title: Billy Gunn

text: The Outlaws slowly began to align themselves with D-Generation X. At the Royal Rumble, the New Age Outlaws interfered in a Casket match to help Shawn Michaels defeat The Undertaker. At , the Outlaws teamed up with Triple H and Savio Vega (who replaced the injured Shawn Michaels) to face Chainsaw Charlie, Cactus Jack, Owen Hart, and Steve Austin. They were, however, defeated. On February 2, The Outlaws locked Cactus and Chainsaw in a dumpster and pushed it off the stage. This led to a Dumpster match at WrestleMania XIV where Cactus and Chainsaw defeated the Outlaws for the Tag Titles. The next night on "Raw", the New Age Outlaws won the Tag Team Championship for a second time by defeating Chainsaw and Cactus in a Steel cage match, but only after interference from Triple H, Chyna, and X-Pac. After the match, the Outlaws officially became members of D-Generation X (DX).


title: Billy Gunn

text: After joining DX, the Outlaws successfully defended their Tag Team Title against the Legion of Doom 2000 at Unforgiven. DX began to feud with Owen Hart and his new stablemates, The Nation. At , the Outlaws and Triple H were defeated by Nation members Owen, Kama Mustafa, and D'Lo Brown in a Six Man Tag Match.


title: Billy Gunn

text: During this time, the Outlaws began a feud with Kane and Mankind. At SummerSlam, Mankind faced the Outlaws in a Handicap match after Kane no-showed the title defense. The Outlaws defeated Mankind to win the titles for the third time. In December, the Outlaws lost the title to The Big Boss Man and Ken Shamrock from The Corporation.


title: Billy Gunn

text: The Outlaws then began to focus more on singles competition. The Road Dogg won the Hardcore Championship in December 1998, and Gunn set his sights on the Intercontinental Championship. At the 1999 Royal Rumble, Gunn unsuccessfully challenged Ken Shamrock for the Intercontinental Title. The next month at , Gunn was the special guest referee for the Intercontinental Championship match between Val Venis and champion Ken Shamrock, where Gunn made a fast count and declared Venis the new champion before attacking both men.


title: Billy Gunn

text: In March, Gunn won the Hardcore Championship from Hardcore Holly. At WrestleMania XV, Gunn lost the title to Holly in a Triple Threat match which also included Al Snow. The New Age Outlaws then reunited to defeat Jeff Jarrett and Owen Hart at Backlash. After Backlash, Gunn left D-Generation X and aligned himself with Triple H and Chyna. Gunn defeated his former partner, Road Dogg, in a match at Over the Edge. Gunn then won the King of the Ring tournament by defeating Ken Shamrock, Kane, and his former ally, X-Pac. After King of the Ring, Gunn, Triple H, and Chyna went on to feud with X-Pac and Road Dogg over the rights to the D-Generation X name. This feud culminated at Fully Loaded when X-Pac and Road Dogg defeated Gunn and Chyna.


title: Billy Gunn

text: Gunn then began a brief feud with The Rock. At SummerSlam, The Rock defeated Gunn in a Kiss My Ass Match. Following this, Gunn then briefly feuded with Jeff Jarrett for the Intercontinental Title before reuniting with Road Dogg to reform The New Age Outlaws. The Outlaws won their fourth tag team championship by defeating The Rock 'n' Sock Connection in September 1999. The Outlaws later reunited with X-Pac and Triple H to reform D-Generation X. During this time, The Outlaws won their fifth Tag Team Championship after defeating Mankind and Al Snow. At the 2000 Royal Rumble, The New Age Outlaws retained their title against The Acolytes after interference from X-Pac. The Outlaws then had a feud with The Dudley Boyz, who won the Tag Team Championship from The Outlaws at No Way Out. After suffering a torn rotator cuff in the match with The Dudley Boyz, Gunn was kicked out of D-Generation X for "losing his cool" to explain his impending absence to recover from his injury.


title: Billy Gunn

text: Gunn made his return in October and immediately teamed with Chyna to feud with Right to Censor, who wanted to "censor" his Mr. Ass gimmick. At No Mercy, Right to Censor members Steven Richards and Val Venis defeated Chyna and Gunn. Due to a stipulation, Gunn could no longer use the Mr. Ass gimmick, so he renamed himself Billy G. for a few weeks before settling on "The One" Billy Gunn. Gunn then feuded with Eddie Guerrero and the rest of The Radicalz. At Survivor Series, Gunn teamed with Road Dogg, Chyna, and K-Kwik in a losing effort against The Radicalz. A few weeks later on "SmackDown!", Gunn won the Intercontinental Championship from Guerrero. However, the title reign was short-lived, as Chris Benoit defeated him for the title two weeks later at Armageddon. After feuding with Benoit, Gunn participated in the 2001 Royal Rumble where he made it to the final four, Gunn interfered in the Hardcore Championship Match at No Way Out, and taking advantage of the 24/7 Rule, pinning Raven for the title. The reign was short-lived, as Raven won it back a few minutes later.


title: Billy Gunn

text: In a 2001 match on "Sunday Night Heat", Gunn was defeated by Chuck Palumbo, who recently left The Alliance to join the WWF. After the match, Gunn suggested that they form a tag team. Palumbo agreed, and Billy and Chuck quickly rose to the top of the tag team division. Initially they were a generic tandem, but they were given a gimmick where they grew increasingly affectionate toward each other, showing evidence of a storyline homosexual relationship.


title: Billy Gunn

text: In February 2002, Billy and Chuck defeated Spike Dudley and Tazz to win the WWF Tag Team Championship for the first time as a team. After winning the titles, Billy and Chuck found a "Personal Stylist" in the ambiguously flamboyant Rico. After retaining the title against the Acolytes Protection Agency, the Dudley Boyz, and the Hardy Boyz in a Four Corners Elimination Match at WrestleMania X8 and against Al Snow and Maven at Backlash, Billy and Chuck began a feud with Rikishi. At Judgment Day, Rikishi and Rico (Rikishi's mystery partner of Mr. McMahon's choosing) defeated Billy and Chuck for the WWE Tag Team Championship after Rico accidentally hit Chuck with a roundhouse kick. Billy and Chuck quickly won the title back two weeks later on "SmackDown!" with Rico's help. They held the championship for almost a month before losing it to the team of Edge and Hollywood Hulk Hogan on the July 4 episode of "SmackDown!".


title: Billy Gunn

text: On the September 5 edition of "SmackDown!", after Billy lost a match to Rey Mysterio, Chuck proposed to Billy, asking him to be his "partner for life" and gave him a wedding ring. Billy agreed, and one week later, on the September 12 episode of "SmackDown!", Billy and Chuck had their wedding ceremony. However, just before they tied the knot, they revealed that the entire ordeal was a publicity stunt and disavowed their on-screen homosexuality, admitting that they were just friends. The "preacher" revealed himself to be Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff (who was wearing a skin mask), who then summoned 3-Minute Warning to beat up Billy and Chuck. Rico, furious that Billy and Chuck gave up their gimmick, became the manager of Three Minute Warning and defected to "Raw". At Unforgiven, Three Minute Warning defeated Billy and Chuck. Their final match together occurred on the October 3 episode of "SmackDown!" in the first round of a tournament for the newly created WWE Tag Team Championship. They lost the match to the team of Ron Simmons and Reverend D-Von. Afterwards, Gunn took a few months off because of a shoulder injury and the team of Billy and Chuck quietly disbanded.


title: Billy Gunn

text: After returning in the summer of 2003, Gunn reverted to the "Mr. Ass" gimmick, defeating A-Train, and Torrie Wilson became his new manager. He started a feud with Jamie Noble, which led to an "Indecent Proposal" Match at Vengeance, which Noble won and due to the match's stipulation, won a night with Torrie. After taking time off again due to a shoulder injury, Gunn returned to action at the 2004 Royal Rumble, but was eliminated by Goldberg. Afterward, he wrestled mainly on "Velocity", forming an occasional tag team with Hardcore Holly. At Judgment Day, Gunn and Holly challenged Charlie Haas and Rico for the WWE Tag Team Championship, but were unsuccessful. At The Great American Bash, Gunn lost to Kenzo Suzuki.


title: Billy Gunn

text: On November 1, 2004, Sopp was released from his WWE contract. In June 2005, Sopp gave an interview in which he was heavily critical of WWE and the events that led to his release. Many of the negative comments were directed towards Triple H, who Sopp claimed "runs the show up there".


title: Billy Gunn

text: On February 13, 2005, Sopp debuted in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) without a name (as Billy Gunn is a WWE trademark, although announcers recognized him as such) at Against All Odds with the same gimmick, helping Jeff Jarrett retain the NWA World Heavyweight Championship in a match with Kevin Nash. Sopp, using the name The New Age Outlaw, then formed a stable with Jarrett and Monty Brown known as Planet Jarrett. However, WWE threatened TNA with legal action if Sopp continued the use of the name "The New Age Outlaw", so he shortened his name to The Outlaw. Due to the legal issues with WWE, all TNA -DVD releases featuring footage with Sopp as "The Outlaw" (and presumably also as "The New Age Outlaw") have had the name on on-screen graphics blurred, the name silenced out of the audio, and match commentary completely replaced to reflect a retroactive name change to "Kip James". One such DVD is the pay-per-view Lockdown, included in the "TNA Anthology: The Epic Set" box set, in which the silencing of the name during a segment where Dusty Rhodes picks his name from a lottery leaves DVD viewers in the dark as to who just got picked.


title: Billy Gunn

text: The Outlaw began a campaign to make former ally B.G. James leave the 3Live Kru and defect to Planet Jarrett, reforming the old tag team with Outlaw. At No Surrender, he renamed himself Kip James and was announced as "wrestling out of Marietta, Georgia" (the family seat of the Armstrong family) as a psychological ploy. As a result of his campaign, Kip attracted the ire of 3Live Kru members Ron Killings and Konnan, leading to a series of tag team matches pitting Kip and Monty Brown against Killings and Konnan, with a conflicted James unwilling to take sides. Kip's efforts ultimately proved futile; James, the guest referee in a final match between Brown and Kip versus Konnan and Killings at Sacrifice, attacked Kip enabling a 3Live Kru victory.


title: Billy Gunn

text: In September at Unbreakable, Kip teamed with Brown to defeat the team of Apolo and Lance Hoyt. There was clear tension between the partners because Brown was unhappy at the series of losses at the hands of the 3Live Kru, and Kip was irked by Brown's decision to leave Planet Jarrett. Despite the victory, the partners argued after the match. On the October 8, 2005 episode of "Impact!", Kip rekindled his feud with the 3Live Kru, running to the ring after a bout between the 3LK and Team Canada in order to prevent Team Canada captain Petey Williams from beating down B.G. James. He saved James, and then engaged in a staredown with Konnan and Killings. Kip saved James from Team Canada once again at Bound for Glory. Though Killings showed signs of gratitude, Konnan remained skeptical as to his true intentions. Later that night, Kip took part in an over-the-top-rope gauntlet match for the number one contendership to the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. After he was eliminated, he tried in vain to prevent Killings from being eliminated as well, before being sent away from ringside by the referees.


