Growing up in Ansonia, Connecticut, Ballester studiedBruce Lee tapes and eventually channeled his love of doing backflips, handstands and scaling walls intobackyard wrestling. Fox worked for a brief time atBig Y World Class Market, a grocery store, with TJ Guerrero, that he left shortly after finding popularity in wrestling.[8]
In 2007, Ballester turned his backyard wrestling hobby into a career inprofessional wrestling,[8] debuting after being trained byCurtis "Mr." Hughes at his World Wrestling Alliance 4 (WWA4) promotion's wrestling school in Atlanta, Georgia.[5] He later also underwent further training inWWE'sdevelopmental territoryFlorida Championship Wrestling (FCW).[5] Originally working under thering name "Ampliflyer", Ballester spent the next couple of years working minor promotions on the Americanindependent circuit including WWA4 and Prime Time Pro Wrestling (PTPW).[9][10] Ballester eventually adopted the ring name "AR Fox", feeling that due to his small size, he needed to "outfox" his opponents to gain an advantage.[8]
Ballester, as AR Fox, made his debut forCombat Zone Wrestling (CZW) on February 13, 2010, losing to Aaron Arbo in an "Opportunity Knocks" three-way match, which also included Unbreakable Andy.[11] After teaming with Chip Day in a tag team loss against Zero Gravity (Brett Gakiya and CJ Esparza) on March 27,[12] Fox picked up his first win in CZW on April 10, when he defeated Aaron Arbo and Unbreakable Andy in another three-way match.[13] Fox then entered a storyline, where it was rumored that CZW officials did not believe he had what it took to be a wrestler for the promotion.[6] On September 10, Fox defeated Alex Colon, Facade,Ricochet,Ruckus and tHURTeen in to win the Chris Cash Aerial Assaultladder match and become the number one contender to theCZW World Junior Heavyweight Championship.[14] However, he would go on to fail in his title challenge againstAdam Cole on October 9.[15] After defeating Alex Colon on November 13,[16] Fox was granted another shot at the title on December 11, but was again defeated by Cole, following interference from his new manager,Mia Yim.[17] On March 12, 2011, Fox defeated Alex Colon and Ryan McBride in a three-way match to qualify for theBest of the Best X tournament.[18] He entered the tournament on April 9, but was eliminated bySami Callihan in a first round three-way match, which includedJake Crist.[19] Despite his early elimination, Fox earned praise from Callihan, who named him the "people's choice", giving him the People's Choice Award he had won himself.[19] This effectively ended the story, where CZW officials were doubting Fox's abilities.[6]
On April 10, 2011, Fox defeated Alex Colon,Jonathan Gresham, Ryan McBride, Ryan Slater and Ty Hagen in a six-way match to earn another shot at the CZW World Junior Heavyweight Championship.[20] On May 14, Fox faced Adam Cole for the third match between the two for the CZW World Junior Heavyweight Championship. After debuting his new finishing maneuver, Lo Mein Pain, Fox had the match won when CZW ownerD. J. Hyde entered the ring and hit him with alariat, leading to Cole retaining his title.[21] At the following event on June 11, Fox won his first title in CZW, when he defeatedDrew Gulak for theCZW Wired TV Championship.[22] However, he would lose the title to Jake Crist in his first title defense on July 9.[23] On October 7, Fox received his first shot at theCZW World Heavyweight Championship, but was defeated by the defending champion, Devon Moore.[24] From November 5 to 12, Fox took part in asingle-elimination tournament to determine the number one contender to the CZW World Junior Heavyweight Championship, and in the end, he defeated Ryan McBride to win the tournament.[25][26] On December 3 atCage of Death 13, Fox unsuccessfully challenged new World Junior Heavyweight Champion Sami Callihan for his title.[27][28]
