Coordinates	52°23′″N20°44′″N
Name	Mark LoMonaco
Names	Brother RayBrother Ray DeadlyBubba ClausBubba Ray DudleyBuh Buh Ray DudleyBully RayMongoMongo VyleThe Terminator
Height
Weight
Birth date	July 14, 1971
Birth place	Queens, New York
Resides	Orlando, Florida
Billed	"Hell's Kitchen"(as Mongo Vyle) "The Metropolitan area of Dudleyville" (as Buh Buh Ray Dudley in ECW)"Dudleyville" (as Bubba Ray Dudley in WWF/E)"New York, New York" (as Bully Ray in TNA)
Trainer	Sonny Blaze
Debut	1991
Retired	}}

Mark S. LoMonaco (born July 14, 1971) is an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling as Buh Buh Ray Dudley, with World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment as Bubba Ray Dudley and with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as Brother Ray. He currently wrestles for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Bully Ray.

Along with his storyline half-brother Devon, LoMonaco is one-half of Team 3D, a tag team formerly known as the Dudley Boyz. Characterized by their unorthodox ring apparel and usage of tables in their matches, Team 3D are one of the most successful tag teams in the history of professional wrestling, having held 23 world tag team championships. Team 3D is also the name of a stable featuring LoMonaco, Devon Hughes, and their storyline half-brother, Runt.

Professional wrestling career

Independent circuit (1991–1995)

LoMonaco trained under Sonny Blaze and debuted in 1991 under the ring name Mongo Vyle. The character Mongo Vyle was a biker billed from Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, New York whose gimmick was inspired by The Nasty Boys, the Road Warriors and Maxx Payne. The name "Mongo" was first used as his Fraternity pledge name at St. John's University in Jamaica, Queens, New York.

Extreme Championship Wrestling (1995–1999)

LoMonaco received a tryout with Extreme Championship Wrestling in September 1995, appearing as Mongo, the bodyguard of Bill Alfonso. After impressing ECW owner Paul Heyman by taking a chokeslam from wrestler 911, LoMonaco was hired. He was recast as Buh Buh Ray Dudley, the stuttering, dancing, overweight, hillbilly member of the sprawling Dudley family. The unusual spelling of "Bubba" was a result of his stutter. In saying his name Buh-Buh would stutter causing him to say "My name is Buh-buh-buh-buh" until Big Dick Dudley struck him in the chest, at which point he would snap out "My name is Bubba Ray Dudley!". The fans embraced the comical Dudley boys and during Buh Buh's matches would chant "Buh Buh Buh Buh". The spelling eventually stuck.

On April 13, 1996, D-Von Dudley debuted in ECW and began feuding with the other members of the Dudley Family (his kayfabe half-brothers), claiming that their comedic antics were not the way true Dudleys should act. D-Von eliminated Dances With Dudley, Dudley Dudley, and Chubby Dudley before joining forces with Buh Buh Ray, Big Dick, Sign Guy Dudley, and Joel Gertner. Known collectively as the Dudley Boyz, Buh Buh Ray and D-Von dominated the ECW tag team division, winning the ECW World Tag Team Championship a record eight times and defeating the four major tag teams in ECW: The Public Enemy , The Eliminators, The Gangstas, and Sabu and Rob Van Dam. Buh Buh Ray, D-Von, and Gertner all achieved a degree of infamy for their vitriolic interviews, which antagonized audiences to a point of near riot.

World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment (1999–2005)

In 1999, Buh Buh Ray and D-Von left ECW and joined the World Wrestling Federation, where the "Buh Buh" stutter-spelling of "Bubba Ray Dudley" was rescinded. Throughout 2000 and 2001, the Dudley Boyz engaged in a three way feud for the WWF Tag Team Championship with The Hardy Boyz and Edge and Christian. The feud incorporated two critically acclaimed Tables, Ladders, and Chairs matches, the first at SummerSlam in 2000 and the second at WrestleMania X-Seven. While they were initially heels, one of the things Bubba Ray was known for was driving women through tables including WWE Divas Terri, Mae Young, Lita, Trish Stratus, Torrie Wilson, Stacy Keibler and Jazz. The Dudley Boyz were soon cheered by the crowd and were turned face in early 2000. On the December 28, 2000 episode of ''SmackDown!'', Bubba received a title shot against WWF Champion Kurt Angle, which he lost after an Angle Slam through a table . In early 2001, The Dudleys were joined in the WWF by Spike Dudley.

In mid-2001, the Dudley Boyz turned heel once again by joining The Alliance, a large stable of former ECW and World Championship Wrestling (WCW) wrestlers led by Shane McMahon and Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley who attempted to take over the WWF (Spike, along with several other ECW alumni, did not join The Alliance). The ECW-WCW invasion ended at the Survivor Series, when five WWF wrestlers defeated five Alliance wrestlers in a match to determine the ownership of the WWF. The Alliance disbanded and its members left the WWF, but the Dudley Boyz retained their jobs due to their possession of the WWF Tag Team Championship, which they had unified with the WCW Tag Team Championship that night.

Following WrestleMania X8, in May 2002 the WWF was renamed "World Wrestling Entertainment" (WWE) and the roster was divided into two brands, ''Raw'' and ''SmackDown!''. The Dudley Boyz were separated when Bubba Ray was drafted to Raw and D-Von to ''SmackDown!''. On ''Raw'', Bubba Ray found moderate success as he competed for the WWE Hardcore Championship, formed a tag team with Spike, and even competed in a World Heavyweight Championship match against Triple H. D'Von's new gimmick on ''SmackDown!'' failed to get over, however, and he was reunited with D-Von and Spike on November 17, 2002 when he returned to the ''Raw'' brand.

The Dudley Boyz became a staple in the Raw tag team division over the next sixteen months, feuding with teams such as 3-Minute Warning, La Résistance, and various combinations of The Un-Americans. They held the WWF World Tag Team Championship several more times before being traded (along with Booker T) to ''SmackDown!'' on March 22, 2004 in exchange for Triple H. Shortly after arriving on ''SmackDown!'', the Dudley Boyz turned heel once again, siding with Paul Heyman and feuding with Rob Van Dam and Rey Mysterio. On May 27, the Dudley Boyz kidnapped Paul Bearer, the manager of Heyman's enemy The Undertaker. On June 27 at The Great American Bash, The Undertaker defeated the Dudley Boyz in a handicap match. In July, the Dudley Boyz reunited with Spike. For the remainder of the year, they assisted Spike in his matches for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship. They also won the WWE Tag Team Championship one more time. In early 2005, the Dudley Boyz were removed from WWE television and sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling while the WWE creative team attempted to devise an angle for them.

The Dudley Boyz returned to WWE television in June 2005 in order to promote ECW One Night Stand, an ECW reunion show. In the weeks preceding One Night Stand they, along with several other ECW alumni, vied with General Manager Eric Bischoff and his "anti-hardcore crusaders". At One Night Stand on June 12, the Dudley Boyz defeated Tommy Dreamer and The Sandman in the main event of the night after driving Dreamer through a flaming table. On July 5, 2005, WWE announced that it had opted not to continue contract renewal negotiations with the Dudley Boyz. In addition, fifteen other wrestlers were released by WWE, which was decreasing its spending as a result of a fall in projected revenue. In August 2005, all three former Dudleys were issued with legal notices instructing them not to use the (WWE trademarked) name "Dudley". This led to a degree of acrimony between the former Dudleys and their erstwhile employers, as they had used the names since 1996, several years before all ECW intellectual property was acquired by WWE as a result of bankruptcy proceedings. Soon after, LoMonaco and Hughes (D-Von) announced that they intended to pursue legal action against WWE.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2005–present)

Team 3D (2005–2010)

No longer able to use the ring name Bubba Ray Dudley, LoMonaco adopted (and trademarked) the ring name Brother Ray Deadly, while Hughes became Brother Devon Deadly. The team also trademarked The Deadly Brothers and Deadly Death Drop. In August and September 2005, Ray and Devon made several appearances on the independent circuit, most notably Hardcore Homecoming, an unofficial ECW reunion show organized by ECW alumnus Shane Douglas, a frequent critic of WWE and Chairman Vince McMahon. On September 21, 2005, it was announced that they had signed multi-year contracts with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.

Ray and Devon debuted in TNA on the October 1, 2005 episode of ''TNA Impact!'' - the first episode of ''Impact!'' to be aired on Spike TV and in a prime time slot. They were identified as "Brother Ray" and "Brother Devon" respectively (with the suffix "Deadly" apparently having been dropped) and as Team 3D collectively. Team 3D quickly established themselves as faces by confronting the heel NWA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett and his allies, the NWA World Tag Team Champions, America's Most Wanted (AMW). Team 3D defeated AMW at pay-per-view events in November and December 2005, but failed to defeat them in a title match at Final Resolution on January 15, 2006 due to the interference of Team Canada. Ray and Devon continued to feud with America's Most Wanted and Team Canada over the following months. On the April 13, 2006 episode of ''Impact!'', an attempted ambush by Team Canada was foiled by the debuting Spike Dudley, identified as "Brother Runt". They had many battles with The Latin American Xchange (LAX) until winning the NWA World Tag Team Championship from LAX at Lockdown in an "electrified" steel cage match.

Upon the disintegration of TNA's contract with the NWA, Ray and D-Von were stripped of the NWA Tag Team Championships and awarded the TNA World Tag Team Championship as compensation. They defended these belts against the team of Road Warrior Animal and Rick Steiner at Slammiversary. Following a match on ''Impact!'' to determine opponents, Ray would headline Victory Road alongside his partner in a match of champions encounter against TNA World Champion Kurt Angle and X Division Champion Samoa Joe. At Victory Road, Ray and D-Von lost their match, and the TNA tag titles, to Angle and Joe, though only Joe gained complete control of the titles as he scored the pinfall and could select a partner of his choosing.

The next feud had Team 3D along with the X-Division traitor Johnny Devine against The Motor City Machineguns and the entire TNA X Division. Team 3D and Devine lost at Against All Odds 2008 meaning that they have to be under two-hundred seventy-five pounds in order to compete in the X Division. However, the angle was dropped. Brother Ray and Devon aligned themselves with Kurt Angle during his feud with A.J. Styles. This led to them feuding with Christian Cage and Rhino as well. At Hard Justice, they lost to Cage and Rhino in a New Jersey Street Fight. They then feuded with Matt Morgan and Abyss, losing to them at No Surrender. At Bound for Glory IV, they participated in a Monster's Ball match for the Tag Team Championship, but came up short. Team 3D appeared to join The Main Event Mafia but turned face by double crossing the stable and jumping them along with The TNA Front Line leaders Samoa Joe, A.J. Styles, and Rhino. They also attempted to put former ally Kurt Angle through a table.

At Lockdown Team 3D won the TNA World Tag Team Championship and retained the IWGP Tag Team Championship against Beer Money, Inc. (Robert Roode and James Storm). At Slammiversary they lost the TNA tag titles to Beer Money, Inc. and on the July 30 edition of ''Impact!'' the IWGP tag titles to The British Invasion of Brutus Magnus and Doug Williams. On October 18, 2009 at Bound for Glory, Team 3D captured their 23rd tag team championship when they defeated Beer Money, British Invasion, and The Main Event Mafia's Scott Steiner and Booker T in a Full Metal Mayhem Tag Team match. With both the IWGP and TNA Tag tiles on the line, they captured the IWGP titles which were formerly held by The British Invasion. During the following weeks Team 3D turned heel and aligned themselves with Rhino in a battle against the younger talent of the company. On the November 19 edition of ''Impact!'' Team 3D Academy of Professional Wrestling and Sports Entertainment graduate Jesse Neal joined Team 3D and Rhino and two weeks later Suicide joined Morgan, Hernandez and Dinero to level the playing field. At Final Resolution Morgan, Hernandez, Dinero and Suicide defeated Neal, Team 3D and Rhino in an eight-man elimination tag team match. On January 4, 2010, at Wrestle Kingdom IV in Tokyo Dome Team 3D lost the IWGP Tag Team Titles to Tetsuya Naitō and Yujiro in a three-way hardcore match, which also included Giant Bernard and Karl Anderson. When Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff took over TNA at the beginning of 2010, Team 3D's angle with Rhino and Neal was discontinued and they reverted back to being faces, while starting a feud with The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags), who were a part of the new wave of wrestlers brought in by Hogan and Bischoff. At Against All Odds The Nasty Boys defeated Team 3D in a tag team match, when Jimmy Hart made his return to the company and interfered in the match on the Nasty Boys' behalf. Team 3D avenged their loss on the February 25 edition of ''Impact!'', when Jesse Neal helped them defeat the Nasty Boys in a tables match. On the March 15 edition of ''Impact!'' Team 3D and Neal were scheduled to face the Nasty Boys and Hart in a six man tag team match, but prior to the match the Nasty Boys attacked Neal backstage and put him through a table. Team 3D found Neal a replacement in the returning Brother Runt, but were still defeated in the match by the Nastys and Hart. However, after the match Neal made the save for Team 3D and helped them put Sags through a table. On May 16 at Sacrifice Ray turned heel by attacking Jesse Neal and costing him and Shannon Moore their match for the TNA World Tag Team Championship, after feeling he had been disrespected by Neal. The following month at Slammiversary VIII Neal defeated Ray in a singles match after a distraction from the debuting Tommy Dreamer. The following month at Victory Road Ray faced Jesse Neal and Devon in a three-way match. During the match the members of Team 3D attacked each other, before Neal accidentally speared Devon and was then pinned by Ray. On the following edition of ''Impact!'' Devon joined fellow ECW alumni Mick Foley, Tommy Dreamer, Raven, Stevie Richards, Rhino, Pat Kenney and Al Snow and TNA World Heavyweight Champion Rob Van Dam in attacking Brother Ray, Abyss and the rest of the TNA locker room. The following week, Ray declined Devon's offer to join the ECW alumni, before TNA president Dixie Carter agreed to give them their own reunion pay–per–view event, Hardcore Justice: The Last Stand, as a celebration of hardcore wrestling and a final farewell to the company. However, on the July 29 edition of ''Impact!'' Ray decided to join the ECW alumni and seemingly buried the hatchet with his brother, becoming a face again in the process. On August 8 at Hardcore Justice Team 3D, accompanied by Joel Gertner, defeated Axl Rotten and Balls Mahoney, billed as Kahoneys, in a South Philadelphia Street Fight. After the match Ray and Devon were assaulted by the Gangstas. On the following edition of ''Impact!'', the ECW alumni, known collectively as Extreme, Version 2.0 (EV 2.0), were assaulted by A.J. Styles, Kazarian, Robert Roode, James Storm, Douglas Williams and Matt Morgan of Ric Flair's Fourtune stable, who thought they didn't deserve to be in TNA. This would mark Team 3D's final appearance on their old TNA contracts, which expired shortly thereafter. The two then entered negotiations over new contracts. Team 3D returned to TNA television two month later on the October 7 live edition of ''Impact!'', promising a major announcement at Bound for Glory. At the pay-per-view Team 3D announced their retirement, but asked for a one final match against the TNA World Tag Team Champions, the Motor City Machine Guns. Their new multi–year contracts with TNA were confirmed shortly thereafter. At Turning Point the Motor City Machine Guns defeated Team 3D to retain the TNA World Tag Team Championship.

Bully Ray (2010–present)

During Team 3D's retirement ceremony on the following edition of ''Impact!'', Ray turned heel by attacking Devon, reigniting the feud between the two. The following week Ray claimed that Devon had gotten weak, since Sabin had managed to kick out of a 3D at Turning Point, calling him the Marty Jannetty and himself the Shawn Michaels of the team. On the December 16 edition of ''Impact!'' LoMonaco renamed himself Bully Ray as he defeated Amazing Red in a squash match. On January 9, 2011, at Genesis, Ray defeated Devon via disqualification, after Devon hit his former partner with his own chain. In the following weeks Devon's sons Terrence and Terrell began making appearances on ''Impact!'' and were regularly abused by Ray. At Against All Odds Ray faced his former tag team partner in a Street Fight. After Devon's sons interfered in the match, Ray low blowed him and pinned one of his sons for the win. On March 13 at Victory Road, Devon and his sons interfered in a Falls Count Anywhere match between Ray and Tommy Dreamer, costing Ray the match. On the following edition of ''Impact!'', Ray's feud with Devon was abruptly ended as he aligned himself with Immortal and moved on to feuding with Fortune. At the end of the show Ray powerbombed A.J. Styles off the entrance stage through a table, sidelining him with a storyline injury. On April 17 at Lockdown, Immortal, represented by Ray, Abyss, Matt Hardy and Ric Flair, was defeated by Fortune members James Storm, Kazarian and Robert Roode and Christopher Daniels, who replaced A.J. Styles, in a Lethal Lockdown match. During the match Styles made his return, attacking Ray as he was beating Daniels. On the April 28 edition of ''Impact!'', Ray challenged Sting for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, but was defeated following interference from Styles. Ray then recruited Tommy Dreamer as his partner and helped him defeat Styles at Sacrifice. On the May 26 edition of ''Impact Wrestling'', Styles and Daniels defeated Ray and Dreamer in a No Disqualification Street Fight. On June 12 at Slammiversary IX, Ray defeated Styles in a Last Man Standing match to win the feud. After the match Ray, though still retaining his status as a heel, put over Styles' resilience. On the July 28 edition of ''Impact Wrestling'', Ray began having problems with fellow Immortal member Mr. Anderson, when he cost him his steel cage match against Kurt Angle. The tension between the two stablemates eventually led to a match on August 7 at Hardcore Justice, where Ray defeated Anderson with a low blow. From June to September, Ray was one of the twelve participants in the Bound for Glory Series to determine the number one contender to the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. When the group stage of the tournament concluded, Ray finished in the top four and thus advanced to the finals at No Surrender along with James Storm, Robert Roode and his Immortal stablemate, Gunner.

Personal life

LoMonaco and his wife Fawnfeather Carr, own and operate the ''Fawnfeather Spa and Salon'' in Heathrow, Florida. LoMonaco's has a sister named Gina LoMonaco who also works for the company and was a top discus thrower during her college days.

LoMonaco appeared on the second WWE edition of the game show ''The Weakest Link'', losing in the sudden death final to Kane and was the strongest link in the majority of the rounds. At the start of the game, he stated he was playing for The American Cancer Society, "and my mommy."

LoMonaco made a cameo appearance in the adult film ''Whack Attack 5'', by Extreme Associates, watching a three-person sex scene take place involving Mike "Luciano" Long, Alexandra Nice, and Alana Evans.

His favorite sport is soccer and he is a fan of the Italian First Division, the Serie A.

In wrestling

Finishing moves

''Bubba Bomb'' / ''Bully Bomb'' (Sitout full nelson atomic drop)

''Bubba Cutter'' (WWF/E) / ''Buh Buh Cutter'' (ECW) (Cutter, sometimes while flipping the opponent backwards)

*Standing release powerbomb, sometimes while falling forward

Signature moves

*Bionic elbow

*Chokeslam

*Overhead belly to belly suplex

*Release German suplex

*Samoan drop

*Scoop slam

*Senton splash from the second rope

*Side slam

*Sidewalk slam

Managers

Johnny Devine

*Sign Guy Dudley

Spike Dudley

*Joel Gertner

*Paul Heyman

*Jenna Jameson

*Stacy Keibler

Johnny Rodz

Cousin Steve

*Trish Stratus

Championships and accomplishments

All Japan Pro Wrestling

*World's Strongest Tag Team League (2005) – with Devon

Cauliflower Alley Club

*Other honoree (1997) – with Brother Devon

Extreme Championship Wrestling

ECW World Tag Team Championship (8 times) – with D-Von Dudley

Hustle

*Hustle Super Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Brother Devon

New Japan Pro Wrestling

*IWGP Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Brother Devon

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

PWI Match of the Year (2000) with D-Von Dudley vs. Edge and Christian and The Hardy Boyz in a Triangle Ladder match at WrestleMania 2000

PWI Match of the Year (2001) with D-Von Dudley vs. Edge and Christian and The Hardy Boyz in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match at WrestleMania X-Seven

PWI Tag Team of the Year (2001, 2009) – with D-Von Dudley

PWI ranked him #3 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2011

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

NWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Brother Devon

*TNA World Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Brother Devon

*TNA Tag Team of the Year (2005)- with Brother Devon

World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment

*WCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with D-Von Dudley

*WWE Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with D-Von Dudley

*WWF/E Hardcore Championship (8 times)

*World Tag Team Championship (8 times) – with D-Von Dudley

References

External links

Bully Ray at TNAwrestling.com

Category:1971 births Category:American professional wrestlers Category:American professional wrestlers of Italian descent Category:American Roman Catholics Category:American people of Italian descent Category:Living people Category:People from Long Island Category:People from Orlando, Florida

es:Mark LoMonaco fr:Bully Ray ko:마크 로모나코 it:Mark LoMonaco nl:Mark LoMonaco ja:マーク・ロモナコ pt:Mark LoMonaco th:มาร์ค โลโมนาโก้

Coordinates	52°23′″N20°44′″N
Name	Jeff Hardy
Names	GalaxionGladiatorThe IcemanJeff HardyMean Jimmy JackWillow the WhispWolverine
Height
Weight
Birth date	August 31, 1977
Birth place	Cameron, North Carolina
Resides	Raleigh, North Carolina
Billed	Cameron, North Carolina
Trainer	Dory Funk, Jr.Michael Hayes
Debut	October 15, 1993
Retired	}}

Jeffrey Nero "Jeff" Hardy (born August 31, 1977) is an American professional wrestler, who is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he is a former two–time TNA World Heavyweight Champion. He is best known for his stint with the World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (WWE), where he was a two–time World Heavyweight Champion and a one–time WWE Champion.

Before gaining prominence in WWE, Hardy performed for the Organization of Modern Extreme Grappling Arts (OMEGA), a promotion he ran with his brother Matt. After being signed by WWE, the brothers worked as jobbers, before gaining notoriety in the tag team division, partly due to their participation in Tables, Ladders, and Chairs matches. With the addition of Lita, the team became known as Team Xtreme and continued to rise in popularity. As a tag team wrestler, Hardy is a six-time World Tag Team Champion and a one-time WCW Tag Team Champion.

