Erick Rowan

Erick Rowan

Rowan in April 2014.
Birth name Joseph Ruud
Born November 28, 1981
Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
Resides Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States[1]
Children 1
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) Erick Rowan[2][3]
Thoruf[4]
Thoruf Marius[4]
Billed height 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)[5]
Billed weight 315 lb (143 kg)[5]
Billed from Minneapolis, Minnesota[2][3]
Trained by Frankie Renna[4]
Debut September 3, 2003[4]

Joseph Ruud (born November 28, 1981)[4] is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs under the ring name Erick Rowan. He is a former member of The Wyatt Family and is a one time NXT Tag Team Champion with his former tag team partner and Wyatt Family member Luke Harper.

Early life

Ruud was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota[4] and is of Norwegian origin; his family emigrated from Nannestad, Norway. He attended the University of Minnesota Morris, where he played football.[6]

Professional wrestling career

Early career (2003–2011)

Prior to being signed by WWE, Ruud competed in Japan, where he competed in both tag team and singles matches, albeit without much success.[7] Following his tour in Japan, Ruud returned to the United States in 2008 and began competing under the ring name Thoruf Marius for the Minnesota-based F1rst Wrestling promotion. Upon joining the promotion, he began feuding with Brody Hoofer, with the pair exchanging wins across several events.[8]

WWE

Florida Championship Wrestling (2011–2012)

In February 2011, Ruud signed a developmental contract with WWE and was assigned to their developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling under the ring name Erick Rowan.[9] He made his FCW TV debut in August 2011 with a win over Kenneth Cameron, while being accompanied by Byron Saxton and James Bronson.[10] To tie in with Saxton's feud with Titus O'Neil, Rowan and Bronson lost to O'Neil and Leakee in a tag match.[11] Although Rowan continued to compete in both singles matches and tag matches with Bronson, he was not involved in any further feuds and did not challenge for any titles on FCW TV.[12]

The Wyatt Family (2012–2014)

Main article: The Wyatt Family
The Wyatt Family - Erick Rowan (left), Bray Wyatt (center) and Luke Harper (right)

After FCW was rebranded to NXT Wrestling,[13] Rowan made his debut on the December 12, 2012 episode of NXT as a follower of Bray Wyatt, who introduced Rowan as his "second son".[14] As a member of the Wyatt Family, Rowan formed a team with Wyatt's "first son" Luke Harper,[15] and they defeated Percy Watson and Yoshi Tatsu on the January 9, 2013 episode of NXT.[16] On the January 23 episode of NXT, Harper and Rowan again defeated Watson and Tatsu in the opening round of the NXT Tag Team Championship tournament.[17] Following a win over Bo Dallas and Michael McGillicutty in the semi-finals with Wyatt's interference,[18] Harper and Rowan were defeated in the finals by Adrian Neville and Oliver Grey.[19] On the May 2 episode of NXT, Harper and Rowan won a triple threat elimination tag match by last pinning tag champion Neville.[20] On the May 8 NXT (taped on May 2), Harper and Rowan defeated Neville and Bo Dallas (who was filling in for the injured Grey) to win the NXT tag titles, Rowan's first professional wrestling championship.[21][22] On the June 5 NXT, Harper and Rowan successfully retained their titles against Corey Graves and Kassius Ohno,[23] and on the June 19 NXT the Wyatt Family defeated the team of Graves, Neville and Ohno.[24] On the July 17 NXT (taped on June 20), Rowan and Harper lost the NXT Tag Team Championships to Adrian Neville and Corey Graves.[25]

From the May 27 episode of Raw, WWE aired vignettes promoting the upcoming main roster debut of the Wyatt Family.[26] The vignettes showed the Wyatt Family's backwoods origins and Rowan wearing a sheep mask.[27][28] On the July 8 episode of Raw, the Wyatt Family made their debut by assaulting Kane.[29] Rowan made his WWE in-ring debut on the July 26 episode of SmackDown, where he and Harper defeated Tons of Funk (Brodus Clay and Tensai) in a tag team match.[30] Over the next few months, Rowan and Harper competed as a tag-team and went on a winning streak over many teams,[31][32][33] until Cody Rhodes and Goldust handed them their first loss on the October 11 episode of SmackDown.[34] In early 2014, Rowan took part in the Wyatt Family's feud with The Shield,[35] while also supporting Bray Wyatt in his feud with John Cena.[36] While Wyatt and Cena's feud continued, Harper and Rowan also started a feud with The Usos, unsuccessfully challenging for the WWE Tag Team Championships at Money in the Bank and Battleground.[37]

