| Gregory Helms | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Helms in 2015 | |
| Birth name | Gregory Shane Helms[1][2] |
| Born | (1974-07-12)July 12, 1974 (age 50) Smithfield, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Children | 2 |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Gregory Hanes[3] Gregory Helms[1] Gregory Shane Helms The Hurricane[4] Hurricane Helms[3] Shane Helms |
| Billed height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)[4] |
| Billed weight | 215 lb (98 kg)[4] |
| Billed from | Joco, North Carolina[5] Raleigh, North Carolina[6] Smithfield, North Carolina |
| Debut | July 6, 1990[7] |
Gregory Shane Helms (born July 12, 1974) is an Americanprofessional wrestler. He is signed toWWE under a legends contract, as a backstageproducer. In WWE, Helms has wrestled asThe Hurricane,Gregory Helms, andHurricane Helms. He is also known for his time withWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW), where he wrestled as "Sugar"Shane Helms.
Helms first began wrestling in 1991 at the age of 17, and wrestled in numerousindependentpromotions, including theOrganization of Modern Extreme Grappling Arts, winning numerouslight heavyweight andtag teamchampionships. In 1999, he signed with WCW, and gained fame as "Sugar" Shane Helms, a member of3 Count. During his time there he won both theWCW Hardcore Championship and theWCW Cruiserweight Championship. When WCW was bought by theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE), Helms' contract was kept by WWF. Helms renamed himself "The Hurricane" and won theWWE Cruiserweight Championship. He later picked up a sidekick,Rosey, and they won theWorld Tag Team Championship together.
He dropped the superherogimmick in 2005, and began wrestling under his real name. He once again won the Cruiserweight Championship in early 2006, and held it for over a year, becoming the longest reigning Cruiserweight Champion and the longest reigning champion of any kind inSmackDown history. After being out of action for over a year after neck fusion surgery Helms returned to SmackDown in September 2008, referring to himself as Hurricane Helms, before moving to theECW brand where he reverted to his Gregory Helms name, and became a backstage interviewer. In mid-2009, he brought back The Hurricane character, and appeared as both Gregory Helms and The Hurricane on the ECW brand. After the ECW brand ended, Helms was released by WWE in February 2010, however he returned as a surprise entrant in the2018 and2021 Royal Rumble matches.
Helms began wrestling at the age of 17 in 1991.[3] He won his first championship shortly afterwards, by defeating "Playboy" T.C. Cruise to become the Southern Wrestling Alliance (SWA) Light Heavyweight Champion.[3] Helms spent the majority of his early career in his home state ofNorth Carolina, winning numerouslight heavyweight championships.[3]
Helms began calling himself "The Show" Shane Helms, andteamed with"Big Daddy" Mike Maverick, initially using the team name Assault and Battery.[3] They later dubbed themselves The Serial Thrillaz, and won severalindependent tag championships.[3] The pair also began wrestling in theOrganization of Modern Extreme Grappling Arts (OMEGA), which was founded byThe Hardy Boyz (Matt andJeff).[3] The Serial Thrillaz won theOMEGA Tag Team Championship twice between 1997 and 1998, before they began competing forSouthern Championship Wrestling (SCW). They won theSCW Tag Team Championship, and Helms also won theSCW Heavyweight Championship.[3] SCW would mark the end of the Serial Thrillaz, as Helms vacated both titles before moving on to NWA Worldwide.[3] Once there, Helms joined the Bad Street Boys withShannon Moore,Christian York, andJoey Matthews.[3]
Helms and his friendShannon Moore signed withWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW) in May 1999.[3] In WCW, Helms, along with Moore andEvan Karagias, formed theheel (villainous)stable (faction)3 Count, and the trio debuted on the December 23 episode ofWCW Thunder.[8] The trio was aparody of theboy bands'N Sync and theBackstreet Boys, and theirgimmick involved makingmusic videos and performing songs before their matches.[7]
