.jpg) Button in 2017 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Brian Christopher Joseph Button[10][11] (1984-02-02)February 2, 1984 (age 41) Chico, California, U.S. |
Spouse | |
| Children | 4 |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Brian Cage[1] Barry Burke[1] Brian Cage-Taylor[1] Cage[2] Jonathan Cage[1] Kris Logan[1] Night Claw[1] Mortis II |
| Billed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[3] |
| Billed weight | 268 lb (122 kg)[3] |
| Billed from | "The 559"[4] Chico, California[5] Chino, California[3] Sacramento, California[6] |
| Trained by | Norman Smiley[7] Tom Prichard[7] Chris Kanyon[8] Oliver John[9] |
| Debut | July 15, 2005 |
Brian Christopher Joseph Button[10][11] (born February 2, 1984), better known by thering nameBrian Cage, is an Americanprofessional wrestler andbodybuilder. He is signed toAll Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member ofThe Don Callis Family and one-half ofThe Murder Machines withLance Archer. He is currently out of action due to atorn quadriceps tendon. Button is a former one-timeFTW Champion. He also performs in AEW's sister promotionRing of Honor (ROH), where he is a formerROH World Television Champion and a former two-timeROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champion. He also competes on theindependent circuit.
Button signed withWorld Wrestling Entertainment in 2008 and was assigned to their farm territoryFlorida Championship Wrestling, where he worked asKris Logan. He left the promotion the following year and began working in the American independent circuit, most notablyPro Wrestling Guerrilla asBrian Cage-Taylor. In 2014, Button was hired to appear inEl Rey Network television seriesLucha Underground, where he performed asCage. Since Lucha Underground was created by Mexican promotionLucha Libre AAA Worldwide, he appeared on several AAA shows. Also, Cage appeared on AAA's American partnerImpact Wrestling where he is a formerImpact World Champion and a formerImpact X Division Champion.
Brian Christopher Joseph Button was born on February 2, 1984, inChico, California.[10] He is a 2002 graduate ofPleasant Valley High School, the same year asAaron Rodgers.[12]
Cage's love of professional wrestling and desire to be a wrestler began with watching it on television as a child. During those early years Cage became friends withChris Kanyon following a show that was held inSacramento atArco Arena where he made a sign that Kanyon noticed. Kanyon then became Cage's biggest advocate in his decision to pursue professional wrestling as a career.[8] This eventually led to him and his friends starting their own Federation in 2004 called Main-Event Wrestling Federation (MWF) inChico, California.[11] Cage's wrestling debut happened at an MWF show, against Kanyon.[8] This eventually led to a second show where Kanyon once again faced Cage. Cage ended up winning both matches against Kanyon. During this time, Cage had been training at Pro Championship Wrestling.[11] Also, Cage competed at All Pro Wrestling.[11] This continued until Cage, under Kanyon's advice, left to move to Atlanta to be in WWE's then developmental territoryDeep South Wrestling.[11]
While not officially signed with Deep South Wrestling, Cage competed in matches with other WWE wrestlers.[11][1] When WWE ended its ties with DSW, Cage left to come back to California.[13] However, before Cage left, Kanyon asked Cage to become Mortis so that someday if Kanyon ever decided to make a comeback that he could still have his name out there.[8] Cage is the only person other than Kanyon that has portrayed the Mortis character.[8]
Cage again came back to California and worked with promotions such asAll Pro Wrestling, Supreme Pro Wrestling, and Fog City Wrestling.[11]
In June 2008,WWE signed Cage to a developmental contract, he reported to their developmental territoryFlorida Championship Wrestling, based inTampa.[11] When Cage first started with FCW he was using the name Brian Cage but was eventually asked to change it and came up with the name Kris Logan.[1] The name Kris Logan was made to give homage to Chris Kanyon, with the Logan part due to his similar appearance to the Marvel Comics characterWolverine, along with the outfit that he wore which sported yellow tights with claw marks.[8] On July 23, 2009, Logan andJustin Gabriel defeated The Dude Busters (Caylen Croft andTrent Barreta) to become FCW Florida Tag Team Champions. However, they lost the title that same night against The Rotundos (Bo Rotundo andDuke Rotundo). Later, Cage would then come up with a new character Night Claw. The Night Claw character was seen in a few matches and was supposed to be used during the time thatHurricane was still active in WWE. However, this did not occur as Cage was eventually released from his contract in September 2009.[citation needed]
Upon his release from WWE, Cage returned to the independent wrestling circuit and even competed in Asia. Cage would return to the Main Event Wrestling wrestling promotion where he would win the Main Event Wrestling California Cup where he beatRyan Taylor,Joey Ryan, and finallyT.J. Perkins.[14] In October 2010, Cage wrestled and won a match againstKenny Dykstra at Main Event Wrestling in internet pay-per-view.[15]
Cage would then join the NWA Hollywood promotion where he would team up withShaun Ricker to form the tag team Natural Selection managed byPercy Pringle III.[16] Towards the end of 2011, the team would split as Cage would feud with Ricker and would leave Cage as a single competitor.
