The Prime Time Players

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The Prime Time Players
Statistics
Members Titus O'Neil
Darren Young
Name(s) The Prime Time Players[1]
Titus O'Neil and Darren Young
Heights O'Neil: 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Young: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Combined
weight		 509 lb (231 kg)
Former
member(s)		 A. W. (agent)
Debut February 1, 2012
Promotions WWE

The Prime Time Players[2] are a professional wrestling tag team, consisting of Titus O'Neil and Darren Young, who wrestle in WWE. The duo, who initially opposed each other in several matches, managed to become the number one contenders for the WWE Tag Team Championship. As the team name suggests, their gimmick portrays them as young, brash, and cocky, dubbing themselves as "The Real Deal"[3] and "Mr. No Days Off",[4] respectively. Former WWE wrestler Shad Gaspard has accused the team of basing their gimmick off his former team Cryme Tyme, albeit without the "gangster style" and bling-bling fashion.[5][6]

Contents

History [edit]

World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE [edit]

NXT Redemption (2011–2012) [edit]

Initially, O'Neil (who was then a face) and Young were rivals on WWE NXT during its fifth season, named NXT Redemption. Early on, O'Neil was paired with then-friend Percy Watson against Young and his NXT pro, Chavo Guerrero. The feud was put on hold when Guerrero was released and Young was suspended. On the November 16, 2011 episode of NXT, O'Neil was assaulted by a returning Young.[7] Young was then able to get the better of O'Neil twice in tag team matches.[8][9] The conclusion to O'Neil's feud with Young came when O'Neil defeated Young in a no disqualification match on the January 18 episode of NXT. O'Neil then turned heel after the match, verbally ripping on the audience, his former pro Hornswoggle, and NXT itself.[10]

O'Neil urged Watson to also turn his back on the fans on the January 25, 2012 episode of NXT Redemption. When Watson refused, O'Neil shoved him and a match between the two was booked, leading to O'Neil defeating Watson. O'Neil continued to attack Watson after the match, leading to Alex Riley saving Watson.[11] O'Neil then formed an alliance with former enemy Young, and the duo teamed up to defeat Watson and Riley on the February 1 and February 29 episodes of NXT Redemption.[12][13] O'Neil also faced and defeated Riley on the February 22 episode. [14] On the March 7 episode, Watson received his rematch against O'Neil and defeated O'Neil.[15] O'Neil and Young then moved on to feud with The Usos.[16]

WWE Tag Team Championship pursuits (2012–present) [edit]

On the April 18 episode of NXT Redemption, it was announced that O'Neil and Young had been moved to the main roster. The team made their debut for the brand on the April 20 episode of SmackDown with a victory over The Usos.[17] They started on a winning streak defeating the likes Ezekiel Jackson and Yoshi Tatsu and Santino Marella and Zack Ryder.[18][19] However, on the May 18 edition of SmackDown, their winning streak ended when they were defeated by the WWE Tag Team Champions Kofi Kingston and R-Truth.[20] On the June 1 edition of SmackDown, O'Neil and Young named themselves the Prime Time Players. At No Way Out, they won a Fatal-4-Way tag team match to become the number one contenders for the WWE Tag Team Championship following assistance from A. W. who had turned on his clients, Primo and Epico in favor of the Prime Time Players, prompting a feud between the two tag teams.[21] On the July 16 episode of Raw, the Prime Time Players unsuccessfully challenged Kofi Kingston and R-Truth for the WWE Tag Team Championship.[22]

O'Neil and Young bounced back with two singles victories over Kingston and R-Truth.[23][24] On the August 10 episode of SmackDown, they defeated Primo and Epico in a number one contenders match via disqualification when A. W. provoked Kofi and R-Truth (who were doing guest commentary) into interfering in the match.[25] That same day, A. W. was released from his contract.[26] On the August 13 edition of Raw, it was announced that the Prime Time Players would receive their championship match at SummerSlam. That same night, after R-Truth defeated Heath Slater, O'Neil and Young ambushed R-Truth and left him laying in the ring (Kingston was away on an international tour).[27] At SummerSlam, O'Neil & Young were defeated by Kingston and R-Truth.[28] On the September 7 edition of SmackDown, O'Neil and Young defeated Primo and Epico and The Usos in a triple threat tag match to once again become the number one contenders to the WWE Tag Team Championship, but, on the following week of Raw, they were defeated by Daniel Bryan and Kane, who became the new number one contenders.

They were then taken out by Kane and Bryan on September 21 edition of Smackdown along with the Usos, International Airstrike (Tyson Kidd & Justin Gabriel), and Primo and Epico. On the 24 September episode of Raw, the Prime Time Players defeated the team of Zack Ryder and Santino Marella. At the Survivor Series pay-per-view, the Prime Time Players took part in a losing effort in a 10 man elimination tag team match.[29] On the February 25th 2013 edition of RAW, they would lose to Team Hell No in which Kane has one hand tied behind his back and Daniel Bryan would be blindfolded, but they would defeat Team Hell No (with Kane blindfolded and Bryan having one hand tied behind his back) four days later on Smackdown, earning contention for the WWE Tag Team Championship.

