Ruud was released from WWE in April 2020, and returned to theindependent circuit under the ring nameErick Redbeard, and appeared inAll Elite Wrestling (AEW), also under said ring name. He returned to WWE in June 2024.
Ruud began hisprofessional wrestling career after training withEddie Sharkey in 2003. He debuted under the ring name "Thoruf Marius", competing for variouspromotions throughout theMidwest until 2007. He was invited to go toPro Wrestling Noah's (NOAH) dojo in Japan to live, train, and wrestle. During this time, he competed in bothtag team andsingles matches.[4] Following his tour in Japan, Ruud returned to the United States in 2008 and began competing for the Minnesota-based F1rst Wrestling promotion. Albeit, without much success. Upon joining the promotion, he beganfeuding with Big Brody Hoofer, with the pair exchanging wins across several events.[5]
In February 2011, Ruud signed a developmental contract withWorld Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and was assigned to theirdevelopmental territoryFlorida Championship Wrestling (FCW) under the ring name "Erick Rowan".[6] He made hisFCW TV debut in August 2011 with a win overKenneth Cameron, while being accompanied byByron Saxton and James Bronson.[7] To tie in with Saxton's feud withTitus O'Neil, Rowan and Bronson lost to O'Neil andLeakee in a tag team match.[8] Although Rowan continued to compete in both singles and tag team matches with Bronson, he was not involved in any further feuds and did not challenge for any titles onFCW TV.[9]
On the May 8 episode ofNXT (which was taped on May 2), Harper and Rowan defeated Adrian Neville and Bo Dallas (who was filling in for the injured Oliver Grey) to win theNXT Tag Team Championship, Rowan's firstprofessional wrestling championship.[18][19] On the June 5 episode ofNXT, Harper and Rowan successfully retained their championship againstCorey Graves andKassius Ohno,[20] and on the June 19 episode ofNXT, The Wyatt Family defeated the team of Neville, Graves and Ohno.[21] On the July 17 episode ofNXT (which was taped on June 20), Harper and Rowan lost the NXT Tag Team Championship to Neville and Graves.[22]
From the May 27 episode ofRaw, WWE airedvignettes promoting the upcomingmain roster debut of The Wyatt Family.[23] The vignettes showed The Wyatt Family'sbackwoods origins and Rowan wearing a sheep mask.[24][25] On the July 8 episode ofRaw, The Wyatt Family made their debut by assaultingKane.[26] Rowan made his WWE in-ring debut on the July 26 episode ofSmackDown, where he teaming up with Harper to defeat Tons of Funk (Brodus Clay andTensai) in a tag team match.[27] Over the next few months, Rowan and Harper competed as a tag team and went on a winning streak over many teams,[28][29][30] untilCody Rhodes and Goldust handed them their first loss on the October 11 episode ofSmackDown.[31] In early 2014, Rowan took part in The Wyatt Family's feud withThe Shield,[32][33][34] while also supporting Bray Wyatt in his feud againstJohn Cena.[35] While Cena and Wyatt's feud continued, Rowan and Harper also started a feud withThe Usos, unsuccessfully challenging for theTag Team Championship atMoney in the Bank[36] andBattleground.[37]
Beginning on September 29, vignettes were shown of Rowan and Harper being "set free" by Wyatt, marking the dissolution of The Wyatt Family and the transition of its members into singles competition.[38][39] On the November 17 episode ofRaw, Rowan had a brief feud withthe Authority when he joined Team Cena forSurvivor Series, going after his former Wyatt Family partner Luke Harper, who had joined Team Authority, turningface in the process.[40] At Survivor Series, Rowan scored no eliminations and was himself eliminated by Harper, with the assistance ofSeth Rollins; however, Team Cena later won the match.[41] Afterwards, Rowan started a feud withBig Show, the team member who had betrayed the rest of Team Cena at the event.[42] AtTLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs, Rowan was defeated by Big Show in astairs match.[43]
On the January 5, 2015 episode ofRaw, Rowan, along withDolph Ziggler andRyback were (kayfabe) fired by The Authority for being a part of Team Cena.[44] On the January 19 episode ofRaw, Rowan, Ziggler and Ryback were rehired after Cena won a3-on-1 handicap match against Seth Rollins, Big Show and Kane following assistance fromSting.[45] On the January 22 episode ofSmackDown, Rowan lost to Luke Harper in a qualifying match for the2015 Royal Rumble.[46] Despite this, Rowan appeared during theRoyal Rumble match and attacked number 6 entrantCurtis Axel, before Axel could make his entrance to the ring, sparking a brief The Wyatt Family reunion with Harper and Wyatt, before all three men brawled.[47] AtFastlane, Rowan teaming up with Ziggler and Ryback in asix-man tag team match against Seth Rollins, Big Show and Kane, which they lost.[48] Rowan participated in the second annualAndré the Giant Memorial Battle Royal atWrestleMania 31, but was eliminated by Big Show.[49]