On April 14, Fox took part in theBest of the Best 11 tournament. After wins overA. C. H. andLince Dorado in a three-way match, andSamuray del Sol in a semifinal match, Fox was defeated in the finals of the tournament by Sami Callihan.[29][30] Winning the Best of the Best 11 People's Choice Award, Fox was granted the right to challenge for any CZW title whenever he wanted.[29][30] On July 14, Fox unsuccessfully challengedMasada for the CZW World Heavyweight Championship.[31][32] Later that same event, Fox used his title challenge right and challenged Sami Callihan to a match for the CZW World Junior Heavyweight Championship, immediately after he had regained it fromDrake Younger. In the end, Fox was victorious, finally winning the World Junior Heavyweight Championship for the first time.[31][32] After a successful title defense against Alex Colon on August 11,[33] Fox defeatedDave Crist on September 8 in a ladder match to not only retain the World Junior Heavyweight Championship, but to also win the CZW Wired TV Championship for the second time.[34][35] Following the match, the World Junior Heavyweight Championship was retired with Fox recognized as the final champion.[36] On November 10, Fox made his first defense of the Wired TV Championship, defeating Lucky 13,Rich Swann andShane Strickland in a four-way match.[37] On December 8 atCage of Death XIV, Fox successfully defended the CZW Wired TV Championship against a surprise opponent, the returningRobert Anthony.[38][39][40] On March 9, 2013, at the Wanted internetpay-per-view, Fox made another successful defense of the title against Azrieal.[41][42] On March 31, Fox successfully defended the title againstFlamita at a Desastre Total Ultraviolento (DTU) event in Mexico City.[43][44] On April 13, Fox entered theBest of the Best XII tournament, defeating Andrew Everett andUhaa Nation in his first round match. After defeatingTommy End in his semifinal match, Fox was defeated in the finals of the tournament by Alex Colon.[45][46][47] On May 11, Fox teamed withAthena in the2013 Queen and King of the Ring tournament, which CZW co-promoted with theWomen Superstars Uncensored (WSU) promotion. After wins over Ezavel Suena and Latin Dragon, and Addy Starr andMatt Tremont, Fox and Athena defeated Drew Gulak andKimber Lee in the finals to win the tournament.[48][49] On September 14, Fox lost the Wired TV Championship to Alex Colon in a four-way ladder match, which also included Andrew Everett and Shane Strickland.[50] On February 8, 2014, at CZW's 15th anniversary event, Fox defeatedBlk Jeez, Chris Dickinson and Drake Younger in a four-way match to become the number one contender to the CZW World Heavyweight Championship.[51][52] Fox received his title shot on March 8, but was defeated by the defending champion, Drew Gulak.[53][54]
On November 20, 2010, Fox made his debut for theEvolve promotion, defeating Rich Swann, Scott Reed andTony Nese in a four-way match.[55] On January 29, 2011, Fox made his debut for Evolve's close affiliate,Dragon Gate USA, losing to Sami Callihan in a six-way match.[56] The following day, Fox defeatedCheech for his first win in Dragon Gate USA.[57] On May 20, Fox defeated Rich Swann,Jon Davis and Sami Callihan during a one-night tournament to win Evolve's inaugural Style Battle tournament.[58] After a series of multi-man matches,[59][60] Fox wrestled his, up to that point, highest profile Dragon Gate USA match on June 4, where he was defeated byAkira Tozawa.[61]
On June 5, Fox defeated Pinkie Sanchez at Dragon Gate USA's second anniversary event, after which he was beaten down by Sanchez and his D.U.F. (Dirty Ugly Fucks)stablematesArik Cannon and Sami Callihan, starting his firststoryline rivalry in the promotion.[62] In July, Fox made his first trip toJapan for a tour with Dragon Gate USA's parent promotion, Dragon Gate. He made his debut on July 23, when he teamed with Junction Three membersGamma andMasato Yoshino in a six-man tag team match, where they were defeated by the Blood Warriors trio ofGenki Horiguchi,Naruki Doi andYasushi Kanda.[63] During the rest of the tour, which lasted until August 8, Fox continued working mainly against the Blood Warriors stable.[64][65][66] Back in Dragon Gate USA on September 10, Fox teamed with the debuting veteran wrestlerSabu to defeat Cannon and Sanchez in aNo Disqualification match.[67] The following day, D.U.F. came back, in the form of Callihan and Cannon, to defeat Fox andYamato in a tag team match.[68] On November 13, Fox, Jon Davis and Sabu were defeated in a six-man "Extreme Warfare" main event by Callihan, Cannon and Sanchez, with Callihan pinning Fox for the win.[69] Fox started off his 2012 by losing to Callihan in anAnything Goes Tables match on January 27.[70] On May 11, Fox returned to Evolve, which was now unified with Dragon Gate USA, defeating Callihan in a main event grudge match.[71] The following day at Evolve 13, Fox defeatedJigsaw, Ricochet and Samuray del Sol in the opening match to earn a shot at theOpen the Freedom Gate Championship later in the main event.[72] Fox then went on to fail in his title challenge against the defending champion,Johnny Gargano.[72]
