Evan Karagias (born November 27, 1973) is an American

professional wrestler 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 or ...

and

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

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 Committee advertising campaigns. In 1995 he was a recurring guest star on the soap opera ''

All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 20 ...

'' called Jason. WCW licensed his voice and body scan images to support the

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the d ...

and

THQ THQ Inc. was an American video game company based in Agoura Hills, California. It was founded in April 1990 by Jack Friedman, originally in Calabasas, and became a public company the following year through a reverse merger takeover. Initi ...

pro-wrestling videogame series, first appearing in '' WCW/nWo Thunder'' and then ''

WCW Mayhem Mayhem was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in the month of November in 1999 and 2000. It replaced the promotion's November PPV event World War 3 which was held from 1995 to 1998 a ...

''. Since leaving WWF, Karagias returned to acting and his first acting role for seven years was playing a wrestler on the

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

Passions ''Passions'' is an American television soap opera that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1999, to September 7, 2007, and on DirecTV's The 101 Network from September 17, 2007, to August 7, 2008. Created by screenwriter James E. Reilly and pro ...

''. He has made several TV appearances. More recently he has been in several smaller independent films such as ''Metal Gear'', ''Crazy Eyes'' and ''Shotgun Kiss''.

Professional wrestling career

World Championship Wrestling (1997–2001)

Karagias was recruited to join

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 ...

, and entered training at the WCW's "Power Plant" facility in Atlanta, Georgia, where he soon reached stunt instructor status. In 1997 he began his appearances on WCW's weekly wrestling shows as "The Outrageous Karagias" being used as a

jobber Jobber may refer to: Athletics * Job (professional wrestling) - A professional wrestler who routinely loses a match. * Wichita Jobbers, a minor league baseball team in the Western Association from 1905 to 1911 Commerce * A person or corporation ...

, and has the dubious distinction of having more defeats to his record as a solo wrestler in WCW as a proportion of all his matches than anyone else. Of almost 50 televised solo matches wrestled with WCW, he won eight. While performing as a jobber, Karagias had a few high points which included his first appearance at a

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...

, a battle royal at Slamboree 1998, and several shots at WCW championships such as 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 ...

and

WCW World Television Championship The WCW World Television Championship was a professional wrestling television championship owned by the now-defunct World Championship Wrestling (WCW) promotion. The title was created in 1974 by Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling (MACW) as a s ...

. In October 1999, Karagias was seen more and more with female wrestler

Madusa Debrah Ann Miceli (born February 9, 1964), better known as Madusa, is an Italian-born American monster truck driver and former professional wrestler. She is currently working for National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) as a producer. In 2015, she has ...

. He was allowed to compete in the World Title tournament, but quickly allowed Madusa to pin him after a kiss. After her elimination, Madusa put all her focus on managing Karagias. He then became the number one contender to the Cruiserweight Championship, which was held by

Disco Inferno "Disco Inferno" is a song by American disco band the Trammps from their 1976 fourth studio album of the same name. With two other cuts by the group, it reached No. 1 on the US '' Billboard'' Dance Club Songs chart in early 1977, but had li ...

. At Mayhem, Karagias challenged Disco Inferno for the WCW Cruiserweight Championship and won after Inferno was attacked by

Creative Control Artistic control or creative control is a term commonly used in media production, such as movies, television, and music production. A person with artistic control has the authority to decide how the final product will appear. In movies, this ...

. This was also Karagias's first major championship. Karagias began to have problems with Madusa, since Karagias appeared to have a wandering eye towards the Nitro Girls, specifically

Spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for flavoring or as a garnish. Spices a ...

. This led to a catfight between the two ladies, with Karagias in the middle. Afterwards, Madusa challenged Karagias to a Cruiserweight Championship match 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 ...

. During the match Spice gave Karagias a low blow allowing Madusa to pin him and become the first female ever to win the WCW World Cruiserweight Championship. In December 1999, Karagias returned to the ring alongside

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 H ...

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 ...

to form 3 Count, the boy band of WCW. They immediately claimed to have a musical hit, coming out before their matches and lip-synching to "Can't Get You Out Of My Heart" while dancing on green circles. Usually, they were interrupted by their opposition. They started out by feuding with

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 ...

and would appear in 6-man tag team action frequently. 3 Count soon focused their attention on

Norman Smiley Norman Anthony Smiley (born February 28, 1965) is an English-American retired professional wrestler and vocalist specializing in Gregorian Chants. He is best known for his appearances with the Mexican promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre fro ...