In May, Rowan reunited with former tag team partner Luke Harper after attacking Harper's opponentFandango, turningheel once again.[50] In late June, Rowan suffered a tornbicep, leaving him out of action.[51] Rowan returned on the October 19 episode ofRaw as a member of The Wyatt Family once again, againstDean Ambrose,Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins, which his team won by disqualification after Ambrose attacked new The Wyatt Family memberBraun Strowman with a kendo stick.[52] Rowan took part in The Wyatt Family's feud withThe Brothers of Destruction, after they kidnappedThe Undertaker atHell in a Cell,[53] and Kane on the October 26 episode ofRaw.[54] AtTLC: Tables, Ladders, and Chairs, The Wyatt Family defeatedECW Originals in aneight-man tag team eliminationtables match, with Rowan being the only Wyatt Family member eliminated from the match.[55] On January 24, 2016, Rowan would go on to compete in theRoyal Rumble match with fellow The Wyatt Family members and was eliminated byBrock Lesnar,[56] but he would later return to the ring along with another members to eliminate Lesnar.[57][58]
On April 3, Rowan competed in his first everWrestleMania singles match atWrestleMania 32 againstThe Rock, after the latter confronted The Wyatt Family.[59] Rowan was defeated by The Rock in six seconds, breaking the record for the quickest WrestleMania match of all time; after the match, when The Wyatt Family attempted to attack The Rock, a returning John Cena came to his aid.[60] The next night onRaw, The Wyatt Family attackedThe League of Nations, starting a feud between the heel factions.[61] Rowan and Strowman were set to compete in a match atPayback,[61] but Wyatt suffered a calf injury[62] as well as Harper, who dislocated hispatella and tore hismedial patellofemoral ligament in late March.[63][64] These injuries resulted in the suspension of the feud between The Wyatt Family and The League of Nations.[61] The Wyatt Family (minus Harper) returned on the June 20 episode ofRaw, subsequently getting into a feud withThe New Day, who interrupted Wyatt during his return speech.[65] The feud culminated atBattleground, where The Wyatt Family defeated The New Day.[66]
On July 19, as part of2016 draft, Rowan was drafted toSmackDownbrand along with Bray Wyatt, while Braun Strowman was drafted toRaw. While Rowan kept wrestling with Wyatt, in October Rowan underwent surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff and would be out of action for eight months.[67] He made his return on the April 4, 2017 episode ofSmackDown Live.[68] On April 10, The Wyatt Family disbanded again when Wyatt was moved to the Raw brand as part ofSuperstar Shake-up.[69] The short rivalry between Rowan and Luke Harper was ended atBacklash on May 21, where Harper defeated Rowan.[70]
The Bludgeon Brothers lost by disqualification in a championship defense against The New Day atSummerSlam, resulting in them retaining the titles.[80] Two nights later on the August 21 episode ofSmackDown Live, The New Day defeated The Bludgeon Brothers in a no disqualification match to win the championships, ending their reign at 135 days.[81] The following day, it was announced that Rowan had suffered a torn right bicep and would have surgery later in the week.[82]
Rowan returned from injury at theRoyal Rumble pay-per-view event on January 27, 2019, interfering on behalf ofDaniel Bryan to help him retain theWWE Championship againstAJ Styles, and forming an alliance with Bryan.[83] On the February 26 episode ofSmackDown Live, Rowan competed in his first match since August 2018, teaming with Bryan in a losing effort toKofi Kingston andKevin Owens.[84] On the May 7 episode ofSmackDown Live, Rowan and Bryan defeatedThe Usos for the vacantSmackDown Tag Team Championship, beginning their first reign as a team, and Rowan's second reign individually.[85] AtMoney in the Bank, Rowan and Bryan were defeated by The Usos in a non-title match.[86] The following month atSuper ShowDown event, Rowan competed in the51-man battle royal, but failed to win.[87] AtStomping Grounds, Rowan and Bryan retained the SmackDown Tag Team Championship againstHeavy Machinery (Otis andTucker).[88] AtExtreme Rules, Rowan and Bryan lost the championship to The New Day in a triple threat match also involving Heavy Machinery, ending their reign at 68 days.[89]
