Tony Nese

Anthony "Tony" Nese (born August 6, 1985) is an American professional wrestler, currently signed by WWE performing on the Raw brand. Nese is known for wrestling throughout the Northeastern United States. He is also known for his brief tenure in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) from 2011 to 2012.

Independent circuit (2005–2009)

Nese made his wrestling debut on September 9, 2005 for the New York Wrestling Connection promotion in a #1 contender's battle royal match for the NYWC Interstate Championship, which was won by Rob Eckos. On November 11, 2005 Nese made his in-ring debut under the ring name Matt Maverick in a losing effort against Spyder. Nese won his first match on December 17, 2005 in a triple threat match defeating Spyder and Amazing Red. Nese continued to wrestle for the promotion for several years including shortening his ring name to Maverick before his east coast wrestling career was jumpstarted after he competed in the 2008 ECWA Super 8 Tournament, where he won the first round around against Rob Eckos but lost in the semi-finals to Aden Chambers. Nese would then later on compete in various dark matches for Ring of Honor in 2009.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2011–2013)

Nese made his debut for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) on the July 7, 2011, edition of Impact Wrestling as part of the X Division Showcase tournament. He was eliminated from the tournament after losing to Jack Evans in a three-way match that included Jesse Sorensen Nese appeared in a backstage segment on the August 11 edition of Impact Wrestling, where Eric Bischoff introduced new rules to the X Division. On August 18, TNA announced that Nese had signed a contract with the promotion. On that evening's episode of Impact Wrestling, he took part in a gauntlet match to determine the #1 contender to the X-Division Championship which he would be eliminated early in the match. Nese was then later on taken off television. Nese made his return on the December 15 edition of Impact Wrestling, where he would compete in a Best of Three Series with Zema Ion to determine the third and final challenger for the X Division Championship at Genesis. Nese would lose the first match of the series. On the December 22 edition of Impact Wrestling, Nese in a winning effort defeated Ion in the second round of the series. Two weeks later, Nese was defeated by Ion in a Contract on a Pole match in the final round of the series. Nese appeared on the March 22, 2012 edition of Impact Wrestling competing in fatal-four way match that included Austin Aries, Kid Kash, and Zema Ion which ended in a no contest. This would also mark Nese's final appearance in company.

Nese was released from TNA on May 17, 2012 after asking permission to work a scheduled for a tag team match which would include Nese teaming with Sami Callihan against The Great Muta and Kai for Pro Wrestling Syndicate. Nese was offered his release from TNA which he accepted.

Nese took part at the X-travaganza on January 12, 2013 (aired on April 5, 2013) teaming with Rashad Cameron against Doug Williams and Kid Kash in a losing effort after Nese would be pinned by Williams with the Chaos Theory.

Return to independent circuit (2012–2016)

After departing from TNA, Nese returned to the independent wrestling circuit continuing to appear for the New York Wrestling Connection promotion also competing in several independent wrestling promotions including Pro Wrestling Syndicate. He started using his real name, Anthony Nese. Nese became the first PWS Tri-State champion and was undefeated. He shortly feuded with Matt Hardy, defeating him in a match for the Tri-State title before eventually losing the title to Star Man on November 9, 2012 in a triple threat match. On October 12, 2013, Nese defeated the FWE Tri Borough Champion Paul London in a non-title match. In early 2013, Nese began working for Dragon Gate USA and Evolve. On November 3, Nese began his first tour of Dragon Gate USA's Japanese parent promotion, Dragon Gate, unsuccessfully challenging Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!! for the Open the Brave Gate Championship. On November 9, 2013, at House of Hardcore 3, Nese defeated Alex Reynolds and Petey Williams. On December 8, 2013, Nese won the Family Wrestling Entertainment's Openweight Grand Prix.

On September 14, 2014, at Evolve 35, Nese and Caleb Konley won the Open the United Gate Championship from The Bravado Brothers (Harlem and Lancelot) in a three-way match, also involving AR Fox and Rich Swann. At FWE ReFueled day 1, Nese and Jigsaw defeated Adrenaline Express to win the FWE Tag Team Championship. The following day, they lost the title to The Young Bucks. On July 18, 2015 at House of Hardcore 9, Nese faced John Hennigan in a losing effort.

On Saturday, November 26, 2016, Nese faced long-time rival, Yours Truly, Alex Reynolds, at the New York Wrestling Connection Sportatorium in Deer Park, New York for their Draw the Line event. In a 43-minute main event, Nese and Reynolds, who have both taught and opposed each other over their wrestling careers, put on an amazing spectactle showcasing why Nese was heading to WWE and why he felt Reynolds should not be far behind. In the end, Nese defeated Reynolds and said good-bye to the NYWC crowd, the place he's called home since the beginning having both trained and taught at the school. This was Nese's final independent wrestling show in New York state since he has signed to the WWE.

WWE

Cruiserweight division (2016–present)

Nese was announced as a participate in WWE's Cruiserweight Classic. The tournament began on June 23, 2016, with Nese defeating Anthony Bennett in his first round match. On July 14, Nese was defeated in his second round match by Brian Kendrick.

Nese appeared on the September 26 episode of Raw as a heel, losing to Cruiserweight Champion T.J. Perkins. He was then added to the RAW roster. On the October 3 episode of Raw, Nese defeated Rich Swann. On November 13, Nese officially signed with WWE.

• Finishing moves
  • 450° splash
  • Reverse piledriver, sometimes from the pumphandle position - 2016
  • Single leg Boston crab, sometimes while kneeling on the opponent's back – 2014
  • Pumphandle slam – 2016–present
  • The Running Kneese (Running knee strike to an opponent seated in the corner) - 2017-present
• Signature moves
  • Cradle back-to-belly piledriver
  • Deadlift turnbuckle powerbomb
  • German suplex
  • Legsweep
  • Matrix evasion followed by multiple kicks
  • Moonsault, sometimes while springboarding
  • Multiple kick variations
    • Drop
    • Missile
    • Spinning heel
    • Springboard drop
    • Super, sometimes after a cartwheel evasion off the apron
  • Pumphandle kneeling or sitout powerbomb
• Nicknames
  • "The Premier Athlete"
• Entrance Themes
  • "Win It All" by CFO$ (WWE; 2016–present)

• "WWE: Win It All (Tony Nese) - Single". WWE Music Group. iTunes. October 7, 2016. Retrieved October 11, 2016. 

• Dragon Gate USA
  • Open the United Gate Championship (1 time) – with Caleb Konley and Trent Baretta1
  • Six Man Tag Team Tournament (2014) – with Caleb Konley and Trent Baretta
• Family Wrestling Entertainment
  • FWE Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Jigsaw
  • Openweight Grand Prix (2013)
• International Wrestling Cartel
  • IWC Super Indy Championship (1 time)
• New York Wrestling Connection
  • NYWC Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
  • NYWC Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Plazma
  • NYWC Interstate Championship (1 time)
  • NYWC Fusion Championship (1 time)
• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI ranked him #137 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2016
• Pro Wrestling Syndicate
  • PWS Tri-State Championship (1 time)

1Defended under the Freebird Rule