Name	Jeff Jarrett
Names	Jeff JarrettDouble J
Height
Weight
Birth date	April 14, 1967
Birth place	Hendersonville, Tennessee
Resides	Hendersonville, Tennessee
Billed	Nashville, Tennessee
Trainer	Jerry JarrettTojo YamamotoBuddy Landel
Debut	April 1986 }}

Jeffrey Leonard Jarrett (born April 14, 1967) is an American professional wrestler and wrestling promoter. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), an organization he co-founded along with his father, Jerry. He is currently heading TNA's off-shoot promotion Ring Ka King in India. He is well-known from his multiple runs in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and World Wrestling Federation (WWF) during the 1990s.

A third-generation wrestler, Jarrett has held seventy championships in various promotions throughout his career. Within TNA, he is currently recognized as an 11-time world heavyweight champion, having been a six-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, four-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion, and one-time AAA World Heavyweight Champion. He has also accumulated five additional world title reigns, being a three-time USWA Unified World Heavyweight Champion and two-time WWA World Heavyweight Champion. While he never captured the WWF Championship during his time with the WWF, he challenged for the title and achieved notable championship success in the promotion, becoming a six-time Intercontinental Champion (a record from 1999–2004), and is one of three men to hold both the Intercontinental and European Championships simultaneously. He is the first wrestler to be a two-time King of the Mountain, and also won Mexican promotion Asistencia Asesoría y Administración's (AAA) Rey de Reyes tournament in 2004. Between WWE, WCW, and TNA, Jarrett has held 22 total championships as well as other numerous regional titles.

Professional wrestling career

Born in Hendersonville, Tennessee, Jarrett became involved with basketball when he was in high school, but, he worked for his father Jerry Jarrett's Continental Wrestling Association (CWA) as a referee in March 1986 and trained as a wrestler under his father and Tojo Yamamoto. Jeff Jarrett made his in-ring debut at the age of 18 in April 1986 when jobber Tony Falk attempted to end his lengthy losing streak by challenging Jarrett, then a referee, to a match. Jarrett accepted the challenge, wrestling Falk to a 10-minute draw. Jarrett is a 3rd-generation wrestler; his father wrestled, as did his maternal grandfather, Eddie Marlin, while his paternal grandmother, Christine, was employed by a wrestling promotion. He also wrestled with the AWA promotion in the late 1980s.

In 1989, Jerry Jarrett purchased the Texas-based World Class Championship Wrestling promotion and merged it with the CWA to create the United States Wrestling Association (USWA). Over the following years, Jarrett won the USWA Southern Heavyweight Championship on 10 occasions and the USWA World Tag Team Championship on 15 occasions. Jarrett also wrestled on the independent circuit for 7 years, appearing in Japan and Puerto Rico. In 1993, he was hired by the World Wrestling Federation.

World Wrestling Federation (1993–1996)

Jarrett debuted in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in late 1993 under the gimmick of "Double J" Jeff Jarrett, a country music singer who intended to elevate his singing career through his exposure as a wrestler. Jarrett's character would strut to the ring wearing flashing "Double J" hats and ring attire, and he punctuated his promos with the phrase "ain't I great?". He ended his interviews by distinctly spelling out his name ("That's J-E-Double-F, J-A-Double-R, E-Double-T!").

Jarrett made his pay-per-view debut in January 1994 at the Royal Rumble. At SummerSlam, he pinned Mabel. At Survivor Series, Jarrett competed in a 10 man elimination tag match. In January 1995, Jarrett had a brief feud with Bret Hart, ultimately losing to Hart on the January 23 episode of ''Monday Night Raw''. At the Royal Rumble in Tampa, Florida, Jarrett defeated Razor Ramon to win the WWF Intercontinental Championship. In an effort to become a dual champion, Jarrett challenged Diesel for the WWF Championship in the main event of the February 20 episode of ''Raw'', but lost the match. Razor Ramon received a rematch at WrestleMania XI which Jarrett lost by disqualification, but retained the WWF Intercontinental Championship. Jarrett was then joined by The Roadie, with the duo losing to Razor Ramon in a handicap match at In Your House 1. On April 26, 1995, the WWF Intercontinental Championship was declared vacant after a controversial ending to a match between Jarrett and Bob Holly. They had a rematch later that evening where Jarrett reclaimed the title. On May 19, Razor Ramon regained the title from Jarrett in Montreal, Quebec, but Jarrett won it back two nights later in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, making him a three-time Intercontinental Champion.

At In Your House 2: The Lumberjacks on July 23, 1995, Jarrett and Sawyer Brown performed the song "With My Baby Tonight". Later that evening, Jarrett lost the WWF Intercontinental Championship to Shawn Michaels. Following the event, Jarrett left the WWF for 7 months and returned to the United States Wrestling Association. Jarrett returned to the WWF in late 1995, feuding with Ahmed Johnson. Jarrett lost to Johnson by disqualification at the 1996 Royal Rumble and left the WWF shortly thereafter due to a contract dispute. Later that year, The Roadie revealed that he had in fact sung "With My Baby Tonight" and that Jarrett had been lip synching.

World Championship Wrestling (1996–1997)

In October 1996, Jarrett was hired by World Championship Wrestling (WCW), signing a 1 year contract. Upon debuting in WCW, Jarrett became a "free agent" in the rivalry between the Four Horsemen and the New World Order. After defeating Chris Benoit at Starrcade, Jarrett was inducted into the Four Horsemen. On June 9, 1997, Jarrett defeated Dean Malenko to win the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship. In mid-1997, Jarrett left the Four Horsemen and began feuding with Horsemen member Steve "Mongo" McMichael. Despite aligning himself with McMichael's ex-wife, Debra McMichael, Jarrett lost the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship to McMichael on August 21. In October, Jarrett's contract expired and he opted to return to the WWF, despite the dominance of WCW in the ongoing Monday Night Wars.

Return to WWF (1997–1999)

Jarrett returned to the WWF on the October 20, 1997 episode of ''Raw'', delivering a worked shoot speech in which he criticized both WCW President Eric Bischoff and WWF Chairman Vince McMahon. After briefly feuding with The Undertaker, Jarrett defeated Barry Windham to win the vacant NWA North American Heavyweight Championship. In early 1998, Jarrett joined forces with Jim Cornette and his stable of "invading" National Wrestling Alliance wrestlers, and began defending the NWA North American Heavyweight Championship on WWF television. In March, Jarrett left Cornette's stable, and Cornette stripped him of the title and awarded it to Windham.

Jarrett went on to reprise his country music singer gimmick, introducing Tennessee Lee as his manager and the tag team Southern Justice (formerly known as The Godwinns) as his bodyguards. He redeveloped his habit of breaking an acoustic guitar over the heads of his opponents. At Unforgiven: In Your House, Jarrett once again sang alongside Sawyer Brown with their hit single, "Some Girls Do". In August, Jarrett abandoned his country singer gimmick and dismissed Lee. He and Southern Justice began feuding with D-Generation X, with Jarrett losing to D-X member X-Pac in a hair versus hair match at SummerSlam. Jarrett's long hair was subsequently cut short by D-X and Howard Finkel, who had himself been shaved bald by Jarrett and Southern Justice shortly before SummerSlam. Jarrett and Southern Justice were defeated by D-X at Breakdown in September, and the trio separated shortly thereafter.

Jarrett briefly feuded with Al Snow before reuniting with Debra, who had left WCW for the WWF, and forming a tag team with Owen Hart. Hart and Jarrett were close friends and travel partners for years, so the team gelled almost immediately. Jarrett and Hart won the WWF World Tag Team Championship from Ken Shamrock and The Big Boss Man, successfully defending the titles at WrestleMania XV before losing to Kane and X-Pac on an episode of ''Raw''. 8 days after Hart was killed in a stunt that went wrong at Over the Edge, Jarrett defeated The Godfather, who Owen was scheduled to face at the pay-per-view. As he was handed the title he yelled Hart's name in tribute to his friend. In mid-1999, Jarrett won and lost the WWF Intercontinental Championship on 2 more occasions.

In the months that followed, Jarrett became increasingly abusive towards Debra. At SummerSlam, Jarrett challenged D'Lo Brown for both the WWF European and Intercontinental Championships, with Debra accompanying Brown to the ring following an argument with Jarrett. Brown lost the match after both Mark Henry and Debra turned on him, making Jarrett the second ever "Euro-Continental Champion". On the following episode of ''Raw'', Jarrett rewarded Debra and Henry by giving Debra an assistant, Miss Kitty, and Henry the European Championship. In late 1999, Jarrett began feuding with Chyna over the Intercontinental Championship. In the course of the feud, Jarrett became somewhat misogynistic, attacking numerous females, including both wrestlers and actress Cindy Margolis, and executing the figure four leglock on them. Jarrett eventually abandoned Debra in favor of Miss Kitty after he and Debra were defeated by Stephanie McMahon and Test in a mixed tag team match. He later also turned on Miss Kitty after she lost a match that Jarrett had inserted her into in his place.

Jarrett left the WWF in October 1999, right after WWF head writer Vince Russo resigned from the WWF in order to join WCW. Jarrett's contract expired on October 16, 1999, one day before his scheduled match with Chyna at No Mercy. Jarrett wrestled at No Mercy nonetheless, losing the Intercontinental Championship to Chyna. Chyna later alleged that Jarrett and Russo had colluded in order to delay Jarrett's title defense until after Jarrett's contract had expired, and that Jarrett had subsequently extorted WWF Chairman Vince McMahon for $300,000 in order to wrestle without a contract.

In 2006, Jarrett asserted that he had been paid only what he was owed by the WWF. In a 2008 interview for a TNA special, Jarrett stated that not only were his negotiations cordial and in good faith, but that he also got stock options in WWF's IPO, which occurred 2 days after he left.

Return to WCW (1999–2001)

Jarrett returned to WCW on the October 18, 1999 episode of ''WCW Monday Nitro'', attacking Buff Bagwell and proclaiming himself the "Chosen One" of WCW. Jarrett took part in a tournament for the vacant WCW World Heavyweight Championship, winning his first three matches with the assistance of Creative Control. At Mayhem, he was eliminated from the tournament after losing his semi-final match to Chris Benoit following interference from Dustin Rhodes. At Starrcade, Jarrett defeated Rhodes in a bunkhouse brawl, then unsuccessfully challenged Benoit for the WCW United States Championship in a ladder match. On the following episode of ''Monday Nitro'', Jarrett defeated Benoit in a rematch. In the same evening, Jarrett reformed the New World Order with WCW World Champion Bret Hart and the reigning WCW Tag Team Champions, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, with the foursome calling themselves "nWo 2000".

In early 2000, Jarrett feuded with WCW Commissioner Terry Funk, who forced him to wrestle three veterans - George Steele, Tito Santana, and Jimmy Snuka - in 1 night. Jarrett was stripped of the United States Championship after suffering a concussion during his bout with Snuka, but the title was returned to him by Nash after he became WCW Commissioner. In order to help him retain the title, Jarrett drafted the Harris Brothers (formerly Creative Control) into nWo 2000. In the following months, Jarrett repeatedly challenged Sid Vicious for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, in the process clashing with Nash and winning the position of WCW Commissioner for himself. Following the retirement of Hart, the New World Order disbanded.

In April, WCW was "rebooted" by Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo, with all titles vacated as a result. Bischoff and Russo also created the New Blood, a stable of younger wrestlers who feuded with the Millionaire's Club, made up of the older members of the WCW roster. Jarrett joined the New Blood, and at Spring Stampede on April 16, he defeated Millionaires Club member Diamond Dallas Page to win the vacant WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Page regained the title on April 24, and on April 25, the title was contested in a tag team match pitting Jarrett and Bischoff against Page and actor David Arquette. Arquette won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship after pinning Bischoff. Jarrett hit Page with the championship belt while special referee Kimberly Page's back was turned; WCW official Mickie Jay counted Bischoff out while Jarrett had Page pinned. At Slamboree on May 7, Jarrett defeated Page and Arquette in a three way triple cage match to win his 2nd WCW World Heavyweight Championship after Arquette turned on Page.

In May, Jarrett won and lost the World Championship on 2 further occasions, regaining the title from Ric Flair both times. Jarrett feuded with Nash and Hulk Hogan throughout June 2000, and on July 9 at Bash at the Beach, he faced Hogan with the World Championship on the line. The match ended swiftly after Jarrett immediately laid down, allowing Hogan to rest a boot on his chest and win the title, with Hogan commenting, "That's why this company is in the damn shape it's in—because of bullshit like this." Vince Russo subsequently came to the ring and delivered a profanity-laced interview in which he accused Hogan of politicking and claimed that Hogan had used his creative control to refuse to lose to Jarrett. Russo then stated that, while Hogan was free to keep the title belt he had just won (the "Hulk Hogan Memorial Belt"), Jarrett would wrestle Booker T for the official WCW World Heavyweight Championship later that night. Booker T won the resultant match, and Hogan didn't appear in WCW again. It is disputed whether the situation was a shoot, a work, or some combination of the two.

In the following months, Jarrett briefly feuded with Booker T, Mike Awesome, Sting, Buff Bagwell, and Flair. In late 2000, he joined forces with the Harris Brothers once more, with the trio defeating the Filthy Animals at Starrcade on December 17. In the same evening, Jarrett aligned himself with WCW World Champion Scott Steiner by helping Steiner defeat Sid Vicious. In 2001, Jarrett and Steiner became members of the Magnificent Seven, a large stable headed by Flair. Flair and Jarrett feuded with Dusty and Dustin Rhodes until March, when WCW was purchased by the WWF. Uninterested in Jarrett, the WWF neglected to acquire his contract, leaving him without a job. On the last Nitro, Jarrett was seen on a television set on ''RAW'' while Vince McMahon watched the show. McMahon saw Jarrett on the screen and announced Jarrett's real-life firing on-air, mocking his trademark taunt of distinctly spelling out his name by saying that he would now be known as "Capital G Double-O Double-N Double-E".

World Wrestling All-Stars (2001–2003)

In late 2001, Jarrett wrestled in World Wrestling All-Stars in Australia and Europe. Jarrett won the WWA World Heavyweight Championship, but was later stripped of the title. Jarrett returned to the WWA during his 1st NWA World Heavyweight Championship reign; he defeated Sting for the WWA World Heavyweight Championship at the last WWA event on May 25, 2003, unifying the two titles.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2002–present)

In June 2002, Jarrett and his father created a limited-liability company, J Sports and Entertainment and opened a new pro wrestling promotion, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. TNA aired in a weekly pay-per-view format until May 2004, when the promotion negotiated a TV deal with Fox Sports Net and began broadcasting ''TNA Impact!''. In November 2004, TNA began airing monthly pay-per-views instead of weekly pay-per-views, and in October 2005 ''Impact!'' moved to Spike TV. Panda Energy and its Chairman and CEO, Robert Carter, acquired a controlling interest in TNA in 2002, although Jarrett remained a minority owner. Panda Energy and Carter would later acquire Jarrett's minority stake in the company in 2009, placing Carter as Owner and Chairman of TNA.

NWA World Heavyweight Champion (2002–2006)

On the inaugural TNA pay-per-view on June 19, 2002, Jarrett took part in a Gauntlet for the Gold with the NWA World Heavyweight Championship on the line, but was eliminated by country singer Toby Keith. In the following months, Jarrett feuded with Scott Hall, Brian Lawler, and Brian Gerard James. On November 20, 2002, Jarrett defeated Ron Killings to win the NWA World Championship with the assistance of Vince Russo. After Jarrett refused to join Russo's Sports Entertainment Xtreme stable, Russo turned the members of SEX, including the debuting Raven, against Jarrett. The rivalry continued until February 2003, when Russo lost interest in SEX. In the following months, Jarrett feuded with the remaining members of SEX, then began feuding with Raven and Raven's Nest, the group of wrestlers that Raven controlled. On June 11, 2003, Jarrett faced Raven and A.J. Styles in a 3-way match for the NWA World Championship. Styles pinned Jarrett to win the title after the returning Russo struck Jarrett with a guitar. Jarrett regained the title from Styles on October 22, 2003, turning heel. Jarrett was unable to escape Styles, losing the title back to him on April 21, 2004 in a steel cage after Russo - who had returned as the new TNA Director of Authority - chose Styles to replace the injured Chris Harris. Jarrett would get revenge on May 19, however, by hitting Styles with a guitar during a title match, which enabled Ron Killings to win the title. Jarrett then defeated Killings, Styles, Raven and Harris in a King of the Mountain match on June 2 to win his 3rd NWA World Championship.

In early 2005, Jarrett formed a dominant stable known as Planet Jarrett with Monty Brown, Kip James, and, later, Rhino. Jarrett also uses the phrase "Planet Jarrett" to refer to TNA as a whole, reflecting his real-life stake in the company and his prominent role within the promotion. Despite his efforts to hold on to the title, however, he lost it back to long-time rival Styles on May 15, 2005.

