Rycklon Stephens (born April 22, 1978) is an American bodybuilder and professional wrestler currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). He is currently working on the SmackDown brand as Ezekiel Jackson.
Career
World Wrestling Entertainment
Stephens signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment in March 2007 and debuted in Florida Championship Wrestling in late June 2007. After being trained there, Stephens debuted on the July 18, 2008 edition of SmackDown, as The Brian Kendrick's bodyguard under the name Ezekiel. On the August 8, 2008 edition of SmackDown, his ringname was tweaked to Ezekiel Jackson, and he was revealed as being Kendrick's "Advisor." He then began interfering in Kendrick's matches against Jeff Hardy, Finlay, and WWE Champion Triple H. On the October 17 edition of SmackDown, Jackson made his official in-ring debut by defeating Super Crazy, after replacing a supposedly sick Kendrick.
Thanks to Devin Cutting of ProwrestlingEvents.tk for sending this in:
Sidelined Smackdown superstar Umaga is being advertised for WWE house show events in February. He is scheduled to appear in a tag match with Big Show vs. Triple H and Undertaker on the February 6 event in Kennewick, Washington.
TNA taped next week's edition of Impact last night from Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. No backstage segments were shown on the big screen in the Impact Zone so this is just the in-ring stuff for next week's broadcast which is on Christmas night:
TNA Impact (Airing on 12/25 on Spike TV):
* Mick Foley comes out and announces the following matches for later in the show: Booker T & Scott Steiner vs. Brother Devon & AJ Styles and Rhino vs. Kurt Angle with Jeff Jarrett in Rhino's corner
* X Division Championship Tournament Semi-Finals: Chris Sabin b. Kiyoshi to advance to the finals. Post match saw Sheik Abdul Bashir come out and attack the referee, Shane Sewell. Suicide came out and made the save.
* Brother Devon & AJ Styles b. TNA Legends Champion Booker T & Scott Steiner. Post match saw the Main Event Mafia try to attack Styles but Mick Foley came out and stopped them. Foley announced Brother Devon, AJ Styles, & himself vs. Kevin Nash, Scott Steiner, & TNA Legends Champion Booker T for Genesis.
* Taylor Wilde, Roxxi, ODB, & Christy Hemme b. TNA Knockout Women's Champion Awesome Kong, Raisha Saeed, Rhaka Khan, & Sojourner Bolt in a Santa's Workshop match.
* Kurt Angle b. Rhino via disqualification after Jeff Jarrett (who was in Rhino's corner for the match) interfered.
Paul London has been telling promoters that have tried to book him to call back in February, as he is burnt out and wants some time away from the business. AAA is very interested again in bringing in London. He speaks Spanish, he is a high flyer, and they hope that he could teach the young flyers how to work the big spots into their matches better.
Trish Stratus posted a blog on her MySpace account (myspace.com/trishstratus) regarding her to the ring on Monday night.
"Ever since I retired I am constantly being asked "would I ever consider returning" and I have always said: for the right moment, for the right person calling me out well, check, check, and check," Trish wrote. "Lets see, the Champ needed a partner, in the T dot, hes facing Glamerella an unlikely duo that quite frankly I am a fan of the bat signal couldn't be any brighter cue the giggle!"
On going backstage as a former WWE Superstar, Trish wrote: "It was great going back to the ACC, both backstage and on! It is an interesting thing when as a (former) WWE Superstar you return to the backstage scene. It does feel a little like its a microcosm that you insert yourself back into and its kinda all the same like you never left. Sure there are a few new faces, new waists upon which the titles sit, but for the most part its just like coming home after being away at college its still home. Especially with all the love the great, big hug from J.R. 'Trish sighting confirmed', the smell of self tanner and hairspray except the ladies locker room is now a little fuller (especially with the Supershow), handshakes from some new folks, whom I knew (from watching) but had never met it really was home sweet home and yes, the 17, 000 in attendance helped with that feeling! Was that a déjà vu kinda feeling or what?"
Trish then hints at a possible encore performance. "Being at Raw kicking ass and taking names with John Cena, introducing the FOB Santino to the Stratusphere, and giving the Glamazon a sampling of what a seven time Champion tastes like was in fact an early Christmas present seconds anyone?"
- There is talk of TNA running a show at Arena Monterrey in Mexico in April.
- The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that Kurt Angle is currently involved with Rhaka Khan, while Jeremy Borash is seeing Diana Degarmo of American Idol, and David Sahadi and Gail Kim are an item.
- From Jerry Neil: TNA has added Kiyoshi to their roster. Well at least the picture is up they are still working on all the info for him.
