The Man Who Wrestles With Piercings
by: Michelle Delio
Like all of the best ancient epics, professional wrestling features brave and cirtuous her-warriors who, while on their quest for total world domination, are faced with mystical creatures and evil villains. There's the Undertaker - once the conscience of the WWF, now the ultimate archetype of darkness who appears in a puff of smoke, and habitually hauls victims away for his Satanic rituals. There's the Godfather, who poses as a pimp complete with a bevy of bodacious beauties. There's the Big Show, whose gimmick is that he's -well -really big. And don't forget Droz, a tribally tattooed guy who can puke on command.
And we can't neglect Prince Albert. When he showed up at ringside with Droz, claiming to be the puker's personal tattooist and piercer, most WWF fans figured it was just another gimmick. But this much is true, Prince Albert really "enjoys the feeling of the needle - whether I'm getting tattooed or pierced, or working on someone else." His love for body art is not a manufactured fairy tale, and he's got the metal to prove it. The aptly named Prince Albert has 28 piercings. "You name the place, it's probably pierced," admits the Prince. Whenever he feels the need for more metal, he simply pierces himself. Asked if he was concerned about getting some of those rings and things snagged or (horrors!) ripped off during a match, Prince Albert admitted, "It is a worry, but it goes with the territory."
He gets tattoos only when the design means something to him, and allof his skin art was done at Boyd art II in New Jersey. His first tattoo was a Pitt Panther on his leg (he attended the University of Pittsburgh). He also has a kanji piece which reads, "Respect All, Fear None". He notes that this sentiment is a value that was instilled in him by his family.
Ever enthusiastic to introduce others to body modification, Prince Albert always enters the ring with a case full of piercing needles. After slamming his opponents to the mat a couple of times, he then tries to cheer them up by offering them a nice piercing. Occasionally the other wrestlers don't always realize they want to be pierced, so Prince Albert persists, sometimes rather forcefully. He hopes to pierce Test next. "He would look so pretty with a nice piercing and his long blond hair," says Prince Albert with a big grin.
It's pretty obvious that Prince Albert plans to leave his mark (literally!) on the rest of the World Wrestling Federation, and why not? As he proclaims,"It's so boring to be normal!" Who's gonna argue with that?