3 Count collectively won theWCW Hardcore Championship onWCW Monday Nitro in February 2000.[3] This win made 3 Count the first trio to win the Hardcore Championship.[8] AtUncensored,Brian Knobbs defeated all members of 3 Count to win the Hardcore Championship.[9] During a match, Helms suffered a broken nose, and was sidelined while he recovered.[3] Upon his return,Tank Abbott had been added to the group, as a fan, and was utilized in anenforcer role. 3 Count had a long-runningfeud (scripted rivalry) withThe Jung Dragons, with the Dragons attempting to steal 3 Count'sfictional recording contract.[3] This led to aladder match between the two teams atNew Blood Rising, which 3 Count won due to Abbott's interference.[10] 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.[11]
3 Count later disbanded as Moore and Helms kicked Karagias out of the group for attempting to steal the spotlight.[3] At the same time, the Jung Dragons turned onJamie Noble, who formed a team with Karagias.[3] The three teams met in aTriangle match atMayhem, which 3 Count won.[12] They also wrestled each other in a number one contendership ladder match atStarrcade, to earn aWCW Cruiserweight Championship match, in which both Moore and Helms grabbed the contract at the same time.[13] As a result, they later wrestled for the opportunity to wrestle for the championship, which Helms won, although he lost the subsequent championship match toChavo Guerrero Jr. at theSin pay-per-view.[3][14]
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.[3] Helms became the number one contender for the Cruiserweight Championship after winning a match atSuperBrawl Revenge, but was attacked by Karagias and Moore afterwards.[3][15] Despite the attack, Helms would go on to defeat Guerrero for the WCW Cruiserweight Championship atGreed and was the reigning Cruiserweight Champion immediately before WCW was bought out by theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF).[1][3][16] Helms' contract with WCW was one of twenty-five that were included in WWF's purchase of WCW.[17]
Helms made his WWF debut on the July 5, 2001 episode ofSmackDown!, using the name "Hollywood" Gregory Helms.[3] He was part of theInvasion storyline as a member ofThe Alliance losing his Cruiserweight Championship in a one-on-one match to another Alliance member,Billy Kidman.[18]
Helms began wrestling as "The Hurricane" on the August 27 episode ofRaw is War, and also began wearing asuperhero costume. That night, he won theWWF European Championship fromMatt Hardy with help fromIvory, but lost it toBradshaw on the October 22 episode ofRaw.[19][20] In September, The Hurricane formed a tag team withLance Storm who was now managed by Ivory and Hurricane later picked up a sidekick, inMolly Holly who began to call herself "Mighty Molly", and the two came to the arena in a custom "Hurri-Cycle" (with Molly in the sidecar).[7] The team of The Hurricane and Storm began feuds with teams like TheHardy Boyz andBig Show andSpike Dudley. The Hurricane and Storm got a shot at theWCW Tag Team Championship against The Hardy Boyz atNo Mercy on October 21 in a losing effort.[21]
The Hurricane won theWWF Hardcore Championship atWrestleMania X8 on March 17, 2002, but Mollybetrayed him, hitting him in the back of the head with a frying pan, and defeating him for the championship.[22][23] The Hurricane was laterdrafted to theSmackDown! brand following thebrand extension, and he won the WWE Cruiserweight Championship fromTajiri and Billy Kidman in atriple threat match on the May 16 episode ofSmackDown!.[24][25] He lost it to Jamie Noble atKing of the Ring on June 23. The Hurricane was traded to theRaw brand, won theWWE Tag Team Championship withKane as they defeatedThe Un-Americans (Christian and Lance Storm) on the September 23 episode ofRaw, and held them for around a month before losing the titles toChris Jericho and Christian on the October 14 episode ofRaw.[26][27]
In early 2003, The Hurricane feuded withThe Rock.[28] In backstage segments, The Rock referred to The Hurricane as "TheHamburglar" (in part because his mask was similar to the Hamburglar's) and latter retorted that anyone can beat The Rock, citing Brenden Fraser, whom The Rock worked with on the movie "The Mummy Returns".[29] The feud culminated in a match on the March 10 episode ofRaw, in which The Rock dominated.[30] The Hurricane, however, was able toroll up The Rock from behind after The Rock was distracted byStone Cold Steve Austin's appearance on the ramp.[30]
