George Murdoch is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
professional wrestlerProfessional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
and
actorAn actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, better known by his
ring nameA ring name is a stage name used by a professional wrestler, martial artist, or boxer. While some ring names may have a fictitious first name and surname, others may simply be a nickname, such as The Undertaker.-Wrestling:...
,
Brodus Clay. He is signed to WWE, where he wrestles on its
RawWWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
brandWWE, formerly the World Wrestling Federation and World Wrestling Entertainment , currently promotes its core business of professional wrestling through two "brands" named after their two major television shows Raw and SmackDown...
and its developmental territory
Florida Championship Wrestling Championship Wrestling from Florida was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it closed down. It is also referred to as Florida Championship Wrestling...
. He was the runner-up on the fourth season of
NXTWWE NXT is a sports entertainment television program produced by WWE that debuted on February 23, 2010. Described as a hybrid between reality television and WWE's scripted live event shows, the premise of the show follows select talent contracted to WWE's developmental territory Florida...
.
Early life
Prior to becoming a professional wrestler, Murdoch worked as a bodyguard for
Snoop DoggCalvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. , better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Snoop is best known as a rapper in the West Coast hip hop scene, and for being one of Dr. Dre's most notable protégés. Snoop Dogg was a Crip gang member while in high school...
.
Deep South Wrestling (2006–2007)
After signing a contract with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), Murdoch was assigned to Deep South Wrestling (DSW), a WWE developmental territory. He debuted in September 2006, and began using the ring name G-Rilla along with adopting the gimmick of a
gangsta thugGangsta Rap is a subgenre of hip hop music that evolved from hardcore hip hop and purports to reflect urban crime and the violent lifestyles of inner-city youths. Lyrics in gangsta rap have varied from accurate reflections to fictionalized accounts. Gangsta is a non-rhotic pronunciation of the word...
. In his first match for the
promotionA professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling. Promotion also describes a role which entails management, advertising and logistics of running a wrestling event...
, he defeated Big Bully Douglas in a dark match on September 7. The following month, he became the enforcer for Urban Assault, a
tag teamTag team professional wrestling is a variation in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. A tag team may comprise two wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of established teams who wrestle regularly as a unit and have a team name...
composed of
Eric PérezEric Alexander Pérez is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler who currently performs under the ring name Eric Escobar. He is best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment , where he spent most of his career in developmental territories...
and
Sonny SiakiSonny Siaki is a retired American professional wrestler. Unlike many Samoans in professional wrestling, he is not part of the large Anoa'i or Fatu family.-Early life:...
. On December 14, Urban Assault was joined by
Afa Jr.Afa Anoa'i, Jr. is an American professional wrestler of Samoan descent. He is best known for his work in World Wrestling Entertainment, where he competed on its Raw brand under the ring name Manu.-World Xtreme Wrestling:...
, and the following week, Perez, Siaki, and Afa Jr. attacked Murdoch, throwing him out of the group. The same month, Murdoch wrestled in two dark matches against Scotty 2 Hotty at SmackDown!
house showA house show is a professional wrestling show run by a major promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in on the exposure that they and their wrestlers receive during televised events, as well as test reactions to matches, wrestlers, and...
s while using his real name, winning the first but losing the second. In early January 2007, G-Rilla
feudedA professional wrestling feud is a staged rivalry between multiple wrestlers or alliances of wrestlers. They are integrated into ongoing storylines, particularly in events which are televised...
with Urban Assault, attacking the members during matches. He then formed a tag team with the
Freakin' DeaconAndrew "Drew" Hankinson is an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment , where he appeared under the ring names Festus and Luke Gallows...
, with the pair defeating Urban Assault in their first match together. They went on to defeat teams including Frankie Coverdale and Bob Hoskins, the Samoan Fight Club of Siaki and Afa Jr.,
Shawn OsborneShawn McGrath was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Shawn Osborne. He is best known for his stint with World Wrestling Entertainment as a developmental talent, most recently wrestling for its developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling.-Early career:On...
and
Jon BolenJon Bolen is an American professional wrestler and bodybuilder. He currently competes on the independent circuit including Maximum Pro Wrestling, the International Wrestling Cartel and the National Wrestling Alliance...
