Monty Sopp
Encyclopedia
Monty Kip Sopp is an American
professional wrestler
, best known as Billy Gunn during his tenure for World Wrestling Entertainment
. He is probably best known as one of the members of the New Age Outlaws
. He also worked for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
under the ring name
Kip James. In WWE, Sopp was a one time Intercontinental Champion
and a two time Hardcore Champion
, but found his greatest success as a tag team wrestler, being a ten time World Tag Team Champion. He was also the 1999 King of the Ring.
When Sopp first arrived in the World Wrestling Federation, he used the name Billy Gunn and teamed with his on-screen
brother, Bart Gunn, as The Smoking Gunns. In early 1995, they won their first WWF Tag Team Championship by defeating the makeshift team of Bob Holly
and The 1-2-3 Kid
. They held the titles until WrestleMania XI
when they were defeated by the team of Owen Hart
and Yokozuna
. They won the titles again in September 1995.
On February 15, 1996, the Gunns vacated the titles because Billy was in need of neck surgery. After Billy returned from hiatus, The Smoking Gunns won the Tag Titles for the third time by defeating The Godwinns
in May. After the match, The Godwinns' manager Sunny
turned on her team in favor of the Gunns. She and Sopp went on to have an onscreen relationship.On September 22 at WWF In Your House Mind Games, the Gunns lost their titles to the team of Owen Hart and The British Bulldog
. After the match, Sunny abandoned The Gunns, saying that she would only manage title holders. Billy, frustrated with both losing the titles and Sunny, walked out on Bart and broke up The Smoking Gunns.
with his brother, Billy adopted a new gimmick, Rockabilly, and became the protégé of The Honky Tonk Man
. During this time, he had a short lived feud with "The Real Double J" Jesse James
. On Shotgun Saturday Night
, James realized both of their careers were going nowhere and suggested that they became a tag team. Sopp agreed and smashed a guitar over the Honky Tonk Man's head.
James and Rockabilly were quickly rebranded as "Road Dogg" Jesse James and "Badd Ass" Billy Gunn, and the unit they formed was named the New Age Outlaws
. This new team was in the spirit of the new Attitude Era
: brash, vulgar, egotistical, and loud-mouthed. They quickly rose to the top of the tag team ranks and won the WWF Tag Team Championship from the Legion of Doom
on November 24. They also defeated the LOD in a rematch at In Your House: D-Generation X
.
The Outlaws slowly began to align themselves with D-Generation X
, who were impressed with their new attitude. At the Royal Rumble
, the New Age Outlaws interfered in a Casket match to help Shawn Michaels
defeat The Undertaker. At No Way Out Of Texas
, the Outlaws teamed up with Triple H
and Savio Vega
(who replaced the injured Shawn Michaels) to face Chainsaw Charlie
, Cactus Jack
, Owen Hart
, and Stone Cold Steve Austin
. They were, however, defeated. On February 2, The Outlaws locked Cactus and Chainsaw in a dumpster and pushed it off the stage. This led to a Dumpster match at WrestleMania XIV
where Cactus and Chainsaw defeated the Outlaws for the Tag Titles. The next night on Raw, the New Age Outlaws won the Tag Team Championship for a second time by defeating Chainsaw and Cactus in a Steel cage match, but only after interference from Triple H, Chyna, and X-Pac
. After the match, the Outlaws officially became members of D-Generation X (DX).
After joining DX, the Outlaws successfully defended their Tag Titles against the Legion of Doom 2000 at Unforgiven. DX began to feud with Owen Hart, and his new stablemates, The Nation
. At Over The Edge
, the Outlaws and Triple H were defeated by Nation members Owen, Kama Mustafa
, and D'Lo Brown
in a Six Man Tag Match. The Outlaws would also successfully defend their titles against The New Midnight Express (Bombastic Bob
and Bodacious Bart) at King of the Ring.
During this time, the Outlaws began a feud with Kane and Mankind
. Although Kane and Mankind won the Tag Team championship, they could not get along. At SummerSlam
, Mankind faced the Outlaws in a Handicap match after Kane no-showed the title defense. The Outlaws defeated Mankind to win the titles for the third time. The Outlaws then helped X-Pac in his feud with Jeff Jarrett
and Southern Justice. In December, the Outlaws lost their titles to The Big Boss Man
and Ken Shamrock
from The Corporation
.
in December 1998, and Gunn set his sights on the Intercontinental Championship
. At the 1999 Royal Rumble
, Gunn unsuccessfully challenged Ken Shamrock
for the Intercontinental Title. The next month at St. Valentine's Day Massacre
, Gunn was the special guest referee for the Intercontinental Championship match between Val Venis
and champion Ken Shamrock, where Gunn made a fast count and declared Venis the new champion before attacking both men.
In March, Gunn won the Hardcore Championship from Hardcore Holly
. At WrestleMania XV
, Gunn lost the title to Holly in a Triple Threat match which also included Al Snow
. The New Age Outlaws then reunited to defeat Jeff Jarrett
and Owen Hart
at Backlash. After Backlash, Gunn left D-Generation X, aligned himself with Triple H and Chyna, and became known as Mr. Ass. He defeated his former partner, Road Dogg, in a match at Over the Edge
. Gunn then won the King of the Ring Tournament by defeating Ken Shamrock, Kane, and his former ally, X-Pac. After King of the Ring, Gunn, Triple H, and Chyna went on to feud with X-Pac and Road Dogg over the rights to the D-Generation X name. This feud culminated at Fully Loaded when X-Pac and Road Dogg defeated Gunn and Chyna.
Gunn then began a feud with The Rock. At SummerSlam
, The Rock defeated Gunn in a Kiss My Ass Match.
in September 1999. After defeating teams such as Edge and Christian
, Hardcore Holly
and Crash Holly
, and The Acolytes
, the Outlaws reunited with X-Pac and Triple H to reform D-Generation X. The group then feuded with the likes of Steve Austin, The Rock, Kane, Mankind, Shane McMahon
, and Vince McMahon
. During this time, The Outlaws won their fifth and final WWF Tag Team Championship after defeating Mankind and Al Snow
.
At the 2000 Royal Rumble
, The New Age Outlaws retained their titles against The Acolytes after interference from X-Pac. The Outlaws then had a heated feud with The Dudley Boyz
, who won the WWF Tag Team Championships from The Outlaws at No Way Out
. After suffering a torn rotator cuff
in the match with The Dudley Boyz, Gunn was kicked out of D-Generation X for "losing his cool" therefore costing them the tag team titles. He then took time off to tend to his arm injury, before returning later in the year.
, who wanted to "censor" his Mr. Ass gimmick. At No Mercy, Right to Censor members Steven Richards
and Val Venis defeated Chyna and Sopp. Due to a stipulation, Gunn could no longer use the Mr. Ass gimmick, so he renamed himself Billy G. for a few weeks before settling on "The One" Billy Gunn. Gunn then feuded with Eddie Guerrero
and the rest of The Radicalz
. At Survivor Series
, Gunn teamed with Road Dogg, Chyna, and K-Kwik
in a losing effort against The Radicalz. A few weeks later on SmackDown!, Gunn won the Intercontinental Championship from Guerrero. The title reign was short lived, however, as Chris Benoit
defeated him two weeks later at Armageddon
.
After feuding with Benoit, Gunn interfered in the WWF Hardcore Championship Match at No Way Out
, and taking advantage of the 24/7 Rule, pinned Raven
for the title. The reign was short lived, as Raven won it back a few minutes later. Gunn competed in the Hardcore Division until June, when he turned heel and had a short feud with the 2001 King of the Ring, Edge
. After the feud, Gunn quietly turned face again and formed a short lived tag team with The Big Show
. At Show's request, the team was called "The Show Gunns", a pun on the word shogun
. At InVasion
, The Show Gunns and Albert lost to the team of Shawn Stasiak
, Hugh Morrus
, and Chris Kanyon
. The Show Gunns quietly disbanded and Sopp feuded with The Alliance midcarders.
, Gunn was defeated by Chuck Palumbo
, who recently left The Alliance to join the WWF. After the match, Gunn suggested that they form a tag team. Palumbo agreed and Billy and Chuck
quickly rose to the top of the tag team division. Initially they were a generic face tandem but soon turned heel when they were given a gimmick where they grew increasingly affectionate toward each other, showing evidence of a storyline homosexual
relationship.
In February 2002, Billy and Chuck defeated Spike Dudley
and Tazz
to win the Tag Titles for the first time as a team. After winning the titles, Billy and Chuck found a "Personal Stylist" in the ambiguously flamboyant Rico
. After defeating The APA
, The Dudley Boyz
, and The Hardy Boyz
in a Four Corners Elimination Match at WrestleMania X8
, and Al Snow
and Maven
at Backlash
, Billy and Chuck feuded with Rikishi
. At Judgment Day, Rikishi and Rico (Rikishi's mystery partner of Mr. McMahon's choosing) defeated Billy and Chuck for the Tag Titles after Rico accidentally hit Chuck with a roundhouse kick
. Billy and Chuck quickly won the titles back two weeks later on SmackDown! with Rico's help. They held the championship for about a month before losing it to the team of Edge
and Hulk Hogan
.
Later that summer, after Gunn lost a match to Rey Mysterio, Chuck proposed to Billy asking him to be his "partner for life" and gave him a wedding ring. Gunn agreed, and on the September 12 episode of SmackDown!, Billy and Chuck had their wedding ceremony. However, just before they tied the knot, they revealed that entire ordeal was a publicity stunt
and disavowed their on-screen homosexuality, admitting that they were just friends. The "preacher" revealed himself to be Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff
(who was wearing a skin mask
), who then summoned 3-Minute Warning to beat up Billy and Chuck. Rico, furious that Billy and Chuck gave up their gimmick, became the manager of Three Minute Warning and defected to Raw which effectively turned Billy and Chuck face in the process. At Unforgiven
, Three Minute Warning defeated Billy Gunn and Chuck Palumbo. Their final match together occurred on SmackDown! in the first round of a tournament for the newly created WWE Tag Team Championship. They lost the match to the team of Ron Simmons
and Reverend D-Von. Afterwards, Sopp took a few months off because of a shoulder injury and the team of Billy and Chuck quietly disbanded.
became his new manager. He started a feud with Jamie Noble
which led to an "Indecent Proposal" Match at Vengeance
, which Noble won and due to a stipulation, won a night with Torrie. On SmackDown!, it looked as if Torrie was going to have a Ménage à trois
with Noble and Nidia
until Sopp broke into the hotel room ready to brawl with Noble. Sopp then started a short lived tag team with Noble before taking time off again because of a shoulder injury.
