Alex Rohde (born January 17, 1991), better known by his ring names Alexander Hammerstone or simply Hammerstone is an American

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

. He is currently signed to

Major League Wrestling Major League Wrestling (MLW), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in New Rochelle, New York. The promotion was founded in 2002 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by former WWE writer Court Bauer. The promotion markets its product as ...

, where he is the current

MLW World Heavyweight Champion The MLW World Heavyweight Championship is a world heavyweight championship owned and promoted by Major League Wrestling (MLW). It is the promotion's principal championship. The championship was established on September 26, 2002 during the MLW Re ...

in his first reign. He was also the inaugural and longest reigning MLW National Openweight Champion.

Professional wrestling career

Early life and career (2013–2016)

Hammerstone is originally from

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...

. He debuted on the Arizona independent circuit in 2013 with Championship Wrestling from Arizona (CWFA) and Arizona Wrestling Federation (AWF). In 2014, he wrestled in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

for Paragon Pro Wrestling (PPW) and Future Stars of Wrestling (FSW) and

West Coast Wrestling Connection The West Coast Wrestling Connection (WCWC) is a professional wrestling organization based in Salem, Oregon. The WCWC was founded by Jeff Manning and Pat Kelley in 2005. History The WCWC had its inaugural show in Salem, Oregon on March 20, 2005. ...

(WCWC) in

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

. There he won his first championship, the WCWC Legacy Championship, in 2014, which he held for 132 days. He followed that later in 2014 with the WCWC Tag Team Championship with partner Grappler 3 (as The Wrecking Crew). Later in 2014, Hammerstone capped his time at WCWC by winning the WCWC Pacific Northwest Championship. In 2015, Hammerstone had a tryout with

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vari ...

. In April 2015, he won the PPW Tag Team Championship. In February 2016, he would participate in another WWE tryout. Around this time he also did

extra Extra or Xtra may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film * ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film Literature * ''Extra'' (newspaper), a Brazilian newspaper * ''Extra!'', an American me ...

work for the company, one time appearing as

Tyler Breeze Matthew Clement (born January 19, 1988) is a Canadian professional wrestler and professional wrestling trainer. He is currently signed to WWE under the ring name Tyler Breeze as a trainer at the WWE Performance Center. From 2010 to 2012, he pe ...

's bodyguard.

Independent circuit (2016–present)

In 2016, Hammerstone started working in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

where he appeared for

Championship Wrestling from Hollywood Championship Wrestling from Hollywood (CWFH) is an American professional wrestling promotion and television program that airs on KDOC-TV Los Angeles and carried in first-run syndication in the United States. The television series premiered ...

and made his debut for PCW Ultra. In 2017, he won the FSW Championship from

Eli Drake Shaun Ricker (born November 1, 1982) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name LA Knight. Ricker is known for his time in Impact Wrestling as Eli Drake. Rick ...

. During the next two years he would hold the FSW Championship for over 600 combined days. He would receive additional tryouts from WWE in October 2017 and February 2018. In 2018, he started being pushed heavily in PCW Ultra, getting wins against veteran wrestlers such as,

Jeff Cobb Jeffrey Cobb (ジェフ・コブ　''Jefu Kobu'', born July 11, 1982) is an American professional wrestler and former amateur wrestler currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) where he is a two-time IWGP Tag Team Champion with United Emp ...

Brian Cage Brian Christopher Button

, Daga,

Brody King Nathan Troy Blauvelt (born March 17, 1987), better known by his ring name Brody King, is an American professional wrestler and musician signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of The House of Black. King was previously signed ...

A. C. H. Albert Christian Hardie Jr. (born December 7, 1987), is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, currently known by his ring name A. C. H. He has wrestled for several American promotions, like Ring of Honor, Ring of Honor Wrestl ...

, and

Timothy Thatcher {{Infobox professional wrestler , name = Timothy Thatcher , image = ThatcherMLW2019.jpg , image_size = , alt = , caption = Thatcher at MLW Saturday Night SuperFight , birth_name = Timothy Andrew Moura{{cite web, ur ...

