Line #24 Wrestling/EC3


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/block_576504_960_720.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:The Essential Character]]
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4	Michael Hutter (born March 18, 1983) is an American professional wrestler. He was signed to [[Wrestling/ImpactWrestling TNA]] under the ring name Ethan Carter III (often shortened to "[=EC3=]"), the storyline nephew of TNA President Dixie Carter and a two-time TNA World Heavyweight Champion until January 2018, after which he signed with NXT (albeit, still using the "[=EC3=]" name).
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6	Hutter began his professional wrestling career in 2002, and wrestled for several promotions beginning in October 2006. In July 2006, Hutter signed a contract with Wrestling/{{WWE}}, where he wrestled as Derrick Bateman. He was assigned to WWE's developmental territories Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) and Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), where he won the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship with [[Wrestling/{{Fandango}} Johnny Curtis]]. During his time with WWE, he competed in the fourth and fifth seasons of Wrestling/{{WWENXT}} under the tutelage of [[Wrestling/BryanDanielson Daniel Bryan]]. Although he was signed to WWE, Hutter competed in several Independent promotions, winning the AIW Absolute Championship and the Firestorm Pro Heavyweight Championship. In February 2022, he and Adam Scherr (the former Wrestling/BraunStrowman) announced they were establishing the new CYN ("[[FunWithAcronyms Control Your Narrative]]") promotion.
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8	Later in the same year, he joined [[Wrestling/NationalWrestlingAlliance NWA]] during the 74th Anniversary Show with his CYN gimmick intact. In the meantime, with CYN having fizzled out and his CYN gimmick ditched, he started another new indy promotion, the Cleveland-based Exodus Pro. In 2023, in the Night Two of NWA 75th Anniversary Show, he won the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship against [[Wrestling/BrodusClay Tyrus]] in a Bullrope Match. Not long after this, the NWA announced that Exodus Pro, rechristened NWA Exodus Pro Midwest, would become the first member of its revived territory system.
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10	Oh yeah, and DO NOT confuse him with the title character of ''VideoGame/TheVanishingOfEthanCarter''.
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13	!! "Control Your Tropes":
14	* AlternateCompanyEquivalent: You wouldn't think so, but he'd unintentionally become TNA's answer to Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling's Wrestling/KazuchikaOkada, who ironically enough was in TNA for a couple of years and partly based his Rainmaker gimmick on past TNA characters. Both are wealthy prodigies openly questing to become legends and as a result started out in their current runs as highly arrogant jerks, but were eventually humbled by defeats which brought them down enough to tap into their latent heroic valor as well as appreciate the fact that crowds were actually giving them love, all prepping them on a path to becoming the organization's next [[TheHero top babyface]].
15	* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Ultimately, is this to Wrestling/MattHardy. Which is why on the two occasions in which Matt has been successful in taking the TNA world title from [=EC3=] he's had to take advantage of some shenanigans involving his family in order to do it.
16	* ArchEnemy: Bateman had [[Wrestling/{{Fandango}} Johnny Curtis]]. [=EC3=] has had Wrestling/KurtAngle, Wrestling/{{Sting}}, [[Wrestling/TheDudleyBoys Bully Ray]], and also Wrestling/{{Matt\|Hardy}} and Wrestling/JeffHardy. During his return run to Impact Wrestling and his ROH run respectively, he had [[Wrestling/QuinnOjinnaka Moose]] and Jay Briscoe.
17	* BadassBoast:
18	** Sometimes calls himself the greatest living professional wrestler alive.
19	** During the TNA World Title Series, this also doubles as an {{inverted\|Trope}} HeroicVow:
20	---> "The world title series isn't over until I win." [[labelnote:For the record…]]He backed it up.[[/labelnote]]
21	* TheBadGuyWins: What he believed in and clearly lived by in TNA for over two years.
22	* BattleCouple[=/=]OfficialCouple: "[[PortmanteauCoupleName BetaMax]]" with [[Wrestling/KarleePerez Maxine]] and "[[PortmanteauCoupleName KaitMan]]" with Wrestling/{{Kaitlyn}}.
