Clarence Mason facts for kids

Herman Stevens Jr., born on June 17, 1965, is an American lawyer who also worked as a manager in professional wrestling. He is well-known for his lawyer characters, especially as Clarence Mason in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and later as J. Biggs in World Championship Wrestling (WCW).

Early Life and Dreams

From a young age, Herman Stevens Jr. was fascinated by the world of professional wrestling. He dreamed of being a part of the wrestling industry. While he was in college, he tried to get an internship with WCW, another big wrestling company, but it didn't work out.

Later, when he was studying at the Southern University Law Center to become a lawyer, he became friends with a famous wrestler named Ernie Ladd. Ernie Ladd helped him get a meeting with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). Stevens traveled to New York to meet with Vince McMahon, who was in charge of the WWF, and soon after, he signed a contract to join the company.

Professional Wrestling Career

World Wrestling Federation (1995–1997)

Herman Stevens Jr. joined the WWF in 1995, taking on the character of Clarence Mason. This character was a clever lawyer, and his name was a mix of two famous lawyers, Clarence Darrow and Perry Mason. His speaking style and character were inspired by well-known lawyers of that time.

Clarence Mason first appeared as the legal advisor for Jim Cornette. Cornette was trying to change the outcome of a wrestling match where his team, Yokozuna and the British Bulldog, had lost their championship titles. Mason continued to work with Cornette and his group of wrestlers, helping them with their legal arguments in the wrestling storylines.

In August 1996, Clarence Mason started managing Crush. Crush had been away from wrestling for a while, and when he returned, the WWF created a storyline where Mason acted as his lawyer. Later that year, Mason also became the manager for Faarooq. Together, they formed a wrestling group called The Nation of Domination. This group was made up of "bad guy" wrestlers. Crush also joined this group.

However, Mason's time with the Nation of Domination ended in June 1997. Faarooq, the leader of the group, "fired" him as part of the storyline. Stevens later shared that he asked to leave the group because he was uncomfortable with some of the things they were saying in their storylines. Also, the WWF wanted managers to get more involved in the wrestling matches, which wasn't something Mason wanted to do. After this, he left the WWF.

World Championship Wrestling (1999–2000)

In 1999, Herman Stevens Jr. appeared in another major wrestling company, World Championship Wrestling (WCW), under a new character name: J. Biggs. He first managed a wrestler named Chris Kanyon. After a few months, Kanyon stopped working with Biggs, so Biggs looked for new wrestlers to manage.

He then started managing a new tag team called Harlem Heat 2000, which included Stevie Ray and Big T. This team had a big rivalry with Booker T. In one storyline, J. Biggs even got a special court order (as part of the show) that said Booker T couldn't use the letter "T" in his name after losing a match to Big T. Soon after this, J. Biggs left WCW and stopped working in professional wrestling.

Life After Wrestling

After leaving the world of professional wrestling, Herman Stevens Jr. moved to South Florida. He went back to his original job as a practicing lawyer. Today, he continues to work as a lawyer from his offices in Delray Beach.