Ringing endorsement for commercial star

By Alex Marvez, Scripps Howard News service

Never has a wrestler felt so good after getting thrown head-first into the bleachers.

As channel surfers know, the 1- 800-COLLECT commercial featuring D'Lo Brown and World Wrestling Federation champion "Stone Cold" Steve Austin was one of the year's most amusing advertisements. Furious that his "opponent" didn't use that telephone service when calling him the previous night, Austin chastises Brown and spins him around before tossing him into the audience.

Not only did he not mind the abuse, Brown is eternally grateful to Austin for choosing him to appear in the commercial.

"It brought me into the mainstream other than through the wrestling venue," said Brown, who is under contract with Austin to film two more 1-800-COLLECT commercials should MCI want sequels.

"It got me to the normal person. For three or four months afterward, people didn't know I was really a wrestler. They said, 'Hey you're the actor from the commercial.'"

But anyone who watches WWF programming knows Brown -- a.k.a A.C. Connor -- is a better in-ring talent than thespian.

At 27, Brown already is considered one of the better workers within the industry. Brown hopes to regain the WWF European title Sunday in a match against Mideon on the Fully Loaded pay-per-view show.

Brown could never have envisioned such success in 1995 when he was a 400-pound accountant in New York City. He was spotted in a New Jersey gymnasium by a member of Larry Sharpe's wrestling school and cajoled into the ring.

Brown -- who now weighs 250 pounds -- trained for six months before beginning his career with the Memphis-based U.S.W.A.

"That brought the athlete back out of me," said Brown, who played college football. "I later realized I was never a suit-and-tie type of guy."

That's not to say Brown never regretted leaving his $50,000-a- year job in the Big Apple.

Times were so tough in the U.S.W.A. that Brown was paid by whatever merchandise he could sell at the concession stands between matches. At one point, Brown paid his $300 rent by living with seven other performers honing their craft, including current stars Kane, Chris Jericho, Lance Storm and Balls Mahoney.

"Those times make me respect what I have now," Brown said. "It makes me remember when I didn't have two pennies to rub together."

Brown reached the WWF in 1997, joining The Rock and Farrooq in the Nation of Domination. When the Nation dissipated, Brown was given a chance to shine in a singles feud with X-Pac. Those matches had Brown poised on the edge of stardom in 1999 as a tag-team with Mark Henry.

Unfortunately for Brown, Henry's problems have slowed both of their momentum. Henry has battled real-life weight and injury problems throughout the year, leaving his WWF future in question and greatly diminishing Brown's time in the spotlight.

Brown, though, is hoping to begin anew as a singles wrestler. Winning the European title Sunday would be a good start toward Brown eventually getting to star in his own commercial.

"Mark is my boy, but everyone is trying to get to the level of main event status," Brown said. "I would like nothing more that to be in the main event of Wrestlemania."

Q: Whatever happened to Papa Shongo? -- Matt Cannata, Denver.

A: Shongo (real name Charles Wright) spent time performing as Kama before being successfully repackaged as The Godfather.

Wrestling questions can be addressed to Alex Marvez c/o the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 200 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 33301, or e-mailed to amarvez@sun-sentinel.com. Please include your full name and city of residence. Because of volume, no phone calls will be accepted and letters will not receive a written reply.