Robert Thomas Conway Jr. (born November 28, 1972), is an 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 work with

World Wrestling Entertainment 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, ...

(WWE). Conway is also known for his work with the

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and governing body owned by Billy Corgan and operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA be ...

(NWA), where he is a former two-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion. He is also a seven-time Tag Team Champion, becoming a three-time World Tag Team Champion with

Sylvain Grenier Sylvain Grenier (born March 26, 1977) is a Canadian retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in WWE, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). He is best known for his time wrestling for WWE between 2002 ...

as part of La Resistance in the WWE and four-time

NWA World Tag Team Champion The NWA World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling World Tag Team Championship, world tag team championship created by the National Wrestling Alliance. From 1948 to 1982, the NWA allowed List of National Wrestling Alliance territories ...

once as part of The IronGodz with Jax Dane and three-times as part of The Iron Empire with Matt Riviera in the NWA. He is currently the only wrestler to have held the NWA World Heavyweight and NWA World Tag Team Championships simultaneously.

Professional wrestling career

Ohio Valley Wrestling (1997–2000)

Rob Conway began his career in Memphis Championship Wrestling (MCW) and

Ohio Valley Wrestling Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) is an American professional wrestling promotion, professional wrestling promotion and former developmental territory based in Louisville, Kentucky. The company is currently run by Al Snow, Matt Jones (radio host), Ma ...

(OVW), teaming with Nick Dinsmore under the names Limited Edition (MCW), the Borkcin Brothers, and the Lords of the Ring (OVW). While in OVW, he and Dinsmore were also members of Kenny Bolin's Bolin Services along with The Prototype, Bull Buchanan, 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 ...

. As the Lords of the Ring, Conway and Dinsmore won the

OVW Southern Tag Team Championship The OVW Tag Team Championship formerly known as the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship is the tag team titles of Ohio Valley Wrestling Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) is an American professional wrestling promotion, professional wrestling promoti ...

on 10 occasions and captured the MCW North American Tag Team Championship once. On April 28, 1999, Rob Conway defeated his partner Nick Dinsmore to win the OVW Heavyweight Championship, but lost it back to him the next week. Conway won the OVW Heavyweight Championship a second time on August 17, 1999, pinning Damaja. He lost the title to Rico Constantino on November 10, regaining it on September 6, 2000, with another victory over Dinsmore.

World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment

Early appearances (2000–2003)

Conway had dark matches previously with

Kurt Angle Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9, 1968) is an American retired professional wrestler and amateur wrestling, amateur wrestler. He first earned recognition for winning a Wrestling at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's freestyle 100 kg, gold me ...

and Headbanger Mosh, then known as Beaver Cleavage. Conway's TV debut in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) was on the May 20, 2000, episode of '' Jakked'', where he was defeated by Bull Buchanan. Over the next three years, Conway appeared in tryout matches on ''

Velocity Velocity is a measurement of speed in a certain direction of motion. It is a fundamental concept in kinematics, the branch of classical mechanics that describes the motion of physical objects. Velocity is a vector (geometry), vector Physical q ...

'' and '' Sunday Night Heat'', losing to wrestlers such as A-Train,

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 ...

, and The Hurricane. In a match taped for the July 17, 2003 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 ...

'', Rob Conway and Nick Dinsmore appeared under

masks A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment, and often employed for rituals and rites. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practical purposes, ...

as "

Los Conquistadores Los Conquistadores were a heel jobber professional wrestling tag team in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), consisting of two masked wrestlers known as ''One'' (or Spanish ''Uno'' for "one") and ''Two'' (or Spanish ''Dos'' for "two"). The o ...

", losing to

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

Billy Kidman Peter Alan Gruner Jr.(born May 11, 1974) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Billy Kidman. He works for WWE, where he is a producer. As a wrestler, Kidman is best known for his work with World Championsh ...

. On July 27, at

Vengeance Vengeance may refer to: *Vengeance (concept) or revenge, a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance Film * ''Vengeance'' (1930 film), action adventure film directed by Archie Mayo * ''Vengeance'' (1937 film) or ''W ...

, Conway once again competed as the masked Conquistador, this time with Johnny Jeter as his partner, as part of the APA Bar Room Brawl.

La Résistance (2003–2005)

Conway made his proper debut for the company on the August 18, 2003, episode of '' Raw'', planted in the audience dressed as an American airman. After Conway was "harassed" by the

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 ...

