.jpg) Robinson in 2024 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Joseph Ryan Robinson (1989-04-10)April 10, 1989 (age 36)[2] Joliet, Illinois, U.S. |
Spouse | |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | CJP CJ Parker Juice Juice Robinson[1] Red Death Mask |
| Billed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)[2][3] |
| Billed weight | 218 lb (99 kg)[2][3] |
| Billed from | Joliet, Illinois[3][4] |
| Trained by | Danny Daniels Hiroshi Tanahashi Kota Ibushi NJPW Dojo Truth Martini[5] WWE Performance Center |
| Debut | 2008[2] |
Joseph Ryan Robinson (born April 10, 1989),[6] better known by hisring nameJuice Robinson,[a] is an Americanprofessional wrestler. He is signed toAll Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of theBang Bang Gangstable. He also wrestles inNew Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW).
From 2011 through 2015, he worked forWWE, where he wrestled in theirdevelopmental territoriesFlorida Championship Wrestling (FCW) and laterNXT under the ring nameCJ Parker. He won theFCW Florida Tag Team Championship twice, withJason Jordan andDonny Marlow respectively.
After departing WWE, Robinson started his NJPW career as young lion before becoming a full-time roster member. Since then, he has become a record three-timeIWGP United States Heavyweight Champion and a one-timeIWGP Tag Team Champion (withDavid Finlay). He was also the winner of the2019 World Tag League with Finlay.
Robinson was trained atTruth Martini's House of Truth wrestling school. In 2008, he made his debut forIndependent Wrestling Association Mid-South (IWA) under thering name "Juice Robinson", losing to Jason Dukes. He competed in anIWA Mid-South Heavyweight Championship number one contender seven team Royal Rumble, losing to Devon Moore andNick Gage. His last match for IWA Mid-South was a loss in a three-way to Shane Hollister. Robinson then wrestled for a variety of promotions, includingAAW Wrestling, where he unsuccessfully competed for theAAW Tag Team Championship twice (once with Mike Sydal as his partner and once withKyle O'Reilly),Border City Wrestling (BCW), and DreamWave Wrestling, where he unsuccessfully challenged for both the DreamWave World and DreamWave Tag Team Championships. His last match for DreamWave was a victory againstColt Cabana. Robinson made hisNational Wrestling Alliance (NWA) debut with a win againstDoctor X. His last match in NWA was a win against Dom Vitalli.
In 2011, Robinson signed a developmental contract withWWE and was sent toFlorida Championship Wrestling (FCW). On July 7, he made his debut under the ring name "CJ Parker" and was defeated byLeo Kruger. He then formed a tag team withDonny Marlow. At the FCW taping on July 21, Parker and Donny Marlow defeated Calvin Raines andBig E Langston to win theFCW Florida Tag Team Championship. At the FCW taping on September 22, Parker and Marlow successfully defended their titles against Calvin Raines and James Bronson. They lost the championships on November 3 to the team ofBrad Maddox andBriley Pierce. After losing the titles, Parker and Marlow disbanded as a team and transitioned to singles competition. On January 26, 2012, Parker was defeated byDean Ambrose. He then competed mostly in tag team matches with a variety of partners for the rest of his tenure in FCW, teaming with the likes ofJason Jordan andMike Dalton until FCW was closed and replaced byNXT in August 2012. Shortly before the promotion's closure Parker won the Florida Tag Team Championship for a second time, winning the title with Jason Jordan at a live event.
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On the July 4 episode ofNXT, Parker teamed with Nick Rogers in a losing effort againstCorey Graves andJake Carter. He was then initially used as ajobber on NXT and was defeated by the likes ofRoman Reigns and in a tag team match with Mike Dalton againstThe Ascension,[7] before suffering an injury that kept him out of action for several months.
