Shazarian
Encyclopedia
Michael Shane and Kazarian were a professional wrestling
tag team
in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
formed by Matt Bentley
(then known as "Michael Shane") and Frankie Kazarian
(usually known just by his last name, "Kazarian"), and managed by Traci Brooks
.
Although the two were largely a failure in the tag team circuit, they did have the distinction of becoming the first two wrestlers to achieve a tie in an Ultimate X match
, thus both holding the TNA X Division Championship
at the same time.
X Division wrestlers to kick A.J. Styles
out of the X Division after coming back from being a two-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion
. Shane and Kazarian made the claim that it was illegal under TNA rules to win the X Division Title if a wrestler had previously won the NWA World Title (if so, the rule has since been stricken because numerous wrestlers, including Styles, Ron Killings
and Sabu, have competed in X Division Championship matches after previously being an NWA World Heavyweight Champion).
Shane and Kazarian instigated an Ultimate X match
, Ultimate X4, with Styles on the July 28, 2004, weekly pay-per-view. After interference by Kid Kash and his Heavyweight enforcer Dallas
, both Shane and Kazarian took the title and fell to the mat at the same time. They were declared co-winners and co-champions, and would go on to defend the belt jointly.
Three weeks later, at the August 11 pay-per-view, the X Division Title was contested in a Gauntlet for the Gold. As per the rules, one co-champion would start the match, while the other would get the final spot in the match. Kazarian was the first entrant, but remained in until the final three. He was ultimately eliminated by The Amazing Red, who was then defeated by "The Canadian Destroyer" Petey Williams
who won the belt.
.
At Against All Odds on February 13, 2005, they faced B.G. James
and Fox Sports
NASCAR
commentator Jeff Hammond in a tag team match. In that match, Shane accidentally superkicked Kazarian, causing them to lose the match.
The duo seemed poised to earn a title shot for the NWA World Tag Team Championship
in early 2005, but their run as a team was cut short when the team disbanded. Kazarian disappeared after a match with the same result the next week on TNA Impact!
, having accepted a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment
. His TNA contract lapsed in September 2004, but he continued to appear on a per-show basis and left on good terms.
as a valet for a time. After Hard Justice on May 15, when Traci turned on new partner Chris Sabin
after he supposedly hit on Trinity, Shane and Traci reunited. That summer, due to a lawsuit, Shane began wrestling under the name Matt Bentley, his real name. Prior to the Spike TV
move, Bentley teamed frequently with Alex Shelley
, although he has focused more on singles action since the jump, and had even turned into a fan favorite
after spending most of his career to that point as a villain.
Kazarian debuted on WWE Velocity
on July 14, 2005. Despite going undefeated, however, Kazarian quit WWE on August 13.
Over the course of October and November 2006, Bentley and Kazarian began displaying new gothic looks, with Bentley appearing with bright red hair at Raven's "perch" in the Impact! Zone
, while Kazarian (with green hair and a grunge attire) appeared out of nowhere, attacking Rhino during one of his matches with Christian Cage
. It was later revealed that Bentley and Kazarian had joined Raven's new flock, called Serotonin, along with Johnny Devine
.
On August 15, 2007, Matt Bentley was released from his TNA contract. After a single appearance on WWE in 2008, Bentley left wrestling and formed a rock band that is based in Orlando. Frankie Kazarian currently wrestles on TNA as Kazarian.
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...
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...
in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling is a privately held professional wrestling promotion founded by Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Jarrett. The company broadcasts its events on television and the Internet fifty two weeks a year with over a million weekly viewers on its primary television program, Impact...
formed by Matt Bentley
Matt Bentley
Matthew James "Matt" Bentley is an American professional wrestler best known for his work in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling by the ring name Michael Shane. He was trained by his cousin, former World Wrestling Entertainment wrestler Shawn Michaels, and he took the name Michael Shane as a play on...
(then known as "Michael Shane") and Frankie Kazarian
Frankie Kazarian
Frank B. Gerdelman is an Armenian-American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Frankie Kazarian or simply Kazarian. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
(usually known just by his last name, "Kazarian"), and managed by Traci Brooks
Tracy Brookshaw
Tracy Brookshaw is a Canadian professional wrestler, professional wrestling valet and professional wrestling referee, better known by her ring name Traci Brooks. She is currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , where she has spent most of her career.-Early life:Brookshaw grew up on a...
.
