Vincent Rubio (born 5 November 1985), better known by the ring name Eddie Ryan, is a British

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 active in the United Kingdom. Rubio, originally from

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, started his in ring career in 2008 at the

4 Front Wrestling 4 Front Wrestling (Sometimes acronymed as 4FW) is a pro wrestling company based in the South West of England, established in 2004 by former professional wrestler Dave Sharp. Since 2005, the company has promoted a range of shows; utilising events t ...

(4FW) training school. His first match was in January of the following year for 4FW under the ring name Eddie Reyes, being given the

gimmick A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often with little intrinsic value. When applied to retail marketing, it is a unique or quirky feature designed to make a product or service "stand ou ...

of a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

wrestler. Before representing England overseas in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, Rubio changed his ring name to Eddie Ryan, with an English gimmick. In 2018, Rubio first appeared on national television channel

FreeSports Viaplay Xtra is a British free-to-air sports television channel operated and owned by Viaplay Group. History Viaplay Xtra launched as FreeSports on 31 August 2017, with the aim to provide free-to-air sports coverage and become a top three ded ...

for

5 Star Wrestling 5 Star Wrestling (stylised as 5★ Wrestling) was a professional wrestling promotion based in Scotland. The company operated from 2015-2018 and promoted events throughout Great Britain and Ireland. They also produced a television series which was ...

, and later as a part of the

NXT UK ''NXT UK'' is a professional wrestling television programme that was produced exclusively in the United Kingdom by the American promotion WWE. It aired on BT Sport and 5Action (previously known as Paramount Network). In the United States, the s ...

brand of

World Wrestling Entertainment 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 ...

. Ryan is an eighteen time heavyweight champion, and held seven tag team championships with his partner Jason Larusso, as a part of ''The Lionhearts'', Charlie Sterling as a part of "Crazy Teacups", & Joel Redman.

Early life

Rubio grew up in Plymouth, England. As a teenager, Rubio played

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

until his final year of university and watched professional wrestling. He graduated from

Plymouth University The University of Plymouth is a public research university based predominantly in Plymouth, England, where the main campus is located, but the university has campuses and affiliated colleges across South West England. With students, it is the ...

with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in business administration in 2008. Afterward, he moved to

Swindon Swindon () is a town and unitary authority with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Wiltshire, England. As of the 2021 Census, the population of Swindon was 201,669, making it the largest town in the county. The Swindon un ...

to train to become a professional wrestler.

Professional wrestling career

Early career (2008–2011)

Rubio started his professional wrestling career in 2008 by training at the

(4FW) Training School. He had his first professional match in January of the following year at ''4FW New Year’s Wrestlution'' under the name of Eddie Reyes, with the gimmick of a Spanish wrestler. Rubio competed in a five-way ladder match Money in the bank, featuring Mark Sloan,

Wade Fitzgerald Wade, WADE, or Wades may refer to: Places in the United States * Wade, California, a former settlement * Wade, Maine, a town * Wade, Mississippi, a census-designated place * Wade, North Carolina, a town * Wade, Ohio, an unincorporated communi ...

Mark Haskins Mark Haskins (born 25 June 1988), is an English professional wrestler currently signed with Ring of Honor. He is known internationally for his time in Impact Wrestling, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, as well as his appearances in Progress Wre ...

and won by Dave Sharp. Rubio wrestled predominantly for 4FW during his first year, but made his debut for Pro Evolution Wrestling (Pro EVW) in July with a loss to Jack Dynamo. He gained his first championship match by the end of the year in a battle royale at the 4FW Halloween Spectacular 2009, but lost the match for the 4FW Heavyweight Championship again to Jack Dynamo a full year after his debut in January 2010. Rubio continued with his work in 4FW and Pro EVW, but also branched out into new territories in 2010, with matches in

Welsh Wrestling Overview Welsh Wrestling is the national Welsh professional wrestling promotion, holding live professional wrestling events across Wales, as well as in Scotland and England. The wrestling is hybrid of American wrestling and traditional Britis ...

and XWA. He made his first appearance outside of the UK, wrestling for the Nordic Championship Wrestling Cruiser weight Championship in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Rubio had his final match as "The Spanish Sensation" Eddie Reyes in June 2011 at ''4FW Steel Cage Warfare'', in a loss to Joel Redman. So he could represent England, Rubio changed his gimmick to being English, and his ring-name to Eddie Ryan. Rubio competed in six matches in the United States, including a losing effort for the vacant

Power League Wrestling Power League Wrestling (PLW) was an American independent professional wrestling promotion based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. It was founded in Swansea, Massachusetts by Bob Evans and Mark Amaral in 1991, and later taken over by Amaral, Carlos Ar ...

