The Public Enemy (professional wrestling)

Last updated

The Public Enemy
The Public Enemy - pro wrestling - March 2002.jpg
The Public Enemy, Rocco Rock (left) & Johnny Grunge (right)
Tag team
Members Johnny Grunge [1]
Rocco Rock [1]
Name(s)The Public Enemy
The South Philly Posse
Billed heights6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) – Grunge [2]
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) – Rock [3]
Combined
billed weight		514 lb (233 kg)
Hometown Compton, California [4]
South Philadelphia
Debut1993 [1]
Disbanded2002
Years active1993–2002

The Public Enemy was a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Rocco Rock and Johnny Grunge. [1] The duo competed in many promotions, including Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). They won the World Tag Team Championships in each company except WWF. [5]

Contents

Their name was taken from a black and white gangster film, and prior to becoming a team, Rocco Rock and Johnny Grunge had a long-standing feud on the independent circuit. In addition, the two wrestled each other under their former ring names the Cheetah Kid and Johnny Rotten in a dark match at the first TV tapings for WWF Monday Night Raw on January 11, 1993, eight months before they would debut as a tag team in ECW.

In September 2002, Rocco Rock died after a heart attack. Johnny Grunge died in February 2006 from sleep apnea complications.

History

Eastern / Extreme Championship Wrestling (1993–1996)

The Public Enemy made their ECW debut in September 1993 at UltraClash , as booker Paul Heyman gave them the gimmick of white guys who embraced and loved the growing hip hop culture of America. Heyman has stated that he got the inspiration to create The Public Enemy from a Newsweek article about the cultural changes occurring in America and the difficulty for young men living in places like Los Angeles during the early 1990s, with a quote that stated "The generation of today is more afraid of living than dying". [6] [7]

The team quickly became one of the more popular acts in the company; their wild brawling style, complete with a myriad of foreign objects and the inclusion of tables, made them one of the most feared teams in the company and it wasn't long before they won their first ECW Tag Team Championship. [5] They regularly danced their way to the ring, waving their arms to their theme song (Ini Kamoze's "Here Comes The Hotstepper") and inviting fans into the ring for impromptu dance parties after winning matches. As The Public Enemy was embraced by the majority of fans, Heyman was inspired to bring in The Gangstas (New Jack and Mustafa Saed, from Smoky Mountain Wrestling) at Barbed Wire, Hoodies & Chokeslams to feud with TPE. The Gangstas immediately began a long and bloody feud with The Public Enemy, which pitted The Gangstas' "harsh, gritty West Coast gangsta" lifestyle against The Public Enemy's "East Coast feel good" style. Their feud is among the feuds most often cited as "classic ECW".

Memorable moments

The Public Enemy was also involved in some of ECW's most memorable moments. On one occasion, during a singles match between Cactus Jack and Terry Funk at Hardcore Heaven 1994, the Public Enemy interfered and attacked both wrestlers. Terry Funk turned to the crowd and asked the fans if he could have a chair to use. A fan immediately threw a chair into the ring, and not long after many other fans followed suit. Eventually the ring was filled with chairs with both members of The Public Enemy buried underneath.

In another incident in Tampa, Florida, towards the end of their run with ECW, during the Sunshine State Slaughter event in 1995, The Public Enemy asked the fans to come into the ring to dance with them one last time. As more and more fans piled in and onto the ring, all dancing and celebrating, the ring collapsed.

World Championship Wrestling (1996–1998)

On November 19, 1995, The Public Enemy received a tryout with the WWF, wrestling a dark match against then WWF Tag-Team Champions The Smokin' Gunns. [8] The team would receive an offer to sign with the company, but instead elected to go with a competing overture from World Championship Wrestling. In January 1996, after their success in ECW, The Public Enemy signed on to work for World Championship Wrestling (WCW). When they arrived in WCW, they continued acting as they did in the manner that made them so popular with fans. Although the majority of the WCW fanbase was unfamiliar with the ECW product at the time, they still carried tables to the ring. During their three-year stint, they won their only WCW World Tag Team Championship with a victory over Harlem Heat in September 1996, though their reign lasted only eight days. [9] The team wrestled through September 1998 and was mostly victorious in their final year with the company, concluding their run with a win over Villanos IV and V on a Worldwide episode. [10]

Return to ECW, World Wrestling Federation, and return to WCW (1999)

At ECW's House Party 1999 on January 16, The Public Enemy made a long-awaited and much-hyped return to the ECW Arena, in order to answer the challenge of the Dudley Boyz. At the time, they were still under contract to WCW, but they successfully brawled (with assistance from New Jack) with the Dudleys. Following the showdown, Johnny Grunge grabbed the microphone and claimed that the past three years had been a "rollercoaster ride" for the team, and that "if you opened up our chest and looked at our hearts, there's only one thing stamped on it, and that's ECW!" Grunge further thanked the Dudleys for house-sitting "the house that the Public Enemy built" while they were gone, and then invited everyone in attendance to join them in the ring for a post-show celebration. [11]

Their next scheduled appearance was at Crossing the Line '99 on February 12 in Queens, New York against the Dudleys, which they cancelled due to negotiating with the WWF. The team was buried on the February 20 edition of ECW Hardcore TV as being cowards who ran from a fight. Footage of the Dudleys hitting big moves on the team at an event in Detroit was shown, with a headline stating "Breaking News: The Dudleys Destroy Public Enemy." Two days later, the team would make their WWF debut.

