Erick Rowan

Not to be confused with Eric Rowan.
Erick Rowan

Rowan in 2014.
Birth name Joseph Rudd
Born (1981-11-28) November 28, 1981
Minneapolis, Minnesota,
United States
Alma mater University of Minnesota Morris
Children 2
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) Erick Rowan[1]
Thoruf Marius[1]
Billed height 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)[2]
Billed weight 315 lb (143 kg)[2]
Billed from Minneapolis, Minnesota[3]
Trained by Eddie Sharkey[1]
Debut September 3, 2003[1]

Joseph Rudd (born November 28, 1981)[1] is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs under the ring name Erick Rowan. He is a member of The Wyatt Family and is a one time NXT Tag Team Champion with fellow Wyatt Family member, Luke Harper.

Early life

Rudd was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota,[1] and grew up in Montrose, Minnesota. His family is Norwegian, and emigrated from Nannestad, Norway. Rudd is a trained guitarist, and attended the University of Minnesota Morris, where he played football.[4]

Professional wrestling career

Early career (2003–2011)

Prior to being signed by WWE, Rudd began his wrestling career after training with Eddie Sharkey in 2003, going by the ring name Thoruf Marius. Competing for various promotions throughout the Midwest until 2007. He was invited to go to Pro Wrestling Noah's dojo in Japan to live, train, and wrestle. During this time, he competed in both tag team and singles matches.[5] Following his tour in Japan, Rudd returned to the United States in 2008 and began competing 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.[6]

WWE

Florida Championship Wrestling (2011–2012)

In February 2011, Rudd signed a developmental contract with WWE and was assigned to their developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling under the ring name Erick Rowan.[7] He made his FCW TV debut in August 2011 with a win over Kenneth Cameron, while being accompanied by Byron Saxton and James Bronson.[8] To tie in with Saxton's feud with Titus O'Neil, Rowan and Bronson lost to O'Neil and Leakee in a tag match.[9] 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.[10]

The Wyatt Family (2012–2014)

Main article: The Wyatt Family
The Wyatt Family – Erick Rowan (left), Bray Wyatt (center) and Luke Harper (right)
Rowan wearing his sheep mask as part of The Wyatt Family

After FCW was rebranded to NXT Wrestling,[11] 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".[12] As a member of the Wyatt Family, Rowan formed a team with Wyatt's "first son" Luke Harper,[13] and they defeated Percy Watson and Yoshi Tatsu on the January 9, 2013 episode of NXT.[14] 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.[15] Following a win over Bo Dallas and Michael McGillicutty in the semi-finals with Wyatt's interference,[16] Harper and Rowan were defeated in the finals by Adrian Neville and Oliver Grey.[17] On the May 2 episode of NXT, Harper and Rowan won a triple threat elimination tag match by last pinning tag champion Neville.[18] 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.[19][20] On the June 5 NXT, Harper and Rowan successfully retained their titles against Corey Graves and Kassius Ohno,[21] and on the June 19 NXT the Wyatt Family defeated the team of Graves, Neville and Ohno.[22] On the July 17 NXT (taped on June 20), Rowan and Harper lost the NXT Tag Team Championships to Adrian Neville and Corey Graves.[23]

From the May 27 episode of Raw, WWE aired vignettes promoting the upcoming main roster debut of the Wyatt Family.[24] The vignettes showed the Wyatt Family's backwoods origins and Rowan wearing a sheep mask.[25][26] On the July 8 episode of Raw, the Wyatt Family made their debut by assaulting Kane.[27] 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.[28] Over the next few months, Rowan and Harper competed as a tag-team and went on a winning streak over many teams,[29][30][31] until Cody Rhodes and Goldust handed them their first loss on the October 11 episode of SmackDown.[32] In early 2014, Rowan took part in the Wyatt Family's feud with The Shield,[33] while also supporting Bray Wyatt in his feud with John Cena.[34] 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.[35]

Singles competition (2014–2015)

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 and had a brief feud with The Authority 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.[36] 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.[37] After Survivor Series, Rowan started a feud with Big Show, the team member who had betrayed the rest of Team Cena at the event.[38] At TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs in December, Rowan faced Big Show in a stairs match in a losing effort.[39]

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.[40] 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. 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.[41] Rowan participated in the second annual André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 31, but was eliminated by Big Show.