Heavyweight Championship. Rubio also competed in the

Korakuen Hall is a famous sports arena in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan, which has hosted many notable boxing, professional wrestling, kickboxing, mixed martial arts and Lethwei matches. History On April 16, 1962, the Korakuen Hall was officially opened with ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, Japan, where he won a tag team match for

Pro Wrestling Zero1 (stylized as Pro Wrestling ZERO1), formerly known as Pro Wrestling Zero-One and Pro Wrestling Zero1-Max (stylised in all capital letters) and often referred to simply as Zero1, is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded in 2001. I ...

The Lionhearts and 4FW Champion (2012–2015)

In February 2012, Rubio returned to England from Japan, and won his first professional championship in a ten-man

ladder match A ladder match is a type of match in professional wrestling, most commonly one in which an item (usually a title belt) is hung above the ring, and the winner is the contestant who climbs a ladder and retrieves the item. The ladder itself becom ...

. He defended the championship against the likes of

Sha Samuels Shaaheen Hosseinpour (born 27 February 1985) is an English professional wrestler. He is mostly known for his time in WWE where he performed on the NXT UK brand under the ring name Sha Samuels. Professional wrestling career Insane Championship W ...

, Benham Ali and Dave Mastiff before losing the championship to Samuels in March 2013; holding the championship for over a year. During this time, he also returned to his home town of Plymouth for the Plymouth Wrestling Alliance (PWA). Before the end of 2013, Ryan won the 4FW Championship back in a 2-on-1 Handicap match. Ryan start tagging with Jason Larusso, creating the tag team "The Lionhearts". Throughout 2013, the team received four tag team championship matches, for the Pro EVW, Alternate Wrestling World,

Pro Wrestling Pride ''Pro Wrestling Pride'' (Sometimes referred to as ''Pride Promotions'', or simply PWP) was a pro wrestling company based in the South West of England, established in 2012 by professional wrestler Darren 'Saviour' Ferguson. Since its inception in 20 ...

(PWP) and Michinoko Pro Wrestling tag team championships, however they lost all of them. In late 2014, they won the 4FW Tag Team Championship by defeating The Hunter Brothers. Whilst holding the 4FW Heavyweight Championship, Ryan become the number one contender for the PWA Heavyweight Championship, and on 5 March 2014 Ryan won the PWA Heavyweight Championship from Chris Marvel on the company's 5th anniversary show. He defended the championship multiple times, defeating John Harding, Danny Walsh, and

Robbie E Robert Strauss (born October 1, 1983) is an American professional wrestler and manager. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand as a manager under the ring name Mr. Stone. He is best known for his time in Total Nonstop Ac ...

. Ryan held the championship for an entire year, before losing at the 6th anniversary show, to Danny Walsh. Focusing on both tag team and singles wrestling, The Lionhearts won their second tag team championship, this time the Pro Wrestling Pride Tag Team Championship, besting old nemesis Danny Walsh, and brother Mark Walsh. They became double champions after winning a four-team gauntlet match to regain the 4FW Tag Team Championship. The team lost the Pride Tag Team Championship two months after winning them back to Mark Walsh, and his new partner, Tyler Hawke.

Singles success and TNA Heavyweight Championship match (2016)

Ryan started 2016 by competing in a tournament to crown the first 4FW South East Champion, where he lost to JD Knight in the final. In February, he lost the 4FW Tag Championship with partner Jason Larusso, effectively ending the team. Ryan then focused primarily on singles competition and received wins against Chris Dickinson, Kelly Sixx and Joshua Knott, before winning the 3rd Annual '' PWP Prizefighters Tournament'', defeating Lomaxx in the final and gaining a

PWP Heavyweight Championship The PWP Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling championship owned by Pro Wrestling Pride. It was the second championship incorporated by Pro Wrestling Pride; behind the PWP Catch Division Championship. As the companies main champio ...

opportunity. He was unsuccessful at ''PWP Pride & Glory 2016'', but he won the championship at the next show, ''PWP One of a kind'', besting Steve Griffiths in

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...

