The Prime Time Players were an American

professional wrestling 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, real- ...

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 ...

performing in the

WWE 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, ...

, composed of

Darren Young Frederick Douglas Rosser III (born November 2, 1983) is an American professional wrestler and trainer. He is signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a trainer at the NJPW Academy and a former Strong Openweight Champion. He is bes ...

and

Titus O'Neil Thaddeus Michael Bullard (born April 29, 1977) is an American professional wrestler and former arena football player. He is signed to WWE as a Global Ambassador. Described by the company as "one of the most philanthropic superstars in WWE hist ...

. The two initially competed on ''

WWE NXT ''WWE NXT'', also known simply as ''NXT'', is an American professional wrestling television program. It is produced by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, featuring wrestlers from the promotion's NXT brand division. The show c ...

'', debuting as a team in January 2012 and were later promoted to the main roster in April of that year. After disbanding and a brief feud in 2014, The Prime Times Players reunited in February 2015 and subsequently captured the

WWE Tag Team Championship The WWE Tag Team Championship is a men's professional wrestling world tag team championship created and promoted by the United States, American professional wrestling promotion, promotion WWE, defended on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown WWE ...

from The New Day, at Money in the Bank before splitting once again in February 2016 and subsequently starting a feud between the two again.

History

Formation (2012)

Initially, O'Neil (who was then 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 ...

) and Young were rivals on ''

'' during its fifth season, named ''NXT Redemption''. Early on, O'Neil was paired with then-friend

Percy Watson Nicholas Christopher McNeil (born August 19, 1981), better known by his ring name Percy Watson, is an American professional wrestler, commentator, and former professional football player. He is best known for his time with WWE as an in-ring ...

against Young and his NXT pro,

Chavo Guerrero Salvador Guerrero IV (born October 20, 1970) better known by his ring names Chavo Guerrero and Chavo Guerrero Jr., is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenures in World Championship Wrestling (WCW), World Wrestling Fe ...

. The feud was put on hold when Guerrero was released and Young was suspended. On the November 16, 2011, episode of ''NXT'', O'Neil was assaulted by a returning Young. Young was then able to get the better of O'Neil twice in tag team matches. The conclusion to O'Neil's feud with Young came when O'Neil defeated Young in a no disqualification match on the January 18 episode of ''NXT''. O'Neil then turned

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 ...

after the match, verbally ripping on the audience, his former pro

Hornswoggle Dylan Mark Postl (born May 29, 1986) is an American professional wrestler and YouTuber. He is best known under the ring name Hornswoggle. He is signed to WWE under a legends contract and performs on the independent circuit, sometimes under the ...

, and NXT itself. O'Neil urged Watson to also turn his back on the fans on the January 25, 2012, episode of ''NXT Redemption''. When Watson refused, O'Neil shoved him and a match between the two was booked, leading to O'Neil defeating Watson. O'Neil continued to attack Watson after the match, leading to

Alex Riley Kevin Robert Kiley Jr. (born April 28, 1981) is an American former professional wrestler and commentator. He is best known for his tenure in WWE, under the ring name Alex Riley, where he was a participant in the second season of '' NXT''. Pr ...

saving Watson. O'Neil then formed an alliance with former enemy Young, and the duo teamed up to defeat Watson and Riley on the February 1 and February 29 episodes of ''NXT Redemption''. O'Neil also faced and defeated Riley on the February 22 episode. On the March 7 episode, Watson received his rematch against O'Neil and defeated O'Neil. O'Neil and Young then moved on to feud with

The Usos The Usos were a Samoan-American professional wrestling tag team which consisted of twin brothers Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso. They are signed to WWE, where Jey performs on the WWE Raw, Raw brand while Jimmy performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), Sma ...

