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Kipp Christianson^[3] (born September 30, 1974)^[1] is an American professional wrestler and former basketball player. He is currently signed to WWE, where he works in their developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) and was part of the second season of NXT under his ring name Eli Cottonwood. The Soup awarded him for the "Best Description of a Mustache By Somebody Who Really, Really Wants To Be a WWE Superstar" award in 2011 which he accepted in-person.^[4]

Basketball career[link]

Christianson attended River Falls High School and later St. John's University in Minnesota.^[3] While attending St. John's, he averaged 20 points and eight rebounds, and in his junior season there, he led the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in field goal percentage.^[3] During his basketball career, Christianson played in several countries, including Lithuania and China.^[3] He played in the International Basketball Association and Continental Basketball Association, for both Quad City Thunder, Yakama Sun Kings, and Sioux Falls Skyforce.^[3] He attended a camp for the Milwaukee Bucks in 1998, and played for the Dallas Mavericks team in the NBA Summer League.^[3] On March 16, 2004, he signed a contract with the Charleston Lowgators.^[3]

Professional wrestling career[link]

World Wrestling Entertainment[link]

Florida Championship Wrestling (2008-present)[link]

Kipp Christianson began competing in WWE's developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) in 2008 under his real name. In August 2009, his name was changed to Eli Cottonwood, and he utilized a gimmick of being recently reintroduced to society from the Kelloggs Sanitarium.^[1] He spent most of his time defeating opponents such as DJ Gabriel, Tyler Reks, and Max McGuirk. He soon aligned with Aksana and turned face.

[edit] NXT (2010)

On June 1, 2010, it was announced that Cottonwood would be part of the second season of WWE NXT, with John Morrison as his storyline mentor.^[5][6] He debuted on the June 8 episode of NXT, teaming with Morrison to defeat Titus O'Neil and Zack Ryder.^[7] In the first poll three weeks later, Cottonwood was ranked sixth out of the eight rookies.^[8] Cottonwood's performance in the "Talk the Talk" challenge on the July 6 episode of NXT, in which he had to talk about mustaches, earned him a clip on the following episode of E! Television's episode of The Soup in the "What your Boyfriend is Watching" segment.^[9] On the July 27 episode of NXT Cottonwood and Morrison both wore shirts that said "Mustache". On the same episode, he was eliminated after being ranked seventh out of the remaining seven rookies, and attacked both Husky Harris and Lucky Cannon as a result.^[10][11] Cottonwood returned on August 31 for the season finale, where he and the other eliminated rookies attacked Kaval, who had won the competition.^[12]

Personal life[link]

Christianson graduated from Saint John's University with a bachelor's degree in psychology.^[2][13]

In wrestling[link]

• Finishing moves
  • Reverse chokeslam facebuster^[14]

Championships and accomplishments[link]

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI ranked him #330 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2011^[15]

References[link]

External links[link]

Professional wrestling portal

• WWE Profile
• Online World of Wrestling profile
• linkedin.com profile
• NBA Development League profile

Curt Hawkins
Hawkins in April 2012
Ring name(s)	Brian Major[1] Brian Majors[1] Brandon Myers[1] Curt Hawkins[1]
Billed height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[1]
Billed weight	223 lb (101 kg)[2]
Born	(1985-04-20) April 20, 1985 (age 27)[1] Glen Cove, New York[1]
Billed from	Queens, New York[3]
Trained by	Mikey Whipwreck[1]
Debut	2004[1]
Website	http://brian-myers.org

Brandon Dennis Myers^[1] (born April 20, 1985)^[1] is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Curt Hawkins. He is currently signed to WWE working on its Raw brand and on NXT as the tag team partner of Tyler Reks. For the majority of his career, Hawkins teamed with Zack Ryder, and they won several tag team championships together, including the WWE Tag Team Championship.

Professional wrestling career[link]

Early career[link]

After being trained by Mikey Whipwreck, Myers made his debut in 2004, using his real name. He wrestled for the New York Wrestling Connection (NYWC) promotion. By 2005 he began regularly teaming with Brett Matthews and the duo of Myers and Matthews went on to defeat the NYWC Tag Team Champions Dickie Rodz and Mason Raige by disqualification, for which titles do not change hands.^[4] At the next event on June 4 they won a rematch decisively to become Tag Team Champions.^[5] Later that month they were attacked by The Dead Presidents (Lo Lincoln and Boog Washington) to set up a feud where they eventually lost their titles against them in July.^[4] on August 27.^[5] On September 23 they were entered into a three way match with the champions but Team Tremendous (Dan Barry and Ken Scampi) ended up with the belts.^[4] After continuing to win matches they re-earned a match against Team Tremendous and won the titles for the second time on January 25, 2006. They held the titles until they faced the B.S. Xpress (Tony Burma & Mike Spinelli), who defeated them for the gold on March 26.^[5]

World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE (2006–present)[link]

Developmental territories (2006–2007)[link]

Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins (right) in 2009.

