Daniel Luis Rivera (born September 2, 1991) is a Puerto Rican-American

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

, currently performing for

United Wrestling Network The United Wrestling Network (UWN) is a governing body for professional wrestling promotions in the United States that was formed in 2013 by David Marquez. History Formation and Early years On October 21, 2013, David Marquez, promoter of Champi ...

Championship Wrestling from Hollywood Championship Wrestling (formally known as Championship Wrestling from Hollywood (CWFH)) is an American professional wrestling promotion and television program created by David Marquez, who serves as the promotion's president and on-camera intervi ...

under the

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name or nickname used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons ...

Danny Limelight and is the current UWN World Champion. He also performs on the

independent circuit In professional wrestling, the independent circuit (often shortened to the indie circuit or the indies) is the collective name of independently owned promotions which are deemed to be smaller and more regionalized than major national promotions. ...

and makes sporadic appearances for

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional-wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, and based in Nakano, Tokyo. It is currently majority owned by card-game company Bushiroad, with TV As ...

(NJPW). Limelight has also had notable runs in

Major League Wrestling Major League Wrestling (MLW) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in New Rochelle, New York. The promotion was founded in 2002 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by former WWE writer Court Bauer. The promotion markets its product as ...

, and

All Elite Wrestling All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. It is owned and operated by Shahid Khan, Shahid and Tony Khan, with the latter serving as President (corporate title), president an ...

Early life

Rivera was a fan of the then World Wrestling Federation's

Attitude Era The Attitude Era was a major era of professional wrestling within the WWE, World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). The term "WWF Attitude" was used to describe its programming from November 9, 1997 to May 6, 2002. It began during the Monday Ni ...

, specifically of The Rock, the

D-Generation X D-Generation X (DX), is an American professional wrestling Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Stable, stable, and later a tag team, who consisted of various members mostly Generation X wrestlers, most notably Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Ch ...

stable A stable is a building in which working animals are kept, especially horses or oxen. The building is usually divided into stalls, and may include storage for equipment and feed. Styles There are many different types of stables in use tod ...

, and the

Hell in a Cell Hell in a Cell is a professional wrestling steel cage-based match which originated in 1997 in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It features a large cell structure, a four-sided cuboid made from open-weave steel mesh chain-link f ...

match from Badd Blood: In Your House in 1997. In 2009, Rivera entered the

United States Marines Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expedi ...

at the age of 17. He achieved the rank of

Staff sergeant Staff sergeant is a Military rank, rank of non-commissioned officer used in the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. History of title In origin, certain senior sergeants were assigned to administr ...

and worked as a

Drill instructor A drill instructor is a non-commissioned officer in the armed forces, fire department, or police forces with specific duties that vary by country. Foot drill, military step, and marching are typically taught by drill instructors. Australia Aust ...

before retiring in 2019.

Professional wrestling career

Early career

Rivera was inspired to be a wrestler after speaking with Joe Gamble, a wrestler and acquaintance from Rivera's time in the Marines at a

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

live event A house show (also commonly called a live event) is a professional wrestling event produced by a major Professional wrestling promotion, promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in o ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

. After initial training with and competing in matches for SoCal Pro Wrestling, Rivera would start wrestling for promotions in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

and

Tijuana Tijuana is the most populous city of the Mexican state of Baja California, located on the northwestern Pacific Coast of Mexico. Tijuana is the municipal seat of the Tijuana Municipality, the hub of the Tijuana metropolitan area and the most popu ...

specifically for Championship Wrestling from Hollywood and

The Crash Lucha Libre The Crash Lucha Libre, also referred to as simply The Crash, is a (Mexican professional wrestling) promotion based in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. The promotion largely runs its events in Tijuana, Mexico City, and Monterrey Monterrey ...

. Rivera would be in the Los Primos Rivera tag team with Gino Rivera in 2016.

