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Leon Ruff

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Leon Ruffin
Birth nameDartanyon Ruffin[1]
Born (1996-04-14) April 14, 1996 (age 28)[2]
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Leon Ruff
Leon Ruffin
Billed height5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)[3]
Billed weight153 lb (69 kg)[4]
Billed fromPensacola, Florida[3]
Trained byA. R. Fox[4]
DebutJanuary 1, 2017[4]

Dartanyon Ruffin is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in WWE where he performed under the ring name Leon Ruff, and was a one-time NXT North American Champion.[3]

Professional wrestling career

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Evolve (2018–2020)

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Ruffin adopted his ring name "Leon Ruff" to honor his grandfather Leon Ruffin.[5] Ruff made his debut at Evolve 106 on June 23, 2018, teaming with Tommy Maserati in a losing effort against Adrian Alanis and Liam Gray.[6] At Evolve 131 on July 13, 2019, Ruff and A. R. Fox defeated The UnWanted (Eddie Kingston and Joe Gacy) to win the Evolve Tag Team Championship.[7][8] At Evolve 142 on December 7, Ruff and Fox lost the titles to The Besties in the World (Davey Vega and Mat Fitchett), ending their reign at 147 days.[9]

WWE (2019–2021)

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Though not under contract, Ruff made an appearance on the December 4, 2019 episode of NXT, teaming with Adrian Alanis in a losing effort against The Forgotten Sons (Steve Cutler and Wesley Blake).[10][11] Throughout early 2020, Ruff wrestled as a local competitor on a variety of WWE television programs including Raw, SmackDown, NXT, 205 Live, and Main Event.[12][13][14][15]

On October 7, 2020, Ruff signed a contract with WWE and was assigned to the WWE Performance Center.[1][16][17] On the November 11 episode of NXT, Ruff defeated Johnny Gargano to win the NXT North American Championship after he was chosen as Gargano's opponent by a roulette-style spinning wheel.[18][19] The following week on NXT, Ruff retained the championship against Gargano via disqualification when Damian Priest, Gargano's rival, intentionally punched Ruff.[20][21] At NXT TakeOver: WarGames, Ruff lost the title back to Gargano in a triple threat match also involving Priest, ending Ruff's reign at 25 days.[22] On the December 30 episode of NXT, Ruff faced Gargano in a rematch for the title but was defeated.

Leon Ruff would begin teaming with Kushida and both men would enter the 2021 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. In the first round, Ruff and Kushida would defeat The Way (Johnny Gargano and Austin Theory) on the January 20 episode of NXT.[23] On the January 27 episode of NXT, Ruff and Kushida would lose to The Grizzled Young Veterans in the quarterfinals.[24] On the February 17 episode of NXT, Ruff would begin feuding with Isaiah "Swerve" Scott after Ruff defeated him in a match but was attacked by Scott afterwards.[25] On the February 24 episode of NXT, Ruff was attacked by Scott before his match with Tyler Rust. On the March 31 episode of NXT, Ruff would qualify for the gauntlet eliminator on night 1 of NXT Takeover: Stand & Deliver.[26] At the event, Ruff was the first man eliminated in the match by Scott. On the April 13 episode of NXT, Ruff would be defeated by Scott in a one on one match and backstage after the match, Ruff would attack Scott. The two fought once more on the May 4 episode of NXT with Ruff being defeated by Scott in a Falls Count Anywhere match due to interference from Top Dolla. On the May 11 episode of NXT, Ruff would be defeated by Pete Dunne despite attacking Dunne before the match had begun. On August 6, Ruff was released from his WWE contract. His final match took place the same night with a win over Grayson Waller on 205 Live.[27]

Game Changer Wrestling (2021)

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Leon Ruff made his GCW debut on November 11, 2021, in Detroit, Michigan with a win in a 5-Way Scramble Match.

All Elite Wrestling (2022)

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On the May 1, 2022 taping of AEW Dark, Ruff made his debut for All Elite Wrestling facing Tony Nese in a losing effort. He made his televised debut on the June 17 episode of AEW Rampage, teaming with Bear Country in a losing effort against The Gunn Club and Max Caster. He made a further appearance on the July 6 episode of AEW Dynamite teaming again with Bear Country and Fuego Del Sol in a losing effort to The Gunn Club, Caster, and Anthony Bowens.