title: Billy Gunn

text: On the November 26 episode of "Impact!", B.G. brought Kip and the 3Live Kru to ringside and asked Killings and Konnan whether Kip could join the stable. Following a heated argument between Konnan and B.G., both Killings and Konnan gave their approval, and the 4Live Kru was born. However, at Turning Point, Konnan attacked both B.G. and Kip, costing them their match against Team Canada and initiating a feud between himself and the remainder of the Kru. Shortly thereafter, B.G. James's father, Bob Armstrong, attempted to reconcile the group, but was instead attacked by Konnan and his new stablemates, Apolo and Homicide. Killings later stated that he had severed his ties with the Kru. With Konnan and Killings no longer members of the Kru, Kip and B.G. began referring to themselves as The James Gang and continued to feud with the Konnan-managed Latin American Exchange, whose third man position as Homicide's partner would switch from Apolo to Machete, and then from him to Hernandez, who finally stuck, during the course of this feud. At Final Resolution, The James Gang defeated The Diamonds in the Rough (David Young and Elix Skipper). At Against All Odds, The James Gang defeated LAX (Homicide and Machete). At Destination X, The James Gang and Bob Armstrong defeated Latin American Exchange in a six-man tag team match. At Sacrifice, The James Gang defeated Team 3D which led to a rematch at Slammiversary where Team 3D defeated The James Gang in a Bingo Hall Brawl. At Victory Road, The James Gang and Abyss defeated Team 3D and their newest member Brother Runt. At No Surrender, The James Gang competed in a Triple Chance tag team battle royal but failed to win the match. At Bound for Glory, The James Gang competed in a Four-way tag team match which was won by Team 3D.


title: Billy Gunn

text: By November 2006, Kip and B.G. began to show displeasure in TNA and threatened to go find work elsewhere if they did not receive gold soon. They began performing the crotch chop, a reference to the WWE's DX. On the November 2 edition of "Impact!", Kip and B.G. threatened to quit. Kip grabbed the mic and tried to say something to the TNA administration and Spike TV, but each time his mic was cut off. Kip then tried to use the announcer's headset, but it was cut off as well. Frustrated, he started yelling loudly to the crowd, but he was cut off again as the show went to a commercial break. When the show returned, the announcers speculated that they may have been frustrated due to the influx of new talent entering TNA. It was reported that the segment was a worked shoot that Vince Russo had written in order to renew interest upon their eventual return. Kip and BG appeared in an internet video on TNA's website where they addressed the owner of WWE Vince McMahon.


title: Billy Gunn

text: A few weeks later on "Impact!", The James Gang re-emerged under a new name Voodoo Kin Mafia (VKM for short, a play on Vincent Kennedy McMahon's initials). They mentioned their new right of 'creative control', meaning they could do whatever they wanted. They also declared 'war' on Paul Levesque, Michael Hickenbottom, and Vincent K. McMahon (Triple H, Shawn Michaels, and Vince McMahon, respectively). Kip then declared that 'Triple Hollywood' and 'Shawn Kiss-my-bottom' were failing as the group they (Kip and BG) used to be a part of: D-Generation X. After the initial shock value of this incident wore off, at Genesis, The Voodoo Kin Mafia defeated Kazarian, Maverick Matt and Johnny Devine in a handicap match. VKM began a feud with the villainous Christy Hemme. Hemme then searched for a tag team to square-off against VKM. At Destination X, The Voodoo Kin Mafia defeated Hemme's handpicked team of The Heartbreakers (Antonio Thomas & Romeo Roselli). On the Lockdown preshow The Voodoo Kin Mafia defeated another one of Hemme's handpicked team Serotonin (Kaz & Havok) in a Six Sides of Steel match. The final tag team was Damaja and Basham, who appeared on an episode of "Impact!" and beat down VKM. They also held up Kip James so Hemme could slap him. B.G James was taken out by Basham and Damaja which led to Kip James competed against Basham and Damaja in a handicap match at Sacrifice where he lost. However, they beat Hemme's team at Slammiversary. After the match, VKM were betrayed by their associate Lance Hoyt. At Victory Road, they introduced their new manager, the Voodoo Queen, Roxxi Laveaux, to embarrass Christy Hemme. At Hard Justice, The Voodoo Kin Mafia lost to The Latin American Exchange. At No Surrender, The Voodoo Kin Mafia competed in a Ten-team tag team gauntlet match which was won by A.J. Styles and Tomko. At Bound for Glory, Kip James competed in the Fight for the Right Reverse Battle Royal which was won by Eric Young. On the October 25 edition of "Impact!", VKM teamed with A.J. Styles and Tomko in a losing effort to the Latin American Xchange and the Steiner Brothers. At Genesis, B.G. was present along with Kip in the corner of Roxxi Laveaux at ringside for the Fatal Four Way knockout match for the TNA Women's Championship in which Gail Kim retained the title. At Turning Point, James competed in the Feast or Fired where he grabbed a case but threw it to BG James. It was revealed that the case was for a shot at the TNA World Tag Team Championship and BG James picked his dad to be his partner at Against All Odds, James and Bob Armstrong failed to win the titles and on February 21, 2008 episode of "Impact!" he turned on B.G. and B.G's father "Bullet" Bob Armstrong by hitting them both with a crutch.


title: Billy Gunn

text: On April 13, 2008, he faced former partner B.G. James at Lockdown and lost. After the match, he appeared to want to make amends as he raised B.G.'s hand after the match, only to clothesline him down to the mat and taunt him with a DX crotch chop. Kip went on to declare himself "The Megastar", an arrogant gimmick similar to "The One" gimmick from his WWF tenure. Kip later stopped making appearances on "Impact!" until April 24 when he was attacked backstage by Matt Morgan for no reason. The next week on "Impact!", Kip got back at Morgan by attacking him backstage in Jim Cornette's office. On May 8, 2008, Cornette forced Morgan into being Kip's tag team partner for the Deuces Wild tournament at Sacrifice, though both were unable to win. Kip went on another brief disappearance from television until the June 5 edition of "Impact!", where he partnered with Lance Hoyt and James Storm in a losing effort against Morgan and The Latin American Xchange.


title: Billy Gunn

text: On the August 14 episode of "Impact!", Kip was revealed to be the new image consultant and member of The Beautiful People, dubbed Cute Kip and was using his Mr.Ass Attire, after they brought him out during their interview on Karen Angle's show "Karen's Angle". at Bound for Glory IV, Kip, Love and Sky lost to Rhino, ODB and Rhaka Khan in a Bimbo Brawl. at Final Resolution (December 2008), Kip competed in the Feast or Fired match but failed to get a case. At Genesis 2009, Kip became the one-night-only replacement for the injured Kevin Nash in the Main Event Mafia.


title: Billy Gunn

text: As of March 19, 2009, Sopp was taken off of "TNA Impact!" along with Jacqueline Moore to become road agents. Sopp returned as Cute Kip and lost to Awesome Kong in an intergender stretcher match on May 14, 2009. On the May 28 edition of "Impact!", Kip was fired by The Beautiful People. On the June 18 edition of "Impact!", Mick Foley hired him as his handyman, turning Kip into a face. he made another appearance on the August 6 edition of Impact where Kip had to clean up the IMPACT Zone after a chaotic fifteen minute "riot". On October 9 edition of "Xplosion", Kip was defeated by Rhino. On October 30 edition of "Xplosion", Kip defeated Sheik Abdul Bashir. on the November 13 edition of "Xplosion", Kip lost to Rob Terry and on December 3, 2009 edition of "Xplosion", Kip competed in his final TNA match where he lost to Kiyoshi.


title: Billy Gunn

text: Sopp's profile was removed from the TNA website on December 29, 2009, confirming his departure from the promotion.


title: Billy Gunn

text: After leaving TNA, Sopp reunited with B.G. James to reform The New Age Outlaws, with both men resuming their Billy Gunn and Road Dogg ring names. After joining TWA Powerhouse in 2010, the Outlaws defeated Canadian Extreme to win the promotion's Tag Team Championship on July 25. They re-lost the title to Canadian Extreme on June 5, 2011.


title: Billy Gunn

text: On July 30, 2011, Sopp, working under the ring name Kip Gunn, made his debut for Lucha Libre USA as a member of the heel stable The Right. Later that night, Gunn lost in his debut match against Marco Corleone. On June 26, 2012, Sopp won the American Pro Wrestling Alliance American Championship. However, he lost the title due to travel issues. On September 8 and 9, 2012, he wrestled in a Bad Boys of Wrestling Federation tournament. He defeated Rhino in the semi-finals and Scott Steiner in the final, winning the BBWF Aruba Championship.


title: Billy Gunn

text: On July 23, Sopp, under his Billy Gunn name, made his first WWE appearance in nearly eight years as he reunited with Road Dogg, X-Pac, Shawn Michaels and Triple H to reform D-Generation X for one night only on the 1000th episode of "Raw". In December 2012, he was hired by WWE as a trainer for the NXT Wrestling territory in Tampa, Florida. On March 4, 2013, Gunn and Road Dogg made a return at "Old School Raw", defeating Primo and Epico. On March 11, 2013, they accepted a challenge from Team Rhodes Scholars and faced them in a match, which was interrupted by Brock Lesnar, who hit both Outlaws with an "F-5" as part of his ongoing feud with Triple H.


title: Billy Gunn

text: He then appeared alongside Road Dogg to help CM Punk clear out The Shield in aid of Roddy Piper on "Old School Raw" on January 6, 2014. On the January 10 episode of "SmackDown", the Outlaws teamed with CM Punk in a six-man tag match against The Shield in a losing effort. On the January 13 episode of "Raw", the Outlaws again teamed with Punk in a rematch against The Shield, only to abandon Punk and lose the match. On January 26 during the Royal Rumble Kickoff Show, Gunn and Road Dogg beat Cody Rhodes and Goldust to win the WWE Tag Team Championship. The next night on "Raw" the New Age Outlaws retained the championship against Rhodes and Goldust via disqualification when Brock Lesnar attacked the brothers. The next week on "Raw" the New Age Outlaws retained the championship against Rhodes and Goldust in a steel cage match. On March 3, the Outlaws lost the Tag Team Championship to The Usos. Gunn sustained hemoptysis after he and his New Age Outlaws partner, Road Dogg, suffered a double-Triple Powerbomb by The Shield at WrestleMania XXX.


title: Billy Gunn

text: Gunn returned to "Raw" with Road Dogg in January 2015, attacking The Ascension along with the nWo and the APA. At the Royal Rumble, the Outlaws faced The Ascension in a losing effort. At WrestleMania 31, Gunn, with Road Dogg, X-Pac and Shawn Michaels, reunited as D-Generation X to help Triple H in his match against Sting. In May, Gunn was announced as a coach along with WWE Hall of Famers Booker T and Lita for the sixth season of "Tough Enough".


