Nitro Girl Chae

Nitro Girl Chae

Chae An was born June 8, 1973 in Seoul, South Korea.
She graduated from Armstrong State University in Savannah, Georgia with a General Studies degree.
Chae went on to become a cheerleader for the Atlanta Falcons and became a member of the original Nitro Girls from 1997 to 2001
She dated wrestler Kevin Nash from 1996-2002.
Chae got married on October 27, 2007.
Several former Nitro Girls formed a pop music group called Diversity 5: Teri Byrne (Fyre), Melissa Bellin (Spice), Sharmell Sullivan (Storm), Chae An (Chae) and Vanessa Sanchez (Tygress). When Sharmell went to the WWF for the first time, Chiquita Anderson (Chiquita) replaced her.

Road Warrior Animal, Joe Laurinaitis, part 3

The Road Warriors appeared in TNA Wrestling in late 2002-early 2003 as part of a group that opposed Vince Russo’s faction Sports Entertainment Xtreme but only wrestled one actual match for the federation.

Animal and Hawk made a surprise appearance on RAW on May 12, 2003 when they took on Kane & Rob Van Dam for the World Tag Team Championship. Although Hawk and Animal came up short in their attempt to become three-time champions, it was clear that Hawk had defeated the demons that had once kept him from competing, and the Road Warriors had hopes of returning to WWE. However, Road Warrior Hawk died on October 19, 2003.

Animal made a return to WWE on an episode of SmackDown! in 2005, where he was challenged by the then-WWE Tag Team Champions MNM to a title match at The Great American Bash. Finding a new tag team partner in Heidenreich, Animal went on to defeat MNM for the titles, dedicating the win to Hawk by saying, "Hawk, this one's for you, brother!" The two would team up for a few months in a new chapter of the Legion of Doom, with Heidenreich adopting the L.O.D.'s shoulder pads, face paint, and mohawk haircut. However, this came to an end with Heidenreich's release from WWE on January 17, 2006.

On the March 3, 2006 episode of SmackDown!, Animal teamed up with Matt Hardy to face MNM. After he and Hardy lost the match, Animal turned heel for the second time in his career by attacking and injuring Hardy's knee. Animal reasoned that he had realized that Hardy and Heidenreich were screw-ups and that Road Warrior Hawk was the only tag team legend for him. After the heel turn, Animal, once again known simply as The Road Warrior, would drop many aspects of the well-known Road Warrior gimmick, losing the face paint, and shoulder pads. Animal's look at this time was similar to his old Road Warrior gimmick in the early 1980s he had prior to teaming up with Hawk.

On the May 6, 2006 edition of Velocity (taped May 2), Animal defeated Paul Burchill. This was his final WWE television appearance. On June 26, 2006, Animal was released from his WWE contract.

On June 17, 2007, Road Warrior Animal returned to TNA on the Pay-Per-View, Slammiversary, with Rick Steiner; he replaced Scott Steiner, who was out with an injury. They ended up losing to Team 3D.

Road Warrior Animal and Kensuke Sasaki teamed up on September 1 for All Japan Pro Wrestling at the Differ Ariake and they defeated "brother" YASSHI and Shuji Kondo. Sasaki wore face paint as Power Warrior, the same name he used when teamed with Road Warrior Hawk in the 90's and both men were billed as the Hell Raisers, the team name used by Sasaki and Hawk while they teamed together in AJPW. Animal was billed as Animal Warrior in a similar move to Hawk being billed as Hawk Warrior when he teamed with Sasaki.


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WCW: "Ravishing" Rick Rude

Richard Erwin Rood (December 7, 1958 – April 20, 1999), better known by his ring name of "Ravishing" Rick Rude (which Rood would legally change his name to), was a pro wrestler who performed for many promotions, most notably WCW and the WWF, in the 1980s and 1990s.

