Bryan Keith (born September 13, 1991) is an American professional wrestler. As of February 2024, he is signed to

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 ...

(AEW), where he is a member of

The Learning Tree ''The Learning Tree'' is a 1969 American coming-of-age film written, produced and directed by Gordon Parks Gordon Roger Alexander Buchanan Parks (November 30, 1912 – March 7, 2006) was an American photographer, composer, author, poet, an ...

. Best known as the "Quickest Kick in the South" and "The Bounty Hunter", he is best known for his appearances 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. ...

, as well as AEW's sister promotion

Ring of Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011; the promotion was subs ...

(ROH) and

Deadlock Pro-Wrestling Deadlock Pro-Wrestling (stylized as DEADLOCK Pro Wrestling), often referred to simply as DPW, is an American Independent circuit, independent professional wrestling promotion, founded on November 1, 2021, by Anthony Douglas, James Darnell, and Jo ...

, where he was a former DPW National Champion.

Early life

Born on September 13, 1991, in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Professional wrestling career

Independent circuit (2013–present)

Bryan Keith began training in

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) and made his ROW television debut in July 2013. He made a one-off appearance in

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, ...

's ''

205 Live ''WWE 205 Live'' is an American professional wrestling streaming television program that was produced by WWE. It premiered on November 29, 2016, as a replacement for ''WWE Superstars'', and ended on February 11, 2022. The show originally aired e ...

'' in June 2018. Initially having a cowboy persona, ROW owner

Booker T Booker T or Booker T. may refer to * Booker T. Washington (1856–1915), African American political leader at the turn of the 20th century ** List of things named after Booker T. Washington, some nicknamed "Booker T." * Booker T. Jones (born 194 ...

recommended Keith to adopt a bounty hunter gimmick inspired by

Sammy Davis Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, actor, comedian, dancer, and musician. At age two, Davis began his career in Vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the Will Mastin Trio, which t ...

's character from ''

The Rifleman ''The Rifleman'' is an American Western television series starring Chuck Connors as rancher Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son Mark McCain. It was set in the 1880s in the fictional town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The show ...

''. Keith served as a trainer in ROW until his departure from the promotion. In 2019, Keith became the first professional wrestler to be officially sponsored by

Swishahouse 'Swishahouse'' is a Southern hip hop record label owned and founded by Michael "5000" Watts based in Houston, Texas in 1997. History Swishahouse was founded in North Houston in 1997 by founder and President Michael "5000" Watts and OG Ron C as ...

. In 2023, Keith began making appearances for

. At Beast Coast, Keith defeated

Andrew Everett Drew Everett Wenkel (born July 9, 1992), better known by the ring name Andrew Everett, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in Impact Wrestling, where he was a former Impact World Tag Team ...

to become the DPW National Champion.

All Elite Wrestling / Ring of Honor (2023–present)

’s (ROH)

Final Battle Final Battle is a professional wrestling event, held annually by the Ring of Honor promotion. The event was initially held in 2002. It is held in December, and is the promotion's last show of the calendar year. The 2009 edition of the show was ...

on December 15, 2023, Keith won the qualifier but lost the

Survival of the Fittest "Survival of the fittest" is a phrase that originated from Darwinian evolutionary theory as a way of describing the mechanism of natural selection. The biological concept of fitness is defined as reproductive success. In Darwinian terms, th ...

match. He made his

(AEW) television debut the following day at ''

Collision In physics, a collision is any event in which two or more bodies exert forces on each other in a relatively short time. Although the most common use of the word ''collision'' refers to incidents in which two or more objects collide with great for ...

'', losing an

AEW International Championship The AEW International Championship is a professional wrestling Professional wrestling championship#Location-specific championships, championship created and promoted by the United States, American professional wrestling promotion, promotion All E ...

match to

Orange Cassidy James Cipperly (born May 4, 1984), better known by his ring name Orange Cassidy, is an American professional wrestler and Glossary of professional wrestling terms#school, wrestling trainer. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is ...

. On February 3, 2024,

Tony Khan Antony Rafiq Khan (born October 10, 1982) is an American businessman, sports executive, and professional wrestling promoter. He is best known as the founder, co-owner, president, CEO, executive producer, and head booker of All Elite Wrestling ...

confirmed that Keith had signed a contract with AEW. On May 26, 2024, at

Double or Nothing Double or nothing (UK often double or quits) is a gamble to decide whether a loss or debt should be doubled. The result of a "double or nothing" bet is either cancellation of a debt ''or'' the doubling of a debt. It can be seen as a gentleman's ag ...

