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Killian Dain

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Killian Dain
Dain in May 2017
Birth nameDamian Mackle
Born (1985-02-20) 20 February 1985 (age 39)
Belfast, Northern Ireland
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Damian O'Connor
Damo O'Connor
Damo
Big Damo
Killian Dain
Billed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Billed weight322 lb (146 kg)
Billed fromBelfast, Northern Ireland
Trained byRobbie Brookside
Fergal Devitt
Paul Tracy
WWE Performance Center
DebutOctober 1, 2005

Damian Mackle (born 20 February 1985) is a professional wrestler from Northern Ireland, currently signed to WWE, competing in their developmental territory NXT under the ring name Killian Dain. He previously competed on the independent circuit under the ring name Big Damo, which is derived from his original ring name Damian O'Connor.[1]

Prior to joining WWE he was perhaps best known for his work with Insane Championship Wrestling, where he won the ICW World Heavyweight Championship.[2][3][4] He also wrestled for numerous promotions on the British independent circuit, around Europe, and in the USA including Progress Wrestling, Revolution Pro Wrestling, Westside Xtreme Wrestling, Absolute Intense Wrestling, Beyond Wrestling, What Culture Pro Wrestling, Premier British Wrestling, Scottish Wrestling Alliance and IPW:UK.[5][6][7][8][9]

On October 19, 2016, it was announced by WWE that Mackle had signed a developmental contract with the company and had arrived at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.[10]

Early life

Mackle played as a goalkeeper for his university football side.[11] He also played rugby union (up to university level), basketball and judo.[11] He stated that as a child he was attracted to professional wrestling because of the "larger than life" personas and face paint of wrestlers such as Sting and The Ultimate Warrior.[12] He cites fellow countryman Fit Finlay as a huge influence on his wrestling style and inspiration for his success.[13]

Professional wrestling career

Early career (2005–2010)

Mackle trained in Scotland at NWA Scotland under Robbie Brookside (now a trainer at WWE NXT). Of Brookside, he stated; "I don't think there is enough hyperbole to explain how good a coach he is...I can't think of a better coach I'd met in any sport."[12] After training at NWA Scotland, Mackle debuted for the Scottish Wrestling Alliance in 2005 at the age of 20 under the ring name Damian O'Connor. He originally wrestled in Scotland and the North of England as a tag team called "Britain's Most Wanted" with Scott Renwick. Together the two won a variety of tournaments and tag team championships in promotions such as SWA (4 times), W3L (2 times), SSW and 3CW. While they never officially split up, they would both focus on singles competition around 2009. This proved to be fruitful for both and O'Connor started touring his native Ireland, the United Kingdom, mainland Europe and the United States. O'Connor would win the Heavyweight Titles in SWE, W3L, XWA, Pride as well as the Laird of the Ring Title in SWA. In 2009, O'Connor took over the SWA training school. He eventually named this the "Source Wrestling School". O'Connor has trained numerous wrestlers, including Joe Coffey, Joe Hendry and Nikki Cross.[14]

Independent circuit

Insane Championship Wrestling (2013–2016)

O'Connor wrestled sporadically for ICW between 2009 to 2012 under various gimmicks, but his return in November 2013 saw him debut as Big Damo. Damo defeated Chris Renfrew for the ICW World Heavyweight Championship in Belfast on February 27, 2016,[15] marking the first time the title changed hands outside of Glasgow and making Damo the first ever Irish-born champion. On 31 July 2016, at Shug's Hoose Party III, Damo was defeated for the Championship by Joe Coffey.[16]

Evolve Wrestling (2014)

In December 2014, Damo unsuccessfully challenged Drew Galloway for the EVOLVE Championship in Inverness, Scotland.[17]

Revolution Pro Wrestling (2014−2016)

In 2014, Damo debuted in Revolution Pro Wrestling.[18] In 2015, he wrestled NJPW greats Tomohiro Ishii,[19] Hiroshi Tanahashi[20] Shinsuke Nakamura,[21] as well as Tommaso Ciampa.[22] In 2016, he wrestled international wrestlers "Speedball" Mike Bailey,[23] Roderick Strong,[24] Dalton Castle,[25] Big Daddy Walter[26] and Matt Sydal.[27]

Global Force Wrestling (2015-2016)

