Aiden English

Matthew Rehwoldt (born October 7, 1987) is an American professional wrestler and announcer best known for his time in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Aiden English.

Aiden English
English in February 2015
Birth nameMatthew Rehwoldt[1]
Born (1987-10-07) October 7, 1987[2]
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.[3]
ResidenceChicago, Illinois, U.S.
Alma materColumbia College Chicago[3]
Spouse(s)
(m. 2016)
[4]
FamilyGuerrero
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Aiden English[5][6]
Matt Marquee[7]
Matthew Rehwoldt
Billed height6 ft 3 in (191 cm)[5]
Billed weight215 lb (98 kg)[5]
Billed fromChicago, Illinois[5]
Trained byFlorida Championship Wrestling[5]
Debut2011

Rehwoldt signed a development contract with WWE in 2012[8] and was assigned to the farm territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) and later, to NXT. In NXT he formed a tag team called The Vaudevillains with Simon Gotch, winning the NXT Tag Team Championship.[9] They were called to the main roster on 2016, but the team ended on 2017 when Gotch was released. Then, English was paired with Rusev, starting an act where every day was "Rusev Day".[10] In 2019, he became an announcer on 205 Live[11] and NXT UK in 2020. Rehwoldt was released from WWE in 2020 and currently works on the independent circuit.

Outside of wrestling, Rehwoldt started the "Rough Cuts" social media campaign for unfinished art and the "Wrestling With Whiskey" project on YouTube.[12]

Early life

Matthew Rehwoldt[13] was born in Chicago, Illinois, where he developed an interest in acting at an early age. By the age of 20, he had appeared in over 20 stage productions. After graduating from Lyons Township High School, he studied acting (with a focus on stage combat) at Columbia College Chicago, graduating in 2010 with a Bachelor of Arts.[3]

Professional wrestling career

Independent circuit (2011–2012)

After graduating from college, Rehwoldt trained as a professional wrestler. He debuted on the Illinois independent circuit in late-2011 under the ring name "Matt Marquee." He wrestled for promotions such as Chicago Style Wrestling, where he formed a tag team named "The Ryte Stuff" with Barry Ryte.[7]

Developmental territories (2012–2014)

English in March 2014

Rehwoldt signed a contract with WWE in early 2012, and was assigned to its developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), where he began using the ring name "Aiden English," debuting on March 1, 2012 as part of an 8-man tag team match. He made his televised debut on the March 15, 2012 taping of FCW television,[14] airing on April 15, 2012, teaming with Audrey Marie in an intergender tag team match against Rick Victor and Paige.[8]

After WWE rebranded FCW as NXT in 2012, English's television debut took place on the June 27 episode of the rebooted NXT taped at Full Sail University, losing to Leo Kruger. English was used primarily as a jobber throughout the rest of the year, losing to wrestlers including Bray Wyatt, Ryback, and Big E Langston.[15][16][17] He scored his first televised win on the September 18, 2013 episode of NXT, defeating Michael Q. Laurie.[18]

A week later, on the September 25 episode of NXT, English sang a parody version of the "Major-General's Song" from the musical The Pirates of Penzance while approaching the ring. He subsequently began singing before, during and after his matches.[3][19] Throughout the year, English scored wins over Jason Jordan and Camacho.[20][21] In the beginning of 2014, English began a feud with Colin Cassady, losing to him on the January 1 episode of NXT in a sing-off but defeating him in several matches.[22][23][24][25]

The Vaudevillains (2014–2017)

English (right) with Simon Gotch in April 2016

In June 2014, English formed a tag team with Simon Gotch, known as The Vaudevillains.[26] At NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn, the Vaudevillains defeated Blake and Murphy to win the NXT Tag Team Championship.[9] On the November 11 episode of NXT, the Vaudevillains lost the title to Dash and Dawson, ending their reign at 61 days.[27] On the November 25 episode of NXT, the Vaudevillains faced Dash and Dawson in a rematch for the title in a losing effort. On the December 23 episode of NXT, the Vaudevillains competed in a four-way tag team match against Blake and Murphy, The Hype Bros, and Chad Gable and Jason Jordan, won by Gable and Jordan. On the March 16, 2016 episode of NXT, the Vaudevillains were defeated by Gable and Jordan, later known as American Alpha, in a #1 contenders match for the NXT Tag Team Championship.

