Russ Haas
Encyclopedia
Thomas Russell "Russ" Haas (March 27, 1974 – December 15, 2001) was a professional wrestler
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...

. He is best known for his work alongside his brother Charlie
Charlie Haas
Charles "Charlie" Doyle Haas II is an American professional wrestler and former collegiate amateur wrestler. He competes on the independent circuit, and is signed to Ring of Honor , where he is one-half of the reigning ROH World Tag Team Champions with Shelton Benjamin...

 in Memphis Championship Wrestling
Memphis Championship Wrestling
Memphis Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion run by Terry Golden, based in Memphis, Tennessee. The promotion's first event was on February 20, 2000, and it remained active up until mid-2001...

 and Jersey All Pro Wrestling
Jersey All Pro Wrestling
Jersey All Pro Wrestling is an independent wrestling promotion based in New Jersey.-1997:Jersey All Pro Wrestling is an independent wrestling promotion that was founded by "Fat" Frank Iadeavia on April 19, 1997. This promotion was born out of a dream of "Fat" Frank. He wanted to take the promotion...

.

Haas was a collegiate wrestler
Collegiate wrestling
Collegiate wrestling, sometimes known in the United States as Folkstyle wrestling, is a style of amateur wrestling practised at the collegiate and university level in the United States. Collegiate wrestling emerged from the folk wrestling styles practised in the early history of the United States...

 at Seton Hall University
Seton Hall University
Seton Hall University is a private Roman Catholic university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by Archbishop James Roosevelt Bayley, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesan university in the United States. Seton Hall is also the oldest and largest Catholic university in the...

, and was then trained for a career in professional wrestling by Mike Sharpe
Mike Sharpe
Michael "Mike" Sharpe is a Canadian professional wrestler better known as Iron Mike Sharpe.-Career:Sharpe comes from a family legacy of wrestling, as his father and uncle were a successful tag team in the 1950s, recognized as champions from San Francisco to Japan. He grew up in California, but...

. He quickly began working on the independent circuit
Independent circuit
In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indy circuit refers to the many independent promotions which are much smaller than major televised promotions. They are roughly analagous to a minor league for pro wrestling, or community or regional theatre.Specific promotions on the...

 alongside his brother Charlie, with the two forming a 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...

 known as The Haas Brothers
The Haas Brothers
The Haas Brothers was a Professional wrestling Tag team consisting of real life brothers Charlie Haas and Russ Haas. The team was very successful in the independent wrestling circuit, but Russ's death on December 15, 2001 led to the end of the tag team shortly after the brothers signed a contract...

. They won the JAPW Tag Team Championship
JAPW Tag Team Championship
The JAPW Tag Team Championship is a championship in the Jersey All Pro Wrestling promotion. Being a professional wrestling championship, it is not won via direct competition; it is instead won via a predetermined ending to a match or awarded to a wrestler because of a wrestling angle...

 for the first time in mid-1998, and won it for the second time in mid-1999. They went on to win the Pennsylvania Championship Wrestling Tag Team Championship and the ECWA Tag Team Championship
ECWA Tag Team Championship
ECWA Tag Team Championship are the tag team titles contested in the independent professional wrestling promotion, East Coast Wrestling Association.- Title history :...

 in 2000, and also won the CZW World Tag Team Championship
CZW World Tag Team Championship
The CZW World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship owned and copyrighted by the Combat Zone Wrestling promotion; it is contested for in their tag team division. It was created and debuted on February 13, 1999 at CZW's Opening Night event, where Jon Dahmer...

 in early 2000. In late 2000, The Haas Brothers signed a contract with the World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...

, and were assigned to the developmental territories, the Heartland Wrestling Association
Heartland Wrestling Association
The Heartland Wrestling Association is a Midwestern independent professional wrestling promotion based in Cincinnati, Ohio. A former developmental territory for both World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation during the 1990s, it was listed as one of the top independent...

 and Memphis Championship Wrestling
Memphis Championship Wrestling
Memphis Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion run by Terry Golden, based in Memphis, Tennessee. The promotion's first event was on February 20, 2000, and it remained active up until mid-2001...

