Mason Ryan Barri Griffiths ( January 13 , 1982 ) is a Welsh professional wrestler and former Gladiators competitor , also known as Goliath and by his ring name Mason Ryan . Best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment ( WWE ) , where he wrestled in its developmental territory , Florida Championship Wrestling ( FCW ) , where he had one reign as FCW Florida Heavyweight Champion . After a short stint on the main roster he was sent back to the now renamed developmental territory WWE NXT prior to his release in April 2014 . Gladiators . Griffiths appeared in the second series of the revived " Gladiators " television show in 2009 , and competed under the name " Goliath " . When he was working on a television show in Wales about being a wrestler , he was told that producers were looking for new gladiators , and applied with the encouragement of his trainer , Orig Williams . He began filming the first show approximately a month later and had to grow a beard especially for the role . Professional wrestling career . Griffiths began training to be a professional wrestler in 2006 after attending a wrestling show with a friend where the promoter told him to start wrestling . He trained at a professional wrestling school in Birkenhead . Prior to appearing on " Gladiators " , Griffiths had wrestled under the names " Celtic Warrior " and " Smackdown Warrior " since 2007 , and had competed in almost 100 matches in countries including Egypt and Venezuela . He represented the UK in a Battle of the Nations tag team match between the UK and Austria , teaming with Drew McDonald and Sheamus O ' Shaunessy in a losing effort to Chris Raaber , Michael Kovac , and Robert Ray Kreuzer at the European Wrestlng Association ' s " Night of Gladiators " show in June 2007 . Following signing with World Wrestling Entertainment ( WWE ) , Griffiths had his final show in Wales at Y Ganolfan , Porthmadog in October 2008 , where he first won a singles match , before winning a battle royal . World Wrestling Entertainment . Florida Championship Wrestling ( 2009 – 2014 ) . In mid - 2009 , Griffiths signed a contract with WWE . When he received his work visa , he debuted in their developmental territory , Florida Championship Wrestling ( FCW ) in January 2010 . Under the name Mason Ryan , he competed against wrestlers including Johnny Curtis , Tyler Reks , Johnny Prime , and Hunico in his first matches . On 22 July , Ryan won a triple threat match against defending champion Alex Riley and Johnny Curtis by pinning Riley to win the FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship for the first time . Over the next few months , Ryan successfully defended the championship against wrestlers including Bo Rotundo , Richie Steamboat , and Eli Cottonwood . At the tapings of FCW television on 2 September , Ryan successfully defended the championship against Johnny Curtis when FCW commentator Byron Saxton interfered and aided him . The following week , Saxton became aligned with Ryan , accompanying him to the ring and acting as his manager . In November 2010 , Ryan toured Europe with the SmackDown brand , defeating Chavo Guerrero in Belfast on 4 November and again in Liverpool on 6 November . On 3 February 2011 , Ryan lost the Florida Heavyweight Championship to Bo Rotundo , ending a six - and - a - half month reign . Raw , The Nexus and Injury ( 2011 ) . Griffiths made his WWE television debut on the 17 January 2011 episode of " Raw " by interfering in a match between CM Punk and John Cena . Following his interference , Punk presented him with a ' Nexus ' armband , inducting him into the group . Ryan participated in the 2011 Royal Rumble match but was eliminated by Cena . On 7 February Ryan had his debut match on " Raw " when he lost to R - Truth via disqualification . In late February , it was announced that Punk would face Randy Orton at WrestleMania XXVII , with each member of The Nexus facing Orton to win the right to accompany Punk to the ring in the weeks leading up to WrestleMania . Ryan was the final member to face Orton , but lost on the March 14 episode of " Raw " . Following the match , Orton punted Ryan in the head . Ryan was absent from television for nearly a month , making his return on 11 April on " Raw " with the other New Nexus members , attacking Orton and preventing him from earning a WWE Championship