Charlie Haas
Encyclopedia
Charles "Charlie" Doyle Haas II (born March 27, 1972) is an American professional wrestler
and former collegiate amateur wrestler
. He competes on the independent circuit
, and is signed to Ring of Honor
(ROH), where he is one-half of the reigning ROH World Tag Team Champions
with Shelton Benjamin
. He is best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment
(WWE).
Haas was an amateur wrestler
in high school, and attended Seton Hall University
on a wrestling scholarship, before becoming a stockbroker. He became a professional wrestler in 1996, and teamed regularly with his brother, Russ
, with the two winning numerous championships on the independent circuit
, including the CZW World Tag Team Championship
and the JAPW Tag Team Championship
. After signing contracts with WWE, The Haas Brothers
were assigned to WWE's developmental territories, where they won the MCW Southern Tag Team Championship
on three occasions. After Russ' death in 2001 due to a heart attack
, Haas began wrestling in singles competition, winning the HWA Heavyweight Championship
once.
Haas formed a team with Shelton Benjamin and the two debuted on SmackDown in December 2002. They won the WWE Tag Team Championship
twice, and dubbed themselves The World's Greatest Tag Team
before they split in 2004. Haas won the WWE Tag Team Championship once more with Rico
, and gained Miss Jackie
as a valet
. Haas then transferred into singles competition before being released from WWE in 2005. After a short stint in Jersey All Pro Wrestling
(JAPW) and other independent promotions, Haas was re-signed to WWE in April 2006. He formed a short-lived team with Viscera
, before reforming the World's Greatest Tag Team with Benjamin. After Benjamin transferred to the ECW brand, Haas began wrestling with a comical luchador
persona, before developing a character where he imitated other wrestlers and WWE Hall of Fame
rs.
He was released from WWE in February 2010. He soon returned to the independent circuit, including returning to JAPW and appearing for Ring of Honor
. In September 2010 he won the NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship
.
Aside from wrestling, Haas and his wife Jackie, his former valet, run a nutritional store, Custom Muscle Nutrition and Smoothie Shop, in Frisco, Texas
, which they opened in October 2008.
for numerous independent
promotions
. On July 22, 1998, The Haas Brothers
won the Jersey All Pro Wrestling Tag Team Championship
by defeating The Skin Head Express. They lost it to The Nation of Immigration just over a month later on August 25. They won the championship for the second time on May 21, 1999, by defeating The Big Unit (Rick Silver and Dave Desire), and held the championship until February 25, 2000 when they were defeated by Da Hit Squad
. During 2000 they also held the Pennsylvania Championship Wrestling Tag Team Championship and the ECWA Tag Team Championship
in the East Coast Wrestling Association
promotion, which they won by defeating The Backseat Boyz
(Trent Acid
and Johnny Kashmere
).
The Haas brothers began competing for Combat Zone Wrestling
(CZW) in November 1999, losing to The King Pinz at The War Begins on November 20, 1999. They competed regularly for CZW throughout early 2000, and won the CZW World Tag Team Championship
on February 12 at Climbing The Ladder by defeating The Kashmerino Brothers and The Thrill Kill Kult in a three-way match. On July 10, they lost the championship to The Backseat Boyz at Caged To The End, when Johnny Kashmere defeated Russ in a singles match and was awarded the championship.
After a World Wrestling Federation
(WWF) tryout match at Madison Square Garden
on August 7, 2000, they signed a developmental contract with WWF the following day. The two worked their way through the tag ranks in the WWF's developmental territories, Memphis Championship Wrestling
(MCW) and the Heartland Wrestling Association
(HWA). The brothers won the MCW Southern Tag Team Championship
three times during early 2001, defeating The Dupps
the first time and The Island Boyz and Joey Matthews
and Christian York
in a three-way match on both the second and third occasions. Russ died from a heart attack
, due to a pre-existing heart condition, on December 15, 2001 at age 27. After Russ' death as a tribute to him, Haas wrote Russ' name on his wrist tape, and used the name "R.C. Haas" (standing for Russ–Charlie) before being called up to the main WWE roster. On January 2, 2002, Haas won the HWA Heavyweight Championship
, his first singles championship, by defeating Val Venis. He was later stripped of the title on January 29 due to a scripted contract loophole. After World Wrestling Entertainment
(renamed from the WWF) ended its affiliation with the HWA, Haas was moved to Ohio Valley Wrestling
(OVW) where he competed until December 2002.
(villainous character) along with Shelton Benjamin
as "Team Angle". The tag team was the "contingency plan" of Paul Heyman
, and were intended to help WWE Champion
Kurt Angle
retain his title, attacking Chris Benoit
and Brock Lesnar
in an attempt to soften them up. They two quickly won the WWE Tag Team Championship
on February 6, 2003, by defeating Los Guerreros
(Eddie
and Chavo Guerrero
). They held the championship for three months, including a successful title defense at WrestleMania XIX
against Los Guerreros and the team of Chris Benoit
and Rhyno
, before losing the championship to Eddie Guerrero and his new partner Tajiri
in a ladder match
on May 18 at Judgment Day
. On the June 12 episode of SmackDown, Angle fired Haas and Benjamin after they blamed him for losing the Tag Team Championship and began to question his leadership. The duo then dubbed themselves The World's Greatest Tag Team
, although announcers made sure to add "Self Proclaimed" to the name. Haas and Benjamin regained the championship from Guerrero and Tajiri on the July 3 episode of SmackDown, but lost it to the reformed Los Guerreros on September 18. The team was separated when Benjamin was moved to the Raw
brand
as part of the 2004 Draft Lottery
.
After Benjamin's draft, Haas turned into a fan favorite
and gained Miss Jackie
as a valet
and teamed with Rico
to win the WWE Tag Team Championship on April 22, 2004. The pair lost the championship to the Dudley Boyz
on June 17, and shortly afterwards, Haas became a singles wrestler, although he retained Miss Jackie as his valet. Haas lost a match to Luther Reigns
at the Great American Bash
.
Haas was later involved in an angle in which he was in a love triangle with Miss Jackie, who was acknowledged on-screen as his fiancée, and Dawn Marie
. The storyline culminated when Haas served as the Referee
in a match at Armageddon 2004
between the two women. After the match, Haas left both women in storyline, although he continued his relationship with Miss Jackie off-screen. In mid-2005, he formed a tag team with Hardcore Holly
. They were involved in a feud
(scripted rivalry) with MNM
for the WWE Tag Team Championship, but never won the championship.
On July 8, 2005, Haas was released by World Wrestling Entertainment
along with his real-life wife Jackie Gayda.
with Jay Lethal
. On September 10 at JAPW Haas of Pain, Lethal defeated Haas to retain his title. In JAPW, on October 27, 2007, Haas was inducted along with his late brother Russ into the first class of the Jersey All Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame.
He won the Natural Heavyweight Championship at Ballpark Brawl V on August 13, 2005, defeating then-champion Christopher Daniels
and Chris Sabin
in a triple threat match. He successfully defended the title the next night at Ballpark Brawl VI against Harry Smith
with Mick Foley
as a referee.
During his time back in the independent circuit, Haas competed in the East Coast Wrestling Association's (ECWA) Super 8 Tournament
in 2006, where he advanced all the way to the finals before losing to Davey Richards
.
Haas returned to WWE in 2006, appearing on the April 17, 2006, episode of Raw as Rob Van Dam
's handpicked opponent for his former partner, Shelton Benjamin. Haas defeated Benjamin in the ensuing match. Haas continued to wrestle on the lower midcard spot, becoming a regular fixture on Heat
.
On the June 5, 2006 episode of Raw, Haas inadvertently knocked Lilian Garcia
off the ring apron as he was entering the ring. It was announced on WWE's official website that as a result, Garcia suffered a sprain
ed wrist. As a result of the legitimate accident, Haas began a feud with Garcia's onetime storyline
love interest Viscera
. Haas made advances towards Garcia, at one point forcefully kissing her Ass and then dropping her to the ground. Haas and Viscera continued to fight for Garcia's affection in the ring, until she told them both that she wanted to be "just friends". Haas gave Viscera an eye rake in anger, and a blinded Viscera accidentally gave Garcia a Samoan drop. Though it was unintentional, when both Haas and Viscera had seen what had happened to their now former love interest, they simply had a laugh about it, thus making Haas a villain
. After that, Viscera and Haas became a tag team, competing on both Raw and Heat until splitting in December 2006.
on the December 4, 2006, edition of Raw, Haas came out to celebrate his win with a bewildered Benjamin. Haas and Benjamin announced the return of The World's Greatest Tag Team
on the December 11, 2006, edition of Raw, and they defeated The Highlanders
in their return match. They then started a feud with Cryme Tyme
. They continued to compete on Raw through the start of 2007, facing teams including John Cena
and Shawn Michaels
and Ric Flair
and Carlito
. In mid-2007, The World's Greatest Tag Team feuded briefly with The Hardys
in storyline; at the One Night Stand
pay-per-view on June 3, 2007, they challenged The Hardys for the World Tag Team Championship in a ladder match
but were unsuccessful. The team broke up once again when Benjamin moved to the ECW brand on November 20, 2007.
of Raw or on Heat.
