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Major Players

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 24.161.50.140 (talk) at 20:00, 20 May 2009 (→‎In wrestling: A couple of things wrong: 1.)No citation for name. I didn't even hear the announcers. 2.)That's not how we link/name. 3.)Corny name, though I don't doubt it is prolly right.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder
Tag team
MembersZack Ryder (formerly Brett Major)
Curt Hawkins (formerly Brian Major)
Name(s)Brian Myers and Brett Matthews[1][2]
Major Brothers[2]
Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder[2]
Billed heights6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) each[3][4]
Combined
billed weight		435 lb (197 kg)[3][4]
Billed fromLong Island, New York[3][4]
Debut2004
DisbandedApril 15, 2009
TrainerMikey Whipwreck[5]
DSW staff

Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder (formerly known as the Major Brothers) were an American professional wrestling tag team that are currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Hawkins is currently wrestling on its SmackDown brand, while Ryder is wrestling on its ECW brand.

The team consisted of Curt Hawkins (the former Brian Major), real name Brian Myers (born April 20,[6] 1985 in Glen Cove, New York),[7][8] and Zack Ryder (the former Brett Major), real name Matthew Cardona (born May 14, 1985 in Merrick, New York).[9][10] They were both trained by Mikey Whipwreck.[2][8][10]

From May 1, 2007 to December 16, 2007, the team was known as the Major Brothers, until they were repackaged and renamed to Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder as fans and associates of Edge on December 21, 2007, on an episode of Friday Night SmackDown!.[11]

Career

World Wrestling Entertainment (2006–present)

Developmental territories (2006–2007)

On February 24, 2006, Brian and Brett Majors signed developmental contracts with World Wrestling Entertainment.[12] The Majors Brothers are former two time DSW Tag Team Champions, winning the titles from The Untouchables and then winning a triple threat match involving William Regal and Dave Taylor and The Samoan Fight Club. In early 2007, the Majors Brothers started working dark matches on Raw and SmackDown!.

On June 15, 2007 at Ohio Valley Wrestling's third Super Summer Sizzler Series event of the year at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville, Kentucky, the Majors defeated Charles "The Hammer" Evans and Justin "The Ox" LaRouche (the latter who ironically later became their stablemate in La Familia as Bam Neely) to capture the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship.[13] On June 29, however, they dropped the titles to the James Boys (K.C. James and Cassidy James).

The Major Brothers (2007)

The Major Brothers (with the 's' dropped from the Majors name outside of plural reference) made their WWE television debut on the May 1, 2007 edition of ECW on Sci Fi defeating Matt Striker and Marcus Cor Von in a tag team match.[14] They were depicted as an unknown team and their initial victory was the only win the team had in ECW. Following their debut match, they lost to the team of Elijah Burke and Cor Von[15] as well as both losing singles matches to Burke and Striker.[16][17]

The Majors were drafted from ECW to SmackDown! on June 17, 2007, as the eighth pick in the 2007 Supplemental Draft.[18] Vignettes aired hyping their impending debut on the brand. On their July 6, 2007 SmackDown! debut, the Majors defeated Jeremy Young and Mike Foxx.[19] The following week, the Majors were victorious again, defeating the team of Chavo Guerrero and Jamie Noble.[20] After a loss to Deuce 'n Domino on August 17, 2007,[21] The Majors would not compete on the show again until October 12, 2007, when the debuting Drew McIntyre defeated Brett.[22] The following week, McIntyre defeated Brian.[23] On November 9, 2007, they received a tag title match after winning a number one contender's battle royal,[24] but could not defeat the champions, MVP and Matt Hardy.[24]

Hawkins and Ryder (2007–2009)

At Armageddon, the duo dressed as Edge and interfered in the World Heavyweight Championship match, taking bumps in Edge's place to help him win the title and thus turning heel for the first time in their WWE career.[25] On December 21, 2007, the Major Brothers were revealed as an acquaintance to Edge and his lover, SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero. The Major Brothers were repackaged and renamed, as Brett Major's name was changed to "Zack Ryder" and Brian Major to "Curt Hawkins".[11] Occasionally teaming with their mentor Edge and/or their "La Familia" associate Chavo Guerrero on SmackDown, they even went on to be featured in the main event on multiple occasions. With this new gimmick, they were sometimes referred as "The Rated-R Entourage" by commentators Michael Cole and John "Bradshaw" Layfield. They also dropped the short trunks the team wore as the Major Brothers and started wearing long tights identical to Edge's tights. To differentiate between the two, Hawkins wore his hair in a ponytail. Later on, the team updated their attires, with Ryder debuting tights with new designs while Hawkins switched back to short trunks with new designs, and they began wearing sunglasses and a hoodie, respectively, to the ring.