, and
Robert AnthonyRobert Anthony is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Egotistico Fantastico. He currently performs for various independent promotions, most notably Combat Zone Wrestling where he is a former CZW World Heavyweight Champion, as well as a former World Junior Heavyweight...
and
Johnny CurtisJonathan Curtis is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on its SmackDown brand under his ring name Johnny Curtis. He also performs in its developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling. He was the winner of the fourth season of NXT.- Early Career :Curtis...
. In March, they faced and defeated the DSW Tag Team Champions, Team Elite (
Mike KnoxMichael Shawn Hettinga is a American professional wrestler. He is best known for wrestling for World Wrestling Entertainment as Mike Knox. He is also an avid fisherman, and fishes in his spare time.-Independent circuit :...
and Derrick Neikirk) in two successive non-title matches.
Florida Championship Wrestling (2007–2008)
In June 2007, Murdoch was moved to the
Florida Championship Wrestling Championship Wrestling from Florida was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it closed down. It is also referred to as Florida Championship Wrestling...
(FCW) develiopmental territory. He made his debut at FCW's inaugural show on June 26, using the name G-Rilla and defeating Shawn Osborne. Three months later, on September 15, G-Rilla won a
battle royalIn professional wrestling, a battle royal is a multi-competitor match type in which wrestlers are eliminated until one is left and declared winner...
to become the number one contender to the
FCW Southern Heavyweight ChampionshipThe FCW Southern Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling heavyweight championship owned and promoted by Florida Championship Wrestling , the developmental territory of WWE. It is contested for in their heavyweight division...
by last eliminating
Teddy HartTeddy Annis , is a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Teddy Hart. He is currently working on the American independent circuit for promotions such as Jersey All Pro Wrestling and Dragon Gate USA...
. He challenged Harry Smith for the championship on September 25, but lost via disqualification which meant that Smith retained the championship. The following month, G-Rilla continued to feud with Smith and Hart, who had formed
The Hart DynastyThe Hart Dynasty was a professional wrestling stable that appeared in World Wrestling Entertainment. The unit consisted of the tag team of Tyson Kidd and David Hart Smith, and WWE Diva Natalya...
with TJ Wilson and
Ted DiBiase, Jr.Theodore Marvin "Ted" DiBiase Jr. is an American professional wrestler and actor signed with WWE, where he appears on its SmackDown brand...
, allying himself with Osborne, Jake Hager and
Afa, Jr.Afa Anoa'i, Jr. is an American professional wrestler of Samoan descent. He is best known for his work in World Wrestling Entertainment, where he competed on its Raw brand under the ring name Manu.-World Xtreme Wrestling:...
G-Rilla briefly formed a tag team with Robert Anthony in December 2007, but on February 4, 2008, Murdoch was released from his contract with WWE.
Return to WWE (2010–present)
In January 2010, Murdoch re-signed with WWE and was assigned to FCW. In March, Murdoch, once again using the name G-Rilla, formed an alliance with
The Uso BrothersThe Usos are a professional wrestling tag team consisting of twin brothers Jimmy and Jey Uso. The Usos appear in WWE, competing on the SmackDown brand. The pair were previously managed by Tamina...
,
TaminaSarona Reiher is a professional wrestler who is currently signed to WWE, where she is performing on the SmackDown brand, using the ring name Tamina...
, and Donny Marlow. He went on to defeat both
Jacob NovakDrew Molzhon, better known by his stage name Jacob Novak is a Polish American professional wrestler best known for his time in WWE, wrestling in their developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling, and appearing on the fourth and fifth seasons of WWE NXT.-Florida Championship Wrestling :In...
and Rudy Parker, before changing his ring name to Brodus Clay, a play on Snoop Dogg's real name (Calvin Cordozar Broadus), in May 2010. in May 2010. On June 16, Clay and Marlow challenged Los Aviadores (
HunicoJorge Arias is an American professional wrestler, who is currently signed by WWE wrestling on its SmackDown brand while also wrestling in Florida Championship Wrestling under the ring name Hunico...
and
EpicoOrlando Colón is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler. He began working in Hybrid Pro Wrestling, an independent circuit in Schoolcraft, Michigan. In 2006, Colón debuted in the World Wrestling Council, a promotion owned by his uncle, Carlos Colón. While working with WWC, he had a brief...
