 Nese in 2018 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Anthony Nese[3] (1985-08-06)August 6, 1985 (age 40) Ridge, New York, U.S. |
| Children | 4 |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Anthony Nese Matt Maverick Maverick Tony Nese[1] |
| Billed height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[1] |
| Billed weight | 196 lb (89 kg)[1] |
| Billed from | Long Island, New York[1] |
| Trained by | Mikey Whipwreck[2] |
| Debut | September 23, 2005[2] |
Anthony Nese (born August 6, 1985) is an Americanprofessional wrestler. He is signed toAll Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is acoach as well as in-ring talent. He also appears for AEW's sister promotionRing of Honor, where he is a member of The Premier Athletes stable. He is best known for his time inWWE, where he is a former one-timeWWE Cruiserweight Champion.
Nese made his wrestling debut on September 23, 2005, for the New York Wrestling Connection promotion in a #1 contender's battle royal match for the NYWC Interstate Championship, which was won byRob Eckos.[4] On November 11, 2005, Nese made his in-ring debut under the ring nameMatt Maverick in a losing effort against Spyder. Nese won his first match on December 17, 2005, in a triple threat match defeating Spyder andAmazing Red. Nese continued to wrestle for the promotion for several years, shortening his ring name toMaverick. His independent wrestling career was jumpstarted after he competed in the 2008ECWA Super 8 Tournament, where he won the first round around against Loca Vida but lost in the semi-finals to Aden Chambers. Nese would then later on compete in various dark matches forRing of Honor (ROH) in 2009.[5]
Nese made his debut forTotal Nonstop Action (TNA) on the July 7, 2011, episode ofImpact Wrestling as part of theX Division Showcase tournament. He was eliminated from the tournament after losing toJack Evans in a three-way match that includedJesse Sorensen[6] On August 18, TNA announced that Nese had signed a contract with the promotion.[7] On that evening's episode ofImpact Wrestling, he took part in agauntlet match to determine the #1 contender to the X-Division Championship which he would be eliminated early in the match.[8] Nese did not appear on television for a while after this. He made his return on the December 15 episode ofImpact Wrestling, where he would compete in a Best of Three Series withZema Ion to determine the third and final challenger for the X Division Championship atGenesis. Nese would lose the first match of the series.[9]
On the December 22 edition ofImpact Wrestling, Nese defeated Ion in the second round of the series. Two weeks later, Nese lost to Ion in aContract on a Pole match in the final round of the series.[10] Nese appeared on the March 22, 2012, episode ofImpact Wrestling, competing in fatal-four-way match that includedAustin Aries,Kid Kash, and Zema Ion which ended in a no contest. This would also mark Nese's final appearance in company. Nese was released from TNA on May 17, 2012, after asking permission to work a scheduled tag team match for Pro Wrestling Syndicate, which would include Nese teaming withSami Callihan againstThe Great Muta andKai. Nese was offered his release from TNA which he accepted.[11]
Nese returned for one night only for the company's One Night Only pay-per-view show, X-Travaganza on January 12 the following year competing in a tag team match in a losing effort.
After departing from TNA, Nese returned to the independent wrestling circuit continuing to appear for the New York Wrestling Connection promotion also competing in several independent wrestling promotions including Pro Wrestling Syndicate. He started using his real name,Anthony Nese as his ring name. Nese became the first PWS Tri-State champion and was undefeated. He shortly feuded withMatt Hardy, defeating him in a match for the Tri-State title before eventually losing the title to Star Man on November 9, 2012, in a triple threat match. On October 12, 2013, Nese defeated the FWE Tri Borough ChampionPaul London in a non-title match.[12] In early 2013, Nese began working forDragon Gate USA andEvolve. On November 3, Nese began his first tour of Dragon Gate USA'sJapanese parent promotion,Dragon Gate, unsuccessfully challengingGenki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!! for theOpen the Brave Gate Championship. On November 9, 2013, atHouse of Hardcore 3, Nese defeated Alex Reynolds andPetey Williams. On December 8, 2013, Nese won the Family Wrestling Entertainment's Openweight Grand Prix.[13]
On September 14, 2014, at Evolve 35, Nese andCaleb Konley won theOpen the United Gate Championship from TheBravado Brothers (Harlem and Lancelot) in a three-way match, also involvingA. R. Fox andRich Swann.[14] At FWE ReFueled day 1, Nese andJigsaw defeated Adrenaline Express to win the FWE Tag Team Championship.[15] The following day, they lost the title to The Young Bucks.[15]
On June 11, 2016, at Evolve 63, Nese defeatedLince Dorado,Drew Gulak,Johnny Gargano andT. J. Perkins to qualify forWWE'sCruiserweight Classic tournament. The tournament began on June 23, with Nese defeating Anthony Bennett in his first round match. On July 14, Nese was eliminated from the tournament byBrian Kendrick.[16]
On the September 26 episode ofRaw, Nese made his main roster debut, losing toCruiserweight Champion T.J. Perkins. On the October 3 episode ofRaw, Nese won his first match on the main roster againstRich Swann. Nese made hispay-per-view debut on theHell in a Cell pre-show, teaming with Drew Gulak andAriya Daivari in a losing effort toCedric Alexander, Lince Dorado andSin Cara.[17] On theSurvivor Series pre-show, Nese, Drew Gulak and Ariya Daivari lost to T.J. Perkins, Rich Swann, andNoam Dar.[18] In early 2017, Nese would later wrestle on205 Live andMain Event, trading wins and losses overGran Metalik, Lince Dorado andMustafa Ali. Nese began aligning withEnzo Amore's faction which consisting of Ariya Daivari, Drew Gulak andNoam Dar, they dubbed themselves as "The Zo Train". On the December 12 episode of205 Live, Nese was attacked by The Zo Train. Nese returned two weeks later, unsure of his position as a member of the Zo Train, and defeatedAkira Tozawa. Amore was fired from WWE in January 2018, thus quietly disbanding The Zo Train.[19]
On the February 13 episode of205 Live, Nese was entered into aCruiserweight Championship tournament to determine a new Cruiserweight Champion, where he was defeated by Drew Gulak in a first round.[20] On the March 27 episode of205 Live, Nese was defeated byMark Andrews. On the April 10 episode of205 Live, Nese saved Andrews from an attack of Drew Gulak, turningface in the process.[20] On April 27, Nese participated in theGreatest Royal Rumble, entering at number 10, eliminatingHornswoggle, before being eliminated byKofi Kingston andXavier Woods.
