The Disciples of the New Church, also known as the New Church Disciples or simply The New Church, were a

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

stable A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment. Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the promot ...

(TNA) from June 19, 2002 to October 1, 2003.

History

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2002–2003, 2013)

Originally, The Disciples of the New Church formed as a

heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower Human leg, leg. Structure To distribute the compressive for ...

consisting of

Tempest Tempest is a synonym for a storm. '' The Tempest'' is a play by William Shakespeare. Tempest or The Tempest may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Films * ''The Tempest'' (1908 film), a British silent film * ''The Tempest'' (1911 film), a ...

Slash Slash may refer to: * Slash (punctuation), the "/" character Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Slash (Marvel Comics) * Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'') Music * Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band * Nash ...

, and Malice, along with

Father James Mitchell James Lamar Mitchell (born February 26, 1965) is an American professional wrestling manager, known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as James Vandenberg, Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) as The Sinister Minister, and ...

as their

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

. They were all introduced in

(TNA) on June 19, 2002 when they competed in the

Gauntlet for the Gold A Gauntlet for the Gold match is a professional wrestling match used in Impact Wrestling. Match format Different from the other gauntlet matches, in which one competitor faces several others in turn, the Gauntlet for the Gold match is very sim ...

: 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 The NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship is a world heavyweight professional wrestling championship owned and promoted by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), an American professional wrestling promotion. The current champion is Tyrus, who is i ...

of the TNA era. Malice and

Ken Shamrock Kenneth Wayne Shamrock (''né'' Kilpatrick; born February 11, 1964) is an American bare-knuckle boxing promoter and semi-retired professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, and kickboxer. He is best known for his time in Ultimate Fighting Champ ...

were the last two remaining in the Gauntlet for the gold match, with Ken Shamrock winning via

pinfall In wrestling, a pin is achieved by holding an opponent's shoulders to the mat for a three count. Pinfall is the term used in professional wrestling which is a way to win the match for that person or team. Background A pinfall is a victory condi ...

, thus leading up to a feud between him and The New Church. 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 Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...

and gave him a

chokeslam A chokeslam is a type of body slam in professional wrestling, in which a wrestler grasps an opponent's neck, lifts them up, and slams them to the mat. It is common in televised wrestling because it is simple and relatively safe, yet looks power ...

. 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. On July 10, Slash and Tempest got a shot at the Tag Team Titles against

A.J. Styles Allen Neal Jones (born June 2, 1977), better known by his ring name AJ Styles (also stylized as A.J. Styles), is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. Regarded as one of the best ...

and

Jerry Lynn Jeremy Lynn (born June 12, 1963), better known by the ring name Jerry Lynn, is an American retired professional wrestler currently signed with All Elite Wrestling as a producer and coach. He has worked for promotions such as World Championship ...

but were defeated. Malice had another chance at a shot at the NWA title, when he faced Sabu in a number one contenders

ladder match A ladder match is a type of match in professional wrestling, most commonly one in which an item (usually a title belt) is hung above the ring, and the winner is the contestant who climbs a ladder and retrieves the item. The ladder itself becom ...

on July 17, but lost. On July 24, Malice stole the NWA World Heavyweight Championship from Ken Shamrock after he retained it in a ladder match with Sabu, but on July 31, Shamrock got it back when TNA

security Security is protection from, or resilience against, potential harm (or other unwanted coercive change) caused by others, by restraining the freedom of others to act. Beneficiaries (technically referents) of security may be of persons and social ...