Championship Wrestling From Hollywood (2019–present)

In 2019, Limelight would begin to feature more prominently on Championship Wrestling from Hollywood. He would be on the losing end against Royce Isaacs for the

UWN Television Championship The United Wrestling Network (UWN) Television Championship is a title controlled by, and defended in Championship Wrestling from Hollywood, Championship Wrestling (formally known as Championship Wrestling from Hollywood, or CWFH), sanctioned by ...

and compete in a Fatal Four-Way match with

Brandon Cutler Brandon Bogle (born June 18, 1987), better known as Brandon Cutler, is an American professional wrestler. He is an executive producer of content of All Elite Wrestling (AEW) where he is also signed as a wrestler. He also performs in AEW's sister ...

, Adrian Quest, and Fidel Bravo at the 2019 ''Coastline Clash''. Limelight was one of a group of wrestlers from Championship Wrestling to compete at Impact Wrestling's ''Unbreakable'' event in 2019. In 2020, Limelight would begin teaming with Papo Esco to form the tag team, the Bodega, becoming UWN Tag Team Champions. In 2021, Limelight and Esco would add Slice Boogie to their group. Together, the trio invoked

Freebird Rule The Fabulous Freebirds were a professional wrestling tag team who attained fame in the 1980s, performing into the 1990s. The team usually consisted of three wrestlers, although in different situations and points in its history, just two performed ...

to defend the titles until their defeat against the Midnight Heat. In 2022, Limelight focused more on singles competition. After defeating

Willie Mack Willie McClinton Jr. (born January 5, 1987) is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Willie Mack, currently appearing in Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide, Juggalo Championship Wrestling, All Elite Wrestling, Major League Wres ...

and Tyler Bateman in the finals of the Golden Opportunity Tournament, Limelight would go on to defeat Jordan Clearwater for the UWN World Championship. Before Championship Wrestling went on

hiatus Hiatus may refer to: * Hiatus (anatomy), a natural fissure in a structure * Hiatus (stratigraphy), a discontinuity in the age of strata in stratigraphy *''Hiatus'', a genus of picture-winged flies with sole member species '' Hiatus fulvipes'' * G ...

due to the WGA and

SAG-AFTRA The Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists

sticks in 2023, Danny Limelight had successfully defended the World Championship against

Clark Connors Connor Deutsch (born October 6, 1993), better known by his ring name Clark Connors, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a member of the Bullet Club stable and ...

Zicky Dice Nick Zoppo best known as Zicky Dice, is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in Impact Wrestling. In 2019 he worked with the National Wrestling Alliance, where he became NWA World Television Champion. Early life Dice ...

Tom Lawlor Thomas Joseph Lawlor (born May 15, 1983) is an American professional wrestler, retired mixed martial artist and podcast host. He is signed to both New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he was the inaugural and longest reigning NJPW Strong Openw ...

, and

Moose The moose (: 'moose'; used in North America) or elk (: 'elk' or 'elks'; used in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is the world's tallest, largest and heaviest extant species of deer and the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is also the tal ...

. In another defense, he fought

Eddie Kingston Edward Moore (born December 12, 1981), better known by the ring name Eddie Kingston, is an American professional wrestler. , he is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is out of in-ring action because of a leg injury, but continues to mak ...

to a

no contest ''Nolo contendere'' () is a type of legal plea used in some jurisdictions in the United States. It is also referred to as a plea of no contest or no defense. It is a plea where the defendant neither admits nor disputes a charge, serving as an ...

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2020–present)

Danny Limelight debuted at New Japan Pro-Wrestling's ''Lion's Break Collision'' event and was one of the first mainstays on ''

NJPW Strong NJPW Strong is a brand name utilized by Japanese professional wrestling promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and its New Japan Pro-Wrestling of America (NJoA) subsidiary. In its original incarnation, ''NJPW Strong'' was the name of a weekly ...

