Commander Azeez

Babatunde Łukasz Aiyegbusi (Yoruba: Babátúndé Łukasz Aiyégbùsì; born 26 May 1989) is a Polish-Nigerian professional wrestler and former football player. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Commander Azeez. He previously played for a number of teams in the Polish American Football League, and had a stint with the Minnesota Vikings during the 2015 preseason.[3]

Commander Azeez
Born
Babatunde Łukasz Aiyegbusi

(1989-05-26) 26 May 1989
Oleśnica, Wrocław Voivodeship, Poland
Ring name(s)Babatunde
Babatunde Aiyegbusi
Commander Azeez
Dabba-Kato
Billed height6 ft 9 in (206 cm)[1]
Billed weight350 lb (159 kg)[1]
Trained byWWE Performance Center
Debut30 September 2016[2]
Football career
No. 71, 69
Position:Offensive tackle
Personal information
Height:6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Weight:345 lb (156 kg)
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career NFL statistics
Player stats at NFL.com

Early life and football career

Born in Oleśnica, Wrocław metropolitan area in the Lower Silesian Province of South-West Poland on 26 May 1989 to a Polish mother and an immigrant Nigerian father, Babatunde Łukasz Aiyegbusi began playing American football in 2005 as an offensive lineman. He played in the Polish American Football League for The Crew Wrocław, Giants Wrocław and Warsaw Eagles and in the German Football League for Dresden Monarchs. In 2015, Aiyegbusi was signed by Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League and he participated in their preseason program, playing three preseason games before being released as part of roster cuts prior to the 2015 NFL season.[4][5]

Professional wrestling career

Early appearances (2016–2020)

On April 12, 2016, Babatunde joined the WWE Performance Center as part of a new class of recruits.[3] He made his professional wrestling debut, as a face, at a NXT house show in Orlando, Florida on September 30, 2016, competing in a battle royal.[6] In April 2018, Babatunde started to accompany Lio Rush to the ring at NXT live events until Rush was called up to the main roster as part of 205 Live. Babatunde made his televised debut on April 27 at the Greatest Royal Rumble, entering the match as the 37th entrant and being eliminated by Braun Strowman.[7] On May 10, 2019, Babatunde made his Evolve debut at Evolve 127, defeating Adrian Alanis.[2] On August 3, 2020, Babatunde would make his return to television and his Raw debut. He would debut as part of a Raw Underground segment under the ring name Dabba-Kato.[8] He would develop a winning streak on Raw Underground defeating several local wrestlers until he was defeated by Braun Strowman on the September 21 episode of Raw.[9] As part of the 2020 Draft in October, Dabba-Kato was drafted to the Raw brand.[10] However following the draft, he would not make a single appearance on the brand.

Alliance with Apollo Crews (2021–present)

On Night 2 of WrestleMania 37 on April 11, 2021, he returned to help Apollo Crews win the Intercontinental Championship from Big E.[11] Crews would then re-introduce him as Commander Azeez the following Friday on SmackDown, with no mention made of his previous time as Dabba-Kato on Raw, thus transferring to the SmackDown brand.[12] As part of the 2021 Draft, both Crews and Azeez were drafted to the Raw brand.[13]

References
  1. "Wrestlingdata.com – The World's Largest Wrestling Database". WrestlingData. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  2. "Babatunde Aiyegbusi". Cagematch. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
  3. WWE Performance Center welcomes new class of recruits
  4. "From the Line to the Ring: Former Viking Babatunde Aiyegbusi Joins WWE". Archived from the original on November 19, 2016. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  5. "Vikings Announce Roster Moves, Set 53-Man Roster". Vikings.com. September 5, 2015. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
  6. "WWE NXT Live". Cagematch. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
  7. Powell, Jason (27 April 2018). "Powell's WWE Greatest Royal Rumble live review: 50-man Royal Rumble match, Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns in a cage match for the WWE Universal Championship, AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura for the WWE Championship, John Cena vs. Triple H, Undertaker vs. Rusev in a casket match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
  8. "#RawUnderground is HERE ... and so is DABBA-KATO". Twitter. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  9. "WWE Raw 9/21/20 Results: Retribution Competes, Top Contenders Are Crowned & Randy Orton Returns!". Fightful.
  10. WWE.com Staff (October 9, 2020). "See all the results from the 2020 Draft". WWE. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  11. Powell, Jason (April 11, 2021). "WrestleMania 37 results: Powell's live review of night two with Roman Reigns vs. Edge vs. Daniel Bryan in a Triple Threat for the WWE Universal Championship, Asuka vs. Rhea Ripley for the Raw Women's Championship, Big E vs. Apollo Crews in a Nigerian Drum Fight for the IC Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  12. Powell, Jason (April 16, 2021). "4/16 WWE Friday Night Smackdown results: Powell's review of the WrestleMania 37 fallout show with champions Roman Reigns and Bianca Belair, Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler vs. The Street Profits for the Smackdown Tag Titles, Rey Mysterio vs. Otis". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  13. "See all the results from the 2021 Draft".
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