23	* TheBigDamnKiss: Derrick Bateman got this from Kaitlyn when he dared ask her "what is love?" during her intervention to get him away from Maxine.
24	* TheBully: Became this when feuding with [[Wrestling/DrakeMaverick Rockstar Spud]] and eventually Jeremy Borash.
25	* ButtMonkey: Bateman was once knocked out by Wrestling/GailKim with a headlock when [[Wrestling/BryanDanielson Daniel Bryan]] asked her to show off her technique.
26	* CardCarryingVillain: Openly calls himself the bad guy, because he also says the bad guys win in real life. [[VillainHasAPoint He's not wrong so far with his record.]]
27	* CassandraTruth: Seriously, he was literally THE ONLY PERSON who saw fit to express the thought that his Aunt Dixie suddenly up and trusting Jeff Jarrett to the extent of making Double J her second choice to '''run the product''' is a horrible idea. But because he's a corrupt entitled prick himself who's out to protect his TNA World Heavyweight Championship title, not even Dixie believed him…until Drew Galloway got the proof that GFW's Chris Mordetzky was the man that attacked Drew and gave a GFW wrestler the opening to challenge for Ethan's title. Even then, just to prove that face Dixie is no less biased than heel Dixie, when she thanked Drew's team of five TNA guys for helping beat back GFW by giving them a #1 contender's match to face Ethan for the title, she never stopped heaping praise on Drew for his loyalty long enough to even give [=EC3=] credit for calling the truth beforehand or stopping PJ Black from stealing the world title for GFW. In fact, when [=EC3=] questioned her on this, she responded by giving Matt Hardy the opening back into the World Title picture by putting him in the match and making Jeff the referee. No wonder his reactions to Dixie following each time Matt took the title from him were less than embracing.[[note]]He screamed in her face that she was dead to him after Matt pinned Galloway to take his title the first time, then put forth an injunction that resulted in a World Cup-style tournament series in which he beat Matt in the finals cleanly to prove himself the rightful champion. When he returned from the second, blatant screwjob by Matt, Reby Sky, and [[BodyguardBetrayal Tyrus]], resulting in a FaceHeelDoubleTurn, to get revenge on the Matt Hardy Brand while they were trying to force her to fire him, he gave Dixie a cold glance and went on his way.[[/note]]
28	* {{Catchphrase}}:
29	** "I am [=EC3=]. And I'm a Carter. The world needs us!"
30	** The original/joint version shared with Dixie had "We're the Carters" as the first sentence, but it wasn't said as often.
31	** "[[BadassBoast I am the greatest]] [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment living professional wrestler alive]]!"
32	** "I am in the top one percent!"
33	** Victory after victory.
34	** Control Your Narrative
35	** You've been warned
36	* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: As Derrick Bateman. It's the only explanation for "Chicks and America!" and [=BetaMax=] happening to the same character.
37	* ContinuityNod: Upon returning to NXT, he was acknowledged as being a former member of their roster, but had no mention of his previous alias, Derrick Bateman.
38	** DiscontinuityNod: The flipside to his arrival as [=EC3=]. Not once has the full version of that name (Ethan Carter III) ever been mentioned. While he maintains a pompous rich-boy attitude and it is referenced that he's been spoiled and entitled because of his upbringing, it won't be said that he's the nephew of Dixie Carter for obvious reasons.
39	* CurbStompBattle: Got demolished by Ryota Hama during the [=Wrestle1=] hosted ''Bound For Glory'' but ended up preserving his "winning streak" by [[GroinAttack kicking Hama below the belt]].
40	* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: The greatest ''living'' professional wrestler ''alive''.
41	* {{Eagleland}}: Has always had elements of this in his characters, which type he leans towards depending on alignment, but has never made it his entire gimmick.
42	* EasilyForgiven: Averted with his 2016 face turn. He hasn't entirely forgiven Dixie for mistrusting him, and Spud [[FaceHeelTurn hasn't forgiven him AT ALL]] [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome for his previous abuse]].
