.jpg) Kidd in 2015 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Theodore James Wilson (1980-07-11)July 11, 1980 (age 45)[2] |
Spouse | |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | El Local #2 Stampede Kid[1] TJ Wilson[2] Tyson Kidd[3] |
| Billed height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[4] |
| Billed weight | 205 lb (93 kg)[4] |
| Billed from | Calgary, Alberta, Canada[4] |
| Trained by | Bret Hart[4] Davey Boy Smith[2] Deep South Wrestling Tokyo Joe[5] |
| Debut | July 23, 1995[2][1] |
| Retired | 2017 |
Theodore James "TJ"Wilson (born July 11, 1980), better known by thering nameTyson Kidd, is a Canadian retiredprofessional wrestler. He is signed toWWE, where he works as aproducer.[4]
The final graduate of theHart Dungeon, Wilson wrestled internationally in several promotions such asStampede Wrestling between 1995 and 2007, where he won theStampede International Tag Team Championship on two occasions withBruce Hart[2] andJuggernaut,[5] theStampede British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Championship,[2] andStampede North American Heavyweight Championship on two occasions.[2][5] Before signing with WWE, Wilson competed inPrairie Wrestling Alliance,[6]New Japan Pro-Wrestling,All Star Wrestling, andAWA Superstars of Wrestling.[2]
In November 2006, Wilson signed a developmental contract withWorld Wrestling Entertainment, and was assigned to various WWE'sdevelopmental territory, likeDeep South Wrestling (DSW), andFlorida Championship Wrestling (FCW).[2] Prior to his debut on the main roster in 2009, Wilson formedthe Hart Dynasty withDavid Hart Smith winning theUnified Tag Team Championship with Smith in April 2010.[7][8] He retired in 2017 due to aspinal cord injury.
Theodore James Wilson was born on July 11, 1980, inCalgary,Alberta, Canada, to Cheryl Wilson. He is ofEnglish descent through his paternal grandparents.
Wilson trained atStu Hart'sDungeon in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Wilson furthered his wrestling training under the watch of Tokyo Joe, who later helped him get booked inNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as well as in England.[9] He wrestled his first match inStampede Wrestling in Calgary at the age of fifteen in 1995.[1][9] At age sixteen, he wrestled in the opening match of aWorld Wrestling Federationhouse show in Calgary, teaming with Andrew Picarnic againstTeddy Hart andHarry Smith.[9][10] The following year, Wilson started training withBret Hart.[10]
As part of Stampede Wrestling, Wilson was nicknamed the "Stampede Kid".[9] He held his first championship in the promotion in February 2004, when Wilson becameBruce Hart's new tag team partner and co-holder of theStampede Wrestling International Tag Team Championship to replace the injured Teddy Hart.[11] He won theStampede British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Championship on October 15, 2004 by beating Duke Durrango.[12] In October 2005, Wilson and Durrango were made thebookers for Stampede Wrestling.[2] On September 15, 2006, Wilson defeated Apocalypse to capture theStampede North American Heavyweight Championship in a match that took place at half time ofCalgary Stampeders vs.Winnipeg Blue BombersCanadian Football League game atMcMahon Stadium.[2] On November 10, 2006, Wilson replaced one-half of the Tag Team Champions Pete Wilson, who was injured, and became Juggernaut's tag team partner.[11] Wilson had his final singles match for Stampede on January 26, 2007, where he was defeated by his long-time rival Apocalypse.[1][13] He returned on February 9, 2007, for his final match with the promotion, defending his International Tag Team Championship, against The A-Team (Michael Avery and Dusty Adonis).[14] He and Juggernaut won the match, however, afterwards Wilson awarded the Championship to The A-Team, as he was leaving and could not defend the Championship.[14] He was also heavily involved with training the younger stars of the promotion at a camp called B.J.'s Gym.[9]
