Spirit Squad: Difference between revisions
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'''Spirit Squad''' |
'''Spirit Squad''' was a [[Heel (professional wrestling)|heel]] [[tag team]] (with five members) that wrestled for [[World Wrestling Entertainment]] (WWE) on the [[WWE Raw|''RAW'']] [[WWE Brand Extension|brand]]. The team consisted of [[Ken Doane|Kenny]], [[Johnny Jeter|Johnny]], [[Nick Mitchell|Mitch]], [[Nick Nemeth|Nicky]], and [[Michael Brendli|Mikey]] with the [[Gimmick (professional wrestling)|gimmick]] of an all-male [[cheerleading]] squad, developed from an idea suggested by [[Paul Heyman]]{{fact}}. They are the former [[WWE World Tag Team Championship|World Tag Team Champions]] and, by "executive decision", were all collectively recognized as champion and internally decided which two defended the belts at any given time (see [[Fabulous Freebirds#Freebird Rule|Freebird Rule]]). Their reign marked the first time five wrestlers had been simultaneously recognized as World Tag Team Champions. |
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==History== |
==History== |
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At the end of September and into October the Squad as a whole began a losing streak with separate members losing singles matches to [[Ric Flair]] on consecutive episodes of ''RAW''. After [[Johnny Jeter|Johnny]] and [[Michael Brendli|Mikey]] lost to the debuting [[Cryme Tyme]] on [[October 16]], [[Ken Doane|Kenny]] started yelling at the other members of the Spirit Squad in the ring and walked off shouting "I'm tired of losing". Tensions further escalated on the [[October 23]] ''RAW'' when the Spirit Squad lost to Cryme Tyme a second consecutive week. After the defeat Kenny attacked Mikey then announced that he would take on Flair, and win, since no other member of the group could do it. Later in the night he made good on his promise with help from the rest of the Squad, despite Flair bringing a number of fellow "Legends" ([[Dusty Rhodes (wrestler)|Dusty Rhodes]], [[Sgt. Slaughter]], and [[Roddy Piper|"Rowdy" Roddy Piper]]) to the ring with him to even the odds. It was then decided that Flair and one of the legends, of the fans choosing, would wrestle the Squad at ''[[WWE Cyber Sunday#2006|Cyber Sunday]]'' for the Tag Team championship. At ''Cyber Sunday'' the fans chose Piper and he and Flair defeated Kenny and Mikey to win the title. At the time of their loss the team had held the title for [[List of WWE World Tag Team Championship reigns by length|216 days]], the longest since [[Owen Hart]] and [[Davey Boy Smith|The British Bulldog]] held it for 241 days in 1996 and 1997. |
At the end of September and into October the Squad as a whole began a losing streak with separate members losing singles matches to [[Ric Flair]] on consecutive episodes of ''RAW''. After [[Johnny Jeter|Johnny]] and [[Michael Brendli|Mikey]] lost to the debuting [[Cryme Tyme]] on [[October 16]], [[Ken Doane|Kenny]] started yelling at the other members of the Spirit Squad in the ring and walked off shouting "I'm tired of losing". Tensions further escalated on the [[October 23]] ''RAW'' when the Spirit Squad lost to Cryme Tyme a second consecutive week. After the defeat Kenny attacked Mikey then announced that he would take on Flair, and win, since no other member of the group could do it. Later in the night he made good on his promise with help from the rest of the Squad, despite Flair bringing a number of fellow "Legends" ([[Dusty Rhodes (wrestler)|Dusty Rhodes]], [[Sgt. Slaughter]], and [[Roddy Piper|"Rowdy" Roddy Piper]]) to the ring with him to even the odds. It was then decided that Flair and one of the legends, of the fans choosing, would wrestle the Squad at ''[[WWE Cyber Sunday#2006|Cyber Sunday]]'' for the Tag Team championship. At ''Cyber Sunday'' the fans chose Piper and he and Flair defeated Kenny and Mikey to win the title. At the time of their loss the team had held the title for [[List of WWE World Tag Team Championship reigns by length|216 days]], the longest since [[Owen Hart]] and [[Davey Boy Smith|The British Bulldog]] held it for 241 days in 1996 and 1997. |
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On the [[November 27]] episode of |
On the [[November 27]] episode of ''RAW'', The Spirit Squad competed in their final match together, a loss to DX and Ric Flair in a 5-on-2 Handicap Match. Following the match, Shawn Michaels and Triple H stuffed all 5 members of the Squad into a large box, marked with stickers reading "[[OVW]] - [[Louisville, Kentucky]]", a developmental federation used by WWE. Michaels signed for the shipping as Mr. McMahon and remarked that he did not want to spend any extra money on postage and that the box did not need to be treated with particular care. It is unlikely that the group will return, as prior to the match Triple H offered his "guarantee" that it would be "the last time you will ever see the Spirit Squad". |
