Evan Karagias
Encyclopedia
Evan Karagias is an American
professional wrestler
and actor
. he is a 3 time WSL World Heavyweight Champion
origin. He started as a TV soap-opera actor and model in NYC, and appeared in numerous fitness magazines, including Men's Workout
.
However, he is best known as having wrestled for World Championship Wrestling
(WCW) once he graduated from the exclusive Power Plant
in 1997. Initially wrestling as 'Evan Courageous', then 'Evan Kourageous', he finally wrestled under his own name, with the legend 'Outrageous' emblazoned on the back of his trunks.
Karagias began as a jobber, and has the dubious distinction of having more defeats to his record as a solo wrestler in WCW as a proportion of all his matches than anyone else. Of almost 50 televised solo matches wrestled with WCW, he won eight.
At Mayhem 1999, Karagias challenged Disco Inferno
for the WCW World Cruiserweight Championship
. He won the match, gaining his first belt. It was finally taken from him by Madusa at Starrcade
, with whom he had been involved in an ongoing on-screen
ringside relationship, after he was found flirting with Spice
of the Nitro Girls
. However, Spice gave Karagias a low blow during the match, Madusa pinned him to become the first female ever to win the WCW World Cruiserweight Championship.
As Madusa's on-stage "boyfriend," he also feuded with Oklahoma over the Cruiserweight Title. Evan Karagias was rescued from that angle and put in a 3-man "boy band
" group while in WCW known as 3 Count
with Shannon Moore
and Shane Helms
. While in the group, Karagias won the WCW Hardcore Championship
when he, Moore and Helms simultaneously pinned then-champion Brian Knobbs
.
After WCW's sale to the World Wrestling Federation
, Karagias went to the WWF and made his debut during the Invasion as a member of the The Alliance. After a severe concussion in the ring, he was rarely seen and was released after 8–9 months without ever being used as a wrestler.
Karagias then joined the AWA Superstars of Wrestling, where he held the AWA Superstars of Wrestling Heavyweight Championship three times between 2002 and 2003. At the Ultimate Pro Wrestling 5th Anniversary Show on February 20, 2004, Frankie Kazarian
defeated Jerry Lynn
and Evan Karagias to retain his UPW Lightweight Championship.
Since then, Karagias has been inactive from wrestling. However, on October 28, 2006, Karagias returned to wrestling and appeared at a TNT Pro Wrestling show to face off with X-Pac
(who had Scott Hall
in his corner) in a charity benefit match.
Also of note, he was an actor on US television for the soap opera
Passions
. He was also a recurring guest star on the soap opera All My Children
.
He also makes frequent personal appearances for television talk shows in support of his favorite charities to better the health and health care of children through sports and medicine.
The WCW and WWF licensed his voice and bodyscan images to support the Electronic Arts
pro-wrestling videogame series, first appearing in WCW Mayhem
(1999).
1The WCW Hardcore Championship was held jointly with Shannon Moore
and Shane Helms
as a member of 3 Count
using the Freebird Rule.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
professional wrestler
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 actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. he is a 3 time WSL World Heavyweight Champion
Biography
Karagias's father's family are of GreekGreece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
origin. He started as a TV soap-opera actor and model in NYC, and appeared in numerous fitness magazines, including Men's Workout
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
.
However, he is best known as having wrestled for World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
(WCW) once he graduated from the exclusive Power Plant
WCW Power Plant
The WCW Power Plant was a professional wrestling school located in Atlanta, Georgia and owned and operated by World Championship Wrestling. The Power Plant, which was developed from a school operated by Jody Hamilton, was in operation throughout the 1990s...
in 1997. Initially wrestling as 'Evan Courageous', then 'Evan Kourageous', he finally wrestled under his own name, with the legend 'Outrageous' emblazoned on the back of his trunks.
Karagias began as a jobber, and has the dubious distinction of having more defeats to his record as a solo wrestler in WCW as a proportion of all his matches than anyone else. Of almost 50 televised solo matches wrestled with WCW, he won eight.
At Mayhem 1999, Karagias challenged Disco Inferno
Glenn Gilberti
Glenn Gilbertti is an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling as Disco Inferno. He is also a former road agent for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling....
for the WCW World Cruiserweight Championship
WWE Cruiserweight Championship
The World Wrestling Entertainment Cruiserweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment and was originally a World Championship Wrestling title. It was challenged by cruiserweights at a maximum weight of 215 lbs...
. He won the match, gaining his first belt. It was finally taken from him by Madusa at Starrcade
Starrcade (1999)
Starrcade was the seventeenth annual Starrcade professional wrestling pay-per-view event. It was the twelfth Starrcade event produced by World Championship Wrestling , and it took place on December 19, 1999 from the MCI Center in Washington, D.C....
, with whom he had been involved in an ongoing on-screen
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...
ringside relationship, after he was found flirting with Spice
Melissa Bellin
Melissa Anne Grill Petersen , also known by her ring name Spice, is a former member of World Championship Wrestling's Nitro Girls dance team. She also worked for WCW as a valet and wrestler.-Early career:...
of the Nitro Girls
Nitro Girls
The Nitro Girls were a dance team in World Championship Wrestling. Similar to the Fly Girls from In Living Color, their initial function was to dance and entertain the live crowds during commercial breaks.-History:...
