Dante Martin (born March 3, 2001) is an American
professional wrestler. He is currently signed to
All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He also appears for AEW's sister promotion
Ring of Honor (ROH). He performs alongside his older brother
Darius Martin as part of the tag team Top Flight.[2]
Dante Martin, along with his brother Darius, received his training from The Academy: School Of Professional Wrestling in
Minnesota by
Ken Anderson and they made their professional wrestling debut in 2016 as the
tag team "Top Flight".
All Elite Wrestling / Ring of Honor (2020–present)
On the October 27, 2020, episode of
AEW Dark, Top Flight made their All Elite Wrestling (AEW) debut where they lost to
Evil Uno and Stu Grayson of
the Dark Order. On the November 18 episode of
AEW Dynamite, Top Flight fought
The Young Bucks in a losing effort. On November 23, it was announced that they had signed with the company.[3][4][5] In February 2021, Darius was sidelined with a torn ACL thus taking him out of action and leaving Dante on his own as a singles competitor.[6]
Over the following months, Martin would receive a significant
push, wrestling against the likes of
Kenny Omega,
Malakai Black,
Matt Sydal, and
Powerhouse Hobbs. In October 2021, Martin formed an alliance with
Lio Rush who was attempting to recruit him as his tag team partner. On the November 11, 2021, episode of AEW Dynamite, Martin teamed with Rush against Matt Sydal and
Lee Moriarty where they were victorious.[7][8][9][10][11] On the November 24 episode of AEW Dynamite, Martin accepted
Taz's offer to join
Team Taz much to Rush's dismay. However, on the December 8 episode of Dynamite, Martin would eliminate Team Taz member
Ricky Starks from the Dynamite Diamond Dozen Battle Royal, thus winning the battle royal and removing him from the group. It was revealed that Dante joining Team Taz was a scheme created by Lio Rush and Dante Martin. The following week, Martin fought
MJF for the Dynamite Diamond Ring where he lost after a distraction by Starks.[12][13][14] The partnership between Rush and Martin would abruptly end after Rush departed AEW. On the January 12 episode of Dynamite, Dante Martin defeated Powerhouse Hobbs. On the February 18, 2022, episode of AEW Rampage, Martin fought Hobbs in a Face of the Revolution Qualifying match where he was defeated.[15]
Three weeks later on the March 2, 2022, episode of Dynamite, Dante reunited with his brother Darius in the tag team
Casino Battle Royal, where Darius would last until the end, until being eliminated by Matt Jackson of
The Young Bucks.[16] On the March 9 episode of Dynamite, Martin challenged
Hangman Page for the
AEW World Championship in a losing effort. After the match, Martin was endorsed by Page as a future champion in AEW as both men embraced and shook hands.[17] The tag-team’s return to action was short-lived, as soon after it was revealed that Darius had gotten into a serious car accident, which was expected to leave him out injured for up to nine months, forcing Dante to return to singles competition.[18]
On November 16, 2022, Dante reunited with a returning Darius to team with
AR Fox, to challenge
Death Triangle, for the
AEW World Trios Championship, in a losing effort.[23] On the November 13 edition of Rampage, Top Flight unsuccessfully challenged
FTR, for the
ROH World Tag Team Championship.[24] On December 10, at
Final Battle, Top Flight made their debuts for AEW's sister company
Ring of Honor, defeating
The Kingdom on the pre-show.[25] On the December 23 edition of Rampage, Top Flight once again teamed with AR Fox, where they won the $300,000 Three Kings Christmas Casino Trios Battle Royal, where the brothers lastly eliminated
ROH World Champion,
Claudio Castagnoli.[26] Due to this, Top Flight entered a short feud with the
Blackpool Combat Club, in which Castagnoli was a member, losing to members of the group over the following weeks. Top Flight achieved their first win over the BCC on the January 16 edition of AEW Dark, defeating Castagnoli and
Wheeler Yuta, in a three-way tag-team match also involving
The Butcher and the Blade, after Dante pinned
The Blade. On the January 18 edition of Dynamite, Top Flight defeated The Young Bucks, in an upset victory.[27] In April 2023 at
Supercard of Honor, Martin suffered a severe leg injury.[28]