Hardy has also experienced success as a singles wrestler and is a five-time world champion, having held the WWE Championship once, the World Heavyweight Championship twice and the TNA World Heavyweight Championship twice, a four-time Intercontinental Champion, and has held the Light Heavyweight, and European Championships once each. He is also a former Hardcore Champion, having held the championship on three occasions. He received his first major main event push towards the end of 2007, including challenging for the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble in 2008, and eventually won the WWE Championship at the Armageddon pay-per-view in December 2008. Hardy went on to win the World Heavyweight Championship twice, before he left WWE in mid-2009. He returned to TNA in January 2010, and in October of that year, he won the TNA World Heavyweight Championship for the first time. Moreover, Hardy is involved in motocross, music, painting, and other artistic endeavors. He is currently a member of the band Peroxwhy?gen.

Early life

Hardy is the son of Gilbert and Ruby Moore Hardy, and the younger brother of Matt. Their mother died of brain cancer in 1986, when Hardy was nine. He developed an interest in motocross aged 12 and got his first bike, a Yamaha YZ-80, at age 13. He had his first race when he was in ninth grade. Hardy played baseball as a child, but had to stop after he crashed during a motocross race, injuring his arm. He also played football during high school as a fullback and linebacker. He briefly competed in amateur wrestling in high school. He had to stop playing sports in high school, after he was ordered to pick between professional wrestling and playing sports, and he chose wrestling. Hardy's favorite subjects in school were U.S. history and art, which he did for extra credit.

Professional wrestling career

Early career

Hardy cites Sting, The Ultimate Warrior, and Shawn Michaels as his childhood inspirations to wrestle. Hardy had been on World Wrestling Federation (WWF) television as a jobber—a wrestler who consistently loses to make his opponents look stronger—as early as age sixteen. His first WWF match was against Razor Ramon on May 24, 1994. The next day he wrestled against The 1-2-3 Kid, and the match aired on the June 25 episode of ''Superstars''. He occasionally wrestled as a jobber as late as 1997 before beginning his first major run in 1998. Hardy, along with his brother Matt and friends, started their own federation, the Trampoline Wrestling Federation (TWF) and mimicked the moves they saw on television. Later on, the TWF went under several different names, eventually being integrated into a county fair in North Carolina. The brothers and their friends then began to work for other independent companies. They drove all over the East Coast of the United States, working for companies such as ACW and other small promotions.

Before arriving in the WWF, Matt formed his own wrestling promotion, the Organization of Modern Extreme Grappling Arts (OMEGA) with Thomas Simpson. The promotion was a more successful version of the original TWF and included talent such as both Hardy brothers, Shannon Moore, Gregory Helms, Joey Matthews, and Steve Corino, among others. In OMEGA, each of the brothers portrayed several different characters; Hardy portrayed such characters as Willow the Wisp, Iceman, Mean Jimmy Jack Tomkins, and The Masked Mountain. While there, Hardy held the New Frontier Championship as a singles competitor and the Tag Team Championship with Matt. The promotion folded in April 1998 when they signed contracts with the WWF.

World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment

The Hardy Boyz (1998–2002)

The Hardy brothers eventually caught the eyes of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). After being signed to a contract in 1998, they were trained by Dory Funk, Jr. in his Funkin' Dojo with other notable wrestlers such as Kurt Angle, Christian, Test, and A-Train. When the team was finally brought up to WWF television, after months of 'jobbing' and live events, they formed the acrobatic tag team called the Hardy Boyz. While feuding with The Brood in mid-1999, they added Michael Hayes as their manager. On July 5, they won their first WWF Tag Team Championship by defeating the Acolytes, but lost it back to them a month later. After the dissolution of the Brood, the Hardys joined forces with Gangrel as The New Brood and feuded with Edge and Christian. This stable did not last long, however, and on October 17, 1999 at No Mercy, the Hardy Boyz won the managerial services of Terri Runnels in the finals of the Terri Invitational Tournament in the WWF's first ever tag team ladder match against Edge and Christian.

In 2000, the Hardy Boyz found a new manager in their real-life friend Lita. Together, the three became known as "Team Xtreme". They continued their feud with Edge and Christian throughout 2000, defeating them for the WWF Tag Team Championship on two occasions. At SummerSlam the Hardy Boyz competed in the first ever Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match (TLC match), for the Tag Team Championship against the Dudley Boyz and Edge and Christian, but were unsuccessful.

Hardy gained attention for his high risk stunts in the TLC matches in the year 2000, 2001, and 2002. He made a name for himself as one of the most seemingly reckless and unorthodox WWF performers of his time. In 2001, Hardy received a push as a singles competitor, and he held the WWF Intercontinental (defeating Triple H), Light Heavyweight (defeating Jerry Lynn) and Hardcore Championships (defeating Mike Awesome and Van Dam on two separate occasions). At the end of 2001, the Hardys began a storyline in which they began to fight, which led to Matt demanding a match at Vengeance, with Lita as the special guest referee. After Hardy beat Matt at Vengeance, while Matt's foot was on the ropes, Hardy and Lita began feuding against Matt. In the middle of the feud, however, Hardy faced The Undertaker in a Hardcore Championship match and lost. After the match, the Undertaker was scripted to attack both Hardy and Lita, injuring them. On the next episode of ''SmackDown!'', the Undertaker also attacked Matt, also injuring him, in storyline. The Hardys and Lita were not seen again until the Royal Rumble, because WWE did not have another storyline for their characters. The Hardys later came back as a team, and there was never any mention of their previous storyline split. At Backlash, Hardy faced-off against Lesnar in his first televised match. Lesnar dominated Hardy and won the match by knockout. Lesnar and the Hardys continued to feud over the next few weeks, with the Hardys coming out victorious only once by disqualification. At Judgment Day, Lesnar gained the upper hand on the Hardy Boyz before tagging his partner, Paul Heyman, in to claim the win for the team. In July 2002, Hardy won his third Hardcore Championship by defeating Bradshaw.

Singles competition (2002–2003)

After years in the tag team division, Hardy took on The Undertaker in a ladder match for the Undisputed Championship. Hardy came up short, but earned the Undertaker's respect. Hardy competed for singles titles on several occasions and defeated William Regal for the WWE European Championship. Hardy was defeated a few weeks later by Rob Van Dam in a match to unify the European Championship and the Intercontinental Championship, and the European Championship was dropped. Finally, the Hardy Boyz split apart, as Hardy continued to pursue his singles ambitions on ''Raw'' and his brother, Matt was drafted to the SmackDown! brand.

In January 2003, he briefly turned into a heel (villain) after he attacked Van Dam and Shawn Michaels. It ended a month later when he saved Stacy Keibler from an attack by then-villain, Christian. In February, he had a brief program with Michaels, which saw the two team up. Then, in storyline, Hardy began dating Trish Stratus after saving her from Steven Richards and Victoria in March. Hardy and Stratus had a brief on-screen relationship that saw the duo talking backstage, kissing, and teaming together in matches. Hardy, however, was released from WWE on April 22, 2003. The reasons given for the release were Hardy's erratic behavior, drug use, refusal to go to rehab, deteriorating ring performance, as well as constant tardiness and no-showing events. Hardy also cites "burn out" and the need for time off as reasons for leaving WWE.

Time off and independent circuit (2003)

Hardy made his first wrestling appearance after being released from WWE at an OMEGA show, on May 24. Using his old gimmick, "Willow the Wisp", Hardy challenged Krazy K for the OMEGA Cruiserweight Championship, but lost the match. Hardy performed with the Ring of Honor (ROH) promotion on one occasion. Hardy appeared at ROH's 2003 show, ''Death Before Dishonor'', under his "Willow the Wisp" gimmick, wearing a mask and trench coat. Hardy was quickly unmasked and lost his jacket, wearing attire similar to that he wore in WWE. Hardy was booed and heckled before, during, and after the match by the ROH audience, who chanted "We want Matt!" and "You were fired!" during his match with Joey Matthews and Krazy K, which Hardy won. Hardy then took a whole year off of wrestling to concentrate on motocross and finish his motocross track.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2004–2006)

Hardy debuted in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) on June 23, 2004, at the ''Second Anniversary Show'', in a match against TNA X Division Champion A.J. Styles, for the title. He also debuted his new entrance theme "Modest", a song performed by Hardy himself, and a new nickname, "The Charismatic Enigma". The match ended in a no contest when Kid Kash and Dallas interfered. Hardy returned to TNA on July 21 and was awarded a shot at the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Hardy challenged for the title on September 8, losing to NWA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett. In October 2004, he won a tournament, earning a shot at the NWA World Heavyweight Championship on November 7 at Victory Road, TNA's first monthly pay-per-view. Hardy was defeated by Jarrett once again in a ladder match at Victory Road following interference from Kevin Nash and Scott Hall. One month later at Turning Point, Hardy, Styles and Randy Savage defeated Jarrett, Hall and Nash (collectively known as the Kings of Wrestling). Hardy went on to defeat Hall in a singles match, substituting for Héctor Garza at Final Resolution on January 16, 2005.

At Against All Odds in February 2005, Hardy lost to Abyss in a "Full Metal Mayhem" match for the number one contendership to the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Hardy returned the favor by defeating Abyss in a Falls Count Anywhere match at Destination X in March. Hardy then went on to feud with Raven, with Hardy booked to defeat Raven in a steel cage match at Lockdown in April. Hardy was suspended from TNA after no-showing his "Clockwork Orange House of Fun" rematch with Raven at Hard Justice on May 15, allegedly due to travel difficulties. Hardy's suspension was lifted on August 5, and he returned at Sacrifice approximately a week later, attacking Jeff Jarrett. He wrestled his first TNA match in four months at Unbreakable on September 11, losing to Bobby Roode following interference from Jarrett. Throughout October 2005, Hardy became embroiled in a feud with Abyss, Rhino and Sabu. The four way feud culminated in a Monster's Ball match at Bound for Glory on October 23, which Rhino won after delivering a second rope Rhino Driver to Hardy. In the course of the match, Hardy delivered a Swanton Bomb to Abyss from a height of approximately . Later that night, Hardy competed in a ten-man battle royal for the number one contendership to the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, which Rhino also won. At Genesis in November, Hardy lost to Monty Brown in another number one contender match.

Hardy was scheduled to wrestle on the pre-show of Turning Point in December 2005, but once again no-showed the event, again citing traveling problems. Hardy was suspended as a result and did not appear on TNA television again. In March, April, and May 2006, Hardy appeared on several live events promoted by TNA in conjunction with Dave Hebner and the United Wrestling Federation.

Return to World Wrestling Entertainment

Raw (2006)

On August 4, 2006, WWE announced that Hardy had re-signed with the company. In the following weeks, vignettes aired hyping his return on the August 21 episode of ''Raw''. On the day of his return, Hardy received a push and defeated then-WWE Champion Edge by disqualification when Lita pulled Edge out of the ring. After failing to capture the Intercontinental Championship from Johnny Nitro over the next few weeks, including at Unforgiven, Hardy finally defeated Nitro to win his second Intercontinental Championship on the October 2 episode of ''Raw''. On the November 6 episode of ''Raw'', Hardy lost the Intercontinental Championship back to Nitro, after Nitro hit him with the Intercontinental Championship title belt. One week later, Hardy regained it on the November 13 episode of ''Raw'', with a crucifix pin. This marked Hardy's third reign as Intercontinental Champion.

The Hardys reunion (2006–2007)

On the November 21 episode of ''ECW on Sci Fi'' Hardy teamed with his brother, Matt, for the first time in almost five years to defeat the Full Blooded Italians. At Survivor Series, they both were a part of Team D-Generation X, which gained the victory over Team Rated-RKO with a clean sweep. The brothers then received their first opportunity since Hardy's return to win a tag team championship at Armageddon. They competed in a four-team ladder match for the WWE Tag Team Championship, but they came up short in their attempt. In the course of the match, however, they inadvertently legitimately injured Joey Mercury's face.

With Hardy still feuding with Johnny Nitro and the other members of MNM into 2007, he was challenged once again by Nitro at New Year's Revolution in a steel cage match for the Intercontinental Championship. Hardy once again defeated Nitro. Hardy then teamed with Matt to defeat MNM at both the Royal Rumble and No Way Out pay-per-views. The next night on ''Raw'', February 19, Hardy was defeated for the Intercontinental Championship by Umaga. In April 2007, Hardy competed in the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania 23. During the match, Matt threw Edge onto a ladder and encouraged Hardy, who was close to the winning briefcase, to finish him off. Hardy then leaped off the ladder, drove Edge through the ladder with a leg drop, seemingly injuring both Edge and himself. The two were unable to continue the match and were removed from ringside on stretchers.

The next night on ''Raw'', April 2, the Hardys competed in a 10-team battle royal for the World Tag Team Championship. They won the titles after eliminating Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch. They then began a feud with Cade and Murdoch, with the Hardys retaining the Championship in their first title defense against them at Backlash and again at Judgment Day. The Hardys, however, dropped the titles to Cade and Murdoch on June 4 on ''Raw''. The Hardys earned a rematch at Vengeance: Night of Champions but were defeated.

Main event status (2007–2009)

In the midst of feuding with Umaga, who defeated Hardy at The Great American Bash to retain the Intercontinental Championship in late July, Hardy was abruptly taken off WWE programming. He posted on his own website and in the forums of TheHardyShow.com that it was time off to heal, stemming from a bad fall taken in a match against Mr. Kennedy on the July 23 episode of ''Raw''. He made his return on the August 27 episode of ''Raw'' beating Kennedy by disqualification after Umaga interfered. The following week, on September 3, Hardy successfully captured his fourth Intercontinental Championship by defeating Umaga for the title.

This was the start of a push for Hardy, and at Survivor Series, Hardy and Triple H were the last two standing to win the traditional elimination match. Hardy began an on and off tag team with Triple H, which eventually led to a respectful feud between the two. The scripted rivalry continued at Armageddon, when Hardy defeated Triple H to become the number one contender for the WWE Championship. In the weeks leading up to the Royal Rumble, Hardy and Randy Orton engaged in a personal feud, which began when Orton kicked Hardy's brother, Matt, in the head in the storyline. Hardy, in retaliation, performed a Swanton Bomb on Orton from the top of the Raw set and seemed to have all the momentum after coming out on top in their encounters. Hardy, however, lost the title match at the Royal Rumble, but was named as one of six men to compete in an Elimination Chamber match at No Way Out, where he survived to the final two before being eliminated by the eventual winner, Triple H.

During the March 3 episode of ''Raw'', Hardy appeared on Chris Jericho's "Highlight Reel" segment as a special guest, but ended up attacking Jericho. This led to an Intercontinental title match on the following ''Raw'' where Hardy dropped the title to Jericho. Off-screen, Hardy dropped the title after he was suspended for sixty days, as of March 11, for his second violation of the company's Substance Abuse and Drug Testing Policy. Hardy was also removed from the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania XXIV after the suspension was announced. Hardy returned on the May 12 episode of ''Raw'', defeating Umaga. This reignited the rivalry between the two, and they met in a Falls Count Anywhere match at One Night Stand, which Hardy won.

On June 23, 2008, Hardy was drafted from the Raw brand to the SmackDown brand, as a part of the 2008 WWE Draft. Hardy made his ''SmackDown'' debut on the July 4 episode, defeating John Morrison. Hardy participated in the WWE Championship Scramble match at Unforgiven and also challenged for the Championship at No Mercy and Cyber Sunday, but failed to win each time. He was originally scheduled to be in the WWE Championship match at Survivor Series, but, in storyline, was found unconscious in his hotel, allowing the returning Edge to replace him in the match and win the title. At Armageddon in December 2008, Hardy defeated the defending champion Edge and Triple H in a triple threat match to capture the WWE Championship, his first world heavyweight championship.

In January 2009, Hardy's next storyline led to his involvement in scripted accidents, including a hit-and-run automobile accident and an accident involving his ring entrance pyrotechnics. At the 2009 Royal Rumble, Hardy lost his WWE Championship to Edge after Hardy's brother, Matt, interfered on Edge's behalf and hit Hardy with a steel chair. The buildup to this feud involved Matt implying that he was responsible for all of Hardy's accidents over the past few months, and at WrestleMania XXV, Hardy was defeated by Matt in an Extreme Rules match. In a rematch at Backlash, however, Hardy defeated Matt in an "I Quit" match.

At Extreme Rules, Hardy defeated Edge to win the World Heavyweight Championship in a ladder match. Immediately after the match, however, CM Punk cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase, which gave him a guaranteed world championship match at any time he wanted, and defeated Hardy to win the championship. Hardy received his rematch at The Bash, and won the match via disqualification, with Punk still retaining the title. At Night of Champions, however, Hardy won the championship for the second time, by defeating Punk. At the SummerSlam pay-per-view in August, Hardy lost the title back to Punk in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match. On the August 28 episode of ''SmackDown'', Punk defeated Hardy in a steel cage rematch for the World Heavyweight Championship, resulting in Hardy being forced to leave WWE, in storyline, per the pre-match stipulation. This storyline was put in place to allow Hardy to leave WWE to heal his injuries, including a neck injury. Hardy also had two herniated discs in his lower back and was suffering from Restless legs syndrome.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling return

Early storylines (2010)

On TNA's first live Monday edition of ''Impact!'' on January 4, 2010, Hardy made his return to TNA, along with Shannon Moore. He was attacked by Homicide after emerging from the crowd, but hit Homicide with a steel chair and performed the Twist of Fate on the Impact! Zone ramp. He later appeared in backstage segments throughout the evening. The following day, it was reported that Hardy had signed a new contract with TNA. Hardy would make his next appearance for the company on the March 8 episode of ''Impact!'', saving D'Angelo Dinero, Abyss and Hulk Hogan from A.J. Styles, Ric Flair and Desmond Wolfe. The following week Hardy defeated the TNA World Heavyweight Champion A.J. Styles in a non-title match. On the April 5 episode of ''Impact!'' Hardy was introduced as a member of Team Hogan for the annual Lethal Lockdown match, where they would face Team Flair. At Lockdown Team Hogan (Hardy, Abyss, Jeff Jarrett and Rob Van Dam) defeated Team Flair (Sting, Desmond Wolfe, Robert Roode and James Storm). At Sacrifice Hardy defeated Mr. Anderson. After the event, Anderson turned face and eventually managed to convince the skeptical Hardy that he really had changed, after which the two went on to form a tag team. At Slammiversary VIII Hardy and Anderson, now known as Enigmatic Assholes, defeated Beer Money, Inc. (Robert Roode and James Storm) in a tag team match.

Immortal and World Heavyweight Champion (2010–2011)

On the August 19 episode of ''Impact!'' the TNA World Heavyweight Championship was vacated and Hardy was entered into an eight man tournament for the championship, defeating Rob Terry in his first round match. At the semifinals at No Surrender Hardy first wrestled Kurt Angle to a twenty minute time-limit draw, after which Eric Bischoff ordered a five minute period of extra time. After that and a second five minute extra time period also ended in draws, it was ruled that Angle was unable to continue and the match ended in a no contest. After wrestling a draw on the September 16 episode of ''Impact!'', it was announced that both Hardy and Angle would advance to the finals at Bound for Glory, where they would compete with Mr. Anderson in a three–way match.

At Bound for Glory, Hardy turned heel with Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff and with their help defeated Angle and Anderson to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship for the first time. They were then joined by Jeff Jarrett and Abyss, revealing the group that Abyss had been referring to as "they" for several months. On the following edition of ''Impact!'' the stable was named Immortal, as it formed an alliance with Ric Flair's Fortune. Meanwhile, Hardy debuted a new dark character, using cryptic messages as he explained the reasons behind his turn. At Turning Point Hardy retained his title in a defense against Matt Morgan, a replacement for Mr. Anderson, who was sidelined after suffering a concussion during an attack by Hardy. On the following episode of ''Impact!'' Hogan presented Hardy with a new design of the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, which he dubbed the TNA Immortal Championship. At Final Resolution in December, Hardy successfully defended the championship in a rematch against Morgan after incapacitating the special guest referee Mr. Anderson and having a replacement referee count the pinfall. On January 4, 2011, Hardy made his debut for New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) at ''Wrestle Kingdom V in Tokyo Dome'', where he successfully defended the TNA World Heavyweight Championship against Tetsuya Naitō.

On January 9 at Genesis, Hardy's brother, Matt, made his TNA debut as a surprise member of Immortal and defeated Rob Van Dam to prevent him from receiving a match at Hardy's championship. That same night Hardy gave Anderson a match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, immediately following Anderson's victory in a number one contender's match. Despite Matt, Flair, and Bischoff interfering in an attempt to help Hardy, Anderson defeated Hardy for the championship. On the January 13 episode of ''Impact!'' the Hardy Boyz reunited and defeated Anderson and Van Dam in a tag team match, following interference from Beer Money, Inc.. On the February 3 episode of ''Impact!'', Hardy received his rematch for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. The rest of Immortal interfered in the match, but were stopped by Fortune, which led to Anderson retaining the championship. On February 13 at Against All Odds Hardy defeated Anderson in a ladder match to regain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. Hardy held the championship for less than two weeks, defending it once against Rob Van Dam, before losing it to Sting on February 24, at the tapings of the March 3 edition of ''Impact!''. On March 13 at Victory Road, Hardy received a rematch for the title under No Disqualification rules, but was defeated in ninety seconds. TNA had made the decision to cut the match short after deeming that Hardy was in no condition to wrestle. The following day it was reported that TNA had sent Hardy home from the week's ''Impact!'' tapings. On the March 17 episode of ''Impact!'', Immortal severed their ties with Hardy.

Return (2011–present)

On August 23, 2011, TNA announced that Hardy would be making his return to the promotion at the ''Impact Wrestling'' tapings on August 25 in Huntsville, Alabama. The return would take place only five days after Matt Hardy was released from his TNA contract. In his return, which was taped for the September 8 edition of ''Impact Wrestling'', Hardy spoke to the audience as a face, acknowledging that he had hit rock bottom at Victory Road in March, before asking the fans for "one more shot".

Other media

Hardy appeared on the February 7, 1999 episode of ''That '70s Show'' entitled "That Wrestling Show", along with Matt, as an uncredited wrestler. Hardy and Matt also appeared on ''Tough Enough'' in early 2001, talking to and wrestling the contestants. He appeared on the February 25, 2002 episode of ''Fear Factor'' competing against five other World Wrestling Federation wrestlers. He was eliminated in the first round. In September 2009, Hardy signed a deal with Fox 21 studios to appear in a reality television show.