Beginning in late August, Haas turned into a face
(heroic character) and began a storyline in which he began to impersonate other wrestlers, a concept created by John Laurinaitis
, a WWE executive. His first match under this gimmick was a loss to Carlito's real-life brother Primo Colón, while Haas was parodying Carlito
with the name "Charlito". He has portrayed such superstars as John Cena
, John "Bradshaw" Layfield
, Jim Ross
, The Great Khali, Montel Vontavious Porter, legends such as Stone Cold Steve Austin
, Bret Hart
, "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig
, Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka
, Hulk Hogan
, and even current WWE Diva
Beth Phoenix
for which he won a Slammy Award.
On April 15, 2009, Haas was drafted to the SmackDown brand as part of the 2009 Supplemental Draft. On the May 8, 2009 episode of SmackDown, Haas made his in-ring return to the brand as a heel, abandoning his persona of imitating other wrestlers, and losing to John Morrison in a match where he was accompanied by his former World's Greatest Tag Team partner, Shelton Benjamin. At Judgment Day, he accompanied Benjamin to the ring during his match with Morrison. Benjamin, however, lost to Morrison. The following week on the May 15, 2009 episode of SmackDown, Benjamin and Haas unofficially reunited and competed against John Morrison and CM Punk
in a losing effort, but Benjamin was traded to the ECW brand in June.
After an absence of several months, Haas made his return to television by teaming with Mike Knox
in a losing effort against Cryme Tyme on the December 31, 2009 episode of Superstars
. On February 28, 2010, WWE announced that Haas had been released from his contract.
Dan Maff
put their titles on the line in a tag team match against the Hillbilly Wrecking Crew (Brodie Lee
and Necro Butcher
). In the end Maff turned on Haas and hit him with a chair, after which Lee pinned him to win the JAPW New Jersey State Championship.
On September 10, Haas won the NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship
by defeating Michael Faith in Amarillo. The following day, on September 11, Haas and Shelton Benjamin debuted in Ring of Honor
(ROH) in a loss to The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero
and Claudio Castagnoli
) at the Glory By Honor IX
pay-per-view. They returned to ROH at the Ring of Honor Wrestling television tapings on December 9, where they defeated the Bravado Brothers. The following day, at the second set of television tapings, Haas and Benjamin defeated the All-Night Express of Kenny King
and Rhett Titus
, and participated in an eight-man tag team match, teaming with the Briscoe Brothers
against the Kings of Wrestling and the All-Night Xpress, which ended in a no contest. At the Final Battle 2010
pay-per-view on December 18, Haas and Benjamin announced they would be wrestling regularly for ROH in 2011. At the following pay-per-view, 9th Anniversary Show
, on February 26, 2011, Haas and Benjamin defeated the Briscoe Brothers in the main event of the evening to earn another shot at the Kings of Wrestling and the ROH World Tag Team Championship
. On March 6, 2011 Haas lost his debut for Wrecking Ball Wrestling to Low-Ki. On April 1, at the first night of the Honor Takes Center Stage
pay-per-view, Haas and Benjamin defeated the Kings of Wrestling to win the ROH World Tag Team Championship. In May 2011, Haas took part in New Japan Pro Wrestling
's first tour of the United States. In the main event of the first night on May 13 in Rahway, New Jersey
, Haas teamed with Rhino in a tag team match, where they defeated IWGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi
and Togi Makabe
. The following day in New York City
, Haas unsuccessfully challenged Tanahashi for his title. On June 26 at Best in the World 2011
, Haas and Benjamin successfully defended the ROH World Tag Team Championship in a four-way match against the Briscoe Brothers, the Kings of Wrestling and the All-Night Express. The following day ROH announced that both Haas and Benjamin had signed contracts with the promotion.
during high school, and for Seton Hall University
, where he attended on a wrestling scholarship. He also has various other awards for wrestling from high school. Haas was a two-time Big East Champion at Seton Hall and graduated with a degree in economics and business. He then became a stockbroker with Goldman Sachs
. According to Haas via the Q&A section on his website, he is a devout Christian.
His grandfather, Hugh Devore
, was an assistant with the Houston Oilers and a former Head Coach of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish
. Haas' brother Russ
was also a professional wrestler, until his death in 2001 due to a heart attack
. After getting engaged in September 2004, Haas married fellow wrestler Jackie Gayda
on June 10, 2005. It was announced on May 5, 2006 that they were expecting their first child. On December 14, 2006 at 3:01 a.m., Gayda gave birth to a daughter, Kayla Jacquelyn Haas, who weighed 6 pounds (2.7215542 kg), and was 19.5 inches (495.3 mm) long. The couple's second daughter, Taylor Suzanne, was born on September 17, 2008. On June 1, 2010, the couple's third child, a son named Thomas Russell Haas II, was born. Haas and his wife opened "Custom Muscle Nutrition and Smoothie Shop", a nutritional store in Frisco, Texas
on October 1, 2008.
On August 30, 2007, an article on Sports Illustrated
s website named Haas as one of ten superstars found to have purchased illegal steroids not in compliance with WWE's Talent Wellness program. He was allegedly prescribed anastrozole
, somatropin
, stanozolol
, nandrolone
, and chorionic gonadotropin
between August 2006 and January 2007. Haas later said that he thought it was legal, and he was doing it for "maintenance" after he had both his knees reconstructed.
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
and former collegiate amateur wrestler
Amateur wrestling
Amateur wrestling is the most widespread form of sport wrestling. There are two international wrestling styles performed in the Olympic Games under the supervision of FILA : Greco-Roman and freestyle. Freestyle is possibly derived from the English Lancashire style...
. He competes on the independent circuit
Independent circuit
In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indy circuit refers to the many independent promotions which are much smaller than major televised promotions. They are roughly analagous to a minor league for pro wrestling, or community or regional theatre.Specific promotions on the...
, and is signed to Ring of Honor
Ring of Honor
Ring of Honor ' is an American professional wrestling promotion, founded in 2002 by Rob Feinstein and Gabe Sapolsky. From 2004 to 2011, the promotion was under the ownership of Cary Silkin before being sold to the Sinclair Broadcast Group in May 2011...
(ROH), where he is one-half of the reigning ROH World Tag Team Champions
ROH World Tag Team Championship
The Ring of Honor World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship contested for in the American professional wrestling promotion Ring of Honor. The championship is generally contested in professional wrestling matches, in which participants usually execute...
with Shelton Benjamin
Shelton Benjamin
Shelton James Benjamin is an American professional wrestler and former amateur wrestler best known for his tenure in World Wrestling Entertainment. Benjamin has an amateur wrestling background, including wrestling in high school and at the University of Minnesota. In addition, Benjamin has acted...
. He is best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
(WWE).
Haas was an amateur wrestler
Amateur wrestling
Amateur wrestling is the most widespread form of sport wrestling. There are two international wrestling styles performed in the Olympic Games under the supervision of FILA : Greco-Roman and freestyle. Freestyle is possibly derived from the English Lancashire style...
in high school, and attended Seton Hall University
Seton Hall University
Seton Hall University is a private Roman Catholic university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by Archbishop James Roosevelt Bayley, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesan university in the United States. Seton Hall is also the oldest and largest Catholic university in the...
on a wrestling scholarship, before becoming a stockbroker. He became a professional wrestler in 1996, and teamed regularly with his brother, Russ
Russ Haas
Thomas Russell "Russ" Haas was a professional wrestler. He is best known for his work alongside his brother Charlie in Memphis Championship Wrestling and Jersey All Pro Wrestling....
, with the two winning numerous championships on the independent circuit
Independent circuit
In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indy circuit refers to the many independent promotions which are much smaller than major televised promotions. They are roughly analagous to a minor league for pro wrestling, or community or regional theatre.Specific promotions on the...
, including the CZW World Tag Team Championship
CZW World Tag Team Championship
The CZW World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship owned and copyrighted by the Combat Zone Wrestling promotion; it is contested for in their tag team division. It was created and debuted on February 13, 1999 at CZW's Opening Night event, where Jon Dahmer...
and the JAPW Tag Team Championship
JAPW Tag Team Championship
The JAPW Tag Team Championship is a championship in the Jersey All Pro Wrestling promotion. Being a professional wrestling championship, it is not won via direct competition; it is instead won via a predetermined ending to a match or awarded to a wrestler because of a wrestling angle...
