1. Overview
Jamin Olivencia, born on August 7, 1985, is an American professional wrestler primarily known for his extensive tenure at Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW). Throughout his career, Olivencia achieved significant success in OVW, becoming a three-time OVW Heavyweight Champion, and holding the record for the longest single reign at 241 days, a record later surpassed. He is also tied for the most reigns with the OVW Television Championship, having held the title eight times. His career highlights his progression from independent circuits to becoming a prominent figure in regional promotions, alongside notable appearances in larger organizations.
2. Early Life and Background
Jamin Olivencia was born on August 7, 1985, in Buffalo, New York, United States. Details of his early life prior to his professional wrestling career are not widely publicized, but his career began at the age of 17, indicating an early entry into the sport.
3. Professional Wrestling Career
Jamin Olivencia's professional wrestling career began in 2003, progressing from independent promotions to a long and decorated run with Ohio Valley Wrestling, and also included appearances for larger organizations.
3.1. Early career (2003-2005)
Olivencia made his professional wrestling debut under the ring name J-Man on August 16, 2003, at an Empire State Wrestling (ESW) event. In his inaugural match, he faced and lost to Benjamin Smythe. On September 9 of the same year, he suffered another defeat, this time against Cade Cassidy. Later that year, on December 6, Jamin formed a tag team with R-Haz, known as "The New City Thugs". Together, they defeated Damien Alexander and JP Hawke to capture the ESW Tag Team Championship, marking Olivencia's first professional wrestling title. The duo successfully defended their championship against Alexander and Hawke on January 24, 2004, albeit via disqualification. On February 15, they secured a victory over Grappler X and Purple Rain, but subsequently lost their titles to the same team on March 20.
On May 20, Olivencia challenged Shade for the ESW Interstate Championship but was unsuccessful in his bid. His first singles victory came on July 7, 2004, when he won a battle royal. After a year of teaming, J-Man and R-Haz engaged in a street fight, which J-Man won. Towards the end of 2004, J-Man twice challenged Jonny Puma for the ESW Heavyweight Championship, on November 6 and December 4, but failed to secure the title on both occasions. His final match for Empire State Wrestling took place on September 16, 2005, where he defeated Cade Cassidy.
3.2. Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW)
Jamin Olivencia spent the majority of his professional wrestling career at Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), where he achieved significant success and became one of the promotion's most decorated champions.
3.2.1. Early OVW years and OVW Southern Tag Team Championship (2005-2008)
Olivencia first debuted in Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) in 2005, during a period when the promotion served as a developmental territory for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). During this time, he underwent extensive training and primarily participated in house shows. On August 1, 2007, Olivencia formed a tag team with T.J. Dalton, and together they defeated The James Boys (Cassidy and KC James) to win the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship. Their reign was brief, however, as they lost the championship back to The James Boys on August 24. Following this loss, Olivencia experienced several months of inactivity before returning on November 7, where he teamed with Ace Steel in a losing effort against Matt Sydal and Seth Skyfire in a tournament for the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship. In early 2008, Olivencia and Steel also challenged Paul Burchill and Stu Sanders for the OVW Southern Tag Team titles but were unsuccessful. On February 7, 2008, OVW officially ended its working relationship with WWE, becoming an independent promotion. Olivencia chose to remain with OVW, establishing himself as a central figure in the promotion's post-WWE era.
3.2.2. Pursuit of the Television Championship (2008-2012)
Following OVW's transition to an independent promotion, Jamin Olivencia became a cornerstone of the company, especially known for his pursuit and numerous reigns with the OVW Television Championship. On February 20, 2008, he defeated James Curtis to capture the OVW Television Championship, marking his first reign with the title and making him the first champion since the end of the OVW-WWE affiliation. He lost the title on March 12, 2008.
Olivencia later recaptured the OVW Television Championship and engaged in a notable feud with former WWE Tag Team Champion Joey Matthews throughout much of 2008. On October 15, Olivencia was awarded the title via forfeit against Rudy Switchblade but lost it on the same day to Igotta Brewski. On May 6, 2009, Olivencia defeated Mike Mondo to win the OVW Television Championship for the third time. He then lost the title on May 13 to El Rojo Uno, only to regain it on June 10. Olivencia subsequently began a feud with Brent Wellington, who won the OVW Television Championship from him on July 22.
On May 7, 2010, Olivencia defeated Kamikaze Kid to secure his fifth reign with the OVW Television Championship. He lost the title to Mohamad Ali Vaez on June 4. On May 14, 2011, at the Saturday Night Special event, he once again defeated Vaez for the championship, but his reign was short-lived, as he lost it on May 25. On June 2, 2012, Olivencia defeated Mohamad Ali Vaez to win the OVW Television Championship for a record-tying seventh time. After a four-month absence, Jamin returned to OVW on November 10 for OVW episode 691, challenging Joe Coleman for the OVW Television Championship, but was unsuccessful when Coleman intentionally got himself disqualified. Olivencia continued to challenge Coleman for the title on November 17 (OVW episode 692) and December 1 (OVW episode 693), with Coleman again resorting to disqualification. Finally, on December 1, at OVW's Saturday Night Special, Jamin Olivencia defeated Coleman in a no disqualifications match to win the OVW Television Championship for a record-setting eighth time.
3.2.3. OVW Heavyweight Champion (2013-2014)
After securing two non-title victories over Doug Williams on OVW episode 704 and episode 705, Jamin Olivencia was declared the new number one contender for the OVW Heavyweight Championship. On March 2, at OVW's Saturday Night Special, Olivencia defeated Williams to initially win the OVW Heavyweight Championship. However, the title was controversially returned to Doug on March 6, as the referee's decision was reverted because Williams had not been disqualified during the match. Despite this setback, Olivencia persevered and officially defeated Williams to win the OVW Heavyweight Championship on April 10, 2013, beginning his first recognized reign.
