Bart Batten Brad Batten Downtown Bruno (manager) Scotty Ace (manager)
Name(s)
The Batten Brothers U.S. Express The Wild Angels
Billed heights
Bart: 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Brad: 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Combined billed weight
453 lb (205 kg)
Hometown
Mount Hope, West Virginia, United States[1]
Billed from
Charleston, West Virginia (CWA) Kansas City, Missouri (WCCW)
Former member(s)
Brent Batten
Debut
May 12, 1983[1]
Disbanded
May 21, 2005[1]
Years active
1983–2005
The Batten Twins were a professional wrestling tag team, consisting of twin brothers Bart and Brad Batten.[2][3] They performed under the "Batten Twins" name in Central States Wrestling, Continental Wrestling Association, International Championship Wrestling, Jim Crockett Promotions, Southern Championship Wrestling, Texas All-Star Wrestling, World Championship Wrestling, and the World Wrestling Council, and the name U.S. Express in World Class Championship Wrestling. The team also appeared in various independent promotions during the 1990s including, most notably, Atlantic Coast Championship Wrestling, IWA Mid-South, Smoky Mountain Wrestling and Southern States Wrestling.[4]
A popular tag team in the Southern United States during the 1980s,[5] the Battens faced off against some of the top tag teams of the era.[6] They began their wrestling career working for the Poffo family in 1983. As identical twins, the brothers were a rarity in pro wrestling at the time of their debut.[6] Their tenure in the NWA's Central States territory saw them engaged in a long feud with Sheik Abdullah.[7] They held the NWA Central States Tag Team Championship a record four times, defeating The Midnight Express, the Midnight Rockers, Sheik Abdullah and Akio Sato, and Bobby Jaggers (in a singles match) for the title.[8]
The Battens were also major stars in Puerto Rico during the late-1980s where they won WWC Tag Team Championship four times and the WWC Caribbean Tag Team Championship twice.[1][4][9] Their unexpected "heel turn" made them one of the most hated wrestlers in the country.[6] After returning to the U.S., the Battens continued wrestling on the Southern independent circuit until the early-2000s. In April 2005, The Batten Twins ended their 23-year career with a retirement tour of their home state.[10]
^ abcd"Batten Twins Profile". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2015-06-27.
^Hornbaker, Tim; Grosspietsch, Ronald. "Families in Professional Wrestling". LegacyofWrestling.com.
^Baldridge, Terry; Duggan, Rick; Simicich, Nick. "Wrestling Relations". WrestlingMuseum.com. Archived from the original on 2018-10-01. Retrieved 2015-07-04.
^ ab"Former pro wrestler passes away". Galion Inquirer. Galion, Ohio: Ohio Community Media. November 21, 2014.[permanent dead link]
^Pope, Kristian; Whebbe, Ray (2003). The Encyclopedia of Professional Wrestling: 100 Years of History, Headlines & Hitmakers (2nd ed.). Iola, Wisconsin: Krause Publications. pp. 111, 161. ISBN 0-87349-625-6.
^ abcSimms, Terry Garvin (21 January 2015). "World Domination with Terry Garvin Simms welcomes guest Bart Batten". BlogTalkRadio (Podcast). Event occurs at 10:00. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
^Cite error: The named reference KM1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference Titles was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Csonka, Larry (November 19, 2014). "1980s Tag Team Star Brad Batten Passes Away". 411mania.com.
The BattenTwins were a professional wrestling tag team, consisting of twin brothers Bart and Brad Batten. They performed under the "BattenTwins" name...
The BattenTwins (Brad & Bart) to win the NWA Central States Tag Team Championship. Their first title reign was short-lived as the BattenTwins regained...
most times, nine times with seven different partners. The BattenTwins (Brad and Bart Batten) is the team to have held the championship the most times...
Bunkhouse Buck, Buddy Landell, The Mongolian Stomper and The BattenTwins (Bart & Brad Batten). While in the promotion, Ricky Morton teamed with longtime...
Twin Disc, Inc. designs, manufactures and distributes power transmission equipment for a wide range of applications, including marine, off-road vehicle...
Marty Jannetty defeated The BattenTwins for the NWA Central States Tag Team Championship, later losing it back to the Battens. After leaving Kansas City...
touring Puerto Rico with the World Wrestling Council defeating The D'Jour Twins in a handicap match at a show in Carolina, Puerto Rico, on March 4, 2006...
Smothers,† and The Rock 'n' Roll Express 1993–1995 The BattenTwins Bart Batten and Brad Batten 1992–1995 The Bruise Brothers Don Bruise and Ron Bruise...
and quickly won the NWA Central States Tag Team Championship from The BattenTwins. Jannetty wrestled Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship...
the SSW Tag Team Championship between then-champions The BattenTwins (Brad and Bart Batten) and The Family ("Handsome" Beau James and K. C. Thunder)...
Puerto Rico The BattenTwins (Brad Batten and Bart Batten) 1 April 2, 1989 Dorado, Puerto Rico Held up after a match between BattenTwins and The Caribbean...
Dynamite against The BattenTwins (Bart & Brad Batten) earlier that night. Along with Joe Cazana, Kyle would face Brad & Bart Batten the following week...
Heavenly Bodies (Stan Lane and Tom Prichard) Pin The BattenTwins (Bart Batten and Brad Batten) 06:15 The Heavenly Bodies Pin Joey Maggs and Danny Davis...
Singles match 06:21 5 Chris and Mark Youngblood defeated The BattenTwins (Bart and Brad Batten) Tag team match 09:02 6 Ricky Steamboat defeated Mighty Zulu...
MDW Tag Team Championship. The inaugural champions were The BattenTwins (Brad and Bart Batten), after defeating Dark Overlord and Gatekeeper in New Martinsville...
26, 2001 House show Kingsport, Tennessee 3 53 51 The BattenTwins (Bart Batten and Brad Batten) March 20, 2001 House show Kingsport, Tennessee 1 73 52...
NWA Central States Tag Team Championship once again. They defeated The BattenTwins (Brad and Bart) for the belts on November 9, 1987 but lost the title...
Brown and Dale Veasey) Kendo Nagasaki and Mr. Pogo The BattenTwins (Bart Batten and Brad Batten) Dan Kroffat and Tama Jason the Terrible and Steve Strong...
2020. Retrieved 20 February 2014. Carrie Batten (12 September 2011). "Video: New Compositions From Aphex Twin and Jonny Greenwood". Pitchfork.com. Archived...
American Starship Coyote and American Starship Eagle 1985 The BattenTwins Bart Batten and Brad Batten 1985–1987 The Battling Duseks Emil Dusek and Ernie Dusek...
under Scotty McKeever, but would start more hands on training with The BattenTwins not long after, and debuted in May 2003, in Oak Hill, West Virginia,...
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