Parker returned to NXT in July 2013 with a newhippie character, beginning a feud withTyler Breeze that saw the two trading wins over several months.[8] Although intended to be afan favorite, Parker's hippie gimmick was largely unpopular and he was turnedheel as a result on the February 12, 2014, edition ofNXT, berating the fans for not getting behind him, calling them "Sheeple", and blaming them for the growing issues with the environment. He would tweak his character to that of aneco-warrior who berated fans for damaging the environment.[9][10] Parker beatTye Dillinger in January 2014 but was then largely unsuccessful, losing to main roster stars likeAntonio Cesaro,The Miz andThe Great Khali, as well as a defeat byMojo Rawley atNXT Arrival.[9]
Parker began a feud withXavier Woods, defeating Woods twice onNXT before resuming his losing streak againstAdrian Neville. AtNXT TakeOver: Fatal 4-Way, Parker wassquashed byBaron Corbin in Corbin's official debut, and he then suffered further losses to Corbin and Breeze in the following weeks before losing to the debutingKevin Owens atNXT TakeOver: R Evolution.[11] During the match, Parker legitimately broke Owens' nose with a palm strike, himself suffering a deep gash to the hand.[12] On the February 18 episode ofNXT, Parker attempted a protest due to him not appearing atNXT TakeOver: Rival. However, he was attacked by the debutingSolomon Crowe. His final televised appearance was in a losing effort toHideo Itami on the taped in advance April 22 episode ofNXT.[13] On March 31, 2015, it was reported that Parker had left WWE after requesting his release from the company.[14] WWE later announced that he officially confirmed his release on April 3, 2015.[15]
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It was announced that Parker would be wrestling atCombat Zone Wrestling'sCZW Best of the Best XIV on April 11, 2015, under the ring name "CJP".[16] He made it to the semi-finals before being defeated byMike Bailey. In July 2015, Robinson competed for All Star Wrestling on the holiday camp circuit including shows at Butlins and forming a tag team withSam Adonis. He also wrestled for other European indy groups includingInternational Pro Wrestling: United Kingdom (IPW:UK). Robinson retired the CJP persona at the end of August 2015, returning to the ring name "Juice Robinson".[17]
In 2016, Robinson worked in Japan for the first time. On March 27, he appeared on a show promoted byMinoru Suzuki, called We Are Suzuki-gun 2, in a special six man match between wrestlers ofPro Wrestling Noah andNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Representing NJPW, he teamed withTencozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan andSatoshi Kojima) in a defeat toKatsuhiko Nakajima,Maybach Taniguchi andMitsuhiro Kitamiya.[18] On October 22, he appeared on Noah's Autumn Navigation tour, where he teamed withKatsuyori Shibata, defeating Taniguchi andGo Shiozaki.[19]
On June 21, 2017,Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) announced that Robinson as a participant in the2017 International Gran Prix.[20] On August 18, 2017, Robinson withMarco Corleone andMatt Taven defeatedDiamante Azul,Valiente andVolador Jr. inArena México.[21] On August 26, Robinson defeatedShocker in Arena Coliseo.[22] On September 1, Robinson was eliminated from the International Gran Prixtorneo cibernetico by Volador Jr.[23] Robinson's Mexican tour concluded the following day.
On August 24, 2015,New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) announced that Robinson would be working the following month'sDestruction tour under his Juice Robinson ring name.[17] He made his debut on September 4 in a six-man tag team match, where he,Kota Ibushi andTetsuya Naito were defeated byKatsuyori Shibata,Tiger Mask andTogi Makabe.[24] On October 11, NJPW announced that Robinson had signed a contract with the promotion, becoming a full-time member of its roster.[25] Robinson spent the rest of 2015 working as a Young Lion and in multiman tag matches, on December 16 he had his first singles match in New Japan facing fellow Young LionJay White, whom he defeated. Robinson participated inFantastica Mania 2016. On February 25, 2016, Robinson took part in the first of New Japan's Lion's Gate show, where he was defeated byKatsuhiko Nakajima. On March 20, Robinson received his first title shot in NJPW, when he,Hiroshi Tanahashi andMichael Elgin unsuccessfully challengedThe Elite (Kenny Omega,Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) for theNEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship.[26] AtKing of Pro-Wrestling, Robinson wrestledTiger Mask W as Red Death Mask, a character based in the anime seriesTiger Mask W.[27] In late 2016, Robinson took part in the2016 World Tag League, teaming with Hiroshi Tanahashi. The two finished the tournament with a record of three wins and four losses.[28]
On January 5, 2017, Robinson scored a major win overNEVER Openweight ChampionHirooki Goto in a ten-man tag team match and afterwards indicated he wanted a shot at his title.[29] Robinson received his title shot on February 5 atThe New Beginning in Sapporo, but was defeated by Goto.[30] On April 9 atSakura Genesis 2017, Robinson picked up the biggest win of his career, pinning formerIWGP Heavyweight Champion Tetsuya Naito in an eight-man tag team match and afterwards challenging him to a match for theIWGP Intercontinental Championship.[31] Robinson received his title shot on April 29 at Wrestling Toyonokuni 2017, but was defeated by Naito.[32] In early 2017, Robinson became part of theTaguchi Japan stable,[33] as part of which he unsuccessfully challenged for theNEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship, first on June 11 atDominion 6.11 in Osaka-jo Hall and again on June 20 at Kizuna Road 2017.[34][35] On July 1 atG1 Special in USA, Robinson took part in atournament to determine the inauguralIWGP United States Heavyweight Champion, but was eliminated in his first round match byZack Sabre Jr.[36] Later that month, Robinson entered his firstG1 Climax tournament.[37] On August 5, Robinson picked up a major win over the winner of the2016 G1 Climax and reigning IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega.[38] Robinson went on to finish in the bottom half of his block with a record of four wins and five losses.[39] On September 24 atDestruction in Kobe, Robinson unsuccessfully challenged Omega for the United States Heavyweight Championship.[40] At the end of the year, Robinson formed a tag team named "Death Juice" with the debutingSami Callihan in the2017 World Tag League.[41] The team finished second in their block with a record of four wins and three losses, failing to advance to the finals.[42]