Personal life

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Ruffin is currently married to WWE referee Aja Smith. They became engaged on November 30th, 2020 and married on September 4th, 2022.[28][29][30] They have a dog named Juni.[31]

Championships and accomplishments

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References

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  1. ^ a b "EVOLVE standouts, NCAA All-American among new recruits at WWE Performance Center". WWE. October 7, 2020. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  2. ^ "Leon Ruff on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved November 12, 2020.[self-published]
  3. ^ a b c "Leon Ruff". WWE. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c "Profile of Leon Ruff". Cagematch. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  5. ^ WWE Performance Center (July 30, 2020). I Am Leon Ruff. Event occurs at 2m 21s. Retrieved December 31, 2020 – via YouTube.
  6. ^ "EVOLVE 106: CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
  7. ^ Moore, John. "7/13 Evolve 131 on WWE Network results: Moore's live review of the 10th Anniversary show featuring Adam Cole vs. Akira Tozawa for the NXT Championship, Evolve Champion Austin Theory vs. WWN Champion JD Drake in a winner take all match, Matt Riddle vs. Drew Gulak". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
  8. ^ "EVOLVE 131 - 10th Anniversary Show: CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
  9. ^ "EVOLVE 142: CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
  10. ^ Garretson, Jordan (December 4, 2019). "The Forgotten Sons def. Adrian Alanis & Leon Ruff". WWE. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  11. ^ Moore, John (December 4, 2019). "12/4 NXT TV results: Moore's live review of Rhea Ripley vs. Dakota Kai, Kushida's return to the ring". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  12. ^ Benigno, Anthony (March 23, 2020). "Aleister Black def. Leon Ruff". WWE. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  13. ^ "WWE Friday Night SmackDown results, May 1, 2020: Otis wins WrestleMania rematch over Dolph Ziggler to book WWE Money In The Bank ticket". WWE. March 23, 2020. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  14. ^ Garretson, Jordan (May 6, 2020). "WWE NXT results: May 6, 2020". WWE. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  15. ^ "205 Live Results: June 12, 2020". WWE. June 12, 2020. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  16. ^ Lambert, Jeremy (July 30, 2020). "Report: Leon Ruff Signs With WWE". Fightful. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  17. ^ Sapp, Sean Ross; Defelice, Robert (August 9, 2020). "Details On Leon Ruff's WWE Signing | Exclusive". Fightful. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  18. ^ Moore, John (November 11, 2020). "11/11 NXT TV results: Moore's review of Championship Wednesday with Johnny Gargano defending the NXT North American Title, Santos Escobar vs. Jake Atlas for the NXT Cruiserweight Title, Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan vs. Tyler Breeze and Fandango for the NXT Tag Titles". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  19. ^ Garretson, Jordan (November 11, 2020). "WWE NXT results, Nov. 11, 2020: McAfee and company make a vicious statement". WWE. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  20. ^ Moore, John (November 18, 2020). "11/18 NXT TV results: Moore's review of Io Shirai vs. Rhea Ripley for the NXT Women's Title, Leon Ruff vs. Johnny Gargano for the NXT North American Title, Dexter Lumis vs. Cameron Grimes in a blindfold match, NXT Champion Finn Balor returns". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  21. ^ Garretson, Jordan (November 18, 2020). "WWE NXT results, Nov. 18, 2020: Undisputed ERA return, ready for war". WWE. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  22. ^ Moore, John (December 6, 2020). "NXT Takeover WarGames results: Moore's live review of Undisputed Era vs. Pat McAfee, Pete Dunne, Oney Lorcan, and Danny Burch, and Shotzi Blackheart, Ember Moon, Rhea Ripley, and Io Shirai vs. Candice LeRae, Toni Storm, Dakota Kai, and Raquel Gonzalez in WarGames matches". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  23. ^ "Kushida & Leon Ruff vs. Johnny Gargano & Austin Theory – Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic First Round: WWE NXT, Jan. 20, 2021". FOX Sports. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  24. ^ "WWE NXT Results: KUSHIDA & Leon Ruff vs. Grizzled Young Veterans [Dusty Classic Match]". The Overtimer. January 28, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  25. ^ "WWE NXT Results: Leon Ruff vs. Isaiah 'Sweve' Scott". The Overtimer. February 18, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  26. ^ Pal, Arindam (April 1, 2021). "WWE NXT Takeover Stand And Deliver 2021 Full Match Card Announced". sportzwiki.com. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
  27. ^ Lambert, Jeremy (August 6, 2021). "WWE Releases Bronson Reed, Leon Ruff, Bobby Fish, Mercedes Martinez, And More". Fightful. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
  28. ^ "NXT North American Champion Leon Ruff gets engaged to NXT referee Aja Smith". WWE. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
  29. ^ "Love of my life I can't wait!!!". Retrieved November 30, 2020.
  30. ^ "Leon Ruff and Ajax Smith get married". Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  31. ^ "I woke up with @RefAjaWWE on my left, our sweet boy Juni by our feet, and the @WWENXT North American Championship on my right. It's hard to wake up on the wrong side of the bed!". Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  32. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (July 13, 2019). "Evolve Tag Team Championship". Cagematch.net. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  33. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2021". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
  34. ^ "NXT North American Championship". WWE. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
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