Damian Mackle (born 20 February 1985) is a Northern Irish[3]professional wrestler currently performing on theindependent circuit under thering nameBig Damo (shortened from his initial ring nameDamian O'Connor).[4] He is best known for his time inWWE, where he performed under the ring nameKillian Dain.
On 19 October 2016, WWE announced that Mackle had signed a developmental contract with the company and had arrived at theWWE Performance Center inOrlando, Florida. He began to work in the NXT brand as part of the stable Sanity, along with Nikki Cross, Eric Young and Alexander Wolfe. In 2018, Dain, Wolfe and Young were drafted to SmackDown, where they worked as a stable until the dissolution. Then, he was drafted again to NXT, where he stayed until his release, in June 2021.
Mackle played as agoalkeeper for his universityfootball side.[14] He also playedrugby union (up to university level),basketball andjudo.[14] He stated that as a child he was attracted to professional wrestling because of the "larger than life" personas and face paint of wrestlers such asSting andThe Ultimate Warrior.[15] He cites fellow countrymanFit Finlay as a huge influence on his wrestling style and inspiration for his success.[16]
Mackle began his training with Scottish Championship Wrestling, before moving on to train with the SWA/NWA Scotland under Robbie Brookside (now a trainer at WWE NXT) and others. Of Brookside, he stated; "I don't think there is enough hyperbole to explain how good a coach he is...I can't think of a better coach I'd met in any sport".[15] After training at NWA Scotland, Mackle debuted for the Scottish Wrestling Alliance at the age of 20 under the ring nameDamian O'Connor. He originally wrestled in Scotland and the North of England as a tag team called "Britain's Most Wanted" with Scott Renwick. Together the two won a variety of tournaments and tag team championships in promotions such as SWA (4 times), W3L (2 times), SSW and 3CW. While they never officially split up, they would both focus on singles competition around 2009. This proved to be fruitful for both and O'Connor started touring his native Ireland, the United Kingdom, mainland Europe and the United States. O'Connor would win the Heavyweight Titles in SWE, W3L, XWA, Pride as well as the Laird of the Ring Title in SWA. In 2009, O'Connor took over the SWA training school named the "Source Wrestling School". O'Connor has trained numerous wrestlers, includingJoe Coffey,Joe Hendry andNikki Cross.[17]
Insane Championship Wrestling (2012–2016, 2018, 2021-present)
O'Connor wrestled sporadically for ICW between 2009 and 2012 under various gimmicks, but his return in November 2013 saw him debut asBig Damo. After a long feud with Drew Galloway, Damo defeated Chris Renfrew for theICW World Heavyweight Championship in Belfast on 27 February 2016,[18] marking the first time the title changed hands outside of Glasgow and making Damo the first ever Northern Irish-born champion. Damo defended the title in Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States against the likes of Drew Galloway,Grado, VSK,Jack Jester and others.[19] On 31 July 2016, atShug's Hoose Party III, Damo was defeated for the Championship by Joe Coffey.[20]
On 11 November 2018. O'Connor (as Killian Dain) returned to ICW for one night only, defeatingMikey Whiplash.[21]
After leaving WWE, Damo returned to ICW under his original name in 2021. He would feud with Andy Wild, going to a twenty-minute time limit draw atFear & Loathing XIII before Wild defeated Damo in asteel cage match atBarred II 24 April 2022.[22]
In 2023, Damo challengedLeyton Buzzard twice for the ICW World Heavyweight Championship. OnICW Fight Club they went to a no-contest when Andy Roberts interfered. Damo was given a rematch in a Three Way Dance at ICW'sGet The F Out! PPV but was eliminated from the contest by Roberts.[23][24]
In June 2016, Mackle signed withWWE to perform on theirNXT brand.[43][44] On 19 October 2016, WWE announced that Mackle had signed a developmental contract with the company and had arrived at theWWE Performance Center inOrlando, Florida.[45] On 4 November, Mackle appeared at anNXTlive event and cut a promo.[46] Mackle made his in-ring debut at an NXT live event on 11 November, defeatingRich Swann under the ring nameDamian O'Connor.[47] He then reverted to using the ring nameDamo.
