Kipp Christianson | |
---|---|
Ring name(s) | Eli Cottonwood[1] Kip Christianson[1] Kipp Christianson[1] |
Billed height | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)[2] |
Billed weight | 313 lb (142 kg)[2] |
Born | [1] River Falls, Wisconsin[1] |
September 30, 1974
Billed from | River Falls, Wisconsin[2] |
Trained by | FCW Staff[1] |
Debut | 2008[1] |
Kipp Christianson[3] (born September 30, 1974)[1] is an American professional wrestler and former basketball player. He is best kown for his tenure with WWE, where he worked in their developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) and was part of the second season of NXT under his ring name Eli Cottonwood.
Contents |
Basketball career
Christianson attended River Falls High School and later St. John's University in Minnesota.[3] While attending St. John's, he averaged 20 points and eight rebounds, and in his junior season there, he led the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in field goal percentage.[3] During his basketball career, Christianson played in several countries, including Lithuania and China.[3] He played in the International Basketball Association and Continental Basketball Association, for both Quad City Thunder, Yakama Sun Kings, and Sioux Falls Skyforce.[3] He attended a camp for the Milwaukee Bucks in 1998, and played for the Dallas Mavericks team in the NBA Summer League.[3] On March 16, 2004, he signed a contract with the Charleston Lowgators.[3]
World Wrestling Entertainment
Florida Championship Wrestling (2008-2012)
Kipp Christianson began competing in WWE's developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) in 2008 under his real name. In August 2009, his name was changed to Eli Cottonwood, and he utilized a gimmick of being recently reintroduced to society from the Kelloggs Sanitarium.[1] He spent most of his time defeating opponents such as DJ Gabriel, Tyler Reks, and Max McGuirk. He soon aligned with Aksana and turned face.
NXT (2010)
On June 1, 2010, it was announced that Cottonwood would be part of the second season of WWE NXT, with John Morrison as his storyline mentor.[4][5] He debuted on the June 8 episode of NXT, teaming with Morrison to defeat Titus O'Neil and Zack Ryder.[6] In the first poll three weeks later, Cottonwood was ranked sixth out of the eight rookies.[7] Cottonwood's performance in the "Talk the Talk" challenge on the July 6 episode of NXT, in which he had to talk about mustaches, earned him a clip on the following episode of E! Television's episode of The Soup in the "What your Boyfriend is Watching" segment.[8] On the July 27 episode of NXT Cottonwood and Morrison both wore shirts that said "Mustache". On the same episode, he was eliminated after being ranked seventh out of the remaining seven rookies, and attacked both Husky Harris and Lucky Cannon as a result.[9][10] Cottonwood returned on August 31 for the season finale, where he and the other eliminated rookies attacked Kaval, who had won the competition.[11]
In April 2012, Cottonwood began an association with Bray Wyatt, a Cape Fear-esque character.[12][13] In June 2012, Christianson left WWE.[14]
Personal life
Christianson graduated from Saint John's University with a bachelor's degree in psychology.[2][15]
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
Championships and accomplishments
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Eli Cottonwood". Online World of Wrestling. http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/e/eli-cottonwood.html. Retrieved June 4, 2010.
- ^ a b c d "Eli Cottonwood bio". World Wrestling Entertainment. http://www.wwe.com/superstars/wwenxt/elicottonwood/bio/. Retrieved 2010-06-12.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Kipp Christianson". National Basketball Association. http://www.nba.com/dleague/players/kipp_christianson.html. Retrieved June 4, 2010.
- ^ Bishop, Matt (June 1, 2010). "WWE NXT: Barrett wins show's first season". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2010/06/01/14222371.html. Retrieved June 2, 2010.
- ^ Caldwell, James (June 1, 2010). "WWE News: NXT Results - Season Two announced, Pro & Rookie pairings revealed". Pro Wrestling Torch. http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/WWE_News_3/article_41691.shtml. Retrieved June 1, 2010.
- ^ Bishop, Matt (June 8, 2010). "WWE NXT: New rookies pay as Season 2 opens". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2010/06/08/14315791.html. Retrieved June 12, 2010.
- ^ Bishop, Matt (June 29, 2010). "WWE NXT: Surprise! First elimination on tap". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2010/06/29/14561776.html. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
- ^ Caldwell, James (July 7, 2010). "WWE News: WWE actually receives mainstream coverage for the "moustache" promo on NXT last night". Pro Wrestling Torch. http://www.pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/WWE_News_3/article_42391.shtml. Retrieved July 11, 2010.
- ^ Bishop, Matt (July 27, 2010). "WWE NXT: Second rookie goes home; New No. 1". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2010/07/27/14848096.html. Retrieved July 28, 2010.
- ^ Caldwell, James (July 27, 2010). "Caldwell's WWE NXT results 7/27: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of NXT Season 2, Week 8". Pro Wrestling Torch. http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/wwenxtreport/article_42743.shtml. Retrieved July 28, 2010.
- ^ Bishop, Matt (August 31, 2010). "WWE NXT: Kaval wins show's 2nd season, gets beat down". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2010/08/31/15205276.html. Retrieved September 12, 2010.
- ^ Namako, Jason (April 27, 2012). "FCW Results – 4/22/12". WrestleView. http://www.wrestleview.com/viewnews.php?id=1335558830. Retrieved June 9, 2012.
- ^ Namako, Jason (April 11, 2012). "FCW Results – 4/8/12". WrestleView. http://www.wrestleview.com/viewnews.php?id=1334161793. Retrieved June 9, 2012.
- ^ Martin, Adam (June 7, 2012). "Departure from WWE developmental system". WrestleView. http://www.wrestleview.com/viewnews.php?id=1339105596. Retrieved June 9, 2012.
- ^ Martin, Adam (June 5, 2010). "Bonus editorial: NXT 1 review, season 2 preview". WrestleView. http://www.wrestleview.com/viewnews.php?id=1275784553. Retrieved June 7, 2010.
- ^ Pohas, Darryl (June 22, 2010). "WWE News: NXT spoilers - Complete coverage of tonight's NXT episode & 6/24 Superstars". Pro Wrestling Torch. http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/WWE_News_3/article_42130.shtml. Retrieved June 24, 2010.
- ^ ""PWI 500": 301–400". Pro Wrestling Illustrated. August 4, 2011. http://prowrestlingillustrated.blogspot.com/2011/08/pwi-500-301-400.html. Retrieved August 4, 2011.