World Championship Wrestling (1999–2001) In June 1999, Yun signed with
World Championship Wrestling, making his WCW television debut in January 2000 under the ring name "Jimmy Yang". He was originally a part of the
Jung Dragons faction along with
Jamie-San and
Kaz Hayashi. They were brought into WCW by
Jimmy Hart to feud with
3 Count, another faction. They made their pay-per-view debut at
New Blood Rising, losing a ladder match to 3 Count. They added a manager,
Leia Meow, and continued the feud with 3 Count, until, in late 2000, Jamie-San unmasked and left the group, becoming known as Jamie Knoble and forming a tag team with former 3 Count member
Evan Karagias. The team of Hayashi and Yang
feuded with Knoble and Karagias until the
WWF purchased WCW.
World Wrestling Federation (2001) In March 2001, the
World Wrestling Federation acquired Yun's contract and assigned him to the company's
Heartland Wrestling Association developmental territory, but he was released in December 2001.
All Japan Pro Wrestling (2002) In 2002, Yun joined
All Japan Pro Wrestling where he wrestled as both a part of its
tag team division and its singles junior heavyweight division. Over a month later, Yang returned to AJPW on August 31, teaming with
Masaaki Mochizuki and
Dragon Kid to defeat
Magnum Tokyo,
Susumu Yokosuka, and
Darkness Dragon. Yang suffered his first loss in AJPW on September 15, when he and
Kazushi Miyamoto lost to
Kendo Kashin and
Robbie Brookside, although that same month he teamed with Kaz Hayashi to win the Real World Junior Heavyweight Tag Team League. The following month, Yang defeated
Gran Hamada and Gran Naniwa in a three-way match, before he and Yoji Anjoh lost to
Mike Barton and
Jim Steele. Throughout the end of 2002, Yang continued competing in six-man tag team matches, with mixed results.
NWA Total Nonstop Action (2002–2003) From May to August 2002, Yang was one third of the Flying Elvises in
NWA Total Nonstop Action (NWA TNA) alongside
Sonny Siaki and
Jorge Estrada. Yang and the other Elvises were involved in TNA's first match, defeating
A.J. Styles,
Jerry Lynn, and
Low Ki in a six-man tag team match. Yang continued wrestling for TNA as a singles competitor through to January 2003.
Independent circuit (2002–2003) On December 20, 2002 Yang made his
Major League Wrestling debut at
King of Kings, where he and
Mike Sanders lost to
"Dr. Death" Steve Williams and PJ Friedman.
Return to WWE (2003–2005) In September 2003, following a match with
Tommy Dreamer on
Sunday Night Heat, Yun was signed to a three-year developmental deal with the renamed
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Yun made his WWE debut on October 19, 2003 at
No Mercy, along with the
Japanese American Ryan Sakoda. Yun was renamed Akio (a reference to Japanese wrestler
Akio Sato) and aligned himself with Sakoda, forming the
villainous tag team Kyo Dai, the henchmen of the native Japanese wrestler
Tajiri. Sakoda was eventually released from WWE and Tajiri was traded to
Raw. This left Yun on his own to become a lower card wrestler and
Velocity mainstay, competing primarily in the
cruiserweight division until he was released on July 5, 2005.
Ring of Honor (2005–2006) After being released from WWE, Yun wrestled in
Ring of Honor (ROH). He debuted on October 1, 2005, at the New Yorker Hotel in
Manhattan, losing to
James Gibson. He lost once again the following night to
Christopher Daniels and again two weeks later to
Roderick Strong, causing him to
kayfabe take some time away from the company. He returned to ROH in January 2006 where he recorded his first win in ROH, teaming with
Matt Sydal and
Jack Evans in the Trios Tournament. The team, however, was ultimately defeated by
The Embassy. Yun stayed with the company for several months, wrestling as Jimmy Yang and using the same martial arts based persona he adopted in WCW. His entrance music was the theme from the film
The Last Dragon, and he brought in the film's star
Taimak (referred to in his appearances as 'Bruce Leroy', the name of his character) to help him in a feud with Embassy member
Jimmy Rave.
Second return to WWE (2006–2010) According to Yun, he was resigned by WWE when he assisted an event and met Vince McMahon, who forgot Yun was released, so he re-hired him. Beginning with the August 25, 2006 edition of
SmackDown!,
vignettes began airing featuring Yun under the gimmick of
Jimmy Wang Yang, a redneck
cowboy. He worked on the cruiserweight division, wrestling for the
Cruiserweight Championship at
Armageddon,
No Way Out,
Vengeance: Night of Champions, and
The Great American Bash. On the October 12 episode of
SmackDown!, Jamie Noble, in order to weed out the competition for the vacant Cruiserweight Championship, told
Deuce 'n Domino that Yang had been making "lewd remarks" about
Domino's on-screen sister and manager,
Cherry. The next week, Yang and
Shannon Moore teamed up against Deuce 'n Domino in a tag team match, which Yang and Moore won. On the December 18 episode of
ECW, Yang and Moore defeated the
WWE Tag Team Champions John Morrison and the Miz to earn a title-shot, igniting a feud between the two teams. On the January 1, 2008 episode of
ECW, Yang and Moore once again beat Morrison and the Miz, this time in a six-person tag team match also involving
Layla and
Kelly Kelly. The following week, in a
Fifteen Minutes of Fame Match, Moore and Yang tied the champions on
pinfalls, resulting in Miz and Morrison retaining the titles. On June 9, 2008, Yun was suspended for thirty days for his first violation of the WWE Wellness Policy. He made his return on the July 18 edition of
SmackDown, being defeated by the repackaged
The Brian Kendrick. In late 2009, Yang formed a tag team with
Slam Master J and in their first match as a team, they lost to
The Hart Dynasty on the December 10 episode of
Superstars. On the December 18 episode of
SmackDown, Yang and J lost a rematch to the Dynasty. On the January 14, 2010 episode of
Superstars, Yang and J scored their first win as a team after they defeated
Mike Knox and
Charlie Haas. Jimmy Wang Yang's last match in WWE was a dark match at
WrestleMania XXVI took part in a 26-man Battle Royal, that was won by
Yoshi Tatsu. On April 22, 2010, Yun was released from his WWE contract.
Independent circuit (2010–2013, 2016–present) In May 2010, after being released by WWE, Yun returned to the independent circuit as Jimmy Yang and was announced to be part of the new HighSpots
Pro Wrestling Superstars talent booking roster. On July 25, 2010, Yun, as Jimmy Yang, returned to All Japan Pro Wrestling to take part in the
2010 Junior League. Yang finished second in his block, after victories over
Shuji Kondo, MAZADA and
Taka Michinoku, and advanced to the semifinals of the tournament. On August 8 Yang first defeated
Minoru in the semifinals and then
KAI in the finals to win the 2010 Junior Heavyweight League. With his victory Yang had earned a shot at the
World Junior Heavyweight Championship, but was defeated in his title match on August 29 by the defending champion, Yang's former tag team partner, Kaz Hayashi.
Return to TNA (2011) On June 27, 2011, Yang made a one night return to TNA at the tapings of the June 30 edition of
Impact Wrestling, working in his old Flying Elvis
gimmick and losing to Low Ki in a three–way first round match of a tournament for a TNA contract, which also included
Matt Bentley.
Third return to WWE (2021) Yun returned to the WWE as a backstage producer on October 25, 2021 during the live
Raw broadcast. On December 28, Yun announced that WWE released him from his producer role. ==Personal life==