Jung Dragons
Encyclopedia
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 their high-flying
, cruiserweight
wrestling style and somewhat humorous Asia
n theme. However, Jamie-San, the only Caucasian
in the group, was given the Japanese title
of "San" and wore a black mask
in order to conceal the fact that he was not Asian.
. He wanted to give the young talents a chance to tighten their skills in a feud
with 3 Count
, another young group formed by Hart, on WCW's lower rate program Saturday Night
. According to Hart, he also bought the Jung Dragon ring attire and worked with WCW's seamstress to give them their logo. Booker Kevin Sullivan
was so impressed with the group that he immediately put them on WCW's prime program, Nitro
.
The Jung Dragons made their pay-per-view
debut at New Blood Rising
, losing a ladder match
against 3 Count. From there, they participated in various tag team
match types at Mayhem, Starrcade
, Sin
, and SuperBrawl Revenge and added a manager in Leia Meow. While the Dragons only scored one victory throughout these major events, the stable remained relatively popular up until the closure of WCW in 2001.
. The two competed with the remaining members of 3 Count and the Jung Dragons. Finally, in early 2001, WCW was purchased by top competitor World Wrestling Federation, ultimately ending the Jung Dragons.
Following the closure of WCW, Jamie-San and Yang went on to work for World Wrestling Entertainment (the former World Wrestling Federation) as Jamie Noble and Akio, respectively. Noble won the Cruiserweight Championship
shortly after his WWE debut and Akio found partial success as an ally of Tajiri
before both were released in 2004 and 2005, respectively. After being released, Noble competed in Ring of Honor
before being rehired in 2005, while Yang and Hayashi reformed the Jung Dragons before Yang was rehired in 2006 under the ring name Jimmy Wang Yang. Hayashi returned to Japan and has since become a staple of All Japan Pro Wrestling
's junior heavyweight division while Leia retired from wrestling in 2002.
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
faction and tag team
Tag team
Tag team professional wrestling is a variation in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. A tag team may comprise two wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of established teams who wrestle regularly as a unit and have a team name...
. Originally formed in World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
, the Dragons consisted of Kaz Hayashi
Kaz Hayashi
Kazuhiro "Kaz" Hayashi is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is working for All Japan Pro Wrestling. He is also the head booker for the company's junior division.-Career:...
, Yang
James Yun
James Carson Yun is an American professional wrestler and actor, best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring name Jimmy Wang Yang, in World Championship Wrestling as one-third of the Jung Dragons as Yang, and in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and the independent circuit...
, and Jamie-San
Jamie Noble
James Howard Gibson better known by his WWE ring name Jamie Noble, is an American former professional wrestler currently working for WWE as a trainer. He is best known for his work from 2002 to 2009 when a severe back injury forced him to retire from competition...
and their manager
Manager (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a manager is a secondary character paired with a wrestler for a variety of reasons. The manager is often either a non-wrestler, an occasional wrestler, an older wrestler who has retired or is nearing retirement or, in some cases, a new wrestler who is breaking into the...
Leia Meow
Kristina Laum
Kristina Laum is a retired professional wrestling valet and manager in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Championship Wrestling...
. The Jung Dragons were notable for their high-flying
Professional wrestling aerial techniques
Aerial techniques are maneuvers, using the ring and its posts and ropes as aids, used in professional wrestling to show off the speed and agility of a wrestler. These moves are mainly done by smaller, quicker wrestlers who are unable to do most of the power moves. There is a wide variety of aerial...
, cruiserweight
Cruiserweight (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a cruiserweight is a wrestler weighing 220 lb and less, sometimes 215. The older term junior heavyweight, which was used to describe the division, is more favored in Japan, where many titles for lighter-weight competitors are called junior heavyweight titles...
wrestling style and somewhat humorous Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
n theme. However, Jamie-San, the only Caucasian
White American
White Americans are people of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White. The United States Census Bureau defines White people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa...
in the group, was given the Japanese title
Japanese titles
The Japanese language uses a broad array of honorific suffixes for addressing or referring to people, for example -san, as in Daniel-san. These honorifics are gender-neutral , though some are more used for men or women and can be attached to first names as well as...
of "San" and wore a black mask
Wrestling mask
A Wrestling mask is a fabric based mask that some professional wrestlers wear as part of their in-ring persona or gimmick. Professional wrestlers have been using masks as far back as 1915 and they are still widely used today, especially in Lucha Libre in Mexico.-History:In 1915 a North American...
in order to conceal the fact that he was not Asian.
History
The group was put together in early 2000 by Jimmy HartJimmy Hart
James "Jimmy" Ray Hart is a professional wrestling manager, executive, composer, and musician currently signed with WWE. He is best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling under his nickname "The Mouth of the South." He has managed many professional...
. He wanted to give the young talents a chance to tighten their skills in a feud
Feud (professional wrestling)
A professional wrestling feud is a staged rivalry between multiple wrestlers or alliances of wrestlers. They are integrated into ongoing storylines, particularly in events which are televised...
with 3 Count
3 Count
3 Count was a professional wrestling stable in World Championship Wrestling which formed in 1999. The group consisted of Shane Helms, Shannon Moore and Evan Karagias and they were given a boy band gimmick. For a brief time, Tank Abbott was added to the group as a manager and...
