Jesse and Festus

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Tag Team
Jesse and Festus
$A picture of {{{current_name}}}.$ Jesse (left) and Festus (right)
Members	Jesse Festus
Name(s)	Jesse and Festus The Dalton Boys
Heights	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) - Jesse 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) - Festus
Combined weight	545 lb (247 kg)
Billed from	North Carolina
Debut	October 5, 2007
Promotions	WWE

Jesse and Festus, also once known as The Dalton Boys, are a professional wrestling tag team made up of Ray Gordy (Jesse) and Drew Hankinson (Festus). They are currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment, wrestling on its SmackDown! brand.

1 History
- 1.1 World Wrestling Entertainment
  - 1.1.1 Ohio Valley Wrestling
  - 1.1.2 SmackDown!
    - 1.1.2.1 2007
    - 1.1.2.2 2008
2 In wrestling
3 References
4 External links

[edit] History

[edit] World Wrestling Entertainment

[edit] Ohio Valley Wrestling

On the May 11, 2007 edition of SmackDown!, a vignette aired suggesting that Ray Gordy will be repackaged as Jesse Dalton as part of a tag team using a hillbilly gimmick, alongside fellow WWE developmental talent Drew Hankinson (formerly "The Imposter Kane") who was repackaged as Festus Dalton. It was reported on June 2, 2007 that the "Dalton Boys" gimmick was dropped by WWE, with the kayfabe explanation given that they had "lost their way" to the arena. Gordy and Hankinson were sent back to a development territory. Gordy still used the Dalton name in OVW and Hankinson used the name Justice Dalton. They also wore more traditional wrestling tights.

[edit] SmackDown!

[edit] 2007

On the June 29, 2007 edition of SmackDown!, vignettes hyping Jesse and Festus's return to the roster, sans the Dalton name (and no longer presented as brothers), began to air. Their vignettes were billed as 'Jesse & Festus on', each week choosing a different subject but always with the same formula of Jesse, talking very excitedly about the subject, and ending each vignette by pointing to Festus and saying "that, THAT is the face of a...," something relating to the topic - as Festus would stare absently into the camera. They wrestled in dark matches and at SmackDown! and ECW house shows. Their in-ring debut came on the October 5, 2007 episode of Friday Night Smackdown! by defeating Mike Tolar & Chad Collyer when Festus used an over the shoulder gutbuster and pinned Tolar^[1]. Their secondary gimmick was that when the opening bell rang, Festus's persona changed into a very focused, aggressive competitor as compared to the aloof, absent-minded character he had been portrayed as. When the bell rang signifying the end of the match, Festus returned to his "normal" self.^[2]

On the October 16, 2007 edition of ECW, Jesse and Festus made their debut for the ECW brand in conjunction with a "Talent Exchange" discussed between ECW GM Armando Estrada and acting SmackDown! GM Vickie Guerrero. Jesse and Festus defeated their first notable opponents, the team of Elijah Burke and Nunzio, with a modified Rocket Launcher-esque maneuver.^[3]

On the November 8 episode of SmackDown!, Jesse and Festus suffered their first WWE loss in a 10-Man Tag Team Battle Royal WWE Tag Team Championship Contender's match, against Deuce 'n Domino, The Major Brothers, Shannon Moore and Jimmy Wang Yang, Drew McIntyre & Dave Taylor. Festus, the biggest man in the ring and obviously a threat, was eliminated early due to a team effort from the other teams. Thus, Jesse was eliminated as well.^[4]

Jesse and Festus suffered their second loss in the WWE when they were defeated by WWE Tag Team Champions The Miz and John Morrison on the November 27 edition of ECW. Jesse and Festus were defeated again by Miz and Morrison on the December 7 episode of SmackDown. Jesse and Festus finally defeated The Miz and John Morrison in a non-title match on December 16.

[edit] 2008

After a brief hiatus, more vignettes aired, this time featuring Jesse, who explained Festus's condition and spoke of a cure for it. The team returned on the February 8 SmackDown, defeating Deuce 'N Domino. Festus appeared to be unchanged, aside from perhaps being more aggressive than ever. This success continued as they once again defeated The Miz and John Morrison in another non-title match on the February 29 airing of SmackDown. However, when they received a shot at the titles on the March 21 episode, they came up short.

After a match on April 11, where Festus passed out in The Undertaker's gogoplata, the team began a losing streak with losses to Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder and Deuce 'n Domino, the losses have been atributed to the (kayfabe) throat injury Festus suffered during his match with The Undertaker.