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Viktor (wrestler)

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Viktor
Viktor in April 2015
Birth nameEric Thompson
Born (1980-12-04) December 4, 1980 (age 43)[1]
Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Apoc
Apocalypse
Bishop
Erik Doom
Rick Victor
Rick Viktor
The Shadow
Viktor
Billed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[1]
Billed weight219 lb (99 kg)[1]
Billed fromCalgary, Alberta, Canada
Trained byBruce Hart
Ross Hart
Tokyo Joe[2]
Debut1999[2]

Eric Thompson[3] (born December 4, 1980) is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he is working on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Viktor as part of The Ascension.

While in WWE's devoplemental territory NXT, he was the longest reigning NXT Tag Team Champions of all time (alongside his Ascension partner Konnor), and he is also a former Florida Tag Team Champion with Brad Maddox. He previously worked as Apoc for Ohio Valley Wrestling, where he was a two-time OVW Heavyweight Champion.

Professional wrestling career

Independent circuit (1999–2011)

Thompson began his career in the Hart Dungeon,[4] under the teachings of Bruce and Ross Hart. He also received training under Tokyo Joe.[2] He started working for Stampede Wrestling in 2001 as Bishop, later to be renamed "Apocalypse" which he continued to work as until 2008. In Stampede Wrestling, he won the North American Heavyweight Championship. He also held the International Tag Team Championship twice with partner Dave Swift. He did a tour with New Japan Pro Wrestling as "The Shadow" in November–December 2003.[2] In his first match, he teamed with Scott Norton against Josh Barnett and Hiroyoshi Tenzan.[2] He also had matches with Manabu Nakanishi and Tenzan.[2] In addition, he teamed with Norton frequently on the tour.[4] Apoc would debut under the name Apocalypse for Derby City Wrestling in a thirty-man battle royal, which was eventually would be won by Electrico. Apocalypse would team up with Al Barone to take part in the DCW Tag Team Title Tournament but were defeated by Damian Adams & Jamin Olivencia in the first round. Apocalypse got to the final of the DCW Championship Tournament but would lose to Big Cat. For the rest of 2008, Apocalypse would form multiple tag teams with Kharn Alexander, Vaughn Lilas and Fang.

On January 16, 2008, Apoc would debut under his new name Erik Doom and lost to Justin LaRouche. He would continue to lose most of his matches which is customary in nearly all wrestling promotions. Doom and Kharn Alexander lost to Los Locos (Ramon & Raul) in a match for the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship. He went back to his old name, Apocalypse before being renamed Apoc in late spring. On May 21, Apoc took on Nick Dinsmore for the OVW Heavyweight Championship but lost. Apoc teamed with Vaughn Lilas for several months before winning the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship from Darriel Kelly & Josh Lowry. The team would lose the titles to Dirty Money & Scott Cardinal in a championship vs $1000 match. After the loss the team would split and the two began feuding for the OVW Heavyweight Championship which Vaughn was currently holding. In February, Apoc beat Vaughn for the championship and would hold it for two months before losing it to Vaughn once again and regaining the championship in May. He would go on to lose the championship to Low Rider. While wrestling in Canada in 2010, Apoc primarily wrestled for WFX Wrestling and Prairie Wrestling Alliance. He took on Jack Sloan for the PWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship twice but failed both times. He formed a stable with Kevin Thorn and Gangrel and took part in WFX Tag Team Championship Tournament but went out in the first round. He would go on to feud with the PWA Mayhem Champion Randy Myers, after losing a few times, Apoc defeated Myers in a two out of three falls match for the championship.

