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Luchasaurus

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Luchasaurus
Luchasaurus in January 2022
Birth nameAustin Matelson
Born (1985-03-10) March 10, 1985 (age 39)
Woodland Hills, California, U.S.
Alma materCalifornia State University, Northridge (BA, MA)
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Austin Draven[1]
Austin Morrison
Judas Draven
Judas Devlin
Just Judas
Luchasaurus[2]
Vibora
Billed height6 ft 5 in (196 cm)[1]
Billed weight275 lb (125 kg)[1]
Billed fromThe Tar Pits
Trained byBallard Brothers[2]
Bill DeMott
Billy Gunn
Ric Drasin[2]
Debut2009

Austin Matelson (born March 10, 1985)[3] is an American professional wrestler and television personality currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Luchasaurus, where he is a former AEW World Tag Team Champion[4] and a one time TNT Champion. He is also known for his work in Lucha Underground as Vibora and also works the independent circuit under the Luchasaurus gimmick. He was signed to WWE where he wrestled under the ring name Judas Devlin in NXT.[5] He was also a house-guest on the reality competition, Big Brother 17, in which he placed 5th.

Professional wrestling career

WWE (2012–2014)

In 2012, Matelson signed a developmental contract with WWE and was sent for training at FCW where he was given the ring name Judas Devlin. On August 1, 2012, he made his FCW debut teaming with Corey Graves defeating Briley Pierce and CJ Parker.[6] In 2012, FCW was renamed NXT and Devlin transferred to the new development brand, performing mainly at house shows. Austin was released in 2014 after a severe hip injury.[7]

Independent circuit (2016–2019)

Matelson made his return to professional wrestling in 2016, having not competed since his release from WWE in 2014. On June 17, 2016, in a match for Millenium Pro Wrestling (MPW) under the ring name Austin Draven, he defeated Ryan J. Morales.[8] On September 30, 2016, under the ring name Just Judas he defeated Danny Divine to become MPW Heavyweight Champion.[9]

On November 9, 2017, Matelson teamed with fellow Big Brother contestant Jessie Godderz under the team name Team Big Brother, they defeated HATE (Peter Avalon and Ray Rosas) in a match for Bar Wrestling.[10]

After Matelson used the Víbora character in Lucha Underground, he started to use the character in the independent circuit. He changed the name to Luchasaurus after fans chanted that during his Lucha Underground debut.[11] On November 17 and 18, Matelson wrestled for House of Hardcore under the new gimmick and ring name Luchasaurus, defeating Alex Reynolds on the first night and winning on the second night in a three-way by defeating Matt Riddle and Willie Mack.[12][13]

Lucha Underground (2016–2018)

In May 2016, Matelson under a mask and the ring name Vibora made his Lucha Underground debut as a part of the Reptile Tribe stable. On May 7, 2016, Vibora along with Pindar and Drago won the Lucha Underground Trios Championship.[14] Reptile Tribe lost the Lucha Underground Trios Championship against Dante Fox, Killshot and The Mack.

On the July 18, 2018, episode of Lucha Underground Vibora defeated Johnny Mundo.[15]

On the August 1, 2018, episode of Lucha Underground, the character Vibora was "killed off" via decapitation by a sword-wielding Taya Valkyrie.[16]

All Elite Wrestling (2019–present)

On May 25, 2019, Matelson debuted for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) at Double or Nothing as a part of the pre-show Casino Battle Royale. He lasted until the final three, before being eliminated by Adam Page.[17] Three days later it was revealed that he had signed with the company full-time as Luchasaurus.[18] He would then go on to form a tag team with Jungle Boy as he managed him at Fyter Fest and teamed up with him at Fight for the Fallen in a Triple Threat tag team match involving The Dark Order and Angelico and Jack Evans in a losing effort. At All Out, Luchasaurus alongside Jungle Boy and Marko Stunt would debut as the stable "Jurassic Express". On the August 18, 2021 episode of Dynamite, Jurassic Express had a match for the AEW World Tag Team Championship against the Young Bucks, but failed. On the January 5, 2022 episode of Dynamite, the Jurassic Express defeated the Lucha Brothers to win their first AEW World Tag Team Championship.[19] The team would then defend the titles against the Young Bucks and reDRagon (Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish) in a triple-threat tag team match at Revolution.

After Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus lost the titles on a special edition Dynamite named Road Rager, Cage turned on Jungle Boy, with Luchasaurus also turning heel when he joined Christian Cage.[20] At the start of his alliance with Cage, Luchasaurus was presented as a “monster heel” and started squashing multiple opponents within minutes, all at Cage’s direction.

At Fyter Fest week 2, Luchasaurus turned on Christian Cage to realign with Jungle Boy, however, this was also a short-lived reunion. At the All Out event, Luchasaurus cemented himself as a heel by attacking Jungle Boy once again and solidifying his alliance with Christian Cage. On June 17 at the premiere episode of Collision, Luchasaurus defeated Wardlow to win the TNT Championship.[21] Luchasaurus would later lose the title to Christian Cage in a three-way match that also involved Darby Allin on the September 23 episode of Collision.

In other media

In the summer of 2015, Matelson appeared as a contestant in the 17th season of Big Brother.[22] He was evicted during the twelfth week and placed fifth. He returned during the 19th season for the "BB Comics" competition with other former contestants, including Dan Gheesling and fellow wrestler Jessie Godderz.

Filmography

Television
Year Title Role Notes
2015 Access Hollywood Himself
2015 Big Brother 17 Himself
2016 The Price Is Right Himself
2017 Big Brother 19 Himself

Personal life

Before beginning studies at California State University, Northridge, Matelson had been entirely homeschooled. He earned two history degrees at CSUN—a B.A. in 2008 and a M.A. in 2010, with his master's concentration and thesis in medieval literature.[23][24] While in the Big Brother house, Matelson began a relationship with Liz Nolan. The two continued to date for five months before breaking up in February 2016.[25]

Bill DeMott scandal

In late February and March 2015, several former NXT trainees previously working within the WWE developmental system alleged misconduct by head trainer Bill DeMott, with Devlin and Brandon Traven publicizing complaints which they claimed they had submitted to WWE management about DeMott back in March 2013, when they were still employed with WWE.[26][27] Meanwhile, other ex-trainees like Briley Pierce and Derrick Bateman also made allegations in 2015,[26][27][28][29] while previous allegations made in 2013 by Chad Baxter and Chase Donovan were also noted.[30] They accused DeMott of making trainees perform dangerous drills,[26] physically assaulting and bullying trainees,[26][27] using homophobic and racial slurs amongst other derogatory terms,[27][30] and condoning sexual harassment.[28] WWE released statements regarding some of the claims that came to light in 2013 and 2015, saying that investigations were done and no wrongdoing was found.[26][30] On March 6, 2015, DeMott denied the allegations, but resigned from WWE "to avoid any embarrassment or damage" to the company.[28]

