Rodney Begnaud (born October 12, 1970) is an American

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

and

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

, better known by the

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name 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, or projectin ...

Rodney Mack. He is signed to

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA began as a governing body for a ...

(NWA). He is best known for his time with

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and var ...

Professional wrestling career

Training and independent circuit (1998–2002)

After training with the

Junkyard Dog Sylvester Ritter (December 13, 1952 – June 1, 1998) was an American professional wrestler and college football player, best known for his work in Mid-South Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation as the Junkyard Dog (or JYD), a nickname ...

, Begnaud made his professional wrestling debut in 1998 as Redd Dogg, and began competing for Southwestern

independent promotions In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indie circuit is the collective noun, collective name of independent professional wrestling promotions which are smaller than major televised promotions. It is roughly analogous to a minor lea ...

Extreme Championship Wrestling (2000)

After working on the

independent circuit In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indie circuit is the collective noun, collective name of independent professional wrestling promotions which are smaller than major televised promotions. It is roughly analogous to a minor lea ...

, Mack signed on with

Extreme Championship Wrestling HHG Corporation, doing business as Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), was a professional wrestling promotion and media company that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as National Wrest ...

in 2000, making his debut as a member of Da Baldies, a stable of members who all had bald heads.

World Wrestling Entertainment (2002–2004)

After ECW's closure, Begnaud was signed by

World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and va ...

and was assigned to their

developmental territory In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a highe ...

Ohio Valley Wrestling Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) is an American professional wrestling promotion and former developmental promotion based in Louisville, Kentucky. The company is currently run by Al Snow and Matt Jones and Louisville mayor elect, Craig Greenberg. ...

. While in OVW, Begnaud formed a tag team with

Shelton Benjamin Shelton James Benjamin (born July 9, 1975) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under his real name. He is also known for his work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and Pro Wr ...

called The Dogg Pound. Together, The Dogg Pound won their first and only Southern Tag Team Championship on July 17, 2002. Begnaud, under his Redd Dogg ring name, then made his televised WWE debut on the January 16, 2003 episode of '' SmackDown!''. He was placed alongside

John Cena John Felix Anthony Cena ( ; born April 23, 1977) is an American part-time professional wrestler, actor, and former rapper. He is currently signed to WWE. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he is tied ...

in an enforcer role, replacing Bull Buchanan, who was betrayed by Cena. After only one appearance on the SmackDown! brand, Begnaud was immediately moved over to the Raw brand and was subsequently renamed Rodney Mack. He made his ''Raw'' debut by attacking

D'Lo Brown Accie Julius Connor (born October 22, 1970), better known by his ring name D'Lo Brown (also formatted as D-Lo Brown), is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in Impact Wrestling and WWE. Brown is also known for his ...

on an episode of '' Sunday Night Heat'', with

Theodore Long Theodore Robert Rufus Long (born September 15, 1947) is an American former professional referee and manager known for his work for WWE and WCW serving as an on-screen authority figure. Long began his career in the National Wrestling Alliance a ...

switching his managerial services from Brown to Mack. Mack restarted Theodore Long's Thuggin' And Buggin' Enterprises stable, which eventually turned into a group of

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

s who worked a race

angle In Euclidean geometry, an angle is the figure formed by two rays, called the '' sides'' of the angle, sharing a common endpoint, called the '' vertex'' of the angle. Angles formed by two rays lie in the plane that contains the rays. Angles ...

in which they felt they were victims of racism and were being held down by " The Man".

