Shannon Moore

Shannon Brian Moore (born July 27, 1979) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). He is best known for his work with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as a member of 3 Count, and for WWE, as a follower of Mattitude in 2003. He returned to WWE in 2006 on the ECW brand, before returning to SmackDown in 2007. On August 8, 2008, he was released from WWE.

He is a former one time WCW Hardcore Champion. He is also former one time and inaugural WSW World Champion.

Professional wrestling career
Moore befriended Matt and Jeff Hardy as a boy and competed in their own backyard wrestling circuit. After the Hardy brothers began wrestling professionally, they trained Moore, who debuted on April 8, 1995 against Jeff. Moore began working on the independent circuit, wrestling for the North Carolina-based Southern Championship Wrestling and National Championship Wrestling promotions as "Kid Dynamo". In addition, he frequently wrestled for Organization of Modern Extreme Grappling Arts (OMEGA), the promotion operated by the Hardys. During his time in OMEGA, he met Gregory Shane Helms, whom he teamed with in World Championship Wrestling (WCW). In the late 1990s, Moore began wrestling for the Tennessee-based Music City Wrestling promotion.

World Championship Wrestling (1999–2001)
In 1999, Moore was hired by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) by Chris Kanyon, who had been granted the authority to employ twenty-one young cruiserweights for the Atlanta-based promotion. He was placed in a faction known as "3 Count" by Jimmy Hart. 3 Count, which consisted of Moore, Evan Karagias and Shane Helms, was a trio of young male wrestlers who utilized a boy band gimmick. 3 Count debuted in WCW in November 1999, and they began lip synching the song "Can't Get You Out Of My Heart" in the ring before their matches.

On the February 28, 2000 episode of WCW Monday Nitro in Minneapolis, Minnesota, all three members of 3 Count defeated Brian Knobbs to win the WCW Hardcore Championship with all 3 members of the team simultaneously pinning him. By doing this, Moore became the youngest Hardcore champion in WCW history, a record he held until the company folded. 3 Count reigned as "co-champions" until March 19, at Uncensored where Knobbs regained the title by pinning all three men consecutively.

3 Count were not involved in the Millionaire's Club versus The New Blood angle that took place during the summer of 2000 because Helms was legitimately sidelined with a broken nose. When the team reconvened late in the summer of 2000, they began performing a new song, "Dance With 3 Count". In the storyline, Ultimate Fighting Championship mixed martial artist Tank Abbott became an avid fan of 3 Count, and he began protecting them during their performances, attacking anyone who disrupted them, eventually acting as their talent manager and occasional inserting himself as a back-up dancer.

3 Count began to fall apart in late 2000, with Karagias joining forces with Jamie-San, a former member of the Jung Dragons. At Starrcade 2000, Moore and Helms defeated San (renamed Jamie Noble) and Karagias and the remaining Jung Dragons in a three way tag team ladder match. The six men went on to feud with one another in early 2001, with Helms pinning Moore in a cruiserweight elimination match at SuperBrawl Revenge on February 18. Moore and Karagias joined forces once again to take part in a tournament for the WCW Cruiserweight Tag Team Championship, but were eliminated by Billy Kidman and Rey Mysterio, Jr..

World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment (2001–2005)
After WCW was purchased by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in March 2001, Moore signed a contract with them and was assigned to the Heartland Wrestling Association (HWA), a Louisville-based WWF developmental territory. He teamed with Karagias in HWA until Karagias was released by the WWF. Moore would make his TV debut on the July 13, 2002 episode of Velocity.

In 2003, after competing in the cruiserweight division for several months as a fan favorite, Moore became a villainous acolyte of Matt Hardy, who had begun proselytizing a philosophy known as "Mattitude" and calling himself "Matt Hardy Version 1.0". Moore became a "Mattitude Follower" (abbreviated "MF'er") and started dressing like Hardy and accompanying him to ringside. Moore often lost to more physically dominant opponents or unsuccessfully attempted to help Hardy win his matches, both things that resulted in Hardy attacking Moore in order to vent his frustrations, claiming that he had "failed to comprehend [Hardy's] coaching!" Moore did, however, assist Hardy in his bid to lose several pounds in order to qualify for a WWE Cruiserweight Championship title shot, which he won when Moore came through again, this time distracting then face, Billy Kidman to enable Hardy to get the win and the title. On April 24, Crash Holly also became an MF'er. He was subordinate to Moore and, as such, was referred to as a "Moore-on". The group was short-lived, though, as Crash was released from WWE on June 30.