. In September of that year, at PCW Ultra Vision Quest, he challenged

Penta El Zero M Penta may refer to: Places * , an Italian hamlet (') of Fisciano, Salerno * Penta-di-Casinca, a French municipality of Corsica * Penta, Chhattisgarh, a town in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh, India * , a small river in Lithuania Other * P ...

for the PCW Ultra Heavyweight Championship in a losing effort. That same year, he would wrestle for the nationally broadcast

Ring Warriors Ring Warriors was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ring Warriors was a member promotion of the National Wrestling Alliance from September 2011 to 2012. They returned with a television series, which premier ...

during their first season. On January 3, 2019, Hammerstone competed in a one night tournament for West Coast Pro Wrestling at their event, When the Smoke Clears, to crown the first WCPW Heavyweight Champion. He defeated Tyler Bateman in the finals. In January 2019 , he also competed on Impact Wrestling's

Impact Xplosion ''Xplosion'' was a professional wrestling television program that was produced by the Impact Wrestling promotion. Launched in 2002, the show featured highlights from Impact's flagship television program, exclusive taped matches, and other conte ...

, making his debut for the promotion.

Major League Wrestling

The Dynasty (2019–2021)

On February 2, 2019, Hammerstone debuted for

(MLW). His first match featured him in a

squash match Professional wrestling has accrued a considerable amount of jargon throughout its existence. Much of it stems from the industry's origins in the days of carnivals and circuses. In the past, professional wrestlers used such terms in the presence ...

against Ariel Dominguez. On the March 16 episode of ''

Fusion Fusion, or synthesis, is the process of combining two or more distinct entities into a new whole. Fusion may also refer to: Science and technology Physics *Nuclear fusion, multiple atomic nuclei combining to form one or more different atomic nucl ...

'', Hammerstone attacked

The Hart Foundation The Hart Foundation is the name of several derivative tag teams and stables composed primarily of members and close friends of the Hart wrestling family. The name originated in the World Wrestling Federation in 1985 with the original Hart Foundat ...

(

Teddy Hart Edward Ellsworth Annis (born February 2, 1980) is a Canadian-American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Teddy Hart. He currently wrestles on the independent circuit. He wrestled on a National scale for Major League Wrestling ...

, Brian Pillman Jr. and

Davey Boy Smith Jr. Harry Francis Smith (born August 2, 1985) is a Canadian professional wrestler, best known under the ring name Davey Boy Smith Jr. and his real name Harry Smith. He currently performs for the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), where he was o ...

) and joined the villainous stable

The Dynasty A dynasty is a series of rulers from one family. Dynasty may also refer to: Arts and media Film and television * ''Dynasty'' (film), a 1976 NBC television film * ''Dynasty'' (Australian TV series), a 1970 Australian TV series * ''Dynasty'' ...

, the other members including

Richard Holliday Joe Zimbardi (born November 8, 1992) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Richard Holliday. He is currently signed to Major League Wrestling (MLW), where he was a member of The Dynasty. He is a former one-time IWA ...

and

Maxwell Jacob Friedman Maxwell T. Friedman (born March 15, 1996), better known by his ring name Maxwell Jacob Friedman (often abbreviated to MJF), is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is currently signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW), wh ...

. Hammerstone later defeated Pillman on the March 23 episode of ''Fusion''. During

WrestleMania 35 WrestleMania 35 was the 35th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw, SmackDown, and 205 Live brand divisions. The event took place ...

weekend, he wrestled in the second annual Battle Riot match at the namesake event as the #34 entrant. He eliminated Brian Pillman Jr., Ariel Dominguez and Davey Boy Smith Jr., lasting until the final four until being eliminated by

Mance Warner Mance Warner is an American professional wrestler currently performing for Major League Wrestling. He has previously competed in Combat Zone Wrestling where he is a former CZW World Heavyweight Champion and with IWA Mid-South where he has hel ...

