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Kurt Angle
Kurt Angle captured national attention in 1996 when he won the 220-pound freestyle wrestling competition at the Olympic Games in Atlanta. To say the least, that was only the beginning of the greatness that is Kurt Angle.
Four years after earning Olympic gold, Angle entered WWE for the first time and earned professional wrestling gold. And then he did it again…and again…and again. Just weeks after entering WWE, Angle earned the European Title. A short time later he earned the Intercontinental Championship and also won the 2000 King of the Ring. Shortly after, Angle defeated The Rock at No Mercy to win the WWE Championship. Not bad for a rookie!
But perhaps Angle’s most memorable accomplishment came in 2003 when he was shelved with a broken neck after a memorable WrestleMania encounter with Brock Lesnar. Just a few months later, Angle not only stepped back in the ring but did so to one of the most thundering ovations in WWE history and soon won back the WWE Championship from Lesnar.
Today, Kurt Angle serves as General Manager of SmackDown! Many question whether this former WWE Champion has the business sense to run SmackDown! However, if he is half as successful as a General Manager than he is as a wrestler, SmackDown! will be just fine.
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Billy Gunn
Height: 6 foot 4
Weight: 265 pounds
From: Orlando, Fla.
Finishing Move: Fame-Ass-Er,One&Only
Career Highlights: Intercontinental Champion; 1999 King of the Ring; Hardcore Champion; Tag Team Champion
One of the most decorated tag team veterans in WWE history, Billy Gunn has earned distinction by winning the Tag Team Championship on 10 occasions with three different partners. His uncanny ability to compete with any partner and succeed has led Gunn to become one of the most intriguing Superstars on SmackDown!
Gunn first won the WWE Tag Team Championship as a member of the Smokin’ Gunns, where he helped the team to the top on three different occasions. Later, Billy would become not only a member of D-Generation X, but also a part of one of the most wildly successful tag teams in history when he partnered with the Road Dogg as part of the New Age Outlaws. The Outlaws earned the Tag Titles a whopping five times.
When DX disbanded, many wondered if Billy Gunn’s best days were behind him, but he quickly proved that his success as a tag team competitor had just begun. During 2001 and ’02, Gunn teamed with Chuck Palumbo to earn the World Tag Team Titles two more times. While Billy and Chuck will be remembered more famously for a bizarre publicity stunt involving a same-sex marriage that earned national media attention, they were very much an accomplished tag team at the top of their game!
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Billy Kidman
Height: 5 foot 10
Weight: 195 pounds
From: Allentown, Pa.
Finishing Move: Shooting Star Press
Career Highlights: Cruiserweight Champion, WCW Tag Team Champion, WCW Cruiserweight Tag Team Champion
Billy Kidman is one of the elite Superstars spearheading the resurgence of the cruiserweight division in WWE. While he is an experienced and methodical grappling technician, Kidman is also known for his quickness and aerial expertise. One look at his Shooting Star Press is enough to realize that Kidman has the explosiveness to make a big mark in sports entertainment.
Kidman gained fame in WCW as a key member of several strong factions. In addition to being a member of Raven's Flock, Kidman was also a member of the Filthy Animals and later the New Blood. As a member of these groups, Kidman participated in memorable rivalries with the top names in WCW, including Rey Mysterio, Hulk Hogan and Jeff Jarrett.
When WWE purchased WCW, Kidman was among the first to join WWE and his impact on the cruiserweight division was immediate, as he won the Cruiserweight Championship in July 2001. Overall, Kidman has been a Cruiserweight Champion on several occasions and is always considered a top contender for the title.
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Booker T
Height: 6 foot 3
Weight: 250 pounds
From: Houston
Career Highlights: WCW Champion, WCW U.S. Champion, WCW Television Champion, WCW Tag Team Champion, Intercontinental Champion, World Tag Team Champion
Booker T came into WWE and quickly established himself as one of its top Superstars. The Bookerman continues to pride himself on his past success in WCW, where he held the WCW Championship on five occasions. In fact, Booker is the most decorated man in WCW history -- altogether, he held 22 WCW titles.
Since coming to WWE, Booker has given fans no reason to doubt that his present success will dwarf the success he was able to garner in WCW. Already, the Houston native has competed in numerous main events, including WrestleMania XIX, and has captured the World Tag Team Championship, most recently with Rob Van Dam while on RAW. While Booker was visibly unhappy with the move to SmackDown! --calling SmackDown! the "minor leagues," he also earned enough respect to gain a match for the WWE Championship for his SmackDown! debut. If indeed Booker T is the dominant force on SmackDown! that he claims to be, a long run as WWE Champion could be in his future.
Booker T may not be the most popular man in the SmackDown! locker room after some of his statements concerning the SmackDown! Superstars, but he does possess the ability and attitude to back up his words. With continued support of SmackDown! General Manager Kurt Angle, Booker T's finest hour could come in the very near future!
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The Dudleys
Bubbah & D-Von
D-Von
Height: 6 foot 2
Weight: 240 pounds
From:New York City
Career Highlights: World Tag Team Champion, WCW Tag Team Champion, ECW Tag Team Champion
No tag team in the history of sports entertainment has enjoyed the success that the Dudley Boyz can boast. They are the only tandem to hold WWE, WCW and ECW Tag Team Championships and have worn the gold a combined 17 times. While Bubba Ray Dudley is known for crashing opponents through tables, D-Von Dudley is perhaps best known as the more spiritual of the two. But no matter which Dudley is in the ring, this team is not only a legendary success story, but one that is adding more chapters each time they enter the ring.
