_(Titus_O%2527Neil_3x4).jpg) O'Neil in 2022 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Thaddeus Michael Bullard (1977-04-29)April 29, 1977 (age 48) Boynton Beach, Florida, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Florida |
| Children | 3 |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Rufus Patterson[1] Titus O'Neil[2] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 6 in (198 cm)[2] |
| Billed weight | 270 lb (122 kg)[2] |
| Billed from | Live Oak, Florida[3] |
| Trained by | Florida Championship Wrestling |
| Debut | November 12, 2009[4] |
| Football career | |
| Profile | |
| Position | Defensive end |
| Personal information | |
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Weight | 270 lb (122 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Live Oak (FL) Suwannee |
| College | Florida |
| NFL draft | 2001: undrafted |
| Career history | |
| Awards and highlights | |
| Stats at ArenaFan.com | |
Thaddeus Michael Bullard (born April 29, 1977) is an Americanprofessional wrestler and formerarena football player. He is signed toWWE as aGlobal Ambassador.[5] Described by the company as "one of the most philanthropic superstars in WWE history," Bullard is the recipient of theWWE Hall of Fame 2020Warrior Award.[5]
Bullard playedcollege football for theUniversity of Florida, and thereafter played in theArena Football League (AFL). His career as a professional wrestler began under thering nameTitus O'Neil in WWE'sdevelopmental territoryFlorida Championship Wrestling (FCW), before being moved toNXT where he was part of the second season and fifth season,NXT Redemption. In WWE, he is a former one-timeWWE Tag Team Champion as part ofThe Prime Time Players withDarren Young and a former one-timeWWE 24/7 Champion, being the inaugural holder of the latter title.[6] In 2021, Bullard was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as a recipient of the Warrior Award, honoring his charitable work – especially in his hometown ofTampa, Florida.[7] In the summer of 2021, a public school in Tampa was also named after Bullard honoring his charitable work and contributions to and for theHillsborough County public school system.[8][9]
Thaddeus Michael Bullard was born inBoynton Beach, Florida, to Daria Bullard when she was 11 years old.[10] His mother Daria was molested and raped by her mother's boyfriend at 10 years old, and as a result she became pregnant with Thaddeus.[11][12] He grew up inLive Oak, Florida, where he resided at theFlorida Sheriff's Youth Ranches, and attendedSuwannee High School.[10] He was a standout player for the Suwannee Bulldogshigh school football, and was recognized byUSA Today andParade magazine as a high schoolAll-American as a senior in 1995.[10]
Bullard accepted an athletic scholarship to attend theUniversity of Florida inGainesville, Florida, and played for coachSteve Spurrier'sFlorida Gators football team from1997 to2000.[13] Heredshirted during the Gators'1996 national championship season. Bullard lettered the next four seasons, playing in 44 regular season games with three starts. He was elected student body vice president in April 2000, and graduated in August 2000.[10] While he was an undergraduate, he was initiated as a brother ofOmega Psi Phi. After college, Bullard played in theArena Football League from 2003 to 2007 with theCarolina Cobras,Las Vegas Gladiators,Tampa Bay Storm, andUtah Blaze.[14][15]
