Aiden English

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Matthew Rehwoldt (born October 7, 1987) is an American professional wrestler, signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Aiden English.

## Early Life

Rehwoldt was born in Chicago, Illinois, where he developed an interest in acting at an early age. By the age of 20, he had appeared in over 20 stage productions. After graduating from Lyons Township High School, he studied acting (with a focus on stage combat) at Columbia College Chicago, along with fellow wrestler, Becky Lynch, graduating in 2010 with a Bachelor of Arts.

## Professional Wrestling Career

### **Independent Circuit (2011-2012)**

After graduating from college, Rehwoldt trained as a professional wrestler. He debuted on the Illinois independent circuit in late-2011 under the ring name "Matt Marquee". He wrestled for promotions such as Chicago Style Wrestling, where he formed a tag team named "The Ryte Stuff" with Barry Ryte.

### **WWE**

#### **Developmental Territories**

Rehwoldt signed a contract with WWE in early 2012, and was assigned to its developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), where he began using the ring name "Aiden English". He made his televised debut on the April 8, 2012 episode of FCW television, teaming with Audrey Marie in an intergender tag team match against Rick Victor and Paige.

After WWE rebranded FCW as NXT in 2012, English's television debut took place on the June 27 episode of the rebooted *NXT* taped at Full Sail University, losing to Leo Kruger. English was used primarily as a jobber throughout the rest of the year, losing to wrestlers including Bray Wyatt, Ryback, and Big E Langston. He scored his first televised win on the September 18, 2013 episode of *NXT*, defeating Michael Q. Laurie.

A week later, on the September 25 episode of NXT, English sang a parody version of the "Major-General's Song" from the musical The Pirates of Penzance while approaching the ring. He subsequently began singing before, during and after his matches. Throughout the year, English scored wins over Jason Jordan and Camacho. In the beginning of 2014, English began a feud with Colin Cassady, losing to him on the January 1 episode of *NXT* in a sing-off but defeating him in several matches.

#### **The Vaudevillians (2014-2017)**

In June 2014, English formed a tag team with Simon Gotch, known as The Vaudevillains.[21] At NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn, the Vaudevillains defeated Blake and Murphy to win the NXT Tag Team Championship. On the November 11 episode of *NXT*, the Vaudevillains lost the title to Dash and Dawson, ending their reign at 61 days. On the November 25 episode of *NXT*, the Vaudevillains faced Dash and Dawson in a rematch for the title in a losing effort. On the December 23 episode of *NXT*, the Vaudevillains competed in a four-way tag team match against Blake and Murphy, The Hype Bros and Chad Gable and Jason Jordan, won by Gable and Jordan. On the March 16, 2016 episode of *NXT*, the Vaudevillains were defeated by Gable and Jordan, now known as American Alpha, in a #1 contenders match for the NXT Tag Team Championship.

On the April 7, 2016 episode of *SmackDown*, the Vaudevillains made their main roster debut as heels, defeating The Lucha Dragons. On the April 11 episode of *Raw*, the Vaudevillains were announced as one of the teams to participate in the #1 contenders tournament for the WWE Tag Team Championship, where they defeated Goldust and Fandango in the first round later that week on *SmackDown* and The Usos on the April 18 episode of *Raw* in the semi-finals. At Payback, the Vaudevillains faced Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady in the finals of the tournament. The match resulted in a no-contest due to a legit concussion by Amore, and the Vaudevillains were declared number one contenders. At Extreme Rules, the Vaudevillains received their shot at the titles against The New Day in a losing effort. At Money in the Bank, The Vaudevillians competed in a Fatal 4-way tag team match also involving Enzo and Cass and Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson for the titles in a losing effort.

On July 19 at the 2016 WWE draft, the Vaudevillians were drafted to *SmackDown* in the tenth round of picks. In August, a tag team tournament for the newly created WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship was set up by *SmackDown* general manager Daniel Bryan and *SmackDown* commissioner Shane McMahon, where the winners of the tournament would be crowned the inaugural champions. On the August 30 episode of *SmackDown*, the Vaudevillians would compete in the first round match of the tournament, where they were defeated by The Hype Bros. On the November 8 episode of *SmackDown*, the Vaudevillians were defeated by Breezango (Tyler Breeze and Fandango) in a qualifying match for a spot in Team SmackDown at Survivor Series.

On the January 31, 2017 episode of *SmackDown*, the Vaudevillains, along with five other teams, answered an open challenge set by American Alpha, where a brawl between all six teams ensued before being broken up by referees and officials. At Elimination Chamber, the Vaudevillains competed in a tag team turmoil match for the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship, where they were eliminated by Heath Slater and Rhyno. At WrestleMania 33, English competed in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, which was won by Mojo Rawley. On April 5, 2017, English's partner Simon Gotch was released from WWE.

#### **Rusev Day (2017-present)**

In April 2017, The Vaudevillains were disbanded upon Gotch being released by WWE, with English returning to singing prior to his matches. On the April 11 episode of *SmackDown Live*, English was defeated by Tye Dillinger, and again in a rematch on the May 2 episode. On the Backlash kickoff show, English faced Dillinger once again in a losing effort. On the Battleground kickoff show, English defeated Dillinger. On the August 1 episode of *SmackDown Live*, English scored a victory over Sami Zayn, defeating him again on the August 29 episode with Kevin Owens as guest referee and another time on the September 5 espisode.

English allied with Rusev during a rivalry Rusev had been having with Randy Orton. After losing to Orton at SummerSlam, Rusev issued a rematch to Orton following a match with English, which Orton had won. English distracted Orton and allowed Rusev to pick up the victory in nine seconds. The next week, the mayor of Rusev's Bulgarian hometown appeared to declare September 26 Rusev Day, holding a ceremony to present Rusev with the keys to the city. English sang a special song for Rusev commemorating the occasion before Orton attacked him, partially because it was sung to the tune of Orton's ring entry music, "Voices". English began managing Rusev in his matches, and later began teaming with him in tag team matches. English and Rusev started to work as a team and were always seen with each other. On the December 5 episode of *SmackDown Live*, the two picked up a win against The New Day and were later inserted into a fatal four-way tag team match for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship at Clash of Champions. The next week, they defeated the SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos in a non-title match, but failed to capture the titles at the event. The duo continued to gain popularity and momentum as the crowd continued to rally behind them, allowing them another opportunity at number one contendership to the tag titles in a triple threat tag team match on the December 26 edition of *SmackDown Live* against Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin and The New Day in a losing effort.

English entered the 2018 Royal Rumble match at number 22, but failed to win after being eliminated by Finn Bálor. At WrestleMania 34, English took part in the fifth annual André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal on the pre-show, but was the first man eliminated. A few hours later, during Rusev's entrance, English appeared with a freshly shaved head.

## Personal Life

In December 2014, Rehwoldt became engaged to former professional wrestler Shaul Guerrero, the daughter of Vickie Guerrero and the late Eddie Guerrero. They were married on January 3, 2016, in Florida, making Rehwoldt Eddie Guerrero's son-in-law and part of the Guerrero family.

## Other Media

### **Video Games**

Aiden English appeared in WWE 2K16 and WWE 2K17 as a member of *The Vaudevillians* with Simon Gotch. He also appears in WWE 2K18 as a singles competitor for the SmackDown Live roster.

## Championships & accomplishments

* Pro Wrestling Illustrated
	+ PWI ranked him #**171** of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2016
* WWE
	+ WWE Tag Team Championship #1 Contender Tournament (2016) - With Simon Gotch
* WWE NXT
	+ NXT Tag Team Championship (1 time) - With Simon Gotchu