Tyson Kidd Theodore James " TJ " Wilson , sometimes stylized as T . J . Wilson , ( July 11 , 1980 ) is a Canadian professional wrestler . He is signed to WWE , where he performs under the ring name Tyson Kidd . In June 2015 , he became inactive due to a career - threatening and near - fatal spinal injury . Professional wrestling career . Training . Wilson trained at Stu Hart ' s Dungeon in Calgary , Alberta , Canada . Wilson furthered his wrestling training under the watch of Tokyo Joe , who later helped him get booked in New Japan Pro Wrestling ( NJPW ) as well as in England . He wrestled his first match in Stampede Wrestling in Calgary at the age of fifteen in 1995 . At age sixteen , he wrestled in the opening match of a World Wrestling Federation house show in Calgary , teaming with Andrew Picarnic against Teddy Hart and Harry Smith . The following year , Wilson started training with Bret Hart . He also trained with shawn michels five years before the hart dungeon . He also was an amateur candian hockey player . Japan , UK and Stampede Wrestling . In April 2002 , Wilson was given a chance to wrestle in Japan . He completed five tours in Japan , including participating in the 2003 Best of the Super Juniors tournament in NJPW . In 2004 TJ Wilson toured the UK with All Star Wrestling . He competed all over the country , wrestling several times a week for 2 months . As a part of Stampede Wrestling , Wilson was nicknamed the " Stampede Kid " . He held his first championship in the promotion in February 2004 , when Wilson became Bruce Hart ' s new tag team partner and co - holder of the Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Championship to replace the injured Teddy Hart . He won the Stampede British Commonwealth Mid - Heavyweight Championship on October 15 , 2004 by beating Duke Durrango . In October 2005 , Wilson and Durrango were made the bookers for Stampede Wrestling . On September 15 , 2006 , Wilson defeated Apocalypse to capture the Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship in a match that took place at half time of Calgary Stampeders vs . Winnipeg Blue Bombers Canadian Football League game at McMahon Stadium . On November 10 , 2006 , Wilson replaced one - half of the Tag Team Champions Pete Wilson , who was injured , and became Juggernaut ' s tag team partner . Wilson had his final singles match for Stampede on January 26 , 2007 , where he was defeated by his long - time rival Apocalypse . He returned on February 9 , 2007 , for his final match with the promotion , defending his International Tag Team Championship , against The A - Team ( Michael Avery and Dusty Adonis ) . He and Juggernaut won the match , however , afterwards Wilson awarded the Championship to The A - Team , as he was leaving and could not defend the Championship . He was also heavily involved with training the younger stars of the promotion at a camp called B . J . ' s Gym . World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE . Developmentals ( 2006 – 2009 ) . Wilson signed with World Wrestling Entertainment in November 2006 , after receiving impressive reviews from former WWE trainer Bill DeMott . He moved to WWE developmental territory Deep South Wrestling ( DSW ) in February 2007 with fellow signee and girlfriend Nattie Neidhart . When DSW and WWE parted ways , Wilson relocated to Tampa , Florida to train in the WWE developmental facility Florida Championship Wrestling . In late 2007 , he worked with Harry Smith , Nattie Neidhart , Teddy Hart , and Ted DiBiase , Jr . as the Next Generation Hart Foundation . On December 1 , 2007 , he won the FCW Southern Heavyweight Championship by defeating Afa , Jr . in a ladder match . He lost it to Ted DiBiase , Jr . on December 18 . In mid 2008 , he began teaming with Smith again , and the two were managed by Natalya ( Nattie Neidhart ) . On October 30 , they won the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship , but they lost it to Tyler Reks and Johnny Curtis on December 11 , 2008 at the FCW television taping . Mr mcmahon said wilson could not join until he found a tag tem partener . The Hart Dynasty ( 2009 – 2010 ) . Wilson made his WWE television debut on the February 10 , 2009 , episode of " ECW on Sci Fi " managed by real - life girlfriend Natalya , under the name Tyson Kidd , defeating a local wrestler , Bao Nguyen . Although Natalya was managing Kidd on " ECW " , she was still officially a member of the SmackDown brand until April 15 , 2009 , when she was drafted to ECW as part of the 2009 Supplemental Draft to join Kidd . On the May 12 episode of " ECW " , Kidd ' s match with Finlay was interrupted by DH Smith , now using the name David Hart Smith , who attacked Finlay to aid Kidd . Kidd , Smith and Neidhart formed The Hart Trilogy , which was later changed to The Hart Dynasty on the May 26 