WWE Greatest Royal Rumble Wrestlers - Where Are They Now?
41. Tony Nese
Entry: #10
Time: 07:13
Then: Aforementioned abdominal wonder Tony Nese fared a lot better than his 205 Live peer Mike Kanellis during the GRR, because he got to eliminate somebody. Kanellis didn't. However, Tony might not have been shouting proudly about exactly who he got rid of during the match. That'd turn out to be lil' Horny himself. More on that in a bit.
In total, Nese got a little over 7 minutes to show his wares in Jeddah and maybe (just maybe) turn the right heads backstage at the Gorilla Position. That's all he could really pin his hopes on, because Tony was nothing more than a filler entry for the 50-strong match and everyone knew it.
His incredible physique was the only thing WWE's announcers were told to focus on. Wrestling skill? Pah! Who needs that when one could grate blocks of cheese on the man's stomach? Y'know, it's a bit of a shocker that Vince McMahon didn't try to give Nese that old pec dance Chris Masters used to do.
Now: Nese left WWE after striving to get a '205 Live OGs' group off the ground in NXT. That didn't go much of anywhere, so it was time to try his luck in pastures new. Given his penchant for collecting pro wrestlers like action figures, Tony Khan was interested - Nese signed with AEW in late-2021.
He's since transitioned into more of a behind the scenes role as a coach, but Tony has also been pushing his 'Premier Athletes' gimmick on episodes of ROH in 2025. It didn't take long for AEW to hype him up as a marquee signing then push him into the background.