Matt Barela (born January 1980) is an American retired

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 ...

. He is best known for working for

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (abbreviated as TNA Wrestling or TNA) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment, a Canadian media company owned by busines ...

(TNA), where, 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 ...

Anarquia, he was a member of the Mexican America

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 ...

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1999–2011)

Barela debuted in 1999. In 2004, Barela joined

Ohio Valley Wrestling Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) is an American professional wrestling promotion, professional wrestling promotion and former developmental territory based in Louisville, Kentucky. The company is currently run by Al Snow, Matt Jones (radio host), Ma ...

as "Ramón". He teamed with Raúl Loco as "Los Locos". The team won the

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 Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) is an American professional wrestling promotion, professional wrestling promoti ...

twice, but eventually split, after which Barela adopted the new ring name Low Rider. As Low Rider, Barela portrayed a hot headed crowd favorite who would mix his interviews with bits of Spanish. Barela eventually worked to main event status, winning the

OVW Heavyweight Championship The OVW Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling World heavyweight championship owned by the Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) promotion. The original championship was designed and created in 1997 by Reggie Parks. The title was introduced o ...

twice through victories over Apoc and James "Moose" Thomas.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2011–2012)

Barela made his debut for

(TNA) on March 13, 2011, at the Victory Road

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program ...

, where he appeared as a planted fan and interfered in a First Blood match between Hernandez and

Matt Morgan Matthew Thomas Morgan (born September 10, 1976) is an American politician and retired professional wrestler. He is the former mayor and current deputy mayor of the city of Longwood, Florida and is a former gladiator on ''American Gladiators''. ...

, helping Hernandez pick up the win. On the following edition of ''Impact!'', the alliance of Hernandez, Sarita and Rosita, known collectively as Mexican America, faced Morgan,

Angelina Love Lauren Williams (born September 13, 1981) is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. She is best known for her time in TNA/Impact Wrestling under the ring name Angelina Love. She is signed with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). Between ...

and

Winter Winter is the coldest and darkest season of the year in temperate and polar climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Dif ...

in a six-person street fight, after which Barela once again entered the ring and attacked Morgan. On the March 24 edition of ''Impact!'', Barela was officially presented as the newest member of the

anti-American Anti-Americanism (also called anti-American sentiment and Americanophobia) is a term that can describe several sentiments and po ...

group and was given the ring name Anarquia. On the July 14 edition of ''Impact Wrestling'', Anarquia and Hernandez defeated The British Invasion ( Douglas Williams and

Magnus Magnus, meaning "Great" in Latin, was used as cognomen of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus in the first century BC. The best-known use of the name during the Roman Empire is for the fourth-century Western Roman Emperor Magnus Maximus. The name gained wid ...

), with help from Rosita, to become the number one contenders to the

TNA World Tag Team Championship The TNA World Tag Team Championship is a men's professional wrestling #World Tag Team Championship, world tag team championship (professional wrestling), championship which is owned by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) professional wrestlin ...

. They would receive their shot at the TNA World Tag Team Championship on August 7 at

Hardcore Justice Hardcore Justice, originally known as Hard Justice, was an annual professional wrestling Impact Plus event produced by Impact Wrestling. It was originally introduced as a pay-per-view (PPV) event held by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) in ...

, but were defeated by the defending champions,

Beer Money, Inc. Beer Money, Inc. was a professional wrestling tag team which consisted of Robert "Bobby" Roode and James Storm in the professional wrestling promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where they are record-tying five-time TNA World Tag Tea ...

(

Bobby Roode Robert Francis Roode Jr. (born May 11, 1976) is a Canadian retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he is a Producer (professional wrestling), producer and was formerly an in-ring performer. Roode is known ...

and

James Storm James Allen Cox (born June 1, 1977) is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name James Storm. He currently competes on the independent circuit. He is best known for his time in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). He sta ...

). Two days later, at the tapings of the August 18 edition of ''Impact Wrestling'', Anarquia and Hernandez defeated Beer Money, Inc. in a rematch, following interference from the " Mexican Heavyweight Champion"

Jeff Jarrett Jeffrey Leonard Jarrett (born July 14, 1967) is an American professional wrestler and professional wrestling promoter. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he both wrestles and serves as Director of Business Development. He is also ...

