Mark Andrews

Mark Andrews (January 23, 1992) is a Welsh professional wrestler, entrepreneur and musician previously signed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) on the NXT UK brand. He has also worked for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) under the ring name Mandrews, after spending several years appearing worldwide on the independent circuit.
==Professional wrestling career==
===Independent circuit (2006–2016)===
Andrews started training at the age of 13, upon discovery of the NWA Wales training school in Newport. As well as training there under Edd Ferris, Andrews would travel to Kent three times a year to attend NWA UK Hammerlock's training camps, where he learned off the likes of John Ryan, Paul Tracey and Andre Baker. It is here that he met Zack Sabre, Jr., who would go on to become Andrews's mentor.
It was for NWA Wales that Andrews made his wrestling debut, appearing in a battle royal in 2006, in a show which also featured future TNA wrestler Magnus.
Shortly afterwards, Andrews began competing under a mask, using the name “The Lightning Kid”. He has stated that this was to hide his young age from audiences. Andrews’ rise as The Lightning Kid was gradual, with most his appearances in 2006 and 2007 limited to promotions in South Wales. His first appearance outside Wales was at the 2007 Holbrooks Festival in Coventry, which was notable as it's where he first met his long-time friend (and wrestling rival), Pete Dunne.
January 2008 saw Andrews make his first international appearance, when he was flown out to Madrid to compete for La Super Wrestling Alliance (SWA).
In 2009, Andrews first began to gain exposure on Britain's independent wrestling scene, making appearances for British Championship Wrestling and Premier British Wrestling; where he competed against fellow future TNA British Bootcamp finalist Noam Dar. On November 2009 also saw Andrews wrestled at IPW:UK's event in Chatham, Kent, against his mentor and friend Zack Sabre Jr.
In 2010, Andrews started to appear regularly for Coventry-based Triple X Wrestling. He appeared as part of a stable called “The NexXxus”, a parody of the “Nexus” faction in the WWE. Under the name “Mandrews Tarver”, Andrews joined fellow ‘rookies’ Wade Helix (Helix), Hitch Sheffield (Wild Boar), Phil Otunga (Phil Ward) and Gav Gabriel (Morgan Webster) as the group ambushed and attacked various members of the roster. Andrews’ time in the NexXxus is notable for being the only heel run of Andrews's career.
In 2011, Andrews debuted for Insane Championship Wrestling in Glasgow, and competed at Premier British Wrestling’s annual “King of Cruisers” six-way match in Irevine.
Andrews also made two appearances for the newly reformed Frontier Wrestling Alliance (FWA), most notably in an encounter against long-time rival Wild Boar at Thorpe Park.
Andrews started to make appearances for Preston City Wrestling, where he twice came up short in encounters for Bubblegum’s PCW Cruiserweight Championship; including in a three-way match that also included Austin Aries. Perhaps most notably, Andrews' match against Kris Travis at “PCW SuperShow 4” received widespread acclaim, including being nominated for “UK Match of the Year” in the Fighting Spirit Magazine Reader Awards 2014; the second year running Andrews had been nominated for the honour.
In Attack! Pro Wrestling, Andrews continued heavy involvement in the creative direction of the organization. May saw Andrews reprise his role as Pikachu, as ATTACK! presented the second instalment of their popular video game themed shows, “Press Start Level 2”. Taking on Arthur Klauser-Saxon (Tyler Bate), who was styled as Machoke, Andrews picked up the win to gain the hold of the 24:7 Championship for a second time. As with his first reign, he did not hold the title for long – with T-Bone winning the title almost immediately, styled as Bowser. At the following show, “The Weird And Wonderful World Of ATTACK! Pro Wrestling”, Andrews again regained the title, defeating current holders Sam Bailey and Zack Gibson in a soccer-themed tag team match, alongside Pete Dunne. For a third time, Andrews lost the title almost as quickly as he had won it, with Lana Austin and Nixon Newell striking the same evening to take the belt.
