Gregory Helms

Hurricane Helms

Shane Helms

Gregory Shane Helms

Helms and Shannon Moore signed with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in May 1999. In WCW, **Shane Helms**, along with Moore and Evan Karagias, formed the heel stable 3 Count, and the trio debuted on the December 23 episode of *WCW Thunder*. Their boy band gimmick involved making music videos and performing songs before their matches.

3 Count collectively won the WCW Hardcore Championship on *WCW Monday Nitro* in February 2000. This win made 3 Count the first trio to win the Hardcore Championship. At Uncensored, Brian Knobbs defeated all members of 3 Count to win the Hardcore Championship. During a match, Helms suffered a broken nose, and was sidelined while he recovered. Upon his return, Tank Abbott had been added to the group, as a fan, and was utilized in an enforcer role. 3 Count had a long-running feud with The Jung Dragons, with the Dragons attempting to steal 3 Count's fictional recording contract. This led to a ladder match between the two teams at New Blood Rising, which 3 Count won due to Abbott's interference. As a result, Abbott claimed that he should be the lead singer of 3 Count, and was kicked out by the other three members, leading to a feud.

3 Count later disbanded as Moore and Helms kicked Karagias out of the group for attempting to steal the spotlight. At the same time, the Jung Dragons turned on Jamie Noble, who formed a team with Karagias. The three teams met in a triangle match at Mayhem, which 3 Count won. They also wrestled each other in a number one contendership ladder match at Starrcade, to earn a WCW Cruiserweight Championship match, in which both Moore and Helms grabbed the contract at the same time. As a result, they later wrestled for the opportunity to wrestle for the championship, which Helms won, although he lost the subsequent championship match to Chavo Guerrero at the Sin pay-per-view.

Moore and Helms would leave WCW briefly in 2001 but returned soon after. Helms became the number one contender for the Cruiserweight Championship after winning a match at SuperBrawl Revenge, but was attacked by Karagias and Moore afterwards. Despite the attack, Helms would go on to defeat Guerrero for the WCW Cruiserweight Championship at Greed and was the reigning Cruiserweight Champion immediately before WCW was bought out by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). Helms' contract with WCW was one of twenty-five that were included in WWF's purchase of WCW.

Helms made his WWF debut on the July 5, 2001 episode of *SmackDown!*, using the name "Hollywood" **Gregory Helms**. He was part of the Invasion storyline as a member of The Alliance, losing his Cruiserweight Championship in a one-on-one match to another Alliance member, Billy Kidman.

Helms began wrestling as **The Hurricane** on August 27, 2001, and also began wearing a superhero costume. That night, he won the WWF European Championship from Matt Hardy with help from Ivory, but lost it to Bradshaw on October 22, 2001. In September 2001, Helms formed a tag team with Lance Storm, who was now managed by Ivory, and Helms later picked up a sidekick in Molly Holly, who began to call herself "Mighty Molly", and the two came to the arena in a custom "Hurri-Cycle" (with Molly in the sidecar). The team of Helms and Storm began feuds with teams like The Hardy Boyz and Big Show and Spike Dudley. Helms and Storm got a shot at the WCW Tag Team Championship against The Hardy Boyz at No Mercy in a losing effort.

During 2002, The Hurricane won the WWF Hardcore Championship at WrestleMania X8, but Molly betrayed him, hitting him in the back of the head with a frying pan, and defeating him for the championship. Helms was later drafted to the *SmackDown!* brand following the brand extension, and he won the Cruiserweight Championship from Tajiri and Billy Kidman in a triple threat match. He lost it to Jamie Noble at King of the Ring. Later in 2002, he was traded to *Raw*, won the World Tag Team Championship with Kane, and held them for around a month in an alliance known as Hurri-Kane.

In 2003, Hurricane feuded with The Rock. In backstage segments, The Rock referred to The Hurricane as "The Hamburglar". The feud culminated in a match on *Raw*, in which The Rock dominated. Hurricane, however, was able to roll up The Rock from behind after The Rock was distracted by Stone Cold Steve Austin's appearance on the ramp.

