TMDK

## The Mighty Don't Kneel

The official logo of the stable

**The Mighty Don't Kneel** or shortened to **TMDK** is a professional wrestling group, primarily appearing in the Japanese promotion New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW).

They are best known for their work in the Japanese Pro Wrestling NOAH (NOAH) promotion, where, under the ring names "Mikey Nicholls" and "Shane Haste", where they were two-time GHC Tag Team Champions. They have also worked for New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), Ring of Honor (ROH) and Impact Wrestling (IMPACT). Although they are best known as a tag team, TMDK has also been a stable, which included, in addition to Nicholls and Haste, fellow Australians Elliot Sexton, Jonah, Marcius Pitt and Slex. TMDK has also been said to stand for "Torture, Murder, Destroy, Kill".

TMDK was reformed in February 2022 after both Jonah and Haste got released from WWE. Two months later, Nicholls rejoined TMDK alongside American wrestler Bad Dude Tito, turning them into a stable. In December, Jonah left NJPW for WWE and was replaced by British wrestler Zack Sabre Jr., who took over his leadership in January 2023. At the beginning of the year, the stable was also joined by two other members, young lion Kosei Fujita and Australian wrestler Robbie Eagles.

## History

### Background (2010–2011)

In the fall of 2010, Australian wrestlers Mikey Nicholls and Shane Haste passed a tryout held by Pro Wrestling NOAH (NOAH) and World League Wrestling (WLW) in the United States, which allowed them to begin training at NOAH's dojo. They made their debut for the Japanese promotion on 23 February 2011, and began working together under the team name "TMDK". The Mighty Don't Kneel originated in the Explosive Pro Wrestling (EPW) promotion, where it was a stable, also including Elliot Sexton, Jonah Rock, Marcius Pitt and Slex. Jonah and Slex have also represented TMDK in NOAH.

### Pro Wrestling NOAH (2011–2016)

On 15 December 2011, Nicholls and Haste received their first shot at the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, but were defeated by the defending champions, Atsushi Aoki and Kotaro Suzuki. Nicholls and Haste had began working regularly for NOAH in the promotion's junior heavyweight tag team division, though it was questioned whether the two actually were under the 100 kg (220 lb) weight limit, leading them to move to the heavyweight tag team division.

Back in NOAH, Nicholls and Haste also began breaking out in singles action, taking part in the 2012 Global League Tournament, where Nicholls wrestled KENTA to a draw and defeated Go Shiozaki, while Haste was victorious over Akitoshi Saito and Naomichi Marufuji. In April 2013, Nicholls and Haste took part in their first Global Tag League. Though failing to advance to the finals, they picked up a win over the reigning GHC Tag Team Champions, New Japan Pro Wrestling representatives Takashi Iizuka and Toru Yano. This led to a title match between the two teams on 12 May, where Iizuka and Yano retained their titles. Earlier that day, NOAH had announced that Nicholls and Haste had signed contracts to become officially affiliated with the promotion. A rubber match between Nicholls and Haste and Iizuka and Yano took place on 7 July and saw TMDK emerge victorious and become the new GHC Tag Team Champions. In September, Nicholls and Haste both began chasing the GHC Heavyweight Championship, but were defeated in back-to-back title matches by the defending champion, KENTA. On 10 December, the Tokyo Sports magazine named Nicholls and Haste the 2013 tag team of the year, with the two becoming the first *gaijin* team to win the "Best Tag Team Award" since Stan Hansen and Big Van Vader in 1998. On 25 January 2014, Nicholls and Haste lost the GHC Tag Team Championship to Maybach Taniguchi and GHC Heavyweight Champion Takeshi Morishima.

On 10 January 2015, Nicholls and Haste defeated Dangan Yankees (Masato Tanaka and Takashi Sugiura) to win the GHC Tag Team Championship for the second time. They lost the title to K.E.S. (Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Lance Archer) on 11 February, as part of the storyline between NOAH and Suzuki-gun. On 28 December 2015, NOAH announced that Nicholls and Haste would leave the promotion following their contracts expiring at the end of the year. On 11 February 2016, NOAH announced that Haste and Nicholls would return to the promotion the following month to take part in a five-show-long farewell tour, entitled "Departure to the World". Their final NOAH match took place on 10 March and saw them defeat Naomichi Marufuji and Mitsuhiro Kitamiya. In February 2016, it was reported that Nicholls and Haste would join WWE's NXT brand following their NOAH farewell tour the following month. WWE confirmed the signings on March 25, 2016.

