Tre Mercer

**Trevon Raymond Mercer, Sr.** (born August 9, 1991) better known by his ring name **Tre Mercer**, is an African-American professional wrestler, former collegiate amateur wrestler and former professional powerlifter currently signed to Supremacy World Wrestling (SWW) as well as Xcalibur Pro Wrestling where he is the current XPW World Heavyweight Champion in his first reign and WarZone Wrestling (WZW) where he is the longest-reigning WZW Valhalla Champion (formerly known as WZW National Champion) at 825 days. He is also currently the Zipangu World Heavyweight Champion.

He is the co-founder of the professional wrestling faction **The Resistance** with long-time tag partner Sebastian Lopez. Amid their several tag title reigns on the independent circuit, Mercer and Lopez are the current Epic Mayhem Wrestling (EMW) World Tag Team Champions as well as the inaugural DragonForce Wrestling (DFW) Tag Team Champions, one-time Legacy World Wrestling Tag Team Champions and the longest-reigning NXL Tag Team Champions.

## **Early life**

Mercer was born and raised in Peoria, Illinois to a father of Jamaican descent, who worked as an industrial factory worker and independent wrestler, and a mother of Jamaican, Creole and French descent, who worked as a nurse. Mercer says that his love of professional wrestling stems from the times his father would take him and his siblings to local Illinois wrestling shows that his father wrestled in. In an interview with CAW Observer, Mercer said that watching his father wrestle growing up was what drove Tre to want to excel at athletics and competition. In his youth, Mercer also worked in the Peoria Rivermen stadium as a maintenance worker and concession manager.

## **Amateur early college sports career & powerlifting career**

Mercer attended Richwoods High School, where he competed in football and amateur wrestling. He received accolades in both sports before receiving an academic scholarship to University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign for wrestling & football. He enrolled in 2009, majoring in communications and once said he had aspirations to go to law school. During his time at University of Illinois, he participated in collegiate wrestling for the Fighting Illini. As a wrestler, Mercer was a three-time National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) All-American and received the NCAA Championship and Big Ten Championships in the same year (2012) for amateur wrestling. Favoring a Greco-Roman wrestling style, he achieved an overall college career record of 101-10, including a perfect 30–0 record his senior year ranking him number one in the United States. As a football player, Mercer played defensive tackle and in 2012, he finished fifth in the Heisman voting as a senior in college.

In addition to football and amateur wrestling, Mercer began his amateur powerlifting career at age 10 by competing in young adult powerlifting competitions nationwide. In early 2006, he received the “American Muscle” moniker after placing first in the rookie's division of an international competition. He became the youngest rookie at his gym to beat the 1,500lb challenge (6 maxed out lifts combined to equal 1500lb) with a final combined weight of 1825 lbs. at age 15. Mercer later surpassed that feat by completing the "One Ton" Challenge with a final combined weight of 2580 across three lifts in 2010 in his final competition before retiring to attend to leave for college.

## **Professional wrestling career**

### **Early career/Tommy Knockout's Wrestling Academy (2014 - 2016)**

#### **Injuries & Training Days**

Upon graduating, Mercer started working for the University of Illinois as an assistant wrestling coach while also employed a factory job. Then in early 2014, he saw a flyer for tryouts for a professional wrestling show touring the Midwest. Once he turned up at the training facility (a warehouse by festival grounds), he says he became infatuated with the environment of professional wrestling. Upon deciding to pursue the career full-time at age 22, Mercer officially moved to London, England, training in catch wrestling under retired professional wrestlers and co-owners Tommy Knight and King Russell at the Tommy Knockout's Wrestling Academy. Mercer has said in interviews that his early training days as a collegiate wrestler made the transition to professional wrestling easier. In September 2014, Mercer suffered simultaneous meniscus, MCL and ACL tears in his right knee as a result of a car collision, requiring Mercer to have surgery and rehab his injuries away the ring for at least 16 months. Mercer made his official in-ring return on February 2014, defeating Walter Thomas. Mercer would later travel one-and-off to Japan for matches and received further training in the Ōdō ("King's Road") style of under veteran professional wrestler Murda Mirai.

