 Pearce in 2025 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Adam John Pearce (1978-06-24)June 24, 1978 (age 47) Lake Forest, Illinois, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Phoenix |
Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Adam O'Brien Adam Pearce[1] Masked Spymaster II U.S. Marshal Adam J. Pearce Tommy Lee Ridgeway[2] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)[1] |
| Billed weight | 241 lb (109 kg)[1] |
| Billed from | San Diego, California Chicago, Illinois[1] |
| Trained by | Sonny Rogers[3] Randy Ricci[3] Ace Steel[3] Danny Dominion[3] Inoki Dojo |
| Debut | May 16, 1996[3] |
| Retired | December 21, 2014 |
Adam John Pearce (born June 24, 1978) is an American retiredprofessional wrestler. He is signed toWWE as Director of Live Events,[4]producer,trainer, and on-screen general manager of theRaw brand.
Pearce is a former five-timeNWA World Heavyweight Champion,NWA British Commonwealth Heavyweight Champion, andPWG World Champion. He is also a member of theNWA Hall of Fame and a former full-time trainer and coach at theWWE Performance Center.
Pearcelettered in bothfootball andbaseball atWaukegan High School, in Waukegan, Illinois.[5] Between his junior and senior years, Pearce suffered fromacute muscular compartment syndrome in both of his lower legs and underwent surgery. As a result, he had to "pretty much learn how to walk all over again" and he stopped playing sports.[3] During his convalescence, he metprofessional wrestling trainers Sonny Rogers and Randy Ricci, and began training with them in November 1995.[3]
Pearce had his debut match on May 16, 1996 in Waukegan, Illinois, a few weeks before he graduated from Waukegan High School. Pearce quickly began wrestling forindependentprofessional wrestling promotions, especially inMilwaukee and other cities inWisconsin.[3] At this time, he also began traveling throughout Michigan withDave Prazak, and he began working for Dan Curtis's Northern States Wrestling Alliance (NSWA). He was part of the "East Coast Invasion"angle where he had an early breakout match near Thanksgiving 1997 againstReckless Youth. Pearce sided with the local Michiganbabyfaces charged with fighting off Youth,Don Montoya,Lance Diamond, and Twiggy Ramirez. A rematch between Pearce and Youth took place inIan Rotten'sIndependent Wrestling Association Mid-South (IWA-Mid South) company, where Pearce had captured theirIWA Mid-South Light Heavyweight Championship by defeatingCash Flo.
He began wrestling for most notably forCarmine DeSpirito'sMid American Wrestling promotion, and through DeSpirito wasbooked on a tour ofEurope in 1998. Upon his return to the United States, he underwent further training at theSteel Domain Training Center, where he was the first student, underAce Steel and Danny Dominion.[3] Together Steel, Dominion, and Pearce became regulars in Minnesota, working under the St. Paul Championship Wrestling (later Steel Domain Wrestling) banner. Once again, Pearce's feud with Eaton grabbed headlines as they engaged in a Garbage Can Match. It was one of the first "ECW" style matches in the area. He went on to feud with Danny Dominion over the Northern States TV Title, which was showcased on ex-AWA announcer Mick Karch's weekly TV show, "Slick Mick's Bodyslam Revue". Later, future Domain traineesCM Punk andColt Cabana debuted in Minnesota and begin their careers under the guidance of Steel, Dominion, and Pearce. Later on, Pearce became a member of the Gold Bond Mafia with CM Punk, Colt Cabana, Dave Prazak, and Chuck E. Smooth.
At the same time, Pearce began working in All-Star Championship Wrestling based inGreen Bay, Wisconsin, as the promotion's top babyface and later, topheel. His matches againstDino Bambino were viewed as being among the area's best, and their 1999Cage Match in Green Bay was voted the 1999 Upper Midwest Match of the Year. Pearce captured the ACW Heavyweight Title by defeating longtime rival Adrian Lynch in Green Bay, and held it until losing to Rob Norwood in a 3-Way-Dance months later. During this time, Pearce also made appearances inNashville, Tennessee, forBert Prentice's Music City Wrestling and in Pittsburgh forNorm Connors'sSteel City Wrestling.