In August, The Hurricane "discovered"Rosey's potential as a superhero and christened him "Rosey, the Super Hero in Training" (the "S.H.I.T."). On May 1, 2005, atBacklash,The Hurricane and Rosey defeatedLa Résistance in the finals of aTag Team Turmoil match to win theWorld Tag Team Championship.[31][32] Not long after winning the championship,Stacy Keibler joined Rosey and The Hurricane as their sidekick, "Super Stacy".[33] In August 2005, Rosey and The Hurricane lost Keibler as their sidekick when she andChristy Hemme were traded to the SmackDown! brand.[34] On the September 5 episode ofRaw, The Hurricane and Rosey were defeated byLance Cade and Trevor Murdoch during Cade and Murdoch's debut match onRaw.[35] As a result, Cade and Murdoch earned a title match atUnforgiven on September 18. During the title match, Murdoch delivered anelevated DDT on The Hurricane to the outside. The DDT caused The Hurricane to suffer astoryline "stinger" and allowed Cade and Murdoch to beat The Hurricane and Rosey later in the match to win the World Tag Team Championship.[36]
During the next few weeks, the pair began a losing streak, mainly caused by The Hurricane's on-screen injuries.[37] During the October 17 episode ofRaw, The Hurricane was assaulted byKurt Angle at the request ofVince McMahon. After the beating, footage was shown of The Hurricane ripping off his mask and striking Rosey because he did not help him fend off Angle.[38] The next week, The Hurricaneno-showed a World Tag Team Championship match, leaving Rosey to face the champions Cade and Murdoch alone. During the match, The Hurricane (out of costume) appeared at the top of the entrance ramp, reverting to his real name, Gregory Helms, and watched as Rosey was double teamed and defeated. After the match, Helms announced that he was fed up with being funny for the crowd, and that he was sick of carrying Rosey as a tag team partner, turningheel for the first time since 2001.[39] On the November 7 episode ofRaw, Helms and Rosey faced off in a singles match, which Helms won.[40] Subsequently, Helms wrestled mostly onRaw's sister show,Heat.[41] On the January 2, 2006 episode ofRaw, Helms confrontedJerry Lawler over jokes that Lawler had been making at Helms' expense, and Lawler said that when Helms was The Hurricane, he was entertaining and called Helms a joke. Helms responded by slapping Lawler, who hit Helms back.[42] This confrontation led to Lawler defeating Helms in a match atNew Year's Revolution on January 8.[43]
At theRoyal Rumble on January 29, Helms participated in an Open Invitational match for the Cruiserweight Championship and won, even though he was aRaw superstar and the championship was defended solely onSmackDown!.[43][44] As a result, he moved to the SmackDown! brand to start a feud withNunzio,Kid Kash and the other cruiserweights. During this time, Helms defeated Nunzio in a one-on-one match.[45] The next week, he was supposed to defend against Kid Kash, but Kash was away on a family emergency, soScotty 2 Hotty took his place. Helms defeated him and declared that he was better than all the other cruiserweights. As a result, all the cruiserweights at the show invaded the ring and attacked Helms.[46] It was later announced by SmackDown!General ManagerTheodore Long that atNo Way Out on February 19, Helms would face all the cruiserweights in a match for the title. Helms was able to retain the championship.[47] Later, Long mandated that Helms had to defend his title against a cruiserweight each week onSmackDown! to prove that he truly was better than all the cruiserweights. Helms' first defense under this new rule was againstPsicosis ofThe Mexicools; Helms retained by cheating.[43]
In early March, Helms suffered a broken nose. After complaining to Long about having to wrestle on the March 10 episode ofSmackDown!, Long told Helms that he did not have to defend his title, but put Helms in a champion versus champion match against theUnited States Champion,Chris Benoit. During the match, Helms attempted to leave, but was blocked by other cruiserweights who threw Helms back into the ring, resulting in Helms losing the match.[48] Helms underwent successful surgery on his nose and was expected to miss five to six weeks. During this timeSmackDown! announcers stated that Helms had a no-compete clause in his contract allowing him to waive the thirty-day title defense rule due to any injury. Helms returned to the ring on the April 28 episode ofSmackDown!, teaming withMNM to faceSuper Crazy,London and Kendrick in a six-man tag team match.[49] Helms continued to defend his belt during pay-per-views,[50] but he made more regular appearances onSmackDown!'s sister show,Velocity.[51]
