Wardlow (wrestler)
| Wardlow | |
|---|---|
Wardlow in December 2018 | |
| Born | January 19, 1988 Middlefield, Ohio |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Michael Wardlow Wardlow |
| Billed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Billed weight | 266 lb (121 kg) |
| Billed from | Cleveland, Ohio |
| Trained by | Josh Emanuel |
| Debut | 2014 |
Michael Austin Wardlow (born January 19, 1988) is an American professional wrestler. He currently wrestles for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Wardlow. He is a member of the Undisputed Kingdom stable.
He has also made appearances in the International Wrestling Cartel (IWC).
Wardlow has been a three-time AEW TNT Champion and the winner of the Face of the Revolution Ladder Match in 2022.
Professional wrestling career
All Elite Wrestling
At All Out, vignettes began to air to hype up the debut of Wardlow.[1] On the November 13, 2019 episode of Dynamite, Wardlow made his AEW debut as a heel and attacked Cody.[2] He then became the bodyguard for Cody's rival MJF.
On the February 19, 2020 episode of Dynamite, Wardlow made his AEW in-ring debut in a steel cage match were he lost to Cody.[3] On he May 27 episode of Dynamite, Wardlow participated in a battle royal to determine the number one contender for the AEW TNT Championship but the match was won by Jungle Boy.[4] Both Wardlow and MJF later joined The Inner Circle group before splitting up from the group and creating The Pinnacle to feud with The Inner Circle. Tensions between Wardlow and MJF began to show
At Revolution, Wardlow was able to win the "Face of the Revolution" ladder match and earned a chance at the AEW TNT Championship in the future. Later in the night, Wardlow made an appearance in the Dog Collar match between CM Punk and MJF after MJF called for him. Wardlow placed the Dynamite Diamond Ring on the apron of the ring after Punk hit MJF with the Go To Sleep, turning Wardlow face.[5]
In storyline, Wardlow's contract was owned by MJF and not AEW which meant he was not a member of the roster. MJF made Wardlow participate in multiple situations and matches with stipulations to get him out of his contract with MJF. At Double or Nothing, a match between Wardlow and MJF was set. If Wardlow won, MJF granted the release from his contract and make him able to sign a AEW contract. If he lost, Wardlow was banned from ever singing a contract with AEW. At Double of Nothing, Wardlow defeated MJF and signed his AEW contract.[6] On the July 6, 2022, Wardlow defeated Scorpio Sky in a street fight to win the AEW TNT Championship. This was Wardlow's first championship in AEW.[7] At Full Gear, Wardlow lost the championship to Samoa Joe.[8]
At Revolution, Wardlow defeated Samoa Joe to regain his AEW TNT Championship before losing it against to Powerhouse Hobbs three days later on the March 8 episode of Dynamite.[9][10] On the April 19 episode of Dynamite, Wardlow became a three-time TNT champion after defeating Hobbs and regaining the championship.[11] He later lost the championship to Luchasaurus on the June 17 episode of Collision.[12]
On the October 4 episode of Dynamite, Wardlow returned and turned heel again after destroying Griff Garrison.[13] At Worlds End, Wardlow was revealed as one of the Devil's masked men and he helped creat the Undisputed Kingdom stable, alongside Adam Cole, Roderick Strong, Matt Taven, and Mike Bennett.[14]
At Revolution, Wardlow participated in and won a All-Star scramble match to earn the opportunity for a AEW World Championship match in the future.[15] At Big Business,Wardlow challenged Samoa Joe for the AEW World Championship but was unsuccessful.[16]
References
- ↑ "AEW All Out results: Powell's live review of Chris Jericho vs. Hangman Page to become the first AEW Champion, Pentagon Jr. and Fenix vs. The Young Bucks in a ladder match for the AAA Tag Titles, Cody vs. Shawn Spears, Kenny Omega vs. Pac". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved March 29, 2025.
- ↑ "11/13/2019 AEW Dynamite Results: Tag Title Match, Wardlow Debuts & Hangman Page vs. Pac III". Fightful. Retrieved March 29, 2025.
- ↑ "11/13/2019 AEW Dynamite Results: Tag Title Match, Wardlow Debuts & Hangman Page vs. Pac III". Fightful. Retrieved March 29, 2025.
- ↑ "AEW Dynamite 5/27/20 Results: Chris Jericho Brawls With Mike Tyson, A Battle Royal & More!". Fightful. Retrieved March 29, 2025.
- ↑ "AEW Revolution results: Powell's live review of Hangman Page vs. Adam Cole for the AEW Title, Britt Baker vs. Thunder Rosa for the AEW Women's Title, Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus vs. Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly vs. The Young Bucks for the AEW Tag Titles, CM Punk vs. MJF in a dog collar match, Jon Moxley vs. Bryan Danielson". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved March 29, 2025.
- ↑ "AEW Double Or Nothing results: Powell's live review of Hangman Page vs. CM Punk for the AEW Championship, MJF vs. Wardlow, Thunder Rosa vs. Serena Deeb for the AEW Women's Title, Owen Hart Cup tournament finals, The Hardys vs. The Young Bucks, Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus vs. Ricky Starks and Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland for the AEW Tag Titles". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved March 29, 2025.
- ↑ "11/13/2019 AEW Dynamite Results: Tag Title Match, Wardlow Debuts & Hangman Page vs. Pac III". Fightful. Retrieved March 29, 2025.
- ↑ "AEW Full Gear results: Powell's live review of Jon Moxley vs. MJF for the AEW World Championship, The Acclaimed vs. Swerve Strickland and Keith Lee for the AEW Tag Titles, Toni Storm vs. Jamie Hayter for the Interim AEW Women's Title, Death Triangle vs. The Elite for the AEW Trios Titles, Saraya vs. Britt Baker". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved March 29, 2025.
- ↑ "AEW Revolution results: Powell's live review of MJF vs. Bryan Danielson in an Iron Man match for the AEW World Championship, Jamie Hayter vs. Saraya vs. Ruby Soho in a three-way for the AEW Women's Title, Jon Moxley vs. Hangman Page in a Texas Death match, Samoa Joe vs. Wardlow for the TNT Title, The Elite vs. House of Black for the AEW Trios Titles". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved March 29, 2025.
- ↑ "Powerhouse Hobbs Wins TNT Championship On 3/8 AEW Dynamite, Aligns With QT Marshall". Fightful. Retrieved March 29, 2025.
- ↑ "Wardlow Wins AEW TNT Title On 4/19 AEW Dynamite, Aligns With Arn Anderson". Fightful. Retrieved March 29, 2025.
- ↑ "AEW Collision (6/17/2023) Results: CM Punk & FTR vs Samoa Joe & Bullet Club Gold, TNT Title Bout". Fightful. Retrieved March 29, 2025.
- ↑ "AEW Dynamite (10/4/23) Results: Adam Copeland, Chris Jericho, Kenny Omega, And More In Stockton". Fightful. Retrieved March 29, 2025.
- ↑ "Adam Cole Revealed As The Devil At AEW Worlds End, Joined By Roderick Strong, The Kingdom And Wardlow". Fightful. Retrieved March 18, 2025.
- ↑ "AEW Revolution results: Powell's live review of Sting and Darby Allin vs. The Young Bucks for the AEW Tag Titles in Sting's final match, Samoa Joe vs. Swerve Strickland vs. Hangman Page for the AEW World Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved March 29, 2025.
- ↑ "AEW Dynamite results (3/13): Powell's live review of "Big Business" with Samoa Joe vs. Wardlow for the AEW World Championship, Darby Allin vs. Jay White, the expected debut of Mercedes Mone". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved March 29, 2025.