| Jimmy Yang | |
|---|---|
 Yun in 2007 | |
| Birth name | James Carson Yun[1] |
| Born | (1981-05-13)May 13, 1981 (age 43)[2][3] Los Angeles,California, U.S.[2][4] |
| Children | 1 |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Akio[2] Akio Yang[5] Apeman[6] Jimmy Yang Jimmy Wang Yang[2] Yun Yang |
| Billed height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[2][7] |
| Billed weight | 206 lb (93 kg)[7] |
| Billed from | Austell, Georgia[7] |
| Trained by | WCW Power Plant[1] |
| Debut | June 1999[2] |
James Carson Yun (born May 13, 1981) is an Americanprofessional wrestler and actor. He is best known for his tenures inWorld Championship Wrestling andWorld Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Entertainment from 1999 to 2010, under thering namesJimmy Yang,Akio andJimmy Wang Yang.
Yun was trained in the Power Plant, theWorld Championship Wrestling farm territory. He worked in WCW until its closure in 2001. During the following years, he worked for several promotions. In the United States, he worked withNWA Total Nonstop Action (where he was part of the promotion's first match) orRing of Honor, but most notably withWorld Wrestling Entertainment, where he had three different stints from 2001 to 2002, 2003 to 2005 and 2006 to 2010. During his last stint, he wrestled as Jimmy Wang Yang, an Asian-American cowboy andredneck.
He also starred inAll Japan Pro Wrestling, where he won theWorld's Strongest Junior Tag League in2002 withKaz Hayashi and theJunior League in2010.
Yun was born inHollywood,California, to aGerman mother, and aKorean father.[4] His father was in theU.S. Army, stationed inGermany, where he met Yun's mother. He grew up inAustell, Georgia, and has three sisters and one brother.[8]
In June 1999, Yun signed withWorld Championship Wrestling, making his WCW television debut in January 2000 under the ring name "Jimmy Yang". He was originally a part of theJung Dragonsfaction along withJamie-San andKaz Hayashi. They were brought into WCW byJimmy Hart to feud with3 Count, another faction.[9] They made their pay-per-view debut atNew Blood Rising, losing a ladder match to 3 Count.[10] They added a manager,Leia Meow, and continued the feud with 3 Count, until, in late 2000, Jamie-San unmasked and left the group, becoming known as Jamie Knoble and forming a tag team with former 3 Count memberEvan Karagias.[11] The team of Hayashi and Yangfeuded with Knoble and Karagias until theWWF purchased WCW.
In March 2001, theWorld Wrestling Federation acquired Yun's contract and assigned him to the company'sHeartland Wrestling Association developmental territory, but he was released in December 2001.[12][2]
In 2002, Yun joinedAll Japan Pro Wrestling where he wrestled as both a part of itstag team division and its singles junior heavyweight division.[2] On April 13, 2002, Yun, competing as Yang, teamed up withKaz Hayashi andHi69 to defeatKazushi Miyamoto,Gran Naniwa, andRyuji Hijikata.[2] On July 17 on an AJPWpay-per-view, Yang teamed up with Hayashi andGeorge Hines to defeatRyuji Hijikata, Gran Naniwa, andJohnny Smith.[13] Over a month later, Yang returned to AJPW on August 31, teaming withMasaaki Mochizuki andDragon Kid to defeatMagnum Tokyo,Susumu Yokosuka, andDarkness Dragon.[14] Yang suffered his first loss in AJPW on September 15, when he andKazushi Miyamoto lost toKendo Kashin andRobbie Brookside, although that same month he teamed with Kaz Hayashi to win the Real World Junior Heavyweight Tag Team League.[2][15] The following month, Yang defeatedGran Hamada and Gran Naniwa in a three-way match, before he and Yoji Anjoh lost toMike Barton andJim Steele.[16][17] Throughout the end of 2002, Yang continued competing in six-man tag team matches, with mixed results.[18][19]
From May to August 2002, Yang was one third of the Flying Elvises inNWA Total Nonstop Action (NWA TNA) alongsideSonny Siaki andJorge Estrada. Yang and the other Elvises were involved in TNA's first match, defeatingA.J. Styles,Jerry Lynn, andLow Ki in a six-man tag team match. Yang continued wrestling for TNA as a singles competitor through to January 2003.[20][21]
On December 20, 2002 Yang made hisMajor League Wrestling debut atKing of Kings, where he andMike Sanders lost to"Dr. Death" Steve Williams and PJ Friedman.[2] He competed regularly in MLW throughout 2003, both in singles and tag team competition.[2] At theWar Games and J Cup USA show on September 19, 2003, Yang competed in the Super J Cup USA tournament, defeatingJuventud Guerrera in the first round, but losing toChristopher Daniels in the second.[22]
In September 2003, following a match withTommy Dreamer onSunday Night Heat,[4] Yun was signed to a three-year developmental deal with the renamedWorld Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Yun made his WWE debut on October 19, 2003 atNo Mercy, along with theJapanese AmericanRyan Sakoda. Yun was renamed Akio (a reference to Japanese wrestlerAkio Sato) and aligned himself with Sakoda, forming thevillainoustag team Kyo Dai, the henchmen of the native Japanese wrestlerTajiri. Sakoda was eventually released from WWE and Tajiri was traded toRaw.
