T.J. Perkins
Encyclopedia
T.J. Perkins is an American
professional wrestler
. He is currently signed to Ring of Honor
(ROH), while also working on the independent circuit
under his real name, under his initials TJP or under a mask
as Puma (also stylized as PUMA).
and Rocky Romero
, who would later become the tag team known as the Havana Pitbulls
. Several months later, Bryan Danielson
followed the trio and the first group of L.A. dojo wrestlers was formed. They all made their debut in New Japan on the same Korakuen Hall card in October 2002, with Perkins' debuting as the maskless "Pinoy Boy" T.J. Perkins.
Prior to his debut in New Japan, during a try out with fellow dojo training partners the Havana Pitbulls and Bryan Danielson, Director Uwai of the New Japan office noticed similarities in the wrestling styles between T.J. and the Original Tiger Mask. It was after a second tour of New Japan for the Young Lions Cup
in March 2003 that T.J. was given the character Puma from New Japan, with the gimmick being an American answer to Tiger Mask and the one-word moniker being inspired by T.J.'s New Japan mentor Minoru Tanaka, who was then known as "Heat".
television tapings, losing to The Stampede Bulldogs (Harry Smith
and TJ Wilson). On the second night of TV tapings, Puma lost a 4 way match featuring Jack Evans
, Chasyn Rance and MLW Jr. Heavyweight Champion Sonjay Dutt
. Both matches aired on MLW Underground television in January and February 2004 on the Sunshine Network, Fox Sports Net and DirecTV.
Puma wrestled in the 2005 Super 8 tournament
and made it all the way to finals before ultimately losing to Petey Williams
.
in a triple threat match in the finals of the Pacific Cup tournament that lasted 30 minutes. After the match Danielson broke the Pacific Cup trophy and said that ECCW was inferior to New Japan Pro Wrestling
. Puma and Danielson then beat down Idol. Promoter Dave Republic then issued a challenge to New Japan and gave Antonio Inoki
30 days to respond. Inoki did not reply and the challenge was then dropped as a result.
On December 23, 2005 at EWF's Holiday Fear T.J. Perkins got a shot at the EWF Cruiserweight Champion Joey Harder
in a Triple-Threat EWF Cruiserweight Championship Match. The match pitted Joey Harder (Cruiserweight Champion) against Rocky Romero
and T.J. Perkins. Joey had his work cut out for him as he faced off against two elite wrestlers, not just in the cruiserweight scene, but in the entire independent professional wrestling circuit. In a strange turn of events, Harder and Romero actually worked as a team to eliminate the explosive Perkins from the match up. Vicious Irish Whips into the corner, compounded by double boots to the chest, and a toss from the ring to the concrete floor were enough to debilitate Perkins and keep him from asserting himself during the match. The impromptu partnership quickly dissolved when Romero tried to pin Perkins for the victory. An enraged Harder quickly turned on Romero with a fury of chops to the chest. With Perkins dazed on the outside, Harder dodged a superkick from Romero and cinched in his Harder Driver, securing the victory and retaining his Cruiserweight Title.
At Zero Tolerance on January 27, 2006, Perkins faced "The Russian Hooligan" Alex Pincheck
. Pincheck had scouted Perkins at EWF's Holiday Fear and was impressed by the young superstar, calling him "one of the best cruiserweights in the world." After Pincheck pinned Perkins, the referee informed the ring announcer that his hand never fully hit the mat for the three count, and ordered the match restarted. Perkins took advantage and quickly rolled up Pincheck for the victory.
After this, Perkins continued his quest for the Cruiserweight Championship on February 12, 2006. However, Joey Harder continued to prove his dominance in the Cruiserweight division. The match was a technical clinic with five minutes of solid chain wrestling. The two men never broke the test of strength hold that they used to start the match. With no clear cut favorite, TJ decided to take his ground game to the air. However, a missed plancha from the top rope would prove costly. Harder used the opening to go to work on the right arm of Perkins. The unrelenting Harder then executed a painful Fujiwara arm bar which caused the young cruiserweight to tap to the veteran champion, Harder.
On March 19, 2006, Perkins teamed with Brandon Nitro to take on Jason King and Dan "The Man" Kobrick. The match began as King and Perkins, who went hold to hold to start the match om a technical wrestling clinic. Perkins would toss King to the outside to taunt his opponent. King made his way back and both men tagged their partners. Nitro and Kobrick slugged it out in the ring as Nitro goaded Kobrick to the ropes. Nitro then locked in Kobrick in the illegal Tarantula submission maneuver but was forced to break the hold after a five count. The damage was done as an injured Kobrick made his way to his corner and tagged in King. Nitro tagged in Perkins who entered with a Springboard Centon landing on King! The two high flyers had the match well in hand as Nitro hit the Nitrous 450 splash to win the match!
On EWF's card on September 8, 2006, Perkins made a bid to obtain EWF gold by taking on the World Champion Bino Gmabino. T.J. Perkins defeated Bino Gambino
by countout. Both men demanded an additional 5 minutes which EWF officials gave them. They wrestled to a draw. The EWF gold remained out of reach for T.J. On November 21, 2006; T.J. Perkins took on the new EWF Cruiserweight Champion Ryan Taylor
for the Cruiserweight title. However; T.J. bids for EWF gold ended in failure when Ryan pinned him.
