Bobby Roode

Bobby Roode
Roode making his ring entrance at House of Hardcore event in 2015
Born	(1977-01-01) January 1, 1977 Scarborough, Ontario, Canada
Residence	Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
Spouse(s)	Tracy Roode
Children	3
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Bobby Roode Bobby Rude Lee Awesome Mark Rude Robert Roode
Billed height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Billed weight	240 lb (110 kg)
Billed from	Toronto, Ontario, Canada Wall Street in Manhattan, New York
Trained by	Val Venis Shane Sewell
Debut	June 1998

Robert F. "Bobby" Roode (born January 1, 1977) is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is best known for his 12-year tenure working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) from 2004 to 2016.

In TNA he is a two-time TNA World Heavyweight Champion, one-time TNA King of the Mountain Champion and eight-time World Tag Team Champion, having won the TNA World Tag Team Championship six-times five with James Storm as part of Beer Money, Inc. and once with Austin Aries and the NWA World Tag Team Championship twice with Eric Young part of Team Canada. Alongside Storm, Roode holds the record as one-half of the longest reigning TNA World Tag Team Champions in the company's history. He also holds the record for the longest reigning TNA World Heavyweight Champion, at 256 days, in the company's history.

All together, Roode has won 11 championships during his career in TNA, and is considered a "TNA Original".

Professional wrestling career

Training and independent promotions (1998–2002)

Roode was trained in his hometown of Peterborough, Ontario by fellow Ontarians Sean Morley and Shane Sewell. He completed his training after a year and wrestled his debut match in June 1998 as "Total" Lee Awesome against Pete Rock. He then went on to work for various Canadian independent promotions, as well as making appearances for the Puerto Rican promotion, World Wrestling Council. He also went on to work a series of dark matches for World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment between 1998 and 2004 before he was signed by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.

Roode began working for Real Action Wrestling in 2001, where he formed a heel stable known as "The Kardinal Sinners" along with Kingman (Peter Smith) and Mike Hughes as well as part-time members Wildman Gary Williams and The Acadian Giant (Robert Maillet). He later rejoined them as a part of their Wrestling Reality show to be aired on The Fight Network, however, Roode would not be seen on these episodes due to contractual obligations with TNA.

While in TNA, Roode also wrestled for Blood Sweat and Ears in Ontario, Border City Wrestling in Windsor, Ontario and at NWA Shockwave in New Jersey. He is the former BCW Can-Am Heavyweight Champion. On March 18, 2006, he won the NWA Shockwave Internet Championship from Josh Daniels at an NWAS/New York Wrestling Connection cross-promotional event. Eight days later, on March 26, Roode won the vacant NWA Shockwave Heavyweight Championship at Disturbing the Peace 2006 in a four-way match. Roode held both titles until May 21, when he dropped the Internet Title and successfully defended the Heavyweight Title against Slyck Wagner Brown. Due the restarting of the company, all the NWA Cyberspace Champions were vacated including Roode's Heavyweight Title.

World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (2002–2004)

He competed in the World Wrestling Federation (later renamed World Wrestling Entertainment) numerous times in a dark match on March 18, 2002 where he teamed with Kingman to face Billy Kidman and Tommy Dreamer and on November 3, 2002 edition of Sunday Night Heat where he teamed with Mark Maraculi facing 3-Minute Warning (Jamal and Rosey). He appeared on the March 2, 2003 edition of Heat facing Al Snow in a losing effort. On the July 12, 2003 edition of Velocity, he faced Sean O'Haire in a losing effort. On July 13, 2003 edition of Heat, he teamed with Tyson Dux in a losing effort against La Résistance (Sylvain Grenier and René Duprée). On the August 23, 2003 edition of Velocity, he teamed with Eric Young to face The Full Blooded Italians (Chuck Palumbo and Johnny Stamboli) in a losing effort. On the October 11, 2003 edition of Velocity he faced Billy Kidman, meanwhile on the October 26, 2003 episode of Heat he teamed with Arch Kincaid to face The Hurricane and Rosey in a losing effort. On November 3, 2003 he was in a dark match before Raw, where he lost to Eric Young, and in another dark match on November 6 before SmackDown! where he lost to Orlando Jordan. He appeared at NXT Takeover: Dallas in the audience.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

Team Canada and feuding with Eric Young (2004–2007)

Main article: Team Canada

Roode during his time as a member of Team Canada.

In May 2004, Roode was brought into Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) by Scott D'Amore, the owner of Border City Wrestling, a Canadian independent promotion for which Roode had worked on occasion. Roode debuted in TNA as part of the Team Canada stable, and took part in the World X-Cup, which was won by Team USA. Team Canada went on to feud with 3Live Kru and America's Most Wanted. As the biggest and most powerful member of Team Canada at the time, Roode acted as the enforcer of the group, a role popularised by Arn Anderson. In early 2006, recognizing his comparisons to Anderson, he made the request that he be called "The Canadian Enforcer" from that point onward, and began coming to the ring in sequined robes reminiscent of the flashy style popularized by the Four Horsemen and Rick Rude in the late 1980s.

Roode began a feud with Dustin Rhodes in early 2005, losing to him at April's Lockdown pay-per-view in a best of three falls steel cage match, with the third fall a blindfold match. After that Roode feuded with Lance Hoyt, who he defeated at Slammiversary, and The Naturals throughout the summer of 2005. After defeating Jeff Hardy at Unbreakable in September, Roode and the remainder of Team Canada resumed their feud with 3Live Kru.