Back in Dragon Gate USA in July 2012, Fox formed a tag team withCima, who had been told to find a partner for an upcomingOpen the United Gate Championship match. The two defeatedEl Generico and Samuray del Sol in their first match together on July 28.[73] The following day, Fox and Cima defeated Rich Swann and Ricochet to win thevacant Open the United Gate Championship.[74] On October 6, Fox started his second tour with Dragon Gate with a win overJimmy Kagetora.[75] During the tour, which lasted until October 28,[76] Fox and Cima successfully defended the Open the United Gate Championship, first against World-1 International representatives Masato Yoshino and Naruki Doi on October 7,[77] and then against Jimmyz representativesJimmy Susumu andMr. Kyu Kyu Toyonaka Dolphin on October 8.[78] Upon his return to Dragon Gate USA, Fox defeated Ricochet in a main event on November 2; as a result, Ricochet was forced to tell Fox that he respected him.[79] The following day, Fox and Cima defeated Genki Horiguchi andRyo Saito to retain the Open the United Gate Championship.[80] On November 4, Fox received another shot at the Open the Freedom Gate Championship in a four-way elimination match with champion Johnny Gargano, Akira Tozawa and Ricochet. Fox was the first man eliminated from the match by Ricochet.[81] On April 5, 2013, Fox defeated Jon Davis, Ricochet and Sami Callihan during a one-night single-elimination tournament to become the inauguralEvolve Champion.[82] The following night at Open the Ultimate Gate 2013, Fox and Cima lost the Open the United Gate Championship toThe Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson).[83] On May 30 at Evolve 20, Fox made his first successful defense of the Evolve Championship against Nick Jackson.[84] Two days later at Evolve 22, Fox defeated Lince Dorado for his second successful title defense.[85] On July 28 at Enter the Dragon 2013, Dragon Gate USA's fourth anniversary event, Fox was defeated byTrent Barreta in a non-title match. Immediately afterwards, Fox agreed to defend the Evolve Championship against Barreta and defeated him to make his third successful title defense.[86] Post-match, Fox was attacked by Mr. A and Su Yung,[86] whose managee Anthony Nese he then defeated on September 21 at Evolve 23 for his fourth successful defense of the Evolve Championship.[87][88] The following day at Evolve 24, Fox ended his rivalry with Ricochet by defeating him in an "Evolution's End" match.[89] On November 16, Fox made his fifth successful defense of the Evolve Championship in a four-way match againstFire Ant,Mr. Touchdown and Shane Strickland.[90] On January 10, 2014, Fox made another successful title defense againstDavey Richards.[91] Fox's next two title defenses took place during Dragon Gate USA's February events. After successfully defending the title against Drew Gulak on February 22,[92] Fox lost the title toChris Hero in his eighth title defense the following day.[93] In November, Fox took part in Dragon Gate USA's parent company WWNLive's tour of China, during which he unsuccessfully challenged Ricochet for the Open the Freedom Gate Championship on November 14 and Rich Swann for theFIP World Heavyweight Championship on November 16.[94][95] On March 26, 2015, Fox received another shot at the Open the Freedom Gate Championship, but was again defeated by Johnny Gargano.[96] On April 8, 2015, Fox announced his departure from WWNLive due to lack of communication with the office regarding future bookings.[97][98]
