Jermaine Haley (born 25 August 1988) is an Australian professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name "Big" Bronson Reed. In WWE, he is a former NXT North American Champion and the winner of the 2024 André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.
Bronson Reed | |
---|---|
Birth name | Jermaine Haley |
Born | Adelaide, South Australia, Australia | 25 August 1988
Spouse(s) | Paige Haley[1] |
Children | 1 |
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | "Big" Bronson Reed Bronson Reed J-Rock Jermaine Hailey Jonah[2] Jonah Rock |
Billed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[3] |
Billed weight | 330 lb (150 kg)[3] |
Billed from | Adelaide, South Australia Black Forest, South Australia[3] |
Trained by | Damian Slater Hartley Jackson |
Debut | May 19, 2007 |
Professional wrestling career
Independent circuit (2007–2019)
Debuting in 2007 under the ring names Jonah Rock and J-Rock, he spent 11 years working throughout the Australian independent circuit. While wrestling in Australia, Rock earned numerous titles. He is a former three-time Wrestle Rampage Australian National Champion, former one-time Explosive Pro Wrestling Tag Team Champion, former one-time Pacific Pro Wrestling Heavyweight Championship, former one-time Heavyweight Champion, former one-time Professional Wrestling Alliance Heavyweight Champion and a former one-time Melbourne City Wrestling World Heavyweight Champion, one-time Intercommonwealth Champion and one-time Tag Team Champion.[citation needed]
Rock's early work was not limited to solely appearing in Australian promotions. He also appeared in Japan's Pro Wrestling NOAH promotion, the British promotions Revolution Pro Wrestling and PROGRESS Wrestling, the German promotion Westside Xtreme Wrestling and the American independent promotion Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.[citation needed]
WWE (2019–2021)
In January 2019, Haley's signing was announced along with 11 other recruits where he would report to the WWE's developmental territory NXT. On 9 March, he would make his debut on an NXT live event wrestling under his real name losing to Riddick Moss. In June, his ring name was changed to Bronson Reed. On the 17 July episode of NXT, Reed made his official televised debut competing in the NXT Breakout Tournament as a face, where he defeated Dexter Lumis in the first round but was defeated by Cameron Grimes in the quarter-finals. On the 21 August episode of NXT, Reed was defeated by his former TMDK stablemate Shane Thorne.[citation needed]
Reaching 2020, on the 5 February episode of NXT, he was attacked by The Undisputed Era backstage after trying to come to the aid of Kushida. The following week, he challenged Roderick Strong to a match but was defeated.[4] On the 3 June episode of NXT, Reed was defeated by Grimes. Following the match, he was attacked by Karrion Kross. On the 17 June episode of NXT, Reed defeated Leon Ruff and called out Kross challenging him to a match for the next week.[5] The following week, Reed was defeated by Kross.[6] Next, Reed would enter a short feud with newcomer LA Knight, defeating him in a singles match. After gaining momentum, he focused on the NXT North American Championship. At NXT: Takeover XXX in August, Reed was unsuccessful in winning the title.[citation needed]
In April 2021, on Night 1 of NXT Takeover: Stand & Deliver, Reed won a Six-man Gauntlet Eliminator match, to become the #1 contender for the North American Championship. On Night 2 of the event, Reed faced the reigning champion Johnny Gargano in a losing effort, but defeated him on the 18 May episode of NXT in a steel cage match to win the title, becoming the first Australian and non-American wrestler to hold the NXT North American Championship. At NXT TakeOver: In Your House, Reed teamed with the NXT Tag Team Champions, MSK to successfully defend their titles against Legado Del Fantasma in a winner take all match. On the 29 June episode of NXT, Reed dropped the title to Isaiah "Swerve" Scott after interference from Hit Row, ending his reign at 42 days.[7] On the 27 July episode of NXT, Reed was defeated by Adam Cole in what would be his final WWE match in this stint. On 6 August, Haley was released from his WWE contract.[8]
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2021–2022)
At Battle in the Valley on 13 November 2021, Haley, using the ring name Jonah, made his New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) debut, attacking FinJuice (David Finlay and Juice Robinson), establishing himself as a heel in the process.[9] After his debut, Jonah would go on short lived winning streak defeating Lucas Riley in his NJPW in-ring debut and then a month later defeating David Finlay. On 15 January 2022, Jonah suffered his first NJPW loss in a tag team match against FinJuice as he teamed with Bad Dude Tito. On 6 March, Shane Haste, assisted Jonah and Tito, in defeating FinJuice and reformed The Mighty Don't Kneel as a stable.[10]
On 12 June during Dominion 6.12 in Osaka-jo Hall, Jonah was announced as a participant in the G1 Climax 32 tournament starting in July, as a part of the A block.[11] Jonah scored 8 points in his block, narrowly missing out on a spot in the semi-finals. However, one of Jonah's wins was an upset victory over former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion and eventual tournament winner Kazuchika Okada.[12][13]