43	* {{Expy}}:
44	** Overpaid/overhyped prima-donna athlete whose name can be turned into an acronym. Definitely shades of [[Wrestling/MontelVontaviousPorter MVP]] there. Funnily enough, the real MVP came back to TNA, gradually took away Ethan's security blanket in Dixie, and started calling him [[Franchise/StarWars C3PO]]—much to his dismay.
45	** Egotistical ex-WWE superstar with an entrance consisting of a back-turned pose and darkened blue lights goes about two years in TNA and and even wins and loses the World Heavyweight Championship twice all before ever being pinned or submitted, and is eventually subject to BodyguardBetrayal in a pivotal title match. Talk about an [[Wrestling/{{Christian}} instant classic]] there, eh? Continues this in his departure by returning to WWE and going on its third brand, and his entrance graphics/lighting scheme in WWE being gold.
46	* FaceHeelDoubleTurn: One could say this played out over a period of several months, what with being right about Wrestling/JeffJarrett and GFW, being the only reason they didn't get the world title before Dixie wizened up; getting effectively screwed out of the title at BFG thanks to Dixie pandering to the Hardyz in their home state just to stick it to Ethan for questioning her; his [[RulesLawyer injunction on the title]] out of spite resulting in a FIFA World Cup style series being booked for the title; and ultimately beating Matt clean in the finals of the tournament to reclaim his title[[note]]though he did use [[Wrestling/BrodusClay Tyrus]]' help in half the matches leading up to that point[[/note]]. The trigger was finally pulled a couple of weeks after the tournament's end[[note]]actually three days in tapings' time[[/note]] when Matt, influenced by his wife Reby Sky's advice to stop giving and start taking, drew Ethan into giving him a Last Man Standing title match by putting his TNA career on the line, only to execute a plan to blatantly screw Ethan over and take the belt for keeps with the help of Reby and the [[BodyguardBetrayal traitorous]] [[Wrestling/BrodusClay Tyrus]].
47	* {{Heel}}: Oh yes. He has turned his understated wrestling ability into an advantage rather than a handicap simply by mastering the art of being a entitled trolling silver-spoon jock who will either get under your skin and piss you off or make you admire his brilliant ability to do so. The latter reaction gradually took over, which combined with oddly sympathetic booking over a period of several months heading into 2016 ended up in a FaceHeelDoubleTurn as described above.
48	* HostileShowTakeover: He and Wrestling/DrewGalloway hijacked the ''EVOLVE 62'' recap.
49	* IdiotBall: At Takeover: New Orleans, [=EC3=] and Adam Cole forge an alliance to take out the competition. It goes well as they send various guys on and look to be getting along well. But then [=EC3=] decides to yell out "[=EC3=], Bay-Bay!" with Cole's signature pose. Naturally, a ticked off Cole immediately drops [=EC3=] onto a fallen ladder.
50	* IHaveManyNames: Ethan Carter III ([=EC3=]), Derrick Bateman, Michael/Mike Hutter, Agent D, Agent B…
51	* InformedAbility: As Derrick Bateman and Michael Hutter, his wrestling ability was generally considered pretty good but not entirely outstanding. So when he became [=EC3=] and was billed as this hot new star, he deliberately invoked this trope for heat via constantly getting {{squash match}}es to stay undefeated yet hyping them up as epic victories. It ended up sticking even after moving beyond this, leading to InsultBackfire below.
52	* InsecureLoveInterest: Heavily implied to be the reason Bateman didn't leave Maxine to Johnny Curtis and go for Kaitlyn sooner than he did.
53	* InsultBackfire: The following has happened on numerous occasions, especially in the northeastern United States.
54	--> '''Crowd chants:''' You can't wrestle!\
55	'''Ethan:''' I disagree.\
56	'''Crowd chants:''' You can't wrestle!\
57	'''Ethan:''' I'm very good.\
58	'''Crowd chants:''' You can't wrestle!\
59	'''Ethan:''' I disagree.\
60	'''Crowd chants:''' You can't wrestle!\
61	'''Ethan:''' I'm very good.
