 Viktor in 2015 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Eric Thompson[3] (1980-12-04)December 4, 1980 (age 44)[4] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Apoc Apocalypse Bishop Erik Doom Rick Victor The Shadow Viktor Vik Zyon |
| Billed height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)[1] |
| Billed weight | 219 lb (99 kg)[1] |
| Billed from | Calgary, Alberta, Canada The Wasteland |
| Trained by | Bruce Hart Ross Hart Mr. Hito[2] |
| Debut | 1999[2] |
Eric Thompson (born December 4, 1980) is a Canadianprofessional wrestler making appearances for theNational Wrestling Alliance (NWA), under thering nameZyon.[5] He is best known for his time withWWE under the ring nameViktor.
While in WWE'sdevelopmental territoryNXT, he was the longest reigningNXT Tag Team Champions of all time (alongside hisThe Ascension partnerKonnor), and he is also a formerFlorida Tag Team Champion withBrad Maddox. He previously worked asApoc forOhio Valley Wrestling, where he was a two-timeOVW Heavyweight Champion.
Thompson began his career in theHart Dungeon,[6] under the teachings ofBruce andRoss Hart. He also received training underTokyo Joe.[2] He started working forStampede Wrestling in 2001 as Bishop, later to be renamed "Apocalypse" which he continued to work as until 2008. In Stampede Wrestling, he won theNorth American Heavyweight Championship. He also held theInternational Tag Team Championship twice. Once with partnerHarry Smith, then with Dave Swift.
Viktor did a tour withNew Japan Pro-Wrestling as "The Shadow" in November–December 2003.[2] In his first match, he teamed withScott Norton againstJosh Barnett andHiroyoshi Tenzan.[2] He also had matches withManabu Nakanishi and Tenzan.[2] In addition, he teamed with Norton frequently on the tour.[6] Apoc would debut under the name Apocalypse for Derby City Wrestling in a thirty-man battle royal, which was eventually would be won by Electrico. Apocalypse would team up with Al Barone to take part in the DCW Tag Team Title Tournament but were defeated by Damian Adams and Jamin Olivencia in the first round. Apocalypse got to the final of the DCW Championship Tournament but would lose to Big Cat. For the rest of 2008, Apocalypse would form multiple tag teams with Kharn Alexander, Vaughn Lilas and Fang.
On January 16, 2008, Apoc would debut under his new name Erik Doom and lost toJustin LaRouche. He would continue to lose most of his matches which is customary in nearly all wrestling promotions. Doom and Kharn Alexander lost to Los Locos (Ramon and Raul) in a match for theOVW Southern Tag Team Championship. He went back to his old name, Apocalypse before being renamed Apoc in late spring. On May 21, Apoc took onNick Dinsmore for theOVW Heavyweight Championship but lost. Apoc teamed with Vaughn Lilas for several months before winning the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship from Darriel Kelly and Josh Lowry. The team would lose the titles to Dirty Money and Scott Cardinal in a championship vs $1000 match. After the loss the team would split and the two began feuding for the OVW Heavyweight Championship which Vaughn was currently holding. In February, Apoc beat Vaughn for the championship and would hold it for two months before losing it to Vaughn once again and regaining the championship in May. He would go on to lose the championship toLow Rider. While wrestling in Canada in 2010, Apoc primarily wrestled for WFX Wrestling andPrairie Wrestling Alliance. He took on Jack Sloan for the PWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship twice but failed both times. He formed a stable withKevin Thorn andGangrel and took part in WFX Tag Team Championship Tournament but went out in the first round. He would go on to feud with the PWA Mayhem Champion Randy Myers, after losing a few times, Apoc defeated Myers in a two out of three falls match for the championship.