WWE Tag Team Championship pursuits and split (2012–2014)

On the April 18 episode of ''NXT Redemption'', it was announced that O'Neil and Young had been moved to the main roster. The team made their debut for the

SmackDown brand SmackDown is a WWE brand extension, brand of the American professional wrestling promotion WWE that was established on March 25, 2002. Brands are divisions of WWE's roster where wrestlers are assigned to perform on a weekly basis when a brand ex ...

on the April 20 episode of ''

SmackDown ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on USA Network in the United ...

'' with a victory over The Usos. They started on a winning streak defeating the likes

Ezekiel Jackson Rycklon Edward Stephens (born April 22, 1978) is a Guyanese-American professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in WWE from 2007 to 2014 where he performed under the ring name Ezekiel Jackson, where he was the final ECW Champion un ...

and

Yoshi Tatsu is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Yoshi Tatsu. Yamamoto started his professional wrestling career under his real name in October 2002 with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he remaine ...

and

Santino Marella Anthony Carelli (born March 14, 1974), better known by the ring name Santino Marella, is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he works as the on-screen director of authority. He is best kn ...

and

Zack Ryder Matthew Brett Cardona (born May 14, 1985) is an American professional wrestler. He is a freelancer who competes on the independent circuit as well as making in ring appearances for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), All Elite Wrestling (AEW) ...

. However, on the May 18 edition of ''SmackDown'', their winning streak ended when they were defeated by the Tag Team Champions

Kofi Kingston Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah (born August 14, 1981) is a Ghanaian-born American professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Kofi ...

and

R-Truth Ronnie Aaron Killings (born January 19, 1972) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs under his real name, stylized as Ron Killings and R-Truth. Killings worked for World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) ...

. On the June 1 edition of ''SmackDown'', O'Neil and Young named themselves the Prime Time Players. At No Way Out, they won a Fatal-four-Way tag team match to become the number one contenders for the WWE Tag Team Championship following assistance from A. W. who had turned on his clients,

Primo and Epico Eddie and Orlando Colón are a Puerto Rican professional wrestling tag team. They work with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where they perform as The Colóns. The team, composed of real-life cousins, are former WWE Tag Team Champions T ...

in favor of the Prime Time Players, prompting a feud between the two tag teams. On the July 16 episode of ''Raw'', the Prime Time Players unsuccessfully challenged Kofi Kingston and R-Truth for the WWE Tag Team Championship. O'Neil and Young bounced back with two singles victories over Kingston and R-Truth. On the August 10 episode of ''SmackDown'', they defeated Primo and Epico in a number one contenders match via disqualification when A. W. provoked Kofi and R-Truth (who were doing guest commentary) into interfering in the match. That same day, A. W. was released from his contract. On the August 13 edition of ''Raw'', it was announced that the Prime Time Players would receive their championship match at

SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by the world's largest professional wrestling promotion, WWE. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's second biggest event of the year behind th ...

. That same night, after R-Truth defeated

Heath Slater Heath Wallace Miller (born July 15, 1983) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in WWE under the ring name Heath Slater. He also performed in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, Impact Wrestling ...

, O'Neil and Young ambushed R-Truth and left him laying in the ring (Kingston was away on an international tour). At ''SummerSlam'', O'Neil & Young were defeated by Kingston and R-Truth. On the September 7 edition of ''SmackDown'', O'Neil and Young defeated

and

in a triple threat tag match to once again become the number one contenders to the Tag Team Championship. The following week of ''Raw'', they were defeated by

Daniel Bryan Bryan Lloyd Danielson (born May 22, 1981) is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs on a part time basis. He is also known for his tenure in WWE, where he performed under t ...

and And or AND may refer to: Logic, grammar and computing * Conjunction, connecting two words, phrases, or clauses * Logical conjunction in mathematical logic, notated as "∧", "⋅", "&", or simple juxtaposition * Bitwise AND, a Boolean oper ...

Kane Kane or KANE may refer to: Art, entertainment and media Fictional entities *Kane (comics), the main character of the eponymous comic book series by Paul Grist * Kane (''Command & Conquer''), Tiberium universe character in the ''Command & Conquer'' ...