title: Billy Gunn

text: On November 13, 2015, WWE officially announced that Sopp was released from his WWE contract after failing a test for performance-enhancing drugs. He had tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone at a powerlifting event on July 25, 2015, and was suspended from powerlifting for four years.


title: Billy Gunn

text: On December 26, 2015, Gunn teamed up with Kevin Thorn to defeat Brian Klass and Rob Street. One month later, Gunn defeated Ken Dixon for the MCW Pro Wrestling MCW Rage Television Championship. On February 5, 2016, Gunn defeated Joey Hayes in the Preston City Wrestling PCW Road to Glory tournament, on February 6 he lost to T-Bone in the quarter-finals that same night Gunn teamed up with Mr. Anderson and Tajiri to defeat Dave Raynes, Joey Hayes, and Martin Kirby. On February 7, 2016 Gunn challenged for the Pro Wrestling Pride Heavyweight championship losing to Steve Griffiths. On March 19, 2016, Gunn lost the title to Ken Dixon. On June 12, 2016, Gunn won the Smashmouth Pro Wrestling championship from KC Huber but lost it on the same night, Gunn teamed again with Anderson in a losing effort against the UK Hooligans at PCW Tribute to the Troops on June 25, 2016. He defeated Hardcore Holly in a singles match at PCW Top Gunn on July 2, 2016.


title: Billy Gunn

text: On September 4, 2016, Gunn made his debut for Chikara, representing DX alongside X-Pac in a tag team gauntlet match. The two entered the match as the final team and scored the win over Prakash Sabar and The Proletariat Boar of Moldova.


title: Billy Gunn

text: On November 5, 2016, at the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) event Power Struggle, Yoshitatsu announced Gunn as the newest member of his Hunter Club stable and his partner for the upcoming 2016 World Tag League. Gunn and Yoshitatsu finished the tournament on December 8 with a record of three wins and four losses, failing to advance from their block. Gunn returned to NJPW on January 4, 2017, taking part in the pre-show New Japan Rumble at Wrestle Kingdom 11 in Tokyo Dome, from which he was eliminated by the eventual winner Michael Elgin. While Gunn did not appear for NJPW for the next six months, he was brought up in May by Yoshitatsu, who told Hiroshi Tanahashi that Gunn had requested a match against him. When Tanahashi captured the IWGP Intercontinental Championship the following month, he immediately nominated Gunn as his first challenger. Gunn was defeated in the title match on July 2 at G1 Special in USA, and it was his final match in NJPW.


title: Billy Gunn

text: Gunn and numerous other WWE legends appeared on the January 22, 2018 episode of Raw 25 Years as part of the D-Generation X reunion. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2019 as a member of D-Generation X.


title: Billy Gunn

text: In January 2019, Gunn was hired by All Elite Wrestling as a coach. At May 25 at the AEW Double or Nothing event he competed in the pre-show battle royal. Gunn made his first televised appearance for AEW on the November 20, 2019 episode of , competing in a battle royal. He also appeared during the January 1, 2020 episode of "Dynamite", wrestling in a dark match with his son Austin that aired on January 7, 2020. They wrestled again together on another dark match during the January 8, 2020 episode of "Dynamite", airing on January 17, 2020, with the tag team name "The Gunn Club", defeating the team of Peter Avalon and Shawn Spears. Gunn has also appeared in the crowd (made up of AEW wrestlers and other employees) on numerous episodes of "Dynamite" during the COVID-19 pandemic. On the May 27, 2020 episode of "Dynamite", Gunn now under the shortened ring name of Billy participated in a battle royal match to determine the number one contender for the TNT Championship. He also would wrestle MJF in a singles match on the June 17, 2020 episode of "Dynamite" as well. The Gunn Club would wrestle in more tag team matches on more episodes of "AEW Dark".


title: Billy Gunn

text: On the November 4, 2020 episode of "Dynamite", The Gunn Club teamed with Cody Rhodes to successfully defeat The Dark Order (John Silver, 10 and Colt Cabana). On the November 17, 2020 episode of "Dark", The Gunn Club, which now added Austin's brother and Gunn's other son Colten to the stable, defeated Bshp King, Joey O'Riley and Sean Maluta by pinfall in a six-man tag team match. On the same day the AEW website's roster page got updated and his name was once again changed to its long form, Billy Gunn. The three man Gunn Club would then defeat Cezar Bononi, KTB, and Seth Gargis in another six man tag team match on the November 24, 2020 episode of "Dark". On the December 8, 2020 episode of "Dark" The three man Gunn Club-which entered the ring on a golf cart with the words "Taz Taxi" on the side, defeated Shawn Dean, Sean Maluta & RYZIN. On the December 1, 2021 episode of "Dynamite", The Gunn Club stable's undefeated streak in AEW ended when Billy and Colten Gunn lost to the team of Sting and Darby Allin. On the April 15, 2022 episode of "AEW Rampage", the Gunn Club lost a six man tag team match to Blackpool Combat Club (Bryan Danielson, Jon Moxley, and Wheeler Yuta), after Yuta pinned Billy.


title: Billy Gunn

text: On the August 17, 2022 episode of "Dynamite", the Gunn Club ended when both of his sons turned against him and joined Stokely Hathaway. The Acclaimed (Max Caster and Anthony Bowens) would come to Gunn's aid, and Gunn would begin managing the duo. While paired with the Acclaimed, Bowens affectionately coined Gunn "Daddy Ass", a reference to Gunn's 1999 WWF "Mr. Ass" persona. On September 21, 2022, at "Dynamite: Grand Slam", the Acclaimed would successfully capture the AEW World Tag Team Championship with a win over Sweve in our Glory (Swerve Strickland and Keith Lee).


title: Billy Gunn

text: Gunn has had several gimmicks throughout his career, ranging from his cowboy-themed gimmick with the Smoking Gunns to his "The Ambiguously Gay Duo"-esque tag team with Chuck Palumbo. Gunn has stated on multiple shoot interviews that he has no regrets with his gimmicks as he was performing a job and doing what was asked of him to do.


title: Billy Gunn

text: By far, Gunn's most infamous gimmick was his "Mr. Ass" persona based around his ass. The gimmick started during his New Age Outlaws days when Road Dogg would refer to themselves as "Mr. Dogg" and "Mr. Ass" in promos, though the "Bad Ass" name wasn't referring to his backside at that time. What was originally a throwaway joke turned into Gunn mooning his opponents and the live crowd, though as the original incarnation of DX also did this, it could originally be argued that it was an extension of the Outlaws joining DX.


title: Billy Gunn

text: Upon leaving DX, Gunn fully embraced the "Mr. Ass" gimmick by placing emphasis on his "moneymaker". While Road Dogg kept the New Age Outlaws entrance music for his own, Gunn adopted the song "Ass Man" as part of the gimmick, and for a time even changed his ring tights to be see-through, wearing only a thong underneath his tights, although he would eventually revert back to the DX-era tights.


title: Billy Gunn

text: The "Mr. Ass" gimmick has mixed reviews. One web site ranked it near the middle of Gunn's various gimmicks, while a writer for Bleacher Report thought it was the worst gimmick ever even though Gunn was at his peak popularity with the persona. Gunn himself told Chris Van Vliet in 2021 that he never paid attention to the "Ass Man" lyrics until a podcaster broke down each expression.


title: Billy Gunn

text: Due to the enduring legacy of the "Mr. Ass" gimmick, in November 2021 Ring of Honor wrestler Danhausen began a Twitter feud with the Gunn Club, referring to Billy as "Billy Ass," and Colten and Austin as The "Ass Boys," in reference to Gunn's infamous "Mr. Ass" gimmick in the Attitude Era. While Gunn himself initially had no comment, the rest of Gunn Club despised the nickname after fans began chanting "Ass Boys" during their matches, notably during an AEW event at Chartway Arena in Norfolk, Virginia. Gunn finally commented when he surprised his sons by wearing an "Ass Boys" shirt, encouraging them to "embrace the assness" and even started teasing mooning the crowd again. Gunn also thanked Danhausen publicly for getting his sons over in a way that he couldn't.


title: Billy Gunn

text: Gunn's finisher is a Jumping legdrop bulldog, dubbed "Fame-ass-er". During his 'The One' gimmick, he used a Cobra clutch slam, dubbed as "One & Only", as his finisher.


title: Billy Gunn

text: Sopp was born on November 1, 1963 in Orlando, Florida and claims Austin, Texas as his hometown. Sopp married his first wife Tina Tinnell on March 3, 1990. Together, they have two sons: Colten (born May 18, 1991) and Austin (born August 26, 1994) who are also professional wrestlers. The couple separated in January 2000 and their divorce was finalized on December 11, 2002. Sopp has since married his long-time girlfriend Paula on January 24, 2009.


title: Billy Gunn

text: Sopp's sons Austin and Colten, better known by the ring names Austin Gunn and Colten Gunn, are currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) where they are known as "The Ass Boys".


title: My Bloody Valentine (band)

text: My Bloody Valentine (often stylised as my bloody valentine) is an Irish-English rock band formed in Dublin in 1983 and consisting since 1987 of founding members Kevin Shields (vocals, guitar, sampler), Colm Ó Cíosóig (drums, sampler) with Bilinda Butcher (vocals, guitar) and Debbie Googe (bass). Their music is characterized by dissonant guitar textures, androgynous vocals, and unorthodox production techniques. They are credited with pioneering the 1990s genre shoegaze.


title: My Bloody Valentine (band)

text: Following several unsuccessful early releases and membership changes, My Bloody Valentine signed to Creation Records in 1988. The band released several successful EPs and the albums "Isn't Anything" (1988) and "Loveless" (1991) on the label; the latter is often described as their magnum opus and one of the best rock albums of the 1990s. However, My Bloody Valentine were dropped by Creation after its release due to the album's extensive production costs. In 1992, the band signed to Island Records and recorded several albums worth of unreleased material, remaining largely inactive.


title: My Bloody Valentine (band)

text: Googe and Ó Cíosóig left the band in 1995, and were followed by Butcher in 1997. Unable to complete a follow-up to "Loveless", Shields isolated himself and, in his own words, "went crazy". In 2007, My Bloody Valentine reunited and subsequently embarked on a world tour. They released the compilation "EP's 1988-1991" in 2012. Their long-delayed third studio album, , was released in 2013 and supported by further touring.


title: My Bloody Valentine (band)

text: In 1978, Kevin Shields and Colm Ó Cíosóig were introduced to each other at a karate tournament in South Dublin. The duo became friends in what has been described as "an almost overnight friendship" and later formed the Complex, a punk rock band, with Liam Ó Maonlaí, Ó Cíosóig's friend from Coláiste Eoin. The band, who performed "a handful of gigs" consisting of Sex Pistols and Ramones songs, disbanded when Ó Maonlaí left to form Hothouse Flowers. Shields and Ó Cíosóig later formed A Life in the Day, a post-punk trio, but failed to secure performances with more than a hundred people present. Following A Life in the Day's dissolution, Shields and Ó Cíosóig formed My Bloody Valentine in early 1983 with lead vocalist David Conway. Conway, who performed under the pseudonym Dave Stelfox, suggested a number of potential band names, including the Burning Peacocks, before the trio settled on My Bloody Valentine. Shields has since claimed he was unaware that My Bloody Valentine was the title of a 1981 Canadian slasher film when the name was suggested.