At Final Resolution, Roode began a singles career, while still being linked to Team Canada, by defeating Ron Killings. Five months later, on the June 29 episode of TNA Impact!, TNA Management Director Jim Cornette forced the breakup of Team Canada. However, on the July 6 episode of Impact!, Cornette gave Team Canada one more chance to stay together but only if they could win a match a week later against Jay Lethal, Rhino and Team 3D (Brother Ray and Brother Devon). On the July 13 episode of Impact!, Team Canada lost the match when Jay Lethal pinned A-1, disbanding Team Canada once and for all.

After the breakup of Team Canada, Roode began referring to himself as "TNA's hottest free agent". Vignettes began playing with various TNA managers such as Simon Diamond, Jim Mitchell, and Shane Douglas putting over the idea of Roode being an NWA World Heavyweight Championship contender and stating their interest in becoming his manager, but he eventually dismissed them. Having chosen not to work with a current TNA manager, segments began airing with Roode interviewing managers for the position; Bobby "The Brain" Heenan on September 7, Col. Robert Parker on September 14, and Sherri Martel on September 21. He revealed his chosen manager, Traci Brooks, at Bound for Glory, and promptly changed his name to "Robert Roode" while adopting a Wall Street stock trader gimmick, with Brooks now being referred to as "Ms. Brooks" and his "Chief Executive Offender" (CEO). His first feud after the name change was against Eric Young, of whom he became jealous when he realized fans still were not cheering him, but cheered Young's every move. After Young beat Brooks in a bikini contest he demanded that Brooks "sign" Young to "Robert Roode Inc.". Finally, at the 2007 Against All Odds event Brooks successfully seduced Young into signing a contract with "Robert Roode Inc.", and Roode began to control Young by ordering him around.

File:Robert Roode Lockdown.jpg

Roode at the Lockdown pay-per-view in 2007.

Young, however, began to fight back, due to the advice of a mystery "friend". At Lockdown, Roode faced Petey Williams, the man he believed to be Young's "friend", and won the match despite Young attempting to help Williams. The following week, Young proclaimed that Williams was not his "friend", and Roode, who controlled Young's contract, gave Young a week to tell him who his friend was or he'd be fired. The following week, Young revealed his "friend" to be Jeff Jarrett, which resulted in Roode facing Jarrett at Sacrifice. Roode went on to defeat Jarrett after hitting him with the Pay Off. Roode would eventually face Young in a match at Slammiversary 2007. Roode scored the pinfall after hitting Young with a steel chair, but, just as he was about to fire Young, Jim Cornette came out and ordered the match to be restarted. Young then pinned Roode with an inside cradle, in the process severing his ties with Roode.

Roode and Ms. Brooks then joined forces with Christian's Coalition to aid in their battles with Sting and Abyss, and on the July 26 episode of Impact!, Mike Tenay stated that Roode had officially joined the stable. Weeks after that, after Eric Young lost a match against Team 3D, Roode and Brooks "tarred and feathered" Young. On the August 7 episode of TNA Today Young issued a challenge for a "Humiliation match" at Hard Justice to Roode, in which the loser would be tarred and feathered. Roode won, but Ms. Brooks ended up tarred and feathered while Roode just watched from the stage, and, afterwards, as she questioned his loyalty, his apparent bullying of her became a key storyline and side angle.

Feud with Ms. Brooks (2007–2008)

Roode then entered a mini-feud with Kaz, who had just left Serotonin, after Kaz became sick of watching Roode mistreat Ms. Brooks. Roode defeated Kaz at No Surrender. Soon afterwards, other wrestlers followed in Kaz's footsteps until it was revealed in an interview that the relationship between Roode and Brooks was merely that of employer and employee, and that Brooks chose to put up with Roode's actions because she needed to raise money for her ill mother. Since then, the "superstars' protest" portion of the mistreatment angle quietly faded, though Roode's egotistical bullying antics would get worse.

Roode participated in the Fight for the Right Tournament. He was the last person eliminated in the gauntlet section of the tournament by Eric Young and lost his opening tournament match to Junior Fatu. Around this time, Roode not only started mistreating Brooks even further, he started to show signs of full-blown misogyny in segments involving or referring to other women, such as Karen Angle, Gail Kim or Sharmell. In the loss to Fatu, the dissension was reciprocated by Brooks, who laughed as Fatu gave Roode a stinkface. On the November 8, 2007 episode of TNA Impact, Brooks finally stood up to Roode by shoving him away from his attack on Chris Harris, and herself attacking "Roode's #1 Fan".

Roode formed a partnership with Christian Cage against TNA newcomer Booker T, claiming that "has beens" like Booker T show up and gain main event status at the expense of long time Talent like himself. Roode and Cage then aligned themselves with Kurt Angle, after an invitation to join the Angle Alliance on Impact!. This only lasted for one night, however, as the Angle Alliance would lose to the team of Samoa Joe, Kevin Nash, Kaz, Booker T and Eric Young, when Nash pinned Roode. Cage and Roode then had a face to face altercation in the ring which lead to Angle and Roode attacking Cage, thus kicking Cage out of the Angle Alliance and turning the Angle-Cage tension into a full-blown feud.

