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WRESTLING COLUMNS

Joker - The Most Under-rated Wrestler In The World
September 14, 2006 by Stephen Hawk


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The last few days I kept on reflecting about my on-going obsession with a few amazing Indy workers who really don't seem to get any breaks to make it big in the business. I kept on thinking that there are plenty of tremendous athletes in the world that could easily fit any of the big two U.S. Companies right now (I'm talking of course about WWE and TNA) gimmick-wise but they still can't get out of those stinky sweaty high-school sports auditoriums although they have proven themselves over and over again.

One of these guys is the wrestler known as Joker. He was part of Combat Zone Wrestling for so long that the fans still consider him one of their own although a couple of weeks ago him and his stable partner Sabian quit the company and joined a rival Indy fed called PWU. People ask themselves if this is for real or it is just another Invasion angle (as some of you may know Zandig - the owner of CZW - is quite into this as he put together 3 Invasion angles so far with IWA MidSouth, BJPW and Ring Of Honor).

Regardless of this, Joker established himself as one of the Top CZW Stars in time, his skills being praised by both Hardcore fans as well as Pure Wrestling fans. Even some of the die-hard Ring Of Honor fans (that really hate the whole CZW product because of their sheer brutality) acknowledge Joker as a great entertainer. He was in one of the first matches I've seen from CZW that pitted the already established Ruckus, the late Chri$ Ca$h, the newcomer Sabian and this weird looking guy with face paint on called Joker. Joker delivered a pummelling combination of good grappling and Strong Style wrestling and got me instantly impressed. He had a great image and a very entertaining puro-influenced wrestling style. In time I've seen some other matches of his but the one that really put him on the map was the Ladder Match against Chri$ Ca$h that truly is one of the most entertaining Ladder Matches of all times if you're a spotfest fan. Ruckus, Joker, Sabian and Eddie Kingston formed one of the greatest (if not the greatest) stables in CZW History as BLacK OUT and their reign of dominance began. Great feuds and matches followed for all 4 guys and soon this stable started to get praised even by Ring of Honor fans who are known for their elite attitude and not accepting any wrestler unless they prove themselves as being true athletes with great in-ring psychology.

Joker was great in pure wrestling and could pull some amazing hardcore matches as well; he was never all about hitting his opponent senseless with weapons but rather using weapons to compliment his athletic abilities, just like a real wrestler should. The ultra-violent fans wouldn't accept him as a main eventer though because he wasn't big enough and wasn't violent enough; therefore, he was nothing more than a great Upper Midcarder Athlete. Time passed and he joined the US Army, he had to go to Irak and for that he had to leave CZW. At the time Zandig was in a feud with BLacK OUT and Joker requested that his last match in CZW should be a Deathmatch against the owner of the company, despite all BLacK Out members requests of not doing the match. Eventually, BLacK OUT members turned on Joker brutally beating him and Zandig with Light Tubes but finally, Joker and Zandig stood tall in the ring. The Joker Driver on Sabian was supposed to be Joker's last wrestling move in pro-wrestling. After serving his time, Joker returned to CZW to shock the fans and everybody thought that he was going back to his classic strong style with some hardcore influences style but he wanted to ride the momentum and make it big in the company just like another fellow strong style wrestler - I'm talking about Nick Gage, a mediocre at best strong style wrestler who got to the main event status in CZW only after doing Deathmatches. That's why he entered the Cage Of Death and almost got killed there in one of the most brutal matches the pro-wrestling world has ever seen. Wrestling fans were witnessing the "Sick" Nick Mondo episode all over again - one of the best pure athletes in the Indy circuit getting literally squashed in Deathmatches. Joker rejoined BLacK OUT in 2006 and CZW eventually put the tag-team straps on him and Eddie Kingston. The CZW vs ROH Invasion feud was going smoothly for both companies. CZW as a whole was getting even more exposure and people even considered this whole angle to be the best thing going in pro-wrestling in 2006. CZW wrestlers like Super Dragon, Chris Hero, Ruckus or Joker came in great demand in ROH. The future seemed bright for both the wrestlers and the company who looked like it has reduced the overall violence in its product booking less Deathmatches and appealing to more pure wrestling fans. However, the ultra-violent fans started ranting about CZW selling out and not staying true to their blood thirsty fans.

The BLacK OUT stable avoided any comments until the whole ROH vs CZW feud went out after Team ROH defeated Team CZW inside the Cage Of Death in another display of brutality and ultra-violence. That was the moment when all 4 members stepped out to the plate heavily shooting on some aspects of the Indy industry that they really disliked. Their main 2 points were criticizing Ring Of Honor for not giving them the chance to showcase their skills just because they were made and grew in CZW and heavily shooting on CZW Ultra-violent blood-thirsty fans that just can't seem to get enough of the carnage in the ring and always request more until the athletes eventually get seriously injured and they must retire.

They let their thoughts flow, claiming that Ring Of Honor as a company and its fans are filled with hypocrisy calling any CZW real athlete a "spot monkey"while their lower to upper midcard roster and even the Main Event is filled with high-flyers with not that good in-ring psychology. They only asked for a chance to prove themselves in the biggest Independent company in the United States, yet nobody is interested in giving them at least a lower midcarder spot although ROH fully benefited after the whole Invasion feud.

However, the CZW deathmatch fans were the ones BLacK OUT were really after. Joker's explicit swearing of the fans made it clear he had enough of the carnage he was taking part of every single show despite the fact one might assume that's the usual way he expresses himself since he cut the single most obscene promo in pro-wrestling history saying the word "F$%^" every 5 seconds or so.That shoot interview was a less subtle "F^%$ You!"addressed to both Ring Of Honor and CZW ultra-violent fans that has offended lots of people in the process.

Joker and Sabian stopped getting booked while Ruckus and Eddie Kingston went back to Midcard status and ended up fighting each other although Ruckus was one of the fed's top stars and probably the most recognizable face from the roster alongside Super Dragon and Sonjay Dutt. Shortly after the incident Joker and Sabian quit CZW and appeared on a rival Indy promotion show and rumors that CZW is in serious financial trouble started to fly all over the Internet.

Overall, in my opinion, Joker's situation is kind of tragic. He isn't (and probably will never be) getting booked by Ring Of Honor, a thing that should get him some exposure to eventually audition for TNA or WWE.Yet, he went to a not so popular Indy fed burying himself in the underground even more. Until now I haven't heard a single wrestling fan say something bad about Joker, his image, his gimmick or his work, and although he gets praised for his matches, he doesn't seem to break through the glass ceiling that is keeping him forever trapped in the same old high-school sports auditoriums. Is this happening because of Ring Of Honor who isn't interested in promoting anybody else but already established wrestlers or their own home-grown talent, is it a matter of bad choices on Joker's behalf or is it just pure bad luck"

by Stephen Hawk


Skizzle Stelzner wrote:
In my opinion, the guy's gimmick is just a one-man ICP ripoff, but at the same time with both J and Shaggy's skills in one body. He's got the talent, but he needs a new, more orginal gimmick.
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