"The Phenomenal" A.J. Styles, part 1

Allen Lloyd Jones (born June 2, 1978), better known by his ring name "The Phenomenal" A.J. Styles (also written AJ Styles), is an American professional wrestler currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.

In May 2002, A.J. Styles was signed to a non-exclusive contract by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), and dubbed "The Phenomenal" A.J. Styles (a sobriquet originally coined by NWA Wildside commentator Dan "The Dragon" Wilson). He appeared on the first weekly TNA pay-per-view, teaming with Jerry Lynn and Low-Ki and losing to the Flying Elvises (Jorge Estrada, Sonny Siaki and Jimmy Yang) after he was pinned by Yang. The following week, on June 26, Styles defeated Lynn, Low-Ki and Psicosis in a double elimination match to become the first ever TNA X Division Champion. He won a second title on the third TNA pay-per-view, teaming with Jerry Lynn and defeating Lenny Lane and Bruce in the finals of a tournament for the vacant NWA World Tag Team Championship.

Styles successfully defended both his titles in the following weeks, but began to bicker with the veteran Lynn during their matches together. On August 14, he and Lynn fought Ron Killings and Jeff Jarrett to a no-contest, and the titles were held-up as a result. The following week, he and Lynn fought one another in a Falls Count Anywhere Match (which was won by Lynn), a No Disqualification Match (which was won by Styles) and a ten-minute Iron Man match, which ended in a draw after both men scored three pinfalls. On August 28, Styles defended the X Division Championship against Lynn and Low-Ki in a ladder match, and lost his title to Lynn.

Recruiting Mortimer Plumtree and Sonny Siaki as allies, Styles continued to feud with Lynn in successive weeks. On October 23, he defeated Syxx-Pac for the X Division Championship, thus becoming a two-time champion. He lost the title to Lynn a second time on November 6, and tried unsuccessfully to regain it throughout the remainder of the year.

In 2003, Styles began focusing on the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. After defeating David Flair on January 15 to become the number one contender, Styles recruited the help of Larry Zbyszko and joined Vince Russo's Sports Entertainment Xtreme faction. Styles faced NWA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett on February 19, but was defeated. In the course of the match, Styles turned face, attacking S.E.X. as they tried to interfere on his behalf because he did not want to win in that manner.

Styles feuded briefly with Raven and Glenn Gilberti before forming a new tag team with D'Lo Brown in April 2003. During their time together, Styles learned the frog splash (Art Barr version) from D'Lo, and D'Lo likewise picked up A.J.'s suicide plancha. The tag team amiably disbanded on May 28 so that both men could pursue the NWA World Heavyweight Championship once again. They fought one another on June 4 in a number one contendership match which was won by Styles, and on June 11 Styles faced Jarrett and Raven in a three-way match for the Heavyweight Championship. Styles won the match and the title (becoming the first TNA Triple Crown winner in the process) after Vince Russo entered the ring and struck Jarrett with a guitar, then celebrated with Russo following his victory, thus turning heel once again. On June 18, 2003, at the first TNA anniversary show, Jarrett and Sting defeated Styles and his mystery partner, Syxx-Pac.

Throughout July 2003, Styles successfully defended his title in matches with D'Lo Brown. Throughout the remainder of his reign, he defeated a myriad selection of opponents before losing the title to Jarrett on October 22. Following his loss, Styles reverted to being a face, while Jarrett became a heel. Despite Jarrett's demand that Styles return to the X Division, Styles continued to pursue the World Heavyweight Championship. On November 12, he teamed with Sting to defeat Jarrett and Lex Luger. Styles faced Jarrett for the Heavyweight Championship on December 3, but lost following interference from Kid Kash.

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"Tennessee Cowboy" James Storm

James Allan Black (born February 1, 1978) is an American professional wrestler who competes under the ring name "Tennessee Cowboy" James Storm. He is best known for his appearances with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , where he is a seven time NWA World Tag Team Champion. Six of these title reigns were as one-half of the tag team America's Most Wanted, along with "Wildcat" Chris Harris.

James Black was an amateur wrestler while in high school, winning a state title. In addition, he was a talented basketball player, and was awarded a scholarship to Austin Peay State University (which he was forced to relinquish after injuring his shoulder).