Jarrett won his 4th NWA World Heavyweight Championship on September 15, 2005, defeating Raven at a Border City Wrestling event. He lost the title to Rhino at Bound for Glory on October 23, but regained it on the November 3 episode of ''Impact!''. Jarrett's reign lasted until Against All Odds on February 12, 2006, when he was defeated by Christian Cage.

In the following months, Jarrett feuded with Sting, who had declared that Jarrett was a "cancer" in TNA. In the course of the feud, Scott Steiner debuted in TNA as an ally of Jarrett.

At Slammiversary on June 18, 2006 Jarrett won his 6th NWA World Championship in a King of the Mountain match when referee Earl Hebner tipped over a ladder that Christian Cage and Sting were simultaneously climbing. He retained the title in a bout with Sting at Hard Justice 2006 after Cage turned on Sting, hitting him with one of Jarrett's guitars. After a polygraph proved that Jarrett had cheated to win the NWA World Championship, Director of Authority Jim Cornette forced Jarrett to wrestle Samoa Joe in a "fan's revenge" lumberjack match at TNA No Surrender, with Joe winning the match. At the Bound for Glory pay-per-view on October 22, Sting defeated Jarrett for the NWA World Championship after Jarrett was forced to submit to Sting's signature finisher, the Scorpion Death Lock.

Hiatus, return and face turn (2007–2009)

On the following episode of ''Impact!'', Jarrett announced in an interview that he was leaving TNA indefinitely. For the following 6 months, Jarrett did not appear on TNA television, instead focusing on his role as Vice President of TNA Entertainment. Jarrett, however, temporarily returned to TNA television on the April 12, 2007 episode of ''Impact!'', and aligned himself with Samoa Joe, by helping him defeat A.J. Styles, turning face. On April 15, 2007 at Lockdown, Jarrett, making his in-ring return, and the rest of Team Angle defeated Team Cage in a Lethal Lockdown match. The following episode of ''Impact!'', he delivered his first promo in months, stating it's not all about Jeff Jarrett and he returned to give back to the wrestlers and fans, officially completing his face turn. He then entered into a feud with Robert Roode, losing a match to him at Sacrifice. Jarrett was then scheduled to take on Styles with the winner to earn a spot in the King of the Mountain match but could not compete due to "personal issues". In 2008, Jarrett was featured in the promotion of TNA's "Maximum Impact!" tour of the UK.

At Hard Justice 2008, Samoa Joe defeated Booker T using the Acoustic Equalizer, the trademark move of Jarrett, setting up for his return to in-ring action, as quoted by the website, "Obviously, we all know who used a guitar in the past!" referring indirectly to Jarrett. After numerous weeks of Jarrett's theme song playing and his guitar appearing on TNA programming, Jarrett returned to ''Impact!'' on September 11, 2008. At No Surrender, he would help Joe defeat Kurt Angle and Cage and assist Joe in retaining the TNA World Championship by hitting Angle with a guitar keeping him a face. The following Thursday, on ''Impact!'', Jarrett cut his first promo since Slammiversary, claiming that the current respect angle that Sting was involved in was actually a matter of the veterans refusing to pass the torch to the young guys. Angle came out and challenged Jarrett to a match at Bound for Glory IV, but Jarrett refused, saying he had nothing left to prove, and instead pointed to the screen to reveal the debuting Mick Foley. On the next edition of ''IMPACT'', Jarrett relented to verbal cheap shots taken by Angle regarding Jarrett's children and accepted the match at Bound for Glory. The feud got more personal due to Angle mentioning Jarrett's wife, which lead to Foley being named the Special Enforcer for their match. At Bound For Glory Jarrett returned to the ring after a 1 year and 5 month absence, and defeated Angle using his Acoustic Equalizer.

On the November 20, 2008 edition of ''Impact!'', Kurt Angle threatened Mick Foley and wanted another match against Jarrett at Final Resolution after Foley announced that it was Angle vs. Rhino at the event. Angle continued to demand a match with Jarrett and he said if he couldn't get him at Final Resolution, he would wrestle Foley. Angle then slapped Foley causing Jarrett to come out and talk about what Angle wanted and then what Jarrett wanted (Angle to be fired). Because of Angle's contract clause, Jarrett could not fire him, so he made this stipulation: if Angle lost to Rhino, he would be fired from TNA; if Angle beat Rhino, he would get Jarrett at Genesis. Angle won, allowing him to face Jarrett at Genesis. The feud got even more personal when it started involving Jarrett's 3 daughters during the December 11, 2008 episode of ''IMPACT!''. Angle said that they would become orphans after Genesis and that "Uncle Kurt" may find it in his heart to adopt them and make them his. Jarrett came out to confront him but was held back by his longtime friend, BG James, TNA Personnel Terry Taylor, referee Earl Hebner, and Scott D'Amore. On January 11 at Genesis, Jarrett lost to Angle. Jeff suffered some injuries, but able to compete on the TNA Maxium Impact Tour, by facing against Kurt Angle in 2 singles and a few tag team matches with AJ Styles against Kurt Angle and Scott Steiner. Then on February 12, 2009, Jeff Jarrett returned to ''Impact!'' to stop Angle from forcing Sting to lay down and gain an easy championship victory. The next week, Jarrett allowed Angle to have another match against Sting, and on February 26, 2009 Jarrett announced Angle vs. Sting at Destination X for the TNA World Championship. Jarrett would then enter a feud with Mick Foley who attacked him while shooting his DVD at the TNA Asylum. The 2 would meet in a 4 way match at TNA Sacrifice involving Kurt Angle and Sting with Jarrett putting his voting shares in TNA on the line, Angle putting his leadership of The Main Event Mafia, Sting putting his career, and Foley putting the TNA World title; Sting would go on to pin Angle for the victory and leadership of the mafia. Jarrett later pinned Eric Young in order to qualify for the King of the Mountain match, however Young attacked Jarrett after the match in storyline. The following week Jarrett called out Young and offered to turn the other cheek but instead Young provoked him by saying that he pays more attention to wrestling than his own daughters just like his father Jerry Jarrett which resulted in Jeff slapping Young and assaulting him. Jarrett also would accidentally punch referee Earl Hebner while Hebner was trying to separate the 2. On the June 11 edition of ''Impact!'', Mick Foley kayfabe fined and suspended Jarrett and threw him out of the arena as a punishment. The following week Foley threw a party for Jarrett and welcomed him back to TNA in order to have him on his side at Slammiversary. At Slammiversary, Jarrett refused to give Foley the belt in the King of the Mountain match, which was won by Kurt Angle after assistance from Samoa Joe. Shortly after Slammiversary, Jarrett once again disappeared from TNA programming. During his hiatus, it was reported that Jarrett had lost all of his backstage power in TNA and would return only as a wrestler.

Feuding with Eric Bischoff and Sting (2009–2010)

On the December 3 edition of ''Impact!'', Jarrett made his first appearance in months via telephone, refusing to help Mick Foley regain control over TNA after Dixie Carter had announced that Hulk Hogan was coming to TNA. On the December 10 edition of ''Impact!'', Foley met with Jarrett, who agreed to return and help him deal with Carter and Hogan. On January 4, 2010, Hogan made his debut, confronted Jarrett and claimed that he had to earn his spot in the company. The following week Jarrett started showing signs of a heel turn as he threatened Hogan with legal action, however, on the January 28 edition of ''Impact!'' he changed his mind and agreed to fight for his spot. In the main event of the show he came out to no entrance music or pyrotechnics and was defeated by Mr. Anderson after a low blow. This started an angle of Hogan's business partner Eric Bischoff, acting on his own without Hogan, having Jarrett work humiliating jobs backstage at the Impact! Zone, such as flipping burgers and cleaning restrooms, while also booking him in unfavorable matches, such as surprise Falls Count Anywhere and handicap matches. On the March 22 edition of ''Impact!'', after Jarrett broke a guitar over Bischoff's head, Bischoff placed him and Mick Foley, another wrestler he had had problems with, against each other in a No Disqualification match, where the loser would get fired from the company. Jarrett managed to win the match, refereed by Beer Money, Inc., and with Foley fired from the company, Hogan ordered Bischoff to lay off of Jarrett. The following week Hogan, prior to leaving on a business trip, apologized to Jarrett for Bischoff's behavior and gave him a chance to earn the number one contendership to the TNA World Heavyweight Championship in a match against the champion A.J. Styles. With Hogan out of the building, Bischoff and Styles' manager Ric Flair interfered in the match and cost Jarrett the number one contendership. Later in the evening Jarrett was announced as the second member of Abyss' Team Hogan in the annual Lethal Lockdown match, where they would meet Team Flair, led by Sting. At Lockdown Team Hogan (Abyss, Jarrett, Rob Van Dam and Jeff Hardy) defeated Team Flair (Sting, Desmond Wolfe, Robert Roode and James Storm), when Bischoff turned face and helped Team Hogan pick up the victory, effectively ending his feud with Jarrett. Just before Lockdown, Jarrett said that he was going to find out the answers to Sting's behavior, which led into a brawl on ''Impact!'' with Sting leaving a beaten Jarrett in the ring, which in turn led to their match at Sacrifice. At the pay-per-view Sting assaulted Jarrett prior to their match and then dragged him in to the ring, where he managed to score a pinfall in seconds over his bloodied opponent. Jarrett was sidelined for a month before making his return at Slammiversary VIII, where he cost Sting his World Heavyweight Championship match against Rob Van Dam. On the June 24 edition of ''Impact!'' Sting assaulted Jarrett to the point that TNA president Dixie Carter suspended him for 30 days without pay the following week. During Sting's suspension Jarrett found a new enemy in Kevin Nash, who claimed that Jarrett himself, and not Sting, was what was wrong with TNA. Sting returned from his suspension on the August 5 edition of ''Impact!'', wearing a new red face paint, and, together with Nash, beat down Jarrett, Bischoff and Hogan. On the August 26 edition of ''Impact!'' Jarrett attempted to recruit Samoa Joe to help him against Nash and Sting, but was turned down. Thus Jarrett was left alone for a match, where he was defeated by Nash, after an interference from Sting. The following week Sting defeated Jarrett in a singles match, after an interference from Kevin Nash. After the match Samoa Joe joined Jarrett and drove Sting and Nash away. At No Surrender Jarrett and Joe defeated Sting and Nash in a tag team match, after Jarrett hit Sting with his own baseball bat.

Heel turn and feud with Kurt Angle (2010–2011)

At Bound for Glory Jarrett and Joe faced Sting, Nash and their newest ally D'Angelo Dinero in a two on three handicap match, after Hulk Hogan, who was scheduled to team with Joe and Jarrett, Hogan was forced to pull out due to a back surgery. At the end of the match, Jarrett abandoned Joe and left Joe behind to be pinned by Nash, thus Jarrett turned heel for the first time since 2007. At the end of the event Jarrett aligned himself with Hulk Hogan, who ended up making a surprise appearance, Eric Bischoff, Abyss and the new TNA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Hardy, all of whom made heel turns with the exception of the already heel Abyss, in the process revealing themselves as the "they" Abyss had referred to. On the following edition of ''Impact!'' Jarrett explained that he had joined the stable, now known as Immortal, in order to get back at Dixie Carter for taking away his backstage power in TNA, while also wanting to end the career of Kurt Angle, who had proclaimed that he would retire from professional wrestling if he failed to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship at Bound for Glory. Jarrett then attacked Angle, when he was being restrained by TNA's security officers. The following week Samoa Joe attempted to avenge what had happened at Bound for Glory, but was restrained by the security officers, before being beat down by Jarrett. At Turning Point Jarrett defeated Joe, after choking him out with a baton, following interference from Gunner and Murphy, his security officers. On the following edition of ''Impact!'' Jarrett assaulted Joe, after he had defeated Gunner and Murphy in a handicap match, but was then chased away by the returning Kurt Angle. At Final Resolution Jarrett faced Joe in a submission match. After a pre–match assault and later an interference by Gunner and Murphy, Jarrett managed to force Joe to submit with an ankle lock. On the January 6, 2011, edition of ''Impact!'' Kurt Angle interrupted Jarrett's $100,000 mixed martial arts challenge and signed a contract to face him at Genesis in an MMA exhibition match, since he had promised not to wrestle again. The match was thrown out in the third round after Jarrett blinded Angle. After the match Jarrett bloodied Angle, before announcing that he was ending his mixed martial arts career and promised that his current wife and Kurt's former wife, Karen Jarrett, would be joining the retirement party. On the January 13 edition of ''Impact!'' Karen made her return and stopped Angle just as he was about to attack Jeff, telling him that she would not allow him to ruin their personal lives and promised to tell all about their divorce the following week. The following week Karen slapped Kurt, providing a distraction which allowed Jeff to beat him down. On February 13 at Against All Odds Jarrett defeated Angle in a singles match and as a result Angle was forced to walk Karen down the aisle, when she and Jarrett renewed their wedding vows on the March 3 edition of ''Impact!''. On March 3 Angle proceeded to destroy the wedding set with an axe and forced wedding guest, New York Jet Bart Scott to tap out with the ankle lock. On April 17 at Lockdown, Jarrett defeated Angle in an "Ultra Male Rules" Two out of Three Falls steel cage match, with help from Karen. It was later reported that Jarrett had severely bruised his ribs in the match. On the May 12 edition of ''Impact!'', Angle revealed a name from Jarrett's past, Chyna, as his backup in taking care of him and Karen. At Sacrifice, Angle and Chyna defeated the Jarretts in a mixed tag team match. With Karen out of the picture, Angle defeated Jarrett on June 12 at Slammiversary IX in what was billed as the "final battle" between the two. However, on the following edition of ''Impact Wrestling'', Jarrett challenged Angle to a Parking Lot Brawl and agreed to sign a contract that would force him to move to Mexico without Angle's children, which he lost the match. Angle ended up winning the fight after choking Jarrett with a shirt, forcing him to say "adiós", thus ending the long feud in the process. The following week on ''Impact Wrestling'', Bischoff forced Jarrett to obey the match stipulations and exiled him to Mexico.

Mexican Heavyweight Champion (2011)

Jarrett returned to TNA on the July 14 edition of ''Impact Wrestling'', showing off the "Mexican Heavyweight Championship" belt, playing off the AAA World Heavyweight Championship, he had won during his stay in Mexico. On the August 18 edition of ''Impact Wrestling'', Jarrett aligned himself with the Mexican America stable by helping its members Anarquia and Hernandez defeat Beer Money, Inc. for the TNA World Tag Team Championship. In October Jarrett began feuding with the returning Jeff Hardy. On November 13 at Turning Point, Jarrett lost to Hardy three times in a row, first in six seconds, then in six minutes and finally in ten seconds. On December 11 at Final Resolution, Jarrett was defeated by Hardy in a steel cage match. As per stipulation of the match, Jarrett was, in storyline, fired from TNA on the following edition of ''Impact Wrestling''. In reality, he was written off television to oversee Ring Ka King, a new promotion based in India that is a subsidiary of TNA.

Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (2004–2006, 2011–present)

Jarrett made his debut for Mexican promotion Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA) on March 21, 2004, defeating Latin Lover to win the 2004 Rey de Reyes tournament. Over the next two years, Jarrett would make several sporadic appearances for AAA as a member of the heel stable ''La Legión Extranjera'', before the working relationship between AAA and TNA was ended.

In February 2010, TNA restarted their working relationship with AAA and in early May 2011, Jarrett made his return to AAA television, announcing his and TNA's alignment with Dorian Roldán and his heel stable ''La Sociedad'' and their participation in TripleManía XIX. Konnan, the co-leader of ''La Sociedad'' and former TNA worker, however, was against the idea of his former employer coming to AAA and believed that Roldán had made a mistake by inviting him to the promotion. Jarrett and Abyss arrived to AAA on May 18 for a confrontation with Konnan and ''La Sociedad''. In the end, Jarrett and Konnan revealed that they were in fact on the same page with each other and turned on AAA World Heavyweight Champion El Zorro with Konnan announcing that Jarrett would be challenging for his title at TripleManía XIX.

On June 18 at TripleManía XIX, Jarrett defeated El Zorro to become the new AAA World Heavyweight Champion. On July 31 at ''Verano de Escándalo'', Jarrett successfully defended the title in a three-way elimination match against Dr. Wagner, Jr. and L.A. Park, when someone wearing El Zorro's old mask interfered and hit Park with a guitar. This person was later revealed as ''La Sociedad'' member Chessman, whom Konnan had sent to interfere in the match in order to have Park go after El Zorro instead of continuing to chase his stablemate's title. The storyline continued on October 9 at Héroes Inmortales, where both Jarrett and Park took part in the ''Copa Antonio Peña'' gauntlet match. After working together for the entire match, Park eventually turned on Jarrett and eliminated him. After a distraction from the Jarretts, Park was attacked by another masked El Zorro, costing him the match. Jarrett returned to AAA on March 18, 2012, at ''Rey de Reyes'', where he cost L.A. Park his opportunity to earn a shot at the AAA World Heavyweight Championship in the finals of the Rey de Reyes tournament. Later that same event, Jarrett lost the AAA World Heavyweight Championship to El Mesías, following interference from Park, ending his reign at 274 days, the longest reign in the title's history.