On the April 7, 2016 episode of SmackDown, the Vaudevillains made their main roster debut as heels, defeating The Lucha Dragons.[28] On the April 11 episode of Raw, the Vaudevillains were announced as one of the teams to participate in the #1 contenders tournament for the WWE Tag Team Championship, where they defeated Goldust and Fandango in the first round later that week on SmackDown and The Usos on the April 18 episode of Raw in the semi-finals.[29][30][31] At Payback, the Vaudevillains faced Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady in the finals of the tournament. The match resulted in a no-contest due to a legit concussion by Amore, and the Vaudevillains were declared number one contenders.[32] At Extreme Rules, the Vaudevillains received their shot at the titles against The New Day in a losing effort.[33] At Money in the Bank, The Vaudevillains competed in a Fatal 4-way tag team match also involving Enzo and Cass and Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson for the titles in a losing effort.

On July 19 at the 2016 WWE draft, the Vaudevillains were drafted to SmackDown in the tenth round of picks. In August, a tag team tournament for the newly created WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship was set up by SmackDown general manager Daniel Bryan and SmackDown commissioner Shane McMahon, where the winners of the tournament would be crowned the inaugural champions. On the August 30 episode of SmackDown, the Vaudevillains would compete in the first round match of the tournament, where they were defeated by The Hype Bros. On the November 8 episode of SmackDown, the Vaudevillains were defeated by Breezango (Tyler Breeze and Fandango) in a qualifying match for a spot in Team SmackDown at Survivor Series. On the January 31, 2017 episode of SmackDown, the Vaudevillains, along with five other teams, answered an open challenge set by American Alpha, where a brawl between all six teams ensued before being broken up by referees and officials. At Elimination Chamber, the Vaudevillains competed in a tag team turmoil match for the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship, where they were eliminated by Heath Slater and Rhyno. At WrestleMania 33, English competed in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, which was won by Mojo Rawley. On April 5, 2017, English's partner Simon Gotch was released from WWE.[34]

Rusev Day (2017–2018)

Following the team's disbandment, English returned to singing prior to his matches.[35] In May 2017, he entered into a feud with Tye Dillinger, losing to him at Backlash.[36] At Battleground on July 23, English once again faced Dillinger, this time in a winning effort.[37]

English (right) with Rusev at WrestleMania 34

In September, English allied with Rusev during a rivalry Rusev had been having with Randy Orton. After losing to Orton at SummerSlam, Rusev issued a rematch to Orton following a match with English, which Orton had won. English distracted Orton and allowed Rusev to pick up the victory in nine seconds, the same time that Orton had defeated Rusev in at SummerSlam.[38] The following week, Rusev held "The Pride of Bulgaria Celebration," and was praised by the mayor of his hometown. English sang a song to commemorate the occasion. During the song, Orton appeared and delivered RKOs to both English and Rusev.[39] From there on out, crowds began chanting "Rusev Day" during Rusev's matches, and he and English would become one of the company's most popular acts, despite their placement as villains.[40][41]

Throughout the rest of the year, Rusev and English wrestled as a tag team, participating in a fatal four-way tag team match for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship at Clash of Champions also involving The New Day, Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin, as well as the champions The Usos.[42] They were unsuccessful in winning.[43] On January 28, 2018, English entered the 2018 Royal Rumble match, but was eliminated by Finn Bálor.[44] At WrestleMania 34, English entered the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, but was the first person eliminated; Matt Hardy would eventually win the match.[45] English would re-appear later in the night with a freshly shaved head to manage Rusev in his fatal four-way match against Randy Orton, Jinder Mahal and Bobby Roode, but Rusev was unsuccessful as he was pinned by Mahal.[46] Later, throughout the summer, English and Rusev established themselves as fan favorites.

In July 2018, English started a feud with Rusev when, on the July 24 episode of SmackDown Live, English knocked Lana.[10] The following weeks, English interfered in the matches between Andrade Cien Almas and Zelina Vega and Rusev and Lana,[47][48][49] The feud escalated when, on the September 18 episode of SmackDown Live, English attacked Rusev with a microphone and alluded to Lana and he having an affair.[50] The storyline concluded on October 9, when it was revealed in a video that English made romantic advances towards Lana, to which she deflected.[51] On the October 23 episode of SmackDown Live, Rusev defeated English, ending their feud.[52]

Commentator and departure (2019–2020)

In January 2019, it was announced that English would join the commentary team of 205 Live beginning on January 22, 2019, replacing Percy Watson, while still also participating on SmackDown.[53] On April 4, English lost to Kassius Ohno at WrestleMania Axxess, in a match that aired on WWE Worlds Collide on April 14.[54] This would become his final match in the company.

