Josh Bredl

Josh Bredl
Birth nameJoshua Bredl
Born (1991-01-28) January 28, 1991 (age 33)[1]
Thornton, Colorado, U.S.[2]
Alma materColorado State University–Pueblo[1]
Spouse(s)
Lydia Bredl
​
(m. 2009)​
Children2
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Bronson Matthews[3]
Josh Bredl[4]
The Yeti[5]
Billed height6 ft 7 in (201 cm)[2]
Billed weight290 lb (132 kg)[2]
Billed fromThornton, Colorado, U.S.[2]
Trained byBilly Gunn[6]
Booker T[6]
Lita[6]
WWE Performance Center[7]
DebutAugust 25, 2015[7][4]
Retired2017

Joshua Bredl (born January 28, 1991) is an American former professional wrestler best known for his time in WWE under the name Bronson Matthews. In 2015, Bredl was the male winner of the sixth season of the WWE competition Tough Enough, earning a one-year contract with the promotion.

Early life and football career

Bredl was born in Thornton, Colorado, and has a younger sister named Brandi Bredl.[1] He attended Horizon High School. He has a background in college football, playing defensive end and defensive tackle for the ThunderWolves at Colorado State University–Pueblo, and also majored in exercise science.[8] He also played low post in basketball for the Colorado Hawks.[1] He tried out for the Denver Broncos in April 2015.[9] Bredl was a fan of professional wrestling while growing up, and cited Stone Cold Steve Austin as his favorite wrestler.[10]

Professional wrestling career

In June 2015, Josh was announced as one of the thirteen finalists for the sixth season of the WWE competition Tough Enough.[11] After being at risk of elimination three times throughout the course of the competition, on August 1, Bredl was chosen by fan vote as one of the winners, along with Sara Lee, earning one-year contract with WWE. During the final, Bredl adopted the ring name The Yeti, and lost a singles match to Cesaro.[4] In September, Bredl was assigned to WWE's developmental territory NXT, based at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, to begin training.[7] At an NXT live event on December 3, 2015, Bredl made his first appearance for NXT, where he revealed that his new ring name was Bronson Matthews.[3]

In January 2016, Bredl made a tweet referring to the lower-card stable The Social Outcasts as "Social Jobbers".[12] This would cause backstage backlash from WWE wrestlers, including Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens.[13] Bredl was then temporarily banned from NXT locker rooms as a result.[12] Bredl wrestled his final match on July 7, 2016; he was released from his WWE contract on November 5, 2017.

Personal life

Bredl has two children with his wife, Lydia Bredl.[10][8][14]

Championships and accomplishments

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Josh Bredl". GoThunderWolves.com. Archived from the original on August 12, 2017. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d "Tough Enough – Josh Bredl". WWE Tough Enough. Archived from the original on March 15, 2016. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
  3. ^ a b "More On Josh Bredl Debuting New Name, WWE Superstar Turns 35, Live Xavier Woods Taping". WrestlingInc. December 4, 2015. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
  4. ^ a b c "WWE Tough Enough Recap, August 25, 2015: And The Winners Are..." WWE. August 25, 2015. Archived from the original on September 21, 2015. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
  5. ^ "Josh Bredl: Profile & Match Listing - Internet Wrestling Database (IWD)". profightdb.
  6. ^ a b c "Meet The Competitors And Cast Of WWE Tough Enough". WWE Tough Enough. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  7. ^ a b c "Tough Enough competitors join new class of recruits at the WWE Performance Center". WWE. October 28, 2015. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
  8. ^ a b Cervi, Joe E. (September 25, 2013). "Big family man on campus". Pueblo Chieftain. Archived from the original on January 22, 2015. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
  9. ^ "Former CSU-Pueblo star Josh Bredl works out with the Broncos". The Denver Post. April 10, 2015. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
  10. ^ a b Nguyen, Joe (August 26, 2015). "Josh Bredl, former CSU-Pueblo star, wins WWE Tough Enough". The Denver Post. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
  11. ^ "Meet Wwe Tough Enough's 13 Finalists". WWE Tough Enough. Archived from the original on January 1, 2016. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
  12. ^ a b "Tough Enough Winner Joshua Bredl Discusses Backstage Backlash From 'Jobber' Tweet". Pro Wrestling Sheet. September 2020. Retrieved December 25, 2020.
  13. ^ "WWE Tough Enough Winner Already Garnering Heat Backstage; Calls Social Outcasts "Jobbers"". Retrieved December 25, 2020.
  14. ^ "WWE Breaking Ground Recap 11/9: Focus On Tough Enough Josh And Tyler Breeze". F4WOnline. November 9, 2015. Retrieved February 3, 2016.