Kurt Angle

In 1987, Angle became a Pennsylvania State Wrestling Champion in Pittsburgh. Later he earned two NCAA championships. In 1990, Angle won the Canadian Cup Championship. Following college graduation, Angle accepted various wrestling-coaching jobs and started training for the Olympics. Angle defeated Abbas Jadidi of Iran via referee's decision, to win the 1996 Olympic Free-style Wrestling Gold Medal at 220 pounds. Angle received his Olympic Gold medal on July 31st 1996. Angle was first contacted about joining the WWF in 1996. At the time, Angle claimed pro wrestling was not in his future. In the summer of 1998 Angle became a fan of the WWF. A short time later, he contacted WWF Chairman Vince McMahon to see if the company still had interest in his services. In October 1998, Angle signed a five-year contract with the World Wrestling Federation. Angle was sent to Power Pro Wrestling in Memphis for development.

Angle made his WWF pay-per-view debut on November 14th 1999 at the Survivor Series defeating Shawn Stasiak. On February 8th 2000, Angle defeated Val Venis for the European title. At No Way Out on February 27th, Angle beat Chris Jericho for the Intercontinental title to become a 'Euro-Continental' Champion. At Wrestlemania 16 on April 2nd, Angle lost both titles in a triple-threat match where the first man to gain a decision would be named the Intercontinental Champion and the second would be named European Champion. Chris Benoit gained the first decision, whilst Jericho gained the second, although neither man defeated Angle to do so. Angle defeated Jericho, Crash Holly, and Rikishi to become the King of the Ring on June 25th. At No Mercy on October 22nd, Angle defeated The Rock to capture his first World Championship.

Angle pinned The Rock to win a six-man 'Hell In the Cell' match that also included Steve Austin, Rikishi, Triple H, and the Undertaker at Armageddon on December 10th, and thus successfully defend the WWF title. At No Way Out on February 25th 2001, Angle lost the title back to The Rock. At Wrestlemania X-Seven on April 1st, Angle pinned Chris Benoit. On June 2nd, Angle was inducted into the National Amateur Wrestling Hall of Fame. On July 24th, Angle pinned Booker T for the WCW title in his hometown of Pittsburgh, he lost the title back to Booker T six days later. On September 10th, Angle captured the Hardcore title from Rob Van Dam only to lose it back to him moments later due to interference from Steve Austin. Angle captured yet another title in his hometown when he forced Austin to submit to the ankle-lock at Unforgiven on September 23rd, and thus capture the WWF Championship for a second time.

Angle lost the WWF Championship back to Austin on October 8th. On October 22nd Angle defeated Rhyno for the WCW United States title. He lost the title to Edge on November 12th. At Wrestlemania X8 on March 17th 2002, Angle defeated Kane. At Judgement Day on May 19th, Angle lost a 'hair versus hair' match to Edge and was consequentially shaved completely bald! Angle defeated Hulk Hogan via submission at the King of the Ring on June 23rd. At No Mercy on October 20th, Angle captured his first tag team title along with Chris Benoit by defeating Edge & Rey Mysterio and winning the Smackdown! tournament to crown the first WWE Tag Team Champions (a title exclusive to that brand). The duo lost the titles to Rey Mysterio & Edge on November 5th. Angle defeated The Big Show for the WWE Championship (his 3rd WWE, formerly WWF, World title, his 4th overall as he'd captured the old wCw title on July 24th 2001) on December 15th at Armageddon.

Angle lost the WWE Championship to Brock Lesnar on March 30th 2003, at Wrestlemania XIX. After undergoing reconstructive surgery on his neck Angle returned and won his fourth WWE Championship by defeating Brock Lesnar and The Big Show in a Triple Threat match on July 27th at Vengeance. Angle lost the title back to Lesnar in an Iron Man match on the September 16th edition of SmackDown! At Wrestlemania XX on March 14th 2004, Angle was defeated by WWE Champion Eddie Guerrero. On March 23rd, Angle was announced as the new General Manager of SmackDown! On July 22nd Vince McMahon fired Angle as the General Manager and returned him to the active roster. At Summerslam on August 15th, Angle defeated Guerrero. At Wrestlemania 21 on April 3rd 2005, Angle defeated Shawn Michaels. On June 13th, Angle moved to RAW via a draft lottery.

Big Show

Wight arrived in World Championship Wrestling as The Giant and won the WCW World Heavyweight title from Hulk Hogan in his first match! This took place on October 29th 1995, at Halloween Havoc, however because the victory had come via a disqualification, which was only possible because Hogan�s manager, Jimmy Hart, had added the unusual match stipulation which allowed the title to change hands via a DQ and Hart had caused it himself, the title was held up shortly afterwards. With Hart as his Manager, The Giant won the WCW Championship for a 2nd time by defeating Ric Flair on April 22nd 1996. At Slamboree on May 19th, The Giant defeated Sting. At The Great American Bash on June 16th, The Giant defeated Lex Luger. He lost the WCW title to �Hollywood� Hulk Hogan at Hog Wild on August 10th. Shortly afterwards Wight joined the nWo (New World Order). At Fall Brawl on September 15th, The Giant defeated Randy Savage. In less than one year Wight had won the WCW title twice and defeated all of the top names in WCW. At World War 3 on November 24th, The Giant won the three-ring, 60-man battle royal and earned a title shot against nWo leader �Hollywood� Hulk Hogan in the process. As Wight would not relinquish his title shot he was soon thrown out of the nWo. At Souled Out on January 25th 1997, The Giant was unsuccessful in capturing the WCW title from �Hollywood� Hogan. At Bash at the Beach on July 13th, The Giant, along with partner Lex Luger defeated the nWo team of Hogan & Dennis Rodman. At Souled Out on January 24th 1998, Wight suffered a neck injury at the hands of Kevin Nash when an attempted power bomb went wrong. Wight soon returned and at Slamboree on May 17th he, along with partner Sting, defeated �The Outsiders� Scott Hall & Kevin Nash for the WCW World Tag Team Championship, after Hall had attacked his partner. At The Great American Bash on June 14th, The Giant and Sting faced off as both had joined apposing nWo factions, The Giant with the original nWo black & white, featuring Hogan & Hall, and Sting with Nash�s nWo Wolfpac. Wight was defeated by Sting and thus lost the tag team title as Sting was able to choose Nash as his new partner. On July 20th Wight regained the WCW World Tag Team Championship for a 2nd time along with new partner Scott Hall by defeating Kevin Nash & Sting. At Halloween Havoc on October 25th, Wight lost the tag team championship when Rick Steiner pinned Scott Steiner who was a substitute replacement for Hall.

In 1999 Wight joined the World Wrestling Federation and made his debut by attacking Steve Austin at St. Valentines Day Massacre on February 14th. Now known as The Big Show, Wight along with The Undertaker defeated X-Pac & Kane for the WWF World Tag Team Championship at Summerslam on August 22nd. A week later they lost the titles to The Rock & Mankind, only to reclaim them for a 2nd time on September 7th. Less than two weeks later on September 20th The Big Show, along with Viscera & Mideon, lost the Championship back to The Rock & Mankind in a �Dark Side Rules� match in which any of The Undertaker�s followers could be involved. On November 14th at Survivor Series, The Big Show won his 1st WWF World Heavyweight title by defeating Champion Triple H & The Rock in a Triple Threat match. Big Show lost the Championship back to Triple H on January 3rd 2000. At the 16th Wrestlemania on April 2nd, Show competed in the main event in an elimination match for the WWF Championship along with Mick Foley, The Rock, & Triple H, however was eliminated 1st. In the summer of 2000, Wight was assigned to Ohio Valley Wrestling for conditioning. He returned at the Royal Rumble on January 21st, 2001, choke-slamming everyone in the ring before being eliminated by The Rock for the 2nd year in a row, but Show did gain a measure of revenge by attacking The Rock afterwards. At No Way Out on February 25th, Big Show defeated Raven for the WWF Hardcore Championship, only to lose it back to him on March 19th. He regained the title from Rhyno on May 21st before losing it to Chris Jericho seven days later. At Survivor Series on November 18th, Show was part of �Team WWF� along with Kane, The Undertaker, Chris Jericho, & The Rock, who defeated the �ECW/wCw Alliance� team consisting of Shane McMahon, Booker T, Rob Van Dam, Kurt Angle, & Steve Austin. On the March 25th 2002, edition of RAW, Big Show was drafted 6th for that brand during the �brand extension�. On April 22nd, Wight re-joined the newly reformed nWo by attacking Steve Austin. At Judgement Day on May 19th, Show, along with Ric Flair, lost to Austin in a handicap match. On July 12th, Big Show competed in a time limit Hardcore Championship match in which the person in possession of the title after time expired is named the Champion. Although Show gained a pin-fall during the match he was pinned by Bradshaw, the Champion at the start of the match, before time expired and thus Bradshaw retained the title. On the October 21st edition of RAW it was announced that Big Show had been traded to SmackDown!