Moore and Hardy continued to work together until November 17, when Hardy left SmackDown! and joined the Raw brand. As a result, Moore was a fan favorite again and Paul Heyman (SmackDown!'s then-general manager) decided to punish Hardy vicariously for leaving his show by forcing Moore to face a series of much larger opponents. In successive weeks, Moore was squashed by Matt Morgan, Nathan Jones, and The Big Show, before unexpectedly defeating A-Train in an upset victory on the December 11 episode of SmackDown!. The following week, WWE Champion Brock Lesnar was scheduled to defend his title against a random wrestler, with the name of his opponent selected arbitrarily by a lottery machine. Moore was selected as Lesnar's opponent, and Lesnar defeated him with ease and then revealed that all the balls had borne Moore's name, with Lesnar having rigged the process in order to ensure that he would have a much smaller opponent. Immediately after the match, Moore and Hardcore Holly were scheduled to face A-Train and Morgan in a tag team match, with Holly gaining a title shot if he won and being fired if he lost. Despite Moore being incapacitated, he and Holly were able to win the match.

In 2004, at WrestleMania XX Moore took part in a "Cruiserweight Open" for the Cruiserweight Championship, but was eliminated by Último Dragón. His next high profile appearance was on the July 8, 2004 episode of SmackDown!, which saw Moore wrestle under a mask as "El Gran Luchadore". Moore faced John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) in the match for the WWE Championship and was initially dominated by his much larger opponent. A second Luchadore (the disguised Eddie Guerrero), however, took Moore's place, prompting Layfield to run away, thus giving Moore the victory by count out.

Moore competed in the cruiserweight division and as a jobber for the remainder of 2004 and the first half of 2005. In early 2005 he adopted the gimmick of a punk and began wearing punk clothing to the ring. On March 21, 2005 he was concussed and suffered whiplash after his Hummer was involved in a head-on collision with a vehicle driven by an inebriated United States Army Sergeant in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He quickly recovered from his injuries, but was released by WWE on July 5, 2005.

Independent circuit (2005–2006)
Moore returned to the independent circuit soon thereafter, although the no-compete clause in his contract (which prohibits WWE employees who are fired or who negotiate a contract release from appearing on television within a given time period) did not expire until November 1 of that year. One of Moore's more high profile appearances came at an AWA Superstars of Wrestling show where Moore featured in a 30-man WSL World Light Heavyweight Championship Tournament that took place in Burlington, North Carolina. Moore defeated Dexter Poindexter, Ricky Landell, and "Amazing" N8 Mattson before losing to "Krazy K" Kirby Mack in the finals. He also wrestled A.J. Styles on a United Wrestling Association charity show on February 2, 2006. Proceeds benefited Ricky Morton, who was jailed at the time for unpaid child support.

During this time, Moore opened a professional wrestling school known as the "School of Punk".

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2005–2006)
Moore debuted in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) on November 16, 2005, losing to Chris Sabin in a dark match. He made his television debut on the December 17 Impact!, appearing on stage holding a sign reading "The X Division needs to get Punk'd." Upon joining the roster, he was known as "Prince of Punk" Shannon Moore.

On the January 1, 2006 episode of Impact!, Moore began a scripted rivalry with A.J. Styles, attacking him during a tag team match and preventing him and partner Christopher Daniels from winning the NWA World Tag Team Championship. He continued to stalk Styles, attacking him and stealing his "Mr. TNA" award plaque, leading to a street fight between the two, which Moore won.

The entire time he was with TNA, Moore was not under a contract with the company, choosing instead to wrestle while they negotiated one. Instead of signing with TNA, however, he opted to return to WWE, wrestling his last match in TNA alongside America's Most Wanted (Chris Harris and James Storm) and Alex Shelley against Rhino, Ron Killings, Styles, and Daniels. Moore was pinned following a Styles Clash by Styles in the match, which aired the day after he'd officially left the company.

Extreme Championship Wrestling (2006)
On March 14, 2006, wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer claimed that Moore had committed to a verbal agreement with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Three days later, WWE.com confirmed and released an interview with Moore talking about his imminent return to the company.

In July 2006, Moore became a villain again and was part of WWE's ECW brand, making his first appearances in vignettes and calling himself "The Reject," while still dressed in the fashion of his "Prince of Punk" gimmick. His in ring debut was a loss to CM Punk on September 12, a week after Punk had confronted Moore and called him a "poser" before slapping him across the face. After one more loss to Punk, Moore was a face once more and relegated to jobber status on the ECW brand, making only sporadic appearances.

