Former Ring Of Honor, New Japan Performer Makes NXT Debut At Live Event

It wasn't exactly your ordinary Thursday night NXT house show in Largo, FL. In addition to WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Sasha Banks and Bayley making a guest appearance, another familiar face would wrestle his first match for the development brand.

, working the opening match of the show against Raul Mendoza. The high flyer wrestled under his real name, Albert Hardie, and would take the loss, losing to a cradle after an attempted aerial move landed on Mendoza's knees.

ACH signed with WWE on February 11, and began working at the company's Performance Center in Orlando shortly thereafter. His last match on the independent scene came against AR Fox at AAW's The Final Stand in Chicago on January 26.

Previously, ACH spent the better part of four years wrestling for Ring of Honor, where he competed for the company's World and Television titles in 2014, and even wrestled IWGP Junior Heavyweight champion Kushida for the belt at an ROH event in 2016.

ACH also took part in New Japan's Best of the Super Juniors tournaments in 2017 and 2018, as well as three Super Junior Tag Team tournaments between 2016-18.