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 ...

La Résistance (

and René Duprée), he was invited into the ring by

The Dudley Boyz The Dudley Boyz (also known as Team 3D) are an American professional wrestling tag team who consisted of kayfabe half-brothers Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley. The team was also joined by various Dudley Brothers, Dudley family members, notably ...

, who were then feuding with La Résistance. While "celebrating" with the Dudley Boyz and waving the

American flag The national flag of the United States, often referred to as the American flag or the U.S. flag, consists of thirteen horizontal Bar (heraldry), stripes, Variation of the field, alternating red and white, with a blue rectangle in the Canton ( ...

, Conway suddenly hit them both with the flagpole, revealing himself to be a member of La Résistance. The trio feuded with several tag teams, including the Dudley Boyz, Hurricane and Rosey, and Garrison Cade and Mark Jindrak. When Grenier suffered a back injury in October 2003, Dupree and Conway held the group together until the March 15, 2004 edition of ''Raw'' when Grenier returned. The trio did not last long after that, however, as Dupree was drafted to

on March 22, 2004, during the Draft Lottery. Grenier and Conway, however, continued to team together as La Résistance on ''Raw''. With American-Franco hostility subsiding, the WWE ceased billing the team as being from France and instead promoted them as being haughty

French Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French people, French colonists first arriving in Canada (New France), France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of ...

s who carried the

flag of Quebec The flag of Quebec (), called the in Quebec French, French, represents the Canadian province of Quebec. It consists of a white cross on a blue background, with four white fleur-de-lis, fleurs-de-lis. It was the first provincial flag officially ...

to the ring, with Grenier often singing the Canadian national anthem and Conway becoming known as Robért Conway, the French version of his name. The team held the

World Tag Team Championship In professional wrestling, a championship or title is a recognition promoted by professional wrestling organizations. Championship reigns are determined by professional wrestling matches, in which competitors are involved in predetermined rival ...

three times. Their first title reign came when they defeated

Chris Benoit Christopher Michael Benoit ( ; May 21, 1967 – June 24, 2007) was a Canadian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He worked for various pro-wrestling promotions during his 22-year career, but is notorious for Chris Benoit double-murd ...

and

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 ...

on the May 31, 2004 edition of ''Raw'' in Grenier's home town of Montreal, Quebec. The team dropped the belts to the same team of Benoit and Edge at Taboo Tuesday on October 19 when, even though Edge walked out on Benoit, Benoit was able to defeat La Résistance by himself. It was not long before La Résistance reclaimed the tag team gold for the second time on the November 1 edition of ''Raw'', defeating Chris Benoit after Edge walked out on Benoit again. This time La Résistance did not hold the title as long as their last reign; they lost the belts two weeks later on ''Raw'' when they faced 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 Eugene as well as Tajiri and

Rhyno Terrance Guido Gerin (born October 7, 1975) is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name Rhyno (or Rhino). He is a freelancer, appearing for various promotions such as All Elite Wrestling (AEW), National Wrestling Alliance ...

. In a 3-Way Elimination match, they dropped the title to Regal and Eugene. Their third, and final, Tag Team Title reign began at a Raw brand

house show A house show (also commonly called a live event) is a professional wrestling event produced by a major Professional wrestling promotion, promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in o ...

on January 16, 2005, in Winnipeg, Manitoba when they defeated Regal and

Jonathan Coachman Jonathan William Coachman (born August 12, 1973), also known as "The Coach", is an American sports analyst and former professional wrestling personality. Early life Before embarking on an announcing career in professional wrestling, Coachman w ...

—Regal's actual partner, Eugene, had been injured and Coachman was selected to be his fill in partner, though Regal never tagged him in—to win the belts. La Résistance dropped the belts again a few weeks later on the February 7, edition of ''Raw'', from Tokyo, Japan, to William Regal and his new tag team partner Tajiri. La Résistance repeatedly attempted to regain the gold (mainly on ''Heat'') from Regal and Tajiri in a number of different matches but fell just short each time. During their "last shot" the team thought they had won back the title only to have the decision reversed by referee Mike Chioda due to La Résistance not pinning the legal man. The match was restarted but La Résistance lost the match and their last chance against Regal and Tajiri in a normal tag team contest. The team was given one more chance at Regal and Tajiri, only this time during a Tag Team Turmoil match including five teams—La Résistance, Regal and Tajiri, The Heart Throbs ( Romeo Roselli and Antonio Thomas), Simon Dean and

Maven MAVEN is a NASA spacecraft orbiting Mars to study the loss of that planet's atmospheric gases to space, providing insight into the history of the planet's climate and water. The name is an acronym for "Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution" w ...