. After signing contracts with WWE, The Haas Brothers
The Haas Brothers
The Haas Brothers was a Professional wrestling Tag team consisting of real life brothers Charlie Haas and Russ Haas. The team was very successful in the independent wrestling circuit, but Russ's death on December 15, 2001 led to the end of the tag team shortly after the brothers signed a contract...
were assigned to WWE's developmental territories, where they won the MCW Southern Tag Team Championship
MCW Southern Tag Team Championship
The MCW Southern Tag Team Championship was the tag team title in Memphis Championship Wrestling from 2000 until the promotion closed in 2002.-Title history:...
on three occasions. After Russ' death in 2001 due to a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
, Haas began wrestling in singles competition, winning the HWA Heavyweight Championship
HWA Heavyweight Championship
The HWA Heavyweight Championship is the heavyweight title contested in the Heartland Wrestling Association.- Title history :...
once.
Haas formed a team with Shelton Benjamin and the two debuted on SmackDown in December 2002. They won the WWE Tag Team Championship
WWE Tag Team Championship
The WWE Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship in WWE. It was established as a second title for tag teams in WWE in 2002 to complement the original World Tag Team Championship...
twice, and dubbed themselves The World's Greatest Tag Team
The World's Greatest Tag Team
The World's Greatest Tag Team is the professional wrestling tag team of Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin, who currently perform as Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team. Originally formed in World Wrestling Entertainment , they started out captained by Kurt Angle, during which time they were known as...
before they split in 2004. Haas won the WWE Tag Team Championship once more with Rico
Rico Constantino
Americo Sebastiano Costantino is a retired American professional wrestler and wrestling manager of Italian origin. He is best known by his ring names Rico Costantino and Rico in World Wrestling Entertainment from 2001 to 2004...
, and gained Miss Jackie
Jackie Gayda
Jacquelyn Gayda-Haas is an American semi-retired professional wrestler and valet, best known for her work on World Wrestling Entertainment 's Raw and SmackDown! brands and in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as a TNA Knockout...
as a valet
Manager (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a manager is a secondary character paired with a wrestler for a variety of reasons. The manager is often either a non-wrestler, an occasional wrestler, an older wrestler who has retired or is nearing retirement or, in some cases, a new wrestler who is breaking into the...
. Haas then transferred into singles competition before being released from WWE in 2005. After a short stint in Jersey All Pro Wrestling
Jersey All Pro Wrestling
Jersey All Pro Wrestling is an independent wrestling promotion based in New Jersey.-1997:Jersey All Pro Wrestling is an independent wrestling promotion that was founded by "Fat" Frank Iadeavia on April 19, 1997. This promotion was born out of a dream of "Fat" Frank. He wanted to take the promotion...
(JAPW) and other independent promotions, Haas was re-signed to WWE in April 2006. He formed a short-lived team with Viscera
Nelson Frazier, Jr.
Nelson Frazier, Jr. is an American professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring names Mabel, Viscera, Big Daddy V, and King V. He is best known for his work with World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment...
, before reforming the World's Greatest Tag Team with Benjamin. After Benjamin transferred to the ECW brand, Haas began wrestling with a comical luchador
Lucha libre
Lucha libre is a term used in Mexico, and other Spanish-speaking countries, for a form of professional wrestling that has developed within those countries...
persona, before developing a character where he imitated other wrestlers and WWE Hall of Fame
WWE Hall of Fame
The WWE Hall of Fame is a hall of fame for professional wrestlers maintained by WWE. It was officially created on the February 1, 1993 episode of the World Wrestling Federation's Monday Night Raw television program...
rs.
He was released from WWE in February 2010. He soon returned to the independent circuit, including returning to JAPW and appearing for Ring of Honor
Ring of Honor
Ring of Honor ' is an American professional wrestling promotion, founded in 2002 by Rob Feinstein and Gabe Sapolsky. From 2004 to 2011, the promotion was under the ownership of Cary Silkin before being sold to the Sinclair Broadcast Group in May 2011...
. In September 2010 he won the NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship
NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship
The NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling title that has existed since the 1930s. Though its exact date of creation isn't known, it is among the oldest championships used in professional wrestling today...
.
Aside from wrestling, Haas and his wife Jackie, his former valet, run a nutritional store, Custom Muscle Nutrition and Smoothie Shop, in Frisco, Texas
Frisco, Texas
Frisco is an affluent city in Collin and Denton Counties in the U.S. state of Texas and a rapidly growing suburb of Dallas. As of the 2010 Census, 116,989 people were living in Frisco up from 33,714 in the previous census. Frisco was the fastest growing city in the United States in 2009, and also...
, which they opened in October 2008.
Independent circuit (1996–2002)
After debuting in 1996 as a professional wrestler, Haas regularly teamed with his brother RussRuss Haas
Thomas Russell "Russ" Haas was a professional wrestler. He is best known for his work alongside his brother Charlie in Memphis Championship Wrestling and Jersey All Pro Wrestling....
for numerous independent
Independent circuit
In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indy circuit refers to the many independent promotions which are much smaller than major televised promotions. They are roughly analagous to a minor league for pro wrestling, or community or regional theatre.Specific promotions on the...
promotions
Professional wrestling promotion
A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling. Promotion also describes a role which entails management, advertising and logistics of running a wrestling event...
. On July 22, 1998, The Haas Brothers
The Haas Brothers
The Haas Brothers was a Professional wrestling Tag team consisting of real life brothers Charlie Haas and Russ Haas. The team was very successful in the independent wrestling circuit, but Russ's death on December 15, 2001 led to the end of the tag team shortly after the brothers signed a contract...
won the Jersey All Pro Wrestling Tag Team Championship
JAPW Tag Team Championship
The JAPW Tag Team Championship is a championship in the Jersey All Pro Wrestling promotion. Being a professional wrestling championship, it is not won via direct competition; it is instead won via a predetermined ending to a match or awarded to a wrestler because of a wrestling angle...
by defeating The Skin Head Express. They lost it to The Nation of Immigration just over a month later on August 25. They won the championship for the second time on May 21, 1999, by defeating The Big Unit (Rick Silver and Dave Desire), and held the championship until February 25, 2000 when they were defeated by Da Hit Squad
Da Hit Squad
Da Hit Squad was a professional wrestling tag team in Ring of Honor, Jersey All Pro Wrestling and many other independent promotions. The members were Monsta Mack and Mafia. They were known as the Hardest Hitting tag team in ROH. This duo of Repeat Offenders brutalized their opponents with...
. During 2000 they also held the Pennsylvania Championship Wrestling Tag Team Championship and the ECWA Tag Team Championship
ECWA Tag Team Championship
ECWA Tag Team Championship are the tag team titles contested in the independent professional wrestling promotion, East Coast Wrestling Association.- Title history :...
in the East Coast Wrestling Association
East Coast Wrestling Association
East Coast Wrestling Association is an American professional wrestling promotion, founded by promoter Jim Kettner in 1967. It is home to the annual Super 8 Tournament, one of the longest-running independent wrestling tournaments in the country...
promotion, which they won by defeating The Backseat Boyz
The Backseat Boyz
The Backseat Boyz were a professional wrestling tag team that consisted of Johnny Kashmere and Trent Acid who competed in Ring of Honor, Pro Wrestling Unplugged, Combat Zone Wrestling, Assault Championship Wrestling, the Premier Wrestling Federation, Jersey All Pro Wrestling, and Japan together...
(Trent Acid
Trent Acid
Michael Verdi was an American professional wrestler best known by his ring name Trent Acid. Verdi had worked as a tag team wrestler for most of his career, primarily as part of The Backseat Boyz with Johnny Kashmere, in several independent promotions in America, including Combat Zone Wrestling,...
and Johnny Kashmere
Johnny Kashmere
Johnny Kashmere is an American professional wrestler, best known as one half of The Backseat Boyz, along with the late Trent Acid...
).
The Haas brothers began competing for Combat Zone Wrestling
Combat Zone Wrestling
Combat Zone Wrestling is a independent wrestling promotion. In 1999, John Zandig and four of his students, Ric Blade, Lobo, Nick Gage and Justice Pain began to run backyard wrestling shows in New Jersey and Delaware, showcasing a brand of hardcore wrestling dubbed as "ultraviolence"...
(CZW) in November 1999, losing to The King Pinz at The War Begins on November 20, 1999. They competed regularly for CZW throughout early 2000, and won the CZW World Tag Team Championship
CZW World Tag Team Championship
The CZW World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship owned and copyrighted by the Combat Zone Wrestling promotion; it is contested for in their tag team division. It was created and debuted on February 13, 1999 at CZW's Opening Night event, where Jon Dahmer...
on February 12 at Climbing The Ladder by defeating The Kashmerino Brothers and The Thrill Kill Kult in a three-way match. On July 10, they lost the championship to The Backseat Boyz at Caged To The End, when Johnny Kashmere defeated Russ in a singles match and was awarded the championship.