Media

TNA announced that on April 14, 2009 the first-ever Jeff Jarrett DVD release would be a four-disc set, including his best TNA matches and moments, a lengthy and candid interview on his life, career and TNA Wrestling, rare photos, and guest commentary, among others.

Personal life

Jarrett was married to his "high school sweetheart" Jill on November 14, 1992, with whom he had three daughters, Joslyn, Jaclyn, and Jerlyn. His parents names are father, Jerry W. and mother Deborah. He also has two brothers, Jerry Jr. and Jason, and he has one sister, Jennifer. Jill was diagnosed with breast cancer in the late 1990s, and died on May 23, 2007 at the age of 38 from cancer, exactly eight years after the death of his friend Owen Hart.

In 2009, It was reported that Jeff Jarrett was romantically linked to Karen Angle. This resulted in TNA president Dixie Carter placing Jeff Jarrett on leave of absence. The situation was revealed in July 2009 when a caller known only as "James" claiming to be a TNA employee called in on Bubba the Love Sponge's radio show. Dixie Carter commented on the situation on ''Impact'', stating "a personal situation that affected the company and it put all of us in a very difficult position." She said Jeff was placed "on leave as both a talent and in his capacity with the company and I'd like to leave it at that." In December 2009, Jeff returned to TNA, using the real life situation briefly as a storyline. On April 6, 2010, Jeff and Karen announced their engagement; they were married on August 21, 2010.

In wrestling

Finishing moves

''Acoustic Equalizer'' / ''El Kabong'' (Guitar shot)

Figure-four leglock

*Running DDT - 1993-1994

''The Stroke'' (Forward Russian legsweep, sometimes from the second rope)

Signature moves

Diving crossbody

*Double leg slam

*Double underhook facebuster

Dropkick, sometimes from the top rope

*Enzuigiri

*Kneeling belly to belly piledriver

Lariat

*Leapfrog body guillotine

Powerslam

Sleeper hold

*Snap suplex

Swinging neckbreaker

Managers

The Roadie

Debra

Jim Cornette

Tennessee Lee

*Southern Justice (Mark Canterbury and Dennis Knight)

Miss Kitty

*nWo Girls

*New Blood

*Harris Brothers (Don and Ron Harris)

*Don Callis

*Baby Doll

Gail Kim

*Jackie Gayda

*Karen Jarrett

Nicknames

"The Chosen One"

"Double J"

"The TNA Founder"

"The Great One"

"Simply Irresistible"

"The King of the Mountain"

"The Ultra Male"

*"Big Daddy"

Entrance themes

*"Good Ol' Boys" WCW (1996–1997)

*"Rockhouse" by Jimmy Hart and H.Helm WCW; as part of nWo 2000; 1999-early 2000)

"My World" by Dale Oliver (TNA / AAA / Ring Ka King; 2002–present)

"Immortal Theme" by Dale Oliver

Championships and accomplishments

American Wrestling Association

*Rookie of the Year (1984)

Asistencia Asesoría y Administración

AAA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

AAA Rey de Reyes (2004)¹

Continental Wrestling Association

AWA Southern Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with Billy Travis (3) and Pat Tanaka (1)

CWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

CWA/AWA International Tag Team Championship (2 time) – with Pat Tanaka (1) and Paul Diamond (1)

NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Championship (5 times)

NWA Cyberspace

NWA Cyberspace Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Pennsylvania Championship Wrestling

PCW United States Championship (1 time)

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

PWI Feud of the Year (1992)with Jerry Lawler vs. the Moondogs

PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year (2007)

PWI ranked him #5 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2000

PWI ranked him #141 in the PWI Years in 2003

PWI ranked him #78 of the Top 100 Tag Teams of the PWI Years in 2003 with Jerry Lawler

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

NWA World Heavyweight Championship (6 times)

*King of the Mountain (2004, 2006)

United States Wrestling Association

USWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

USWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (9 times)

USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship (3 times)

USWA World Tag Team Championship (14 times) – with Jeff Gaylord (2), Cody Michaels (1), Jerry Lawler (4), Robert Fuller (4), and Brian Christopher (2)

World Championship Wrestling

WCW United States Heavyweight Championship (3 times)

WCW World Heavyweight Championship (4 times)

World Class Wrestling Association

USWA World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Matt Borne

WCWA World Light Heavyweight Championship (2 times)

WCWA World Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Kerry Von Erich (1), Mil Máscaras (1), and Matt Borne (1)

World Wrestling Federation

NWA North American Heavyweight Championship (1 time)²

WWF European Championship (1 time)

WWF Intercontinental Championship (6 times)

WWF Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Owen Hart

World Series Wrestling

WSW Heavyweight Championship

World Wrestling All-Stars

*WWA World Heavyweight Championship (2 times)³

Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards

*Feud of the Year (1992) with Jerry Lawler vs. The Moondogs

*Most Overrated Wrestler (2005)

¹After Asistencia Asesoría y Administración retracted their working relationship with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, Jarrett's win was stricken from AAA's records. However, when the relationship was resumed in 2010, AAA once again began recognizing Jarrett as a former Rey de Reyes.

²Wins the title while working for the World Wrestling Federation as part of an angle with the National Wrestling Alliance.

³Upon winning the title for the second time, Jarrett instantly unified it with the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.

Lucha de Apuesta record

Jeff Jarrett

style="background:#e3e3e3; width:5%;"	Wager	Winner	Loser	Location	Date	Notes
Hair	Sean Waltman>X-Pac	|	New York City>New York, New York		SummerSlam (1998)>SummerSlam
Career	Jeff Jarrett	Mick Foley	Orlando, Florida

Notes

References

External links

TNA profile

AAA profile

Online World of Wrestling profile

Category:1967 births Category:Living people Category:American professional wrestlers Category:People from Nashville, Tennessee Category:Professional wrestling executives Category:New World Order (professional wrestling) members Category:Four Horsemen (professional wrestling) members

bg:Джеф Джарет da:Jeff Jarrett de:Jeff Jarrett es:Jeff Jarrett fr:Jeff Jarrett ko:제프 제럿 it:Jeff Jarrett lt:Jeff Jarrett nl:Jeff Jarrett ja:ジェフ・ジャレット pl:Jeff Jarrett pt:Jeff Jarrett ro:Jeff Jarrett ru:Джарретт, Джефф th:เจฟ จาเรต vi:Jeff Jarrett

Name	Jeff Hardy
Names	GalaxionGladiatorThe IcemanJeff HardyMean Jimmy JackWillow the WhispWolverine
Height
Weight
Real height
Real 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, painter, poet, singer-songwriter and musician who is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). He is also known for his stint with the World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (WWE).

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. Noted for his seemingly fearless airborne moves, Hardy's offensive toolbox more resembles a stunt man's than a pro wrestler's.

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. Between WWE and TNA, Hardy has won 21 total championships. He received his first major main event push in WWE 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 in Youngstown, Ohio, with "Macho Man" Randy Savage mentioning on-air in a commentary role "Welcome to the big leagues". 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 (including a match against Rob Van Dam during the ECW "invasion" storyline that had Hardy billed as being from Virginia instead of Cameron, North Carolina) 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.

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 and departure (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 episode 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 episode 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 episode 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 episode 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". Hardy wrestled his first match in six months on September 15 at a live event in York, Pennsylvania, defeating Jeff Jarrett. Hardy then began feuding with his former stable Immortal, attacking Eric Bischoff on the October 6 episode of ''Impact Wrestling'' and engaging in brawls with Jeff Jarrett at Bound for Glory and on the October 20 episode of ''Impact Wrestling''. Hardy wrestled his first televised match since his return on the October 27 episode of ''Impact Wrestling'', defeating Immortal member Bully Ray. On November 13 at Turning Point, Hardy defeated Jeff Jarrett three times, first in six seconds, the second in six minutes, and the third in ten seconds. On December 11 at Final Resolution, Hardy defeated Jarrett in a steel cage match to become the number one contender to the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. On January 8, 2012, at Genesis, Hardy defeated TNA World Heavyweight Champion Bobby Roode via disqualification; as a result, the title remained with Roode. On the following episode of ''Impact Wrestling'', a rematch between Hardy and Roode ended in a no contest, following interference from Bully Ray. The following week, Hardy was entered into a number one contender's match against James Storm, which ended in a no contest following interference from Ray and Roode. On February 12 at Against All Odds, Hardy was unable to capture the TNA World Heavyweight Championship from Roode in a four-way match, which also included Bully Ray and James Storm. On the following episode of ''Impact Wrestling'', Hardy lost his shot at the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, following interference from the returning Kurt Angle. On March 18 at Victory Road, Hardy was defeated by Angle in a singles match. On April 15 at Lockdown, Hardy defeated Angle in a rematch, contested inside a steel cage. On the following episode of ''Impact Wrestling'', Hardy and Mr. Anderson were defeated by Rob Van Dam in a triple threat number one contenders match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. During the first "Open Fight Night" the following week, Hardy teamed up with Anderson to unsuccessfully challenge Samoa Joe and Magnus for the TNA World Tag Team Championship.

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 three members, Hardy, Shannon Moore 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, Jason Arhndt and John Morrison . 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, 2010. 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 plead guilty to the charges. On September 8, 2011, Hardy was sentenced to ten days in jail, 30 months of probation and a fine of $100,000. Hardy served his jail sentence from October 3 to October 13, 2011.

In wrestling

Finishing moves

''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 swan dive senton bomb)

''Twist of Fate'' (Front facelock dropped either into a cutter – WWF/E / TNA or a stunner – TNA) / ''Twist of Hate'' (TNA; 2010–2011)

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 or a splash 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, 2011)

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

"Another Me" by Jeff Hardy and Dale Oliver (TNA; 2010–2011)

"Immortal Theme" by Dale Oliver (TNA; 2010–2011)

"Resurrected" by Jeff Hardy and Dale Oliver (TNA; 2011–present)

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

Worst Worked Match of the Year (2011) vs. Sting at Victory Road

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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Name	Hulk Hogan
Names	The Super DestroyerHulk HoganHollywood Hulk HoganHollywood HoganTerry Boulder Mr. AmericaSterling Golden
Height
Weight
Birth date	August 11, 1953
Birth place	Augusta, GA
Billed	Venice Beach, CaliforniaWashington, D.C. (as Mr. America)Hollywood, California (as Hollywood Hogan)
Resides	Tampa, Florida
Trainer	Hiro Matsuda
Debut	August 10, 1977
Website	www.HulkHogan.com }}

Terry Gene Bollea (born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American professional wrestler, actor, television personality, and musician signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA).

Hogan enjoyed mainstream popularity in the mid 1980s through the early 1990s as the all-American character Hulk Hogan in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF—now WWE), and was notable in the mid-to-late 1990s as Hollywood Hogan, the villainous nWo leader, in World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Following the closure of WCW, he made a brief return to WWE in the early 2000s before revising his heroic character by combining elements of his two most famous personas.

Hogan was later inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005. He is a 12-time world champion being a six-time WWF/WWE Champion, six-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion, as well as a former WWE World Tag Team Champion with Edge. He won the Royal Rumble in 1990 and 1991, making him the first to win two consecutive Royal Rumbles. He was also the first WWE wrestler to win the WWE Championship three times. In his first reign as WCW World Heavyweight Champion, Hogan held the title for 469 days from July 17, 1994 to October 29, 1995—the longest reign of all time for this championship.

Early life

Bollea, who is of Italian, French, and Panamanian heritage, is the son of Peter Bollea, a construction foreman, and Ruth, a homemaker and dance teacher. Hogan was raised in Charlestown, MA. As a boy, he was a pitcher in Little League Baseball. He began watching professional wrestling at 16 years old. While in high school, he revered Dusty Rhodes, and he regularly attended cards at the Tampa Sportatorium. It was at one of those wrestling cards where he first turned his attention towards "Superstar" Billy Graham and looked to him for inspiration; since he first saw Graham on TV, Hogan wanted to match his "inhuman" look. Hogan was also a skilled musician, spending ten years playing bass guitar in several Florida-based rock bands. After music gigs began to get in the way of his time in college, Hogan decided to drop out of the University of South Florida before receiving any degree. Eventually, Hogan and two local musicians formed a band called Ruckus in 1976. The band soon became a local sensation in the Tampa Bay region..

During his spare time, Hogan would work out at Hector's Gym in the Tampa Bay area and eventually became strong enough to do big lifting. Many of the wrestlers who were competing in the Florida region visited the bars where Ruckus was performing. Among those attending his performances were Jack and Gerald Brisco, two brothers who wrestled together as a tag team in the Florida region. Impressed by Hogan's physical stature, the Brisco brothers asked Hiro Matsuda—the man who trained wrestlers working for Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF)—to make him a potential trainee. In 1976, the two brothers asked Hogan to try wrestling. Having been a wrestling fan since childhood, Hogan eventually agreed. At first, however, Mike Graham, the son of CWF promoter Eddie Graham, refused to put Hogan in the ring; according to Hogan, he met Graham while in high school and the two didn't get along. However, after Hogan quit Ruckus and started telling people in town that he was going to be a wrestler, Mike Graham finally agreed to accept the Brisco Brothers' request.

Professional wrestling career

Early years (1977–1979)

In the summer of 1977, after over a year of training with Matsuda, the Brisco brothers dropped by Matsuda's gym to see Hogan. During this visit, Jack Brisco handed Hogan a pair of wrestling boots and informed him that he was scheduled to wrestle his first match the following week. In his professional wrestling debut, Eddie Graham booked him against Brian Blair in Fort Myers, Florida on August 10, 1977 in Championship Wrestling from Florida. A short time later, Bollea donned a mask and assumed the persona of "The Super Destroyer," a hooded character first played by Don Jardine and subsequently used by other wrestlers. Hogan, however, eventually could no longer work with Hiro Matsuda, whom he felt was an overbearing trainer, and left Championship Wrestling From Florida. After declining an offer to wrestle for the Kansas City circuit, Hogan took a hiatus from wrestling and managed a private club in Cocoa Beach, Florida-known as the Anchor Club-. for a man named Whitey Bridges. Eventually, Whitey and Hogan became close friends, and decided to open a gym together; the gym would be known as Whitey and Terry's Olympic gym. Soon after, Hogan's friend Ed Leslie (later known as Brutus Beefcake) came down to Cocoa Beach to help Hogan and Bridges manage both the Anchor Club and the Whitey and Terry's Olympic Gym. On his spare time, he and Beefcake would work out in the gym together, and eventually, Beefcake developed a muscular physique; Hogan was impressed by Beefcake's physical stature and became convinced that the two of them should wrestle together as tag team partners. Depressed and yearning to return to wrestling, Hogan called Superstar Billy Graham in 1978 with hopes that Graham could find him a job wrestling outside of Florida; Graham agreed and Hogan soon joined Louie Tillet's Alabama territory. Hogan also convinced Beefcake, who had yet to become a wrestler, to come with him and promised to teach him everything he knew about the sport.

In Alabama, he and Beefcake wrestled as Terry and Ed Boulder, known as the Boulder Brothers. These early matches as a tag team with the surname Boulder being used by both men prompted a rumor among wrestling fans unaware of the inner workings of the sport that Hogan and Beefcake were brothers, as few people actually knew their real names outside of immediate friends, family, and of course the various promoters the two worked for. After wrestling a show for Continental Wrestling Association (CWA) in Memphis, Jerry Jarrett, the promoter for the (CWA), approached Hogan and Beefcake and offered them a job in his promotion for $800.00 a week; this was far more than the $175.00 a week they would make working for Tillet. Hogan and Beefcake accepted this offer and left Tillet's territory.

During his time in Memphis, Hogan appeared on a local talk show, where he sat beside Lou Ferrigno, star of the television series ''The Incredible Hulk''. The host commented on how Terry, who stood 6 ft 7 in (201 cm) and weighed 295 pounds with 24 inch biceps, actually dwarfed "The Hulk." Watching the show backstage, Jerry Jarrett noticed that Hogan was actually bigger than Ferrigno, who was well known at the time for having large muscles. As a result, Bollea began performing as Terry "The Hulk" Boulder and sometimes wrestled as Sterling Golden.

In May 1979, Bollea had an early shot at the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, which at the time was generally recognized as the highest honor in wrestling. In June 1979, Bollea won his first wrestling championship, the NWA Southeast Heavyweight Championship, recognized in Alabama and Tennessee when he defeated Ox Baker.

World Wrestling Federation (1979–1980)

Later that year, former NWA World Champion Terry Funk introduced Bollea to the company head Vincent J. McMahon, who was impressed with his charisma and physical stature. McMahon, who wanted to use an Irish name, gave Bollea the last name Hogan, and also wanted him to dye his hair red. Hogan who said his hair was already beginning to fall out, refused to dye it and simply said "I'll be a blond irish. At this time, Hogan wrestled Bob Backlund for the World Championship, and he started his first big feud with André the Giant, which culminated in a match with André at Shea Stadium in August 1980. Hulk Hogan claims in his autobiography that he and André the Giant were the reason for the Shea gate. However, Sammartino/Zbyszko sold out everywhere they wrestled leading up the show. Hogan and Andre wrestled in White Plains, New York, drawing 1,200 in a building that held 3,500 as the main event before they wrestled at Shea. During his initial heel run in the WWF, Hogan was paired with "Classy" Freddie Blassie, a wrestler-turned-manager.