episode of " ECW " . On June 29 , The Hart Dynasty were traded to the SmackDown brand . They began an on and off feud with Cryme Tyme in July and the feud ended in October . At the Bragging Rights pay - per - view in October , Kidd and Smith competed in a seven - on - seven tag match with Chris Jericho , Kane , Finlay , Matt Hardy and R - Truth as Team SmackDown to defeat Team Raw . The Hart Dynasty got a title match for the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship on the December 25 episode of " SmackDown " against D - Generation X , but were unsuccessful . They started a feud with Matt Hardy and The Great Khali on the January 22 , 2010 , episode of " SmackDown " . The feud ended with each team trading wins against each other . The Hart Dynasty turned face at WrestleMania XXVI , helping Bret Hart during his match against Vince McMahon , and the following night on " Raw " they defeated the Unified WWE Tag Team Champions ShoMiz ( The Big Show and The Miz ) in a non - title match after The Miz insulted Hart . They earned a Unified Tag Team Championship match at the Extreme Rules pay - per - view by defeating ShoMiz in a tag team gauntlet match ( which also included the team of John Morrison and R - Truth and the team of Montel Vontavious Porter and Mark Henry ) . At the 2010 WWE Draft on April 26 , The Hart Dynasty , accompanied by Natalya and Hart , defeated ShoMiz to win the Unified Tag Team Championship , when Kidd made The Miz submit to the Sharpshooter . The following day , all three members of The Hart Dynasty were moved to the Raw brand as part of the Supplemental Draft . On the May 10 episode of " Raw " , he defeated The Miz to earn Bret Hart a match for The Miz ' s WWE United States Championship , and the following week The Hart Dynasty helped Hart to win the championship . At Over the Limit , they retained the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship against Chris Jericho and The Miz . The following night , on the May 24 episode of " Raw " , they were attacked by The Usos ( Jimmy and Jey ) and Tamina after a match , provoking a feud between the two trios . At Fatal 4 - Way , they defeated The Usos and Tamina in a six - person mixed tag team match when Natalya pinned Tamina , and Smith and Kidd defeated The Usos at Money in the Bank to retain the championship . At Night of Champions , The Hart Dynasty lost the WWE Tag Team Championship to Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre in a Tag Team Turmoil match which also involved The Usos , Vladimir Kozlov and Santino Marella , and the team of Evan Bourne and Mark Henry . Singles competition ( 2011 – 2012 ) . After a failed attempt to regain the championship , in which Kidd was pushed off balance during their double - team Hart Attack move , Kidd and Smith began to have a falling out with one another . This culminated on the November 15 episode of " Raw " , when Kidd made another heel turn by refusing to tag in and attacked Smith during a match for the WWE Tag Team Championship against The Nexus ( Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater ) . The following week , Kidd faced John Morrison in a King of the Ring qualifying match , but was unsuccessful . On the December 2 episode of " WWE Superstars " , Kidd lost to Smith in a singles match . Afterward , Smith offered to shake Kidd ' s hand , but Kidd slapped him across the face . On the next episode of " Raw " , Kidd defeated Smith in a rematch , during which he was accompanied by a bodyguard , later revealed as Jackson Andrews . Andrews ceased appearing as Kidd ' s bodyguard after Mark Henry performed his finisher , the World ' s Strongest Slam , on Andrews during the December 27 episode of " Raw " . On April 26 , 2011 , Kidd was drafted back to the SmackDown brand as part of the 2011 supplemental draft . He had his first match back for the brand on the May 6 episode of " SmackDown " , but lost to Sin Cara . On the May 12 episode of " Superstars " , Kidd debuted Michael Hayes as his manager as he defeated Trent Barreta . But the following week on Superstars , after losing to Yoshi Tatsu , Hayes would slap Kidd in the face and walk away . Armando Estrada and Matt Striker managed Kidd on the May 26 and June 2 edition of " Superstars " respectively , and Kidd defeated Barreta on both occasions . On the June 9 episode of " Superstars " , Tyson Kidd received his fourth manager , Vickie Guerrero but he lost to Yoshi Tatsu . On the next edition of " Superstars " , Kidd received yet another manager in JTG , but would lose yet again , this time to Kane . Kidd was Lucky Cannon ' s Pro on " NXT Redemption " . Cannon was eliminated on the June 14 edition of " NXT " , and he was the third Rookie eliminated . After Cannon ' s elimination , Kidd went on to feud with Yoshi Tatsu on " NXT " . Their feud stemmed from Kidd