On November 17th Show defeated Brock Lesnar to capture the WWE (formerly WWF) Championship for a 2nd time at Survivor Series after Lesnar�s �agent� Paul Heyman assisted The Big Show, thus aligning himself with him. At Armageddon on December 15th, Big Show lost the title to Kurt Angle and Heyman consequentially aligned himself with the new Champion. At Judgement Day on May 18th, 2003, Show was defeated by Lesnar in a �Stretcher� match. At No Mercy on October 19th, Show defeated Eddie Guerrero for the United States Championship. Big Show held the Title for five months until he lost it to John Cena at Wrestlemania XX on March 14th 2004. The Big Show returned on the September 9th edition of SmackDown! Big Show lost a Sumo Match to Akebono at Wrestlemania 21 on April 3rd 2005. On June 27th, Big Show moved back to RAW via a draft lottery. At Taboo Tuesday on November 1st, Big Show and Kane defeated Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch for the World Tag Team Championship.

Diamond Dallas Page

Page debuted in 1988, managing Badd Company (Paul Diamond & Pat Tanaka) to the AWA tag team title on March 19th, 1988, by defeating the Midnight Rockers (Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty).

Dusty Rhodes brought Page to WCW, where he was manager to The Fabulous Freebirds, The Diamond Studd (Scott Hall/Razor Ramon), and was escorted by the Diamond Dolls. Later additions to his stable included Scotty Flamingo (Scott Levy/Johnny Polo/Raven) and Vinnie Vegas (Kevin Nash/Diesal). Page also did commentary with Eric Bischoff. On advice from Magnum T.A., DDP entered the WCW Power Plant to train as a professional wrestler. Page made his pro wrestling debut with Hall in a tag match. In late '92 Page tore his rotator cuff in a match with Tex Slazenger and Shanghai Pierce (later known as the Godwin�s) and parted ways with WCW.

Bischoff brought Page back in early �94. He was escorted by The Diamond Doll (wife and former NITRO girl Kimberly). Page won his first and only WCW television title by defeating the late 'Renegade' at Fall Brawl on September 17th, 1995. However he was unable to hold the title long, dropping it to Johnny B. Badd (Marc Mero) at Halloween Havoc �95. Page later feuded with Eddy Guerrero, and beat him at Halloween Havoc '96.

1997 was Page's break through year as the newly formed New World Order tried to recruit Page, since both Hall and Nash were previously managed by DDP, he refused and was attacked. Randy Savage spray-painted the letters nWo on his back, which set up a feud. Savage brought out a copy of Playboy, containing nude photographs of Kimberly at Uncensored on March 16th, 1997, thus revealing the duo as married. In the main event of Spring Stampede on April 6th, 1997, Page beat Savage in a no DQ match in a contender for match of the year, thus elevating Page among the wrestling elite. Savage gained his revenge at The Great American Bash on June 15th, 1997, sub-titled �Savage/Page II� by defeating Page in a no-DQ with help from Scott Hall. On the July 7th, 1997 NITRO, DDP dressed as La Parka, and pinned Savage in mere seconds. Savage defeated Page in the final of their series in a Sudden Death Match at Halloween Havoc '97 after DDP was attacked by a fake Sting who turned out to be 'Hollywood' Hogan.

Page beat Curt Hennig to win the U.S. title at Starrcade on December 28th, 1997. Page defended the title in a series of matches with Chris Benoit in early '98. Raven relieved Page of the U.S. title on April 19th, 1998, but Page gained revenge by beating Raven in a death match enclosed in a cage at Slamboree �98. NBA superstar Karl Malone and Page teamed up to defeat �Hollywood� Hogan and Dennis Rodman at Bash at the Beach '98. When Bischoff and Hogan invaded the stage on the �Tonight Show�, it set up a Bischoff & Hogan vs. Page & Jay Leno match at Roadwild �98, which the Page/Leno combo won. Page won the War Games cage match at Fall Brawl �98, thus earning a WCW title shot with Goldberg at Halloween Havoc �98. Despite falling short of his bid for the WCW title, the next night on NITRO, DDP rebounded and pinned Bret Hart for his 2nd U.S. title, but lost the title back to Hart a month later. DDP beat The Giant (Paul Wight) at Starrcade '98. A feud ensued with �Big Poppa Pump� Scott Steiner, as he became obsessed with Kimberly and injured her by tossing her from a moving vehicle. A neck brace was placed around her neck, and she was escorted to the hospital. Steiner beat Page with his Steiner Recliner at SuperBrawl IX, on February 21st '99.

Page shocked the wrestling world when he was victorious in a Four-Way Dance with Ric Flair, Sting, and 'Hollywood' Hogan at Spring Stampede, on April 11th 1999, winning his first WCW title. DDP dropped and regained the WCW title from Sting on the April 26th 1999 edition of NITRO, only to lose it to Kevin Nash at Slamboree on May 9th 1999.

Page formed the Triad with Bam Bam Bigelow and Kanyon. DDP & Bigelow defeated Saturn & Kanyon (subbing for Raven) for the WCW Tag Team title on May 31st. Page & Kanyon lost the titles back to Benoit & Saturn on June 10th, only to regain them on June 13th at the 1999 Great American Bash. Triad members Bigelow & Kanyon eventually lost the titles to Harlem Heat on August 14th. Page defeated Ric Flair in a Strap Match at Halloween Havoc '99 and he defeated Ric�s son David at Starrcade '99 in a Crowbar on a pole match.

At Souled Out 2000 on January 16th, Page lost a Last Man Standing match to Buff Bagwell. Page lost to Jeff Jarrett at Spring Stampede on April 16th, in a match for the vacant WCW World Title, when Kimberly smashed a guitar over DDP's head, thus betraying him and joining Bischoff & Russo's New Blood movement. On the April 24th edition of NITRO Page re-captured theWCW Title for a 3rd time by beating Jarrett. However, Page lost the title the very next night during a tag match in which anyone gaining the pinfall would be champion and his partner, actor David Arquette, pinned Bischoff, who had teamed with Jarrett. At Slamboree on May 7th Page lost a 3 Tiered Cage-Triple Threat Match when Arquette turned on Page and smashed a guitar over his head allowing Jarrett to take the title. Kanyon was next as he too double-crossed Page and helped Mike Awesome defeat him in a Ambulance match at the Great American Bash on June 11th.

After months away Page returned to WCW and at Mayhem on November 26th, The Insiders (Page & Nash) beat The Perfect Event (Shawn Stasiak & Chuck Palumbo) for the WCW World Tag Team title. However the belts were returned to Stasiak & Palumbo on December 4th as Nash had pinned the illegal man. Page won his 4th Tag title when The Insiders regained them from Stasiak & Palumbo at Starrcade on December 17th, only to lose them to Palumbo & Sean O'Haire on January 14th 2001 at the SIN Pay-Per-View.

At Superbrawl Revenge on February 18th Page wrestled 2 matches in a row as first he lost to Kanyon due to outside interference from Jarrett. Then scored beat Jarrett after he'd accidentally hit Kanyon over the head with a guitar. At the Greed PPV on March 18th, Page was unsuccessful in his attempt at beating Scott Steiner for the WCW title.

Page signed with World Wrestling Federation Entertainment (WWFE) after the company purchased WCW in March.
On the June 18th episode of WWF RAW, Page revealed himself as Sara's (the Undertaker's wife) stalker. On August 7th 2001, Page & Kanyon defeated the APA to capture the WWF tag team titles, but lost them to The Undertaker & Kane at Summerslam on August 19th. Following an injury, Page returned with a motivational speaker gimmick. On January 29th 2002, Page defeated Christian for WWF European title. He defended the title against Christian at Wrestlemania X8 on March 17th, before losing the title to William Regal on March 19th. On June 12th 2002, Page announced that he was retiring from being an active in-ring performer in the WWE due to a serious neck injury. In November of 2004, Page debuted for TNA.

Eddie Guerrero
1967 - 2005

Guerrero began his career wrestling in Mexico for such organisations as AAA (Asistencia Asesoria y Administracion). In late 1993 Guerrero teamed with Jake Roberts & Art Barr to defeat Konnan, Perro Aguayo, & The Blue Panther in Los Angeles. Guerrero later joined forces with Konnan in a stable that also featured the late Louie Spicolli called 'Los Gringos Locos'. On July 23rd 1994, Guerrero, teaming with Barr, defeated Octagon and El Hijo del Santo for the AAA Tag Team Championship, however Barr passed away later that year. In late '94 Guerrero went to wrestle for New Japan Pro Wrestling where he wore a mask and used the name The Black Tiger. Whilst in Japan Guerrero, along with The Great Sasuke, won the Junior Heavyweight Super Grade Tag League.

Guerrero went to ECW, where he beat 2 Cold Scorpio for the TV Title on April 8th 1995. Although he lost the belt to Dean Malenko on July 21st, he reclaimed it 7 days later. He lost the belt to 2 Cold on August 25th. The next night Guerrero and Malenko fought to a draw in their final ECW match before leaving for WCW.