In late 2003, Hurricane "discovered" Rosey's potential as a superhero and christened him "Rosey, the Super Hero in Training". On May 1, 2005, at Backlash, The Hurricane and Rosey defeated La Résistance in the finals of a tag team turmoil match to win the World Tag Team Championship. Not long after winning the championships, Stacy Keibler joined Rosey and The Hurricane as their sidekick, "Super Stacy". In August 2005, Rosey and The Hurricane lost Keibler as their sidekick when she and Christy Hemme were traded to the *SmackDown!* brand. On September 5, 2005 Hurricane and Rosey were defeated by Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch during Cade and Murdoch's debut match on *Raw*. As a result, Cade and Murdoch earned a title match at the Unforgiven pay-per-view. During the title match, Murdoch delivered an elevated DDT on The Hurricane to the outside. The DDT caused Hurricane to suffer a storyline "stinger" and allowed Cade and Murdoch to beat the injured Hurricane later in the match to win the World Tag Team Titles.

During the next few weeks, the pair began a losing streak, mainly caused by Hurricane's on-screen injuries. During the October 17 episode of *Raw*, The Hurricane was assaulted by Kurt Angle at the request of Vince McMahon. After the beating, footage was shown of The Hurricane ripping off his mask and striking Rosey because he did not help him fend off Angle. The next week, The Hurricane no-showed a World Tag Team Title match, leaving Rosey to face the champions alone. During the match, The Hurricane (out of costume) appeared at the top of the entrance ramp, reverting to his real name, **Gregory Helms'*, and watched as Rosey was double teamed and defeated. After the match, Helms announced that he was fed up with being funny for the crowd, and that he was sick of carrying Rosey as a tag team partner. This turned him into a heel in the process. On the November 7 episode of*Raw*, Helms and Rosey faced off in a singles match, which Helms won. Subsequently, Helms wrestled mostly on*Raw**s sister show, *Heat*. On the January 2, 2006 episode of *Raw*, Helms confronted Jerry Lawler over jokes that Lawler had been making at Helms' expense, and Lawler said that when Helms was The Hurricane, he was entertaining and called Helms a joke. Helms responded by slapping Lawler, who hit Helms back. This confrontation led to Lawler defeating Helms in a match at New Year's Revolution.

At the 2006 Royal Rumble, Helms participated in an Open Invitational match for the Cruiserweight Championship and won, even though he was a *Raw* superstar and the championship was defended solely on *SmackDown!*. As a result, he returned to the *SmackDown!* brand in February 2006 to start a feud with Nunzio, Kid Kash and the other cruiserweights. During this time, Helms defeated Nunzio in a one-on-one match. The next week, he was supposed to defend against Kid Kash, but Kash was unable to compete, so Scotty 2 Hotty took his place. Helms defeated him and declared that he was better than all the other cruiserweights. As a result, all the cruiserweights on the show invaded the ring and attacked Helms. It was later announced by *SmackDown!* General Manager Theodore Long that at the No Way Out pay-per-view event, Helms would face all the cruiserweights in a match for the title. Helms was able to retain the championship. Later, Long mandated that Helms had to defend his title against a cruiserweight each week on *SmackDown!* to prove that he truly was better than all the cruiserweights. Helm's first defense under this new rule was against Psicosis of The Mexicools; Helms retained by cheating.

In early March 2006, Helms suffered a broken nose. After complaining to Long about having to wrestle on the March 10 episode of *SmackDown!*, Long told Helms that he did not have to defend his title, but put Helms in a champion versus champion match against the United States Champion, Chris Benoit. During the match, Helms attempted to leave, but was blocked by other cruiserweights who threw Helms back into the ring, resulting in Helms losing the match. Helms underwent successful surgery on his nose and was expected to miss five to six weeks. During this time, *SmackDown!* announcers stated that Helms had a no-compete clause in his contract allowing him to waive the thirty-day title defense rule due to any injury. Helms returned to the ring on the April 28 episode of *SmackDown!*, teaming with MNM to face Super Crazy, Paul London and Brian Kendrick in a six-man tag team match. Helms continued to defend his belt during pay-per-views, but he made more regular appearances on *SmackDown!'*s sister show, *Velocity*.