On November 1, 2019, English appeared as a guest commentator on SmackDown, as part of a commentary team filling in for Michael Cole and Corey Graves.[55][56]

On April 15, 2020, English was released from his WWE contract due to the budget cuts stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.[57]

Independent circuit (2020-present)

After his WWE release, he began to work on the independent circuit under his real name. On September 17, 2020, Rehwoldt had his first match on the independent circuit for Zelo Wrestling where he defeated Nick Brubaker.[58]

Personal life

In December 2014, Rehwoldt became engaged to former professional wrestler Shaul Guerrero, the daughter of Vickie Guerrero and the late Eddie Guerrero.[59] They were married in Florida on January 3, 2016.

Other media

Rehwoldt, as Aiden English, appears in five video games, WWE SuperCard,[60] WWE 2K16, WWE 2K17, WWE 2K18 and WWE 2K19.[61]

He frequently appeared on Xavier Woods' UpUpDownDown[62] YouTube channel, where he played video games together with several other wrestlers.

Aside from his professional wrestling career, English started the campaign "Rough Cuts" on social media, where people share their unfinished art on Twitter or Instagram. Also, in 2018, he started the project "Wrestling With Whiskey," where, under his real name, he uploads videos of Whiskey tastings, Q & A's etc. on the project's YouTube channel.[12] He does stream via Twitch using the username DramaKingMatt.

