Jay Lethal
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Jamar Shipman (born April 29, 1985), better known by the
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 ...
Jay Lethal, 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 or ...
currently signed to
All Elite Wrestling All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. It is considered the second largest wrestling promotion in the United States behind WWE. AEW is owned by Shahid Khan and his son Tony, w ...
(AEW). Dubbed "The Franchise" of Ring of Honor, Lethal is a two-time
ROH World Champion The ROH World Championship is a professional wrestling world championship created and promoted by Ring of Honor (ROH). It is considered the most prestigious title in the promotion. The current champion is Claudio Castagnoli, who is in his second ...
, and holds the record for most combined days with the ROH World Championship in company history. He was also a record-setting two-time and longest reigning
ROH World Television Champion The ROH World Television Championship is a professional wrestling world television championship in the Ring of Honor (ROH) promotion. With the introduction of the ROH World Television Championship, the television type championship returned to na ...
, holding the title for 567 days, and the only man to hold the World Television Championship and the World Championship at the same time, and a former
ROH World Tag Team Champion The ROH World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship contested for in the American professional wrestling promotion Ring of Honor. The championship is generally contested in professional wrestling matches, i ...
with
Jonathan Gresham Jonathan Gresham (born March 20, 1988) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to Impact Wrestling. He has previously wrestled for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and Ring of Honor (ROH), where he is a former ROH World Champion, ROH Pure ...
. Lethal is recognized by ROH as a Grand Slam Champion, and is the only man to have held the ROH World, World Tag Team, World Television and
Pure Pure may refer to: Computing * A pure function * A pure virtual function * PureSystems, a family of computer systems introduced by IBM in 2012 * Pure Software, a company founded in 1991 by Reed Hastings to support the Purify tool * Pure-FTPd, F ...
championships. In 2020, he was selected by Ring of Honor as their ''Wrestler of the Decade'' (2010s). He is also known for his work in
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment. Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the promot ...
(TNA), where he was a six-time
TNA X Division Champion The Impact X Division Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by Impact Wrestling. It debuted on June 19, 2002, at the taping of then-TNA's second weekly pay-per-view (PPV) event. The current champion is Trey M ...
and a former TNA World Tag Team Champion with
Consequences Creed Austin Watson (born September 4, 1986) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Xavier Woods. He appeared on WWE's NXT brand as one-half of the current NXT Tag ...
as The Lethal Consequences. Between ROH and TNA (now Impact Wrestling), Lethal has won 13 total championships.


Early life

Jamar Shipman was born on April 29, 1985, in
Elizabeth, New Jersey Elizabeth is a city and the county seat of Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.New J ...
. He is the middle child of Ronald and Shirley Shipman, with two brothers and two sisters. In July 2001, aged 16, Shipman won a contest held by
Jersey All Pro Wrestling Jersey All Pro Wrestling (JAPW) was an independent wrestling promotion based in New Jersey, United States. History 1997 Jersey All Pro Wrestling was an independent wrestling promotion that was founded by "Fat" Frank Iadeavia and Angel Surita ...
(JAPW) which entitled the winner to a lifetime of free training in the JAPW
professional wrestling school 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 o ...
. He spent six months training there, at the end of which the school closed down. He then began training under
Extreme Championship Wrestling HHG Corporation, doing business as Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), was a professional wrestling promotion and media company that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as National Wrest ...
(ECW) alumni
Mikey Whipwreck John Michael Watson (born June 4, 1973), better known by his ring name Mikey Whipwreck, is an American semi-retired professional wrestler working for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a trainer, and global ambassador. He is best known for his career w ...
and
Dan Maff Daniel Lopez (born October 28, 1973), better known by his ring name Dan Maff, is an American professional wrestler, known for his time with Ring of Honor (ROH). Professional wrestling career Da Hit Squad Lopez attended Jersey All Pro Wrestling ...
.


Professional wrestling career


Jersey All Pro-Wrestling


Debut and various title reigns (2001–2004)

Shipman made his wrestling debut under the ring name Jay Lethal on October 26, 2001, at JAPW's "Class Of 2001 Student Show", in a match where he defeated Dixie. He won his first Championship, the
JAPW Television Championship Jersey All Pro Wrestling (JAPW) was an independent wrestling promotion based in New Jersey, United States. History 1997 Jersey All Pro Wrestling was an independent wrestling promotion that was founded by "Fat" Frank Iadeavia and Angel Surita ...
, on September 13, 2002, in Bayonne, New Jersey, at ''Never Forget'', defeating the champion, Ghost Shadow, and Rain in a three-way match. His reign lasted an unprecedented and unreplicated eleven months, with Lethal finally losing to Crazy Ivan on August 22, 2003, in
Rahway, New Jersey Rahway () is a city in southern Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. A bedroom community of New York City, it is centrally located in the Rahway Valley region, in the New York metropolitan area. The city is southwest of Manhattan ...
at ''Counter-Strike''. Lethal also held the
JAPW Light Heavyweight Championship The JAPW Light Heavyweight Championship is a championship in the Jersey All Pro Wrestling promotion in the United States.It became official title on December 5, 1997 when Rik Rachet defeated Chino Martinez in a tournament final to crown the first ...
, defeating the champion, Azrieal, Insane Dragon and Jack Evans on February 28, 2004, at ''Revolution'', in a four-way match. Azrieal tried to regain the title for eight months, but repeatedly lost to Lethal. On December 10, 2004, at ''Seasons Beatings'', Azrieal gained one more shot at the JAPW Light Heavyweight Championship by challenging Lethal to a " belt versus loser leaves town" match, which would see Azrieal leave JAPW if he lost. Azrieal was able to win the match, thus ending their lengthy
feud A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one part ...
.


JAPW Heavyweight Champion (2005–2009)

With two lengthy title reigns in the space of two years, Lethal had established himself as a dominant member of the JAPW roster by 2005, and he began challenging for the
JAPW Heavyweight Championship The Jersey All Pro Wrestling (JAPW) Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling Championship (professional wrestling), championship in the United States of America, American Independent circuit, independent professional wrestling promot ...
, which had been held by Dan Maff since December 2003. On January 29, 2005, at ''Wild Card'', Lethal pinned Maff in a title match, but the decision was overturned by crooked referee Sean Hanson. In March 2005, Maff left JAPW and retired from wrestling following an argument with
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 ...
, thus vacating the JAPW Heavyweight Championship. Lethal was awarded the Heavyweight Championship on March 26 at ''Caged Fury 2'' held in the
ECW Arena 2300 Arena is a multipurpose indoor arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania used primarily for professional wrestling, boxing, mixed martial arts, and concert events. Originally known as Viking Hall, the venue has since been named Alhambra Arena, The ...
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but he refused to accept it, claiming that he wanted to "earn" the title. JAPW mainstay Homicide then challenged Lethal to an impromptu match for the vacant title, which Homicide won. Lethal finally won the JAPW Heavyweight Championship on May 21 in Braintree, Massachusetts, at ''Braintree Invasion'' defeating Homicide,
Kevin Steen Kevin Steen (born May 7, 1984) is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Kevin Owens. Steen began his career in 2000, at the age of 16. Prior to joining WWE in lat ...
and
Samoa Joe Nuufolau Joel Seanoa (born March 17, 1979), is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name Samoa Joe who is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Joe is currently a double champion - in his first reign both as AEW ...
in a four-way match by pinning Homicide following a diving headbutt. Lethal defeated
Steve Corino Steven Eugene "Steve" Corino (born May 29, 1973) is a Canadian semi-retired professional wrestler currently signed with WWE as a trainer and producer for their developmental territory NXT. He is best known for his tenure with Extreme Championship ...
on June 4 at ''HomeComing'' with his father in his corner, but, after the match, Corino and
Ricky Landell Ricky Landell (born April 25, 1982) is an American former professional wrestler. He is best known for competing in various independent promotions, the most notable being Ring of Honor, Pro Wrestling ZERO1-MAX / Pro Wrestling Zero1 and AWA Supe ...
handcuffed Lethal to the top rope and attacked his father with Corino placing him in a
crossface Professional wrestling holds include a number of set moves and pins used by performers to immobilize their opponents or lead to a Submission wrestling, submission. This article covers the various pins, stretches and transition holds used in the ri ...
. This led to a six-man tag match on July 16, at ''Gored'' pitting Lethal and his father against Corino, Landell and Landell's manager, Rick Silver. Lethal and his father were outnumbered, but managed to pull off a win at the last minute after Lethal's mother introduced their partner, the returning
Charlie Haas Charles Doyle Haas II (born March 27, 1972) is an American professional and former amateur wrestler. He is best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) from 2000-2009 and Ring of Honor (ROH) from 2010-2013. In WWE he was a me ...
. After Haas attacked Lethal during the post-match celebrations, a title match was booked between Haas and Lethal for ''Haas of Pain'' held on September 10, which was won by Lethal. On October 22 at ''8th Year Anniversary Show'' Lethal ended his feud with Corino by defeating him for the title in a
Dog Collar 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 ...
with help from
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 ...
. Lethal's next feud would be with The D-Factor's
Rhino A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...
, who, on November 12, 2005, at ''Fall Out'', assaulted him following his successful title defense against
B-Boy Breakdancing, also called breaking or b-boying/b-girling, is an athletic style of street dance originating from the African American and Puerto Rican communities in the United States. While diverse in the amount of variation available in ...
. On January 7, 2006, at ''Wild Card II'', Lethal lost the JAPW Heavyweight Championship to Rhino, who won the bout after giving Lethal a Rhino Driver through a table from the top rope. Lethal tried twice to regain his title, first on February 18, 2006, in a three-way match which also included
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 ...
, and then on May 20, 2006, but was unsuccessful both times at regaining the title. After unsuccessfully going after the JAPW Light Heavyweight Championship held by
Frankie Kazarian Frank Benedict Gerdelman (born August 4, 1977) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and musician currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), performing under the ring name Frankie Kazarian. In addition, Kazarian also pe ...
, Lethal and former rival Azrieal managed to win the
JAPW Tag Team Championship The JAPW Tag Team Championship is a championship in the Jersey All Pro Wrestling promotion. It became official title on December 5, 1997 when The Blood Angels (Diablos Macabre and Lucifer Grimm) defeated Don Montoya and Homicide in a tournament fi ...
by defeating the champions The Outcast Killaz (Oman Tortuga and Diablo Santiago) and The S.A.T. (Jose and Joel Maximo) in a three-way dance on October 28, 2006, at ''9th Year Anniversary Show'', held in Rahway, New Jersey. On June 9, 2007, at ''Back to Business'',
The Latin American Xchange The Latin American Xchange (LAX) is a professional wrestling stable that has wrestled in various incarnations primarily for Total Nonstop Action / Impact Wrestling and currently in Major League Wrestling (MLW). The group achieved initial succe ...
of Homicide and Hernandez defeated Lethal and Azrieal for the titles. At the beginning of 2009 Lethal proclaimed that it was his destiny to win back the JAPW Heavyweight title, held by
Kenny Omega Tyson Smith (born October 16, 1983), better known by the ring name Kenny Omega, is a Canadian-born professional wrestler. Omega is an executive vice president of All Elite Wrestling (AEW), in which he also performs. Omega is a former one-time ...
. On February 28, 2009, in Jersey City, at ''Jersey City Rumble'' Lethal won a 21-person Jersey City Rumble to earn the right to challenge for Omega's title that same night. In the end, Lethal pinned Omega with the flipping release dragon suplex after Omega's associate Dan Maff turned on him, to win the JAPW Heavyweight Championship for the second time. During the match Maff had also attacked Lethal and that lead to a Championship match between the two on March 28, at ''Unfinished Business'', in which Lethal managed to retain his title. Lethal defeated Maff again on April 18 at ''International Invasion'', but only after
Trent Acid Michael Verdi (November 12, 1980 – June 18, 2010), best known by his ring name Trent Acid, was an American professional wrestler. He worked as a tag team wrestler for most of his career, primarily as part of The Backseat Boyz with Johnny Kashm ...
interfered in the match. Their feud ended on June 27 in Jersey City, at ''Caged Destiny'', when Maff defeated Lethal for the title inside a
steel cage Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
. Lethal has not made any appearances for JAPW since.