Helms continued defending his title against other cruiserweights, while on occasion facing off against *SmackDown!*'s other title holders in champion versus champion matches. Helms faced World Heavyweight Champion Rey Mysterio on June 16 and United States Champion Bobby Lashley on July 7, but lost both matches. Eventually, Helms became the longest cruiserweight champion in WWE history, as well as the longest reigning champion of any kind in *SmackDown!* history. For much of late 2006, he feuded with Matt Hardy, with whom Helms exchanged several victories in matches on *SmackDown!*. In Helms' hometown of Raleigh, North Carolina, at the 2006 No Mercy pay-per-view, Hardy beat Helms. The two rivals also joined opposing teams at Survivor Series, where Helms was in Team Rated-RKO, and Hardy was a member of Team DX; Team Rated-RKO lost the match.

Helms went on to feud with Jimmy Wang Yang over the Cruiserweight Title, after a tag team match in which Matt Hardy and Yang defeated Helms and Sylvan. The feud ended after Helms defeated him to retain the title at Armageddon in December 2006. In 2007, Helms once again feuded with the entire cruiserweight division on *SmackDown!*. During this feud, Helms' reign as Cruiserweight Champion came to an end at No Way Out, when he was unable to win a Cruiserweight Invitational, which saw Chavo Guerrero win the championship. Shortly after losing the championship, Helms formed a tag team with Guerrero, but they did not win any matches as a team.

On May 18, 2007, WWE reported that Helms had broken two vertebrae in his neck. Following surgery, Helms was announced to be out for a year and a half due to the injury.

Helms returned on the September 19, 2008 episode of *SmackDown* in a non-wrestling role. Throughout the show, he appeared in short video promos, called "Hurrapops", referring to himself as "**Hurricane Helms**", a modified version of his old ring name "The Hurricane", and mocked heel superstars including Shelton Benjamin and Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder. In the following weeks, he mocked several other superstars in the "Hurrapops", ending each promo with the phrase, "I'm just sayin'!" On the November 28 episode of *SmackDown*, a "Hurrapop" appeared in which Helms announced that he would make his return to the ring on the next episode of *SmackDown*. On the December 5 episode of *SmackDown*, Helms defeated Montel Vontavious Porter in his ring return. Helms was quickly scripted into a feud with the United States Champion Shelton Benjamin, defeating him in two non-title matches on *SmackDown*, although he failed to win a championship match on December 26.

On April 15, 2009, Helms was drafted to the *ECW* brand as part of the 2009 Supplemental Draft. Helms made his *ECW* debut as a backstage interviewer on April 28, 2009, reverting to his **Gregory Helms** ring name, interviewing Evan Bourne. He started a storyline where, while he was interviewing someone, a scripted accident would occur, leading to Helms leaving the interview seconds before the person in distress was saved by The Hurricane. On the August 11, 2009 episode of *ECW*, Helms was attacked by Paul Burchill after Helms denied being The Hurricane. The Hurricane later attacked Burchill in the ring dressed in his Hurricane attire, to save Yoshi Tatsu. The next week on *ECW*, he made his in-ring debut for the brand as **The Hurricane**, and defeated Burchill. He continued to feud with Burchill, who attempted to expose The Hurricane's true identity, until the November 17 episode of *ECW* when The Hurricane defeated Burchill in a mask versus career match.

On February 26, 2010, Helms was released from his WWE contract.

On January 28, 2018, at the Royal Rumble, Helms, as The Hurricane, entered the Rumble match as a surprise entrant at number twenty-one, but was quickly eliminated by John Cena. One year later, on January 28, 2019, it was announced that he would return to WWE in a backstage producer role. On July 19, 2019, the Hurricane attempted to win the WWE 24/7 Championship from R-Truth whilst he was being interviewed, though he was unable to do so. On July 22, 2019, the Hurricane made an on-air return to WWE for the special *Raw Reunion* episode of *Monday Night Raw*. On April 15, 2020, Helms announced his departure from WWE as a producer.

On January 31, 2021, once again at Royal Rumble, he returned in the Royal Rumble match as the twenty-third entrant; he was eliminated by Big E and Bobby Lashley.