The Radicalz
Encyclopedia
The Radicalz were a professional wrestling
stable in the World Wrestling Federation
(WWF). Their members were former World Championship Wrestling
(WCW) performers Chris Benoit
, Eddie Guerrero
, Perry Saturn and Dean Malenko
. Terri Runnels
later joined the group by proxy after becoming Saturn's onscreen
girlfriend. Benoit, Malenko, and Saturn all had previously been a part of a similar small stable of younger talent while in WCW, The Revolution
, which was dismantled by their defection.
They caught the attention of Extreme Championship Wrestling Booker Paul Heyman. Heyman was keen to introduce the Mexican lucha libre style to U.S. professional wrestling fans, and he saw Guerrero as an ideal example of this. He also loved the purist, technical styles of Benoit and Malenko. So Heyman booked all three men in his company. It would be here that they met Perry Saturn, a traditional power wrestler and brawler, but he did not become a member of the group until they all signed contracts with WCW.
mid-card to upper-level stars became unhappy with the political environment of WCW. Management offered anyone who was unhappy a chance to be released from their contracts. In an act of public humiliation, Scott Levy
aka Raven was singled out for his comments on WCW by WCW President Eric Bischoff and offered an opportunity to negotiate his release with the WCW lawyers immediately if he was so unhappy. Rather than fall in line at being called out publicly, Levy jumped at the chance. The contract forbid Levy from signing with WWE for the length of terms of his original WCW contract. However, Levy didn't see this as an issue and re-debuted in Philadelphia-based promotion Extreme Championship Wrestling less than a week later in August 1999. His attitude inspired other wrestlers who followed suit.
In early 2000, Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Perry Saturn and Dean Malenko headed to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), in a move seen by some as the death knell for WCW, which ceased to exist in a year. At the time of the jump, Benoit, Malenko and Saturn were members of a stable in WCW called The Revolution, whose leader was "The Franchise" Shane Douglas
, which further fueled the rumors that Douglas wanted in on the jump.
At the time of their departure to the WWF, Benoit was recognized as the WCW World Heavyweight Champion
, the title given to him by then-booker Kevin Sullivan
as a way to keep Benoit in WCW. The two never saw eye to eye, however, a primary reason believed to have been Benoit becoming romantically involved in real life with Sullivan's (at the time) wife, Nancy (Nancy and Sullivan were separated, but not yet divorced - Benoit & Nancy later married). WCW management later stated on WCW Monday Nitro
that current champion at the time Sid Vicious'
foot was under the ropes at the time Benoit forced the submission and therefore his title reign was deemed invalid. However, only WCW does not recognise the title change.
, as audience members and backstage guests of Mick Foley
. They interfered in a match consisting of Al Snow
and Steve Blackman
and The New Age Outlaws. While the group was sitting in the front row, Road Dogg
took a cheap shot at Benoit, which prompted all four to severely beat both of the Outlaws inside and out of the ring. The attack ended after Guerrero performed a frog splash on Billy Gunn
and Benoit performed a diving headbutt on Road Dogg. Jim Ross
dubbed them the Radicalz during their 1st appearance. The four were offered a chance to "win" contracts by beating the members of D-Generation X in a series of 3 matches. Dean Malenko lost convincingly to X-Pac, while Perry Saturn and Eddie Guerrero were scheduled to defeat the New Age Outlaws, but instead ended up losing when Eddie Guerrero legitimately injured his elbow during the match. Chris Benoit then lost to Triple H, but not before making him tap out to the Crippler Crossface while the Referee was unconscious. Soon afterwards, the four wrestlers were "given" contracts with the WWF by Triple H, in exchange for them turning on Mick Foley. The group became known as The Radicalz, and they attained some measure of success. At first tightly knit, all four of the wrestlers in the group eventually drifted apart as all of them sought stardom as singles wrestlers in the WWF. Guerrero injured his elbow upon first entering, and injuries kept him from staying a part of the group.
The four drifted apart mainly in the summer of 2000 to pursue individual goals, but in November of that year, the group reformed and aligned themselves with Triple H
as his secondaries/hired guns during his feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin
. In early 2001, Benoit had turned into a fan favorite
during a rivalry with Kurt Angle
, while the other Radicalz remained villains
and eventually forced Benoit out of the group, with Guerrero replacing him as the leader.
