Dio Maddin

Brennan Marcel Williams[1] (born February 5, 1991) is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling commentator, and former American football offensive tackle currently signed to WWE, where he performs under the name Dio Maddin. He is a former commentator for WWE's Raw brand and currently performing as a wrestler on the NXT brand. He previously wrestled on the independent circuit under the ring name Marcellus Black.[1]

Dio Maddin
Born
Brennan Marcel Williams

(1991-02-05) February 5, 1991
North Easton, Massachusetts, United States
Alma materUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Spouse(s)Ciarra Williams
Children3
FamilyBrent Williams (father)
ResidenceOrlando, Florida, United States
Ring name(s)Brennan Williams
Dio Maddin
Marcellus Black[1]
Billed height6 ft 6 in (198 cm)[1]
Billed weight286 lb (130 kg)[2]
Billed fromThe Savage Lands of Shaolin[2]
Trained byBooker T
Reality of Wrestling
DebutFebruary 1, 2016
Football career
No. 73, 65
Position:Offensive tackle
Personal information
Height:6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Weight:318 lb (144 kg)
Career information
High school:West Roxbury (MA) Catholic Memorial
College:North Carolina
NFL Draft:2013 / Round: 3 / Pick: 89
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
  • Honorable mention All-ACC (2012)
Career NFL statistics
Player stats at NFL.com

Prior to beginning his professional wrestling career, Williams was drafted by the Houston Texans of the National Football League in the third round (89th overall) of the 2013 NFL Draft. He played college football at North Carolina.

Early life

Williams was born in North Easton, Massachusetts and attended Catholic Memorial School.

While at Catholic Memorial, Williams was a member of PrepStar's High School All-America team, a member of the "Super 26" team in 2008, an all-scholastic by the Boston Globe and Boston Herald. He was named all-conference as both a junior and senior. He was rated as the eight best offensive lineman in the country by SuperPrep All-America. Rivals.com rated him the seventh best offensive guard in the country. Scout.com rated him as the 15th best offensive lineman in the country. ESPN.com rated him the 35th best offensive tackle in the country. He was also a member of the Rivals 250. He also played in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.[3]

On February 15, 2014, Williams's number 73 was retired by Catholic Memorial.[3]

Football career

College

Williams received an athletic scholarship to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he played for the North Carolina Tar Heels football team from 2009 to 2012. As a senior in 2012, he received honorable mention All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) honors.[3] Williams tore his labrum his senior year of college.[4] Williams majored in communications while attending North Carolina.[5]

Professional

Houston Texans

The Houston Texans selected Williams in the third round with the 89th overall pick of the 2013 NFL Draft.[6] He would go on to miss his rookie season with a microfracture in his knee.[3] On July 21, 2014, he was released.[7]

Jacksonville Jaguars

On February 20, 2015, Williams was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars, to a two-year contract, with the intention of being a back up to starter Jeremy Parnell.[8] On August 29, 2015, Williams was released by Jacksonville.[9]

New England Patriots

On October 20, 2015, the New England Patriots signed Williams to their practice squad. They waived him two days later.[10]

Professional wrestling career

Reality of Wrestling (2016)

After being released by the Patriots, Williams returned to Houston to train to become a professional wrestler.[10] On October 27, 2015, it was announced that Williams was being trained by WWE star Booker T to become a professional wrestler.[11]

He made his debut with Reality of Wrestling on February 1, 2016, under the ring name of Marcellus Black.

WWE

NXT (2016–present)

On February 11, 2016, Williams participated in a WWE try-out at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.[12] On August 1, 2016, WWE officially announced the signing of Williams, who started training at the Performance Center the same day.[13][14]

He made his in-ring debut for the company at a NXT live event in Orlando, Florida on September 30, 2016, competing in a battle royal.[15] In June 2019, Brennan was given the new ring name, Dio Maddin.

205 Live and Raw commentator (2019)

On September 10, 2019, Maddin joined the commentary team for 205 Live, replacing Nigel McGuinness.[16] Later that same month, WWE announced as part of their "Premiere Week" that the commentary teams would be changed, with Maddin becoming an analyst for the Raw commentary team with Vic Joseph and Jerry Lawler.

