Professional wrestling career
Early career
Austin Lee began training initially in his home country of England, before moving to the United States to pursue his dream of performing at wrestling's highest level. He settled in the Ohio Valley area, working independents and receiving additional training from Jon Z.
Future Pay-Per-View Wrestling/Renegade Championship Wrestling (2003-2005)
Foot in the Door
In 2003, Jon started his own promotion, FPPVW, in the Dayton area. Austin made his debut on the second episode of Foundation on September 12, 2003, with a win over Cheesecake. He beat Concession Boy Sr. on October 10, but made the unfortunate error of scratching himself in a rude place, which was caught on camera and made fun of by The Eccentrics on the Halloween episode, incurring Austin's wrath. As a result, he faced Cheesecake once again, brutalizing him and getting himself disqualified. Lee continued to work his way up the ranks in late 2003 and early 2004, and finally got his big break when he entered the Gauntlet match at Gauntlet for a shot at the FPPVW Championship at WrestlingRevolution. Lee won the match, last eliminating Cynric. He also entered the tournament to crown the Ohio Tag Team Champions, teaming with Cody Hawk and winning the upper brackets before being convinced to abandon his partner in the finals of the tournament so he could concentrate on the FPPVW Championship.
Rise to Prominence
Austin had his match against FPPVW Champion Alan Mayse set, and scored the psychological edge by not only pinning Alan with his finisher, the Degenerate Driver, in a tag team match, but also kicking out of Mayse's Tiger Driver. He would go on to do this again before facing Mayse in the main event of WrestlingRevolution. However, Mayse rose to the challenge, kicking out of Lee's finisher, and was finally able to put Austin down with a Tiger Driver off the turnbuckles. Lee sought a rematch, and received it in a Ladder Match at Sunstroke. But Mayse was once again able to overcome Lee and retain, and also beat him a third time on a following episode of Foundation. Lee needed to get back on track, and decided the best way to do this was to take over The Heel Stable, which had been abandoned by its leader Nykk. Austin took a different approach with his men, motivating them instead of abusing them like Nykk. The Heel Stable seemed stronger than ever, but at Bloodbath, Nykk returned and cost them an eight-man tag team match.
Austin was livid and was set to sic Nykk's former allies on him. But it turned out to be a ruse, as the Heel Stable still followed Nykk, and they attacked Austin at his command. Austin went to war with the Heel Stable, making allies of former enemies in order to further his cause. He teamed with Ronin Fox against Nykk and Joey Sprinklers at November Pain, but lost. But he rebounded in a big way in late December by teaming with his rival Alan Mayse and winning the RCW Tag Team Championship from The Pyro Twins. However, in early 2005, RCW ran into financial issues after Jon Z fled the country with all its money, and the promotion went dark. Lee and Mayse then lost the belts back to the Pyro Twins on an unrelated show on January 30. The roster would reunite for one last show, WrestlingRevolution II in May, where Lee won the RCW Championship from Nykk in the main event.
Modern Establishment of Competitive Combat Arts (2007-2014)
Payback Time
Lee debuted on the July 4, 2007, episode of Go Time, saving his brother Tristan Lee and his fellow UK Wrecking Crew members from an attack by Nykk and The House of Lords. The next week, Austin confronted Nykk and revealed that it was former MECCA co-owner Katie Piehl, who had been ousted from power by Nykk, who had hired him. Katie had been appointed as the new authority figure in MECCA to counter Nykk and his decisions. She booked a Best of Three tag team series for Liberty or Death, with the winning side gaining the power to book the House of Lords' matches for Summertime Showdown. Lee interfered in the deciding match, costing Nykk and Cynric a match against the UK Wrecking Crew, and then beat Jamie Chan in his in-ring debut. For Summertime Showdown, Austin and the UK Wrecking Crew were put in an eight-man tag against Nykk, Cynric, Huh and Joey Sprinklers, but the House of Lords was able to pull out the win.
Lee competed in the Stiff Strike Challenge at Scared Stiff, but was unable to get the win. With the war against the House of Lords coming to a head, a Best of Five series for control of the company was proposed for End of the Line in December. Austin teamed with his brother Tristan, Matt Sydal and Delirious to defeat Alan Mayse, Cynric, Huh and Joey Sprinklers in an eight-man tag. The MECCA loyalists would go on to win the series, severely crippling the House of Lords. As the year turned, Austin teamed with Naomi Leach in the Mixed Tag League Tournament, beating Nykk and Lisa Letty in the first round and Bryan Danielson and Sara Del Rey in the semi-finals. At Ignition they beat Ronin Fox and Shadow in the finals, earning them both a title shot of their choice. Austin decided to cash in his on the following Go Time, challenging Nykk for the MECCA World Championship at Bloody Valentine. Austin confronted Nykk on February 13, opening a briefcase to reveal the RCW Championship, and revealed their match would be a unification bout. At Bloody Valentine, however, Nykk came away with the victory and unified the two titles.
