Meet Heavy Machinery

Their combined weight tips the scales at nearly 700 pounds, they’ve informed the NXT Universe of their fondness for steaks and weights, and their offensive repertoire is, well, different.

Most of all, Tucker Knight & Otis Dozovic, the team collectively known as Heavy Machinery, are all about having fun.

“I think we just have more fun than any other tag team, and that’s our main thing,” Knight said. “We just go out and enjoy ourselves.”

Knight and the ever-eccentric Dozovic have made quite the early impression on the NXT Universe since their recent splash into the tag team picture. With all eyes focused on the NXT Tag Team Title Ladder Match between The Authors of Pain and #DIY this Saturday at NXT TakeOver: Chicago, you had better believe Knight & Dozovic will be keeping close tabs on the result.

“We want everyone to know that we wanna challenge the top dogs, win the tag team titles and prove we are the best in NXT,” Knight said.

So just who exactly are Tucker Knight and Otis Dozovic? For starters, they are two men with rich amateur wrestling backgrounds. Tucker, a former NCAA All-American, was ranked as one of the top heavyweights in the country from 2011-13, during which time he attended California State University, Bakersfield, Arizona State and Portland State University

After going 48-0 in high school competition, the 330-pound Dozovic won a gold medal at the 2011 Junior Pan-American Games and a bronze medal at the 2014 Pan-American Games in Greco-Roman wrestling. Dozovic was even a prospect for the 2012 Summer Olympic team, an opportunity that allowed him to train with SmackDown LIVE Superstar and NXT alum Chad Gable.

“We pride ourselves on being big men who can go inside the ring,” Dozovic said. “Just because our team name is Heavy Machinery doesn’t mean we’re gonna wear hard hats. We are two guys built like brick walls, and we are gonna run you over.”

Tucker Knight & Otis Dozovic show off their incredible power in tag team competition. Video courtesy of the award-winning WWE Network.

Outside of the duo’s imposing size and obvious athleticism, it is Dozovic’s animated demeanor that has caught the eye of many throughout the NXT Universe.

“I’ve been this way all my life,” he said. “In the past I was hired for coaching jobs at amateur wrestling camps just to hype up the wrestlers and get them going. I’m laid-back, but when it comes to competition, it’s a different story.”

Knight echoed his partner’s sentiments.

“I used to get in trouble growing up for being too animated and celebrating too much when things went well,” he said. “Now we do something sweet and we get to celebrate in our own way. It’s especially fun hanging with Dozy (Dozovic) outside the ring. He’s always making funny faces and funny noises. I like to joke that he’s got his own language called Dozinese because sometimes people have a hard time understanding what he’s saying.”

Jokes aside, Knight & Dozovic have displayed a mutual complementary chemistry that so far has brought them plenty of success. According to Knight, that chemistry is the x-factor that separates them from the pack.

“I think that we have an energy that no other team currently has,” he said. “We want to prove to everyone, including ourselves, that we are the best tag team in NXT. The quicker we can do that, the better.”

Did You Know? Heavy Machinery fun facts

Favorite food

Tucker Knight: Burger, fries and ice cold soda

Otis Dozovic: 15 Buffalo wings, mashed potatoes and gravy, meatloaf, steak and baked beans

Favorite movie

Tucker Knight: “Good Will Hunting”

Otis Dozovic: “Friday the 13th”

Maximum squat, bench press and deadlift

Tucker Knight: 365-pound bench, 500-pound squat, 500-pound deadlift

Otis Dozovic: 475-pound bench, 610-pound squat, 710-pound deadlift

Misc.

Tucker Knight has an accounting degree from Arizona State University.

Otis Dozovic’s great-grandmother used to wrestle in carnivals under the name “Cattle Kate.”