World Championship Wrestling (1996 - 2001), World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (2001 - 2005), Cruiserweight Championship pursuit (2001–2003), Teaming and feuding with Paul London (2004–2005), World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment, "Billy Kidman's first WCW Cruiserweight Championship reign", "Billy Kidman's second WCW Cruiserweight Championship reign", "Billy Kidman's third WCW Cruiserweight Championship reign", "Billy Kidman's fourth WCW Cruiserweight Championship reign", "Billy Kidman's fifth WCW Cruiserweight Championship reign", "Billy Kidman's sixth WWF Cruiserweight Championship reign", "Billy Kidman's seventh WWE Cruiserweight Championship reign", "Billy Kidman and Paul London's first WWE Tag Team Championship reign", "Kidman: Pinning Hogan a career highlight", "Kenzo Suzuki and Rene Dupree's first WWE Tag Team Championship reign", "Smackdown: Jolly good show in Manchester", "Smackdown: An anniversary and a haircuit", "Where Are They Now? In his return match, Kidman defeated Tajiri to win his record-breaking sixth Cruiserweight Championship. 31 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the year in, RXW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time), WSW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time), This page was last edited on 4 October 2020, at 16:21. He returned during Friday Night SmackDown this week. [30] At the start of 2005, Kidman suffered a broken orbital bone, which sidelined him for three months. They elected to bring back Billy Kidman. Kidman was then re-hired in 2010 to work as a producer. [19] Reflecting the gimmick of the New Blood, Kidman began acting as hotshot who refused to be held back by wrestlers beyond their prime. Kidman at first declined, as a previous attempt at a tag team between the two did not reach any level of success. Would love your thoughts, please comment. Billy Kidman, Part Two", http://m.bleacherreport.com/articles/1140281-wwe-raw-deal-april-9-brock-lesnar-bloodies-john-cena, "TOP STAR INJURED? During his time in the WWF (later renamed to World Wrestling Entertainment), Kidman once again found success upon winning the Cruiserweight Championship an additional four times[8][9][10][11] while the title was under the WCW banner and later the WWF/E banner, in addition to winning WWE's Tag Team Championship once with Paul London.[12]. Although Guerrera won the title back a few weeks later, Kidman would regain it at World War 3. WWE released a number of people and furloughed nine producers on April 15th. Following the title loss, Kidman proceeded to spend the next few years as a cornerstone of the cruiserweight division before forming a tag team with newcomer Paul London in early 2004. [35] On August 23, 2016 episode of SmackDown Live, he appeared along with Jamie Noble to prevent Dolph Ziggler from attacking AJ Styles. Long-time WWE Producer Billy Kidman officially returned to work at today’s Friday Night Smackdown taping. [32] Kidman also took part in the East Coast Australian International Assault II Tour from June 1–3, 2007, where he competed against Australian wrestlers TNT and Mark Hilton before defeating Bryan Danielson to win the WSW World Heavyweight Championship on the third night in Newcastle. Their championship run came to an abrupt end after Kidman turned his back on London. Billy Kidman is a American Wrestler from Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA. [3][21], Following the Douglas feud, Kidman began teaming with Mysterio Jr. [41] They lived together in Tampa, Florida when not traveling. He later rejoined the Animals when they turned face once again during the last few months of WCW's existence. [42] The couple separated in mid-2006, with their divorce finalised in 2008. Following his first departure from the Filthy Animals, Kidman joined Vince Russo's New Blood stable, signalling another heel turn. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account. He also wrestled British wrestling legend Robbie Brookside in a losing effort to determine the inaugural Real Quality Wrestling Heavyweight Champion. According to PW Insider, Billy Kidman is back with WWE as a producer. ALL TIME GREAT BECOMES WWE NXT TRAINER, HEYMAN UPDATE, FORMER WCW STAR MAKES CAMEO ON TOUR AND MORE", "8/23 WWE Smackdown LIVE – Parks's Complete, Real-Time Report", "Several WWE Superstars released due to budget cuts", https://www.pwinsider.com/ViewArticle.php?id=139890, "The wiles of Wilson: WWE Diva Torrie Wilson reveals all—her secrets to success, that is", "Billy Kidman Talks About Divorcing From Torrie Wilson, Working Against Hogan, His New Gimmick, Sleeping With Married Women And More", "Press Release: Book On Billy Kidman Coming Out in 2014", "ECWA Hall of Fame Inductees – Wrestlers", "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 1999", "WSW World Heavyweight Championship history", Creative