The Vanishing Half Trivia Quiz

Answer: Christian

WWE often produces storylines and characters that revolve around patriotism, involving both faces and heels, or a mix of both. For example, Sgt. Slaughter and Kurt Angle both had gimmicks that heavily featured elements like the American flag and military references, and they both had multiple face and heel turns throughout their careers. In other cases, WWE exploits this theme with the opposite intent: creating characters that provoke the crowd with anti-American remarks and attitudes. Most of the time, these superstars are presented as foreigners (examples throughout the years include Nikolai Volkoff, La Resistance, the controversial Muhammad Hassan angle, and The League of Nations).

One of the first anti-American stables in modern WWE history was formed by Canadians Lance Storm, Christian, and Test. Originally from "Smackdown", the trio based their characters on anti-American sentiments and actions, notably including an upside-down U.S. flag as one of their iconic symbols. The team was fairly successful in the tag team division, with Christian and Lance Storm earning the World Tag Team Championship once (later, William Regal would win the titles twice alongside Storm). In late 2003, The Un-Americans started having bad matches and a string of defeats that would culminate in their separation. One of the matches that most contributed to their demise was a "Raw" tag team bout against Kane and The Hurricane, a chaotic scene in which both Regal and Test were ejected from the arena by the referee. Storm accidentally drop-kicked Christian, which ultimately resulted in them losing the match and not too long after this, their break-up.

Christian's career continued to grow after his time with The Un-Americans: he unsuccessfully pursued championships in WWE before leaving for TNA in 2005. After winning several titles in TNA and spending some time in other promotions, "Captain Charisma" came back to WWE and was one of the last ECW champions. He would also go on to win other championships like the World Heavyweight and Intercontinental titles. He signed for AEW in 2021.

Answer: Trevor Murdoch

The tag team of Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch was supposedly from Texas, although Cade was born in Iowa and Murdoch in Missouri. Both wrestlers had spent time in WWE's developmental territory OVW. They were promoted to the main roster under the name TNT. They were then introduced on "Raw" as rednecks and quickly became World Tag Team Champions, though they held the titles for a short period of time. The pair were briefly separated and pursued solo careers, but WWE decided to reunite them in 2006. They briefly feuded with D-Generation X supporting the McMahons, and then began a rivalry with Matt and Jeff Hardy for the World Tag Team Championships. The pair continued together until early 2008, when Cade began appearing frustrated with his tag team partner, especially since they had lost their titles months before.

The tensions between the two continued, even leading to Murdoch singing a country song to Cade after losing a match on "Raw". Weeks later, Murdoch sang again but Cade wasn't happy with this and attacked Murdoch, effectively ending the partnership. Murdoch left the WWE almost immediately after this incident. Cade, whose mentor was Shawn Michaels, stayed for a little bit as Chris Jericho's protegé during Jericho's feud with Michaels in 2008 but was released under uncertain circumstances shortly afterward. Cade passed away unexpectedly on August 13, 2010.

Answer: Hardcore Holly

Cody Rhodes, the son of WWE legend Dusty Rhodes, made his official debut in 2007 on an episode of "Raw". After a few weeks of alternating rivals, which included Randy Orton, Rhodes had a few matches against Hardcore Holly. Their relationship evolved into a tag team, and in late 2007, they defeated Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch to become World Tag Team Champions. At the 2008 Night of Champions Pay Per View, Rhodes and Holly were set to face Ted DiBiase Jr. (son of the legendary "Million-Dollar Man") and a mystery partner. Rhodes shocked everyone when he turned on Holly and assaulted him. DiBiase then revealed that his partner was Rhodes himself, and the duo defeated Holly to become new World Tag Team Champions. Following this incident, Rhodes would continue as a heel for most of his WWE career, including the team of The Legacy with DiBiase and Orton. He later left WWE and formed All Elite Wrestling (AEW).

Hardcore Holly's career goes back to the 1990s when he wrestled for multiple promotions like NWA, WCW, and WWF. He wrestled under the names Sparky Plug and Bob Holly before changing to Hardcore Holly, which seems fitting since he won the WWF Hardcore Championship six times. In addition to this title, he is also a multiple-time World Tag Team Champion. He left WWE a few months after the Night of Champions match where Rhodes turned on him.

Answer: Edge

After leaving Evolution, Randy Orton's solo career benefited from a long feud with The Undertaker, in a storyline that also heavily featured Orton's father, "Cowboy" Bob Orton. Following Orton's move to "Raw" in 2006, he paired up with Edge to compete against the team of Triple H and Shawn Michaels, D-Generation X. The rivalry would give way to several interesting Pay Per View matches and helped other storylines as well: for example, after Triple H got injured, Michaels defeated Rated-RKO with John Cena to become the new World Tag Team Champions, just weeks before a "Wrestlemania 23" between the two. Coincidentally, both members of Rated-RKO would participate in the Money in the Bank match at that same Pay Per View, which undoubtedly made things worse between the already tense pair.

Even though Mr. Kennedy won that Money in the Bank briefcase, Edge would claim it in a later match on "Raw", and then capitalize on a badly-beaten Undertaker to win the World Heavyweight Championship. This resulted in Edge moving to the "Smackdown" brand, effectively splitting Rated-RKO. The pair continued successful solo careers but occasionally reunited throughout the years, and even faced each other several times years after their separation.

Answer: Shelton Benjamin

Shelton Benjamin was active in both football and wrestling in his college years and was even close to participating in the 2000 Olympic Games in the wrestling competition. Instead, he chose to join WWE's developmental territories, where he was in a team with future star Brock Lesnar. Benjamin's WWE debut was actually alongside Charlie Haas, as both superstars were introduced as mentees of Kurt Angle, which is why the stable went on to be known as Team Angle. Benjamin and Haas quickly won the WWE Tag Team Championships and were briefly separated between 2004 and 2006 due to Benjamin's departure to "Raw".

