| Jaxson Ryker | |
|---|---|
 Ryker in 2015 | |
| Birth name | Chad Lail |
| Born | (1982-06-06)June 6, 1982 (age 42)[1] Hickory, North Carolina, U.S.[1] |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 1 |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Chad Lail[2] Gunner[3] Jaxson Ryker Phil Shatter[1] Phill Shatter[4] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)[5] |
| Billed weight | 244 lb (111 kg)[5] |
| Billed from | Atlanta,Georgia[4] Hickory, North Carolina[5] |
| Trained by | Abel Adams[1] |
| Debut | August 2001[1] |
| Retired | August 27, 2023[1] |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Service |  United States Marine Corps |
| Years of service | 2002–2006 |
| Rank |  Sergeant |
| Battles / wars | Iraq War |
Chad Lail (born June 6, 1982) is an American retiredprofessional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure inTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling under thering nameGunner and inWWE under the ring nameJaxson Ryker.
Lail started his professional wrestling career in 2001, working asPhil Shatter on severalindependent promotions. He was signed byTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) in 2010, where he changed his ring name to Gunner and was presented as a member of thevillainous groupImmortal. During his time in the group, he won theTNA Television Championshiponce. After leaving the group, he would work as atag team and singles wrestler, most notably as tag team partner and rival ofJames Storm, winning theTNA World Tag Team Championship with him.
Lail left TNA in 2015 and two years later in 2017, he signed a contract with WWE. He was assigned to thefarm territoryNXT, where he changed his ring name to Jaxson Ryker. In 2018, he formed The Forgotten Sons, alongsideWesley Blake andSteve Cutler. From April to June 2020, the stable made appearances onSmackDown. Ryker would continue working with WWE until November 2021, when he was released. Lail retired in August 2023 to become apolice officer.
Chad Lail was born on June 6, 1982, inHickory, North Carolina.[1] He served in theIraq War with theUnited States Marine Corps as amachine gunner, and reached the rank of asergeant.[6]
Lail signed with NWA Anarchy in 2005, using thering name of Phil Shatter, and he eventually received a championship match against NWA Anarchy Heavyweight Champion Ace Rocwell, which he won to become the new champion.[7] Shatter later won theNWA National Heavyweight Championship from Crusher Hansen on January 17, 2009, and is the longest reigning champion in the title's history, and he would drop the championship to Chance Prophet on February 19, 2011, after signing a contract withTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA).[8]
In October 2010, Shatter defeatedChase Stevens for theShowtime All-Star Wrestling (SAW) International Heavyweight Championship, but was forced to vacate the title in June 2011 due to being unable to defend it because of his TNA schedule.[9]
Shatter appeared atRing of Honor'sThe Big Bang! pay-per-view on April 3, 2010, defeating Zack Salvation in the opening match of the pay-per-view.[10]
At the June 23, 2010, tapings of TNA'sImpact! television show, Shatter made his TNA debut, along withMikael Judas, as TNA's on-air security. On the July 29, 2010 edition ofTNA Impact! taping, Shatter, now using the name Gunner and Mikael Judas, using the name Murphy, came out after an altercation involvingJeff Hardy andMr. Anderson withMatt Morgan, and attacked Hardy and Anderson, thus turningheel. They then teamed with Morgan in a handicap match, where they were defeated by Hardy and Anderson.[3][11] After appearing with Morgan the following week, Gunner and Murphy's angle with him was discontinued and they went back to being regular security guards.[12][13]
On the October 21 edition ofImpact! Gunner and Murphy aligned themselves withJeff Jarrett and helped him beat downSamoa Joe.[14] At theTurning Pointpay-per-view Gunner and Murphy interfered in a match between Jarrett and Joe, helping Jarrett pick up the win.[15] On the following edition ofImpact! Gunner and Murphy made their in–ring return, losing to Samoa Joe in a handicap match.[16] After Jarrett's feud with Samoa Joe ended, Gunner and Murphy became regular members of theImmortal stable and were less involved with Jarrett. At the December 9 tapings ofXplosion Gunner and Murphy picked up their first win in TNA, defeatingInk Inc. (Jesse Neal andShannon Moore) in a tag team match.[17]