Impact Wrestling (2021–2022)
At Turning Point on 20 November 2021, Jonah made his Impact Wrestling debut, attacking Josh Alexander and leaving him bloodied.[14][15] They had a match at Hard To Kill, where Alexander defeated him.[16][17] After his loss to Alexander, Jonah would embark on a winning streak defeating the likes of Crazzy Steve, Black Taurus, Raj Singh, and Honor No More's PCO. His winning streak would come to an end at Rebellion, after being defeated by Tomohiro Ishii. His final match was a loss to PCO in a Monster's Ball match. On 6 May, Jonah announced his departure from the company.[18]
Return to WWE (2022–present)
Bronson Reed made his unannounced return to WWE on 19 December 2022 episode of Raw, where he helped The Miz defeat Dexter Lumis in a ladder match, establishing himself as a heel.[19] On 30 January 2023 episode of Raw, Reed defeated Dolph Ziggler to qualify for the Elimination Chamber match for the United States Championship at the namesake event,[20] where he was the first participant eliminated.[21] After being eliminated last in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal by Bobby Lashley, Reed engaged a feud with Lashley from the 10 April episode of Raw, which led to a match and both men were counted out, despite his exhaustion. A week later on Raw, Reed interfered in a match between Lashley and Austin Theory, which led to a beat down of Lashley, leaving him lying in the ring.[22] A few days later, on 21 April episode of SmackDown, Reed was added to a triple threat match for the United States Championship at Backlash,[23] where Reed was unsuccessful in winning the title, as he was pinned by Theory.[24] On 9 October episode of Raw, Reed won a triple threat match to become the number one contender to Gunther's Intercontinental Championship, but failed to win the title the following week on Raw.[25] On the WrestleMania edition of SmackDown, on 5 April, Reed won the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.[26]
On the April 29 episode of Raw, Reed challenged for the Intercontinental Championship against Sami Zayn, which he lost by disqualification after Chad Gable attacked Zayn. One week later, Reed faced Gable when Zayn attacked Gable, causing another disqualification. Later that night, it was announced that Reed would challenge for the title in a triple threat match with Zayn and Gable at King and Queen of the Ring, where Zayn retained his title.[27]
Personal life
Haley is married to his high school sweetheart Paige, who made an appearance on NXT after he won the NXT North American Championship.[1] He is of Samoan descent.[28] On 24 February 2024, Haley announced on X that his wife, Paige, had given birth, making him miss the Elimination Chamber: Perth Pay-per-view he was supposed to go attend.[29]
Championships and accomplishments
- Explosive Pro Wrestling
- EPW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Marcius Pitt[30]
- International Wrestling Australia
- Melbourne City Wrestling
- MCW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[33]
- MCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Hartley Jackson[34]
- MCW Intercommonwealth Championship (1 time)[35]
- Ballroom Brawl (2017)[36]
- Third Triple Crown Champion
- NWA Australian Wrestling Alliance
- Pacific Pro Wrestling
- PPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[39]
- Pro Wrestling Australia
- PWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[40]
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Wrestle Rampage
- WR Australian National Championship (3 times)[42]
- WR Meltdown World Tag Team Championships (1 time) - with Hartley Jackson[43]
- WWE
References
- ^ a b Laughton, Max (16 August 2020). "Bronson Reed's surreal journey from not being able to afford training to the WWE big stage". Fox Sports Australia. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
- ^ IMPACT Wrestling Staff (29 April 2022). "JONAH - IMPACT Wrestling". Impact Wrestling. Archived from the original on 29 April 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
- ^ a b c "Bronson Reed". WWE.
- ^ "WWE NXT Results - Adam Cole Headlines, Final Takeover Build, New #1 Contender, Bianca Belair, More". Wrestling Inc. 12 February 2020.
- ^ "WWE NXT Results - Io Shirai Attacks, Timothy Thatcher Training Session, Santos Escobar, More". Wrestling Inc. 17 June 2020.
- ^ "WWE NXT Results: Bronson Reed vs. Karrion Kross". The Overtimer. 25 June 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
- ^ Moore, John (29 June 2021). "6/29 NXT TV results: Moore's review of Shotzi Blackheart and Ember Moon vs. Raquel Gonzalez and Dakota Kai vs. Io Shirai and Zoey Stark in a Triple Threat tag match for a shot at the NXT Women's Tag Titles, Xia Li and Boa vs. Mercedes Martinez and Jake Atlas in a mixed tag match, Cameron Grimes in action". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
- ^ Jeremy Lambert (6 August 2021). "WWE Releases Bronson Reed, Leon Ruff, Bobby Fish, Mercedes Martinez, And More". Fightful. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
- ^ Klyn, Parker (13 November 2021). "NJPW Battle in the Valley live results: NEVER title match". f4wonline.com. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
- ^ "NJPW Strong results: FinJuice vs. JONAH & Bad Dude Tito". 6 March 2022.