Gunn returned to action at the 2004 Royal Rumble
but was eliminated by Goldberg
. He also got a chance for a WWE Championship match
at No Way Out
against then Champion Brock Lesnar
in a SmackDown style Royal Rumble, but was eliminated by the winner of the match Eddie Guerrero
. Afterward, he wrestled mainly on WWE Velocity
before forming a tag team with Hardcore Holly
, which quickly rose to the top of SmackDown!'s tag team division. At Judgment Day
, they unsuccessfully challenged Charlie Haas
and Rico
for the WWE Tag Team Championship. Sopp then had a short feud with Kenzo Suzuki
before challenging for the WWE United States Championship
.
On November 1, 2004, Sopp was released from his WWE contract. At the time of his release, he was one of the most tenured wrestlers with the company, behind only The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels
. In June 2005, Sopp gave an interview in which he was heavily critical of WWE and the events that led to his release. Many of the negative comments were directed towards Triple H
, who Sopp claimed "runs the show up there".
without a name (as Billy Gunn is a WWE trademark
even though announcers recognized him as Billy Gunn) at Against All Odds, helping Jeff Jarrett
retain the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
in a match with Kevin Nash
. Sopp, using the name The New Age Outlaw, then formed a stable with Jarrett and Monty Brown
known as Planet Jarrett
. However, WWE threatened TNA with legal action if Sopp continued the use of the name "The New Age Outlaw", so he shortened his name to The Outlaw. Due to the legal issues with WWE, all TNA DVD releases featuring footage with Sopp as "The Outlaw" (and presumably also as "The New Age Outlaw") have had the name on on-screen graphics blurred, the name silenced out of the audio, and match commentary completely replaced to reflect a retroactive name change to "Kip James". One such DVD is the pay-per-view Lockdown (2005)
, included in the "TNA Anthology: The Epic Set" box set, in which the silencing of the name during a segment where Dusty Rhodes picks his name from a lottery leaves DVD viewers in the dark as to who just got picked (unless they could read Dusty's lips).
The Outlaw began a campaign to make former ally B.G. James
leave the 3Live Kru
and defect to Planet Jarrett, reforming the old tag team with Outlaw. At No Surrender, he renamed himself Kip James and was announced as "wrestling out of Marietta, Georgia
" (the family seat of the Armstrong family) as a psychological ploy. As a result of his campaign, Kip attracted the ire of 3Live Kru members Ron Killings
and Konnan
, leading to a series of tag team matches pitting Kip and Monty Brown against Killings and Konnan, with a conflicted James unwilling to take sides. Kip's efforts ultimately proved futile; James, the guest referee in a final match between Brown and Kip versus Konnan and Killings at Sacrifice, attacked Kip enabling a 3Live Kru victory.
In September at Unbreakable, Kip teamed with Brown to defeat the team of Apolo
and Lance Hoyt
. There was clear tension between the partners because Brown was unhappy at the series of losses at the hands of the 3Live Kru, and Kip was irked by Brown's decision to leave Planet Jarrett. Despite the victory, the partners argued after the match. On the October 8, 2005 episode of Impact!
, Kip rekindled his feud with the 3Live Kru, running to the ring after a bout between the 3LK and Team Canada
in order to prevent Team Canada captain Petey Williams
from beating down B.G. James. He saved James, and then engaged in a staredown with Konnan and Killings. Kip saved James from Team Canada once again at Bound for Glory. Though Killings showed signs of gratitude, Konnan remained skeptical as to his true intentions. Later that night, Kip took part in an over-the-top-rope gauntlet match for the number one contendership to the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. After he was eliminated, he tried in vain to prevent Killings from being eliminated as well, before being sent away from ringside by the referees.
, attempted to reconcile the group, but was instead attacked by Konnan and his new stablemates, Apolo
and Homicide. Killings later stated that he had severed his ties with the Kru. With Konnan and Killings no longer members of the Kru, Kip and B.G. began referring to themselves as The James Gang and continued to feud with the Konnan-managed Latin American Exchange, whose third man position as Homicide's partner would switch from Apolo to Machete
, and then from him to Hernandez
, who finally stuck, during the course of this feud.
By November 2006, Kip and B.G. began to show displeasure in TNA and threatened to go find work elsewhere if they did not receive gold soon. They began performing the crotch chop, a reference to the WWE's DX. On the November 2 edition of Impact!, Kip and B.G. threatened to quit. Kip grabbed the mic and tried to say something to the TNA administration and Spike TV, but each time his mic was cut off. Kip then tried to use the announcer's headset, but it was cut off as well. Frustrated, he started yelling loudly to the crowd, but he was cut off again as the show went to a commercial break. When the show returned, the announcers speculated that they may have been frustrated due to the influx of new talent entering TNA. It was reported that the segment was a worked shoot
that Vince Russo
had written in order to renew interest upon their eventual return. Kip and BG appeared in an internet video on TNA's website where they addressed the owner of WWE Vince McMahon
.
, Michael Hickenbottom
, and Vincent K. McMahon
(Triple H, Shawn Michaels, and Vince McMahon, respectively). Kip then declared that 'Triple Hollywood' and 'Shawn Kiss-my-bottom' were failing as the group they (Kip and BG) used to be a part of: D-Generation X
. After the initial shock value of this incident wore off, VKM began a feud with Christy Hemme
. Hemme then searched for a tag team to square-off against VKM. The final tag team was Damaja and Basham
, who appeared on an episode of Impact! and beat down VKM. They also held up Kip James so Hemme could slap him. However, they beat Hemme's team at Slammiversary
. After the match, VKM were betrayed by their associate Lance Hoyt
. At Victory Road, they introduced their new manager
, the Voodoo Queen, Roxxi Laveaux
, to embarrass Christy Hemme. On the October 25 edition of Impact!, VKM teamed with A.J. Styles
and Tomko
in a losing effort to LAX and the Steiner Brothers. At Genesis, B.G. James was present along with Kip James in the corner of Roxxi Laveaux at ringside for the Fatal Four Way knockout match for the TNA Women's Championship in which Gail Kim
retained the title. On February 21, 2008 he turned on B.G. James and B.G's dad "Bullet" Bob Armstrong by hitting them both with a crutch.
and lost. After the match, he appeared to want to make amends as he raised B.G.'s hand after the match, only to clothesline him down to the mat and taunt him with a DX crotch chop, going on to declare himself "The Mega-Star", in an arrogant gimmick similar to "The One" gimmick from his WWF tenure. Kip later stopped making appearances on Impact! until April 24 when he was attacked backstage by Matt Morgan for no reason. The next week on Impact!, Kip got back at Morgan by attacking him backstage in Jim Cornette
's office. On May 8, 2008, Jim Cornette made Matt Morgan Kip's tag team partner for the Deuces Wild tournament at Sacrifice
, but lost. Kip went on another brief disappearance from TV until the June 5 edition of Impact!, where he partnered with Lance Hoyt
and James Storm
in a losing effort against LAX and Matt Morgan.
On the August 14 episode of Impact!, Kip was revealed to be the new image consultant and member of The Beautiful People
, dubbed "The Fashionist
" Cute Kip, after they brought him out during their interview on Karen Angle
's show Karen's Angle. At Genesis 2009, Kip became the one-night-only replacement for the injured Kevin Nash
in the Main Event Mafia
.
As of March 19, 2009, Sopp was taken off of TNA Impact!
along with Jacqueline Moore
to become road agents. Sopp returned as Cute Kip and lost to Awesome Kong in an intergender stretcher match on May 14, 2009. On the May 28 edition of Impact!, Sopp was fired by The Beautiful People. On the June 18 edition of Impact!, Mick Foley
hired him as his handyman. James had turned face
.
Sopp's profile was removed from the TNA website on December 29, 2009, confirming his release from the promotion.
During his TNA run, Sopp was honored in both Middlebourne & Moundsville, WV on August 18'th & 19'th, 2007 as he was inducted into the XWF Hall of Fame by its creator Jack Blaze at their annual "Summer Mania 2007" events. XWF was later renamed LPW (Legends Pro Wrestling) where Sopp is still honored in their Hall of Fame- Class 2007.
to victory against The UK Kid and Bob Holly
on the 12th, and losing the UK Kid in a singles bout on the 13th, before returning later than night for a six man tag team match where his team of himself, Chris Andrews and Jake McCluskey defeated Bob Holly, The UK Kid and Rob Holte.
Sopp and his longtime tag team partner Brian James are scheduled to appear in Fall River, Massachusetts at the Top Rope Promotions independent wrestling circuit.
Kip made his return to wrestling on the second episode of WFX Wrestling
Overdrive in a video package.
On July 30, 2011, Sopp, working under the ring name Kip Gunn, made his debut for Lucha Libre USA
as a member of the heel stable Right. In his first match for the promotion, Gunn was defeated by Marco Corleone
.
was obliged to wrestle in order to let her cat's daughter marry her fiancé, who was the son of Sopp's character.
Sopp made a cameo appearance in the 2010 comedy film The Other Guys
during the Knicks'
basketball game scene. He is seen sitting two rows above Will Ferrell
.
Sopp married his first wife Tina Tinnell on March 3, 1990. Together they have two sons: Colten, who was born on May 18, 1991, and Austin, who was born on August 26, 1994. The couple separated in January 2000 and their divorce was finalized on December 11, 2002. Sopp married longtime girlfriend Paula on January 27, 2009. In September 2010 his mistress posted numerous videos on Dailymotion
of conversations between the two after Sopp's wife discovered the affair.
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...
, best known as Billy Gunn during his tenure for 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...
. He is probably best known as one of the members of the New Age Outlaws
New Age Outlaws
The New Age Outlaws, later known as the James Gang and the Voodoo Kin Mafia, were a professional wrestling tag team in World Wrestling Federation, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , Jersey All Pro Wrestling, and Maryland Championship Wrestling consisting of B.G...
