Ephraim Vega (born December 2, 1976) is a Puerto Rican American professional wrestler and is best known for his work in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, under the ring name Machete, and Internationally under the name Ricky Vega. Vega was a standout high school football star, and was named to All-Section, All-conference, and All-county 1st teams his junior and senior year. A knee injury prevented Vega from playing college football, however, he did go on to have a successful career in the Insurance business before deciding on pursuing a wrestling career. Ephraim Vega was a freelance journalist, and wrote a column for Examiner.com/Kansas City, under general sports. Vega currently works in law enforcement as a Police Officer.