Before he began high school and started wrestling, Iroquois High School junior Brandon Reed was, in his own words: “a little tubby jerk.” Basically, he was overweight, out of shape, and hard to motivate. However, a couple of years later, the 5-foot-11, 220-pound Reed transformed into a lean, in-shape athlete ready to win state.
Brandon Reed, initially an unlikely wrestler, has carved out an impressive career in the world of professional wrestling. From his early days overcoming personal challenges to his current status in WWE, Reed's journey is a testament to hard work and dedication. Let's delve into the details of his wrestling career.
Early Beginnings
Discovering Wrestling
Reed's wrestling journey began unexpectedly during his freshman year of high school. After failing to make the football team, one of the football coaches, Gary Cole, who was also the head wrestling coach at the time, invited him to try wrestling. Despite finding the initial practices extremely challenging, Reed stuck with it, largely due to his fondness for Coach Cole.
He wasn’t very active at all before joining the wrestling team. He would sit at home, watch cartoons all day, had no interests at all, eat a lot, like all the time and was super obese. He also did horrible in school. He wasn’t going anywhere in life, but wrestling helped him with everything.
The Turning Point
Reed went 9-12 as a freshman and then went 45-5 and won the region during his sophomore season. During the summer after his freshman year, he worked hard with a couple of guys from Trinity, mainly Grant Ohlmann (a 2010 grad and former state champ), and he got a lot better over the summer. Coach Cole had a bunch of contacts and he helped him train all summer. His second season started off really good and ended really good.
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Reed, the state runner-up in 220 last season, is ranked No. 1 in the state in that weight class and off to a 7-0 start this season.
High School Achievements
- State Runner-Up
- Ranked No. 1 in the state in his weight class
- Record of 7-0 at the start of the season
Reed finished second in the state last season, losing a majority decision to Campbell County’s Austin Myers, who capped off a 56-0 season and 182-0 career with his fourth state title. His goal for this season, is obviously, to finish first.
WWE Career
CM Punk & Rey Mysterio vs. Bronson Reed & Austin Theory: Raw highlights, Dec. 22, 2025
NXT
In January 2019, Haley's signing was announced along with 11 other recruits where he would report to the WWE's developmental territory NXT. On 9 March, he would make his debut on an NXT live event wrestling under his real name losing to Riddick Moss. In June, his ring name was changed to Bronson Reed. On the 17 July episode of NXT, Reed made his official televised debut competing in the NXT Breakout Tournament as a face, where he defeated Dexter Lumis in the first round but was defeated by Cameron Grimes in the quarter-finals.
Reaching 2020, on the 5 February episode of NXT, he was attacked by The Undisputed Era backstage after trying to come to the aid of Kushida. The following week, he challenged Roderick Strong to a match but was defeated. On the 3 June episode of NXT, Reed was defeated by Grimes. Following the match, he was attacked by Karrion Kross. On the 17 June episode of NXT, Reed defeated Leon Ruff and called out Kross challenging him to a match for the next week. The following week, Reed was defeated by Kross.
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Next, Reed would enter a short feud with newcomer LA Knight, defeating him in a singles match. After gaining momentum, he focused on the NXT North American Championship. In April 2021, on Night 1 of NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver, Reed won a Six-man Gauntlet Eliminator match, to become the #1 contender for the North American Championship.
On Night 2 of the event, Reed faced the reigning champion Johnny Gargano in a losing effort, but defeated him on the 18 May episode of NXT in a steel cage match to win the title, becoming the first Australian and non-American wrestler to hold the NXT North American Championship.
At NXT TakeOver: In Your House, Reed teamed with the NXT Tag Team Champions, MSK to successfully defend their titles against Legado Del Fantasma in a winner take all match. On the 29 June episode of NXT, Reed dropped the title to Isaiah "Swerve" Scott after interference from Hit Row, ending his reign at 42 days. On the 27 July episode of NXT, Reed was defeated by Adam Cole in what would be his final WWE match in this stint.
Return to WWE
Bronson Reed made his unannounced return to WWE on 19 December 2022 episode of Raw, where he helped The Miz defeat Dexter Lumis in a ladder match, establishing himself as a heel. On 30 January 2023 episode of Raw, Reed defeated Dolph Ziggler to qualify for the Elimination Chamber match for the United States Championship at the namesake event, where he was the first participant eliminated.
After being eliminated last in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal by Bobby Lashley, Reed engaged a feud with Lashley from the 10 April episode of Raw, which led to a match and both men were counted out, despite his exhaustion.
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André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal Win
On the WrestleMania edition of SmackDown, on 5 April 2024, Reed won the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.
Intercontinental Championship Pursuit
On 29 April episode of Raw, Reed challenged for the Intercontinental Championship against Sami Zayn, which he lost by disqualification after Chad Gable attacked Zayn. One week later, Reed faced Gable when Zayn attacked Gable, causing another disqualification.
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW)
At Battle in the Valley on 13 November 2021, Haley, using the ring name Jonah, made his New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) debut, attacking FinJuice (David Finlay and Juice Robinson), establishing himself as a heel in the process.
After his debut, Jonah would go on short lived winning streak defeating Lucas Riley in his NJPW in-ring debut and then a month later defeating David Finlay. On 15 January 2022, Jonah suffered his first NJPW loss in a tag team match against FinJuice as he teamed with Bad Dude Tito. On 12 June during Dominion 6.12 in Osaka-jo Hall, Jonah was announced as a participant in the G1 Climax 32 tournament starting in July, as a part of the A block.
Jonah scored 8 points in his block, narrowly missing out on a spot in the semi-finals.
Impact Wrestling
At Turning Point on 20 November 2021, Jonah made his Impact Wrestling debut, attacking Josh Alexander and leaving him bloodied. They had a match at Hard To Kill, where Alexander defeated him. After his loss to Alexander, Jonah would embark on a winning streak defeating the likes of Crazzy Steve, Black Taurus, Raj Singh, and Honor No More's PCO. His winning streak would come to an end at Rebellion, after being defeated by Tomohiro Ishii. His final match was a loss to PCO in a Monster's Ball match.
Personal Life
Brandon Reed has a 3.6 GPA. He is a three-year member of the wrestling team at Iroquois and is also a member of the Ace Mentors, Skills USA, International, judo and rugby clubs. Brandon, 17, lives with his mom, Tina Steier; his older sister, Desi Gray, 21; his older brother, Ronnie, 18; and his younger sister, Christina Rodriguez, 7.
In his spare time, Reed enjoys bodybuilding. His daily routine consists of practice, bodybuilding, homework, and sleep.
Reed is also mindful of his diet, especially during wrestling season. He monitors his sugar and carbohydrate intake to maintain a moderate caloric balance.
Titles and Accomplishments
Here's a summary of Bronson Reed's titles and accomplishments:
| Promotion | Championship | Times |
|---|---|---|
| WWE NXT | NXT North American Championship | 1 |
| EPW | EPW Tag Team Championship | 1 |
| IWA | IWA Heavyweight Championship | 1 |
| MCW | MCW Heavyweight Championship | 1 |
| MCW | MCW Tag Team Championship | 2 |
| MCW | MCW Intercommonwealth Championship | 1 |
| NWA AWA | NWA AWA Heavyweight Championship | 1 |
| Other Accomplishments | ||
| WWE | André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal Winner (2024) | 1 |