Bullard signed a developmental deal withWWE in 2009 and began training with theirdevelopment territory,Florida Championship Wrestling. He made his television debut on the January 16, 2010, episode ofFCW's show onBright House Sports Network as Titus O'Neil in a tag team match withSkip Sheffield, losing to the team ofVance Archer andAlex Riley. On December 3, O'Neil teamed withDamien Sandow to win theFCW Florida Tag Team Championship after defeatingXavier Woods andMason Ryan in a match for the vacant championship.[16] The pair lost the championship toSeth Rollins andRichie Steamboat on March 25, 2011.[17]
O'Neil competed in the second season ofWWE NXT, withZack Ryder as his mentor. He debuted on June 8, teaming with Ryder to lose toJohn Morrison and Eli Cottonwood.[18] During and after the bout the two argued. The following week the two made up. Two weeks later, O'Neil was the first person eliminated from the second season ofNXT, and gave a farewell speech before leaving the arena.[19] O'Neil returned for the season finale on August 31, joining the other eliminated rookies in attacking the winner,Kaval.[20]
In March 2011, O'Neil was selected as one of the six formerNXT contestants to return to the show in its fifth season,NXT Redemption, being mentored byHornswoggle. In the season premiere, O'Neil defeatedLucky Cannon in the main event.[21] The two also feuded withDarren Young and his pro, Hornswoggle's old nemesis,Chavo Guerrerro. Following Lucky Cannon's elimination on the May 14, 2011, episode ofNXT Redemption, O'Neil lead the fans in a rendition ofNa Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye, as a tribute to the recently retiredEdge. On the June 21 episode ofNXT Redemption, O'Neil's pro from season two, Zack Ryder, returned for one night only to face and defeat O'Neil. On the July 12, 2011, episode ofNXT, he faced off against Darren Young andDerrick Bateman in atriple threat elimination match, which saw him lose to Bateman. 8 days later, O'Neil teamed up with NXT hostMatt Striker in a winning effort against Darren Young and Derrick Bateman after Young was pinned by O'Neil.
On the September 8 episode ofWWE Superstars, O'Neil teamed withPercy Watson in a losing effort againstCurt Hawkins andTyler Reks.[22] O'Neil and Watson defeated Derrick Bateman andTyson Kidd,[23] as well as Bateman andJTG,[24] but lost to Darren Young and JTG.[25]
On the November 16, 2011, episode ofNXT, O'Neil was assaulted by a returning Darren Young.[26] Young was then able to get the better of O'Neil twice in tag team matches.[27][28] The conclusion to O'Neil's feud with Young came when O'Neil defeated Young in a no disqualifications match on the January 18 episode ofNXT. O'Neil thenturnedheel after the match, verbally ripping on the audience, his former pro Hornswoggle, and NXT itself.[29]
O'Neil later urged his friend Percy Watson to also turn his back on the fans on the January 25, 2012, episode ofNXT. When Watson refused, O'Neil shoved him and a match between the two was booked, leading to O'Neil defeating Watson. O'Neil continued to attack Watson after the match, leading to Alex Riley saving Watson.[30] O'Neil then formed an alliance with former enemy Darren Young, and the duo teamed up to defeat Watson and Riley on the February 1 and 29 episodes ofNXT.[31][32] O'Neil also faced and defeated Riley on the February 22 episode ofNXT.[33] On the March 7 episode ofNXT, O'Neil faced Watson, which would result in a loss for O'Neil.[34] O'Neil and Young then moved on to feud withThe Usos.[35]
On the April 18 episode ofNXT, it was announced that O'Neil, along with Darren Young, had been moved to the main roster. The team made their debut on the April 20 episode ofSmackDown with a victory over The Usos. They began a winning streak before their streak was ended on the May 18 episode ofSmackDown byWWE Tag Team Champions Kofi Kingston and R-Truth.
