Joe Zimbardi (born November 8, 1992) 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 ...

best known for his tenure in

Major League Wrestling Major League Wrestling (MLW) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in New Rochelle, New York. The promotion was founded in 2002 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by former WWE writer Court Bauer. The promotion markets its product as ...

, where he performed under the ring name Richard Holliday and was a former one-time MLW World Tag Team Champion. Holliday also makes appearances on 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. ...

. He is a former one-time IWA World Heavyweight Champion and one-time IWA Caribbean Heavyweight Champion.

Professional wrestling career

Independent circuit (2015 – present)

After undergoing training under former WCW World Tag Team Champion

Paul Roma Paul Centopani (born April 29, 1959) is an American retired professional wrestler and boxer, better known by his ring name Paul Roma. He is best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling between 1984 ...

and the Paradise Alley Professional Wrestling School, Holliday 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 for

Northeast Wrestling Northeast Wrestling (NEW) is an independent professional wrestling promotion based in the Northeastern United States and has promoted events since 1996. It is currently owned and operated by promoter Mike Lombardi and is one of the top indepen ...

at ''Christmas in Tavenville'' event on December 12, 2015, in a losing effort against Jym Anderson. Holliday wrestled for various independent promotions and made frequent appearances for New England Championship Wrestling, where he challenged for the NECW Television Championship on many occasions. Holliday's first major achievement in his professional wrestling career came when he participated in

East Coast Wrestling Association East Coast Wrestling Association (ECWA) is an American professional wrestling promotion, founded in 1967 by promoter Jim Kettner. It is home to the annual Super 8 Tournament, one of the longest-running independent wrestling tournaments in the co ...

's (ECWA) 2018 Super 8 Tournament on April 21, 2018. Holliday won the tournament by defeating Bolt Brady in the quarter-final, Anthony Greene in the semi-final and

Chase Owens Steven Owens, better known by the ring name Chase Owens (チェーズ・オーエンズ ''Chēzu Ōenzu'', born March 7, 1990) is an American professional wrestler signed with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a member of House of Tor ...

in the final. On September 21, 2019, Holliday defeated Brute VanSlyke to win the Immortal Championship Wrestling (ICW) Heavyweight Championship at ''Immortal 08'' event. The following month, at ''Halloween Havok'', Holliday successfully defended the title against Carlito before dropping the title to Sean Carr in an immediate title defense.

Major League Wrestling (2018–2024)

Holliday signed a contract with

(MLW) in 2018, making his debut for the promotion at the

inaugural In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inau ...

Battle Riot event on July 27, entering at #17. He was eliminated by Barrington Hughes. Holliday's first singles match in MLW took place on the September 7 episode of ''Fusion'', which he lost to Fred Yehi. On the February 16, 2019 episode of ''Fusion'', Holliday formed an alliance with

Maxwell Jacob Friedman Maxwell Tyler Friedman (born March 15, 1996), better known by the ring name Maxwell Jacob Friedman and the shortened epithet MJF, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and actor. , he is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW ...

by attacking

Teddy Hart Edward Ellsworth Annis (born February 2, 1980) is a Canadian-American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Teddy Hart. He currently wrestles on the independent circuit. He is one-half of the RCW (Real Canadian Wrestling) Tag Tea ...

during a post-match interview backstage after Hart had retained the World Middleweight Championship against MJF. Their alliance was dubbed The Dynasty and they began a lengthy feud with Hart's faction

The Hart Foundation The Hart Foundation is the name of several derivative tag teams and stables composed primarily of members and close friends of the Hart wrestling family. The name originated in the World Wrestling Federation in 1985 with the original Hart Foundat ...

, setting up a

World Tag Team Championship In professional wrestling, a championship or title is a recognition promoted by professional wrestling organizations. Championship reigns are determined by professional wrestling matches, in which competitors are involved in predetermined rival ...

match between the two teams on the March 16 episode of ''Fusion'', which MJF and Holliday lost via disqualification after Alexander Hammerstone interfered in the match by attacking Hart and Smith, therefore Hammerstone joined the Dynasty, making it a trio. On April 5, Holliday participated in the Battle Riot match as the #40 entrant. He was eliminated by Davey Boy Smith, Jr. On the April 27 episode of ''Fusion'', Dynasty defeated Hart Foundation in a six-man

tables 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. ...

to hand Hart Foundation, their first loss as a team in MLW. On the July 13 episode of ''Fusion'', MJF and Holliday defeated Brian Pillman Jr. and Teddy Hart in a

ladder match A ladder match is a type of match in professional wrestling, most commonly one in which an item (usually a title belt) is hung above the ring, and the winner is the contestant who climbs a ladder and retrieves the item. The ladder itself become ...

to capture the World Tag Team Championship. They successfully defended the titles against Hart Foundation in a

two out of three falls match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Gimmick, gimmick matches" in the Glossary of professional wrestling terms, jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick m ...