At Starrcade on December 27th 1995, Guerrero competed in the 'World Cup of Wrestling' featuring stars from New Japan, such as Jushin Liger, Masa Chono, Kensuke Sasaki, and WCW, such as Chris Benoit, Randy Savage, & Sting. Guerrero was defeated by Shinjiro Ohtani. Between May and June of 1996, Guerrero (as The Black Tiger) competed in and won the New Japan Super Junior Tournament which included, Malenko, Chris Benoit (as Wild Pegasus), Jerry Lynn (as Mr. JL), and Jushin Liger. At Hog Wild on August 10th, Guerrero was unsuccessful in his bid to win the U.S. title when he was defeated by Ric Flair. But he did eventually win the title in a tournament final at Starrcade on December 29th by defeating Diamond Dallas Page. He defended the title against Chris Jericho at Superbrawl VII on February 23rd 1997. He eventualy lost the belt to Malenko at Uncensored on March 16th. Having been a face during his WCW tenure thus far, Guerrero turned heel. He defeated Chris Jericho for the Cruiserweight title at Fall Brawl on September 14th '97. Although he lost the belt to Rey Mysterio in a 'Mask vs. Title' match at Halloween Havoc on October 26th, he regained it on November 10th. He eventually lost it to Ultimo Dragon on December 29th. Throughout much of 1998 Eddie feuded with his nephew Chavo losing to him at The Great American Bash on June 14th and then dfeating him in a 'Hair vs. Hair' match at Bash at the Beach on July 12th. Guerrero formed a stable called The Filthy Animals with Rey Mysterio, Billy Kidman, & Konnan. Guerrero, along with Mysterio & Kidman, defeated Vampiro & The Insane Clown Posse at both Road Wild on August 14th, and Fall Brawl on September 12th. Upon his request, Guerrero received his release from WCW in January of 2000.

Six days after leaving WCW, Guerrero mad his WWF debut as part of The Radicalz with Malenko, Benoit, & Saturn. On April 3rd 2000, he defeated Chris Jericho for the WWF European Championship with the help of Chyna, who found Eddie's 'Latino Heat' too much to resist. The Radicalz soon split & Guerrero lost the belt to his former team mate Saturn at Fully Loaded on July 23rd. At Summerslam on August 27th, Guerrero teamed with Chyna to face Intercontinental Champion Val Venis & his manager Trish Stratus in a mixed gender tag match in which the person making the pinfall would be named Champion. Chyna pinned Trish and was named the new Champ, however jealousy soon reared its head and Guerrero beat Chyna for the Intercontinental title on September 4th and their relationship soon came to an end. The Radicalz reformed and Guerrero once again teamed with Benoit, Malenko, & Saturn to defeat K-Kwik (Ron Killings), and former D-Generation X members, Road Dogg, Billy Gunn, & Chyna at Survivor Series on November 19th. Two days later he lost the Intercontinental title to Billy Gunn. At Wrestlemania X-Seven on April 1st 2001, Guerrero pinned Test for his 2nd European title. He lost the belt to Matt Hardy on April 24th. In June of 2001 Guerrero was sent to rehab and in November he was released by the company having been arrested for drunk driving. Guerrero went to wrestle for the World Wrestling All-Stars (WWA) and on February 24th 2002 at the Revolution Pay-Per-View, Guerrero defeated Psicosis & Juvetund Guerrera for the WWA International Cruiserweight title. He vacated the title when he rejoined the WWF a short time later.

At Backlash on April 21st 2002, Guerrero defeated Rob Van Dam for his 2nd Intercontinental title, but lost it back to RVD on May 26th. At Survivor Series on November 17th, Eddie teamed with nephew Chavo to win the new SmackDown! exclusive WWE Tag Team titles by defeating Champions Edge & Rey Mysterio, along with Kurt Angle & Chris Benoit, in a Triple Threat match. They lost the belts on February 24th 2003, to Shelton Benjamin & Charlie Haas. At Judgement Day on May 18th, Eddie teamed with Tajiri, as Chavo was injured, to defeat Benjamin & Haas in a Ladder match for Guerrero's 2nd WWE Tag Team Championship. They lost the belts back to Benjamin & Haas on July 1st. Eddie entered the tournament for the newly re-instated Smackdown! exclusive United States Championship. Guerrero beat Ultimo Dragon, Billy Gunn, and at Vengeance on July 27th, he defeated Chris Benoit in the final to be crowned the new Champion. On September 16th, Eddie, along with Chavo, regained the WWE Tag Team titles by defeating Benjamin & Haas. At No Mercy on October 19th 2003, Eddie lost the U.S. title to the Big Show. Two days later Eddie & Chavo lost the Tag titles to The Basham Brothers. A feud ensued between Eddie and Chavo culminating in Eddie defeating his nephew at the Royal Rumble on January 25th 2004.

On February 15th 2004, Eddie defeated Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship at No Way Out. At The Great American Bash on June 27th, Eddie lost the Championship to John Bradshaw Layfield in a Texas Bull Rope match. On February 20th 2005, Eddie & Rey Mysterio defeated The Basham Brothers for the WWE Tag Team titles at No Way Out. Eddie lost to Rey at Wrestlemania 21 on April 3rd 2005. The duo lost the titles to MNM on April 19th.

On November 13th 2005, Eddie Guerrero passed away due to heart failure.

Hulk Hogan

In 1978 Hogan made his wrestling debut in Florida using the Super Destroyer gimmick. He later wrestled as Terry Boulder and Sterling Golden before becoming Hulk Hogan. On December 1st 1979, Hogan (as Sterling Golden) defeated Dick Slater for the NWA Southern Title. Shortly afterwards Hogan arrived in Vince McMahon Sr.'s WWWF. Hogan was a full-fledged heel managed by 'Classie' Freddie Blassie. Whilst a he was heel, Hogan feuded with Jerry Lawler in Memphis. McMahon Sr. and Hogan parted ways when Bollea accepted a role in 'Rocky III'. Hogan signed with the AWA in 1981. On April 24th 1983, it seemed Hogan had won the AWA Title by defeating Nick Bockwinkel in a No-DQ match, however the decision was overturned. On June 2nd 1983, Hogan beat Antonio Inoki in the finals of a 10-Man tournament to become the IWGP Heavyweight Champion in Tokyo, Japan. Still in Japan, Hogan alerted Verne Gagne that he was leaving the AWA to join the WWF.

Hogan won the WWF Championship for the first time on January 23rd 1984, when he pinned the Iron Sheik at Madison Square Garden in New York. At Wrestlemania I on March 31st 1985, Hogan and Mr. T beat Paul Orndorff and 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper. Hogan successfully defended the WWF Championship at Wrestlemania II on April 5th 1986 in Los Angeles, defeating King Kong Bundy in a Steel Cage. At Wrestlemania III on March 29th 1987, Hogan pinned Andre the Giant to retain the WWF Championship. Hogan eventually lost the title to Andre on February 5th 1988, due to a fast count by the referee. He had held the title for just over four years (one thousand four hundred and seventy four days to be precise!) Later it was discovered this was because 'The Million Dollar Man' Ted DiBiase had arranged for referee Earl Hebner's twin brother Dave to officiate the match. Following the match Andre immediately gave the belt to Ted DiBiase, but as the title cannot be given away, then WWF president Jack Tunney announced that by doing so Andre had officially vacated the Championship. It was announced that a 14-man one-night tournament, the largest in history, would be held to crown a new champion. At Wrestlemania IV on March 27th 1988 in Atlantic City, Hogan helped 'Macho Man' Randy Savage defeat DiBiase for the title as both he and Andre had been counted out during their quarter-final match earlier in the evening (they had both received a bye in the 1st round). Hogan & Savage formed the 'Mega-Powers' tag team and were managed by Miss. Elizabeth, they defeated Andre & DiBiase at Summerslam '88. However cracks soon began to appear fuelled by Savage's jealousy over Hogan's relationship with Elizabeth and paranoia that Hogan wanted the title back. The 'Mega-Powers' exploded at Wrestlemania V on April 2nd 1989, once again in Atlantic City, and Hogan regained the WWF Championship by defeating Savage. Hulk dropped the WWF crown to The Ultimate Warrior at Wrestlemania VI on April 1st 1990, at Toronto's Skydome in a rare baby-face vs. baby-face match. Hogan won the WWF Championship for a third time by defeating Sgt. Slaughter on March 24th 1991, at Wrestlemania VII in Los Angeles. Hulk lost the title to The Undertaker at the Survivor Series on November 27th 1991, but regained the Championship at the Tuesday Night in Texas PPV on December 3rd 1991, in San Antonio, TX. However, as both of these title changes were deemed 'controversial' it was announced that the winner of the Royal Rumble would be crowned as the new champion. Hogan was eliminated from the Rumble when 'Psycho' Sid (then known as Sid Justice) pushed him over the rope whilst his back was turned and in return Hogan helped eventual winner Ric Flair eliminate Sid. Hogan announced that his match with Sid at Wrestlemania VIII on April 5th 1992, would be his retirement match. The ending of the match was fluffed when Sid kicked out of Hogan's leg-drop when he wasn't supposed to. None the less, Hogan defeated Sid via DQ and was saved by the returning Ultimate Warrior after the match when Hogan was attacked by Sid and Papa Shango (Charles Wright/The Godfather). Hogan returned less than a year later and defeated Yokozuna for his fifth WWF Championship at Wrestlemania IX on April 4th 1993, in an impromptu match when Yokozuna's manager Mr. Fuji challenged Hogan after they had just defeated Bret Hart for the title. Hogan lost the title back to Yokozuna at the first King of the Ring on June 13th and left the WWF shortly afterwards.