SmackDown! (2007–2008)
On the February 16, 2007 edition of SmackDown! Moore suddenly switched brands, appearing in an in-ring brawl with other SmackDown! cruiserweights, which was itself a prelude to a "Cruiserweight Open" at No Way Out, which Moore also took part in, but was eliminated by the defending Cruiserweight Champion Gregory Helms. Moore then established himself as a fan favorite after teaming up with Scotty 2 Hotty and Jimmy Wang Yang in a six-man tag team match against several villainous cruiserweights. Moore returned to television on the June 15 edition of SmackDown!, no longer in his "Prince of Punk" attire, competing in a Fatal Four Way number one contender match for the Cruiserweight Championship, which was won by Wang Yang and also involved Daivari and Jamie Noble. On the June 22 edition of SmackDown!, Moore teamed with Wang Yang in a losing effort against Chavo Guerrero and Noble.

Moore now had a new look with long hair similar to his first look. He was also seen competing in the 20-man battle royal for the World Heavyweight Championship and was the third person to be eliminated. He also competed in the "Cruiserweight Open" at The Great American Bash along with Noble, Funaki, Wang Yang, and Guerrero. The match was inadvertently won by Hornswoggle. Moore then faced Noble and Guerrero, respectively, in losing efforts. Shannon was also used in backstage skits with Noble, Finlay and Kane. Shannon also teamed with Eugene against Deuce 'n Domino in losing efforts. On the September 14 episode of SmackDown!, however, he defeated Noble in a singles match. This was the first time Moore had won a singles match in WWE since 2005.

On December 18, 2007, Moore and Wang Yang defeated the WWE Tag Team Champions John Morrison and The Miz to earn a title-shot, igniting a feud between the two teams. On January 1, 2008, Moore and Wang Yang once again beat Morrison and the Miz, this time in a six-person tag team match also involving Layla and Kelly Kelly. The following week, in a Fifteen Minutes of Fame Match, Moore and Wang Yang tied the champions on pinfalls, meaning Miz and Morrison retained the titles. Moore and Yang feuded on and off with Miz and Morrison for the next few months, winning singles matches against them during April. Moore and Yang received another WWE Tag Team Championship match, on the May 2 edition of SmackDown, but failed to win the titles.

After this feud ended, he was rarely utilised, and on August 8, 2008, WWE announced that Moore had been released from his WWE contract.

Return to the independent circuit (2008–2009)
On September 28, 2008, Moore won the WSW World Title, after both he and Joe E. Legend won a Battle Royal, also involving Rene Dupree, Steve Corino and other wrestlers. Moore and Legend then faced off in the main event of WSW Inception, and Moore won the championship, becoming the inaugural champion. On November 22, 2008, Moore won the FCW Germany Heavyweight Championship after he defeated Mot Van Kunder; however, he lost it immediately afterwards to Rico Bushido, who used a title shot that he had. On December 13, 2008, Moore lost against the champion KC McKnight, in a MAPW Heavyweight Championship match. On February 28, 2009, in WSW Moore defeated Lance Cade, Joe E. Legend and IceBorg, in a Fatal Four Way Elimination Match, to retain his WSW World Heavyweight Title, by last eliminating Cade.

On September 6, 2009, after 343 days of reign, the WSW title is then delivered to Joe E. Legend, fact, Moore does not take part in the next show. On November 21, 2009, Moore participated in the Hulkamania tour, and loses the first match by Matt Cross in a match to the best of 3 series which sees 25,000 bounty to be won. On November 24, 2009, at the next show will then Moore to prevail, winning the match thanks to his Halo. On November 26, 2009, their third match will end in a draw, the outcome of the feud will be awarded in the last show of the tour. On November 28, 2009, at the Sydney leg of the tour he lost the final match, a Ladder match, in the 25 thousand dollar reward series. On April 23, 2010, Moore teaming with Jeff Hardy and defeated Rob Eckos and Brian Anthony in the Main Event of the NorthEast Wrestling show.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling return
On January 4, 2010, Moore made his return to TNA, on the first live Monday edition of Impact!, by celebrating backstage with Jeff Hardy, after Hardy had also made his return to the company. On February 19, Dixie Carter confirmed that Moore had signed a new contract with TNA. On the March 8 episode of Impact!, Moore attacked X Division Champion Doug Williams, after he retained his title against Daniels and Kazarian. After the attack, Eric Bischoff announced that Moore would face Williams for the X Division Championship at Destination X. At the pay-per-view Williams retained his title, after hitting Moore with a brick. Moore's first victory since his return to TNA came on the March 29 edition of Impact!, when he pinned Brian Kendrick in a tag team match, where he teamed with Kazarian against Kendrick and Doug Williams. At Lockdown Moore received another shot at the now vacant X Division Championship in a three-way steel cage match, where he faced Homicide and the eventual winner of the match, Kazarian.