, who showed his dislike for their music. Their first pay-per-view match was at

Superbrawl 2000 SuperBrawl 2000 was the tenth SuperBrawl professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). The event took place on February 20, 2000 from the Cow Palace in The 3 Count team then declared that they were hardcore, leading to numerous fights with the Hardcore Champion, "Nasty Boy"

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 ...

. At the end of February 2000, they managed an upset, taking out the champion and getting 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 ...

for themselves. Sharing it as a team, they went into

Uncensored 2000 Uncensored (2000) was the sixth and final Uncensored professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). The event took place on March 19, 2000 from the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida. As of 2 ...

to battle Knobbs once again, this time in a Gauntlet match. After Helms was eliminated, Karagias came out. Without his teammates to aid him, however, Karagias was crushed by Knobbs, who then defeated Moore, getting his Hardcore Championship back. In late summer, the 3 Count returned to television, singing a new song, "Dance With 3 Count". This earned them the favor of Tank Abbott, who loved listening to them sing, and would attack anyone who tried to stop them. Abbott soon became 3 Count's manager/security guard/back-up dancer, sometimes bringing out a green square for himself to dance on. Abbott & 3 Count soon began a running feud with the trio's old adversaries, the Jung Dragons. Their repeated encounters led to a Ladder match 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 ...

, with a recording contract & a gold record hanging from the ceiling. The match was won after interference by Abbott clearing the way for Karagias to climb the ladder and get the contract, winning the match and apparently getting 3 Count a record deal. After the match, Abbott took the contract & the gold record and left. Later on, Abbott announced that he should be the lead singer, with 3 Count as his back-up band. This proved to be too much for 3 Count, who told Abbott that they were through. A minor feud with Abbott soon erupted, which went nowhere because Abbott soon after left WCW. Karagias became more egotistical, taking over the center circle during 3 Count matches. In November, it all came to a head, when 3 Count was once again wrestling the Jung Dragons. After Karagias took the pinfall away from Helms & Moore, the duo turned on him, taking out their former leader. Karagias soon joined up with Jamie Knoble (formerly known as Jamie-san), who had been unmasked and kicked out of the Jung Dragons by Leia Meow, their manager. They formed a third tag team, intent on battling it out with 3 Count and the Dragons. The three teams' wars with each other soon culminated in a Triangle Tag Team match at Mayhem 2000 which was won by 3 Count.The three groups continued to feud into the next month, when it was announced that there was going to be a three-way ladder match at Starrcade 2000 and once again, Karagias' old partners, 3 Count, won the match. 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 ...

, the three tag teams that had fought so much were brought together once again for a four corners elimination match. 3 Count would once again cost Karagias the match by eliminating him. Later in the match, Moore surprisingly turned on Helms, attacking him and shortly after Karagias turned on Knoble rejoined Moore, returning to 3 Count. Karagias and Moore would remain a tag team for the final months of WCW. They competed in the first WCW Cruiserweight Tag Team Championship tournament, taking out

Jason Jett Jason Broyles (born April 27, 1973) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) under the ring name E. Z. Money. He also briefly wrestled for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in ...

and Scotty O in the first round. They were then bested by the veterans,

Rey Mysterio Óscar Gutiérrez (born December 11, 1974), better known by his ring name Rey Mysterio, is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand. Widely regarded as one of the greatest profes ...

and

Billy Kidman Peter Alan Gruner Jr. (born May 11, 1974) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Billy Kidman. He is currently employed by WWE as a producer. As a wrestler, Kidman is best known for his work with World Champi ...

, and thus did not appear at

WCW Greed Greed was the final professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). It took place on March 18, 2001 from the Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum in Jacksonville, Florida. Greed replaced the promotion's ...

, watching instead from the sidelines. They did make an appearance on the final WCW show in March, wrestling for a shot at the Cruiserweight Tag Team Champions,

Kid Romeo Samuel Roman (born 1975) is a Puerto Rican-American former professional wrestler. He is best known for his stint in World Championship Wrestling in 2001 under the ring name Kid Romeo, where he was one half of the first ever Cruiserweight Tag Te ...

and

Elix Skipper Elix Skipper (born December 15, 1967) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling, where he was a one-time WCW Cruiserweight Champion and a one-time WCW Cruiserweight Tag ...

