Pretty Deadly | |
---|---|
Tag team | |
Members | Lewis Howley/Elton Prince Sammy Smooth/Sam Stoker/Kit Wilson |
Name(s) | Greased Lightning Pretty Bastards Pretty Deadly |
Billed heights | Howley: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Stoker: 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) [1] |
Debut | 2015 [2] |
Years active | 2015 2019–present |
Pretty Deadly are a British professional wrestling tag team consisting of Elton Prince and Kit Wilson. They are currently signed to WWE, where they perform on the SmackDown brand. They are a former two-time NXT Tag Team Champions and one-time NXT UK Tag Team Champions.
Lewis Howley, who trained under the tutelage of Jon Ritchie, Paul Jerome and Lucas Jackson at the legendary DKW Academy based in Purfleet, Essex and Sam Stoker debuted as a tag team on 2 February 2019 on Hustle Wrestling Live in Enfield by defeating Justin Case and Justin Vincible in a tag team match. [3] However, they were briefly active one time under the name of Greased Lightning in a match against Lance Lawrence and Oliver Peace on the 14 November 2015 episode of WrestleForce Live in Basingstoke. Stoker was previously known as Sammy Smooth. After that, they both returned to competing as singles wrestlers. [4] They are also known for their tenures with professional wrestling promotions such as Progress Wrestling [5] and Revolution Pro Wrestling. During their International Pro Wrestling: United Kingdom affiliation, they captured the IPW:UK Tag Team Championship one time as Pretty Bastards [6] and one time as a freebird trio including James Castle known as The Collective. [7] [8]
They had sporadic appearances across NXT UK in 2019 before making their official WWE debut in a losing effort to Wild Boar and Primate. [9] They were forced to take a six-month hiatus before returning to the United Kingdom and turning in their first victory in WWE. [10] Howley and Stoker became the number one contenders for the NXT UK Tag Team Championship on 28 January 2021 after defeating Mark Andrews and Flash Morgan Webster, Oliver Carter and Ashton Smith and The Hunt (Wild Boar and Primate) in a four-way tag team match. [11]
Cementing their villainous status, they defeated Gallus (Mark Coffey and Wolfgang) to capture the NXT UK Tag Team Championship on the 25 February 2021 edition of NXT UK. [12] They would retain the titles against Amir Jordan and Kenny Williams on the 1 April episode of NXT UK after Williams turned on Jordan. [13] On the 4 June episode of NXT UK, Pretty Deadly would successfully defend their titles against Jack Starz and Nathan Frazer. [14] On the 22 July episode NXT UK, they would retain against Subculture's Mark Andrews and Flash Morgan. On the 19 August episode of NXT UK, Pretty Deadly would retain against Moustache Mountain (Trent Seven and Tyler Bate). [15] However, they would lose the titles to Moustache Mountain in a rematch on the 9 December episode of NXT UK, ending their reign at 287 days. [16]
On the 5 April episode of NXT , Pretty Deadly, now under the ring names of Elton Prince and Kit Wilson, revealed themselves as the Creed Brothers' attackers after they defeated Imperium (Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel), effectively making their debut on the NXT brand. [17] The following week, they would defeat the Creed Brothers in a gauntlet match, involving Legado Del Fantasma (Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde), Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen, and Grayson Waller and Sanga, to win the vacant NXT Tag Team Championship, making them the first tag team to win the titles on their NXT debut and the second team to hold both the NXT and NXT UK Tag Team Championship. [18] They lost the tag titles to the Creed Brothers on 4 June at In Your House, ending their first reign at 53 days. [19] On the 19 July episode of NXT, Pretty Deadly fought Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen for the NXT UK Tag Team Championship in a losing effort. [20] At Worlds Collide on 4 September, Pretty Deadly defeated the Creed Brothers, Gallus and Brooks Jensen and Josh Briggs in a Fatal 4-Way Tag Team Elimination Match to unify the NXT and NXT UK Tag Team Championships. [21] At NXT Deadline, Pretty Deadly lost the NXT Tag Team Championship to The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods), ending their second reign at 98 days. [22] After failing to regain the titles, Pretty Deadly began feuding with Tony D'Angelo and Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo, and lost to them at Spring Breakin in a trunk match. [23] This would be their final NXT appearance.
As part of the 2023 WWE Draft, Pretty Deadly were drafted to the SmackDown brand. [24] [25] Pretty Deadly made their SmackDown debut on 19 May 2023, defeating Ridge Holland and Butch of The Brawling Brutes. [26] On the 16 June episode of SmackDown, Pretty Deadly won a tag team gauntlet match to become the number one contenders for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship but failed to capture the titles from Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn on the 30 June episode of SmackDown in London. [27] [28] On the 15 July episode of SmackDown, Prince suffered a separated shoulder in Pretty Deadly's tag team match against The Brawling Brutes and had to be sidelined. [29] Pretty Deadly returned on the 13 October episode of SmackDown in a tag team match victory against Holland and Butch. [30]
Prince originates from Grays, England, [31] and Wilson originates from London, England. [32] Prince attended Hassenbrook Academy in Thurrock, Essex. [33] In 2017, Prince appeared on an episode of First Dates . [34] Prince is currently in a relationship with Kelly Kincaid and Wilson is engaged to Stevie Turner, both of whom are signed to WWE.[ citation needed ]
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