World Elite
Encyclopedia
World Elite was a villainous
professional wrestling
alliance in the American promotion
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
(TNA). The group consisted of multicultural wrestlers, representing various countries around the world. Created by Canadian
wrestler Eric Young
, the group had a mainly anti-American
stance.
ese wrestlers Kiyoshi
and No Limit (Naito
and Yujiro
) aligned themselves with Sheik Abdul Bashir
, forming an (unnamed) Anti-American faction. No Limit later left the company. In May, The British Invasion
attacked Team 3D
during an interview, much to the pleasure of Bashir and Kiyoshi, who were looking on.
On the July 23, 2009, edition of Impact!
, Eric Young joined the team of A.J. Styles
, Daniels
and Beer Money, Inc.
to face the British Invasion, Kiyoshi and Bashir in a ten man tag team match. However, in the conclusion of the match, Young turned on the TNA originals by hitting Styles with a spike piledriver and allowing him to be pinned. Eric Young then became leader of a new faction named World Elite, consisting of himself (representing Canada), Bashir (representing Iran
), Kiyoshi (representing Japan), and The British Invasion (representing the United Kingdom
). The following week, Young debuted a new look shaving his head and wearing new attire,defeated Daniels and helped Doug Williams and Brutus Magnus win the IWGP Tag Team Championship from Team 3D.
) into their group, turning him heel in the process. On the October 1 edition of Impact! the alliance between World Elite and Main Event Mafia came to an end in an all out brawl between the two factions. At Bound for Glory
Young pinned Kevin Nash in a three-way dance, which also included Hernandez
, to win the TNA Legends Championship
. In a four way Full Metal Mayhem Tag Team match, the British Invasion lost the IWGP tag titles but won the TNA World Tag Team Championship
.
On the October 29 edition of Impact! Young renamed the Legends Championship to the "TNA Global Championship" and claimed he wouldn't defended it on U.S. soil or against any American wrestler. On the same night, after Angle announced the death of the Main Event Mafia and turned face
, Kevin Nash
also became a face as he began feuding with Eric Young and the World Elite. However, the following month at Turning Point
Nash helped World Elite members Doug Williams
and Brutus Magnus
retain their TNA World Tag Team Championship, thus once again becoming a heel. On the following edition of Impact! Nash congratulated Young on outsmarting him at Bound for Glory and aligned himself with the World Elite. At Final Resolution
Young, Bashir, Homicide, Kiyoshi, Terry and Nash took part in the "Feast or Fired" match, with Nash, Terry and Bashir coming out of the match with briefcases. After the match it was revealed that Nash had earned himself a shot at the TNA World Tag Team Championship and Terry a shot at the X Division Championship
, while Bashir had gotten a pink slip and was as a result fired from TNA. After the event it was revealed that Bashir's release from TNA had been legitimate. On January 17, 2010, at Genesis
, Williams and Magnus lost the TNA World Tag Team Titles to Matt Morgan and Hernandez. On January 27, 2010, Eric Young lost the Global Championship to World Elite team mate Rob Terry at a house show in Cardiff, Wales. On the following day's Impact! Williams used Terry's "Feast or Fired" briefcase to get a shot at Amazing Red
's X Division Championship and quickly defeated him for the title.
, Magnus too was taken off TV, while Williams moved on to wrestling in the X Division. Eric Young and Kevin Nash went on to join Scott Hall
to re-form The Band
.
Heel (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...
professional wrestling
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...
alliance in the American promotion
Professional wrestling promotion
A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling. Promotion also describes a role which entails management, advertising and logistics of running a wrestling event...
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...
(TNA). The group consisted of multicultural wrestlers, representing various countries around the world. Created by Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
wrestler Eric Young
Eric Young (wrestler)
Jeremy Fritz is a Canadian professional wrestler, best known under his ring name Eric Young. He currently performs for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he has gained popularity using a variety of comic relief gimmicks....
, the group had a mainly anti-American
Anti-Americanism
The term Anti-Americanism, or Anti-American Sentiment, refers to broad opposition or hostility to the people, policies, culture or government of the United States...
stance.
