 Dar in 2017 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1993-07-28)28 July 1993 (age 32) Be'er Ya'akov, Israel |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name | Noam Dar |
| Billed height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)[1] |
| Billed weight | 178 lb (81 kg)[1] |
| Billed from | Ayr, Scotland[1] |
| Trained by | Colin McKay[2] Kid Fite[2] Lionheart[2] |
| Debut | 2008 |
Noam Dar (Hebrew:נועם דר; born 28 July 1993) is an Israeli-Scottishprofessional wrestler. He is signed toWWE where he performs on theNXTbrand and is a record-setting four-timeNXT Heritage Cup Champion.
Dar first wrestled for WWE in the 2016Cruiserweight Classic, and is the first wrestler of Israeli origin to perform for the company. He has also worked forTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) and on itsBritish Boot Camp series, as well asInsane Championship Wrestling (ICW),Progress Wrestling,Preston City Wrestling (PCW),Dragon Gate UK (DGUK),Revolution Pro Wrestling (RPW),Westside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw),Global Force Wrestling (GFW), andRing of Honor (ROH).[3][4] He's a two-timeICW 0-G Champion, a one-timePCW Cruiserweight Champion, and a one-timeICW World Heavyweight Champion, among other championships and accomplishments.[5]
Noam Dar[6] was born inBe'er Ya'akov,Israel on 28 July 1993.[7] He moved with his family toScotland at the age of five and settled inAyr, where he became a supporter ofGlasgow-basedScottish Premiershipfootball clubRangers and a fan of English rock bandOasis, the latter of which inspired a large part of his wrestling gimmick.[8][9]
Dar debuted on the Britishindependent circuit at the age of 15, working for Scottish promotions such asBritish Championship Wrestling and Premiere British Wrestling.[10][11] Dar would get his first international experience wrestling inSpain forDragon Gate's "European Invasion" andZero1 Spain, with winning efforts over Colin McKaye and Sean South, respectively.[12][13]
On 1 May 2011, Dar captured his first championship by becoming one half of the Premier British Wrestling (PBW) Tag Team Champions with Liam Thomson, holding the titles for over 11 months, with six title defenses, before losing them to the team ofLionheart andWolfgang.[14]
Dar entered a tournament to become theOne Pro Wrestling1PW World Heavyweight Champion in February 2011; he was unsuccessful but later that year went on to become the final1PW Openweight Champion, winning the vacant title in a four-way match withMarty Scurll,Kris Travis and Joey Hayes and successfully defending it against Bad Bones andKid Kash at 1PW's final show.[15]
In October 2011, Dar worked adark match for Dragon Gate UK's "Yosuka vs Shingo 3" event, in a winning effort against Daniel Robert.[16]
Dar finished 2011 with another trip overseas, scoring a win over MK McKinnan forWestside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw),[17] which qualified him to return in 2012 to compete in a series of matches at the wXw 16 Carat Gold 2012 shows.[18][19][20]
In 2011, Dar began working higher profile matches, challenging multiple times for the BCW Heavyweight and Openweight Championships, albeit unsuccessfully and wrestling bigger name opponents such asEddie Edwards for IPW, continuing the feud into 2012. For theRevolution Pro Wrestling promotion, Dar wrestledJerry Lynn and challengedPrince Devitt for theRPW Cruiserweight Championship.[21] Dar entered the SWE Speed King Championship tournament, qualifying for the finals with a win overSpud but failing to capture the championship.[22] Dar competed unsuccessfully in two tournaments for IPW, losing toSami Callihan in a Quarter Finals match for the IPW:UK Cruiserweight Championship and a first round loss toZack Sabre Jr. in a tournament to crown the first British National Champion.[23]
In April 2012, Dar began competing for Lionheart's Pro Wrestling Elite promotion, debuting with a win overMark Haskins, before a loss toAJ Styles.[24] Dar was entered into a tournament to crown a PWE World Heavyweight Champion, defeatingEl Ligero andMikey Whiplash before losing to Andy Wild in the finals.[25]
Dar captured the PBW "King of Cruisers 2012" crown in a six-way match to finish a successful year in the promotion.[26][27]
