Gzim Selmani
Quick Facts
Biography
Gzim Selmani (born 16 June 1994) is an Albanian professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist currently signed to WWE, where he performs in its developmental territory NXT under the ring name Rezar as part of the Authors of Pain with Akam.
Early life
Selmani is an ethnic Kosovo Albanian who grew up in the Netherlands. He began practicing judo from the age of four, took up kickboxing at age 12 and began training in mixed martial arts alongside his brother Egzon at the age of 15.
Mixed martial arts career
Selmani joined Golden Glory management team and began to compete in amateur mixed martial arts Shooto competitions in the Netherlands in 2012. His first professional fight was in November 2012 against Anatoli Ciumac, which he won. He faced Ante Delija at Final Fight Championship 05 and lost by TKO. Selmani defeated Mario Milosavljevic in November 2013 to record his second professional victory, and beat Tomaž Simonič at FFC 10 in Skopje, Macedonia. Selmani defeated Oli Thompson in 18 seconds in the main event of BAMMA 15 on 5 April 2014 in London. Selmani competed for Bellator MMA at Bellator 130 in October 2014, losing via TKO to Daniel Gallemore.
Mixed martial arts record
Professional record breakdown | ||
6 matches | 4 wins | 2 losses |
By knockout | 1 | 2 |
By submission | 3 | 0 |
By decision | 0 | 0 |
Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Loss | 4–2 | Daniel Gallemore | TKO (punches) | Bellator 130 | October 24, 2014 | 2 | 4:33 | Mulvane, Kansas, United States | |
Win | 4–1 | Oli Thompson | Technical submission (guillotine) | BAMMA 15 | April 5, 2014 | 1 | 0:18 | London, United Kingdom | |
Win | 3–1 | Tomaz Simonic | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | Final Fight Championship 10 | December 13, 2013 | 1 | 1:54 | Skopje, Macedonia | |
Win | 2–1 | Mario Milosavljevic | Submission (guillotine) | Bosnia Fight Championship 1 | November 9, 2013 | 1 | 0:35 | Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina | |
Loss | 1–1 | Ante Delija | TKO (punches) | Final Fight Championship 5 | May 24, 2013 | 1 | 3:09 | Osijek, Croatia | |
Win | 1–0 | Anatoli Ciumac | TKO (retirement) | Klash Champions Battlefield 4 - Road to Glory | November 24, 2012 | 2 | 5:00 | Brasov, Romania |
Professional wrestling career
WWE
NXT (2015–present)
In May 2015, it was reported that Selmani had signed a contract with WWE and would begin training to become a professional wrestler at the WWE Performance Center. In October 2015, WWE confirmed that Selmani was a WWE developmental recruit already training at the Performance Center. He made his in-ring debut at a WWE NXT house show in Venice, Florida on 30 January 2016, losing to Josh Woods. By February 2016, Selmani had formed a tag team with Sunny Dhinsa, and they became known as the Authors of Pain by April 2016.
Selmani and Dhinsa made their televised NXT debuts on 8 June 2016 at NXT TakeOver: The End; following the NXT Tag Team Championship match, they attacked former champions American Alpha (Chad Gable and Jason Jordan) before leaving backstage with Paul Ellering. On the 15 June episode of NXT, the Authors of Pain won their first televised match and were managed by Ellering. On the August 24 edition of NXT Selmani's ring name was revealed to be Rezar, while Dhinsa would be billed as Akam. The duo won the 2016 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, defeating TM-61 in the tournament final at NXT TakeOver: Toronto.
In wrestling
- With Akam
- Double-team finishing moves
- The Last Chapter (Russian legsweep (Akam) / Lariat (Rezar) (combination))
- Double-team finishing moves
- Managers
- Paul Ellering
- Entrance themes
- "Pain" by CFO$ (NXT; 15 June 2016–present)
Championship and accomplishments
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- PWI ranked him #372 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2016
- WWE NXT
- Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic (2016) – with Akam
- "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2016". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved September 1, 2016.