Gregory Shane Helms (born July 12, 1974) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on their Raw brand under the ring name Shane Helms.
Helms first began wrestling in 1991 at the age of 16, and wrestled in numerous independent promotions, including the Organization of Modern Extreme Grappling Arts, winning numerous light heavyweight and tag team championships. In 1999, he signed with WCW, and gained fame as "Sugar" Shane Helms, a member of 3 Count. During his time there he won both the WCW Hardcore Championship and the WCW Cruiserweight Championship. When WCW was bought by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) (now WWE), Helms' contract was kept by WWF. Helms renamed himself "The Hurricane" and won the WWE Cruiserweight Championship. He later picked up a sidekick, Rosey, and they won the WWE Tag Team Championship together.
After returning to WWE after a hiatus, Helms dropped the superhero gimmick and began wrestling under his real name. After returning from a serious neck injury, Helms won the WWE United States Championship on two separate occasions and was involved in a feud with The Rock. A year later Helms would win the World Heavyweight Championship for the first time; his first World Championship in the WWE. He would later go on to win the title two more times.
After being a mainstay on Smackdown, Helms moved to RAW in 2012 and would later go on to win the WWE Championship in July 2012 defeating his best friend Matt Hardy. Helms would hold the title for three months before losing it to Ciaran O'Donnell at Halloween Havoc
Professional wrestling career[]
Early career (1991–1999)[]
Helms began wrestling at the age of 16 in 1991. He won his first championship shortly afterwards, by defeating "Playboy" T.C. Cruise to become the Southern Wrestling Alliance (SWA) Light Heavyweight Champion. Helms spent the majority of his early career in his home state of North Carolina, winning numerous light heavyweight championships.
Helms began calling himself "The Show" Shane Helms, and teamed with "Big Daddy" Mike Maverick, initially using the team name Assault and Battery. They later dubbed themselves The Serial Thrillaz, and won several independent tag championships. The pair also began wrestling in the Organization of Modern Extreme Grappling Arts (OMEGA), which was founded by the Hardy Boyz (Matt and Jeff). The Serial Thrillaz won the OMEGA Tag Team Championship twice between 1997 and 1998, before they began competing for Southern Championship Wrestling (SCW). They won the SCW Tag Team Championship, and Helms also won the SCW Heavyweight Championship. SCW would mark the end of the Serial Thrillaz, as Helms vacated both titles before moving on to NWA Worldwide. Once there, Helms joined the Bad Street Boys with Shannon Moore, Christian York, and Joey Matthews.
World Championship Wrestling / WCW (1999–2001)[]
Helms and his friend Shannon Moore signed with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in May 1999. In WCW, Helms, along with Moore and Evan Karagias, formed the heel (villainous) stable (faction) 3 Count, and the trio debuted on the December 23 episode of WCW Thunder. The trio was a parody of the boy bands 'N Sync and the Backstreet Boys, and their gimmick involved making music videos and performing songs before their matches.
3 Count collectively won the WCW Hardcore Championship on WCW Monday Nitro in February 2000. This win made 3 Count the first trio to win the Hardcore Championship. At Uncensored, Brian Knobbs defeated all members of 3 Count to win the Hardcore Championship. During a match, Helms suffered a broken nose, and was sidelined while he recovered. Upon his return, Tank Abbott had been added to the group, as a fan, and was utilized in an enforcer role. 3 Count had a long-running feud (scripted rivalry) with the Jung Dragons, with the Dragons attempting to steal 3 Count's fictional recording contract. This led to a ladder match between the two teams at New Blood Rising, which 3 Count won due to Abbott's interference. As a result, Abbott claimed that he should be the lead singer of 3 Count, and was kicked out by the other three members, leading to a feud.
3 Count later disbanded as Moore and Helms kicked Karagias out of the group for attempting to steal the spotlight. At the same time, the Jung Dragons turned on Jamie Noble, who formed a team with Karagias. The three teams met in a Triangle match at Mayhem, which 3 Count won. They also wrestled each other in a number one contendership ladder match at Starrcade, to earn a WCW Cruiserweight Championship match, in which both Moore and Helms grabbed the contract at the same time. As a result, they later wrestled for the opportunity to wrestle for the championship, which Helms won, although he lost the subsequent championship match to Chavo Guerrero at the Sin pay-per-view.
Moore and Helms would leave WCW briefly in 2001 to wrestle in NWA Wildside, where they held the Wildside Tag Team Championship for one day. Helms became the number one contender for the Cruiserweight Championship after winning a match at SuperBrawl Revenge, but was attacked by Karagias and Moore afterwards. Despite the attack, Helms would go on to defeat Guerrero for the WCW Cruiserweight Championship at Greed and was the reigning Cruiserweight Champion immediately before WCW was bought out by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). Helms' contract with WCW was one of twenty-five that were included in WWF's purchase of WCW.
World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE (2005–present)[]
Info here
Personal life[]
Helms is married to retired WWE Diva Christy Hemme and they have a son together. Helms also has a daughter with ex-wife, Claire Helms. Helms is close friends with Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy and Shannon Moore.
In wrestling[]
- Finishing moves
- Nightmare on Helms Street (Spinning headlock elbow drop)
- Single knee facebreaker
- Vertebreaker
- Signature moves
- Frog splash into a diving crossbody
- Overcast (Diving neckbreaker)
- Somersault plancha
- Straight jacket sitout sleeper slam[2]
- Sugarsmack (Superkick)
- TopSpin Facebuster (Fireman's carry spun out into a facebreaker knee smash)
- X-Plex
- Nicknames
- "Sugar"
- "Supernatural"
- Entrance themes
- "It's Time" by Jim Johnston (February 2007–August 2008)
- "Had Enough" by Breaking Benjamin (August 2008–January 2009)
- "Can't be Touched" by Roy Jones Jr. (January 2009–November 2009)
- "Out of My Way" by Seether (November 2009–November 2011)
- "Turn the Page" by Metallica (January 2012–present)