 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Daniel Joseph Moloney (1997-02-09)February 9, 1997 (age 28)[2] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Drilla Moloney Dan Moloney Daniel Moloney Super Santos Sr. Los Federales Santos Sr. |
| Billed height | 178 cm (5 ft 10 in)[1] |
| Billed weight | 100 kg (220 lb) |
| Trained by | The Hunter Brothers |
| Debut | 2013 |
Daniel Joseph Moloney (born February 9, 1997) is anEnglishprofessional wrestler. He is signed toNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he performs under the ring nameDrilla Moloney. He is a member ofBullet Club and itsWar Dogs contingent. He is a former two-timeIWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion alongsideClark Connors. Moloney also makes appearances for various British promotions such asProgress Wrestling,TNT Extreme Wrestling and prior to 2024,Revolution Pro Wrestling.[3] In NJPW, Moloney was a former member of theUnited Empire stable for a brief time before betraying them for Bullet Club at Dominion (June 4, 2023).
Moloney made his debut inProgress Wrestling atPROGRESS Chapter 80: Gods And Monsters on December 8, 2018, where he unsuccessfully challengedTrent Seven for theProgress Atlas Championship.[4] He competed in various event gimmicks, such as atPROGRESS Chapter 89: 26th May 1988, a comedic event which took place on May 26, 2019, where he wrestled under the name of "The Teflon Sheik" and fell short toMark Davis who portraited "Wally Handford".[5] AtPROGRESS Chapter 90 on June 30, 2019, Moloney teamed up with Trent Seven in a losing effort againstLatin American Xchange (Santana and Ortiz).[6] AtPROGRESS Chapter 95: Still Chasing on September 15, 2019, Moloney took part into arumble match to determine the inaugural Progress Proteus Championship, bout won by Paul Robinson which also involved various wrestlers such asChris Brookes,Ilja Dragunov,Travis Banks,Eddie Kingston,Millie McKenzie,Jonathan Gresham,Spike Trivet, Charli Evans and many others.[7] AtPROGRESS Chapter 104 on February 20, 2021, he unsuccessfully challengedCara Noir for thePROGRESS World Championship.[8] Moloney won his first title on Progress Wrestling, thePROGRESS Tag Team Championship alongside his "The 0121" tag team partner Man Like DeReiss atPROGRESS Chapter 131: 10th Anniversary Show on March 25, 2022, by defeating the previous champions Smokin' Aces (Charlie Sterling and Nick Riley) in afive-way tag team match also involving Lykos Gym (Kid Lykos and Kid Lykos II),Sunshine Machine (Chuck Mambo and TK Cooper), and North West Strong (Chris Ridgeway andLuke Jacobs).[9] AtPROGRESS Chapter 139 Warriors Come Out To Play on August 28, 2022, Moloney unsuccessfully challengedBig Damo for the PROGRESS World Championship.[10]
Moloney made his first appearance for the promotion atRevPro Live At The Cockpit 43 on July 7, 2019, where he teamed up with MK McKinnan to defeat Dan Magee andKurtis Chapman.[11] AtRevPro High Stakes 2021 on September 19, Moloney unsuccessfully facedShota Umino.[12] AtRevPro Lethal Weapon on March 8, 2020, Moloney teamed up withRobbie X, falling short toBullet Club'sEl Phantasmo andHikuleo.[13]
On March 26, 2023 at Revolution Rumble, a show promoted by Revolution Pro Wrestling, Moloney defeatedFrancesco Akira in singles competition. After the bout concluded,Will Ospreay offered Moloney a spot in theUnited Empire stable which Moloney accepted.[14]
Moloney made his debut inWWE on theNXT UK brand, while taking part in the inauguralUnited Kingdom ChampionshipTournament. He wrestled his first match on the first night of the tournament from January 14, 2017, where he fell short toMark Andrews in the first rounds.[15] On the second night of the tournament from January 15, Moloney teamed up withNathan Cruz in a losing effort againstSaxon Huxley andTucker.[16] He continued to make sporadic appearances on NXT UK, competing in various live shows such as theWWE United Kingdom Championship Special show from May 7, 2017, where he teamed up withRich Swann in a losing effort againstThe Brian Kendrick andTJP.[17] Moloney often teamed up with his indie tag team partner Man Like DeReiss in various events of the brand, such as theNXT UK #83 episode from March 6, 2020, where they fell short toPretty Deadly (Lewis Howley and Sam Stoker).[18]
Maloney's final appearances for NXT UK occurred in 2021 where he teamed with Andy Wild in losing efforts to Symbiosis in June and Jack Starz andDave Mastiff in September.[19][20]
On April 27, 2023, Moloney was announced as an entrant inNew Japan Pro-Wrestling'sBest of the Super Juniors 30 tournament, competing in the B Block.[21] Moloney finished the tournament with 8 points, failing to advance to the semi-finals.[22] On June 4 atDominion, Moloney betrayedUnited Empire after attackingFrancesco Akira andTJP alongsideClark Connors, following the duo'sIWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship match and joinedBullet Club.[23] On July 4 on Night 1 ofNJPW Independence Day, Moloney (now going byDrilla Moloney) and Connors defeated Catch 2/2 to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships, marking both men’s first NJPW championships.[24]
The following night, the duo made their first title defence, defeatingChaos (Rocky Romero andYoh).[25] The duo made another successful title defence atDestruction in Ryōgoku on October 9, defeating Intergactic Jet Setters (Kushida andKevin Knight).[26] 5 days later, the duo made another successful defence againstLeon Slater and Cameron Khai, atRoyal Quest III.[27] Later in the month, Moloney and Connors entered theSuper Junior Tag League.[28] The duo finished their tournament campaign with 10 points, failing to advance to the finals.[29] Following the tournament final, the duo attacked tournament winners Catch 2/2, ahead of their scheduled title defence against the duo atWrestle Kingdom 18.[30] Ahead of the match at Wrestle Kingdom, the two teams faced off in NJPW's first evercoffin match, which was won by Bullet Club, after they locked TJP in the coffin.[31] At the event, Akira and TJP defeated Connors and Moloney, ending the duo's reign at 184 days,[32] only to regain them a month later. The duo dropped the titles to Intergalactic Jet Setters in October atKing of Pro-Wrestling. AtWrestle Kingdom 19, they failed to win the titles back in afour-wayladder match.
On January 6, 2025 atNew Year Dash!!, Moloney announced that he would be joining the heavyweight division.[33] On February 11 atThe New Beginning in Osaka, Moloney wrestled his first match as a heavyweight, defeatingShingo Takagi.[34] Moloney then participated in theNew Japan Cup, defeatingTomohiro Ishii in the first round,[35] TJP in the second round,[36] but was eliminated by Takagi in a rematch in the quarter-finals.[37]
Moloney made hisAll Elite Wrestling (AEW) debut on the August 20, 2025 episode ofDynamite, where he and Bullet Club War Dogs stablematesClark Connors andRobbie X attempted to assist theDeath Riders (Claudio Castagnoli,Jon Moxley, andWheeler Yuta) in their match againstHiroshi Tanahashi and JetSpeed (Kevin Knight and"Speedball" Mike Bailey), but were fended off by The Opps (Katsuyori Shibata,Powerhouse Hobbs, andSamoa Joe).[38]
In 2022, Moloney played the role of Si in the British sitcomDeep Heat, broadcast onITV2 where he worked with comedy actressPippa Haywood andSex Education actorAlistair Petrie. Moloney said he struggled with scripts due to him suffering fromdyslexia.[39]
