Cody Deaner's Career
Cody Deaner debuted in 2000. He trained under "Dangerboy" Derek Wylde and then later with TNA/Impact/NXT/WWE star "Showtime" Eric Young.
In 2000, Cody debuted as "Completely" Cody Steele. Cody Steele wrestled all across Canada and the United States making a name for himself as a flamboyant, cocky, and arrogant performer. In 2004, he secured his first tryout with the WWE and wrestled his first match for the WWE in Buffalo, NY vs. Muhammed Hassan.
In 2000, Cody debuted as "Completely" Cody Steele. Cody Steele wrestled all across Canada and the United States making a name for himself as a flamboyant, cocky, and arrogant performer. In 2004, he secured his first tryout with the WWE and wrestled his first match for the WWE in Buffalo, NY vs. Muhammed Hassan.
Again in 2004, Cody Steele wrestled for the WWE on numerous occasions and wrestled Kurt Angle in his "Kurt Angle Invitational" tournament on Thanksgiving edition of WWE Smackdown in 2004.
By 2005, after wrestling in numerous tryouts for the WWE, Cody decided to portray a character closer to his true self, and changed his image and name to Cody Deaner. The WWE became interested in the character and Cody Deaner wrestled in more tryouts and conducted backstage promos for the WWE creative team.
By 2005, after wrestling in numerous tryouts for the WWE, Cody decided to portray a character closer to his true self, and changed his image and name to Cody Deaner. The WWE became interested in the character and Cody Deaner wrestled in more tryouts and conducted backstage promos for the WWE creative team.
Cody Deaner was a 180 degree change in character from the flamboyant "Completely" Cody Steele. Having grown up in a small, rural, country town that had three different trailer parks, Cody used his true upbringing as inspiration for the Cody Deaner character.
Now, portraying a character closer to his true identity, Cody Deaner began to make a name for himself on the North American independent wrestling scene.
This drastic change caught the attention of management at TNA Impact Wrestling and eventually secured him a full-time contract with the company in 2009. Cody Deaner debuted as the on-screen boyfriend of ODB. He went on to wrestle weekly on TNA's weekly Impact wrestling show on Spike TV.
Cody Deaner spent the majority of his time with TNA Impact Wrestling either as the partner of ODB, or later, her arch-nemesis.
At one point, Cody and ODB actually feuded for the vacated TNA Knockouts title after Cody pinned Velvet Sky for the championship at the Hardcore Justice PPV.
This led to a heated feud between the two, which culminated in a 1-on-1 contest between the former lovebirds that surprised many critics by being one of the more memorable matches on the card.
At one point, Cody and ODB actually feuded for the vacated TNA Knockouts title after Cody pinned Velvet Sky for the championship at the Hardcore Justice PPV.
This led to a heated feud between the two, which culminated in a 1-on-1 contest between the former lovebirds that surprised many critics by being one of the more memorable matches on the card.
In 2010, Cody Deaner returned to his roots on the independent wrestling scene and wrestled for numerous wrestling promotions across North America in the thriving and successful independent wrestling scene. He has developed a loyal following of fans that have come to be known as the "Deaner Dynasty."
He won numerous championship once returning to the independent scene including the heavyweight titles for Border City Wrestling, Crossfire Wrestling, Rock Solid Wrestling, Magnificent Championship Wrestling, Classic Championship Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Eclipse and more.
He won numerous championship once returning to the independent scene including the heavyweight titles for Border City Wrestling, Crossfire Wrestling, Rock Solid Wrestling, Magnificent Championship Wrestling, Classic Championship Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Eclipse and more.
In 2016, released this video to try to get a shot with Jeff Jarrett's Global Force Wrestling. After overwhelming support from the #DeanerDynasty, Jeff Jarrett responded in just 6 days and offered Cody a spot with Global Force Wrestling on their opening show of 2016 in New York. Cody Deaner was successful in his GFW debut and impressed GFW management. Cody earned a permanent spot on the Global Force Wrestling roster.