In November 2006, T.J. Perkins entered in the EWF's Inland Title Series Tournament against Joey Harder
, Jason King, and Hook Bomberry. Round One of the ITS was Joey Harder
vs T.J. Perkins on November 24. T.J. Perkins and Joey Harder wrestled to a draw. In Round Two, T.J. defeated Hook Bomberry. In Round Three, T.J. managed to pull out the victory over Jason King to become 2-0-1 in the Inland Title Series. The final match of the tournament was held on January 5, 2007 in Covina CA. The finalist were T.J. Perkins and Joey Harder
. The two started off with a hand shake, surprisingly initiated by Joey. The two battled it out on the mat where Perkins kept getting the upper hand on Harder. It seemed at times Perkins was just toying with Harder by making every counter look simple and letting the fans know it. A frustrated Harder questioned TJ's respect for the match by asking him if he was a clown or a wrestler and at that point it was all business from there. The two go to the mat yet again but this time Joey is on the offense and stays there for quite some time. As Joey was moments away from taking this match Perkins cam back with unbelievable speed and gained a ton of momentum with fierce kicks to the leg and back. It seemed like it was TJ's match until Joey applied his signature Lion Tamer. On this night, Perkins heart was too big to tap out so quickly. After suffering and suffering, he managed to grab the ropes to break the hold. Joey sent him to the ropes and Perkins shocked fans with a hurricanrana that was quickly countered into another Lion Tamer from Harder, this time in the middle of the ring forcing TJ to submit. He placed second in the tournament with a final score of 2-1-1.
On June 27, 2008 at EWF's Knockdown Dragout 2 in Covina CA; Famous For Fearless (T.J. Perkins & Liger Rivera) took on La Ola Del Mal in their last chance at the EWF Tag Team Titles.Black Metal and Extreme Loco isolated Liger Rivera for a good portion of the match and it looked as though they would retain the titles yet again. However, Liger Rivera and TJ Perkins scored the pinfall victory and became the new EWF Tag Team Champions.
, debuting in 2004, when he worked as a jobber in several TNA Xplosion
tapings. He was also the first man eliminated in the 2004 Super X-Cup. His first significant performance in TNA was representing Japan in an "International X Showcase" match at Destination X, facing Petey Williams
, Chris Sabin
and Sonjay Dutt
, but ultimately losing to Sabin. He also competed in an Xscape match at the following month's Lockdown. Puma was later a member of Team Mexico
in the 2006 World X-Cup
, alongside Incognito, Magno and Shocker
. In that tournament, he lost a second round match to Team USA captain Chris Sabin, and was the last man eliminated in the third round gauntlet match, by Team Canada captain Petey Williams. Team Mexico finished third of four in the event with four points.
On February 9, 2006, Puma wrestled as part of MTV
's inaugural TV taping for their new Wrestling Society X
promotion in Los Angeles, California
. In addition to WSX, he was a regular member of the Pro Wrestling Guerrilla
roster, where he wrestled as T.J. Perkins and Puma.
He also competed as a semi-regular in Japan, working for New Japan Pro Wrestling
, where he owns the record of the youngest non-Japanese wrestler to compete for the promotion (only 18 years and 3 weeks of age). A common misconception is that he was a student of Bryan Danielson at this point, however they were actually training partners along with the Havana Pitbulls. He also competed and received training in the Mexican promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre
.
's Fifth Year Festival: Philly show, losing to Nigel McGuinness
.
TNA Mobile sent out a text message saying Perkins, as Puma, and Elix Skipper
would be returning at Victory Road in the 10-Man Ultimate X Gauntlet. Puma ended up being eliminated first in the Gauntlet section of the match. Puma made another appearance in the 2008 TNA World X Cup finals at Victory Road in an elimination match, where he was the second one eliminated.
and has been a regular since 2007. In 2008 TJ Perkins competed in the Dynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament (DDT4) round robin qualifier series, teaming with Hook Bomberry. Throughout the whole series the team used dirty tactics to pick up wins. At "Pearl Habra" the team defeated The Young Bucks
(Nick and Matt Jackson) after Perkins rolled up Matt and Bomberry held onto his legs, rendering him unable to kick out. After the match The Young Bucks complained to the referee about this, but the referee said he didn't see anything. Perkins claimed he didn't know it happened and apologized to The Young Bucks by shaking their hands. The teams next match in the series saw them face Los Luchas at "¡Dia de los Dangerous!" in a losing effort. At "Scared Straight" they defeated Scorpio Sky
and Ronin via disqualification after the referee got knocked down and Perkins used "the old Eddie Guerrero tactic" to trick the referee into thinking Ronin used a chair. Later in the night Perkins and Bomberry interrupted the match between the Young Bucks and Los Luchas, causing a double disqualification. This led to a fatal-four way elimination tag team match taking place at "1.21 Gigawatts". Perkins and Bomberry managed to eliminate the team of Scorpio Sky and Ronin in the same way they defeated the Young Bucks in their first match. However, they were eliminated from the match after Bomberry took a double team powerbomb from Los Luchas. Los Luchas would go on to win the match. After the qualifier series Perkins and Bomberry got one last chance to enter the DDT4, facing Scorpio Sky and Ronin once again at "It's a Gift.... and a Curse", in a losing effort.
Later in 2008 Perkins would participate in PWG
's Battle of Los Angeles. This would be his first time entering the tournament. He was supposed to enter it in previous years, but could not due to injury. On the first night of the event Perkins defeated Chuck Taylor
via reverse decision when it was discovered that Taylor had used to brass knuckles. On the second night of the tournament Perkins faced Bryan Danielson
in what has been called Perkins best match to date. Perkins was defeated via sunset flip, thus being eliminated from the tournament.
