Alvin Burke Jr. was raised in Opa-locka -- perhaps one of the few cities this side of Baghdad where metal street-blocking barriers have been permanently erected to block machine-gun-toting marauders. He joined a street gang and in 1990, at age 16, got pinched in Broward County for kidnapping and armed robbery. He was sentenced to 18 and a half years in prison but was paroled in 1999 at age 25. He's said that in prison, he met a corrections officer who was an independent wrestler, and upon his release, he begab training.
He's now Montel Vontavious Porter, or MVP, keeper of one of the better stage names in the WWE and one of the wrestling outfit's biggest stars. Apparently his character, the arrogant athlete, is supposed to be a mix of Cuba Gooding Jr.'s character in Jerry Maguire and Terrell Owens.
And this Sunday night, he'll wrestle in the WWE Summer Slam, most likely against his arch-enemy and complete asshole Jack Swagger. OK, maybe we're getting a little too into this. But if you're not already sold on MVP, know this: The WWE makes him cover his chest when he wrestles because he has a tattoo of Malcolm X there. Convinced?