In April 2019, a decade after being released from his full-time Impact Wrestling contract, Cody resigned with Impact Wrestling. Cody & Jake Deaner joined the Impact Wrestling tag-team division full time as "The Deaners."
In 2020, Cody again completely reinvented and transformed himself. He joined one of his original wrestling trainers, Eric Young, to create the most dominant faction in recent history in IMPACT Wrestling... VBD - Violent by Design. Now going by simply - DEANER - Deaner, along with VBD members Eric Young & Joe Doering, dominated the IMPACT Wrestling tag division.
Using the "Freebird Rule," alongside his VBD members, Deaner went on to become a 2x Impact Wrestling tag team champion.
Using the "Freebird Rule," alongside his VBD members, Deaner went on to become a 2x Impact Wrestling tag team champion.
In 2022, Deaner yet again evolved, and transformed himself after ridding IMPACT Wrestling of "the sickness" in a dramatic vignette that saw the end of Eric Young in IMPACT Wrestling.
In 2022-23, Deaner was the leader of "The Design," a dominating faction that includes Kon & Angels. Their official group page can be found on the IMPACT Wrestling website HERE.
In 2024, "The Design" fell apart. It was back to the drawing board yet again for Deaner. In early 2024, Cody Deaner delivered a heartfelt promo to the TNA Wrestling fans stating that he had lost his way and needed to get back the love & passion he had for wrestling when he first decided to be a pro wrestling fan. And, he could only do that with the fans' help. He told the TNA fans that from this point forward... they were in control of his career and they would be making all of his choices for him going forward.
Cody Deaner can now be seen on the flagship TNA iMPACT Wrestling show where every choice he makes isn't his... it's the PEOPLE'S CHOICE!
Cody Deaner can now be seen on the flagship TNA iMPACT Wrestling show where every choice he makes isn't his... it's the PEOPLE'S CHOICE!
.@CodyDeaner is no longer making the decisions - YOU are! #TNAiMPACT pic.twitter.com/71t6VZ4KH0
— TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) March 22, 2024
Speaking Career
In 2013, Cody started to do some speaking engagements with various schools and organizations. In 2017, Cody started doing larger motivational speaking engagements and has now spoken in front of thousands of youth for various community organizations, schools, and charities all across Canada.
Cody travels around the world, speaking under his real name, Chris Gray. He speaks about daring to dream big, overcoming adversity, and the power of positivity and influence.
To learn more about his speaking engagements, visit ChrisGraySpeaks.com
Cody travels around the world, speaking under his real name, Chris Gray. He speaks about daring to dream big, overcoming adversity, and the power of positivity and influence.
To learn more about his speaking engagements, visit ChrisGraySpeaks.com
Giv'er for Charity
In 2018, Cody decided he wanted to give back to his fans and his community and launched the "Giv'er for Charity" campaign.
Cody started selling one-of-a-kind cartoon caricatures created by Rikar Art with 100% of the money going to a different charity every month. He went on to start selling "Giv'er for Charity" t-shirts with 100% of the money going to different local charity organizations that hold a special place in Cody's heart. He has gone onto raise THOUSANDS of dollars for different children's charities across North America.
All information on the "Giv'er for Charity" campaign and how you can contribute is available HERE.
Cody started selling one-of-a-kind cartoon caricatures created by Rikar Art with 100% of the money going to a different charity every month. He went on to start selling "Giv'er for Charity" t-shirts with 100% of the money going to different local charity organizations that hold a special place in Cody's heart. He has gone onto raise THOUSANDS of dollars for different children's charities across North America.
All information on the "Giv'er for Charity" campaign and how you can contribute is available HERE.
Cody is currently available for bookings for wrestling events, motivational speaking engagements, training seminars, autograph signings, appearances, movie roles, television roles, and everything in between at ...
Email: [email protected]
Email: [email protected]
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