At theNo Way Out pay-per-view, O'Neil and Young won a fatal-four-way tag team match to become #1 contenders for the WWE Tag Team Championship afterA.W. turned on his clientsPrimo & Epico.[36] On the July 16 episode ofRaw, O'Neil and Young unsuccessfully challenged Kofi Kingston and R-Truth for the WWE Tag Team Championship.[37] On the August 10 episode ofSmackDown, they defeated Primo & Epico in a #1 contenders match by disqualification when A.W. provoked Kingston and R-Truth, who were on commentary, into interfering in the match.[38] That same day, A.W. was released from his contract.[39] Despite losing A.W, the Prime Time Players received a title shot atSummerSlam, but were again defeated by Kingston and R-Truth.[40] On the September 7 episode ofSmackDown, The Prime Time Players defeated Primo and Epico and The Usos in a triple threat tag team match to earn another shot at the title.[41] OnRaw three days later, the Prime Time Players lost their title shot to the team ofKane andDaniel Bryan.[42] AtSurvivor Series, O'Neil took part in a 10-manelimination tag team match, but was eliminated byTyson Kidd.[43]
At the2013 Royal Rumble, O'Neil entered the Royal Rumble match at number 7 but was eliminated bySheamus. On the March 18 episode ofRaw, O'Neil played a new character calledRufus "Pancake" Patterson, his "uncle", accompanying Darren Young in his match againstJohn Cena, in which Young was defeated.[1]
On the August 19, 2013, episode ofRaw, the Prime Time Players turnedface in a winning effort against The Real Americans (Antonio Cesaro andJack Swagger), a week after O'Neil's tag-team partner Darren Young's (legitimate)coming out, which receivedmainstream media coverage. On theNight of Champions pre-show, O'Neil and Young won a tag team turmoil upon entering last, for the opportunity to faceThe Shield for the WWE Tag Team Championship but lost toSeth Rollins andRoman Reigns on the pay-per-view.[44]Furthering their face turn, the duo were amongst those who saved Daniel Bryan from being injured byRandy Orton. The Prime Time Players would be forced into a 3 on 1 handicap gauntlet match against The Shield as ordered by the COO,Triple H, the same asDolph Ziggler,Kofi Kingston andRob Van Dam.
On the January 31, 2014, episode ofSmackDown, O'Neil allowedCurtis Axel to pin Young during a tag-team match. After the match, O'Neil attacked Young to turnheel and disbanded the Prime Time Players. O'Neil defeated Young atElimination Chamber.
O'Neil lost a rematch to Young on the February 26 episode ofMain Event. Following this loss, O'Neil began a losing streak to the likes ofBig Show,Sheamus and Dolph Ziggler.[45] From mid-April to mid-June, O'Neil commonly appeared onSuperstars, where he suffered many losses toKofi Kingston andBig E. He was also unsuccessful in winning four battle royals: theAndré the Giant Memorial Battle Royal atWrestleMania XXX,[46] a battle royal for theWWE United States Championship in May,[47] a Money in the Bank qualifying battle royal in June and a battle royal for theWWE Intercontinental Championship atBattleground.[48][49]
In July, O'Neil formed a tag team withHeath Slater,[50] later known as Slater-Gator. In July and August, they wrestled onMain Event andSuperstars. Despite wins over the likes of Zack Ryder andSin Cara andGold and Stardust, they suffered losses toEl Torito andHornswoggle and Big E and Kofi Kingston.[51] In September, Slater-Gator lost multiple matches toAdam Rose and to the team of Rose andThe Bunny.[51] O'Neil entered theRoyal Rumble, being eliminated byDean Ambrose and eventual winnerRoman Reigns in 4 seconds.
On the February 16 episode ofRaw, O'Neil turned face by saving his former tag team partner Darren Young from an attack fromThe Ascension, disbanding Slater-Gator. To acknowledge this breakup, Slater announced on social media that he is going to 'focus on himself'.[52] Then on the February 23 episode ofRaw,The Prime Time Players officially reunited to battle The Ascension, with Young picking up the victory. O'Neil participated in the 2nd AnnualAndré the Giant MemorialBattle Royal atWrestleMania 31, before being eliminated byRyback.[53] AtElimination Chamber, the Prime Time Players participated in the first ever tag teamElimination Chamber match for theWWE Tag Team Championship, however they were the last team to be eliminated by the winners and defending championsThe New Day (Big E,Kofi Kingston andXavier Woods).[54] AtMoney in the Bank, O'Neil and Young defeated The New Day to win the Tag Team Championship, their first titles in WWE.[55] They later defeated The New Day in a rematch at Battleground. The Prime Time Playersdropped the WWE Tag Team Championships back to The New Day atSummerSlam in afatal–four-way match, also involvingThe Lucha Dragons andLos Matadores.[56] O'Neil and Young would invoke their championship rematch clause for the September 14 episode ofRaw, which they ended up losing against New Day.[57]
