3 Count was a
professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...
stable
A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...
in
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nation ...
(WCW) which formed in 1999. The group consisted of
Shane Helms
Gregory Shane Helms (born July 12, 1974) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed with WWE under a legends contract, as a wrestler and as a backstage producer. In WWE, Helms has wrestled as The Hurricane, Gregory Helms, and Hu ...
,
Shannon Moore
Shannon Moore (born July 27, 1979) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his work with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) between 1999 and 2001 and with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) for several years in the 2000s. H ...
and
Evan Karagias
Evan Karagias (born November 27, 1973) is an American professional wrestler and actor.
Acting career
Evan moved to New York City to pursue an acting and modeling career. He also became the spokesmodel for the 1996 Calvin Klein and US Olympic Comm ...
and they were given a
boy band
A boy band is loosely defined as a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform Love song, love songs marketed towards girls and young ...
gimmick
A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often with little intrinsic value. When applied to retail marketing, it is a unique or quirky feature designed to make a product or service "stand ou ...
. For a brief time,
Tank Abbott
David Lee "Tank" Abbott (born April 26, 1965) is an American retired mixed martial arts fighter, professional wrestler, and author. He currently hosts his own podcast series titled "The Proving Ground with Tank Abbott." Abbott is perhaps best kno ...
was added to the group as a
manager
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.
Management includes the activities o ...
and
enforcer
Enforcer or enforcers may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Comics
* Enforcer (comics), a Marvel Comics character
* Enforcers (comics), a Marvel Comics team
* New Enforcers, another Marvel Comics team
Film and television
* ''The Enforcer ...
.
History
Creation
Shane Helms
Gregory Shane Helms (born July 12, 1974) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed with WWE under a legends contract, as a wrestler and as a backstage producer. In WWE, Helms has wrestled as The Hurricane, Gregory Helms, and Hu ...
and
Shannon Moore
Shannon Moore (born July 27, 1979) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his work with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) between 1999 and 2001 and with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) for several years in the 2000s. H ...
both signed contracts in May 1999.
In December 1999,
Jimmy Hart
James Ray Hart (born January 1, 1944) is an American professional wrestling manager, executive, composer, and musician currently signed with WWE in a Legends deal. He is best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World ...
put them together with
Evan Karagias
Evan Karagias (born November 27, 1973) is an American professional wrestler and actor.
Acting career
Evan moved to New York City to pursue an acting and modeling career. He also became the spokesmodel for the 1996 Calvin Klein and US Olympic Comm ...
as a group to both capitalize on and make fun of the success of boy bands at the time.
Their
gimmick
A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often with little intrinsic value. When applied to retail marketing, it is a unique or quirky feature designed to make a product or service "stand ou ...
was first introduced to the public with
vignettes
Vignette may refer to:
* Vignette (entertainment), a sketch in a sketch comedy
* Vignette (graphic design), decorative designs in books (originally in the form of leaves and vines) to separate sections or chapters
* Vignette (literature), short, i ...
disguised as
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
s for their (Hart penned)
pop song
Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describe ...
''Can't Get You Outta My Heart''. From there they progressed to performing live on ''
WCW Monday Nitro
''WCW Monday Nitro'', also known as ''WCW Nitro'' or simply ''Nitro'', is an American professional wrestling television program that was produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and broadcast weekly every Monday night on TNT in the Unite ...
'', dancing on green circles in the ring and lip syncing their song before their matches. Later on they recorded a new song, ''Dance With 3 Count'', which replaced ''Can't Get You Outta My Heart'' as their theme music.
They had a long-standing feud with another cruiserweight trio known as
The Jung Dragons
The Jung Dragons were a professional wrestling faction and tag team. Originally formed in World Championship Wrestling, the Dragons consisted of Kaz Hayashi, Yang and Jamie-San, and their manager Leia Meow. The Jung Dragons were notable for the ...
.
Helms and Moore squared off in the first round of the
WCW Cruiserweight title tournament, with Moore advancing at the expense of his partner.
The group were received as
heels
The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower leg.
Structure
To distribute the compressive forces exert ...
, and after three months captured (together) the
WCW Hardcore Championship
The World Championship Wrestling (WCW) Hardcore Championship was a title in World Championship Wrestling. The title was defended in Hardcore matches, in which there were few rules and restrictions and weapons were allowed. Eventually, the rules ...
by pinning
Brian Knobbs
Brian Yandrisovitz (born May 6, 1964), better known as Brian Knobbs, is an operatic tenor and an American professional wrestler best known as half of the tag team The Nasty Boys with his partner Jerry Sags.
Early life
Knobbs was born on May 6 ...
on February 28, 2000. They re-lost the title to Knobbs a month later, when he pinned all three members consecutively. In the process, however, Moore became the youngest champion in WCW history.
Tank Abbott
After losing the Hardcore championship Helms was
legitimately taken out of action with a broken nose.
Upon his return 3 Count was joined by
Tank Abbott
David Lee "Tank" Abbott (born April 26, 1965) is an American retired mixed martial arts fighter, professional wrestler, and author. He currently hosts his own podcast series titled "The Proving Ground with Tank Abbott." Abbott is perhaps best kno ...
, a
storyline huge fan.
Abbott hung around ringside when 3 Count performed and began protecting them from other wrestlers, and eventually started inserting himself as an (uninvited) back-up dancer during performances. 3 Count's feud with the Jung Dragons continued as the Dragons tried to steal 3 Count's Gold album and recording contract.
This led to a
ladder match
A ladder match is a type of match in professional wrestling, most commonly one in which an item (usually a title belt) is hung above the ring, and the winner is the contestant who climbs a ladder and retrieves the item. The ladder itself becom ...
at
New Blood Rising
New Blood Rising was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). It took place on August 13, 2000 from the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, British Columbia. The name is a reference to the New ...