Ring of Honor


Hydro (2003–2004)

Shipman made his
Ring of Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011, when the promotion was so ...
(ROH) debut as Hydro, a member of Special K on ''Revenge on the Prophecy'' held in
West Mifflin, Pennsylvania West Mifflin is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, located southeast of downtown Pittsburgh. The population was 20,313 at the 2010 census. It is named after Thomas Mifflin, 1st Governor of Pennsylvania, signer of the Un ...
, on January 11, 2003. On May 22, 2004, at ''Generation Next'' he faced Alex Shelley in a singles match. Though he lost, Shelley recognized his pure wrestling talent and offered him membership in Generation Next, Shelley's stable of future stars. Hydro declined, opting to remain part of Special K. Hydro won a four corner survival match at ''World Title Classic'' on June 12, which entitled him to enter the Pure Wrestling tournament later that year. At ''Survival of the Fittest'' on June 24, he and Dixie took part in a four-way tag match for the
Tag Team Championship A championship or title in professional wrestling is a recognition promoted by professional wrestling organizations. Championship reigns are determined by professional wrestling matches, in which competitors are involved in predetermined rivalr ...
in a losing effort, as
CM Punk Phillip Jack Brooks (born October 26, 1978), better known by the ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler, sports commentator, actor, and retired mixed martial artist currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Best known for ...
single-handedly defended the title to allow his tag team partner and co-champion Colt Cabana to prepare for his match later that evening. Hydro then challenged Punk to an impromptu match, which Punk also won. Hydro shook hands before the match, thus following the " Code of Honor" (which Special K normally ignored).


Samoa Joe's protégé (2004–2005)

Hydro took part in the Pure Wrestling tournament on July 17, 2004, at ''Reborn: Completion''. At the outset of the event,
World Champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
Samoa Joe advised Hydro to change his name and become more serious. Acting on Joe's advice, Hydro left Special K and went back to calling himself Jay Lethal. He was eliminated from the tournament after Doug Williams pinned him in a four-way match using the
Chaos Theory Chaos theory is an interdisciplinary area of scientific study and branch of mathematics focused on underlying patterns and deterministic laws of dynamical systems that are highly sensitive to initial conditions, and were once thought to have co ...
. At ''Testing the Limit'' on August 7, Lethal took part in a four-way match, pitting him against Alex Shelley,
Ace Steel Christopher Guy (born January 25, 1973) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ace Steel. He is perhaps best known for his time with Ring of Honor and occasional appearances for World Wrestling Entertainment, as w ...
and
2 Cold Scorpio Charles Bernard Scaggs (born October 25, 1965) is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name 2 Cold Scorpio (sometimes spelled Too Cold Scorpio). He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling, Extrem ...
. Despite the moral support of his parents, who were in the audience, Lethal suffered a second loss to Shelley. Having rejected Shelley's offer of a place in Generation Next before the match for a second time, Lethal asked Shelley for a singles match. Lethal and Shelley faced one another for a third time on August 28 at ''Scramble Cage Melee'', with Shelley cheating to gain a third victory. Having lost every match for months, Lethal was obliged to face
Matt Stryker Brian Woermann (born July 21, 1979) is a former American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Matt Stryker. Professional wrestling career Brian Woermann attended Milford High School, where he played basketball and Diving. A ...
at ''Glory by Honor III'' on September 11 with his ROH career on the line. Lethal won, breaking his losing streak.
Low Ki Brandon Silvestry (born September 6, 1979) is an American professional wrestler of Italian and Puerto Rican descent, better known by his ring name Low Ki. He is known for his time with Impact Wrestling, Ring of Honor and Major League Wrestlin ...
, who had been feuding with Samoa Joe for several months, challenged Lethal, as Joe's protégé, at ''The Midnight Express Reunion'' on October 2. In the course of the match, Low Ki's
manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...
Julius Smokes The Rottweilers were a professional wrestling stable in Ring of Honor led by Homicide. The Rottweilers were known for their disrespect towards the Code of Honor and often used cheap tactics to win matches. History The Rottweilers started out as ...
harassed Lethal's parents (once again watching the match from the audience) and Low Ki spat at Lethal's mother. Low Ki easily defeated Lethal, then mocked him after the match. Lethal lost to Chad Collyer at ''Gold'' on October 15, but recovered with a win over
Delirious Delirious may refer to: * A state of delirium Film and television * Delirious (1991 film), ''Delirious'' (1991 film), an American comedy directed by Tom Mankiewicz, starring John Candy * Delirious (2006 film), ''Delirious'' (2006 film), an Americ ...
the next day at ''Joe vs. Punk II''. He teamed with his mentor, Samoa Joe, and lost to R. J. Brewer and
Nigel McGuinness Steven Haworth (born 23 January 1976), better known by his ring name Nigel McGuinness, is an English actor, professional wrestling commentator and retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with WWE where he worked as a color ...
at ''Weekend Of Thunder: Night One'' on November 5, before suffering another loss to The Embassy member
Jimmy Rave James Michael Guffey (December 8, 1982 – December 12, 2021), better known by the ring name Jimmy Rave, was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his time with Ring of Honor (ROH) and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). Ear ...
the subsequent evening. After his match with Rave, Lethal attacked
Prince Nana Nana Osei Bandoh is an American professional wrestler and manager of Ghanaian extraction, better known by his ring name, Prince Nana. He has stated that he is an Ashanti prince. Early life Although Nana was born in the United States, he clai ...
, the leader of The Embassy. This led to Nana recruiting several masked
mercenaries A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any o ...
(dubbed the " Weapons of Masked Destruction") in an attempt to end Lethal's career. Lethal defeated both WMDs at ''All-Star Extravaganza 2'' on December 4 and ''Final Battle 2004'' on December 26 respectively, in both cases ending the match with his signature flipping release dragon suplex. Lethal's feud with The Embassy continued into 2005, and on February 19 at the ''Third Anniversary Celebration: Part One'' he pinned Embassy member Jimmy Rave to become number one contender to the Pure Championship. Pure Champion and Embassy member R. J. Brewer, who had control over when to wrestle his title matches, chose to have the title defense immediately after Lethal's match, defeating the exhausted Lethal to retain his title following a trifecta of Lung Blowers. Lethal was scheduled to face Walters for the title in a re-match at ''Trios Tournament 2005'' on March 5 in
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, but was attacked by an unknown assailant backstage, resulting in Lethal's eye swelling shut. Despite the injury, Lethal went on to defeat Walters later that night to win the Pure Championship, his first title in ROH. On March 12 at ''Back to Basics'', Lethal and Samoa Joe teamed once again to face CM Punk and Spanky, with Lethal pinning Spanky with a bridging dragon suplex. At the ''Best of the American Super Juniors Tournament'' on April 2, Lethal and Joe faced
Jimmy Jacobs Christopher Scoville (born February 17, 1984) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Jimmy Jacobs. He was recently signed to Impact Wrestling as a member of the creative team and producer. He is best known for his 1 ...
and
B. J. Whitmer Benjamin Whitmer (born January 25, 1978), better known by the ring name B. J. Whitmer, is an American professional wrestler, producer, trainer, and color commentator. He is currently signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a producer. He is bes ...
for the vacant Tag Team Championship, but were defeated. Lethal retained his Pure Championship in a match with Spanky at ''Stalemate'' on April 16, but on May 7 at ''Manhattan Mayhem'' he lost the title to his mentor Samoa Joe. After the match, both men were ambushed after the match by
The Rottweilers The Rottweilers were a professional wrestling stable in Ring of Honor led by Homicide. The Rottweilers were known for their disrespect towards the Code of Honor and often used cheap tactics to win matches. History The Rottweilers started out as ...
, who revealed Low Ki was the one who attacked Lethal at ''Trios Tournament 2005''. This led to a tag match that same night pitting Lethal and Joe against Low Ki and fellow Rottweiler Homicide. The match ended when Homicide gave Lethal Da Cop Killa while Low Ki simultaneously delivered a '' Ghetto Stomp'', driving Lethal's neck into the ground. Lethal was
stretcher A stretcher, gurney, litter, or pram is an apparatus used for moving patients who require medical care. A basic type (cot or litter) must be carried by two or more people. A wheeled stretcher (known as a gurney, trolley, bed or cart) is often ...
ed from the arena, wearing a
neck brace A cervical collar, also known as a neck brace, is a medical device used to support and immobilize a person's neck. It is also applied by emergency personnel to those who have had traumatic head or neck injuries, and can be used to treat chronic m ...
, ostensibly seriously injured. After being out "injured" for a month, Lethal returned on June 12 at ''The Future is Now'' to save James Gibson from a beating at the hands of The Rottweilers. He returned to the ring on June 18 at ''Death Before Dishonor III'', where he faced Low Ki in a grudge match which was declared a no contest after both men were disqualified. At ''Sign of Dishonor'' on July 8, Lethal teamed with fellow former Special K member Dixie to defeat The Heartbreak Express. Later that evening,
Mick Foley Michael Francis Foley (born June 7, 1965) is an American actor, author, retired professional wrestler, and color commentator. He is currently signed to WWE under the company's Legends program, acting as a company ambassador. Foley worked for m ...
forced World Champion CM Punk, who had signed with
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 ...
(WWE) and was trying to leave ROH with the World Championship, to defend his title against Lethal. Punk retained his title with a
muscle buster Professional wrestling throws are the application of professional wrestling techniques that involve lifting the opponent up and throwing or slamming them down. They are sometimes also called "power" maneuvers, as they are meant to emphasize a wrest ...
/
rear naked choke The rear naked choke (RNC) is a chokehold in martial arts applied from an opponent's back. The word "naked" in this context suggests that, unlike other strangulation techniques found in jujutsu/judo, this hold does not require the use of a keiko ...
combination, often used by Samoa Joe, who had come ringside to cheer Lethal on. Seeking revenge for the neck injury he had in May, Lethal challenged Homicide at ''Escape from New York'' on July 9, but lost due to Homicide using a chain. On July 23 at ''The Homecoming'' he joined forces with Samoa Joe and James Gibson to face The Rottweilers (Homicide, Low Ki and
Ricky Reyes Reyes Nunez (born August 28, 1978), better known by the ring name Ricky Reyes, is a Cuban-American professional wrestler. He is known for his appearances in Ring of Honor, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, World Wrestling Council, Lucha Underground and va ...
) but again suffered a defeat, with Homicide using the chain this time on Gibson. Lethal challenged Low Ki once more on August 12 at ''Redemption'' as part of his ongoing rivalry with The Rottweilers. The match ended in a draw after the enemies fought outside the ring and were counted out. After the match, Homicide came to the ring to attack Lethal, but was stopped by his opponent for the night,
Matt Hardy Matthew Moore Hardy (born September 23, 1974) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is best known for his time with WWE. With his real life brother Jeff, Hardy gained notoriety in WWF's tag team d ...
. On August 13 at ''Punk: The Final Chapter'', Lethal and Joe defeated Low Ki and Homicide by disqualification after Homicide hit an
elbow drop 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 the referee. Afterwards the four men brawled all over the arena, with Low Ki ''Ghetto Stomping'' Lethal off the bleachers and ending with him giving Lethal the Ki Krusher in the middle of the ring. At ''Glory by Honor IV'' on September 17, Lethal lost to Low Ki in a "
Fight Without Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011, when the promotion was so ...
". He went on to defeat Low Ki later that night, however, in a standard singles match to end their feud. He defeated
Sal Rinauro Salvatore Rinauro (born September 12, 1982) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in Ring of Honor, Full Impact Pro and National Wrestling Alliance in addition to being a member of The Embassy. He currently wrestles ...
to advance to the finals of the 2005 Survival of the Fittest tournament on September 24, but was eliminated by
Roderick Strong Christopher Lindsey (born July 26, 1983), better known by his name Roderick Strong, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand, as the leader of Diamond Mine, but is currently inactive due to ...
.