title: My Bloody Valentine (band)

text: My Bloody Valentine experienced a number of line-up changes during their initial months. Lead guitarist Stephen Ivers and bassist Mark Ross were recruited in April 1983 and the band would often rehearse near Smithfield and Temple Bar in rehearsal spaces owned by Aidan Walsh. Walsh, who booked some of the band's early performances, said the rehearsals were "too noisy" and "crazy" that "next door were giving out hell". Ross left the band in December 1983 and was replaced by Paul Murtagh, who left the band in early 1984. In March 1984, Shields, Ivers and Conway recorded the band's first demo on a four-track recorder in Shields' parents' home in Killiney. Shields and Ó Cíosóig overdubbed bass and drum tracks at Litton Lane Studios, and the tape was later used to secure a contract with Tycoon Records.


title: My Bloody Valentine (band)

text: Soon after recording the demo, Ivers left My Bloody Valentine and Conway's girlfriend, Tina Durkin, joined as a keyboard player. Around this time, Conway, on the suggestion of Shields, contacted Gavin Friday, the lead vocalist of the post-punk band Virgin Prunes. According to Shields, Conway approached Friday in Finglas, asked him for advice and was told to "get out of Dublin." Shields agreed with the advice, commenting in January 1991 that "there was no room for us" in Ireland; Ó Cíosóig explained that the Irish music scene was not receptive to their style. Friday provided the band with contacts that secured them a show in Tilburg, Netherlands. The band relocated to the Netherlands after the show and lived there for a further nine months, opening for R.E.M. on one occasion on 8 April 1984. Due to a lack of opportunities and a lack of correct documentation, the band relocated to West Berlin, Germany in late 1984 and recorded their debut mini album, "This Is Your Bloody Valentine" (1985). The album failed to receive much attention and the band returned temporarily to the Netherlands, before settling in London in the middle of 1985.


title: My Bloody Valentine (band)

text: Following their relocation to London in 1985, members of My Bloody Valentine lost contact with each other while looking for accommodation and Tina Durkin, not confident in her abilities as a keyboard player, left the band. When the remaining three members regained contact with one another, the band decided to audition bassists, as they lacked a regular bassist since their formation. Shields acquired Debbie Googe's telephone number from a contact in London, invited her to audition and subsequently recruited her as a bassist. Googe managed to attend rehearsals, which were centered around her day job. Rehearsal sessions were regularly held at Salem Studios, which was connected to the independent record label Fever Records. The label's management were impressed with the band and agreed to release an extended play, provided the band would finance the recording sessions themselves. Released in December 1985, "Geek!" failed to reach the band's expectations; however, soon after its release, My Bloody Valentine were performing on the London gig circuit, alongside bands such as Eight Living Legs, Kill Ugly Pop and The Sting-rays.


title: My Bloody Valentine (band)

text: Due to the band's slow progress, Shields contemplated relocating to New York City, where members of his family were living at the time. However, Creation Records co-founder Joe Foster had decided to establish his own record label, Kaleidoscope Sound and persuaded My Bloody Valentine to record and release an EP. "The New Record by My Bloody Valentine", produced by Foster, was released in October 1986 and was a minor success, peaking at number 22 on the UK Indie Chart upon its release. On the strength of the release, the band began performing more frequent shows, later developing a small following and travelling outside London for live performances, supporting and opening for bands such as The Membranes.


title: My Bloody Valentine (band)

text: In early 1987, My Bloody Valentine signed to Lazy Records, another independent record label, which was founded by the indie pop band the Primitives and their manager, Wayne Morris. My Bloody Valentine's first release on the label was the single "Sunny Sundae Smile", released in February 1987. It peaked at number 6 on the UK Indie Singles Chart and the band toured following its release. After a number of performances throughout the U.K., the band managed to secure a support slot with the Soup Dragons, but on that tour in March 1987, David Conway announced his decision to leave the band, citing a gastric illness, disillusionment with music and ambitions to become a writer.


title: My Bloody Valentine (band)

text: Conway's departure left the band without a lead vocalist, and Shields, Ó Cíosóig and Googe advertised in the local music press for a new singer. The audition process, which Shields described as "disastrous and excruciating," was unsuccessful because he had mentioned the Smiths in the advertisements "because [he] liked their melodies," attracting a number of vocalists whom he called "fruitballs." Although considering forming another group, the band experimented with vocalists Bilinda Butcher and Joe Byfield, both of whom had been recommended to the band by other musicians. Butcher, whose musical experience consisted of playing classical guitar as a child and singing and playing tambourine "with some girlfriends for fun," had learned that My Bloody Valentine needed a backing vocalist from her partner, who had met Ó Cíosóig on a ferry from the Netherlands. At her audition, she sang "The Bargain Store," a song from Dolly Parton's 1975 album of the same name. She was invited to join the group, with Byfield deemed unsuitable as a lead vocalist.


title: My Bloody Valentine (band)

text: Following Butcher's recruitment, Shields shared lead vocals with her. Commenting on the transition, Shields noted that Butcher "sounded all right and she could sing one of our songs, we just had to show her how to play guitar." Shields was initially reluctant to take on a vocal role within the band, but said that he had "always sung in the rehearsal room [...] and made up the melodies." With the new lineup in place, the band intended to drop the My Bloody Valentine moniker, but according to Ó Cíosóig and Shields, the band was unable to decide on a name and kept the moniker "for better or for worse."


title: My Bloody Valentine (band)

text: Under pressure from Lazy Records to release a full-length album, the band compromised and agreed to release a single and subsequent mini-album, citing the need for time to stabilize their new lineup. "Strawberry Wine", a three-track single, was released in November 1987 and "Ecstasy" was released a month later. Both received moderate critical acclaim, and peaked at number 13 and 12 on the independent singles and albums chart, respectively. However, "Strawberry Wine" was described as "certainly the better of the two releases", as "Ecstasy" was plagued by production difficulties, including errors in the mastering process. "Ecstasy" was criticised as the product of "a group who appeared to have run out of money halfway through recording," which was later confirmed, as the band were funding the studio sessions themselves. My Bloody Valentine's contract with Lazy stated that the label would handle promotion of releases, whereas the band would finance the recording sessions. Following their departure from Lazy, which later rereleased "Strawberry Wine" and "Ecstasy" on the compilation album "Ecstasy and Wine" (1989) without the band's consent, Rough Trade Records offered a deal to finance the recording and release of a full-length album, but the band turned it down.


title: My Bloody Valentine (band)

text: In January 1988, My Bloody Valentine performed in Canterbury, opening for Biff Bang Pow!, a band that featured Creation Records founder Alan McGee. After "blowing [Biff Bang Pow!] off the stage," My Bloody Valentine were described as "the Irish equivalent to Hüsker Dü" by McGee, who approached the band after the show and invited them to record and release a single on Creation. The band recorded five songs at a studio in Walthamstow, East London in less than a week. In August 1988, they released the "You Made Me Realise" EP, which was received well by the independent music press and, according to AllMusic's Nitsuh Abebe, "made critics stand up and take notice of the brilliant things My Bloody Valentine were up to ... it developed some of the stunning guitar sounds that would become the band's trademark." It debuted at number 2 on the UK Indie Chart. Following the success of "You Made Me Realise", the band released their debut full-length studio album, "Isn't Anything", in November 1988. Recorded in rural Wales, the album was a major success, receiving widespread critical acclaim, peaking at number 1 on the UK Indie Chart and influencing a number of "shoegazing" bands, who according to AllMusic, "worked off the template My Bloody Valentine established with [the album]."


title: My Bloody Valentine (band)

text: In February 1989, My Bloody Valentine began recording their second studio album at Blackwing Studios in Southwark, London. Creation Records believed that the album could be recorded "in five days," but it soon "became clear that wasn't going to happen." Following several unproductive months, during which Shields assumed main duties for the musical and technical aspects of the sessions, the band relocated to a total of 19 other studios and hired a number of engineers, including Alan Moulder, Anjali Dutt and Guy Fixsen. Because of the extensive recording time, Shields and Alan McGee agreed to release another EP, and the band released "Glider" in April 1990. Containing the lead single "Soon", which featured the first recorded use of Shields' "glide guitar" technique, the EP peaked at number 2 on the UK Indie Chart and the band toured in the summer of 1990 to support its release. In February 1991, while still recording their second album, My Bloody Valentine released "Tremolo", which was another critical success and topped the UK Indie Chart.


title: My Bloody Valentine (band)

text: Released in November 1991, "Loveless" was rumoured to have cost more than £250,000 and bankrupted Creation Records, claims that Shields has denied. Critical reception to "Loveless" was nearly unanimous with praise, although the album was not a commercial success; it peaked at number 24 on the UK Albums Chart but failed to chart internationally. McGee dropped My Bloody Valentine from Creation Records soon after the release of "Loveless" because of the album's extensive recording period and his interpersonal problems with Shields. However, "Loveless" proved to have a lasting influence, inspiring bands such as Radiohead, Smashing Pumpkins, Mogwai, Nine Inch Nails and more.


title: My Bloody Valentine (band)

text: My Bloody Valentine signed with Island Records in October 1992 for a reported £250,000 contract. The band's advance went toward the construction of a home studio in Streatham, South London, which was completed in April 1993. Several technical problems with the studio sent the band into "semi-meltdown," according to Shields, who was rumoured to have been suffering from writer's block. The band remained largely inactive, but they recorded and released two cover songs from 1993 to 1996—a rendering of "We Have All the Time in the World" by Louis Armstrong for "Peace Together" and a cover of "Map Ref. 41°N 93°W" by Wire for the tribute album "Whore: Tribute to Wire".


title: My Bloody Valentine (band)

text: In 1995, Debbie Googe and Colm Ó Cíosóig left My Bloody Valentine. Googe, who briefly worked as a taxi driver following her departure, formed the indie rock supergroup Snowpony with Katharine Gifford, who also performed with Stereolab and Moonshake. Ó Cíosóig relocated to the United States, forming Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions with Hope Sandoval of Mazzy Star. Shields and Butcher attempted to record a third studio album that Shields claimed would be released in 1998. Butcher departed the band in 1997. Unable to finalise a third album, Shields isolated himself, and, in his own words, "went crazy," drawing comparisons in the music press to the eccentric behavior of Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys and Syd Barrett of Pink Floyd. Shields later became a touring member of Primal Scream, collaborated with a number of artists including Yo La Tengo, Dinosaur Jr. and Le Volume Courbe and recorded songs for the soundtrack to the 2003 film "Lost in Translation".


