Chris Pyle

**Chris Pyle** (born January XX, XXXX) is a fictional American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to the American Wrestling Federation (AWF), where he is current and two-time AWF World Champion.

Pyle's wrestling style drew inspiration from the likes of Finn Bálor, A.J. Styles, Kenny Omega and other *gaijin* wrestlers who drew inspiration from Japanese "strong-style" and stiff striking. Despite being a heavyweight, Pyle's wrestling style is more akin to that of a cruiserweight. Using the added power of his greater size to create a wrestling style that blends both disciplines.

## Professional wrestling career

### **American Wrestling Federation**

> "*Chris Pyle embodies the classic rocker persona every time he comes out onto the ramp. He builds the energy of the audience with his own and feeds from it like a true showman would. But his power doesn’t come only from his charisma and energy. Pyle comes into the ring with an array of moves and striking capabilities that make him a force to be reckoned with. When going up against the Straight Shooter, opponents need to be prepared for a flurry of strikes and blows, finished by a brutal slam onto the mat. Pyle is a master of the Sharpshooter submission hold and has put away many an opponent with it, if his high-impact moves don’t get the job done.*"
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#### **Early years (2015–2016)**

Chris Pyle is one of the AWF Originals who worked the independent circuit in Florida from 2014 to mid 2015. Upon the group's return to Washington, D.C., the Originals worked various indie shows in the DMV area, including shows for NOVA Pro Wrestling. Pyle took part in a preliminary match at the first ever AWF-branded event, AWF School of Pain, on August 30, 2015 against Ben the Unhinged. The match was praised as being the best on the show and played a significant role in gaining the AWF attention from the independent wrestling community. Pyle continued to show promise when the AWF began running sporadic shows in Bender Arena. He suffered his first televised defeat at the hands of the debuting J.T. Flairs, who attacked Pyle after their match and later cost him a match at next month's show. Pyle and Flairs met in the ring again at Midterm Mania on November 29, where Flairs managed to beat Pyle a second time after hitting him with three finishers. At the following show, Pyle was unable to finish a match due to a legit concussion he sustained in his match against Flairs, resulting in him being taken out of action for a few months.

Pyle made his AWF return as a surprise final entrant in the first ever Capitol Hill match on February 28, 2016 at Capitol Hill. He eliminated Trevor Gruen to advance, but was the last person eliminated by the winner, Ben the Unhinged. After making his big return, Pyle caught the attention of the newest member of the AWF roster, Brian Halligan. The two met in the ring for the first time at Graduation on May 29, where Pyle came away with the win. Much like at School of Pain, Pyle's performance resulted in the match being labeled as one of the best of the night.

#### **The Heroes & championship pursuits (2016–2017)**

Chris Pyle appeared as an unannounced participant in the first ever AWF Tag Team Tournament alongside undercard rookie Keegan Stone on July 17. The two had surprising chemistry as a team, even making it to the finals of the tournament against the team of Ben the Unhinged and MC Jeff Patz at School of Pain, but were unsuccessful in winning the AWF Tag Team Championship. The partnership continued and the two developed a close bond. On September 11, the AWF World Heavyweight Championship had to be vacated due to a legit injury sustained by The Lexbot. Pyle qualified for a match to crown a new champion by defeating Mohawk Morgan, which was a triple threat match against Brian Halligan & Angus. On November 27 at Midterm Mania, Pyle came away with the victory and won his first AWF World Heavyweight Championship. On February 26, 2017, he defended his title successfully against Trevor Gruen at Capitol Hill.

#### **Feud with the Conspiracy (2017)**

That same night, Keegan Stone won the Capitol Hill match to earn a title shot against Pyle at Graduation. The two faced off in the main event of Graduation II for the AWF World Heavyweight Championship. Throughout the match, Stone refused to give up while Pyle could not bring himself to put away his much less skilled opponent and friend. Stone refused to submit to the Sharpshooter and even kicked out of the *Pyle Driver*. Pyle's hesitance allowed Stone to capitalize, delivering an *AA* and defeating Pyle in a major upset, becoming the new AWF World Heavyweight Champion. After the match, Pyle attempted to shake hands with Stone in a show of sportsmanship. The two shared an embrace as friends, only for Stone to unexpectedly hit Pyle with a *Stonecutter*, followed by another *AA*. Reveling in his victory, Stone left the arena with J.T. Flairs, solidifying his heel turn.

Crushed by the betrayal of his friend, Pyle confronted Stone on June 9, only to be ambushed and brutally assaulted by Stone and Flairs. The two of them had their rematch on July 30 at Summer Breakdown, with Pyle no longer holding back against Stone. During the match, Flairs interfered on Stone's behalf to give him the advantage. In the closing moments, Stone put Pyle in the Sharpshooter and the referee called for the bell before Pyle even submitted. An infuriated Mr. McPatz and Jon Silver attempted to remedy the situation, only for The Nightmare to appear and reveal Flairs as the mysterious Master, the man responsible for manipulating events backstage.

