The Disciples of the New Church

Not to be confused with The New Church.

Professional wrestling stable

Professional wrestling stable

Disciples of the New Church

Stable
Members| See below
Name(s)| The Disciples of the New Church[1]
The New Church Disciples
The New Church[1]
Debut| June 19, 2002[1]
Disbanded| October 1, 2003[1]
Years active| 2002–2003

The Disciples of the New Church, also known as the New Church Disciples or simply The New Church, were a professional wrestling stable in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) from June 19, 2002, to October 1, 2003.[1]

## History[edit]

### Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2002–2003, 2013)[edit]

Originally, The Disciples of the New Church formed as a heel stable consisting of Tempest, Slash, and Malice, along with Father James Mitchell as their manager. They were all introduced in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) on June 19, 2002, when they competed in the Gauntlet for the Gold: an over-the-top rope elimination match in which the final two competitors face off in a one-fall singles match to crown the first NWA World Heavyweight Champion of the TNA era. Malice and Ken Shamrock were the last two remaining in the Gauntlet for the gold match, with Ken Shamrock winning via pinfall, thus leading up to a feud between him and The New Church.[2]

On the next PPV, the following week, The New Church interrupted a speech by Ken Shamrock. James Mitchell challenged Shamrock to a match with his Disciple, Malice, for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, and Ken Shamrock agreed. Then Malice attacked Shamrock from behind in the ring and gave him a chokeslam. On July 3, Ken Shamrock was attacked by Malice backstage before their match even started, but Ken Shamrock competed to face Malice in the ring regardless and retained his NWA World Title after he defeated Malice in a singles match.[3] On July 10, Slash and Tempest got a shot at the Tag Team Titles against A.J. Styles and Jerry Lynn but were defeated.[4] Malice had another chance at a shot at the NWA title, when he faced Sabu in a number one contenders ladder match on July 17, but lost.[5] On July 24, Malice stole the NWA World Heavyweight Championship from Ken Shamrock after he retained it in a ladder match with Sabu,[6] but on July 31, Shamrock got it back when TNA security Don Harris interrupted after a match involving Malice and Apolo, taking the NWA World Heavyweight Championship away from Malice to bring it to its rightful owner, Ken Shamrock.[7]

After Malice's brief feud with Ken Shamrock, he started feuding with Don Harris. On August 7, Malice and Harris wrestled each other in a first blood match,[8] and then on August 14, they wrestled again in a last man standing match.[9] After their last man standing match, both of them shook hands in respect for their match together.[9] Malice then left The Disciples of the New Church. Cobain then became a part of the stable, and made a tag team with Slash.[10] Cobain and Slash wrestled together as tag teams in TNA throughout August and September 2002, but then made a short disappearance.[1]

"The Disciples of the New Church" returned to TNA on October 30, 2002. Brian Lee became the newest member after their return and made a tag team with Slash, along with James Mitchell as manager and Bella Donna as their valet.[11] They attacked the then current NWA World Tag Team Champions, America's Most Wanted (James Storm and Chris Harris) demanding a shot at the NWA Tag Team Championships.[11] On November 6, "The New Church" members Slash and Brian Lee wrestled against America's Most Wanted in a tag team match for the NWA Tag Titles, but lost via disqualification.[12] The New Church members Brian Lee and Slash, however, defeated America's Most Wanted the following week on November 13, in another tag team match, becoming the new NWA World Tag Team Champions.[13][14] On November 20, America's Most Wanted wrestled against The New Church in a rematch, but lost.[15] The New Church successfully defended their titles throughout December 2002[1] before dropping the titles back to AMW in their final encounter on January 8, 2003, PPV.[16] Bella Donna then left The Disciples of the New Church.[1]

"The Disciples of the New Church" turned babyfaces when they joined the battle with Team Extreme (Sandman, Perry Saturn and New Jack) and the NWA against Sports Entertainment Xtreme (S.E.X.).[1] On April 9, Disciples turned on Team Extreme in a three-way tag team match by attacking them through a fireball in Sandman's face.[17] They battled Team Extreme and The Gathering throughout the entire year before they were taken out by Raven one by one.[18]

On March 5, 2013, Slash and Sinn appeared at TNA One Night Only Hardcore Justice 2. The Disciples of the New Church were defeated by Latin American Xchange (Hernandez & Homicide).

### After wrestling[edit]

The stable's valet, BellaDonna, whose real name was Leah Roxanne Biggerstaff, died on January 21, 2019. She was 39.[19] Also known as Rocksan Biggerstaff, she was also a bass guitarist for the Nashville pop punk band Teen Idols in the mid-1990s.[20]

## Members[edit]

* Wrestlers
* Mike Awesome[1]
* Shane Douglas[1]
* Kobain[1]
* Brian Lee[1]
* Malice[1]
* Sinn[1]
* Slash[1]
* Tempest[1]
* Vampiro[1]
* Managers
* Father James Mitchell[1]
* BellaDonna (valet)[1]

## Championships and accomplishments[edit]

* Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

* NWA World Tag Team Championship – Brian Lee and Slash (1 time)[14]