Band of Brothers
Austin began teaming with his brother Tristan more after Bloody Valentine, and they entered into a feud with The Consulate, led by Prince Nana. However, they would lose a match to The Surgeons at The MECCA Challenge IV. Austin also entered the Eight-Man Throwdown at Punked Out and won the whole thing, guaranteeing him a shot at the World Champion at Summertime Showdown. Austin faced World Champion Anubis at the event, and gave the champ enough of a scare that he had to use shortcuts to retain. They shook hands after the match, but Anubis suddenly cheapshotted him. As the weeks went by, Anubis grew more and more paranoid as the pressure of being champion got to him, and even turned on his own partner The Wild Wolf. Wolf joined forces with Austin and Tristan to try and take Anubis down, but the champ persisted, and beat Austin once again in an Anything Goes match at Scared Stiff.
After a series of matches with The Briscoes, a rift started to form when Tristan started to become more and more frustrated. They both earned their way to a title shot in early 2009 and challenged Anubis in a Triangle match at Melee, but both were unsuccessful. This just made Tristan angrier, and he attacked his brother after they had words on the next episode of Go Time. This led to a match at The MECCA Challenge V, which Austin won. All the anger seemed to disappear from Tristan after the match, and he embraced his brother on a match well fought. With their issues seemingly behind them, they concentrated on becoming the Tag Team Champions, but were unable to defeat the Consulate at New Dawn. They received a rematch in their home country of England on June 10, but Austin suddenly turned on his brother during the match, allowing the Consulate to get the pin. Austin hospitalized Tristan after the match, as well as brutalized several officials, leading to Katie Piehl suspending him indefinitely for his conduct. Austin's suspension was lifted on August 5, and Austin explained that he did what he did because Tristan had been trying to undermine his career for months, and Austin wasn't going to forget just because Tristan had a change of heart. He warned his brother to stay away from MECCA, or he would do much worse to him than he already did.
Undaunted, Tristan returned from his injuries the next week and confronted his brother. A brawl erupted, and a match was made for Summertime Showdown. Tristan managed to sneak in a victory, but Austin got the last laugh, once again attacking Tristan after the match, causing him to be stretchered out. Tristan wouldn't be denied, and was back in action soon, challenging his brother again. They met in a Falls Count Anywhere match at At Your Own Risk, which Austin won after powerbombing Tristan from the entrance stage through a bunch of equipment on the floor. They met one more time in a Last Man Standing match at Scared Stiff, with Austin defeating his brother to end the feud.
Invincible Outlaws
Austin began teaming with World Champion Anubis on a semi-regular basis while still pursuing his own goals in late 2009. He got into an issue with Robbie Reno in November, and lost to him at No Regrets. Austin challenged him to a dream partner tag match for End of the Line. Reno chose Tristan Lee as his partner, and Austin countered by picking the returning Ryan Andrews, Reno's former frat brother in Epsilon Epsilon Epsilon. Austin and Andrews won the match, but their partnership quickly dissolved. They met Reno in a Triangle match at Ignition, with Andrews betraying his new ally to win the match. Austin developed a rivalry with tag champs the Pyro Twins that came to a head when they clashed during the Six-Man Melee match at Six-Man Melee. Austin pulled his semi-regular partner Anubis into the feud, and they went after the titles. They faced the Pyro Twins at Kick Start, winning the titles and announcing themselves as The Invincible Outlaws.
Their first challenge came from their old rivals Nykk and Ronin Fox, and the Outlaws defeated them at The MECCA Challenge VI. After defeating High Def at New Dawn, two more men from Austin's past emerged to challenge them: the UK Wrecking Crew of Andy Nathans and Jack Fletcher. Nathans and Fletcher defeated the Outlaws for the titles at Punked Out, but Anubis and Lee rebounded quickly. They won a tag team battle royale at Never Say Die to earn a title shot, and regained the titles on the following Go Time. The UKWC wanted a rematch, and got it at Summertime Showdown in a Stadium Riot, a big brawl where each team was allowed a set of competitors to back them up. The Outlaws retained the titles, but the UKWC was granted one last shot. They met at At Your Own Risk in a Ladder Match, and Nathans and Fletcher once again dethroned the Invincible Outlaws.
