Phillip Paul Lloyd (born 3 March 1981) is a South African-American

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

. He is best known for his time in

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

, under the ring name Justin Gabriel. He is currently wrestling under the ring name P. J. Black. A second-generation wrestler, Lloyd was initially trained by his father. Debuting in 1997 at the age of 16, where he competed in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

and was the inaugural winner of the WWP World Cruiserweight Championship in

World Wrestling Professionals Champions Pro Wrestling (formerly World Wrestling Professionals) is a South African professional wrestling promotion created in 2002. The promotion was televised in South Africa from 2004 to 2009 and internationally in 2009. CPW is owned by Mar ...

as P. J. Black. In 2008, Lloyd signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment, and was assigned to

Florida Championship Wrestling Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) was a professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion based on the former National Wrestling Alliance member promotion, Championship Wrestling from Florida, which operated from 1961 until ...

(FCW), WWE's

developmental territory Development of the human body is the process of growth to maturity. The process begins with fertilization, where an egg released from the ovary of a female is penetrated by a sperm cell from a male. The resulting zygote develops through mitos ...

, where he won the

FCW Florida Tag Team Championship The FCW Florida Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team championship owned and promoted by Florida Championship Wrestling, (FCW), a former developmental territory of WWE. It was contested for in their tag team division. The c ...

, with

Kris Logan Brian Christopher Joseph ButtonFCW Florida Heavyweight Championship. In February 2010, he competed in the first season of '' NXT'', finishing third, before being called to the main roster in June 2010 joining The Nexus. He joined

the Corre The Corre was a short-lived villainous stable in WWE. Formed in 2011, the group was a spinoff of Wade Barrett's former group The Nexus. The stable was formed after Barrett left The Nexus and aligned himself with Heath Slater and Justin Gabrie ...

in 2011. Teaming regularly with

Heath Slater Heath Wallace Miller (born July 15, 1983) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in WWE under the ring name Heath Slater. He also performed in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, Impact Wrestling ...

, the duo won the

WWE Tag Team Championship The WWE Tag Team Championship is a men's professional wrestling world tag team championship created and promoted by the United States, American professional wrestling promotion, promotion WWE, defended on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown WWE ...

three times in 2010 and 2011, which was the apex of Gabriel's success with WWE. He also won the

TNA King of the Mountain Championship TNA may refer to: Organisations * Tamil National Alliance, a political coalition in Sri Lanka * The National Alliance, a political party in Kenya * The National Archives (United Kingdom), a UK public body * Tonga Nurses' Association, a trade uni ...

during his brief GFW crossover appearances with

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (abbreviated as TNA Wrestling or TNA) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment, a Canadian media company owned by busines ...

in 2015.

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1997–2000)

Lloyd was originally trained by his father, a promoter and wrestler in South Africa, who was also known by his

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name or nickname 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 ...

The Pink Panther. His grandfather was a professional boxer and amateur wrestler. Lloyd grew up watching his father wrestle and in the early part of his training he used to practice in the backyard of his home, in which two rings were positioned. He made his

professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

debut at the age of 16. Using the ring name "P. J. Black", he formed a regular

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establis ...

with Ray Leppan called Pure Juice. His father was shot and killed in front of him during Lloyd's final year in high school, and a year later he moved to the United Kingdom for five years.

United Kingdom and South Africa (2000–2008)

Lloyd spent five years in the United Kingdom, where he trained with

Frontier Wrestling Alliance Frontier Wrestling Alliance (FWA) was a professional wrestling promotion in Britain. Established in 1993 as the Fratton Wrestling Association it soon became the Frontier Wrestling Alliance six years later and until 2007 when it lost a scripted ...

. He was trained by

Alex Shane Alexander Daniel Spilling (born 15 November 1979) is a British professional wrestler and professional wrestling commentator who is best known by his ring name "The Showstealer" Alex Shane. Spilling also works as a promoter, wrestling coach and ...

and Mark Sloan. In 2003 he made his FWA debut. He also made an appearance in International Pro Wrestling: United Kingdom. He debuted for the South African promotion World Wrestling Professionals (WWP) in 2005. In 2006, he returned to South Africa full-time, and returned to WWP. His most notable feuds during his tenure in WWP were against

Tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...

, Dameon Duke, Mikey Whiplash, and Joe E. Legend. On 1 November 2007, Black became the promotion's inaugural World Cruiserweight Champion, by defeating The Playa in a match to determine the inaugural champion. After holding the championship for 13 days, he lost it to Lizzard on 14 November. He then declared his intentions to compete in WWP's heavyweight division. Lloyd challenged unsuccessfully for the

WWP World Heavyweight Championship The WWP Heavyweight World Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in the South African professional wrestling promotion World Wrestling Professionals (WWP), contested exclusively among Heavyweight (>=) wrestlers ...

against Joe E Legend on a ''WWP Thunderstrike'' episode that aired on 10 January 2009. During the match he suffered minor burns to the face after a fireball spot did not go as originally planned, and he had to be treated in hospital. His final match in South Africa took place on 8 November 2008 at WWP's bi-annual Carnival City Casino show, where he was defeated by Terri Middoux in front of a record attendance.

World Wrestling Entertainment/WWE (2008-2015)

Florida Championship Wrestling (2008–2010)

Justin on top-rope hoisting up the title

In 2008, Lloyd signed a three-year developmental deal with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), becoming the first South African person to do so. He was assigned to

(FCW), WWE's

, where he made his debut under the name Paul Lloyd on 5 February, in a loss to Kawal. His first win in FCW came the following week, when he teamed with

Caylen Croft Kris Pavone (born May 2, 1980) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), where he wrestled under the ring name Caylen Croft. He was one half of the DudeBusters tag team w ...

and

Trent Barreta Gregory Marasciulo (born March 30, 1987), better known by the ring name Trent Beretta, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of the Don Callis Family and one-half of Roppongi Vice ...

to defeat

Tyler Reks Gabbi Alon Tuft (born November 1, 1978) is an American TikToker and former Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. Tuft is best known for her time with WWE under the ring name Tyler Reks. Tuft also competed in WWE's Farm team#Professiona ...

Johnny Curtis Curtis Jonathan Hussey (born July 22, 1983) is an American professional wrestler, signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he is a member of The System and performs under the ring name Johnny Dango Curtis (shortened as JDC) while a ...

, and DJ Gabriel in a

six-man tag team 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 ...