Control/The Harris Brothers (Gerald/Ron Harris and Patrick/Don Harris), The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Billy_Kidman&oldid=981821315, Parkland High School (Allentown, Pennsylvania) alumni, Sportspeople from Allentown, Pennsylvania, Articles with unsourced statements from March 2019, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2020, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Ranked No. During the feud, Wilson turned on Kidman. [24], When the WWF purchased WCW, the contract of Gruner (who was still wrestling as Billy Kidman) was one of twenty-five involved in the purchase. [20] He is a cousin of fellow professional wrestler Mikey Batts. This led to the biggest feud of his career with Hulk Hogan, defeating him in three matches in a row. [33], On April 9, 2012, Gruner along with former wrestlers Jamie Noble, Goldust and other officials and WWE wrestlers broke up the brawl between John Cena and Brock Lesnar. In 2014, Kidman began appearing on The JBL Show, where he attempts to promote his Twitter page, but is always interrupted due to technical difficulties, which later became a running gag. [29] Kidman and Guerrero ended their feud upon Chavo's return, the latter being victorious in the final match. [2][8] As the WCW Cruiserweight Champion, Kidman proceeded to defeat the WWF Light Heavyweight Champion X-Pac at Invasion. On September 21, 2011, WWE ran a story on their website about Gruner and his role as a producer. By Marc Middleton | September 25, 2020 Longtime WWE Producer Billy Kidman returned to work for the company this week. During this time, Kidman joined The Filthy Animals alongside Rey Mysterio Jr., Konnan, and Eddie Guerrero. — Billy Kidman (@WWEKidman) April 16, 2020 Since 2007, Billy Kidman has been working backstage in WWE as a trainer and even appeared on-screen in various supporting roles at times. [31] Gruner stated that the release was due to an argument with management over their decision to stop booking wrestlers on first class flights overseas. That night, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) purchased WCW and Kidman's contract was picked up by the WWF. Kidman was one of many who were furloughed. The former WWE Tag Team & Cruiserweight Champion was furloughed from the job back in April as a part of the company-wide cuts brought on by COVID-19. As a wrestler, Kidman is best known for his work with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment (WWF/E) throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s. as part of the brand extension. Gruner was trained by Afa Anoaʻi, one half of The Wild Samoans, and wrestled his first match on September 11, 1994 in Hellertown, Pennsylvania against "Wild Thing" Dan Kallis on the independent circuit as Kid Flash. When The Invasion commenced, Gruner appeared on WWF television under his Billy Kidman ring name as a tweener for The Alliance. He was just brought back and is resuming his duties as of this week. In addition to being a member of Raven's Flock, he also was a member of The Filthy Animals and later The New Blood. Gruner was a banker before he started training to be a professional wrestler, and was good friends with fellow professional wrestler Chris Kanyon, whom he met at the Wild Samoan training center in Pennsylvania. WWE Boasts Big Profits In 3rd Quarter 2020 Earnings Report, Ronda Rousey WWE RAW Arrest Angle Listed As Real On Trump Celebrity Supporter Recruitment List, What’s Really Going On With Chelsea Green’s WWE Main Roster Call Up, Who Tested Positive For COVID-19 Causing Recent WWE NXT Quarantine, Alexa Bliss Possessed By The Fiend & Goes Berserk On WWE SmackDown, Miro’s AEW In-Ring Debut Considered ‘A Disaster’, Vince McMahon Says ‘There’s A New Spirit’ In WWE. Kidman then faced off against Mysterio Jr. in an attempt to win back the Cruiserweight Championship at Spring Stampede, however, Mysterio Jr. retained his title. [26][27] London was left alone to defend the title against Kenzo Suzuki and René Duprée, and was easily defeated. Gruner was trained by Afa Anoaʻi, one half of The Wild Samoans, and wrestled his first match on September 11, 1994 in Hellertown, Pennsylvania against "Wild Thing" Dan Kallis on the independent circuit as Kid Flash. [33] On February 23, 2008, he wrestled his last match, losing to Afa, Jr.. Gruner was rehired by World Wrestling Entertainment in 2010 as a producer. Following his departure from WWE, Kidman began touring the United Kingdom. Following the end of The Alliance, Kidman turned fan favorite and was subsequently drafted to SmackDown! Peter Alan Gruner Jr.[citation needed] (born May 11, 1974)[1] is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Billy Kidman. [16] Following this, Mysterio Jr. asked Kidman to be his tag team partner in a match for the World Tag Team Championship. 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