With Austin flat broke after betting all their traveling money on themselves for the Ladder Match, Anubis had the idea to institute the Anubis Open Challenge, where he would open up the ring to any trained wrestler in the crowd to last five minutes against him if they would put up $500. Anubis demolished all challengers for months until the December 15 episode of Go Time. He offered all the money he had won so far in an attempt to get some competition, and the challenge was answered by Gran Akuma, one half of FIST. Anubis accepted the challenge provided that the time limit be increased to ten minutes due to Akuma already being a MECCA competitor. The match almost went to the time limit before Lee interfered, prompting Icarus to get involved, and the match was thrown out. The two teams met at End of the Line, with FIST scoring the upset over the former champs. In early 2011, the Outlaws entered the Trios Tag League, teaming with Ryan Andrews and defeating Jamie Chan, the Wild Wolf and Marcus Kavian in the first round. However, at Kick Start their team lost to Ronin Fox, Gran Akuma, and Jay Crowe in the semi-finals. Austin was upset after the match and got into it with Anubis, causing Anubis to lay him out before leaving the ring and ending their partnership.
Quest for Singles Gold
Austin and Anubis met in a match at The MECCA Challenge VII, which Austin won after hiring bounty hunter Jimmy Rave to interfere on his behalf. Anubis won the rematch on the following Go Time, and then won the rubber match at New Dawn. Lee began to focus more on winning titles, and finally received a shot at the MECCA Toughman Championship on July 6. He defeated Marcus Kavian for the belt, and also won the rematch at Never Say Die. However, on August 10 he lost the belt without being defeated in a Four Corners match involving himself, Kavian, Icarus, and Drake Younger, who was able to pin Icarus while Lee was brawling with Kavian. Lee proposed a Partner from the Past match for Summertime Showdown to Kavian, where each man would pick a wrestler to team with who used to work for MECCA. At the event, Lee teamed with Yoshiaki Yago to defeat Kavian and Delirious. Lee would then lose to Kavian one on one on Rundown a couple of weeks later, ending their feud.
Austin entered a period of stagnation in the fall. He competed in the battle royale at Scared Stiff, and developed a rivalry with the Wild Wolf, who beat Austin at No Regrets. On the next Go Time, the Take It to the Top Tournament was announced, which would feature both veterans and newcomers of MECCA, with an undisclosed prize going to the winner. On December 7, Austin was set to face Wolf in a first round match. But at the start of the show, half the participants in the field, Marcus Kavian, Aaron Glover, Terrence Bolton, and Brandon Blade, took over the show and declared a new alliance called The Near Future. They laid waste to several members of the roster, and the tournament was declared dead. However, Austin and Wolf's match went on as scheduled and they too were attacked by the Near Future. Later in the night, the Near Future attempted to do the same to High Def after their match, only to be confronted by Austin and Wolf. Austin challenged them to an eight-man tag, which they accepted, but the Near Future came out on top. Not done with them quite yet, Austin recruited two more victims of their attacks, Gran Akuma and Drake Younger, to team with him against Blade, Glover, and Bolton at End of the Line. However, Austin's team lost the match on the pay-per-view as well after Austin was distracted by Kavian. Austin would get his payback on Kavian at Ignition in January, pinning Kavian after interference from the Near Future backfired.
Around this time, the Near Future began levying insults at Austin's family and upbringing, which also drew the ire of his estranged brother Tristan. They began speaking to one another again, and when Tristan needed a tag team partner, Austin showed up to help him and they defeated the Crowe Brothers on the February 8 episode of Go Time. Austin would go on to Six-Man Melee and win the 6MM match itself, earning a title shot in the main event of The MECCA Challenge VIII in two months. In the meantime, he continued teaming with Tristan, receiving some tag title shots as well as beating the Near Future's Aaron Glover and Terrence Bolton at Kick Start. He also inadvertently cost Low Ki a title match against Eddie Crowe, leading to a match between the two, where Austin suffered head trauma due to Ki's kicks. On the April 25 episode of Go Time, Lee passed out in the middle of a tag match he was involved in after taking more shots to the head, but despite this, he went on to defeat Crowe for the World Title at the MECCA Challenge just days later.
Family Reunion
After retaining the title against Crowe in a Last Man Standing Match at New Dawn, Austin ran into a challenge from The Peacemakers, who he and Tristan had failed to win the tag titles from. Ryan Andrews won a shot at the title and he and Austin clashed at Punked Out, with Austin retaining. Austin then defeated Andrews's partner Jimmy Rave on the next episode of Go Time. On the July 4 episode, however, he would lose the belt to Marcus Kavian after the injuries he sustained to his ankle during the feud with the Peacemakers finally caught up with him. Lee would receive a rematch against Kavian at Never Say Die, but could not regain the title. Austin turned his attention back to teaming with Tristan, and by November they were in contention for the tag titles again after they won a Four Corners Match at No Regrets. They faced Glover and Bolton for the titles on the next episode of Go Time, and won them.
