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Josh Woods (wrestler)

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Josh Woods
Birth nameJoshua Aaron Woods
Born (1990-03-20) March 20, 1990 (age 34)
Dallas, Texas, U.S.[1]
Alma materUniversity of Central Florida
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Josh Woods[2]
Preston Cunningham Jr.[2]
Billed weight233 lb (106 kg)[1]
Trained bySilas Young
WWE Performance Center
Ring of Honor[1]
[3]
DebutAugust 25, 2015[4]

Joshua Aaron Woods is an American professional wrestler, where he performs under his real name (stylized as Josh Woods). He is currently signed to Ring of Honor (ROH) and All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of The Premier Athletes.

Amateur wrestling career

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Woods was a collegiate amateur wrestler at the University of Central Florida, where, in 2011, he won the NCWA National Championship. He was also a two time NCWA All American and National Runner-up. He also runs camps for Ultimate Fighting Championship athletes such as Alex Nicholson, Seth Petruzelli, Mike Perry and Tom Lawlor.[5]

Professional wrestling career

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WWE

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NXT (2014–2016)

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Woods signed a contract with WWE at the end of 2014 and started to train at the WWE Performance Center.[6] His first match with NXT was on April 25, where he competed in a battle royal.[4][7] On July 30 and September 26, he competed in two more battle royals to determine the number one contender to the NXT Championship, which were won by Tyler Breeze and Baron Corbin, respectively.[8][9] His first win was at Venice, Florida during a house show on January 30, 2016, against Gzim Selmani.[10] On June 9, he competed against No Way Jose in a losing effort.[11] His final match in NXT was at a house show on July 23, where he lost to Mojo Rawley.[12] WWE released him days later.[13]

Ring of Honor (2016–present)

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Woods' debut in Ring of Honor was in a dark match on October 22, 2016, in a six-man tag team match alongside Brandon Groom and Kennedy Kendrick, defeating Chuckles, Joey Osbourne and Victor Andrews. He entered the 2017 ROH Top Prospect Tournament, defeating Chris LeRusso, Brian Milonas, and John Skyler to win the tournament. He formed a tag team with Silas Young called Two Guys & One Tag. On March 26, 2021, on ROH 19th Anniversary Show, Young turned on Woods splitting up the team.[14][15][16] At Death Before Dishonor XVIII, Woods defeated ROH Pure Champion Jonathan Gresham to win the title.

With the acquisition of Ring of Honor by Tony Khan, it was announced that Woods would defend the Pure Championship against Wheeler Yuta at Supercard of Honor XV on April 1, 2022.[17] Woods lost the title to Yuta at the event.

Independent circuit (2017)

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On July 14, 2017, he entered the MCW Shane Shamrock Memorial XVII tournament, where he fought Anthony Henry to a time limit draw.[18]

All Elite Wrestling (2021–present)

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On December 12, 2021, Woods made his debut for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) on AEW Dark, where he was defeated by Shawn Spears. After racking up some victories on Dark programming, Woods began appearing on Dynamite and Rampage in 2022. In the summer, Woods formed a tag team with Tony Nese, and the duo would acquire the services of Mark Sterling as their manager and on-screen attorney. On the August 5 edition of Rampage, Woods & Nese unsuccessfully challenged Swerve in our Glory (Keith Lee & Swerve Strickland) for the AEW World Tag Team Championship.[19] On the October 7 edition of Rampage, Woods & Nese defeated The Varsity Blonds (Brian Pillman Jr. & Griff Garrison), and after the match, Sterling revealed he had "trademarked" the term Varsity as it relates to professional wrestling, and that Woods & Nese would be known as The Varsity Athletes going forward.[20]

Championships and accomplishments

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Amateur wrestling

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Professional wrestling

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Joshua Woods Profile". Cagematch.
  2. ^ a b "Joshua Woods: Profile & Match Listing - Internet Wrestling Database (IWD)". profightdb.
  3. ^ "Update on cut NXT roster member Josh Woods". PWTorch.
  4. ^ a b "Tough Enough competitors join new class of recruits at the WWE Performance Center". WWE. October 28, 2015. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
  5. ^ a b "Nia Jax's Boyfriend, Josh Woods: 5 Facts You Need to Know". Earn the necklace.
  6. ^ "Backstage News on Why WWE Signed New Talents, News on WWE Scouting Indie Wrestlers". Wrestling Edge.
  7. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "WWE NXT Live « Events Database « Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
  8. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "WWE NXT Live « Events Database « Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
  9. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "WWE NXT Live « Events Database « Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
  10. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "WWE NXT Live « Events Database « Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
  11. ^ "No Way Jose defeats Josh Woods". WWE.
  12. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "WWE NXT Live « Events Database « Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
  13. ^ "ZZ, Twho Others Released from WWE Developmental". Figure 4 Online.
  14. ^ "ROH TV Taping Results: Bullet Club, Jay Lethal, Top Prospect Tourney Kickoff". Figure 4 Online.
  15. ^ "ROH Results: Manhattan Mayhem VI – New York City, NY (3/4)". Wrestling News.
  16. ^ "ROH "Charm City Excellence" 04/08/17 TV Tapings *Spoilers*". PWPonderings.
  17. ^ @TonyKhan (March 25, 2022). "ROH Supercard of HonorNext Friday April 1, Dallas Metroplex@ringofhonor Pure Wrestling Champion Josh Woods (…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  18. ^ "7/14 MCW Shane Shamrock Memorial Cup Night One: Joey Mercury, Rock-n-Roll Express, Shaheem Ali vs. Leo St Giovanni, Lio Rush, Joey Janela, Josh Woods". ProWrestling.net.
  19. ^ "AEW Rampage Results: Swerve In Our Glory Defeat Tony Nese and Josh Woods In Street Fight (08/06)". The Overtimer. August 6, 2022. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
  20. ^ John Kleinchester (October 8, 2022). "AEW Rampage Notes: Death Triangle Retain, Nese & Woods Renamed "The Varsity Athletes"". POST Wrestling. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
  21. ^ "Nine All-Americans lead California Baptist to NCWA Championship". NCWA.net. March 15, 2011. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
  22. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (April 20, 2019). "PPW Luchamania III: Springtime Melee - Event @ American Legion Post #142 in Pompano Beach, Florida, USA". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  23. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (April 20, 2019). "PPW Silverweight Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  24. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2021 - the Internet Wrestling Database".
  25. ^ Powell, Jason (September 13, 2021). "9/12 ROH Death Before Dishonor results: Powell's review of Bandido vs. Brody King vs. EC3 vs. Demonic Flamita in an elimination match for the ROH World Championship, Jonathan Gresham vs. Josh Woods for the ROH Pure Title, Miranda Alize vs. Rok-C to become the first ROH Women's World Champion". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  26. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (September 12, 2021). "ROH Pure Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  27. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (April 8, 2017). "ROH Top Prospect Tournament (2017)". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
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