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

later joined the group in April. As part of the race angle, Mack often competed in a "White Boy Challenge" on ''Raw'', where he would proceed to squash

white White is the lightness, lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...

wrestlers. However, his undefeated streak in the White Boy Challenges was ended on June 23 when he was defeated by Goldberg in under 30 seconds. After the White Boy Challenge was scrapped due to his loss, Mack subsequently formed a

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...

with

Christopher Nowinski Christopher John Nowinski (born September 24, 1978) is an American neuroscientist and author. After extensively researching concussions in American football, Nowinski co-founded the Concussion Legacy Foundation, where he is currently the CEO, ...

upon Nowinski's inclusion within the stable despite him being white, with Nowinski claiming that he was also held down by " The Man" because of his intelligence. Together, Mack and Nowinski found some success as a

, their most notable victory being against the

Dudley Boyz The Dudley Boyz (also known as Team 3D) are an American professional wrestling tag team that consisted of kayfabe half-brothers Bubba Ray Dudley (Mark LoMonaco) and D-Von Dudley (Devon Hughes). The team was also joined by various Dudley famil ...

at Bad Blood on June 15. The team continued until Nowinski suffered an injury and was diagnosed with

post-concussion syndrome Post-concussion syndrome (PCS) is a set of symptoms that may continue for weeks, months, or a year or more after a concussion – medically classified as a so-called mild traumatic brain injury (TBI). About 34 to 35% of people with concussi ...

, which subsequently resulted in his retirement soon after. To replace Nowinski, Theodore Long announced that

Mark Henry Mark Jerrold Henry (born June 12, 1971) is an American former powerlifter, Olympic weightlifter, strongman, and professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a commentator/analyst, coach, and talent scout. He is b ...

would become Mack's new tag team partner. Despite only being a team for short while, Mack and Henry were fairly successful and scored some upset victories over some prominent tag teams. In November 2003, Mack suffered a knee injury which prevented him from wrestling. He was supposed to return to action between March and June 2004, but was sent back to OVW and worked ''Raw'' dark matches throughout June and July 2004. Mack made his return to WWE television on July 26, 2004, where he participated in an over the top rope battle royal for an opportunity to compete for the World Heavyweight Championship. On November 4, Mack was released from his contract along with a few others, including his wife Jazz.

Return to the independent circuit (2005–2007)

After his release, Begnaud began competing on the

, most prominently for in NWA Cyberspace. In late 2005, Begnaud and Jazz opened Dirtysouth Championship Wrestling, an independent promotion based in Louisiana. However, DCW would be renamed Downsouth Championship Wrestling due to copyright issues in early 2006 before ceasing operations in early 2007.

Return to WWE (2006–2007)

On September 15, 2006, it was reported on WWE.com that Begnaud, along with Marty Jannetty and Brad Armstrong, had been hired by WWE. He started wrestling at ECW house shows on September 30, 2006. On January 18, 2007, Mack along with several other superstars (including his wife

) were again released by WWE.

Second return to the independent circuit (2007–2008, 2011–present)

After leaving WWE, Begnaud would make sporadic appearances on the

under his Rodney Mack

before winning the All-American Wrestling Tag Team Championship with

Heidenreich Heidenreich is a German surname which may be translated as "Land of the Heathen," or "Power of the Heathens," or "Realm of the Heathens". Notable people with the surname include: The original germanic meaning was: a person of power and wealth, see ...

on May 18, 2008 after defeating Latinos Locos. However, the title was vacated soon after due to interference in the original title match. After a 3 year hiatus due to the birth of his twins, on June 11, 2011, Begnaud wrestled for the first time in three years and, under his Rodney Mack ring name, he defeated Brad Michaels in a match for NWA Oklahoma. Exactly six months later, Mack defeated Faroh of Phunk to win the NWA Mississippi Heavyweight Championship, his first championship in over nine years. On February 10, 2012, Mack wrestled Scot Summers for the

NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship The NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling title that has existed since the 1930s. Though its exact date of creation isn't known, it is among the oldest championships used in professional wrestling today. The title has us ...

, but was unsuccessful in regaining the title. Following this, Mack would go on to lose the NWA Mississippi Heavyweight Title to Cale Conners on March 18. Mack made an appearance at a Southeast Championship Wrestling charity event in Greenville, Mississippi. On May 21, 2016, Mack defeated Scott McKenzie to become the AIWF Southwest Champion in Athens, TX. Through 2016 and 2017, Mack mainly competed for the

(NWA). In 2018 and in 2019 he has primarily appeared for Anarcy Championship Wrestling.

