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Orlando Ruben Jordan (born April 21, 1974) is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in WWE on its WWE SmackDown brand, where he was a one-time United States Champion and for his time with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.
On June 26, Jordan made his WWE SmackDown debut as a face, where he answered John Cena's open challenge, but lost the match. Jordan was then attacked by Cena before being saved by The Undertaker. At Vengeance on July 27, he participated in the APA's Invitational Bar Room Brawl. On the October 2 episode of SmackDown!, Jordan defeated Big Show via countout when Big Show had to run to the restroom after eating a burrito laced with . Jordan next answered WWE Championship Brock Lesnar's non-title open challenge on the January 29, 2004 episode of SmackDown!, but was quickly defeated.
Jordan entered the Royal Rumble match at Royal Rumble on January 30, 2005, but was eliminated by Booker T. On the March 3 episode of SmackDown!, Jordan defeated John Cena with the help of JBL to win the United States Championship, his first and only title in WWE. He successfully defended the title against Jon Heidenreich on May 22 at Judgment Day. At The Great American Bash on July 24, Jordan defeated Chris Benoit to retain the title, but lost it to Benoit in 25 seconds at SummerSlam on August 21. Jordan failed to regain the United States Championship from Benoit in three consecutive matches lasting less than a minute on SmackDown!, as well as in a fatal four-way match also involving Booker T and Christian Cage at No Mercy on October 9. Around this time, he broke away from the Cabinet, ending his alliance with JBL.
Jordan was then pushed down to Velocity and won several matches there. Jordan made his final SmackDown! appearance on the May 12 in a backstage segment, telling Nunzio that he had seen someone who looked like his partner Vito LoGrasso dressed in drag at a night club during the recent UK tour. On May 26, 2006, Jordan was released from WWE.
On the July 29 edition of Impact!, the heel Jordan formed a dysfunctional tag team with face Eric Young, who had been battling (kayfabe) mental problems ever since taking a bump on the head, being completely unaware of Jordan's sexual orientation and interest in him. Jordan and Young lost to Ink Inc. (Jesse Neal and Shannon Moore) on October 10 at Bound for Glory. Upon the team's appearance on Impact! on December 16, Jordan had turned face as he and Young defeated Generation Me (Jeremy and Max Buck). On April 17, 2011, at Lockdown, Jordan and Young failed to become the number one contenders to the TNA World Tag Team Championship in a four tag team steel cage match. On June 28, Jordan faced Nick Aldis in the first round of the Xplosion Championship Challenge, but lost. On July 11, Jordan was released from TNA.
On September 16, 2023, Jordan returned to wrestling with All-Star Wrestling Australia and became the All-Star Wrestling Heavyweight Champion, holding the title for 210 days until April 2024.
Since June 2011, Jordan is the co-owner (along with independent wrestler Luke Hawx) of WildKat Sports & Entertainment, a professional wrestling training center located outside New Orleans. Their school has since spawned a Louisiana-exclusive wrestling federation, WILDKAT Pro, which was briefly a member territory of the National Wrestling Alliance. On August 20, 2012, Jordan opened another wrestling school in Melbourne, where he currently resides and works as a stunt performer.
Jordan is bisexual, making him the first openly bisexual male wrestler in WWE and TNA. On October 10, 2013, he married a woman in Australia. The following year, his daughter Dakota was born.
Various feuds and departure (2005–2006)
When Booker T got injured halfway through his Best of Seven series for the United States Championship, being 3–1 in his favor, he needed a replacement to face Benoit and win so he could become champion. Jordan approached him about the position, but Booker T and his wife Sharmell chastised him for his quick submission losses to Benoit. Booker T asked Randy Orton to substitute for him, but he lost, leading Jordan to once again ask for the position the next week, which Booker T again declined. During the sixth match in the series, Jordan grabbed Booker T's crutch and hit Benoit, giving him a disqualification victory and tying the series at 3–3. The next week, Jordan unsuccessfully prevented Orton from defeating Benoit to win the series for Booker T. On the January 20 episode of SmackDown!, Jordan lost to Orton after Sharmell distracted referee Nick Patrick. After the match, Jordan was attacked by Booker T and Orton before Benoit saved him, turning face for the first time since 2004.
Independent circuit and International promotions (2006–2010)
Jordan began competing on the independent circuit soon after his WWE departure and wrestled overseas. He competed for the Italy-based promotion Nu-Wrestling Evolution (NWE), capturing the NWE World Heavyweight Championship in April 2008. On June 25, Jordan lost the title in Barcelona to the Ultimate Warrior in Warrior's return to wrestling after a ten-year absence; he was also Warrior's very last opponent. In November 2009, Jordan took part in the tour in Australia.
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2010–2011)
On the January 4, 2010, live, three-hour Monday night edition of Impact!, Jordan made his Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) debut in a backstage segment with Elijah Burke. As a heel, he defeated Dinero on the January 21 episode of Impact! and scored an upset victory over Samoa Joe on February 18. On the March 29 edition of Impact!, Jordan debuted a new look and started the bisexual angle he had proposed to WWE creative before his release from the company. On April 9, he signed a new multi-year contract with TNA. On the May 3 edition of Impact!, Jordan debuted his new interview segment, O-Zone, during which he attacked and started a feud with Global Champion Rob Terry, unsuccessfully challenging him for the title at Sacrifice on May 16. The following week on Impact!, Jordan defeated Terry in a non-title match after capitalizing on Terry's injured knee, which he had injured at Sacrifice. On the June 3 edition of Impact!, Jordan and Nigel McGuinness lost to Terry and Abyss, with Terry pinning Jordan to end their feud.
Return to the independent circuit (2011–present)
On November 5, 2011, at an NWA event, Jordan lost to Steve Anthony in a lumberjack match. At Outback Championship Wrestling's Battle for Ballarat event on May 31, 2013, Jordan defeated Andy Phoenix in what would be his final match before retiring from professional wrestling. On June 3, 2016, at Menai Mania II, Jordan won the AWE Heavyweight Championship from Luke Knight, having qualified for a title opportunity through the Innerwest rumble. He would, however, drop the title to Knight weeks later.
Personal life
Jordan was misdiagnosed with autism as a child. He also had speech difficulties, and attended classes to help him overcome them. He competed in gymnastics as a child, and participated in amateur wrestling. He attended Boise State University after winning the 1993 state championship at 189 pounds for Hermitage High School in Richmond, Virginia. Before becoming a professional wrestler, he was a firefighter with the United States Forest Service. He then relocated to Florida, where he became a reputable Amateur boxing.
Other media
Jordan appeared as a playable character in the video games WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2006 and WWE Day of Reckoning 2.
Championships and accomplishments
Amateur wrestling
Professional wrestling
External links
Categories: 1974 Births, 21st-century Male Professional Wrestlers, 21st-century American Professional Wrestlers, African-american Professional Wrestlers, American Male Professional Wrestlers, American Emigrants To Australia, Australian People Of African-american Descent, Bisexual Sportsmen, American Expatriate Professional Wrestlers, African-american Lgbtq People, Lgbtq Characters In Professional Wrestling, Lgbtq People From New Jersey, Lgbtq Professional Wrestlers, American Bisexual Sportspeople, American Bisexual Men, Living People, Wwe United States Heavyweight Champions, People From Salem, New Jersey, Professional Wrestlers From New Jersey
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