match . On the 2 May episode of " Raw " , Ryan lost to Kane by disqualification following interference from Punk , and went on to attack both Kane and The Big Show . Afterward he left the ring without celebrating with the other members of The Nexus . At the Over the Limit pay - per - view on 22 May , Ryan and Punk challenged Kane and The Big Show for the WWE Tag Team Championship , but were unsuccessful . On the 20 June " Power to the People " episode of " Raw " , Ryan was voted to face Evan Bourne , whom he defeated . WWE released a statement the following day on their official website , revealing Sin Cara was the real winner of the poll vote , but the text votes from the previous match were still coming in . WWE said on RAW Roulette that Mason Ryan was injured over the weekend but he didn ' t work any live events . Ryan suffered an injury outside of the ring and would be out of action for the next few months . He later made an appearance at the SummerSlam 2011 Axxess event with his former New Nexus stablemates and then WWE tag team champions , David Otunga and Michael McGillicutty . Return , Face Turn , NXT and release ( 2011 - 2014 ) . On August 26 , Ryan made his return at a house show in Jackson , Mississippi , before returning to WWE television on the September 8th edition of WWE Superstars , where he defeated JTG , thus turning him face in the process . On the September 26 edition of " Raw " , Ryan cemented his status by attacking Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger in a six - man tag match against Zack Ryder and Air Boom ( Evan Bourne and Kofi Kingston ) . After months of feuding with Swagger and Ziggler ( mainly Swagger ) off - screen , Mason was given a US Title Match in a dark match , but failed to win the title due to a run - in from Swagger . . Ryan then joined the 2011 Survivor Series Tag Team match on Orton ' s team . Orton ' s team lost the match , allowing Mason to be pinned for the first time in his WWE career . In 2012 on May 3rd ' s Superstars he was defeated by Dolph Ziggler October 22nd ' s Raw , Mason Ryan was one of the lumberjacks in a champion vs . champion match between the WWE champion CM Punk and the WHW champion Sheamus . Mason Ryan was sent back to the rebranded NXT and debuted on January 30 , 2013 . His most note worthy match was when he eliminated 11 out of 18 wrestlers in an over the top rope battle royal before being eliminated himself . Mason was seldom used on TV after that until he had his final televised match on April 24 , 2014 in a losing effort to Number One Contender for the NXT Championship , Tyson Kidd . He was released from his WWE contract on April 30 , 2014 . Independent Circuit ( 2014 - present ) . After his release from WWE , Mason Ryan continued to wrestle on the independent circuit still under his WWE name . His first appearance was for the American Pro Wrestling Alliance promotion , where during its May 31 show , he became the new APWA Tri State Champion . He debuted for the Pro Wrestling Syndicate promotion at its Super Card 2014 show on June 7 where he was victorious against The Lifeguard . He made his debut for the Universal Championship Wrestling promotion on its Hometown Throwdown & Summer Fest show on 14 June 2014 , where he defeated Universal Champion Johnny Swinger by Disqualification , in a non title match . World Wrestling Council ( 2014 - present ) . On September 7 , 2014 , Ryan made his debut in World Wrestling Council at Septiembre Negro against the WWC universal Champion The Mighty Ursus in a losing effort . Other media . Griffiths has appeared on " The Paul O ' Grady Show " . " Barri Griffiths : Y Reslar " , a documentary about Griffiths ' life in the months before he moved to the United States , aired in September 2010 on S4C . Personal life . Griffiths attended both " Ysgol y Gorlan " primary school in Tremadog , Wales and " Ysgol Eifionydd " secondary school in Porthmadog , before studying construction management at Cardiff University . Griffiths worked as a trainee carpenter , and in his family ' s funeral home business prior to becoming a professional wrestler . He has a sister . He speaks Welsh . Griffiths played football as a centre - back for Welsh Premier League side Porthmadog F . C . , but had to stop due to a knee injury . He is a keen weightlifter . External links . * WWE . com Profile :