Daniel Garcia (wrestler)

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Daniel Garcia
Daniel Garcia, May 2024 03 (cropped).jpg
Garcia in May 2024
Born (1998-09-17) September 17, 1998 (age 27)
Buffalo, New York, U.S.
Alma mater Buffalo State College
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) Daniel Garcia
Danny Garcia [1]
Dante Rios [2]
Billed height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) [3]
Billed weight187 lb (85 kg) [3]
Billed fromBuffalo, New York [4]
Trained byBrandon Thurston
The Blade
Debut2017 [3]

Daniel Garcia (born September 17, 1998) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of the Death Riders and a former AEW TNT Champion. He also makes appearances in AEW's sister promotion Ring of Honor (ROH), where he is a former ROH Pure Champion.

Contents

Professional wrestling career

Early career (2017–2021)

Garcia in 2019 Daniel Garcia Dec 2019 (cropped).jpg
Garcia in 2019

Garcia began training under Brandon Thurston and Pepper Parks before debuting on the independent circuit in 2017. [5] [6] He competed regularly for Limitless Wrestling, where he won the Limitless World Championship in 2021. [7] [8] He also made appearances for WWE, facing Drew Gulak on 205 Live in 2018 and Tyler Rust on NXT in 2021. [1] [2]

All Elite Wrestling / Ring of Honor (2020–present)

Early beginnings and Jericho Appreciation Society (2020–2023)

Garcia made his All Elite Wrestling (AEW) debut on Dark in September 2020 and was officially signed in October 2021. Early in his run, he established himself as a heel and aligned with 2point0 (Matt Menard and Angelo Parker), forming a trio that regularly appeared on AEW programming. [9] In March 2022, the group joined Chris Jericho and Jake Hager to form the Jericho Appreciation Society (JAS), a faction promoting a "sports entertainment" philosophy. [10]

Later that year, Garcia was featured in a storyline involving the Blackpool Combat Club (BCC), with Bryan Danielson encouraging him to embrace his technical wrestling background. Although teased to leave the JAS, Garcia ultimately remained loyal to Jericho. [11] [12] [13] On the September 7, 2022, episode of Dynamite , he defeated Wheeler Yuta to win the ROH Pure Championship, which he held for 94 days before losing it back to Yuta at Final Battle. [14] [15]

In 2023, Garcia unsuccessfully challenged for the AEW International Championship on multiple occasions, including a four-way match at Forbidden Door. [16] He also reached the finals of the "Blind Eliminator" tag team tournament with Sammy Guevara, losing to MJF and Adam Cole. [17] The JAS disbanded later that year, and Garcia resumed teaming with Menard and Parker, turning face. [18]

Singles competition (2023–2025)

Following the breakup of the Jericho Appreciation Society, Garcia continued teaming with Matt Menard and Angelo Parker, with the trio unsuccessfully challenging for the AEW World Trios Championship on two occasions. [19] Garcia later entered a brief program with MJF, culminating in an AEW World Championship match on the November 29, 2023, episode of Dynamite, which Garcia lost. [20] [21] Garcia was announced as a participant in the inaugural Continental Classic tournament. [22] After a four-match losing streak, he earned a victory in his final bout against Brody King, finishing the tournament with three points. [23]

In early 2024, Garcia aligned with FTR in a feud against the House of Black, earning a singles win over Buddy Matthews [24] and later teaming with FTR in a victory over the group in an Escape The Cage Elimination match. [25] He then entered a storyline pursuit of the TNT Championship, which led to a match against Christian Cage at Revolution, where he was unsuccessful. [26] On July 3 at Beach Break, Garcia faced Will Ospreay for the International Championship but lost after interference from MJF. A post-match attack by MJF wrote Garcia off television. [27] He returned at All In in August, interfering in Ospreay’s match against MJF and costing MJF the title. The feud concluded at All Out, where Garcia was defeated but attacked MJF after the match. [28]

Garcia returned on Dynamite in October and announced he had re-signed with AEW. [29] The following month, he defeated Jack Perry at Full Gear to win the TNT Championship, his first title in AEW. [30] He was later confirmed for the 2024 Continental Classic, finishing with seven points but failing to advance to the semifinals. [31] [32] During his 134-day reign as TNT Champion, Garcia made successful defenses against several opponents such as Mark Briscoe and Katsuyori Shibata, [33] [34] before losing the title to Adam Cole at Dynasty on April 6, 2025. [35] After losing to Cole, Garcia entered a feud with FTR, who were now heels. [36] [37] On May 25 at Double or Nothing, Garcia teamed with Nigel McGuinness in a losing effort against FTR. [38] On July 12 at All In, Garcia competed in a four-way match for the vacant TNT Championship, but failed to win. [39]

