J. R. Kratos (born June 20, 1982) 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 ...

, appearing for the

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 ...

(NWA), where he is a former NWA United States Tag Team Champion (with Odinson) and a former

NWA World Tag Team Champion The NWA World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling World Tag Team Championship, world tag team championship created by the National Wrestling Alliance. From 1948 to 1982, the NWA allowed List of National Wrestling Alliance territories ...

. He also makes sporadic appearances for

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 ...

Professional wrestling career

Early career

Kratos' early career started in the

Northern California Northern California (commonly shortened to NorCal) is a geocultural region that comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, spanning the northernmost 48 of the state's List of counties in California, 58 counties. Northern Ca ...

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

pro 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 wrest ...

scene where he debuted for Supreme Pro Wrestling. From 2012-2019, Kratos wrestle for

All Pro Wrestling All Pro Wrestling is an American professional wrestling promotion and training school, based in Hayward, California. The company was founded by Roland Alexander and managed by him until his death on November 5, 2013. It is located 45 miles so ...

on a constant basis. He has also competed in several

GCW Bloodsport GCW Bloodsport is a professional wrestling event held by the American promotion Game Changer Wrestling (GCW). This event consists of a unique ruleset compared to a traditional pro wrestling event, in that every match must end in either a knockout ...

events after he attended a seminar held by

Josh Barnett Joshua Lawrence Barnett (born November 10, 1977) is an American mixed martial artist, submission wrestler, professional wrestler, and color commentator. Barnett previously competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he was the y ...

with

Timothy Thatcher Timothy Andrew Moura (born March 17, 1983), better known by the ring name Timothy Thatcher, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE as a trainer for the WWE ID program and as in-ring performer on the Evolve brand; he is best ...

and

Jeff Cobb is an American professional wrestler and former amateur wrestler. As of May 2025, he is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name JC Mateo and is a member of The Bloodline. He is best known for his tenure in N ...

All Japan Pro-Wrestling

Kratos competed for

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Puroresu, Japanese professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on October 21, 1972, by Giant Baba after he left the Japanese Wrestling Association to create his own promotion. Ma ...

during their Excite Series tour in February 2020 in the midst of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

National Wrestling Alliance

On November 11, 2020,

Aron Stevens Aron Steven Haddad (born August 3, 1982) is an American retired professional wrestler working as a manager in the National Wrestling Alliance under the name Aron Stevens. He is best known for wrestling with WWE under the ring name Damien Sandow ...

and Kratos defeated

Eli Drake Shaun Edward Ricker (born November 1, 1982) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name LA ...

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 ...

to win the

NWA World Tag Team Championship The NWA World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling World Tag Team Championship, world tag team championship created by the National Wrestling Alliance. From 1948 to 1982, the NWA allowed List of National Wrestling Alliance territories ...

. On June 6, at

When Our Shadows Fall When Our Shadows Fall was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event promoted by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). It took place on June 6, 2021, in Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital ...

, Stevens and Kratos successfully defended their titles in a

three-way tag team match Much like the singles match, tag team professional wrestling matches can and have taken many forms. Just about any singles or melee match type can be adapted to tag teams; for example, hardcore tag team matches are commonplace. Tag team ladder m ...

against The War Kings (

Jax Dane Jeremy Dane Laymon (March 10, 1976 – December 25, 2024) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Jax Dane. He was known for his tenure with various National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) member promotions. He was a for ...

and

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 Strictly Business (

Thom Latimer Thomas Raymond Latimer (born 6 August 1986) is an English professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), where he is the current NWA World's Heavyweight Champion in his first reign. Latimer began his ...

and

Chris Adonis Christopher Todd Mordetzky (born January 8, 1983) is an American professional wrestler, currently wrestling under the ring name Chris Adonis. He is a former two-time National Champion in NWA. He is best known for his time in WWE, under the ri ...

). On August 29, at the

NWA 73rd Anniversary Show The NWA 73rd Anniversary Show (also simply known as NWA 73) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) that was held on August 29, 2021, as the second of two PPV events to take place from the ...

, they lost the titles to La Rebelión (

Bestia 666 Leornardo Carrera Lizarraga (born May 14, 1989) is a Mexican ''Lucha libre, luchador'' or Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Bestia 666. He is currently working for various promotions across Mexico, while ...

and Mecha Wolf 450). On December 4, at Hard Times 2, Stevens and Kratos failed to beat The OGK (

Matt Taven Matthew Marinelli (born March 20, 1985), known by his ring name, Matt Taven, is an American professional wrestler and wrestling trainer. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and its sister promotion, Ring of Honor (ROH), where he is one- ...

and Mike Bennett) for the

ROH World Tag Team Championship The ROH World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling World Tag Team Championship, world tag team championship contested for in the United States, American professional wrestling promotion Ring of Honor (ROH). The current champions are D ...

. In 2023, Kratos began teaming up with Odinson, dubbed ''The Immortals''. Having been named to the

Crockett Cup The Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament (also known simply as the Crockett Cup) is a professional wrestling event produced annually by the professional wrestling promotion, National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). The event features a tag ...

tournament, The Immortals reached the quarterfinals of the tournament, where they had lost to the Midnight Riders. On October 28, at

Samhain Samhain ( , , , ) or () is a Gaels, Gaelic festival on 1 November marking the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter or the "Celtic calendar#Medieval Irish and Welsh calendars, darker half" of the year.Dáithí Ó hÓgáin, Ó hÓ ...

