| |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Members |
|
| Debut | July 29, 1999 |
| Disbanded | August 9, 2001 |
| Years active | 1999–2001 |
The Radicalz, also known asThe Revolution, were aprofessional wrestlingstable inWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW) (as the Revolution) and theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) (as the Radicalz) that debuted in July 1999. The group consisted primarily ofEddie Guerrero,Chris Benoit,Perry Saturn, andDean Malenko.[1]
The stable is notable for consisting of four well-known wrestlers who would jump ship during theMonday Night War. Within three months of joining the WWF, each member would hold a different championship at various points: Benoit with theWWF Intercontinental Championship, Guerrero with theWWF European Championship, Malenko with theWWF Light Heavyweight Championship, and Saturn with theWWF Hardcore Championship.
Benoit, Malenko and Guerrero toured the world before signing with WCW. Their lack of size did not translate well in the United States, but their respective styles were popular in countries like Mexico, Canada and particularly Japan.[citation needed]The trio would face off repeatedly, forcing them to spend a lot of time together.
They caught the attention of Philadelphia-based promotionExtreme Championship Wrestling's (ECW)booker andpromoterPaul Heyman. Heyman was keen to introduce the Mexicanlucha libre style to the United States professional wrestling fans, and he saw Guerrero as an ideal example of this. He also loved the technical styles of Benoit and Malenko, so Heyman booked all three men in his company. It would be here that they met Perry Saturn, a traditional power wrestler and brawler, but he did not become a member of the group until they all signed contracts with WCW.
In 1999, many WCW mid-card to upper-level stars became unhappy with the political environment of WCW.[citation needed]Management offered anyone who was unhappy a chance to be released from their contracts.Scott Levy aka Raven was singled out for his comments on WCW by WCW PresidentEric Bischoff and offered an opportunity to negotiate his release with the WCW lawyers immediately if he was so unhappy, which Levy did. The contract forbade Levy from signing with the WWF for the length of terms of his original WCW contract.[2] However, Levy did not see this as an issue and re-debuted in ECW less than a week later in August 1999. His attitude inspired other wrestlers who followed suit.
At the time of the jump, Benoit, Malenko and Saturn were members of a stable in WCW called TheRevolution, whose leader was"The Franchise" Shane Douglas, which further fueled the rumors that Douglas wanted in on the jump.
The Revolution was formed byChris Benoit andDean Malenko (leftovers from the last incarnation of theFour Horsemen),Perry Saturn and Shane Douglas on the July 29, 1999 edition ofWCW Thunder. When the group first came together asfan favorites, it was with the idea that they were a group of younger wrestlers who had felt slighted by WCW management, never giving them the chance to be stars, while always giving older, more established wrestlers the top spots.
The concept held some truth, and in reality the stable was actually made up of close friends, as Douglas, Benoit, Malenko and Saturn knew each other from their days inExtreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). Douglas, Benoit, and Malenko also were the originalTriple Threat stable in ECW, while Saturn was part ofThe Eliminators withJohn Kronus. During ahouse show on September 11 at theBaltimore Arena, three days after the death of WCWrefereeMark Curtis, Douglas, Benoit and Malenko paid tribute to their friend and dedicated the show to him.
In October of that year, afterVince Russo became head writer, thegimmick of the group changed to one that was anti-America and anti-government. This was established with Benoit taking a microphone, looking toward the entrance stage, and stating that they were "tired of the politics going on in the back". This blurred the line betweenstoryline andreal-life in regards to how WCW was being managed.
The group even went so far as to create their own flag and claim to have left theUnited States and formed their own government. Theirtheme music had a guitar and percussion sound very similar toMarilyn Manson's "The Beautiful People".
Benoit and Malenko left the group in October, but Malenkoturned on Benoit in a setup where Malenko had never really left The Revolution. The Revolution then addedAsya and feuded withThe Filthy Animals. The Revolution kidnappedTorrie Wilson and put her freedom up in a match against The Filthy Animals, which they lost.
At the time of their departure to the WWF, Benoit was recognized as theWCW World Heavyweight Champion,[1][unreliable source?]having won the vacant title by defeatingSid Vicious atSouled Out. In reality, then WCW head bookerKevin Sullivan decided to give Benoit the title as an attempt to keep him in WCW. The two never saw eye-to-eye, however, a primary reason believed to have been Benoit becoming romantically involved in real-life with Sullivan's wifeNancy (Nancy and Sullivan were separated, but not yet divorced) – Benoit and Nancy later married. WCW management later stated onNitro that Vicious' foot was under the ropes at the time Benoit forced the submission and therefore his title reign was deemed invalid. However, the WWF would recognize the title change.
In early 2000, Benoit, Guerrero, Saturn and Malenko headed to the WWF.
