Gabe Tuft
Encyclopedia
Gabriel Allan Tuft is an American
professional wrestler
. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on its Raw
brand
under the ring name
Tyler Reks. He also competes in WWE's developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling
, where he held the Florida Tag Team Championship once with Johnny Curtis
and held the Florida Heavyweight Championship once.
. He made his professional debut in February 2007 for Ultimate Pro Wrestling.
territory as Tyler Reks. On December 11, 2008, Tuft and Johnny Curtis
defeated The New Hart Foundation (DH Smith and TJ Wilson) to win the Florida Tag Team Championship in Tampa, Florida
. On June 11, 2009, he captured the Florida Heavyweight Championship by defeating Drew McIntyre. He later lost the title to Heath Slater at the FCW television tapings on August 13.
. Reks had suffered a knee injury just prior to his debut, but was able to work through it and made his in-ring debut on the July 2, 2009 episode of WWE Superstars
, losing to Ryder. On the July 21 episode of ECW, Reks gained his first win after defeating Paul Burchill
, and then beat him again the following week. Reks participated in a 10-man battle royal on the September 15 edition of ECW for an ECW Championship
opportunity against Christian, but the match would go on to be won by Zack Ryder. Tuft would begin a brief hiatus from television starting in November 2009 and began mainly working dark matches. Reks was one of the participants in the 26 man pre-show battle royal at WrestleMania XXVI
.
on the October 15 edition of the program while sporting a beard, chest hair and new attire in addition to never referencing to his time on ECW. After a promo, he challenged and successfully defeated Kaval
in a match for the latter's spot in the SmackDown Bragging Rights
team. At Bragging Rights, Reks was able to eliminate Santino Marella before being eliminated by Sheamus. However, Team SmackDown was successful in winning the Bragging Rights
Cup for the second consecutive time. After this, Reks was placed in Alberto Del Rio's Survivor Series
team and at the event
, he was eliminated by Kofi Kingston
as Team Del Rio went on to lose the match to Team Mysterio. Reks was then moved into a feud
with Chris Masters
, defeating him once on SmackDown and twice on WWE Superstars
. On January 30, 2011, Reks made his Royal Rumble
debut as he entered the match
as the sixteenth entrant, but was eliminated from the match in only 34 seconds by CM Punk
and the New Nexus
.
brand as part of the 2011 Supplemental Draft. After wrestling dark matches for a few months, Reks made his Raw debut in a backstage segment with Curt Hawkins
, Wade Barrett
and Alberto Del Rio. On the September 8 edition of Superstars
, Reks made his in-ring return as he teamed with Hawkins to defeat Titus O'Neil
and Percy Watson
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
professional wrestler
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on its Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
brand
WWE Brand Extension
WWE, formerly the World Wrestling Federation and World Wrestling Entertainment , currently promotes its core business of professional wrestling through two "brands" named after their two major television shows Raw and SmackDown...
under the ring name
Ring name
A ring name is a stage name used by a professional wrestler, martial artist, or boxer. While some ring names may have a fictitious first name and surname, others may simply be a nickname, such as The Undertaker.-Wrestling:...
Tyler Reks. He also competes in WWE's developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling
Florida Championship Wrestling
Championship Wrestling from Florida was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it closed down. It is also referred to as Florida Championship Wrestling...
, where he held the Florida Tag Team Championship once with Johnny Curtis
Johnny Curtis
Jonathan Curtis is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on its SmackDown brand under his ring name Johnny Curtis. He also performs in its developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling. He was the winner of the fourth season of NXT.- Early Career :Curtis...
and held the Florida Heavyweight Championship once.
Training and independents (2007)
Tuft was trained by Mike BellMike Bell (wrestler)
Michael "Mike" Bell was an American professional wrestler who worked for the World Wrestling Federation and Extreme Championship Wrestling as Mike "Mad Dog" Bell. He is the brother of Mark Bell....
. He made his professional debut in February 2007 for Ultimate Pro Wrestling.
Florida Championship Wrestling (2008–2009)
Tuft was signed to a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment in January 2008 and was assigned to the Florida Championship WrestlingFlorida Championship Wrestling
Championship Wrestling from Florida was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it closed down. It is also referred to as Florida Championship Wrestling...
territory as Tyler Reks. On December 11, 2008, Tuft and Johnny Curtis
Johnny Curtis
Jonathan Curtis is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on its SmackDown brand under his ring name Johnny Curtis. He also performs in its developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling. He was the winner of the fourth season of NXT.- Early Career :Curtis...
defeated The New Hart Foundation (DH Smith and TJ Wilson) to win the Florida Tag Team Championship in Tampa, Florida
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
. On June 11, 2009, he captured the Florida Heavyweight Championship by defeating Drew McIntyre. He later lost the title to Heath Slater at the FCW television tapings on August 13.
