Tucker Knight

Last updated

Tucker Knight
Tucker Knight 2018.jpg
Tucker in April 2017
Birth nameLevi Rolla Cooper
Born (1990-07-24) July 24, 1990 (age 29)
Clackamas, Oregon, United States
Residence Orlando, Florida, United States
Spouse(s)
Ashley Cooper(m. 2016)
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) Tucker [1]
Tucker Knight
Billed height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) [1]
Billed weight320 lb (150 kg) [1]
Billed from Hubbard, Oregon [1]
Trained by WWE Performance Center
DebutJanuary 24, 2015

Levi Rolla Cooper [2] (born July 24, 1990) [3] is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on SmackDown brand under the ring name Tucker (a shortened version of his previous ring name Tucker Knight). [4] Tucker and Otis began teaming together in NXT, WWE's developmental territory under the name Heavy Machinery.

Contents

Early life

Cooper attended North Marion High School where he was a successful amateur wrestler. He wrestled at collegiate level for Portland State University, California State University, Bakersfield and Arizona State University, and placed 8th at the NCAA Wrestling Championships in 2011, earning him All-America status. [5] At ASU, he earned a degree in accounting from the W. P. Carey School of Business. [6]

Professional wrestling career

WWE

Early career (2013–2015)

Cooper joined WWE after graduating college in 2013. [7] He was assigned to the WWE Performance Center and took the ring name Tucker Knight.

NXT (2015–2018)

Knight made his professional wrestling debut at an NXT live event in Starke, Florida on January 24, 2015, facing Tye Dillinger. He made his television debut on the July 1, 2015 episode of NXT, working as an enhancement talent in a loss to Baron Corbin. [7] Knight continued to make sporadic televised appearances as an enhancement talent throughout the remainder of 2015 and the start of 2016.

In July 2016, Knight formed a tag team with Otis Dozovic, calling themselves Heavy Machinery. The duo participated in the 2016 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, losing in the first round to the team of Austin Aries and Roderick Strong. The duo returned and had their first televised victory on the March 29, 2017 episode of NXT, defeating the team of Mike Marshall and Jonathan Ortagun. [8]

Main roster (2018–present)

Knight made his first televised main roster appearance on April 27, 2018 at WWE's Greatest Royal Rumble event in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, entering the Royal Rumble match at #24 and eliminating Drew Gulak before being eliminated by Big E. [9] On the December 17, 2018 episode of Raw , Heavy Machinery were advertised as two of six NXT wrestlers to be moved to the main roster. [10] With the shortened names of Otis and Tucker, they debuted on the January 14 episode of Raw interrupting an interview between Alexa Bliss and Paul Heyman. On the April 16 episode of SmackDown, the team was moved to the SmackDown brand during the 2019 WWE Superstar Shake-up. [11] At WrestleMania 35, Otis and Tucker competed in the sixth annual André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, but failed to win. In May, they started a feud with SmackDown Tag Team Champions Daniel Bryan and Erick Rowan. [12] The duo participated at the 51-Man Battle Royal at the 2019 Super Showdown, but they were both eliminated during the match. After weeks of mind games from the champions, Heavy Machinery faced Bryan and Rowan at Stomping Grounds in a losing effort. [13] On the July 2nd episode of Smackdown, Otis and Tucker defeated Dolph Ziggler and Kevin Owens to become the Number 1 Contenders for the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championships. At Extreme Rules, Heavy Machinery lost to Bryan and Rowan and the New Day.

On the September 30 episode of Raw, Heavy Machinery made an appearance via the wild card rule to challenge for the Raw Tag Team Championship, but lost to champions Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode. At Crown Jewel on October 31, Heavy Machinery competed in a tag team turmoil match, but were eliminated by The New Day.

