Rhino Rhino ( October 7 , 1975 ) is an American professional wrestler , better known by the ring name Rhino , currently signed with WWE , competing on the SmackDown brand and formerly appeared on their developmental territory , NXT . He is a former WWE Smackdown Tag Team Champion with Heath Slater . In addition , he also makes regular appearances on the independent circuit . He is best known for his career in Extreme Championship Wrestling , the World Wrestling Federation ( later renamed World Wrestling Entertainment ) , and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling . Gerin is a two time world champion , having won both the NWA and ECW World Heavyweight Championships , and is also a three time WWF Hardcore Champion , a two time ( and the final ) ECW Television Champion and a one time WCW United States Champion - although he won the title in the WWF following the purchase of WCW . Early career . Gerin trained as a wrestler at the Can - Am Wrestling School located in Windsor , Ontario , Canada under Scott D ' Amore , who he later reunited with in TNA . He debuted in 1994 on the Detroit independent circuit under the ring name Terry Richards . Gerin later adopted the ring name Rhino Richards and began wrestling in Canada , where he formed a stable known as " THUG Life " with Joe Legend , Christian Cage , Bloody Bill Skullion , and Sexton Hardcastle ( later named Edge ) . Catch Wrestling Association . Gerin later competed under Rhino Richards in the Catch Wrestling Association which is based in Germany . He later teamed with XL Legend to win the vacant World Tag Team Championships by defeating Rico de Cuba and August Smisl on October 10 , 1998 in Hanover , Germany . The titles were vacated in October 1998 when Gerin left the promotion after signing with Extreme Championship Wrestling . Extreme Championship Wrestling ( 1999 – 2001 ) . Gerin debuted in Extreme Championship Wrestling in 1999 as Rhino , the name coming from one of Spiderman ' s toughest enemies in Marvel Comics . The wrestler emulated the comic Rhino as both lead an attack on an adversary with the head down and in the case of the wrestler it became his signature finishing move . Rhino quickly joined forces with Steve Corino and Jack Victory . Rhino and Corino challenged Tommy Dreamer and Raven for the ECW Tag Team Championship at Anarchy Rulz , but were defeated . In late 1999 , Rhino began feuding with The Sandman , and at November to Remember he teamed with the Impact Players to defeat Dreamer , Raven , and The Sandman . On March 12 , 2000 , Rhino lost to Super Crazy in the finals of a tournament for the ECW Television Championship at Living Dangerously . He won the title on April 22 , defeating Yoshihiro Tajiri at CyberSlam . He lost the title to Kid Kash on August 26 , but regained it a little over two weeks later on September 9 . Throughout mid - 2000 , Rhino continued to feud with The Sandman , defeating him in title matches at Hardcore Heaven and Heatwave . In the course of Rhino ' s match with The Sandman at Hardcore Heaven he delivered a piledriver to The Sandman ' s wife and valet , Lori . At Heatwave , Rhino attacked the couple before his match and attempted to force Lori ' s head into a toilet . Rhino won the ECW World Heavyweight Championship on January 7 , 2001 at Guilty as Charged , defeating The Sandman in a squash match immediately after The Sandman had won the title from Steve Corino in a three - way tables , ladders , chairs , and canes match . He was one of the last to leave the company when it went out of business , refusing to accept that it was over . Gerin was the final ECW Heavyweight and Television Champion in the original ECW . World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment ( 2001 – 2005 ) . 