The Radicalz (stylized as The R4dicalz), also known as The Revolution, were a professional wrestling stable in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) (as the Revolution) and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) (as the Radicalz) that debuted in July 1999. The group consisted primarily of Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Perry Saturn, and Dean Malenko.

The stable is notable for consisting of four well-known wrestlers who would jump ship during the Monday Night War. Within three months of joining the WWF, each member would hold a different championship at various points: Benoit with the WWF Intercontinental Championship, Guerrero with the WWF European Championship, Malenko with the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship, and Saturn with the WWF Hardcore Championship.

History

Origins

Benoit, Malenko and Guerrero toured the world before signing with WCW. Their lack of size did not translate well in the United States, but their respective styles were popular in countries like Mexico, Canada and particularly Japan.The trio would face off repeatedly, forcing them to spend a lot of time together.

They caught the attention of Philadelphia-based promotion Extreme Championship Wrestling's (ECW) booker and promoter Paul Heyman. Heyman was keen to introduce the Mexican lucha libre style to the United States professional wrestling fans, and he saw Guerrero as an ideal example of this. He also loved the technical styles of Benoit and Malenko, so Heyman booked all three men in his company. It would be here that they met Perry Saturn, a traditional power wrestler and brawler, but he did not become a member of the group until they all signed contracts with WCW.

World Championship Wrestling

In 1999, many WCW mid-card to upper-level stars became unhappy with the political environment of WCW.Management offered anyone who was unhappy a chance to be released from their contracts. Scott Levy aka Raven was singled out for his comments on WCW by WCW President Eric Bischoff and offered an opportunity to negotiate his release with the WCW lawyers immediately if he was so unhappy, which Levy did. The contract forbade Levy from signing with the WWF for the length of terms of his original WCW contract. However, Levy did not see this as an issue and re-debuted in ECW less than a week later in August 1999. His attitude inspired other wrestlers who followed suit.

At the time of the jump, Benoit, Malenko and Saturn were members of a stable in WCW called The Revolution, whose leader was "The Franchise" Shane Douglas, which further fueled the rumors that Douglas wanted in on the jump.

The Revolution was formed by Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko (leftovers from the last incarnation of the Four Horsemen), Perry Saturn and Shane Douglas on the July 29, 1999 edition of WCW Thunder. When the group first came together as fan favorites, it was with the idea that they were a group of younger wrestlers who had felt slighted by WCW management, never giving them the chance to be stars, while always giving older, more established wrestlers the top spots.

The concept held some truth, and in reality the stable was actually made up of close friends, as Douglas, Benoit, Malenko and Saturn knew each other from their days in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). Douglas, Benoit, and Malenko also were the original Triple Threat stable in ECW, while Saturn was part of The Eliminators with John Kronus. During a house show on September 11 at the Baltimore Arena, three days after the death of WCW referee Mark Curtis, Douglas, Benoit and Malenko paid tribute to their friend and dedicated the show to him.

In October of that year, after Vince Russo became head writer, the gimmick of the group changed to one that was anti-America and anti-government. This was established with Benoit taking a microphone, looking toward the entrance stage, and stating that they were "tired of the politics going on in the back". This blurred the line between storyline and real-life in regards to how WCW was being managed.

The group even went so far as to create their own flag and claim to have left the United States and formed their own government. Their theme music had a guitar and percussion sound very similar to Marilyn Manson's "The Beautiful People".

Benoit and Malenko left the group in October, but Malenko turned on Benoit in a setup where Malenko had never really left The Revolution. The Revolution then added Asya and feuded with The Filthy Animals. The Revolution kidnapped Torrie Wilson and put her freedom up in a match against The Filthy Animals, which they lost.

At the time of their departure to the WWF, Benoit was recognized as the WCW World Heavyweight Champion,

Malenko and Saturn had one more match together defeating Justin Credible and Raven on August 9, 2001 at the Brian Pillman Memorial Show for Heartland Wrestling Association.

Aftermath

Guerrero was re-signed by the WWF in March 2002, and was paired with Benoit to coincide with his return from injury (though not as The Radicalz). The duo would separate after jumping to the SmackDown! brand, but interacted on occasion, either as opponents or allies. The most notable instance occurred at WrestleMania XX, where the two celebrated together after successfully reigning as world champions, as Guerrero retained the WWE Championship and Benoit won the World Heavyweight Championship. They would wrestle their final match against each other at the first ECW One Night Stand event.

Guerrero died from acute heart failure due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease on November 13, 2005, while Benoit committed suicide on June 24, 2007 after murdering his wife and son. Both Guerrero and Benoit were still employed by WWE at the time of their deaths. Malenko retired from in-ring competition in 2001, but remained with WWE as a road agent until departing the company in 2019 and joining All Elite Wrestling. Saturn was released by WWE in 2002 and, after a few years where his whereabouts were unknown due to homelessness and drug addiction, remained active on the independent circuit until his retirement in 2013. Terri left WWE in April 2004 after eight years with the company and is no longer involved in the professional wrestling industry.

Members

{|class="wikitable"

|-

|-

!I–II

|Leader(s)

|-

!*

|Founding member(s)

|}

{|class="wikitable"

!Members

!Joined

!Left

|-

|Chris Benoit (I)

|January 31, 2000 *

|March 5, 2001

|-

|Eddie Guerrero (II)

|January 31, 2000 *

|May 14, 2001

|-

|Dean Malenko

|January 31, 2000 *

|August 9, 2001

|-

|Perry Saturn

|January 31, 2000 *

|August 9, 2001

|-

|Terri

|July 23, 2000

|August 9, 2001

|}

Championships and accomplishments

  • World Championship Wrestling
  • WCW United States Heavyweight Championship (1 time) – Benoit
  • WCW World Television Championship (1 time) – Benoit
  • World Wrestling Federation
  • WWF Hardcore Championship (2 times) – Perry Saturn
  • WWF Light Heavyweight Championship (2 times) – Dean Malenko
  • WWF European Championship (3 times) – Eddie Guerrero (2) and Perry Saturn (1)
  • WWF Intercontinental Championship (3 times) – Chris Benoit (2) and Eddie Guerrero (1)

References

  • Cagematch profile