GQ Money

GQ Money
Birth name Ryan Smiley Katz
Born 1976 (age 40–41)
Buffalo Grove, Illinois, United States
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) GQ Money
Fabian Kaelin
Rak Rixelplix
Devilish Lee Handsome
The Lemon
Smiley
Stylez Monroe
Minion
Ryan Katz
Billed height 5 ft 5 in (165 cm)
Billed weight 147 lb (67 kg)
Billed from Hollywood, California by way of Aspen, Colorado
Trained by Dan Magnus
Bobby Black
Debut 1999
Retired 2013

Ryan Smiley Katz (born 1976) is an American retired professional wrestler, promoter and manager signed to WWE as a producer. Katz is best known in Xtreme Pro Wrestling under the ring name GQ Money as the manager of Kaos of The Enterprise.[1] Although that was where he got his notoriety, he actually started his career outside of Denver, CO as the co-founder of the Central Wrestling Organization, and co-founder of Slam City Pro Wrestling School. In May 2015, Katz started working for WWE's developmental territory NXT, as a Creative Producer at the Performance Center.

Career

Training and independent circuit (1999–2015)

Katz was outcast by his family when he decided to start his own wrestling fight club in nearby Denver. His self-promotion and outlandish ideas landed him in a position of power in the XPW fight circuit where he donned the persona of GQ Money, a fast talking agent to the stars who, because of his mouth, got caught up in many dangerous situations including being tossed off a car, tossed on guardrails, and tossed off a 30-foot tower.[2]

Katz worked as the ring announcer and host for the short-lived Wrestling Society X under the name Fabian Kaelin, a reference to the concept of kayfabe.[3]

Katz performed in a motion-capture suit for the World Wrestling Entertainment video game WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011, performing activities used to portray Rey Mysterio and Theodore Long. He also previously did motion capture work for WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007, and provided a voice in WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2006.[4]

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2008)

In 2008, Katz was briefly a part of a stable headed by Christopher Daniels in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling where he portrayed one of the followers under the name of Minion.

WWE (2012, 2015–present)

Katz appeared on WWE Raw on the August 27, 2012 episode under the name Stylez Monroe in the "anger management class" segment involving Kane and Daniel Bryan. In May 2015, Katz became a Creative Producer at the WWE Performance Center for the NXT brand and appeared as The Lemon, a member of Adam Rose's Exotic Express, and as the presenter on The Vaudevillains titantron.

Other media

In 2001, he was a contestant on a short-lived revival of Card Sharks, and has also appeared on the game show 20Q.

In 2004, he was a contestant on the TBS reality show He's a Lady where because of the show he was a guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Katz currently runs The Fit Pit Pro Wrestling School in Chatsworth, California,[5] where he tries to teach a new crop of students the art of professional wrestling and sports entertainment. He also runs RakaMedia, a DVD production firm. Katz still records songs as a hip-hop MC, and recently opened up for hip-hop legend Kurtis Blow at a show in Denver, CO.

In wrestling

References

  1. ↑ "GQ Money". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2013-09-05.
  2. ↑ "Wrestling Society X | Full Episodes, Photos, Episode Synopsis and Recaps". MTV. Retrieved 2013-09-05.
  3. ↑ "G.Q. Money". IMDb.com. Retrieved 2013-11-07.
  4. ↑ "Ryan Katz". IMDb.com. Retrieved 2013-11-07.
  5. ↑ "Professional Wrestling Training". Make Me A Pro Wrestler. Retrieved 2013-11-07.
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