, to win the TNA World Tag Team Championship. On September 11 at No Surrender, Anarquia and Hernandez successfully defended the title against

D'Angelo Dinero Elijah Samuel Burke (born May 24, 1981) is an American professional wrestler also known under the ring names "The Pope" D'Angelo Dinero and Da Pope. He wrestles for the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) as "Da Pope" Elijah Burke, where he is a ...

and

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, following interference from Rosita and Sarita. Later that month, Mexican America began feuding with

Ink Inc. Ink Inc. was a professional wrestling Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Stable, stable, consisting of Shannon Moore, Jesse Neal, and their Manager (professional wrestling)#Managers vs. valets vs. enforcers, valet Christina Von Eerie, Toxxi ...

(

Jesse Neal Jesse Neal (born April 10, 1980)
Profightdb.com. Retrieved on August 5, 2010. is an American

and

Shannon Moore Shannon Moore (born July 27, 1979) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best known for his work with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) between 1999 and 2001 and with WWE, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) for ...

), stemming from their match at Sacrifice in May, where Hernandez had legitimately injured Neal. On October 16, during the Bound for Glory Preshow, Mexican America successfully defended the TNA World Tag Team Championship against Ink Inc. The following month at Turning Point, Anarquia, Hernandez and Sarita defeated Ink Inc.'s Jesse Neal, Shannon Moore and Toxxin in a six-person tag team match to retain the TNA World Tag Team Championship. On the following edition of ''Impact Wrestling'', Anarquia and Hernandez lost the TNA World Tag Team Championship to

Crimson Crimson is a rich, deep red color, inclining to purple. It originally meant the color of the kermes dye produced from a scale insect, '' Kermes vermilio'', but the name is now sometimes also used as a generic term for slightly bluish-red col ...

and Matt Morgan. On the following edition of ''Impact Wrestling'', Hernandez and Arnaquia failed to regain the title in a rematch. On December 6, it was reported that TNA had sent Barela back to Ohio Valley Wrestling, which had recently become the promotion's new developmental territory. After spending three months off television, Anarquia returned on the March 22, 2012, edition of ''Impact Wrestling'', when he and Hernandez unsuccessfully challenged Magnus and

Samoa Joe Nuufolau Joel Seanoa (born March 17, 1979), better known by the ring name Samoa Joe, is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of the Opps, and is one-third of the AEW Worl ...

for the TNA World Tag Team Championship. Anarquia's last appearance was on the April 26 episode of ''Impact Wrestling'', losing to

Kurt Angle Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9, 1968) is an American retired professional wrestler and amateur wrestling, amateur wrestler. He first earned recognition for winning a Wrestling at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's freestyle 100 kg, gold me ...

via submission. The following day, Barela's profile was removed from TNA's official website. His departure from the promotion was confirmed four days later.

Late career (2012–2015)

Barela retired in 2015.

Acting career

Barela appeared in the comedy/action film ''Overtime'' alongside OVW trainer

Al Snow Allen Ray Sarven (born July 18, 1963) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Al Snow. He is best known for his tenures in Extreme Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation/ World Wrestling Entertainm ...

and fellow OVW wrestlers Rudy Switchblade and Ted McNaler. He was also in the movie Sicario, Starring Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro

Championships and accomplishments

(

2 times "2 Times" is the debut single of English singer Ann Lee. It was released in Italy in December 1998 by X-Energy as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999), and was issued worldwide the following year. The single peaked at number tw ...

) **

(

) – with Raúl Loco/LaMotta *''

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 ...

'' **PWI ranked him #167 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 2011 *

( 1 time) – with Hernandez

References

External links

OVW profile
* {{OVW Tag Team Championship 1974 births 21st-century male professional wrestlers 21st-century American professional wrestlers American male professional wrestlers Living people Professional wrestlers from Los Angeles Professional wrestlers from Mexico City People from Santa Rosa, New Mexico TNA/Impact World Tag Team Champions OVW Heavyweight Champions OVW Tag Team Champions