Hogan signed with WCW on June 11th 1994. He defeated Ric Flair at the Bash at the Beach on July 17th 1994, for the WCW World Heavyweight Title in his first match. Hogan would hold the title until October 29th 1995, when he lost the belt to The Giant (Paul Wight) via a DQ. It was later revealed that Hogan's manager, Jimmy Hart, had put a clause in the contract so that the title could change hands via DQ. At the Bash at the Beach on July 7th 1996, Hogan returned during a match between Sting, Lex Luger and Randy Savage versus Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and a mystery partner. While fans believed Hogan had appeared to aid Sting and Savage since Luger had been injured earlier in the match, Hogan leg dropped Savage, thus forming the New World Order (NWO). Now known as 'Hollywood' Hogan and all decked out in 'NWO' black & white, he defeated The Giant to recapture the WCW Title on August 10th 1996. Hogan lost the title to Lex Luger on August 4th 1997, but regained it for a third time five days later at Road Wild on August 9th. Hogan lost the title to Sting at Starrcade on December 28th 1997. He defeated Randy Savage for his fourth WCW Title on April 20th 1998, but lost it to Goldberg on July 6th of that same year. At Halloween Havoc on October 25th 1998, Hogan defeated The Warrior with help from his 'nephew' Horace in a 'dream' re-match from Wrestlemania VI. Hogan announced his 'retirement' on Thanksgiving Day 1998 on 'The Late Show with Jay Leno' but returned to NITRO after only 39 days. On the January 4th 1999 edition of NITRO, Hogan faced the newly crowned Kevin Nash, who had given Goldberg his first defeat and captured the title eight days earlier at Starrcade with the assistance of Scott Hall who had rendered Goldberg unconscious with a cattle prod. Hogan won his fifth WCW World Heavyweight Title when he pushed over Nash just by touching him, thus allowing 'Hollywood' to make the pin. Hogan lost the title to Ric Flair in a 'First Blood Steel Cage' match at Uncensored on March 14th 1999. After time away due to a knee injury, Hogan returned to beat Savage once more to win his sixth WCW Title on July 12th 1999. This time however he stated that he was not the same 'Hollywood' Hogan as before.

'Hollywood' became Hulk once more and started wearing the red & yellow again on the August 9th edition of NITRO, in a six-man tag along with Sting & Goldberg, Hogan defeated Sid, Nash, & Rick Steiner. At Road Wild on August 14th, Hulk defeated Kevin Nash in a 'retirement' match. He lost the title to Sting at Fall Brawl on September 12th after being hit with a baseball bat that had been given to Sting by Lex Luger. In the re-match at Halloween Havoc Hogan appeared wearing street clothes, he 'laid' down for Sting, thus allowing himself to be pinned, then left WCW programming for several months. He returned in early 2000 and defeated Lex Luger at Superbrawl 2000 on February 20th. At Uncensored on March 19th, Hogan defeated Ric Flair in a 'Strap' match. As part of the 'New Blood' versus 'Millionaires Club' angle, Hogan began a feud with the 'New Blood's' Billy Kidman and often referred to himself by his real name and wore street clothes. Hogan defeated Kidman at both Slamboree on May 7th, and at the Great American Bash on June 11th, to earn a title shot. At Bash at the Beach on July 9th, Hogan faced Jeff Jarrett for the WCW Title, however Jarrett intentionally laid down in the ring thus allowing Hogan to cover him for the pin and 'supposedly' his seventh WCW Title. Following the 'match' however, booking agent Vince Russo appeared to state that Hogan's WCW World Title belt was the 'Hulk Hogan Memorial Belt' because it didn't mean anything anymore. He then claimed Jarrett was still the WCW Champion and would defend the title against Booker T, who later that evening defeated Jarrett for the title. Hogan would never wrestle in WCW again.

On November 14th 2001, Hogan returned to the squared circle at the first XWF television taping in Orlando, FL, defeating Curt Hennig. On January 25th 2002, Hogan signed a two-year contract to return to the WWF. At No Way Out on February 17th, 'Hollywood' Hogan returned as part of the original NWO trio with Hall & Nash. The following night on RAW, The Rock challenged Hogan to a match and a chance to headline at Wrestlemania one more time. A feud ensued in which the NWO would attack The Rock and then ram the ambulance 'carrying' him with a truck. At Wrestlemania X-8 on March 17th, Hogan lost to The Rock and was attacked by the other members of the NWO afterwards, however Rock helped Hogan fight them off and then posed for the crowd, thus turning baby-face once more. Following the roster split on the March 25th edition of RAW, Hogan was drafted fourth to Vince McMahon's SmackDown! On the April 4th edition of SmackDown! Hulk returned wearing the red & yellow after McMahon had made him the No. 1 contender for the WWF �Undisputed� (as the title had since been unified with the old wCw World Heavyweight Title on December 9th 2001) Championship, saying that the fans had brought 'Hulkamania' back. At Backlash on April 21st, Hogan won his sixth WWF Championship by defeating Triple H after The Undertaker had attacked him with a chair. Hogan lost the title to The Undertaker at Judgement Day on May 19th. On July 2nd, Hogan, along with Edge, defeated Billy & Chuck for the WWE World Tag Team Championship. They lost the belts to Lance Storm & Christian at Vengeance on July 21st. After a brief absence Hogan returned to the WWE early 2003. At Wrestlemania XIX on March 30th, Hogan defeated Vince McMahon in a Street-Fight. After a brief stint wrestling under the masked �Mr. America� gimmick because Hulk was supposedly �suspended� by McMahon, Hogan and the WWE parted ways in June 2003. On April 3rd 2005, Hogan appeared at Wrestlemania 21 having been inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame the previous day.

Chris Jericho

Jericho began his wrestling career in Calgary where he formed a tag team with Lance Storm called 'Sudden Impact' who were recognised as the 1st CRMW (Canadian Rocky Mountain Wrestling) North American Tag Team Champions on October 17th 1992. Throughout the early 90's Jericho wrestled all over the world in places such as Mexico, Germany, and Japan. On January 14th 1994, Jericho defeated Steve Rivers for the CRMW Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Title in Calgary only to lose the title to former partner Lance Storm on February 4th 1994. Jericho later reformed with Lance Storm in a tag team called the 'Thrill-Seekers'. Jericho defeated Lance Storm on May 12th 1995, for the CRMW Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Title. On June 4th 1995, Jericho, as The Lion Heart, pinned Gedo to win the WAR International Junior Heavyweight Title in Tokyo, Japan. He would drop the championship to the Ultimo Dragon.

Jericho joined ECW in February 1996 for a six-month stint. Jericho defeated Pit Bull #2 at Hardcore Heaven on June 22nd 1996, to capture the ECW Television Title in Philadelphia. Jericho lost his last ECW match to Too Cold Scorpio on August 3rd 1996.

