Bron Breakker
American professional wrestler and football player (born 1997) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bronson Rechsteiner (born October 24, 1997) is an American professional wrestler and former football player. As of October 2024,[update] he is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Bron Breakker and is the reigning WWE Intercontinental Champion in his second reign. He is also a former two-time NXT Champion, and a one-time NXT Tag Team Champion.
| Bron Breakker | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Bronson Rechsteiner |
| Born | October 24, 1997[1] Woodstock, Georgia, U.S.[1] |
| Alma mater | Kennesaw State University[1] |
| Parent(s) | Rick Steiner (father) |
| Family | Scott Steiner (uncle) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | |
| Billed height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)[2] |
| Billed weight | 250 lb (113 kg)[2] |
| Billed from |
|
| Trained by | WWE Performance Center[5][6] |
| Debut | October 8, 2020[4] |
A second-generation professional wrestler, Rechsteiner is the son of Rick Steiner and the nephew of Scott Steiner (who performed together as the Steiner Brothers). Rechsteiner was voted "Rookie of the Year" for 2022 by readers of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Early life and football career
Summarize
Perspective
Rechsteiner was born in Woodstock, Georgia. He attended Etowah High School in Woodstock, where he played football, winning varsity letters in three years.[1] He also participated in wrestling, winning the Georgia Class AAAAAA state championship (220 lb weight class) in 2016.[7] After graduating from high school, Rechsteiner went on to study at Georgia's Kennesaw State University, majoring in criminal justice. While attending Kennesaw, Rechsteiner played football for the Kennesaw State Owls. As a freshman in 2016 he played special teams and defense; in 2017, he moved to offense as a running back.[1][5] In February 2020, Rechsteiner entered the National Football League Draft but was not drafted.[8] In April 2020, he was signed by the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent fullback.[9][10] He was released in August 2020.[11]
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 10+1⁄4 in (1.78 m) |
223 lb (101 kg) |
31 in (0.79 m) |
9+1⁄8 in (0.23 m) | 4.50 s | 1.54 s | 2.50 s | 4.22 s | 6.95 s | 35.5 in (0.90 m) | 10 ft 0 in (3.05 m) | 35 reps | |
| All values from Pro Day[12] | ||||||||||||
Professional wrestling career
Summarize
Perspective
Early career (2020)
Wrestling under his real name, Rechsteiner debuted in professional wrestling on October 8, 2020, at the "WrestleJam 8" event promoted by AWF/WOW in Ringgold, Georgia. He defeated Jamie Hall.[4][5]
WWE (2021–present)
NXT (2021–2024)
In February 2021, WWE announced Rechsteiner had signed a developmental contract with the company.[13] Later that month, he was assigned to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida for training.[5][6] At the WrestleMania Backlash pay-per-view on May 16, Rechsteiner and several other wrestlers portrayed "zombies" in a lumberjack match between Damian Priest and The Miz.[14] In August 2021, he appeared on an episode of NXT, portraying a security guard who was attacked by Samoa Joe.[15]
Rechsteiner wrestled his first match for WWE on the September 14, 2021, episode of NXT under the ring name Bron Breakker, defeating LA Knight;[3][16] he later had a staredown with new NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa.[17] Breakker unsuccessfully challenged Ciampa for the title at NXT: Halloween Havoc on October 26.[18] In November 2021, Breakker participated in WWE's tour of the United Kingdom.[19] At NXT WarGames on December 5, Breakker teamed with Carmelo Hayes, Grayson Waller, and Tony D'Angelo (as "Team 2.0") to defeat Ciampa, Knight, Johnny Gargano, and Pete Dunne ("Team Black & Gold") in a WarGames match, with Breakker pinning Ciampa.[20]
At NXT: New Year's Evil on January 4, 2022, Breakker defeated Ciampa by submission to win the NXT Championship, the first title of his wrestling career.[21] At NXT: Vengeance Day on February 15, he made his first successful title defense, defeating Santos Escobar.[22] Breakker made his main roster debut on the March 7 episode of Raw, teaming with Ciampa to defeat Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode in a tag team match.[23] At NXT: Roadblock the following day, Breakker defended the NXT Championship against Ciampa and Ziggler in a triple threat match, with Ziggler pinning Ciampa to end Breakker's first reign at 63 days.[24] On April 1, Breakker inducted his father and uncle into the WWE Hall of Fame;[25] the following night at NXT Stand & Deliver, Breakker failed to regain the title from Ziggler after interference from Roode.[26]
On the April 4, 2022 episode of Raw, Breakker defeated Ziggler to win the NXT Championship for a second time.[27] On the following episode of NXT, he retained the title against Gunther.[28] Breakker subsequently began feuding with Joe Gacy after Gacy kidnapped Rick Steiner,[29] leading to a match between the two at Spring Breakin' on May 3, where Breakker defeated Gacy to retain the title.[30] At NXT In Your House on June 4, he defeated Gacy in a rematch, with the added stipulation that he would lose the title if he got disqualified.[31] At NXT: The Great American Bash on July 5, Breakker retained the title against Cameron Grimes, and was attacked by the debuting JD McDonagh after the match.[32] At NXT: Heatwave on August 16, Breakker retained the title against McDonagh; after the match, he was confronted by NXT United Kingdom Champion Tyler Bate.[33] At Worlds Collide on September 4, Breakker defeated Bate to unify the NXT Championship and NXT United Kingdom Championship. However, he is not recognized as the final NXT United Kingdom Champion.[34][35] At NXT Halloween Havoc on October 22, Breakker defeated McDonagh and Ilja Dragunov in a triple threat match to retain the NXT Championship.[36] At NXT Deadline on December 10, Breakker successfully defended the NXT Championship against Apollo Crews.[37] At NXT: New Year's Evil on January 10, 2023, Breakker defeated Grayson Waller via countout to retain the NXT Championship.[38] At NXT Vengeance Day on February 4, he defeated Waller once again, this time in a cage match.[39] At NXT Stand & Deliver on April 1, Breakker lost the title to Carmelo Hayes, ending his second reign at 362 days.[40]