As the Stampede Kid, he completed several tours of Japan, competing atNew Japan Pro-Wrestling.[15] He debuted in a six-man tag team match in November where he teamed withGOKU-DO andSuper Crazy and lost toHeat,Masahito Kakihara andMasayuki Naruse. His first win came only a few days later, when he teamed with Super Crazy to defeatEl Samurai andJushin Thunder Liger, and he finished his tour in late December. He returned in March 2003, and mostly teamed up withAmerican Dragon.[15] Between the months of May and June he competed in theBest of the Super Juniors, he mostly lost his matches however he did beat El Samurai andJado which gave him an overall score of four points. He returned in 2004 for another month-long tour.[15] In 2005, he participated inBest of the Super Juniors and again lost most of his matches, but beat Jado and Minoru Tanaka to earn four points overall.[15] His last on June 16, 2005 where he teamed withHirooki Goto to lose toAkiya Anzawa and El Samurai.[15]
In 2005 he started his tour ofEurope and mostly wrestled forAll Star Wrestling.[16] He beat Five Star Flash in his first match in ASW. He participated in One Night Tournament and was knocked out of the competition byDouglas Williams.[16] While in Europe he wrestled all around theUnited Kingdom but also wrestled in other countries such asGermany and theNetherlands. He took on GSW Breakthrough ChampionMurat Bosporus for the championship and lost.[16]
Wilson spent a lot of time inCanada atAWA Superstars of Wrestling. He teamed up withHarry Smith to take part in the Grapple Cup Tournament where they beat Cadillac Caliss and WildCard in the finals.[16] In 2006 he beat Harry Smith for the AWA Pinnacle Heavyweight Championship and held it for five months before losing it to Laramie Lexow.[17]
Wilson signed withWorld Wrestling Entertainment in November 2006[18] after receiving impressive reviews from former WWE trainerBill DeMott. He moved to WWE developmental territoryDeep South Wrestling (DSW) in February 2007 with fellow signee and girlfriendNattie Neidhart.[1][18]
When DSW and WWE parted ways, Wilson relocated to Tampa, Florida to train in the WWE developmental facilityFlorida Championship Wrestling. In late 2007, he worked with Harry Smith, Nattie Neidhart, Teddy Hart, andTed DiBiase Jr. as theNext Generation Hart Foundation.[2]
On December 1, 2007, he won theFCW Southern Heavyweight Championship by defeatingAfa Jr. in aladder match.[19] He lost it to Ted DiBiase Jr. on December 18.[20] In mid 2008, he began teaming with Smith again, and the two were managed by Natalya (Nattie Neidhart).[21] On October 30, they won theFCW Florida Tag Team Championship,[21] but they lost it toTyler Reks andJohnny Curtis on December 11, 2008 at the FCW television taping.[22]
Wilson made his WWE television debut on the February 10, 2009, episode ofECW managed by real-life girlfriend Natalya, under the name Tyson Kidd, defeating alocal wrestler, Bao Nguyen, and establishing himself asheel.[23] Although Natalya was managing Kidd onECW, she was still officially a member of the SmackDown brand until April 15, 2009, when she was drafted to ECW as part of the2009 Supplemental Draft to join Kidd.[24] On April 28 edition ofECW, Kidd defeatedFit Finlay, on May 5 edition of ECW, Kidd lost toEvan Bourne. On the May 12ECW, Kidd's match with Finlay was interrupted by DH Smith, now using the name David Hart Smith, who attacked Finlay to aid Kidd.[25] Kidd, Smith and Neidhart formed The Hart Trilogy, which was later changed toThe Hart Dynasty on the May 26ECW.[26][27] On the May 26 edition of ECW, Kidd,Jack Swagger & David Hart Smith defeatedTommy Dreamer &Christian in a 3 on 2 handicap match. On the June 2 edition of ECW, Kidd lost to Christian. On the June 9 edition of ECW, The Hart Dynasty defeated Christian & Jack Swagger. On the June 23 edition ofECW, Kidd lost toEvan Bourne in Kidd's final match as part of theECW roster.
On June 29, The Hart Dynasty were traded to theSmackDown brand.[28] They began an on and off feud withCryme Tyme in July and the feud ended in October. At theBragging Rights pay-per-view in October, Kidd and Smith competed in a seven-on-seven tag match withChris Jericho,Kane, Finlay,Matt Hardy andR-Truth asTeam SmackDown to defeatTeam Raw.[29] The Hart Dynasty got a title match for theUnified WWE Tag Team Championship on the December 25SmackDown againstD-Generation X, but were unsuccessful. They started a feud with Matt Hardy andThe Great Khali on the January 22, 2010SmackDown. The feud ended with each team trading wins against each other.