Formation
The first seeds for World Elite were planted in March 2009, when JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese wrestlers Kiyoshi
Akira Raijin
is a Japanese professional wrestler, who formerly competed in North America for the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion under the ring name Kiyoshi and previously worked under a mask as Suicide...
and No Limit (Naito
Tetsuya Naitō
is a Japanese professional wrestler trained by and currently performing for New Japan Pro Wrestling , where he is a former IWGP Tag Team and IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion with former partner Yujiro Takahashi, with whom he teamed as No Limit....
and Yujiro
Yujiro Takahashi
, also known by his shortened ring name is a Japanese professional wrestler trained by and currently performing for New Japan Pro Wrestling , where he is a former IWGP Tag Team and IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion with former partner Tetsuya Naitō, with whom he teamed as No...
) aligned themselves with Sheik Abdul Bashir
Shawn Daivari
Dara Daivari is an Iranian American professional wrestler, currently performing on the American independent circuit as Shawn Daivari. He is best known for his work with World Wrestling Entertainment as simply Daivari and with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as Sheik Abdul Bashir.-Career:Daivari...
, forming an (unnamed) Anti-American faction. No Limit later left the company. In May, The British Invasion
The British Invasion (professional wrestling)
The British Invasion is a professional wrestling alliance in the American promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , currently consisting of English wrestlers Douglas Williams and Magnus. The group previously also included their Welsh enforcer Rob Terry...
attacked Team 3D
Dudley Boyz
Team 3D was a professional wrestling tag team, consisting of Brother Ray and Brother Devon, formerly sporadically joined into a stable by Brother Runt on several intervals...
during an interview, much to the pleasure of Bashir and Kiyoshi, who were looking on.
On the July 23, 2009, edition of 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...
, Eric Young joined the team of 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...
, Daniels
Christopher Daniels
Daniel Christopher Covell is an American professional wrestler, best known in the United States by his ring name "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels. He is also known for performing under the ring name Curry Man. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , while also...
and Beer Money, Inc.
Beer Money, Inc.
Beer Money, Inc. was a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Robert "Bobby" Roode and James Storm in the professional wrestling promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , where they are former four-time TNA World Tag Team Champions, while also holding the record for the longest reign as...
to face the British Invasion, Kiyoshi and Bashir in a ten man tag team match. However, in the conclusion of the match, Young turned on the TNA originals by hitting Styles with a spike piledriver and allowing him to be pinned. Eric Young then became leader of a new faction named World Elite, consisting of himself (representing Canada), Bashir (representing Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
), Kiyoshi (representing Japan), and The British Invasion (representing the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
). The following week, Young debuted a new look shaving his head and wearing new attire,defeated Daniels and helped Doug Williams and Brutus Magnus win the IWGP Tag Team Championship from Team 3D.
Alliance and feud with the Main Event Mafia
On the August 6 episode of Impact! it was revealed that Kurt Angle and Eric Young had made a deal to turn the Main Event Mafia and the World Elite factions into one super faction. On the September 10 edition of Impact!, World Elite recruited Homicide (representing Puerto RicoPuerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
) into their group, turning him heel in the process. On the October 1 edition of Impact! the alliance between World Elite and Main Event Mafia came to an end in an all out brawl between the two factions. At Bound for Glory
Bound for Glory (2009)
Bound for Glory was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion, which took place on October 18, 2009 at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, California. It was the fifth event under the Bound for Glory chronology. The Event was the Premiere...
Young pinned Kevin Nash in a three-way dance, which also included Hernandez
Shawn Hernandez
Shawn Hernandez is an American professional wrestler of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent, better known by his ring names, "Hotstuff Hernandez" and "Hernandez"....
, to win the TNA Legends Championship
TNA Legends Championship
The TNA Television Championship is a professional wrestling championship owned by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion. It was introduced on the October 23, 2008 episode of TNA's television program TNA Impact! as the "TNA Legends Championship"...
. In a four way Full Metal Mayhem Tag Team match, the British Invasion lost the IWGP tag titles but won the TNA World Tag Team Championship
TNA World Tag Team Championship
The TNA World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship owned by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion. It is primarily contested within TNA's tag team division. It was created and debuted on May 14, 2007 at the taping of TNA's primary television program,...
.
