Bron Breakker
Bronson Rechsteiner (born October 24, 1997) is an American professional wrestler and former American football player. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Bron Breakker. 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). A two-time former NXT Champion, he was voted "Rookie of the Year" for 2022 by readers of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Bron Breakker | |
---|---|
Birth name | Bronson Rechsteiner |
Born | [1] Woodstock, Georgia, U.S.[1] | October 24, 1997
Alma mater | Kennesaw State University[1] |
Partner | Cora Jade (2022–present) |
Parent(s) | Rick Steiner (father) |
Family | Scott Steiner (uncle) |
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Bron Breakker[2][3] Bronson Rechsteiner[4] |
Billed height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)[1][2] |
Billed weight | 230 lb (104 kg)[1][2] |
Billed from | Woodstock, Georgia, U.S.[2][3] Atlanta, Georgia, United States[4] |
Trained by | WWE Performance Center[5][6] |
Debut | October 8, 2020[4] |
Early life; football career
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 NFL Scouting Combine 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]
Professional wrestling career
Early career (2020)
Rechsteiner debuted in professional wrestling on October 8, 2020, in Ringgold, Georgia at the "WrestleJam 8" event promoted by AWF/WOW, defeating Jamie Hall.[4][5]
WWE (2020–present)
In February 2021, WWE announced Rechsteiner had signed a developmental contract with the company.[12] 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.[13] In August 2021, he appeared on an episode of NXT, portraying a security guard who was attacked by Samoa Joe.[14]
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][15] he later had a staredown with new NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa.[16] Breakker unsuccessfully challenged Ciampa for the title at the Halloween Havoc television special on October 26.[17] In November 2021, Breakker participated in WWE's tour of the United Kingdom.[18] At 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.[19]
At 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.[20] At Vengeance Day on February 15, he made his first successful title defense, defeating Santos Escobar.[21] 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.[22] At 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.[23] On April 1, Breakker inducted his father and uncle into the WWE Hall of Fame;[24] the following night at Stand & Deliver, he challenged Ziggler for the title in a losing effort.[25] On the April 4 episode of Raw, Breakker defeated Ziggler to win the NXT Championship for a second time.[26] On the following episode of NXT, he retained the title against Gunther.[27] Breakker subsequently began feuding with Joe Gacy after Gacy kidnapped Rick Steiner,[28] leading to a match between the two at Spring Breakin' on May 3, where Breakker defeated Gacy to retain the title.[29] At 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.[30] At the Great American Bash on July 5, Breakker retained the title against Cameron Grimes, and was attacked by the debuting J. D. McDonagh after the match.[31] At Heatwave on August 16, Breakker retained the title against McDonagh; after the match, he was confronted by NXT United Kingdom Champion Tyler Bate.[32] At Worlds Collide on September 4, Breakker defeated Bate to unify the NXT Championship and NXT United Kingdom Championship.[33][34] At Halloween Havoc on October 22, Breakker defeated McDonagh and Ilja Dragunov in a triple threat match to retain the NXT Championship.[35] At NXT Deadline on December 10, Breakker successfully defended the NXT Championship against Apollo Crews.[36]
At New Year's Evil on January 10, 2023, Breakker defeated Grayson Waller via countout to retain the NXT Championship;[37] at Vengeance Day on February 4, he defeated Waller once again, this time in a cage match.[38] At Stand & Deliver on April 1, Breakker lost the championship to Carmelo Hayes, ending his second reign at 362 days.[39] On the April 4 episode of NXT, Breakker attacked Hayes, turning heel for the first time in his career.[40][41] He cemented his new villainous persona the next week by interrupting Chase University in the ring, verbally insulting the audience, and attacking Andre Chase.[42] At Spring Breakin' on April 25, Breakker defeated Chase via submission.[43] At Battleground on May 28, Breakker failed to regain the NXT Championship from Hayes.[44] At NXT Gold Rush on June 20, he unsuccessfully challenged Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship.[45] At Heatwave on August 22, Breakker attacked Von Wagner;[46] on the September 6 episode of NXT, he bludgeoned Wagner with a set of steel steps.[47] Later that month, Breakker took part in the Superstar Spectacle in Hyderabad, India, defeating Odyssey Jones.[48] At NXT No Mercy on September 30, Breakker lost to Baron Corbin.[49] 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.[50]
Professional wrestling style and persona
Breakker wrestles in a "powerhouse" style.[51] His finishing moves are a camel clutch dubbed the Steiner Recliner (a move adopted from his uncle Scott Steiner),[4][20][43] a gorilla press powerslam,[2][3][15] and a spear.[36]
Personal life
As of October 2022, Rechsteiner is in a relationship with fellow NXT wrestler Cora Jade.[53]
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 in 2022
References
- "Bronson Rechsteiner". Kennesaw State Owls. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
- "Bron Breakker". WWE.com. WWE. 2021. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
- Currier, Joseph (September 14, 2021). "Bronson Rechsteiner makes WWE NXT debut, defeats LA Knight". F4WOnline.com. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
- Surrao, Lennard (November 28, 2020). "Rick Steiner's son has a WWE tryout after recent debut, another wrestler expected to sign in 2021". Sportskeeda. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
- Boorstein, Eli (February 26, 2021). "Former KSU football star Rechsteiner signs WWE contract". Marietta Daily Journal. Yahoo! News. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
- Nason, Josh (February 11, 2021). "HHH audio: Velveteen Dream update, Steve Cutler, Edge, new signings". F4WOnline.com. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
He mentioned Bronson Rechsteiner (son of Rick Steiner) as someone training at the PC.