, another young group formed by Hart, on WCW's lower rate program Saturday Night
WCW Saturday Night
WCW Saturday Night was a weekly Saturday night TV show on TBS produced by World Championship Wrestling. The program existed through various incarnations under different names before becoming WCW Saturday Night in 1992...
. According to Hart, he also bought the Jung Dragon ring attire and worked with WCW's seamstress to give them their logo. Booker Kevin Sullivan
Kevin Sullivan (wrestler)
Kevin Francis Sullivan is an American professional wrestler and booker, perhaps best known for his role in WCW as "The Taskmaster" and his leading of the "Dungeon of Doom".-Early career:...
was so impressed with the group that he immediately put them on WCW's prime program, Nitro
WCW Monday Nitro
WCW Monday Nitro was a weekly professional wrestling telecast produced by World Championship Wrestling, created by Ted Turner and Eric Bischoff. The show aired Monday nights on TNT, going head-to-head with the World Wrestling Federation's Monday Night Raw from September 4, 1995 to March 26, 2001...
.
The Jung Dragons made their pay-per-view
Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
debut at New Blood Rising
New Blood Rising
New Blood Rising was a professional wrestling pay-per-view produced by World Championship Wrestling in 2000. It took place on August 13, 2000 from the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, British Columbia.-Results:...
, losing a ladder match
Ladder match
A ladder match is a type of match in professional wrestling that is most commonly used to describe a match where an item is hung above the ring, and the winner is the contestant who climbs a ladder and retrieves the item...
against 3 Count. From there, they participated in various tag team
Tag team
Tag team professional wrestling is a variation in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. A tag team may comprise two wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of established teams who wrestle regularly as a unit and have a team name...
match types at Mayhem, Starrcade
Starrcade (2000)
Starrcade was the eighteenth annual Starrcade professional wrestling pay-per-view event. It was the thirteenth and last Starrcade event produced by World Championship Wrestling , and it took place on December 17, 2000 at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C...
, Sin
WCW Sin
Sin was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Championship Wrestling that replaced WCW's January PPV event, Souled Out. Sin was the third to last WCW PPV before the company was bought by the World Wrestling Federation...
, and SuperBrawl Revenge and added a manager in Leia Meow. While the Dragons only scored one victory throughout these major events, the stable remained relatively popular up until the closure of WCW in 2001.
Split
By late 2000, both the Jung Dragons and 3 Count had begun falling apart. Jamie-San departed from the Jung Dragons, during which he unmasked and was renamed to Jamie Knoble, and formed a tag team with ex-3 Count member Evan KaragiasEvan Karagias
Evan Karagias is an American professional wrestler and actor. he is a 3 time WSL World Heavyweight Champion-Biography:Karagias's father's family are of Greek origin...
. The two competed with the remaining members of 3 Count and the Jung Dragons. Finally, in early 2001, WCW was purchased by top competitor World Wrestling Federation, ultimately ending the Jung Dragons.
Following the closure of WCW, Jamie-San and Yang went on to work for World Wrestling Entertainment (the former World Wrestling Federation) as Jamie Noble and Akio, respectively. Noble won the Cruiserweight Championship
WWE Cruiserweight Championship
The World Wrestling Entertainment Cruiserweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment and was originally a World Championship Wrestling title. It was challenged by cruiserweights at a maximum weight of 215 lbs...
shortly after his WWE debut and Akio found partial success as an ally of Tajiri
Yoshihiro Tajiri
, is a Japanese professional wrestler, perhaps best known for his appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment. He is currently competing in SMASH as TAJIRI.-Early years :...
before both were released in 2004 and 2005, respectively. After being released, Noble competed in Ring of Honor
Ring of Honor
Ring of Honor ' is an American professional wrestling promotion, founded in 2002 by Rob Feinstein and Gabe Sapolsky. From 2004 to 2011, the promotion was under the ownership of Cary Silkin before being sold to the Sinclair Broadcast Group in May 2011...
before being rehired in 2005, while Yang and Hayashi reformed the Jung Dragons before Yang was rehired in 2006 under the ring name Jimmy Wang Yang. Hayashi returned to Japan and has since become a staple of All Japan Pro Wrestling
All Japan Pro Wrestling
is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established in 1972. All Japan Pro Wrestling still remains one of the most popular puroresu promotions still in operation.-The Giant Baba Era :...
's junior heavyweight division while Leia retired from wrestling in 2002.
In wrestling
- Double team finishing moves
- Simultaneous diving leg drop / diving splash combination
- Release powerbomb / Iconoclasm combination
- Double team signature moves
- Double dropkick
- Drop toe-hold / Senton combination
- Triple team signature moves
- Simultaneous diving splash (Yang) / diving senton (Hayashi) / diving leg drop (Jamie-San) combination
- ManagerManager (professional wrestling)In professional wrestling, a manager is a secondary character paired with a wrestler for a variety of reasons. The manager is often either a non-wrestler, an occasional wrestler, an older wrestler who has retired or is nearing retirement or, in some cases, a new wrestler who is breaking into the...
s- Leia MeowKristina LaumKristina Laum is a retired professional wrestling valet and manager in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Championship Wrestling...
- Leia Meow