On February 21, 2009, Perkins wrestled his last match in PWG, losing to B-Boy, before moving from California to the East Coast. Once there, he joined the rosters of FIP, Pro Wrestling eKlipse, and I Believe In Wrestling, all located in Florida. His debut match in FIP was a loss against now FIP champion Davey Richards. He has also defeated CJ O'Doyle and recently lost his first eKlipse title match against PWe Hybrid Champion Josh Rayne.
On September 22, 2009, Perkins, under his Puma gimmick, returned to TNA to wrestle in a dark match, where he was defeated by Colt Cabana. Perkins worked two more dark matches under the ring name T.J. Perkins during the January 10–12, 2011, tapings of TNA Impact!
.
, Perkins appeared and was scheduled to face The Miz
, but ended up being replaced by Marty Jannetty
before the match got under way. The following day Perkins, under the name J.T. Quinn, appeared on ECW on Syfy in a match against Sheamus
. The match resulted in a disqualification after Shelton Benjamin
attacked Sheamus. Matt Striker
mentioned Perkins' Puma name during commentary for the match, relating to his speed and agility.
TJ has recently began going by just TJP in matches. He begun working for Dragon Gate USA and Evolve in 2009 and 2010. He also went to Japan for a match against Ultimo Dragon using his real name. In Dragon Gate USA he faced Akuma and Brad Allen then stopped appearing at Dragon Gate USA. On Evolve's first show he faced Munenori Sawa in what many thought was the match of the night though TJP ended up losing. Then he had a match with newcomer Kyle O'Reily which he won then challenged Sawa to a rematch. TJ has yet to appear at Evolve since.
Internet pay-per-view
(iPPV) on December 18 in which he lost. On October 6, 2011, ROH announced that Perkins had signed a contract with the promotion.
's Best of the Super Juniors tournament. After winning three of his eight matches in the round robin stage of the tournament, TJP finished seventh out of the nine wrestlers in his block and didn't advance to the semifinals.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
professional wrestler
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
. He is currently signed to Ring of Honor
Ring of Honor
Ring of Honor ' is an American professional wrestling promotion, founded in 2002 by Rob Feinstein and Gabe Sapolsky. From 2004 to 2011, the promotion was under the ownership of Cary Silkin before being sold to the Sinclair Broadcast Group in May 2011...
(ROH), while also working on the independent circuit
Independent circuit
In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indy circuit refers to the many independent promotions which are much smaller than major televised promotions. They are roughly analagous to a minor league for pro wrestling, or community or regional theatre.Specific promotions on the...
under his real name, under his initials TJP or under a mask
Wrestling mask
A Wrestling mask is a fabric based mask that some professional wrestlers wear as part of their in-ring persona or gimmick. Professional wrestlers have been using masks as far back as 1915 and they are still widely used today, especially in Lucha Libre in Mexico.-History:In 1915 a North American...
as Puma (also stylized as PUMA).
Early years
Perkins debuted in January 2000 against Sun Warrior for the local Riverside promotion IWC run by Bill Anderson. He has been quoted as saying his first year he wrestled, his paychecks were free hotdogs and nachos. At 15 years old, he was perceived to look too young for pro wrestling cards anywhere and was forced to don a mask for the first several months, wrestling under the name "The Pinoy Boy" T.J. Perkins. In order to make most of his matches he had to have older wrestlers pick him up from school early on Fridays, ditching most of those days' classes. He would travel and stay with them during the weekend to make out of town shows from Friday to Sunday. Because of this he barely graduated and in fact had to retake most of his classes all the way back from freshman year when he began wrestling professionally. After wrestling independent cards in California, Nevada, Arizona and Mexico during his first two years he was picked up by New Japan Dojo in Los Angeles along with friends Ricky ReyesRicky Reyes
Ricky Reyes is a Cuban professional wrestler. Known for his appearances in Ring of Honor, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, and various other independent promotions, he is currently primarily working for the World Wrestling Council....
and Rocky Romero
Rocky Romero
John R. Rivera is a Cuban American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Rocky Romero and as the fourth incarnation of Black Tiger. As Romero he was one half of the tag team The Havana Pitbulls , along with Ricky Reyes...
, who would later become the tag team known as the Havana Pitbulls
Havana Pitbulls
The Havana Pitbulls were a professional wrestling tag team, consisting of Rocky Romero and Ricky Reyes. Working most notably for Ring of Honor as a member of The Rottweilers, they have also worked for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, Empire Wrestling Federation, Ultimate Pro Wrestling, and Liberty States...
. Several months later, Bryan Danielson
Bryan Danielson
Bryan Danielson is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE where he wrestles on its SmackDown brand as Daniel Bryan, and currently holds the SmackDown Money in the Bank briefcase, which enables him to have a World Heavyweight Championship match at any time of his choosing...
followed the trio and the first group of L.A. dojo wrestlers was formed. They all made their debut in New Japan on the same Korakuen Hall card in October 2002, with Perkins' debuting as the maskless "Pinoy Boy" T.J. Perkins.
