Duke Hudson
Brendan Vink (born 8 February 1990) is an Australian professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Duke Hudson and is a member of Chase University. He is one half of the NXT Tag Team Champions alongside Andre Chase. He is also known for his time in Melbourne City Wrestling (MCW), where he was a part of The Mighty Don't Kneel.[4]
Duke Hudson | |
---|---|
Birth name | Brendan Vink |
Born | [1] Adelaide, South Australia[2] | 8 February 1990
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Brendan Vink Duke Hudson Elliot Sexton[3] Tony Modra |
Billed height | 6 ft 5 in (196 cm)[2] |
Billed weight | 253 lb (115 kg)[2] |
Billed from | Adelaide, Australia |
Trained by | Damian Slater Hartley Jackson[2] |
Debut | 31 May 2008[2] |
Professional wrestling career
Early years (2008–2018)
At the age of 18, Vink debuted as early as 31 May 2008, under the ring name Elliot Sexton. Wrestling primarily in Australia, Sexton appeared in promotions including WRESTLE RAMPAGE (WR) and Melbourne City Wrestling (MCW). During his time in both promotions, Sexton became a one-time MCW Heavyweight Champion and a one-time WrestleRock Champion. During 2018, he made his international debut in matches for the Japanese promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling and the British promotion Progress Wrestling.
WWE (2019–present)
On 11 February 2019, it was announced that Vink had signed a contract with WWE and that he would report to the WWE Performance Center.[5] Vink debuted under his real name at an NXT house show on 15 March 2019, defeating Nick Comoroto. He went on to spend the remainder of March and the following month of April wrestling on house shows. Vink made his televised debut on the 25 March 2020 episode of NXT, teaming with his former TMDK stablemate Shane Thorne in a losing effort against Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch.[6]
Vink made his debut for EVOLVE in 2019 as part of EVOLVE's business relationship with WWE at EVOLVE 141 where he defeated Colby Corino in his first singles match.[7] Vink would then go on a winning streak in EVOLVE, defeating the likes of A. R. Fox, Stephen Wolf, JD Drake and Leon Ruff.[8][9][10][11]
In March 2020, Vink began appearing on Raw alongside Shane Thorne where they faced teams such as the Street Profits and Cedric Alexander and Ricochet but were defeated.[12][13] On the April 27 episode of Raw, Thorne and Vink became MVP’s newest associates as he challenged Alexander and Ricochet to a match the next week on their behalf. On the May 4 episode of Raw, Thorne and Vink defeated Alexander and Ricochet earning their first victory.[14] However, their alliance with MVP ended after they were both traded back to NXT and Thorne and Vink would quietly disband as a team soon after.[15]
In July 2021, Vink, under the new ring name Duke Hudson was announced to be a part of the 2021 NXT Breakout Tournament. On the 13 July episode of NXT, Hudson defeated Ikemen Jiro in the first round. On the August 17 episode of NXT, Hudson was eliminated in the semi-finals by Carmelo Hayes. Hudson would then confront Kyle O'Reilly and a brawl would ensue leading to a match being made between the two on next weeks episode of NXT.[16] On 5 December, at NXT WarGames, Hudson lost to Cameron Grimes in a Hair vs. Hair match, and therefore had to shave his hair per the match's stipulation.[17] On the 1 November 2022 episode of NXT, Hudson turned face for the first time in his WWE career by accompanying Thea Hail and Andre Chase as Chase U's flag bearer since Bodhi Hayward was released from his WWE contract the same day.
On October 24 on Night 1 of Halloween Havoc, Hudson and Chase defeated The Family (Tony D'Angelo and Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo) to become the NXT Tag Team Championship, winning his first championship in WWE.[18]
Personal life
Vink worked as a personal trainer for Goodlife Health Clubs in Melbourne.
Championships and accomplishments
- Australian Wrestling Allstars
- AWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[19]
- AWA Championship Tournament (2016)
- Melbourne City Wrestling
- MCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[20]
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- WrestleRock
- WrestleRock Championship (1 time)[22]
- WWE
Luchas de Apuestas record
Winner (wager) | Loser (wager) | Location | Event | Date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cameron Grimes (hair) | Duke Hudson (hair) | Orlando, Florida | NXT WarGames | December 5, 2021 |
References
- @WWENXT (8 February 2022). "Happy birthday, @sixftfiiiiive!!! 🎂🥳Cc: @persiawwe 👀" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- Duke Hudson's profile at Cagematch.net, Wrestlingdata.com, Internet Wrestling Database
- "Elliot Sexton". Cagematch.
- "Melbourne City Wrestling".
- "WWE ANNOUNCES NEW CLASS OF DEVELOPMENTAL SIGNINGS". PW Insider.
- "WWE NXT Results for 3/25/20 Matt Riddle Victorious, New NXT Superstars Make Their Mark". Fightful.
- "EVOLVE 141 Results (12/6): Briggs vs. Drake, WALTER vs. Thatcher, More". Fightful.
- "EVOLVE 143 Results (1/17): Josh Briggs Takes On Anthony Greene In A No DQ Match". Fightful.
- "EVOLVE 144 Results (1/18): Josh Briggs Defends EVOLVE Title Against Dexter Lumis". Fightful.
- "EVOLVE 145 Stream, Results, And Discussion (2/29)". Fightful.
- "EVOLVE 146 Results (3/1): Josh Briggs Faces AR Fox, Mansoor In Action". Fightful.
- "WWE Raw 3/23/20 Results: Randy Orton Responds To Edge, Tag Team Action & Becky Lynch Attacks". Fightful.
- "WWE Raw 4/20/20 Results: 3 MITB Qualifying Matches, Bobby Lashley Lifts Tires & Morgan vs. Riott". Fightful.
- "WWE Raw 5/4/20 Results: AJ Styles Returns, A Gauntlet Match & Drew McIntyre vs. Murphy". Fightful.
- "WWE Sends Two Superstars Back to NXT". Súper Luchas. 1 August 2020.
- "Kyle O'Reilly looks to humble Duke Hudson in the ring". WWE. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
- Moore, John (5 December 2021). "NXT WarGames results: Moore's live review of two WarGames matches, Roderick Strong vs. Joe Gacy for the NXT Cruiserweight Championship, Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel vs. Kyle O'Reilly and Von Wagner for the NXT Tag Titles, Cameron Grimes vs. Duke Hudson in a hair vs. hair match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
- Berge, Kevin (25 October 2023). "WWE NXT Halloween Havoc 2023 Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights". Bleacher Report.
- "AWA Champions League - Tag 2". CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
- "MCW Heavyweight Championship « Titles Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". Archived from the original on 8 July 2014.
- "Internet Wrestling Database - Brendan Vink: Pro Wrestling Illustrated Ratings".
- "WrestleRock Championship". CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
External links
- Duke Hudson on WWE.com
- Duke Hudson on Facebook
- Duke Hudson on Instagram
- Duke Hudson's profile at Cagematch.net