Jericho made his WCW debut by defeating Mr. J.L. (Jerry Lynn) seventeen days later. At Fall Brawl on September 15th 1996, Jericho lost to Chris Benoit. After several poorly officiated matches, Jericho defeated nWo referee Nick Patrick with one arm tied behind his back at World War 3 on November 24th. At Superbrawl VII on February 23rd 1997, Jericho was unsuccessful in a U.S. Title match with Eddie Guerrero. Jericho defeated Syxx (X-Pac) for the WCW Cruiserweight Championship on June 28th. He defended the title against Ultimo Dragon at Bash at the Beach on July 13th. Jericho lost the title to Alex Wright on July 28th but regained it for the 2nd time on August 12th. On September 14th at Fall Brawl Jericho lost the title to Eddie Guerrero. Jericho scored an upset on November 3rd by defeating Scott Hall on NITRO. He defeated Rey Mysterio for his 3rd Cruiserweight Championship at Souled Out on January 24th 1998, then viciously attacked Rey's knee after the match. Now a heel, Jericho started calling his fans 'Jericho-holics' and welcomed the fans to 'Monday Night Jericho'. Jericho defeated the high flying Juventud Guerrera at SuperBrawl VIII in a 'mask vs. title match' forcing Juvi to unmask. Jericho started a feud with Dean Malenko and referred to him as 'Stinko' Malenko. Jericho defeated Malenko at Uncensored on March 15th. As a final dig at Malenko, Jericho claimed to be the man of 1,004 holds since Malenko was referred to as the man of 1,000 holds. At Slamboree on May 17th, a Cruiserweight battle royal was held with the winner going on to face Jericho for the Cruiserweight Title. Ciclope was declared the winner, but upon removing his mask the victor revealed himself to be Malenko. Jericho lost the match and the title to Malenko. Jericho defeated Malenko via DQ at the Great American Bash on June 14th. The next evening on NITRO, J.J. Dillion, head of the executive committee, was forced to give Jericho his 4th, and final, Cruiserweight Championship. At Bash at the Beach on July 12th, Rey Mysterio apparently won the title but the belt was returned to Jericho due to interference from Malenko who was suspended. On the July 20th edition of NITRO, Jericho gave Malenko one final shot at the Cruiserweight Title, which Jericho won via another disqualification. Jericho lost the Cruiserweight Title to Juvetund Guerrera at Road Wild on August 8th, where Malenko served as the special guest referee. Jericho defeated Stevie Ray on August 10th to capture the injured Booker T's WCW TV Title. During this period Jericho began to mock the injured Goldberg even going so far as to beat a 'fake' Goldberg at Fall Brawl on September 13th, however these insults never resulted in a match as Eric Bischoff did not deem Jericho ready. Jericho defended the belt against Raven at Halloween Havoc on October 25th, before eventually losing the title to Konnan on November 30th. At Souled Out on January 17th 1999, Jericho defeated Saturn in a match where the loser would have to wear a dress. At Uncensored on March 14th, Saturn gained some revenge by beating Jericho in a Dog Collar match.

On June 30th 1999, the WWF reported that Jericho had signed with them. Jericho made a spectacular WWF debut during the August 9th edition of RAW with the Y2J clock finally counting down to interrupt The Rock. Jericho made his WWF wrestling Pay-Per-View debut at Unforgiven on September 26th by defeating X-Pac via DQ. At Armageddon on December 12th, Jericho defeated Chyna for the WWF Intercontinental Championship. On December 28th the title was held up after referees disputed the result of a match with Chyna. A rematch took place on January 3rd 2000, resulting in both participants being named the champion with the stipulation that if one lost, both would lose the title. Jericho became the sole champion by defeating Chyna and Hardcore Holly in a Triple Threat match at the Royal Rumble on January 23rd. At No Way Out on February 27th, Kurt Angle defeated Jericho for the IC Title to add to his European Title and become the 'Euro-Continental' champion. At Wrestlemania 16 on April 2nd, Jericho won the WWF European Championship from Angle in a Triple Threat match along with Chris Benoit who captured the IC Title. This was due to a stipulation which stated that the winner of the 1st fall would get one title and the winner of the 2nd would get the other, therefore Angle lost both belts without ever conceding a decision. Jericho lost the title to Eddie Guerrero the next night due to outside interference from Chyna. On May 2nd Jericho defeated Benoit for his 3rd IC title only to lose it back to Benoit on May 8th. On July 30th 2000, Jericho married Jessica Lockhart in Winnipeg. Those in attendance included Billy Kidman, Disco Inferno, Lance Storm, Edge and Christian. On the October 29th edition of Sunday Night HeAT, Jericho performed as Moongoose McQueen with his band Fozzy. In the latter part of 2000 Jericho feuded with X-Pac, and then Kane. Jericho recaptured the Intercontinental Championship for a 4th time at the Royal Rumble on January 21st 2001 by defeating Chris Benoit in a Ladder Match. At Wrestlemania X-Seven on April 1st, Jericho successfully defended the title against WWF Commissioner William Regal, but lost the belt to Triple H two nights later. At Insurrextion in London, England, on May 5th, Jericho defeated Regal once more, this time in a Queen's Cup match. On May 21st, Jericho & Benoit teamed up to defeat Steve Austin & Triple H for the WWF World Tag Team Championship. On the May 24th edition of SmackDown!, they successfully defended the titles against the Dudley Boyz, Edge & Christian, and the Hardy Boyz in the TLC 3 match, but Benoit injured his neck. On May 28th Jericho won the WWF Hardcore Championship from The Big Show but lost it to Rhyno straight after the match when he was 'gored'. Benoit continued to compete with the injury but the duo eventually lost the titles to the Dudley Boyz on June 19th. At King of the Ring on June 24th, Jericho challenged for the WWF Championship in the main event for the first time in a Triple Threat match with the champion, Steve Austin, and the injured Benoit. Unfortunately both challengers were unsuccessful on this occasion and Benoit underwent surgery on his injured neck shortly afterward. At Invasion on July 22nd, Jericho was part of Team WWF, along with Austin, Undertaker, Kane, and Angle, who lost to Team wCw/ECW, consisting of Booker T, DDP, Rhyno, & the Dudleyz, when Austin turned on the WWF joining the wCw/ECW Alliance. At Summerslam on August 19th, Jericho defeated Rhyno and laid a kiss on the lips of his nemesis, Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley.

At No Mercy on October 21st, Jericho became a World Champion for the first time when he defeated The Rock for the wCw World Heavyweight Title. The next evening on RAW, Jericho captured his 2nd WWF Tag Team Championship when he, along with The Rock, defeated The Dudley Boyz. However they soon lost the belts to Booker T & Test on October 30th. Jericho lost the wCw Title back to The Rock on November 11th 2001. At Vengeance on December 9th, Jericho won both the World Heavyweight Title (formerly the wCw title but exclusively referred to as simply the 'World' title from 19/11/01 after Survivor Series the previous evening where the wCw/ECW Alliance was defeated and therefore put out of business), and the WWF Championship to become the first ever WWF 'Undisputed' World Heavyweight Champion. He achieved this in controversial fashion, firstly defeating The Rock for his 2nd World Heavyweight Title with the help of Vince McMahon, and then defeating Stone Cold for his first 'official' WWF Championship with the assistance of Kurt Angle and then Booker T. Jericho defended the WWF �Undisputed� Championship against both The Rock at the Royal Rumble on January 20th 2002, and Stone Cold at No Way Out on February 17th, before eventually losing the title to Triple H at Wrestlemania X-8 on March 17th. On September 16th Jericho defeated RVD for his 5th Intercontinental Championship. He lost the title to Kane two weeks later. On October 14th Jericho & Christian defeated Kane & The Hurricane for the World Tag Team Championship making Y2J a two time tag champ. They lost the belts to Booker T & Goldust on December 15th at Armageddon. At Wrestlemania XIX on March 30th 2003, Jericho was defeated by Shawn Michaels. At Bad Blood on June 15th, Jericho finally got the match he wanted in a loss to Goldberg. On October 27th Jericho defeated Rob Van Dam for his 6th Intercontinental Championship, but lost the title back to RVD that same evening. At Wrestlemania XX on March 14th 2004, Jericho was defeated by Christian after Trish Stratus hit him. Y2J gained his revenge at Backlash on April 18th defeating both Christian & Trish in a handicap match. At Unforgiven on September 12th, Jericho defeated Christian in a Ladder match to capture the vacant Intercontinental Championship for a record 7th time. At Taboo Tuesday on October 19th, Jericho lost the Intercontinental Championship to Shelton Benjamin. At Wrestlemania 21 on April 3rd 2005, Jericho participated in a six-man Ladder Match in which Edge was the eventual winner. On August 22nd, Jericho lost a "You're Fired" match to John Cena and left the WWE.

Kevin Nash

Nash debuted as the bodyguard of Nancy Sullivan (Woman). Shortly afterwards, Nash was part of a tag team in WCW dubbed the Master Blasters with Al Greene in 1990. Nash was next seen in 1991 wrestling under the name 'Oz' and sporting green tights, a green robe, and his hair-dyed silver! Nash then became 'Vinnie Vegas', a casino bouncer and part of Diamond Dallas Page's stable. He joined the likes of the Diamond Studd (Scot Hall/Razor Ramon) and Scotty Flamingo (Scott Levy/Raven) and was an early template for the Diesel character.