Black's professional wrestling career began when he was trained by Slash, a veteran tag wrestler, in 1995. His training was hampered by a broken shoulder, and Black eventually dropped out of Slash's training school. He resumed training with Shane Morton after his shoulder had healed.

Black toured the south-east independent circuit before being signed to a World Championship Wrestling (WCW) developmental deal in 2000. Black made several appearances for World Championship Wrestling on WCW Worldwide and WCW Saturday Night in 2000 as an enhancement talent, where he assumed the ring name James Storm. Storm returned to the independent circuit after World Championship Wrestling was sold to the WWF in March 2001. Storm wrestled his future tag team partner, Chris Harris, on a "Legends Night" show on June 1, 2002. As a result of the match, both wrestlers were hired by the upstart Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) promotion. The pair expected to wrestle as singles, but were instead placed into a tag team, which Harris claimed they named "America's Most Wanted" because everyone involved in their match had been hired by TNA, even the referee. Storm disagrees, claiming the name was a reference to his "little trouble with the law".

Storm appeared on the inaugural TNA pay-per-view on June 19, 2002, and the team wrestled for the first time on the second ever TNA PPV on June 26, 2002. The team quickly became mainstays of the promotion, and teamed regularly over the next few years. Splits were teased in early 2003 and again in 2004, but nothing came of them.

Storm, along with Harris, turned heel in late-2005 by helping Jeff Jarrett defeat Raven for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. They went on to join Jarrett's Army, acquiring the managerial skills of Gail Kim in the process.

Because of their heel status, and Storm's penchant for wearing cowboy hats, the team is often jeered as "Brokeback Mountain", a reference to the movie about homosexual cowboys.

In mid 2006, they would again tease their split due to miscommunication during their matches, most notably when Harris accidentally hit Storm with a garbage can during a No DQ match against Team 3D.

On the December 14, 2006 edition of TNA iMPACT, the team came to an end after a feud ending match with LAX when Storm hit Harris with a beer bottle. Storm would go on to feud with Petey Williams before turning on Gail Kim and align himself with the returning Jacqueline.

At the 2007 TNA Sacrifice pay-per view, Storm was defeated by his former tag team partner Chris Harris in a Texas Death Match.

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TNA: Sting, part 3

In the weeks following Genesis, Sting's feud with Abyss continued as he tried to get in Abyss' head by telling him he was being used by his satanic manager James Mitchell. Abyss was visibly affected by this, but remained by Mitchell's side. Sting's former friend Christian Cage and his bodyguard Tomko were also thrown in the mix, with Cage claiming he knew a dark secret in Abyss' past. The three would finally meet in a Three Way match for the NWA world heavyweight title at TNA Turning Point 2006, with Abyss retaining the title. After Turning Point however, Sting continued to try to convince Abyss he was nothing but a machine for Mitchell, and he got so far into Abyss that Abyss grabbed Mitchell by the throat, almost chokeslamming him on an edition of iMPACT!, but ultimately convinced himself not to. Since coming back at Bound for Glory, Sting began to wear the same tights again but his facepaint has remained different.

At Final Resolution 2007, Sting faced off against Abyss and Christian Cage for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship but failed to win back the championship.

On the January 24, 2007 edition of iMPACT!, Sting revealed after going through public records that Abyss shot his own father three times in the back, sending him into a coma. During the ensuing brawl throughout the iMPACT! Zone between Sting and Abyss, James Mitchell burned Sting's face with a Fireball, sending Sting to the hospital. At Against All Odds Sting beat Abyss in a Prison Yard Match. At Destination X in March, Sting defeated Abyss in a Last Rites Match, by locking Abyss into a casket in the ring. The casket was then raised up to the top of the arena. After this Abyss left him in a tag team match to return to James Mitchell and a woman.

The following week on iMPACT, Sting would have a "Dinner With The Devil" when he ate a meal with Mitchell. In this meal it was revealed the woman was Abyss' mother. Later in the night it was announced Abyss was added to the Lethal Lockdown match as part of Team Cage, at Lockdown. Therefore, the next week, Sting joined Team Angle, and later went on to win Lethal Lockdown thanks to Jeff Jarrett. Due to his win, he was supposed to be facing Christian Cage for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at TNA Sacrifice, but the next week on iMPACT! Kurt Angle challenged Sting for his number one contendership. After Team Cage interfered in the match it was revealed that at TNA Sacrifice there would be a triple threat match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship between Sting, Kurt Angle, and Christian Cage, which Sting lost after Kurt Angle placed Sting in an Ankle Lock. Although if you watch the match, Sting had Christian Cage pinned and the ref had counted the three count a half second before the other ref signaled that Sting tapped out to Angle's ankle lock.

