W. Morrissey
Colin Cassady | |
---|---|
Birth name | William Morrissey[1] |
Born | [2] Queens, New York City, New York, United States[2] | August 16, 1986
Alma mater | New York University[1] |
Partner | Enzo Amore
Cass[3] Colin Cassady Dean Martin[4] |
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Big Bill Big Bill Young[5] Big Cass Colin Cassady Dean Martin |
Billed height | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)[3] |
Billed weight | 276 lb (125 kg)[3] |
Billed from | Queens, New York[3] |
Trained by | Johnny Rodz[6] |
Debut | 2010 |
William "Bill" Morrissey[1] (born August 16, 1986)[2][7] is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs under the ring name Big Cass, a modification of his previous ring name, Colin Cassady.[3]
Professional wrestling career
Early career (2010–2011)
Morrissey wrestled under the ring name Big Bill Young in the World of Unpredictable Wrestling (WUW) promotion in 2010,[5][8][9][10][11] owned by his trainer, Johnny Rodz.[6][12]
WWE
Florida Championship Wrestling (2011–2012)
In June 2011, WUW announced that Morrissey had signed with Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), which was WWE's developmental territory at the time.[13][14] Morrissey made first televised FCW appearance in July 2011, portraying the dean of the University of Florida.[4] Morrissey wrestled his first televised match under the ring name of Colin Cassady on the September 4, 2011 episode of FCW TV for a disqualification loss against Richie Steamboat.[15] Cassady found no immediate success and continued to lose matches for the rest of 2011 and in early 2012.[16][17][18] Cassady finally scored his first win on the March 11, 2012 episode of FCW TV by defeating Kenneth Cameron.[19] Cassady's final FCW TV match was broadcast on July 7, 2012 and saw him defeat Aiden English.[20]
NXT (2012–2016)
When WWE rebranded its developmental territory, FCW, into NXT in August 2012,[13] Cassady's NXT television debut took place on June 5, 2013 with a loss to Mason Ryan.[21][22] Cassady then formed a tag team with Enzo Amore,[23] who had also previously lost to Ryan,[24] and they labelled themselves "the realest guys in the room".[23][25][26] In real life, Cassady first met Amore at the age of 15, when they played basketball together at West Fourth Street Courts in Manhattan, New York.[6][27]
Ryan defeated Cassady and Amore in consecutive singles matches,[28] but lost to them in a handicap match.[25] Ryan ultimately had the last laugh when he caused Amore and Cassady to be attacked by Tons of Funk (Brodus Clay and Tensai).[26] Amore and Cassady then feuded with Sylvester Lefort and his stable of Alexander Rusev and Scott Dawson.[29][30] On the 25 September episode of NXT, Amore and Cassady participated in a gauntlet match for a future title shot at the NXT Tag Team Championship; they started the match and defeated CJ Parker and Tyler Breeze, then beat Rusev and Dawson, before falling to their final opponents, The Ascension (Conor O'Brian and Rick Victor.[31]
Amore suffered a legit broken leg in November 2013, which led Cassady to try his hand at singles competition, feuding with Aiden English.[32] Amore returned on the June 26, 2014 episode of NXT, saving Cassady from an attack from Sylvester Lefort and Marcus Louis.[33] In early August, Amore and Cassady participated in a NXT Tag Team Championship number one contenders tournament, and they defeated Jason Jordan and Tye Dillinger in the first round, but were eliminated by The Vaudevillians (Aiden English and Simon Gotch) in the second round.[34][35] Lefort and Louis then renewed their rivalry with Amore and Cassady by attacking them and shaving Amore's beard and, as a result, Amore challenged Lefort to a match with the loser's hair as forfeit at NXT TakeOver: Fatal 4-Way on September 11, where Amore won the match, but Lefort ran away, leaving his partner, Louis, to lose his hair at the hands of Amore and Cassady.[36]
Amore and Cassady proceeded to form an alliance with the debuting Carmella after the duo had accidentally cost Carmella her hairdressing job as per the storyline, causing her to demand to get a job as a wrestler.[37][38] Carmella had her televised in-ring debut on the October 16 episode of NXT.[39]
In March 2015, Amore and Cassady began a rivalry with then NXT Tag Team Champions Blake and Murphy, with the champions insulting Amore and Amorewhile attempting to woo Carmella.[citation needed] Amore and Cassady defeated The Lucha Dragons (Kalisto and Sin Cara) in a number one contender's match for a title opportunity against Blake and Murphy.[40] Amore and Cassady received their title match at NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable, but they would lose after Alexa Bliss interfered.[41] At NXT TakeOver: London, Amore and Cassady challenged Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson for the NXT Tag Team Championship in a losing effort.[citation needed] They were granted another title opportunity against Dawson and Wilder in March 2016 at Roadblock.[citation needed]