Andrews also made another short trip to the US independents in 2014, which included a dark match appearance at DREAMWAVE's “Good As Gold” event in LaSalle, Illinois. In addition to the USA trip, Andrews also made his debut for Germany's award-winning Westside Xtreme Wrestling. Appearing on the Mülheim leg of the “wXw Drive Of Champions Tour”, Andrews teamed with Pete Dunne and Chris Brookes, losing out to Big Daddy Walter, Axel Dieter Jr. and Da Mack.
Andrews' most successful year-to-date earned him three nominations at the Fighting Spirit Magazine Reader Awards 2014, where he was shortlisted for "Best UK Wrestler" and "Best UK Tag Team" (with Eddie Dennis), alongside his "UK Match of the Year" nomination for his PCW encounter against Kris Travis. Meanwhile, the online message board UKFF voted Andrews the 3rd best wrestler in the UK, with a series of complimentary comments, including: "Mark's the poster boy of the resurgence British wrestling is seeing at the moment. Talented, likeable, and genuinely cool."
After signing a contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, it was confirmed that Andrews would be moving stateside. Andrews’ “home” promotion, Attack! Pro Wrestling, hosted a farewell show on January 24, 2015. Titled "Mandrews Goes To America", the show was held at Cathays Community Centre in Cardiff, a small venue just minutes from where Andrews grew up. Headlined by the promise of Andrews vs his long-time friend Pete Dunne, tickets for the show sold out in just 12 minutes. At the event, Andrews defeated Dunne who viciously attacked Andrews afterwards.
In early 2016, Andrews and Nixon Newell formed the tag team Bayside High and on March 27, 2016 defeated #CCK (Chris Brookes and Kid Lykos) for the Attack! Tag Team Trophy Championship in a Ladder match.
=== Chikara (2011–2015) ===
In August 2011, Andrews travelled to Pennsylvania, to make his debut for Chikara. Granted a place in the Young Lions Cup IX, Andrews’ first round match was a four-way eliminator, taking on Tadasuke, Nick Jackson and Sean South. Tadasuke won the match, last eliminating Andrews on the route to victory.
In 2014, he appeared in Chikara's yearly King of Trios tournament as Team UK with Pete Dunne and Damian Dunne. The team defeated The Bloc Party in the first round, advancing to the quarter finals, where they were then felled by The Devastation Corporation. On the third night of the tournament, Andrews appeared in singles action, defeating Oliver Grimsly.
Andrews was part of Chikara's first ever tour of the UK, gaining a victory over Silver Ant at the April 31, 2015 show in Cardiff, Wales. For the second year running, he took part in Chikara's King of Trios tournament, teaming with ‘Flash’ Morgan Webster and Pete Dunne as Team Attack. They lost their first round match against the League of Nations. However, during that weekend Andrews also competed for Chikara's annual Rey de Voladores title, winning the tournament by defeating Shynron in the finals.
=== Progress Wrestling (2012–2020) ===
In 2012, Andrews appeared in Progress Wrestling at Chapter 2: The March of Progress in June, Andrews resumed his rivalry with Wild Boar, picking up the victory. Andrews returned at Chapter 3: Fifty Shades Of Pain, defeating Xander Cooper, before then entering the National Progression Series tournament. In his first-round match at Chapter 4: The Ballad Of El Ligero, Andrews took on Will Ospreay, securing a pinfall win with a springboard hurricanrana. Both men received a standing ovation from the PROGRESS fans after the match.
On 2013, Andrews participated in the Natural Progression Series tournament, which Andrews won to claim the trophy and a guaranteed title shot. Andrews cashed in his shot that evening, defeating Rampage Brown to win the title. However, the reign was short lived, as Jimmy Havoc cashed in another guaranteed title shot on the same evening, stealing the title after a series of chair shots.