On December 3, 2010, Fox made his debut forFull Impact Pro (FIP), unsuccessfully challengingJon Moxley for the FIP World Heavyweight Championship.[99][100][101] This was followed by Fox also unsuccessfully challengingCraig Classic for theNWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship on March 19, 2011.[102] On October 28, Fox picked up his first win in FIP, when he defeated Jake Manning in the first round of the2011 Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup.[103] The following day, Fox defeated Flip Kendrick, Bobby Fish and finally Johnny Gargano to win the entire tournament.[103] On February 1, 2013, FIP held its first event in fifteen months, which saw AR Fox being defeated by Jon Davis in the main event for the vacantFIP World Heavyweight Championship.[104][105] On March 22, Fox made his debut for Southern California-basedPro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) during the promotion's All Star Weekend 9, teaming with Samuray del Sol in a tag team match, where they were defeated by the Inner City Machine Guns (Rich Swann and Ricochet).[106][107] The following day, Fox teamed with the Inner City Machine Guns in a six-man tag team match, where they were defeated byBrian Cage,Kevin Steen andMichael Elgin.[108] On March 29, Fox made his debut for the MexicanAAA promotion, teaming withDr. Cerebro andEterno in a six-man tag team match, where they were defeated byCrazy Boy,Joe Líder andWillie Mack.[109] On June 8, Fox made his debut forChilean promotion Chile Lucha Libre (CLL), defeating Beto Velez, Bunny and Sito King in a four-way main event to become the inaugural CLL International All Star Champion.[110] On August 30, Fox returned to PWG to take part in the2013 Battle of Los Angeles, but was eliminated from the tournament in his first round match byRoderick Strong.[111] From October 3 to 6, Fox took part inWestside Xtreme Wrestling's (wXw) 2013 World Triangle League, which also marked his debut for the German promotion. Fox finished his tournament with a record of one win and two losses, failing to advance from his block.[112] On September 20, 2014, Fox made his debut forChikara, entering the Rey de Voladores tournament and losing toThe Great Sanada in a four-way match, which also includedAmasis and Orlando Christopher.[113] On June 20, 2015, Fox made his debut forRing of Honor (ROH), working in adark match at aRing of Honor Wrestling taping.[114] On July 10, Fox made his debut forGlobal Force Wrestling (GFW), defeating Aaron Draven andChuck Taylor in a three-way match.[115]
In March 2016, Fox started working forLucha Underground asDante Fox, a storyline military friend ofKillshot, who had supposedly been killed in combat.[2] Fox feuded with Killshot until June 25 and the season three concludingUltima Lucha Tres event, where he was defeated by Killshot in a "Hell of War" match.[1] The following day, Fox and Killshot, having seemingly made up, teamed withWillie Mack to win theLucha Underground Trios Championship.[1]
All Elite Wrestling / Ring of Honor (2022–present)
In October 2022, AR Fox began making appearances forAll Elite Wrestling (AEW) on theirAEW Dark andAEW Dark: Elevation programs. He picked up his first victory againstSerpentico on the November 9 edition ofDark: Elevation.[116] Fox made hisAEW Dynamite debut on November 16, 2022, forming a trio with Top Flight (Dante Martin andDarius Martin) in a losing effort toDeath Triangle.[117] On November 30, it was reported AR Fox officially signed with AEW. Fox also makes sporadic appearances in AEW's sister promotionRing of Honor (ROH), usually teaming with Top Flight in trios matches against various opponents.
Following a loss toOrange Cassidy in a match for theAEW International Championship on the July 26, 2023 episode ofDynamite, AR Fox joined theMogul Embassy after helpingSwerve Strickland defeatDarby Allin, turning heel in the process. On the August 23 episode ofDynamite, Strickland kicked Fox out of Mogul Embassy after the duo were defeated by Allin andNick Wayne in a tag team match, turning face once again in the process. On the November 4 episode ofAEW Collision, Fox was defeated by Strickland. Fox would spend the majority of 2023 and 2024 wrestling onCollision,AEW Rampage, andROH HonorClub.[118]
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