Kevin Robert Kiley, Jr. (April 28, 1981) is an American professional wrestler and commentator, better known by his ring name Alex Riley. He was formerly signed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) where he appeared on NXT.
Career[]
World Wrestling Entertainment[]
Territory Development (2007-2010)[]
In 2007, Kevin Kiley signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and was assigned to their developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW). On October 30, 2007, he debuted in a losing effort to Shawn Osbourne under his real name Kevin Kiley, and later faced off with wrestlers like Sebastian Slater and Jack Gabriel.
In September 2008, he changed his ring name to Carson Oakley. As Oakley, he began teaming with Scotty Goldman, and the pairing unsuccessfully challenged TJ Wilson and DH Smith for the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship in November. In early December, he underwent another name change, calling himself Alex Riley and developing the gimmick of a university jock, complete with a letterman's jacket as a part of his attire. He gained Beverly Mullins as a manager, and to fit with his jock gimmick, Mullins adopted the gimmick of a prom queen.
In 2009, he joined FCW General Manager Abraham Washington's cabinet, being called Washington's "top draft pick", and as a result, was named the number one contender to Tyler Reks' FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship in July. In August, he lost in a triple threat match including Reks and Johnny Curtis. In mid-2009, he competed in several dark matches prior to Raw and SmackDown, wrestling against Jamie Noble, Montel Vontavious Porter and Jimmy Wang Yang, and also appeared at house show. On the August 30 episode of FCW, Riley dropped Mullins as his manager, calling her "dead weight".
On March 18, 2010, Riley defeated Justin Gabriel and Wade Barrett in a triple threat match to win the FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship. After his title win he called out Barrett and paid him for his services as a hired help. At the July 22 FCW tapings, Riley lost the title to Mason Ryan in a triple threat match, also involving Johnny Curtis. At the television tapings on September 22, Riley faced Ryan in a rematch, but lost by submission.
Alliance with The Miz (2010–2011)[]
On June 1, 2010, The Miz announced that he would be mentoring Riley for the second season of WWE NXT. He made his NXT debut on the June 8 episode, but did not compete in a match. He made his in-ring debut on the following edition of NXT, defeating Kaval. Kaval returned the favor two weeks later, by pinning Riley in a six-man tag team match. Later that night, Riley was ranked fourth in the first poll. In the second poll on the July 27 episode of NXT, Riley moved up to third place, behind Michael McGillicutty and Kaval. On August 9 the rookies appeared in a six-man tag team match on Raw, in which Riley teamed with Husky Harris and Michael McGillicutty to defeat Lucky Cannon, Kaval and Percy Watson. The following night however, Riley's team lost a rematch, and he slipped to fifth place in the poll, narrowly avoiding elimination. Riley was eliminated from NXT in the season finale on August 31, ending up in third place overall. After Kaval was announced as the winner, Riley and the other eliminated rookies attacked him.
He appeared on the September 6 episode of Raw, when he tried to help his mentor The Miz, who had been placed in the LeBell Lock submission hold by Daniel Bryan, but ended up being placed in the hold himself. He appeared again the following week, replacing The Miz in a submission match against Bryan, but lost. On the September 20 episode of Raw The Miz announced that he had signed Riley to a 'personal services contract', allowing Riley to accompany The Miz to ringside and continue to appear on Raw. As The Miz's protégé, Riley interfered in his matches, including at the Bragging Rights pay-per-view, where Riley unsuccessfully attempted to help The Miz's team win. The Miz also used Riley as a replacement for himself in matches, which led to Riley facing and losing to John Cena on November 15 and Ezekiel Jackson in a King of the Ring qualifying match on November 22 as a result. The following week, Riley interfered in the Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match for the WWE Championship between Jerry Lawler and The Miz, who had won the championship the week prior. Riley stopped Lawler from winning twice, before Lawler put him through a table. He helped The Miz to retain the championship again at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs in a Tables match, during which he was put through a table by Randy Orton.