At theG1 Special in San Francisco, Robinson defeated Jay White to win theIWGP United States Heavyweight Championship, his first championship in NJPW. He also became the first American to hold the championship. Robinson entered the2018 G1 Climax as part of the A block,[43] finishing with 6 points.[44] After an attack byCody, Robinson was scheduled to face him atFighting Spirit Unleashed, where he lost his IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship. Robinson then teamed withDavid Finlay, calling themselves FinJuice, in the2018 World Tag League[45] and finished with 16 points, missing the tournament final.[46] AtWrestle Kingdom 13, he defeated Cody to reclaim the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship, becoming the first wrestler to have held the championship more than once. He made his debut in theNew Japan Cup in2019, losing in the first round toChase Owens. Owens then began challenging Robinson to a title match, while repeatedly assaulting Robinson, leading to a title defense at the New Japan Cup Finale. On March 24, in the semi-main event of the night, Robinson successfully defended the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship against Owens. On May 27, after weeks ofNew Japan Pro-Wrestling airing videos of a mystery man targeting Robinson,Jon Moxley was revealed as the culprit.[47] The match was made official for2019 Best Of The Super Juniors finals atRyōgoku Sumo Hall on June 5,[48] where Robinson lost the championship to Moxley, ending his reign at 152 days and three successful title defenses.[49] During this time, Robinson would shed his signature dreadlocks for a shorter hairstyle. Robinson would next compete in the2019 G1 Climax in the B block, which he failed to win, ending with 8 points.[50] In the B block finals, Robinson defeated Moxley to eliminate him from the competition.[51] This would lead to Moxley issuing a challenge for Robinson to face him in aNo Disqualification match for the IWGP United States Championship atKing of Pro-Wrestling. However, Moxley was unable to defend his championship due to travel issues and was subsequently stripped of the title. Instead, Robinson facedLance Archer at the event for the vacant title, but lost.[52][53][54] After a post match attack from Archer, former tag team partnerDavid Finlay made his return from injury to save Robinson.[55]
Finlay and Robinson went on to reform FinJuice and competed in the2019 World Tag League. On the last night of the tournament, FinJuice defeatedLos Ingobernables de Japón (Evil andSanada) in the finals to win the World Tag League, entitling them to a match for theIWGP Tag Team Championship atWrestle Kingdom 14. During the first night of Wrestle Kingdom 14 on January 4, 2020, FinJuice defeated theGuerrillas of Destiny (Tanga Loa andTama Tonga) to win the IWGP Tag Team Championship.[56] On night 2 of Wrestle Kingdom, Robinson faced Moxley for the United States Championship, but lost.[57] FinJuice lost the championship back to the Guerrillas of Destiny at The New Beginning in USA on February 1, ending the team's reign at 28 days.[58]
On May 1, Robinson returned to NJPW duringWrestling Dontaku 2022 wearing aBullet Club vest, attackedHiroshi Tanahashi, and stated his intentions to win back Tanahashi's newly won IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship, turning heel in the process. At NJPW'sCapital Collision event, he pinnedWill Ospreay in aFour-way match to win the title for a record-tying third time. Robinson was scheduled to defend the title in aTriple threat match againstSanada and Ospreay atDominion 6.12 in Osaka-jo Hall but was stripped of the title and pulled from the match due to suffering fromappendicitis, ending his reign at 28 days; however, he refused to return the physical belt, despite Ospreay beating Sanada for the vacant title, and claimed he was never beaten for it and therefore would refuse to relinquish it.[59] On June 12 duringDominion 6.12 in Osaka-jo Hall, Robinson was announced as a participant in theG1 Climax 32 tournament starting in July, as a part of the D block.[60] Before the start of the tournament, Robinson appeared atAEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door, taunting Ospreay with the IWGP United States Championship belt from aluxury box, after Ospreay's successful defense againstOrange Cassidy.[61] In the G1 tournament, Robinson scored 4 points in his block, finishing last in his block and failing to advance to the semi-finals, while also losing the physical IWGP U.S. belt to Ospreay.[62]
Robinson and Finlay appeared at theRing of Honor (ROH) television tapings at Center Stage inAtlanta, Georgia, and they hadTenille Dashwood,Mark Haskins,Tracy "Hot Sauce" Williams andBandido by their side. Robinson announced that the group would be named Lifeblood, and their goal was to restore honor back to ROH.ROH World ChampionJay Lethal would come out to confront the new group and Robinson challenged Lethal to get four teammates and compete with Lifeblood in a 10-man tag team match.[63] However, in June, he left the promotion to prioritise his career in New Japan.