. He also worked for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling is a privately held professional wrestling promotion founded by Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Jarrett. The company broadcasts its events on television and the Internet fifty two weeks a year with over a million weekly viewers on its primary television program, Impact...
under the ring name
Ring name
A ring name is a stage name used by a professional wrestler, martial artist, or boxer. While some ring names may have a fictitious first name and surname, others may simply be a nickname, such as The Undertaker.-Wrestling:...
Kip James. In WWE, Sopp was a one time Intercontinental Champion
WWE Intercontinental Championship
The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand...
and a two time Hardcore Champion
WWE Hardcore Championship
The World Wrestling Entertainment Hardcore Championship is a hardcore wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment and is contested under "hardcore" rules, meaning there is no disqualifications, no countouts, and pin falls could be counted anywhere...
, but found his greatest success as a tag team wrestler, being a ten time World Tag Team Champion. He was also the 1999 King of the Ring.
The Smoking Gunns (1993–1996)
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...
brother, Bart Gunn, as The Smoking Gunns. In early 1995, they won their first WWF Tag Team Championship by defeating the makeshift team of Bob 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 ....
and The 1-2-3 Kid
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 ...
. They held the titles until WrestleMania XI
WrestleMania XI
WrestleMania XI was the eleventh annual WrestleMania pay-per-view event held by the World Wrestling Federation at the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut on April 2, 1995...
when they were defeated by the team of Owen Hart
Owen Hart
Owen James Hart was a Canadian professional and amateur wrestler who worked for several promotions including Stampede Wrestling, New Japan Pro Wrestling , World Championship Wrestling , and most notably, the World Wrestling Federation , where he wrestled under both his own name, and ring name The...
and Yokozuna
Rodney Anoa'i
Rodney Agatupu Anoa'i was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his time with the World Wrestling Federation where he wrestled under the ring name Yokozuna. The term yokozuna refers to the highest rank in professional sumo wrestling in Japan...
. They won the titles again in September 1995.
On February 15, 1996, the Gunns vacated the titles because Billy was in need of neck surgery. After Billy returned from hiatus, The Smoking Gunns won the Tag Titles for the third time by defeating The Godwinns
The Godwinns
The Godwinns was the best known gimmick of the professional wrestling tag team composed of Dennis Knight and Mark Canterbury that they used in the WWF. The team has used other gimmicks before they joined the WWF and had a gimmick change in the WWF shortly before disbanding...
in May. After the match, The Godwinns' manager Sunny
Tammy Lynn Sytch
Tamara "Tammy" Lynn Sytch is an American professional wrestling manager, personality,and occasional wrestler. She achieved her greatest success under the ring name Sunny within the World Wrestling Federation during the 1990s, and is widely considered as one of the first Divas...
turned on her team in favor of the Gunns. She and Sopp went on to have an onscreen relationship.On September 22 at WWF In Your House Mind Games, the Gunns lost their titles to the team of Owen Hart and The British Bulldog
Davey Boy Smith
Davey Boy Smith was a British professional wrestler, better known as "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith, who was born in Golborne in North West England, United Kingdom. Smith is known for his appearances with Stampede Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling...
. After the match, Sunny abandoned The Gunns, saying that she would only manage title holders. Billy, frustrated with both losing the titles and Sunny, walked out on Bart and broke up The Smoking Gunns.
The New Age Outlaws and D-Generation X (1997–1998)
After briefly feudingFeud (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...
with his brother, Billy adopted a new gimmick, Rockabilly, and became the protégé of The Honky Tonk Man
The Honky Tonk Man
Roy Wayne Farris , better known by his ring name The Honky Tonk Man, is an American professional wrestler. A 1975 graduate from University of Memphis with a B.S. degree in Education. Coached high school football 2 seasons at Munford High School in Munford, Tennessee...
. During this time, he had a short lived feud with "The Real Double J" Jesse James
Brian Gerard James
Brian Gerard James is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE as an agent and producer. He is best known for his tenure with the World Wrestling Federation as "The Road Dogg" Jesse James or simply Road Dogg...
. On Shotgun Saturday Night
WWF Shotgun Saturday Night
WWF Shotgun Saturday Night is a professional wrestling television program produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It aired from January 4, 1997 through August 21, 1999 as a syndicated broadcast...
, James realized both of their careers were going nowhere and suggested that they became a tag team. Sopp agreed and smashed a guitar over the Honky Tonk Man's head.
James and Rockabilly were quickly rebranded as "Road Dogg" Jesse James and "Badd Ass" Billy Gunn, and the unit they formed was named the New Age Outlaws
New Age Outlaws
The New Age Outlaws, later known as the James Gang and the Voodoo Kin Mafia, were a professional wrestling tag team in World Wrestling Federation, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , Jersey All Pro Wrestling, and Maryland Championship Wrestling consisting of B.G...
. This new team was in the spirit of the new Attitude Era
The Attitude Era
The Attitude Era was a period in World Wrestling Federation and professional wrestling history that began as a direct result of the Monday Night Wars, a television ratings conflict between the WWF and longtime rival promotion World Championship Wrestling that lasted from 1995 to 2001...
: brash, vulgar, egotistical, and loud-mouthed. They quickly rose to the top of the tag team ranks and won the WWF Tag Team Championship from the Legion of Doom
Road Warriors
The Road Warriors were a professional wrestling tag team composed of Michael "Hawk" Hegstrand and Joseph "Animal" Laurinaitis. They performed under the name "Road Warriors" in the American Wrestling Association, the National Wrestling Alliance, and World Championship Wrestling, and the name Legion...
on November 24. They also defeated the LOD in a rematch at In Your House: D-Generation X
D-Generation X: In Your House
D-Generation X: In Your House was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation that took place on December 7, 1997 at the Springfield Civic Center in Springfield, Massachusetts.-WWF Light Heavyweight Championship tournament:The tournament to determine the...
.
The Outlaws slowly began to align themselves with D-Generation X
D-Generation X
D-Generation X was a professional wrestling stable in WWE . The group originated in the midst of the WWF's "Attitude Era" from 1997 to 2000...
, who were impressed with their new attitude. At the Royal Rumble
Royal Rumble (1998)
Royal Rumble was the eleventh annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on January 18, 1998 at the San Jose Arena in San Jose, California....
, the New Age Outlaws interfered in a Casket match to help 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...
defeat The Undertaker. At No Way Out Of Texas
No Way Out of Texas: In Your House
No Way Out was the twentieth pay-per-view event under the In Your House name produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on February 15, 1998 at the Compaq Center in Houston, Texas...
, the Outlaws teamed up with Triple H
Triple H
Paul Michael Levesque is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling authority figure, WWE Executive Vice President of Talent and actor, better known by his ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of the ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley...
and Savio Vega
Savio Vega
Juan Rivera is a professional wrestler best known under the name Savio Vega. During the mid-late 1990s, he was an active wrestler in the World Wrestling Federation...
(who replaced the injured Shawn Michaels) to face Chainsaw Charlie
Terry Funk
Terrence "Terry" Funk is an American professional wrestler and actor known chiefly for the hardcore wrestling style he adopted in the latter part of his career that inspired many younger wrestlers, including Mick Foley...
, Cactus Jack
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...
, Owen Hart
Owen Hart
Owen James Hart was a Canadian professional and amateur wrestler who worked for several promotions including Stampede Wrestling, New Japan Pro Wrestling , World Championship Wrestling , and most notably, the World Wrestling Federation , where he wrestled under both his own name, and ring name The...
, and 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...
. They were, however, defeated. On February 2, The Outlaws locked Cactus and Chainsaw in a dumpster and pushed it off the stage. This led to a Dumpster match at WrestleMania XIV
WrestleMania XIV
WrestleMania XIV was the fourteenth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation , which took place on March 29, 1998 at the FleetCenter in Boston, Massachusetts....
where Cactus and Chainsaw defeated the Outlaws for the Tag Titles. The next night on Raw, the New Age Outlaws won the Tag Team Championship for a second time by defeating Chainsaw and Cactus in a Steel cage match, but only after interference from Triple H, Chyna, and 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 ...
. After the match, the Outlaws officially became members of D-Generation X (DX).
After joining DX, the Outlaws successfully defended their Tag Titles against the Legion of Doom 2000 at Unforgiven. DX began to feud with Owen Hart, and his new stablemates, The Nation
Nation of Domination
The Nation of Domination was a professional wrestling stable in World Wrestling Federation from November 18, 1996 to November 28, 1998. The Rock was a 1 time Intercontinental Champion and D'Lo Brown was a 2 time European Champion while in the group.-United States Wrestling Association :The...
. At Over The Edge
Over the Edge: In Your House
Over the Edge: In Your House was the first of what was to be an annual World Wrestling Federation pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It was also the 22nd pay-per-view event in the In Your House series...
, the Outlaws and Triple H were defeated by Nation members Owen, Kama Mustafa
Charles Wright (wrestler)
Charles Wright is an American businessman and former professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure with the World Wrestling Federation throughout the 1990s and early 2000s under the ring names Papa Shango, Kama, Kama Mustafa, The Godfather, and The Goodfather .After leaving the wrestling...
, and D'Lo Brown
D'Lo Brown
Accie Julius Connor better known by his ring name D'Lo Brown , is an American professional wrestler. Well known for his appearances with World Wrestling Entertainment, he is currently working as an agent for Impact Wrestling.Connor has held forty-eight championships in various promotions during...
in a Six Man Tag Match. The Outlaws would also successfully defend their titles against The New Midnight Express (Bombastic Bob
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 ....
and Bodacious Bart) at King of the Ring.
During this time, the Outlaws began a feud with Kane and Mankind
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...
. Although Kane and Mankind won the Tag Team championship, they could not get along. At SummerSlam
SummerSlam (1998)
SummerSlam was the eleventh annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on August 30, 1998 at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York....