. The following month, he changed his ring name to 'Justin Angel'. He went on to wrestle against DH Smith, Barreta, Yoshitatsu, and

Lance Hoyt Lance Hoyt (born February 28, 1977), better known by his ring name Lance Archer, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where is a member of The Don Callis Family and one-half of ...

over the next few months. In June, he formed a tag team with Kris Logan, with the pair defeating DJ Gabriel and Vic Adams in their debut match as a team. They quickly began to feud with The Dude Busters of Barreta and Croft, losing to them in several championship matches over the next month. At the 23 July 2009 tapings of FCW's television show, Angel and Logan defeated Barreta and Croft to become the Florida Tag Team Champions. They lost the championship on the same night to The Rotundos ( Bo and

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

). Following the loss of the championship, Angel and Logan dissolved as a tag team, with Angel returning to singles competition. He went on a winning streak throughout August, defeating

Alex Riley Kevin Robert Kiley Jr. (born April 28, 1981) is an American former professional wrestler and commentator. He is best known for his tenure in WWE, under the ring name Alex Riley, where he was a participant in the second season of '' NXT''. Pr ...

, Vance Archer, and

Sheamus Stephen Farrelly (born 28 January 1978) is an Irish Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw brand under the ring name Sheamus. Prior to joining WWE, he wrestled on th ...

. Angel won the

Florida Heavyweight Championship The FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling heavyweight championship owned and promoted by Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), a former developmental territory of WWE. It was contested for in their heavyweight divisi ...

from Heath Slater in a

two out of three falls match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Gimmick, gimmick matches" in the Glossary of professional wrestling terms, jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick m ...

at the 24 September 2009 television tapings. He successfully defended the championship against

Drew McIntyre Andrew McLean Galloway IV (born 6 June, 1985) is a Scottish Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown brand under the ring name Drew McIntyre. Galloway began ...

, Eric Escobar, Slater, and

Curt Hawkins Brian Myers (born April 20, 1985) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he is a member of The System. He is a three-time TNA World Tag Team Champion, having held the title with Trev ...

throughout late 2009. In February 2010, he changed his ring name to 'Justin Gabriel' to coincide with his appearances on ''NXT''. Further successful championship defenses occurred in early 2010, against competitors including Hawkins, Barreta, and

Kaval The kaval is a Diatonic and chromatic, chromatic end-blown flute, end-blown oblique flute traditionally played throughout the Balkans (in Albania, Romania, Bulgaria, Southern Serbia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Northern Greece, and elsewhere) and ...

. After a near six-month reign, Gabriel lost the championship at the 18 March television tapings, when Alex Riley won a

three-way match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "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 storyline. ...

, which also included

Wade Barrett Stuart Alexander Bennett (born 10 August 1980) is an English acting, actor and former professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs under the ring name Wade Barrett as a color commentator on the ''WWE Sma ...

. Gabriel lost a rematch to Riley on 31 March and again on 20 May. In May, he started a feud with fellow South African Leo Kruger over who was the better wrestler. On 10 June, Gabriel beat Kruger, but Kruger reversed the result in a rematch at the 1 July television tapings, which was Gabriel's final appearance in FCW.

The Nexus and the Corre (2010–2011)

On 16 February 2010, it was announced that Angel was going to be competing on the first season of '' NXT'' under the name Justin Gabriel, with

Matt Hardy Matthew Moore Hardy (born September 23, 1974) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he a former List of TNA World Tag Team Champions, three time TNA Wor ...

as his storyline mentor. He made his in-ring debut on the 2 March 2010 episode of ''NXT'' in a tag team match with his mentor Hardy, against the team of

William Regal Darren Kenneth Matthews (born 10 May 1968), better known by the ring name William Regal, is an English retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he serves as the vice-president of Global Talent Development. He is also known for ...

and Skip Sheffield. Gabriel and Hardy won the match when Gabriel pinned Regal, making him the first rookie to pin a pro on the show. He went on to defeat Wade Barrett the following week, before suffering his first defeat on the 16 March 2010 episode of ''NXT,'' when he and Hardy were defeated by

CM Punk Phillip Jack Brooks (born October 26, 1978), better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw brand. Regarded as ...

and

Darren Young Frederick Douglas Rosser III (born November 2, 1983) is an American professional wrestler and trainer. He is signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a trainer at the NJPW Academy and a former Strong Openweight Champion. He is bes ...

. On 30 March, in the first Pros Poll, Gabriel was ranked third behind

Daniel Bryan Bryan Lloyd Danielson (born May 22, 1981) is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs on a part time basis. He is also known for his tenure in WWE, where he performed under t ...

(first) and Wade Barrett (second). Before the first elimination, Gabriel won the Rookie Challenge earning immunity from elimination in the following Pros Poll. In that Poll, Gabriel remained in third place behind Wade Barrett (who was moved to first) and

David Otunga David Daniel Otunga (born April 7, 1980) is an American actor and former professional wrestler and lawyer. He is best known for his tenure in WWE from 2009 to 2015. Otunga was the runner-up on the first season of ''WWE NXT'' and later an origina ...

(second). In the season finale on 1 June, Gabriel was the first eliminated, finishing in third place overall in the competition. The Nexus at SummerSlam 2010

On the 7 June 2010 episode of '' Raw,'' Gabriel and the other season one ''NXT'' rookies turned

heel 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 exerted ...

(villainous) by interfering in the Viewer's Choice main event match between

John Cena John Felix Anthony Cena ( ; born April 23, 1977) is an American actor and professional wrestler. As a wrestler, he has been signed to WWE , where he is the current WWE Championship, Undisputed WWE Champion in his record 14th reign, which is ...

and CM Punk, attacking both competitors, the announcing team and

Justin Roberts Justin Jason Roberts (born December 29, 1979) is an American professional ring announcer signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), where he regularly announced for its pay-per-vie ...

, the

ring announcer A ring announcer is an in-ring (and sometimes on-camera) employee or contractor for a boxing, professional wrestling or mixed martial arts event or promotion, who introduces the competitors to the audience. In boxing and mixed martial arts bouts ...

before dismantling the ring area and surrounding equipment. The following week on ''Raw,'' the rookies (excluding Daniel Bryan who had been released) attacked general manager

Bret Hart Bret Sergeant Hart (born July 2, 1957) is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. A member of the Hart wrestling family and a second-generation wrestler, he has an amateur wrestling background at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal U ...

, when he refused to give them contracts. At the

Fatal 4-Way Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "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 storyline. ...

pay-per-view, the seven rookies interfered in the

WWE Championship The WWE Championship, also referred to as the Undisputed WWE Championship since April 2024, is a men's professional wrestling world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, defended on the SmackDown bran ...

match and cost Cena the championship. The following week on ''Raw,''

Vince McMahon Vincent Kennedy McMahon ( ; born August 24, 1945) is an American businessman and former professional wrestling promoter. McMahon, along with his later-estranged wife Linda McMahon, Linda, is a co-founder of the modern WWE, the world's largest ...

fired Hart and announced the hiring of a new general manager, who had signed the seven season one ''NXT'' rookies to contracts. The following week, the group was named The Nexus. On the 12 July episode of ''Raw'', The Nexus competed in their first match together, without Darren Young, a six–on–one handicap match against John Cena, which they won when Gabriel pinned Cena. The Nexus continued to feud with Cena and the Raw roster, resulting in a seven-on-seven elimination tag team match at

SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by the world's largest professional wrestling promotion, WWE. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's second biggest event of the year behind th ...