New Japan Pro Wrestling (1980–1985)

A great deal of Hogan's early success was achieved in New Japan Pro Wrestling. Japanese wrestling fans were in awe of the gargantuan blond American and nicknamed him "Ichiban" (which translates to "Number One"). Hogan first appeared in Japan on May 13, 1980, while he was still with the WWF. He occasionally toured the country over the next few years, facing a wide variety of opponents ranging from Tatsumi Fujinami to Abdullah the Butcher. When competing in Japan, Hogan used a vastly different repertoire of wrestling moves, relying on more technical, traditional wrestling holds and maneuvers as opposed to the power-based, brawling style American fans became accustomed to seeing from him. Another difference is that Hogan used a running forearm lariat (called the "Axe Bomber") as his finisher in Japan instead of the running leg drop that has been his traditional finisher in America. On June 2, 1983, Hogan became the first International Wrestling Grand Prix (IWGP) tournament winner (although he held the IWGP Heavyweight Championship belt, this was not the beginning of the actual championship), defeating Japanese wrestling icon Antonio Inoki by knockout in the finals of a 10-man tournament featuring top talent from throughout the world. Hogan and Inoki also worked as partners in Japan, winning the prestigious MSG Tag League tournament two years in a row: in 1982 and 1983. Hogan's popularity in Japan was so great, he even recorded an album there—a forerunner to the World Wrestling Federation's "Rock 'n' Wrestling" of the mid 1980s.

In 1984, Hogan returned to New Japan, to wrestle Antonio Inoki in the finals of the IWGP League, in which he lost the belt by countout, thanks to interference from Riki Choshu. Hogan would also defend his WWF World title against various stars in New Japan including Inoki, Seiji Sakaguchi, and Tatsumi Fujinami among others, until the WWF ended their relationship with New Japan in October 1985.

American Wrestling Association (1981–1983)

After filming his scene for ''Rocky III'' against the elder McMahon's wishes, Hogan made his debut in the American Wrestling Association, owned by Verne Gagne. Hogan started his AWA run as a heel, taking on "Luscious" Johnny Valiant as his manager, before handing the AWA title over to him. Hogan, unwilling to give up his life as a bachelor for the world title of the AWA, continued to turn down the belt. Shortly after these attempts to woo Hogan into giving Gagne more of a share of his profits and booking in Japan and attempts to bring him into the Gagne family, Hogan was lured back to the Northeast by Vincent K. McMahon, who had just recently purchased the WWF from his ailing father.

Over twenty years later, just prior to Hulk Hogan's WWE Hall of Fame induction in 2005, the revived American Wrestling Association, under the authority of owner Dale Gagner, retroactively acknowledged Hogan's two previously-overturned title wins over Nick Bockwinkel making Hogan a two-time AWA World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion. This resolution, however, has been regarded as apocryphal to most as the resurrected AWA is generally regarded as a different body than the Verne Gagne–owned AWA of old. As recently as the release of the DVD ''The Spectacular Legacy of the AWA'', interviews between Hogan and the Gagnes show that there is still animosity between both parties indicating the unlikelihood that Hogan's AWA title reign would have been retroactively instated under the original ownership. The WWE won a lawsuit against Dale Gagner, due to trademark infringement, which declared Gagner's claims to ownership of the AWA false and as such rendered the resolution moot as WWE only recognizes twelve American world championships being attributed to Hulk Hogan, and, the AWA World Championship is not among that number.

Return to World Wrestling Federation (1983-1993)

The Birth of Hulkamania (1983–1984)

After purchasing the company from his father in 1982, Vincent K. McMahon had plans to expand the territory into a nationwide promotion, and he handpicked Hulk Hogan to be the company's showpiece attraction due to his charisma and name recognition. Hogan made his return at a television taping in St. Louis, Missouri on December 27, 1983 defeating Bill Dixon.

On the January 7, 1984 edition of ''Championship Wrestling'', Hogan confirmed his face status for the WWF fans by saving Bob Backlund from a three-way assault. Hogan's turn was explained simply by Backlund: "He's changed his ways. He's a great man. He's told me he's not gonna have Blassie around." The storyline shortcut was necessary because less than three weeks later on January 23, Hogan won his first WWF Championship, pinning The Iron Sheik (who had Blassie in his corner) in Madison Square Garden. The storyline accompanying the victory was that Hogan was a "last minute" replacement for the Sheik's original opponent Bob Backlund, and became the champion by way of being the first man to escape the camel clutch (the Iron Sheik's finishing move). The backstage story was that the WWF Champion Bob Backlund had refused to let Hogan win the title from him, demanding that any wrestler to whom he lost the belt have a legitimate wrestling background. As a consequence, The Iron Sheik won the title from Backlund first and then dropped it to Hogan.

Immediately after the title win, commentator Gorilla Monsoon proclaimed "Hulkamania is here!" Hogan frequently referred to his fans as "Hulkamaniacs" in his interviews and introduced his three "demandments": training, saying prayers, and eating vitamins. Eventually, a fourth demandment (believing in oneself) was added during his feud with Earthquake in 1990. Hogan's ring gear developed a characteristic yellow-and-red color scheme; his ring entrances involved him ritualistically ripping his shirt off his body, flexing, and listening for audience cheers in an exaggerated manner. The majority of Hogan's matches during this time involved him wrestling heels who had been booked as unstoppable monsters, using a format which became near-routine: Hogan would deliver steady offense, but eventually lose momentum, seemingly nearing defeat. He would then experience a sudden second wind, fighting back while "feeding" off the energy of the audience, becoming impervious to attack—a process described as "Hulking up". His signature maneuvers—pointing at the opponent (which would later be accompanied by a loud "YOU!" from the audience), shaking his finger to scold him, three punches, an Irish Whip, the big boot and running leg drop—would follow and ensure him a victory. That finishing sequence would occasionally change depending on the storyline and opponent; for instance, with "Giant" wrestlers, the sequence might involve a body slam.

Over the next year, Hulk Hogan became the face of pro wrestling as McMahon pushed the WWF into a pop culture enterprise with The Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection on MTV, drawing record houses, pay-per-view buyrates, and television ratings in the process. The centerpiece attraction for the first WrestleMania on March 31, 1985, Hogan teamed with legit friend Mr. T to defeat his archrival "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff. On the first edition of ''Saturday Night's Main Event'', Hogan successfully defended the WWF title against Cowboy Bob Orton in a match which Hogan won by a disqualification.

Hogan was named the most requested celebrity of the 1980s for the Make-a-Wish Foundation children's charity. He was featured on the covers of ''Sports Illustrated'', ''TV Guide'', and ''People'' magazines, while also appearing on ''The Tonight Show'' and having his own CBS Saturday morning cartoon titled ''Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling''. Hogan, as the premier WWF icon, headlined eight of the first nine WrestleMania events. He also co-hosted ''Saturday Night Live'' on March 30, 1985 during this lucrative run. AT&T; reported that his 900 number information line was the single biggest 900 number from 1991 to 1993. Hogan operated the 900 number through his stint in WWF and then recreated it when he joined World Championship Wrestling.

WWF Champion (1984–1988)

On the October 5, 1985 edition of ''Saturday Night's Main Event'', he successfully defended the title against Nikolai Volkoff in a flag match. He met long-time rival Roddy Piper in a WWF title match at the Wrestling Classic pay-per-view (PPV) event. Hogan retained the title by disqualification after Bob Orton interfered and hit Hogan with his cast. Hogan had many challengers in the way as the new year began. Throughout 1986, Hogan made successful title defenses against challengers such as Terry Funk, "The Magnificent" Don Muraco, King Kong Bundy (in a steel cage match at WrestleMania 2), Paul Orndorff, and Hercules Hernandez.

In the fall of 1986, Hogan occasionally wrestled in tag matches with The Machines as Hulk Machine under a mask copied from New Japan Pro Wrestling gimmick "Super Strong Machine." At WrestleMania III in 1987, Hogan was booked to defend the title against André the Giant, who had been the sport's premier star and was pushed as undefeated for the previous two decades. A new storyline was introduced in early 1987; Hogan was presented a trophy for being the WWF Champion for three consecutive years. André the Giant, a good friend came out to congratulate him. Shortly afterward, André was presented a slightly smaller trophy for being "undefeated in the WWF for 15 years." Hogan came out to congratulate André, who walked out in the midst of Hogan's speech. Then, on an edition of ''Piper's Pit'', Hogan was confronted by Bobby Heenan, who announced that André was his new protégé, and Andre challenged Hogan to a title match at WrestleMania III. At WrestleMania III, Hogan successfully defended the WWF World Heavyweight Championship against André the Giant. During the match, Hogan bodyslammed the 520-pound Frenchman (which was dubbed "the bodyslam heard around the world") and won the match after a leg drop.

Hogan remained WWF Champion for four years (1,474 days). In front of 33 million viewers, however, Hogan finally lost the belt to André on the February 5 edition of ''The Main Event'' after a convoluted scam involving "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase and Earl Hebner (who assumed the place of his twin brother Dave Hebner, the match's appointed referee). After André delivered a belly to belly suplex on Hogan, Hebner counted the pin while Hogan's left shoulder was clearly off the mat. After the match, André handed the title over to DiBiase to complete their business deal. As a result, the WWF Championship was vacated for the first time in its 25-year history. At WrestleMania IV, Hogan participated in a tournament for the vacant WWF title to regain it and faced André in the tournament quarter-finals but their match resulted in a double disqualification. Later that night in the main event, Hogan interfered and helped "Macho Man" Randy Savage defeat Ted DiBiase to win the title.

The Mega Powers (1988–1989)

Together, Hogan, Savage, and manager Miss Elizabeth formed a partnership known as The Mega Powers. After Savage became WWF Champion at WrestleMania IV, they feuded with The Mega Bucks (Ted DiBiase and André the Giant) and defeated them at the main event of the first SummerSlam. The Mega Powers, however, soon imploded from within in 1989, due to Savage's burgeoning jealousy of Hogan and his paranoid suspicions that Hogan and Elizabeth were "more than friends". Dissension was furthered at the Royal Rumble, when Hogan eliminated Savage from the Royal Rumble match. The duo broke up while wrestling The Twin Towers on the February 3, 1989 edition of ''The Main Event''. During the match, Savage accidentally collided with Miss Elizabeth. Hogan took her backstage to receive medical attention, while temporarily abandoning Savage. When he returned to the ring, Savage slapped Hogan and left the ring, where Hogan eventually won the match by himself. After the match, Savage attacked Hogan backstage, which started a feud between the two. Their feud culminated in Hogan beating Savage for his second WWF Championship at WrestleMania V.

Later WWF Championship reigns (1989–1992)

Hogan's second run lasted a year, during which time he starred in the movie ''No Holds Barred''. The film was the inspiration of a feud with Hogan's co-star Tom Lister, Jr., who appeared at wrestling events as his movie character, Zeus. Zeus was a monster heel who was "jealous" over Hogan's higher billing and wanted revenge. Hogan, however, was easily able to defeat Zeus in a series of matches across the country during late 1989, beginning with a tag team match at SummerSlam, in which Hogan and Brutus Beefcake topped Zeus and Savage. Hogan and Beefcake defeated Zeus and Savage in a rematch at the No Holds Barred pay-per-view to end the feud.

Hogan's second title run was briefly interrupted in January 1989 when he was defeated via submission by Dino Bravo after Hogan couldn't break Bravo's bearhug hold. Hogan attempted to "Hulk Up" and turn the match around, but Bravo wouldn't release the hold, and Hogan became unconscious, forcing the ref to call the match. A silenced crowd watched Bravo grab the championship belt no sooner than an announcement was made that Hogan was determined the winner, by way of disqualification, therefore retaining his title and championship. An infuriated Bravo was quoted, "Last I checked, a bearhug was a legal move. The better and stronger wrestler just got cheated." The Wrestler magazine covered the story in their February 1989 issue with Bravo's hold on Hogan on the front cover with the title, "The Man That Hulk Hogan Cannot Beat." Also during his second run, Hogan won the 1990 Royal Rumble match. He dropped the title to Intercontinental Champion The Ultimate Warrior in a title versus title match at WrestleMania VI on April 1, 1990.

Hogan soon became embroiled in a heated feud with the 470-pound Earthquake, who had crushed Hogan's ribs in a sneak attack on ''The Brother Love Show'' in May 1990. On television, announcers explained that Hogan's injuries and his WrestleMania VI loss to Warrior both took such a huge toll on his fighting spirit that he wanted to retire. Viewers were asked to write letters to Hogan and send postcards asking for his return (they got a postcard-sized picture in return, autographed by Hogan, as a "thank-you"). Hogan returned by SummerSlam 1990 and for several months, dominated Earthquake in a series of matches across the country. His defeat of this overwhelmingly large foe caused Hogan to add a fourth demandment: believing in yourself. He would also be known as "The Immortal" Hulk Hogan. Hogan then became the first wrestler to win two Royal Rumble matches in a row, as he won the 1991 Royal Rumble match.

At WrestleMania VII, Hogan stood up for the USA against Sgt. Slaughter, defeating him for his third WWF Championship. In the fall of 1991, Hogan was challenged by Ric Flair, the former NWA champion who recently arrived in the WWF. The feud remained unresolved, as Hogan lost the WWF title to The Undertaker at Survivor Series, and he won it back at This Tuesday in Texas six days later. Flair had interfered in both matches and due to the resulting controversy, the title was again declared vacant.

The WWF Championship was decided at the 1992 Royal Rumble in the Royal Rumble match. Hogan failed to regain the championship as he was eliminated by friend Sid Justice and in turn caused Sid to be eliminated, leaving Ric Flair the winner and new champion. Hogan and Sid patched things up and teamed together on the February 8, 1992 edition of ''Saturday Night's Main Event'' against Flair and Undertaker but during the match Sid abandoned Hogan, starting their feud. At WrestleMania VIII, Hogan defeated Sid via disqualification due to interference by Sid's manager Harvey Wippleman. Hogan was then attacked by Papa Shango and was saved by the returning Ultimate Warrior.

At this time, news sources began to allege that Dr. George Zahorian, a doctor for the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission, had been selling steroids illegally to wrestlers in general and Hogan in particular. Hogan appeared on an episode of ''The Arsenio Hall Show'' to deny the allegations. Due to intense public scrutiny, Hogan took a leave of absence from the company.

Return and departure (1993–1994)

Hogan returned to the WWF in February 1993, helping out his friend Brutus Beefcake in his feud with Money Inc. (Ted DiBiase and Irwin R. Schyster), and officially renaming themselves The Mega-Maniacs. At WrestleMania IX, Hogan and Beefcake took on Money Inc. for the WWF Tag Team Championship. However, Hogan thought he was too big of a star to be a tag champion and instead wanted the world title. So Hogan and Vince McMahon came up with the plan that Hogan and Brutus would be disqualified in their match. Later that night, Hogan won his fifth WWF Championship by pinning Yokozuna only moments after Yokozuna had defeated Bret Hart. McMahon then planned that Hogan and Bret Hart would eventually fight in a big match at Summerslam 1993 in which Hogan would drop the title to Hart, Hogan didn't want to drop the title in a clean victory to Hart, due to Hart's size and doubts over whether he could draw, and opted to lose the title to the heel Yokozuna instead. At the first annual King of the Ring pay-per-view on June 13, 1993, Hogan defended the championship against the former champion, Yokozuna, in his first title defense since defeating Yokozuna at WrestleMania IX. Yokozuna kicked out of Hogan's signature leg drop and scored the pinfall after Hogan was blinded by a fireball shot by a "Japanese photographer" (actually a disguised Harvey Wippleman), this was Hogan's idea as he did not want Yokozuna to gain a clean victory over him. The victorious Yokozuna proceeded to give Hogan a Banzai Drop. This would be Hogan's last WWF pay-per-view appearance until 2002, as both he and Jimmy Hart were preparing to leave the promotion. Hogan would continue his feud on the international house show circuit with Yokozuna until August 1993. After that, Hogan would sit out the rest of his contract which expired later that year.

In 1994, Hogan, having received immunity from prosecution, testified in the trial of Vince McMahon relating to shipments of steroids received from Dr. Zahorian by both parties. Under oath, Hogan admitted that he had used anabolic steroids since 1976 to gain size and weight, but that Vince McMahon had neither sold him the drugs, nor ordered him to take them. The evidence given by Hogan proved extremely costly to the government's case against McMahon. Due to this and jurisdictional issues, McMahon was found not guilty.

