Robert Steveson Jr. (born March 20, 1999) is an American professional wrestler known in his time in the WWE under the ring name Damon Kemp. He is a former collegiate wrestler who competed at the University of Minnesota, where he is a former National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) qualifier. Steveson is the older brother of Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson.
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Robert Steveson Jr. |
| Born | March 20, 1999 Apple Valley, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Minnesota |
| Parent(s) | Robert Steveson Laticia Steveson |
| Relative | Gable Steveson (brother) |
| Ring name(s) | Damon Kemp |
| Billed height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) |
| Billed weight | 220 lb (100 kg) |
| Billed from | Apple Valley, Minnesota |
| Trained by | WWE Performance Center |
| Debut | December 24, 2021 |
| Sport | |
| Country | United States |
| Sport | Wrestling |
| Event | Folkstyle |
Early life and amateur wrestling career
editRobert (“Bobby”) Steveson Jr. was born and raised in Apple Valley, Minnesota to Robert and Laticia Steveson,[1] where he and his younger brother Gable attended Apple Valley High School. During his high school years, Steveson distinguished himself in wrestling, securing three state championship titles and achieving national recognition by winning junior folk style national championships in 2013 and 2014.[1]
Pursuing higher education at the University of Minnesota, Steveson continued his wrestling career. His collegiate achievements include qualifying for the NCAA championships in 2017[1] and earning letter winner status in both 2017 and 2018.[1] Steveson also participated in open tournaments, winning at the Cobber Open and the Buena Vista Open in 2015,[1] and finishing as a runner-up at the UNI Open the same year.[1]
Professional wrestling career
editSteveson signed with WWE in August 2021 as part of a new class of recruits for the WWE Performance Center. He worked as a face under the ring name Damon Kemp on the 205 Live, NXT 2.0 and NXT UK programs.[2][3] While he became a member of the Diamond Mine in May 2022,[4] he left the stable when he turned on his stablemates the Creed Brothers at Worlds Collide, turning heel. At NXT Halloween Havoc, Kemp lost to Julius Creed in the Ambulance match under the stipulation that if Julius loses, Brutus would have to leave NXT. After that, he joined the No Quarter Catch Crew (NQCC) stable.[5]
As part of NQCC, Dempsey won NXT Heritage Cup Champion[6] and it was announced announced that it will be defended by the whole stable under the "Catch Clause".[7][8] Under the Catch Clause, NQCC as a whole referred to themselves as the NXT Heritage Cup Champions but WWE only recognize Dempsey as the official champion. NQCC feuded with the stable The D'Angelo Family, resulting in a six-man tag team match between the two factions at Week 1 of Spring Breakin', which was won by The D'Angelo Family.[9] After D'Angelo won the Heritage Cup, Kemp faced him for the title on the June 5 episode of NXT, but lost 2–0.[10] On the June 25 episode of NXT, Tavion Heights defeated Kemp in an initiation match to officially join NQCC, which became Stevenson's final match in WWE after he announced his departure from the company on July 8, when his contract was not renewed; an angle was done to write him off television on the following week’s episode of NXT where he was taken out by his now-former stablemates Heights, Charlie Dempsey and Myles Borne in the parking lot and was put in the trunk of Dempsey’s car.[11][12][13]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f "Bobby Steveson - Wrestling". University of Minnesota Athletics. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
- ^ "Bobby Steveson Gets New Name Ahead Of NXT Debut". Wrestling Inc. November 10, 2021. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
- ^ "Damon Kemp". WWE. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
- ^ "Damon Kemp Introduced As Newest Member Of Diamond Mine On 5/10 NXT 2.0 | Fightful News". www.fightful.com. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^ Joseph, Sunil (September 14, 2022). "Former Diamond Mine member helps current WWE Superstars to retain their NXT tag team titles in Steel Cage Match". Sportskeeda. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^ Moore, John (February 27, 2024). "NXT TV results (2/27): Moore's review of Ilja Dragunov and Carmelo Hayes meeting, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson vs. Edris Enofe and Malik Blade, Von Wagner vs. Lexis King, Kiana James vs. Kelani Jordan". Pro Wrestling Dot Net.
- ^ Moore, John (February 27, 2024). "NXT TV results (2/27): Moore's review of Ilja Dragunov and Carmelo Hayes meeting, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson vs. Edris Enofe and Malik Blade, Von Wagner vs. Lexis King, Kiana James vs. Kelani Jordan". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
- ^ Powell, Jason (March 5, 2024). "NXT TV results (3/5): Moore's review of NXT Roadblock with Carmelo Hayes vs. Tony D'Angelo for a shot at the NXT Title, Kabuki Warriors vs. Lyra Valkyria and Tatum Paxley for the WWE Women's Tag Titles". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
- ^ "NXT Spring Breakin' 2024 Week One results". WWE. April 23, 2024. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
- ^ Moore, John (June 4, 2024). "NXT TV results (6/4): Moore's review of TNA Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace vs. Stevie Turner, Tony D'Angelo vs. Damon Kemp for the NXT Heritage Cup, Thea Hail vs. Jazmyn Nyx". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
- ^ Moore, John (June 25, 2024). "NXT TV results (6/25): Moore's review of Tag Team Turmoil for a shot at the NXT Tag Titles, NXT Champion Trick Williams vs. Shawn Spears in a non-title match, Tony D'Angelo vs. Nathan Frazer for the NXT Heritage Cup". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
- ^ Rose, Bryan (July 8, 2024). "Damon Kemp no longer under WWE contract". F4W Online. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
- ^ Ross Sapp, Sean (July 8, 2024). "Damon Kemp's WWE Contract Not Being Renewed". Fightful Select. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
Damon Kemp is no longer with WWE. Kemp was told that his WWE contract would not be renewed.