Evan Singleton

Last updated

Evan Singleton
Personal information
Born (1992-10-09) October 9, 1992 (age 32)
Height198 cm (6 ft 6 in)
Weight159 kg (351 lb)
Sport
Sport Strongman, Wrestling
Medal record
Strongman
Representing Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States
World's Strongest Man
Qualified 2020 World's Strongest Man
Qualified 2021 World's Strongest Man
Qualified 2022 World's Strongest Man
5th 2023 World's Strongest Man
3rd 2024 World's Strongest Man
Arnold Strongman Classic
7th 2024 Arnold Strongman Classic
Shaw Classic
5th2021 Shaw Classic
8th2022 Shaw Classic
4th 2023 Strongest Man on Earth
6th2024 Strongest Man on Earth
Rogue Invitational
4th 2023 Rogue Invitational
4th 2024 Rogue Invitational
Giants Live
8th2018 North American Open
1st2019 North American Open
5th 2019 World Tour Finals
2nd2021 Strongman Classic
1st2021 World Open
3rd2021 World Tour Finals
1st 2021 Arnold UK
3rd2022 Strongman Classic
9th2022 World Open
1st2023 Strongman Classic
1st2023 World Open
12th2024 Strongman Classic
4th2024 World Open
9th2024 US Strongman Championship
Arnold Pro Strongman World Series
5th2019 Africa
3rd2019 Forts de Warwick
Official Strongman Games
8th2018 Official Strongman Games

Evan Singleton is an American strongman competitor and former professional wrestler who carries the nickname T-Rex. [1] [2] [3] In the WWE, he wrestled under the name Adam Mercer.

Contents

Singleton has won 5 Strongman competitions: 2019 Giants Live North American Open in Martinsville, Indiana, Giants Live 2021 World Open in Manchester, England, 2021 Arnold UK in Marston Green, England, 2023 Giants Live Strongman Classic in London, England and Giants Live 2023 World Open in Manchester, England. [4]

Professional wrestling career

Adam Mercer
Born Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Professional wrestling career
Billed height6 ft 6 in (198 cm)
Billed weight255 lb (116 kg)
Trained byCZW Wrestling School
DebutMarch 24, 2012

When he was 18, Singleton signed for World Wrestling Entertainment and competed under the name 'Adam Mercer'. [1]

Florida Championship Wrestling/NXT

Singleton joined WWE's developmental promotion Florida Championship Wrestling, before it became solely known as WWE NXT as Adam Mercer during March 2012. At 19 years of age, Mercer was the youngest NXT member in the program's history. Despite his impressive physical credentials, Mercer wrestled a sparse series of matches, most of which were losses to notable up-and-coming wrestlers including Big E. Langston, Brad Maddox and Erick Rowan. Mercer participated on August 1 in a losing fatal four-way tag match, teaming with Chad Baxter, against The Ascension (Conor O'Brian and Kenneth Cameron), Jason Jordan and Mike Dalton and Brad Maddox and Rick Victor.

Mercer's last match in WWE/NXT was on September 27 in a squash match against Erick Rowan. During the match, Mercer sustained what he described as a "serious head injury", causing him to retire. He later joined Vito LaGrasso's lawsuit against the company in 2015, [5] though the lawsuit was thrown out by a judge in 2018. [6]

Strongman career

After his wrestling career ended, he had a brief spell in bodybuilding [7] before coming across a man log-lifting at his local gym in Lancaster, struck up a conversation and within two weeks had decided strongman was his sport.

Evan’s professional debut was North Carolina’s Strongest Man and in 2018 he made his first Giants Live appearance at the North American Open. A year later he returned to record his first large contest victory.

In 2020 he made his competitive debut at World’s Strongest Man after attending the previous year as an alternate and equipment tester. A biceps injury prevented him from progressing from his heat. More bad luck followed in 2021 when, once again, his WSM aspirations were thwarted by food poisoning.

However, 2021 ultimately proved to be a huge year for Evan. Winning the Giants Live World Open and Arnold UK shows, as well as deadlifting 1,000 lb (453.5 kg) in competition have served to signal the arrival of a genuine World’s Strongest Man contender. [8] [9]

In September 2022, Singleton suffered another biceps injury during a training session which put him out of the Giants Live World Tour Finals and Rogue Invitational that were held during October of that year. He underwent surgery to reattach his biceps tendon hoping to recover in time to prepare for the 2023 World's Strongest Man. [10]

In 2023, Singleton made the World's Strongest Man final for the first time, finishing 5th. Singleton would win two Giants Live shows that year: the Strongman Classic at Royal Albert Hall and World Open in Cardiff. He would also place 4th at both the Strongest Man on Earth Competition at the Shaw Classic and the Rogue Invitational.

