Jon Moxley

In December, Moxley began a storyline with AEW World Champion Chris Jericho and his stable The Inner Circle, when Jericho invited Moxley to join the group. On the January 7, 2020 episode of Dynamite, Moxley initially accepted the proposal and seemingly joined the group, before revealing it was a ploy and turning on them moments later. This act cemented Moxley as a face while still acting like more of an antihero. On the January 22 episode of Dynamite, Moxley defeated Pac to become the number one contender for Jericho's championship at Revolution on February 29, where he defeated Jericho to win the AEW World Championship, becoming the first person to be champion in both AEW and NJPW simultaneously. On the following episode of Dynamite, Moxley was attacked and thrown off the stage by The Inner Circle, giving him a kayfabe injury. Moxley returned on the March 25 episode of Dynamite, confronting Inner Circle member Jake Hager, resulting in a empty arena no holds barred match for the AEW World Championship being arranged for the April 15 episode of Dynamite, which Moxley won in his first championship defense. At Double or Nothing on May 23, Moxley defeated Brodie Lee to retain the championship.

On October 13, Moxley was stripped of the United States Championship as he was unable to wrestle in a scheduled championship defense against Robinson due to travel issues stemming from Typhoon Hagibis. He was replaced by Lance Archer, who defeated Robinson to win the vacant title. On December 9, Moxley returned and interrupted Archer after his final match in the 2019 World Tag League tournament, attacking both Archer and his Suzuki-gun teammate Minoru Suzuki and challenging Archer to a Texas Deathmatch for the United States Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 14. During the first night of Wrestle Kingdom on January 4, 2020, Moxley defeated Archer to win the championship for the second time. The following night, Moxley successfully retained the championship against Robinson, ending their long-running feud. After the match, he was confronted and beaten down by Suzuki. Moxley successfully defended the championship against Suzuki at The New Beginning in Osaka in February.

The following week, Ambrose burned his Shield vest and explained that being part of the group had made him weak. He would continue to taunt Rollins over the following weeks by stalking him, getting vaccinated against what he perceived to be Rollins's "illness", and ordering his own personal SWAT team to attack Rollins, subsequently proclaiming himself as "The Moral Compass of WWE". Ambrose defeated Rollins at TLC in December to win the Intercontinental Championship, beginning his third reign with title. Throughout the following weeks, he successfully defended his title against Tyler Breeze, Apollo Crews, and Rollins, before losing the championship to Bobby Lashley on the January 14, 2019 episode of Raw, in a triple threat match also involving Rollins, ending his reign at 29 days.

Ambrose entered the 2019 Royal Rumble match at number 14, but was eliminated by Aleister Black. The following night on Raw, he interrupted Royal Rumble winner Rollins and Triple H, proclaiming that Rollins never defeated him clean without interference and provoking Triple H into booking them in a match, which Ambrose subsequently lost. A few hours after Raw went off the air, it was reported that Ambrose had informed WWE officials that he would not be renewing his contract and would be leaving the company shortly after WrestleMania 35. WWE subsequently confirmed his decision in a statement. It was reported that he had been offered an improved contract by WWE, which he turned down due to long-standing frustration with the creative direction of his character and a particular dislike of the "hokey" material he had been given.

After weeks of New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) airing videos of a Mystery Man targeting IWGP United States Champion Juice Robinson, Moxley was revealed as the culprit in May 2019, challenging Robinson for a title match at the final night of the Best of the Super Juniors 26 tournament on June 5. At the event, he defeated Robinson in his NJPW in-ring debut to win the IWGP United States Championship. Following Moxley's original challenge, AEW CEO Tony Khan stated that Moxley will be able to take independent and international bookings during the summer before AEW's television deal started in the fall of that year. However during an interview with Nikkan Sports, Good clarified that "[translated] there is no problem in fighting in New Japan while belonging to AEW. In the future, I can always show up in Japan and have matches." At Dominion 6.9 in Osaka-jo Hall on June 9, Moxley defeated Shota Umino before declaring himself as an entrant in the 2019 G1 Climax tournament. From July to August, Moxley competed in the B Block of the G1 Climax, defeating Taichi in his first tournament match. He then went undefeated in the tournament, with wins over Jeff Cobb, Tomohiro Ishii, Shingo Takagi and Tetsuya Naito, before suffering his first loss to Toru Yano. He then lost his next three matches to Jay White, Hirooki Goto and Juice Robinson, failing to advance to the tournament finals with a final standing of 10 points.