After a World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
(WWF) tryout match at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
on August 7, 2000, they signed a developmental contract with WWF the following day. The two worked their way through the tag ranks in the WWF's developmental territories, Memphis Championship Wrestling
Memphis Championship Wrestling
Memphis Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion run by Terry Golden, based in Memphis, Tennessee. The promotion's first event was on February 20, 2000, and it remained active up until mid-2001...
(MCW) and the Heartland Wrestling Association
Heartland Wrestling Association
The Heartland Wrestling Association is a Midwestern independent professional wrestling promotion based in Cincinnati, Ohio. A former developmental territory for both World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation during the 1990s, it was listed as one of the top independent...
(HWA). The brothers won the MCW Southern Tag Team Championship
MCW Southern Tag Team Championship
The MCW Southern Tag Team Championship was the tag team title in Memphis Championship Wrestling from 2000 until the promotion closed in 2002.-Title history:...
three times during early 2001, defeating The Dupps
The Dupps
The Dupps were a professional wrestling tag team in southern independents and ECW during the late 1990s composed of Bo Dupp and Jack Dupp. They feuded with Amish Roadkill & Danny Doring over who should have a shot at the ECW Tag-Team Titles...
the first time and The Island Boyz and Joey Matthews
Adam Birch
Adam Birch is a retired American professional wrestler, best known for his tenure with World Wrestling Entertainment , and training in WWE's developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling, as Joey Mercury...
and Christian York
Christian York
Jason Spence is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Christian York.-York and Matthews:...
in a three-way match on both the second and third occasions. Russ died from a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
, due to a pre-existing heart condition, on December 15, 2001 at age 27. After Russ' death as a tribute to him, Haas wrote Russ' name on his wrist tape, and used the name "R.C. Haas" (standing for Russ–Charlie) before being called up to the main WWE roster. On January 2, 2002, Haas won the HWA Heavyweight Championship
HWA Heavyweight Championship
The HWA Heavyweight Championship is the heavyweight title contested in the Heartland Wrestling Association.- Title history :...
, his first singles championship, by defeating Val Venis. He was later stripped of the title on January 29 due to a scripted contract loophole. After World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
(renamed from the WWF) ended its affiliation with the HWA, Haas was moved to Ohio Valley Wrestling
Ohio Valley Wrestling
Ohio Valley Wrestling is an American independent professional wrestling promotion based in Louisville, Kentucky. OVW is run by owner Danny Davis and was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance from 1997 until 2000...
(OVW) where he competed until December 2002.
World Wrestling Entertainment (2002–2005)
Haas debuted on WWE's main roster on the December 26, 2002 episode of SmackDown! as a heelHeel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
(villainous character) along with Shelton Benjamin
Shelton Benjamin
Shelton James Benjamin is an American professional wrestler and former amateur wrestler best known for his tenure in World Wrestling Entertainment. Benjamin has an amateur wrestling background, including wrestling in high school and at the University of Minnesota. In addition, Benjamin has acted...
as "Team Angle". The tag team was the "contingency plan" of Paul Heyman
Paul Heyman
Paul Heyman is an American entertainment producer, best known for his career in professional wrestling as a promoter, manager, commentator and journalist. He is also an occasional actor in film....
, and were intended to help WWE Champion
WWE Championship
The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...
Kurt Angle
Kurt Angle
Kurt Steven Angle is an American professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and 1996 Olympic gold medalist. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is recognized as a 15-time World Heavyweight Champion...
retain his title, attacking Chris Benoit
Chris Benoit
Christopher Michael "Chris" Benoit was a Canadian professional wrestler whose career and life ended in a murder–suicide...
and Brock Lesnar
Brock Lesnar
Brock Edward Lesnar is an American mixed martial artist, actor and a former professional and amateur wrestler. He is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and is ranked the No.5 Heavyweight in the world by Sherdog...
in an attempt to soften them up. They two quickly won the WWE Tag Team Championship
WWE Tag Team Championship
The WWE Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship in WWE. It was established as a second title for tag teams in WWE in 2002 to complement the original World Tag Team Championship...
on February 6, 2003, by defeating Los Guerreros
Los Guerreros
Los Guerreros is a Mexican American family that has been involved with professional wrestling for three generations with the patriarch of the family Gory Guerrero making his debut on September 15, 1937...
(Eddie
Eddie Guerrero
Eduardo Gory "Eddie" Guerrero was a Mexican-American professional wrestler born into the Guerrero wrestling family. He wrestled in Mexico and Japan for several major professional wrestling promotions...
and Chavo Guerrero
Chavo Guerrero, Jr.
Salvador "Chavo" Guerrero IV also known as Chavo Guerrero and Chavo Guerrero, Jr., is a third generation Mexican-American professional wrestler and member of the famed Guerrero wrestling family who was well known for working with World Wrestling Entertainment and World Championship Wrestling...
). They held the championship for three months, including a successful title defense at WrestleMania XIX
WrestleMania XIX
WrestleMania XIX was the nineteenth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on March 30, 2003 at Safeco Field in Seattle, Washington. The event was the first WrestleMania held in the state of Washington, and the first...
against Los Guerreros and the team of Chris Benoit
Chris Benoit
Christopher Michael "Chris" Benoit was a Canadian professional wrestler whose career and life ended in a murder–suicide...
and Rhyno
Terry Gerin
Terrance "Terry" Gerin is an American professional wrestler and actor, better known by the ring name Rhino . He is best known for his career in Extreme Championship Wrestling, World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
, before losing the championship to Eddie Guerrero and his new partner Tajiri
Yoshihiro Tajiri
, is a Japanese professional wrestler, perhaps best known for his appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment. He is currently competing in SMASH as TAJIRI.-Early years :...
in a ladder match
Ladder match
A ladder match is a type of match in professional wrestling that is most commonly used to describe a match where an item is hung above the ring, and the winner is the contestant who climbs a ladder and retrieves the item...
on May 18 at Judgment Day
Judgment Day (2003)
Judgment Day was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment that took place on May 18, 2003, at the Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina...
. On the June 12 episode of SmackDown, Angle fired Haas and Benjamin after they blamed him for losing the Tag Team Championship and began to question his leadership. The duo then dubbed themselves The World's Greatest Tag Team
The World's Greatest Tag Team
The World's Greatest Tag Team is the professional wrestling tag team of Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin, who currently perform as Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team. Originally formed in World Wrestling Entertainment , they started out captained by Kurt Angle, during which time they were known as...
, although announcers made sure to add "Self Proclaimed" to the name. Haas and Benjamin regained the championship from Guerrero and Tajiri on the July 3 episode of SmackDown, but lost it to the reformed Los Guerreros on September 18. The team was separated when Benjamin was moved to the Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
brand
WWE Brand Extension
WWE, formerly the World Wrestling Federation and World Wrestling Entertainment , currently promotes its core business of professional wrestling through two "brands" named after their two major television shows Raw and SmackDown...
as part of the 2004 Draft Lottery
2004 WWE Draft Lottery
The 2004 World Wrestling Entertainment Draft Lottery took place at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan on March 22, 2004. The draft took place live for two hours on WWE's flagship television program, Raw on Spike TV. Post-draft trades were announced on WWE's official website, WWE.com, until...
.
After Benjamin's draft, Haas turned into a fan favorite
Face (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a babyface or face or in simple words, a fan favorite is a character who is portrayed as a heroic relative to the heel wrestlers, who are analogous to villains...
and gained Miss Jackie
Jackie Gayda
Jacquelyn Gayda-Haas is an American semi-retired professional wrestler and valet, best known for her work on World Wrestling Entertainment 's Raw and SmackDown! brands and in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as a TNA Knockout...
as a valet
Manager (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a manager is a secondary character paired with a wrestler for a variety of reasons. The manager is often either a non-wrestler, an occasional wrestler, an older wrestler who has retired or is nearing retirement or, in some cases, a new wrestler who is breaking into the...
and teamed with Rico
Rico Constantino
Americo Sebastiano Costantino is a retired American professional wrestler and wrestling manager of Italian origin. He is best known by his ring names Rico Costantino and Rico in World Wrestling Entertainment from 2001 to 2004...
to win the WWE Tag Team Championship on April 22, 2004. The pair lost the championship to the Dudley Boyz
Dudley Boyz
Team 3D was a professional wrestling tag team, consisting of Brother Ray and Brother Devon, formerly sporadically joined into a stable by Brother Runt on several intervals...
on June 17, and shortly afterwards, Haas became a singles wrestler, although he retained Miss Jackie as his valet. Haas lost a match to Luther Reigns
Matt Wiese
Matthew R. "Matt" Wiese is an American actor and former professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring name Luther Reigns, where he performed on its SmackDown brand....
at the Great American Bash
The Great American Bash (2004)
The Great American Bash was the 1st Great American Bash professional wrestling pay-per-view event, and the first produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on June 27, 2004 at the Norfolk Scope in Norfolk, Virginia and was a SmackDown! brand-exclusive event...
