Sanity (professional wrestling)

"SAnitY" redirects here. For other uses, see Sanity (disambiguation).
Sanity
SAnitY in 2017. In front of the ropes: Eric Young (right) and Killian Dain (left), with Alexander Wolfe on the left talking to Nikki Cross outside the ring
Stable
MembersEric Young (Leader)
Alexander Wolfe/Axel Tischer
Killian Dain/Big Damo
Sawyer Fulton/Madman Fulton
Nikki Cross
DebutOctober 12, 2016
Years active2016–2019
2022–present

Sanity (stylized as SAni†Y or SAnitY) is a professional wrestling stable best known for their time in WWE. The stable consisted of leader Eric Young, Axel Tischer (then known as Alexander Wolfe), Madman Fulton (then known as Sawyer Fulton), Nikki Cross, and Big Damo (then known as Killian Dain).

The stable originated on October 12, 2016, originally composed of Young, Wolfe, Cross, and Fulton. After Fulton suffered an injury the following month, eventually getting released from WWE, he was replaced by Dain on January 18, 2017. Young and Wolfe are former NXT Tag Team Champions, having won the titles at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III by defeating the Authors of Pain. On April 17, 2018, as Sanity was called up to SmackDown during the 2018 WWE Superstar Shake-up, it was revealed that Cross would be staying on NXT as a singles competitor, thus splitting her from the group. Dain revealed during a Q&A that Cross would remain a member of Sanity despite the separation. On April 15, 2019, Young was drafted to Raw during 2019 WWE Superstar Shake-up thus ending the group. However, Young and Wolfe (now known under his real name, Axel Tischer) has made some sporadic reunions as a tag team since 2022.

History

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Origins

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According to original member Sawyer Fulton, Sanity's concept came from Triple H, who was inspired by the film Smokin' Aces, "long before 2016".[1] It was originally pitched to Fulton, Solomon Crowe, and Marcus Louis, but this incarnation never came to be, as, according to Fulton: "we tried a few things but it did not fit. Then [Crowe] left the company and Marcus was fired, so I was alone again."[1]

NXT (2016–2018)

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The concept was brought back after Fulton was randomly paired up with Alexander Wolfe in a match against the Hype Bros at a live event, as the two enjoyed working with each other.[1] After a series of cryptic vignettes teasing the stable, it was announced on October 4, 2016, that "Sanity" would be part of the second annual Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament, although the nature of the group and the identity of its members remained anonymous.[2] In the first round of the tournament on the October 12 episode of NXT, the stable made their debut, appearing as four hooded individuals. Wolfe and Fulton were the first to unmask, and faced the team of Tye Dillinger and Bobby Roode, winning their first round match after Roode walked out on his partner. After the match, Eric Young and Nikki Cross revealed themselves as the last two members of the stable; it was Young's debut as an NXT wrestler, although he had previously faced Samoa Joe on May 4 while not under contract.[3][4][5][6]

The following week on the October 19 episode of NXT, Cross made her in-ring debut against Danielle Kamela; she originally won the match, but continued to assault Kamela afterwards, forcing the referee to reverse his decision.[7] Wolfe and Fulton went on to defeat T. J. Perkins and Kota Ibushi in the second round of the tournament on November 2, but were eliminated by TM61 in the semi-finals on November 9.[8][9]

Shortly after the tournament, Fulton suffered a torn pectoral. He was subsequently written off. On November 30, after Sanity teased that Fulton was no longer associated with the group after Young stomped on Fulton's jacket before kicking it out of the ring, Damo was teased as a potential new member of Sanity by attacking No Way Jose but he threw away Fulton's jacket.[10] On January 18, right after Tye Dillinger refused to join Sanity, Damo, now using the name Killian Dain, officially joined the group by attacking Dillinger and accepting Fulton's jacket.[11] Fulton never re-appeared on television, and was ultimately released by WWE on November 3, 2017.[12] He later praised Dain as his replacement, calling him "a great person and great fighter."[1]

At NXT TakeOver: San Antonio, Young defeated Dillinger, while Cross was unsuccessful in capturing the NXT Women's Championship in a Fatal 4-Way match won by defending champion Asuka.[13][14] Dillinger continued his feud with Sanity, gaining new allies with No Way Jose, Roderick Strong, and the debuting Ruby Riott.[15] The eight-people feud culminated at NXT TakeOver: Orlando, where Sanity defeated Dillinger, Strong, Riott and Kassius Ohno (a replacement for Jose, who was attacked earlier in the night by Sanity).[16] Sanity's feud with Dillinger ended on the April 19, 2017 episode of NXT, when Dillinger, who had recently been drafted to SmackDown, had his last NXT match, he defeated Young in a steel cage match.[17] At NXT TakeOver: Chicago, Young suffered his first pinfall defeat to Roderick Strong whilst Nikki Cross once again failed to win the women's title in a triple threat match against Asuka and Riott.[18][19]

After a series of confrontations between Sanity and the NXT Tag Team Champions Authors of Pain throughout July, it was announced on August 2, that Dain and Wolfe would face the champions for the title at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III.[20] At the event, Wolfe started the match, but instead of tagging Dain in, tagged Young, effectively making him his partner; Wolfe and Young defeated The Authors of Pain, becoming NXT Tag Team Champions.[21] Following the celebration, they were attacked by Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly, who formed the new stable The Undisputed Era with Adam Cole later the same night.[22] Dain subsequently also defended the titles under the Freebird Rule, but was not recognised as champion.

