 Jones atWrestleMania XIX in 2003 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | (1970-08-21)21 August 1970 (age 55)[2] Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Spouse | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Professional wrestling career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ring name(s) | Nathan Jones Nathaniel Stathom | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Billed height | 6 ft 11 in (211 cm)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Billed weight | 345 lb (156 kg)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Trained by | Ultimate Pro Wrestling[2] Mike Bell[1] Tom Howard[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Debut | 1998 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retired | 2005 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Martial arts career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 11 in (211 cm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 345 lb (156 kg; 24 st 9 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Style | MMA Kickboxing,Muay thai | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Strongman career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 207 kg (456 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Nathan Jones (born 21 August 1970) is an Australian actor,strongman,powerlifter, and formerprofessional wrestler. He is best known for his time inWorld Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) andWorld Wrestling All-Stars (WWA).
A delinquent in his youth who served a prison sentence for armed robbery, Jones began his athletic career as a powerlifter and strongman, representing Australia in theWorld's Strongest Man competitions of 1995 and 1996. He made his acting career that same year inPolice Story IV: First Strike (1996), oppositeJackie Chan. He began his wrestling career for Australian promotion WWA, followed by a stint in WWE, where he was billed in "The Colossus ofBoggo Road" in reference to his criminal convictions.
Jones retired from wrestling in the late 2000s, and has since focused on acting. He portrayed supporting villainRictus Erectus inMad Max: Fury Road (2015) and its 2024 prequelFuriosa: A Mad Max Saga. He also appeared in films such asTroy (2004),Tom-Yum-Goong (2005),Fearless (2006),Conan the Barbarian (2011),Hobbs & Shaw (2019), andMortal Kombat (2021), usually playingantagonists.
Jones was born inGold Coast, Queensland in 1970.
Before his career as a wrestler, Jones was sentenced to 16 years in 1987 at the age of 17 toBoggo Road Gaol for eight armed robberies between 1985 and 1987, two of which occurred inTasmania. During the robberies, he became one of Australia's most wanted and ended up serving seven years in a maximum-security prison. In 1994, Jones was given one-year work release before being discharged at the age of 24.[3] While in prison, he was introduced to the sport ofpowerlifting. He is also alleged to have begun taking steroids during this time.[4] Within a short space of time, he became the National Powerlifting Champion of Australia.
Upon his release, Jones also began competing instrongman contests and during this time, he was dubbed "Megaman". As the reigning Australia's Strongest Man, he entered the World Strength Championship atCallander,Scotland, on 29–30 July 1995. He took first place, topping a field that included 1993World's Strongest ManGary Taylor. The following weekend, he competed in theWorld Muscle Power Classic held at Mintlaw,Aberdeenshire, Scotland. That contest was won byMagnús Ver Magnússon, with Nathan finishing fifth in a field of twelve competitors.[5]
Jones next took part in the 1995World's Strongest Man contest. After quickly defeatingPhil Martin twice in thearm wrestling event in the qualifying heat, Jones was then matched againstMagnus Samuelsson, who had beenEurope's arm wrestling champion for several years and who would become the World's Strongest Man in 1998. Samuelsson won the first round. In the second round Jones refused to go down and pulled with his opposite arm, twisting his body. This resulted in breaking the arm he was using to wrestle (a spiral fracture of thehumerus),[6] and he subsequently was out of the competition. Jones returned to Strongman competition in 1996, winning theWorld Strongman Challenge, and placed third in a World's Strongest Man qualifying heat behindMagnús Ver Magnússon andJorma Ojanaho. During the heat, Jones opted to retire from the penultimate event, confidently assuming he would win the last event to get the necessary points to get through to the final, however he placed fourth in the last event and angrily left the playing area, refusing to speak to any competitors or media.[7]
He also participated in amixed martial arts match atPride Fighting Championships's debut eventPride 1 in October 1997, facing Japaneseprofessional wrestler and formergrand sumo championKoji Kitao. Jones was submitted after being caught in an armlock.