. But they were bested, once again, by Mysterio and Kidman and watched as

The Filthy Animals The Filthy Animals were a professional wrestling faction in World Championship Wrestling from 1999 until 2001. Concept The plan for the stable was to be WCW's version of the World Wrestling Federation's D-Generation X.Guerrero, Eddie. ''Cheating ...

went on to defeat Romeo and Skipper for the belts.

World Wrestling Federation (2001–2002)

When WCW folded in early 2001 and was purchased by the World Wrestling Federation (which changed its name to World Wrestling Entertainment in 2002), Evan's contract was among the 24 immediately purchased by the WWF as well. He was sent to the WWF's "farm territory",

Heartland Wrestling Association The Heartland Wrestling Association (HWA) was a Midwestern independent professional wrestling promotion based in Cincinnati, Ohio. A former developmental territory for World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation during the 199 ...

. He made his debut for WWF during the

Invasion An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing con ...

as a member of The Alliance. After a severe concussion in the ring, he was rarely seen and was released after 8–9 months without ever being used as a wrestler.

Independent circuit (2002–present)

On March 22, 2002, Karagias would join AWA Superstars of Wrestling and on that very night challenged the then champion, "The Underwear Model" Eric Priest, to a championship match and won the AWA Superstars of Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship. Karagias would lose the championship to Danny Dominion and two days later regained the title. After holding the championship for over five months he would finally lose the championship to Horshu on October 19. Horshu was then stripped of the title due to missing mandatory title defences and on July 6, 2003, Karagias would defeat Eric Priest to win the vacant championship for a third time. Karagias would hold the title for over one and a half years before being fired in January 2005 by Dale Gagne for misconduct and refusal of defending the title as scheduled. At the

Ultimate Pro Wrestling Ultimate Pro Wrestling (UPW) was a California-based independent pro wrestling company owned and operated by Rick Bassman, that operated from 1999 to 2007. The company had working relationships with Pro Wrestling Zero1 and World Wrestling Entertai ...

5th Anniversary Show on February 20, 2004,

Frankie Kazarian Frank Benedict Gerdelman (born August 4, 1977) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and musician currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), performing under the ring name Frankie Kazarian. In addition, Kazarian also pe ...

defeated

Jerry Lynn Jeremy Lynn (born June 12, 1963), better known by the ring name Jerry Lynn, is an American retired professional wrestler currently signed with All Elite Wrestling as a producer and coach. He has worked for promotions such as World Championship ...

and Evan Karagias to retain his UPW Lightweight Championship. Since then, Karagias has been inactive from wrestling. However, on October 28, 2006, Karagias returned to wrestling and appeared at a TNT Pro Wrestling show to face off with

X-Pac Sean Michael Waltman (born July 13, 1972) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE under a legends contract. He is best known for his appearances for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) under the ring names 1–2–3 ...

(who had

Scott Hall Scott Oliver Hall (October 20, 1958 – March 14, 2022) was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his tenures with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) under his real name and under the ring name the Diamond Studd and with the ...

in his corner) in a charity benefit match. In 2009 and 2010, he worked for the New York-based Fight The World wrestling promotion, Karagias was the number 1 contender for the FTW heavyweight title and had a match with the champion

Balls Mahoney Jonathan Rechner (April 11, 1972 – April 12, 2016), better known by his ring name Balls Mahoney, was an American professional wrestler. He is perhaps best known for his appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) during the late 199 ...

Filmography

Championships and accomplishments

* AWA Superstars of Wrestling ** AWA Superstars of Wrestling Heavyweight Championship ( 3 times) *

HWA Tag Team Championship The HWA Tag Team Championship is the tag team titles contested for in the Heartland Wrestling Association. It was established in 1996 when the Head Bangers (Mosh and Thrasher) became the first champions. Title history Key See also *Heartla ...

( 1 time) - with

* ''

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publish ...

'' ** PWI ranked him #123 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the ''PWI'' 500" in 2000 *

( 1 time) **

( 1 time)¹ ¹The WCW Hardcore Championship was held jointly with

and

as a member of 3 Count 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

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Karagias, Evan 1973 births American male professional wrestlers American people of Greek descent Living people North Carolina State University alumni People from Gastonia, North Carolina Professional wrestlers from North Carolina 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers WCW/WWE Cruiserweight Champions