| The Jung Dragons | |
|---|---|
| Tag team | |
| Members | Kaz Hayashi[1][2][3] Yang[1][2][3] Jamie-San[1][2] Leia Meow (valet)[1][2] |
| Billed heights | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) each |
| Debut | 2000[1][2][3] |
| Disbanded | 2005[3] |
The Jung Dragons were aprofessional wrestlingfaction andtag team. Originally formed inWorld Championship Wrestling, the Dragons consisted ofKaz Hayashi,Yang andJamie-San, and theirmanagerLeia Meow. The Jung Dragons were notable for theirhigh-flying,cruiserweight wrestling style and somewhat humorousAsian theme. However, Jamie-San, the onlyCaucasian in the group, was given theJapanese title of "San" and wore a blackmask in order to conceal the fact that he was not Asian.
The group was put together in early 2000 byJimmy Hart. He wanted to give the young talents a chance to tighten their skills in afeud with3 Count, another young group formed by Hart, on WCW's lower rate programSaturday Night. According to Hart, he also bought the Jung Dragon ring attire and worked with WCW's seamstress to give them their logo.BookerKevin Sullivan was so impressed with the group that he immediately put them on WCW's prime program,Nitro.[4]
The Jung Dragons made theirpay-per-view debut atNew Blood Rising, losing aladder match against 3 Count. From there, they participated in varioustag team match types atMayhem,Starrcade,Sin, andSuperBrawl Revenge and added a manager in Leia Meow. While the Dragons only scored one victory throughout these major events, the stable remained relatively popular up until the closure of WCW in 2001.
By late 2000, both the Jung Dragons and 3 Count had begun falling apart. Jamie-San departed from the Jung Dragons, during which he unmasked and was renamed to Jamie Knoble, and formed a tag team with ex-3 Count memberEvan Karagias.[1] The two competed with the remaining members of 3 Count and the Jung Dragons. Finally, in early 2001, WCW was purchased by top competitorWorld Wrestling Federation, ultimately ending the Jung Dragons.
Following the closure of WCW, Jamie-San and Yang went on to work for World Wrestling Entertainment (the former World Wrestling Federation) as Jamie Noble and Akio, respectively. Noble won theCruiserweight Championship shortly after his WWE debut and Akio found partial success as an ally ofTajiri before both were released in 2004 and 2005, respectively. After being released, Noble competed inRing of Honor before being rehired in 2005, while Yang and Hayashi reformed the Jung Dragons before Yang was rehired in 2006 under the ring name Jimmy Wang Yang. Hayashi returned to Japan and has since become a staple ofAll Japan Pro Wrestling's junior heavyweight division while Leia retired from wrestling in 2002.