 (MCW). In MCW, they won the MCW Tag Team Championship
MCW Tag Team Championship
The MCW Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling tag team championship owned by the Maryland Championship Wrestling promotion. The title was created and debuted on August 18, 1998 at a MCW live event....

 on three occasions during early 2001.

In September 2001, Haas suffered a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...

, and three months later in December, he died in his sleep at the age of 27 of another. Following his death, several wrestling personalities paid tribute to Haas, including Low Ki and Kevin Kelly
Kevin Kelly (announcer)
Kevin Foote is an American professional wrestling manager, pundit, sportscaster and ring announcer, better known by his ring name, Kevin Kelly...

. JAPW held the Russ Haas Memorial Show in February 2002, and in August 2002 Phoenix Championship Wrestling
Phoenix Championship Wrestling
Phoenix Championship Wrestling was a short-lived American independent professional wrestling promotion based in Toms River, New Jersey. It was founded by twin brothers Don and Mike Bucci in 2001 and promoted by Don Bucci until its close two years later...

 held The Russ Haas Memorial Tag Team Tournament. In 2004, he was inducted into the ECWA Hall of Fame and in 2007 he was inducted into the JAPW Hall of Fame.

Professional wrestling career

Haas was a former collegiate wrestler
Collegiate wrestling
Collegiate wrestling, sometimes known in the United States as Folkstyle wrestling, is a style of amateur wrestling practised at the collegiate and university level in the United States. Collegiate wrestling emerged from the folk wrestling styles practised in the early history of the United States...

 at Seton Hall University
Seton Hall University
Seton Hall University is a private Roman Catholic university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by Archbishop James Roosevelt Bayley, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesan university in the United States. Seton Hall is also the oldest and largest Catholic university in the...

. On July 22, 1998, The Haas Brothers
The Haas Brothers
The Haas Brothers was a Professional wrestling Tag team consisting of real life brothers Charlie Haas and Russ Haas. The team was very successful in the independent wrestling circuit, but Russ's death on December 15, 2001 led to the end of the tag team shortly after the brothers signed a contract...

 won the Jersey All Pro Wrestling Tag Team Championship
JAPW Tag Team Championship
The JAPW Tag Team Championship is a championship in the Jersey All Pro Wrestling promotion. Being a professional wrestling championship, it is not won via direct competition; it is instead won via a predetermined ending to a match or awarded to a wrestler because of a wrestling angle...

 by defeating The Skin Head Express. They lost it to The Nation of Immigration just over a month later on August 25. They won the championship for the second time on May 21, 1999, by defeating The Big Unit (Rick Silver and Dave Desire), and held the championship until February 25, 2000 when they were defeated by Da Hit Squad
Da Hit Squad
Da Hit Squad was a professional wrestling tag team in Ring of Honor, Jersey All Pro Wrestling and many other independent promotions. The members were Monsta Mack and Mafia. They were known as the Hardest Hitting tag team in ROH. This duo of Repeat Offenders brutalized their opponents with...

. During 2000 they also held the Pennsylvania Championship Wrestling Tag Team Championship, which they won by defeating Jeff Peterson and Boogie Woogie Brown, and the ECWA Tag Team Championship
ECWA Tag Team Championship
ECWA Tag Team Championship are the tag team titles contested in the independent professional wrestling promotion, East Coast Wrestling Association.- Title history :...

 in the East Coast Wrestling Association
East Coast Wrestling Association
East Coast Wrestling Association is an American professional wrestling promotion, founded by promoter Jim Kettner in 1967. It is home to the annual Super 8 Tournament, one of the longest-running independent wrestling tournaments in the country...

 promotion, which they won by defeating The Backseat Boyz
The Backseat Boyz
The Backseat Boyz were a professional wrestling tag team that consisted of Johnny Kashmere and Trent Acid who competed in Ring of Honor, Pro Wrestling Unplugged, Combat Zone Wrestling, Assault Championship Wrestling, the Premier Wrestling Federation, Jersey All Pro Wrestling, and Japan together...

