Fred Rosser

Darren Young
Rosser at WrestleMania 32 Axxess in April 2016
Born	(1983-11-02) 2 November 1983 (age 41)[1][2] Union City, New Jersey[1]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Darren Young[1] Fred Rossen[3] Fred Rosser[1] Fred Sampson[1] Fred Sanford[1] Frederick of Hollywood[3] Officer Sampson[3]
Billed height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[4]
Billed weight	242 lb (110 kg)[4]
Billed from	Hollywood, California[2] Miami, Florida[4]
Trained by	Kevin Knight[3]
Debut	2002[5]

Frederick Douglas Rosser III^[1] (born November 2, 1983)^[1] is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a former Strong Openweight Champion. He is also known for him time in WWE where he wrestled as Darren Young and was one half of the tag team, The Prime Time Players with Titus O'Neil. Together they won the WWE Tag Team Championship once.

He was in the first season of NXT in early 2010. He was a part of The Nexus when they debuted on the June 7 episode of Raw, but was kicked out after he lost a match against John Cena and was attacked by the rest of the Nexus.

Before signing with WWE, Rosser wrestled under several ring names, including Frederick of Hollywood, Fred Sanford, and "Bonecrusher" Fred Sampson. He has competed in Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic independent promotions including Chaotic Wrestling,^[6] East Coast Wrestling Association,^[7] Independent Wrestling Federation and the National Wrestling Alliance.

On August 15, 2013, he announced during a TMZ interview that he was gay.^[8] In doing this, Young became the first WWE performer to disclose that he is gay while still actively signed with a major promotion. WWE released a statement in support of Young and fellow wrestlers tweeted their support for him.^[9]

On September 4, 2020, Rosser made his debut for New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) on an episode of Strong. He teamed with Alex Zayne and they beat The DKC and Clark Connors.^[10]

In wrestling

• Finishing moves
  • Bonecrusher Powerslam (Running powerslam)^[3] – Independent circuit / FCW
  • Full nelson lifted and twisted into a flapjack^[11] – WWE
• Signature moves
  • Belly to belly suplex^[2][5]
  • Northern Lights suplex^[2][5]
  • Tilt-a-whirl backbreaker^[2][5]
• Nicknames
  • "Bonecrusher"^[3]
  • "The South Beach Party Boy"^[12]

Championships and accomplishments

• Chaotic Wrestling
  • Chaotic Wrestling New England Championship (1 time)^[13]
  • Chaotic Wrestling Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Rick Fuller^[14]
• East Coast Wrestling Association
  • ECWA Heavyweight Championship (2 times)^[15]
  • ECWA Mid Atlantic Championship (1 time)^[16]
• Independent Wrestling Federation
  • IWF Heavyweight Championship (2 times)^[17]
  • Commissioner's Cup Tag Team Tournament (2003) – with Hadrian^[18]
  • Commissioner's Cup Tag Team Tournament (2004) – with Kevin Knight^[18]
  • Commissioner's Cup Tag Team Tournament (2006) – with Franciz^[18]
  • Tournament of Champions (2004)^[18]
• National Wrestling Superstars
  • NWS Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Bulldog Collare^[19]
• New Japan Pro-Wrestling
  • Strong Openweight Championship (1 time)^[20]
• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • Feud of the Year (2010) The Nexus vs. WWE^[21]
  • Inspirational Wrestler of the Year (2013)^[21]
  • Most Hated Wrestler of the Year (2010) As part of The Nexus^[21]
  • Ranked No. 89 of the top 500 wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2013^[22]
• Rolling Stone
  • Most Deserved Push (2015)^[23] As a member of The Prime Time Players
• World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE
  • WWE Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Titus O'Neil
  • Slammy Award for Shocker of the Year (2010) The debut of The Nexus^[24]
• Wrestling Observer Newsletter
  • Worst Feud of the Year (2016) vs. Titus O'Neil^[25]

References

1. "Darren Young". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2010-04-27.
2. Martin, Josh (December 2006). "Superstar Spotlight on Frederick of Hollywood". ECWAProWrestling.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2010-08-17.
3. "Cagematch profile". Cagematch. Retrieved 2010-03-04.
4. "Darren Young Bio". World Wrestling Entertainment.
5. "The 18th Annual PWI 500." Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Oct. 2008: 112+.
6. "Big Rick Fuller & Fred "Bonecrusher" Sampson". Chaotic Wrestling Profiles. ChaoticWrestling.com. 2008.^{[permanent dead link]}
7. "Frederick of Hollywood". ECWA Current Roster Biographies & Photo Gallery. ECWAProWrestling.com. 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-12-20. Retrieved 2010-08-17.
8. "WWE Superstar Darren Young Comes Out -- I'm Gay". TMZ. Retrieved 2013-08-21.
9. "WWE releases statement in support of Darren Young". WWE. Archived from the original on 2013-08-17. Retrieved 2013-08-21.
10. "Major matches lined up For Fighting Spirit Unleashed on NJPW STRONG! 【NJoA】". New Japan Pro Wrestling. Archived from the original on July 30, 2023. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
11. Keller, Wade (2010-03-02). "Keller's WWE NXT Report 3/2: Competition explained, Cornfed Meathead debuts, Punk, Hardy, Regal, Jericho, Miz appear with Rookies". PWTorch. Retrieved 2010-03-04.
12. Bauer, Michael (2010-02-23). "411's WWE NXT Report 2.23.10". 411Mania. Retrieved 2010-03-04.
13. "Chaotic Wrestling New England Heavyweight Title History". Puroreso Dojo. 2003.
14. "Chaotic Wrestling Tag Team Title History". Puroreso Dojo. 2003.
15. Dupree, Jim (2008). "ECWA Heavyweight Title History". Solie's Title Histories.
16. Dupree, Jim (2008). "ECWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Title History". Solie's Title Histories.
17. Tsakiries, Phil; Eric Roelfsema (2008). "IWF Heavyweight Title History". Solie's Title Histories.
18. "Rankings & Titles". IWF Title History & Wrestler Rankings. CampIWF.com. 2008. Archived from the original on September 14, 2008.
19. Cite error: The named reference OWOW2 was used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page).
20. "NJPW Strong Openweight Championship History".
21. "PWI Awards". Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Kappa Publishing Group. Archived from the original on January 21, 2016. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
22. "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2013". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
23. "WWE Wrestler of the Year (So Far)". Rolling Stone. July 2015. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
24. "WWE News: Full list of 2010 Slammy Awards – 12 announced on Raw, 10 announced on WWE's website". Pro Wrestling Torch. December 13, 2010. Retrieved December 19, 2010.
25. Meltzer, Dave (March 6, 2017). "March 6, 2017 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: 2016 Awards issue, talent departing TNA, more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California: 24. ISSN 1083-9593.

Other websites

• Darren Young on WWE.com
• Fred Rosser on Twitter
• Fred Rosser III on IMDb