Guerrero turned face, and had a short alliance with Team Xtreme (the Hardy Boyz and Lita
), but went to rehab in June 2001 for alcohol abuse. Guerrero completed a three month program and had started working house shows to get ready for his return to television, but was released by the WWF in November 2001 after getting arrested for driving while intoxicated. Saturn, Terri and Malenko continued as the Radicalz until Malenko's retirement shortly before the Invasion storyline.
Guerrero was re-signed by the newly-renamed World Wrestling Entertainment in March 2002, and was paired with Benoit to coincide with his return from injury (though not as The Radicalz). The duo would separate after jumping to SmackDown!, but interacted on occasion, either as opponents or allies. The most notable instance occurred at WrestleMania XX
, where the two celebrated together after successfully reigning as world champions, as Guerrero retained the WWE Championship
and Benoit won the World Heavyweight Championship
. They would celebrate together for the final time at the first ECW One Night Stand
event, after wrestling their final match against each other.
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
stable in the World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
(WWF). Their members were former World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
(WCW) performers Chris Benoit
Chris Benoit
Christopher Michael "Chris" Benoit was a Canadian professional wrestler whose career and life ended in a murder–suicide...
, Eddie Guerrero
Eddie Guerrero
Eduardo Gory "Eddie" Guerrero was a Mexican-American professional wrestler born into the Guerrero wrestling family. He wrestled in Mexico and Japan for several major professional wrestling promotions...
, Perry Saturn and Dean Malenko
Dean Malenko
Dean Simon is a retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Dean Malenko. He is currently signed to WWE working as a road agent. He is best known for his time with Extreme Championship Wrestling , New Japan Pro Wrestling and World Championship Wrestling...
. Terri Runnels
Terri Runnels
Terri Lynne Boatright Runnels is a former World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Federation professional wrestling manager, television host and occasional wrestler....
later joined the group by proxy after becoming Saturn's onscreen
Kayfabe
In professional wrestling, kayfabe is the portrayal of events within the industry as "real" or "true". Specifically, the portrayal of professional wrestling, in particular the competition and rivalries between participants, as being genuine or not of a worked nature...
girlfriend. Benoit, Malenko, and Saturn all had previously been a part of a similar small stable of younger talent while in WCW, The Revolution
Revolution (professional wrestling)
The Revolution was a professional wrestling heel stable in World Championship Wrestling led by Shane Douglas.-History:The Revolution was formed by Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, Shane Douglas, and Perry Saturn on July 29, 1999...
, which was dismantled by their defection.
Pre-WCW
Benoit, Malenko and Guerrero toured the world before signing with WCW. Their lack of size didn't translate well in the United States, but their respective styles were popular in countries like Mexico, Canada and particularly Japan. The trio would face off repeatedly, forcing them to spend a lot of time together. Their matches were usually considered to be so good that they were frequently booked in the same matches again and again.They caught the attention of Extreme Championship Wrestling Booker Paul Heyman. Heyman was keen to introduce the Mexican lucha libre style to U.S. professional wrestling fans, and he saw Guerrero as an ideal example of this. He also loved the purist, technical styles of Benoit and Malenko. So Heyman booked all three men in his company. It would be here that they met Perry Saturn, a traditional power wrestler and brawler, but he did not become a member of the group until they all signed contracts with WCW.
World Championship Wrestling
In 1999, many World Championship WrestlingWorld Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
mid-card to upper-level stars became unhappy with the political environment of WCW. Management offered anyone who was unhappy a chance to be released from their contracts. In an act of public humiliation, Scott Levy
Scott Levy
Scott Anthony Levy , better known by his ring name Raven, is an American professional wrestler, wrestling producer, wrestling writer, and occasional author and actor currently working for Juggalo Championship Wrestling , where he is co-holder of the JCW Tag Team Championship, as well as other...
aka Raven was singled out for his comments on WCW by WCW President Eric Bischoff and offered an opportunity to negotiate his release with the WCW lawyers immediately if he was so unhappy. Rather than fall in line at being called out publicly, Levy jumped at the chance. The contract forbid Levy from signing with WWE for the length of terms of his original WCW contract. However, Levy didn't see this as an issue and re-debuted in Philadelphia-based promotion Extreme Championship Wrestling less than a week later in August 1999. His attitude inspired other wrestlers who followed suit.