On February 24, 2006, Brian Myers signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment.^[1] He was given the ring name Brian Majors and teamed up with his former tag team partner Bret Matthews, who was renamed Brett Majors, to form the tag team the Majors Brothers. Together they won the Deep South Wrestling DSW Tag Team Championship on two occasions. They later won the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship.^[6]

Teaming with Zack Ryder; La Familia (2007–2009)[link]

The team was moved from the developmental league to the main roster, changing their last names from "Majors" to "Major". The team worked on WWE's ECW brand. The team won their debut match, but failed to win any consecutive matches in either singles or tag team competition following their debut on the brand.^[7][8][9] They moved from ECW to SmackDown! on June 17, 2007, as the eighth pick in the 2007 Supplemental Draft.^[10] On SmackDown the team had only slightly more success than on the ECW brand, defeating the team of Chavo Guerrero and Jamie Noble.^[11] On November 9, 2007, they received a tag title match after winning a number one contender's battle royal, but could not defeat the champions, Montel Vontavious Porter and Matt Hardy.^[12]

Hawkins (right) posing with Edge and Ryder.

At Armageddon, the duo dressed up like Edge and interfered in the World Heavyweight Championship match, replacing Edge at several points along the match to help him win the title and thus turning heel for the first time in their WWE career.^[13] On December 21, 2007, the Major Brothers were revealed as acquaintances to Edge and his lover, SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero. The Major Brothers were repackaged and renamed as Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder, with Brian Major becoming "Curt Hawkins" and Brett Major now "Zack Ryder".^[14] Hawkins and Ryder were also, occasionally referred as "The Rated-R Entourage" by commentators Michael Cole and John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL). Occasionally, the pair teamed with their mentor Edge and/or their "La Familia" associate Chavo Guerrero on SmackDown on several occasions.

At The Great American Bash on July 20, 2008, Hawkins and Ryder won the WWE Tag Team Championship from John Morrison and The Miz in a fatal four-way match which also featured Jesse and Festus and Finlay and Hornswoggle after Hawkins pinned Jesse.^[15][16] Their victory meant that they were the youngest tag team champions in WWE history.^[17] At SummerSlam, La Familia seemed to have ended when a returning Undertaker sent Edge to Hell and then refused to forgive Vickie – prompting all the members to abandon Vickie, who would later align with Big Show. On the September 26, 2008 airing of SmackDown, Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder lost the titles to Carlito and Primo Colón in their first televised title defense.^[18]

On April 15, 2009, Ryder was drafted back to the ECW brand as part of the 2009 Supplemental Draft, separating the team.^[19]

Florida Championship Wrestling (2009–2010)[link]

Following the draft, Hawkins would spend months on hiatus from television before voluntarily leaving the main roster and going to Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) for more training.^[20] He made his debut losing to Dawson Alexander.^[21] In the following weeks, Hawkins would go on to win an 8-man battle royal to become the number one contender for Justin Angel's FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship but subsequently lost the championship match.^[22] He would later join a stable called "The Dude Busters" alongside Caylen Croft and Trent Barreta on November 1, 2009.^[23] In late November, Hawkins and Croft won the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship.^[24] While they were champions, Croft and Hawkins would defend the title with Barreta via the Freebird Rule.^[25] On January 14, 2010 at an FCW television taping, The Dude Busters lost the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship to The Fortunate Sons (Brett DiBiase and Joe Hennig).^[26]

Return; Teaming with Vance Archer (2010)[link]

