| Natural Born Thrillers | |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Members | Chuck Palumbo Johnny the Bull Mark Jindrak Mike Sanders Reno Sean O'Haire Shawn Stasiak |
| Hometown | Mean Streets ofBronx, New York |
| Debut | 2000[1] |
| Disbanded | 2001 |
| Trained by | WCW Power Plant[1] |
TheNatural Born Thrillers were aprofessional wrestlingstable inWorld Championship Wrestling from 2000 to 2001.[1] The name is a play on the1994 filmNatural Born Killers.
The Natural Born Thrillers were made up of seven young wrestlers, all graduates of theWCW Power Plant. They were trained byPaul Orndorff and WCW management decided to push them immediately.
The Thrillers wereMike Sanders who was the leader of the group,Chuck Palumbo,Sean O'Haire,Shawn Stasiak,Reno,Mark Jindrak andJohnny the Bull.[1] They became the enforcer group forVince Russo andEric Bischoff, replacingThe Filthy Animals, who they quickly began feuding with.[2] Tension between the two teams quickly grew as the Thrillers attacked their former trainer, Orndorff, and the Animals saved him. AtFall Brawl, the Thrillers and the Animals had anelimination match.[3] After the Thrillers eliminated all but two members of the Animals, the match ended in a no-contest after Orndorff legitimately injured himself attempting apiledriver.[3] The next night onNitro, the Thrillers faced off against the two survivors,Rey Mysterio Jr. andTygress, and lost.[4]
The following week, Jindrak and O'Haire won abattle royal to win theWCW World Tag Team Championship.[5][6] Sanders became the new WCW commissioner by defeatingErnest Miller, and he declared theWCW Hardcore Championship vacant. He set up a tournament to crown the new champion, which was won bySgt. AWOL.[7] Sanders, however, reversed the decision and the title was awarded to Reno.[7] In October, Jindrak and O'Haire lost the tag titles toLt. Loco andCpl. Cajun, but won them back the same night, when Sanders made an immediate rematch.[6]
They were later "coached" byKevin Nash, who helped Sanders win theWCW Cruiserweight Championship in aPowerbomb match, after he powerbombedElix Skipper.[7] The Thrillers later turned on Nash, however, and ahandicap match with O'Haire, Palumbo, and Stasiak, against Nash went to a no-contest.[8] Jindrak and O'Haire lost the Tag Team Championship toBoogie Knights on the November 20 edition ofWCW Monday Nitro, but the following week, Stasiak and Palumbo, as ThePerfect Event, won the tag team titles from the Boogie Knights.[6][9][10] The Perfect Event feuded with Nash and his new partner,Diamond Dallas Page, who called themselvesThe Insiders. AtMayhem, The Insiders won the Tag team Championships, but Sanders later stripped them of the titles.
Sanders lost the Cruiserweight Championship toChavo Guerrero Jr. on the December 6 edition ofWCW Thunder.[11] The following week, Sanders set up a handicap match between Guerrero and the Perfect Event, which the Perfect Event won.[12] Sanders also set up a three-way dance between the Insiders, O'Haire and Jindrak, and the Perfect Event, which the Perfect Event won.[13] AtStarrcade, the Insiders beat the Perfect Event for the tag team Championships, despite O'Haire and Jindrak's interference.[14]
Sanders then announced a tag team Battle Royal for the number one contendership to the tag team Championships.[15][16] The final two teams in the battle royal were O'Haire and Jindrak, and the Perfect Event.[15] Sanders declared both teams the winner, and announced that one member from each team would compete for the titles.[15] Palumbo and O'Haire later won them in early January 2001, atSin.[6] Sanders permanently lost the Commissioner position back to Miller.[2]
By February 2001, the Thrillers had broken up as tensions grew between Stasiak and Jindrak, and Palumbo and O'Haire.[15] Stasiak and Jindrak demanded a tag title shot, and got it atSuperBrawl Revenge, but O'Haire and Palumbo retained.[15] AtGreed on March 18, Palumbo and O'Haire pinnedBuff Bagwell andLex Luger in a 54-second squash,[17] and on the final episode ofNitro on March 26, retained the belts overLance Storm andMike Awesome to finish as the last tag team champions in WCW history. They moved on to the WWE after it had bought out WCW,[18] while Stasiak and Jindrak moved into singles competition[2][15] and Johnny the Bull reunited withBig Vito to reformThe Mamalukes, but neither Jindrak nor Reno rose to much prominence after the Thrillers.[19][20][21]