### **Elite Pro Wrestling (2019 - 2022)**

On August 31, 2019, it was announced that both Mercer and Walker, representing The Resistance, had signed contracts with Elite Pro Wrestling. This would mark Mercer's debut to the company and Walker's return. On September 4, 2019, Mercer made his in-ring debut in a winning effort against Wade Franklin. Two weeks later, The Resistance would win in their tag team debut against The Jungle Savages (Devon Ace and Zack Taylor). This victory would lead to a tag team championship opportunity against then-reigning champions Red Dragon Yakuza (Jay Omega and Maniac Martin) the following week on the season finale of Elite Pro. The Resistance would go on to win the match via countout, meaning the championships did not change hands due to championship advantage.

#### **Tag Team Invitational**

On November 10 just before the season premiere, it was announced that the Elite Pro Tag Team Championships were vacated after Maniac Martin was injured during a house show match against the Jungle Savages. Two days later, it was revealed that the new champions would be crowned in a fatal 4-way tag team elimination match titled the Elite Pro Tag Team Championship Invitational. On November 28, The Resistance competed in a triple threat tag team match to qualify for the Elite Pro Tag Team Championship Invitational Match against the Secret Glitches (Austin Rage and Lance Graves) and the Corre (Leo Punk and Jacob Cass). This match was won by the Corre and was critically acclaimed, being nominated for Match of the Year that year. Three days later, The Resistance would win in a "last chance" qualifying match against Secret Glitches to become the final team inserted in this match.

The four teams in the match were the Resistance, The Corre, The Fallen (Ray Jones and Reks Young) and The Generation (F-Zero and "Ultra Fly" Mike Lewis). The rules of the match were tornado tag elimination with no disqualification and falls count anywhere. It was later revealed that the Elite Pro Tag Team Championship Invitational Match would be the main event of the December 4th episode of High Voltage. The Resistance (represented with Mercer as the last man standing) would win the match to become the new Elite Pro Tag Team Champions. The Resistance would retain the tag championships past three more successful defenses before losing them to The Empire. Mercer & Walker would receive more tag team success until Walker was injured by William Jackson in a backstage segment.

#### **Drafted to Outrage/Championship reigns & Heel turn**

Just ahead of the PPV EliteKingdom (the last joint PPV show before the 2020 draft), Tre Mercer began competing on the Future Rush brand as a singles competitor, essentially disbanding the Resistance for the first time but remained in the faction's gear for much of 2019 and early 2020. On Future Rush, Mercer continued racking up weekly wins including a submission victory over Mike Storm. On the go-home show, Amir Bates, a competitor in the Elimination Chamber for the Elite Pro Impact Championship, was found injured backstage and management announced that Mercer would be receiving his spot in the chamber match. In the match which also contained Troy R. Young, Tyler Graves, Aaron Riot, FOF Gates and then-champion "Ultra Fly" Mike Lewis, Mercer entered third into the match and walked out of the chamber as the new Elite Pro Impact Champion, responsible for the final 3 eliminations. Mercer was then subsequently drafted in the second round (5th pick overall) to the Outrage brand.

After winning the championship, Mercer became the target for several attacks post-match from a hooded figure. Mercer later unmasked the attacker as Amir Bates, angered that not only Mercer took his spot in the chamber match but that Mercer also was the one responsible for the attack, turning Mercer heel for the first time in Elite Pro. Mercer admitted to the attack and the two men fought in a no disqualification 2 out of 3 falls match at the following PPV where Mercer lost the Elite Pro Impact Championship to Amir Bates after a distraction from Ray Lethal, one of Amir Bates' Fathers of Fear faction members, with the final score being 2-0. Mercer would still gonna on receive singles success including a PPV victory over the debuting Austin Blade in a steel cage 2 out of 3 falls match with the final score being 2-0.

In August, a battle royal was held to determine the number 1 contender for Mike Storm's Elite Pro World Heavyweight Championship, where Mike Storm was on commentary for the match. Mercer eventually won the battle royal, last eliminating Mason Meltzer to become the new number 1 contender. In the weeks leading up to the event Summer Mayhem, Mercer and Storm did several video packages describing their journeys together and how they would show the world what they both were capable of. In the main event of Summer Mayhem, Mercer was able to defeat Mike Storm in a no disqualification 2 out of 3 falls match to become the new Elite Pro World Heavyweight Champion with the final score being 2-1.

