ZSP-05

ZSP-05
Bauer (on the left) and Luke Le Gall (on the right) posing at an Overground show in 2017
Information Members Luke Le Gall Bauer Name(s) ZSP-05 Heights Le Gall: 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) Bauer: 6 ft 2 in (1.87 m) Combined weight 394 lb (178 kg) Debut 2014 Years Active 2014–present Promotions The Overground CCW ARMBAR

ZSP-05 are a French professional wrestling tag team, consisting of Luke Le Gall and Bauer. They mainly compete for The Overground, where they are the current Overground Tag Team Champions, and have also made appearances for Continental Championship Wrestling (CCW) and British promotion ARMBAR Wrestling.

Concept

The creation of ZSP-05 was a collaborative effort between its members Luke Le Gall and Bauer, who have been friends since their teenage years and trained together. The duo wished to stay true to their roots with their wrestling gimmicks, playing on public perceptions of the French banlieues that they come from (Vaulx-en-Velin for Le Gall and Vénissieux for Bauer) and creating aggressive, brash caricatures of themselves and other people from their time there. However, they also didn't want to play up “thuggish” stereotypes from their hometowns, instead opting for over-the-top portrayals that would eventually become liked by many fans due to their comedic elements and notable mannerisms and catchphrases.

Further inspiration for the team's gimmick comes from American band Death Grips, with ZSP-05 taking inspiration from Death Grips' visuals and aesthetics for their gear and merchandise (for example, appropriating the cover for The Money Store for a piece of merchandise), using titles of their songs for the names of some of their double team moves, and also using phrases that were popularised by the band as catchphrases. Le Gall has stated in an interview that the team wanted to “copy that aggression and anger of Death Grips” in their gimmick. They also take inspiration from South African group Die Antwoord, with Le Gall saying they were influenced by the group's “arrogant and out-there attitude” whilst also being “funny and self-aware” in how they acted. Die Antwoord's zef image and attitude also served as an influence for ZSP-05's gimmick and has been used to gain heel heat as well as fan support.

The name 'ZSP-05' was created by combining two main aspects of banlieue life and history. 'ZSP' stands for “zone de sécurité prioritaire” (Priority Security Zone), a designation given to communes and towns in France that have exceptionally high crime rates or bad reputations, which require more police supervision. Both Le Gall and Bauer's hometowns are considered ZSPs. The '05' portion references the 2005 French riots, which had affected both Vaulx-en-Velin and Vénissieux, and had had a huge impact on the global perception of France and its social issues. When asked about the choice to reference such an event, Le Gall said: “it defined our whole life. When people see us, they see the young angry kids from the banlieues setting cars on fire and throwing bricks at police in '05...it only felt right to call us by what we're defined as anyway”.

Despite having sociopolitical influences in their gimmick, the team has stated that they don't want to be viewed as having a “political agenda” or being figureheads for a particular movement, and have emphasised the entertainment purpose of their portrayals. However, they have also been vocally against stereotyping their gimmick as heelish “thugs” just because of their backgrounds and even left Continental Championship Wrestling after believing the higher-ups in the company to be doing just that, stopping them from being draws due to their perceptions of the team.

History

Formation (2014)

In early 2014, Bauer made his professional wrestling debut for a local show in France and was accompanied by Luke Le Gall, who served as his mouthpiece and manager. The duo would work for numerous European independent promotions, with Le Gall cutting heel promos on the crowd, bragging about their life in the banlieues and how it made the duo tougher than the average fan or wrestler. Le Gall finally made his in-ring debut in mid-2014 and ZSP-05 was officially named and formed. The duo found much success as a team, rising quickly on the European indie scene and eventually getting noticed by scouts for Continental Championship Wrestling, Europe's biggest wrestling promotion.

Continental Championship Wrestling (2015–2016)

Debut and Tag Team Champions (2015–2016)

In March of 2015, the team were offered pay-per-appearance contracts by CCW, which they accepted and signed. ZSP-05 made their first appearance for CCW on April 17, where they ambushed Undisputed World Champion Marc Mussolini and aligned with his rival, Ed Weiss. They would have their first match for the company on May 15, defeating the Italian Stallions. On the same night, they interfered in Mussolini's title match, causing it to end in a DQ. On June 19, they would gain an upset victory over Mussolini and Rico Porteau in a tag match, with Weiss assisting them throughout and serving as a distraction for Mussolini. By winning the tag match, ZSP-05 had won the right for Weiss to choose the stipulation for his upcoming title match against Mussolini; he chose a no disqualification match.