- "Son of former pro wrestling star Rick Steiner wins Georgia state title". USA Today High School Sports. USA Today. February 15, 2016. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
- Barrasso, Justin (February 7, 2023). "Former football star Bron Breakker is on the cusp of a WWE breakout". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
- Barrasso, Justin (April 28, 2020). "Bronson Rechsteiner, son of Rick Steiner, aims to carry on family's pro sports legacy". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
- Hensley, Jamison (April 26, 2020). "Baltimore Ravens sign Kennesaw State FB Bronson Rechsteiner". ESPN. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
- Brown, Clifton (August 10, 2020). "Ravens waive undrafted fullback Bronson Rechsteiner". Baltimore Ravens. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
- McGeorge, Alistair (February 11, 2021). "WWE's Triple H confirms Brock Lesnar lookalike Parker Boudreaux signing: 'I'm incredibly excited'". Metro. DMG Media. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
Triple H – whose real name is Paul Levesque – also casually namedropped the signing of Bronson Rechsteiner, whose father is wrestler [sic] legend Rick Steiner.
- Hart, Danny (May 21, 2021). "'They ruined it, it was horrible'- John Cena Sr. criticizes recent WWE match". Sportskeeda. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
- Guzzo, Gisberto (September 10, 2021). "Bronson Rechsteiner changes his name on social media to Rex Steiner". Fightful. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
- "WWE NXT results, Sept 14, 2021: Ciampa wins back Goldie and InDex says "I do" to begin NXT 2.0 era". WWE.com. WWE. September 14, 2021. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
- Currier, Joseph (September 14, 2021). "Tommaso Ciampa wins NXT Championship, Von Wagner debuts". F4WOnline.com. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
Tonight's show ended with a backstage segment where Bron Breakker (Bronson Rechsteiner) congratulated Ciampa. Ciampa then congratulated Breakker on his first win in NXT. The two had a tense staredown as they shook hands and Breakker looked at Ciampa's title belt.
- Aiken, Chris (October 26, 2021). "WWE NXT Halloween Havoc live results: Ciampa vs. Breakker". F4WOnline.com. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
- Kreikenbohm, Philip (2021). "Bron Breakker - matches - 2021". Cagematch.net. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
- Klyn, Parker (December 5, 2021). "WWE NXT WarGames live results: old school vs. new school". F4WOnline.com. Retrieved December 6, 2021.
- Aiken, Chris (January 4, 2022). "WWE NXT live results: New Year's Evil". F4WOnline.com. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
...Breakker applies the Steiner Recliner. Ciampa taps out, and Breakker wins the match to become the new NXT Champion.
- Moore, John (February 15, 2022). "2/15 NXT 2.0 results". ProWrestling.Net. Retrieved August 17, 2022.
- Rose, Bryan (March 7, 2022). "Bron Breakker appears on WWE Raw, teams with Tommaso Ciampa". F4WOnline.com. Archived from the original on March 8, 2022. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
- Renner, Ethan (March 8, 2022). "Dolph Ziggler wins NXT Championship at Roadblock". F4WOnline.com. Archived from the original on March 9, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
- Carey, Ian (April 1, 2022). "WWE Hall of Fame live coverage: The Undertaker, Vader, Sharmell, Steiners". F4WOnline.com. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
- Aiken, Chris (April 2, 2022). "WWE NXT Stand & Deliver live results: Dolph Ziggler vs. Bron Breakker". F4WOnline.com. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
- Khan, Steve (April 4, 2022). "WWE Raw live results: Raw after WrestleMania". F4WOnline.com. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
- Moore, John (April 5, 2022). "4/5 NXT 2.0 results". ProWrestling.Net. Retrieved August 17, 2022.