ECW (2009–2010)
He made his main roster debut on ECW on Sci Fi on the June 30, 2009 episode, with a surfer in-ring persona, in a backstage promo with Zack RyderZack Ryder
Matthew Joseph Cardona, Jr. better known by his ring name Zack Ryder, is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE and works on the Raw brand as a wrestler and the SmackDown brand as an assistant to SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long.Cardona wrestled mostly with his tag...
. Reks had suffered a knee injury just prior to his debut, but was able to work through it and made his in-ring debut on the July 2, 2009 episode of WWE Superstars
WWE Superstars
WWE Superstars is a professional wrestling television program produced by World Wrestling Entertainment that originally aired on WGN America in the United States. It debuted on April 16, 2009 and ended its domestic broadcasting on April 7, 2011...
, losing to Ryder. On the July 21 episode of ECW, Reks gained his first win after defeating Paul Burchill
Paul Burchill
Paul Birchill , better known by his ring name Paul Burchill, is an English professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment , where he signed after training and debuting for the Frontier Wrestling Alliance in his home country.-Frontier Wrestling Alliance...
, and then beat him again the following week. Reks participated in a 10-man battle royal on the September 15 edition of ECW for an ECW Championship
ECW World Heavyweight Championship
The Extreme Championship Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment...
opportunity against Christian, but the match would go on to be won by Zack Ryder. Tuft would begin a brief hiatus from television starting in November 2009 and began mainly working dark matches. Reks was one of the participants in the 26 man pre-show battle royal at WrestleMania XXVI
WrestleMania XXVI
WrestleMania XXVI was the twenty-sixth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on March 28, 2010 at the University of Phoenix Stadium in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona. This was the fourth WrestleMania to...
.
SmackDown (2010–2011)
In late April 2010, Reks joined the SmackDown roster following ECW's closure. After months of only working dark matches, Reks made his SmackDown television debut as a heelHeel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
on the October 15 edition of the program while sporting a beard, chest hair and new attire in addition to never referencing to his time on ECW. After a promo, he challenged and successfully defeated Kaval
Low Ki
Brandon Silvestry is an American professional wrestler. He is best known under his ring names Low Ki, Senshi in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, and Kaval in World Wrestling Entertainment. He is a former one-time PWG World Champion and a former ROH Champion...
in a match for the latter's spot in the SmackDown Bragging Rights
Bragging Rights (2010)
Bragging Rights was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , that took place on October 24, 2010 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was the second and final Bragging Rights event. Seven matches took place at the event...
team. At Bragging Rights, Reks was able to eliminate Santino Marella before being eliminated by Sheamus. However, Team SmackDown was successful in winning the Bragging Rights
Bragging Rights (2010)
Bragging Rights was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , that took place on October 24, 2010 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was the second and final Bragging Rights event. Seven matches took place at the event...
Cup for the second consecutive time. After this, Reks was placed in Alberto Del Rio's Survivor Series
Survivor Series
The Survivor Series is an annual professional wrestling pay-per-view event held in November by WWE. It is one of the "Big Four" events, along with WrestleMania, Royal Rumble and SummerSlam, as It is one of the original four pay-per-views produced by WWE....
team and at the event
Survivor Series (2010)
Survivor Series was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , that took place on November 21, 2010 at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida...
, he was eliminated by Kofi Kingston
Kofi Kingston
Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah , is a Ghanaian American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Kofi Kingston. He is currently signed to WWE and works on its Raw brand where he is one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions with Evan Bourne as Air Boom...
as Team Del Rio went on to lose the match to Team Mysterio. Reks was then moved into a feud
Feud (professional wrestling)
A professional wrestling feud is a staged rivalry between multiple wrestlers or alliances of wrestlers. They are integrated into ongoing storylines, particularly in events which are televised...
with Chris Masters
Chris Masters
Christopher Todd Mordetzky is an American professional wrestler best known by his ring name Chris Masters. He is best known for his tenure with WWE.-Early career:...
, defeating him once on SmackDown and twice on WWE Superstars
WWE Superstars
WWE Superstars is a professional wrestling television program produced by World Wrestling Entertainment that originally aired on WGN America in the United States. It debuted on April 16, 2009 and ended its domestic broadcasting on April 7, 2011...
