Velveteen Dream facts for kids
Patrick Clark Jr. (born August 19, 1995) is an American professional wrestler. He is known for his time in WWE, where he wrestled as Velveteen Dream from 2015 to 2021. Today, he performs on the independent circuit using the name Velveteen Man.
Clark started his wrestling journey in 2014 with MCW Pro Wrestling. There, he even won the MCW Tag Team Championship with Lio Rush. After wrestling in other smaller groups, he joined the 2015 WWE reality show Tough Enough. This show looked for new wrestling stars. Even though he didn't win, WWE signed him. He then joined NXT, which is like WWE's training ground for new talent.
In May 2017, Clark introduced a new character on NXT called Velveteen Dream. This character was inspired by the famous musician Prince. The Velveteen Dream became very popular. He even won the NXT North American Championship one time.
Quick facts for kids Velveteen Dream |
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Dream in 2018
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| Birth name | Patrick Clark Jr. |
| Born | August 19, 1995 Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Patrick Clark Velveteen Man Rick Powers Slugger Clark Velveteen Dream |
| Billed height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) |
| Billed weight | 227 lb (103 kg) |
| Billed from | Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C. |
| Trained by | MCW Pro Wrestling WWE Performance Center |
| Debut | October 3, 2014 |
Contents
Early Life
Patrick Clark Jr. was born on August 19, 1995. His hometown is Washington, D.C., in the United States.
Patrick Clark's Wrestling Journey
Starting His Career (2014–2015)
Patrick Clark Jr. began training to be a professional wrestler in 2014. He trained at the Maryland Championship Wrestling center. His coach was Patrick Brink. After just four months, he made his first wrestling appearance. This was on October 3, 2014. He used the wrestling name "Rick Powers."
Clark continued to wrestle for MCW. In October 2015, he won the MCW Tag Team Championship. He won this title with his partner, Lio Rush. For a short time, he used the name "Slugger Clark." By February 2016, he decided to just use "Patrick Clark" as his name. During 2015, Clark also wrestled for other independent wrestling groups. These included Combat Zone Wrestling and World Xtreme Wrestling.
Joining WWE (2015–2021)
Tough Enough and Training (2015–2017)
In June 2015, Patrick Clark was chosen for a TV show. It was the sixth season of WWE Tough Enough. This show was a competition to find new WWE wrestlers. Many people thought he would win. However, he was eliminated in the fifth episode. He placed ninth overall in the show.
On October 17, 2015, WWE signed Clark to a special contract. This is called a developmental contract. It means he would train to become a WWE star. He had his first WWE match on February 5, 2016. This was at an NXT live event in Lakeland, Florida. He lost this match to Riddick Moss.
Clark then made his TV debut on May 24, 2016. This was on the NXT show. He won his first TV match against Robert Anthony. On October 19, Clark challenged the NXT Champion Shinsuke Nakamura. But Nakamura attacked him instead. Clark returned and won his first televised match on March 1, 2017. He defeated Sean Maluta on NXT.
Becoming NXT North American Champion (2017–2019)
On May 3, 2017, Clark started showing new video clips on NXT. These clips introduced his new character, Velveteen Dream. This character was inspired by the musician Prince. He made his debut as a "heel" (a bad guy in wrestling) on May 24. He defeated Robert Anthony.
On September 20, Velveteen Dream started bothering Aleister Black. Dream kept following Black, wanting Black to say his name. This led to a match at NXT TakeOver: WarGames. Dream lost this match. In December, Dream was supposed to wrestle Kassius Ohno. But an injury stopped him from competing.
On January 10, 2018, Dream made fun of Johnny Gargano. He said he could beat Ohno much faster. This started a rivalry with Ohno. At NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia, Dream defeated Ohno. Later in 2018, Dream wrestled in several big events. He competed for the first NXT North American Championship at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans. He lost to Ricochet at NXT TakeOver: Chicago II. Then, he defeated EC3 at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV.
On September 26, Dream started a rivalry with NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa. Dream accused Ciampa of attacking Aleister Black. This made Dream a "face" (a good guy in wrestling). At NXT TakeOver: WarGames on November 17, he tried to win the NXT Championship from Ciampa but failed.
On February 2, 2019, Dream entered the 2019 Worlds Collide tournament. He won against Tony Nese, Humberto Carrillo, Jordan Devlin, and Tyler Bate. This win earned him a future championship match. Dream chose to challenge Johnny Gargano for the NXT North American Championship.
On February 20, Dream defeated Gargano on NXT. This was his first championship win in WWE. At NXT TakeOver: New York, Dream kept his title by beating Matt Riddle. This was Riddle's first loss in NXT. Dream successfully defended his title against many challengers. These included Buddy Murphy, Tyler Breeze, Roderick Strong, and Pete Dunne. On September 18, he lost the title to Roderick Strong. This ended his reign after 231 days.
Final Storylines (2020–2021)
After a back injury, Dream returned on February 5, 2020. He attacked The Undisputed Era group on NXT. At TakeOver: In Your House, Dream challenged Adam Cole for the NXT Championship. He lost this match. A rule said he couldn't challenge for the title again while Cole was champion.
After more time off due to a car accident, Dream returned on August 12. He lost to Cameron Grimes in a match that also included Kushida. After the match, Dream attacked Kushida. This made him a "heel" (bad guy) again. The next week, he defeated Finn Bálor on NXT. This qualified him for a ladder match for the NXT North American Championship. At NXT TakeOver: XXX, Dream failed to win the title.
At NXT TakeOver 31, Kushida defeated Dream. On December 23, Dream lost to Adam Cole on NXT. This was his last WWE appearance. On May 20, 2021, WWE released Dream from his contract.
Wrestling Today (2024–Present)
On February 18, 2024, Patrick Clark returned to wrestling after more than three years. He made a surprise appearance for a group called The Dynasty. He now uses the name Velveteen Man. This is a new version of his old WWE name. His return match was at Dynasty: It Was All A Dream. He defeated Alec Odin in this match.
On September 21, 2024, Patrick Clark returned to MCW, his old training place. He defeated "The Afro Samurai" Tony Macko at the September Slam event. In early October 2024, he won several single matches at the MCW Autumn Armageddon events.
Velveteen Dream's Character
When Patrick Clark first joined NXT, he used a character that supported Donald Trump. He wore shirts with Trump's image. In 2017, he changed his character to Velveteen Dream. This character was inspired by the musician Prince. WWE described the character as "mysterious yet exciting." He had a fancy, jeweled look. This look would have fit right in with Prince's Purple Rain Tour.
As Velveteen Dream, his special finishing move was called the Purple Rainmaker. This was a diving elbow drop. The name was also inspired by Prince.
Video Games
As Velveteen Dream, Patrick Clark is a character in several video games. You can play as him in WWE Mayhem, WWE Universe, WWE Champions, WWE SuperCard, WWE 2K19, and WWE 2K20.
Major Wins and Achievements
- Maryland Championship Wrestling
- MCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Lio Rush
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Most Improved Wrestler of the Year (2018)
- Ranked No. 26 among the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2019
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- Best Gimmick (2018)
- WWE
- NXT North American Championship (1 time)
- NXT Year-End Award for Rivalry of the Year (2017) – vs Aleister Black
- Worlds Collide (2019)
See also
In Spanish: Velveteen Dream para niños