### Independent circuit (2012–2016)

In early 2012, Nicholls and Haste traveled to the United States, where they worked for several promotions, including Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), Ring of Honor (ROH), and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). In ROH, they won a one-night tournament to earn a match against The Briscoe Brothers at the Showdown in the Sun pay-per-view.

### New Japan Pro Wrestling (2014–2015, 2022–present)

#### Early appearances (2014–2015)

On December 20, 2014, Haste and Nicholls made their debut for New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), when they, along with Naomichi Marufuji, were revealed as Toru Yano's tag team partners at Wrestle Kingdom 9 in Tokyo Dome on January 4, 2015. They would go on to win the match, defeating Suzuki-gun (Davey Boy Smith Jr., Lance Archer, Shelton X Benjamin and Takashi Iizuka).

#### Return and Jonah's leadership (2022)

On November 13, 2021 at Battle in the Valley, Jonah Rock made his debut in NJPW, confronting Impact Wrestling's Moose before attacking David Finlay and Juice Robinson, shortening his ring name to Jonah. On February 17, 2022 at NJPW's *Rivals* tapings, Shane Haste made his return to NJPW by interfering and helping Jonah and Bad Dude Tito defeat Finlay and Robinson, reuniting TMDK in NJPW, with Jonah being positioned as the leader of the stable. On the April 3 episode of *NJPW Strong*, Haste caused a disqualification loss to FinJuice after attacked Robinson with a steel chair, leading Robinson to challenge TMDK and Tito to a Chicago Street Fight at Windy City Riot, alongside a mystery partner. At the event on April 16, TMDK and Tito were defeated by Finlay, Robinson and Brody King, signalling the end of their feud. On May 14, at Capital Collision, Mikey Nicholls reunited with Haste, leading him to rejoin TMDK and leave CHAOS in the process. Afterwards, Tito, who had been teaming with Jonah since the start of the year, officially joined the stable. From July 17 to August 16, JONAH took part in the 2022 G1 Climax, finishing the tournament with a record of four wins and two losses, failing to advance to the semifinals. Despite his failure to advance, Jonah scored an impressive win by defeating former IWGP World Heayvweight Champion Kazuchika Okada. Following the tournament, Okada, who won the 2022 G1 Climax, nominated Jonah as his next opponent, before Wrestle Kingdom 17 in Tokyo Dome. On October 10 at Declaration of Power, Jonah was defeated by Okada by pinfall, ending Jonah's unpinned streak. From November 22 until December 14, Haste and Nicholls took part in the 2022 World Tag League finishing the tournament with a record of seven wins and three losses, failing to advance to the finals of the tournament. Since the fall of 2022, it was reported that Jonah was believed to be heading back to WWE, which was later confirmed on December 19, following his appearance on the episode of WWE's *Monday Night Raw.*

