Lance Kurtis McNaught[4][2] [4][9] was an
American professional wrestler died from heart failure he was , 29. He was best known for his time in
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) where he performed under the ring names
Garrison Cade and
Lance Cade.
After being trained by
Shawn Michaels, Cade made his debut in 1999, and worked in Japan before being signed to a developmental contract by WWE. He was assigned to
Memphis Championship Wrestling, and later
Heartland Wrestling Association, before ending up in
Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) in 2003. In OVW, he formed a tag team with
Mark Jindrak, and they were promoted to the
Raw brand in June 2003. In 2004 the team split up, and Cade took time off after a knee injury, before returning to
Raw with a new tag partner in
Trevor Murdoch. The pair teamed together for almost three years, before they broke up in May 2008. Cade then entered a storyline with
Chris Jericho and Michaels, however, he was released on October 14, 2008.
Cade was a three-time
World Tag Team Champion with Murdoch in WWE, and has also held the
HWA Heavyweight Championship and
HWA Tag Team Championship with both Steve Bradley and
Mike Sanders. He was a former one-time TWA Television Champion in the
Texas Wrestling Alliance.
(March 2, 1981 – August 13, 2010)
Career
Cade started his wrestling career by becoming a student of
Shawn Michaels at the
Shawn Michaels Wrestling Academy in
San Antonio, Texas in 1999.
[1][10][8]
Japan
Cade and fellow wrestler
Bryan Danielson went to Japan on December 1, 1999. They competed in
Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW).
[10][11] Cade and Danielson worked as a tag team for a while before they went their separate ways; Cade stayed in FMW and faced off against
Extreme Championship Wrestling wrestler
Balls Mahoney in tag team matches and a three way dance against another FMW wrestler. Cade left FMW after he was defeated by Mahoney in a three way dance on February 25, 2000, also involving Crazy Boy.
[12]
Heartland Wrestling Association (2001–2002)
After Cade signed with the WWF, he was sent to
Memphis Championship Wrestling in 2001.
[13] During the summer of that same year, he was moved to Les Thatcher's
Heartland Wrestling Association (HWA).
[10] Cade quickly formed a tag-team with Surfer Cody Hawk, but the team split after only a few months when Cade joined the World Championship Wrestling camp in HWA's Invasion angle.
[13] Cade aligned with
Mike Sanders, a former WCW wrestler.
[13] The downfall of the team came on February 13, 2002, when Lance Cade and Mike Sanders defeated
Val Venis and
Steve Bradley to win the HWA Tag-Team titles.
[14] Cade and Sanders broke up that very day, and the titles were vacated.
[13][14] The next week, Cade faced Sanders and defeated him in a singles match, giving Cade the belts.
[14] Cade then chose Steve Bradley to be his new partner.
[14] However, Cade and Bradley had problems defeating WWF competition, as
Hugh Morrus and
Raven defeated on March 12, 2002 for the titles.
[14] Cade and Bradley, however, won the HWA Tag Titles three days later.
[14]
In April 2002, Cade's first HWA tag-team partner returned, as Cody Hawk and the Ice Cream Man defeated Cade and Bradley for the tag-team titles.
[13] Cade and Bradley tried for the next month to get the titles back, even winning a tag team championship contendership match to get another shot, but never managed to get the titles back.
[13] On May 19, 2002, Cade defeated
Johnny the Bull to become the HWA Heavyweight Champion.
[15] Cade defended the title for 2 months before Johnny the Bull won the title back on July 20.
[15] On the same night, however, Cade defeated Johnny in a second match, becoming the 2-time Heavyweight Champion.
[15] This reign lasted only one day, as Cade, lost his title to Cody Hawk.
[15]
Ohio Valley Wrestling (2003–2004)
During the summer of 2002, the HWA was dropped as a developmental territory by WWE, but Cade was transferred over to WWE's main developmental company,
Ohio Valley Wrestling when he signed a developmental contract in 2003.
[10] Cade continued to search for a strong tag-team partner to work with. He found
René Duprée and both joined
Kenny Bolin's Bolin Services.
[7][16] The two worked as a tag-team throughout most of their stay in OVW.
In the OVW Tag-Team Title Tournament contested in February/March 2003, Cade and Duprée defeated
Matt Morgan and BJ Payne, but couldn't beat the Disciples of Synn in the finals.