62	* ItsAllAboutMe: Until Bully Ray started targeting Aunt Dixie, then it was all about her. Then when she was put through a table it was all about getting revenge for her. Became all about him again when Bully Ray was out of the picture and he started blaming [[Wrestling/DrakeMaverick Rockstar Spud]] for what happened.
63	* JerkJock: His gimmick, or at least his name, is clearly a send up to [[UsefulNotes/AmericanFootball Washington Redskins]] quarterback Robert Griffin III ([=RG3=]).
64	* LargeHam: When he gets more mic time than just saying his "I'm a Carter" catchphrase he can really chew some scenery with his voice.
65	* LoveTriangle: Bateman with Maxine and [[Wrestling/{{Fandango}} Johnny Curtis]] in NXT Redemption. He and Johnny were the [[InvertedTrope male]] BettyAndVeronica, with Derrick as the Betty. Eventually he abandoned the situation once Kaitlyn got him to realize Maxine was the most toxic person not only in the triangle itself, but on the show overall.
66	* MarketBasedTitle: During ''Impact'''s Indian tour, he went by the name of Ethan ''Singh'' III, or E''Singh''3.
67	* MasculineGirlFeminineBoy / HenpeckedHusband: Actually boyfriend, but was this to absurd degrees with Maxine until Kaitlyn and friends woke him up to what was really going on.
68	* TheMenInBlack: One of Abraham Washington's in FCW, known simply as "Agent D" (for Derrick) or "Agent B" (for Bateman).
69	* MetaphoricallyTrue: Like nearly all long undefeated streaks in pro wrestling, he's lost matches at times during the streak but never by himself being pinned or submitted. For example, he got beat down by Bobby Lashley at Lockdown 2014 but immediately pointed out that Lashley did not have a TNA contract at the time and provoked Lashley to beat on him before the bell could ring or the cage could close, allowing him to escape without the stain on his record.
70	* MoneySong: TROUBLE TROUBLE TROUBLE TROUBLE TROUBLE TROUBLE TROUBLE
71	* {{Nepotism}}: As Dixie Carter's {{Kayfabe}} nephew, he is a parody of [[SelfDeprecation her own notorious penchant for nepotism]]. See SquashMatch below. Eventually ended when Dixie returned as a face, outright calling him a disgrace and refusing to trust the company in his hands (at least on an administrative level).
72	* OnlySaneMan: Jeff Jarrett's shady intentions for his return to TNA and the fact that Matt Hardy could not beat Ethan for the title cleanly were both obvious things to the average viewer…and to no one on the show save for [=EC3=].
73	%%* Poisonous Friend: Towards [[Wrestling/DrakeMaverick Rockstar Spud]] before the latter's HeelFaceTurn, which made him an EvilFormerFriend. Nowadays the alignments are inverted, mainly because Spud refuses to forgive [=EC3=] despite Ethan's changing for the better.
74	* PowerStable:
75	** [[OurPresidentsAreDifferent Abraham "Saddam/Obama" Washington]]'s Secret Service in FCW as Agent B/D.
76	** Dixieland/Team Dixie/The Carter Kingdom as [=EC3=].
77	* TheQuietOne: His return to NXT saw him speak very little, and after his call-up to WWE's main roster he doesn't speak at all.
78	* RedBaron:
79	** Often went by "The Deviant" when working as Derrick Bateman or under his real name.
80	** As [=EC3=] he's called himself "The New Icon of Professional Wrestling", "Wrestling's Greatest Hero", "The Hardcore American Icon", and "[[Wrestling/TripleH The New]] ([[PrecisionFStrike Fucking]]) [[Wrestling/TripleH Game]]". Since turning face Josh Mathews has referred to him as "The Ass-Kicking Machine". In his return to WWE he's called "The Top One Percent".
81	* RichBitch: And how! Though he's gotten better about it over time.
