| Tracy Williams | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Williams in February 2019 | |
| Born | December 18, 1988 Brooklyn, New York, New York, U.S. |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Dieter VonSteigerwalt[1] Green Ant[1] Silver Ant[1] The Tender Weapon[1] Tracy Williams[1] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)[1] |
| Billed weight | 185 lb (84 kg)[1] |
| Billed from | Brooklyn, New York, New York, United States |
| Trained by | Claudio Castagnoli[1] Mike Quackenbush[1] Sara Amato[1] |
| Debut | July 31, 2009[1] |
Tracy Williams (born December 18, 1988) is an Americanprofessional wrestler. Best known under his nickname "Hot Sauce", he currently performs forRing of Honor (ROH), where he is a formerROH World Tag Team Champion and formerROH World Television Champion. He is also known for his appearances withChikara,Evolve Wrestling, andNew Japan Pro-Wrestling.[2][3][4]
On February 20, 2009, Williams made his professional wrestling debut in theChikara wrestling promotion, as Green Ant, tending to Worker Ant after he had been injured (kayfabe) by Chuck Taylor’s Awful Waffle finisher. It was then revealed that Worker Ant was forced to retire due to his injuries, and that Green Ant would stand in his absence. Green Ant made his professional wrestling debut on July 31, when The Colony defeated The Order of the Neo-Solar Temple (Crossbones,Delirious andUltraMantis Black) in a six-man tag team match. On October 18, Green Ant was chosen to go on fellow Colony stablemate Fire Ant’s team in the annualtorneo cibernetico, going up against Soldier Ant’s team, which had Carpenter Ant on it, but Green Ant was unsuccessful. From April 23–25, Green Ant and his fellow Colony stablemates Fire Ant and Soldier Ant entered the2010 King of Trios, defeating the team of Flip Kendrick, Louis Lyndon andJohnny Gargano in their first round match on the 23, before going on to defeat theBDK trio of Pinkie Sanchez (the former Carpenter Ant),Lince Dorado andTim Donst, handing BDK their first non-disqualification loss on the 24. On the last day of King of Trios, April 25, The Colony defeated TeamOsaka Pro (Atsushi Kotoge,Daisuke Harada andTadasuke) in the semi-final, before being defeated by the main BDK trio ofAres,Claudio Castagnoli and Tursas, when referee Derek Sabato turnedrudo, ending the match with a fast count and aligning himself with BDK. On August 29, Green Ant broke his arm in a match withKeita Yano, and when he returned in February 2011, Chikara then started a storyline, similar to what theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) did withLex Luger in 1993, where it was claimed that Green Ant had a metal plate inserted into his arm, which resulted in strikes from the elbow being more powerful due to the plate. From April 15–17, The Colony entered the2011 King of Trios, defeatingSinn Bodhi,Kodama and Obariyon in their first round match. The next day, during a fan conclave, Chikara held a contest to see who couldbodyslam the 375 lb (170 kg) BDK member Tursas. Green Ant entered the contest, again copying the storyline that the WWF did with Luger andYokozuna in 1993, but before he could complete the slam, he was tripped by BDK member Jakob Hammermeier. The next day, The Colony defeated the BDK trio of Tim Donst, Delirious and Hammermeier, after Green Ant bodyslammed Tursas, and then submitted Hammermeier with Luger’s trademark finisher, theTorture Rack, to reach the semifinals. The following day, The Colony defeatedThe Osirian Portal (Amasis,Hieracon andOphidian) to advance to the finals for the second time in a row. Later that same day, The Colony defeated F.I.S.T (Chuck Taylor,Icarus andJohnny Gargano) to win the 2011 King of Trios. In July, Green Ant started a ‘Flex Express’ bus tour that was featured on Chikara’s video podcasts, in preparation for his match with Tursas, once again imitating a similar tour Luger did in 1993. One of the episodes even featured a cameo from Luger himself. The match took place on July 30, and it saw Tursas defeat Green Ant, following interference from Jakob Hammermeier. On August 27, Green Ant took part and advanced to the ninth annualYoung Lions Cup tournament, before losing toOsaka Pro Wrestling representativeTadasuke. The following month, Green Ant and Fire Ant, as The Colony, made their first tour of Japan with Osaka Pro, culminating in a match for theOsaka Pro Tag Team Championship, where they unsuccessfully challengedAtsushi Kotoge andDaisuke Harada. On November 13, at Chikara’s first internet-pay-per-view,High Noon, Green Ant ended his feud with Tursas by defeating him with his new finisher, theChikara Special: Green.
