Philip Andrew "Phil" Livelsberger (born February 7, 1962), better known by the ring name Max Thrasher, is an American retired professional wrestler, promoter and trainer.
At the time, Livelsberger was earning minimum wage as a waiter but another restaurant employee agreed to co-sign a loan so he could pay the $1500 tuition (equivalent to $4,169 in 2023).
[6] Livelsberger made his pro debut on August 22, 1987,[6] against Larry Winters in front of around 2,500 fans for a Mason-Dixon show at Heiges Field House.
Miller started running shows under the Mason-Dixon Sports / Atlantic Wrestling Federation banner and within two months Livelsberger was working as the group's booker.
[11] He subsequently wrestled Blackjack Mulligan, Jimmy Valiant and The Rock 'n' Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson) at house shows in North Carolina.
Following a successful audition in April 1990, Thrasher and his wrestling student Don Eminizer were to appear together in the film's bar fight scenes.
[20] Thrasher has attributed the show's popularity due to foreign wrestling fans believing Sylvester Stallone was actually portraying Rambo.
[2][5] It was suggested by his friend Ted Petty, who sold him his first ring, as a way to network and make introductions to promoters outside the Eastern Pennsylvania area.
Thrasher was also part in the co-main event, a 20-man Reverse Battle Royal match in which the first man to climb into a steel cage was declared the winner.
On August 20, 1991, Thrasher entered an 8-man tournament to crown the inaugural TWA Bar Wars Champion but was eliminated in the opening round by D.C. Drake.
[24] On February 28, 1991, Thrasher teamed with Sammy Austin as The Executioners against The Beach Boys (Larry Winters and Dusty Wolfe) at the Peace and Friendship Stadium, as part of a one-night NWF tour of Athens, Greece.
[9] A weekly television series was co-produced with the Gambo family at WJZ-TV as a way to showcase the best talent in the Mid-Atlantic region which aired in Baltimore and syndicated to York, Pennsylvania, and Keyser, West Virginia.
On October 11, 1991, Thrasher and Kirk Dredd unsuccessfully challenged MEWF Tag Team Champions The Lords of Darkness (Agony and Pain) in a Falls Count Anywhere match in Pasadena, Maryland.
On July 11, Thrasher defeated Hollywood Bob Starr and A.C. Golden in the finals of an 8-man tournament to win the then vacant MEWF Heavyweight Championship.
[40][41] On July 19, Thrasher defeated AJ Fritzoid (substituting for Neil Superior) in the semi-finals of the WIN Heavyweight Championship Tournament.
[44] The team fell victim to a month long losing streak, including defeats by The Super Ninja and Scott Summers and The Hellriders (E.Z.
[37][57] His last ECW television appearance was on June 29 when he and Rockin' Rebel helped Tony Stetson attack Larry Winters until the rest of the locker room came out to break it up.
[59] On June 26, 1993, Thrasher battled Chief Jules Strongbow at a National Wrestling Federation show in West Orange, New Jersey.
[72] On September 24, 1994, Thrasher was part of a benefit show at Steel Valley High School for the victims of an arson attack in Homestead, Pennsylvania.
[74] He was originally scheduled to join Gunn and 2 Cold Scorpio in a six-man tag team elimination match against Ramblin' Rich and The Goodfellas (Dino Casanova and Romeo Valentino).
[82] They eventually lost the belts to Blues and The New Patriot on November 13, 1999, at North Carroll High School's "Pro Wrestling Spectacular VIII" in Hampstead, Maryland.
[84][85] On April 29 in Middle River, Maryland, after Patch was stripped of the MEWF Heavyweight Championship, Thrasher entered a one-night tournament to crown a new champion.
[87] On September 22, 2000, Thrasher defeated MEWF Heavyweight and Mid-Atlantic Champion Buzz Stryker during a Four-Way Dance against Morgus the Manaic and Dino Casanova[88] regaining the title after seven years.
Thrasher briefly lost the heavyweight title to Casanova in the fall but won it back on November 11, 2000, at North Carroll High School's "Pro Wrestling Spectacular IX".
[90][91] Thrasher again reunited with Lucifer to regain the MEWF Tag Team Championship defeating The KPA (Joe Thunder and Steve Camry) on June 9, 2002.
After a five-month reign, Thrasher and Bob Starr (substituting for Lucifer) lost the titles to Dino Casanova and Chad Bowman on November 24, 2002.
He also faced ex-ECW tag team partner Glen Osbourne in a joint SWO show with the World Wide Wrestling Alliance on June 14, 2003.
The Night Breed reunited in the SWO on August 14, 2005, against ECW rivals The Super Destroyers with the match ending in a double disqualification.
Livelsberger subsequently spent nine years as an administrator for the Dover Area School District, during which time he earned a doctorate in education from Immaculata University.
[96] In June 2016, a 16-year-old William Penn Senior High School student's "thumb wrestling ring project", designed as part of Martin Library's summer reading program, was modeled after "Max Thrasher" and featured in The York Dispatch.