The Public Enemy signed with the World Wrestling Federation [5] in early 1999. They were not accepted "backstage" by veteran WWF wrestlers and backstage personnel due to animosity over the fact that The Public Enemy chose WCW over the WWF when the two companies were pursuing the tag team in late 1995. [12] Rocco Rock was also forced to change his name and go by the shortened name "Flyboy" Rocco, in order not to "cause confusion" with The Rock. They made their WWF debut on the February 22, 1999, episode of Raw is War , defeating The Brood by disqualification. In the two months they lasted in the WWF, their most notable appearance was losing a squash match against the Acolytes on Sunday Night Heat in Pittsburgh; following a brief feud with the Acolytes and The Public Enemy's subsequent release, the Acolytes claimed that they "ran The Public Enemy out" of the WWF. They said they could do the same to another famous ECW tag team (the Dudley Boyz); after the Dudley Boyz succeeded in the feud, it was commonly referred to as "Passing the Acolyte Test" since the Dudley Boyz did get over after a feud with the APA while The Public Enemy failed. In 2013, John "Bradshaw" Layfield elaborated that much of the animosity was due to them being brought into the company by Terry Taylor, who had his own backstage issues with many of the wrestlers, including the Acolytes. They had also desired to change the planned finish of the squash match, which involved them being driven through tables by the Acolytes. The Acolytes were instructed only to ensure that they go through with the planned finish of the match, leading to the match to be turned into a legitimate shoot, with The Acolytes dominating Public Enemy for the entirety of the four-minute match. [13] [14] Public Enemy would wrestle a final time on March 30, 1999, in a match taped for Shotgun Saturday Night , losing to the Hardy Boys via disqualification. [15] The match was aired on television on April 10, 1999. Shortly after airing, both members of Public Enemy were released in mid-April, along with "Dr Death." Steve Williams (who main-evented that same episode), Bart Gunn, and LOD 2000.

The Public Enemy briefly returned to WCW after leaving the WWF, with both men involved in the WCW Hardcore Junkyard Invitational. They then made an appearance on the August 4, 1999, episode of WCW Thunder in a squash match loss against Bill Goldberg and again on August 9 in a losing effort against the West Texas Rednecks. Their final appearance came in a house show on August 18, and neither made an appearance in WCW again afterwards.

Later years (1999–2002)

The Public Enemy performing a double team maneuver The Public Enemy - March 2002 - Table.jpg
The Public Enemy performing a double team maneuver

The Public Enemy made one last appearance on ECW on TNN , which was their last exposure on mainstream television. The tag team made brief appearances on the independent scene after both WCW and ECW folded, appearing in ECW-nostalgia promotion Pro-Pain Pro Wrestling (3PW), along with various NWA territories. They also participated in the unaired tapings for the X Wrestling Federation promotion, under the name "South Philly Posse" and managed by Jasmin St. Claire. [5]

In the early 2000s, the Public Enemy performed for the short-lived i-Generation Superstars of Wrestling among other independent promotions. The team won various independent tag team titles.

Their last match together was at Intergalactic Wrestling Federation defeating Itch Coma Weidler and The Bouncer in a steel cage match at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield, IL on August 12, 2002.

Following the death of Rocco Rock in 2002, Grunge teamed with his "brother" Joey Grunge as The New Public Enemy throughout August 2003. [16] He also made appearances with 3PW, and participated in a memorial segment for deceased ECW wrestlers at Hardcore Homecoming on June 10, 2005.

