Paul Michael London[7] (born April 16, 1980) is an Americanprofessional wrestler. He is currently signed toMajor League Wrestling (MLW), where he performs as a wrestler and a producer. He is best known for his tenure inWWE.
London was born in Austin, Texas, and has two older brothers, Daniel andJonathan. In 1996, Daniel was killed by adrunk driver at the age of nineteen.[1][8] Jonathan is amusic video director.[9] London attendedWestlake High School in Texas.[1] He helped create the school's first-ever wrestling team where he was the captain, firstvarsity letterman and previously held the record for the fastestpinfall time of 7.4 seconds but was broken by 2x State Champion and Austin Westlake Great Justin Wood at 6.9 seconds.
After graduating from high school, London trained at severalwrestling schools, including a trailer park in West Memphis, Arkansas and a school run by Ivan Putski in North Austin, Texas. He debuted in 2000.[1] London made his first appearance at WCW Greed on March 18, 2001, as an audience member during the Diamond Dallas Page and Scott Steiner WCW World Heavyweight Championship match. He later enrolled inShawn Michaels' wrestling school, theTexas Wrestling Academy, where he was trained by Rudy Gonzales.[10] Early in his career, London made brief appearances in Japanese promotionPro Wrestling Zero-One (Zero1) andTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). London competed in Zero1 for several months on a match-by-match basis, beginning in January 2003, before turning down a contract.[1] London was contacted by TNA after ROH's one-year anniversary show, and told that they were interested in him doing some matches on a try-out basis.[11] On February 12, 2003, he made his TNA debut in a Gauntlet match againstJerry Lynn, which he lost.[12][13] London competed mainly in the company'sX Division, even earning shots at theNWA TNA X Division Championship.[14] His last appearance in TNA was on June 18, 2003, at the TNA Anniversary show.[15] He wrestled X Division ChampionChris Sabin for the title, only to lose due to interference fromCM Punk.[15] London has said that he viewed his time in TNA as a "stepping stone", but knew that he did not want to be there long-term.[11] London also made several appearances forEast Coast Wrestling Association and won the7th Annual ECWA Super 8 Tournament.[5]
He made his debut inRing of Honor (ROH) on March 30, 2002, in a match against Chris Marvel.[16] He began a lengthyfeud withMichael Shane during atag team match for ROH contracts on July 27, 2002. During the bout, both Shane and London made simultaneous pinfalls on their opponent's partners. The referee only counted for Shane, giving his team the victory, which led to London and Shane brawling.[17] The two continued to feud over the next several months in matches such asStreet Fights (where the crowd chanted "please don't die" due to London'shigh-risk offense), aTriple Threat match and aGauntlet match.[18][19][20]
On December 7, 2002, London won a tournament to capture the ROH Number One Contender's Trophy, guaranteeing a match for theROH Championship.[21] He lost the match three weeks later to then-championXavier.[22] On February 8, 2003, London competed in a Triple Threat match for the Number One Contender's Trophy, pinningA.J. Styles for the win.[23] After the match, Xavier informed London that he would compete for the title immediately.[23] London again lost to the champion.[23] London's final match in ROH was for the title againstSamoa Joe on July 19, 2003, in which he lost.[5][24]
London then began a tag team withBilly Kidman on the January 29 episode ofSmackDown!.[32] On the July 8 episode ofSmackDown!, the duo won theWWE Tag Team Championship from theDudley Boyz.[33] They defended the title against the Dudley Boyz and theBasham Brothers on several occasions before losing the championship toRené Duprée andKenzo Suzuki on the September 9 episode ofSmackDown!, due to Kidman leaving London to fight by himself.[34][35][36] Kidman'sheelturn led to a feud between the two, which culminated atNo Mercy on October 3 where Kidman defeated London with ashooting star press. After the match, London was bleeding from the mouth and being stretchered when Kidman pulled him back into the ring with the stretcher and delivered another shooting star press to London's injured ribs.[37] This storyline was put in place after London had broken his nose wrestlingBooker T and needed time off to recuperate.[38]