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TNA: Sting, part 2

In his first cable television match in five years, Sting defeated Eric Young on the April 13, 2006 episode of iMPACT!. After being attacked by Jarrett, Steiner, and America's Most Wanted, Sting was saved by A.J. Styles, Ron Killings, and Rhino, who he announced as his teammates in his Lethal Lockdown match with Jarrett's Army. At TNA Lockdown 2006, Sting, A.J. Styles, Ron Killings, and Rhino (billed as "Sting's Warriors") defeated Jarrett, Steiner, and America's Most Wanted after Chris Harris tapped out to the Scorpion Death Lock.

Following Lockdown, Sting proceeded to seek out partners to help him defeat Jeff Jarrett and Scott Steiner for good. After bringing out Lex Luger, Buff Bagwell, and Rick Steiner as options, he settled on Samoa Joe. At TNA Sacrifice 2006, Sting and Samoa Joe defeated Jarrett and Steiner when Joe pinned Jarrett with a Muscle Buster.

Still having proven unsuccessful at putting Jarrett away, Sting defeated Scott Steiner by disqualification to earn as spot in the King of the Mountain match at TNA Slammiversary. Due to a confrontation with Christian Cage during the match, Sting was distracted, allowing crooked referee Earl Hebner to knock over the ladder both were on, sending both to the floor and allowing Jarrett to win.

At Victory Road 2006 in July, a 4 man Number 1 Contender's match was held for a shot at Jeff Jarrett for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship belt. During the match, Jeff Jarrett, disguised as a cameraman came into the ring with a bottle of gasoline and squirt it into Sting's eyes. Sting was taken by security into the back and as a result, taken out of the running for the Number 1 Contender's match. As the match continued as a 3-man contest, Sting returned to the ring with his head wrapped in bandages. After performing the Scorpion Death Drop on Scott Steiner, Sting pinned Steiner and won the Number 1 Contender's match. After a confrontation with Christian Cage in the ring right after the match. They both shook hands and Cage showed his respect for Sting.

On August 13, 2006 at Hard Justice 2006, Sting failed to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship losing to Jeff Jarrett after Christian Cage turned heel and hit Sting with Jarrett's guitar.

On the August 17, 2006 edition of TNA iMPACT!, Sting stated that he wanted a rematch with Jeff Jarrett at Bound for Glory 2006. Jarrett accepted the match, with the implication that Sting put his career on the line, a stipulation Sting would accept. Sting then retreated to train for what could have been his final match, meanwhile iMPACT! began showing videos of Sting going through a so called transformation with many biblical references.

On October 22, 2006, in a Title vs Career Match at the Bound for Glory PPV, Sting returned debuting his new look, a hybrid of his surfer, crow, and nWo Wolfpac styles, looking physically a lot leaner. He went on to claim his third NWA Heavyweight Title when Jarrett submitted to the Scorpion Deathlock marking the first major championship title Sting had won since the 1990s. With that victory, Sting became the oldest NWA World Heavyweight Champion of the TNA Era. This hybrid consists of his Crow facepaint, red-painted cheeks, and his old pre-Crow sportscoat too

He lost the title to "The Monster" Abyss at TNA Genesis 2006 by DQ after pushing aside the referee and pushing Abyss into a stack of tables covered in barbed wire (under TNA rules, titles can change hands on a DQ).



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TNA: Sting, part 1

Steve Borden (born March 20, 1959), better known as Sting, is an American professional wrestler, currently wrestling for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). He is arguably the most well-known wrestler of the 1990 era never to have worked for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).

In 2003, Sting signed a contract committing him to four appearances with the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) promotion. He debuted in TNA on the June 18, 2003 one year anniversary show, teaming with Jeff Jarrett to defeat A.J. Styles and Syxx Pac. Following this, Sting engaged in a comprehensive series of sitdown interviews with Mike Tenay, discussing his career and his faith.

