Eric Donavan

Eric Curran Donavan (born August 8th, 1984),is an Irish-born professional wrestler who most recently wrestled under the name Roric Draygon, nicknamed 'The Guardian'. During a recent show in the XWCWF he shed this old identity and now wrestles under his real name with the nickname 'Irish Dragon'. He is currently retired from the wrestling business. He has competed in the past for American Championship Wrestling (ACW.), where he had two reigns as ACW World Heavyweight Champion, and the United Wrestling Alliance (UWA) where he competed in the first Champion's Cup Tournament.

Before joining ACW, Eric trained under legendary Japanese wrestler Hiashi Shinsuma in amateur and professional wrestling as well as boxing and the martial arts. He made his first appearance in ACW on September 28th, 2008 and signed a contract the following week. He wrestled prominently for the company until his retirement following a neck injury on August 2nd, 2009.

(NOTE: The picture base for Eric Donavan belongs to SmackDown! superstar Drew McIntyre. The handler of Eric Donavan makes no claims to owning the picture.)

Early Life
Eric Donavan was born to Aidan Melchior Donavan and Niamh Alisa Donavan in Dublin, Ireland on August 8th, 1984. An only child, he spent his life in Dublin until the age of 13 when he moved to the United States to stay with a few business partners of his parents to help set up a future site for the family business. However, before his parents could make the trip to California to join him, they were killed in a car accident.

After this time, Eric lived with a few distant relations and attended high school and, for a brief time, college with past and current associates and rivals in ACW, including Aurelei and Monica Jamison and David Matthews. After an altercation with Matthews that resulted in the temporary dissolution of Eric's personal relationship with Aurelei, he spent some time recovering and then took on Hiashi Shinsuma as a trainer to eventually become a wrestler.

Personal Life
As denoted in his late parents' will, at the age of 18, Eric inherited his family's business, Combat Antiquities, Inc. This company specializes in the collection, display, education, restoration, sales and training in the use of and restoration of all manner of weapons and armor from countries all over the world as well as various time periods. Though the recognized head of the business, Eric chooses to let the board handle most details on the business's actions though he makes himself available whenever necessary or requested for matters of personal interest.

Eric is also a trained chef, taking on a job as a cook during his in-ring training. He is the sole owner of his family's estate and ancestral home outside Dublin and also owns a home in Asheville, North Carolina where he lives alone. Currently, the house is being maintained by a caretaker while Eric stays with current girlfriend Aurelei Jamison at her Santa Maria apartment.

Eric also owns a fully-restored 1968 Ford Mustang GT California Special which he did the work on himself, teaching himself as he went.

Professional Wrestling Career (ACW)
2008

Eric Donavan's first ACW appearance, in which he went unnamed, came during an assault by then-and-current ACW World Heavyweight Champion 'The Fanged Entity' Snake on ACW Owner Sarah D'Angelo. He and Snake briefly brawled in the ring with both men escaping the other's moves before Snake left the ring with then-manager Faith 'Syren' Ingranno as Eric remained in-ring checking on Sarah D'Angelo.

The week after, named as 'The Guardian' Roric Draygon, he was signed to a contract and offered a bonus by ACW Owner Sarah D'Angelo if he would "make Snake's life a living hell" to which he succinctly replied "I'll do that for free." A brief verbal confrontation between all three parties ensued where Sarah announced that Roric would be part of a three-way match the following week to decide Snake's next challenger for the World Heavyweight Championship. Later in the evening, Roric finished off his first ACW opponent, Greener, within three minutes with a Dragon Fang.

Shortly after his first appearance, a hooded-and-veiled Aurelei Jamison, eventually naming herself as Phoenix, began appearing with Roric. Her interference in the three-way match between Roric, 'Dark Warrior' Jeff Christianson and Snake led to Roric being disqualified. Working his way up the ACW rankings, Roric was involved in a match at ACW's first pay-per-view, Hallow-Havok, to decide the first-ever ACW United States Champion, which he won by defeating 'The Runaway Train' Cole Blaze. This match led to a long-standing friendship and partnership with Blaze which reached its peak at the December pay-per-view Final Countdown where Roric and Cole, as Reign of Fire, became the first-ever ACW World Tag Team Champions.