#### Zack Sabre Jr.'s leadership (2023–present)

On January 4, 2023, at Wrestle Kingdom 17 in Tokyo Dome, after Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Ren Narita to win the NJPW World Television Championship, Nicholls and Haste offered him a spot to join the stable, which he accepted. Afterwards, Sabre was positioned as the new leader of the stable, being described as "The Front Man". The following day, at *New Year Dash!*, Sabre, Nicholls and Haste faced CHAOS' Hirooki Goto, Yoshi-Hashi and Tomohiro Ishii in a winning effort. Following the match, Haste and Nicholls targeted Goto and Yoshi-Hashi, and posed with IWGP Tag Team Championship. Shortly after, with TMDK needing a fourth member, Sabre pulled young lion Kosei Fujita from ringside, took off his Young Lion garb, and gave him a TMDK shirt, becoming the newest member of the stable. On February 5 at The New Beginning in Sapporo, Nicholls and Haste unsucessfully challenged Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi for the IWGP Tag Team Championship. Meanwhile, Sabre sucessfully defended the NJPW World Television Championship against Tomohiro Ishii. The following month, Sabre took part in the 2023 New Japan Cup, being eliminated in the second round by Shota Umino. On March 7, Tito and Haste defeated The Midnight Heat (Eddie Pearl and Ricky Gibson) to win the UWN Tag Team Championship. Later that month, at Sacrifice, as part of a partnership between NJPW and Impact Wrestling, Tito and Haste faced Impact World Tag Team Champions Bullet Club (Ace Austin and Chris Bey) in a losing effort. On March 23, Sabre interrupted Hiromu Takahashi after he sucessfully defended the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, who came with a challenge on behalf of TMDK's newest member, which was revealed to Australian wrestler Robbie Eagles. On April 8 at Sakura Genesis, Eagles unsucessfully Takahashi for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. The following month, Eagles took part in the 2023 Best of the Super Juniors, finishing the tournament with a record of five wins and four losses, failing to advance to the semifinals of the tournament. From July 16 to August 9, three members of TMDK took part in the 2023 G1 Climax with Nicholls in block C and Sabre and Haste in block D. Sabre was victorious over Haste in the head-to-head match, but Haste and Nicholls ended up being left behind in the final standings, while Sabre managed to advance to the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinals, on August 10, Sabre was eliminated from the tournament by Kazuchika Okada. From October 21 to November 2, Eagles and Fujita took part in the 2023 Super Jr. Tag League, finishing the tournament with a record four wins and five losses, failing to advance to the finals of the tournament. From November 25 until December 6, Nicholls and Haste took part in the 2023 World Tag League, finishing the tournament with a record of five wins and two losses, advancing to the semifinals of the tournament. On December 8, Nicholls and Haste were eliminated from the tournament by losing to El Phantasmo and Hikuleo, in the semifinals.

On January 4, 2024 at Wrestle Kingdom 18, Sabre lost the NJPW World Television Championship to Hiroshi Tanahashi. The following day at *New Year Dash*, TMDK faced Bryan Danielson, Jon Moxley, Kazuchika Okada and Tomohiro Ishii in a winning effort. Afterwards, Fujita, who claimed he was no longer a young lion, challenged Okada, Ishii and Hiroshi Tanahashi to a title match for the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship. However, Okada proclaimed that Fujita wasn't ready. Despite this, Fujita asked NJPW President Tanahashi to make the match happen. Despite putting an impressive performance, Fujita, Nicholls and Haste unsucessfully challenged Okada, Ishii and Tanahashi to a title match for the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship.

### Sub-groups

 Shane Haste and Bad Dude Tito | Shane HasteBad Dude Tito
 Ichiiban Street Boys

## In wrestling

* **Double-team finishing moves**
	+ **Nicholls and Haste**
		- *Tankbuster* (Diving DDT (Haste) / Over the shoulder facebuster (Nicholls) combination)
		- *Thunder Valley* (Aided Modified gorilla press dropped into a falling Powerbomb (Nicholls)/Chokeslam (Haste) combination)
		- *Highway To Hell* (Death Valley throw (Nicholls) into a Brainbuster (Haste) combination)
* **Entrance music**
	+ "Joker & The Thief" by Wolfmother (Unit) (NOAH)
	+ **"Young Punks"** by Mass Lines (Unit) (NJPW)

## Championships and accomplishments

* **New Japan Pro-Wrestling**
	+ NJPW World Television Championship (1 time, inaugural) – Sabre
* **Pro Wrestling Illustrated**
	+ PWI ranked Miller #**154** of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2016
	+ PWI ranked Haste #**147** of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2016
	+ PWI ranked Jonah #**132** of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2022
* **Pro Wrestling NOAH**
	+ GHC Tag Team Championship (2 times) – Haste and Nicholls
	+ Global Tag League Fighting Spirit Award (2015) – with Haste and Nicholls
* ***Tokyo Sports***
	+ Best Tag Team Award (2013) – Nicholls and Haste
* **United Wrestling Network**
	+ UWN Tag Team Championship (1 time, current) – with Tito and Haste

## Gallery

* Gallery
* Current Members
* Former Members
* Champions

The original members of TMDKMikey Nicholls and Shane Haste during their stint in NOAHJonah, Bad Dude Tito and Shane Haste reforming TMDK in NJPWTMDK after Mikey Nicholls's returnTMDK after Jonah left and Zack Sabre Jr.'s additionTMDK after Kosei Fujita's additionMikey Nicholls and Shane HasteNicholls and Haste performing the *Thunder Valley* on Gabriel Kidd

