Samoa Joe, part 2

Back in the United States Joe joined the ranks of the East Coast-based Ring of Honor promotion in 2002. He made his debut at "Glory by Honor" as Christopher Daniels' "hired assassin", brought in to take out Daniels' chief enemy, Low-Ki. Originally booked for just the one match against Low Ki (due to the cost of flying him from California to Pennsylvania, which ROH had to pay), Joe impressed fans with his extremely stiff and hard-hitting style that resembled an MMA fighter more than a wrestler, which led to ROH booking him full time.

Joe quickly rose through the ranks and became ROH Champion, defeating Xavier for the belt in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on March 22, 2003. He held that title for twenty one months before losing it to Austin Aries at "Final Battle 2004", also in Philadelphia, on December 26. During Joe's reign Pro Wrestling Illustrated officially elevated the ROH Championship to the status of "world title" after Joe defended it against English wrestler Zebra Kid at a joint ROH/Frontier Wrestling Alliance show, Frontiers of Honor, in the United Kingdom on May 17, 2003. It was also at this event that Joe developed his infamous "Olé Olé Kick" move; an idea which got after watching a commercial during the English FA Cup (football/soccer) final. Low Ki challenged Joe to "get the crowd to chant Ole Ole Ole," which Joe accepted, and during his match with Zebra Kid he positioned the Kid on a chair, and performed the move thus the Ole Kick was born.

With his historic ROH title reign, Joe also established himself as the face of the company and a perennial main-eventer in North America. He elevated the title from a mid-card attraction, secondary to established independent stars like Low-Ki, Daniels, and A.J. Styles, to the ultimate prize in Ring of Honor. Especially famous are his trilogy of title defenses against CM Punk (the second match earing "Five Stars" from Dave Meltzer, the first American match in 7 years to do so), and his match with Japanese wrestler Kenta Kobashi.

Soon after losing the ROH World Championship to Austin Aries, Joe became the promotion's fifth Pure Champion, defeating his (kayfabe) protegé Jay Lethal for the belt on May 7, 2005 at Manhattan Mayhem in New York City. He held the title for over three months before losing it to Nigel McGuiness on August 27 at Dragon Gate Invasion in Williamsville, New York.

In October 2005, when Japanese heavyweight superstar Kenta Kobashi made a "once-in-a-lifetime" trip to the United States, he was signed to two Ring of Honor shows. ROH officials selected Joe, ROH's top wrestler, to face him in a singles match on the first night and a tag match on the second. The first show was in New York City at the New Yorker Hotel. Joe proved to be a formidable opponent for Kobashi, and, after a back and forth match, which Dave Meltzer again gave "Five Stars", Kobashi walked away with the win.

In 2006, Joe principal wrestlers representing Ring of Honor in their war against rival Philadelphia promotion Combat Zone Wrestling. The war culminated in a five-on-five Cage of Death match at Death before Dishonor IV. Joe helped ROH dominate in the match, until, after picking up CZW wrestler Chris Hero for a Muscle Buster, he was attacked by fellow ROH wrestler Bryan Danielson. Danielson repeatedly hit Joe's bad knee with a steel chair, forcing him to quit the match. Joe was later replaced in the match by by Homicide, who went on to win the match for ROH. Joe later teamed with Homicide to fight against the Briscoes, and, like Homicide, found himself back in the ROH world title hunt. Joe, however, came up short against champion Bryan Danielson in several matches, the final one being a cage match on December 8.

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TNA: Low Ki / Senshi

Brandon Silvestry (born September 6, 1979), best known by the ring name, Low Ki, is an American pro wrestler of Puerto Rican and Italian descent. He is currently working for TNA Wrestling as Senshi. He is also performing in the American independent circuit, most notably for Jersey All Pro Wrestling and IWA Mid-South.

Silvestry admits that the name "Low Ki", originally spelled Low-Key, came from the lyrics of the BLACKstreet song, No Diggity. Low Ki is considered one of the top independent talents and athletes in the world and is known for his use of various brutal strikes. Because of this, many people assumed that he legitimately knocked out opponent Dan Maff early in their main event match at ROH's Bitter Friends, Stiffer Enemies in 2003 with his Tidal Wave springboard enzuigiri, causing the match to be stopped. He is also known for his intensity, focus, and serious approach to wrestling, which he calls his "art." Ki is also known for keeping kayfabe, even outside of the wrestling ring, as well as pumping himself up before matches by kicking walls.

Low Ki's first trip to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling was for its debut show. In NWA-TNA 2, on June 26, 2002, he attempted (in a losing effort) to become the first NWA-TNA X Division Champion. He would though, eventually go on to win the title from A.J. Styles on August 2 at NWA-TNA #8, but lost it two weeks later to Jerry Lynn. He would later form the Triple X trios with Christopher Daniels and Elix Skipper as part of the Sports Entertainment Xtreme superstable later that year, and would hold the NWA World Tag Team Championships twice, once each with Daniels and Skipper. When Daniels's greed for the X-Division Title initially forced Low Ki out of Triple X, Ki would go on to battle Daniels in Ultimate X 2, but Low Ki's pursuit was unsuccessful. Low Ki would leave TNA in July 2003 to recover from a shoulder injury suffered in Ultimate X2 as well as to focus on his independent bookings.

At TNA Lockdown 2006, Christopher Daniels's mystery opponent was revealed to be the returning Low Ki, who wrestled under the name of Senshi (Japanese for "warrior"). Low-Ki didn't want to sign away the rights to his ring name Low Ki to TNA, so he was renamed. He signed a long-term contract with TNA later under the name Senshi.

Following Lockdown, Senshi was not seen in action for several weeks, completely missing the Sacrifice pay per view in the process. Instead, he was built up with a series of vignettes hyping his martial arts background, his intense training, and his desire to dominate the X Division once more, hinting at the possibility of challenging the incumbent X-Division Champion, the undefeated Samoa Joe. Senshi eventually made his TNA iMPACT! debut on May 25, 2006, defeating Jay Lethal, Alex Shelley, and Sharkboy in a four way match.

Senshi defeated Sonjay Dutt, Alex Shelley, Shark Boy, Petey Williams and Jay Lethal at TNA Slammiversary 2006 to become the #1 contender to the X Division championship. Senshi went on to become champion on the June 22, 2006 episode of TNA iMPACT! defeating Samoa Joe and Sonjay Dutt after he pinned Dutt. He defended the title on several occasions against various opponents until, 3 months later, he lost the title to Chris Sabin at Bound for Glory.

Senshi would go on to be involved in the first Paparazzi Championship Series during late 2006 and into 2007.

He later feuded with Austin Starr and in result faced him at the Destination X pay-per-view, where they fought in a Crossface Chickenwing Match.

Low Ki first made his trip to Japan with the Pro Wrestling ZERO-ONE promotion. It was in ZERO-ONE that Ki won his first singles title, the ZERO-ONE Light Heavyweight Title, which he held until late 2003. Ki left ZERO-ONE in mid-2004 to join Pro Wrestling NOAH, where he was instantly given a title shot against GHC Jr. Heavyweight champion Yoshinobu Kanemaru. Although he was unsuccessful in his challenge, Ki has been quickly establishing himself in the NOAH junior heavyweight ranks.

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TNA: Samoa Joe. part 1

Nuufolau Joel "Joe" Seanoa (born March 17, 1979), better known by his ring name Samoa Joe, is an American pro wrestler, currently performing for TNA Wrestling.

Joe is most notable in TNA for his 18-month winning streak. Although he had lost two triple threat matches, a four-way match, a battle royal, and an Ultimate X match, none of these losses came by Joe being pinned or forced to submit. Due to this, Joe was still referred to as being "undefeated" in singles competition in his TNA tenure. This streak ended at TNA Genesis 2006 when Joe tapped out to Kurt Angle's Ankle Lock.

Joe's family founded a Polynesian dance troupe in the United States called Tiare Productions. He made his on stage debut at the 1984 Summer Olympics opening at the age of 5. He became a California State Junior Judo Champion and was an all league football player while attending Ocean View High School.

Joe started his pro wrestling career in September 1999 as the first graduate of the UIWA's now-defunct West Coast Dojo. He was trained under the guidance of West Coast indy legend Cincinnati Red, along with Johnny Hemp and occasionally John Delayo.

Debuting in December 1999 in a match against "Uncle" Jess Hansen just three months after beginning training, Joe quickly rose through the ranks of independent grapplers throughout California. He soon signed with former WWE developmental affiliate Ultimate Pro Wrestling (UPW), where he feuded with real life friend and future WWE champion John Cena and eventually captured the UPW Heavyweight Championship. He later became the longest reigning UPW Heavyweight Champion ever.

After finding success in UPW, Joe made his way to Japan, wrestling for Shinya Hashimoto's ZERO ONE promotion, fighting in its "Shingeki" series of pay per views and the annual "Burning Heart" tournaments.

During this time Joe also began wrestling (and continues to do so off and on) for Southern California promotion Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, where he has a standing rivalry with Super Dragon.

Joe now resides as a member of New Japan Pro Wrestling's Inoki Dojo in Los Angeles, California.

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TNA: Chris Sabin

Wrestler: Chris Sabin
Billed height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Billed weight 215 lb (98 kg)
Born February 4, 1982,Detroit, Michigan
Billed from Hell, Michigan,Detroit, Michigan
Trained by Scott D'Amore,Rudy Boy Gonzalez,Amazing N8,Bobo Brown
Pro Wrestling Debut 2000

Josh Harter (born February 4, 1982), better known by his ring name Chris Sabin, is an American pro wrestler, currently working for TNA Wrestling where he is the reigning TNA X Division Champion.

