Everybody wants to rule the world.
Lionel Gerard Green (born November 11, 1994) is an American professional wrestler, initially just known as Li Green, before becoming better known by the ring name Lio Rush. He is one of the first graduates of the Maryland Championship Wrestling school, alongside Tag Team partner Patrick Clark. He has wrestled in Canadian Wrestling's Elite, IPW UK, Rev Pro and Fight Club Pro in Britain, Over The Top Wrestling in Ireland, Lucha Liga Elite, The Crash and Chilanga Mask in Mexico, westside Xtreme wrestling Germany, most notably in CZW for his runs as Wired Champion, House Of Glory for winning the Elite Title belt and Ring of Honor where he won the 2016 Top Prospect Tournament, before leaving for WWE NXT. He is a one-time NXT Cruiserweight champion.
Following his release from WWE in 2020, Rush has made regular appearances on the indies, mostly in Game Changer Wrestling. He made his AEW debut at Double or Nothing in May 2021, competing in the Casino Battle Royal, and after a hiatus became All Elite in September that year.
Tropes of the Hour:
- Arch-Enemy: Joey Janela. Rush once said he held no personal grudge against Janela but Rush hated the CZW fans and chose Janela as his outlet for that hatred because they loved him unconditionally while hating Lio no matter what he did.
- Awesome, but Impractical: Dragon's Call/The Final Hour (a Frog Splash) might be his most reliable finisher if not for the fact he tends to bounce off his opponent when he lands, giving them a second before he can cover them.
- Bald of Evil: Ever since coming to the main roster, his head has been shaved bald. Ever since turning heel, he is basically this trope.
- Big Guy, Little Guy: The little guy in several notable alliances with other black wrestlers, such as Rick Powers (in their early days wrestling in Maryland), Moose (whose first match together had Lio perform a Dragon's Call off Moose's shoulders), and infamously, Bobby Lashley (with Lio usually playing the role of annoying loudmouth manager rather than a tag partner).
- Canon Discontinuity: Became AAA World Cruiserweight Champion after beating Laredo Kid on MLW Fusion #121 and it was never mentioned again on screen. According to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, he was never supposed to win the title and it only happened due to a miscommunication about the finish. MLW considered a phantom title change and announcing that it happened in Mexico, but AAA pretends Rush’s win never happened.
- Confusion Fu: Dips into this sometimes. His quickness, ability to subvert typical wrestling tropes (being able to change directions after being thrown off the ropes, for example), and attack from unusual angles can make him a real headache for opponents.
- Dance Party Ending: One of the "backup dancers" after a match between Will Ospreay and Ricochet at Wrestle-Con, along with, after they both dropped into their Three-Point Landing in the centre of the ring, Marty Scurll, Jason Cade, Sami Callahan, Dezmond Xavier, Ryan Smile... and Drew Galloway.
- Face/Heel Double-Turn: After the fans have had enough of his annoying "Lashley" chants during Lashley's match against Kevin Owens, he and Lashley become the heel to Owens' face.
- Finger Wag: Did this to Jay Lethal in their ROH World Title match.
- Finishing Move: A one man Spanish Fly he calls "Rush Hour". In WWE his Frog Splash (formerly known as The Dragon's Call/Final Hour) became his primary finish.
- Hope Spot: His best chance to finally win an ROH title was dashed away before he even got to take it when Alex Shelley booted him from the world six man tag team tournament, but Shelley did say it was for Rush's own good and Rush did end up making his way back into the running after his return from Germany, alongside the man Shelley had replaced him with, no less. In the end The Kingdom still proved victorious.
- I Have Many Names: He was also Lennon Duffy.
- Metaphorgotten: During the "Top Prospect" Tournament he talked about a tree he was going to chop down before he removed its head. Basically, he wasn't intimidated by Punisher Martinez.
- Mythology Gag: His first NXT match was with The Velveteen Dream. The two were a tag team fresh out of training when both were still in their late teens.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: At Elimination Chamber 2019, overzealously tagging himself in during the 2-on-1 handicap against Finn Bálor, only to be promptly pinned and costing Bobby Lashley his Intercontinental title, who dished out a well-deserved beatdown to him afterward.
- No-Sell: Infamously no sold a pile driver through a table from a ladder.
- Pintsized Powerhouse: He was briefly the CZW World Heavyweight Champion, despite being even smaller than Shane Strickland. He frequently wrestled above his weight class as an amateur.
- Power Stable: Search & Destroy in ROH
- Put on a Bus: Shane Taylor took credit for putting Lio Rush (and Donovan Dijak) out of ROH, leading a to vengeful Search & Destroy attempting to put the entire Rebellion out of ROH.
- Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs: Though as a baby face they will instead be rapid fire slaps followed by an elbow or forearm.
- Red Baron: "The Man of The Hour", "The 23-year-old Piece of Gold" (when in WWE), "Blackheart", "The One", "The Bad Child", "The Moneyweight".
- Signature Move: The aforementioned Final Hour is used in this capacity in WWE along with a Rolling Unprettier. In NXT he added a "the Come Up" a Stunner done after springboarding from the bottom rope.
- Smug Snake: His stint as Bobby Lashley's manager has him constantly praise his friend and belittle his opponents, but it usually backfires, and Lio gets punished for that.
- Recycled Soundtrack: His theme, "Not Dead Yet", was first used in ROH by TJ Perkins. He quickly got a more distinctive theme, "Feel The Rush".
- Tag Team: Sudden Impact with Patrick Clark/Rick Powers.
- 10-Minute Retirement: He has a bit of a reputation for short-lived retirements from the ring.
- This Loser Is You: He told the CZW crowd that Joey Janela was this to them.
- Tournament Arc: Besides being "Top Prospect", he also won the Shane Shamrock Memorial Cup in 2015, Eddie Edwards being one of his fellow finalists getting the attention of ROH, and again in 2016.
- Two Girls and a Guy: When Marvelous Puroresu came to The United States Chigusa Nagayo chose Renee Michelle, Davienne and Lio Rush as the three wrestlers from the country she was taking back to Japan with her. However, Marvelous's men's division was behind schedule, so Rush ended up being left behind.
- Underdogs Never Lose
- During the Top Prospect Tournament breakdown it was mentioned he was a foot shorter than the tallest semifinalist, 160 pounds lighter than the heaviest and 15 years less experienced in the sport than the most accomplished pro of the final four, yet it was obvious he was a favorite to win.
- Averted when Tomohiro Ishii took the television title to NJPW to defend it against EVIL and Rush's first match under a Ring Of Honor contract was changed to a title shot against the most dominant champion in professional wrestling, Jay Lethal.
- You Are Not Ready: Jay Lethal told him this when he defended the ROH World title against Lio. Jay won, but he said after the match that maybe one day Lio would be good enough to become ROH world champion.