title: My Bloody Valentine (band)

text: Rumours have spread among fans that albums worth of material had been recorded and shelved prior to the band's breakup. In 1999, it was reported that Shields had delivered 60 hours of material to Island Records, and Butcher confirmed that there existed "probably enough songs to fill two albums." Shields later admitted that at least one full album of "half-finished" material was abandoned, stating "it was dead. It hadn't got that spirit, that life in it."


title: My Bloody Valentine (band)

text: In August 2007, reports emerged suggesting that My Bloody Valentine would reunite for the 2008 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California. Similar reports had circulated in 2003 stating that Shields, Butcher and Ó Cíosóig were together in Berlin to rerecord five songs originally recorded for "Glider" that would be included in an upcoming box set. In 2007, reports suggested that the band were to perform at a series of Pod-organised concerts at the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Kilmainham, Dublin. Shields later confirmed the reunion and said that the band's third studio album, which he had begun recording in 1996, was near completion. Three live shows in the U.K. were announced in November 2007, and on 13 June 2008, My Bloody Valentine performed in public for the first time in 16 years with two live rehearsals at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London.


title: My Bloody Valentine (band)

text: My Bloody Valentine embarked upon an extensive worldwide tour throughout summer and autumn 2008. The band performed at European music festivals, including the Roskilde Festival in Roskilde, Denmark, Øyafestivalen in Oslo, Norway and Electric Picnic in Stradbally, Ireland, as well as the Fuji Rock Festival in Niigata, Japan. From 19 to 21 September, the band curated and performed at the 2008 All Tomorrow's Parties festival in New York and later performed throughout North America, including dates in Chicago, Toronto, Denver, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Austin. The band spent £200,000 on equipment for their world tour, which was their first since 1992 in support of "Loveless".


title: My Bloody Valentine (band)

text: Following additional touring in 2009, My Bloody Valentine dedicated their time to completing their third album. Rumours of a box set, which had circulated in April 2008 following a listing on HMV Japan's web site, recirculated. In March 2012, after a number of reported delays, Sony Music Ireland announced the release of the compilation album "EP's 1988–1991"—a collection of the band's Creation Records extended plays, singles and unreleased tracks. The compilation album was released on 4 May 2012 along with remastered versions of "Isn't Anything" and "Loveless".


title: My Bloody Valentine (band)

text: In November 2012, Kevin Shields announced plans to release My Bloody Valentine's third album online before the end of the year. In December, the band announced on Facebook that the album was completed and mastered, and on 27 January 2013, during a warmup show at Electric Brixton in London, Shields told the audience that the album "might be out in two or three days." The album, titled , was released through the band's official website on 2 February 2013, and the resulting high traffic crashed the site. Upon its release, received "universal acclaim," according to Metacritic, and the band went on a worldwide tour.


title: My Bloody Valentine (band)

text: In 2013, Shields announced plans to release a My Bloody Valentine EP "of all-new material," which would be followed by a fourth studio album. In September 2017, it was reported that Shields was working on material for a new My Bloody Valentine album that was projected for release in 2018. As of 2018, two EPs were expected to be released in 2019, but all previously announced release estimates have not been met.


title: My Bloody Valentine (band)

text: In April 2020, American clothing brand Supreme announced a collaboration with My Bloody Valentine, licensing the album art of "Glider", "Feed Me With Your Kiss" and "Loveless" for the company's Spring 2020 clothing collection.


title: My Bloody Valentine (band)

text: On 29 March 2021, My Bloody Valentine published a promotional video which features the cover art of previous releases as well as the text ""31 03"". On 31 March 2021, it was announced that My Bloody Valentine signed with Domino Recording Company. The band's full discography was made available on streaming services worldwide for the first time, as well as announcing CD and LP re-releases of their music for 21 May. While promoting My Bloody Valentine’s re-releases, Shields confirmed that the band is working on new material, and said that they plan on finishing a melodic, song-oriented album and a more experimental album.


title: My Bloody Valentine (band)

text: In 2022, My Bloody Valentine accused music streaming service Spotify of showing "fake lyrics" which the band called "completely incorrect and insulting".


title: My Bloody Valentine (band)

text: My Bloody Valentine's musical style progressed throughout their career. The band were originally influenced by post-punk acts such as The Birthday Party, The Cramps and Joy Division, and according to author Mike McGonial "brought together the least interesting elements" of their influences. They were also influenced by certain dark post-punk bands who were experimenting: "the best of all was Siouxsie and the Banshees, the Cure and Killing Joke". Their debut mini album, "This is Your Bloody Valentine" (1985), incorporated a further gothic rock sound which AllMusic referred to as "unfocused and derivative". However, when the band began experimenting with pop melodies on "The New Record by My Bloody Valentine" (1986), it marked "a vital point in the development of their sound", which was influenced primarily by The Jesus and Mary Chain. The band later took a "rarified, effete and poppy approach to Byrdsian rock" with their two successive releases, "Strawberry Wine" and "Ecstasy" (1987). "Isn't Anything" and its preceding releases were influenced by American bands, most notably the distorted guitar-based noise rock of Dinosaur Jr. and Sonic Youth, as well as the experimental British group A.R. Kane, during which time Shields developed his trademark guitar techniques.


title: My Bloody Valentine (band)

text: The band were also influenced by hip hop, of which Shields said "it beats the shit out of most rock music when it comes to being experimental, it's been a constant source of inspiration to us." Shield's experimentation with guitar tone would be influenced by sampled sounds employed by Public Enemy and the Bomb Squad, which Shields described as "half-buried or muted, a real sense of sounds being semi-decayed, or destroyed, but then re-used." The band began experimenting with samplers around the time of the "Glider EP", utilizing them to play back and manipulate their own guitar feedback and vocals on keyboards; by the time of the "Tremolo EP", they had acquired a professional Akai sampler. In the mid-1990s, Kevin Shields and Colm Ó Cíosóig began recording music influenced by the rapid rhythms of the UK's underground jungle and drum and bass rave scene.


title: My Bloody Valentine (band)

text: One of the most recognisable aspects of My Bloody Valentine's music is Shields' guitar sound, which "use[s] texture more than technique to create vivid soundscapes." During the late 1980s, Shields began customising the tremolo systems for his Fender Jaguars and Jazzmasters; extending the tremolo arm and loosening it considerably, to allow him to manipulate the arm while strumming chords, which resulted in excessive pitch bending. Shields used a number of alternate and open tunings that together with his tremolo manipulation achieved "a strange warping effect that makes the music wander in and out of focus", according to "Rolling Stone". Shields' most notable effect is reverse digital reverb, sourced from an Alesis Midiverb II or Yamaha SPX90 effects unit. Together with the tremolo manipulation and distortion, he created a technique known as "glide guitar". Shields effects rig, which is composed largely of distortion, graphic equalizers and tone controls, consists of at least 30 effects pedals and is connected to a large number of amplifiers, which are often set to maximum volume to increase sustain. During live performances, in the closing song "You Made Me Realise", My Bloody Valentine perform an interlude of noise, which can last for half an hour and often reaches 130 dB. Shields later remarked "it was so loud it was like sensory deprivation. We just liked the fact that we could see a change in the audience at a certain point."


title: My Bloody Valentine (band)

text: Bilinda Butcher's vocals have been referred to as a trademark of My Bloody Valentine's sound, alongside Shields' guitar techniques. On a number of occasions during the recording of "Isn't Anything" and "Loveless", Butcher was awoken and recorded vocals, which she said "influenced [her] sound" by making them "more dreamy and sleepy". The vocals in most My Bloody Valentine's recordings are low in the mix as Shields intended for the vocals to be used as an instrument. Critics have often described the band's vocals as androgynous.


title: My Bloody Valentine (band)

text: My Bloody Valentine's lyrics are mostly written by Shields. However, Butcher wrote a third of the lyrics on both "Isn't Anything" and "Loveless". "Spin" writer Simon Reynolds has noted that the band's lyrics often contain sexual themes, which are "a paradoxical blend of force and tenderness". Butcher herself has referred to a lot of the lyrics as "plain nonsense." According to Butcher, she "didn't have a plan and never thought about lyrics until it was time to write them. I just used whatever was in my head for the moment." Some of her lyrics were written as a result of attempting to interpret rough versions of songs Shields had recorded. Butcher has said: "He [Shields] never sang any words on the cassettes I got but I tried to make his sounds into words." Butcher and Shields would often spend eight to ten hours a night writing lyrics, even though few changes actually resulted. Of this, Shields spoke:


title: My Bloody Valentine (band)

text: Words are extremely important in the sense that we've spent way more time on the lyrics than ever on the music. Music is spontaneous and it's either good or bad so you just take it or leave it. Where lyrics, all the stuff comes out and then we usually just finish them right before we have to sing so it's usually these nights of eight or ten hours just trying to desperately make sure it's going to be as good as possible, even though most of it's there anyway and it's always been there. There's nothing worse than bad lyrics. For me a bad lyric is a lyric that jumps out at you, and that's offensive, it takes you completely away from enjoying the music.


title: My Bloody Valentine (band)

text: My Bloody Valentine are regarded by some as the pioneers of the alternative rock subgenre known as shoegazing, a term coined by "Sounds" journalists in the 1990s to describe certain bands' "motionless performing style, where they stood on stage and stared at the floor". The band's releases on Creation Records influenced shoegazing acts, including Slowdive, Ride and Lush, and are regarded as providing a platform to allow the bands to become recognised. Following the release of "Loveless" (1991), My Bloody Valentine were "poised for a popular breakthrough", although never achieved mainstream success. However, the band are noted to have been "profoundly influential in the direction of '90s alternative rock", according to AllMusic. In 2017, a study of AllMusic's database indicated My Bloody Valentine as its 26th most frequently cited influence on other artists.


title: My Bloody Valentine (band)

text: Several alternative rock bands have cited My Bloody Valentine as an influence. The Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan was influenced by "Isn't Anything" upon its release and attempted to recreate its sound on the band's debut album "Gish" (1991), particularly the closing track "Daydream" which Corgan described as "a complete rip-off of the My Bloody Valentine sound." The Smashing Pumpkins two successive studio albums, "Siamese Dream" (1993) and "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" (1995), were also influenced by the band. Courtney Love cited the band as an influence on Hole's third album "Celebrity Skin" (1998).


title: My Bloody Valentine (band)

text: "Isn't Anything" was included in "The Guardian"s list of "1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die" and listed at number 22 on "Pitchfork"s "Top 100 Albums of the 1980s." "Loveless" was named the best album of the 1990s by Pitchfork in 1999 and in 2003, the album was listed as number 219 on "Rolling Stone"s list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time." In 2008, both albums were featured on "The Irish Times" "Top 40 Irish Albums of All Time" list, where "Isn't Anything" ranked at number 27 and "Loveless" at number 1. In 2013, "Loveless" placed third in the "Irish Independent"s "Top 30 Irish Albums of All Time" list.