Hawkins returned to the SmackDown roster in May 4, 2010, forming a tag team with Vance Archer defeating Chasyn Rance and JT Talent in a dark match.^[27] They made their television debut as a team on the May 13 episode of WWE Superstars, defeating two local competitors. After the match, Hawkins stated that he and Archer had been given a 30-day contract to "make an impact".^[28] The team made its SmackDown debut on the May 21 episode, winning another squash match.^[29] In an attempt to make an impact, the duo attacked Montel Vontavious Porter and Christian on consecutive episodes of SmackDown on June 4 and June 11, which they followed up on by defeating both in a tag team match on June 18.^[30][31][32] The next week the duo was officially named "The Gatecrashers". The pair also competed in a battle royal on the June 4 episode of SmackDown to replace The Undertaker in the World Heavyweight Championship fatal four-way match at Fatal 4-Way. Hawkins was one of the four final participants in the match, but was eliminated by the eventual winner, Rey Mysterio.^[30] After their 30-day contract expired, they were signed to new long-term contracts in storyline.^[3] The team came to an end on the October 7 airing of Superstars after a match between Archer and Chris Masters. Archer accidentally struck Hawkins outside the ring after which the two argued and a distracted Archer lost the match. Afterwards, Hawkins assaulted Archer.^[33] Hawkins moved to singles competition the following week, defeating Trent Barreta.^[34] A rivalry then began between the two shortly after, with Barreta getting the win on the November 18 episode of Superstars.^[35] In a rematch the next week, Hawkins defeated Barreta, claiming Barreta's win the week before was a fluke.^[36] The feud ended with Barreta coming out on top when Barreta beat Hawkins on the December 9 episode of Superstars.^[37]

Teaming with Tyler Reks (2011–present)[link]

Hawkins in 2011.

On April 26, Hawkins was drafted to the Raw brand as part of the 2011 Supplemental Draft.^[38] Hawkins and Ryder had a brief reunion on the May 19 episode of Superstars, where they teamed together in a losing effort against Kozlov and Santino Marella. After Hawkins beat JTG on the May 26 episode of Superstars,^[39] Hawkins would not see action again until more than three months later, when he teamed with Tyler Reks to defeat Percy Watson and Titus O'Neil. On the September 27 episode of NXT Redemption, Curt Hawkins and Tyler Reks attacked the Usos, making a statement.^[40] On the October 5, 2011 episode of NXT Hawkins and Reks faced the Usos and were successful. From October, Hawkins, claiming a broken ankle, began to carry around a metal walking cane.^[41] However, when Hawkins' injury had healed sufficiently for him to wrestle, he still brought the cane with him to the ring.^[42] Hawkins and Reks would lose to The Usos once again on December 6. Reks and Hawkins would then lose a non-title match to the tag team champions Air Boom on the December 22 episode of Superstars. He had his first match on Raw on January 9, 2012, and was quickly defeated by a returning Brodus Clay.^[43] Hawkins and Reks would feud with the duo of Trent Barreta and Yoshi Tatsu from December 2011.^[44] Both teams would play pranks on each other, with Tatsu being locked in a closet and Reks' hands being superglued onto an Xbox controller.^[45] Hawkins and Reks would beat Barreta and Tatsu on the January 18, 2012 episode of NXT.^[46]

Hawkins and Reks in April 2012.

Hawkins and Reks would then settle into the role of NXT's troublemakers, tormenting NXT host Matt Striker on his lacklustre career and how they should be main-eventing NXT, even once going to the extent of assaulting him after a match.^[47] This forced Striker to appoint William Regal as NXT's prime authority figure on the February 29 episode of NXT.^[48] Regal would employ harsh measures to keep Hawkins and Reks in line, including threatening suspensions for bad behaviour and condemning them to janitorial duty, this caused them much frustration.^[49] On the March 21 episode of NXT Redemption, Striker was knocked out with chloroform by Johnny Curtis and Maxine, and then Striker was kidnapped (kayfabe) by unknown persons,^[50] later revealed to be Hawkins and Reks, who intended to blackmail Maxine into using her charms to get Regal to leave them alone.^[51] Unfortunately for Hawkins and Reks, Striker was rescued by Derrick Bateman and Kaitlyn.^[52] On the April 18 episode of NXT, the freed Striker confronted Hawkins and Reks about the kidnapping, and Hawkins admitted the crime. As punishment, Regal put Hawkins and Reks in a match against each other with Striker as referee and the loser of the match would be fired. Even though Reks won to supposedly save his job at the expense of Hawkins', Regal decided to fire Reks as well, sending the two troublemakers away from NXT.^[53] A few weeks later on the May 9 episode of NXT, Hawkins and Reks were appointed as security by Raw and Smackdown general manager John Laurinaitis to protect the NXT locker room after a series of attacks backstage, much to the dismay of William Regal and Matt Stiker.^[54]