, who became the new number one contenders. At

Survivor Series Survivor Series, branded as Survivor Series: WarGames since 2022, is a professional wrestling event produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving ( ...

, the Prime Time Players took part in a losing effort in a ten-man elimination tag team match. In an interview released on August 15, 2013, Young revealed his

homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" exc ...

orientation in real-life. On the August 19 episode of ''Raw'', the Prime Time Players started to wrestle as

faces 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 the ...

, due to management's and the fans' support for Darren Young coming out. At the pre-show of

Night of Champions WWE Night of Champions is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming List of WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming supercards, event produced by WWE, a Connecticut-based professional wrestling promotion. The inaugural event took pl ...

, the Prime Time Players won a "Tag Team Turmoil" match and thus a title shot by last eliminating the Real Americans (

Antonio Cesaro Claudio Castagnoli ( ; born 27 December 1980) is a Swiss professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of the Death Riders and a former AEW World Trios Championship, AEW World Trios Champion. He also per ...

and

Jack Swagger Donald Jacob Hager Jr. (born March 24, 1982) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and former Amateur wrestling, amateur wrestler and Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. He currently performs on the independent circ ...

). Later that night, they lost to defending champions

Seth Rollins Colby Daniel Lopez (born May 28, 1986), better known by the ring name Seth Rollins, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand extension, brand and ...

and

Roman Reigns Leati Joseph Anoaʻi ( ; born May 25, 1985), better known by his ring name Roman Reigns, is an American professional wrestler and former gridiron football, football player. As a wrestler, he has been signed to WWE , where he performs on the Sm ...

the Shield ''The Shield'' is an American crime drama television series created by Shawn Ryan and starring Michael Chiklis that aired on FX from March 12, 2002 to November 25, 2008 for seven seasons. The show is known for its portrayal of corrupt police ...

. After their face turn they did several comedy segments backstage including selling merchandise and a hotdog eating contest. On the January 31, 2014, episode of ''

'' after Young was pinned in a tag team match against

Ryback Ryback Allen Reeves (born Ryan Allen Reeves; November 10, 1981) is an American retired professional wrestler and YouTuber. He is best known for his tenure with WWE, where he performed under the ring name Ryback. One of the eight finalists on ' ...

and

Curtis Axel Joseph Curtis Hennig (born October 1, 1979) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Curtis Axel. Hennig signed with WWE in 2007 and performed under his real name, styliz ...

, O'Neil viciously attacked him after the match, turning

and officially disbanding the team. They would have a match at

Elimination Chamber The Elimination Chamber is a professional wrestling elimination-based match held in the WWE. The match was created by Triple H, and introduced by Eric Bischoff in November 2002. It features a large chain-linked circular steel structure which ...

, with O'Neil getting the victory. A rematch took place on the February 26 episode of ''

Main Event In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...

'', which was won by Young. In April, Young underwent surgery to repair a torn ACL in his left knee that would take him out of action for several months. Meanwhile, O'Neil formed a dysfunctional tag team with

, known as Slater-Gator (a reference to O'Neil being a Florida Gator), to little success.

Reunion and WWE Tag Team Champions (2015–2016)

On February 16 episode of Raw, O'Neil made a save for Young who, along with independent wrestler

Kevin Kross Kevin Robert Kesar (born July 19, 1985) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Karrion Kross. Prior to his time at WWE, Kesar performed for Impact Wrestling, Lucha Libre ...

(who would later return to WWE under the ring name "Karrion Kross" in 2020), was being attacked by The Ascension. This signified a reunion of the team and face turn for O'Neil. On the February 23 episode of Raw, they officially reunited and gave The Ascension their first loss in the WWE. They once again defeated The Ascension on March 14 episode of ''Main Event''. They then participated in the

André the Giant André René Roussimoff (; 19 May 1946 – 28 January 1993), better known by his ring name André the Giant, was a French professional wrestler and actor. Dubbed "the Eighth Wonder of the World", Roussimoff was known for his great size, which ...

