Kris Pavone
(born May 2, 1980) is an American retired
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 ...
. He is best known for his time in
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), where he wrestled under 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 ...
Caylen Croft. He was one half of the DudeBusters
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 ...
with
Trent Barreta
Gregory "Greg" Marasciulo (born March 30, 1987), better known by the ring name Trent Beretta or Trent?, is an American professional wrestler signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is also known for his time with New Japan Pro-Wrestling and Ring ...
.
Pavone debuted in 2001 using the name Chris Cage. After two years on the
independent circuit
In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indie circuit is the collective noun, collective name of independent professional wrestling promotions which are smaller than major televised promotions. It is roughly analogous to a minor lea ...
, he signed a contract 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 assigned to the
Ohio Valley Wrestling
Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) is an American professional wrestling promotion and former developmental promotion based in Louisville, Kentucky. The company is currently run by Al Snow and Matt Jones and Louisville mayor elect, Craig Greenberg.
O ...
(OVW) territory. In OVW, he won the
Southern Tag Team Championship four times (three times with
Tank Toland
John Michael Toland (born August 31, 1973) is a former American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Tank Toland. Toland is best known for his appearances on the independent circuit with promotions such as Ring of Honor, as well ...
and once with
Mike Mizanin
Michael Gregory Mizanin (born October 8, 1980) is an American professional wrestler, actor, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name The Miz.
Mizanin first gained fame ...
) and the
Heavyweight Championship once
Once means a one-time occurrence.
Once may refer to:
Music
* ''Once'' (Pearl Jam song), a 1991 song from the album ''Ten''
* ''Once'' (Roy Harper album), a 1990 album by Roy Harper
* ''Once'' (The Tyde album), a 2001 debut album by The Tyd ...
. He was released from his WWE developmental contract in March 2006 before being re-signed in 2008. He competed for the
Florida Championship Wrestling
Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) was a professional wrestling promotion based on the former National Wrestling Alliance member promotion, Championship Wrestling from Florida, which operated from 1961 until 1987. From October 2007 to August ...
developmental territory, where he won the
FCW Florida Tag Team Championship
The FCW Florida Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team championship owned and promoted by Florida Championship Wrestling, (FCW), a former developmental territory of WWE. It was contested for in their tag team division. The c ...
twice, and debuted for the
ECW brand in December 2009.
Professional wrestling career
Pavone made his debut in 2001 as a student of
Nightmare Danny Davis
Daniel Briley (born June 30, 1952), better known by the ring name "Nightmare" Danny Davis, is an American retired professional wrestler and referee. He is the founder and former owner of Ohio Valley Wrestling.
Career
Briley started wrestling ...
and
Nick Dinsmore
Nicholas David Dinsmore (born December 17, 1975), better known by his ring name Eugene, is an American professional wrestler.
Dinsmore's career began in 1996 in Ohio Valley Wrestling, where he would become the OVW Heavyweight Champion a record ...
. Within two years, he appeared at the
ECWA Super 8 Tournament
The Super 8 Tournament is an annual professional wrestling tournament held by the East Coast Wrestling Association. The tournament is contested by eight wrestlers in a one-night single-elimination format.
History
The ECWA Super 8 Tournament was f ...
in April 2003 and began competing in
Ohio Valley Wrestling
Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) is an American professional wrestling promotion and former developmental promotion based in Louisville, Kentucky. The company is currently run by Al Snow and Matt Jones and Louisville mayor elect, Craig Greenberg.
O ...
(OVW) several weeks later.
World Wrestling Entertainment (2003–2006)
After forming a brief tag team with
Nova
A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...
, using the ring name Chris Cage, Pavone later teamed up with
Tank Toland
John Michael Toland (born August 31, 1973) is a former American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Tank Toland. Toland is best known for his appearances on the independent circuit with promotions such as Ring of Honor, as well ...
to form Adrenaline. Together, they went on to win the
OVW Southern Tag Team Championship
The OVW Tag Team Championship formerly known as the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship is the tag team titles of Ohio Valley Wrestling. Created in 1997, the first champions were Nick Dinsmore and Flash Flanagan. There have been 177 reigns shared b ...
three times during 2003 and 2004.
He later won his first and only
OVW Heavyweight Championship
The OVW Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling heavyweight championship owned by the Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) promotion. The original championship was designed and created in 1997 by Reggie Parks. The title was introduced on Augu ...
after defeating
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 ...
, before losing it a few months later to
Chad Toland, the on-screen cousin of his tag partner Tank. He later won his fourth and final OVW Southern Tag Team Championship, this time with newcomer
Mike Mizanin
Michael Gregory Mizanin (born October 8, 1980) is an American professional wrestler, actor, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name The Miz.