Born in St. Peter, Minnesota, Rood attended Robbinsdale High School in Robbinsdale, Minnesota with Tom Zenk, Brady Boone, Nikita Koloff, Curt Hennig, John Nord and Barry Darsow, all of whom would become pro wrestlers of some repute.

After graduating from Anoka Ramsey Junior College with a degree in Physical Education, Rood began wrestling in 1983 as Ricky Rood, a babyface jobber. He started with Vancouver's NWA All Star Wrestling before moving on to compete for Georgia Championship Wrestling and later Memphis-based Mid-Southern Wrestling. He later left and joined the National Wrestling Alliance affiliate Jim Crockett Promotions where he and a variety of tag team partners feuded with The Road Warriors. He returned to Memphis Championship Wrestling in 1984, this time as "Ravishing" Rick Rude, an overconfident, arrogant heel managed by Jimmy Hart. Rude feuded with Jerry Lawler and later his former partner, King Kong Bundy.

Rude was hired by Championship Wrestling From Florida in December 1984 where he was managed by Percy Pringle and feuded with Billy Jack Haynes and Wahoo McDaniel, while teaming with Jesse Barr. After a year, he jumped to World Class Championship Wrestling along with Pringle, where he feuded with Kevin Von Erich and Chris Adams. After losing the WCCW Championship to Adams in July 1986, he fired Pringle and briefly replaced him with his sister, Raven. He formed a short-lived tag team with The Dingo Warrior, but the Warrior turned on him and became a face.

In September 1986, Rude returned to Jim Crockett Promotions and joined Manny Fernandez and his manager Paul Jones in their rivalry with Wahoo McDaniel. Rude and Fernandez won the NWA World Tag Team Championships on December 6, 1986 from the Rock 'N Roll Express, and began an epic feud that ended only when Rude left the promotion for the WWF in April 1987. To explain the sudden departure, Jim Crockett, Jr. aired a pre-taped non-title match where the Express defeated Rude and Fernandez and claimed that Rude had been injured as a result.

In the WWF, Rude was managed by Bobby "The Brain" Heenan and feuded with "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff before starting one of his most famous feuds with Jake "The Snake" Roberts. Rude had a routine where before the match he would make a show of removing his robe while running down the males in the crowd and after the match he would kiss a girl (that Heenan picked from the fans) all the way down to the mat after a successful match. On one occasion, he tried to get Roberts' real-life wife, Cheryl, to comply, aggravating Roberts. On another memorable occasion during the Roberts/Rude feud, Rude came to the ring with a picture of Cheryl stenciled on the front of his tights. A furious Roberts charged the ring and stripped Rude, appearing (to the television viewer) to leave him naked (the live audience saw him stripped to a thong instead).

Rude's next big feud was with The Ultimate Warrior and began in January 1989 at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view in a "posing contest" that ended with Rude attacking Warrior with a metal pose bar. With a little help from Heenan, Rude won the Intercontinental Championship from the Warrior at WrestleMania V, before dropping it back to the Warrior at SummerSlam 1989 due in large part to interference from "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. Rude then feuded with Piper, before resuming his conflict with the Warrior in the summer of 1990 after the Warrior had won the WWF World Heavyweight Championship. The two battled in a cage at SummerSlam 1990, in the only Pay-Per-View Rude would ever headline as a solo wrestler. Rude failed to win the title and departed the WWF in October 1990 right before he was scheduled to feud with the Big Boss Man (which had its potential start when Rude started to make degrading comments about the Bossman's mother).

Rude returned to Jim Crockett Promotions, now known as World Championship Wrestling, as The Halloween Phantom at Halloween Havoc on October 27, 1991, unmasking himself later that night. He founded and led The Dangerous Alliance, consisting of himself, Paul E. Dangerously, Madusa, Arn Anderson, Bobby Eaton, Larry Zbyszko and "Stunning" Steve Austin. Rude won the United States Championship from Sting and feuded with Ricky Steamboat, at one point breaking his nose in a gang attack.