, Mankind faced the Outlaws in a Handicap match after Kane no-showed the title defense. The Outlaws defeated Mankind to win the titles for the third time. The Outlaws then helped X-Pac in his feud with Jeff Jarrett
Jeff Jarrett
Jeffrey Leonard Jarrett is an American professional wrestler and wrestling promoter. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , an organization he co-founded along with his father and in which he holds some stock but not total control...
and Southern Justice. In December, the Outlaws lost their titles to The Big Boss Man
Ray Traylor
Ray Walter Traylor, Jr. was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his appearances with World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring name Big Boss Man and World Championship Wrestling under various ring names, most notably Big Bubba Rogers.-Early years:Traylor, a prison guard in...
and Ken Shamrock
Ken Shamrock
Kenneth Wayne Shamrock is an American mixed martial arts fighter, UFC Hall of Famer and professional wrestler...
from The Corporation
The Corporation (professional wrestling)
The Corporation was a heel stable in the late 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation .-History:The group was put together and led by WWF Chairman Vince McMahon in an attempt to secure control of the WWF and "crush the rebels" that were popping up on the WWF landscape...
.
Singles competition (1999)
The Outlaws then began to focus more on singles competition. The Road Dogg won the Hardcore ChampionshipWWE Hardcore Championship
The World Wrestling Entertainment Hardcore Championship is a hardcore wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment and is contested under "hardcore" rules, meaning there is no disqualifications, no countouts, and pin falls could be counted anywhere...
in December 1998, and Gunn set his sights on the Intercontinental Championship
WWE Intercontinental Championship
The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand...
. At the 1999 Royal Rumble
Royal Rumble (1999)
Royal Rumble was the twelfth annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on January 24, 1999 at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, California. The title of the event was taken from a promise by Mr...
, Gunn unsuccessfully challenged Ken Shamrock
Ken Shamrock
Kenneth Wayne Shamrock is an American mixed martial arts fighter, UFC Hall of Famer and professional wrestler...
for the Intercontinental Title. The next month at St. Valentine's Day Massacre
St. Valentine's Day Massacre: In Your House
St. Valentine's Day Massacre was the 27th pay-per-view under the In Your House name from the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on February 14, 1999 at The Pyramid in Memphis, Tennessee...
, Gunn was the special guest referee for the Intercontinental Championship match between Val Venis
Sean Morley
Sean Allen Morley is a Canadian professional wrestler better known by his ring name Val Venis, during his time with World Wrestling Federation, later known as World Wrestling Entertainment...
and champion Ken Shamrock, where Gunn made a fast count and declared Venis the new champion before attacking both men.
In March, Gunn won the Hardcore Championship from 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 ....
. At WrestleMania XV
WrestleMania XV
WrestleMania XV was the fifteenth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation , which took place on March 28, 1999 at the First Union Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
, Gunn lost the title to Holly in a Triple Threat match which also included Al Snow
Al Snow
Allen Ray Sarven is an American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name of Al Snow. He is best known for his work in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment and currently works for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as a road agent.-Early career:Sarven...
. The New Age Outlaws then reunited to defeat Jeff Jarrett
Jeff Jarrett
Jeffrey Leonard Jarrett is an American professional wrestler and wrestling promoter. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , an organization he co-founded along with his father and in which he holds some stock but not total control...
and Owen Hart
Owen Hart
Owen James Hart was a Canadian professional and amateur wrestler who worked for several promotions including Stampede Wrestling, New Japan Pro Wrestling , World Championship Wrestling , and most notably, the World Wrestling Federation , where he wrestled under both his own name, and ring name The...
at Backlash. After Backlash, Gunn left D-Generation X, aligned himself with Triple H and Chyna, and became known as Mr. Ass. He defeated his former partner, Road Dogg, in a match at Over the Edge
Over the Edge (1999)
Over The Edge was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation , which took place on May 23, 1999, at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri, USA...
. Gunn then won the King of the Ring Tournament by defeating Ken Shamrock, Kane, and his former ally, X-Pac. After King of the Ring, Gunn, Triple H, and Chyna went on to feud with X-Pac and Road Dogg over the rights to the D-Generation X name. This feud culminated at Fully Loaded when X-Pac and Road Dogg defeated Gunn and Chyna.
Gunn then began a feud with The Rock. At SummerSlam
SummerSlam (1999)
SummerSlam was the twelfth annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on August 22, 1999 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.-Results:Tag Team Turmoil...
, The Rock defeated Gunn in a Kiss My Ass Match.
The Reformation of The New Age Outlaws and D-X (1999–2000)
Gunn then briefly feuded with Jeff Jarrett for the Intercontinental Title before reuniting with Road Dogg to reform The New Age Outlaws. The Outlaws won their fourth tag team championship by defeating The Rock 'n' Sock ConnectionRock 'n' Sock Connection
The Rock 'N' Sock Connection is a former professional wrestling tag team of The Rock and Mankind that wrestled in the World Wrestling Federation between 1999 and 2000 and briefly in 2004...
in September 1999. After defeating teams such as Edge and Christian
Edge and Christian
Edge and Christian was a tag team made of real life best friends Edge and Christian , who performed in WWE and the Canadian independent circuit. They won the WWF Tag Team Championship on seven occasions...
, 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 ....
and Crash Holly
Mike Lockwood
Michael John "Mike" Lockwood was an American professional wrestler best known for his time with World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment under the ring name Crash Holly....
, and The Acolytes
Acolytes Protection Agency
The Acolytes Protection Agency , was a professional wrestling tag team that consisted of Bradshaw and Faarooq. They wrestled for the American promotion World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment between October 1998 and March 2004....
, the Outlaws reunited with X-Pac and Triple H to reform D-Generation X. The group then feuded with the likes of Steve Austin, The Rock, Kane, Mankind, Shane McMahon
Shane McMahon
Shane Brandon McMahon is an American executive, currently serving as the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of YOU On Demand. A former executive and professional wrestler for World Wrestling Entertainment , he is the son of WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon and former US Senate candidate Linda...
, and Vince McMahon
Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon is an American professional wrestling promoter, announcer, commentator, film producer, actor and former occasional professional wrestler. McMahon is the current Chairman, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of professional wrestling promotion WWE...
. During this time, The Outlaws won their fifth and final WWF Tag Team Championship after defeating Mankind and Al Snow
Al Snow
Allen Ray Sarven is an American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name of Al Snow. He is best known for his work in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment and currently works for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as a road agent.-Early career:Sarven...
.
At the 2000 Royal Rumble
Royal Rumble (2000)
Royal Rumble was the thirteenth annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on January 23, 2000 at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York....
, The New Age Outlaws retained their titles against The Acolytes after interference from X-Pac. The Outlaws then had a heated feud with 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...
, who won the WWF Tag Team Championships from The Outlaws at No Way Out
No Way Out (2000)
No Way Out was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation , which took place on February 27, 2000 at the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut...
. After suffering a torn rotator cuff
Rotator cuff
In anatomy, the rotator cuff is the group of muscles and their tendons that act to stabilize the shoulder. The four muscles of the rotator cuff, along with the teres major muscle, the coracobrachialis muscle and the deltoid, make up the seven scapulohumeral muscles of the human body.-Function:The...
in the match with The Dudley Boyz, Gunn was kicked out of D-Generation X for "losing his cool" therefore costing them the tag team titles. He then took time off to tend to his arm injury, before returning later in the year.
"The One" Billy Gunn (2000–2001)
Gunn made his return in October and immediately teamed with Chyna to feud with Right to CensorRight to Censor
The Right to Censor was a professional wrestling faction in the World Wrestling Federation from mid-2000 to early 2001...
, who wanted to "censor" his Mr. Ass gimmick. At No Mercy, Right to Censor members Steven Richards
Stevie Richards
Michael Manna is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Stevie Richards. Also known by his ring names, Steven Richards and Dr...
and Val Venis defeated Chyna and Sopp. Due to a stipulation, Gunn could no longer use the Mr. Ass gimmick, so he renamed himself Billy G. for a few weeks before settling on "The One" Billy Gunn. Gunn then feuded with Eddie Guerrero
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 the rest of The Radicalz
The Radicalz
The Radicalz were a professional wrestling stable in the World Wrestling Federation . Their members were former World Championship Wrestling performers Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Perry Saturn and Dean Malenko. Terri Runnels later joined the group by proxy after becoming Saturn's onscreen...
. At Survivor Series
Survivor Series (2000)
Survivor Series was the fourteenth annual Survivor Series professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on November 19, 2000 at the Ice Palace in Tampa, Florida....
, Gunn teamed with Road Dogg, Chyna, and K-Kwik
Ron Killings
Ronald Aaron "Ron" Killings is an American professional wrestler and rapper. He is currently signed to WWE working on its Raw brand. Since working for the company, he has been a one time United States Champion under the ring name R-Truth and a two time Hardcore Champion under the ring name K-Kwik...
in a losing effort against The Radicalz. A few weeks later on SmackDown!, Gunn won the Intercontinental Championship from Guerrero. The title reign was short lived, however, as Chris Benoit
Chris Benoit
Christopher Michael "Chris" Benoit was a Canadian professional wrestler whose career and life ended in a murder–suicide...
defeated him two weeks later at Armageddon
Armageddon (2000)
Armageddon was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Federation that took place on December 10, 2000, at the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center in Birmingham, Alabama. It was the second annual Armageddon event....
.
After feuding with Benoit, Gunn interfered in the WWF Hardcore Championship Match at No Way Out
No Way Out (2001)
No Way Out was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It was the third such annual event and took place on February 25, 2001 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada....
, and taking advantage of the 24/7 Rule, pinned Raven
Scott Levy
Scott Anthony Levy , better known by his ring name Raven, is an American professional wrestler, wrestling producer, wrestling writer, and occasional author and actor currently working for Juggalo Championship Wrestling , where he is co-holder of the JCW Tag Team Championship, as well as other...
for the title. The reign was short lived, as Raven won it back a few minutes later. Gunn competed in the Hardcore Division until June, when he turned heel and had a short feud with the 2001 King of the Ring, Edge
Adam Copeland
Adam Joseph Copeland is a retired Canadian professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring name Edge. He is currently signed to WWE under a Legends contract....
. After the feud, Gunn quietly turned face again and formed a short lived tag team with The Big Show
Paul Wight
Paul Donald Wight, Jr. , better known by his ring name, Big Show, is an American professional wrestler and actor, currently signed to WWE on its Raw brand....
. At Show's request, the team was called "The Show Gunns", a pun on the word shogun
Shogun
A was one of the hereditary military dictators of Japan from 1192 to 1867. In this period, the shoguns, or their shikken regents , were the de facto rulers of Japan though they were nominally appointed by the emperor...