Last feuds and departure (2005–2006)

After unsuccessfully challenging Nigel McGuinness for the Pure Championship on October 1, Lethal went undefeated until November 19, 2005, when he and Samoa Joe lost to Austin Aries and Roderick Strong in a number one contender's match for the Tag Team Championship. On December 3, 2005, at ''Steel Cage Warfare'', Lethal wrestled Joe in an exhibition match. During the bout, Lethal turned
heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower Human leg, leg. Structure To distribute the compressive for ...
by attacking Joe's knee with a chair and then pinned him with the flipping release dragon suplex. On January 27, 2006, Lethal teamed with
Bryan Danielson Bryan Lloyd Danielson (born May 22, 1981) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of the Blackpool Combat Club. He is also known for his time in WWE, where he worked fro ...
, losing to Austin Aries and Roderick Strong in a match for the Tag Team Championship. At the ''Fourth Anniversary Show'' on February 25, 2006, in
Edison, New Jersey Edison is a township located in Middlesex County,in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated in Central New Jersey within the core of the state's Raritan Valley region, Edison is a commercial hub, home to Menlo Park Mall and Little India. It is ...
, Lethal lost cleanly to Samoa Joe to end their short-lived feud. He departed from the promotion following this, but subsequently returned three times for one-night appearances (working all matches as a
face The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may aff ...
), losing to Pure Champion
Nigel McGuinness Steven Haworth (born 23 January 1976), better known by his ring name Nigel McGuinness, is an English actor, professional wrestling commentator and retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with WWE where he worked as a color ...
on May 13, teaming with Colt Cabana on July 15 in a losing effort against Jimmy Rave and Sal Rinauro, and losing a four way survival match against
Claudio Castagnoli Claudio Castagnoli ( ; born 27 December 1980) is a Swiss professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and is a member of the Blackpool Combat Club stable. Castagnoli also performs for AEW's sister promotion, Ring of Ho ...
,
Christopher Daniels Daniel Christopher Covell (born March 24, 1970), better known by the ring name Christopher Daniels, is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and is the Head of Talent Relations. He is best kno ...
, and the match winner, Nigel McGuinness on August 5, 2006.


Total Nonstop Action Wrestling


Pursuit of the X Division Championship (2005–2006)

While wrestling for JAPW, Lethal caught the eye of
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment. Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the promot ...
(TNA) producer and
announcer An announcer is a voice artist who relays information to the audience of a broadcast media programme or live event. Television and other media Some announcers work in television production, radio or filmmaking, usually providing narrations, ...
Jeremy Borash Jeremy Borash (born July 19, 1974), is an American professional wrestling play-by-play commentator, announcer, ring announcer, booker, interviewer, and producer who is currently signed to WWE. He is known for his work in Impact Wrestling as ...
, who offered him a spot in the TNA roster. Lethal debuted in TNA on the December 17, 2005 episode of '' Impact!'', losing to X Division Champion and fellow ROH alum Samoa Joe. In January 2006, he was signed to a contract by TNA. He made his
pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...
debut at Against All Odds in 2006 on February 12, defeating
Matt Bentley Matthew James Bentley (born December 10, 1979) is an American professional wrestler best known for his work in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) by the ring name Michael Shane, later changed to "Maverick" Matt Bentley. He was trained by his c ...
, Alex Shelley and
Petey Williams Peter Williams III (born August 26, 1981) is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE as a backstage producer. He is best known for his time in Impact Wrestling, where he is a two-time X Division Champion. He is also k ...
in a four-way match by pinning Williams. On the February 18, 2006 episode of ''Impact!'', Lethal defeated
Roderick Strong Christopher Lindsey (born July 26, 1983), better known by his name Roderick Strong, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand, as the leader of Diamond Mine, but is currently inactive due to ...
and
Shannon Moore Shannon Moore (born July 27, 1979) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his work with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) between 1999 and 2001 and with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) for several years in the 2000s. H ...
to earn a spot in
Team USA The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...
, the defending champions in the 2006 World X Cup. Other members of the team were Chris Sabin,
Sonjay Dutt Retesh Bhalla (born April 7, 1982) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a producer and manager. He is best known for his time with Total Nonstop ActionImpact Wrestling under the ring name Sonjay ...
and Alex Shelley. Team USA wrestled their first match at
Lockdown A lockdown is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks (such as COVID-19) that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely. The term is used for a prison ...
on April 23, 2006, where Lethal, Dutt and Shelley lost to
Team Japan Team Japan is a professional wrestling group that was brought together as a part of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's World X Cup Tournament. History 2004 Team Japan started as six-man team as team captain Nosawa from All Japan Pro Wrestling tea ...
(
Black Tiger A black tiger is a rare colour variant of the tiger, and is not a distinct species or geographic subspecies. Description There are reports and one painting (now lost) of pure black non-striped tigers (true melanistic tigers). Most black mammal ...
, Minoru Tanaka and
Hirooki Goto is a Japanese professional wrestler. Since his debut, he has wrestled primarily for New Japan Pro-Wrestling. He is also known for being the longest reigning NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champion with his Chaos stablemates, Tomohiro Ishii ...
) after Black Tiger pinned Lethal with a Black Tiger suplex. On the April 27, 2006 episode of ''Impact!'', Lethal unsuccessfully challenged Samoa Joe for the X Division Championship. On May 14 at
Sacrifice Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exi ...
Lethal participated in the World X Cup Gauntlet match, but ended up being the second to last man eliminated from the match by
Team Mexico Team Mexico is a professional wrestling stable that was first formed in 2004 to compete in TNA Wrestling's America's X-Cup Tournament and has since returned to compete in other TNA X Cup Tournaments. History 2004 The original team consisted of ...
's Puma. The tournament ended on the following episode of ''Impact!'' with Chris Sabin defeating Team Canada's Petey Williams to win the World X Cup for Team USA. In the June 1, 2006 episode of ''Impact!'', Lethal scored a win over Alex Shelley, but was after the match attacked by his associate
Kevin Nash Kevin Scott Nash (born July 9, 1959) is an American actor and retired professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE under a legends contract. He is best known for his tenure with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) where he performed under his r ...
, who had declared a war on the X Division in the aftermath of Team USA's World X Cup victory. During the July 13, 2006 episode, Lethal won the right to challenge for the title of his choosing by scoring the deciding fall in an eight-man "All or Nothing" tag team match, where he teamed with Rhino and
Team 3D The Dudley Boyz (also known as Team 3D) are an American professional wrestling tag team that consisted of kayfabe half-brothers Bubba Ray Dudley (Mark LoMonaco) and D-Von Dudley (Devon Hughes). The team was also joined by various Dudley family me ...
( Brother Ray and
Brother Devon Devon Hughes (born August 1, 1972) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he works backstage as a producer. Hughes wrestled for Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) from 1995 to 1999 and for the WWF/E ...
) against Team Canada (Petey Williams, Bobby Roode, Eric Young and A1). The next week, Lethal challenged
Jeff Jarrett Jeffrey Leonard Jarrett (born July 14, 1967) is an American professional wrestler and promoter. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he also serves as Director of Business Development. Beginning his career in his father J ...
for the
NWA World Heavyweight Championship The NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship is a world heavyweight professional wrestling championship owned and promoted by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), an American professional wrestling promotion. The current champion is Tyrus, who is in ...
, but was defeated following interference from
Scott Steiner Scott Rechsteiner (born July 29, 1962), better known by the ring name Scott Steiner, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). Steiner is perhaps best known for his time in World Championshi ...
. Two weeks later, Lethal took part in a five way X Division match to determine the number one contender for the title. Although Petey Williams won the match, one week later Lethal was added to the match, making it a three-way match for the X Division title at
Hard Justice Hardcore Justice, originally known as Hard Justice, is an annual professional wrestling 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 use ...
involving Lethal, Williams and defending champion Senshi. Lethal was pinned by Senshi after Williams hit him with his Canadian Destroyer. In a strong
product placement Product placement, also known as embedded marketing, is a marketing technique where references to specific brands or products are incorporated into another work, such as a film or television program, with specific promotional intent. Much of th ...
, Lethal alongside Sonjay Dutt, got fellow X Division superstar Chris Sabin ready for his match at
No Surrender No Surrender may refer to: Politics * "No Surrender!", a British Unionist slogan originating from Siege of Derry now used in Northern Ireland, Scotland, and England *No Surrender (to the IRA), a political chant since used by England football fans ...
by watching clips of ''
Jackass Number Two ''Jackass Number Two'' is a 2006 American reality slapstick comedy film directed by Jeff Tremaine. It is the sequel to '' Jackass: The Movie'' (2002), both based upon the MTV series '' Jackass''. Like its predecessor and the original television ...
'', which was being heavily promoted by TNA at the time. One night on ''Impact!'', during Chris Sabin's match with Alex Shelley, Shelley's partner
Johnny Devine John Parsonage (born April 27, 1974) is a Canadian semi-retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name "Hot Shot" Johnny Devine. He is best known for his time in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. Professional wrestling career Early y ...
was pushed in a shopping cart and rammed into the steel post, allowing Sabin to pin Shelley. The following week, Lethal was able to defeat Petey Williams after Sabin and Dutt distracted the referee, allowing Lethal to roll a bowling ball into Petey's groin. Following in this storyline, Lethal went on to defeat Williams again on September 24, 2006, at the No Surrender pay-per-view, following Williams allegedly being given
laxative Laxatives, purgatives, or aperients are substances that loosen stools and increase bowel movements. They are used to treat and prevent constipation. Laxatives vary as to how they work and the side effects they may have. Certain stimulant, lubri ...
s by stable mate Dutt, rendering him incapable of doing most of his moves, and giving Lethal the victory when Williams could no longer "hold it". He and Dutt were also involved in Sabin's match later in the night with similar antics involving a blow-up doll, but to no avail as Sabin would lose the match despite the interference. These, too, were designed as advertising for ''Jackass Number Two'', as were other moments for '' Mortal Kombat: Armageddon''.


Black Machismo (2006–2008)