Return to New Japan (1993–1994)

On May 3, 1993, Hulk Hogan returned to NJPW as WWF Champion, defeating IWGP Heavyweight Champion The Great Muta in a dream match at Wrestling Dontaku. Hogan would wrestle against Muta again, under his real name, Keiji Mutoh on September 26, 1993. Hogan would also wrestle The Hell Raisers with Muta and Masahiro Chono as his partners. His last match in Japan was on January 4, 1994 at Battlefield, when he defeated Tatsumi Fujinami.

World Championship Wrestling (1994-2000)

Early run (1994–1996)

After Hogan left the WWF in the summer of 1993, he split his time working on movies, television, wrestling in Japan, and spending time with his family. In June 1994, Hogan signed with Ted Turner's World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and began appearing on television the next month. Hogan won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship in his debut match, defeating Ric Flair in a 'dream' match at Bash at the Beach. After overcoming the likes of Flair, The Butcher (former partner Brutus Beefcake), Vader, and the Dungeon of Doom for the next fifteen months (the longest reign of all time for this championship), Hogan dropped the belt to The Giant at Halloween Havoc 1995 via DQ. Following the controversial loss (which was due to a "contract clause"), the WCW title became vacant.

In early 1996, Hogan continued his feud with The Giant, before teaming with Randy Savage in a feud with the Alliance to End Hulkamania. After coming out victorious from his feuds, Hogan began to only appear occasionally on WCW programming.

New World Order (1996–1998)

At Bash at the Beach in 1996, during a six man tag team match pitting The Outsiders (Kevin Nash and Scott Hall) against WCW loyalists, Hogan interfered on behalf of Nash and Hall, attacking Randy Savage, thereby turning heel for the first time in over ten years. After the match, Hogan delivered a promo, accosting the fans and WCW for underappreciating his talent and drawing power, and announcing the formation of the New World Order (nWo). The new stable gained prominence in the following weeks and months. Hogan grew a beard alongside his famous mustache and dyed it black, traded his red and yellow garb in for black and white clothing, often detailed with lightning bolts, and renamed himself Hollywood Hulk Hogan (often shortened to Hollywood Hogan). Hogan returned to WCW programming eight days after his heel turn.

Hogan won his second WCW World Heavyweight Championship at Hog Wild, defeating The Giant for the title. He spray painted "nWo" across the title belt, scribbled across the nameplate, and referred to the title as the "nWo title" during this and any other time he held the title while in the nWo. Hogan then started a feud with Lex Luger after Luger and The Giant defeated Hogan and Dennis Rodman in a tag team match at Bash at the Beach.

On the August 4, 1997 edition of ''Nitro'', Hogan lost the WCW title to Luger by submission. Five days later, at Road Wild, Hogan defeated Luger to regain the WCW title and begin his third WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Hogan then lost the belt to Sting in a match at Starrcade. In the match, WCW's newly-contracted Bret Hart accused referee Nick Patrick of fast-counting a victory for Hogan and had the match restarted—with himself as referee. Sting later won by submission. After a rematch the following night, where Sting controversially retained the title, the WCW Championship became vacant. Sting then went on to win the vacant title against Hogan at SuperBrawl VIII.

Hogan then developed a rivalry with former friend (and recent nWo recruit) Randy Savage, who had just cost Hogan the title match at SuperBrawl by hitting him with a spray can. The heat culminated in a steel cage match at Uncensored, which ended in a no contest. Savage took the World Championship from Sting at Spring Stampede, while Hogan teamed with Kevin Nash to take on Roddy Piper and The Giant in the first-ever Bat match. Hogan betrayed Nash by hitting him with the bat and then challenged Savage the following night for his championship. In the no disqualification match for Savage's newly won title, Nash entered the ring and powerbombed Hogan as retribution for the attack the previous night. Bret Hart interfered moments later and turned heel by jumping in to attack Savage and preserve the victory for Hogan, who won his fourth WCW World Heavyweight Championship. However, Nash's attack on him signified a split of the nWo into two separate factions- Hogan's became nWo Hollywood and Nash's became nWo Wolfpac- that would feud with each other for the remainder of the year.

Hogan defended the title until July of that year, when WCW booked him in a match against newcomer and then WCW United States Champion Bill Goldberg, who had yet to lose a match in the company. Late in the match, Hogan was distracted by Karl Malone, and Goldberg pinned Hogan to win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.

Hogan spent the rest of 1998 wrestling celebrity matches. His second tag team match with Dennis Rodman pitted them against Diamond Dallas Page and Karl Malone at Bash at the Beach and at Road Wild, he and Eric Bischoff lost to Page and Jay Leno thanks to interference from Kevin Eubanks, who leveled Bischoff with a Diamond Cutter. Hogan also had a rematch with the Ultimate Warrior at Halloween Havoc, where his nephew Horace aided his victory.

Return to WCW (1998-1999)

On the Thanksgiving episode of ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'', Hogan officially announced his retirement from professional wrestling, as well as his candidacy for President of the United States. Campaign footage aired on ''Nitro'' of Hogan and Bischoff holding a press conference, making it appear legitimate. In the long run, however, both announcements were false and merely done as a publicity stunt attempting to draw some of the hype of Jesse Ventura's Minnesota gubernatorial win back to him.

After some time off from WCW, Hogan returned on the January 4, 1999 edition of ''Nitro'' to challenge Kevin Nash for the WCW title. Hogan won the match for his fifth WCW World Heavyweight Championship, but many people found the change to be "scandalous". As a result, the warring factions of the nWo reunited into one group, which began feuding with Bill Goldberg and The Four Horsemen.

Conflicts with Vince Russo (1999–2000)

He then lost the title to Ric Flair at Uncensored in a Steel Cage First Blood match. A heavily bleeding Flair won via pinfall in a match refereed by Charles Robinson. During that match, however, Hogan began to show some signs that a face turn was imminent, showing off some old tactics like his "Hulking up" no-sell. The turn would have to wait, however, as Hogan was severely injured in a Texas Tornado match for the world championship featuring him, Sting, Diamond Dallas Page, and Flair at Spring Stampede

On the July 12 edition of ''Nitro'', Hogan made his grand return as a full-fledged face and accepted a challenge from Savage, who had gained the world title at Bash at the Beach the night before in a tag team match by pinning Kevin Nash. Thanks to interference from Nash, Hogan defeated Savage to win his sixth and final WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Nash turned on him the next week, however, and the two began a feud that would last until the next pay-per-view.

On August 9, 1999, he started the night dressed in the typical black and white, but after a backstage scene with his son, Hogan came out dressed in the traditional red and yellow for his main-event 6-man tag team match. He then defeated Nash in a retirement match at Road Wild to retain his title. Injuries and frustrations were mounting up however, and he was absent from television from October 1999 to February 2000. In his book ''Hollywood Hulk Hogan'', Bollea said that he was asked to take time off by newly hired head of creative booking Vince Russo and was not told when he would be brought back at the time. Despite some reservations, he agreed to do so. On October 24 at Halloween Havoc, Hogan was to face Sting for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship (which he had lost to Sting at Fall Brawl the previous month, when Sting beat Hogan by cheating and had turned heel in the process). Hogan, however, came to the ring in street clothes, laid down for the pin, and left the ring.

Soon after his return in February 2000, at Bash at the Beach on July 9, Hogan was involved in a controversial, legit incident with Vince Russo. Hogan was scheduled to wrestle Jeff Jarrett for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Before the match, there was a dispute between Hogan and Russo. Unbeknownst to Hogan, Russo told Jarrett to lie down in the middle of the ring and asked Hogan to pin him straight away. A visibly confused Hogan complied with a foot on Jarrett's chest after getting on the microphone and telling Russo, "''Is this your idea, Russo...? That's why this company is in the damn shape it's in, because of bullshit like this!''" Russo responded by coming out and angrily proclaiming "I can guarantee you that this is the last time you will ever see that piece of shit in a WCW stadium!" This is also when the public discovered, through Russo, the "creative control" clause that Hogan had, which meant that Hogan was able to control what would happen with his own character and be able to do so without anyone else being able to tell him no. This has been a common complaint about Hogan, since he has been known to request such clauses in his contracts (even in WWE) because it is believed by many that he uses them to be able to "bury" others that would prove to be a threat to his legacy (which also might lead to the belief that the on-air criticisms that Bobby Heenan and then later Mark Madden made about him were not kayfabe even though the two usually were heel commentators, with Madden saying "Amen!" when Russo said that Hogan would not be back in WCW after that night). In his Bash at the Beach shoot promo, Russo said that he was arguing with Hogan all day prior to the event in the back because he wanted to use the clause in the Jarrett match, saying, "That means that, in the middle of this ring, when [Hogan] knew it was bullshit, he beats Jeff Jarrett!"

Since Hogan refused to job to Jarrett, a new WCW World Heavyweight Championship was created, setting the stage for a title match between Booker T and Jeff Jarrett later that night. Whether or not the whole incident was a shoot or a work was hotly debated. As a result, Hogan filed a defamation of character lawsuit against Russo soon after, which was eventually dismissed in 2002. Russo claims the whole thing was a work, and Hogan claims that Russo made it a shoot. Eric Bischoff agreed with Hogan's side of the story when he wrote that Hogan winning and leaving with the title was a work, and that he and Hogan celebrated after the event over the success of the angle, but that Russo coming out to fire Hogan was an unplanned shoot which led to the lawsuit filed by Hogan.

In the months following the eventual demise of WCW in March 2001, Hogan underwent surgery on his knees in order for him to wrestle again. As a test, Hogan worked a match in Orlando, Florida for the Xcitement Wrestling Federation promotion run by his longtime handler Jimmy Hart. Hogan defeated Curt Hennig in this match and felt healthy enough to accept an offer to return to the WWF in February 2002.

Return to World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment

Hollywood Hogan and Undisputed WWF Champion (2002)

At No Way Out in 2002, Hogan returned to the company that had made him a pop culture icon. Returning as leader of the original nWo with Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, the three got into a confrontation with The Rock and cost Stone Cold Steve Austin a chance at becoming the Undisputed WWF Champion against Chris Jericho in the main event. The nWo feuded with both Austin and The Rock, and Hogan accepted The Rock's challenge to a match at WrestleMania X8. At the event, Hogan asked Hall and Nash not to interfere, wanting to defeat The Rock by himself. Despite the fact that Hogan was supposed to be the heel in the match, the crowd cheered for him heavily. The Rock cleanly won the contest, but befriended Hogan at the end of the bout and helped him fight off Hall and Nash, who were upset by Hogan's conciliatory attitude. After the match, Hogan was a definite face again, siding with The Rock, though he continued wearing black and white tights for a few weeks after WrestleMania X8 until he resumed wearing his signature red and yellow tights. During this period, the "Hulk Rules" logo of the 1980s was redone with the text "Hulk ''Still'' Rules." Hulk wore the original "Hulk Rules" attire 12 years earlier, when he headlined WrestleMania VI at the same arena, in the SkyDome. For a time, he was still known as "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan, notably keeping the Hollywood Hogan style blond mustache with black beard while wearing Hulkamania-like red and yellow tights and using the Voodoo Child theme music he used in WCW. On April 4, Hogan feuded with Triple H and defeated him for the Undisputed WWF Championship and sixth and final WWF Championship at Backlash, thus becoming the last ever WWF champion before the initials dispute against the World Wildlife Fund For Nature. On May 19 at Judgment Day, he lost the belt to The Undertaker. After losing a Number One Contenders match for the Undisputed Championship to Triple H on June 6, Hogan began feuding with Kurt Angle resulting in a match between the two at the King of the Ring, which Angle won by submission.

On the July 4, 2002 edition of ''SmackDown!'', Hogan teamed with Edge to defeat Billy and Chuck and capture the WWE World Tag Team Championship for the first time. They celebrated by waving the American flag as the overjoyed audience sang along to Hogan's theme song "Real American." They later dropped the titles to The Un-Americans (Lance Storm and Christian), at Vengeance. In August 2002, Hogan was used in an angle with Brock Lesnar, culminating in a main event singles match. Lesnar won by submission (the match was called after Hogan became unconscious from a bear hug hold). Lesnar became only the second WWE Superstar to defeat Hogan by submission (after Kurt Angle), and the first to defeat Hogan by having the match called. Following the match, Lesnar continued to beat on Hogan, leaving him bloody and unconscious in the ring in what many fans recall as the worst beating Hogan ever received of his career. As a result of Lesnar's assault, Hogan went on hiatus and was not able to return until early 2003, shaving off his black beard and dropping "Hollywood" from his name in his return. He battled The Rock (who had turned heel) once again at No Way Out and defeated Vince McMahon at WrestleMania XIX in a match billed as "20 years in the making."

Mr. America and departure (2003)

Later, he had a run as the masked Mr. America. The persona was supposed to be Hulk Hogan in disguise, wearing a mask. He used Hulk Hogan's "Real American" theme music and used all of Hogan's signature gestures, moves, and phrases. He was the subject of a storyline that took place after Hulk Hogan was forced by Vince McMahon to sit out the rest of his contract. After Hogan won at WrestleMania XIX, McMahon was frustrated with him and wanted Hulkamania to die. A WWE pre-debut push took place with mysterious Mr. America promos airing for weeks during ''SmackDown!''. There was also on-screen discussion on ''SmackDown!'' between then General Manager Stephanie McMahon and other players concerning her hiring Mr. America "sight unseen." On May 1, Mr. America debuted on ''SmackDown!'' on a ''Piper's Pit'' segment. McMahon appeared and claimed that Mr. America was Hulk Hogan in disguise; Mr. America shot back by saying, "I am not Hulk Hogan, brother!" (lampooning Hogan's use of "brother" in his promos). The feud continued through the month of May, with a singles match between Mr. America and Hogan's old rival Roddy Piper at Judgment Day. McMahon tried desperately to prove that Mr. America was indeed Hulk Hogan but failed at all attempts. Mr. America even passed a lie detector test.

Mr. America's last WWE appearance was on the June 26 edition of ''SmackDown!'' when The Big Show and The World's Greatest Tag Team (Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas) defeated the team of Brock Lesnar, Kurt Angle, and Mr. America in a six-man tag team match when Show pinned Mr. America. After the show went off the air, Mr. America unmasked to show the fans that he was indeed Hulk Hogan, putting his finger to his lips telling the fans to keep quiet about his secret. The next week, Hogan quit WWE due to frustration with the creative team. On the July 3 edition of ''SmackDown!'', Vince McMahon showed the footage of Mr. America unmasking as Hogan and "fired" him, although Hogan had already quit in real life. The Mr. America gimmick came under fire briefly from Marvel Comics, who anointed it a rip-off of Captain America, citing costume similarity; the single star on the mask was also a trademark on Captain America's chest piece. This was also adding fuel to the fire over the rights to use the Hulk Hogan name because of Marvel's ownership of the Incredible Hulk character. Because of these problems, WWE was forced to edit out all references to the "Hulk Hogan" name, including pictures which featured Hogan wearing memorabilia that said "Hulk" (a majority of them) and started to refer to Hogan under the "Hollywood Hogan" name he used in WCW. It was later revealed that Hogan was unhappy with the payoffs for his matches after his comeback under the Mr. America gimmick. Vince decided to terminate Hogan's contract, and Hogan left WWE in 2003.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2003)

Shortly after Hogan left WWE, TNA Wrestling began making overtures to Hogan, culminating in Jeff Jarrett, co-founder of TNA and then NWA World Heavyweight champion, launching an on-air attack on Hogan in Japan in October 2003. The attack was supposed to be a precursor to Hogan battling Jarrett for the NWA title at TNA's first three-hour pay-per-view. However, due to recurring knee and hip problems, Hogan did not appear in TNA. Still, the incident has been shown several times on TNA broadcasts, and was included in the TNA DVD ''TNA's Fifty Greatest Moments''.

Return to WWE (2005–2007)

In 2005, weeks before WrestleMania 21, it was announced on all WWE programming that Hogan would be inducted into the Hall of Fame. On April 2, Hogan was inducted by actor and friend Sylvester Stallone. Hogan was applauded for several minutes before he was able to make a speech. When he paused during his speech, the crowd chanted "One More Match! One More Match!" The fans also chanted "Austin, Hogan" (referring to a Steve Austin vs. Hulk Hogan match); Hogan responded "that may be a good match someday". At WrestleMania 21 on April 3, Hogan came out to rescue Eugene, who was being attacked by Muhammad Hassan and Khosrow Daivari. Some of the build-up to Hogan's induction into the Hall of Fame and preparation for this angle were shown on the first season of ''Hogan Knows Best''.

The next night on ''Raw'', Hassan and Daivari came out to confront and assault fan favorite Shawn Michaels. The following week, Michaels approached ''Raw'' General Manager Eric Bischoff demanding a handicap match with Hassan and Daivari. Bischoff refused but told Michaels if he found a partner he would be granted a tag team match. Michaels then made a plea for Hulk Hogan to come back and team with him. On the April 18 episode of ''Raw'', Hassan again led an attack on Michaels until Hogan appeared, and saved Michaels and accepted his offer. At Backlash 2005, Hassan and Daivari lost to Hogan and Michaels.

