Frank Parris (born May 11, 1979) is an American

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

. He is best known for his stint in

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of National W ...

under

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name or nickname used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons ...

Air Paris.

Professional wrestling career

Debut

On April 20, 1996, Parris made his professional wrestling debut under ring name Kid Ego, where he and Mark Pain lost to Dusty Dotson and Nasty Critter in a

tag team match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "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 storyline. ...

for the North Georgia Wrestling Alliance. One week later, Ego made his singles debut in a losing effort to Mike Golden. After losing to Jailhouse Rocker on May 10, he picked up the first win of his career by defeating Kenny D on June 21.

National Wrestling Alliance

NWA Wildside

After a three-year hiatus, Parris returned to wrestling and began competing on the

independent circuit In professional wrestling, the independent circuit (often shortened to the indie circuit or the indies) is the collective name of independently owned promotions which are deemed to be smaller and more regionalized than major national promotions. ...

, most prominently for the

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and governing body owned by Billy Corgan and operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA be ...

, as Air Paris. He debuted for the NWA on September 25, 1999, at their 51st anniversary show, and was unable to win a

battle royal Battle royal (, also battle royale) traditionally refers to a fight involving many combatants, usually conducted under either boxing or wrestling rules, where the winner is the one who registers the most wins. In recent times, the term has been ...

to determine the number one contender for the World Junior Heavyweight Championship. Paris appeared at the following year's anniversary show on October 14, 2000, where he and

Cassidy O'Reilly Cassidy James Riley (born November 21, 1976), also known as Kassidy James, is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his work with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment. Professional wrestling career ...

lost to Bad Attitude ( David Young and

Rick Michaels Rick Michaels (born September 8, 1974) is a retired American professional wrestler. Professional wrestling career Extreme Championship Wrestling (1992–1993) Michaels debuted for Extreme Championship Wrestling on June 23, 1992, under the gimmi ...

) in a match for the

World Tag Team Championship In professional wrestling, a championship or title is a recognition promoted by professional wrestling organizations. Championship reigns are determined by professional wrestling matches, in which competitors are involved in predetermined rival ...

. After debuting in the NWA territory Wildside in early 1999, he soon won the territory's Junior Heavyweight Championship on May 13. However, he was stripped of the title on October 28 after being unable to defend the title in 30 days due to an injury. Paris regained the title after defeating Andy Anderson on November 4, but was once again stripped of the title in May 2000. Paris would go on to win his first and only Television Championship after defeating

Eddie Golden Harold Edward Cox (born November 4, 1973), better known by the ring name Eddie Golden, is an American professional wrestler. A member of the Golden wrestling family, he is the father of Evan Golden and the nephew of Bunkhouse Buck. Golden was ...

on January 6, 2001, but lost the title to A.J. Styles that same night.

Music City Wrestling / NWA Main Event

In addition to Wildside, Paris began competing for Music City Wrestling and Main Event, two other NWA territories. While in MCW, he won the

North American Championship A North American Championship is a top level international sports competition between North American athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. List of championships ;Bridge * North American Bridg ...

. Meanwhile, in Main Event, he reformed his

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 establis ...

with

and together, they won the North American Tag Team Championship on August 14, 1999. They later lost the title on November 27 to New South (Ashley Hudson and Cory Williams).

Chase Stevens Chase Bradley Stevens (born January 17, 1979) is an American professional wrestler, best known under the ring name of "The Natural" Chase Stevens. He is known primarily for his work in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he was a member ...

later replaced Paris in the tag team due to Paris signing a developmental deal with

in 2000. Despite being contracted to WCW, Paris returned to Main Event and won the North American Tag Team Title for the second time, this time with Big Bully Douglas, on April 14, 2000. They held the title until September of that year before it was vacated due to Paris and Douglas splitting.

World Championship Wrestling (2001)

After being signed to a deal with

in 2000, Parris, under his Air Paris name, debuted for the promotion alongside former NWA Wildside rival A.J. Styles on the February 14, 2001, episode of ''

Thunder Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending upon the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a long, low rumble to a sudden, loud crack. The sudden increase in temperature and hence pressure caused by the lightning pr ...