On the November 4, 2019 edition of Monday Night Raw, Maddin was attacked by Brock Lesnar who performed an F5 on Maddin through the announcer's table. Maddin was defending fellow commentator Jerry Lawler after being threatened by Lesnar's advocate, Paul Heyman.[17] He would then leave the announce team and go back to NXT to pursue a return to the ring, being replaced by Samoa Joe.

Personal life

Williams is the son of Jacquelyn and former NFL defensive end Brent Williams. He has three children with his wife Ciarra.[18] His brother Cam played as a linebacker for Ohio State, and is currently a scout for the New England Patriots.[19]

Williams was a fan of professional wrestling growing up,[1] having cited Eddie Guerrero and The Great Muta as some of his favorites.[1] He is also a fan of video games, anime and manga; his current ring name is even inspired by Dio Brando, a focal antagonist of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.[20]

Other media

Williams has appeared in various streams on the role-playing YouTube channel The Third Wheel, most notably in the role of The Batsu Sama, the scariest person in the world.[21][22] He joined the main series of the channel "Thrilling Intent", as a steely assassin named Harlock, with a bionic arm and a love for traps, as well as another series on the channel, No Smarts But Hearts, where he plays the prestigious Clover Von Krone, a warm-natured, but incredibly strong member of the elite Adventurer Knights. [23]

Williams took part in multiple collaborations with the YouTube channel Super Best Friends Play, where he earned the nickname "Better Woolie" for his resemblance to group member Woolie Madden, from which his name change to Dio Maddin is partly derived. He also appeared in a Minecraft Wrestling Show called "Minecraft Wrestling Alliance".

He has also done voice-over/narration for various videos, such as "Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 2" by Did You Know Anime,[24] and "Welcome to YouTube Comments (2016) - Part 1" by JelloApocalypse.[25]

References
  1. "NFL's Brennan Williams Now Wrestling as "Marcellus Black"". Title Match Wrestling. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
  2. "Marcellus Black Wrestling Debut: The Shogun of the Row". YouTube.com. Title Match Wrestling. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
  3. Hall, Brendan C. (February 15, 2014). "Texans' Williams gets number retired at CM". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
  4. "Brennan Williams, OT". CBS Sports. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
  5. "Brennan WIlliams" (PDF). UNC. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
  6. "Brennan Williams". NFL. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
  7. Hanzus, Dan (21 July 2014). "Brennan Williams released by Houston Texans". National Football League. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
  8. "Jaguars' Brennan Williams finally close to fully healthy". FoxSports.com. June 9, 2015. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
  9. "Jaguars Make Roster Move". Jaguars.com. Archived from the original on 23 February 2015. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  10. Kyed, Doug (October 22, 2015). "Brennan Williams Released By Patriots, Will Pursue Dream Of Joining WWE". NESN.com. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
  11. "WWE Legend Booker T Training Ex-NFLer for Wrestling Stardom". TMZ.com. Archived from the original on 13 June 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  12. Pendergast, Sean (February 12, 2016). "Former Houston Texan Brenna Williams Makes His Pro Wrestling Debut". HoustonPress.com. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
  13. Meltzer, Dave (August 1, 2016). "WWE signs former NFL lineman Brennan Williams". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  14. Clapp, John (August 1, 2016). "WWE signs former NFL player Brennan Williams". WWE. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
  15. "9/30 WWE NXT Results in Orlando – Team Nakamura main event, Asuka, Itami, 15-man battle royal, William Regal appears". PWTorch. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  16. "Dio Maddin Joins 205 Live Commentary Team". Pro Wrestling Sheet. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  17. "Brock Lesnar attacks Raw announcer Dio Maddin".
  18. Pendergast, Sean (17 November 2015). "Plan B: Brennan Williams Hopes to Turn His NFL Disappointment Into a Wrestling Career". HoustonPRess. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  19. Landis, Bill (February 3, 2016). "Cam Williams, former Ohio State linebacker, accepts scout job with New England Patriots". cleveland.com.
  20. Winkie, Luke. "Catching up with Jaguars OL Brennan Williams: The NFL's biggest nerd".
  21. "The Third Wheel".
  22. "TENRA BANSHO ZERO - The Book of a Thousand Destinies".
  23. "Thrilling Intent".
  24. "Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 2 - Did You Know Anime?".
  25. "Welcome to YouTube Comments (2016) - Part 1".
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