On February 13, 2011, atAgainst All Odds, Gunner and Murphy wrestled their first TNA PPV match, a six-man tag team match, where they teamed with their Immortal stablemateRob Terry in a losing effort againstJames Storm,Robert Roode andScott Steiner.[18] In February both Gunner and Murphy signed two–year contracts with TNA, which saw them moved from their roles as just security guards into the active roster.[8] On the February 24 edition ofImpact!, Gunner and Murphy defeatedEric Young andOrlando Jordan to earn their first shot at theTNA World Tag Team Championship, held byBeer Money, Inc. (James Storm and Robert Roode).[19] They would receive their shot at the title on the following edition ofImpact!, but were defeated by Beer Money, Inc.[20]
On March 14 at the tapings of the March 17 edition ofImpact!, Gunner defeated Murphy and Rob Terry in a three-way match to win the vacantTNA Television Championship.[21][22] He would lose the title to Eric Young on May 17 at the tapings of the May 26 edition ofImpact Wrestling.[23][24] On the June 9 edition ofImpact Wrestling, Gunner pinnedWorld Heavyweight ChampionSting in a tag team main event, in which he teamed with Mr. Anderson against Sting with Eric Young.[25] The following week, Gunner asked new TNA World Heavyweight Champion Mr. Anderson for a shot at his title and eventually put him through a table, when he declined. In the main event of the show, Gunner defeated Anderson in a non-title match.[26] From June to September, Gunner was one of the twelve participants in theBound for Glory Series to determine the number one contender to the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. When thegroup stage of the tournament concluded, Gunner finished in the top four and thus advanced to the finals atNo Surrender along with James Storm, Robert Roode and his Immortal stablemate,Bully Ray.[27] On September 11 at No Surrender, Gunner was eliminated from the tournament, when he was defeated by Bobby Roode via submission.[28]
Gunner then began feuding with Immortal's former referee,Garett Bischoff, losing to him via disqualification, following interference fromRic Flair, on the November 10 edition ofImpact Wrestling.[29] This was followed by Bischoff picking up two pinfall victories over Gunner on the November 17 and December 8 editions ofImpact Wrestling where he would injure Garett by piledriving him into the concrete floor.[30][31] He would do the same to Jesse Neal andDouglas Williams on the December 15 and 29 editions ofImpact Wrestling.[32][33] On the January 5, 2012, edition ofImpact Wrestling, Gunner foughtRob Van Dam to a double countout but failed to injure him after Van Dam retaliated andback body dropped him onto the concrete.[34] Three days later atGenesis, Gunner defeated Van Dam after dropping him onto the concrete floor with aDDT.[35] On February 12 atAgainst All Odds, Gunner, withEric Bischoff in his corner, defeated Garett Bischoff, who hadHulk Hogan in his corner, in a singles match.[36] On April 15 atLockdown, Gunner represented Team Eric Bischoff in the annualLethal Lockdown match, where the opposing team was led by Garett Bischoff, who ended up winning the match for his team.[37] On the following episode ofImpact Wrestling, Gunner unsuccessfully challengedDevon for the TNA Television Championship. AfterImpact Wrestling, Gunner took hiatus from television.[38] On May 17, Lail announced that he had signed a new three-year contract with TNA.[39]
After a three-month hiatus, Gunner returned toImpact Wrestling on July 26, when he, along withKid Kash, confronted and eventually attacked the debutingChavo Guerrero Jr., before he was saved byHernandez.[40] On August 12 atHardcore Justice, Gunner and Kash were defeated in a tag team match by Guerrero and Hernandez.[41] Gunner and Kash faced Guerrero and Hernandez, now the TNA World Tag Team Champions, in a rematch on the October 18 episode ofImpact Wrestling, but were again defeated.[42][43] The pay-per-view was aired on May 3.[44]
