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 Engler in 2007 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Daniel Engler (1977-11-20)November 20, 1977 (age 48) Evansville, Indiana, U.S. |
Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Rudy Charles Dan Engler |
| Billed height | 5 ft 7 in (170 cm) |
| Billed weight | 165 lb (75 kg) |
| Trained by | Mark Vance |
| Debut | July 6, 1996 |
Daniel Engler (born November 20, 1977) is an Americanprofessional wrestlingreferee, who is signed toWWE on theRaw brand. He is also known for his work inTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) under thering nameRudy Charles, where he was thepromotion's senior referee.
Engler trained as a referee under formerUnited States Wrestling Association referee Mark Vance, whom he met at a wrestling show in the EvansvilleSoldiers and Sailors Memorial Coliseum, and refereed his first match on July 6, 1996. In 1997, Engler enlisted in theIndiana Army National Guard, and underwent four months of training.
Engler joinedTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) shortly after its inception in June 2002, and was quickly named senior referee. Known under the ring name Rudy Charles, he was one of the first referees shown on the show, having to help holdToby Keith back from entering the ring to fightJeff Jarrett.
On January 29, 2009, Charles made his wrestling debut onTNA Impact!, along with referee Andrew Thomas, in a handicap match againstBooker T.In a backstage interview, Charles seemed confident and talked about his amateur wrestling background. Thomas was nervous, but Charles said to follow his lead. This was all short lived as Booker hit Charles with an Axe Kick, finished off Thomas with the Bookend for the pin, and forcedEarl Hebner to make the count.
In July 2009, Engler left TNA.[1][2][3][4] However, he again appeared for the promotion on the Thanksgiving Day 2011 episode and featured in several segments alongside wrestlerEric Young, as well as refereeing a match between Young andRobbie E. Despite not appearing since, he refereed in TNA's subsidiary projectsRing Ka King and All Wheels Wrestling.
Engler has run several family oriented wrestling promotions in his hometown ofEvansville, Indiana. He has run shows at the historicSoldiers and Sailors Memorial Coliseum (former home to the USWA), the Vanderburgh County 4-H Fairground (home to the Frog Follies classic car festival) and the CK Newsome Center, an urban community center for inner-city children.
On his debut in National Wrestling Alliance Main Event, Shawn Shultz lost hisNWA Mid-America Heavyweight Championship. On various episodes, Shultz said that Engler screwed his match. Shultz and his manager, Tony Lucassio, called Engler a reject referee from another promotion inOrlando, noting his time in TNA. Engler made hisOhio Valley Wrestling (OVW) debut as the special guest referee of a match between heel referee Chris Sharpe and OVW senior official Ray Ramsey in December 2009. He then refereed several matches in OVW.
In July 2013, Engler indicated on his Twitter account that he had signed withWWE and would be workingNXT tapings.[5][6] He was also present at theWWE Performance Center grand-opening.
On October 27, 2013, working under his real name, Engler made his WWE pay-per-view debut atHell In A Cell.[7] He refereed the Divas Championship match betweenAJ Lee andBrie Bella. The following night onRaw, he refereed another Divas match, betweenNatalya andSummer Rae, in the latter's debut match.
On the March 14, 2016 episode ofRaw, Engler was injured after being hit in the leg with a production crate byTriple H during a backstage brawl between him and a returningRoman Reigns. He required 13 stitches and 3 sutures to close the wound. In June 2016, he appeared as one of the seven referees for theCruiserweight Classic.
Engler was the wrestling referee for the season three premiere ofPros vs. Joes.
Engler maintains aYouTube channel; and has a recurring show namedThe Rudy Charles Talk Show. Some of the guests included: former TNA/WWE referee Mike Posey, wrestlers such as Mike Rapada, Mike Rapada Jr., Steve O, Matt Boyce, and Shawn Shultz.
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Total Nonstop Action Wrestling Senior Referee 2002–2009 | Succeeded by |