. Gabriel was one of the final two Nexus members in the match, but Cena's team won when Cena eliminated Gabriel and then Barrett to win the match. On 3 October 2010, Cena was forced to join The Nexus as a result of losing to Barrett at

Hell in a Cell Hell in a Cell is a professional wrestling steel cage-based match which originated in 1997 in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It features a large cell structure, a four-sided cuboid made from open-weave steel mesh chain-link f ...

and at the following pay-per-view

Bragging Rights Boasting or bragging is speaking with excessive pride and self-satisfaction about one's achievements, possessions, or abilities. Boasting tends to be an attempt to prove one's superiority by recounting accomplishments so that others will feel adm ...

, Cena and Otunga won the

. On the 25 October 2010 episode of ''Raw,'' Barrett made a tag team match, with Gabriel and Heath Slater facing Otunga and Cena for the championship. Gabriel and Slater won when Barrett ordered Otunga to allow Slater to pin him, becoming the new Tag Team Champions. Gabriel and Slater held the championship for nearly two months before losing it to

Santino Marella Anthony Carelli (born March 14, 1974), better known by the ring name Santino Marella, is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he works as the on-screen director of authority. He is best kn ...

and

Vladimir Kozlov Oleg Aleksandrovich Prudius (born April 27, 1969) better known by his ring name Vladimir Kozlov, is a Ukrainian-American actor and Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in WWE, where he won the WWE Raw Ta ...

in a four-way elimination match, also involving

The Usos The Usos were a Samoan-American professional wrestling tag team which consisted of twin brothers Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso. They are signed to WWE, where Jey performs on the WWE Raw, Raw brand while Jimmy performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), Sma ...

and

Mark Henry Mark Jerrold Henry (born June 12, 1971) is an American former powerlifter, Olympic weightlifter, strongman, and retired professional wrestler currently signed to WWE under a Legends contract. Henry is a two-time Olympian (1992 and 19 ...

and Yoshi Tatsu on 6 December. Gabriel and Slater received a rematch for the championship at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs on 19 December, but lost by disqualification when Nexus member Michael McGillicutty interfered. Justin Gabriel

On the 10 January 2011 episode of ''Raw,'' Gabriel and Slater refused to take part in new Nexus leader CM Punk's initiation and walked away from the group. The following day, at the tapings of the 14 January 2011 episode of ''

SmackDown ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on USA Network in the United ...

,'' Gabriel and Slater helped former leader Barrett and

Ezekiel Jackson Rycklon Edward Stephens (born April 22, 1978) is a Guyanese-American professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in WWE from 2007 to 2014 where he performed under the ring name Ezekiel Jackson, where he was the final ECW Champion un ...

attack

Big Show Paul Donald Wight II (born February 8, 1972) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under his real name of Paul Wight. He is best known for his tenure with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) f ...

. The following week, Gabriel, Slater, Barrett, and Jackson announced they had formed

The Corre The Corre was a short-lived villainous stable in WWE. Formed in 2011, the group was a spinoff of Wade Barrett's former group The Nexus. The stable was formed after Barrett left The Nexus and aligned himself with Heath Slater and Justin Gabrie ...

, and later that night Gabriel defeated

World Heavyweight Champion At boxing's beginning, the heavyweight division had no weight limit, and historically the weight class has gone with vague or no definition. During the 19th century many heavyweights were 170 pounds (12 st 2 lb, 77 kg) or less, tho ...

Edge Edge or EDGE may refer to: Technology Computing * Edge computing, a network load-balancing system * Edge device, an entry point to a computer network * Adobe Edge, a graphical development application * Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed by ...

in a non-title match, following interference from the other members of The Corre. After winning a non-title match against the champions Kozlov and Marella on 4 February episode of ''SmackDown'', Gabriel and Slater received a match for the WWE Tag Team Championship two weeks later, but lost via disqualification when the other members of The Corre interfered. They received a rematch at the

Elimination Chamber The Elimination Chamber is a professional wrestling elimination-based match held in the WWE. The match was created by Triple H, and introduced by Eric Bischoff in November 2002. It features a large chain-linked circular steel structure which ...

pay-per-view on 20 February and defeated Marella and Kozlov to win the WWE Tag Team Championship for the second time. The following night on ''Raw'', Gabriel and Slater lost the championship to John Cena and

The Miz Michael Gregory Mizanin (born October 8, 1980) is an American professional wrestler, actor, and television personality. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name The Miz. Mizanin first gained fame a ...

, but won the championship back minutes later after Barrett invoked The Corre's rematch clause, and The Miz turned on Cena. During this time, The Corre had continued to feud with The Big Show, and at

WrestleMania XXVII WrestleMania XXVII was a 2011 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) List of WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming supercards, event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was the 27th annual WrestleMania and took place on April 3, 20 ...

in April the team of The Big Show,

Kane Kane or KANE may refer to: Art, entertainment and media Fictional entities *Kane (comics), the main character of the eponymous comic book series by Paul Grist * Kane (''Command & Conquer''), Tiberium universe character in the ''Command & Conquer'' ...

, Santino Marella, and

Kofi Kingston Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah (born August 14, 1981) is a Ghanaian-born American professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Kofi ...

defeated The Corre. At the 19 April taping of ''SmackDown'', the duo of Gabriel and Slater lost the Tag Team Championship to the team of Kane and The Big Show. In a backstage segment following the match, Gabriel was attacked by Slater, who thought Gabriel blamed him for their loss. On the 6 May episode of ''SmackDown'', Gabriel, Barrett, and Slater attacked Jackson, removing him from the group. The three remaining members of The Corre feuded with Jackson until the 10 June episode of ''SmackDown'', when Barrett walked out on Gabriel and Slater during a six-man tag team match against Jackson and the Usos, causing Gabriel and Slater to proclaim the end of The Corre. Gabriel continued to ally himself with Slater despite the dissolution of The Corre, and the duo began a feud with The Usos. On the 17 June episode of ''SmackDown'', Gabriel and Slater were defeated by The Usos, but defeated them in a rematch the following week. They were again defeated by The Usos on the 8 July episode of ''SmackDown'', resulting in the pair arguing in the ring. The following week, their team was ended when they faced off in a match won by Gabriel and Gabriel transitioned to a

face The face is the front of the head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may affect th ...

