Reggie (wrestler)

Last updated

Reggie
Birth nameSidney Iking Bateman
Born (1993-03-13) March 13, 1993 (age 31)
Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
Children2
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) Akeem Young [1]
Reggie
Reginald
Reginald Thomas
Sidney Akeem
Scrypts
Billed from France
St. Louis, Missouri
Trained by WWE Performance Center
Debut2020

Sidney Iking Bateman (born March 13, 1993) is an American professional wrestler and former acrobat. He is currently performing on the independent circuit under the ring name Sidney Akeem. He is best known for his tenue in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Reginald Thomas (which later shortened to Reginald and Reggie) and Scrypts (stylized as SCRYPTS).

Contents

Bateman signed with WWE in 2020 and began appearing on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Reginald Thomas, which was soon shortened to Reginald, a French sommelier. He later dropped the sommelier gimmick and his name was changed to Reggie. While on WWE's main roster, he became a four-time WWE 24/7 Champion—his 112-day first reign was the longest reign for the now-defunct title. After taking a hiatus in mid-2022, he returned in November under a mysterious gimmick of Scrypts in WWE's developmental brand NXT.

Early life

Sidney Iking Bateman [2] was born one of eight siblings in Memphis, Tennessee on March 13, 1993 - but was raised in St. Louis, Missouri. [3] He played football and basketball with circus as a side hobby, but gave those up when, at the age of 16, he joined a gang called the Crips from the 50 Hundred GST (Geraldine Street Thugs). [3] During his junior year in high school, one of his friends was shot to death by a member of a rival gang, leading to Bateman to quit living a gang life and go back to focusing on his circus aspirations. [3]

Professional wrestling career

WWE (2020–2024)

Initial run and 24/7 Champion (2020–2022)

On January 14, 2020, Bateman signed a contract with WWE. [4] On the December 11 episode of SmackDown , Bateman, under the ring name Reginald Thomas, soon after shortened to Reginald, debuted as the French sommelier of Carmella, where he would assist her throughout her feud with Sasha Banks. [5] [6] On the January 22, 2021, episode, Reginald made his in-ring debut in an intergender match, facing Banks in a losing effort. [7] His relationship with Carmella ended on the March 5 episode when she fired him. [8] After a short alliance with Banks, [9] Reginald then managed the team of Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler from March to July, [10] but the team turned on him on the July 19 episode of Raw . [11] Later that night, he won the WWE 24/7 Championship when he pinned Akira Tozawa, marking his first title win in WWE. [12]

On the July 30 episode of SmackDown, his ring name was shortened to Reggie. [13] Along with shortening his name, he also dropped his French accent, stating he was not actually French and had only acted like he was because Carmella needed a sommelier and it got his foot in the door to becoming a wrestler for the company. [13] On September 25, 2021, he became the longest reigning 24/7 Champion. [14] On the November 8 episode of Raw, Reggie lost the 24/7 Championship to Drake Maverick, ending his reign at 112 days; however, he regained the title back from Maverick a minute later following a series of title changes. [15] On the November 22 episode, Reggie lost the title to Cedric Alexander, ending his second reign at 12 days. [16]

After losing the title, Reggie then helped Dana Brooke retain the title for a few months, then asked her out on Valentine's Day 2022, though she turned him down. He pinned Brooke in revenge to win the title for the third time. A week later, Reggie lost the title back to Brooke after he laid down in the ring despite kicking out of a two-count twice, as well as playing mind games. They later began dating, with Reggie once again helping her retain the title. On March 28, they got (kayfabe) engaged. On the April 18 episode of Raw, during their wedding, Reggie pinned his partner to win his fourth 24/7 title, losing to Tamina shortly after. [17] On May 2, Brooke lost the 24/7 title to Nikki A.S.H. during a backstage attack. Brooke soon regained the title via pinfall in a 24/7 Championship match. Brooke also requested a divorce from Reggie, after he attempted to pin her. [18] This was his last appearance before taking a hiatus.