Mixed martial arts

Begnaud, under his Rodney Mack ring name, made his

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on strike (attack), striking, grappling and ground f ...

debut on June 7, 2008, knocking out Joe Nameth by ground-and-pound in 21 seconds in the first round. He lost his second match with Andrew Staples via submission by a rear naked choke.

Mixed martial arts record

, Loss , align=center, 1–1 , Andrew Staples , Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) , Gladiator Promotions - Summer Knockouts , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:38 , Louisiana, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Joe Nameth , TKO (Punches) , USA MMA - Lafayette vs. The World , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:21 , Lafayette, LA , , -

Personal life

He is married to fellow former WWE wrestler Carlene "Jazz" Moore. In November 2008, the couple had twin girls named Summer and Skye. Begnaud also runs a

professional wrestling school Professional wrestling has accrued a considerable amount of jargon throughout its existence. Much of it stems from the industry's origins in the days of carnivals and circuses. In the past, professional wrestlers used such terms in the presence o ...

with his wife and Thunder Rosa called "The Dogg Pound". In July 2016, Begnaud was named part of a

class action A class action, also known as a class-action lawsuit, class suit, or representative action, is a type of lawsuit where one of the parties is a group of people who are represented collectively by a member or members of that group. The class action ...

lawsuit filed against WWE which alleged that wrestlers incurred traumatic brain injuries during their tenure and that the company concealed the risks of injury. The suit was litigated by attorney Konstantine Kyros, who has been involved in a number of other lawsuits against WWE. US District Judge

Vanessa Lynne Bryant Vanessa Lynne Bryant (born January 27, 1954) is a Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut. Early life Bryant was born in Queens, New York, and graduated from Howard University with ...

dismissed the lawsuit in September 2018.

Championships and accomplishments

*Allied Independent Wrestling Federations **AIWF World Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **AIWF Southwest Championship (1 time) *All American Wrestling (Louisiana) **AAW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with

*Elite Championship Wrestling **NWA Elite Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Insane Hardcore Wrestling/Iconic Heroes of Wrestling Entertainment **IHW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **IHWE Triple Crown Championship (1 time) *Lonestar Championship Wrestling **LCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *

NWA NWA or Nwa most commonly refers to: * N.W.A ("Niggaz Wit Attitudes"), a hip hop group from Compton, California, US * National Wrestling Alliance, a professional wrestling organization NWA or Nwa may refer to: Music * New Weird America, a subgen ...

Mississippi **NWA Mississippi Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *

Southwest **

( 3 times) *

Velocity **IPCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *

OVW Southern Tag Team Championship The OVW Tag Team Championship formerly known as the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship is the tag team titles of Ohio Valley Wrestling. Created in 1997, the first champions were Nick Dinsmore and Flash Flanagan. There have been 177 reigns shared b ...

( 1 time) – with

*''

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

'' **Ranked No. 85 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the year in the ''

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

'' in 2003 *Southwest Wrestling Entertainment **SWE Television Championship (1 time) **SWE Tag Team Championships (1 time) – with Jaykus Pliskin **SWE Six Man Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with

Charlie Haas Charles Doyle Haas II (born March 27, 1972) is an American professional and former amateur wrestler. He is best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) from 2000-2009 and Ring of Honor (ROH) from 2010-2013. In WWE he was a me ...

and Max Castellanos *Texas Championship Wrestling **TCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Texas Outlaw Wrestling **TOP Southern Heavyweight Championship (1 time, current) * Texas Wrestling Hall of Fame **Class of 2011 *Velocity Championship Action **VCA Heavyweight Championship (2 times) *VooDoo Wrestling **VooDoo Championship (1 time) *World Class Revolution **WCR Tag Team Championships (1 time) – with Dyl Dempsey *World Wrestling Xpress **WWX Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mack, Rodney 1970 births 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers Living people American male professional wrestlers American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling People from Lafayette, Louisiana Professional wrestlers from Louisiana