Championships and accomplishments

Jurassic Express as AEW World Tag Team Champions

References

  1. ^ a b c "Luchasaurus". Cagematch.net. Cagematch. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  2. ^ a b c "Austin Matelson/Víbora: "Quiero ser una versión lucha libre de Undertaker"" (in Spanish). February 10, 2017.
  3. ^ "Judas Devlin official OWW profile".
  4. ^ "He has a Masters Degree and now...@JudasDraven / #LuchaSaurus is #AllElite". Twitter. All Elite Wrestling. May 28, 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  5. ^ Judas Devlin Enters ‘Big Brother 17′ House As Austin Matelson. Inquisitr.com (June 16, 2015). Retrieved on August 19, 2015.
  6. ^ FCW « Events Database « CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database. Cagematch.net. Retrieved on August 19, 2015.
  7. ^ "HEAVY ALLEGATIONS LEVIED AGAINST WWE'S BILL DEMOTT, WWE'S OFFICIAL RESPONSE - PWInsider.com". www.pwinsider.com. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
  8. ^ "MPW 6.17.16 Event Results".
  9. ^ "MPW 9.30.16 Event Results".
  10. ^ "Bar Wrestling 6: Head of Household Results".
  11. ^ "Luchasaurus devela el origen de su nombre". October 21, 2019.
  12. ^ "HOH 34".
  13. ^ "HOH 35".
  14. ^ "Lucha Underground results May 7, 2016".
  15. ^ "Lucha Underground #4.06 - Break The Machine".
  16. ^ "Lucha Underground Season 4 Episode 8 Recap". August 3, 2018.
  17. ^ EDT, Phillip Martinez On 5/25/19 at 7:31 PM (May 25, 2019). "Everything that happened at AEW Double or Nothing". Newsweek.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  18. ^ "Luchasaurus Officially Signs With All Elite Wrestling". Fightful. May 28, 2019.
  19. ^ Barnett, Jake (January 5, 2022). "1/5 AEW Dynamite results: Barnett's live review of Hangman Page vs. Bryan Danielson for the AEW World Championship, Penta El Zero Miedo and Rey Fenix vs. Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus for the AEW Tag Titles, Ruby Soho vs. Jade Cargill to become the first TBS Champion, Malakai Black vs. Brian Pillman Jr". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
  20. ^ "Marko Stunt se molesta por haber sido mencionado en AEW Dynamite". July 6, 2022.
  21. ^ Powell, Jason (June 17, 2023). "AEW Collision results (6/17): Powell's live review of CM Punk and FTR vs. Samoa Joe, Jay White, and Juice Robinson, Wardlow vs. Luchasaurus for the TNT Title, Toni Storm and Ruby Soho vs. Willow Nightingale and Skye Blue, Andrade El Idolo vs. Buddy Matthews, Miro in action". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  22. ^ Appugliesi, Jordan (June 25, 2015). "Big Brother Premiere Recap: Find Out Season 17's Big Twists (Twins!) and Meet the New Houseguests". Us. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
  23. ^ Osborne, Cary (June 17, 2019). "'Luchasaurus,' a Reptilian Antihero and CSUN Alum, Takes the Ring". CSUN Today. California State University, Northridge. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  24. ^ Big Brother Cast: Austin Matelson. Cbs.com. Retrieved on August 19, 2015.
  25. ^ "'BIG BROTHER 17' ALUM LIZ NOLAN AND AUSTIN MATELSON SPLIT — REALITY STAR CLAIMS THEY PARTED AS FRIENDS". November 2, 2016.
  26. ^ a b c d e Heavy Allegations Levied Against Wwe'S Bill Demott, Wwe'S Official Response. PWInsider.com (March 3, 2015). Retrieved on 2015-08-19.
  27. ^ a b c d SECOND LETTER OF ALLEGATIONS AGAINST WWE'S BILL DEMOTT LEAKS ONLINE, CHRIS JERICHO, EC3, OTHERS COMMENT ON SITUATION. PWInsider.com (March 4, 2015). Retrieved on 2015-08-19.
  28. ^ a b c WWE News: Bill DeMott resigns, interim replacement (updated). F4wonline.com (March 6, 2015). Retrieved on 2015-08-19.
  29. ^ WWE News: Developmental head trainer is under fire again. Prowrestling.net. Retrieved on August 19, 2015.
  30. ^ a b c Powell, Jason (July 8, 2013). "NXT investigation regarding claims made against Bill DeMott, statement issued by WWE". prowrestling.net.
  31. ^ "ASW Tag Team Championship History".
  32. ^ "Ironman Heavymetalweight Title". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  33. ^ Meltzer, Dave (July 4, 2016). "July 4, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: NJPW G1 tournament preview, Ali vs. Inoki anniversary, more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California: 34. ISSN 1083-9593.
  34. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2021". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
  35. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "MPW Heavyweight Championship History". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
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