, Keith turned

heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower leg. Structure To distribute the compressive forces exerted ...

by helping

Chris Jericho Christopher Keith Irvine (born November 9, 1970), better known by the ring name Chris Jericho, is an American-Canadian professional wrestler, rock musician, and actor. As a wrestler, he has been signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) , where he ...

retain his

FTW Championship The FTW ("Fuck The World") Championship was a professional wrestling championship. It was presented as an "outlaw" or "renegade" title that was unsanctioned by officials in-storyline, and often served as a hardcore championship, as many matches ...

against

Hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved/bent back or has a deeply grooved indentation, which serves to grab, latch or in any way attach itself onto another object. The hook's d ...

and

Katsuyori Shibata } is a Japanese professional wrestler, trainer, and former mixed martial artist. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of The Opps and is one-third of the AEW World Trios Champions with Samoa Joe and Powerhouse Hobbs. ...

and joined Jericho's Learning Tree. On the June 12 episode of ''Dynamite'', fellow member

Big Bill Big Bill is a nickname that may refer to: * Bill Abstein (1883–1940), American Major League Baseball and amateur soccer player * Bill Bachrach (1879–1959), American swim and water polo coach * Bill Bagwell (1895–1976), American Major League ...

and Keith were dubbed "The Redwood" and "The Bad Apple" respectively. On April 6, 2025 at

Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. H ...

, Keith and Bill unsuccessfully challenged

The Hurt Syndicate The Hurt Syndicate is a professional wrestling stable in All Elite Wrestling (AEW). The group consists of Bobby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin, Maxwell Jacob Friedman, MJF, and Montel Vontavious Porter, MVP, who serves as their manager. Lashley and B ...

for the

AEW World Tag Team Championship The AEW World Tag Team Championship is a men's professional wrestling world tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW). It is a standard tag team championship, being contested by teams of two wr ...

. He later attempted to interfere in the

ROH World Championship The ROH World Championship is a professional wrestling Championship (professional wrestling)#World championships, world championship created and promoted by Ring of Honor (ROH). It is considered the most prestigious title in the promotion. The cu ...

match between Jericho and Bandido, but would be stopped by Bandido's brother

Gravity In physics, gravity (), also known as gravitation or a gravitational interaction, is a fundamental interaction, a mutual attraction between all massive particles. On Earth, gravity takes a slightly different meaning: the observed force b ...

. On the following episode of ''Dynamite'', tension in The Learning Tree would rise as Jericho would blame losing the ROH World Championship on both Big Bill and Bryan Keith, before saying it's best that he leaves for a while until Bill and Keith make a change. As a tag team, Keith and Bill were able to find success without Jericho, defeating

Gates of Agony Gates of Agony is a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Bishop Kaun and Toa Liona. They are signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and its sister promotion, Ring of Honor (ROH). They are two-time former ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champions ...

(

Bishop Kaun Jasper Kange is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Bishop Kaun or Kaun. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and its sister promotion Ring of Honor (ROH), where he is one-half of Gates of Agony. Early life K ...

and

Toa Liona Bruce Orlando Leaupepe (born January 30, 1991) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Toa Liona and is one-half of the tag team Gates of Agony. He also wrestles fo ...

) in a Chicago Street Fight.

Championships and accomplishments

** DPW National Championship ( 1 time) **DPW Awards (1 time) ***Breakout Star of the Year (2023) *F1RST Wrestling **F1RST Uptown VFW Championship (1 time) *Freelance Wrestling **Freelance Legacy Championship (1 time) *Loko Wrestling **Loko Championship (1 time) *New Texas Pro Wrestling **New Texas Pro Championship (1 time) * Pacific Coast Wrestling **PCW ULTRA Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time, final) *''

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. 116 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 *

**ROW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **ROW Television Championship (1 time) **Rise To Wrestling Royalty Tournament (2021) *Texas All Star Wrestling **TASW Cruiserweight Championship (1 time) *Timebomb Pro Wrestling **Timebomb Championship (1 time) * ''

Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four Wee ...

'' ** Worst Gimmick (2024) *VIP Wrestling **VIP Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Keith, Bryan 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen African-American professional wrestlers All Elite Wrestling personnel American male professional wrestlers Living people Professional wrestlers from Houston 21st-century male professional wrestlers 21st-century American professional wrestlers 1991 births DPW National Champions