On July 17, ZSP-05 defeated former Tag Team Champions the Roman Empire in a hard-fought battle. Later that night, they helped Weiss defeat Mussolini to become the new Undisputed World Champion, with the duo taking advantage of the no DQ stipulation. Not long after the show, it was announced through social media that ZSP-05 would compete in a number one contenders match for the Tag Team titles. On August 14, they defeated Les Tueurs to earn the right to challenge for the Tag Team Championship. This opportunity would come on September 18, where Le Gall and Bauer unsuccessfully challenged RaZor for the titles, suffering their first tag team loss in CCW when Mussolini interfered as revenge for ZSP-05's interference in his title match back in July. After the match, a brawl broke out between ZSP-05, RaZor, Mussolini, and Weiss.

On October 16, ZSP-05 teamed with Weiss to take on the team of RaZor and Mussolini in a six-man tag team match, with the stipulation being that if Weiss' team won then ZSP-05 would become the new Tag Team Champions, but if Mussolini's team won then he would become the new Undisputed World Champion. ZSP-05 and Weiss defeated RaZor and Mussolini, thus crowning ZSP-05 the new CCW Tag Team Champions. They would hold the titles until January 2016, where they lost them back to RaZor in a tag team tables match.

Post-Tag Team Championship and departure (2016)

Following the loss of the Tag Team titles, ZSP-05 became warier of their alliance with Weiss due to his lack of assistance in their rematch against RaZor. On February 19, 2016, ZSP-05 were present at ringside for Weiss' title defence against Mussolini and Marius Aichner. However, halfway through the match, they abandoned Weiss and allowed him to be pinned by Aichner, resulting in him losing the Undisputed World Championship. In a post-show interview, ZSP-05 would turn face by officially ending their alliance with Weiss.

On March 18, Bauer would defeat Weiss in a heated no DQ match, gaining more fan support for ZSP-05. On April 15, ZSP-05 defeated the Death Valley Drivers to earn a shot at the Tag Team Championship. They would unsuccessfully challenge for the titles on June 17 in a three-way elimination tag team match against the champions RaZor and the Roman Empire. ZSP-05 were the first team to be eliminated by eventual winners the Roman Empire, much to the crowd's displeasure. After unexpected fan support on social media, CCW announced that ZSP-05 would be the first to challenge the Roman Empire for the Tag Team titles. On July 15, ZSP-05 were defeated by the Roman Empire in a Tag Team Championship match. This would be the team's last appearance for CCW.

Rumours circulated during early August that ZSP-05 were unhappy with CCW management, and had asked to be released from their recently-signed pay-per-appearance contract with the company. According to the rumours, management was refusing to capitalise on the team's growing popularity with fans, which was a result of their face turn and also their appearances for German promotion The Overground. Combined with ZSP-05's absence from CCW's August show as well as the team's heavy promotion of Overground on social media, these rumours gained more weight. After an almost month-long silence from management regarding the issue, CCW announced via their official website that they had parted ways with Le Gall and Bauer.

The Overground (2016–present)

TBA

ARMBAR Wrestling (2018–present)

TBA

In wrestling

• Double team finishing moves
  • Culture Shock (Bauer holds the opponent in an electric chair position and Le Gall executes a top-rope moonsault sliced bread)
  • Face Melter or How to Do Impossible Things (Super hurricanrana (Le Gall) into a sitout powerbomb (Bauer))
  • Welcome to Lyon (Bauer holds the opponent in an Argentine rack position, Le Gall hits them with a running jumping knee strike, and Bauer then spins them out into an Argentine powerbomb)
• Double team signature moves
  • Full Moon (Le Gall jumps from the top rope onto Bauer to execute a back-assisted diving somersault senton)
  • Poser Killer (Falling powerbomb (Bauer) and diving neckbreaker (Le Gall))
  • You Might Think You'll Die From The Superkick But I Know What Will Really Kill You It's The Brainbuster (Superkick (Le Gall) and brainbuster (Bauer))
  • Double springboard reverse suplex
  • Double running knee strike to kneeling opponent
• Entrance themes
  • "I've Seen Footage" by Death Grips (2014–present)

Championships and accomplishments

• Continental Championship Wrestling
  • CCW Tag Team Championship (1 time)
• The Overground
  • Overground Tag Team Championship (2 times; current)