Slammy winners Todd Grisham and Matt Striker recapped some of the highlights of 2008 for the WWE Universe on ECW on Sci Fi. Check out these events that the announcing team revisited. (PHOTOS)
Chavo Guerrero def. CM Punk to win the ECW Title, Jan. 22, Charlottesville, Va. (WATCH) CM Punk wins the Money in the Bank Ladder Match, WrestleMania XXIV. (Recap) CM Punk wins the World Heavyweight Title on Raw, June 30, Oklahoma City. (WATCH) Kane becomes No. 1 contender and then def. Chavo Guerrero to become ECW Champion, WrestleMania XXIV. (Battle Royal recap | Title Match recap) Mark Henry def. Kane and Big Show in a Title in a Triple Threat Match to win the ECW Title, Night of Champions. (Recap) John Morrison & The Miz win the World Tag Team Championship, Dec. 13, Ontario. (WATCH) Matt Hardy wins a Scramble Match to become ECW Champion, Unforgiven. (Recap) Matt Hardy retains the ECW Title against Evan Bourne, Cyber Sunday. (Recap) Jeff Hardy wins the WWE Title, creating a sibling monopoly on the ECW and WWE Championships, Armageddon. (Recap)
Conner began his wrestling career in New Jersey as Ace the Animal. He then wrestled Earthquake in the WWF in 1993 under his given name as a jobber. This led to his first widely known accomplishment in Smoky Mountain Wrestling, becoming the head of security for The Gangstas. When the Gangstas left SMW in 1995, he signed a deal with the WWF and was sent to the Heartland Wrestling Association for more training while making more appearances as a jobber on WWF television.
World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment (19972003)
Conner made his official WWF debut in 1997 as a member of the Nation of Dominationstable. After turning on the first leader of the faction, Faarooq, he eventually turned on the new leader of the group, the then heel gimmick of The Rock, and allied himself with thenfaceMark Henry. His trademark at this time was his chest protector, which he wore to the ring for a torn pectoral muscle sustained in a match against Dan "The Beast" Severn. Instead, he used the chest protector to his advantage, making his finishing move, the Lo Down, more effective. He eventually turned face and formed a tag team with Henry in the 1990s, which was moderately successful. His career peaked when he held the European and Intercontinental Championships simultaneously. This feat was only duplicated by Jeff Jarrett, Kurt Angle, and Rob Van Dam, all of whom became World Heavyweight Champions in some form since said doublereigns.
Brown was involved in inadvertently ending the career of Darren Drozdov on October 5, 1999 when a running powerbomb was botched due to Droz's baggy shirt. The match was to be aired on the October 7 edition of SmackDown!. The match was never aired and Drozdov suffered a severe neck injury, leaving him a quadriplegic. During the rest of the year and into some of the next, Brown became an ally of The Godfather, dressing and walking like him. The teaming ended when Brown turned heel on the Godfather.
Brown then formed a tag team in July 2000 with Chaz named Lo Down. The team mostly wrestled on Sunday Night Heat and WWE Jakked / Metal. Shortly after the team formed, Tiger Ali Singh joined the team to become their manager. The tag team then came dressed towards the ring in Arabic ring attire and took on a gimmick very similar to Tiger's. The team was removed from WWF TV in January 2001. Chaz and Tiger Ali-Singh were later be released by WWE while D'Lo Brown stayed in WWE's developmental territory. D'Lo returned to TV on the April 28, 2002 episode of Heat, losing to Eddie Guerrero.
For the rest of the year, Brown mostly wrestled on Heat, did a little bit of commentary on the show, and even started a brief feud with Raven. In late 2002, Theodore Long retired as a WWE referee and managed D'Lo, who had complained about acts of racism being talked about on him during his matches. D'Lo started Theodore Long's group Thuggin' and Buggin' Enterprises which eventually turned into a group of African Americans who worked an angle in which they felt they were victims of racism and were being held down by the "white man." With Long's managerial services, D'Lo Brown went undefeated for several weeks.
Brown faced Booker T in a losing effort on the February 10, 2003 episode of Raw. His involvement with Thuggin' and Buggin' Enterprises was brought to a close when footage was shown on the February 16 episode of Heat of Theodore Long kicking D'Lo Brown to the curb and introducing his replacement Rodney Mack. He was then released from his WWE contract on February 14, 2003.