On October 19, 2013, Olivencia made history by becoming the longest-reigning OVW Heavyweight Champion, surpassing Rip Rogers' previous record of 192 days. His reign lasted for 241 days, though this record has since been broken by Rocco Bellagio. The title was vacated on December 4, 2013. However, just three days later, Olivencia defeated Johnny Spade to regain the championship, marking his second reign. On December 25, 2013, Marcus Anthony appeared to defeat Olivencia for the title, but the referee reversed the decision, stating that Anthony had not released his submission maneuver, allowing Olivencia to retain the championship. Nonetheless, Olivencia definitively lost the title to Anthony on January 4, 2014.
On May 10, 2014, Olivencia defeated Marcus Anthony in a rematch to capture the OVW Heavyweight Championship for a third time. On July 5, 2014, Olivencia lost the title to Anthony in a Last Man Standing match. Due to the match stipulation, Olivencia was barred from challenging for the title for ninety days. Following this, Jamin formed an alliance with the returning Chris Silvio. The new team, "Silvi-O-livencia", went on to capture the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship on August 2 at the Saturday Night Special event, defeating The Fabulous Free Bodies (The Bodyguy and Big Jon). Their reign was short-lived, as they lost the titles to War Machine (Eric Locker & Shiloh Jonze) on September 6. Shortly thereafter, after nine years with the company, Jamin Olivencia departed from OVW.
3.2.4. Sporadic appearances (2017)
Jamin Olivencia made a brief return to Ohio Valley Wrestling on September 23, 2017, for the OVW Matt Cappotelli Benefit Show, where he defeated Shiloh Jonze. His final appearance in OVW was on the November 25, 2017, episode of OVW TV, where he challenged Michael Hayes for the OVW Heavyweight Championship and won the match via disqualification.
3.3. Appearances in other major promotions
Throughout his career, Jamin Olivencia made several appearances and underwent tryouts with larger professional wrestling promotions, notably World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), and Ring of Honor (ROH).
His first appearance for WWE was on November 28, 2005, under the name Jaymin Olivers. He teamed with Brad Bradley in a losing effort against Val Venis and Viscera. On July 13, 2010, he appeared as Jamin Canseco on WWE Superstars, teaming with Matt Cross in a losing match against Curt Hawkins and Vance Archer. Olivencia also appeared on the July 30, 2012, episode of Raw, where he was one of the individuals, alongside fellow OVW wrestler Dylan Bostic, portraying medical personnel taking Daniel Bryan to the hospital. On September 20, 2013, he competed as Nick Nardone at a WWE SmackDown taping, where he lost a squash match against Ryback.
Beyond WWE, Olivencia also had a tryout for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) on November 16, 2010, wrestling Stevie Richards in a dark match. Additionally, he appeared in promotions such as Ring of Honor (ROH) and Awesome Wrestling Entertainment (AWE). On November 23, 2011, he faced Mike Bennett in a losing effort on the edition of Ring of Honor Wrestling.
3.4. Global Force Wrestling (2015)
On May 11, 2015, Jamin Olivencia was announced as part of the initial roster for Global Force Wrestling (GFW), a new promotion founded by Jeff Jarrett. His debut for GFW occurred on June 12, 2015, during a GFW Grand Slam Tour event in Jackson, Tennessee, where he lost to Sonjay Dutt. The following night, on June 13, Olivencia teamed with Jason Kincaid in a tag team match, losing to a team consisting of Chase Owens and Sonjay Dutt in Knoxville, Tennessee.
On July 10, 2015, Olivencia continued his GFW appearances at a Grand Slam Tour event in Erie, Pennsylvania, where he teamed with Jon Bolen in a losing effort against Sonjay Dutt and Moose. The next night, on July 11, Olivencia was defeated by Bolen in a singles match during a GFW event in Lake County, Ohio.
4. Wrestling Style and Signature Moves
Jamin Olivencia's in-ring style is characterized by a blend of athletic maneuvers and impactful strikes. He utilized a variety of techniques to dismantle his opponents.
His signature moves include:
- Standing O (also known as a Jumping Guillotine DDT): This move involves applying a front facelock to the opponent, then leaping into the air while wrapping both legs around the opponent's torso, driving them down into a DDT. Olivencia also performed a diving version of this move from the top turnbuckle.
- Southern Cross Splash (Frog Splash): Olivencia would ascend to the top rope, then leap horizontally, rotating in mid-air before landing on his opponent in the style of a frog splash, utilizing his body weight for impact.
- Jumping knee drop
- Dropkick
- Flying elbow drop
- Scoop slam
- Missile dropkick
5. Other Activities
Outside of his professional wrestling career, Jamin Olivencia has also pursued opportunities in the entertainment industry as a stunt performer and actor. He performed stunt work for the film Dukes of Hazzard. As an actor, Olivencia appeared in the play The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity at the Actors Theatre of Louisville. In this production, he portrayed three different characters and was also responsible for choreographing the majority of the fighting and wrestling scenes, leveraging his professional wrestling expertise for the stage.
6. Championships and Accomplishments
Empire State Wrestling
- ESW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with R-Haz
Ohio Valley Wrestling
- OVW Heavyweight Championship (3 times)
- OVW Television Championship (8 times)
- OVW Southern Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with TJ Dalton (1) and Chris Silvio (1)
- Eleventh OVW Triple Crown Champion
Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- PWI ranked him #142 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the 2013 PWI 500.