[17] Cade and Duprée had another shot at Spring Break-Out 2003, but the current champions at the time were WWE regulars The APA, and Cade and Duprée couldn't overcome the odds.
[17] Mark Jindrak later joined Bolin Services. Duprée appeared in WWE only a few weeks after their title shot. Cade continued tagging with Mark Jindrak, but was promoted to the
Raw brand in June 2003 under the name, Garrison Cade.
World Wrestling Entertainment (2003–2008)
Cade debuted on an episode of Sunday Night Heat against
Lance Storm, who forced him to submit to the Sharpshooter. The next night on Raw, he faced Storm in a re-match.
[1] Stone Cold Steve Austin came out interrupted, chanting the word "Boring", and Storm became distracted, allowing Cade to sneak in and get the victory. Soon afterwards, Cade again found a tag-team partner,
Mark Jindrak, to ally himself with, and began to challenge for the tag-team titles.
[1][10] The belts were being held by former Cade ally
René Duprée and his new partner
Sylvain Grenier, a unit collectively known as
La Résistance.
Over the next few months, Cade and Jindrak fought against many different teams, from La Resistance and the face gimmicks of the
Dudley Boyz to battles against the top heels on
Raw,
Evolution. The duo also formed a semi-partnership with then babyface,
Maven, helping each other out on occasion. Cade and Jindrak soon began to be known more for their cheating ways, however, rather than their abilities. This led them to turn heel and be entered into the Tag-Team Turmoil Match at
Armageddon 2003 for the
World Tag Team Titles.
[18] They came in from the crowd when their turn hit and quickly rolled up
The Hurricane to eliminate him and Rosey. Cade and Jindrak next faced a face gimmick of Lance Storm and Val Venis, and Cade tripped up Venis from the outside on a suplex attempt, then held onto Venis' legs while Jindrak made the pinfall. The next team to come down were the Dudley Boyz, who eventually took out Jindrak with the 3-D to eliminate the boys. The duo got some revenge, though, attacking the Dudleys after the match before leaving, making it harder for the
Dudley Boyz to come out victorious (which they did not, losing at the end to then heels,
Ric Flair and
Batista).
Going into 2004, Cade and Jindrak continued to work together as a team, firmly entrenched in the mid-card ranks. The team got a win in March 2004, when they defeated
Hurricane and Rosey to earn a shot at the
World Tag Team Championship at
WrestleMania XX. Cade and Jindrak entered a four-way tag match against the champions, then babyface,
Booker T and
Rob Van Dam, and the other two competing teams, La Résistance and the Dudley Boyz. Cade and Jindrak lost the match though, after Rob Van Dam pinned
Rob Conway.
[19]
After Jindrak was drafted to
SmackDown, Cade briefly associated himself with
Jonathan Coachman,
[1] helping Coachman get a win over
Tajiri at
Backlash.
[20] Cade later teamed up with Coachman at
Vengeance to take on the debuting team of
Rhyno and Tajiri. Cade and Coachman lost the match, and Cade was taken off WWE TV after an injury in July 2004.
[21]
Return to Ohio Valley Wrestling (2005)
Cade was off WWE television for quite some time, due to the knee injury (which was said to be a dislocated knee). In 2005, Cade reappeared in Ohio Valley Wrestling as his former self, Lance Cade, shedding the ring rust. Cade sided with The Blueprint
Matt Morgan and
Vengeance against the
OVW Heavyweight Champion Elijah Burke. In February 2005, Cade took on Burke in a $5,000 Bounty Match (Morgan had put a bounty on Burke's head), but was defeated.
Cade faded into the background for the next few weeks, eventually making his return to the ring at the June 3 OVW Summer Sizzler Series 2005 show, taking on
Al Snow. While Cade brought his cowboy hat with him, Snow brought Head, routinely turning to the
mannequin head for guidance. During the match, when Cade was knocked to the outside, Snow destroyed Cade's hat, stomping on it. This made the match more personal to Cade, but in the end, Snow knocked out Cade with Head, getting the victory. Later on that night, Cade interfered in the
Brent Albright/Elijah Burke OVW Heavyweight Title match, with Cade attacking the champion, Albright. The two foes had a No Disqualification, Loser Must Tap Out Match at the OVW Summer Sizzler Series 2005 show on June 17, 2005. Cade tried to pin Albright early in the match. The ref did not allow it, causing a shoving match between the two. Later in the match, Albright got his Crowbar submission on Cade, but Cade escaped, then appeared to be leaving, with Albright chasing him down. Albright got the Crowbar applied on Cade again, right on the ramp. With nowhere to go, Cade was forced to tap, losing to Albright.