title: An American Werewolf in London

text: An American Werewolf in London is a 1981 horror comedy film written and directed by John Landis. An international co-production of the United Kingdom and the United States, the film stars David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, Griffin Dunne and John Woodvine. The title is a cross between "An American in Paris" and "Werewolf of London". The film's plot follows two American backpackers, David and Jack, who are attacked by a werewolf while travelling in England, causing David to question whether he will become a werewolf under the next full moon.


title: An American Werewolf in London

text: Landis wrote the first draft of the screenplay for the film in 1969 and shelved it for over a decade. Prospective financiers believed that Landis' script was too frightening to be a comedy film and too humorous to be a horror film. After achieving success in Hollywood with the comedies "The Kentucky Fried Movie", "National Lampoon's Animal House" and "The Blues Brothers", Landis was able to secure financing from PolyGram Pictures to produce "An American Werewolf in London".


title: An American Werewolf in London

text: "An American Werewolf in London" was released in the US by Universal Pictures on August 21, 1981. It was a critical and commercial success, winning the 1981 Saturn Award for Best Horror Film and the first ever Academy Award for Best Makeup. Since its release, it has become a cult classic. A sequel, "An American Werewolf in Paris", was released by Hollywood Pictures in 1997.


title: An American Werewolf in London

text: Two American backpackers from New York City, David Kessler and Jack Goodman, are trekking across the moors in Yorkshire. As night falls, they stop at a local pub called the Slaughtered Lamb. Jack notices a five-pointed star on the wall, but when he asks about it, the pub-goers become hostile. The pair decide to leave, and the pub-goers warn them to keep to the road, stay clear of the moors and beware of the full moon. David and Jack wander off the road onto the moors, and are attacked by an unseen, vicious creature. Jack is mauled to death and David is injured. The beast is shot and killed by some of the pub-goers, who came out searching for the boys. Instead of a dead animal, David sees the corpse of a naked man lying next to him before passing out.


title: An American Werewolf in London

text: David wakes up three weeks later in a hospital in London. He is interviewed by police Inspector Villiers, who tells him that he and Jack were attacked by an escaped lunatic, but David insists they were attacked by some sort of rabid dog or wolf. An undead Jack appears to David and explains the beast that attacked them was a werewolf, and reveals that David is now one. Jack urges David to kill himself before the next full moon, not only because Jack is cursed to linger undead for as long as the bloodline of the werewolf that attacked them survives, but also to prevent David from inflicting the same fate on anyone else.


title: An American Werewolf in London

text: Dr. Hirsch takes a road trip to the Slaughtered Lamb to see if what David has told him is true. When asked about the incident, the pub-goers deny any knowledge of David, Jack, or the attack. However, one distraught pub-goer speaks to Dr. Hirsch outside the pub and says David should not have been taken away, and that everyone else will be in danger when he transforms.


title: An American Werewolf in London

text: Upon his release from hospital, David moves in with Alex Price, a pretty young nurse who grew fond of him in the hospital. He stays in Alex's London flat, where they later have sex for the first time. Jack, in a more advanced stage of decay, confronts David to warn him that he will become a werewolf the next night. Jack again advises David to kill himself to avoid killing innocent people, but David refuses to believe him. When the full moon rises, David transforms from his human form into a werewolf. He prowls the streets and the London Underground, killing six people. He wakes up the next morning naked on the floor of a wolf enclosure at the London Zoo, with no recollection of what happened, and makes his way back to Alex's flat.


title: An American Werewolf in London

text: After realizing that he became a werewolf and was responsible for the previous night's murders, David unsuccessfully attempts to get himself arrested in Trafalgar Square. He goes to Piccadilly Circus, calling his family from a phone booth to say he loves them, then loses courage when he attempts and fails to slice his own wrists with a pocket knife. David sees Jack, in a yet more advanced stage of decay, outside of an adult movie theatre. Inside, Jack is accompanied by David's victims from the previous night, some of whom are furious with David and suggest different methods for him to commit suicide.


title: An American Werewolf in London

text: David transforms into a werewolf again inside the cinema. He decapitates Inspector Villiers, and wreaks havoc in the streets, causing the deaths of many drivers and bystanders. He is ultimately trapped and surrounded in an alleyway by the police. Alex runs down the alley and attempts to calm David by telling him that she loves him. Although David's consciousness appears to recognize her for a moment, he lunges forward and is shot by the police. Alex cries while staring at David, reverted to human form, lying dead and naked on the ground.


title: An American Werewolf in London

text: John Landis came up with the story while he worked in Yugoslavia as a production assistant on the film "Kelly's Heroes" (1970). He and a Yugoslav member of the crew were driving in the back of a car on location when they came across a group of Romani people. The Romani people appeared to be performing rituals on a man being buried so that he would not "rise from the grave." This made Landis realize he would never be able to confront the undead and gave him the idea for a film in which a man would go through the same thing.


title: An American Werewolf in London

text: Landis wrote the first draft of "An American Werewolf in London" in 1969 and shelved it for over a decade. Two years later, Landis wrote, directed, and starred in his debut film, "Schlock", which developed a cult following. Landis developed box-office status in Hollywood through the successful comedy films "The Kentucky Fried Movie", "National Lampoon's Animal House" and "The Blues Brothers" before securing $10 million financing from PolyGram Pictures for his werewolf film. Financiers believed that Landis' script was too frightening to be a comedy and too funny to be a horror film. Universal Studios execs were pressuring the director to cast Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as David Kessler and Jack Goodman but Landis went with unknown actors instead.


title: An American Werewolf in London

text: Filming took place between February and March 1981 because director John Landis wanted the film to take place during poor weather.


title: An American Werewolf in London

text: The moors were filmed around the Black Mountains in Wales, and East Proctor is in reality the tiny village of Crickadarn, about southeast of Builth Wells off the A470. The Angel of Death statue was a prop added for the film, but the red phone box is real, though the Welsh road signs were covered by a fake tree.


title: An American Werewolf in London

text: The pub shown in the film known as the Slaughtered Lamb was actually a cottage located in Crickadarn, and the interior scenes were filmed in the Black Swan, Old Lane, Martyrs Green in Surrey.


title: An American Werewolf in London

text: "An American Werewolf in London" was the first film allowed to shoot in Piccadilly Circus in 15 years. Landis accomplished this by inviting 300 members of London's Metropolitan Police Service to a screening of his new film "The Blues Brothers". The police were so impressed by his work that they granted the production a two-night filming permit between the hours of 1 and 4 a.m. Traffic was stopped only three times for two-minute increments to film the automobile stunts involving the double-decker bus. Other filming locations included Putney General Hospital, Chiswick Maternity Hospital, Redcliffe Square in Earl's Court, the area around Tower Bridge, Tottenham Court Road Underground station, London Zoo, Putney High Street, Belgravia and Southwark.


title: An American Werewolf in London

text: The film's ironically upbeat soundtrack consists of songs which refer to the moon. Bobby Vinton's slow, soothing version of "Blue Moon" plays during the opening credits, Van Morrison's "Moondance" plays as David and Alex make love for the first time, Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Bad Moon Rising" plays as David nears the moment of changing to the werewolf, a soft, bittersweet ballad version of "Blue Moon" by Sam Cooke plays during the agonizing wolf transformation, and the Marcels' doo-wop version of "Blue Moon" plays over the end credits.


title: An American Werewolf in London

text: The score was composed and conducted by Elmer Bernstein and recorded at Olympic Studios in London, engineered by Keith Grant. Bernstein's score can be heard during David's nightmares, when Dr. Hirsch drives through the moors to East Proctor, and when Alex confronts David in the alley. Though Bernstein wrote and recorded music to accompany the transformation scene, the director chose not to use it. The three-minute passage was eventually released by Bernstein under the title "Metamorphosis".


title: An American Werewolf in London

text: The film was first released in 1981 on VHS and Betamax under the MCA Videocassette Inc. label and on LaserDisc and CED under the MCA Videodisc label. In 1984, MCA Home Video released it on LaserDisc. This would be the last time Universal would release the movie on home video for 17 years. The following year, Vestron Video acquired the video rights from MCA/Universal and released it on VHS, Betamax and LaserDisc in 1985. It was released again on LaserDisc in 1989 (under Image Entertainment through Vestron) and 1995 (under LIVE Entertainment), and again on VHS in 1990 under the Video Treasures label and 1991 and 1994 from Vestron Video (through LIVE Home Video).


title: An American Werewolf in London

text: The film was first released on DVD in December 1997 by LIVE Entertainment according to a LIVE DVD Advertisement. It was presented in a non-anamorphic widescreen transfer and contained the film's theatrical teaser trailer. Universal eventually got the video rights back and released a 20th-anniversary "Collector's Edition" DVD on September 18, 2001, making it the first time Universal released the film on home video since 1984. It included an audio commentary with actors David Naughton and Griffin Dunne, interviews with John Landis and Rick Baker, a 1981 promotional featurette, silent outtakes, storyboards and production photographs. A coinciding VHS was released on the same day. The high-definition version of the film was first released on HD DVD by Universal on November 28, 2006. A high-definition Blu-ray Disc and 2-disc standard-definition Region 1 DVD release of the film titled "An American Werewolf in London – Full Moon Edition" was released by Universal on September 15, 2009. The Region 2 DVDs and Blu-ray were released on September 28 and are known as "An American Werewolf in London – Special Edition".


title: An American Werewolf in London

text: The Region 2 DVD release does not include a scene that is fully intact on the Region 1 release and all previous Region 1 and 2 releases. The scene takes place near the end of the film where the character of David calls his parents from a public telephone box. All but the end of this scene had been cut from the Region 2 release due to a mastering error.


title: An American Werewolf in London

text: As of October 2009, Universal said that they were scrapping all existing faulty stock and issuing replacement DVDs. All Blu-ray releases, however, are intact.


title: An American Werewolf in London

text: In 2016, Universal re-released the film on Blu-ray as a "Restored Edition" to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the film's release. On October 29, 2019, Arrow Video released a 4K restoration as part of a Blu-ray box set that contains all previously released extra material; the documentary "Mark of The Beast: The Legacy of the Universal Werewolf"; the 2009 making-of documentary "Beware the Moon"; filmmaker Jon Spira's video essay "I Think He's a Jew: The Werewolf's Secret;" a new interview with Landis; lobby cards and a booklet.


title: An American Werewolf in London

text: "An American Werewolf in London" was released August 21, 1981 and grossed $30 million at the box office in the United States and $62 million worldwide against the budget of $5.8 million.


title: An American Werewolf in London

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of based on reviews from critics, with an average rating of . The site's critical consensus states: "Terrifying and funny in almost equal measure, John Landis' horror-comedy crosses genres while introducing Rick Baker's astounding make-up effects." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 55 out of 100 based on reviews from 15 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Kim Newman of "Empire" magazine gave the film a rating of four out of five stars, writing that "carnivorous lunar activities rarely come any more entertaining than this". Tom Huddleston of "Time Out" also gave the film a positive review, calling it "not just gory but actually frightening, not just funny but clever".