2001 – 2003 . Following the closure of ECW , Gerin signed a contract with the World Wrestling Federation . He debuted on the March 19 , 2001 episode of Raw under the ring name Rhyno , aligning himself with Edge and Christian . Rhyno went on to help Edge and Christian defeat The Hardy Boyz and The Dudley Boyz for the WWF Tag Team Championship in a Tables , Ladders , and Chairs match at WrestleMania X - Seven . Rhyno , Edge , and Christian went on to form a stable with Kurt Angle known as Team RECK , with all four members reaching the semi - finals of the King of the Ring . Rhyno was eliminated from the event by the eventual winner , Edge . He went on to compete for the Hardcore Championship , which he won on three occasions in mid - 2001 . On the July 9 episode of Raw , Rhyno joined " Team ECW . " The stable , led by former ECW owner Paul Heyman , went on to merge with a rival stable of WCW alumni later that night , forming The Alliance . As a member of The Alliance , Rhyno feuded with Chris Jericho ( who had insulted Stephanie McMahon , the on - screen owner of ECW , on numerous occasions ) . On September 23 at Unforgiven , he defeated Tajiri for the WCW United States Championship . He held the title for just under a month before losing to Kurt Angle on the October 22 episode of Raw . As a result of his loss , Rhyno was " suspended " from The Alliance on the October 25 episode of SmackDown ! . The suspension was an angle concocted to explain Rhyno ' s absence while he underwent cervical fusion surgery for two herniated discs in his neck . The surgery was performed on November 12 , 2001 . Rhyno returned to WWE television thirteen months later on the February 27 , 2003 episode of SmackDown ! , aligning himself with Chris Benoit thus making him a face for the first time since joining WWE . Rhyno and Benoit went on to unsuccessfully challenge Team Angle for the WWE Tag Team Championship in a triple threat tag team match ( also involving Los Guerreros ) at WrestleMania XIX . Rhyno and Benoit continued to team together until July 2003 , when Rhyno turned on Benoit . Rhyno wrestled on SmackDown ! throughout the remainder of 2003 and early 2004 , attempting to win the WWE United States Championship on several occasions . 2004 – 2005 . In March 2004 , Rhyno was drafted to the Raw brand . In July he formed a tag team with Tajiri , and the duo challenged for the World Tag Team Championship on several occasions throughout 2004 . Rhyno was released from his WWE contract on April 9 , 2005 due to a public argument with his wife that took place at the WrestleMania 21 afterparty . He made his final appearance on WWE television at the WWE - produced ECW reunion pay - per - view One Night Stand on June 12 . Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ( 2005 – 2010 ) . 2005 . Gerin made his debut in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling on July 17 as Rhino with an " I " instead of a " Y " in his name ( reverting to the ECW spelling of his name instead of WWE ' s which is trademarked ) , by hitting then - NWA World Heavyweight Champion Raven with the Gore following a match with Abyss at No Surrender , thus debuting as a member of Planet Jarrett . These events led to a match being scheduled between the team of Rhino and Jeff Jarrett and the team of Raven and the returning Sabu at Sacrifice on August 14 . During the Sacrifice preshow , Director of Authority Larry Zbyszko informed Jarrett , who had lobbied for a title shot for several weeks , that if he could pin Raven , he would receive a shot at the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at Unbreakable . However , should Jarrett lose the match , he would be prohibited from receiving a world title shot for one year . Later that night , during the tag match , Jeff Hardy returned to TNA , attacking Jarrett and enabling Rhino to Gore and pin Raven . An irate Jarrett , furious at having lost his shot at the title , watched as Zbyszko announced Rhino to be the new number one contender immediately after the PPV went off the air . Rhino faced Raven at Unbreakable in a match which saw him accidentally Gore a shopping cart in homage to his WWF Hardcore Championship bout with Raven at Backlash 2001 . Despite interference from Jarrett , Raven retained his title after hitting Rhino with an Even Flow DDT . Rhino fought Jeff Hardy in the main event of the first episode of Impact ! on Spike TV on October 1 . The match was declared a no - contest after both Abyss and Sabu interfered . At Bound for Glory , Rhino , Abyss , Sabu , and Hardy faced each other in a Monster ' s Ball