Andrews received a re-match for the Progress Championship at Chapter 13: Unbelievable Jeff, which Andrews ultimately lost after interference from Paul Robinson. Over the course of the year, Andrews also teamed with friend Eddie Dennis, entering the PROGRESS Tag Team Title Tournament held at Chapters 11 and 12. The pair, known as FSU, won the tournament and were crowned the promotion's first-ever tag team champions. This made Andrews Progress' first ever Triple Crown champion, having won the Natural Progression Series, the Progress Championship and the Progress Tag Team Championship. Eddie and Andrews successfully defended the titles a further two times in 2014.
In January 2015, at Andrews’ last Progress show before beginning work for TNA in America, he and Eddie Dennis were scheduled to face each other for sole possession of the tag team titles. But the Faceless attacked and an impromptu match ensued for the tag team titles which the Faceless won. Andrews and Dennis then faced off in a match during the second half of the show, which Andrews lost.
Andrews returned to Progress in November 2015, saving Progress Champion Will Ospreay from a post-match beating by Paul Robinson. Andrews then requested a title shot, pointing out that when the two had previously faced each other in Progress, Ospreay hadn't won either of their lauded matches. Andrews subsequently lost his granted title match against Ospreay at the January 2016 show, though the match achieved the number six spot on the Top 10 Progress Matches of 2015 as voted for by the Progress fans.
Andrews subsequently became embroiled in a feud with the Origin – the stable previously known as the Faceless – teaming with Eddie Dennis and Jack Gallagher at the first ever Progress show in Manchester, losing a six-man tag team match to the Origin team of Dave Mastiff, Nathan Cruz and El Ligero. Andrews and Dennis, as FSU, were then granted two shots at the tag team titles in early 2016, including a no disqualification match, both of which they lost to Cruz and Ligero.
In May 2016, Andrews entered Progress's Super Strong Style 16 Tournament for the first time, losing in the first round to Chris Hero. However, as Mark Haskins had to drop out due to illness, Andrews won Haskins' spot in the tournament via a ten-man scramble match. He went on to beat Mikey Whiplash in the quarter finals and Zack Gibson in the semi-finals, before losing to Tommy End in the tournament final. During the PROGRESS vs. Smash Wrestling event in September 2016, Andrews competed at all three shows - losing to Brent Banks and winning matches against Scotty O'Shea and Kevin Bennett. At Chapter Thirty-Six at the Brixton Academy, Andrews teamed with Eddie Dennis, Jack Gallagher and Damon Moser in a losing effort against the Origin. At Chapter 38, Andrews and Matt Cross wrestled for the number one contendership for the Smash Wrestling Championship, a match Cross won. At Chapter 39, Andrews teamed with Eddie Dennis as team FSU to enter a double- Contendership match for the PROGRESS World Championship and PROGRESS Tag Team Championship but were eliminated from contention by The South Pacific Power Trip (TK Cooper & Travis Banks). At Chapter 40 team FSU defeated The Origin (El Ligero & Nathan Cruz). Andrews finished 2016 with a victory at Chapter 41 teaming with Eddie Dennis and Nixon Newell to defeat Dahlia Black, TK Cooper & Travis Banks.
During March 2017, Andrews wrestled at Chapter 46 to challenge Pete Dunne for the PROGRESS World Championship but did not succeed in winning the title. At PROGRESS Orlando, Andrews challenged Tyler Bate for the WWE United Kingdom Championship but did not win the title on that occasion. At Chapter 48 Andrews challenged Progress World Champion Pete Dunne in a three-way match involving Mark Haskins but neither Andrews nor Haskins succeed in winning the title. During Chapter 49, Andrews competed in the 2017 Super Strong Style 16 Tournament where he was eliminated in the first round by Flamita. By September 22 at Chapter 55, Andrews won a Eight-Way Scramble match to become the new Number One Contender PROGRESS World Title. On November 21 at Chapter 57, Andrews challenged Tyler Bates for the World Championship but did not succeed in winning the title.