In August, Rowan and Bryan became involved in a storyline with Roman Reigns, as Reigns was being targeted for attacks by a mystery conspirator. Reigns suspected Rowan as his attacker due to testimony fromBuddy Murphy,[90] as well as seemingly incriminating video footage, but Bryan instead revealed that the attacker was merely a man who resembled Rowan.[91] However, Rowan later turned on Bryan and revealed that he was the attacker the entire time, ending the alliance between the two.[92] During this time, his ring name was reverted to Erick Rowan.[93] Rowan would then face Reigns in ano disqualification match atClash of Champions, which he won after interference from a returning Luke Harper.[94] The feud concluded atHell in a Cell, where Reigns and Bryan defeated Rowan and Harper in atornado tag team match.[95]
As part of the2019 draft, Rowan was drafted to Raw, disbanding his team with Luke Harper, who remained on SmackDown.[96] Starting in November, he would revert to his previous ring name Erick Rowan and began coming to the ring carrying a cage with a hidden cloth over it, as he would squash variouslocal competitors, and Rowan would be shown to be very protective and affectionate of the creature in the cage destroying whoever tried to look inside the cage.[97][98] Despite this, the creature would bite Rowan on multiple occasions which would force him to take out his pain on his opponents.[99] At theRoyal Rumble pay-per-view on January 26, 2020, Rowan entered Royal Rumble match at number 3, and was quickly eliminated by Brock Lesnar.[100] On March 2 episode ofRaw in a backstage segment withNo Way Jose, Rowan revealed the mystery creature inside the cage to be a large spider.[101] The next week onRaw, Rowan competed in his final match againstDrew McIntyre, where mid-way through the bout, McIntyre crushed the cage with steel steps.[102] On April 15, 2020, Rowan was released from his WWE contract along with several other superstars as a result of budget cuts in response to theCOVID-19 pandemic, ending his 9-year tenure with the company.[103]
Following his release from WWE, Ruud began taking bookings under the ring name "Erick Redbeard". On October 21, 2020, it was announced that he would be competing in theUnited Wrestling Network World Title tournament.[104] He would make his debut on October 31, losing toFred Rosser in the first round of the tournament by disqualification.
Following the death of his former WWE tag team partner Jon Huber (who performed as Luke Harper in WWE and Mr. Brodie Lee inAll Elite Wrestling) on December 26, 2020, Ruud (as Erick Redbeard) appeared on the memorialAEW Dynamite episode "Brodie Lee Celebration of Life" on December 30, where he protectedDark Order members from being attacked byWardlow during a six-man tag team match.[105] After the match, he embraced the Dark Order, cried, and held up a sign that read: "Goodbye for now, my brother. See you down the road."[106][107] Redbeard returned to AEW on the March 4, 2022 episode ofAEW Rampage and aligned himself withDeath Triangle (Pac andPenta Oscuro). The trio would team againstHouse of Black (Malakai Black,Brody King, andBuddy Matthews) atRevolution's "Buy-In" pre-show event.[108] The match would end with Redbeard getting pinned by Black.[109]
On August 25, 2023, Ruud (as Erick Rowan) made a brief return in the start segment ofSmackDown, which was a segment dedicated to his late friendBray Wyatt, who died due to aheart attack the day before.[110] In May 2024, it was reported that he had signed a contract withWWE and will be returning to the company.[111]
On the June 17 episode ofRaw, Ruud made his return, reprising the Erick Rowan character as a part of a new stable under the leadership ofUncle Howdy (portrayed by Wyatt's real-life brother Taylor) calledThe Wyatt Sicks. He would sport a rabbit mask, resembling Ramblin' Rabbit from Bray Wyatt's"Firefly Funhouse".[112] On the July 15th edition ofRaw, Rowan was seen unmasked in a vignette, where he was interviewed by Howdy, mourning the losses of his originalWyatt Family teammates,Bray Wyatt andLuke Harper. On August 5th, Rowan would make his in-ring return alongside fellow Wyatt Sicks stablematesDexter Lumis andJoe Gacy to face American Made (Chad Gable and theCreed Brothers) in a winning effort.
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