match , which Rhino won after hitting a middle - rope Rhino Driver on Hardy . Later that night , Rhino won a 10 - man Gauntlet match to determine who would face Jeff Jarrett for his NWA World Heavyweight Championship after Kevin Nash , Jarrett ' s scheduled opponent , was rushed to the hospital due to a legitimate injury . Rhino went on to defeat Jarrett and win the title . Rhino lost the NWA World Title to Jeff Jarrett on a 2 hour prime time special edition of Impact ! on November 3 . Starting with the November 26 episode of Impact ! , TNA started airing promos about Rhino ' s career and personal life in preparation for his title rematch at Turning Point . He lost the rematch after a guitar shot and interference from all of Team Canada . Sporadic feuds ( 2006 – 2009 ) . Rhino then wrapped up a brutal feud with Abyss , who ( due to his alignment with Planet Jarrett ) halted Rhino ' s war on Team Canada . The feud saw Abyss Black Hole Slam Rhino on to several chairs , and Rhino smash Abyss through a steel wall with the Gore . Their singles feud ended at Against All Odds when Rhino Gored Abyss off of a fifteen foot ramp on to four tables . In April , Rhino became a member of Sting ' s four - man team of " Warriors " , joining A . J . Styles and Ron Killings to fight Jeff Jarrett ' s " Army " in a Lethal Lockdown match at Lockdown . On June 9 , after Rhino defeated Jeff Jarrett at a TNA house show in the old ECW Arena in Philadelphia , he publicly acknowledged that he had been offered a contract to come back to WWE and wrestle for the new ECW . Rhino , however , decided to stay with TNA . On July 11 , Rhino made an open challenge against WWE for their current incarnation of ECW . The shocking revelation was that he didn ' t like the direction of the new ECW and threw the " real " ECW World Championship ( hidden in a burlap sack as Rhino stated WWE threatened legal action if he showed it ) into an oil drum and burned it ( he later admitted that it was a replica , and he still has the original at his home ) . He then feuded with Monty Brown and Samoa Joe . This resulted in the three men fighting at Hard Justice which ended with Samoa Joe winning by pinning Monty Brown after driving Brown through a table . Rhino then entered into a feud with Christian Cage , playing off their former history together in WWE , Japan , and Canada . The feud continued when Christian and Gerin faced off in an Eight Mile Street Fight at Bound for Glory , on October 22 . Christian won after a con - chair - to with a ladder , a broken table , a street sign , and some chairs on top of Gerin . This feud culminated on the November 16 episode of Impact ! , where he faced Cage in a bloody six - sides of steel barbed wire match . Cage won the match after taking Rhino ' s signature Gore that sent him through the side of the cage . Towards the end of 2006 , Rhino entered into a program with A . J . Styles . This started with Rhino trying to help Styles with his situation with Christopher Daniels , only to have Styles pull away and accuse Rhino of getting into his business , thus turning him heel . Rhino would lose to Styles at Turning Point after Styles faked a knee injury and then pinned Rhino with a roll - up . [ 35 ] The Rhino - Styles feud continued into 2007 . At Final Resolution , Rhino defeated Styles in a Last Man Standing match . Rhino set up tables in anticipation of sending Styles through them with a Gore . Styles , however , saw what was happening and declined to get up , thus losing . After the match , Rhino swore he wasn ' t through with Styles and gave him a Rhino Driver on the entrance ramp . At Against All Odds , Styles defeated Rhino in a Motor City Chain match after dodging a Gore and rolling up Rhino for the pin . A . J . Styles then challenged any wrestler in TNA to wrestle him at Destination X in the debut of the Elevation X match and Rhino accepted the challenge . At Destination X , Rhino defeated A . J . Styles in the Elevation X match after a Gore , and stomping on Styles fingers . On March 22 , Rhino was chosen as the third member of Kurt Angle ' s team for the Lockdown match , along with Samoa Joe and eventually Jeff Jarrett and