From the very beginning of AEW, Excalibur has been one of the main voices of the promotion’s commentary team. However, he has also ventured into many other endeavors in professional wrestling. He was a co-founder of Pro Wrestling Guerilla. Furthermore, he was also an in-ring competitor at one point in his career. However, due to several different injuries, Excalibur had to step away and stop being an active competitor.
The beginnings of Excalibur’s professional wrestling career
In 2000, Excalibur made his professional wrestling debut in RevPro. Involved in numerous independent companies during his time as a competitor, he eventually became a co-founder of PWG in 2003. There, he is a former PWG Tag Team Champion along with Super Dragon.
In addition, he also began his career as a commentator there. He also made appearances in CZW. While competing in the ring, Excalibur went up against the likes of Claudio Castagnoli, Chris Hero, Bryan Danielson, Evil Uno, Scorpio Sky, and more.
Excalibur withdrew due to injuries
However, Excalibur had to retire from being an in-ring competitor due to a series of injuries he sustained throughout his career. While speaking with Chris Van Vliet, he explained that he had suffered multiple concussions, back injuries and meniscus injuries. He still feels the effects of many of these injuries to this day.
Also, because of all the injuries he sustained, he felt it was time to step away and not take a position of the rising stars in PWG at the time. While it wasn’t an easy decision, for Excalibur it was necessary. He officially retired from being an in-ring competitor in 2007. From there, he began to establish himself in the position for which he has become best known in professional wrestling.
After leaving the ring, Excalibur focused more on commentary, which he has done ever since. After starting out with PWG, he took his talents to other promotions, such as NJPW. In addition, he was also a commentator for All In. In what was essentially the starting point for what became AEW, Excalibur returned for AEW’s official debut show, Double Or Nothing 2019. Since then, he has been a fundamental part of AEW’s commentary. Currently, Excalibu is part of the Dynamite team along with Tony Schiavone and Taz. In addition, he is also part of the Rampage commentary team with Schiavone, Jim Ross, and Chris Jericho. He and Taz also do commentary for AEW Dark. Additionally, he also did some commentary for AEW Dark: Elevation.
While injuries have prevented Excalibur from fighting any longer, he’s made quite the impact in the commentary. As one of AEW’s key voices, he has contributed enormously to the product that fans watch on a weekly basis. He knows a lot about professional wrestling, with a lot of knowledge and insight that very few people know. From background information on a fighter, different moves, promotions, history, and more, he explains it all in great detail.
He also worked with a host of other members of the commentary team. In addition to the aforementioned people he does it with, Excalibur has also worked alongside Paul Wight, Eddie Kingston, Mark Henry, Matt Menard, Anthony Ogogo, and more. Also, he and William Regal had some of the most memorable exchanges when working together. Regal said of working with Excalibur on ITR Live (h/t Fightful): “If I can go out there and make Excalibur smile for 20 seconds, he has all these things that he has to say and say perfectly. I just want to get out, lighten the load. If I see him smile through it or the other two laugh or whatever, fine.”
Excalibur’s work on commentary has also been recognized, winning two Wrestling Observer Newsletter Best Television Announcer Awards. He received one in 2020 and another in 2021. Throughout his time with the promotion, he has called countless classic matches and spots on AEW. With a knowledge of the business that is broad and extensive, he remains involved in 2023 after having to retire completely in 2007. About his career in AEW, he said in an interview with My Mom’s Basement (h/t 411Mania), “AEW me has allowed the opportunity to have a career in professional wrestling. So instead of going to the office five days a week, I’m on the road.”