Reuben de Jong is a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...

kickboxer Kickboxing is a combat sport focused on kicking and punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defense, general ...

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

strongman In the 19th century, the term strongman referred to an exhibitor of strength or similar circus performers who performed feats of strength. More recently, strength athletics, also known as strongman competitions, have grown in popularity. These ...

and

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 ...

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

descent. He is a two-time professional strongman champion of New Zealand and competed in the K-1 Kings of Oceania in 2006 and 2007. De Jong is the holder of two national records in the

farmer's walk Strength athletics, also known as Strongman competitions, is a sport which tests competitors' strength in a variety of non-traditional ways. Some of the disciplines are similar to those in powerlifting and some powerlifters have also successfully ...

and

stone lifting Lifting stones are heavy natural stones which people are challenged to lift, proving their strength. They are common throughout northern Europe, particularly Scotland, Wales, Iceland (where they are referred to as ''steintökin''), Scandinavia an ...

, and the

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

for running through the most panes of glass in under one minute. He was signed with

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 ...

under the name of Russell Walker in 2011, but was released the same year. A

television actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lite ...

and

stuntman A stunt performer, often called a stuntman or stuntwoman and occasionally stuntperson or stunt-person, is a trained professional who performs daring acts, often as a career. Stunt performers usually appear in films or on television, as opposed ...

, De Jong has had small roles in ''

Maddigan's Quest ''Maddigan's Quest'' is a fantasy-based television series set in a post-apocalyptic future. It was based on an original concept by Margaret Mahy and was developed for television by Rachel Lang and Gavin Strawhan. The show originally screened on ...

'', ''

Legend of the Seeker ''Legend of the Seeker'' is an American television series created by Sam Raimi, based on the fantasy novel series ''The Sword of Truth'' by Terry Goodkind. Distributed in U.S. by Disney-ABC Domestic Television, ABC Studios produced the series ...

'', and as ''Theokoles'' in '' Spartacus: Blood and Sand''. In 2010, he entered

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 used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

and became one of the stars of

Impact Pro Wrestling Impact Pro Wrestling (IPW) is a New Zealand professional wrestling promotion. It has promoted regular events throughout the country and abroad in the last several years and is credited for being the first to bring live wrestling shows to cities ...

, capturing the

IPW New Zealand Heavyweight Championship IPW New Zealand Heavyweight Championship is the top professional wrestling championship title in the New Zealand promotion Impact Pro Wrestling. It was the original heavyweight title of the Mania Pro Wrestling promotion, later used in IPW as its ...

within two months of his debut. On 7 December 2019 he won the Hughes Academy Championship, pinning Spencer Kyle.

Biography

Early career

Born in West Auckland,

, Reuben de Jong began working out while attending Waitakere College. In one of his first strongman performances, he won notice at the 134th Waipu Highland Games and "put pressure on the two lead contenders" Pat Hellier and Australian Craig Reid. Brian O'Brien, committee secretary for the Highland Games, told the

New Zealand Press Association The New Zealand Press Association (NZPA) was a news agency that existed from 1879 to 2011 and provided national and international news to the media of New Zealand. The largest news agency in the country, it was founded as the United Press Associa ...

that de Jong had "competed well in a number of the strongman events and would be one to watch in the future". He would eventually win the "New Zealand's Strongest Man" competition two years in a row, in 2004 and 2005, and was able to "pull 17-tonne trucks without breaking a sweat". On 1 April 2006, he was among the strongmen invited to compete in Freddy Hooker's "Strongest Man in the World Ever — Aotearoa 2006" at

Mount Maunganui Mount Maunganui (, ) is a major residential, commercial and industrial suburb of the Tauranga metropolitan area, located on a peninsula to the north-east of Tauranga's city centre. It was an independent town from Tauranga until the completio ...

. The competition was judged by Levi Vaoga. In July 2006, de Jong was featured in the ''Western Leader'' following his appearance as a

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

in a popular television advertisement. Afte
Sarah Valentine
talent spotted him he joined Background Talent, a New Zealand-based talent agency, where he landed roles in a number of feature films and television series including ''

'', Narnia, ''

'', and '' Spartacus: Blood and Sand''. He was then in training as a

Mixed Martial Arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

fighter and studied under Karl Webber and

Ray Sefo Ray Sefo (born 15 February 1971) is a New Zealand fight promoter and retired kickboxer, boxer, and mixed martial artist of Samoan descent. He was the K-1 World Grand Prix 2000 Runner Up, is a six-time Muay Thai World Champion, and was an eig ...

K-1 and Mixed martial arts

Reuben de Jong began his K-1 and MMA career shortly after graduating from Ray Sefo's Fight Academy. In the summer of 2006, he entered the K-1 Kings of Oceania, a qualifying tournament for the 2007 K-1 World Grand, at the

Trusts Stadium The Trusts Arena is an indoor arena located in Henderson, Auckland, New Zealand. It is a multi-purpose stadium that primarily holds sports events and music concerts. The Arena was opened by then Prime Minister of New Zealand Helen Clark on 11 ...

on 24 June 2006. He lost to

Jason Suttie Jason "Psycho" Suttie (born 7 August 1973) is a Samoan-born New Zealand former heavyweight kickboxer and 6 time Muay Thai World champion fighting out of Elite Thai Kickboxing Gym in Auckland, New Zealand. Biography and career In his youth Su ...

in a 3rd-round decision in

Round 1 Round 1 may refer to: * ''Round 1'' (EP), a 2011 EP by C-REAL * "Round 1" (song), a 2010 song by Dalmatian * ''Round 1'', an album by Eraser vs Yöjalka * Round One Entertainment , stylized as ROUND1, is a Japan-based amusement store chain. ...

and Peter Sampson via TKO in

Round 2 Round 2 may refer to: * ''Round 2'' (J. Holiday album), 2009 * ''Round 2'' (The Stylistics album), 1972 * Round 2 (company) Round 2 is an American manufacturing company which produces scale models including die-cast, plastic, slot cars, and ot ...