In December 2006, Kevin Nash recruited Lethal, Senshi, Austin Starr, Sonjay Dutt and Alex Shelley to compete in a tournament known as the Paparazzi Championship Series. The series included a push-up contest, musical chairs, Limbo contest, Texas Hold'em and a few others, although Lethal did not win the tournament. After the tournament, which concluded in January 2007, Lethal and Dutt continued appearing in Paparazzi segments with Nash and PCS winner Alex Shelley, with Nash promising to give Lethal and Dutt Extreme Makeovers to help advance their careers. The February 15 episode of ''Impact!'' included a segment named "Paparazzi Idol", a parody of ''
American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...
''. After Lethal's attempt to sing was disliked by the judges, judge Kevin Nash suggested that Lethal do an impression, to which Lethal responded with a spot-on impression of wrestling legend "Macho Man" Randy Savage. The April 5, 2007 episode of ''Impact!'' presented Lethal and Dutt with their new
gimmicks 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 ...
; Lethal's new gimmick was impersonating Savage. The following week, Nash introduced Lethal, who was led to the ring by a remixed version of Savage's entrance theme "
Pomp and Circumstance The ''Pomp and Circumstance Marches'' (full title ''Pomp and Circumstance Military Marches''), Op. 39, are a series of five (or six) marches for orchestra composed by Sir Edward Elgar. The first four were published between 1901 and 1907 ...
" and dressed in full "Macho Man" attire, as "Black Machismo" Jay Lethal. He imitated Savage's trademark catchphrase "Oh yeah!" and was able to defeat X Division Champion Chris Sabin using many of Savage's signature in-ring maneuvers and mannerisms, most notably his
diving elbow drop Aerial techniques, also known as "high-flying moves" are maneuvers in professional wrestling using the ring's posts and ropes as aids, in many cases to demonstrate the speed and agility of smaller, nimble and acrobatically inclined wrestlers prefer ...
finisher. At the
Lockdown A lockdown is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks (such as COVID-19) that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely. The term is used for a prison ...
pay-per-view on April 15, 2007, Lethal nearly won the X Division title from Sabin in a five-person Xscape match (five start the match in the cage; the first three eliminations are done by pinfall or submission; the final two must then try to escape the cage, with the first one to exit being declared the winner). Lethal and Sabin were both climbing over the same side of the cage, fighting as they went, and Sabin kicked Lethal's leg so that his leg went through the bars of the cage, trapping him there while Sabin jumped down and won the match. On the April 26 episode of ''Impact!'' Lethal and
tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...
partner, Sonjay Dutt, who had rejected Nash's idea for his new gimmick, won a shot at the X Division Championship held by Chris Sabin at
Sacrifice Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exi ...
. Dutt, however, was unhappy at Lethal getting the pinfall. After their loss to Sabin at Sacrifice, both Dutt and Lethal started brawling until Kevin Nash came out and separated the two until Dutt kicked Nash and stormed out of the ring visibly upset. On May 8, TNA Mobile announced that Randy Savage himself called Jay Lethal and said that he loved the "Black Machismo" character as the two spoke on the phone for several minutes. However, Lethal subsequently expressed doubt over whether he had really spoken with Savage as the Macho Man's trademark voice is easily imitated. At
Slammiversary Slammiversary is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the American promotion Impact Wrestling. It is one of Impact's “Big Four” PPV events (along with Hard to Kill, Rebellion, and Bound for Glory), and celebrates ...
, Lethal defeated Chris Sabin in a singles match for the X Division Championship, his first title in TNA. Only days later, however, on the following ''Impact!'', he lost the title to Samoa Joe after Chris Sabin was pinned, in a Match of Champions three-way qualifying match. At Victory Road Lethal competed in an
Ultimate X The Ultimate X match is a type of professional wrestling match created by Impact Wrestling (formerly Total Nonstop Action Wrestling aka TNA), mainly used in their X Division. It is considered the signature match of the X Division. Match format ...
gauntlet match in a losing effort after Christopher Daniels retrieved the X. At
Hard Justice Hardcore Justice, originally known as Hard Justice, is an annual professional wrestling 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 use ...
Lethal and Sonjay Dutt, who had made peace with Lethal after coming up with the gimmick of a guru, defeated Triple X's Christopher Daniels and Senshi and The Motor City Machineguns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin) in a three-way tag match when Lethal pinned Daniels. This led to
Jim Cornette James Mark "Jim" Cornette (born September 17, 1961) is an American author and podcaster who has previously worked in the professional wrestling industry as an agent, booker, color commentator, manager, promoter, trainer, and occasional prof ...
booking a match on the August 16 episode of ''Impact!'' pitting Daniels versus Lethal with the winner becoming the number one contender to the X Division title, which Lethal would go on to win. As a result of that Lethal would go on to face
Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Trip ...
champion
Kurt Angle Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9, 1968) is an American retired professional wrestler, Wrestling at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's freestyle 100 kg, Olympic gold medalist in American freestyle wrestling, and former Collegiate wrestling, ...
for the X Division title at
No Surrender No Surrender may refer to: Politics * "No Surrender!", a British Unionist slogan originating from Siege of Derry now used in Northern Ireland, Scotland, and England *No Surrender (to the IRA), a political chant since used by England football fans ...
, where Lethal would beat Angle cleanly with a roll-up to win the X Division Championship for the second time. At
Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
Lethal successfully defended his X Division Championship against his best friend, Sonjay Dutt, who during the match once again began showing signs of annoyance towards Lethal and his mannerisms. However, after the match Dutt made peace with Lethal, who then invited SoCal Val, TNA's ring girl, to the ring to celebrate the victory. The celebration was cut short by Team 3D (Brother Ray and Brother Devon), who were at the time feuding with the fan favorite- turned Motor City Machineguns, who beat down both Lethal and Dutt and left the arena with Lethal's Championship belt. 3D later declared a war on the entire X Division, claiming that its wrestlers were just "little boys" and that they needed to be toughened up. During the feud Johnny Devine turned on the X Division and joined Team 3D, often carrying Lethal's stolen belt around, before officially winning it in a Street Fight on the January 24, 2008, episode of ''Impact!'', following interference from Team 3D. The feud ended on February 10 at Against All Odds, where Lethal, Shelley and Sabin defeated Team 3D and Devine in a six-man street fight, ending with Lethal pinning Devine to also win back the X Division Championship. On April 17, 2008, Lethal lost his X Division title after Petey Williams attacked him from behind after a match and cashed in his "Feast or Fired" briefcase for his X Division title shot. On the next episode of ''Impact!'', Lethal proposed to his
on-screen An on-screen display (OSD) is an image superimposed on a screen picture, commonly used by modern television sets, video cassette recorder, VCRs, and DVD players to display information such as volume, channel, and time. History In the past, mos ...
girlfriend SoCal Val, which she accepted. At
Slammiversary Slammiversary is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the American promotion Impact Wrestling. It is one of Impact's “Big Four” PPV events (along with Hard to Kill, Rebellion, and Bound for Glory), and celebrates ...
Sonjay Dutt, after months of teasing, finally turned heel by interrupting the wedding ceremony and proclaiming his love for Val, before attacking Lethal and his wedding guests. On the next two ''Impact!'' Lethal attacked Dutt out of rage when Dutt claimed that Val loved him. On the next ''Impact!'' So Cal Val said that she wanted to put off the wedding. Dutt and Lethal met at Victory Road in a one on one contest, which Dutt won after Val pleaded with Lethal to stop hurting Dutt, which allowed Dutt to take advantage and roll up Lethal. Lethal proposed to Val again, but found that her ring was missing, as Dutt had stolen it. Lethal and Dutt would meet again in a
Black Tie Black tie is a semi-formal Western dress code for evening events, originating in British and American conventions for attire in the 19th century. In British English, the dress code is often referred to synecdochically by its principal element fo ...
Brawl and Chain match at
Hard Justice Hardcore Justice, originally known as Hard Justice, is an annual professional wrestling 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 use ...
, which Lethal won, even though Val distracted him by leaving during the match, because he wouldn't stop hurting Dutt. During a segment of ''Karen's Angle'', Dutt confronted Val and attempted to seduce her, until Lethal attacked him and during the fight accidentally elbowed Val in the face. The following week Val announced that she would put the wedding ring up for grabs in a " Ladder of Love match" on September 14 at
No Surrender No Surrender may refer to: Politics * "No Surrender!", a British Unionist slogan originating from Siege of Derry now used in Northern Ireland, Scotland, and England *No Surrender (to the IRA), a political chant since used by England football fans ...
. At No Surrender Val turned on Lethal by giving him a low blow, which allowed Dutt to climb the ladder and get the wedding ring.


Lethal Consequences (2008–2009)

At
Bound for Glory IV Bound for Glory IV was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) promotion that took place on October 12, 2008 at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. It was the fourth ...
Lethal won the Steel Asylum match to become the number 1 contender to the X Division title. On the October 23 live episode of ''Impact!'' Sheik Abdul Bashir defeated Lethal to retain the championship. The following week, Lethal along with
A.J. Styles Allen Neal Jones (born June 2, 1977), better known by his ring name AJ Styles (also stylized as A.J. Styles), is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. Regarded as one of the best ...
, Samoa Joe,
Consequences Creed Austin Watson (born September 4, 1986) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Xavier Woods. He appeared on WWE's NXT brand as one-half of the current NXT Tag ...
, Petey Williams, Eric Young, O.D.B. and The Motor City Machineguns formed a faction of younger wrestlers known as the
TNA Frontline The TNA Front Line (also spelled Frontline and commonly referred to as the Front Line) was a heroic alliance in the professional wrestling promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). They were also known as The TNA Originals. They feuded wit ...
to oppose
The Main Event Mafia The Main Event Mafia (MEM) was an American professional wrestling stable in the American promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). Beginning in 2008, the group included former WWF/E wrestler Kurt Angle as leader, four of the former World C ...
. On the January 8, 2009 episode of ''Impact!'', Lethal cashed in his briefcase, formed a team with Consequences Creed and defeated then-champions
Beer Money, Inc. Beer Money, Inc. was a professional wrestling tag team which consisted of Robert "Bobby" Roode and James Storm in the professional wrestling promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where they are record-tying five-time TNA World Tag Te ...
(
Robert Roode Robert Francis Roode Jr. (born May 11, 1976) is a Canadian professional wrestler signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. He is currently inactive due to undergoing neck surgery. Roode is known for his 12-year tenure for Total Nonst ...
and
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 ...
) after Roode's singles match with
Matt Morgan Matthew Thomas Morgan (born September 10, 1976) is an American politician, actor and retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is a current City Commissioner in Longwood, Florida. He is known for his time in Total Nonstop Actio ...
to become the new TNA World Tag Team Champions. However, they quickly lost the titles back to Beer Money, Inc. at the
Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
pay-per-view on January 11. On January 15, Lethal and Creed defeated
Abyss Abyss may refer to: * Abyss (religion), a bottomless pit, or a passage to the underworld Film and television * ''The Abyss'' (1910 film), a Danish silent film starring Asta Nielsen * ''The Abyss'' (1988 film) (''L'Œuvre au noir''), a French- ...
and Matt Morgan to earn another shot at the Tag Team Championship. Upon becoming the number one contenders, Lethal and Creed formed a long-term tag team known as
Lethal Consequences Lethal Consequences was a professional wrestling tag team in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). The team consisted of Jay Lethal and Consequences Creed. The team name was a portmanteau of the ring names of Lethal and Creed. History Total Nons ...
(a combination of their ring names) and then started a feud with The Motor City Machineguns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin) after dissention between the Guns and the Frontline. They were scheduled a match with the Guns on February 5, but Beer Money interfered in Creed's entrance, injuring his left shoulder. Frontline member Eric Young substituted for Creed, winning the match with a
Death Valley driver Professional wrestling throws are the application of professional wrestling techniques that involve lifting the opponent up and throwing or slamming them down. They are sometimes also called "power" maneuvers, as they are meant to emphasize a wrest ...
to both Shelley and Sabin. Beer Money then went on to retain the title at Against All Odds due to Creed's shoulder injury. After their title match, Lethal Consequences continued their feud with the Motor City Machineguns, with both teams winning one match a piece over the next two weeks. At
Destination X Destination X is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event held by Impact Wrestling currently in the month of August. The event primarily revolves around the X-Division, the 2005, 2006, 2009, and 2010 events had Ultimate X matches. It w ...
, Lethal competed in an Ultimate X match for the X Division Championship, along with Consequences Creed, Chris Sabin, Alex Shelley and
Suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...
, who ended up winning the match and the Championship. On April 24, 2009, it was announced on TNAWrestling.com that Lethal had signed a new multi-year deal with the company. On the November 5, 2009, episode of ''Impact!'' Jay Lethal announced an open invitational challenge. Due to the announcement of
Hulk Hogan Terry Eugene Bollea (; born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is widely regarded as the most recognized wrestling star worldwide and the most popular wrestler of the 19 ...
joining TNA, Lethal challenged wrestling legends to take him on. The following week,
Jim Neidhart James Henry Neidhart (February 8, 1955 – August 13, 2018) was an American professional wrestler known for his appearances in the 1980s and 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation as Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart, where he was a two-time WWF Tag T ...
answered the challenge and defeated Lethal. The series continued on the December 17 episode of ''Impact!'', when Tatanka answered the challenge and defeated Lethal in a singles match. After months of inactivity, Lethal's alliance with Consequences Creed came officially to an end on March 29, 2010, when Creed was released from his contract.