breaking Tatsu ' s toy figurine of himself and stealing one of the toy figurine ' s legs . Both wrestlers would trade wins during their series of matches , and Tatsu claimed back the stolen figurine leg by winning a Necklace on a Pole match on the July 26 edition of " NXT " . After the match , Kidd brutally assaulted the right leg of Tatsu ; a week later , Kidd claimed that thanks to him , there would be " no more Yoshi Tatsu . " Kidd returned on the August 19 , 2011 edition of " SmackDown " , participating in a number one contender ' s 20 - man battle royal for Randy Orton ' s World Heavyweight Championship which was won by Mark Henry . In January 2012 , Kidd began a face turn . after defeating Trent Baretta twice on NXT , Kidd proposed that they tag team together . In late February 2012 , Kidd began a feud with Michael McGillicutty after McGuilicutty mocked his lack og wrestling heritage . Kidd then suffered a loss to McGuilicutty on the February 29 episode of NXT . After McGuilicutty insulted Kidd saying he will never be a true Hart , Kidd received a rematch on the March 21 episode of NXT , where he defeated McGuilicutty to even up the score at one win each . Kidd and McGuillicutty faced off in a third match on the April 11 episode of NXT , resulting in Kidd triumphant over McGuillicutty . International Airstrike and Injury ( 2012 - 2013 ) . On the March 29 episode of Superstars , Kidd faced Justin Gabriel and won the match , after which the duo showed mutual respect and agreed to form a tag team to challenge Primo & Epico for the WWE Tag Team Championship in a dark triple threat tag team match at WrestleMania XXVIII , also involving The Usos . However , Primo & Epico managed to win the match and retain the titles . During the match , Gabriel suffered a hyperextended and twisted elbow , rendering him out of action for several weeks . Kidd reunited with Gabriel on the June 6 episode of NXT Redemption , where they defeated the duo of Johnny Curtis and Heath Slater . At No Way Out , Kidd and Gabriel were defeated by the Prime Time Players in a number one contender fatal four way tag team match , also involving Primo and Episco and The Usos . On the June 29 episode of " SmackDown " , Kidd defeated Jack Swagger to qualify for the World Heavyweight Championship Money in the Bank ladder match . Fellow qualifier Tensai then started a feud with Kidd after Kidd defeated hime in a match in 19 seconds on the July 2 episode of " Raw " , leading Tensai to assault Kidd in post - match attacks . at Money in the Bank 2012 , Kidd failed to win as Dolph Ziggler grabbed the briefcase to win the match . On the July 30 episode of " Raw " , Kidd lost to Tensai , but after Tensai continued to attack Kidd after the match , the referee reversed his decision and awarded Kidd the win . Kidd and Gabriel would then compete in a series of tag team matches on Superstars against Curt Hawkins and Tyler Reks , winning every match . On the debut episode of WWE Main Event on October 3 , Kidd and Gabriel now unofficially called International Airstrike , lost to Santina Marella and Zack Ryder in the quarter - finals of a tournament to decide the number one contenders to the Tag Team Championships . On the October 31 episode of NXT , Kidd challenged Antonio Cesaro for the United States Championship , but lost . On the November 12 episode of " Raw " , Kidd and Gabriel competed in a 8 man tag team match alongside Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara defeating The Prime Time Players and Primo and Epico . At Survivor Series 2012 , Kidd was victorious in a 10 man tag team match against The Prime Time Players , Primo , Epico and Tensai . In January 2013 , Kidd suffered a torn knee meniscus , and will require a 6 - 8 month hiatus to recover . He appeared on the February 21 episode of NXT addressing the WWE Universe on his knee injury in which he was interrupted by Leo Kruger . As Kruger was about to attack Kidd ' s knee , Kidd ' s tag team partner Justin Gabriel rushed in for the save . Return and NXT ( 2013 – 2014 ) . Under a mask to hide his identity , he returned to television on the October 11 SmackDown as one of the Los Locales tag team with El Local ( Ricardo Rodriguez ) with a loss to Los Matadores . An unmasked Kidd returned to Raw on November 4 , teaming with his wife Natalya with a win over Fandango and Summer Rae . However , Kidd soon resumed losing matches to Fandango , Jack Swagger and former partner Justin Gabriel on Main Event and Superstars for the rest of 2013 . Since his return , Kidd found slightly more success within WWE ' s developmental branch NXT , with a NXT winning streak since December 2013 including victories over Leo Kruger and Mason Ryan . At WrestleMania XXX Kidd was in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal which was won by Cesaro . On the