Mikey NichollsShane HasteZack Sabre Jr.Kosei FujitaBad Dude TitoRobbie Eagles

JonahSlex

Nicholls and Haste as the GHC Tag Team ChampionsSabre as the NJPW World Television ChampionTito and Haste as the UWN Tag Team Champions

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 A look at … Chris Vice . *Explosive Professional Wrestling* (2013-10-15). Retrieved on 2014-01-25. “The Smashing Machine seemed set to get a championship match, before falling at the final hurdle to TMDK’s Elliot Sexton at Collision Course”
2. ↑ TMDK « Stables Database . Cagematch. Retrieved on 2016-02-27.
3. ↑ 2.11ノア名古屋大会で激突するTMDK vs K.E.SのGHCタッグ調印式で早くもヒートアップ!!  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling* (2014-02-04). Retrieved on 2014-02-04.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 マイキー・ニコルス  (in Japanese). *Pro Wrestling Noah*. Retrieved on 2015-06-05.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 シェイン・ヘイスト  (in Japanese). *Pro Wrestling Noah*. Retrieved on 2015-06-05.
6. ↑ Marcius Pitt and Siren Monroe vs Jay Taylor and Michelle K Hasluck in Mixed Tag Action. . *Explosive Professional Wrestling* (2014-01-13). Retrieved on 2014-01-25. “TMDK member, Marcius Pitt”
7. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `RockTMDK`
8. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `SlexTMDK`
9. ↑ The Weekday Navig. in Korakuen ～2011 Final～  (in Japanese). *Pro Wrestling Noah*. Retrieved on 2014-02-04.
10. ↑ *ja:ＧＨＣジュニアタッグ調印式で異例の計量* (in Japanese). *Nikkan Sports* (2011-12-09). Retrieved on 2014-02-07.
11. ↑ *ja:グローバル・リーグ戦 2012* (in Japanese). *Pro Wrestling Noah*. Retrieved on 2014-02-04.
12. ↑ *ja:グローバル・タッグリーグ戦 2013* (in Japanese). *Pro Wrestling Noah*. Retrieved on 2014-02-04.
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 *ja:悪党コンビ初防衛！矢野はＧＨＣ２冠王手* (in Japanese). *Nikkan Sports* (2013-05-13). Retrieved on 2014-02-07.
14. ↑ *ja:方舟新章* (in Japanese). *Pro Wrestling Noah*. Retrieved on 2014-02-04.
15. ↑ *ja:マイキー・ニコルス＆シェイン・ヘイスト選手入団のご報告* (in Japanese). *Pro Wrestling Noah* (2013-05-12). Retrieved on 2014-02-04.
16. ↑ Great Voyage 2013 in Tokyo “七夕決戦～みんなの願い～”  (in Japanese). *Pro Wrestling Noah*. Retrieved on 2013-07-07.
17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Kentaが宿敵・丸藤との35分越え死闘を制しGHCヘビーV4  (in Japanese). *Sports Navi*. Yahoo! (2013-07-07). Retrieved on 2014-02-04.
18. ↑ *ja:ニコルス＆ヘイスト組が王座奪還／ノア* (in Japanese). *Nikkan Sports* (2013-07-07). Retrieved on 2014-02-07.
19. ↑ *ja:2013年9月7日(土)* (in Japanese). *Pro Wrestling Noah*. Retrieved on 2014-04-02.
20. ↑ *ja:2013年9月16日(月)* (in Japanese). *Pro Wrestling Noah*. Retrieved on 2014-04-02.
21. ↑ KentaがGHC6度目防衛／ノア  (in Japanese). *Nikkan Sports* (2013-09-08). Retrieved on 2014-02-07.
22. ↑ KentaがGHCヘビー級Ｖ７／ノア  (in Japanese). *Nikkan Sports* (2013-09-17). Retrieved on 2014-02-07.
23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 *ja:【プロレス大賞】ハンセン、ベイダー組に並んだＴＭＤＫ* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2013-12-10). Retrieved on 2014-04-02.
