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The Shane Twins (December 21, 1967 in Galesburg, Illinois) are a professional wrestling tag team that consist of twin brothers Mike and Todd Shane. They were best known for their appearances in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as Gymini.

History[]

The Shane Twins debuted in the Florida-based Independent Pro Wrestling promotion in 1998. They were originally known as "Biff Wentworth" (Mike) and "Chaz Wentworth" (Todd), collectively known as "The Wentworth Twins" or as "Phi De Kappa U". The Shane Twins held the IPW Tag Team Championships five times between 1998 and 2003. Their fifth reign began when they defeated The Road Warriors in Hokkaidō, Japan on a World Japan show. They would also take on the Warriors, as well as feud with The Nasty Boys, in the short-lived X Wrestling Federation at the promotion's Universal Studios Orlando TV tapings in November 2001.

In early 2002, The Shane twins won the NWA World Tag Team Championship, but were soon after stripped, as Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) would gain exclusive rights for that title. The twins would later appear in TNA, they joined in August 2002 under the ring names as "Richard "Dick" Johnson" (Mike) and "Rod Johnson" (Todd), known collectively as "The Johnsons". They wore latex bodysuits, which were intended to make them resemble a pair of large penises. The Johnsons were managed by Mortimer Plumtree, and left TNA after several weeks.

They then began working for NWA Florida, where they formed a stable with Ron Niemi, Steve Madison, Rod Steel and Eric Loy known as "911 Incorporated", and won the NWA Florida Tag Team Championships on four occasions.

In January 2005 the Shane Twins were signed to developmental contracts by World Wrestling Entertainment, and on February 7, 2005 they were sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) to hone their skills. They were later transferred to Deep South Wrestling, where they became known as "The Regulators".

On January 6, 2006, the Shane twins debuted on SmackDown! as the proteges of Simon Dean, under a new team name of "Gymini". (The name was a play on both Simon Dean's gimmick - that of a nutrition supplement pitchman - and the mythological Gemini twins.) They were employed to destroy Paul London and Brian Kendrick, to the delight of Dean.

Gymini also frequently wrestled on WWE web show, Velocity, usually against jobbers. They were rarely seen on SmackDown!, until April when the team would get more exposure. For the most part the two men were unnamed; with announcers referring to them as "Gymini #1" and "#2" but during the April 14, 2006 episode of SmackDown!, their full ring names were revealed as "Jake" (Mike) and "Jesse" (Todd). Gymini continued to dominate SmackDown!'s other tag teams before Jesse (Todd) became injured. Gymini would make appearances in the WWE developmental promotion Deep South Wrestling (DSW) after Todd recovered. At the end of October 2006, the team appeared in various dark matches before SmackDown! events, where they were joined by a new valet Angel Williams.

They would not return to the main roster, however, but instead continue make appearances in DSW, on December 14, 2006, Gymini captured the DSW Tag Team titles On January 18, 2007, WWE announced that they had, in fact, released the twins.

In July 2008, The Shane Twins returned to the World Wrestling Council.

Personal life[]

The Shane Twins were national high school and college tennis champions, attending Northwest Missouri State University on athletics scholarships, and they appeared in a television advertisement for the restaurant chain Sonny's BBQ, wherein they played two mermaids who were sick and tired of a movement away from fish eating, and so had had their fins turned into wheels so they could drive to Sonny's and eat ribs.

In wrestling[]

Championships and accomplishments[]

  • Independent Pro Wrestling (Florida)
  • IPW Tag Team Championship (5 times)
  • IPW Television Championship (1 time) – Mike
World
Regional
  • World Professional Wrestling Federation
  • WPWF Tag Team Championship (1 time)

External links[]

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