| Cedric Alexander | |
|---|---|
| |
| Birth name | Cedric Alexander Johnson |
| Born | August 16, 1989 (age 33) Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Resides | Orlando, Florida |
| Spouse | {{{spouse}}} |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Cedric Alexander |
| Billed height | 5 ft 10 in (1.77 m) |
| Billed weight | 205 lb (93 kg) |
| Billed from | Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Trained by | George South Pro Wrestling |
| Debut | July 17, 2009 |
Cedric Alexander Johnson (born August 16, 1989), better known by his ring name, Cedric Alexander, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE where he performs on the SmackDown brand.
Alexander worked for Ring of Honor (ROH) from 2010 until 2016. He started as part of C&C Factory, a tag team with Caprice Coleman. They worked together until 2014, then he worked as a singles wrestler, usually managed by Veda Scott. Before WWE, Alexander spent several years on the Mid-Atlantic and Southern independent promotions including Carolina Wrestling Federation Mid-Atlantic.
Professional wrestling career[]
Ring of Honor (2010–2016)[]
Over the course of 2010, Alexander mostly wrestled dark matches for Ring of Honor (ROH). In 2011 he started performing for ROH on a regular basis after he formed the tag team called the C&C Wrestle Factory with Caprice Coleman.
On December 23 at Final Battle 2011, C&C Wrestle Factory competed in a Tag team gauntlet match for a future ROH World Tag Team Championship title shot where they eliminated the Bravado Brothers (Harlem and Lancelot). On March 30 at Showdown in the Sun Chapter 1, they were defeated by Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team (Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin). The next day at Showdown in the Sun Chapter 2, Alexander was defeated by Tommaso Ciampa. On September 15 at Death Before Dishonor X: State of Emergency, they were defeated by S.C.U.M. (Jimmy Jacobs and Steve Corino). At Glory By Honor XI: The Unbreakable Hope on October 13, they once again defeated the Bravado Brothers. On December 16 at Final Battle 2012: Doomsday, they unsuccessfully challenged S.C.U.M. for the ROH World Tag Team Championship in a three-way match that also included the Briscoe Brothers who won the match. On March 3 at the 11th Anniversary Show, he and Coleman were defeated by S.C.U.M. On April 5 at Supercard of Honor VII, C&C Wrestle Factory teamed with B.J. Whitmer, Mark Briscoe and Mike Mondo in a losing effort against S.C.U.M. (Cliff Compton, Jimmy Jacobs, Jimmy Rave, Rhett Titus and Rhino). On May 4 at Border Wars 2013, they defeated ACH and TaDarius Thomas. On May 18 at Relentless, they teamed with Jay Lethal to defeat Matt Taven and reDRagon (Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly). On July 8 at Live And Let Die, Alexander was defeated by Davey Richards. On June 22 at Best in the World 2013, they unsuccessfully challenged reDRagon for the ROH World Tag Team Championship in a three-way match that also included S.C.U.M. (Rhett Titus and Cliff Compton). On August 3 at All Star Extravaganza V, they were defeated by Adrenaline Rush (ACH and TaDarius Thomas) in a three-way match that also included The Young Bucks.
On January 25 at Wrestling's Finest, he defeated Andrew Everett. On February 8 at State Of The Art, he was defeated by Jimmy Jacobs. On February 21 at the 12th Anniversary Show he teamed with Mark Briscoe and Adam Page in a losing effort against The Decade (Roderick Strong, B.J. Whitmer and Jimmy Jacobs). On March 7 at Raising The Bar – Day 1, he teamed with Adam Page in a tag team match against The Decade where they lost. The next day at Raising The Bar – Day 2 he was defeated by Kevin Steen. On March 22 at Flyin' High he was defeated by Michael Elgin. On April 4 at Supercard of Honor VIII, he lost a match against Roderick Strong. On April 19 at Second To None, he teamed with Andrew Everett in a losing effort against reDRagon. At Global Wars on May 10, he defeated Roderick Strong. After the match he was attacked by Roderick Strong and the rest of The Decade and was put through chairs and his shoulder was separated. Alexander made an appearance at War of the Worlds attacking The Decade from behind. This led to a submission match against Roderick Strong at Best in the World, in which he came out victorious. On August 9, during the Summer Heat Tour, he unsuccessfully challenged Michael Elgin for the ROH World Championship. On September 6 at All Star Extravaganza VI he was scheduled to face Silas Young, but when Young broke his leg and ACH did not show up for the event he challenged Jay Lethal for the ROH World Television Championship where he was defeated. On October 11 at Champions vs. All Stars, he was defeated by Christopher Daniels. On November 7 at Survival Of The Fittest- Day 1, he was defeated by Adam Page in a 2014 Survival of the Fittest qualifying match. The next day at Survival Of The Fittest- Day 2, he was defeated by Jay Lethal. On November 22 at Tag Wars, he was defeated by Tommaso Ciampa in No Disqualification Grudge Match. On December 7 at Final Battle 2014, he teamed with The Addiction (Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian), but ultimately lost to The Young Bucks and ACH following a Meltzer Driver and an ACH 450 splash.