(fan favourite) character.

Championship pursuits (2011–2013)

At Money in the Bank, Gabriel participated in the SmackDown

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 performed at WWE's annual WrestleMania event beginning in 2005, a separate WWE Money in the Bank, Money in the Bank event w ...

, which was won by Daniel Bryan. For the rest of 2011, Gabriel scored many wins on ''

Superstars A superstar is a widely acclaimed celebrity. Superstar or superstars may also refer to: People * "Superstar" Krishna (1943–2022), Indian film actor, director and producer in Telugu cinema * "Superstar" Mahesh Babu (born 1975), Indian actor * ...

'' over wrestlers like

Tyson Kidd Theodore James "TJ" Wilson (born July 11, 1980), better known by the ring name Tyson Kidd, is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he works as a road agent (professional wrestling), producer. The final graduate o ...

JTG Jayson Anthony Paul (born December 10, 1984) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler best known for his time in WWE under the ring name JTG. Paul began his professional wrestling career in 2006 with World Wrestling Entertai ...

and

Jinder Mahal Yuvraj Singh Dhesi (born July 19, 1986) is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is performing on the independent circuit under his real name, stylized as Raj Dhesi. He is best known for his tenures in WWE, where he performed under the ring nam ...

, but was not as successful on other shows. On ''Raw'', he failed to win a battle royal for the

WWE Intercontinental Championship The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a men's professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, defended on the Raw brand division. It is one of two secondary championships for WWE's main roster, alo ...

on 26 September 2011; while on ''SmackDown'', he lost singles matches to Wade Barrett,

Hunico José Jorge Arriaga RodríguezSee :File:Proof for MPJ-DK.jpg, which falls under WP:ABOUTSELF that states "Self-published and questionable sources may be used as sources of information about themselves, usually in articles about themselves or t ...

and

Cody Rhodes Cody Garrett Runnels Rhodes (born June 30, 1985) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. As of April 2022, he is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown brand. He is also known for co-fou ...

. In January 2012, Gabriel began an alliance of sorts with

Hornswoggle Dylan Mark Postl (born May 29, 1986) is an American professional wrestler and YouTuber. He is best known under the ring name Hornswoggle. He is signed to WWE under a legends contract and performs on the independent circuit, sometimes under the ...

, saving him from Slater and Cody Rhodes, leading to matches with both which he won and lost respectively. At

, Gabriel unsuccessfully challenged

Jack Swagger Donald Jacob Hager Jr. (born March 24, 1982) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and former Amateur wrestling, amateur wrestler and Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. He currently performs on the independent circ ...

for the

WWE United States Championship The WWE United States Championship is a men's professional wrestling Professional wrestling championship#Location-specific championships, championship promoted by the United States, American professional wrestling promotion, promotion WWE, defend ...

. Following a series of matches in early 2012, Gabriel and

showed mutual respect for each other, and decided to team up and form a tag team to challenge

Primo & Epico Eddie and Orlando Colón are a Puerto Rican professional wrestling tag team. They work with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where they perform as The Colóns. The team, composed of real-life cousins, are former WWE Tag Team Champions Th ...

for the WWE Tag Team Championship. In a dark match at

WrestleMania XXVIII WrestleMania XXVIII was a 2012 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by WWE. It was the 28th annual WrestleMania and took place on April 1, 2012, at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. This was the first WrestleMani ...

on 1 April, also involving the Usos, they attempted to win the championship but were unsuccessful. During the match, Gabriel suffered a

hyperextended Motion, the process of movement, is described using specific anatomical terms. Motion includes movement of organs, joints, limbs, and specific sections of the body. The terminology used describes this motion according to its direction relative ...

and twisted elbow, rendering him inactive for several weeks. He returned on the 30 May episode of ''NXT'', scoring the win for himself, Derrick Bateman and

Percy Watson Nicholas Christopher McNeil (born August 19, 1981), better known by his ring name Percy Watson, is an American professional wrestler, commentator, and former professional football player. He is best known for his time with WWE as an in-ring ...

over the team of JTG, Johnny Curtis and Michael McGillicutty. Gabriel reunited with Kidd on 6 June, when they defeated Johnny Curtis and Heath Slater on ''NXT Redemption''. At the No Way Out pay-per-view, Gabriel and Kidd were defeated by

The Prime Time Players The Prime Time Players were an American professional wrestling tag team performing in the WWE, composed of Darren Young and Titus O'Neil. The two initially competed on ''WWE NXT'', debuting as a team in January 2012 and were later promoted to the ...

(

Titus O'Neil Thaddeus Michael Bullard (born April 29, 1977) is an American professional wrestler and former arena football player. He is signed to WWE as a Global Ambassador. Described by the company as "one of the most philanthropic superstars in WWE hist ...

and Darren Young) in a number one contender four-way tag team match, also involving Primo and Epico and The Usos. When NXT merged with WWE's developmental territory FCW in August, Gabriel participated in a tournament to determine the inaugural NXT Champion, but was eliminated by Michael McGillicutty. On the 31 August episode of ''SmackDown'', Kidd and Gabriel suffered their first loss as a team against the Prime Time Players. On the debut episode of ''

Main Event 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 ...

'' on 3 October, the pair, now unofficially called International Airstrike, lost to Santino Marella and

Zack Ryder Matthew Brett Cardona (born May 14, 1985) is an American professional wrestler. He is a freelancer who competes on the independent circuit as well as making in ring appearances for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), All Elite Wrestling (AEW) ...

in the quarter-finals of a tournament to decide the number one contenders. The following month, they were named part of a team for

Survivor Series Survivor Series, branded as Survivor Series: WarGames since 2022, is a professional wrestling event produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving ( ...

, and were on the winning side of a precursor match on 12 November when they,

Rey Mysterio Óscar Gutiérrez Rubio (born December 11, 1974), better known by his ring name Rey Mysterio, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. Widely regarded as both one of the greatest '' luch ...

, and

Sin Cara Sin Cara may refer to: * Místico (born 1982), Mexican professional wrestler, wrestled as Sin Cara in WWE between 2011 and 2013 * Cinta de Oro (born 1977), American professional wrestler, wrestled as Sin Cara in WWE during 2011 and between 2013 ...

defeated the Prime Time Players, Primo, and Epico with Gabriel pinning Young. At Survivor Series, Gabriel and Kidd were part of the victorious team in a five-on-five elimination tag team match, alongside Mysterio, Sin Cara, and

Brodus Clay George Murdoch (born February 21, 1973) is an American cable news personality, actor, and former professional wrestler known by his ring/stage name Tyrus. As a wrestler, he was formerly signed to the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), where he i ...

