The Heavenly Bodies
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| The Heavenly Bodies | |
|---|---|
| Tag team | |
| Members | Vito DeNucci Chris Nelson |
| Former members | Tom Prichard Stan Lane Jimmy Del Ray |
| Debuted | 1992 |
| Disbanded | Prichard and Lane - 1993 Prichard and Del Ray -1996 DeNucci and Nelson - (semi-)Active |
| Promotions | ECW NWA SMW WWF USWA |
The Heavenly Bodies was a professional wrestling tag team famous for having worked in Smoky Mountain Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation, and various independent promotions. Over the years there have been different variations of the team, which has at different times consisted of Tom Prichard, "Sweet" Stan Lane, and "Gigolo" Jimmy Del Ray and was led by former Midnight Express manager Jim Cornette.
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] Prichard and Lane
In 1992, veteran wrestlers Tom Prichard and Stan Lane first formed The Heavenly Bodies in Smokey Mountain Wrestling (SMW). Managed by Jim Cornette, Prichard and Lane became the first ever SMW Tag Team Champions.
During their tenure in SMW, The Heavenly Bodies had long running feuds with the likes of the new The Fantastics (Bobby Fulton & Jackie Fulton) and The Rock 'n' Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson). Their feuds were often highlighted with hardcore matches and numerous title changes.
[edit] Prichard and Del Ray
In 1993, Lane left Smokey Mountain Wrestling and "Gigolo" Jimmy Del Ray replaced him in the team. Over the next few years the duo competed not only in SMW, but in the The World Wrestling Federation (WWF), Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), and United States Wrestling Association (USWA), continuing their feud with The Rock 'n' Roll Express as well as starting new ones with The Steiner Brothers (Rick & Scott Steiner), and The Smokin' Gunns (Bart & Billy Gunn).
In 1993, a unique cross-promotional deals between SMW and the WWF, and SMW and WCW allowed The Heavenly Bodies and The Rock 'n' Roll Express to wrestle on the pay-per-view events of the two major competitors.[1][2] First, in February 1993, the Bodies were defeated by their rivals on WCW's SuperBrawl pay-per-view. Nine months later, The Bodies defeated The Rock 'n' Roll Express for the SMW Tag Team Championship on WWF's Survivor Series show.[3]
In 1995, The Bodies defeated PG-13 (JC-Ice & Wolfie D) to capture the USWA Tag Team Championship. Later in the year, Prichard and Del Ray also competed in ECW, aligning themselves with Raven (see Raven's Nest) to face off against The Public Enemy (Rocco Rock & Johnny Grunge). Following the 1996 closure of SMW, The Heavenly Bodies disbanded, with Prichard going to the WWF, becoming Zip and joining The Bodydonnas and Del Ray mainly competing on the independent circuit.
[edit] DeNucci and Nelson
A new Heavenly Bodies team began to compete on the independent circuit around 2000. The New Heavenly Bodies, comprised of "Vivacious" Vito DeNucci and "Casanova" Chris Nelson captured the NWA World Tag Team Championship three times, and on occasion had "Gigolo" Jimmy Del Ray serve as their manager.[4] This version of the Heavenly Bodies had the 2nd Longest NWA Title Reign since 1991 the longest being America's Most Wanted the difference being around 3 Days.
DeNucci has since retired and the team has mostly disbanded. However, they occasionally appear on independent shows.
[edit] Championships and accomplishments
- Prichard and Lane
- Prichard and Del Ray
- DeNucci and Nelson
[edit] Notes
- ^ Error on call to Template:cite web: Parameters url and title must be specified. Retrieved on December 30, 2006.
- ^ Error on call to Template:cite web: Parameters url and title must be specified. Retrieved on December 30, 2006.
- ^ WWE Official Survivor Series 1993 Results. Retrieved on December 30, 2006.
- ^ RFVideo-AJ Styles Wrestling War, with Del Ray as manager. Retrieved on December 27, 2006.
[edit] External links
- The Heavenly Bodies at Obsessed with Wrestling[citation needed]
- Vito DeNucci Biography
