Michael Carter Rallis (born October 10, 1989) 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 ...
and former
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
player. 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
SmackDown brand under the ring name Madcap Moss.
Early life
Rallis was born and raised in
Edina, Minnesota
Edina ( ) is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States and a first-ring suburb of Minneapolis. The population was 53,494 at the 2020 census, making it the 18th most populous city in Minnesota.
Edina began as a small farming and mil ...
. He attended the
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...
, where he played for the
Minnesota Golden Gophers football
The Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represents the University of Minnesota in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Founded in 1882, Minnesota has been a member of the Big Ten Conference since its ince ...
team between 2008 and 2012. He played outside linebacker for the Golden Gophers and finished third on the team in tackles during his junior year. After graduation, he attended a tryout camp with the
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...
but was not signed to a contract. In October 2013, Rallis attended a
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 ...
tryout after contacting
Jim Ross
James William Ross (born January 3, 1952) is an American professional wrestling commentator currently signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a commentator, analyst, and senior advisor. Ross is best known for a long and distinguished career as ...
.
Professional wrestling career
WWE
NXT and 24/7 Champion (2014–2020)
Rallis signed a developmental contract with WWE in early 2014 and began training at 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 ...
. He made his professional wrestling debut on December 18 at a
''NXT'' live event in
Tampa, Florida
Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...
under the ring name Digg Rawlis. He made his televised debut on the May 27, 2015, episode of ''NXT'', working as an
enhancement talent
In professional wrestling slang, a job is a losing performance in a wrestling match. It is derived from the euphemism "doing one's job", which was employed to protect information related to kayfabe from being revealed. The term can be used a numbe ...
alongside
Elias Samson
Jeffrey Daniel Sciullo (born November 22, 1987) is an American professional wrestler and musician. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Elias.
Under the name Elias, shortened from Elias Samson, h ...
in a defeat to
Blake and Murphy. Rawlis made further occasional televised appearances as an enhancement talent during 2015, losing to
The Hype Bros and
Samoa Joe. In August 2015, he adopted the new ring name Riddick Moss, a tribute to former
NFL
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...
player
Randy Moss
Randy Gene Moss (born February 13, 1977) is an American former professional football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, Oakland Raiders, New England Patriots, Tennessee ...
.
In October 2016, Moss began teaming with
Tino Sabbatelli
Sabatino "Sabby" Piscitelli (born August 24, 1983) is an American former professional wrestler and former American football player. He is known for his time in WWE, under the ring name Tino Sabbatelli. He also worked for All Elite Wrestling (AEW ...
as the God Gifted Athletes; the two competed in the 2016
Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic is an annual professional wrestling tag team tournament held by the American promotion WWE, and is featured on its NXT brand, having first been established in 2015. In subsequent years, wrestlers from the NXT UK and ...
, where they lost in the first round to
TM61 on the October 12 episode of ''
NXT
NXT may refer to:
Professional wrestling
* ''WWE NXT'', a professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that began in 2010
** NXT (WWE brand), WWE's Florida-based brand and former developmental territory
* ''NXT UK'', the British spin- ...
''. Moss made a further appearance on the January 4, 2017, episode of ''NXT'', again teaming with Sabbatelli and losing to
The Revival (
Dash Wilder
Daniel Marshall Wheeler (born May 17, 1987) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Cash Wheeler. Wheeler is also known for his time in WWE, under the ring name Dash Wilder. ...
and
Scott Dawson). The duo had their first televised victory on the October 25 episode of ''NXT'', defeating
Oney Lorcan
Christopher Girard (born December 21, 1985) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE as a coach at their Performance Center. Previously he performed on the NXT brand under the ring name Oney Lorcan. He is a former NXT Tag Te ...
and
Danny Burch
Martin Harris (born 31 December 1981) is an English professional wrestler best known for his time with WWE, where he performed on the NXT brand under the ring name Danny Burch. He is a former one time NXT Tag Team Champion with Oney Lorcan. He ...
