The Brood was a stable in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) during the Attitude Era of the late 1990s comprised of Gangrel, Christian and Edge. Their gimmick was that of a clan of vampires, although they were often merely described by announcers as living a "gothic lifestyle".
History[]
The Beginning[]
All three of the original Brood members debuted in 1998. Gangrel, known previously as the Vampire Warrior, made his World Wrestling Federation (WWF) debut on the August 16th episode of Sunday Night Heat. He was given a new vampire gimmick based on the White Wolf roleplaying game Vampire: The Masquerade. Edge made his debut in the WWF on the June 22 episode of RAW is WAR as a loner who entered the ring through the crowd. Christian debuted on September 27 at In Your House: Breakdown 1998 where he distracted Edge, who subsequently lost his match to Owen Hart. The storyline introduced Christian as Edge's (kayfabe) brother. In reality, the two had been friends since childhood.
Christian continued at the side of Gangrel to help him in his feud with Edge, and he won the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship in his first match in the WWF. Eventually, the duo convinced Edge to join them, forming the stable known as The Brood.
Gimmick[]
They often entered arenas by rising through a ring of fire onto the (elevated) stage floor, with Gangrel carrying a chalice of "blood". Usually, Gangrel took a drink from the chalice and then spit it towards the crowd, although occasionally, he simply shared the drink with his partners. One of the group's trademarks was giving their opponents a "blood bath", before or after a wrestling match. A "blood bath" consisted of the lights in the arena turning off, the flashing red lights of Gangrel's entrance coming on, and then the arena lights turning on again to reveal the target bathed in "blood". The trio had similar looking long blond hair. However, Gangrel and Christian both wore white shirts and dark pants, while Edge wore the long leather coat he wore before joining The Brood.
Ministry of Darkness[]
In February 1999, The Brood feuded with The Undertaker's Ministry of Darkness stable. The end of the feud saw The Brood merge with The Ministry. In March, after Undertaker's Hell in a Cell match with The Big Boss Man at WrestleMania XV, Edge, Christian and Gangrel were lowered onto the cage from the ceiling. They lowered a noose into the cell, and the Undertaker proceeded to hang The Big Boss Man from the top of the cage. The Brood were often victims of "beatings" at the hands of the Ministry to both prove their loyalty to the Undertaker and to "punish" them. On one occasion, Christian was sentenced to a beating at the hands of his fellow Brood members after he was forced to reveal to Ken Shamrock the location of Stephanie McMahon. Edge and Gangrel refused, as they were more loyal to Christian than the Ministry. The Brood split from the Undertaker's loyalty, thus becoming the only members of the Ministry to defect from the stable before the creation of The Corporate Ministry. This led to a feud with the Ministry of Darkness, specifically The Acolytes.
Split[]
By June 1999, The Brood began feuding with The Hardy Boyz (Matt & Jeff Hardy). By that time, Edge and Christian had found success as a tag team, and Gangrel had turned on Edge. Gangrel tried to convince Christian to do the same, but Edge and Christian instead split from Gangrel, who turned on both of them and aligned himself instead with their main enemies, The Hardy Boyz.
The New Brood[]
History[]
Beginning and Gimmick[]
Gangrel joined with Matt and Jeff Hardy in August 1999 to form The New Brood. Though recognized as The New Brood, they were referred to as "The Brood," just like the original incarnation. They also utilized the same "gothic" gimmick as the original Brood. The trio continued the tradition of making their entrance by the rising elevator that lifted them through a ring of fire onto the elevated stage floor. Moreover, Gangrel continued to carry his chalice of blood, which he drank from before entering the ring. The Hardys, by contrast, continued to wear the same ring attire they wore before joining the stable.
Split[]
The New Brood also continued their feud with Edge and Christian with a notable series of matches called the "Terri Invitational Tournament", which included the first ever Tag Team Ladder Match at No Mercy 1999. The night after on RAW, The Hardy Boyz announced that they were not the New Brood - they were The Hardy Boyz. They called a truce with Edge & Christian, and the quartet attacked Gangrel, ending his association with both teams. Terri Runnels became the Hardys' new manager. The Hardys later teamed with Lita to form Team Xtreme.
Both Edge and Christian and Team Xtreme went on to be successful in the Tag Team division, winning the World Tag Team Championships several times. Meanwhile, Gangrel was a constant journeyman over the years, often going back and forth from a minor role in World Wrestling Entertainment to the independent circuit and vice versa.
In wrestling[]
- Finishing and signature moves
- Blood Spit (Spits "blood" at opponent)
- Theme music
- "Blood" on WWE Anthology, Vol. 2
Championships and accomplishments[]
- World Wrestling Federation
- WWF Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time) - Christian
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- PWI ranked Jeff Hardy #76 of the 500 best wrestlers in 1999
- PWI ranked Edge #83 of the 500 best wrestlers in 1999
- PWI ranked Christian #90 of the 500 best wrestlers in 1999
- PWI ranked Matt Hardy #100 of the 500 best wrestlers in 1999
- PWI ranked Gangrel #102 of the 500 best wrestlers in 1999