At Final Resolution 2008, Roode teamed up with Ms. Brooks in a mixed tag team match against Booker T and his wife Sharmell. After losing the match Roode finally completed his turn on Brooks and as Sharmell ran back into the ring to stop it, Roode turned around and hit her in the jaw, knocking her out. As Booker T ran to the ring to aid his wife, Roode escaped the ring, and looking back at the ring he realized what he had done. The following Impact!, Roode faced Brooks and fired her, but was stopped by Jim Cornette when he tried to lay hands on her. Subsequently, Roode's "number one fan" attacked Brooks when she was leaving the ring. Roode's fan would replace Brooks, with her name revealed as Ms. Payton Banks.

After Final Resolution, and with Payton Banks by his side, Roode continued his feud with Booker T at Against All Odds, where the two faced off in a singles match. Roode would run from the ring and escape the arena in a car, only to further infuriate Booker. Booker and Roode would face off again at Destination X in a Stand By Your Man Strap Match, where the loser's manager (Banks for Roode, Brooks for Booker) would receive ten leather lashes from the winner's manager. Roode won after using a handcuff-armed fist, but Sharmell returned and whipped everyone with a leather belt, including Jim Cornette. The following week on Impact!, Cornette punished her by putting her in a mixed tag team match with Booker against Roode and Banks at Lockdown, which Booker and Sharmell won. After the match, Roode verbally abused Banks for losing, much like he used to abuse Ms. Brooks, effectively ending their alliance.

Beer Money, Inc. and Fortune (2008–2011)

Main articles: Beer Money, Inc. and Fortune

Beer Money, Inc. in London September 2008.

On the June 12 episode of Impact!, Roode, along with James Storm, challenged The Latin American Xchange (LAX) (Homicide and Hernandez) for the TNA World Tag Team Championship. Storm and Roode won, after Storm performed a Last Call on Hernandez, with a belt wrapped around his boot. Hector Guerrero, LAX's manager, was at ringside, however, and got the match restarted by informing the referee about what had happened. LAX then retained, leading to Roode, Storm, and Jacqueline attacking LAX. The next week, LAX challenged Storm and Roode to a Fan's Revenge Lumberjack match at Victory Road. Roode and Storm then began calling themselves "Beer Money, Inc.", sometimes shortened to simply "Beer Money", with their name based on their individual gimmicks (Storm's beer-drinking cowboy gimmick representing "Beer" and Roode's Wall Street stock trader gimmick representing "Money"). At Victory Road, LAX won the match. At Hard Justice, however, Beer Money became the new TNA World Tag Team Champions, defeating LAX after hitting Homicide with a beer bottle. The feud continued through No Surrender with Beer Money, Inc. once again getting the win. At Bound for Glory IV, Beer Money successfully defended their titles in a four-team Monster's Ball match, after Roode pinned Hernandez of LAX.

Beer Money as TNA World Tag Team Champions.

After that Beer Money retained the tag team championship at Turning Point 2008 against The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin). Beer Money, Inc. later engaged in a feud with Matt Morgan and Abyss, retaining the titles against them at Final Resolution. Roode and Storm lost the titles to Lethal and Creed on the January 8 episode of Impact!. Roode and Storm would regain the titles in a 3-way match which also involved the team of Abyss and Matt Morgan three days later at Genesis. Beer Money, Inc. faced Creed and Jay Lethal at Against All Odds and retained the championship. At Lockdown 2009, Beer Money lost the TNA World Tag Team Championship to Team 3D in a Philadelphia Street Fight, where Team 3D's IWGP Tag Team Titles were also on the line. On May 21, Beer Money turned face by coming to the rescue of Team 3D, who were being attacked by The British Invasion (Doug Williams, Brutus Magnus and their bodyguard Rob Terry). They stated that from all of the times they have fought, Team 3D showed them that if you are going to fight, you should at least fight fairly. At Sacrifice Beer Money defeated The British Invasion to win the Team 3D Invitational Tag Team Tournament and earn the right to challenge Team 3D for the TNA World Tag Team Titles. At Slammiversary, Beer Money defeated Team 3D to win the TNA World Tag Team Titles for the third time. The following month at Victory Road, Beer Money lost the titles to Booker T and Scott Steiner of The Main Event Mafia.

The two teams would see their feud intervene with that of Team 3D and the British Invasion, causing a 4-way war that would last the next 3 months. Beer Money would go on to lose to the British Invasion in an IWGP Tag Team Championship match at Hard Justice, win a Lethal Lockdown match at No Surrender (teaming with Team 3D against MEM and the Invasion), and lose a 4-way Full Metal Mayhem match at Bound for Glory for both the TNA and IWGP Tag Team Championships, with Team 3D winning the IWGP belts and the British Invasion the TNA belts. Beer Money were permitted one last title shot the following Impact!, where they fought the British Invasion in a Six Sides of Steel match. Brutus Magnus would have his team disqualified by punching the referee, causing him and Doug Williams to retain the championships. On the November 12 episode of Impact! Beer Money defeated the British Invasion in a non-title match to join the Motor City Machine Guns in the Tag Team Title match at Turning Point. At the Pay-Per-View The British Invasion managed to retain their titles after Kevin Nash nailed Storm with the TNA Global Championship belt. At Genesis Roode and Storm scored an upset victory over The Band of Kevin Nash and Syxx-Pac.

Roode with Fortune in August 2010.

With Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff taking over TNA at the beginning of 2010, Beer Money's TV time was significantly reduced. Upon their return to Impact!, Beer Money turned heel on the March 8 episode of Impact! by first volunteering to face Jeff Jarrett in a handicap match and then defeating him after a low blow and the DWI, claiming it was the only way they were going to get noticed by the new management. Roode and Storm have since acted as Bischoff's henchmen, taking on wrestlers he's had problems with, often in two-on-one situations. At Destination X Beer Money challenged Matt Morgan and Hernandez for the TNA World Tag Team Championship, but were unable to dethrone the defending champions. At Lockdown Beer Money, along with Sting and Desmond Wolfe, represented Team Flair in the annual Lethal Lockdown match, where they were defeated by Team Hogan (Abyss, Jeff Jarrett, Rob Van Dam and Jeff Hardy). They then started a feud with the newly formed team of Jeff Hardy and Mr. Anderson, known collectively as The Enigmatic Assholes, who would go on to defeat them at Slammiversary VIII. On the following episode of Impact! Ric Flair, who had aligned himself with Roode, Storm, A.J. Styles, Desmond Wolfe and Kazarian, announced that he would reform the Four Horsemen under the new name Fourtune, stating that each of them would have to earn their spots in the group and that in order for Storm and Roode to earn their spots, they needed to become the Ole Anderson and Tully Blanchard of the group. After the TNA World Tag Team Championship was vacated in June, Beer Money entered a four-team, two-week-long tournament to decide who would get to face The Motor City Machine Guns for the titles at Victory Road. Beer Money advanced to the title match at the pay-per-view by defeating Team 3D and Ink Inc. (Jesse Neal and Shannon Moore). At Victory Road Beer Money was defeated by the Motor City Machine Guns in the match for the World Tag Team Championship. After Victory Road Beer Money entered a Best of Five Series with the Motor City Machine Guns, contested for the TNA World Tag Team Championship. Beer Money won the first two matches, a ladder match and a Street Fight, after knocking their opponents out with beer bottles. On the July 29 episode of Impact!, Ric Flair announced that Roode and Storm, who were just one victory away from becoming four-time TNA World Tag Team Champions, had earned the right to join himself, Styles and Kazarian to become the final two members of Fourtune. However, Shelley and Sabin came back to win the two following matches in the Best of Five Series, a steel cage match and an Ultimate X match, to even the score to 2–2 and set up a deciding match for the August 12 episode of Impact!. On the August 12 episode of Impact! Beer Money, Inc. was defeated in a Two Out of Three Falls match and as a result lost the Best of Five Series 2–3. Later that night Douglas Williams and Matt Morgan were added to Fourtune, as the stable attacked EV 2.0, a stable consisting of former Extreme Championship Wrestling performers. In the weeks leading to Bound for Glory, the stable's name was tweaked to Fortune to represent the expansion in the number of members in the group. At Bound for Glory Roode, Storm, Styles, Kazarian and Morgan were defeated in a Lethal Lockdown match by EV 2.0 members Tommy Dreamer, Raven, Rhino, Sabu and Stevie Richards. On the following episode of Impact! Fortune formed an alliance with Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff's new stable, Immortal. At Turning Point Fortune defeated EV 2.0 in a ten-man tag team match and, as a result, EV 2.0's Sabu was released from TNA. The following month at Final Resolution, Roode and Storm returned to the TNA World Tag Team Championship picture by defeating Ink Inc. in a number one contender's match. On January 9, 2011, at Genesis, Beer Money, Inc. defeated the Motor City Machine Guns to win the TNA World Tag Team Championship for the fourth time.

Beer Money, Inc. in July 2010.

On January 31 at the tapings of the February 3 episode of Impact!, Fortune turned face by attacking Immortal, when they interfered in a TNA World Heavyweight Championship match between Mr. Anderson and Jeff Hardy. Ric Flair, who did not take part in Fortune's turn due being out with a torn rotator cuff, returned at the February 14 tapings of the February 17 episode of Impact!, turning on Fortune and jumping to Immortal. On April 17 at Lockdown, Roode, Storm, Kazarian and Christopher Daniels, who replaced an injured A.J. Styles, defeated Immortal representatives Ric Flair, Abyss, Bully Ray and Matt Hardy in a Lethal Lockdown match, when Roode forced Flair to submit with a Fujiwara armbar. The finish was used to write Flair off television for a month. In early May, Roode began once again using the first name Bobby. On May 15 at Sacrifice, Beer Money, Inc. successfully defended the TNA World Tag Team Championship against Immortal representatives Matt Hardy and Chris Harris, Storm's old tag team partner who had made his surprise return to TNA on the previous episode of Impact!. On the following episode of Impact Wrestling, Roode was a victim of a five-on-one beatdown at the hands of Immortal as a retribution for what he did to Flair at Lockdown. Two weeks later, Eric Bischoff attempted to strip Beer Money, Inc. of their TNA World Tag Team Championship due to Roode's injury, but was interrupted by the champions' former rival Alex Shelley (whose partner, Chris Sabin, had also become injured), who agreed to take Roode's spot in the title defense against the British Invasion at Slammiversary IX. At the pay-per-view, Storm and Shelley were successful in their title defense. Roode made his in-ring return on the June 23 episode of Impact Wrestling, in a tag team match, where he and Storm were defeated by Crimson and Matt Morgan. On July 13, Beer Money, Inc. became the longest reigning TNA World Tag Team Champions in the title's history, breaking the previous record of 184 days set by A.J. Styles and Tomko in 2007. On August 7 at Hardcore Justice, Beer Money, Inc. successfully defended the TNA World Tag Team Championship against Mexican America (Anarquia and Hernandez). Two days later, at the tapings of the August 18 episode of Impact Wrestling, Mexican America defeated Beer Money, Inc. in a rematch, following interference from Jeff Jarrett, to win the TNA World Tag Team Championship, ending Roode's and Storm's record-setting reign at 212 days.