Hogan then appeared on July 4 edition of ''Raw'' as the special guest of Carlito on his talk-show segment ''Carlito's Cabana''. After being asked questions by Carlito concerning his daughter Brooke Hogan, Hogan proceeded to attack Carlito. This was then followed up by an appearance of Kurt Angle, who made comments about Brooke, which further upset Hogan. Hogan was eventually double teamed by Carlito and Angle but was saved by Shawn Michaels. Later that night, Michaels and Hogan defeated Carlito and Kurt Angle in a tag match. During the post match celebration, Michaels delivered Sweet Chin Music to Hogan and walked off. The following week on ''Raw'', Michaels appeared on ''Piper's Pit'' and challenged Hogan to face him one-on-one for the first time. Hogan appeared on ''Raw'' one week later and accepted the challenge. The match took place at SummerSlam. The "Legend vs. Icon" storyline was the main event for the Raw brand going into SummerSlam. The match went back and forth, with two referees getting knocked out and Michaels using a steel chair to try to gain an advantage. Even after Michaels hit his Sweet Chin Music, Hogan still kicked out and mounted some offense against Michaels, finally hitting him with the legdrop and scoring the victory. Michaels extended his hand to him, telling him that he "had to find out for himself," and Hogan and Michaels shook hands. Michaels left the ring to allow Hogan to celebrate with the crowd.

Prior to WrestleMania 22, Hogan inducted friend and former announcer "Mean" Gene Okerlund into the WWE Hall of Fame. Hogan returned on the July 15, 2006 edition of ''Saturday Night's Main Event'' with his daughter Brooke. During the show, Randy Orton flirted (kayfabe, as he was engaged with his girlfriend, now wife Sam Speno) with Hogan's daughter, and later attacked Hogan in the parking lot and hit the RKO onto the trunk of Hogan's car. He later challenged Hulk to a match at SummerSlam, which Hogan won. In regards to the public reaction to Summerslam, and his treatment as an employee, he said:

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He also spoke extensively on his payment, and his concerns of not being a top priority to Vince McMahon, despite the fact that he felt he was the company's biggest draw:

Hogan's last WWE appearance to date occurred on December 10, 2007 on the ''WWE Raw'' 15th anniversary. He saved Hornswoggle from being attacked by The Great Khali.

Memphis Wrestling and PMG Clash of Legends (2007)

After a brief fall out with McMahon and WWE, Hogan was lured to Memphis Wrestling with the proposal of wrestling Jerry "The King" Lawler. The match had been promoted on Memphis Wrestling Prime Time for several months. On April 12, 2007, however, Lawler announced in a news conference that WWE had barred him from wrestling Hogan on the basis that NBC performers (including Lawler, on the basis of co-hosting the NBC-owned USA Network's ''WWE Raw'' and his appearances on the biannual WWE ''Saturday Night's Main Event'') are contractually prohibited from appearing on VH1, the channel on which ''Hogan Knows Best'' airs. The situation resulted in a lawsuit being filed against WWE by event promoter Corey Maclin. Lawler was replaced with Paul Wight. Hulk Hogan defeated Wight at PMG Clash of Legends on April 27, 2007 when he picked up and bodyslammed Wight and pinned him following his signature Leg Drop.

Return to TNA Wrestling

Dixie Carter's business partner (2009–2010)

On October 27, 2009 it was announced on TNAwrestling.com that Hulk Hogan had signed a contract to join TNA on a full time basis where, partnered with Eric Bischoff, he would partner with TNA President, Dixie Carter. The footage of his signing and the press conference in the Madison Square Garden following it were featured on the October 29 episode of ''TNA Impact!''. His role remained uncertain.

On November 21, 24, 26, and 28, Hogan performed with a group of wrestlers including Spartan-3000, Heidenreich, Eugene, Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake and Orlando Jordan across Australia in a tour titled ''Hulkamania: Let the Battle Begin''. The main event of each show was a rematch between Hogan and Ric Flair—the wrestler who defeated Hogan more times than any other. Hogan defeated Flair in all four matches, bringing his career record against Flair from 2–8 to 6–8. It was the first time Hogan had performed in Australia.

On December 5, 2009, Hogan announced on UFC's The Ultimate Fighter that he would be making his official TNA debut on January 4, 2010, in a special live three hour Monday night edition of ''TNA Impact!'' to compete with WWE's Monday Night Raw (which featured the return of Bret Hart) Carter revealed Hogan's role in the company in an interview with The UK Sun stating when his job came to question, "he is involved with everything from looking at the talent to how we shoot the show".

On the January 4, 2010 ''Impact!'', Hogan debuted after a motorcade arrival reuniting briefly with former nWo partners Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, and Sean Waltman, the latter two of whom made their returns to the company. He, however, refused to join them for a full-fledged reunion of their group claiming, "it's a different time", and stuck to his business relations with Bischoff, who made his appearance to declare that, the two of them would "flip the company upside down" and everyone would have to earn their spot. Hogan also encountered TNA Founder, Jeff Jarrett on the broadcast, appearing via video wall and interrupting Jarrett's company success speech, stating that Carter was instrumental to the company's survival, and that just like the rest, Jarrett would have to (kayfabe) earn his spot in TNA.

At TNA Genesis on January 17, Hogan and Bischoff revealed a newly renovated TNA Impact! Zone, and reintroduced the traditional four sided ring, opposing the six sided ring TNA had in use. On the February 18 edition of ''Impact!'' Hogan took Abyss under his wing, and during this sequence, gave him his Hall of Fame ring and claimed it would make him a "god of wrestling". The following week Hogan announced that he would be making his in-ring TNA debut on the March 8 live Monday night edition of ''Impact!'' teaming with Abyss to face A.J. Styles and Ric Flair. That night, Hogan and Abyss defeated Styles and Flair, when Abyss scored a pinfall over Styles. Afterwards, the returning Jeff Hardy saved Hogan and Abyss from a beat down at the hands of Styles, Flair and Desmond Wolfe. This proceeded in later weeks to become a Team Flair versus Team Hogan situation, whereas Jarrett and the debuting Rob Van Dam joined Team Hogan and Beer Money and Sting, who rekindled his feud with Hogan with an attack, joined Team Flair. At Lockdown Team Hogan (Abyss, Jeff Jarrett, Jeff Hardy and Rob Van Dam) defeated Team Flair (Sting, Desmond Wolfe, Robert Roode and James Storm) in a Lethal Lockdown match.

Immortal (2010–2011)

On the June 17 edition of ''Impact!'' Hogan's alliance with Abyss came to an abrupt end, when Abyss turned heel. Abyss later claimed that he was controlled by some entity, that was coming to TNA. The next months Hogan worked with Bischoff, Jeff Jarrett and Samoa Joe against Sting and Kevin Nash, who claimed that they knew that Hogan and Bischoff were up to something. During this time Abyss went on a rampage, attacking Rob Van Dam to the point that he was forced to vacate the TNA World Heavyweight Championship and eventually put his hands on TNA president Dixie Carter, which led to her signing the paperwork, presented by Bischoff, that would have Abyss fired from TNA following his match with Van Dam at Bound for Glory. Hogan was set to wrestle with Jarrett and Joe against Sting, Nash and D'Angelo Dinero at Bound for Glory, but was forced to miss the event due to a back surgery. However, he would make a surprise appearance at the end of the event, turning heel, helping Jeff Hardy win the vacant TNA World Heavyweight Championship and aligning himself with Hardy, Bischoff, Abyss and Jarrett. This is also Hogan's first working as a heel since he reunited with the NWO in the WWE. On the following edition of ''Impact!'' it was revealed that Bischoff had tricked Carter and the paperwork she had signed a week earlier, were not to release Abyss, but to turn the company over to him and Hogan. Meanwhile, Bischoff's and Hogan's new stable, now known as Immortal, formed an alliance with Ric Flair's Fortune. Dixie Carter returned on the November 25 edition of ''Reaction'', informing Hogan and Bischoff that a judge had filed an injunction against the two on her behalf over not having signatory authority, indefinitely suspending Hogan from TNA. During his absence, Hogan underwent a potentially career–ending spinal fusion surgery on December 21, 2010.

Hogan returned to TNA on the March 3, 2011, edition of ''Impact!'', declaring himself as the new owner of TNA, having won the court battle against Dixie Carter. In April, he began hinting at a possible return to the ring to face the TNA World Heavyweight Champion, Sting. On the May 12 edition of the newly renamed ''Impact Wrestling'', Hogan lost control of the program to Mick Foley, who revealed himself as the Network consultant, who had been causing problems for Immortal ever since Hogan and Bischoff took over the company; however, this angle was aborted just three weeks later, when Foley left the promotion. During the following months, Hogan continued to interfere in Sting's matches, costing him the TNA World Heavyweight Championship first at Hardcore Justice, recruiting Kurt Angle to Immortal in the process, then on the September 1 edition of ''Impact Wrestling'' and finally at No Surrender. On the September 15 edition of ''Impact Wrestling'', Sting defeated Immortal member Ric Flair to earn the right to face Hogan at Bound for Glory. On October 4, it was reported that Hogan had signed a contract extension with TNA. After feigning retirement from professional wrestling, Hogan accepted the match at Bound for Glory on the October 6 edition of ''Impact Wrestling'', while also agreeing to hand TNA back to Dixie Carter, should Sting manage to win the match.

Face turn and General Manager (2011–present)

On October 16 at Bound For Glory, Hogan was defeated by Sting, ending his run as the storyline president of TNA. After the match, Immortal attacked Sting. Hogan then "Hulked up", tore his shirt, and helped Sting chase the stable out of the ring, turning face once again in the process. The following ''Impact Wrestling'', Hogan, wearing his trademark yellow and red again, admitted to his mistakes, and put over Sting for winning, who ended up helping Hogan this time chase Immortal from the ring. After that, Hogan took a hiatus from TNA. On January 26, 2012, Hogan returned to the ring at a house show in Nottingham, England, where he, James Storm and Sting defeated Bobby Roode, Bully Ray and Kurt Angle in a six man tag team main event. Hogan returned to ''Impact Wrestling'' on February 2, when he was revealed as Garett Bischoff's trainer. On the March 29 edition of ''Impact Wrestling'', Hogan returned and accepted Sting's offer to replace him as the new General Manager.

Endorsements and business ventures

Food industry

Hulk Hogan's ''Pastamania'' was a restaurant in the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. It was created and financed by Hogan. It opened on the Labor Day weekend of 1995 and was later heavily hyped on World Championship Wrestling's live flagship show ''WCW Monday Nitro'', which actually premiered that September from the mall. The restaurant, which remained in operation for less than a year, featured such dishes as "Hulk-U's" and "Hulk-A-Roos".

In an interview on both the ''The Tonight Show'' and ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'', Bollea claimed that the George Foreman Grill was originally offered to him, but he failed to respond in time. George Foreman was called and he chose to endorse the grill instead of a blender which became the Hulk Hogan Thunder Mixer. This claim was validated on an episode of ''Hogan Knows Best'', in which his wife Linda and the family are worried about Hogan's wrestling career and plead with him to take up a career in marketing. Hulk explains about turning down the Foreman grill, and his choice to invest in the shake-mixer instead, saying that whenever he thinks about investing in something "big," he thinks about what happened with the grill and the shake-mixer. However, he has since endorsed a similar product known as "The Hulk Hogan Ultimate Grill."

In 2006, Bollea unveiled his own energy drink, Hogan Energy, distributed by Socko Energy. It was featured in an episode of ''Hogan Knows Best''. His name and likeness are also applied to a line of microwavable hamburgers, cheeseburgers, and chicken sandwiches sold at Wal-Mart called "Hulkster Burgers". On November 1, 2011 Bollea launched a new website called Hogan Nutrition www.hogannutrition.com which features many nutritional and dietary products.

In September 2008, Bollea's net worth was revealed to be over $30 million. In September 2011, Bollea revealed that his lavish lifestyle, and recent divorce had cost him hundreds of millions of dollars and nearly bankrupted him.

Other

During an interview with ''The Sun'' in 2007, Bollea claimed to be planning his own federation to compete against Vince McMahon. Bollea says he has raised $40 million of the $80–$100 million goal and his venture is something that will eventually revolutionize the sport of professional wrestling.

In October 2007, Bollea transferred all trademarks referring to himself to his liability company named "Hogan Holdings Limited". The trademarks include Hulk Hogan, "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan, Hulkster, Hogan Knows Grillin, Hulkamania.com, and Hulkapedia.com.

In April 2008, Bollea announced that he would be lending his license to video game developer Gameloft to create "Hulkamania Wrestling" for mobile phones. Hogan stated in a press release that the game would be "true to [his] experiences in wrestling" and use his classic wrestling moves like the Doublehand Choke Lift and Strong Clothesline. As of 2010, Hogan stars alongside Troy Aikman in commercials for Rent-A-Center. On March 24, 2011, Hogan made a special appearance on ''American Idol'', giving a big surprise to wrestling fans Paul McDonald and James Durbin.

On 15 October 2010, Endemol Games UK (a subsidiary of media production group Endemol UK) announced a partnership with Bischoff Hervey Entertainment to produce "Hulk Hogan's Hulkamania", an online gambling game featuring video footage of Hogan.

Other media

Acting

Hulk Hogan's crossover popularity led to several television and movie roles. Early in his career Bollea played the part of Thunderlips in ''Rocky III'' (1982). He also appeared in ''No Holds Barred'' (1989), before starring in the family films ''Suburban Commando'' (1991), ''Mr. Nanny'' (1993), ''Santa with Muscles'' (1996), and ''3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain'' (1998). He starred in his own television series, ''Thunder in Paradise'', in 1994. He is the star of ''The Ultimate Weapon'' (1997), in which Brutus Beefcake also appears in a cameo.

Bollea also starred in a pair of television movies, originally intended as a pilot for an ongoing series for TNT, produced by Eric Bischoff. The movies, ''Shadow Warriors: Assault on Devil's Island'' and ''Shadow Warriors: Hunt for The Death Merchant'', starred Hogan alongside Carl Weathers and Shannon Tweed as a freelance mercenary team. In 1995, he appeared on TBN's ''Kids Against Crime''.

Bollea made cameo appearances in ''Muppets from Space'', ''Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' (the theatrical cut) and ''Spy Hard'' as himself. Hogan was offered the role of Zeus in ''Little Hercules in 3D'' on an episode of ''Hogan Knows Best'' and was shown during the filming of the movie. He also had a cameo at the end of the movie ''Little Monsters''. Hogan also made two appearances on ''The A-Team'' (in 1985 and 1986), and along with Roddy Piper. Nick's favorite animated show, ''Captain Planet'', was another popular stop for Hogan's recognizable voice. He was the voice of ''BP'', ''Sly Sludge's'' evil sidekick. His famous catchphrase was "You're gonna pay at the pump, brother!" He also had a vital role in the two-part episode of ''Suddenly Susan'' in 1999. In 2001, Hogan guest-starred on an episode of ''Walker, Texas Ranger'', playing a reformed criminal now operating a Christian Community Center and helping Walker steer teenagers away from gangs. Hogan also appeared in 1992 commercials for Right Guard deodorant dressed in fine clothing and painting and his line "anything less would be uncivilized".

Hogan has become a busy voice actor in recent years making guest voice spots on ''Robot Chicken'' and ''American Dad!'' and as a main actor in the Cartoon Network/Adult Swim series ''China, IL''.

Reality television

On July 10, 2005, VH1 premiered a new reality show titled ''Hogan Knows Best'' which centered around Hulk Hogan, his then-wife Linda, and their children Brooke and Nick. Set in their home in Clearwater, Florida, the show followed the family in their efforts to fulfill the dreams of their children while still maintaining their sense of closeness. At the show's onset, 16-year-old Brooke was trying to break into the music industry while younger brother Nick (age 14) went through a series of career aspirations including his failure to become a professional race car driver and following in his dad's footsteps as a pro wrestler.

As of July 2008, ''Hogan Knows Best'' transferred its focus into a new show called ''Brooke Knows Best'' which focuses on his daughter's move into a new apartment to continue her pursuit of a music career.

Bollea hosted the comeback series of ''American Gladiators'' on NBC in 2008. He also hosted and judged the short-lived reality show, ''Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling''. Hogan had a special titled ''Finding Hulk Hogan'' on A&E; on November 17, 2010.

Music and radio

Bollea released a music CD, ''Hulk Rules'', as Hulk Hogan and The Wrestling Boot Band. Also, Green Jellÿ released a single, a duet with Hogan, performing Gary Glitter's classic song "I'm the Leader of the Gang (I Am)". He has also made cameos in several music videos. From her self-named show, ''Dolly'' the music video for Dolly Parton's wrestling-themed love song "Headlock on my Heart" features Hogan as "Starlight Starbright". On the show, Parton mentioned that the tabloid Weekly World News had "reported" that she had written a song about her love for a wrestler, and said "if you read in the Weekly World News, it must be true!" In the music video "Pressure" by Belly ft. Ginuwine, Bollea and his daughter Brooke both made brief cameo appearances.

