Demitrius Bronson (born March 6, 1990) is an American professional wrestler and retired

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

running back of the

National Football League 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 ...

. During his time in the NFL, Bronson was a member of the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

and

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 ...

. 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 their developmental brand

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 spi ...

Early life

Bronson was born in

Kent, Washington Kent is a city in King County, Washington, United States. It is part of the Seattle–Tacoma–Bellevue metropolitan area and had a population of 136,588 as of the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest municipality in greater Seattle and t ...

to Johnny and Sandra Bronson. He has two brothers, John, who played tight end for

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

and the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

and also

Josiah Josiah ( or ) or Yoshiyahu; la, Iosias was the 16th king of Judah (–609 BCE) who, according to the Hebrew Bible, instituted major religious reforms by removing official worship of gods other than Yahweh. Josiah is credited by most biblical s ...

who played defensive end for

Temple Owls The Temple Owls are the athletic teams that represent Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The current athletic director is Arthur Johnson. The owl has been the symbol and mascot for Temple University since its founding in the 18 ...

and after being hurt in his first year, transferred to defensive tackle for UW Huskies. Bronson finished high school with 3,810 rushing yards, and was listed as a "Red Chip" recruit by the

Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is a daily newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1891 and has been owned by the Blethen family since 1896. ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Washington st ...

. In his final high school season, he recorded 1,450 rushing yards. He graduated from Kentwood High School in 2008, and accepted a football scholarship to the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

College football career

Bronson attended the

for two years, where he seldom played. He did not see action in 2010, but spent 2009 as a backup tailback where he had 19 carries for 89 yards. Bronson transferred to

Eastern Washington University Eastern Washington University (EWU) is a public university in Cheney, Washington. It also offers programs at a campus in EWU Spokane at the Riverpoint Campus and other campus locations throughout the state. Founded in 1882, the university is ...

where he made his debut on September 3, 2011 against the

Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac- ...

. In that game, he had 5 carries for 5 total yards, and one catch for an additional 5 yards. Bronson spent most of the 2012 season with a hamstring injury, but was listed as the starting running back entering 2013. Over his collegiate career, he totalled 687 rushing yards on 197 carries for 14 touchdowns. He also caught 8 passes for 51 yards. While at Eastern Washington University, Bronson was an academic honors candidate and majored in sociology.

Professional football career

Bronson was not invited to the

NFL Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Footba ...

or selected in the

2014 NFL Draft The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...

. He signed a free agent contract with the

on June 17, 2014 and was released on August 25, 2014. The Seahawks re-signed him two days later, and placed him on the practice squad on November 11, 2014. In the 2014 preseason, Bronson rushed 18 times for 76 yards with no touchdowns. He was re-signed to the practice squad on February 2, 2015. On May 18, 2015, Bronson was released but eventually cleared waivers, reverting him to the Seahawks' injured reserve. On August 10, 2015, the

announced the signing of Bronson.

Professional wrestling career

WWE

NXT (2016–2018)

In October 2016, Bronson was announced as part of group of nine prospects who signed with

, the developmental organization of

, 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 at a NXT

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 ...

Crystal River, Florida Crystal River is a city in Citrus County, Florida, United States. The population was 3,108 in the 2010 census. According to the U.S. Census estimates of 2018, the city had a population of 3,162. The city was incorporated in 1903 and is the self p ...

on March 3, 2017, teaming with HoHo Lun in a defeat to The Authors of Pain.New WWE Ride Along After RAW, Former NFL Player Makes WWE NXT Live Event Debut, Cedric Alexander
/ref> Bronson made his first televised appearance on the September 27, 2017 episode of ''NXT'', teaming with Patrick Scott in a defeat to Heavy Machinery. On June 2, 2018, Bronson was released by WWE.

References

External links

Seattle Seahawks player bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bronson, Demitrius 1990 births Living people American male professional wrestlers African-American male professional wrestlers American football running backs Players of American football from Washington (state) Washington Huskies football players Eastern Washington Eagles football players Seattle Seahawks players Miami Dolphins players Sportspeople from Kent, Washington Kentwood High School (Washington) alumni 21st-century African-American sportspeople Professional wrestlers from Washington (state) 21st-century professional wrestlers