From 2013 to 2016, Sidney Bakabella‘s Wrecking Crew stable ran riot throughout CHIKARA. Oleg the Usurper, Jaka, and a three-man unit known as Devastation Corporation caused grief to all the happy faces in the CHIKARA Universe. Devastation Corporation were three big men that were straight out of an unlicensed 80s video game like Mat Mania, complete with make-up somewhere between the Road Warriors and Surfer Sting, and with iconic names like Blaster McMassive, Flex Rumblecrunch, and Max Smashmaster. In 2016, Blaster McMassive and Flex Rumblecrunch left CHIKARA for EVOLVE Wrestling (and then McMassive headed to Beyond Wrestling as Thomas Sharp). Jaka also left for EVOLVE and Beyond, forming Team Pazuzu with Chris Dickinson, Pinkie Sanchez, and EYFBO (now AEW’s Santana & Ortiz), becoming 2x EVOLVE Tag Team Champions with Dickinson. And Oleg the Usurper…joined with The Proletariat Boar of Moldova in Beast Warriors. Max Smashmaster was left by himself and began on his own path as a singles star. Max had held the Campeonatos de Parejas (tag team) Championship (with Blaster) for 295-days, but now the Wrecking Crew was no more.
Smashmaster faced the likes of Kimber Lee, Solo Darling, Fire Ant, and Travis Huckabee, and then at CHIKARA Empty Child in March of 2017, he finally faced CHIKARA Grand Champion UltraMantis Black. Smashmaster would lose that match, and after one more match months later, he retired, seemingly suddenly. But it turns out it was very real reasons – doctors had discovered a blood clot in his heart. His new reality was that he would never wrestle again. A 13-year career that began in 2004 in the New England indies was over in 2017. But on Monday night, Max Smashmaster announced a Christmas miracle – he was making his pro wrestling return for Massachusetts’ Chaotic Wrestling, where he will appear this Thursday on Chaotic Wrestling’s new weekly show ReLoaded on Twitch.
https://twitter.com/MaxSmashmaster/status/1341192121492094978
During his time away from the ring, Smashmaster actually found time to continue being a part of the wrestling industry. Following allegations during the #SpeakingOut movement in the summer, indie wrestler and trainer Brian Fury was implicated, leading to him almost closing the doors on the legendary New England Wrestling Pro Wrestling Academy, a school that has its roots in Killer Kowalski‘s school (that trained the likes of Triple H, Chyna, Perry Saturn, Tommaso Ciampa, and Matt Bloom/Albert), and has trained stars such as Sasha Banks, Kofi Kingston, Donovan Dijakovic/T-BAR, Ivar/Hansen, and others. In August of 2020, Smashmaster – along with 3x Chaotic Heavyweight Champion Chase del Monte – took over ownership of the school and are now the school’s head trainers, continuing a legacy of training that goes back nearly 50 years. While the length of Max Smashmaster’s return to the ring is uncertain, at least this time he can leave the ring on his own terms.
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