Introduction
Daniel Garcia is an American professional wrestler signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He also appears for AEW's sister promotion Ring of Honor (ROH), where he is a one-time ROH Pure Champion. As part of Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG), he is the current PWG World Champion in his first reign.
Professional wrestling career
Early career and independent circuit (2018–present)
Garcia began competing for Limitless Wrestling in 2018. He appeared for WWE on an episode of 205 Live in July 2018, during which he lost against Drew Gulak. In January 2021, he competed against Tyler Rust in WWE on NXT, where he lost. Garcia won the Limitless World Championship in March. He lost the title to Anthony Greene in September.
All Elite Wrestling and Ring of Honor (2021–present)
Garcia made his debut in All Elite Wrestling (AEW) in September 2020 during an episode of Dark. He was announced as having signed with AEW in October 2021.
In a March 2022 episode of Dynamite, Garcia, alongside Jeff Parker and Matt Lee, formed a stable with Chris Jericho and Jake Hager, called the Jericho Appreciation Society (JAS). In August 2022, Bryan Danielson attempted to recruit Garcia away from the JAS and into the Blackpool Combat Club (BCC), citing that Garcia was more suited to the competitive wrestling philosophy of the BCC than Jericho's sports entertainment-focused group. Garcia ultimately chose to remain loyal to Jericho. In September 2022 on Dynamite, Garcia defeated the BCC's Wheeler Yuta to win the ROH Pure Championship. Garcia lost the title back to Yuta at Final Battle in December 2022, ending his reign at 94 days.
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (2021–present)
Garcia debuted for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) at It's A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll) on November 21, 2021, by losing to Jonathan Gresham via referee's decision. The following month, Garcia participated in the Battle of Los Angeles tournament at the namesake event. He defeated Kevin Blackwood in the first round, Alex Shelley in the quarterfinals, Black Taurus in the semifinals, and Mike Bailey in the final round to win the tournament. It earned him a title shot for the PWG World Championship against Bandido at Delivering The Goods. Garcia defeated Bandido to win the title. Garcia successfully defended the title against Konosuke Takeshita at Nineteen and Jonathan Gresham at DINK. Garcia then participated in the 2023 Battle of Los Angeles, where he lost to Titus Alexander by disqualification in the opening round. On the second night of the event, Garcia brought his Jericho Appreciation Society teammates Chris Jericho, Angelo Parker, Matt Menard, and Sammy Guevara for a ten-man tag team match, which JAS won. Garcia then retained the World Championship against Battle of Los Angeles winner Mike Bailey in sudden death overtime in an Iron Man match at Twenty: Mystery Vortex by using underhanded tactics.
Professional wrestling style and persona
Garcia has been described as a technical wrestler. He uses a bridging Sharpshooter hold, which since 2022 he calls the Dragon Tamer.
Following his entry into the JAS, Garcia rejected the label "professional wrestler" and embraced calling himself a sports entertainer, a pejorative term used in AEW to denote a wrestling storytelling style that prioritizes showmanship.
Personal life
Garcia was trained in professional wrestling by Brandon Thurston and The Blade.
In January 2019, Garcia broke both of his legs in a car crash involving three other wrestlers. The vehicle he was riding in crashed after hitting black ice. Garcia returned to wrestling six months later. The following year, he graduated from Buffalo State College with a communications degree.
Championships and accomplishments
- Capital City Championship Combat
- C4 Championship (1 time)
- Empire State Wrestling
- ESW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Limitless Wrestling
- Limitless World Championship (1 time)
- Pro Wrestling Guerrilla
- PWG World Championship (1 time, current)
- Battle of Los Angeles (2022)
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Ranked No. 69 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2023
- Ring of Honor
- ROH Pure Championship (1 time)