Death Riders (2025–present)

On the September 10 episode of Dynamite, Garcia attacked Darby Allin and aligned himself with Jon Moxley and joining his stable the Death Riders, turning heel. [40]

Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (2021–2023)

In 2021, Garcia debuted for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG), where he won the Battle of Los Angeles tournament in January 2022. [41] He defeated Bandido in May to win the PWG World Championship, [42] successfully defending the title against several challengers. As of August 2023, PWG has since gone on hiatus, leaving Garcia's status as PWG World Champion unknown. [43] [44]

Professional wrestling style and persona

Daniel Garcia applies sharpshooter aka Dragon tamer.jpg
Daniel Garcia applies sharpshooter aka Dragon tamer 2.jpg
Garcia, seen here in 2019, applying a Sharpshooter hold, which he dubbed the Dragon Tamer in 2022.

Garcia has been described as a technical wrestler. [45] [46] He uses a bridging Sharpshooter hold as a finishing move, which since 2022 he calls the Dragon Tamer. [47] [48] This is a reference to his upset victory over "The American Dragon" Bryan Danielson by using the move at the Dynamite special Fight for the Fallen on July 27, 2022.

Following his entry into the JAS, Garcia rejected the label "professional wrestler" and embraced calling himself a sports entertainer, [49] [50] a pejorative term used in AEW to denote a wrestling storytelling style that prioritizes showmanship. [51] On a Dynamite show held in El Paso, Texas, Garcia began to dance in a Latin-esque way to elicit reactions from the crowd; he has since incorporated this into his character, where he uses the dance as a taunt. [52]

Personal life

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. [53] [54] Garcia returned to wrestling six months later. The following year, he graduated from Buffalo State College with a communications degree. [4]