. At InVasion
WWF InVasion
Invasion was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on July 22, 2001 at the Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio...
, The Show Gunns and Albert lost to the team of Shawn Stasiak
Shawn Stasiak
Dr. Shawn Emile Stipich, DC, is an American chiropractor and former professional wrestler. He is best known under the ring name Shawn Stasiak and for his stints with World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment, where he is a fifteen time Hardcore Champion, and World Championship Wrestling, where he...
, Hugh Morrus
Bill DeMott
William Charles "Bill" DeMott II is an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment as Hugh Morrus and Bill DeMott respectively and as Crash The Terminator in Extreme Championship Wrestling and Japan...
, and Chris Kanyon
Chris Kanyon
Christopher Klucsarits was an American professional wrestler, best known for his work in World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation, under the ring names Chris Kanyon and Mortis.-Early career:After college, he began training under Pete McKay Gonzalez, Ismael Gerena and Bobby...
. The Show Gunns quietly disbanded and Sopp feuded with The Alliance midcarders.
Billy and Chuck (2001–2002)
In a 2001 match on Sunday Night HeatWWE HEAT
WWE Heat was a professional wrestling television program produced by World Wrestling Entertainment...
, Gunn was defeated by Chuck Palumbo
Chuck Palumbo
Charles "Chuck" Palumbo is an American professional wrestler, currently working for Nu-Wrestling Evolution . Palumbo is best known for his time in World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment...
, who recently left The Alliance to join the WWF. After the match, Gunn suggested that they form a tag team. Palumbo agreed and Billy and Chuck
Billy and Chuck
Billy and Chuck was the professional wrestling tag team of Billy Gunn and Chuck Palumbo seen in World Wrestling Entertainment.-History:Near the end of the Invasion storyline, Chuck Palumbo was kicked out of the WCW/ECW coalition. In response, he defected to the WWF, where he began teaming with Gunn...
quickly rose to the top of the tag team division. Initially they were a generic face tandem but soon turned heel when they were given a gimmick where they grew increasingly affectionate toward each other, showing evidence of a storyline homosexual
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
relationship.
In February 2002, Billy and Chuck defeated Spike Dudley
Matt Hyson
Matthew "Matt" Hyson is a retired American professional wrestler, best known for his performances in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring name Spike Dudley and in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Brother Runt.In ECW, he was a two-time...
and Tazz
Tazz
Peter Senerchia is a retired American professional wrestler and current color commentator best known by his ring name Tazz, originally Tazmaniac and later shortened to simply Taz...
to win the Tag Titles for the first time as a team. After winning the titles, Billy and Chuck found a "Personal Stylist" in the ambiguously flamboyant 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...
. After defeating The APA
Acolytes Protection Agency
The Acolytes Protection Agency , was a professional wrestling tag team that consisted of Bradshaw and Faarooq. They wrestled for the American promotion World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment between October 1998 and March 2004....
, 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...
, and The Hardy Boyz
Hardy Boyz
The Hardy Boyz are a professional wrestling tag team, consisting of real-life brothers Matt and Jeff Hardy...
in a Four Corners Elimination Match at WrestleMania X8
WrestleMania X8
WrestleMania X8 was the eighteenth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on March 17, 2002 at the SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario. The event marked the final WrestleMania event under the WWF name...
, and Al Snow
Al Snow
Allen Ray Sarven is an American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name of Al Snow. He is best known for his work in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment and currently works for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as a road agent.-Early career:Sarven...
and Maven
Maven Huffman
Maven Klint Huffman is an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with World Wrestling Entertainment between October 2001 and July 5, 2005 under the name Maven. In 2008 he became a guest expert on the Home Shopping Network.-Early life:Maven was born to an African-American...
at Backlash
Backlash (2002)
Backlash was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation promotion, which took place on April 21, 2002 at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri. The event starred talent from the Raw and SmackDown! brands. It was the fourth event under the Backlash...
, Billy and Chuck feuded with Rikishi
Solofa Fatu
Solofa F. Fatu, Jr. is an American professional wrestler, best known under the ring name Rikishi.-The Samoan Swat Team:...
. At Judgment Day, Rikishi and Rico (Rikishi's mystery partner of Mr. McMahon's choosing) defeated Billy and Chuck for the Tag Titles after Rico accidentally hit Chuck with a roundhouse kick
Roundhouse kick
A roundhouse kick is a kick in which the attacker swings his leg around in a semicircular motion, striking with the front of the leg or foot. This type of kick is utilized in many different martial arts and is popular in both non-contact and full-contact martial arts competitions...
. Billy and Chuck quickly won the titles back two weeks later on SmackDown! with Rico's help. They held the championship for about a month before losing it to the team of Edge
Adam Copeland
Adam Joseph Copeland is a retired Canadian professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring name Edge. He is currently signed to WWE under a Legends contract....
and 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 ....
.
Later that summer, after Gunn lost a match to Rey Mysterio, Chuck proposed to Billy asking him to be his "partner for life" and gave him a wedding ring. Gunn agreed, and on the September 12 episode of SmackDown!, Billy and Chuck had their wedding ceremony. However, just before they tied the knot, they revealed that entire ordeal was a publicity stunt
Publicity stunt
A publicity stunt is a planned event designed to attract the public's attention to the event's organizers or their cause. Publicity stunts can be professionally organized or set up by amateurs...
and disavowed their on-screen homosexuality, admitting that they were just friends. The "preacher" revealed himself to be Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff
Eric Bischoff
Eric Aaron Bischoff is an American entrepreneur, and professional wrestling booker and on-screen personality currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
(who was wearing a skin mask
Facial prosthetic
A facial prosthetic or facial prosthesis is an artificial device used to change or adapt the outward appearance of a person's face or head....
), who then summoned 3-Minute Warning to beat up Billy and Chuck. Rico, furious that Billy and Chuck gave up their gimmick, became the manager of Three Minute Warning and defected to Raw which effectively turned Billy and Chuck face in the process. At Unforgiven
Unforgiven (2002)
Unforgiven was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment that took place on September 22, 2002, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California...
, Three Minute Warning defeated Billy Gunn and Chuck Palumbo. Their final match together occurred on SmackDown! in the first round of a tournament for the newly created WWE Tag Team Championship. They lost the match to the team of Ron Simmons
Ron Simmons
Ronald "Ron" Simmons is an American semi-retired professional wrestler and retired American football player. He is recognised as being the first Black world heavyweight champion in professional wrestling and the first of only two African Americans to win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship,...
and Reverend D-Von. Afterwards, Sopp took a few months off because of a shoulder injury and the team of Billy and Chuck quietly disbanded.
Return to singles competition and departure (2003–2004)
After returning in the summer of 2003, Gunn reprised the "Mr. Ass" gimmick and Torrie WilsonTorrie Wilson
Torrie Anne Wilson is a retired American professional wrestler, fitness competitor and model. She is best known for her tenures in World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment , where she worked on both their SmackDown and Raw brands throughout her eight-year run.As a fitness...
became his new manager. He started a feud with Jamie Noble
Jamie Noble
James Howard Gibson better known by his WWE ring name Jamie Noble, is an American former professional wrestler currently working for WWE as a trainer. He is best known for his work from 2002 to 2009 when a severe back injury forced him to retire from competition...
which led to an "Indecent Proposal" Match at Vengeance
Vengeance (2003)
Vengeance was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on July 27, 2003 at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. It was the third annual Vengeance event and starred wrestlers from the SmackDown brand.Eight professional wrestling...
, which Noble won and due to a stipulation, won a night with Torrie. On SmackDown!, it looked as if Torrie was going to have a Ménage à trois
Ménage à trois
Ménage à trois is a French term which originally described a domestic arrangement in which three people having sexual relations occupy the same household – the phrase literally translates as "household of three"...
with Noble and Nidia
Nidia Guenard
Nidia Guenard better known simply Nidia is a former professional wrestler who worked for World Wrestling Entertainment...
until Sopp broke into the hotel room ready to brawl with Noble. Sopp then started a short lived tag team with Noble before taking time off again because of a shoulder injury.
Gunn returned to action at the 2004 Royal Rumble
Royal Rumble (2004)
Royal Rumble was the seventeenth annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on January 25, 2004 at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
but was eliminated by Goldberg
Bill Goldberg
Goldberg earned a scholarship to play for the University of Georgia Bulldogs football team where he served as a defensive tackle. He was taken in the 11th round, with the 302nd overall selection, in the 1990 NFL Draft....
. He also got a chance for a WWE Championship match
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...
at No Way Out
No Way Out (2004)
No Way Out was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on February 15, 2004 at the Cow Palace in Daly City, California...
against then Champion 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 a SmackDown style Royal Rumble, but was eliminated by the winner of the match Eddie Guerrero
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...
. Afterward, he wrestled mainly on WWE Velocity
WWE Velocity
WWE Velocity was a professional wrestling television program produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It replaced two syndicated WWE shows, Jakked/Metal. Once a weekly Saturday night show on Spike TV and on Sky Sports 2 in the UK on Sunday mornings, Velocity became a webcast from 2005 to 2006...
before forming 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 ....
, which quickly rose to the top of SmackDown!'s tag team division. At Judgment Day
Judgment Day (2004)
Judgment Day was the sixth Judgment Day pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . This event took place on May 16, 2004 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California....
, they unsuccessfully challenged Charlie Haas
Charlie Haas
Charles "Charlie" Doyle Haas II is an American professional wrestler and former collegiate amateur wrestler. He competes on the independent circuit, and is signed to Ring of Honor , where he is one-half of the reigning ROH World Tag Team Champions with Shelton Benjamin...
and 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...
for the WWE Tag Team Championship. Sopp then had a short feud with Kenzo Suzuki
Kenzo Suzuki
Kenzo Suzuki is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is perhaps best known for his appearances with New Japan Pro Wrestling and in the United States with World Wrestling Entertainment...
before challenging for the WWE United States Championship
WWE United States Championship
The WWE United States Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It was originally a National Wrestling Alliance and World Championship Wrestling championship, and is currently the secondary championship of the Raw brand....
.
On November 1, 2004, Sopp was released from his WWE contract. At the time of his release, he was one of the most tenured wrestlers with the company, behind only The Undertaker 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...