From June 2019 onwards, Moxley has made sporadic appearances on several independent promotions such as Northeast Wrestling (NEW) and Future Stars of Wrestling (FSW). He was also scheduled to wrestle matches for Over the Top Wrestling (OTT) and Game Changer Wrestling (GCW), but the events he was due to perform at were cancelled as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Good's reversion to his Jon Moxley gimmick and subsequent debut at AEW's Double or Nothing after leaving WWE in 2019 was widely praised, with Phillip Martinez of Newsweek commenting that Good had caused "the wrestling world to erupt" after his surprise appearance. During this time, he was described by FanSided writer J.D. Olivia as "the biggest star in the wrestling world". Moxley's match with Tomohiro Ishii during the G1 Climax in July 2019 was met with critical acclaim. Deadspin' s Luis Paez-Pumar noted how the tournament offered an excellent platform for Moxley to shine following his departure from WWE and notably singled out his match against Ishii, calling it "almost certainly Moxley's best singles match ever, under any name, but it felt significant in another sense... it was good, brutal fun to watch, but it also pointed a way forward for Moxley not just as an attraction, but rather as a brilliant and brilliantly violent wrestler". The match was also awarded five stars by Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, with Meltzer remarking, "I think this was the first time I ever saw a match where at the 17 second mark I already felt it was going to be a four star match."

On the August 13, 2018 episode of Raw, Ambrose returned to assist Rollins against an attack from Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler, also debuting a new look consisting of a short haircut, a full beard, and a noticeably more muscular physique. Six days later, he assisted Rollins in winning the Intercontinental Championship at SummerSlam. The following night on Raw, Ambrose and Rollins aided Universal Champion Roman Reigns in attacking Braun Strowman when the latter attempted to cash-in his Money in the Bank contract, once again reuniting The Shield. At Hell in a Cell, Ambrose and Rollins were unsuccessful in defeating Ziggler and McIntyre for the Raw Tag Team Championship. In October, The Shield defeated Ziggler, McIntyre, and Strowman at Super Show-Down. Two nights later on Raw, they were defeated by the same trio in a rematch. After the match, a frustrated Ambrose walked away from his teammates.

For a brief time in 2018, in order to be closer to the recommended doctors during his recovery from his torn biceps, Good moved to Birmingham, Alabama. During this time, he contracted a staph infection which he claims nearly killed him.

On the January 3, 2017 episode of SmackDown, Ambrose defeated The Miz to win the Intercontinental Championship for the second time. He participated in the 2017 Royal Rumble match in which he lasted almost 27 minutes before being eliminated by Brock Lesnar. On February 12, Ambrose took part in the WWE Championship Elimination Chamber match at the event of the same name, where he eliminated Baron Corbin with a roll-up pin only for Corbin to attack him afterward, allowing Miz to eliminate Ambrose. A match was set between Ambrose and Corbin at the WrestleMania 33 pre-show on April 2, where Ambrose retained his Intercontinental Championship. Two nights later on SmackDown, Ambrose wrestled in his final match for the brand, in a losing effort to Corbin in a non-title match. Following that, Ambrose was moved to the Raw brand as a result of the Superstar Shake-up. He would then continue his feud with The Miz, who was also drafted to the aforementioned brand in the Superstar Shake-up, eventually losing the Intercontinental title to him at Extreme Rules in June, thus ending his reign at 152 days. Ambrose continued to feud with The Miz, leading up to a rematch for the Intercontinental Championship at Great Balls of Fire on July 9, where he lost after interference by The Miztourage (Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas).

On the October 9 episode of Raw, Ambrose and Rollins reunited with Roman Reigns. The newly reformed Shield was due to face the team of Braun Strowman, Cesaro, Kane, The Miz and Sheamus at TLC in a 5-on-3 handicap Tables, Ladders and Chairs match, but Reigns was replaced by Kurt Angle over an illness concern. Ambrose, Rollins, and Angle would go on to win the match. Ambrose and Rollins were scheduled to face SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos in an interbrand match at Survivor Series, but lost the tag titles back to Cesaro and Sheamus on the November 6 episode of Raw after a distraction from SmackDown's The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston, and Xavier Woods), thus ending their reign at 78 days. This led to a match between The Shield and The New Day at Survivor Series two weeks later, which the former won. In December 2017, Ambrose suffered a triceps injury, reportedly rendering him out of action for nine months.