Prior to his debut in New Japan, during a try out with fellow dojo training partners the Havana Pitbulls and Bryan Danielson, Director Uwai of the New Japan office noticed similarities in the wrestling styles between T.J. and the Original Tiger Mask. It was after a second tour of New Japan for the Young Lions Cup
Young Lions Cup
The Young Lion Cup is an in-frequent professional wrestling tournament promoted by New Japan Pro Wrestling as a means of showcasing the younger talent on their roster. The tournament is the successor to the Karl Gotch Cup that NJPW promoted in the 1970s. The Young Lion Cup is a round-robin...
in March 2003 that T.J. was given the character Puma from New Japan, with the gimmick being an American answer to Tiger Mask and the one-word moniker being inspired by T.J.'s New Japan mentor Minoru Tanaka, who was then known as "Heat".
Major League Wrestling
In January 2004, the masked Puma wrestled on two Major League WrestlingMajor League Wrestling
Major League Wrestling is a professional wrestling promotion that markets its presentation around hybrid wrestling, which encompasses and showcases many different forms of wrestling. MLW's mission is to present itself as an alternative to sports entertainment...
television tapings, losing to The Stampede Bulldogs (Harry Smith
Harry Smith (wrestler)
Harry Smith is a Canadian professional wrestler of English descent. He is currently working for Inoki Genome Federation and is best known for his tenure in WWE, where he won the Unified Tag Team Championship along with Tyson Kidd before being released from his contract on August 5, 2011...
and TJ Wilson). On the second night of TV tapings, Puma lost a 4 way match featuring Jack Evans
Jack Evans
Jack Edward Miller is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Jack Evans. He currently performs for the Mexican-based promotion Asistencia Asesoría y Administración, where he is the current World Cruiserweight Champion and a former World Tag Team Champion. He is the cousin...
, Chasyn Rance and MLW Jr. Heavyweight Champion Sonjay Dutt
Sonjay Dutt
Retesh Bhalla is an American professional wrestler of Indian Punjabi descent, better known by his ring name, Sonjay Dutt. He is best known working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, and is also known for his stints with Combat Zone Wrestling, Major League Wrestling, and other various independent...
. Both matches aired on MLW Underground television in January and February 2004 on the Sunshine Network, Fox Sports Net and DirecTV.
Puma wrestled in the 2005 Super 8 tournament
ECWA Super 8 Tournament
The Super 8 Tournament is an annual professional wrestling tournament held by the East Coast Wrestling Association. The tournament is contested by eight wrestlers in a one-night single-elimination format.-History:...
and made it all the way to finals before ultimately losing to Petey Williams
Petey Williams
Peter "Petey" Williams III is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is a two time X Division Champion and a former captain of Team Canada. Williams Currently Wrestles for Lucha Libre USA...
.
Extreme Canadian Championship Wrestling (2005)
On day two of the 2005 Pacific Cup tournament on April 23, 2005, Aaron Idol beat Puma and Bryan DanielsonBryan Danielson
Bryan Danielson is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE where he wrestles on its SmackDown brand as Daniel Bryan, and currently holds the SmackDown Money in the Bank briefcase, which enables him to have a World Heavyweight Championship match at any time of his choosing...
in a triple threat match in the finals of the Pacific Cup tournament that lasted 30 minutes. After the match Danielson broke the Pacific Cup trophy and said that ECCW was inferior to New Japan Pro Wrestling
New Japan Pro Wrestling
is a major professional wrestling promotion in Japan, founded by Antonio Inoki in June 1972 and owned by Yuke's since 2005, when Inoki sold the promotion. Naoki Sugabayashi is the current President of the promotion and has held that position from 2007. Owing to its TV program aired on TV Asahi, it...
. Puma and Danielson then beat down Idol. Promoter Dave Republic then issued a challenge to New Japan and gave Antonio Inoki
Antonio Inoki
is a Japanese professional wrestling promoter and retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist who now resides between New York City and Tokyo. He was also the founder and former owner of New Japan Pro Wrestling before selling his controlling share in the promotion to Yukes...
30 days to respond. Inoki did not reply and the challenge was then dropped as a result.
Empire Wrestling Federation (2005-2008)
T.J. Perkins debuted in EWF on September 22, 2005 at Chaos. T.J. Perkins teamed with Dan Kobrick to defeat Big Ugly and Vinnie Massaro.On December 23, 2005 at EWF's Holiday Fear T.J. Perkins got a shot at the EWF Cruiserweight Champion Joey Harder
Joey Harder
Joey Harder is an American former professional wrestler, also known by his nicknames of The Life of the Party and The Silent Assassin, who mainly worked for independent wrestling promotions on the west coast of the United States...
in a Triple-Threat EWF Cruiserweight Championship Match. The match pitted Joey Harder (Cruiserweight Champion) against Rocky Romero
Rocky Romero
John R. Rivera is a Cuban American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Rocky Romero and as the fourth incarnation of Black Tiger. As Romero he was one half of the tag team The Havana Pitbulls , along with Ricky Reyes...
and T.J. Perkins. Joey had his work cut out for him as he faced off against two elite wrestlers, not just in the cruiserweight scene, but in the entire independent professional wrestling circuit. In a strange turn of events, Harder and Romero actually worked as a team to eliminate the explosive Perkins from the match up. Vicious Irish Whips into the corner, compounded by double boots to the chest, and a toss from the ring to the concrete floor were enough to debilitate Perkins and keep him from asserting himself during the match. The impromptu partnership quickly dissolved when Romero tried to pin Perkins for the victory. An enraged Harder quickly turned on Romero with a fury of chops to the chest. With Perkins dazed on the outside, Harder dodged a superkick from Romero and cinched in his Harder Driver, securing the victory and retaining his Cruiserweight Title.