All Japan Pro Wrestling and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (20052007)
When not in Japan, Brown was regularly found touring the United Kingdom, as well as working for Irish Whip Wrestling in Ireland. In April 2005, Brown became one of the lead trainers of the illfated Celebrity Wrestling on ITV. This Saturday evening reality show saw celebrities learn wrestling and compete in challenge matches. After a few weeks the programme was to be cancelled, but was instead moved to Sunday mornings to finish its final episodes. During his time wrestling in England, he would face off in a series of matches against his Celebrity Wrestling opposition's trainer, Joe Legend.
Months later, on June 5, 2008, WWE announced that Brown had been signed to a contract, and he began working more dark matches for the company.[ He made his television return on the July 21, 2008 edition of Raw, where he defeated Santino Marella. Despite this win, Brown has since lost to Marella on Raw and has mainly been competing in dark matches before the flagship broadcast. Brown returned to Raw to face Mike Knox. He lost after Mike Knox delivered a Knox Out. Brown turned heel at a house show in Glasgow by threatening the fans and complaining (kayfabe) about the WWE for misusing him. He worked a dark match prior to the ECW/RAW tapings and defeated Ricky Ortiz on November 24, 2008.
Shawn Michaels def. Kane Kofi Kingston def. Manu Melina & Mickie James def. Jillian Hall & Layla JBL def. Rey Mysterio (disqualification) Randy Orton def. Batista (forfeit) Chris Jericho def. CM Punk World Heavyweight Champion John Cena & Trish Stratus def. Santino Marella & Women's Champion Beth Phoenix
TORONTO With just three more sleeps until Christmas, Raw slid into Canada to deliver some holiday cheer at least most Superstars were there to deliver cheer. A handful on the naughty list, however, did their level best to earn a few well-deserved lumps of coal. And one gave the hometown crowd a little something extra to cheer about.
WATCH all of the action now in the Raw Quick Cut and check out WWE.com's exclusive ringside PHOTOS.
World Heavyweight Champion John Cena & Trish Stratus def. Santino Marella & Womens Champion Beth Phoenix Its a Christmas miracle! At least thats how World Heavyweight Champion John Cena categorized it before announcing that seven-time Womens Champion Trish Stratus would be teaming with him in place of Kelly Kelly, who left the arena distraught, against Santino Marella & Womens Champion Beth Phoenix. Needless to say, Stratus fellow Canadians appreciated one of their own striking back against the arrogance of Glamarella and competing for the first time since September 2006. Stratusfaction guaranteed, Stratusfaction delivered. (PHOTOS | WATCH)
Chris Jericho def. CM Punk In the fourth and final bout of the night to determine who will advance to next weeks Fatal Four Way Elimination Match, 2008 Slammy Award winner for Superstar of the Year Chris Jericho took on the challenge of CM Punk for the last slot in the Fatal Four Way Elimination Match. After a determined Punk appeared to have Jericho in his crosshairs, the ruthless Undisputed Champion summoned his unyielding longing and managed to conquer the Straightedge Superstar. Jerichos inclusion completes the lineup for next Mondays Fatal Four Way Elimination Match, including Shawn Michaels, JBL and Randy Orton as the Superstars compete for the opportunity to face John Cena for the World Heavyweight Championship at the Royal Rumble. (PHOTOS)
The Miz & John Morrison confront Kelly Kelly Perhaps Kelly Kelly thought she was off the hook once she spilled The Mizs name to Kane last week when the Big Red Monster demanded to know the identity of her secret lover. If so, she doesnt know Miz & Morrison all that well. After letting them know that she will be Cenas partner in the Mixed Tag Team Match, the Dirt Sheet duo informed her that they heard a rumor that somebody broke into the Diva's hotel room and trashed the place. Why would anyone want to do that to sweet, innocent Kelly Kelly? asked Morrison.
Randy Orton def. Batista due to forfeit Due to injuries suffered by Batista last week as a result of the punt to the head, compliments of Randy Orton, The Animal was unable to compete and forfeited the match. The forfeit allows Orton, who callously called the kick to Batistas skull his most satisfying, to advance into next weeks Fatal Four Way Elimination Match in a battle to become the No. 1 contender to World Heavyweight Champion John Cena. (PHOTOS)
JBL def. Rey Mysterio by disqualification when HBK interferes on behalf of Mysterio In the second match of the night to determine who will advance to next Mondays Fatal Four Way Elimination Match, the scales of injustice tipped in favor of JBL, with Shawn Michaels leaning heavily in his favor.
