WWE Producer Wrestles Final Match at WWE Live Event

WWE had stacked its backstage talent roster with wrestling minds of yesteryear. WWE Hall of Famers like Shawn Michaels and Road Dogg occupy NXT while now-retired stars from the independent scene like Adam Pearce and Chris “Abyss” Parks produce on the main roster. While those aforementioned names willingly stepped away from the ring, some of WWE’s behind the scenes talent were forced into their backstage roles due to career-ending injuries. Names like Jason Jordan and TJ Wilson (Tyson Kidd) have a new lease on their wrestling lives by fulfilling producing duties for Monday Night Raw and WWE SmackDown.

That said, not all producers fit into those two categories. Longtime WWE employee Jamie Noble, who actively wrestled for the company in the 2000s, stepped away from the ring in 2009 due to a build up of nagging injuries. Noble would wrestle occasionally on WWE’s live event circuit, but his biggest role came as a producer.

While it had been seven years since Noble stepped inside the squared circle, the former WWE Cruiserweight Champion came out of retirement this past weekend during WWE’s Holiday Tour in Charleston, West Virginia. Noble tagged with Braun Strowman, Butch, and Ridge Holland to take on Solo Sikoa, Sami Zayn, and The Usos. Noble scored the pinfall victory after hitting Zayn with his signature Tiger Bomb finisher. This was confirmed to be Noble’s official final match.

Noble’s greatest WWE accomplishments come with producing, but the 45-year-old has a storied in-ring history on the independent scene. He was trained by Dean Malenko at the WCW Power Plant and wrestled for World Championship Wrestling in the final years of that promotion. Noble inked a WWE deal following WWE’s acquisition of WCW in 2001, competing in the cruiserweight division for four years before requesting his release.

Upon returning to the indies, Noble wrestled as James Gibson for both New Japan Pro Wrestling and Ring of Honor. In the far east, Gibson tagged with Bryan Danielson while domestically he won gold in ROH. Gibson’s lone ROH World Title run came at a noteworthy time, as he was the man to end CM Punk’s first “Summer of Punk” at ROH Redemption (2005). Gibson would hold the company’s top prize for just one month, as he dropped the strap in September 2005 to Danielson at Glory by Honor IV.