The New Age Outlaws are an American professional wrestling tag team in World Wrestling Federation (WWF) made up of Brian James ("Road Dogg" Jesse James) and Monty Sopp ("Badd Ass" Billy Gunn). The duo became popular in the late 1990s as members of the second incarnation of the professional wrestling stable D-Generation X. Regarded as one of the greatest tag teams of all time, The promotion has described James and Gunn as "the most popular duo of WWE's Attitude Era." In the same time period, The New Age Outlaws had the third highest merchandise sales in the WWF after Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock.
Upon parting ways with the WWF, the team reformed in several promotions, mostly notably in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling where, under the ringnames B.G. James and Kip James, they performed collectively as the James Gang and then as the Voodoo Kin Mafia, the latter of which was a play on the initials of their former boss in the WWF Vince McMahon. The team returned to periodic active competition in WWE under its original name in 2013 (with both members also having full-time backstage jobs with the company as well). Today only James is employed with the WWE in a backstage role while Sopp currently performs in All Elite Wrestling managing the tag team The Acclaimed (Max Caster and Anthony Bowens).
They are six-time tag team champions in WWE, having held the WWF World Tag Team Championship five times and the WWE Tag Team Championship once. The duo hold the record for the most time between title reigns in WWE history after becoming the WWE Tag Team Champions at the 2014 Royal Rumble PPV, more than 14 years after their previous Tag Team title reign.
History
World Wrestling Federation
Formation (1997)
The Outlaws first formed on the October 4, 1997 episode of Shotgun Saturday Night when struggling superstars Billy Gunn and "Road Dogg" Jesse James, then known as Rockabilly and "The Real Double J" Jesse James respectively, ended their feud and teamed up.
On the October 11, 1997 edition of Shotgun, Jesse James walked out to the ring following a loss by Rockabilly to Flash Funk and asked him to turn on his manager The Honky Tonk Man, who had been responsible for Rockabilly's defeat, and team with him. Rockabilly answered by smashing a guitar on Honky Tonk Man's head and telling James he was in. Rockabilly re-dubbed himself "Badd Ass" Billy Gunn and Jesse James rechristened himself the Road Dogg. The team made an immediate impact on the WWF tag team scene with blatant attacks against other tag teams and, initially not having an entrance theme, walking out to the ring with only Road Dogg making a rant against their opponents over the PA system. The team became known for pulling wins out of nowhere via cheating and use of weapons. Through their attitude, charisma and antics, they began to get over with the crowd as heels.
Tag Team Champions and D-Generation X (1997–1999)
James and Gunn defeated the Legion of Doom for the Tag Team Championship in November 1997. This marked Gunn's fourth Tag Team Title reign and Road Dogg's first. Not only did the team win the titles that night, but they also got their "Outlaws" nickname when they "stole" the win and then ran to a waiting car, prompting Raw announcer Jim Ross to liken them to outlaws leaving a robbery. The name stuck and the New Age Outlaws quickly became one of the most hated teams in the WWF. During their feud with LOD, the Outlaws joined Triple H and Shawn Michaels, collectively known as D-Generation X, in assaulting the team on an episode of Monday Night Raw, including shaving off one of Road Warrior Hawk's mohawks and throwing Road Warrior Animal through the announcers' table.