, however, he managed to score a second-round TKO over Simi Tai at

Round 3 ''Round 3'' is Kim Hyun-joong's third Korean mini-album, which was released on July 22, 2013. Background and development Two days after the "2013 KHJ Show - Party People" fanmeeting in Seoul, Korea, KeyEast stated that Kim would be releasing hi ...

on 18 November 2006. At the ''2007 K-1 Kings of Oceania'', he suffered another 3rd-round decision loss to Jason Retti. On 27 October 2007, he fought to a

split decision A split decision (SD) is a winning criterion in boxing, most commonly in full-contact combat sports, in which two of the three judges score one particular competitor as the winner, while the third judge scores for the other competitor. A split dec ...

with Felise Leniu at ''Carnage in the Cage'' held at the ASB Stadium. He was also scheduled to face Sio Vitale and

Alexei Ignashov Alexey Victoravich Ignashov ( be, Аляксей Ігнашоў; born 18 January 1978) is a Belarusian Heavyweight kickboxer. He is a four-time Muay Thai World champion, K-1 World GP 2003 in Paris and K-1 World GP 2001 in Nagoya tournament ch ...

during 2008, but took a break from professional fighting the next year.

Return to strongman competition

In January 2009, he and fellow New Zealand strongman Mick Cottrell represented the country at the 110th Browns Athletic Society's sporting carnival in competition against Australia's Craig Reid and Aaron Monks, and Scotland's Alastair Gunn and world champion

caber toss The caber toss is a traditional Scottish athletic event in which competitors toss a large tapered pole called a "caber" (/ˈkeɪbər/). It is normally practised at the Scottish Highland Games. In Scotland, the caber is usually made from a l ...

er Malcolm Cleghorn. Sir Colin Earl Meads, a legendary

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

lock forward for the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...

during the 1950s and 60s, was in attendance. The next month, de Jong was interviewed by the ''Howick and Pakuranga Times'' while training for the upcoming Highland Games on 1 March. He was specifically preparing for the

, in which competitors attempt to walk as far as they can while carrying 125 kg weights in each hand, and stated his intention to break his own national record. He had previously set the national record in this event at 251.5m as well as holding the New Zealand record for

. On 24 July 2009, de Jong appeared on the first episode of '' NZ Smashes Guinness World Records'' where he broke the

for running through the most panes of glass (15) in under one minute. The record was previously held by Czech footballer

Martin Latka Martin Latka (born 28 September 1984) is a Czech professional footballer who plays as central defender. Club career Latka began his career with SK Dynamo České Budějovice, joining Slavia Prague in 2003. In 2005, he won the Talent of the Y ...

who smashed through 11 panes of glass on German television earlier that year.

Professional wrestling

Impact Pro Wrestling NZ (2009-2011)

After nine months of training, de Jong made his debut as a

for one of the country's three major promotions

, debuting in a Rookie Battle Royal match at IPW Nightmare Before Xmas 09, winning a contract with the company. His first match was against Les West defeating him at an IPW

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 Auckland on 20 March 2010; he made his television debut on '' IPW Ignition'' several weeks later. On 29 May 2010, he defeated "The One" Vinny Dunn at the ''IPW Genesis''

supercard In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...

for the

. Dunn had beaten Alexander in the main event to retain the championship when he was unexpectedly confronted by de Jong, responding to the open challenge Dunn had issued to any pro wrestler in New Zealand the previous month, and Dunn agreed to face him in an impromptu match for the title. The match was later aired on 22 July edition of ''IPW Ignition''. De Jong lost the

back to "The One" Vinny Dunn on 21 August 2010, at ''IPW Rival Turf'' after he had been inadvertently struck in the head with a briefcase by his manager, Justin Lane. Dunn then forced de Jong to submit with an

ankle lock A leglock is a joint lock that is directed at joints of the leg such as the ankle, knee or hip joint. A leglock which is directed at joints in the foot, is sometimes referred to as a foot lock and a lock at the hip as a hip lock. Leglocks are fe ...

World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE (2011)

In February 2011 Reuben signed a developmental 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 ...

, and began training at WWE's

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. De Jong is listed on FCW's roster under the name "Russell Walker." In June he was released.

Impact Pro Wrestling NZ Return (2011- Current)

De Jong returned to IPW at Nightmare B4 Xmas in December 2011 defeating Tykade and Dominic Le Fauce via DQ in a Land of The Giants match.

Championships

Professional wrestling

(2 times) **Hughes Academy Championship (1 time)

Strongman competition

*2004 New Zealand's Strongest Man *2005 New Zealand's Strongest Man

Fight record

Kickboxing record

MMA record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jong, Reuben de Year of birth missing (living people) Living people New Zealand people of Dutch descent New Zealand male kickboxers Heavyweight kickboxers New Zealand male mixed martial artists Super heavyweight mixed martial artists New Zealand strength athletes New Zealand male professional wrestlers People educated at Waitākere College

Biography

Early career

K-1 and Mixed martial arts

Return to strongman competition

Professional wrestling

Impact Pro Wrestling NZ (2009-2011)

World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE (2011)

Impact Pro Wrestling NZ Return (2011- Current)

Championships

Professional wrestling

Strongman competition

Fight record

Kickboxing record

MMA record

See also

References

External links