Joe Zimbardi (born November 8, 1992) 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 ...

, better known by his

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 ...

Richard Holliday. He is currently signed to

Major League Wrestling Major League Wrestling (MLW), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in New Rochelle, New York. The promotion was founded in 2002 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by former WWE writer Court Bauer. The promotion markets its product as ...

(MLW), where he was a member of

The Dynasty A dynasty is a series of rulers from one family. Dynasty may also refer to: Arts and media Film and television * ''Dynasty'' (film), a 1976 NBC television film * ''Dynasty'' (Australian TV series), a 1970 Australian TV series * ''Dynasty'' ...

. He is a former one-time IWA World Heavyweight Champion He is a former one-time World Tag Team Champion in MLW (with

Maxwell Jacob Friedman Maxwell T. Friedman (born March 15, 1996), better known by his ring name Maxwell Jacob Friedman (often abbreviated to MJF), is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the current AE ...

) and one-time IWA Caribbean Heavyweight Champion.

Professional wrestling career

Independent circuit (2015–present)

After undergoing training under former

WCW World Tag Team Champion The WCW World Tag Team Championship (previously NWA (Mid-Atlantic) World Tag Team Championship) was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and later the WWE, World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now ...

Paul Roma Paul Centopani (born April 29, 1959) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Paul Roma. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling between 1984 an ...

and the Paradise Alley Professional Wrestling School, Holliday made his

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 ...

debut for

Northeast Wrestling Northeast Wrestling (NEW) is an independent professional wrestling promotion based in the Northeastern United States and has promoted events since 1996. It is currently owned and operated by promoter Mike Lombardi and is one of the top independe ...

at ''Christmas in Tavenville'' event on December 12, 2015, in a losing effort against Jym Anderson. Holliday wrestled for various independent promotions and made frequent appearances for

New England Championship Wrestling New England Championship Wrestling (NECW) is an independent professional wrestling promotion based in the Northeastern United States that has promoted events since 2000. Currently owned and operated by Sheldon Goldberg, is one of the top indepe ...

, where he challenged for the

NECW Television Championship The NECW Television Championship is a professional wrestling title in New England Championship Wrestling. The title was once unified with the PWF Mayhem Junior Heavyweight title. Title history {, class="wikitable" width=100% , - style="backgrou ...

on many occasions. Holliday's first major achievement in his professional wrestling career came when he participated in

East Coast Wrestling Association East Coast Wrestling Association (ECWA) is an American professional wrestling promotion A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling that has little relationship to ...

's (ECWA) 2018 Super 8 Tournament on April 21, 2018. Holliday won the tournament by defeating Bolt Brady in the quarter-final, Anthony Greene in the semi-final and

Chase Owens Chase Owens (チェーズ・オーエンズ ''Chēzu Ōenzu'', born March 7, 1990) is an American professional wrestler currently signed with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a member of Bullet Club. He is a former IWGP Tag Team Champ ...

in the final. On September 21, 2019, Holliday defeated Brute VanSlyke to win the Immortal Championship Wrestling (ICW) Heavyweight Championship at ''Immortal 08'' event. The following month, at ''Halloween Havok'', Holliday successfully defended the title against Carlito before dropping the title to Sean Carr in an immediate title defense.

Major League Wrestling (2018–present)

Holliday signed a contract with

(MLW) in 2018, making his debut for the promotion at the

inaugural In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inaugur ...

Battle Riot Battle Riot is a professional wrestling event produced by Major League Wrestling Major League Wrestling (MLW), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in New Rochelle, New York. The promotion was founded in 2002 in Philadelphia, P ...

event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of e ...

on July 27, entering at #17. He was eliminated by Barrington Hughes. Holliday's first singles match in MLW took place on the September 7 episode of ''Fusion'', which he lost to

Fred Yehi Fred Yehi is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in Full Impact Pro, Major League Wrestling and Evolve. Professional wrestling career Evolve and Full Impact Pro (2015–2020) Yehi made his Evolve debut at E ...

. On the February 16, 2019 episode of ''Fusion'', Holliday formed an alliance with

by attacking

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 ...

during a post-match interview backstage after Hart had retained the

World Middleweight Championship In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

against MJF. Their alliance was dubbed The Dynasty and they began a lengthy feud with Hart's faction

The Hart Foundation The Hart Foundation is the name of several derivative tag teams and stables composed primarily of members and close friends of the Hart wrestling family. The name originated in the World Wrestling Federation in 1985 with the original Hart Foundat ...

, setting up a

World Tag Team Championship The world tag team championship is the name usually given to the primary tag team championships in professional wrestling promotions. Nomenclature The name of the promotion is often preceded to the term "world tag team championship" as the ...

match between the two teams on the March 16 episode of ''Fusion'', which MJF and Holliday lost via disqualification after

Alexander Hammerstone Alex Rohde (born January 17, 1991), better known by his ring names Alexander Hammerstone or simply Hammerstone is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to Major League Wrestling, where he is the current MLW World Heavyweight ...

interfered in the match by attacking Hart and Smith, therefore Hammerstone joined the Dynasty, making it a trio. On April 5, Holliday participated in the Battle Riot match as the #40 entrant. He was eliminated by

Davey Boy Smith, Jr. Harry Francis Smith (born August 2, 1985) is a Canadian professional wrestler, best known under the ring name Davey Boy Smith Jr. and his real name Harry Smith. He currently performs for the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), where he was one ...