. In June 2005, Sopp gave an interview in which he was heavily critical of WWE and the events that led to his release. Many of the negative comments were directed towards Triple H
Triple H
Paul Michael Levesque is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling authority figure, WWE Executive Vice President of Talent and actor, better known by his ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of the ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley...
, who Sopp claimed "runs the show up there".
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2005–2009)
On February 13, 2005, Sopp debuted in Total Nonstop Action WrestlingTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling is a privately held professional wrestling promotion founded by Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Jarrett. The company broadcasts its events on television and the Internet fifty two weeks a year with over a million weekly viewers on its primary television program, Impact...
without a name (as Billy Gunn is a WWE trademark
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
even though announcers recognized him as Billy Gunn) at Against All Odds, helping Jeff Jarrett
Jeff Jarrett
Jeffrey Leonard Jarrett is an American professional wrestler and wrestling promoter. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , an organization he co-founded along with his father and in which he holds some stock but not total control...
retain the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
NWA World Heavyweight Championship
The National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in the National Wrestling Alliance. Its lineage has been traced from the first World Heavyweight Championship, which traces its lineage to Georg Hackenschmidt's 1905 title and...
in a match with Kevin Nash
Kevin Nash
Kevin Scott Nash is an American professional wrestler and actor. As of 2011, Nash is signed to a five year contract with WWE under their WWE Legends program and appears as part of their Raw brand roster...
. Sopp, using the name The New Age Outlaw, then formed a stable with Jarrett and Monty Brown
Monty Brown
Monty Brown is an American professional wrestler and former National Football League linebacker, also known as Marcus Cor Von. He is best known for his time with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment, where he wrestled on its ECW brand under the ring name Marcus Cor Von...
known as Planet Jarrett
Planet Jarrett
Planet Jarrett was a professional wrestling stable in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, led by the eponymous Jeff Jarrett and containing many of the main event heels in the promotion...
. However, WWE threatened TNA with legal action if Sopp continued the use of the name "The New Age Outlaw", so he shortened his name to The Outlaw. Due to the legal issues with WWE, all TNA DVD releases featuring footage with Sopp as "The Outlaw" (and presumably also as "The New Age Outlaw") have had the name on on-screen graphics blurred, the name silenced out of the audio, and match commentary completely replaced to reflect a retroactive name change to "Kip James". One such DVD is the pay-per-view Lockdown (2005)
Lockdown (2005)
Lockdown was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion, which took place on April 24, 2005 at the TNA Impact! Zone in Orlando, Florida. It was the first event under the Lockdown chronology and the fourth event in the 2005 TNA PPV schedule...
, included in the "TNA Anthology: The Epic Set" box set, in which the silencing of the name during a segment where Dusty Rhodes picks his name from a lottery leaves DVD viewers in the dark as to who just got picked (unless they could read Dusty's lips).
The Outlaw began a campaign to make former ally B.G. James
Brian Gerard James
Brian Gerard James is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE as an agent and producer. He is best known for his tenure with the World Wrestling Federation as "The Road Dogg" Jesse James or simply Road Dogg...
leave the 3Live Kru
3Live Kru
The 3Live Kru was a professional wrestling stable in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling . The 3Live Kru debuted in July 2003, and was initially a trio of wrestlers, consisting of Ron Killings, Konnan and B.G. James. The gimmick of the 3Live Kru was that each member of the group exemplified a racial...
and defect to Planet Jarrett, reforming the old tag team with Outlaw. At No Surrender, he renamed himself Kip James and was announced as "wrestling out of Marietta, Georgia
Marietta, Georgia
Marietta is a city located in central Cobb County, Georgia, United States, and is its county seat.As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 56,579, making it one of metro Atlanta's largest suburbs...
" (the family seat of the Armstrong family) as a psychological ploy. As a result of his campaign, Kip attracted the ire of 3Live Kru members Ron Killings
Ron Killings
Ronald Aaron "Ron" Killings is an American professional wrestler and rapper. He is currently signed to WWE working on its Raw brand. Since working for the company, he has been a one time United States Champion under the ring name R-Truth and a two time Hardcore Champion under the ring name K-Kwik...
and Konnan
Konnan
Carlos Santiago Espada Moises , also known as Charles Ashenoff and better known by his ring name, Konnan, is a Cuban professional wrestler and rapper of Puerto Rican descent...
, leading to a series of tag team matches pitting Kip and Monty Brown against Killings and Konnan, with a conflicted James unwilling to take sides. Kip's efforts ultimately proved futile; James, the guest referee in a final match between Brown and Kip versus Konnan and Killings at Sacrifice, attacked Kip enabling a 3Live Kru victory.
In September at Unbreakable, Kip teamed with Brown to defeat the team of Apolo
Germán Figueroa
Germán Figueroa is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler, better known as Nuevo Gran Apolo, or simply Apolo. Figueroa began performing in Puerto Rico's independent circuit, before entering the International Wrestling Association and World Wrestling Council...
and Lance Hoyt
Lance Hoyt
Lance Hoyt is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to New Japan Pro Wrestling as Lance Archer. He is best known for his work in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is a two time NWA World Tag Team Champion with Kid Kash while the title was under the TNA banner...
. There was clear tension between the partners because Brown was unhappy at the series of losses at the hands of the 3Live Kru, and Kip was irked by Brown's decision to leave Planet Jarrett. Despite the victory, the partners argued after the match. On the October 8, 2005 episode of Impact!
TNA iMPACT!
Impact Wrestling is a professional wrestling television program for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling that currently airs in the United States and Canada on Spike...
, Kip rekindled his feud with the 3Live Kru, running to the ring after a bout between the 3LK and Team Canada
Team Canada (TNA)
Team Canada was a heel professional wrestling stable in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, which was active from 2004 to 2006.-2004 X-Cups:In 2004, wrestling promoter and personality "Coach" Scott D'Amore brought together fellow Canadians to form his own incarnation of Team Canada in Total Nonstop...
in order to prevent Team Canada captain Petey Williams
Petey Williams
Peter "Petey" Williams III is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is a two time X Division Champion and a former captain of Team Canada. Williams Currently Wrestles for Lucha Libre USA...
from beating down B.G. James. He saved James, and then engaged in a staredown with Konnan and Killings. Kip saved James from Team Canada once again at Bound for Glory. Though Killings showed signs of gratitude, Konnan remained skeptical as to his true intentions. Later that night, Kip took part in an over-the-top-rope gauntlet match for the number one contendership to the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. After he was eliminated, he tried in vain to prevent Killings from being eliminated as well, before being sent away from ringside by the referees.
The James Gang (2006)
On the November 26 episode of Impact!, B.G. brought Kip and the 3Live Kru to ringside and asked Killings and Konnan whether Kip could join the stable. Following a heated argument between Konnan and B.G., both Killings and Konnan gave their approval, and the 4Live Kru was born. However, at Turning Point, Konnan attacked both B.G. and Kip, costing them their match against Team Canada and initiating a feud between himself and the remainder of the Kru. Shortly thereafter, B.G. James's father, Bob ArmstrongBob Armstrong
Joseph Melton James is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, "Bullet" Bob Armstrong. In the course of his career, which spanned five decades, Armstrong held numerous championships throughout the Southeastern United States...
, attempted to reconcile the group, but was instead attacked by Konnan and his new stablemates, Apolo
Germán Figueroa
Germán Figueroa is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler, better known as Nuevo Gran Apolo, or simply Apolo. Figueroa began performing in Puerto Rico's independent circuit, before entering the International Wrestling Association and World Wrestling Council...
and Homicide. Killings later stated that he had severed his ties with the Kru. With Konnan and Killings no longer members of the Kru, Kip and B.G. began referring to themselves as The James Gang and continued to feud with the Konnan-managed Latin American Exchange, whose third man position as Homicide's partner would switch from Apolo to Machete
Ricky Vega
Ephraim Vega is an Puerto Rican American professional wrestler and is best known working Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Machete, and in independent promotions under the name Ricky Vega. Vega was a standout high school football star, and was named to All-Section, All-conference,...
, and then from him to Hernandez
Shawn Hernandez
Shawn Hernandez is an American professional wrestler of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent, better known by his ring names, "Hotstuff Hernandez" and "Hernandez"....
, who finally stuck, during the course of this feud.
By November 2006, Kip and B.G. began to show displeasure in TNA and threatened to go find work elsewhere if they did not receive gold soon. They began performing the crotch chop, a reference to the WWE's DX. On the November 2 edition of Impact!, Kip and B.G. threatened to quit. Kip grabbed the mic and tried to say something to the TNA administration and Spike TV, but each time his mic was cut off. Kip then tried to use the announcer's headset, but it was cut off as well. Frustrated, he started yelling loudly to the crowd, but he was cut off again as the show went to a commercial break. When the show returned, the announcers speculated that they may have been frustrated due to the influx of new talent entering TNA. It was reported that the segment was a worked shoot
Shoot (professional wrestling)
A shoot in professional wrestling is a term that refers to any unplanned, unscripted or real-life occurrence within a wrestling event. Contrary to popular belief, the name does not originate from "shooting in" for a takedown, as in amateur wrestling - rather it is a carny term shortened from...
that Vince Russo
Vince Russo
Vincent James "Vince" Russo is an American creative writer and author, well known for his work in the professional wrestling industry. He is notable for his tenure with World Wrestling Federation, World Championship Wrestling and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
had written in order to renew interest upon their eventual return. Kip and BG appeared in an internet video on TNA's website where they addressed the owner of WWE Vince McMahon
Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon is an American professional wrestling promoter, announcer, commentator, film producer, actor and former occasional professional wrestler. McMahon is the current Chairman, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of professional wrestling promotion WWE...
.
The Voodoo Kin Mafia (2006–2008)
A few weeks later on Impact!, The James Gang reemerged under a new name Voodoo Kin Mafia; the group name 'Voodoo Kin Mafia' share the same initials as WWE chairman Vincent Kennedy McMahon. They mentioned their new right of 'creative control', meaning they could do whatever they wanted. They also declared 'war' on Paul LevesqueTriple H
Paul Michael Levesque is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling authority figure, WWE Executive Vice President of Talent and actor, better known by his ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of the ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley...
, Michael Hickenbottom
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 Vincent K. McMahon
Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon is an American professional wrestling promoter, announcer, commentator, film producer, actor and former occasional professional wrestler. McMahon is the current Chairman, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of professional wrestling promotion WWE...