'', where they lost to

Evan Karagias Evan Karagias (born November 27, 1973) is an American retired professional wrestler and actor. Acting career Karagias moved to New York City to pursue an acting and modeling career. He also became the spokesmodel for the 1996 Calvin Klein and US ...

and

Jamie Noble James Gibson (born December 23, 1976) is an American retired professional wrestler better known by the ring name Jamie Noble. He is signed to WWE, where he works as a producer. In addition to his work with WWE, Noble is known for his tenures in ...

. Paris and Styles gained their first and only win in WCW when they scored an upset against former World Tag Team Champions The Boogie Knights (

Alex Wright Alexander Wright (born May 17, 1975) is a German former Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and professional wrestling promotion, professional wrestling promoter. He wrestled professionally in Germany and Japan before signing with World ...

and

Disco Inferno "Disco Inferno" is a song by American disco band the Trammps from their 1976 studio album of same name. With two other cuts by the group, it reached No. 1 on the US ''Billboard'' Dance Club Songs chart in early 1977, but had limited mainstream ...

) the following week on ''Thunder''. Paris and Styles made their ''

Nitro Nitro may refer to: Chemistry *Nitrogen, a chemical element and a gas except at very low temperatures, with which many compounds are formed: **Nitro compound, an organic compound containing one or more nitro functional groups, -NO2 **Nitro ligand ...

'' debut on the March 5 episode, there they lost to

Elix Skipper Elix Skipper (born December 15, 1967) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling, where he was a one-time WCW Cruiserweight Champion and a one-time WCW Cruiserweight Tag ...

and

Kid Romeo Samuel Román (born 1975) is a United States, Puerto Rican-American former Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best known for his stint in World Championship Wrestling in 2001 under the ring name Kid Romeo, where he was one half ...

in quarterfinals of a tournament to crown the first WCW Cruiserweight Tag Team Champions. On the final episode of ''

'' on March 21, Styles was renamed to Air Styles and together the team was given the new name Air Raid as they went on to lose to The Jung Dragons. When WCW was bought out by the

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

, neither Paris nor Styles had their contracts picked up by the WWF.

Independent circuit

After the closures of both WCW and NWA Wildside, Paris returned to competing on the

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, and wrestled his final match in the Rings of Glory promotion on December 16, 2005. On May 1, 2008, he returned to wrestling under his Air Paris name and joined the promotion NAWA Ring Champions as a booker and wrestler.

NAWA Ring Champions

Upon debuting, Paris was given a match for any NAWA championship of his choosing by Commissioner Ted Guinness, but was subsequently attacked by The Exotic Ones (Simon Sermon and

), the promotion's Tag Team Champions. On May 15, Paris teamed with Cruiserweight Champion Chris Ganz to face The Exotic Ones for the Tag Team Championship, but were unsuccessful in winning the title. After the match, Paris turned on Ganz by utilizing the title match he received from Guinness and defeated Ganz to win the Cruiserweight Championship, resulting in Paris becoming 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 leg. Structure To distribute the compressive forces exerted ...

in the process. After vacating the Cruiserweight Title, Paris began feuding with Ganz and faced him on June 5 in a tag team match, but was unsuccessful as he and Jason Valentine lost to Ganz and

Tommy Rich Thomas Richardson (born July 26, 1956) is an American professional wrestling, professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Tommy "Wildfire" Rich. He is a one time former National Wrestling Alliance NWA World Heavyweight Championship, Wo ...

. On July 3, their feud culminated when Paris and

Bobby Eaton Bobby Lee Eaton (August 14, 1958 – August 4, 2021) was an American professional wrestler best known as "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton. He was most famous for his work in tag teams, especially as one-half of The Midnight Express. Under the manageme ...

were defeated by Ganz and

Ricky Morton Richard Wendell Morton (born September 21, 1956) is an American professional wrestler, currently performing on the independent circuit. For most of his career, Morton has performed with Robert Gibson (wrestler), Robert Gibson as the Rock 'n' Roll ...