In February 2011, Thompson signed a developmental contract withWWE and was assigned to theirdevelopmental territoryFlorida Championship Wrestling under the ring name Rick Victor.[7] Victor made his televised in-ring debut for on the May 29, 2011 episode ofFCW TV, teaming withLeo Kruger in a loss to Hunico and Epico.[8] On the July 31 episode ofFCW TV, Victor challengedSeth Rollins for hisFCW 15 Championship, but was defeated.[9] From April to May 2012, Victor formed an association with the Anti-Divas (Sofia Cortez andPaige).[10][11] At a FCW live event on June 16, 2012, Victor defeated Seth Rollins to win theFCW Florida Heavyweight Championship for the first time. Immediately afterwards, he lost the title toBo Dallas in another match.[12] He regained the title from Dallas at another FCW live event on July 13, 2012, making him a two-time champion.[13] He lost the title toRichie Steamboat a week later. On July 28, Victor won theFlorida Tag Team Championship withBrad Maddox.[14]
When WWErebranded its developmental territory FCW intoNXT,[15] Victor's NXT television debut took place on the June 20 episode of the rebootedNXT taped atFull Sail University, where he lost to Bo Dallas.[16] On the September 12 episode ofNXT, Victor confronted and slapped theNXT Champion, Seth Rollins,[17] leading to Rollins facing and defeating Victor in a non-title match on the September 19, 2012NXT.[18]
Victor resurfaced nearly a year later in NXT when he becameConor O'Brian's partner inThe Ascension.[19][20] On September 12, The Ascension defeatedAdrian Neville andCorey Graves to win theNXT Tag Team Championship. On November 10, O'Brian and Victor's ring names were changed to simply "Konnor" and "Viktor", respectively. On February 27, 2014, atNXT Arrival, he and Konnor successfully defended their championships againstToo Cool, repeating the feat on May 29 atNXT TakeOver, againstEl Local andKalisto.[21] At theNXT TakeOver: Fatal 4-Way, The Ascension lost the titles to TheLucha Dragons (Kalisto andSin Cara), ending their reign a day short of a full year. That same night, they were in an altercation with NXT General ManagerWilliam Regal and the debutingHideo Itami. After feuding with and assaulting Itami for several weeks, a second international wrestler,Finn Bálor, joined Itami in his fight against both Konnor and Viktor. This led to a match on December 11 atNXT TakeOver: R Evolution, where The Ascension were defeated by Bálor and Itami.
Viktor, alongside Konnor made his main roster debut on the September 9, 2014 episode ofMain Event, with the duo defeatingLos Matadores (Diego andFernando) in a tag-team match to promote their NXT tag title defense against TheLucha Dragons (Kalisto andSin Cara) at theNXT TakeOver: Fatal 4-Way event. On the December 12 episode ofSmackDown, vignettes began to air promoting The Ascension's call-up to the main roster. The Ascension made their debut on the December 29 episode ofRaw, quickly defeatingThe Miz andDamien Mizdow.[22] The Ascension would continue to squashlocal athletes three weeks in a row onMain Event while indirectly criticizing of TheRoad Warriors. Their first major victory as part of the main roster was a win over TheNew Age Outlaws at theRoyal Rumble. The Ascension suffered their first pinfall loss on the main roster on February 23 episode ofRaw, losing toThe Prime Time Players (Darren Young andTitus O'Neil). AtWrestleMania 31, The Ascension made theirWrestleMania debut in theAndré the Giant Memorial Battle Royal where both failed to win the match. On the May 11 episode ofRaw, during a match betweenCurtis Axel and Macho Mandow, in the guise ofRandy Savage, The Ascension attacked Axel and Mandow. It was then announced that the Ascension would face Axel and Mandow on thePayback pre-show, where they won the match. It was announced the Ascension would partake in a six-team elimination chamber match for theWWE Tag Team Championship. AtElimination Chamber on May 31, he and Konnor eliminated Los Matadores and The Lucha Dragons until they were eliminated by The Prime Time Players, ultimately losing the match.
On the September 3 episode ofSmackDown, The Ascension aligned themselves withStardust by attacking Neville before their match, and thus forming a group known as "The Cosmic Wasteland". AtNight of Champions, The Cosmic Wasteland defeated Neville and the Lucha Dragons on the pre-show. On theSurvivor Series kickoff, The Cosmic Wasteland, The Miz, andBo Dallas were defeated by TheDudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley andD-Von Dudley), Neville,Goldust and Titus O'Neil, in a traditional Survivor Series elimination tag team match. On theRoyal Rumble kickoff, The Ascension lost a Fatal 4-Way tag team match to qualify for the Royal Rumble match. AtWrestleMania 32, Viktor competed in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal but failed to win the match. On April 16, 2016, WWE suspended Konnor for 60 days for a second violation of the Talent Wellness policy. Following the suspension, Viktor began competing in singles competition, mainly onSuperstars andMain Event. On the May 3 episode ofRaw, Viktor competed in aUnited States Championship No. 1 Contender's Battle Royal which was won byRusev. On the June 24 episode ofSuperstars, Konnor made his return from suspension, where The Ascension faced the Golden Truth (Goldust andR-Truth) in a losing effort.
