Cedric Alexander

Cedric Alexander (August 16, 1989) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) on the SmackDown brand. Before WWE, Alexander spent several years on the Mid-Atlantic and Southern independent promotions including Carolina Wrestling Federation Mid-Atlantic and Ring of Honor (ROH).
== Professional wrestling career ==
===Ring Of Honor (2011-2016)===
====C&C Wrestle Factory (2011-2013)====
Over the course of 2010, Alexander mostly wrestled dark matches for ROH. In 2011 he started performing for ROH on a regular basis after he formed the tag team called the C&C Wrestle Factory with Caprice Coleman.
On December 23 at Final Battle 2011, C&C Wrestle Factory competed in a Tag team gauntlet match for a future ROH World Tag Team Championship title shot where they eliminated the Bravado Brothers (Harlem and Lancelot). On March 30 at Showdown in the SunChapter 1, they were defeated by Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team (Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin). The next day at Showdown the Sun Chapter 2, Alexander was defeated by Tommaso Ciampa. On September 15 at Death Before Dishonor X: State of Emergency, they were defeated by S.C.U.M. (Jimmy Jacobs and Steve Corino). At Glory By Honor XI: The Unbreakable Hope on October 13, they once again defeated the Bravado Brothers. On December 16 at Final Battle 2012: Doomsday, they unsuccessfully challenged S.C.U.M. for the ROH World Tag Team Championship in a three-way match that also included the Briscoe Brothers who won the match. On March 3 at the 11th Anniversary Show, he and Coleman were defeated by S.C.U.M. On April 5 at Supercard of Honor VII, C&C Wrestle Factory teamed with B.J. Whitmer, Mark Briscoe and Mike Mondo in a losing effort against S.C.U.M. (Cliff Compton, Jimmy Jacobs, Jimmy Rave, Rhett Titus and Rhino). On May 4 at Border Wars 2013, they defeated ACH and TaDarius Thomas. On May 18 at Relentless, they teamed with Jay Lethal to defeat Matt Taven and ReDRagon (Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly). On July 8 at Live And Let Die, Alexander was defeated by Davey Richards. On June 22 at Best in the World 2013, they unsuccessfully challenged ReDRagon for the ROH World Tag Team Championship in a three-way match that also included S.C.U.M. (Rhett Titus and Cliff Compton). On August 3 at All Star Extravaganza V, they were defeated by Adrenaline Rush (ACH and TaDarius Thomas) in a three-way match that also included The Young Bucks.
==== Singles competition (2014–2016) ====
On January 25 at Wrestling's Finest, he defeated Andrew Everett. On February 8 at State Of The Art, he was defeated by Jimmy Jacobs. On February 21 at the 12th Anniversary Show he teamed with Mark Briscoe and Adam Page in a losing effort against The Decade (Roderick Strong, B.J. Whitmer and Jimmy Jacobs). On March 7 atRaising The Bar – Day 1, he teamed with Adam Page in a tag team match against The Decade where they lost. The next day at Raising The Bar – Day 2 he was defeated by Kevin Steen. On March 22 at Flyin' High he was defeated by Michael Elgin. On April 4 at Supercard of Honor VIII, he lost a match against Roderick Strong. On April 19 at Second To None, he teamed with Andrew Everett in a losing effort against ReDRagon. At Global Wars on May 10, he defeated Roderick Strong. After the match he was attacked by Roderick Strong and the rest of The Decade and was put through chairs and his shoulder was separated. Alexander made an appearance at War of the Worlds where he attacked The Decade from behind. This led to a submission match against Roderick Strong at Best in the World, in which he came out victorious. On August 9, during the Summer Heat Tour, he unsuccessfully challenged Michael Elgin for the ROH World Championship. On September 6 at All Star Extravaganza VI he was scheduled to face Silas Young, but when Young broke his leg and ACH did not show up for the event he challenged Jay Lethal for the ROH World Television Championship where he was defeated. On October 11 at Champions vs. All Stars, he was defeated by Christopher Daniels. On November 7 at Survival Of The Fittest- Day 1, he was defeated by Adam Page in a 2014 Survival of the Fittest qualifying match. The next day at Survival Of The Fittest- Day 2, he was defeated by Jay Lethal. On November 22 at Tag Wars, he was defeated by Tommaso Ciampa in No Disqualification Grudge Match.[9] On December 7 at Final Battle 2014, he teamed with The Addiction (Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian), but ultimately lost to The Young Bucks and ACH following a Meltzer Driver and an ACH 450 splash.
On May 16, 2015, at Global Wars '15, Alexander ended Moose's undefeated streak after hitting him with a wrench. On June 19 at Best in the World 2015, Alexander reunited with Caprice Coleman, but ultimately broke off the partnership for good, when Coleman refused to allow Alexander to use the wrench again in a match against War Machine (Hanson and Raymond Rowe). Later that same event, Alexander completed his heel turn, when he attacked Moose, aligning himself with Moose's former manager Veda Scott.
On May 14, 2016, Alexander announced his departure from ROH.
=== World Wrestling Entertainment (2016-present) ===
==== Cruiserweight Classic (2016) ====
On June 13, 2016, Alexander was announced as a participant in WWE's upcoming Cruiserweight Classic tournament. The tournament began on June 23 with Alexander defeating Clement Petiot in his first round match. On July 14, Alexander was eliminated from the tournament by Kota Ibushi. After the match, Alexander earned the respect of Triple H and the fans, who were chanting "Please Sign Cedric." Triple H shook his hand and nodded his approval before ushering him backstage. The match received high critical praise, earning a 4 1/2 star rating from Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
==== Raw (2016–2017) ====
On the August 29 episode of Raw it was announced that Alexander would be part of WWE's upcoming cruiserweight division. Alexander made his debut on the September 19 episode of Raw , submitting to Brian Kendrick in a Fatal Four-Way match that included Rich Swan and Gran Metalik for a #1 contender's spot for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship against TJ Perkins at WWE Clash Of Champions. On September 21, he made his NXT debut defeating Andrade "Cien" Almas. On the September 26 Raw, he along with Rich Swann, defeated Lince Dorado and Drew Gulak.
