7 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Rhyno WWE

Terrence Guido Gerin, popularly known by his stage name Rhyno, is an American professional wrestler currently under the books of Impact Wrestling. The energetic wrestler, known for his fighting skill and the energy through which he charges at his opponents and batters them like a wild beast to wows spectators, is also a politician that has tried his hands in acting. However, Rhyno’s popularity was forged in the rings of WWE, ECW, WCW, TNA, and ROH. These are all wrestling franchises where Rhyno made his name.

7 Facts That Reveal More About WWE Rhyno

1. Rhyno Had a Rough Childhood

Rhyno didn’t have the best of childhood. He was born on the 7th of October, 1975 in Detroit, Michigan. He lost his father at age 14 and so lived with just his mother and two siblings. Rhyno’s mother struggled to care for him and his siblings even though she worked up to three jobs to be able to provide for them and ensure that they did not lack.

During the time he ran for office, Rhyno admitted that his grandparents were of Italian origin. They migrated to the United States before settling in Dearborn in 1953. Rhyno and his siblings often visit their grandparents in Dearborn during weekends. They always looked forward to the Italian delicacies that were always on offer for such visits.

2. He Started Wrestling From High School

Rhyno attended Annapolis High school in Dearborn Heights and was a member of the football team. This was where he started taking interest in wrestling and joined up with the wrestling team. With time, Rhyno’s love for wrestling ran so deep that he decided, in the long run, to switch football for wrestling. Along the way, he became so good that he decided to turn his past time love for wrestling into a serious career.

He proceeded to register at the Can Am Wrestling school in Windsor, Ontario to further his bid to become a successful wrestler. In the wrestling academy, Rhyno was tutored by Scott D’Amore on the basics of wrestling.

3. He Began Wrestling with Canadian Indies as Terry Richards

En route his journey to the apex of professional wrestling, Rhyno started making the rounds by fighting in the Canadian Independent circuit wrestling. Rhyno wrestled under the ring name Terry Richards and had his first match for TNA in March 1995.

Rhino later wrestled for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and worked hard to be regarded as one of the best wrestlers in the company. He wrestled many big names in WCW and won, under the ring name, Rhino Richards. He formed a crew known as the THUG life together with big names like Christian and Edge.

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4. He Joined the Big Leagues in 1999

In 1999, Rhyno joined the big leagues with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) where he started being seen on the big stage. This was where he earned and started answering his current ring name “Rhino” due to the sheer ferocity and brutality of his wrestling.

His first major achievement was winning the ECW Television Championship after defeating Yoshiro Tajiri. His major feud in ECW was with the Sandman whom he wrestled on so many occasions, including when he defeated him to conquer the ECW Television Championship.

WWF (2001-2005)

On the closure of the ECW, Rhyno signed up with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 2001 and was identified as a heel in a group with Christian and Edge. Rhyno’s ability set him up for success in the WWF as he won the WWF Hardcore Championship a total of three times.

His major feud was with Chris Jerico and they went on to wrestle on so many occasions. He pledged allegiance to the WWF and was loyal to Stephanie MacMahon who was the on-screen owner of the wrestling brand. He also succeeded in winning the WCW United States Championship from Tajiri who was with him in ECW.

Rhyno took a break from wrestling when he broke his neck and underwent cervical fusion surgery. Due to this, he was absent for 2 years before returning. However, Rhyno was later released by WWE in 2005 after it was revealed that he had a major disagreement with his wife after the Wrestlemania 21 after-party. The details about this were not made public and there have been very few comments from Rhyno about the issue.

TNA Wrestling (2005-2010)

Rhyno wrestled for Total Nonstop Action (TNA) upon his release from the WWE and was an instant hit under the wrestling brand. He was known under the ring name Rhino which was what he was called under ECW. He won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship under the brand and had many feuds with a lot of other wrestlers. His major feud was with AJ Styles and the pair had major matches with each other between 2006 and 2007.

Return to WWE (2015-2019)

Rhino left TNA in 2010 and wrestled in the Independent Circuit from 2011 to 2016. He returned to the WWE after a brief stint back at TNA and became a tag team Champion with Heath Slater. Rhyno left WWE when his then contract expired in July of 2019. Rhyno was offered a contract extension but he declined it to seek more matches and screen time.

Independent Circuits (2019 till date)

Rhyno is currently wrestling in the Independent Circuits upon his departure from WWE in 2019 and is still very much active in his wrestling career.

5. Rhyno and Heath Slater were the First Smackdown Tag Team Champions

When the Smackdown brand of the WWE announced that they have created their own version of the WWE, lots of tag teams entered into a competition to get the newly coveted price. Fortunately, Rhyno and his tag team partner Heath Slater became the very first people to win the title under Smackdown on September 11, 2016.

This was a massive achievement for Rhyno despite having won many accolades and titles in his professional wrestling career. His Championship reign with Heath Slater was a fan’s favorite as of that time and we all loved them wrestling together.

6. He Joined Politics and Ran for Office

Despite his involvement in his wrestling career, Rhyno still found time to run for political office in 2016. This was a period in which the professional wrestler was seeking better funding for the 15th district. He declared an interest when George Darany, the then incumbent for the House of Representatives, could no longer contest after he finished his constitutionally given number of tenures.

Rhyno started his political career on a strong foot and won the Republican primaries by defeating more politically inclined opponents in the August 2016 polls. His manifesto was filled with passion for providing teachers with enough freedom for expression and improving living conditions in certain areas in his district.

Unfortunately, Rhyno was not successful in the November 2016 polls and lost out to his Democratic party opponent Abdullah Hammoud.

7. Rhyno’s Marital Issues

Rhyno was married to a woman named Mirja Gerin. Their nuptials reportedly took place sometime in 1997 and almost nothing was known publicly about their union till 2005 when they called it quits with their marriage. This divorce is believed to have led to Rhyno’s release from the WWE.

The issues that followed led the couple to a messy divorce that saw them battling for custody of their kids. Just as it has been difficult to compile factual information about Rhyno’s ex-wife, even when they were married and what she is up to now as a divorcee, almost nothing is known publicly about their children.