2013 saw Dar return to Dragon Gate UK, working a series of matches againstYamato,Jimmy Susumu andMasaaki Mochizuki.[28][29][30][31]
RPW invited Dar back for a run of shows which saw him defeatMark Andrews in his return, but lose contests toMichael Elgin and Marty Scurll.[32][33][34][35]
Dar ended 2013 by finally capturing the BCW Openweight Championship from Andy Wild,[36] Dar would hold the championship for well over a year before losing it toKenny Williams in April 2015.[37][38][39] Dar was granted a rematch for the title against Williams in a triple threat also involvingWill Ospreay but Williams retained.[40][41]
Between 2014 and 2015, Dar had a three match feud withGrado over the PWE World Heavyweight Championship, where Dar first scored a disqualification victory, in a subsequent rematch they wrestled to a no-contest before Grado was finally victorious in a third defense, ending their feud.[42][43][44] During this period, Dar also scored a notable win overChristopher Daniels.[45]
In late 2015, Dar debuted forGlobal Force Wrestling (GFW), defeating Chris Ridgeway.[46][47]
As a result of winning PWE's "Elite Rumble", Dar received another shot at the PWE World Heavyweight Championship. Dar succeeded in dethroning Iestyn Rees for the title on 23 July 2016 at PWE's "Five Year Anniversary: Dar Wars – The Final Episode" Show.[48]
Dar debuted inInsane Championship Wrestling (ICW) with a win over The Highlander before winning a tournament to become the inauguralICW Zero-G Champion.[49] Dar held the title for 266 days (the longest reign in the title's history) before losing it to Lionheart. Dar won the championship back less than two months later to become the first two-time ICW Zero-G Champion. Dar's second reign would last 252 days, where he was defeated by Andy Wild.[50][51]
In 2012, Dar would challenge unsuccessfully for both theICW Tag Team Titles andICW Heavyweight Championship.[52][53]
From 2013 to 2015, Dar would continue his pursuit of championships in ICW, he challenged subsequent championsMark Coffey, Wolfgang, Kenny Williams, andStevie Boy unsuccessfully to regain the ICW Zero-G Championship and began teaming with Kenny Williams as Champagne Superbollocks to challenge Polo Promotions for the ICW Tag Team Championships on two occasions, one (swiftly interrupted) no-contest and one loss.[54][55] However, following a Best of Five series withJoe Coffey where Dar was bested 3-2 and a lengthy feud with ICW authority figure Red Lightning, Dar would end 2015 on a high in ICW by defeatingJoe Hendry in anICW World Heavyweight Championship No.1 Contender match and gaining a win over former two-time championDrew Galloway.[56][57]
Dar remained prominent in ICW throughout 2016, entering the 30-man Square Go! match and challenging for the Zero-G Championship in addition to wins overDoug Williams,Sha Samuels and Liam Thomson. Dar was in one of the three main-events of ICW's debut iPPV Shug's Hoose Party 3 teaming withSha Samuels andGrado as "Team Mark Dallas" to defeat The Black Label (Drew Galloway,Jack Jester and Wolfgang),[58] thus restoring 50% of ICW ownership to Mark Dallas.[59]
Due to signing with WWE, Dar's final ICW match was against Andy Wild on 11 September 2016. Dar lost before giving a farewell speech and receiving an ovation from the crowd and ICW roster.[60]
Dar returned to ICW for one night only on 29 July 2017 forShug's Hoose Party 4, Night One, tagging with Sha Samuels in a winning effort against Joe Coffey andBram.[61]
On 11 November 2018, it was announced Dar would make a further appearance atICW Fear and Loathing XI, teaming withWolfgang andBT Gunn againstBritish Strong Style.[62]Dar returned to ICW on Night Two of Fear & Loathing XII, and defeated Kieran Kelly &Leyton Buzzard in a triple threat match. After said match, Dar was interviewed and announced that he will be returning to ICW on a full-time basis, along with competing onNXT UK, due to WWE's Global Expansion and partnership with ICW. In the main event of ICW's 9th Annual Square Go! Event, Noam Dar defeated Stevie Xavier to capture the ICW World Heavyweight Title for the first time, something he never managed to do in his first stint with the promotion. Dar is the first ICW World Heavyweight Champion of non-British descent, being born in Israel to an Israeli father.
