Percy Watson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Percy Watson |
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Watson in 2012
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| Birth name | Nicholas Christopher McNeil |
| Born | August 19, 1981 Leland, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Western Carolina University |
| Children | 1 |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Nick McNeil Chris McNeil Percy Watson Cordell Porter The Unknown Hand |
| Billed height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) |
| Billed weight | 245 lb (111 kg) |
| Billed from | South Beach, Florida, U.S. |
| Trained by | FCW |
| Debut | 2009 |
| Retired | 2021 |
Nicholas Christopher McNeil (born August 19, 1981), known by his wrestling name Percy Watson, is an American professional wrestler and commentator. He also played professional football. He is most famous for his time with WWE. There, he was a wrestler and later a commentator for shows like NXT and 205 Live.
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From College Football to the NFL
Nicholas McNeil went to Western Carolina University. He studied computer information systems. While there, he was a great football player. He played as a defensive end. He was chosen as an All-Southern Conference player three times.
After college, McNeil played professional football from 2004 to 2006. He was part of the practice squads for NFL teams. These included the Green Bay Packers and Washington Redskins. He was also on the offseason rosters for the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants. In January 2006, he joined the Redskins' main team during the playoffs. However, he did not play in any games.
Professional Wrestling Journey
Starting in WWE's Developmental Program
In 2009, Nicholas McNeil signed a contract with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). He began training at their special school for new wrestlers. This school was called Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW). It was where wrestlers learned and practiced before joining the main shows.
He first wrestled under his real name, Nick McNeil. Soon after, he changed it to Chris McNeil. On October 1, 2009, he introduced himself as Percy Watson. He teamed up with Darren Young. They called their team the South Beach Party Boys.
Competing on NXT
Percy Watson joined the second season of NXT in 2010. NXT was a TV show where new wrestlers competed. They had experienced wrestlers, called "Pros," as their mentors. Watson's mentor was Montel Vontavious Porter, also known as MVP.
Watson made his NXT debut on June 8, 2010. He teamed with MVP and won a match. He was known as "Showtime" Percy Watson. Fans liked his fun and energetic style. He even wore red glasses and wrestled with them on!
In a fan poll on June 29, Watson was ranked second among the new wrestlers. On July 6, he won a challenge. This allowed him to host his own talk show segment. During his show, he tried to trick his mentor, MVP. But other Pros came to MVP's rescue. Watson later apologized to MVP, and they made up.
On July 27, Watson achieved something special. He was the first new wrestler to defeat a Pro in a singles match. He beat Zack Ryder. On August 17, Watson was eliminated from NXT. He finished in fifth place overall. After this, he wrestled in non-televised matches for a while.
Watson returned to WWE TV on September 8, 2011. He appeared on WWE Superstars. He no longer wore his glasses and had a more serious style. He teamed with Titus O'Neil. They lost their match. He then joined the fifth season of NXT, called NXT Redemption. He was not a new wrestler anymore. He was Titus O'Neil's friend and tag team partner.
Watson and O'Neil had some success as a team. They won matches against other wrestlers. However, they could not defeat the team of Darren Young and JTG. Watson also wrestled alone on NXT. He earned wins against wrestlers like Tyler Reks and Heath Slater.
In January 2012, Titus O'Neil turned against the fans. He wanted Watson to do the same. When Watson refused, O'Neil pushed him. This led to a match between them, which O'Neil won. O'Neil continued to attack Watson after the match. Alex Riley came out to help Watson. Watson and Riley teamed up to face O'Neil and Young twice, but they lost both times. On March 7, Watson got his rematch against O'Neil and won.
Later in 2012, NXT changed. It became WWE's main training brand. Watson continued to appear on the new NXT. He lost a match to Jinder Mahal on July 18. This started a series of losses for Watson. He lost to wrestlers like Kassius Ohno and Leo Kruger. Watson also sometimes teamed with Yoshi Tatsu. But they did not win many matches. They lost to The Ascension in November 2012.
In January 2013, Watson and Tatsu entered a tournament. This tournament was to crown the first-ever NXT Tag Team Champions. But they were defeated in the first round by The Wyatt Family. On May 17, 2013, Percy Watson left WWE. His last televised match was a six-man tag match loss against The Shield.
Independent Wrestling
After leaving WWE, Watson wrestled one match on the independent wrestling scene. This was on June 14, 2014, in Georgia. He lost to Lance Hoyt.
Returning to WWE as a Commentator
On November 30, 2016, Percy Watson returned to WWE. He became a commentator for NXT. He joined Tom Phillips and Corey Graves at the announce table. In early 2017, Graves moved to the Raw show. Nigel McGuinness then joined Watson and Phillips on NXT.
On April 10, 2018, Watson started commentating on 205 Live. He worked alongside Vic Joseph. The next day, he also began commentating on Main Event.
In January 2019, Aiden English replaced Watson on 205 Live. Watson then moved back to NXT. He also did commentary for the Worlds Collide show during WrestleMania 35 weekend. In April, other people replaced him on Main Event. In May, Beth Phoenix took his place on the NXT commentary team. On May 11, 2019, it was reported that Watson was leaving WWE again. He wanted to try new things outside of wrestling.
Achievements
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Ranked No. 238 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2010
See also
In Spanish: Nick McNeil para niños
- List of gridiron football players who became professional wrestlers
