 Williams in 2012 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Peter Williams III (1981-08-26)August 26, 1981 (age 44)[1][2] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name | Petey Williams[1][2] |
| Billed height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)[1] |
| Billed weight | 179 lb (81 kg)[1] |
| Billed from | Windsor, Ontario Glendale, Arizona[3] |
| Trained by | Scott D'Amore[1][2] |
| Debut | October 14, 2001[1] |
Peter Williams III (born August 26, 1981) is a Canadianprofessional wrestler. He is signed toWWE as a backstage producer. He is best known for his time inImpact Wrestling, where he is atwo-timeX Division Champion. He is also known for his time inLucha Libre USA (LLUSA), where he held theTag Team Championship withJon Rekon. He is known by hisnickname "The Canadian Destroyer", a reference to Doug Chevalier (Scott D'amore's original mentor) and also the name of hisfront flip piledriver finishing move.
Williams was trained alongsideChris Sabin byScott D'Amore at theCan-Am Wrestling School.[1] Williams debuted in D'Amore'sWindsor, Ontario-basedBorder City Wrestlingpromotion in 2001.[1] He spent the next four years working on theindependent circuit in Canada for Border City Wrestling;Blood, Sweat and Ears; and in theNorthern United States for promotions such asNWA Cyberspace andPro Wrestling Guerrilla.
Williams debuted in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling on February 25, 2004, a member ofTeam Canada.[4] He and the remainder of Team Canada took part in theTNA 2004 World X Cup Tournament, but were defeated byTeam Mexico andTeam USA.
On August 11, 2004, Williams won theX Division Championship in a twenty-two manGauntlet for the Gold match, entering at number eleven and pinning theAmazing Red to win the bout.[5]
Early in his title reign, Williams claimed that theCanadian Destroyer could not be countered. According to Williams,Bully Ray told him to focus the entire match in his finishing move.[6] However, after Williams successfully retained the title in a match with A.J. Styles atVictory Road on November 7, 2004,[7] Chris Sabin began claiming that he was capable of countering the move. He went on to counter the Canadian Destroyer into his own finishing move, the "Cradle Shock", on three occasions in the month following Victory Road. However, Sabin was unable to defeat Williams for theX Division Championship atTurning Point on December 5, 2004.[8] Williams's reign would last for five months and five days, (which would become the longest X Division title reign untilChristopher Daniels won the title in 2005), before ending on January 16, 2005, atFinal Resolution, where he was defeated by A.J. Styles in anUltimate X match that also featured Sabin.[9]
AtLockdown on April 24, 2005, Williams and fellow Team Canada memberEric Young unsuccessfully challengedAmerica's Most Wanted for theNWA World Tag Team Championship.[10] They challenged then-championsThe Naturals atSlammiversary on June 19, 2005, but were once again defeated.[11]
Williams returned to the X Division on July 17, 2005, atNo Surrender, unsuccessfully challenging X Division Champion Christopher Daniels.[12] Williams, along with the rest ofTeam Canada, would go on to joinPlanet Jarrett uponTNA's debut onSpike TV in October 2005. After winning anUltimate X match atBound for Glory on October 23,[13] Williams received a title shot against A.J. Styles atGenesis on November 13, but was again defeated.[14] Williams would resume wrestling in theX Division and faced off against Chris Sabin,Elix Skipper,Shark Boy,Puma andChase Stevens in anXscape Match atLockdown. Williams and Sabin were the final two competitors, but Williams lost after Sabin was able to climb over the cage and escape.[15]
Williams again acted as the captain of Team Canada in the2006 World X Cup Tournament. He lost toJushin Thunder Liger atSacrifice in a Captain vs. Captain semifinal match, but won the Gauntlet Match final to tie the points withTeam USA.[16] On the following edition ofImpact!, he lost to Team USA captain Chris Sabin in a tiebreaker singles match.[17]
On the June 29 episode ofImpact!,Jim Cornette announced that Team Canada would be disbanded immediately.[18] However, they were given one last chance to stay intact if they won a match a week later againstJay Lethal,Rhino, andTeam 3D.[19] Team Canada lost the match when Lethal pinnedA-1, officially disbanding Team Canada once and for all.[20] On the July 27 edition ofImpact!, Williams won an X Division four-way match by defeatingSonjay Dutt,Johnny Devine, and Shark Boy after hitting Shark Boy with the Canadian Destroyer.[21] On the following week'sImpact!, he defeated Jay Lethal, Sonjay Dutt,Kazarian andAlex Shelley and became the number one contender to the X Division Championship.[22]
AtHard Justice, Williams challenged the X Division ChampionSenshi in atriple threat match also involving Jay Lethal. During the match, Williams used the Canadian Destroyer on Lethal and was about to attempt a pinfall until Senshidropkicked Williams out of the ring and pinned Lethal to retain his championship.[23]