Harter began his wrestling training in Michigan at the NWA Great Lakes Pro Wrestling School. After the school began experiencing difficulties, he travelled to Windsor, Ontario and completed his training under Scott D'Amore and "Amazing" N8 Mattson at the Can-Am Wrestling School. He debuted in 2000 after four months training as Chris Sabin, and began working for D'Amore's Border City Wrestling promotion and for independent promotions in Michigan.

In Japan, on August 25, at Korauken Hall's ZERO-1 MAX show, Sabin and Alex Shelley became NWA International Lightweight Tag Team Wrestling Champions, when they defeated former champions, Ikuto Hidaka and Minoru Fujita. Since then, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla has been booking them as a tag team, Sabin and Shelley challenging for the PWG World Tag Team Titles in their third match in the company as a unit. They eventually lost the chance to win the belts.

Sabin joined TNA Wrestling in 2003 as a heel and won the TNA X Division Championship. His reign ended after three months when he lost to Michael Shane in the first ever Ultimate X match on August 20.

On September 3 of that year, Sabin, now a face, won the 2003 Super X Cup, thus becoming the number one contender to the X Division Championship. He regained the X Division Championship on January 7, 2004, defeating Shane, Christopher Daniels and Low Ki in the second Ultimate X match. He was stripped of the title on March 26, 2004 after a knee injury left him unable to defend it.

After returning from injury, Sabin took part in the World X Cup in May 2004, forming Team USA with Jerry Lynn, Christopher Daniels and Elix Skipper. On May 26, Team USA defeated Team Mexico, Team Canada and Team Japan in a two hour pay-per-view event which saw the teams fight one another in a variety of matches. The finals saw Sabin wrestle the Canadian Petey Williams and the Mexican Héctor Garza in an Ultimate X match, which Sabin won when he retrieved a large red "X" which had been suspended above the ring on steel cables.

For the remainder of 2004, Sabin contended for the X Division Championship. He won another Ultimate X on November 9 to win a title shot at Petey Williams. During the leadup, they ran an angle where Sabin was able to reverse Williams' Canadian Destroyer into his own Cradle Shock finishing move. At Turning Point 2004 on December 5, however, Williams was able to secure a victory with the help of a pair of brass knuckles. Sabin got another shot at the title at Final Resolution on January 16, 2005, in an Ultimate X match with Williams and A.J. Styles. Styles won the match and the title when he snatched the title from Williams' and Sabin's collective grip while they were still on the X ropes.

Throughout 2005, Sabin feuded with Michael Shane, by now wrestling as Matt Bentley. In September 2005 he began a feud with Shocker that was killed when Shocker was unable to return from Mexico for their scheduled match at Unbreakable on September 11.

So far in 2006, Sabin has mostly teamed up with Sonjay Dutt, to great effect, beating Team Canada in a #1 Contenders Tag Team Tournament on TNA iMPACT!.

However at the Against All Odds PPV event Sabin and Dutt were beaten by Chris Harris and James Storm (America's Most Wanted) in a bout for the NWA World Tag Team Championships.

On March 11, Chris Sabin defeated Alex Shelley and Sonjay Dutt in a 3-way match to represent both the USA in the "International X Division Showcase" at Destination X 2006 as well as joining Jay Lethal on Team TNA in the upcoming World X Cup Tournament. Later that month, Sabin was hospitalized with a severe concussion after taking four blows to the head during a show for the Northeast Wrestling (NEW) promotion on March 25 in Bristol, Connecticut. He was released after undergoing a CAT scan.

Sabin acted as the captain of Team USA at World X Cup 2006, defeating Puma of Team Mexico, earning 3 points, and on May 18, defeating Petey Williams in a sudden death tiebreaker singles match, winning the World X Cup for Team USA.

On the June 1, 2006 edition of TNA iMPACT!, Sabin rushed to the ring to clear out Alex Shelley and Kevin Nash, who were attacking Jay Lethal in another of Nash's X Division beatdowns. Nash would avoid a physical confrontation with Sabin, only to be challenged to a match by Sabin at Slammiversary 2006 which Nash was able to win.

Sabin later became the #1 Contender for the TNA X Division Championship by defeating Alex Shelley at TNA Hard Justice 2006. Sabin would enter into an angle with fellow X-Division wrestlers to promote the Jackass: Number Two movie by imitating stunts performed on the film to display the lighter side of the X-Division, something current champion Senshi dissaproved of. Since then, Sabin would attempt to take Senshi's title on several occasions.

On October 22, 2006, Sabin defeated Senshi after using an inside cradle to become a 3 Time X-Division Champion at Bound for Glory 2006. On the November 2, 2006 edition of TNA iMPACT!, he lost the title to A.J. Styles in the Fight for the Right tournament.

Prior to the match, Sabin showed signs of turning heel when he expressed his disdain for X-Division pioneer, and babyface, Jerry Lynn for doubting his focus in an interview with Christy Hemme. Sabin completed his heel turn two weeks later when he refused to help fellow X-Division star Sonjay Dutt from an assault from Samoa Joe. Chris Sabin went on to challenge Christoher Daniels at Genesis for the X-division championship but failed. After winning a triple-threat match against former allies Sonjay Dutt and Jay Lethal for a #1 contender's match, he once again challenged Daniels at Turning Point but lost after a BME.

At Final Resolution 2007, Sabin won the X Division Championship from then champion Christopher Daniels in a triple threat match which also involved Jerry Lynn. Sabin went on to feud with Lynn over the title; defeating him at Against All Odds 2007 by using the ring ropes for leverage.

At TNA Destination X, Sabin defeated Jerry Lynn is a two out of three falls match to retain the X - Division Championship. After the match though, a masked man (who was later found to be Christopher Daniels) performed The Angel's Wings on Sabin and hit Jerry Lynn on the head with the title belt.

His ring name is derived from the character "Sabin Rene Figaro" from the game Final Fantasy VI (released in America as Final Fantasy III).

Aside from being a fan of video games he's also a fan of anime. His old TNA desktop wallpaper has a cartoon in Sabin's wrestling gear that resembles a Super Saiyan from Dragonball Z, and he uses nicknames like "Super Sabin."

He has two brothers: one 3 years younger than him, the other 3 years older .

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TNA: Bobby Roode

Robert "Bobby" Roode (born in 1977) is a Canadian pro wrestler, currently wrestling for TNA Wrestling and on the independent circuit.

Bobby Roode was an avid hockey player throughout high school. After graduating, he attended community college for one year, studying Law and Security with a view towards becoming a correctional officer. At the age of twenty two Roode decided to leave college and become a professional wrestler, and was trained in his hometown of Peterborough, Ontario, by fellow Ontarians Val Venis and Shane Sewell. He completed his training after a year and wrestled his debut match against Pete Rock, then went on to work for various Canadian independent promotions, as well as appearing for the Puerto Rican World Wrestling Council.

Roode began working for Real Action Wrestling in 2001, where he formed a heel stable known as The Kardinal Sinners along with Kingman and Mike Hughes. He went on to work a series of dark matches for WWE between 2001 and 2004, and was briefly part of the WWE developmental program.

In May 2004, Roode was brought into Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) by Scott D'Amore, the owner of Border City Wrestling, a Canadian independent promotion which Roode had worked for on occasion. Roode debuted in TNA as part of the Team Canada stable, and took part in the World X-Cup, which was won by Team USA. Team Canada went on to feud with 3Live Kru and America's Most Wanted. As the biggest and most powerful member of Team Canada (until the addition of A-1 in May 2005), Roode acted as the "enforcer" of the group, a role popularised by Arn Anderson. In early 2006, recognizing his comparisons to Arn Anderson, he made the request that he be called "The Canadian Enforcer" from that point onward, and began coming to the ring in sequined robes reminiscent of the Four Horsemen and Rick Rude flashy style in the late '80s.

Roode began a feud with Dustin Rhodes in early 2005, losing to him at April's Lockdown pay-per-view in a best of three falls Steel cage match, with the third fall a blindfold match. After that Roode feuded with Lance Hoyt, who he defeated at Slammiversary, and The Naturals throughout the summer of 2005. After defeating Jeff Hardy at Unbreakable in September, Roode and the remainder of Team Canada resumed their feud with 3Live Kru.

While in TNA, Bobby Roode also wrestles at Border City Wrestling in Windsor, Ontario and at NWA Shockwave in New Jersey. He is the former BCW Can-Am Heavyweight Champion. On March 18, 2006, he won the NWA Shockwave Internet Championship from Josh Daniels at an NWAS/New York Wrestling Connection cross-promotional event. Eight days later, on March 26, Roode won the vacant NWA Shockwave Heavyweight Championship at Disturbing the Peace 2006 in a four-way match. Roode held both titles until May 21, when he dropped the Internet Title and successfully defended the Heavyweight Title against Slyck Wagner Brown. Due the restarting of the company, all the NWA Cyberspace Champions (Now known as NWA Shockwave) were vacated including Robert Roode's Heavyweight Title.

At Final Resolution 2006, Roode began a singles career, while still being linked to Team Canada, by defeating Ron Killings. Five months later, on the June 29th episode of TNA iMPACT!, TNA Management Director Jim Cornette forced the break up of Team Canada, effectively forcing Roode into singles competition full time.

After the break up of Team Canada, Roode began referring to himself as "TNA's hottest free agent". Vignettes began playing with various TNA managers such as Simon Diamond, Jim Mitchell, and Shane Douglas putting over the idea of Roode being an NWA World Heavyweight Championship contender and stating their interest in becoming his manager, but he eventually dismissed them. Having chose not to work with a current TNA manager, segments began airing with Roode interviewing legendary managers for the position; Bobby "The Brain" Heenan on September 7, Col. Robert Parker on September 14, and Sherri Martel on September 21. He revealed his chosen manager, Traci Brooks, at Bound for Glory, and promptly changed his name to "Robert Roode", with Traci Brooks now being referred to as "Ms. Brooks". His first feud after the name change was against Eric Young, whom he became jealous of when he realized fans still weren't cheering him but would cheer Young's every move. After Young beat Ms. Brooks in a bikini contest he demanded that Brooks "sign" Young to "Robert Roode Inc.". Finally, at Against All Odds 2007 Ms. Brooks successfully seduced Young into signing a contract with "Robert Roode Inc."