TNA World Heavyweight Champion (2011–2013)

From June to September, Roode was one of the twelve participants in the Bound for Glory Series to determine the number one contender to the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. When the group stage of the tournament concluded, Roode finished in the top four and thus advanced to the finals at No Surrender along with James Storm, Bully Ray and Gunner. On September 11 at No Surrender, Roode defeated Gunner via submission, moving him up to 52 points, tying the score of Bully Ray, who had defeated Storm earlier in the event, and setting up a tiebreaker match between Roode and Ray. In the tiebreaker match, Roode defeated Ray via pinfall to win the Bound for Glory Series and earn a match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship at Bound for Glory. In the weeks leading to Bound for Glory, TNA World Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle, in an attempt to cause dissension within Fortune, forced Roode to face each of his stablemates in a series of singles matches, promising them title matches, should they be able to defeat him. In the first match on the September 15 episode of Impact Wrestling, Roode defeated Kazarian via submission. After Daniels refused to take part in his match, Roode finished the series by defeating Styles and Storm on the September 29 and October 6 episodes of Impact Wrestling. On October 16 at Bound for Glory, Roode failed in his attempt to win the World Heavyweight Championship when he was pinned by Angle, after the referee failed to notice his arm under the ropes or Angle using the ropes for leverage.

Roode as the TNA World Heavyweight Champion.

On the following episode of Impact Wrestling, after it was revealed that Roode was not eligible for a rematch with Angle, new authority figure Sting gave the next title shot to James Storm, who then went on to defeat Angle to become the new World Heavyweight Champion. On the following episode of Impact Wrestling, Roode defeated Samoa Joe to become the number one contender to Storm's title. On the November 3 episode of Impact Wrestling, Roode defeated Storm to win the World Heavyweight Championship, after hitting him with his own beer bottle, dissolving Beer Money, Inc. turning heel in the process. Roode and Storm had a rematch for the title the following week. As a result of a backstage attack, Storm came into the match bleeding and eventually lost, after passing out due to blood loss. After the match, Roode was challenged by his former Fortune stablemate, A.J. Styles. On November 13 at Turning Point, Roode successfully defended the World Heavyweight Championship against Styles, pinning him while holding his tights. On December 11 at Final Resolution, Roode retained the World Heavyweight Championship, after wrestling Styles to a 3–3 draw in a 30 minute Iron Man match. Roode and Styles wrestled a sudden death overtime period on the following episode of Impact Wrestling, where Roode managed to retain his title. On January 8, 2012, at Genesis, Roode again retained the title, after getting himself disqualified in his title match against Jeff Hardy. On the following episode of Impact Wrestling, a rematch between Roode and Hardy ended in a no contest, following interference from Bully Ray. The following episode of Impact Wrestling, both Roode and Ray would interfere in a number one contender's match between Hardy and Storm, which ended the match in a no contest. On February 12 at Against All Odds, Roode defeated Bully Ray, James Storm and Jeff Hardy in a four-way match to retain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. The following episode of Impact Wrestling, Roode retained the title against Hardy in a No Disqualification match, following interference from Kurt Angle. Roode then began feuding with TNA's General Manager Sting, which eventually led to Sting returning to the ring on March 18 at Victory Road, where Roode defeated him in a non-title No Holds Barred match. On April 15 at Lockdown, Roode defeated James Storm in a steel cage match, after being superkicked out of the cage for the win, to retain the World Heavyweight Championship. On May 13 at Sacrifice, Roode defeated Rob Van Dam in a ladder match to retain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. On the May 24 episode of Impact Wrestling, Roode successfully defended the title against A.J. Styles to ensure that the following day he would become the longest reigning TNA World Heavyweight Champion in history, breaking Styles' previous record of 211 days. Following the match, Roode was attacked by the returning Sting. The following week, Roode was defeated by Sting in a non-title lumberjack match in the first live episode of Impact Wrestling. On June 10 at Slammiversary, Roode successfully defended the World Heavyweight Championship in a rematch against Sting, after hitting him with James Storm's beer bottle. After the match, Roode was again attacked by Sting. On the following episode of Impact Wrestling, Roode made another successful title defense by defeating Mr. Anderson. On July 8 at Destination X, Roode lost the TNA World Heavyweight Championship to Austin Aries, ending his reign at 256 days.

