Alex Zayne

Alex Zayne Brandenburg is an American professional wrestler currently working on the independent circuit under the ring name Alex Zayne. He is best known for his tenure with WWE, where he performed under the ring name Ari Sterling. He has also appeared on Impact Wrestling, Ring of Honor (ROH),[5] New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW),[6] and Game Changer Wrestling (GCW).[7]

This article is about the American professional wrestler. For the British television presenter, see Alex Zane.
Alex Zayne
Zayne in April 2023
Birth nameAlex Zayne Brandenburg[1]
Born (1986-10-28) October 28, 1986
Lexington, Kentucky, U.S.
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Alex Zayne
Andras Vidal
Ari Sterling[2][3]
Zayne
Billed height6 ft 1 in (185 cm)[4]
Billed weight185 lb (84 kg)[4]
Billed fromLexington, Kentucky[4]
DebutMarch 31, 2007

Early life

Zayne worked at Taco Bell before he became a pro wrestler. He was Employee of the Month for 16 months in a row, a feat he considers his life's greatest accomplishment. A broken hand forced him to retire from his Taco Bell career and fall back on wrestling, but he still pays homage to his life's calling as taco artist by naming his signature moves after the Taco Bell menu.

Professional wrestling career

New Japan Pro Wrestling (2019-2021; 2021-present)

Zayne made his debut in NJPW on November 11, 2019 at New Japan Showdown, in a tag team match, where he and Aaron Solow lost against Amazing Red and T. J. Perkins. Since March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, Zayne was unable to work on NJPW events in Japan, leading him to take part in NJPW Strong series. His big matches and performances led him to a WWE Try-out, which he passed, leading him to leave NJPW and sign with WWE in the spring of 2021.

In the fall of 2021, Zayne was released from WWE as part of budget cuts relating to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and returned to NJPW Strong, and made his return match at New Japan Showdown defeating Ariya Davari. Zayne then later faced Will Ospreay on November 17, at the second NJPW's XTRA show in a losing effort. On May 1, Zayne was announced to take part in the 2022 Best of the Super Juniors in Japan. At the tournament, Zayned finished the tournament with a record of four wins and five losses, failing to advance to the finals of the tournament. During the tournament, Zayne formed a tag team with Ace Austin. However, on June 3, Austin joined the Bullet Club, this led Zayne questioning Austin's actions before being laid out by Austin and the Bullet Club. On the June 20th episode of IMPACT, Austin defeated Zayne with the help of Chris Bey.

Championships and accomplishments
  • 3-2-1 BATTLE!
    • Six Pack Challenge (2018)[8]
  • Hope Wrestling
    • HOPE Young Guns Championship (1 time)
  • Pro Wrestling Illustrated
    • Ranked No. 227 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the PWI 500 in 2020[9]
  • USA Championship Wrestling
    • USACW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  • Resolute Wrestling
    • Resolute Pound 4 Pound Championship (1 time)
  • Ring of Honor

References
  1. "Dezmond Xavier, Zachary Wentz, Alex Zayne among new recruits reporting to WWE Performance Center". WWE. December 2, 2020.
  2. "Former WWE NXT Star Earns Future ROH World Title Shot". Wrestling Inc. 12 September 2021. Retrieved 2022-03-07.
  3. "Alex Zayne To Debut As Ari Sterling On 205 Live | Fightful News". www.fightful.com. Retrieved 2022-03-07.
  4. "Ari Sterling WWE profile". WWE. December 2, 2020.
  5. P, Dominic (2021-09-12). "Alex Zayne Returns to ROH". Last Word on Pro Wrestling. Retrieved 2022-03-07.
  6. NJPW. "Alex Zayne-アレックス・ゼイン | NEW JAPAN PRO-WRESTLING". NJPW. Retrieved 2022-03-07.
  7. Rathi, Ishaan (4 October 2021). "Alex Zayne returns to Game Changer Wrestling following his WWE release » FirstSportz". firstsportz.com. Retrieved 2022-03-07.
  8. cite web|url= https://www.cagematch.net/?id=26&nr=5176
  9. cite web|url= https://www.cagematch.net/?id=2&nr=21715&page=12
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