| Reuben de Jong | |
|---|---|
 Reuben de Jong at IPW Rival Turf, 21 August 2010 | |
| Born | Martin Reuben de Jong West Auckland,New Zealand |
| Other names | The Man Mountain New Zealand's Strongest Man |
| Nationality | New Zealander |
| Height | 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) |
| Weight | 140 kg (310 lb; 22 st) |
| Division | Heavyweight |
| Style | Kickboxing |
| Fighting out of | Auckland,New Zealand |
| Team | Ray Sefo's Fight Academy |
| Trainer | Ray Sefo Karl Webber |
| Years active | 2006–present |
| Kickboxing record | |
| Total | 4 |
| Wins | 1 |
| By knockout | 1 |
| Losses | 3 |
| By knockout | 1 |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 2 |
| Wins | 2 |
| Losses | 0 |
| Other information | |
| Mixed martial arts record fromSherdog | |
Reuben de Jong is aNew Zealandheavyweightkickboxer,mixed martial artist,strongman andprofessional wrestler ofDutch descent. He is a two-time professional strongman champion of New Zealand and competed in theK-1 Kings of Oceania in 2006 and 2007. De Jong is the holder of two national records in thefarmer's walk andstone lifting, and theGuinness World Record for running through the most panes of glass in under one minute. He was signed withWWE under the name ofRussell Walker in 2011, but was released the same year.
Atelevision actor andstuntman, De Jong has had small roles inMaddigan's Quest,Legend of the Seeker, and asTheokoles inSpartacus: Blood and Sand. In 2010, he enteredprofessional wrestling and became one of the stars ofImpact Pro Wrestling, capturing theIPW New Zealand Heavyweight Championship within two months of his debut. On 7 December 2019 he won the Hughes Academy Championship, pinning Spencer Kyle.
Born inWest Auckland,New Zealand, Reuben de Jong began working out while attendingWaitākere College.[1] In one of his first strongman performances, he won notice at the 134th Waipu Highland Games and "put pressure on the two lead contenders" Pat Hellier and Australian Craig Reid. Brian O'Brien, committee secretary for the Highland Games, told theNew Zealand Press Association that de Jong had "competed well in a number of the strongman events and would be one to watch in the future".[2]
He would eventually win the "New Zealand's Strongest Man" competition two consecutive years (2004 and 2005), and was able to "pull 17-tonne trucks without breaking a sweat". On 1 April 2006, he was among the strongmen invited to compete in Freddy Hooker's "Strongest Man in the World Ever — Aotearoa 2006" atMount Maunganui. The competition was judged by Levi Vaoga.[3] In July 2006, de Jong was featured in theWestern Leader following his appearance as aViking in a popular television advertisement. AfterSarah Valentine talent spotted him he joined Background Talent, a New Zealand-based talent agency, where he landed roles in a number of feature films and television series includingMaddigan's Quest, Narnia,Legend of the Seeker, andSpartacus: Blood and Sand. He was then in training as aMixed Martial Arts fighter[1] and studied under Karl Webber[4] andRay Sefo.
Reuben de Jong began hisK-1 and MMA career shortly after graduating from Ray Sefo's Fight Academy. In the summer of 2006, he entered theK-1 Kings of Oceania, a qualifying tournament for the2007 K-1 World Grand, at theTrusts Stadium on 24 June 2006. He lost toJason Suttie in a 3rd-round decision inRound 1 andPeter Sampson viaTKO inRound 2, however, he managed to score a second-round TKO over Simi Tai atRound 3 on 18 November 2006.[5][6] At the2007 K-1 Kings of Oceania, he suffered another 3rd-round decision loss to Jason Retti.[7] On 27 October 2007, he fought to asplit decision with Felise Leniu atCarnage in the Cage held at the ASB Stadium.[8][9][10] He was also scheduled to faceSio Vitale[11] andAlexei Ignashov[12] during 2008, but took a break from professional fighting the next year.