Williams was invited to watchLatin American Xchange burn theAmerican flag during the November 16 edition ofImpact!, but he would make his firstface turn after refusing to torch the flag.[24] Williams was then involved in the feud between America's Most Wanted and the Latin American Xchange. AtGenesis,Homicide hadGail Kim set up forDa Gringo Killa, but Williams came in with a lead pipe to make the save.[25]
On the followingImpact!, Williams was later named asKurt Angle's tag team partner to face LAX for theNWA World Tag Team Championship, but he was ambushed before the match by LAX.Samoa Joe would then replace Williams as Angle's partner. On the following week, Williams would go one on one against Homicide and defeated him viaroll-up. After the match though, Homicide, Hernandez andKonnan started to beat down Williams followed by Hernandez hitting him with theBorder Toss. AMW would then come out to make the save and then steal theMexican flag. AtTurning Point, Williams came out to help AMW in their flag match against LAX. During the match, he attempted theCanadian Destroyer on Konnan, but he was stopped by Hernandez. On the December 14 edition ofImpact!, the LAX defeated AMW in a title vs. team match afterJames Storm hitChris Harris with a beer bottle, permanently disbanding AMW. After AMW's dissolution, their former manager Gail Kim became Williams' valet. The two later faced and were defeated by James Storm andJacqueline Moore atAgainst All Odds. Petey soon split from Kim and then became involved in a storyline with former Team Canada partners Eric Young andRobert Roode as Williams' tried to help Young get out of a contract that Roode had Young signed to. The feud continued untilLockdown, where Williams faced Roode. Despite using ahockey stick, Williams was pinned by Roode after aPayoff to win the match. He later competed in theUltimate X match atVictory Road, but was the second competitor eliminated from the match. Soon after, he remained completely unseen on television. On the October 25 edition ofImpact!, he participated in a fatal four way X Division style match againstHavok, Sonjay Dutt and Shark Boy, but the match went to a no-contest after Team 3D interfered and put both Williams and Havok through tables. On the November 1 edition ofImpact!, Williams and the entire X Division attacked Team 3D.
After the feud between the X Division and Team 3D died down, Williams began talking about bodybuilding and was often working out during interviews and referring to himself as "Little Poppa Pump". AtTurning Point, he won one of the briefcases in the Feast or Fired match.Scott Steiner, who also won one of the briefcases, would later trade cases with Williams, which unintentionally gave Petey aWorld Heavyweight Championship shot in the process.
In subsequent matches, Williams would bring down the briefcase to the ring and place it near the turnbuckle. During one of his matches, Steiner entered the arena and switched Petey's world title match briefcase with the originalX Division Championship match briefcase. During a tag team match with Williams and Steiner againstRock 'n Rave Infection, Steiner stole both cases and left him to be pinned byJimmy Rave. Williams and Steiner faced off atAgainst All Odds with the winner getting both briefcases. Steiner would go on to win the match and officially claim both briefcases. On the followingImpact!, Williams once again came up short against Steiner, but after the match Steiner showed Williams respect.
Following this, Williams formed a team with Steiner and acquired the managerial services ofRhaka Khan in the process. Upon forming their alliance, Steiner and Khan put Williams through numerous initiations to prove himself worthy of their team. Williams and Steiner facedthe Motor City Machine Guns in a tag team match, Petey won after pinning Alex Shelley. After the match, Williams had one more initiation to complete. Rhaka Khan brought out a black bag that contained a pair of scissors and a shaver. Steiner then cut and shaved Williams' hair, and gave him a chainlink headdress similar to Steiner's, cementing Williams' heel turn in the process. This also gave emphasis to the nickname "Little Petey Pump", a variation of Steiner's "Big Poppa Pump" nickname.
Williams later competed in the "Cuffed in the Cage" match atLockdown, but lost to the eventual winner Eric Young.[26] On the April 17 edition ofImpact!, Steiner gave him the X Division title shot briefcase. Later in the same episode, afterJay Lethal's match against Johnny Devine, Williams attacked Lethal from behind, cashed in the title shot and won his second X Division Championship.[27] Two weeks later at a taping ofImpact!, Williams' orbital bone was fractured during a match. However, Williams recovered from his injury and returned atSlammiversary to successfully defend his title againstKaz[28] and again on theImpact! after Slammiversary.