World Wrestling Entertainment/WWE

Developmental territories (2011–2012)

In February 2011, Thompson signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and was assigned to their developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling under the ring name Rick Victor.[5] Victor made his televised in-ring debut for on the May 29, 2011 episode of FCW TV, teaming with Leo Kruger in a loss to Hunico and Epico[6] On the July 31 episode of FCW TV, Victor challenged Seth Rollins for his FCW 15 Championship, but was defeated.[7] From April to May 2012, Victor formed an association with the Anti-Divas (Sofia Cortez and Paige).[8][9] At a FCW live event on June 16, 2012, Victor defeated Seth Rollins to win the FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship for the first time. Immediately afterwards, he lost the title to Bo Dallas in another match.[10] He regained the title from Dallas at another FCW live event on July 13, 2012, making him a two-time champion.[11] He lost the title to Richie Steamboat a week later. On July 28, 2012, Victor won the Florida Tag Team Championship with Brad Maddox.[12]

When WWE rebranded its developmental territory FCW into NXT,[13] Victor's NXT television debut took place on the June 20 episode of the rebooted NXT taped at Full Sail University, where he lost to Bo Dallas.[14] On the September 12 episode of NXT, Victor confronted and slapped the NXT Champion, Seth Rollins,[15] leading to Rollins facing and defeating Victor in a non-title match on the September 19, 2012 NXT.[16]

The Ascension (2013–present)

Main article: The Ascension (professional wrestling)
Viktor and Konnor, as the Ascension, in March 2015

Victor resurfaced nearly a year later in NXT when he became Conor O'Brian's partner in the Ascension.[17][18] On September 12, the Ascension defeated Adrian Neville and Corey Graves to win the NXT Tag Team Championship. On November 10, O'Brian and Victor's ring names were changed to simply "Konnor" and "Viktor", respectively. On February 27, 2014 at NXT Arrival, he and Konnor successfully defended their championships against Too Cool, repeating the feat on May 29 at NXT TakeOver, against El Local and Kalisto.[19] Viktor alongside Konnor made his main roster debut on the September 9, 2014 edition of WWE Main Event, with the duo defeating Los Matadores in a tag-team match to promote their title defense against the team of Kalisto and Sin Cara at the NXT TakeOver: Fatal 4-Way event. He and Konnor would go on to lose the match and their title to Kalisto and Sin Cara (known now as the Lucha Dragons). Later at the event, the Ascension attacked the debuting Hideo Itami, but were driven off. The following week they again attacked Itami after he wrestled his first NXT match. On the September 25th edition of NXT, Konnor and Viktor lost a rematch to the Lucha Dragons after Hideo Itami showed up on stage, distracting Konnor.

On the December 12 episode of SmackDown, a vignette aired showing The Ascension with face paint, hyping their debut. The Ascension made their debut on the December 29th episode of Raw, quickly defeating The Miz and Damien Mizdow.[20] Since their debut, the team have frequently claimed to be better than legendary tag teams like Demolition and The Road Warriors. Their first major victory as part of the main roster was a win over The New Age Outlaws at the Royal Rumble. The Ascension would lose their first match as a part of the main roster on the February 23 episode of Raw, losing to The Prime Time Players. At WrestleMania 31, The Ascension made their WrestleMania debut in the André the Giant Memorial battle royal where both failed to win the match. On the March 30 edition of Raw, The Ascension teamed with Cesaro and Tyson Kidd to face the Lucha Dragons and The New Day in an 8-man tag match but lost the match. on the May 4 episode of Raw, Ascension faced Cesaro and Tyson Kidd in a losing effort, On the May 11 episode of Raw, during a match between Curtis Axel and Damien Sandow, in the guise of Macho Mandow, The Ascension attacked Axel and Mandow. It was then announced that The Ascension would face Axel and Sandow on the Payback pre-show, where they defeated the two. On the May 21 episode of SmackDown, The Ascension were announced to take part in the first-ever tag team elimination chamber match. At Elimination Chamber, he and Konnor eliminated the Los Matadores and Lucha Dragons until they were eliminated by The Prime Time Players, ultimately losing the match.