. In early 2018, Moss and Sabbatelli entered the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, losing to Sanity in the first round. On the April 25 episode of ''NXT'', during a match with Heavy Machinery, Sabbatelli ditched Moss, thus ending their alliance. In May, he tore his
Achilles tendon
The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcaneus (h ...
, which would require several months to recuperate. Moss returned from injury at a live event on November 30, losing to
Matt Riddle after a surprise appearance. In March 2019, he started being managed by
Robert Strauss at live events.
On the January 27, 2020 episode of ''
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 ...
'', Moss made his main roster debut, accompanying
Mojo Rawley
Dean Muhtadi ( ar, دين موهتادي; born July 17, 1986) is an American professional wrestler, actor, and former American professional football player. He is best known for his time in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Mojo Rawley ...
to the ring for his
WWE 24/7 Championship
The WWE 24/7 Championship was a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It was a tertiary championship open to anyone—regardless of gender or WWE employment status—and carried the special rule ...
match against
No Way Jose, where Moss was billed as Rawley's
offensive lineman
In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...
; Rawley lost the title to
R-Truth right after defeating Jose, however, Moss assisted Rawley in regaining the title seconds later. On the February 10 episode of ''Raw'', after they lost to
The Street Profits
The Street Profits are an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford. The team is currently performing in WWE on the Raw brand.
They are three-time tag team champions in WWE, having held the Raw, SmackD ...
, Moss turned on Rawley and pinned him to win the 24/7 Championship.
Moss retained his title against the likes of Rawley, Truth,
Cedric Alexander, and
Ricochet
A ricochet ( ; ) is a rebound, bounce, or skip off a surface, particularly in the case of a projectile. Most ricochets are caused by accident and while the force of the deflection decelerates the projectile, it can still be energetic and almost ...
. On the March 23 episode of ''Raw'', Moss lost the title to Truth while out for a jog, ending his reign at 41 days. On the August 10 episode of ''Raw'', Moss returned in a Raw Underground segment, an underground fight club hosted by
Shane McMahon, defeating
Cal Bloom
Calvin Bloom (born June 30, 1994) is an American professional wrestler and former college football player. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Von Wagner. A second-generation professional wrestler, ...
by knockout. In October, Moss revealed he had been performing with a
torn ACL
An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during inju ...
two months prior.
Storyline with Happy Corbin (2021–2022)
After a year out of action, in a
dark match before the September 17, 2021 episode of ''
SmackDown'', Moss returned from injury by defeating
Odyssey Jones
Omari Jahi Palmer (born May 17, 1994) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Odyssey Jones.
Early life
Palmer was born in Coram, New York. He attended Longwood ...
''.''
The following week on ''SmackDown'', Moss made his televised return, attacking
Kevin Owens and aligning with
Happy Corbin
Thomas Pestock (born September 13, 1984) is an American professional wrestler and former professional football player. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Baron Corbin.
Pestock is a former of ...
.
The following week, his ring name was changed to Madcap Moss and he began adopting a
comic
a Media (communication), medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of Panel (comics), panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, Glo ...
persona. They entered into a feud with
Drew McIntyre, mocking him and making jokes at his expense, leading to a match between the two at
Day 1 on January 1, 2022, which Moss lost. Moss entered the
Royal Rumble match at the
namesake event on January 29, entering at #16 and eliminating
AJ Styles, but was eliminated by McIntyre.
At
Elimination Chamber
The Elimination Chamber is a professional wrestling elimination-based match held in the WWE. The match was founded by Chris Jericho , created and introduced by Eric Bischoff in November 2002. It features a large chain-linked circular steel st ...
on February 19, Moss lost to McIntyre in a
Falls Count Anywhere 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 ...
. During the match, he took an inverted
Alabama Slam, resulting in him landing directly on top of his head, but was able to continue the match. On the April 1 episode of ''SmackDown'', Moss won the
2022 André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, last eliminating
Finn Balor. On the first night of
WrestleMania 38
WrestleMania 38 was the 38th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event was held as a two-night event ...
on April 2, Moss accompanied Corbin to the ring for his match against McIntyre, which he lost.
