Konnor Ryan Parmeter ( February 6 , 1980 ) is an American professional wrestler who is currently signed to WWE under the ring name Konnor . He is currently one half of The Ascension , with Viktor . He and his then girlfriend , now fiancee , Krissy Vaine both had WWE developmental contracts , both competing in its developmental territories Georgia Championship Wrestling , Florida Championship Wrestling and Deep South Wrestling as well as appearing on house show s for WWE ' s ECW brand , but requested to be released for personal reasons in October 2007 . Both had made several appearances on " WWE Raw " and " SmackDown " prior to their release and O ' Reilly , who had previously appeared on " ECW on Sci Fi " , was expected to join the regular ECW roster . Parmeter has also toured Puerto Rico , Guam and South Korea . Following his release , Parmeter took time off from wrestling , before debuting for NWA Charlotte in February 2009 . In July 2010 , he was re - signed by WWE , and returned to FCW where he began wrestling as Conor O ' Brian . Later in 2010 , he was part of the fourth season of " NXT " and earned fourth place on the show ' s fifth season , " NXT Redemption " . Professional wrestling career . Early career . In 2001 , O ' Reilly made his wrestling debut and spent much of his early career in various independent promotions throughout the southeastern United States , particularly in the Florida - area . In January 2003 , he appeared on the Hardcore Championship Wrestling supercard " Hardkore Returns " where he and Markus Faulk fought to a no - contest after the match became a wild brawl ending only after several other wrestlers had to separate the two men . He had previously trained at Rusty Brooks wrestling school " School of Hard Knocks " and began wrestling in Brooks promotion Four Star Championship Wrestling . He and Jeff " J - Dawg " Brooks , son of promoter Rusty Brooks , formed the " Irish Thug Connection " and together captured the promotion ' s tag team titles defeating " Phi Delta Slam " ( Big Tilly and Bruno Sassi ) on November 8 , 2003 . In 2004 , he feuded with Norman Smiley over the FSCW Heavyweight title . One of these matches , sponsored by Florida Atlantic University ' s Rocky Horror Picture Show Fan Club , took place at FAU ' s Live Oaks Pavilion on May 23 . He faced Smiley in a rematch in the main event at the FSCW supercard " Clam Slam 2004 " held at the Clamster ' s Pub and Raw Bar in Deerfield Beach , Florida on July 17 . The event also featured Jeff Brooks , Vampire Warrior , Soulman Alex G and Scott Commodity . World Wrestling Entertainment ( 2005 - 2008 ) . Developmental territories . After four years on the independent circuit , O ' Reilly made his DSW debut losing to Jack Bull ( with Angel Williams ) at DSW ' s first show on September 1 , 2005 . He also lost to " Big Time " Nick Mitchell a week later before teaming with Ryan Reeves to defeat The Regulators on September 15 . O ' Reilly lost matches to Mike Mizanin and Jack Bull during the next week , however he did manage to defeat Shawn Schultz on October 13 . Losing to Derrick Neikirk on October 20 was followed by a countout victory over Joe Slaughter a week later . During November , he defeated Eric Perez and Freakin Deacon before he and Nick Mitchell lost a tag team match to The Regulators . Later that week , he made his first WWE appearance defeating Eric Perez in a dark match on " SmackDown ! " on December 9 . He defeated Perez in a rematch later that week . On December 22 , he beat Freakin ' Deacon after outside interference by Palmer Cannon allowed O ' Reilly to pin his opponent . That same night , he also defeated Montel Vontavious Porter . In mid - January 2006 , O ' Reilly teamed with Ryan Reeves but lost matches to Team Elite ( Mike Knox and Derrick Neikirk ) and The Gymini , although he did defeat William Regal and Johnny Parisi the next month before taking a 7 - week absence . Returning to action in April , he won matches against Biohazard , Mikal Adryan and Bradley Jay . He and Danny Germundo entered a championship tournament for the DSW Tag Team Championship but were eliminated by Team Elite on May 11 . Defeating William Regal on May 18 , he faced Mike Knox several days later losing by disqualification . He again lost to him in a dark match on June 1 , but defeated him at " DSW Six Flags Slam " show at Six Flags later that week . He also defeated Francisco Ciatso and Bradley Jay that same month . On June 22 , O ' Reilly defeated Derrick Neikirk to win the DSW Heavyweight title . Defending the title against Mike Knox on June 29 and , later that week , against Knox and Neikirk in a 3 - way dance on July 6 , he also defeated Montel Vontavious Porter ( with Quentin Michaels ) by disqualification on July 13 . He also made back - to - back appearances for the WWE ' s ECW brand with