Singles competition (2014–present)

Beginning on September 29, vignettes were shown of Harper and Rowan being "set free" by Wyatt, marking the dissolution of the Wyatt Family and the transition of its members into singles competition. On the November 17 episode of Raw, Rowan turned face for the first time in his WWE career when he joined Team Cena for Survivor Series, going after his former Wyatt Family member and Intercontinental Champion Luke Harper, who had joined Team Authority.[38] At Survivor Series, Rowan scored no eliminations and was himself eliminated by Harper, with the assistance of Seth Rollins. However, Team Cena later won the match.[39] After Survivor Series, Rowan started a feud with Big Show, the team member who had betrayed the rest of Team Cena at the event.[40] At TLC in December, Rowan faced Big Show in a stairs match in a losing effort.[41]

On the January 5, 2015 episode of Raw, Rowan along with former Team Cena teammates Ryback and Dolph Ziggler were (storyline) fired by The Authority for being a part of Team Cena.[42] On the January 19 episode of Raw, Rowan, Ryback and Ziggler were rehired after Cena won a 3-on-1 handicap match against Seth Rollins, Big Show and Kane following assistance from Sting. On the January 22 episode of SmackDown, Rowan lost to Luke Harper in a qualifying match for the 2015 Royal Rumble. Despite this, Rowan appeared during the Rumble match and attacked #6 entrant Curtis Axel before Axel could make his entrance to the ring, sparking a brief Wyatt Family reunion with Harper and Bray Wyatt before all three men brawled. Later that week, Rowan defeated Axel in a match on the January 31st episode of Main Event. At Fastlane Rowan competed together with Ziggler and Ryback in a six-man tag team match against Rollins, Big Show and Kane, which they lost.[43] Rowan participated in the 2nd Annual André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 31 which was won by Big Show.

In other media

In 2010, Ruud participated in Norwegian reality series Alt for Norge and finished in third place.

In 2014, he made his video game debut in WWE 2K15 where he is featured as a playable character.[44]

In wrestling

Rowan wearing his sheep mask as part of The Wyatt Family.