In 1992, Rude and Madusa left The Dangerous Alliance and feuded with Nikita Koloff. Rude challenged reigning World Heavyweight Champion Ron Simmons on several occasions but did not defeat him. He was injured in December of that year and was forced to forfeit the United States Championship. Rude returned alone in April 1993 and tried to reclaim the title from Dustin Rhodes, who had won it while he was injured. The title was eventually held up after several controversial finishes to matches between the two.

Rude switched his sights to the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, making his intentions clear on August 28, 1993, when he was the guest on then-champion Ric Flair's "A Flair For the Gold" talk segment. Rude went on to defeat Flair for the title in September 1993 at Fall Brawl. However, as WCW had recently withdrawn from the NWA, the title could no longer be called the NWA World Heavyweight Championship (WCW had purchased the belt itself, however). The title was renamed the WCW International Championship, which Rude lost to Hiroshi Hase on March 16, 1994 in Tokyo, Japan. Rude regained the title just eight days later in Kyoto, Japan. After dropping the title to Sting on April 17, Rude pinned Sting on May 1 in Fukuoka to become a three time champion. However, Rude injured his back during the match; unable to wrestle, he was stripped of the title (with the storyline excuse that he was found to have used the title belt as a weapon in the course of the match). Rude retired shortly after.

Rude collected on an insurance policy and did not compete in wrestling again until 1997, when he joined Extreme Championship Wrestling as a masked man who harassed Shane Douglas, at one point spanking Francine. He eventually unmasked and became a color commentator. He would later align himself, for a short time, with Shane Douglas and his Triple Threat. During the ECW versus USWA / WWF inter-company competition, Rude helped Jerry "The King" Lawler defeat ECW mainstays Tommy Dreamer and The Sandman.

Rude appeared on both RAW is WAR and WCW Monday Nitro on November 17, 1997. A more clean-shaven Rude appeared on Nitro, which was live, and proceeded to criticize the WWF, calling the company the "Titanic" (a reference to Titan Enterprises, as the WWF's parent company was then known as the "sinking ship"). An hour later on RAW (which had been taped six days earlier), Rude then appeared with a beard. Rude also appeared on ECW's Hardcore TV during that weekend (November 14-16 as the show was syndicated differently depending on the market). Rude was still making ECW appearances while in D-Generation X.

Rude became a member of the New World Order, managing his friend Curt Hennig. When the nWo split, Hennig and Rude joined the nWo Wolfpac and tried to motivate Konnan to defeat Goldberg, who was undefeated at the time. When Konnan was defeated by Goldberg, Rude and Hennig attacked him, later joining nWo Hollywood, the rivals of the Wolfpac. By late 1998, both Rude and Hennig were off WCW TV due to injuries. Hennig had an ongoing leg injury that year, and Rude had testicular cancer. However Rude's cancer was not life threatening. Curt Hennig returned to the nWo from his injury at Starrcade '98 without Rude, who was still unable to appear on WCW. Rude was rumored to be training for a full time comeback to active wrestling in early 1999.

Rude died on April 20, 1999 after suffering heart failure. The believed cause of death may have been an overdose of Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) and steroids. An autopsy report showed he died from an overdose of "mixed medications". In 1994 he testified that he had used anabolic steroids to build muscle mass and relieve joint pain.

technorati tags: Wrestling, wwe, sports, smackdown, raw, pro-wrestling, tna, ecw

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WCW: Yuji Nagata

Yuji Nagata (born April 24, 1968) is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is known for his perennial 'tweener status and his stiff, shoot style wrestling technique.

Before turning professional, Nagata was a successful amaresu (amateur) wrestler. Competing in the Greco-Roman style, Nagata represented Japan in the Asian Championships twice (1993, placing fifth, and 1994, placing fourth), in one World Cup at the Espoir level in 1988, and in the 1991 World Championships, placing twenty-first.