At Fall Fatale, Roric successfully defended the United States Championship, becoming the first champion in ACW to survive their first title defense, against Lucien Fell. Fell and Draygon have feuded extensively over both men's ACW tenure, with 'The Old Man of ACW' being one of only four people to defeat Roric cleanly.

Due to interference from Snake in the midst of a two-fall match in which not only was Roric's United States title on the line but also a spot in the match to determine the first ACW World Tag Team Champions, Roric lost his title to 'Argent Dawn' Robin Mayfair after Snake hit 'The Guardian' with the Injection and forced Robin to make the pin. Roric had already won the first fall to put Reign of Fire in the World Tag Team Championship match against Frenzy, Hyena and Mike Voland, at Final Countdown.

Also at Final Countdown, Roric faced Snake in their first-ever one-on-one contest with Snake's World Heavyweight Championship on the line. After pinning Roric, then-Commissioner Jack Marrow restarted the match and deemed that the only way Snake would be able to win was via submission. Attempting to cinch in the Constrictor, Snake nearly earned the win but Roric reversed the maneuver into an Asai DDT before hitting the Dragon Fang to earn his first ACW World Heavyweight Championship. Later that night, Snake was found beaten and bloody in the parking lot, and as the only other person on the scene, Roric was accused of being the perpetrator of the act.

2009

Roric was suspended for three weeks during Sarah D'Angelo's investigation into the matter of who took out Snake and as such he was unable to compete alongside Cole Blaze in Reign of Fire's World Tag Team Title defense against Frenzy at the January PPV, Declaration of War. As a result, Frenzy defeated Cole in a one-on-tag match to win the titles.

At his return from suspension, Roric debuted new gear and entrance music, confronting the combined Compass of Order faction (Jack Marrow, 'The Great American Nightmare' Gryphon, Mike Voland, Hyena and Faith Ingranno), the perpetrators of the attack on Snake, and cleared the ring. Jack Marrow, left in the ring alone with Roric, was driven to the mat with a Dragon Bomb by the World Heavyweight Champion which resulted in multiple injuries. He has not been seen since.

Shortly thereafter, ACW underwent an unexpected relaunch. Still the World Heavyweight Champion, Roric was stripped of the title for his attack on Jack Marrow by the ACW Board of Directors. He won the title back by facing the winner of a tournament to determine the new top contender to the title set up by the new General Manager, Snake. The winner of the tournament, Lucien Fell, took Roric to the limit but could not defeat 'The Guardian', leading to Roric becoming two-time World Heavyweight Champion. In a steel cage rematch against Fell, Roric retained his title. These results came despite attempted interference by Jeff Christianson, Hyena and Mike Voland both before and during said matches.

After Cole Blaze was put out indefinitely by Hyena and Mike Voland, Roric challenged Hyena to the first-ever Sanitarium match at ACW Raining Blood in April, defeating 'The Destroyer' after hanging him through the roof of the cage with a steel chain around his neck. At Trial by Honor in May, Roric lost the World Heavyweight Championship to Snake in a no-disqualifcation Ironman match after inadvertent distractions by Aurelei Phoenix (Jamison). Afterward, Aurelei shocked ACW fans by siding with her brother Snake and battering Roric before throwing him into a car and setting it on fire. The following month, at Mercury Rising, Roric became involved in another brawl with Snake and in the process had his neck broken by the sadistic World Heavyweight Champion, which would eventually lead to him formally retiring from the ring on the August 2nd episode of Shockwave.

Roric participated in the ACW for Charity event in Las Vegas over the week of October 25th along with the entire ACW Roster. Gambling events including poker, roulette and blackjack were played by roster members and others with the proceeds going to charities such as Animal Rescue and the Ribbons for a Cure Foundation. Most of the roster members also auctioned off authentic props used in the ring as well as posters, ring gear, title belts and other memorabilia.