In 2024, Singleton would compete at the Arnold Strongman Classic for the first time, placing 7th. He had to withdraw late into the competition with an injury. [11] At the World's Strongest Man in May, Singleton made the podium, coming in 3rd. [12] This was despite injuring his foot on the first event, the frame carry. [13]

Personal records

Strongman:

Competitive record

Winning percentage: 17.24%
Podium percentage: 34.48%

1st2nd3rdPodium4th5th6th7th8th9th10th12thTotal
International competitions514104411220129

Bodybuilding

YearBodyCompetitionDivisionPlacing
2015 NPC Atlantic State ChampionshipsJunior7th

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Felix</span> British strength athlete

Mark Felix is a Grenadian-English strongman competitor and regular entrant to the World's Strongest Man competition. He has competed at a record 18 World's Strongest Man contests, reaching the finals three times. He is the winner of the 2015 Ultimate Strongman Masters World Championships, 2016 WSF World Cup India and has won several international grip contests, including the Rolling Thunder World Championships in 2008 and 2009, as well as the Vice Grip Viking Challenge in 2011 and 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laurence Shahlaei</span> British strength athlete

Laurence Cristiaan David Shahlaei is an English YouTuber, strength sports commentator, analyst, coach, and a retired strongman and powerlifting competitor. He is most noted for winning the 2016 Europe's Strongest Man competition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Shaw (strongman)</span> American professional strongman (born 1982)

Brian Shaw is an American retired professional strongman who is widely regarded as one of the greatest strength athletes of all-time. He won the 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2016 World's Strongest Man, making him one of only five men to win the World’s Strongest Man four times or more. In 2011, Shaw became the first man to win the Arnold Strongman Classic and the World's Strongest Man competitions in the same calendar year, a feat he replicated in 2015. With 27 international competition wins, he is the fourth most decorated strongman in history behind Lithuania's Žydrūnas Savickas, Poland's Mariusz Pudzianowski and Iceland's Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson. Shaw has also set more than 25 world records in deadlifting, stonelifting, keg-tossing, grip related movements and more.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson</span> Icelandic strongman (born 1988)

Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson is an Icelandic professional strongman who is widely regarded as one of the greatest strength athletes of all time. He is the first and only person to have won the Arnold Strongman Classic, the Europe's Strongest Man, and the World's Strongest Man competitions in the same calendar year and holds numerous Strongman titles from multiple strength federations, including multiple world records. With 31 international competition wins, he is the third most decorated strongman in history, behind Lithuania's Žydrūnas Savickas and Poland's Mariusz Pudzianowski, and in terms of pure brute strength and with over 100 world records, many strength analysts and Strongman experts regard Hafþór as "the strongest man to have ever lived".

Jean-François 'JF' Caron is a French-Canadian strongman and powerlifter from Les Hauteurs, Quebec, Canada. Having competed in 73 International strongman competitions and winning 10 of them including World's Strongest Viking twice, Caron is among the 20 most decorated strongmen of all time.

Edward Stephen Hall is a British media personality and a retired strongman. He is best known for his world-record setting 500 kg (1,102 lb) deadlift in 2016. He is also known for winning 2017 World's Strongest Man competition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graham Hicks</span> English strongman

Graham Hicks is an English strongman and powerlifter. He won the 2019 Britain's Strongest Man competition and placed second in 2014 and 2018. He is also a two time Europe's Strongest Man bronze medalist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Oberst</span> American strongman

Robert Oberst is an American actor and former professional strongman competitor. He was a regular competitor of the World's Strongest Man competition and was a finalist in the 2013 and 2018 World's Strongest Man competitions ending up in 9th and 8th place respectively. He came 8th in the 2014 Arnold Strongman Classic, he reached the podium of America's Strongest Man 3 times - two runner-up finishes and one third-place finish - and for 4 years, he held the American record for the Log Press at 465 lbs (211 kg). Oberst has competed in 15 international strongman competitions in total.

Mateusz Kieliszkowski is a Polish strongman competitor, notable for winning the 2019 World's Ultimate Strongman competition. He is also a two-time World's Strongest Man runner-up, three-time Arnold Strongman Classic runner-up, one time Europe's Strongest Man runner-up, and five-times Poland's Strongest Man.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martins Licis</span> Latvian strongman

Martins Licis is an American professional strongman, notable for winning the 2019 World's Strongest Man, the 2022 Arnold Strongman Classic, and the 2021 Rogue Invitational strongman championships.