The Hart Dynasty turnedface atWrestleMania XXVI, helpingBret Hart during his match againstVince McMahon, and the following night onRaw they defeated the Unified WWE Tag Team ChampionsShoMiz (Big Show andThe Miz) in a non-title match after The Miz insulted Hart.[30][31] They earned a Unified Tag Team Championship match at theExtreme Rules pay-per-view by defeating ShoMiz in a tag teamgauntlet match (which also included the team ofJohn Morrison andR-Truth and the team ofMontel Vontavious Porter andMark Henry).[32] At the2010 WWE Draft on April 26, The Hart Dynasty, accompanied by Natalya and Hart, defeated ShoMiz to win the Unified Tag Team Championship, when Kidd made The Miz submit to theSharpshooter.[7][8][33]
The following day, all three members of The Hart Dynasty were moved to theRaw brand as part of theSupplemental Draft.[34] On the May 10Raw, he defeated The Miz to earn Bret Hart a match for The Miz'sWWE United States Championship, and the following week The Hart Dynasty helped Hart to win the championship.[35][36] AtOver the Limit, they retained the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship againstChris Jericho and The Miz.[37] The following night, on the May 24Raw, they were attacked by debuting pair ofThe Usos (Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso) andTamina Snuka after a match, provoking a feud between the two trios.[38][39] AtFatal 4-Way, they defeated The Usos and Tamina in a six-person mixed tag team match when Natalya pinned Tamina, and Smith and Kidd defeated The Usos atMoney in the Bank to retain the championship.[40][41] AtNight of Champions, The Hart Dynasty lost the WWE Tag Team Championship toCody Rhodes andDrew McIntyre in aTag Team Turmoil match which also involved The Usos,Vladimir Kozlov andSantino Marella and the team ofEvan Bourne andMark Henry.[42]
After a failed attempt to regain the championship, in which Kidd was pushed off balance during their double-team Hart Attack move, Kidd andDH Smith began to have a falling out with one another. This culminated on the November 15 episode ofRaw, when Kidd turnedheel once again,[43] after refusing to tag in and attacking Smith during a match for theWWE Tag Team Championship againstThe Nexus (Justin Gabriel andHeath Slater).[44] The following week, Kidd facedJohn Morrison in aKing of the Ring qualifying match, but was unsuccessful.[45] On the December 2WWE Superstars, Kidd lost to Smith in a singles match. Afterward, Smith offered a handshake, but Kidd slapped Smith instead.[46] On the nextRaw, Kidd defeated Smith in a rematch, during which he was accompanied by abodyguard, later revealed asJackson Andrews.[47][48] Andrews ceased appearing as Kidd's bodyguard afterMark Henry performed hisfinisher, the World's Strongest Slam, on Andrews during the December 27Raw.[49]
At theRoyal Rumble, Kidd was a competitor in the Rumble match where he was eliminated byJohn Cena. AtWrestleMania XXVII, Kidd was a competitor in a twenty-three-man battle royal dark match which was won byThe Great Khali. On April 26, 2011, Kidd returned to theSmackDown brand as part of the2011 supplemental draft.[50] He had his first match back for the brand on the May 6SmackDown, but lost toSin Cara.[51] On the May 12Superstars, Kidd debutedMichael Hayes as his manager as he defeatedTrent Barreta.[52] Their alliance was short-lived however, as on the followingSuperstars, Hayes slapped Kidd after Kidd lost to Yoshi Tatsu.[53]Armando Estrada andMatt Striker managed Kidd on the May 26 and June 2 episodes ofSuperstars respectively, and Kidd defeated Barreta on both occasions.[54][55] On the June 9Superstars, Kidd appeared with his fourth manager in as many weeks,Vickie Guerrero but lost to Yoshi Tatsu.[56] On the nextSuperstars, Kidd received yet another manager inJTG, but lost again, this time toKane.[57]
Kidd wasLucky Cannon's Pro onNXT Redemption[broken anchor]. Cannon was eliminated on the June 14NXT, the third Rookie eliminated.[58] A week later, Kidd shaved off his signature tuft of hair.[59] Kidd then feuded with Yoshi Tatsu onNXT, stemming from a backstage argument when Kidd broke Tatsu's toy figurine of himself and stole the leg off another.[60] During their series of matches, the pair traded wins, and Tatsu claimed back the stolen figurine leg by winning aNecklace on a Pole match on the July 26NXT.[60][61][62] After the match, Kidd attacked Tatsu's right leg; a week later, Kidd claimed there would be no moreYoshi Tatsu in WWE.[63] Tatsu returned more than a month later on the September 6NXT to defeat Kidd and end the feud.[64] On the October 14 edition ofSmackDown, Kidd was in the largest Battle Royal in history, whose the winner would get a title shot, but failed to secure the victory.