Over a few weeks' time, starting at the end of the November 8th Shockwave, a dragon-bordered timer was shown at various points in the show with the quote 'everything burns'. The timer, set for 14 days, ran down to the final second near the end of the November 22nd Shockwave, heralding the return of Roric Draygon under his real name, Eric Donavan, to ACW. Charging the ring during the post-match melee between Hyena and World Heavyweight Champion Snake, Eric viciously attacked the champion and his long-standing enemy with assistance from Hyena, one of the top contenders to the World Heavyweight Title. Aurora Jansen-Matthews, once the love interest of Eric but now through strange circumstances married to Snake, took her husbands title belt and smashed Eric in the back and head in an attempt to stop his assault on her husband. This resulted in her taking a Dragon Fang from the returning Eric, prompting Snake to leave the ring with her. The forgotten title belt is picked up by Hyena, who hands it to Eric. The former two-time champion accepted it as the show came to a close.

This leads to another altercation between Eric, Snake and Aurora at Fall Fatale where ACW Owner Sarah D'Angelo names Eric as the special referee in the triple-threat main event for the World Heavyweight Title between champion Snake, Hyena and Mike Voland. Eric calls the match down the middle and upon Snake's successful pin to retain his title, hands him the gold and raises his arm. Moments later, he assaults the champion viciously until a bat-wielding Aurora strikes him in the ribs and skull, leading Snake to lock Donavan into the Constrictor while Aurora exhorts him to break his neck again. Razors Edge, reacting to a previous assault, makes the save and earns a favor from Eric at the following week's Shockwave.

After defeating Kyle Travis in his first match back in ACW at the aforementioned Shockwave, Eric joins Mike Voland, Hyena and Razors Edge in decimating the World Heavyweight Champion only to have Aurelei Jamison, Eric's former associate, come down at the end to lay out Aurora herself. Over the last few weeks, Aurelei seems to have something in mind for Eric, but the altercations between them have left many wondering exactly what those could be. Also, Hyena has made his feelings known on the long-standing, encompassing feud involving himself, Eric, Snake and several others, going so far as to demand that Donavan show him 'what it's all about' before slapping him in the face on the December 13th Shockwave, an act which leads to a vicious brawl that requires a dozen security guards to break up.

At the December 20th Shockwave broadcast, Eric and Aurelei team for the first time to defeat Aurora and Hyena after the Irish Dragon executes a Dragon Bomb on the Destroyer. The self-styled Avenger and Hyena met in a grudge match at ACW's December pay-per-view, Final Countdown, which Hyena won to snap his losing streak against Eric.

2010

The following week on Shockwave saw the Irish Dragon compete against Kyle Travis, Hyena and Mike Voland in an Elmination match for a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship. He eliminated Travis before being pinned by Voland. Challenged the next week by former friend Damon Cross, with both mens' trainer Hiashi Shinsuma as the special referee, Eric lost again...this time when Hiashi disqualified him for not breaking a hold after Cross reached the ropes. A strange turn of events saw Eric assault Damon only to be attacked by Hiashi and defended by, of all people, his hated enemy: Snake.

An assault on Damon and Hiashi on the next week's Shockwave leads to Shane Brooks attacking Eric from behind backstage which prompts Snake to step in as well, creating a main event for ACW's house show that night: Snake and Eric Donavan versus the Exemplar and Shane Brooks. Damon Cross is taken out early in the match by Donavan, his leg injury exacerbated. Following the match's finish, coming off a Dragon Fang/Injection combination by Eric and Snake (referred to by Donavan as 'Black Death'), the Avenger instructs Snake to bring a table into the ring, whereupon Eric executes a Day of the Dragon through said table on Brooks, putting him out indefinitely. This, along with further actions involving Eric, Snake, Aurora Matthews and Aurelei Jamison, sets the stage for the reunion and reformation of Snake's previous stable, Toxic Melody. Through the course of these matters, it appears that Aurelei has returned to the side of Eric as well, rekindling their relationship.

