to a Cruiserweight Championship match at Starrcade. During the match Spice gave Karagias a low blow allowing Madusa to pin him and become the first female ever to win the WCW World Cruiserweight Championship. In December 1999, Karagias returned to the ring alongside Shane Helms and Shannon Moore to form 3 Count, the boy band of WCW. They immediately claimed to have a musical hit, coming out before their matches and lip-synching to "Can't Get You Out Of My Heart" while dancing on green circles. Usually, they were interrupted by their opposition. They started out by feuding with The Jung Dragons and would appear in 6-man tag team action frequently. 3 Count soon focused their attention on Norman Smiley, who showed his dislike for their music. Their first pay-per-view match was at Superbrawl 2000, where Smiley, due to his injured ribs, was beaten in a handicap match and 3 Count got the win. The 3 Count team then declared that they were hardcore, leading to numerous fights with the Hardcore Champion, "Nasty Boy" Brian Knobbs. At the end of February 2000, they managed an upset, taking out the champion and getting the WCW Hardcore Championship for themselves. Sharing it as a team, they went into Uncensored 2000 to battle Knobbs once again, this time in a Gauntlet match. After Helms was eliminated, Karagias came out. Without his teammates to aid him, however, Karagias was crushed by Knobbs, who then defeated Moore, getting his Hardcore Championship back. In late summer, the 3 Count returned to television, singing a new song, "Dance With 3 Count". This earned them the favor of Tank Abbott, who loved listening to them sing, and would attack anyone who tried to stop them. Abbott soon became 3 Count's manager/security guard/back-up dancer, sometimes bringing out a green square for himself to dance on. Abbott & 3 Count soon began a running feud with the trio's old adversaries, the Jung Dragons. Their repeated encounters led to a Ladder match at New Blood Rising, with a recording contract & a gold record hanging from the ceiling. The match was won after interference by Abbott clearing the way for Karagias to climb the ladder and get the contract, winning the match and apparently getting 3 Count a record deal. After the match, Abbott took the contract & the gold record and left. Later on, Abbott announced that he should be the