In 2001, Hardy, Matt and Lita appeared in ''Rolling Stone'' magazine's 2001 Sports Hall of Fame issue. In 2003, Hardy and Matt, with the help of Michael Krugman, wrote and published their autobiography ''The Hardy Boyz: Exist 2 Inspire''.

As part of WWE, Hardy has appeared in several of their DVDs, including ''The Hardy Boyz: Leap of Faith'' (2001) and ''The Ladder Match'' (2007). He is also featured in the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling release ''Enigma: The Best of Jeff Hardy'' (2005) and ''Pro Wrestling's Ultimate Insiders: Hardy Boys – From the Backyard to the Big Time'' (2005). On April 29, 2008, WWE released ''"Twist of Fate: The Matt and Jeff Hardy Story"''. The DVD features footage of the brothers in OMEGA and WWE, and also briefly mentions Hardy's first run with TNA. In December 2009, WWE released a DVD about Hardy entitled ''Jeff Hardy: My Life, My Rules''.

Artistic pursuits

Hardy has an eclectic set of interests outside of wrestling. He calls his artistic side "The Imag-I-Nation". At one stage, Hardy constructed a statue of an "aluminummy" named "Neroameee" out of tin foil outside of his recording studio (a spray painted trailer). On another occasion, he created an artificial volcano in his front yard, which he then jumped over on his motocross dirtbike. On another occasion Hardy created a large sculpture of his brother Matt's hand signal "V1", which was seen on "The Hardy Show", an Internet web show which features both the Hardys, Shannon Moore and many of their friends. Hardy is also an artist and poet.

Hardy taught himself how to play guitar and later bought a drum kit. In 2003, Hardy formed a band, Peroxwhy?gen, with members of the band Burnside 6, and Moore, who later left. He also converted a trailer into a recording studio. The band recorded two songs; One song was "September Day", a song Jeff wrote in reaction to the September 11, 2001 attacks. Rumors arose that Peroxwhy?gen split up in 2004 shortly after recording the second song, "Modest", which Hardy later used as his entrance music in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. On the official Peroxwhy?gen MySpace, however, the rumors were denounced. Currently, Peroxwhy?gen only has two members, Hardy and JR Merrill.

Personal life

He has a tattoo of roots that starts on his head, behind his ear, and finishes at his hand. He also has a few other signature designed tattoos, one of which, a dragon, he hid from his father. It was also the first tattoo he got in 1998. He later got tattoos of the Chinese symbols for "Peace" and "Health", as well as tattoos of fire and a wave. Hardy regards his tattoos as his "artistic impulses". Hardy is very good friends with Shannon Moore, who he has known since around 1987. He is also good friends with Marty Garner and Jason Arhndt. He regards Vanilla Ice as a big influence on him, and he was even nicknamed "Ice" by Scott Hall.

Hardy met his girlfriend Beth Britt in 1999, shortly after the Hardy Boyz had won the WWF Tag Team Championship for the first time. Hardy and his brother Matt went to a club in Southern Pines, North Carolina, where Hardy met her. On March 15, 2008, it was reported that Hardy's house had burned to the ground in a fire. Hardy and his girlfriend were not home at the time, but his dog, Jack, was killed in the fire. It is believed that the fire was started by faulty electrical wiring. In October 2008, Hardy was building a new home in the same area, which was expected to be completed by early 2009. In August 2010, Hardy announced that Britt was pregnant with the couple's first child, a daughter, who was born on October 28. Hardy married Britt on March 9, 2011.

On September 17, 2008, Hardy was involved in an incident at the Nashville International Airport's Southwest gate. A Southwest Airline employee reported that Hardy appeared to be intoxicated and therefore, he was not allowed to board the flight. He was not, however, arrested as he was said to be "calm" and "co-operative", and he made other arrangements to get home.

On September 11, 2009 Hardy was arrested on charges of trafficking in controlled prescription pills and possession of anabolic steroids, after a search of his house yielded 262 Vicodin prescription pills, 180 soma prescription pills, 555 milliliters of anabolic steroids, a residual amount of powder cocaine, and drug paraphernalia. Over a year later, the district attorney announced that Hardy would likely plead guilty to the charges, though the court hearing is still pending.

In wrestling

Finishing moves

*450° splash - WWE; 1999-2001

''Reverse of Fate'' (Inverted facelock neckbreaker slam)

''Spine Line'' (Armlock cloverleaf) – OMEGA; used as a regular move in TNA

''Swanton Bomb'' / ''The Swanton'' (High-angle senton bomb)

''Twist of Hate'' (TNA; 2010–2011) / ''Twist of Fate'' (180° facelock cutter)

Signature moves

Baseball slide

Diving clothesline from off a barricade

Double leg drop to an opponent's midsection

''Hardyac Arrest'' (Rope-aided corner dropkick)

Mule kick

Plancha

Positioned at the top rope or on another ladder, Hardy performs a diving leg drop after leapfrogging over a ladder

Sitout inverted suplex slam

Sitout jawbreaker

''Whisper in the Wind'' (Turnbuckle climb into a rebounded corkscrew senton to a standing opponent)

Managers

Gangrel

Michael Hayes

Lita

*Trish Stratus

Terri

Nicknames

"The Charismatic Enigma" (TNA / WWE)

"The Legend Thriller" (WWE)

"The Rainbow–Haired Warrior" (WWE)

"The anti-Christ of professional wrestling" (TNA)

Entrance themes

"Loaded" by Zack Tempest (WWF / WWE; 1999–2003, 2006–2008)

"Tourniquet" by Marilyn Manson (ROH; 2003)

"Modest" by Peroxwhy?gen (TNA; 2004–2006, 2010)

"No More Words" by EndeverafteR (WWE; 2008–2009)

"Another Me" by Jeff Hardy and Dale Oliver (TNA; 2010–present)

"Immortal Theme" by Dale Oliver

Championships and accomplishments

National Championship Wrestling

NCW Light Heavyweight Championship (2 times)

New Dimension Wrestling

NDW Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

NDW Tag Team Championship (1 time)¹ – with Matt Hardy

New Frontier Wrestling Association

NFWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

North East Wrestling

NEW Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

NWA 2000

NWA 2000 Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Matt Hardy

Organization of Modern Extreme Grappling Arts

OMEGA New Frontiers Championship (1 time)

OMEGA Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Matt Hardy

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

PWI Comeback of the Year (2007)

PWI Match of the Year (2000) with Matt Hardy vs. The Dudley Boyz and Edge and Christian in a Triangle Ladder match at WrestleMania 2000

PWI Match of the Year (2001) with Matt Hardy vs. The Dudley Boyz and Edge and Christian in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match at WrestleMania X-Seven

PWI Most Popular Wrestler of the Year (2008, 2009)

PWI Tag Team of the Year (2000) with Matt Hardy

PWI ranked him #13 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2009

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

TNA World Heavyweight Championship (2 times)

Universal Wrestling Association

UWA World Middleweight Championship (1 time)

World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment

World Heavyweight Championship (2 times)

WWE Championship (1 time)

WWE European Championship (1 time)

WWF Hardcore Championship (3 times)

WCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Matt Hardy

WWF/E Intercontinental Championship (4 times)

WWF Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

WWF/E World Tag Team Championship (6 times) – with Matt Hardy

Terri Invitational Tournament – with Matt Hardy

*Ninth Grand Slam Champion

*Eighteenth Triple Crown Champion

Slammy Award for Extreme Moment of the Year (2008) Swanton Bomb to Randy Orton from the top of the Raw set (Raw, January 14)

*Slammy Award for Extreme Moment of the Year (2009) Jumping from ladder onto CM Punk at SummerSlam

Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Best Flying Wrestler (2000)

*Feud of the Year (2009) vs. CM Punk

Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic (2008) Hardy attacked in stairwell before Survivor Series

¹The titles have been vacant since 1999 due to the Hardy Boys signing contracts with the WWF and have been declared inactive until they defend the titles again.

Notes

References

External links

TNA Wrestling profile

Professional wrestling record for Jeff Hardy from The Internet Wrestling Database

The Hardy Show

Slam! Sports bio and story archive

Online World of Wrestling profile

Category:1977 births Category:American musicians Category:American poets Category:American professional wrestlers Category:American sculptors Category:Artists from North Carolina Category:Living people Category:People from Raleigh, North Carolina

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Coordinates	52°23′″N20°44′″N
Name	Eddie Guerrero
Names	Black Tiger IIEddie GuerreroEddy GuerreroEl CalienteGory Guerrero, Jr.Máscara Mágica
Height
Weight
Birth date	October 09, 1967
Birth place	El Paso, Texas
Death date	November 13, 2005
Death place	Minneapolis, Minnesota
Resides	El Paso, Texas
Billed	El Paso, Texas
Debut	September 18, 1987
Website	}}

Eduardo Gory "Eddie" Guerrero (October 9, 1967 – November 13, 2005) was a Mexican-American professional wrestler born into the Guerrero wrestling family. He wrestled in Mexico and Japan for several major professional wrestling promotions. In the United States, Guerrero wrestled in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and in World Wrestling Entertainment (then WWF, later renamed to WWE). Guerrero's gimmick was that of "Latino Heat", a crafty, resourceful wrestler who would do anything to win a match. His catchphrase became "I Lie! I Cheat! I Steal!," which was used in one of his entrance themes. Guerrero partly used this phrase in his autobiography ''Cheating Death, Stealing Life''.

Despite being a villain for most of his career, he got over in and outside the ring. Throughout his career, Guerrero encountered various substance abuse problems outside of wrestling, including alcoholism and an addiction to painkillers. His real-life problems were sometimes integrated into his storylines. Notwithstanding these issues, Guerrero won twenty-three titles during his career, including the WWE Grand Slam Championship.

Early life

Eddie Guerrero became a wrestler, while his uncle Enrique Llanes (Yañez) and cousin Javier Llanes (Yañez) wrestled in Mexico. As a boy, Eddie Guerrero's father allowed him and Chavo Jr. to wrestle one another during intermissions in the wrestling promotions that Gory held. Gory ran wrestling promotions for nearly 15 years in the El Paso Coliseum.

Eddie Guerrero was born and raised in El Paso, Texas where he graduated from Jefferson High School and attended the University of New Mexico as well as New Mexico Highlands University on an athletic scholarship where he wrestled collegiately before returning to El Paso to train as a professional wrestler,which he loved.

Professional wrestling career

Early years (1987–1992)

From 1987 until 1992 Eddie Guerrero wrestled in Empresa Mexicana de la Lucha Libre (EMLL) (now Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), World Wrestling Association (WWA) in Mexico and World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in the United States.

Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (1992–1994)

In Mexico, he wrestled mainly for Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA), teaming with El Hijo del Santo as the new version of La Pareja Atómica (The Atomic Pair), the tag team of Gory Guerrero and El Santo.

After Guerrero turned on Santo and allied with Art Barr as La Pareja del Terror (The Pair of Terror), the duo became arguably the most hated tag team in lucha libre history. Along with Barr, Konnan, Chicano Power, and Madonna’s Boyfriend, Guerrero formed Los Gringos Locos (The Crazy Americans), a villainous stable. Guerrero later said that no matter how many people joined Los Gringos Locos, the stable was all about Art. Locos feuded mostly with El Hijo del Santo and his partner Octagón, eventually ending in a Hair vs. Mask match at the first lucha pay-per-view in America, ''When Worlds Collide'', which they lost.

Guerrero and Barr's first break would come when they were noticed in late 1994 by the owner of Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), Paul Heyman, and were approached about wrestling for him in 1995. Barr, however, died before he could join ECW with Guerrero.

New Japan Pro Wrestling (1993–1996)

In 1993, Guerrero began wrestling in Japan for New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), where he was known as the second incarnation of Black Tiger. He became more successful upon his return when he won the Best of the Super Juniors 1996 tournament of junior heavyweights. He received a shot at the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion The Great Sasuke at NJPW Skydiving J but lost the match.

Extreme Championship Wrestling (1995)

Guerrero won the ECW World Television Championship from 2 Cold Scorpio on his debut in ECW, and went on to have a series of acclaimed matches with Dean Malenko before they both signed with World Championship Wrestling later that year. Guerrero lost the ECW Television Championship to Malenko on July 21 of that year, but Guerrero regained the title on July 28. Guerrero lost the ECW Television Championship back to 2 Cold Scorpio on August 25. The next day, they had their last match which ended in a draw in a two out of three falls match at the ECW Arena. After the match, the locker room emptied and the two were carried around the ring by their fellow wrestlers while the crowd chanted "please don't go".

World Championship Wrestling (1995–2000)

Return (1995)

Guerrero returned to WCW in late 1995 along with Dean Malenko and Chris Benoit with whom he had worked with in NJPW and ECW. During his first few pay-per-view events, he competed in dark matches against Alex Wright. His first televised pay-per-view appearance was at World War 3 where he competed in the 3-ring, 60-man World War 3 battle royal for the vacant WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Guerrero was one of the final nine men in the battle royal until he was tossed out of the ring by Four Horsemen members. At Starrcade 1995, Guerrero represented WCW in a WCW vs. NJPW World Cup tournament. He lost to Shinjiro Otani in the match, but WCW went on to win the series.

United States and Cruiserweight Champion (1996–1997)

In 1996, Guerrero received several shots at the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship against Konnan at Uncensored and Ric Flair at Hog Wild. He feuded with Ric Flair and the Four Horsemen during 1996 after Guerrero's partner Arn Anderson turned on him during a tag team match against Ric Flair and Randy Savage. In late 1996, he feuded with Diamond Dallas Page (DDP) after defeating him in a match at Clash of the Champions XXXIII. He started feuding with DDP to steal his nickname of "Lord of the Ring" but lost. Guerrero participated in a tournament for the vacant WCW United States Heavyweight Championship and defeated DDP in the final round at Starrcade 1996 to win the United States title.

In 1997, Guerrero defended the United States Heavyweight Championship against Scott Norton at Clash of the Champions XXXIV, Syxx in a ladder match at Souled Out, and Chris Jericho at SuperBrawl VII. His reign came to an end at Uncensored when Dean Malenko defeated him for the title.

After losing the United States Championship, Guerrero feuded with Jericho focusing on Jericho's WCW World Cruiserweight Championship. He challenged Jericho for the title at Clash of the Champions XXXV but lost. Guerrero demanded a rematch for the title. In the opening match of Fall Brawl 1997, Guerrero defeated Jericho to win the WCW World Cruiserweight Championship. He dropped the Cruiserweight title to Rey Mysterio, Jr. at Halloween Havoc in a Title vs. Mask match where Mysterio's mask was also on the line. On the November 10 edition of ''WCW Monday Nitro'', he regained the Cruiserweight title back from Mysterio, and made a successful title defense against Mysterio at World War 3. After retaining the title against Dean Malenko in the opening bout of Starrcade 1997, Guerrero dropped the title to Último Dragón the following day on the December 29 episode of ''Nitro''.

Feuding with Chavo Guerrero (1998)

Guerrero feuded with Booker T. On the March 9, 1998 edition of ''Nitro'', Guerrero's nephew Chavo Guerrero lost to Booker in a match. After the match, Guerrero suplexed Chavo to teach him a lesson. On the March 12 edition of ''WCW Thunder'', he defeated his nephew Chavo in a match and forced him to become his "slave". At Uncensored, Chavo was forced to support Guerrero when he faced Booker T for Booker's WCW World Television Championship. Guerrero lost the match after receiving a missile dropkick. Guerrero and Chavo feuded with Último Dragón. Chavo lost to Dragón at Spring Stampede. At Slamboree, Guerrero defeated Dragón despite interference from Chavo. After the match, Chavo kissed Eddie and began to display insane behavior. At The Great American Bash, Chavo got an upset victory over Guerrero. They faced each other in a Hair vs. Hair match at Bash at the Beach which Guerrero won. Continuing to show his crazy behavior Chavo would shave his own head while Guerrero looked on in disbelief. Guerrero saved Chavo from beatings by Stevie Ray, seeming that he would align with Chavo but he wanted his release.

Latino World Order (1998)

Despite his success and popularity, Guerrero had been one of many wrestlers who were frustrated at never being given a chance to be main event stars in WCW. These frustrations came to a head when Guerrero requested that WCW President Eric Bischoff either push his character or give him a raise for family reasons. Bischoff responded by allegedly throwing coffee at Guerrero (however, in his autobiography, Guerrero states that Bischoff accidentally knocked his coffee off the table and that it was a complete accident that he was hit). Furious, Guerrero demanded Bischoff release him from his contract on a live episode of ''Nitro''. Guerrero then left the company for a period of months, angry at Bischoff for what he had done. Guerrero later returned to WCW, leading to the belief that maybe Guerrero's angry speeches against Bischoff were actually a work (Guerrero later confirmed it to be a worked shoot). Guerrero would later contradict himself on WWE's DVD ''Monday Night War'' claiming that he tried to put personal differences aside for the good of the company, yet found himself angry and outraged once more because of Bischoff's supposed continued refusal to elevate Guerrero and other similar wrestlers. He let Brian Adams pin him and get an upset victory in a match.

On-screen, Guerrero responded to Bischoff's actions by forming the ''Latino World Order'' (LWO), which was a take-off of Bischoff's New World Order. The group was an answer to Bischoff's "refusal" to push Latino wrestlers in ways they felt they deserved. The LWO was formed in October when Guerrero returned to WCW, with Héctor Garza and Damien. The group eventually grew to encompass almost all the Mexican wrestlers working for WCW at the time. They mainly feuded with Rey Misterio, Jr. and Billy Kidman because they wanted Misterio to join the group. He faced Kidman in a match for the WCW Cruiserweight Championship but Misterio interfered and helped Kidman win the match and keep the title. However, Guerrero was involved in a serious car accident on New Year's Day, 1999 that cut short the LWO storyline. Guerrero survived the accident and returned to wrestling in a matter of months.

Filthy Animals (1999)

After his return in the summer of 1999, Eddie was the founding member of the Filthy Animals stable with Rey Mysterio, Jr. and Konnan (later growing to include Juventud Guerrera, Billy Kidman, and Disco Inferno). They feuded with the Dead Pool (Insane Clown Posse and Vampiro). They received two straight victories over the Dead Pool at Road Wild and Fall Brawl. They next feuded with The Revolution (Shane Douglas, Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, and Perry Saturn). Guerrero was victorious over Saturn by disqualification in a singles match at Halloween Havoc. At Mayhem, the Animals lost to Revolution in a mixed tag team elimination match. When Vince Russo was fired as WCW booker and replaced by Kevin Sullivan, Guerrero asked for and received a release from his contract on January 19. He signed with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 2000 along with WCW stars Benoit, Malenko, and Saturn.

World Wrestling Federation (2000–2001)

The Radicalz (2000)

Guerrero and the other WCW wrestlers debuted in the WWF on the January 31, 2000 edition of ''Raw is War'' as The Radicalz, interfering in a match involving the New Age Outlaws. During his first match with the WWF, a tag team match with the Radicalz against the Outlaws, Guerrero performed a Frog Splash off the top rope and severely injured his elbow on the landing. As a result, he was sidelined for several weeks.

Latino Heat (2000)

In March 2000, Guerrero began pursuing the affections of Chyna, who he referred to as his "Mamacita". Chyna initially rejected his advances, but allied with him following WrestleMania 2000, declaring that she could not resist his "Latino Heat." Guerrero won his first WWF title on the April 3, 2000 edition of ''Raw is War'' by defeating Chris Jericho for the WWF European Championship with help from Chyna. After Chyna abandoned Lita to be attacked by the Dudley Boyz, he and Chyna began a feud with Essa Rios and Lita, ending in a European title defense at Backlash, which was also billed as the night of Guerrero's prom (he was said to have just earned a GED). Guerrero defeated Rios after arriving at ringside in a 1957 Chevrolet, even wrestling in his tuxedo pants and a bow tie. Guerrero successfully retained the title against former Radicalz friends Saturn and Malenko in a Triple Threat match at Judgment Day, before finally losing the title to Saturn at Fully Loaded.

Over the next few months, friction began to build between Guerrero and Chyna. Chyna was upset when Guerrero pinned her to advance in the King of the Ring tournament. At SummerSlam, Chyna won the WWF Intercontinental Championship in a mixed tag match. They had also inserted themselves in the drama between Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, and Kurt Angle. Guerrero claimed to not mind and then begged Commissioner Mick Foley to let him take part in a title defense between Chyna and Angle on the September 4 edition of ''Raw is War'', claiming he was afraid that Angle would injure Chyna. After Angle knocked Chyna down with the title belt, Guerrero "accidentally" pinned her to win his first Intercontinental Championship while trying to revive her. Chyna became visibly uncomfortable as Guerrero began to cheat in order to retain his title, while Guerrero was upset that Chyna was posing for ''Playboy'' magazine, even trying to invade the Playboy Mansion to stop the shooting. Just when it appeared that Chyna would leave Guerrero, he proposed to her and she accepted. At Unforgiven, Chyna helped Guerrero in retaining his title against Rikishi. The engagement was called off when Guerrero was caught showering with two of The Godfather's hos (one was Victoria) claiming that "Two Mamacitas are better than one!"

The Radicalz reunion (2000–2001)

Guerrero turned into a villain as a result of the incident. Then, the Radicalz reunited and feuded with the reformed D-Generation X (Chyna, Billy Gunn, Road Dogg, and K-Kwik). They defeated DX at Survivor Series in an elimination tag team match and assisted Triple H in his match with Stone Cold Steve Austin. Guerrero was later defeated by Gunn for the Intercontinental Championship, with help from Chyna. At Rebellion, Guerrero and Malenko lost to Gunn and Chyna. Benoit left the group to focus on a singles career while the rest of the Radicalz feuded with Lita and the Hardy Boyz (Matt and Jeff). At Armageddon, the Radicalz defeated the Hardyz and Lita in an elimination tag team match.

In early 2001, Guerrero feuded with Chris Jericho, Benoit, and X-Pac over Jericho's Intercontinental Championship. At No Way Out, the four men faced each other in a Fatal Four-Way match, which Jericho won. Guerrero focused on the European Championship, feuding with the champion Test defeating him at WrestleMania X-Seven to win his second European Championship with help from Saturn and Malenko. In April, Radicalz feuded with Test and his partners. Guerrero eventually left the Radicalz, siding with the Hardy Boyz and Lita. At this point, Guerrero developed an addiction to pain medication stemming from his 1999 car accident and in May 2001 was sent to rehab. To explain his absence, a storyline was created where Guerrero was "injured" by Prince Albert in a match. On November 9, 2001, he was arrested for drunk driving and was subsequently released by the WWF three days later.

