Daniel Engler (born November 20, 1977) is an American

professional wrestling 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, real- ...

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other title ...

, who is signed to

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, ...

on the Raw brand. He is also known for his work in

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) 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 ...

Rudy Charles, where he was the

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

's senior referee.

Career

Early career

Engler trained as a referee under former

United States Wrestling Association The United States Wrestling Association (USWA) was a professional wrestling promotion based in Memphis, Tennessee. The company was founded when the Memphis-based Continental Wrestling Association merged with the Dallas-based World Class Champions ...

referee Mark Vance, whom he met at a wrestling show in the Evansville

Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Coliseum A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word ...

, and refereed his first match on July 6, 1996. In 1997, Engler enlisted in the Indiana Army National Guard, and underwent four months of training.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2002–2009; 2011)

Engler joined

(TNA) shortly after its inception in June 2002, and was quickly named senior referee. Known under the ring name Rudy Charles, he was one of the first referees shown on the show, having to help hold

Toby Keith Toby Keith Covel (July 8, 1961 – February 5, 2024) was an American country music singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, and businessman. Keith released his chart-topping debut single, "Should've Been a Cowboy", in 1993. During the 1990s ...

back from entering the ring to fight

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 ...

. On January 29, 2009, Charles made his wrestling debut on ''

TNA Impact! ''TNA Impact!'' (stylized as ''TNA iMPACT!'') is an American professional wrestling television program produced by the American promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) that debuted on June 4, 2004. It also features wrestlers from WWE's ...

'', along with referee Andrew Thomas, in a handicap match against

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 ...

. In a backstage interview, Charles seemed confident and talked about his amateur wrestling background. Thomas was nervous, but Charles said to follow his lead. This was all short lived as Booker hit Charles with an Axe Kick, finished off Thomas with the Bookend for the pin, and forced

Earl Hebner Earl William Hebner (born May 17, 1949) is an American retired professional wrestling referee. He is best known for his time as senior referee for the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE) from 1988 to 2005. Hebner (along with his identical twi ...

to make the count. In July 2009, Engler left TNA. However, he again appeared for the promotion on the Thanksgiving Day 2011 episode and featured in several segments alongside wrestler Eric Young, as well as refereeing a match between Young and

Robbie E Robert Strauss (born October 1, 1983) is an American professional wrestler and Manager (professional wrestling), manager. He is signed to WWE, where he is a Producer (wrestling), producer, the on-screen assistant to the NXT general manager Ava (w ...

. Despite not appearing since, he refereed in TNA's subsidiary projects Ring Ka King and All Wheels Wrestling.

Independent circuit (2009–2013)

Engler has run several family oriented wrestling promotions in his hometown of

Evansville, Indiana Evansville is a city in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 118,414 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is Indiana's List of cities in Indiana, third-most populous city after India ...

. He has run shows at the historic

(former home to the USWA), the Vanderburgh County 4-H Fairground (home to the Frog Follies classic car festival) and the CK Newsome Center, an urban community center for inner-city children. On his debut in National Wrestling Alliance Main Event, Shawn Shultz lost his NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Championship. On various episodes, Shultz said that Engler screwed his match. Shultz and his manager, Tony Lucassio, called Engler a reject referee from another promotion in

Orlando Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...

, noting his time in TNA. Engler made his

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 ...

(OVW) debut as the special guest referee of a match between heel referee Chris Sharpe and OVW senior official Ray Ramsey in December 2009. He then refereed several matches in OVW.

WWE (2013–present)

In July 2013, Engler indicated on his Twitter account that he had signed with

and would be working NXT tapings. He was also be present at 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 ...

grand-opening. On October 27, 2013, working under his real name, Engler made his WWE pay-per-view debut at

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 ...

.Former TNA Referee makes WWE debut at Hell in a Cell
/ref> He refereed the Divas Championship match between

AJ Lee April Jeanette Mendez (born March 19, 1987) is an American author, screenwriter and retired professional wrestler. She is best known for her time in WWE under the ring name AJ Lee. Mendez began her professional wrestling career in 2007 in New ...

and

Brie Bella Brianna Monique Danielson (born November 21, 1983), also known as Brie Bella and Brie Garcia, is an American television personality and retired professional wrestler. She is best known for her tenure in WWE. In 2007, Garcia signed with WWE and ...

. The following night on ''Raw'', he refereed another Divas match, between Natalya and Summer Rae, in the latter's debut match. On the March 14, 2016 episode of ''Raw'', Engler was injured after being hit in the leg with a production crate by

Triple H Paul Michael Levesque (; born July 27, 1969), also known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive and former professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he serves as its chief content officer. Levesque began his wres ...

during a backstage brawl between him and a returning

Roman Reigns Leati Joseph Anoaʻi ( ; born May 25, 1985), better known by his ring name Roman Reigns, is an American professional wrestler and former gridiron football, football player. As a wrestler, he has been signed to WWE , where he performs on the Sm ...

. He required 13 stitches and 3 sutures to close the wound. In June 2016, he appeared as one of the seven referees for the Cruiserweight Classic.

Other work

Engler was the wrestling referee for the season three premiere of '' Pros vs. Joes''. Engler maintains a

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channel; and has a recurring show named ''The Rudy Charles Talk Show''. Some of the guests included: former TNA/WWE referee Mike Posey, wrestlers such as Mike Rapada, Mike Rapada Jr., Steve O, Matt Boyce, and Shawn Shultz.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Engler, Dan 1977 births Living people Sportspeople from Evansville, Indiana American professional wrestling referees