Due to a suspension of all four by ACW Owner Sarah D'Angelo, Eric does not compete at Declaration of War, making it the second time he has missed said pay-per-view. Over the next few weeks, Donavan and the rest of Toxic Melody have flouted said suspension, assaulting other wrestlers, making appearances backstage and doing their utmost to drive D'Angelo over the brink. Prior to the February 21st Shockwave, their suspension was lifted and Sarah, intending to punish the quartet, forces Eric to face Snake at Shattered Dreams and for Aurora to face Aurelei as well. However, Snake had a surprise waiting, introducing the final two members of the now-deadlier force: Devon Mayhem and Alexa Rose.

In defiance of Sarah D'Angelo, Snake and Eric both walked out of their match as soon as the bell rang at Shattered Dreams, as did Aurora Matthews and Aurelei Jamison, leading to a set of two-on-one handicap matches to be made for the following week's Shockwave (03/07/10). Eric was slated to face Nick Diamond and ACW Survivor Champion Logan Alexander, only to have the Survivor Champion back out of the match, refusing to be 'cannon fodder for Sarah's vendetta against Toxic Melody.' Eric went on to defeat Nick Diamond after which Logan challenged him to a Survivor Title match later in the evening, which Eric accepted. They took each other to the limit in that match only to have security run in to stop the match when it looked as though the title might change hands. Ruled a no-contest by the referee, Logan and Eric disposed of the security men and moments afterward Eric surprised Logan with a Dragon Fang before leaving the ring. Later in the evening, as he rounded a corner backstage, he was assaulted by unknown assailants, thrown into car windows and battered with a 2x4. It is unknown who perpetrated this assault, though many feel that it was all part of Sarah's plans for Toxic Melody that night.

Following this, Eric Donavan faced 'The Great American Nightmare' Gryphon at the February 14th Shockwave in the first-ever one-on-one match between the two. After a long, hard-fought match, Eric forced the former one-time ACW World Heavyweight Champion into unconsciousness with the Ryuujin Kuracchi. Later in that evening during a verbal confrontation with Logan Alexander and Jason Slade, the Irish Dragon informed the Survivor Champion that their war was not over. Later in the evening during an assault stemming from the Aurora Matthews/Michaelina Summers main event, Eric fought alongside Toxic Melody against Sarah D'Angelo's group and was stopped from attacking the ACW Owner by Logan who suplexed Eric onto the concrete floor. The following week saw Eric team up with Obsession (Aurelei Jamison and Alexa Rose) against John Gone, Yeh Ren and Kaylyn Vaude. The match quickly degenerated into a six-person brawl and was ruled a no-contest after Devon Mayhem and Hyena took their brawl into the ring. By the time order was restored by Sarah D'Angelo, Snake came out to the ring and weathered a harsh assault from Sarah's mercenaries only to reveal that their act had activated a clause in the main event contract for the Defiance pay-per-view, allowing Toxic Melody to pick the stipulation. Snake immediately made the match a Defiance Chamber match with Toxic Melody taking on Sarah's team (Logan Alexander, Michaelina Summers, Yeh Ren, John Gone, Kaylyn Vaude and ACW World Heavyweight Champion Hyena).

At Defiance, Eric had a brief confrontation with Logan Alexander shortly after arriving at the arena with Toxic Melody. In the Defiance Chamber, Eric was the last man to enter for his team, assaulting Hyena, John Gone and Yeh Ren until Logan Alexander, the last man to enter for Sarah's Army, came into the ring. Eric and Logan squared off for a few minutes, after which the match descended into chaos. In the midst of this, Eric blew a large fireball at John Gone's back, burning him. After hitting a Dragon Fang on Hyena, Eric stood guard as Devon Mayhem hit a second Mayhem Spike on Hyena and made the pin to win the match for Toxic Melody. After the show, Eric along with most of the participants in the Defiance Chamber go to a local medical facility with Eric being checked for a possible concussion as well as minor neck pain and tingling in his right arm.