Feud with Ric Flair and Fortune (2010–2011)

After spending most of early 2010 off TV, Lethal returned on the March 29 episode of ''Impact!'' by approaching Hulk Hogan, reminiscing about their days as "
The Mega Powers The Mega Powers was a tag team in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) from 1987 to 1989, consisting of Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage, and managed by Savage's wife, Miss Elizabeth. Lust and jealousy surrounding her led to the team's demise and subs ...
" (Hogan's old team with Randy Savage). Playing along with Lethal's antics, Hogan placed him in charge of the show for his one-week absence due to a business trip. After raising the ire of Hogan's business partner
Eric Bischoff Eric Aaron Bischoff (born May 27, 1955) is an American television producer, professional wrestling booker, and performer. He is best known for serving as Executive Producer and later Senior Vice President of World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and ...
with his comedic booking ideas, Bischoff placed Lethal in a two-on-one handicap match against Beer Money, Inc.; Lethal, however, managed to win the match after surprising Robert Roode with a roll-up. On the May 3 episode of ''Impact!'', Hogan gave Lethal
Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American professional wrestler. Regarded by multiple peers and journalists as the greatest professional wrestler of all time, Flair has had a career spanni ...
's Hall of Fame ring that Abyss had won from him the previous week. When Lethal, now imitating Flair, was confronted by Flair himself, he claimed that he meant no disrespect and out of respect towards Flair, returned the ring to him. This, however, wasn't enough for Flair, who attacked Lethal along with A.J. Styles,
Desmond Wolfe Steven Haworth (born 23 January 1976), better known by his ring name Nigel McGuinness, is an English actor, professional wrestling commentator and retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with WWE where he worked as a color ...
and Beer Money, Inc., before he was saved by Abyss, Team 3D and the
TNA World Heavyweight Champion The Impact World Championship is a professional wrestling world championship created and promoted by Impact Wrestling. It is the promotion's principal championship. Like most professional wrestling championships, the title is won via the result o ...
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 ...
. At
Sacrifice Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exi ...
, Lethal came out during the TNA World Heavyweight Championship match between champion Rob Van Dam and challenger A.J. Styles, and locked Ric Flair in a
Figure-four leglock Professional wrestling holds include a number of set moves and pins used by performers to immobilize their opponents or lead to a submission. This article covers the various pins, stretches and transition holds used in the ring. Some wrestlers use ...
in order to prevent him from interfering in the match. On the May 20 episode of ''Impact!'', Lethal competed in his first match after dropping the Black Machismo gimmick, and teamed up with Rob Van Dam to defeat Beer Money, Inc. in a tag team match. After the match, Lethal brawled with Flair. At
Slammiversary VIII Slammiversary VIII was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), which took place on June 13, 2010 at the TNA Impact! Zone in Orlando, Florida. It was the sixth event under the Slammiversary ch ...
, Lethal defeated Flair's protégé A.J. Styles in a singles match. After defeating Desmond Wolfe, another one of Flair's allies, on the June 17 episode of ''Impact!'', Hogan granted him a match with Flair at Victory Road. On July 11 at Victory Road, Lethal defeated Flair with his own move, the figure-four leglock. On the August 5 episode of ''Impact!'', Lethal faced Flair in a rematch, this time contested under Street Fight rules, with A.J. Styles, Kazarian, Robert Roode and James Storm of Flair's
Fortune Fortune may refer to: General * Fortuna or Fortune, the Roman goddess of luck * Luck * Wealth * Fortune, a prediction made in fortune-telling * Fortune, in a fortune cookie Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Fortune'' (1931 film) ...
stable banned from ringside. Flair managed to win the match, after an interference from X Division Champion Douglas Williams, who would officially join Fortune the following week. On September 6, at the tapings of the September 16 episode of ''Impact!'', Lethal defeated Williams to win the X Division Championship for the fourth time. On September 23, at a
live event A house show or live event is a professional wrestling event produced by a major promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in on the exposure that they and their wrestlers receive du ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, Lethal lost the X Division Championship to
Amazing Red Jonathan Figueroa (born April 26, 1982), better known by his ring name Amazing Red, is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler and promoter. He is best known for working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he is a former three-time ...
. Lethal regained the title two days later at a live event in Rahway, New Jersey. At Bound for Glory, Lethal successfully defended the X Division Championship against Douglas Williams. After his title match at Bound for Glory, Lethal was attacked by
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 A ...
, who claimed he was a disgrace to New Jersey and vowed to bring some class to the X Division Championship himself. On the October 28 episode of ''Impact!'', Robbie E defeated Lethal in a non–title Street Fight, after interference from his manager
Cookie A cookie is a baked or cooked snack or dessert that is typically small, flat and sweet. It usually contains flour, sugar, egg, and some type of oil, fat, or butter. It may include other ingredients such as raisins, oats, chocolate chips, n ...
, to earn the right to challenge for the X Division Championship. At
Turning Point A turning point, or climax, is the point of highest tension in a narrative work. Turning Point or Turning Points may refer to: Film * ''The Turning Point'', a 1914 silent film starring Caroline Cooke * ''The Turning Point'' (1920 film), an Ame ...
, Lethal lost the X Division Championship to Robbie E, after another interference from Cookie. After suffering another loss to Robbie and Cookie on the following episode of ''Impact!'' in a mixed tag team match, where he teamed with
Taylor Wilde Shantelle Larissa Malawski (born January 26, 1986) is a Canadian professional wrestler. She is signed with Impact Wrestling, where she performs under the ring name Taylor Wilde. Malawski was under a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) contract ...
, Lethal came to the conclusion that he needed to find someone who could negate Cookie the next time he went for the X Division Championship. At
Final Resolution Final Resolution is a professional wrestling Impact Plus event held by Impact Wrestling in December. Initially introduced as a pay-per-view by TNA in 2005, the event originally took place in January until 2008, when TNA moved the event to Decem ...
, Lethal faced Robbie E in a match for the X Division Championship, during which Cookie was suspended above the ring in a shark cage. Robbie retained the title via disqualification, when Lethal was caught using Cookie's hairspray on him. On December 7 at the tapings of the December 16 episode of ''Impact!'', Lethal defeated Robbie E, after
Christy Hemme Christina Lee Hemme ( ; born October 28, 1980) is an American former professional wrestler, singer and model. She is best known for her time in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (now known as Impact Wrestling) as a ring announcer and one of the o ...
came out to negate Cookie, to win the X Division Championship for the sixth time, and after the match celebrated with Hemme which led to a kiss between the two; Lethal now shared the record for most reigns as the X Division Champion. On January 9, 2011 at
Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
, Lethal lost the X Division Championship to Fortune member Kazarian. On April 21, 2011, it was reported that Lethal had parted ways with TNA. His final match for the promotion was an eight-man Xscape match, which took place on April 17 at
Lockdown A lockdown is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks (such as COVID-19) that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely. The term is used for a prison ...
. His last televised match was aired on the April 19 episode of '' Xplosion'', in a three-way match with Sangriento and Chris Sabin. Lethal's release from TNA was later used to ignite a storyline feud between the X Division and Eric Bischoff, as well as add fuel to the ongoing feud between the now-face Fortune and Bischoff's
Immortal Immortality is the ability to live forever, or eternal life. Immortal or Immortality may also refer to: Film * ''The Immortals'' (1995 film), an American crime film * ''Immortality'', an alternate title for the 1998 British film '' The Wisdom of ...
stable, with both Robert Roode and Brian Kendrick naming him on the May 5 episode of ''Impact!''.


Return to Ring of Honor


Various feuds (2011–2014)

On May 2, 2011, ROH announced that Lethal would be making his return to the promotion on June 26 at the Best in the World 2011 internet pay-per-view. In his ROH return match Lethal, as a face defeated Mike Bennett. On August 8, ROH announced that Lethal had signed a contract with the promotion. On August 13, at the first ''
Ring of Honor Wrestling ''Ring of Honor Wrestling'', often shortened as ''ROH Wrestling TV'' or ''ROH TV'', is an American professional wrestling television series produced by Ring of Honor (ROH). The series featured professional wrestlers competing in matches and condu ...
'' tapings under the
Sinclair Broadcast Group Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (SBG) is a publicly traded American telecommunications conglomerate that is controlled by the descendants of company founder Julian Sinclair Smith. Headquartered in the Baltimore suburb of Cockeysville, Maryland, t ...
banner, Lethal defeated
El Generico Rami Sebei ( ar, رامي سبعي; born July 12, 1984) is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Sami Zayn, and is a member of The Bloodline. Prior to joi ...
to win the
ROH World Television Championship The ROH World Television Championship is a professional wrestling world television championship in the Ring of Honor (ROH) promotion. With the introduction of the ROH World Television Championship, the television type championship returned to n ...
. On September 17 at
Death Before Dishonor IX Death Before Dishonor IX (DBD IX) was the 9th ROH Death Before Dishonor professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by Ring of Honor (ROH). It took place on September 17, 2011, at the Grand Ballroom of the Manhattan Center in the New ...
, Lethal teamed up with fellow TNA alum Homicide in a tag team match, where they were defeated by Embassy's Rhino and
Tommaso Ciampa Tommaso Whitney (born May 8, 1985) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Tommaso Ciampa. Whitney began his career in 2005, working on several independent ...
. On December 3, Lethal defeated nineteen other men in the Honor Rumble to earn a shot at the ROH World Championship in 2012. On December 23 at
Final Battle 2011 Final Battle 2011 was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by Ring of Honor (ROH). It took place on December 23, 2011 at the Manhattan Center in New York City. It was the tenth annual event in the Final Battle chronology, w ...
, Lethal successfully defended the ROH World Television Championship in a three-way match against El Generico and Mike Bennett. At the January 7, 2012, tapings of ''Ring of Honor Wrestling'', Lethal successfully defended the title against Bennett in a No Time Limit match. On January 20, Lethal unsuccessfully challenged Davey Richards for the ROH World Championship. On March 4 at the 10th Anniversary Show, Lethal's ROH World Television Championship match with Tommaso Ciampa ended in a fifteen-minute time limit draw. On March 31 at
Showdown in the Sun Showdown in the Sun was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by Ring of Honor (ROH) that took place over two consecutive days: Friday, March 30 and Saturday, March 31, 2012 at the War Memorial Auditorium in Fort Lauderdal ...
, Lethal lost the World Television Championship to Roderick Strong, following outside interference from Ciampa. At the following pay-per-view, Border Wars on May 12, Lethal defeated Ciampa in a singles match to end his undefeated streak. On June 24 at Best in the World 2012: Hostage Crisis, Lethal failed in his attempt to regain the World Television Championship from Strong in a three-way elimination match, also involving Ciampa. The feud between Lethal and Ciampa culminated on August 11 at
Boiling Point The boiling point of a substance is the temperature at which the vapor pressure of a liquid equals the pressure surrounding the liquid and the liquid changes into a vapor. The boiling point of a liquid varies depending upon the surrounding envir ...
, where Lethal defeated Ciampa in a
two-out-of-three-falls 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 September 22, Lethal won the 2012 Survival of the Fittest tournament to earn another shot at the ROH World Championship. Lethal received his title shot on October 6 in Rahway, New Jersey, but the match with Kevin Steen ended in a no contest. Following the match, ROH shot an
angle In Euclidean geometry, an angle is the figure formed by two Ray (geometry), rays, called the ''Side (plane geometry), sides'' of the angle, sharing a common endpoint, called the ''vertex (geometry), vertex'' of the angle. Angles formed by two ...
, where Steen spat at Lethal's parents at ringside, which led to Lethal snapping and attacking several ROH officials, including Jim Cornette. Having found his "killer instinct", Lethal appeared at the following internet pay-per-view, Glory By Honor XI: The Unbreakable Hope on October 13, earning a submission win over Davey Richards. After defeating Rhino on December 16 at Final Battle 2012: Doomsday, Lethal petitioned for a shot at the ROH World Championship, which was turned down by matchmaker Nigel McGuinness, leading to Lethal spitting in his face and the two brawling with each other. At the January 5, 2013, tapings of ''Ring of Honor Wrestling'', Lethal managed to coax Steen into accepting a title match with him, which led to McGuinness agreed to change his mind and make the match official. Lethal received his title shot on March 2 at the 11th Anniversary Show, but was defeated by Steen. On April 5 at
Supercard of Honor VII Supercard of Honor VII was the 7th Supercard of Honor professional wrestling internet pay-per-view (iPPV) event produced by Ring of Honor (ROH). It took place on April 5, 2013 at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York, New York. Storylines S ...
, Lethal failed to earn another shot at the ROH World Championship, when he was defeated by
Michael Elgin Aaron Frobel (born December 13, 1986) is a Canadian professional wrestler and promoter, better known by his ring name Michael Elgin. He most recently worked for Pro Wrestling Noah, where he was a one-time GHC Tag Team Champion with Masa Kitamiya ...
in a number one contender's match. After the ROH World Championship was vacated, Lethal entered a tournament to determine the new champion, defeating Sonjay Dutt in his first round match on July 27. On August 3, Lethal was eliminated from the tournament in the second round by
Adam Cole Austin Kirk Jenkins (born July 5, 1989) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Adam Cole. He is also known for his tenures with WWE and Ring of Honor (ROH). Col ...
.


