With news breaking that Jimmy Havoc has joined All Elite Wrestling (AEW) many fans are wondering just who this Jimmy Havoc guy is. While he has appeared for Major League Wrestling and some of the Ring Of Honour shows in the UK, as well as IMPACT, it’s safe to say that the US fanbase has never truly seen the best of Jimmy Havoc.
At his best, Jimmy Havoc carried PROGRESS Wrestling to new heights as their champion for over 600 days in one of the greatest storylines in recent wrestling history. From his entrance to his attire to his demeanor, the man had an aura that made him special no matter where he went in the UK. Whenever he arrived you knew Jimmy F**king Havoc was about to mess someone up.
What made Havoc so special was the fact that he was a special kind of deranged. He wasn’t some over the top heel, he didn’t use smoke and mirrors to be a spooky heel. He was just a genuinely evil man, a man who spoke only with anger, a man sick and tired of not being recognized for all he’s done, a man who could bring an axe to a fight and make you believe that he would use it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROGJOuH53ls
It must be hard to believe but Havoc was actually trained in the NWA Hammerlock UK school alongside the likes of Zack Sabre Jr. This school mostly taught the old school, technical British Wrestling style, so Havoc can actually hang with anyone when it comes to ring work but his path has always been to use his brawling and hardcore style instead. His early years were spent wrestling on a scene with very little buzz and doing hardcore matches in a scene usually known for technical wrestling definitely didn’t help.
It wasn’t until the BritWres boom and a turn towards over 18, edgier and darker content that Havoc caught on with fans. It was in PROGRESS that he defined his entire career. His run from Chapter 2-21 saw him go from underdog babyface that fans loved, to a sadistic murderous man who held the company hostage for two years, to a fallen man that left for a year. It was during this time that he was also IPW:UK World Champion for 770 days, Future Pro Wrestling (FPW) Champion for 461 days and Southside Wrestling Entertainment (SWE) Speed King Champion for 204 days. It had taken him almost a decade but Havoc was the biggest name in British Wrestling. No matter where he went he felt special and dominant.
Since his year-long knee injury he has taken a step back from the sadistic character and has never rediscovered the man he was from 2012-2015 but it’s in there somewhere. If AEW truly knows what they have on their hands, they could have a main event heel on their hands and a special talent to spearhead the company.