On the February 28 episode of Raw John Cena challenged Riley to a match where if Cena won, Riley would no longer be The Miz's apprentice. The Miz accepted the match on Riley's behalf, and later that night, Cena and Riley faced off in a Steel Cage match. Riley lost the match despite interference from The Miz. The angle was used to write Riley off television as he was scheduled to be sent back to Florida Championship Wrestling to be repackaged. Despite this, Riley appeared on the March 14 episode of Raw, interfering in The Miz's match against The Great Khali. The following week, Riley announced that The Miz had re-hired him, this time as The Miz's VP of Corporate Communications. He accompanied The Miz to his match at WrestleMania XXVII against Cena where he interfered several times, throwing Cena into an exposed turnbuckle, attacking him with his briefcase, and distracting the referee.
Singles competition (2011-2013)[]
As part of the 2011 supplemental draft on April 26, Riley was moved to the SmackDown brand, separating him from The Miz. He debuted on the April 29 episode of SmackDown, interrupting Randy Orton but having an RKO performed on him before he could speak. Despite being drafted, Riley continued to appear on Raw, alongside The Miz. On the May 2 episode of Raw, The Miz chastised Riley for not being present at Extreme Rules the previous night, when The Miz lost the WWE Championship to Cena. Riley appeared alongside The Miz at the Over the Limit pay-per-view, where he attempted to help The Miz win his "I Quit" match against Cena, but The Miz was unsuccessful and failed to regain the WWE Championship. The following night on Raw, The Miz fired Riley, blaming him for his lack of success in regaining the WWE Championship. After being slapped by The Miz, Riley attacked him before leaving. The following week, Michael Cole announced Riley had been rehired by the Anonymous Raw General Manager, and he returned to Raw, as in storyline he had not been eligible to be drafted as he was under contract to The Miz, not WWE. Following an argument, Riley attacked Cole, before chasing away The Miz who had tried to attack Riley from behind.
On the June 6 episode of Raw, Riley teamed with John Cena to face R-Truth and The Miz, with Steve Austin as the Special Guest Referee Riley and Cena won the match, but the decision was reversed by the Anonymous Raw General Manager, after Stone Cold had physically assaulted The Miz during the match. On the same show, it was confirmed that Riley would face The Miz at Capitol Punishment. At Capitol Punishment, Riley defeated The Miz. The following night on Raw, Riley would team with John Cena and Randy Orton to take on The Miz, R-Truth and Christian in a six-man tag team elimination match. Riley was the first person eliminated, but his team went on to win the match regardless. At Money in the Bank, Riley competed in a Money in the Bank ladder match, which was won by Alberto Del Rio. The following night on Raw, Riley was one of the eight men placed in the WWE Championship tournament, losing to The Miz in the first round and ending their feud.
On the August 1 episode of Raw, Riley began a feud with Dolph Ziggler, beginning with a verbal confrontation. Riley and Ziggler faced off the following week, with Riley winning by disqualification after Vickie Guerrero, Ziggler's manager, slapped him. On the August 15 of Raw, Riley lost to Jack Swagger, due to interference by Guerrero. Riley defeated Swagger in a rematch the following week, after Swagger was distracted by Guerrero and Ziggler arguing at ringside. At Night of Champions, Riley competed in a fatal four-way match for the WWE United States Championship, which also involved Ziggler, Swagger and John Morrison, in which Ziggler retained his title. Soon after the match, Riley suffered a hip injury and took a hiatus from television to recover. He returned on the October 6 episode of Superstars, defeating JTG. For the remainder of 2011, Riley would be largely relegated to Superstars and house shows, defeating the likes og Drew McIntyre and JTG.