In an attempt to prove that Aries' victory had been a fluke, Roode faced the new World Heavyweight Champion in a non-title match on the July 19 episode of Impact Wrestling. However, the match ended in a no contest, when both competitors were attacked by a group of masked assailants, known only as the "Aces & Eights". On August 12 at Hardcore Justice, Roode unsuccessfully challenged Aries for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, with a pre-match stipulation preventing him from getting another rematch for the title as long as Aries was champion. After not being seen for several weeks, Roode returned on September 9 at No Surrender, costing James Storm his Bound for Glory Series semifinal match against Bully Ray. On the September 20 episode of Impact Wrestling, Storm challenged Roode to a match as part of the Open Fight Night. The match ended in a no contest, when referee Brian Hebner was unable control the two brawling rivals. The rivalry between Roode and Storm culminated on October 14 at Bound for Glory in a Street Fight, with King Mo serving as the special guest enforcer, which was won by Storm. On November 11 at Turning Point, Roode was again defeated by Storm in a three-way number one contenders match for the World Heavyweight Championship, also involving A.J. Styles, however, Roode himself was not pinned; had he been, he would not get another title opportunity until Bound for Glory 2013. However, on the following episode of Impact Wrestling, Roode defeated Storm in a rematch to win his number one contendership for the World Heavyweight Championship. On the December 6 episode of Impact Wrestling, Roode was revealed as the man who paid off the Aces & Eights to attack World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Hardy at the end of the show. Three days later at Final Resolution, Roode failed in his title challenge against Hardy, after which, both men were attacked by the Aces & Eights. On the following episode of Impact Wrestling, Aces & Eights member Devon revealed Roode was outbidded by Austin Aries to prevent him from winning the title. The following week, Roode attacked Aries in the main event of the evening, costing him his shot at the World Heavyweight Championship. Roode and Aries faced off in a number one contenders match on the next episode of Impact Wrestling. The match ended in a no contest after the two attacked referee Earl Hebner and then were, in turn attacked by Hardy. The rivalry culminated in a three-way elimination match on January 13, 2013, at Genesis, where Roode failed again to capture the World Heavyweight Championship from Hardy.

Championship pursuits and reigns (2013–2015)

Roode and Austin Aries as TNA World Tag Team Champions.

On January 25, at the tapings of the January 31 episode of Impact Wrestling in Manchester, England, Roode and Aries defeated Chavo Guerrero Jr. and Hernandez to win the TNA World Tag Team Championship, for the fifth time in his career. Roode and Aries made their first successful title defense on March 10 at Lockdown, defeating Bad Influence (Christopher Daniels and Kazarian) and Chavo Guerrero, Jr. and Hernandez in a three-way match. On the March 21 episode of Impact Wrestling, Roode and Aries defeated Guerrero and Hernandez to retain the TNA World Tag Team Championship, following interference from Daniels and Kazarian. Afterwards, the champions would be attacked by Daniels and Kazarian. On the April 11 episode of Impact Wrestling, Roode and Aries lost the TNA World Tag Team Championship back to Guerrero and Hernandez in a Two-out-of-Three Falls match, ending their reign at 76 days. Roode and Aries received their rematch on the April 25 episode of Impact Wrestling, but were again defeated by Guerrero and Hernandez after an inadvertent interference from Christopher Daniels and Kazarian. Roode and Aries faced Daniels and Kazarian in number one contenders match on the May 9 episode of Impact Wrestling, however, the match ended in a no contest after special guest referee James Storm superkicked Aries and Daniels and walked out on the match. Roode and Aries received another shot at Guerrero and Hernandez's titles on June 2 at Slammiversary XI, in an fatal four-way elimination match, which also included Bad Influence and was won by Gunner and James Storm.

As a result of previously winning the Bound for Glory Series, Roode and Jeff Hardy were entered into the 2013 Bound for Glory Series on the June 13 episode of Impact Wrestling. Roode would begin the BFG series with a string of losses against Jeff Hardy, Magnus, and his former tag team partner Austin Aries. On the August 1 episode of Impact Wrestling, Roode claimed he would go back to his old ways in order to regain the World Heavyweight Championship. Roode then defeated Hernandez via pinfall, after hitting him in the head with a beer bottle, to earn seven points in the tournament. The following week, Roode allied himself with Christopher Daniels and Kazarian to form a new force and so that one of them would win the Bound for Glory series. On August 15 at Impact Wrestling: Hardcore Justice, Roode defeated Magnus, Mr. Anderson, and Samoa Joe in a Tables match, following interference from Daniels and Kazarian, to capture twenty points in the BFG Series. The following week, the trio labelled themselves EGO and Roode and Kazarian went on to defeat TNA World Tag Team Champions Gunner and James Storm in a non-title match. EGO would also try to recruit Roode's former tag team partner Austin Aries but Aries answered their offer by attacking Daniels and costing him his BFG series match. Roode's participation in the Bound for Glory series ended on the September 5 episode of Impact Wrestling, when he was eliminated from a twenty-point battle royal by A.J. Styles.

EGO went on to feud with Magnus by attacking him and costing him several matches. On the October 3 episode of Impact Wrestling, Magnus ran a gauntlet match against EGO and eliminated both Daniels and Kazarian before Roode won the match by making Magnus submit to an ankle lock. As a result of defeating Magnus, EGO held a mock Hall of Fame induction for Roode the following week, in mockery to Kurt Angle's induction, leading to Angle returning, attacking all three members of EGO, and issuing a challenge to Roode at Bound for Glory, which Roode accepted. On October 20 at Bound for Glory, Roode defeated Kurt Angle after Angle injured himself while hitting his finisher. The two had a rematch on the October 31 episode of Impact Wrestling, where Roode won via referee stoppage after Angle suffered convulsions and post-concussive symptoms. After his two victories, Roode continued the feud by insulting Angle and brawling with him. Simultaneously, Roode entered a tournament for the vacant World Heavyweight Championship and defeated James Storm in a Florida Death Match in the first round to advance. Two weeks later, after losing in the semi-finals to Jeff Hardy in a Tables match, Roode attacked Angle during his match with Magnus, costing him and also eliminating him from the tournament. On December 19 at Final Resolution, Roode defeated Angle again in a 2-out-of-3 falls match. The rivalry culminated in a steel cage match on January 23, 2014, at Genesis, where Angle emerged victorious.

