Hassan Hamid Assad (born Alvin Antonio Burke Jr.; October 28, 1973), better known by his ring name Montel Vontavious Porter or simply MVP, is an American professional wrestler, manager, Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner and rapper. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the on-screen manager of The Hurt Syndicate. He is also known for his work in WWE, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW).
After concluding his training under Soulman Alex G and Norman Smiley, MVP began wrestling for numerous independent promotions, including a stint in TNA. He won various championships in singles competition. He first signed with WWE in 2005 and was assigned to Deep South Wrestling, one of the company's developmental territories at the time. After being promoted to the SmackDown brand, he made his main roster debut in October 2006, and became two-time WWE United States Champion, with his first reign being the longest in SmackDown history at 343 days. He is also a former one-time WWE Tag Team Champion with Matt Hardy.
After his departure from WWE in 2010, MVP joined New Japan Pro-Wrestling in 2011 and spent the next two years there, becoming a one-time (and the inaugural) IWGP Intercontinental Champion. He subsequently returned to the independent circuit and made appearances in TNA and ROH. He returned to WWE in January 2020 and left in August 2024, debuting in AEW the following month.
Alvin Antonio Burke Jr. was born in the Liberty City neighborhood of Miami, Florida, on October 28, 1973. He grew up in Opa-locka, Florida. His father was a police officer. He joined a gang when he was 12, describing it as a "graffiti gang" which later turned into a street gang. He spent six months in a juvenile detention center after a robbery, and was later sentenced to 18 and a half years behind bars for armed robbery and kidnapping, of which he served nine and a half years starting at age 16. He converted to Islam while in prison, but is now an atheist.
Assad entered the professional wrestling business through the help of a corrections officer in his prison who also worked as a wrestler in the independent circuit. After being trained by former professional wrestlers Soulman Alex G and Norman Smiley, Assad made his wrestling debut in 2002. He worked for many different companies on the independent circuit using the name Antonio Banks, including appearances with Full Impact Pro (FIP) and Future of Wrestling (FOW), where he won the latter's Tag Team Championship with Punisher. During his time in FIP, he wrestled Homicide for the World Heavyweight Championship at the Ring of Honor show Do or Die IV on February 19, 2005, but did not win the title. He also made sporadic appearances for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), and wrestled on the April 20, 2003, episode of TNA Xplosion. He appeared again for TNA on the August 6, 2004, episode of Impact!, with Sal Rinauro as his tag team partner, losing to America's Most Wanted. He also wrestled for Coastal Championship Wrestling (CCW) and Elite Wrestling Entertainment in 2005, competing against wrestlers like Jerry Lynn and D'Lo Brown. In CCW, he won the Heavyweight Championship on August 20, 2005, by defeating Blackhart and Bruno Sassi in a three-way match.
World Wrestling Entertainment (2005–2010)
Deep South Wrestling (2005–2006)
In 2005, after a number of live events and dark matches, Assad signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and was assigned to their developmental territory Deep South Wrestling. He originally wrestled under his "Antonio Banks" ring name, but then developed the Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP) in-ring persona: an arrogant, self-obsessed athlete. He was also on an episode of SmackDown! on January 13, 2005, being one of the police officers in the ring with Kurt Angle.
As MVP, he made his first appearance on WWE television on the August 4, 2006 episode of SmackDown!, during which announcers described him as a coveted free agent. The initial angle involved MVP appearing backstage and in arena crowds, often flanked by women and/or a bodyguard, and talking to SmackDown! General Manager Theodore Long about the contract his (unseen) agent was supposedly aggressively negotiating. Throughout his segments, commentators described MVP as arrogant, noting that he would stop conversations in the middle to answer his mobile phone or admire his own jewelry while people were speaking to him. Finally, on September 26, a video of a press conference announcing the signing of MVP to "the largest contract in SmackDown! history" was uploaded to WWE.com.
MVP made his in-ring debut at No Mercy on October 8 as a heel with a ring entrance featuring an NFL-like inflatable tunnel, before defeating Marty Garner. During the match, commentators Michael Cole and John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) decried the choice of opponent, since it had been implied that it would be someone "more competent", and joined in with fans mocking his athletic suit styled ring gear, calling him "pathetic" while the fans chanted Power Ranger. On the following episode of SmackDown!, MVP made a demand for a tougher opponent to prove his mettle, which was answered by Kane making his SmackDown! debut. The two feuded for the next two months, with MVP narrowly scoring wins over Kane in a Street Fight, a Steel Cage match and tag team matches with Mr. Kennedy against the reunited Brothers of Destruction, before losing to Kane in an Inferno match at Armageddon on December 17, from which he suffered storyline first-degree burns. Because of the burns he was "out of action" for a short time, during which on the December 22 episode of SmackDown!, color commentator JBL expressed rage with the fans for cheering a match where the only way of achieving victory is to set an opponent on fire.
United States Champion (2007–2009)
When his feud with Kane ended, MVP began a feud with the WWE United States Champion Chris Benoit over Benoit's title. During the buildup for a title match with Benoit, MVP appeared on SmackDown! introducing various supposed champions from around the world, defeating them in squash matches. MVP lost to Benoit at WrestleMania 23 on April 1, 2007 and at Backlash on April 29, but finally defeated Benoit in a Two out of three falls match at Judgment Day on May 20, with MVP winning the United States Championship, his first WWE title, in two straight falls. MVP credits his time working with Benoit for improving his in-ring skill. In his first pay-per-view championship defense at Vengeance: Night of Champions on June 24, MVP defeated Ric Flair to retain the title.
His first major feud as the champion was against Matt Hardy, whom he started claiming to be better than at everything, after defeating him at The Great American Bash on July 22. When MVP was legitimately diagnosed with the heart condition Wolff–Parkinson–White syndrome, it was written into the storyline, with MVP blaming the condition for his losing an arm wrestling match against Hardy on the August 3 episode of SmackDown!. When MVP was given an interview segment during SmackDown!, the VIP Lounge, it was used to bow out of a scheduled boxing match on the August 18 episode of Saturday Night's Main Event—with Evander Holyfield replacing him, and eventually punching out MVP during the bout. On the August 24 episode of SmackDown!, MVP bragged to General Manager Theodore Long that he was so good, he could win the WWE Tag Team Championship with anybody, prompting Long to grant him a championship match alongside the next person who entered the room, who turned out to be Hardy. The following week on the August 31 episode of SmackDown!, MVP and Hardy won the WWE Tag Team Championship from Deuce 'n Domino, making MVP a double champion. MVP and Hardy's contentious relationship had them competing with each other in various ways while MVP proclaimed himself "Captain" of the team. In the months coming, MVP started getting along better with Hardy, including helping him defeat Finlay on the October 19 episode of SmackDown!.