Championships and accomplishments

References

  1. 1 2 Namako, Jason (July 18, 2018). "WWE 205 Live Results – 7/17/18 (Lio Rush vs. Akira Tozawa, TJP vs. Noam Dar, Gulak in action)". Wrestleview. Archived from the original on September 25, 2018. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  2. 1 2 DeFelice, Robert (February 2, 2021). "WWE Files Trademark On 'Dante Rios'". Fightful. Archived from the original on February 24, 2021. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 "Daniel Garcia" on CageMatch.net. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
  4. 1 2 Barrasso, Justin (December 19, 2020). "Daniel Garcia Is Emerging as Wrestling's Next Star Following a Gruesome Car Accident" . Sports Illustrated . Archived from the original on June 9, 2021. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  5. ↑ Stewart, Liam (April 30, 2021). "Interview With . . . Daniel Garcia". Inside the Ropes. Archived from the original on August 21, 2021. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  6. ↑ Barrasso, Justin (October 8, 2021). "CM Punk: 23-Year-Old Daniel Garcia Is 'Light-Years Beyond His Age'" . Sports Illustrated . Archived from the original on October 8, 2021. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  7. 1 2 Barrasso, Justin (March 20, 2021). "New Limitless Champion Daniel Garcia Wants to Bring Prestige Back to Independent Wrestling" . Sports Illustrated . Archived from the original on March 22, 2021. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  8. ↑ Lambert, Jeremy (September 27, 2021). "Limitless Euphoria Results (9/25): Daniel Garcia Faces Anthony Greene, Dirty Dango Debuts". Fightful. Archived from the original on September 27, 2021. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  9. ↑ Pollock, John (October 19, 2021). "AEW confirms the signing of Daniel Garcia". POST Wrestling. Archived from the original on October 20, 2021. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  10. ↑ Rose, Bryan (March 9, 2022). "Chris Jericho forms 'Jericho Appreciation Society' group on AEW Dynamite". F4Wonline.com. Archived from the original on March 10, 2022. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  11. ↑ Barnett, Jake (August 24, 2022). "8/24 AEW Dynamite results: Barnett's live review of CM Punk vs. Jon Moxley for the unified AEW World Championship, Death Triangle vs. Will Ospreay and Aussie Open in an AEW Trios Title tournament match, Dax Harwood vs. Jay Lethal, Billy Gunn vs. Colten Gunn, Britt Baker vs. KiLynn King, Chris Jericho and Daniel Garcia meeting". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
  12. ↑ Rose, Bryan (August 31, 2022). "ROH Pure Championship match announced for next AEW Dynamite". F4Wonline.com . Retrieved July 4, 2023. Garcia has been involved in a weeks-long storyline involving himself, Chris Jericho and Bryan Danielson, torn over whether he wants to be a sports entertainer in the Jericho Appreciation Society or a wrestler.
  13. ↑ Howard, Ryan (October 12, 2022). "AEW Dynamite live results: Jericho vs. Danielson ROH title match". F4Wonline.com . Retrieved July 4, 2023.
  14. 1 2 Rose, Bryan (September 7, 2022). "Daniel Garcia wins ROH Pure Championship on AEW Dynamite". F4Wonline.com. Archived from the original on September 8, 2022. Retrieved September 13, 2022.
  15. ↑ "ROH Final Battle 2022 Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights". Bleacher Report .
  16. ↑ Howard, Ryan (May 10, 2023). "AEW Dynamite live results: Moxley vs. Omega cage match". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
    Howard, Ryan (June 25, 2023). "AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door live results: Bryan Danielson vs. Okada". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  17. ↑ Howard, Ryan (July 19, 2023). "AEW Dynamite live results: Blood & Guts match". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  18. ↑ Howard, Ryan (August 9, 2023). "AEW Dynamite live results: Jack Perry vs. RVD FTW title match". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  19. ↑ MacDonald, Josiah (September 2, 2023). "AEW Collision live results: Ricky Starks confronts Ricky Steamboat, Dax Harwood vs. Jay White". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
    Williams, Suit (October 21, 2023). "AEW Battle of the Belts VIII live results: Three title matches". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  20. ↑ Collins, Joseph (November 3, 2023). "AEW Rampage live results: Penta El Zero Miedo vs. El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Komander". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved December 9, 2023. After the match, Garcia said that was his first singles match in six months in AEW, then called out MJF and demanded a title shot. Why not? There's only a dozen guys challenging MJF. Garcia still fancies himself a sports entertainer.
  21. ↑ Howard, Ryan (November 3, 2023). "AEW Dynamite live results: MJF vs. Daniel Garcia World title match". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  22. ↑ "AEW reveals full list of entrants for Continental Classic tournament". November 22, 2023.
  23. ↑ "AEW Continental Classic Tournament Semi-Finals Revealed". December 24, 2023.
  24. ↑ "AEW Collision Results - 1/20/24 (Adam Copeland Open Challenge and More!)". January 20, 2024.
  25. ↑ "AEW Collision Results - 1/27/24 (Steel Cage Match, CMLL Stars Coming, More!)". January 28, 2024.
  26. ↑ "Christian Cage Beats Daniel Garcia to Retain AEW TNT Title at Revolution 2024". Bleacher Report .
  27. ↑ Mueller, Doc-Chris. "AEW Dynamite Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction, Highlights After Forbidden Door". Bleacher Report. Retrieved July 5, 2024.
  28. ↑ Powell, Jason (September 7, 2024). "AEW All Out results: Powell's live review of Swerve Strickland vs. Hangman Page in a steel cage match, Bryan Danielson vs. Jack Perry for the AEW World Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
  29. ↑ Everett, Max (October 9, 2024). "Daniel Garcia Returns, Says He's Staying With AEW In Emotional Title Tuesday Promo". Wrestling Inc. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