Pearce made severalWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF) appearances asenhancement talent as Adam O'Brien, where he was noticed byTerry Taylor. When Taylor moved toWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW) Pearce was contacted byPaul Orndorff. After attending theWCW Power Plant, Pearce was offered a WCW developmental contract but he declined, as he did not feel that relocating toAtlanta was a viable option for him.[3] After a stint in the short-livedWXO promotion in early 2000, Pearce had another tryout with WCW, but described WCW as being "disorganized and chaotic".[3] Pearce felt "burnt out" and decided to take time off from professional wrestling.[3]
After eight months, Pearce returned to wrestling at the urging of bothChristopher Daniels andKevin Kelly. Through Kelly, he metRick Bassman and began working for Bassman'sUltimate Pro Wrestling (UPW) promotion.[3] In UPW, he was teamed with Aaron Aguilera in a tag team called "Hardkore Inc". Pearce has worked several UPW events, most notably againstDiamond Dallas Page at UPW's biggest event,Overload, held in Las Vegas. He also wrestledChris Masters in Masters's last independent match before being signed by WWF (now WWE).
He also was signed to be a part of the King of Indies 2001 Tournament, promoted by Roland Alexander'sAll Pro Wrestling (APW). He faced and was defeated in the opening round byDoug Williams. Pearce also competed in IWA-Mid South's 2001Sweet Science Sixteen, defeatingChris Hero andB. J. Whitmer before losing toAce Steel. Pearce was generally inactive in a national sense, making sporadic appearances on California independent shows put on by Millennium Pro Wrestling and AWS (both based inLos Angeles) and WCWA (based inSan Diego). He also made a few appearances for Mid American Wrestling (based inMilwaukee). This would change when Gary Yap contacted Pearce about the soon-to-be-debuting EPIC promotion. He then signed on to wrestle in EPIC promotion, and after it failed he moved toPro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG). He was an early fixture of the promotion, and feuded withJoey Ryan,Aaron Aguilera, andFrankie Kazarian among others. He became the second everPWG Champion when he defeated Kazarian on February 22, 2004, atTaste the Radness. He was the promotion's first heel champion feuding with Aguilera andBabi Slymm until he lost the title on July 10, 2004, back to Kazarian at PWG's One Year Anniversary ShowReason for the Season in aSteel Cage "Loser Leaves PWG" match.
Pearce was then very active in Southern California, working for Bart Kapitzke's Alternative Wrestling Show, as both wrestler and matchmaker. Many in the SoCal industry credit Pearce's booking as the reason for a huge upswing in AWS's attendance despite the lack of well-known or flown-in talent. Pearce won the AWS Title under a mask as "The Masked Spymaster II", defeating Babi Slymm (The mask of the Masked Spymaster II was later given as a gift to Colt Cabana for his MTVWrestling Society X character, Matt Classic). Pearce lost the title months later toHuman Tornado in a cage match at AWS'Halloween Slaughterhouse II. Shortly thereafter, he began a feud with former tag team partner Aaron Aguilera. The feud advanced and was tied into a hugeWarGames cage match in March 2006, where AWS drew their largest attendance to date. The feud ended in July 2006 when Aguilera defeated Pearce in a brutalstrap match. Pearce was also very instrumental in earlyNWA Pro events in the area, serving as thebooker and matchmaker.
Upon leaving PWG, Pearce almost immediately debuted in Mexico for Promociones XLUM, where he feuded withVenum Black,Extreme Tiger,Nicho el Millonario, andRey Misterio, Sr. XLUM's premiere event of 2004 entitledJaulamania drew a sold-out crowd to seeEl Hijo del Santo on top, while Pearce and his cohorts worked underneath, and ran in on a bloody cage match, attackingDamián 666 andHalloween.[6] Other notable matches included a wild 8-Man-Tag filmed by Fox Sports Español which saw Pearce and his partners (Al Katrazz, Aaron Aguilera, andJason Allgood) brawl all over the famousAuditorio de Tijuana. Pearce eventually turned babyface, even cutting promos in Spanish as part of hisDusty Rhodes-esque character. Pearce left Mexico when XLUM folded in early 2005.
