Heavenly Bodies

The Heavenly Bodies were a professional wrestling tag team famous for having worked in Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW) and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and various independent promotions. Over the years there were different variations of the team, which has at different times consisted of "Doctor" Tom Prichard, "Sweet" Stan Lane, and "Gigolo" Jimmy Del Ray and was led by former Midnight Express manager Jim Cornette.
==History==
===Prichard and Lane===
In 1992, veteran wrestlers Tom Prichard and Stan Lane first formed The Heavenly Bodies in Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW). Managed by Jim Cornette, Prichard and Lane became the first ever SMW Tag Team Champions. 
During their tenure in SMW, The Heavenly Bodies had long running feuds with the likes of the new Fantastics (Bobby Fulton & Jackie Fulton) and The Rock 'n' Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson). Their feuds were often highlighted with hardcore matches and numerous title changes. A cross-promotional deal with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) allowed The Heavenly Bodies to appear at WCW's SuperBrawl III pay-per-view event on February 21, 1993. They lost their match to The Rock 'n' Roll Express.
===Prichard and Del Ray===
Later that year, Lane left the team and was replaced by "Gigolo" Jimmy Del Ray. Over the next few years, the new duo competed not only in SMW but also in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), and United States Wrestling Association (USWA). They continued their feud with The Rock 'n' Roll Express in these promotions and began new rivalries with The Steiner Brothers (Rick & Scott Steiner), and The Smoking Gunns (Bart & Billy Gunn).
In 1993, SMW's unique cross-promotional deal with the WWF than the WCW allowed The Heavenly Bodies and The Rock 'n' Roll Express to wrestle on the two competitor's pay-per-view shows. SMW formed a working agreement with the WWF that allowed The Heavenly Bodies to appear on WWF programming. Prichard and Del Ray unsuccessfully challenged for the WWF Tag Team Championship at SummerSlam 1993 and successfully defended the SMW Tag Team Championship against The Rock 'n' Roll Express three months later at Survivor Series 1993.
In 1995, The Bodies defeated PG-13 (JC-Ice & Wolfie D) to capture the USWA Tag Team Championship. Later in the year, Prichard and Del Ray also competed in ECW, aligning themselves with Raven (see Raven's Nest) to face off against The Public Enemy (Rocco Rock & Johnny Grunge). Following the November 1995 closure of SMW, The Heavenly Bodies disbanded. Prichard joined the WWF as Zip of The Bodydonnas while Del Ray competed on the independent circuit.
==In wrestling==
*Signature moves
**Prichard and Del Ray
***Prichard holds the opponent in place before Del Ray hits a moonsault body press
***Double flapjack
***Del Ray lifts the opponent into the air and into the arms of Prichard, who is on the second turnbuckle and hits a flying powerslam
***Del Ray is lifted over Prichard's shoulder and lands on a fallen opponent with a moonsault
==Championships and accomplishments==
*Smoky Mountain Wrestling
**SMW Tag Team Championship (8 times) - Prichard and Lane (5) and Prichard and Del Ray (3)
*United States Wrestling Association
**USWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) - Prichard and Del Ray
==External links==
* Prichard and Lane Profile
* Prichard and Del Ray Profile
Category:Smoky Mountain Wrestling teams and stables
Category:World Wrestling Entertainment teams and stables
Category:World Championship Wrestling teams and stables