Championship reigns (2014–present)

On April 4, 2014, at Supercard of Honor VIII, Lethal turned heel for the first time in nearly a decade by accepting help from
Truth Martini Martin Krcaj (born May 8, 1975) is an American retired professional wrestler, manager, and trainer better known by the ring name Truth Martini. He is perhaps best known as the manager of The House of Truth stable in Ring of Honor. Career Early ...
, to defeat Tommaso Ciampa to regain the World Television Championship, becoming the first two-time holder of the title. After the match, Lethal declared that there was a house in ROH, " The House of Truth", marking the return of the stable with Lethal as the figurehead. Over the next year, Lethal would become recognized as the longest reigning World Television Champion in ROH history, with successful championship defenses against the likes of
Matt Taven Matthew Marinelli (born March 20, 1985), known by his ring name, Matt Taven, is an American professional wrestler and wrestling trainer, who currently wrestles for All Elite Wrestling. He is best known for his work with Ring of Honor (ROH), ...
,
Caprice Coleman Caprice Coleman (born March 20, 1977) is an American professional wrestler who competes or has competed in Mid-Atlantic and Southern independent promotions including Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, NWA Wildside, Ring of Honor and, in recent year ...
,
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 ...
,
Matt Sydal Matthew Joseph Korklan (born March 19, 1983), better known by the ring name Matt Sydal, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Prior to signing with AEW, Sydal wrestled in WWE as Evan Bourne, and was ...
on the last PPV of the year;
Final Battle 2014 Final Battle 2014 was the 13th Final Battle professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Ring of Honor (ROH). It took place on December 7, 2014 at the Terminal 5 in New York City, New York. Storylines Final Battle 2014 featured eight ...
and again at the
ROH 13th Anniversary Show 13th Anniversary Show was the 13th ROH Anniversary Show professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Ring of Honor (ROH), which took place on March 1, 2015 at The Orleans, a hotel and casino in the Las Vegas-area community of Paradise, Ne ...
against
Alberto el Patrón José Alberto Rodríguez Chucuan (born 25 May 1977) is a Mexican-American professional wrestler, professional wrestling promoter, sports commentator, and mixed martial artist, currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) as a c ...
. In March 2015, Lethal became the most successful World Television Champion of all time, with the most successful defenses as champion, more than doubling the previous record held by Matt Taven. On April 4, Lethal reached a full year in his title reign, effectively making him the holder of all records associated with the World Television Championship. In April 2015, Lethal began professing himself as "the" ROH Champion, claiming his World Television championship was now the true top title that mattered in ROH (over the World Championship). In May 2015, Lethal debuted a new World Television Championship belt, which omitted the word "Television" and now read simply "ROH Champion". As a result, matchmaker Nigel McGuinness announced that at
Best in the World 2015 Best in the World '15 was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Ring of Honor (ROH) that took place at Terminal 5 in New York City, New York on June 19, 2015. It was the sixth annual ROH Best in the World event, the first ...
, Lethal would face
Jay Briscoe Jamin "Jay" Pugh (born January 25, 1984) is an American professional wrestler best known by his ring name Jay Briscoe. He is currently signed with Ring of Honor, where he is the current one-half of ROH World Tag Team Champions with Mark Briscoe ...
in a winner-takes-all "Battle of the Belts" match with both ROH's World Championship and World Television Championships on the line. Lethal defeated Briscoe after hitting Briscoe with his own '' Jay Driller'' and then a ''Lethal Injection'' to retain his title and win the World Championship, thus making him a double champion in the process, as well as becoming the first African-American to win the championship. The win also made him Ring of Honor's third Triple Crown Champion, as he is also a former ROH Pure Champion. On August 22, Lethal teamed with the "King of Strong Style"
Shinsuke Nakamura is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown WWE brand extension, brand. Nakamura is known for his time in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where ...
to defeat reDRagon at
Ring of Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011, when the promotion was so ...
's Field of Honor event. On October 23 at
Glory By Honor XIV Glory By Honor XIV was a two night, two city professional wrestling event produced by the U.S.-based wrestling promotion Ring of Honor, and the 14th Glory By Honor. The first night of the event took place on October 23, 2015 at the Wing's Event Ce ...
, Lethal lost the Television Championship to Roderick Strong, ending his reign at 567 days, and 36 successful championship defenses. As part 2015's "supershow" series with
Preston City Wrestling Pro Championship Wrestling (PCW UK) is a British owned independent professional wrestling promotion established as Preston City Wrestling in 2011. It was re-branded as Pro Championship Wrestling in 2020, and is still stylised as PCW. PCW runs t ...
, Lethal retained the ROH World Championship in three individual defenses over
Noam Dar Noam Dar (; born 28 July 1993) is an Israeli-Scottish professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, and is a record setting two-time NXT UK Heritage Cup Champion. He also wrestles for Scottish promotion Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW ...
, Doug Williams and Joey Hayes. Through ROH's working relationship with
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), Lethal made his debut for the Japanese promotion on January 4, 2016, at
Wrestle Kingdom 10 in Tokyo Dome Wrestle Kingdom 10 in Tokyo Dome was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on January 4, 2016, in Tokyo, Japan, at the Tokyo Dome. It was the 25th January 4 Tokyo Dome S ...
, where he successfully defended the ROH World Championship against Michael Elgin. Lethal returned to the UK again to defend the ROH World Championship, this time defeating
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 Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, as well as his appearances in Progress Wrestling, Revolution ...
at a sold-out show in York Hall, London for
Revolution Pro Wrestling Revolution Pro Wrestling (RevPro/RPW) is a British professional wrestling promotion founded on 26 August 2012 by Andy Quildan after separating from International Pro Wrestling: United Kingdom. Revolution Pro Wrestling currently has partnershi ...
. On February 20, Lethal main evented the second night of the ROH and NJPW co-produced Honor Rising: Japan 2016 event in
Tokyo, Japan Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...
, successfully defending the ROH World Championship against
Tomoaki Honma is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). In NJPW, he is a former one-time IWGP Tag Team Champion and a two-time World Tag League winner with Togi Makabe. Professional wrestling career Big Jap ...
. Afterwards, Lethal and Truth Martini joined
Tetsuya Naito is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is the leader of the ''Los Ingobernables de Japón'' faction. Tetsuya Naito began training for a professional wrestling career in 2000, initially under Anima ...
's ''
Los Ingobernables de Japón (Spanish for "The Ungovernables of Japan" and often spelled without the accent as ''Los Ingobernables de Japon'' in English-speaking countries), also shortened to ''L.I.J.'', is a Japanese professional wrestling stable, based in the New Japan ...
'' stable. Lethal and Naito knew each other from working together in TNA. On March 26 of ROH tapings, Lethal successfully defended his title against
Hirooki Goto is a Japanese professional wrestler. Since his debut, he has wrestled primarily for New Japan Pro-Wrestling. He is also known for being the longest reigning NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champion with his Chaos stablemates, Tomohiro Ishii ...
. Afterwards, a rare double-turn took place when
Donovan Dijak Christopher James Dijak (born April 23, 1987) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Dijak. Dijak began his professional wrestling career in 2013 under the ring nam ...
came out with
Prince Nana Nana Osei Bandoh is an American professional wrestler and manager of Ghanaian extraction, better known by his ring name, Prince Nana. He has stated that he is an Ashanti prince. Early life Although Nana was born in the United States, he clai ...
and attacked Truth Martini. Lethal would then begin a feud with a returning Colt Cabana, who had set his sights on the ROH World Championship. At Global Wars, Lethal and Cabana fought to a no-contest after
The Bullet Club (stylised as BULLET CLUB), sometimes shortened to BC, is a professional wrestling Glossary of professional wrestling terms#stable, stable primarily appearing in the Japanese Professional wrestling promotion, promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJ ...
interfered and attacked everyone in the ringside area, including Lethal. During the attack, Lethal was zip tied to the ring ropes and repeatedly superkicked by new Bullet Club member Adam Cole. At Best in the World '16 on July 24, Lethal successfully defended his title after defeating Jay Briscoe. The two shook hands afterwards. The following day, Lethal was again attacked by Cole and Bullet Club, who shaved him bald. The following month, Lethal returned to NJPW, successfully defending the ROH World Championship against
Satoshi Kojima is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling, but makes appearances for Pro Wrestling Noah. Considered to be one of the greatest Japanese professional wrestlers of the 21st century and of all-time, he was the first wrest ...
on August 14. On August 19 at Death Before Dishonor XIV, Lethal lost the ROH World Championship to Adam Cole, ending his reign at 427 days. At Field of Honor Lethal was involved in a Four corner survival match for the ROH World Championship which was won by
Adam Cole Austin Kirk Jenkins (born July 5, 1989) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Adam Cole. He is also known for his tenures with WWE and Ring of Honor (ROH). Col ...
. On August 20, 2016 Lethal was betrayed by
Los Ingobernables de Japón (Spanish for "The Ungovernables of Japan" and often spelled without the accent as ''Los Ingobernables de Japon'' in English-speaking countries), also shortened to ''L.I.J.'', is a Japanese professional wrestling stable, based in the New Japan ...
after they walked out on Jay in a six-man tag team match. At
All Star Extravaganza VIII All Star Extravaganza VIII was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Ring of Honor (ROH). It took place on September 30, 2016 at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium in Lowell, Massachusetts. Wrestlers from Mexico's Consejo Mundial de L ...
Lethal defeated
Tetsuya Naito is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is the leader of the ''Los Ingobernables de Japón'' faction. Tetsuya Naito began training for a professional wrestling career in 2000, initially under Anima ...
. At
Final Battle Final Battle is a professional wrestling event, held annually by the Ring of Honor promotion. The event was initially held in 2002, and is traditionally ROH's last show in the calendar year. The 2009 edition of the show was ROH's first internet ...
Lethal was defeated by
Cody Cody may refer to: People *Cody (given name) *Cody (surname) * Cody (wrestler), a ring name of Cody Runnels Places Canada * Cody, British Columbia United States * Cody, Florida * Cody (Duluth), Minnesota * Cody, Missouri * Cody, Nebraska *Cody, ...
after he hit a low blow, then proceed to attack Lethal. Lethal defeated
Jushin Thunder Liger , better known as and later , is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He is the longest-tenured member of the NJPW roster, having wrestled for the company since h ...
in the first round of the Decade of Excellence. He was defeated by
Jay Briscoe Jamin "Jay" Pugh (born January 25, 1984) is an American professional wrestler best known by his ring name Jay Briscoe. He is currently signed with Ring of Honor, where he is the current one-half of ROH World Tag Team Champions with Mark Briscoe ...
in the second round. On April 1 at
Supercard of Honor XI Supercard of Honor XI was the 11th Supercard of Honor professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by American promotion Ring of Honor (ROH). It took place Saturday, April 1, 2017, at the Lakeland Center (Jenkins Arena) in Lakeland, Florida ...
Lethal defeated Cody in a Texas Bullrope match. On ROH TV taping Lethal defeated
Silas Young Caleb DeWall (born August 9, 1979) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Silas Young. He was last contracted for Ring of Honor, where he is a two-time ROH World Television Champion, although he has not appeared on R ...
,
Jay White Jamie White (born 9 October 1992), better known by the ring name Jay White (ジェイ・ホワイト ''Jei Howaito''), is a New Zealand professional wrestler signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is current IWGP World Heavyweight C ...
&
Hangman Page Stephen Blake Woltz (born July 27, 1991), better known by his ring name "Hangman" Adam Page, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a former AEW World Champion and AEW World Tag Team Champ ...
in a four-way match to become #1 contender to the ROH World Championship. On May 12 at
War of the Worlds ''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells, first serialised in 1897 by '' Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and by ''Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US. The novel's first appearance in hardcover was i ...
, Lethal unsuccessfully challenged
Christopher Daniels Daniel Christopher Covell (born March 24, 1970), better known by the ring name Christopher Daniels, is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and is the Head of Talent Relations. He is best kno ...
for the ROH World Championship in a three-way match, also involving Cody. On the June 30, 2018 tapings of ''Ring of Honor Wrestling'', Lethal defeated
Dalton Castle Dalton Castle may refer to: *Dalton Castle, Cumbria *Dalton Castle (wrestler) Brett Giehl (born March 4, 1986), better known by the ring name Dalton Castle, is an American professional wrestler who is best known for his tenure in Ring of Honor ...
for his second ROH World Championship, while also marking the first time the ROH World Championship changed hands at a non-pay-per-view event, a television taping and aired on tape delay. He would drop the title on April 6, 2019, to
Matt Taven Matthew Marinelli (born March 20, 1985), known by his ring name, Matt Taven, is an American professional wrestler and wrestling trainer, who currently wrestles for All Elite Wrestling. He is best known for his work with Ring of Honor (ROH), ...
in a triple threat ladder match (with
Marty Scurll Martin Scurll (born 26 July 1988) is an English professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in Ring of Honor (ROH) as the leader of the stable Villain Enterprises, where he was a one-time ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship and a o ...
also involved) at
G1 Supercard G1 Supercard was a professional wrestling supershow co-produced by the American Ring of Honor (ROH) and Japanese New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotions. It was the 13th annual Supercard of Honor event and took place on April 6, 2019, at Madis ...
, ending his second reign at 280 days. On December 13, 2019, at
Final Battle Final Battle is a professional wrestling event, held annually by the Ring of Honor promotion. The event was initially held in 2002, and is traditionally ROH's last show in the calendar year. The 2009 edition of the show was ROH's first internet ...
Lethal, along with
Jonathan Gresham Jonathan Gresham (born March 20, 1988) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to Impact Wrestling. He has previously wrestled for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and Ring of Honor (ROH), where he is a former ROH World Champion, ROH Pure ...
, won the
ROH World Tag Team Championship The ROH World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship contested for in the American professional wrestling promotion Ring of Honor. The championship is generally contested in professional wrestling matches, i ...
for the first time, after they defeated The Briscoe Brothers. On the November 28, 2020 episode of
Ring of Honor Wrestling ''Ring of Honor Wrestling'', often shortened as ''ROH Wrestling TV'' or ''ROH TV'', is an American professional wrestling television series produced by Ring of Honor (ROH). The series featured professional wrestlers competing in matches and condu ...
, Lethal appeared with newly formed faction The Foundation (
Jonathan Gresham Jonathan Gresham (born March 20, 1988) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to Impact Wrestling. He has previously wrestled for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and Ring of Honor (ROH), where he is a former ROH World Champion, ROH Pure ...
,
Rhett Titus Everett Lawrence Titus (born September 15, 1987) is an American professional wrestler working for Ring of Honor (ROH). where he is a former ROH World Television Champion, an overall two-time ROH Tag Team Champion individually, as well as winn ...
&
Tracy Williams Tracy Williams is an American professional wrestler currently wrestling for Ring of Honor (ROH) where he is a former ROH World Tag Team Champion with Foundation teammate Rhett Titus. He is also a former ROH World Television Champion. Prior t ...
). Lethal would stay with ROH until October 2021 when the promotion announced they would enter into a hiatus until 2022. Shortly after the announcement, Lethal joined
All Elite Wrestling All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. It is considered the second largest wrestling promotion in the United States behind WWE. AEW is owned by Shahid Khan and his son Tony, w ...
and was pulled from the
Final Battle Final Battle is a professional wrestling event, held annually by the Ring of Honor promotion. The event was initially held in 2002, and is traditionally ROH's last show in the calendar year. The 2009 edition of the show was ROH's first internet ...
card. However, after ROH World Champion Bandido was diagnosed with
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, it was announced that Lethal would be replacing Bandido in his Final Battle match against
Jonathan Gresham Jonathan Gresham (born March 20, 1988) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to Impact Wrestling. He has previously wrestled for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and Ring of Honor (ROH), where he is a former ROH World Champion, ROH Pure ...
. At the event, Lethal was defeated by Gresham. On April 1, 2022, Lethal returned to Ring of Honor, now owned by
Tony Khan Antony Rafiq Khan (born October 10, 1982) is an American businessman, promoter, and sports executive. He is known for his involvement in American football, professional wrestling and soccer. He is best known as the founder and co-owner of All E ...
, and wrestled at
Supercard of Honor XV Supercard of Honor XV was a professional wrestling pay-per-view produced by American promotion Ring of Honor (ROH). It took place on April 1, 2022, at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, Texas. It was the 14th event in the Supercard of Honor ...
. At the event, Lethal turned heel after using a low blow to defeat
Lee Moriarty Lee Moriarty (born June 6, 1994) is an American professional wrestler signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and also performs for its sister promotion Ring of Honor (ROH) where he is a member of Shane Taylor Promotions. Professional wrestling care ...
and then attacked crutch-donning Matt Sydal. He also would reunite with
Sonjay Dutt Retesh Bhalla (born April 7, 1982) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a producer and manager. He is best known for his time with Total Nonstop ActionImpact Wrestling under the ring name Sonjay ...
, who restrained him as he was attacking Sydal, and the two began a feud with
Samoa Joe Nuufolau Joel Seanoa (born March 17, 1979), is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name Samoa Joe who is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Joe is currently a double champion - in his first reign both as AEW ...
after Joe won the
ROH Television Championship The ROH World Television Championship is a professional wrestling world television championship in the Ring of Honor (ROH) promotion. With the introduction of the ROH World Television Championship, the television type championship returned to n ...
.


