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Zach GowenZach Gowen (born March 30, 1983) is a professional wrestler. He wrestled for the SmackDown! brand of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in 2003, but was released by the promotion early in 2004. Gowen was diagnosed with cancer as a child. Because of that, he lost his leg at the age of 8. It was a necessary move: according to his doctors and parents, had the amputation not been done, they were not sure what would have happened to young Zach. Zach was determined to become a wrestler since he was a young child, and he spent a good portion of his teenage years training towards that goal. On March 16, 2002, he finally achieved his dream, when he debuted in the IWR http://www.pwrhotline.com, losing to Truth Martini. On April 26 of that year, he earned his first win, over Almighty Ray. He first gained national exposure in Total Nonstop Action before leaving soon thereafter for WWE in which he was involved with Vince McMahon, Roddy Piper and Mr. America - a masked Hulk Hogan - even wrestling McMahon on pay-per-view. He also challenged the WWE Champion Brock Lesnar in his hometown. On July 31, 2003, Gowen was the object of a feature report on the WWE SmackDown!. Gowen walks with a prosthesis and claims can wrestle with or without it, though he wrestles most without it due to the inherent marketability of seeing a one-legged wrestler compete. Known for his high-flying ability as well as his "one-legged" moonsault, Gowen was a fan favorite simply for the spectacle. However, since his release from the WWE, he's made it clear that at his young age, he's more interested in the women and fame that can be acquired by being a mainstream professional wrestler than he is interested in improving the business or putting on a great show psychologically that doesn't involve capitalizing on his having only one leg. However, that is largely debatable and is the subjective opinion of some. Many also believe that he was released by WWE because Vince McMahon thought his "usefulness" had expired and that no one really expected to see Zach go as far as most wrestlers. Of course his size paled in comparison of the roster of Smackdown! and the unspoken feeling of working with a handicapped wrestler made many uncomfortable. Gowen, Zach
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