They defeated their old rivals the Peacemakers at End of the Line, and Bolton and Glover in a rematch at Ignition at the start of 2013. However, their old enemies the Circle of Trust came calling, and the Pyro Twins defeated the Lees for the belts at Six-Man Melee. Austin and Tristan worked hard to get back into contention, winning a Triangle Match at Kick Start and a tag team battle royale at The MECCA Challenge IX. They received their rematch with the Pyro Twins at New Dawn, which was contested under Texas Tornado rules, but lost. They continued to fight back against the Pyro Twins along with their friends The Wild Wolf and Amazing Red, and both teams received a title shot in a Triangle Match on the June 26 episode of Go Time. The Pyro Twins still managed to retain, and the Lees started growing frustrated. They faced off against Wolf and Red in a friendly contest at Never Say Die, but after winning attacked their opponents.
The Lees marked their attitude change by pretentiously beginning to refer to themselves as The Brothers Lee, and over the next few weeks were manipulated by Ronin Fox into helping him in his feud with Drake Younger. However, at Summertime Showdown, the Brothers Lee and Fox were defeated by Younger, Wolf, and Red in a six-man tag. The Lees struggled to maintain their status as a top tag team, but in the fall Austin began making strides toward the World Title again. He got back on the Contender Star and earned a title shot against the champion Torea. That match took place on Go Time's ninth anniversary show on January 1, but Austin was defeated by the champion.
Departure
After unsuccessfully competing in the 6MM match at Six-Man Melee, Austin and Tristan looked to get another shot at the tag titles. They had some success, and MECCA Authority Cynric put them in a Four Corners tag match at The MECCA Challenge X against The Young Bucks, Alex Shelley and Brian Kendrick, and Low Ki and Gran Akuma. The Lees were unsuccessful, and Austin next turned his attention to newcomer Kenny Omega, who had defeated his brother Tristan. Austin lost to Omega on the April 30 episode of Go Time, and he and Tristan lost to Omega and the Amazing Red the next week. This was Austin's final appearance, as his contract expired and he left the company to pursue other opportunities.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- The Outlaw Treatment (Running throwing powerbomb) - 2009-2014
- The Degenerate Driver (Cradle piledriver) - 2004-2014
- The Crimson Cloverleaf (Texas cloverleaf) - 2002-2005
- Signature moves
- Rerun Neckbreaker (Two rolling hangman's neckbreakers)
- Overhead belly-to-belly suplex
- Spinning side slam
- Running powerslam
- Flying kick
- With Anubis
- Double team finishing moves
- The Dive Bomber (Reverse powerbomb (Anubis) / Running three-quarter nelson neckbreaker (Lee) combination) - 2010-2011
- Double team signature moves
- The Shit Sandwich (Simultaneous charging sandwich avalanche to standing opponent)
- Wheelbarrow lift (Anubis) / DDT (Lee) combination, followed by a wheelbarrow suplex (Anubis)
- Flying kick (Lee), followed by senton splash (Anubis)
- With Tristan Lee
- Double team finishing moves
- By Order of the Queen (STO (Austin) / Flying knee strike (Tristan) combination) - 2012-2014
- Spike Degenerate Driver (Degenerate Driver with assisted pressure) - 2007-2009
- Double team signature moves
- Wheelbarrow lift on Tristan (Austin), followed by simultaneous legdrops to the opponent
- Entrance themes
- "The Way I Am" by Eminem (FPPVW/RCW/MECCA; 2004-2009)
- "Problems" by The Sex Pistols (MECCA; 2007; used as a member of the UK Wrecking Crew)
- "Blueprint2 (Instrumental)" by Jay-Z (MECCA; 2009-2013)
- "Kobrakai" by Lostprophets (MECCA; 2010-2011; used while teaming with Anubis)
- "Shoot to Thrill" by Halestorm (MECCA; 2013-2014; used while teaming with Tristan Lee)
Championships and accomplishments
- Renegade Championship Wrestling
- RCW Championship (1 time)
- RCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Alan Mayse
- Gauntlet Winner (2004)
- Modern Establishment of Competitive Combat Arts
- MECCA World Championship (1 time)
- MECCA World Tag Team Championship (3 times) - with Anubis (2), Tristan Lee (1)
- MECCA Toughman Championship (1 time)
- Eight-Man Throwdown Winner (2008)
- Mixed Tag League Winner - with Naomi Leach (2008)
- Six-Man Melee Winner (2012)
