Roy Bevis(born 25 February 1981)[1]is an Englishprofessional wrestler.He mainly competes under thering nameRoy KnightinWorld Association of Wrestling,which is owned and operated by his family. He has wrestled alongside his fatherRicky Knight,his younger half-brotherZak Zodiacand his son Ricky Knight Jr.; with his son, he is a one-timeBritish Tag Team ChampioninRevolution Pro Wrestling(RPW).
| Roy Bevis | |
|---|---|
| Born | 25 February 1981 Norwich,England |
| Children | 3, includingRicky Knight Jr. |
| Family | Ricky Knight(father) Sweet Saraya(stepmother) Saraya Bevis(half-sister) Zak Zodiac(half-brother) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Brian Knight Hooligan Bud Roy Knight The Zebra Kid Ricky Knight Jr. |
| Billed height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Billed weight | 210 lb (95 kg) |
| Trained by | Ricky Knight |
| Debut | 1995 |
Professional wrestling career
editAt the age of 13, Bevis made his debut in Lingwood in Norfolk, as the Zebra Kid partnering with the Canary Kid in a tag-team match against Jamie Lee and the Brixton Brawler. Since then, he has been faced with many challengers, including the likes ofRobbie Brookside,Doug Williamsand his own father throughout many independent promotions in the United Kingdom. Bevis has not limited his career to the UK either, making appearances in theUnited Statesin 2002 for the now defunctXtreme Pro WrestlingagainstJonny Storm,Joey MatthewsandJerry Lynn.
Bevis' most high-profile work in the UK was for the W.A.W.; he made hisFrontier Wrestling Alliance(FWA) debut in 2002 winning a four-way match against Paul Travell, Scotty Rock andMark SloanatFWA Carpe Diemfor anFWA All-England titlematch a few weeks later, a title he won. Throughout 2002 and 2003, Bevis traded FWA's All-England title back and forth with many of FWA's stars, but when Bevis vacated the belt due to injury on 18 October 2003, Hade Vansen won a provisional championship match against Flash Barker. On 26 March 2004, Bevis made his return in a last effort to win back the title in an undisputed FWA All England Championship match, but Vansen walked out of this match still the champion.
AtFWA Carpe Diemin June 2004, Doug Williams defeated Bevis when Ricky Knight turned on him. This led to a long-lastingfeudbetween father and son, which involved many of the Bevis family members. All of this was fuelled by Bevis' decision to wrestle full-time for the FWA instead of his father's promotion,World Association of Wrestling(WAW). In September 2004, this storyline came to an abrupt end when Bevis was jailed for nine months for drink-driving and for dangerous driving. After this spell in prison, promoters the FWA released a statement welcoming him back, saying: "While the FWA does not condone Roy's actions, we recognize that he has now served his sentence." DuringFrontiers of Honor,a cross-promotional show between FWA andRing of Honorin the United Kingdom,Samoa Joe,theirROH Champion,faced The Zebra Kid in a match that would make the belt a "World Title" as it was being defended outside the United States.
After this Bevis would once again wrestle more for independent promotions in the United Kingdom, including his father's WAW, under the names "Roy Knight" and "Brian Knight". On 4 February 2006 at Real Deal Wrestling'sKing Of The Castleevent, Bevis would make it to the tournament final to defeat Ricky Knight and win RDW Heavyweight Championship. However, not long after this WAW announced on their forum that he would be taking a break from wrestling, to sort out some health and personal issues.
Bevis made a return to the ring in 2007. In 2008, he went on to defeat Erik Isaksen (at The Talk, Norwich) to win become the first British wrestler to hold the WAW World Heavyweight Championship. Bevis would go on to make many successful title defences against Christian Eckstein, Danny Collins,Martin Stoneand Scott Fusion. In October 2010, Bevis lost the WAW World Heavyweight Championship to Scott Fusion at WAW's annual spectacular; October OutRage 12. Fusion is the second British wrestler to hold the title.
On 19 November 2010 at a WAW show in Norwich, Bevis regained the WAW World Heavyweight Championship in a match featuring Scott Fusion teaming with Karl Krammer against Bevis and his father, Ricky Knight. The rules stipulated that if either man pinned either Fusion or Krammer, then Bevis would regain the title. Knight pinned Krammer for the victory and Bevis regained the title. He lost the championship to Danny Boy Collins in March 2012 in a Hardcore Tag Team match when he again teamed with his father against Collins and former ECW ChampionSteve Corino.Collins won the title when he choked Bevis out after a missed Zebra Crossing.
Bevis has since reverted to the Roy Knight ring name and formed a tag team with his brotherZak Knightto become the UK Hooligans. In 2011, the UK Hooligans won the HEW Tag Team Championship from The Devil's Playboys (Bret Meadows and Sam Knee), and in September 2012, they defeated Army of Two (Scott Fusion and Aaron Sharpe) to win the vacant RQW European Tag Team Championship.