Championships and accomplishments

References

  1. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/pages/Official-Joseph-RuudThoruf-Marius-Fan-Page/110055262366259?v=info&tab=page_info
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "NXT profile".
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "WWE profile".
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 "Erick Rowan Profile". WrestlingData.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Profile". WWE. Retrieved May 24, 2013.
  6. ↑ http://www.pioneer.org/news/alt-for-norge-contestants-to-appear-on-pioneer-tvs-postcards
  7. ↑ "The 18 NOAH matches fought by Erick Rowan in 2007". Wrestling data. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
  8. ↑ "The 4 F1rst matches fought by Erick Rowan in 2008". Wrestling data. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
  9. ↑ Trionfo, Richard. "New WWE Developmental Signings Pop Up In FCW". PWInsider. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  10. ↑ Trionfo, Richard. "Florida Championship Wrestling Television Report: Seth Rollins In An FCW 15 Match; Husky Harris In Action; William Regal Is Placed In A Bad Situation". PWInsider. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  11. ↑ Trionfo, Richard. "Florida Championship Wrestling Television Report: Triple Threat Match; Divas In Action; FCW Title Match; Ambrose/Rollins Feud Heats Up (and It Explodes Next Week When They Meet In An FCW 15 Title Match)". PWInsider. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
  12. ↑ "FCW matches wrestled by Erick Rowan". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
  13. ↑ "WWE News: FCW name being phased out". Wrestling Observer. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  14. ↑ James, Justin. "JAMES'S WWE NXT REPORT 12/12 - Week 25: Rollins defends NXT Title, Paige in action, Overall Reax". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
  15. ↑ Bishop, Matt (November 8, 2012). "WWE NXT: Who will challenge Rollins?". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved January 8, 2013. Bray announces this man as the "first son of the Wyatt family, Luke Harper."
  16. ↑ James, Justin (2013-01-10). "James's WWE NXT report 1/9: Big E. captures NXT Title, Shield involved, Pac debut promo, Overall Reax". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2013-01-12.
  17. ↑ Santiago, Andres (2013-01-11). "DX invades DX taping: Complete WWE NXT spoilers from Florida". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved 2013-01-25.
  18. ↑ James, Justin (2013-02-08). "James's WWE NXT report 2/6 - Week 32: Tag Tournament continues, Bo Dallas's main-roster debut carries over, Overall Reax". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2013-02-15.
  19. ↑ James, Justin. "JAMES'S WWE NXT RESULTS 2/13 - Week 33: First NXT tag champions crowned, Paige vows to take over the show". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 7 August 2013.
  20. ↑ Namako, Jason (May 3, 2013). "WWE NXT Results – 5/2/13 (Jericho vs. Wyatt)". WrestleView. Retrieved May 24, 2013.
  21. ↑ James, Justin. "JAMES'S WWE NXT REPORT 5/8 Week 45: Wyatt Family captures Tag Titles, Ohno turning face?, Sandow in action, Paige vs. Summer Rae feud continues, Overall Reax". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
  22. ↑ Santiago, Andres (2013-05-03). "WWE NXT spoilers from Winter Park, FL: John Cena and more". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved 2013-05-03.
  23. ↑ James, Justin. "JAMES'S WWE NXT RESULTS 5/29 & 6/5: Wyatts defend Tag Titles, NXT Women's Title introduced, #1 contender battle royal, Parade of released NXT wrestlers in matches". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  24. ↑ James, Justin. "JAMES'S WWE NXT RESULTS 6/19: Wyatts vs. Ohno & Graves & Neville six-man tag, Summer Rae wins tourney match, El Generico, Xavier Woods, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  25. ↑ Caldwell, James (2013-06-21). "WWE News: NXT spoilers for summer episodes - first NXT Women's champ, Flair, more, plus NXT TV in the U.S.?". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2013-06-26.
  26. ↑ Caldwell, James (May 27, 2013). "RAW NEWS: HBK & Hart cameos, Axel beats top star, Wyatt Family intro, Punk's return, Hunter status, two title matches, World Title, Kidd returns with new look post-Raw, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
  27. ↑ Benigno, Anthony. "Raw Five-Point Preview: July 8, 2013: All in the family". WWE. Archived from the original on 9 July 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2013. Theories and speculation have abounded as to what the backwoods madman Bray Wyatt’s mission is and where his family fits into the equation.
  28. ↑ James, Justin. "JAMES'S WWE NXT REPORT 7/3 - WEEK 53: Bo Dallas defends NXT Title, Women's Tourney continues, Mason Ryan". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  29. ↑ Caldwell, James. "RAW NEWS: Vickie "fired" as Raw authority figure & replacement named, Wyatts debut, final MITB PPV hype, RVD, Lesnar, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 Parks, Greg (2013-07-26). "Parks's WWE SmackDown report 7/26: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of Friday show, including Wyatt Family in-ring debut, Del Rio vs. RVD match". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2013-07-27.
  31. ↑ Parks, Greg (2013-08-30). "Parks's WWE SmackDown report 8/30: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of Friday show, including Big Show and Dolph Ziggler on Miz TV". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2013-10-10.
