Wade Barrett
| Stu Bennett | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | August 10, 1980[1] Preston, England[1] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Lawrence Knight[1] Stu Bennett[1] Stu Sanders[1] Wade Barrett[1][2] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)[2] |
| Billed weight | 265 lb (120 kg)[2] |
| Billed from | Manchester, England[2] |
| Trained by | Jon Richie[1] Al Snow[1] |
| Debut | June 2004[3] |
Stuart Alexander "Stu" Bennett[1][5] (born August 10, 1980)[1] better known by his ring names Stu Sanders and Stu Bennett, is an English professional wrestler, currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment. He works in their developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling, and on the NXT show as Wade Barrett.[2]
Professional wrestling career
Debut
Bennett was trained by Jon Richie and Al Snow.[1] He made his professional debut in June 2004[3] as a surprise entrant in a 30-man battle royal held by NWA Hammerlock Wrestling under the ring name "Stu Sanders". Sanders would also go on to perform on numerous Dropkixx Wrestling events
World Wrestling Entertainment
Developmental territories
In October 2007, Bennett was signed to a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment and was assigned to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) under his Stu Sanders ring name, where he was defeated by Ace Steel in a dark match.[1] He later formed a tag team with Paul Burchill and began competing in several matches against the Major Brothers. On January 2, 2008, Sanders and Burchill defeated Colt Cabana and Charles Evans in a tournament for the Southern Tag Team Championship.[1] Sanders and Burchill would hold the title for nearly two months before losing it to Los Locos (Ramón and Raúl) in a four-way match also involving The Insurgency (Ali and Omar Akbar) and The Mobile Homers (Ted McNaler and Adam Revolver).[6] After WWE ended their relationship with OVW as a developmental territory, Sanders, along with several WWE-contracted talents, were moved to Florida Championship Wrestling.
On May 6, 2008, Sanders and Drew McIntyre, collectively known as The Empire, defeated The Puerto Rican Nightmares (Eddie Colón and Eric Pérez) to win the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship.[3][7] They lost the titles back to the Nightmares at FCW's first TV taping on July 17, 2008. The team broke up after the loss, and he began wrestling under his real name before changing it to Lawrence Knight at the October 9, 2008 FCW television taping. In August 2009, Bennett was renamed yet again, this time to Wade Barrett. After Josh Mathews and Byron Saxton were brought up to WWE's main roster to perform as commentators for the ECW brand, Barrett began working as color commentator alongside Dusty Rhodes.[8]
NXT
It was announced on February 16, 2010 that Barrett would be competing on WWE NXT, with Chris Jericho as his storyline mentor.[9] He made his debut on the inaugural episode of NXT on February 23, introducing his mentor Jericho, before Jericho's match with Daniel Bryan.[10] Barrett made his in-ring debut on the following episode of NXT, defeating Bryan.[11] On the March 30 episode of NXT, Barrett replaced his mentor in an eight-man Pros vs. Pros tag team match, and pinned Christian to win the match.
Personal life
On June 15, 2008, Bennett was arrested in Tampa, Florida and charged with Battery on a Law Enforcement Officer (a felony) and Obstructing an Officer (a misdemeanor).[1][5] The arrest took place outside of Champps Restaurant and Bar (2223 West Shore Boulevard North) at 2am.[12] Bennett was released the next day.[12] According to FCW sources, all charges were subsequently dropped by police.
Bennett has two tattoos. The first is the "barbwire" tattoo popularized by Bill Goldberg, which is on his left deltoid.[13] He later expanded it to cover the entire deltoid.[14] The second is a tribal design directly underneath the former tattoo.[13]
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Barrett Wasteland[15] (Fireman's carry slam) – 2010–present
- Spinebuster[1][8]
- Signature moves
- Big boot[1][8]
- European uppercut[1]
- Powerbomb,[1] sometimes dropped into a sitout position[8]
Championships and accomplishments
- Dropkixx
- Dropkixx IWC European Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t "Wade Barett profile". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2008-06-08.
- ^ a b c d e "Wade Barrett Bio". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2010-02-20.
- ^ a b c "Profile". Gerweck.net. Retrieved 2008-06-08.
- ^ Arrest Record
- ^ a b "Individual's Charge Report - Bennett, Stuart Alexander". Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. 2008-06-15. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
- ^ a b "OVW Southern Tag Team Championship history". Ohio Valley Wrestling. Retrieved 2009-07-05.
- ^ Gerweck, Steve. "Florida Championship Wrestling 5-7-08 Bourbon Street Results". Gerweck.net. Retrieved 2008-05-07.
- ^ a b c d Valvo, Anthony J. (2010-02-18). "He was the color commentator for FCW [...] From the Desk of Mr. V #55". WrestleView. Retrieved 2010-03-30.
His signature moves are the big boot and the sitout powerbomb. His finisher is a Spinebuster.
- ^ Martin, Adam (2010-02-17). "Cast information for WWE's NXT". WrestleView. Retrieved 2010-02-17.
- ^ Bishop, Matt (2010-02-23). "WWE NXT: Jericho, Bryan kick off series in style". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2010-02-24.
- ^ Bishop, Matt (2010-03-02). "WWE NXT: Jericho humbles Bryan again". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2010-03-03.
- ^ a b Gray, Richard (2008-06-18). "WWE Developmental Wrestler Arrested & Charged With Battery, Obstructing A Law Enforcement Officer". WrestlingNewsWorld. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
- ^ a b "Bennett's barbwire tattoo".
- ^ "Bennett's barbwire tattoo expanded".
- ^ Richards, Tanin (2010-03-30). "WWE NXT March 30, 2010 Detailed Results". Wrestling 101. Retrieved 2010-03-30.
- ^ "FCW Florida Tag Team Championship history".