In early 2000, Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Perry Saturn and Dean Malenko headed to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), in a move seen by some as the death knell for WCW, which ceased to exist in a year. At the time of the jump, Benoit, Malenko and Saturn were members of a stable in WCW called The Revolution, whose leader was "The Franchise" Shane Douglas
Shane Douglas
Troy Alan Martin is an American professional wrestler and promoter, better known by his ring name "The Franchise" Shane Douglas. In the course of his career, which has spanned nearly three decades, Douglas has wrestled in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Championship Wrestling and briefly...
, which further fueled the rumors that Douglas wanted in on the jump.
At the time of their departure to the WWF, Benoit was recognized as the WCW World Heavyweight Champion
WCW World Heavyweight Championship
The World Championship Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation . It existed within WCW between 1991 and 2001. Following the acquisition of WCW by World Wrestling...
, the title given to him by then-booker Kevin Sullivan
Kevin Sullivan (wrestler)
Kevin Francis Sullivan is an American professional wrestler and booker, perhaps best known for his role in WCW as "The Taskmaster" and his leading of the "Dungeon of Doom".-Early career:...
as a way to keep Benoit in WCW. The two never saw eye to eye, however, a primary reason believed to have been Benoit becoming romantically involved in real life with Sullivan's (at the time) wife, Nancy (Nancy and Sullivan were separated, but not yet divorced - Benoit & Nancy later married). WCW management later stated on WCW Monday Nitro
WCW Monday Nitro
WCW Monday Nitro was a weekly professional wrestling telecast produced by World Championship Wrestling, created by Ted Turner and Eric Bischoff. The show aired Monday nights on TNT, going head-to-head with the World Wrestling Federation's Monday Night Raw from September 4, 1995 to March 26, 2001...
that current champion at the time Sid Vicious'
Sid Eudy
Sidney Raymond "Sid" Eudy is an American professional wrestler, best known as Sid Vicious in World Championship Wrestling, and as Sid Justice and Sycho Sid in the World Wrestling Federation...
foot was under the ropes at the time Benoit forced the submission and therefore his title reign was deemed invalid. However, only WCW does not recognise the title change.
World Wrestling Federation
The four first made their appearance on the January 31, 2000 episode of Raw is WarWWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
, as audience members and backstage guests of Mick Foley
Mick Foley
Michael Francis "Mick" Foley, Sr. is an American semi-retired professional wrestler, author, comedian, actor, voice actor and former color commentator. He has worked for many wrestling promotions, including WWE, WCW, ECW and TNA. He is often referred to as "The Hardcore Legend", a nickname he...
. They interfered in a match consisting of Al Snow
Al Snow
Allen Ray Sarven is an American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name of Al Snow. He is best known for his work in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment and currently works for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as a road agent.-Early career:Sarven...
and Steve Blackman
Steve Blackman
Steve Blackman is a American professional wrestler who is best known for his career in the World Wrestling Federation under his own name.-Stampede Wrestling and South Africa :...
and The New Age Outlaws. While the group was sitting in the front row, Road Dogg
Brian Gerard James
Brian Gerard James is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE as an agent and producer. He is best known for his tenure with the World Wrestling Federation as "The Road Dogg" Jesse James or simply Road Dogg...
took a cheap shot at Benoit, which prompted all four to severely beat both of the Outlaws inside and out of the ring. The attack ended after Guerrero performed a frog splash on Billy Gunn
Monty Sopp
Monty Kip Sopp is an American professional wrestler, best known as Billy Gunn during his tenure for World Wrestling Entertainment. He is probably best known as one of the members of the New Age Outlaws. He also worked for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Kip James...
and Benoit performed a diving headbutt on Road Dogg. Jim Ross
Jim Ross
James William "Jim" Ross is a professional wrestling commentator, former professional wrestling referee, restaurateur, occasional wrestler, and former company executive of WWE, where he currently works as a commentator on the WWE Raw brand...
dubbed them the Radicalz during their 1st appearance. The four were offered a chance to "win" contracts by beating the members of D-Generation X in a series of 3 matches. Dean Malenko lost convincingly to X-Pac, while Perry Saturn and Eddie Guerrero were scheduled to defeat the New Age Outlaws, but instead ended up losing when Eddie Guerrero legitimately injured his elbow during the match. Chris Benoit then lost to Triple H, but not before making him tap out to the Crippler Crossface while the Referee was unconscious. Soon afterwards, the four wrestlers were "given" contracts with the WWF by Triple H, in exchange for them turning on Mick Foley. The group became known as The Radicalz, and they attained some measure of success. At first tightly knit, all four of the wrestlers in the group eventually drifted apart as all of them sought stardom as singles wrestlers in the WWF. Guerrero injured his elbow upon first entering, and injuries kept him from staying a part of the group.