During the post-Summer Mayhem episode of Blackout, Tre Mercer was attacked by Elijah Andrews. It was previously reported by Mason Meltzer Reviews that Andrews slated as number one contender for the Elite Pro World Heavyweight Championship, but was replaced with Mercer after reportedly no-showing several live events. This became part of an angle for Andrews' character development and subsequently was carried over into their feud. Mercer and Andrews began attacking each other after their matches on Blackout. Their feud would ultimately culminate on October 3 at Shadows of the Fallen in a no disqualification 2 out of 3 falls match for the Elite Pro World Heavyweight Championship. In the main event, Mercer defeated Andrews to retain the Elite Pro World Heavyweight Championship with the final score being 2-1.

On November 10, it was revealed in a backstage report that Mercer's tag partner Sebastian Walker was traded to Outrage, reforming the original Resistance tag team for the second time in Elite Pro. On November 18, then-Elite Pro World Tag Team Champions Control Freaks (Thomas Jordyn & Simon Wylson) issued an open challenge for their championships in the main event of that week's Outrage, which was answered by The Resistance. Teaming for the first time since being drafted apart, The Resistance would defeat Control Freaks to capture the Elite Pro World Tag Team Championships for the second time in their careers. This title win made Mercer the first-ever dual champion to hold the world heavyweight and one of the tag team championships in Elite Pro history. After the match, The Resistance would briefly show Control Freaks respect before attacking Jordyn, turning heel for the first time as a tag team in Elite Pro.

It was announced that at the December PPV Future Glory, Mercer would compete twice during the event, defending the Elite Pro World Tag Team Championships against the winners of the 2020 Aaron Bourne Tag Team Classic Storm Pegasus (Mike Storm & Zack Tyson) and his Elite Pro World Heavyweight Championship against previous champion Mike Storm, marking the first time that two competitors have competed against the same opponent for two championships on the same night. It was also announced that Mercer and Storm's Elite Pro World Heavyweight Championship match would be contested under iron man rules. Af Future Glory, Mercer would prove successful in both of his title defenses, opening the night with the tag team championship defense and the world heavyweight championship in the main event with a final score of 4-3.

At the PPV Fate of Thunder, Mercer would go on to defeat Nathan Porter, retaining the World Heavyweight Championship in dominant fashion. As of March 2021, Elite Pro Wrestling have shut their doors, leaving Mercer as the final Elite Pro World Heavyweight Champion and one half of the World Tag Team Champions.

### **Legacy World Wrestling (2019 - Present)**

#### **Debut & First Tag Team Championships**

On January 25, 2019, The Resistance (represented by Mercer and Walker) made their official debut at Kingdom Come, representing Team Uprising in a winning effort against then-tag team champions Lion's Guild. After racking up several victories on Uprising, The Resistance were called up to the Outbreak Roster and officially challenged Lion's Guild for the Legacy World Tag Team Championships on Road to AfterDARK. At the event, Mercer would go on a tear that would allow the Resistance to pick up the victory and become Legacy World Tag Team Champions for the first time in their careers. The following night, The Resistance would retain in a rematch with Lion's Guild per their rematch clause.

Subsequently, then-Legacy 3 Point World Champion ZZ West had laid out an open challenge for an opponent at Legacy AfterDARK. After a long-winded promo from West, Mercer was revealed to be the man answering the open challenge. Building up to the match, Mercer began to enter more singles competition while still holding the tag championships, picking up victories thanks to his single leg dropkick finisher called the *Mercy Kill*, including a variant where his opponent would be draping over the bottom rope for more impact called *No Mercy Left.* West vowed that Mercer would never hit the move on West and this began backstage segments where Mercer would tease the *Mercy Kill*. At Legacy AfterDARK, Mercer challenged West for the Legacy 3 Point World Championship in a losing effort. In the match, Mercer was able to hit the *No Mercy Left* dropkick and (in kayfabe) gashed ZZ West's skull and busted him open; however, West would pick up the victory after a shielded low blow to Mercer, marking Mercer's first televised loss. Later on in the event, Mercer would compete in the AfterDARK Rumble, entering at number 8 and eliminating 3 people before being eliminated by Tommy Jordan Jr.