On the September 20 episode of NXT, Sanity helped Drew McIntyre against The Undisputed Era, thus turning the stable face in the process.[23] At NXT TakeOver: WarGames, Young, Wolfe and Dain faced The Undisputed Era and the team of The Authors of Pain and Roderick Strong in a WarGames match, the first one in 20 years, but ultimately lost when Young was pinned by Cole.[24][25]

On the December 20 episode of NXT, Young and Dain lost the NXT Tag Team Championship to Fish and O'Reilly.[26] At NXT TakeOver: New Orleans on April 7, 2018, Dain unsuccessfully competed in a six-man ladder match to determine the inaugural NXT North American Champion against EC3, Lars Sullivan, Ricochet, Velveteen Dream and eventual winner Adam Cole.[27]

Move to main roster and break-up (2018–2019)

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On the April 17, 2018 episode of SmackDown Live, a vignette aired to promote Sanity's debut as part of the 2018 WWE Superstar Shake-up. Later in the night it was revealed that Cross would be staying on NXT as a singles competitor. On June 19, Sanity made their debut on SmackDown Live beating down The Usos prior to their scheduled tag match, turning back to heels.[28] At Extreme Rules, Sanity defeated The New Day in a six-man tag team tables match. Following that win, the stable was nearly completely absent from television for the remainder of the year (though they did make an appearance on an episode of SmackDown from Manchester, England, where Cross temporarily rejoined them in making her main-roster debut answering an open challenge from SmackDown Women's Champion Becky Lynch). On the April 2, 2019 episode of SmackDown Live, all three members of Sanity were defeated by The Miz in a handicap falls count anywhere match.[29] A WWE.com article blamed their lack of success on SmackDown on being "in the same division as The New Day, The Bar, The Usos and The Bludgeon Brothers."[30]

The team disbanded in April 2019 when Young was drafted to Raw via the Superstar Shake-up.[31] Dain praised Young and Wolfe as well as the group's tenure in a social media post the following day.[32] Dain returned to NXT at a live event on May 16.[33] Wolfe appeared on the June 12, 2019 episode of NXT UK, where he joined the Imperium stable.[34] Young competed primarily on Main Event while sporadically being on Raw.

On April 15, 2020, Young was released from his contract due to budget cuts as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.[35] On May 19, 2021, Wolfe was released from his contract.[36] The following month on June 25, Dain was released from his contract thus leaving Cross the sole member to be employed by WWE.[37] Fightful Select reported on April 10, 2023, that Young had re-signed with the WWE on November 1, 2022, but never appeared on television before being released again per his own request.

Independent circuit (2022–present)

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On October 8, 2022, Eric Young and Axel Tischer reunited as Sanity to compete in Westside Xtreme Wrestling's wXw World Tag Team Festival.[38]

Timeline

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Championships and accomplishments