- Aiken, Chris (April 5, 2022). "WWE NXT live results: The fallout from Stand & Deliver". F4WOnline.com. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
- Aiken, Chris (May 3, 2022). "WWE NXT Spring Breakin' live results: Bron Breakker vs. Joe Gacy". F4WOnline.com. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
- Klynn, Parker (June 4, 2022). "WWE NXT In Your House live results: Bron Breakker vs. Joe Gacy". F4WOnline.com. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
- Moore, John (July 5, 2022). "7/5 NXT 2.0 results". ProWrestling.Net. Retrieved August 17, 2022.
- Moore, John (August 16, 2022). "8/16 NXT 2.0 Heatwave results". ProWrestling.Net. Retrieved August 17, 2022.
- Aiken, Chris (September 4, 2022). "WWE NXT Worlds Collide live results". F4WOnline.com. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
- "NXT United Kingdom Championship". WWE.com. WWE. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
- Klyn, Parker (October 22, 2022). "WWE NXT Halloween Havoc live results: Breakker vs. Dragunov vs. McDonagh". F4WOnline.com. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
- Williams, Suit (December 10, 2022). "WWE NXT Deadline live results: Iron Survivor Challenge debuts". F4WOnline.com. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
- Aiken, Chris (January 10, 2022). "WWE NXT New Year's Evil live results: Breakker vs. Waller". F4WOnline.com. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
- Williams, Suit (February 4, 2022). "WWE NXT Vengeance Day live results: Bron Breakker vs. Grayson Waller". F4WOnline.com. Retrieved February 6, 2023.
- Currier, Joseph (April 1, 2023). "Carmelo Hayes crowned NXT Champion at Stand & Deliver". F4WOnline.com. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
- Rose, Bryan (April 4, 2023). "Bron Breakker attacks Carmelo Hayes on WWE NXT". F4WOnline.com. Archived from the original on April 5, 2023. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
- Haoulette, Kellie (April 5, 2023). "Bron Breakker turns heel in shocking ending to WWE NXT". WrestlingInc.com. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
- Defelice, Robert (April 11, 2023). "Bron Breakker: the NXT Championship was a curse on my career; I don't need scumbag fans". Fightful.com. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
- Aiken, Chris (April 25, 2023). "WWE NXT Spring Breakin' live results: Carmelo Hayes vs. Grayson Waller". F4WOnline.com. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
- Wells, Kelly (May 28, 2023). "5/28 NXT Battleground Results: Wells's report on Carmelo Hayes vs. Bron Breakker, Lyra Valkyria vs. Tiffany Stratton, Ilja Dragunov vs. Dijak, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
- Aiken, Chris (June 20, 2023). "WWE NXT Gold Rush live results: Seth Rollins vs. Bron Breakker". F4WOnline.com. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
- Aiken, Chris (August 22, 2023). "WWE NXT Heatwave live results: Carmelo Hayes vs. Wes Lee". F4WOnline.com. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
- McGeorge, Alistair (September 6, 2023). "WWE star Von Wagner 'rushed to hospital' on stretcher after horrifying scenes force NXT off air". Metro. DMG Media. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
- F4W staff (September 8, 2023). "WWE Superstar Spectacle results: John Cena teams with Seth Rollins". F4WOnline.com. Retrieved September 10, 2023.
- Khan, Steve (September 30, 2023). "WWE NXT No Mercy live results: Becky Lynch vs. Tiffany Stratton". F4WOnline.com. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
- Rose, Bryan (October 10, 2023). "The Undertaker lays out Bron Breakker on WWE NXT". F4WOnline.com. Archived from the original on October 12, 2023. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
- Kreikenbohm, Philip (2020). "Bron Breakker". Cagematch.net. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
- "WWE 2K23 roster official list". 2K.com. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
- Thomas, Jeremy (October 22, 2022). "Cora Jade on her feud with Roxanne Perez, heel turn, relationship With Bron Breakker". 411Mania. Archived from the original on March 1, 2023. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
- Meltzer, Dave (February 24, 2023). "2022 Wrestling Observer Newsletter award winners revealed". WrestleTalk.com. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
- "NXT Championship history". WWE.com. WWE. January 2022. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
External links
- Bronson Steiner on Twitter
- Bron Breakker on WWE.com
- Bron Breakker's profile at Cagematch.net , Wrestlingdata.com, Internet Wrestling Database
- Bronson Rechsteiner at IMDb
- Kennesaw State Owls bio