Memorial Trophy Battle Royal at

WrestleMania 31 WrestleMania 31 was a 2015 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming List of WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming supercards, event produced by WWE. It was the 31st annual WrestleMania and took place on March 29, 2015, at Levi's S ...

, which was won by

Big Show Paul Donald Wight II (born February 8, 1972) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under his real name of Paul Wight. He is best known for his tenure with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) f ...

. After WrestleMania, they began performing comedic skits that poked fun at other tag teams including The New Day, The Ascension, Los Matadores and

Tyson Kidd and Cesaro Tyson Kidd and Claudio Castagnoli, Cesaro were a professional wrestling tag team in WWE. They are former WWE Raw Tag Team Championship, WWE Tag Team Champions. They formed a tag team in December 2014, and were valet (professional wrestling), accom ...

. They became one of the five teams to challenge the New Day for the Tag Titles at

, and eliminated The Ascension and Tyson Kidd and Cesaro, but lost after all of The New Day pinned Titus O'Neil. The following week on ''SmackDown'', they won a triple threat tag team match against the

Lucha Dragons The Lucha Dragons were a professional wrestling tag team composed of Kalisto and Sin Cara. They previously wrestled in WWE's developmental territory NXT, where they were one-time NXT Tag Team Champions. Their name is a reference to their ''luc ...

and The Ascension, to become the number one contenders for the tag team championship against The New Day at Money in the Bank. At Money in the Bank, the Prime Time Players defeated The New Day to capture the

, their first ever titles in WWE. At

Battleground A battlefield, battleground, or field of battle is the location of a present or historic battle involving ground warfare. It is commonly understood to be limited to the point of contact between opposing forces, though battles may involve troop ...

, the Prime Time Players successfully retained their titles against The New Day. At

, The New Day defeated The Prime Time Players in a Fatal-4-Way

match to become the new WWE Tag Team Champions. On the September 7 episode of ''Raw'', it was announced that The New Day would defend the titles against The Prime Time Players in a rematch the following week, and the winners would defend the titles against The

Dudley Boyz The Dudley Boyz (also known as Team 3D) are an American professional wrestling tag team who consisted of kayfabe half-brothers Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley. The team was also joined by various Dudley family members, notably Spike Dudley and ...

. On the September 14 episode of ''Raw'', The New Day defeated The Prime Time Players, thus setting up The New Day vs. The Dudley Boyz for Night of Champions. Towards the end of 2015, O'Neil and Young began focusing on singles careers. On the November 9 episode of ''Raw'', O'Neil competed in the first round of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship tournament against

Kevin Owens Kevin Yanick Steen (born May 7, 1984) is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Kevin Owens. As of April 2025, he is on hiatus due to a neck injury. Steen began his ...

, in a losing effort. At the

pre-show, O'Neil teamed with a returning

Goldust Dustin Patrick Runnels (born April 11, 1969) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Dustin Rhodes, with a nickname of "The Natural" and is a member of The Sons of ...

and Neville against The Cosmic Wasteland,

The Miz Michael Gregory Mizanin (born October 8, 1980) is an American professional wrestler, actor, and television personality. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name The Miz. Mizanin first gained fame a ...

and

Bo Dallas Taylor Michael Rotunda (born May 25, 1990) is an American professional wrestler. , he is signed to WWE where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring names Bo Dallas and his alter ego Uncle Howdy and is the leader of The Wyatt Sicks fa ...