Independent circuit (2011–2019)

Lethal made his first independent appearance since his release from TNA on May 28, working for ''
Lucha Libre USA ''Lucha Libre USA: Masked Warriors'' is an American Lucha Libre promotion and television program on the MTV2 broadcast channel, chronicling the rise of Mexican-style wrestling, or lucha libre, in the United States. The first episode was aired on ...
''. As a tribute to Randy Savage, who had died just a week earlier, Lethal worked in his Black Machismo gimmick in a tag-team match, where he and Magno were defeated by The Right ( Jon Rekon and Petey Williams). In Lethal's second appearance for Lucha Libre USA on June 18, he defeated Medianoche in a singles match. On June 19 it was announced that Lethal would be taking part in the pilot tapings of All Wheels Wrestling on June 29, working under the ring name J.R. Lethal. At the pilot tapings, his ring name was changed to RPM. At the tapings he first defeated Dubai, the former Sheik Abdul Bashir, in a five-minute Iron Man match, but was then defeated by Schwagg Dutt, the former Sonjay Dutt, in an Ultimate X match, which also included Dubai and
Aaron Aguilera Aaron Aguilera (born February 28, 1977) is an American professional wrestler and actor best known as Jesús and Uno on World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), MTV's Wrestling Society X, All Japan Pro Wrestling as Zodiac and Lucha Libre USA as Lujo E ...
. On February 25, 2012, Lethal defeated Damien Darling at a
Family Wrestling Entertainment Family Wrestling Entertainment, also known as FWE, was an independent professional wrestling promotion. The company was based and ran shows in New York. They hosted a show about every four months. All of their shows are available on iPPV and also ...
(FWE) event to win the FWE Tri-Borough Championship. He lost the title to Darling on March 24, but later that same day first won the FWE Rumble and then defeated Eric Young for the FWE Heavyweight Championship. On July 28, Lethal lost the title to Tommy Dreamer in a four-way elimination match, which also included Brian Kendrick and Carlito. On March 22, 2013, Lethal made his debut for
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 ...
-based
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Los Angeles, California. It is owned and operated by wrestlers themselves, having been created by Disco Machine, Excalibur, Scott Lost, Joey Ryan, Super Drago ...
(PWG), losing to Eddie Edwards in a singles match. The following day, Lethal defeated
Willie Mack Willie McClinton Jr. (born January 5, 1987) is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Willie Mack, currently appearing in Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide. He is best known for his tenure with Impact Wrestling, where he is a ...
at another PWG event. On May 25, Lethal took part in
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
promotion Southside Wrestling Entertainment's (SWE) Speed King 2013 tournament, eventually defeating
Dean Allmark Dean Allmark (born 25 August 1983), is an English professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in All Star Wrestling and his appearance in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and a performance in Pro Wresting Live (PWL). Allmark, who often go ...
,
El Ligero Simon Musk (born 7 January 1985) is an English professional wrestler better known under his in-ring persona of masked Mexican luchador, El Ligero (or simply Ligero). He is most known for his time in WWE, on their NXT UK brand. Professional wre ...
, Martin Kirby,
Marty Scurll Martin Scurll (born 26 July 1988) is an English professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in Ring of Honor (ROH) as the leader of the stable Villain Enterprises, where he was a one-time ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship and a o ...
and MK McKinnan in a six-way final to win the tournament and become the new SWE Speed King Champion. On July 30, 2016, Lethal defended the ROH World Championship against Denis Rivera for CWA in Puerto Rico where the CWA Heavyweight Championship was also on the line. Lethal was victorious, retaining his ROH World Championship and gaining the CWA title in the process. Lethal made his What Culture Pro Wrestling (WCPW) debut on the second episode of WCPW Loaded in a match against
El Ligero Simon Musk (born 7 January 1985) is an English professional wrestler better known under his in-ring persona of masked Mexican luchador, El Ligero (or simply Ligero). He is most known for his time in WWE, on their NXT UK brand. Professional wre ...
with the stipulation that if Ligero won he would get a shot at Lethal's ROH Championship. During the match, the two men (both being babyfaces) showed tremendous respect to each other; however, the match ended in a no contest when Martin Kirby interfered and attacked both men. After the match, Lethal stated that in order to defend his title, he would have to get permission from the Ring of Honor officials who were not present, but he guaranteed Ligero a shot at the title in the future. Later Lethal was against
Noam Dar Noam Dar (; born 28 July 1993) is an Israeli-Scottish professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, and is a record setting two-time NXT UK Heritage Cup Champion. He also wrestles for Scottish promotion Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW ...
for his ROH World Championship on July 25, 2016 on the episode of ''WCPW: Built To Destroy'', where Lethal won. Lethal was set to face El Ligero at ''WCPW Refuse To Lose'' on October 6, 2016. The match was originally scheduled to be for the ROH World Championship, but will instead be for the WCPW Internet Championship, due to Lethal no longer being ROH World Champion. In August, it was announced that Lethal would not be able to compete for the promotion due to contractual reasons. On WCPW Loaded episode 10 it was announced that
Alberto El Patron José Alberto Rodríguez Chucuan (born 25 May 1977) is a Mexican-American professional wrestler, professional wrestling promoter, sports commentator, and mixed martial artist, currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) as a ...
would be Lethal's replacement. Lethal returned to the promotion on January 29, 2017, where he took part of Triple Threat match for the ROH World Championship, which he lost. The match also included El Ligero; the winner was
Adam Cole Austin Kirk Jenkins (born July 5, 1989) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Adam Cole. He is also known for his tenures with WWE and Ring of Honor (ROH). Col ...
. On June 16 at the WCPW Build to Destroy 2017, Lethal would then defeat former ROH World Champion Davey Richards. After the match, Lethal was attacked by Drake, but he was able to fend off the attack. On August 17, 2019; Lethal made his debut for
High Impact Wrestling Canada High Impact Wrestling Canada (HIW) was a professional wrestling promotion, based in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Known for its hard hitting "Saskatchewan Style", the HIW roster consisted of nearly 40 regular performers. On January 1, 2019, the ...
at Battle Arts VI in
Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...
,
Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...
. He unsuccessfully challenged
Bobby Sharp Robert Sharp (born September 10, 1988) is an active Canadian professional wrestler, better known by his ring name "Lion Warrior" Bobby Sharp. He is currently working for numerous companies across Canada including Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling, H ...
for the
HIW Wildside Provincial Championship The HIW Wildside Provincial Championship was a professional wrestling heavyweight championship in the professional wrestling promotion, High Impact Wrestling Canada. The title was established on April 24, 2004 as the HIW Great Plains Provincia ...
.