Ink Inc. (2010)
On the next episode Moore insulted the TNA World Tag Team Champion Matt Morgan, springing a rivalry between the two. The following week Morgan cost Moore his shot at the TNA X Division Championship and then went on to defend his own championship, teaming with Jesse Neal. After Morgan turned on Neal, Moore ran out to the ring and helped Neal run him off. This led to the formation of the new tag team, Ink Inc., and on the May 3 episode of Impact! Moore and Neal defeated Douglas Williams and Brian Kendrick in their first match as a tag team. The following week Ink Inc. defeated Beer Money, Inc., The Motor City Machineguns and Team 3D in a four-way tag team match. At Sacrifice Ink Inc. failed in their attempt to win the TNA World Tag Team Championship from The Band (Kevin Nash and Scott Hall), when Neal's trainer Brother Ray turned on him. On the June 17 edition of Impact!, Ink Inc. defeated The Band (Kevin Nash and Eric Young) to advance to the finals of a tournament, where they would meet Beer Money, Inc. for a shot at the vacant TNA World Tag Team Championship. The following week Ink Inc. was defeated by Beer Money, after Brother Ray attacked Neal backstage prior to the match. At the July 26 and 27 tapings of Xplosion Ink Inc. entered a four team tournament to determine the new number one contenders to the TNA World Tag Team Championship. After defeating Generation Me (Jeremy and Max Buck) in the semifinals, Ink Inc. was defeated in the finals by Desmond Wolfe and Magnus.

Personal life
Moore has multiple tattoos, many of which are influenced by Japanese culture. He has a tattoo on the inside of his lip that says "extinct". He uses an expression "2BMe" in his logos and wrist tape. He also has 2 tattoos across his fingers saying "Hard Knox" and "Made 1979". In 2005, he had 2BME tattooed on his stomach. He operates a tattoo shop called Gas Chamber Ink in Southern Pines, North Carolina. He also has a total of three piercings; one in each ear and one in his septum.

He was married to Crystal, but they divorced in 2005. In April 2009, Moore married Julie Youngberg, who works for WWE as a seamstress.

Moore has known Jeff and Matt Hardy since around 1987. He was also in a band with Jeff called "Peroxwhy?gen", but later left to concentrate on wrestling. He wrote his own entrance music. Shannon is also a part of Matt and Jeff's side project, a reality show called "The Hardy Show".

He was influenced by Shawn Michaels, The Rock 'n' Roll Express, André the Giant and the Ultimate Warrior.

In wrestling

 * Finishing moves
 * Boston crab – 2000
 * Halo (Corkscrew senton, sometimes onto a standing opponent)
 * Mooregasm (Diving or a running somersault neckbreaker)
 * Signature moves
 * Inverted DDT
 * Frankensteiner
 * Moonsault,
 * Diving hurricanrana
 * Leg drop
 * Multiple kick variations
 * Enzuigiri
 * Drop
 * Spinning heel
 * Northern Lights suplex
 * Sleeper slam – WCW
 * Springboard crossbody
 * Sunset flip


 * With Jesse Neal
 * Samoan drop (Neal) / Mooregasm (Moore) combination


 * With Shane Helms
 * Count Down (Samoan drop (Moore) / Nightmare on Helms Street (Helms) combination)
 * Frankensteiner by Moore followed by a frog splash by Helms


 * Managers
 * Tank Abbott
 * Matt Hardy Version 1.0
 * Helena Heavenly
 * Brandi Richardson


 * Nicknames
 * "The Prince of Punk"
 * "The Reject"
 * "Sensational"


 * Entrance themes
 * "Shannon Moore" by Jim Johnston (2003–2004)
 * "I'll Do Anything" by Ronn L. Chick, Dennis Winslow and Robert J. Walsh (2006–2008)
 * "Tattooed Attitude" by Dale Oliver (TNA; 2010-present)

Championships and accomplishments

 * Freestyle Championship Wrestling
 * FCW Germany Heavyweight Championship (1 time)


 * Heartland Wrestling Association
 * HWA Cruiserweight Championship (2 times)
 * HWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Evan Karagias


 * NWA Wildside / National Championship Wrestling
 * NCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 * NCW Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 * NWA Wildside Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Shane Helms


 * Organization of Modern Extreme Grappling Arts
 * OMEGA Light Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
 * OMEGA New Frontiers Championship (1 time)


 * Other titles
 * ACW Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 * NFWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)


 * Pro Wrestling Illustrated
 * Ranked #67 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2002


 * Southern Championship Wrestling
 * SCW Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time)


 * World Championship Wrestling
 * WCW Hardcore Championship (1 time)1


 * World Stars of Wrestling
 * WSW World Championship (1 time)

1The WCW Hardcore Championship was held jointly with Evan Karagias and Shane Helms as a member of 3 Count using the Freebird Rule.