Jump to content

Mason Ryan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 194.80.32.8 (talk) at 19:18, 28 January 2011. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Mason Ryan
Born (1982-01-13) 13 January 1982 (age 42)[1]
Tremadog, Wales[2]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Barri Griffiths[3]
Welsh Warrior[4][2]
Mason Ryan[2]
Smackdown Warrior[4]Welshie
Welshista
<The Beast from East Cardiff
Billed height6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)[2][1]
Billed weight272 lb (123 kg)[5]
298 lb (135 kg)[6]
Billed fromCardiff, Wales[6]
Trained byOrig Williams[2]
Brian Dixon[7]
FCW Training[3]
Debut2007[7]

Barri Griffiths (born 13 January 1982)[1] is a Welsh professional wrestler and former Gladiators competitor, also known as Goliath and by his ring name Mason Ryan. He is signed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), where he wrestles on the Raw brand, and is a member of The Nexus.[5] He also competes in Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), a WWE developmental territory, and is the reigning FCW Florida Heavyweight Champion.

Gladiators

Griffiths appeared in the second series of the revived Gladiators television show in 2009, and competed under the name "Goliath".[1] When he was working on a television show in Wales about being wrestler, he was told that producers were looking for new gladiators, and applied with the encouragement of his trainer, Orig Williams.[4][8] He began filming the first show approximately a month later and had to grow a beard especially for the role.[4][10]

Professional wrestling career

Griffiths began training to be a professional wrestler in 2006 after attending a wrestling show with a friend where the promoter told him to start wrestling.[4][7][10] He trained at a professional wrestling school in Birkenhead.[4][7] Prior to appearing on Gladiators, Griffiths had wrestled under the names "Celtic Warrior" and "Smackdown Warrior" since 2007, and had competed in almost 100 matches in countries including Egypt and Venezuela.[4] He represented the UK in a Battle of the Nations tag team match between the UK and Austria, teaming with Drew McDonald and Sheamus O'Shaunessy in a losing effort to Chris Raaber, Michael Kovac, and Robert Ray Kreuzer at the European Wrestlng Association's Night of Gladiators show in June 2007.[11] Following signing with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), Griffiths had his final show in Wales at Y Ganolfan, Porthmadog in October 2008, where he first won a singles match, before winning a battle royal.[9]

World Wrestling Entertainment

Florida Championship Wrestling (2009–present)

In mid-2009, Griffiths signed a five-year contract with WWE.[12] When he received his work visa, he debuted in their developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) in January 2010.[2] Under the name Mason Ryan, he competed against wrestlers including Johnny Curtis, Tyler Reks, Johnny Prime, and Hunico in his first matches.[3]

On 22 July, Ryan won a triple threat match against defending champion Alex Riley and Johnny Curtis by pinning Riley to win the FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship for the first time.[2][7][13] Over the next few months, Ryan successfully defended the championship against wrestlers including Bo Rotundo, Richie Steamboat, and Eli Cottonwood.[14] At the tapings of FCW television on 2 September, Ryan successfully defended the championship against Johnny Curtis when FCW commentator Byron Saxton interfered and aided him.[14] The following week, Saxton became aligned with Ryan, accompanying him to the ring and acting as his manager.[14] In November 2010, Ryan toured Europe with the SmackDown brand, defeating Chavo Guerrero in Belfast on 4 November and again in Liverpool on 6 November.[15][16]

The New Nexus (2011)

See also: The Nexus

Griffiths made his WWE television debut on the 17 January 2011 episode of Raw by interfering in a match between CM Punk and John Cena. Following his interference, Punk presented him with a 'Nexus' armband, inducting him into the group.[12][17]

Other media

Griffiths has appeared on The Paul O'Grady Show.[18] Barri Griffiths: Y Reslar, a documentary about Griffiths' life in the months before he moved to the United States, aired in September 2010 on S4C.[19]

Personal life

Griffiths attended both Ysgol y Gorlan primary school in Tremadog, Wales and Ysgol Eifionydd secondary school in Porthmadog, before studying construction management at Cardiff University.[10] Griffiths worked as a trainee carpenter, and in his family's funeral home business prior to becoming a professional wrestler.[4][2] He has a sister.[10] He speaks Welsh.[4] Griffiths played football as a centre-back for Welsh Premier League side Porthmadog F.C., but had to stop due to a knee injury.[8] He is a keen weightlifter.[20]

In wrestling

Championships and accomplishments

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Goliath, Barri Griffiths". Gladiator Zone. Retrieved 11 August 2010.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Trewyn, Hywel (2 August 2010). "North Wales man crowned heavyweight champion wrestler of Florida". Daily Post (North Wales). Retrieved 11 August 2010.
  3. ^ a b c "Mason Ryan". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 11 August 2010.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Williams, Andrew (8 January 2009). "Gladiator in hot pants trouble". Metro.co.uk. Retrieved 11 August 2010.
  5. ^ a b "Mason Ryan". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  6. ^ a b c "Mason Ryan". Florida Championship Wrestling. Retrieved 31 December 2010. Cite error: The named reference "FCW" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  7. ^ a b c d e f Jones, Geraint (5 August 2010). "Barri wrestles with rise to fame". North Wales Chronicle. Retrieved 11 August 2010.
  8. ^ a b c Devine, Darren (4 January 2009). "Welsh duo are TV gladiators". Wales Online. Retrieved 11 August 2010.
  9. ^ a b Jones, Geraint (28 October 2008). "North Wales wrestler Barri Griffiths off to the USA". North Wales Chronicle. Retrieved 11 August 2010. [dead link]
  10. ^ a b c d Trewyn, Hywel (27 November 2008). "Meet North Wales' very own Gladiators". Daily Post (North Wales). Retrieved 11 August 2010.
  11. ^ "EWA Results". European Wrestling Association. Retrieved 9 November 2010.
  12. ^ a b "Welsh wrestler Mason Ryan is a stateside hit". BBC. 20 January 2011. Retrieved 20 January 2011.
  13. ^ "Florida Championship Wrestling roster". Florida Championship Wrestling. Archived from the original on 23 December 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2010.
  14. ^ a b c d "Florida Championship Wrestling (2010)". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  15. ^ Gerweck, Steve (5 November 2010). "11/4 WWE Results: Belfast, Northern Ireland". WrestleView. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
  16. ^ Martin, Adam (7 November 2010). "11/6 WWE Results: Liverpool, England". WrestleView. Retrieved 8 November 2010.
  17. ^ Plummer, Dale (17 January 2011). "RAW: The Rumble and The Nexus grow". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 22 January 2011.
  18. ^ a b c Jones, Dion (19 October 2009). "Tremadog wrestler is off to the US to join WWE". Caernarfon Herald. Retrieved 11 August 2010.
  19. ^ White, Kevin (26 August 2010). "Big Barri's preparations for stardom". Caernarfon Herald. Retrieved 8 November 2010.
  20. ^ Greenhouse, Debra (23 January 2009). "Goliath making waves on Gladiators". Daily Post (North Wales). Retrieved 11 August 2010.
  21. ^ "We Are One (WWE Version)". Apple Inc. Retrieved 14 December 2010.

Template:Persondata

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mason_Ryan&oldid=410613344"