.
Haas was later involved in an angle in which he was in a love triangle with Miss Jackie, who was acknowledged on-screen as his fiancée, and Dawn Marie
Dawn Marie Psaltis
Dawn Marie Psaltis is an American former professional wrestler and professional wrestling valet. She is perhaps best known for her appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling and the SmackDown! brand of World Wrestling Entertainment under her ring name Dawn Marie, where she was a WWE...
. The storyline culminated when Haas served as the Referee
Referee (professional wrestling)
A professional wrestling referee is the official figure that makes sure that wrestling matches move smoothly in an attempt to maintain kayfabe. The referee also has the ultimate power in the ring...
in a match at Armageddon 2004
Armageddon (2004)
Armageddon was the fifth annual Armageddon professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on December 12, 2004 at the Gwinnett Center in the Atlanta suburb of Duluth, Georgia. Nine professional wrestling matches were scheduled on the event's card...
between the two women. After the match, Haas left both women in storyline, although he continued his relationship with Miss Jackie off-screen. In mid-2005, he formed a tag team with Hardcore Holly
Bob Holly
Robert "Bob" Howard better known by his ring name Bob "Hardcore" Holly, is a American professional wrestler. He is best known for his 15-year stint with World Wrestling Entertainment ....
. They were involved in a feud
Feud (professional wrestling)
A professional wrestling feud is a staged rivalry between multiple wrestlers or alliances of wrestlers. They are integrated into ongoing storylines, particularly in events which are televised...
(scripted rivalry) with MNM
MNM
MNM was a villainous professional wrestling stable in World Wrestling Entertainment and Ohio Valley Wrestling that consisted of Joey Mercury , Johnny Nitro, and their manager Melina Perez....
for the WWE Tag Team Championship, but never won the championship.
On July 8, 2005, Haas was released by World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
along with his real-life wife Jackie Gayda.
Independent circuit (2005)
He returned to JAPW later in July 2005, and began a feud for the JAPW Heavyweight ChampionshipJAPW Heavyweight Championship
The Jersey All Pro Wrestling Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling championship in the American independent professional wrestling promotion Jersey All Pro Wrestling. Being a professional wrestling championship, it is not won via direct competition; it is instead won via a...
with Jay Lethal
Jay Lethal
Jamar "Jay" Shipman better known by his ring name Jay Lethal, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to Ring of Honor , where he is the ROH World Television Champion...
. On September 10 at JAPW Haas of Pain, Lethal defeated Haas to retain his title. In JAPW, on October 27, 2007, Haas was inducted along with his late brother Russ into the first class of the Jersey All Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame.
He won the Natural Heavyweight Championship at Ballpark Brawl V on August 13, 2005, defeating then-champion Christopher Daniels
Christopher Daniels
Daniel Christopher Covell is an American professional wrestler, best known in the United States by his ring name "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels. He is also known for performing under the ring name Curry Man. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , while also...
and Chris Sabin
Chris Sabin
Joshua Harter is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Chris Sabin. He is currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , where he currently teams with Alex Shelley as The Motor City Machine Guns.After being trained by Scott D'Amore, Sabin debuted in 2000 for...
in a triple threat match. He successfully defended the title the next night at Ballpark Brawl VI against Harry Smith
Harry Smith (wrestler)
Harry Smith is a Canadian professional wrestler of English descent. He is currently working for Inoki Genome Federation and is best known for his tenure in WWE, where he won the Unified Tag Team Championship along with Tyson Kidd before being released from his contract on August 5, 2011...
with Mick Foley
Mick Foley
Michael Francis "Mick" Foley, Sr. is an American semi-retired professional wrestler, author, comedian, actor, voice actor and former color commentator. He has worked for many wrestling promotions, including WWE, WCW, ECW and TNA. He is often referred to as "The Hardcore Legend", a nickname he...
as a referee.
During his time back in the independent circuit, Haas competed in the East Coast Wrestling Association's (ECWA) Super 8 Tournament
ECWA Super 8 Tournament
The Super 8 Tournament is an annual professional wrestling tournament held by the East Coast Wrestling Association. The tournament is contested by eight wrestlers in a one-night single-elimination format.-History:...
in 2006, where he advanced all the way to the finals before losing to Davey Richards
Davey Richards
Wesley David Richards is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Davey Richards.Richards is currently under contract with Ring of Honor, where he is the current ROH World Champion, but also wrestles for several companies on the independent circuit, including Pro Wrestling...
.
Singles competition (2006)
Rob Van Dam
Robert Alexander "Rob" Szatkowski , better known by his ring name Rob Van Dam , is an American professional wrestler and actor who is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
's handpicked opponent for his former partner, Shelton Benjamin. Haas defeated Benjamin in the ensuing match. Haas continued to wrestle on the lower midcard spot, becoming a regular fixture on Heat
WWE HEAT
WWE Heat was a professional wrestling television program produced by World Wrestling Entertainment...
.
On the June 5, 2006 episode of Raw, Haas inadvertently knocked Lilian Garcia
Lilian Garcia
Lilian Annette García , is a Spanish-American singer. She is best known as the former ring announcer for WWE's Raw brand. During her time in WWE, she became the first Diva to remain with the promotion for ten years.-Early life and career:...
off the ring apron as he was entering the ring. It was announced on WWE's official website that as a result, Garcia suffered a sprain
Sprain
A sprain is an injury in a joint, caused by the ligament being stretched beyond its capacity. A muscular tear caused in the same manner is referred to as a strain. In cases where either ligament or muscle tissue is torn, immobilization and surgical repair may be necessary...
ed wrist. As a result of the legitimate accident, Haas began a feud with Garcia's onetime storyline
Kayfabe
In professional wrestling, kayfabe is the portrayal of events within the industry as "real" or "true". Specifically, the portrayal of professional wrestling, in particular the competition and rivalries between participants, as being genuine or not of a worked nature...
love interest Viscera
Nelson Frazier, Jr.
Nelson Frazier, Jr. is an American professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring names Mabel, Viscera, Big Daddy V, and King V. He is best known for his work with World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment...
. Haas made advances towards Garcia, at one point forcefully kissing her Ass and then dropping her to the ground. Haas and Viscera continued to fight for Garcia's affection in the ring, until she told them both that she wanted to be "just friends". Haas gave Viscera an eye rake in anger, and a blinded Viscera accidentally gave Garcia a Samoan drop. Though it was unintentional, when both Haas and Viscera had seen what had happened to their now former love interest, they simply had a laugh about it, thus making Haas a villain
Villain
A villain is an "evil" character in a story, whether a historical narrative or, especially, a work of fiction. The villain usually is the antagonist, the character who tends to have a negative effect on other characters...
. After that, Viscera and Haas became a tag team, competing on both Raw and Heat until splitting in December 2006.
Return of The World's Greatest Tag Team (2006–2007)
After Shelton Benjamin won a match against Super CrazySuper Crazy
Francisco Islas Rueda is a Mexican professional wrestler, or Luchador, best known by his ring name Super Crazy. Islas is most known for his three year run in the original ECW...
on the December 4, 2006, edition of Raw, Haas came out to celebrate his win with a bewildered Benjamin. Haas and Benjamin announced the return of The World's Greatest Tag Team
The World's Greatest Tag Team
The World's Greatest Tag Team is the professional wrestling tag team of Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin, who currently perform as Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team. Originally formed in World Wrestling Entertainment , they started out captained by Kurt Angle, during which time they were known as...
on the December 11, 2006, edition of Raw, and they defeated The Highlanders
The Highlanders (professional wrestling)
The Highlanders are a Scottish professional wrestling tag team consisting of storyline cousins Robbie and Rory McAllister who were best known for wrestling for World Wrestling Entertainment on the Raw brand.-History:Couch and Murray were both born and raised in Oban, Scotland The Highlanders are...
in their return match. They then started a feud with Cryme Tyme
Cryme Tyme
For animated series named Crime Time, visit Crime TimeCryme Tyme was a professional wrestling tag team that was signed to WWE.The team consisted of JTG and Shad , an over-the-top parody of stereotypical street thugs.-Early lives:Of Haitian and...
