The Acolytes Protection Agency
| The Acolytes Protection Agency | |
|---|---|
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| Tag team | |
| Members |
Bradshaw Faarooq |
| Name(s) | The APA/A.P.A. The Acolytes The Acolytes Protection Agency The Corporate Ministry The Ministry of Darkness The Hell's Henchmen |
| Heights | Faarooq: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Bradshaw: 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) |
| Combined weight |
560 lb (250 kg) |
| Debut | November 1998 |
| Disbanded | March 18, 2004 |
| Years active | 1998-2004 |
| Promotions |
WWF/E MCW OVW |
The Acolytes Protection Agency (APA) was a professional wrestling tag team that consisted of Bradshaw (John Layfield) and Faarooq (Ron Simmons). They wrestled for the American promotion World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (WWF/E) between October 1998 and March 2004.
Before forming the APA, Faarooq and Bradshaw were known simply as The Acolytes and went on to become a part of The Undertaker's Ministry of Darkness. As The Acolytes, they won two World Tag Team Championships in 1999, while feuding with X-Pac and Kane and the Hardy Boyz. After renaming themselves the Acolytes Protection Agency in 2000, they functioned as bodyguards to other wrestlers, and won a third tag team championship in 2001.
In 2002, the duo was split during the brand extension, where Simmons went to SmackDown!, as Bradshaw went to Raw. As a singles competitor, Bradshaw had an extensive hardcore wrestling career, winning the Hardcore Championship on various occasions. The two reunited as a tag team in Ohio Valley Wrestling and then on SmackDown! in 2003. The team again split in 2004 when Simmons was on-screen released by WWE; Layfield continued his singles career before retiring in 2009.
As single competitors in the World Wrestling Federation, Bradshaw and Faarooq's careers had stalled. WWF management then placed Bradshaw and Faarooq in a tag team called The Acolytes managed by The Jackyl. Both men made their first appearance on TV as a team on the November 15, 1998 episode of Sunday Night Heat attacking 8-Ball, Skull and Paul Ellering as the D.O.A. came down to the ring for a match. The following week on Sunday Night Heat, The Jackyl came down to the ring as the duo interrupted a match and proclaimed Bradshaw and Faarooq to be his Acolytes. Both men would make their official tag team debut on the November 30, 1998 edition of Raw, where they attacked Tiger Ali Singh and his manager, Babu, after Singh's match against Val Venis. The team was notorious for their intense and brutal beatings done during the ensuing matches. Afterwards, they won tag team matches against the team of Venis and The Godfather and the team of The J.O.B. Squad.
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