Move to NXT (2022–2024)

In late October, mysterious vignettes began airing on NXT that were done by a person under the alias Scrypts, a seemingly rebellious character who claimed to have unparalleled skills and would bring down NXT. [19] More vignettes aired over the next few weeks and on the November 22 episode of NXT, Reggie debuted for the brand as the mysterious Scrypts, changing his ring name and gimmick. [20] During his time in NXT, he had feuds with Ikemen Jiro [21] [22] and Axiom. [23] After being unmasked by Axiom on the May 2 episode of NXT, [24] he turned face and began to work with Axiom as a tag team. On the July 18th edition of NXT Scrypts turned on Axiom and aligned himself with Bronco Nima and Lucien Price, turning heel and creating the stable Out The Mud (O.T.M.). On May 1, 2024, Scrypts was released from WWE. [25]

Independent circuit (2024–present)

On May 21, 2024, it was announced that Bateman, now going by Sidney Akeem, would make his debut for Game Changer Wrestling (GCW) on June 15. [26]

Personal life

Bateman is a father of two. He used to perform in the circus, notably for Cirque du Soleil, training at Circus Harmony for 7 years and in Montreal for another 3. [2]

Championships and accomplishments

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Titus O'Neil</span> American wrestler and football player

Thaddeus Michael Bullard Sr. is an American professional wrestler and former arena football player. He is the Global Ambassador of WWE and also performs for the promotion as a wrestler under the ring name Titus O'Neil. Described by the company as "one of the most philanthropic Superstars in WWE history," Bullard is the recipient of the WWE Hall of Fame 2020 Warrior Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tamina Snuka</span> American professional wrestler (born 1978)

Sarona Moana Marie Reiher Snuka-Polamalu is an American professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs under the ring name Tamina. She is a nine-time WWE 24/7 Champion and a one-time WWE Women's Tag Team Champion. She is a second generation professional wrestler, the daughter of Jimmy Snuka.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zelina Vega</span> Puerto Rican professional wrestler (born 1990)

Thea Megan Trinidad Büdgen is an American professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Zelina Vega, and is a member of the Latino World Order. She is a former WWE Women's Tag Team Champion, and the first winner of the Queen's Crown tournament (2021).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mercedes Moné</span> American professional wrestler (born 1992)

Mercedes Justine Kaestner-Varnado is an American professional wrestler and actress. As a wrestler, she is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where she performs under the ring name Mercedes Moné. She is best known for her time in WWE from 2012 to 2022, where she performed under the ring name Sasha Banks, and also as Moné in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and in NJPW's sister promotion World Wonder Ring Stardom, both in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlotte Flair</span> American professional wrestler (born 1986)

Ashley Elizabeth Fliehr is an American professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Charlotte Flair. She is currently out of action due to a torn ACL, MCL, and meniscus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bayley (wrestler)</span> American professional wrestler (born 1989)

Pamela Rose Martinez is an American professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Bayley, and is the current WWE Women's Champion in her second reign. Bayley's 380-day reign as WWE SmackDown Women's Champion, tied with Rhea Ripley, stands as the longest in the championship's history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexa Bliss</span> American professional wrestler (born 1991)

Alexis Cabrera is an American professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE, where she performs under the ring name Alexa Bliss. She is currently inactive due to maternity leave.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carmella (wrestler)</span> 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 under the ring name Carmella. She is a former WWE SmackDown Women's Champion, WWE Women's Tag Team Champion and WWE 24/7 Champion. She is currently inactive due to maternity leave.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buddy Matthews</span> Australian professional wrestler (born 1988)

Matthew Adams is an Australian professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Buddy Matthews as a member of the stable House of Black and is a former one-time AEW World Trios Champion. Adams also makes appearances on the independent circuit and is best known for his time with WWE where he performed under the ring name Buddy Murphy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dana Brooke</span> American professional wrestler

Ashley Mae Sebera is an American professional wrestler and former bodybuilder, gymnast, fitness competitor, and model. She is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), under the ring name Ash by Elegance. She is best known for her time in WWE from 2013 to 2023, where she performed under the ring name Dana Brooke and was a 15-time WWE 24/7 Champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fire and Desire</span> Professional wrestling tag team

Fire and Desire was an American professional wrestling tag team in WWE, consisting of Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville. The team was formed in 2017 on the Raw brand originally as a trio called Absolution, which consisted of Paige, Rose and Deville with the latter two jumping to the main roster from NXT. In 2018, Paige retired from in-ring competition due to her injuries and became the SmackDown General Manager, ending her alliance with Rose and Deville. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nikki Cross</span> Scottish professional wrestler (born 1989)

Nicola Glencross is a Scottish professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs under the ring name Nikki Cross. She is a one-time WWE Raw Women's Champion, three-time WWE Women's Tag Team Champion and an 11-time and final WWE 24/7 Champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Otis (wrestler)</span> American professional wrestler

Nikola Bogojević is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand and is a member of the Alpha Academy stable under the ring name Otis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bianca Belair</span> American professional wrestler (born 1989)

