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Cryme Tyme

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For the animated series named Crime Time, seeCrime Time.
Cryme Tyme
JTG (left) and Shad Gaspard (right) in 2009
Tag team
MembersJTG/The Neighborhoodie
Shad Gaspard
Name(s)Crime Time
Cryme Tyme
The Gang Stars
Shad Gaspard and The Neighborhoodie
Shad Gaspard & JTG
Billed heightsJTG:
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Shad Gaspard:
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)[1]
Combined
billed weight		527 lb (239 kg)[1][2]
Billed fromBrooklyn,New York
Former
member(s)		Eve Torres(valet)
Slam Master J
DebutMay 24, 2006
DisbandedMay 17, 2020
Years active2006–2010
2014–2020
TrainerOhio Valley Wrestling

Cryme Tymewas an Americanprofessional wrestlingtag teamconsisting ofJTGandShad Gaspard,best known for their tenure inWWE.

The team was an over-the-top parody of stereotypicalstreet thugs.[3]The tag team first disbanded in 2010, though reunited in 2014 and continued wrestling until Gaspard's death in May 2020.

History[edit]

Ohio Valley Wrestling (2006–2007)[edit]

Gaspard qualified for the finals of thereality televisionprogramTough Enough 2in 2002, but was disqualified and replaced after failing a physical.[4]He was recruited by WWE talent scoutTom Prichardand trained withDeWayne Brucefor six months[5]before debuting inOhio Valley Wrestling(OVW) under thering nameDa Beast.[6]He acted as part of thestableBolin Services, acting as anenforcer.

JTG meanwhile had debuted asJust Too Goodin OVW and after two matches, he was repackaged asThe Neighborhoodieand subsequently placed into a tag team with Gaspard, who began performing under his real name. Collectively, their team was named "The Gang Stars". They won theOVW Southern Tag Team Championshipby defeatingRoadkillandKasey Jameson May 24, 2006, in their first match as a team. After they won thechampionships,they entered into afeudwithCM Punkwho teamed up withKaneto defeat them andSimon Deanin ahandicapmatch. Punk and Kane won a title match bydisqualification,but they did not win the titles. They retained the titles in agauntlet match,but later in the month lost the championships to Punk and Seth Skyfire on July 28. The following day, they lost a number one contendership match toThe Untouchables(Dice DominoandDeuce Shade).[7]The following year, the team returned to OVW, this time under the name "Cryme Tyme", and regained the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship on July 21 from The James Boys (KC JamesandKassidy James). They lost the titles back to them the following day.[8]

World Wrestling Entertainment (2006–2007)[edit]

In late 2006, WWE promoted The Gang Stars to the mainRawbrand roster,starting by having them worklive eventsanddark matches.On the September 4 episode ofRaw,vignettesbegan airing to promote the debut of the team, now dubbed Cryme Tyme, showing them "training" for their pending debut on the show.[9]Before the vignettes aired, WWE placed a statement on their website, WWE.com, stating:[3]

Tonight a new tag team, Cryme Tyme, will be introduced to theRawaudience. In an effort to humor and entertain our fans the tag team known as Cryme Tyme will be parodying racial stereotypes.
Shad Gaspard and JTG do outlandish, outrageous "stunts" to ready themselves for tag team action onRaw.This attempt at Saturday Night Live like humor is bound to entertain audiences of all ethnic derivations.
We hope you enjoy the weekly adventures of Cryme Tyme.

Cryme Tyme at an autograph signing in 2007

The vignettes, which aired weekly, featured Cryme Tyme robbing people while an announcer dubbed their actions "training exercises" designed to work on things like "speed","agility","drive","endurance",and"intensity".[10][11]Cryme Tyme wrestled asfan favoritesat live events and in dark matches, finally making their television debut, defeatingJohnnyandMikeyof TheSpirit Squadon the October 16 episode ofRaw.[12]

After arriving onRaw,they were depicted covertly stealing things—such asJerry Lawler's laptop,[13]and a plasma screen TV[14]—duringinterviewsand while celebrating wins with the announce team.

On November 5, the team made theirpay-per-viewdebut atCyber Sunday,defeatingLance Cade and Trevor Murdoch,The Highlanders(Rory and Robbie McAllister), andCharlie HaasandViscerain a four teamtornado tag team match.[15]Later that same month, they were featured in aRawsegment that parodiedMichael Richards's "Laugh Factory incident".[16]In the skit, a wrestler (Nick Berk) — acting as a stand in for Richards — recreated the scene of the incident by using racial slurs and insults until Cryme Tyme confronted him on stage. Nervous, he offered an apology, but Gaspard kicked him in the head and JTG made aSeinfeld-esque joke by saying, "What's the deal with theBloodsand theCrips?Can't they all just get along? ". This event was the beginning of a series of vignettes and skits featuring Cryme Tyme interacting with different, unexpected audiences.[17][18]

Around the same time, they began a feud withThe World's Greatest Tag Team(Shelton BenjaminandCharlie Haas), during which Benjamin began to express disgust with Cryme Tyme's antics, calling them offensive and harmful to the black community.[17]During the storyline, Haas started "acting black",but after the World's Greatest Tag Team handed Cryme Tyme their first loss on the January 29, 2007, episode ofRaw,[19]the program was dropped, with Cryme Tyme appearing mainly onRaw's sister showHeat,only appearing onRawin backstage segments.