This left Yun on his own to become a lower card wrestler andVelocity mainstay, competing primarily in thecruiserweight division until he was released on July 5, 2005.[23][24]
After being released from WWE, Yun wrestled inRing of Honor (ROH). He debuted on October 1, 2005, at the New Yorker Hotel inManhattan, losing toJames Gibson.[25] He lost once again the following night toChristopher Daniels[26] and again two weeks later toRoderick Strong, causing him tokayfabe take some time away from the company.[27]
He returned to ROH in January 2006 where he recorded his first win in ROH, teaming withMatt Sydal andJack Evans in the Trios Tournament. The team, however, was ultimately defeated byThe Embassy.[28] Yun stayed with the company for several months, wrestling as Jimmy Yang and using the same martial arts based persona he adopted in WCW. His entrance music was the theme from the filmThe Last Dragon, and he brought in the film's starTaimak (referred to in his appearances as 'Bruce Leroy', the name of his character) to help him in a feud with Embassy memberJimmy Rave.
In May 2006, Yun made a return to WWE, as Akio, on an edition ofHeat, working as anenhancement talent in a try-out match withCharlie Haas. This match impressed WWE, and they re-signed him once more. Beginning with the August 25, 2006 edition ofSmackDown!,vignettes began airing featuring Yun dressed as acowboy and calling himself Jimmy Wang Yang, in the process cutting his previously long hair short and growing aFu Manchu moustache to fit thegimmick. In the vignettes, Yang questioned why people would assumestereotypical Asian things about him while proclaiming that he was much more of aredneck, of which he was proud.[29] The vignettes played for several weeks, with Yang focusing more on his redneck leanings. On the September 29SmackDown!, he made his in-ring debut in a loss toSylvan, who illegally used the ropes for leverage to get a pin.[30] In November he was managed by Amy Zidian which lasted only a month.