. However, Spice gave Karagias a low blow during the match, Madusa pinned him to become the first female ever to win the WCW World Cruiserweight Championship.
As Madusa's on-stage "boyfriend," he also feuded with Oklahoma over the Cruiserweight Title. Evan Karagias was rescued from that angle and put in a 3-man "boy band
Boy band
A boy band is loosely defined as a popular music act consisting of only male singers. The members are expected to dance as well as sing, usually giving highly choreographed performances. More often than not, boy band members do not play musical instruments, either in recording sessions or on...
" group while in WCW known as 3 Count
3 Count
3 Count was a professional wrestling stable in World Championship Wrestling which formed in 1999. The group consisted of Shane Helms, Shannon Moore and Evan Karagias and they were given a boy band gimmick. For a brief time, Tank Abbott was added to the group as a manager and...
with Shannon Moore
Shannon Moore
Shannon Moore is an American professional wrestler, who is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling . He is best known for his work with World Championship Wrestling between 1999 and 2001 and with World Wrestling Entertainment for several years in the 2000s.Moore befriended Matt and Jeff Hardy...
and Shane Helms
Gregory Helms
Gregory Shane Helms is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment where he wrestled as The Hurricane and Gregory Helms. He is also known for his time with World Championship Wrestling where he wrestled as "Sugar" Shane Helms...
. While in the group, Karagias won the WCW Hardcore Championship
WCW Hardcore Championship
The World Championship Wrestling Hardcore Championship was a title in World Championship Wrestling. The title was defended in Hardcore matches, in which there were few rules and restrictions and weapons were allowed. Eventually, the rules were changed so that matches began in the backstage area...
when he, Moore and Helms simultaneously pinned then-champion Brian Knobbs
Brian Knobbs
Brian Yandrisovitz , better known as Brian Knobbs, is an American professional wrestler, best known as one half of the tag team The Nasty Boys along with Jerry Sags.-The Nasty Boys:...
.
After WCW's sale to the 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...
, Karagias went to the WWF and made his debut during the Invasion as a member of the The Alliance. After a severe concussion in the ring, he was rarely seen and was released after 8–9 months without ever being used as a wrestler.
Karagias then joined the AWA Superstars of Wrestling, where he held the AWA Superstars of Wrestling Heavyweight Championship three times between 2002 and 2003. At the Ultimate Pro Wrestling 5th Anniversary Show on February 20, 2004, Frankie Kazarian
Frankie Kazarian
Frank B. Gerdelman is an Armenian-American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Frankie Kazarian or simply Kazarian. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
defeated Jerry Lynn
Jerry Lynn
Jeremy "Jerry" Lynn is an American professional wrestler who is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
and Evan Karagias to retain his UPW Lightweight Championship.
Since then, Karagias has been inactive from wrestling. However, on October 28, 2006, Karagias returned to wrestling and appeared at a TNT Pro Wrestling show to face off with X-Pac
Sean Waltman
Sean Michael Waltman is an American professional wrestler currently signed with WWE in their developmental program. He wrestled there under the ring names 1–2–3 Kid and X-Pac off and on from 1993–2002, World Championship Wrestling under the ring name Syxx, and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ...
(who had Scott Hall
Scott Hall
Scott Hall is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure with the World Wrestling Federation in the early and mid 1990s under the ring name Razor Ramon, as well as for his period in the mid 1990s and early 2000s with World Championship Wrestling under his real name...
in his corner) in a charity benefit match.
Filmography
In his non-wrestling entertainment roles, Evan has appeared in:- Sinners & SaintsSinners & Saints (film)Sinners and Saints is a 2010 action-thriller film directed by and co-written by William Kaufman. It stars Johnny Strong, Kevin Phillips, Costas Mandylor, Sean Patrick Flanery, Bas Rutten, Method Man, Kim Coates and Tom Berenger. The film is set in the dark underbelly of New Orleans...
(2010) (Actor) - feature film - The Cursed (2010) (Actor) - feature film - aired in 2010 by SyfySyfySyfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
Channel. - "Shotgun Kiss" (unreleased) (Actor) - feature film
- "Undercover Kids" (2004) (Actor) - feature film
- KingpinKingpinKingpin may refer to:* Kingpin , the pivot in the steering mechanism* Kingpin , a Swedish metal band from the mid-1980s* Kingpin , a satirical chess magazine...
(2003) (Actor) - NBCNBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
TV mini-series
Also of note, he was an actor on US television for the soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Passions
Passions
Passions is an American television soap opera which aired on NBC from July 5, 1999 to September 7, 2007 and on The 101 Network from September 17, 2007 to August 7, 2008....
. He was also a recurring guest star on the soap opera All My Children
All My Children
All My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011. Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia. The show features Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytime's most...
.
He also makes frequent personal appearances for television talk shows in support of his favorite charities to better the health and health care of children through sports and medicine.