Just as JBLs opponent Rey Mysterio appeared to overcome the Longhorn Loudmouths size advantage, sizing up the mouthy millionaire for a 619, Michaels charged down the entrance ramp. HBK, who had earlier discussed his money woes with longtime confidante Triple H, seized his benefactor Layfield, dragged him from the ring and slapped him across the face. The harsh action, while seemingly punitive to JBL, resulted in a disqualification for Rey. Michaels interference permits JBL to advance to next Monday nights Fatal Four Way Match in the Race to the Rumble. (PHOTOS | WATCH)
Melina & Mickie James def. Jillian Hall & Layla With Intercontinental Champion William Regal observing intently, his lady-friend Layla teamed with Jillian Hall to battle Melina & Mickie James in a Divas Tag Team Match. After Jillian belted out a stomach-turning version of a holiday tune, the Divas got down to business. In the end, it was Melina who would silence Jillian by pinning her rival for the three-count. (PHOTOS | Read Mickies latest POEM)
Kofi Kingston def. Manu He may have helped to distract John Cena last week, which allowed Randy Orton to punt Batista in the head, but Manu couldnt help himself tonight against high-flying Kofi Kingston. As his fellow second-generation Superstar Cody Rhodes looked on, Manu simply could not leverage his size and strength advantage to his favor, succumbing to the swift aerial assault of the Jamaican Sensation.
Afterward, Manu, the son of WWE Hall of Famer Afa, experienced a tense run-in with Randy Orton, the self-styled leader of the group of the second-generation Superstars; Manu interrupted a conversation between Orton and Sim Snuka, son of WWE Hall of Famer Jimmy Superfly Snuka. (PHOTOS)
Kane apologizes to Kelly Kelly; Shawn Michaels def. Kane After accosting Kelly Kelly last week and scaring the bejeezus out of her, an ever-so-slightly less psychotic Big Red Monster apologized to the tormented Diva at the behest of Stephanie McMahon. Kane still did not learn the identity of Kelly Kellys secret lover, but he did have a chance to take out his aggression on Shawn Michaels.
Unfortunately for Kane, HBK had some aggression of his own to vent. Michaels emerged victorious in the first of four matches of the night to determine who advances to the following Monday nights Fatal Four Way Elimination Match. The winner of the elimination bout will earn No. 1 contender status and face World Heavyweight Champion John Cena in a title match at the Royal Rumble. (PHOTOS)
Santino challenges John Cena; Cena accepted the Mixed Tag Team main event Santino Marella, joined Womens Champion Beth Phoenix, kicked off Raw with all the holiday cheer of expired egg nog. The grinchin goomba verged on revealing a secret he said he knows about Santa Claus, but before he could reveal the secret, World Heavyweight Champion John Cena interrupted. Cena told Santino not to mess with jolly, ol Saint Nick, which prompted the Italian to challenge him to a match. John Cena and a Diva of his choosing will square off later tonight against Santino & Beth.
Conspicuous by her absence tonight on Raw was ring announcer Lilian Garcia. SmackDown ring announcer Justin Roberts filled in for her on the show with no explanation given via commentary. Not to worry Lilian fans, she simply had the night off.
Two weeks ago, Lilian posted her WWE schedule on her MySpace account (www.myspace.com/liliangarcia) for the end of the year and through February. The only date left off the schedule was for tonight's Raw in Toronto, so her night off was planned well ahead of time and it was not a sudden decision.
For what it's worth, she usually takes a vacation around the winter holidays, so that could explain her absence from tonight's show. Additionally, she hasn't missed a single Raw or pay-per-view appearance since June 2007 when she was taking time off to recover from a skiing injury in which she tore the ACL in her right knee.
Lilian will be back handling her regular ring announcing duties at next Monday's Raw taping in Manchester, New Hampshire.
TRIBUTE TO THE TROOPS CM Punk, R-Truth en Jeff Hardy defeats The Miz, John Morison en JBL Cena, Batista en Rey Mysterio defeats Big Show, Y2J en Randy Orton
SmackDown star Ron "R-Truth" Killings was detained at the Canadian border upon his arrival in Toronto this morning.
Killings was refused entry into the Canada and sent home as a result. He obviously won't be appearing at tonight's RAW/SmackDown television taping in Toronto.
Further details have yet to be disclosed regarding why he was barred from entering Canada.
-- Even though she appeared to be crying at the conclusion of her match on Raw last night, Mickie James did not get injured following that scary spot as she is fine.
-- In recent weeks, 2006 Diva Search contestant Milena Roucka has appeared in the audience on Raw as Beth Phoenix's #1 fan. She was finally given a name on last night's show. During Santino Marella's pre-match promo, he introduced her as Rosa Mendez. Santino points her out in the audience and says she is the #1 Santino fan. Rosa tries to tell him she's Beth's fan as she waves her sign, but he doesn't pay attention.