On the April 8 episode of ''SmackDown,'' Corbin blamed Moss for his loss against McIntyre and attacked him, ending their alliance and turning
face for the first time in his WWE career. At
WrestleMania Backlash
WWE Backlash, known as WrestleMania Backlash since 2021, is a professional wrestling event that is produced by WWE, a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut. It is broadcast live and available only through pay-per-view (PPV) and ...
on May 8, Moss defeated Corbin. On the May 13 episode of ''SmackDown'', Corbin attacked Moss with the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal trophy and injured his neck, which left Moss having to be stretchered out of the arena. Moss returned on the June 3 episode of ''SmackDown'' with a more serious persona, new entrance music and in-ring attire. At
Hell in a Cell on June 5, Moss defeated Corbin in a
No Holds Barred match. On the June 17 episode of ''SmackDown'', Moss defeated Corbin for a third time in a
Last Laugh match to end their feud.
Singles competition (2022–present)
On the July 1 episode of ''SmackDown'', Moss defeated Corbin,
Ezekiel
Ezekiel (; he, יְחֶזְקֵאל ''Yəḥezqēʾl'' ; in the Septuagint written in grc-koi, Ἰεζεκιήλ ) is the central protagonist of the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible.
In Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Ezekiel is acknow ...
, and
The Miz in a fatal four-way match to qualify for the
Money in the Bank ladder match
The Money in the Bank ladder match is a multi-person ladder match held by the professional wrestling promotion WWE. First contested at WWE's annual WrestleMania event beginning in 2005, a separate Money in the Bank pay-per-view was established ...
. At the eponymous
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 eve ...
on July 2, he failed to win the match. On the August 19 episode of ''SmackDown'', Moss competed in a fatal five way match to determine the #1 contender for the Intercontinental Championship, which was won by
Sheamus. At the
Clash at the Castle
WWE Clash at the Castle was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by the American promotion WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event took place on Satu ...
pre-show on September 3, Moss and
The Street Profits
The Street Profits are an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford. The team is currently performing in WWE on the Raw brand.
They are three-time tag team champions in WWE, having held the Raw, SmackD ...
(Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) defeated
Alpha Academy
Alpha Academy are an American professional wrestling tag team composed of Chad Gable and Otis. They are signed to WWE and perform on the Raw brand. The pair are longtime best friends in real life, with their friendship dating back to 2011, where ...
(
Chad Gable and
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' ...
) and
Austin Theory
Austin White (born August 2, 1997) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and Bodybuilding, bodybuilder. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand extension, brand under the ring ...
. On the September 16 episode of ''SmackDown'', Moss challenged
Solo Sikoa
Joseph Yokozuna Fatu (born March 18, 1993) is an American professional wrestler signed to WWE. He currently performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Solo Sikoa where he is a member of The Bloodline and a former NXT North American Ch ...
for the
NXT North American Championship
The NXT North American Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is primarily defended as the secondary men's championship of the NXT brand division, the promotion's developmental ...
in a losing effort.
Personal life
On August 4, 2022, Rallis revealed that he is dating Australian professional wrestler
Tenille Dashwood
Tenille Averil Dashwood (born 1 March 1989) is an Australian professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Emma.
Dashwood started training for professional wrestling in Australia i ...
, who wrestles in WWE under the ring name Emma.
Championships and accomplishments
*''
Pro Wrestling Illustrated''
**Ranked No. 244 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the ''
PWI 500'' in 2022
*
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 ...
**
WWE 24/7 Championship
The WWE 24/7 Championship was a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It was a tertiary championship open to anyone—regardless of gender or WWE employment status—and carried the special rule ...
(
1 time)
**
André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal (
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
)
References
External links
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moss, Riddick
American male professional wrestlers
Players of American football from Minnesota
American football defensive linemen
American football linebackers
1989 births
Living people
WWE 24/7 Champions
21st-century professional wrestlers