Ezekiel Jackson
Rycklon Edward Stephens (born December 14, 1978) is a Guyanese-American professional wrestler, professional wrestling coach, personal trainer, preacher, bodybuilder and actor. He is best known for his tenure in WWE from 2007 to 2014, under the ring name Ezekiel Jackson, where he was the final ECW Champion under WWE's ECW brand, as well as a former WWE Intercontinental Champion.
| Ezekiel Jackson | |
|---|---|
Jackson in 2012 | |
| Birth name | Rycklon Edward Stephens |
| Born | December 14, 1978 Linden, Guyana |
| Alma mater | University at Buffalo |
| Spouse(s) |
Jenn Stephens (m. 2004) |
| Children | 2 |
| Website | rycklon |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Big Ryck Big Ryck Hytz Big Rycklon Big Zeke Ezekiel Ezekiel Jackson Ricky Atlas Rycklon Rycklon Stephens |
| Billed height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) |
| Billed weight | 309 lb (140 kg) |
| Billed from | Harlem, New York Guyana, South America South Central, Los Angeles, California |
| Trained by | Homicide Tom Prichard Steve Keirn Rick Bassman |
| Debut | January 21, 2007 |
Stephens made his professional wrestling debut for the California-based promotion Ultimate Pro Wrestling in 2007 under the ring name Big Ryck Hytz. He was then signed by WWE in 2007 and sent to their then-developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling, under the new ring name Rycklon, which was later changed to Ezekiel Jackson after his main-roster debut in 2008. During his time in WWE, Jackson was the final man to win the ECW Championship, his only professional wrestling world championship, making him the third African American to hold the championship, the sixth black world champion (after The Rock, Booker T, Bobby Lashley, Ron Simmons, and Mark Henry), and the only South American-born world champion in WWE history. He later joined The Corre but was kicked out, thus starting a feud with the stable's leader Wade Barrett and he would go on to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship once.
Jackson would leave WWE in 2014 and briefly wrestle for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) later that year. He also competed in one season of Lucha Underground from 2014 to 2015 as Big Ryck. He wrestled his last match in Westside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw) in October 2015 and is now working as a personal trainer. He is the owner of the Redwood City, California-based professional wrestling promotion and school Bryckhouse Pro Wrestling.