Independent circuit (2001–2002)

Guerrero started wrestling on the independent circuit after his release from WWF. On February 23, he faced fellow Mexican Super Crazy on the debut show of Ring of Honor known as ''The Era of Honor Begins'' to crown the first-ever IWA Intercontinental Champion. Guerrero lost the match. On February 24, he debuted in the Australian promotion World Wrestling All-Stars (WWA) at The Revolution beating the champion Juventud Guerrera and Psicosis in a Triple Threat match for the WWA International Cruiserweight Championship. On March 1, he defeated the champion CM Punk and Rey Mysterio in a Triple Threat match for the IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Championship. He dropped the title back to Punk one day later on March 2. He vacated the WWA Cruiserweight title in April 2002 after returning to WWF.

Return To World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (2002–2005)

Return to Raw (2002)

Guerrero returned to WWF on the April 1, 2002 edition of ''Raw'', attacking Rob Van Dam. He feuded with Van Dam defeating him for his second WWF Intercontinental Championship at Backlash. After retaining the title against Van Dam at Insurrextion and Judgment Day, he finally lost the belt to Van Dam on the May 27 episode of ''Raw'' in a ladder match although a drunk fan jumped in the ring knocking down the ladder that Guerrero was climbing caused both Guerrero and Van Dam to think up some new moves to continue the match without any mistakes. Guerrero then feuded with Steve Austin, but Austin left WWE before a match could take place. Chris Benoit returned to WWE the night Guerrero lost the title and reunited with him. Guerrero and Benoit feuded with Ric Flair for a while and Guerrero even lost a match to Flair at King of the Ring. Guerrero lost a match to The Rock, challenging him for the WWE Undisputed Championship after The Rock sang a version of "La Bamba" with the words changed to insult Guerrero on the July 29 edition of ''Raw''.

Los Guerreros (2002–2003)

On August 1, 2002, Guerrero and Benoit began to wrestle exclusively for WWE's SmackDown! brand. Guerrero feuded with Edge, to whom he lost at SummerSlam. Eddie continued his feud with Edge, whom he defeated at Unforgiven; they then had a No Disqualification match two weeks after Unforgiven on ''SmackDown'' which Edge won thus ending the rivalry. With Benoit focusing on Kurt Angle, Guerrero aligned himself with his nephew Chavo, forming the tag team Los Guerreros. In contrast to a previous WCW storyline with his nephew, Chavo fully agreed with his uncle as their slogan stated "We lie, we cheat, and we steal, but at least we're honest about it." In order to push the new tag team, vignettes were produced, which included things such as the two finagling their way into a rich lady's house and throwing a pool party.

The duo entered the eight-team tournament for the new WWE Tag Team Championship, sneaking past Rikishi and Mark Henry in the opening round, before starting a feud with the newly formed tag team of Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit. In one of the team's definitive moments, Chavo told Benoit that his former friend Guerrero was assaulted by his tag team partner Angle. Benoit ran to make the save, only to have himself locked inside a room. Guerrero then appeared in the room and assaulted Benoit with a steel chair. Benoit and Angle managed to overcome their differences and eventually defeated Los Guerreros in the tournament semi-finals. Later on, Benoit and Angle won the title. Benoit and Angle then fought for a trophy for being the first WWE Tag Team Champion. Much to Benoit's surprise, Los Guerreros helped him win the match.

At Survivor Series, Los Guerreros faced the new champions Edge and Rey Mysterio and the team of Angle and Benoit for the title. Eddie made Mysterio submit to The Lasso From El Paso to win their first WWE Tag Team Championship. They were defeated by Team Angle (Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin) on the February 6, 2003 edition of ''SmackDown!''. Los Guerreros and Team Angle began feuding with each other. Los Guerreros participated at WrestleMania XIX as contenders for the Tag Team Title, along with the team of Benoit and Rhyno. Both teams lost to Haas and Benjamin in a Triple Threat match. At Backlash, Los Guerreros lost to Team Angle in a rematch.

Teaming with Tajiri (2003)

Five days prior to Judgment Day, Chavo tore his biceps, forcing Eddie to look for another partner. He chose Tajiri. They won the WWE Tag Team Championship, Guerrero's second and Tajiri's first at Judgment Day by defeating Team Angle in a ladder match. The following week, Guerrero and Tajiri managed to retain their title by cheating. In addition, they also defeated Roddy Piper and his protegè Sean O'Haire in Madison Square Garden. After Guerrero and Tajiri lost the titles to Team Angle on the July 3 edition of ''SmackDown!'', Guerrero turned on Tajiri, slamming his partner through the windshield of his low-rider truck.

United States Champion (2003–2004)

In July 2003, Guerrero competed in a tournament for the United States Championship. He managed to advance to the final round, defeating Último Dragón and Billy Gunn in the process, where he would meet Chris Benoit. At Vengeance, Guerrero turned to his cheating tactics, hitting Benoit with the belt at one point in the match. Guerrero tried to get Benoit in trouble by placing the title belt on top of the unconscious Benoit. It did not work, however, since he knocked out the referee earlier with a belt shot to the kidneys. The match ended with interference and a Gore from Rhyno, Benoit's own partner, who was furious at the team's failure. Guerrero himself said that this was a major point in the character of Latino Heat, since he himself realized that the fans wanted to see him lie, cheat, and steal. Guerrero pinned Benoit and won the WWE United States Championship.

At SummerSlam, Guerrero retained his title by defeating Rhyno, Benoit, and Tajiri in a Fatal Four-Way match. He turned face again by engaging in a rivalry with John Cena. On the September 11 edition of ''SmackDown!'', Guerrero challenged Cena to a "Latino Heat" Parking Lot Brawl match for the United States Championship, which Guerrero won with help from his returning nephew, Chavo. The next week, Los Guerreros defeated The World's Greatest Tag Team (previously Team Angle) to win the WWE Tag Team Championship, making Eddie a double champion.

Guerrero engaged in a feud with The Big Show, which involved Guerrero giving the Big Show some laxative laced burritos and then later spraying the Big Show from a sewage truck. The feud ended when Guerrero dropped the United States title to Big Show at No Mercy. Four days later, Los Guerreros lost the Tag Team Championship to The Basham Brothers (Doug and Danny). They began feuding with The Basham Brothers, but failed to regain the titles at Survivor Series. As Los Guerreros attempted to regain the tag team title, things began to go downhill between Chavo and Guerrero and animosity began to build. Chavo then attacked and turned on Eddie after he suffered a beating from The Bashams. Guerrero feuded with Chavo and defeated him at the Royal Rumble to settle their feud.

WWE Champion (2004)

When Chris Benoit defected to ''Raw'' after winning the Royal Rumble, using his title shot to go for Triple H's World Heavyweight Championship, Eddie won a 15-man Royal Rumble style match on the January 29, 2004 edition of ''SmackDown!'' to earn a shot at the WWE Championship. After becoming the number one contender, Guerrero elevated himself to main event status and began feuding with the WWE World Champion Brock Lesnar. At No Way Out, Guerrero defeated Lesnar in the main event to win the WWE Championship. His next feud was with Kurt Angle, whom he defeated at WrestleMania XX to retain his title in his first big defense. At the end of this event, Guerrero celebrated in the ring with longtime friend Chris Benoit, who had just won the World Heavyweight Championship.

In March, he started a feud with fellow Texan John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) after JBL interrupted Eddie's match with Booker T. At Judgment Day, Guerrero defended his WWE title against JBL and retained the title after getting himself disqualified because JBL had kayfabe given his mother a heart attack. At The Great American Bash, Guerrero defended the title against JBL in a Texas Bullrope match. JBL won after Angle (who was General Manager of ''SmackDown!'' at the time) reversed the decision after Guerrero appeared to have retained the title. On the July 8 edition of ''SmackDown!'', Guerrero pulled a switcharoo with Shannon Moore, who was wrestling as "El Gran Luchadore" and wore the costume. The next week on ''SmackDown!'', Guerrero faced JBL in a steel cage match for the WWE title where El Gran Luchadore appeared again and cost Guerrero the match; he later revealed himself as Kurt Angle. Guerrero continued his feud with Angle again.

At SummerSlam, Guerrero lost to Angle after submitting to his ankle lock. Guerrero then allied himself with the Big Show. Each week Angle and his new allies Luther Reigns and Mark Jindrak began targeting Guerrero and Big Show. Guerrero defeated Reigns in a singles match at No Mercy. General Manager Theodore Long booked a Survivor Series Elimination match between a team led by Guerrero and a team led by Angle. Guerrero's team consisted of himself, Big Show, John Cena (replacing the originally chosen Rey Mysterio), and Rob Van Dam. At Survivor Series, Guerrero's team defeated Angle's team. Guerrero, along with Booker T and The Undertaker, then challenged JBL for a WWE Championship rematch. Along the way, Guerrero found a partner in Booker T. At Armageddon, Guerrero and Booker's initial teamwork broke away, and the match ended with JBL pinning Booker following the Clothesline From Hell. Afterwards, Guerrero and Booker briefly and unsuccessfully attempted to win the Tag Team Championship.

Teaming and feuding with Rey Mysterio (2005)

At No Way Out, Eddie teamed up with longtime friend and sometimes rival, Rey Mysterio and defeated The Basham Brothers to win his final title, the WWE Tag Team Championship for a fourth time, with it being Mysterio's third reign. Many expected the new champions to defend their title at WrestleMania 21, but after encouragement from Chavo, Guerrero challenged Mysterio to a one-on-one match instead so they could "bring the house down." The two wrestled a match at WrestleMania with Mysterio getting the win. Although visibly frustrated, Guerrero congratulated his partner. After several mishaps in the weeks following WrestleMania, the growing tension between Guerrero and Mysterio finally erupted when they lost their tag team championship to the new team MNM (Johnny Nitro and Joey Mercury) on the April 21 edition of ''SmackDown!''. Although the next week they received a rematch to regain the title, Guerrero turned heel once again by abandoning his partner, whom he had considered "his family" earlier in the show.

At the end of one episode of ''SmackDown!'', he attacked his former tag team partner, Mysterio, leaving him bruised and bloody after suplexing him onto a set of steel steps. Guerrero, having turned heel, then adopted a new, somewhat sociopathic gimmick. During this time, he also stopped driving his low-riders down the ring and walked to the ring with a frown on his face, and reverted to using the Lasso from El Paso as his finishing move. At Judgment Day, Guerrero lost to Mysterio by disqualification after hitting Mysterio with a chair.

On the June 30 edition of ''SmackDown!'', Guerrero threatened to reveal a secret about Mysterio and his son Dominick. The storyline grew to involve the families of both men, with both sides pleading for Guerrero not to reveal the secret. Mysterio defeated Guerrero again at The Great American Bash, a match with a stipulation that if Guerrero lost, he would not tell the secret. Yet Guerrero revealed the secret anyway on the following episode of ''SmackDown!'' - telling Dominick and the audience that Guerrero was his real father. In the following weeks, Guerrero revealed the details of the secret in a series of what he called "Eddie's Bedtime Stories." During that time he now had a dark comical gimmick. He claimed that he had a child out of wedlock (Dominick) while his marriage was going through hard times. He claimed he then allowed Mysterio and his wife, who were "having trouble conceiving", to adopt the child as their own. At SummerSlam, Guerrero lost a ladder match over Dominick's custody to Mysterio. Their feud ended when Guerrero gained a victory over Mysterio in a steel cage match(even with commentator Matt Striker commenting "the monkey is off your back now I guess").

His last days (2005)

Following his feud with Rey Mysterio, Guerrero was named number one contender to the World Heavyweight Championship and given a title match with Batista. Despite this, Guerrero quickly proclaimed himself to be Batista's friend. Batista was well aware of Guerrero's sneaky reputation, and despite eventually accepting his friendship (initially to keep an eye on him), Batista would continually play mind games with Guerrero to expose his true intentions. A series of matches with MNM only supported Batista's suspicions that Guerrero was up to no good, as Guerrero appeared to have reverted to his cheating ways. In response to Batista's suspicions, Guerrero helped Batista win a match against his tag team partners, John "Bradshaw" Layfield and Christian. Batista defeated Guerrero at No Mercy to retain the World Heavyweight Championship in what would be Guerrero's last pay-per-view match. During the match, Guerrero struggled with a decision about whether or not to use a steel chair to secure the victory, eventually opting not to use it and losing as a result. Though the two demonstrated mutual respect after the match, Guerrero seemed displeased by the loss. Guerrero told Batista that he realized how low he had sunk since losing the WWE Championship in 2004, having attacked his best friend Rey Mysterio. Guerrero told Batista that shaking his hand at No Mercy had returned his respect to him. This turned Guerrero face again.

Guerrero wrestled his final match on the November 11 edition of ''SmackDown!'', defeating Mr. Kennedy to qualify for a place on the ''SmackDown!'' team at the Survivor Series Randy Orton was named as the official replacement for Guerrero on the team. It was also noted that for the November 18, 2005 edition of Smackdown being pretaped, a triple threat match between World Heavyweight Champion Batista, Randy Orton, and Guerrero for the title was to take place.

Other media

On March 13, 2004 (before WrestleMania XX), Guerrero (WWE Champion), along with The Big Show (United States Champion), Trish Stratus and Chris Jericho, made their guest appearances on ''MADtv'' as they "beat up" Jay Leno (Frank Caliendo) while Tonight Show Band leader Kevin Eubanks (Aries Spears) watched.

There have also been several DVDs and books released about his life and career, including ''Cheating Death, Stealing Life — The Eddie Guerrero Story'' (DVD, 2004), ''Cheating Death, Stealing Life — The Eddie Guerrero Story '' (book, 2005), and ''Viva La Raza: The Legacy of Eddie Guerrero'' (DVD 2008). In addition, the song "We Lie, We Cheat, We Steal" that he performed with Chavo was released on the ''WWE Originals'' CD.

Guerrero's catch phrase during the later part of his wrestling career with WWE was "Viva La Raza" (which is Spanish for "Long Live the Race"). In the mid parts of his wrestling career Guerrero took the title of "Latino Heat", which was also his theme song in the early 2000s

Personal life

Guerrero is survived by his widow Vickie Guerrero. The two married on April 24, 1990 and had two daughters: Shaul Marie Guerrero (born October 14, 1990) and Sherilyn Amber Guerrero (born July 8, 1995).

Guerrero also has another daughter; Kaylie Marie Guerrero (born 2002) with a woman named Tara Mahoney. He was separated from Vickie at the time, however Eddie had split from Tara before Kaylie was born. He reconciled with Vickie soon afterward, and they renewed their wedding vows.

Guerrero was also a born-again Christian.

Death

On November 13, 2005, Guerrero was found unconscious in his hotel room (The Marriott City Center) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, by his nephew, Chavo. Chavo attempted CPR, but Eddie Guerrero was pronounced dead when paramedics arrived on the scene. He was 38 years old. An autopsy revealed that Guerrero died as a result of acute heart failure due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Guerrero's wife Vickie Guerrero claimed that he had been unwell in the week preceding his death. On the November 30 edition of ''WWE Byte This!'', Chavo said that Guerrero had been working hard and was at peak physical fitness as a result, doing cardiovascular and weight training exercises every day.

The episodes of ''Raw'' on November 14, 2005 and ''SmackDown!'' on November 18, 2005 each aired as tributes to Guerrero. No WWE employees were forced to perform, although several matches took place, including one featuring Chavo, who finished the match with his uncle's frog splash. ''Raw'' started off with all the superstars and several personnel on stage, as Vince McMahon addressed the live crowd before finishing with a ten-bell salute. In addition to the ''Raw'' and ''SmackDown'' tribute shows, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling dedicated the pay-per-view TNA Genesis (which aired the evening of his death) to Guerrero. while Ring of Honor named their next show "Night of Tribute." Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), WWE's former developmental territory, also paid tribute to Guerrero on their television taping following his death. Many of the wrestlers there wore arm bands with "E.G." on them. Eventually, other wrestlers, primarily his nephew Chavo and friends Mysterio and Christian, paid tribute to him in their matches by using the Frog Splash, Eddie's finisher. Combat Zone Wrestling also Guerrero with a ten-bell salute during one of their cards.

Hall of Fame and other mentions

Guerrero was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on April 1, 2006 by Rey Mysterio, his nephew Chavo Guerrero, and Chris Benoit in Chicago, Illinois on the night before WrestleMania 22. His widow, Vickie Guerrero, accepted the honor. The next night at Wrestlemania, Rey Mysterio won the World Heavyweight Championship, and dedicated the victory and the title to Guerrero.

There have been several tributes made to honor Guerrero since his induction into the Hall of Fame, including a video package that featured not only his time on SmackDown!, but expanded to his life outside the ring, that aired on the ''Decade of SmackDown!'' special on October 2, 2009; a special titantron feature of WWE Hall of Famers who had competed in the Royal Rumble, which aired before the 2011 event, included Guerrero; and a place on the WWE Top 50 Superstars of All Time DVD, as voted by fellow superstars, who placed him 11th.

Guerrero has also been featured in the game ''WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006'', which was completed during mid-2005 and Eddie provides his own voice. The game attracted some minor controversy due to an in-game story where Eddie is placed into a coffin by The Undertaker, particularly the fact that life imitated art in this sensitive instance. The coincidence was more resounding in the United Kingdom, where the game was released during the week of Guerrero's death. He also appeared as a legend in the games WWE SmackDown vs Raw 2007, WWE SmackDown vs Raw 2008 (PSP only) and WWE '12 and is included on the WWE Legends roster in the THQ video game "WWE All Stars."

Guerrero's family members within the business have also made numerous references to Eddie, ranging from simple guestures and anecdotes to the adaptation of his signature moves and mannerisms in the ring. When his brother Hector signed with TNA, Hector looked up to the sky and mentioned how his father and brother have inspired him and he thanked them. At WrestleMania XXVI Vickie Guerrero competed in a 10-Diva Tag Match, in which her team was victorious after she climbed the turnbuckle, pointed to the sky and connected with a "Frog splash." And on the November 15, 2010 "Old School" edition of WWE Raw, WWE Legend and Eddie's older brother Chavo Guerrero, Sr. (aka Chavo Classic) gestured to the sky and shouted "Eddie!" as he was introduced.

During the 2011 Royal Rumble match itself. Eddie's nephew Chavo Guerrero paid tribute to him by the doing one of Eddie's signature moves "The Three Amigos" (triple vertical suplex), and followed up by pointing to the sky and doing the dance Eddie used to do.

''Sports Illustrated'' steroid investigation

On March 19, 2007, ''Sports Illustrated'' posted on its website an article in its continuing series investigating a steroid and HGH ring used by a number of professional athletes in several sports. This article mentioned several current and former WWE wrestlers, including Guerrero, who was alleged to have obtained hCG and the steroid stanozolol in early 2005. At the time of the alleged steroid usage, the WWE had not yet instituted its Wellness Policy in which wrestlers are tested for substances, which was stated by WWE.com on the day the article was released.

In wrestling

As Eddie Guerrero

*Finishing moves

**"The Three Amigos" (Triple rolling Verticals)

*Frog splash (WCW / WWF/E) / ''Jackknife Splash'' (WCW) – adopted from and used as a tribute to Art Barr

*''Lasso From El Paso'' (Elevated cloverleaf with a knee to the back)

*Signature moves

*Brainbuster

*Dropkick, sometimes to the opponent's knee or from the top rope

*Figure four leglock

*Gory special – adopted from his father

*''Hilo'' (Slingshot somersault senton)

*Hurricanrana, sometimes to an oncoming opponent, while springboarding or from the top rope

*Monkey flip to cornered opponent

**Multiple suplex variations

**German

**Super

**Vertical

*Plancha

*''Splash Mountain'' (Sitout crucifix powerbomb)

*Tilt-a-whirl backbreaker

*Tornado DDT

As Black Tiger

*Finishing moves

*''Black Tiger Bomb'' (Sitout crucifix powerbomb, sometimes from the second rope)

*Signature moves

*Slingshot somersault senton

*Tornado DDT

Managers

*Chyna

Nicknames

*"Latino Heat"

Entrance themes

*Extreme Championship Wrestling

**As Eddie Guerrero

***"Animal" by Pearl Jam (1995)

***"Live and Let Die" by Guns N' Roses (1995)

*World Championship Wrestling

**As Eddy Guerrero

***"Bad Man" (1995–1998)

*World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment

**As Eddie Guerrero

***"Latino Heat" by Jim Johnston (2000–2001, 2002–2003)

***"We Lie, We Cheat, We Steal" by Jim Johnston (used while partnering with Chavo Guerrero; 2003–2004)

***"I Lie, I Cheat, I Steal" by Jim Johnston (2004–2005)

***"Can You Feel the Heat" by Jim Johnston (2005)

***"Gangsta Lean" by Jim Johnston (2005)

Championships and accomplishments

Asistencia Asesoría y Administración

AAA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Art Barr

AAA Hall of Fame (Class of 2008)

Extreme Championship Wrestling

ECW World Television Championship (2 times)

Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South

IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Latin American Wrestling Association

LAWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

New Japan Pro Wrestling

NJPW Junior Heavyweight Super Grade Tag League Championship (1 time) – with The Great Sasuke

Best of the Super Juniors (1996)

Pro Wrestling Federation

PWF World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Hector Guerrero

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

PWI Comeback of the Year (1999)

PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year (2002, 2004)

PWI Stanley Weston Award (2005)

PWI ranked him # 2 of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2004.