London returned on November 27, wrestling onVelocity until the end of the year.[39] On the March 10, 2005 episode ofSmackDown!, London became the number one contender forChavo Guerrero'sWWE Cruiserweight Championship, which he later won in a cruiserweightbattle royal on the March 31 episode ofSmackDown!.[40][41] Guerrero challenged London for the title atJudgment Day on May 22, where London emerged victorious.[42] During another title match with Guerrero on the June 23 episode ofSmackDown!,The Mexicools stormed the ring, attacking both London and Guerrero.[43] On the July 14 episode ofSmackDown!, London teamed withScotty 2 Hotty andFunaki to face The Mexicools. The ending of the match sawJuventud perform the450° splash on London for the win, but landed his knee onto London's face andlegitimately broke his nose in the process.[44][45] London lost the Cruiserweight Championship on the August 6 episode ofVelocity toNunzio.[46] Later in the night, London cut a heelpromo encouraging the fans to protest his title loss.[47] London went on a losing streak before returning as aface and teaming with the newly rehired Brian Kendrick.[48]
On the December 16 episode ofVelocity,London and Kendrick remade their image, wearingtheatricalmasks to the ring and matchingvests andshorts.[49] On the April 7, 2006, episode ofSmackDown!, London and Kendrick defeated WWE Tag Team ChampionsMNM in a non-title match.[50] They developed a winning streak over the champions, including singles victories for both Kendrick and London overJohnny Nitro andJoey Mercury, respectively.[51][52][53] London and Kendrick won the WWE Tag Team Championship atJudgment Day on May 21, marking consecutive victories for London and Kendrick over MNM.[54] On the August 11 episode ofSmackDown!,K. C. James andIdol Stevens defeated the champions in a non-title match, igniting a feud between the two teams.[55] During the rivalry,WWE DivaAshley Massaro began accompanying London and Kendrick to the ring to act as avalet and combat the actions of James and Stevens' managerMichelle McCool.[56][57]
London making his entrance at a WWE house show held inKitchener, Ontario, Canada, on January 15, 2005
They soon began a losing streak to the team ofWilliam Regal and Dave Taylor. Regal defeated both team members in singles matches and on the December 8 episode ofSmackDown!, Kendrick and London lost a tag team match to the pair.[58][59][60] As a result, they were scheduled to defend the championship against Regal and Taylor atArmageddon on December 17; at Armageddon, the match was changed to a four-way ladder match also involving MNM andThe Hardys. London and Kendrick won the match and retained the championship.[61] On the January 12, 2007, episode ofSmackDown! London and Kendrick successfully retained their championship against Regal and Taylor in a traditional tag team match.[62]
On the February 2 episode ofSmackDown!, London and Kendrick suffered a non-title loss to therookie teamDeuce 'n Domino.[63] A further tag team match loss and a singles loss for Kendrick toDeuce led to a championship match atNo Way Out on February 18, in which London and Kendrick were victorious.[64][65][66] They retained the championship against MNM on the March 23 episode ofSmackDown!, and then retained the championship against Deuce 'n Domino again on the April 13 episode ofSmackDown!, after Deuce 'n Domino were disqualified.[67][68] In a rematch the following week on the April 20 episode ofSmackDown!, London and Kendrick lost the WWE Tag Team Championship to Deuce 'n Domino. During the match London missed amoonsault from thering apron to the floor (kayfabe) injuring his ribs, leaving Kendrick to battle Deuce 'n Domino alone.