Daniel Luis Rivera (born September 2, 1991), better known by his

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...

s Danny Limelight, Danny Rivera and Rivera, is a

Puerto Rican-American Stateside Puerto Ricans ( es, link=no, Puertorriqueños de Estados Unidos), also ambiguously known as Puerto Rican Americans ( es, link=no, puertorriqueño-americanos,), or Puerto Ricans in the United States, are Puerto Ricans who are in the U ...

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 or ...

, currently performing for United Wrestling Network's Championship Wrestling from Hollywood, where he is the current UWN World Champion. He also performs on the

independent circuit In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indie circuit is the collective noun, collective name of independent professional wrestling promotions which are smaller than major televised promotions. It is roughly analogous to a minor lea ...

and makes sporadic appearances for

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares ...

(NJPW). Limelight has also had notable runs in Major League Wrestling, and All Elite Wrestling.

Early life

Rivera was a fan of the then World Wrestling Federation's Attitude Era, specifically of The Rock, the D-Generation X

stable A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...

, and the Hell in a Cell match from Badd Blood: In Your House in 1997. In 2009, Rivera entered the United States Marines Corps at the age of 17. He achieved the rank of

Staff sergeant Staff sergeant is a rank of non-commissioned officer used in the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. History of title In origin, certain senior sergeants were assigned to administrative, supervi ...

and worked as a

Drill instructor A drill instructor is a non-commissioned officer in the armed forces, fire department, or police forces with specific duties that vary by country. Foot drill, military step, and marching are typically taught by drill instructors. Australia Austr ...

before retiring in 2019.

Professional wrestling career

Early career

Rivera was inspired to be a wrestler after speaking with Joe Gamble, a wrestler and acquaintance from Rivera's time in the Marines at a

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 vario ...

live event in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

. After initial training with and competing in matches for SoCal Pro Wrestling, Rivera would start wrestling for promotions in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

and

Tijuana Tijuana ( ,"Tijuana"
(US) and < ...

specifically for Championship Wrestling from Hollywood and

The Crash Lucha Libre The Crash Lucha Libre, also referred to as simply The Crash, is a ''lucha libre'' (Mexican professional wrestling) promotion based in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. The promotion largely runs its events in Tijuana, Mexico City, and Monterrey. ...

. Rivera would be in the Los Primos Rivera tag team with Gino Rivera in 2016.

Championship Wrestling From Hollywood (2019–present)

In 2019, Limelight would begin to feature more prominently on Championship Wrestling from Hollywood. He would be on the losing end against Royce Isaacs for the UWN Television Championship and compete in a Fatal Four-Way match with

Brandon Cutler Brandon Bogle (born June 18, 1987) is an American professional wrestler who works for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the name Brandon Cutler. He is an executive producer of content of AEW where he is also signed as a wrestler. Professional wr ...

, Adrian Quest, and Fidel Bravo at the 2019 ''Coastline Clash''. Limelight was one of a group of wrestlers from Championship Wrestling to compete at Impact Wrestling's ''Unbreakable'' event in 2019. In 2020, Limelight would begin teaming with Papo Esco to form the tag team, the Bodega, becoming UWN Tag Team Champions. In 2021, Limelight and Esco would add Slice Boogie to their group. Together, the trio invoked Freebird Rule to defend the titles until their defeat against the Midnight Heat. In 2022, Limelight focused more on singles competition. After defeating Willie Mack and Tyler Bateman in the finals of the Golden Opportunity Tournament, Limelight would go on to defeat

Jordan Clearwater Jordan Clearwater is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) where he is a former NWA World Television Champion. Professional wrestling career On the August 14, 2020 episode of NJPW Str ...

for the

UWN World Championship The UWN World Championship is a professional wrestling world championship owned by the United Wrestling Network promotion. The title was introduced on October 13, 2020, and the winner of an eight-man tournament being crowned the inaugural champion. ...

. Before Championship Wrestling went on hiatus due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA sticks in 2023, Danny Limelight had successfully defended the World Championship against Clark Connors, Zicky Dice, Tom Lawlor, and Moose. In another defense, he fought Eddie Kingston to a no contest.

