Bryan Keith (wrestler)

Bryan Keith (born September 13, 1991) is an American professional wrestler. As of February 2024, he is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of The Learning Tree. Best known as the "Quickest Kick in the South" and "The Bounty Hunter", he is best known for his appearances on the independent circuit, as well as AEW's sister promotion Ring of Honor (ROH) and Deadlock Pro-Wrestling, where he was a former DPW National Champion.

Bryan Keith
Bryan Keith at Ring of Honor's 2023 Final Battle event
Born (1991-09-13) September 13, 1991 (age 33)
Houston, Texas
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Bryan Keith
Brian Keith[1]
Billed height5 ft 9 in (175 cm)[1]
Billed weight189 lb (86 kg)[1]
Billed fromGreenspoint, Texas
Trained byBooker T[1]
Debut2013[1]

Early life

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Born on September 13, 1991, in Houston, Texas.[1]

Professional wrestling career

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Independent circuit (2013–2023)

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Bryan Keith began training in Reality of Wrestling (ROW) and made his ROW television debut in July 2013. He made a one-off appearance in WWE's 205 Live in June 2018.[2] Initially having a cowboy persona, ROW owner Booker T recommended Keith to adopt a bounty hunter gimmick inspired by Sammy Davis Jr.'s character from The Rifleman.[3] Keith served as a trainer in ROW until his departure from the promotion.[4]

In 2023, Keith began making appearances for Deadlock Pro-Wrestling. At Beast Coast, Keith defeated Andrew Everett to become the DPW National Champion.[citation needed]

Ring of Honor / All Elite Wrestling (2023–present)

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At Ring of Honor’s (ROH) Final Battle on December 15, 2023, Keith won the qualifier but lost the Survival of the Fittest match.[5] He made his All Elite Wrestling (AEW) television debut the following day at Collision, losing an AEW International Championship match to Orange Cassidy.[6] On February 3, 2024, Tony Khan confirmed that Keith had signed a contract with AEW.[7]

On May 26, 2024, at Double or Nothing, Keith turned heel by helping Chris Jericho retain his FTW Championship against Hook and Katsuyori Shibata and joined Jericho's Learning Tree.[8] On the June 12 episode of Dynamite, fellow member Big Bill and Keith were dubbed "The Redwood" and "The Bad Apple" respectively. During a TV Time with The Learning Tree segment, the stable were attacked by Private Party (Zay and Quen) as Jericho was teaching them how to climb the turnbuckle.[9]

Championships and accomplishments

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  • Deadlock Pro-Wrestling
  • F1RST Wrestling
    • F1RST Uptown VFW Championship (1 time)
  • Freelance Wrestling
    • Freelance Legacy Championship (1 time)
  • Loko Wrestling
    • Loko Championship (1 time)
  • New Texas Pro Wrestling
    • New Texas Pro Championship (1 time)
  • Pacific Coast Wrestling
    • PCW ULTRA Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time, current)
  • Pro Wrestling Illustrated
    • Ranked No. 116 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2024[10]
  • Reality of Wrestling
    • ROW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
    • ROW Television Championship (1 time)
    • Rise To Wrestling Royalty Tournament (2021)
  • Timebomb Pro Wrestling
    • Timebomb Championship (1 time)
  • VIP Wrestling
    • VIP Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "Bryan Keith". Cagematch. Archived from the original on January 11, 2024. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  2. ^ Greer, Jamie (February 2, 2021). "Indie Watch: "Bounty Hunter" Bryan Keith is The Law". Last Word on Pro Wrestling. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  3. ^ Fain, Thom (January 28, 2024). "Q&A with the "Bounter Hunter" Bryan Keith at TOUKOUDAN in Tokyo". Monthly Puroresu. Archived from the original on January 30, 2024. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
  4. ^ Thompson, Andrew (December 18, 2023). "Bryan Keith discusses being a head trainer at Booker T's ROW promotion, glad there wasn't issue with him going his own route". POST Wrestling | WWE AEW NXT NJPW Podcasts, News, Reviews. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  5. ^ Williams, Suit (December 15, 2023). "ROH Final Battle live results: Athena vs. Billie Starkz title match". WON/F4W. Archived from the original on January 18, 2024. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
  6. ^ Williams, Suit (December 16, 2023). "AEW Collision live results: Winter is Coming". WON/F4W. Archived from the original on January 18, 2024. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
  7. ^ Rose, Bryan (February 3, 2024). "Bryan Keith signs with AEW". WON/F4W. Archived from the original on February 4, 2024. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
  8. ^ Powell, Jason (May 26, 2024). "AEW Double Or Nothing results: Powell's live review of Swerve Strickland vs. Christian Cage for the AEW World Championship, Willow Nightingale vs. Mercedes Mone for the TBS Title, Anarchy in the Arena". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved May 27, 2024.
  9. ^ Powell, Jason (June 12, 2024). "AEW Dynamite results (6/12): Powell's live review of Will Ospreay vs. Rey Fenix for the AEW International Title, Mercedes Mone vs. Zeuxis for the TBS Title, Dustin Rhodes vs. Jack Perry in a ladder match qualifier". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  10. ^ Ross, Patrick (September 10, 2024). "Full 2024 PWI 500 list revealed". aiptcomics.com. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
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