. On the April 26 episode of ''Fusion'', Dynasty defeated Hart Foundation in a

tables match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or " gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

. The match ended with Hammerstone putting Pillman through the table. Hammerstone was announced for the tournament to crown the inaugural National Openweight Champion. He defeated Gringo Loco in the semi-final on the May 11 episode of ''Fusion'', and Brian Pillman Jr. in the final at Fury Road on June 1 to become the first National Openweight Champion. Hammerstone successfully defended the title against Kotto Brazil at

Kings of Colosseum Kings of Colosseum is a professional wrestling supercard event produced by Major League Wrestling (MLW). The first event was held in 2019 as a special live episode of MLW's weekly series, ''Fusion Fusion, or synthesis, is the process of combining ...

, Davey Boy Smith Jr. via disqualification on the July 20 episode of ''Fusion'' and the Caribbean Heavyweight Champion

Savio Vega Juan Rivera (born August 10, 1964) is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler. He is known for his work in the World Wrestling Council, where he won the WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship three times and the WWC Puerto Rico Heavyweight Champion ...

on the August 10 episode of ''Fusion''. On the October 12 episode of ''Fusion'', Hammerstone defended the title against the Crash Heavyweight Champion

Rey Horus Rey Horus is a Mexican '' luchador enmascarado'', or masked professional wrestler currently signed to Ring of Honor (ROH). Formerly he wrestled for Major League Wrestling (MLW). He was also known as the second El Hijo de Rey Misterio, Spanish ...

in a title versus title match. Hammerstone lost via disqualification after interference by the Dynasty. The feud between Dynasty and the Hart Foundation continued as Hammerstone successfully defended the National Openweight Championship against Davey Boy Smith Jr. at MLW's first pay-per-view

event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of e ...

Saturday Night SuperFight. After a successful title defense against Douglas James on the November 23 episode of ''Fusion'', Hammerstone participated in the

inaugural In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inaugur ...

Opera Cup tournament, where he defeated his teammate MJF in the quarterfinal but lost to the eventual winner Davey Boy Smith Jr. in the semifinal. Hammerstone continued to successfully defend the National Openweight Championship against the likes of

Aero Star Aero Star (real name unrevealed; born October 22, 1984) is a Mexican luchador, which is a masked professional wrestler currently signed to Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA). Aero Star won the 2008 '' Alas de Oro'' tournament and is known for his h ...

, T-Hawk and

Laredo Kid Laredo Kid (born December 30, 1986) is a Mexican '' luchador enmascarado'', or masked professional wrestler. He is currently signed to both Impact Wrestling and Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide, but is currently inactive due to abdominal surgery. La ...

in 2020 before MLW went on hiatus due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. The storyline explanation was that

Contra Unit Contra Unit is a Heel (professional wrestling), villainous professional wrestling Stable (professional wrestling), stable in Major League Wrestling (MLW) and Southern Honor Wrestling (SHW). It consists of Ikuro Kwon and Mads Krügger. In SHW (where ...

attacked several MLW wrestlers and hijacked MLW's headquarters. MLW resumed holding events in November. It was explained in storyline that Hammerstone was a primary force in retrieving MLW from Contra Unit's occupation. The first episode of ''Fusion'' in several months took place on November 18, where Hammerstone defeated Jason Dugan and demanded a title shot against

Jacob Fatu Jacob Fatu is an American professional wrestler currently signed to Major League Wrestling. He is a former one-time MLW World Heavyweight Champion and his reign is the longest in the title's history at 819 days. He also performs on the independ ...

for the

MLW World Heavyweight Championship The MLW World Heavyweight Championship is a world heavyweight championship owned and promoted by Major League Wrestling (MLW). It is the promotion's principal championship. The championship was established on September 26, 2002 during the MLW Re ...

due to being ranked #1 in MLW by

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publi ...

