The Filthy Animals: WCW's New School

When people start talking about WCW and its most memorable factions, wrestling fanatics worldwide immediately go to the NWO, Four Horsemen, and The Dangerous Alliance down the line. One of the most talented factions, though, has got to be the Filthy Animals. Their unique and athletic in-ring style made them a force to be reckoned with, albeit for too short a time from 1999 until the WWF purchase of WCW. 

The Filthy Animals consisted of Eddie Guererro, Billy Kidman, Konnan, Juventud Guerrera, and Rey Misterio. Later they would be joined Disqo, formerly known as Disco Inferno, aka Disqo, Torrie Wilson, and Tygress of the Nitro Girls. This group of friends united to make wrestling their playground.

The original idea of the Filthy Animals by WCW brass was to counter Degeneration X with their immature group that debuted seemingly as faces (Konnan, Misterio, Kidman, Guererro, and Wilson). 

Then mid-2000, they were all out of heels (Konnan, Misterio, Kidman, Guererra, Disqo, and Tygress) and faces again at the end of their run in 2001 (Konnan, Misterio, Kidman, and Tygree). Their actions lead to several different feuds from 1999-2001. Backstage pranks to kidnapping Hulk Hogan in the back of the car. 

The concept originated from a Konnan promo cut on WCW Thunder on May 27, 1999, when Misterio, Kidman, and Kevin Nash had his back. The pitch was the younger generation of stars coming through WCW “Weren’t good enough,” and the “filthy animals were out for new and young blood.” 

Konnan cutting a promo during the May 27, 1999 of WCW Thunder

On the August 16, 1999 edition of WCW Monday Nitro ‘Mean’ Gene Okerlund would interview Billy Kidman, and the Filthy Animals were officially born. They were a new group of friends, which consisted at the time of Kidman, Konnan, Rey, and Eddie, and they were “just a bunch of filthy animals”, who hung out in and out of the ring, on and off camera—one time breaking into Ric Flair’s locker room and stealing his iconic robe. 

Following the introduction, the Filthy Animals would feud with the Dead Pool (Vampiro, Raven, and the Insane Clown Posse) and The Revolution (Dean Malenko, Chris Benoit, Perry Saturn, and Shane Douglas). They would be known for mischief, and pranks played on both heels and babyfaces. 

This also was where Eddie Guerrero introduced the wrestling world to the fake chair shot. This is easily one of the most memorable and often duplicated moves still used today. Eddie peaking with one eye at the ref after hitting the chair on the ground, tossing it to his opponent, and pretending to be hit or knocked out via chair shot to the head was just one of the tricks Eddie and the Animals introduced to wrestling faithful around the world. Telling the crowd to be quiet with a shh often led to much laughing from WCW die-hards. 

Billy Kidman grew into his own during his time with the Filthy Animals, taking center stage in a feud with Hogan and Nash’s Millionaire Club vs the New Blood. Not only were his high-flying skills on display but so was his growing leadership among new blood and his mic skills. He would become one of the faces of the New Blood movement versus the Million Dollar Club. 

Konnan went from being the NWO Wolfpac to a mouthpiece and hype man. Never backing down from a fight, Konnan added elements of a street-smart wrestler to the Filthy Animals. His in-ring entrance pre-match mic skills were off the charts and could get the crowd cheering or booing depending on the Animals' mood.  His in-ring entrance promos were terrific. “Yo, yo, yo, let me speak on dis! Orale! Arriba la Raza! We bout it, bout it, and rowdy, rowdy!” 

At this stage, Rey Misterio was unmasked by this point in his WCW career after losing his mask to Kevin Nash. His babyface looks were deceiving, as his fast-paced artistry in the ring was still second to none. From being a Cruiserweight to mixing it up with the likes of Harlem Heat, Nash, and other bigger men, Rey's legend started to solidify him as much more than a skilled top rope daredevil. 

Juventud Guererra would also make his mark and get more confident as part of the Filthy Animals. Much like Rey and Kidman, Juvi was always grace in the air, but he got more recognition with the group, tagged with all members, and got more confident cutting promos. His arrogance, though, would often get him in trouble. 

Disqo, formerly known as Disco Inferno, was the group's last member. Joined when the Animals were feuding with the Misfits in Action (Specifically Cpl. Cajun, aka Lash Leroux) for the Cruiserweight Championship unsuccessfully. Disqo also cost the Animals the tag titles, which ended his stay with the group. 

Torrie Wilson, the valet, also was an impactful member of the Animals after luring David Flair into their den to be dismantled. Torrie and Kidman started showing they could be the next incarnation of the first couple of WCW. Beauty and Brains. Torrie never got much in-ring time in WCW but remained a solid addition to the group. 

Tygress entered the picture after leaving the Nitro Girls and added more eye candy to the group. Although Tygress was also romantically linked to Rey Misterio in the storylines. She trained at the WCW Power Plant and had a brief run in the ring with WCW. 

Championship Reigns

The Filthy Animals held numerous champions during their time in WCW. From the Cruiserweight belt to the tag team titles. With this group's immense talent, they were interchangeable in the blink of an eye. Konnan and Rey, Konnan and Kidman, Kidman and Juvi, Eddie and Rey, there wasn’t one combination of the Animals that wasn’t formidable. 

Kidman and Rey got their first taste of WCW gold when they defeated Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko for the WCW Tag Team Titles on March 29, 1999, just before the Filthy Animals were officially named. Their reign would only last 41 days, and they would lose the titles to The Flock (Raven and Perry Saturn) on May 9, 1999. 

The belts would return as Rey and Konnan would defeat Harlem Heat on October 18, 1999. Unfortunately, the reign was a short six days, and they would be stripped of the belts due to an injury to Rey Misterio. Harlem Heat would regain the belts as Kidman and Konnan, along with Brian Knobs and Hugh Morrus, would fall in a Triple Threat on October 24, 1999. 

The next night, the team of Konnan and Kidman would defeat Harlem Heat to get the titles back for 28 days. The Animals also began getting fans behind them the more they were in the title hunt. However, their title stint was stopped by Creative Control (Patrick and Gerald, aka the Harris Brothers from WWF). 

Their next title celebration wouldn’t happen again until August 14, 2000, when they would defeat The Dark Carnival (The Great Muta and Vampiro). This time it was Misterio and Guererra sporting the belts for the Animals. Unfortunately, their reign was cut short after Disqo lost a match to Ernest ‘The Cat’ Miller, where if Disqo lost, the Animals would have to vacate the titles. The titles were then up for grabs in a battle royal which saw Rey eliminated last, leaving the belts for Sean O’Haire and Mark Jindrak. 

Although the Animals would have one last hurray in WCW by seeing Kidman and Misterio winning the Cruiserweight Tag Team belts on the last night of WCW before merging with the WWF, it was a bittersweet victory as they were the last title holders. 

Rey and Billy Kidman won the WCW Cruiserweight Tag Team Championship during the final episode of Monday Nitro on March 26, 2001.

The Filthy Animals might not have been as flashy as the Four Horseman or as powerful as the NWO they were one of the most entertaining groups from the end of 1999 until WCW closed their doors in March of 2001. It saw Kidman's emergence, Eddie Guererro's brilliance, masterful promos from Konnan, and the human highlight reel Rey Misterio continue to pop the wrestling crowds worldwide.