. As champion, Ryan successfully defended the championship against Hardcore Holly at ''PWP Heroes and Legends 3'', as well as wins over Chris Andrews, Danny Jones and Chuck Cyrus. He lost the championship in an elimination six-pack challenge to Bram, due to interference from the "House of Bones" tag team, Gideon and Lomaxx. Ryan got revenge by winning a tag team match against the House of Bones, partnering

James Storm James Allen Cox (born June 1, 1977) is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name James Storm. He is best known for his time in Impact Wrestling. He started his career in 1997 and after working on several independent pr ...

. In August, Ryan won his fourth heavyweight championship, defeating JD Knight for the South East Professional Wrestling Heavyweight Championship in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. Ryan continued working for Plymouth Wrestling Association, and on 17 April he won a number one contenders match for the TNA Heavyweight Championship against Drew Galloway. Ryan lost the championship match at the company's 7th anniversary show. Ryan also challenged for the PWA Heavyweight Championship against Tyler Hawke, but did not successfully win the championship.

Heavyweight and tournament success (2017)

In January, Ryan had his first Ultimate Pro Wrestling championship opportunity, where he lost to Lestyn Rees. He also challenged for new championships, including the Pro Wrestling

PWP Catch Division Championship The PWP Catch Division Championship is a professional wrestling championship owned by Pro Wrestling Pride. It was the first championship incorporated by Pro Wrestling Pride, and the company's second-tier championship behind the PWP Heavyweight C ...

against Joshua Knott, and the King Of Chaos Championship, in a seven-man match, losing on both occasions. He won the ''Pride Prizefighters tournament'' for the second time in a row, however, he lost the corresponding championship match again, losing in a fatal-4-way to Bram. Ryan had success in Pro Wrestling Chaos during the year, with wins over

Rampage Brown Oliver Biney (born 8 August 1983) is a British professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, performing under the ring name Rampage Brown. He is known for his work throughout the European and British independent wrestling circuit. However, Ra ...

, Dick Riley,

Mikey Whiplash Michael John Gilbert (born 16 July 1980) is an English professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Mikey Whiplash. He currently resides in Glasgow, Scotland and wrestles for numerous promotions in the British Independent circuit, most ...

, and wrestled

Tommy Dreamer Thomas James Laughlin (born February 13, 1971), is an American professional wrestler and promoter better known by the ring name Tommy Dreamer. He is signed to Impact Wrestling and is the owner and promoter of the House of Hardcore (HOH) promo ...

and

Paul London Paul Michael London (born April 16, 1980) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is best known for his time with WWE. After being trained at the Texas Wrestling Academy, London began competing for Ring of Honor where his high risk ...

. In July, Ryan unsuccessfully challenged for the Ironfist Wrestling Heavyweight Championship, losing to

. He returned to the company in September, to attempt the ''Mount Olympus Challenge'', a seven-man match, won by Max Alexander. In March, Ryan won his second one-night tournament, where he won the Plymouth Wrestling Association ''Trail to Prevail tournament''. This led to him besting Robin Lekime for the PWA Heavyweight championship on 30 April. He then defended the championship against Lekime twice more, winning the final encounter 3–2 in a 30-minute Iron Man match at Heat Wave II. Ryan twice battled for the Ultimate Pro Wrestling championship number one contendership; on 9 September 2017 he lost a triple threat match to Josh Bodom (also including Ryan Smile), and also lost a singles match to Bodom on 20 October. On 28 October Ryan had his first singles match for the Pro Wrestling Chaos championship, losing to Eddie Dennis. Ryan finished out the year wrestling for Ultimate Pro Wrestling, and in Big League Wrestling, losing to Chris Andrews.

5 Star Wrestling (2018)

In late 2017, Ryan was named a member of the roster for the ''

'' tour in 2018, also featuring

Rob Van Dam Robert Alexander Szatkowski (born December 18, 1970) is an American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name Rob Van Dam (frequently abbreviated to RVD). He is best known for his tenures in Extreme Championship Wrestling ...

Rey Mysterio Óscar Gutiérrez (born December 11, 1974), better known by his ring name Rey Mysterio, is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand. Widely regarded as one of the greatest profes ...

and Jack Hager, that was broadcast on ''

''. Following this Rubio announced that he was to be wrestling full-time, quitting his job as a Data Analyst. During a press conference before the tour, a

kayfabe In professional wrestling, kayfabe, as a noun, is the portrayal of staged events within the industry as "real" or "true", specifically the portrayal of competition, rivalries, and relationships between participants as being genuine and not staged. ...

fight between Hager and Ryan occurred over Hager's disrespectful attitude against British wrestlers, where Hager stated that British wrestlers "don’t matter. Ryan was defeated by Hager in the

Echo Arena Liverpool Arena, known for sponsorship reasons as the M&S Bank Arena, and previously Echo Arena, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the city centre of Liverpool, England. The venue hosts live music, comedy performances and sporting events, and ...