, and Rosey and The Hurricane, at

Backlash Backlash may refer to: Literature * '' Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women'', a 1991 book by Susan Faludi * ''Backlash'' (Star Wars novel), a 2010 novel by Aaron Allston * Backlash (Marc Slayton), a comic book character from ...

. During the match La Résistance managed to eliminate the champions, but were defeated by the last remaining team (and winners of the match) Hurricane and Rosey.

Singles competition (2005–2006)

The team split in mid-May after repeatedly quarreling over which of them was the superior wrestler. Grenier and Conway went into singles competition with announcers claiming that the members of La Résistance were trying to "one up" each other in singles matches without the other man in their corner. This saw Conway defeat a jobber and

Val Venis Sean Allen Morley (born March 6, 1971), better known by his ring name Val Venis, is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Entertainment (WWF/WWE) from 1998 to 20 ...

, while Grenier was defeated by both Venis and

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 ...

. Both men competed in a

triple threat 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. ...

against Intercontinental Champion

Shelton Benjamin Shelton James Benjamin (born July 9, 1975) is an American professional wrestler and former amateur wrestler. , he is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of The Hurt Syndicate and is one-half of the AEW World Tag Team Champ ...

for the title; Benjamin won the match not long after the La Résistance members began to argue and fight with each other. This altercation led to a main event match for the June 12 ''Heat'' (taped on June 6) in which Rob Conway portrayed the heel, and defeated Grenier. On June 30, 2005, Grenier was a last minute trade in the 2005 WWE Draft, sending him to SmackDown! while Conway stayed on the Raw brand. Conway then began wrestling in singles competition on both ''Heat'' and ''Raw''. On the July 17, 2005 edition of ''Heat'' Conway brought back his original identity of Rob Conway, making his new

gimmick A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often with little intrinsic value. When applied to retail marketing, it is a unique or quirky feature designed to make a product or service "stand out ...

narcissistic Narcissism is a self-centered personality style characterized as having an excessive preoccupation with oneself and one's own needs, often at the expense of others. Narcissism, named after the Greek mythological figure ''Narcissus'', has evolv ...

heel and developing a new appearance (similar to

Buff Bagwell Marcus Alexander Bagwell (born January 10, 1970) is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name, Buff Bagwell. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) from 1991 to 2001, where he was a f ...

) including a biker hat, sunglasses, a mustache, see through tights, and a new haircut. He began referring to himself as "The Con-Man" Rob Conway. During the ''WWE Homecoming'' edition of ''Raw'', Conway interrupted a segment involving a number of WWE Legends. After disrespecting the legends, they assaulted him. Conway, seeking retaliation, then went on to have matches against a number of legends, picking up wins over

Doink the Clown Doink the Clown is a professional wrestling gimmick originally and most popularly portrayed by Matt Borne, who debuted the Doink persona in the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE) in 1992. Doink is a clown wearing traditional clown makeup (or ...

Greg Valentine Jonathan Anthony Wisniski (born September 20, 1951) is a retired American professional wrestler, better known as Greg "the Hammer" Valentine. He is the son of wrestler Johnny Valentine. Over five decades, Valentine held more than 40 championsh ...

(by disqualification), and Koko B. Ware. During this time he would go on to begin feuding with Eugene, a big fan of the legends who stuck up for them. At the Taboo Tuesday pay-per-view, Conway teamed with Tomko to face Eugene and a legend (as voted for by the fans).

Jimmy Snuka James Reiher Snuka (born James Wiley Smith; May 18, 1943 – January 15, 2017) was a Fijian and American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka. Snuka wrestled for several promotions from the 1970s to 2010s ...

beat out

Kamala Kamala may refer to: People and fictional characters * Kamala (name) — lists people and characters with the surname or given name ** Kamala Harris, 49th Vice President of the United States and 2024 Democratic Party presidential nominee * Kamala ...

and

Jim Duggan James Edward Duggan Jr. (born January 14, 1954), better known by his ring name "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. He is best-known for his time in World Wrestling Federation (now WWE), where he won the first ...

in the voting to become Eugene's partner and picked up the win after a Superfly Splash ending Conway's winning streak. On the next ''Raw'', Conway attempted to take the Intercontinental Championship from

Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Flair's career spanned 50 years. He is ...