May 8 , 2014 episode of NXT , Kidd participated in a 20 - man battle royal for an NXT Championship shot , with him being involved in a three - way tie . As a result , Kidd faced the other two winners , Tyler Breeze and Sami Zayn in a triple - threat match on the next episode of NXT , where Kidd won to become # 1 contender for a match at NXT Takeover . At Takeover , Kidd failed to win the title against Adrian Neville . on June 5 episode of NXT , Tyson Kidd came out and apologized for his actions at Takeover and shook hands with Neville . on June 12 episode of NXT , Kidd faced Adrian Neville in a rematch for the NXT Title but failed to win the title after a distraction from his wife Natalya . On the June 19th episode of " NXT " , Kidd teamed with Sami Zayn to challenge The Ascension for the NXT Tag Team Championship , they lost the match when Kidd walked out on Zayn in the middle of the match . At WWE NXT TakeOver : Fatal 4 - Way , Kidd competed in a Fatal 4 - Way Match for the NXT Championship , which was won by Adrian Neville . Kidd continued his feud with Adrian but lost the rematch . From late September 2014 , Kidd started to win more main roster matches while being flanked by Natalya , scoring wins on " Main Event " and " Superstars " over the likes of Kofi Kingston , Jack Swagger , R - Truth and Sin Cara . During this time , Kidd played a cowardly heel while Natalya remained babyface as the doting wife . There was storyline tension between Kidd and Natalya , due to Kidd at times neglecting his wife , and at other times using Natalya as a human shield or expecting her to illegally interfere in his matches . On the November 3 episode of " Raw " , Kidd again used Natalya to score another win , this time via count - out in a non - title match against United States Champion Sheamus . On the November 14 " SmackDown " , Kidd received a title opportunity for the Intercontinental Championship in an elimination match with Cesaro and champion Dolph Ziggler ; which ended in Ziggler triumphant . Teaming with Cesaro ( 2014 – 2015 ) . From late September 2014 , Kidd started to win more main roster matches , while being flanked by Natalya , scoring wins on Main Event and Superstars over the likes of Kofi Kingston , Jack Swagger , R - Truth and Sin Cara . There was storyline tension between Kidd and Natalya , due to Kidd at times neglecting his wife , and at other times using Natalya as a human shield or expecting her to illegally interfere in his matches . On the November 3 episode of Raw , Kidd again used Natalya to score another win , this time via countout in a non - title match against United States Champion Sheamus . On the November 14 episode of SmackDown , Kidd received a title opportunity for the WWE Intercontinental Championship in an elimination match with Cesaro and defending champion Dolph Ziggler , however he was unsuccessful . In January 2015 , Kidd formed an alliance with Cesaro . The pair dubbed themselves " The Brass Ring Club " and proceeded to pick up multiple wins over Los Matadores , as well as allying with Adam Rose to feud with The New Day ( Big E , Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston ) . On the Royal Rumble pre - show , Kidd and Cesaro defeated The New Day . Later that night , Kidd entered the Rumble match at # 12 and was eliminated by Daniel Bryan . At Fastlane on February 22 , Kidd and Cesaro defeated The Usos to capture the WWE Tag Team Championship , a title he had not held for nearly 5 years . They retained their title in a rematch the following night on Raw after Natalya caused a disqualification . Kidd and Cesaro managed to retain their titles at WrestleMania XXXI in a match that included three other teams . Kidd also competed in the André the Giant memorial battle royal , but was thrown out by Mark Henry . At Extreme Rules , Cesaro and Kidd lost the Tag Team Championships to The New Day ( Big E and Kofi Kingston ) , ending their reign at nine weeks . They failed to regain the championships on the April 30 episode of SmackDown , and at Payback in a 2 - out - of - 3 falls match , with Xavier Woods interfering in both matches . At Elimination Chamber , Kidd and Cesaro competed in the first ever tag team Elimination Chamber match but failed to win the titles . In June 2015 , Kidd suffered a serious neck injury during a dark match against Samoa Joe , which would put him out of action for over a year . Personal life . Wilson befriended Teddy Hart and Harry Smith at the age of ten , and through them Wilson became close to the rest of the Hart family , whom he lived with for several years . Wilson married Natalie Neidhart ( ring name Natalya ) in June 2013 , whom he had been dating and living with since November 2001 . The pair ' s relationship and wedding were also featured on WWE ' s reality television series " Total Divas " .