Bo Dallas

Taylor Michael Rotunda (born May 25, 1990) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Bo Dallas. Rotunda is a third-generation professional wrestler; his grandfather Blackjack Mulligan, his father Mike Rotunda and uncles Barry and Kendall Windham were all professional wrestlers, while his brother Windham still is.

While in WWE's developmental territories Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) and NXT, he was a three-time FCW Florida Heavyweight Champion, a two-time FCW Florida Tag Team Champion with his brother, and a one-time NXT Champion. He was promoted to WWE's main roster in 2014, where he won the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship (with Curtis Axel as part of The B-Team) and the WWE 24/7 Championship once.

Early life

Rotunda attended Hernando High School, and graduated in 2008. During his final two years of high school, he qualified for the state wrestling championships. He also played football as a defensive tackle. Originally, he was offered a football scholarship at Webber International University in Babson Park, Florida, but when the offer fell through, he decided to become a wrestler instead. Rotunda always had a naturally large build and bulky physique, he was already 5’10 and 210 lbs at the age of 15 which is why he chose to compete in sports like football and wrestling which include a lot of physical strength and power.

Professional wrestling career

World Wrestling Entertainment/WWE (2008–2021)

Florida Championship Wrestling (2008–2012)

In 2008, Rotunda signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and was assigned to Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), where he debuted on November 15, 2008, by defeating Kaleb O'Neal. On December 16, Rotunda, wrestling under his real name, teamed with Kris Logan to defeat Ryback and Jon Cutler in a tag team match. Throughout early 2009, Rotunda continued wrestling in tag team matches, and changed his name to Tank Rotunda in February. In June, he began wrestling as Bo Rotunda and later Bo Rotundo, and the following month he began teaming with his brother, Duke Rotundo. At the FCW television tapings on June 23, The Rotundo Brothers defeated The Dude Busters (Caylen Croft and Trent Barretta) to become the number one contenders to the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship. That same night, they defeated Justin Angel and Kris Logan for the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship. They went on to successfully defend the championship against Dylan Klein and Vance Archer and the team of Curt Hawkins and Heath Slater. At the FCW television tapings on November 19, the Rotundos lost the championship to The Dude Busters (Hawkins and Croft). In early 2010, the Rotundos began feuding with The Usos (Jimmy and Jules), and their manager, Sarona Snuka. In April, they moved into a feud with Jackson Andrews and Curt Hawkins, which began when Rotunda faced Andrews in a singles match and won by disqualification when Hawkins interfered.

Rotunda was then absent from FCW due to injury, making his return in June. He moved into singles competition, defeating wrestlers including Derrick Bateman, Hawkins, Tyler Reks, and Brodus Clay. In August, FCW Florida Heavyweight Champion Mason Ryan issued an open challenge, which Rotundo accepted. He lost the subsequent championship match by submission. On February 3, 2011, Rotundo defeated Ryan to win the FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship for the first time, but lost the championship to Lucky Cannon immediately afterward. He regained the championship from Cannon three months later, on May 19. In July and August, Rotundo appeared in multiple untelevised matches before '' Raw'' and ''SmackDown''. On September 1, Rotundo vacated the FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship due to injury. Later that month, it was reported that Rotundo had suffered a lacerated kidney, and was expected to be absent for several months to recuperate.

Rotundo returned at the tapings of the January 29, 2012, episode of FCW television, declaring his intentions to reclaim the FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship. On February 2, Rotundo and his brother, renamed Husky Harris, defeated Brad Maddox and Eli Cottonwood to win the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship for the second time. The brothers held the championship until March 15, when they lost it to Corey Graves and Jake Carter. In May 2012, Rotundo made several appearances at WWE house shows, defeating Drew McIntyre. At an FCW live event on June 16 Rotundo defeated Rick Victor to win the FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship for the third time, right after Victor had just defeated Seth Rollins for the title. He re lost the title to Victor at another FCW live event on July 13, 2012.

NXT (2012–2014)

In 2012, WWE rebranded FCW as NXT, Rotunda made his NXT television debut in the June 20 episode of ''NXT'', portraying a happy-go-lucky and resilient character under the ring name Bo Dallas, where he defeated Rick Victor. In August, Dallas competed in a tournament for the newly established NXT Championship; he was eliminated by Jinder Mahal in the quarter-finals. On the November 7 episode of ''NXT'', Dallas competed in a number one contenders fatal four-way elimination match against Mahal, Drew McIntyre, and Justin Gabriel; despite eliminating McIntyre and Gabriel, Dallas succumbed to Mahal.

On January 26, 2013, at WWE's Royal Rumble Fanfest, Dallas participated in an eight-man NXT tournament for a place in the Royal Rumble match; he defeated Luke Harper, Conor O'Brian, and Leo Kruger to win the tournament. The next day, Dallas entered the Rumble match at number 16, where he lasted over 20 minutes and eliminated the WWE Intercontinental Champion, Wade Barrett, who returned to the ring and eliminated Dallas. This provoked a brief feud, with Barrett challenging Dallas to a non-title match the next night on ''Raw'', in which Dallas earned an upset victory. On the February 11 episode of ''Raw'', Dallas appeared, attacking Barrett before Barrett's match against Kofi Kingston. Dallas later challenged Barrett for the Intercontinental Championship in a losing effort.

Simultaneously with his feud with Barrett, Dallas entered the NXT Tag Team Championship tournament alongside Michael McGillicutty. The pair defeated Primo & Epico to advance to the semi-finals, but lost to the Wyatt Family (Luke Harper and Erick Rowan) due to Bray Wyatt's interference. In an NXT Championship number one contender's three-way match against Conor O'Brian and Corey Graves, Dallas was prevented from winning by Wyatt, due to Dallas's earlier refusal to join The Wyatt Family. This resulted in a match between Dallas and Wyatt, which Dallas won. Starting in late April 2013, the NXT audience began to turn against Dallas (despite Dallas not changing his character) and started booing him. NXT Tag Team Champion Adrian Neville chose Dallas to replace his injured partner, Oliver Grey, but on May 8, they lost the title to The Wyatt Family. Soon after, Dallas's character began showing subtle villainous traits of being disingenuous.

On the May 29 episode of ''NXT'', Dallas won a battle royal to become the number one contender to the NXT Championship. On the June 12 ''NXT'' (taped on May 23), Dallas defeated Big E Langston to win the title. He successfully defended the championship against Antonio Cesaro and Leo Kruger during mid-2013. By then, the NXT audience's dislike