Joe Ruud

Man mountain (he’s 6ft 7in tall!), Joseph “Joe” Ruud, aka Erick Rowan, aka Erick Redbeard, is a professional wrestler who currently performs on the independent circuit. He is best known for his time wrestling with WWE, as Erick Rowan, then later simply as Rowan, between 2011 and 2020.

Ruud comes from Norwegian descendants, and was born and raised in Minnesota. He later attended the University of Minneapolis where he played American football. He began his professional wrestling career in 2003, debuting under the Nordic name of Thoruf Marius, competing at various events across the Midwest until 2007. He then went to live, train, and wrestle in Japan at the Pro Wrestling Noah’s Dojo. He returned to the United States in 2008 and began competing for the Minnesota-based F1rst Wrestling promotion. In 2011 he signed a contract with WWE, and was sent to their developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling, where he performed under the name Erick Rowan. He made his FCW TV debut in 2011, and debuted on their rebranded name NXT in 2012 as a member of The Wyatt Family. He went on to become a one-time NXT Tag Team Champion, and a two-time SmackDown Tag Team Champion. After leaving WWE in 2020, he started wrestling under the ring name of Erick Redbeard. At the same time he also turned his attention to acting (as Joseph Ruud), and made his TV debut in 2021’s apocalyptic drama series, Black Rain.

Ruud regularly connects with his legions of dedicated fans and followers through Instagram, posting pictures and videos of his life in and out of the ring. He is also available for that personalised shout-out via the Cameo platform.