) for the
FCW Florida Tag Team ChampionshipThe Florida Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling tag team championship owned and promoted by Florida Championship Wrestling , the developmental territory of WWE. It is contested for in their tag team division...
, but were unsuccessful. That same month, Clay and Marlow began referring to themselves as The Colossal Connection. The Colossal Connection challenged Los Aviadores for the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship again on July 1, and won by disqualification when The Usos interfered, allowing Los Aviadores to retain the championship. Later that same night, The Colossal Connection defeated The Usos by disqualification to become the number one contenders to the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship after Los Aviadores interfered. On August 6, The Colossal Connection competed in a four-way elimination match for the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship, but Los Aviadores won to retain their title. At the television tapings on August 12,
Johnny CurtisJonathan Curtis is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on its SmackDown brand under his ring name Johnny Curtis. He also performs in its developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling. He was the winner of the fourth season of NXT.- Early Career :Curtis...
and
Derrick BatemanMichael Hutter is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE, where he performs in its developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling, under the ring name Derrick Bateman...
won a three-way tag team match over The Colossal Connection and Los Aviadores to win the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship. Clay and Marlow unsuccessfully challenged Curtis and Bateman for the championship throughout August and September. In October, Clay appeared at a WWE house show, where he lost to JTG.
NXT (2010–2011)
During the finale of season three of
NXTWWE NXT is a sports entertainment television program produced by WWE that debuted on February 23, 2010. Described as a hybrid between reality television and WWE's scripted live event shows, the premise of the show follows select talent contracted to WWE's developmental territory Florida...
, it was announced that Clay would be part of the fourth season, with
Ted DiBiaseTheodore Marvin "Ted" DiBiase Jr. is an American professional wrestler and actor signed with WWE, where he appears on its SmackDown brand...
and
MaryseMaryse Ouellet is a Professional Glamour Model and a former professional wrestler, better known simply as Maryse. She most recently worked for WWE...
, as his mentors. He made his in-ring debut on
NXT on the December 14, 2010, episode, teaming with DiBiase to defeat Byron Saxton and his mentor
Chris MastersChristopher Todd Mordetzky is an American professional wrestler best known by his ring name Chris Masters. He is best known for his tenure with WWE.-Early career:...
. He suffered his first loss the following week, when he, DiBiase, and Maryse were defeated by Saxton, Masters, and Natalya in a six-person mixed tag team match. Clay won a four-way elimination match on the January 25 episode of
NXT, earning the right to choose a new Pro. He picked Alberto Del Rio as his new pro, and then attacked DiBiase. The following week, Clay defeated DiBiase in a singles match. On the February 8 episode of
NXT, Clay won both a match and a challenge to earn three immunity points, his first of the season. Both he and
Johnny CurtisJonathan Curtis is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on its SmackDown brand under his ring name Johnny Curtis. He also performs in its developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling. He was the winner of the fourth season of NXT.- Early Career :Curtis...
were tied on immunity points at the end of the show, and an audience vote determined that Curtis was immune from elimination. Clay survived when Byron Saxton was eliminated. In the season finale on March 1, Clay ended the competition in second place, losing out to Curtis.
SmackDown (2011)
On the March 7 episode of
RawWWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
, Clay debuted as Del Rio's new bodyguard and replaced him in his match against Christian in a losing effort. As Del Rio was feuding with Edge and Christian, Clay faced off with single matches against them and also teamed with Del Rio to face
Edge and ChristianEdge and Christian was a tag team made of real life best friends Edge and Christian , who performed in WWE and the Canadian independent circuit. They won the WWF Tag Team Championship on seven occasions...