, but came up short when he was locked in Flair's figure four leglock. After losing to Flair, Conway went on a long losing streak, losing almost every match he was in through the rest of the 2005 and the start of 2006. Conway went back to competing on ''Sunday Night Heat'' making few appearances on ''Raw'' and losing on every occasion. On the April 10, 2006 edition of ''Raw'', Conway debuted a slightly changed look, including longer hair, no mustache, and blonde highlighted hair, in a loss to

Rob Van Dam Robert Szatkowski (born December 18, 1970) better known by his ring name Rob Van Dam (frequently abbreviated to RVD) is an American professional wrestler. Known for his unique ring style—which includes his variety of kicks, acrobatic movemen ...

. Conway finally broke his losing streak for one night only on the May 12, 2006 edition of ''Heat'' when he won a mixed tag team match with

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

against the team of

Viscera In a multicellular organism, an organ is a collection of tissues joined in a structural unit to serve a common function. In the hierarchy of life, an organ lies between tissue and an organ system. Tissues are formed from same type cells to a ...

and

Torrie Wilson Torrie Anne Wilson (born July 24, 1975) is an American model (person), model, former fitness competitor and retired professional wrestler. She is best known for her time in WWE and WCW. As a fitness competitor, Wilson won the Miss Galaxy compet ...

. It was short lived, however, as the next week he was defeated by Jim Duggan, restarting his losing streak but starting a short program with Duggan and his protege Eugene. At the start of August, Conway dropped the Con-Man Gimmick as he stopped wearing sunglasses and his ego dropped. From this point on, Conway was used as a tweener who was desperate to pick up a victory over anyone possible but failed every time he tried.

Return to OVW and Raw (2006–2007)

On the November 15 edition of

(OVW), Conway made a surprise appearance, teaming with Sylvain Grenier to reform their old stable, La Résistance. The reformed team defeated Cody Runnels and

Shawn Spears Ronnie William Arneill (born February 19, 1981), better known by his ring name Shawn Spears, is a Canadian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and trainer. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the WWE NXT, NXT WWE brand extension, ...

to earn a shot at the OVW Southern Tag Team Titles. The team, however, lost the title match. After months of losing, Conway appeared on the January 1, 2007 edition of ''Raw''. Conway proceeded to make a New Year's resolution and vowed that he would not lose another match and if he did he would quit ''Raw''. His opponent was the Intercontinental Champion

Jeff Hardy Jeffrey Nero Hardy (born August 31, 1977) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) and also appears on partner promotion WWE on its NXT (WWE brand), NXT brand. He is re ...

, but he was pinned after 21 seconds. After WWE Chairman

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 ...

entered the ring and (instead of letting him quit Monday Night Raw) fired him. On May 11, 2007, WWE officially announced that Conway was released from his WWE contract.

Juggalo Championship Wrestling (2011)

Conway debuted in

Juggalo Championship Wrestling Juggalo Championship Wrestling (formerly Juggalo Championshit Wrestling) is an American independent professional wrestling promotion founded in 1999 by Violent J (Joseph Bruce) and Shaggy 2 Dope (Joseph Utsler), better known as the hip-hop duo I ...

at the event Hardcore Hell. Per storyline, he announced that he was a master of

submissions Submission is the acknowledgement of the legitimacy of the power of one's superior or superiors. Submission may also refer to: Films * Submission (1976 film), ''Submission'' (1976 film), an Italian erotic drama film * Submission (2004 film), ''Su ...

and a wrestler for hire. That night, Conway submitted three different opponents to showcase his skills. Two weeks later, he was hired by Breyer Wellington to face JCW Heavyweight Champion

Corporal Robinson Stephen Robinson, known by the ring name Corporal Robinson, (born November 27, 1975), is an American professional wrestler best known for his hardcore wrestling style, Robinson has wrestled for various wrestling promotions, including Juggalo Cham ...

, but was defeated. Conway then participated in Juggalo Championship Wrestling's first

internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program ...

Hatchet Attacks, where he submitted Sal the Man of a Thousand Gimmicks. At Up in Smoke, Conway was hired by Sabu's manager Charlie Brown to attack 2 Tuff Tony. After Rhino scared off Sabu and Conway, a tag team match was scheduled between the two and Rhino and Tony at St. Andrews Brawl.