On May 16, 2015, at Global Wars '15, Alexander ended Moose's undefeated streak after hitting him with a wrench, turning heel. On June 19 at Best in the World 2015, Alexander reunited with Caprice Coleman, but ultimately broke off the partnership for good, when Coleman refused to allow Alexander to use the wrench again in a match against War Machine (Hanson and Raymond Rowe). Later that same event, he attacked Moose and aligned himself with Moose's former manager Veda Scott, confirming his heel turn.
On May 14, 2016, Alexander announced his departure from ROH.
WWE (2020–present)[]
Alexander would sign a contract with WWE in September 2020, making his debut on the September 18, 2020 episode of SmackDown attacking Ricochet prior to his match, before having a confrontation with SmackDown General Manager, William Regal revealing himself as a heel. A week later on the September 25, 2020 episode of SmackDown, Cedric explained why he attacked Ricochet believing him to of stolen his dream when the two were both involved in a WWE tryout with Ricochet having earned a contract over Cedric. Alexander would go onto say that Ricochet stole food off of his table and took food away from his daughter and that he was gonna make Ricochet feel the same pain and betrayal that he felt. Afterwards it was revealed that Cedric hadn't come to SmackDown alone and that he had aligned himself with the returning MVP who would reveal that he had a hand in bringing Cedric to both WWE and SmackDown and would be his manager going forward with the two promising to "bring the hurt" to anybody that got in their way. Later that night both MVP and Cedric would confront Kurt Angle demanding a match at No Mercy to which Angle granted it before announcing that Cedric would compete on the Kickoff Show against TJP, who expressed disgust believing that the Kickoff Show and TJP were below him.
Personal life[]
Johnson was previously married to fellow professional wrestler Aerial Monroe, who currently competes in All Elite Wrestling under the ring name "Big Swole." They have one daughter together.
In wrestling[]
- Finishing moves
- Lumbar Check (Back suplex dropped into a double knee backbreaker)
- Neuralyzer (540 kick, sometimes preceded by a handspring)
- Signature moves
- Belly-to-belly suplex
- Brainbuster
- Diving clothesline, sometimes while springboarding
- Kick 2 Kill (Fireman's carry overhead kick)
- Overtime (Frog splash)
- Bringin' the Hurt (Michinoku driver)
- Multiple kick variations
- Concussion on Delivery (Drop), sometimes to a cornered opponent
- Enzuigiri
- Jumping corkscrew roundhouse
- Springboard roundhouse
- Super
- Reverse STO
- Somersault plancha
- Spinning back elbow, often used as a counter
- Split-legged moonsault
- Queen's Crowning (Standing moonsault side slam)
- Nicknames
- "King of the Queen City"
- "Charlotte's Favourite Son"
- "Kick to Kill"
- "Lumbar Legacy"
- Entrance themes
- "Overtime" by King Keleze
- "Only One Shot" by 615 Platinum Series
- "Sick" by Adelitas Way
- "Classic" by Kenny Wootton and Harley Wootton
- "It's Time" by Def Rebel (WWE, October 4, 2020 – present)
Championships and accomplishments[]
- America's Most Liked Wrestling
- AML Prestige Championship (1 time)
- AML Prestige Championship Tournament (2016)
- CWF Mid-Atlantic
- CWF Mid-Atlantic Television Championship (1 time)
- PWI Ultra J Championship (1 time)
- Exodus Wrestling Alliance
- EWA Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Premiere Wrestling Federation
- PWF WORLD-1 Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Match of the Year (2015) - with Colby Corino
- Premiere Wrestling Xperience
- PWX Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- PWX Innovative Television Championship (1 time)
- Pro Wrestling EVO
- EVO Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- PWI ranked him No. 28 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2018
- WrestleForce
- WrestleForce Championship (2 times)