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2020–present)

Danny Limelight debuted at New Japan Pro-Wrestling's ''Lion's Break Collision'' event and was one of the first mainstays on '' NJPW Strong''. Limelight was an entrant in Strong's

Lion's Break Crown New Japan Pro-Wrestling had held a variety of professional wrestling tournaments competed for by wrestlers that are a part of their roster. Sporadic tournaments Pin-Pinfall; Sub-Submission; CO-Countout; DCO-Double countout; DQ-Disqualification; ...

tournament where he defeated Barrett Brown in the first round and

Blake Christian Christian Hubble is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and Ring of Honor (ROH) under the ring name Blake Christian. He is known for his tenure with WWE under the ring name Trey Baxter. He has also wre ...

in the semi-finals. Limelight would lose in the finals of the tournament to Clark Connors. Not long after his loss, Limelight would attack Rocky Romero after his match with

Rust Taylor Russell Gene Taylor (born January 26, 1987), is an American professional wrestler. Taylor is currently competing for Ring of Honor under the ring name Taylor Rust. In his previous stint with ROH, Taylor was previously known as Rust Taylor. He is ...

and align with Team Filthy. Limelight would feud on and off with Romero, often being on the opposite side of him in tag team matches. Limelight would also face

Homicide Homicide occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no inten ...

at ''Detonation'' 2022.

All Elite Wrestling (2020–2021)

On October 21, 2020, Danny Limelight made his All Elite Wrestling debut on '' AEW Dark'' on the losing end of a six-man tag team match with Steve Gibki & Tony Vincita against Jurassic Express ( Jungle Boy,

Luchasaurus Austin Matelson (born March 10, 1985) 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 Cha ...

, and Marko Stunt). During his time in the promotion, he would be a main stay on ''Dark'' and '' AEW Dark: Elevation'', obtaining victories over

Fuego Del Sol Fuego Del Sol ("Fire of the Sun") (born October 16, 1995), is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Professional wrestling career Del Sol debuted in May 2014, largely competing on the independent circuit ...

, Sean Maluta, and Baron Black in singles matches. His fist and only televised AEW match came on the January 6, 2021 edition of '' AEW Dynamite'' as he and the Varsity Blondes ( Griff Garrison and

Brian Pillman Jr. Brian Zachary Pillman (born September 9, 1993), better known by the ring name Brian Pillman Jr., is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is also known for his time in Major League Wrestling (MLW). Pil ...

) faced Kenny Omega and the Good Brothers.

Major League Wrestling (2021–2022)

On July 10, 2021, Danny Rivera, Slice Boogie, and Julius Smokes were introduced by Konnan as members of LAX at Major League Wrestling's '' Battle Riot III''. Eventually, the team would be known as 5150. Rivera and Boogie defeated Myron Reed and

Jordan Oliver Jordan Oliver may refer to: * Jordan Oliver (amateur wrestler) (born 1990), American freestyle and graduated folkstyle wrestler * Jordan Oliver (professional wrestler) Jordan Oliver Jr. (born June 18, 1999) is an American professional wrestler ...

of Injustice. After feuding with

L.A. Park Jr. L. A. Park Jr. (born June 1, 2000) is the ring name of a Mexican ''Luchador enmascarado''. He currently works for Major League Wrestling as well as on the independent circuit. His real name is not a matter of public record, as is often the case ...

and El Hijo de L.A. Park, Rivera and Boogie defeated them for the MLW World Tag Team Championships on November 6, 2021. 5150 would defeated for the MLW tag titles against E. J. Nduka and Calvin Tankman (Hustle and Power). Rivera and Boogie would feud with Marshall and Ross Von Erich around this time. Once Hernandez joined 5150, he and Rivera would compete against Hustle and Power and the Von Erichs for the MLW tag titles. Hustle and Power would retain with Rivera taking the pin.

International Wrestling Association (2022)

As part of an agreement with MLW, Danny Rivera wrestled for International Wrestling Association during their ''Christmas in PR 2021''. Teaming up with Savio Vega, Rivera faced The Owners of Time (Nick Mercer & Leinord White) to a no contest. On January 15, 2022, Rivera and Slice Boogie defeated Mercer and Manny Freno (replacing White) for the IWA World Tag Team Championships in a match where the MLW tag team titles were on the line. 5150 would hold the titles until February 26, 2022, when they would be defeated by Lightning & Mr. Big.

Filmography

Television

Championships and accomplishments

Professional wrestling

*Future Stars Of Wrestling **FSW No Limits Championship (1 time) **FSW Heavyweight Championship (1 time, Current) *Gold Rush Pro Wrestling **GRPW SoCal Championship (1 time) * International Wrestling Association ** IWA World Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with Slice Boogie * Major League Wrestling ** MLW World Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with Slice Boogie * Pro Wrestling Illustrated **Ranked No. 350 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the ''PWI 500'' in 2023 * United Wrestling Network **

( 1 time, current) ** UWN Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with Papo Esco, and Slice Boogie

References

External links

* {{Navboxes, , list1= {{Team Filthy {{MLW World Tag Team Championship {{New Japan Pro Wrestling personnel Living people American sportspeople of Puerto Rican descent Professional wrestlers from New York (state) American male professional wrestlers Sportspeople from Brooklyn Puerto Rican male professional wrestlers MLW World Tag Team Champions United States Marines 1991 births 21st-century male professional wrestlers