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World Wrestling Entertainment has signed former Impact Wrestling X-Division Champion DJ Z to a WWE NXT deal, PWInsider.com has confirmed. WWE sources indicate the offer was made the last week of February.
DJZ, real name Michael Paris, 32 years old, first broke into the business in the Pittsburgh area as Shiima Xion in 2004 and began making appearances in Mexico in 2008. He made appearances for Ring of Honor (and in an interesting trivia note, was the person who created the first-ever logo for that company), included being the subject for a National Geographic Channel documentary about his pursuit of professional wrestling. He has certainly paid his dues and while the odds were against him at various times, you could have made a bundle if you would have wagered he would make it to WWE using a Betfair bonus code.
While he did not secure a full-time position with Ring of Honor, Paris debuted in 2008 for Impact Wrestling under the ring name Zema Ion. He became a regular for the promotion, capturing the X-Division Championship on two occasions and put together a string of strong performances. Injuries and the discovery a benign tumor on his bladder prevented Paris from consistently standing out, although the booking at time didn’t help him either.
Paris eventually was rechristened DJ Z, cast as part of the BroMans stable as Robbie E and Jesse Godderz’ personal DJ. That role was a blessing for Paris as it allowed him a chance to do more mic work and while also running interference outside the ring. He actually was used in that role so often, and in undercard and Xplosion TV matches, and was so good in that slot that it was easy to overlook how good he was in the ring.
After his Impact Wrestling deal expired, DJ Z went on a tear on the independent scene, having really good performances in Major League Wrestling, EVOLVE, Game Changer Wrestling and elsewhere.
PWInsider.com has not yet confirmed when Paris is slated to report to the WWE Performance Center and he will likely have a final run of independent appearances. Robert Strauss, the former Robbie E, was also recently signed to a NXT deal and has already reported to Florida.
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