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TNA: Rhyno

Terrence Romney ("Terry") Gerin (born October 7, 1975) is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring names Rhino and Rhyno. He is currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.

Rhino made his debut in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling on July 17, 2005 (reverting to the ECW spelling of his name instead of WWE's which is trademarked), by hitting then-NWA World Heavyweight Champion Raven with the Gore following a match with Abyss, thus debuting as a member of Planet Jarrett. These events led to a match being scheduled between the team of Rhino and Jarrett and the team of Raven and the returning Sabu at the Sacrifice pay-per-view on August 14, 2005.

During the Sacrifice preshow, Director of Authority Larry Zbyszko informed Jarrett, who had lobbied for a title shot for several weeks, that if he could pin Raven, he would receive a shot at the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at the Unbreakable. However, should Jarrett lose the match, he would be prohibited from receiving a world title shot for one year. Later that night, during the tag match, Jeff Hardy returned to TNA, attacking Jarrett and enabling Rhino to Gore and pin Raven. An irate Jarrett, furious at having lost his shot at the title, watched as Zbyszko announced Rhino to be the new number one contender immediately after the PPV went off the air. Rhino faced Raven at Unbreakable in a match which saw him accidentally Gore a shopping cart in homage to his WWF Hardcore Championship bout with Raven at Backlash 2001. Despite interference from Jarrett, Raven retained his title after hitting Rhino with a DDT.

Rhino fought Jeff Hardy in the main event of the first episode of TNA iMPACT! on Spike TV on October 1. The match was declared a no-contest after both Abyss and Sabu interfered. At Bound for Glory, Rhino, Abyss, Sabu and Hardy faced each other in a Monster's Ball match, which Rhino won after hitting a middle-rope Rhino Driver on Hardy. Later that night, Rhino won a 10-man Gauntlet match to determine who would face Jeff Jarrett for his NWA World Heavyweight Championship after Kevin Nash, Jarrett's scheduled opponent, was rushed to the hospital due to a legit injury. Rhino went on to defeat Jarrett and win the title. The climb from a heel in Monster's Ball to the NWA Champion in the course of three separate matches made Rhino turn face. Rhino lost the NWA World Title to Jeff Jarrett at a 2-hour primetime special edition of TNA iMPACT! on November 3. Starting with the November 26 episode of iMPACT!, TNA started airing promos about Rhino's career and personal life in preparation for his title rematch at Turning Point. He lost the rematch after a guitar shot and interference from all of Team Canada.

Rhino then wrapped up a brutal feud with Abyss in 2006, who (due to his alignment with Planet Jarrett) halted Rhino's war on Team Canada. The feud saw Abyss Black Hole Slam Rhino on to several chairs, and Rhino smash Abyss through a steel wall with the Gore. Their singles feud ended in spectacular fashion at Against All Odds when Rhino Gored Abyss off of a fifteen foot ramp on to four tables. In April, Rhino became a member of Sting's four-man team of "Warriors", joining A.J. Styles, and Ron Killings to fight Jeff Jarrett's "Army" in a Lethal Lockdown match at Lockdown.

On June 9 at "TNA Hardcore War", a house show at New Alhambra Arena in Philadelphia, after Rhino defeated Jeff Jarrett, he publicly acknowledged that he had been offered a contract to come back to WWE and wrestle for the new ECW. However, Rhino had signed a two-year contract with TNA. On July 11, Rhino made an open challenge against WWE for their current incarnation of ECW. The shocking revelation was that he didn't like the direction of the new ECW and threw the "real" ECW World Championship (hidden in a burlap sack as Rhino stated WWE threatened legal action if it was shown) into an oil drum and burned it. (Although he later admitted that it was a replica, and he still has the original at his home.)
He said that WWE was full of crap because they were trying to make more profit by recreating the past and that he would become NWA World Heavyweight Champion to prove that Vince McMahon is a hypocrite.

To further this statement he issued an open challenge, very similar to that of Kurt Angle's, leading to a feud with Monty Brown and Samoa Joe after all three of them began to lay out open challenges and proclaim themselves as the toughest men in the company. This resulted in the three men fighting at Hard Justice which ended with Samoa Joe winning by pinning Monty Brown after driving Brown through a table. In Rhino's open challenge, he stated:

“ It doesn't matter who you work for – what company – whether it's a four-sided ring, six-sided or eight-sided – bring your ass to the iMPACT! Zone and face me face-to-face, because the end result is always the same - GORE! GORE! GORE!. ”

Rhino has since entered into a feud with Christian Cage, playing off their former history together in WWE, Japan and Canada. This feud culminated the November 16 episode of iMPACT! where he faced Christian in a bloody six-sides of steel barbed wire match. Christian won the match after taking Rhino's signature Gore that sent him through the side of the cage.

Rhino would feud with A.J. Styles at the end of 2006 where A.J. turned heel. This started with Rhino trying to help Styles with his situation with Christopher Daniels only to have Styles pull away and accuse Rhino of getting into his business. Rhino would lose to Styles at Turning Point 2006 after Styles faked a knee injury and then got Rhino with a roll up pin. At Final Resolution 2007 Rhino defeated Styles in a Last Man Standing match after Aj styles layed down to avoid a gore! and to stop the match.At Against All Odds 2007 Styles defeated Rhino in a Motor City Chain match. AJ Styles than struck a challenge to any wrestler in TNA to wrestle him at Destination-X in the debuting of the Elevation X match and Rhino accepted the challenge.

On March 6th edition of TNA iMPACT!, Rhino was the partner of Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe, as they faced off against Christian Cage, Scott Steiner and Tomko. Rhino eventually attacked AJ Styles, as he climbed on top of the Elevation X, as AJ Styles came back down, as Rhino was attacked by Christian Cage and Tomko.

Rhino recently did an interview in the Dearborn Press and Guide. He said he wants to wrestle for 10 more years and admitted that the belt he burned on iMPACT! last year was just a replica of the ECW title. He still has the real title in his possession.

At Destination X, Gerin defeated AJ Styles in Elevation X.

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TNA: Raven, part 3

Contrary to internet speculation, Raven did not appear at ECW One Night Stand 2006. Raven is currently signed to a three-year deal with TNA. Most of these rumors surfaced after his official website revealed an updated look, bearing an obscured ECW logo in the top-left corner. Raven has since stated on an interview that he enjoys TNA and has no interest in returning to ECW or WWE at all.

Raven made his TNA in-ring return at Sacrifice against A-1. Larry Zbyszko was in a corner of A-1, however Raven managed to gain a victory.

While Raven was one of the eight King of the Mountain match contenders for TNA Slammiversary 2006, he lost to Jeff Jarrett in their qualifying match on the June 1 episode of iMPACT.

On the June 16, 2006 episode of iMPACT!, Raven was on the losing end of an 8 man tag team main event match teaming with AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, and Rhino against America's Most Wanted, Monty Brown, and Bobby Roode after Monty Brown pinned Daniels following a Pounce. He was seen limping down the entrance ramp, still feeling the effects of his thyroid condition. He still went on to wrestle the match just as though he wasn't in pain at all.

Raven defeated Larry Zbyszko in a hair vs hair match at TNA Victory Road 2006.

For several weeks, he would watch over Brother Runt's actions against Abyss, being seen sitting on top of a semi-truck that Runt was giving a promo near. Most of these actions were extreme and usually not something Runt would do, especially not while being on the short end of the stick each time, hinting towards the chance of Runt being Raven's next apprentice. Because of this, on the August 25 episode of iMPACT, Abyss' manager James Mitchell speculated that Raven has been telepathically poisoning the mind of Brother Runt.

On the August 31, 2006 episode of iMPACT!, Abyss beat Brother Runt in The Match of 10,000 Tacks. Following this, Abyss attempted to drive Brother Runt though 2 tables with cases of thumbtacks on them. Before he could, however, Raven attacked Abyss, driving him though the tables and tacks, and then performed his signature "Wings of the Raven" pose while holding Brother Runt on his shoulders. This night also saw the debut of Raven's new yellow eye contacts: a small but noticeable addition to his look. On the September 15th edition of iMPACT!, Raven took on Abyss in a Hangman's Horror match, in which Raven lost. Afterwards, Brother Runt took out Abyss, and appeared to help Raven, but instead turned on him with an Acid Drop. Raven took the pinfall in a 3 way No Disqualification match at No Surrender after receiving the Black Hole Slam from Abyss. Raven was featured in the Monster's Ball Match at TNA's Bound for Glory PPV with Samoa Joe (the winner), Abyss & Brother Runt (with Jake "The Snake" Roberts serving as the special guest referee). Raven took the pin from Joe after a DDT from special referee Jake Roberts and a muscle buster from Samoa Joe.

A new version of The Flock formed in 2006, this time dubbed "Serotonin". Matt Bentley, Kazarian and Johnny Devine were the members.

At TNA Turning Point 2006, Serotonin lost to Ron Killings and Lance Hoyt after Killings used the axe kick on Kazarian. After the match Raven would beat Kazarian with a Singapore cane, as he was the one who took the pin. Raven would beat Kazarian with a cane once more, after a Kazarian lost a match to Sting. "Serotonin" won their first match during the TNA Against All Odds 2007 preshow against Jay Lethal and Sonjay Dutt, but after the match Raven beat all three with the Singapore cane despite winning.