PWI ranked him #81 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003

PWI ranked him # 18 with Art Barr of the top 100 tag teams of the "PWI Years" in 2003

World Championship Wrestling

WCW Cruiserweight Championship (2 times)

WCW United States Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

World Wrestling All-Stars

WWA International Cruiserweight Championship (1 time)

World Wrestling Association

WWA Welterweight Championship (1 time)

WWA Trios Championship (1 time) – with Chavo Guerrero and Mando Guerrero

World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment

WWE Championship (1 time)

WWE Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with Chavo Guerrero (2), Tajiri (1), and Rey Mysterio (1)

WWE United States Championship (1 time)

WWF European Championship (2 times)

WWF/E Intercontinental Championship (2 times)

WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2006)

*Eleventh Triple Crown Champion

*Sixth Grand Slam Championship

Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards

*Best on Interviews (2005)

*Feud of the Year (1994) with Art Barr vs. El Hijo del Santo and Octagón

*Feud of the Year (1995) vs. Dean Malenko

*Most Charismatic (2004, 2005)

*Tag Team of the Year (1994) with Art Barr as La Pareja del Terror

* 5 stars match Los Gringos Locos (Eddie Guerrero and Art Barr) vs. El Hijo del Santo and Octagón(hair vs. masks; 2-out-of-3 Falls Match) – November 6, 1994 AAA When Worlds Collide PPV

*Tag Team of the Year (2002) with Chavo Guerrero as Los Guerreros

*Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 2006)

Luchas de Apuestas

{| style="margin:auto;" class="wikitable" border="1" |- style="text-align:center;" !style="background: #e3e3e3;"|Wager !style="background: #e3e3e3;"|Winner !style="background: #e3e3e3;"|Loser !style="background: #e3e3e3;"|Location !style="background: #e3e3e3;"|Date |- style="text-align:center;" | Hair || Eddie Guerrero || Ari Romero | Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua || 1987 |- style="text-align:center;" | Hair || Eddie Guerrero || Negro Casas | Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua || Unknown |- style="text-align:center;" | Hair || El Hijo del Santo and Octagón || Eddie Guerrero and Art Barr | Los Angeles, California || November 6, 1994 |- style="text-align:center;" | Hair || Eddie Guerrero || Chavo Guerrero, Jr. | San Diego, California || July 12, 1998 |- style="text-align:center;" | Custody of Dominic|| Rey Mysterio || Eddie Guerrero|| Washington D.C ||August 21, 2005 |}

References

External links

WWE Hall of Fame profile of Eddie Guerrero

Eddie Guerrero's Complete Biography at Wrestling Gimmicks

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minneapolis

Category:1967 births Category:2005 deaths Category:Deaths from myocardial infarction Category:American professional wrestlers of Mexican descent Category:Mexican professional wrestlers Category:People from El Paso, Texas Category:WWE Hall of Fame

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Coordinates	52°23′″N20°44′″N
Name	A.J. Styles
Names	Mr. OlympiaAir StylesA.J. Styles
Height
Weight
Birth date	June 02, 1977
Birth place	Camp Lejeune, North Carolina
Billed	Gainesville, Georgia
Trainer	Rick MichaelsNCW Wrestling School
Debut	1998
Retired	}}

Allen Neal Jones (born June 2, 1977), better known by his ring name A.J. Styles is an American professional wrestler currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). He, James Storm, Jeff Jarrett and Abyss (who wrestled under the name Justice) are the only wrestlers to perform on the inaugural NWA-TNA pay-per-view event on June 19, 2002, and still be employed by the company in a wrestling role today. Since he joined TNA, Styles has been a four-time World Heavyweight Champion, having held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship three times and the TNA World Heavyweight Championship once, the very first TNA X Division Champion, while also sharing the record for most reigns with six with Jay Lethal, a five-time World Tag Team Champion (4 NWA and 1 TNA), and a two-time Television Champion. With having won the TNA X Division, NWA World Tag Team, and NWA World Heavyweight Championships, Styles was the first to complete the TNA Triple Crown Championship. Styles would later complete the Triple Crown three more times, making him the only man to complete it more than once. His victory over Booker T for the TNA Legends (now Television) Championship made him the first man to have ever won the TNA Grand Slam Championship, which he has done twice. He is also the longest reigning TNA World Heavyweight Champion in the company's history. Also, he is the only wrestler in TNA to have held every male championship owned and sanctioned by TNA at any point during the company's history. All totaled, he has won 17 championships in TNA. In 2010 he became the first TNA contracted wrestler to rank in at #1 on Pro Wrestling Illustrated annual PWI 500 list.

Early life

Jones discussed his harsh childhood in the DVD ''Phenomenal: The Best of A.J. Styles: Volume 2'', where he talks about growing up in poverty with an abusive and alcoholic father. He entered wrestling school because his friends were doing it, to find out that he was a natural at the sport.

Jones attended college in Anderson, South Carolina, on a partial wrestling scholarship after graduating from Johnson High School in Gainesville, Georgia, class of 1996.

During the early years of his professional wrestling career, Jones worked an assortment of jobs on the weekends to supplement his income, including delivering water and driving.

Professional wrestling career

NWA Wildside (1999–2001)

Jones was trained by Rick Michaels and debuted in 1998. In the Georgia-based National Championship Wrestling promotion he wrestled as Mr Olympia, a masked wrestler, losing to Michael Brooks in his first match. By August 1999, he had won the Television Championship. In December 1999, NCW merged with NWA Georgia to form NWA Wildside, and Jones was renamed A.J. Styles. Styles won his second Television Championship on January 8, 2000, defeating K-Krush. He lost the title to Eddie Golden on April 1 and regained it for a third time on January 6, 2001, defeating Air Paris during his run as a villain in NWA Wildside as a member of attorney Jeff G. Bailey's NWA Elite stable, an alliance of wrestlers. His final reign ended on February 21 when he lost to Robbie Rage in Athens, Georgia.

WCW and WWA (2001–2002)

World Championship Wrestling, a global promotion, observed the feud between Styles (renamed Air Styles) and Paris, and both men were offered contracts in early-2001. Styles and Paris were placed in a tag team named "Air Raid", and their gimmick required both men to dress in G-suits. Air Raid made appearances on ''WCW Thunder'', and on the March 5, 2001, episode of ''WCW Monday Nitro'' they were entered in a tournament for the newly created WCW Cruiserweight Tag Team Championship. They were eliminated from the tournament in the first round by the eventual winners, Elix Skipper and Kid Romeo.

After WCW was purchased by the World Wrestling Federation in March 2001, Styles was left without a job. He returned to NWA Wildside, where he competed for the Wildside Heavyweight Championship and wrestled several matches for the WWF on ''WWF Jakked''. Styles was offered a developmental deal by the WWF in April 2002. The offered contract was for US$500 per week and required Styles to relocate to Cincinnati, Ohio, where the Heartland Wrestling Association developmental territory was located. He declined to sign because moving would interfere with his wife's college plans.

Styles toured Australia with the short-lived World Wrestling All-Stars (WWA) promotion in April 2002. He made his pay-per-view debut at WWA: The Eruption on April 13 in Melbourne, defeating Nova and Jerry Lynn in the same night to become the WWA International Cruiserweight Champion. He later vacated the title.

Return to NWA Wildside (2001–2005)

Following his stint in World Championship Wrestling, Styles returned to Wildside and began pursuing the NWA Georgia Championship, then held by Rick Michaels. He defeated Michaels for the title on December 22, 2001, at ''Christmas Chaos''. While champion, Styles engaged in a rivalry with former manager Jeff G. Bailey's copycat version of Styles, "The Role Model" Jason Cross, who debuted as a total clone of Styles, all the way down to his in-ring attire and finishing move (this angle was later partially reused on a larger scale by Ring of Honor, with Jimmy Rave acting as Styles's doppelgänger). Styles lost the NWA Wildside Heavyweight Championship to David Young in a 3-Way Dance that also included Rick Michaels on March 23, 2002 at ''Hardcore Hell''. Shortly thereafter, Styles signed a contract with NWA:TNA and only returned to Wildside for sporadic special appearances due to an increase in his higher profile bookings. These special appearances reached an apex at ''Freedom Fight'' in July 2002, where Styles was the final man entered into the "Holy Wars" steel cage match for the Wildside Championship. The then-TNA X Division Champion, Styles was pinned by long-time rival "All That" Adam Jacobs. He made several more appearances throughout 2002, defeating Sonny Siaki, Jorge Estrada, and Jacey North in various one on one encounters.

In March 2003, Styles defeated former rival Ron Killings at ''Hardcore Hell''. In October 2003, he headlined another Wildside card, facing "The Soul Assassin" Rainman. Styles had been the NWA World Heavyweight Champion at the time of booking, and this was scheduled to be a title match, but Jeff Jarrett defeated Styles for the title just three days prior to the scheduled bout. As a result, Jarrett agreed to defend the NWA World Heavyweight Championship in a three way match. Jarrett, however, withdrew from the event at the last minute, leaving Styles and Rainman to fight one another in a non-title match which was won by Rainman following interference from Jeff G. Bailey. Styles defeated David Young at ''Christmas Chaos'' in December 2003. On March 26, 2004 at the two-night ''Hardcore Hell'' event he defeated his protégé, "Kool" Seth Delay in an impromptu match, then teamed with Gabriel and Altar Boy Luke (with Dusty Rhodes in their corner) to defeat Rainman, Azrael and "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels in a six man tag team main event on the following night.

After an absence of almost one year, Styles returned to Wildside on March 25, 2005, losing to Wildside mainstay David Young in a match that received a standing ovation from fans in attendance. After this match, Styles presented an award to Wildside Promoter Bill Behrens, along with David Young and Rick Michaels. This was his final Wildside appearance.

Ring of Honor

2002–2004

Styles debuted in Ring of Honor (ROH) at their third show, ''A Night of Appreciation'', in 2002. He quickly became a main event wrestler, competing against Low Ki for ROH Championship at ''Honor Invades Boston''. After failing to win the title, he became the first holder of the "Number One Contender's Trophy", which was viewed as a second title at the time. At the ''One Year Anniversary Show'' in February 2003, Styles competed against Low Ki and Paul London in a three-way match, with the winner receiving a shot at the ROH Championship later that night. London won the match but failed to defeat Xavier for the championship. After the show, Styles and London agreed to form a tag team and compete for the ROH Tag Team Championship. Instead, Styles competed by himself and defeated The Backseat Boyz (Johnny Kashmere and Trent Acid), The S.A.T. (Jose Maximo [Julio Ramirez] and Joel Maximo [Kelvin Ramirez]), and The Carnage Crew (HC Loc and Tony DeVito) to receive a title shot. He chose Amazing Red as his partner, and the two defeated The Prophecy (Christopher Daniels and Xavier) for the championship. When London returned, he was upset when Styles chose to remain a team with Red instead of forming one with him. The two wrestled against each other at ''Night of the Grudges'', with the match ending in a draw. Styles and Red, as the ROH Tag Team Champions, defeated the Briscoe Brothers (Jay Briscoe and Mark Briscoe) on three separate occasions. The duo, however, were not as successful against The Prophecy. At ''Wrath of the Racket'', Jim Cornette made his first appearance in ROH and aligned himself with Christopher Daniels and Dan Maff. During intermission, he convinced the two to attack Amazing Red, who was already suffering from a knee injury, while he was signing autographs. With Red unable to compete, Styles chose Maff's former trainer Homicide as his partner, and the two defeated The Prophecy. Styles then had to vacate the title due to Red being sidelined with a knee injury.

After his reign as one half of the ROH Tag Team Champions, Styles took on fellow Georgia wrestler Jimmy Rave as his protégé. While coaching Rave, who was competing in the "Field of Honor" tournament, Styles attempted to become the ROH World Champion. He defeated Bryan Danielson at ''Main Event Spectacles'' to become the number one contender for the title. At ''War of the Wire'', Styles challenged Samoa Joe for the title, but was once again unable to win it. At the ''Second Anniversary Show'', however, he competed in a one night tournament to become the first Pure Wrestling Champion. He defeated his protégé Jimmy Rave in the first round, Matt Stryker in the second, and CM Punk in the finals to become the first champion. His title reign, however, was short lived. Not long after the ''Second Anniversary Show'', ROH's owner Rob Feinstein was caught by an internet sting trying to solicit sex from a minor, which caused tensions between ROH and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where Styles was under contract. Despite this, Styles returned to ROH at the following show, ''At Our Best'', and defeated CM Punk in a rematch with Ricky Steamboat as the guest referee. The match turned out to be Styles final match in ROH for 2004, as TNA withdrew all their contracted wrestlers from ROH. Styles left the company and vacated the Pure Wrestling Championship.

2005–2006

In the summer of 2004, Styles' protégé Jimmy Rave was "fired" by Ring of Honor due to not winning any matches. He was brought back to the company by Prince Nana and became known as "The Crown Jewel of The Embassy". He began to use the Rave Clash (better known as the "Styles Clash") as a finisher, claiming Styles stole it from him. Eventually, Styles had enough and returned to Ring of Honor for one night only, at the ''Third Anniversary Celebration: Part Two'', to wrestle Rave. Styles was unsuccessful in defeating Rave, who won after he sprayed air freshener in Styles’ eyes. Several months later, Styles returned to wrestling for Ring of Honor full time. He made his return at ''Death Before Dishonor III'' defeating fellow TNA wrestler Petey Williams, who was brought in by Prince Nana to face Styles instead of having Jimmy Rave fight him. Styles got a match and a win, against Rave at the following show. Rave, however, after losing, he put a plastic bag over Styles and attempted to suffocate him. During his feud with Jimmy Rave and The Embassy, Styles formed an alliance with Generation Next, who were also feuding with The Embassy due to their former leader Alex Shelley joining them. Styles first defeated Generation Next member Roderick Strong at ''Fate of an Angel'' in mid-July. The following show, The Homecoming, Styles faced and lost to Jimmy Rave in a street fight when Alex Shelley attacked him and Rave hit the Rave Clash. Following the match, Styles was attacked by The Embassy, with Rave performing the Rave Clash on him. Austin Aries and Roderick Strong attempted to come to his aid, but they were fought off. At ''Glory by Honor IV'', Styles once again faced off against Jimmy Rave, with this match having a special stipulation: the loser could no longer use the Rave/Styles Clash in Ring of Honor. With Mick Foley in his corner, Styles hit Rave with the Styles Clash off of the second rope, through a table to win the match. Styles then took a short break from ROH before returning at ''This Means War'' in late October. He defeated Generation Next leader Austin Aries, who was attacked by The Embassy following the show. The following show, Aries defeated the former Generation Next leader Alex Shelley. Following the match, he was attacked by The Embassy, until Generation Next member Matt Sydal came to his aid. Later that night, Styles and Sydal defeated Embassy members Jimmy Rave and Abyss in a tag match. At ''Vendetta'', Styles had his final match against The Embassy when he, along with Austin Aries, Jack Evans and Matt Sydal were defeated by Rave, Shelley, Abyss and Prince Nana in an eight-man tag match.

Following his feud with The Embassy, Styles set his sights on winning a Ring of Honor title. At ''A Night of Tribute'', Styles faced Christopher Daniels and Matt Sydal in a Triple Threat match, with the winner receiving a shot at the ROH World Championship later that night. Daniels won the match, but was unable to defeat Bryan Danielson for the title. On the first show of 2006, Styles wrestled and defeated Matt Sydal. Following the match, the two agreed to form a tag team and challenge for the ROH Tag Team Championship, which were held by Sydal’s Generation Next teammates Austin Aries and Roderick Strong. Before receiving a shot at the tag team title, Styles received a shot at the ROH World Championship when he was handpicked by Danielson. Despite having won both of his previous encounters against Danielson in ROH, Styles was unable to defeat him for the title. At the ''Fourth Anniversary Show'', Styles and Sydal received their shot at the ROH Tag Team Championships, but were unable to defeat the champions. Following the match, Aries and Strong were attacked by the Briscoe Brothers, who had made their return to ROH for the first time since 2004. Styles and Sydal came to their aid and chased away the Briscoes.

Styles then appeared less and less in Ring of Honor. After an absence, Styles returned at ''Death Before Dishonor IV'', defeating ROH up-and-comer Davey Richards. Styles returned to Ring of Honor at ''Time to Man Up'', losing to Samoa Joe. In a pre-taped promo, Styles said he would be taking several months off from Ring of Honor following the match. ROH commentators, however, continually referred to the match as his final match and even played a special tribute to him after it. Since then, Styles has not returned to Ring of Honor.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2002–present)

Debut (2002)

In May 2002, Styles was signed to a non-exclusive contract by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) and dubbed "The Phenomenal" A.J. Styles (originally coined by NWA Wildside commentator Dan "The Dragon" Wilson). He appeared on the first weekly TNA pay-per-view, teaming with Jerry Lynn and Low-Ki and losing to The Flying Elvises (Jorge Estrada, Sonny Siaki and Jimmy Yang). The following week, on June 26, Styles defeated Lynn, Low-Ki and Psicosis in a double elimination match to become the first ever TNA X Division Champion. He won a second title on the third TNA pay-per-view, teaming with Lynn and defeating Lenny Lane and Bruce in the finals of a tournament for the vacant NWA World Tag Team Championship. Styles successfully defended both his titles in the following weeks, but began to bicker with the veteran Lynn during their matches together. On August 7 Styles lost the X Division title to Low-Ki in a three way dance also involving Lynn. The following week, he and Lynn fought Ron Killings and Jeff Jarrett to a no-contest, and the Tag Team titles were held-up as a result. The following week, he and Lynn fought one another in a Falls Count Anywhere match (which was won by Lynn), a No Disqualification match (which was won by Styles) and a ten-minute Iron Man match, which ended in a draw after both men scored three pinfalls. On August 28, Low-Ki defended the X Division Championship against Lynn and Styles in a ladder match and lost his title to Lynn. Recruiting Mortimer Plumtree and Sonny Siaki as allies, Styles continued to feud with Lynn in successive weeks. On October 23, he defeated Syxx-Pac for the X Division Championship, thus becoming a two-time champion. He lost the title to Lynn a second time on November 6 and tried unsuccessfully to regain it throughout the remainder of the year.

NWA World Heavyweight Champion (2003–2004)

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

Styles formed a new tag team with D'Lo Brown in April 2003. During their time together, Styles learned the frog splash (Art Barr version) from Brown, and Brown likewise picked up Styles' suicide plancha. The tag team amicably disbanded on May 28 so that both men could pursue the NWA World Heavyweight Championship once again. They fought one another on June 4 in a number one contendership match which was won by Styles, and on June 11, Styles faced Jarrett and Raven in a three-way match for the Heavyweight Championship. Styles won the match and the title (becoming the first TNA Triple Crown winner in the process) after Vince Russo entered the ring and struck Jarrett with a guitar, then celebrated with Russo following his victory, thus becoming a villain once again. Throughout July 2003, Styles successfully defended his title in matches against Brown. Throughout the remainder of his reign, he defeated a myriad selection of opponents before losing the title to Jarrett on October 22. Following his loss, Styles reverted to being a fan favorite, while Jarrett became a villain. Despite Jarrett's demand that Styles return to the X Division, Styles continued to pursue the World Heavyweight Championship. On November 12, he teamed with Sting to defeat Jarrett and Lex Luger. Styles faced Jarrett for the Heavyweight Championship on December 3, but lost following interference from Kid Kash.

Styles feuded with Jeff Jarrett and Abyss throughout January, and on February 4, 2004 after Styles demanded a title shot, Jarrett's ally Don Callis forced him to team with Abyss in a match with the NWA World Tag Team Champions, Kevin Northcutt and Legend. Abyss hindered Styles's efforts before abandoning him completely. Styles, however, defeated both of his opponents, thus becoming a two-time NWA World Tag Team Champion with Abyss as his partner. The following week, Styles defeated Abyss in a match for both tag team titles by disqualification after Jarrett interfered. His victory was overturned by Callis, leading to another match the following week which was won by Abyss after Lex Luger interfered, thus granting Abyss control of both titles. Abyss and Styles continued to feud, and on March 17 Abyss defeated Styles to become the number one contender to the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.

On April 21, Chris Harris, who was scheduled to face Jarrett in a title match that night, was attacked by Raven. As a result, Vince Russo, by now the TNA Director of Authority, selected Styles to face Jarrett in his place in a steel cage match. When Jarrett tried to hit Styles with his guitar, Russo tried to stop him through the cage, allowing Styles to get up and shatter the guitar mid-swing with a Pelé kick. Styles pinned Jarrett to become a two-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion. He successfully defended the title in matches with Ron Killings, Raven and Chris Harris, and on May 19 he defended against all three men in a four-way title match. Styles lost his title to Killings after Jarrett interfered in the match, hitting him with a guitar.

X Division (2004–2005)

Styles returned to the X Division shortly thereafter, winning a four-way match to become the number one contender to the X Division Championship on the June 4 episode of ''TNA Impact!''. On June 9, he defeated Frankie Kazarian to become a three-time X Division Champion. In the following weeks, Styles feuded with Kid Kash and Dallas, while successfully defending his title in matches with Kazarian and Mr. Águila. An additional match on June 23 with the debuting Jeff Hardy was interrupted by Kash and Dallas. On July 28, he defended the title against Kazarian and Michael Shane in an Ultimate X match. After Kash struck Styles with a crutch, Shane and Kazarian simultaneously retrieved the belt and became co-X Division Champions. After several abortive attempts to regain the title, Styles fought Kash in a number of matches, culminating on September 8 in a tables match which was won by Styles. In October he began feuding with Petey Williams, by now the TNA X Division Champion, and on November 7 at Victory Road, the first monthly pay-per-view held by TNA, Styles challenged Williams for the X Division Championship. During the weeks preceding the match, Styles even went as far as to use Williams' own finisher, the Canadian Destroyer, after Williams himself performed the Styles Clash on others. Williams retained his title with the help of his manager, Scott D'Amore. Later that night, Jeff Jarrett retained the NWA World Heavyweight Championship in a ladder match with Jeff Hardy after Scott Hall and Kevin Nash interfered in the match. Following the bout, the trio proclaimed themselves to be the "Kings of Wrestling" and issued an open challenge to the rest of the TNA roster. Several wrestlers charged the ring in response to the challenge, including the 3Live Kru (Ron Killings, Konnan, and B.G. James), Randy Savage, and Styles.

At Final Resolution on January 16, 2005 Styles won the X Division Championship for a fourth time in an Ultimate X match, defeating Chris Sabin and the reigning champion, Petey Williams. On the January 21 edition of ''Impact!'', Christopher Daniels accused Styles of "ducking him" (Styles and Daniels had never fought one another in a singles match in TNA). After Daniels challenged Styles to a match at the next monthly TNA pay-per-view, TNA Director of Authority Dusty Rhodes announced that Styles and Daniels would fight that day, with Daniels receiving a title shot if Styles could not defeat him within ten minutes. Daniels lasted ten minutes and subsequently faced Styles in a thirty-minute Iron Man match for the X Division Championship at Against All Odds in which ended in a draw with both men having scored a single pinfall. Rhodes restarted the match with "sudden death" rules, and Styles defeated Daniels to retain his title. The feud between Styles and Daniels continued, and at Destination X on March 13, Styles lost his title in an Ultimate X Challenge against Daniels, Ron Killings and Elix Skipper. Skipper eliminated Killings and Daniels eliminated Skipper, thus reducing the match to a singles contest. With the referee unconscious, Styles was able to retrieve the belt, but Daniels knocked him out with the Angel's Wings and then embraced the title belt. When the referee recovered shortly thereafter, he saw both men prone—but Daniels with the title belt—and awarded the match and the X Division Championship to Daniels.