Return of The Wyatt Family (2015-present)

In May, Rowan reunited with former tag partner Luke Harper after attacking Harper's opponent Fandango, turning heel in the process from Since 2014 and winning several matches together. In late June, Rowan suffered a torn bicep, leaving him out of action.[42]

In the main event of the October 19 episode of Raw, Rowan returned to action, filling in for Luke Harper (who was unable to show for personal reasons), against Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins which his team won after Rollins faked an injury and walked out on the match.[43] On the November 5 episode of SmackDown, all four members of the Wyatt Family defeated Lucha Dragons & Prime Time Players in a Survivor Series elimination tag team match. Rowan took part in the Wyatt Family's feud with The Brothers of Destruction, after the Family kidnapped The Undertaker at Hell in a Cell, and Kane on the Oct 26 episode of Raw. At Survivor Series, Wyatt and Harper faced Kane and the Undertaker in a tag team match. Prior to the match, Rowan unsuccessfully tried to attack Kane and the Undertaker. On the Nov 23 episode of Raw, Wyatt and Harper defeated the The Dudley Boyz. Rowan teamed with Strowman against the Dudley Boyz on Smackdown! to continue the feud. The following Raw, he took part in a six-man tag team match between the Wyatt Family and the Dudley Boyz and Tommy Dreamer. The next Raw, the Wyatt family took part in a 16 man Fatal-4-Way tag team elimination match, in which Rowan was pinned by Dreamer, thus eliminating the Wyatts. At TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs, Rowan teamed with the other Wyatt Family members against Dreamer,The Dudley Boyz and Rhyno in an eight-man elimination tag team Tables match. Rowan was the only person eliminated from his team. Rowan would go on to compete in the Royal Rumble with fellow Wyatt family members and was eliminated by Brock Lesnar. He would then return to the ring later on in the rumble with the Wyatts to eliminate Lesnar. On a February 4th edition of Smackdown Rowan was defeated by Ryback.[44]

In other media

In 2010, Rudd participated in Norwegian reality series Alt for Norge and finished in fifth place. In 2014, he made his video game debut in WWE 2K15 as a playable character.[45] He also appears in WWE 2K16.

