Pretty Wonderful 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 ...
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 ...
composed of
"Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff and
"Pretty" Paul Roma who competed 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) in 1993 and 1994
History
The making of the team
In the leading up to Orndorff and Roma teaming together, Roma was a part of
The Four Horsemen
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are figures in the Christian scriptures, first appearing in the Book of Revelation, a piece of apocalypse literature written by John of Patmos.
Revelation 6 tells of a book or scroll in God's right hand th ...
while Orndorff came off a stint as the
WCW World Television Champion
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 ...
.
Roma and
Arn Anderson
Martin Anthony Lunde (born September 20, 1958), better known by the ring name Arn Anderson, is an American professional wrestling road agent, author, and retired professional wrestler. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a m ...
would hold the
WCW World Tag Team Championship
The WCW World Tag Team Championship (previously NWA (Mid-Atlantic) World Tag Team Championship) was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and later the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). ...
for a little over a month before losing the championship to
The Nasty Boys
The Nasty Boys are a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags. The team were active from the mid-1980s through the 1990s. Their gimmick was that of anti-social punks who specialized in hardcore wrestling and brawl ...
(
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 ...
and
Jerry Sags
Jerome Saganowich (born July 5, 1964) is an American professional wrestler best known by his wrestling name Jerry Sags. He is a member of the tag team The Nasty Boys with partner and long-term friend Brian Knobbs.
Early life and education
Sags w ...
).
After the 1993 pay-per-view
Battlebowl
BattleBowl was a one-time professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). The show took place on November 20, 1993, at the Pensacola Civic Center in Pensacola, Florida. The event featured only the ...
, the Horsemen Roma and Anderson faced the semi-regular team of Paul Orndorff and
"Stunning" Steve Austin
Steve Austin (born Steven James Anderson; December 18, 1964), better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American media personality, actor, and retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most ...
on ''
Saturday Night''. During the match, Roma acted very indifferent to his tag team partner. Next, Roma teamed with
Erik Watts
Erik Watts (born December 19, 1967) is an American semi-retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling and the WWE, World Wrestling Federation in the 1990s. He is the ...
to take on the team of Orndorff and
Lord Steven Regal
Darren Kenneth Matthews (born 10 May 1968), better known by the ring name William Regal, is an English retired professional wrestler. He is known for his over 20 years spent in WWE, as both a performer and an on-screen authority, and for his t ...
, but this time Roma took it a step further and attacked
Erik Watts
Erik Watts (born December 19, 1967) is an American semi-retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling and the WWE, World Wrestling Federation in the 1990s. He is the ...
before announcing that he was now teaming with Orndorff.
Pretty Wonderful
Under the tutelage of manager
Masked Assassin, the team quickly began to work well together in a
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
Marcus Alexander Bagwell
Marcus Alexander Bagwell (born January 10, 1970) is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name, Buff Bagwell. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) from 1991 to 2001, where he was a fiv ...
and
2 Cold Scorpio
Charles Bernard Scaggs (born October 25, 1965) is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name 2 Cold Scorpio (sometimes spelled Too Cold Scorpio). He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling, Extrem ...
. After a few months as a team, they targeted the then WCW World Tag Team Champions,
Cactus Jack and
Kevin Sullivan. The champions had one last defense against former champions The Nasty Boys that also saw Kevin's injured brother
Dave Dave may refer to:
Film, television, and theater
* ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver
* ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the film
* Dave (TV channel), a digital television channel in the ...
. The match degraded into a brawl that saw Pretty Wonderful interfere, using Dave's crutch to attack the champions. Before leaving the ring, they also took a couple of shots at The Nasty Boys for good measure.
Going into
Bash at the Beach
Bash at the Beach was a yearly professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). It was the company's PPV for the month of July, held from 1994–2000. As the title implied, the show centered on a b ...
, Pretty Wonderful had the advantage as both champions were suffering from injuries inflicted by the challengers on previous occasions, which would lead Roma and Orndorff to win the championship.
After successfully defending the championship against The Nasty Boys, Pretty Wonderful was challenged by the duo of
Stars and Stripes (
Marcus Alexander Bagwell
Marcus Alexander Bagwell (born January 10, 1970) is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name, Buff Bagwell. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) from 1991 to 2001, where he was a fiv ...
and
The Patriot) at
Fall Brawl
Fall Brawl was an annual professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and was held in September from 1993 through 2000. The name was derived from the fall edition of ''Clash of the Champions'', ca ...
, where Pretty Wonderful retained the WCW World Tag Team Championship, only to lose it a week later to Stars and Stripes in a rematch.
Pretty Wonderful was granted a rematch against the new champions with a match booked for
Halloween Havoc
Halloween Havoc is a professional wrestling event currently produced by WWE for the company's developmental brand, NXT. As the name implies, it is a Halloween-themed show held in October.
It was originally produced as an annual pay-per-view (PPV ...
, where Pretty Wonderful regained the championship when Roma used one of the title belts to knock Bagwell out cold.
At ''
Clash of the Champions XXIX'', Stars and Stripes were granted one final shot at the WCW World Tag Team Championship, but the challengers also had to put up the Patriot's mask on the line, as if they lost he would unmask. After a controversial double
pin
A pin is a device used for fastening objects or material together.
Pin or PIN may also refer to:
Computers and technology
* Personal identification number (PIN), to access a secured system
** PIN pad, a PIN entry device
* PIN, a former Dutch de ...
, Stars and Stripes were declared the winners, and thus put an end to Pretty Wonderful's second and final run with the championship.
Aftermath
After their last title loss, Roma and Orndorff went their separate ways with Roma being used as "
enhancement talent
In professional wrestling slang, a job is a losing performance in a wrestling match. It is derived from the euphemism "doing one's job", which was employed to protect information related to kayfabe from being revealed. The term can be used a numbe ...
" to help build young stars. Roma would be fired less than three months later, due to
kicking out from a pin attempt early in a match, where he lost to
Alex Wright
Alexander Wright (born May 17, 1975) is a German former professional wrestler and professional wrestling promoter. He wrestled professionally in Germany and Japan before signing with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1994. He remained a pro ...
at
SuperBrawl V
SuperBrawl V was the fifth SuperBrawl professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). The event took place on February 19, 1995 from the Baltimore Arena in Baltimore, Maryland.
In the main event, Hu ...
. Orndorff remained with the company while also working as a trainer at the
WCW Power Plant
The WCW Power Plant was a professional wrestling school in Atlanta, Georgia, owned and operated by World Championship Wrestling (WCW).
The school was founded by wrestler Jody Hamilton, who opened the training center in 1989 in Lovejoy, Georgia. ...
, until an injury cut his in ring career short at the end of 2000.
Championships and accomplishments
*
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 World Tag Team Championship
The WCW World Tag Team Championship (previously NWA (Mid-Atlantic) World Tag Team Championship) was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and later the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). ...
(
2 times
"2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...
)
References
External links
Kayfabememories Profile: Paul Orndorff
{{WCW World Tag Team Championship
Pretty Wonderful
Pretty Wonderful was a professional wrestling tag team composed of "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff and "Pretty" Paul Roma who competed in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1993 and 1994
History The making of the team
In the leading up to ...