Good began dating Canadian backstage interviewer and on-air personality Renee Paquette, better known in WWE as Renee Young, in 2013. They live near Las Vegas, and were married in an impromptu ceremony at their home in the early hours of April 9, 2017.

In December, Ambrose won the Intercontinental Championship for the first time after defeating Owens at TLC. He successfully defended the title against Owens and Ziggler multiple times between December and January 2016. Ambrose competed in the 2016 Royal Rumble match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, which he lost after being lastly eliminated by eventual winner Triple H. Ambrose would later lose the Intercontinental Championship back to Owens in a five-way match on the February 15 episode of Raw, after Owens pinned Tyler Breeze.

In May, Ambrose qualified for the 2016 Money in the Bank ladder match, which he would win. Later that same night, he would cash in his Money in the Bank contract and defeat Rollins to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship for the first time. Ambrose made his first title defense against Rollins on the July 18 episode of Raw, which ended in a draw after a double pinfall. The following night at the 2016 WWE draft, Ambrose was drafted to SmackDown, being the brand's first draft pick and bringing the WWE Championship with him; that same night, he pinned Rollins to retain the championship. At Battleground, Ambrose retained his title against Reigns and Rollins after pinning Reigns. Ambrose then successfully defended the renamed "WWE World Championship" against Dolph Ziggler at SummerSlam in August.

After consecutive losses to Wyatt at the Survivor Series and TLC pay-per-views, Ambrose defeated Wyatt in a Boot Camp Match at Tribute to the Troops, before losing to Wyatt yet again in a Miracle on 34th Street Fight on the December 22 episode of Raw. The feud between the two concluded when Wyatt defeated Ambrose in an ambulance match on the January 5, 2015 episode of Raw. At the Royal Rumble on January 25, Ambrose participated in the Royal Rumble match, but was eliminated by Big Show and Kane. Ambrose then began a feud with Intercontinental Champion Bad News Barrett. He failed to win the championship from Barrett at Fastlane and WrestleMania 31. Ambrose defeated Luke Harper at Extreme Rules in a Chicago Street Fight on April 26, his first singles victory on a pay-per-view event since The Shield split up. The following night on Raw, Ambrose competed in the 2015 King of the Ring tournament, but was disqualified from the competition during his quarterfinal match with Sheamus, after interference from Dolph Ziggler.

As Dean Ambrose, Good made his acting debut in the action film 12 Rounds 3: Lockdown (2015), in which he starred as detective John Shaw. He also made an uncredited cameo in the WWE film Countdown (2016). Under his real name, he appeared in the sports action film Cagefighter: Worlds Collide (2020) as Randy Stone, a professional wrestler who crosses over to MMA and fights the film's protagonist.

Characterized by his crazed and unstable wrestling persona, Good has also been recognized for his popularity with audiences, winning the Pro Wrestling Illustrated award for Most Popular Wrestler of the Year in 2014 and 2015, as well as being named Wrestler of the Year by Sports Illustrated in 2019. Outside of wrestling, he made his acting debut in the lead role of the action film 12 Rounds 3: Lockdown (2015) and appeared as the antagonist in the sports action film Cagefighter: Worlds Collide (2020).

Ambrose continued to retain his United States Championship against Rob Van Dam at SummerSlam, Dolph Ziggler at Night of Champions, and Big E Langston at Hell in a Cell. At the Survivor Series pay-per-view, The Shield teamed with Antonio Cesaro and Jack Swagger to take on Rey Mysterio, The Usos, Cody Rhodes and Goldust in a traditional Survivor Series match; although Ambrose was the first man eliminated, Reigns would ultimately win the match for the team. At TLC in December, CM Punk defeated The Shield in a handicap match after Ambrose was accidentally speared by Reigns. At the Royal Rumble on January 26, 2014, Ambrose entered his first Royal Rumble match at number 11 and eliminated three participants, before being eliminated by Reigns. The following night on Raw, The Shield faced Daniel Bryan, John Cena, and Sheamus in order to earn their spot in the Elimination Chamber match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. The Shield lost after The Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt, Erick Rowan, and Luke Harper) interfered, thus starting a feud between the two factions. The Shield would lose to The Wyatt Family at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, due to Ambrose abandoning the match midway through.

