Brendan Vink (born 8 February 1990) is an Australian

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 in 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. ...

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 ...

Duke Hanson. He is best known for his tenure 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 under the ring name Duke Hudson and is a former one-time

NXT Tag Team Champion 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 ...

. He is also known for his time in

Melbourne City Wrestling Melbourne City Wrestling is an Australian independent professional wrestling promotion founded in 2010, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Melbourne City Wrestling currently has two major venues that they use. MCW hosts monthly events at the ...

(MCW).

Professional wrestling career

Independent circuit (2006–2019)

Brendan Vink made his

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- ...

debut on 28 April 2006 under the

Elliot Sexton. Wrestling primarily in Australia, Sexton appeared in

independent promotion 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. ...

s including

(MCW) and Wrestle Rampage. During his time in both promotions, Sexton became a one-time MCW Heavyweight Champion and a one-time WrestleRock Champion. In 2018, he made his international debut in matches for the Japanese promotion

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional-wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, and based in Nakano, Tokyo. It is currently majority owned by card-game company Bushiroad, with TV As ...

(NJPW) and the British promotion

Progress Wrestling Progress Wrestling (stylized as PROGRESS) is a British professional wrestling promotion that was established in 2011 by comedian Jim Smallman, events and comedy promoter Jon Briley, and later, actor Glen Robinson (professionally known as Glen ...

and

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 ...

WWE (2019–2025)

Raw and NXT debut (2019–2022)

On 11 February 2019, it was announced that Vink had signed a contract with

and that he would report 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 ...

. Vink debuted under his real name at an NXT

house show A house show (also commonly called a live event) is a professional wrestling event produced by a major Professional wrestling promotion, promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in o ...

on 15 March 2019, defeating

Nick Comoroto Nicholas Comoroto (born April 22, 1991) is an American professional wrestler who wrestles for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and its sister promotion, Ring of Honor (ROH). Comoroto began his career in 2013 on the independent circuit. In 2019, he sign ...

. He went on to spend the remainder of March and the following month of April wrestling on house shows. Vink made his televised debut on the 25 March 2020 episode of ''NXT'', teaming with his former TMDK stablemate

Shane Thorne Shane Veryzer (born 24 September 1985), known by his ring name Shane Haste, is an Australian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He works for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a member of The Mighty Don't Kneel (TMDK). He i ...

in a losing effort against

Oney Lorcan Christopher Girard (born December 21, 1985) is an American retired professional wrestler signed to WWE as a coach at the Performance Center as well as a producer for NXT, having previously performed on said brand under the ring name Oney Lor ...

and

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. ...

. Vink made his debut for EVOLVE in 2019 as part of EVOLVE's business relationship with WWE at EVOLVE 141 where he defeated

Colby Corino Colby Steven Corino (born August 28, 1996) is an American professional wrestler performing for the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), where he is a former NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion, and also appears on the independent circuit. He is ...

in his first singles match. Vink would then go on a winning streak in EVOLVE, defeating the likes of A. R. Fox, Stephen Wolf, JD Drake and

Leon Ruff Dartanyon Ruffin is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in WWE where he performed under the ring name Leon Ruff, and was a one-time NXT North American Champion. Professional wrestling career Evolve (2018–2020) ...

. In March 2020, Vink began appearing on '' Raw'' alongside Shane Thorne where they faced teams such as the

Street Profits The Street Profits are an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford. They are signed to WWE, where they perform on the SmackDown brand, and are the current WWE Tag Team Champions in their second rei ...

and

Cedric Alexander Cedric Alexander Johnson (born August 16, 1989) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is performing on the independent circuit. He is best known for his tenures in WWE and Ring of Honor (ROH). Alexander worked for ROH ...

and

Ricochet A ricochet ( ; ) is a rebound, bounce, or skip off a surface, particularly in the case of a projectile. Most ricochets are caused by accident and while the force of the deflection decelerates the projectile, it can still be energetic and almost ...

but were defeated. On the April 27 episode of ''Raw'', Thorne and Vink became

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

’s newest associates as he challenged Alexander and Ricochet to a match the next week on their behalf. On the May 4 episode of ''Raw'', Thorne and Vink defeated Alexander and Ricochet earning their first victory. However, their alliance with MVP ended after they were both traded back to NXT and Thorne and Vink would quietly disband as a team soon after. In July 2021, Vink, under the new ring name Duke Hudson was announced to be a part of the 2021

NXT Breakout Tournament The NXT Breakout Tournament is a professional wrestling single elimination tournament produced by WWE for the NXT brand. It was first introduced in 2019 and features eight wrestlers who are new arrivals on NXT (usually WWE Performance Center recr ...

. On the 13 July episode of ''NXT'', Hudson defeated Ikemen Jiro in the first round. On the 17 August episode of ''NXT'', Hudson was eliminated in the semi-finals by

Carmelo Hayes Christian Brigham (born August 1, 1994) 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 Carmelo Hayes. He ...