Bianca Nicole Blair Crawford is an American professional wrestler and fitness and figure competitor. As of April 2016, she is signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Bianca Belair. She is one half of the current WWE Women's Tag Team Champions, along with Jade Cargill in their first reign. Belair is one of two women to win at a WrestleMania main event and her 420-day reign as Raw Women's Champion stands as the longest in the championship's history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Survivor Series (2019)</span> WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming event

The 2019 Survivor Series was the 33rd annual Survivor Series professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw, SmackDown, and NXT brand divisions. The event took place on November 24, 2019, at the Allstate Arena in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont, Illinois, marking the second Survivor Series held here after the 1989 event when the arena was still known as the Rosemont Horizon. It was the first and only Survivor Series to include the NXT brand, the first since 2009 to feature three major brands, and the first and only to feature three-way Survivor Series elimination matches. The theme of the event was brand supremacy and featured wrestlers from the three brands against each other.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WWE Women's Tag Team Championship</span> Professional wrestling championship

The WWE Women's Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling women's tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is the only women's tag team championship in WWE, thus is defended across both main roster brand divisions, Raw and SmackDown, and the developmental brand, NXT. The current champions are Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill from SmackDown, who are in their first reign, both as a team and individually. They defeated The Kabuki Warriors at Backlash France on May 4, 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Rumble (2021)</span> WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming event

The 2021 Royal Rumble was the 34th annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event took place on January 31, 2021, from the WWE ThunderDome, hosted at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. It was the first Royal Rumble event held since the death of Pat Patterson, who created the Royal Rumble match. This is the only Royal Rumble event to not have live fans in attendance due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A-Kid</span> Spanish professional wrestler

Carlos Ruiz is a Spanish professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Axiom and is one-half of the NXT Tag Team Champions with Nathan Frazer in their first reign. He previously performed as A-Kid in NXT UK, where he was the inaugural NXT UK Heritage Cup champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode</span> Professional wrestling tag team

Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode, sometimes referred to as The Dirty Dawgs or The Dirty Dogs, were a professional wrestling tag team performed in WWE, where they are former one-time WWE Raw Tag Team Champions and one-time WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 WWE Draft</span> Intra-brand draft

The 2021 WWE Draft was the 16th WWE Draft produced by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE between their Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The two-night event began with the October 1 episode of Friday Night SmackDown. It concluded with the October 4 episode of Monday Night Raw, with SmackDown airing on Fox and Raw on the USA Network. Unlike previous drafts, in which results took effect immediately, the results of the 2021 draft went into effect in the October 22 episode of SmackDown. This was also the last draft with Vince McMahon as head of WWE creative.

