5 Things WWE fans need to know about Timothy Thatcher

On this week's edition of WWE Backstage, it was announced that Timothy Thatcher and Killer Kross have both officially signed with the WWE. An initial report from Squared Circle Sires noted that Thatcher had reported to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando and PWInsider later confirmed that the former Evolve Champion had started in the company this week.

Being one of Independent Wrestling's hottest superstars, Thatcher is certainly a significant acquisition for WWE, however, having worked for European promotions throughout his career, most of the WWE Universe might not be too familiar with his work. In the past, Thatcher has worked for notable promotions such as PWG, wXw, RevPro: UK, and Evolve Wrestling and has built an incredible career resume.

The former wXw World Champion has already established his legacy on the Independent circuit where he has shared the ring with veterans such as Minoru Suzuki, Zack Sabre Jr., and reigning NXT UK Champion WALTER and it would be interesting to note what Thatcher brings to the WWE along with his unique style of wrestling.

With that in mind, let's take a look at 5 things the WWE Universe needs to know about Timothy Thatcher.

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#5 He trained under former UFC Heavyweight Champion Josh Barnett

Thatcher is no stranger to the submission game (Image Courtesy: WrestleZone)

In the initial stages of his career, Timothy Thatcher began wrestling under the West Coast Indie Wrestling scene in the year 2005 and for his first big break in the world of professional wrestling, Thatcher went on to work for All Pro Wrestling and Championship Wrestling from Hollywood.

Thatcher eventually made the transition to bigger Independent promotions including PWG, RevPro: UK, OTT, and wXw and established himself as a household name in the European pro wrestling scene. Having competed for notable promotions in the UK, Thatcher earned himself the nickname of 'The British Messiah' and is considered to be a veteran in wXw, where he had won the wXw World Championship and the wXw Tag Team Championship, as well.

Throughout the years, Thatcher has been known for his technical style of wrestling and is considered to be an ambassador of strong style wrestling. His bouts with the likes of Zack Sabre Jr., Minoru Suzuki, Drew Gulak, WALTER, and Fit Finlay are only a handful of matches that is recommended to the fans who are still unfamiliar with Thatcher's work.

And, despite belonging from the US, a certain amount of fans have definitely not expected to see mat style and technical wrestling from an American pro wrestler but over the past few years, Thatcher has already proved his worth as a technical mat wrestler and has also showcased his abilities as a submission specialist, something that you would think he picked up from Josh Barnett himself.

#4 He is a former member of RINGKAMPF

RINGKAMPF!

During their tenure on the Independent Circuit, RINGKAMPF was always considered to be one of the most dominant factions on the European wrestling circuit and with their amazing in-ring presence and chemistry, the likes of WALTER and co. also made a huge noise on the US Indie circuit as well.

When it comes to top factions from the Independent Wrestling scene, RINGKAMPF has always been up there with the likes of British Strong Style and the trio of WALTER, Timothy Thatcher, and Axel Dieter Jr. (Marcel Barthel) definitely established their legacy in Germany under the wXw banner.

With WALTER finding himself surrounded by a group of technical specialists in the form of Thatcher, Dieter Jr. (Marcel Barthel), and Wolfe, RINGKAMPF was always destined for success and members of the group have held the wXw World Championship and the wXw Tag Team Championships. So much so that WWE themselves decided to form a reincarnation of the group in the form of Imperium over on NXT UK.

RINGKAMPF also competed for British promotion PROGRESS Wrestling and their wars with the likes of British Strong Style are definitely worth checking out, especially for fans who are still unaware with Timothy Thatcher's work.

With Thatcher now signing with WWE, could the original version of RINGKAMPF finally be together once again?

#3 Timothy Thatcher is the last Open the Freedom Gate Champion

Timothy Thatcher with the Evolve and Open the Freedom Gate Championship (Image Courtesy: The Ring Report)

Now many of the readers may not be familiar with the Open the Freedom Gate Championship. Serving as the major title for the Dragon Gate USA promotion, the Open the Freedom Gate Championship was initiated in 2009 with the inaugural champion being BxB Hulk, who defeated CIMA, Gran Akuma, and YAMATO to win the title in the first place.

Since then, the Open the Freedom Gate Championship has been held by six other men including the likes of current WWE superstars Ricochet, Drew McIntyre, and Johnny Gargano, who currently holds the record of successfully defending the title on 25 different occasions over his two different reigns.

At Evolve 45, Timothy Thatcher won the Open the Freedom Gate Championship by defeating McIntyre, however, the former's title reign came to an abrupt end on the 36th day, as Thatcher handed the title to former and the only two-time champion, Johnny Gargano and shortly after the title was declared vacant.

Along with Dragon Gate USA, the Open the Freedom Gate Title was also announced defunct, as Thatcher went down in the history books as the final man to hold the title.

#2 Longest Evolve Wrestling Champion

Timothy Thatcher (Image Courtesy: SEScoops)

Despite being known for his work under wXw and other European promotions, if there is one particular accomplishment Timothy Thatcher is recognized the most for, it's his reign as the Evolve Champion.

On 10th July 2015, Timothy Thatcher captured the EVOLVE Championship by defeating Drew McIntyre at the Evolve 45 event. McIntyre, who had initially defeated Chris Hero to win the title, held the Evolve Championship for a total of 336 days and was the longest-reigning champion to date, however, Thatcher as it turned out Thatcher had other ideas.

Having captured the Evolve Championship in 2015, Timothy Thatcher enjoyed a reign that lasted for a total of 596 days, over the course of 22 successful title defenses. Thatcher's reign as the Evolve Champion was certainly one of the most talked-about reigns in the world of professional wrestling and despite receiving some criticism as champion, Thatcher sure was a hard-fought champion, who eventually lost the title to Zack Sabre Jr. in 2017 at Evolve 79. Yes, a title reign that lasted two years!

#1 He is the second Superstar to hold both the Evolve and Open the Freedom Gate Championship after Drew McIntyre

Timothy Thatcher as the wXw Champion(Image Courtesy: Last Word on Pro Wrestling)

Remember that time when I mentioned that Timothy Thatcher defeated Drew McIntyre to win the Open the Freedom Gate Championship and also defeated the latter to win the Evolve Championship?

Well, Thatcher did so on the very same night when he defeated McIntyre at Evolve 45 in order to capture both the Evolve and Open the Freedom Gate Championship.

In doing so, McIntyre's reign as Evolve Champion came to an end at the 366-day mark, whereas, his reign as Open the Freedom Gate Champion came to an end at the 104th day.

However, it wasn't for too long that Thatcher had the privilege of calling himself a double champion, as within the span of a month, he vacated the Open the Freedom Gate Championship and with Dragon Gate USA going defunct, Timothy Thatcher was declared as its final champion.

And after a historic reign that lasted almost 600 days, ZSJ eventually won the Evolve Championship from Thatcher, as well.

Nevertheless, Thatcher along with the winner of the 2020 Royal Rumble Match are the only two people in history to hold both the Evolve and the Open the Freedom Gate Championship. Will we see another clash of the titans between Thatcher and McIntyre in WWE?

Only time will tell.