At Zero Tolerance on January 27, 2006, Perkins faced "The Russian Hooligan" Alex Pincheck
Alex Koslov
Alex Sherman is a Moldovan-born professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Alex Koslov. He is currently signed to WWE, working in its developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling under the ring name Peter Orlov...
. Pincheck had scouted Perkins at EWF's Holiday Fear and was impressed by the young superstar, calling him "one of the best cruiserweights in the world." After Pincheck pinned Perkins, the referee informed the ring announcer that his hand never fully hit the mat for the three count, and ordered the match restarted. Perkins took advantage and quickly rolled up Pincheck for the victory.
After this, Perkins continued his quest for the Cruiserweight Championship on February 12, 2006. However, Joey Harder continued to prove his dominance in the Cruiserweight division. The match was a technical clinic with five minutes of solid chain wrestling. The two men never broke the test of strength hold that they used to start the match. With no clear cut favorite, TJ decided to take his ground game to the air. However, a missed plancha from the top rope would prove costly. Harder used the opening to go to work on the right arm of Perkins. The unrelenting Harder then executed a painful Fujiwara arm bar which caused the young cruiserweight to tap to the veteran champion, Harder.
On March 19, 2006, Perkins teamed with Brandon Nitro to take on Jason King and Dan "The Man" Kobrick. The match began as King and Perkins, who went hold to hold to start the match om a technical wrestling clinic. Perkins would toss King to the outside to taunt his opponent. King made his way back and both men tagged their partners. Nitro and Kobrick slugged it out in the ring as Nitro goaded Kobrick to the ropes. Nitro then locked in Kobrick in the illegal Tarantula submission maneuver but was forced to break the hold after a five count. The damage was done as an injured Kobrick made his way to his corner and tagged in King. Nitro tagged in Perkins who entered with a Springboard Centon landing on King! The two high flyers had the match well in hand as Nitro hit the Nitrous 450 splash to win the match!
On EWF's card on September 8, 2006, Perkins made a bid to obtain EWF gold by taking on the World Champion Bino Gmabino. T.J. Perkins defeated Bino Gambino
Bino Gambino
Daniel Greenberg is an American former professional wrestler, better known under his ring name Bino Bambino. He is best known for his tenure in Empire Wrestling Federation, and has worked for several independent wrestling promotions on the west coast of the United States, most notably for Pro...
by countout. Both men demanded an additional 5 minutes which EWF officials gave them. They wrestled to a draw. The EWF gold remained out of reach for T.J. On November 21, 2006; T.J. Perkins took on the new EWF Cruiserweight Champion Ryan Taylor
Ryan Taylor
Ryan Anthony David Taylor is an English footballer from Liverpool who plays for Newcastle United of the Premier League. He usually plays on the right wing as a right back or right midfielder but has most recently been playing in a less familiar left back role for Newcastle United.-Tranmere...
for the Cruiserweight title. However; T.J. bids for EWF gold ended in failure when Ryan pinned him.
In November 2006, T.J. Perkins entered in the EWF's Inland Title Series Tournament against Joey Harder
Joey Harder
Joey Harder is an American former professional wrestler, also known by his nicknames of The Life of the Party and The Silent Assassin, who mainly worked for independent wrestling promotions on the west coast of the United States...
, Jason King, and Hook Bomberry. Round One of the ITS was Joey Harder
Joey Harder
Joey Harder is an American former professional wrestler, also known by his nicknames of The Life of the Party and The Silent Assassin, who mainly worked for independent wrestling promotions on the west coast of the United States...
vs T.J. Perkins on November 24. T.J. Perkins and Joey Harder wrestled to a draw. In Round Two, T.J. defeated Hook Bomberry. In Round Three, T.J. managed to pull out the victory over Jason King to become 2-0-1 in the Inland Title Series. The final match of the tournament was held on January 5, 2007 in Covina CA. The finalist were T.J. Perkins and Joey Harder
Joey Harder
Joey Harder is an American former professional wrestler, also known by his nicknames of The Life of the Party and The Silent Assassin, who mainly worked for independent wrestling promotions on the west coast of the United States...
. The two started off with a hand shake, surprisingly initiated by Joey. The two battled it out on the mat where Perkins kept getting the upper hand on Harder. It seemed at times Perkins was just toying with Harder by making every counter look simple and letting the fans know it. A frustrated Harder questioned TJ's respect for the match by asking him if he was a clown or a wrestler and at that point it was all business from there. The two go to the mat yet again but this time Joey is on the offense and stays there for quite some time. As Joey was moments away from taking this match Perkins cam back with unbelievable speed and gained a ton of momentum with fierce kicks to the leg and back. It seemed like it was TJ's match until Joey applied his signature Lion Tamer. On this night, Perkins heart was too big to tap out so quickly. After suffering and suffering, he managed to grab the ropes to break the hold. Joey sent him to the ropes and Perkins shocked fans with a hurricanrana that was quickly countered into another Lion Tamer from Harder, this time in the middle of the ring forcing TJ to submit. He placed second in the tournament with a final score of 2-1-1.
On June 27, 2008 at EWF's Knockdown Dragout 2 in Covina CA; Famous For Fearless (T.J. Perkins & Liger Rivera) took on La Ola Del Mal in their last chance at the EWF Tag Team Titles.Black Metal and Extreme Loco isolated Liger Rivera for a good portion of the match and it looked as though they would retain the titles yet again. However, Liger Rivera and TJ Perkins scored the pinfall victory and became the new EWF Tag Team Champions.
