El Flying Diablo

**Eric Bessette** (born March X, XXXX) is a fictional American professional wrestler, best known under the ring name **El Flying Diablo**. He is currently signed to the American Wrestling Federation (AWF), where he's been a mainstay since the company's formation and is a former AWF Pan-American Champion.

## Professional wrestling career

### **American Wrestling Federation (AWF)**

> "*Raised in suburbs of New Jersey, Eric wanted nothing more than to fly. And no, not fly in an airplane. He wanted to literally fly. After spending time training athletically, he suddenly dropped off the face of the earth for a year. When he came back, he was a changed man. His personality had become unhinged, though still very upbeat. He seemed to claim his new friend Bob “the Boulder” Johnson had taught him the secret to flight. Stepping into the AWF for little explainable reason, he took the name “the flying demon”, and will prove to everyone he can fly. Note: he may or may not have made a deal with a demon. No one really knows.*"
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Diablo is one of the AWF Originals who worked the independent circuit in Florida from 2014 to early 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.

#### **Early feuds (2015–2016)**

Diablo made his AWF debut on September 13, quickly capturing the attention of the fans through his energetic and over-the-top persona. He lost to Chris Pyle in his first AWF match, but continued to gain the support of the fans. After defeating Trevor Gruen on October 11, Diablo was brutally attacked by Gruen before being rescued by referee Jon Silver. Recovering quickly from repeated attacks by Gruen, Diablo challenged Gruen to a one-on-one match at *Midterm Mania* on November 29, which Diablo won. Gruen would then join forces with James Duffy Esquire against Diablo, who found an ally in Silver. They would have the first AWF tag team match on February 28, 2016 at *Capitol Hill*, which Duffy and Gruen won. Finally, Diablo and Gruen ended their blood feud at *Graduation I* on May 29 in the first AWF steel cage match, which Diablo won after diving off the top of the cage onto Gruen.

On June 12, Diablo teamed up with Jon Silver to compete in the first AWF Tag Team Tournament. They lost in the first round to James Duffy and Trevor Gruen.

#### **Feud with James Duffy Esquire (2016–2017)**

On August 28 at *School of Pain*, Diablo defeated James Duffy Esquire in an unannounced match. Seeking revenge for this humiliation, Duffy used his legal pull to acquire the rights to Diablo's likeness, allowing him to alter or modify Diablo’s persona as he pleased. Duffy would overhaul Diablo's entire character, changing his name to **Eric Bessette** and forcing him to wrestle in dress pants & shirts. The change hindered Bessette in the ring and rendered him incapable of performing aerial moves. Bessette and Duffy would face off on November 27 at *Midterm Mania*, with Duffy putting the rights to Bessette's likeness on the line. Impeded by his new ring attire, Bessette lost the match.

Rather than give up, Bessette began training to adapt to the circumstances, developing a more technical and grounded wrestling style. On February 26 at *Capitol Hill*, Bessette eliminated Duffy from the titular match before being eliminated by J.T. Flairs. In retaliation, on March 17, Duffy assaulted Bessette with his signature sledgehammer. He then refused to approve Bessette being inserted into the ladder match to crown the first AWF Pan-American Champion. Bessette then challenged Duffy to a match at *Graduation*, putting his sacred mask on the line against the rights to his likeness. The two faced off one final time at *Graduation II* on May 28, where Bessette emerged victorious and earned back his name as well as the respect of James Duffy.

#### **Championship pursuits (2017–present)**

Combining his acquired technical acumen with his high-flying style, Diablo would become an entirely different force to reckoned with. He formed an alliance and a friendship with his longtime rival James Duffy Esquire, teaming up with him on July 30 at *Summer Breakdown*, defeating J.T. Flairs and Sam Bates. On September 8, after defeating his tag team partner MC Jeff Patz on August 11, Diablo was put in a match against Ben the Unhinged by Mr. McPatz as a punishment for the latter. However, Ben brutally assaulted Diablo throughout and after the match, resulting in him being taken to the back by medical officials and James Duffy.

