The all-male cheerleading unit, The Spirit Squad, which consisted of five wrestlers from WWE's developmental territory OVW, made their main roster debut in January 2006. While the group may have lasted less than a year before disbanding, their legacy lives on as they had one of the most ridiculous tag team gimmicks in WWE history.
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All five men mostly went their separate ways after the initial WWE run, which saw them win the World Tag Team Championship just three months after making their debut, and they experienced varying levels of success thereafter. While most of the squad continued wrestling elsewhere, including OVW, others found success outside of the wrestling industry after their time with the company.
5 Mikey
Mikey, whose real name is Michael Brendli, continued to develop with FCW and OVW after the group split. He and fellow Spirit Squad member Kenny also spent time with Ring of Honor and returned to the ring in Major League Wrestling in 2019.
Brendli worked as a motion capture artist for WWE video games for nearly a decade after his in-ring tenure. He also tapped into his male cheerleader roots and worked as an independent motivational speaker throughout his career. He currently lives in Suffolk County, New York, where he was born and raised.
4 Mitch
Mitch, whose real name is Nicholas Mitchell, was featured on the fourth season of Tough Enough before making his debut on WWE's main roster with The Spirit Squad. He was recovering from an ACL injury for his first few months on the main roster and only performed the role of cheerleader for the squad (pun intended) until he was healthy enough to compete.
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Mitchell tried his hand at mixed martial arts following his wrestling career but decided the sport was not for him when he lost to future UFC star Derrick Lewis in his fighting debut. He currently resides in Jerusalem, Israel, and has no intention of returning to the ring anytime soon.
3 Kenny
Kenny, whose real name is Kenneth Doane, is one of the youngest wrestlers ever to compete in WWE, as he made his televised debut in 2003 at the age of 17 as an enhancement talent for Rodney Mack's White Boy Challenge segments. Kenny was the only one who remained on the main roster after The Spirit Squad disbanded, as he began wrestling under the ring name Kenny Dykstra while all of his former partners were sent back to the company's developmental territories for more seasoning.
Kenny continued to wrestle with Mikey on the independent scene throughout much of the 2010s and announced his in-ring retirement earlier this year. He currently resides in Massachusetts and works as a business education teacher. He also occasionally works as a guest producer and coach for WWE on their NXT brand.
2 Johnny
Johnny, whose real name is Johnny Jeter, began wrestling with WWE with their OVW territory, where he notably won the OVW Heavyweight Championship in 2003. After the group disbanded, he returned to the developmental territory but only remained for one year before stepping away from the ring.
Jeter, who graduated with a degree in accounting after his initial in-ring retirement, currently resides in Tempe, Arizona, where he works as an IT Audit Manager. He also returned to the ring in 2019, where he began wrestling sporadically for Championship Wrestling From Arizona (CWFA).
1 Nicky
Nicky, whose real name is Nicholas Nemeth, is easily the most successful member of the ragtag group of competitors. Nevertheless, he was not even one of the main wrestlers with the stable, as he was usually seen in a supporting role throughout his time with the group. He was sent back to the developmental territories for nearly two years before returning to the main roster under the ring name Dolph Ziggler.
Ziggler showed that he had the ability to be a main event star shortly after making his return to the company's main roster, but it took him a few years to realize his true potential. He has been one of WWE's top stars for much of the past decade and has even branched out into other forms of media, including television, movies, and even stand-up comedy.