In wrestling [edit]

  • Nicknames
    • "The Real Deal"- O'Neil
    • "Mr. No Days Off"[34] - Young

References [edit]

  1. ^ a b Parks, Greg. "PARKS' WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT 6/1". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2 June 2012. 
  2. ^ http://www.wwe.com/shows/nowayout/2012/no-way-out-2012-results
  3. ^ www.wwe.com/superstars/titusoneil
  4. ^ www.wwe.com/superstars/darrenyoung
  5. ^ http://allwrestling.com/newswireitem/8140/wwe-news-shad-gaspard-accuses/
  6. ^ http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1211213-wwe-news-shad-gaspard-accuses-oneil-and-young-of-ripping-off-cryme-tyme
  7. ^ Bishop, Matt (November 17, 2011). "WWE NXT: Curtis creating a rift between BetaMax". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved December 28, 2011. 
  8. ^ James, Justin. "JAMES'S WWE NXT REPORT 11/23: Percy & Titus vs. Reks & D-Young main event, BetaMaxCurtis love triangle continues, Usos reference heritage". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 9 April 2012. 
  9. ^ Walek, Gregory. "NXT Results - 12/7/11". Wrestleview. Retrieved 9 April 2012. 
  10. ^ James, Justin. "JAMES'S WWE NXT REPORT 1/18 - Week 46: Wedding interrupted, Titus turns heel, Elvis, out-of-control, destructive, and unproductive Cole commentary". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 9 April 2012. 
  11. ^ James, Justin. "JAMES'S WWE NXT REPORT 1/25 - Week 47: Titus vs. Showtime, Slater ends The Streak, overall show Reax". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 26 January 2012. 
  12. ^ Walek, Gregory. "Wrestleview.com - NXT Results - 2/1/12". Wrestleview. Retrieved 22 March 2012. 
  13. ^ Walek, Gregory. "Wrestleview.com - NXT Results - 2/29/12". Wrestleview. Retrieved 22 March 2012. 
  14. ^ James, Justin. "JAMES'S WWE NXT RESULTS 2/22 - Week 51: Two matches, big announcement teased for next week". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 9 April 2012. 
  15. ^ Walek, Gregory. "Wrestleview.com - NXT Results - 3/7/12". Wrestleview. Retrieved 22 March 2012. 
  16. ^ Walek, Gregory. "NXT Results - 3/14/12". Wrestleview. Retrieved 27 March 2012. 
  17. ^ Michael Burdick (2012-04-20). "Smackdown Results". WWE. Retrieved 21 April 2012. 
  18. ^ Michael Burdick (2012-04-27). "Smackdown Results". WWE. Retrieved 22 June 2012. 
  19. ^ Michael Burdick (2012-05-11). "Smackdown Results". WWE. Retrieved 22 June 2012. 
  20. ^ Alex Giannini (2012-05-18). "Smackdown Results". WWE. Retrieved 22 June 2012. 
  21. ^ Kara A. Medalis (2012-06-17). "No Way Out - Fatal-4-Way tag team match results". WWE. Retrieved 22 June 2012. 
  22. ^ "CALDWELL'S WWE RAW RESULTS 7/16: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live Raw #998 - MITB PPV fall-out, Cena's announcement". 
  23. ^ Herrera, Tom (2012-07-30). "Raw results: Raw General Manager AJ Lee gets the last laugh on WWE Champion CM Punk". WWE. Retrieved 2012-08-14. 
  24. ^ Burdick, Michael (2012-08-03). "SmackDown results: With Sheamus’ help, Del Rio felt the sting of Orton’s RKO – Can you dig it, sucka!". WWE. Retrieved 2012-08-14. 
  25. ^ Burdick, Michael (2012-08-10). "SmackDown Results: Del Rio ambushed Sheamus, taking the law into his own hands". WWE. Retrieved 2012-08-14. 
  26. ^ "A. W. released from WWE". WWE. 2012-08-10. Retrieved 2012-08-14. 
  27. ^ Herrera, Tom (2012-08-13). "Raw results: Brock Lesnar unleashes a world of pain on Shawn Michaels". WWE. Retrieved 2012-08-14. 
  28. ^ "WWE Tag Team Champions Kofi Kingston & R-Truth def. The Prime Time Players". WWE. 2012-08-19. Retrieved 2012-08-21. 
  29. ^ Caldwell, James. "CALDWELL'S WWE SURVIVOR SERIES PPV REPORT 11/18: Complete "virtual time" coverage of live PPV - Punk-Cena-Ryback". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 19 November 2012. 
  30. ^ Parks, Greg. "Parks WWE SmackDown Report 5/11". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 1 June 2012. 
  31. ^ Tedesco, Mike. "Smackdown Results - 5/25/12". Wrestleview. Retrieved 1 June 2012. 
  32. ^ Trionfo, Richard. "WWE RAW 1007 REPORT: BRET HART RETURNS TO MONTREAL; ANGER MANAGEMENT CREATES A NEW NUMBER ONE CONTENDER; IS THE IC TITLE COMING HOME?; CENA AND PUNK HAVE VERBAL CONFRONTATION; JERRY LAWLER SUFFERS MEDICAL EMERGENCY DURING SHOW". PWInsider. Retrieved September 12. 
  33. ^ Trionfo, Richard. "WWE SUPERSTARS REPORT: TAG TEAMS IN THE MAIN EVENT; MAHAL/MCINTYRE; KIDD/OTUNGA; AND TED DIBIASE RETURNS AGAINST JTG". PWInsider. Retrieved September 24. 
  34. ^ "Cagematch profile". Cagematch. Retrieved March 4, 2010. 
  35. ^ Clapp, John (2012-07-20). "Meet the hit maker in The Prime Time Players’ corner". WWE. Retrieved 2012-08-14. 
  36. ^ "Making Moves". iTunes. Retrieved 2012-12-03. 

External links [edit]

Portal icon Professional wrestling portal
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