Helms continued defending his title against other cruiserweights, while on occasion facing off against SmackDown!'s other title holders in champion versus champion matches. Helms facedWorld Heavyweight ChampionRey Mysterio on June 16 and United States ChampionBobby Lashley on July 7 but lost both matches.[52][53] Eventually, Helms became the longest cruiserweight champion in WWE history, as well as the longest reigning champion of any kind inSmackDown! history.[6] For much of late 2006, he feuded with Matt Hardy, with whom Helms exchanged several victories in matches onSmackDown!.[54][55][56] In Helms' hometown ofRaleigh, North Carolina, atNo Mercy on October 8, Hardy beat Helms.[57] The two rivals also joined opposing teams atSurvivor Series on November 26, where Helms was inTeam Rated-RKO, and Hardy was a member ofTeam DX; Team Rated-RKO lost the match.[57]
Helms went on to feud withJimmy Wang Yang over the Cruiserweight Championship, after a tag team match in which Matt Hardy and Yang defeated Helms andSylvan on the November 10 episode ofSmackDown!.[58] The feud ended after Helms defeated him to retain the title atArmageddon on December 17.[57] In 2007, Helms once again feuded with the entire Cruiserweight division onSmackDown!. During this feud, Helms' reign as Cruiserweight Champion came to an end atNo Way Out on February 18, when he was unable to win a Cruiserweight open invitational, which sawChavo Guerrero win the championship.[59] Shortly after losing the championship, Helms formed a tag team with Guerrero, but they did not win any matches as a team.[60][61]
On May 18, WWE reported that Helms had broken twovertebrae in his neck, one of which was pressing on his spinal cord.[62] He underwent surgery with Dr.Lloyd Youngblood to repair them approximately a week later. Following the surgery, Helms was announced to be out for a year and a half due to the injury.[62][63]
Helms returned on the September 19, 2008, episode ofSmackDown in a non-wrestling role.[64] Throughout the show, he appeared in short video promos, called "Hurrapops", referring to himself as "Hurricane Helms", a modified version of his old ring name "The Hurricane", and mocked heel superstars includingShelton Benjamin andCurt Hawkins and Zack Ryder.[65][66] In the following weeks, he mocked several other superstars in the "Hurrapops", ending each promo with the phrase, "I'm just sayin'!". On the November 28 episode ofSmackDown, a "Hurrapop" appeared in which Helms announced that he would make his return to the ring on the next episode ofSmackDown.[67] On the December 5 episode ofSmackDown, Helms defeatedMontel Vontavious Porter (MVP) in his ring return.[68] Helms was quickly scripted into a feud with the United States ChampionShelton Benjamin, defeating him in two non-title matches onSmackDown, although he failed to win a championship match on December 26.[69][70][71]
On April 15, 2009, Helms was drafted to the ECW brand as part of the2009 Supplemental Draft.[72] Helms made his ECW debut as a backstage interviewer on April 28, 2009, reverting to his Gregory Helms ring name, interviewingEvan Bourne.[73] He started a storyline where, while he was interviewing someone, a scripted accident would occur, leading to Helms leaving the interview seconds before the person in distress was saved by The Hurricane.[74] On the August 11, 2009 episode ofECW, Helms was attacked byPaul Burchill after Helms denied being The Hurricane. The Hurricane later attacked Burchill in the ring dressed in his Hurricane attire, to saveYoshi Tatsu.[75] The next week on ECW, he made his in-ring debut for the brand as The Hurricane, and defeated Burchill.[76] He continued to feud with Burchill, who attempted to expose The Hurricane's true identity, until the November 17 episode ofECW when The Hurricane defeated Burchill in amask versus career match. He would then feud withZack Ryder.