On July 21, 2007, Cryme Tyme appeared at an OVW event and wrestled the OVW Southern Tag Team Champion The James Boys (K.C. and Kassidy James), winning the championship for the second time.[20]

The duo returned toRawin July with a newgimmick,which saw them taking items and auctioning them off to the crowd.[21]This led to a feud with thenWorld Tag Team ChampionsLance CadeandTrevor Murdoch,[22][23]but both JTG and Gaspard were released from their WWE contracts for undisclosed reasons on September 2, 2007, before the feud was resolved.[24]

Independent circuit (2007–2008)[edit]

After leaving WWE, they continued teaming together on the professional wrestlingindependent circuit,using the alternate spelling "Crime Time". They appeared atJersey All Pro Wrestling's (JAPW) 10th Anniversary Show, defeating the Dirty Rotten Scoundrelz.[25]They left thepromotionundefeated after defeating Style & Finesse (Mike Donovan and Rob Vegas) in January 2008's Reclaiming Hudson.[26]

The duo also made several solo appearances on the solo circuit. Gaspard lost toPsicosisat aPro Wrestling Alliance(PWA) event in September while his partner, appearing under the altered nameJay-TGmade several appearances on the Derby City Wrestling (DCW) television programme.

Return to WWE (2008–2010)[edit]

Cryme Tyme in 2008 duringRaw,looking atMr. McMahon's million dollars

JTG and Gaspard returned to WWE under the Cryme Tyme name on the March 31 episode ofRawin 2008, defeating Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch.[27]Cryme Tyme began working withJohn Cenaon the June 30 episode ofRawwhen they helped him interfere duringJohn "Bradshaw" Layfield's match.[28]The following week onRaw,they again appeared together in a segment when they vandalized JBL's limo.[29]After alive eventmatch, Cena confirmed that they had created a faction and announced that it was called CTC or "Cryme Tyme Cenation".[30]Separately, Cryme Tyme started a feud with then World Tag Team ChampionsCody RhodesandTed DiBiase,stealing theirchampionship beltsfor a time,[31]then losing a title match to them atUnforgiven.[32]The CTC quietly separated after Cena's injury.

On April 15, 2009, Cryme Tyme were drafted to theSmackDownbrand as part of the2009 supplemental draft.[33]Eve Torreslater became theirvalet,accompanying them to the ring and appearing in backstage segments with them. Later, Torres and Cryme Tyme got into a feud withThe Hart Dynasty.They competed in six-person mixed tag team, singles and tag team matches. On the July 31 episode ofSmackDown,they became the number one contenders to the UnifiedWWE Tag Team Championshipby defeating The Hart Dynasty, but Cryme Tyme was defeated by then championsJeri-Show(Chris JerichoandBig Show) atSummerSlam.

Cryme Tyme was supposed to compete for Team SmackDown atBragging Rights.However, due to health concerns regarding Gaspard, Cryme Tyme (along with most of the SmackDown team) was replaced byMatt Hardy,R-Truth,The Hart Dynasty andFinlay.On the March 5 episode ofSmackDown,they had a number one contenders match to fightThe Mizand Big Show for the Unified WWE Tag Team Championships againstJohn Morrisonand R-Truth and The Hart Dynasty, but they failed to win the match. The following week onSmackDown,Cryme Tyme were facing The Hart Dynasty, but were attacked byThe Undertakerwhile he was sending a direct message toShawn Michaelsfor a match atWrestleMania XXVI.[34]

At WrestleMania XXVI, both members of Cryme Tyme competed in the dark match battle royal, where JTG would be eliminated by Gaspard. Just days later onSmackDown,after a quick loss toJohn Morrisonand R-Truth, Gaspard was enraged and attacked JTG for not coming to his rescue in the match, thus turning Gaspardheel.Backstage after the match during an interview, Gaspard toldJosh Mathews,"No more Time... no more Cryme Tyme... This ismytime ". The next week onSmackDown,Gaspard came to the ring and announced that he was done with Cryme Tyme and announced again that it was his time. Afterwards, an enraged JTG came out ready to fight him, but got kicked in the face by Gaspard for his troubles. This would lead to a strap match atExtreme Rules,which was won by JTG. The two had a standard rematch on the May 6 episode ofSuperstars,which Shad won by pinfall, thus ending their feud. Gaspard was then sent toFCWdevelopmental territory, while JTG stayed on the SmackDown brand. Gaspard was later released from his WWE contract on November 19, 2010, along with five other wrestlers.

