Leon Ruff to make GCW debut at Evil Deeds

Former NXT star Leon Ruffin is set to make his GCW debut at the Friday, November 12 Evil Deeds event in Detroit. The show will air on FITE TV.

The appearance will mark Ruffin’s return to the indie scene following a whirlwind WWE NXT run. 

Ruffin first appeared in NXT as enhancement talent in 2019 and throughout early 2020. WWE announced that he had been signed to a contract and assigned to the Performance Center on October 7, 2020. 

Ruffin won the NXT North American Championship in November 2020 while wrestling under the name Leon Ruff. He scored an upset pin over Johnny Gargano to win the title on an episode of NXT television, though the win was treated like a fluke. He would subsequently defeat Gargano by DQ in a rematch, before dropping the title back to Gargano in December 2020 at NXT TakeOver: War Games. 

Ruffin was released from his WWE contract on August 6, 2021. 

Prior to WWE, Ruffin was a standout for EVOLVE, including holding that promotion’s Tag Team Championship with AR Fox.