. In January 2013, Kidd had suffered a torn knee meniscus, placing their partnership on hold. On the 17 April 2013 episode of ''Main Event'', Gabriel won a battle royal to earn a recognition for the #1 contender for the Intercontinental Championship. His match against former ally Wade Barrett was later that night, but Gabriel was unsuccessful as Barrett pinned Gabriel after a devastating bull hammer elbow the finishing move of Barrett.

Final years (2013–2015)

Gabriel did not perform on pay-per-view for 2013; from May, he largely wrestled singles matches on ''Main Event'' and ''Superstars'', with wins over Curt Hawkins and Darren Young, but lost to other wrestlers including

Antonio Cesaro Claudio Castagnoli ( ; born 27 December 1980) is a Swiss professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of the Death Riders and a former AEW World Trios Championship, AEW World Trios Champion. He also per ...

, Big E Langston,

Damien Sandow Aron Steven Haddad (born August 3, 1982) is an American retired professional wrestler working as a manager in the National Wrestling Alliance under the name Aron Stevens. He is best known for wrestling with WWE under the ring name Damien Sandow ...

, and

Fandango Fandango is a lively partner dance originating in Portugal and Spain, usually in triple metre, triple meter, traditionally accompanied by guitars, castanets, tambourine or hand-clapping. Fandango can both be sung and danced. Sung fandango is u ...

. He was involved in a storyline in September; after weeks of authority figure

Triple H Paul Michael Levesque (; born July 27, 1969), also known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive and former professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he serves as its chief content officer. Levesque began his wres ...

emasculating the WWE roster, Gabriel and several other babyfaces finally saved

from a beatdown by

the Shield ''The Shield'' is an American crime drama television series created by Shawn Ryan and starring Michael Chiklis that aired on FX from March 12, 2002 to November 25, 2008 for seven seasons. The show is known for its portrayal of corrupt police ...

and

Randy Orton Randal Keith Orton (born April 1, 1980) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He has been signed to WWE since 2000, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown brand. Orton is widely regarded as one of t ...

on the 16 September episode of ''Raw''. In response, Triple H arranged for Gabriel and Zack Ryder to face

Luke Harper Jonathan Huber (December 16, 1979 – December 26, 2020) was an American professional wrestler known as Brodie Lee. Huber performed under the ring name Luke Harper in WWE from 2012 to 2019, and as Mr. Brodie Lee in All Elite Wrestling (AEW) ...

and

Erick Rowan Joseph Ruud (born November 28, 1981) is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Erick Rowan. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand and is a member of The Wyatt Sicks. Having previously wrestled ...

The Wyatt Family The Wyatt Family was an American professional wrestling Stable (professional wrestling), stable in WWE originally composed of Bray Wyatt, Erick Rowan, and Brodie Lee, Luke Harper. Portrayed as a Heel (professional wrestling), villainous cult fro ...

on the next ''SmackDown'', where Gabriel's team lost. On the next episode of ''Raw'', Bryan, Gabriel and the other babyfaces faced the Shield in an 11-on-3 handicap elimination match; Gabriel was eliminated by

Roman Reigns Leati Joseph Anoaʻi ( ; born May 25, 1985), better known by his ring name Roman Reigns, is an American professional wrestler and former gridiron football, football player. As a wrestler, he has been signed to WWE , where he performs on the Sm ...

, but his team eventually won the match last eliminating

Seth Rollins Colby Daniel Lopez (born May 28, 1986), better known by the ring name Seth Rollins, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand extension, brand and ...

. In January 2014, the ''Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter'' released a ranking of WWE's roster; Gabriel was ranked as a lower-tier babyface. He wrestled one match on pay-per-view for 2014, that being the

André the Giant André René Roussimoff (; 19 May 1946 – 28 January 1993), better known by his ring name André the Giant, was a French professional wrestler and actor. Dubbed "the Eighth Wonder of the World", Roussimoff was known for his great size, which ...

Memorial battle royal at

WrestleMania XXX WrestleMania XXX was a 2014 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was the 30th annual WrestleMania and took place on April 6, 2014, at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. This ...

, which Gabriel failed to win. In mid-2014, Gabriel began competing more on ''NXT'', which was now the show for WWE's rebranded developmental branch, but even there, Gabriel lost all of his televised singles matches, including to

Adrian Neville Benjamin Satterley (born 22 August 1986), better known by his ring name Pac (sometimes stylised in ''all caps''), is an English professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of Death Riders. He is a fo ...

Tyler Breeze Mattias Clement (born January 19, 1988) is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE under the ring name Tyler Breeze as a member of the UpUpDownDown channel and as a writer for the NXT brand. He also wrestles on the independent ...

and

Hideo Itami , known mononymously as Kenta (stylised in all caps), is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is signed to Pro Wrestling Noah. A former amateur kickboxer, Kobayashi's wrestling style is based upon strong kicks and strikes. Kobayashi pioneered ...

. After losing to

Sami Zayn Rami Sebei (born July 12, 1984) is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Sami Zayn. Sebei made his professional wrestling debut in 2002 under the ring name Stevie McFly. Pr ...

on the 3 July 2014 episode of ''NXT'', Gabriel turned heel for the second time since 2011 by joining his former partner Tyson Kidd in a post-match assault on Zayn. The following week on ''NXT'', Gabriel and Kidd's reunion was initially successful as they defeated Neville and Zayn in a tag match, but Zayn got revenge when he and

Adam Rose Raymond John Leppan (born 20 July 1979) is a South African retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in WWE under the ring name Adam Rose. Making his debut on the South African independent circuit in 1995, Leppan signed with ...

eliminated Gabriel and Kidd in a tournament to determine the number one contenders to the

NXT Tag Team Championship The NXT Tag Team Championship is a men's Professional wrestling championship, professional wrestling tag team championship created and promoted by the United States, American professional wrestling promotion, promotion WWE. It is defended on NXT ...

on the 7 August episode of ''NXT''. Gabriel's last televised victory was on the 11 September 2014 episode of ''Superstars'' against

. His last title opportunity came on the 28 November 2014 episode of ''SmackDown'', when he was the first eliminated from a battle royal for the United States Championship. Toward the end of his run, Gabriel was primarily used as a

job Work, labor (labour in Commonwealth English), occupation or job is the intentional activity people perform to support the needs and desires of themselves, other people, or organizations. In the context of economics, work can be seen as the huma ...

ber. His last televised match was a loss to

Rusev Rusev ( ), female version Ruseva ( ) is a Bulgarian language surname derived from the first name Rusi and it may refer to: *Rusev (wrestler) (formerly known as Miro), ring name of Bulgarian professional wrestler Miroslav Barnyashev. *Angel Rusev (f ...

on the 14 January 2015 episode of ''Main Event''. The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' reported on 24 January 2015 that Gabriel had quit WWE, one day before the 2015 Royal Rumble in which he was scheduled to compete. WWE officially confirmed his release on 25 January 2015. In March 2015, he did an interview with

Chris Jericho Christopher Keith Irvine (born November 9, 1970), better known by the ring name Chris Jericho, is an American-Canadian professional wrestler, rock musician, and actor. As a wrestler, he has been signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) , where he ...

on the podcast ''Talk is Jericho'', where he revealed that he was the popular bunny character of

's Exotic Express and that the Adam Rose character was intended for him. He also mentioned that

did not approve of his ideas for a

wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, includin ...