Pearce also became involved withNew Japan Pro-Wrestling's Los Angeles dojo and trained there in addition to being a part of their short-lived television product,Toukon Fighting Spirit, which aired for six weeks in Los Angeles County. Pearce was involved in a storyline with NJPW talentToru Yano,[7] which eventually led to them tagging as "The Beer and Sake Connection". This led to Pearce's Japanese debut forNew Japan Pro-Wrestling on May 15, 2005, at theTokyo Dome in a dark match against Don Frye's sparring partner,George Castro.[8] Pearce was additionally offered a tour in place of Florida-based wrestlerSteve Madison, but was forced to decline due to work obligations.
In July 2005, Pearce debuted forFull Impact Pro in Florida, facingSal Rinauro and Azrieal. Pearce creditsCM Punk, Cabana,Samoa Joe, Daniels and Steel with receiving a booking in FIP.[3] From FIP, he moved intoRing of Honor (ROH).[3] Pearce appeared at ROH'sGlory by Honor IV show in September 2005. At that point, the storyline had him displeased with the way CommissionerJim Cornette had been treating him, not giving him high-quality matches or title shots.
This booking continued until January 2006, when Pearce became involved in ROH's war withCombat Zone Wrestling (CZW) by challenging, and then pullingNecro Butcher over the rail at a show inCleveland, Ohio. For this feud, Pearce set aside his differences with Cornette and became one of the main ROH wrestlers leading the fight against CZW. Because of Pearce's speaking and promo skills, he was appointed Lieutenant Commissioner of ROH during the storyline to voice Cornette's intentions on ROH events that he could not attend. During the seven month feud, Pearce was a part of many brawls with CZW's Chris Hero and Necro Butcher, and he was part of the match at ROH's100th show, which saw CZW defeat ROH afterClaudio Castagnoli betrayed ROH. Pearce suffered a severe cranial laceration early in the match which required 20 staples to close. AtDeath Before Dishonor IV on July 15, 2006, Pearce competed in and helped ROH win the 8th Cage of Death match, teaming withSamoa Joe,Ace Steel, B. J. Whitmer, andBryan Danielson (later replaced byHomicide) to defeat CZW'sChris Hero, Claudio Castagnoli, Necro Butcher, Nate Webb, andEddie Kingston. Post-match Pearce and J. J. Dillon attacked and handcuffed Homicide to the ring post to allow Cornette to administer a beating. This action elevated Pearce into a main event level feud with Homicide, which began with Pearce turning on former friend and partner, B. J. Whitmer, and siding with a returningSteve Corino. This was pivotal in the Corino versus Homicide feud which saw Homicide team with Samoa Joe to defeat Pearce and Corino atSuffocation. Pearce at this point named ROH School Graduate,Shane Hagadorn, his "man-servant" and the two began working as a tag team.
Pearce's highest level ROH match since Cage of Death also came in a cage against Homicide atThe Chicago Spectacular: Night 2, which Pearce lost. Pearce had originally challenged Homicide to the first strap match in ROH history, only to have Homicide rebuke it and throw out the cage challenge. Pearce went on to attack and seemingly cost Homicide his chance at the ROH World Title atFinal Battle 2006 in Homicide's match against Bryan Danielson. ROH Senior Officials would have nothing of it and restarted the match, which Homicide eventually won. The feud with Homicide seemingly went to the wayside, as Pearce started interaction with Pelle Primeau andDelirious.