At The Great American Bash on July 20, 2008, Hawkins and Ryder won the WWE Tag Team Championship from John Morrison and The Miz in a fatal four-way match which also featured Jesse and Festus and Finlay and Hornswoggle after Hawkins pinned Jesse.[26][27] Their victory meant that they collectively became the youngest tag team champions in WWE history.[28] At SummerSlam, La Familia seemed to have ended when a returning Undertaker sent Edge to Hell and then refused to forgive Vickie - prompting all the members to abandon Vickie, who would later align with Big Show. The most Hawkins and Ryder (and Bam Neely) have since been to Vickie and Big Show's new alliance thus far was one appearance lounging in Chavo's locker room. On the September 26, 2008 airing of SmackDown, Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder lost the titles to Carlito and Primo Colón in their first televised title defense.[29] On December 5, 2008 edition of SmackDown, they returned in a tag team gauntlet match against Jeff Hardy and Triple H where they were the first and only team eliminated. They also participated in the battle royal for the last spot in the SmackDown Elimination Chamber match, but were eliminated by The Great Khali.[30]

Split (2009)

On April 15, 2009, Ryder was drafted back to the ECW brand as part of the 2009 Supplemental Draft, separating the team.[31] Ryder re-debuted on ECW on Sci Fi on May 5, 2009 with a new look, in a backstage promo with Tiffany. Ryder's first match since the draft was on WWE Superstars on May 7, 2009 in a losing effort against Finlay. On the May 19 episode of ECW on Sci Fi, Ryder picked up his first victory since rejoining the ECW roster when he defeated a local competitor.

In wrestling

Zack Ryder, Edge (center) and Curt Hawkins in 2008.

Championships and accomplishments

  • New York Wrestling Connection
    • NYWC Tag Team Championship (2 times)[1]

Notes

  1. ^ a b "New York Wrestling Connection Title Histories". Retrieved 2007-06-16.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder profile" (in German). Cagematch.de. Retrieved 2008-06-04.
  3. ^ a b c "Zack Ryder's WWE Profile". Retrieved 2009-04-15.
  4. ^ a b c "Curt Hawkins's WWE Profile". Retrieved 2008-01-05.
  5. ^ WWE Magazine Special - 25 Years of Interviews, September/October 2008, page 49, 2008
  6. ^ WWE Magazine, April 2009 ISSN 9756 - 779204 Bar Code 9 778756 779068 Issue #37
  7. ^ "Brian Major". OnlineWorldofWrestling. Retrieved 2007-12-21.
  8. ^ a b "Curt Hawkins profile" (in German). Cagematch.de. Retrieved 2008-06-04.
  9. ^ "Brett Major". OnlineWorldofWrestling. Retrieved 2007-12-21.
  10. ^ a b "Zack Ryder profile" (in German). Cagematch.de. Retrieved 2008-06-04.
  11. ^ a b Dee, Louie (2007-12-21). "Three for All". WWE. Retrieved 2007-12-21.
  12. ^ "Major Brothers at Online World of Wrestling". Retrieved 2007-06-16.
  13. ^ a b Gerweck, Steve (2007-06-15). "OVW Six Flags Super Summer Sizzler Series #3 Results". Archived from the original on 2007-06-21. Retrieved 2007-06-16.
  14. ^ Bryan Robinson (2007-05-01). "Fighting for ECW's Heart and Soul". WWE. Retrieved 2007-11-11.
  15. ^ Bryan Robinson (2007-06-05). "Chairman falling deeper and deeper into the abyss". WWE. Retrieved 2007-11-11.
  16. ^ Bryan Robinson (2007-05-08). "Spirit of ECW Splashed". WWE. Retrieved 2007-11-11.
  17. ^ Bryan Robinson (2007-05-22). "Experiencing painful revenge". WWE. Retrieved 2007-11-11.
  18. ^ "SmackDown drafts up". WWE. Retrieved 2007-11-11.
  19. ^ "A big surprise". WWE. Retrieved 2007-11-11.
  20. ^ "Officially on". WWE. Retrieved 2007-11-11.
  21. ^ "Hand-slotted reprisal". WWE. Retrieved 2007-11-11.
  22. ^ "Conflicting interests". WWE. Retrieved 2007-11-11.
  23. ^ "Interactive altercations". WWE. Retrieved 2007-11-11.
  24. ^ a b "Finding the way". WWE. Retrieved 2007-11-11.
  25. ^ Dee, Louie (2007-12-17). "A Major revelation". WWE. Retrieved 2007-12-17.
  26. ^ a b "History Of The WWE Tag Team Championship - Curt Hawkins & Zack Ryder". WWE. 2008-07-20. Retrieved 2008-07-21.
  27. ^ Passero, Mitch (2008-07-20). "Out of the shadows, into the golden light". WWE. Retrieved 2008-07-21.
  28. ^ "Hawkins and Ryder: WWE's youngest Tag Team Champions". WWE. 2008-08-07. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
  29. ^ Martin, Adam (2008-09-22). "Friday Night Smackdown Tapings - Columbus (Last show on CW)". WrestleView.com. Retrieved 2008-09-22.
  30. ^ Raquel Santos, Benedict (2008-12-05). "Undeniable altercations". WWE. Retrieved 2008-09-22.
  31. ^ "2009 WWE Supplemental Draft results". World Wrestling Entertainment. 2009-04-15. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
  32. ^ WWE Music Volume 8 CD "WWE the Music Volume 8". WWE. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  33. ^ Tanabe, Hisaharu. "Deep South Wrestling Tag Team Title". Retrieved 2007-06-16.
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