#### **Rivalry with NSM**

Leading up to Legacy VI, The Resistance remained undefeated in tag competition with 5 successful defenses. On March 14th, it was announced by commissioner Eddie Vengeance that the Legacy World Tag Team Championships would be unified with the Legacy Uprising Tag Team Championships at Legacy VI in a tag team gauntlet match. The Resistance and fellow champions NSM wrestled on Road to Legacy VI to decide which champions would enter first overall. The Resistance would lose this match to NSM via referee distraction, allowing NSM to enter the gauntlet match and forcing Mercer and Walker to start the match. On April 3rd at Legacy VI, The Resistance would make it to the final two after eliminating The Corre (Jacob Helms & Leo Punk) and DWA (Austin Andrews & Dylan Travis) to face NSM in the finals for the Unified Tag Championships. In the match, The Resistance were staggered from the earlier matches but regained momentum. At the close of the match, the leader of NSM, Psychotico revealed himself for the first time and assaulted Mercer while the referee was distracted, allowing Jayson Flores and El Fantismo to hit Walker with their tag finisher to defeat the Resistance to become the Unified Tag Team Champions.

#### **Hiatus**

The Resistance were reportedly set to feud with NSM over the Unified Tag Team Championships. There were rumors that there were contract disputes between Mercer, Walker and Legacy Wrestling Entertainment; however, these rumors were revealed to be exaggerated in nature. Unfortunately, a knee injury for Mercer and a third concussion offense for Walker meant The Resistance would be sidelined from active competition for the next 5-7 months.

#### **Return at Supercard LA & Single Title Pursuits**

At Supercard LA, Mercer and Walker made their official return to Legacy World Wrestling, making the save as faction member Cody Hagen was being attacked after his match challenging for the Legacy World Heavyweight Championship against champion Seth Schmidt. During a post-show press conference, Mercer revealed that he and Walker would be entering singles competition and challenging for both world championships: Walker enters the 8-man tournament to crown the vacant Legacy 3 Point World Championship while Mercer would serve as Schmidt's next challenger at the following PPV, No Surrender. The following Legacy Dark, Mercer made his in-ring return, successfully defeating Zackery Sparks. On September 16, Mercer would challenge for the Legacy World Heavyweight Championship in a losing effort, succumbing to an illegal eye poke and hitting the TKO.

On November 26, Legacy officials announced that the 2021 edition of the LX1 Tournament would begin in January of 2021. Mercer was selected to compete in the tournament series for the first time where he would participate in the "Champions" Block. On Night 2 of the 2021 LX1 Series, Mercer would defeat stablemate Cody Hagen in the first round and would lose in the second round to Dan Green after being attacked by members of NSM, reigniting their rivalry from last year. However, on December 14, Mercer let his contract expire and was released from Legacy World Wrestling, citing "creative differences".

### **Dynasty (2019 - Present)**

#### **Collision & Early Days**

On March 14, Dynasty held a live event show and press conference where it showcased some their upcoming talent and made its official announcement of its first shows leading up to their first PPV Collision. During the press conference, it was revealed that the main event of the PPV would be a tag team match between The Russell Bros. (Chris Russell & KCR) and The Resistance (Sebastian Walker & Tre Mercer) in their first time ever competing against each other on TV. In the match, The Resistance would prove successful and defeat the Russell Bros.

On the first episode of Decked Out, Dynasty's flagship show, Mercer competed in singles competition against the debuting Rob Cayman in a losing effort. After the match, Mercer shook hands with Cayman, establishing him and Walker as faces within the company. On the third episode, The Resistance were announced to be apart of the qualifying tournament to be in a triple threat tag team match to crown the inaugural Dynasty Duos Champions. On the fourth episode, The Resistance competed against Control Freaks (Simon Wylson & Thomas Jordyn) for the third and final spot in the match. During the close of the match, Mercer was attacked by the debuting Collin Torres from the crowd. Walker was left alone and Controls Freaks were able to capitalize to pick up the victory to advance. After the match, it was revealed on the Dynasty website that Mercer was ruled not fit to compete as a result of the attack.

### **NXL (2019 - Present)**

#### **Debut**

On December 20, 2019, it was announced that The Resistance (represented by Mercer and Walker) had officially signed contracts to GSF to appear on the developmental brand NXL. On January 17, 2020, the Resistance made their in-ring debut against Bentley Brown & David Hammerstone, handing them a sound defeat. Two weeks later, the Resistance cut a promo asking if NXL had any new challengers to bolster the tag division. Answering the call was The Corre (Jacob Helms & Tyler Graves). old rivals of the Resistance and an impromptu match ensued where The Corre picked up the victory via distraction from The Bad Boys (Brayden King & Dan Green) and The Renegades (Arthur Bourne & Mason Travis).

