Rudy Charles
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| Rudy Charles | |
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| Ring name(s) | Rudy Charles |
| Billed height | 5 ft 7 in (170 cm) |
| Billed weight | 160 lb (75 kg) |
| Born | November 20, 1977 Evansville, Indiana |
| Trained by | Mark Vance |
| Debut | July 6, 1996 |
Daniel Engler (born November 20, 1977 in Evansville, Indiana) is an American professional wrestling referee, better known by his ring name, Rudy Charles, best known for his time as a referee in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he was the promotion's senior referee. Also has worked in 2011 with SWE, Supreme Wrestling Entertainment, in Wisconsin.
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[edit] Career
Charles trained as a referee under former United States Wrestling Association referee Mark Vance, whom he met at a wrestling show in the Evansville Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Coliseum, and refereed his first match on July 6, 1996.
In 1997, Charles enlisted in the Indiana Army National Guard, and underwent four months of training.
Charles joined TNA shortly after its inception in June 2002, and was quickly named senior referee. In addition to working for TNA, Charles runs a high school football website, along with his brother.
Rudy Charles was the wrestling referee for the season three premiere of Pros vs Joes.
Rudy Charles has run several family oriented wrestling promotions in his hometown of Evansville, IN. He has run shows at the historic Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Coliseum (former home to the USWA), the Vanderburgh County 4-H Fairground (home to the Frog Follies classic car festival) and the CK Newsome Center, an urban community center for inner-city children.
Rudy currently has a show on YouTube.com called The Rudy Charles Talk Show. His guests so far have been: former TNA/WWE referee Mike Posey, wrestlers such as Mike Rapada, Mike Rapada Jr., Steve-0, Matt Boyce, and Shawn Shultz.
[edit] Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2002-2009)
Charles was one of the few that had been with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) since its start in 2002. Rudy was one of the first referees shown on the show, having to help hold Toby Keith back from entering the ring to fight Jeff Jarrett.
Rudy's first trading card (#59) was released in 2004 by Pacific Trading Card Inc. Charles has come to have five other cards, three being in the latest TNA Trading Cards.
On January 29, 2009, Rudy made his wrestling debut on TNA Wrestling, along with referee Andrew Thomas, in a handicap match against Booker T. In a backstage interview, Charles seemed confident and talked about his amateur wrestling background. Thomas was nervous, but Charles said to follow his lead. This was all short lived as Booker T hit Rudy with an Axe Kick and finished off Andrew Thomas with the Bookend for the pin, and forced Earl Hebner to make the count.
In July 2009, Charles left TNA. However, he again appeared for TNA Impact (now branded Impact Wrestling) on the Thanksgiving Day 2011 episode and featured in several segments alongside wrestler Eric Young as well as refereeing a match between Eric Young and Robbie E. His multiple appearances throughout the show suggested he may be returning to the company but as yet this is not clear. Despite not appearing since, he has referee'd in TNA's subsidiary project Ring Ka King.
[edit] National Wrestling Alliance (2009-Current)
On his debut in NWA, Shawn Shultz lost his NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Championship. On various episodes, Shultz said that Rudy screwed his match. Also, Shawn along with his manager, Tony Lucassio, called Rudy a reject referee from another promotion in Orlando, noting his time in TNA.
[edit] USA Championship Wrestling (2002-Current)
Since his debut in 2002, Rudy Charles has made many appearances for USA Championship Wrestling. He is currently the promotion's senior referee. He has had run-ins with former TNA/WWE referee turned wrestler, Mike Posey.
[edit] Ohio Valley Wrestling (2009-current)
Rudy Charles made his OVW debut as the special guest referee of a match between heel referee Chris Sharpe and OVW senior official Ray Ramsey in December 2009. He has refereed several matches in OVW since.
[edit] All Wheels Wrestling (2011-current)
Rudy Charles was the referee for the All Wheels Wrestling TV Pilot taping in Orlando, FL on June, 29, 2011.
[edit] Personal life
Charles is married to wrestler Matt Boyce's younger sister. The two started dating early in 2007. She has been spotted at several house shows, and iMPACT! tapings through the years. She has also appeared on several episodes of iMPACT. The couple currently live in Nashville, TN.
[edit] References
- Rudy Charles issues statement regarding his release
- Big Update on TNA's Rudy Charles "Quitting" the Company
- Rudy Charles talks about his release from TNA
- TNA's Rudy Charles Speaks To TNAHeadlines.com!
[edit] External links
- The Rudy Charles Talk Show on YouTube.com
- Rudy Charles on Twitter
- The Official MySpace Profile of Rudy Charles
- Rudy Charles at the Internet Movie Database
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by First |
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling Senior Referee 2002-2006 |
Succeeded by Earl Hebner |