Bollea is a regular guest on Bubba the Love Sponge's radio show. He also served as the best man at Bubba's January 2007 wedding. On March 12, 2010, Bollea hosted his own radio show, titled ''Hogan Uncensored'', on Sirius Satellite Radio's Howard 101.

Video games

Bollea did a video game voice acting on ''Saints Row: The Third'' as Angel De la Muerte a member of the Saints. In October 2011, Bollea released a video game called ''Hulk Hogan's Main Event''.

Personal life

On December 18, 1983, Bollea married Linda Claridge (born August 24, 1959). They have a daughter Brooke (born May 5, 1988) and a son Nick (born July 27, 1990). Bollea made his personal life the centerpiece of the television show ''Hogan Knows Best'', which includes his wife and two children.

Bollea's 17 year old son Nick was indicted as an adult on November 7, 2007 on four criminal charges. The charges stemmed from an August car accident that seriously injured the passenger in Nick's car, John Graziano. Nick pleaded no contest and was sentenced to eight months in prison on May 9, 2008.

According to an interview in ''The National Enquirer'', Christiane Plante claimed that she had an affair with Hogan in 2007 while the Hogan family was shooting ''Hogan Knows Best''. Plante was 33 years old at the time and had worked with Brooke Hogan on her 2006 album. On November 20, 2007, Linda filed for divorce in Pinellas County, Florida. Hulk told ''St. Petersburg Times'' that he was unaware of the filing when the paper called for a comment. The Graziano family's lawyer believed the divorce might have been an attempt to divide the family's assets from a planned civil suit against the Bolleas regarding their son, Nick. After filing for divorce, Linda (48 at the time) began dating Charlie Hill (19 at the time). Hill was a student at Brooke and Nick's high school, one grade above Nick and one grade below Brooke. In November 2008, Linda claimed to the public that she made the decision to end her marriage after finding out about Hulk Hogan's affair. Hogan admitted at the time that he had considered committing suicide; however, he moved on and married his current wife Jennifer McDaniel. In his 2009 autobiography, however, Hogan acknowledged that Linda on numerous occasions suspected he was having infidelities whenever he developed friendships with other women, but denied allegations that he ever cheated on Linda.

Bollea lived with his daughter, Brooke, who starred in the now-cancelled VH1 reality series, ''Brooke Knows Best''. Bollea has suffered numerous health problems, particularly with his back since retiring as a wrestler following the years of heavyweight training and jolting as a wrestler.

On October 27, 2009, St. Martin's Press released Bollea's autobiography, ''My Life Outside the Ring.'' Bollea has continued to stay in the news, due to his revelation that he considered suicide in 2007, shortly after his wife filed for divorce. Hogan credits Laila Ali, co-star on ''American Gladiators'', with preventing him from committing suicide.

Bollea has been in a relationship with Jennifer McDaniel since early 2008. The two were engaged in November 2009 and married on December 14, 2010, in Clearwater, Florida.

Hogan became a distributor for multi-level marketing company ViSalus Sciences after looking for business opportunities outside of wrestling.

Hogan supports the American Diabetes Association.

Honors

Bollea was honored as the 2008 King of the Krewe of Bacchus, a New Orleans carnival organization. Hogan visited the Children's Hospital of New Orleans and rode in the parade where he threw doubloons with his likeness. Hogan received the honor in part because meeting Hogan is one of the most requested "wishes" of the terminally ill children benefited by the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Whenever Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin scores a goal at Consol Energy Center Hulk Hogan would appear on the Jumbotron and say "Whatcha gonna do when Malkamania runs wild on you" as well as Hulk Hogan impersonators.

Filmography

''No Holds Barred (1989 film) ''Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' ''Suburban Commando'' ''Mr. Nanny'' ''The Secret Agent Club'' ''The Ultimate Weapon'' ''McCinsey's Island'' ''Assault on Death Mountain'' ''Walker, Texas Ranger'' ''Little Hercules'' ''Gnomeo and Juliet''

style="background:#B0C4DE;"	Year	Film	Role	Notes
1982	''Rocky III''	Thunderlips
1989	No Holds Barred'' ||	Rip
1990	|	Himself
1991	|	Shep Ramsey
rowspan=2	1993	|	Sean Armstrong
''Thunder in Paradise''	Randolph J. ''Hurricane'' Spencer
rowspan=2		1994	Thunder in Paradise>Thunder in Paradise II''
''Thunder in Paradise		Thunder in Paradise (TV)''
1995		Thunder in Paradise>Thunder in Paradise III''
rowspan=3	1996	|	Ray Chase
''Spy Hard''	Steele's other Tag-Team Member
''Santa with Muscles''	Blake
rowspan=2	1997	|	Cutter
''Assault on Devil's Island''	Mike McBride
rowspan=2	1998	|	Joe McGrai
''3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain''	Dave Dragon
rowspan=2	1999	|	Mike McBride
''Muppets from Space''	Himself
2001	|	Boomer Knight	List of Walker, Texas Ranger episodes>Division Street
2009	|	Zeus
rowspan=3	2011	|	Terrafirminator V.O.	Voice
''Black River''	Marcus Demchak
''China, IL''	The Dean

Other media

style="background:#B0C4DE;"	Year	Film	Role	Notes
2011	''Saints Row: The Third'' (video game)	Angel

In wrestling

Finishing moves

''Atomic Leg Drop'' (Running leg drop)

''Axe Bomber'' (Crooked arm lariat)

Signature moves

Atomic drop

Big boot

Body slam

Clothesline

Multiple punches, sometimes with theatrics

Raking the opponent's eyes or back

Managers

"Classy" Freddie Blassie

Miss Elizabeth

"The Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart

Nicknames

"(The) Hulkster"

"The Hulk"

"The Immortal One"

"Hollywood"

"The Unstoppable Force"

Entrance themes

* American Wrestling Association

** "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor

* World Championship Wrestling

** "American Made" by The Wrestling Boot Band (1994–1996, 1999–2000)

** "Rockhouse" by Frank Shelley (used while a part of the New World Order; 1996–1999)

** "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" by The Jimi Hendrix Experience (1997–1999)

** "Kevin Nash/Wolfpac Theme" (used while a part of the nWo wolfpac elite; 1999)

* Xcitement Wrestling Federation

** "American Made" by The Wrestling Boot Band (2001)

* World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment

** "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor (January 7, 1984–November 22, 1986)

** "Hulk Hogan's Theme" by Jim Steinman (1985)

** "Stars and Stripes Forever" by John Philip Sousa (1985)

** "Real American" by Rick Derringer (November 29, 1986–June 13, 1993, July 4, 2002, May 22, 2003–July 3, 2003, March 21, 2005–December 10, 2007)

** "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" by The Jimi Hendrix Experience (March 18, 2002–February 23, 2003)

* Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

** "nWo Original Theme" (Rockhouse Remix) by Frank Shelly (2010–present)

* "Immortal Theme" by Dale Oliver (used while a part of Immortal; 2010–2011)

* "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor (used at house shows)

Championships and accomplishments

New Japan Pro Wrestling

IWGP League Tournament (1983)

* MSG Tag League Tournament (1982, 1983) – with Antonio Inoki

Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum

*Class of 2003

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

* PWI Comeback of the Year (1994, 2002)

* PWI Feud of the Year (1986) vs. Paul Orndorff

* PWI Match of the Year (1985) with Mr. T vs. Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff at WrestleMania

* PWI Match of the Year (1988) vs. André the Giant at The Main Event

* PWI Match of the Year (1990) vs. The Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania VI

* PWI Match of the Year (2002) vs. The Rock at WrestleMania X8

* PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Year (1996, 1998)

PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year (1983, 1999)

* PWI Most Popular Wrestler of the Year (1985, 1989, 1990)

* PWI Wrestler of the Year (1987, 1991, 1994)

PWI ranked him #1 of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1991

PWI ranked him #1 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003

PWI ranked him #57 of the Top 100 Tag Teams of the "PWI Years" with Randy Savage in 2003

Southeastern Championship Wrestling

NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Championship ''(Northern Division)'' (1 time)

* NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Championship ''(Southern Division)'' (2 times)

Tokyo Sports Grand Prix

Match of the Year (1991) vs. Genichiro Tenryu on December 12, 1991

Most Outstanding Foreigner (1983)

World Championship Wrestling

WCW World Heavyweight Championship (6 times)

World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment

WWE World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Edge

WWF/E Championship (6 times)

Royal Rumble (1990, 1991)

WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2005)

Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards

* Feud of the Year (1986) vs. Paul Orndorff

* Most Charismatic (1985–1987, 1989–1991)

* Most Overrated (1985–1987, 1994–1998)

* Worst Worked Match of the Year (1987) vs. André the Giant at WrestleMania III

* Worst Worked Match of the Year (1996) with Randy Savage vs. Arn Anderson, Meng, The Barbarian, Ric Flair, Kevin Sullivan, Z-Gangsta, and The Ultimate Solution in a Towers of Doom match at Uncensored

* Worst Worked Match of the Year (1997) vs. Roddy Piper at SuperBrawl VII

* Worst Worked Match of the Year (1998) vs. The Warrior at Halloween Havoc

* Worst Feud of the Year (1991) vs. Sgt. Slaughter

* Worst Feud of the Year (1995) vs. The Dungeon of Doom

* Worst Feud of the Year (1998) vs. The Warrior

* Worst Feud of the Year (2000) vs. Billy Kidman

* Best Babyface (1982–1991)

*Least Favorite Wrestler (1985, 1986, 1991, 1994–1999)

*Worst Wrestler (1997)

* Most Embarrassing Wrestler (1995, 1996, 1998–2000)

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)

Hogan's last reign was as Undisputed WWF Champion. The title was renamed the WWE Undisputed Championship on May 6, 2002 after World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc. settled a lawsuit with the World Wide Fund for Nature, and became simply World Wrestling Entertainment.}}

Notes

References

External links

Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame profile

WWE Hall of Fame profile

TNA Impact Wrestling profile

Category:1953 births Category:Actors from Florida Category:Actors from Georgia (U.S. state) Category:American film actors Category:American voice actors Category:American people of French descent Category:American people of Panamanian descent Category:American professional wrestlers of Italian descent Category:American professional wrestlers Category:Hispanic and Latino American people Category:Living people Category:New World Order (professional wrestling) members Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:People from Augusta, Georgia Category:People from Clearwater, Florida Category:People from Miami, Florida Category:People from Tampa, Florida Category:Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum Category:University of South Florida alumni Category:WWE Hall of Fame Category:People associated with direct selling Category:American rock bass guitarists Category:Session musicians Category:Musicians from Georgia (U.S. state) Category:Musicians from Florida Category:Masked wrestlers

ar:هولك هوجان an:Hulk Hogan bg:Хълк Хоган bar:Terrence Bollea ca:Hulk Hogan cs:Hulk Hogan cy:Hulk Hogan da:Hulk Hogan de:Hulk Hogan es:Hulk Hogan eu:Hulk Hogan fa:هالک هوگان fr:Hulk Hogan ga:Hulk Hogan gl:Hulk Hogan ko:헐크 호건 hy:Հալկ Հոգան hi:हल्क होगन it:Terrence Bollea he:האלק הוגאן hu:Hulk Hogan ml:ഹൾക്ക് ഹോഗൻ ms:Hulk Hogan nl:Hulk Hogan ja:ハルク・ホーガン no:Hulk Hogan pl:Hulk Hogan pt:Hulk Hogan ro:Hulk Hogan ru:Халк Хоган simple:Hulk Hogan sk:Hulk Hogan sr:Халк Хоган sh:Hulk Hogan fi:Hulk Hogan sv:Hulk Hogan te:హల్క్ హొగన్ th:ฮัลค์ โฮแกน tr:Hulk Hogan vi:Hulk Hogan

Name	Ricky Banderas
Names	Asesor CiberneticaEl MesíasEl Mega Triple Campeón de AAAJudas MesiasMuerte CiberneticaRicky Banderas
Height
Weight
Birth date	May 25, 1975
Birth place	Bayamón, Puerto Rico
Billed	Bayamón, Puerto RicoThe Depths of HellParts Unknown
Debut	1997
Retired	}}

Gilbert Cosme (born May 25, 1975) better known by his ring names El Mesías and Ricky Banderas, is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler. He began his career in the International Wrestling Association based on Puerto Rico. While performing in the company, he won the IWA World Heavyweight Championship on five instances and held minor championships on fifteen separate occasions, before leaving the company in 2006.

On March 12, 2006 he debuted in Asistencia Asesoría y Administración, a promotion based in Mexico as a character named Muerte Cibernetica and was involved in an angle where this character was "killed." In November 2006, Cosme was involved in the tapings of the Wrestling Society X television series, where he was the second and last wrestler to win the WSX Championship. Following a month of performing in the International Wrestling Association, Cosme returned to Asistencia Asesoría y Administración in a special event presented by the company, this time under the ring name of El Mesías. In September 2007, the company organized a unification tournament where all of the champions and first contenders participated. Over the course of the tournament, he won the GPCW Super-X Monster Championship and IWC World Heavyweight Championship, and on the tournament's finale, he became the first wrestler to win the AAA World Heavyweight Championship. While working in Mexico, Cosme signed a contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) where he debuted as Judas Mesias on September 13, 2007. In March 2008 his association with TNA came to an end and he focused most of his time on AAA. In 2010 Cosme debuted for Puerto Rican World Wrestling Council, where was the Universal Heavyweight Champion.

Professional wrestling career

International Wrestling Association (1999–2009)

Cosme began wrestling training in 1996, when he was instructed by a former wrestler. During this time he was enrolled in the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico located in Bayamón, his major concentration was in computer technology, after completing two years of study, he decided to begin wrestling as a profession after meeting Victor Quiñones in the gym. In 1997, after working in the independent circuit he moved to Mexico and performed there, and became involved in a project to develop Hispanic talent organized by the World Wrestling Federation.

Cosme subsequently debuted in the International Wrestling Association (IWA) in 1999. He was given the gimmick of "El Patriota" Ricky Banderas, a name that, according to Cosme, was created by fusing the artistic names of Latin musician Ricky Martín and actor Antonio Banderas. He debuted in Extreme Championship Wrestling on that year, where he worked in a televised match. Following a period of teaming with Los Boricuas, his character was teamed with Germán Figueroa who wrestled as Gran Apolo, and formed a tag team dubbed ''La Nueva Generacion'', which won the IWA Tag Team Championship three times. On August 21, 2000, in a show in Levittown, Puerto Rico, Cosme's character turned on Gran Apolo. Following this, he joined the company's dominant heel stable, Los Intocables, along with Miguel Pérez and Jesús Castillo. After the stable's dissolution, he was involved in another stable named ''Starr Corporation'', where after Cosme's insistence his character became darker and was renamed "El Mesías" Ricky Banderas. Following this, he was teamed up with Shane Sewell in a stable known as ''Los Hermanos en Dolor''. In 2001, Cosme performed in a tryout match for the World Wrestling Federation and in a pay per view event on Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling. He won the IWA heavyweight title for a third time on June 15, 2002, and remained champion until Ray González debuted with the company as "Rey Fénix", in a match that he describes as the best match he had wrestled at the moment.

Cosme's gimmick underwent another change when it joined then-dominant heel stable "La Compania" led by Savio Vega (Juan Rivera). This was followed by his fourth title run after he defeated Gran Apolo on January 6, 2003. He was booked as a heel until October 9, 2003, when Vega's group turned on him. Following this, he feuded with Christopher Kindred under his "Slash Venom" gimmick, which peaked when Vampiro (Ian Richard Hodgkinson) was brought by the company to form a stable which feuded with Gran Apolo and Venom. In 2004, he feuded with Hangman Hughes (Mike Hughes), Kasey James (Kurt Sellers), El Diamante (Julio César Cruz), and Bison. In 2005, he turned heel again, this time leading a stable known as ''La Cruz del Diablo'' which feuded with other groups led by Savio Vega and Ray Gonzalez. Following an angle where he feuded over a number one contender spot, Cosme departed from the company and signed a contract to wrestle in Mexico. Subsequently, he continued making sporadic appearances for the company, including a brief stay in 2007. On July 19, 2009, Cosme was booked to defeat Dennis Rivera in the promotion's tenth anniversary event.

Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (2006–present)

Following the culmination of his contract with the International Wrestling Association, Cosme signed a contract with Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA). He debuted on March 12, 2006, as "Muerte Cibernética" a ''rudo'' (villanous) enforcer supposedly brought to the company by Octavio López Arriola under his "Cibernético" gimmick to feud with "La Parka". This gimmick consisted of Cosme wearing a traditional Mexican wrestling mask, often a modified version of the one used by La Parka. This character was placed in a feud with La Parka, which lasted several months. This angle came to a conclusion at Triplemania XIV, where Cosme's character was booked to lose a Mask vs. Mask match.

