PJ Black

Real name: Paul Lloyd, Jr.
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 215 lbs.
Date of birth: March 3, 1981
From: Cape Town, South Africia
Pro debut: 1997
Trained by: Paul Lloyd, Sr.
Finishing move: 450° Splash

Biography

– Lloyd made his wrestling debut as a 16 year old, competing in his father’s promotion in South Africa
– In 2000, following the death of his father, Lloyd moved to the UK for further training at the FWA Academy
– Adopting the ringname ‘PJ Black’, Lloyd competed across the UK with mild success before returning to South Africa in 2006
– On November 1, 2007, Black defeated The Playa to become the first WWP Cruiserweight Champion
– In 2008, Lloyd signed a WWE development deal, becoming the first South African to do so
– In early 2009, Lloyd’s ringname was changed to ‘Justin Angel’
– On July 23, 2009, Angel & Kris Logan defeated The Dude Busters (Caylen Croft & Trent Baretta) to win the FCW Florida Tag Team Titles, but lost them almost instantly to The Rotundos (Bo & Duke)
– On September 24, 2009, Angel defeated Heath Miller in a two-out-of-three falls match to win the FCW Heavyweight Title
– On October 8, 2009, Angel defeated Drew McIntyre to retain the FCW Heavyweight Title. Over the next four weeks, he would retain the title against Drew McIntyre, Sheamus, Eric Escobar & Curt Hawkins
– On January 14, 2010, Angel defeated Michael Tarver with Heath Slater as special guest referee to retain the FCW Heavyweight Title
– One week later, he defeated Trent Baretta to retain the FCW Heavyweight Title
– On February 16, 2010, Lloyd was announced as a competitor on the first season of NXT. His ring name was changed to ‘Justin Gabriel’ for the competition
– On Maych 2, 2010, Gabriel & Matt Hardy defeated William Regal & Skip Sheffield. Gabriel pinned Regal to become the first rookie to pin a pro
– On June 1, 2010, Gabriel was eliminated from NXT, finishing in third place
– On June 7, 2010, Gabriel (along with the rest of the NXT season one rookies) invaded RAW, attacking John Cena & CM Punk and decimating the ringside area
– On July 26, 2010, The Nexus (Wade Barrett, David Otunga, Heath Slater, Justin Gabriel, Skip Sheffield, Michael Tarver & Darren Young) defeat Team WWE (Jerry Lawler, Evan Bourne, Goldust, Mark Henry, David Hart Smith, Tyson Kidd & Yoshi Tatsu) in an Elimination Match
– On August 30, 2010, The Nexus (Wade Barrett, David Otunga, Heath Slater, Justin Gabriel & Michael Tarver) defeat Team RAW (John Cena, Randy Orton, Sheamus, Edge & Chris Jericho) in an Elimination Match
– On October 25, 2010, Gabriel & Heath Slater defeated John Cena & David Otunga to win the WWE Tag Team Titles when Wade Barrett ordered Otunga to lay down for Slater
– On November 8, 2010, The Nexus (Wade Barrett, Heath Slater, Justin Gabriel, Michael McGillicutty & Husky Harris) defeated Randy Orton, The Miz, Daniel Bryan, R-Truth & Mark Henry
– At Survivor Series 2010, Slater & Gabriel defeated Santino Marella & Vladimir Kozlov to retain the WWE Tag Team Titles
– On January 10, 2011, Slater & Gabriel refused to participate in CM Punk’s New Nexus initiation and left the group. On the following Smackdown, the duo rejoined Wade Barrett to form The Corre
– At Elimination Chamber 2011, Slater & Gabriel defeated Santino Marella & Vladimir Kozlov to regain the WWE Tag Team Titles
– On February 21, 2011, John Cena & The Miz defeated Slater & Gabriel to win the WWE Tag Team Titles, but instantly lost them back in a rematch
– On July 8, 2011, The Corre separated after a period of in-fighting. The following week, Gabriel turned face by defeating Slater
– In the summer of 2012, Gabriel formed a short-lived tag team with Tyson Kidd
– At Survivor Series ’12, Rey Mysterio, Tyson Kidd, Sin Cara, Justin Gabriel & Brodus Clay defeated Darren Young, Titus O’Neil, Tensai, Primo & Epico in an Elimination Match
– In 2013, Gabriel’s appearances on the main WWE shows became less and less frequent
– In January 2015, Gabriel left World Wrestling Entertainment
– After leaving WWE, Gabriel began competing on the indies as ‘PJ Black’
– At House of Hardcore VIII, Black defeated Brian Myers
– On July 24, 2015, PJ Black (Justin Gabriel) defeated Sanada in a NEX*GEN Title tournament match at the inaugural Global Force Wrestling TV taping in Las Vegas, NV
– 3 days later, Black defeated Chris Mordetzky, Eric Young, Lashley & Robbie E in a King Of The Mountain Match win the vacant TNA King of the Mountain Title, but would lose it the next day to Bobby Roode
– On August 30, 2015, Black defeated Kongo Kong to retain the DWW Title
– On October 23, 2015, Black defeated Jigsaw, TJP & Virgil Flynn in a 4-Way Tournament Final Match to become the first GFW NEX*GEN Champion
– In early 2019, Black signed with ROH
– At ROH Honor Reigns Supreme 2019, Black was defeated by Bandido
– At Manhattan Mayhem 2019, Lifeblood (Black, Bandido, Mark Haskins & Tracy Williams) defeated Villain Enterprises (Marty Scurll, Flip Gordon, Brody King & PCO)
– At Honor For All 2019, Black defeated Silas Young
– On October 27, Black defeated Rob Van Dam to win the vacant SFA World Title
– On the Final Battle 2021 pre-show, Black, Flip Gordon, Brawler Milonas, The Beer City Bruiser & World Famous CB defeated Will Ferrara, Demonic Flamita, Max The Impaler, Sledge & LSG