Cage has also competed in other various promotions such as Future Stars of Wrestling.[17] Cage had a feud withBrandon Gatson who would then compete against in a match on January 21, 2012, that was called the Match of the Year.[18]
In May 2017, Cage started working for Japanese promotionPro Wrestling Noah.[19] On July 27, Cage unsuccessfully challengedKatsuhiko Nakajima for theGHC Heavyweight Championship.[20]
Cage made hisPro Wrestling Guerrilla debut on July 30, 2010, against Brandon Bonham atSeven in a losing effort. In his next match, he lost once more to Bonham in the opening round of theBattle of Los Angeles tournament.[21] Soon after, Cage would form a stable withChuck Taylor andRyan Taylor known as the Fightin' Taylor Boys, adding the last name to his own and becomingBrian Cage-Taylor. The group found occasional success (with Brian and Ryan doing most of theteaming), but were never challengers to theWorld Tag Team Championship. Brian also competed in various singles matches during the time including aJoey Ryan Invitational atDynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament on March 4, 2011, but was eliminated by his teammate Ryan Taylor. The group quietly ended after losing to The RockNES Monsters in the opening round of the2012 DDT4 tournament, and went their separate ways.
AtDeath to All But Metal on May 25, 2012, Cage (no longer using the "Taylor" moniker) received his firstPWG World Championship title shot against championKevin Steen but lost.[22][23] AtThreemendous III on July 21, Cage defeatedEddie Edwards before interfering in Steen's title defense againstWillie Mack, attacking both men. On September 1, on the first night of theBattle of Los Angeles, Cage defeatedB-Boy to advance to the quarterfinal round before interfering in yet another Steen match, causing a non-title loss againstRicochet.[24] The following day, Cage was eliminated from the tournament byMichael Elgin, following interference from Steen.[25] AtFailure to Communicate on October 27, Cage defeated Willie Mack, with whom he had been feuding since July.[26]
On January 12, 2013, Cage and Michael Elgin formed a team called the Unbreakable F'N Machines (a name derived from both wrestlers' nicknames) and participated in the2013 Dynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament. In the opening round, they captured the PWG World Tag Team Championship by beating the previous year's winners, the Super Smash Bros. (Player Uno andStupefied).[27] However, they lost the championship to the eventual tournament winnersThe Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson) in the semifinal round of the tournament later that same day.[27] Unbreakable F'N Machines were regular fixtures in PWG's tag team division, competing in various tag team and six-man tag team matches throughout the year. Cage also continued to participate in singles competition, participating in that year'sBattle of Los Angeles tournament, in which he defeatedTommaso Ciampa in the first round but lost toDrake Younger in the quarter-final.
Unbreakable F'N Machines participated in the2014 Dynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament on January 31, 2014, by defeating PPRay in the quarter-final but lost toThe Inner City Machine Guns in the semi-final round. AtMystery Vortex II, Unbreakable F'N Machines defeated Inner City Machine Guns and African-American Wolves in a three-way match. Following that, the team quietly disbanded as Cage and Elgin went their separate ways. After winning three back-to-back matches in late 2014 and early 2015, Cage earned a PWG World Championship title shot againstRoderick Strong in a three-way match, also involvingChris Hero atDynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament on May 22, 2015. However, Cage failed to win the title as he was pinned by Strong. Cage continued his domination in singles competition, leading to him participating in his fourthBattle of Los Angeles tournament in the2015 edition in August. Cage defeatedAero Star in the first round but lost toJack Evans in the second round.
Unbreakable F'N Machines reunited in PWG atAll Star Weekend 11, winning their matches on both nights of the event, defeatingThe Wolves on the first night, andJohnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa on the second night. Cage sporadically competed in PWG in 2016, wrestling only twice that year. Unbreakable F'N Machines returned as a team in PWG again in 2017, wrestling three more matches. Cage would then participate in the2017 Battle of Los Angeles tournament, marking his fifth appearance in the tournament. However, he was eliminated byDezmond Xavier in the first round. Cage's last appearance to date in PWG occurred atAll Star Weekend 13, where he lost toMorgan Webster.