-themed daredevil persona he had written his own promos for.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2015)

On 12 August, Black took part in a TNA angle where GFW invaded

(TNA). During that day's ''

Impact Wrestling Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (abbreviated as TNA Wrestling or TNA) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment, a Canadian media company owned by busine ...

'' tapings, Black defeated Lashley, Chris Mordetzky, Eric Young and

Robbie E Robert Strauss (born October 1, 1983) is an American professional wrestler and Manager (professional wrestling), manager. He is signed to WWE, where he is a Producer (wrestling), producer, the on-screen assistant to the NXT general manager Ava (w ...

in a

King of the Mountain match The King of the Mountain match (Queen of the Mountain when female wrestlers are involved) is a Professional wrestling match types, professional wrestling match exclusive to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. Match format The five competitors in the ...

to win the vacant

and on the 19 August episode of Impact, Black got a shot at the

TNA World Heavyweight Championship The TNA World Championship is a professional wrestling world championship created and promoted by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). It is the promotion's principal championship. Like most professional wrestling championships, the title is won ...

against

Ethan Carter III Michael Hutter (born March 18, 1983) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and promoter better known by the ring name Ethan Carter III (or simply EC3). He is signed to the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), where he is a f ...

but lost the match. On the 2 September episode of Impact, Black lost the King of the Mountain Championship to

Bobby Roode Robert Francis Roode Jr. (born May 11, 1976) is a Canadian retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he is a Producer (professional wrestling), producer and was formerly an in-ring performer. Roode is known ...

. After Team TNA members Drew Galloway, Lashley,

Bram Bram may refer to: People * Bram (given name) * Bram (surname) * Thom Latimer (born 1986), English professional wrestler better known as his former ring name ″Bram″ * Bram Tchaikovsky (born 1950), stage name of British musician Peter Bramall * ...

and The Wolves (

Davey Richards Wesley David Richards (born March 1, 1983), best known under the ring name Davey Richards, is a retired American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. Best known for his time in Impact Wrestling, TNA Wrestling and Ring of Honor, and for ...

and Eddie Edwards) defeated Team GFW members

Jeff Jarrett Jeffrey Leonard Jarrett (born July 14, 1967) is an American professional wrestler and professional wrestling promoter. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he both wrestles and serves as Director of Business Development. He is also ...

, Chris Mordetzky,

Brian Myers Brian Myers (born April 20, 1985) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he is a member of The System. He is a three-time TNA World Tag Team Champion, having held the title with Trevo ...

Sonjay Dutt Retesh Bhalla (born April 7, 1982) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a Glossary of professional wrestling terms#agent, producer and Glossary of professional wrestling terms#manage ...

and Eric Young in a

Lethal Lockdown match A Lethal Lockdown match is a professional wrestling match used in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). This match has become a staple of TNA's Lockdown pay-per-view event, but has also made appearances at other TNA pay-per-views, and during ''Im ...

for Jeff Jarrett's share of the company, the invasion angle ended.

Independent circuit (2015–present)

On 25 January 2015, it was announced that Lloyd would be making his first post-WWE appearance for Pro Wrestling Syndicate (PWS) on 31 January as "The Darewolf" P. J. Black, resuming his previous ring name along with a new moniker. At the EVOLVE 38 iPPV event held on 8 March, Black defeated Caleb Konley following a springboard

450 splash Aerial techniques, also known as "high-flying moves" are performance techniques used in professional wrestling for simulated assault on opponents. The techniques involve jumping from the ring's posts and ropes, demonstrating the speed and agility o ...

. On 6 May 2015,

Global Force Wrestling Global Force Wrestling was an American professional wrestling promotion founded in 2014 by Jeff Jarrett, the co-founder and former President of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, and his wife Karen Jarrett. It was owned and operated via its parent ...

(GFW) announced Black as part of their roster On 24 July 2015, Black entered the GFW NEX*GEN Championship Tournament to crown the inaugural champion, he defeated

Seiya Sanada , better known by his mononymous ring name Sanada (stylized in all caps), is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a member of House of Torture and a former member of Bullet Club. He is a f ...

in the first round of the tournament. On 23 October 2015 Black defeated Jigsaw, T. J. Perkins and Virgil Flynn in a four way. match to become the first ever GFW NEX*GEN Champion. On 27 November 2015, Black lost the NEX*GEN Championship to

. It was later announced that Black dropped the title because he was departing to

Lucha Underground Lucha Underground was an American professional wrestling promotion founded in 2014 by United Artists, United Artists Media Group. ''Lucha Underground'' also refers to its weekly television program, which featured List of former Lucha Underground p ...

. On 9 May 2015, Black (with manager Jonny Ferrari) lost to Mr. 450 at RONIN 6 in Pembroke Pines, Florida, after his manager turned on him and sided with Mr. 450, costing him the match.Results RONIN 6 May 9 2015 Match 8: Mr. 450 def. PJ Black, when PJ's manager Jonny Ferrari turned on him and sided with 450
/ref> On 29 May 2015, Black lost to IWGP World Heavyweight Champion

AJ Styles Allen Neal Jones (born June 2, 1977), better known by his ring name AJ Styles (or A.J. Styles), is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand extension, ...

(with manager Jonny Ferrari) at House of Glory High Intensity 4 in Jamaica, New York, after he had destroyed Ferrari's megaphone at the beginning of the match. On 26 March, Black unsuccessfully challenged

Drew Galloway Andrew McLean Galloway IV (born 6 June, 1985) is a Scottish professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Drew McIntyre. Galloway began his career in 2001 in the United Kingdom wit ...

for the

Evolve Championship The Evolve Championship was a men's professional wrestling Championship (professional wrestling), championship that was created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion, promotion Evolve (professional wrestling), Evolve. The ...

