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325:, but the storyline was abruptly ended when the New Breed were involved in a car accident that meant Chris Champion could not wrestle for several months. When he returned, he wore a cast on his arm, decorated with computer parts, claiming it was a "future cast". The car crash and return turned the New Breed
527:
and was in the critical care unit for a while after that. He was able to make a full recovery from the stroke and returned to wrestling. In 2006, he teamed with
Blackie West in the Southern Wrestling Federation, as "The SS". They won the SWF Tag Team Championship from Mighty Hojo and Scotty McKeever
385:
for the titles, in a match that became so out of control that it ended in a "no contest" and the titles being vacated. The following week Wild Side defeated
Jackson and Travis in the rematch and won the CWA Tag Team Championship. Their title reign lasted until the Rock 'n' Roll Express defeated them
543:, it is rumored that Champion's death was caused by another stroke. A YouTube user claiming to be Champion's daughter verified this, saying he suffered multiple strokes during his final days. She further adds Champion was on life support for 3 or 4 days before dying.
438:. After FMW, Champion returned to the States to compete in the independent circuit, namely the International Championship Wrestling Alliance in Florida and the Mountain Wrestling Association in Kentucky. He would briefly appear in
506:, as well as returning to FMW for a tour in March 1996. He would also return to the USWA in April 1996, but would leave the company three months later. He would resurrect the Turtle Kamen character for
266:, and addressed him as "Mr. President". They also referred to having robots and sported very unusual haircuts and bright "futuristic" ring gear in neon colors. Their entrance music was the
520:
In 1998, Champion worked with Chris
Alexander against Frost and Mindbender for the New Age Wrestling Alliance Tag Team Championship. The title was held up due to a double countout.
297:
in the finals of a tournament for the vacant titles. The New Breed held the
Florida Tag titles from December 25, 1986 until February 21, 1987 where they lost the belts to the
531:
Champion returned to the ring for a one night appearance as Yoshi Kwan in
October 2017 for Southern Wrestling Federation in Tullahoma, Tennessee losing to Petey St. Croix.
390:(USWA), with the new name came a new attitude from Chris Champion, who broke up Wild Side and began working as a face. Champion worked feuds with USWA's top talent such as
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to form a team called "Wild Side", a team that feuded with the Rock 'N Roll
Express, just as the New Breed had done years before. On July 3, 1989, Wild Side faced then
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251:
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341:). The feud did not last long as Sean Royal retired a short time later, ending the New Breed team. After the New Breed broke up, Champion participated in the 1988
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254:. The "gimmick" of the New Breed was that they claimed to be sent back from the year 2002 to 1986 to compete. As part of their gimmick they claimed that
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470:) and wore makeup to make him appear to be Asian. He grew a Fu Manchu and grew a dragon tattoo on his right arm. Kwan scored victories over
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announced the first name as "Yoshi" (which is
Japanese), and it stuck. The Yoshi Kwan character was billed as being from Asia (either
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in the second round. Following the
Crockett Cup, Champion briefly competed in the NWA as "The Karate Kid", but
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and changed his ring name to "Chris
Champion", the name he would be most known under. Champion teamed up with
930:
Kristian Pope & Ray Whebbe (2003). "Oddballs, freaks, and
Monsters. Gimmicks that make wrestling great".
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Champion later adopted a character called "Sinn" that he used both in the United States and, later, in the
190:
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Champion, using the Kowabunga gimmick, but using the name "Turtle Kamen," wrestled a tour of Japan for
361:
and others complained of Champion's stiff kicks and he was soon pushed out of the Crockett territory.
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Champion died on August 22, 2018, at the age of 57. According to Ringsidenews.com and fellow friend
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at Halloween Havoc, but a knee injury prevented him from wrestling and he was soon out of WCW.
