The Dyad | |
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![]() Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson (left) and James Drake (right)) in April 2019 | |
Tag team | |
Members | James Drake / Jagger Reid Zack Gibson / Rip Fowler |
Name(s) | James Drake and Zack Gibson Grizzled Young Veterans The Dyad |
Billed heights | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) – Reed 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) – Fowler |
Combined billed weight | 401 lb (182 kg) Reed (181 lb) Fowler (220 lb) |
Billed from | England |
Debut | July 30, 2017 |
Years active | 2017–present |
The Dyad is a British professional wrestling tag team consisting of Jagger Reid and Rip Fowler, and is currently managed by Joe Gacy. The team is currently performing in WWE on the NXT brand. Reid and Fowler were previously known as the Grizzled Young Veterans and went by the names James Drake and Zack Gibson, respectively. They were the inaugural NXT UK Tag Team Champions, as well as being three-time Progress Tag Team Champions.
History
Progress Wrestling (2017–2019)
In 2017, Zack Gibson and James Drake formed a villainous tag team called Grizzled Young Veterans. Grizzled Young Veterans defeated Chris Brookes and Kid Lykos of CCK to become the Progress Tag Team Champions.[1] They successfully defended the titles against Aussie Open at Progress Chapter 59.[2] At Chapter 61, Grizzled Young Veterans defeated Moustache Mountain to retain their championships.[3] In 2018, Gibson took part of the Super Strong Style 16 Tournament, defeating Joey Janela in the first round and Pete Dunne by disqualification in the quarter finals before he was eliminated by Kassius Ohno in the semi-finals.[4][5]
WWE
NXT UK (2018–2020)
In January 2017, Drake participated in the WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament to crown the inaugural WWE United Kingdom Champion, losing to Joseph Conners in the first round.[6]
Gibson was announced for WWE's WrestleMania Axxess during Wrestlemania 34 weekend as part of a WWE United Kingdom Championship invitational where he lost to Mark Andrews in the first round. On day four of Axxess, Grizzled Young Veterans retained their Progress Tag Team championships by disqualification against Heavy Machinery. Around this time, it was revealed by Wrestling Observer that Gibson was signed to a WWE contract.[7][8] Both would participate in the WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament with the winner facing Pete Dunne for the United Kingdom Championship. Drake lost to Flash Morgan Webster in the first round[9] but Gibson won the tournament after defeat Travis Banks in the finals and would go on to challenge Dunne, the next night in a losing effort.[10]
In 2019, they defeated Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) at NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool in the finals of a tournament to become the inaugural NXT UK Tag Team Champions.[11] After some defences, they would lose the titles to Mark Andrews and Flash Morgan Webster at NXT Takeover: Cardiff in a Triple Threat tag team match also involving Gallus. On September 11, Drake and Gibson unsuccessfully challenged Andrews & Webster in a rematch. They would have another title match at NXT UK Takeover: Blackpool II against the new champions Gallus, Andrews & Webster and Imperium in a ladder match where the champions retained.[12]
In parallel to their NXT UK Tag Team Championship pursuit at NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool II, Drake and Gibson competed in the 2020 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. They defeated Kushida and Alex Shelley in the quarterfinals and NXT Tag Team Champions Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly of The Undisputed Era in the semifinals, before losing to The BroserWeights (Matt Riddle and Pete Dunne) in the finals.[13][14]
NXT (2020–present)
On the February 19, 2020 episode of NXT, the Grizzled Young Veterans joined the NXT brand as tweeners, defeating Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde before announcing their intent to take over NXT's tag team division.[15] However the two would soon disappear from television as a result of travel issues from the COVID-19 pandemic. The two returned on the November 25 episode of NXT, attacking Ever-Rise. In early January 2021, the Grizzled Young Veterans took part in the 2021 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic defeating Ever-Rise in the first round and the team of Kushida and Leon Ruff in the second. On the February 10 episode of NXT, they defeated Timothy Thatcher and Tommaso Ciampa in the semi-finals, earning the opportunity to face MSK in the finals at NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day. At the event, the Grizzled Young Veterans were defeated by MSK, once again failing to win in the tournament finals. On the December 21, 2021 episode of NXT, they faced The Creed Brothers which ended in a no-contest when both teams got into a brawl with Kushida and Ikemen Jiro (wrestling as the tag team Jacket Time) who were on commentary as well as Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen.
On 19 July 2022 episode of NXT 2.0, Joe Gacy's masked allies named The Dyads were revealed to have been James Drake and Zack Gibson, now under the ring names Jagger Reid and Rip Fowler, officially renaming the tag team The Dyad, therefore turning heel once again.[16]
Championships and accomplishments
- Progress Wrestling
- Progress Tag Team Championship (3 times)[17]
- Pro Wrestling Chaos
- King of Chaos Championship (1 time) – Drake
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- WWE
- NXT UK Tag Team Championship Tournament (2019)
- NXT UK Tag Team Championship (1 time, inaugural)[20]
- United Kingdom Championship Tournament (2018) – Gibson
References
- ^ "PROGRESS Chapter 58: Live Your Best Life « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
- ^ "PROGRESS Chapter 59: Whatever People Say We Are, That's What We're Not « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
- ^ "PROGRESS Chapter 61: Don't Touch Me ... Don't ... Don't Touch Me « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
- ^ "PROGRESS Chapter 68: Super Strong Style 16 Tournament Edition 2018 - Tag 3 « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
- ^ "Matches « Super Strong Style 16 Tournament 2018 « Tournaments Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
- ^ "SOUCEK'S WWE UK CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT REPORT 1/14: Ongoing coverage of night one of UK Championship tournament -". 2017-01-14. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
- ^ Docking, Neil (2018-03-24). "British wrestler Zack Gibson signs with WWE as plans for UK show gain momentum". mirror. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
- ^ "Report: WWE Signs Another Wrestler From The United Kingdom | Fightful Wrestling". www.fightful.com. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
- ^ "Full results from the WWE U.K. Championship Tournament First Round". WWE. Retrieved 2020-02-02.
- ^ "WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne def. Zack Gibson". WWE. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
- ^ Chiari, Mike. "Grizzled Young Veterans Beat Moustache Mountain to Win NXT UK Tag Titles". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
- ^ "NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool II start time, card, matches, live stream, watch online, WWE Network". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
- ^ "Get the latest results for the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic". WWE. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
- ^ Moore, John (January 29, 2020). "1/29 NXT TV results: Moore's review of Matt Riddle and Pete Dunne vs. Zack Gibson and James Drake in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament final, Tegan Nox vs. Dakota Kai, Adam Cole's challenger for the NXT Title at Takeover". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
- ^ Garretson, Jordan (February 19, 2020). "The Grizzled Young Veterans def. Raul Mendoza & Joaquin Wilde". WWE. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
- ^ "The Dyad Are Revealed To Be Former Tag Team Champions With New Names And New Looks". fightful.com. Retrieved 2022-07-19.
- ^ Richards, Alex (2019-07-29). "#AndNEW: Grizzled Young Veterans Win PROGRESS Tag Team Championships". Last Word on Pro Wrestling. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2019". cagematch.net. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2019". cagematch.net. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
- ^ "Grizzled Young Veterans Beat Moustache Mountain to Win NXT UK Tag Titles". WWE. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
External links
- James Drake on WWE.com
- Zack Gibson on WWE.com