OC alumni 'grinding' path to top of pro wrestling's heap
Through the week, Obion County Central High School alumni Michael Owens (class of 1994) and Tim Davidson (class of 1998) are blue collar workers.
Owens is a welder in Missouri on the Mississippi River, while Davidson works nights at the Union City Wonder Bread outlet.
On weekends, however, the pair transforms into the most hated tag team in Memphis Wrestling with Owens taking on the ring name of Flex and Davidson becoming Tim Grind to form Too Kool 2.
Owens, 31, grew up in the Shawtown community and was a member of the OCCHS football squad as an offensive lineman and defensive tackle with aspirations of becoming a bodybuilder.
Meanwhile, Davidson, who is four years Owens' junior, was an all-region quarterback selection and a part of OC's baseball squad that competed in the Spring Fling state championships in 1997.
"Tim and I grew up together," Owens said. "We've been friends since I was 10 or so. I never thought we were going to be teamed together in wrestling, though. He was always paired with my brother, Brian, when he started."
Owens began his squared circle career eight years ago and was trained by former World Wrestling F
ederation star, Sir Mo.Tim's foray into the profession came much, in part, to his friendship with Owens' brother. "We went to Dyersburg to watch Flex wrestle one night," Davidson recalls. "We'd been working out and the promoter saw us and asked why we didn't wrestle. We started training and eventually I landed on Memphis television and so did Flex."
However, the tandem pairing was not instant.
Once on television for CW 30's "Memphis Wrestling," Tim and Flex were wrestling as singles competitors under an array of gimmicks before being paired as the masked henchmen for former WWF star Brian Christopher.
Christopher, a founding member of the WWF's original "Too Cool" team with Rikishi and Scotty Too Hotty and son of Memphis Wrestling's resident royalty Jerry "The King" Lawler, pulled the pair aside one Saturday morning and told them, "You two are gonna get the ball around here pretty soon. Don't fumble it."
"I guess the best thing I can say about that is a few months back we were working with Brian and he said, 'Well, y'all didn't fumble it,'" Owens boasted.
Yet, there was one funny incomplete pass regarding the team. At a Memphis eatery after picking up Rikishi at the airport, Owens and Davidson were approached by fans who presumed them to be the original "Too Cool," telling them, "There's some guys around here now trying to copy you guys, but they aren't as good as you two are."
Other than the mistaken identity fiasco, Too Kool 2 has run for a touchdown, winning the Southern Tag Team titles nine times and wrestling on World Wrestling Entertainment (formerly World Wrestling Federation) programming.
The duo also appeared as the semi-main event of a card featuring Hulk Hogan this past April at the FedEx Forum in Memphis.
Averaging 100 dates per year, the pair still has a raised bar of goals.
"I've had some close calls to making it to the WWE," Owens said. "A lot of times it just comes down to who you know and what they are looking for at the time. It's definitely what I want out of wrestling, but if I were to quit today I wouldn't be disappointed because of what we've accomplished."
Too Kool 2 and the rest of the wrestling gang can be seen on WJKT Jackson 16 locally on Saturday nights at 6 p.m.
Editor's Note: The reason for Flex and Tim spelling their version of the team with a "K" instead of a "C" is because WWE and Vince McMahon owns the "Too Cool" name. They do not own the spelling "Too Kool" for in-ring purposes.