Nagata joined New Japan Pro Wrestling in April 1992 and trained in the New Japan Dojo. He debuted on September 14 of that year, facing Hiroyoshi Tenzan. Nagata increased in stature during the 1995 inter-promotional angle pitting NJPW loyalists against UWF International wrestlers. Taught the shoot-style by Kazuo Yamazaki, who had returned to NJPW after leaving UWFI, Nagata learned the style that has been his trademark ever since.

Nagata joined the American World Championship Wrestling promotion in February 1997 as an arrogant heel. He was managed by Sonny Onoo, who also acted as his translator. He began feuding with Ultimo Dragon, with Nagata repeatedly injuring Dragon's shoulder. The two rivals faced one another at Halloween Havoc on October 26, with Nagata forcing his smaller opponent to submit with an arm submission hold. They faced one another in a rematch at WCW World War 3 on November 23, with the added stipulation that, should Dragon win, he would receive five minutes alone in the ring with the interfering Onoo. Nagata was able to pin Dragon following a distraction by Onoo, thus ending their feud.

In 1998 Nagata teamed with Kensuke Sasaki and entered a tournament for the number one contenderships to the WCW World Tag Team Championships. The partners won the tournament, but were unable to win the titles in their subsequent title match. Nagata left WCW in August 1998 and returned to Japan.

Upon his return, Nagata began challenging for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. On September 23, 1998, Nagata fought Scott Norton for the vacant title (the previous champion, Masahiro Chono, had suffered a neck injury) in Yokohama, but was defeated.

On August 28, 1999 in Tokyo, Nagata and Manabu Nakanishi defeated Shiro Koshinaka and Kensuke Sasaki for the IWGP Tag Team Championships. They held the title untils July 20, 2000, when they lost to Satoshi Kojima and Hiroyoshi Tenzan in Sapporo, Hokkaido. Nagata and Nakanishi feuded with Kojima and Tenzan for several months, but were unable to regain the titles. In January 4, 2000, his old mentor Kazuo Yamazaki retired and Nagata served as his final opponent, winning the match.

In March 2000 Nagata formed an ill-fated stable known as Fighting Club G-EGGS, with all the stable member having legitimate sporting backgrounds. The stable included Manabu Nakanishi, Nagata's tag team partner and co-IWGP Tag Team Champion at the time, Masakazu Fukuda, Yutaka Yoshie and Brian Johnston. Fukuda died in April 2000 from a brain hemorrhage suffered during a match with rookie Katsuyori Shibata, and was honoured with a ten-bell salute and a tribute show in September of that year. Johnston's participation in the group was largely limited after he suffered a stroke, and Nagata eventually disbanded G-EGGS on June 16, 2001.

In August 2001, Nagata won the eleventh annual G-1 Climax tournament, defeating Keiji Mutoh in the finals by submission. Nagata had entered the tournament twice before, but was eliminated in semi-final matches on both instances. Nagata challenged for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship once again after it was vacated by the injured Kazuyuki Fujita on January 4, 2002, but lost to Tadao Yasuda on February 16, 2002, in a tournament final. Nagata defeated Yasuda for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship on April 5, 2002 in the Nippon Budokan. Immediately following his victory, Nagata was attacked by Pro Wrestling NOAH mainstay Yoshihiro Takayama. He held the title for thirteen months before losing to Takayama on May 2, 2003 in the Tokyo Dome.

In April 2005, Nagata formed Team JAPAN, a group of former amateur wrestlers with a grudge against the younger generation of wrestlers in NJPW.

On June 28, 2006, Nagata was announced as a participant in the 2006 G-1 Climax, his eighth appearance in the tournament.

Nagata challenged for the AJPW Triple Crown at the January 4th Tokyo Dome show against the current Triple Crown champion, Minoru Suzuki. Nagata was submitted very quickly in a very dissapointing match.

Yuji Nagata always gives a salute before applying the Nagata Lock I on his opponents. ( see: Smackdown vs Raw 2006)
Nagata's motto is "Be Ambitious" which is usually written on his wrestling tights.
Nagata is the 3rd longest reigning IWGP Champion, with a reign of 392 days