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TNA: Raven, part 2

On June 19, 2005, Raven turned face and fulfilled his self-proclaimed destiny when he won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at TNA Slammiversary 2005, defeating A.J. Styles, Abyss, Sean Waltman and Monty Brown in a five way King of the Mountain match. The unique part of this situation was that Raven was previously suspended by Director of Authority Larry Zbyszko for attacking him, and was inserted into the match on the pay per view pre-show when Jarrett was removed for attacking a fan (the fan was really indy wrestler Sal Rinauro).

After successfully defending the title at TNA No Surrender 2005 on July 17, 2005, against Abyss in a brutal Dog Collar Match, he was gored by Rhino, who aligned with Jeff Jarrett in yet another effort to get Jarrett into the title picture. Jarrett would get a title shot if he pinned Raven in a tag-team match at TNA Sacrifice on August 14, where Raven teamed with Sabu and Jarrett teamed with Rhino. Ultimately Rhino got the pin on Raven after goring him through a table, and was given the title shot at TNA Unbreakable on September 11, 2005.

At Unbreakable, Raven made the request of making the match a "Raven's Rules Match", to which Rhino agreed. Raven's Rules means no-disqualification, with Raven pushing a shopping cart to the ring containing various normally-illegal foreign objects. In the match, Rhino got sliced in the face by a pizza cutter, while Raven was split open by a shot from a garbage can and shot in the forehead twice with a staple gun. In the end, after unsuccessful interference by Jeff Jarrett, Rhino suffered the Raven Effect DDT, and Raven retained the NWA World Heavyweight Championship once more.

On September 15, 2005 Raven lost the NWA Title to Jeff Jarrett in Oldcastle, Ontario, Canada, at a special event of Border City Wrestling. America's Most Wanted ("Wildcat" Chris Harris and "Cowboy" James Storm) came out and made and interfered on Jarrett's behalf. TNA Director of Authority Larry Zbyszko was immediately contacted by BCW officials, who declared the title change official.[1]

Raven was enraged by this acceptance, and went on the rampage backstage during the weeks leading up to Bound For Glory. As a result, when challenger Kevin Nash went down to illness and forfeited his title shot, Larry Zbyszko refused to grant Raven a rematch. Rhino came out and berated Raven, asking where the sick person that crucified The Sandman in ECW went, and saying Raven now was pathetic.

During this, and a segment with Cassidy Riley on the following episode of iMPACT, it has been hinted that Raven has "gone soft" as a result of his involvement with an as-yet unrevealed woman (This storyline has not been completed and is not expected to be). On the December 3 addition of iMPACT, he lost a "Clockwork Orange House of Fun Match" against The Diamonds in the Rough.

Feuding with Larry Zbyszko, Raven was repeatedly pressured to sign a release form and leave TNA. He steadfastly refused, and Zbyszko brought back some of Raven's past cronies (P.J. Polaco (Justin Credible) and Chris K. (Chris Kanyon)) in an attempt to "punish" him.

Raven was set to face an opponent of Zbyszko's choosing at Final Resolution. If Raven won, he would have gotten a NWA World Heavyweight title match, but if Larry's choice won, Raven would be kicked out of TNA.

Raven's opponent was Sean Waltman. Halfway through the match, the referee was knocked out and Larry Zbyszko became the ref and constantly gave Raven a slow count. However, he would give Sean Waltman the same count, showing some objectivity. It ended when Sean Waltman gave Raven an X-Factor through a table off of a ladder. Sean went for the pin, and Raven got his foot on the rope but Zbyszko counted the fall anyway. Afterwards, Raven ran into Jackie Gayda, who informed him that they had something in common - they were both being screwed by "TNA Management".

TNA: Raven

Ring name(s) Johnny Polo,Raven,Scott Anthony,Scotty the Body,Scotty Flamingo
Billed height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Billed weight 225 lb (102 kg)
Born September 8, 1964,Short Hills, New Jersey
Resides Atlanta, Georgia
Billed from The Bowery,
Palm Beach, Florida
Trained by Larry Sharpe,Charlie Fulton,The Sheik,Jake Roberts
Pro Wrestling Debut February 20, 1988

Scott Levy (born September 8, 1964) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Raven. He is currently wrestling for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, and is a former NWA and ECW World Heavyweight Champion. He is also the innovator of numerous types of "gimmick" wrestling matches, such as the Clockwork Orange House of Fun match.

Levy's main exposure since leaving the WWE has been for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (then NWA-TNA), and in Europe for the Frontier Wrestling Alliance, where he reverted to his original grunge image. He also appeared in Ring of Honor that year, battling CM Punk in one of the company's most famous feuds, which was based around Punk's straight-edge lifestyle as opposed to Raven's years of drug and alcohol abuse during the height of his fame in the late nineties.

Raven debuted in TNA Wrestling on January 22, 2003, two days after his release from WWE, attacking Jeff Jarrett and stealing the NWA World Heavyweight Title from him. Raven proceeded to start a long-running storyline in which he claimed it was his "destiny" to win the NWA World Heavyweight Title. Despite two shots at the belt (versus Jarrett and AJ Styles, respectively), he was unable to capture the gold at the time.

On September 17, 2003, Raven lost his trademark long hair after he was defeated by Shane Douglas in a hair versus hair match. He later regrew it. While in TNA, he formed a stable known as The Gathering, which included Punk, though they would later turn on him. In 2003 Raven feuded with James Mitchell and the Disciples of the New Church. Raven took them all out one by one just like he said, but with help from The Gathering. Raven ended his feud with James Mitchell in a Last Man Standing match, which was won by Raven. In December 2003, Raven began to feud with Abyss and Red Shirt Security. Raven and The Gathering beat the Red Shirts in a Raven's House of Fun match, they then challenged Abyss and the Red Shirts to a steel cage match. Abyss and the Red Shirts would come out victorious when the Gathering turned on Raven.

In 2004 Raven teamed up with The Sandman to go against the Gathering. The Gathering would win due to interference from James Mitchell, who had aligned himself with The Gathering. Raven then teamed with Terry Funk to defeat the Gathering, even though James Mitchell tried to interfere.

In 2004, Raven's old friend Sabu returned to TNA Wrestling. Raven teamed with Sabu to defeat The Gathering one last time. Raven and Sabu would then feud with Abyss and "The Alpha Male" Monty Brown. Abyss and Monty Brown would outnumber Sabu in many occasion, when Raven failed to watch Sabu's back.

Eventually Raven challenged Sabu to an empty arena match to be held on June 9, but Sabu refused to wrestle him, claiming that he had promised his uncle, The Sheik, their trainer, that he would never fight Raven. This caused Raven to wage a campaign against Sabu, disrespecting the memory of his uncle and assaulting Sabu's mouthpiece, Sonjay Dutt, until Sabu finally broke and attacked him on July 23. Raven defeated Sabu in a no holds barred match on August 4, and a scheduled return match on August 18 was cancelled after Sabu (legit) suffered a back injury.

TNA: Jay Lethal

Ring name(s) Jay Lethal,Hydro.Jamar Cunningham
Billed height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Billed weight 225 lbs (102 kg)
Born Elizabeth, New Jersey
Trained by Mikey Whipwreck,JAPW School
Debut December 7, 2001

Jamar Shipman (born in Elizabeth, New Jersey) is an American professional wrestler, best known by his current ring name Jay Lethal. He is currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.

Lethal debuted in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling on the December 17, 2005 episode of iMPACT!, losing to TNA X Division Champion Samoa Joe. In January 2006, he was signed to a contract by TNA. He made his pay-per-view debut at TNA Against All Odds 2006 on February 12, 2006, defeating Matt Bentley, Alex Shelley, and Petey Williams in a four way match when he pinned Williams.

On the February 18, 2006 edition of iMPACT!, Lethal defeated Roderick Strong and Shannon Moore to qualify as a member of Team USA, the defending champions in the 2006 World X-Cup. Team USA wrestled their first match at TNA Lockdown 2006 on April 23, 2006, losing to Team Japan (Black Tiger, Minoru Tanaka and Hirooki Goto) after Black Tiger pinned Lethal with a tiger suplex. On the April 27, 2006 episode of iMPACT!, Lethal unsuccessfully challenged Samoa Joe for the X Division Championship once again.

In the June 1, 2006 episode of iMPACT! Lethal scored a win over Alex Shelley but was attacked by Kevin Nash. During the July 13, 2006 episode Lethal won a shot at the title of his choosing by defeating Team Canada in an eight-man tag team match, the next week Lethal challenged Jeff Jarrett for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, but was defeated following interference from Scott Steiner. Later Lethal took part in a five way X- Division match to be number one contender for the title. Although Petey Williams won the match, one week later Lethal was added to the match making it a three way match for the X- Division title at Hard Justice, as well as Petey Williams and defending champion Senshi. He lost after being pinned by Senshi, who made profit of a Canadian Destroyer made by Williams. In a strong product placement, Lethal alongside Sonjay Dutt, got fellow X Division superstar Chris Sabin ready for his match at No Surrender by watching clips of Jackass: Number Two, which was being heavily promoted by TNA at the time.

One night on iMPACT!, during Sabin's match with Alex Shelley, Shelley's partner Johnny Devine was pushed in a shopping cart and rammed into the steel post, allowing Sabin to pin Shelley. The following week, Lethal was able to defeat Petey Williams after Sabin and Dutt distracted the referee, allowing Lethal to roll a bowling ball onto Petey's midsection. Following in this storyline, Lethal went on to defeat Williams again on Sepetember 24, 2006 at No Surrender Pay-per-view, following Williams allegedly being given laxatives by stable mate Dutt, rendering him incapable of doing most of his moves, and giving Lethal the victory when Williams could no longer "hold it". He and Dutt were also involved in Sabin's match later in the night with similar antics involving a blow-up doll, but to no avail as Sabin would lose the match despite the interference. These, too, were designed as advertising for Jackass: Number Two, as were other moments for Mortal Kombat Armageddon. In December 2006, Kevin Nash recruited Lethal, Senshi, Austin Starr, Sonjay Dutt & Alex Shelley to compete in a tournament known as the Paparazzi Championship Series. The series included a push-up contest, musical chairs, Limbo contest, Texas Hold'em and a few others, although Lethal did not win the tournament.

