Team 3D - History - Total Nonstop Action Wrestling - Various Feuds and Dissolution (2009–2010)

Various Feuds and Dissolution (2009–2010)

On October 18, 2009, at Bound for Glory, Team 3D captured their 23rd tag team championship when they defeated Beer Money, the British Invasion, and The Main Event Mafia's Scott Steiner and Booker T in a Full Metal Mayhem Tag Team match. With both the IWGP and TNA Tag tiles on the line, they captured the IWGP titles, which the British Invasion had beaten them for, only for the Brits to take them out and win what at the time were Booker and Steiner's TNA tag championships moments later. During the following weeks Team 3D once again turned heel and aligned themselves with Rhino in a battle against the younger talent of the company. On the November 19 episode of Impact! Team 3D Academy of Professional Wrestling and Sports Entertainment graduate Jesse Neal joined Team 3D and Rhino and two weeks later Suicide joined Morgan, Hernandez and Dinero to level the playing field. At Final Resolution Morgan, Hernandez, Dinero and Suicide defeated Team 3D, Rhino and Neal in an eight-man elimination tag team match.

When Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff took over TNA at the beginning of 2010, Team 3D's angle with Rhino and Neal was discontinued and they reverted to being faces, while starting a feud with The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobs and Jerry Sags), who were a part of the new wave of wrestlers brought in by Hogan and Bischoff. At Against All Odds The Nasty Boys defeated Team 3D in a tag team match, when Jimmy Hart made his return to the company and interfered in the match on the Nasty Boys' behalf. Team 3D avenged their loss on the February 25 episode of Impact!, when Jesse Neal helped them defeat the Nasty Boys in a tables match. On the March 15 episode of Impact! Team 3D and Neal were scheduled to face the Nasty Boys and Hart in a six man tag team match, but prior to the match the Nasty Boys attacked Neal backstage and put him through a table. Team 3D found Neal a replacement in the returning Brother Runt, but were still defeated in the match by the Nastys and Hart. However, after the match Neal made the save for Team 3D and helped them put Sags through a table. On May 16 at Sacrifice Ray turned heel by attacking Jesse Neal and costing him and Shannon Moore their match for the TNA World Tag Team Championship, after feeling he had been disrespected by Neal. The following month at Slammiversary VIII Neal defeated Ray in a singles match after a distraction from the debuting Tommy Dreamer. The following month at Victory Road Ray and Devon faced Jesse Neal in a three-way match. During the match the members of Team 3D attacked each other, before Neal accidentally speared Devon and was then pinned by Ray.

On the following episode of Impact! Devon joined fellow ECW alumni Mick Foley, Tommy Dreamer, Raven, Stevie Richards, Rhino, Pat Kenney and Al Snow and TNA World Heavyweight Champion Rob Van Dam in attacking Brother Ray, Abyss and the rest of the TNA locker room. The following week, Ray declined Devon's offer to join the ECW alumni, before TNA president Dixie Carter agreed to give the ECW alumni their own reunion pay–per–view event, Hardcore Justice: The Last Stand, as a celebration of hardcore wrestling and a final farewell to the company. However, on the July 29 episode of Impact! Ray turned face decided to join the ECW alumni and seemingly buried the hatchet with his brother. On August 8 at Hardcore Justice Team 3D, accompanied by Joel Gertner, defeated Axl Rotten and Balls Mahoney, billed as Kahoneys, in a South Philadelphia Street Fight. After the match Ray and Devon were assaulted by the Gangstas. On the following episode of Impact!, the ECW alumni, known collectively as EV 2.0, were assaulted by A.J. Styles, Kazarian, Robert Roode, James Storm, Douglas Williams and Matt Morgan of Ric Flair's Fourtune stable, who thought they didn't deserve to be in TNA. This would mark Team 3D's final appearance on their old TNA contracts, which expired shortly thereafter. The two then entered negotiations over new contracts. Team 3D returned to TNA television two months later on the October 7 live edition of Impact!, promising a major announcement at Bound for Glory. At the pay-per-view Team 3D announced their retirement, but asked for a one final match against the TNA World Tag Team Champions, the Motor City Machine Guns. Their new multi–year contracts with TNA were confirmed shortly thereafter. At Turning Point the Motor City Machine Guns defeated Team 3D to retain the TNA World Tag Team Championship.

During Team 3D's retirement ceremony on the following episode of Impact!, Ray turned heel by attacking Devon, reigniting the feud between the two. The following week Ray claimed that Devon had gotten weak, since Sabin had managed to kick out of a 3D at Turning Point, calling him the Marty Jannetty and himself the Shawn Michaels of the team.

Following this the two entered into a feud that spanned several events and shows, after which both men established their characters in singles storylines. Ray would rechristen himself as Bully Ray, and as a member of Immortal even challenged for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship and came second in the Bound for Glory Series, whereas Devon later entered a feud with D'Angelo Dinero regarding the allegiance of Devon's twin sons and later went on to win the TNA Television Championship.