On the September 3 episode of SmackDown, The Ascension aligned themselves with Stardust by attacking Neville before their match. At Night of Champions (2015), Stardust and The Ascension defeated Neville and The Lucha Dragons in a Six-Man Tag Team Match in the pre-show. In September back in NXT The Ascension entered the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic where they lost in the First Round to Baron Corbin and Rhyno. On the Survivor Series (2015) Kickoff, The Cosmic Wasteland (Stardust, Konnor, and Viktor), The Miz, and Bo Dallas were defeated by The Dudley Boyz, Neville, and Titus O'Neil and the returning Goldust in a Five-on-five traditional Survivor Series elimination tag team match. At the Royal Rumble (2016) Pre-show The Ascension competed in a Fatal 4-Way tag team match to qualify for the Royal Rumble match but failed to win the match. At Wrestlemania 32, Viktor competed in the Andre the Giant memorial battle royale but failed to win the match. On 16 April 2016, WWE suspended Konnor for 60 days for a second violation of the Talent Wellness policy. Following the suspension, Viktor began competing in singles competition, mainly on Superstars and Main Event and in April 2016 Viktor joined The Social Outcasts on live events and on the May 3 episode of Raw, Viktor competed in a United States Championship No. 1 Contender's Battle Royal which was won by Rusev. On May 24 edition of Main Event, Viktor faced Apollo Crews in a losing effort, On the June 24, 2016 episode of Superstars, Konnor made his return from suspension, where The Ascension faced the Golden Truth (Goldust and R-Truth) in a losing effort.

On July 19, at the 2016 WWE Draft, The Ascension were drafted to SmackDown live. they made their SmackDown debut on the July 26 episode where The Ascension competed in a WWE World Title #1 Contender's Six-Pack Qualifying Battle Royal which was won by Apollo Crews. At SummerSlam (2016), The Ascension competed in a 12-man tag team match where their team lost. They then entered the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship tournament, where they were elimatied in the first round by the The Usos. On the September 27 episode of SmackDown Live, The Ascension picked up their first win on the brand when they and The Usos defeated Heath Slater, Rhyno and American Alpha in an eight-man tag team match. On the No Mercy (2016) preshow, The Ascension and The Vaudevillains lost a Eight-man tag team match to The Hype Bros and American Alpha. on the October 25 episode of SmackDown Live, The Ascension competed in a Survivor Series Qualifying Match but lost to The Hype Bros.

Other media

The Ascension, consisting of the duo of Konnor and Viktor, made their video game debut as a part of the NXT Arrival DLC pack (Downloadable Content) in WWE 2K15. They are also part of WWE 2K16, and WWE 2K17 once again as a duo.