Main roster (2016–present)
On the April 4 episode of Raw (which took place the night after WrestleMania 32), Amore and Cassady made their main roster debuts and confronted The Dudley Boyz.[42] On the April 14 episode of SmackDown, Amore and Cassady defeated The Ascension in their main roster debut match, with the win they advanced in the WWE Tag Team Championship number one contenders tournament.[43] In the finals, Amore and Cassady faced The Vaudevillains at Payback, with the match ending in a no contest after Amore suffered a legitimate concussion during the match.[44] In May 2016, Cassady's ring name was then changed to Big Cass.[3]
Personal life
Morrissey was born and raised in Queens, New York. He attended Archbishop Molloy High School and served as a peer tutor, a homeless shelter volunteer, and a National Honor Society member. He played basketball in his senior year and was featured in the Catholic High School Athletic Association Senior Classic All-Star game.[1] He then received a scholarship to attend New York University, where he entered the pre-medical track before going on to study economics.[6] He played as a center for NYU's basketball team from the 2005–2006 season to the 2008–2009 season.[1] He co-captained the team for his final season.[45]
Following his graduation, Morrissey started a ticket brokerage company, specializing in events at Yankee Stadium and Madison Square Garden.[32] While performing in WWE, he claimed that he "hadn't sung in many years", but had experience with "street performing in the subways of New York City".[32]
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- East River Crossing[3][46] (Sitout swinging side slam)[47][48]
- Signature moves
- Big boot[48][49][50][51]
- Empire Elbow[46] (Jumping elbow drop, with theatrics)[citation needed]
- High knee[49][50][51][52]
- Sidewalk slam[53][54]
- Spinning side slam[citation needed]
- Stinger splash[55]
- With Enzo Amore
- Double team finishing moves
- Managers
- Nicknames
- "The Big Bambino"[59]
- "The Babe Ruth of Beatdown"
- "Big Cass"[citation needed]
- Entrance themes
- "SAWFT is a Sin" by CFO$ feat. Enzo Amore (NXT/WWE; used while teaming with Enzo Amore; June 6, 2014–present)[60]
Championships and accomplishments
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- WWE NXT
- NXT Tag Team of the Year (2015) with Enzo Amore[62]
References
- ^ a b c d e "Bill Morrissey – 2008 / 2009 Men's Basketball". NYU Athletics. Archived from the original on 30 June 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
- ^ a b c "Colin Cassady: Profile & Match Listing". profightdb. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Big Cass". WWE.com. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
- ^ a b Trionfo, Richard. "Florida Championship Wrestling Television report: Dean Ambrose continues to call out Seth Rollins; six man tag main event". PWInsider.com. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
- ^ a b Johnson, Mike. "LoadedeventsetforHalloweenweekendinArizona:Dreamer,Abyss,Roley,Legendsbattleroyal,DennisRodman,SamoaJoe,Rhino,Snow,Orton,Atlasandlomore". PWInsider.com. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
- ^ a b c d Saxton, Byron. "Colin Cassady & Enzo Amore: 'The Realest Guys in the Room' – Page 1". WWE.com. Archived from the original on 20 August 2013. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
- ^ "Colin Cassady – old NXT profile". NXT Wrestling. Archived from the original on 18 May 2013. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
- ^ "WUW Roster". WUW. Archived from the original on 6 July 2010. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
{{cite web}}
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- ^ James, Justin. "James's WWE NXT results 5/29 & 6/5: Wyatts defend Tag Titles, NXT Women's Title introduced, #1 contender battle royal, Parade of released NXT wrestlers in matches". PWTorch.com. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
- ^ a b Saxton, Byron. "Colin Cassady & Enzo Amore: 'The Realest Guys in the Room' – Page 2". WWE.com. Archived from the original on 23 August 2013. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
- ^ James, Justin. "James's WWE NXT report 5/15 & 5/22: El Generico debuts, O'Brian beats two NXT releases in same match, Bray Wyatt debuts mask, Natalya vs. Rae, more developments". PWTorch.com. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
- ^ a b James, Justin. "James's WWE NXT report 7/10: Wyatts vs. Team Regal six-man main event, NXT Women's Title tourney continues, Generico (Zayn), Mason Ryan, set-up for Charlotte's debut". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
- ^ a b Namako, Jason. "WWE NXT results – 8/1/13 (tag team main event)". wrestleview.com.
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External links
- Colin Cassady on WWE.com
- W. Morrissey on Twitter