rival Derrick Neikirk in losing efforts against The FBI ( Little Guido and Tony Mamaluke ) on July 16 – 17 . Defending his title in rematches against Montel Vontavious Porter , Mike Knox and Danny Gimondo , he made a second and third appearance for the ECW brand as he and Neikirk once again facing to against The FBI at house shows on July 29 – 30 and again on August 5 – 6 . They defeated The FBI in their second encounter , but lost in their third meeting . He also defeating Lawrence Tyler in a non - title match on August 10 , Montel Vontavious Porter the following night at the DSW Six Flags Park Slam show , and The FBI in another ECW brand house show on August 12 . He and Neikirk would continue to face The FBI in another series of house show matches during late - August . He and Neikirk were apparently planned to compete as a tag team in the ECW brand later that year , but these plans were canceled when O ' Reilly violated the WWE ' s Wellness Program and was suspended for 30 days . September 7 , O ' Reilly finally lost the DSW Heavyweight Championship to Bradley Jay . After this loss , O ' Reilly would become less active and eventually became the personal assistant of DSW General Manager Krissy Vaine on October 12 . Defeating David Heath in a dark match on October 19 , O ' Reilly eventually received a chance to regain the heavyweight title after defeating Derrik Neikirk to decide the number one contender a week later . However , he was unable to unseat Bradley Jay losing to him on November 9 . He also lost to Bradley Jay & Mike Knox in a tag team match with Derrick Neikirk on November 16 and in a singles match against Mike Knox at the end of the month . On December 12 , O ' Reilly appeared on " ECW on Sci Fi " as one of Paul Heyman ' s personal enforcers with Doug Basham . Both men were later attacked by Bobby Lashley . In January 2007 , he continued feuding with Bradley Jay and beat him in a non - title match on January 18 . He lost to him the following night however and , on January 25 , he lost to Big Vito in a round robin match with Bradley Jay . He eventually won the title from Bradley Jay on March 1 , although he lost the title back to him a week later . The title was held up in a match between the two on March 15 , and the two faced each other a grudge match during the next two days . He defeated Bradley Jay at a house show at the first grudge match while Bradley Jay won the second match at the " DSW Six Flags Park Slam " show on March 17 . On March 31 , he was eliminated by Bradley Jay in the opening rounds of the " Best of 7 Series " . On April 7 , he would make his last appearance defeating Afa , Jr . with the sleeper hold . O ' Reilly and Eric Perez were originally scheduled to face The Samoans ( Afa , Jr . and Sonny Siaki ) in the main event of the final event held by DSW , however he was injured in an attack by The Samoans prior to the match . Afa , Jr . hit him with a superkick and he and his partner knocked O ' Reilly unconscious with a double headbutt . He and Perez were replaced by The Major Brothers . During the summer , O ' Reilly would appear in dark matches on " WWE Raw " and " SmackDown " against Sylvan Grenier , Chuck Palumbo , Super Crazy , Cody Rhodes and D ' Lo Brown . In a tag team match with Johnny Jeter , he lost to The Highlanders on August 27 and to Hardcore Holly on September 17 . He briefly appeared in Florida Championship Wrestling , a WWE developmental territory , where both Lacey Von Erich and Maryse were his valets . Semi - retirement . On October 10 , he and his girlfriend Krissy Vaine were released from their contracts which they requested due to personal reasons . One of the reasons for their decision was health problems suffered by their families , specifically O ' Reilly ' s father who had recently suffered a stroke . On October 23 , O ' Reilly was interviewed on the internet radio show " Wrestling Weekly " hosted by Doc Young and guest co - hosts Bryan Alvarez and Bill DeMott . During the interview , he discussed his reasons for leaving the WWE as well as the origin of his in - ring persona , his early career in Total Nonstop Action , the close of Deep South Wrestling and his taking a " " time - off period " " from professional wrestling . He also announced his engagement to Krissy Vaine . NWA Charlotte . On February 14 , 2009 Ryan O ' Reilly made his return to the ring working for NWA Charlotte , where he wrestled against Truitt Fields for the territory ' s Heavyweight Championship , but was unable to win the title . After the loss , O ' Reilly formed an alliance with Mikael Judas and Phill Shatter ( later to become Gunner & Murphy on TNA ) called III , which lasted until the territory ' s closure . World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE . Return to WWE ( 2010 - 2011 ) . Parmeter was re - signed by the WWE on