[69] London and Kendrick's reign was the longest in the championship's history at 331 days until it was surpassed byThe New Day in 2016.[70]Selling his storyline injured ribs, London was absent from physical action until the May 11 episode ofSmackDown!, when he defeated Domino in singles competition.[71] London and Kendrick unsuccessfully competed for the titles on the June 1 episode ofSmackDown! in a triple threat tag team match, which also involved Regal and Taylor, and lost a rematch on the June 15 episode ofSmackDown! in a standard tag team match.[72][73]
Both London and Kendrick were drafted to theRawbrand on June 17, during theSupplemental Draft.[74] They won their debut match onRaw againstThe World's Greatest Tag Team on June 18.[75] Throughout July and August, they wrestled against The World's Greatest Tag Team andLance Cade and Trevor Murdoch onRaw, and on September 3, they won a number one contender's match for Cade and Murdoch'sWorld Tag Team Championship.[76][77][78] At ahouse show in South Africa on September 5, London and Kendrick defeated Cade and Murdoch to win the World Tag Team Championship, only to lose it back in a rematch three days later.[79][80] At the end of 2007, he was inactive due to a foot injury.[81] London returned on the February 4, 2008, episode ofRaw, when he and Kendrick lost to the team ofCarlito andSantino Marella.[82] On the March 17 episode ofRaw, London and Kendrick facedUmaga in a handicap match. During the match, Kendrick walked out and left London to get pinned; no dissension came of the incident, and London and Kendrick continued to team together.[83][84] They unsuccessfully challengedHardcore Holly andCody Rhodes for the World Tag Team Championship on May 26.[85]
The team came to an end when Kendrick was drafted back to the SmackDown brand as part of the2008 WWE Supplemental Draft in June.[86] The following month, London was briefly involved in a storyline between Shawn Michaels, and Chris Jericho and Lance Cade, when Jericho and Cade used London as an example of what happened to those who idolized Michaels. London lost singles matches to both Jericho and Cade onRaw, before disappearing from television.[38][87][88] London was released from his WWE contract on November 7, 2008.[38][89]
London made his debut in Big Time Wrestling on February 28, 2009, defeating the BTW Champion Jason Styles by disqualification.[90] At the event, he also debuted a new gimmick, described as "a nerdy blend of 1970s bandDevo and a nerdy Air Force cadet with flight jacket and goofy, oversized sunglasses".[90] On November 13, 2009, London defeated Jason Blade to win the Northeast Wrestling Championship.[91] On July 10, 2010, London defeated Joey Silvia in a two out of three falls match to become the new Pro Wrestling Xperience Heavyweight Champion.[92]
On March 26, 2010, London made his debut forDragon Gate USA in a tag team match, where he andJimmy Jacobs were defeated by Brian Kendrick andJon Moxley.[93] After the match, Kendrick turned on Moxley and re-formed his team with London, which led to aLoser Leaves Company tag team match between London and Kendrick and Jacobs andJack Evans at the following day's tapings of theMercury Rising pay-per-view. In the end Jacobs forced Kendrick to tap out and as a result he was forced to leave Dragon Gate USA for good. After the match London was assaulted byTeddy Hart.[94]
In December 2010, London began working forLucha Libre USA as the masked Sydistiko, taking over the role previously held byT. J. Perkins.[95] He teamed up with Rellik to defeat Dinastia (El Oriental andTinieblas Jr.) on December 12, 2010. The pair participated in three way match to decide the newLLUSA Tag Team Championship but this time El Oriental and Tinieblas Jr. would get the better of the pair. As Sydistiko, he would go on to lose all his matches includingLLUSA Championship number one contendership lucha roulette elimination.