Having lost the X Division Championship, Styles began feuding with Abyss. At Lockdown, he defeated Abyss in a steel cage match to become the number one contender to the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Styles went on to defeat the defending champion, Jeff Jarrett, at Hard Justice on May 15. After Jarrett pushed the special guest referee, cage fighter, Tito Ortiz, Ortiz knocked him down with a punch, enabling Styles to hit his ''Spiral Tap'' maneuver and pin Jarrett for his third NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Styles lost the title at Slammiversary to Raven in a King of the Mountain match. Styles then returned to his perennial pursuit of the X Division Championship, entering the TNA 2005 Super X Cup Tournament, which granted the winner a shot at the X Division Championship. Styles defeated Matt Bentley in the quarter-finals and Petey Williams in the semi-finals, but lost to Samoa Joe at Sacrifice. As Christopher Daniels (the reigning X Division champion) had interfered in the match, TNA Director of Authority Larry Zbyszko added Styles to the resultant title bout. On September 11 at Unbreakable, Styles defeated Samoa Joe and Daniels in a three-way match to become the TNA X Division Champion for a fifth time. In addition to being rated a 5 Star Match by Dave Meltzer, this match also finished as the first runner up for ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' Match of the Year honors.

Teaming with Christopher Daniels (2005–2006)

The following month at Bound for Glory, Styles successfully defended the title against Christopher Daniels in the second thirty-minute Iron Man match between the two. The following month at Genesis, Styles successfully defended the title against Petey Williams. At the same event, Samoa Joe brutally beat on Christopher Daniels with a chair and put him out of action indefinitely. Styles then started a feud with Joe, claiming that he had broken the unwritten "code of the X Division". On December 11 at Turning Point, Styles lost the X Division Championship to Joe. After the match, Joe tried to take out Styles, until Christopher Daniels made his return and saved him. On February 12, 2006, at Against All Odds, Styles and Daniels challenged Samoa Joe for the X Division Championship in a rematch of Unbreakable. Styles lost the bout when he was given a Muscle Buster by Joe, who then pinned him to retain. Samoa Joe defended the X Division Championship against Styles and Daniels in an Ultimate X match at Destination X and lost the belt to Daniels. After Daniels lost the belt back to Samoa Joe, Styles went on to join forces with Daniels and challenge America's Most Wanted for the NWA World Tag Team Championship. After losing to America's Most Wanted in title matches on two occasions, Styles and Daniels won the NWA World Tag Team Championship at Slammiversary.

On an episode of ''Impact!'', Styles and Daniels introduced contracts for all tag teams on the TNA roster, which sparked a rivalry with The Latin American X-Change (Homicide and Hernandez) (LAX), who signed the contracts for a match at Hard Justice which Styles and Daniels won. On the August 24 episode of ''Impact!'', Homicide and Hernandez defeated Styles and Daniels in a Border Brawl to win the NWA World Tag Team Championship. At No Surrender Styles and Daniels defeated LAX in a Tag-Team Ultimate X match to regain the titles after Styles hit a Styles Clash on Homicide through a table allowing his tag partner Christopher Daniels to capture the hanging belts. They lost the titles back to LAX at Bound for Glory in a Six Sides of Steel match after Homicide hit the Gringo Killer on Styles as Daniels was tied up to the cage by Konnan with a coat hanger.

On the November 2 edition of ''Impact!'', he pinned Chris Sabin to begin his sixth reign as the new X Division Champion. The match was also the quarter-finals of the Fight For The Right tournament for number one contendership to Sting's NWA World Heavyweight Championship. On the November 9 ''Impact!'', Styles won the semi-final match but was pinned in the finals by Abyss after interference by Christian Cage (Jason Reso) and Sabin. On the November 16 edition of ''Impact!'', the show's debut in primetime, Styles lost the TNA X Division Championship to Daniels in a 3-way match when Daniels scored the rollup pinfall on Sabin while Styles was outside of the ring dealing with Cage. At Genesis, Styles lost to Cage. During the match, Daniels attempted to stop Cage from using a steel chair in the match, which led to Styles rolling up Cage, which Cage reversed for a rollup of his own and the 3 count. After the match, Styles and Daniels shared harsh words, which led to Rhino coming to the ring to settle things. Styles refused to shake Daniels' hand and walked away. Styles and Daniels teamed up for the last time on the Thanksgiving Day edition of ''Impact!'', defeating The Naturals. After the match, Rhino came out to the ring to raise both of their hands. Styles pulled his arm away, and left the ring, saying that he was tired of Rhino getting into his business. He yelled at Rhino again during an interview on ''Impact!'' to once again becoming a heel. At Turning Point Styles beat Rhino after faking a knee injury and rolling him up for the pin.

Feud with Rhino and teaming with Tomko (2006–2008)

On the December 22 episode of ''Impact!'', Styles teamed up with Samoa Joe for the first time to go against Rhino and Kurt Angle. Styles and Joe won after a roll up pin on Rhino by Styles, but Kurt Angle and Rhino continued to beat down Styles and Joe. At Final Resolution, Styles faced Rhino in a Last Man Standing match. After a Gore by Rhino, Styles decided to let Rhino win the match despite the fact that he was almost to his feet at one point. This was due to the fact that Styles saw that Rhino was setting up a table to use on him and did not want to continue. At Destination X, Styles participated in the first ever Elevation X match against Rhino. The match consisted of a steel structure of an X that they used to fight each other. Styles took the fall off the Elevation X structure. On the following episode of ''Impact!'', he tried to assault Rhino, but was unsuccessful.

It was later revealed that he was the first member of Christian Cage's team at Lockdown. At Lockdown, Team Cage was unsuccessful against Team Angle. On the May 31 edition of ''Impact!'' he defeated Tomko in a King of the Mountain qualifying match. Styles teamed up with Tomko to face Sting and Abyss at Victory Road but were defeated. At No Surrender, Styles and Tomko won a 10-tag team gauntlet match to earn a tag team title match at Bound for Glory 2007 against Team Pacman (Ron Killings and Adam "Pacman" Jones). At Bound for Glory, Styles and Tomko defeated Team Pacman for the TNA World Tag Team Championship. Styles and Tomko defeated LAX on the November 1 edition of ''Impact!'' to retain the TNA Tag Team titles. Then Styles challenged Scott Steiner to a takedown challenge, which he lost by disqualification. At Genesis, they retained against The Steiner Brothers (Scott and Rick Steiner) after hitting Rick with a low blow and then a chair shot. Later that night, Styles and Tomko cost Christian his number one contender's shot by arguing and distracting him, and they helped Kurt Angle retain his championship.

After Christian Cage accepted Angle's invitation to The Angle Alliance on the circumstance that Cage be the leader, Angle and the rest of the alliance attacked Cage, with the exception of Styles (who made an attempt to save Cage) and Tomko (who walked away up the ramp). On December 28, Styles and Tomko lost to the Motor City Machineguns (Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley) in a tag team match due to Eric Young's attempt to help Styles with his decision problems in the middle of the match. Later on the show, Styles came down to the ring to watch Booker T and Christian Cage take on Kurt Angle and Robert Roode; he was pressured to choose between Christian's or Angle's team, but could not decide before the show went off the air. At Final Resolution, he turned on Christian Cage by siding with Angle. The next week on ''Impact!'', Styles was crowned the "Prince of Phenomenal" by Angle, which has since been incorporated into his ring introductions.

Face turn and TNA Frontline (2008–2009)

On the February 14 episode of ''Impact!'' Styles, in storyline, was married to Karen Angle. The next several weeks showed videos of Karen Angle and Styles on their honeymoon, talking, getting close, and acting like a married couple. The following week, Styles came to Karen's rescue when she hit her head (she was pushed by Kurt when she came out to check on him). Karen later revealed that she wanted a separation from Kurt. Meanwhile, Styles and Tomko lost the TNA World tag Team titles to Kaz and Super Eric. With Kurt constantly accusing Styles and Karen of seeing each other despite both vehemently denying anything beyond friendship, Styles snapped and quit the Alliance. In retaliation, Tomko (after Styles teamed with Super Eric while he was out in Japan) cost Styles his King of the Mountain qualifying match against Booker T. Styles turned into a face again on the May 29 edition of ''Impact!'' after being assaulted backstage before his entrance. He then ran to the ring several minutes later to help Karen, only to be beat down by Team 3D and Kurt for the second week in a row. At Slammiversary, Styles defeated Kurt but was beat-down by Kurt and his former tag team partner Tomko after the match. The feud continued through Hard Justice, with Styles and Angle trading wins. The episode after Hard Justice, he defeated Angle for his Olympic gold medal. Styles also won the rematch ladder match the following week, thus ending the feud. Later he was asked to give Kurt back his gold medal by Jeff Jarrett, in an effort to try to mend things with Kurt.

At Bound for Glory IV, Styles faced Christian Cage and Booker T in a 3-way dance in which Booker T won after performing the axe kick from the middle rope on Cage. Shortly after that, Booker T, Kurt Angle, Kevin Nash and Sting (who had turned heel) formed the team now known as The Main Event Mafia. On the October 23 episode of ''Impact!'' Styles teamed up with Samoa Joe against Sting and Nash but came up short after Nash hit Joe with Sting's TNA World Heavyweight Championship belt. Following this, Styles and Joe were both attacked by the Main Event Mafia. On the October 30 episode of ''Impact!'', Styles and Joe formed a faction of younger wrestlers also featuring Jay Lethal, Consequences Creed, Petey Williams, Eric Young, ODB and The Motor City Machineguns, which later would be collectively known as TNA Frontline. Later that night they were once again assaulted by the Main Event Mafia when Scott Steiner returned and joined them.

He challenged Sting at Turning Point for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, but lost thanks to a distraction from Kurt Angle and Booker T. At the Final Resolution PPV, Styles was once again unsuccessful in capturing the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, losing in an eight-man tag team match to the Main Event Mafia.

Since then, The TNA Frontline recruited Rhino and Team 3-D into their ranks. The Frontline also had to deal with problems with The Motor City Machineguns, who showed little respect to the other members, and gang style attacks on members, such as Petey Williams, Brother Ray, and Samoa Joe, from the Mafia. On the January 22, 2009 episode of ''Impact!'' Kurt Angle vowed to end Styles' career and later that night beat Styles in a tables match, where Styles was (kayfabe) injured.

At Against All Odds, Styles returned and attacked Booker T after his defense of the TNA Legends Championship. After doing so, he stole Booker T's Legends belt, then went on a rampage of weekly consecutive backstage sneak attacks on Booker T, which ended once Booker (with Scott Steiner) goaded him into trying the same in the ring in order to get him (kayfabe) arrested. At Destination X 2009, Styles defeated Booker T to become the new TNA Legends Champion and the first TNA Grand Slam Champion. Styles defeated Booker T in an "I Quit" match for the TNA Legends Championship at Sacrifice when Jenna Morasca threw in the towel on Booker's behalf. At Slammiversary, Styles competed in the King of the Mountain match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, but was unsuccessful after Samoa Joe turned his back on Styles, helping Kurt Angle win, and in the process, Joe turned heel. At the Victory Road pay-per-view, Styles lost the Legends Championship to Nash via pinfall. Following the loss, Styles began a "Best of Three Series" against Matt Morgan for entry into the Heavyweight Championship match with Sting and Kurt Angle at Hard Justice. He won the first match, but lost the following two, resulting in Morgan advancing to Hard Justice.

World Heavyweight Champion and heel turn (2009–2010)

On the August 20 edition of ''Impact!'' Styles came to the ring to announce his retirement because of his recent setbacks, but ended up being talked out of it by Sting, who said he had chosen Styles to carry the torch after him. Styles then went on to gain his place in the No Surrender main event in a tournament on the August 27 edition of ''Impact!'' defeating Chris Sabin and Doug Williams in singles matches. On September 20, 2009, at No Surrender, Styles won the TNA World Heavyweight Championship in a five-way match against Matt Morgan, Sting, Hernandez (who was cashing in his Feast or Fired briefcase), and defending champion Kurt Angle. One month later at Bound for Glory, Styles retained his title against Sting, ending his undefeated streak at Bound for Glory in the process. in a match that was later voted the match of the year by the fans of TNA. Styles was mysteriously attacked by an anonymous assailant backstage leading him to believe it was Samoa Joe or Daniels, both of whom he faced the following month at Turning Point to retain his World Heavyweight Title in what was heavily hyped as the rematch from the Unbreakable main event, four years earlier. On the December 10 edition of ''Impact!'', Styles successfully defended the world title against Desmond Wolfe. Later that month at Final Resolution, Styles defeated Daniels to retain the World Heavyweight Title. On the January 4, 2010, live three hour Monday night edition of ''Impact!'', by order of Eric Bischoff now running TNA with Hulk Hogan, Styles was forced to defend his title against Angle before Genesis; he defeated Angle in the main event, despite further interference from the unknown attacker. Styles' mystery attacker was revealed on the January 14, 2010 episode of ''Impact!'' as his former tag team partner Tomko. Later during that episode, Styles defeated Tomko in a match to retain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. After the match, he was assaulted by Tomko; Angle came to his rescue and offered a handshake, but Styles looked to Ric Flair at the commentary table and instead just exited the ring, hinting at a possible heel turn. At Genesis, Styles turned heel and defeated Angle in a Last Chance match after hitting him with the title belt, while Ric Flair was distracting the referee. On the January 21, 2010 episode of ''Impact!'', Flair announced that he had aligned himself with Styles and would make Styles "the New Nature Boy". On the same episode, Hulk Hogan announced that due to Ric Flair's interference in the Genesis match, Kurt Angle would get a rematch that same night, and if Flair were to interfere, Styles would be stripped of the title and awarded to Angle. During the match, Angle applied his signature move, the Ankle Lock, on Styles. Styles reversed it and applied the same move to Angle, when suddenly referee Earl Hebner, paid off by Flair, called for the bell although Angle did not submit, essentially repeating the Montreal Screwjob. At Against All Odds Styles retained his title against Samoa Joe, with help from Flair, in a match refereed by Eric Bischoff. On the March 8 Monday night edition of ''Impact!'' Styles teamed up with Ric Flair in a tag team match, where they faced Abyss and Hulk Hogan. During this time, Styles began wearing Flair's signature style of robe to the ring and reverted to his old short trunks ring gear. Abyss won the match for his team by pinning Styles. Afterwards, the returning Jeff Hardy saved Abyss and Hogan from a beatdown at the hands of Styles, Flair and Desmond Wolfe. The following week Styles was defeated by Hardy in a non-title match. At Destination X Styles defended his title against Abyss in a match that went to No Contest, after Abyss chokeslammed Styles through the ring. On March 29, 2010, Styles became the longest reigning TNA World Heavyweight Champion in history by beating Sting's reign of 189 days as champion. The following month at Lockdown, Styles successfully defended his title against D'Angelo Dinero in a steel cage match. The following day on ''Impact!'' Styles dropped the World Heavyweight Championship to Rob Van Dam, ending his reign at 211 days.

Fortune (2010–present)

On the May 3 episode of ''Impact!'' Styles defeated Abyss in a Monster's Ball Match, and later in the night, attacked Rob Van Dam after his title match with Desmond Wolfe, and announced he was invoking his rematch clause for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship at Sacrifice. Styles invoked his rematch clause at Sacrifice, but was once again defeated by Van Dam. With Styles' recent shortcomings against Rob Van Dam, Flair adopted Kazarian as his newest protégé. Styles quickly grew jealous of Kazarian and in trying to impress his mentor, first ruined a beatdown of Flair's most recent enemy, Jay Lethal, and the following week was pinned by him in a three-way match also involving Kazarian, after which Flair ordered him to go home and think about his future. At Slammiversary VIII Styles attempted to win Flair back by defeating Lethal, but ended up on losing side again, this time in a singles match. On the following edition of ''Impact!'' Ric Flair, who had aligned himself with Styles, Desmond Wolfe, Kazarian, Robert Roode and James Storm, announced that he would reform the Four Horsemen under the new name Fourtune, stating that each of them would have to earn their spots in the group and that in order for Styles to earn his spot, he needed to become the Arn Anderson of the group. Flair, wanting peace between Styles and Kazarian, booked them in a tag team match against Samoa Joe and Rob Terry at Victory Road. The plan seemed to work as Styles and Kazarian were victorious due to outside interference from Desmond Wolfe and in the process earned themselves spots in Fourtune. On July 13 at the tapings of the July 22 edition of ''Impact!'' Styles defeated Terry to win the Global Championship, formerly known as the Legends Championship, for the second time, after some assistance from Kazarian. The following week Styles renamed the title the TNA Television Championship. That same night Fourtune's lineup was seemingly completed with the addition of Robert Roode and James Storm as the final two members of the group. However, on the August 12 edition of ''Impact!'' Douglas Williams and Matt Morgan were added to Fourtune, as the stable attacked EV 2.0, a stable consisting of former Extreme Championship Wrestling performers. The following month at No Surrender, Styles defeated EV 2.0 leader Tommy Dreamer in a non-title "I Quit" match. In the weeks leading to Bound for Glory, the stable's name was tweaked to Fortune to represent the expansion in the number of members in the group. At Bound for Glory Styles, Kazarian, Morgan, Roode and Storm were defeated in a Lethal Lockdown match by Dreamer, Raven, Rhino, Sabu and Stevie Richards, when Styles was pinned by Dreamer. On the following edition of ''Impact!'' Fortune formed an alliance with Hulk Hogan's and Eric Bischoff's new stable, Immortal. At Turning Point Fortune defeated EV 2.0 in a ten man tag team match and, as a result, EV 2.0's Sabu was released from TNA. The following month at Final Resolution Styles lost the Television Championship to former stable mate Douglas Williams, who had turned on Fortune on the November 18 edition of ''Impact!''. On the December 23 edition of ''Impact!'' Styles challenged Williams for the Television Championship in a 20 minute Iron Man match. The match ended in a 1–1 draw, setting up another match at Genesis, where Styles would put his spot in Fortune on the line against Williams' title. However, Styles was forced to pull out of the match, after suffering a legitimate hip injury, which was expected to sideline him for 6–8 weeks. Styles, who was replaced in the title match by Abyss, ended up interfering in the match and costing Williams the title. On January 31 at the tapings of the February 3 edition of ''Impact!'', Fortune turned face by attacking Immortal, when they interfered in a TNA World Heavyweight Championship match between Mr. Anderson and Jeff Hardy. At the following day's tapings of the February 10 edition of ''Impact!'', Styles made an in–ring return from his hip injury, teaming with Kurt Angle in a tag team match, where they defeated Jeff Hardy and Jeff Jarrett. Ric Flair, who did not take part in Fortune's turn due to a torn rotator cuff, returned at the February 14 tapings of the February 17 edition of ''Impact!'', turning on Fortune during a match between Styles and Matt Hardy and jumping to Immortal. On the March 10 edition of ''Impact!'', Styles faced Flair and Hardy in a three–way street fight, which would turn out to become more of a two–on–one handicap match. Styles was pinned by his former mentor following a low blow from him and a ''Twist of Hate'' from Hardy. At Victory Road Styles defeated Hardy in a singles match, despite interference from Flair. On the following edition of ''Impact!'', Styles was sidelined with a storyline injury, after Flair helped Bully Ray powerbomb him off the entrance stage through a table. On the March 31 edition of ''Impact!'', Christopher Daniels made his return to TNA by saving the three remaining members of Fortune from Immortal, vowing to avenge Styles. Styles made his return on April 17 at Lockdown, attacking Bully Ray and helping Daniels, Kazarian, Roode and Storm defeat Immortal representatives Abyss, Flair, Matt Hardy and Ray in a Lethal Lockdown match. On the May 5 edition of ''Impact!'', Styles and Daniels defeated Bully Ray and Gunner via disqualification, when Tommy Dreamer turned heel and attacked Styles. It was later revealed that Immortal had forced Dreamer to join them in order to save his job. At Sacrifice, Ray cost Styles his No Disqualification match against Dreamer by hitting him with a chain. On the May 26 edition of ''Impact Wrestling'', Styles and Daniels defeated Ray and Dreamer in a No Disqualification Street Fight, with Styles pinning Dreamer to avenge his loss at Sacrifice. On June 12 at Slammiversary IX, Styles was defeated by Ray in a feud ending Last Man Standing match, after which Ray put over Styles' resilience. On July 10 at Destination X, TNA's first ever all X Division pay-per-view, Styles defeated fellow Fortune member Christopher Daniels in the main event of the evening.

Other media

Styles helped develop the first TNA wrestling video game known as ''TNA Impact!'' and was helping develop ''Pro Wrestling X'' with Wrestling Gamers United.

In 2004, TNA released ''Phenomenal: The Best of A.J. Styles'', a DVD covering Styles' best matches. In 2007, TNA released a follow-up DVD, ''Phenomenal: The Best of A.J. Styles Volume 2''. In addition, Ring of Honor has released two DVDs covering his early career with the company. ''Evolution of a Phenom: The Best of AJ Styles'' covers from his debut to mid-2003. ''The Phenomenon Continues: The Best of AJ Styles Vol. 2'' picks up where the last one left off, covering from mid-2003 to his match with CM Punk at the ROH Second Anniversary Show in 2004 (his second to last match before leaving ROH in 2004). He also sat down for a shoot interview alongside Christopher Daniels for ROH's "Straight Shootin’" series.

He was also featured on MTV's ''Made'' trying to help a young high schooler become a professional wrestler alongside Taylor Wilde and The Beautiful People (Angelina Love and Velvet Sky).

He was also mentioned in the Insane Clown Posse song Scatterbrain off their 2007 EP, Eye of the Storm.

In 2010 Styles was ranked #1 on the Pro Wrestling Illustrated Top 500 and is the first ever TNA wrestler to top the annual chart.