. Hudson would then confront

Kyle O'Reilly Kyle Richard Thomas Greenwood (born March 1, 1987), better known by his ring name Kyle O'Reilly, is a Canadian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of The Paragon (professio ...

and a brawl would ensue leading to a match being made between the two on next weeks episode of ''NXT''. On 5 December, at

NXT WarGames NXT WarGames (originally known as NXT TakeOver: WarGames) was a professional wrestling event produced annually by WWE, a Connecticut-based professional wrestling promotion. Held exclusively for wrestlers from the promotion's developmental territo ...

, Hudson lost to

Cameron Grimes Trevor Lee Caddell (born September 30, 1993) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in WWE as Cameron Grimes and in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, Impact Wrestling as Trevor Lee. Caddell mad ...

in a

Hair vs. Hair match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called " gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a storyline. ...

, and therefore had to shave his hair per the match's stipulation.

Chase University (2022–2025)

On 1 November 2022 episode of ''NXT'', Hudson accompanied

Thea Hail Madison Knisley (born September 9, 2003) is an American professional wrestler and gymnast. She is signed to WWE where she performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Thea Hail. Early life Madison Knisley was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. ...

and Andre Chase as Chase University's flag bearer, thus turning

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 ...

. On 24 October 2023 on Night 1 of ''NXT'': Halloween Havoc, Hudson and Chase defeated The D'Angelo Family (

Tony D'Angelo Joseph Ariola (born June 9, 1995) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT (WWE brand), NXT WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Tony D'Angelo. Working with a American Mafia, mafia gimmick ...

and Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo) to become the

NXT Tag Team Champions The NXT Tag Team Championship is a men's professional wrestling tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is defended on NXT, the promotion's developmental brand. The current champions are Hank and Tank (Han ...

, winning his first championship in WWE. Chase and Hudson later lost the titles to D'Angelo and Stacks on the 14 November edition of ''NXT'', ending their reign at 21 days. In early May 2024, Ridge Holland started associating himself with Chase U. On the 21 May episode of ''NXT'', Fallon Henley defeated Hail to qualify for a spot at the six-woman ladder match to crown the inaugural

NXT Women's North American Championship The NXT Women's North American Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is the secondary women's championship of the company's development brand, NXT. Established on April 6, 20 ...

at NXT Battleground. Backstage, Riley Osborne got into an argument with Holland for costing Hail the match, to which Chase proposed that both men settle their differences in the ring where Holland defeated Osborne. After the match, Osborne still do not approve of Chase U working with Holland, with Hudson agreeing with Osborne. The stable would eventually accept Holland as an official member. On the 25 June episode of ''NXT'', Chase and Hudson won a tag team turmoil match for a NXT Tag Team Championship title match at NXT Heatwave on 7 July but they failed to defeat

Nathan Frazer Benjamin Timms (born 23 July 1998) is a British professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Nathan Frazer. He is a former one-time NXT Heritage Cup Champion and a two-time NXT Tag Te ...

and And or AND may refer to: Logic, grammar and computing * Conjunction, connecting two words, phrases, or clauses * Logical conjunction in mathematical logic, notated as "∧", "⋅", "&", or simple juxtaposition * Bitwise AND, a Boolean oper ...

Axiom An axiom, postulate, or assumption is a statement that is taken to be true, to serve as a premise or starting point for further reasoning and arguments. The word comes from the Ancient Greek word (), meaning 'that which is thought worthy or ...

for the titles. On the 17 July episode of ''NXT'', Hudson failed to defeat

Oba Femi Isaac Odugbesan (born April 22, 1998) is a Nigerian professional wrestler and former shot putter. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT (WWE brand), NXT WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Oba Femi and is the current NXT C ...

for the

NXT North American Championship The NXT North American Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is defended as the secondary men's championship of NXT, the promotion's developmental brand. The current champi ...

after Holland arranged for the match the previous week. At NXT No Mercy on September 1, Chase and Holland, who had defeated Frazer and Axiom for the NXT Tag Team Championship two weeks before, lost the titles back to Frazer and Axiom. After the match, Holland viciously attacked the group, defecting from Chase U and reverted back to a heel in the process. After his defection, Holland vowed to take down Chase U. On the September 10 episode of ''NXT'', Holland defeated Hudson and took out Hudson with the barricade after the match in what would be Hudson's final televised match for WWE. On the November 19 episode of ''NXT'', Holland defeated Chase with the future of Chase U on the line, causing Chase U to disband. Hudson was released by WWE in January 2025.

Return to the independent circuit (2025–present)

Vink wrestled his first match after his departure from WWE at ROW Pay Up! on 12 April 2025 under the ring name Duke Hanson.

Other media

Duke Hudson made his

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

debut as a playable character in '' WWE 2K24''.

Championships and accomplishments

*Australian Wrestling Allstars **AWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **AWA Championship Tournament (2016) *

** MCW 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. 306 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 *WrestleRock **WrestleRock Championship (1 time) *

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 ...

( 1 time) – with Andre Chase

''Luchas de Apuestas'' record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hudson, Duke Living people Australian male professional wrestlers Martial artists from Adelaide Sportsmen from South Australia Australian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate professional wrestlers 1990 births 21st-century male professional wrestlers NXT Tag Team Champions 21st-century Australian sportsmen