On February 26, 2010, Helms was released from his WWE contract.[77]
Following his WWE release, Helms began wrestling on theindependent circuit, including for the Canadian Wrestling's Elite as Hurricane Helms.[78] On October 23, 2010, Helms made his debut forJersey All Pro Wrestling, where he, under his Hurricane gimmick, defeated Azrieal.[79] On January 10, 2011, Helms signed a contract withLucha Libre USA.[80] In the promotion, Helms allied himself withMarco Corleone, and in his debut for the promotion at the January 22 tapings, he defeated Corleone's rival andLucha Libre USA ChampionLizmark Jr. via disqualification.[5][81]
On January 29, 2011, Helms made his debut forPro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG), during theWrestleReunion 5 weekend, in a match, where he was defeated byJoey Ryan.[82] He also took part in 20-Man Legends Battle Royale, making his second appearance of the night. He eliminated Cruel Connection, but later was thrown out byShane Douglas andTerry Funk.[83]
In April 2011, Helms wrestled atCarolina Wrestling Federation (Mid-Atlantic) where he defeatedRic Converse and won the vacant PWI International Heavyweight Championship.[84] In 2013, Helms returned to the revived OMEGA, now called OMEGA Championship Wrestling, and on October 12, he defeatedShane Williams to advance in a tournament for the OMEGA Championship.[85] On November 16, 2013, Helms was defeated byChris Hero at a Pro Wrestling Syndicate event.[86]
In March 2015, Helms received a tryout for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA, nowImpact Wrestling) as anagent and began working for the company within that capacity that same month.[87] AtBound for Glory, Helms made his on-screen debut under his full birth name to congratulate theTNA X Division ChampionTigre Uno.
On the February 2, 2016 episode ofImpact Wrestling, Helms assistedTrevor Lee in defeating Tigre Uno for the X Division Championship, turningvillainous in the process. Helms would then soon bring inAndrew Everett to officially formThe Helms Dynasty. On the December 15 episode ofImpact Wrestling dubbed "Total Nonstop Deletion", Helms was thrown into the "Lake of Reincarnation", and emerged as his3 Count alter ego "Sugar" Shane Helms, and after insulting Lee and Everett's dance moves, was once again knocked into the lake by his teammates, Helms would later emerge from the lake as the Hurricane, where he would go on to assistMatt Hardy in defeating Lee and Everett.
On June 19, 2017 Helms announced his departure from Impact Wrestling.
In June 2018, it was announced that Helms signed withRing of Honor.[88] He worked as wrestler and producer, including a feud againstMarty Scurll.
On January 28, 2018, at theRoyal Rumble, Helms, as The Hurricane, entered thetitular match as a surprise entrant at number 21 but was quickly eliminated byJohn Cena.[89] One year later on January 28, 2019, it was announced that he would return to WWE in a backstage producer role.[90] On July 19, 2019, The Hurricane attempted to win theWWE 24/7 Championship fromR-Truth whilst he was being interviewed byIGN, though he was unable to do so.[91] On July 22, 2019, The Hurricane made an appearance for the specialRaw Reunion episode ofMonday Night Raw. On April 15, 2020, Helms was furloughed by WWE, but returned to the promotion on November 22.[92] The Hurricane once again appeared at the2021 Royal Rumble event on January 31 in the namesake match. He entered at number 23 and was quickly eliminated byBig E andBobby Lashley.
Helms announced on March 24, 2022, that he had signed a Legends deal with WWE.[93]
Helms made an appearance inAll Elite Wrestling on November 7, 2020, during the Elite Deletion match under both The Hurricane and reporter Gregory Helms personas, in a supporting effort for Matt Hardy againstSammy Guevara.