Various promotions (2004–2006)
Perkins has also made appearances as Puma with TNATotal Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling is a privately held professional wrestling promotion founded by Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Jarrett. The company broadcasts its events on television and the Internet fifty two weeks a year with over a million weekly viewers on its primary television program, Impact...
, debuting in 2004, when he worked as a jobber in several TNA Xplosion
TNA Xplosion
TNA Xplosion is a television program produced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , featuring both highlights from Impact Wrestling and exclusive taped matches. It is now produced only for international markets, no longer airing in the United States...
tapings. He was also the first man eliminated in the 2004 Super X-Cup. His first significant performance in TNA was representing Japan in an "International X Showcase" match at Destination X, facing Petey Williams
Petey Williams
Peter "Petey" Williams III is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is a two time X Division Champion and a former captain of Team Canada. Williams Currently Wrestles for Lucha Libre USA...
, Chris Sabin
Chris Sabin
Joshua Harter is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Chris Sabin. He is currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , where he currently teams with Alex Shelley as The Motor City Machine Guns.After being trained by Scott D'Amore, Sabin debuted in 2000 for...
and Sonjay Dutt
Sonjay Dutt
Retesh Bhalla is an American professional wrestler of Indian Punjabi descent, better known by his ring name, Sonjay Dutt. He is best known working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, and is also known for his stints with Combat Zone Wrestling, Major League Wrestling, and other various independent...
, but ultimately losing to Sabin. He also competed in an Xscape match at the following month's Lockdown. Puma was later a member of Team Mexico
Team Mexico
Team Mexico is a professional wrestling stable that was first formed in 2004 to compete in TNA Wrestling's America's X-Cup Tournament and has since returned to compete in other TNA X Cup Tournaments.-2004:...
in the 2006 World X-Cup
TNA 2006 World X Cup Tournament
The TNA 2006 World X Cup Tournament was a professional wrestling X Cup Tournament staged by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling in April and May 2006...
, alongside Incognito, Magno and Shocker
José Luis Jair Soria
José Luis Jair Soria is a Mexican professional wrestler, who wrestles under the name Shocker. He has in the past branched out into the United States, working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.-Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre :...
. In that tournament, he lost a second round match to Team USA captain Chris Sabin, and was the last man eliminated in the third round gauntlet match, by Team Canada captain Petey Williams. Team Mexico finished third of four in the event with four points.
On February 9, 2006, Puma wrestled as part of MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's inaugural TV taping for their new Wrestling Society X
Wrestling Society X
Wrestling Society X was a short-lived professional wrestling-based television series produced in 2006 by Big Vision Entertainment. The weekly television series formerly aired on MTV, MTV2, MTV Tr3s, and over a dozen other MTV outlets throughout the world...
promotion in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. In addition to WSX, he was a regular member of the Pro Wrestling Guerrilla
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla is a professional wrestling promotion that is run by wrestlers themselves as it was created by Southern California wrestlers Disco Machine, Excalibur, Joey Ryan, Scott Lost, Super Dragon, and Top Gun Talwar...
roster, where he wrestled as T.J. Perkins and Puma.
He also competed as a semi-regular in Japan, working for New Japan Pro Wrestling
New Japan Pro Wrestling
is a major professional wrestling promotion in Japan, founded by Antonio Inoki in June 1972 and owned by Yuke's since 2005, when Inoki sold the promotion. Naoki Sugabayashi is the current President of the promotion and has held that position from 2007. Owing to its TV program aired on TV Asahi, it...
, where he owns the record of the youngest non-Japanese wrestler to compete for the promotion (only 18 years and 3 weeks of age). A common misconception is that he was a student of Bryan Danielson at this point, however they were actually training partners along with the Havana Pitbulls. He also competed and received training in the Mexican promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre is a Lucha Libre-style professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City while running cards in Guadalajara, Puebla and elsewhere in central and southern Mexico...
.
Ring of Honor and return to TNA (2007–2008)
After returning to the United States, Perkins competed at Ring of HonorRing of Honor
Ring of Honor ' is an American professional wrestling promotion, founded in 2002 by Rob Feinstein and Gabe Sapolsky. From 2004 to 2011, the promotion was under the ownership of Cary Silkin before being sold to the Sinclair Broadcast Group in May 2011...
's Fifth Year Festival: Philly show, losing to Nigel McGuinness
Nigel McGuinness
Steven Haworth is an English professional wrestler, better known by the ring names Desmond Wolfe and Nigel McGuinness. As McGuinness he first gained notoriety working for Ring of Honor in the United States and Pro Wrestling Noah in Japan...
.
TNA Mobile sent out a text message saying Perkins, as Puma, and Elix Skipper
Elix Skipper
Elix Skipper is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling, where he was a one-time Cruiserweight Champion and a one-time Cruiserweight Tag Team Champion, and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is a four-time NWA World Tag Team...
would be returning at Victory Road in the 10-Man Ultimate X Gauntlet. Puma ended up being eliminated first in the Gauntlet section of the match. Puma made another appearance in the 2008 TNA World X Cup finals at Victory Road in an elimination match, where he was the second one eliminated.