. On 2 July 2016, Black defeated Ivan Kiev at ''GWF Summer Smash'' to become the GWF Berlin Champion. On 5 February 2017, Black teamed with

Nixon Newell Steffanie Newell (born 15 November 1994) is a Welsh professional wrestler. She performs on the independent circuit under the ring name Nixon Newell. She is best known for her tenures in the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, where s ...

defeated Guilty By Habit (Damian Dunne and

Robbie X Robert Bell (born 6 January 1995), better known by his ring name Robbie X is an English professional wrestler. He is currently performing on the British independent circuit, particularly for Revolution Pro Wrestling (RevPro), where he is a form ...

) to become the SWE Tag Team Championships. On 12 March 2017, they lost the titles back to Guilty By Habit in a rematch. After seven months on inactivity for his jumping injury, Black returned in a Wrestlecade show teaming with Willie Mack and Jason Kincaid but were defeated by Juventud Guerrerra,

Super Crazy Francisco Islas Rueda (born December 3, 1973), better known by his ring name Super Crazy, is a Mexican '' luchador'' (or professional wrestler). In Mexico, Islas has worked for Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA) and made appearances ...

and Caleb Konley. On 2 March 2018 it was announced that former WWE Superstars and members of The Nexus faction Darren Young, Michael Tarver and Black will be competing at this year’s Chikara:

King of Trios King of Trios was a three-night tournament promoted by the Chikara (professional wrestling), Chikara professional wrestling promotion. The tournament was a different take on the Tag World Grand Prix event that the promotion was known for annually ...

tournament. At the event, the team won their first-round match but lost in the quarter-finals. On 26 October 2018, Black unsuccessfully challenged for the PCW Ultra Championship against Pentagón Jr. In 2018 Black was one of the mainstays of Joey Ryan's Bar Wrestling promotion, making seven appearances in total.

Lucha Underground (2015–2019)

On 14 November 2015, at the first set of Lucha Underground tapings for their second season, Black made his lucha debut for the organization and lost his first match against

Willie Mack Willie McClinton Jr. (born January 5, 1987) is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Willie Mack, currently appearing in Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide, Juggalo Championship Wrestling, All Elite Wrestling, Major League Wres ...

. On 24 February 2016, Black lost his second match to Jack Evans. On the 25 May episode of ''Lucha Underground'', Black and Evans were scheduled to compete for the

Lucha Underground Trios Championship } The Lucha Underground Trios Championship was a professional wrestling world tag team championship promoted by Lucha Underground. In contrast to usual tag team championships for two wrestlers, it is exclusively for three-man tag teams, also know ...

alongside Fénix, but Fénix was attacked by

Johnny Mundo John Randall Hennigan (born October 3, 1979), better known by his ring name John Morrison, is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Johnny TV. He also perfo ...

. As Mundo revealed himself as Fénix's replacement, Black and Evans allied with Mundo and his valet Taya. Black, Evans, and Mundo, now known as Worldwide Underground, defeated Rey Mysterio Jr.,

Prince Puma Trevor Mann (born October 11, 1988), known by his ring name Ricochet, is an American professional wrestler. , he is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is best known for his tenure in WWE from 2018 to 2024 where he is a former WWE Interconti ...

and Dragon Azteca Jr. to win the Lucha Underground Trios Championship, the first championship for each in ''Lucha Underground''. They lost their titles to

Aero Star Aero Star (born October 22, 1984) is a Mexican ''Lucha libre, luchador wrestling mask, enmascarado'' signed to Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA). Aero Star won the 2008 ''Alas de Oro#Alas de Oro 2008, Alas de Oro'' tournament and is known for his ...

, Drago and Fénix at the third and final part Ultima Lucha Dos, which aired on 20 July. On the 7 December episode of ''Lucha Underground'', Black lost to

Sexy Star Dulce Maria García Rivas (born September 20, 1982) is a Mexican '' luchadora'' '' enmascarada'', or masked female professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and professional boxer who is better known by the ring name Sexy Star. She is best k ...

in which if Sexy Star won, she would face Worldwide Underground leader Johnny Mundo for the

Lucha Underground Championship The Lucha Underground Championship was a professional wrestling world championship owned by the Lucha Underground promotion. The championship was the top championship of the promotion and was generally contested in professional wrestling matches ...

. Black participated in the Battle of the Bulls tournament for a number one contender spot for the Lucha Underground Championship. He lasted until the finals where he failed to win a fatal-four way elimination match also involving

Cage A cage is an enclosure often made of mesh, bars, or wires, used to confine, contain or protect something or someone. A cage can serve many purposes, including keeping an animal or person in captivity, capturing an animal or person, and displayi ...

Jeremiah Crane Samuel Alton Johnston (born September 1, 1987), better known by the ring name Sami Callihan, is an American professional wrestler and promoter. He is signed to Major League Wrestling (MLW) and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he is a f ...

and The Mack, the latter of which last eliminating Black to win the match.

NWA (2018–2019)

Sporting a new biker-look that included a beard, black vest and shoulder-length hair, Black wrestled NWA

World Champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

Nick Aldis Nicholas Harry Aldis (born 6 November 1986) is an English professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he is a producer and the on-screen general manager of the SmackDown brand. He is best known for his tenure in Total Nonstop Action Wres ...

to a five minute time limit draw at the 29 April 2018

Championship Wrestling from Hollywood Championship Wrestling (formally known as Championship Wrestling from Hollywood (CWFH)) is an American professional wrestling promotion and television program created by David Marquez, who serves as the promotion's president and on-camera intervi ...

TV taping, thereby earning a future opportunity at Aldis' title. Aldis had issued an open challenge offering to give any competitor lasting five minutes in the ring with him a future title opportunity. Black wrestled the champion after he had handily defeated two local competitors in singles matches. Black was scheduled to face Nick Aldis for the NWA Heavyweight Championship, the date and venue were set, but according to Aldis on NWA's Ten Pounds of Gold, Black "pulled out". After Black begun appearing for

Ring of Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011; the promotion was subs ...

(ROH), the match was booked again. It happened during ROH's television taping on January 12, 2019. At the event he lost the match to Aldis.

Ring of Honor (2018–2021)

Black made his debut for

(ROH) at the Survival of the Fittest (2018) tournament, Black defeated

Luchasaurus Austin Matelson (born March 10, 1985), better known by his ring name Luchasaurus, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Killswitch. He is a member of The Patriarch ...

in the qualifying match. However he lost the final match in a six-man mayhem match, the winner being

Marty Scurll Martin Scurll (born 26 July 1988) is an English professional wrestler. He is known for his work in Ring of Honor (ROH). Scurll began his career in 2005, working on the British independent circuit. In 2012, he competed on the TNA's show TNA Wres ...