''. Limelight was an entrant in Strong's Lion's Break Crown tournament where he defeated Barrett Brown in the first round and Blake Christian in the semi-finals. Limelight would lose in the finals of the tournament to

. Not long after his loss, Limelight would attack

Rocky Romero John Raymond Rivera (born October 28, 1982), better known by his ring name Rocky Romero (ロッキー・ロメロ, ''Rokkī Romero''), is a Cuban-American professional wrestler. He is signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and All Elite Wrest ...

after his match with Rust Taylor and align with

Team Filthy ''Team Filthy'' was a professional wrestling stable that performed in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), Major League Wrestling (MLW) and on the independent circuit. The group was formed on October 5, 2017, during MLW's One Shot event by Tom Lawlor. ...

. Limelight would feud on and off with Romero, often being on the opposite side of him in tag team matches. Limelight would also face

Homicide Homicide is an act in which a person causes the death of another person. A homicide requires only a Volition (psychology), volitional act, or an omission, that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from Accident, accidenta ...

at ''Detonation'' 2022.

All Elite Wrestling (2020–2021)

On October 21, 2020, Danny Limelight made his

debut on ''

AEW Dark ''AEW Dark'', or simply ''Dark'', is an American professional wrestling streaming television program that was produced by the American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW), running from October 8, 2019, to April 25, 2023, on AEW's YouTube channel. ...

'' on the losing end of a six-man tag team match with Steve Gibki & Tony Vincita against Jurassic Express ( Jungle Boy,

Luchasaurus Austin Matelson (born March 10, 1985), better known by his ring name Luchasaurus, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Killswitch. He is a member of The Patriarch ...

, and

Marko Stunt Noah Nelms (born July 30, 1996), better known under the ring name Marko Stunt, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in All Elite Wrestling (AEW), Game Changer Wrestling, Black Label Pro, DEFY Wrestling and ...

). During his time in the promotion, he would be a main stay on ''Dark'' and '' AEW Dark: Elevation'', obtaining victories over

Fuego Del Sol KJ Orso (born October 16, 1995), better known by the ring-name Fuego Del Sol ("Fire of the Sun"), is an American professional wrestler. Formerly a masked wrestler until 2025, he is best known for his work in All Elite Wrestling (AEW) from 2020- 2 ...

Sean Maluta Sean Maluta (born September 30, 1988) is an American professional wrestler currently competing on the independent circuit. He made a number of appearances with WWE and took part in the first Cruiserweight Classic. He has also made appearances for ...

, and Baron Black in singles matches. His fist and only televised AEW match came on the January 6, 2021 edition of ''

AEW Dynamite ''AEW Dynamite'', also known as ''Wednesday Night Dynamite'' or simply ''Dynamite'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by the American Professional wrestling promotion, promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW). It air ...

'' as he and the Varsity Blondes ( Griff Garrison and

Brian Pillman Jr. Brian Zachary Pillman (born September 9, 1993) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Lexis King. Pillman is known for his time in All Elite Wrestling (AEW) from 2019 ...

) faced

Kenny Omega Tyson Smith (born October 16, 1983), better known by the ring name , is a Canadian-born professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the current AEW International Champion in his first reign. He also works as an ...

and the Good Brothers.

Major League Wrestling (2021–2022)

On July 10, 2021, Danny Rivera, Slice Boogie, and Julius Smokes were introduced by

Konnan Charles Ashenoff (born Carlos Santiago Espada Moises; January 6, 1964),''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'', Dave Meltzer, ed., May 10, 2010, issue.Sims, Steve"Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame/Founded by Dave Meltzer - Konnan". Accessed August 1, 2016. On ...

as members of LAX at

's '' Battle Riot III''. Eventually, the team would be known as 5150. Rivera and Boogie defeated Myron Reed and Jordan Oliver of

Injustice Injustice is a quality relating to unfairness or undeserved outcomes. The term may be applied in reference to a particular event or situation, or to a larger status quo. In Western philosophy and jurisprudence, injustice is very commonly—but ...

. After feuding with L.A. Park Jr. and

El Hijo de L.A. Park El Hijo de L.A. Park (born November 20, 1988) is a Mexican ''Lucha libre, Luchador'' ''wrestling mask, enmascarado'', or masked professional wrestling, professional wrestler. better known for his time in Major League Wrestling, MLW where he is a ...