title: An American Werewolf in London

text: "Halliwell's Film Guide" described the film as a "curious but oddly endearing mixture of horror film and spoof, of comedy and shock, with everything grist to its mill including tourist Britain and the wedding of Prince Charles. The special effects are notable and signalled new developments in this field." "Entertainment Weekly" listed it in their 1996 "Greatest Movies Ever Made", saying that the transformation effects by Rick Baker changed the face of horror makeup in the 1980s.


title: An American Werewolf in London

text: Roger Ebert's review was less favourable; he gave it two out of four stars and stated that ""An American Werewolf in London" seems curiously unfinished, as if director John Landis spent all his energy on spectacular set pieces and then didn't want to bother with things like transitions, character development or an ending."


title: An American Werewolf in London

text: In his book "Comedy-Horror Films: A Chronological History, 1914-2008", Bruce G. Hallenbeck lambasted the film's inconsistent tone, juvenile humor, poor direction, and emphasis on shock value to the detriment of continuity and plot. He cited Rick Baker's makeup effects and Jenny Agutter's performance as genuinely powerful, but concluded that "thanks to the director's insincerity, slapdash approach and what appears to be a thinly veiled contempt for the material, ["An American Werewolf in London"] succeeds neither as comedy nor as horror."


title: An American Werewolf in London

text: At the 54th Academy Awards, "An American Werewolf in London" won the first-ever Academy Award for Best Makeup. During the 1982 Saturn Awards, the film won for Best Horror Film and Best Makeup and nominated for Best Actress and Best Writing.


title: An American Werewolf in London

text: A 2008 "Empire" magazine poll of critics and readers named "An American Werewolf in London" as the 107th-greatest film of all time.


title: An American Werewolf in London

text: "An American Werewolf in London" is chiefly appreciated as a milestone in the comedy-horror genre and for its innovative makeup effects. "The Daily Telegraph" stated that it was "the first mainstream hit which managed to make its gross-out effects simultaneously shocking and hilarious" and called the signature werewolf transformation scene "stunningly ingenious, without a computer effect in sight, but also suffused with squirm-inducing agony." The "Telegraph" also cited the slew of 1980s genre films which came after "An American Werewolf in London" and followed the film's example of blending visceral horror effects with comedy, such as "Beetlejuice", "Gremlins" and "Evil Dead 2". Director Edgar Wright ("Shaun of the Dead") cited the movie as a major inspiration for his own film-making and a milestone in the genre. The low budget independent movie "The Snarling" (2018) was heavily inspired by Landis's film and contains various motifs and references including a cameo by Albert Moses paying direct tribute to his role in the film.


title: An American Werewolf in London

text: Pat Reid of "Empire", reviewing the film in 2000, thought that the blending of comedic and horror elements "don't always sit well side-by-side," but called the transformation scene "undoubtedly a classic" because of its "good old-fashioned makeup and trickery making the incredible seem real."


title: An American Werewolf in London

text: "Rolling Stone"s Joshua Rothkopf, writing on the 35th anniversary of the film's release, called "An American Werewolf in London" an "allegory of exoticized Jewishness". This is embodied by the character of David and his growing awareness of his "otherness" as a werewolf alongside his own outsider status as a Jewish American in England. "Hiding a secret deep within one's body, strange urges, xenophobic glances, accusatory feelings of guilt: David's condition already has a name, and this won't be the first film in which Jewish otherness is made monstrous." The article also celebrated the film as an innovative mix of humor and horror, "a landmark in startling makeup effects", and "a riotous piece of fish-out-of-water college humor."


title: An American Werewolf in London

text: Michael Jackson, who was a fan of the film, chose John Landis to direct and Rick Baker to direct makeup effects for his 1983 "Thriller" music video based on the strength of their work in "An American Werewolf in London". It went on to become one of the most lauded music videos of all time.


title: An American Werewolf in London

text: Director John Landis has expressed regret over changing, and even cutting, certain sequences from the final cut of the film in order to earn an R rating in the United States. The sex scene between Alex and David was edited to be less explicit, and an extended scene showing the homeless men along the Thames being attacked by the werewolf was eliminated after a test audience reacted negatively to it. Another showed the undead Jack eating a piece of toast which falls out of his torn throat. Landis also concluded that the werewolf transformation scene should have been shorter—he was so fascinated by the quality of Rick Baker's effects that he spent more time on the scene than he otherwise would have.


title: An American Werewolf in London

text: A radio adaptation of the film was broadcast on BBC Radio 1 in 1997, produced by Dirk Maggs and featuring Jenny Agutter, Brian Glover and John Woodvine reprising the roles of Alex Price, the chess player (now named George Hackett, and with a more significant role as East Proctor's special constable) and Dr. Hirsch, respectively. The roles of David and Jack were played by Eric Meyers and William Dufris.


title: An American Werewolf in London

text: The film was followed by a sequel, "An American Werewolf in Paris", released in 1997. The sequel features a completely different cast and crew, and was distributed by Disney's Hollywood Pictures. It was poorly received by critics and flopped at the box office.


title: An American Werewolf in London

text: In 2009, a retrospective documentary film, "Beware the Moon: Remembering An American Werewolf in London", was released. An accompanying book by the documentary's director, Paul Davis, was published in 2016.


title: An American Werewolf in London

text: In June 2009, it was announced that Dimension Films was working with producers Sean and Bryan Furst on a remake of the film. This has since been delayed due to other commitments. In August 2016, several reports suggested that Max Landis (son of director John Landis) was considering remaking the film. In November 2016, "Deadline Hollywood" reported that Max Landis would write and direct a remake.


title: An American Werewolf in London

text: In December 2017, Max Landis confirmed on Twitter that he had completed the first draft of the script. But beginning in late 2017, accusations by a number of women that Landis had abused them emotionally or sexually began to emerge publicly. In the wake of those allegations, it remains unknown if Landis will be replaced or if the project will be put on indefinite hold.


title: An American Werewolf in London

text: In November 2019, "Variety" reported that Robert Kirkman, creator of "The Walking Dead" comic book series, was in consideration to serve as a producer for a new reboot of "An American Werewolf in London".


title: Hari Nef

text: Hari Nef (born October 21, 1992) is an American actress, model, and writer. Nef's breakthrough role was Gittel in the Amazon original series "Transparent", for which she was nominated for a SAG award in 2016. She made her runway debut at New York Fashion Week Spring 2015, walking for both Hood By Air and Eckhaus Latta, and subsequently became the first openly transgender woman signed to IMG Models. She became the first openly transgender woman to appear on the cover of a major British magazine. Nef has written on a breadth of topics from fine art and film to sex, gender, and transgender identity. She lives and works in New York City.


title: Hari Nef

text: Hari Nef was born in Philadelphia into a Jewish family. Her parents are David Neff, an advertising executive, and Robin Clebnik. Her parents divorced when she was two and she was raised by her mother in Newton, Massachusetts.


title: Hari Nef

text: Nef starred as Tante Gittel in the 2015 Emmy-winning television series "Transparent." Gittel's character is a Pfefferman family ancestor that lived her life as a cross-dresser in Berlin, Germany during the Weimar Republic and eventually was murdered during the Holocaust. Creator Joey Soloway wrote the part for Nef after the two connected on social media and attended a PFLAG party together. She received a 2016 SAG Award nomination for the role.


title: Hari Nef

text: In 2018, Nef starred as a major lead in Sam Levinson's comedy thriller "Assassination Nation". The film stars Nef alongside Odessa Young, Suki Waterhouse, and Abra. In the same year, she had a recurring role as Blythe on the Lifetime psychological thriller television series "You". In 2018, Nef made her New York theater debut as a lead in Jeremy O. Harris' "Daddy".


title: Hari Nef

text: In 2022, Nef starred in the comedy film "1Up", alongside Ruby Rose, Paris Berelc, Taylor Zakhar Perez, and Nicholas Coombe. In August, it was announced that Nef would portray Candy Darling in a biopic from Transparent writer Stephanie Kornick.


title: Hari Nef

text: Later that year, Nef returned to the stage and starred in Denis Johnson’s play, "Des Moines", at the Polonsky Shakespeare Center in Brooklyn.


title: Hari Nef

text: Nef is set to star in the upcoming HBO drama series "The Idol" as well as Greta Gerwig's upcoming film, Barbie. She is set to perform in Thomas Bradshaw's debut of his adaptation of Chekhov's classic play, The Seagull, alongside Parker Posey, Patrick Foley, and Nat Wolff.


title: Hari Nef

text: Nef has written profiles on various artists and cultural figures including director John Waters, singer/actress Cristina Ortiz Rodriguez, Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi's Spanish biographical series "Veneno", and painter Nash Glynn. Nef wrote a regular sex advice and experience column for Sarah Nicole Prickett's "Adult" magazine. Her writing has appeared in "Artforum", "Dazed", "Vice", "Original Plumbing", "L'Officiel", and "BlackBook".


title: Hari Nef

text: In 2014, Nef was on the cover of "Frische Magazine". That same year, she was placed at number 68 on "Dazed"s 100 list. Nef also moved to the top of the Dazed Readers 100, ranking number one overall, and appeared in the "i-D" Pre-Fall Issue twice.


title: Hari Nef

text: In 2015, she again walked shows during New York Fashion Week, including Adam Selman, VFiles, Vejas, Degen, and Eckhaus Latta once more. In May of the same year, Nef was signed to IMG Models, making her the first openly transgender model signed to that agency. In the summer of 2015, Nef was cast in the second season of Amazon Prime's "Transparent", which debuted in December 2015. She also starred in The Drums' music video "There Is Nothing Left" in August. "The Forward" newspaper included her in the Forward 50, a list of the year's 50 most influential Jewish-Americans.


title: Hari Nef

text: "Elle" printed special collectors' covers for their September 2016 issue, and one of them featured Nef, which was the first time an openly transgender woman had been on the cover of a major commercial British magazine.


title: Hari Nef

text: In January 2017, Nef starred in a television commercial for the L'Oréal Paris True Match line alongside Blake Lively, Lara Stone, and Xiao Wen Ju. The campaign was premiered at the 2017 Golden Globe Awards telecast.


title: Costa Rica national football team

text: The Costa Rica national football team () represents Costa Rica in men's international football. The national team is administered by the Costa Rican Football Federation (FEDEFUTBOL), the governing body for football in Costa Rica. It has been a member of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) since 1927, the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) since 1961, and a member of the Central American Football Union (UNCAF) since 1990.


title: Costa Rica national football team

text: Costa Rica is the most successful national football team from the region of Central America. Winning three CONCACAF Championships (1963, 1969, 1989) and leading the Copa Centroamericana tournament with four championships up until 2017, when it was absorbed into the CONCACAF Nations League. Costa Rica is the only national team in Central America to have played in six FIFA World Cup editions. Costa Rica's national football team has the all-time highest average Football Elo Ranking in Central America with 1597.1, and the all-time highest Football Elo Ranking in Central America, with 1806 in 2014.


