Alex Riley Kevin Robert Kiley , Jr . ( born April 28 , 1981 ) is an American professional wrestler signed with WWE and better known by his ring name Alex Riley . He was a participant in the second season of " NXT " . Professional wrestling career . World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE . Florida Championship Wrestling ( 2007 – 2010 ) . In 2007 , Kevin Kiley signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment ( WWE ) and was assigned to their developmental territory , Florida Championship Wrestling ( FCW ) . On October 30 , 2007 , he debuted in a losing effort to Shawn Osbourne under his real name Kevin Kiley , and later faced off with wrestlers like Sebastian Slater and Jack Gabriel . In September 2008 , he changed his ring name to Carson Oakley . As Oakley he began teaming with Scotty Goldman , and the pairing unsuccessfully challenged TJ Wilson and DH Smith for the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship in November . In early December , he underwent another name change , calling himself Alex Riley and developing the gimmick of a university jock , wearing a letterman ' s jacket to the ring . He gained Beverly Mullins as a manager , and to fit with his jock gimmick , Mullins adopted the gimmick of a prom queen . In 2009 , he joined FCW General Manager Abraham Washington ' s cabinet , being called Washington ' s " top draft pick " , and as a result , was named the number one contender to Tyler Reks ' FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship in July . In August , he lost in a triple threat match including Reks and Johnny Curtis . In mid - 2009 , he competed in several dark matches prior to " Raw " and " SmackDown " , wrestling against Jamie Noble , Montel Vontavious Porter and Jimmy Wang Yang , and also appeared at house show . On the August 30 episode of " FCW " , Riley dropped Mullins as his manager , calling her " dead weight " . On March 18 , 2010 , Riley defeated Justin Gabriel and Wade Barrett in a triple threat match to win the FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship . After his title win he called out Barrett and paid him for his services as a hired help . At the July 22 FCW tapings , Riley lost the title to Mason Ryan in a triple threat match , also involving Johnny Curtis . At the television tapings on September 22 , Riley faced Ryan in a rematch , but lost by submission . Alliance with The Miz ( 2010 – 2011 ) . On June 1 , 2010 , The Miz announced that he would mentor Riley for the second season of " WWE NXT " . He made his " NXT " debut on the June 8 episode , but did not compete in a match . He made his in - ring debut on the following edition of " NXT " , defeating Kaval . Kaval returned the favor two weeks later , by pinning Riley in a six - man tag team match . Later that night , Riley was ranked fourth in the first poll . In the second poll on the July 27 episode of " NXT " , Riley moved up to third place , behind Michael McGillicutty and Kaval . On August 9 the rookies appeared in a six - man tag team match on " Raw " , in which Riley teamed with Husky Harris and Michael McGillicutty to defeat Lucky Cannon , Kaval and Percy Watson . The following night however , Riley ' s team lost a rematch , and he slipped to fifth place in the poll , narrowly avoiding elimination . Riley was eliminated from " NXT " in the season finale on August 31 , ending up in third place overall . After Kaval was announced as the winner , Riley and the other eliminated rookies attacked him . He appeared on the September 6 episode of " Raw " , when he tried to help his mentor The Miz , who had been placed in the LeBell Lock submission hold by Daniel Bryan , but ended up being placed in the hold himself . He appeared again the following week , replacing The Miz in a submission match against Bryan , but lost . On the September 20 episode of " Raw " The Miz announced that he had signed Riley to a ' personal services contract ' , allowing Riley to accompany The Miz to ringside and continue to appear on " Raw " . As The Miz ' s protégé , Riley interfered in his matches , including at the Bragging Rights pay - per - view , where Riley unsuccessfully attempted to help The Miz ' s team win . The Miz also used Riley as a replacement for himself in matches , which led to Riley facing and losing to John Cena on November 15 and Ezekiel Jackson in a King of the Ring qualifying match on November 22 as a result . The following week , Riley interfered in the Tables , Ladders , and Chairs match for the WWE Championship between Jerry Lawler and The Miz , who had won the championship the week prior . Riley stopped Lawler from winning twice , before Lawler put him through a table . He helped The Miz to retain the championship again at in a Tables match , during which he was put through a table by Randy Orton . On the February 28 episode of " Raw " , John Cena challenged Riley to a match which , if Cena won , Riley would no longer be The Miz ' s apprentice . The Miz accepted the match on Riley ' s behalf , and later that night , Cena and Riley faced off in a steel cage match . Riley lost the match despite interference from The Miz . The angle was used to write Riley off television as he was scheduled to be sent back to Florida Championship Wrestling to be repackaged . Despite this , Riley appeared on the March 14 episode of " Raw " , interfering in The Miz ' s match against The Great Khali . The following week , Riley announced that The Miz had re - hired him , this time as The Miz ' s VP of Corporate Communications . He accompanied The Miz to his match at WrestleMania XXVII against Cena where he interfered several times , throwing Cena into an exposed turnbuckle , attacking him with his briefcase , and distracting the referee . As part of the 2011 supplemental draft on April 26 , Riley was moved to the SmackDown brand , separating him from The Miz . He debuted on the April 29 episode of " SmackDown " , interrupting Randy Orton but having an RKO performed on him before he could speak . Despite being drafted , Riley continued to appear on " Raw " , alongside The Miz . On the May 2 episode of " Raw " , The Miz chastised Riley for not being present at Extreme Rules the previous night , when The Miz lost the WWE Championship to Cena . Riley appeared alongside The Miz at the Over the Limit pay - per - view , where he attempted to help The Miz win his " I Quit " match against Cena , but The Miz was unsuccessful and failed to regain the WWE Championship . The following night on " Raw " , The Miz fired Riley , blaming him for his lack of success in regaining the WWE Championship . Feuds with The Miz and Dolph Ziggler ( 2011 – 2012 ) . After firing Riley , The Miz slapped Riley , prompting Riley to attack him before leaving thus turning face in the process . The following week , Michael Cole announced Riley had been rehired by the Anonymous Raw General Manager , and he returned to Raw , as in storyline he had not been eligible to be drafted as he was under contract to The Miz , not WWE . Following an argument , Riley attacked Cole , before chasing away The Miz who had tried to attack Riley from behind . On the June 6 episode of " Raw " , Riley teamed with John Cena to face R - Truth and The Miz , with Steve Austin as the special referee . Riley and Cena won the match , but the decision was reversed by the Anonymous Raw General Manager , after Stone Cold had physically assaulted The Miz during the match . On the same show , it was confirmed that Riley would face The Miz at Capitol Punishment . At WWE Capitol Punishment , Riley defeated The Miz . The following night on " Raw " , Riley teamed with John Cena and Randy Orton to take on The Miz , R - Truth and Christian in a six - man tag team elimination match . Riley was the first person eliminated , but his team went on to win the match regardless . At Money in the Bank , Riley competed in a Money in the Bank ladder match , which was won by Alberto Del Rio . The following night on " Raw " , Riley was one of the eight men placed in the WWE Championship tournament , losing to The Miz in the first round and ending their feud . On the August 1 episode of " Raw " , Riley began a feud with Dolph Ziggler , beginning with a verbal confrontation . Riley and Ziggler faced off the following week , with Riley winning by disqualification after Vickie Guerrero , Ziggler ' s manager , slapped him . On the August 15 of " Raw " , Riley lost to Jack Swagger , due to interference by Guerrero , who also managed Swagger . Riley defeated Swagger in a rematch the following week , after Swagger was distracted by Guerrero and Ziggler arguing at ringside . At Night of Champions , Riley competed in a fatal four - way match for the WWE United States Championship , which also involved Ziggler , Swagger and John Morrison , in which Ziggler retained his title . In October , Riley suffered a hip injury that left him inactive for several weeks . For the remainder of 2011 after his return , Riley was largely relegated to " Superstars " , defeating the likes of Drew McIntyre and JTG . Singles competition and undercard status ( 2012 – present ) . In 2012 , Riley had a 14 - match losing streak , losing to the likes of Brodus Clay , Lord Tensai , and Heath Slater . Riley also entered the 2012 Royal Rumble as the second entrant and was eliminated first by The Miz . Riley ended his losing streak on the May 2 episode of " NXT " when he teamed with Tyson Kidd to beat JTG and Johnny Curtis . After had put off TV tapings , he made his return on July 3 episode of " Smackdown " in a World Heavyweight Championship Money in the Bank qualifying match against Dolph Ziggler in a losing effort . Riley ended his losing streak on August 6 episode of " Raw " by defeating Dolph Ziggler with a roll - up after a distraction from Chris Jericho on commentary . On September 21 , Riley announced that he was undergoing elbow and knee surgery . In January 2013 , Riley teamed up with Derrick Bateman to take part in the NXT Tag Team Championship Tournament and were defeated by Kassius Ohno and Leo Kruger in the first round . On the January 21 , 2013 episode of " Raw " before the Royal Rumble , Riley returned to television in a show - closing brawl . On the April 17 episode of WWE Main Event Alex Riley returned to television yet again , competing in a 11 - man battle royal to determine the number 1 contender for the Intercontinental Championship , and survived until the final four when he was eliminated by Primo . Personal life . Kiley ' s father was a sportscaster for ESPN and his mother is a former Miss Virginia . He has a younger brother named Kristopher . Kiley attended Robinson Secondary School in Fairfax , VA , where he played both football and basketball . He then went to Boston College , where he majored in communications . He played for the Boston College Eagles football team , initially as a quarterback , before becoming a linebacker during the 2001 season . Kiley once had a job , selling medical equipment as a stopgap . Kiley is Catholic , and has a tattoo of a Celtic cross on his back .