82	* TheRunnerUpTakesItAll: After fully recovering from the injury that caused his elimination in the final three of NXT season 4, Derrick Bateman was reinstated in the competition during season 5. That season went off the rails into a storyline format before the competition even finished, but even then he managed to thrive as part of the LoveTriangle story arc with Maxine and Johnny Curtis. Eventually all the other "contestants" were either formally eliminated or moved to the main roster, with Bateman being the only one that remained when NXT changed its format into the indie-developmental crossover it is today, and thus technically the uncrowned victor—but he was released soon after and eventually ended up wrestling in TNA as [=EC3=].
83	* SadistTeacher: As a WWE developmental talent he was a victim of one in Wrestling/BillDeMott.
84	* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: Earl and Brian Hebner became the first real victims of Ethan's entitlement, with him forcing Brian to count him pinning Earl [[FingerPokeOfDoom with a finger]] and calling that a "match".
85	* SharpDressedMan: When not wrestling, this is apparently what he considers relaxed dress. Less so when he was trying to convince Kurt Angle to fire Bully Ray and threatening him with legal action.
86	* ShipTease: Derrick had this with Kaitlyn while still officially tied to Maxine, which he was actively encouraged to pursue for [[MasculineGirlFeminineBoy obvious]] [[HenpeckedHusband reasons]]. Eventually upgraded to OfficialCouple following the StagingAnIntervention segment.
87	* SlapSlapKiss: After seeing him dragged through the coals by Maxine in such a relationship, it was so refreshing to see Kaitlyn wake him up from that fantasy and get him in a much more healthy coupling. Unsurprisingly, as [=EC3=] he has made no pass at ''any'' female wrestler, whether in TNA/Impact Wrestling or on NXT.
88	* SmallNameBigEgo / YouKillItYouBoughtIt: Any time he beats a legendary wrestler, he will siphon off part of their nickname or general identity to add it to his own. This is where the "New [[Wrestling/{{Sting}} Icon]] of ProfessionalWrestling" and "[[Wrestling/TheDudleyBoys Hardcore]] [[Wrestling/KurtAngle American]] Icon" handles come from. Has even threatened to add "Charismatic" in front of the latter title if he faced [[Wrestling/JeffHardy a certain enigma]]—before declining the match.
89	* SmugSnake: The new face of American wrestling apparently beats jobbers well below his weight class and attacks anyone of any higher stature before a match can take place. He did gradually become more credible and less smug. Well…not really less smug. More credible, sure, but definitely not less smug.
90	* SquashMatch: Kept getting easy targets for his "epic" winning streak before Wrestling/{{Sting}} finally forced him to put up or shut up.
91	* StagingAnIntervention: Kaitlyn, Wrestling/JustinGabriel, and Wrestling/AliciaFox did this to get Bateman to see how toxic Maxine was and finally leave her behind. It worked because the only thing holding him back was that he'd been psychologically put so far down that he [[DomesticAbuse didn't think he was good enough for anyone better than Maxine]], and luckily Kaitlyn was particularly determined to prove him wrong.
92	* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: One of the more refreshing aspects of his HeelFaceTurn in 2016. He is still the same wealthy, suave, self-assured Ethan Carter III, just a bit more valiant and interacting more positively with the crowd.
93	** Just because he and Dixie Carter are both face after Matt Hardy's actions doesn't mean that her mistrust of his intentions and ignorance of his character judgment for over half a year is now water under the bridge. He still hasn't completely forgiven her mistakes, and is perfectly willing to take his vengeance against Matt Hardy all on his own if he has to.
94	** [[Wrestling/DrakeMaverick Rockstar Spud]], meanwhile, hasn't forgotten about either the good times he and Ethan shared together as friends during the Team Dixie run, OR the abuse, betrayal, hatred, bloody battle, and eventual scalping he suffered at Ethan's hands when Ethan outright became TheBully in response to Dixie being thrown through a table. And, as it turns out, he hasn't forgiven Ethan for the latter in the least, pretending to have his back against the Matt Hardy Brand only to slam a cage door in his face, cost him a chance to take back the title, and then destroy him with a one-man stair-and-con-chair-to.