Sting returned to TNA on November 5, 2003, defeating Jarrett by disqualification in a match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. On November 12, 2003, Sting teamed with A.J. Styles to defeat Jarrett and Lex Luger. He made his final TNA appearance of 2003 on December 17, 2003 defeating Jarrett in a non-title match.

On March 24, 2004, Sting was interviewed once again by Mike Tenay as part of the promotion for his direct-to-video biographical film, "Sting: Moment of Truth" and on March 31 he returned to the company one night only as the special guest enforcer for the main-event, a 4 Way match between Abyss, A.J. Styles, Raven and Ron Killings, which was won by Raven.

After turning down a WWE contract, at TNA Turning Point 2005 on December 11, 2005, as Jeff Jarrett stood in the ring celebrating a victory, the lights in the arena went out. Images of a scorpion — Sting's symbol — then appeared on the arena screens, along with the date "January 15, 2006". Spotlights then illuminated the ring, revealing that a chair bearing Sting's signature trench coat, boots and black baseball bat had been placed in the center of the ring. His return to TNA was officially announced one minute after midnight on the January 1, 2006 episode of iMPACT!.

At TNA Final Resolution 2006, Sting and Christian Cage defeated NWA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett and Monty Brown after Sting pinned Jeff Jarrett following the Scorpion Death Drop. His heavily promoted return was greeted with chants of "welcome back" and "you've still got it" by the Orlando, Florida audience. TNA later revealed that Final Resolution was "by far the most-purchased TNA Pay-Per-View event in company history, breaking all previous numbers."

On the January 28, 2006 episode of TNA iMPACT!, Sting made his Spike TV debut and first appearance on national television in almost five years, coming to the ring at the end of the show to make a "major announcement". Sting noted that he had never had a chance to properly say goodbye to his fans. He then announced that Final Resolution 2006 had been "his goodbye", before thanking the TNA management and the fans. Sting then dropped his bat, with a spotlight appearing over it, and left the ring, shaking hands with various TNA wrestlers on his way up the ramp.

With Sting gone, the storyline continued with Jeff Jarrett and Eric Young worrying that Sting had not actually retired, and sending Alex Shelley to California to videotape Sting at home. Sting discovered Shelley filming, then walked up to Shelley's car and told him that he was going to show up at Destination X 2006, and confront Jeff Jarrett as "Steve Borden". Clad in "street clothes" and without facepaint Borden returned at Destination X, saving Christian Cage and Rhino as they were attacked by Jarrett's Army. He placed Jarrett in the Scorpion Deathlock, but was attacked by the debuting Scott Steiner shortly thereafter.

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TNA: Scott Steiner

Scott Carl Rechsteiner (born July 29, 1962), better known by his ring name, Scott Steiner, is an American professional wrestler. Steiner is perhaps best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling alongside his older brother Rick as the Steiner Brothers tag team, and for his involvement with the New World Order faction. He is also known for his appearances with World Wrestling All-Stars and World Wrestling Entertainment. He is currently wrestling for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.

Sporting a new chest tattoo, Steiner debuted in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling on March 12, 2006 at Destination X 2006. His debut fulfilled Jeff Jarrett's claim that he would bring a new wrestler to TNA in order to counter the presence of Steve "Sting" Borden. At Destination X, Steiner broke Sting's Scorpion Deathlock on Jarrett and then applied his own Steiner Recliner to Sting, enabling Jarrett to recover and then broke a guitar over Sting's head.

Steiner made his TNA iMPACT! debut on March 18, 2006, identifying himself as Jarrett's bodyguard. In subsequent weeks, Steiner (who had ostensibly not been signed to a contract) began attacking members of the TNA roster, demanding to be hired. At Lockdown 2006 on April 23, 2006, Steiner, Jarrett, and America's Most Wanted lost to Sting, A.J. Styles, Ron Killings and Rhino in a Lethal Lockdown match.

