Backstory
In June of 1996, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin would come out on top of the WWF's semi-annual King of the Ring tournament. Afterwards, he would take the microphone and deliver his career-defining "Austin 3:16" promo.
July
Sydney Hunt is born in East Lansing, Michigan, as the second son to auto-mechanic, Sam Hunt, and elementary-school teacher, Laura Walker-Hunt. Their oldest, Thomas Hunt, is three years old when his younger sibling is born and has always held a firm sense of responsibility towards them; an attitude that never fades, even as they both grew into adulthood.
When Hunt first starts watching professional wrestling in September of 2000, their favorite performer is the then Intercontinental Champion : Eddie Guerrero—whom they begin to look up to as something of a hero and idol.
September
A young Sydney Hunt views an episode of Thursday Night SmackDown for the first time, thus sparking what would grow into an obsession with professional wrestling. A constantly restless, energetic, and expressive child, Hunt developed a quick affinity for the intense emotion conveyed in the speech of the competitors and the otherworldly physical feats that they were all able to perform. Unfortunately for Sydney, their special interest did not help their struggle to form friendships, especially when their otherwise overwhelming presence already repelled other children their age and irked most of their elders.
The legendary Undertaker would battle the equally legendary John Cena for the first time ever, at Vengeance 2003, only a few weeks after meeting Sydney Hunt and their family. In fact, the Undertaker, himself had gifted Hunt and their father free seats to the show as an apology for his daughter, Lanie, injuring Sydney upon their first meeting.
June
Laura Walker-Hunt—Sydney Hunt's mother—takes a part-time teaching position that forces her family down to Austin, Texas, for a summer. Already struggling to communicate with most of their peers, as is, Sydney grows incredibly frustrated and anxious about the idea of having to spend their summer on the other side of the country.
July
While living in Austin, Sydney Hunt meets who would later become their lifelong best friend : the daughter of the Undertaker, Lanie Madison. The two first encounter each other at a public playground, where Lanie would end up dislocating the shoulder of her annoying new playmate. As the summer progressed, Lanie and Sydney's bond would grow incredibly close, and the two would continue to keep in-touch through online chat rooms as the years went on.
In January of 2007, the Undertaker emerges victorious in a star-studded Royal Rumble match—leading to a legendary battle between himself and the then World Heavyweight Champion—the Animal, Batista—in the main event of WrestleMania 23.
April
A starry-eyed Sydney Hunt attends the "Showcase of Immortals", WrestleMania 23, live from Detroit, Michigan. There, they watch their "Uncle Mark", aka The Undertaker, capture the World Heavyweight Championship in an all-time classic match-up. After the show, an inspired Sydney warns the Undertaker, backstage, that they're going to be the one to take that title from him... once they're older, of course.
August
Sydney Hunt's mother, Laura Walker-Hunt, takes a full-time teaching job at Lanie Madison's own elementary school in Texas, so their whole family finds a more permanent home near Austin—right down the road from the Calaway residence. When Hunt and their best friend finally reunite, it was like no time had passed at all.
Following back-to-back losses against the Undertaker at both WrestleMania 25 and WrestleMania 26, the legendary Shawn Michaels retires from in-ring competition in March of 2010.
August
When a family emergency urges the Hunt family back north to Detroit, the still-awkward Sydney Hunt grows increasingly anxious about having to navigate a new social environment. Fortunately for them, their best friend—Lanie Madison—hatched a genius plan : both of them would return to Michigan for each of their eight semesters of high school, returning to Austin in the summers and winters to spend time with their friends and family down there. With that, both Sydney and Lanie make the move up to Detroit to begin their high-school careers.
After dropping a massive "pipebomb" on the WWE Universe in the summer of 2011, the unapologetic CM Punk shocks the world, again, by capturing the WWE Championship in front of an electric Chicago crowd and subsequently making his dramatic—though very temporary—exit from the company.
May
Following their freshman year of high-school, both Sydney Hunt and Lanie Madison return to Austin to stay with the Calaway family for their summer vacation.
July
Gifted a fake ID by Lanie Madison's little sister—Cassidy Calaway—Sydney Hunt signs with an independent promoter in Central Texas and begins wrestling under their alias "Sid Walker". However, the obviously massive age gap between them and their veteran peers, as well as their clear lack of experience in the ring, quickly earns them the nickname "Kid Walker".