Mizanin first gained fame ...
. Together, they
feuded with the Toland Cousins (Tank and Chad) and
The Throwbacks. Pavone, however, was released from his contract due to behavior problems, leaving Mizanin to defend and ultimately lose the Tag Team Championship to The Throwbacks.
Return to WWE (2008–2010)
![chriscage](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/Chriscage.jpg)
After wrestling on the
independent circuit
In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indie circuit is the collective noun, collective name of independent professional wrestling promotions which are smaller than major televised promotions. It is roughly analogous to a minor lea ...
, including a one-time appearance in
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 ...
, throughout 2006 and 2007, Pavone was re-signed to a development deal by WWE, and he began working in their development territory
Florida Championship Wrestling
Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) was a professional wrestling promotion based on the former National Wrestling Alliance member promotion, Championship Wrestling from Florida, which operated from 1961 until 1987. From October 2007 to August ...
(FCW) under the name Caylen Croft. Soon after debuting in FCW, he formed a
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 ...
with Trent Barreta called The Dude Busters.
On May 30, 2009, Barreta and Croft won the
FCW Florida Tag Team Championship
The FCW Florida Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team championship owned and promoted by Florida Championship Wrestling, (FCW), a former developmental territory of WWE. It was contested for in their tag team division. The c ...
from
Tyler Reks
Gabbi Alon Tuft (born November 1, 1978) is an American retired professional wrestler. Tuft is best known for her time with WWE under the ring name Tyler Reks. Tuft also competed in WWE's developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FC ...
in a handicap match when his partner
Johnny Curtis
Curtis Jonathan Hussey (born July 22, 1983) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) under the ring name Dirty Dango. He is best known for his time in WWE, where he performed under the ring nam ...
failed to appear. On July 23, Croft and Barreta lost the championship to
Justin Angel and Kris Logan. On November 19, Croft won his second FCW Florida Tag Team Championship, this time with
Curt Hawkins
Brian Myers (born April 20, 1985) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to Impact Wrestling, where he is a former Impact Digital Media Champion. He is best known for his tenures in WWE from 2006–2014 and 2016–2020 unde ...
, after they defeated The Rotundos (
Bo and
Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...
). While they were champions, Croft and Hawkins would defend the title with Barreta via the
Freebird Rule
The Fabulous Freebirds were a professional wrestling tag team who attained fame in the 1980s, performing into the 1990s. The team usually consisted of three wrestlers, although in different situations and points in its history, just two performed ...
.
[ On January 14, 2010 at an FCW television taping, the Dude Busters lost the Florida Tag Team Championship to The Fortunate Sons ( Brett DiBiase and ]Joe Hennig
Joseph Curtis Hennig (born October 1, 1979) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler better known by the ring name Curtis Axel. Hennig signed with WWE in 2007 and wrestled at their Developmental territory, developmental terri ...
).
On the December 1, 2009 episode of ''ECW on SyFy
''WWE ECW'' (also known as ''ECW on Sci-Fi'' and later ''ECW on Syfy'', or simply ''ECW'') is an American professional wrestling television program that was produced by WWE, based on the independent Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) promotio ...
'', Croft and Barreta, no longer using the Dude Busters name, debuted as villains
A villain (also known as a "black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character a ...
, defeating Tyler Hilton and Bobby Shields, two local competitors. The duo would then feud with Goldust
Dustin Patrick Runnels (born April 11, 1969) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Dustin Rhodes. He is best known for his multiple tenures with WWE ...
and Yoshi Tatsu
Yoshi is a fictional dinosaur who appears in video games published by Nintendo. Yoshi debuted in ''Super Mario World'' (1990) on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as Mario and Luigi's sidekick. Yoshi is the title character of the List of Y ...
, which culminated in a loss to Goldust and Tatsu in a match to determine the number one contenders to the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship
The WWE Raw Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, representing the Raw brand division. It is one of two male tag team championships for WWE's main roste ...
on the February 9, 2010 episode of ''ECW''.
When the ECW brand ended in February 2010, its roster became free agents. Barreta and Croft signed with ''SmackDown
''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes simulc ...
'', making their debut for the brand on February 19 in a losing effort against Cryme Tyme
Cryme Tyme was an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of JTG and Shad Gaspard, best known for their tenure in WWE.
The team was an over-the-top parody of stereotypical street thugs. The tag team first disbanded in 2010, though ...
. Baretta and Croft would then feud with The Hart Dynasty
The Hart Dynasty was a Canadian professional wrestling stable who appeared in World Wrestling Entertainment. The unit consisted of the tag team of Tyson Kidd and David Hart Smith, and Natalya as a manager. The group was named due to the connect ...