With Flairs (now calling himself J.T. Masters) outed as the puppet master of the AWF he began assembling a group of supporters to enforce his rule, calling them The Conspiracy. Pyle attempted to challenge Stone a third time on August 4, but another crooked referee allowed Stone to blatantly cheat to retain the title. To resolve this once and for all, McPatz forced Stone to defend the title in a steel cage match against Pyle, with Jon Silver as the referee. On October 1 at School of Pain, Pyle lost to Stone a fourth time after he escaped the cage using a hidden key. After the match The Conspiracy brutally assaulted Pyle in the ring, causing him to be stretchered out of the arena.

### **New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2017**–**2018)**

Shortly after School of Pain, it was announced that Chris Pyle had joined the New Japan Pro Wrestling Dojo to train as part of the Young Lions program. Due to his prior experience in the wrestling business he only stayed in Japan for six months, but in that time he competed in the Young Lion Cup tournament and made several TV appearances, wrestling primarily as a Young Lion and in the lower cards of shows, losing most of his matches as is common for young lions in NJPW. In March of 2018, Pyle's hard work earned him a match against Jay White for the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship, which he won in a shocking upset. Pyle would lose the championship back to White not long after, but his work ethic and match quality had been noticed. Pyle left Japan for his excursion back to the United States at the end of the month.

Pyle returned to the NJPW dojo in August of 2019 to complete his training. He took part in his second Young Lion Cup tournament that year, this time winning the tournament at Lion's Gate Project in early December. After this victory, Pyle announced that he had "unfinished business" back in the United States, but promised the fans that he would be back.

### **Return to AWF**

#### **AWF World Heavyweight Champion (2018–present)**

As part of his learning excursion from NJPW, Pyle returned to the AWF as a surprise twelfth competitor in the Capitol Hill match on April 1 at Capitol Hill. He advanced to the second round by eliminating Keegan Stone in an act of retribution, and then would win the match itself by defeating The Conspiracy's Brian Halligan. In winning the match, Pyle earned a championship match at Graduation against The Lexbot, who beat Stone for the title at Grim Resolution. The two met in the ring for the first time at Graduation III on May 27, where Pyle beat The Lexbot for the title, dealing him his first clean pinfall loss in the AWF. Wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer gave the match a five-star rating in his Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Lex and Pyle's rivalry intensified, leading to a two out of three falls match on July 29 at Summer Breakdown which Pyle won 2-1, handing Lex his first submission loss as well.

## In wrestling

* **Finishing moves**
	+ Sharpshooter – 2014; used occasionally as a finisher thereafter
	+ *Dead-Eye* (Lifting single underhook DDT) – 2015–present
	+ *Pyle Driver* (One-handed electric chair driver) – 2016–present
* **Signature moves**
	+ Belly to back facebuster
	+ Brainbuster
	+ *Codebreaker* (Double knee facebreaker); adopted from Chris Jericho
	+ Dragon sleeper
	+ Elbow drop
	+ Fireman's carry double knee gutbuster
	+ German suplex
	+ Hurricanrana
	+ Inverted superplex
	+ *Michinoku Driver II*, sometimes from the top rope
	+ Multiple kick variations
		- Baseball slide to a seated opponent
		- Calf
		- Missile drop
		- Fireman's carry dropped into an overhead kick
		- *Pelé Kick* (Standing overhead kick), often used as a counter
		- Standing drop
		- Step-up enzuigiri
		- Springboard drop, sometimes to an opponent on the apron
	+ Running leaping shoulder block – 2015–2018; used rarely thereafter
	+ Shining wizard to a kneeling opponent
	+ Side-release spinout powerbomb – 2015–2018; used rarely thereafter
	+ Single knee facebreaker
	+ Sitout powerbomb
	+ *Sling Blade*
	+ Springboard elbow drop, sometimes to an opponent's back
	+ *Straight Shot* (Springboard flying forearm smash)
	+ Suicide dive forearm smash
* **Managers**
	+ Keegan Stone
	+ Mr. McPatz

* **Wrestlers managed**
	+ Keegan Stone
* **With Keegan Stone**
	+ **Double team finishing moves**
		- *Heroic Takedown* (Forearm smash (Pyle) / spear (Stone) combination)
* **Nicknames**
	+ **"Straight Shooter"**
* **Entrance themes**
	+ **"Shoot Your Gun"** by 22-20s

## Championships and accomplishments

* **American Wrestling Federation**
	+ AWF World Heavyweight Championship (2 times, current)
	+ Capitol Hill (2018)
	+ AWF Year-End Award (3 times)
		- Breakout Star of the Year (2016)
		- Male Competitor of the Year (2017)
		- Rivalry of the Year (2017) – vs. Keegan Stone

* ***Wrestling Observer Newsletter***
	+ 5 Star Match (2018) vs. The Lexbot on May 27