On the 7 December episode ofNXT, Damo attackedNo Way Jose and seemed to align himself with theheel stableSAnitY.[48] In January 2017, he began to wrestle under the new ring nameKillian Dain.[49] On the 18 January episode ofNXT, Dain joined SAnitY in an official capacity after attackingTye Dillinger and acceptingSawyer Fulton's jacket fromEric Young.[50] On the 25 January episode ofNXT, Dain appeared as part of SAnitY for the first time, attacking Chris Atkins by Young's order.[51] On the 8 February episode ofNXT, Dain teamed with Young andAlexander Wolfe to defeat Dillinger, No Way Jose andRoderick Strong.[52] Earlier in the night, Dain and Wolfe defeatedThe Bollywood Boyz.[53] AtWrestleMania 33, Dain made it to the final three in theAndré the Giant Memorial Battle Royal before being eliminated by eventual winnerMojo Rawley.[54] On the 19 July episode ofNXT, Dain lost toDrew McIntyre in anNXT Championship No. 1 Contender's match, marking his first televised loss.[55]
During the2018 WWE Superstar Shake-up, SAnitY (excluding Cross) were drafted toSmackDown.[59] The group debuted on the 19 June episode ofSmackDown LIVE where they attackedThe Usos.[60] The following week, SAnitY lost to The Usos andJeff Hardy.[61] On the 3 July episode ofSmackDown LIVE, the group attackedThe New Day.[62] This led to atables match between the two teams atExtreme Rules, which SAnitY won.[63] On the 24 July episode ofSmackDown LIVE, SAnitY and The New Day faced off in the first round of theWWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship No. 1 Contender's tournament. SAnitY (represented by Dain and Wolfe) were defeated.[64]
The group competed in only two more televised matches throughout the remainder of 2018, while primarily competing at live events.[65]
After a near four-month hiatus from television, SAnitY returned on the 2 April 2019 episode ofSmackDown LIVE, losing a three-on-oneFalls Count Anywhere match toThe Miz.[66]
During the2019 WWE Superstar Shake-up, Young was drafted toRaw.[67] With Wolfe joiningNXT UK,[68] the group was officially disbanded. Dain made his return to NXT live events on 16 May, defeatingJermaine Haley.[69] On the 3 July episode ofNXT, a promo advertising Dain's return was aired.[70] He made his return on the 17 July episode ofNXT, attackingMatt Riddle following Riddle's match againstArturo Ruas.[71] This led to a match between the two being scheduled for the 7 August episode ofNXT. However, Dain attacked Riddle before the match could begin.[72] On the September 25 episode ofNXT, Riddle defeated Dain in a #1 contender's street fight match for theNXT Championship ending the feud. Shortly after, Dain would enter in a three-way feud withPete Dunne andDamian Priest. AtNXT TakeOver: WarGames (2019), Dain faced Dunne and Priest in a triple threat match to determine the #1 contender for the NXT Championship which Dunne won. In September 2020, he formed a dysfunctional tag team withDrake Maverick, turningface in the process. On June 25, 2021, Dain was released from his WWE contract, this as part of a fourth round of layoffs executed by the brand due to the effect of theCOVID-19 pandemic.[73]
Mackle is a lifelong supporter ofPremier League teamManchester United andNBA teamOrlando Magic.[14] He has stated that he believes wrestling – unlike other sports – can be a uniting factor for people in his native Belfast as there are "no (sectarian) affiliations" in wrestling. He stated that he would not support Scottish football because there is "a lot of connotations" with sectarianism. He grew up in what he described as amixed area and is conscious of keeping political affiliations out of his public life.[75]
On January 17, 2019, Mackle married fellow WWE wrestler, Nicola Glencross, known by her ring nameNikki Cross.[1]