On February 25, 2018, Andrews entered an Eight-Man Thunderbastard match to determine the new number one contender for the World Championship but lost to Morgan Webster. At Chapter 68, Andrews joined the 2018 Super Strong Style 16 Tournament where he was eliminated in the first round by Angelico.
===Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2014–2017)===
Andrews competed in a dark match against DJ Z in a losing effort on September 7, 2014 during a Impact Wrestling taping from Fayetteville, North Carolina. In October 2014 Andrews participated in TNA's British Boot Camp. After making it into the finals of the competition and ultimately winning, he earned himself a TNA contract.
Andrews made his Impact Wrestling television debut on the January 23, 2015 episode during a brawl that involved Ethan Carter III and Jeremy Borash, where he jumped from the crowd to help Jeremy and Rockstar Spud push away Ethan and his bodyguard Tyrus. Andrews made his in-ring debut a week later under his Mandrews nickname, teaming up with Spud to defeat The BroMans (Robbie E & Jessie Godderz). He continued to aid Rockstar Spud and Jeremy Borash in their feud with Ethan Carter III and Tyrus, which included Spud and Mandrews losing a Six Sides of Steel Two On One Handicap match to Tyrus at Lockdown 2015.
Mandrews was included as a participant in the TNA World Title Series as a member of "Group X Division." However he was unable to win any of the matches he took part in against the other members, receiving zero points and not advancing in the tournament as a result.
In early 2016, Andrews was part of TNA's Maximum Impact tour of the UK. He was called out by Mike Bennett during the February 16 Manchester show and took exception to Bennett's patronizing praise, subsequently losing a match to him. During 2016, he participated at many X Division match, in a losing effort.
On the October 6 episode of Impact Wrestling, Mandrews took part in a new TNA concept called Team X Gold, teaming with Braxton Sutter and DJZ, with the team known as "Go for Broke." They would defeat The Helms Dynasty and Marshe Rockett. On the November 24 episode of Impact Wrestling, the team defeated The Helms Dynasty and Marshe Rockett and Rockstar Spud and Decay in a three-way tag team elimination match for number one contendership for the TNA X Division Championship.
On the December 1 episode of Impact Wrestling, Mandrews, DJZ and Braxton Sutter faced each other for the X Division Championship, where Mandrews was close to winning after hitting the shooting star press, when DJZ was able to get the pin on Mandrews to retain his championship. When both Mandrews and Sutter helped an injured DJZ, Mandrews attacked DJZ while yelling at Sutter, thus beginning Mandrews' first heel run in the company.
On January 5, 2017, it was reported that Mandrews' TNA contract had expired at the end of 2016 and that he had left the company. Mandrews had his final match in TNA on the December 8 edition of Impact Wrestling defeating Aiden O'Shea.
=== Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (2015–2016) ===
On August 28, 2015 Andrews made his debut for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) by entering the 2015 Battle of Los Angeles tournament, losing to Will Ospreay in his first round match. At December's All Star Weekend 11, he lost to Chuck Taylor on Night 1 and to Ricochet on Night 2. After losing to Roderick Strong at All Star Weekend 12 Night 1 in March 2016, Andrews scored his first PWG victory by beating Player Uno on Night 2. At Prince on May 20, Andrews lost to Marty Scurll. At the 2016 Battle of Los Angeles, Andrews beat Pete Dunne in the first round and Chris Hero in the quarter-finals but lost to Trevor Lee in the semi-finals.
=== World Wrestling Entertainment ===
==== United Kingdom Championship Tournament (2017) ====
On January 5, 2017, Andrews was announced as part of the WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament. Andrews defeated Dan Moloney in the first round, advancing to the quarter finals. The second night of the tournament, Andrews defeated Joseph Conners, advancing to the semi-finals where he was eliminated by Pete Dunne.
