Barri Griffiths (born 13 January 1982) is a Welsh stunt performer, actor, and former professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with WWE, where he performed under the ring nameMason Ryan from 2009 to 2014. He joined Cirque du Soleil in 2016.
Griffiths played as a centre back for Porthmadog FC, but a knee injury curtailed his career. He appeared as GoliathonGladiators in 2009. He began training to be a professional wrestler in 2006, and competed around Europe for the next three years. In 2009, he signed a contract with WWE, debuting in Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) and becoming a one-time FCW Florida Heavyweight Champion. He made his main roster debut in 2011 and joined The New Nexus. In 2013, he started working on WWE's NXT brand until his release the following year.
Prior to appearing on Gladiators, Griffiths had wrestled under the names "Celtic Warrior" and "Smackdown Warrior" since 2007, and had competed in almost 100 matches in countries including Egypt and Venezuela.[3] He represented the UK in a 'Battle of the Nations' tag team match between the UK and Austria, teaming with Drew McDonald and Sheamus O'Shaunessy in a losing effort to Chris Raaber, Michael Kovac, and Robert Ray Kreuzer at the European Wrestling Association's Night of Gladiators show in June 2007.[13] After signing with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), Griffiths had his final show in Wales in October 2008 in Porthmadog, when he won a singles match and battle royal.[14]
World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE (2009-2014)[edit]
Over the next few months, Ryan successfully defended the championship against wrestlers including Bo Rotundo, Richie Steamboat, and Eli Cottonwood.[17] At the tapings of FCW television on 2 September, Ryan successfully defended the championship against Johnny Curtis when FCW commentator Byron Saxton interfered and aided him.[17] The following week, Saxton became aligned with Ryan, accompanying him to the ring and acting as his manager.[17]
In November 2010, Ryan toured Europe with the SmackDownbrand, defeating Chavo GuerreroinBelfast on 4 November and again in Liverpool on 6 November.[18][19] On 3 February 2011, Ryan lost the Florida Heavyweight Championship to Bo Rotundo, ending a six-and-a-half month reign.[20]
Griffiths, as Mason Ryan, made his WWE television debut on 17 January 2011 episode of Raw by interfering in a match between CM Punk and John Cena. Following his interference, Punk presented him with a 'Nexus' armband, inducting him into the group.[15][21] Ryan then participated in the 2011Royal Rumble match.[22] On 7 February 2011, he had his debut match on Raw, losing to R-Truth via disqualification.[23] In late February, it was announced that Punk would face Randy OrtonatWrestleMania XXVII, with each member of The Nexus facing Orton to win the right to accompany Punk to the ring in the weeks leading up to WrestleMania.[24] Ryan was the final member to face Orton, but lost on 14 March episode of Raw. Following the match, Orton punted Ryan in the head.[25] He was absent from television for nearly a month, making his return on 11 April on Raw with the other New Nexus members, attacking Orton and preventing him from earning a WWE Championship match.[26] On 2 May, Ryan lost to Kane by disqualification following interference from Punk, and went on to attack both Kane and Big Show.[27] At the Over the Limit pay-per-view on 22 May, Ryan and Punk challenged Big Show and Kane for the WWE Tag Team Championship, but were unsuccessful.[28] The following month, Ryan suffered an injury and was absent from television to recuperate.[29]
He appeared only sporadically on television throughout 2012, and he then rejoined the rebranded developmental system NXT.[37] He returned to the ring in November for house shows and debuted on the rebooted WWE NXT show and began his singles winning streak on 30 January 2013, by defeating Sakamoto.[38]
Ryan then entered into a feud against Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady; although he easily defeated them in singles matches,[39] he lost to them in a handicap match.[40] Mason was then rarely used on WWE television until he had his final televised match on 24 April 2014 episode of NXT, in a losing effort to number one contender for the NXT Championship. On 30 April 2014, it was reported that Ryan had been released by WWE.[41]
After his release from WWE, Griffiths began wrestling on the independent circuit, still using his WWE name. His first appearance was for the American Pro Wrestling Alliance promotion, where he became the new APWA Tri State Champion on 31 May.[42] Mason made his debut for the WrestleSport promotion on 16 August where he defeated Adam Pearce to become the first WrestleSport Heavyweight Champion.[43] On 5 September, at Full Impact Pro's Fallout, Ryan along with Michael Tarver and Shaun Ricker participated in a trios tournament, but were defeated by the Full Impact Puerto Ricans (Lince Dorado, Jay Cruz, and Jay Rios).[44] On 5 June 2015, Ryan was defeated by then-Full Impact Pro Heavyweight Champion, Rich Swann.[45] This was his final appearance for the promotion.
On 11 October 2014, Ryan won the UPWA Heavyweight Championship in Shallotte, North Carolina.[46] On 16 February 2015, Ryan took part in a dark match before the TNA One Night Only's Gut check event defeating Shaun Ricker.[47] His last wrestling appearance to date, was in the United Kingdom for Pro Wrestling Pride on 1 November 2015, he was on the losing team in an 8-man tag team match.[48]
On 20 February 2015, Griffiths, working under the ring name Mason Williams, made his debut for the Japanese Inoki Genome Federation (IGF) promotion, losing to Shogun Okamoto.[49]
Griffiths appeared in the second series of the revived Gladiators television show in 2009, and competed under the name "Goliath".[6] When he was working on a television show in Wales about being a wrestler, he was told that producers were looking for new gladiators, and he applied with the encouragement of his trainer, Orig Williams.[3][10] He began filming the first show approximately a month later and had to grow a beard especially for the role.[3][8]
Griffiths has appeared on The Paul O'Grady Show.[52]Barri Griffiths: Y Reslar, a Welsh language documentary about Griffiths' life in the months before he moved to the United States, aired in September 2010 on S4C.[53]
In December 2011, Griffiths appeared on the TV documentary Orig, where he was interviewed by Tara Bethan, the daughter of his first trainer Orig Williams.[54]
Griffiths speaks Welsh fluently.[3][58] He is an avid weightlifter[59] and once set a world record for holding 20 kg (approx. 44 lbs) of weight with his arms straight for just over one minute.[60] He often trains with professional bodybuilder and powerlifter Stan Efferding.
^"EWA Results". European Wrestling Association. Archived from the original on 11 June 2009. Retrieved 9 November 2010.
^Kreikenbohm, Philip (27 October 2009). "OWP Event 27.10.2009". CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on 6 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.