Damian Slater

Damian Slater[1]
Birth name Andrew Baggio
Born (1987-06-14) 14 June 1987
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia[1]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) Damian Slater
Ocean Neal
Billed height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[1]
Billed weight 193 lb (88 kg)[1]
Billed from Adelaide, Australia[1]
Trained by Col Dervany[2]
Debut 14 May 2003

Andrew Baggio (born 14 June 1987) is an Australian professional wrestler who is most known for competing in the inaugural WWE Cruiserweight Classic under the ring name Damian Slater.[1]

Early life

Slater began watching World Wrestling Entertainment at the age of 12 in 1999, then beginning his training in 2002.[3] Slater was originally trained by Col Dervany at the Monster Factory in Salisbury, South Australia.[3]

Professional wrestling career

Joint Promotions (2003-2006)

Slater made his debut for Joint Promotions Wrestling (then known as Maximum Power Wrestling) in May 2003 against fellow debutants Will Power and Daryl Wylde.[4] He would later capture the Lightweight Championship from Bustar on 9 July 2005.[4]

Wrestle Rampage (2006–2016)

Then known as EPW Adelaide, Slater was one of the original headline acts of the new promotion. In the debut event EPW Emerging, Damian Slater & Shane Haste defeated Davis Storm & Hartley Jackson for the EPW Tag Team Championships.[5] However, as the match ended in a disqualification, Slater & Haste were not able to capture the titles. The promotion eventually underwent several name changes to NWA Pro Australia, ZERO-1 Australia and most recently, Wrestle Rampage.

Slater had matches with Zero-1 star Ikuto Hidaka in November 2012 and New Japan star Shinsuke Nakamura in March 2014.[2]

Wrestle Rampage's main championship, the Australian National Championship, was originally under the jurisdiction of the National Wrestling Alliance. Slater captured the title twice, against Ryan Eagles in November 2013 and Jonah Rock in May 2016.[6]

National Wrestling Alliance (2007–2009)

For various periods over 2007-2009, Slater stayed in San Bernardino, California to train under Jesse Hernandez at the School of Hard Knocks. During that time, Slater would wrestle for various chapters of the National Wrestling Alliance around the West Coast of the USA. Slater wrestled for Empire Wrestling Federation, Alternative Wrestling Show, SoCal Pro, Mach One Wrestling.

Slater also wrestled at the NWA Fiesta Lucha event held at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on 25 February 2007. A 3,900 strong crowd saw Slater appear in the King of the Summit Battle Royale which was eventually won by Sexy Chino.

Pro Wrestling Zero-1 (2012–2016)

Slater began training at the Pro Wrestling Zero-1 Dojo in Tokyo, Japan in January 2012 under Ikuto Hidaka. He adopted the name Ocean Neal. Slater joined Craig Classic to defeat Mineo Fujita and Tony Bauer at the famed Korakuen Hall on 1 February.[7] on 18 February, Slater was defeated by Masato Tanaka at Zero-1 Gym.[7]

In February 2016, Slater wrestled in Yangon, Myanmar for a Charity Wrestling Tournament co-promoted by Pro Wrestling Zero-1.[8]

Lucha VaVoom (2013)

Slater wrestled for Lucha VaVoom at the Australian Big Day Out Festival in 2013. The Festival went to Sydney, Gold Coast, Adelaide, Melbourne & Perth and was headlined by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. He portrayed the character 'El Jimador' for the tour.[9]

Other promotions (2003–present)

Damian Slater has also wrestled in New Zealand for Impact Pro Wrestling, as well as various Australian independent promotions such as Explosive Pro Wrestling, Melbourne City Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Alliance, Warzone Wrestling, Riot City Wrestling and Australian Wrestling Allstars.[2]

WWE

Cruiserweight Classic (2016)

Slater received a tryout with WWE during their tour of Australia in August 2014.[10] He then received a second tryout at the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio in March 2016. On 14 June 2016, WWE announced Slater as part of the 32-man Cruiserweight Classic tournament.[1][11] Slater made his debut on 21 July episode of WWE Cruiserweight Classic on the WWE Network against Tajiri but lost via pinfall after a Buzzsaw Kick, eliminating him from the tournament.[12]

NJPW (2018)

In 2017, Slater received a tryout with New Japan Pro Wrestling in Melbourne. At a Wrestle Rampage event in January of 2018, it was announced that he would be joining the February NJPW FALLOUT DOWN UNDER tour of Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney & Perth. [13]

Personal life

Slater is the head coach at the EPW School of Pro Wrestling in Malaga, Western Australia which is linked to the Explosive Pro Wrestling promotion. He formerly filled the same role at the Wrestle Rampage Dojo in Adelaide, South Australia. He is also a Physical Education teacher.

Championships and accomplishments

  • Explosive Professional Wrestling
    • EPW Championship (1 time)[14]
    • EPW Tag Team Championship (w/ Marcius Pitt - 1 time)
    • 2014 Invitational Tournament Winner[14]
  • Australian Wrestling Allstars
    • AWA Middleweight Championship (1 time)[4][15]
  • Warzone Wrestling
    • Warzone Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[14][16]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "WWE Profile for Damian Slater". wwe.com. WWE. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 "Damian Slater profile". Cagematch. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  3. 1 2 Gerard, Adam (1 July 2015). "Glam Adelaide Interview - Damian Slater". www.glamadelaide.com.au/. Glam Digital Pty. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "OWW Profile for Damian Slater". www.onlineworldofwrestling.com. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  5. ↑ "Cagematch (results) - EPW Emerging". www.cagematch.net. 2 December 2005. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  6. ↑ "Cagematch - Damian Slater Title History". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  7. 1 2 "Cagematch Profile for Ocean Neal (Damian Slater)". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  8. ↑ Dark, Angelita (8 February 2016). "C Slater defeated USA's Buffa and Ireland's Sean Guinness". Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  9. ↑ Semo, Esther (20 November 2012). "Tone Deaf - Lucha VaVoom at Big Day Out 2013". www.tonedeaf.com.au. Tonedeaf. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  10. ↑ Fewster, Sean (15 June 2016). "SA pro-wrestler Damian Slater chosen for WWE tournament". The Advertiser. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  11. ↑ Fried, Scott (14 June 2016). "WWE Announces All 32 Participants In The Cruiserweight Classic". www.whatculture.com. WhatCulture Ltd. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  12. ↑ Melok, Bobby (20 July 2016). "Tajiri def. Damian Slater (First Round Match)". WWE. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  13. ↑ "RELOADED Full Results (20/01/2018)". www.wrestlerampage.com. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  14. 1 2 3 4 "Damian Slater's Titles". cagematch.net. Cagematch.net. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  15. ↑ "AWA Australian Wrestling Allstars #2". Cagematch. 1 August 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  16. ↑ "Warzone Wrestling Wrestle Clash 2". Cagematch. 28 November 2009. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  17. ↑ "PWI Ratings for Damian Slater". www.profightdb.com. The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
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