. Clay accompanied Del Rio to the ring at
WrestleMania XXVIIWrestleMania XXVII was the twenty-seventh annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , held on April 3, 2011 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia...
. On the April 25 edition of
Raw, Del Rio was drafted to Raw, while Clay remained on SmackDown. Clay's final appearance with Del Rio occurred on May 1 at
Extreme RulesExtreme Rules was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by WWE, which took place on May 1, 2011 at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Florida...
, when he interfered on Del Rio's behalf as Del Rio faced Christian in a ladder match for the vacant
World Heavyweight ChampionshipThe World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the SmackDown brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the WWE Championship of the Raw brand...
. Despite this, Del Rio was unsuccessful in winning the match.
Clay returned after a three month absence due to the filming of
No One Lives on the August 4 episode of
Superstars, where he beat a
jobberIn professional wrestling slang, the term job describes a losing performance in a wrestling match. It is derived from the euphemism "doing one's job", which was employed to protect kayfabe. As professional wrestling is scripted, inevitably a wrestler will be required to lose to an opponent.The term...
named Pat Silva. During the next few weeks, Clay would continue to squash various jobbers on
Superstars. After nine consecutive squashes on
Superstars, WWE began to run vignettes promoting his redebut.
On the November 28 2011 edition of Raw, interim General Manager John Laurinitis once again claimed Clay would make his debut on the December 5 2011 edition of Raw.
Other media
Murdoch made his motion picture debut in a supporting role as Ethan in the upcoming WWE Studios horror movie titled
No One Lives.
Filmography
| Year |
Film |
Role |
Notes |
| 2012 |
No One Lives |
Ethan |
Film Debut |
Brodus Clay will make his video game debut in the upcoming game,
WWE '12WWE '12 is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and published by THQ for the PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360 systems. It is the first game in the WWE series and the fourteenth overall in the combined series. It is the sequel to WWE SmackDown vs...
as downloadable content. His addition to the game was leaked in the launch trailer on Nov. 17. On the November 28 2011 edition of Raw, interim General Manager John Laurinitis once again claimed Clay would make his debut on the December 5 2011 edition of Raw.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Fall of Humanity (Running crossbody) – 2011–present
- G-Grip (FCW
Championship Wrestling from Florida was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it closed down. It is also referred to as Florida Championship Wrestling...
) / Tongan death grip into a chokeslamA chokeslam refers to a type of body slam in professional wrestling in which the wrestler grasps their opponent's neck, lifts them up, and slams them to the mat. It is common in televised wrestling because it is simple and relatively safe, yet looks powerful on camera...
(WWE)
- ICU (FCW) / Running splash (WWE)
- Signature moves
- Big Splash
Big Splash could refer to:*The Big Splash , by Louis A. Frank and Patrick Huyghe*The Big Splash, a 1935 British comedy film*An alternate name for the giant impact hypothesis for the formation of the Moon*Big Splash...
- Clothesline
- Corner body avalanche
- Corner hip attack
- Elbow drop
- Falling powerslam
- Fisherman buster
- Forearm club to an opponent's back
- Front powerslam
- Running headbutt to an opponent's chest
- Multiple suplex
A suplex is an offensive move used in professional sport wrestling . The move consists of one wrestler picking up his or her opponent off the ground and then using a large portion of his or her own body weight to drive the opponent down on the mat. Nearly all suplexes have the attacker going down...
variations
- Exploder
- Head and arm
- Overhead / Side belly to belly
- Snap
- Nerve hold
- Scoop slam
- Seated senton
- Spinebuster
- Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
s
- "G-Rilla"
- "The Mastodon of Mayhem"
- "WWE's Resident Juggernaunt"
- "El Toro de la Luna (The Bull of the Moon)" (bestowed upon by Ricardo Rodriguez)
Championships and accomplishments
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
Pro Wrestling Illustrated is a professional wrestling magazine. PWI is currently based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania and published by Kappa Publishing Group.-History:The first issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated was released in 1979...
- PWI ranked him #185 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2011
External links