.jpg) Nduka in March 2024 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Ezekwesiri Nduka Jr. (1989-08-28)August 28, 1989 (age 36) Dallas, Texas, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Sam Houston State University |
Spouse | |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | EJ Nduka Ezra Judge |
| Billed height | 6 ft 8 in (203 cm)[1] |
| Billed weight | 285 lb (129 kg)[1] |
| Billed from | Dallas, Texas[1] |
| Trained by | WWE Performance Center |
| Debut | February 29, 2018 |
Ezekwesiri "EJ" Nduka Jr. (born August 28, 1989) is an Americanprofessional wrestler, professionalIFBB bodybuilder, and former professionalfootballdefensive end /outside linebacker. He is best known for his time inAll Elite Wrestling (AEW) and in their sister promotionRing of Honor (ROH). He is also known for his time withMajor League Wrestling, where he was a formerMLW World Tag Team Champion, and inWWE, where he performed under thering nameEzra Judge.
Nduka playedcollege football atSam Houston State University, with the team being the 2012 National Championship runners-up. Professionally, Nduka has been a member of theTri-Cities Fever,Allen Wranglers,Toronto Argonauts andSan Antonio Talons.
Nduka is also a professional bodybuilder in theInternational Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness. Nduka previously completed for the MuscleMania Professional Division. During the World Championships in Vegas, Nduka placed 4th in the Men's Physique Professional Division. Nduka began his bodybuilding career shortly after leaving theArena Football League (AFL) in 2016. Since then, he has placed first in the Texas State Championships, Ronnie Coleman Classic, BetterBodies Championship, Junior Nationals and JR USAs. Nduka has also competed at the Arnold Classic & Lou Ferrigno Legacy Classic, placing in the top three in the Classic Pro Division. In August 2019 Nduka was signed by the WWE, reporting to their developmental territoryNXT.
Nduka was born inDallas, Texas, to parents Obie and Prince Nduka, who are originally from Nigeria. EJ Nduka attendedJackson Memorial High School inJackson, New Jersey. He was a dual sportletterwinner and star inbasketball, andtrack. He was a star basketball player before ultimately turning to the football field in college.
 | Thisbiography of a living personneeds additionalcitations forverification. Please help by addingreliable sources.Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced orpoorly sourcedmust be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentiallylibelous. Find sources: "E. J. Nduka" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(September 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Profile | |
|---|---|
| Positions | Defensive end,outside linebacker |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1989-08-28)August 28, 1989 (age 36) Dallas, Texas |
| Height | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) |
| Weight | 285 lb (129 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Jackson (NJ) Memorial |
| College | Sam Houston State |
| NFL draft | 2012: undrafted |
| Career history | |
Nduka began his college career atJacksonville University in 2007 before transferring to Sam Houston State where he played for three years from 2008 to 2011. He was redshirted as a freshman in 2008 but eventually made an impact for the Bearkats, primarily as a pass rusher in game situations.
| Height | Weight | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | Wonderlic | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 6.5 in (1.99 m) | 252 lb (114 kg) | 4.52 s | 1.36 s | 2.55 s | 4.44 s | 6.56 s | 42 in (1.07 m) | 10 ft 2 in (3.10 m) | 33 reps | x | ||
| Values from NFL Super Regional Combine[2] | ||||||||||||
Prior to the 2012 NFL Draft, Nduka was projected to be undrafted by NFLDraftScout.com. He was rated as the 36th-best outside linebacker in the draft.Nduka was later signed by theAllen Wranglers of theIndoor Football League. In 2012, Nduka played final three games and recorded 15 tackles, three sacks, 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery.
On February 21, 2013, theToronto Argonauts of theCanadian Football League signed Nduka. He was released by the Argonauts on May 8, 2013. In 2015, Nduka had private workouts and NFL camps with Texans, Seahawks & Falcons.
Nduka is a professional athlete in the IFBB a federation. Nduka recently announced via social media that he will now compete in the Classic Physique division in 2017.
Because of his performance on the gridiron and on the IFBB stage, in December 2018, Nduka received a tryout with theWWE, and then shortly after went back in April 2019 for another tryout at theWWE Performance Center. After participating on two tryouts (the first in December 2018, the second in April 2019), Nduka signed a contract with WWE on August 15, 2019. He was assigned to the Performance Center[3][4] and began to work under the ring name of Ezra Judge. On May 19, 2021, Nduka was released from his WWE contract.[5]
On June 24, 2021, it was revealed as part of theirMLW Open Draft that Nduka (now going by his real name) had signed withMajor League Wrestling (MLW). On July 24, 2021, during Nduka's televised debut, EJ Nduka made a statement within the company as eliminated 12 participants – nearly a third of all Battle Riot participants – breaking the record by a landslide. He would ultimately joinAlexander Hammerstone andRichard Holliday as part of The Dynasty. DuringWrestlemania 38 weekend Nduka andCalvin Tankman defeated5150 to becomeMLW World Tag Team Champions at theGrady Cole Center in North Carolina at a sold-out event.[6] On January 7, 2023, Nduka and Calvin lost their MLW World Tag Team Championships toThe Samoan SWAT Team's Juice Finau andLance Anoa'i at MLW's pay-per-viewBlood and Thunder of year 2023.[7] Earlier, it was revealed that Nduka's MLW contract was coming to an end afterBlood and Thunder, choosing not to renew it.
Nduka made hisAll Elite Wrestling (AEW) debut on the January 28, 2023 episodeAEW Dark, in a losing effort againstKonosuke Takeshita. In June 2023, it was reported by Wrestling Observer that Nduka had signed with AEW.[8] On the June 29 episode ofAEW Collision, Nduka made another appearance accompanyingAEW World ChampionSwerve Strickland during the weigh-in for Strickland's match againstWill Ospreay. In October 2024, Nduka formed a tag team withLee Johnson named "LEEJ".[9] In December 2024 atFinal Battle Zero Hour, LEEJ turnedheel after by attackingGates of Agony (Bishop Kaun andToa Liona) after losing to them in a tag match.[10] In May 2025, it was reported Nduka was a free agent after his AEW contract expired and was not renewed.[11]
Six-foot-six, 265-pounder EJ Nduka... He attended tryouts at the WWE Performance Center in December 2018 and April 2019.
The following names have signed developmental deals with the company... EJ Nduka....
WWE has released several NXT talents today... Ezra Judge, real name Ezekwesiri "EJ" Nduka Jr., a former arena football player and professional bodybuilder for the IFBB. He was signed in August 2019 after several tryouts.