(Triple H, Shawn Michaels, and Vince McMahon, respectively). Kip then declared that 'Triple Hollywood' and 'Shawn Kiss-my-bottom' were failing as the group they (Kip and BG) used to be a part of: D-Generation X
D-Generation X
D-Generation X was a professional wrestling stable in WWE . The group originated in the midst of the WWF's "Attitude Era" from 1997 to 2000...
. After the initial shock value of this incident wore off, VKM began a feud with Christy Hemme
Christy Hemme
Christina Lee "Christy" Hemme is an American actress, singer, model, professional wrestling valet and former professional wrestler. Hemme is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, as a backstage interviewer and ring announcer.-Early life:Hemme was born in Poway, California, but she...
. Hemme then searched for a tag team to square-off against VKM. The final tag team was Damaja and Basham
Basham Brothers
The Basham Brothers, Doug and Danny , are a professional wrestling tag team, who formerly worked for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment .-History:...
, who appeared on an episode of Impact! and beat down VKM. They also held up Kip James so Hemme could slap him. However, they beat Hemme's team at Slammiversary
Slammiversary (2007)
Slammiversary was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, which took place on June 17, 2007 at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. It was the third event under the Slammiversary chronology and marked the fifth anniversary of...
. After the match, VKM were betrayed by their associate Lance Hoyt
Lance Hoyt
Lance Hoyt is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to New Japan Pro Wrestling as Lance Archer. He is best known for his work in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is a two time NWA World Tag Team Champion with Kid Kash while the title was under the TNA banner...
. At Victory Road, they introduced their new manager
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...
, the Voodoo Queen, Roxxi Laveaux
Nicole Raczynski
Nicole Raczynski is an American professional wrestler, best known for working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Roxxi...
, to embarrass Christy Hemme. On the October 25 edition of Impact!, VKM teamed with A.J. Styles
A.J. Styles
Allen Neal Jones , better known by his ring name A.J. Styles is an American professional wrestler currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
and Tomko
Travis Tomko
Travis David Tomko is an American professional wrestler, known by his ring name Tomko, who most recently worked for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he previously was a member of Christian's Coalition and the Angle Alliance and often worked alongside A.J. Styles. He was also notable for his...
in a losing effort to LAX and the Steiner Brothers. At Genesis, B.G. James was present along with Kip James in the corner of Roxxi Laveaux at ringside for the Fatal Four Way knockout match for the TNA Women's Championship in which Gail Kim
Gail Kim
Gail Kim is a Canadian professional wrestler of Korean descent, who is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , where she is the current TNA Women's Knockout Champion and one half of the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champions with Madison Rayne...
retained the title. On February 21, 2008 he turned on B.G. James and B.G's dad "Bullet" Bob Armstrong by hitting them both with a crutch.
The Beautiful People and departure (2008–2009)
On April 13, 2008, he faced former partner B.G. James at LockdownLockdown (2008)
Lockdown was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , which took place on April 13, 2008 at the Tsongas Arena in Lowell, Massachusetts. It was the fourth annual event under the Lockdown chronology. Eight professional wrestling matches were featured...
and lost. After the match, he appeared to want to make amends as he raised B.G.'s hand after the match, only to clothesline him down to the mat and taunt him with a DX crotch chop, going on to declare himself "The Mega-Star", in an arrogant gimmick similar to "The One" gimmick from his WWF tenure. Kip later stopped making appearances on Impact! until April 24 when he was attacked backstage by Matt Morgan for no reason. The next week on Impact!, Kip got back at Morgan by attacking him backstage in Jim Cornette
Jim Cornette
James Mark "Jim" Cornette is an American professional wrestling manager, commentator, promoter, and booker. As a manager, he has worked for Jim Crockett Promotions, World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Federation and from 1991 to 1995, was the owner of Smoky Mountain Wrestling...
's office. On May 8, 2008, Jim Cornette made Matt Morgan Kip's tag team partner for the Deuces Wild tournament at Sacrifice
Sacrifice (2008)
Sacrifice was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , which took place on May 11, 2008 at the TNA Impact! Zone in Orlando, Florida. It was the fourth event under the Sacrifice chronology...
, but lost. Kip went on another brief disappearance from TV until the June 5 edition of Impact!, where he partnered with Lance Hoyt
Lance Hoyt
Lance Hoyt is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to New Japan Pro Wrestling as Lance Archer. He is best known for his work in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is a two time NWA World Tag Team Champion with Kid Kash while the title was under the TNA banner...
and James Storm
James Storm
James Allen Cox is an American professional wrestler who competes under the ring name "The Cowboy" James Storm. Since 2002, Storm has been employed by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he, along with A.J...
in a losing effort against LAX and Matt Morgan.
On the August 14 episode of Impact!, Kip was revealed to be the new image consultant and member of The Beautiful People
The Beautiful People (professional wrestling)
The Beautiful People was an alliance of professional wrestlers that appeared in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , consisting of Angelina Love, Velvet Sky, Cute Kip, Madison Rayne and Lacey Von Erich. The stable was known for their narcissistic gimmick, and holding the TNA Women's Knockout...
, dubbed "The Fashionist
Fashion design
Fashion design is the art of the application of design and aesthetics or natural beauty to clothing and accessories. Fashion design is influenced by cultural and social latitudes, and has varied over time and place. Fashion designers work in a number of ways in designing clothing and accessories....
" Cute Kip, after they brought him out during their interview on Karen Angle
Karen Angle
Karen Jarrett is an American professional wrestling valet and personality, currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
's show Karen's Angle. At Genesis 2009, Kip became the one-night-only replacement for the injured Kevin Nash
Kevin Nash
Kevin Scott Nash is an American professional wrestler and actor. As of 2011, Nash is signed to a five year contract with WWE under their WWE Legends program and appears as part of their Raw brand roster...
in the Main Event Mafia
The Main Event Mafia
The Main Event Mafia was a heel stable in the professional wrestling promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
.
As of March 19, 2009, Sopp was taken off of TNA Impact!
TNA iMPACT!
Impact Wrestling is a professional wrestling television program for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling that currently airs in the United States and Canada on Spike...
along with Jacqueline Moore
Jacqueline Moore
Jacqueline DeLois Moore is an inactive American professional wrestler, who was most recently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
to become road agents. Sopp returned as Cute Kip and lost to Awesome Kong in an intergender stretcher match on May 14, 2009. On the May 28 edition of Impact!, Sopp was fired by The Beautiful People. On the June 18 edition of Impact!, 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...
hired him as his handyman. James had turned face
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...
.
Sopp's profile was removed from the TNA website on December 29, 2009, confirming his release from the promotion.
During his TNA run, Sopp was honored in both Middlebourne & Moundsville, WV on August 18'th & 19'th, 2007 as he was inducted into the XWF Hall of Fame by its creator Jack Blaze at their annual "Summer Mania 2007" events. XWF was later renamed LPW (Legends Pro Wrestling) where Sopp is still honored in their Hall of Fame- Class 2007.
Independent circuit (2010–present)
Sopp appeared for Varsity Pro Wrestling in the UK in February 2010, reprising the Billy Gunn character. He was part of a team with Chris AndrewsChris Andrews (wrestler)
Chris Andrews is a British professional wrestler who is best known for his work with the Varsity Pro Wrestling and Real Quality Wrestling promotions, he is a trainee of UK Kid and the VPW School Of Excellence.-Career:...
to victory against The UK Kid and Bob 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 ....
on the 12th, and losing the UK Kid in a singles bout on the 13th, before returning later than night for a six man tag team match where his team of himself, Chris Andrews and Jake McCluskey defeated Bob Holly, The UK Kid and Rob Holte.
Sopp and his longtime tag team partner Brian James are scheduled to appear in Fall River, Massachusetts at the Top Rope Promotions independent wrestling circuit.
Kip made his return to wrestling on the second episode of WFX Wrestling
WFX Wrestling
Wrestling Fan Xperience is a Canadian Professional wrestling promotion that was established in 2007. WFX specializes in producing live pro wrestling events that strive to provide a distinctive fan interactive experience as well as innovative concepts...
Overdrive in a video package.
On July 30, 2011, Sopp, working under the ring name Kip Gunn, made his debut for Lucha Libre USA
Lucha Libre USA
Lucha Libre USA: Masked Warriors was a television program on the MTV2 broadcast channel, chronicling the rise of Mexican-style wrestling, or lucha libre, in the United States. The first episode was aired on July 16, 2010. The second season premiered October 1, 2011. However, after only four...
as a member of the heel stable Right. In his first match for the promotion, Gunn was defeated by Marco Corleone
Mark Jindrak
Mark Robert Jindrak is an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment...
.
Other media
Sopp appeared in an episode of Sabrina The Teenage Witch as a wrestler who Sabrina SpellmanSabrina Spellman
Sabrina J. Spellman is the title character—a half-mortal and a half-witch—from the comic book Sabrina, the Teenage Witch which was later adapted in 1969 by Filmation as a segment from The Archie Comedy Hour . The character was created by writer George Gladir and artist Dan DeCarlo...
was obliged to wrestle in order to let her cat's daughter marry her fiancé, who was the son of Sopp's character.
Sopp made a cameo appearance in the 2010 comedy film The Other Guys
The Other Guys
The Other Guys is a 2010 American action comedy film directed and co-written by Adam McKay, starring Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg, and featuring Dwayne Johnson, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Keaton, Eva Mendes, Steve Coogan, and Ray Stevenson...
during the Knicks'
New York Knicks
The New York Knickerbockers, prominently known as the Knicks, are a professional basketball team based in New York City. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...
basketball game scene. He is seen sitting two rows above Will Ferrell
Will Ferrell
John William "Will" Ferrell is an American comedian, impressionist, actor, and writer. Ferrell first established himself in the late 1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, and has subsequently starred in the comedy films Old School, Elf, Anchorman, Talladega...
.