2012 saw Green Ant, along with The Colony, and other top Chikara stars, start a feud with the Gekido group, with The Colony mainly focusing on the trio of assailANT, combatANT and deviANT, also known as the Swarm. For the 2012 King of Trios, Chikara’s Director of Fun Wink Vavasseur mixed members of the Colony with members of the Swarm, with Green Ant and Fire Ant being forced to team with assailANT as The Colony. Following those changes, The Colony lost in the first round of King of Trios, to TeamSendai Girls (Dash Chisako,Meiko Satomura andSendai Sachiko). Green Ant and Fire Ant were also forced to remain with assailANT after King of Trios had ended. AtUnder the Hood, The Colony teamed withMike Quackenbush, in a losing effort to The Swarm team of deviANT and Soldier Ant and The Pieces of Hate (Jigsaw and The Shard). When Chikara went inactive followingAniversario: Never Compromise in June 2013, Green Ant and Fire Ant took the time to try and search for Soldier Ant, after Soldier had (kayfabe) quit Chikara in April that year. It was also revealed through The Ashes of Chikara, that Green Ant and Fire Ant still had issues trusting assailANT, due to his prior association with Gekido, but eventually trusted him after assailANT revealed the real reason why he had a change of heart; he had become a father, and he didn’t want his son to see him as a bitter and resentful man. Green Ant and assailANT reconciled, and Green Ant passed on the mantle of Worker Ant to assailANT.
Williams made his debut inEvolve Wrestling on September 14, 2014, atEvolve 35, losing toTimothy Thatcher.[5] On May 30, 2015, atEvolve 43, Williams andDrew Gulak failed to capture theOpen the United Gate Championship, when they were defeated byJohnny Gargano andRich Swann.[6] Williams has held theEvolve Tag Team Championship withDrew Gulak andFred Yehi, respectively, representing the stable Catch Point. AtEvolve 113, Williams had his final match with the promotion, losing toEvolve ChampionShane Strickland. After that, he left the promotion.[7]
Williams made hisRing of Honor debut atSurvival of the Fittest in November 2018. He participated in the Survival of the Fittest tournament, where he was eliminated at the first round byJonathan Gresham.[8] At a ROH taping in Atlanta, Georgia, Williams would joinJuice Robinson, David Finlay,Mark Haskins,Bandido andTenille Dashwood in forming a new faction named "Lifeblood". However, after the departures of Dashwood and Robinson from the promotion, Lifeblood quietly disbanded and Williams would find himself once again in singles competition. In September 2020, Williams competed in theROH Pure Tournament for theROH Pure Championship where he defeatedRust Taylor in the first round,Fred Yehi in the second round andJay Lethal in the semi-finals but lost toJonathan Gresham in the finals. Following this, Williams would join Lethal, Gresham, andRhett Titus in forming a new faction known as The Foundation.
On March 26, 2021, Williams became a double champion, winning theROH World Television Championship by defeatingKenny King - who was filling in for the injured recognized championDragon Lee - and also theROH World Tag Team Championship, teaming with Titus to defeat King andLa Bestia del Ring - who himself was subbing for recognized champion Dragon Lee. Williams would then lose the TV Title to Tony Deppen onRing of Honor Wrestling (aired May 1, 2021, but the exact match date is unknown due to it being at a closed door taping). AtFinal Battle, Team Foundation (Williams,Ethan Carter III,Eli Isom, and Taylor Rust) lost toRocky Romero and VLNCE UNLTD (Brody King,Homicide, andTony Deppen), following which ROH went on hiatus.[9]
Williams debuted with New Japan Pro-Wrestling in January 2019 as part of its "The New Beginning USA" event, first teaming withJuice Robinson inLos Angeles, California to defeatRoppongi Vice, then teaming withDavid Finlay inCharlotte, North Carolina to defeatChaos, then teaming with Finlay and Robinson to defeat Chaos inNashville, Tennessee. In April 2019, Williams wrestled on theG1 Supercard pay-per-view jointly promoted by NJPW and ROH inNew York City, competing in anHonor Rumble on the pre-show that was won byKenny King. In May 2019, Williams took part in theWar of the Worlds event jointly promoted by NJPW and ROH, primarily teaming withMark Haskins.[10]
Williams returned to NJPW in October 2022, losing toMinoru Suzuki at "The Night Before Rumble on 44th Street: a Halloween Special" pay-per-view in New York City. He returned once more in April 2023 at NJPW's "Collision in Philadelphia" pay-per-view inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, losing toAlex Coughlin.[10]
In September 2022, Williams debuted inAll Elite Wrestling (AEW), losing toBrian Cage onAEW Dark: Elevation.[11] In February 2023, he returned to Ring of Honor (now owned by AEW) onRing of Honor Wrestling. In March 2023 atSupercard of Honor, Williams lost toJeff Cobb. AtDeath Before Dishonor in July 2023, Williams lost toJosh Woods. In October 2023, Williams made his debut onAEW Collision, losing toClaudio Castagnoli.[12]
Williams wrestles in a "technical" style.[1] His signature moves include the "CHIKARA Special: Green" (asubmission hold),[1] theflying splash,[1] thefrog splash,[1] theMichinoku Driver,[1] themissile dropkick,[1] theTexas Cloverleaf,[1] and thetorture rack.[1]
