Omari Jahi Palmer (born May 17, 1994) 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 ...

. He is currently signed to

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

, where he performs on the

Raw Raw is an adjective usually describing: * Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made * Raw food, uncooked food Raw or RAW may also refer to: Computing and electronics * .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

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 ...

Odyssey Jones.

Early life

Palmer was born in

Coram, New York Coram is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place in the town of Brookhaven, New York, Brookhaven, Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, Long Island, New York (state), New York, United States. As of the 2010 United States censu ...

. He attended

Longwood High School Longwood Central School District covers in central Brookhaven Town, Suffolk County, New York, United States. It serves the hamlets of Ridge, Gordon Heights, Middle Island, Coram, and Yaphank, and parts of Shoreham, Shirley, Medford, an ...

, where he competed in

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

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively ...

, and

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

. Palmer went on to attend

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

, majoring in

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...

. Palmer joined the roster of the

Syracuse Orange The Syracuse Orange are the athletic teams that represent Syracuse University. The school is a member of NCAA Division I and the Atlantic Coast Conference. Until 2013, Syracuse was a member of the Big East Conference. The school's mascot is ...

football team in 2012. He played 36 games for the team as an

offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

until suffering a lower leg injury during his senior year in 2016.

Professional wrestling career

In June 2018, Palmer attended a try-out with the professional wrestling promotion

. In February 2019, he was hired by WWE and assigned to the

WWE Performance Center The WWE Performance Center is the official professional wrestling school system of the American professional wrestling promotion WWE. The promotion currently operates two Performance Center locations, which serve as training facilities for WWE wre ...

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

for training. In May 2019, Palmer set an

trap bar The trap bar (also referred to as the hex bar) is an implement used in weight training. It is an assemblage of bars bent into an angle, then welded into a shape which lies flat in a plane, consisting of: # A barstock welded into a hexagonal or dia ...

deadlift The deadlift is a weight training exercise in which a loaded barbell or bar is lifted off the ground to the level of the hips, torso perpendicular to the floor, before being placed back on the ground. It is one of the three powerlifting exercises, ...

record at the WWE Performance Center Combine, beating the previous record of held by

Otis Otis may refer to: Arts and entertainment Characters * Otis (Superman), in the films ''Superman'' and ''Superman II'' and related DC Comics media ** Otis Graves, in the TV series ''Supergirl'' * Otis (The Walking Dead), Otis (''The Walking Dead' ...

. He wrestled his first match on November 7, 2019, losing to

Dexter Lumis Samuel Robert Shaw (born January 17, 1984) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Dexter Lumis. He is also known for his time with Total Nonstop Action Wrestli ...

at a

house show 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 ...

Ocala, Florida Ocala ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marion County within the northern region of Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city's population was 63,591, making it the 54th most populated city in Florida. Home to ...

under his birth name. He wrestled a handful of matches in late-2019 and early-2020 before going on hiatus for over a year. Palmer returned to the ring in July 2021 under the new ring name of "Odyssey Jones", wrestling

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

es at ''

WWE 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 ...

'' tapings. He wrestled his first televised match on the July 6 episode of ''

WWE 205 Live ''WWE 205 Live'' is an American professional wrestling streaming television program that was produced by WWE. It premiered on November 29, 2016, and ended on February 11, 2022. The show originally aired exclusively on the WWE Network until March ...

'', defeating

Grayson Waller Matthew Farrelly (born 21 March 1990) is an Australian professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Grayson Waller. Before signing to WWE, he previously wrestled on the independent ...

. On July 20, he wrestled his first televised ''

WWE NXT ''WWE NXT'', also known as ''NXT'', is an American professional wrestling television program. It is produced by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, featuring performers from the promotion's NXT brand division. The show currently ...

'' match, defeating

Andre Chase Chance Barrow (born April 22, 1989) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE where he performs for the NXT brand under the ring name Andre Chase. He was previously known by the ring name Harlem Bravado where he teamed with his ...

in the first round of the WWE NXT Breakout Tournament. He went on to defeat Trey Baxter in the semi-finals before losing to

Carmelo Hayes Christian Brigham (born August 1, 1994) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT (WWE brand), NXT WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Carmelo Hayes. Hayes is a former one-time NX ...

in the finals. Jones then spent the rest of the year on ''NXT'' engaging in feuds with

heels 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 leg. Structure To distribute the compressive forces exert ...

such as

and the

Diamond Mine There are a limited number of commercially available diamond mines currently operating in the world, with the 50 largest mines accounting for approximately 90% of global supply. Diamonds are also mined alluvially over disperse areas, where dia ...

. In January 2022, Palmer ruptured his

patellar tendon The patellar tendon is the distal portion of the common tendon of the quadriceps femoris, which is continued from the patella to the tibial tuberosity. It is also sometimes called the patellar ligament as it forms a bone to bone connection when t ...

during a match with

Saurav Gurjar Saurav Gurjar (born 5 June 1984) is an Indian professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on NXT under the ring name Sanga, as a member of Indus Sher, alongside Veer Mahaan and Jinder Mahal. He is best kn ...

; he underwent surgery later that month. Jones returned on the October 25, 2022 episode of ''NXT'', inviting Edris Enofé and Malik Blade to a party. The following week, he made his in-ring return by defeating Javier Bernal. As part of the 2023 WWE Draft, Jones was drafted to the

Professional wrestling style and persona

Jones wrestles in a "powerhouse" style. His finishing moves have included a falling powerslam and a

diving splash 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 ...

. He wears orange and blue ring attire; a reference to the

colors. He is nicknamed the "Future Favorite".

References

External links

* * * *
Omari Palmer at Cuse.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Odyssey 1994 births 21st-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century professional wrestlers African-American male professional wrestlers American football offensive guards American male professional wrestlers Living people People from Coram, New York Players of American football from New York (state) Professional wrestlers from New York (state) Syracuse Orange football players Syracuse University College of Arts and Sciences alumni