In January 2009, he and fellow New Zealand strongman Mick Cottrell represented the country at the 110th Browns Athletic Society's sporting carnival in competition against Australia's Craig Reid and Aaron Monks, and Scotland's Alastair Gunn and world championcaber tosser Malcolm Cleghorn.Sir Colin Earl Meads, a legendaryrugby unionlock forward for theAll Blacks during the 1950s and 60s, was in attendance.[13][14]
The next month, de Jong was interviewed by theHowick and Pakuranga Times while training for the upcoming Highland Games on 1 March. He was specifically preparing for thefarmer's walk, in which competitors attempt to walk as far as they can while carrying 125 kg weights in each hand, and stated his intention to break his own national record.[15] He had previously set the national record in this event at 251.5m[16] as well as holding the New Zealand record forstone lifting.[15]
On 24 July 2009, de Jong appeared on the first episode ofNZ Smashes Guinness World Records where he broke theGuinness World Record for running through the most panes of glass (15) in under one minute. The record was previously held by Czech footballerMartin Latka who smashed through 11 panes of glass on German television earlier that year.[17][18]
After nine months of training, de Jong made his debut as aprofessional wrestler for one of the country's three major promotionsImpact Pro Wrestling, debuting in a Rookie Battle Royal match at IPW Nightmare Before Xmas 09, winning a contract with the company. His first match was against Les West defeating him at an IPWlive event in Auckland on 20 March 2010; he made his television debut onIPW Ignition several weeks later.[19]
On 29 May 2010, he defeated"The One" Vinny Dunn at theIPW Genesissupercard for theIPW New Zealand Heavyweight Championship.[20][21] Dunn had beaten Alexander in the main event to retain the championship when he was unexpectedly confronted by de Jong, responding to the open challenge Dunn had issued to any pro wrestler in New Zealand the previous month, and Dunn agreed to face him in an impromptu match for the title.[22] The match was later aired on 22 July edition ofIPW Ignition.[23]
De Jong lost theIPW New Zealand Heavyweight Championship back to"The One" Vinny Dunn on 21 August 2010, atIPW Rival Turf after he had been inadvertently struck in the head with a briefcase by his manager, Justin Lane. Dunn then forced de Jong to submit with anankle lock.[24]
In February 2011 Reuben signed a developmental contract withWorld Wrestling Entertainment, and began training at WWE'sFlorida Championship Wrestling developmental territory. De Jong is listed on FCW's roster under the name "Russell Walker."[25] In June he was released.
De Jong returned to IPW at Nightmare B4 Xmas in December 2011 defeating Tykade and Dominic Le Fauce via DQ in a Land of The Giants match.[26]
| 1 Win (1 (T)KO's),3 Losses | |||||||
| Date | Result | Opponent | Event | Method | Round | Time | |
| 2007-04-14 | Loss |  Jason Retti | K-1 Kings of Oceania 2007 Round 1, Auckland, New Zealand | Decision | 3 | 3:00 | |
| 2006-11-18 | Win | Simi Tai | K-1 Kings of Oceania 2006 Round 3, Auckland, New Zealand | TKO (Corner Stoppage) | 2 | 3:00 | |
| 2006-09-16 | Loss | Peter Sampson | K-1 Kings of Oceania 2006 Round 2, Auckland, New Zealand | TKO (Low kicks) | 3 | 3:00 | |
| 2006-06-24 | Loss | Jason Suttie | K-1 Kings of Oceania 2006 Round 1, Auckland, New Zealand | Decision | 3 | 3:00 | |
| 2 Wins (2 decisions),0 Losses | |||||||
| Date | Result | Opponent | Event | Method | Round | Time | |
| 2007-10-27 | Win | Felise Leniu | Carnage in the Cage, Auckland, New Zealand | Decision (Split) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| 1999-01-28 | Win | Gala Tolua | UE — New Zealand Vale Tudo: A Test of Courage, Auckland, New Zealand | Decision | 0 | ||