After prolonged inactivity as champion due to COVID-19 and his WWE contract limitations, Dar was forced to vacate the ICW World Heavyweight Championship,[63] ending his reign at 583 days.[64]
Dar debuted inPreston City Wrestling (PCW) in 2011, fighting his way to finals of a tournament to crown the first PCW Heavyweight Champion before being bested by T-Bone.[65] However, Dar would remain in title contention and in 2012 he became the inaugural PCW Cruiserweight Champion, holding the championship for 168 days before losing the title to Dave Rayne in 2013.[66][67]
Dar bounced back into title contention by winning the 2013 "Road to Glory" tournament, with wins over CJ Banks,Brian Kendrick and Joey Hayes. The tournament win earned him another shot at the PCW Heavyweight Championship. Cashing in his title opportunity, he wrestled championDoug Williams to a time-limit draw,[68] before challenging later champion Lionheart in a losing effort.[69] Dar rounded up 2013 with a loss to Doug Williams, a victory overJohnny Gargano and a Tag Team loss to both Williams and Lionheart where Dar was teamed withUhaa Nation.[70]
Following the championship loss, Dar would remain a prominent figure in PCW in 2014 and 2015, wrestling established names likePaul London,Steve Corino,Chris Hero,Tommaso Ciampa,John Morrison andRob Van Dam.[71][72] Dar had a violent three match feud with former WWE star Drew Galloway, which Dar won 2:1.[73][74][75]
Due to a working relationship between PCW andRing of Honor (ROH),[76] Dar has competed on a number of ROH/PCW "Supershows", wrestling the likes ofCedric Alexander,Adam Cole,Roderick Strong,Bobby Fish andA. C. H. – as well as challengingJay Lethal for theROH World Championship.[74][77][78][79][80][81][82][83]
Dar entered the 2016 "Road to Glory" tournament, eliminatingTimothy Thatcher and El Ligero but eliminated in the semi-finals by Drew Galloway.[84] In March 2016, Dar wrestledJeff Jarrett in a losing effort for the PCW vs GFW "Global Conflict" show.[85] Dar would begin a climb up the card following this loss, with wins over Phillip Michaels, John Morrison and PCW Heavyweight Champion Sha Samuels, in a match originally billed as a championship contest, reversed to a non-title match by GM Joanna Rose following his victory.
Dar was a surprise addition to the main-event of "Tribute to the Troops 3" iPPV on 25 June 2016, defeating Drew Galloway and Sha Samuels to win the PCW Heavyweight Championship. He retained the title twice in one night on 6 August 2016 at the "Fifth Anniversary" iPPV, defeating Samuels in a rematch and "Road to Glory" 2016 winner and current PCW Tag Team Champion Rampage Brown, respectively.[86] Dar again retained the PCW Heavyweight Championship on 3 September 2016 at PCW "Collision Course".
Dar competed at the firstProgress Wrestling show in 2012, entering a tournament to become the inaugural Progress Champion, he was unsuccessful in the tournament but then began a winning streak that would last the remainder of the year and continue into 2013 when he became the No.1 Contender to Progress Championship with a win over Dave Mastiff, but Dar was unable to unseatEl Ligero for the title.
In 2014, Dar entered and won the first Progress World Cup tournament; representing Israel he defeated Darrell Allen (Jamaica), Grado (Scotland) andRampage Brown (England).[87] The tournament win earned him another shot at the Progress Championship againstJimmy Havoc. During the match, he made Havoc tap out but as the referee was knocked out at the time the decision didn't count and Havoc eventually won.
In 2015, at Chapter 18 Dar again challenged Havoc for the championship in a six-way elimination match. Dar eliminated Mastiff first, who then came back into the match and attacked Dar causing him to be eliminated too. He then entered the inaugural "Super Strong Style 16" tournament but was eliminated in the first round by Dave Mastiff due to referee stoppage and a storyline injury.[88][89] The two were due to meet at Chapter 20, however travel issues prevented Mastiff from appearing and so Dar faced Pastor William Eaver and lost in what would become Dar's last Progress match.[90][91][92]
Dar was a contestant on Season 2 ofTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling'sBritish Boot Camp which was televised nationally in the UK onChallenge TV.[93][94] He advanced to the final six but the competition was eventually won byMark Andrews.[95][96]
Dar worked a handful of matches for TNA in the UK and US, most notably a loss onXplosion to formerTNA World Heavyweight ChampionAustin Aries.[97] As one of the final six, Dar accompanied TNA on their UK stadium tour where he was victorious in a pair of Tag Team matches and wrestled to a no-contest withRampage Brown.[98]
On 2 June 2016, Dar was announced to be a part of the What Culture Pro Wrestling roster.[99] He wrestled his first match for the promotion againstRampage on 4 July episode ofLoaded, in which Dar lost via pinfall.[100] On 18 July episode ofLoaded, he facedJoseph Conners in a winning effort.[101] At WCPW Built To Destroy, he faced off againstJay Lethal for theROH World Championship, but was defeated via pinfall.[102] On 8 August episode ofLoaded, Dar faced off againstWill Ospreay andEl Ligero in a triple threat match. Ospreay emerged victorious, after anOsCutter on Dar.[103]
