| Russ Haas | |
|---|---|
 Russ Haas, one half of the Haas brothers. | |
| Birth name | Thomas Russell Haas |
| Born | March 11, 1974[1] Edmond, Oklahoma, United States[1] |
| Died | December 15, 2001 (aged 27)[2] Cincinnati, Ohio, United States[3] |
| Cause of death | Heart failure |
| Spouse(s) |
Deedra Haas (m. 1992) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Russ Haas[1][2] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[2] |
| Billed weight | 220 lb (100 kg; 16 st)[2] |
| Billed from | Oklahoma |
| Trained by | Mike Sharpe[1] |
| Debut | 1998 |
Thomas Russell Haas (March 11, 1974 – December 15, 2001) was an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his work alongside his older brother Charlie in Memphis Championship Wrestling and Jersey All Pro Wrestling.[4]
Haas was a collegiate wrestler at Seton Hall University, and was then trained for a career in professional wrestling by Mike Sharpe. He quickly began working on the independent circuit alongside his brother Charlie, with the two forming a tag team known as The Haas Brothers. They won the JAPW Tag Team Championship for the first time in mid-1998, and won it for the second time in mid-1999. They went on to win the Pennsylvania Championship Wrestling Tag Team Championship and the ECWA Tag Team Championship in 2000, and also won the CZW World Tag Team Championship in early 2000. In late 2000, The Haas Brothers signed a contract with the World Wrestling Federation, and were assigned to the developmental territories, the Heartland Wrestling Association and Memphis Championship Wrestling (MCW). In MCW, they won the MCW Tag Team Championship on three occasions during early 2001.
In September 2001, Haas had a heart attack, and in December, died in his sleep at the age of 27. Following his death, several wrestling personalities paid tribute to Haas, including Low Ki and Kevin Kelly. JAPW held the Russ Haas Memorial Show in February 2002, and in August 2002 Phoenix Championship Wrestling held The Russ Haas Memorial Tag Team Tournament. In 2004, he was inducted into the ECWA Hall of Fame and in 2007 he was inducted into the JAPW Hall of Fame.
- ^ a b c d "Russ Haas". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved February 13, 2008.
- ^ a b c d "Russ Haas Biography". Bodyslamming. Archived from the original on January 18, 2008. Retrieved February 13, 2008.
- ^ Muchnick, Irv (2007). Wrestling Babylon: Piledriving Tales of Drugs, Sex, Death, and Scandal. ECW Press. p. 148. ISBN 9781554902866.
- ^ "The History – In Memory". Jersey All Pro Wrestling. Retrieved January 12, 2008.