Rehwoldt debuted on the independent circuit in 2009. In 2012, he signed a development contract with WWE[11] and was assigned to the farm territory Florida Championship Wrestling and later to NXT. In NXT, he formed a tag team called The Vaudevillains with Simon Gotch, winning the NXT Tag Team Championship.[12] They were called to WWE's main roster in 2016, but the team ended in 2017 when Gotch was released. English was then paired with Rusev, formed a tag team named Rusev Day.[13] In 2019, he became a color commentator on 205 Live and NXT UK.[14] After being released from WWE in 2020, Rehwoldt began wrestling for Impact Wrestling and on the independent circuit under both his real name and the ring name Matt Morris.[8]
Outside of wrestling, Rehwoldt started the "Rough Cuts" social media campaign for unfinished art and the "Wrestling With Whiskey" project on YouTube.[15]
While attending college, Rehwoldt trained as a professional wrestler. He made his professional wrestling debut on July 24, 2009 at an IWA Mid-South event under the ring name Matt Morris, defeating TJ Panic.[9] He wrestled for promotions such as Chicago Style Wrestling, where he formed a tag team named "The Ryte Stuff" with Barry Ryte.[7]
After WWE rebranded FCW as NXT in 2012, English's television debut took place on the June 27 episode of the rebooted NXT taped at Full Sail University, losing to Leo Kruger. English was used primarily as a jobber throughout the rest of the year, losing to wrestlers including Bray Wyatt, Ryback, and Big E Langston.[17][18][19] He scored his first televised win on the September 18, 2013 episode of NXT, defeating Michael Q. Laurie.[20]
A week later, on the September 25 episode of NXT, English sang a parody version of the "Major-General's Song" from the musical The Pirates of Penzance while approaching the ring. He subsequently began singing before, during and after his matches, while also establishing himself as a heel.[3][21] Throughout the year, English scored wins over Jason Jordan and Camacho.[22][23] In the beginning of 2014, English began a feud with Colin Cassady, losing to him on the January 1 episode of NXT in a sing-off but defeating him in several matches.[24][25][26][27]
In June 2014, English formed a tag team with Simon Gotch, known as the Vaudevillains.[28] The duo turned face when they feuded with Blake and Murphy. The feud escalated to NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn, where the Vaudevillains defeated Blake and Murphy to win the NXT Tag Team Championship.[12] On the November 11 episode of NXT, the Vaudevillains lost the title to Dash and Dawson, ending their reign at 61 days.[29] On the November 25 episode of NXT, the Vaudevillains faced Dash and Dawson in a rematch for the title in a losing effort. On the December 23 episode of NXT, the Vaudevillains competed in a four-way tag team match against Blake and Murphy, The Hype Bros, and Chad Gable and Jason Jordan, won by Gable and Jordan. On the March 16, 2016 episode of NXT, the Vaudevillains were defeated by Gable and Jordan, later known as American Alpha, in a #1 contenders match for the NXT Tag Team Championship.
On the April 7, 2016 episode of SmackDown, the Vaudevillains made their main roster debut as heels, defeating the Lucha Dragons.[30] On the April 11 episode of Raw, the Vaudevillains were announced as one of the teams to participate in the #1 contenders tournament for the WWE Tag Team Championship, where they defeated Goldust and Fandango in the first round later that week on SmackDown and The Usos on the April 18 episode of Raw in the semi-finals.[31][32][33] At Payback, the Vaudevillains faced Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady in the finals of the tournament. The match resulted in a no-contest due to a legit concussion by Amore, and the Vaudevillains were declared number one contenders.[34] At Extreme Rules, the Vaudevillains received their shot at the titles against The New Day in a losing effort.[35] At Money in the Bank, The Vaudevillains competed in a Fatal 4-way tag team match also involving Enzo and Cass and Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson for the titles in a losing effort.