Diablo made his return on November 3, teaming with James Duffy Esquire against Deadbeat to become #1 contenders to the AWF Tag Team Championship, which they won. On November 26 at *Midterm Mania*, Diablo and Duffy faced Ben and Jeff for the Tag Team Titles in a losing effort. Diablo and Duffy continued to feud with The Conspiracy, narrowly winning a 3 on 2 handicap match against them on February 9. The two then competed in the second AWF Tag Team Tournament, losing to Big Ty and Sam Bates on March 9 after The Conspiracy's Brian Halligan attacked Diablo outside the ring. Diablo subsequently challenged Halligan for his AWF Pan-American Championship. On April 1 at *Capitol Hill*, Diablo and Halligan had a critically acclaimed match, where Diablo defeated Halligan to win his first championship in the AWF. Later that night, Halligan turned babyface when he abandoned The Conspiracy. As a result, his and Diablo's championship rematch at *Graduation III* was much more respectful. On May 27 at the event, Diablo retained the title in a respectful bout against Halligan. At *Summer Breakdown* on July 29, defended the Pan-American title against prominent U.K. indie wrestler Jimmy Havoc in the first AWF pay-per-view match featuring a non-AWF wrestler.

On August 31, Diablo was challenged by new #1 contender M.C. Jeff Patz and lost the Pan-American Championship to Patz after seemingly suffering a concussion. The two had their rematch at *School of Pain* on September 30, which Diablo lost again.

### **Ring of Honor (2017)**

Diablo made his Ring of Honor debut in early September of 2017. He quickly challenged Kushida for the ROH World Television Championship, defeating him in a shocking upset and winning the belt. At Death Before Dishonor XV, Diablo lost the title to Kenny King. He later took part in a three way match with King and Kushida for the title, winning it a second time after he pinned Kushida. Later that month, Diablo had a title defense against a debuting Daniel Snow, which he lost. Diablo's contract with ROH was short-term, but he was able to get mainstream exposure during his time there. He parted ways with the company in early November.

## In wrestling

* **Finishing moves**
	+ Diving crossbody – 2014; used as a signature move thereafter
	+ *Infernal Flight* (Corkscrew shooting star press) – 2015–2016, 2017–present
	+ *Circles of Hell* (Triple rolling vertical suplex) – 2017; used as a signature move thereafter
	+ *Inverted Crossface* (Modified arm trap crossface) – 2017–present
* **Signature moves**
	+ *Diablo* (Somersault reverse DDT); adopted from Tetsuya Naito
	+ Discus leg drop
	+ Forearm smash, sometimes while springboarding
	+ Frankensteiner
	+ German suplex; adopted from James Duffy Esquire
	+ Hurricanrana, sometimes from the top rope
	+ Jumping armbreaker
	+ *Over the Moon* (Moonsault, sometimes while springboarding)
	+ Multiple kick variations
		- Basement drop
		- Enzuigiri
		- Falling drop
		- Leg caught windmill
		- Running single leg drop
		- Soccerball
		- Spinning sole
		- Super
	+ Northern Lights suplex, sometimes used as a counter
	+ Phoenix splash from the middle rope
	+ Reverse frankensteiner
	+ Russian leg sweep, with theatrics
	+ Shooting star press
	+ Sitout spinebuster; adopted from James Duffy Esquire
	+ *Spanish Fly* (Moonsault side slam)
	+ Springboard corkscrew crossbody
	+ Suicide plancha
	+ Sunset flip powerbomb
* **Managers**
	+ James Duffy Esquire

* **Wrestlers managed**
	+ James Duffy Esquire
* **Nicknames**
	+ **"The Flying Demon"**
	+ "Eric Bessette"
* **Entrance themes**
	+ **"Miror B.'s Retro Groove"** by Tsukasa Tawada

## Championships and accomplishments

* **American Wrestling Federation**
	+ AWF Pan-American Championship (1 time)
	+ AWF Year-End Award (2 times)
		- Shocking Moment of the Year (2016)
		- Rivalry of the Year (2016) – vs. James Duffy Esquire