The two have been inseparable since reuniting at Survivor Series 2002. When the Dudleys are around, nothing is safe—whether it be a tag team opponent or any table that happens to be near the ring. If it is not scary enough that the Dudleys could be the best tag team to ever set foot in the ring, keep in mind that this duo is at the top of their game and as far as they are concerned you have not seen the best from them yet.
As one of the most dominating teams on the SmackDown! roster, the Dudleys have their collective sight set on being the same force on SmackDown! that they were on RAW. That means only one thing ... bad news for all SmackDown! tag teams.
Bubbah Ray Dudley
Height: 6 foot 4
Weight: 275 pounds
From:New York City
Career Highlights: Hardcore Champion, World Tag Team Champion, WCW Tag Team Champion, ECW Tag Team Champion
Bubba Ray and his half-brother D-Von form arguably the greatest tag team in the history of sports entertainment. Together, the Dudley Boyz are the only tandem to have held WWE, WCW, and ECW Tag Team Championships. In addition, their 17 trips to the top of the tag team mountain is a mark that may never be matched.
The Dudley Boyz briefly disbanded in favor of an attempt in singles action, and the run proved to be successful for Bubba Ray as he held the Hardcore Championship eight times during a two-month span in the Spring of 2002. However, the two reunited at Survivor Series 2002 and are seemingly inseparable now.
Bubba Ray is best known for his love of crashing opponents through tables. His scream of, “D-Von…get the table” is one of the most popular phrases among WWE fans everywhere and has made his wood-splitting antic a legendary maneuver. Now on the SmackDown! roster, there is little doubt that the Dudley Boyz will expect nothing short of the success they enjoyed on RAW and an opportunity to win the WWE Tag Team Championship cannot be too far away.
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CHARLIE HAAS
Height: 6 foot 2
Weight: 242 pounds
From: Edmond,Okla.
Finishing Move:-----
Career Highlights: WWE Tag Team Champion
Like many other WWE Superstars, Charlie Haas worked his way through the amateur ranks and the independent circuit to reach his dream of making it to WWE, but along the way he hit a bump in the road that drives him more and more every day.
After a stellar career at Seton Hall University where he was a two-time Big East Champion, Haas at first ventured into the corporate world when he accepted a job as a Goldman-Sachs stockbroker. Unable to purge his itch for wrestling excitement, Haas quickly left that career for WWE and, along with twin brother Russ, wrestled on the independent scene as the Haas Brothers. Russ’s untimely death in November 2001 forced Charlie into the singles ranks, but did not deter him from the dream he shared with his brother.
When WWE Superstar Kurt Angle and Paul Heyman formed “Team Angle,” Haas was given his shot at the big-time and he did not disappoint. Teamed with a new partner, Shelton Benjamin, the duo not only developed into an up-and-coming tag team, but when Kurt was sidelined with a broken neck, Haas and Benjamin became WWE Tag Team Champions. Determined to stay out of Angle’s shadow once he returned, Haas and Benjamin reformed as the World’s Greatest Tag Team and their brand of athleticism and team work has instilled new life into the SmackDown! tag team division.
With Benjamin on RAW, Haas is out to prove that he can make it as a singles competitor. Haas is known as a man of very few words but instead lets his actions do the talking. And if this remains the case and he continues his development as a SmackDown! Superstar, Haas very quietly should be at the top of the SmackDown! roster for a long time to come.
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Chavo Guerrero
Height: 5 foot 9
Weight: 210 lbs.
From: El Paso, Texas
Finishing Move:-----
Career Highlights: Cruiserweight Champion; WCW Tag Team Champion; WWE Tag Team Champion
When Chavo Guerrero decided to enter the world of sports entertainment, he certainly had the stock to not only make it to WWE, but to become and incredible success. Growing up surrounded by legendary competitors in the famed Guerrero family prepared Chavo for the rigors he would face and clearly the preparation paid off. A combination of speed and agility, Guerrero’s athleticism and in-ring intelligence has him primed as a top Cruiserweight.
Once a member of the dominant WWE Tag Team—Los Guerreros, with his Uncle Eddie, Chavo has since branched out on his own after turning against his Uncle. Will his career flourish as a result of the breakup? He certainly got off to a good start at No Way Out 2004 when he defeated Rey Mysterio for the Cruiserweight Championship. Ironically, it was a great night for Uncle Eddie as well, as the elder Guerrero won the WWE Championship at the same event!
With his father, the legendary Chavo Guerrero, Sr., at his side, Chavo has developed a mean streak that has brought him to the top of his game. This new-found tenacity, combined with the best stock a young competitor could have means that the name, Guerrero, will continue to be a main event name for a long time to come.
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The Bashams
DOUG BASHAM
Height: 6 foot 2
Weight: 240 pounds
From: Columbus,Ohio
For years, Doug Basham worked his ass off in Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), waiting for that all-important callup to the WWE roster. The weeks and months ticked away, and Basham had spectacular match after spectacular match. Arguably the best athlete and mat technician in OVW, he was the developmental territory’s first and longest-tenured competitor – but the latter distinction was certainly not one he was chasing after.
In September 2002, he took Chris Benoit to the limit in a 20-minute classic. A few weeks later, he made his WWE television debut on Velocity. But then it was right back to OVW. To him, it was like WWE officials were teasing him.
DANNY BASHAM
Height: 6 foot 3
Weight: 252 pounds
From: Columbus,Ohio
Along with his brother Doug, Danny Basham was signed in June 2003 to a SmackDown!-exclusive contract by General Manager Stephanie McMahon.
Stephanie undoubtedly signed Danny, at least in part, due to his impressive amateur background. Still in his 20s, Danny played football and basketball and ran for the track team in high school. He particularly excelled in football; he was the two-year captain for his team, won All-Conference honors and is the leading tackler in the history of his high school.
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