Sting . Team Angle was successful at Lockdown after defeating Christian ' s Coalition in a Lethal Lockdown match . Rhino had a big spot in the match when he Gored Tomko through the cage door . Rhino went through short feuds with Christopher Daniels and The Latin American Xchange before moving on to his next big feud with James Storm . On the June 21 Impact ! , Storm and Robert Roode defeated Rhino and Eric Young . Following the match , Storm poured beer on Rhino , causing him to snap . [ 40 ] Two weeks later , Rhino had a sit - down interview with Mike Tenay and revealed that he was a recovering alcoholic , and that caused him to snap after being covered with beer . [ 41 ] The feud between Rhino and Storm resulted in a match at Victory Road . Storm won the match after hitting Rhino with a beer bottle . After the match was over Storm and Jackie Moore attacked Rhino and poured beer into his mouth and left him bleeding in the ring . [ 42 ] At Hard Justice , Rhino lost a Bar Room Brawl to Storm , after Storm smashed a beer bottle into the back of Rhino ' s head , but Rhino beat him at No Surrender . [ 43 ] After the match , he Gored Moore . Rhino then feuded with Raven , resulting in a Monster ' s Ball match at Bound for Glory between Rhino , Raven , Abyss , and Black Reign which Abyss won . At Turning Point , he was scheduled to participate in a match teaming with Abyss to take on Black Reign and Rellik , but he was replaced by Raven due to injury . After battling a kayfabe alcoholism relapse ( brought on by the James Storm storyline ) , Rhino officially made his return at Against All Odds when he Gored Storm , which caused Eric Young to retain his World Drinking Championship . On March 9 , Rhino defeated Storm at Destination X , in the second official Elevation X Match , making Rhino 2 - 0 in Elevation X . The next week , Christian Cage had to find a tag partner to help him fight A . J . Styles and Tomko . He asked Rhino but he refused , due to their past history ( Cage had since turned face ) . Tomko , Styles , and Team 3D attacked Cage after his tag team match with Kevin Nash . The following week on Impact ! , Cage managed to get Rhino on his side during an interview with Jeremy Borash . At Lockdown in the Lethal Lockdown match , Rhino pinned Storm to get the win for Cage ' s team . Rhino went on to form a tag team with Cage and they competed in the Deuces Wild tag team tournament to crown new tag team champions by beating The Motor City Machineguns ( Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley ) to qualify . The tournament took place at Sacrifice where they beat the team of Robert Roode and Booker T , but lost in the second round to Team 3D after Brother Ray hit Rhino with a kendo stick . Rhino would beat James Storm to qualify for the King of the Mountain match at Slammiversary , where Samoa Joe retained the TNA World Heavyweight Championship . Since then , Rhino formed a tag team with Christian Cage . At Hard Justice , Rhino and Christian Cage defeated Team 3D to end their feud . The team seems to have disbanded with Cage going to main events and Rhino along with then TNA Women ' s Champion Taylor Wilde starting a feud with The Beautiful People and Cute Kip shortly after Hard Justice . At Bound for Glory IV , Rhino along with O . D . B and Rhaka Khan ( who recently turned face ) defeated The Beautiful People and Cute Kip in a Bimbo Brawl . On the October 23 edition of Impact ! , Rhino contronted Sheik Abdul Bashir over political views . He was later attacked by Bashir . The feud ended after Rhino got revenge and defeated Sheik at Turning Point . On the November 20 edition of Impact ! , Rhino attacked the Main Event Mafia , but the Mafia fought back and placed him in a casket . The next week , Rhino officially joined A . J . Styles and Samoa Joe , naming the group the TNA Frontline . Rhino decided the Frontline had to have more members if they wanted to beat the Main Event Mafia , and , much to the surprise and disapproval of the group , asked Team 3D to join the Frontline . Later in the night , Team 3D agreed to join the Frontline , helping Styles and Joe attack the Mafia . At Genesis , Rhino lost to Sting in a TNA World Title match . EV 2 . 