, they defeated Daisy Kill and Talos to win the

NWA United States Tag Team Championship The NWA United States Tag Team Championship is a name used for several secondary tag team championship used by various National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) members since 1958. There are eleven different versions of the NWA United States Tag Team Champ ...

. On April 16, 2024 episode of ''NWA Powerrr'', Kratos and Odinson vacated the titles in order to challenge for the

NWA Hard Times NWA Hard Times is a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). The first event took place on January 24, 2020, and the second event took place on December 4, 2021, making it a recurring annual pay-per-v ...

, which they were unsuccessful at winning.

New Japan Pro-Wrestling

On November 6, 2020 episode of

NJPW Strong NJPW Strong is a brand name utilized by Japanese professional wrestling promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and its New Japan Pro-Wrestling of America (NJoA) subsidiary. In its original incarnation, ''NJPW Strong'' was the name of a weekly ...

, Kratos made his NJPW debut teaming with Rust Taylor to defeat

and

Rocky Romero John Raymond Rivera (born October 28, 1982), better known by his ring name Rocky Romero (ロッキー・ロメロ, ''Rokkī Romero''), is a Cuban-American professional wrestler. He is signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and All Elite Wrest ...

. During the match

Tom Lawlor Thomas Joseph Lawlor (born May 15, 1983) is an American professional wrestler, retired mixed martial artist and podcast host. He is signed to both New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he was the inaugural and longest reigning NJPW Strong Openw ...

was spotted by Kevin Kelly. Before Lawlor's match with

Fred Rosser Frederick Douglas Rosser III (born November 2, 1983) is an American professional wrestler and trainer. He is signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a trainer at the NJPW Academy and a former Strong Openweight Champion. He is bes ...

, it was confirmed that he aligned himself with Kratos and Taylor forming the New Japan version of Team Filthy. Lawlor stated that he teamed up with Kratos and Taylor because he was looking for a fight team that would be the strongest ever seen. Just one week after their formation,

Danny Limelight Daniel Luis Rivera (born September 2, 1991) is a Puerto Rican-American professional wrestler, currently performing for United Wrestling Network's Championship Wrestling from Hollywood under the ring name Danny Limelight and is the current UWN W ...

would turn on Romero and join Team Filthy. Together, Team Filthy was victorious against Cobb, Romero, Rosser, and

P. J. Black Phillip Paul Lloyd (born 3 March 1981) is a South African-American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in WWE, under the ring name Justin Gabriel. He is currently wrestling under the ring name P. J. Black ...

in an eight-man tag team match. On the October 16, 2021 episode of Strong, Kratos entered a long-running feud with

Alex Coughlin Alex Coughlin (born December 3, 1993) is an American former professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he was a member of Bullet Club and a former Strong Openweight Tag Team Champion, alongside ...

spurred on, in part, by his victory against him in Josh Barnett's Bloodsport 4. Kratos would lose against Coughlin twice at the January 29, 2023 episode of NJPW Strong and 2023's

Battle in the Valley Battle in the Valley is a professional wrestling event held annually by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event was first held in 2021, at San Jose Civic in San Jose, California and has been held there ever since. History In October 2019, NJPW a ...

respectively. During his time on Strong, Kratos also revived a title shot against

for the

Strong Openweight Championship The is a professional wrestling world championship owned and promoted by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. The title was officially announced on April 2, 2021, and the inaugural champion was Tom Lawlor. The reigning champion is Tom ...

on the November 22, 2022 episode of Strong. Kratos had his first NJPW event in Japan at '' NJPW Independence Day'' events at

Korakuen Hall is a sports arena in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan, which has hosted boxing, professional wrestling, kickboxing, mixed martial arts and Lethwei matches. History On April 16, 1962, the Korakuen Hall was officially opened with a capacity of approximat ...

Discography

Music videos

Championships and accomplishments

APW Universal Heavyweight Championship The APW Universal Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship contested in All Pro Wrestling. It was introduced on October 12, 1996, when Robert Thompson defeated Michael Modest in the finals of a tournam ...

(

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 ...

) *Gold Rush Pro Wrestling **GRPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **GRPW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Colt Stevens **Golden Thrones Tournament (2016) – with

Nicole Savoy Nicole Savoy is an American professional wrestler. She has performed in Shimmer Women Athletes, where she was the longest reigning Shimmer Champion. Early life Savoy is trained in Muay Thai and Jiu-Jitsu. Professional wrestling career Sh ...

( 1 time) – with Odinson **

( 1 time) – with

Crockett Cup (2025) The 2025 iteration of the Crockett Cup was a professional wrestling tag team professional wrestling tournament, tournament produced by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). The event took place on May 17, 2025, at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, ...

- with Odinson *Premier Wrestling **Premier Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Pro Wrestling Revolution **PWR World Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Supreme Pro Wrestling **SPW Heavyweight Championship (3 times) *''

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. 124 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 2021

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kratos, J. R. 1982 births Living people People from Pacifica, California American male professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from California 20th-century American people 21st-century American people NWA World Tag Team Champions Sportspeople from the San Francisco Bay Area 21st-century male professional wrestlers 21st-century American professional wrestlers Crockett Cup winners