Cage initially made an appearance forTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) on August 30, 2012 competing in a tryout dark match againstRobbie E in a losing effort. The following year, Cage made another appearance on the January 10, 2013 edition of Impact Wrestling in another tryout match but through the company's short livedTNA Gut Check program in a losing effort againstJay Bradley. Cage would make another appearance in the year of 2014 during the summer at the June 26Destination X taping special (aired the following month on July 31 in tape delay) in a triple threat match competing againstSanada andCrazzy Steve to qualify in the next round for the vacantTNA X Division Championship, but in a losing effort.
On October 5, 2014, it was reported that Cage had signed withLucha Underground.[28] He debuted under the ring nameCage at the October 18 tapings winning a 4-way Elimination Match againstAero Star,Argenis andAngélico which was broadcast on January 14, 2015.[2] Though he started the night seemingly as a dominant face, by the end of the night he attackedPrince Puma, cementing his status as a dominant heel.[29] On the January 28 broadcast Cage received a shot at Puma'sLucha Underground Championship, but lost by disqualification, laying out both Puma and his managerKonnan afterwards. Weeks later, Cage defeated Puma in a non-title match to earn himself another title opportunity. The title match took place on the March 25 episode in a street fight, which saw Puma retain his title against Cage.[30] He then started a feud againstThe Mack and defeated him in a "Falls Count Anywhere Match" atUltima Lucha. In Season 2 of Lucha underground, Cage turned face and set his sights onJohnny Mundo. Mundo tried to attack Cage after his victory over the debuting Joey Ryan only for Cage to turn the tables and hit him with his Weapon X finisher on the 2/17 edition of Lucha Underground. The two subsequently faced each other a week later, with Mundo winning after a distraction from the debutingTaya. Cage was defeated byMatanza Cueto for the Lucha Underground Championship. Cage defeatedTexano in the best of seven series which he won a gauntlet.
On February 27, 2015, Cage made his debut for the Mexican promotionLucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA), pinningAAA Mega ChampionEl Patrón Alberto in a six-man tag team main event.[31] On April 1, Cage defeated Alberto again with help fromLa Sociedad in a match that was originally scheduled to take place atRey de Reyes. After the match, Cage demanded a shot at Alberto's title.[32] The title match took place on June 14 atVerano de Escándalo, where Alberto was victorious via disqualification, afterwards demanding a steel cageLucha de Apuestas with Cage.[33] On August 9 atTriplemanía XXIII, Cage was defeated by Alberto in aLucha de Apuestas and was afterwards, as per stipulation, forced to have his head shaved.[34]
On January 11, 2018, Cage re-signed with TNA, now known asImpact Wrestling.[35] On the February 15 episode ofImpact!, Cage made his in-ring debut against John Cruz in a decisive victory.[36][37] Cage would then briefly feud withBobby Lashley after joining him as his mystery partner at theCrossroadsspecial episode ofImpact! againstOhio Versus Everything (Dave Crist and Jake Crist), a match which Cage and Lashley won. Lashley confronted Cage on competing in the match despite Lashley never asking for his help. This led to a match between the two on March 29 episode ofImpact!, which Cage won, and marked Lashley's final appearance in Impact.
The following month, atRedemption, Cage made hispay-per-view debut in Impact by winning asix-way match againstDezmond Xavier,DJZ,El Hijo del Fantasma,Taiji Ishimori andTrevor Lee. At theUnder Pressure, Cage defeated Dezmond Xavier to become the #1 contender for theImpact X Division Championship. Cage received a title shot for the X Division Championship againstMatt Sydal on the June 14 episode ofImpact!, which Cage lost by count-out after an interferingKongo Kong attacked him outside the ring. Cage would avenge that by defeating Kong on the July 5 episode ofImpact!. Cage received a rematch against Sydal for the X Division Championship atSlammiversary XVI, which Cage won, thus winning his first championship in Impact.[38] On the July 26 episode ofImpact!, Cage made his first successful title defense in a rematch against Sydal.[39] Cage also successfully defended his title againstFénix atReDefined,[40] and againstRich Swann on the October 18 episode ofImpact!.[41] AtBound for Glory, Cage teamed with Fénix andPentagón Jr. againstOhio Versus Everything, which they lost afterSami Callihan pinned Cage, thus ending his undefeated streak.