Championships and accomplishments

See also

References

  1. "WWE Extreme Rules: Aiden English explains how The Vaudevillains came to be, and how Vickie Guerrero has helped". The Independent. May 21, 2016. Retrieved September 17, 2016.
  2. "Aiden English". wrestling data. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
  3. Saxton, Byron (November 27, 2013). "Perfect Playbill: The art behind 'The Artiste' Aiden English". WWE. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
  4. "WWE NXT Superstar gets married to Vickie Guerrero's daughter Shaul". PWMania.com. January 3, 2016. Retrieved January 4, 2016.
  5. "Aiden English". WWE. 2013. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
  6. Clapp, John (January 3, 2014). "WWE.com Editors' Debate: Who's the next WWE NXT breakout star?". WWE. Retrieved January 26, 2014. [T]he thespian-turned-threat has no qualms about launching into a show tune before, after or even during, a match.
  7. Laprade, Patrick (April 28, 2014). "The Top 10 prospects in NXT". Canoe.ca. Québecor Média. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
  8. Brummitt, Matt. "Brummitt's FCW TV Report 4/8". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved April 15, 2012.
  9. Scherer, Dave (August 22, 2015). "Ongoing NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn Blog". PWInsider. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  10. "Andrade "Cien" Almas def. Rusev". WWE.com. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  11. "Aiden English joins the WWE 205 Live commentary team". WWE. January 22, 2019. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
  12. "Wrestling With Whiskey — Featured". Matthew Rehwoldt via YouTube.
  13. http://ins.kbwa.ky.gov/Web_Results.asp?BrdID=17&LastNm=Rehwoldt&FirstNm=&Licnb=&LiczType=&Stat=
  14. "Wrestlingdata.com - The World's Largest Wrestling Database". www.wrestlingdata.com. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
  15. James, Justin. "James's WWE NXT Report 7/11". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved July 12, 2012.
  16. James, Justin. "James's WWE NXT Report 9/26". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved September 26, 2012.
  17. James, Justin. "James's WWE NXT Report 10/3". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
  18. James, Justin. "James's WWE NXT Report 9/18". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved September 19, 2013.
  19. James, Justin. "James's WWE NXT Report 9/25". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved September 26, 2013.
  20. James, Justin. "James's WWE NXT Report 10/30". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
  21. James, Justin. "James's WWE NXT Report 11/13". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
  22. James, Justin. "James's WWE NXT Report 1/8". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
  23. James, Justin. "James's WWE NXT Report 1/8". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
  24. James, Justin. "James's WWE NXT Report 2/12". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved February 13, 2014.
  25. James, Justin. "James's WWE NXT Report 4/17". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved April 18, 2014.
  26. White, James (June 7, 2014). "WWE NXT report 6-6 Tampa". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
  27. Johnson, Mike. "WWE NXT SPOILER FROM ONGOING TAPINGS". PWInsider.com. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  28. Decker, Kyle (April 7, 2016). "WWE SmackDown results, live blog (April 7, 2016): The Miz vs. Zack Ryder". Cageside Seats. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
  29. Caldwell, James. "4/11 WWE Raw Results – CALDWELL'S Complete Live Report". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  30. Decker, Kyle (April 14, 2016). "WWE SmackDown results, live blog (April 14, 2016): Tag team tournament!". Cageside Seats. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
  31. Rueter, Sean (April 18, 2016). "WWE Raw spoilers (April 18, 2016): Tag tournament finals set in London, more!". Cageside Seats. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
  32. Caldwell, James. "5/1 WWE Payback Results – CALDWELL'S Complete Live Report". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  33. Caldwell, James (May 22, 2016). "5/22 WWE Extreme Rules PPV Results – CALDWELL'S Complete Live Report". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved May 22, 2016.
  34. "Simon Gotch released". WWE.
  35. http://www.sescoops.c1om/simon-gotch-released-by-wwe/%5B%5D
  36. Martin, Adam (May 21, 2017). "WWE Backlash Results - 5/21/17 (Orton vs. Mahal, Nakamura debut)".
  37. Benigno, Anthony. "Aiden English def. Tye Dillinger (Kickoff Match)". WWE. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
  38. Pappolla, Ryan. "Rusev def. Randy Orton". WWE.com. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  39. "Rusev held The Pride of Bulgaria Celebration". WWE.com. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  40. Lianos, Konstantinos (March 15, 2018). "WWE news: Rusev teases blockbuster WrestleMania 34 match against celebrity opponent". The Daily Express. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
  41. Paddock, Matty (February 14, 2018). "Meet Rusev: the WWE star delighted to have broken free of some stereotypical shackles". The Independent. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
  42. Burdick, Michael. "Rusev & Aiden English def. The New Day". WWE.com. Retrieved December 5, 2017.
  43. Benigno, Anthony. "SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos def. The New Day, Chad Gable & Shelton Benjamin and Rusev & Aiden English (Fatal 4-Way Match)". WWE.com. Retrieved December 17, 2017.
  44. Keller, Wade (January 28, 2018). "KELLER'S WWE ROYAL RUMBLE REPORT 1/28: Ongoing results of Men's and Women's Rumbles, Lesnar-Kane-Braun, Styles-Owens/Sami, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
  45. Powell, Jason (April 8, 2018). "Powell's WrestleMania 34 Kickoff Show live review: WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal, Cedric Alexander vs. Mustfa Ali for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship, Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal". Pro Wreslting Dot Net. Archived from the original on April 9, 2018. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  46. Pappolla, Ryan. "Jinder Mahal def. Randy Orton, Rusev and Bobby Roode to win the United States Championship". WWE. Archived from the original on April 9, 2018. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
  47. "Zelina Vega def. Lana". WWE.com. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
  48. "Zelina Vega def. Lana". WWE.com. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
  49. Pappolla, Ryan. "Rusev & Lana def. Andrade "Cien" Almas & Zelina Vega". WWE.com. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
  50. "Aiden English made wild accusations about Lana". WWE.com. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
  51. "Aiden English presented the rest of "One Night in Milwaukee"". WWE.com. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  52. Pappolla, Ryan. "Rusev def. Aiden English". WWE.com. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
  53. "Aiden English joining 205 Live commentary team through WM season". F4W. January 22, 2019. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  54. "WWE Worlds Collide results, April 14, 2019: Prince Pretty beats back Undisputed ERA's Strong". WWE. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  55. "WWE Sets Announcers for 'SmackDown' in Wake of Saudi Arabia Delays". TheWrap. November 1, 2019. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
  56. "Special WWE SmackDown Announce Team Revealed For Tonight, Update On The WWE Travel Situation". Wrestling Inc. November 1, 2019.
  57. "Rusev, Kurt Angle and other Superstars released". WWE. April 15, 2020.
  58. "Aiden English regresa al ring este jueves en el circuito independiente". solowrestling.mundodeportivo.com (in Spanish). September 16, 2020. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  59. Scherer, Dave (December 17, 2014). "Vickie and Eddie Guerrero's daughter Shaul engaged to NXT star". PWInsider. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  60. "WWE SuperCard Cards Catalog - Season 5, Season 4, Season 3, Season 2 Database". The SmackDown Hotel. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
  61. "Aiden English (Character)", Giant Bomb, retrieved January 5, 2019
  62. "UpUpDownDown". YouTube. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
  63. "Pro Wrestling Illustrated 500 – 2016: 171. Aiden English". Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Blue Bell, Pennsylvania: Kappa Publishing Group: 41. December 2016. ISSN 1043-7576.
  64. "NXT Tag Team Championship". WWE. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.