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==In wrestling== |
==In wrestling== |
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*'''Ring entrance''' |
*'''Ring entrance''' |
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:Spirit Squad |
:Spirit Squad had a unique entrance in which Mitch stood in the middle of the ring and the other four members stood on the apron at each corner and simultaneously springboard somersaulted over the ropes and into the ring. Later, pyro was also added to The Spirit Squad's entrance. The pyro "rained down" from behind them through the entrance way opening. |
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*'''Taunts''' |
*'''Taunts''' |
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Revision as of 12:27, 1 December 2006
| Spirit Squad | |
|---|---|
| Tag team | |
| Members | Kenny Mitch Mikey Johnny Nicky |
| Name(s) | Spirit Squad |
| Billed heights | 6 ft 4 in - Kenny 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) - Mitch 5 ft 6 in (168 cm) - Mikey 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) - Johnny 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) - Nicky |
| Combined billed weight | Varies, depending on the combination |
| Debut | 2005 |
Spirit Squad was a heel tag team (with five members) that wrestled for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) on the RAW brand. The team consisted of Kenny, Johnny, Mitch, Nicky, and Mikey with the gimmick of an all-male cheerleading squad, developed from an idea suggested by Paul Heyman[citation needed]. They are the former World Tag Team Champions and, by "executive decision", were all collectively recognized as champion and internally decided which two defended the belts at any given time (see Freebird Rule). Their reign marked the first time five wrestlers had been simultaneously recognized as World Tag Team Champions.
History
The group made their first appearances in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) cheering during house shows. On January 23, 2006 they had their television debut, appearing on RAW and helping Jonathan Coachman win a Royal Rumble qualifying match against Jerry "The King" Lawler by performing cheers for the Coach and (kayfabe) distracting Lawler. In subsequent weeks the team was (kayfabe) hired by several wrestlers to perform cheers for them.
They eventually became a part of the on-going feud between WWE chairman Vince McMahon and Shawn Michaels. The heel McMahon brought in the Squad to perform disrespectful cheers about and attack Michaels on numerous occasions, including placing them in multiple handicap matches.
While involved in the Michaels/McMahon feud they also continued wrestling in the tag team division, and on the April 3 2006 edition of RAW, won the World Tag Team Championship when Kenny and Mikey -- with outside help from the other three Squad members -- defeated Kane and The Big Show. After winning the titles an "executive edict" was declared stating that all five members men were recognized as the champions, with any two members allowed to defend the titles at once (see Freebird Rule).
On May 1, the night after Backlash, the five members of the Spirit Squad were jointly named "Co-General Managers" of RAW. During the night, after drawing "spirit straws", they placed Kenny into a title match with WWE Champion John Cena. Before the match they ordered play-by-play analyst Joey Styles in their office to instruct him on how to call Kenny's upcoming win (which never did come to pass), instructing him that he has better do it "with spirit", otherwise they would see that he was forced to call all of the next RAW while wearing a (female) cheerleading uniform. This lead to Styles having a confrontation with color-commentator Jerry Lawler and eventually (kayfabe) quitting the show (and WWE) in a worked shoot promo.
Three weeks later, from RAW in Las Vegas, Nevada, Vince McMahon signed another Handicap Match pitting the Spirit Squad against Shawn Michaels. However, the match never started, instead the Spirit Squad brutally beat down Michaels, ripping apart his ring attire and (kayfabe) shattering his knee with a steel chair as he was going for his Sweet Chin Music superkick. McMahon then called Triple H to the ring to finish Michaels off with a sledgehammer shot, however, Kenny snatched the sledgehammer away -- disrespecting Triple H -- leading to him attacking the group.