, but could never manage a win against them. In April, they began using their Dude Busters name again, which they had seemingly dropped since debuting in ECW.
The Dude Busters then turned 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 ...
when they entered into a feud with the Gatecrashers (Curt Hawkins and Vance Archer
Lance Hoyt (born February 28, 1977) is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Lance Archer. He also makes sporadic appearance for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He is also known for ...
) in August. The Dude Busters then earned their first tag team victory since joining the ''SmackDown'' roster when they defeated the Gatecrashers on the August 26 episode of '' Superstars''. On November 19, 2010, Pavone was released from his contract. He retired from professional wrestling shortly after.
Personal life
Pavone grew up in Youngstown
Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County. At the 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area, which ...
, Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
. He was influenced by Bret Hart
Bret Hart (born July 2, 1957) is a Canadian-American retired professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE under a legend's contract. A member of the Hart wrestling family and a second-generation wrestler, he has an amateur wrestling backgr ...
and Shawn Michaels
Michael Shawn Hickenbottom (born July 22, 1965), better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE as Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative. Widely regarded as one of ...
. Pavone attended Youngstown State University
Youngstown State University (YSU or Youngstown State) is a public university in Youngstown, Ohio. It was founded in 1908 and is the easternmost member of the University System of Ohio.
The university is composed of six undergraduate colleges an ...
graduating with a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
. After leaving WWE, Pavone became an elementary school
A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...
art teacher in the Hillsborough County School District
A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public primary and secondary schools in various nations.
North America United States
In the U.S, most K–12 public schools function as units of local school districts, wh ...
in Florida. Pavone is also the illustrator and author of the children's book ''No Beard The Pirate''.
He married Rachael Ferguson on October 10, 2015.
Championships and accomplishments
*Florida Championship Wrestling
Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) was a professional wrestling promotion based on the former National Wrestling Alliance member promotion, Championship Wrestling from Florida, which operated from 1961 until 1987. From October 2007 to August ...
**FCW Florida Tag Team Championship
The FCW Florida Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team championship owned and promoted by Florida Championship Wrestling, (FCW), a former developmental territory of WWE. It was contested for in their tag team division. The c ...
(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 ...
) – with Trent Barreta
Gregory "Greg" Marasciulo (born March 30, 1987), better known by the ring name Trent Beretta or Trent?, is an American professional wrestler signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is also known for his time with New Japan Pro-Wrestling and Ring ...
(2) and Curt Hawkins
Brian Myers (born April 20, 1985) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to Impact Wrestling, where he is a former Impact Digital Media Champion. He is best known for his tenures in WWE from 2006–2014 and 2016–2020 unde ...
(1)
* Funkin' Conservatory
**FC Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Sterling James Keenan
*Ohio Valley Wrestling
Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) is an American professional wrestling promotion and former developmental promotion based in Louisville, Kentucky. The company is currently run by Al Snow and Matt Jones and Louisville mayor elect, Craig Greenberg.
O ...
**OVW Heavyweight Championship
The OVW Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling heavyweight championship owned by the Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) promotion. The original championship was designed and created in 1997 by Reggie Parks. The title was introduced on Augu ...
( 1 time)
**OVW Southern Tag Team Championship
The OVW Tag Team Championship formerly known as the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship is the tag team titles of Ohio Valley Wrestling. Created in 1997, the first champions were Nick Dinsmore and Flash Flanagan. There have been 177 reigns shared b ...
( 4 times) – with Tank Toland
John Michael Toland (born August 31, 1973) is a former American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Tank Toland. Toland is best known for his appearances on the independent circuit with promotions such as Ring of Honor, as well ...
(3) and The Miz
Michael Gregory Mizanin (born October 8, 1980) is an American professional wrestler, actor, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name The Miz.
Mizanin first gained fame a ...
(1)
** Blueprint Invitational (2005)[cite web, url= https://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=5792]
*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 ...
**PWI ranked him #133 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of 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 2004
Footnotes
During his reign with Hawkins, Croft could defend the title with either Hawkins or Barreta under the Freebird Rule
The Fabulous Freebirds were a professional wrestling tag team who attained fame in the 1980s, performing into the 1990s. The team usually consisted of three wrestlers, although in different situations and points in its history, just two performed ...
.
References
External links
Accelerator biography
VisualFaithWorks.com - Pavone's official artwork site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Croft, Caylen
1980 births
American male professional wrestlers
Living people
Sportspeople from Youngstown, Ohio
Professional wrestlers from Ohio
21st-century professional wrestlers
OVW Heavyweight Champions
FCW Florida Tag Team Champions