For the first time ever, at WrestleMania 28, two of the biggest icons that the professional wrestling industry has ever produced would face-off in a "once in a lifetime" match-up between Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson and John Cena.
January
Focused entirely on improving their in-ring ability, Syd Hunt returns to Michigan with Lanie Madison for their sophomore year of high-school and enrolls in extra physical education classes in order to get in better shape. In addition, Hunt even joins the competitive cheer team in the winter—shrugging off the mockery they receive from their peers in an effort to further train the unique kind of agility they need for their "summer job".
June
When they return to the Central Texas indies scene, Kid Walker shocks their peers at the training center with their newfound athletic ability. Some of the promoters and wrestlers they begin to work with regularly are so impressed by their performance, in fact, that they offer the young rookie some incredible references to help them enroll at the Texas Wrestling Academy. There, Hunt would have the opportunity to learn directly from the Heartbreak Kid, himself : Shawn Michaels. By the end of the summer, Syd had transformed themself from a total lost cause to a certified prodigy.
Unwilling to accept that fan-favorite underdog—Danial Bryan—had failed to capture victory in the 2014 Royal Rumble match, the WWE Universe would show just how powerful their voices were by changing the entire trajectory of the Road to WrestleMania 30 and securing their champion his proper place at the very top of the main event of the biggest show of the year.
May
Syd Hunt and Lanie Madison graduate from high-school with the plan of going to college for mechanical engineering and pre-law, respectively. The two would then be separated for the first time in almost a decade, as Hunt enrolls in classes at Wayne County Community College in Detroit, and Lanie returns to Texas for the next step of her education.
August
During their last summer staying in Austin, Syd Hunt graduates from the Texas Wrestling Academy. However, their career afterwards is incredibly short-lived, as they swiftly lay their wrestling dreams to rest in order to shift their focus towards their studies and the pursuit of a "more stable career" in mechanical engineering.
Febuary
Without any proper social or physical outlets to help stimulate them, Syd Hunt begins to succumb to the struggles of their ADHD and depression during their second semester at community college. In the search of something that genuinely makes them happy, they begin wrestling in the Eastern Michigan independents scene.
April
While performing on the indies, Hunt is scouted by ECW and WWE legend—not to mention, fellow Michigan native—Rob Van Dam. The veteran approaches Syd to address their potential, offering a training deal if they're willing to put in the effort to make a real name for themself. With their lifelong dream staring them in the face, Hunt quietly drops out of college to hone their performance and character-work with one of their idols—eventually turning themself into the indie legend known as "Hunter Kid".
March
After almost a year of making a name for themself over a multitude of different independent promotions, Hunter Kid signs a contract with Ring of Honor—quickly gaining notoriety with the fans there for their sadistic antihero character, who cared much more about hurting those who deserved it than climbing the title rankings.
September
The Bullet Club's reign of terror in Ring of Honor—spear-headed by the "American Nightmare", Cody Rhodes, and the ROH World Tag Team Champions, the Young Bucks—leads to the unlikely pairing of the chaotically violent Hunter Kid and the bitter but mild-mannered "Ironheart" Zeke King. Together, these two form a tight bond as they battle through the tag team division in the hope of taking the villainous faction's coveted gold for themselves. They would finally achieve their shared goal at All Star Extravaganza VIII, when they defeated the Young Bucks to become the new ROH World Tag Team Champions.
April
After having the Bullet Club in his ear for a majority of his and Hunter Kid's reign as ROH World Tag Team Champions, Zeke King would finally betray his teammate in the middle of their defense against the Young Bucks at Supercard of Honor XI. To fully initiate himself into the group, King joined his new stablemates in brutalizing his former best friend's face with a flurry of wicked kendo stick shots, after the match had already been won—leaving a scar across Kid's temple that would never heal.
Febuary
Nearly a year after being viciously attacked by the Bullet Club, Hunter Kid makes their dramatic return to wrestling and costs Cody Rhodes and Zeke King their match against the Golden☆Lovers—Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi—at Honor Rising : Japan 2018.
April
After over a month of tormenting the Bullet Club, Hunter Kid finally gets revenge on their former tag-team partner—Zeke King—by defeating him at Supercard of Honor XII to become the new ROH World Television Champion.