Since the PCS, Lethal and Dutt have been taken under the wing of Kevin Nash who says he will give them an extreme makeover, which in Lethal's case, has him in a gimmick where he impersonates "Macho Man" Randy Savage.

TNA: Ron "The Truth" Killings, Part 4

Killings teamed with Sonjay Dutt in the 2005 Chris Candido Cup. On August 19, in their first match of the tournament, Killings and Dutt were booked against B.G. James and his partner, Cassidy Riley. Throughout the match, Killings and James refused to fight one another, enraging Dutt and Riley. After Riley hit Killings with a fisherman DDT, James gave his own partner a pumphandle drop, allowing Dutt to pin Riley. After the match, Killings and James celebrated together, apparently undivided. Killings and Dutt were eliminated from the tournament by Shocker and Chris Sabin on September 2.

The 3Live Kru won a six-man tag team match against the Diamonds in the Rough at TNA Unbreakable on September 11. After iMPACT! premiered on Spike TV on October 1, Kip James entered the picture once more, but appeared to be helping 3LK this time. He refereed a Hockey Stick Fight at Genesis 2005 on November 13 and called the match fairly. 3LK won the match.

On the November 26 episode of iMPACT!, B.G. James brought Kip James and the 3Live Kru to ringside, then asked Killings and Konnan whether James could join the stable. Following a heated argument between the still sceptical Konnan and B.G., both Killings and Konnan gave their assent, and the "4Live Kru" was born. On December 11 at Turning Point 2005, the Four Live Kru faced Team Canada in an eight man tag match. In the course of the match, Konnan hit Kip and B.G. James with chair shots, enabling Bobby Roode to pin Kip James. He then attempted to celebrate with Killings, who appeared shocked by Konnan's actions. Killings would later tell Konnan that he was done with the Kru.

Following the break-up of the 3Live Kru, Killings began competing as a singles wrestler once more. He briefly aligned himself with Sting in March 2006, teaming with Sting, A.J. Styles and Rhino as "Sting's Warriors".

At TNA Lockdown 2006 on April 23, 2006, Sting's Warriors defeated Jarrett's Army in a Lethal Lockdown match. His allies included Sting, AJ Styles, and Rhino

On the May 25, 2006 episode of iMPACT!, Killings defeated Monty Brown to qualify for a King of the Mountain match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at TNA Slammiversary 2006 on June 18, 2006, however at Slammiversary Killings failed to win the championship. Killings would then team with Lance Hoyt in the following months, even participating, but losing, in a Battle Royal at No Surrender.

On November 19, 2006 at TNA's Genesis pay-per-view event, Killings and his tag team partner Lance Hoyt defeated Austin Starr and Alex Shelley with Kevin Nash at ringside.

His current story is that he stars in movies such as "A Few Good Black Men" and "Rocky VII" as "Rocky Blackboa" (kayfabe), but they keep flopping.

TNA: Ron "The Truth" Killings, Part 3

In subsequent months, Killings feuded with Sports Entertainment Xtreme before turning heel once again by attacking Jarrett on March 19, 2003. He later introduced Nelson Knight as his bodyguard, but soon turned face once more.

In May and June 2003, Killings began teaming with B.G. James and Konnan, and in July 2003 the trio formed a face stable known as the 3Live Kru. The Kru first wrestled as a unit on August 13, 2003, defeating the Disciples of the New Church (Sinn, Vampire Warrior and Devon Storm).

The Kru soon went after the NWA World Tag Team Championship. On November 26, the Kru defeated Simon Diamond, Johnny Swinger and Glenn Gilberti in a six man tag team match with the vacant NWA World Tag Team Championships on the line. The NWA World Tag Titles were thus held by all three members of the Kru until January 28, 2004, when they were defeated by Redshirt Security (Kevin Northcutt and Legend) in Nashville.

After several abortive attempts to regain the tag titles, the Kru began supporting Killings's bid to become NWA World Heavyweight Champion. On June 9, NWA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett took part in a "3Live Kru Challenge" which saw him face Konnan, James and Killings in three subsequent matches. Jarrett defeated Konnan in a strap match and James in a "trailer park trash match" (hardcore match), but lost to Killings in a "Ghetto Justice match".

On May 19, 2004, Killings faced NWA World Heavyweight Champion A.J. Styles, Raven and Chris Harris in a four way title match. He won the bout, becoming a two-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, after Jeff Jarrett hit Styles with a guitar. His reign lasted until June 2, when Jarrett defeated him in a King of the Mountain match which also included Harris, Styles and Raven. The Kru went on to feud with Jarrett's mercenaries, the Elite Guard (Chad Collyer, Hotstuff Hernandez and Onyx), and on July 14, the 3Live Kru, Dusty Rhodes and Larry Zbyszko defeated Jarrett, Ken Shamrock and the Elite Guard in a ten man tag team match.

The Kru began feuding with Team Canada in August 2004, and at the inaugural three hour TNA pay-per-view, Victory Road 2004, on November 7, 2004, in Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, Konnan and James defeated Team Canada members Bobby Roode and Eric Young for the NWA World Tag Team Championships. After Konnan suffered an injury, Killings and James defended the titles against Team Canada at Turning Point 2004 on December 5, but lost following interference from the injured Team Canada member Johnny Devine.

Throughout early-2005, the Kru feuded with Michael Shane and Kazarian, Team Canada and The Naturals. Dissension arose after James' former tag team partner from the WWF, Billy Gunn, joined TNA as "The New Age Outlaw" and began trying to convince James' to reform their highly-successful tag team, the New Age Outlaws. Killings and Konnan feuded with The Outlaw and Monty Brown, with James' loyalties divided. Brown and The Outlaw, who had by now renamed himself "Kip James" as a psychological ploy, defeated Killings and Konnan at No Surrender 2005 on July 17, with James declining to help either team. Killings and Konnan became increasingly frustrated, at one point referring to themselves as the "2Live Kru", although Killings repeatedly attempted to act as a mediator between James and the irate Konnan. The two teams faced one another in a No Surrender rematch on August 14 at TNA Sacrifice, with James appointed guest referee by Director of Authority Larry Zbyszko, and James reaffirmed his loyalty to the Kru by attacking Kip, enabling Konnan to pin him and win the match. The Kru, apparently undivided, celebrated together following the match.

TNA: Ron "The Truth" Killings, Part 2

Killings was promoted to the main roster after the Road Dogg, whose tag team partner, Billy Gunn, had been injured early that year, requested that they be placed in a tag team. He debuted on the November 13 episode of RAW is WAR, attacking William Regal during a match against Road Dogg. Killings, renamed K-Kwik, and the Road Dogg began rapping together, performing a song called "Gettin' Rowdy" as they approached the ring. The song later had its title changed to "Lemons Are For Eating, Tremors Are For Earthquakes" as Killings and Dogg adopted a math rock gimmick instead.

Upon the return of Billy Gunn later that month, Killings was involved in a D-Generation X quasi-reunion. At Survivor Series 2000 on November 19, Killings teamed with former-DX members Road Dogg, Billy Gunn and Chyna to face the Radicalz in a survivor match. Killings was eliminated from the match by Chris Benoit, and the Radicalz went on to win the match. At Armageddon 2000 on December 10, Killings and the Road Dogg took part in a four way tag team match for the WWF Tag Team Championship which was won by Edge and Christian.

After Road Dogg was suspended in December 2000 and subsequently released in January 2001, Killings became a singles competitor. He took part in the 2001 Royal Rumble on January 21, but was eliminated by The Big Show. Killings then began competing in the hardcore division. He defeated Raven for the WWF Hardcore Championship on February 3, 2001, in Greensboro, North Carolina, but lost the title to Crash Holly that same evening. He defeated Raven for the title a second time on February 5, this time in the Carolina Coliseum in Columbia, South Carolina, but once again he lost the title to Holly within the space of several hours. Killings was released from the WWF later that year.

In 2002, Killings joined the controversial Xtreme Pro Wrestling promotion as K. Malik Shabazz, teaming with Salid Jihad and Raphael Muhammed as the New Panthers, a gimmick based upon the Black Panther movement. On July 20, 2002, in Pico Rivera, California, Killings and Muhammed took part in a four way tag team match for the XPW Tag Team Championships which was won by Damián 666 and Halloween. He left the promotion later that year.

Killings signed with the Nashville, Tennessee-based Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion in June 2002, and appeared on the first weekly TNA pay-per-view on June 19 as K-Krush. Killings immediately established himself as a heel by harassing NASCAR drivers Sterling Marlin and Hermie Sadler until he was attacked by Brian Christopher. Later that same evening, he participated in the gauntlet for the gold, but was eliminated by Malice. The following week, Killings lost to Christopher after Marlin and Sadler interfered in their match. On July 3, Killings and Jeff Jarrett defeated Christopher and Scott Hall after Christopher turned on Hall during the match, aligning himself with Killings and Jarrett. On July 10, Killings defeated Hermie Sadler in a squash. However, the decision was overturned after Killings continued to attack Sadler after he had been awarded the match.

On the July 17 TNA pay-per-view, Killings delivered an angry promo in which he implied that he had been held back as a result of his race. He then stated that he was to be referred to as The Truth. Killings eventually began using his own name, referring to himself as Ron "The Truth" Killings. In following weeks, Killings gave several more racially charged interviews, and had confrontations with fellow African American wrestler Monty Brown.