Triple H and Shawn Michaels revived D-Generation X (DX) and as a team began a feud with the Spirit Squad. DX played various sophomoric pranks on the Squad and the McMahons, as well as defeating Spirit Squad in various handicap tag matches during Vengeance and Saturday Night's Main Event.
At the same time as their feud with DX and their alignment with McMahon, the team also wrestled other teams in RAW's tag division over their World Tag Team Title. The Squad successfully defended the titles against teams of Jim Duggan and Eugene, Charlie Haas and Viscera, Snitsky and Val Venis before entering a lengthy feud with The Highlanders, whom they eventually dispatched at Unforgiven.
At the end of September and into October the Squad as a whole began a losing streak with separate members losing singles matches to Ric Flair on consecutive episodes of RAW. After Johnny and Mikey lost to the debuting Cryme Tyme on October 16, Kenny started yelling at the other members of the Spirit Squad in the ring and walked off shouting "I'm tired of losing". Tensions further escalated on the October 23 RAW when the Spirit Squad lost to Cryme Tyme a second consecutive week. After the defeat Kenny attacked Mikey then announced that he would take on Flair, and win, since no other member of the group could do it. Later in the night he made good on his promise with help from the rest of the Squad, despite Flair bringing a number of fellow "Legends" (Dusty Rhodes, Sgt. Slaughter, and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper) to the ring with him to even the odds. It was then decided that Flair and one of the legends, of the fans choosing, would wrestle the Squad at Cyber Sunday for the Tag Team championship. At Cyber Sunday the fans chose Piper and he and Flair defeated Kenny and Mikey to win the title. At the time of their loss the team had held the title for 216 days, the longest since Owen Hart and The British Bulldog held it for 241 days in 1996 and 1997.
On the November 27 episode of RAW, The Spirit Squad competed in their final match together, a loss to DX and Ric Flair in a 5-on-2 Handicap Match. Following the match, Shawn Michaels and Triple H stuffed all 5 members of the Squad into a large box, marked with stickers reading "OVW - Louisville, Kentucky", a developmental federation used by WWE. Michaels signed for the shipping as Mr. McMahon and remarked that he did not want to spend any extra money on postage and that the box did not need to be treated with particular care. It is unlikely that the group will return, as prior to the match Triple H offered his "guarantee" that it would be "the last time you will ever see the Spirit Squad".
In wrestling
- Finishing and signature moves
- Simultaneous Diving leg drop (Kenny) and high angle senton bomb (Mikey)
- High Spirits (The five members each grab one of a prone opponent's limbs and lift him/her high into the air, letting the opponent plummet back first to the mat)
- Spirit Squad also perform the move while Kenny performs a leg drop so that Kenny's leg will drop across the throat of the opponent just as this opponent is lifted into the air by the remaining four members of the Squad.
- Four man step-up "Poetry in Motion" move
- Spirit Squad also use a mini-trampoline and perform various aerial moves after bouncing off of it to gain air.
- Ring entrance
- Spirit Squad had a unique entrance in which Mitch stood in the middle of the ring and the other four members stood on the apron at each corner and simultaneously springboard somersaulted over the ropes and into the ring. Later, pyro was also added to The Spirit Squad's entrance. The pyro "rained down" from behind them through the entrance way opening.
- Taunts
- Jumping from the trampoline to enter the ring - All five members
- Jumping jacks - All five members
- Dance move where he sits and hops across the ring - Mitch
- Michael Jackson impersonation - Johnny
- Spinning in a circle - Nicky
- High pitched scream - Nicky
- Breakdance moves - All five members
- Martial arts moves - Johnny
- Blowing an Air horn - Mikey
- Chants
- "Ready, OK!"
- "Kill Him!!"
- "Let's hear it for Spirit Squad!"
- "Who's got spirit!"
- "2,4,6,8, who do you appreciate?"
- "1,2,3 Spirit Squad!"
- "Let's see those spirit fingers!"