trainer". Steen had his first match on May 7, 2000 (his 16th birthday) in L'Assomption, Quebec. Steen trained with Rougeau and wrestled for Rougeau's promotion for four years, before beginning to wrestle with several other Canadian promotions. International Wrestling Syndicate (2003–2009) On August 16, 2003, Steen made his International Wrestling Syndicate (IWS) debut at Born to Bleed. Pierre Carl Ouellet defeated El Generico and Steen at Blood, Sweat and Beers in a triple threat match on October 18, 2003. On November 15 at Payback's A Bitch, El Generico defeated Steen in their first-ever singles match against each other. IWS held its 5th anniversary show "V" on June 15, 2004 at Le SPAG, where El Generico defeated PCO in an IWS title match to win his first IWS World Heavyweight Championship, only to have Steen cash in his #1 contendership won earlier that night against Excess 69. Steen defeated El Generico, also winning his first IWS World Heavyweight Championship. Steen's first title reign in 2004, marked a pivotal milestone in the history of the promotion when he became the first IWS World Heavyweight Champion to internationally defend the title, in defeating Roderick Strong on October 30 in Rahway, New Jersey for Jersey All Pro Wrestling (JAPW). On September 22, 2007 at Blood, Sweat & Beers, Steen defeated Jay Briscoe. On February 16, 2008 at Violent Valentine, El Generico defeated Steen for the IWS World Heavyweight Championship. On March 22, 2008 at Know Your Enemies, Steen regained the IWS World Heavyweight Championship by defeating Max Boyer & former champion El Generico in a 3-Way match. On May 24, 2008 at Freedom to Fight, Steen became the first-ever to hold two IWS titles simultaneously when he defeated Max Boyer to win the IWS Canadian Championship in an IWS Championship Unification match. Combat Zone Wrestling (2004–2006, 2008, 2014) Steen made his Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) debut on September 10, 2004, at High Stakes II, where SeXXXy Eddy defeated Steen, El Generico & Excess 69 in an IWS 4-Way Match, which was unofficially chosen as "CZW Match of the Year". On May 14, 2005, Steen took part in the "CZW Best of the Best tournament" and he advanced to the finals after defeating Kenny The Bastard in the first round and Chris Hero in the second round. He was unable to clench the trophy, however, as he lost in the finals in a fatal four-way