On the April 27 episode of ''Fusion'', Dynasty defeated Hart Foundation in a six-man

tables 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 ...

to hand Hart Foundation, their first loss as a team in MLW. On the July 13 episode of ''Fusion'', MJF and Holliday defeated

Brian Pillman Jr. Brian Zachary Pillman (born September 9, 1993), better known by the ring name Brian Pillman Jr., is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is also known for his time in Major League Wrestling (MLW). Pil ...

and Teddy Hart in a

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

to capture the World Tag Team Championship. They successfully defended the titles against Hart Foundation 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 the September 21 episode of ''Fusion'' and the Los Parks (

LA Park Adolfo Margarito Tapia Ibarra (November 14, 1965) is a Mexican ''luchador enmascarado'' ( masked professional wrestler), who currently performs as L. A. Park for Major League Wrestling in the United States, where he is a former MLW World Tag ...

and

El Hijo de LA Park El Hijo de L.A. Park (born November 20, 1988) is a Mexican ''Luchador'' '' enmascarado'', or masked professional wrestler. His ring name ("The Son of L.A. Park") indicates he is the son of Adolfo Tapia, the original La Parka, who currently wres ...

) on the October 12 episode of ''Fusion'', before losing the titles to The Von Erichs (Ross and Marshall) in a

Texas Tornado match Much like the singles match, tag team professional wrestling matches can and have taken many forms. Just about any singles or melee match type can be adapted to tag teams; for example, hardcore tag team matches are commonplace. Tag team ladder m ...

at the Saturday Night SuperFight

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 ...

on November 2. On November 21, it was announced that Holliday would enter the

Opera Cup tournament against

Timothy Thatcher {{Infobox professional wrestler , name = Timothy Thatcher , image = ThatcherMLW2019.jpg , image_size = , alt = , caption = Thatcher at MLW Saturday Night SuperFight , birth_name = Timothy Andrew Moura{{cite web, ur ...

. The match took place on the December 14 episode of ''Fusion'', which Holliday lost. On the February 8, 2020 episode of ''Fusion'', Holliday defeated

Savio Vega Juan Rivera (born August 10, 1964) is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler. He is known for his work in the World Wrestling Council, where he won the WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship three times and the WWC Puerto Rico Heavyweight Champion ...

and then stole Vega's

IWA Caribbean Heavyweight Championship The IWA Puerto Rico/Caribbean Heavyweight Championship (''Campeonato Peso Pesado del Caribe/Caribeño de la IWA'' in Spanish) is a regional championship originally defended in the International Wrestling Association of Puerto Rico (IWA-PR), where ...

belt, unofficially claiming himself to be the Caribbean Heavyweight Champion. He successfully defended the title against Chessman in a

no disqualification 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 the April 25 episode of ''Fusion''. Holliday began campaigning for the title to be officially recognized by MLW. On May 18, Holliday renewed his MLW contract to a multi-year deal. In November, Holliday participated in the 2020 Opera Cup tournament, defeating TJP in the quarter-final, but lost to

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 ...

in the semi-final. On January 27, 2021, Holliday defeated Vega due to the intervention of referee Tim Donaghy, beginning his first official reign after 382 days of illegally possessing the belt. He remained champion until

Battle Riot III Battle Riot III was a professional wrestling event produced by Major League Wrestling (MLW) that took place on July 10, 2021, at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was MLW's first event since its hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic ...

, where he lost a defense to

King Muertes Gilbert Cosme Ramírez (born May 25, 1972) is a Puerto Rican people, Puerto Rican Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, better known by his ring names El Mesías, Mil Muertes, Ricky Banderas and King Muertes. He began his career in the In ...

. On July 31, 2021, Holliday made his IWA-PR debut at the La Gran Amenaza event by defeating Mr. Big for the IWA World Heavyweight Championship. On January 21, 2022 at Blood & Thunder, Holliday and real life girlfriend

Alicia Atout Alicia Atout ( ; born 1 June 1995) is a Canadian interviewer and YouTube personality, best known for her work in the music and professional wrestling industries. She is currently signed to Major League Wrestling (MLW) as a member of the promoti ...

attacked Hammerstone, thus dissolving The Dynasty and turning heel.

Personal life

In December 2022, Zimbardi revealed in an interview with ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

'' that he had been ill since June and his disease was diagnosed as the stage four

Hodgkin's lymphoma Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a type of lymphoma, in which cancer originates from a specific type of white blood cell called lymphocytes, where multinucleated Reed–Sternberg cells (RS cells) are present in the patient's lymph nodes. The condition wa ...

in September. He was undergoing chemotherapy to treat the cancer.

Championships and accomplishments

*Beyond Championship Wrestling **BCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time, current) **BCW Heavyweight Championship Tournament (2020) *Big Time Wrestling **BTW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *

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 ...

(

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

) *Immortal Championship Wrestling **ICW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *

MLW World Tag Team Championship The MLW World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship which is owned by the Major League Wrestling (MLW) promotion. The championship is generally contested in professional wrestling matches, in which partici ...

( 1 time) – with

MJF Maxwell T. Friedman (born March 15, 1996), better known by his ring name Maxwell Jacob Friedman (often abbreviated to MJF), is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is currently signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW), wh ...

( 1 time) * International Wrestling Association ** IWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time, current) *Paradise Alley Pro Wrestling **PAPW Heavyweight 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 him No. 112 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 2021

References

External links

Richard Holliday
on MLW.com * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Holliday, Richard Living people American male professional wrestlers 1992 births Sportspeople from New Haven, Connecticut People from Westport, Connecticut Sportspeople from Fairfield County, Connecticut Professional wrestlers from Connecticut MLW World Tag Team Champions