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. 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 Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

, and then on August 14, they wrestled again in a

last man standing match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or " gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

. After their last man standing match, both of them shook hands in respect for their match together. Malice then left The Disciples of the New Church. Cobain then became a part of the stable, and made a

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...

with Slash. Cobain and Slash wrestled together as tag teams in TNA throughout August and September 2002, but then made a short disappearance. "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

and Bella Donna as their valet. They attacked the then current NWA World Tag Team Champions, America's Most Wanted (

James Storm James Allen Cox (born June 1, 1977) is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name James Storm. He is best known for his time in Impact Wrestling. He started his career in 1997 and after working on several independent pr ...

and Chris Harris) demanding a shot at the NWA Tag Team Championships. 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. 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. On November 20, America's Most Wanted wrestled against The New Church in a rematch, but lost. The New Church successfully defended their titles throughout December 2002 before dropping the titles back to AMW in their final encounter on January 8, 2003 PPV. Bella Donna then left The Disciples of the New Church. "The Disciples of the New Church" turned babyfaces when they joined the battle with Team Extreme (

Sandman The Sandman is a mythical character in European folklore who puts people to sleep and encourages and inspires beautiful dreams by sprinkling magical sand onto their eyes. Representation in traditional folklore The Sandman is a traditional charact ...

Perry Saturn Perry Arthur Satullo (born October 25, 1966) is an American retired professional wrestler known by his ring name, Perry Saturn. Since debuting in 1990, Saturn wrestled for promotions including Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), World Champions ...

and

New Jack Jerome Young (January 3, 1963 – May 14, 2021) was an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name New Jack. He was best known for his time with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), where he became notorious for his willingnes ...

) and the

NWA NWA or Nwa most commonly refers to: * N.W.A ("Niggaz Wit Attitudes"), a hip hop group from Compton, California, US * National Wrestling Alliance, a professional wrestling organization NWA or Nwa may refer to: Music * New Weird America, a subgenr ...

against

Sports Entertainment Xtreme Vincent James Russo (born January 24, 1961) is an American professional wrestling booker, writer, and pundit. He is notable for his tenures with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE), World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Total Nonstop ...

(S.E.X.). 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. They battled Team Extreme and The Gathering throughout the entire year before they were taken out by Raven one by one. On March 5, 2013, Slash and Sinn appeared at

TNA One Night Only ''One Night Only'' was a series of professional wrestling events held by Impact Wrestling launched in April 2013. The concept was announced on January 11, 2013 by then-Total Nonstop Action (TNA) President Dixie Carter as a part of a change to their ...

Hardcore Justice 2. The Disciples of the New Church were defeated by Latin American Xchange (Hernandez & Homicide).

After wrestling

The stable's valet, BellaDonna, whose real name was Leah Roxanne Biggerstaff, died on January 22, 2019. She was 39. Also known as Rocksan Biggerstaff, she was also a bass guitarist for the Nashville pop punk band

Teen Idols The Teen Idols were a pop punk band originally from Nashville, Tennessee. They were formed in 1992 by Phillip Hill and originally broke up in 2003. The band reunited in 2008 in Chicago, Illinois, with a retooled lineup before breaking up again i ...

in the mid-1990s.

Members

*Wrestlers **

Mike Awesome Michael Lee Alfonso (January 24, 1965 – February 17, 2007) was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his appearances with the American professional wrestling promotions Extreme Championship Wrestling, World Championship Wrestl ...

Shane Douglas Troy Allan Martin (born November 21, 1964) is an American professional wrestler and promoter, better known by his ring name Shane Douglas. He is best known for his tenures in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), World Championship Wrestling (W ...

** Kobain ** Brian Lee ** Malice **

Sinn In the philosophy of language, the distinction between sense and reference was an idea of the German philosopher and mathematician Gottlob Frege in 1892 (in his paper "On Sense and Reference"; German: "Über Sinn und Bedeutung"), reflecting the ...

Vampiro Ian Richard Hodgkinson (born May 31, 1967), better known by his ring name Vampiro, is a Canadian semi-retired professional wrestler who most recently served as director of talent for Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA). He also worked for Lucha Unde ...

Managers Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

**BellaDonna (valet)

Championships and accomplishments

NWA World Tag Team Championship The NWA World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship created by the National Wrestling Alliance. From 1948 to 1982, the NWA allowed member promotions to create their own territorial version of the "NWA World ...

– Brian Lee and

( 1 time)

References

External links

Disciples of The New Church's Online World of Wrestling profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Disciples of the New Church, The Impact Wrestling teams and stables