On the November 9 episode ofRaw, O'Neil would enter the 16-man tournament to crown the newWWE World Heavyweight Champion, losing toKevin Owens in the first round.[58] On theSurvivor Series kick-off show, O'Neil participated in a five-on-five elimination tag team match, teaming withThe Dudley Boyz,Neville andGoldust to defeatStardust,The Ascension,The Miz andBo Dallas.[59] On the February 8, 2016, episode ofRaw, O'Neil had what was described as a "playful, physical" altercation withVince McMahon as the show was going off the air while the two were on stage duringDaniel Bryan's retirement celebration. The following day, O'Neil was suspended for unprofessional conduct relating to the incident, with the suspension reportedly lasting up to 90 days. It was later confirmed that he would be suspended for 60 days.[60][61]
On the May 2 episode ofRaw, O'Neil returned from suspension, participating in a battle royal to determine the #1 contender to theWWE United States Championship. On the May 26 episode ofSmackDown, O'Neil entered a feud with United States ChampionRusev. This set up a match between O'Neil and Rusev for the United States Championship atMoney in the Bank, which he lost. After the match, Rusev taunted and disrespected O'Neil's children.[62] The following night onRaw, a rematch was scheduled but O'Neil attacked Rusev before the match began.[63] On the July 4 episode ofRaw, O'Neil lost in another title match to Rusev, ending the feud.[64]
On July 19 at the2016 WWE draft, O'Neil was drafted toRaw. On the August 1 episode ofRaw, O'Neil started a slowheel turn when he questioned his former tag team partnerDarren Young on his motives on being "great again". Later that night, he defeated Young by pinning him while grabbing Young's tights. Afterwards, O'Neil got into a backstage altercation with Young's managerBob Backlund, ending in Young coming to Backlund's defense by attacking O'Neil.[65] The week after onRaw, Young defeated O'Neil by pinning him while grabbing O'Neil's tights, mimicking the way O'Neil defeated him.[66] On the August 15 episode ofRaw, O'Neil and Young reconciled and were placed in a match againstThe Shining Stars. During the match, O'Neil attacked Young with a Clash of the Titus, cementing O'Neil's heel turn.[67] Starting from September 2016, he began a losing streak whilst debuting a new gimmick known as "The Titus Brand". On the October 31 episode ofRaw, O'Neil competed in a battle royal to determine who would join Team Raw at the upcomingSurvivor Series pay-per-view against Team SmackDown, but was eliminated bySami Zayn.
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In April 2017,Apollo Crews caught the attention of O'Neil's new "Titus Brand" after being drafted toRaw and recruited him on the brand.[68] He later recruited cruiserweightAkira Tozawa to his brand, which he renamed to "Titus Worldwide" and turned him face in the process.[69] AfterDana Brooke challengedAsuka to a match on the November 27, 2017, episode onRaw, in which she lost, O'Neil recruited Brooke to join the brand.[70] Brooke made her first official appearance with the team on the January 1, 2018, episode ofRaw accompanying Crews along with O'Neil in a match againstBray Wyatt, in which he was defeated and at this point Tozawa quietly left the team.[71] On the January 8, 2018 episode ofRaw, O'Neil and Crews defeatedCesaro and Sheamus in an upset win.[72] On the January 29 episode ofRaw, Crews and O'Neil competed in a match against Cesaro and Sheamus for theirTag Team Championships, in which they were unsuccessful at capturing the titles.[73] On February 25 atElimination Chamber, they competed in another match for the Raw Tag Team Championships, in a losing effort.[74] OnRaw the next night, Cesaro and Sheamus defeated Titus Worldwide in a 2 out of 3 falls match to retain the title, winning 2–0 to end the feud. O'Neil later participated in theAndré the GiantMemorial Battle Royal at theWrestleMania 34 kickoff show, but he was unsuccessful in both matches.