| Nitro Girls | |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Members | See below |
| Debut | July 14, 1997 |
| Disbanded | March 26, 2001 |
| Promotions | WCW |
The Nitro Girls were a dance team in World Championship Wrestling. Similar to the Fly Girls from In Living Color, their initial function was to dance and entertain the live crowds during commercial breaks.[1]
Contents |
The Nitro Girls were formed in 1997 by Kimberly Page at Eric Bischoff's request and made their debut on July 14 in Orlando, Florida. Their main focus was to entertain the live fans during the commercials of Monday Nitro.[1] They also occasionally performed in short segments on the show.
During the Nitro Girls’ opening dance routine on the October 6, 1997 edition of WCW Monday Nitro from the Target Center in Minneapolis, one of Chae’s nipples accidentally popped out of her top. Cameras immediately cut to a shot of the live audience. Predating Janet Jackson's 2004 Super Bowl wardrobe malfunction, this incident was frequently known as the "Nitro Nipple." The Nitro Girls filmed their own pay-per-view that aired in 1999.
In late 1999, the group held a competition to find a new member.[1][2] In November, Stacy Keibler defeated 300 other girls for a spot on the dance troupe and $10,000.[2] Her winning routine was watched by 4.4 million viewers.[2]
The Nitro Girls also made appearances at WCW promotional events and were featured in the WCW produced film Ready to Rumble. As the group became more and more involved in storylines, it slowly dissolved, but never officially broke up until 2001 when WCW was sold to Vince McMahon's World Wrestling Federation.
When Kimberly Page, the group's founder quit as a result of being stalked by a wrestler, the heel and face Nitro Girls began to feud.[2] Spice feuded with A.C. Jazz over the new leadership position and won.[2] After Jazz left the group, Tygress attempted to gain control.[2]
Several former Nitro Girls formed a pop music group called Diversity 5: Teri Byrne (Fyre), Melissa Bellin (Spice), Sharmell Sullivan (Storm), Chae An (Chae) and Vanessa Sanchez (Tygress). When Sharmell went to the WWF for the first time, Chiquita Anderson (Chiquita) replaced her. The D5 group released one cd single (I Promise/Shake Me Up) in 2001, but by the following year the group bottomed out when they appeared on the Fox reality show "30 seconds to fame" on October 31, 2002 and were promptly voted off.
| Nitro Girl | Given name | Years | |
|---|---|---|---|
| AC Jazz | Amy Crawford | 1997–1999 | Born April 1, 1971 in Douglasville, Georgia was a graduate of Jacksonville State University and was a cheerleader for the Atlanta Falcons for two years before joining the dance team. One of the original members of the Nitro Girls, Crawford initially handling the dance team's choreography and costume design. Crawford left the company due to disagreements with WCW management and her role was eventually taken over by Tygress. She subsequently returned to run a dance company.[2] |
| Baby | Shannon McNeill | 2000 | Born on September 15, 1976 in Wilkesboro, North Carolina, McNeill graduated from the University of North Carolina with a degree in special education and was a member of the Honeybees before joining the Nitro Girls in 2000. During her time in WCW, she and Nitro Girl Chameleon were valets for "Champagne" Chris Kanyon. She eventually left the Nitro Girls and returned to college before the end of the year. |
| Beef | Rhonda Sing | 1999–2000 | Singh competed in the women's division in WCW from 1999–2000 and made a couple appearances with the Nitro Girls as "Nitro Girl Beef" for comedic relief.[3][4] |
| Chae | Chae An | 1997–2000 | Born June 8, 1973 in Seoul, South Korea graduated from Armstrong State University in Savannah, Georgia with a General Studies degree. She went on to become a cheerleader for the Atlanta Falcons and became a member of the original Nitro Girls in 1997. She was a member until 2000. She appeared in a non-nude Nitro Girls pictorial in the September 1998 issue of Penthouse, along with Melissa Bellin, Teri Byrne, and Kimberly Page. She got married on October 27, 2007.[5] The couple is expecting their second child in October 2010.[6] |