, in a five-on-five traditional Survivor Series elimination tag team match, in a winning effort. O'Neil and Young appeared as a team on January 15, 2016, at a

house show A house show (also commonly called a live event) is a professional wrestling event produced by a major Professional wrestling promotion, promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in o ...

on WWE's

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

tour. Young teamed with Damien Sandow on the Royal Rumble 2016 Kickoff Show in a Fatal 4-Way tag team match, while O'Neil competed in the

Royal Rumble match The Royal Rumble match is a professional wrestling match based on the classic battle royal match in which a number of wrestlers (traditionally 30) aim at eliminating their competitors by tossing them over the top rope, with both feet touching the ...

itself. On the February 2, 2016, taping of ''

'', the duo returned to team with

, to defeat The Ascension,

Stardust Stardust may refer to: * A type of cosmic dust, composed of particles in space Entertainment Songs * “Stardust” (1927 song), by Hoagy Carmichael * “Stardust” (David Essex song), 1974 * “Stardust” (Lena Meyer-Landrut song), 2012 * ...

and

Tyler Breeze Mattias Clement (born January 19, 1988) is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE under the ring name Tyler Breeze as a member of the UpUpDownDown channel and as a writer for the NXT brand. He also wrestles on the independent ...

. They have since quietly disbanded when O'Neil received a 60-day suspension after the February 8 episode of Raw after an alleged physical altercation with Vince McMahon. After O'Neil's suspension, both Young and O'Neil returned to singles competition. O'Neil began a feud with

Rusev Rusev ( ), female version Ruseva ( ) is a Bulgarian language surname derived from the first name Rusi and it may refer to: *Rusev (wrestler) (formerly known as Miro), ring name of Bulgarian professional wrestler Miroslav Barnyashev. *Angel Rusev (f ...

for the

WWE United States Championship The WWE United States Championship is a men's professional wrestling Professional wrestling championship#Location-specific championships, championship promoted by the United States, American professional wrestling promotion, promotion WWE, defend ...

while Young started a storyline with

Bob Backlund Robert Louis Backlund (born August 14, 1949) is an American retired amateur wrestling, amateur and Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in the World Wide Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Fede ...

, challenging

for the

WWE Intercontinental Championship The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a men's professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, defended on the Raw brand division. It is one of two secondary championships for WWE's main roster, alo ...

Second feud (2016)

When the WWE Draft returned in July 2016, both of them were drafted to the

Raw brand Raw is a brand of the American professional wrestling promotion WWE that was established on March 25, 2002. Brands are divisions of WWE's roster where wrestlers are assigned to perform on a weekly basis when a brand extension is in effect. Wrestl ...

. On the August 1 episode of ''Raw'', O'Neil started a slow

turn when he questioned Young's motives on being "great again". Later that night, he defeated Young when he pinned him while grabbing Young's tights. Afterwards, he got into a backstage altercation with Bob Backlund before Young came to the defense of Backlund by attacking O'Neil. The week after on ''Raw'', Young defeated O'Neil via pinfall by grabbing O'Neil's tights, mimicking the way O'Neil defeated him. On the August 15 episode of ''Raw'', Young and O'Neil reconciled and were placed in an

ad hoc ''Ad hoc'' is a List of Latin phrases, Latin phrase meaning literally for this. In English language, English, it typically signifies a solution designed for a specific purpose, problem, or task rather than a Generalization, generalized solution ...

tag team match against The Shining Stars. During the match, O'Neil attacked Young, officially turning heel in the process for the first time since 2015. On October 29, 2017, Darren Young was released from his WWE contract thus ending any possibilities of a reunion.

Reception

Former WWE wrestler

Shad Gaspard Shad Javier Gaspard (January 13, 1981 – May 17, 2020) was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and actor. He was best known for his time with WWE, where he performed under his real name, or Mononymous person, mononymously ...

has accused the team of basing their gimmick off his former team

Cryme Tyme Cryme Tyme was an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of JTG and Shad Gaspard, best known for their tenure in WWE. The team was an over-the-top parody of stereotypical street thugs. The tag team first disbanded in 2010, though ...

, albeit without the "gangster style" and bling-bling fashion.

Championships and accomplishments

* ''

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 O'Neil No. 82 of the top 500 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 2013 ** PWI ranked Young No. 89 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the

in 2013 ** Inspirational Wrestler of the Year (2013) – Young * ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' ** Most Deserved Push (2015) *

( 1 time)

Other awards and honors

* MEGA Dad Awards ** MEGA Celebrity Dad of the Year (2015) – O'Neil