Nash joined the WWF in 1993 and debuted as Shawn Michaels bodyguard 'Diesel' helping the �Heartbreak Kid� to regain the Intercontinental Championship that he'd lost to his former tag team partner, Marty Jannetty, a few weeks previously. Diesel began to be recognised as a singles competitor after an impressive showing at the 1994 Royal Rumble. Diesel was tagged 'Big Daddy Cool' during the 'Heartbreak Hotel' interview segment with Shawn Michaels on an edition of WWF Superstars. As Diesel, Nash captured his first title on April 13th 1994, when he defeated Razor Ramon (Scott Hall) for the Intercontinental Championship. At the 1994 King of the Ring, Diesel and WWF Champion Bret 'The Hitman' Hart faced off in a champion versus champion match. Although Diesel did not win the WWF title his profile was elevated further as he won the match via DQ in an impressive encounter. On August 28th 1994, Michaels and Diesel defeated the Headshrinkers (featuring Rikishi) to capture the WWF Tag Team Championship. The next night at Summerslam, Diesel lost the Intercontinental Championship back to Razor Ramon who was accompanied by the late Walter Payton. At the Survivor Series, Big Daddy Cool turned baby-face by attacking Michaels after HBK had accidentally hit Diesel with his 'Sweet Chin Music' super-kick. Three days later, on November 26th 1994, Diesel defeated Bob Backlund to capture the WWF Championship at Madison Square Garden. Shortly afterwards, Michaels and Diesel forfeited the tag titles. At the 1995 Royal Rumble, Diesel and Bret Hart wrestled to a 30-minute draw after outside interference from the likes of Shawn Micheals, Bob Backlund, and Owen Hart. At Wrestlemania XI on April 2nd 1995, Diesel, accompanied to the ring by Pamela Anderson, successfully defended his title against HBK, accompanied by Jenny McCarthy. HBK had earned his Wrestlemania title shot by winning the Royal Rumble having been entered into it first and outlasting all other twenty nine participants, including The British Bulldog who had entered second and was the last to be eliminated by Michaels. Diesel continued to defend his title throughout the year against such opponents as 'Sycho' Sid, Mabel, and the Bulldog. Diesel and Michaels reunited once more to regain the tag titles at In Your House III on September 24th 1995, and since HBK was the Intercontinental Champion this was the first time two men had held all the WWF gold. The next night however Diesel & HBK had to return the tag titles to Owen Hart & Yokozuna as an illegal man had been pinned. Diesel finally lost the WWF title to Bret Hart at the Survivor Series on November 19th 1995, having held the title for a full year, one of the longest title reigns of that past decade. Diesel turned heel and began a feud with The Undertaker culminating in a match at Wrestlemania XII, which Diesel lost. Both Nash and Scott Hall decided to return to WCW and made their last appearance for the WWF at Madison Square Garden on May 19th 1996. The time-honoured tradition of 'kayfabe' (i.e. inside information) was said to be broken when members of the group that had become known as the 'Kliq' (including Hall, Nash, Michaels, and Triple H) said their goodbyes in front of the audience. This was because the group were not friends in the story lines at that time.

On May 27th 1996, Scott Hall made his debut on WCW Monday NITRO, and announced "we're taking over". Nash soon followed, appearing two weeks later on June 10th 1996. At The Great American Bash on June 16th 1996, Hall & Nash, who were now being referred to as 'The Outsiders', demanded a match with any three WCW wrestlers from Vice President Eric Bischoff. Although Bischoff agreed to the match at the next PPV, he would not tell them who they would be facing. Therefore Nash gave Bischoff a power-bomb. At Bash at the Beach on July 7th, the unthinkable happened when it appeared Hulk Hogan was coming to save the team of Sting and the 'Macho Man' Randy Savage as their partner Lex Luger had been injured earlier in the match. Hall & Nash were having their way with the duo but instead of rescuing them Hogan joined Hall & Nash in attacking Sting & Savage, thus forming the New World Order. The newly formed nWo went on the rampage, starting at Hog Wild on August 10th. Hall & Nash defeated two of WCW's top icons ever in Lex Luger & Sting with the help of some dubious refereeing by Nick Patrick, and Hogan captured the WCW title by defeating The Giant (Paul Wight) with help from Hall & Nash. After the match Hogan's long time friend Ed Leslie (Brutus 'The Barber' Beefcake) appeared wearing a nWo T-shirt and brought out a cake for Hogan as it was his birthday. Many assumed Leslie was the newest member of the nWo but instead Hogan ordered Hall & Nash to attack his old friend and rip off the T-shirt. Hogan then spray painted the letters 'nWo' over the prestigious title. The nWo managed to keep WCW off balance in the following months as people such as The Giant soon defected to the group, therefore WCW did not know who to trust. This lead to Sting and Lex Luger falling out as the nWo used a 'fake' Sting to attack Luger and cause distrust among the WCW stars. Ted DiBiase soon appeared to manage the nWo and Sean Waltman, formerly the 1-2-3 Kid from the WWF, joined as the sixth member Syxx. Eric Bischoff would also soon join the nWo citing the attack by Hall & Nash as the reason. Hall & Nash captured the WCW Tag Team Championship at Halloween Havoc on October 27th 1996, by defeating the team of 'Harlem Heat' featuring Booker T and his brother Stevie Ray. Although they held the belts for over a year, they actually lost many title matches to the likes of The Steiner Brothers and Lex Luger & The Giant (who had left the nWo by this time). However every time they lost, Bischoff would use his power to allow them to keep the titles anyway. The duo eventually lost the tag belts to The Steiner's on October 13th 1997, when Syxx had to fill in for the injured Nash. Hall & Nash regained the belts from Rick & Scott on January 12th 1998. At Souled Out on January 24th, Nash defeated The Giant but temporarily paralysed him in the process after administering the 'Jack-knife' power-bomb. As a result the move was banned. On February 9th, Hall & Nash lost the tag titles once again to Rick & Scott Steiner only to re-capture them at Superbrawl VIII on February 22nd, when Scott turned on his brother and joined the nWo. Hall & Nash lost the titles to Sting & The Giant at Slamboree on May 17th. With dissension mounting within the nWo the group split into two factions with Hogan's nWo 'Hollywood' and Nash and his nWo 'Wolfpac' featuring the likes of Sting, Lex Luger, and Randy Savage. The titles were declared vacant on June 4th as Sting & The Giant had joined opposing nWo factions. Sting defeated The Giant at The Great American Bash on June 14th and chose Nash as his tag team partner to make him a four time WCW Tag Team Champion. Sting & Nash lost the titles to Scott Hall & The Giant on July 20th. At Halloween Havoc on October 25th 1998, Hall & Nash faced off on PPV for the first time since their Razor & Diesel days in the WWF. Nash could have easily pinned Hall after giving him two 'Jack-Knife' power-bombs but chose to walk away as he had proved his point and therefore Hall actually won the match via DQ. At World War III on November 22nd, Nash won a 60-man Battle Royal to earn a WCW title shot at Starrcade on December 27th against Goldberg. Nash won the WCW World Heavyweight Title after Hall had stunned the champion with a cattle prod and thus ended Goldberg�s infamous winning streak at 173. Eight days later on the January 4th 1999 edition of NITRO, Nash 'laid' down for Hogan to allow him to win the title and thus re-form the nWo. At SuperBrawl IX on February 21st, Hall & Nash defeated Konnan & Rey Mysterio, which forced Rey to unmask. At Slamboree on May 9th, Nash defeated Diamond Dallas Page for his 2nd WCW title. He lost the belt at Bash at the Beach on July 11th to Randy Savage in a tag team match where whoever gained the pin would be named Champion. Nash's partner was Sting whilst Savage's was Sid Vicious. At Road Wild on August 14th, Nash was defeated by the once again red & yellow wearing Hulk Hogan and therefore was forced to 'retire'. However, Nash soon returned and on December 13th, he along with Scott Hall, defeated Bret Hart & Goldberg for his fifth WCW Tag Team Championship and his fourth with Hall. The day after Starrcade, on December 20th, Nash, Hall, Hart, & Jeff Jarrett formed a new short-lived version of the nWo. Hall & Nash were stripped of the tag titles on December 27th due to an injury to Hall. Nash defeated Terry Funk at Souled Out on January 16th 2000, to become the WCW commissioner. On January 25th, as commissioner, Nash stripped Sid of the WCW title and awarded it to himself to make him a three-time champion, only to lose the title back to Sid that same night. Injuries to key members of the nWo put a quick end to this latest incarnation. Nash became involved in the 'Millionaire's Club' versus 'New Blood' angle. On May 23rd Nash defeated Jarrett and Scott Steiner in a Triple Threat match to claim his fourth WCW title, but he promptly handed the title to Ric Flair six days later as he had been stripped of the title two weeks previously. On August 28th Nash defeated Booker T with the help of Jarrett to capture his fifth WCW title. At Fall Brawl on September 17th, Nash lost the title back to Booker T. On November 26th at Mayhem Nash, along with DDP, defeated Chuck Palumbo & Shawn Stasiak for the WCW Tag Team Championship, making Nash a six time WCW tag team champion. However the duo was forced to return the titles to Palumbo & Stasiak on December 4th as the illegal man had been pinned. At Starrcade on December 17th, Page & Nash once again defeated Palumbo & Stasiak for the tag straps. Page & Nash lost the belts to Chuck Palumbo & Sean O'Haire on January 14th 2001, at the Sin PPV. At Superbrawl Revenge on February 18th, Nash lost a 'Loser Leaves WCW' match to WCW champ Scott Steiner.