Purks International Championship Wrestling

In 2009, Parris left NAWA Ring Champions and joined Purks International Championship Wrestling as a booker and wrestler. He made his in-ring debut for the promotion on December 16 as a

, where he and Bobby Hayes lost to

The Steiner Brothers The Steiner Brothers are an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of brothers Rick Steiner (real name Robert Rechsteiner) and Scott Steiner (real name Scott Rechsteiner). The brothers wrestled as amateurs at the University of Mich ...

. After the match, Paris shook hands with the Steiner Brothers, becoming a

face The face is the front of the head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may affect th ...

in the process, but was attacked by Hayes until being saved by the Steiner Brothers. On February 6, 2010, Paris teamed with David Young and

Ron Simmons Ronald K. Simmons (born May 15, 1958) is an American former professional wrestler and Gridiron football, football player. He is best known for his tenures in WWE and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Prior to becoming a professional wrestler ...

to face Hayes, Terry Lawler and Alexander the Great, but lost after Young turned on Paris by attacking him. On March 6, Paris wrestled against former tag team partner and then-

TNA World Heavyweight Champion The TNA World Championship is a professional wrestling world championship created and promoted by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). It is the promotion's principal championship. Like most professional wrestling championships, the title is won ...

A.J. Styles in a non-title match, which ended in a no-contest due to outside interference. Paris then continued his feud with Hayes and Young and defeated them in a tag team match with

Kevin Nash Kevin Scott Nash (born July 9, 1959) is an American actor, podcaster and retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE under a legends contract. He is also known for his tenures in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Total Nonstop Ac ...

as his partner on April 10. After the match, Hayes piledrove Paris before Young did the same, injuring him in the process. Despite being injured, Paris returned on June 12 during a

triple threat match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called " 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 storyline. ...

for the Heavyweight Championship between Hayes, Young and

Chris Harris Chris Harris may refer to: Sportspeople * Chris Harris (basketball) (1933–2022), English basketballer * Chris Harris (cricketer) (born 1969), New Zealand cricketer * Chris Harris (darts player) (born 1977), Welsh darts player * Chris Harris (rowe ...

and helped Harris defeat Hayes and Young to win the Heavyweight Title. On February 12, 2011, Paris teamed with Terry Lawler to defeat Hayes and Young in a tag team match.

Other media

In 2013, Parris was announced as being one of the contributors to ''Phenomenal'', the autobiography of former tag team partner A.J. Styles.

Championships and accomplishments

* Music City Wrestling **

NWA North American Heavyweight Championship The NWA North American Heavyweight Championship, also known simply as the NWA North American Championship, was a professional wrestling championship created by the National Wrestling Alliance in 1994 after World Championship Wrestling withdrew fro ...

( 1 time) *NAWA Ring Champions **NAWA Ring Champions Cruiserweight Championship (1 time) * NWA Main Event **

NWA North American Tag Team Championship The NWA North American Tag Team Championship is an inactive professional wrestling tag team championship that was used and defended in various territories throughout the National Wrestling Alliance., prior to its being purchased in 2017 by Billy ...

(

2 times "2 Times" is the debut single of English singer Ann Lee. It was released in Italy in December 1998 by X-Energy as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999), and was issued worldwide the following year. The single peaked at number tw ...

) – with

(1) and Big Bully Douglas (1) *

NWA Wildside NWA Wildside was an American independent professional wrestling promotion based in Cornelia, Georgia, with an office in Atlanta, Georgia, operating between September 1999 and April 2005. It was originally formed when National Championship Wrestli ...

** NWA Wildside Junior Heavyweight Championship (

) **NWA Wildside Television Championship (1 time) *

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...

**PWI ranked him number #195 of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the

PWI 500 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...

in 2001

References

External links

Solie's title histories
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paris, Air 1977 births American male professional wrestlers Living people Professional wrestlers from Atlanta NWA Georgia Junior Heavyweight Champions NWA North American Heavyweight Champions 20th-century male professional wrestlers 20th-century American professional wrestlers 21st-century male professional wrestlers 21st-century American professional wrestlers