National Wrestling Alliance

NWA World Heavyweight Champion (2013–2015)

On March 16, 2013, Conway defeated Kahagas to win the

(NWA) World Heavyweight Championship. Through NWA's working relationship with

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional-wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, and based in Nakano, Tokyo. It is currently majority owned by card-game company Bushiroad, with TV As ...

, Conway appeared via video at New Japan's March 23 event announcing that he would be taking part in the promotion's April 7 Invasion Attack event. He was then challenged to a match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship by

Satoshi Kojima is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is signed to both New Japan Pro-Wrestling and Major League Wrestling (MLW), where he is a former two-time MLW World Heavyweight Championship, MLW World Heavyweight Champion and former one half of the MLW W ...

. Conway made his debut appearance for New Japan on April 5, when he, accompanied by NWA president Bruce Tharpe, had an in-ring confrontation with Kojima. Two days later, Conway defeated Kojima, following interference from Tharpe and fellow NWA wrestler Jax Dane, to retain the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. On April 20, Conway successfully defended the NWA World Heavyweight Championship against Chris Masters in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, after which he was presented a new title belt. On June 22, Conway returned to New Japan at Dominion 6.22, where he successfully defended the NWA World Heavyweight Championship against

Manabu Nakanishi is a Japanese retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and former amateur wrestler, who was primarily associated with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He is a one-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, one-time G1 Climax winner and three-t ...

. Conway would show up in a video on September 5, 2013, at NJPW IPPV at the Korauken Hall to challenge

Jyushin Thunder Liger , better known as and later , is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as a trainer. He is the longest-tenured member of the NJPW roster, having worked for the company since ...

to a future title match. Liger came out after the video and accepted the challenge. On September 29 at

Destruction Destruction may refer to: Concepts * Destruktion, a term from the philosophy of Martin Heidegger * Destructive narcissism, a pathological form of narcissism * Self-destructive behaviour, a widely used phrase that ''conceptualises'' certain kin ...

, Conway defeated Liger to retain the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. On November 9, Conway returned to NJPW at

Power Struggle A power struggle is situation where two or more people or groups fight to gain dominance over each other. The term is most commonly used in a political context, when parties contend for power or leadership positions, but can also be applied to a ...

, where he and Jax Dane defeated K.E.S. ( Davey Boy Smith Jr. and

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

) and Tencozy (

Hiroyoshi Tenzan is a Japanese professional wrestler who is signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling, and is better known by his ring name . With Satoshi Kojima, in 2008, they won the World's Strongest Tag Determination League in All Japan Pro Wrestling and the G1 Tag L ...

and Satoshi Kojima) in the first fall of a two-fall three-way match to win the

NWA World Tag Team Championship The NWA World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling World Tag Team Championship, world tag team championship created by the National Wrestling Alliance. From 1948 to 1982, the NWA allowed List of National Wrestling Alliance territories ...

, making Conway a double champion and the first wrestler to simultaneously hold both the World Heavyweight and World Tag Team Championships. From November 23 to December 7, Dane and Conway took part in New Japan's

2013 World Tag League __NOTOC__ The is a professional wrestling round-robin tag team tournament held by New Japan Pro-Wrestling as a spin-off of the popular singles tournament, the G1 Climax. It was created in 1991 as the Super Grade Tag League, as a continuation of ...

, where they finished with a record of three wins and three losses, failing to advance to the semifinals. Conway was pinned in only one of his team's three losses, which led to his defeater, Satoshi Kojima, challenging him to a rematch for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. On January 4, 2014, at

Wrestle Kingdom 8 in Tokyo Dome Wrestle Kingdom 8 in Tokyo Dome was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) Professional wrestling promotion, promotion, which took place at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan on January 4, 2014 ...