In wrestling

Championships and accomplishments

References

  1. ^ a b c "Rick Victor". Florida Championship Wrestling. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Clevett, Jason (November 26, 2003). "From an Apocalypse, a Shadow descends upon New Japan". SLAM! Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved December 7, 2009.
  3. ^ Rick Victor. genickbruch.co[unreliable source]
  4. ^ a b Clevett, Jason (February 26, 2004). "Apocalypse on his first NJPW tour". SLAM! Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved December 12, 2009.
  5. ^ Trionfo, Richard. "New WWE Developmental Signings Pop Up In FCW". PWInsider. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  6. ^ Trionfo, Richard. "FCW Television Report: NXT Season Four Winner In Action; The O'neill/sandow Feud Escalates". PWInsider.
  7. ^ a b Trionfo, Richard. "Florida Championship Wrestling Television Report: Seth Rollins In An FCW 15 Match; Husky Harris In Action; William Regal Is Placed In A Bad Situation". PWInsider. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  8. ^ "BRUMMITT'S FCW TV REPORT 4/8: WWE Developmental TV coverage – Claudio vs. Steamboat, Ross & Regal commentary, Regal-Ambrose feud, Hero promo, new gimmicks for O'Brian & Harris". Pro Wrestling Torch. April 15, 2012. Retrieved April 15, 2012.
  9. ^ Trionfo, Richard. "FCW Television Report 5/13: Ohno/Cesaro; Steamboat/Victor; Rotundo/Kruger". PWInsider. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  10. ^ "FCW Heavyweight Title Changes Hands Twice, Recent WWE Attendance and More". June 20, 2012. Retrieved July 13, 2012.
  11. ^ "Rick Victor wins FCW Heavyweight Championship for the second time".
  12. ^ FCW (July 28, 2012). "New FCW Tag Team Champions Crowned". All Wrestling News. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  13. ^ "WWE News: FCW name being phased out". Wrestling Observer. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  14. ^ James, Justin. "JAMES'S WWE NXT REPORT 6/20 - Week 1 of new season: Kidd vs. McGillicutty main event, Ross & Regal on commentary". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
  15. ^ James, Justin. "JAMES'S WWE NXT RESULTS 9/12 - Week 13: Kidd vs. McGillicutty again, Seth Rollins title run, Sandow, Usos, Big E., Overall Reax". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
  16. ^ James, Justin. "JAMES'S WWE NXT REPORT 9/19 - Week 14: Hero (Ohno) sparring sessions, Barreta returns, stand-out Divas match, Overall Reax". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
  17. ^ 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". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  18. ^ James, Justin. "JAMES'S WWE NXT REPORT 7/3 - WEEK 53: Bo Dallas defends NXT Title, Women's Tourney continues, Mason Ryan". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  19. ^ http://www.pwinsider.com/ViewArticle.php?id=81485
  20. ^ "The Ascension vs. The Miz & Damien Mizdow: Raw, December 29, 2014". WWE.com. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  21. ^ "FCW TELEVISION REPORT FOR 7/1: TWO WEEKS UNTIL AMBROSE/REGAL II; FATAL FOUR WAY FOR FCW TITLE AND CESARO/STEAMBOAT NEXT WEEK By Richard Trionfo".
  22. ^ "Rick Victor CageMatch Profile". CageMatch. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  23. ^ Trionfo, Richard. "Complete Florida Championship Wrestling Spoilers For March 11, 18, And 25 Featuring Television Debut Of Kassius Ohno, Two FCW Championship Matches, And An FCW 15 Championship Match". PWInsider. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  24. ^ Trionfo, Richard (13 May 2012). "FCW Television Report 5/13: Ohno/Cesaro; Steamboat/Victor; Rotundo/Kruger". PWInsider. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  25. ^ Trionfo, Richard (25 May 2012). "COMPLETE FCW TELEVISION TAPINGS SPOILERS - June 10th Episode - Match Number Three: Rick Victor defeated CJ Parker with a tiger bomb". PWInsider. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  26. ^ http://genickbruch.com/index.php?befehl=bios&wrestler=5476
  27. ^ a b James, Justin (12 December 2015). "JAMES'S WWE NXT TAKEOVER "R-EVOLUTION" REPORT 12/11: Zayn completes two-year quest, Owens debuts, more; Overall Reax". PWTorch. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  28. ^ a b James, Justin (1 January 2015). "JAMES'S WWE NXT REPORT 1/1 - Week 133: Itami & Balor vs. The Ascension, NXT tag champs, Charlotte promo; Overall Reax". PWTorch. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  29. ^ https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UlSYvB0NwTY
  30. ^ "WWE.com Editors' Debate: Who's the next WWE NXT breakout star?". WWE.com. 3 May 2014. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  31. ^ " "WWE: "Written in the Stars (Stardust) – Single"".
  32. ^ "Fact, 3 years ago I was security in Punta Gorda for @CMPunk. Tonight I left the same building as 2 time FCW heavyweight champion!". Rick Victor. 13 July 2012. Archived from the original on 17 April 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
  33. ^ "Big ups to new FCW tag champs @CjuicePARKER & @JasonJordanJJ. And even though he's a scumbag...new heavyweight champ @RickVictor69". Seth Rollins. 13 July 2012. Archived from the original on 17 April 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
  34. ^ "New FCW Tag Team Champions crowned". Wrestleview. Retrieved 17 April 2014. Florida Championship Wrestling tweeted: Congratulations to @RickVictor69 (Rick Victor) and #BradMaddox- New FCW Tag Team Champions following Melbourne Event. Big Week in FCW check out the site!!
  35. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2014". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved December 2, 2014.
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