Gunner returned toImpact Wrestling on May 23, attackingRobbie E andShark Boy and being chosen asJames Storm's partner in his four-way elimination match for the TNA World Tag Team Championship atSlammiversary XI, thus turningface.[45] On June 2 at the pay-per-view, Gunner and Storm won the match overBad Influence (Christopher Daniels andKazarian),Austin Aries andBobby Roode, and defending championsChavo Guerrero andHernandez to win the TNA World Tag Team Championship.[46] Gunner and Storm returned on the August 8 episode ofImpact Wrestling, teaming up withODB to defeat the BroMans (Jessie Godderz and Robbie E) andMickie James in a six-person mixed tag team match.[47] On October 20 atBound for Glory, Gunner and Storm lost the World Tag Team Championship toBroMans in their first title defense, ending their reign at 140 days.[48] Gunner and Storm received their rematch on the October 31 episode ofImpact Wrestling, but were again defeated by the BroMans.[49]
On the December 12 episode ofImpact Wrestling, Gunner competed in theFeast or Fired match where he was one of the four participants to retrieve a briefcase,[50] which was revealed to contain a match for theTNA World Heavyweight Championship the following week.[51] Gunner put the briefcase on the line against Storm on the December 26 episode ofImpact Wrestling, but the match ended in a double countout, with Gunner retaining the case.[52][53] Gunner then retained the case again against Storm atGenesis, where the case was suspended from a pole.[54] Gunner and Storm finally reunited at the January 30, 2014 episode ofImpact Wrestling, when they were challenged by Bad Influence for Gunner's case, which he would retain.[55] On the February 20 episode ofImpact Wrestling, Gunner cashed in his Feast or Fired briefcase for a TNA World Heavyweight Championship match but lost toMagnus, after Storm turned on Gunner and hit him with a Last Callsuperkick as Gunner went for adiving headbutt. On March 9 atLockdown, Gunner defeated Storm in a Steel Cage Last Man Standing match. On the March 20 episode ofImpact Wrestling, after Storm berated Gunner's father, Gunner attacked Storm, but Storm managed to turn it around, handcuffing him to the middle rope and threatening Gunner's father at ringside. Storm walked away, but returned to smash a beer bottle over his father's head. On April 27, 2014, Gunner defeated Storm atSacrifice in an "I Quit Match".
On the May 1, 2014 episode ofImpact Wrestling, Gunner took part in a one night tournament to challengeEric Young for theTNA World Heavyweight Championship. He defeatedMr. Anderson in the first match after an interference byJames Storm and in the finals of the tournament he was defeated byBobby Roode and failed to win a chance for the title. On May 10 atVictory Road, Gunner won a 12-man Gauntlet battle royal match for a future TNA World Heavyweight Championship match.
On the May 22, 2014 episode ofImpact Wrestling, Gunner appeared in the hospital where he was withSamuel Shaw. Short steel links displayed video footage where Gunner talked to Shaw about his illness. On the July 3 episodeImpact Wrestling Gunner and Shaw came back and talked withMr. Anderson andChristy Hemme, during which Shaw acted like aface. On the October 15, 2014 episode ofImpact Wrestling, TNA started an eight tag team tournament to determine the number one contenders for theTNA World Tag Team Championship, Gunner and Shaw decided to take part in this tournament. In this case in the first match they lost to Samoa Joe and Low Ki. On the October 22 episode onImpact Wrestling, Shaw turned on Gunner when he hit Gunner with a steel chair and kissedBrittany, starting a feud between the two. Two weeks later, onImpact Wrestling, Gunner defeated Shaw in a no-disqualification match. On the January 23, 2015 episode onImpact Wrestling, Gunner competed in the Feast or Fired match but failed to retrieve a case in the match. He was a member of the Angle team atLockdown, defeating The Beat Down Clan in a Lethal Lockdown match. On the February 20 episode onImpact Wrestling, Gunner competed in a 20-man #1 contender's gauntlet match but failed to win the match. On April 3, 2015, Gunner defeatedJessie Godderz for a match onXplosion; this turned out to be Gunner's last TNA match.