July 14 , 2010 , and was reassigned to Florida Championship Wrestling . At the September 24 tapings of FCW , he began working under the ring name Conor O ' Brian . On November 30 , 2010 , during the season finale of season three of " NXT " , it was announced that Parmeter , under the name Conor O ' Brian , would be appearing on season four , with Alberto Del Rio as his mentor . On this first edition of NXT Season 4 , he and his pro Alberto Del Rio defeated Daniel Bryan and Bryan ' s rookie Derrick Bateman in a tag team match . The Ascension ( 2011 - Present ) . He returned to FCW and formed the team The Ascension but got injured . With the conclusion of NXT Redemption , WWE rebranded its developmental territory , FCW , into NXT Wrestling . O ' Brian and Cameron , as the Ascension , debuted on the first episode of the rebooted " WWE NXT " taped at Full Sail University , where they defeated Mike Dalton and CJ Parker . The Ascension then started a feud with the Usos , defeating them on the September 5 " NXT " , and also scored a win over Justin Gabriel and Tyson Kidd on the October 3 " NXT " . Two weeks later , the Ascension teamed up with Kassius Ohno to defeat Richie Steamboat and the Usos . The Ascension disbanded on November 30 , 2012 when Cameron was released from WWE . O ' Brian retained his character while using " The Ascension " as his nickname as he started to feud with Big E Langston for the NXT Championship . O ' Brian first faced Langston in a non - title match , which ended in a double disqualification . O ' Brian then faced Corey Graves in a number one contender match which had no winner when The Shield attacked both men to make a statement . The next week , O ' Brian defeated Graves and Bo Dallas to become the number one contender . The feud ended after O ' Brian was defeated in a title match on the April 4 episode of " NXT " . On the May 29 " NXT " , O ' Brian competed in an 18 - man number one contender battle royal and was eliminated by Corey Graves and Kassius Ohno . To reform the Ascension tag team , Rick Victor allied himself with O ' Brian as they went chased the NXT Tag Team Championship s held by Adrian Neville and Corey Graves . On November 10 , 2013 O ' Brian ' s name was tweaked and shortened to " Konnor " . On February 27 , 2014 at NXT Arrival , he and Viktor successfully defended the NXT Tag Team Championships against Too Cool . On May 29 , 2014 at NXT Takeover , they retained the NXT Tag Team Championship titles against El Local and Kalisto . A NXT Tag Team Tournament was set up for the winning team to become the # 1 contenders to face the Ascension at NXT Takeover II . On September 3 , the team of Kalisto and Sin Cara won the tournament to become the # 1 contenders and will face the Ascension at " Takeover II " . At " Takeover II " , The Ascension lost their NXT Tag Team Championship to Lucha Dragons . Still upset after losing the titles earlier that night , Konnor along with Viktor interrupted Hideo Itami ' s debut segment and proceeded to attack Itami and then demand a rematch . Itami recovered and cleared the ring of both members of the Ascension . Both members of the Ascension would continue their assault on Itami until Itami brought the debuting Finn Bálor on the November 6th episode of " NXT " to help stop the Ascension . A tag match between the Ascension and the team of Itami and Bálor was announced for the NXT Takeover : R Evolution special event . At " NXT Takeover : R Evolution " , The Ascension lost against Bálor , with a war paint look , and Itami at the special event . On the December 12 episode of " Smackdown " , a vignette aired for their call - up to the main roster . On the December 29th edition of " Raw " , they made their official main roster debut by defeating The Miz and Damien Mizdow . They made their " Smackdown " debut on January 2 when they defeated local wrestlers in a squash match . Extending their winning streak through more wins over local wrestlers , The Ascension would also criticize legendary WWE tag teams including Demolition and The Road Warriors . On the January 19th edition of " Raw " , also known as " Raw Reunion " on that night , The Ascension would confront the reuniting members of the New World Order members Kevin Nash , Scott Hall and X - Pac , and were about to attack them before they were interrupted and brought down by the Acolytes Protection Agency and the New Age Outlaws . Later that night it was announced that a tag match was set up between the Ascension and New Age Outlaws at the Royal Rumble pay - per - view . The Ascension would then defeat the New Age Outlaws at the event , continuing their winning streak . On April 16 , 2016 , Parmeter was suspended for 60 days for his second violation of the Wellness Program . Personal life . In his personal life , he is engaged to female wrestler Krissy Vaine .