. On January 30, 2011, Reks made his Royal Rumble
Royal Rumble
The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling pay-per-view event, produced every January by WWE, a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut. The event was created in 1988, with its inaugural event taking place on January 24, 1988 at the Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario...
debut as he entered the match
Royal Rumble (2011)
Royal Rumble was the 24th annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on January 30, 2011 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts....
as the sixteenth entrant, but was eliminated from the match in only 34 seconds by CM Punk
CM Punk
Phillip Jack "Phil" Brooks , better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE and working on its Raw brand currently serving his second title reign as WWE Champion....
and the New Nexus
Nexus (professional wrestling)
The Nexus was a villainous professional wrestling stable in the professional wrestling promotion, WWE, that competed on its Raw brand. The group originally consisted of all eight rookies of NXT season one and shifted their roster several times throughout their existence...
.
Raw (2011)
On April 26, Reks was drafted to the RawWWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
brand as part of the 2011 Supplemental Draft. After wrestling dark matches for a few months, Reks made his Raw debut in a backstage segment with Curt Hawkins
Curt Hawkins
Brian Joseph Myers is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Curt Hawkins. He is currently signed to WWE working on its Raw brand...
, Wade Barrett
Wade Barrett
Wade Barrett is a retired American soccer player. He is currently an assistant coach at Major League Soccer club Houston Dynamo-College:...
and Alberto Del Rio. On the September 8 edition of Superstars
WWE Superstars
WWE Superstars is a professional wrestling television program produced by World Wrestling Entertainment that originally aired on WGN America in the United States. It debuted on April 16, 2009 and ended its domestic broadcasting on April 7, 2011...
, Reks made his in-ring return as he teamed with Hawkins to defeat Titus O'Neil
Thaddeus Bullard
Thaddeus Michael Bullard is an American professional wrestler and former college and professional football player. Bullard played college football for the University of Florida, and thereafter, he played professionally in the Arena Football League. Bullard is a professional wrestler, and is signed...
and Percy Watson
Percy Watson
Percy C. Thomas Watson was an English professional footballer who played in the Football League for Rotherham Town and Small Heath. Born in Barnsley, then in the West Riding of Yorkshire, Watson played in the Second Division for both Rotherham Town and Small Heath during the 1893–94...
.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Big Kahuna (Springboard moonsault) – FCWFlorida Championship WrestlingChampionship Wrestling from Florida was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it closed down. It is also referred to as Florida Championship Wrestling...
- Burning Hammer (Argentine backbreaker rack dropped into a DDT) - 2010-present
- Big Kahuna (Springboard moonsault) – FCW
- Signature moves
- Big boot
- Flapjack
- Gutbuster
- Jumping clothesline
- Jumping elbow drop
- Running shoulder block
- NicknameNicknameA nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
s- "The X-Factor"
- "The Dreadlocked Demolition Man"
- "T. Reks"
- Entrance themesMusic in professional wrestlingMusic in professional wrestling serves a variety of purposes. The most common uses of music in professional wrestling is that of the entrance theme, a song or piece of instrumental music which plays as a performer approaches the ring...
- "Tyrannosaurus" by Jim Johnston (2011–present)
Championships and accomplishments
- Florida Championship WrestlingFlorida Championship WrestlingChampionship Wrestling from Florida was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it closed down. It is also referred to as Florida Championship Wrestling...
- FCW Florida Heavyweight ChampionshipFCW Florida Heavyweight ChampionshipThe FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling heavyweight championship owned and promoted by Florida Championship Wrestling , the developmental territory of WWE. It is contested for in their heavyweight division...
(1 time) - FCW Florida Tag Team ChampionshipFCW Florida Tag Team ChampionshipThe Florida Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling tag team championship owned and promoted by Florida Championship Wrestling , the developmental territory of WWE. It is contested for in their tag team division...
(1 time) – with Johnny CurtisJohnny CurtisJonathan Curtis is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on its SmackDown brand under his ring name Johnny Curtis. He also performs in its developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling. He was the winner of the fourth season of NXT.- Early Career :Curtis...
- FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship
- Pro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling Illustrated is a professional wrestling magazine. PWI is currently based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania and published by Kappa Publishing Group.-History:The first issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated was released in 1979...
- PWI ranked him #180 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2010
- World Wrestling Entertainment
- Slammy Award For Most Menacing Haircut (2010)