In a subsequent podcast interview with Brady Hicks, a seemingly frustrated Styles said several, extremely critical things about TNA as a product, some of the company's recent decisions, and personnel moves, including their decision to have him drop the title to Rob Van Dam.

In 2011 Styles was featured in country singer Sarah Darling's latest music video called "Something to Do with Your Hands".

Personal life

Jones is married to Wendy Jones, and the couple have three sons, Ajay Covell Jones (born May 3, 2005), Avery Jones (born February 14, 2007) and Albey Jones (born September 15, 2009). The first child's middle name was taken from the real last name of Styles' best friend and fellow wrestler Daniel Covell, who wrestles as "Christopher Daniels". The family lives in Gainesville, Georgia. Wendy is employed as a school teacher.

Jones is a devout Christian. He states that in his life, "It's God first and family second." Jason Clevett of SLAM! Wrestling has called Styles "one of the most respected and well-liked wrestlers in the world".

He is an avid video game player who recently mentioned (to ''PowerSlam Mag'') that he does not like the ''WWE SmackDown'' games but only the old Nintendo 64 ''AKI'' wrestling games. He has also stated that his favorite wrestling game is the Japanese ''Virtual Pro Wrestling 2'' for the Nintendo 64. Jones also admitted on tnawrestling.com that he grew up in a poor family, something spoken of on the TNA home video release, ''Phenomenal: The Best of A.J. Styles Volume 2'', where Styles took a camera crew around his childhood home.

Jones stated in an interview with New Zealand Pro Wrestling Journalists that his family could not afford cable television growing up and he was not able to watch professional wrestling.

Jones also has a large tattoo down the right side his body that reads "AJ 05-03-05 02-14-07 09-15-09" and represents the initials and birth dates of his three children.

In wrestling

Finishing moves

Figure-four leglock – 2010–2011; adopted from Ric Flair

Flying armbar – 2008–2009

Frog splash – 2003–2006; used rarely as a finishing move thereafter

''Spiral Tap'' (Corkscrew somersault transitioned into either a leg drop or a senton bomb) – 2001–2007; used rarely thereafter

''Styles Clash'' (Belly-to-back inverted mat slam, sometimes from the second rope)

''Superman'' (Springboard 450° splash)

Signature moves

Brainbuster, sometimes onto the ring apron

Discus clothesline

*Fosbury Flop

Inverted STF

* Multiple DDT variations

*''Cliffhanger'' (Crucifix hold flipped forward into a DDT)

*''Phenomenon'' / ''Stylin' DDT'' (Springboard moonsault onto a standing opponent floated over into an inverted)

*Tornado

*Multiple kick variations

*Drop

*Enzuigiri

*''Pelé Kick'' (Back flip)

*Multiple suplex variations

*''Starmaker'' (High-angle belly to back)

*''Styles Suplex Special'' (German followed into a belly to back wheelbarrow facebuster)

*Vertical suplex lifted and dropped into a neckbreaker slam

Over the shoulder belly to back piledriver

''Rack Bomb'' (Backbreaker rack twisted into a powerbomb)

Reverse frankensteiner

Running swinging neckbreaker

''Shooting Styles Press'' (Springboard shooting star plancha)

''Spine Breaker'' (Backbreaker followed by a gutbuster)

Springboard flying forearm smash

Standing senton bomb

''Stylin' Crab'' (Boston crab)

With Christopher Daniels

''Best Moonsault Ever'' by Daniels followed directly by a frog splash by Styles or vice versa

With Tomko

''Tornado-Plex'' (Aided snap swinging neckbreaker)

With Air Paris

Catching hip toss into a double powerbomb

Double belly to back wheelbarrow facebuster

Managers

Jeff G. Bailey

Mortimer Plumtree

Larry Zbyszko

Alexis Laree

Vince Russo

Trinity

Jimmy Hart

Mick Foley

Sting

Ric Flair

Nicknames

"The Phenomenal" A.J. Styles

"The Most Decorated Man in TNA"

"A.J. "Stylin' and Profilin'" Styles"

"The Prince of Phenomenal"

"Mr. TNA"

"Prince A.J."

"The New Nature Boy"

"The Phenomenal One"

Entrance themes

"I Am" by Dale Oliver (TNA)

*"I Am (Phenomenal Remix)" by Dale Oliver

*"I Am (Heel Remix)" by Dale Oliver (TNA / NJPW)

*"I Am (Third Remix)" by Dale Oliver

"Get Ready to Fly" by GRITS

"Fortune 4" by Dale Oliver

"Also sprach Zarathustra" by Richard Strauss (ROH)

"Touched" by VAST (ROH)

"Wherever I May Roam" by Metallica (ROH)

Championships and accomplishments

All Access Wrestling

AAW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Ballpark Brawl

Natural Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Christian Wrestling Federation / Christian Wrestling Entertainment

CWF/E Heavyweight Championship (2 times)

Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South

IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Ted Petty Invitational (2004)

International Wrestling Cartel

IWC Super Indies Championship (2 times)

Independent Wrestling Revolution

IWR King Of The Indies Championship (1 time)

Maximum Pro Wrestling

Max-Pro Cruiserweight Championship (1 time)

Midwest Pro Wrestling

MPW Universal Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

New Korea Pro Wrestling Association

NKPWA Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

NWA Wildside

NWA Wildside Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

NWA Wildside Television Championship (3 times)

Pro Wrestling Guerrilla

PWG Championship (1 time)

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

PWI Tag Team of the Year (2006) with Christopher Daniels

PWI ranked him #1 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2010

Pro Wrestling Report

*Tag Team of the Year (2006) with Christopher Daniels

Ring of Honor

ROH Pure Wrestling Championship (1 time)¹

ROH Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Amazing Red

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

NWA World Heavyweight Championship (3 times)

NWA World Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with Jerry Lynn (1), Abyss (1), and Christopher Daniels (2)

TNA Legends/Global/Television Championship (2 times)

TNA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

TNA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Tomko

TNA X Division Championship (6 times)

*First TNA Triple Crown Champion (4 times)

*First TNA Grand Slam Champion (2 times)

Finisher of the Year (2003)

Match of the Year (2006)

Match of the Year (2009)

Mr. TNA (2003–2005)

Tag Team of the Year (2006)

X Division Star of the Year (2004)

World Wrestling All-Stars

WWA International Cruiserweight Championship (1 time)

Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards

*Best Flying Wrestler (2005)

*Best Wrestling Maneuver (2003) Styles Clash

Worst Worked Match of the Year (2006) TNA Reverse Battle Royal on TNA Impact!

*5 Star Match (2005) vs. Samoa Joe and Christopher Daniels at Unbreakable on September 11

¹Ring of Honor no longer recognise this reign following TNA Wrestling's temporary split with ROH following the Rob Feinstein controversy.

Notes

External links

TNA Profile

AJ Styles' official website

Category:1977 births Category:American professional wrestlers Category:Living people Category:American Christians Category:People from Hall County, Georgia Category:Sportspeople from Georgia (U.S. state)

bg:Ей Джей Стайлс da:A.J. Styles de:AJ Styles es:Allen Lloyd Jones fr:A.J. Styles ko:AJ 스타일스 it:Allen Jones nl:A.J. Styles ja:アレン・ジョーンズ no:AJ Styles pl:A.J. Styles pt:A.J. Styles ro:A.J. Styles fi:AJ Styles sv:A.J. Styles tr:A.J. Styles vi:A.J. Styles

Coordinates	52°23′″N20°44′″N
Name	Chris Jericho
Names	Chris JerichoLast SurvivorCorazón de LeónSuper LigerLeón de OroLion DoMoongoose McQueen
Height
Weight
Genres	Heavy Metal
Birth date	November 09, 1970
Birth place	Manhasset, New York
Billed	Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Resides	Tampa, Florida
Trainer	Ed LangleyKatsuji AdachiKeith HartStu Hart
Debut	October 2, 1990
Website	ChrisJericho.com }}

Christopher Keith Irvine (born November 9, 1970), better known by his ring name Chris Jericho, is a Canadian-American professional wrestler, musician, songwriter, radio personality, television host, actor, author, and dancer. He is best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (WWF/E), as well as in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), and internationally in Canadian, Mexican and Japanese promotions. He is also the host of the ABC game show ''Downfall'' and the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Fozzy.

Jericho has won 30 championships between WWF/WWE (where he won 24 titles), WCW, and ECW. He is credited as being the first-ever Undisputed Champion within the WWF, having unified the WWF Championship and the World Championship in 2001.

In WWF/E, Jericho was a one–time Undisputed WWF Champion, a three–time World Heavyweight Champion, a two–time WCW/World Champion, a record nine–time Intercontinental Champion, a one–time European Champion, a one–time Hardcore Champion, a five–time World Tag Team Champion and a two–time Tag Team Champion. In WCW, he was a four–time Cruiserweight Champion and a one–time Television Champion. In ECW, he was a one–time Television Champion.

Jericho is overall recognized as a six-time world heavyweight champion in reference to his one WWF Championship, three World Heavyweight Championship and two WCW/World Championship reigns. He is the ninth Triple Crown Champion and the fourth Grand Slam Champion of WWE.

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1990–1996)

At age 19, Irvine entered the Hart Brothers School of Wrestling where, on his first day, he met Lance Storm. Two months later, he was ready to start wrestling on independent shows, making his debut on October 2, 1990, in a draw against Storm. The pair then worked as a tag team, initially called "Sudden Impact". Meanwhile, he took the name "Jericho" from the Helloween album, ''Walls of Jericho''. Jericho and Storm worked for Tony Condello in the tours of Northern Manitoba with Adam Copeland (Edge), Jason Reso (Christian), and Terry Gerin (Rhino). The pair also wrestled in Calgary's Canadian National Wrestling Alliance (CNWA) and Canadian Rocky Mountain Wrestling (CRMW). In 1991, Jericho and Storm started touring in Japan for Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling, where he would befriend Ricky Fuji, who also trained under Stu Hart.

In the winter of 1992, he traveled to Mexico and competed under the name Leon D'Oro, and later Corazón de León, where he wrestled for several small wrestling companies, as well as the largest in the country, Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). In CMLL, Jericho took on Silver King, Negro Casas, and Último Dragón en route to an 11 month reign as the NWA Middleweight Champion that began in December 1993. After leaving Mexico, Jericho would wrestle in Hamburg, Germany for six weeks as part of a tournament run by Rene Lasarteese. His burgeoning wrestling skills also took him to Japan in 1994 where he competed for Genichiro Tenryu's Wrestling and Romance (later known as Wrestle Association "R") (WAR) promotion, facing the likes of Gedo and Último Dragón, to whom he lost the WAR International Junior Heavyweight Championship. He would also become a member of the heel stable Fuyuki-Gun (also known as Team No Respect) with Gedo, Jado, and Hiromichi Fuyuki under the name Lion Do, and would go on to team with Gedo to become the first WAR International Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions.

1994 also saw Jericho reunited with his former teammate from CRMW, Storm, as the Thrillseekers in Jim Cornette's Smoky Mountain Wrestling promotion, where they feuded with the likes of Well Dunn, The Rock 'n' Roll Express, and The Heavenly Bodies. In December 1995, Jericho competed in the second Super J Cup Tournament, hosted by WAR, losing to Wild Pegasus.

Extreme Championship Wrestling (1996)

In 1996, thanks in part to recommendations by Chris Benoit and Perry Saturn, to promoter Paul Heyman, and after Mick Foley saw Jericho's match against Último Dragón for the WAR International Junior Heavyweight Championship in July 1995 and gave a tape of the match to Heyman, Jericho began wrestling for the Philadelphia-based Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) promotion, winning the ECW World Television Championship from Pitbull #2 in June 1996. While in ECW, Jericho wrestled Taz, Sabu, Rob Van Dam, Cactus Jack, Shane Douglas, and 2 Cold Scorpio. It was during this time that he drew the attention of World Championship Wrestling (WCW).

World Championship Wrestling

Cruiserweight Champion (1996–1998)

On August 26, 1996 Jericho made his first appearance with WCW, and on September 15, he appeared at his first pay-per-view show in a match against Chris Benoit at Fall Brawl. In January 1997, Jericho made his debut for New Japan Pro Wrestling, who had a working agreement with WCW, as Super Liger, the masked arch nemesis of Jushin "Thunder" Liger. Super Liger's first match against Koji Kanemoto at Wrestling World 1997 was so poorly received that the gimmick was dropped instantly. The following six months, Jericho worked for New Japan unmasked, before being called back by WCW. On June 28, 1997, Jericho defeated Syxx in Los Angeles, California to win the Cruiserweight Championship for the first time. He won the title again on August 12, 1997, by defeating Alex Wright.

Jericho began his WCW heel run when he won the title a third time by defeating Rey Mysterio, Jr. at Souled Out by forcing him to submit to the Liontamer. After the match, Jericho assaulted Mysterio's knee with a toolbox. In the storyline, Mysterio needed six months of recovery before he could return to the ring. Jericho then had a short feud with Juventud Guerrera in which Guerrera repeatedly requested a shot at Jericho's Cruiserweight Championship, but Jericho constantly rebuffed him. The feud culminated in a Title vs. Mask match at SuperBrawl VIII. Guerrera lost the match and was forced to remove his mask. Following this match, Jericho began his ongoing gimmick of collecting and wearing to the ring trophy items from his defeated opponents, such as Guerrera's mask, Prince Iaukea's Hawaiian dress, and a headband from Disco Inferno.

Jericho then began a long feud with Dean Malenko in which Jericho repeatedly claimed he was a better wrestler than Malenko, but refused to wrestle him. Because of his mastery of technical wrestling, Malenko was known as "The Man of 1000 Holds," so Jericho claimed to be "The Man of 1004 Holds." During the March 30, 1998 episode of ''WCW Monday Nitro'', after defeating Marty Jannetty, Jericho pulled out a long pile of paper that listed each of the 1004 holds he knew and recited them to the audience. Many of the "holds" were fictional, and every other hold was an armbar. On the March 12, 1998 episode of ''WCW Thunder'', Malenko defeated a wrestler wearing Juventud Guerrera's mask who appeared to be Jericho. However, the masked wrestler was actually Lenny Lane, who Jericho bribed to appear in the match. This started a minor feud between Lane and Jericho after Jericho refused to pay Lane. At Uncensored Jericho finally wrestled Malenko and defeated him, after which Malenko took a leave of absence from wrestling. Jericho then proceeded to bring with him to the ring a portrait of Malenko that he insulted and demeaned. Just prior to Slamboree, J.J. Dillon (referred to by Jericho as "Jo Jo") scheduled a cruiserweight Battle Royal in which the wrestler who won would immediately have a shot at Jericho's Cruiserweight Championship. Jericho accepted on the grounds that whoever had to face him would not have nearly enough energy to wrestle two matches in a row. At Slamboree, Jericho came out to announce the competitors in an insulting fashion before the match started and then went backstage for coffee. An individual who appeared to be Ciclope won the battle royal after Juventud Guerrera shook his hand then eliminated himself. However, the winner was not Ciclope, but instead a returning Malenko in disguise. Malenko proceeded to defeat Jericho for the championship. Jericho claiming he was the victim of a carefully planned conspiracy to get the belt off of him. He at first blamed the WCW locker room, then added Dillon, Ted Turner, and finally in a vignette, he walked around Washington, D.C. with the sign "conspiracy victim" and accused President Bill Clinton of being one of the conspirators after being rejected from a meeting. Eventually, Malenko vacated the title. Jericho ended up defeating Malenko at The Great American Bash to win the vacant title after Malenko was disqualified after hitting Jericho with a chair. The next night, Malenko was suspended for his actions.

At Bash at the Beach, the recently returned Rey Mysterio, Jr. (who had recovered from his knee injury) defeated Jericho in a No Disqualification match after the still-suspended Malenko interfered. Jericho regained the Cruiserweight Championship from Mysterio the next night after he interrupted J.J. Dillon while Dillon was giving the championship to Mysterio. Jericho was again awarded the championship. Eventually, Jericho decisively lost the title to Juventud Guerrera in a match at Road Wild with Malenko as special referee.

World Television Champion (1998–1999)

On August 10, Jericho defeated Stevie Ray to win the World Television Championship (Stevie Ray substituting for the champion Booker T). Soon afterward, Jericho repeatedly called out World Heavyweight Champion Goldberg, in an attempt to begin a feud with him, but never actually wrestled him. Jericho cites Eric Bischoff, Goldberg, and Hulk Hogan's reluctance to book Jericho in a pay-per-view squash match loss against Goldberg, which Jericho felt would be a big draw, as a major reason for his deciding to leave the company.

On November 30, 1998 Jericho lost the Television Championship to Konnan. In early 1999, Jericho began a feud with Perry Saturn. The feud saw Jericho and Saturn instigating bizarre stipulation matches, such as at Souled Out, where Jericho defeated Saturn in a "loser must wear a dress" match. At SuperBrawl IX Jericho and Saturn wrestled in a "dress" match in which Jericho once again defeated Saturn. Saturn finally defeated Jericho at Uncensored in a Dog Collar match. Jericho's final WCW match came on July 21, where he and Eddie Guerrero lost a tag team match to Billy Kidman and Rey Mysterio, Jr..

World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment

The Y2J problem (1999–2000)

Jericho alternated between WCW and a number of Japanese tours before he signed a contract with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) on June 30. In the weeks before Jericho's debut, a clock labeled "countdown to the new millennium" appeared on WWF programming. On the home video, ''Break Down the Walls'', Jericho states he was inspired to do this as his entrance when he saw a similar clock in a post office. Vince McMahon gave him the green light to use it as his intro to the WWF. The clock finally ran down on August 9, 1999 in Chicago, Illinois while The Rock was in the ring doing a promo. Jericho entered the arena and proclaimed himself "Y2J" (a play on the Y2K bug). The Rock proceeded to verbally mock him for his interruption. Later that month, Jericho made his in-ring debut on August 26, 1999 losing by disqualification in a match against Road Dogg on the inaugural edition of ''SmackDown!'' after powerbombing Road Dogg through a table.

Jericho's first long-term feud was with Chyna, for the Intercontinental Championship. After losing to Chyna at the Survivor Series, Jericho won his first Intercontinental title at Armageddon. This feud included a controversial decision during a rematch in which two separate referees declared each one of them the winner of a match for the title. As a result, they became co-owners of the title until Jericho attained sole ownership at the Royal Rumble. Jericho's subsequent alliance with Chyna, coupled with growing enthusiasm for his ring work and mic skills, effectively turned him into a face. Shortly thereafter, he began a feud with Kurt Angle, and lost the title to Angle at No Way Out.

On April 2, Jericho competed in a Triple Threat match against Chris Benoit and Angle at WrestleMania 2000 where he won the WWF European Championship. Jericho lost the title the next day to Eddie Guerrero on ''Raw'' after Chyna, claiming she could not resist Guerrero's Latino Heat, turned heel to side with him. On the April 17 edition of ''Raw'', Jericho upset Triple H in a WWF Championship match. Referee Earl Hebner made a fast count when Jericho pinned Triple H, causing Jericho to win the title. Hebner later reversed the decision due to pressure from Triple H, and WWE does not recognize Jericho's reign as champion. On the May 4 edition of ''SmackDown!'', Jericho defeated Benoit to become Intercontinental Champion for the third time, but lost the title to Benoit four days later on ''Raw''. Meanwhile, Jericho's feud with Triple H climaxed at Fully Loaded, when they competed in a Last Man Standing match. Jericho lost the match to Triple H only by one second, despite the repeated assistance Triple H's wife Stephanie provided him in the match.

Undisputed Champion (2001–2002)

At the 2001 Royal Rumble, Jericho defeated Chris Benoit in a Ladder match to win the Intercontinental Championship for the fourth time. At WrestleMania X-Seven, he successfully defended his title in a match against William Regal, only to lose it four days later to Triple H.

At Judgment Day, Jericho and Benoit won a "Tag Team Turmoil" match and earned a shot at Stone Cold Steve Austin and Triple H for their WWF Tag Team Championship on ''Raw'' the next night. Benoit and Jericho won the match, in which Triple H legitimately tore his quadriceps and spent the rest of the year injured, and Jericho became WWF Tag Team Champion for the first time. The team defended their title in the first Fatal Four-Way Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match where Benoit sustained a year-long injury doing a diving headbutt through a table. Though Benoit was carried out on a stretcher, he returned to the match to climb the ladder and retain the championship. The duo lost the title one month later to the Dudley Boyz on June 19, 2001.

In the following months, Jericho became a major force in The Invasion storyline in which WCW and ECW joined forces to overtake the WWF. Jericho remained on the side of the WWF despite previously competing in WCW and ECW. However, Jericho began to show jealousy toward fellow WWF member The Rock. They faced each other in a match at No Mercy for the WCW Championship after Jericho defeated Rob Van Dam in a number one contenders match. Jericho won the WCW Championship when he pinned The Rock after debuting a new finisher, the Breakdown. One night later, the two put their differences aside and won the WWF Tag Team title from the Dudley Boyz. After they lost the title to Test and Booker T, they continued their feud. On the November 5 edition of ''Raw,'' The Rock defeated Jericho to regain the WCW Championship. Following the match, Jericho attacked The Rock with a steel chair. At the Survivor Series, Jericho almost cost The Rock, and the WWF, victory in their elimination matchup by attacking The Rock again. On December 9, at Vengeance, Jericho defeated both The Rock for the WCW Championship (unbranded and only referred to as the World Championship following Survivor Series) and Stone Cold Steve Austin for his WWF Championship on the same night to become the first wrestler to hold both championships at the same time, which made him the first Undisputed WWF Champion. He fought both of the men he defeated at Vengeance on separate occasions and retained his title at the next two pay-per-views, Royal Rumble (vs. The Rock) and No Way Out (vs. Stone Cold). Jericho later lost the title to Triple H in the main event of WrestleMania X8. After his title loss, Jericho became a member of the ''SmackDown!'' roster and continued his feud with Triple H. The rivalry culminated at Judgment Day when Triple H defeated Jericho in a Hell in a Cell match.

Teaming and feuding with Christian (2002–2004)

Jericho was later drafted to Raw, where he won the Intercontinental Championship from Rob Van Dam (RVD). He then later formed a tag team with Christian, with whom he won the World Tag Team Championship, then renamed WWE Tag Team Championship, on October 14, 2002. Christian and Jericho lost the title in a fatal four-way elimination match, involving the teams of The Dudley Boyz, Booker T and Goldust, and William Regal and Lance Storm, on December 15, 2002 at Armageddon.