The WCW and WWF licensed his voice and bodyscan images to support the Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
pro-wrestling videogame series, first appearing in WCW Mayhem
WCW Mayhem
Mayhem was a professional wrestling pay-per-view produced by World Championship Wrestling and held in the month of November in 1999 and 2000. It is noted for being the first wrestling pay-per-view named after a video game, rather than the video game named after a pay-per-view.- 1999 :Mayhem 1999...
(1999).
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Outrageous Corkscrew (Corkscrew senton)
- Corkscrew splash
- Signature moves
- Backbreaker
- Bodyslam
- Corkscrew back elbow
- Corner sitout powerbomb
- Diving shoulder block
- DropkickDropkickA dropkick is an attacking maneuver in professional wrestling. It is defined as an attack where the wrestler jumps up and kicks the opponent with the soles of both feet; this sees the wrestler twist as he or she jumps so that when the feet connect with the opponent one foot is raised higher than...
, sometimes from the top rope - Military press slam
- MoonsaultMoonsaultA moonsault, moonsault press, or back flip splash is a professional wrestling aerial technique. Much of its popularity in American wrestling is attributed to The Great Muta, despite it being used in North America by "Leaping" Lanny Poffo years before Muta came from Japan.In a standard moonsault,...
- Multiple pinning variations
- Crucifix
- Fireman's carry takeover floated over
- Roll-up
- Snap DDT floated over
- Sunset flip
- Scoop powerslam
- Snap suplex
- Springboard crossbody, sometimes reversed
- Thesz press followed by multiple punches
- Victory roll
- With Shane HelmsGregory HelmsGregory Shane Helms is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment where he wrestled as The Hurricane and Gregory Helms. He is also known for his time with World Championship Wrestling where he wrestled as "Sugar" Shane Helms...
and Shannon MooreShannon MooreShannon Moore is an American professional wrestler, who is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling . He is best known for his work with World Championship Wrestling between 1999 and 2001 and with World Wrestling Entertainment for several years in the 2000s.Moore befriended Matt and Jeff Hardy...
- Aided wheelbarow facebuster
- 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...
- MadusaDebra MiceliDebrah Ann Miceli is a Monster truck driver and former professional wrestler. She is best known under her ring names Madusa or Alundra Blayze. Her early career was spent in the American Wrestling Association, where she held the AWA World Women's Championship one time...
- SpiceMelissa BellinMelissa Anne Grill Petersen , also known by her ring name Spice, is a former member of World Championship Wrestling's Nitro Girls dance team. She also worked for WCW as a valet and wrestler.-Early career:...
- Tank Abott
- Rob BlackRob ZicariRobert D. Zicari a.k.a. Rob Black is an American pornographer and former professional wrestling promoter. Together with his wife Janet Romano he owns the porn company Extreme Associates....
- Madusa
Championships and accomplishments
- AWA Superstars of Wrestling
- WSL World Heavyweight Championship (3 times)
- 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 Tag Team ChampionshipHWA Tag Team ChampionshipThe HWA Tag Team Championship is the tag team titles contested for in the Heartland Wrestling Association. It was established in 1996 when the Head Bangers became the first champions.-Title history:...
(1 timeHWA Tag Team ChampionshipThe HWA Tag Team Championship is the tag team titles contested for in the Heartland Wrestling Association. It was established in 1996 when the Head Bangers became the first champions.-Title history:...
) - with Shannon MooreShannon MooreShannon Moore is an American professional wrestler, who is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling . He is best known for his work with World Championship Wrestling between 1999 and 2001 and with World Wrestling Entertainment for several years in the 2000s.Moore befriended Matt and Jeff Hardy...
- World Championship WrestlingWorld Championship WrestlingWorld Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
- WCW Cruiserweight ChampionshipWWE Cruiserweight ChampionshipThe World Wrestling Entertainment Cruiserweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment and was originally a World Championship Wrestling title. It was challenged by cruiserweights at a maximum weight of 215 lbs...
(1 time) - WCW Hardcore ChampionshipWCW Hardcore ChampionshipThe World Championship Wrestling Hardcore Championship was a title in World Championship Wrestling. The title was defended in Hardcore matches, in which there were few rules and restrictions and weapons were allowed. Eventually, the rules were changed so that matches began in the backstage area...
(1 time1)
1The WCW Hardcore Championship was held jointly with Shannon Moore
Shannon Moore
Shannon Moore is an American professional wrestler, who is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling . He is best known for his work with World Championship Wrestling between 1999 and 2001 and with World Wrestling Entertainment for several years in the 2000s.Moore befriended Matt and Jeff Hardy...
and Shane Helms
Gregory Helms
Gregory Shane Helms is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment where he wrestled as The Hurricane and Gregory Helms. He is also known for his time with World Championship Wrestling where he wrestled as "Sugar" Shane Helms...
as a member of 3 Count
3 Count
3 Count was a professional wrestling stable in World Championship Wrestling which formed in 1999. The group consisted of Shane Helms, Shannon Moore and Evan Karagias and they were given a boy band gimmick. For a brief time, Tank Abbott was added to the group as a manager and...
using the Freebird Rule.