At Survivor Series, Heavy Machinery participated in an interbrand tag team battle royal which was won by Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode. By the end of 2019, Tucker's partner Otis entered into a romantic storyline with Mandy Rose. On February 14, 2020 episode of SmackDown, Tucker's partner Otis had a date with Rose but saw Dolph Ziggler sitting at her table, causing Otis to walk away heartbroken. On the March 6, 2020 episode of SmackDown, Otis and Tucker tried apologized to Rose, but Rose dismisses his heartfelt apology. On the March 20, 2020 episode of SmackDown, Ziggler distracted Otis and Tucker by showing pictures of him and Rose and caused Otis and Tucker to get disqualified in a match against The Miz and John Morrison. On the 3 April, 2020 episode of SmackDown Tucker was attacked by Ziggler ahead of Ziggler's Wrestlemania clash with Otis. The following week on SmackDown, Tucker challenged Ziggler to a rematch but was unsuccessful.

Other media

Tucker Knight made his video game debut as a playable character in WWE 2K19. [14]

Championships and accomplishments

Related Research Articles

Dolph Ziggler American professional wrestler

Nicholas Theodore Nemeth is an American professional wrestler and stand-up comedian. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Dolph Ziggler.

The Ascension (professional wrestling) Professional wrestling tag team

The Ascension are a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Konnor and Viktor.

Kofi Kingston Ghanaian professional wrestler

Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah is a Ghanaian-American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE under the ring name Kofi Kingston where he performs on the SmackDown brand where he is currently one-third of the SmackDown Tag Team Champions.

Bo Dallas American professional wrestler

Taylor Michael Rotunda is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Bo Dallas.

Big E (wrestler) American professional wrestler

Ettore Ewen is an American professional wrestler and former powerlifter and American football player. He is currently signed to WWE under the ring name Big E, where he performs on the SmackDown brand where he is currently one-third of the SmackDown Tag Team Champions.

Erick Rowan American professional wrestler

Joseph Ruud is an American professional wrestler best known for his time in WWE where he performed under the ring name Erick Rowan.

Carmella (wrestler) American professional wrestler, dancer and model

Leah Van Dale is an American professional wrestler, dancer, and model. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Carmella.

Baron Corbin American professional wrestler

Thomas "Tom" Pestock is an American professional wrestler and former professional football player, better known by the ring name Baron Corbin. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name King Corbin.

Rusev (wrestler) Bulgarian professional wrestler

Miroslav Barnyashev, known professionally as Miro, is a Bulgarian-American professional wrestler. He is best best known for his appearances with the professional wrestling promotion WWE under the ring name Rusev. In WWE, he was a three-time United States Champion, and he was the first and only Bulgarian wrestler to have worked for WWE.

Mandy Rose American professional wrestler

Amanda Rose Saccomanno is an American professional wrestler, television personality, and fitness and figure competitor. She is signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Mandy Rose.

Fire and Desire Professional wrestling tag team

Fire and Desire was a professional wrestling tag team in WWE, consisting of Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville. The team was formed in 2017 on the Raw brand as a trio called Absolution, which consisted of Paige, Rose and Deville with the latter two jumping to the main roster from NXT. Paige retired from in-ring competition due to her injuries and became the SmackDown General Manager in 2018 and ended her alliance with Rose and Deville, thus dissolving Absolution. Rose and Deville continued teaming together and the team was renamed "Fire and Desire" in late 2019. The team dissolved in 2020 when Deville betrayed Rose by conniving with Dolph Ziggler to create friction between Rose and Otis.

Sonya Deville American professional wrestler and mixed martial artist

Daria Rae Berenato is an American professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. She is signed to WWE under the ring name Sonya Deville, where she performs on the SmackDown brand.

Otis (wrestler) American professional wrestler

Nikola Bogojevic is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Otis, and is the current holder of the men's Money in the Bank contract.