They reunited in December of 2006 and were involved in several matches for the World Tag Team Championships, but were unsuccessful. Benjamin was drafted to ECW in 2007 and wrestled in that brand until its final episode in 2010.

He then participated in "Smackdown" for a few matches before being released from his contract. Benjamin wrestled in the independent circuit for years before returning to WWE in 2017.

Answer: Brian Kendrick

Paul London and Brian Kendrick share several similarities; for instance, both of their careers began in Texas, they were both WWE Cruiserweight Champions at one point, and both wrestled at Ring of Honor before joining WWE almost at the same time. London and Kendrick had a long feud with MNM (Joey Mercury and Johnny Nitro), where the team ultimately captured the WWE Tag Team Championships and went on to become one of the longest-reigning pairs in history. Both men were drafted from "Smackdown" to "Raw" in 2007, where they initially focused on the World Tag Team Championship belts. They defeated Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch for these titles in a house show, but lost them only days later.

When Brian Kendrick was drafted back to "Smackdown" in 2008, the team was dissolved, with Kendrick adopting a heel character and London appearing in very few shows. Both were released months after this happened, though Kendrick returned to WWE in 2014.

Answer: Matt

Matt and Jeff Hardy are real-life brothers from North Carolina, where they began their wrestling careers at OMEGA. The brothers joined WWE in the late 1990s and became liked by the fans due to their original style of high-flying wrestling. They feuded with opponents like Edge & Christian and The Dudley Boyz (in fact, one of their most famous matches is a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match between the three pairs at Summerslam 2000). Interestingly, before the 2009 storyline, Matt had already betrayed Jeff before in 2002, as the latter was involved in high-profile matches while Matt was wrestling in the less important shows like "Heat". The Hardys had several rivalries upon reuniting in 2006, including the teams of Cade & Murdoch and Benjamin & Haas, based around the World Tag Team Championships.

In 2009, Matt Hardy was wrestling for ECW while Jeff Hardy was making his way to the top on "Smackdown". At that year's Royal Rumble Pay Per View, Matt lost his ECW Championship to Jack Swagger. Later, Edge challenged Jeff Hardy for his WWE Championship, in a match where it appeared that Jeff had the upper hand. After Vickie Guerrero interfered, Matt came to the aid of his brother and both threatened to hit Edge with a chair. Matt shocked everyone in the arena when the chair hit his brother Jeff instead, allowing Edge to make the pinfall and win the championship. Matt later explained that he cared about himself only and didn't consider Jeff to be his brother anymore. They feuded for much of 2009 and left the company months later. They returned in 2017 and had a run as Raw Tag Team Champions.

Answer: WWE Draft

Morrison and The Miz were both seen as rising stars of WWE in 2007, though Morrison (as Johnny Nitro) had more exposure and accomplishments with Intercontinental and Tag Team Championships already on his resume. Morrison won the ECW Championship on the 2007 edition of Vengeance: Night of Champions, in a match that was surrounded by the controversy of Chris Benoit's death (originally scheduled to compete in this match against CM Punk). Morrison competed against several other superstars in ECW to defend his title, including The Miz. After defeating MVP and Matt Hardy for the WWE Tag Team titles on "Smackdown", Morrison and Miz would form a stable partnership which even got its own segment on WWE.com, titled "The Dirt Sheet".

On April 13, 2009, the night of the WWE Draft on "Raw", The Miz battled Kofi Kingston for a draft pick for their respective brand. The Miz was disqualified after Morrison pushed Kingston from the top rope, earning "Raw" a pick. It was revealed that the draft pick was actually The Miz (and Morrison was later sent to "Smackdown"), effectively ending the team. Not satisfied, The Miz unloaded his frustration on Morrison after the match, making it clear that they were no longer a pair.

The duo reunited in 2019 after the long-awaited return of John Morrison to the WWE.

Answer: Sim Snuka

Deuce 'n Domino started their careers in OVW as Deuce Shade and Dice Domino and were managed by Cherry. All three members of the group, who could easily remind you of the movie "Grease" due to their black and white outfits, were promoted to "Smackdown" in early 2007 and very quickly rose to the top of the tag team division. They had a few matches against Paul London and Brian Kendrick, one in which the pair took the tag team titles from London and Kendrick. Throughout the year, Deuce 'n Domino would be involved in several storylines with stars like Batista, Ric Flair, and Finlay. They also had a match at "Vengeance: Night of Champions" against legends Sgt. Slaughter and Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, which was especially fun for fans who knew that "Superfly" is Deuce's father in real life.

The team grew apart in 2008, first replacing Cherry with diva Maryse, and then fighting between the two men on "Smackdown". Deuce competed as Sim Snuka for months but disappeared from WWE TV. He was released from his contract after an infamous botch in Wrestlemania 25, where he posed as a cameraman in the match between The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels but failed to catch "the deadman" correctly, almost causing him a serious injury.

Answer: Big Show

Despite the short-lived nature of ShoMiz (they were only together from January to April of 2010), the team was able to win the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship. In this time period, the World Tag Team Championship and WWE Tag Team Championship were blended into one; however, the title-holders still carried both belts with them to the ring.

At one point, The Miz was also United States Champion, which meant that he was carrying a total of three titles to the ring while being a part of ShoMiz. The team had several matches on "Raw" successfully defending their championships until they lost them to David Hart Smith and Tyson Kidd, otherwise known as The Hart Dynasty. Unhappy with losing, Big Show delivered his trademark right-hand punch to The Miz, knocking him out and ending the brief tag team.