During the course of 2017, Andrews received further opportunities to challenge for the UK Championship including a title match on May 7 during the United Kingdom Championship Special, where he was defeated by the defending champion Tyler Bate. By June 2017, the title changed hands and Andrews challenged the reigning Pete Dunne on June 8, but was again defeated. He met Dunne in a rematch on June 10, during the second night of the 2017 NXT At Download, where he again was defeated by Dunne. His final title match of 2017 was on November 5, where he was once more unsuccessful in winning the UK title from Dunne.
==== 205 Live & NXT (2017-2020) ====
Andrews went on to make his 205 Live debut on November 7, teaming with American wrestler Cedric Alexander in a tag match, defeating James Drake & Joseph Conners. When NXT returned to the United States on November 16 in Cedar Park, Texas, Andrews and Wolfgang defeated Riddick Moss & Tino Sabbatelli in a tag match. He made his SmackDown debut on November 21 in a dark match teaming with former UK Champion Pete Dunne in defeating Trent Seven & Tyler Bate.
In February 2018, between bookings in the UK, Andrews returned to 205 Live, on February 13, to join the WWE Cruiserweight Championship Tournament, during which he eliminated Akira Tozawa in the First Round. He returned the following month for the March 6th edition of 205 Live where he competed in a Cruiserweight Title tournament quarter final match but was eliminated by Drew Gulak. For the remainder of the month, Andrews appeared on NXT, wrestling against Buddy Murphy, Ricochet and Tony Nese in singles matches. He also wrestled in a small number of tag matches teaming with Raul Mendoza, Christopher Dijak and Kassius Ohno on different occasions against teams including TM-61, Dan Matha & Kona Reeves.
During April, Andrews took part in the second night of the WrestleMania Axxess event beginning on April 6, where he competed in the United Kingdom Title Invitational, advancing in the first round after eliminating Zack Gibson. On the third day of WrestleMania Axxess held at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, Andrews wrestled in the semi final of the 2018 UK Championship Invitational but was eliminated by Drew Gulak. On April 9 while still in New Orleans, Andrews made his WWE Main Event debut at the Smoothie King Center, in a match defeating Tony Nese. On the April 10th edition of 205 Live he lost to Drew Gulak in a rematch. Returning the next month on May 9 during a Live house show in the UK, Andrews scored a victory over James Drake. Four days later, Andrews challenged for the United Kingdom Championship but did not succeed in winning the title from the defending champion Pete Dunne. During the May 15 and May 16 Live house shows, Andrews teamed with Tyler Bate & Wolfgang in two consecutive tag matches against teams including Dan Moloney, James Drake & Sam Gradwell and Joseph Conners, Saxon Huxley & Tyson T-Bone.
==== NXT UK (2020-2022) ====
==Defend Indy Wrestling==
Andrews is the co-founder of "Defend Indy Wrestling", a clothing brand for independent wrestling fans. Inspired by the "DEFEND Pop Punk" message propagated by American band Man Overboard, Andrews created the brand in 2011 with fellow British wrestlers Pete Dunne and Eddie Dennis, producing T-shirts, hoodies and other accessories.
==Personal life==
Outside of Professional Wrestling, Andrews plays in a pop-punk band called 'Junior' where he is a vocalist and bassist. After studying GCSEs and A Levels at Cardiff High School, Andrews attended the University of Glamorgan.