On February 13, 2021, atNo Surrender, a video package aired FinJuice arriving toImpact Wrestling as part of a partnership between Impact and New Japan Pro-Wrestling.[64][65] Three days later, on the following week'sImpact!, they made their debut and defeatedReno Scum.[66] Afterwards, they would have a feud withThe Good Brothers (Doc Gallows andKarl Anderson), defeating them atSacrifice to win theImpact World Tag Team Championship.[67] FinJuice would lose the titles two months later on the May 17, 2021, episode ofImpact! toViolent By Design.[68]
Robinson made his debut forAll Elite Wrestling (AEW) on the September 28 edition ofDynamite where he facedJon Moxley in anAEW World Championship Eliminator match in a losing effort.[69] On December 2, it was reported Robinson officially signed with AEW.[70] Robinson returned to Ring of Honor, now AEW's sister promotion through AEW OwnerTony Khan's purchase, atFinal Battle on December 10, facing championSamoa Joe for hisROH Television Championship, which he failed to win.[71]
On the March 8, 2023, episode ofDynamite, Robinson made a surprise appearance attackingRicky Starks by distracting him with the Bullet Club entrance theme music.[72] The two men were set to face off on the April 5 edition ofDynamite, though before the match former Bullet Club leaderJay White made his debut after signing with AEW, attacking Starks alongside Robinson, causing a no-contest and reuniting the former stablemates.[73] One week later on the April 12 edition ofDynamite, White referred to himself and Juice Robinson asBullet Club Gold.[74] On the April 28 edition ofRampage, White and Robinson successfully defeated Starks andShawn Spears.[75] On May 28 atDouble or Nothing, both White and Robinson competed in theBlackjack Battle Royale for theAEW International Championship, but both men were eliminated by Starks. After eliminating Starks from the match, the three men brawled backstage, until Starks was saved by theAEW World Tag Team ChampionsFTR.[76] On the July 1 episode ofCollision, Robinson competed in theOwen Hart Foundation Men's Tournament, losing to Starks in the quarterfinals of the tournament.[77] On the October 18 edition ofDynamite, Robinson competed in theDynamite Dozen Battle Royale, last eliminatingMax Caster to add the Dynamite Diamond Ring as a second prize to his AEW World Championship match.[78] On the October 25 edition ofDynamite, Robinson unsuccessfully challenged for the Dynamite Diamond Ring againstMJF.[79] On November 20, it was reported that Robinson would be taking some time off due to a back injury that would require surgery.[80] During his hiatus, Bullet Club Gold was renamed to Bang Bang Gang.[81]
On May 26, 2024 atDouble or Nothing, Robinson returned from injury by assisting his fellow Bang Bang Gang stablemates to defeatDeath Triangle (Pac,Rey Fénix, andPenta El Zero Miedo) to retain their Unified World Trios Championship (AEW World Trios Championship andROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship).[82] On the June 5Rampage tapings, Robinson wrestled his first match since his return, teaming with the Gunns to win a trios match. After the match, White announced that he was giving Robinson a share of the Unified Trios Championship held by White and the Gunns, thus invoking theFreebird Rule.[83] However, on the July 13 episode ofCollision, interim AEW Executive Vice PresidentChristopher Daniels overruled Bang Bang Gang's attempt to invoke the Freebird Rule and stripped them of the Unified World Trios Championship.[84] On the following week, Robinson and The Gunns failed to win the vacant AEW World Trios Championship, which was won by The Patriarchy (Christian Cage,Killswitch andNick Wayne).[85] On August 25 atAll In, Robinson and The Gunns participated in a four-way ladder match for the trios titles, which was won byPac andBlackpool Combat Club (Claudio Castagnoli andWheeler Yuta).[86] On November 24, Robinson was announced as a participant in the2024 Continental Classic,[87] but on December 3, Robinson was pulled from the tournament due to injury and was subsequently replaced byKomander.[88]
On July 12, 2025 atAll In, Robinson returned from injury as a participant in the men'sCasino Gauntlet match, but failed to win.[89] Due to an injury toColten Gunn, Robinson began teaming withAustin Gunn as the duo entered tournaments for an AEW World Tag Team Championship match, but were quickly eliminated.[90][91][92] On the September 27 episode ofCollision, Robinson and Austin addedAce Austin to the Bang Bang Gang due to injures to Colten and Jay White.[93]
Robinson is good friends withDavid Finlay and acted asgroomsman at his wedding in May 2018.[94] He has been married to fellow professional wrestlerToni Storm since 2022.[95]
,Wrestlingdata,Internet Wrestling Database