On July 30, 2011, London competed at Vanguard Championship Wrestling (VCW)'sLiberty Lottery 2011 event. He faced John Kermon, the VCW Liberty Champion, and defeated him to become the Liberty Champion.[96] On February 16, 2013, London defeated Brian Kendrick atFamily Wrestling Entertainment's No Limit, winning a title match against theTri-Borough Champion Damian Darling. The same night, London defeated Darling, winning the title. On June 21, 2013, London defeatedAkio to retain the title. The next day, London and Kendrick were defeated by The Young Bucks at House of Hardcore 2.[97]
London spent the majority of 2014 wrestling abroad, including in Australia, Europe, and South America.[10] In Scotland'sInsane Championship Wrestling (ICW), London and Brian Kendrick won theICW Tag Team Championship in October 2014. After a 28 day reign, they lost the championship to Polo Promotions (Mark Coffey and Jackie Polo) on November 2.[98] Following this title loss, London would then unsuccessfully challengeKenny Williams for theICW Zero-G Championship.[99]
On November 19, 2016, London wrestled for Target Wrestling, where he answered Shady Nattrass' High Octane Division Championship open challenge. London defeated Nattrass in the match and subsequently won the title. On April 20, 2017, London vacated the title due to a knee injury sustained while wrestling in San Diego. On July 29, 2017, it was announced that he would return to Target on August 18 to face Turbo Josh Terry for the High Octane Division Championship he vacated in April.[100]
London made his return to the independent circuit by making hisPro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) debut on February 21, 2009, atExpress Written Consent.[90] He wrestled in a six man tag team main event where he andThe Young Bucks (Nick and Matt Jackson) defeated The Dynasty (Joey Ryan,Scott Lost andKarl Anderson). He later formed an alliance withBryan Danielson andRoderick Strong, known as the "Hybrid Dolphins". On January 30, 2010, London re-formed his partnership with Brian Kendrick in PWG and together the two of them defeated thePWG World Tag Team ChampionsGeneration Me in a non-title match.[101]
On April 10, 2010, London defeated PWG mainstayEl Generico in a singles match.[102] On May 9, the two men teamed up to form a duo introduced as ¡Peligro Abejas! (literally translated as The Danger Bees) in the fourth annualDDT4 eight-team tag tournament. After defeating "The Professional"Scott Lost andChuck Taylor in the first round andJay and Mark Briscoe in the semifinals, London and Generico defeated the Young Bucks in the finals of the tournament to win both DDT4 and the PWG World Tag Team Championship.[103] Later in the year on December 11, 2010, ¡Peligro Abejas! successfully defended the PWG World Tag Team Championship against theROH World Tag Team ChampionsThe Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero andClaudio Castagnoli). On April 9, 2011, London was forced to miss a PWG event, during which El Generico and London's replacement,Ricochet, lost the PWG World Tag Team Championship back to The Young Bucks.[104]
After a two-year absence from PWG, London returned to the promotion on March 22, 2013, defeatingKevin Steen during the first night of theAll Star Weekend 9.[105] During the second night, he defeatedTrent? in another singles match.[106] At PWG's tenth anniversary showTEN he teamed with long-time partnerBrian Kendrick in a loss toChuck Taylor andJohnny Gargano.
On November 23, 2016, London debuted inLucha Underground, appearing on the program's third season. He is the leader of the Trios Team known as "The Rabbit Tribe", together with Mala Suerte and Saltador. Their gimmick is a psychedelic drug take on the 1865novelAlice's Adventures in Wonderland byLewis Carroll.[107] During the third season, the Rabbit Tribe considered Mascarita Sagrada as their God "The White Rabbit". On Episode 20 of Season 3, the Rabbit Tribe defeated Worldwide Underground to win three of the Aztec Medallions.
In 2019, London returned to TNA, now known asImpact Wrestling. It was reported in September that he worked backstage as aproducer on Impact television tapings in February.[108]
London made his return to wrestling on September 24, 2022.
On August 19, 2023, London appeared at Imperial Pro Wrestling in Bristol, Tennessee. He wrestled up and comer Axton Ray in a losing effort.
On December 14, 2023, London appeared at Timebomb Pro in Fargo, North Dakota, wrestling for the Timebomb Pro Sanctuary title in a losing effort to Connor Hopkins. London made his entrance singing the theme to James Bond movieThunderball.
London (left) as one half of theWWE Tag Team Champions withBrian Kendrick (right) with their reign of 331 days being the second longest in history since the title's inception in 2002
^"NWA:TNA Notes: Hennig, Sandman/Corino, Jarrett, More". LordsofPain.net. February 15, 2003. Archived fromthe original on November 23, 2007. RetrievedJuly 7, 2007.Paul London and Jerry Lynn had a fantastic back and fourth (sic) battle this past Wednesday night[...] London was reportedly quite nervous about his TNA debut[...]
^PWI Staff (2007). "Pro Wrestling Illustrated presents: 2007 Wrestling almanac & book of facts".Wrestling’s historical cards. Kappa Publishing. p. 116.
^"Velocity results – December 16, 2005". Rajah.com. December 18, 2005. Archived fromthe original on October 6, 2007. RetrievedJuly 9, 2007.London and Kendrick are sporting new matching ring attire and theatrical themed mimist masks.
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