The Elite Guard

Infobox Wrestling team
article_name=The Elite Guard
type=S


image_size=
caption=Onyx and Collyer of the Elite Guard
members=Jeff Jarrett
Chad Collyer
Hotstuff Hernandez
Onyx
names=
former_members=
debut=
disbanded=
promotions=TNA|

The Elite Guard was the name of a short-lived stable in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling who worked for then NWA World Heavyweight Champion, Jeff Jarrett.

History

In the midst of Jarrett's feud with the 3Live Kru (BG James, Konnan, and Ron Killings) in 2004, Jarrett reached into other NWA Promotions and drew out Chad Collyer, Hotstuff Hernandez, and Onyx. They were brought on as Jeff Jarrett's personal security force after he won TNA's first King of the Mountain match. All three wore black pants, dark red berets and combat boots, each of them called themselves "Seargeant", and were meant to be bigger and stronger mirror images of the three members of the 3Live Kru, with Collyer corresponding with BG James, Hernandez corresponding with Konnan, and Onyx corresponding with Ron Killings.

The trio proceeded to accompany "The King of the Mountain" to ringside for his matches, complete with their own theme music. The music was titled "Mercenaries of The Elite Guard". A remixed version of this song is currently being used by Austin Aries.

Matches

On June 16, 2004, the two factions finally met on a TNA weekly Pay Per View in a Six Man Tag match in which the 3Live Kru defeated the Elite Guard when Ron Killings pinned Hernandez. The Kru then responded to Jarrett's new faction by evening the odds with the addition of Ken Shamrock to the feud.

The Elite Guard earned their first victory on July 3, 2004 on TNA Xplosion when they defeated Mikal Adryan, Dirk Ciglar, and Austin Lane in a Six-Man Tag Match. The match ended with Hernandez connecting with his Crucifix Toss. Ring announcer Jeremy Borash was so astonished with the finisher that he actually delayed announcing The Elite Guard as the winners.

On July 7, 2004, Jarrett emerged victorious from a "Running of the Guantlet" match that saw him outlast Shamrock, the Elite Guard, and the 3Live Kru to retain his NWA World Heavyweight Title when Shamrock turned on the Kru.

On the July 9, 2004 episode of TNA iMPACT!, the Elite Guard finally got their revenge on the 3Live Kru, defeating them in a Six Man Tag match.

The following week (July 14) on TNA PPV, Dusty Rhodes and Larry Zbyszko joined the Kru in defeating Jarrett, the Elite Guard, and Shamrock in a 10-Man Guitar on a Pole Match when Rhodes pinned Onyx.

The group was only together for two months, as TNA split them up after they proved ineffective as a team.

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Post-Split

After the Elite Guard split, Chad Collyer was instantly dropped from the TNA roster, and hasn't appeared since.

Onyx and Hernandez teamed up against AJ Styles and Jeff Hardy in September 2004 on an episode of TNA Impact, but were defeated when Hardy pinned Onyx with a Swanton Bomb. Onyx wrestled once on Xplosion afterwards and hasn't appeared for TNA since either.

Hotstuff Hernandez was released with Onyx, but has since returned to TNA as a member of Konnan's Latin American X-change group to replace failed members Apolo and Machete. He returned to TNA on an April 2006 episode of Impact where he emerged from the crowd and attacked Bob Armstrong with a slapjack to help Konnan in an Arm Wrestling Contest. Since Hernandez's return, his presence in the former Elite Guard was never mentioned.

On an October 2006 episode of TNA Impact, Jeff Jarrett, in preparation for his public "execution" contract signing for his "Title vrs. Career" NWA World Heavyweight Championship title defense against Sting at TNA's Bound For Glory, three machine-gun-armed muscular men in balaclavas, black sweatshirts, camouflaged khakis, and combat boots marched to the ring as a firing squad. Jarrett called the public contract signing a "public execution" of Sting's career, with the ring contain several paraphernalia denoting capital punishment. Although only used once, the three-man firing squad is similar in appearance and gimmick to The Elite Guard.