Following the defeat, Steiner and Jarrett challenged Sting and any partner of his choosing to face them at TNA Sacrifice 2006 on May 14, 2006. Sting teased three potential partners (Buff Bagwell, Lex Luger and Steiner's brother Rick Steiner) before revealing his chosen partner to be Samoa Joe. Sting and Joe went on to defeat Steiner and Jarrett at Sacrifice. After failing to defeat Sting to qualify for the third King of the Mountain match, Steiner faced, and lost to, Samoa Joe in a singles bout at Slammiversary 2006. At Victory Road 2006, Steiner faced Samoa Joe, Sting and Christian Cage in a four way bout for the number one contendership to Jarrett's NWA World Heavyweight Championship; the match was won by Sting, who pinned Steiner, and Steiner resumed his role as Jarrett's bodyguard. Steiner then faced Christian Cage on the August 10 edition of Impact and was in Jeff Jarrett's corner at Hard Justice.

After Hard Justice, Steiner's short term contract expired and an agreement could not be reached on an extension. After briefly parting ways with TNA and working the independent circuit, Steiner re-signed with the company in January 2007.

On February 8, 2007, Steiner returned to TNA and revealed himself to be the "special consultant" to NWA Champion Christian Cage in Cage's match with Kurt Angle at Against All Odds and joining Christian's Coalition. He appeared at TNA Against All Odds where he played a major role in the match by introducing a lead pipe. After the match Scott Steiner suffered from a head injury requiring stitches. He suffered the injury via the chair shot he received from Samoa Joe.

Steiner then started a feud with Kurt Angle after costing him the NWA Word title at Against All Odds. Steiner eliminated Angle in a Gaunlet Match where the winner would face then champion Christian Cage at Destination X. Steiner would then lose to Angle at Destination X.

At Lethal Lockdown, Scott Steiner was part of Team Cage as they battled Team Angle. Steiner was hailed for the return of the Frankensteiner, a move he became famous for in the 1990s.

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TNA: Shark Boy

Dean Roll (born January 28, 1975), better known by his ring name Shark Boy, is an American professional wrestler currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and on the independent circuit.

Dean Roll began his career in Heartland Wrestling Association, and Ian Rotten is credited with helping Roll conceive the "Shark Boy" stage name, inspired by the 1995 song "I Come From the Water" by the Toadies (his theme song). Roll has also occasionally appeared under the gimmick of Dean Baldwin, an unknown member of the famous Baldwin acting family. Roll first gained national exposure on an episode of MTV's "True Life" (in the I'm a Professional Wrestler episode), which included footage of Roll (masked) picking up his costume and discussing how life is as an independent star. Soon after this appearance, Roll would occasionally be featured in the later days of World Championship Wrestling, competing on the WCW Saturday Night program.

In 2004, Shark Boy formed a comedy tag team with D-Ray 3000 for the better half of the year, until D-Ray left the company. The duo was mentioned during a video package where people impersonating Vince McMahon and Triple H "invaded" TNA to find a tape of TNA wrestlers going to "welcome" the World Wrestling Entertainment crew doing a show at Universal Studios where TNA regularly tapes. "Triple H" finds a tape, but "Vince" angrily says "This is The Best of D-Ray and Shark Boy!"

In September 2005, Shark Boy spent two weeks in India along with Sonjay Dutt and Simon Diamond. The trio of TNA employees visited several cities, promoting the debut of iMPACT! on ESPN Star Sports. On September 28 in Bhopal, a riot broke out when 1000 fans were excluded from an event after attendance exceeded expectations. None of the three TNA wrestlers were injured. On the October 5th edition of iMPACT!, Shark Boy pinned Eric Young in a loser-leaves-TNA match.

On the latest edition of TNA Today, Shark Boy spoke for the first time in a southern accent. He asked for help from Kevin Nash and then proceeded to drink a beer. This may be a hint for a new gimmick for Shark Boy that emulates Stone Cold Steve Austin.

On June 8, 2005, Shark Boy filed a lawsuit against Miramax Films. Having trademarked the name "Shark Boy" in 1999, Shark Boy claimed that Miramax's then-latest release "The Adventures of Shark Boy & Lava Girl" infringed upon his trademark, and demanded any "money, profits and advantages wrongfully gained". In November 2005 it emerged that Miramax had attempted to have the case dismissed, in addition to requesting that the court nullify Shark Boy's trademark on the basis that "Plaintiff is a male whose services are rendered only when he is wearing a costume depicting 'shark-like' attributes." Shark Boy was scheduled to attend a court hearing on January 5, 2006. The suit was recently settled for an undisclosed amount.

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