Deaths

On September 21, 2002, Ted Petty ("Flyboy" Rocco Rock) died after suffering a heart attack following a wrestling event. [5] Johnny Grunge had been semi-retired for a few years after the XWF failed to get a TV deal. On February 16, 2006, Mike Durham (Johnny Grunge) died in his home after suffering from complications from sleep apnea. [16] Durham's death was caused by heart disease and obesity, with the medical examiner also citing "acute toxicity of carisoprodol and hydrocodone" in the autopsy report. Durham evidently died in his sleep at the home of a friend with whom he'd been staying. [17]

Durham's widow has since become an advocate against drug abuse in the wrestling industry since the Chris Benoit double murder and suicide in 2007, when she realized her husband's prescriptions came from the same doctor as Chris Benoit's. [17]

Championships and accomplishments

Public Enemy's Hardcore Hall of Fame banners Public Enemy Hardcore Hall of Fame.jpg
Public Enemy's Hardcore Hall of Fame banners

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raven (wrestler)</span> American professional wrestler

Scott Levy is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name, Raven. He is best known for his appearances with professional wrestling promotions Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (WWF/E) and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). Widely recognized as "one of the best talkers in wrestling", Raven is known for his "psychological heel tactics" and grunge-inspired gimmick. His feud with The Sandman in the mid-1990s has been described as "one of the most emotional rivalries in professional wrestling's history".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ron Simmons</span> American football player and professional wrestler (born 1958)

Ronald K. Simmons is an American former professional wrestler and football player. He is best known for his tenures in WWE and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Prior to becoming a professional wrestler, Simmons played football as a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL), Canadian Football League (CFL) and United States Football League (USFL) for four seasons during the 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Durante</span> American professional wrestler

Anthony Durante was an American professional wrestler best known under the ring name "Pitbull #2" as one half of the tag team The Pitbulls, with "Pitbull #1" Gary Wolfe. The team is best known for their time in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), where the team was the promotion's World Tag Team Championship once. Apart from tag team competition, Durante also achieved success briefly as a singles competitor, challenging for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship on a few occasions while holding the ECW World Television Championship once.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mikey Whipwreck</span> American professional wrestler and trainer

John Michael Watson, better known by his ring name Mikey Whipwreck, is an American semi-retired professional wrestler working for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a trainer, and global ambassador. He is best known for his career with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), where he was an ECW Triple Crown Champion. Whipwreck is a former world champion, winning the ECW World Heavyweight Championship once. He also became a two-time World Television Champion and a three-time World Tag Team Champion in ECW.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Jack</span> American professional wrestler (1963–2021)

Jerome Young 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 willingness to take dangerous bumps and his stiff hardcore wrestling style, often taking high risks and known for shooting on opponents, including the 1996 Mass Transit incident and an altercation with Gypsy Joe in 2003. He is also known for being the only wrestler to have had his entrance music play throughout his matches in ECW. After the promotion closed in 2001, Young spent the rest of his career on the independent circuit until his death in May 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnny Grunge</span> American professional wrestler (1965–2006)

Michael Lynn Durham was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Johnny Grunge. He is known for his appearances with Eastern/Extreme Championship Wrestling, World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation as one-half of the tag team The Public Enemy with Rocco Rock. In the course of his career, Grunge held championships such as the ECW World Tag Team Championship and WCW World Tag Team Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rocco Rock</span> American professional wrestler (1953–2002)

Theodore James Petty was an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name "Flyboy" Rocco Rock. Rock is best known for his appearances in Eastern Championship Wrestling / Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) alongside Johnny Grunge as the Public Enemy during the 1990s. He was a four-time ECW World Tag Team Champion, a one-time WCW World Tag Team Champion, and a one-time NWA World Tag Team Champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary Wolfe (wrestler)</span> American professional wrestler (born 1967)

Gary Wolfe is an American professional wrestler best known for his time in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) under the ring name Pitbull #1 as one half of the tag team called The Pitbulls, with Anthony Durante as Pitbull #2. He was a one-time Television Champion and a one-time World Tag Team Champion in ECW. He is also a former two-time 3PW World Heavyweight Champion.

John T. Smith is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, J. T. Smith. He is best known for his appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling in the 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steiner Brothers</span> Professional wrestling tag team

The Steiner Brothers are an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of brothers Robert "Rick Steiner" Rechsteiner and Scott "Scott Steiner" Rechsteiner.

The Heavenly Bodies is a professional wrestling tag team famous for having worked in Smoky Mountain Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation, and various independent promotions. Over the years, there have been multiple variations of the team, which has at different times included "Doctor" Tom Prichard, "Sweet" Stan Lane, "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton, and "Gigolo" Jimmy Del Ray, and was led by heel manager James E. Cornette.

