The career of Jack Pollock

Jack Pollock was a cornerstone of the Pittsburgh professional wrestling scene for nearly 15 years. As someone that learned under the underrated legend, Lance Storm after he took out a loan from PNC Bank to travel to Calgary and quite literally learn the ropes, Jack Pollock lived up to the old school troupes that were forged in the territory's old Stampede promotion, the place where Lance broke in nearly 25 year earlier, Pollock gave blood, sweat, and tears to the squared circle.

"Going to Calgary and training with Lance was surreal. The story that stands out the most to me was when we started working matches. My first match went off the rails so badly, everything I tried to do to get it back together wasn’t working. From the seats, Lance yelled 'just roll him up and get it over with, Sam.' Coming back to class on Monday, we were doing more matches, and I just kept saying in my head, 'please don’t pick me' so of course he picked me to wrestle. I think he could tell how upset I was about the first match and wanted to make sure I got my confidence back. That was something about Lance’s way of training I really liked. He knew how to deal everyone’s personality and could pick us up when we were down. He wasn’t a drill sergeant kind of trainer. He wasn’t there to take your money and beat you up. If you showed him respect and that you cared, he gave it back and then some," Pollock explained.

In that same fashion, when Huey Lewis blared through the speakers at a Pittsburgh venue in the years that followed, Jack Pollock gave to the business more than he received. He gave promoters a return on their investment in him as a talent, he gave the fans their money's worth through his tireless efforts in matches, and he extended his hand in friendship to numerous peers in the industry, bonds that lasted far beyond when the final bell echoed in the venue at the end of the night.

Jack Pollock, for a major portion of those past 15 year referenced earlier, was the guy that many organizations counted on as their workhorse throughout different stages of his career. He's one of the very few performers to have worked across the spectrum of the steel city circuit, as his value to any group was undeniable so he found a role within virtually every major promotion in the region at some point or another. The alphabet soup of organizations that he worked for over the years all had a significant impact on his career and contributed to his overall direction in the sport. It was through those efforts that the name Jack Pollock became synonymous with consistent quality performances and the ability to create a level of drama that invoked an emotional investment from the audience.

"Obviously, that first run towards the PWX title in 2012 was really special. The minute you go from just being on the show to being the champion for a company, the expectations change drastically. To be the flag bearer, to feel the responsibility of representing your company, to be the guy that I worked so hard to prove the people right who believed in me so much. That PWX run had so many memorable feuds for me that helped legitimize me and put me on the map. Shane Taylor really cemented me as somebody worth watching early on. And honestly, if not for splitting my eyebrow at the end of that first beating I’m not sure that feud ever becomes what it became. Some of the other PWX feuds that really stick out were the ones with Brandon K, Chris Taylor, and Bryan Bowers," Pollock remarked.

"When it comes to IWC, it’s just hard to pinpoint the highlights. The formation of Team Storm and the feud with Andrew Palace that ended inside of the cage was incredible. The whole Justin Plummer vs. Pollock story, which led to the Wardlow feud was amazing. I think about that crazy run I had to get to the title in 2018: The matches with Shane at Super Indy, Plummer at Threat Level Midnight, and then Wardlow in the cage. I went on to fight Tommy Dreamer and then did a rematch with Wardlow, ending with him throwing me off the top of the cage through the ring. That era of wrestling was just so much fun," he added.

From winning the heavyweight title of the now-defunct Pro Wrestling Express, to his run as the International Wrestling Cartel heavyweight champion, Pollock's rolodex of opponents, both inside of Pittsburgh and the national names brought in from the outside, is a reflect of the trust that event organizers had in him to deliverer in the big moments. After those years of experience, Pollock lent his veteran presence to 880 Wrestling, a newer group within the past few years that built itself as a fresh project amongst the other long-established leagues. The collection of youngsters brought a level of dedication and enthusiasm that rejuvenated Pollock during the last chapter of his in-ring career.

"The last few years of my career, I was able to have a lot of fun at 880, too. Honestly, it’s probably why I stuck around longer than I had originally planned. MV brought me in to work a few matches, but I just loved the vibe so much that I kept coming back. I think the dog collar match with Chris LeRusso stands out the most to me. Blood aside, Chris and I have been friends since my first day in the Pittsburgh wrestling scene so to do that match with my friend was really special," Pollock said.