- ^ "Field announced for NJPW G1 Climax 32". 12 June 2022.
- ^ "NJPW G1 Climax 32 block winners determined, semifinals set". 16 August 2022.
- ^ "NJPW G1 Climax 32 night 13 results: Kazuchika Okada vs. JONAH". 7 August 2022.
- ^ Lambert, Jeremy (20 November 2021). "JONAH Makes IMPACT Debut At IMPACT Turning Point, Attacks Josh Alexander". Fightful. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
- ^ Impact Wrestling Staff (20 November 2021). "Turning Point 2021 Results". Impact Wrestling. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
- ^ Powell, Jason (8 January 2022). "1/8 Impact Wrestling Hard To Kill results: Mickie James vs. Deonna Purrazzo in a Texas Death Match for the Knockouts Title, Moose vs. W. Morrissey vs. Matt Cardona for the Impact World Championship, Jonathan Gresham vs. Chris Sabin for the original ROH Championship, Josh Alexander vs. Jonah". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
- ^ IMPACT Wrestling Staff (8 January 2022). "Hard To Kill 2022 Full Results". Impact Wrestling. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
- ^ Lambert, Jeremy (6 May 2022). "JONAH Confirms His First Stint With IMPACT Wrestling Has Concluded". Fightful. Archived from the original on 6 May 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
- ^ "Bronson Reed regresa a WWE en Monday Night RAW". 20 December 2022.
- ^ Powell, Jason (30 January 2023). "1/30 WWE Raw results: Powell's live review of the post Royal Rumble edition with Cody Rhodes opening, Rhea Ripley choosing which champion to challenge at WM39, Seth Rollins vs. Chad Gable, and Johnny Gargano vs. Baron Corbin in qualifiers for the Elimination Chamber match for the U.S. Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on 2 February 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
- ^ Powell, Jason (18 February 2023). "WWE Elimination Chamber results: Powell's live review of Roman Reigns vs. Sami Zayn for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship, Brock Lesnar vs. Bobby Lashley, two Elimination Chamber matches, Edge and Beth Phoenix vs. Rhea Ripley and Finn Balor". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
- ^ "WWE Monday Night RAW Results 4/17/2023". 17 April 2023.
- ^ Mahjouri, Shakiel (21 April 2023). "WWE SmackDown results: Riddle goes solo against The Bloodline, trio of matches set for Backlash". CBSSports. Archived from the original on 22 April 2023. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
- ^ Gilpin, Matt (6 May 2023). "United States Champion Austin Theory def. Bobby Lashley and Bronson Reed". WWE. Archived from the original on 7 May 2023. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
- ^ Keller, Wade (9 October 2023). "WWE Raw Results (10/9): Keller's report on Fastlane fallout, Nia Jax vs. Raquel Rodriguez, Kofi vs. Ivar, Becky vs. Tegan for the NXT Title". PWTorch. Archived from the original on 10 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
- ^ Barnett, Jake (5 April 2024). "WWE Friday Night Smackdown results (4/5): Barnett's review of the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, Jey Uso vs. Solo Sikoa, KO Show with guest Randy Orton, final hype for WMXL". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
- ^ Powell, Jason (25 May 2024). "WWE King and Queen of the Ring results: Powell's live review of Cody Rhodes vs. Logan Paul for the WWE Title, Gunther vs. Randy Orton in the KOTR finals, Nia Jax vs. Lyra Valkyria in the QOTR finals". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
- ^ "World Heavyweight Championship to be defended in Australia". Major League Wrestling. 21 August 2018. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
- ^ ""My wife and I have had our baby early, I was supposed to miss the PLE to make sure I'm here for my family."". Retrieved 24 February 2024.
- ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (2 November 2013). "EPW Tag Team Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
- ^ "IWA Heavyweight Title [International Wrestling Australia]".
- ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (14 October 2017). "IWA Heavyweight Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
- ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (5 August 2017). "MCW Heavyweight Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
- ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (11 April 2015). "MCW Tag Team Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
- ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (14 May 2016). "MCW Intercommonwealth Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
- ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (5 August 2017). "Ballroom Brawl (2017)". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
- ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "NWA AWA Heavyweight Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
- ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (22 November 2014). "NWA AWA Grindhouse Wrestling 2.10: Mexican Christmas Fiesta - Event @ Globe Theatre in Fortitude Valley, Queensland, Australia". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
- ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (22 November 2014). "PPW Heavyweight Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
- ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (16 June 2018). "PWA Heavyweight Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2021". Pro Wrestling Illustrated. cagematch.net. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
- ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (10 June 2014). "WR Australian National Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
- ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (12 July 2014). "WR Meltdown World Tag Team Championships". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
- ^ "NXT North American Championship". World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). 18 May 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
External links
- Bronson Reed on WWE.com
- JONAH's Impact Wrestling profile
- Bronson Reed's profile at Cagematch.net, Wrestlingdata.com, Internet Wrestling Database
- JONAH on X
- Jermaine Haley (II) at IMDb