[edit] Teaming with Murdoch (2005–2008)
On August 22, 2005 a promo was shown on
Raw showcasing a long haired Cade, who was soon to be returning with tag team partner
Trevor Murdoch. The promo showed
Cade and Murdoch portraying
rednecks. Cade (who dropped the stage name Garrison and started to wrestle under his real first name) was playing the role of a smooth-talking
cowboy, while Murdoch was depicted as an angry
Southern trucker.
Cade and Murdoch debuted as a team on
Raw on September 5, 2005.
[3] They defeated the
World Tag Team Champions,
Hurricane and Rosey in a non-title match.
[22] This earned them a World Tag Team title shot at
Unforgiven 2005. During the title match, Murdoch delivered an
elevated DDT on The Hurricane to the outside. The DDT caused Hurricane to suffer a
kayfabe stinger. It also allowed Cade and Murdoch to defeat Hurricane and Rosey for the World Tag Team championships.
[23] They defended against random teams on
Raw for the next month before losing the titles to Kane and The Big Show at
Taboo Tuesday.
[24] After losing in a rematch the next night on
Raw,
[25] Cade and Murdoch began to be
squashed by other tag teams, before wrestling singles matches.
[26]
On the November 28 edition of
Raw, it was announced that Cade and Murdoch had parted ways as a tag team.
[27] The next week, Cade debuted with the gimmick of a "Refined Southern Gentleman," wearing new tights with
rhinestones on them as well as his new jacket he wore to the ring. Cade was relegated to Heat, making very few appearances on Raw at the end of 2005. He had a chance to get into the
2006 Royal Rumble, competing with
Rob Conway and
Gregory Helms against the Big Show in a Second Chance Battle Royal. However, The Big Show won the spot in the Rumble.
[28]
Eventually, the Cade and Murdoch tandem reformed as they were seen helping
Chris Masters and
Carlito attack Kane. On the April 14 edition of
Heat, it was announced that Cade and Murdoch were reuniting as a tag team after Murdoch helped Cade defeat
Goldust. Cade also debuted another slight change with wet hair and shorter tights with a design similar to when he was teaming with Murdoch. On the May 19 edition of
Heat Cade and Murdoch officially reformed their tag team by facing and defeating
Charlie Haas and
Viscera.
Cade and Murdoch next entered a short-lived feud against
D-Generation X (
Triple H and
Shawn Michaels). It started when Cade and Murdoch ambushed Shawn Michaels and Triple H, before Triple H's match with
Vince McMahon on the September 11 episode of
Raw.
[29] Cade and Murdoch continued to battle DX, until they were defeated in a street fight, ending the feud on October 9.
[30]
After biding much of their time on
Raw's sister show
Heat, Cade and Murdoch began a feud in April with World Tag Team Champions
The Hardys, leading to their title match at
Backlash 2007, which The Hardys won.
[31] In the
storyline, Cade and Murdoch suddenly gained a great deal of respect for The Hardys and began to praise their abilities.
[32] The Hardys then began an alliance with Cade and Murdoch. Despite the alliance, Cade and Murdoch faced The Hardys in a rematch at
Judgment Day which The Hardys won.
[33] On the June 4 edition of
Raw, Cade and Murdoch were given another shot at the World Tag Team Championship against The Hardys and were successful, becoming two time World Tag Team Champions.
[34] When Cade made the pin on
Jeff Hardy, Hardy's foot was on the ropes but was pushed off by Murdoch. After the match, when
Matt Hardy argued with Cade and Murdoch, they attacked Matt and Jeff with the tag belts, becoming heels again. At
Vengeance 2007, Cade and Murdoch defeated the Hardys to retain the gold after Cade pinned Jeff.
[35] Cade along with Murdoch lost the titles at a
house show on September 5 to
Paul London and Brian Kendrick on a South Africa tour.