In January 2012, Kidd began a face turn for the first time since 2010.[65] After defeatingTrent Barreta twice onNXT, Kidd proposed that they tag team together.[66] In late February 2012, Kidd began a feud withMichael McGillicutty after McGillicutty mocked his lack of wrestling heritage.[67] Kidd then lost to McGillicutty on the February 29NXT.[68] After McGillicutty insulted Kidd by claiming that Kidd would never be a true 'Hart',[69] Kidd received a rematch on the March 21NXT, where he defeated McGillicutty to even up the score at one win each.[70] Kidd and McGillicutty faced off in a third match on the April 11NXT, resulting in Kidd triumphant over McGillicutty.[71] Kidd reinforced his singles dominance inNXT by first defeatingJohnny Curtis on April 25,[72] and next defeating McGillicutty andDerrick Bateman in a triple threat match on May 16.[73]
On the March 29Superstars, Kidd facedJustin Gabriel but lost the match, after which the duo showed mutual respect and agreed to form a tag team to challengePrimo and Epico for theWWE Tag Team Championship in a dark Triple Threat tag team match forWrestleMania XXVIII, also involvingThe Usos.[74][75] However they were unsuccessful as Primo & Epico managed to win the match and retain their title.[76] During the match, Gabriel hyperextended and twisted his elbow, rendering him out of action for several weeks.[77] At Over the Limit pay-per-view, Kidd participated in a 20-man battle royal with the winner getting a choice of a United States or Intercontinental Championship match but was eliminated byDavid Otunga. Kidd reunited with Gabriel on the June 6NXT Redemption, where they defeated the duo of Johnny Curtis and Heath Slater. Tyson also defeated PAC at the Palace at Las Vegas.[78] At theNo Way Out pay-per-view, Kidd and Gabriel were defeated byThe Prime Time Players (Titus O'Neil andDarren Young) in a number one contenderFatal Four-Waytag team match, also involving Primo & Epico and The Usos.[79]
On the June 29SmackDown, Kidd defeatedJack Swagger to qualify for the World Heavyweight Championship Money in the Bank ladder match.[80] Fellow qualifierTensai then started a feud with Kidd after Kidd pinned him in 19 seconds on the July 2Raw, leading Tensai to assault Kidd in post-match attacks.[81] AtMoney in the Bank, Kidd's ladder match was won byDolph Ziggler.[82] On the July 30Raw, Kidd lost to Tensai, but after Tensai continued to attack Kidd after the match, the referee reversed his decision and awarded Kidd the win.[83]
On theNight of Champions pre-show on September 16, Kidd was in a #1 Contender Battle Royal for a shot at the United States Championship where he was eliminated by Tensai. Kidd and Gabriel then competed in a series of tag team matches onSuperstars againstCurt Hawkins andTyler Reks, winning every match.[84][85][86] On the debut episode ofMain Event on October 3, Kidd and Gabriel, now unofficially called International Airstrike,[87] lost toSantino Marella andZack Ryder in the quarter-finals of a tournament to decide the number one contenders to the tag team championship.[88] On October 31NXT, Kidd unsuccessfully challengedAntonio Cesaro for theWWE United States Championship.[89] At theSurvivor Series pay-per-view, Kidd was victorious in a10 man elimination tag team match alongside Justin Gabriel,Rey Mysterio,Sin Cara, andBrodus Clay against Titus O' Neil, Darren Young, Primo, Epico, and Tensai; with Kidd pinning O'Neil and Epico.[90] In January 2013, Kiddtore his knee meniscus and was estimated to require a 6–12 month hiatus to recover.[91] Despite his injury, Kidd appeared on the May 27 "Bret Hart Appreciation Night" ceremony.[92]
Under a mask to hide his identity, he returned to television on the October 11SmackDown as one of the Los Locales tag team withEl Local (Ricardo Rodriguez) with a loss toLos Matadores.[3] An unmasked Kidd returned toRaw on November 4, teaming with his wifeNatalya with a win overFandango andSummer Rae.[93] However, Kidd soon resumed losing matches toFandango,Jack Swagger and former partnerJustin Gabriel onMain Event andSuperstars for the rest of 2013.[94][95][96] AtWrestlemania XXX, Kidd was in theAndré the Giant Memorial Battle Royal which was won by Cesaro.
Following his return from injury, Kidd began regularly appearing onNXT, which was now WWE's developmental branch. He began a winning streak within NXT in December 2013 including victories overLeo Kruger andMason Ryan.[97][98] On the May 1 episode of NXT, Kidd defeatedBo Dallas. On the May 8, 2014 episode ofNXT, Kidd participated in a 20-man battle royal for anNXT Championship shot, with him being involved in a three-way tie.[99] As a result, Kidd faced the other two winners,Tyler Breeze andSami Zayn in a triple-threat match on the next episode ofNXT, where Kidd won to become #1 contender for a match atNXT TakeOver. At TakeOver, Kidd failed to win the title againstAdrian Neville. On the June 12 episode ofNXT, Kidd faced Adrian Neville in a rematch for the NXT Title but failed to win the title after an accidental distraction from Natalya. On the June 19 episode ofNXT, Kidd teamed with Sami Zayn to challengeThe Ascension for theNXT Tag Team Championship, they lost the match when Kidd walked out on Zayn in the middle of the match, turningheel in the process for the first time since 2012. AtNXT TakeOver: Fatal 4-Way, Kidd competed in a Fatal 4-Way match for the NXT Championship, which was successfully retained by Adrian Neville.
