Nathan Jones

Strongman career

Upon his release, Jones also began competing in strongman contests, and during this time, he was dubbed "Megaman". As the reigning Australian Strongest Man, he entered the World Strength Championship at Callander, Scotland, on 29–30 July 1995. He took first place, topping a field that included 1993 World's Strongest Man Gary Taylor. The following weekend, he competed in the World Muscle Power Classic held at Mintlaw, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. That contest was won by Magnús Ver Magnússon, with Nathan finishing fifth in a field of twelve competitors.

Jones next took part in the 1995 World's Strongest Man contest. After quickly defeating Phil Martin twice in the arm wrestling event in the qualifying heat, Jones was then matched against Magnus Samuelsson, who had been Europe's arm wrestling champion for several years and who would become the World's Strongest Man in 1998. Samuelsson won the first round. In the second round, Jones refused to go down and pulled with his opposite arm, twisting his body. This resulted in breaking the arm he was using to wrestle (a spiral fracture of the humerus), and he subsequently was out of the competition. Jones returned to Strongman competition in 1996, winning the World Strongman Challenge, and placed third in a World's Strongest Man qualifying heat behind Magnús Ver Magnússon and Jorma Ojanaho. During the heat, Jones opted to retire from the penultimate event, confidently assuming he would win the last event to get the necessary points to get through to the final; however he placed fourth in the last event and angrily left the playing area, refusing to speak to any competitors or media.

Mixed martial arts career

He also participated in a mixed martial arts match at Pride Fighting Championships's debut event Pride 1 in October 1997, facing Japanese professional wrestler and former grand sumo champion Koji Kitao. Jones was submitted after being caught in an armlock.

Professional wrestling career

World Wrestling All-Stars (2001–2002)

After working as a bodyguard for multimillionaire Rene Rivkin, Jones began a career in wrestling during this time, working for Ultimate Pro Wrestling. Jones first gained fame working in World Wrestling All-Stars, making a large impression at the first WWA pay-per-view "Inception", where he was accompanied to the ring by Rove McManus. However, he was defeated after Rove was smashed with Jeff Jarrett's guitar and Jones was hit with the Stroke. During his time in the WWA, Nathan won the WWA World Heavyweight Championship on 7 April 2002 before losing the belt to Scott Steiner only 5 days later. On 20 October, Jones and Jon Heidenreich defeated Masato Tanaka and Shinjiro Otani to win the NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Championship. In late 2002 and early 2003, Jones began performing in dark matches for World Wrestling Entertainment.

Post-WWE and retirement

After leaving WWE, Jones was scheduled to make his pro wrestling return in 2004 at the Australian Wrestling Supershow III, booked against Mark Mercedes. Jones did not appear as advertised and a battle royal was held following an angry shoot promo on Jones by Mercedes and promoter Andy Raymond.

In 2005, he wrestled three matches for World Series Wrestling. On 5 October, he defeated Lee Star, and on 7 and 8 October, he defeated Mark Hilton. He never wrestled for the promotion.

Acting career

Following a segment on Good Morning Australia in which he lifted and pushed a Ute down a street, Jones was contacted by Jackie Chan to be in the film First Strike. Eight years later, Jones featured alongside Brad Pitt in the 2004 film Troy.

Although he had acted in movies as early as 1996, Jones pursued acting full time following his retirement from wrestling in 2005. In 2015, Jones had a featured role in the film Mad Max: Fury Road as Rictus Erectus. He portrayed the character of Reiko in the 2021 film adaptation of the video game Mortal Kombat. In 2016, he portrayed a negative role in a Bollywood film, A Flying Jatt. In 2024, Jones would reprise the role of Rictus Erectus in the prequel film Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.

Personal life

Jones has been married to his wife Fawn Tran since 2016; together, they have a son.

Championships and accomplishments Pro Wrestling Illustrated PWI ranked him #137 of the Top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2003 Pro Wrestling ZERO1-MAX NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Jon Heidenreich World Wrestling All-Stars WWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time) Martin Jail fighter 2027 Post-production

Television

Year Title RoleNotes 1997 Doom Runners Vike Television film