#### **Heel turn & Tag Team Champions**

On February 13, it was announced that the newly revealed NXL Tag Team Championships would be unveiled and crowned at NXL Breakout: Los Angeles. To decide the final contenders for the championships, NXL hosted a tag team tournament on live NXL TV. The Resistance entered the tournament at the number 8 seed and would advance to the finals, defeating The Bad Boys in the first round and The Brit and The Brogue (Adam Baker & Joe Crimson) in the second round. At NXL Breakout: Los Angeles, The Resistance would challenge for the NXL Tag Team Championships in a losing effort against finalist Kaotic Speed (Nathan Daves & Kyle Jordan). The finish of the match was marred with controversy as the pin was counted improperly (Sebastian Walker's shoulders clearly got up before the three count, but the referee still counted the three count in favor of Kaotic Speed as the kickout was out of his vision).

The following night on NXL, NXL officials ruled the finish of the match inconclusive and that in two weeks time, there would be a rematch for the NXL Tag Team Championships. On April 1, 2020, The Resistance would challenge for the NXL Tag Team Championships in a losing effort. At the close of the match, Nathan Daves put his feet on the ropes during the pin, out of the referee's vision to retain the tag championships. After the match, Walker and Mercer attacked Kaotic Speed after the match, turning heel for the first time as a tag team. The Resistance began attacking Kaotic Speed backstage and interrupting their matches until they received another title shot for the NXL Tag Team Championships. Kaotic Speed accepted the challenge and the challenge was made official for the following network exclusive NXL Breakout: New Mexico. On May 29, Sebastian Walker (with Mercer in his corner) and Kyle Jordan (with Nathan Daves in his corner) competed in a match to determine the stipulation for their championship match. This match was won by Walker and the chosen match stipulation was a ladder match, the first championship ladder match in NXL's history. At NXL Breakout: New Mexico, The Resistance would defeat Kaotic Speed to capture the NXL Tag Team Championships for the first time in their careers. After a rematch with Kaotic Speed, The Resistance would have several successful defenses against the likes of The Toxic Gunners, Spot Monkeys, Charm City Kingz and The Bad Boys. At a special NXL event in Washington D.C., Mercer was victorious in a singles match against DCG Jr. At the NXL event We Have Green Thumbs taking place in London, England, The Resistance would ultimately lose their tag championships to Kaiju Squad (Troy Pierce and Donovan Russell), ending their reign at 657 days.

### **Warzone Wrestling (2020 - Present)**

#### **Debut & Trial of Talos**

On October 12, Mercer made his in-ring debut as a face during a battle royale to determine the inaugural King of the Warzone Champion, entering at number 16. Mercer would ultimately last until the final two, being eliminated by winner and inaugural champion Chris Russell, who also was debuting. On episode 10 of Asgard, Mercer competed against Russell for the King of the Warzone Championship in his first singles match and championship opportunity in WZW. Mercer would be unsuccessful in capturing the championship after a mid-match interference from Kill Society (JJ Ramirez & John Sinclair), whom Mercer and Russell had interactions with during the battle royale.

On January 30, WZW officials announced that a 16-man tournament would begin before the end of the year to determine a new number one contender for the WZW National Championship on the returning episode of Asgard. Current champion Krom The Machine made the announcement via social media that the tournament would be called The Trial of Talos. On February 11, Mercer was announced as one of the competitors for the tournament.

On Night 1 of the tournament, Mercer faced off with Nick Grise in the opening, where he defeated Grise hitting *The Inevitable* lariat finisher. On Night 3 of the tournament, Mercer faced off with Butter Slug in the quarterfinal round, where he defeated Butter Slug hitting the *Mercy Kill* and *The* *Inevitable* lariat. This match received high acclaim as a "match of the year contender" and featured a spot where Mercer performed a new move, the *Bowser Swing* on Slug for a consecutive 30 seconds of rotations. It was reported that Mercer suffered a knee injury during the match but would still be allowed to compete in the tournament

The next night before the tournament concluded, it was revealed that the final night of the tournament would host both the semi-finals and the finals of the tournament, meaning the competitors who made it to the semis (Mercer, Chris Milenko, Alex Haas and CraZyBoy) would be scheduled to compete twice in the same night, should they advance in the tournament. Hours before competing on Night 4, Mercer was attacked by Milenko, his scheduled opponent, damaging his left arm and shoulder to weaken him prior to the tournament. However, Mercer would still be allowed to compete in the tournament. On Night 4, Mercer faced off with Milenko where he pinned Milenko with a surprise small package rollup (Match #1). A frustrated Milenko would proceed to attack Mercer yet again with several chair shots before being escorted out of the arena by security. Despite doctor's orders, Mercer would still compete in the tournament finals against Alex Haas. In the end, Mercer would go on to defeat Alex Haas, hitting the *Cruel Sun* finisher to win and become the winner of the Trial of Talos tournament. This match received critical acclaim as a "match of the year contender" as well as receiving a 5-star review from Dapgur Reviews (Mercer's second five-star review overall). As Mercer celebrated the victory, champion Krom would come out and stare down Mercer to close the show.