On the November 15 episode ofImpact!, Cage successfully retained the X Division Championship against Callihan. After the match, Cage invoked "Option C", a choice open only to the X Division Championship holder, where they surrender the title, in favor of receiving a title match for theImpact World Championship atHomecoming on January 6, 2019, where he lost to championJohnny Impact.[42]
On the March 15 episode ofImpact, Cage saved Johnny Impact fromKiller Kross andMoose, but Impact turned on Cage after Impact's wifeTaya Valkyrie would low blow Cage allowing Impact to attack him.[43]
Part of the ongoing feud involved the referee Johnny Bravo where two weeks prior to the Rebellion show, it emerged that he now had allegiances to Johnny Impact and Wife Taya Valkyrie as he chop-blocked Cage when Cage was in a position to pick up a pinfall win over Impact. The previous week Bravo screwed Cage in a match with Killer Kross where he called for the bell indicating a successful pinfall when it was clear to the Audience & commentators present and the TV viewers at home that Cage had barely got a shoulder up before the referee hit the mat with his hand for the third count.
AtImpact Wrestling Rebellion PPV on April 28, Cage defeated Impact and becameImpact World Champion for the first time. Following the match, he was attacked by the debutingMichael Elgin. During the match Cage suffered a back injury after a Spanish Fly from the ramp to the arena floor. Due to the injury, Cage missed two days of television tapings that took place over the following week.[44] He returned to the ring on May 12.[45]
On the Impact TV broadcasts Cage made his return atSlammiversary where he would once again face Michael Elgin. Despite being successful in his title defense, Cage once again was to be sidelined, with the show highlighting the cause as the same Back Injury which had limited him to just the once defense since he captured the title from Johnny Impact. Cage would not be seen at the arena events for some time with sporadic updates from his on-screen girlfriend Melissa Santos. Cage was next seen during the August and September tapings.
During the Las Vegas tapings Cage announced that he was medically cleared to return to the ring atBound for Glory where he would be facing new number one contender Sami Callihan. As part of the buildup to the match, Callihan confronted Cage, interrupting his "first dance" in the ring with Melissa after their on-screen wedding earlier in the broadcast. Following a vile insult, Cage started to attack Callihan, who attempted to strike Cage with a bottle he was holding, but Melissa Santos instead took a direct Hit from Callihan. At the PPV Cage was able to retain his title; however, on the October 25, 2019, tapings, Callihan invoked a re-match clause, with the match held in a steel cage. Cage lost the title by pin-fall following a Super Pile-Driver from the ropes. AtHard to Kill, Cage was challengingRob Van Dam. Cage was too injured to continue after RVD hit a Van Terminator with a chair against Cage’s face. When the officials stopped the match, RVD wanted to keep going, and Daga ran in to protect Cage. RVD attacked Daga, and it became a new match. After thepay-per-view, Cage revealed hisImpact Wrestling contract had expired, ending his tenure with the company. Cage also revealed he would be taking time off from wrestling to undergo surgery for an injury.[46]
It was reported on January 12, 2020 that Cage had signed withAll Elite Wrestling (AEW).[47] Cage made his debut for the company at theDouble or Nothing pay-per-view on May 23, as the surprise final entrant in theCasino Ladder Match, where he was accompanied by his new cornermanTaz, thus establishing himself as aheel. He won the match, thus becoming the number one contender for theAEW World Championship.[48] Afterwards, Taz would crown Cage with theFTW World Championship, an unofficial championship introduced by Taz,[49] and Cage would targetJon Moxley, the AEW World Champion.[50] He would challenge Moxley for the championship atFight for the Fallen on July 15, but lost after Tazthrew in the towel.[51] On the 21 July episode ofDark, Cage formed an alliance withRicky Starks after they attackedRobert Anthony andDarby Allin after their match.[52] The team, managed by Taz and now known asTeam Taz, began feuding with Darby Allin as they faced Allin and Jon Moxley on the July 29 episode of Dynamite where they were defeated.[53] On September 5, Cage competed in the 21-manCasino Battle Royale atAll Out, but was eliminated by the eventual winnerLance Archer.[54]
On the October 7 episode ofDynamite, Cage successfully defended the FTW Championship when he defeatedWill Hobbs.[55] The next month, Hobbs would align himself with Cage, Taz and Starks after he struckCody Rhodes with Cage's FTW championship belt and then helped them attack both Allin and Rhodes.[56] On the December 2, 2020 specialWinter Is Coming, Starks and Hobbs, now known asPowerhouse Hobbs, would lose a tag team match to Cody Rhodes and Darby Allin, after which, Cage, Hobbs, and Starks all attacked Rhodes and Allin untilSting made his AEW debut and ran Team Taz off.[57] AtNew Year's Smash night two, Cage was defeated by Allin thus failing to win theAEW TNT Championship. On the January 21 edition ofDynamite, it was announced that Cage and Ricky Starks would be facing Darby Allin and Sting in a street fight atRevolution, which they lost. On the March 17 edition of Dynamite, Brian Cage showed signs of a face turn by coming out and showing respect to Sting much to the annoyance of Taz and the rest of Team Taz.
