Acolytes Protection Agency

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Acolytes Protection Agency
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Tag team
Members	Faarooq Bradshaw
Name(s)	Hell's Henchmen The Acolytes Acolytes Protection Agency A.P.A. A.P.A. Protection
Heights	6 ft 2 in (188 cm) - Faarooq 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) - Bradshaw
Combined weight	565 lb (256 kg)
Debuted	1998
Disbanded	2004
Promotions	WWF

The Acolytes Protection Agency (A.P.A), also known as Hell's Henchmen and The Acolytes, were a professional wrestling tag team in the World Wrestling Federation, active between October 1998 and March 2004. The members were Ron "Faarooq" Simmons and John "Bradshaw" Layfield.

1 Acolytes
2 Acolytes Protection Agency
3 In wrestling
4 Championships and accomplishments
5 References

[edit] Acolytes

The Acolytes were originally known as Hell's Henchmen and managed by The Jackyl. Faarooq and Bradshaw were both on a losing streak before teaming together - The Rock had recently taken over leadership of the Nation of Domination from Faarooq in a coup, and Bradshaw's tag team partner Terry Funk had left the WWF. The two resurfaced as an unstoppable tag team under the management of The Jackyl, squashing other tag teams.

When The Jackyl left the WWF, the duo joined The Undertaker's new heel stable, The Ministry of Darkness. They adopted the name The Acolytes, as they acted as acolytes of the Undertaker. The Acolytes kidnapped Dennis Knight and Mabel, indoctrinating them into the Ministry, where they were renamed Mideon and Viscera respectively.

Throughout 1999, The Acolytes feuded with, won and lost tag team titles to some of the enemies of the Ministry, and then The Corporate Ministry, including X-Pac and Kane, The Brood, and The Hardy Boyz, until The Undertaker was injured in late 1999, leading to the dissolution of the Corporate Ministry.

[edit] Acolytes Protection Agency

At the beginning of 2000, Bradshaw came up with the idea of charging for protection, and the Agency was born. The A.P.A were nominally a face team, but would protect heels if the price was right. On one occasion the Dudley Boyz paid the A.P.A. to help them assault the Hardy Boyz and Edge & Christian. On one occasion, Crash Holly paid the A.P.A to protect him while he took an hour long nap so that he would not lose the Hardcore Championship, which was defended 24/7; after the hour was up, the A.P.A left their office, leaving Crash alone (asleep on their couch), and Gerald Brisco was able to pin him, winning the title.

The tag team were notable for their series of backstage vignettes, usually involving them drinking beer, smoking cigars and playing cards in their "office" (which was merely an open space behind a stand alone door; the A.P.A would insist, however, that anyone entering the area used the door). Their bar room brawls were frequently alluded to, and the A.P.A eventually did engage in a brawl with the occupant of "JB's Pub" while feuding with Edge and Christian. Their motto was "'Cause We Need Beer Money!"

The A.P.A feuded with T & A (Test and Albert) after T & A, lacking money, staked their manager Trish Stratus' clothes in a game of Poker, but attacked the A.P.A when Trish was obliged to go topless. The A.P.A were sidelined with injuries after being ambushed at No Mercy, and T & A took over their office, renaming the Agency the "T & A.P.A" until the A.P.A returned and reclaimed their property at Armageddon.

The ultra-conservative Right to Censor faction then feuded with A.P.A throughout the autumn of 2000 and the spring of 2001. The R.T.C. had taken offense to the A.P.A.'s beer drinking, poker playing, girl ogling ways, and the feud culminated in a six man tag match at WrestleMania X-Seven pitting the A.P.A and Tazz against Bull Buchanan, Val Venis and The Goodfather, where Bradshaw pinned The Goodfather. During this time, the APA were often accompanied by Jacqueline.

The A.P.A were at the vanguard of the resistance against The Invasion of World Championship Wrestling, and guarded the arenas to ensure that no WCW wrestlers could interfere in matches. When WCW wrestlers Sean O'Haire and Chuck Palumbo ran in after a Hardy Boyz vs. Dudley Boyz on June 28, 2001 the A.P.A and many other WWE wrestlers prevented them from leaving and put them both through tables. After Booker T managed to attack Vince McMahon in the ring and then escape, the A.P.A reasoned that a mole was aiding the invaders. The mole was eventually revealed as Paul Heyman, but not before the A.P.A had organized a group beating of Test, believing him to be the traitor. A reproachful Test later joined The Alliance, costing the A.P.A the World Tag Team Championships to Diamond Dallas Page and Chris Kanyon.

In 2002, the A.P.A were split up when the WWE roster was divided into RAW and SmackDown! brands. Bradshaw competed on RAW for the European and Hardcore Championships (winning it 18 times), and carried a lasso with a cowbell to ringside (a la Stan Hansen). Meanwhile, Faarooq (going by his birthname Ron Simmons) briefly teamed with Reverend D-Von on SmackDown! in an attempt to win the then newly established WWE Tag Team Championship. Following a hiatus by Simmons and Bradshaw recovering from an arm injury, they were reunited on SmackDown! in June 2003, joining The Undertaker in feuding with the F.B.I..

At Vengeance, 2003 the A.P.A hosted a Bar Room Brawl, which Bradshaw won.

On March 18, 2004, SmackDown! General Manager Paul Heyman forced the A.P.A to face Rikishi and Scotty 2 Hotty after they mocked his being Stunned by Stone Cold Steve Austin the previous week. If the A.P.A lost, they would be fired. After they were defeated, Heyman then offered Bradshaw the option of staying, claiming that as a published author and a Fox financial analyst he was a valued asset to the company. Bradshaw opted to stay, and Faarooq left in disgust. The following week Bradshaw became John "Bradshaw" Layfield and later WWE Champion.

In reality, Ron Simmons, who played Faarooq, was released from WWE immediately after his on screen firing because he wanted to quietly retire from wrestling due to back problems.^{[citation needed]}