. They continued to compete on Raw through the start of 2007, facing teams including John Cena
John Cena
John Felix Anthony Cena is an American professional wrestler, actor, rapper, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its WWE Raw brand....
and Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels
Michael Shawn Hickenbottom , better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American television host and retired professional wrestler. He presents the Outdoor Channel show MacMillan River Adventures, and is currently signed to WWE, where he has served in an ambassadorial role since December...
and Ric Flair
Ric Flair
Richard Morgan Fliehr is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ric Flair. Also known as "The Nature Boy", Flair is one of the most well-known professional wrestlers in the world....
and Carlito
Carly Colon
Carlos Edwin "Carly" Colón, Jr. is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler better known internationally by his ring name Carlito. He is best known for his work in the World Wrestling Entertainment , but was released from his contract on May 21, 2010. In his native Puerto Rico, he is known as both...
. In mid-2007, The World's Greatest Tag Team feuded briefly with The Hardys
Hardy Boyz
The Hardy Boyz are a professional wrestling tag team, consisting of real-life brothers Matt and Jeff Hardy...
in storyline; at the One Night Stand
One Night Stand (2007)
One Night Stand was the third annual One Night Stand professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on June 3, 2007 at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida and featured talent from the Raw, SmackDown!, and ECW brands...
pay-per-view on June 3, 2007, they challenged The Hardys for the World Tag Team Championship in a ladder match
Ladder match
A ladder match is a type of match in professional wrestling that is most commonly used to describe a match where an item is hung above the ring, and the winner is the contestant who climbs a ladder and retrieves the item...
but were unsuccessful. The team broke up once again when Benjamin moved to the ECW brand on November 20, 2007.
Various gimmicks,SmackDown return, and Departure (2008–2010)
Early in 2008, Haas developed a gimmick in which he would go under the ring in the middle of his matches and re-emerge wearing a mask. In this "alter-ego", Haas would sometimes perform luchador-esque maneuvers in a comical fashion (such as attempting a diving splash, but instead landing on his feet and hitting a standing splash). The opponent would often unmask Haas mid-match, returning him to his normal demeanor. During this persona, Haas usually competed in dark matches before the live broadcastLive television
Live television refers to a television production broadcast in real-time, as events happen, in the present. From the early days of television until about 1958, live television was used heavily, except for filmed shows such as I Love Lucy and Gunsmoke. Video tape did not exist until 1957...
of Raw or on Heat.
Face (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a babyface or face or in simple words, a fan favorite is a character who is portrayed as a heroic relative to the heel wrestlers, who are analogous to villains...
(heroic character) and began a storyline in which he began to impersonate other wrestlers, a concept created by John Laurinaitis
John Laurinaitis
John Joseph Laurinaitis is the Executive Vice President of Talent Relations for WWE and appears on WWE's Raw Brand as interim General Manager. He was previously a professional wrestler under the ring name Johnny Ace, and wrestled for such promotions as the National Wrestling Alliance and All...
, a WWE executive. His first match under this gimmick was a loss to Carlito's real-life brother Primo Colón, while Haas was parodying Carlito
Carly Colon
Carlos Edwin "Carly" Colón, Jr. is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler better known internationally by his ring name Carlito. He is best known for his work in the World Wrestling Entertainment , but was released from his contract on May 21, 2010. In his native Puerto Rico, he is known as both...
with the name "Charlito". He has portrayed such superstars as John Cena
John Cena
John Felix Anthony Cena is an American professional wrestler, actor, rapper, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its WWE Raw brand....
, John "Bradshaw" Layfield
John Layfield
John Charles Layfield is a former American professional wrestler, a former commentator/host for mixed martial arts promotion Vyper Fight League and financial analyst for Fox News...
, Jim Ross
Jim Ross
James William "Jim" Ross is a professional wrestling commentator, former professional wrestling referee, restaurateur, occasional wrestler, and former company executive of WWE, where he currently works as a commentator on the WWE Raw brand...
, The Great Khali, Montel Vontavious Porter, legends such as Stone Cold Steve Austin
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Steve Austin , better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American film and television actor and retired professional wrestler...
, Bret Hart
Bret Hart
Bret Hart is a Canadian on-screen personality, writer, actor and Semi-retired professional wrestler. Like others in the Hart wrestling family, Hart has an amateur wrestling background, including wrestling at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal College...
, "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig
Curt Hennig
Curtis Michael "Curt" Hennig , also known by the ring name Mr. Perfect, was an American professional wrestler, manager and color commentator who worked for, among other promotions, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , the American Wrestling Association , World Championship Wrestling and the World...
, Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka
Jimmy Snuka
James William "Jimmy" Reiher is a semi-retired Fijian professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring name Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka. Originally from the Fiji Islands, Snuka wrestled for several promotions in the 1970s and 1980s. Snuka is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having been a...
, Hulk Hogan
Hulk Hogan
Terrance Gene "Terry" Bollea , better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American Semi-retired professional wrestler, actor, television personality, and musician currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
, and even current WWE Diva
WWE Diva
Diva is a term used by World Wrestling Entertainment , an American professional wrestling promotion, to refer to its female talent. The term is applied to women who appear as wrestlers, managers or valets, backstage interviewers, or ring announcers....
Beth Phoenix
Beth Phoenix
Elizabeth Kocianski is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE where she wrestles on the Raw brand under the ring name Beth Phoenix, where she is the reigning WWE Divas Champion....
for which he won a Slammy Award.
On April 15, 2009, Haas was drafted to the SmackDown brand as part of the 2009 Supplemental Draft. On the May 8, 2009 episode of SmackDown, Haas made his in-ring return to the brand as a heel, abandoning his persona of imitating other wrestlers, and losing to John Morrison in a match where he was accompanied by his former World's Greatest Tag Team partner, Shelton Benjamin. At Judgment Day, he accompanied Benjamin to the ring during his match with Morrison. Benjamin, however, lost to Morrison. The following week on the May 15, 2009 episode of SmackDown, Benjamin and Haas unofficially reunited and competed against John Morrison and CM Punk
CM Punk
Phillip Jack "Phil" Brooks , better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE and working on its Raw brand currently serving his second title reign as WWE Champion....
in a losing effort, but Benjamin was traded to the ECW brand in June.
After an absence of several months, Haas made his return to television by teaming with Mike Knox
Mike Knox
Michael Shawn Hettinga is a American professional wrestler. He is best known for wrestling for World Wrestling Entertainment as Mike Knox. He is also an avid fisherman, and fishes in his spare time.-Independent circuit :...
in a losing effort against Cryme Tyme on the December 31, 2009 episode of Superstars
WWE Superstars
WWE Superstars is a professional wrestling television program produced by World Wrestling Entertainment that originally aired on WGN America in the United States. It debuted on April 16, 2009 and ended its domestic broadcasting on April 7, 2011...
. On February 28, 2010, WWE announced that Haas had been released from his contract.
Return to the independent circuit (2010–present)
On March 20, 2010, Haas made a surprise return to Jersey All Pro Wrestling and defeated Devon Moore for the JAPW New Jersey State Championship. On May 22 Haas and JAPW Heavyweight ChampionJAPW Heavyweight Championship
The Jersey All Pro Wrestling Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling championship in the American independent professional wrestling promotion Jersey All Pro Wrestling. Being a professional wrestling championship, it is not won via direct competition; it is instead won via a...
Dan Maff
Dan Lopez
Dan Lopez is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Dan "Danny" Maff. He retired in March 2005 following an as yet undisclosed incident involving his trainer, Homicide, and remained inactive until returning in June 2008....
put their titles on the line in a tag team match against the Hillbilly Wrecking Crew (Brodie Lee
Brodie Lee
Jon Huber is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Brodie Lee, who performs primarily in the Chikara, Dragon Gate, Dragon Gate USA, Evolve Wrestling and Jersey All Pro Wrestling professional wrestling promotions...
and Necro Butcher
Necro Butcher
Dylan Keith Summers is an American professional wrestler best known by his ring name Necro Butcher. Throughout the years he has worked for various promotions, including Beyond Wrestling, Firestormpro, Ring of Honor, Full Impact Pro, IWA-Mid South, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, Big Japan Pro Wrestling,...
). In the end Maff turned on Haas and hit him with a chair, after which Lee pinned him to win the JAPW New Jersey State Championship.
On September 10, Haas won the NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship
NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship
The NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling title that has existed since the 1930s. Though its exact date of creation isn't known, it is among the oldest championships used in professional wrestling today...
by defeating Michael Faith in Amarillo. The following day, on September 11, Haas and Shelton Benjamin debuted in Ring of Honor
Ring of Honor
Ring of Honor ' is an American professional wrestling promotion, founded in 2002 by Rob Feinstein and Gabe Sapolsky. From 2004 to 2011, the promotion was under the ownership of Cary Silkin before being sold to the Sinclair Broadcast Group in May 2011...