  30. ↑ Powell, Jason (November 24, 2024). "AEW Full Gear results: Powell's live review of Jon Moxley vs. Orange Cassidy for the AEW World Championship, Mercedes Mone vs. Kris Statlander for the TBS Title, Will Ospreay vs. Kyle Fletcher". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
  31. ↑ "Daniel Garcia declares for AEW Continental Classic". F4W/WON. November 24, 2024. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
  32. ↑ Rueter, Sean (December 25, 2024). "AEW Dynamite on 34th Street live results, open thread: Worlds End go home". Cageside Seats. Retrieved December 26, 2024.
  33. ↑ Berge, Kevin. "AEW Collision Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights After Worlds End". Bleacher Report. Retrieved January 5, 2025.
  34. ↑ Everett, Max (January 12, 2025). "Daniel Garcia Beats Katsuyori Shibata In Second AEW TNT Title Defense On Collision". Wrestling Inc. Retrieved March 25, 2025.
  35. ↑ Powell, Jason (April 6, 2025). "AEW Dynasty results: Powell's live review of Jon Moxley vs. Swerve Strickland for the AEW World Championship, Toni Storm vs. Megan Bayne for the AEW Women's Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved April 7, 2025.
  36. ↑ "AEW Collision Results [4/12/25]: FTR Attacks Daniel Garcia After Brutalizing 2.0, Three More Advance in Owen Hart". Wrestling On Fannation. April 13, 2025. Retrieved April 27, 2025.
  37. ↑ Wrestling, All Elite (April 27, 2025). "AEW Collision Playoff Palooza Results: April 26, 2025 – FTR and Paragon Clash in the Main Event". All Elite Wrestling. Retrieved April 27, 2025.
  38. ↑ Powell, Jason (May 25, 2025). "AEW Double Or Nothing results: Powell's live review of Will Ospreay vs. Hangman Page and Mercedes Mone vs. Jamie Hayter in the finals of the Owen Hart Foundation tournaments, Anarchy in the Arena". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved May 27, 2025.
  39. ↑ Powell, Jason (July 12, 2025). "AEW All In Texas results: Powell's live review of Jon Moxley vs. Hangman Page in a Texas Death Match for the AEW World Championship, Toni Storm vs. TBS Champion Mercedes Mone for the AEW Women's Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved July 12, 2025.
  40. ↑ Howard, Ryan (September 10, 2025). "AEW Dynamite live results: Philly street fight". F4W/WON. Retrieved September 11, 2025.
  41. 1 2 Lambert, Jeremy (January 31, 2022). "PWG Battle Of Los Angeles 2022 Winner Crowned". Fightful. Archived from the original on January 31, 2022. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  42. 1 2 Pollock, John (May 2, 2022). "Daniel Garcia wins PWG title, issues challenge to Konosuke Takeshita". POST Wrestling. Archived from the original on May 3, 2022. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  43. ↑ Rose, Byran (November 15, 2023). "Globe Theatre in Los Angeles closing effective immediately". Wrestling Observer Newsletter . Retrieved March 2, 2024.
  44. ↑ Rose, Byran (November 15, 2023). "Globe Theatre in Los Angeles closing effective immediately". Wrestling Observer Newsletter . Retrieved March 2, 2024.
  45. ↑ Thompson, Andrew (May 28, 2022). "POST NEWS UPDATE: Danielson & Jericho had a conversation about Daniel Garcia, agreed to Garcia aligning with Jericho". POST Wrestling . Retrieved July 4, 2023. ...everyone just thinks I'm just like this technical guy
  46. ↑ Reneo, Juan C. (March 2, 2022). "AEW Dark results: Dante Martin vs. Jack Evans". F4Wonline.com. Daniel Garcia (w/ 2point0) defeated Josh Woods. Two technical wrestlers going at it.
  47. ↑ Klyn, Parker (August 17, 2022). "AEW Dynamite live results: Game of Thrones 'House of the Dragon' episode". F4Wonline.com . Retrieved July 4, 2023. Garcia locked on a Sharpshooter, the one he's calling the Dragon Tamer, but Danielson turned it into the LeBell Lock.
  48. ↑ McGuire, Colin (February 17, 2023). "2/17 AEW Rampage results". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved July 4, 2023. Garcia worked a Dragon-Tamer (sharpshooter).
  49. ↑ Moynahan, Patrick (October 14, 2022). "10/14 AEW RAMPAGE TV REPORT: Blackpool Combat Club vs. Butcher & Blade, six-man tag team action, more". Pro Wrestling Torch . Retrieved July 4, 2023. He said he'd never be a pro wrestler and while he still says Danielson is his hero, he said Jericho taught him how to win. He said he realized Sports Entertainers beat Pro Wrestlers every single time. Garcia said his name is Daniel Garcia, and he is a Sports Entertainer.
  50. ↑ Kleinchester, John (October 15, 2022). "AEW Rampage Notes". POST Wrestling . Retrieved July 4, 2023. Daniel Garcia said that he was a sports entertainer and would never be a pro wrestler.
  51. ↑ Machado, Javier (September 4, 2022). "PPV PRIMER – AEW ALL OUT 2022: Preview and predictions for Moxley vs. Punk, Jericho vs. Danielson, more". Pro Wrestling Torch . Retrieved July 4, 2023. For clarification in this context "Sports Entertainer" is considered a pejorative describing the style of wrestling storytelling the WWE has employed in the past where the emphasis is on more storylines and pageantry and pretty much what AEW was created to counter.
  52. ↑ Tessier, Colin (October 24, 2021). "Daniel Garcia Didn't Intend For His Dance To Become A Thing, It Took On A Life Of Its Own". WrestleZone. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  53. ↑ Haight, Alex (January 11, 2019). "4 Area Wrestlers Thankful for Support After Batavia Crash" . Retrieved July 10, 2022.
  54. ↑ Reyes, Anthony (September 16, 2020). "'Buffalo Brothers' recover from serious injuries, debut for All Elite Wrestling" . Retrieved July 10, 2022.
  55. 1 2 "Titles « Daniel Garcia « Wrestlers Database". Cagematch.net. Archived from the original on March 7, 2022. Retrieved March 7, 2022.
  56. ↑ Caldwell, Brandon; Raimondi, Marc (August 3, 2023). "From MJF and Rhea to...a Viking? Here are the 30 best pro wrestlers under 30". ESPN . Archived from the original on November 17, 2023. Retrieved December 20, 2023.
  57. ↑ Ruth, Sondra (September 14, 2023). "Complete 2023 PWI 500 List Revealed, Top NJPW Star Absent". tjrwrestling.net. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
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