Killings defeated Ken Shamrock for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at NWA-TNA 8 on August 7, thus becoming the second ever black NWA World Heavyweight Champion (although only the first recognized by the NWA). He successfully defended the title in matches with Monty Brown, Jerry Lynn, Low Ki, Curt Hennig, Hotstuff Hernandez and Scott Hall before losing to Jeff Jarrett on November 20 after Vince Russo hit him with a guitar. As a result of Russo's involvement, Killings underwent a turn and became a face.

TNA: Ron "The Truth" Killings, Part 1

Ring name(s) K-Krush,K. Malik Shabazz,Ron "The Truth" Killings,K-Kwik
Billed height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Billed weight 230 lb (104 kg)
Born January 19, 1972,Georgia
Resides Charlotte, North Carolina
Trained by Manny Fernandez
Pro Wrestling Debut 1997

Ron "The Truth" Killings (born January 19, 1972) is an American professional wrestler and rapper, currently wrestling for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. He is the second African American ever to have won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.

Killings was born in Georgia but grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina. His family struggled to make ends meet as a result of low-paying jobs and periods of unemployment, and his father supplemented the family income by selling cannabis. While Killings occasionally helped his father, he aspired to become a musician. After moving to Charlotte, Killings became enamoured of hip hop music and breakdancing.

Throughout his high school career, Killings was a successful track runner and football player. He was offered college scholarships, but turned them down in order to pursue a career in music. By the time he left school at the age of sixteen, Killings had met rappers such as Tupac Shakur and Eazy-E, and was determined to become a rapper himself. He joined a talent agency named Ice Productions and became an opening act for performers such as MC Lyte and 3rd Bass.

In order to fund his burgeoning career, Killings became a drug dealer. He spent three years dealing, earning enough in the process to pay for a recording studio, and began working on a debut album. After he heard that there was interest in his album, Killings decided to take part in one last drug deal in order to earn the necessary capital to finish his album. However, he was arrested after one of his friends tipped-off the police. Killings spent thirteen months in jail, and became determined to stop dealing drugs and to obtain a legitimate job.[citation needed]

Killings was released from prison into a halfway house, where he met Jackie Crockett, an employee of the National Wrestling Alliance. Crockett tried to convince Killings to become a professional wrestler, but he was determined to focus on his music career. Killings spent two years working on his music career, this time funding his career by robbing drug dealers, before becoming disillusioned by his lifestyle. He contacted Crockett once more and expressed an interest in becoming a wrestler.

Crockett, by now the senior cameraman for World Championship Wrestling, took Killings to several WCW and Pro Wrestling Federation events, introducing him to wrestling personalities. Killings debuted in the PWF in 1997 as a manager, then spent three years travelling and training with Manny Fernandez. In 1999 he debuted in NWA Wildside as K-Krush, where he was awarded the newly-created NWA Wildside Television Championship on December 12. Killings lost the title to A.J. Styles on January 8, 2000.

At the urging of Rick Michaels, Killings sent a promotional videotape to the World Wrestling Federation. He was signed to a two year developmental deal by the WWF in 2000, and was assigned to Memphis Championship Wrestling, a WWF farm federation. On April 12 in Robinsonville, Mississippi he won a battle royal with the vacant MCW Southern Heavyweight Championship on the line. He lost the title to a masked Jerry Lawler on May 24 in Tunica, Mississippi, but reclaimed it from Joey Abs several months later in Memphis, Tennessee on August 19. His second reign ended on November 3 when he lost to Steve Bradley in Manila, Arizona.

TNA: Kaz

Franklin Kazarian (born August 4, 1977) is an American pro wrestler who currently works for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling in its X Division as Kaz and has worked for numerous promotions, most prominently World Wrestling Entertainment in its cruiserweight division.

Nationally Armenian Frankie Kazarian began training with Killer Kowalski in Malden, Massachusetts in 1998, and wrestled his debut match after one month's training, facing Freight Train Dan. After remaining at Kowalski's school for eight months, Kazarian returned to Southern California and began wrestling on the independent circuit, primarily in the Empire Wrestling Federation, where he continued his training and teamed with Josh Galaxy as Bad Influence.

In 2000 Kazarian joined Ultimate Pro Wrestling, and in March 2001 he formed a tag team with Nova known as Evolution. Evolution won the vacant UPW Tag Team Championships on May 30, 2001. He travelled to Japan as part of the UPW roster in 2002, where he faced Steve Corino.

He toured Australia and New Zealand with the now defunct World Wrestling All-Stars promotion in May 2003, where he met Glenn Gilberti and Scott D'Amore, leading to his being offered a job by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.

Kazarian also worked for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, and won a tournament to become the first ever PWG Heavyweight Champion on August 30, 2003. He held the title until February 22, 2004 when he was defeated by Adam Pearce.

Kazarian joined TNA in the summer of 2003, and quickly began pursuing the TNA X Division Championship. He was part of the first ever Ultimate X Match, on August 20, 2003 along with Michael Shane and Chris Sabin, which was won by Shane. Kazarian did not appear with TNA between October 2003 and March 2004.

After Chris Sabin was stripped of the title while sidelined with a knee injury, Kazarian eventually won the X-Division title on March 31, 2004, defeating The Amazing Red in a match for the vacant title. He lost the belt to A.J. Styles on June 9, 2004.

In June 2004 he and Shane formed a tag team (informally known as Shazarian) managed by Traci Brooks. They claimed to resent the fact that A.J. Styles had held the TNA X-Division Championship, then the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, then had won the X-Division Championship once more. This was purportedly illegal according to a previously unknown bylaw of the TNA rulebook, which stated that an X-Division competitor who participated for the Heavyweight Championship could not return to the X Division. On July 28, 2004 he and Shane faced Styles in an Ultimate X match. Kazarian and Shane were declared co-champions when both took possession of the title belt at the same time. On August 11 they defended the title in a twenty two man Gauntlet for the Gold Match. Kazarian started at number one and was one of the final three participants, but was eliminated by The Amazing Red, who in turn was eliminated by Petey Williams.

Kazarian was put in the same situation at November's Victory Road where he entered number one in a 20-man X Division Gauntlet and was the last man eliminated.

Throughout late 2004 and early 2005, Kazarian and Shane competed in the TNA tag division. Kazarian's contract with TNA expired in September 2004 and was not renewed, but he continued working with the company on a per appearance basis. The duo eventually began a feud with the 3Live Kru and Jeff Hammond, a NASCAR analyst who was working with TNA as a commentator. This led to a match at the Against All Odds pay-per-view on February 13, 2005 between Hammond and Kru member B.G. James and Shane and Kazarian. Kazarian was pinned by Hammond after Shane miscued on a superkick and knocked him out.

On February 15, 2005, Kazarian left TNA on good terms and signed with World Wrestling Entertainment. He was assigned to Ohio Valley Wrestling, the primary developmental territory of WWE. He made his WWE television debut during an episode of Velocity on July 16, 2005, defeating Nunzio, and remained undefeated throughout July and into August.

During this time, he picked up victories against Scotty 2 Hotty, Funaki, and Paul London respectively. On August 15, Kazarian announced on his website that he had left WWE two days earlier. The reasons for the departure were said to be WWE's writers desire to have Kazarian cut his hair (even though his hair is currently short in TNA) to change his image. During his short stint with the WWE, Kazarian became the first former TNA X Division champion to be on the WWE's active roster.

Kazarian returned to the Californian independent circuit shortly after his release. He wrestled on the August 19 Pro Wrestling Guerrilla show in Los Angeles, "Smells Like Steen Spirit", where he teamed with Petey Williams to (unsuccessfully) challenge El Generico and Human Tornado for the PWG Tag Team Championships. During Pro Wrestling Guerrilla's "(Please Don't Call It) The O.C." on May 6, 2006, Kazarian's signature ponytail was cut off by Scorpio Sky, who he was feuding with at the time.

Kazarian returned to TNA on July 16, 2006 at Victory Road, in a Championship match loss to X-Division champion Senshi. Afterwards he began teaming with "Maverick" Matt Bentley, with whom he debuted a new goth look before. The duo was hen joined by Johnny Devine and all became subservient to Raven, forming the stable Serotonin. As part of Serotonin, Kazarians name was changed to Kaz.

TNA: Kip James ,Part 6

A few weeks later on iMPACT!, The James Gang remerged under a new name Voodoo Kin Mafia (The group name 'Voodoo Kin Mafia' share the same initials as WWE owner Vincent Kennedy McMahon). They mentioned their new right of 'creative control' meaning they could do whatever they wanted. They also declared 'war' on Paul Levesque, Michael Hickenbottom, and Vincent K. McMahon (Triple H, Shawn Michaels, and WWE owner Vince McMahon respectively). Kip then declared that 'Triple Hollywood' and 'Shawn Kiss-my-bottom' were failing as the group they (Kip and BG) used to be a part of: D-Generation X.

During his time in TNA, Kip James would also become available to make appearances in independent promotions, often working with B.G. James under the James Gang gimmick in the American Independent Circuit. It was confirmed on January 13, 2006 that in the month of February Kip James would form a working relationship with Varsity Pro Wrestling. James would be appearing at VPW shows on February 17 and 18 in Horndean, Hampshire and Exeter, Devon respectively. Later James would send in his own comments on these appearances:

“ This is my first independent trip to the UK and I gotta say I'm really looking forward to it. I've heard a lot of good things about Varsity Pro Wrestling, but Jesus knows if they're looking for someone to push around, they chose the wrong guy. I've made peoples careers and I've ended people's careers. I got no problem what so ever with getting the job done, and if they don't already know, when I'm finished they will know first hand, I'm Kip James, bitch. ”
— Kip James, VPW.com Newspost

Kip James (who came to the ring with the Mr. Ass attire to the "Ass Man" theme from his WWF/E days) competed in the main event of both VPW shows that weekend facing two of its top stars: Chris Andrews and The UK Kid. He also appeared earlier in each show to interrupt promos by its top heel stars, like The UK Kid, who would go on about how British wrestlers were better than American wrestlers until Kip James would come out and tell him to shut the hell up and get into a small shoving match. This would not be the only time James' would work with VPW, as James would return to appear on a three night tour in August 2006.