On July 19 at the2016 WWE draft, The Ascension were drafted toSmackDown, making their debut on the July 26 episode in aWWE World Championship No. 1 Contender's Six-Pack Qualifying Battle Royal, which was won byApollo Crews. At theSummerSlam kickoff, The Ascension competed in a 12-man tag team match where their team lost. They then entered theSmackDown Tag Team Championship tournament, where they were eliminated in the first round by The Usos. On the September 27 episode ofSmackDown Live, The Ascension picked up their first win on the brand, when The Ascension and The Usos defeatedHeath Slater,Rhyno andAmerican Alpha (Chad Gable andJason Jordan) in an eight-man tag team match. At2017 Elimination Chamber, The Ascension competed in a tag team turmoil match for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship where they were the final team eliminated. Viktor, alongside Konnor, would later enter the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal atWrestleMania 33, but both men were eliminated from the match. AtMoney in the Bank (2017), The Ascension lost to Breezango after they claimed responsibility for a vandal attack in their office. On the June 27 episode ofSmackDown Live, The Ascension was interrogated by Breezango on "Fashion Vice", admitting that they didn't commit the crime and only took responsibility, because they wanted a match at the PPV. In September, the duo turnedface when they started trying to befriend Breezango during the latter's 'Fashion Files' segments. On the January 9 episode ofSmackDown Live, The Ascension suffered a loss toThe Bludgeon Brothers (Harper andRowan), for a while the duo would only appear as supporting characters in Breezango's Fashion Files skits. AtWrestleMania 34, Viktor competed in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal but failed to win the match.
During the2018 Superstar Shake-up, The Ascension was traded toRaw. On the April 23 episode ofRaw, The Ascension, once again asheels, facing against the team ofMatt Hardy andBray Wyatt in a losing effort. At theGreatest Royal Rumble event, Viktor entered at number 8 but was eliminated byDaniel Bryan. AtSurvivor Series, The Ascension was a part of Team Raw in a 10-on-10 Survivor Series tag team elimination match where their team lost. AtWrestleMania 35, Viktor competed in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal but failed to win the match. On the April 12, 2019 episode ofMain Event, The Ascension lost toHeavy Machinery (Otis andTucker), in what would be their final match in WWE.[23]
On December 8, 2019, Viktor and his Ascension teammate Konnor were released from the WWE.[24]
Following their departure from WWE, Konnor and Viktor were announced for Wrestling Revolver's Pancakes and Piledrivers event during WrestleMania 36 weekend.[citation needed] On February 20, 2020, The Ascension competed in their first match since leaving WWE at Outlaw Wrestling defeatingBull James and Bill Carr.
AtBack to the Territories, Zyon foughtJuventud Guerrera for NWA Kross Fire Championship which ended in no contest. At76th Anniversary Show, Zyon and "Magic" Jake Dumas defeatedBaron Von Storm andJax Dane. AtSamhain 2, Zyon and "Magic" Jake Dumas lost toBaron Von Storm andJax Dane. AtShockwave, Zyon lost toBurchill in aDane Memorial Heavyweight Tournament first round match. AtHard Times V, Zyon lost toMike Mondo. AtCrockett Cup, The Nightmare Syndicate (Zyon andFrank) lost to Daisy Kill and Talos in aCrockett Cupfirst round match. At77th Anniversary Show, The Nightmare Syndicate (Zyon and Frank) competed in a Four-way tag team elimination match to determine the #1 contenders to the NWA World Tag Team Championship which was won byThe Colóns (Eddie Colón andOrlando Colón).
Viktor made his video game debut as a part of the NXT ArrivalDLC pack inWWE 2K15, then reappeared as part ofWWE 2K16,WWE 2K17,WWE 2K18 andWWE 2K19 and the WWE filmCountdown.
Florida Championship Wrestling tweeted: Congratulations to @RickVictor69 (Rick Victor) and #BradMaddox- New FCW Tag Team Champions following Melbourne Event. Big Week in FCW check out the site!!
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