Brian Damage
The WWF/WWE has had some type of developmental system for years now. Whether it was the USWA, Ohio Valley, Power Pro, Heartland, Deep South, Florida Championship Wrestling or NXT…many of the company’s top superstars got their start in at least one of them. While some developmental names like John Cena, Kurt Angle, Randy Orton, The Miz, Brock Lesnar and Charlotte Flair all made big stars of themselves by first training in developmental, others never got to see the light of day. This series will focus on those wrestlers…the ones that at some point were a lock to get called up to the main roster and never quite made it. What once was hot, suddenly became a “not” as a WWE superstar.
James Bronson
Phil Friedman was a former MMA fighter turned professional wrestler. He was trained by Johnny Rodz and made his debut in July of 2002. After toiling on the independent scene, Friedman did a tour of All Japan Pro Wrestling and wrestled for Major League Wrestling (MLW) where he teamed with Dr. Death Steve Williams. In 2006, Friedman wrestled a squash match on WWE’s Sunday Night Heat in a loss to Snitsky.
Friedman was eventually offered a WWE developmental contract in 2010 and was assigned to Florida Championship (FCW) based in Tampa, Florida. Friedman took the ring name J Bronson also known as James Bronson. He wrestled the likes of Big E Langston, CJ Parker and Leakee (The future Roman Reigns).J Bronson eventually moved over to NXT once FCW shut down, but suffered some injuries which sidelined him for a number of months. In 2013, Friedman was released from his WWE developmental contract.
After his WWE release, Friedman left professional wrestling altogether and began training future MMA fighters in Las Vegas, Nevada. He now currently works for his father Nick Friedman’s Advisory agency based in New York City. His father was a former CEO for both Toys R Us and Mattel Toys.
Ring the Damn Bell 