In 2012, Riley would suffer a 14-match losing streak, losing to the likes of Brodus Clay, Tensai and Heath Slater. Riley also entered the 2012 Royal Rumble as the second entrant and was eliminated first by The Miz. Riley ended his losing streak on the May 2 episode of NXT when he teamed with Tyson Kidd to beat JTG and Johnny Curtis. After Riley had put off TV tapings, Riley returned on the July 3 episode of SmackDown in a World Heavyweight Championship Money in the Bank qualifying match against Dolph Ziggler in a losing effort. He extended his losing streak in a singles match on the July 5 episode of Superstars, losing to Antonio Cesaro and the following week on the Julky 12 episode to Jinder Mahal. Riley ended his losing streak on the August 6 episode of Raw by defeating Dolph Ziggler with a roll-up after a distraction by Chris Jericho on commentary. On September 21, Riley announced on his Twitter that he was undergoing elbow and knee surgery. Riley beat Jinder Mahal on the October 17 episode of NXT, but it was pre recorded 1 month before his announced surgeries. On January 10, 2013, Riley teamed with Derrick Bateman to take part in the NXT Tag Team Championship Tournament and were defeated by Kassius Ohno and Leo Kruger. On the January 21 episode of Raw, Riley returned to television in a show-closing brawl. On the April 17 episode of WWE Main Event Alex Riley returned to television yet again, competing in a 11-man battle royal to determine the number 1 contender for the WWE Intercontinental Championship, and survived until the final four when he was eliminated by Primo.
WWE Commentator, Pre-Shows and live events (2013-2015)[]
When the WWE Network was launched, Riley became known as "The Analyst" Alex Riley, adopting a persona similar to a sports commentator or agent. Riley was a regular member of the pre-shows for Raw and SmackDown. He also appeared on pre-shows for WWE pay-per-views as well.
In 2014, Riley made several untelevised appearances at WWE Live events in the ring, picking up wins over the likes of Heath Slater and Tyson Kidd.
Riley started a role on the commentary team WWE Main Event and also for WWE Superstars at the June 24th Raw taping. On the July 11th tapings for NXT, Riley became a commentator for the show until March 2015. Once Riley quit commentating, David Otunga replaced Riley on the pre-shows for Monday Night Raw.
Return to in-ring competition; NXT (2015-2016)[]
Throughout late 2014 and early 2015, Riley started a Twitter campaign with the hashtag #FreeRiley, apparently in an attempt to get management to notice him and book him as an in-ring competitor, given that his last televised match was in 2013. After a storyline which involved him being harassed on commentary by NXT Champion Kevin Owens, Riley returned to televised competition on the March 11 edition of NXT, defeating CJ Parker. After the match, Owens called Riley "the dumbest man in NXT" for returning to the ring and threatened to destroy his career. On May 6, 2016 Alex Riley was released from WWE.
Personal life[]
Kiley's father was a sportscaster for ESPN and his mother is a former Miss Virginia. He has a younger brother. Kiley attended Robinson Secondary School in Fairfax, VA, where he played both football and basketball. He then went to Boston College, where he majored in communications. He played for the Boston College Eagles, the football team, initially as a quarterback, before becoming a linebacker during the 2001 season.
Kiley was arrested in Tampa, Florida on November 17, 2010, at 1:14 a.m. on charges of driving under the influence, after refusing to be tested. He was released at 9:33 a.m. on a $500 bond. Kiley was also charged with driving with a suspended license. The charges were dropped in June 2011 after a judge ruled there had been no grounds for a traffic stop.
In wrestling[]
- Finishing moves
- Signature moves
- Belly to back side slam
- A-Bomb (Elbow Drop with theatrics)
- Game Changer (STO)
- Nicknames
- "The Rare Breed"
- "The Varsity Villain"
- "A-Ry"
- "The Analyst"
- Entrance themes
- "I Came To Play" by Downstait (2010–2011)
- "Turntables of Destruction" by Bryan New (2011)
- "Say It To My Face" by Downstait (2011–2016)
Championships and accomplishments[]
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- PWI ranked him #201 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2010