Personal life
editBevis is part of aprofessional wrestlingfamily. His father and stepmother, known asRicky KnightandSweet Sarayarespectively, are professional wrestlers, as are his half-siblings,ZakandSaraya Jade.Saraya Jade is signed to AEW under the ring name Saraya. The family run the World Association of Wrestling (WAW) promotion. In July 2012,Channel 4produced a documentary about the Knights entitledThe Wrestlers: Fighting with My Family.[2][3]Bevis has three children, and his eldest son Ricky Knight Jr. is also a professional wrestler. In January 2022, Bevis became a grandfather for the first time after the birth of RKJ's child.[4]
In September 2004, Bevis was jailed for nine months fordrunk driving.[5]In June 2005, he was arrested foraffray,possessing an offensive weapon, and assaulting a police officer after throwing a beer bottle across a pub and possessing a knife on a night out.[5]In August 2005, Bevis, playing as a striker forThetford Town,knocked a referee unconscious during a match after being shown ared card.[5]After the incident, Thetford Town stated that Bevis was no longer playing for or involved with the team.[5]
Championships and accomplishments
edit- All Star Wrestling
- British Tag Team Championship (1 time)[6]– withRicky Knight
- European Catch Tour Association
- ECTA Tag Team Championship (1 time)[7]– withZak Knight
- Frontier Wrestling Alliance
- FWA All-England Championship[8][9](3 times)
- Herts and Essex Wrestling
- Power Of Wrestling
- POW Tag Team Championship (1 time)[12]– with Zak Knight
- Premier Wrestling Federation
- Preston City Wrestling
- PCW Tag Team Championship(1 time)[15]– with Zak Knight
- Pro Wrestling Elite
- PWE Tag Team Championship (1 time)[15]– with Zak Knight
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Real Deal Wrestling
- Real Quality Wrestling
- Revolution Pro Wrestling
- Undisputed British Tag Team Championship(1 time)[21]– with Ricky Knight Jr.
- Southside Wrestling Entertainment
- SWE Tag Team Championship (1 time)[22]– with Zak Knight
- Target Wrestling
- Target Wrestling Tag Team Championship (1 time)[23]– with Zak Knight
- World Association of Wrestling
- WAW World Heavyweight Championship (6 times, Current)[24]
- WAW British Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[25]
- WAW European Heavyweight Championship (1 time, Inaugural)[26]
- WAW European Heavyweight Title Tournament (2008)
- WAW King Of The Ring (2009)
- WAW British Cruiserweight Championship (1 time)[27]
- WAW World Tag Team Championship (6 times)[28]– with the Canary Kid (2), Hot Stuff (1), Ricky Knight Jr. (1), Zak Knight (3)
References
edit- ^Roy Knight [@RealRoyKnight] (26 February 2022)."Love you sis ❤️"(Tweet).Retrieved30 August2022– viaTwitter.
- ^Deacon, Michael (19 July 2012)."The Wrestlers: Fighting with My Family, Channel 4, review".The Telegraph.Retrieved17 April2014.
- ^"The Wrestlers: Fighting with My Family".Channel 4.Archived fromthe originalon 24 September 2012.Retrieved23 September2012.
- ^Roy Knight [@RealRoyKnight] (24 January 2022)."My son and grandson #proud #family"(Tweet).Retrieved30 August2022– viaTwitter.
- ^abcd"Ref-attack wrestler facing jail for knife threat".Cambridge News. 26 August 2005.Retrieved24 December2012.
- ^"British Tag Team Championship".www.cagematch.net.Retrieved30 August2022.
- ^"ECTA Tag Team Championship".www.cagematch.net.Retrieved30 August2022.
- ^"Independent Wrestling Results - July 2002".onlineworldofwrestling.com.Retrieved6 July2008.
- ^"X Wrestling Alliance Title Histories".titlehistories.com.Retrieved11 July2008.
- ^"HEW Living On A Prayer 7 - Tag 1".www.cagematch.net.Retrieved30 August2022.
- ^"HEW Helloween 2014 - Eye Of The Tiger".www.cagematch.net.Retrieved30 August2022.
- ^"POW Tag Team Championship".www.cagematch.net.Retrieved30 August2022.
- ^"PWF Light Heavyweight Championship".www.cagematch.net.Retrieved30 August2022.
- ^"PWF Tag Team Championship".www.cagematch.net.Retrieved30 August2022.
- ^ab"PCW Tag Team Championship".www.cagematch.net.Retrieved30 August2022.
- ^"2018 PWI 500".Cagematch.Retrieved29 October2018.
- ^"RDW Heavyweight Championship".www.cagematch.net.Retrieved30 August2022.
- ^"RDW European Championship".www.cagematch.net.Retrieved30 August2022.
- ^"RQW Heavyweight Championship".www.cagematch.net.Retrieved30 August2022.
- ^"RQW European Tag Team Championship".www.cagematch.net.Retrieved30 August2022.
- ^"RevPro Undisputed British Tag Team Championship".www.cagematch.net.Retrieved30 August2022.
- ^"SWE Tag Team Championship".www.cagematch.net.Retrieved30 August2022.
- ^"Target Wrestling Tag Team Championship".www.cagematch.net.Retrieved30 August2022.
- ^"WAW Undisputed World Heavyweight Championship".www.cagematch.net.Retrieved30 August2022.
- ^"WAW British Heavyweight Championship".www.cagematch.net.Retrieved30 August2022.
- ^"WAW European Heavyweight Championship".www.cagematch.net.Retrieved30 August2022.
- ^"WAW Open Light Heavyweight Championship".www.cagematch.net.Retrieved30 August2022.
- ^"WAW World Tag Team Championship".www.cagematch.net.Retrieved30 August2022.