Powerhouse Hobbs
Hobbs in 2022
Birth name	William Hobson
Born	(1991-01-23)January 23, 1991 (age 34)[1] East Palo Alto, California, U.S.[2]
Children	3[3]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Powerhouse Hobbs[4][5] Will Hobbs[6] Will.I.IS[7] Will Rood[7]
Billed height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)[2]
Billed weight	270 lb (122 kg)[2]
Billed from	East Palo Alto, California, U.s.[8]
Trained by	Donovan Morgan[6] Ezekiel Jackson[9] Frank Murdoch[6] Michael Modest[6] Roland Alexander[10]
Debut	July 18, 2009[11]

William Hobson (born January 23, 1991) is an Americanprofessional wrestler. He is signed toAll Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under thering namePowerhouse Hobbs and is a formerAEW TNT Champion.

Hobson attendedSequoia High School inRedwood City, California, where he playedfootball and other sports.^[2] As a youth, he attended professional wrestling events, includingSuperBrawl VIII in theCow Palace inSan Francisco, California.^[10]

After graduating from high school, Hobson attended theAll Pro Wrestling (APW)professional wrestling school inHayward, California.^[2] He made his professional wrestling debut on July 18, 2009, at APW's "Gym Wars" event under the ring name "Will Rood".^[6][11] Hobson wrestled for APW over the following decade, during which time he held theAPW Worldwide Internet Championship three times.^[12] He also held theAPW Tag Team Championship thrice, teaming with Marcus Lewis as "Lion Power".^[13] In 2014 he briefly used the ring name "Will.I.IS";^[14] in 2016 he changed his ring name to "Will Hobbs".^[15]

Between 2011 and 2020 Hobson also appeared with multipleindependent promotions, principally in theSan Francisco Bay Area.^[16] These includedChampionship Wrestling from Hollywood (where he held theUWN Tag Team Championship with Damien Grundy as "Cold Cold War"),^[17] Gold Rush Pro Wrestling (where he held the GRPW Dynamite Division Championship),^[18] and Pro Championship Wrestling (where he held the PCW Tag Team Championship with Mitch Valentine as the "Dream Team").^[19] In 2016, Hobson made a one-off appearance forWWE, losing toBaron Corbin in adark match in theSAP Center inSan Jose, California.^[20]

In July 2020, Hobson began to work forAll Elite Wrestling (AEW) as "Will Hobbs", wrestling on itsYouTube showAEW Dark. On September 5, 2020, Hobbs competed in a 21-manCasino Battle Royale at theAll Outpay-per-view, which was won byLance Archer.^[21] His performance in the match impressed AEW presidentTony Khan,^[22][23] and he was signed to a contract with AEW.^[24][25] On the September 16, 2020 episode ofDynamite, Hobbs savedAEW World ChampionJon Moxley from an attack byBrian Cage andRicky Starks.^[26] On the October 7 episode ofDynamite, Hobbs unsuccessfully challenged Cage for theFTW Championship.^[27] On the November 18 episode ofDynamite, Hobbsturnedheel by aligning himself withTeam Taz (Taz, Brian Cage, and Ricky Starks), joining them in an attack onCody Rhodes andDarby Allin.^[28] Later that month, his ring name was tweaked to "Powerhouse Hobbs".^[4][5] At the December 2, 2020 television specialWinter Is Coming, Hobbs and Starks lost to Rhodes and Allin.^[29]

Throughout early 2021, Hobbs scored a series of singles and tag team victories on episodes ofAEW Dark andAEW Dark: Elevation. At theDouble or Nothing pay-per-view in May 2021, Hobbs competed in aCasino Battle Royale that was won byJungle Boy.^[30] On July 14, 2021, on theFyter Fest television special, Hobbs aided stablemate Ricky Starks in an FTW Championship victory over Brian Cage, thus expelling Cage from Team Taz;^[31] Hobbs went on to defeat Cage on the September 1 episode ofDynamite.^[32] On the September 15, 2021 episode ofDynamite, Team Taz attackedCM Punk while he was on commentary, resulting in a match between Hobbs and Punk at theAEW Grand Slam television special (Punk's first televised match in over seven years),^[33][34] which was won by Punk.^[35] For the remainder of the year, Hobbs wrestled primarily onAEW Dark.^[30]

In March 2022 atRevolution, Hobbs competed in aFace of the Revolution ladder match that was won byWardlow. Throughout mid-2022, he largely competed in tag team matches alongside Starks; atDouble or Nothing in May 2022 they unsuccessfully challengedJurassic Express for theAEW World Tag Team Championship in atriple threat match that also featuredKeith Lee andSwerve Strickland.^[36] AtDynamite: Fight for the Fallen on July 27, 2022, Hobbs turned on Starks after Starks lost theFTW Championship, delivering aclothesline to the back of Starks' neck followed by aspinebuster.^[37] The following week, Taz formally disbanded Team Taz.^[38] AtAll Out in September 2022, Hobbs defeated Starks; later that month, onGrand Slam, Starks defeated Hobbs in alights out match.^[36][39]