During an era where WWE was consistently letting down its fans and employees, the "Elite" Bullet Club—Kenny Omega, "Hangman" Adam Page, Cody Rhodes, and the Young Bucks—gather allies and rivals from around the world to compete on a large-scale stage of their own design and offer fans a more authentic wrestling experience in All Elite Wrestling... AEW.
December
Following a historic reign as the youngest and longest reigning ROH World Television Champion of all time, Hunter Kid finally loses their title in an epic showdown against Dragon Lee at Final Battle. Now free of the burden of needing to defend their championship, Kid takes what was meant to be a much-needed "short break" from competition. However, this absence from wrestling is prolonged indefinitely by the COVID-19 pandemic's affect on their mental health.
August
As Josh Alexander attempts to vacate his Impact! X-Division Championship for a shot at the Impact! World Championship, Syd Hunt makes their return to professional wrestling—re-adopting their old moniker of "Kid Walker" for a new, over-the-top, egotistical rock-star type character—and challenges the dominant champion to one last title defense at Victory Road.
November
Impressed by his former student's work in ROH and, now, Impact!, Shawn Michaels reaches out to Syd Hunt in an attempt to further stack the roster of what would soon become his own version of NXT. So, after only a couple of months with the title, Kid Walker loses their Impact! X-Division Championship to underdog Trey Miguel at Turning Point—subsequently making their exit from the company to prepare for their move to the WWE Performance Center. There, they begin to train with a recovering Bayley in order to start working towards their debut on NXT.
December
Kid Walker makes their NXT debut, continuing to work with Bayley as they hone their Impact! character into more of a cocky technical mastermind—picking their opponent's mind apart out of the ring with unapologetic criticisms and deeply personal insults before picking their body apart with their array of deadly submissions and flashy strikes. Within a month, their unique in-ring style and authentic, yet compelling, promo work earn them a high acclaim from the NXT crowd as well as a notable reputation among the fans of WWE's main roster.
January
A "Revolution Ladder Match is held for the first-time ever at NXT : New Year's Evil. The prize? A total secret to both the audience as well as the combatants. The mystery continues a while longer for the NXT Universe as the devilish Kid Walker emerges victorious and continues to keep the details of their newly won prize hidden from the public. That is until they make their surprise SmackDown debut, confronting the WWE Universal Champion—Roman Reigns—and revealing the contents of the folder they'd won early that month : a contract granting them a shot for the Tribal Chief's coveted title at the Royal Rumble. However, when the two finally meet in battle—after weeks of Walker's torturous mind-games—Reigns is willing to accept a disqualification loss for the sake of brutalizaling and making an example out of this arrogant, childish, young newcomer.
February - July
After an impressive display against the indomitable WWE Universal Champion at the Royal Rumble, Kid Walker is moved to WWE's main roster full-time. Within their first year, Walker would appear in numerous career-defining match-ups—including the Men's Elimination Chamber, the Men's Money-in-the-Bank, and a major rivalry with a returning Cody Rhodes that spanned from their WrestleMania debut to a legendary Hell in a Cell match.
August - December
As months go by, Kid Walker is granted less and less opportunities within the WWE. In fact, much of the latter half of their year is wasted on a rivalry with the dopey Matt Riddle—far away from any championship opportunities. Any remaining fans of the rising young star begin to lament, as they grow to accept that Walker had become the perfect example of a talented indies star poached by a company that has no real, long-term plans for their career. However, Walker themself was unwilling to accept that fate, and desperately searched for new ways to take control back into their own hands.
January - February
Kid Walker attempts to take fate into their own hands by capturing a victory in either the Men's Royal Rumble or Men's Elimination Chamber matches, thus securing themselves a spot on the card at this year's WrestleMania. However, they are cut-off at the pass both times by WWE's most despicably shameless excuse for a "celebrity guest": the most talentless charisma vacuum on the planet, Logan Paul.
March - April
As their Road to WrestleMania grew shorter and shorter, Kid Walker had the horrible realization that the only chance they'd have to compete at the "Showcase of Immortals" would be if they took the utterly humiliating route of facing off against WWE's newest industry plant. When the dreaded match that was certain to become a stain on the young athlete's career finally rolled around, they found a different way to take destiny into their own hands. Instead of going along with the incredibly choreographed routine that their disgustingly novice partner has been practicing for weeks, Walker immediately turned the contest into a real fight. In an absolutely embarrassing display for the infamous internet scam-artist, the former indies star made a show of picking him apart piece-by-piece with a deadly array of expert holds and devastating strikes—leaving Paul battered, bruised, and bloodied in a squash match that was as entertaining to watch as it was satisfying for the victor.