(ROH) in a loss to The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero
Chris Hero
Chris Spradlin is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Chris Hero. He is a mainstay of many independent wrestling promotions, including Ring of Honor, and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla as well as Pro Wrestling Noah in Japan...
and Claudio Castagnoli
Claudio Castagnoli
Claudio Castagnoli is a Swiss professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, working in its developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling under the ring name Antonio Cesaro...
) at the Glory By Honor IX
Glory By Honor IX
Glory By Honor IX was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Ring of Honor , which was only available online. It took place on September 11, 2010, at the Manhattan Center in New York City...
pay-per-view. They returned to ROH at the Ring of Honor Wrestling television tapings on December 9, where they defeated the Bravado Brothers. The following day, at the second set of television tapings, Haas and Benjamin defeated the All-Night Express of Kenny King
Kenny Layne
Kenny Layne is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Kenny King. King currently wrestles for Ring of Honor. He was a contestant in the second season of WWF Tough Enough.-Early life:...
and Rhett Titus
Rhett Titus
Everett Lawrence Titus is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Rhett Titus. A student of the ROH Wrestling Academy, Titus has been competing for Ring of Honor , as well as various independent promotions, since 2006.-Career:Titus began training at the ROH Wrestling...
, and participated in an eight-man tag team match, teaming with the Briscoe Brothers
Briscoe Brothers
The Briscoe Brothers are the professional wrestling tag team of Jay and Mark Briscoe. They are currently wrestling for the American promotions Ring of Honor, Full Impact Pro, Combat Zone Wrestling, as well as occasionally for the Japanese promotion Pro Wrestling Noah.Their wrestling careers have...
against the Kings of Wrestling and the All-Night Xpress, which ended in a no contest. At the Final Battle 2010
Final Battle 2010
Final Battle 2010 was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Ring of Honor. It took place on December 18, 2010, at the Manhattan Center in New York City. It was the eighth annual event in the Final Battle chronology, with the first taking place in 2002, but only the second to be...
pay-per-view on December 18, Haas and Benjamin announced they would be wrestling regularly for ROH in 2011. At the following pay-per-view, 9th Anniversary Show
9th Anniversary Show
9th Anniversary Show was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Ring of Honor . It took place on February 26, 2011, at the Frontier Park Field House in Chicago. It was the ninth annual event in the Anniversary Show chronology, with the first taking place in 2003 after the company...
, on February 26, 2011, Haas and Benjamin defeated the Briscoe Brothers in the main event of the evening to earn another shot at the Kings of Wrestling and the ROH World Tag Team Championship
ROH World Tag Team Championship
The Ring of Honor World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship contested for in the American professional wrestling promotion Ring of Honor. The championship is generally contested in professional wrestling matches, in which participants usually execute...
. On March 6, 2011 Haas lost his debut for Wrecking Ball Wrestling to Low-Ki. On April 1, at the first night of the Honor Takes Center Stage
Honor Takes Center Stage
Honor Takes Center Stage was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Ring of Honor . It took place over two consecutive days, on 1 and 2 April, 2011, at the Center Stage Theatre in Atlanta, with the 1 April show at 8pm ET/5pm PT, and the 2 April show at a special matinee time of 1pm...
pay-per-view, Haas and Benjamin defeated the Kings of Wrestling to win the ROH World Tag Team Championship. In May 2011, Haas took part in New Japan Pro Wrestling
New Japan Pro Wrestling
is a major professional wrestling promotion in Japan, founded by Antonio Inoki in June 1972 and owned by Yuke's since 2005, when Inoki sold the promotion. Naoki Sugabayashi is the current President of the promotion and has held that position from 2007. Owing to its TV program aired on TV Asahi, it...
's first tour of the United States. In the main event of the first night on May 13 in Rahway, New Jersey
Rahway, New Jersey
Rahway is a city in southern Union County, New Jersey, United States. It is part of the New York metropolitan area, being 15 miles southwest of Manhattan and five miles west of Staten Island...
, Haas teamed with Rhino in a tag team match, where they defeated IWGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi
Hiroshi Tanahashi
is a Japanese professional wrestler who works primarily for New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he is the current IWGP Heavyweight Champion in his fifth reign.-Early life:...
and Togi Makabe
Togi Makabe
, better known by his ring name is a Japanese professional wrestler, trained by and currently performing for New Japan Pro Wrestling , where he is a former IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Tag Team Champion....
. The following day in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Haas unsuccessfully challenged Tanahashi for his title. On June 26 at Best in the World 2011
Best in the World 2011
Best in the World 2011 was a professional wrestling pay-per-view by Ring of Honor that took place on June 26, 2011. It was an afternoon show that began at 4pm and marked the return of ROH to the Hammerstein Ballroom for the first time since 2009...
, Haas and Benjamin successfully defended the ROH World Tag Team Championship in a four-way match against the Briscoe Brothers, the Kings of Wrestling and the All-Night Express. The following day ROH announced that both Haas and Benjamin had signed contracts with the promotion.
Personal life
Haas competed in amateur wrestlingAmateur wrestling
Amateur wrestling is the most widespread form of sport wrestling. There are two international wrestling styles performed in the Olympic Games under the supervision of FILA : Greco-Roman and freestyle. Freestyle is possibly derived from the English Lancashire style...
during high school, and for Seton Hall University
Seton Hall University
Seton Hall University is a private Roman Catholic university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by Archbishop James Roosevelt Bayley, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesan university in the United States. Seton Hall is also the oldest and largest Catholic university in the...
, where he attended on a wrestling scholarship. He also has various other awards for wrestling from high school. Haas was a two-time Big East Champion at Seton Hall and graduated with a degree in economics and business. He then became a stockbroker with Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is an American multinational bulge bracket investment banking and securities firm that engages in global investment banking, securities, investment management, and other financial services primarily with institutional clients...
. According to Haas via the Q&A section on his website, he is a devout Christian.
His grandfather, Hugh Devore
Hugh Devore
Hugh John Devore was a football player and coach whose close connection to the University of Notre Dame saw him serve in both capacities, while also seeing time as head coach at two other colleges as well as the National Football League's Philadelphia Eagles.-Early career:Devore was born and...
, was an assistant with the Houston Oilers and a former Head Coach of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Notre Dame's nickname is inherited from Irish immigrant soldiers who fought in the Civil War with the Union's Irish Brigade, , recollected among other places in the poetry of Joyce Kilmer who served with one of the Irish Brigade regiments during World War I...
. Haas' brother Russ
Russ Haas
Thomas Russell "Russ" Haas was a professional wrestler. He is best known for his work alongside his brother Charlie in Memphis Championship Wrestling and Jersey All Pro Wrestling....
was also a professional wrestler, until his death in 2001 due to a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
. After getting engaged in September 2004, Haas married fellow wrestler Jackie Gayda
Jackie Gayda
Jacquelyn Gayda-Haas is an American semi-retired professional wrestler and valet, best known for her work on World Wrestling Entertainment 's Raw and SmackDown! brands and in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as a TNA Knockout...
on June 10, 2005. It was announced on May 5, 2006 that they were expecting their first child. On December 14, 2006 at 3:01 a.m., Gayda gave birth to a daughter, Kayla Jacquelyn Haas, who weighed 6 pounds (2.7215542 kg), and was 19.5 inches (495.3 mm) long. The couple's second daughter, Taylor Suzanne, was born on September 17, 2008. On June 1, 2010, the couple's third child, a son named Thomas Russell Haas II, was born. Haas and his wife opened "Custom Muscle Nutrition and Smoothie Shop", a nutritional store in Frisco, Texas
Frisco, Texas
Frisco is an affluent city in Collin and Denton Counties in the U.S. state of Texas and a rapidly growing suburb of Dallas. As of the 2010 Census, 116,989 people were living in Frisco up from 33,714 in the previous census. Frisco was the fastest growing city in the United States in 2009, and also...
on October 1, 2008.
On August 30, 2007, an article on Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
s website named Haas as one of ten superstars found to have purchased illegal steroids not in compliance with WWE's Talent Wellness program. He was allegedly prescribed anastrozole
Anastrozole
Anastrozole is an aromatase-inhibiting drug approved for treatment of breast cancer after surgery, as well as for metastasis in both pre and post-menopausal women. The severity of breast cancer is increased by estrogen, as sex hormones cause hyperplasia, and differentiation at estrogen receptor...
, somatropin
Growth hormone
Growth hormone is a peptide hormone that stimulates growth, cell reproduction and regeneration in humans and other animals. Growth hormone is a 191-amino acid, single-chain polypeptide that is synthesized, stored, and secreted by the somatotroph cells within the lateral wings of the anterior...
, stanozolol
Stanozolol
Stanozolol, commonly sold under the name Winstrol , Tenabol and Winstrol Depot , was developed by Winthrop Laboratories in 1962...