95	** Throughout his feud with Mike Bennett in 2016, Bennett has been making use of the same types of dirty tactics Ethan employed throughout his heel run, including using the help of Maria's distraction to pin Ethan for the first time in TNA. [=EC3=] has maintained a level of respect for Bennett's ability to underhandedly get the better of him…up to a certain point. Turns out [[EveryoneHasStandards reneging on a deal]][[note]]Bennett convinced Billy Corgan to put Ethan on a Road to Redemption where he had to pin or submit all three members of the Matt Hardy Brand in succession in order to get a rematch, [[XanatosGambit only for Mike to preempt this himself by attacking Ethan during his match with Matt Hardy and causing a DQ]][[/note]] is a no-no for him.
96	* TestosteronePoisoning: Derrick Bateman, natch. "SUBMISSION! WREST-LING!" This only makes the fact that Maxine had him so doggedly compliant to her every whim even more disturbing and obviously abusive.
97	* {{Troll}}: [=EC3=] gradually developed into this during his promos, InsultBackfire above being one of the more prominent examples.
98	** It's even more evident on Website/{{Twitter}}, where he at one time posted a series of tweets praising someone named John for achieving greatness despite being hated by the "misinformed" public, with the implication being obvious as to who this John is…only to reveal in the concluding tweet that this is his "review" of ''Film/JohnCarter'' and the John he's heaping praise at is actually the title character.
99	** Pulled the same one again with another different John. "John always delivers the goods every Sunday night!!!" Turns out he was talking about Jon Taffer, host of Creator/SpikeTV's ''Series/BarRescue'' series.
100	** After defeating [[Wrestling/DrakeMaverick Rockstar Spud]] in a bloody blowoff match, he came out with a big speech putting Spud over as a true wrestler with tremendous heart, showing respect and refusing to shave his head bald, and hoping to shake hands and end things on cordial terms…NOT! It was bait to bloody up Spud some more and then scalp him, before calling out that "[[ItsAllAboutMe THE WORLD IS MINE!]]"
101	** On impactwrestling.com and TNA's Website/YouTube channel, Ethan started up a talk video segment with a fireplace set called [=EC3=] Fireside Chat. His first episode? [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afftwyogQ8s Why wrestling is stupid.]] Given the fallout from Twitter comments UsefulNotes/UltimateFightingChampionship president Dana White had floating around at the time regarding the price of UFC shows vs. WWE specials, this was the lowest hanging fruit available to get a rise out of wrestling fans. Look in the comment section, it simply works too well.
102	* UnderwearOfPower: Glistening with diamonds at that.
103	* UnrelatedBrothers: Unrelated nephew and aunt in his case; he's not really a member of the Carter family, just the Ethan character.
104	* WildCard: Became this in 2017 with the switch from TNA to GFW, though it was initially portrayed as a straightforward FaceHeelTurn. He hated the new management for looking past his accomplishments or [[{{Kayfabe}} Carter pedigree]] in their loudly-proclaimed quest to "make Impact great", but also didn't take kindly to members of the Wrestling/{{AAA}} roster coming in and declaring their supremacy. Because of this, he's gone from whipping Wrestling/JamesStorm with a leather belt to rescuing Storm from getting his head bashed in with a beer bottle in a fairly short time span.
105	* YouWouldntHitAGuyWithGlasses: In a backstage segment on the last night of NXT Season 4, [[Wrestling/BryanDanielson Daniel Bryan]] recalled saying that he'd punch Bateman if he got eliminated (which he did, the prior week). Bateman reaches down and ''immediately'' tries to invoke this; as soon as he straightens up, Danielson decks him. But seeing how he would go on and win the match for his team, Danielson's actions turned into a {{Wangst}}less version of GetAHoldOfYourselfMan.
106	--> '''Bryan:''' Now get up. Because you've got a NXT Rookie Reunion Tag Team Match tonight, an I want you to win! And I don't want you to win for me, I want you to win for you! I want you to win for chicks! I want you to win for America! AND I WANT YOU TO WIN FOR [[CheapHeat CLEVELAND]]!\
107	'''Bateman:''' [[LargeHam WAAAAARRRRGHHH!]]
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Context Wrestling / EC3