  32. ↑ Parks, Greg (2013-09-20). "Parks's WWE SmackDown report 9/20: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of Friday show, including a gauntlet match involving The Shield and a host of babyfaces". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2013-10-10.
  33. ↑ Caldwell, James (2013-09-23). "Caldwell's WWE Raw results 9/23 (Hour 1): Triple H & Stephanie start the show, World champ in action". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2013-10-10.
  34. ↑ Parks, Greg (2013-10-11). "Parks's WWE SmackDown report 10/11: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of Friday show, including Curtis Axel vs. R-Truth for the Intercontinental Title". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2013-10-11.
  35. ↑ Howell, Nolan (2014-04-09). "Main Event: Wyatts and Shield complete a trilogy". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2014-05-17.
  36. ↑ Parks, Greg (2014-05-16). "PARKS'S WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT 5/16: Ongoing, not-quite-virtual time coverage of Friday show, including John Cena vs. a Wyatt Family member". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2014-05-20.
  37. ↑ "WWE Tag Team Championship: The Usos vs. The Wyatt Family".
  38. ↑ Trionfo, Richard. (November 17, 2014). "WWE RAW REPORT: TEAM CENA IS FINALIZED; INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE MATCH; BRIE HAS A NEW LOOK; A ROCKY NIGHT FOR HALF OF SLATER-GATOR". PWInsider.com.
  39. ↑ Caldwell, James (2014-11-23). "Caldwell's WWE S. Series PPV results 11/23: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of Team Cena vs. Team Authority, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2014-11-23.
  40. ↑ Tedesco, Mike. "WWE Raw Results - 12/1/14 (six-man tag team main event)". wrestleview.com. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  41. ↑ Caldwell, James (December 14, 2014). "CALDWELL'S WWE TLC PPV REPORT 12/14: Ongoing "virtual-time" coverage of Cena vs. Rollins, Ambrose vs. Wyatt, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
  42. ↑ Caldwell, James (January 5, 2015). "CALDWELL'S WWE RAW RESULTS 1/5: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live Raw - Ambrose vs. Wyatt ambulance match, The Authority returns, Cena Appreciation Night,. Later that night, Rowan was (storyline) fired from WWE after helping Cena beat The Authority at Survivor Series more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
  43. ↑ Melok, Bobby. "Seth Rollins, Kane & Big Show def. Dolph Ziggler, Erick Rowan & Ryback". wwe.com. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
  44. ↑ "Erick Rowan - WWE 2K15 Wiki Guide - IGN". IGN.com. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
  45. ↑ James, Justin (2014-12-25). "JAMES'S WWE SUPERSTARS REPORT 12/25: Rowan vs. Cesaro main event, Titus faces Gabriel". PWTorch. Retrieved 2015-02-01.
  46. ↑ Bessler, Mike (2015-02-01). "WWE Superstars Results: Erick Rowan Gets A Win, Fandango In Action". PWInsider. Retrieved 2015-02-01.
  47. ↑ 47.0 47.1 "SPOILERS FOR FLORIDA CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING FOR SEPTEMBER 25, OCTOBER 2 AND 9: TWO NEW CHAMPIONS CROWNED AND ANOTHER ROLLINS/AMBROSE MATCH".
  48. ↑ McCarron, Rob. "WWE Raw TV report; Monday, 02 June 2014 19:30". f4wonline.com. Wrestling Observer. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  49. ↑ "JEY USO VS. ERICK ROWAN: WWE SMACKDOWN, JUNE 13, 2014 (1:02)". WWE. 2014-06-13. Retrieved 2014-06-16.
  50. ↑ "ERICK ROWAN VS. CESARO: SMACKDOWN, NOVEMBER 21, 2014 (2:26)". WWE. 2014-11-21. Retrieved 2014-11-26.
  51. ↑ 51.0 51.1 "PARKS'S WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT 10/11". PWTorch. 2013-10-11. Retrieved 2013-10-11.
  52. ↑ 52.0 52.1 52.2 "wwe-smackdown-results-12-13-13". WrestleView. 2013-12-13. Retrieved 2014-02-15.
  53. ↑ "Puroresu Central profile".
  54. ↑ "wwe-raw-results-1-6-14". WrestleView. 2014-06-01. Retrieved 2014-02-15.
  55. ↑ 55.0 55.1 55.2 "wwe-smackdown-results-1-3-14". WrestleView. 2014-03-01. Retrieved 2014-02-15.
  56. ↑ "wwe-raw-results-12-30-13". WrestleView. 2013-12-30. Retrieved 2014-02-15.
  57. ↑ "wwe-smackdown-results-1-24-14". WrestleView. 2014-01-24. Retrieved 2014-02-15.
  58. ↑ 58.0 58.1 Namako, Jason. "WWE NXT Results - 6/6/13 (Wyatt Family vs. Ohno/Graves)". WrestleView. Retrieved June 10, 2013.
  59. ↑ Middleton, Marc (2014-11-24). "Raw results 11-24-14". Lords of Pain. Marc Middleton. Retrieved 2014-11-24.
  60. ↑ Miller, Christian. "WWE NXT Recap: Women's Tournament Opening Round Begins, NXT Tag Titles Defended, More". Wrestling Inc. Retrieved June 8, 2013.
  61. ↑ Johnson, Mike (December 2, 2014). "LOTS OF WWE NEWS AND NOTES". PWInsider.com. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  62. ↑ "WWE: Live in Fear (Bray Wyatt) - Single". Apple Inc. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
  63. ↑ " "WWE:"Swamp Gas (Luke Harper & Erick Rowan) - Single"".
  64. ↑ " "WWE:"Sheepherder (Erick Rowan) - Single"".
  65. ↑ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2014". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 2014-12-02.
  66. ↑ Meltzer, Dave (January 27, 2014). "Jan 27 2014 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: 2013 Annual awards issue, best in the world in numerous categories, plus all the news in pro-wrestling and MMA over the past week and more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter (Campbell, California): 34. ISSN 1083-9593.

External links

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