Ambrose promptly began feuding with Rollins, which included the duo interfering in each other's matches. During this period, Ambrose and Reigns amicably separated as a team, with Ambrose debuting new ring attire and new entrance music. Ambrose competed the 2014 Money in the Bank ladder match on June 29, which Rollins would win after Kane attacked Ambrose. Ambrose was scheduled to face Rollins at Battleground on July 20, but he was ejected from the arena by Triple H after a pre-match brawl with Rollins. Rollins was later announced as the winner via forfeit, prompting Ambrose to return to the arena and attack Rollins. Ambrose and Rollins eventually wrestled at SummerSlam on August 17 in a lumberjack match, which Ambrose lost after Kane again interfered and Rollins hit Ambrose with his Money in the Bank briefcase. The following night on Raw, Ambrose faced Rollins in a Falls Count Anywhere match, which Ambrose lost by knockout after interference from Kane once again. After the match, Rollins curb stomped his head through cinder blocks, giving Ambrose kayfabe (fictional) "head and spine trauma" and causing him to take a hiatus from WWE. Ambrose returned at Night of Champions in September and attacked Rollins. The duo faced off in a Hell in a Cell match the following month at the namesake event, where Ambrose lost again when the returning Bray Wyatt interfered and attacked him.

On the October 22 episode of Raw, after Reigns announced the return of his real-life leukemia and relinquished the Universal Championship, Ambrose and Rollins defeated Ziggler and McIntyre to capture the Raw Tag Team Championship for the second time. However, Ambrose immediately attacked Rollins after the match, becoming a villainous character for the first time since 2014. Two weeks later on Raw, Ambrose attacked Rollins again, after Rollins lost the tag titles in a handicap match against AOP (Akam and Rezar).

On May 1, Good—having reverted to his former Jon Moxley gimmick and name—posted a video on his new Twitter page to promote the gimmick's return, which showed him breaking out of a prison. On May 25, he made his unannounced debut for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) during Double or Nothing, the company's inaugural pay-per-view event, attacking Chris Jericho, Kenny Omega, and the referee after Jericho and Omega's main event match, thus establishing himself as an antihero character. Shortly after, it was announced that Moxley had signed a multi-year contract. Moxley had his AEW debut match at the Fyter Fest event in June, where he defeated Joey Janela in an unsanctioned match. After the match, Moxley was attacked by Omega in retaliation for his previous assault. A match between the two was scheduled for All Out on August 31. However, a week before the event, Moxley was forced to pull out after being diagnosed with a MRSA staph infection in his elbow, and would undergo surgery to remove it. AEW subsequently revealed Pac as Moxley's replacement. The match was subsequently rescheduled for the Full Gear event on November 9. Moxley made his return on October 2, during the inaugural episode of AEW Dynamite, attacking Omega during the latter's main event match. At Full Gear on November 9, Moxley defeated Omega in an unsanctioned Lights Out match.

After debuting on WWE television as Dean Ambrose with The Shield, Good utilized a headlock driver, the Dirty Deeds, as a finishing move. Soon after The Shield's initial split in 2014, he did not feel comfortable using a headlock driver on some wrestlers, so the Dirty Deeds was changed to a double underhook DDT. Upon his departure from WWE, he renamed his finisher the Paradigm Shift and debuted a lifting variation called the Death Rider. During his tenure in WWE's FCW territory, he used William Regal's finishing moves the Knee Trembler (a running knee lift) and the Regal Stretch (a cross-legged arm trap STF) to mock Regal during their feud.

Ambrose's booking during his feuds with Seth Rollins and Bray Wyatt in 2014 was criticized by commentators, including James Caldwell of the Pro Wrestling Torch, who stated that although "he's a utility main eventer", his lack of victories indicated that he was not a guy that WWE was positioning "for a 2-3 year sustained run on top". Ambrose's post-Shield run as a heroic character gained significant popularity, with him being cheered over fellow heroic character Roman Reigns when they faced off in three world title matches (Payback and Survivor Series in 2015 and Fastlane in 2016). Ambrose was voted as the Most Popular Wrestler of the Year by Pro Wrestling Illustrated readers in 2014 and 2015.