 (Trent Acid
Trent Acid
Michael Verdi was an American professional wrestler best known by his ring name Trent Acid. Verdi had worked as a tag team wrestler for most of his career, primarily as part of The Backseat Boyz with Johnny Kashmere, in several independent promotions in America, including Combat Zone Wrestling,...

 and Johnny Kashmere
Johnny Kashmere
Johnny Kashmere is an American professional wrestler, best known as one half of The Backseat Boyz, along with the late Trent Acid...

). They also competed in Maryland Championship Wrestling
Maryland Championship Wrestling
Maryland Championship Wrestling is a regional independent wrestling promotion based in Dundalk, Maryland, and has regularly run events in the Mid-Atlantic region since the late 1990s as well as participating in numerous fundraising events throughout the state.Rivaling other east coast independent...

 and the Pennsylvania-based World Xtreme Wrestling
World Xtreme Wrestling
World Xtreme Wrestling is a Northeastern-based independent professional wrestling promotion which has held events across the United States and have toured in Japan, the Middle East and South Pacific region including American Samoa and Guam....

.

The Haas brothers began competing for Combat Zone Wrestling
Combat Zone Wrestling
Combat Zone Wrestling is a independent wrestling promotion. In 1999, John Zandig and four of his students, Ric Blade, Lobo, Nick Gage and Justice Pain began to run backyard wrestling shows in New Jersey and Delaware, showcasing a brand of hardcore wrestling dubbed as "ultraviolence"...

 (CZW) in November 1999, losing to The King Pinz at The War Begins on November 20, 1999. They competed regularly for CZW throughout early 2000, and won the CZW World Tag Team Championship
CZW World Tag Team Championship
The CZW World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship owned and copyrighted by the Combat Zone Wrestling promotion; it is contested for in their tag team division. It was created and debuted on February 13, 1999 at CZW's Opening Night event, where Jon Dahmer...

 on February 12 at Climbing The Ladder by defeating The Kashmerino Brothers and The Thrill Kill Kult in a three-way match. On July 10, they lost the championship to The Backseat Boyz at Caged To The End, when Johnny Kashmere defeated Russ in a singles match and was awarded the championship.

After a World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...

 (WWF) tryout match at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...

 on August 7, 2000, they signed a developmental contract with WWF the following day. The two worked their way through the tag ranks in the WWF's developmental territories, Memphis Championship Wrestling
Memphis Championship Wrestling
Memphis Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion run by Terry Golden, based in Memphis, Tennessee. The promotion's first event was on February 20, 2000, and it remained active up until mid-2001...

 (MCW) and the Heartland Wrestling Association
Heartland Wrestling Association
The Heartland Wrestling Association is a Midwestern independent professional wrestling promotion based in Cincinnati, Ohio. A former developmental territory for both World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation during the 1990s, it was listed as one of the top independent...

 (HWA). The brothers won the MCW Southern Tag Team Championship
MCW Southern Tag Team Championship
The MCW Southern Tag Team Championship was the tag team title in Memphis Championship Wrestling from 2000 until the promotion closed in 2002.-Title history:...

 three times during early 2001, defeating The Dupps
The Dupps
The Dupps were a professional wrestling tag team in southern independents and ECW during the late 1990s composed of Bo Dupp and Jack Dupp. They feuded with Amish Roadkill & Danny Doring over who should have a shot at the ECW Tag-Team Titles...

 the first time and the The Island Boyz and Joey Matthews
Adam Birch
Adam Birch is a retired American professional wrestler, best known for his tenure with World Wrestling Entertainment , and training in WWE's developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling, as Joey Mercury...

 and Christian York
Christian York
Jason Spence is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Christian York.-York and Matthews:...

 in a three-way match on both the second and third occasions.