0 and departure ( 2010 ) . After being absent from television for four months , Rhino returned on the July 1 episode of " Impact ! " , appearing in the Impact ! Zone crowd beside fellow ECW alumni Tommy Dreamer , Raven and Stevie Richards , thus seemingly turning back into a face . On the July 15 episode of " Impact ! " Rhino , Dreamer , Raven , Richards , Brother Devon , Pat Kenney and Al Snow , led by Mick Foley , aligned themselves with the TNA World Heavyweight Champion Rob Van Dam by attacking Abyss and the rest of the TNA locker room . The following week , TNA president Dixie Carter agreed to give the ECW alumni their own reunion pay – per – view event , Hardcore Justice : The Last Stand , as a celebration of hardcore wrestling and a final farewell to the company . At the event Rhino defeated Al Snow and Brother Runt in a three - way match . On the following episode of " Impact ! " , the ECW alumni , known collectively as EV 2 . 0 ) , were assaulted by AJ Styles , Kazarian , Robert Roode , James Storm , Doug Williams and Matt Morgan of Ric Flair ' s Fortune stable , who thought they did not deserve to be in TNA . During the assault Abyss came out , fought Rob Van Dam backstage and caused him storyline injuries , which forced him to vacate the TNA World Heavyweight Championship and led to EV 2 . 0 looking for revenge . On the August 26 episode of " Impact ! " Rhino called out Abyss for what he had done and then laid him out with a Gore . At No Surrender Abyss defeated Rhino in a Falls Count Anywhere match . At Bound for Glory Rhino , Dreamer , Raven , Richards and Sabu defeated Fourtune members Styles , Kazarian , Morgan , Roode and Storm in a Lethal Lockdown match . Shortly afterwards Rhino ' s contract with TNA expired , but he remained with the promotion on a per night deal . At Turning Point EV 2 . 0 faced Fortune in a ten man tag team match , where each member of EV 2 . 0 put their TNA careers on the line . In the end , EV 2 . 0 lost the match and Sabu was released from TNA . On the following episode of " Impact ! " , Rhino revealed himself as the man within EV 2 . 0 , who had been calling Eric Bischoff , trying to get to be a part of his Immortal stable , which had led to dissension between Rob Van Dam , who wanted to find out the traitor , and the rest of EV 2 . 0 , by costing Van Dam his match against Kazarian and afterwards hitting Tommy Dreamer with a chair , turning heel in the process . On the November 18 episode of " Impact ! " Rhino explained that Bischoff had agreed to re – sign him as long as he turned on the rest of EV 2 . 0 . The following week Dreamer defeated Rhino in a Street Fight . After the match Rhino attacked Dreamer , but was then chased away by Rob Van Dam , who challenged him to a First Blood match at Final Resolution , which Van Dam ended up winning . On the following episode of " Impact ! " Bischoff refused to give Rhino a contract with TNA and had Fortune and Immortal remove him from the arena . The event marked , for the moment , Gerin ' s final appearance for TNA . Juggalo Championship Wrestling ( 2004 , 2005 , 2011 – 2012 ) . Gerin debuted in Juggalo Championship Wrestling at the 2004 musical festival Gathering of the Juggalos , where he defeated Abyss . At the following year ' s event , he participated on behalf of the company in " JCW vs . TNA : Three Day War . " Gerin returned to Juggalo Championship Wrestling in 2011 , saving JCW Heavyweight Champion Corporal Robinson from an attack by Breyer Wellington and Butler Jeeves . Teaming with The Weedman , 2 Tuff Tony , and Jailbird Man , he defeated the team of Baby Bitch Boy , The Bumpin ' Uglies , and Bull Pain at the company ' s first internet pay - per - view Hatchet Attacks . At Up in Smoke , Rhino saved Tony from an attack by Sabu and Rob Conway , turning him into a fan favorite . He and Tony were then scheduled for a tag team match against the two at St . Andrew ' s Brawl . Independent circuit ( 2011 – present ) . Since his departure from TNA , Rhino has appeared in several independent promotions across the United States & Canada . In May 2011 , Rhino took part in New Japan Pro Wrestling ' s first tour of the United States , the Invasion Tour 2011 . In the main event of the first night on May 13 in Rahway , New Jersey , Rhino teamed with Charlie Haas in a tag team match , where they defeated IWGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi and Togi Makabe after Rhino pinned Makabe . At the following day ' s event in New York City , Rhino pinned Kazuchika Okada in a six - man tag team match , where he teamed with Davey Richards and Homicide against Okada , Makabe and Ryusuke Taguchi . On the third and final day of the tour , Rhino was defeated by Makabe in the main event , a " South Philadelphia Street Fight " , at the former ECW Arena . On May 29 Rhyno appeared in Dutch Pro Wrestling beating Kenzo Richards in an Extreme rules match . He also wrestled in Resistance Pro Wrestling . On February 17 , 2012 , at Vicious Circle , he was defeated by the RPW Heavyweight Champion Harry Smith . The last match between them took place on May 11 , 2012 , at A Small Deadly Space , where Rhino was defeated by Smith , with Raven as Special Referee . In June 2012 , he worked a week - long tour for St . John ' s , Newfoundland and Labrador - based Legend City Wrestling working with the likes of Mike Hughes and fellow TNA alumnus Kiyoshi . On September 1 , he was defeated in a match against Bill Collier for the PWR Heavyweight Championship in Wattsburg , Pennsylvania . On October 6 , 2012 , Rhino participated in the House of Hardcore ' s first show , defeating Sami Callihan . On November 17 , Rhino reached a tournament final to crown the first Extreme Rising World Championship , he reached the final round on December 29 but was defeated by Stevie Richards . Ring of Honor ( 2011 – 2014 ) . Rhino was revealed to be the bodyguard hired by Prince Nana to protect The Embassy from Homicide on June 13 , 2011 . In his debut match for the promotion on June 26 at Best in the World 2011 , Rhino was defeated by Homicide in a Street Fight . In his next ROH appearance at the Death Before Dishonor IX pay - per - view on September 17 , Rhino and fellow Embassy member Tommaso Ciampa defeated Homicide and Jay Lethal in a tag team match . In late 2011 , after not appearing in ROH events for a couple of months , Rhino was removed from the ROH roster on the ROH website , signifying his departure from the company . Gerin returned to Ring of Honor television in April 2012 being traded from the Embassy to Truth Martini ' s House of Truth and was announced as the opponent of " Die Hard " Eddie Edwards for the ROH Border Wars pay per view on May 12 . Rhino was defeated by Edwards via pinfall . On September 15 at , Rhino unsuccessfully challenged Kevin Steen for the ROH World Championship . However , soon after he was hired by the members of S . C . U . M . to attack the # 1 contender Jay Lethal , but was stopped by Steen . At ROH 11th Anniversary Show , Rhino attacked Lethal after his match against Steen . Return to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ( 2014 ) . On July 3 , 2014 , Rhino returned to TNA during the " Impact Wrestling " tapings , as he attacked Bully Ray on behalf of Ethan Carter III to help him win a Tables match . During the July 10 edition of " Impact Wrestling " , Rhino joined Ethan Carter and Spud in confronting Bully Ray about his actions against Bully . The confrontation broke down into a three - on - one assault on Bully Ray before fellow ECW alumni Tommy Dreamer intervened and helped chase off Rhino and his new allies . The following week on the July 17 edition of " Impact Wrestling " , during the opening match of the show , Rhino and Ethan teamed together to defeat Tommy Dreamer and Bully Ray . Return to WWE ( 2015 - present ) . WWE NXT ( 2015 ) . Rhyno made an unannounced return to WWE on February 12 , 2015 during the taping of its developmental program WWE NXT , defeating Elias Samson . The episode aired on February 18 , 2015 and later that night WWE added Gerin to the NXT roster page as " Rhyno " . After a few weeks of defeating local competitors , Rhyno announced that he was in " NXT " to win the NXT Championship . On the April 15 episode of NXT , Rhyno fought Sami Zayn in a losing effort .