Sopp appeared in an episode of Sabrina The Teenage Witch as a wrestler who Sabrina Spellman was obliged to wrestle in order to let her cat's daughter marry her fiance, who was the son of Sopp's character.
In late 2006 into early 2007, he would appear on a commercial in the UK for the hot chocolate drink Options as the "ooh la la vanilla" flavour.

TNA: Kip James ,Part 5

On February 13, 2005, Sopp debuted in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling without a name (as Billy Gunn is a WWE trademark) at the Against All Odds 2005 PPV, helping Jeff Jarrett retain the NWA World Heavyweight Championship in a match with Kevin Nash. Sopp, using the name The New Age Outlaw, then formed a stable with Jarrett and Monty Brown known as Planet Jarrett. However, WWE threatened TNA with legal action if Sopp continues the use of the name "The New Age Outlaw", so he shortened his name to The Outlaw.

Sopp began a campaign to make former ally B.G. James leave the 3Live Kru and defect to Planet Jarrett, reforming the old tag team with Sopp. On July 17 at No Surrender 2005 he renamed himself Kip James and was announced as "wrestling out of Marietta, Georgia" (the family seat of the James family) as a psychological ploy. As a result of his campaign, Sopp attracted the ire of 3Live Kru members Ron Killings and Konnan, leading to a series of tag team matches pitting Sopp and Monty Brown against Killings and Konnan, with a conflicted B.G. James unwilling to take sides. Sopp's efforts ultimately proved futile as James, appointed guest referee in a final match between Brown and Sopp versus Konnan and Killings at Sacrifice 2005, attacked Sopp enabling a 3Live Kru victory.

In September at Unbreakable 2005, Sopp teamed with Brown to defeat the team of Apolo and Lance Hoyt. There was clear tension between the partners because Brown was unhappy at the series of losses at the hands of the 3Live Kru, and Sopp was irked by Brown's decision to leave Planet Jarrett. Despite the victory, the partners argued after the match.

On the October 8, 2005 episode of iMPACT!, Sopp rekindled his feud with the 3Live Kru, running to the ring after a bout between the 3LK and Team Canada in order to prevent Team Canada captain Petey Williams from beating down B.G. James. He saved James, and then engaged in a staredown with Konnan and Killings. Sopp saved James from Team Canada once again at Bound for Glory 2005. Though Killings showed signs of gratitude, Konnan remained skeptical as to his true intentions. Later that night, Sopp took part in an over-the-top-rope gauntlet match for the number one contendership to the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. After he was eliminated, he tried in vain to prevent Killings from being eliminated as well, before being sent away from ringside by the referees.

On the November 26, 2005 episode of iMPACT!, B.G. brought James and the 3Live Kru to ringside and asked Killings and Konnan whether or not James could join the stable. Following a heated argument between Konnan and B.G., both Killings and Konnan gave their approval, and the Four Live Kru was born. However, at Turning Point 2005, Konnan attacked both B.G. and Kip, costing them their match against Team Canada and initiating a feud between himself and the remainder of the Kru. Shortly thereafter, B.G. James's father, Bob Armstrong, attempted to reconcile the group, but was instead attacked by Konnan and his new stablemates, Homicide and Apolo. Killings later stated that he had severed his ties with the Kru. With Konnan and Killings no longer members of the Kru, Kip and B.G. began referring to themselves as The James Gang.

By November 2006, Kip James and B.G James began to show displeasure in TNA and threatened to go find work elsewhere if they did not receive gold soon. They began performing the crotch chop, a reference to the WWE's DX. On the November 2 edition of TNA iMPACT!, Kip and B.G. James threatened to quit. Kip James grabbed the mic and tried to say something to the TNA administration and Spike TV, but each time his mic was cut off. Kip then tried to use the announcer's headset, but it was cut off as well. Frustrated, he started yelling loudly to the crowd, but he was cut off again as the show went to a commercial break. When the show returned, the announcers speculated that they may have been frustrated due to the influx of new talent entering TNA. It was reported that the segment was a worked shoot that Vince Russo had written in order to renew interest upon their eventual return. Kip and BG James appeared in an internet video on TNA's website where they addressed the owner of WWE Vince McMahon. They mention their discontent at a house show in Connecticut that was shut down under suspicious circumstances (influence from WWE is alluded to yet never outrightly mentioned).

TNA: Kip James ,Part 4

In a 2001 match on Sunday Night Heat, Sopp was defeated by Chuck Palumbo, who recently left the WCW/ECW Alliance and joined the WWF. After the match, Sopp suggested that they form a tag team. Palumbo agreed and Billy and Chuck quickly rose to the top of the tag team division. They also grew increasingly affectionate toward each other, showing evidence of a (kayfabe) homosexual relationship.

In February 2002, Billy & Chuck defeated Spike Dudley and Tazz to win the Tag Titles for the first time as a team. After winning the titles, Billy & Chuck found a "Personal Stylist" in the ambiguously flamboyant Rico. After defeating The APA, The Dudley Boyz, and The Hardy Boyz in a Four Corners Elimination Match at WrestleMania X8, and Al Snow and Maven at Backlash 2002, Billy & Chuck feuded with Rikishi. At Judgment Day 2002, Rikishi & Rico (Rikishi's Mystery Partner of Mr. McMahon's choosing) defeated Billy & Chuck for the Tag Titles after Rico accidentally hit Chuck with a Roundhouse Kick. Billy & Chuck quickly won the titles back two weeks later on SmackDown with Rico's help. They held the championship for about a month before losing it to the team of Edge and Hulk Hogan.

Later that summer, after Sopp lost a match to Rey Mysterio, Chuck proposed to Sopp asking him to be his "partner for life" and gave him a wedding ring. Sopp agreed, and Billy & Chuck became the most-talked-about duo in the WWE. On the 2002 season premiere of SmackDown!, Billy & Chuck had their wedding ceremony. However, just before they tied the knot, they revealed that entire ordeal was a publicity stunt and disavowed their on-screen homosexuality, admitting that they were just friends. Afterwards, the "preacher" revealed himself to be RAW General Manager Eric Bischoff (who was wearing a skin mask), who then summoned Three Minute Warning to beat up Billy & Chuck. Rico, furious that Billy & Chuck gave up their gimmick, became the manager of Three Minute Warning and defected to RAW. At Unforgiven 2002, Three Minute Warning defeated Billy Gunn & Chuck Palumbo, and due to prematch stipulation, SmackDown! General Manager Stephanie McMahon had to perform H.L.A. (Hot Lesbian Action). Their final match together occurred on SmackDown! in the first round of a tournament for the newly created WWE Tag Team Championship. They lost the match to the team of Ron Simmons and Reverend D-Von. Afterwards, Sopp took a few months off because of a shoulder injury and the team of Billy & Chuck quietly disbanded.

After returning in the summer of 2003, Sopp reprised the "Mr. Ass" gimmick and Torrie Wilson became his new manager. He then started a feud with Jamie Noble which led to an "Indecent Proposal" Match at Vengeance 2003. Noble won the match and due to stipulation, won a night with Torrie. On SmackDown!, it looked as if Torrie was going to have a Ménage à trois with Noble and Nidia until Sopp broke into the hotel room ready to brawl with Noble. When the cameras came back, all four of them were laying in bed after having a foursome. Sopp then started a short lived tag team with Noble before taking time off again because of shoulder injury.

Sopp returned to action at the 2004 Royal Rumble, lasting almost six minutes before being eliminated by Goldberg. Sopp then wrestled mainly on WWE Velocity, before forming a tag team with Hardcore Holly, which quickly rose to the top of Smackdown!'s tag team division. At Judgment Day 2004, they unsuccessfully challenged Charlie Haas and Rico for the WWE Tag Team Championship. Sopp then had a short feud with Kenzo Suzuki before challenging for the WWE United States Championship.

In September 2003, Sopp was reportedly "found passed out" at an airport and WWE sent him to a drug rehabilitation program. On November 1, 2004, Sopp, along with A-Train and Test, were released by the WWE. At the time of his release, he was one of the most tenured wrestlers with the company, behind only The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels. In June 2005, Sopp gave an interview in which he was heavily critical of WWE and the events that led to his release. Many of the negative comments were directed towards Triple H, who Sopp claimed "runs the show up there". Ironically, in January 2007 interview, Sopp broke kayfabe and stated that he left WWE under good terms, and would gladly return if the money was right. Several pro-wrestling websites have reported that Sopp has received much backstage heat in TNA for these comments.

More On NWA/TNA Split

411mania.com:

"As reported earlier, NWA and TNA will be splitting soon, with TNA no longer using the NWA name or titles.

It appears that one of the major problems between the two is that TNA wasn't paying the fee rights that they were supposed to pay based on NWA rules that require them to pay the NWA territory in that region a rights fee for running shows in the area. With TNA planning to run more shows around the country, it wouldn't make sense for them to continue to pay NWA territories a rights fee. Plus with TNA now on national television, they don't really need the NWA name anyway.

TNA will probably just begin calling their current champions 'TNA Champions' rather than NWA Champions and give them new belts.

Meanwhile, the NWA plans to put their World Title on former ROH Champion Bryan Danielson. "

TNA News: TNA and NWA to part ways as soon as Sunday's PPV, titles to split off

TNA News: TNA and NWA to part ways as soon as Sunday's PPV, titles to split off:

"PWTorch has learned that TNA Wrestling and the NWA have agreed to a split of their partnership.

