The Haas Brothers


The Haas Brothers was a Professional wrestling Tag team consisting of real life brothers Charlie and Russ Haas. The team was very successful in the independent wrestling circuit, but Russ's death on December 15, 2001 led to the end of the tag team shortly after the brothers signed a contract with the World Wrestling Federation.

History

Jersey All Pro Wrestling (1998-2000)

Charlie and Russ Hass formed a tag team in 1998, The Haas Brothers. They first wrestled in the New Jersey-based independent promotion Jersey All Pro Wrestling. The two became successful by winning the vacant JAPW Tag Team Championship on July 22 in a three-way tag team match which also involved Skin Head Express and The Nation of Immigration. The two dominated the tag team division of JAPW by receiving this victory and this was the first title reign of this successful tag team. They would lose the titles to Nation of Immigration in a weapons match on August 25.
Haas Brothers captured the JAPW Tag Team Championship for a second time on May 21, 1999 facing The Big Unit member Rick Silver in a handicap match. The duo would become stronger than before. Charlie and Russ had many title defenses and they would be successful as they received victories over their opponents. They faced several tag teams in matches and their in-ring ability made them the longest reigning JAPW Tag Team Champions. On February 25, 2000, the Haas Brothers defended the JAPW Tag Team Championship in a three-way tag team match against Da Hit Squad and The Big Unit. Haas Brothers finally lost the titles to Da Hit Squad. This made them the longest reigning JAPW Tag Team Champions with having a reign of 280 days.

Other promotions (2000-2001)

In 2000, the Haas Brothers joined Newark, Delaware based East Coast Wrestling Association where they once again received success in the tag team division of ECWA. In 2000, they defeated The Backseat Boyz to win the ECWA Tag Team Championship. After reigning for a year, the Haas Brothers dropped the ECWA Tag Team Championship to Low Ki and American Dragon on April 7, 2001. Following this loss, the Haas Brothers left the promotion.
The Haas Brothers debuted in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania based Hardcore wrestling promotion Combat Zone Wrestling in early 2000. They both captured the CZW Tag Team Championship on February 12 in a four-way match involving the champions The Kashmireno Brothers, Thrill Kill Kult and Da Hit Squad. The duo held the titles for four months before losing them to Backseat Boyz on June 12.
During their ECWA and CZW tag title reigns, Haas Brothers also included a third title belt to their waists. They debuted in Pennsylvania Championship Wrestling during spring 2000. They defeated Boogie Woogie Brown and Jeff Peterson to win the PCW Tag Team Championship. The two had a long dominating reign which ended on September 7 when they lost the titles to J.J. Johnson and Cheetah Master in a Two out of three falls match.
The Haas Brothers made their debut in Memphis, Tennessee based Memphis Championship Wrestling during early 2001. The duo were successful in MCW capturing the MCW Southern Tag Team Championship three times. Their first reign came on February 21 when they defeated The Dupps. On May 25, they lost the titles to The Island Boyz but regained the titles on the same card in a three-way match which involved Island Boyz and the team of Joey Matthews and Christian York. On June 1, they lost the titles once again to Island Boyz but regained it on the same card in a three-way match which involved Island Boyz and the team of Joey Matthews and Christian York. Haas Brothers lost the titles to The A.P.A. on June 13 and then left the promotion.

Death of Russ Haas

After receiving success in the independent circuit, they made their way to the World Wrestling Federation's developmental territories Heartland Wrestling Association and Ohio Valley Wrestling. The team came to an end on December 15, 2001 when Russ died while suffering from heart problems. In tribute, Charlie began wrestling with "RUSS" written on his wrist tape, and for a time wrestled with the ring name "R.C. Haas" until the renamed World Wrestling Entertainment called him up to its main television roster on the SmackDown brand.

Championships and accomplishments