Early career and independent circuit (2017–present)
Garcia began competing for Limitless Wrestling in 2018.[4] He appeared for
WWE on an episode of 205 Live in July 2018, during which he lost against
Drew Gulak.[1] In January 2021, he competed against
Tyler Rust in
WWE on NXT, where he lost.[2] Garcia won the Limitless World Championship in March.[4] He lost the title to
Anthony Greene in September.[5]
All Elite Wrestling / Ring of Honor (2021–present)
Garcia made his debut in
All Elite Wrestling (AEW) in September 2020 during an episode of Dark.[6] He was announced as having signed with AEW in October 2021.[6]
On November 22, Garcia was announced as one of 12 competitors in the
AEW Continental Classic tournament, where he would compete in the Blue League.[22] Garcia began a losing streak in the tournament, failing to secure any points, causing him to be eliminated from the tournament before he had competed in all of his matches. The streak ended during his final league match, where Garcia defeated
Brody King, to eliminate King from the tournament and finish his tournament campaign with 3 points.[23]
The victory over King, began a win streak for Garcia heading into the new year, who began a short feud with
House of Black, alongside
FTR. Following a win over House of Black's
Buddy Matthews on the January 20, 2024 edition of Collision,[24] Garcia and FTR, teamed to defeat House of Black in a
Escape The Cage Elimination match.[25] Following this, Garcia began pursuing the
TNT Championship from
Christian Cage, where on the February 14 edition of Dynamite, he faced
Adam Copeland in a #1 contendership match, however this ended in a no-contest following interference from Cage's associates
Killswitch and
Nick Wayne.[26] On the February 21 episode of Dynamite, it was announced Garcia would receive a TNT championship match on March 3 at
Revolution.[27] At the event, Cage retained his title against Garcia.[28]
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (2021–present)
Garcia debuted for
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) at It's A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll) on November 21, 2021, by losing to
Jonathan Gresham via referee's decision.[29] The following month, Garcia participated in the
Battle of Los Angeles tournament at the
namesake event.[30] He defeated Kevin Blackwood in the first round,
Alex Shelley in the quarterfinals,
Black Taurus in the semifinals, and
Mike Bailey in the final round to win the tournament.[31] It earned him a title shot for the
PWG World Championship against
Bandido at Delivering The Goods.[32] Garcia defeated Bandido to win the title.[33] Garcia successfully defended the title against
Konosuke Takeshita at
Nineteen and Jonathan Gresham at DINK.[34][35] Garcia then participated in the
2023 Battle of Los Angeles, where he lost to Titus Alexander by disqualification in the opening round.[36] On the second night of the event, Garcia brought his Jericho Appreciation Society teammates Chris Jericho, Angelo Parker, Matt Menard, and Sammy Guevara for a ten-man tag team match, which JAS won.[37] Garcia then retained the World Championship against Battle of Los Angeles winner Mike Bailey in sudden death overtime in an
Iron Man match at
Twenty: Mystery Vortex by using underhanded tactics.[38]
Professional wrestling style and persona
Garcia, seen here in 2019, applying a
Sharpshooter hold, which he dubbed the Dragon Tamer in 2022.
Following his entry into the JAS, Garcia rejected the label "professional wrestler" and embraced calling himself a
sports entertainer,[43][44] a pejorative term used in AEW to denote a wrestling storytelling style that prioritizes showmanship.[45] On a Dynamite show held in
El Paso, Texas, Garcia began to dance in a
Latin-esque way to elicit reactions from the crowd; he has since incorporated this into his character, where he uses the dance as a taunt.[46]
Personal life
Garcia was trained in professional wrestling by Brandon Thurston and
The Blade.[47][48]
In January 2019, Garcia broke both of his legs in a car crash involving three other wrestlers. The vehicle he was riding in crashed after hitting
black ice.[49][50] Garcia returned to wrestling six months later. The following year, he graduated from
Buffalo State College with a communications degree.[3]
^Rose, Bryan (August 31, 2022).
"ROH Pure Championship match announced for next AEW Dynamite".
F4Wonline.com. Retrieved July 4, 2023. Garcia has been involved in a weeks-long storyline involving himself, Chris Jericho and Bryan Danielson, torn over whether he wants to be a sports entertainer in the Jericho Appreciation Society or a wrestler.
^Collins, Joseph (November 3, 2023).
"AEW Rampage live results: Penta El Zero Miedo vs. El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Komander". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved December 9, 2023. After the match, Garcia said that was his first singles match in six months in AEW, then called out MJF and demanded a title shot. Why not? There's only a dozen guys challenging MJF. Garcia still fancies himself a sports entertainer.
^McGuire, Colin (February 17, 2023).
"2/17 AEW Rampage results". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved July 4, 2023. Garcia worked a Dragon-Tamer (sharpshooter).
^Moynahan, Patrick (October 14, 2022).
"10/14 Aew Rampage TV Report". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved July 4, 2023. He said he'd never be a pro wrestler and while he still says Danielson is his hero, he said Jericho taught him how to win. He said he realized Sports Entertainers beat Pro Wrestlers every single time. Garcia said his name is Daniel Garcia, and he is a Sports Entertainer.
^Kleinchester, John (October 15, 2022).
"AEW Rampage Notes".
POST Wrestling. Retrieved July 4, 2023. Daniel Garcia said that he was a sports entertainer and would never be a pro wrestler.