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1 Dain also defended the title under the Freebird Rule, but was not recognized as champion.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Sawyer Fulton, en exclusiva: "Estoy seguro de que WWE tenía cero planes para mí después de la lesión"" [Sawyer Fulton, in exclusive: "I'm sure WWE had zero plans for me after the injury"]. Solo Wrestling (in Spanish). November 28, 2017. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
  2. ^ "16 teams announced for 2016 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic". WWE. 4 October 2016. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  3. ^ "WWE NXT results, Oct. 12, 2016: Eric Young leads SAnitY into NXT". WWE. 12 October 2016. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  4. ^ Parry, Josh. "4/28 WWE NXT TV Taping – Full SPOILER Results from Full Sail". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  5. ^ James, Justin. "5/4 WWE NXT Results – James's Report on Samoa Joe, Austin Aries, Eric Young debut, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  6. ^ "Spoiler: "Sanity" In WWE NXT Revealed (Photo)". Wrestling Inc. 15 September 2016.
  7. ^ "10/19 Zim's NXT TV Live Review: Roderick Strong and Austin Aries vs. Tucker Knight and Otis Bogojevic, Rich Swann and No Way Jose vs. Drew Gulak and Tony Nese in Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic matches". ProWrestling.Net. 19 October 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
  8. ^ "NXT results, Nov. 2, 2016: SAnitY prevails in Dusty Classic's crazy Second Round showdowns". WWE.com. 2 November 2016. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  9. ^ "WWE NXT results, Nov. 9, 2016: Nakamura sends splintering message to Joe, Dusty Classic Final set in Los Angeles". WWE.com. 9 November 2016. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  10. ^ "NXT Tag Team Champions #DIY's celebration was cut short by The Revival and The Authors of Pain". WWE.com. 7 December 2016. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  11. ^ "Tye Dillinger vs. Eric Young". WWE.com. 18 January 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  12. ^ "NXT's Sawyer Fulton Has Been Released From WWE". 3 November 2017.
  13. ^ Pappolla, Ryan. "Eric Young def. Tye Dillinger". WWE. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
  14. ^ Pappolla, Ryan. "NXT Women's Champion Asuka def. Billie Kay, Peyton Royce and Nikki Cross". WWE. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
  15. ^ "Tye Dillinger, Roderick Strong & No Way Jose vs. SAnitY ended in a No Contest". WWE.com. 22 March 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  16. ^ Benigno, Anthony. "Tye SAni†Y def. Tye Dillinger, Kassius Ohno, Ruby Riott & Roderick Strong". WWE. Retrieved April 1, 2017.
  17. ^ "Tye Dillinger def. Eric Young in a Steel Cage Match". WWE. April 19, 2017. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  18. ^ Murphy, Ryan (May 20, 2017). "Roderick Strong def. Eric Young". WWE. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
  19. ^ Murphy, Ryan (May 20, 2017). "NXT Women's Champion Asuka def. Ruby Riott and Nikki Cross in a Triple Threat Match". WWE. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
  20. ^ "NXT Tag Team Champions The Authors of Pain vs. SAnitY".
  21. ^ Taylor, Scott. "NXT Tag Team Champions The Authors of Pain vs. SAnitY". WWE. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  22. ^ Zimmerman, Zack (19 August 2017). "8/19 Zim's NXT Takeover: Brooklyn III live review – Bobby Roode vs. Drew McIntyre for the NXT Title, Asuka vs. Ember Moon for the NXT Women's Title, Authors of Pain vs. Sanity for the NXT Tag Titles, homecoming". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved August 19, 2017.
  23. ^ "NXT results, Sept. 20, 2017: McIntyre and SAnitY deliver the chaos to Cole, Fish and O'Reilly". WWE. September 20, 2017. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  24. ^ Taylor, Scott. "SAnitY vs. The Undisputed ERA vs. The Authors of Pain & Roderick Strong (WarGames Match)". WWE. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  25. ^ Taylor, Scott. "Official WarGames Match rules for NXT TakeOver". WWE. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  26. ^ "NXT results, Dec. 20, 2017: Pete Dunne defends U.K. Title in must-see ripper against Tyler Bate". WWE. December 20, 2017. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
  27. ^ Benigno, Anthony. "Adam Cole def. EC3, The Velveteen Dream, Lars Sullivan, Killian Dain and Ricochet to become the first-ever NXT North American Champion". WWE. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  28. ^ Powell, Jason (17 April 2018). "4/17 Powell's WWE Smackdown Live TV Review: The WWE Superstar Shakeup Night Two". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
  29. ^ "Stats From 4/1/19 WWE Raw & 4/2/19 Smackdown From Sean Ross Sapp Of Fightful.com | Fightful News".
  30. ^ "One year later: Grading the 2018 Superstar Shake-up".
  31. ^ "WWE Superstar Shake-up 2019 results: Full list of Superstars who moved to Raw and SmackDown LIVE". WWE. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  32. ^ Zucker, Joseph. "Killian Dain on Sanity Breakup, NXT Star's New Name, Ryback Rips WWE in Roundup". Bleacher Report. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
  33. ^ Lambert, Jeremy. "NXT Live Event Results From Tampa, FL (5/16/19): Killian Dain Returns, Garza Jr In Action". Fightful. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  34. ^ Lambert, Jeremy. "Alexander Wolfe Makes His NXT UK Debut, Aligns With Imperium". Fightful. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
  35. ^ Brookehouse, Brent (15 April 2020). "WWE talent cuts: Kurt Angle, Rusev among those released in response to coronavirus impact". CBS Sports. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  36. ^ "Three More Wwe Nxt Releases Confirmed". PWInsider.com. 2021-05-19. Retrieved 2022-05-13.
  37. ^ "Killian Dain, The Bollywood Boyz & Others Released By WWE". cultaholic.com. June 25, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  38. ^ "Hamilton's wXw World Tag Team Festival 2022 – Night One 10.01.2022 Review".
  39. ^ "NXT Tag Team Championship". WWE. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  40. ^ "Daily Update: NXT year-end awards, TakeOver, Impact ratings". WON/F4W – WWE news, Pro Wrestling News, WWE Results, UFC News, UFC results. 27 January 2018.
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