Erick Rowan

Joseph Ruud (born November 28, 1981) is an American professional wrestler performing as Erick Redbeard. Having previously wrestled in Japan, where he trained and performed for Pro Wrestling Noah, Ruud signed a contract with WWE in 2011. He was sent to its developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), before debuting on the NXT brand in 2012 under the ring name Erick Rowan, a member of the Wyatt Family. He went on to become a one-time NXT Tag Team Champion (with Harper) and a two-time SmackDown Tag Team Champion (once with Luke Harper and once with Daniel Bryan). Ruud was released from WWE in April 2020, returning to the independent circuit. Joseph Ruud was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 28, 1981. He grew up in Montrose, Minnesota. He is of Norwegian descent, with his ancestors having emigrated to the U.S. from Nannestad. He attended the University of Minnesota Morris, where he played football. Ruud began his professional wrestling career after training with Eddie Sharkey in 2003. He debuted under the ring name "Thoruf Marius", competing for various promotions throughout the Midwest until 2007. He was invited to go to Pro Wrestling Noah's (NOAH) dojo in Japan to live, train, and wrestle. During this time, he competed in both tag team and singles matches. Following his tour in Japan, Ruud returned to the United States in 2008 and began competing for the Minnesota-based F1rst Wrestling promotion. Albeit, without much success. Upon joining the promotion, he began feuding with Big Brody Hoofer, with the pair exchanging wins across several events.