At Over the Limt, Hawkins and Reks both competed in a 20-man "People Power" Battle Royal, but they were both eliminated by The Great Khali. Later that night, Eve gave them authorization to confiscate any signs from the crowd that may offend John Laurinaitis and "People Power". The following night on Raw, Hawkins and Reks, along with Titus O'Niel and Darren Young attacked John Cena after his match with David Otunga, but were stopped when Sheamus came out to help Cena and Laurinaitis ordered them to return to the locker room. They were later added as Lumberjack's to the main event Laurinaitis set up for Cena and Sheamus, who competed in a 3-on-2 Handicap Lumberjack match against Jack Swagger, Dolph Ziggler and Tensai.

In other media[link]

Hawkins is a playable character in WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2009.

YouTube[link]

Hawkins first venture into YouTube came in the form of a short lived YouTube series called Callin' Spots with Curt Hawkins, which only lasted only two episode as of April 2011.^[55] His first video has since been deleted but has kept up his second video where he thanks Edge for giving him his first opportunity in WWE which was being part of La Familia and for being a friend and mentor.

Hawkins also started appearing in Zack Ryder's YouTube series, Z! True Long Island Story.^[56] After sporadically appearing on the show he has now become a regular on the show. Hawkins and Reks have appeared on the show together also. One of Hawkins more memorable segments came after Zack Ryder started to use a cane on his show Scott Stanford, another regular on the show, has came up to Hawkins and Reks saying that they are using the Broski Cane, this has annoyed the pair on every occasion stating that Hawkins used a cane first.

In late 2011 Hawkins began a new YouTube show with fellow WWE Superstar Tyler Reks entitled "The Mid Card Mafia". Hawkins provided his own voice for the show. The first episode reached over 50,000 views after only three days. The series would last only a few episodes and all of the current episodes up to that point were deleted from YouTube, it is rumoured that Hawkins and Reks had gotten a large amount of backstage heat from high ranking WWE officials.

With WWE revitalising their YouTube channel they have created a number of new series that have WWE Superstars and Divas appearing in them. Hawkins has appeared in multiple WWE Inboxs, this is where Superstars and Diva answer questions submitted by fans on Twitter. On episode five of Santino Marella's "Foreign Exchange" Marella and Yoshi Tatsu gave him their spare change after seeing him wearing his "Change for NXT" shirt.

In wrestling[link]

• Finishing moves
  • Heat-Seeking Elbow ^[57] (Diving elbow drop)^[58]
  • Laugh Riot^[59] (Lifting DDT)^[60]
  • Taste of Pain ^[61] (Hangman's facebuster)^[62][63]

• Signature moves
  • Belly to back suplex^[64]
  • Enzuigiri^[65]
  • Sliding out of the ring, tripping an opponent rebounding against the ropes^[62][66]
  • Twisting flipping leg hook belly to back suplex^[67]
  • Upside Down Frown^[68] (Twisting delayed scoop slam^[69] – adopted from Norman Smiley

• With Zack Ryder
  • Double team finishing moves
    • Double lifting DDT^[70] – 2008
    • Heat Stroke^[71] (NYWC) / Long Island Express^[71] (DSW / OVW) (Samoan drop / Diving neckbreaker combination)
    • STO / Russian legsweep combination^[72]
  • Double team signature moves
    • Double hip toss, sometimes preceded by a double leapfrog or dropped into a backbreaker^[72]
    • Double spear^[73] – 2008

• Nicknames
  • "The Party Starter"^[74]

• Entrance themes
  • "What I Want" by Daughtry^[71] (DSW / OVW)
  • "In the Middle of it Now" by Disciple (WWE; 2008–2009; 2010–present)^[75]

Championships and accomplishments[link]

Hawkins in FCW.

• Deep South Wrestling
  • DSW Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Brett Majors^[76]

• Florida Championship Wrestling
  • FCW Florida Tag Team Championship (1 time)¹ – with Caylen Croft and Trent Barreta^[24]

• New York Wrestling Connection
  • NYWC Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Brett Matthews^[5]

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI ranked Hawkins #141 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2008^[77]

• World Wrestling Entertainment
  • WWE Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Zack Ryder^[15]

¹During this reign, any two of Hawkins, Croft, and Barreta could defend the title under the Freebird Rule.

References[link]

External links[link]

professional wrestling portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Curt Hawkins

• WWE profile