Although the two were largely a failure in the tag team circuit, they did have the distinction of becoming the first two wrestlers to achieve a tie in an Ultimate X match
Ultimate X match
The Ultimate X match is a type of professional wrestling match created by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , mainly used in their X Division. It is considered the "signature match of the X Division," as stated numerous times by Mike Tenay right before an Ultimate X match begins.-Match...
, thus both holding the TNA X Division Championship
TNA X Division Championship
The TNA X Division Championship is a professional wrestling championship owned by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion. It is primarily defended in TNA's X Division—a style based on a fast-paced, daredevil type of wrestling...
at the same time.
X Division
The team formed in June 2004 as part of a plot by several villainousHeel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
X Division wrestlers to kick A.J. Styles
A.J. Styles
Allen Neal Jones , better known by his ring name A.J. Styles is an American professional wrestler currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
out of the X Division after coming back from being a two-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion
NWA World Heavyweight Championship
The National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in the National Wrestling Alliance. Its lineage has been traced from the first World Heavyweight Championship, which traces its lineage to Georg Hackenschmidt's 1905 title and...
. Shane and Kazarian made the claim that it was illegal under TNA rules to win the X Division Title if a wrestler had previously won the NWA World Title (if so, the rule has since been stricken because numerous wrestlers, including Styles, Ron Killings
Ron Killings
Ronald Aaron "Ron" Killings is an American professional wrestler and rapper. He is currently signed to WWE working on its Raw brand. Since working for the company, he has been a one time United States Champion under the ring name R-Truth and a two time Hardcore Champion under the ring name K-Kwik...
and Sabu, have competed in X Division Championship matches after previously being an NWA World Heavyweight Champion).
Shane and Kazarian instigated an Ultimate X match
Ultimate X match
The Ultimate X match is a type of professional wrestling match created by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , mainly used in their X Division. It is considered the "signature match of the X Division," as stated numerous times by Mike Tenay right before an Ultimate X match begins.-Match...
, Ultimate X4, with Styles on the July 28, 2004, weekly pay-per-view. After interference by Kid Kash and his Heavyweight enforcer Dallas
Lance Hoyt
Lance Hoyt is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to New Japan Pro Wrestling as Lance Archer. He is best known for his work in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is a two time NWA World Tag Team Champion with Kid Kash while the title was under the TNA banner...
, both Shane and Kazarian took the title and fell to the mat at the same time. They were declared co-winners and co-champions, and would go on to defend the belt jointly.
Three weeks later, at the August 11 pay-per-view, the X Division Title was contested in a Gauntlet for the Gold. As per the rules, one co-champion would start the match, while the other would get the final spot in the match. Kazarian was the first entrant, but remained in until the final three. He was ultimately eliminated by The Amazing Red, who was then defeated by "The Canadian Destroyer" Petey Williams
Petey Williams
Peter "Petey" Williams III is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is a two time X Division Champion and a former captain of Team Canada. Williams Currently Wrestles for Lucha Libre USA...
who won the belt.
Tag team
Following their loss of the X Division Title, the two remained together and focused on the tag team division, feuding most memorably with 3Live Kru3Live Kru
The 3Live Kru was a professional wrestling stable in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling . The 3Live Kru debuted in July 2003, and was initially a trio of wrestlers, consisting of Ron Killings, Konnan and B.G. James. The gimmick of the 3Live Kru was that each member of the group exemplified a racial...
.
At Against All Odds on February 13, 2005, they faced B.G. James
Brian Gerard James
Brian Gerard James is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE as an agent and producer. He is best known for his tenure with the World Wrestling Federation as "The Road Dogg" Jesse James or simply Road Dogg...
and Fox Sports
Fox Sports (USA)
Fox Sports is a division of the Fox Broadcasting Company . It was formed in 1994 with Fox's acquisition of broadcast rights to National Football League games...
NASCAR
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
commentator Jeff Hammond in a tag team match. In that match, Shane accidentally superkicked Kazarian, causing them to lose the match.
The duo seemed poised to earn a title shot for the NWA World Tag Team Championship
NWA World Tag Team Championship
The National Wrestling Alliance World Tag Team Championship is the professional wrestling world tag team championship within the NWA framework.-History:...
in early 2005, but their run as a team was cut short when the team disbanded. Kazarian disappeared after a match with the same result the next week on TNA Impact!
TNA iMPACT!