Personal life

Haas' grandfather, Hugh Devore
Hugh Devore
Hugh John Devore was a football player and coach whose close connection to the University of Notre Dame saw him serve in both capacities, while also seeing time as head coach at two other colleges as well as the National Football League's Philadelphia Eagles.-Early career:Devore was born and...

, was an assistant with the Houston Oilers and a former Head Coach of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Notre Dame's nickname is inherited from Irish immigrant soldiers who fought in the Civil War with the Union's Irish Brigade, , recollected among other places in the poetry of Joyce Kilmer who served with one of the Irish Brigade regiments during World War I...

. Haas was married to a woman named Deedra.

Death and tributes

On September 24, 2001, Haas suffered a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...

. On December 15, 2001, Haas died of a heart attack in his sleep at the age of 27. He was found dead by his wife, Deedra, shortly after his brother Charlie
Charlie Haas
Charles "Charlie" Doyle Haas II is an American professional wrestler and former collegiate amateur wrestler. He competes on the independent circuit, and is signed to Ring of Honor , where he is one-half of the reigning ROH World Tag Team Champions with Shelton Benjamin...

 had left for the night. Haas was buried at Memorial Oaks Cemetery, in Houston, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

.

Following Haas's death, Charlie wrestled by the ring name "R.C. Haas", adding Russ's name in front of his own and initializing both, in tribute to his brother until he was called up to the WWE main roster. Charlie also began wrestling with "RUSS" written on his wrist tape, this act of tribute lasting up to this day. On December 15, 2001, CZW's Cage of Death 3 show had a ten bell salute for Haas, with some wrestlers wearing black armbands, and others taping "RH" on their wrestling boots. On December 17, 2001, on Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...

, both Jim Ross
Jim Ross
James William "Jim" Ross is a professional wrestling commentator, former professional wrestling referee, restaurateur, occasional wrestler, and former company executive of WWE, where he currently works as a commentator on the WWE Raw brand...

 and Jerry Lawler
Jerry Lawler
Jerry O'Neil Lawler is an American professional wrestler, wrestling commentator, musician, businessman, commercial artist and film actor, known throughout the wrestling world as Jerry "The King" Lawler. He is currently signed to WWE, working on its Raw brand as the color commentator and occasional...

 paid a small tribute to Haas in the middle of the show. Both William Moody and Kevin Kelly
Kevin Kelly (announcer)
Kevin Foote is an American professional wrestling manager, pundit, sportscaster and ring announcer, better known by his ring name, Kevin Kelly...

 paid tribute to Haas on their websites. On July 17, 2002, first ever 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...

 Champion
ROH World Championship
The Ring of Honor World Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in Ring of Honor. The championship has also been through other companies in cooperation with ROH through the Global Professional Wrestling Alliance , the governing body of many independent wrestling...

 Low Ki dedicated his title win to Haas.

On February 2, 2002, JAPW held the Russ Haas Memorial Show, with the JAPW roster donating their services for the event. In his honor, Mike Bucci
Mike Bucci
Michael "Mike" Bucci is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. Bucci is probably best known for his appearances in Extreme Championship Wrestling as Nova, Super Nova, and "Hollywood" Nova and World Wrestling Entertainment as Simon Dean...

 and Charlie had the idea to have local indy talent and talent from Ohio Valley Wrestling
Ohio Valley Wrestling
Ohio Valley Wrestling is an American independent professional wrestling promotion based in Louisville, Kentucky. OVW is run by owner Danny Davis and was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance from 1997 until 2000...

 and World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...