On 15 August episode ofLoaded, Dar put his WCPW career on the line againstDoug Williams for a chance to faceCody Rhodes in October, and after a controversial finish, Williams picked up the win, forcing Dar to leave WCPW.[104]
On 31 March 2016, Dar was announced as a participant in WWE's upcomingGlobal Cruiserweight Series tournament representing both Israel and Scotland.[105] The tournament, now renamed the "Cruiserweight Classic", began on 23 June with Dar defeating Indian representativeGurv Sihra in his first round match.[106] On 14 July, Dar defeated Hong Kong nativeHo Ho Lun in his second round match.[107] On 26 August, Dar was eliminated from the tournament in the quarter-finals by EnglishmanZack Sabre Jr.[108] During the Cruiserweight Classic finale, Dar teamed withCedric Alexander in a losing effort againstJohnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa.[109]
On 22 August episode ofRaw, Dar was announced as part of the upcoming cruiserweight division and had signed with WWE in the process, making him the first Israeli-born wrestler signed to the company.[110] On 7 November episode ofRaw, Dar teamed withThe Brian Kendrick in a losing effort againstRich Swann andSin Cara in his main roster debut, which also was in his home country.[111] On 6 December episode of205 Live, Dar was victorious over Cedric Alexander. After the match, Dar cut a villainous promo, establishing himself as aheel in the process.[112]
In early 2017, Dar began an on-screen relationship withAlicia Fox, who was involved in an on-screen relationship with Alexander. After two separate occasions in which Alexander was defeated by Dar,[113][114] the two had a third match on 10 January episode of205 Live. Fox interfered in the match on behalf of Dar, allowing him to defeat Alexander once again, officially siding with Dar.[115] Dar and Fox would subsequently accompany each other to their respective matches. AtFastlane, Dar teamed with Kendrick in a losing effort against Swann andAkira Tozawa.[116] After weeks of Fox receiving anonymous flowers (in which Dar would take credit for them), Swann revealed himself to be the sender on 18 April episode of205 Live. Fox chose to side with Swann, abandoning Dar.[117] Dar and Fox reunited on 2 May episode of205 Live after Dar defeated Swann.[118] The two would team together in a losing effort to Swann andSasha Banks atExtreme Rules.[119] Dar lost to a recently returning Alexander on 11 July episode of205 Live in an"I Quit" match. Following his loss, Dar broke up with Fox.[120]
In the latter half of 2017, Dar joined "The Zo Train," a faction consisting ofAriya Daivari,Drew Gulak,Tony Nese, andWWE Cruiserweight ChampionEnzo Amore.[121] On 12 December 2017, it was reported that Dar had suffered a knee injury and that he would require surgery.[122] Dar underwent successful surgery to his left knee on 14 December to repair a tear in his meniscus, and despite not having a definitive timetable for returning, stated that it was "more than likely going to be around the five-month mark."[123] On 20 June 2018 taping for WWE'sUnited Kingdom Championship Tournament, Dar returned to action in a fatal four-way match, defeatingFlash Morgan Webster,Mark Andrews, andTravis Banks to become the number one contender for theWWE United Kingdom Championship.
On 3 July 2018, Dar made his return to205 Live as aface, defeatingTJP.[124] A week later, Dar had a rematch with TJP in a losing effort via submission. On his return, he began a brief feud withLio Rush. Dar was supposed to face Rush on 19 September episode of205 Live, however, Rush postponed the match for next week, which Rush won.[125]
On 17 October, at the first episode ofNXT UK, Dar unsuccessfully challengedPete Dunne for the WWE United Kingdom Championship in the main event. Dar began a feud with Tony Nese, with the two exchanging victories and Nese attacking him in the parking lot. The feud ended however on 12 February 2019 episode of205 Live in a well-receivedNo Disqualification match, in which Nese won.[126]
On 13 March episode ofNXT UK, Dar turned heel by hating on the cruiserweights in NXT UK. Dar then offeredMark Andrews a handshake, then tried attacking Andrews who countered and sent Dar out of the ring.[citation needed] The following episode featured a match between Andrews and Dar that resulted in a no-contest. During the match, Dar injured his knee, which kept him out of action for almost two months.[127] On 19 April, he returned from injury at theNXT UK television tapings.[128] AtNXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff, Dar defeated Travis Banks in his first TakeOver match of any kind. After NXT UK's return from the COVID-19 pandemic, it was announced that Dar would be a part of theNXT UK Heritage Cup tournament. He defeatedAlexander Wolfe in the first round of the tournament, with former NXT UK and NXT Tag Team Champion, Pete Dunne, as the special guest referee. On 5 November 2020 episode of NXT UK, Dar lost to eventual winner,A-Kid, in the second round of the Heritage Cup.