In January 2000, Malenko, Saturn and Benoit left WCW along withEddie Guerrero in a dispute with management and formed The Radicalz in theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE), while Douglas took a hiatus, before returning to WCW in April.
| L | Leader(s) |
|---|---|
| * | Founding member(s) |
| Members | Joined | Left |
|---|---|---|
| Shane Douglas (L) | July 29, 1999 * | January 16, 2000 |
| Chris Benoit | July 29, 1999 * | October 11, 1999 |
| Dean Malenko | July 29, 1999 * | January 16, 2000 |
| Perry Saturn | July 29, 1999 * | January 16, 2000 |
| Asya | October 24, 1999 | January 6, 2000 |
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The four first made their appearance on the January 31, 2000 episode ofRaw Is War as audience members and backstage guests ofMick Foley. Theyinterfered in a match consisting ofAl Snow andSteve Blackman andThe New Age Outlaws. While the group was sitting in the front row,Road Dogg took a cheap shot at Benoit, which prompted all four to severely beat both of The New Age Outlaws inside and out of the ring. The attack ended after Guerrero performed afrog splash onBilly Gunn and Benoit performed adiving headbutt on Dogg, withJim Ross dubbing them The Radicalz. The four were offered a chance to "win" contracts by beating the members ofD-Generation X in a series of three matches. Malenko lost toX-Pac after an illegalgroin attack, while Saturn and Guerrero ended up losing against The New Age Outlaws, since Dogg had pulled thereferee out of the ring when Guerrero was covering Gunn for thepin after a frog splash, thereby illegally breaking up the cover. Benoit then lost toTriple H, but not before making him tap out to theCrippler Crossface while the referee was unconscious. Soon afterwards, the four wrestlers were "given" contracts with the WWF by Triple H, in exchange for themturning on Mick Foley. The group became known as The Radicalz (sometimes spelled The Radicals in on-screen graphics), and they attained some measure of success. At first tightly knit, all four of the wrestlers in the group eventually drifted apart as all of them sought stardom as singles wrestlers in the WWF.
Saturn and Malenko formed atag team, with the injured Guerrero serving as amanager for the team. Benoit sought singles success and only worked with the stable when he required back up. Malenko quickly won theWWF Light Heavyweight Championship, annoying Benoit. Varying levels of success caused a rift within the group, and they quietly separated. However, Saturn turned on Guerrero, instigating afeud over theWWF European Championship.
The four drifted apart mainly in the summer of 2000 to pursue individual goals, but in November of that year the group reformed and aligned themselves with Triple H as his secondaries/hired guns during his feud withStone Cold Steve Austin. In early 2001, Benoit had turned into afan favorite during a rivalry withKurt Angle, while the other Radicalz remainedvillains and eventually forced Benoit out of the group, with Guerrero replacing him as the leader.
Guerrero eventually turned into a fan favorite as well, and had a short alliance withTeam Xtreme (The Hardy Boyz andLita), but went to rehab in June 2001 for alcohol abuse. Guerrero completed a three-month program and had started workinghouse shows to get ready for his return to television, but was released by the WWF in November 2001 after getting arrested for driving while intoxicated. Saturn, Terri and Malenko continued as The Radicalz until Malenko's retirement, making their final appearance together on the July 3, 2001 episode ofSmackDown! where a frustrated Malenko attacked Saturn after his erratic behavior disrupted a bout between Malenko andScotty 2 Hotty.[3][4]
Malenko and Saturn had one more match together defeatingJustin Credible andRaven on August 9, 2001 at theBrian Pillman Memorial Show forHeartland Wrestling Association.
Guerrero was re-signed by the WWF in March 2002, and was paired with Benoit to coincide with his return from injury (though not as The Radicalz). The duo would separate after jumping to theSmackDown!brand, but interacted on occasion, either as opponents or allies. The most notable instance occurred atWrestleMania XX, where the two celebrated together after successfully reigning asworld champions, as Guerrero retained theWWE Championship and Benoit won theWorld Heavyweight Championship. They would wrestle their final match against each other at the firstECW One Night Stand event.
Guerrero died from acuteheart failure due toarterioscleroticcardiovascular disease on November 13, 2005, while Benoit committed suicide on June 24, 2007after murdering his wife and son. Both Guerrero and Benoit were still employed by WWE at the time of their deaths. Malenko retired from in-ring competition in 2001, but remained with WWE as a road agent until departing the company in 2019 and joiningAll Elite Wrestling. Saturn was released by WWE in 2002 and, after a few years where his whereabouts were unknown due to homelessness and drug addiction, remained active on theindependent circuit until his retirement in 2013. Terri left WWE in April 2004 after eight years with the company and is no longer involved in the professional wrestling industry.
| I–II | Leader(s) |
|---|---|
| * | Founding member(s) |
| Members | Joined | Left |
|---|---|---|
| Chris Benoit (I) | January 31, 2000 * | March 5, 2001 |
| Eddie Guerrero (II) | January 31, 2000 * | May 14, 2001 |
| Dean Malenko | January 31, 2000 * | August 9, 2001 |
| Perry Saturn | January 31, 2000 * | August 9, 2001 |
| Terri | July 23, 2000 | August 9, 2001 |