, who were touched by Haas' death, put on a special tag-team tournament. The Russ Haas Memorial Tag-Team Tournament was held by the small New Jersey based promotion Phoenix Championship Wrestling
Phoenix Championship Wrestling
Phoenix Championship Wrestling was a short-lived American independent professional wrestling promotion based in Toms River, New Jersey. It was founded by twin brothers Don and Mike Bucci in 2001 and promoted by Don Bucci until its close two years later...

 on August 31, 2002. There were eight teams in all, but in the end the team of Bucci and Charlie won the tournament.

Haas was part of the 2004 class of inductees into the ECWA Hall of Fame, along with his brother Charlie. On October 27, 2007, Haas was posthumously inducted into the JAPW Hall of Fame.

On June 1, 2010 Charlie and Jackie Haas named their son in honor of Haas.

In wrestling

  • Finishing moves
    • Haas of Pain – innovated
    • Total Haastility (Olympic slam)

  • Signature moves
    • Exploder suplex

Championships and accomplishments

  • Combat Zone Wrestling
    Combat Zone Wrestling
    Combat Zone Wrestling is a independent wrestling promotion. In 1999, John Zandig and four of his students, Ric Blade, Lobo, Nick Gage and Justice Pain began to run backyard wrestling shows in New Jersey and Delaware, showcasing a brand of hardcore wrestling dubbed as "ultraviolence"...

    • CZW Tag Team Championship
      CZW World Tag Team Championship
      The CZW World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship owned and copyrighted by the Combat Zone Wrestling promotion; it is contested for in their tag team division. It was created and debuted on February 13, 1999 at CZW's Opening Night event, where Jon Dahmer...

       (1 time) – with Charlie Haas
      Charlie Haas
      Charles "Charlie" Doyle Haas II is an American professional wrestler and former collegiate amateur wrestler. He competes on the independent circuit, and is signed to Ring of Honor , where he is one-half of the reigning ROH World Tag Team Champions with Shelton Benjamin...


  • East Coast Wrestling Association
    East Coast Wrestling Association
    East Coast Wrestling Association is an American professional wrestling promotion, founded by promoter Jim Kettner in 1967. It is home to the annual Super 8 Tournament, one of the longest-running independent wrestling tournaments in the country...

    • ECWA Tag Team Championship
      ECWA Tag Team Championship
      ECWA Tag Team Championship are the tag team titles contested in the independent professional wrestling promotion, East Coast Wrestling Association.- Title history :...

       (1 time) – with Charlie Haas
    • ECWA Hall of Fame (Class of 2004)

  • Jersey All Pro Wrestling
    Jersey All Pro Wrestling
    Jersey All Pro Wrestling is an independent wrestling promotion based in New Jersey.-1997:Jersey All Pro Wrestling is an independent wrestling promotion that was founded by "Fat" Frank Iadeavia on April 19, 1997. This promotion was born out of a dream of "Fat" Frank. He wanted to take the promotion...

    • JAPW Tag Team Championship
      JAPW Tag Team Championship
      The JAPW Tag Team Championship is a championship in the Jersey All Pro Wrestling promotion. Being a professional wrestling championship, it is not won via direct competition; it is instead won via a predetermined ending to a match or awarded to a wrestler because of a wrestling angle...

       (2 times) – with Charlie Haas
    • JAPW Hall of Fame (Class of 2007)

  • Memphis Championship Wrestling
    Memphis Championship Wrestling
    Memphis Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion run by Terry Golden, based in Memphis, Tennessee. The promotion's first event was on February 20, 2000, and it remained active up until mid-2001...

    • MCW Southern Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Charlie Haas

  • Pennsylvania Championship Wrestling
    • PCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Charlie Haas

  • Pro Wrestling Illustrated
    Pro Wrestling Illustrated
    Pro Wrestling Illustrated is a professional wrestling magazine. PWI is currently based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania and published by Kappa Publishing Group.-History:The first issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated was released in 1979...

    • PWI ranked him # 130 of the Top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2001.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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