In 2021, Dar started hosting his own talk show calledSupernova Sessions and begun an on-screen association with real life friendSha Samuels. On 7 October episode ofNXT UK, Dar defeated Wolfgang to become the next #1 Contender to the NXT UK Heritage Cup. On 28 October episode ofNXT UK, Dar defeatedTyler Bate 2–1 to win the NXT UK Heritage Cup Championship, winning his first championship in WWE in the process and becoming the first champion of Israeli descent in company history. On 14 July episode ofNXT UK, Noam Dar lost the Heritage Cup Championship to Mark Coffey with the match ending in the sixth round. Dar would go on to regain the Heritage Cup Championship from Mark Coffey on 7 July taping ofNXT UK.
Following the closure of the NXT UK brand in September 2022, Dar, along with the Heritage Cup, went on hiatus from WWE. He then appeared on 4 April 2023 episode ofNXT. Making his debut for theNXT brand, Dar appeared to seek a new challenger for his renamed NXT Heritage Cup Championship.[129] Dar then made his NXT in-ring debut on 18 April episode, defeating Miles Borne in a non-title match.[130] On 16 May episode ofNXT,Dragon Lee challenged Dar to a match atNXT Battleground for the Heritage Cup, which he accepted. At NXT Battleground on 28 May, Dar defeated Lee to retain the Heritage Cup with assistance fromJakara Jackson,Lash Legend andOro Mensah. On 6 June episode ofNXT during a backstage segment, Dar would acceptNathan Frazer's challenge for the Heritage Cup and introduce the group asThe Meta-Four.[131] The following week, it was revealed that Dar suffered a knee injury. Therefore, Mensah defended the Heritage Cup on Dar's behalf, but was defeated by Frazer, ending Dar's second reign at 292 days.
AtNXT: Heatwave on 22 August, Dar defeated Frazer to win the Heritage Cup for a record-setting third time. AtNXT: Halloween Havoc Night 1, Akira Tozawa returned to NXT and stole the Heritage Cup under The Meta-Four's noses. Tozawa returned the Heritage Cup to Dar on Night 2 before managing to spook Dar into a match for the Cup on the following week'sNXT, with Dar winning the match 2-1.[132][133][134] On the 27 February 2024 episode ofNXT, Dar lost the Heritage Cup toNo Quarter Catch Crew'sCharlie Dempsey, losing the match 2-1, ending his third reign at 189 days.[135] On 26 March, it was announced that The Meta-Four will be the host ofNXT Stand & Deliver.[136] Around this time, Dar started a rivalry with newNXT ChampionTrick Williams. During aSupernova Sessions on the May 7 episode ofNXT, Dar said that in a match between them where Williams won, Dar's leg was under the ropes which should have broken the pinfall and called Williams a fraud. Dar proceeded to attack Williams shortly after Legend revealed that she was having a relationship with Williams.[137] On the following episode ofNXT, Dar was found attacked by an unknown assailant. Later that night, Oro Mensah was defeated byJe'Von Evans after interference from Williams.[138] On the May 28 episode ofNXT, a debutingEthan Page revealed himself as Dar's attacker. This was done to write Dar off television as he suffered a legitimate leg injury. During Dar's time away from television, Mensah began feuding with Page, effectively turning Dar and the rest of The Meta-Fourface in the process.[139]
After an eleven-month hiatus, Dar returned from injury on the April 22 episode ofNXT and defeatedLexis King to win the NXT Heritage Cup for a record-setting fourth time.[140] On the following episode, Meta-Four would meet in a backstage segment in which they announced their mutual agreement to disband, citing personal singles ventures.[141] Mensah and Jackson were subsequently released a few days later.[142] On June 22, NXT general managerAva announced that Dar had vacated the NXT Heritage Cup due to another injury.[143]
Dar is a playable character in the video gamesWWE 2K18,WWE 2K19,WWE 2K20,WWE 2K23,WWE 2K24, andWWE 2K25.