In October 2015, Damo debuted for Global Force Wrestling (GFW) on their UK Invasion tour, losing to Bram.[28] Damo lost to Kenny Omega

What Culture Pro Wrestling (2016)

In 2016, Damo made his debut with What Culture Pro Wrestling on the 28 June episode of Loaded, defeating Joe Hendry in a number one contenders match for the WCPW World Championship.[29] On 25 July at Built to Destroy, Damo defeated Rampage to become the inaugural WCPW World Champion.[30] On 3 September at Stacked, Damo would lose the title to Joseph Conners in a four-way match also involving Rampage and Hendry. On the 24 September episode of Loaded, Damo would be defeated by Alberto El Patrón, where following the stipulation made by WCPW General Manager Adam Pacitti, Damo was fired from WCPW.[31]

On the 2 October episode of Loaded, Damo returned to WCPW after announcing that Pacitti allowed him back. On 12 October at True Legacy, Damo would face Kirby in a losing effort.[32] This would be Damo's final appearance for the company, where he would show his respect to Kirby and announce he would be heading to Orlando.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2016)

In January 2016, Damo appeared for TNA as part of their Maximum Impact tour of the UK, where he unsuccessfully challenged for the TNA King of the Mountain Championship on two occasions.[33]

WWE

NXT (2016–present)

Main article: Sanity (professional wrestling)

In June 2016, it was reported that Mackle had signed with WWE to perform on their NXT brand.[34][35] On October 19, 2016, it was announced by WWE that Mackle had signed a developmental contract with the company and had arrived at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.[10] On November 4, Mackle appeared at an NXT house show and cut a promo.[36] On November 11, at a house show in St. Augustine, Florida, Mackle made his in-ring debut under the Damian O'Connor ring name, defeating Rich Swann.[37] He then reverted to using the ring name Damo.

On the December 7 episode of NXT, Damo attacked No Way Jose and seemed to align himself with the heel stable SAnitY, which generally attacks face wrestlers.[38] In January 2017, he began to wrestle under the new ring name Killian Dain.[39] On January 18, Dain joined SAnitY in an official capacity after attacking Tye Dillinger and accepting Sawyer Fulton's jacket from Eric Young. On January 25, Dain appeared as part of SAnitY for the first time, attacking Chris Atkins by Eric Young's order.[40] On the February 8 episode of NXT, Dain teamed with Young and Alexander Wolfe to defeat Tye Dillinger, No Way Jose and Roderick Strong.[41] At WrestleMania 33, Dain would make it to the final three in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, before being eliminated by eventual winner Mojo Rawley.

Personal life

Mackle is a lifelong supporter of Premier League team Manchester United and NBA team Orlando Magic.[11] He has stated that he believes wrestling – unlike other sports – can be a uniting factor for people in his native Belfast as there are "no (sectarian) affiliations" in wrestling. He stated that he would not support Scottish football because there is "a lot of connotations" with sectarianism. He grew up in what he described as a mixed area and is conscious of keeping political affiliations out of his public life.[42]

In wrestling

Championships and accomplishments

  • 3 Count Wrestling
    • 3CW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Scott Renwick[4]
  • Insane Championship Wrestling
  • Pride Wrestling
    • Pride Wrestling Championship (1 time)[4]
  • Pro Wrestling Illustrated
    • PWI ranked him #348 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2016[44]
  • Reckless Intent Wrestling
    • Reckless Intent Hardcore Championship (1 time)
    • Reckless Intent Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  • Scottish Wrestling Alliance
    • SWA Laird of the Ring Championship (1 time)[4]
    • SWA Tag Team Championship (6 times) - with Scott Renwick (4), Pete O'Neil (1), Micken (1)[4]
  • Scottish Wrestling Entertainment
    • SWE Heavyweight Champion (1 time)
  • What Culture Pro Wrestling
    • WCPW World Championship (1 time, inaugural)
  • World Wide Wrestling League
    • W3L Heavyweight Champion (1 time)[4]
    • W3L Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Scott Renwick[4]
    • W3L Heavyweight Title Tournament (2011)
  • X Wrestling Alliance
    • XWA British Heavyweight Champion (1 time)[4]
    • XWA British Heavyweight Title Tournament (2014)