AtHard Justice, Williams retained his X Division Championship againstConsequences Creed due to interference fromSheik Abdul Bashir. AtNo Surrender on September 14, he lost the X Division title in atriple threat match after Bashir pinned Consequences Creed. Upon losing his title, Williams had a face turn when he was attacked by Bashir as well asRock 'n Rave Infection. Williams would then participate in the Steel Asylum Match atBound for Glory IV, but came up short as Jay Lethal won.
On the October 30 edition ofImpact!, Williams along with A.J. Styles, Samoa Joe, Jay Lethal, Consequences Creed, Eric Young,O.D.B. andThe Motor City Machine Guns formed a faction of younger wrestlers, known asThe Frontline, to opposeThe Main Event Mafia (Sting, Kurt Angle,Kevin Nash,Booker T andSharmell). Later that night, Scott Steiner returned from his injury, attacked Williams' allies and joined the Main Event Mafia. Unlike the rest of the MEM, Steiner spared Williams from a beating.[29]
On the November 13 edition ofImpact!, after seemingly being in-between the two sides, Williams suffered a beating at the hands of the Main Event Mafia, which included Steiner tossing Williams off a ladder and busting him open and as a result, ended his affiliation with Williams thus turning Williams into a face character. Williams returned on the January 15 edition ofImpact! attacking Scott Steiner while refereeEarl Hebner was distracted by guest enforcerMick Foley. Williams cost Steiner the match with a missiledropkick leading to AJ Styles hitting the Pelé on Steiner for the win. Williams and AJ embraced after the match.[30] Williams would go on to lose to Steiner at Against All Odds,[31] and once again on the followingImpact! in a "Head Dress on a Pole" match, effectively ending their feud.[32]
In January 2009, TNA informed Williams that the company would not renew his contract that was expiring later that month.[33] Williams wrestled his last match for the company on February 10, at the tapings of the February 19 edition ofImpact!, when he teamed with former Team Canada partner Eric Young to take onBeer Money, Inc. for the World Tag Team Title. He was pinned in the match, and due to a previous stipulation, was banished from TNA.[34][35][36]
After departing from TNA, Williams made a one-night return toBorder City Wrestling on March 28 to compete in an eight-mangauntlet match to determine who would claim the vacantHeavyweight Championship.Tyson Dux ultimately won the match and the title.[37] On April 17, Williams began wrestling forAll Japan Pro Wrestling during their newly introducedJunior Tag League with Phil Atlas as his tag team partner.[37] On April 29, the final night of the Tag League, Williams and Atlas defeated F4 (Hiroshi Yamato andKai) to claim third place.[38] Williams returned to AJPW in late August to compete in theJunior League, where he only won one match.[37] Upon his return to the US, Williams participated in the PWS King Of The Ring 2009 and reached the finals before losing to Aden Chambers.[39]
On November 7, Williams made his debut for Pro Wrestling Xtreme and defeated Matt Burns in a singles match.[37] He made his second and final appearance for the promotion exactly one month later, where he defeatedMichael Elgin.[37] On November 13, Williams redebuted forBorder City Wrestling and reunited withScott D'Amore in a winning effort overJoe Doering andTyson Dux withKurt Angle as the special guest referee.[37] Williams made his debut for Capital City Championship Combat on November 21, where he reformedTeam Canada withJohnny Devine in a winning effort over The Untouchables (Dan Paysan and Jimmy Stone).[37] On February 7, 2010, Williams debuted in Canadian Wrestling's Elite at their Collision Course event. He defeated Bobby Jay to qualify for afour-way match for the vacant title later on in the event, but was unable to win the championship.[37]
On July 16, 2010, Williams made his debut for Collective League Of Adrenaline Strength And Honor (CLASH) in the first round of the NPCI 2010 Tag Team Tournament where he teamed up withZach Gowen to lose to Gavin Quinn and Tommy Treznik.[40] Williams made his return on February 26, 2011, when he took on Gavin Quinn for the CLASH Championship and lost.[40] He received another shot at the title in August and once again lost.[40] On January 21, 2012, Williams defeated Quinn in a three-way match for the CLASH Championship which also included J. Miller.[41] Afterwards, Williams went on a singles winning streak which included multiple championship defences against the likes of Alex Shelley.[40] He lost the title to J. Miller on January 17, 2013.[42] On June 22, 2013, atHouse of Hardcore 2 Williams defeated Alex Reynolds and Tony Nese in a three-way match but lost in a rematch on November 9, 2013, atHouse of Hardcore 3. On May 9, 2014, atBorder City Wrestling's East Meets West event Williams teamed with Brent B in a losing effort overTime Splitters (Alex Shelley &Kushida) in Match 2 of BCW vs. NJPW Series. Later in May 2014, Petey was defeated by JP Simms in a match for the IFWA Heavyweight Championship at a WrestleCentre Voltage taping, following a Simmulator. On June 6 atHouse of Hardcore 4 Williams defeated Tony Nese and Alex Reynolds in a Three-way match. On June 7 atHouse of Hardcore 5 Williams teamed with Tony Nese in a losing effort over Bad Influence (Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian).