Pearce then formed a stable known as "The Hangmen Three", with B. J. Whitmer, Brent Albright, and Shane Hagadorn. In April 2008 "Sweet N'Sour"Larry Sweeney purchased the contracts of The Hangmen and merged them into Sweet N'Sour Inc. Whitmer balked and was quickly beaten down and kicked out of the group while Albright quit on May 10, 2008. On June 7, 2008, Pearce teamed with Hero andEddie Edwards in a loss to Brent Albright, Delirious, and Pelle Primeau taped for ROH'sRespect is Earned II pay-per-view event. After the match he revealed the NWA World Title to be the item he had been mysteriously carrying in a briefcase and struck Albright in the head with it. This marked the first time ROH recognized Pearce as NWA Champion since he had won the title in September 2007. On June 27, 2008, inDayton, Ohio, Pearce defeated ROH World ChampionNigel McGuinness via disqualification in a Title vs. Title match. Originally McGuinness had pinned Pearce to win his NWA World Title but the decision was reversed when the NWA's Over The Top Rule was enforced and since Pearce had been thrown over the top rope, McGuinness was disqualified and both men retained their championships.
Pearce's feud with Albright picked up steam, as on June 28, 2008, Pearce and newest Sweet N'Sour Inc. memberGo Shiozaki lost toBrent Albright and FIP World ChampionRoderick Strong when the referee stopped the match after Albright landed repeated knee strikes to the head of Pearce. Post-match, Pearce threw a fireball into the face of Albright, resulting in Pearce being suspended for 30 days while Albright was out of action to convalesce and recover from the burns. On August 2, 2008, the feud took another turn when Brent Albright defeated Pearce via submission with the crowbar to win the NWA World Championship. This came after NWA Officials presented Pearce with a replica NWA "Red" title belt, repeating history asJack Brisco defeatedHarley Race for the NWA Red Belt after Race was presented with it bySam Muchnick in 1973. On September 20, 2008, Pearce continued his year-long feud with Albright, defeating him atGlory by Honor VII to begin his second reign as champion.[9]
On September 25, 2008, it was announced Pearce had departed Ring of Honor due to company cost-cutting measures.[10] On October 26, 2008, Ring of Honor announced that Adam Pearce would become the new Head Booker of the company, replacing Gabe Sapolsky.[3][11]
Despite his backstage role, Pearce made occasional wrestling appearances in ROH, notably duringCaged Collision pay-per-view in Chicago on January 31, 2009, taking the pin in the Steel Cage main event. He also appeared at the "7th Anniversary Show" in New York, NY on March 21, 2009, losing toBobby Dempsey in 30 seconds, and at "Eye of the Storm 2" on December 18, 2009, in Manassas, VA, where he teamed withMatt Classic in a loss to The Set.[12]
On August 15, 2010, Pearce was replaced as the head booker of Ring of Honor due to what he described as "a difference of ideology".[13][14]
Outside of ROH, Pearce has also been feuding withSean Waltman over theNWA Heritage Championship on NWA Pro events throughout the US on their "Wrestling Summit" arena events, notably at theOrleans Arena in Las Vegas, among other arena venues. Pearce first won the title on October 21, 2006. Waltman took the title inEl Paso, Texas, on April 21, 2007, only to lose it back to Pearce inLaredo, Texas, on April 29.
Pearce facedBrent Albright in the finals of the Reclaiming the Glory tournament to crown a newNWA World Heavyweight Champion. He had lost in the semi-finals to Bryan Danielson, but Danielson pulled out due to injury and Pearce replaced him. Pearce defeated Albright in Puerto Rico at anInternational Wrestling Association event to become the new NWA World Heavyweight Champion, the first champion since the belt was stripped from TNA.[15] On October 13, 2007, he defended theNWA World Heavyweight Championship inIrving, Texas, againstSicodelico, Jr. The match ended in a 30-minute draw with Pearce retaining the belt.
On October 27, 2007, he was one of the six participants in a WarGames cage match, teamingKarl Anderson andC. Edward Vander Pyle against Los Luchas and Sicodelico Jr. He and his team lost the match and were all busted open.