Luke Richardson is a British professional strongman and powerlifter. He was Europe's Strongest Man in 2020, becoming the youngest winner in the history of that contest. He has also competed twice at the World's Strongest Man competition, coming in 9th in 2020. He withdrew from the 2021 competition due to a distal biceps tendon rupture that occurred during the Loading Medley race in his qualifying heat. In 2023, Richardson won the 2023 Giants Live England’s Strongest Man Championship. In powerlifting, Richardson was the 2018 Junior 120kg+ Champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mikhail Shivlyakov</span> Russian marine and strongman

Mikhail Vasilyevich Shivlyakov is a Russian professional strongman and former Russian Marine

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oleksii Novikov</span> Ukrainian who won 2020 Worlds Strongest Man title

Oleksii Novikov is a Ukrainian professional strongman. He won the 2020 World's Strongest Man competition, becoming the second Ukrainian to win the title since Vasyl Virastyuk in 2004, and at 24 years, 278 days, he is also the second youngest winner in history, being only seven days older than Jón Páll Sigmarsson in 1984. He is also a two time World's Ultimate Strongman, the 2022 Rogue Invitational champion, and the 2022 Europe’s Strongest Man.

Rauno Heinla is an Estonian professional strongman competitor. He is a specialist in the deadlift events and is regarded as one of the best deadlifters in the world.

Maxime Boudreault is a Canadian professional strongman competitor from Kapuskasing, Ontario. He secured 3rd place in the 2021 World's Strongest Man competition in Sacramento, California, won the inaugural 'Magnús Ver Magnússon Strongman Classic' competition in 2021 in Iceland, and won the 2022 Canada's Strongest Man competition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rob Kearney (strongman)</span> American professional strongman

Rob Kearney is a retired American professional strongman competitor. He won the Giants Live North American Open in 2017 and the Arnold International World Series Australia in 2019. He is also a four time qualifier for the World's Strongest Man competition, and a three time participant in the Arnold Strongman Classic. He is also a two-time American log lift record holder, with a competition best of 476 lbs in 2020.

Mitchell Hooper is a Canadian strongman and kinesiologist. He secured 1st place at the 2023 World's Strongest Man competition in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, where he also became the first Canadian to win the title of World's Strongest Man. He is also the winner of both the 2023 and 2024 Arnold Strongman Classic events. In 2023, he became the fourth person to win both the World’s Strongest Man and Arnold Strongman Classic competitions in the same year. Mitchell is the only person currently to have won the World's Strongest Man, Arnold Strongman Classic, Rogue Invitational, and Strongest Man on Earth competitions.

Pavlo Nakonechnyy is a Ukrainian professional strongman and powerlifter. He is best known for his prowess in deadlifting, having pulled 390 kg in powerlifting and 453.5kg in strongman standards.

Dimitar Savatinov is an American Strongman from Bulgaria and the former American Deadlift record holder with 467.5 kg (1,031 lb). He also previously held the world record for the Max Dumbbell press with 143 kg (315 lb).

Austin Andrade is an American Strongman competitor from Tucson, Arizona.

References

  1. 1 2 "World's Strongest Man Athlete Evan Singleton Didn't Know What Strongman Was Until 3 Years Ago". barbend.com. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  2. Writer, JOHN WALK | Sports. "Penn Manor alum Evan Singleton makes World's Strongest Man debut this week". LancasterOnline.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. "Sacramento flexing tourism muscle with World's Strongest Man Competition". abc10.com. June 14, 2021.
  4. Roger, Lockridge. "Evan Singleton Wins 2021 Giants Live Strongman World Open". barbend.com. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  5. "Former wrestlers sue WWE over concussions". ESPN.com. January 20, 2015. Retrieved November 27, 2024.
  6. "WWE Files Motion To Dismiss Lawsuit From Big Vito & Adam Mercer | Fightful News". www.fightful.com. Retrieved November 27, 2024.
  7. "Singleton, Evan". www.musclememory.com. Retrieved November 27, 2024.
  8. https://giants-live.com/athlete/evan-singleton/
  9. https://barbend.com/evan-singleton-only-training-strongman-3-years/
  10. "Strongman Evan Singleton Is Out For The Rest Of The 2022 Season, But His Biceps Surgery Was Successful". BarBend. September 28, 2022. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  11. "Evan Singleton, Donna Moore, & Tom Evans Withdraw From 2024 Arnold Strongman & Strongwoman Classic". Fitness Volt. March 2, 2024. Retrieved November 27, 2024.
  12. "2024 World's Strongest Man Results & Leaderboard | BarBend". May 5, 2024. Retrieved November 27, 2024.
  13. "2024 World's Strongest Man Finals Event 1 "KNAACK Giants' Medley" Results | BarBend". May 4, 2024. Retrieved November 27, 2024.