With his rivalry with Angle behind him, Roode began having problems with TNA President Dixie Carter due to being upset about not receiving a World title opportunity after aiding her on many occasions. On the February 20 episode of Impact Wrestling, Roode announced he was considering leaving TNA, citing changes in opinions on Angle and Carter, but was then persuaded to agree to captain Team Dixie against Team MVP at Lockdown in return for 10% ownership if Team Dixie was successful. On March 2, Roode was part of a group of TNA wrestlers that took part in Wrestle-1's Kaisen: Outbreak event in Tokyo, Japan. During the event, Roode was defeated by Masakatsu Funaki in a singles match. On March 9 at Lockdown, Team Dixie (Roode, The BroMans (Jessie Godderz and Robbie E), and Austin Aries) were defeated by Team MVP (MVP, The Wolves (Eddie Edwards and Davey Richards) and Willow) in the Lethal Lockdown match after special referee Bully Ray powerbombed Roode through a table, allowing MVP to pin him and gain control of TNA. This started a rivalry between Roode and Ray, with the two attacking each other on several occasions.

At the May 9 edition of Impact Wrestling, Bobby Roode showed signs of a possible face turn when he showed mutual respect for TNA World Champion Eric Young, and the two shook hands on one more championship match for that same night. The match, however, did not happen because TNA Director of Operations MVP declined to make the match. At the end of the episode, MVP ended up attacking Young and declared himself the number-one contender for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship at Slammiversary. At the May 15 edition of Impact Wrestling, it was announced Roode was suspended indefinitely for his confrontation with MVP. A campaign began on impactwrestling.com to lift Roode's suspension. On the June 19 edition of Impact Wrestling, Roode returned and attacked Kenny King and saving his long-time best friend Eric Young from further injury after losing the TNA World Heavyweight Championship to Lashley, and turning face in the process for the first time since 2011. On September 18, 2014, in the main event of the Impact Wrestling episode taped to air on October 28, Roode defeated Lashley to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship for the second time. On November 15, 2014, Roode successfully defended the TNA World Heavyweight Championship against Tommy Dreamer at House of Hardcore VII. On January 7, 2015 on Impact Wrestling Roode lost the TNA World Heavyweight Championship to Lashley, after interference from MVP, Kenny King, and two masked men who seconds later revealed themselves as Samoa Joe and Low Ki. Roode's best friend Eric Young came out with a steel chair to scare them away but ultimately hit Roode with the chair, costing him the match. On the January 16, 2015, episode of Impact Wrestling, Roode was defeated by Young in a no disqualification match.

In May, Roode reformed Dirty Heels with Austin Aries in pursuit of the vacant TNA World Tag Team Championship. They both agreed to a best of five series with The Wolves. On June 3, 2015 in the third match of the series, with The Wolves up 2-0, Aries pressured Roode to hit Eddie Edwards with a steel chair. As Roode refused, Aries distracted the referee and Roode hit Edwards with a low blow and hit him with a steel chair to win the match, thanks to the influence of Aries, turning heel in the process. They lost the Best of 5 series to The Wolves for the tag titles in the fifth match.

On the August 5 episode of Impact Wrestling, Aries was forced to face Rockstar Spud, with Aries' TNA career and Spud's "Rockstar" moniker on the line. Aries ultimately lost the match, resulting in him leaving TNA. On the August 12 episode of Impact Wrestling, Roode attacked Rockstar Spud for ending Aries' career in TNA when Spud defeated Aries the previous week. On the September 2 episode of Impact Wrestling, Roode showed signs of a face turn after he defeated GFW representative PJ Black to win the TNA King of the Mountain Championship. On October 4, at Bound for Glory, Roode successfully defended his King of the Mountain Championship against Lashley. After the match, Roode and Lashley shook hands, thus turning Roode face once again. During October and November (taped in July), he participated in the TNA World Title Series. Roode ended first of his block, tied with Eric Young, advancing to the finals where he was defeated in the round of 16 by Matt Hardy.

Beer Money reunion and departure (2016)

On January 5, 2016 on TNA's debut on Pop, James Storm returned to TNA to help Bobby Roode fight off Eric Young and Bram. After Storm told Roode he wanted to "get back to having fun". Storm handed Roode a beer officially reuniting Beer Money, Inc. On the January 12, 2016, edition of Impact Wrestling. Roode lost the King of the Mountain Championship to Eric Young.

On February 9, 2016, Beer Money attempted to cash in their title shot against current champions the Wolves, however in their attempt to cash in, The Decay (Abyss, Crazzy Steve, Rosemary) stopped them and mysteriously asked them to join their path of Decay. They eventually challenged the group to a match, but it ended in disqualification when Abyss pulled the referee out of the ring and began choking him. After the match Crazzy Steve lowblowed Roode. On March 19, 2016, Decay defeated Beer Money for the TNA World Tag Team Championship.

On March 19, 2016 TNA announced that Roode would be leaving the company after 12 years.

House of Hardcore (2014–2015)

Bobby Roode made his debut for House of Hardcore on November 15, 2014 as a surprise opponent for Tommy Dreamer in a successful defense of the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. on March 7, 2015 at House of Hardcore VIII, Dirty Heels faced The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson) in the main event but lost the match. On July 18, 2015 at House of Hardcore IX, Roode defeated Pepper Parks. on November 13, 2015 at House of Hardcore 11, Roode faced Austin Aries in a losing effort. at House of Hardcore 11, Dirty Heels (Roode and Austin Aries) faced The Wolves for the TNA World Tag Team Championship but failed to win the titles.