, Conway lost the NWA World Heavyweight Championship to Kojima. The following day, Conway pinned Kojima following a distraction from Bruce Tharpe and a low blow, when he and Dane successfully defended the NWA World Tag Team Championship against Tencozy. Conway and Dane returned to New Japan on April 6 at Invasion Attack 2014, where they lost the NWA World Tag Team Championship to Tencozy. On April 12, Conway received a rematch for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship during New Japan's trip to

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

, but he was again defeated by Kojima. The following day, Conway and Dane also failed in their attempt to regain the NWA World Tag Team Championship from Tencozy. Conway also failed to regain the title alongside

Wes Brisco Wesley Brisco (born February 21, 1983) is an American professional wrestler known for his time in Impact Wrestling (TNA), where he is a former member of Aces & Eights. He is a member of the Brisco wrestling family; the son of former Championshi ...

on May 25 at Back to the Yokohama Arena. On June 2, Conway defeated Satoshi Kojima in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

to regain the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Conway and Dane returned to New Japan in November to take part in the 2014 World Tag League. The team finished second to last in their block with a record of three wins and four losses. Conway returned to NJPW on February 11, 2015, at The New Beginning in Osaka, where he and

Chase Owens Steven Owens, better known by the ring name Chase Owens (チェーズ・オーエンズ ''Chēzu Ōenzu'', born March 7, 1990) is an American professional wrestler signed with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a member of House of Tor ...

defeated Jyushin Thunder Liger and Hiroyoshi Tenzan in a tag team match. Three days later at The New Beginning in Sendai, Conway lost the NWA World Heavyweight Championship to Tenzan. Conway's profile has been removed from NJPW's official website.

Championship pursuits (2014–2017)

On February 22, 2014, Conway pinned Eric Draven in Madison, Indiana to win the NWA Supreme Heavyweight Championship. He would hold this title until May 9, 2014, when he was defeated by Draven in a rematch at Hanover College in Hanover, Indiana. On February 22, 2015, in Seymour Indiana Rob Conway defeated Eric Draven for the NWA Supreme Heavyweight Championship. On June 20, 2015, Conway defeated both Tim Storm and All That Alan Steele to become the NWA Mid-South Unified Heavyweight Champion. On October 10, 2015, Conway was defeated by Greg Anthony in a double title match losing the NWA Mid-South Unified Heavyweight Championship. On December 4, 2015, Conway teamed with Matt Riviera teaming under the name The Iron Empire defeating The Heatseekers (Elliot Russell and Sigmon) to win the

s. On March 3, 2016, Rob Conway defeated Texas Outlaw to begin Conway's second reign as NWA Supreme Champion. On September 9, 2016, The Iron Empire were defeated by The Heatseekers (Elliot Russell and Sigmon) losing the

s. The next day, on September 10, 2016, The Iron Empire regained to championship to become two time NWA World Tag Team Champions defeating The Heatseekers. They lost the title to Kazushi Miyamoto and

Rob Terry Robert Terry (born 30 April 1980) is a Welsh Bodybuilding, bodybuilder and a former Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is known for his work in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) under the ring names Rob Terry, Robbie T and Th ...

in Tokyo, Japan on February 23, 2017. On May 12, 2017, Rob Conway defeated Josh Lewis (wrestler) to win his first NWA United States Championship in Hanover, Indiana at NWA Supreme Rebelution 2017. On May 27, 2017, Rob would lose the United States title to Josh Lewis in Madison Indiana. On June 17, Rob Conway pinned Johnny Knockout in a 3 way Dance in West Harrison, Indiana. This victory made Conway the first ever "BOTB" Heavyweight Champion. On July 14, Rob teamed up with Josh Lewis to win the

NWA Mid-America Tag Team Championship The NWA Mid-America Tag Team championship was a tag team title promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion NWA Mid-America that ran more or less exclusively in Alabama, Tennessee, and Kentucky, United States, from the 1940s until ...

s from Custom Made (Eric Draven and Roger Malcolm) at NWA Supreme in Madison, Indiana. On August 18, 2017, Rob Conway and Josh Lewis lost the NWA Mid America tag team championship to Custom Made. When Eric Draven struck Josh Lewis with a chain.

Return to WWE (2018)

In September 2018, Conway started working at the

WWE Performance Center WWE Performance Center (WWE PC) is a group of professional wrestling schools owned by American company WWE. They serve as tryout and training facilities for WWE, and also contain sports science and medical facilities as well as live events and ...

as a guest trainer. His friendship with fellow OVW graduate

helped get him the job.

Independent circuit (2017–present)

In 2020, he has wrestled significantly less than he has in past years. He has wrestled matches for AWA Supreme Wrestling and New Focus Wrestling.

