Jay Lethal

Jamar "Jay" Shipman (born April 29, 1985), better known by the ring name Jay Lethal, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to the WWE and appears on the Raw. He is recognised by the WWE as the longest reigning NXT Champion at 297 days.

He has spent a majority of his career with Ring of Honor, where he was a former ROH World Champion. He was also a record-setting two-time and longest reigning ROH World Television Champion holding the title for 567 days and the only man to hold the Television title concurrently with the World title. Lethal is also known for working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he was a six-time X Division Champion and a one-time World Tag Team Champion with Consequences Creed. Between ROH and TNA, Lethal has won 11 total championships.

Early Life[]

Professional wrestling career[]

Jersey All Pro Wrestling (2001–2009)[]

Ring of Honor[]

Hydro (2003–2004)[]

Samoa Joe's protégé (2004–2005)[]

Last feuds and departure (2005–2006)[]

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling[]

Pursuit of the X Division Championship (2005–2006)[]

Black Machismo (2006–2008)[]

Lethal Consequences (2008–2009)[]

Feud with Ric Flair and Fortune (2010–2011)[]

Return to ROH[]

Various feuds (2011–2014)[]

Championship reigns (2014–2016)[]

Independent circuit (2011–2016)[]

WWE (2016–present)[]

NXT (2016–2017)[]

Lethal signed with the WWE in January 2016 and was assigned to their developmental territory NXT. Due to the WWE's partnership with Ring of Honor Lethal kept his ROH World Championship until vacating it when he made his NXT debut. Lethal made his NXT debut on the February 17, 2016 episode of NXT where he defeated Alex Riley in a 90 second squash match. On the May 11, 2016 episode of NXT Lethal defeated Fénix to become the number one contender to the NXT Championship. Over the next couple of weeks Lethal and NXT Champion Samoa Joe came to blows on multiple occassions following this NXT General Manager William Regal announced that Lethal and Joe would meet inside a steel cage at NXT TakeOver: The End. On June 8 at TakeOver Lethal defeated Joe to become NXT Champion thus ending Samoa Joe's 262-day reign. On the July 13 episode of NXT Samoa Joe announced he wanted to invoke his rematch clause for the NXT Championship announcing the match for NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II. As the weeks went on heading towards TakeOver Lethal and Joe continue to come to physical blows. But at TakeOver: Brooklyn II Lethal successfully defended his title against Samoa Joe.

In September 2016 it was announced that Lethal would team up with Tama Tonga for the 2016 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. On the October 5, 2016 episode of NXT Lethal and Tonga won their first round match defeating Cedric Alexander and Andrade Almas. The duo then faced the team of Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa on the November 2, 2016 episode of NXT in the quarter-finals but they were defeated. After their defeat Tonga attacked Lethal blaming him for the loss, thus indicated his intentions for the NXT Championship. After the attack the previous week on NXT William Regal set up the match between Lethal and Tonga for NXT TakeOver: Toronto. At TakeOver: Toronto Lethal once again retained his title by defeating Tama Tonga. This continued his streak of not losing by pinfall or submission in NXT, though he has lost twice by disqualification.

Lethal would again successfully defend his title at NXT TakeOver: San Antonio against Bobby Roode but was attacked after the match by a debuting Kota Ibushi. On March 23, 2017 Lethal surpassed Neville as the longest reigning NXT Champion in history by hitting 288 days as champion. Lethal lost his title at NXT TakeOver: Orlando on April 1, 2017 to Kota Ibushi ending his reign at 297 days.

Lethal had his rematch for the NXT Championship on May 20, 2017 at NXT TakeOver: Chicago against Kota Ibushi in which he failed to recapture the title in what was his final NXT match.

Raw (2017–present)[]

Other Media[]

Shipman, under his Jay Lethal ring name, had a brief appearance in the critically acclaimed 2008 film The Wrestler. In November 2010, he was a contestant on an all TNA week of Family Feud, teaming with Matt Morgan, Mick Foley, Mr. Anderson, and Rob Van Dam against Angelina Love, Christy Hemme, Lacey Von Erich, Tara, and Velvet Sky.

Personal Life[]

Shipman was in a relationship with former WWE Diva AJ Lee around 2007 to 2010, whom he also trained.