, nandrolone
Nandrolone
Nandrolone is an anabolic steroid that may be present naturally in the human body, albeit in minute quantities of less than 0.4 ng/ml. Nandrolone is most commonly sold commercially as its decanoate ester and less commonly as a phenylpropionate ester...
, and chorionic gonadotropin
Gonadotropin
Gonadotropins are protein hormones secreted by gonadotrope cells of the pituitary gland of vertebrates. This is a family of proteins, which include the mammalian hormones follitropin , lutropin , placental chorionic gonadotropins hCG and eCG and chorionic gonadotropin , as well as at least two...
between August 2006 and January 2007. Haas later said that he thought it was legal, and he was doing it for "maintenance" after he had both his knees reconstructed.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
-
- Haas of Pain – innovated
- Inverted cloverleaf
- Scoop lift dropped into an inverted DDT – 2006
- Signature moves
-
- Back body drop
- German suplex
- Inverted atomic drop
- Multiple arm drags
- Multiple suplexSuplexA suplex is an offensive move used in professional sport wrestling . The move consists of one wrestler picking up his or her opponent off the ground and then using a large portion of his or her own body weight to drive the opponent down on the mat. Nearly all suplexes have the attacker going down...
variations- Exploder
- Release German
- Overhead belly to belly
- Shoot kick to the back of a seated opponent
- ManagersManager (professional wrestling)In professional wrestling, a manager is a secondary character paired with a wrestler for a variety of reasons. The manager is often either a non-wrestler, an occasional wrestler, an older wrestler who has retired or is nearing retirement or, in some cases, a new wrestler who is breaking into the...
- Kurt AngleKurt AngleKurt Steven Angle is an American professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and 1996 Olympic gold medalist. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is recognized as a 15-time World Heavyweight Champion...
- Jackie GaydaJackie GaydaJacquelyn Gayda-Haas is an American semi-retired professional wrestler and valet, best known for her work on World Wrestling Entertainment 's Raw and SmackDown! brands and in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as a TNA Knockout...
- Paul HeymanPaul HeymanPaul Heyman is an American entertainment producer, best known for his career in professional wrestling as a promoter, manager, commentator and journalist. He is also an occasional actor in film....
- Kurt Angle
- Entrance themesMusic in professional wrestlingMusic in professional wrestling serves a variety of purposes. The most common uses of music in professional wrestling is that of the entrance theme, a song or piece of instrumental music which plays as a performer approaches the ring...
- "World's Greatest" (WWE;2003-2004;2007;2008)
- "Ain't No Stoppin' Me (Remix)" by Axel (WWE;2009;Used while teaming with Shelton Benjamin)
- "T.N.T.T.N.T. (song)"T.N.T." is a single recorded in 1975 by the hard rock band AC/DC, taken from their Australian album T.N.T. and the international version of High Voltage. The song was written by Bon Scott, Angus Young and Malcolm Young...
" by AC/DCAC/DCAC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...
Championships and accomplishments
- Ballpark Brawl
- Natural Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Combat Zone WrestlingCombat Zone WrestlingCombat Zone Wrestling is a independent wrestling promotion. In 1999, John Zandig and four of his students, Ric Blade, Lobo, Nick Gage and Justice Pain began to run backyard wrestling shows in New Jersey and Delaware, showcasing a brand of hardcore wrestling dubbed as "ultraviolence"...
- CZW World Tag Team ChampionshipCZW World Tag Team ChampionshipThe CZW World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship owned and copyrighted by the Combat Zone Wrestling promotion; it is contested for in their tag team division. It was created and debuted on February 13, 1999 at CZW's Opening Night event, where Jon Dahmer...
(1 time) – with Russ HaasRuss HaasThomas Russell "Russ" Haas was a professional wrestler. He is best known for his work alongside his brother Charlie in Memphis Championship Wrestling and Jersey All Pro Wrestling....
- CZW World Tag Team Championship
- East Coast Wrestling AssociationEast Coast Wrestling AssociationEast Coast Wrestling Association is an American professional wrestling promotion, founded by promoter Jim Kettner in 1967. It is home to the annual Super 8 Tournament, one of the longest-running independent wrestling tournaments in the country...
- ECWA Tag Team ChampionshipECWA Tag Team ChampionshipECWA Tag Team Championship are the tag team titles contested in the independent professional wrestling promotion, East Coast Wrestling Association.- Title history :...
(1 time) – with Russ Haas - ECWA Hall of Fame (Class of 2004)
- ECWA Tag Team Championship
- Heartland Wrestling AssociationHeartland Wrestling AssociationThe Heartland Wrestling Association is a Midwestern independent professional wrestling promotion based in Cincinnati, Ohio. A former developmental territory for both World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation during the 1990s, it was listed as one of the top independent...
- HWA Heavyweight ChampionshipHWA Heavyweight ChampionshipThe HWA Heavyweight Championship is the heavyweight title contested in the Heartland Wrestling Association.- Title history :...
(1 time)
- HWA Heavyweight Championship
- Jersey All Pro WrestlingJersey All Pro WrestlingJersey All Pro Wrestling is an independent wrestling promotion based in New Jersey.-1997:Jersey All Pro Wrestling is an independent wrestling promotion that was founded by "Fat" Frank Iadeavia on April 19, 1997. This promotion was born out of a dream of "Fat" Frank. He wanted to take the promotion...
- JAPW New Jersey State Championship (1 time)
- JAPW Tag Team ChampionshipJAPW Tag Team ChampionshipThe JAPW Tag Team Championship is a championship in the Jersey All Pro Wrestling promotion. Being a professional wrestling championship, it is not won via direct competition; it is instead won via a predetermined ending to a match or awarded to a wrestler because of a wrestling angle...
(2 times) – with Russ Haas - JAPW Hall of Fame (Class of 2007)
- Memphis Championship WrestlingMemphis Championship WrestlingMemphis Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion run by Terry Golden, based in Memphis, Tennessee. The promotion's first event was on February 20, 2000, and it remained active up until mid-2001...
- MCW Southern Tag Team ChampionshipMCW Southern Tag Team ChampionshipThe MCW Southern Tag Team Championship was the tag team title in Memphis Championship Wrestling from 2000 until the promotion closed in 2002.-Title history:...
(3 times) – with Russ Haas
- MCW Southern Tag Team Championship
- NWA SouthwestNational Wrestling AllianceThe National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
- NWA Texas Heavyweight ChampionshipNWA Texas Heavyweight ChampionshipThe NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling title that has existed since the 1930s. Though its exact date of creation isn't known, it is among the oldest championships used in professional wrestling today...
(1 time)
- NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship
- Pennsylvania Championship Wrestling
- PCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Russ Haas
- Phoenix Championship WrestlingPhoenix Championship WrestlingPhoenix Championship Wrestling was a short-lived American independent professional wrestling promotion based in Toms River, New Jersey. It was founded by twin brothers Don and Mike Bucci in 2001 and promoted by Don Bucci until its close two years later...
- Russ Haas Memorial Tag Team Tournament (2002) – with NovaMike BucciMichael "Mike" Bucci is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. Bucci is probably best known for his appearances in Extreme Championship Wrestling as Nova, Super Nova, and "Hollywood" Nova and World Wrestling Entertainment as Simon Dean...
- Russ Haas Memorial Tag Team Tournament (2002) – with Nova
- Pro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling Illustrated is a professional wrestling magazine. PWI is currently based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania and published by Kappa Publishing Group.-History:The first issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated was released in 1979...
- PWI Tag Team of the Year (2003)
- PWI ranked him #25 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2003
- Ring of HonorRing of HonorRing of Honor ' is an American professional wrestling promotion, founded in 2002 by Rob Feinstein and Gabe Sapolsky. From 2004 to 2011, the promotion was under the ownership of Cary Silkin before being sold to the Sinclair Broadcast Group in May 2011...
- ROH World Tag Team ChampionshipROH World Tag Team ChampionshipThe Ring of Honor World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship contested for in the American professional wrestling promotion Ring of Honor. The championship is generally contested in professional wrestling matches, in which participants usually execute...
(1 time, current) – with Shelton Benjamin
- ROH World Tag Team Championship
- World Wrestling Entertainment
- WWE Tag Team ChampionshipWWE Tag Team ChampionshipThe WWE Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship in WWE. It was established as a second title for tag teams in WWE in 2002 to complement the original World Tag Team Championship...
(3 times) – with Shelton Benjamin (2) and RicoRico ConstantinoAmerico Sebastiano Costantino is a retired American professional wrestler and wrestling manager of Italian origin. He is best known by his ring names Rico Costantino and Rico in World Wrestling Entertainment from 2001 to 2004...
(1) - Slammy Award for Best Impersonation (2008)
- WWE Tag Team Championship