On January 13, 2003, Jericho won an over-the-top-rope challenge against Kane, RVD, and Batista to select his entry number for the Royal Rumble match. He chose number two in order to start the match with Shawn Michaels, who had challenged Jericho to prove his claims that he was better than Michaels. After Michaels' entrance, Jericho entered as the second participant. Christian, in Jericho's attire, appeared while the real Jericho attacked Shawn from behind. He eliminated Michaels shortly afterward, but Michaels got his revenge later in the match by causing Test to eliminate Jericho. Jericho spent the most time of any other wrestler in that same Royal Rumble. Jericho simultaneously feuded with Test, Michaels, and Jeff Hardy. Jericho and Michaels fought again at WrestleMania XIX. In the end, Michaels scored the victory. Jericho, however, hit Michaels with a low blow after the match following an embrace.

After this match, Jericho entered a rivalry with Goldberg, which was fueled by Goldberg's refusal to fight Jericho in WCW. During Jericho's first edition of the ''Highlight Reel'', an interview show, where Goldberg was the guest, he complained that no one wanted Goldberg in WWE and continued to insult him in the following weeks. On May 12 on ''Raw'', a mystery assailant attempted to run over Goldberg with a limousine. A week later, Co-Raw General Manager, Stone Cold Steve Austin, interrogated several Raw superstars to find out who was driving the car. One of the interrogates was Lance Storm, who admitted that he was the assailant. Austin forced Storm into a match with Goldberg, who defeated Storm. After the match, Goldberg forced Storm to admit that Jericho was the superstar who conspired Storm into running him over. On May 26, Goldberg was once again a guest on the ''Highlight Reel''. Jericho expressed jealousy towards Goldberg's success in WCW and felt that since joining WWE, he had achieved everything he had ever wanted in his career and all that was left was to defeat Goldberg and challenged him to a match. At Bad Blood, Goldberg settled the score with Jericho and defeated him.

Later in 2003, Jericho began a romance with Trish Stratus while his tag team partner Christian began one with Lita. This, however, turned out to be a bet over who could sleep with their respective paramour first, with a Canadian Dollar at stake. Stratus overheard this and ended her relationship with Jericho, who seemingly felt bad for using Stratus. After he saved her from an attack by Kane, Stratus agreed that the two of them could just be "friends". After Christian put Stratus in the Walls of Jericho while competing against her in a match, Jericho sought revenge on Christian, which led to a match at WrestleMania XX. Christian defeated Jericho after Stratus ran down and "inadvertently" struck Jericho (thinking it was Christian) and Christian got the roll-up. After the match, Stratus turned on Jericho and revealed that she and Christian were a couple. This revelation led to a handicap match at Backlash that Jericho won, thus turning him into a fan favorite in the process. Jericho won his seventh Intercontinental Championship at that year's Unforgiven in a ladder match against Christian. Jericho's seventh reign was short lived, as he lost it at Taboo Tuesday to Shelton Benjamin.

Championship pursuits and departure (2004–2005)

Jericho teamed up with Randy Orton, Chris Benoit, and Maven to take on Triple H, Batista, Edge, and Snitsky at Survivor Series. The match's stipulation stated that each member of the winning team would become the General Manager of Raw throughout the next four weeks. Jericho's team was victorious, so they took turns as General Manager. During Jericho's turn as General Manager, he stripped Triple H of his World Heavyweight Championship because a Triple Threat match for the title a week earlier ended in a draw. At New Year's Revolution, Jericho competed in the Elimination Chamber against Triple H, Chris Benoit, Batista, Randy Orton, and Edge for the vacated World Heavyweight Championship. Jericho began the match with Benoit but Batista ultimately eliminated Jericho.

Later that June, Jericho turned on WWE Champion John Cena. Jericho lost a Triple Threat match for the WWE Championship at Vengeance which also involved Christian and Cena. The feud continued throughout the summer and Jericho lost to Cena in a championship match at SummerSlam. The next night on ''Raw'', Jericho faced Cena in a rematch, this time in a "You're fired" match. Cena won again, and Jericho was fired by Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff, Jericho then turned on Bischoff. Jericho was carried out of the arena by security. WWE announced that Jericho's WWE contract had expired on August 25, 2005.

Return to WWE

The Second Coming (2007–2008)

WWE promoted Jericho's return since September 24, 2007 with a viral marketing campaign using a series of 15-second cryptic binary code videos, similar to the matrix digital rain featured in The Matrix series. The videos contained hidden messages and biblical links related to Jericho. Jericho made his return to WWE television as a face on the November 19, 2007 edition of ''Raw'' when he interrupted Randy Orton during Orton's orchestrated "passing of the torch" ceremony. Jericho revealed his intentions to reclaim the WWE Championship in order to "save" WWE fans from Orton. On the November 26 edition of ''Raw,'' Jericho defeated Santino Marella and debuted a new finishing maneuver called the Codebreaker. At Armageddon, he competed in a WWE title match against Orton, defeating him by disqualification when SmackDown's color commentator John "Bradshaw" Layfield interfered in the match, but Orton retained the title. He began a feud with JBL and met him at the Royal Rumble. Jericho was disqualified after hitting JBL with a steel chair.

Championship reigns and second departure (2008–2010)

On the March 10 episode of ''Raw'', Jericho captured the Intercontinental Championship for a record eighth time when he defeated Jeff Hardy. In June, Jericho became a villainous character by attacking Shawn Michaels during his talk show segment ''The Highlight Reel''. Feeling the fans were cheering Michaels despite doing wrong and not caring for Jericho, he put Michaels through ''The Highlight Reel'''s "Jeritron 5000" which caused severe damage to his eye. This began what would be ranked by both Pro Wrestling Illustrated and the Wrestling Observer Newsletter as the feud of the year. At Night of Champions, he lost the Intercontinental Title to Kofi Kingston after a distraction by Michaels.

Afterward, he developed a suit-wearing "self-righteous honest man" gimmick inspired by Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) from the film ''No Country for Old Men''. In doing so, Jericho purposely shed many of the trademarks associated with the "Y2J" character, taking "every characteristic that made him popular, and strip[ping] those traits away from himself." Jericho and Michaels met at The Great American Bash, which Jericho won after attacking the cut on Michaels's eye. Michaels later announced that his eye damage would force him to retire, Jericho then went to attack him but punched Rebecca, his wife, instead. As a result, they met in an Unsanctioned match at Unforgiven which Jericho lost. In the main event, Jericho entered the Championship Scramble as a replacement for the defending champion CM Punk and subsequently won the World Heavyweight Championship. Jericho then successfully defended his title against Michaels at No Mercy in a ladder match. At Cyber Sunday, Jericho lost the title to Batista in a match. Eight days later, Jericho defeated Batista to win back the title in a steel cage match. This reign would last until the 2008 Survivor Series, where Jericho lost to the returning John Cena.

On the January 12, 2009 episode of ''Raw'', WWE Executive Vice President Stephanie McMahon fired Jericho, but he was rehired the following week after making a forced apology. Jericho then had an onscreen feud with ''The Wrestler'' film star Mickey Rourke and with four WWE Hall of Famers. He challenged and attacked Ric Flair, Roddy Piper, Jimmy Snuka, and Ricky Steamboat on varioos episodes of ''Raw'' leading to WrestleMania XXV. At the event he won an elimination match against Snuka, Steamboat and Piper. After this, Jericho challenged Rourke who was at ringside for the event. As part of the storyline, Rourke knocked Jericho out after a left hook to the jaw.

On the April 13 episode of ''Raw'', Jericho was drafted to the SmackDown brand as part of the 2009 WWE Draft. Ricky Steamboat interrupted Jericho's Raw farewell address, which led to the two facing off at Backlash where Jericho came out victorious. In his SmackDown return, Jericho participated in a fatal-four-way elimination match against Kane, Jeff Hardy, and Rey Mysterio. Mysterio executed a 619 on Jericho and then attempted to pin him with a seated senton. Jericho retaliated by throwing a chair at Mysterio and was disqualified. This sparked a feud between the two. Mysterio pinned Jericho after a 619 at Judgment Day to retain the Intercontinental Championship. Jericho defeated Mysterio in a No Holds Barred Match at Extreme Rules to win his ninth Intercontinental Championship, breaking his own record again. At The Bash Jericho lost the Intercontinental title to Mysterio. Later in the same pay-per-view, Jericho and his partner Edge won the Unified Tag Team Championship as surprise entrants in a tag team match. Shortly thereafter Edge suffered an injury and Jericho announced that he had a clause in his contract to allow Edge to be replaced and Jericho's reign to continue uninterrupted. At Night of Champions, Jericho revealed The Big Show as his new tag team partner and they defeated Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase to retain the championship. The 140 day reign of Jeri-Show as Unified Tag Team Champions came to an end at the TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view at the hands of D-Generation X (DX). As a member of the SmackDown roster, Jericho could only appear on ''Raw'' as a champion and so DX intentionally disqualified themselves in a rematch to force Jericho off the show. Eventually the teams has a match with a definitive finish, though DX still won.

At the 2010 Royal Rumble Jericho was eliminated by the returning Edge, his former tag team partner, who went on to win the match. At Elimination Chamber, Jericho won the World Heavyweight Championship in an Elimination Chamber match, defeating The Undertaker following interference from Shawn Michaels. The next night on ''Raw'', Edge announced that he would be using his Royal Rumble win to challenge Jericho at WrestleMania XXVI for the World Heavyweight Championship. Jericho defeated Edge at WrestleMania but during the April 2 episode of ''SmackDown!'', Jack Swagger cashed in his Money in the Bank contract and pinned Jericho for the championship after he had been speared by Edge. Swagger retained the championship in a match against Jericho and Edge soon after.

Jericho was drafted back to Raw in May's 2010 WWE Draft. He formed a brief tag team with The Miz and unsuccesfully challenged The Hart Dynasty for the Unified Tag Team Championship at Over the Limit A month later, Jericho lost to Evan Bourne at WWE Fatal 4-Way, and the following night won a rematch where he put his career on the line. On the July 19 episode of ''Raw'', after being assaulted by The Nexus, Jericho teamed with rivals Edge, John Morrison, R-Truth, The Great Khali and Bret Hart in a team led by John Cena to face The Nexus at SummerSlam. Jericho and Cena bickered over leadership of the team, which led to him and Edge attacking Cena during the SummerSlam match that they won.

Jericho was punished for not showing solidarity against Nexus, when he was removed from a Six-Pack Challenge for Sheamus' WWE Championship at WWE Night of Champions. Although he re-earned his place in the match he was the first man eliminated. On the September 27 episode of ''Raw'' Jericho faced Randy Orton, who punted him in the head after to give a storyline reason for Jericho's departure from the company.

In interviews since leaving, Jericho has maintained he will return to WWE but has no immediate plans.

Other media

Music

In the mid 1990s, Jericho wrote a monthly column for ''Metal Edge'' magazine focused on the heavy metal scene. The column only ran for about a year.

Jericho is the lead singer for the heavy metal band Fozzy. Since their debut album in 1999, Fozzy has released four studio albums: ''Fozzy'', ''Happenstance'', ''All That Remains'', and the 2010 album ''Chasing the Grail'', and one live album, ''Remains Alive''.

In 2005, Jericho performed vocals on a cover of "The Evil That Men Do" on the Iron Maiden tribute album, ''Numbers from the Beast.'' He made a guest appearance on Dream Theater's album, ''Systematic Chaos'' on the song "Repentance", as one of several musical guests recorded apologizing to important people in their lives for wrongdoings in the past.

He also started his own weekly XM Satellite Radio show in March 2005 called ''Rock of Jericho'', which aired Sunday nights on XM 41 The Boneyard.

Film, theatre, comedy and writing

In 2000, a VHS tape documenting Jericho's career titled ''Break Down the Walls'' was released.

On June 24, 2006 Jericho premiered in his first Sci-Fi Channel movie ''Android Apocalypse'' alongside Scott Bairstow and Joey Lawrence.

Jericho debuted as a stage actor in a comedy play ''Opening Night'', which premiered at the Toronto Centre for the Arts during July 20–22, 2006 in Toronto. During his stay in Toronto, Jericho hosted the sketch comedy show ''Sunday Night Live'' with sketch troupe The Sketchersons at The Brunswick House.

Jericho was also the first wrestler attached and interviewed for the wrestling documentary, ''Bloodstained Memoirs''. The interview was recorded in the UK during a Fozzy tour in 2006.

Jericho wrote a ''New York Times'' bestselling autobiography ''A Lion's Tale'' which was released in 2007. Jericho's second autobiography ''Undisputed'', the sequel to ''A Lion's Tale'', was released in February 2011. Jericho has announced via his twitter account that a third book has been agreed to with Penguin publishing, and should be available in 2013.

Jericho appeared in the 2009 film ''Albino Farm''.

In the film ''MacGruber'', released May 21, 2010, he briefly appeared as Frank Korver, a former military teammate of the eponymous Green Beret, Navy Seal, and Army Ranger.

Television

Jericho is a contributor to the VH1 pop culture shows ''Best Week Ever'', ''I Love the '80s'', and VH1's top 100 artists.

On July 12, 2006, he made an appearance on G4's ''Attack of the Show!''; he made a second appearance on August 21, 2009. In May 2006, Jericho appeared on VH1's ''40 Greatest Metal Songs'' and ''Heavy: The Story of Metal'' as a commentator.

He was one of eight celebrities in the 2006 Fox Television singing reality show ''Celebrity Duets'', executive-produced by Simon Cowell, and was the first contestant eliminated.

A video shown on TMZ.com featured Jericho working at a McDonald's to show off his skills while prepping for the show.

Jericho also appeared on ''Larry King Live'' on July 9, 2007 to discuss the double murder-suicide of Chris Benoit and his family. Jericho later reappeared on ''Larry King Live'' to further a storyline feud with actor Mickey Rourke.

Jericho hosted his own reality show in 2008 titled ''Redemption Song'', in which 11 women tried their hand at getting into the music scene. It was shown on Fuse TV.

He guest starred as Billy "The Body Bag" Cobb in ''Xero Control'', an episode of the Disney XD 2009 original series ''Aaron Stone''.

He hosted VH1's ''100 Most Shocking Music Moments'', which began airing in December 2009.

In June 2010, Jericho was named the host of the ABC prime-time game show ''Downfall''.

On March 1, 2011, Chris Jericho was named one of the contestants on the 2011 lineup of ''Dancing with the Stars''. This lead to a wave of publicity, such as being interviewed by Jay Leno. On April 26, Jericho was the fifth contestant eliminated on the show.

On May 5, Jericho made his third appearance as featured guest on Attack of the Show! where he depicted Thor to promote the recent Thor film. He promoted Undisputed and announced he would be hosting the Golden Gods awards May 28 on VH1 Classic.

CM Punk mentioned Jericho on an episode of WWE Raw

Publications

''A Lion's Tale: Around The World In Spandex'' (2007)

''Undisputed'' (2011)

Personal life

His father Ted Irvine is a former National Hockey League (NHL) player. Though he was born in the prominent Long Island neighborhood of Manhasset, New York, Irvine was raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Vince McMahon felt that by introducing him as "born in Manhasset, New York", American fans would be more likely to get behind him.

Irvine and his wife Jessica have three children-a son named Ash Edward Irvine, who was born on September 24, 2003 and twin daughters.

Irvine has two tattoos on his left hand. The first is his wedding band while the second is the letter 'F' on the back of his hand, representing Fozzy, a band he has been lead vocalist for since 1999.

On July 5, 2004, Irvine was awarded The Order of the Buffalo Hunt in a ceremony held in Manitoba for his achievements in wrestling and his commitment to working with underprivileged children. The award has previously been given to Pope John Paul II, Chicago mayor Richard Daley, Desmond Tutu, and Mother Teresa.

On February 7, 2009, Irvine appeared to have punched a fan after she spat at him with fans outside Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre in Victoria, British Columbia after a WWE live event. Video footage, however, clearly showed he did not make contact with the woman. As a result of the incident, police detained them, but released them without charge. Police later announced that they would not press charges against anyone in the brawl as it was "hard to determine who provoked who".

On January 27, 2010, Irvine and fellow WWE wrestler Gregory Helms were arrested in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky after leaving a bar. A police report stated that Helms punched Jericho and the other passengers in the cab.

Dancing with the stars

rowspan="2"	Week #
	1		Cha-Cha-Cha/"Should I Stay or Should I Go"		7		6		6		No Elimination
	2		Quickstep/"I Got Rhythm"		8		7		8		Safe
	3		Rumba/"Let It Be"		7		7		7		Last To Be Called Safe
	4		Paso Doble/"In the Hall of the Mountain King"		8		7		8		Safe
	5		Viennese Waltz/"America The Beautiful"		9		8		9		Last To Be Called Safe
	6		Tango/"Don't Stop Believin"		7		8		7

In wrestling

Finishing moves

''Breakdown'' (Full nelson facebuster) – 2001–2002

''Codebreaker'' (Double knee facebreaker, sometimes while springboarding) – 2007–present

''Lionsault'' (Springboard moonsault)

''Liontamer'' (Boston crab with a knee pressed into the opponent's back or neck)

''Walls of Jericho'' (Elevated Boston crab)

Signature moves

Armbar

Backbreaker submission

Backhand chop

Double underhook transitioned into either a backbreaker or a powerbomb

Diving European uppercut

''Flashback'' (Sleeper slam, sometimes to an oncoming opponent)

Flying forearm smash

''Jericho Spike'' (Hurricanrana)

Missile dropkick

Multiple powerbombs

Northern Lights suplex

One-handed bulldog

Running back elbow, sometimes while performing a corkscrew

Spinning wheel kick

Springboard dropkick to an opponent on the ring apron

Springboard plancha

Standing, leg-feed, or running enzuigiri

Stepping on the opponent's chest with one foot in a pinning attempt, with theatrics

Tiger suplex

Managers

Ralphus (part of "Jericho Personal Security")

The Jerichoholic Ninja (part of "Jericho Personal Security")

Viva Los Jericho (part of "Jericho Personal Security")

Curtis Hughes

Chyna

Nicknames

"Y2J"

"The Ayatollah of Rock 'n' Rolla"

"Lionheart"

"The King of the World"

"The First Undisputed Champion"

"The Man of 1004 Holds"

"Paragon of Virtue"

"The Mental Mastermind"

"The Manitoban Jet"

"The King of Bling-Bling

"One Bad Mamma Jamma"

*"Sexy Beast"

Entrance themes

*Extreme Championship Wrestling

**"Soul-Crusher" by White Zombie (1996)

**"Electric Head, Pt. 2 (The Ecstasy)" by White Zombie (1996)

*World Championship Wrestling

**"All the Days (Instrumental)" by Mammoth

*"One Crazed Anarchist" by Grunge City from the Aircraft Music Library

*World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment

*"Break the Walls Down" by Adam Morenoff (August 9 1999–August 22 2005, November 19 2007–September 27 2010)

**"King of My World" by Saliva (2002)

**"Don't You Wish You Were Me" by Fozzy (2004)

*"Crank the Walls Down" by Maylene & The Sons of Disaster (used while partnering with Big Show, July 31 2009–January 2010)

Championships and accomplishments

Canadian Rocky Mountain Wrestling

CRMW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

CRMW North American Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Lance Storm

Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre

NWA World Middleweight Championship (1 time)

Extreme Championship Wrestling

ECW World Television Championship (1 time)

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

PWI Comeback of the Year (2008)

PWI Feud of the Year (2008) vs. Shawn Michaels

PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Year (2002, 2008)

PWI ranked him #2 of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2009

PWI ranked him #109 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003

World Championship Wrestling

WCW Cruiserweight Championship (4 times)

WCW World Television Championship (1 time)

World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment

Undisputed WWF Championship (1 time)

World Heavyweight Championship (3 times)

WCW/World Championship (2 times)

WWF/E Intercontinental Championship (9 times)

WWF/E World Tag Team Championship (5 times) – with Chris Benoit (1), The Rock (1), Christian (1), Edge (1), and The Big Show (1)

WWE Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Edge (1) and The Big Show (1)

WWF European Championship (1 time)

WWF Hardcore Championship (1 time)

*Ninth Triple Crown Champion

*Fourth Grand Slam Champion

Slammy Award for Superstar of the Year (2008)

*Slammy Award for Tag Team of the Year (2009) – with The Big Show

Wrestle Association "R"

WAR International Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

WAR International Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Gedo

World Wrestling Association

WWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with El Dandy

Wrestling Observer Newsletter

*Best on Interviews (2003, 2008, 2009)

Best on Interviews of the Decade (2000–2009)

*Feud of the Year (2008) vs. Shawn Michaels

*Match of the Year (2008) vs. Shawn Michaels in a Ladder match at No Mercy

*Most Underrated Wrestler (1999, 2000)

*Readers' Favorite Wrestler (1999)

*Wrestler of the Year (2008, 2009)

*Best Pro Wrestling DVD (2010) for ''Breaking the Code: Behind the Walls of Chris Jericho''

*Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 2010)

1 Despite still using the NWA initials, Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre is no longer a member of the National Wrestling Alliance. As a result, the NWA doesn't recognize or sanction this championship. 2 Both reigns were won during and right after The Invasion with the second reign being the unification with the WWF Championship and becoming the first ever WWF Undisputed Champion. 3 Jericho held the title jointly with Chyna during his second reign. 4 After Edge suffered an injury, Jericho chose The Big Show as a replacement without interrupting the championship reign. 5 Jericho's reign occurred after unifying the WWF Championship and the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, making him the first ever Undisputed WWF Champion.

Luchas de Apuestas record

Wager	Winner	Loser	Location	Date	Notes
Hair	Corazón de León	Cro-Magnon		May 30, 1993
Mask	Chris Jericho	Juventud Guerrera	Daly City, California
Hair	Chris Jericho	Kevin Nash	Grand Rapids, Michigan	August 18, 2003
Title		Chris Jericho	Sacramento, California	June 28, 2009

Notes

References

External links

Official Fozzy website

WWE Alumni profile

Category:1970 births Category:Living people Category:People from Long Island Category:Sportspeople in Manitoba Category:American film actors Category:American game show hosts Category:American professional wrestlers Category:American rock singers Category:American television actors Category:American radio personalities Category:Participants in American reality television series

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