1. Matt Bentley was trained by his cousin, Shawn Michaels, and he took the name Michael Shane, a play on his cousin's name, originating from Michaels' guest appearance in Pacific Blue.
14 Facts About Matt Bentley
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Additionally, Bentley utilizes Michaels' signature superkick maneuver as his own finisher.
3.
Matt Bentley briefly worked for Extreme Championship Wrestling from October 2000 to the final show of the promotion on January 13,2001.
4.
Matt Bentley worked as a jobber on WWE's programs Velocity and Sunday Night Heat.
5.
Matt Bentley is a former Ring of Honor wrestler, with his breakout match occurring against Paul London at the Unscripted event in September 2002, that concluded with London hitting the shooting star press off a ladder.
6.
Matt Bentley later wrestled for Major League Wrestling, where he was managed by Francine, and returned to Japan to compete for Zero-One Wrestling.
7.
Matt Bentley competed in the X Division, quickly winning the X Division Championship in the first ever Ultimate X match.
8.
Later in 2003, Matt Bentley formed a stable with Shane Douglas and Traci known as "The New Franchise".
9.
The New Franchise disbanded in April 2004 when Matt Bentley turned on Douglas.
10.
In July 2005, Matt Bentley was forced to refrain from using the "Michael Shane" alias, which he had used for his entire career, following threats of legal action from World Wrestling Entertainment, the employers of Mike Shane, who had trademarked his name, something which Matt Bentley had neglected to do.
11.
Matt Bentley continued feuding with Hoyt, and lost to him at Destination X Matt Bentley would then wrestle a few more matches, most being 6-man tag team matches, losing every time.
12.
Matt Bentley did not appear on TNA television for the next four months.
13.
On January 12,2013, Matt Bentley took part in the taping of TNA's One Night Only: X-Travaganza special, competing in a seven-man Xscape match, which was won by Christian York.
14.
On September 5,2015, Bentley made his Global Force Wrestling debut defeating Kevin Matthews and Mark Sterling in a three-Way match as part of the GFW Grand Slam Tour.