==== 205 Live (2017-2019) ====
Alexander debuted during the December 20 episode of 205 Live, defeating Drew Gulak. A week later, Alexander returned for the December 27 episode of 205 Live, during which he lost to Tony Nese. The following year in 2017, Alexander returned for the January 10 episode of 205 Live, in a match lost against Noam Dar. During the January 17 and January 24 episodes of 205 Live, Alexander lost singles matches against Drew Gulak and Neville. He finished the month during the January 31 episode of 205 Live, teaming with Jack Gallagher to win a victory over the team of Neville & Noam Dar. The following month, Alexander's return during the February 7 episode of 205 Live included competing in a No. 1 Contendership Five-Way Elimination match for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship against Jack Gallagher, Mustafa Ali, Noam Dar and TJ Perkins. He returned later in the month during the February 28 episode of 205 Live, teaming with Mustafa Ali & TJ Perkins in a tag match lost against Ariya Daivari, Drew Gulak & Tony Nese. Three months later, Alexander returned during the May 23 episode of 205 Live, where he defeated Johnny Boone. He went on to enjoy a string of victories during the May 30 and June 6 episodes of 205 Live, defeating opponents Corey Hollis and Noam Dar in singles matches. During the June 13 episode of 205 Live, Alexander defeated Ariya Daivari, before later losing to Daivari in a rematch held during the June 27 episode of 205 Live. The next month on the July 11 episode of 205 Live, Alexander defeated Noam Dar in an I Quit match. On the July 25 episode of 205 Live Alexander teamed with Rich Swann in a tag match lost to TJP & Tony Nese. The following month, Alexander returned for the August 8 episode of 205 Live, during which he lost a singles match against Tony Nese. The following week on the August 15 episode of 205 Live, Alexander teamed with Gran Metalik in defeating Drew Gulak & Tony Nese. During the August 22 episode of 205 Live. On the following week's episode of 205 Live, Alexander teamed with once more with Gran Metalik and third team member Enzo Amore in a successful tag match defeating Drew Gulak, Noam Dar & Tony Nese. The following month on September 5, Alexander returned to 205 Live where he competed in another Five-Way Elimination No. 1 Contendership match for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship against Enzo Amore, Gran Metalik, The Brian Kendrick and Tony Nese. Returning the following week on the September 12 episode of 205 Live, wrestling The Brian Kendrick to a draw. The following week's episode of 205 Live featured a rematch in which Alexander decisively defeated Kendrick. Another rematch was held during the September 19 episode of 205 Live, once more won by Alexander. During the October 3 episode of 205 Live, Alexander lost a match to Gentleman Jack Gallagher by disqualification. On the October 24 episode of 205 Live, Alexander teamed with Rich Swann in defeating Noam Dar & Tony Nese.
On April 8, 2018 Cedric defeated Mustafa Ali to win the vacant WWE Cruiserweight Championship. He would go on to hold the Cruiserweight Championship for 181 days until he was defeated by Buddy Murphy at Super Show-Down 2018.
==== Return to Raw (2019–2023) ====
In April 2019 Cedric was drafted to Raw during the 2019 WWE Superstar Shake-up.
==Personal life==
Alexander is married to professional wrestler Aerial Monroe.
== In wrestling ==
*Finishing moves
**Kick to Kill (Fireman's carry overhead kick)
**Lumbar Check (Back suplex double knee backbreaker)
**Overtime (Frog splash)
*Signature moves
**Belly-to-belly suplex
**Brainbuster
**Diving clothesline, sometimes while springboarding
**Eight Second Ride (Fireman's carry bulldog) - parodied from James Storm
**Multiple kick variations
***Concussion on Delivery (Drop, sometimes to a cornered opponent)
***Enzuigiri
***Jumping corkscrew roundhouse
***Neuralyzer (540, sometimes preceded by a handspring)
***Springboard roundhouse
***Super
**Queen's Crowning (Standing moonsault side slam)
**Reverse STO
**Michinoku driver
**Somersault plancha
**Split-legged moonsault
**Springboard clothesline
*Managers
**Veda Scott
**The Tommy Thomas
**Alicia Fox
*Nicknames
**"Kick to Kill"
**"King of the Queen City"
**"Lumbar Legacy"
**"Queen City's Favorite Son"
*Entrance themes
**"Overtime" by King Keleze
**"Only One Shot" by 615 Platinum Series
**"Sick" by Adelitas Way
**"Classic" by Kenny Wootton and Harley Wootton
**"Won't Let Go" by CFO$ (WWE; June 23, 2016–2023)
**“Prime Time” by def rebel (WWE; current)
==Championships and accomplishments==
*America's Most Liked Wrestling
:*AML Prestige Championship (1 time)
*Fire Star Professional Wrestling
:*FSPW Tag Team Championship (1 time)
*Premiere Wrestling Xperience
:*PWX Innovative Television Championship (1 time)
:*PWI Ultra J Championship (1 time)
*World Wrestling Entertainment
**WWE Cruiserweight Championship (1 time)
**WWE 24-7 Championship (3 times)
**WWE Raw Tag Team Championship (1 time) with Shelton Benjamin
==External links==
* WWE.com Profile
* Profile
* Facebook
* Twitter
* Profile
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