24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 オカダが2年連続でプロレス大賞MVPを受賞！史上4人目の快挙だが、本人は「当たり前の結果」  (in Japanese). *Battle News* (2013-12-10). Retrieved on 2013-12-09.
25. ↑ The First Navig.2014  (in Japanese). *Pro Wrestling Noah*. Retrieved on 2014-02-04.
26. ↑ 森嶋がGHCタッグ奪取でヘビー級二冠王に 新軍団名は「超危暴軍」に決定  (in Japanese). *Sports Navi*. Yahoo! (2014-01-26). Retrieved on 2014-02-04.
27. ↑ *ja:ＧＨＣタッグ奪取の森嶋「超危暴軍」を旗揚げ* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2014-01-27). Retrieved on 2014-02-07.
28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 New Year Navig. 2015  (in Japanese). *Pro Wrestling Noah*. Retrieved on 2015-01-10.
29. ↑ Great Voyage 2015 in Nagoya  (in Japanese). *Pro Wrestling Noah*. Retrieved on 2015-02-11.
30. ↑ 契約期間満了に関するご報告  (in Japanese). *Pro Wrestling Noah* (2015-12-28). Retrieved on 2015-12-29.
31. ↑ TMDK参戦決定！【3・2ディファ有明大会～3・10後楽園ホール大会 】  (in Japanese). *Pro Wrestling Noah* (2016-02-11). Retrieved on 2016-02-11.
32. ↑ Spring Navig.2016  (in Japanese). *Pro Wrestling Noah*. Retrieved on 2016-03-10.
33. ↑ Caldwell, James 2016-03-10. Int'l tag team TMDK finishes Noah run, heading to NXT . *Pro Wrestling Torch*. Retrieved on 2016-03-11.
34. ↑ Top Noah tag team heading to NXT after farewell tour . *Pro Wrestling Torch* (2016-02-10). Retrieved on 2016-02-11.
35. ↑ WWE signs top international team . *Pro Wrestling Insider* (2016-03-25). Retrieved on 2016-03-25.
36. ↑ Van Drisse, Trent. OVW TV taping report 3-7 Louisville . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2014-02-04.
37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `ROHPWT`
38. ↑ Tag team "TMDK" . *Wrestlingdata*. Retrieved on 2014-01-25.
39. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `ROHSlam`
40. ↑ Road to Tokyo Dome  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2014-12-20.
41. ↑ Caldwell, James 2015-01-04. Caldwell's NJPW Tokyo Dome show results 1/4: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live Wrestle Kingdom PPV - Tanahashi vs. Okada, Bullet Club, Nakamura, Jim Ross, more . *Pro Wrestling Torch*. Retrieved on 2015-01-08.
42. ↑ 「The First Navig. 2014」1月23日(木)北九州パレス大会 試合後コメント  (in Japanese). *Pro Wrestling Noah* (2014-01-24). Retrieved on 2014-04-23.
43. ↑ *ja:「グローバル・タッグリーグ戦2013」4月21日(日) 大阪・ボディメーカーコロシアム大会 試合後コメント* (in Japanese). *Pro Wrestling Noah* (2013-04-22). Retrieved on 2014-02-04.
44. ↑ 【WK9】1.4東京ドーム上陸! 実は新日本キラーな“2013年最優秀タッグ”TMDKはここが凄い!　「週プロ」ノア番・井上記者が徹底解説!  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling* (2014-12-29). Retrieved on 2016-07-28.
45. ↑ James, Justin 2016-06-15. 6/15 WWE NXT TV Results – James’s Report on “Takeover” fall-out, Balor-Nakamura set-up, TM61, Ellering, Blanchard, more . *Pro Wrestling Torch*. Retrieved on 2016-07-28.
46. ↑ 46.0 46.1 Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2016 . *The Internet Wrestling Database*.
47. ↑ Full 2022 PWI 500 list revealed . *AIPT Comics*.
48. ↑ *ja:ノア「グローバル・タッグリーグ戦2015」優勝決定戦* (in Japanese). *Sports Navi*. Yahoo! (2015-05-04). Retrieved on 2015-05-06.
49. ↑ オカダが2年連続でプロレス大賞MVPを受賞！史上4人目の快挙だが、本人は「当たり前の結果」  (in Japanese). *Battle News* (2013-12-10). Retrieved on 2014-01-21.