In December 2006, Yang became the number one contender for theCruiserweight Championship.[31] Yang challengedGregory Helms for the Cruiserweight title, but lost to him atArmageddon.[32] Later, he participated in aCruiserweight Open atNo Way Out for the Cruiserweight Title, but was unable to win the title.[33] In mid-2007, Yang andChavo Guerrero began a feud. On the June 15 edition ofSmackDown!, Yang once again became the number one contender for the Cruiserweight Championship,[34] after feuding with Guerrero for almost two months. AtVengeance: Night of Champions, Yang lost to Guerrero after afrog splash.[35] DuringThe Great American Bash, Yang competed in another Cruiserweight Open and although he was never pinned,Hornswoggle won the title after becoming an official entrant in the match due to him hiding under the ring.[36] On the July 27 edition ofSmackDown!, Yang teamed withTorrie Wilson againstKenny Dykstra andVictoria; Yang and Wilson won the match after Yang pinned Dykstra. Following this match, Wilson began appearing as Yang's newvalet.[37]
On the October 12 episode ofSmackDown!, Jamie Noble, in order to weed out the competition for the vacant Cruiserweight Championship, toldDeuce 'n Domino that Yang had been making "lewd remarks" aboutDomino's on-screen sister and manager,Cherry.[38] Deuce demanded a match against Yang from acting General ManagerVickie Guerrero. Yang won the match with his signaturemoonsault from the top rope, but was attacked by Deuce, Domino, and Cherry after the match.[38] The next week, Yang andShannon Moore teamed up against Deuce 'n Domino in a tag team match, which Yang and Moore won. On the December 18 episode ofECW, Yang and Moore defeated theWWE Tag Team ChampionsJohn Morrison and the Miz to earn a title-shot,[39] igniting a feud between the two teams. On the January 1, 2008 episode ofECW, Yang and Moore once again beat Morrison and the Miz, this time in a six-person tag team match also involvingLayla andKelly Kelly.[40] The following week, in aFifteen Minutes of Fame Match, Moore and Yang tied the champions onpinfalls, resulting in Miz and Morrison retaining the titles.[41]
On June 9, 2008, Yun was suspended for thirty days for his first violation of the WWE Wellness Policy.[42] He made his return on the July 18 edition ofSmackDown, being defeated by the repackagedThe Brian Kendrick.[43] In September 2009, Yun sustained cuts and bruises to his back fromKane after being attacked with aSingapore cane on an episode ofWWE Superstars.[44]
In late 2009, Yang formed a tag team withSlam Master J and in their first match as a team, they lost toThe Hart Dynasty on the December 10 episode ofSuperstars.[45] On the December 18 episode ofSmackDown, Yang and J lost a rematch to the Dynasty.[46] On the January 14, 2010 episode ofSuperstars, Yang and J scored their first win as a team after they defeatedMike Knox andCharlie Haas.[47] Jimmy Wang Yang's last match in the WWE was a dark match at WrestleMania 26. Vs took part in a 26-man Battle Royal, that was won byYoshi Tatsu.[48] On April 22, 2010, Yun was released from his WWE contract.[49]
In May 2010, after being released by WWE, Yun returned to the independent circuit as Jimmy Yang and was announced to be part of the new HighSpotsPro Wrestling Superstars talent booking roster.[50]
On July 25, 2010, Yun, as Jimmy Yang, returned to All Japan Pro Wrestling to take part in the2010 Junior League.[51] Yang finished second in his block, after victories overShuji Kondo, MAZADA andTaka Michinoku, and advanced to the semifinals of the tournament.[51][52][53] On August 8 Yang first defeatedMinoru in the semifinals and thenKAI in the finals to win the 2010 Junior Heavyweight League.[54] With his victory Yang had earned a shot at theWorld Junior Heavyweight Championship, but was defeated in his title match on August 29 by the defending champion, Yang's former tag team partner, Kaz Hayashi.[55]
On June 27, 2011, Yang made a one night return to TNA at the tapings of the June 30 edition ofImpact Wrestling, working in his old Flying Elvisgimmick and losing to Low Ki in a three–way first round match of a tournament for a TNA contract, which also includedMatt Bentley.[56][57]
Yun returned to the WWE as a backstage producer on October 25, 2021 during the liveRaw broadcast.[58] On December 28, Yun announced that WWE released him from his producer role.[59]
Yun has a brother named Johnathan, who is a professional breakdancer.[60] He also has a daughter named Jazmine.[61][62] He owns aprofessional wrestling school called Pro Training, LLC. located inCincinnati,Ohio.[63] In late October 2010, Yun started a pest control business called "Jimmy's Pest Control" in the Cincinnati area.[64] He currently has 'redneck party bus' and 'princess party bus' businesses.[62]
Yun appears in the 2009 filmRoyal Kill as a police officer.[65]
Yun made his WWE video game debut inWWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009. He appears in the video game King of Colosseum Red released in 2002.
Strong beat Jimmy Yang
Shelley, Rave, & Abyss defeated Evans, Sydal, & Jimmy Yang to win Trios Tournament 2006
I don't particularly appreciate seeing this narrative saying that I quit. It takes A LOT for me to quit anything. Almost a month ago, @WWE chose not to move forward with me being a producer, and I was perfectly fine with their decision.
,Wrestlingdata.com,Internet Wrestling Database