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The Encyclopedia of Professional Wrestling: 100 Years of History, Headlines & Hitmakers
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https://www.cagematch.net/?id=2&nr=4269&page=4&year=2017&promotion=2611
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in August 1991. While in FMW, he teamed up with the likes of his brother Mark Starr,
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Continental Wrestling Association/United States Wrestling Association (1988–1991)
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from him, a title he would hold until September 28, 1986 where he lost it to
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Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). "Florida: NWA Florida Tag Team Title".
507:
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454:(WCW), where he was given the ring persona "Yoshi Kwan", and was managed by
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87:
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540:
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309:). Shortly after the title loss the New Breed left Florida to work for
524:
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Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). "Memphis: CWA Tag Team Title".
406:
Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling and Independent circuit (1991–1993)
463:
836:"3rd Annual Jim Crockett, Sr. Memorial Tag Team Tournament Cup"
763:
Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). "Florida: Bahamas Title".
608:
NAWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Chris Justice.
386:
for the belts on September 11, 1989. In late 1989 CWA became
277:
On August 3, 1986, Champion defeated Tyree Pride to win the
226:
Ashford-Smith started wrestling in 1984 using the ring name
486:, with the two facing off in a singles match at WCW's 1993
398:. For a while Champion worked as "Kowabunga", dressed in a
182:(February 17, 1961 – August 22, 2018), better known by his
1015:
Big Lee's Corner: RIP Chris Champion 02/17/1961-08/22/2018
795:(4th ed.). Archeus Communications. pp. 160–161.
369:
Following his departure from JCP Champion showed up in
618:
SWF Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Blackie West
934:(2nd ed.). Krause Publications. pp. 85–99.
887:(4th ed.). Archeus Communications. p. 199.
767:(4th ed.). Archeus Communications. p. 162.
990:
Former NWA Star Chris Champion Passes Away at Age 57
482:and others while managed by Race. Kwan feuded with
402:bodysuit and mask. Champion left the USWA in 1991.
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343:Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament
502:Champion worked as "Yoshi Kwan" on the American
234:Championship Wrestling From Florida (1986–1987)
733:Wrestlecrap – the very worst of pro wrestling
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490:which Cactus Jack won. Kwan was set to face
1038:: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (
1012:BigLee1901 Wrestling Channel (2018-08-27),
528:in 2006. He also worked as a booker there.
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1001:Former WCW Star Chris Champion Passes Away
25:
911:. Prowrestlinghistory. September 19, 1993
329:("good guys") and they began a feud with
1131:21st-century male professional wrestlers
1126:20th-century male professional wrestlers
878:
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630:SWA North American Championship (1 time)
321:In JCP the New Breed worked a feud with
707:Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2018
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838:. ProWrestlingHistory. April 22, 1988
633:TWC Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
7:
1106:American male professional wrestlers
1111:Professional wrestlers from Florida
857:Cawthon, Graham (16 January 2023).
816:Cawthon, Graham (16 January 2023).
725:RD Reynolds and Randy Baer (2003).
675:"Wrestler profiles: Chris Champion"
554:Championship Wrestling from Florida
523:In July 2002, Champion had a major
450:In June 1993, Champion returned to
446:World Championship Wrestling (1993)
388:United States Wrestling Association
317:Jim Crockett Promotions (1987–1988)
240:Championship Wrestling from Florida
199:Championship Wrestling from Florida
1121:American people of British descent
586:Championship Wrestling Association
193:. He primarily worked for various
14:
570:NWA Florida Tag Team Championship
547:Championships and accomplishments
371:Continental Wrestling Association
287:NWA Florida Tag Team Championship
113:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
1116:Sportspeople from Tampa, Florida
373:(CWA) teaming with his brother,
180:Christopher Dennis Ashford-Smith
37:Christopher Dennis Ashford-Smith
1022:from the original on 2021-12-13
728:"Welcome to Oz! Welcome to Oz!"
412:Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling
1141:NWA Florida Bahamian Champions
1136:NWA Florida Tag Team Champions
498:Later career (1993–2008, 2017)
260:President of the United States
238:In 1986, he began working for
197:member territories, including
23:American professional wrestler
1:
705:Lentz III, Harris M. (2019).