<i>WCW Saturday Night</i> Former professional wrestling television series

WCW Saturday Night is an American weekly Saturday night television show on TBS that was produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Launched in 1971 initially by Georgia Championship Wrestling, the program existed through various incarnations under different names before becoming WCW Saturday Night in 1992. Although initially the anchor show of the Turner Broadcasting-backed wrestling company, the September 1995 premiere of WCW Monday Nitro airing on sister station TNT usurped the show's once preeminent position in the company, as the primary source of storyline development and pay-per-view buildup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">December to Dismember (1995)</span> Extreme Championship Wrestling supercard event

The 1995 December to Dismember was a professional wrestling event produced by Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). It took place on December 9, 1995, at the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as a non-televised supercard. Though this event was held only once by ECW, the "December to Dismember" name would later be revived as a 2006 pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) for their ECW brand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NWA World Title Tournament</span> 1994 Eastern Championship Wrestling supercard event and tournament

The NWA World Title Tournament was a live supercard held by the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States–based professional wrestling promotion NWA Eastern Championship Wrestling (ECW) on August 27, 1994. The event featured a tournament for the vacant NWA World Heavyweight Championship. The commentator for the event was Joey Styles. Highlights from the event aired on the August 29, 1994, episode of ECW Hardcore TV, while the tournament final and the bout between Shane Douglas and 2 Cold Scorpio appeared on the 2012 WWE DVD and Blu-ray release ECW Unreleased: Vol 1; the bout between 911 and Doink the Clown appeared on the 2013 WWE Blu-ray release ECW Unreleased: Vol 2; and the bout between Cactus Jack and Mikey Whipwreck and the Public Enemy was included in the 2005 compilation DVD BloodSport – The Most Violent Matches of ECW.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">November to Remember (1995)</span> 1995 Extreme Championship Wrestling supercard event

November to Remember (1995) was the third November to Remember professional wrestling event produced by Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). The event took place on November 18, 1995 in the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States. The event marked the return of Sabu to ECW after a stint in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and the ECW debut of The Blue Meanie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heat Wave (1995)</span> 1995 Extreme Championship Wrestling supercard event

Heat Wave: Rage in the Cage! was the second Heat Wave professional wrestling event produced by Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). The event took place on July 15, 1995 in the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States. Excerpts from then event aired on episode #117 of the syndicated television show ECW Hardcore TV on July 18, 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hardcore Heaven (1995)</span> 1995 Extreme Championship Wrestling supercard event

Hardcore Heaven (1995) was the second Hardcore Heaven professional wrestling event that took place on July 1, 1995, in the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hardcore Heaven (1994)</span> 1994 Eastern Championship Wrestling supercard event

Hardcore Heaven (1994) was the first Hardcore Heaven event. It was promoted by Eastern Championship Wrestling on August 13, 1994 in the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wrestlepalooza (1995)</span> 1995 Extreme Championship Wrestling supercard event

Wrestlepalooza, the first Wrestlepalooza professional wrestling event produced by Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), took place on August 5, 1995 at the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States. Four matches from Wrestlepalooza were aired in syndication on the August 15 and August 22, 1995 episodes of ECW Hardcore TV.

When Worlds Collide was the name of two professional wrestling live events produced by the professional wrestling promotion Eastern Championship Wrestling/Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) in 1994 and 1996 respectively. Both events were held in the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Public Enemy". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved August 14, 2009.
  2. ↑ "Johnny Grunge's profile". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved March 22, 2011.
  3. ↑ "Rocco Rock's bio". The Accelerator's Wrestling Rollercoaster. Retrieved March 22, 2011.
  4. ↑ "The Public Enemy". wwe.com. WWE.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Power Slam". What's going down... SW Publishing. October 2002. p. 6. 55.
  6. ↑ Williams, Scott (2006). Hardcore History. Sports Publishing LLC. pp. 26–27. ISBN   978-1-59670-021-5.
  7. ↑ Loverro, Thom (2006). The Rise and Fall of ECW . Pocket Books. pp.  28–29. ISBN   978-1-4165-1058-1.
  8. ↑ "1995". thehistoryofwwe.com. January 16, 2023.
  9. 1 2 "World Championship Wrestling World Tag Team Title". Wrestling-Titles. Retrieved January 30, 2012.
  10. ↑ "WCW 1998". thehistoryofwwe.com. January 16, 2023.
  11. ↑ "ECW - 1999 Results". January 16, 2023.
  12. ↑ Williams, Scott (2006). Hardcore History. Sports Publishing LLC. pp. 154–155. ISBN   978-1-59670-021-5.
  13. ↑ "The Layfield Report - Blog". Archived from the original on November 8, 2011. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
  14. ↑ "WON/F4W - WWE news, Pro Wrestling News, WWE Results, UFC News, UFC results".
  15. ↑ "1999". thehistoryofwwe.com. January 16, 2023.
  16. 1 2 Brady, Hicks. "2006: The year in wrestling". 2007 Wrestling Almanac and Book of Facts. Kappa Publications. p. 18. 2007 Edition.
  17. 1 2 "Fish: Chris Benoit's doctor prescribed for other wrestlers". September 13, 2007.
  18. ↑ "ECW World Tag Team Title". Wrestling-Titles. Retrieved January 30, 2012.
  19. ↑ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN   0-9698161-5-4.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.