In January of 2002, Nash signed a two-year contract to rejoin the WWF. At Wrestlemania X8 on March 17th, Nash accompanied Scott Hall to the ring in his defeat to 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin. In early April, Nash underwent surgery to repair an injury to one of his biceps. Nash soon returned to lead the nWo and on the June 3rd edition of RAW Shawn Michaels returned to WWE television to join the latest incarnation along with X-Pac (Sean Waltman) and the Big Show (Paul Wight). On the July 8th 2002 edition of RAW Nash made his in-ring return in a 10-man tag match along with X-Pac, Big Show, Chris Benoit & Eddie Guerrero, against Booker T, Goldust, Rob Van Dam, Spike & Bubba Ray Dudley. Unfortunately he suffered a torn left quadriceps muscle in the match and had to undergo surgery the next day. The next week on RAW Vince McMahon announced that there was no more nWo in the WWE and that the nWo era was now history, then later that same night he announced Eric Bischoff as the new general manager of RAW. Nash would not return until the April 7th 2003 edition of RAW. At Judgement Day on May 18th, Nash defeated the World Heavyweight Champion, Triple H, via DQ. Unfortunately Nash did not win the title as they cannot change hands via a disqualification. At Bad Blood on June 15th, Nash was defeated by Triple H in a Hell in a Cell match with Mick Foley as the guest referee. On the August 18th edition of RAW, Nash had his hair cut by Chris Jericho after losing a hair versus hair match. In reality Nash needed to have his hair short for his part in The Punisher movie which he was about to film. On January 8th 2004, Nash announced he had left the WWE as his contract officially ended on December 31st 2003.

The Rock

Dwayne Johnson began his wrestling career in 1996 wrestling in the now defunct USWA as Flex Cavana whilst under contract to the WWF. He made his WWF debut at the Survivor Series on November 17th 1996 as Rocky Maivia, a combination of his father's name, Rocky Johnson, and his late grandfather, Peter Maivia, both former wrestlers. The team of Maivia, Marc Mero, Barry Windham, and Jake 'The Snake' Roberts beat Hunter Hearst Helmsley (Triple H), Crush, Jerry Lawler, and Goldust (Dustin Rhodes). Rocky was the sole survivor when he eliminated Crush and Goldust. On February 13th 1997, Rocky won his first title when he defeated Hunter Hearst Helmsley for the WWF Intercontinental Championship. He lost the title to the late Owen Hart on April 28th '97. During this time the WWF had been giving Maivia a big push as a babyface, however as this was the dawn of the 'Attitude' era, the crowd did not respond as expected and chants of 'Rocky Sucks' broke out everywhere. On May 11th '97, in a match with Mankind at the In Your House XV: Cold Day in Hell Pay-Per-View, Rocky suffered a knee injury that kept him out of action for three months.

The WWF decided to capitalise on Maivia's lack of popularity by bringing him back as a fully fledged heel as part of a new version of the Nation of Domination with Faarooq (Ron Simmons), Kama Mustafa (later known as The Godfather), and D-Lo Brown. Johnson battled 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin for the Intercontinental title at In Your House XIX: D-Generation X on December 7th '97. Although unsuccessful on that occasion, Vince McMahon ordered a re-match the next night on RAW. Austin refused and McMahon awarded Rocky the title by forfeit, however Austin tossed the belt into a river! Now known simply as The Rock, Johnson would go on to hold his 2nd Intercontinental Championship for the next nine months. In that time he feuded with Ken Shamrock, took over from Faarooq as leader of the Nation of Domination (bringing Mark Henry into the group), and started a feud with the new D-Generation X featuring Triple H, Billy Gunn, Road Dogg, and X-Pac. The Rock eventually lost the IC title to Triple H at Summerslam on August 30th 1998 in a Ladder match.

In the autumn of '98, The Rock, who often spoke of himself from a third person perspective and referred to himself as 'The People's Champion', cashed in on his growing popularity by turning back into a baby-face. The Rock was declared No. 1 contender for the WWF Championship after he defeated Shamrock and Mankind (Mick Foley) in a Triple Threat Cage match at Breakdown: In Your House XXIV on September 27th '98. The only problem was that the title was declared vacant as both Kane and The Undertaker had pinned Austin in a Triple Threat match the same night. After a match to determine a new champion between 'Taker and Kane ended in a no-contest, it was decided that a new champion would be crowned in the 'Deadly Game' tournament to be held at Survivor Series. The Rock defeated The Big Boss Man (in less than 30 seconds), Shamrock, and The Undertaker, in order to get to the finals where he faced Mankind, who everyone was led to believe was Vince McMahon's 'corporate' choice. However when The Rock got Mankind in the Sharpshooter, McMahon suddenly called for the bell and awarded the title to The Rock, thus recreating the Montreal screw-job involving Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels from the previous year. None the less, on November 15th 1998, The Rock won his first WWF Championship by turning heel once again and becoming the 'Corporate Champion'. The Rock lost the WWF Championship in a rematch with Mankind on December 29th, during an edition of RAW. He then regained it from Mankind on January 24th 1999, at the Royal Rumble in an 'I Quit' match, only to lose the title once again to Mankind two days later, before capturing his 3rd WWF Championship on February 15th. 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin defeated the Rock for the WWF Championship at Wrestlemania XV.

With The Rock's popularity on the rise once more he again turned baby-face and feuded with Triple H and DX. Triple H helped The Undertaker defeat The Rock and retain the WWF title at King of the Ring on June 27th. The Rock won his 1st WWF Tag Team Championship, with Mankind as his partner, by defeating The Undertaker and Big Show (Paul Wight) on August 30th, thus �The Rock N' Sock Connection� was born! Although they lost the titles back to 'Taker and Show on September 7th, they regained the belts on September 20th, by defeating The Big Show, Mideon (Dennis Knight), & Viscera (Nelson Frazier) in a 'Dark Side Rules' match in which any of The Undertaker's followers could be involved. Although the Connection lost the titles to The New Age Outlaws (Billy Gunn & Road Dogg) the next night, they regained them for a 3rd time on October 12th, only to lose them on October 18th, to Crash & Hardcore Holly. At the Royal Rumble on January 23rd 2000, The Rock won the 30 man over the top rope Battle Royal to earn a title shot at Wrestlemania XVI. By the time Wrestlemania came around on April 2nd, the match had turned into a Fatal Four way elimination match with The Rock, Big Show, Mick Foley, and WWF Champion, Triple H, who won the match thanks to Vince McMahon hitting The Rock with a chair. However at Backlash on April 30th, Rock gained a measure of revenge and his 4th WWF Championship by defeating Triple H with a little help from Steve Austin. Although he lost the title back to Triple H at Judgement Day on May 21st in an Iron Man match 6 decisions to 5, he would soon regain it for a 5th time. On June 25th at King of the Ring, The Rock pinned Vince McMahon in a six man tag team match in which whoever gained the pin-fall would win the title. The Rock would successfully defend the title for the next four months before losing it to Kurt Angle at No Mercy on October 22nd. On December 18th, The Rock won his 4th WWF Tag Team Championship by defeating Edge & Christian with The Undertaker as his partner. The duo would lose the belts back to Edge & Christian the next night. At No Way Out on February 25th 2001, The Rock regained the WWF Championship from Kurt Angle for a record setting 6th sixth time (Hulk Hogan and Bret Hart held the previous record of 5 each). At Wrestlemania X-Seven on April 1st, The Rock lost the title to Steve Austin after he had been repeatedly beaten with a steel chair, given to the 'Texas Rattlesnake' by Vince McMahon. Soon after, Vince indefinitely suspended The Rock. However he soon returned to WWF television on the July 30th edition of RAW to pledge his allegiance to the WWF against the ECW/wCw Alliance. At Summerslam on August 19th, The Rock pinned Booker T to capture the wCw World Heavyweight Title. The Rock lost the title to Chris Jericho at No Mercy on October 21st, only to regain it once again on November 5th. At Survivor Series on November 18th, The Rock was the sole survivor in the 'winner takes all' elimination match after defeating 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin, thus putting the ECW/wCw Alliance out of business. From November 19th the wCw title was exclusively referred to as simply the 'World Heavyweight Title'. At Vengeance on December 9th, The Rock lost the title to Chris Jericho once again. At No Way Out on February 17th 2002, the original NWO trio of Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, returned to the WWF and the next night on RAW The Rock challenged Hogan to a match at Wrestlemania X-8 on March 17th. Although The Rock was victorious there seemed to be much support for Hogan and thus this helped Hulk to get his fans back. On the March 25th edition of RAW, The Rock was drafted 1st for Vince McMahon's SmackDown! brand. At Vengeance on July 21st, The Rock won his 7th WWE (formerly WWF) Championship by defeating both, the then current Champion Undertaker, and Kurt Angle, in a Triple Threat match. He lost the title to Brock Lesnar the next month at Summerslam on August 25th.