614:Southern Wrestling Federation
272:Fight For Your Right to Party
217:Professional wrestling career
80:Professional wrestling career
1056:Chris Champion's profile at
452:World Championship Wrestling
400:Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
211:World Championship Wrestling
1067:Internet Wrestling Database
677:. Online World of Wrestling
345:, teaming with his brother
195:National Wrestling Alliance
1157:
604:New Age Wrestling Alliance
15:
1077:Christopher Ashford-Smith
885:Wrestling Title Histories
793:Wrestling Title Histories
765:Wrestling Title Histories
592:CWA Tag Team Championship
426:and battled the likes of
323:The Rock 'n' Roll Express
121:222 lb (101 kg)
709:. McFarland. p. 68.
560:NWA Bahamas Championship
476:Marcus Alexander Bagwell
440:Smoky Mountain Wrestling
285:. The New Breed won the
279:NWA Bahamas Championship
16:Not to be confused with
311:Jim Crockett Promotions
203:Jim Crockett Promotions
735:. ECW Press. pp.
379:CWA Tag Team Champions
205:. He is also known as
191:professional wrestler
331:The Midnight Express
72:Nashville, Tennessee
863:TheHistoryOfWWE.com
822:TheHistoryOfWWE.com
598:) - with Mark Starr
504:independent circuit
396:The Dirty White Boy
381:Action Jackson and
289:when they defeated
55:Worcester, England
971:Missing or empty
941:978-0-87349-625-4
909:"Fall Brawl 1993"
258:would be elected
209:, initially from
189:, was an English
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137:Hunan / Hong Kong
52:February 17, 1961
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131:(was part of
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110:Billed height
108:
95:Dennis Smith
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1024:, retrieved
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973:|title=
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913:. Retrieved
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884:
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840:. Retrieved
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679:. Retrieved
625:Other titles
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603:
584:
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512:
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449:
436:Katsuji Ueda
409:
392:Jerry Lawler
383:Billy Travis
368:
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276:
268:Beastie Boys
256:Dusty Rhodes
237:
228:Dennis Smith
227:
225:
222:Early career
206:
186:
179:
178:
152:Dean Malenko
129:"The Future"
103:Turtle Kamen
88:Ring name(s)
67:(2018-08-22)
18:Chris Kanyon
1101:2018 deaths
1096:1961 births
915:January 27,
859:"JCP: 1988"
842:January 27,
818:"JCP: 1987"
681:January 27,
484:Cactus Jack
456:Harley Race
424:Amigo Ultra
339:Bobby Eaton
156:Joe Malenko
126:Billed from
1090:Categories
1026:2019-04-02
640:References
578:Sean Royal
488:Fall Brawl
428:Eiji Ezaki
420:Ricky Fuji
375:Mark Starr
347:Mark Starr
283:The Falcon
246:to form a
244:Sean Royal
207:Yoshi Kwan
144:Trained by
105:Yoshi Kwan
48:1961-02-17
34:Birth name
576:) - with
510:in 1999.
508:BattlARTS
468:Hong Kong
355:Ric Flair
335:Stan Lane
184:ring name
99:Kowabunga
1034:citation
1020:archived
964:cite web
541:Wolfie D
270:' song "
248:tag team
313:(JCP).
262:in the
250:called
213:(WCW).
170:Retired
938:
891:
799:
771:
743:
737:97–118
596:1 time
574:1 time
564:1 time
525:stroke
422:, and
74:, U.S.
57:, U.K.
535:Death
464:Hunan
162:Debut
1081:IMDb
1040:link
977:help
936:ISBN
917:2010
889:ISBN
844:2010
797:ISBN
769:ISBN
741:ISBN
683:2010
394:and
337:and
327:face
305:and
293:and
201:and
173:2017
165:1984
101:Sinn
62:Died
42:Born
1079:at
466:or
274:".
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1036:}}
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