At the 04/04/10 Shockwave in Madrid, Eric found himself placed in a match with Snake and John Gone with the stipulation that if Snake pinned John Gone, Aurelei Jamison would be put up as a prize in a Caged Treasures match involving Gone at Raining Blood. If Eric were to pin Gone, Aurora Matthews would instead be put up for grabs. After a hard-fought match, Eric and Snake put Gone away with the Black Death and pinned him simultaneously. Sarah, keeping one step ahead of both, put both Aurelei and Aurora up in the aforementioned Caged Treasures match. Eric also accepted the challenge of Logan Alexander for Raining Blood, calling for a best-of-three-falls match. The following week in London, Eric officiated the Survivor Title match between Logan and Jay Omega, while Logan will officiated the match between Donavan and Saint Eldor. After a short, hard-fought contest, Eric forced Eldor to tap out to the Ryuujin Kuracchi. Later on in the Survivor Title match, Donavan, as promised, called the match right down the middle as Logan defeated Jay Omega with the L.A. Overload. A brief altercation occurred between Eric and Jay Omega post-match with Eric threatening a Dragon Fang before leaving a defensive Omega alone in the ring.

In Dublin the following week, Eric and a mystery partner were slated to face Damon Cross and Logan Alexander in a tag team match. Eric's Sarah-chosen partner was revealed to be Murphy Nolan and despite this, he and Eric won the match when Eric pinned Damon following a Dragon Fang. After the match, however, Eric assaulted his partner before leaving the ring. At Raining Blood the folowing week, Eric and Logan finally faced off in a best-of-three-falls match for the Survivor Title. Logan took the first fall and Eric took the following two to win the match and the title. However, later in the night, John Gone took advantage of the rules of the Caged Treasures match to take Aurelei Jamison instead of Aurora Matthews as his prize. It remains to be seen how Eric will react to this as he faces down his first challener for the Survivor Championship, Mihalis Stratos, at the May 2nd Shockwave.

That reaction turned out to be a painful one for Stratos as Eric assaulted him before the bell, brutalizing the Greek superstar and injuring his back with a Day of the Dragon before pinning him in a match whose official time was four seconds. After that match, Eric cut through several challengers such as Dusty Spears with little effort. Frustration led to Donavan making an open challenge for Trial By Honor which was answered by Medos. On the week prior to the pay-per-view, Aurelei was able to leave the clutches of John Gone and return to Eric, though the question of what exactly the secret she revealed remains to be seen.

Professional Wrestling Career (UWA)
Roric was invited to compete in the first-ever Champion's Cup tournament. Not seeded, he was set to compete in the first match against Orlando Ortega, the number-eight seed. In a hotly-contested match, Roric defeated the former AWA star with the Dragon Fang to move ahead in the tournament.

In his second Champion's Cup match, Roric faced off in a classic against The Legendary Low. Despite taking the former 14-time World Champion to his limits, Low pulled off the victory and went on to the finals of the tournament. Since this match, Roric has not been seen in the UWA.

Professional Wrestling Career (XWCWF)
As an unnamed figure masked by the glare of headlights, Roric appeared at the October 6th Adrenaline show during an occurrence in where the then-XWCWF Tag Team Champions, the Prophecy (Jeff Christianson, X-Rated and Aaron Mason), interfered in a match involving The Exemplar (Hiashi Shinsuma and Damon Cross) and perpetrated vicious attacks on them. As the Prophecy tried to leave the arena, a car resembling Roric's '68 Mustang GT/CS roared into the parking lot. Standing in the middle of the headlights, he was naturally masked by the glare and blocked their path out of the arena while Hiashi and Damon approached from behind. He said "Now...it's even." and then the show went to black.

Apparently having escaped the wrath of Draygon and The Exemplar, the feud continued between the Prophecy and Hiashi/Damon. On the October 14th episode of Adrenaline, where X-Rated would face Hiashi in singles action, Aaron Mason is left in the locker room by X-Rated and is assaulted by the white-hooded Roric after X-Rated heads out for his match, once again stating that "Now, things are even!"

On the October 21st episode of Adrenaline, Jayson Price, looking to keep his job in the XWCWF, asks Zanatos Kell to give him another chance. Kell's response is to book him in a match against 'that guy who has been tormenting the Prophecy', i.e. Roric, and telling him that if he wins, he gets a new contract...but if he loses, he's out of the company. Price accepts.