==In wrestling==
*Finishing moves
**Fall to Pieces (Shooting Star Press)
**Slam to Win (Full nelson slam)
**True Force (Package piledriver)
**Vertebreaker
**Yellow Spot (Swinging reverse STO)
*Signature moves
**Belly-to-belly suplex
**Crucifix Driver
**Double underhook DDT
**Enzuigiri
**Hesitation Dropkick (w/ charging bull taunt/windup)
**Imploding 450° splash
**Standing Moonsault
**Multiple powerbomb variations
***Corner sitout
***Crucifix
***Elevated
***Spin-out
***Thunder Fire
**Over the shoulder back-to-belly piledriver
**Pumphandle neckbreaker
**Samoan drop
**Sharpshooter
**STO backbreaker
**Stundog Millionaire (High Speed stunner, usually as a counter)
*Wrestlers managed
**Rockstar Spud
*Tag teams and stables
**FSU with Eddie Dennis (as Mark Andrews)
**Flips & Forearms with Pete Dunne (as Mark Andrews)
**Smash Hits with Frantic (as Lightning Kid)
**Team UK with Pete Dunne (as Mark Andrews)
**Thunder & Lightning with Tommy Dean (as Lightning Kid)
**Subculture
*Nicknames
**"Lightning Kid"
**"Mighty Morphin'"
**"White Lighting"
**"Pikachu"
**"Mandrews" (As bestowed upon him by TNA's Announcers Josh Matthews and Taz)
**"Draco Malfoy"
==Championships and accomplishments==
*ATTACK! Pro Wrestling
**ATTACK! 24:7 Championship (5 times)
**ATTACK! Tag Team Championship (1 time) with Nixon Newell
*Celtic Wrestling
**CW Tag Team Championship (1 time) with Tommy Dean
*Combat Sports Federation
**CSF All-Nations Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
*Dragon Pro Wrestling
**All Wales Championship (1 time)
*Fight! Nation Wrestling
**FNW British Championship (1 time)
*Impact Wrestling
**Impact World Tag Team Championship (1 time) with Flash Morgan Webster
*PROGRESS Wrestling
**PROGRESS World Championship (1 time)
**PROGRESS Tag Team Championship (1 time) with Eddie Dennis
**BWC Scarlo Scholarship Championship (1 time)
*Revolution Pro Wrestling
**RevPro Undisputed British Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Flash Morgan Webster
*Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
**Winner of TNA's British Boot Camp 2 (2014)
*NXT UK
**WWE United Kingdom Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Morgan Webster
==External links==
* Profile
* Profile
* Facebook
* Twitter page
Category:1992 births
Category:2006 debuts
Category:Welsh wrestlers
Category:4 Front Wrestling alumni
Category:AAW Wrestling alumni
Category:Absolute Intense Wrestling alumni
Category:Alternative Wrestling World alumni
Category:AMP Wrestling alumni
Category:British Allstar Wrestling Alliance alumni
Category:British Championship Wrestling alumni
Category:Catch Wrestling Norddeutschland alumni
Category:Celtic Wrestling alumni
Category:Chikara Pro Wrestling alumni
Category:Combat Sports Federation alumni
Category:Do Or Die Wrestling alumni
Category:DREAMWAVE Wrestling alumni
Category:Fight Club: PRO alumni
Category:German Wrestling Promotion alumni
Category:Great Bear Promotions alumni
Category:HXC Wrestling alumni
Category:Insane Championship Wrestling alumni
Category:New Wrestling Entertainment alumni
Category:NWA Wales alumni
Category:Premier British Wrestling alumni
Category:PRIME Wrestling alumni
Category:Pro Evolution Wrestling alumni
Category:Progress Wrestling alumni
Category:Pro Wrestling Chaos alumni
Category:Pro Wrestling eXpress alumni
Category:Pro Wrestling Kingdom alumni
Category:Revolution Pro Wrestling alumni
Category:Saint Louis Anarchy alumni
Category:Southside Wrestling Entertainment alumni
Category:Super Wrestling Alliance alumni
Category:Tidal Championship Wrestling alumni
Category:Triple X Wrestling alumni
Category:Union Of European Wrestling Alliances alumni
Category:Welsh Wrestling alumni
Category:Westside Xtreme Wrestling alumni
Category:Wrestle Midlands alumni
Category:Wrestling Is Cool alumni
Category:Total Nonstop Action Wrestling alumni
Category:Living people
Category:Male wrestlers
Category:World Wrestling Entertainment alumni
Category:WWE 205 Live Alumni
Category:WWE NXT UK alumni
Category:WWE United Kingdom Tag Team Champions
Category:TNA World Tag Team Champions