April
After being forced to waste their WrestleMania beating a YouTuber so hard he thinks twice about ever stepping into a wrestling ring again, Kid Walker continues to look "outside the box" for ways to start taking their future into their own hands. In a shocking turn of events, they take the airwaves on SmackDown to announce that they've discovered a curious loophole in their contract that allows them to perform for other televised promotions before revealing an envelope emblazoned with the logo of WWE's top competitor—AEW. Fans watch in awe as Walker signs themself to a company whose name alone is taboo within the WWE, live on Friday Night SmackDown—drawing all eyes to themselves and truly "changing the game" in a huge way.
April-May
Kid Walker's shocking appearances in AEW and various independent promotions causes their popularity among wrestling fans—including the WWE Universe—to skyrocket. On the other hand, their continued use of under-handed tactics to make the most of their time in the spotlight is seen as a pattern of insubordination by WWE officials. As a result, Walker is booked in another random, last-minute match with the intention of embarrassing them at the next PPV—Backlash, live from Puerto Rico. This time, the self-proclaimed "Game Changer" is pitted against the monstrous "Nigerian Giant", Omos, in the hopes that the massive powerhouse would make a fool out of the smaller athlete by squashing them so badly on the big stage that they lose any desirability that might've drawn other promoters towards them and so that they think twice about ever going against WWE's creative plans again. However, the plot against Kid falls short, and the rising star is allowed to shine, once again—overcoming all odds and forcing their imposing foe to pass out in a contest that exceeded all expectations and continued to boost their popularity with the fans even more.
May
Emerging victorious from their epic battle with the giant, Omos, Kid Walker sets their sights on the new World Heavyweight Championship, and voices their clear intentions to enter the Triple-Threat tournament to become its inaugural title holder. However, they're quickly cut-off by WWE official—Adam Pearce—who informs the self-proclaimed "Game Changer" that they're not cleared to compete in the match due to the results of their medical examination and that they would be replaced with Damian Priest. Walker rebuts that there's no possible way that they've sustained worse injuries than Priest did at Backlash, but Pearce claims that his hands are tied. The next week, Walker again tries to take their shot by earning a win in a special Battle Royal to earn a shot against GUNTHER for the Intercontinental Championship. However, Kid is screwed, once again, when a ringside referee wrongfully claims that both of their feet had touched the floor after they narrowly saved themselves from getting eliminated. This was the final straw for the hotheaded young athlete, and Walker would fly off the handles in a rage—attacking the offending referee with a nearby steel chair and earning them a multiple-week suspension with mandatory anger-management counseling.
June
Kid Walker finally makes their triumphant return to Monday Night RAW amid Money in the Bank qualifying matches, where they quickly let the WWE Universe know what's been on their mind over the last few weeks. Although they aren't sure who or what is to blame, Walker seems rather certain that the powers at be have been intentionally screwing them out of their last few major opportunities. However, they also make it known that nothing—not even management—would stop them from pursuing their goal of entering the Men's Money in the Bank ladder match. Right on cue, WWE official—Adam Pearce—appears to let the young athlete know that they've been granted a special opportunity to punch their ticket to Money in the Bank. The next week, Walker would face off against a mystery opponent; if they could score a victory, then they would be added to the men's ladder match. Unfortunately, Kid would find themselves playing right into the enemy's trap, yet again, when their surprise challenger turns out to be none other than the indomitable Intercontinental Champion—GUNTHER. Even with the odds stacked against them, the underdog manages to give the Ring General quite the run for his money. Their efforts were in vain, though, as the contest was rigged from the very beginning. While Walker attempted to maintain their patented PWC Chokehold on the larger athlete without both of their shoulders touching the mat, they had actually managed to force the champion to submit! However, rather than stopping the fight at the sight of GUNTHER's submission, the referee continued to count the pin instead—snatching the Game Changer's last chance of entering the Men's Money in the Bank ladder match. Despite that fact, Walker would appear on RAW the next week, calm and collected, to make a simple declaration—if they would not be given their shot, then they were going to take it.