The Wrestling Figure Checklist records that Helms has had 20 different action figures released in the 2000s and 2010s.[94]
As The Hurricane, Gregory Helms has been featured in severalWWEvideo games, includingWWE SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth (2002),WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain (2003),WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006 (2005), andWWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008 (2007) for thePlayStation 2,WWE WrestleMania X8 (2002) for theNintendo GameCube, andWWF Raw (2002) andWWE Raw 2 (2003) the video game for theXbox. Additionally, he is featured inWWE 2K22 as a DLC character (Stand Back Pack) alongsideA-Kid,Wes Lee, andStacy Keibler.[95][96]
Helms was born inSmithfield, North Carolina, but he was raised inWooster, Ohio. Helms is acomic book fan, and one of his favorite characters is theGreen Lantern. He has a tattoo on his right shoulder which is the Lantern's logo and his original WWE character, The Hurricane, is inspired by the Green Lantern. It was picked and inked the same days as his cousin, fellow pro wrestling trainee, and comic book fan Mike Helm had the symbol of his favorite character, Green Lantern, tattooed on his own bicep.[97] In 2008, he got a tattoo of his last name on his upper back. Helms owns a motorcycle called "The Hurri-Cycle", which he got when he was using The Hurricane gimmick. Helms is good friends withJeff Hardy,Matt Hardy andShannon Moore.[98][99] He appears onThe Hardy Show, The Hardys' internet show. He also performed as thestunt double of actorDavid Arquette in the movieReady to Rumble.[3]
On March 19, 2007,Sports Illustrated posted on its website an article in its continuing series investigating a steroid andHGH ring used by a number of professional athletes in several sports. That article mentioned several current and former WWE wrestlers, including Helms who was alleged to have obtained HGH.[100] WWE has since made a statement on this situation, mentioning that the allegations preceded the Talent Wellness program WWE launched in April 2006.[101] On August 30, 2007, an article bySports Illustrated named Helms and nine other wrestlers to be given growth hormone not in compliance with the WWE Talent Wellness program. He was said to have receivedtestosterone, HGH andnandrolone between November 2003 and February 2007.[102][103]
In June 2012, Helms' girlfriend gave birth to his first child, a boy named Sebastian.[104][105]
Helms is a weekly guest on the podcast "Keepin it 100" on the Jericho network. In 2016 and 2017, he appeared on a weekly podcast for Fightful.com.
On May 6, 2008, Helms was assaulted in a club inJohnston County, North Carolina, by an acquaintance, Dustin Narron.[106] An argument between the two of them led to Narron hitting Helms in the face.[107] Narron was later charged with assault and battery.[107]
On January 27, 2010, Helms and fellow WWE wrestlerChris Jericho were arrested inFort Mitchell, Kentucky, after leaving a bar. A police report stated that Helms had punched Jericho and the other passengers in the cab they were sharing. Helms and Jericho were given tickets forpublic intoxication and released after each posted a $120bail bond.[108]
On March 13, 2011, Helms was cited foraffray following an altercation at a bar in Smithfield, North Carolina.[109]
On May 5, 2011, Helms and his girlfriend were involved in a motorbike accident in North Carolina, for which Helms was charged withdriving under the influence.[104][110] Helms suffered a broken leg, ankle, jaw and nose during the accident, as well as sustaining other fractures and receiving over 200 stitches, while his girlfriend sustained a broken neck.[111][112] As a result of the accident, Helms' foot had to be reconstructed with four plates and 22 screws.[104]
| Winner (wager) | Loser (wager) | Location | Event | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Hurricane (mask) | Paul Burchill (career) | Philadelphia,Pennsylvania | ECW on SyFy | November 17, 2009 | [123] |
1 Helms was part of the group called3 Count, which won the title jointly, and the WCW Hardcore Championship was defended under theFreebird Rule.[3]
,Internet Wrestling Database