On May 10, 2008, he defended theNWA World Heavyweight Championship inKing and Queen County, Virginia, againstDamien Wayne. The match went the full 60 minute time limit with Pearce retaining the title. Pearce was managed in the contest byBaby Doll, the former valet forTully Blanchard.
On August 2, 2008, Brent Albright defeated Pearce via submission with the crowbar to win the NWA World Championship. On August 30, 2008, Pearce challenged and was defeated by Albright inMexico City in a rematch for the NWA World Title. This match was part of the debut of NWA Mexico, promoted byBlue Demon, Jr. Pearce pulled a pair of Brass Knuckles to presumably use on Albright, but Albright knocked them loose and hit Pearce for the pinfall. Post match, Pearce got into a slapping match with Blue Demon, Jr. over the decision.[16]
On September 20, 2008, Pearce continued his year-long feud with Brent Albright, defeating him atGlory by Honor VII to begin his second reign as champion.[9]
On October 25, 2008, inMexico City,Mexico,Blue Demon, Jr. defeated Pearce to win the NWA Championship. Pearce defeatedDru Onyx on January 23, 2010, inQuebec City,Quebec, for theNWA British Commonwealth Heavyweight Championship.
Pearce defeated Blue Demon Jr, then holder of theNWA World Heavyweight Championship, andPhil Shatter in a three-way match to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship for a third time on March 14, 2010, at NWA New Beginnings.[17] Then at the NWA Legends Fanfest on August 7, 2010, Pearce successfully defended the NWA World Heavyweight Championship against Bryan Danielson.[18] Pearce's third title reign ended on March 6, 2011, when he was defeated for the title byColt Cabana at theNWA Championship Wrestling from Hollywood television tapings.[19]
After leavingRing of Honor, Pearce began working as head booker forNWA Championship Wrestling from Hollywood until stepping down due to 'family obligations'. Pearce's resignation allowedJoey Ryan to take over the book.[20] Pearce continues to perform on the television show and acts as a producer for the series (credited as A.J. Pearce).[21]
On July 31, 2011, Pearce won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship for the fourth time by defeating Chance Prophet,Jimmy Rave and Shaun Tempers in a four-way match to win the vacant title.[22] He would lose the title to Colt Cabana on April 8, 2012.[23] On July 21, Pearce regained the title from Cabana by defeating him in a Two Out of Three Falls match.[24] On October 27, Pearce vacated the title, after the NWA refused to allow him to defend the title against Colt Cabana in a deciding match in the Best of Seven Series. After losing the series against Cabana, Pearce left the NWA.[25][26][27] Pearce's NWA hiatus lasted only three months before NWA Smoky Mountain announced him as a participant in theSmoky Mountain Cup on April 26, 2013.[28] After the event he made regular appearances for NWA until he retired from wrestling in 2014.
On February 5, 2015, Pearce was enshrined in theNWA Hall of Fame as the first inductee of the 2015 class.[29]
Following Pearce's loss of the NWA title for a second time toColt Cabana on April 8, 2012, Pearce challenged Cabana to a Best-of-Seven series which was dubbed the "Seven Levels of Hate". The series would be contested under seven different stipulations in seven different locations, and the NWA championship would be at stake in each match.[30]