On June 19, 2015, Gunner officially announced his departure from TNA.[56] Afterwards, he would often work weekend shows on the independent circuit, while also maintaining a job as a cable technician to provide for his family.[57]
On May 29, 2017, it was reported that Lail had signed withWWE and would be working in the company'sdevelopmental territoryNXT.[58] On June 29, 2017, Lail made his debut at a NXTlive event in a losing effort againstNo Way Jose.[59] In February 2018, he began teaming withWesley Blake andSteve Cutler as The Forgotten Sons.[60] In July of that year, Lail's ring name was changed to Jaxson Ryker.[61]
The trio made their first televised appearance on the August 29 episode ofNXT in a backstage segment with general managerWilliam Regal.[62] On the September 19 episode ofNXT, Ryker made his television in-ring debut by defeatingHumberto Carrillo.[63] Blake and Cutler represented the group in the2019 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. They defeatedDanny Burch andOney Lorcan in the first-round[64] andMoustache Mountain in the second-round[65] before losing toAleister Black andRicochet in the finals.[66] Blake and Cutler competed in a fatal four-wayladder match for the vacantNXT Tag Team Championship atNXT TakeOver: XXV. Despite interference from Ryker, the two were unsuccessful in winning.[67] The group entered the2020 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, but were eliminated in the first round by Imperium.[68]
On the April 10, 2020 episode ofSmackDown, The Forgotten Sons made their main roster debut, defeatingLucha House Party (Gran Metalik andLince Dorado).[69] On the May 1 episode ofSmackDown, they defeatedSmackDown Tag Team ChampionsThe New Day (Big E andKofi Kingston).[70] This led to afatal four-way tag team match also involving Lucha House Party, andJohn Morrison and the Miz for the title atMoney in the Bank, where The New Day retained.[71][72]
They began portraying themselves as American patriots, with Ryker and Cutler highlighting their services in the marines. However, the gimmick was dropped due to a controversial tweet by Ryker supporting PresidentDonald Trump at the height of the Black Lives Matter movement which led to backlash from backstage, social media and within the fan base. The Forgotten Sons were then taken off television as a result.[73]
On December 4, Ryker's partnership with Blake and Cutler was quietly discontinued, as they were paired withKing Corbin onSmackDown,[74] while Ryker was paired withElias onRaw.[75] Ryker's alliance with Elias lasted until May 31, 2021, when Elias abandoned him during a tag team match, subsequently turning Rykerface.[76] Ryker defeated Elias in a Strap Match on the June 28 episode of Raw and in a "Symphony of Destruction" match on the July 19 episode ofRaw. After ending his feud with Elias, Ryker would become a mainstay onMain Event until he was released from his WWE contract on November 18.[77]
Lail, as Jaxson Ryker, made hisvideo game debut as a playable character inWWE 2K20.[78]
Lail is aChristian.[79] Lail was married to fellow professional wrestler Jayme Jameson from 2012, but they divorced at an unknown date.[80] He married a woman named Stacy in 2015, and they have a daughter together.[81]
Lail retired from wrestling following his last match at an AML Wrestling on August 27. He announced soon after that he had become a deputy sheriff working for theIredell County Sheriff's Office in North Carolina. He was sworn in on September 14, 2023.[82]
Lail supportedDonald Trump's 2020 presidential campaign. That year, hetweeted his support for Trump during theGeorge Floyd protests and was criticized by fellow wrestlersMustafa Ali,Batista,Joey Janela,Kevin Owens,Adam Page,Ricochet, andSami Zayn.[83][84] Lail has also been critical ofBlack Lives Matter, calling it a "terrorist group".[85]
When I left TNA in 2015, I had to work for a cable company, because I had just gotten married and just had a daughter. And I worked indy shows every weekend too. So I'm doing that, I'm acting, I'm working at a cable company. So I go from being a wrestler on TV to a cable guy in somebody's house.