References

  1. "Reginald". Cagematch. Archived from the original on July 20, 2021. Retrieved July 31, 2021. Alter egos: Akeem Young.
  2. 1 2 Russell, Aprylete (February 2, 2021). "Former Circus Harmony performer makes debut on WWE". FOX 2 NOW . St. Louis, Missouri. Archived from the original on February 6, 2021. Retrieved July 31, 2021. Sidney Iking Bateman, who is from St. Louis, wrestled alongside Sasha Banks on WWE Smackdown on January 22.
  3. 1 2 3 "Sidney Iking Bateman profile". Midnight Circus. August 22, 2017. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  4. Melok, Bobby (January 14, 2020). "Mercedes Martinez, Jake Atlas and more report to WWE Performance Center". WWE . Archived from the original on January 15, 2020. Retrieved July 31, 2021. Sidney Bateman is a 27-year-old acrobat from St. Louis, Mo. Bateman was a cast member for Cirque du Soleil's "LUZIA" show, where he specialized in hoop diving.
  5. Burdick, Michael (December 10, 2020). "SmackDown results, Dec. 11, 2020: Carmella bottles up her aggression on Sasha Banks in brutal title showdown". WWE . Archived from the original on March 3, 2021. Retrieved July 31, 2021. Carmella "borrowed" the document and had the signed version delivered to the ring via a sommelier.
  6. Jordan, Paul (December 12, 2020). "Identity of Carmella's Associate and More WWE News & Notes". PWInsider . Archived from the original on July 31, 2021. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
  7. Nemer, Roy (January 22, 2021). "WWE SmackDown Results – 1/22/21 (Intercontinental Championship match, Roman Reigns, more)". Wrestleview. Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida. Archived from the original on January 28, 2021. Retrieved July 31, 2021. Reginald gets back in the ring and Sasha goes for the Backstabber but Reginald lands on his feet. Sasha with the double knees. Sasha with the Banks Statement as Reginald taps out.
  8. @WWE (March 6, 2021). "UH OH! @CarmellaWWE just fired @ReginaldWWE on #SmackDown!" (Tweet). Retrieved July 31, 2021 via Twitter.
  9. "Reginald profile". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  10. "Reggie bio". WWE. Archived from the original on July 31, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  11. Powell, Jason (July 19, 2021). "7/19 WWE Raw Results: Powell's live review of John Cena's show opening segment, fans return, Charlotte Flair coronation, Symphony of Destruction match, six-man tag match, the Money in the Bank fallout edition". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on July 22, 2021. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
  12. WWE.com Staff (July 19, 2021). "Raw results, July 19, 2021: Nikki A.S.H. becomes new Raw Women's Champion to cap off wild night of surprises". WWE . Archived from the original on July 31, 2021. Retrieved July 31, 2021. Following the bout, Jax & Baszler both seemed to dump Reginald, but a sudden appearance by Akira Tozawa on the run from potential 24/7 Title challengers led to a staredown with Reggie. The end result? Reginald is your new 24/7 Champion!
  13. 1 2 Wilen, Jerome (July 31, 2021). "WWE Superstar Reginald gets a new name and drops his French accent". Wrestleview. Archived from the original on May 24, 2022. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
  14. Defelice, Robert (September 27, 2021). "Reggie Is Now The Longest Reigning WWE 24/7 Champion In History". Fightful. Archived from the original on November 16, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  15. Lafferriere, Nicolas (November 9, 2021). "Reggie pierde y recupera el Campeonato 24/7 de WWE en Monday Night RAW". Solowrestling.com. Solowrestling. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
  16. Powell, Jason (November 22, 2021). "11/22 WWE Raw Results: Powell's live review of the Vince McMahon Cleopatra Egg whodunnit, Bobby Lahsley vs. Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio in a handicap match, Rhea Ripley and Nikki ASH vs. Queen Zelina and Carmella for the WWE Women's Tag Titles". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on November 28, 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
  17. "WWE 24/7 Title Changes Hands Several Times During Double Wedding". Wrestlezone. April 19, 2022. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
  18. McGeorge, Alistair (May 3, 2022). "WWE Raw: Dana Brooke demands divorce from Reggie just two weeks after wedding". Metro . DMG Media . Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  19. Rose, Bryan (October 25, 2022). "Vignette airs for new 'Scrypts' character on WWE NXT". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online . Archived from the original on November 23, 2022. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  20. Thomas, Jeremy (November 22, 2022). "Reggie Makes WWE TV Return on NXT As SCRYPTS". 411Mania. Archived from the original on November 23, 2022. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  21. Moore, John (December 13, 2022). "12/13 NXT TV results: Moore's review of the NXT Deadline fallout edition with new NXT Tag Team Champions Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods, Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne vs. Ivy Nile and Tatum Paxley, Von Wagner vs. Odyssey Jones, Lyra Valkyria debuts". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on December 22, 2022. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
  22. Moore, John (December 27, 2022). "12/27 NXT TV results: Moore's review of Wes Lee vs. Tony D'Angelo for the NXT North American Championship, Julius Creed vs. JD McDonagh, Fallon Henley vs. Kiana James in the Battle for the Bar, Lyra Valkyria vs. Lash Legend, Joe Gacy, Rip Fowler, and Jagger Reid vs. Odyssey Jones, Edris Enofe, and Malik Blade, Wendy Choo vs. Cora Jade, Scrypts vs. Ikemen Jiro". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on January 16, 2023. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
  23. O'Connor, John (February 11, 2023). "2/10 NXT Level Up results: O'Connor's review of Axiom vs. Scrypts, Lash Legend vs. Dani Palmer, and Kale Dixon vs. Tank Ledger". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on March 20, 2023. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  24. Moore, John (May 2, 2023). "5/2 NXT TV results: Moore's review of Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn vs. Kayden Carter and Katana Chance for the NXT Women's Tag Team Titles, Wes Lee vs. Drew Gulak for the NXT North American Title, Dragon Lee vs. JD McDonagh, Gigi Dolin vs. Jacy Jayne, Joe Gacy vs. Joe Coffey, Axiom vs. Scrypts, Dani Palmer's debut". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on May 5, 2023. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  25. Clark, Ryan (May 1, 2024). "WATCH: Scrypts (Reggie) Confirms His WWE Release". eWrestling News. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
  26. "411MANIA". Sidney Akeem Set to Make His GCW Debut Next Month. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  27. "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2022". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  28. Ross, Patrick (September 14, 2015). "Full 2022 PWI 500 list revealed". AIPT Comics. Archived from the original on September 15, 2022. Retrieved September 15, 2015.
  29. "WWE 24/7 Championship". World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) . Retrieved July 21, 2021.