The majority of the WWE roster is expected to be at tonight's Raw/SmackDown tapings from the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario. The workers only have a three day break for Christmas before they hit the road beginning on Friday for a weekend house show tour followed by next week's television tapings. Morale in the WWE locker room is said to be low because of the budget cutbacks including the company cutting show payouts for performers by 50%.
SmackDown Diva Victoria has posted a blog on her MySpace account responding to retirement discussion sparked by recent online reports saying she was considering retirement. Victoria said everyone retires at some point, but she won't reveal when the time will come for her just yet. Victoria wrote: "I try not to respond to internet rumors, but I have received hundreds of emails through both myspace and through www.black-widow-customs.com asking me if I am going to retire. I never said that I am, although sooner or later we all will. And I don't believe that "unnamed talent" is saying that about me either. On the other hand, I never said that my retirement is not imminent. I do appreciate everyone's support. I try to be open about my life in my blogs. But I would never comment about anything, either to confirm or deny, that may come up in future WWE shows. I'm not the kind of person who wants to know the end of a movie before I see it. And I don't want to ruin anyone's future enjoyment of WWE product."
The Sun has an interview with reigning WWE Intercontinental Champion William Regal and he critiques the wrestler who he won the title from, Santino Marella. Regal feels Marella hasn't grown in the ring as he should have by now. "I think what he does, the entertainment aspect of it, is brilliant," Regal said. "I try and help him a lot because obviously his wrestling is not where it should be - but he can get there. He's been thrown in the deep end straight out of wrestling school and he does a great job at what he does. I think he's got a great future but you can only get by doing so much comedy." Regal said CM Punk is one of the few quality opponents who can work at his pace in the ring. "The vicious stuff I'm doing now is the way I like to wrestle, unfortunately there are not too many people - and this may sound very arrogant - who can keep up with me. Very few," Regal said. "I'm looking to people like C.M. Punk and people like that to step up. The only ones who can keep up with me are of that style."
Thanks to reader Hassan Ahmad for sending this in:
I have noticed many times that Ranjin Singh does not translate what the Great Khali (which means "empty") says. Instead, he says something else or just cuts short Khali's rambling. For example, when Chris Jericho asked Khali to help him in his match with Cena in a backstage segment Khali said that he fought in his own battles without anyone's help and so should Jericho. Ranjin Sing translated this as "NO!". Another example is during the Slammy Awards when Khali got his award he said that he was very happy to win the award, Ranjin excluded this part, Then Khali said that parents should give attention to their children so that they stay on the right path and don't go towards crime. Ranjin translated this saying that the depletion of natural resources is a major concern for the future generation.
As noted earlier this week, wrestling fan Derek Greser sent a letter talking about his friend being escorted out of the building by arena security at Sundays Armageddon pay-per-view because he made a hand gesture to Batista while he was making his entrance for his match with Randy Orton. It got a lot of attention online, so much so that WWE was aware of it too when Greser contacted their Fan Relations department on Wednesday afternoon. In an update on the situation, he could not go into details, but WWE has addressed the issue and made things right for them. Apparently fans were e-mailing WWE in large numbers about the story.
Frankie "Kaz" Kazarian and Tracy Brooks (Brookshaw) were recent engaged. Brooks noted the change in relationship status from single to engaged on her Facebook page. She also sent a message to her fans tonight. "Tracy is wishing everyone a very happy holiday and yes i am engaged!!!!! best christmas present ive ever received..love you frankie."
Kaz (Frankie Kazarian) tore his biceps at the TNA Impact TV taping on Monday night in Orlando and underwent another operation this week according to The Wrestling Observer/Figure Four Online. This surgery will likely keep him out of action for close to six months. Kaz, who is now playing the Suicide character in TNA, just returned from surgery due to a torn triceps. Whether they will drop the Suicide character or have someone else play the character in the costume while he is out remains to be seen.
Ik ben Boon Kenneth, en gebruik soms ook wel de schuilnaam Sting.
Ik ben een man en woon in Dworp (Belgie) en mijn beroep is .
Ik ben geboren op 05/06/1989 en ben nu dus 35 jaar jong.
Mijn hobby's zijn: Worstelen en films.
Gastenboek
Druk op onderstaande knop om een berichtje achter te laten in mijn gastenboek
Notes from RAW: Mickie James and Beth's stalker
WWE Diva responds to retirement rumors
Regal says that Marella needs to wrestle better
