The Heavenly Bodies
| The Heavenly Bodies | |
|---|---|
| Tag team | |
| Members | Vito DeNucci Chris Nelson |
| Former member(s) |
Tom Prichard Stan Lane Jimmy Del Ray |
| Debut | 1992 |
| Disbanded | Prichard and Lane - 1993 Prichard and Del Ray -1996 DeNucci and Nelson - (semi-)Active |
| Promotions | ECW NWA SMW WWF USWA |
The Heavenly Bodies was a professional wrestling tag team famous for having worked in Smoky Mountain Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation, and various independent promotions. Over the years there have been different variations of the team, which has at different times consisted of "Doctor" Tom Prichard, "Sweet" Stan Lane, and "Gigolo" Jimmy Del Ray and was led by former Midnight Express manager Jim Cornette.
Contents |
History [edit]
Prichard and Lane [edit]
In 1992, veteran wrestlers Tom Prichard and Stan Lane first formed The Heavenly Bodies in Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW). Managed by Jim Cornette, Prichard and Lane became the first ever SMW Tag Team Champions.
During their tenure in SMW, The Heavenly Bodies had long running feuds with the likes of the new The Fantastics (Bobby Fulton & Jackie Fulton) and The Rock 'n' Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson). Their feuds were often highlighted with hardcore matches and numerous title changes. A cross-promotional deal with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) allowed The Heavenly Bodies to appear at WCW's SuperBrawl III pay-per-view event on February 21, 1993. They lost their match to The Rock 'n' Roll Express.
Prichard and Del Ray [edit]
Later that year, Lane left the team and was replaced by "Gigolo" Jimmy Del Ray. Over the next few years, the new duo competed not only in SMW but also in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), and United States Wrestling Association (USWA). They continued their feud with The Rock 'n' Roll Express in these promotions and began new rivalries with The Steiner Brothers (Rick & Scott Steiner), and The Smoking Gunns (Bart & Billy Gunn).[1]
In 1993, SMW's unique cross-promotional deal with the WWF allowed The Heavenly Bodies and The Rock 'n' Roll Express to wrestle on the two competitor's pay-per-view shows.[2][3] SMW formed a working agreement with the WWF that allowed The Heavenly Bodies to appear on WWF programming. Prichard and Del Ray unsuccessfully challenged for the WWF Tag Team Championship at SummerSlam 1993[1] but captured the SMW Tag Team Championship against The Rock 'n' Roll Express three months later at Survivor Series 1993.[4]
In 1995, The Bodies defeated PG-13 (JC-Ice & Wolfie D) to capture the USWA Tag Team Championship. Later in the year, Prichard and Del Ray also competed in ECW,[1] aligning themselves with Raven (see Raven's Nest) to face off against The Public Enemy (Rocco Rock & Johnny Grunge). Following the November 1995 closure of SMW, The Heavenly Bodies disbanded. Prichard joined the WWF as Zip of The Bodydonnas while Del Ray competed on the independent circuit.
DeNucci and Nelson [edit]
A new Heavenly Bodies team began to compete on the independent circuit around 2000. The New Heavenly Bodies, comprising "Vivacious" Vito DeNucci and "Casanova" Chris Nelson captured the NWA World Tag Team Championship three times, and on occasion, "Gigolo" Jimmy Del Ray serve as their manager.[5] DeNucci and Nelson once were the longest reigning NWA World Tag Team champions, but have since been surpassed by America's Most Wanted. The duo occasionally appear on various independent wrestling shows. The team also wrestled in IPW as Drunk and Disorderly; as well as holding the NWA World Tag Team Championships three times, they have also held the IPW Tag Team Championships among others.
On April 3, 2010 the New Heavenly Bodies defeated the Dark City Fight Club (Jon Davis and Kory Chavis) to win the NWA Florida Tag Team Championship.[6] On April 16 DeNucci and Nelson lost the titles back to the Dark City Fight Club.
In wrestling [edit]
- Double-team signature moves (Prichard and Del Ray)
- Del Ray lifts the opponent into the air into the arms of Prichard who is on the second turnbuckle, Prichard then hits a diving powerslam
- Double flapjack
- Elevated moonsault (Del Ray is lifted over Prichard's shoulder and lands on a fallen opponent with a moonsault)
- Prichard holds the opponent in place before Del Ray hits a moonsault body press
Notes [edit]
- ^ a b c Shields, Brian; Sullivan, Kevin (2009). WWE Encyclopedia. DK. p. 128. ISBN 978-0-7566-4190-0.
- ^ PWI Staff (2007). "Pro Wrestling Illustrated presents: 2007 Wrestling almanac & book of facts". "Wrestling’s historical cards" (Kappa Publishing). p. 138.
- ^ PWI Staff (2007). "Pro Wrestling Illustrated presents: 2007 Wrestling almanac & book of facts". "Wrestling’s historical cards" (Kappa Publishing). pp. 91–92.
- ^ "WWE Official Survivor Series 1993 Results". Retrieved 2006-12-30.
- ^ "RFVideo-AJ Styles Wrestling War, with Del Ray as manager". Archived from the original on 2007-01-31. Retrieved 2006-12-27.
- ^ http://www.prowrestlingfusion.com/2010/04/06/040310-call-to-arms/
- ^ "Jim Cornette profile". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2009-11-20.