After disbandment (2010–2014)[edit]

A few months after he was released from WWE, Shad signed with Japanese wrestling promotionIGFin February 2011.[35]He was also focusing on his acting career. In June 2012, Shad bashedThe Prime Time Players(Titus O'NeilandDarren Young) in a rap onTwitter,accusing Prime Time Players of stealing their gimmick: young, disrespectful, jive-talking, culturally insensitive showboats.[36]JTG was released from WWE on June 12, 2014.[37]

Return to the independent circuit; Gaspard's death and disbandment (2014–2020)[edit]

It was announced on June 19, 2014, that JTG and Gaspard were looking for booking interests labeled now as the slightly altered "Crime Time". On August 23, 2014, Crime Time andThe Blue Meaniewere defeated by Chachi, JGeorge and Mike Verna at WOW Under the Lights 3.[38]At JAPW 18th Anniversary Show, Crime Time defeated Damien Darling and Danny Demento.[39]On March 3, 2016, at XWA Xtreme Rumble, the duo were defeated byColt Cabanaand Dick Justice.

JTG and Gaspard continued to wrestle together on the independent circuit until Gaspard’s death from drowning on May 17, 2020.[40][41]Their final match took place on February 15, 2020 at former WWE wrestler Santino Marella's Battle Arts promotion inMississauga,Ontario,Canada.Gaspard was given the Warrior Award at theWWE Hall of Famein 2022.

Cryme Tyme at a Puerto Ricohouse show

Championships and accomplishments[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ab"Superstars > SmackDown > Shad >Profile".WWE. Archived fromthe originalon 2007-04-25.Retrieved2007-04-25.
  2. ^"JTG Bio".Retrieved2009-04-15.
  3. ^ab"Cryme Tyme debuts on RAW".WWE.Retrieved2007-04-06.
  4. ^Varsallone, Jim (2009-06-01)."Shad: WWE's Diesel".Miami Herald. Archived fromthe originalon 2009-06-19.Retrieved2009-06-19.
  5. ^"WWA4".Archived fromthe originalon 2007-10-30.Retrieved2007-10-11.
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  14. ^"RAW results – October 30, 2006".Online World of Wrestling.Retrieved2007-04-06.
  15. ^"Wrestling's historical cards".Pro Wrestling Illustrated(2007 Wrestling almanac & book of facts). Kappa Publishing: 122. 2007.
  16. ^"RAW results – November 27, 2006".Online World of Wrestling.Retrieved2007-04-06.
  17. ^ab"RAW results – December 4, 2006".Online World of Wrestling.Retrieved2007-04-06.
  18. ^"RAW results – December 18, 2006".Online World of Wrestling.Retrieved2007-04-06.
  19. ^"Arena Reports".Pro Wrestling Illustrated(May 2007). Kappa Publishing: 134.
  20. ^ab"OVW Southern Tag Team Title".Wrestling-Titles.Retrieved2007-08-09.
  21. ^"RAW results – July 30, 2007".Online World of Wrestling.Retrieved2007-09-02.
  22. ^"RAW results – August 13, 2007".Online World of Wrestling.Retrieved2007-09-02.
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  24. ^"Cryme Tyme released".WWE. 2007-09-02. Archived fromthe originalon 2007-10-22.Retrieved2008-09-29.
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  28. ^Adkins, Greg (2008-06-30)."Opportunity Knocked, Punk Answered".WWE.Retrieved2008-07-25.
  29. ^Sitterson, Aubrey (2008-07-07)."Chain Gang Carjack".WWE.Retrieved2008-07-25.
  30. ^Pena, Daniel (2008-07-14)."What" CTC "stands for".Rajah. Archived fromthe originalon 2008-08-18.Retrieved2008-07-16.
  31. ^Sitterson, Aubrey (2008-08-18)."It takes a thief".WWE.Retrieved2008-08-26.
  32. ^Vermillion, James (2008-09-07)."Price(less) is right".WWE.Retrieved2008-09-09.
  33. ^"2009 WWE Supplemental Draft results".World Wrestling Entertainment.2009-04-15.Retrieved2009-04-15.
  34. ^"Cryme Tyme member explains why he didn't wrestle on Smackdown".Gerweck.net. October 22, 2009. Archived fromthe originalon October 25, 2009.
  35. ^"(WWE) Latest on Kevin Nash's WWE Future, WWE HOF'er Furious at Match in Japan - TWNPNews.com Headline".www.twnpnews.com.
  36. ^Splinter, Leonardo."WWE News: Shad Gaspard Accuses O'Neil and Young of Ripping off Cryme Tyme".Bleacher Report.
  37. ^Caldwell, James."WWE roster cuts: 11th talent released Thursday afternoon".PWTorch.com.Retrieved13 June2014.
  38. ^Kreikenbohm, Philip."WOW Under The Lights 3 « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database".www.cagematch.net.
  39. ^Kreikenbohm, Philip."JAPW 18th Anniversary Show « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database".www.cagematch.net.
  40. ^"Crime Time: Matches".Internet Wrestling Database.Retrieved20 May2020.
  41. ^"L.A. County coroner's office identifies body that washed ashore in Venice Beach as Shad Gaspard".FOX 11.20 May 2020.Retrieved20 May2020.
  42. ^WWE.com Staff (March 25, 2022)."Shad Gaspard to receive 2022 Warrior Award at WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony".WWE.RetrievedMarch 25,2022.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toShad GaspardandJayson Paul.
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