Not much is known about Mark Payne's past. He was born in the moderate sized town of Allentown ,Pennsylvania. There he attended the local public school near his neighborhood. Payne was a smart kid, and made good grades. Most of teachers weren't to taken with him however. Mostly due to his mouth. Upon reaching seventh grade his mother and father decided to pull him from public school and stick him in a Catholic school. For the next six years he attended Allentown Catholic Jr./Sr. HS. There he exceled at numerous sports. Point guard on the basketball team, linebacker on the football squad, and captain of the wrestling team.

But due to Mark's increasing arrogance and attitude he was frequently in trouble and suspended. His coaches and teachers all saw the talent in his work and grades but when they talked to him what they saw was a teenager who already thought he was better then everyone else. He had very few friends, and quite frankly he didn't care. He had girlfriends, but he never stayed with one for long. Mostly he was a loner who was left alone, and on the rare occasions when someone did mess with him they were given the fight of their lives.

When Mark graduated he considered collage. Penn State was calling with a sports scholarship, and Mark was going to take it. That was until a man by the name of Michael Cross came calling. Mr. Cross had just started a wrestling promotion called the XWA, the Xtreme Wrestling Alliance. After Mark had listened to Michael Cross and after seeing one of the XWA shows he knew that he had found his passion. Payne was signed on the spot. At first ,as most young wrestlers experience, he did not have a lot of success. But Mark Payne was not one to tolerate losing. After three months in the XWA he turned things around for himself. He went on a winning streak which built a solid foundation for him in the young federation and thusly catapulted him to the main event. This is where Mark Payne truly florished.

He went on to become dubbed Mark "The Minister Of" Payne, a title drummed up by the creative team in the front office. Without a doubt Payne was the most hated man in the XWA. He made the wrestlers, front office, and fans hate him. But no one could argue with his skill. He had won the XWA Xtreme World Championship a couple of times garnering the spot feds premier attraction. This where he start to see the enoromous ego of Mark Payne truly develop. Michael Cross had finally seen enough, and after numerous incidents Payne was let go due to locker room problems that remain murky to tgis day. The fans weren't happy but in time they forgot him. Payne would return but always he was repelled, and so he finally gave the XWA up. It should be noted that the XWA was a breeding ground for future stars. Former AGW/TEW superstars Derrick Reed and Bryant Edwards, the Xtreme Killers, along with former FCW/AGW Superstar 'Elite' Cedric Donahue were home grown talent of the defunct XWA. When you add their resumes to Payne's one can only imagine where such a fed may have went if things had turned out differently.

For three years Mark Payne proceeded to work the indy scenes. There he was a superstar, due to his XWA fame. He quickly became a indy mainstay and amassed many titles in numerous regional federations, but the pay was nothing special and the fame was not nearly of the caliber he craved. The fans enjoyed booing him wherever he went...However it was obvious that Mark Payne wanted more.

He wanted to to become a household name again.