The Rock returned to face The Hulkster at No Way Out on February 23rd 2003, after a prolonged absence from the WWE due to his film commitments. Although he was once again victorious in this rematch from the previous years Wrestlemania encounter, it was by no means a clean victory this time, as Vince McMahon gave the newly heel-turned Rock the assist. Having now switched brands, The Rock began feuding once more with �Stone Cold� Steve Austin on RAW. The two faced off once again at Wrestlemania XIX on March 30th, their 3rd encounter at the �Granddaddy of them all� and this time The Rock was finally victorious. However the next evening on RAW The Rock would soon find himself with a new opponent in the form of Goldberg, as the debuting superstar speared the �People's Champ'. At Backlash on April 27th, The Rock was defeated by Goldberg. After another lengthy absence from WWE programming, The Rock returned on the March 1st 2004 edition of RAW to help Mick Foley against the �Evolution� team consisting of Randy Orton, Batista, & Ric Flair, thus �The Rock N� Sock Connection� were united once more. At Wrestlemania XX on March 14th, Evolution defeated The Rock N� Sock Connection. In December of 2004, The Rock's WWE contract expired.

Sting

Borden started wrestling in 1985 with his partner Jim Hellwig, who would later be known as The Ultimate Warrior in the WWF. During 1986, Sting would twice capture the UWF Tag Team Championship with Eddie Gilbert. By the end of the year Sting had started to team with Rick Steiner, winning the Tag titles once more on April 12th, 1987, but they soon broke up and feuded in the NWA after the UWF was merged with Jim Crockett Promotions in 1987. In 1988 Sting teamed up with Lex Luger to win the Crockett Cup tag team tournament. On March 31st, 1989, Sting defeated Mike Rotundo for the NWA World Television title. Sting lost the title to The Great Muta after it was held up after a match on July 23rd, 1989, and Muta won the rematch on September 3rd 1989. At Halloween Havoc on October 28th 1989, Ric Flair and Sting beat the Great Muta and Terry Funk in a �Thunderdome� cage match. A short time later, Sting joined the Horsemen. Sting won an Iron Man tournament at Starrcade on December 13th 1989, pinning Ric Flair in the finals. On February 6th 1990, after refusing to give up his shot for the NWA title, the Horsemen attacked Sting, injuring his knee. Sting sought revenge and received it when he defeated Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Title on July 7th of the same year at The Great American Bash. During 1990, Sting was plagued by �The Black Scorpion� who turned out to be none other than Flair himself. Sting lost the title to Flair on January 11th, 1991. Sting captured the vacant WCW U.S. Heavyweight title by defeating Steve Austin in the finals of a tournament on August 15th 1991. Sting lost the title to Rick Rude on November 19th 1991. At Starrcade on December 29th, Sting won a two-ring battle royal by eliminating Lex Luger. On February 29th 1992, Sting defeated Lex Luger for his 2nd World Championship, the WCW World Heavyweight Title (formerly known as the NWA title), at SuperBrawl II. He lost the title to Big Van Vader at The Great American Bash, on July 12th, 1992. Sting recaptured the WCW Championship for a 3rd time by defeating Vader on March 11th 1993, in London during a tour of Europe, only to lose it back to him six days later. At Spring Stampede on April 17th, 1994, Sting captured his 4th world title, the "WCW International" Heavyweight Championship by defeating Rick Rude. This was originally known as the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, however recognition was dropped by the NWA in September of �93 when WCW withdrew from the NWA and WCW continued to recognise the title as the "WCW International" World Heavyweight Championship. Although Rude recaptured the title on May 1st in Japan, the decision was reversed because Rude had hit Sting with the belt to win. On May 22nd, Sting refused to accept the title unless he could defeat Vader that night, which he did to win the vacated title for a second time (his 5th world title overall). The Stinger lost the "WCW International" World Heavyweight Championship to the WCW World Heavyweight Champion, Ric Flair, on June 23rd, 1994, and thus the two titles were unified. At The Great American Bash on June 18th, 1995, Sting defeated Meng (a.k.a. Haku) to win the WCW United States Heavyweight title for a second time in the final match of a tournament to crown a new champion. He eventually lost that title to Kensuke Sasaki November 13th, 1995. On January 22nd, 1996, Sting, along with partner Lex Luger, defeated Harlem Heat (Booker T & Stevie Ray) for the WCW World Tag Team Championship. They lost the titles back to Harlem Heat on June 24th.

At Bash at the Beach on July 7th, 1996, Sting lost, with partners Randy Savage and Lex Luger, to a group consisting of Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and Hulk Hogan, that would be referred to as the nWo (New World Order). At Fall Brawl on September 16th, Sting, having been accused of attacking his friend Lex Luger, deserted his team mates, Flair, Arn Anderson, & Luger, during a �Wargames� match against an nWo team consisting of Hogan, Hall, Nash, and a �fake� Sting, who was the actual perpetrator of the attack on Luger. The next evening on NITRO, Sting declared himself a �free agent� with no allegiance to WCW or anyone else as he felt betrayed by the lack of trust shown in him after all his years of loyalty. Sting ceased wearing his traditional colourful outfits and face paint, instead choosing to dress only in black and white with face paint reminiscent of the late Brandon Lee�s character in �The Crow�.
Throughout the rest of 1996 and 1997 Sting never uttered a single word or wrestled a match. Instead he�d hang out around the rafters in the arenas and would sometimes randomly drop down to attack members of both WCW and the nWo with a baseball bat. It was not until March 16th, 1997, at Uncensored, that Sting officially sided with WCW by saving Luger from the nWo. Sting faced �Hollywood� Hulk Hogan for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship at Starrcade on December 28th, 1997, in his first match since late �96. Although Sting was successful in winning his 6th world title, the championship was later declared vacant due to the controversial ending of the match in which Hogan had pinned Sting and guest referee Bret Hart had ordered it restarted because of an alleged fast count before Sting eventually forced Hogan to submit to the Scorpion Death Lock. In the re-match at Superbrawl VIII, on February 22nd, 1998, Sting was once again victorious in defeating Hogan for his 7th world championship. He lost the title to Randy Savage at Spring Stampede on April 19th. At Slamboree on May 17th, Sting, along with partner The Giant (a.k.a. The Big Show), won his 2nd WCW World Tag Team Championship by defeating The Outsiders (Hall & Nash). The titles were soon declared vacant however as both Sting and The Giant joined opposing factions of the nWo, Sting with Nash�s nWo �Wolfpac� and The Giant with the original nWo �black & white�. During this time Sting began to wear red & black, the colours of the �Wolfpac�.
At The Great American Bash on June 14th, Sting defeated The Giant and was thus allowed to choose Nash for his partner as new WCW World Tag Team Champions. They lost the titles to Scott Hall & The Giant on July 20th. At Halloween Havoc on October 25th, Sting was unsuccessful in his attempt to capture the WCW U.S. Heavyweight title from Bret Hart because he was knocked out.

After a short layoff through injury Sting returned wearing his more traditional black & white. On April 26th, 1999, Sting won his 8th World title when he defeated Diamond Dallas Page for the WCW World Heavyweight Title during an episode of NITRO, however he would lose the title back to Page that same evening during a �Four Way� match also involving Nash, & Bill Goldberg. At Slamboree on May 9th, Sting wrestled Goldberg to a no-contest due to outside interference from both Bret Hart and The Steiner�s. At Fall Brawl on September 12th, Sting won his 9th world title, once again defeating Hulk Hogan for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, after Lex Luger brought a baseball bat to ringside and Sting used it on Hogan, turning heel in the process. At Halloween Havoc on October 24th, Sting was scheduled to defend the title against Hogan in a re-match, however, in protest, Hogan refused to compete, instead lying down thus allowing himself to be pinned. Sting stated that he had come there to wrestle and made an open challenge to anyone in the locker room. Goldberg accepted the challenge and defeated Sting. As this was not an official title match Sting kept the championship, however the title was declared vacant the following evening due to Sting having attacked an official the previous night. Sting�s heel turn was short lived and at Spring Stampede on April 16th, 2000, he competed in a tournament to crown a new WCW U.S. Heavyweight Champion. Sting defeated Booker T in the quarter-final, followed by Vampiro in the semi, before losing to Scott Steiner in the final having been attacked by Vampiro. At The Great American Bash on June 11th, Sting lost to Vampiro in a �Human Torch� match having been literally set on fire on top of a large screen before plummeting to the stage below in an elaborate stunt. At Halloween Havoc on October 29th, Sting lost to Jeff Jarrett after he�d been attacked by several �fake� Sting�s. Sting was not seen again until the final NITRO on March 26th, 2001, when he wrestled �The Nature Boy� Ric Flair one last time gaining the submission victory.

Post WCW, Sting captured the WWA World Heavyweight Title by defeating Lex Luger and Malice (a.k.a. The Wall), in a triple threat match on December 13th, 2002 in Switzerland. He lost that title to NWA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett in a unification match on May 26th, 2003, in New Zealand. On June 18th, Sting teamed up with Jeff Jarrett to defeat A.J. Styles and Sean Waltman (a.k.a. X-Pac) at the NWA TNA's first year anniversary show.