After working as abodyguard formultimillionaireRene Rivkin, Jones began a career in wrestling during this time working forUltimate Pro Wrestling. Jones first gained fame working inWorld Wrestling All-Stars, making a large impression at the first WWApay-per-view "Inception", where he was accompanied to the ring byRove McManus. However, he was defeated after Rove was smashed withJeff Jarrett's guitar and Jones was hit with theStroke.[8]
During his time in the WWA, Nathan won theWWA World Heavyweight Championship on 7 April 2002 before losing the belt toScott Steiner only 5 days later.[8]
After the title loss, Jones began performing forPro Wrestling Zero1-Max in June.[9] On 20 October, Jones andJon Heidenreich defeatedMasato Tanaka andShinjiro Otani to win theNWA Intercontinental Tag Team Championship.[9] On 25 October, Jones and Heidenreich successfully retained the title againstJimmy Snuka Jr. For the 2nd time. andThe Predator before losing the title the next day toNaoya Ogawa andShinya Hashimoto.[9]
After Jones initially signed his contract withWorld Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), he was unable to work in the United States because ofvisa issues stemming from his criminal history.[10] In late 2002 and early 2003, Jones began performing indark matches forWorld Wrestling Entertainment.[2][8][9] He was originally promoted as a "Hannibal Lecter" type character.[10] On 10 April 2003 episode ofSmackDown!, Jones made his televised WWE in-ring debut and defeatedBill DeMott.[2][8]
Upon debuting, Jones' original character was mixed, and he was put into a storyline withThe Undertaker as his protégé and helper during The Undertaker's feud withA-Train andBig Show.[10] AtWrestleMania XIX, Jones and The Undertaker were scheduled to face Big Show and A-Train in a tag team match, but at the last minute, the match was made a handicap match instead.[10] On screen, Jones was attacked pre-match and left injured.[2] Near the closing moments of the match, Jones reappeared and attacked Big Show, enabling The Undertaker to pin A-Train for the victory.[2] Jones was then sent toOhio Valley Wrestling (OVW) to improve his skills.[10]
Jones was then absent from television for several months until returning in the fall of 2003 as avillain known by the nickname "The Colossus of Boggo Road", a title referring to his time spent inBoggo Road Gaol. He was paired withPaul Heyman on-screen, with Heyman taking on the role of SmackDown! General Manager.[10] He was also immediately placed intoBrock Lesnar'sSurvivor Series team, which also included A-Train, Big Show, andMatt Morgan in order to compete against Lesnar's rivalKurt Angle and his team. At Survivor Series, Jones was eliminated by Angle after he submitted to theankle lock. Team Lesnar was defeated by Team Angle and Jones was then relegated tointerfere in Lesnar's matches along with the other members of Team Lesnar. He was also placed in matches by either Lesnar or Heyman to aid them. On 6 December 2003, Jones quit the company due to the rigor of WWE's heavy travel schedules while on tour inPerth,Australia.[11]
After leaving WWE, Jones was scheduled to make his pro wrestling return in 2004 at the Australian Wrestling Supershow III, booked againstMark Mercedes. Jonesdid not appear as advertised and abattle royal was held following an angryshoot promo on Jones by Mercedes and promoterAndy Raymond.[12]
In 2005, he wrestled three matches forWorld Series Wrestling. On 5 October, he defeated Lee Star and on 7 and 8 October, he defeated Mark Hilton.[8] After his last match with Hilton, Jones immediately retired from wrestling.[1]
In 2008, Jones signed withTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling, but nerve damage caused by a cement truck hitting his left arm kept him sidelined for the first three months.[13] He never wrestled for the promotion.
Following a segment onGood Morning Australia in which he lifted and pushed aUte down a street, Jones was contacted byJackie Chan to be in the filmFirst Strike.[14] Eight years later, Jones featured alongsideBrad Pitt in the 2004 filmTroy.[15]
Although he had acted in movies as early as 1996, Jones pursued acting full time following his retirement from wrestling in 2005. In 2015, Jones had a featured role in the filmMad Max: Fury Road as Rictus Erectus.[16] He portrayed the character ofReiko in the2021 film adaptation of the video gameMortal Kombat. In 2016, he portrayed a negative role in a Bollywood film,A Flying Jatt. In 2024, Jones would reprise the role of Rictus Erectus in the prequel filmFuriosa: A Mad Max Saga.
Jones has been married to his wife Fawn Tran since 2016, together they have a son.[17]
| 1 match | 0 wins | 1 loss |
| By knockout | 0 | 0 |
| By submission | 0 | 1 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 0–1 | Koji Kitao | Submission (keylock) | PRIDE 1 | 11 October 1997 | 1 | 2:14 | Tokyo, Japan |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | First Strike | Hitman | |
| 2004 | Troy | Boagrius | |
| 2005 | Tom-Yum-Goong | T.K. | |
| 2006 | Fearless | Hercules O'Brien | |
| 2007 | The Condemned | Petr | |
| 2008 | Somtum | Barney Emerald | |
| Asterix at the Olympic Games | Humungus | ||
| 2011 | Conan the Barbarian | Akhun | |
| 2014 | Charlie's Farm | Charlie Wilson | |
| 2015 | Mad Max: Fury Road | Rictus Erectus | |
| Bhooloham | Steven George | ||
| 2016 | Never Back Down: No Surrender | Caesar Braga | Direct-to-video |
| A Flying Jatt | Raka | ||
| 2017 | Boar | Bernie | |
| 2018 | In Like Flynn | The Mountain | |
| The Scorpion King: Book of Souls | Enkidu | Direct-to-video | |
| 2019 | Hobbs & Shaw | Russian Fighter Pilot | |
| 2021 | Mortal Kombat | Reiko | |
| 2022 | Spiderhead | Rogan | |
| 2024 | Rippy | Reuben Williams | |
| Ricky Stanicky | Big Ben | ||
| Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga | Rictus Erectus | [20] | |
| Martin | |||
| TBA | Voltron† | TBA | Filming |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Doom Runners | Vike | Television film |
| Preceded by | Australia's Strongest Man 1995 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
