Gregory Helms

Gregory Shane Helms (born July 12, 1974) is an American professional wrestler.

He is currently signed to WWE under a legends contract, as a wrestler and as a backstage producer.

In WWE, Helms has wrestled as The Hurricane, Gregory Helms, and Hurricane Helms.

He is also known for his time with World Championship Wrestling (WCW), where he wrestled as "Sugar" Shane Helms.

Helms first began wrestling in 1991 at the age of 17, and wrestled in numerous independent promotions, including the Organization of Modern Extreme Grappling Arts, winning numerous light heavyweight and tag team championships.

Helms began wrestling at the age of 17 in 1991.

He won his first championship shortly afterwards, by defeating "Playboy" T.C. Cruise to become the Southern Wrestling Alliance (SWA) Light Heavyweight Champion.

Helms spent the majority of his early career in his home state of North Carolina, winning numerous light heavyweight championships.

Helms began calling himself "The Show" Shane Helms, and teamed with "Big Daddy" Mike Maverick, initially using the team name Assault and Battery.

They later dubbed themselves The Serial Thrillaz, and won several independent tag championships.

The pair also began wrestling in the Organization of Modern Extreme Grappling Arts (OMEGA), which was founded by The Hardy Boyz (Matt and Jeff).

The Serial Thrillaz won the OMEGA Tag Team Championship twice between 1997 and 1998, before they began competing for Southern Championship Wrestling (SCW).

They won the SCW Tag Team Championship, and Helms also won the SCW Heavyweight Championship.

SCW would mark the end of the Serial Thrillaz, as Helms vacated both titles before moving on to NWA Worldwide.

Once there, Helms joined the Bad Street Boys with Shannon Moore, Christian York, and Joey Matthews.

In 1999, he signed with WCW, and gained fame as "Sugar" Shane Helms, a member of 3 Count.

During his time there he won both the WCW Hardcore Championship and the WCW Cruiserweight Championship.

When WCW was bought by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE), Helms' contract was kept by WWF.

Helms renamed himself "The Hurricane" and won the WWE Cruiserweight Championship.

He later picked up a sidekick, Rosey, and they won the World Tag Team Championship together.

Helms and his friend Shannon Moore signed with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in May 1999.

In WCW, Helms, along with Moore and Evan Karagias, formed the heel (villainous) stable (faction) 3 Count, and the trio debuted on the December 23 episode of WCW Thunder.

The trio was a parody of the boy bands 'N Sync and the Backstreet Boys, and their gimmick involved making music videos and performing songs before their matches.

3 Count collectively won the WCW Hardcore Championship on WCW Monday Nitro in February 2000.

This win made 3 Count the first trio to win the Hardcore Championship.

At Uncensored, Brian Knobbs defeated all members of 3 Count to win the Hardcore Championship.

During a match, Helms suffered a broken nose, and was sidelined while he recovered.

Upon his return, Tank Abbott had been added to the group, as a fan, and was utilized in an enforcer role.

3 Count had a long-running feud (scripted rivalry) with The Jung Dragons, with the Dragons attempting to steal 3 Count's fictional recording contract.

This led to a ladder match between the two teams at New Blood Rising, which 3 Count won due to Abbott's interference.

As a result, Abbott claimed that he should be the lead singer of 3 Count, and was kicked out by the other three members, leading to a feud.

3 Count later disbanded as Moore and Helms kicked Karagias out of the group for attempting to steal the spotlight.

At the same time, the Jung Dragons turned on Jamie Noble, who formed a team with Karagias.

The three teams met in a Triangle match at Mayhem, which 3 Count won.

They also wrestled each other in a number one contendership ladder match at Starrcade, to earn a WCW Cruiserweight Championship match, in which both Moore and Helms grabbed the contract at the same time.

He dropped the superhero gimmick in 2005, and began wrestling under his real name.

He once again won the Cruiserweight Championship in early 2006, and held it for over a year, becoming the longest reigning Cruiserweight Champion and the longest reigning champion of any kind in SmackDown history.

After being out of action for over a year after neck fusion surgery Helms returned to SmackDown in September 2008, referring to himself as Hurricane Helms, before moving to the ECW brand where he reverted to his Gregory Helms name, and became a backstage interviewer.

In mid-2009, he brought back The Hurricane character, and appeared as both Gregory Helms and The Hurricane on the ECW brand.

After the ECW brand ended, Helms was released by WWE in February 2010, however he returned as a surprise entrant in the 2018 and 2021 Royal Rumble matches.