Baron Corbin

Baron Corbin is an American professional wrestler and former football player signed with WWE. His real name is Thomas Pestock. In WWE, he is a former United States Champion, Mr. Money in the Bank, Andre the Giant Battle Royal winner, King of the Ring and a former RAW GM. He is also the superstar who retired Kurt Angle by defeating him at WrestleMania 35. Currently, Corbin is signed on NXT.

Early Life and Football Career

Baron Corbin's real name is Thomas Pestock. He was born on September 13, 1984 in Lenexa, Kansas, USA. Corbin had been quite interested in sports since a very young age. He was trained comprehensively in boxing. By the age of 23, he was a two-time Golden Gloves regional boxing champion. At the same time, Pestock was making waves in American Football. He attended NCAA Division II college Northwest Missouri State University. There, he was a part of the Football team where he played as an offensive guard. Following two years of college football, he went unsold in the 2009 NFL Draft. Nonetheless, he was signed by Indianapolis Colts in April 2009.

At the time, he was roommate with Pat McAfee. Just like Corbin, McAfee would too one day go on to associate himself with WWE. The two superstars even had a feud in 2022 leading to a match at SummerSlam. Corbin's time in Colts was full of back-and-forth decisions. He was released on August 13 before being re-signed six days later on August 19. He was finally let go on September 5. In December that year, he was signed by Arizona Cardinals and signed a future contract. He was released in September 2010, before being signed again to a future contract in January 2011. He was finally released again in September 2012, following which he dropped American Football.

Professional Wrestling Career

NXT (2012-2016)

Pestock signed a developmental deal with the company in 2012. They sent him to NXT for further training. After two years of training and being an enhancement talent, they repackaged him as Baron Corbin. After TakeOver, he won several matches in a few minutes. His first feud was with Rhyno, whom he defeated at TakeOver Unstoppable. He lost to Samoa Joe at TakeOver Brooklyn. Corbin and Rhyno teamed up to enter the Dusty Rhodes Classic, where they lost in the finals.

At TakeOver London, he defeated Apollo Crews. After Crews, he began his rivalry with Austin Aries. At TakeOver Dallas, he lost to Austin Aries. He made his final appearance on NXT before moving to the main roster.

Battle Royal, MITB and US Champion (2016-2018)

At WrestleMania 32, Baron Corbin won the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. On RAW, he began feuding with Dolph Ziggler. After exchanging victories at Payback and Extreme Rules, the rivalry ended at Money in the Bank when Corbin won. At the Draft, Corbin got drafted to SmackDown. Corbin feuded with Apollo Crews, Dolph Ziggler, and Kalisto for the rest of the year. He entered the Royal Rumble at number 13 and lost. At Elimination Chamber, he got eliminated by Dean Ambrose. At WrestleMania 33, he lost to Dean Ambrose.

At Money in the Bank, he won the money in the bank contract. However, he failed to cash in and lost. At SummerSlam, he lost to John Cena. At Hell in a Cell, he won the United States Championship from AJ Styles. At Clash of Champions, he lost the title to Dolph Ziggler. At Fastlane, he took part in the six-pack challenge for the WWE Championship but lost.

Constable Corbin and King Corbin (2018-2021)

During the Superstar Shake-Up, Corbin went to RAW. He was announced as a constable for RAW and feuded with the general manager, Kurt Angle. On RAW, he feuded with Finn Balor, Seth Rollins, and Braun Strowman as Constable Corbin. At TLC, Corbin lost to Strowman and lost his powers as a constable. At Elimination Chamber, he defeated Corbin with the help of Bobby Lashley and Drew McIntyre. The trio faced The Shield at Fastlane and lost. At WrestleMania 35, Corbin defeated Kurt Angle in his farewell match.

After Mania, he feuded with Seth Rollins for the Universal Championship and failed. He teamed with Lacey Evans to face Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch for both Universal and RAW Women's Championship and lost. Corbin qualified for the King of the Ring tournament in August. In September, Corbin defeated Chad Gable and won the tournament. He dubbed himself as King Corbin. On SmackDown, he was attacked by Becky Lynch and The Rock.

At the Draft, he was drafted to SmackDown and began his rivalry with Roman Reigns. The rivalry continued over fice months where he took help from The Revival, Dolph Ziggler, and Bobby Roode to defeat Roman Reigns. After losing to Elias at WrestleMania, Corbin feuded with the likes of The Mysterios and Riddle.

Happy Corbin (2021-2023)

After he feuded with The Mysterios, he feuded with Shinsuke Nakamura and Rick Boggs. They both exchanged victories and put the title of King on the line. Shinsuke Nakamura defeated King Corbin, and he lost the title of King. Corbin's character faced bad luck after his loss. He was losing all his matches and had no money. He stole Big E's money in the bank briefcase. At SummerSlam, he lost to Big E. After a few months of struggle, he won a jackpot at Las Vegas and became Happy Hogan. He teamed up with Madcap Moss and debuted a new show called Happy Talk. In 2022, Corbin and Madcap Moss began feuding with Drew McIntyre. At WrestleMania 38, Happy Corbin lost to Drew McIntyre. This was also the first time any superstar had kicked out from his End of the Days finishing move.

On SmackDown, he blamed Moss for the loss and attacked him. This lead to a match at WrestleMania Backlash, which Moss won. He would go on to lose against Moss again at Hell in a Cell and then at SmackDown to end the feud. During that time, Pat McAfee made fun of Corbin for losing to Moss. McAfee was Corbin's roommate during the latter's time with Indianapolis Colts in 2009. Corbin attacked McAfee after Money in the Bank, setting up a match at SummerSlam which McAfee won. In October 2022, he returned to being Baron Corbin and was now being managed by JBL. At Royal Rumble 2023, he was eliminated within seven seconds by Seth Rollins. He went on a losing spree until defeating Rick Boogs at a live event in April 2023.

Return to NXT (2023-Present)

During the WWE Draft, Baron Corbin was signed by WWE as a free agent and was free to show up on any brand. Later that month, he appeared on NXT and challenged Carmelo Hayes for the NXT Championship. At Gold Rush, he brought back his Lone Wolf gimmick for the first time since 2018. However, he failed to defeat Hayes for the title. At The Great American Bash, he faced Gable Steveson. There have been only two Olympic gold medalist to sign with WWE. Baron Corbin was the competitor in Kurt Angle's last match and was the opponent in Steveson's first match. However, the match ended in no contest as both wrestlers failed to make it in ring within referee's 10 count.

At NXT No Mercy, he defeated former NXT Champion Bron Breakker and then challenged then-NXT Champion Ilja Dragunov for a title match, which the latter accepted, setting up a contest at NXT Deadline.

Championships and Accomplishments

Baron Corbin Net Worth

As per various sources, WWE Superstar Baron Corbin is worth around at least $2 Million in 2023. His net worth can mainly be credited to the earnings he has made for his work inside the squared circle. The Lone Wolf reportedly draws an annual salary of around $285,000 from WWE. According to his Instagram handle, he is also the owner of Open Air Coffee.

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Baron Corbin Wife

Baron Corbin is married to Rochelle Roman since 2017. She works as a nurse. The two superstars tend to keep their personal lives private. Roman has however appeared alongside Corbin on Hall of Fame ceremonies and sometimes has came out to support him from ringside. As per FirstSportz, she was born on August 29, 1991. She was born in Puerto Rico to Carlos and Ivonne Roman. The couple is parent to two children.

Click here to learn more about Baron Corbin's partner Rochelle Roman