Tyler Rust teams up with Malcolm Bivens on WWE NXT
Tyler Rust is one of the up and coming stars on WWE NXT. He was signed by WWE on December 2 this year and made his in-ring debut on the Black and Gold brand just two weeks later.
However, this is not his first stint with the promotion. Russell Gene Taylor, better known by his ring name Ryan Taylor, as well as Tyler Rust, started his professional wrestling career in 2004.
He spent a large chunk of 16 years in wrestling at Empire Wrestling Federation (EWF), where won the heavyweight championship two times.
He briefly worked with WWE back in 2008 and 2009. His debut with the promotion was against Big Show in an ‘I Quit Match’, which he lost.
Rust also appeared on several SmackDown advertisements and even made an ECW episode in 2009. Apart from that, Rust fough in several other promotions such as NWA and PWG.
He now fights in NXT, where he has had an eventful month so far. While making his on-screen appearance on the day of his signing, he got right into the thick of action a week later as he interrupted Tommaso Ciampa’s match against Cameron Grimes.
This led to Rust making his in-ring debut against Ciampa on 16th December, which he lost. In all three of the epsiodes, he was seen interacting with Malcolm Bivens.
A new partnership between Malcolm Bivens and Tyler is brewing on NXT
Malcolm Bivens interacted with Rust backstage on his first two appearances and was seen consoling Rust after his loss to Ciampa on the December 16th episode. This confirmed that the two have formed an alliance.
In the latest episode of NXT, Bivens featured backstage again as he said that Rust had one of the best NXT debuts and will prove his worth in the match against Ariya Daivari, which Rust went on to win.
This left many wrestling fans curious about Malcolm Bivens’ identity. Bivens, whose real name is Stokeley Hathaway, was signed by WWE in 2019 and has trained at the WWE Development Center.
Before his stint with WWE, Bivens has managed wrestlers in several promotions. Starting his wrestling/management career in 2014, he has been with promotions such ROH, EVOLVE, and Major League Wrestling.
He earlier went by the name ‘Court Moore’ on WWE but changed to ‘Malcolm Bivens’ in May 2020 at NXT house show. He has managed Babatunde, as well as the team of Rinku Singh and Saurav Gurjar so far on NXT.
His attention now seems to shift towards Tyler Rust, as he aims to take the 33-year-old under his management. Bivens and Rust might be given the step up in the coming months if they continue to impress on screen.
With Rust’s impressive arsenal of submissions and Bivens’ oratory skills and lively personality, the duo could become a prominent alliance in NXT.
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