Etienne LaMort looks like he was built in a lab to be a professional wrestler. He’s broad-shouldered, chiseled, and freakishly athletic — a vertical leap that turns heads, a dropkick that lands picture-perfect every time, and raw strength to throw opponents around like rag dolls.

But once the match goes past the highlight reel, the cracks show. LaMort can hit big moves clean, but when he tries to chain them together it’s like watching a man with four thumbs and backwards knees. Technical exchanges turn into pratfalls. Mat wrestling ties him up like a pretzel.

Early in his career, LaMort seemed destined for big things. In 2013 he was signed to DEFIANCE’s developmental brand, BRAZEN, where coaches saw him as a can’t-miss prospect. But his run was cut short when the “anti-Jeff Andrews purge” of 2014 swept him out before he ever got the chance to prove himself.

That hasn’t stopped promoters from giving him chances. LaMort’s been wrestling since 2012, and every booker who lays eyes on him thinks he might finally put it all together. He’s made a career as a journeyman heavy, hired muscle for bigger stars, a dangerous-looking piece on someone else’s chessboard. The crowd never knows which Etienne they’re going to get: the dazzling athlete who looks like the future… or the eternal prospect still tripping over his own feet.