There's no doubt that a specific era of Pittsburgh, a region known almost as much for its wrestling as the steel it once produced, was defied by the efforts of Jack Pollock. However, it was the real-life Sam Ward that paid the price for it. Crashing through tables, being thrown onto thumbtacks, colliding with the steel cage, and being sent through the canvas of the ring to the floor might've been at the expense of Jack Pollock, but Sam Ward picked up the tab.

It was just a few years ago that a trip to the orthopedic doctor revealed an alarming about of damage to Ward's hip, especially given his age.

"I was still enjoying myself in ring, but my body wasn’t having fun anymore. It took longer and longer to recover from even the most basic match that I knew the time was coming. I remember tweaking my hip during a cage match for IWC in 2022 and things just got worse from there. I did everything I could to help it. I started wearing a big hip brace, weekly chiropractor visits, physical therapy, acupuncture, massages, and float tanks, I could never really get any relief so I finally saw a doctor more than a year later when they told me I had very advanced arthritis for someone my age. I started getting cortisone shots in my hip and knee every three months just to deal with the pain," Ward explained.

Last March, 15 years to the day that he took about the previously mentioned loan to travel to Canada to learn from Lance Storm, Sam repeated the same process for his final match as he did for his first match all the way back in 2011. He picked up his best friend, Marcus Mann, an accomplished manager and behind the scenes organizer for various promotions for more than a decade, and went to the venue. Instead of being a nervous youngster under a mask in West Newton the way he was for his debut, he walked into his final bout as a respected pro that was going to answer the bell one last time. Enjoy Wrestling, a wildly popular group that runs stacked cards in the city once every few months, promoted the event, and MV Young, one of the driving forces behind the previously mentioned 880 Wrestling, served as the last opponent for Jack Pollock's career.

"I tried playing it cool but I was a mess on the inside. MV and I have talked a lot about that match since it happened, there’s not a single thing I’d change about it," Ward said.

More than a year after he hung up his boots, Sam keeps himself busy with graphic design, working on a full plate of merchandise concepts for wrestlers and organizations while he enjoys spending time with his pets and watching baseball games. When he left one ring behind, he got another when he got engaged to his fiance, Eanna, who he met in 2023 through her work as a ringside valet.

A few weeks ago, at the age of just 42, Sam Ward finally underwent hip replacement surgery and has spent the time since then recovering from the procedure, with physical therapy lined up next. He will be kept out of work until he gets completely healed and cleared by his surgeon. In an effort to give back to Jack Pollock the way that he gave so much to the pro wrestling business, all of the friends he made along the way are going to come together on Sunday June 14th at the 880 Wrestling building in Pittsburgh to put on an event for donations that will support Ward until he can return to his day job.

A truly all-star cast of talent from promotions around Pittsburgh will come together to not only pay respect to their friend, but also give the fans a truly unique pro wrestling event that they won't get the chance to see anywhere else. MV Young squares off with Bill Collier, who is known for his work as Agent Zero in TNA wrestling. The Mane Event of Ganon Jones Jr. and Duke Davis will collide with Money Shot, the combination of Elijah Dean and Zach Nystrom for a contest of two of the top tag teams in region. Pittsburgh legends, Brandon K, founder of Ryse Wrestling, and Chris LeRusso, will square off in one of the most anticipated matches on the card. Pittsburgh icon, John McChesney, a 25-year veteran, is scheduled to compete against Edric Everhart, regarded as one of the best grapplers in the area today. Former IWC heavyweight champion, Andrew Palace is slated to compete against 880 standout, Marco Narcisso. A battle royal is also scheduled for the event.

Despite the titanium in his body as a permanent reminder of his sacrifices of the squared circle, Sam Ward remains thankful for the moments he experienced, the memories he created, and the friends that he made in the wrestling business.

"I really don’t have any regrets, I had my first match when I was 27 years old. I never had unrealistic expectations about what I could achieve in this business. I had fun grinding. Wrestling on a Saturday and Sunday just to wake up and go to work on Monday, I enjoyed being different," Ward concluded.