On July 19 at the 2016 WWE draft, the Vaudevillains were drafted to SmackDown in the tenth round of picks. In August, a tag team tournament for the newly created WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship was set up by SmackDown general manager Daniel Bryan and SmackDown commissioner Shane McMahon, where the winners of the tournament would be crowned the inaugural champions. On the August 30 episode of SmackDown, the Vaudevillains would compete in the first round match of the tournament, where they were defeated by The Hype Bros. On the November 8 episode of SmackDown, the Vaudevillains were defeated by Breezango (Tyler Breeze and Fandango) in a qualifying match for a spot in Team SmackDown at Survivor Series. On the January 31, 2017 episode of SmackDown, the Vaudevillains, along with five other teams, answered an open challenge set by American Alpha, where a brawl between all six teams ensued before being broken up by referees and officials. At Elimination Chamber, the Vaudevillains competed in a tag team turmoil match for the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship, where they were eliminated by Heath Slater and Rhyno. At WrestleMania 33, English competed in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, which was won by Mojo Rawley. On April 5, 2017, English's partner Simon Gotch was released from WWE.[36]
Rusev Day (2017–2018)
Following the team's disbandment, English returned to singing prior to his matches.[37] In May 2017, he entered into a feud with Tye Dillinger, losing to him at Backlash.[38] At Battleground on July 23, English once again faced Dillinger, this time in a winning effort.[39]
In September, English allied with Rusev during a rivalry Rusev had been having with Randy Orton. After losing to Orton at SummerSlam, Rusev issued a rematch to Orton following a match with English, which Orton had won. English distracted Orton and allowed Rusev to pick up the victory in nine seconds, the same time that Orton had defeated Rusev in at SummerSlam.[40] The following week, Rusev held "The Pride of Bulgaria Celebration," and was praised by the mayor of his hometown. English sang a song to commemorate the occasion. During the song, Orton appeared and delivered RKOs to both English and Rusev.[41] From there on out, crowds began chanting "Rusev Day" during Rusev's matches, and he and English would become one of the company's most popular acts, despite their placement as villains.[42][43]
In July 2018, English started a feud with Rusev when, on the July 24 episode of SmackDown Live, English accidentally knocked Lana out.[13] The following weeks, English interfered in the matches between Andrade Cien Almas and Zelina Vega and Rusev and Lana, turning back to a heel in the process.[49][50][51] The feud escalated when, on the September 18 episode of SmackDown Live, English attacked Rusev with a microphone and alluded to Lana and he having an affair.[52] The storyline concluded on October 9, when it was revealed in a video that English made romantic advances towards Lana, to which she deflected.[53] On the October 23 episode of SmackDown Live, Rusev defeated English, ending their feud.[54]
Color commentator (2019–2020)
In January 2019, it was announced that English would join the commentary team of 205 Live beginning on January 22, 2019, replacing Percy Watson, while still also participating on SmackDown.[55] On April 4, English lost to Kassius Ohno at WrestleMania Axxess, in a match that aired on WWE Worlds Collide on April 14.[56] This would become his final match in the company. On November 1, 2019, English appeared as a guest commentator on SmackDown, as part of a commentary team filling in for Michael Cole and Corey Graves.[57][58] On April 15, 2020, English was released from his WWE contract due to the budget cuts stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.[59]
Independent circuit (2020–present)
After his WWE release, he began to work on the independent circuit under his real name. On September 17, 2020, Rehwoldt had his first match on the independent circuit for Zelo Wrestling where he defeated Nick Brubaker.[60]
Impact Wrestling/Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2021–present)
In early 2022, Rehwoldt would join the commentary team regularly, replacing D'lo Brown. He would retire as a wrestler to focus on his work as commentator.[65][66]
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2021–2022)
At NJPW Resurgence, Rehwoldt made his New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) debut as part of the English commentary team. Rehwoldt made his debut for the August 20, 2021 airing of NJPW Strong in a match against Alex Coughlin under the ring name "Matt Morris".
He frequently appeared on Xavier Woods' UpUpDownDown[69] YouTube channel, where he played video games together with several other wrestlers.
Aside from his professional wrestling career, English started the campaign "Rough Cuts" on social media, where people share their unfinished art on Twitter or Instagram. Also, in 2018, he started the project "Wrestling With Whiskey," where, under his real name, he uploads videos of Whiskey tastings, Q & A's etc. on the project's YouTube channel.[15] He does stream via Twitch using the username DramaKingMatt.[citation needed]
^"Simon Gotch Released by WWE". Se Scoops | Wrestling News, Results & Interviews. SEScoops. April 5, 2017. Archived from the original on February 10, 2023. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
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