On the April 4, 2023 episode of NXT, Breakker attacked Hayes, turning heel for the first time in his career.[41][42] He cemented his new villainous persona the next week by interrupting Chase University in the ring, verbally insulting the audience, and attacking Andre Chase.[43] At Spring Breakin' on April 25, Breakker defeated Chase via submission.[44] At NXT Battleground on May 28, Breakker failed to regain the NXT Championship from Hayes.[45] At NXT: Gold Rush on June 20, Breakker unsuccessfully challenged Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship.[46] At NXT: Heatwave on August 22, Breakker attacked Von Wagner;[47] on the September 6 episode of NXT, he bludgeoned Wagner with a set of steel steps.[48] Later that month, Breakker took part in the Superstar Spectacle in Hyderabad, India, defeating Odyssey Jones.[49] At NXT No Mercy on September 30, Breakker lost to Baron Corbin.[50] On the October 10 episode of NXT, Breakker (with Paul Heyman in his corner) lost to Carmelo Hayes (with John Cena in his corner; following the match, Breakker attacked Hayes, prompting The Undertaker to come to the ring and chokeslam Breakker.[51] At NXT: Halloween Havoc later that month, Breakker defeated Mr. Stone.[52] On the November 28 episode of NXT, Breakker defeated Eddy Thorpe to qualify for the Iron Survivor Challenge at NXT Deadline,[53] which was won by Trick Williams.[54]
In January 2024, Breakker entered the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament pairing with Baron Corbin. The duo defeated Gallus in the first round[55] and Axiom and Nathan Frazer in the semi-finals.[56] Later that month, Breakker made his Royal Rumble match debut at the titular event, entering at number 20 and eliminating Jimmy Uso, Finn Bálor, Ivar, and Omos before being eliminated by "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio.[57] At NXT Vengeance Day the following month, Breakker and Corbin defeated Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams to win the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.[58] The following night on Raw, Breakker made his second appearance on the main roster in a backstage segment with Imperium, debating whether he should sign to Raw or SmackDown.[59] On the February 13 episode of NXT, Breakker and Corbin (now calling themselves the Wolf Dogs) defeated The D'Angelo Family (Tony D'Angelo and Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo) to win the NXT Tag Team Championship.[60] At NXT: Roadblock, the Wolf Dogs successfully defended their titles against Chase University (Andre Chase and Duke Hudson).[56] On April 6 at NXT Stand & Deliver, the Wolf Dogs defeated Axiom and Nathan Frazer to retain the titles.[61] In a rematch on the April 9 episode of NXT, the Wolf Dogs lost the titles to Axiom and Frazer, ending their reign at 57 days in what would be Breakker's last match in NXT.[62]
Intercontinental Champion (2024–present)
On the February 16, 2024 episode of SmackDown, Breakker joined the SmackDown brand.[63] The next week, Breakker made his in-ring debut for SmackDown by defeating Dante Chen.[64] In the 2024 WWE Draft that April, Breakker was drafted to the Raw brand.[65] At Money in the Bank on July 6, Breakker unsuccessfully challenged Sami Zayn for the Intercontinental Championship, marking his first pinfall loss since joining the main roster.[66] In a rematch at SummerSlam the following month, Breakker defeated Zayn to win the title.[67] On the August 12 episode of Raw, Breakker defeated Zayn to retain the title in a two out of three falls match, ending their feud.[68] On the September 23 episode of Raw, Breakker lost the title to Jey Uso, ending his reign at 51 days.[69] On the October 21 episode of Raw, he defeated Uso to regain the Intercontinental Championship after interference by The Bloodline.[70] At Survivor Series WarGames on November 30, Breakker successfully defended the title against Ludwig Kaiser and Sheamus in a triple threat match.[71]
Professional wrestling style and persona
Breakker wrestles in a "powerhouse" style.[72] His finishing moves are a camel clutch dubbed the Steiner Recliner (a move adopted from his uncle Scott Steiner),[4][21][44] a gorilla press powerslam,[2][3][16] and a spear.[37]
Other media
Rechsteiner appeared as a playable character in the 2020 video game Madden NFL 21 as a full back for the Baltimore Ravens. He also appeared (as Bron Breakker) as a playable character in the 2023 video game WWE 2K23 and appeared in the 2024 video game WWE 2K24.[73]
Personal life
As of October 2024,[update] Rechsteiner is in a relationship with fellow WWE professional wrestler Izzi Dame.[74] He was previously in a relationship with fellow WWE professional wrestler Cora Jade.[75][76]
Championships and accomplishments
Amateur wrestling
- Georgia Class AAAAAA State Championship (220 lb weight class) (2016)
Professional wrestling
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Ranked number 26 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 (2022)
- WWE
- Men's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic (2024) – with Baron Corbin[58]
- NXT Championship (2 times)[79]
- NXT Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Baron Corbin[60]
- WWE Intercontinental Championship (2 times, current)[67]
See also
References
External links
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