, on the first night of the tour in the main event on 1 February 2018, on 5 Star Wrestling's debut on FreeSports. On 22 February Ryan made a public challenge to Hager, who was now the 5 Star Champion, for a championship match. The event saw Ryan's challenge be met by Hager, but only if Ryan could win a "five-star gauntlet match", winning against five wrestlers in a row. Ryan defeated Markus Burke, and then HT Drake, before defeating Tim Wyde by disqualification, after interference from Hager. Ryan was then forced to take on Dave Mastiff and old rival "Big Grizzly" Steve Griffiths in a two-on-one handicap match, which he also won. After the match, Ryan was rewarded a championship match against Hager in that evening's main event, which he lost after outside interference from Bram. In March 2018, 5 Star Wrestling folded, however, on the last broadcast, Ryan won the newly created 5 Star Wrestling: Real Championship from

Zack Gibson Jack Rea (born 8 August 1990) is an English professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Rip Fowler. He is also known for his work as Zack Gibson on the UK independent circuit. He f ...

, in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

NXT UK (2018)

Ryan made his debut for

under the

brand on 13 October 2018, where he competed and won in the

Plymouth Pavilions Plymouth Pavilions is an entertainment and sports complex in Plymouth, Devon, England. It has an ice rink and indoor arena. The arena is used as an entertainment venue and also for corporate hire. The Pavilions is built on the site of the form ...

. The following night, Ryan competed in a losing effort against

Fabian Aichner Fabian Aichner (born 21 July 1990) is an Italian professional wrestler signed to WWE where he performs on SmackDown brand under the ring name Giovanni Vinci. He is a member of Imperium. Aichner previously worked on the U.S. independent circuit, ...

Personal life

Rubio is a supporter of Plymouth Argyle FC.

Professional wrestling persona

Originally portraying as a Spanish

, Rubio wrestled under the name of ''Eddie Reyes'', using a sitout scoop slam piledriver to win matches, known as the ''España Slam''. Later, after his character changed nationality, Rubio utilised a

superkick Strikes are offensive moves in professional wrestling, that can sometimes be used to set up an opponent for a hold or for a throw. There are a wide variety of strikes in pro wrestling, and many are known by several different names. Professional wre ...

to win matches; being referred to as "The English Lion". Along with his name, Ryan would often wear a gladiatorial cape to the ring; or if wrestling in Plymouth, a

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

football shirt. In 2018, for

, Rubio used a running crucifix powerbomb known as the ''George Cross'' to finish matches, a move name designed to utilise his place as a babyface representing the country.

Championships and accomplishments

** 5 Star Wrestling: Real Championship (1 time) *

** 4FW Tag Team Championship (2 times) – With Jason Larusso ** 4FW Heavyweight Championship (2 times) * Alternative Wrestling World ** AWW Tag Team Championship (1 time, current) – With Jason Larusso *Combat Sports Federation **CSF All-Nations Heavyweight Championship (1 time) * Full Force Wrestling ** FFW British Heavyweight Champion (2 time) * Plymouth Wrestling Alliance/Association ** PWA Heavyweight Championship (3 times) ** PWA Trail to Prevail Tournament (1 time) * Pro Wrestling Chaos ** PWC Knights of Chaos Championship (2 times) - With Charlie Sterling *

(1 time) ** Prizefighters Champion (2 times) – 2016, 2017 ** PWP Tag Team Championship (1 time) – With Jason Larusso * South East Professional Wrestling ** SEPW Heavyweight Champion (1 time) * Elite Wrestling Entertainment ** EWE Heavyweight Champion (1 time) * Strike Wrestling ** Strike Heavyweight Champion (2 time, current) * South West Wrestling ** SWW Heavyweight Champion (2 time) ** SWW Tag Team Championship (1 time, current) - With Joel Redman * Reach Wrestling ** Reach Heavyweight Champion (2 time, current)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Eddie 1986 births English male professional wrestlers Living people Sportspeople from Plymouth, Devon