(PWI). Hammerstone confronted Fatu later that night but was attacked by Contra's newest member, the debuting

Mads Krügger Matthew Waters (born August 23, 1985) is an American professional wrestler and actor, who performs under the ring name Mads Krügger. He is known for his time on the independent circuit under the ring names Logan Creed and Krule, during which he ...

, turning Hammerstone into a fan favorite. As a result, Hammerstone began feuding with Krügger, leading to a match between the two for Hammerstone's National Openweight Championship at

on January 6, 2021. The match ended in a double count-out resulting in Hammerstone retaining the title. Hammerstone defeated Krügger in a Baklei Brawl on the March 2 episode of ''Fusion'' to end the feud.

World Heavyweight Champion (2021–present)

After successfully defending the National Openweight Championship against the likes of

L.A. Park Adolfo Margarito Tapia Ibarra (November 14, 1965) is a Mexican ''luchador enmascarado'' ( masked professional wrestler), who currently performs as L. A. Park for Major League Wrestling in the United States, where he is a former MLW World Tag ...

and

Mil Muertes Gilbert Cosme Ramírez (born May 25, 1972) is a Puerto Rican people, Puerto Rican Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, better known by his ring names El Mesías, Mil Muertes, Ricky Banderas and King Muertes. He began his career in the In ...

, Hammerstone participated in the Battle Riot match as the #35 entrant at

Battle Riot III Battle Riot III was a professional wrestling event produced by Major League Wrestling (MLW) that took place on July 10, 2021, at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was MLW's first event since its hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic ...

on July 24, 2021. Hammerstone eliminated the Sentai Death Squad,

Josef Samael Joseph Cabibbo (born May 21, 1974) is an American professional wrestler currently wrestling under the ring names Josef and Josef Samael on the independent circuit and in Major League Wrestling (MLW) as a member of Contra Unit with Jacob Fatu, ...

Simon Gotch Seth Lesser (born October 18, 1982) is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name Simon Gotch. He is best known for his time in WWE, where he held the NXT Tag Team Championship as one-half of The Vaudevillains along with A ...

, Daivari and lastly Mads Krügger to win the Battle Riot, thus earning the Golden Ticket which required Hammerstone to cash-in for a World Heavyweight Championship match anytime and anywhere. After retaining the National Openweight Championship against

Tom Lawlor Thomas Joseph Lawlor (born May 15, 1983) is an American professional wrestler, retired mixed martial artist and podcast host. He is best known for his time in Major League Wrestling (MLW), where he was a former one-time MLW World Heavyweight Cham ...

on the September 29 episode of ''Fusion: Alpha'', Hammerstone defeated Jacob Fatu in a title versus title match to win the World Heavyweight Championship and retain his National Openweight Championship at

Fightland Fightland is a website covering mixed martial arts (MMA). Launched in September 2012, it is part of Vice Media, Inc. network channels. Vice Media states that ''Fightland'' is a joint venture with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). ''The Ne ...

, which aired on October 7. As a result of winning the World Heavyweight Championship, Hammerstone relinquished the National Openweight Championship, ending his two-year reign at 865 days. The following month, at War Chamber, Hammerstone captained The Hammerheads ( EJ Nduka,

, Matanza Duran and

) to defeat the Contra Unit in the titular match. He then feuded with

Cesar Duran Luis Fernandez-Gil is a Spanish actor and professional wrestling personality. In the 2000s and 2010s, Fernandez-Gil appeared in films including '' The Boys & Girls Guide to Getting Down'' and ''Jack and Jill'', as well as television shows includ ...

after he refused the promoter's offer, feuding with

Black Taurus Black Taurus (born March 11, 1987) is a Mexican ''luchador enmascarado'', or masked professional wrestler, He is currently under contract with Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide, in addition to making appearances for Impact Wrestling. He is primarily kno ...

and

King Muertes Gilbert Cosme Ramírez (born May 25, 1972) is a Puerto Rican people, Puerto Rican Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, better known by his ring names El Mesías, Mil Muertes, Ricky Banderas and King Muertes. He began his career in the In ...