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The series began on May 13, 2012, in Glendale, California with aFirst Blood match in which Cabana would retain.[31] Stage Two and a second Cabana win took place on June 8, 2012, with aBoston Street Fight, taking place in Bridgewater, Massachusetts.[32] Pearce would ultimately go down 3–0 in the series, dropping the fall in the Stage Three"I Quit" match, which took place on July 7, 2012, in Hopkins, Minnesota.[33] Pearce would claim his first win of the series, and his fifth NWA championship, by besting Cabana in their Stage Four match taking place under as aTwo-out-of-Three Falls match. The match took place on July 21, 2012, in Kansas City, and would see Pearce knock Cabana out with the championship belt in order to score the deciding fall.[34]
Pearce would go on a run for the next couple of matches, besting Cabana in their Stage FiveDog Collar match on August 18, 2012, in Bridgewater, Massachusetts[35] and on September 30, 2012, in Stage Six'sTexas Death match, which took place in Salem, Oregon.[36] It was from this point on that the series took a dramatic turn due to internal politics and a power struggle within theNWA. As outlined in the 2013Seven Levels of Hate documentary produced by Pearce, Texas attorneyR. Bruce Tharpe filed a lawsuit against the promotion that resulted in him eventually assuming control over the NWA brand.[37] As detailed in the film, Tharpe would soon sever ties with most everyone associated, including Colt Cabana and Adam Pearce.[38]
The seventh and final Stage of Seven Levels of Hate would ultimately take place on October 27, 2012, in suburban Melbourne, Australia in aSteel Cage match. Cabana would win the bout and the series, but the behind-the-scenes unraveling of the NWA forced the match to remain "unsanctioned" by the brand, thus leaving Pearce technically still champion and in possession of the NWA title.[39] After the match, both Pearce and Cabana verbally lambasted the NWA, with Cabana refusing to accept the title that Pearce felt he fairly won. Pearce, having lost the series, felt he had could no longer go on as the recognized champion, so both men symbolically dropped the championship belt onto the mat and walked off, leaving the NWA in the process.[40]
The "Seven Levels of Hate" series and documentary film would go on to critical acclaim, with the Pearce-Cabana series being voted Third Runner-Up for "Feud of the Year" byPro Wrestling Illustrated for all of professional wrestling in 2012. The film (produced and directed by Adam Pearce) would garner similar praise and would tour the United States on a limited festival run with stops in Chicago and New York.[41] The DVD box set compilation was given a five-star review by Amazon.com, though it is currently out of print.[42]
Adam Pearce made his WFX Wrestling debut at 'Conflict of Interest to the Extreme 2010'. He defended the NWA World Heavyweight Championship against Wavell Starr, and later in the event attackedShane Douglas with the NWA Title belt, avenging Douglas's casting aside of the same title in 1994.[43]
On July 20, 2011, Pearce debuted asU.S. Marshal Adam J. Pearce atJuggalo Championship Wrestling's event Above The Law.[44] There he aligned himself with Officer Colt Cabana, whom he later helped win theJCW World Heavyweight Championship.
On March 28, 2013, Pearce appeared onImpact Wrestling as it was announced that he would compete in aTNA Gut Check match againstMagno for next week. On the April 4, 2013, edition ofImpact Wrestling Pearce defeated Magno in a winning effort by holding the ring ropes in aTNA Gut Check match. The following week he was eliminated from the contest.[45]
Pearce retired as an active professional wrestler on December 21, 2014, following a television taping ofChampionship Wrestling from Hollywood. Pearce lost toColt Cabana on the card in what was the ninth and final chapter of theirSeven Levels of Hate series.[46] Pearce would soon relocate to Florida to joinWWE full-time as a coach and producer at theWWE Performance Center.