on the September 21 episode of ''Fusion'' and the Los Parks (

LA Park Adolfo Margarito Tapia Ibarra (November 14, 1965) is a Mexican ''Lucha libre, luchador enmascarado'' (wrestling mask, masked Professional wrestling, professional wrestler), who currently performs as L. A. Park for Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (A ...

and El Hijo de LA Park) on the October 12 episode of ''Fusion'', before losing the titles to The Von Erichs (Ross and Marshall) in a Texas Tornado match at the Saturday Night SuperFight

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program ...

on November 2. On November 21, it was announced that Holliday would enter the

Opera Cup tournament against Timothy Thatcher. The match took place on the December 14 episode of ''Fusion'', which Holliday lost. On the February 8, 2020 episode of ''Fusion'', Holliday defeated

Savio Vega Savio Vega (born August 10, 1964) is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler. He is known for his work in World Wrestling Federation, World Wrestling Council and International Wrestling Association. After leaving the WWF in 1999, Rivera returned ...

and then stole Vega's IWA Caribbean Heavyweight Championship belt, unofficially claiming himself to be the Caribbean Heavyweight Champion. He successfully defended the title against Chessman in a no disqualification match on the April 25 episode of ''Fusion''. Holliday began campaigning for the title to be officially recognized by MLW. On May 18, Holliday renewed his MLW contract to a multi-year deal. In November, Holliday participated in the 2020 Opera Cup tournament, defeating TJP in the quarter-final, but lost to

Low Ki Brandon Silvestry (born September 6, 1979) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Low Ki. He is known for his time with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, TNA Wrestling, Ring of Honor and Major ...

in the semi-final. On January 27, 2021, Holliday defeated Vega due to the intervention of referee Tim Donaghy, beginning his first official reign after 382 days of illegally possessing the belt. He remained champion until Battle Riot III, where he lost a defense to King Muertes. On July 31, 2021, Holliday made his IWA-PR debut at the La Gran Amenaza event by defeating Mr. Big for the IWA World Heavyweight Championship. On January 21, 2022 at Blood & Thunder, Holliday and on-screen girlfriend Alicia Atout attacked Hammerstone, thus dissolving The Dynasty and turning heel. After Alex Kane retained his

MLW World Heavyweight Championship The MLW World Heavyweight Championship is a world heavyweight championship owned and promoted by Major League Wrestling (MLW). It is the promotion's principal championship. The championship was established on June 15, 2002 at the Genesis and was ...

against

Matt Cardona Matthew Brett Cardona (born May 14, 1985) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is a freelancer who competes on the independent circuit as well as making in ring appearances for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), Al ...

at One Shot, Holliday made his return to MLW and attacked Kane and in the process, aligned himself with World Titan Federation (WTF). His new manager Mister Saint Laurent then said that at Kings of Colliseum on January 6 2024, Holliday will challenge Kane for the MLW World Heavyweight Championship.

Personal life

Zimbardi played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

at the

University of New Haven The University of New Haven (UNH) is a private university in West Haven, Connecticut, United States. History The University of New Haven was founded in 1920 as the New Haven YMCA Junior College, a division of Northeastern University, which sha ...

. In December 2022, Zimbardi revealed in an interview with ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

'' that he had been ill since June and his disease was diagnosed as the stage four

Hodgkin's lymphoma Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a type of lymphoma in which cancer originates from a specific type of white blood cell called lymphocytes, where multinucleated Reed–Sternberg cells (RS cells) are present in the lymph nodes. The condition was named a ...

in September. He was undergoing chemotherapy to treat the cancer.

Championships and accomplishments

*Fight Life Pro Wrestling **FL World Championship (1 time, current) *New South Pro Wrestling **Heart Of The Southern Sixteen Tournament (2024) *Beyond Championship Wrestling **BCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time, inaugural, final) **BCW Heavyweight Championship Tournament (2020) *Big Time Wrestling **BTW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *

** Super 8 Tournament (

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

) *

** MLW World Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with MJF ** IWA Caribbean Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) *Independent Superstars Of Pro Wrestling **ISPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **ISPW Heavyweight Title Tournament (2023) *Immortal Championship Wrestling **ICW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Awesome Championship Wrestling **ACW Heavyweight Championship (1 time, current, inaugural) * International Wrestling Association ** IWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Paradise Alley Pro Wrestling **PAPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time, inaugural) **PAPW Heavyweight Title Tournament (2016) * ''

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 him No. 112 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

Richard Holliday
on MLW.com * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Holliday, Richard Living people American male professional wrestlers 1992 births Sportspeople from New Haven, Connecticut People from Westport, Connecticut Sportspeople from Fairfield County, Connecticut Professional wrestlers from Connecticut MLW World Tag Team Champions New Haven Chargers football players American football offensive linemen Players of American football from New Haven, Connecticut