. Black would go on to suffer a loss to Nick Aldis in a match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at the 12 January 2019 ROH television tapings. After being approached by

and

, he would sign a one-year contract with Ring of Honor. At

ROH Honor Reigns Supreme 2019 Honor Reigns Supreme 2019 was a professional wrestling event produced by Ring of Honor (ROH), that took place on January 13, 2019, at the Cabarrus Arena in Concord, North Carolina. The event was shown live on ROH's Honor Club online streaming se ...

, Black was defeated by Bandido. On 2 February, Black revealed he had signed an exclusive deal with ROH, stating his first official date with them being 16 March 2019. At Best In The World, Black joined Lifeblood's

Mark Haskins Mark Haskins (born June 25, 1988), is an English professional wrestler. He is known internationally for his time in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, as well as his appearances in Ring of Honor, Progress Wrestling, Revolution Pro Wrestling, Drag ...

and Traci Williams to unsuccessfully challenge

Villain Enterprises Villain Enterprises was a villainous professional wrestling stable consisting of Marty Scurll, Brody King, PCO, and Flip Gordon. The stable performed in Ring of Honor (ROH), where they are former ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champions, the Natio ...

for the

ROH World Six Man Tag Team Championship The ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship owned by the Ring of Honor (ROH) Professional wrestling promotion, promotion. It is defended by three-man tag teams, also referred to as trios. Th ...

. At Manhattan Mayhem, Black once again joined Lifeblood to defeat Villain Enterprises. At Summer Supercard, Black was defeated by Villain Enterprise's leader

Return to Impact Wrestling (2022)

On 20 October 2022 episode of ''Impact!'', Black was announced as one of the participants in the tournament for the vacated

Impact X Division Championship The TNA X Division Championship is a men's professional wrestling championship created and promoted by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). It debuted on June 19, 2002, at the taping of TNA's second then- weekly pay-per-view (PPV) event. The cu ...

Modeling career

Lloyd has competed in numerous modeling contests. He placed first in the Male Fitness Model Search held by FAME SA, sixth in the 2008 Mr Body Classic contest held by Mr & Ms Body Beautiful SA, eighth in the 2007 Men's Model Search held by Mr & Ms Fitness SA, and reached the top five in the Mr Physique Division in the 2008 Men's Model Search.

Other media

Lloyd appeared on

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience. It init ...

's ''Shark After Dark'' television program in August 2013. In September 2013, he was featured on an episode of ''

Total Divas ''Total Divas'' is an American reality television series that aired from July 28, 2013, to December 10, 2019, on E!. The series gave viewers an inside look into the lives of female WWE wrestlers from their work within WWE to their person ...

'' as a love interest for JoJo. Gabriel made his

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

debut in '' WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011'' and had later appeared in ''

WWE '12 ''WWE '12'' is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and published by THQ for PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360. It was released on November 22, 2011, in North America, November 25 in Europe, and on January 26, 2012, in Japan. ...

'', ''

WWE '13 ''WWE '13'' is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and published by THQ for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii. It was released on October 30, 2012, in North America and November 2, 2012, in United Kingdom. It is the fourteent ...

'' and ''

WWE 2K14 ''WWE 2K14'' is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and published by 2K (company), 2K for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It was released on October 29, 2013, in North America, October 30, 2013, in Japan, October 31, 2013, i ...

''. He also appears in ''

WWE 2K15 ''WWE 2K15'' is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and published by 2K (company), 2K for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One and Microsoft Windows. It is the sequel to ''WWE 2K14'', and was succeeded by ''WWE 2 ...

'' as Justin Gabriel and The Bunny (NPC, only appears in

's entrance.)

Personal life

Lloyd attended

Marais Viljoen High School Marais (, meaning "marsh") may refer to: People * Marais (given name) * Marais (surname) Other uses * Le Marais, historic district of Paris * Théâtre du Marais, the name of several theatres and theatrical troupes in Paris, France * Marais (co ...

in Johannesburg, South Africa where he excelled in rugby alongside junior rugby stars like Hendrik van Nieuwenhuizen. Upon graduation, he moved to the United Kingdom where he obtained a doctorate degree in

sports science Sports science is a discipline that studies how the healthy human body works during exercise, and how sports and physical activity promote health and performance from cellular to whole body perspectives. The study of sports science traditionally i ...

and Nutrition. Although he was born in South Africa, he resides in

Pierre Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

. He obtained US Citizenship in April 2016 but maintains his South African citizenship. Lloyd has suffered through two

BASE jumping BASE jumping () is the recreational sport of jumping from fixed objects, using a parachute to descend to the ground. BASE is an acronym that stands for four categories of fixed objects from which one can jump: buildings, antenna (radio), antenna ...

accidents. The latest of which occurred in the summer of 2017 and resulted in Lloyd losing the part of a finger which was later reattached.

Championships and accomplishments

*Cornish Pro Wrestling **LEP Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Destiny World Wrestling **DWW Championship (1 time) *

** FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) **

( 1 time) – with

Kris Logan Brian Christopher Joseph ButtonGerman Wrestling Federation German Wrestling Federation (GWF) is a professional wrestling promotion which has been founded and is based in Berlin, Germany. While the promotion has toured through Germany and has held events in Bochum, Rostock, Lübeck, Hennigsdorf and Hambu ...

**GWF Berlin Championship (1 time) *

** GFW NEX*GEN Championship (1 time) **GFW NEX*GEN Championship Tournament (2015) *

( 1 time) – with Jack Evans and

* ''

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...

'' ** Feud of the Year (2010) ** Most Hated Wrestler of the Year (2010) ** PWI ranked him #61 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the

PWI 500 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...

in 2011 * Rogue Wrestling **WWEDM Championship (1 time) **WWEDM Title Tournament (2018) *Slamforce Africa **SFA World Championship (1 time) * Southside Wrestling Entertainment **SWE Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with

( 1 time) ** King of the Mountain (

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

) * World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE **

( 3 times) – with

Slammy Award The Slammy Awards, also known as the Slammys, is a concept used by WWE, where awards, similar to the Academy and Grammy Awards, are given to professional wrestlers and other individuals within WWE, such as commentators and managers. Introduced i ...

(2 times) *** Shocker of the Year (

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

) *** Animal of the Year (

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

) – as The Bunny *

** WWP World Cruiserweight Championship ( 1 time)

References

External links

*
WWP profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Black, P. J. 1981 births 20th-century male professional wrestlers 21st-century male professional wrestlers American male professional wrestlers Living people Sportspeople from Cape Town South African disabled sportspeople South African male professional wrestlers White South African people South African expatriates in the United States Expatriate professional wrestlers TNA Television Champions Lucha Underground Trios Champions FCW Florida Heavyweight Champions FCW Florida Tag Team Champions World Tag Team Champions (WWE) 21st-century South African sportsmen