#### **First singles championship reign & open challenge series**

    Leading up to the championship match, Mercer and Krom had been feuding over social media. Mercer would take shots at Krom's record of defending the National Championship (Krom had only one prior successful defense over Ray Lethal at the PPV Athena's Battlefield) while Krom had begun targeting Tre's family, making the feud more personal for Mercer. Krom stated that Mercer had never been able to win the big one, pointing out how Mercer hadn't been successful in prior championship opportunities. So Krom made the challenge to Mercer that if he wasn't successful in this outing, then he could not challenge for any championship in the Dynasty Network so long as Krom remained champion, which Mercer would accept saying that "if [he] couldn't beat an unfit champion, then [he] was unfit to be champion". In the main event of Asgard 11, Tre Mercer would break his losing streak in championship matches and defeat Krom the Machine to become the WZW National Champion for the first time in his career. This match received critical acclaim as a "match of the year contender" as well as receiving a 5-star review from Dapgur Reviews (Mercer's third five-star review overall).

As champion, Mercer would begin an world tour open challenge series, defending the WZW National Championship within the home promotion and foreign territories. As of March 21, 2022, Mercer has successfully defended the WZW National Championship against Travis Turner (Asgard 12), Robin Hesse (Asgard 13) and Carter Young (Midgard 1) of WZW; and against Manny Fuentes (Fire Presents: TIGR) and M.E.B (Fire Presents: Ring of 3Lions) in foreign territory Fire Wrestling.

### **British Monarch Wrestling (2021 - Present)**

#### Early Days

In June of 2021, it was announced that the promotion British Monarchy Wrestling would be making its official return to the industry, a move met with much acclaim. During the announcement, it was revealed that a tournament would be held to crown the inaugural British Commonwealth Championship. On June 25, the bracket was announced and it would be Tre Mercer competing against Scottish wrestler Nathan Daves in the opening round. On July 10, 2021, Daves would defeat Mercer via pinfall in the main event of Episode 1: The Return of a Monarchy.

### **Pro Wrestling Syndicate (2021 - 2022)**

#### War in Cincinnati

On August 1st, 2021, fledgling promotion Fortune Elite Network announced their first event War in Cincinnati, which would debut on the Pro Wrestling Syndicate. Among the first talent they announced as booked for the event was Tre Mercer. In an interview with Virtual Wrestling Observer, Mercer said that this match would be an official title defense for his WZW National Championship. His opponent was later revealed to be Josiah Mensa and the PPV date was set for September 9, 2021. On the night of the event, Mercer would defeat Mensa to retain the championship in a 25-minute match heralded by many as a breakout performance for both men. This match received critical acclaim as a "match of the year contender" as well as receiving a 5-star review from Dapgur Reviews (Mercer's fourth five-star review overall). In the end, Mensa and Mercer shook hands after the match and stood side-by-side, establishing their on-screen friendship.

#### **Debut on Xplosion and Winter Slam**

On February 23, it was announced that Tre Mercer would be making his debut on episode 3 of Xplosion against Cedric Young. Four days later, Mercer was successful in his debut, defeating Cedric Young with the Full Force Lariat. After the match, Mercer was interrupted by "The Afterthought" DH Young. DH began to ridicule Tre for struggling during his match with Cedric and stated that Mercer could never defeated the undefeated DH Young. DH then laid out the challenge to Mercer, which he accepted. The match was later announced to be the opening match on Night 1 of Winter Slam for the newly-introduced Affinity Xplosion Championship. Due to several storms in the location of the event (Vancouver), the event was indefinitely pushed back until May. On May 11, 2022, Tre Mercer would defeat DH Young to become the inaugural champion, earning him his first championship on the Pro Wrestling Syndicate.

