April when he defeated her in a 20 minute ironman match. That same night, the SOV dissolved and Swift turned on Miranda, igniting a feud with her. After weeks of taunting her, Miranda appeared reprising her Rebellious Vixen role and took Swift out. Swift would be a participant in the Gateway to Glory match, finishing third while his feud with Miranda would continue to develop. During this time, he and Gemini formed the "Electric Destroyers", though it went nowhere because of Gemini's incompetence.At Honor Role 2, Swift faced Miranda in a critically acclaimed grudge match that won Match of the Year. The feud would continue, but then Swift started seeing another woman named Erika Montoya because he grew tired of Clarissa's neediness. At Summer Slaughter, Swift lost an I Quit match, albeit controversially when Clarissa threw in the towel. After becoming a father and turning on Gemini to reunite with Marina Valdivia, Swift had two world title matches, at Addicted To Chaos and Oblivion. While he came up short both times, the former in a triple threat, the latter in a feud ending Desert Deathmatch with Miranda, Swift and Marina became the tag team champions. The two of them managed to beat the Opaque Brotherhood in a title defense at International Incident and Swift would round out the year as a tag team champion, a win over Damian Wesley at Frozen Fury, and a participant in the 2011 Honor Cup Tournament.
2011[]
Swift however, lost in the first round to Vincent Matthews. Furthermore, he and Marina started having issues. After losing the tag team titles to Lance Harris and Gemini, Swift turned on Marina, ending their reunion and resulting in a face turn! The next week, Swift defeated Damian Wesley in a You're Fired match then began a serious feud with Marina Valdivia. Swift defeated Marina at Bloodlust, then Marina returned the favor with a win at Annual Annihilation 2 with the help of Allison Mayberry. But at Apocalypse, in a 30 minute ironman match, Swift defeated Marina 4 falls to 3 to end their vicious feud. Having secured a big win, Swift started to rise to the occasion in big name matches and he became the 2011 Gateway to Glory winner, earning himself a shot at the THW World Championship at Honor Role 3. This put him in a feud with the champion, Gabbi Sparks. Swift and Gabbi initially got on well, however, their friendship deteriorated into full scale psychological warfare after Swift abandoned Gabbi in a match against Miranda Rivers and Jazmin at Heartbreak Hell. Swift and Gabbi faced off at Honor Role 3, in another match of the year winner. Swift gave it his best effort, but in the end, Gabbi won the match. This didn't deter Swift however, as he got another shot at the THW World Championship. At Summer Slaughter, in front of his hometown fans in Phoenix, Arizona, Jay Swift ended the 7 month reign of Gabbi Sparks and finally became the THW World Champion! Swift's first two defenses came against Nicole at Oblivion and on an October episode of THW Evolution. Swift and Gabbi rekindled their friendship by defeating Marina and Nicole at Nocturnal Nightmare. The next month at International Incident, with Swift's title as well as his Honor Cup eligibility on the line in a Luchas De Apuestas match, Swift retained the title in a four way against Nicole, resulting in her having a shaved head. However, Marina Valdivia blindsided him, cashed in the Money in the Bank contract she had, and beat him to become the new world champion. Swift faced Marina at Frozen Fury for the title in a very lengthy match, but Marina won to retain the championship.
2012[]
Swift was a number 9 seed in the Honor Cup tournament, but that didn't stop him. He beat Jakob Alexander in the wildcard round, followed by a win over the 2nd seeded International Champion Jazmin. However, in a rematch of Honor Role 3, Swift was knocked out of the tournament in the semifinals by the eventual winner Gabbi Sparks. Swift then lost to MG Newton at Honorable Mention in the 3rd place match, but these occurrences resulted in a feud with the former International Champion. Swift and Erika got married on the 14th of February on Evolution, however, MG Newton ruined the wedding, resulting in Erika being hospitalized. Swift got his revenge by becoming the king of mindgames again and then beating Newton at Bloodlust. The feud still wasn't over however, and on March 20's Evolution episode, Swift defeated Newton in a Desert Deathmatch. The next week in a six pack challenge match for the world title, Swift came close, but Newton stole the pinfall and became the THW World Champion. Swift would face Newton for the title at Lethal Lottery, but came up short. In May, Swift was announced as the first inductee into the THW Hall of Fame Class of 2012. However, Minimimax interrupted the proceedings, igniting a feud between them. Minimimax would take it a step further by stalking his wife Erika. Swift was able to become the final entry in the Gateway to Glory 2012 match, but he ended up being the runner up as Gabbi Sparks won. Swift continued to have problems with Minimimax and his tag team partner Brian Gun, so he responded by forming an alliance with Jazmin, someone else that had been wronged by the tag team champions. At Heartbreak Hell, Swift and Jazmin became Tag Team Champions, forcing Minimimax out of a job. Also during this time, Swift's personality began to change, going from a fun loving, sensitive guy, to someone who's not afraid to tell it like it is, a darker, far less emotional personality.
Accomplishments[]
1x NIWF Provincial Champion
1x FCW Xtreme Champion
1x HCW Television Champion
2x HCW Chaos World Champion
2x THW Tag Team Champion (w Marina Valdivia, Jazmin [current])
1x THW International Champion
1x THW World Champion
THW Triple Crown Winner
2011 Gateway to Glory winner
2012 THW Hall of Fame Member
2008 HCW Feud of the Year (w/ Thunder "Smoke" Jackson)
2008 HCW Match of the Year (w/ Smoke, Hada Long Rhodes, Kris Calloway and Shane Grimson)
2009 THW Manager of the Year (Clarissa Vega)
2009 THW Faction of the Year (All-American Connection)
2010 THW Match of the Year (w/ Miranda Rivers, Honor Role 2)
2010 THW Feud of the Year (w/ Miranda Rivers)
2011 THW Manager of the Year (Erika Montoya)
2011 THW Heart Award Winner
2011 THW Match of the Year (w/ Gabbi Sparks, Honor Role 3)
2011 THW Feud of the Year (w/ Gabbi Sparks)
Personal life[]
Swift's father and aunt were killed in the year 2000 and from 2000 to 2011, Swift did not see his mother, and even thought she was dead. However, they have since reunited.
Swift is known for being a notorious dater. He dated a woman named Caroline while in college. He once dated fellow wrestler Marina Valdivia in 2007, and then dated and was engaged to Violet Matthews from late 2007 to mid-2008. Shortly afterwards, he met Clarissa Vega in late 2008 and would be engaged eventually. The couple split after two years together. Swift then met Erika Montoya, though it was an adulterous affair at first. They became married on February 14, 2012.
Swift has a daughter named Myra Mercedes Vega with his ex-fiancee Clarissa. She was born on September 14, 2010.
Trivia[]
Swift is the first and only man to have won any championship in NIWF, FCW, HCW, and THW.
Swift has finished in the final 3 of the Gateway to Glory match each time the match has taken place.
It took only 9 days from his debut to become a champion for the first time. Swift's debut was on May 18, 2007, and he won the NIWF Provincial Championship on May 27, 2007.