In wrestling

Championships and accomplishments

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Erick Rowan Profile". WrestlingData.
  2. 1 2 3 "Erick Rowan bio". WWE. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Erick Rowan bio". Florida Championship Wrestling. Archived from the original on October 4, 2012. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
  4. ↑ http://www.pioneer.org/news/alt-for-norge-contestants-to-appear-on-pioneer-tvs-postcards
  5. ↑ "The 18 NOAH matches fought by Erick Rowan in 2007". Wrestling data. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
  6. ↑ "The 4 F1rst matches fought by Erick Rowan in 2008". Wrestling data. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
  7. ↑ Trionfo, Richard. "New WWE Developmental Signings Pop Up In FCW". PWInsider. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  8. ↑ 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 August 9, 2013.
  9. ↑ 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 August 10, 2013.
  10. ↑ "FCW matches wrestled by Erick Rowan". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved August 10, 2012.
  11. ↑ "WWE News: FCW name being phased out". Wrestling Observer. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  12. ↑ James, Justin. "JAMES'S WWE NXT REPORT 12/12 – Week 25: Rollins defends NXT Title, Paige in action, Overall Reax". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved July 6, 2013.
  13. ↑ 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."
  14. ↑ James, Justin (January 10, 2013). "James's WWE NXT report 1/9: Big E. captures NXT Title, Shield involved, Pac debut promo, Overall Reax". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved January 12, 2013.
  15. ↑ Santiago, Andres (January 11, 2013). "DX invades DX taping: Complete WWE NXT spoilers from Florida". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved January 25, 2013.
  16. ↑ James, Justin (February 8, 2013). "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 February 15, 2013.
  17. ↑ 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 August 7, 2013.
  18. ↑ Namako, Jason (May 3, 2013). "WWE NXT Results – 5/2/13 (Jericho vs. Wyatt)". WrestleView. Retrieved May 24, 2013.
  19. ↑ 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 June 2, 2013.
  20. ↑ Santiago, Andres (May 3, 2013). "WWE NXT spoilers from Winter Park, FL: John Cena and more". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved May 3, 2013.
  21. ↑ 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 June 6, 2013.
  22. ↑ 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 August 26, 2013.
  23. ↑ Caldwell, James (June 21, 2013). "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 June 26, 2013.
  24. ↑ 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.
  25. ↑ Benigno, Anthony. "Raw Five-Point Preview: July 8, 2013: All in the family". WWE. Archived from the original on July 9, 2013. Retrieved July 9, 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.
  26. ↑ 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 July 9, 2013.
  27. ↑ 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 July 9, 2013.
  28. 1 2 Parks, Greg (July 26, 2013). "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 July 27, 2013.
  29. ↑ Parks, Greg (August 30, 2013). "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 October 10, 2013.
  30. ↑ Parks, Greg (September 20, 2013). "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 October 10, 2013.
  31. ↑ Caldwell, James (September 23, 2013). "Caldwell's WWE Raw results 9/23 (Hour 1): Triple H & Stephanie start the show, World champ in action". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved October 10, 2013.
  32. ↑ Parks, Greg (October 11, 2013). "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 October 11, 2013.
  33. ↑ Howell, Nolan (April 9, 2014). "Main Event: Wyatts and Shield complete a trilogy". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  34. ↑ Parks, Greg (May 16, 2014). "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 May 20, 2014.
  35. ↑ "WWE Tag Team Championship: The Usos vs. The Wyatt Family".
  36. ↑ 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.
  37. ↑ Caldwell, James (November 23, 2014). "Caldwell's WWE S. Series PPV results 11/23: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of Team Cena vs. Team Authority, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
  38. ↑ Tedesco, Mike. "WWE Raw Results – 12/1/14 (six-man tag team main event)". wrestleview.com. Retrieved December 2, 2014.
  39. ↑ 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.
  40. ↑ 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.
  41. ↑ Melok, Bobby. "Seth Rollins, Kane & Big Show def. Dolph Ziggler, Erick Rowan & Ryback". wwe.com. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