[36] Later on, in that same tour, Cade and Murdoch won the titles back.
[36] After 93 days, their third reign came to an end on December 10 at the Raw XV anniversary, when they lost the championship to the team of
Hardcore Holly and
Cody Rhodes.
[5][37][38] On December 28, Cade separated his shoulder at a house show in
Atlanta, and was inactive for the next month.
[39] Cade made his return, teaming with Murdoch, on February 4, in a losing effort to
Holly and
Rhodes.
[40]
[edit] Alliance with Chris Jericho (2008)
Late in April 2008, Murdoch began to develop a country singing gimmick.
[41] On the May 12 edition of
Raw, Cade
turned on Murdoch following a "victory song," punching Murdoch in the face twice, ending the partnership.
[42][43] The two faced off on the June 2, 2008 edition of
Raw, with Cade getting the victory to end their feud.
[44]
Cade formed an alliance with
Chris Jericho on the June 16 airing of
Raw when he assisted Jericho in laying out
John Cena and Triple H.
[45] In the following weeks, Cade began accompanying Jericho to the ring for his matches, becoming a protegé of sorts and aiding him in his feud with Shawn Michaels.
[46] Cade claimed that, being a former protege of Michaels, he was not going to wait for him to turn on him like Michaels did several past partners.
At a Raw house show in early August, Cade suffered a broken nose in a match against
Paul London, who was also busted open as a result of a botched move. Cade would return to in-ring action on
Raw on September 22 in a handicap match with Jericho and
John "Bradshaw" Layfield, defeating Michaels and
Batista, with Cade pinning his former mentor. Michaels would then defeat Cade one-on-one in a no disqualification match on the October 6 episode, in what was Cade's last appearance.
[5][47] On October 14, 2008, Cade was released from his WWE contract.
[48] Jim Ross later stated that "he made a major league mistake while utilizing bad judgment" and that it was instrumental to his departure.
[49] Ross referenced Cade having a
seizure on a plane and needing emergency medical care as a part of this.
[49]
Independent circuit and Japan (2008–2010)
Less than a week after Cade's release, he began accepting bookings with Trevor Murdoch as a team on the
independent circuit, including
Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South as well as
NWA Showcase.
Cade returned to Japan in December 2008 teaming with his former tag team partner René Duprée for
Hustle on December 24 and 25. They appeared as
masked wrestlers, Dyna and Might Sharpe, a parody of the Sharpe Brothers. The team defeated Tenyru and Koshinaka both nights. Five nights later they had their third and final match with Tenyru and Koshinaka and HUSTLEMANIA in a losing effort. Cade returned as "Cowboy" Cade, his former WWE character, on February 19 at
Korukuen Hall to defeat the tag team of
Tajiri and Akebono when Cade pinned Tajiri. On February 22, Cade defeated Akebono in a singles match in the main event of Hustle's debut show in
Chiba, Japan.
Cade was scheduled to face NWA North American Heavyweight Champion Apollo in an
NWA On Fire event on August 22, 2009, but was unable to attend due to a family emergency. He wrestled Trevor Murdoch at a World Stars of Wrestling event in September 2009.
In September 2009, Cade was re-signed by WWE, appearing in its developmental territory
Florida Championship Wrestling, but was released in April 2010 without returning to the main roster.
[5] He later began wrestling for
All Japan Pro Wrestling in June 2010, and at the time of his death had been scheduled to challenge for the
AJPW Unified World Tag Team Championship.
[50] [51]
Personal life
McNaught married Tanya R. Gonzalez on June 14, 2000, but got divorced on May 16, 2006.
[52][53] He had two daughters, Natallye and Laryssa.
[4] Cade remarried, and had a stepson name Brian.
[4][50] He was the son-in-law of wrestler Black Gordman.
[4] In January 2010, McNaught attended rehabilitation, and completed a 30-day program in February.
[50]
Death
McNaught died on August 13, 2010 of apparent heart failure in
San Antonio,
Texas.
[5][9][6] McNaught's wife Tanya had noticed that Lance was not looking well in the week prior to his death, and he was taken to hospital on August 10 with difficulty breathing, but discharged himself the next day.
[50]
In wrestling
Championships and accomplishments
To see more of who died in 2010
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