In Wrestling[]

As Jay Lethal
- Finishing moves
  - Diving Dynamite (Diving headbutt) – 2001–2016; adopted from Dynamite Kid
  - Diving elbow drop (TNA / WWE) Hail to the King (ROH) – 2006–2009, 2011–present; adopted from Randy Savage – used as a signature thereafter
  - Figure-four leglock – 2010; adopted from Ric Flair
  - Lethal Combination (STO backbreaker followed by a reverse STO) – 2007–2011; used as a signature move thereafter
  - Lethal Injection (Pumphandle sitout powerbomb – 2002–2004 or a belly-to-back suplex lifted and dropped into a neckbreaker – 2010–2011 or a handspring cutter – 2011–present)
  - Lethal Injection II (Diving DDT)
  - Release dragon suplex – 2001–2016; used as a signature thereafter
- Signature moves
  - Diving double axe handle – 2006–2009; adopted from Randy Savage
  - European uppercut
  - Hair-pull hangman – 2006–2009; adopted from Randy Savage
  - Hip toss followed by a cartwheel followed by a dropkick to the opponent's face
  - Inverted suplex lifted and dropped into a sitout wheelbarrow facebuster
  - Koji clutch
  - Leg lariat, sometimes from the second or top rope
  - Multiple kick variations
    - EnzuFury (Discus enzuigiri)
    - Springboard drop
    - Super
  - Running vertical suplex
  - Snap suplex
  - Spinning spinebuster
As Hydro
- Finishing moves
  - Hydroplane (Springboard DDT)
  - That's All She Wrote (Inverted over the shoulder belly-to-back piledriver)
- Signature moves
  - European uppercut
  - Running vertical suplex
  - Snap Suplex
  - Spinebuster
With Consequences Creed
- Double-team finishing moves
  - Fireman's carry cutter (Creed) followed by a diving elbow drop (Lethal)
- Double team signature moves
  - Military press (Lethal) and springboard bulldog (Creed) combination
  - Vertical suplex (Lethal) and diving crossbody (Creed) combination
Managers
- Jerry Lynn
- Kevin Nash
- Pequeño Halloween
- SoCal Val
- Sonjay Dutt
- Taeler Hendrix
- Truth Martini
Nicknames
- "Black Machismo"
- "The Greatest First Generation Wrestler"
Entrance Themes
- "Attenzione (Jens O. Remix)" by DJ Flashrider (ROH)
- "Time and Time Again" by Papa Roach (Independent circuit)
- "This Is Not" by Static-X
- "Push It" by Static-X (JAPW/ROH)
- "Pussy Liquor" by Rob Zombie (ROH)
- "Static" by Dale Oliver (TNA)
- "Pomp and Circumstance (Black Machismo Remix)" by Dale Oliver (TNA)
- "LethalX" by Dale Oliver (TNA)
- "Jay Lethal" by Dale Oliver (TNA)
- "A Lethal Dose" by Blue Smock Nancy (ROH)
- "Scorched Ops" by Scott Reinward (ROH/WWE)

Championships and Accomplishments[]

American Championship Entertainment
- ACE Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Mo Sexton
Big Time Wrestling
- BTW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
Champion Wrestling Association Puerto Rico
- CWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
Family Wrestling Entertainment
- FWE Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- FWE Tri-Borough Championship (1 time)
- FWE Rumble (2012)
International High Powered Wrestling
- IHPW Diamond Division Championship (1 time)
- IHPW United States Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
Jersey All Pro Wrestling
- JAPW Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
- JAPW Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- JAPW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Azrieal
- JAPW Television Championship (1 time)
- Jersey City Rumble (2009)
Jersey Championship Wrestling
- JCW Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- JCW Television Championship (1 time)
- Jersey J-Cup (2003)
Millennium Wrestling Federation
- MWF Television Championship (1 time)
National Wrestling Superstars
- WSU/NWS King and Queen of the Ring (2009) – with Miss April
Politically Incorrect Wrestling
- PIW World Championship (1 time)
Pro-Wrestling ELITE
- PWE Interstate Championship (1 time)
Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- PWI ranked him #5 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2016
Ring of Honor
- ROH Pure Championship (1 time)
- ROH World Championship (1 time)
- ROH World Television Championship (2 times)
- Honor Rumble (2011)
- Survival of the Fittest (2012)
- Third Triple Crown Champion
Southside Wrestling Entertainment
- SWE Speed King Championship (1 time)
- Speed King (2013)
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
- TNA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Consequences Creed
- TNA X Division Championship (6 times)
- Feast or Fired (2008 – World Tag Team Championship contract)
- World X Cup (2006) – with Chris Sabin, Sonjay Dutt and Alex Shelley
- X Division Wrestler of the Year (2007)
United Wrestling Coalition
- UWC United States Championship (1 time)
Unreal Championship Wrestling
- UCW United States Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- UCW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
Wrestlezone Scotland
- Wrestlezone Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Scotty Swift
Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- 5 Star Match (2018) vs. James Harrison on January 29
- Worst Worked Match of the Year (2006) TNA Reverse Battle Royal on Impact!
WWE NXT
- NXT Championship (1 time)