On the April 28 episode ofDynamite, Cage defeatedAdam Page, which led to a feud between the two. AtDouble or Nothing, Cage was defeated by Page in a rematch. On July 14, 2021, atFyter Fest night one, Cage lost the FTW World Championship to Ricky Starks after being hit in the head with the title belt by Powerhouse Hobbs, effectively being kicked out of Team Taz and ending his reign at a record-setting of 377 days.[58] Cage and Starks had a rematch for the title on the October 8 episode ofRampage in a Philadelphia street fight, which Cage lost.
On April 1, 2022, Cage appeared atSupercard of Honor XV, an event promoted by AEW's sister promotionRing of Honor (ROH). At the event, Cage was revealed as the new client ofTully Blanchard and defeatedNinja Mack. Cage later aligned with theGates of Agony (Toa Liona andKaun) with the group being collectively referred to as "Tully Blanchard Enterprises". On July 23, 2022, atDeath Before Dishonor, Prince Nana announced he had purchasedTully Blanchard Enterprises and reformedThe Embassy, with Cage, Kaun and Liona.[59] They would go on to defeat the team ofAlex Zayne,Blake Christian andTony Deppen during the pre-show.[60] On the November 2 episode ofRampage, Cage facedSamoa Joe for theROH World Television Championship in a losing effort.[61] AtFinal Battle, Cage, Liona and Kaun, defeatedDalton Castle andThe Boys, to win theROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship.[62]
On March 30, 2023, it was confirmed byDave Meltzer ofWrestling Observer Newsletter that his deal had expired.[63] On April 11th, it was reported that Cage signed a new 5-year deal.[64]
AtRampage:Grand Slam, The Embassy lost theROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championships toThe Elite members"Hangman" Adam Page andThe Young Bucks.[65] On November 1 edition ofDynamite, The Embassy regained the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championships defeating The Elite.[66] On January 17, 2024, Cage and the Gates of Agony dropped the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship to theBullet Club Gold (Jay White andThe Gunns (Austin Gunn andColten Gunn)).[67] On the May 8 episode ofDynamite, Cage and the Gates of Agony turned on Swerve Strickland, disbanding the Mogul Embassy in the process.[68] On the May 25 episode ofRampage, Cage and the Gates of Agony revealed their new team name to be "Cage of Agony".[69]
On October 12 atWrestleDream, Cage defeatedAtlantis Jr. to win theROH World Television Championship for the first time. On the following episode ofDynamite, Cage left Cage of Agony and joined theDon Callis Family and formed a tag team with fellow memberLance Archer, later known as "The Murder Machines".[70][71] AtFinal Battle on December 20, Cage lost his title toKomander in aSurvival of the Fittest, ending his reign at 69 days.[72] In April 2025, it was reported that Cage hadtorn his quadriceps at an independent show, rendering him out of action for up to a year.[73]
Cage, along with tag partner Archer andChavo Guerrero Jr., will appear inSteven Spielberg's upcomingscience fiction film.[74]
In 2016, Button began dating Melissa Santos, who worked for Lucha Underground as aring announcer.[75] The couple have a daughter together.[76] The couple married on July 12, 2019. The marriage was also honored during the August and September Impact Wrestling broadcasts, with the show holding their own ceremony (chaired byFather James Mitchell) following from Cage's on-screen proposal earlier in the tapings.[77] He was previously married to another woman and also has a son from a previous relationship.[citation needed]
| Winner (wager) | Loser (wager) | Location | Event | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Patrón Alberto (hair) | Brian Cage (hair) | Mexico City | Triplemanía XXIII | August 9, 2015 | [34] |