Split
Saturn and Malenko formed a tag team, with the injured Guerrero serving as a manager for the team. Benoit sought singles success and only worked with the stable when he required back up. Malenko quickly won the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship, annoying Benoit. Varying levels of success caused a rift within the group, and they quietly separated. However, Saturn turned on Guerrero, instigating a feud over the WWF European Championship.The four drifted apart mainly in the summer of 2000 to pursue individual goals, but in November of that year, the group reformed and aligned themselves with Triple H
Triple H
Paul Michael Levesque is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling authority figure, WWE Executive Vice President of Talent and actor, better known by his ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of the ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley...
as his secondaries/hired guns during his feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Steve Austin , better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American film and television actor and retired professional wrestler...
. In early 2001, Benoit had turned into a fan favorite
Face (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a babyface or face or in simple words, a fan favorite is a character who is portrayed as a heroic relative to the heel wrestlers, who are analogous to villains...
during a rivalry with Kurt Angle
Kurt Angle
Kurt Steven Angle is an American professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and 1996 Olympic gold medalist. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is recognized as a 15-time World Heavyweight Champion...
, while the other Radicalz remained villains
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
and eventually forced Benoit out of the group, with Guerrero replacing him as the leader.
Guerrero turned face, and had a short alliance with Team Xtreme (the Hardy Boyz and Lita
Amy Dumas
Amy Christine Dumas , known by her primary stage name Lita, is the lead singer for the band The Luchagors as well as a retired professional wrestler and WWE Diva active from 1999 to 2006....
), but went to rehab in June 2001 for alcohol abuse. Guerrero completed a three month program and had started working house shows to get ready for his return to television, but was released by the WWF in November 2001 after getting arrested for driving while intoxicated. Saturn, Terri and Malenko continued as the Radicalz until Malenko's retirement shortly before the Invasion storyline.
Guerrero was re-signed by the newly-renamed World Wrestling Entertainment in March 2002, and was paired with Benoit to coincide with his return from injury (though not as The Radicalz). The duo would separate after jumping to SmackDown!, but interacted on occasion, either as opponents or allies. The most notable instance occurred at WrestleMania XX
WrestleMania XX
WrestleMania XX was the twentieth WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on March 14, 2004 at Madison Square Garden in New York....
, where the two celebrated together after successfully reigning as world champions, as Guerrero retained the WWE Championship
WWE Championship
The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...
and Benoit won the World Heavyweight Championship
World Heavyweight Championship (WWE)
The World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the SmackDown brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the WWE Championship of the Raw brand...
. They would celebrate together for the final time at the first ECW One Night Stand
ECW One Night Stand (2005)
ECW One Night Stand was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It was held on June 12, 2005 at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York, New York. The main event was a tag team match between The Dudley Boyz and the team of Tommy Dreamer and The Sandman...
event, after wrestling their final match against each other.
Championships and accomplishments
- World Wrestling Federation
- WWF European ChampionshipWWE European ChampionshipThe WWE European Championship was a professional wrestling championship competed for in World Wrestling Entertainment. A coveted singles title of the late 1990s and early 2000s, it was held by superstars such as Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, Owen Hart, Eddie Guerrero, and was...
(3 times) – Guerrero (2) and Saturn (1) - WWF Hardcore ChampionshipWWE Hardcore ChampionshipThe World Wrestling Entertainment Hardcore Championship is a hardcore wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment and is contested under "hardcore" rules, meaning there is no disqualifications, no countouts, and pin falls could be counted anywhere...
(2 times) – Saturn - WWF Intercontinental ChampionshipWWE Intercontinental ChampionshipThe WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand...
(3 times) – Benoit (2) and Guerrero (1) - WWF Light Heavyweight ChampionshipWWF Light Heavyweight ChampionshipThe World Wrestling Federation Light Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship. The title was challenged by light heavyweights at a maximum weight of 220 lbs.- History :...
(2 times) – Malenko
- WWF European Championship