At Adrenaline on October 28th, Roric and Price square off in a swift, brutal contest that sees Roric, in his first match since ACW's Trial by Honor card in May, batter Jayson. An ill-timed attempt at going to the top rope by Price is blocked by Draygon. This causes Jayson to inadvertently tumble outside the ring hard and injure his neck, causing what appears to be temporary paralysis. The extent of his injuries are unknown. Despite this appearance and match, it remains to be seen whether or not Roric will remain with the XWCWF as a wrestler, whether he will serve as a manager to The Exemplar, or whether he has other plans altogether.

The answer came at the November 4th Adrenaline show where Roric took on La Santa Muerte in his first announced match for the XWCWF...and apparently, his last match as 'The Guardian' Roric Draygon. After the match, Roric delivered a promo stating that he was no longer hiding behind the mask of Roric and that the man behind the mask was out and here to stay. He rechristened himself as 'Irish Dragon' Eric Donavan, now going by his real name.

In Wrestling
Finishing moves
 * Dragon Fang (Superkick, using either leg regardless of opponent position)
 * Dragon Bomb (Reverse full-nelson lift into a sit-out spinebuster)
 * Day of the Dragon (Top rope Rydeen bomb, usually through a table)
 * Ryuujin Kuracchi (Hammerlock Dragon sleeper with bodyscissors)

Signature moves
 * Dragon Roar (triple-rolling Dragon suplex)
 * Dragon Vengeance (Arm-or-leg-capture belly-to-belly overhead suplex)
 * Dragon Driver (full-nelson facebuster)
 * Dragon Descent (modified Final Rites)
 * Irish Crush (inverted atomic drop followed by a discus lariat)
 * Irish Barrage (multiple hooks and body blows followed by a running facewash)
 * Irish Hangover (belly-to-belly sit-out piledriver)

With Cole Blaze as Reign of Fire

Finishing moves
 * Path of the Dragon (Simultaneous Dragon Fang (Eric) / legsweep (Cole) combination)
 * Path of the Tiger (Simultaneous Collision (Cole) / leg drop (Eric) combination)

Signature moves
 * Crushing Pressure (Simultaneous clotheslines followed by simultaneous jumping twisting enzuigiris)
 * Dealbreaker (STO (Cole) / spinning heel kick (Eric) combination)
 * Spinal Shock (Over-the-shoulder gutbuster (Cole) / cutter (Eric) combination)
 * Meteor Shower (Eclipse (Cole) / flipping leg drop (Eric) combination)
 * Downgrade (Reverse STO (Eric) / running neck snap (Cole) combination)
 * Meteor Bomb (Springboard clothesline (Cole) / sit-out powerbomb (Eric) combination)
 * Shattered Wings (Simultaneous jumping arm breakers followed by simultaneous Fujiwara armbars)

With Snake as Toxic Melody

Finishing moves
 * Black Death (Dragon Fang (Eric) / Injection (Snake) combination)

Managers
 * Aurelei Jamison
 * Aurora Matthews

Nicknames
 * 'The Guardian'
 * 'Irish Dragon'
 * 'The (Burning) Avenger'
 * 'Dragon King'

Entrance themes
 * "Inside the Fire" by Disturbed (ACW)
 * "Thunder Kiss '65" by White Zombie (ACW, with Cole Blaze as Reign of Fire)
 * "Raining Blood" by Slayer (ACW, UWA)
 * "Phoenix" by The Butterfly Effect (ACW, UWA)
 * "I Will Fight Alone" by Firewind (ACW, XWCWF)
 * "Resurrection" by Rob Halford (ACW)

Championships and Accomplishments
American Championship Wrestling
 * ACW World Heavyweight Champion (2 times)
 * ACW United States Champion (1 time)
 * ACW World Tag Team Champion (1 time) - with Cole Blaze
 * ACW Survivor Champion (1 time, current)

United Wrestling Alliance
 * Champion's Cup quarter-finalist

Awards
 * 2008-'09 ACW Face of the Year
 * 2008-'09 ACW Feud of the Year (with Snake)
 * 2008-'09 ACW Match of the Year (with Snake, no-disqualification Ironman match at ACW Trial by Honor)