#### **Renegade Title Status**

Upon the change of leadership behind the scenes with Affinity management, head of talent relations at the Pro Wrestling Syndicate "Matt Short" began a company-wide rebrand in order to usher in a new era with the federation. As a result, Mercer's newly-won Affinity Xplosion Championship would undergo a rebrand as well. Unfortunately, the new direction never manifested and soon after the company would close its doors indefinitely.

### **Supremacy World Wrestling (2022 - Present)**

#### **Debut and Championship Success**

On June 26, 2022, Mercer made his surprise debut on the 17th edition of Thursday Night Adrenaline against Garfield Wentworth in a winning effort, making Wentworth submit with *The Doomsday Lock.* Mercer would appear on the following episode, addressing the fans about him signing with the company, calling out the entire locker room and saying he would put everyone on notice soon enough.

On episode 19, SWW Starlight Champion Ragnarok would lay out his own challenge as he was without an opponent for the upcoming PPV *Into the Void.* Ragnarok then issued the challenge to Tre Mercer, but just as Mercer was about to accept, The Sunshine Kid would make his return and state that he should be given a title opportunity first. Ragnarok accepted both challenges and it was announced that the SWW Starlight Championship would be defended in a triple threat match for the first time ever between Mercer, Sunshine and champion Ragnarok at *SWW's Into the Void.* Towards the finish of the match, Sunshine hit Ragnarok with The Boogie Wonderland before being hit with The Almighty Push by Mercer, knocking his opponent out the ring. Tre Mercer would then successfully capture the Starlight Championship after hitting Ragnarok with *The Massacre* and pinning him for the victory.

In the weeks following, opponents for Mercer's Starlight Championship began to no-show schedule events. On episode 20, Mercer was attacked by The Sunshine Kid, resulting in Mercer being struck with a steel chair and his own championship. Sunshine grabbed the microphone and revealed that he was the reason for the missing opponents, eliminating any chance of Tre defending the championship officially. He would go to say that Tre couldn't call himself the "real Starlight Champion until [he beats him] one-on-one." The following day, Mercer accepted the challenge from Sunshine with the match being officially announced on episode 3 of SWW Blitz. At the live spectacular *SWW High Tides*, Mercer successfully defended the Starlight Championship, winning via pinfall after hitting The Sunshine Kid with *The Full Force Lariat*. He would go on to successfully defended the title against Thane Blackwood on Blitz 4 and Duncan Palmer during a dark match in South Carolina. On Blitz 4, Mercer would declare himself in the debuting Survivalist Coliseum, a 30-man over the top battle royale with the winner receiving a main event match for the SWW World Heavyweight Championship at the season one finale of SWW, Divinity. Tre would enter at #14 and scored two eliminations on Sylas Burch and The Sunshine Kid during the match before being attacked from behind with a steel chair by the Sunshine Kid and eliminated by Beauchamp.

## **Personal Life**

Mercer is of Jamaican descent on his father's side and Creole and Native American descent on his mother's side. In interviews, Mercer has described himself as "a first-generation American" and is the eldest of three children.

In June 2011, during the summer of Mercer's sophomore year, his father passed away from cardiac arrest at age 54. Mercer's father Dominic had previously wrestled on the independent scene as "Doc Mercier."

In April 2019, Mercer married fellow professional wrestler and model Miasa "Mia" Galati. Together, they have four children as of January 2023.

Mercer is an avid Louisiana State University college football fan and New Orleans Saints football fan. He is also a fan of anime, comic books and stand-up comedy.

## **In wrestling**

**Finishers**

* 36 Chambers (Scissored armbar crossface sometimes preceded by a Full Nelson bomb) - 2023 - present
* DEFCON 1 (Avalanche moonsault powerslam) - 2023 -present, rarely used
* *Doomsday Lock* (Standing inverted Texas cloverleaf submission) – 2020 - present
* *Full Force Lariat* (Hammerlock twisted into a short-arm lariat) - 2012 - present
* *The Massacre* (Muscle buster) – 2016 - present, occasionally used
* *Mercy Kill* (Running single leg dropkick) – 2016 - 2019
* *Orange Crush XL* (Double pumphandle vertical suplex powerbomb) *-* used only three times; 2019