Impact Wrestling is a professional wrestling television program for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling that currently airs in the United States and Canada on Spike...
, having accepted a developmental contract with 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...
. His TNA contract lapsed in September 2004, but he continued to appear on a per-show basis and left on good terms.
Split
With the team disbanded, Shane returned to the X Division. In the Spring of 2005 he feuded with Traci, even using her archrival TrinityStephanie Finochio
Stephanie Finochio is an American stuntwoman and retired professional wrestler and valet better known by her ring name Trinity...
as a valet for a time. After Hard Justice on May 15, when Traci turned on new partner Chris Sabin
Chris Sabin
Joshua Harter is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Chris Sabin. He is currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , where he currently teams with Alex Shelley as The Motor City Machine Guns.After being trained by Scott D'Amore, Sabin debuted in 2000 for...
after he supposedly hit on Trinity, Shane and Traci reunited. That summer, due to a lawsuit, Shane began wrestling under the name Matt Bentley, his real name. Prior to the Spike TV
Spike TV
Spike is an American cable television channel. It launched on March 7, 1983 as The Nashville Network , a joint venture of WSM, Inc...
move, Bentley teamed frequently with Alex Shelley
Alex Shelley
Patrick Martin , is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Alex Shelley. He wrestles for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he currently teams with Chris Sabin as The Motor City Machine Guns. He previously gained fame on the independent circuit, working most notably for...
, although he has focused more on singles action since the jump, and had even turned into a fan favorite
Face (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a babyface or face or in simple words, a fan favorite is a character who is portrayed as a heroic relative to the heel wrestlers, who are analogous to villains...
after spending most of his career to that point as a villain.
Kazarian debuted on WWE Velocity
WWE Velocity
WWE Velocity was a professional wrestling television program produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It replaced two syndicated WWE shows, Jakked/Metal. Once a weekly Saturday night show on Spike TV and on Sky Sports 2 in the UK on Sunday mornings, Velocity became a webcast from 2005 to 2006...
on July 14, 2005. Despite going undefeated, however, Kazarian quit WWE on August 13.
Reformation and Serotonin
Kazarian returned to TNA at Victory Road on July 16, 2006. Bentley (now known as "Maverick" Matt) and Kazarian reunited as a tag team on the July 20 episode of TNA Impact!.Over the course of October and November 2006, Bentley and Kazarian began displaying new gothic looks, with Bentley appearing with bright red hair at Raven's "perch" in the Impact! Zone
TNA iMPACT! Zone
The Impact Wrestling Zone is the professional wrestling nickname for Soundstage 21, a sound stage in Universal Studios Florida in Orlando, Florida...
, while Kazarian (with green hair and a grunge attire) appeared out of nowhere, attacking Rhino during one of his matches with Christian Cage
Jason Reso
William Jason Reso is a Canadian professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring names Christian and Christian Cage...
. It was later revealed that Bentley and Kazarian had joined Raven's new flock, called Serotonin, along with Johnny Devine
Johnny Devine
John Peter "J.P." Parsonage is a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by his ring name "Hot Shot" Johnny Devine...
.
On August 15, 2007, Matt Bentley was released from his TNA contract. After a single appearance on WWE in 2008, Bentley left wrestling and formed a rock band that is based in Orlando. Frankie Kazarian currently wrestles on TNA as Kazarian.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Modern Art (German suplex by Kazarian following a superkick by Shane)
- Xtreme Elimination (Spinning leg sweep by Kazarian done in sync with a superkick by Shane)
- ManagersManager (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...
- Traci BrooksTracy BrookshawTracy Brookshaw is a Canadian professional wrestler, professional wrestling valet and professional wrestling referee, better known by her ring name Traci Brooks. She is currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , where she has spent most of her career.-Early life:Brookshaw grew up on a...
- Traci Brooks
Championships and accomplishments
- Total Nonstop Action WrestlingTotal Nonstop Action WrestlingTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling is a privately held professional wrestling promotion founded by Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Jarrett. The company broadcasts its events on television and the Internet fifty two weeks a year with over a million weekly viewers on its primary television program, Impact...
- TNA X Division ChampionshipTNA X Division ChampionshipThe TNA X Division Championship is a professional wrestling championship owned by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion. It is primarily defended in TNA's X Division—a style based on a fast-paced, daredevil type of wrestling...
(1 time, co-holders)
- TNA X Division Championship