title: Costa Rica national football team

text: Since the late 1980s, the team has continuously been visible as a solidly competitive side, with a prominent performance in the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy, making it to the knockout stage in their debut after finishing second in their group during the first phase, below Brazil. They also qualified for the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups.


title: Costa Rica national football team

text: In 2014, Costa Rica achieved their best performance in history by finishing first in their group that consisted of three former World Cup champions: Uruguay, Italy, and England. During the round 16 they defeated Greece 5–3 via a penalty shoot-out after a 1–1 draw. Moreover, during their match against the Greek team, Keylor Navas saved more than 15 shots. They reached the quarter-finals for the first time but were defeated by the Netherlands, also in a penalty shoot-out (3–4) after a scoreless draw on 5 July. Both their 2018 and 2022 World Cup campaigns ended in a fourth place group stage exit, with their only points coming from a 2–2 draw against Switzerland in 2018 and a 1–0 win over Japan in 2022.


title: Costa Rica national football team

text: The national team made its debut in the Independence Centenary Games held in Guatemala City in September 1921, winning their first game 7–0 against El Salvador. In the final, Costa Rica defeated 6–0 Guatemala to claim the trophy.


title: Costa Rica national football team

text: Costa Rica's team in the late 1940s acquired the nickname "The Gold Shorties". Throughout the '50s and '60s, they were the second strongest team in the CONCACAF zone behind Mexico, finishing runners-up in World Cup qualifying in the 1958, 1962 and 1966 qualifiers. Stars of the side during this period included Ruben Jimenez, Errol Daniels, Leonel Hernandez and Edgar Marin. However, Costa Rica was not able to utilize this advantage, hence failed to reach any World Cup at that decade.


title: Costa Rica national football team

text: At the end of the 1960s their fortunes declined as Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Haiti, Trinidad & Tobago and Canada rose in prominence.


title: Costa Rica national football team

text: Costa Rica failed to qualify for any of the World Cups in the 1970s and 1980s, and did not reach the final round of the CONCACAF qualifying until the 1986 qualifiers.


title: Costa Rica national football team

text: They participated in two consecutive Summer Olympic Games, in Moscow 1980 and in Los Angeles 1984. In 1980, Costa Rica competed against Yugoslavia, Finland and Iraq in Group D, losing 3–2, 3–0 and 3–0 respectively. In Los Angeles, the Ticos lost 3–0 against the United States, and 4–1 against Egypt, but beat a strong Italy team, which included Walter Zenga, Pietro Vierchowod, Franco Baresi and Aldo Serena, 1–0 with a goal by the midfielder Enrique Rivers.


title: Costa Rica national football team

text: Costa Rica won the 1989 CONCACAF Championship to qualify for the finals of a World Cup for the first time. In the first round of the qualifiers, they beat Panama 3–1 on aggregate after a 2–0 away victory in the second leg, with goals by Juan Arnoldo Cayasso and Hernán Medford. They were drawn against Mexico in the second round, but advanced automatically when their opponents were disqualified for youth player age tampering.


title: Costa Rica national football team

text: Costa Rica started the final qualifying group stage with a home victory and an away defeat against both Guatemala and the United States. They drew 1–1 with Trinidad and Tobago and then beat the same opponents 1–0 at home with a goal by Cayasso. They achieved an important away win, 4–2 against El Salvador at the Estadio Cuscatlán, with goals from Carlos Mario Hidalgo, Cayasso and a double from Leonidas Flores, before beating El Salvador 1–0 in San José with a goal from Pastor Fernández. They finished first in the group table, ahead of the United States on goal difference.


title: Costa Rica national football team

text: Italy 1990, or Italia 90, is considered a seminal moment in Costa Rican football history. In particular, the players are notable for being primarily non-professionals, in that most players had other jobs and did not make a living playing football. Due to the success of the team during the World Cup, a number of the squad members went on to success in Costa Rican football (and international, in the case of Conejo).


title: Costa Rica national football team

text: Placed in Group C at the World Cup finals, Costa Rica began by beating Scotland 1–0 thanks to another goal by Cayasso. Although they lost to Brazil by the same score, they came from behind to beat Sweden 2–1 in their final group match to reach the knockout stages. There, they lost 4–1 to Czechoslovakia, for whom Tomáš Skuhravý scored a hat-trick.


title: Costa Rica national football team

text: Costa Rica failed to qualify for World Cups in 1994 and 1998, but they were invited to the Copa América for the first time in 1997. In the tournament, held in Bolivia, they finished bottom of first round Group C behind Brazil, Mexico and Colombia, with just one point. Costa Rica's friendlies in this period included a 5–4 defeat against Uruguay in the Estadio Centenario.


title: Costa Rica national football team

text: They returned to the Copa América in Colombia in 2001. On this occasion they finished top of their first round group, but lost 2–1 in the quarter-finals to Uruguay.


title: Costa Rica national football team

text: The Ticos won the qualification for the 2002 World Cup held in South Korea and Japan. During the qualifiers, Costa Rica were coached by the Brazilian, Gílson Nunes, and then by the naturalised Brazilian, Alexandre Guimarães. The first qualifying group stage began with an unexpected 2–1 defeat to Barbados. After this humiliation, Costa Rica beat the United States 2–1 at the Ricardo Saprissa Stadium, with goals from Rolando Fonseca and Hernán Medford. They then beat Guatemala 2–1 in the Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto, with two goals from Paulo Wanchope and Barbados 3–0 at the Ricardo Saprissa, with goals from Jafet Soto, Fonseca and Medford. A draw against the United States and a 2–1 defeat to Guatemala forced Costa Rica into a play-off against Guatemala in Miami. Costa Rica won 5–2 with two goals from Fonseca and one each from Wanchope, Reynaldo Parks and Jafeth Soto.


title: Costa Rica national football team

text: Costa Rica displayed fine attacking form during the final qualifying round, beginning with a 2–2 draw against Honduras at the Ricardo Saprissa, with goals from Fonseca and Rodrigo Cordero, and a 3–0 defeat of Trinidad and Tobago at the Morera Soto. Their only loss in this round came when the United States beat them 1–0. Costa Rica bounced back with a 2–1 win against Mexico in Mexico City, a match known as the "Aztecazo", with goals from Fonseca and Medford. Further wins over Jamaica, Honduras and Trinidad and Tobago took Costa Rica to the brink of qualification, which they sealed with an emotional 2–0 win against the United States in the Saprissa, with a double from Fonseca.


title: Costa Rica national football team

text: In the finals, Costa Rica were drawn into Group C with Brazil, China, and Turkey. Their campaign started in Gwangju, where the Ticos beat China 2–0. In their second game against Turkey in Incheon, Winston Parks scored an 86th-minute goal to earn a 1–1 draw. Against Brazil, Costa Rica fought back from 3–0 down to 3–2 early in the second half, only to concede two further goals and lose 5–2. With Turkey beating China 3–0, Costa Rica finished behind Turkey on goal difference and were eliminated.


title: Costa Rica national football team

text: Costa Rica again managed to qualify for the World Cup finals in 2006, albeit with difficulties that saw their American coach Steve Sampson depart after they required away goals to beat Cuba in the preliminary phase. The Colombian Jorge Luis Pinto took over for the next round, which began with a disastrous 5–2 defeat at home against Honduras and a 2–1 loss in Guatemala. Costa Rica recovered with two wins over Canada and a resounding 5–0 triumph over Guatemala, when Wanchope scored a hat-trick and Carlos Hernández and Fonseca added further goals. Costa Rica advanced to the hexagonal round by winning the group.


title: Costa Rica national football team

text: In the final round they started with a 2–1 defeat against Mexico at the Saprissa, before beating Panama by the same score, with goals from Wayne Wilson and Roy Myrie. Pinto was dismissed after a goalless draw with Trinidad and Tobago, and Guimarães returned as coach. His first match ended in a 3–0 defeat to the United States, but wins followed against Guatemala, Panama and Trinidad and Tobago. Costa Rica decisively beat the United States in the Saprissa, 3–0, with a goal from Wanchope and two from Hernández, to guarantee their third World Cup qualification.


title: Costa Rica national football team

text: On 9 June 2006, Costa Rica made their debut in Munich in the opening match of the World Cup against the hosts, Germany. Wanchope scored to equalise an early goal from Philipp Lahm, and later added another, but Costa Rica lost 4–2. However, they failed to match this encouraging performance in their remaining two games, losing 3–0 against Ecuador and 2–1 against Poland in a dead rubber.


title: Costa Rica national football team

text: Costa Rica began the qualifying competition for the 2010 World Cup against Grenada, winning 5–2 on aggregate (2–2, 3–0). They won all six games played in the next phase, against El Salvador (1–0, 3–1), Haiti (3–1, 2–0) and Suriname (7–0, 4–1).


title: Costa Rica national football team

text: With two games left in the Hexagonal round, Costa Rica trailed Honduras by one point in trying to win the third automatic qualification place behind the United States and Mexico. When Honduras lost 3–2 at home to the United States, Costa Rica overtook them with a 4–0 win against Trinidad and Tobago. Needing to win the final match in Washington, D.C. against the United States to ensure qualification, the Ticos led 2–0 at half-time, but Jonathan Bornstein scored an injury-time equaliser to draw the match 2–2. Meanwhile, Honduras's 1–0 victory over El Salvador moved them into third place in the group table on goal difference.


title: Costa Rica national football team

text: Costa Rica finished fourth, pushing them into a play-off with the fifth-placed team from the CONMEBOL region, Uruguay. The Ticos lost the first leg in San José 1–0, after a goal by Diego Lugano, and finished with ten men after Randall Azofeifa was sent off. In the second leg, played at the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo, Sebastián Abreu put Uruguay ahead twenty minutes from time, and although Walter Centeno equalised, the 1–1 draw sent Uruguay to the World Cup finals, 2–1 on aggregate.


title: Costa Rica national football team

text: After failing to qualify, the team began a new era, with the young talent of players such as Azofeifa, Keylor Navas, Cristian Bolaños, Michael Barrantes and Joel Campbell. Rónald González was the interim coach before Ricardo La Volpe was appointed in September 2010. He lasted only ten months before being replaced by the Colombian, Jorge Luis Pinto, in his second spell in charge. During this period, Costa Rica played many friendlies against the top-ranked teams in the world, including the world champion Spain, most of them in the new national stadium, the Estadio Nacional, which was opened in 2011.


title: Costa Rica national football team

text: The Ticos' 2014 World Cup campaign began with a 2–2 draw against El Salvador in the third round of the qualifiers. They followed this with a 4–0 win over Guyana with a hat-trick by Álvaro Saborío. Two defeats to Mexico put the Ticos one defeat away from elimination, but they resurrected their campaign with a 1–0 win against El Salvador, with the only goal scored by José Miguel Cubero. They clinched a final round berth with a 7–0 win over Guyana, with goals scored by Randall Brenes, Saborío, Cristian Bolaños, Celso Borges and Cristian Gamboa.