James Smith (born January 16, 1988) is an 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 internationally under the ring name Bull James. He is best known for his time 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, ...

, where he performed on NXT, under the ring name Bull Dempsey.

Professional wrestling career

Early career (2005–2013)

Smith made his debut on October 28, 2005, at East Coast Professional Wrestling event 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 ...

Donnie "The Body" Johnson, where he lost to Ace Wylde. Over the next five months, Smith wrestled in

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and governing body owned by Billy Corgan and operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA be ...

as Baby Hughie. On September 26, 2009, at NWA New Jersey The Dennis Coralluzzo Invitational 2009,

The Powers of Pain ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

( The Barbarian and The Warlord) defeated The Varsity Club (Baby Hughie and

Rob Eckos Robert Strauss (born October 1, 1983) is an American professional wrestler and manager. He is signed to WWE, where he is a producer, the on-screen assistant to the NXT general manager Ava, and a color commentator for the Evolve brand under the ...

). In 2010, Smith changed his ring name to Smith James. On July 21, 2011, James defeated Memphis Mofo in a TNA dark match. In 2012, James joined The New Age Wrecking Crew with Bill Carr, Stockade and Vince Steele. On March 10, 2012, Steele and James entered in a tournament to crown a new ACE Tag team Champions, but were defeated in the finals by The Movement. On March 9, 2013, James and Vince Steele won the American Championship Entertainment (ACE) Tag Team Championship. They lost the titles on May 11, 2013. On February 23, 2013, James and Bill Carr won the NYWC Tag Team Championship. However, they lost the title against

Mikey Whipwreck John Michael Watson (born June 4, 1973), better known by his ring name Mikey Whipwreck, is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his career with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), where he was an ECW Triple C ...

and Stockade on June 23, 2013, his last match in the company.

WWE (2013–2016)

In June 2013, James signed a contract with

. He was assigned to the

WWE Performance Center WWE Performance Center (WWE PC) is a group of professional wrestling schools owned by American company WWE. They serve as tryout and training facilities for WWE, and also contain sports science and medical facilities as well as live events and ...

. On August 28, 2013, his name was changed to Bull Dempsey. Dempsey made his debut in '' NXT'' on September 12, 2013, where he was defeated by

Aiden English Matthew Thomas Rehwoldt (born October 7, 1987) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) as a color commentator, alongside Tom Hannifan. He is also known for his time in WWE, where he p ...

. Throughout late 2013, he made sporadic appearances as an

enhancement talent In professional wrestling slang, a job is a losing performance in a wrestling match. It is derived from "doing one's job,” a euphemism to hide kayfabe-related information. When a wrestler is booked to lose a match, it is described as "a job". ...

. In the late spring to summer, Dempsey returned to ''NXT'' as a tweener, squashing various low carders and local talents. In August, Dempsey and

Mojo Rawley Dean Muhtadi (; born July 17, 1986) is an American professional wrestler and former American football player. He is best known for his tenure in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Mojo Rawley. He has also become known in football bettin ...

formed an uneasy tag team and participated in the

NXT Tag Team Championship The NXT Tag Team Championship is a men's Professional wrestling championship, professional wrestling tag team championship created and promoted by the United States, American professional wrestling promotion, promotion WWE. It is defended on NXT ...

tournament, where they were defeated by

The Vaudevillains The Vaudevillains were an American professional wrestling tag team in WWE, composed of Aiden English and Simon Gotch. Their gimmick was a pair of Vaudeville-era throwbacks. They also formerly wrestled in WWE's developmental territory NXT, where ...

(

and

Simon Gotch Seth Lesser (born October 18, 1982), better known by the ring name Simon Gotch, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). He is best known for his time in WWE, where he held the NXT Tag Tea ...

) in the first round, prompting Dempsey to attack Rawley in the aftermath and establishing himself a

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 ...

. On September 11 at the NXT TakeOver: Fatal 4-Way event, Dempsey defeated Rawley in a squash with his new finisher The Diving Headbutt. On the September 25 episode of ''NXT'', Bull was victorious in the rematch. Following that, he embarked on a rivalry with

Baron Corbin Thomas Pestock (born September 14, 1984) is an American professional wrestler, Brazilian jiu jitsu practitioner, former professional football player and former amateur boxer. He is wrestling as a freelancer under the ring name Bishop Dyer, appea ...

, another dominant wrestler who mostly squashed jobbers. The two competed to see how quickly they could defeat the "local talent", sometimes back-to-back. This eventually led to a match between the two on January 14, 2015, in which Dempsey's undefeated streak was broken by Corbin. Dempsey competed in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Qualification Tournament at

WrestleMania Axxess WWE World at WrestleMania, formerly known as WrestleMania Axxess, is a professional wrestling fan convention held by WWE during the week of WrestleMania. The event typically runs for four to five days—from Thursday to Sunday or Monday—and fea ...