Return to PWG and move to the East Coast (2007–present)
After brief stints in ROH and TNA, Perkins has since returned to Pro Wrestling GuerrillaPro Wrestling Guerrilla
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla is a professional wrestling promotion that is run by wrestlers themselves as it was created by Southern California wrestlers Disco Machine, Excalibur, Joey Ryan, Scott Lost, Super Dragon, and Top Gun Talwar...
and has been a regular since 2007. In 2008 TJ Perkins competed in the Dynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament (DDT4) round robin qualifier series, teaming with Hook Bomberry. Throughout the whole series the team used dirty tactics to pick up wins. At "Pearl Habra" the team defeated The Young Bucks
The Young Bucks
The Young Bucks is an American professional wrestling tag team, consisting of real life brothers Matt and Nick Massie from Southern California...
(Nick and Matt Jackson) after Perkins rolled up Matt and Bomberry held onto his legs, rendering him unable to kick out. After the match The Young Bucks complained to the referee about this, but the referee said he didn't see anything. Perkins claimed he didn't know it happened and apologized to The Young Bucks by shaking their hands. The teams next match in the series saw them face Los Luchas at "¡Dia de los Dangerous!" in a losing effort. At "Scared Straight" they defeated Scorpio Sky
Scorpio Sky
Schuyler Andrews, better known as Scorpio Sky, is an American professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. He is best known for his appearances on MTV's Wrestling Society X, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, and Lucha Vavoom, but has also worked in Japan, Germany and England. Sky has held titles in the...
and Ronin via disqualification after the referee got knocked down and Perkins used "the old Eddie Guerrero tactic" to trick the referee into thinking Ronin used a chair. Later in the night Perkins and Bomberry interrupted the match between the Young Bucks and Los Luchas, causing a double disqualification. This led to a fatal-four way elimination tag team match taking place at "1.21 Gigawatts". Perkins and Bomberry managed to eliminate the team of Scorpio Sky and Ronin in the same way they defeated the Young Bucks in their first match. However, they were eliminated from the match after Bomberry took a double team powerbomb from Los Luchas. Los Luchas would go on to win the match. After the qualifier series Perkins and Bomberry got one last chance to enter the DDT4, facing Scorpio Sky and Ronin once again at "It's a Gift.... and a Curse", in a losing effort.
Later in 2008 Perkins would participate in PWG
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla is a professional wrestling promotion that is run by wrestlers themselves as it was created by Southern California wrestlers Disco Machine, Excalibur, Joey Ryan, Scott Lost, Super Dragon, and Top Gun Talwar...
's Battle of Los Angeles. This would be his first time entering the tournament. He was supposed to enter it in previous years, but could not due to injury. On the first night of the event Perkins defeated Chuck Taylor
Chuck Taylor (wrestler)
Dustin Howard is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Chuck Taylor. He is currently competing most notably in Chikara, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, Evolve Wrestling and Dragon Gate USA...
via reverse decision when it was discovered that Taylor had used to brass knuckles. On the second night of the tournament Perkins faced Bryan Danielson
Bryan Danielson
Bryan Danielson is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE where he wrestles on its SmackDown brand as Daniel Bryan, and currently holds the SmackDown Money in the Bank briefcase, which enables him to have a World Heavyweight Championship match at any time of his choosing...
in what has been called Perkins best match to date. Perkins was defeated via sunset flip, thus being eliminated from the tournament.
On February 21, 2009, Perkins wrestled his last match in PWG, losing to B-Boy, before moving from California to the East Coast. Once there, he joined the rosters of FIP, Pro Wrestling eKlipse, and I Believe In Wrestling, all located in Florida. His debut match in FIP was a loss against now FIP champion Davey Richards. He has also defeated CJ O'Doyle and recently lost his first eKlipse title match against PWe Hybrid Champion Josh Rayne.
On September 22, 2009, Perkins, under his Puma gimmick, returned to TNA to wrestle in a dark match, where he was defeated by Colt Cabana. Perkins worked two more dark matches under the ring name T.J. Perkins during the January 10–12, 2011, tapings of TNA Impact!
TNA iMPACT!
Impact Wrestling is a professional wrestling television program for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling that currently airs in the United States and Canada on Spike...
.
Dragon Gate USA/Evolve and WWE Tryout
On the October 19 episode of WWE RawWWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
, Perkins appeared and was scheduled to face The Miz
Mike Mizanin
Michael "Mike" Gregory Mizanin is an American professional wrestler and reality television personality better known by his nickname and ring name The Miz. He is currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment on its Raw brand...
, but ended up being replaced by Marty Jannetty
Marty Jannetty
Frederick Marty Jannetty is an American professional wrestler, best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation as part of tag team The Rockers with partner Shawn Michaels, and later as a singles competitor. While in the WWF, he became a one time Intercontinental Champion and a one time...
before the match got under way. The following day Perkins, under the name J.T. Quinn, appeared on ECW on Syfy in a match against Sheamus
Sheamus O'Shaunessy
Stephen Farrelly is an Irish professional wrestler and actor, best known by his ring name Sheamus. He is signed with WWE and competes on the SmackDown brand....
. The match resulted in a disqualification after Shelton Benjamin
Shelton Benjamin
Shelton James Benjamin is an American professional wrestler and former amateur wrestler best known for his tenure in World Wrestling Entertainment. Benjamin has an amateur wrestling background, including wrestling in high school and at the University of Minnesota. In addition, Benjamin has acted...
attacked Sheamus. Matt Striker
Matthew Kaye
Matthew Kaye is an American actor, wrestling commentator and semi-retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Matt Striker. He is signed to WWE, where he serves as the host of WWE NXT....
mentioned Perkins' Puma name during commentary for the match, relating to his speed and agility.