Global Force Wrestling (2015)

On July 1, 2015, it was announced that Roode is headed to Global Force Wrestling to compete for the GFW Global Championship Tournamement. Roode made it to the finals losing to Nick Aldis.

Personal life

Roode and his wife Tracy have three sons Robert III, Riley, and Nicholas. He is a childhood friend of professional lacrosse player, Tracey Kelusky. Roode attended Kenner Collegiate Vocational Institute in Peterborough, Ontario.

In wrestling

Roode applying a crossface on Austin Aries.

Roode performing a spinebuster on Mark Haskins.

• Finishing moves
  • As Bobby Roode
    • Arm trap crossface – 2011–present
    • Northern Lariat (Lariat to the back of an opponent's head) – 2004–2006
    • Pay Off (Bridging Fisherman suplex) – 2011–2013, 2015–present
    • Roode Bomb (Fireman's carry neckbreaker slam) – 2013–present
  • As Robert Roode
    • Fujiwara armbar – 2011
    • Pay Off (Rolling cutter – 2006 or a Bridging Fisherman suplex)
• Signature moves
  • Diving knee drop
  • Multiple neckbreaker variations
    • Diving
    • Rolling neck snap
    • Roode Awakening (Hangman's) – adopted from Rick Rude
  • Spear
  • Spinning spinebuster / Double R Spinebuster
  • Superplex
• With James Storm
  • Double team finishing moves
    • DWI – Drinking While Investing (Powerbomb (Storm) and neckbreaker (Roode) combination)
  • Double team signature moves
    • Assisted swinging side slam
    • Catapult by Roode into a DDT by Storm
    • Clothesline (Roode) and double knee backbreaker (Storm) combination
    • Double suplex, with theatrics
    • Scoop slam by Roode followed by elbow drops from both Roode and Storm
    • Samoan drop (Storm) and diving neckbreaker (Roode) combination
    • Spinning spinebuster (Roode) and double knee backbreaker (Storm) combination
    • Wheelbarrow facebuster (Roode) and double knee facebreaker (Storm) combination
• With Austin Aries
  • Double team finishing moves
    • Double R Spinebuster (Spinning spinebuster) by Roode followed by a 450° splash by Aries
• Managers
  • Scott D'Amore
  • Eric Young
  • Ms. Brooks
  • Ms. Payton Banks
  • Jacqueline
  • Ric Flair
• Nicknames
  • "Total"
  • "The Canadian Enforcer"
  • "The Natural"
  • "The It Factor (of Professional Wrestling)"
  • "The Leader of the Selfish Generation"
• Entrance themes
  • "Oh, Canada" by Dale Oliver (TNA; used as a member of Team Canada)
  • "No More Fears" by Dale Oliver (TNA; 2006 – 2008)
  • "No More Fears" ("Sorry About Your Damn Luck" Intro) by Dale Oliver (TNA; 2008 - 2009; used as a member of Beer Money, Inc.)
  • "Take a Fall" by Serg Salinas and Dale Oliver (TNA; 2009 - 2011 January 6, 2016 - March 19, 2016; used as a member of Beer Money, Inc.)
  • "Fortune 4" by Dale Oliver (TNA; 2010 – 2011; used as a member of Fortune)
  • "Off the Chain" by Serg Salinas and Dale Oliver (TNA; 2011 – 2012, June 19, 2014 – March 19, 2016)
  • "Off the Chain" (Instrumental) by Dale Oliver (TNA; 2012 – 2014)
  • "Raging of the Region" + "Off the Chain" by Dale Oliver and Serg Salinas (TNA; used as a member of Dirty Heels)

Championships and accomplishments

Roode is a two-time and longest reigning TNA World Heavyweight Champion in history, with a reign of 256 days.

Roode is a 8-time (six TNA and two NWA) World Tag Team Champion in TNA.

• All–Canadian Pro Wrestling
  • ACPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• Atlantic Coast Wrestling
  • ACW International Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• Border City Wrestling
  • BCW Can-Am Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  • BCW Can-Am Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Petey Williams
• Maritime Wrestling
  • Maritime Cup (2003)
• NWA Shockwave
  • NWA Cyberspace Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  • NWA Shockwave Internet Championship (1 time)
• Prime Time Wrestling
  • PTW Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • Tag Team of the Year (2008, 2011) with James Storm
  • PWI ranked him #2 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2012
• Real Action Wrestling
  • RAW Heavyweight Championship (4 times)
• Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
  • NWA World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Eric Young
  • TNA King of the Mountain Championship (1 time)
  • TNA World Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
  • TNA World Tag Team Championship (6 times) – with James Storm (5) and Austin Aries (1)
  • Bound for Glory Series (2011)
  • Team 3D Invitational Tag Team Tournament (2009) – with James Storm
  • TNA Tag Team Championship Series (2010) – with James Storm
  • TNA Tournament of Champions (2013)
• Twin Wrestling Entertainment
  • TWE Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• Universal Wrestling Alliance
  • UWA Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
• Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
  • Worst Worked Match of the Year (2006) TNA Reverse Battle Royal on TNA Impact!

External links

• Bobby Roode on Twitter
• TNA profile
• Bobby Roode at the Internet Movie Database