. On the premiere episode of '' Azteca'' on January 6, 2022, Hammerstone and Pagano defeated Taurus and Muertes in an Apocalypto Hardcore match. However, Pagano turned on Hammerstone, taking him on a warehouse, which Richard Holliday rescued him. On the January 27 episode of ''Azteca'', Hammerstone retained the World Heavyweight Championship against Octagon Jr. Hammerstone successfully defended the World Heavyweight Championship against Pagano in a

falls count anywhere match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

on the February 10, 2022 episode of ''Fusion''. After the match, Holliday turned on Hammerstone by attacking him, thus breaking up the Dynasty. Hammerstone retained the World Heavyweight Championship against Davey Richards at SuperFight and Jacob Fatu and Mads Krügger in a three-way match at Intimidation Games. Hammerstone continued his feud with Holliday. At Rise of the Renegades, Hammerstone teamed with The Von Erichs (Marshall and Ross) as The Von Hammers against King Muertes, Mads Krügger and Richard Holliday in a losing effort in a six-man tag team match. Hammerstone successfully defended the World Heavyweight Championship against Holliday at

. On the November 24 episode of ''Fusion'', Hammerstone defeated Holliday in a falls count anywhere match to retain the title and end the feud.

Pro Wrestling Noah (2019)

On July 26, 2019, MLW announced a working agreement with Japanese based promotion

Pro Wrestling Noah (stylised as Pro Wrestling NOAH) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion, founded in 2000 by former All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) ace Mitsuharu Misawa after he had led a mass exodus in which 24 of AJPW's 26 contracted wrestlers left the ...

, which would include a talent-exchange agreement and content collaboration between the two promotions On July 29, it was announced that Hammerstone would represent MLW by participating in the 2019 N1-Victory, where he wrestled in Block A from August 18 to September 16.

Championships and accomplishments

* AAW Wrestling ** AAW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ace Perry *All-Star Wrestling At Gray-Bell **ASW Heavyweight Championship (1 time, current) *Arizona Wrestling Federation **AWF State Championship (1 time) **AWF Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Joe Graves *DREAMWAVE Wrestling **Good as Gold Rumble (2016) *Future Stars of Wrestling **FSW Heavyweight Championship (3 times, current) **FSW Nevada State Championship (1 time) **FSW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Joe Graves *Global Syndicate Wrestling **GSW World Championship (1 time, current) *Lions Pride Sports **Lions Pride Sports 360 Championship (1 time) *

( 1 time, current) **

MLW National Openweight Championship The MLW National Openweight Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion Major League Wrestling (MLW). The title was unveiled on April 18, 2019. The title's openweig ...

( 1 time) **

Battle Riot Battle Riot is a professional wrestling event produced by Major League Wrestling Major League Wrestling (MLW), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in New Rochelle, New York. The promotion was founded in 2002 in Philadelphia, P ...

(

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

) ** MLW National Openweight Championship Tournament (2019) *Paragon Pro Wrestling **PPW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Alex Chamberlain *Power Precision Pro Wrestling **3PW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Joe Graves *PCW Ultra **PCW Ultra Heavyweight Championship (1 time, current) * ''

'' ** Ranked No. 24 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the ''

PWI 500 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publi ...

'' in 2022 *West Coast Pro Wrestling **WCPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **WCPW Heavyweight Championship Tournament (2019) *

** WCWC Legacy Championship (1 time) ** WCWC Pacific Northwest Championship (2 times) ** WCWC Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with The Grappler 3

References

External links

Alexander Hammerstone
on MLW.com * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hammerstone, Alexander 1991 births Living people Sportspeople from Glendale, Arizona American male professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from Arizona MLW World Heavyweight Champions MLW National Openweight Champions 21st-century professional wrestlers AAW Tag Team Champions