Konnor | |
---|---|
Konnor in March 2015
|
|
Birth name | Ryan Parmeter |
Born |
Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States |
February 6, 1980
Residence | Orlando, Florida, United States |
Spouse(s) | Krissy Vaine (m. 2013) |
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Conor O'Brian Payne Rough House O'Reilly Ryan O'Reilly Konnor |
Billed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
Billed weight | 268 lb (122 kg) |
Billed from |
Boston, Massachusetts The Wasteland Grand Rapids, Michigan Düsseldorf, Germany |
Trained by |
Soulman Alex G Norman Smiley Bill DeMott Tom Prichard Steve Keirn Jody Hamilton |
Debut | 2001 |
Ryan Parmeter (born February 6, 1980) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed by WWE, on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Konnor as part of the tag team The Ascension. He was part of the fourth season of NXT, and earned fourth place on the show's fifth season, NXT Redemption.
After spending four years wrestling on the independent circuit as Ryan Payne O'Reilly, Parmeter signed a WWE contract in 2005, and was assigned to Deep South Wrestling (DSW), a developmental territory, where he wrestled as Rough House O'Reilly. He won the DSW Heavyweight Championship twice, before briefly appearing in Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW). He also appeared in several dark matches prior to Raw and SmackDown, and at several ECW house shows. In October 2007, both Parmeter and his girlfriend, Krissy Vaine, requested to be released from their WWE contracts for personal reasons.
Following his release, Parmeter took time off from wrestling, before debuting for NWA Charlotte in February 2009. In July 2010, he was re-signed by WWE, and returned to FCW where he began wrestling as Conor O'Brian. In November 2010, he was announced as a participant in the fourth season of NXT.
Parmeter initially trained at the School of Hard Knocks in southern Florida under Rusty Brooks, and made his professional wrestling debut in 2001. He went on to compete in Brooks' promotion, Four Star Championship Wrestling (FSCW) as Ryan Payne O'Reilly, and formed a tag team with J-Dawg, known as "The Irish Thug Connection". Together, The Irish Thug Connection won the FSCW Tag Team Championship. He also won the FSCW Heavyweight Championship, and spent mid-2004 feuding with Norman Smiley over it. O'Reilly also competed for Florida's Coastal Championship Wrestling (CCW) promotion, and won the CCW Heavyweight Championship. He appeared for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling during the promotion's early shows.