Personal life
In November 1990, Sopp was arrested in Florida for disorderly conduct.Sopp married his first wife Tina Tinnell on March 3, 1990. Together they have two sons: Colten, who was born on May 18, 1991, and Austin, who was born on August 26, 1994. The couple separated in January 2000 and their divorce was finalized on December 11, 2002. Sopp married longtime girlfriend Paula on January 27, 2009. In September 2010 his mistress posted numerous videos on Dailymotion
Dailymotion
Dailymotion is a video sharing service website, headquartered in the 18th arrondissement, Paris, France. According to Comscore, Dailymotion is the second largest video site in the world after YouTube....
of conversations between the two after Sopp's wife discovered the affair.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- As Billy Gunn / Kip James
- Gunnslinger (Swinging side slam) – (WWF/E)
- Fame–Ass–er (WWF) / Famouser (WWE / (TNATotal Nonstop Action WrestlingTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling is a privately held professional wrestling promotion founded by Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Jarrett. The company broadcasts its events on television and the Internet fifty two weeks a year with over a million weekly viewers on its primary television program, Impact...
) ) / (Leg drop bulldog, sometimes from the top rope) - Missouri Boat Ride (Independent circuitIndependent circuitIn 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...
) / One and Only (WWF/E / (TNATotal Nonstop Action WrestlingTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling is a privately held professional wrestling promotion founded by Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Jarrett. The company broadcasts its events on television and the Internet fifty two weeks a year with over a million weekly viewers on its primary television program, Impact...
)) (Cobra clutch slam)
- As Rockabilly
- Elevated DDT
- Guitar shot – adopted from The Honky Tonk ManThe Honky Tonk ManRoy Wayne Farris , better known by his ring name The Honky Tonk Man, is an American professional wrestler. A 1975 graduate from University of Memphis with a B.S. degree in Education. Coached high school football 2 seasons at Munford High School in Munford, Tennessee...
- Shake, Rattle and Roll (Swinging neckbreaker, with theatrics) – adopted from The Honky Tonk Man
- As Billy Gunn / Kip James
- Signature moves
- Hip toss, sometimes dropped into a modified neckbreaker
- Front powerslam
- Military press slam
- Piledriver
- Stinger splash
- Suplex powerslam
- Tilt-a-whirl slam
- With Jesse JamesBrian Gerard JamesBrian Gerard James is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE as an agent and producer. He is best known for his tenure with the World Wrestling Federation as "The Road Dogg" Jesse James or simply Road Dogg...
- Double flapjack dropped into a hangman – 1997–1998
- Spike piledriver
- 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...
- SunnyTammy Lynn SytchTamara "Tammy" Lynn Sytch is an American professional wrestling manager, personality,and occasional wrestler. She achieved her greatest success under the ring name Sunny within the World Wrestling Federation during the 1990s, and is widely considered as one of the first Divas...
- Chyna
- The Honky Tonk ManThe Honky Tonk ManRoy Wayne Farris , better known by his ring name The Honky Tonk Man, is an American professional wrestler. A 1975 graduate from University of Memphis with a B.S. degree in Education. Coached high school football 2 seasons at Munford High School in Munford, Tennessee...
- Ryan ShamrockAlicia WebbAlicia Nicole Webb is an American professional wrestling valet. She is perhaps best known for her appearances with the World Wrestling Federation from 1998 until 1999 as Ryan Shamrock-World Wrestling Federation:...
- 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...
- Torrie WilsonTorrie WilsonTorrie Anne Wilson is a retired American professional wrestler, fitness competitor and model. She is best known for her tenures in World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment , where she worked on both their SmackDown and Raw brands throughout her eight-year run.As a fitness...
- Roxxi LaveauxNicole RaczynskiNicole Raczynski is an American professional wrestler, best known for working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Roxxi...
- The Beautiful PeopleThe Beautiful People (professional wrestling)The Beautiful People was an alliance of professional wrestlers that appeared in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , consisting of Angelina Love, Velvet Sky, Cute Kip, Madison Rayne and Lacey Von Erich. The stable was known for their narcissistic gimmick, and holding the TNA Women's Knockout...
- Sunny
- NicknameNicknameA nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
s- "Badd Ass"
- "Mr. Ass"
- "The One"
- "The Superstar"
- "The Ass Man"
- "The Mega Star"
- "The Fashionist"
- "The Chosen One"
- "Billy Bitchcakes" (By EdgeAdam CopelandAdam Joseph Copeland is a retired Canadian professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring name Edge. He is currently signed to WWE under a Legends contract....
) - "Willy Will" (By Road Dogg)
- "Bitter Billy" (By Jim Ross)
- 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...
- "Smokin'" by Jim JohnstonJim Johnston (composer)James Alan "Jim" Johnston is an American music composer who has been working for WWE since 1985. His work is often accredited to the names Jim Johnston, James A...
(Used while teaming with Bart GunnThe Smokin' GunnsThe Smoking Gunns was a professional wrestling tag team of kayfabe brothers Billy Gunn and Bart Gunn . They portrayed cowboys in the World Wrestling Federation from 1993 to 1996...
) – 1993–1997 (WWF) - "Oh, You Didn't Know?" by Jim Johnston (Used while teaming with Road DoggNew Age OutlawsThe New Age Outlaws, later known as the James Gang and the Voodoo Kin Mafia, were a professional wrestling tag team in World Wrestling Federation, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , Jersey All Pro Wrestling, and Maryland Championship Wrestling consisting of B.G...
) – 1997–2000 (WWF) - "Ass Man" by Jim Johnston – 1999–2000, 2003-2004 (WWF/WWE)
- "Break It Down" by The DX BandChris Warren (musician)Christopher Warren is an American musician who has performed in numerous bands. He is currently the singer in...
(Used while a part of D-Generation XD-Generation XD-Generation X was a professional wrestling stable in WWE . The group originated in the midst of the WWF's "Attitude Era" from 1997 to 2000...
) – 1998-1999,1999-2000 (WWF) - "I've Got It All" by Jim Johnston – 2000–2002 (WWF)
- "You Look So Good to Me" by Jim Johnston (Used while teaming withBilly and ChuckBilly and Chuck was the professional wrestling tag team of Billy Gunn and Chuck Palumbo seen in World Wrestling Entertainment.-History:Near the end of the Invasion storyline, Chuck Palumbo was kicked out of the WCW/ECW coalition. In response, he defected to the WWF, where he began teaming with Gunn...
Chuck PalumboChuck PalumboCharles "Chuck" Palumbo is an American professional wrestler, currently working for Nu-Wrestling Evolution . Palumbo is best known for his time in World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment...
) – 2002 (WWE) - "Nobody Moves" by Dale OliverDale OliverDale Byron Oliver is an American music composer who works for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. Formerly a guitarist in BackHawk , Oliver serves mainly as a composer of theme music used in professional wrestling.-Music composer for TNA:Since 2003, Oliver writes, records, and produces music under...
(Used while teaming with B.G. James) (TNA) - "In My House" by Dale Oliver (Used while teaming with B.G. James) – 2006–2008 (TNA)
- "Tiger Beat" by Dale Oliver – 2008 (TNA)
- "Angel on My Shoulder" by Dale Oliver (Used while a part of The Beautiful PeopleThe Beautiful People (professional wrestling)The Beautiful People was an alliance of professional wrestlers that appeared in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , consisting of Angelina Love, Velvet Sky, Cute Kip, Madison Rayne and Lacey Von Erich. The stable was known for their narcissistic gimmick, and holding the TNA Women's Knockout...
) – 2008–2009 (TNA)
- "Smokin'" by Jim Johnston
Championships and accomplishments
- International Wrestling Federation
- IWF Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Brett Colt
- KYDA Pro Wrestling
- KYDA Pro Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Legends Pro Wrestling
- XWF/LPW Hall of Fame Inductee- Class 2007 (8/18/07)
- Maryland Championship WrestlingMaryland Championship WrestlingMaryland Championship Wrestling is a regional independent wrestling promotion based in Dundalk, Maryland, and has regularly run events in the Mid-Atlantic region since the late 1990s as well as participating in numerous fundraising events throughout the state.Rivaling other east coast independent...
- MCW Tag Team ChampionshipMCW Tag Team ChampionshipThe MCW Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling tag team championship owned by the Maryland Championship Wrestling promotion. The title was created and debuted on August 18, 1998 at a MCW live event....
(1 time) – with B.G. JamesBrian Gerard JamesBrian Gerard James is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE as an agent and producer. He is best known for his tenure with the World Wrestling Federation as "The Road Dogg" Jesse James or simply Road Dogg...
- MCW Tag Team Championship
- 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 ranked him #43 of the best 500 singles wrestlers of the year in the PWI 500 in 2002
- PWI Tag Team of the Year (1998) with Road DoggBrian Gerard JamesBrian Gerard James is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE as an agent and producer. He is best known for his tenure with the World Wrestling Federation as "The Road Dogg" Jesse James or simply Road Dogg...
- PWI Tag Team of the Year (2002) with ChuckChuck PalumboCharles "Chuck" Palumbo is an American professional wrestler, currently working for Nu-Wrestling Evolution . Palumbo is best known for his time in World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment...
- PWI ranked him #43 of the Top 100 Tag Teams of the PWI Years in 2003 with "The Road Dogg" Jesse James
- TWA Powerhouse
- TWA Tag Team Championship (1 time, current) – with Jesse James
- World Pro Wrestling
- WPW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling EntertainmentWorld Wrestling EntertainmentWorld 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 Hardcore ChampionshipWWE Hardcore ChampionshipThe World Wrestling Entertainment Hardcore Championship is a hardcore wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment and is contested under "hardcore" rules, meaning there is no disqualifications, no countouts, and pin falls could be counted anywhere...
(2 times) - WWF Intercontinental ChampionshipWWE Intercontinental ChampionshipThe WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand...
(1 time) - WWF/E World Tag Team Championship (10 times) – with Bart Gunn (3), Road Dogg (5), and Chuck (2)
- King of the Ring (1999)
- WWF Hardcore Championship
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
- Worst Worked Match of the Year (2006) TNA Reverse Battle RoyalFight for the Right TournamentThe Fight for the Right Tournament is a professional wrestling tournament in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling designed to determine a new #1 contender to the World Heavyweight Championship. The tournament was held in 2006 and 2007, both starting in the month of October.-2006:The inaugural Fight for...
on TNA Impact!TNA iMPACT!Impact Wrestling is a professional wrestling television program for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling that currently airs in the United States and Canada on Spike...
- Worst Worked Match of the Year (2006) TNA Reverse Battle Royal