Prince Nana facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Prince Nana |
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Nana at a Ring of Honor show in 2011
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| Birth name | Nana Osei Bandoh |
| Born | August 1, 1979 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Nana Prince Nana |
| Billed height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) |
| Billed weight | 235 lb (107 kg) |
| Billed from | "Ghana, West Africa" |
| Trained by | Angel Medina Vito LoGrasso D-Von Dudley Johnny Rodz Mr. Fabian Street |
| Debut | 1996 |
Nana Osei Bandoh (born August 1, 1979), known by his wrestling name Prince Nana, is an American professional wrestling manager and former professional wrestler. He is from Ghanaian family background. He currently works for All Elite Wrestling (AEW). There, he manages the wrestler Swerve Strickland. Prince Nana is also famous for his time in Ring of Honor (ROH). He started and managed a wrestling group called The Embassy.
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Early Life and Wrestling Dreams
Prince Nana was born in the United States. However, he says he is the son of a royal family member from the Ashanti tribe in Ghana. When he was three, his family moved to Ghana for five years. They returned to America so Nana could go to school there. As a teenager, he moved to New York City as an exchange student.
In 1992, when Nana was twelve, he watched WrestleMania VIII. He was very inspired by a match between "Macho Man" Randy Savage and Ric Flair. This made him want to become a wrestler. A year later, he wrote to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), which is now called WWE. He asked them for advice on where to train. The WWF suggested a school in New Jersey, but Nana felt it was too far. Instead, he became a photographer for Johnny Rodz, who ran a gym in New York. Nana worked for Rodz until he turned eighteen. Then, Rodz began training him to wrestle.
Professional Wrestling Career
Starting Out (1996–2002)
Prince Nana started his wrestling career in 1996. His first match was in a church in Spanish Harlem. He regularly wrestled for the East Coast Wrestling Association in Delaware. He also worked for USA Pro Wrestling in New York. He even made appearances with the WWF and in Japan with Pro Wrestling ZERO1-MAX.
Time in Ring of Honor (2002–2016)
In 2002, Prince Nana joined a new wrestling company called Ring of Honor. In 2004, he created a wrestling group called The Embassy. This group was known as a "heel" stable, meaning they were the bad guys. In the stories, Nana used his supposed wealth from Ghana to hire wrestlers. These wrestlers would fight his opponents and rivals.
Under his management, John Walters successfully defended his ROH Pure Championship. Also, Jimmy Rave, Alex Shelley, and Abyss won the Trios Tournament in 2006. Nana stayed with Ring of Honor until September 2006.
The Embassy Returns
On October 24, 2008, Prince Nana made a surprise return to Ring of Honor. He said he had lost all his money and just wanted a job. Security then removed him from the building. This happened a few more times. Later, in March 2009, Nana announced he had regained his wealth. He said he had reformed The Embassy. This new group included Bison Smith and Ernie Osiris.
Over time, other wrestlers joined The Embassy. These included Claudio Castagnoli, Joey Ryan, and Shawn Daivari. By October 2010, most of them had left the group. In January 2011, Nana introduced the newest version of The Embassy. It included Ernesto Osiris, Mia Yim, R.D. Evans, and Tommaso Ciampa. Ciampa became Nana's top wrestler. In 2012, The Embassy broke up when Ciampa turned against Nana.
In mid-2013, Nana took on a new role in ROH as a Talent Scout. In late 2014, he formed another version of The Embassy. This group included Moose, Stokely Hathaway, and Veda Scott. This group also later disbanded. Nana also managed Donovan Dijak for a time.
All Elite Wrestling and ROH Return (2022–Present)
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On July 23, 2022, Prince Nana returned to Ring of Honor at the Death Before Dishonor event. He announced that he had bought a group called Tully Blanchard Enterprises. He then reformed The Embassy with Brian Cage, Bishop Kaun, and Toa Liona. This trio won a match during the preshow.
At Final Battle in December 2022, Cage, Liona, and Kaun won the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship. This was under Nana's guidance. It was the first time in his 20 years with the company that Prince Nana had managed his wrestlers to win a championship in ROH.
Managing Swerve Strickland
On April 7, 2023, on AEW Rampage, Prince Nana began managing Swerve Strickland. This happened after Strickland merged his group, 'Mogul Affiliates', with The Embassy. The new combined group was called Mogul Embassy.
On April 21, 2024, at Dynasty, Swerve Strickland defeated Samoa Joe to win the AEW World Championship. This was a huge moment for Prince Nana. It was the first time he had managed a wrestler to win a singles world championship. On May 8, 2024, the Mogul Embassy group broke up. Brian Cage, Toa Liona, and Bishop Kaun attacked Strickland and formed their own group. Despite this, Nana continued to manage Swerve Strickland.
Nana managed Strickland for his successful title defenses against Christian Cage and Will Ospreay. At All In in August 2024, Strickland lost the AEW World Championship to Bryan Danielson. In September 2024, at Grand Slam, Nana was supposed to give an update on Strickland. However, he was interrupted by MVP. MVP blamed Nana for Strickland's recent losses and offered to take over as manager. In October 2024, at WrestleDream, Strickland chose to stay loyal to Prince Nana.
Championships and Awards
Prince Nana has helped his wrestlers win many championships and has received awards himself:
- CyberSpace Wrestling Federation
- CSWF Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Sonjay Dutt
- East Coast Wrestling Association
- ECWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- ECWA Mid Atlantic Championship (2 times)
- New York Wrestling Connection
- NYWC Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with MEGA
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- PWI ranked him #311 out of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2010.
- USA Pro Wrestling
- USA Pro New York State Championship (2 times)
- WreslePurists
- Best Non-Wrestler Award 2023.