Personal life

Rob graduated from Indiana's New Albany High School in 1990 where he was a standout basketball player. He later played basketball at the now defunct Graceland College in New Albany. Following college, Rob sold fitness equipment and worked as a personal trainer in the

Southern Indiana Southern Indiana is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern third of the U.S. state of Indiana and borders the states of Illinois to the west, Kentucky to the south, and Ohio to the east. Spanning the state's southe ...

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

area. He broke into wrestling after driving past the old Danny Davis arena in

Jeffersonville, Indiana Jeffersonville is a city and the county seat of Clark County, Indiana, Clark County, Indiana, United States, situated along the Ohio River. Locally, the city is often referred to by the abbreviated name Jeff. It lies directly across the Ohio Riv ...

in 1997. After walking in and watching what he considered out of shape guys wrestle, he thought he would give it a try. Rob stated in a 2004

Indianapolis Monthly ''Indianapolis Monthly'' is a lifestyle magazine published in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. The magazine has some special publications and projects including Indiana Bride, Home, The Ticket, and Indiana Travel Guide. History Founded in 1977, the ...

article that within five minutes of being in the ring, he knew this was what he wanted to do. Based on the appearance of the local wrestlers, he thought it would only take six months to make it to the

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, ...

(then WWF); it eventually took him six years.

Other media

Rob Conway appears as a playable character in '' WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006''.

Championships and accomplishments

*All Star Wrestling **ASW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *All Star Wrestling Alliance **AWA Central States Championship (3 times) **AWA United States Championship (1 time) *Battle on the Border **BOTB Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Hoosier Pro Wrestling **HPW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with TJ Kemp *Indianapolis Championship Wrestling **ICW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time, current) *Music City Wrestling ** MCW North American Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with

Nick Dinsmore Nicholas David Dinsmore (born December 17, 1975), better known by his ring name Eugene, is an American professional wrestler. Dinsmore's career began in 1996 in Ohio Valley Wrestling, where he became the OVW Heavyweight Champion a record eight ...

Northern Championship Wrestling Northern Championship Wrestling (Les Promotions NCW Inc.) is an independent professional wrestling promotion based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. History Founded in 1986 by François Poirier and Phil Bélanger in Joliette, Quebec as the Amateur Wr ...

**NCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with

NWA World Heavyweight Championship The NWA World's Heavyweight Championship is a men's professional wrestling Professional wrestling championship#World championships, world heavyweight championship owned and promoted by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), an American professiona ...

(

2 times "2 Times" is the debut single of English singer Ann Lee. It was released in Italy in December 1998 by X-Energy as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999), and was issued worldwide the following year. The single peaked at number tw ...

) **

( 4 times) – with Jax Dane (1) and Matt Riviera (3) *

NWA Mid-America NWA Mid-America was a professional wrestling promotion territory under the umbrella of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) that promoted shows in Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama from 1940 until 1981. The company was founded in 1940 by Nick Gulas ...

(1 time) – with Josh Lewis *NWA Circle City Wrestling **NWA CCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Sean Casey *NWA Mid-South **NWA Mid-South Unified Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *NWA Supreme Wrestling **NWA Supreme Heavyweight Championship (3 time) **NWA United States Championship (1 time) **NWA Tri-State Television Championship (1 time) **NWA Supreme Tag Team Championships (1 time) – with Josh Lewis *New Focus Wrestling **NFW World Heavyweight championship **NFW World Tag Team Championship (1 time, current) – with Josh Lewis *

** OVW Heavyweight Championship ( 5 times) **

( 11 times) – with Nick Dinsmore (10) and Pat Buck (1) *''

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 ...

'' **Ranked No. 45 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 2004 *Supreme Wrestling **Supreme Heavyweight Champion (2 times, current) **Supreme Central States Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **Supreme Mid America Heavyweight Championship (1 Time) *Top of the World Wrestling **TOW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Sylvain Grenier *Universal Championship Wrestling **UCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *

( 3 times) – with

*Wild Championship Wrestling Outlaws **WCWO Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Josh Lewis

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Conway, Rob 1972 births 20th-century male professional wrestlers 20th-century American professional wrestlers 21st-century male professional wrestlers 21st-century American professional wrestlers American male professional wrestlers Living people NWA World Heavyweight Champions New Albany High School (Indiana) alumni Professional wrestlers from Louisville, Kentucky OVW Heavyweight Champions NWA World Tag Team Champions World Tag Team Champions (WWE, 1971–2010) OVW Tag Team Champions Sportspeople from the Louisville metropolitan area