References

  1. ^ "Damian O'Connor « Wrestlers Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
  2. ^ "Insane Championship Wrestling "The Big Elbowski" FULL Results". Wrestle Ropes. 27 February 2016.
  3. ^ "ICW: Damo". Insane Championship Wrestling. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Titles « Damian O'Connor « Wrestlers Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  5. ^ "Roster". Progress Wrestling. 18 November 2014. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ Bean, Martin. "Big Damo — Revolution Pro Wrestling". Revolution Pro Wrestling. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  7. ^ "Big Damo: Profile & Match Listing - Internet Wrestling Database (IWD)". Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  8. ^ "Career « Damian O'Connor « Wrestlers Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
  9. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Career « Damian O'Connor « Wrestlers Database". cagematch.net. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  10. ^ a b Clapp, John. "Tommy End, Big Damo and "Crazy" Mary Dobson join WWE Performance Center". WWE. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
  11. ^ a b c Welton, Jamie (4 November 2015). "THE BEAST UNLEASHED - AN INTERVIEW WITH ICW'S BIG DAMO". Wrestling News World. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  12. ^ a b "Interview: ICW & wXw's Big Damo O'Connor". Across the Pond Wrestling. 19 September 2015.
  13. ^ Markus (19 March 2015). "DAMIAN O' CONNOR IM WRESTLINGFEVER.DE INTERVIEW (ENGLISH, 19.03.2015)". Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  14. ^ "Meet WWE NXT's next breakout star, Nicola Glencross". WWE. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  15. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "ICW Hey Look! It's That Mad Wrestling Thing Aff The Telly Tour - The Big Elbowski". cagematch.net. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  16. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "ICW Shug's Weekender - Shug's Hoose Party 3". cagematch.net. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  17. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Matches « Damian O'Connor « Wrestlers Database". cagematch.net. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  18. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "RevPro The Sittingbourne Return". cagematch.net. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  19. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "RevPro Summer Sizzler 2015". cagematch.net. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  20. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "RevPro Global Wars UK". cagematch.net. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  21. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "RevPro Uprising 2015". cagematch.net. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  22. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "RevPro Live In Broxbourne". cagematch.net. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  23. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "RevPro High Stakes 2016". cagematch.net. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  24. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "RevPro Epic Encounter". cagematch.net. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  25. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "RevPro Sittingbourne Spectacular 2016". cagematch.net. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  26. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "RevPro Angle Vs. Sabre Jr". cagematch.net. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  27. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "RevPro Summer Sizzler 2016". cagematch.net. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  28. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Matches « Damian O'Connor « Wrestlers Database". cagematch.net. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  29. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "WCPW Loaded #1". cagematch.net. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  30. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "WCPW Built To Destroy". cagematch.net. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  31. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "WCPW Loaded #10". cagematch.net. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  32. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "WCPW True Legacy". cagematch.net. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  33. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Matches « Damian O'Connor « Wrestlers Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  34. ^ Radican, Sean; Caldwell, James (August 23, 2016). "WWE Talent Recruiting Updates – Cedric Alexander signed, Tommy End & Big Damo start dates, Zack Sabre, Jr. status". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  35. ^ Bentley, Ross (June 16, 2016). "WWE's Next Class Of Signees Reportedly Includes Ring Of Honor Star Moose". Uproxx. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  36. ^ Middleton, Marc (November 5, 2016). "Big Damo Cuts Promo At WWE NXT Live Event, Superstar Managers Getting Manhandled, The Rock". Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  37. ^ Paglino, Nick (November 11, 2016). "PHOTOS: Tommy End and Big Damo Make WWE NXT In-Ring Debuts". Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  38. ^ Witner, Arya (December 7, 2016). "WWE NXT RESULTS: SHINSUKE NAKAMURA RECAPTURES THE TITLE IN JAPAN". Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  39. ^ Johnson, Mike (January 8, 2017). "EUROPEAN STARS GETS NEW WWE NXT NAMES, WWE HALL OF FAME ON SALE THIS WEEK, LITA, BATISTA AND MORE". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  40. ^ "WWE NXT: February 8, 2017". WWE. January 25, 2017.
  41. ^ "WWE NXT: February 8, 2017". WWE. February 8, 2017.
  42. ^ "NXT Superstar Big Damo Interview talking UK Wrestling, Nakamura, WWE, ICW, Training & much more!". August 29, 2016 – via YouTube.
  43. ^ "WWE: Controlled Chaos (SAnitY) - Single". iTunes. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
  44. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2016". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
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