Following a legitimate injury suffered by López, Cosme's gimmick was slightly changed, launching into an angle where he pursued the leadership of Cibernético's stable, which then went by the name of ''La Secta Cibernetica''. The character was booked to be the leader of the stable after supposedly convincing several members of the group to join him changing the name of the group to La Secta Diabólica. The events of the angle were used to hype an eventual feud between López and Cosme's characters that took place in December 2006. In the angle, Cosme won the first encounter between the two with help of his stable. The angle culminated in a Casket match between the two characters. Cibernético was booked to win the match and subsequently "kill" his opponent by throwing him into an active volcano. This was used to explain Cosme's absence when he departed from the company to wrestle in the International Wrestling Association. During this time he also wrestled for Panama Wrestling Crew in Panama and in Ecuador.

Following a month of performing in Puerto Rico, Cosme returned to Asistencia Asesoría y Administración in an annual event entitled ''Rey de Reyes'' under a new gimmick, changing his name to El Mesías. From then on, he started to get a bigger push as a main event heel, feuding with Cibernético and his stable "Los Hell Brothers". During the feud, Cosme was both leader of ''La Secta del Mesías'' and member of ''La Legión Extranjera''. Later, Cosme took both the IWC heavyweight championship from Cibernético and the GPCW SUPER-X Monster Title from La Parka in the preliminary rounds of the AAA World Heavyweight Title tournament. As Mesías, he became the first wrestler to win the AAA World Heavyweight Championship in AAA's pay-per-view event ''Verano de Escandalo'' after defeating Chessman(Kevin Citlali Zamora) by disqualification. On November 29, 2007, he successfully defended the company's championship in a triple threat match at a pay-per-view titled ''Guerra de Titanes''. In March 2008, he returned to AAA after several months of inactivity. On March 16, 2008, Cosme dropped the championship to Cibernético. He was subsecuently involved in an angle with Vampiro, leding to a match at Triplemania XVI, which concluded as a time-limit draw. On October 24, 2008, Cosme won the ''Copa Antonio Peña'', defeating six other wrestlers in the process. Joaquín Roldán, was responsible for presenting the relevant trophy. On December 6, 2008, at Guerra de Titanes, Cosme won the AAA Heavyweight Championship for a second time, defeating El Zorro (Jesús Martínez). He also made a full ''técnico'' (fan favorite) turn, asking the fans for forgiveness for what he's done while in AAA. On March 15, 2009 at the Rey de Reyes (2009) After successfully defending the AAA World Heavyweight Championship against Chessman, Dr. Wagner, Jr. challenged him directly after the match. On June 13, 2009, he was booked to lose the title to Wagner at Triplemania XVII. The feud continued for several months, until he regained the title on December 11, 2009, at the main event of Guerra de Titanes. Cosme's third reign as AAA World Heavyweight Champion ended on March 12, 2010, at the 2010 ''Rey de Reyes'' event. He was not booked to lose, but Electroshock (Edgar Luna Pozos) submitted Mr. Anderson (Ken Anderson), the third wrestler in the match, to win the championship. Afterwards, El Mesías began feuding with invaders from ''Los Perros del Mal'', the group's leader El Hijo del Perro Aguayo in particular. On August 14 at ''Verano de Escandalo'' Aguayo, Damián 666 and L.A. Park defeated El Mesías, Cibernético and La Parka in a six man tag team match, when Aguayo pinned Mesías after hitting him with a chair. On October 1 at ''Héroes Inmortales IV'' El Mesías gained a measure of revenge on Aguayo by defeating him in a singles match. On November 1 El Mesías entered the 2010 Lucha Libre Premier tournament. The first two rounds of the tournament were wrestled in a ''parejas increibles'' format, with El Mesías teaming with Electroshock. The two would defeat the teams of Extreme Tiger and L.A. Park and Cibérnetico and Hernandez to make it to the semifinal four–way match, where El Mesías and El Zorro, defeated Electroshock and Dr. Wagner, Jr. to advance to the finals. On November 28 El Mesías defeated El Zorro in the finals of the tournament to win the 2010 Lucha Libre Premier. Afterwards Mesías entered a feud with ''La Sociedad'' member L.A. Park, who defeated him on December 5 at ''Guerra de Titanes'', after using a chair on him. On March 18, 2011, at Rey de Reyes, El Mesías and Park were both eliminated from the finals of the 2011 ''Rey de Reyes'' tournament, after brawling to a double countout. On May 18, El Mesías challenged, and Park accepted, for the two to end their feud at TripleManía XIX in a Mask vs. Hair match. On June 18 at TripleManía XIX, Park defeated El Mesías, forcing him to have his head shaved. El Mesías returned to AAA a month later at ''Verano de Escándalo'', saving Dr. Wagner, Jr. from ''La Sociedad''. On October 9 at Héroes Inmortales, El Mesías wrestled TNA performer Sting to a no contest in what was billed as a "dream match" by AAA, following interference from ''La Sociedad''. The match had been put together by AAA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett in an attempt to stop El Mesías from chasing his title. On December 16 at Guerra de Titanes, El Mesías defeated TNA performers A.J. Styles and Rob Terry in back-to-back matches to become the number one contender to Jarrett's title. On March 18, 2012, at ''Rey de Reyes'', El Mesías defeated Jeff Jarrett to win the AAA World Heavyweight Championship for the fourth time. On April 23, El Mesías underwent surgery on his arm; as a result, he was sidelined from in-ring action for three months. In storyline, El Hijo del Perro Aguayo was credited with causing the injury.

Wrestling Society X (2006)

Cosme participated as Banderas in the Wrestling Society X television series (taped in Los Angeles, California), with the gimmick of a disgruntled and kayfabe disfigured man pursuing a feud with Vampiro. The booking of the feud commenced after Banderas threw a fireball at Vampiro's face, which resulted in MTV pulling the episode from its original airdate, with concerns that viewers would try it at home. The episode later aired in edited form on February 27, 2007.

The reason behind the pursuit was explained in the following episode in a promo, where he claimed that Vampiro rigged a casket with explosives during a match, with the explosion resulting in the damage done to his face. On the eighth episode (which was taped on November 15, 2006) of the series, Banderas won the WSX Championship in his debut match for the promotion. Beforehand, he was involved in a series of brawls with Youth Suicide (Andre Verdun), as well as an allusion to a partnership with 6-Pac (Sean Waltman). At No Surrender, he pulled Abyss under the ring by cutting a hole through it with a knife and pulling him underneath. On the September 13, 2007 edition of ''Impact!'', during a submission match between Abyss and Kurt Angle in the Six Sides of Steel, Mesias made his official debut, climbing up from underneath the ring and subsequently attacking Abyss.

On September 21, 2007, it was reported that Cosme was suffering from sciatica and that the condition's treatment required several weeks of rest, followed by physical therapy to recover. This injury was the result of a fall from a ladder during a championship match at AAA's ''Verano de Escandalo'' pay-per-view, which also knocked him out.

Mesias returned on the December 13, 2007, episode of ''Impact!'' where he attacked Abyss by strangling him with a piece of barbed wire, which he also used to cut his forehead open. He then repeatedly hit Abyss in the head with a chair. He finished his assault by delivering his finisher, Straight to Hell to Abyss on the same chair. In his TNA pay-per-view debut, Mesias defeated Abyss at Final Resolution after hitting Abyss with his finisher onto a barbed wire steel chair. This feud continued at Against All Odds, organized on February 10, 2008. In this event he competed in a stipulation match called "Barbed Wire Massacre", where the ring was surrounded by barbed wire, which Abyss won by using his finisher, the Black Hole Slam. In March, Cosme was released from his contract with the company.

World Wrestling Council (2009–2011)

An agreement between Cosme and the World Wrestling Council was first rumored on November 26, 2009. The promotion made the official announcement two days later, including highlights of his career in a compilation video displayed during a special event titled Crossfire. His debut was scheduled for January 16, 2010, being booked as Ricky Banderas in a contest against Carly Colón. Ray González was subsequently included, winning a three-way-contest where the WWC's first winner of the "Wrestler of the Decade Cup" was to be decided. The following week, both were booked in a rematch, with Banderas winning the cup. On July 11, 2010, Banderas was booked to act as special referee at Aniversario 2010, but was subsequently included in a stipulation match against Colón. His character made a heel turn in this event, attacking both Colón and Hugo Savinovich. On January 8, 2011, Banderas defeated Colón, with help from an interfering Shane Sewell, to win the WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship for the first time. Upon Banderas' return to IWA, he was stripped of the title.

Return to International Wrestling Association (2011)

On April 2, 2011, Banderas returned to IWA, defeating Ray Fenix in the main event of the evening.

Return to World Wrestling Council (2012)

On January 7, 2012 return to WWC to get an opportunity for the WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship held by Carlito Caribbean Cool.

In wrestling

Finishing moves

:* Fireman's carry facebuster :* Leaping reverse STO (AAA) / ''Straight to Hell'' (TNA) :* ''Mesías Splash'' (Frog splash) :* ''La Patriota'' (IWA) / Sharpshooter (AAA)

Signature moves

:* Cradle piledriver :* Over the shoulder facebuster :* Reverse figure four leglock :* Spear

Managers

:* James Mitchell

Entrance themes

:* "Seek & Destroy" by Metallica :* "Birth of Venus Illegitima" by Therion :* "Ave Vampire" by Dale Oliver (TNA) :* "Lux Æterna" by Kronos Quartet

Championships and accomplishments

Asistencia Asesoría y Administración

:* AAA World Heavyweight Championship (4 times, current) :* GPCW Super-X Monster Championship (1 time) :* IWC World Heavyweight Championship (1 time) :* Copa Antonio Peña (2008) :* Lucha Libre Premier (2010)

International Wrestling Association

:* IWA Hardcore Championship (9 times) :* IWA Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship (2 times) :* IWA World Heavyweight Championship (5 times) :* IWA World Tag Team Championship (5 times) – with Gran Apolo (3), Glamour Boy Shane (1) and Cruzz (1)

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

:* PWI ranked him # 26 of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2008

World Wrestling Council

WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

* ''Copa Luchador de la Década'' (2010)

Wrestling Society X

:* WSX Championship (1 time)

Lucha de Apuesta record

{|class="wikitable sortable" width=100% |- !style="background: #e3e3e3;" width=5%|Wager !style="background: #e3e3e3;" width=20%|Winner !style="background: #e3e3e3;" width=20%|Loser !style="background: #e3e3e3;" width=20%|Location !style="background: #e3e3e3;" width=15%|Date !style="background: #e3e3e3;" width=20%|Notes |----- align="center" |Mask || La Parka, Jr. || Muerte Cibernetica || Naucalpan, State of Mexico, Mexico || || At TripleMania XIV |----- align="center" |Hair || L.A. Park || El Mesías || Mexico City, Mexico || || Mask vs. Hair match at TripleMania XIX |}

References

External links

Asistencia Asesoría y Administración Profile

TNA Wrestling profile

Category:1975 births Category:Living people Category:People from Bayamón, Puerto Rico Category:Puerto Rican professional wrestlers Category:Puerto Rican sportspeople

es:Ricky Banderas fr:Ricky Banderas ja:リッキー・バンデラス simple:Ricky Banderas

Name	Scott Braddock
Names	Sheik Scott BraddockSheikh Scott BraddockCpl. BraddockScotty The Body Braddock
Birth place	United States
Debut	c. 1988
Retired	1994
Website	}}

Scott Braddock is a retired American professional wrestler who competed in North American regional promotions during the 1980s and early 1990s including the Global Wrestling Federation, the United States Wrestling Association and World Class Championship Wrestling. While in WCCW, he was known under the name "Sheik" Scott Braddock as a member of manager Skandar Akbar's "heel" stable ''Devastation Inc.'' and was an early ally of "Stunning" Steve Austin during his feud with former mentor Chris Adams.

He was also part of Robert Fuller's "Stud Stable" with "Rotten" Ron Starr and Cactus Jack, the group being involved in a memorable feud with Matt Borne and Jeff Jarrett, and later won the WCWA World Tag Team Championship with Cactus Jack in 1989. They were the last team to hold the titles when WCCW merged with the Continental Wrestling Association to form the USWA and, as a result, he and Cactus Jack were recognized as the first tag team champions in the new promotion.

Career

World Class Championship Wrestling (1988-1990)

Braddock began wrestling for promoter Fritz von Erich in World Class Championship Wrestling around 1988. In mid-1989, he became a member of manager Robert Fuller's "Stud Stable", which included "Rotten" Ron Starr and Cactus Jack, and became involved in a heated feud with Matt Borne and Jeff Jarrett. He and Cactus Jack, later stablemates in Skandor Akbar's ''Devastation Inc.'', began teaming together eventually winning the WCWA World Tag Team Championship from Borne and Jarrett in Dallas, Texas on August 4, 1989. This was the last WCCW event held at the Dallas Sportatorium. During that time, both WCCW and the CWA merged to form the United States Wrestling Alliance. Braddock and Cactus Jack were recognized by the USWA as the promotion's first tag team champions before losing the titles back to Borne and Jarrett a week later. Braddock won the titles once more, this time with Ron Starr, defeating them in Dallas on September 15. The title was held up in a September 22 rematch with he and Starr losing the titles to Borne and Jarrett the following week. The feud ended after Borne lost a "Loser-Leaves-Town" match in November. Jarrett briefly found an ally in a young Jeff Gaylord, but found more success as a singles wrestler. That same year, he wrestled Jimmy Jack Funk in one of the earliest shows aired on "USWA on ESPN" from the Dallas Sportatorium. Braddock and Starr would also face Jarrett and Funk in a tag team match.

United States Wrestling Association (1990-1992)

Since the start of 1989, Braddock was one of the WCCW veterans used primarily in "USWA Texas". Like most of the roster however, Braddock would eventually spend much of the next year traveling to and from Dallas and Memphis as the promotion focused on those two areas. One of his earliest matches in Memphis was a 6-man tag team match with Jeff Gaylord and PY Chu Hi against Jimmy Jack Funk, Chico Torres and Chris Adams on January 13, 1990. He also faced, and lost, to Junkyard Dog in Alexandria, Louisiana on January 30. During the next month, Braddock and Gaylord faced Jimmy Jack Funk in tag team matches with Dustin Rhodes and Dutch Mantel. On February 23, Sheik Braddock returned to Dallas where he beat Chico Torres at the Sportatorium. He participated in the main event later that night by teaming with John Tatum, Gary Young and Chris Youngblood to defeat Torres, Jimmy Jack Funk, Dutch Mantell and Kevin Von Erich in an 8-man tag team match. Braddock then went back to Memphis where he and Chris Youngblood unsuccessfully challenged then USWA Tag Team Champions The Southern Rockers (Steve Doll & Rex King).

By early-1990, Braddock himself left the tag team division to became a singles wrestler and became one of many veteran brawlers to join manager Skandar Akbar's "heel" stable ''Devastation Inc''. Braddock frequently teamed with "Stunning" Steve Austin during his feud against Chris Adams. They were occasionally joined by Jeff Gaylord in 6-man tag team matches which included a televised bout against Adams, Matt Borne and Eric Embry on March 16. In another high-profile matchup, the trio took on Dustin Rhodes, Jimmy Jack Funk & Chico Torres at the end of the month.

However, Braddock had less luck against Embry who beat him in a singles match on March 23. During the next three months, he would go on to have mixed success in the singles division with wins over Chico Torres but lost important matches to Kevin Von Erich, Jeff Jarrett and Billy Travis. In Memphis, Braddock had better luck managing a title shot against USWA Southern Champion "Superstar" Bill Dundee on June 10. He also formed a regular team with Jeff Gaylord, who were known as The Wild Things, and challenged Rex King & Joey Maggs for the USWA Tag Team Championship on July 14. Later joined by manager Downtown Bruno, the tag team also faced Ben Jordan & Ken Raper, King Cobra & Big Red, and Kowabunga & Ken Wayne whom they fought to a double-countout at the Mid-South Coliseum on July 30. Braddock also racked up an impressive string of victories over Jeff Jarrett, Ben Jordan and Rex King during this time.

Global Wrestling Federation and retirement (1992-1993)

In mid-1992, he made a one time appearance in the Global Wrestling Federation teaming with Khris Germany in a losing effort to Ebony Experience at the Dallas Sportatorium in Dallas, Texas on July 17, 1992. His last year in wrestling was spent in Big D. Pro Wrestling, where he wrestled as "Scotty The Body Braddock", and retired after the promotion closed at the end of the year.

Between 2003 and 2005, many of his matches would be aired by IWA Puerto Rico on its television series ''IWA Total Impact'' during its "classic matches" segments. In December 2008, Total Non-Stop Action sent out a mobile text message to subscribers hinting Braddock as one of several men, specifically a former "world champion" and tag team partner of Mick Foley, who would act as a cornerman for Kurt Angle in his upcoming match with Rhyno. Foley was to be the special guest referee. Braddock makes sporadic appearances in Texas for local indy shows.

Championships and accomplishments

Big D Wrestling

:*Big D Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Ray Evans

National Class Wrestling

NCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

United States Wrestling Association

:*USWA Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Cactus Jack (1) and Ron Starr (1)

World Class Wrestling Association

:*WCWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Cactus Jack

References

External links

GenickBruch.com - Scott Braddock

Category:American professional wrestlers Category:Living people Category:Year of birth missing (living people)