Paul London |
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Paul London is an American professional wrestler performing for World Wrestling Entertainment on the Smackdown! brand, in its cruiserweight division.
Career
London's main exposure came from his work in the Ring of Honor promotion, during his time working for ROH, London's matches were often accompanied by chants of "please don't die" as a reference to his wild style.
London went on to sign a WWE Development deal in mid-2003, working a few dark matches before being sent to its farm federation Ohio Valley Wrestling on August 30, 2003.
London made his official SmackDown! debut on October 9, 2003, losing to Brock Lesnar in a try-out match.
He later began teaming with fellow cruiserweight Spanky. The team was a mainstay on SmackDown!'s sister show, WWE Velocity, until tag team partner, Spanky, left the company.
London was placed with a new tag team partner, Billy Kidman. This team had more success and went on to win the WWE Tag Team Titles from The Dudley Boyz on July 8, 2004.
The champion run of this face team came to an abrupt end after Kidman turned his back on London, leaving him to wrestle a tag team title match on his own. The heel turn came off the back of a legitimate injury on an August 24, 2004 taping of SmackDown!, where Billy Kidman's Shooting Star Press caused Chavo Guerrero to suffer a concussion and be taken to hospital. The London/Kidman feud lasted a few months before London was placed in the hunt for the cruiserweight gold.
In 2005, he began a feud with Chavo Guerrero, which later saw London win the WWE Cruiserweight Championship from him in a Cruiserweight Battle Royal On March 31, 2005.
The pair continued their feud and had a Cruiserweight title match on June 23, 2005, but this title match was quickly interrupted by The Mexicools, a group of three Mexicans who dislike "Gringos". The Mexicools again interrupted another rematch the following week. On July 14, 2005, Paul London teamed with Scotty 2 Hotty and Funaki to face The Mexicools. The ending of the match saw Juventud perform London's 450 Splash on London for the win, almost injuring him in the process.
As a result of the number of injuries it was reported that WWE management told their cruiserweight stars to tone down their high flying nature, banning both the 450 splash and the shooting star press. Paul London, who used the shooting star on July 30th in a WWE Velocity match with Nunzio, was told afterwards not to use the move anymore, and to come up with a new finisher. He was said to be notably upset. London went on to lose the WWE Cruiserweight Title on August 6th, 2005 on the next edition of WWE Velocity to Nunzio.
Profile
- Height: 5'10" (1.78 m)
- Weight: 205 lb (93 kg)
- Birthday: April 16th 1980
- Hometown: Austin, Texas
- Marital Status: Dating Kelly
- Trained by: Ivan Putski, George de la Isla and Rudy Boy Gonzalez
- Professional Debut: 1999
- Previous Identities: El Gran Luchadore, El Vegas Dragon
Finishing and signature moves
- Calling London/Cosmic Cyclone (450 Splash)
- London Calling (Shooting Star Press)
- Dragon Suplex
- Dropsault
- Mushroom Stomp
- Waffle Face (Sky Lift Double Chickenwing into a Sit-out Faceplant)
with Spanky
- Get Well Soon (Reverse STO and Enziguri combo)
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