.
Abbott helped 3 Count to win, and afterwards left with both the album and the contract.
Abbott claimed that he should be the lead singer of 3 Count,
with which Helms, Moore and Karagias disagreed, leading to a feud between 3 Count and Abbott.
It ended when Abbott left WCW soon after.
Break up
After feuding with the
Misfits in Action, 3 Count began to have problems, as Moore and Helms accused Karagias of attempting to hog the limelight.
Eventually, Moore and Helms kicked Karagias out of the group, and he joined forces with
Jamie Knoble of the Jung Dragons, on whom the other Jung Dragons members had turned.
Moore and Helms continued together to
feud
A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one part ...
with the remaining Dragons (
Kaz Hayashi
is a Japanese professional wrestler known simply as . He is best known for his work in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where in addition to being a wrestler for the promotion, he also served as the head booker for the company's junior heavyweight ...
and
Yang
Yang may refer to:
* Yang, in yin and yang, one half of the two symbolic polarities in Chinese philosophy
* Korean yang, former unit of currency of Korea from 1892 to 1902
* YANG, a data modeling language for the NETCONF network configuration pr ...
) and the new team of Karagias and Knoble. The three teams met in a Triangle match at
Mayhem
Mayhem most commonly refers to:
* Mayhem (crime), a type of crime
Mayhem may also refer to:
People
* Monica Mayhem (born 1978), Australian pornographic actress
* Jason "Mayhem" Miller, American mixed martial arts fighter
* Mayhem Miller (dra ...
in November 2000, which 3 Count won. They also met in a ladder match to decide the number one contender for the
WCW Cruiserweight Championship
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nationa ...
at
Starrcade
Starrcade was a recurring professional wrestling event, originally broadcast via closed-circuit television and eventually broadcast via pay-per-view. It was originally held from 1983 to 2000, first by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) from 1 ...
, in which both Moore and Helms grabbed the contract at the same moment. As a result, Moore and Helms had match to determine who would challenge for the title, which Helms won.
He lost the subsequent Cruiserweight Championship match, however, against
Chavo Guerrero Jr. at
Sin
In a religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered immoral, selfish, s ...
in January 2001. Helms and Moore split when, during a number one contenders match for the Cruiserweight title at
SuperBrawl Revenge
SuperBrawl Revenge was the eleventh and final SuperBrawl professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event and the penultimate pay-per-view event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). It took place on February 18, 2001 from the Nashville M ...
, Moore attacked Helms instead of Hayashi of the Jung Dragons.
Helms, however, later eliminated Moore, and went on to win the match.
Aftermath
As WCW was slowly dying, Moore and Karagias put aside their differences and formed a
tag team
Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...
which vied for the short lived
WCW Cruiserweight Tag Team Championship
The WCW Cruiserweight Tag Team Championship was a title created in 2001 just prior to World Championship Wrestling (WCW) being sold to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).
History
The WCW Cruiserweight Championship and the matches contested for ...
, but never got their hands on them before the company closed. Helms, however, won the
WCW Cruiserweight Championship
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nationa ...
. Moore, Helms, and Karagias would go on to the then
World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
. The 3 Count trademark is still owned by Turner Broadcasting System Inc.
Reunion
As announced by Shane Helms on
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
, 3 Count would be reuniting in November 2014. The trio appeared at WrestleCade in Winston-Salem, North Carolina on November 29 at the Benton Convention Center.
Helms, along with his proteges
Trevor Lee :not to be confused with actress Camryn Grimes who voices Mrs. Claus in Mickey Saves Christmas
Trevor Lee Caddell (born September 30, 1993) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under the ...
&
Andrew Everett
Andrew Everett Wenkel (born July 9, 1992) better known by the ring name Andrew Everett, is an American professional wrestler best known for his time in Impact Wrestling, where he was a former Impact World Tag Team Champion. He's also wrestlin ...
performed a 3 Count song during
TNA's
Total Nonstop Deletion
Total Nonstop Deletion was a professional wrestling special event episode of '' Impact Wrestling'' produced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. It took place on December 15, 2016, at the Hardy Compound in Cameron, North Carolina. The event included ...
.
Championships and accomplishments
*
NWA Wildside
NWA Wildside was an American independent professional wrestling promotion based in Cornelia, Georgia, with an office in Atlanta, Georgia, operating between September 1999 and April 2005. It was originally formed when National Championship Wrestlin ...
**
NWA Wildside Tag Team Championship
The NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship was the top tag team championship in Georgia Championship Wrestling from 1968 to 1980, when it was replaced with the NWA National Tag Team Championship.
The title was revived in 1998 by Music City Wrestling ...
(
1 time) – Helms and Moore
*
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nation ...
**
WCW Hardcore Championship
The World Championship Wrestling (WCW) Hardcore Championship was a title in World Championship Wrestling. The title was defended in Hardcore matches, in which there were few rules and restrictions and weapons were allowed. Eventually, the rules ...
1 (
1 time)
1The WCW Hardcore Championship was held jointly among Helms, Moore, and Karagias using the Freebird Rule
The Fabulous Freebirds were a professional wrestling tag team who attained fame in the 1980s, performing into the 1990s. The team usually consisted of three wrestlers, although in different situations and points in its history, just two performed ...
.
References
External links
3 Count at Online World of WrestlingEvanKaragias.com (Official Website of Evan Karagias)ShaneHelms.com (Official Website of Shane Helms)Official Myspace of Shannon MooreOfficial Myspace of Gregory Shane Helms{{WCW Hardcore Championship
World Championship Wrestling teams and stables