31, but lost to

Tyler Breeze Mattias Clement (born January 19, 1988) is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE under the ring name Tyler Breeze as a member of the UpUpDownDown channel and as a writer for the NXT brand. He also wrestles on the independent ...

in the first round. Soon after this, Dempsey's

gimmick A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often with little intrinsic value. When applied to retail marketing, it is a unique or quirky feature designed to make a product or service "stand out ...

was tweaked to that of an overweight, out of shape wrestler who eats too much, which also saw him turn

face The face is the front of the head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may affect th ...

in the process. After several vignettes aired to promote "Bull-Fit", Dempsey debuted his new gimmick on the August 26 episode of ''NXT'', where he defeated

Elias Samson Jeffrey Daniel Sciullo (born November 22, 1987) is an American professional wrestler and musician. He is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) under the ring name Elijah. He is also makes appearances with partner promotion, WWE perf ...

. On the February 24 episode of ''NXT'', he was defeated by

Tommaso Ciampa Tommaso Whitney (born May 8, 1985) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Tommaso Ciampa () and ...

. On the March 23 episode of ''NXT'', he and his supposed opponent

Danny Burch Martin Harris (born 31 December 1981) is an English professional wrestler best known for his time with WWE, where he performed on the NXT brand under the ring name Danny Burch. He is a former one time NXT Tag Team Champion with Oney Lorcan. ...

both got beaten down by

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 ...

, before they even started the match, this led to a match between Dempsey and Joe on the following weeks episode. Dempsey lost in a quick squash match by disqualification because Joe kept his finisher, the Coquina Clutch, on Dempsey prompting NXT General Manager

William Regal Darren Kenneth Matthews (born 10 May 1968), better known by the ring name William Regal, is an English retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he serves as the vice-president of Global Talent Development. He is also known for ...

to try to stop him. Samoa Joe's insubordination would bring NXT Champion Finn Bálor to the ring to "rescue" Dempsey. The following week Dempsey lost to Joe in a squash match, this was Dempsey's final appearance for ''NXT''. On February 5, 2016, Dempsey announced on the social network

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

that he had been released from WWE.

Independent circuit (2016–present)

James began wrestling on the independent circuit following his release from NXT, using the name Bull James, a combination of his NXT name and his birth name. James announced that he was set to debut in

Combat Zone Wrestling Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) is an American independent professional wrestling promotion founded in 1999 by John Zandig. Commonly associated with the 2000s hardcore wrestling genre, early CZW shows showcased a brand of wrestling dubbed by the p ...

, stating that he was coming after

Sami Callihan Samuel Alton Johnston (born September 1, 1987), better known by the ring name Sami Callihan, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and promoter. He is signed to Major League Wrestling (MLW) and Total Nonstop Action Wrestlin ...

, also known as Solomon Crowe, facing him on March 1. On February 25, 2017, James won the NYWC Heavyweight Championship at Psycho Circus XV. On February 24, 2018, James lost the title to Alex Reynolds at Psycho Circus XVI only to regain it on March 31, 2018, at Aftermath. James lost the title to King Mega on June 30, 2018, at Going The Distance. On March 11, 2017, James won the SWF Cruiserweight Title at SWF Legacies Never Die. On January 05, 2024, James made his debut at a Florida based Independent wrestling promotion, Boca Raton Championship Wrestling (BRCW) defeating Ozzy Kilmeister and Skitz in a

Three-way In human sexuality, a threesome is "a sexual interaction between three people whereby at least one engages in physical sexual behaviour with both the other individuals". While the term ''threesome'' typically refers to sexual activity involvin ...

. On March 17, He defeated Jaden Jakens in BRCW march madhouse.

Ring of Honor (2016)

On September 18, 2016, James made a surprise debut in

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 ...

Honor Rumble The Honor Rumble is a periodically held battle royal promoted by the U.S.-based professional wrestling promotion Ring of Honor. This battle royal differs from a standard version of the match in that the contestants do not all begin in the ring at t ...

, making it to the final four. On October 21, 2016, James faced

ROH World Champion The ROH World Championship is a professional wrestling world championship created and promoted by Ring of Honor (ROH). It is considered the most prestigious title in the promotion. The current champion is Bandido, who is in his second reign. In ...

Adam Cole Austin Kirk Jenkins (born July 5, 1989), known by the ring name Adam Cole, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the leader of The Paragon (professional wrestling), ...

, in a losing effort. The following day James teamed up with Mr. Wrestling III losing to

B. J. Whitmer Benjamin Whitmer (born January 25, 1978), better known by the ring name B. J. Whitmer, is an American professional wrestling producer, professional wrestling trainer, color commentator, and retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his ...

and

Punisher Martinez Luis Martínez (born September 26, 1982) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Damian Priest and is a former one-time World Heavyweight Champion. He is also known ...

. James was defeated by

Silas Young Caleb DeWall (born September,9,1980) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Silas Young. He was last contracted for Ring of Honor, where he is a two-time ROH World Television Champion, and has ...

Championships and accomplishments

*American Championship Entertainment **ACE Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Vince Steele *Atomic Wrestling Revolution **AWR Next Level Championship (1 time) * Independent Wrestling Federation ** IWF American Heavyweight Championship (1 time) * New York Wrestling Connection **NYWC Heavyweight Championship (2 time) **NYWC Fusion Championship (1 time) **NYWC Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Bill Carr *East Coast Professional Wrestling **ECPW Showcase 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. 187 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 2014 *Superstars of Wrestling Federation **SWF Cruiserweight Championship (1 time)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dempsey, Bull 1988 births American male professional wrestlers Living people People from Greenpoint, Brooklyn 21st-century male professional wrestlers 21st-century American professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from New York City