After returning to the US on May 1, Williams wrestled two shows forRing of Honor on June 26 and 27, respectively, the first being asix-man mayhem match, which was won byAustin Aries atViolent Tendencies, and the second being a singles match atEnd of an Age, which he lost toKenny King.[37] On September 18, Williams returned toRing of Honor where he andColt Cabana defeatedAustin Aries andRhett Titus.[37] The next day, Williams defeated Titus in a singles match.[37] On September 25, Williams wrestled in afour-corner survival match involvingEl Generico,Chris Hero andClaudio Castagnoli, which was won by Castagnoli.[37] The next day atGlory by Honor VIII, he competed against Aries for theWorld Championship, but lost.[37] On October 9, Williams lost another four-corner survival match to Castagnoli.[37] The next day, he lost to Castagnoli in a qualifying match for theSurvival of the Fittest elimination match.[37] On March 19, 2010, atGold Rush, he returned to ROH in a losing effort to Austin Aries. On March 20 atEpic Encounter III, he lost toWorld Television ChampionEddie Edwards in a title match.[37]
On December 12, 2010, Williams made his debut forLucha Libre USA, forming a heel, anti-illegal immigration tag team named "The Right" withR. J. Brewer.[3] On February 19, 2011, Williams was defeated byLA Park, This episode aired on tape delay on October 15, 2011.[43] On March 19, 2011, Williams along withR. J. Brewer &Jon Rekon defeatedRocky Romero,Super Nova, &Magno in a 6-man tag match.[44] later on in the main event Williams took part in the lucha roulette elimination number one contenders match for theLLUSA Heavyweight Championship, which was won by Charly Malice. On May 28, 2011, Williams and Jon Rekon defeatedJay Lethal & Magno in a Number one contenders match for the Vacant Tag Tag Championships. On June 18, 2011, Williams and his stablemate in The Right,Jon Rekon, defeated the Latin Liberators (Rocky Romero andSuper Nova) to win the vacantLLUSA Tag Team Championship.[45] On January 22, 2011, Williams defeatedCharly Malice due to an interference from the leader of "The Right"R. J. Brewer, This episode aired on tape delay on October 22, 2011.[46]
On April 21, 2012, Williams announced he had parted ways withLucha Libre USA.[47]
On January 12, 2013, Williams returned to TNA to take part in the tapings of the One Night Only: X-Travaganza special, teaming with Sonjay Dutt in a tag team match, where they were defeated byBad Influence (Christopher Daniels andKazarian).[48] On March 17, Williams also took part in the tapings of the 10 Reunion pay-per-view, during which he wrestled in a three-way match, where he and Sonjay Dutt were defeated by Kenny King.[49] The following day, Williams teamed with Dutt for the tapings of the TNA Tag Team Tournament pay-per-view, though they were eliminated in their first round match byGeneration Me (Max and Jeremy Buck).[50]On December 6 tapings of the World Cup of Wrestling pay-per-view, Williams teamed withFunaki as part of Team International but lost to TeamAces & Eights' D.O.C. andKnux. Williams returned to television on the March 28 episode ofImpact Wrestling, defeatingMason Andrews and Sonjay Dutt in a three-way match to become the number one contender for the X Division Championship.[51] Williams received his title shot on the April 18 episode ofImpact Wrestling, but was defeated by the defending champion Kenny King in a three-way match that also involvedZema Ion.[52] On May 23 episode ofImpact Wrestling, Williams facedJoey Ryan andSuicide in a number one contender's match for an X Division Championship match at Slammiversary, which Suicide won after pinning Ryan.[53] At the specialDestination X episode ofImpact Wrestling on July 18, Williams wrestled in a three-way match againstHomicide andSonjay Dutt for a chance to compete for the vacant X Division Championship, which was ultimately won by Dutt.[54] On April 12, 2014 (aired August 1) atX-Travaganza 2014. Williams was defeated byTigre Uno and this was his final match in TNA.