, Rivera and Boogie defeated them for the

MLW World Tag Team Championship The MLW World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship which is owned by the Major League Wrestling (MLW) promotion. The championship is generally contested in professional wrestling matches, in which particip ...

s on November 6, 2021. 5150 would defeated for the MLW tag titles against E. J. Nduka and Calvin Tankman (Hustle and Power). Rivera and Boogie would feud with

Marshall and Ross Von Erich Marshall Von Erich and Ross Von Erich, also known together as The Von Erichs, are an American professional wrestling tag team. It consists of brothers Marshall and Ross, the sons of Kevin Von Erich and part of the Von Erich wrestling family. They ...

around this time. Once Hernandez joined 5150, he and Rivera would compete against Hustle and Power and the Von Erichs for the MLW tag titles. Hustle and Power would retain with Rivera taking the pin.

International Wrestling Association (2022)

As part of an agreement with MLW, Danny Rivera wrestled for International Wrestling Association during their ''Christmas in PR 2021''. Teaming up with

Savio Vega Savio Vega (born August 10, 1964) is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler. He is known for his work in World Wrestling Federation, World Wrestling Council and International Wrestling Association. After leaving the WWF in 1999, Rivera returned ...

, Rivera faced The Owners of Time (Nick Mercer & Leinord White) to a no contest. On January 15, 2022, Rivera and Slice Boogie defeated Mercer and Manny Freno (replacing White) for the

IWA World Tag Team Championship The IWA World Tag Team Championship is a Tag Team Championship defended in Puerto Rico.The titles were first introduced in the first incarnation of the International Wrestling Association, where they are defended. They also made a brief appearan ...

s in a match where the MLW tag team titles were on the line. 5150 would hold the titles until February 26, 2022, when they would be defeated by Lightning & Mr. Big.

Filmography

Television

Championships and accomplishments

Professional wrestling

*907 Pro Wrestling **907 Pro Wrestling Championship (1 time) *Venue Wrestling Entertainment **VWE SoCal Championship (1 time) *Future Stars Of Wrestling **FSW No Limits Championship (1 time) **FSW Heavyweight Championship (1 time, current) *Gold Rush Pro Wrestling **GRPW SoCal Championship (1 time) *Iron Heart Pro **IHP Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Baja Star's USA **Baja Star's USA Cruiserweight Championship (1 time) * International Wrestling Association **

( 1 time) – with Slice Boogie *

( 1 time) – with Slice Boogie *FIST COMBAT **FIST Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *''

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...

'' **Ranked No. 286 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the ''

PWI 500 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...

'' in 2024 *

Reality of Wrestling Reality of Wrestling Platinum (ROW Platinum) is an independent professional wrestling promotion based in Houston, Texas. It was established as Pro Wrestling Alliance (PWA) in 2005 by WWE Hall of Famer Booker T. and later changed its name to Reali ...

**ROW Texas Championship (1 time) *

** UWN World Championship ( 1 time, current) **

UWN Tag Team Championship The UWN Tag Team Championship is a tag team championship sanctioned and governed by the United Wrestling Network and established in Championship Wrestling from Hollywood, Championship Wrestling (formally Championship Wrestling from Hollywood, o ...

( 1 time) – with Papo Esco, and Slice Boogie ** Golden Opportunity Tournament (2022) *Gold Coast Federation **GCF SoCal Championship (1 time) *Finest City Wrestling **FCW XRT Championship (1 time, inaugural) **XRT Division Championship (1 time)

References

External links

* {{Navboxes, , list1= {{Team Filthy {{MLW World Tag Team Championship {{New Japan Pro Wrestling personnel Living people American sportspeople of Puerto Rican descent Professional wrestlers from New York (state) American male professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from Brooklyn Puerto Rican male professional wrestlers MLW World Tag Team Champions United States Marines 1991 births 21st-century male professional wrestlers 21st-century American professional wrestlers