[75] He was also part of the 50-manGreatest Royal Rumble event in which he was eliminated byBraun Strowman.[76] While running to the ring to participate in this match, he famously tripped and slid underneath the ring, which led to several internet memes and reactions from fellow wrestlers.[77] A couple of days later on Raw during a match betweenBaron Corbin andNo Way Jose, O'Neil would try to amend for that mistake, but as he entered the ring, he slipped and fell from the apron. On the September 3 episode ofRaw, Dana Brooke parted ways with Titus Worldwide after a mid-match coaching backfired, causing Brooke andEmber Moon to lose to Bayley and Sasha Banks.[78] On the October 15 episode ofRaw, Crews, without O'Neil, returned as a singles competitor, thus disbanding Titus Worldwide.[79] On the November 2 episode ofMain Event, O'Neil returned to singles competition, defeatingMojo Rawley.[80]
O'Neil entered the2019 men'sRoyal Rumble match at No. 11, but lasted a mere five seconds before being eliminated byCurt Hawkins.[81] He then competed in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal atWrestleMania 35, eliminatingHeath Slater before being eliminated byMustafa Ali moments later.[82] On the May 20 episode ofRaw, O'Neil became the inaugural holder of the24/7 Championship. His reign, however, ended in less than a minute whenRobert Roode pinned him.[83]
On the May 4, 2020 episode ofRaw, O'Neil competed in a Last ChanceGauntlet match to earn a spot in the men'sMoney in the Bank ladder match atMoney in the Bank; he opened the competition againstBobby Lashley, who ultimately eliminated him.[84] On the October 19 episode ofRaw, O'Neil attempted to joinThe Hurt Business, only to be rejected and assaulted.[85] Three weeks later, in his final match in WWE, he challenged Lashley - a member of The Hurt Business - for theUnited States Championship; O'Neil lost in just over one minute.[86] He co-hostedWrestleMania 37 alongsideHulk Hogan,[87] and on April 6, 2021, O’Neil was the recipient of theWarrior Award.
O’Neil later returned again atWrestleMania 39 andcommentated alongsideMichael Cole andCorey Graves during the men's WrestleMania Showcase tag team match on Night One, and theWWE Intercontinental Championship match on Night Two.
Titus O'Neil made hisvideo game debut as a playable character inWWE 2K14 and has since appeared inWWE 2K15,WWE 2K16,WWE 2K17,WWE 2K18,WWE 2K19,WWE 2K20,WWE 2K22, andWWE 2K23.[88]
Bullard is heavily involved in charity work with various nonprofit groups in theTampa Bay region. He has helped more than 245 student athletes across the Tampa Bay area get into college, lead corporate volunteers in reading books to children in after-school programs, used his story to inspire employees from all types of companies to volunteer, and taken part inUnited Way's Walking School Bus program in at-risk neighborhoods by escorting children to school on foot to make sure they get there on time and can gain access to a healthy breakfast. Bullard hosts an annual Joy of Giving event, where he hands out toys to more than 1,000 children. He also visits children with cancer in the hospital.[89]
Bullard became the 261stLightning Community Hero at a home game in 2012. Through that evening's game, in total, the Lightning Foundation had granted $13.2 million to more than 300 different non-profits in the Greater Tampa Bay area. In 2017, the founders announced that the Community Hero program will give away another $10 million over the next five seasons.[89]
In honor of all of his charitable work, Bullard was inducted into theWWE Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2020 as a recipient of the Warrior Award.[90][7] In the summer of 2021, a school in Tampa was named after him in his honor.[91][92][93]
Bullard was married and has two sons named Thaddeus Jr. ("TJ") and Titus, and a daughter named Leah. He resides inTampa, Florida, and is a devoutChristian.[94] He won the 2015 MEGA Dad Award for "Celebrity Dad of the Year".[95][96] He is a good friend ofDave Bautista, who defended Bullard during his suspension from WWE in early 2016. His son TJ Bullard currently plays football forThe University of Central Florida, and his other son Titus plays for his alma materThe University of Florida.[97][98]
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