Some weeks later, he aligned himself withBuddy Murphy, turningheel once again.[20] They went on to feud with Lucha House Party (Kalisto,Gran Metalik andLince Dorado), with the two sides trading victories.[20] On the October 10 episode of205 Live, Nese defeated Cedric Alexander, who had recently lost the Cruiserweight Championship to Murphy. On the October 17 episode of205 Live, Nese won a fatal five-way match including Alexander, Gran Metalik, TJP andLio Rush after pinning Alexander.[20] On the October 31 episode of205 Live, Nese lost to Mustafa Ali in a number one contender's match for the Cruiserweight Championship. Nese then began feuding with Noam Dar as the two traded victories over each other.[21] On the January 29, 2019, episode of205 Live, he was suspended indefinitely for attacking Dar in the parking lot. Nese returned on the February 12 episode of205 Live, defeating Dar in a well-receivedNo Disqualification match, ending their feud.[20]
Prior toWrestleMania 35, a tournament to determine the number one contender for the Cruiserweight Championship was arranged, in which Nese defeated Kalisto in the first round, Drew Gulak in the semifinals, and Cedric Alexander in the finals to become the number one contender for the Cruiserweight Championship against his ally Buddy Murphy.[20] After the match, he was attacked by Murphy, turning face in the process.[20] On April 7, during the pre-show of WrestleMania 35, Nese defeated Murphy to win the Cruiserweight Championship for the first time.[22] Two days later, on the April 9 episode of205 Live, Nese defeated Murphy in a rematch to retain his championship.[23] AtMoney in the Bank, Nese defeated Ariya Daivari to retain the Cruiserweight Championship.[24] On June 23 at theStomping Grounds, Nese lost the title to Drew Gulak in a triple threat match which also involved Akira Tozawa, ending his reign at 77 days.[25] He would go on to lose a subsequent rematch against Gulak atExtreme Rules.[26]
On the September 3 episode of205 Live, after losing toMike Kanellis, Nese attackedOney Lorcan backstage.[27] On that same night, Nese joined forces with Drew Gulak to attackHumberto Carrillo and Lince Dorado.[28] On the September 17 episode of205 Live, Nese defeated Lorcan with assistance from Gulak.[29] Nese continued teaming with Gulak before he was drafted to SmackDown Live in October. Following this, Nese would find himself feuding with members of the NXT roster who began appearing on 205 Live such as Oney Lorcan and Tyler Breeze which culminated in a 5-on-5 match pitting himself,Brian Kendrick,Jack Gallagher,Ariya Daivari and Mike Kanellis representing Team 205 against Oney Lorcan,Danny Burch,Isaiah "Swerve" Scott,Tyler Breeze andKushida representing Team NXT where they were defeated.
In April 2020, Nese was announced as a participant in the Interim Cruiserweight Title tournament representing Group A in the tournament. Nese was defeated byKushida,Drake Maverick and Jake Atlas failing to score a single win in the tournament. Nese would then begin feuding with Scott who made fun of him for not scoring a single win in the tournament which led to them facing off on the June 3 episode of NXT and again on the June 26 episode of 205 Live where Nese lost. On the July 3 episode of 205 Live, Nese assisted Scott in defeatingEver-Rise in a tag team match and shook hands with him after.[30] In late 2020, Nese aligned himself withAriya Daivari and referred to themselves as the "205 Live OGs", and throughout the first half of 2021 would feud with newcomers such as August Grey, Curt Stallion, andIkemen Jiro. On June 25, 2021, Nese was released from his WWE contract.[31]
On the October 23 episode ofAEW Dynamite, Nese was shown seated in the crowd during the show with commentators hyping him as "one of the hottest free agents in pro wrestling". Nese made his AEW debut on the November 3rd episode of AEW Dark in a winning effort againstFuego Del Sol.[32][33] On December 3, it was announced that Nese had officially signed with AEW. That same night, he unsuccessfully challengedSammy Guevara for theAEW TNT Championship onAEW Rampage.[34][35] In the summer of 2022, Nese formed a tag team withJosh Woods, and the duo would acquire the services ofMark Sterling as their manager and on-screen attorney. On the August 5 edition ofRampage, Nese & Woods unsuccessfully challenged Swerve in our Glory (Keith Lee &Swerve Strickland) for theAEW World Tag Team Championship.[36] On the October 7 edition ofRampage, Nese & Woods defeated The Varsity Blonds (Brian Pillman Jr. &Griff Garrison), and after the match, Sterling revealed he had "trademarked" the term Varsity as it relates to professional wrestling, and that Woods & Nese would be known as The Varsity Athletes going forward.[37]
In August 2025, it was reported that Nese had been working in a backstage role in AEW as acoach.[38]
Nese made hisvideo game debut as a playable character inWWE 2K19.[39]
Nese is married to a woman named Liz. They have four children, a girl and a boy and two twin sons. His first son Eric Nese was born on November 21, 2019.[40] His twin sons Bryce and Benjamin were born on October 22, 2024.
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