On July 3, 2014, Williams announced he would be retiring from professional wrestling. His final match took place two days later in a losing effort against Chris Sabin at an XICW event.[55]
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On August 17, 2017, atDestination X, Williams returned to Impact, interfering in anImpact X Division Championship ladder match betweenSonjay Dutt andTrevor Lee. Williams executed theCanadian Destroyer on the interferingCaleb Konley. On the August 31 episode of Impact Wrestling, Williams defeated Konley. AtVictory Road, Williams lost to Trevor Lee in an X Division Championship match. AtBound for Glory, Williams competed in a six-way match for the Impact X Division Championship, but failed to win the match. On the November 16 episode of Impact Wrestling, Williams was defeated byL. A. Knight in anImpact World Championship match. On the March 15, 2018, episode of Impact Wrestling, Williams competed inFeast or Fired match where he got a case that revealed he got an X Division Championship match. AtRedemption, Willams would use the case for a title shot againstMatt Sydal, but would lose the match. AtSlammiversary XVI, Williams competed in a four-way match that was won byJohnny Impact. AtRebellion (2019), Williams competed in a six-way match which was won byAce Austin. AtUnbreakable, Williams, Scott Steiner andJordynne Grace defeated Dicky Mayer,Gentleman Jervis andRyan Taylor. On the November 5 episode of Impact Wrestling, Williams lost to Bhupinder Singh.
AtHardcore Justice, Williams andJosh Alexander defeatedTJP andFallah Bahh, andAce Austin andMadman Fulton in a triple threat tag team match. AtUnder Siege, Williams and TJP competed in a four-way tag team match to determine the number one contender for the Impact World Tag Team Championship which was won byAce Austin andMadman Fulton. AtAgainst All Odds, Williams competed in a five-way match to determine the #1 contender for the Impact X Division Championship which ended in a no contest. AtSlammiversary, Williams competed in an Ultimate X match for the Impact X Division Championship which was won byJosh Alexander. AtHomecoming, Williams andJordynne Grace lost toMatt Cardona andChelsea Green in a first round match in the Homecoming tournament. AtEmergence, Williams lost toSteve Maclin. AtVictory Road, Williams lost to Steve Maclin in a 3 Way match that also involved TJP. He left Impact in November 2021.[56]
In January 2022, it was reported Williams had signed with WWE as a producer.[57] He appeared on the December 5, 2022 edition ofRaw breaking up the brawl alongside various WWE officials betweenBobby Lashley andSeth "Freakin" Rollins only for him to get accidentally speared by Lashley.[58]
Having popularised the sunset flip piledriver, which he called theCanadian Destroyer, Williams has been credited as the inventor of the move, though there is evidence ofAmazing Red performing it in the 1990s.[59] According to Williams, the move was suggested to him in 2003 while travelling to anIWA Mid-South show along withChris Sabin andTruth Martini. Williams and Sabin originally planned to use the move in their match together but decided against it. The next month, Williams debuted the move in a match againstMatt Sydal.[59] During the mid 2000s, it was viewed as a powerful and popular move; the devastation of the piledriver combined with the acrobatics of the flip appeared like an animation from a video game.[60] In the 2010s, several wrestlers adopted the Canadian Destroyer as a transition move. Williams has complained about this fact as his move was intended to be a finishing maneuver.[61] In the later part of the 2010s, many wrestlers began to use the Canadian Destroyer as finishers, such asAdam Cole, which he calls the "Panama Sunrise".
He appeared in the video gameTNA Impact! as adownloadable character.[62]
Williams plays guitar and harmonica in a band called The High Crusade, which also includes former TNA wrestlersAlex Shelley andChris Sabin and their friends Adam Tatro and Chris Plumb.[33][63] The band released their debut album,It's Not What You Think, on September 7, 2010.[63]
Petey has been married and divorced twice and has children from both marriages (three in total).[citation needed]
1Scott Steiner won a match with the other Feast or Fired winners for an opportunity to trade his unopened case with someone else choosing Williams' case and when his new case was opened it contained the World Heavyweight Title match. Later he was defeated by Steiner to win both cases.
2 Steiner later gave back his original briefcase.
,Internet Wrestling Database