Joshua Bredl (born January 28, 1991) is an American former

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

best known for his time in WWE under the name Bronson Matthews. In 2015, Bredl was the male winner of the sixth season of the WWE competition '' Tough Enough'', earning a one-year contract with 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 ...

Early life and football career

Bredl was born in Thornton, Colorado, and has a younger sister named Brandi Bredl. He attended Horizon High School. He has a background in college football, playing

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is p ...

and defensive tackle for the ThunderWolves at

Colorado State University–Pueblo Colorado State University Pueblo (CSU Pueblo) is a public university in Pueblo, Colorado. It is a member of the Colorado State University System (CSU System) and a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). History 1933 to 1959 The idea for startin ...

, and also majored in exercise science. He also played low post in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

for the Colorado Hawks. He tried out for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...

in April 2015. Bredl was a fan of

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

whilst growing up, and cited

Stone Cold Steve Austin Steve Austin (born Steven James Anderson; December 18, 1964), better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American media personality, actor, and retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most ...

as his favorite wrestler.

Professional wrestling career

WWE (2015–2017)

In June 2015, Bredl was announced as one of the thirteen finalists for the sixth season of the WWE competition '' Tough Enough''. After being at risk of elimination three times throughout the course of the competition, on August 25, Bredl was chosen by fan vote as one of the winners, along with Sara Lee, earning a $250,000 one-year contract with WWE. During the final, Bredl adopted the

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name 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, or projectin ...

The Yeti, and lost a singles match to Cesaro. In September, Bredl was assigned to WWE's

developmental territory In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a highe ...

NXT, based at the

WWE Performance Center The WWE Performance Center is the official professional wrestling school system of the American professional wrestling promotion WWE. The promotion currently operates two Performance Center locations, which serve as training facilities for WWE ...

in Orlando, Florida, to begin training. At an NXT

live event A house show or live event is a professional wrestling event produced by a major promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in on the exposure that they and their wrestlers receive du ...

on December 3, 2015, Bredl made his first appearance for NXT, where he revealed that his new ring name was Bronson Matthews. In January 2016, Bredl made a

tweet Tweet often refers to: * Tweet (bird call), a type of bird vocalization * Tweet, a post on the social media platform Twitter Tweet may also refer to: People * Tweet (singer) (born 1971), American R&B and soul singer-songwriter * Jonathan Tweet, ...

referring to the lower-card stable The Social Outcasts as "Social Jobbers". This would cause backstage backlash from WWE wrestlers, including

Cody Rhodes Cody Garrett Runnels Rhodes (''né'' Runnels; born June 30, 1985) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. Rhodes is also known for his time in All Elite Wrestling (AEW ...

and

Kevin Owens Kevin Steen (born May 7, 1984) is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Kevin Owens. Steen began his career in 2000, at the age of 16. Prior to joining WWE in l ...

. Bredl was then temporarily banned from NXT locker rooms as a result. Bredl wrestled his final match on July 7, 2016; he was released from his WWE contract on November 5, 2017.

Personal life

Bredl has two children with his wife, Lydia.

Championships and accomplishments

* WWE ** '' Tough Enough VI'' – with Sara Lee

References

External links

*
CSU–Pueblo ThunderWolves football bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matthews, Bronson 1991 births 21st-century professional wrestlers American male professional wrestlers Colorado State University alumni Living people People from Thornton, Colorado Professional wrestlers from Colorado Tough Enough winners