DENVER -- July 27, 2003 -- Less than a year ago, Zach Gowen was a teenager in Livonia, Mich., reading about WWE pay-per-view intrigue on the Internet.

At Vengeance, he wrestled the head of the company, Vince McMahon, in a match that was one of the primary drawing points of the show.

"A lot of people will say I'm not even supposed to be here," said the rookie, now 20 years old, who became a Superstar despite losing a leg to cancer. "It was nerve-wracking to know that so many people were going to be watching me."

But Gowen did not betray his nervousness in the ring. He began the match by removing his prosthesis and decisively handing it to the referee.

McMahon spent much of the battle arousing fan ire by attacking Gowen's good leg, lifting him by the ankle and dropping him on the mat, slamming the knee into the ring post and holding the "one-legged wonder" in a half-Boston Crab.

Meanwhile, Gowen blasted his foe with a backwards somersault from the middle ring cable and delivered a legdrop off the turnbuckles, as well as a bulldog, dropkick from the ropes and moonsault.

When McMahon grabbed a chair, Gowen kicked it in his face, busting open the mogul. But when the youngster missed another moonsault, McMahon covered him for the pin.

Still, Gowen received a warm ovation as he departed.

"It's the best feeling in the world," he said. "There's nothing like it. To see all those people cheering for me was the most amazing thing I've ever experienced.

"But I can't stop now. I still have so much to prove."