Bob Trobich, head of legal for the NWA, and Steve Campbell, head of legal for Panda Energy as representative of TNA, have negotiated to terminate the working agreement between the NWA and TNA. NWA will take back possession of the NWA Hvt. Title and NWA Tag Titles with a storyline to be set up at the Destination X PPV.

Jeff Jarrett has been the third party representing TNA during the negotiations to cease the working relationship.

There have been a lot of rules that the NWA has that TNA has not been following. As TNA has grown, and as the NWA name has become less of a marketing asset, a split was considered a strong possibility. TNA long ago stopped using the title 'NWA-TNA' as its name.

TNA aligned with the NWA initially because TNA founder Jerry Jarrett, Jeff's father, believed that the 'NWA' name carried credibility with the target audience for the weekly Wednesday night PPV format TNA began with. The heritage of the NWA World Title has been a marketing tool for TNA over its four-plus year history. TNA, though, did not want to abide by NWA rules such as having to notify the NWA board ahead of time when a title change was planned, use the NWA name in all marketing, and pay the NWA a fee if TNA ran an event in another NWA member's territory. For those and a variety of other reasons, an agreement to split has been reached."

TNA TO LOSE RIGHTS TO NATIONAL WRESTLING ALLIANCE CHAMPIONSHIPS

Pro Wrestling Insider - Pro Wrestling News Inside & Out:

"It's just a matter of time, but Total Nonstop Action Wrestling will soon no longer hold the rights to the National Wrestling Alliance championship and Tag Team championship name and belts.
The NWA and TNA have been at odds over financial compensation in regard to the championships for several months. The most notable issue is said to have been been whether TNA would need to financially compensate local NWA promoters who hold territory rights when TNA live events featuring NWA championship defenses are held within their territory. Obviously, as TNA plans to run more and more live events, that would become a grander issue between the two sides. There may have been additional factors as well, but sources from both sides have confirmed the situation mainly revolved around financial issues. "

Hector Guerrero Joins TNA Wrestling

Hector Guerrero Joins TNA

Headline Posted by Keelan Balderson on 11:38:24 AM Mar/ 3/2007

Hector Guerrero of the famous Guerrero family has officially joined Total Nonstop Action Wrestling!
Guerrero is a longtime veteran of the sport and is the brother of Chavo and the late Eddie.
Mike Tenay joined by Guerrero - will make an official announcement this Thursday night on impact on SpikeTV during an in-ring presentation
In addition to working behind-the-scenes in TNA, Guerrero will also be a part of the Spanish broadcast team along with current announcer Willie Urbina.
TNAwrestling.com has also learned that Guerrero will be presented with a special award this Thursday night on behalf of TNA and the Hispanic Legacy Foundation for his achievements in the sport of professional wrestling.
Tune in this Thursday night on Impact on SpikeTV beginning at 9pm ET as TNA welcomes Hector Guerrero to our family!

TNA: Kip James ,Part 3

Sopp then once again had a short feud with Jeff Jarrett for the Intercontinental Title before reuniting with Road Dogg to reform The New Age Outlaws. The Outlaws then won their forth tag team championship by defeating The Rock 'n' Sock Connection. After defeating teams such as Edge and Christian, Hardcore Holly and Crash Holly, and The Acolytes, The Outlaws reunited with X-Pac and Triple H to reform D-Generation X. The reformed DX then feuded with the likes of Steve Austin, The Rock, Kane, Mankind, Shane McMahon and Vince McMahon. During this time, The Outlaws won their fifth WWF Tag Team Championship after defeating Mankind and Al Snow.

At the 2000 Royal Rumble, The New Age Outlaws retained their Tag Titles against The Acolytes after and interference from X-Pac. The Outlaws then had a heated feud with The Dudley Boyz, who won the WWF Tag Team Championships from The Outlaws at No Way Out 2000. After suffering a torn rotator cuff in a match with The Dudley Boyz, Sopp was kicked out of DX for "losing his cool". Sopp then took some much needed time off to tend to his arm injury, before returning later in the year.

Sopp made his return in October and immediately teamed with Chyna to feud with The Right to Censor, who wanted to "censor" his Mr. Ass gimmick. At No Mercy 2000, Right to Censor members Steven Richards and Val Venis defeated Chyna and Sopp after Eddie Guerrero knocked out Chyna with a lead pipe. Due to a stipulation, Sopp could no longer use the Mr. Ass gimmick, so he renamed himself Billy G. for a few weeks before settling on "The One" Billy Gunn. Gunn then feuded with Eddie Guerrero and The Radicalz. At Survivor Series 2000, Sopp reformed DX for one night only, teaming with Road Dogg, Chyna, and K-Kwik in a losing effort against The Radicalz. A few weeks later on SmackDown!, Sopp won the Intercontinental Championship from Guerrero. The title reign was short lived, however, as Chris Benoit defeated him two weeks later at Armageddon 2000.

After feuding with Benoit, Sopp interfered in the WWF Hardcore Championship Match at No Way Out 2001, and taking advantage of the 24/7 Rule, pinned Raven for the title. The reign was short lived, as Raven would win it back a few minutes later. Sopp then competed in the Hardcore Division until June when he turned heel and had a short feud with the 2001 King Of The Ring, Edge. After the feud, Sopp quietly turned face again and formed a short lived tag team with The Big Show. At Show's request, the team was called "The Show Gunns". At InVasion 2001, The Show Gunns and Albert lost to the team of Shawn Stasiak, Hugh Morrus, and Chris Kanyon. The Show Gunns quietly disbanded and Sopp feuded with the The Alliance midcarders.

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TNA: Kip James ,Part 2

After briefly feuding with his kayfabe brother, Sopp adopted a new gimmick, Rockabilly, and became the protégé of The Honky Tonk Man. During this time, he would have a short lived feud with "The Real Double J" Jesse James. On Shotgun Saturday Night, James realized both of their careers were going nowhere and suggested that they became a tag team. Sopp agreed and smashed a guitar over the Honky Tonk Man's head.

James and Sopp, rechristened "The Road Dogg" Jesse James and "Badd Ass" Billy Gunn respectively, became The New Age Outlaws. This new team was in the spirit of the new Attitude Era: brash, vulgar, egotistical, and loud-mouthed. They quickly rose to the top of the tag team division and won the WWF Tag Team Championship from The Legion Of Doom. They also defeated the LOD in a rematch at In Your House: D-Generation X.
The Outlaws soon began to align themselves with D-Generation X, who were impressed with their new attitude. At the 1998 Royal Rumble, The New Age Outlaws interfered in a Casket match to help Shawn Michaels defeat The Undertaker. At No Way Out Of Texas (1998), The Outlaws teamed up with Triple H and Savio Vega (who replaced the injured Shawn Michaels) to face Chainsaw Charlie, Cactus Jack, Owen Hart, and Stone Cold Steve Austin. However, they were defeated.

A few weeks later, The Outlaws shocked everybody when they locked Cactus Jack and Chainsaw Charlie in a dumpster and pushed it off the stage. This led to a Dumpster Match at WrestleMania XIV where Cactus and Chainsaw defeated The Outlaws for the Tag Titles. The next night on RAW, The New Age Outlaws won the Tag Team Championship for a second time by defeating Chainsaw Charlie and Cactus Jack in a Steel Cage Match, but only after interference from Triple H, Chyna and X-Pac. After the match, The Outlaws officially became members of D-Generation X.

After joining DX, The Outlaws successfully defended their Tag Titles against the Legion Of Doom 2000 at Unforgiven 1998. DX began to feud with Owen Hart, who joined the stable The Nation. At Over The Edge 1998, The Outlaws and Triple H were defeated by Nation members Owen, Kama Mustafa, and D'Lo Brown in a Six Man Tag Match. The Outlaws would also successfully defend their titles against The New Midnight Express (Bombtastic Bob & Bodacious Bart) at King Of The Ring 1998.

During this time, The Nation quietly disbanded and The Outlaws began a feud with Kane and Mankind. Eventually, Kane & Mankind won the Tag Titles but could not seem to get along. At Summerslam 1998, Mankind faced The Outlaws in a Handicap Match after Kane no-showed the title defense. The Outlaws defeated Mankind to win the titles for the third time. The Outlaws then helped X-Pac in his feud with Jeff Jarrett and Southern Justice. In December, The Outlaws lost their titles to The Big Boss Man and Ken Shamrock from The Corporation.

The Outlaws then began to focus more on singles competition. The Road Dogg won the WWF Hardcore Championship, and Sopp set his sights on the WWF Intercontinental Championship. At the 1999 Royal Rumble, Sopp unsuccessfully challenged Ken Shamrock for the Intercontinental Title. The next month at WWF St. Valentine's Day Massacre, Sopp was the Special Guest Referee for the Intercontinental Championship Match between Val Venis and the champion Ken Shamrock, where Sopp made a fast count and declared Venis the new champion before attacking both men.

Sopp then went on to win the WWF Hardcore Championship from Hardcore Holly. At WrestleMania XV, Sopp lost the title to Holly in a Triple Threat Match which also included Al Snow. The New Age Outlaws then reunited to face (and defeat) Jeff Jarrett and Owen Hart at Backlash 1999. After Backlash, Sopp left DX, aligned himself with Triple H and Chyna, and became known as Mr. Ass. He defeated his former partner, Road Dogg, in a match at Over The Edge 1999. Sopp then won the King Of The Ring 1999 Tournament by defeating Ken Shamrock, Kane, and his former DX ally, X-Pac. After King Of The Ring, Sopp, Triple H, and Chyna went on to feud with X-Pac and Road Dogg over the rights to the DX name. This feud culminated at Fully Loaded 1999 when X-Pac and Road Dogg defeated Sopp and Chyna for the rights to the DX name.

Sopp then began a feud with The Rock. At Summerslam 1999, The Rock defeated Sopp in a Kiss My Ass Match. After the match, The Rock shoved Sopp's face into a large woman's ass.