All Elite Wrestling (2021–present)

On November 13, 2021, Lethal made his debut for
All Elite Wrestling All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. It is considered the second largest wrestling promotion in the United States behind WWE. AEW is owned by Shahid Khan and his son Tony, w ...
(AEW) at the Full Gear pay-per-view, challenging
Sammy Guevara Samuel George Guevara (born July 28, 1993) is an American professional wrestler signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of the Jericho Appreciation Society. He is a record tying three-time former AEW TNT Champion. He also app ...
for the
AEW TNT Championship The AEW TNT Championship is a men’s professional wrestling television championship created and promoted by the American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Established on March 30, 2020, it is named after the TNT television network, which curr ...
on the November 17 episode of ''
Dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern Germa ...
'', which Guevara accepted. Lethal would go on to lose the match, but got his arms raised by the Inner Circle post-match as a sign of respect. Lethal would then enter a feud with Team Taz in January 2022, which eventually led him to challenge
Ricky Starks Richard Starks (born February 21, 1990), is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He also serves on the commentary team for AEW's sister streaming television program, ''Elevation''. Starks is also known ...
for the
FTW Championship The FTW ("Fuck the World") Championship (also referred to as the FTW World Championship) is a professional wrestling championship created by Taz in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) in 1998. The championship was retired in 1999 after being uni ...
on the February 4, 2022 episode of '' Rampage''; he eventually lost the match against Starks. On April 6, 2022, Lethal appeared on-screen with Sonjay Dutt, who was now his manager, and the two promised a present to
Samoa Joe Nuufolau Joel Seanoa (born March 17, 1979), is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name Samoa Joe who is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Joe is currently a double champion - in his first reign both as AEW ...
. The next week,
Satnam Singh Satnam Singh Bhamara ( pa, ਸਤਨਾਮ ਸਿੰਘ ਭੰਮਰਾ; born 10 December 1995) is an Indian professional wrestler and former basketball player, currently signed to the American professional wrestling promotion All Elite Wrestli ...
attacked Joe and aligned himself with Lethal and Dutt. On the May 6, 2022 episode of Rampage, Jay Lethal would defeat
Konosuke Takeshita is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to both All Elite Wrestling (AEW) in the United States and DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT) in Japan. Takeshita was named the Rookie of the Year by '' Tokyo Sports'' in 2013 and is the youngest KO-D ...
and have Dutt and Singh assist in attacking him, only for ''Best Friends'' (
Orange Cassidy James Cipperly (born May 4, 1984), better known by his ring name Orange Cassidy, is an American professional wrestler and wrestling trainer. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the current AEW All-Atlantic Champion ...
and Chuck Taylor) and Samoa Joe to make the save. Ric Flair’s Last Match Ric Flair's Last Match was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event and supershow that took place on July 31, 2022, at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee in the United States and aired on FITE and In Demand. The event was produced and promoted by Conrad Thompson and David Crockett under the banner of Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) as part of the Starrcast V convention, and was the first card promoted under the JCP banner since 1988. Ric Flair headlined the event in the final match of his 50-year career, teaming with son-in-law Andrade El Idolo to defeat Jay Lethal and Jeff Jarrett.


Other media

Shipman, under his Jay Lethal ring name, had a brief appearance in the critically acclaimed 2008 film ''
The Wrestler The Wrestler may refer to: * ''The Wrestler'' (1974 film), an American film directed by James A. Westman * ''The Wrestler'' (2008 film), an American film directed by Darren Aronofsky * "The Wrestler" (song), a song from the 2008 film written and ...
''. In November 2010, he was a contestant on an all-TNA week of ''
Family Feud ''Family Feud'' is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson. It features two families who compete to name the most popular answers to survey questions in order to win cash and prizes. The show has had three separate runs, the ...
'', teaming with
Matt Morgan Matthew Thomas Morgan (born September 10, 1976) is an American politician, actor and retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is a current City Commissioner in Longwood, Florida. He is known for his time in Total Nonstop Actio ...
,
Mick Foley Michael Francis Foley (born June 7, 1965) is an American actor, author, retired professional wrestler, and color commentator. He is currently signed to WWE under the company's Legends program, acting as a company ambassador. Foley worked for m ...
, Mr. Anderson, and
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 ...
against
Angelina Love Lauren Williams (born September 13, 1981) is a Canadian professional wrestler She is best known for her time in TNA/Impact Wrestling under the ring name Angelina Love. She is currently signed with National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). Between ROH ...
,
Christy Hemme Christina Lee Hemme ( ; born October 28, 1980) is an American former professional wrestler, singer and model. She is best known for her time in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (now known as Impact Wrestling) as a ring announcer and one of the o ...
,
Lacey Von Erich Lacey Dawn Adkisson (born July 17, 1986) is an American professional wrestler best known by her ring name Lacey Von Erich. She is the daughter of Kerry Von Erich and the granddaughter of Fritz Von Erich. She is best known for her time in Total Non ...
, Tara, and
Velvet Sky Jamie Lynn Szantyr (born June 2, 1981) is an American color commentator and retired professional wrestler, currently signed to NWA. She is best known for her time in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) under the ring name Velvet Sky. She is a ...
. Lethal appeared in the video games ''
TNA Impact! ''Impact!'' (stylized as ''IMPACT!''), also known as ''IMPACT! on AXS TV'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by the American promotion Impact Wrestling (formerly known as Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA)) tha ...
'', '' TNA Impact!: Cross The Line'', and ''
TNA Wrestling Impact! ''TNA Wrestling Impact!'' (styled ''TNA Wrestling iMPACT!'') is a mobile professional wrestling video game released by Namco Networks in 2011. It is based on the professional wrestling promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). Unlike '' ...
''.


Championships and accomplishments

* American Championship Entertainment ** ACE Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Mo Sexton * Big Time Wrestling ** BTW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) * Champion Wrestling Association (Puerto Rico) ** CWA World Championship (1 time) *
Family Wrestling Entertainment Family Wrestling Entertainment, also known as FWE, was an independent professional wrestling promotion. The company was based and ran shows in New York. They hosted a show about every four months. All of their shows are available on iPPV and also ...
**
FWE Heavyweight Championship Family Wrestling Entertainment, also known as FWE, was an independent professional wrestling promotion. The company was based and ran shows in New York. They hosted a show about every four months. All of their shows are available on iPPV and also ...
( 1 time) ** FWE Tri-Borough Championship ( 1 time) ** FWE Rumble (2012) * International High Powered Wrestling ** IHPW Diamond Division Championship (1 time) ** IHPW United States Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *
Jersey All Pro Wrestling Jersey All Pro Wrestling (JAPW) was an independent wrestling promotion based in New Jersey, United States. History 1997 Jersey All Pro Wrestling was an independent wrestling promotion that was founded by "Fat" Frank Iadeavia and Angel Surita ...
**
JAPW Heavyweight Championship The Jersey All Pro Wrestling (JAPW) Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling Championship (professional wrestling), championship in the United States of America, American Independent circuit, independent professional wrestling promot ...
(
2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...
) **
JAPW Light Heavyweight Championship The JAPW Light Heavyweight Championship is a championship in the Jersey All Pro Wrestling promotion in the United States.It became official title on December 5, 1997 when Rik Rachet defeated Chino Martinez in a tournament final to crown the first ...
( 1 time) **
JAPW Tag Team Championship The JAPW Tag Team Championship is a championship in the Jersey All Pro Wrestling promotion. It became official title on December 5, 1997 when The Blood Angels (Diablos Macabre and Lucifer Grimm) defeated Don Montoya and Homicide in a tournament fi ...
( 1 time) – with Azrieal **
JAPW Television Championship Jersey All Pro Wrestling (JAPW) was an independent wrestling promotion based in New Jersey, United States. History 1997 Jersey All Pro Wrestling was an independent wrestling promotion that was founded by "Fat" Frank Iadeavia and Angel Surita ...
( 1 time) ** Jersey City Rumble (2009) *
Jersey Championship Wrestling Game Changer Wrestling (GCW), formerly known as Jersey Championship Wrestling (JCW), is an American Independent circuit, independent professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion based in New Jersey. The promotion was origina ...
** JCW Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time) ** JCW Television Championship (1 time) **
Jersey J-Cup The Jersey J Cup, also known as the Chris Candido Memorial J-Cup Tournament, is an annual professional wrestling tournament held by Funkdafied Wrestling Federation (FwF), typically between April and June. Modeled after the Super J-Cup by New Japan ...
(
2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...
) * Millennium Wrestling Federation **
MWF Television Championship The Millennium Wrestling Federation (MWF) is a New England independent professional wrestling promotion based in Melrose, Massachusetts. Founded in January 2001 by promoters Dan Mirade & Neil Manolian, the MWF is one of the top promotions in the ...
( 1 time) * National Wrestling Alliance Upstate ** Upstate 8 Tag Team Tournament (2004) - with Azrieal * National Wrestling Superstars ** WSU/NWS King and Queen of the Ring (
2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
) – with Miss April * Politically Incorrect Wrestling ** PIW World Championship (1 time) * Prairie Wrestling Alliance ** PWA Championship (1 time) * Pro-Wrestling ELITE ** PWE Interstate Championship (1 time) * ''
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 Publish ...
'' ** Ranked No. 5 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 Publishi ...
'' in 2016 *
Ring of Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011, when the promotion was so ...
**
ROH Pure Championship The ROH Pure Championship is a professional wrestling championship contested for in the American professional wrestling promotion Ring of Honor (ROH). The championship is generally contested in professional wrestling matches, in which participant ...
( 1 time) ** ROH World Championship (
2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...
) **
ROH World Tag Team Championship The ROH World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship contested for in the American professional wrestling promotion Ring of Honor. The championship is generally contested in professional wrestling matches, i ...
( 1 time) – with
Jonathan Gresham Jonathan Gresham (born March 20, 1988) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to Impact Wrestling. He has previously wrestled for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and Ring of Honor (ROH), where he is a former ROH World Champion, ROH Pure ...
**
ROH World Television Championship The ROH World Television Championship is a professional wrestling world television championship in the Ring of Honor (ROH) promotion. With the introduction of the ROH World Television Championship, the television type championship returned to n ...
(
2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...
)1 ** Honor Rumble (2011) **
Survival of the Fittest "Survival of the fittest" is a phrase that originated from Darwinian evolutionary theory as a way of describing the mechanism of natural selection. The biological concept of fitness is defined as reproductive success. In Darwinian terms, th ...
(
2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
) **
Third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (d ...
Triple Crown Champion **
Third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (d ...
Grand Slam Champion ** ROH Wrestler of the Decade (2010s) ** ROH Year-End Award (e times) *** Wrestler of the Year (2018) *** Feud of the Year (2017) *** Tag Team of the Year (2020) *** Match of the Year (2019) * Southside Wrestling Entertainment ** SWE Speed King Championship (1 time) ** Speed King (2013) *Stars & Stripes Championship Wrestling **Tradition Cup Championship (1 time) *
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment. Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the promot ...
**
TNA World Tag Team Championship TNA may refer to: Organisations * Tamil National Alliance, a political coalition in Sri Lanka * The National Alliance, a political party in Kenya * The National Archives (United Kingdom), a UK public body * Tonga Nurses' Association, a trade union ...
( 1 time) – with
Consequences Creed Austin Watson (born September 4, 1986) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Xavier Woods. He appeared on WWE's NXT brand as one-half of the current NXT Tag ...
**
TNA X Division Championship The Impact X Division Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by Impact Wrestling. It debuted on June 19, 2002, at the taping of then-TNA's second weekly pay-per-view (PPV) event. The current champion is Trey M ...
( 6 times) **
Feast or Fired Feast or Fired is a professional wrestling match concept featured in Impact Wrestling. The idea is based on the object on a pole match, which sees wrestlers trying to gain possession of items hanging from poles attached to the ring posts. In this ...
(
2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
World Tag Team Championship contract) ** World X Cup (
2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
) – with Chris Sabin,
Sonjay Dutt Retesh Bhalla (born April 7, 1982) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a producer and manager. He is best known for his time with Total Nonstop ActionImpact Wrestling under the ring name Sonjay ...
and Alex Shelley ** TNA Year End Awards (1 time) ***X Division Wrestler of the Year (2007) *
United Wrestling Coalition United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...
**
UWC United States Championship UWC may refer to: *Ukrainian World Congress, the umbrella organization of Ukrainian diaspora communities. * Ulster Workers' Council, a grouping of loyalist and unionist workers in Northern Ireland responsible for the 1974 Ulster Workers' Strike * ...
( 1 time) * Unreal Championship Wrestling ** UCW United States Heavyweight Championship (1 time) ** UCW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time) * Wrestlezone Scotland ** Wrestlezone Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Scotty Swift * ''
Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four We ...
'' ** Worst Worked Match of the Year (2006) TNA Reverse Battle Royal on '' Impact!'' 1 Lethal modified the championship's faceplate during his second reign to simply read as "ROH Champion".


References


External links

* * * *
Southside Wrestling Entertainment profile

TNA Wrestling alumni profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lethal, Jay 1985 births African-American male professional wrestlers All Elite Wrestling personnel American male professional wrestlers Living people Professional wrestlers from New Jersey ROH Pure Champions ROH World Champions ROH World Television Champions Sportspeople from Elizabeth, New Jersey TNA/Impact World Tag Team Champions 21st-century professional wrestlers ROH World Tag Team Champions TNA/Impact X Division Champions