**Signature Moves**

* *Almighty Push / Da Pounce / Shinra Tensei* (High-impact low-angle shoulder block, after whipping an opponent off of adjacent ropes)
* *Asura's Wrath* (Electric chair dropped into a bridging German suplex)
* *Beg for Mercy* (*Doctor Bomb* into a thigh–held Boston crab) *-* 2017 - 2021
* *Bowser Swing* (Giant swing) - 2016 - 2021
* Cannonball senton to an opponent seated in the corner
* Cartwheel wrestling takedown followed by a basement lariat to a seated opponent
* *Da Rockwilder* (O'Connor roll transitioned into a bridging German suplex)
* *Dead Weight/Dominator* (Inverted powerbomb)
* Diving moonsault
* Diving elbow drop
* Electric chair facebuster
* *Emerald Flowsion Kai* (Vertical suplex sitout side powerslam) - adopted from Tommy Knight
* European uppercut - adopted from Tommy Knight
* Fallaway package powerbomb
* Fallaway slam
* Forearm smash
* *FrankenMercer* (Leaping *Frankensteiner* to a standing opponent)
	+ *Avalanche FrankenMercer* (*Frankensteiner* to an opponent seated on the top turnbuckle)
	+ Inverted (Reverse franksteiner)
* *Go Home Driver* (Scoop lift spun out into an over the shoulder back-to-belly piledriver)
* Headlock lariat neckbreaker
* *Machine Gun Chops* (Knife-edge chops repeated in rapid succession) - adopted from Murda Mirai
* Missile dropkick
* Multiple suplex variations & combinations
	+ Dragon
	+ Exploder
	+ German
	+ Half & half
	+ Half Nelson
	+ *King's Road* (German suplex followed into a dragon suplex and finished with a straight jacket suplex) - adopted from King Russell
	+ Northern lights
	+ Pumphandle
	+ Sleeper
	+ Snap vertical
	+ Stalling vertical
	+ Straight jacket
	+ Teardrop
	+ Tiger
* *Perc30* (Suicide somersault senton to a standing opponent)
* Repeated side slam backbreakers
* Ripcord lariat
* *Sky High* (High-angle spinning spinebuster)
* Texas Cloverleaf submission, sometimes from a kneeling position
* Torture rack bomb

* **Nicknames**
	+ "The American Muscle"
	+ "The Berserker"
	+ **"The Coach"**
	+ "Doomsday Walking"
	+ "The Founding Father of The Resistance"
	+ **"The Inevitable"**
	+ "The Last Man Standing"
	+ **"Mr. Blitz"** *(coined by Frank Graham)*
* **Entrance Themes**
	+ "99 Problems" by Jay-Z
	+ "Something to Believe" by Fashawn (ft. Aloe Blacc & Nas)
	+ "Devour" by Shinedown (as part of The YoungBloods)
	+ "POWER" by Kanye West
	+ "The Resistance" by Skillet (as part of the Resistance)
	+ **"Hurt Locker" by Xzibit (WZW/XPW/EMW)**
	+ **"Parade" by Out of Townerz** **(SWW)**

## **Championships and accomplishments**

#### Amateur Wrestling

* NCAA All-American (3 times) - 2010, 2011, 2012
* 2013 NCAA Champion
* 2013 Big Ten Champion

#### Professional Wrestling

* Affinity Pro Wrestling - defunct
	+ Xplosion Championship (1 time)
* DragonForce Wrestling (DFW)
	+ DFW World Tag Team Championships (1 time, inaugural) - with Sebastian Walker
	+ DFW Television Championship (1 time)
* Epic Mayhem Wrestling (EMW)
	+ EMW World Tag Team Championships (1 time, current) - with Sebastian Walker\*
* Elite Pro Wrestling (EPW)
	+ Elite Pro Wrestling Impact Championship - (1 time)
	+ Elite Pro Wrestling World Tag Team Championship - (2 times) - with Sebastian Walker (2)
	+ Elite Pro Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship - (1 time)
* Legacy World Wrestling (LWW)
	+ LWW World Tag Team Championships (1 time) - with Sebastian Walker
* Next Level Wrestling (NXL)
	+ NXL Tag Team Championships (1 time) - with Sebastian Walker
* Supremacy World Wrestling (SWW)
	+ SWW Starlight Championship (1 time)
* WarZone Wrestling (WZW)
	+ Trial of Talos (2021)
	+ WZW Valhalla Championship/WZW National Championship (1 time)
* Xcalibur Pro Wrestling (XPW)
	+ XPW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time, current)
* Zipangu Wrestling
	+ Zipangu World Heavyweight Championship (1 time, current)