## See also[edit]

* Disciples of Apocalypse
* The Ministry of Darkness
* The New Blood

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t "Disciples of New Church Profile". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved May 17, 2008.
2. ^ "NWA:TNA PPV results - June 19, 2002". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
3. ^ "NWA:TNA PPV results - July 3, 2002". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved June 5, 2008.
4. ^ "NWA:TNA PPV results - July 10, 2002". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved June 5, 2008.
5. ^ "NWA:TNA PPV results - July 17, 2002". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved June 5, 2008.
6. ^ "NWA:TNA PPV results - July 24, 2002". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved June 5, 2008.
7. ^ "NWA:TNA PPV results - July 31, 2002". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved June 5, 2008.
8. ^ "NWA:TNA PPV results - August 7, 2002". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved June 5, 2008.
9. ^ a b "NWA:TNA PPV results - August 14, 2002". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved June 5, 2008.
10. ^ "NWA:TNA PPV results - August 28, 2002". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved June 5, 2008.
11. ^ a b "NWA:TNA PPV results - October 30, 2002". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved June 5, 2008.
12. ^ "NWA:TNA PPV results - November 6, 2002". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved June 5, 2008.
13. ^ "NWA:TNA PPV results - November 13, 2002". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved June 5, 2008.
14. ^ a b "N.W.A. World Tag Team Title". The Great Hisa's Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved June 5, 2008.
15. ^ "NWA:TNA PPV results - November 20, 2002". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved June 5, 2008.
16. ^ "NWA:TNA PPV results - January 8, 2003". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved June 5, 2008.
17. ^ "NWA:TNA PPV results - April 9, 2003". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved June 5, 2008.
18. ^ "NWA:TNA PPV results - October 1, 2003". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved June 5, 2008.
19. ^ "Former TNA Valet Bella Donna (Rocksan Biggerstaff) Passes Away". PW Mania. January 24, 2019.
20. ^ Lentz, Harris III M. (2020). Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2019. MacFarland. p. 31\. ISBN 978-1-4766-7978-5.

## External links[edit]

* Disciples of The New Church's Online World of Wrestling profile

* v
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NWA World Tag Team Champions

1990s|

* The Rock 'n' Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson)
* Mr. Gannosuke and Tarzan Goto
* C. W. Anderson and Pat Anderson
* The Border Patrol (Agent Gunn and Agent Maxx)
* Barry Windham and Tully Blanchard
* The Brotherhood (Eric Sbraccia and Knuckles Nelson)
* The Brotherhood (Knuckles Nelson and Rick Fuller)
* The Public Enemy (Johnny Grunge and Rocco Rock)
* The Brotherhood (Dukes Dalton and Knuckles Nelson)
* Team Extreme (Khris Germany and Kit Carson)
* Murder, Inc. (Jimmy James and Kevin Northcutt)

2000s|

* xXx (Curtis Thompson and Drake Dawson)
* The Main Event (Reno Riggins and Steven Dunn)
* Bad Attitude (David Young and Rick Michaels)
* The Bad Street Boys (Christian York and Joey Matthews)
* Dan Factor and David Flair
* The New Heavenly Bodies (Chris Nelson and Vito DeNucci)
* Glacier and Jason Sugarman
* Disturbing Behavior (Jeff Daniels and Tim Renesto)
* Shane Twins (Mike Shane and Todd Shane)
* The Real American Heroes (Joey Ryan and Karl Anderson)
* Los Luchas (Phoenix Star and Zokre)
* The Skullkrushers (Keith Walker and Rasche Brown)

2010s|

* The Dark City Fight Club (Jon Davis and Kory Chavis)
* The Usual Suspects (A.J. Steele and Murder One)
* The Kingz of the Underground (Ryan Genesis and Scot Summers)
* Killer Elite Squad (Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Lance Archer)
* The IronGodz (Jax Dane and Rob Conway)
* Tencozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima)
* The Heatseekers (Elliot Russell and Sigmon)
* The Iron Empire (Matt Riviera and Rob Conway)
* Kazushi Miyamoto and Rob Terry
* Villain Enterprises (Brody King and PCO)
* The Wild Cards (Royce Isaacs and Thomas Latimer)

2020s|

* Eli Drake and James Storm
* Aron Stevens and J. R. Kratos
* La Rebelión (Bestia 666 and Mecha Wolf 450) (current)
* The Commonwealth Connection (Doug Williams and Harry Smith)

Recognized champions in other promotions

WWF|

* The Rock 'n' Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson)
* The Headbangers (Mosh and Thrasher)
* The New Midnight Express (Bodacious Bart and Bombastic Bob)

TNA|

* A.J. Styles and Jerry Lynn
* America's Most Wanted (Chris Harris and James Storm)
* The Disciples of the New Church (Brian Lee and Slash)
* Triple X (Christopher Daniels, Elix Skipper and Low Ki)
* Amazing Red and Jerry Lynn
* Simon Diamond and Johnny Swinger
* 3 Live Kru (B.G. James, Konnan and Ron Killings)
* The Red Shirt Security (Joe Legend and Kevin Northcutt)
* Abyss and A.J. Styles
* Dallas and Kid Kash
* D-Lo Brown and Apolo
* The Naturals (Andy Douglas and Chase Stevens)
* Chris Harris and Elix Skipper
* Christopher Daniels and James Storm
* Team Canada (Bobby Roode and Eric Young)
* A.J. Styles and Christopher Daniels
* The Latin American Xchange (Hernandez and Homicide)
* Team 3D (Brother Devon and Brother Ray)

Unrecognized champions in other promotions

WCW|

* The Miracle Violence Connection (Steve Williams and Terry Gordy)
* Barry Windham and Dustin Rhodes
* Ricky Steamboat and Shane Douglas
* The Hollywood Blonds (Brian Pillman and Steve Austin)
* The Four Horsemen (Arn Anderson and Paul Roma)

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