TJ has recently began going by just TJP in matches. He begun working for Dragon Gate USA and Evolve in 2009 and 2010. He also went to Japan for a match against Ultimo Dragon using his real name. In Dragon Gate USA he faced Akuma and Brad Allen then stopped appearing at Dragon Gate USA. On Evolve's first show he faced Munenori Sawa in what many thought was the match of the night though TJP ended up losing. Then he had a match with newcomer Kyle O'Reily which he won then challenged Sawa to a rematch. TJ has yet to appear at Evolve since.
Return to Ring of Honor (2010–present)
Perkins faced off against Colt Cabana at Final Battle 2010Final Battle 2010
Final Battle 2010 was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Ring of Honor. It took place on December 18, 2010, at the Manhattan Center in New York City. It was the eighth annual event in the Final Battle chronology, with the first taking place in 2002, but only the second to be...
Internet pay-per-view
Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
(iPPV) on December 18 in which he lost. On October 6, 2011, ROH announced that Perkins had signed a contract with the promotion.
New Japan Pro Wrestling (2011)
In late May-early June 2011, Perkins, under the ring name TJP, took part in New Japan Pro WrestlingNew Japan Pro Wrestling
is a major professional wrestling promotion in Japan, founded by Antonio Inoki in June 1972 and owned by Yuke's since 2005, when Inoki sold the promotion. Naoki Sugabayashi is the current President of the promotion and has held that position from 2007. Owing to its TV program aired on TV Asahi, it...
's Best of the Super Juniors tournament. After winning three of his eight matches in the round robin stage of the tournament, TJP finished seventh out of the nine wrestlers in his block and didn't advance to the semifinals.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- As T.J. Perkins / TJP
- 520° corkscrew springboard tornado DDT
- 86'er (Diving high knee)
- Alejandro Lock II (Leglock cloverleaf)
- Mega Buster (Jumping hangman's neckbreaker)
- Skull Crusher (Kneeling belly to belly piledriver)
- As Puma
- 520° corkscrew springboard tornado DDT
- Figure Four Deathlock (Leglock cloverleaf)
- Puma Suplex (Bridging tiger suplex)
- As T.J. Perkins / TJP
- Signature moves
- BrainbusterBrainbusterA brainbuster is a professional wrestling throw in which a wrestler puts his/her opponent in a front facelock, hooks his/her pants, and lifts him/her up as if he/she was executing a vertical suplex. The wrestler then falls onto his/her back so that the opponent lands on his/her head while remaining...
- Flying armbar
- Senton bomb
- Tiger suplex
- Tornado DDT
- Brainbuster
Championships and accomplishments
- All Pro WrestlingAll Pro WrestlingAll Pro Wrestling Gym Wars is a professional wrestling television program produced by APW which originally aired weekly on Saturday mornings on KFTY Channel 50 in the San Francisco Bay Area, beginning December 5, 2009. The series features the professional wrestlers of All Pro Wrestling competing in...
- APW Worldwide Internet ChampionshipAPW Worldwide Internet ChampionshipThe APW World Wide Internet Championship is a title contested in All Pro Wrestling. It was introduced on February 27, 1999 when Michael Modest became the first champion...
(1 time)
- APW Worldwide Internet Championship
- Alternative Wrestling Show
- AWS Light Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
- Consejo Mundial de Lucha LibreConsejo Mundial de Lucha LibreConsejo Mundial de Lucha Libre is a Lucha Libre-style professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City while running cards in Guadalajara, Puebla and elsewhere in central and southern Mexico...
- Best New Sensation (2003)
- Feud of the Year (2003)
- Empire Wrestling FederationEmpire Wrestling FederationThe Empire Wrestling Federation is an independent wrestling promotion based in San Bernardino, California. It is owned and operated by Jesse Hernandez). The EWF is also tied to Hernandez's wrestling school, The School Of Hard Knocks. The EWF is the longest running promotion in Southern California,...
- EWF Tag Team ChampionshipEWF Tag Team ChampionshipThe EWF Tag Team Championship is the tag team professional wrestling title in the Southern California-based Empire Wrestling Federation independent promotion. It was established in 1996, when John Black and Johnny Love, The Ghetto Boyz, were declared the first champions. There have been a total of...
(1 time) - with Liger Rivera
- EWF Tag Team Championship
- Evolve WrestlingEvolve (professional wrestling)Evolve Wrestling is an American professional wrestling promotion based in the Northeast founded in 2010 by former Ring of Honor booker and current Dragon Gate USA vice president, Gabe Sapolsky, Full Impact Pro owner Sal Hamaoui, and independent wrestler Davey Richards...
- Breakout Match (2010) vs. Munenori Sawa on January 16
- National Wrestling AllianceNational Wrestling AllianceThe National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
- NWA Heritage ChampionshipNWA Heritage ChampionshipThe NWA Heritage Championship is a title controlled by the National Wrestling Alliance and defended in the NWA, NWA Pro and NWA Championship Wrestling from Hollywood.-Title history:-External links:**...
(1 time)
- NWA Heritage Championship
- Pro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling Illustrated is a professional wrestling magazine. PWI is currently based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania and published by Kappa Publishing Group.-History:The first issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated was released in 1979...
- PWI ranked him #179 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the year in the PWI 500 in 2005
- SoCal Uncensored
- Rookie of the Year (2001)
- United Independent Wrestling Alliance
- UIWA Lightweight Championship (1 time)
- UWA Hardcore Wrestling
- UWA Canadian Championship (1 time)