WrestleMania 36 2020 WWE pay-per-view and WWE Network event

WrestleMania 36 was the 36th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and WWE Network event produced by WWE for their Raw, SmackDown, and NXT brand divisions — the first to promote the NXT brand. It was filmed on March 25 and 26, 2020 and broadcast as a two-night event on April 4 and 5, marking the first time the event was broadcast over two nights as well as aired on tape delay. On PPV, the two productions were sold as individual shows, with both available as a package deal.

Royal Rumble (2020) 2020 WWE pay-per-view and WWE Network event

Royal Rumble was a professional wrestling pay-per-view and WWE Network event produced by WWE for their Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. It took place on January 26, 2020 at the Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas. It was the thirty-third event under the Royal Rumble chronology.

WWE Stomping Grounds 2019 WWE pay-per-view and WWE Network event

Stomping Grounds was a professional wrestling pay-per-view and WWE Network event produced by WWE for their Raw, SmackDown, and 205 Live brand divisions. It took place on June 23, 2019, at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington.

Street Profits Professional wrestling tag team

The Street Profits is an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford, performing in WWE on the Raw brand, where they are the current Raw Tag Team Champions in their first reign.

Super ShowDown (2020) 2020 WWE pay-per-view and WWE Network event

Super ShowDown was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and WWE Network event, produced by WWE for their Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. It took place on February 27, 2020 at the Mohammed Abdu Arena on the Boulevard in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It was the third event promoted under the Super ShowDown chronology and the fifth event under WWE's 10-year partnership supporting Saudi Vision 2030.

Elimination Chamber (2020) 2020 WWE pay-per-view and WWE Network event

Elimination Chamber was a professional wrestling pay-per-view and WWE Network event produced by WWE for their Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. It took place on March 8, 2020 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was the tenth event under the Elimination Chamber chronology.

Heavy Machinery (professional wrestling) Professional wrestling tag team

Heavy Machinery is a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Otis and Tucker. They are currently signed to WWE working on the SmackDown brand.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Smackdown Live: Tucker". WWE. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
  2. ↑ Gallivan, Joseph. "NXT, please! From Hubbard, Oregon to WWE". joomlakave.com. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Levi Cooper Profile - Arizona State University Official Athletic Site". Arizona State University.
  4. ↑ Gallivan, Joseph. "NXT, please! From Hubbard, Oregon to WWE". Portland Tribune.
  5. ↑ "The Improbable Journey of Levi Cooper". mudmosh.com.
  6. ↑ "And in this corner: Accountancy alum Levi Cooper, aka Tucker". W. P. Carey News and Research. March 5, 2019. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
  7. 1 2 Hawkins, Phil. "Hubbard native shows talent, potential in WWE".
  8. ↑ "3/29 Moore's NXT TV Review: Kassius Ohno vs. Elias Samson in a Loser Leaves NXT Match, Johnny Gargano vs. Dash Wilder vs. Akam, Heavy Machinery in action, Ember Moon and Asuka contract signing for NXT Takeover: Orlando - Pro Wrestling Dot Net". March 29, 2017.
  9. ↑ "WWE Greatest Royal Rumble results, recap, grades: Lesnar-Reigns controversy, Strowman stands tall". CBSSports.com.
  10. ↑ "WWE announces six NXT stars coming to the main roster|". www.pwinsider.com. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
  11. ↑ F4W Staff (April 16, 2019). "Full list of WWE Superstar Shake-Up night two roster changes". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online . Retrieved June 16, 2019.
  12. ↑ Powell, Jason. "WrestleMania 35 Kickoff Show results: Powell's live review of the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, WWE Women's Battle Royal, Buddy Murphy vs. Tony Nese for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship". Pro Wreslting Dot Net. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
  13. ↑ P., Leon (June 8, 2019). "There Were Actually 51 Competitors in the Super ShowDown Battle Royal, Complete List". PWInsider. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
  14. ↑ Cole, Caitlin (December 19, 2018). "Complete WWE 2K19 Roster". Rumble Ramble. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
  15. ↑ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2018". cagematch.net. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.