| Chameleon | Carmel Macklin | 2000 | Born March 2, 1976 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania , Macklin graduated from Temple University with a degree in Psychology. She debuted in WCW in 1999 as a member of the Nitro Girls dance squad, under the name Chameleon.[5] She occasionally accompanied Chris Kanyon (during his "Champagne" Chris Kanyon gimmick) to the ring as his valet with Nitro Girl Baby. In 2000, she left the Nitro Girls and became the valet for Ernest Miller as Ms. Jones. She would dance along with Miller in his post match dance routine. She also acted as Miller's assistant when he was WCW Commissioner.[5] She and Miller defeated Major Gunns and Lance Storm in a mixed tag team match in her only wrestling match on the December 18th edition of "Nitro." She was last seen taking a "Buff Blockbuster" from Buff Bagwell.[5] She was cut shortly afterward, when WCW made a decision to release most of the valets. After leaving WCW she became an actress and appeared in her first movie, Love & Orgasms, in 2003. |
| Chiquita | Chiquita Anderson | 2000–2001 | Born on November 22, 1974, Anderson graduated from Philadelphia University of the Arts with an associate's degree in Dance. After the Nitro Girls were disbanded, Anderson then became part of the pop music group Diversity 5 with other former Nitro Girls when Sharmell Sullivan left the group. She was part of the short-lived Xtreme Wrestling Federation's X-Girls in 2001 with Stephanie Bellars and Kristina Laum. |
| Fyre | Teri Byrne | 1997–1999 | She is working at the University of Phoenix.[7] |
| Gold | Diane Klimaszewski | 2000 | |
| Kimberly | Kimberly Page | 1997–1999 | |
| Naughty-A | Jamie Cragwell | 2000–2001 | Born in Nashville, Tennessee on June 1, 1975, she was one of the last members of the Nitro Girls before the promotion's close. |
| Silver | Elaine Klimaszewski | 2000 | |
| Skye | Stacy Keibler | 1999 | The winner of the 1999 Nitro Girl Search, Keibler later joined WWE as a diva. |
| Spice | Melissa Bellin | 1997–2000 | Born May 29, 1973, she was one of the original Nitro Girls. She is married and has a son.[5] |
| Starr | Jennifer Bancalum | 2000–2001 | |
| Storm | Sharmell Sullivan-Huffman | 1998–1999 | After leaving the Nitro Girls, Sullivan managed The Artist under the name Paisley. Sullivan is married to Booker T who now works with WWE. She was regularly featured on WWE televison from 2005 to 2007. |
| Syren | Allison Pfau | 2000–2001 | Born May 4, 1976, she was involved in a storyline romance with Billy Kidman and Reno, her "boyfriend" after he broke up with Torrie Wilson and she sided with Shane Douglas. |
| Tayo | Tayo Reed | 1997–1998 | Born on February 28, 1971, after leaving the group, she began a career as a country singer.[2] Tayo Reed started entertaining as a singer at Six Flags Over Georgia, performing in the Shake, Rattle, & Soul Show. She was then chosen to be a cheerleader for the Atlanta Falcons and a dancer for the Atlanta Hawks. Tayo also opened Tayo Reed's International Academy of Dance in Riverdale, Georgia. |
| Tygress | Vanessa Sanchez | 1998–2000 | Born January 21, 1971 in Syosset, New York, she graduated from Oglethorpe University with a degree in accounting. She later became a certified public accountant. She joined the Nitro Girls in 1997, but left them in 2000 to become a wrestler and valet for The Filthy Animals stable. She feuded with Misfits in Action's valet Major Gunns and Torrie Wilson. At Halloween Havoc, she and Konnan defeated Wilson and Shane Douglas. |
| Whisper | Rebecca M. Hickenbottom (née Curci) | 1997–1999 | Born June 16, 1976, Rebecca joined WCW's Nitro Girls as Whisper in October 1997.[8] Her signature move was to put a finger to her lips at the end of each routine, in keeping with the name "Whisper". She left WCW in 1999 to marry World Wrestling Federatrion/Entertainment (WWF/E) superstar Shawn Michaels and did not return.[9] She and Michaels have two children, one son, Cameron Kade, born January 5, 2000 and a daughter, Cheyenne Michelle, born on August 19, 2004. Rebecca has appeared various times on WWE programming from WrestleMania 22 to most recently at the 2011 WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. |