A notably private person, Good refused to use the Twitter profile WWE had created for him during his time there. He explained in a March 2014 interview, "As far as social media and all that, I understand connecting with fans on a different level, but I don't feel the need to open myself up to the opinion of everybody in the world with a phone or computer. I just don't get being connected to everybody on such a superficial level like that. There's a kind of mystery when you don't put yourself out like that. [...] People start to kind of create their own version of you in their head. [...] What I give you is what happens onscreen, and past that, anything you're coming up with [is] in your own head." He later set up Twitter and Instagram profiles upon leaving WWE, though he still rarely uses them.

Ambrose won the United States Championship (his first championship in WWE) in May 2013, and his 351-day reign became the longest under the WWE banner. After considerable success, The Shield split in June 2014. Ambrose went on to win the WWE Championship, the WWE Intercontinental Championship, and the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship (the latter with Rollins). He also became the winner of the 2016 Money in the Bank ladder match, as well WWE's 27th Triple Crown Champion and 16th Grand Slam Champion. He departed WWE in April 2019, subsequently reverting to his previous Jon Moxley character and debuting for AEW at their premiere event Double or Nothing. Shortly after, he also started working in NJPW and won the IWGP United States Championship in his debut match, becoming the first and only wrestler to have held the WWE and IWGP United States Championships. He won the AEW World Championship in February 2020. Moxley has also competed in several other regional promotions including Heartland Wrestling Association (HWA), Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW), and Dragon Gate USA (DGUSA).

In March 2012, Ambrose had a confrontation with veteran hardcore wrestler Mick Foley, claiming that Foley needed to be held accountable for creating a generation of imitators. Ambrose continued to antagonize Foley through Twitter. According to Ambrose, the angle was supposed to culminate in a match between the two, but this never came to fruition due to Foley not being medically allowed to wrestle. Instead, the rivalry was scrapped and Ambrose remained in WWE's developmental system. He competed in a dark match at the first tapings of NXT on May 17, in a loss to Xavier Woods. On an episode of FCW in June, Ambrose challenged Rollins for the FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship but lost. Almost a year after their first match, Ambrose and Regal rematched on the final episode of FCW on July 15. The match would conclude in a no contest after Ambrose repeatedly kneed Regal's head into a ring turnbuckle, causing Regal to bleed from the ear.

On November 18, 2012, Ambrose made his WWE main roster debut at the Survivor Series pay-per-view event alongside Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins, as they delivered a triple powerbomb through an announce table to Ryback during the triple threat main event for the WWE Championship, allowing CM Punk to pin John Cena and retain the title. The trio declared themselves The Shield, vowed to rally against "injustice" and denied working for Punk, but they routinely emerged from the crowd to attack Punk's adversaries, including Ryback and the WWE Tag Team Champions Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan and Kane), establishing themselves as villains. This led to a six-man Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match being set up for the TLC pay-per-view event on December 16, where Ambrose, Rollins, and Reigns defeated Ryback and Team Hell No in their debut match. The Shield continued to aid Punk after TLC, both on Raw and at the Royal Rumble in January 2013. The night after the Royal Rumble, it was revealed through footage that Punk and his manager Paul Heyman had been paying The Shield to work for them all along. The Shield then quietly ended their association with Punk.

Good signed a developmental deal with WWE in April 2011 and joined its developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) under the name Dean Ambrose. Prior to his signing, Good wrestled three try-out matches for WWE in 2006 and 2007.

In 2011, Smart Mark Video released Stories From the Streets: The Jon Moxley Story, a DVD featuring several of Good's matches in CZW, HWA, and IPW, as well as a two-and-a-half hour shoot interview with Good. He has also spoken on several podcasts such as Colt Cabana's Art of Wrestling in December 2014, Chris Jericho's Talk is Jericho in May 2019 (in which he talked about his departure from WWE), and AEW's Unrestricted podcast in February 2020 (for which he was the inaugural guest).