Pearce returned to the now-renamed World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) when he first worked as a guest coach and trainer from December 2 through 6, 2013.[47] He would continue to appear as a guest coach and trainer several times during 2014. On December 11, 2014, Pearce worked as a producer on WWE'sNXT TakeOver: R Evolution event,[48] making him the first unsigned Independent Contractor to produce live WWE programming. In May 2015, Pearce signed to join WWE full-time as a trainer at theWWE Performance Center and producer forNXT.[49] He has since been promoted to the role of a producer on the main roster'sRaw onNetflix andSmackDown onUSA Network.[50] On the June 5, 2018, episode ofSmackdown Live, Pearce andDean Malenko appeared during the contract signing betweenAJ Styles andShinsuke Nakamura.[51] Pearce appeared in on-screen speaking roles on the January 17, 2020, episode ofSmackdown backstage making a match betweenBayley andLacey Evans, and again on the May 29 episode ofSmackDown setting up a battle royal where the winner would faceDaniel Bryan in theIntercontinental Championship tournament.[52] Pearce is one of the main coaches tasked with training celebrities for WWE appearances, notablyBad Bunny[53] andLogan Paul.[54]
Pearce became the on-screen WWE authority figure for Raw and SmackDown in 2020, first appearing in an authority role on January 17. On the August 28, 2020, episode ofSmackDown,Vince McMahon ordered Pearce to gather the signatures ofBraun Strowman,Roman Reigns and"The Fiend" Bray Wyatt on the contract for their triple threat no holds barred Match atPayback. Pearce was successful getting Strowman and Wyatt to sign, but Reigns declined because there were changes that he wanted fixed. On the November 23, 2020, episode ofRaw, Pearce was attacked byBraun Strowman, which resulted in Strowman being suspended for over two months. On the January 8, 2021, episode ofSmackDown, Pearce began a storyline withWWE Universal ChampionRoman Reigns. Reigns took issue with Pearce's recent booking decisions, including scheduling agauntlet match for that night to determine Reigns's championship contender at the2021 Royal Rumble. Against Pearce's decisions, Reigns's special counselPaul Heyman convinced upper management to also book Pearce for the match, despite his on-screen role as a WWE official, subsequently being Pearce's first scheduled match since 2014 and his first match in WWE since 1997. Pearce was the final entrant in the gauntlet match, but as he was about to faceShinsuke Nakamura, Reigns and his cousinJey Uso attacked Nakamura and Pearce, laying Pearce's body on top of Nakamura's for the pinfall and giving the win to Pearce. As a result, Pearce became Reigns's opponent at the Royal Rumble.[55] On the January 15 episode of SmackDown, Pearce replaced himself withKevin Owens, stating he was not "medically cleared" to compete. On the January 22 episode of SmackDown,Paul Heyman challenged Pearce to a match, but at the last minute replaced himself withRoman Reigns, who attacked Pearce beforeKevin Owens intervened. On the March 1, 2021, episode ofRaw, Pearce, at the direction ofShane McMahon, andBraun Strowman challengedCedric Alexander, andShelton Benjamin, for theRaw Tag Team Championship. Pearce was pinned when Strowman reluctantly tagged in Pearce at the direction of Shane McMahon. On the March 3, 2021, episode ofWWE NXT, during theWWE Women's Tag Team Championship match, when the referee was down,Shayna Baszler applied the kirifuda clutch to where Pearce called for a referee to come down to the ring as Baszler passed outDakota Kai even though she wasn't the legal competitor. This awardedNia Jax and Baszler the win, retaining their titles. On the October 22, 2021, episode ofSmackDown, Pearce was attacked byBrock Lesnar after he suspended Lesnar for his wrongful actions outside the ring. On the October 29, 2021, episode ofSmackDown, Pearce sanctioned Lesnar to pay a one million dollar fine with the suspension.
On the April 18, 2022, episode of Raw, Pearce finedBianca Belair $1 after she assaulted Sonya Deville backstage. Although he also informed Deville that there was an ongoing investigation into her conduct. On the May 9 episode, Pearce informed Deville that she was no longer an official with WWE, announcing a match between her andAlexa Bliss. Days afterSummerSlam 2022, Pearce indefinitely suspendedRonda Rousey after attacking the referee and security personnel following the controversial ending of her match againstLiv Morgan for theSmackDown Women's Championship while being pinned for having her shoulders flat on the ring floor. During the season premiere episode ofSmackDown on October 13, 2023, Pearce was promoted byTriple H toGeneral Manager of Raw after having served as WWE Official presiding over both Raw and SmackDown since January, 2020.Nick Aldis was introduced as SmackDown's general manager.[56]
During the 2014 Major League Baseball season, Pearce auditioned for the vacantSan Diego Padres public address announcer position atPetco Park.[57] Pearce survived multiple rounds of cuts, landing in the Top 10 before being eliminated during the last week of auditions.[58]
Last night in Puerto Rico, Adam Pearce defeated Brent Albright to win the NWA Title in the tournament finals.
NWA Champion Adam Pearce beats Bryan Danielson to retain the NWA title
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