Bronson Rechsteiner was accustomed to slamming into his opponents into the turf. Now as Bron Breakker, he's slamming them through car windshields.
Rechsteiner spent the summer of 2020 with the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent fullback. He didn't make the team out of training camp, but it was easy to see then that he was an intriguing athlete.
That athleticism, mixed with the moxie that has made wrestling his family's business, has made Rechsteiner one of WWE's up-and-coming stars. That was on full display Monday night at WWE Raw.
Breakker sent his opponent, Ricochet, out in an ambulance after spearing him through a car windshield. That was just the finale to an eye-opening performance.
The victory was just the latest in Breakker's fast rise up the professional wrestling ranks. He first signed a developmental contract with WWE in February of 2021 and wrestled his first match for NXT later that year in September.
On Jan. 4, 2022, Breakker defeated Ciampa by submission to win the NXT Championship, then defended it a year later against Grayson Waller. He lost his title that April, ending his reign at 362 days. He was also a one-time NXT Tag Team Champion.
After not making the Ravens' 53-man roster, Brekker made it to the wrestling big leagues earlier this year. His SmackDown debut was in February, and he was drafted to Raw in April. He made his Monday Night Raw debut three weeks ago, making quick work of opponent Kale Dixon.
None of this comes as a surprise considering his roots. Rechsteiner is the son of Rick Steiner and nephew of Scott Steiner, the famous wrestling Steiner Brothers who teamed up as seven-time World Tag Team Champions. Their basement growing up was a wall-to-wall wrestling match. He was a Georgia AAAAAA state wrestling champion.
But before he devoted himself to professional wrestling, Rechsteiner went the football route. He bullied defenders at FCS Kennesaw State University as a fullback and running back who ran for 909 yards and seven touchdowns his senior year in 2019. Wrestling was still in his blood, however, as his highlight tape showed.
Rechsteiner's chances of making the Ravens' roster were always slim considering Baltimore already had fullback Pat Ricard, who went to his first of four straight Pro Bowls in 2019, the year before Rechsteiner showed up.
But Rechsteiner knew his professional athlete journey was just starting.
"I'll be a wrestler when I'm done playing football – for sure," Rechsteiner said on “The Lounge” podcast four years ago. "If WWE reaches out to me and wants me to suplex [Rob Gronkowski] in the end zone for the 24/7 title, then I'll do it."
Pro wrestling and Ravens fan Peter Shand contributed to this story.