AtFull Gear in November 2022, Hobbs facedSamoa Joe andWardlow in athree-way dance for theAEW TNT Championship that was won by Samoa Joe.^[36][40] In March 2023, Hobbs won a Face of the Revolution ladder match, giving him a shot at the TNT Championship.^[41] On the following episode ofDynamite, Hobbs (with assistance fromQ. T. Marshall) defeated Wardlow in afalls count anywhere match to win the TNT Championship.^[42] Hobbs subsequently jointed Marshall's "QTV" stable.^[43] On the April 19, 2023 episode ofDynamite, Wardlow defeated Hobbs to regain the title.^[44] In July 2023, Hobbs left QTV.^[45]

In July 2023, Hobbs competed in theOwen Hart Foundation Tournament, defeatingDustin Rhodes in the quarter-finals^[46] before losing to Ricky Starks in the semi-finals of the tournament.^[47] AtAll Out in September 2023, Hobbs lost toMiro.^[48] In October 2023, Hobbs joined theDon Callis Family, attackingChris Jericho andKenny Omega.^[49] In November 2023, the Don Callis Family (Hobbs,Konosuke Takeshita, andKyle Fletcher) andBrian Cage lost to Jericho, Omega,Kota Ibushi, andPaul Wight in astreet fight. AtWorlds End the following month, Hobbs, Takeshita,Big Bill and Ricky Starks lost to Jericho,Darby Allin,Sammy Guevara, andSting.^[50] On the April 24, 2024 episode ofDynamite, Hobbs unsuccessfully challengedJon Moxley for theIWGP World Heavyweight Championship.^[51] Hobbs sustained a knee injury during the match that required surgery.^[52]

On the November 6, 2024, episode ofDynamite, Hobbs returned as the mystery partner forRicochet, defeating Konosuke Takeshita and Kyle Fletcher and ending his tenure with the Don Callis Family.^[53] On December 28 atWorlds End, Hobbs unsuccessfully challenged Takeshita for theAEW International Championship.^[54] On the January 8, 2025 episode ofDynamite, Hobbs won aCasino Gauntlet match to earn a match against Jon Moxley for the AEW World Championship, but failed to win the title the following week atDynamite: Maximum Carnage.^[55][56] After losing to Moxley, Hobbs began a feud withBig Bill ofThe Learning Tree.^[57] On the February 19 episode ofDynamite, Hobbs defeated Bill in aStreet Fight.^[58]

Hobbs wrestles in a "powerhouse" style.^[7] His finishing moves have included afalling powerslam named the "World's Most Dangerous Slam",^[59][60][61] aspinebuster,^[62][63][64] anOklahoma Stampede,^[65][66] afrog splash,^[67] atorture rack,^[68][69] aburning hammer,^[70] and anemerald flowsion named the "Town Business".^[71]

Hobson was raised by his grandparents, and he states that his love of professional wrestling came through his grandparents who regularly watched and attended wrestling shows at theCow Palace. When Hobson was 21, his older brother was killed by gunfire; they had aspirations of being a manager-wrestler duo in professional wrestling. Hobson was also injured in the shooting, taking a bullet in his forearm.^[2] Hobson has two sons and one daughter.^[3]

• All Elite Wrestling
  • AEW TNT Championship (1 time)^[42]
  • Face of the Revolution ladder match (2023)^[41]
• All Pro Wrestling
  • APW Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Marcus Lewis^[13]
  • APW Worldwide Internet Championship (3 times)^[12]
• Championship Wrestling from Hollywood
  • UWN Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Damien Grundy^[17]
• Gold Rush Pro Wrestling
  • GRPW Dynamite Division Championship (1 time)^[18]
  • GRPW Dynamite Division Championship Tournament (2013)^[72]
• Pro Championship Wrestling
  • PCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Mitch Valentine^[19]
• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • Ranked #93 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in thePWI 500 in 2021^[73]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toPowerhouse Hobbs.

• Powerhouse Hobbs onTwitter
• Powerhouse Hobbs's profile atCagematch.net,Wrestlingdata.com,Internet Wrestling Database
• William Hobson atIMDb

• 1991 births
• 21st-century African-American sportsmen
• 21st-century male professional wrestlers
• 21st-century American professional wrestlers
• AEW TNT Champions
• African-American professional wrestlers
• All Elite Wrestling personnel
• American male professional wrestlers
• American shooting survivors
• Living people
• People from East Palo Alto, California
• Professional wrestlers from California
• Sequoia High School (Redwood City, California) alumni

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