From late September 2014, Kidd started to win more main roster matches, while being flanked by Natalya, scoring wins onMain Event andSuperstars over the likes ofKofi Kingston,Jack Swagger,R-Truth, andSin Cara. There was storyline tension between Kidd and Natalya, due to Kidd at times neglecting his wife, and at other times using Natalya as a human shield or expecting her to illegally interfere in his matches.[100][101][102][103] On the November 3 episode ofRaw, Kidd again used Natalya to score another win, this time via countout in a non-title match against United States Champion Sheamus.[104] On the November 14 episode ofSmackDown, Kidd received a title opportunity for theWWE Intercontinental Championship in an elimination match withCesaro and defending championDolph Ziggler, however he was unsuccessful.[105]
Kidd began a tag team withCesaro on the December 1 episode ofRaw and were eliminated from a gauntlet match for a tag title shot byThe Usos.[106] They gained victories overLos Matadores, and proceeded to ally withAdam Rose in a feud againstThe New Day (Big E,Kofi Kingston, andXavier Woods) in January.[107] On theRoyal Rumble pre-show, Kidd and Cesaro defeated The New Day. Later that night, Kidd entered the Rumble match at number 12, however he was eliminated byDaniel Bryan.[108] AtFastlane on February 22, Kidd and Cesaro defeatedThe Usos to capture theWWE Tag Team Championship, a title he had not held for nearly 5 years.[109] They retained their title in a rematch the following night onRaw after Natalya caused a disqualification.[110] Kidd and Cesaro managed to retain their titles on theWrestleMania 31 pre-show in a match that included three other teams. Kidd also competed in theAndré the Giant memorial battle royal, but was eliminated byMark Henry. In April, Kidd and Cesaro reignited their feud against The New Day, where a double turn took place; Kidd and Cesaro turned intobabyfaces by displaying a fighting spirit, while The New Day turned heel by using underhanded tactics during their matches. AtExtreme Rules, Kidd and Cesaro lost the WWE Tag Team Championship to The New Day (Big E and Kofi Kingston), ending their reign at nine weeks.[111] They failed to regain the championships on the April 30 episode ofSmackDown,[112] and atPayback in a 2-out-of-3 falls match, with Xavier Woods interfering in both matches.[113] AtElimination Chamber, Kidd and Cesaro competed in the first tag teamElimination Chamber match but they failed to win the titles. This turned out to be his final WWE televised match.[114]
On June 1, 2015, Kidd suffered a spinal cord injury fromSamoa Joe's "Muscle Buster" finishing maneuver during adark match onRaw.[115] Several weeks later, WWE stated that he would be out of action for over a year.[citation needed] Kidd tweeted that only 5% of people survive his injury and that he had 16 staples, four screws, and a rod inserted in his neck.[116] Discussing the injury, journalistDave Meltzer said "It is unbelievable that Tyson Kidd came through as well as he did", and noted that most people who survive the injury end upquadriplegic, comparing it toChristopher Reeve's injury.[citation needed] Due to the injury, Kidd was forced to retire from in-ring competition but continues to work for WWE as abackstage producer.[117] Following his retirement, WWE would begin using his real name "TJ Wilson", to refer to him when it pertained to interviews on social media.
Wilson befriendedTeddy Hart andHarry Smith at the age of ten; through them, he became close to the rest of theHart wrestling family, with whom he lived with for several years.[9][118]
In June 2013, Wilson married Hart family member and fellow professional wrestlerNatalya,[119] whom he had been dating and living with since November 2001.[18] Their relationship and wedding were featured on WWE'sreality television seriesTotal Divas.[120]
Wilson and his then-tag team partnerClaudio Castagnoli (then known as Cesaro) revealed that although they were originally teamed by WWE without their input, they clicked personally and subsequently became very close real life friends.[121][122]
Tyson Kidd & Justin Gabriel, unofficially known as "International Airstrike," bonded over mutual respect after a stunning but little heralded series of one-on-one matches between the two in which neither Superstar scored a decisive edge.
Cesaro says he's lucky to call Kidd a good friend. ... Cesaro says you don't find friends like that very often.
Teaming with @WWECesaro made me 'better' in every way. Friends like him come once in a lifetime.
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