| Thaddeus Bullard | |
|---|---|
| Ring name(s) | Titus O'Neil[1] Titus O'Neill[2] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)[1] |
| Billed weight | 270 lb (120 kg)[1] |
| Born | April 29, 1977 [3] Boynton Beach, Florida[3] |
| Billed from | Live Oak, Florida[1] Tampa, Florida[4] |
| Debut | 2009[2] |
Thaddeus Michael Bullard (born April 29, 1977) is an American professional wrestler and former college and professional football player. Bullard played college football for the University of Florida, and thereafter, he played professionally in the Arena Football League. Bullard is a professional wrestler, and is signed to WWE under the ring name Titus O'Neill. He competes in the WWE developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling.[5] He was part of the second season of NXT, and is currently competing in the show's fifth season, NXT Redemption.[1]
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Thaddeus Bullard was born in Boynton Beach, Florida in 1977.[3] He grew up in Live Oak, Florida, where he attended Suwannee High School.[3] A standout in high school football, he was recognized by USA Today, SuperPrep, and Parade magazine as a high school All-American as a senior in 1995.[3]
Bullard accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, and played for coach Steve Spurrier's Florida Gators football team from 1997 to 2000.[6] He redshirted during the Gators' 1996 national championship season. Bullard lettered the next four seasons, playing in forty-four regular season games with three starts. He was elected student body vice president in April 2000, and graduated in August 2000.[3] While he was an undergraduate, he was also initiated as a brother of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity.
After college, Bullard played in the Arena Football League from 2003 to 2007 with the Utah Blaze, Tampa Bay Storm, Las Vegas Gladiators and the Carolina Cobras.[7][8]
Bullard signed a developmental deal with World Wrestling Entertainment in 2009 and began training with their development territory, Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW). He made his television debut on the January 16, 2010 edition of FCW's show on Bright House Sports Network as Titus O'Neil in a tag team match with Skip Sheffield, losing to the team of Vance Archer and Alex Riley. On December 3, O'Neill teamed with Colonel Damien Sandow to win the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship, by defeating Xavier Woods and Mason Ryan in a match for the vacant championship.[5] The pair lost the championship to Richie Steamboat and Seth Rollins on March 25, 2011.[9]
On the season 1 finale of WWE NXT that aired June 1, 2010, it was announced Titus O'Neil would compete in the second season of the show, with Zack Ryder as his WWE pro and mentor.[10][11] He debuted on the June 8 episode, teaming with Ryder in a loss to Eli Cottonwood and John Morrison.[12] During and after the bout the two aruged. The following week in the two made up with. Two weeks later, O'Neil was the first person eliminated from the second season of NXT, and gave a farewell speech before leaving the arena.[13] O'Neil returned for the season finale on August 31, joining the other eliminated rookies in attacking the winner, Kaval.[14]
In March 2011, O'Neil was selected as one of the six former NXT contestants to return to the show in its fifth season, NXT Redemption. During this season, O'Neil is being mentored by Hornswoggle. In the season premiere, O'Neil defeated Lucky Cannon in the main event.[15] The two also feuded with Darren Young and his former pro, Hornswoggle's old nemesis, Chavo Guerrerro. Following Lucky Cannon's elimination on the May 14, 2011 edition of NXT Redemption, O'Neil lead the fans in a rendition of "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye", as a tribute to the recently retired Edge. On the June 21 edition of NXT Redemption, O'Neil's pro from season 2, Zack Ryder returned for one night only, questioning how O'Neil could be doing as well as he was with Hornswoggle as a pro. O'Neil would face Ryder the same night, only to be defeated by his season 2 pro.
On the July 12, 2011 edition of NXT, he faced off against Darren Young and Derrick Bateman in a triple threat elimination match, which saw him lose to Bateman. O'Neil was seen backstage on the July 25, 2011 edition of Raw, celebrating Rey Mysterio's WWE Championship victory alongside two other NXT Redemption rookies and the whole Raw roster by spraying champagne onto Mysterio. 8 days later, O'Neil teamed up with NXT host Matt Striker in a winning effort against Darren Young and Derrick Bateman after Young was pinned by O'Neil.
On the September 8 episode of WWE Superstars, O'Neil teamed with Percy Watson in a losing effort against Curt Hawkins and Tyler Reks.[16] O'Neil and Watson earned their first victory as a team on the September 13 episode of NXT, defeating Derrick Bateman and Tyson Kidd.[17]
Over the 2011 Christmas holiday weekend, Bullard gave out over 800 gifts to underprivileged children near his home in Tampa, Florida.
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