  42. ↑ Johnson, Mike (June 26, 2015). "Rowan update, WWE opposes Sting trademark & more WWE news". PWInsider. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
  43. ↑ http://www.wwe.com/shows/raw/2015-10-19/wwe-raw-results-28081765/page-8
  44. ↑ "Complete WWE Smackdown TV Taping Results For Tonight *Spoilers* - Wrestlezone". Wrestlezone. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  45. ↑ Pereira, Chris (August 18, 2014). "WWE 2K15's Roster Revealed". GameSpot. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
  46. ↑ "ERICK ROWAN VS. CESARO: SMACKDOWN, NOVEMBER 21, 2014 (2:26)". WWE. November 21, 2014. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
  47. ↑ James, Justin (December 25, 2014). "JAMES'S WWE SUPERSTARS REPORT 12/25: Rowan vs. Cesaro main event, Titus faces Gabriel". PWTorch. Retrieved February 1, 2015.
  48. ↑ Bessler, Mike (February 1, 2015). "WWE Superstars Results: Erick Rowan Gets A Win, Fandango In Action". PWInsider. Retrieved February 1, 2015.
  49. 1 2 "SPOILERS FOR FLORIDA CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING FOR SEPTEMBER 25, OCTOBER 2 AND 9: TWO NEW CHAMPIONS CROWNED AND ANOTHER ROLLINS/AMBROSE MATCH".
  50. ↑ McCarron, Rob. "WWE Raw TV report; Monday, 02 June 2014 19:30". f4wonline.com. Wrestling Observer. Retrieved June 12, 2014.
  51. ↑ "JEY USO VS. ERICK ROWAN: WWE SMACKDOWN, JUNE 13, 2014 (1:02)". WWE. June 13, 2014. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  52. 1 2 "PARKS'S WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT 10/11". PWTorch. October 11, 2013. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
  53. 1 2 3 "wwe-smackdown-results-12-13-13". WrestleView. December 13, 2013. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
  54. ↑ "Puroresu Central profile".
  55. ↑ "wwe-raw-results-1-6-14". WrestleView. June 1, 2014. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
  56. 1 2 3 "wwe-smackdown-results-1-3-14". WrestleView. March 1, 2014. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
  57. ↑ "wwe-raw-results-12-30-13". WrestleView. December 30, 2013. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
  58. ↑ "wwe-smackdown-results-1-24-14". WrestleView. January 24, 2014. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
  59. 1 2 Namako, Jason. "WWE NXT Results – 6/6/13 (Wyatt Family vs. Ohno/Graves)". WrestleView. Retrieved June 10, 2013.
  60. ↑ Middleton, Marc (November 24, 2014). "Raw results 11–24–14". Lords of Pain. Marc Middleton. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
  61. ↑ Burdick, Michael (January 24, 2014). "SmackDown Results: Punk and a slew of Superstars cause a massive fallout before the Rumble – Luke Harper & Erick Rowan def. The Prime Time Players". WWE. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
  62. ↑ The Prime Time Players vs. Luke Harper & Erick Rowan: SmackDown, Jan. 24, 2014. WWE.com.
  63. ↑ Tons of Funk vs. Luke Harper & Erick Rowan: Raw, August 5, 2013. WWE.com.
  64. ↑ Tons of Funk vs. Erick Rowan and Luke Harper: WWE SmackDown, August 30, 2013. WWE.com.
  65. ↑ Trionfo, Richard (May 21, 2015). "WWE Main Event report: Two of the six teams in the Elimination Chamber tag title match in action, Harper and Rowan in action, did you Bolieve?, and more". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  66. ↑ Caldwell, James (June 8, 2015). "Caldwell's WWE Raw results 6/8: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live Raw – final MITB hype, WWE World champ loses to security team, NXT Open Challenge, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
  67. ↑ Miller, Christian. "WWE NXT Recap: Women's Tournament Opening Round Begins, NXT Tag Titles Defended, More". Wrestling Inc. Retrieved June 8, 2013.
  68. ↑ http://www.wwe.com/superstars/erick-rowan
  69. ↑ Johnson, Mike (December 2, 2014). "LOTS OF WWE NEWS AND NOTES". PWInsider.com. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  70. ↑ "Erick Rowan vs. Luke Harper: Raw". WWE.com. January 5, 2015. Former tag team partners do battle as "Big Red" Rowan faces the deranged Luke Harper.
  71. ↑ Bray Wyatt intends to “play God” inside Hell in a Cell: WWE.com Exclusive, October 21, 2015. YouTube. 21 October 2015.
  72. ↑ Wyatt, Bray (26 October 2015). Monday Night Raw. Destruction, Desolation, Vengeance and Fear
  73. ↑ "BUZZ tv Wrestling Ep8 Daryl Hall vs. Thoruf Marius". YouTube. January 27, 2008. Retrieved July 5, 2015.
  74. ↑ "WWE: Live in Fear (Bray Wyatt) – Single". Apple Inc. Retrieved June 12, 2013.
  75. ↑ " "WWE:"Swamp Gas (Luke Harper & Erick Rowan) – Single"".
  76. ↑ " "WWE:"Sheepherder (Erick Rowan) – Single"".
  77. ↑ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2014". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved December 2, 2014.
  78. ↑ 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.

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