At Full Impact Pro's (FIP) Southern Stampede event on April 17, 2010, Moxley defeated Roderick Strong to win the vacant FIP World Heavyweight Championship. He held the title for 441 days before relinquishing it in July 2011, due to his signing with WWE. Moxley also won Combat Zone Wrestling's CZW World Heavyweight Championship twice in 2010 by defeating B-Boy and Nick Gage, respectively.

Referred to as the "Lunatic Fringe" since his time in The Shield, Ambrose's WWE gimmick has seen him characterized as a mentally unstable and unpredictable wildcard. His gimmick has been compared to Heath Ledger's Joker from the 2008 film The Dark Knight. After becoming a villain in late 2018, Ambrose began proclaiming himself the "Moral Compass of WWE", and this revamped character—with his use of gas masks, fur-lined coats, military attire, and a SWAT-like team to do his bidding—invited comparisons to Tom Hardy's Bane from the 2012 sequel The Dark Knight Rises.

In September 2006, Moxley teamed with Hade Vansen to win the IWA World Tag Team Championship in the Puerto Rico based International Wrestling Association. They lost the titles to Chicano and Jeff Jeffrey in November, ending their reign at 69 days. Moxley also wrestled several dark matches for Ring of Honor (ROH) between 2007 and 2009. Moxley started working for Dragon Gate USA (DGUSA) in late 2009. He made his first televised appearance in March, where he defeated Tommy Dreamer in a hardcore match taped for the Mercury Rising pay-per-view. At the Uprising event in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, Moxley suffered a legitimate injury where his left nipple was nearly severed during a match with Jimmy Jacobs. His last match in DGUSA was against Homicide in January 2011, which Moxley won.

Good began working for Les Thatcher in the Heartland Wrestling Association (HWA) promotion as a teenager by selling popcorn and setting up the ring. He began training to become a professional wrestler at the age of 18 under the teaching of Thatcher and HWA wrestler Cody Hawk. He made his debut in 2004 under the ring name Jon Moxley. The following year, Moxley won the HWA Tag Team Championship twice, with Jimmy Turner and Ric Byrne respectively. He captured the HWA Heavyweight Championship twice in 2006 by defeating Pepper Parks on both occasions but lost the title to Chad Collyer and Brian Jennings respectively. From mid-2007 to early 2010, Moxley continued to work in the tag team division and held the HWA tag titles once with his trainer Cody Hawk and twice with King Vu. He won the HWA Heavyweight Championship for the third time from Aaron Williams in January 2010, before losing it to Gerome Phillips six months later.

The ring name Jon Moxley was given to Good by a fellow wrestler who had misheard the name of James Van Der Beek's character Jon Moxon in the 1999 film Varsity Blues shortly before his first match: "I'd probably been thinking about names for years and years, but I had no ideas. [...] So, right before I'm about to go out the ring announcer said, 'What's the name?' I didn't have one. [...] This other wrestler guy was just like, 'It's like the Varsity Blues guy. He's like the guy from Varsity Blues, Jonathan Moxley.' They're like, 'That's cool.' I was too nervous to say yes or no. [...] Actually, in the movie, it's Moxon. So the guy screwed up the name a little bit. It wasn't my idea at all. It was just foisted upon me."

Jonathan David Good (born December 7, 1985), better known by his ring name Jon Moxley, is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the current AEW World Champion in his first reign, and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is the current IWGP United States Champion in his second reign. He also makes occasional appearances on the independent circuit. He is best known for his tenure with WWE, where he performed under the ring name Dean Ambrose from 2011 to 2019. After competing in FCW and NXT, two of WWE's developmental territories, he joined the main roster in November 2012 as a member of The Shield, alongside Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins.

Jonathan David Good was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on December 7, 1985. An avid wrestling fan who idolized Bret Hart as a child, he used wrestling as an escape from his rough upbringing by watching wrestling videos and reading stories about wrestling's earlier days. One year after beginning to train as a wrestler, he dropped out of high school. He supported himself by working minimum-wage jobs in factories, restaurants, and warehouses, but was constantly getting fired because he would skip work if he was booked to wrestle a match that clashed with his shift; however, he never worried about getting fired because he could always find another minimum-wage job to replace the one he'd lost.