On the October 29 edition of Impact! Young renamed the Legends Championship to the "TNA Global Championship" and claimed he wouldn't defended it on U.S. soil or against any American wrestler. On the same night, after Angle announced the death of the Main Event Mafia and turned face
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...
, Kevin Nash
Kevin Nash
Kevin Scott Nash is an American professional wrestler and actor. As of 2011, Nash is signed to a five year contract with WWE under their WWE Legends program and appears as part of their Raw brand roster...
also became a face as he began feuding with Eric Young and the World Elite. However, the following month at Turning Point
Turning Point (2009)
Turning Point was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion, which took place on November 15, 2009 at the TNA Impact! Zone in Orlando, Florida...
Nash helped World Elite members Doug Williams
Doug Williams (wrestler)
Douglas Clayton Durdle is an English professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Doug Williams. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Douglas Williams...
and Brutus Magnus
Nick Aldis
Nicholas Harry "Nick" Aldis is an English professional wrestler and actor. He is currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Magnus, where he is a one time World Tag Team Champion with Doug Williams...
retain their TNA World Tag Team Championship, thus once again becoming a heel. On the following edition of Impact! Nash congratulated Young on outsmarting him at Bound for Glory and aligned himself with the World Elite. At Final Resolution
Final Resolution (2009)
Final Resolution was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion, which took place on December 20, 2009 at the TNA Impact! Zone in Orlando, Florida...
Young, Bashir, Homicide, Kiyoshi, Terry and Nash took part in the "Feast or Fired" match, with Nash, Terry and Bashir coming out of the match with briefcases. After the match it was revealed that Nash had earned himself a shot at the TNA World Tag Team Championship and Terry a shot at the 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...
, while Bashir had gotten a pink slip and was as a result fired from TNA. After the event it was revealed that Bashir's release from TNA had been legitimate. On January 17, 2010, at Genesis
Genesis (2010)
Genesis was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion, which took place on January 17, 2010 at the TNA Impact! Zone in Orlando, Florida. It was the fifth event under the Genesis chronology and the first event of the 2010 TNA PPV schedule...
, Williams and Magnus lost the TNA World Tag Team Titles to Matt Morgan and Hernandez. On January 27, 2010, Eric Young lost the Global Championship to World Elite team mate Rob Terry at a house show in Cardiff, Wales. On the following day's Impact! Williams used Terry's "Feast or Fired" briefcase to get a shot at Amazing Red
Amazing Red
Jonathan Figueroa is a professional wrestler better known by his ring name, Amazing Red, or simply Red for short. He is best known for working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is a former three-time X Division Champion, while also working on the American independent circuit...
's X Division Championship and quickly defeated him for the title.
Dissolution and Aftermath
Soon after, the members of The World Elite began to focus on separate goals. On the January 4, 2010, edition of Impact! Homicide turned on Kiyoshi, after which both of them were taken off TV. After months of abuse, Terry finally turned on Magnus and Williams on the February 18 edition of Impact. After being defeated by Terry at Destination XDestination X (2010)
Destination X is a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion, which took place on March 21, 2010 at the TNA Impact! Zone in Orlando, Florida. The event was originally advertised as an all X Division pay-per-view...
, Magnus too was taken off TV, while Williams moved on to wrestling in the X Division. Eric Young and Kevin Nash went on to join Scott Hall
Scott Hall
Scott Hall is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure with the World Wrestling Federation in the early and mid 1990s under the ring name Razor Ramon, as well as for his period in the mid 1990s and early 2000s with World Championship Wrestling under his real name...
to re-form The Band
New World Order (professional wrestling)
The New World Order was a professional wrestling stable that originally wrestled for World Championship Wrestling . The group later appeared in the World Wrestling Federation after the purchase of WCW by the WWF...
.
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...
- IWGP Tag Team Championship (1 time) – Magnus and Williams
- TNA Global Championship (2 times) – Young (1) and Terry (1)
- TNA World Tag Team ChampionshipTNA World Tag Team ChampionshipThe TNA World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship owned by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion. It is primarily contested within TNA's tag team division. It was created and debuted on May 14, 2007 at the taping of TNA's primary television program,...
(1 time) – Magnus and Williams - 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) – Williams