Jimmy Rave

Jimmy Rave
Rave in May 2008
Ring name(s)	Jimmy Rave[1] Mr. XTC[1]
Billed height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[1][2]
Billed weight	201 lb (91 kg; 14.4 st)[2]
Born	December 8, 1982 (1982-12-08) (age 28)[1] Atlanta, Georgia[1]
Resides	Marietta, Georgia[3]
Billed from	Atlanta, Georgia "Ghana, West Africa by way of Atlanta, Georgia" "The Underground"[2]
Trained by	Murder One[1]
Debut	1999[1]

James Guffey^[1] (born December 8, 1982)^[1] is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Jimmy Rave. He is best known for working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA).^[4] He is currently working regularly for Rampage Pro Wrestling, where he leads the Jimmy Rave Approved stable.^[5]

Professional wrestling career

Trained by Murder One, Guffey debuted in October 1999 as the masked Mr. XTC. He later adopted the ring name Jimmy Rave. Rave wrestled for numerous professional wrestling promotions on the independent circuit, amongst them Combat Zone Wrestling, Full Impact Pro and NWA Wildside, where he won both the NWA Wildside Junior Heavyweight Championship and the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship twice, toured Japan with the Dragon Gate promotion on two occasions and competed in the Best of the Super Juniors for New Japan Pro Wrestling in 2008, and made several appearances with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as well as an appearance on World Wrestling Entertainment's Sunday Night Heat program in March 2005.^[1][2]

Ring of Honor (2003–2007)

Rave debuted in Ring of Honor in 2003. He later became a member of The Embassy, a stable led by Prince Nana, and was nicknamed "The Crown Jewel of the Embassy".^[6]

Rave has gained notoriety for having received excessive heel heat from ROH fans. In ROH it was common for fans to throw streamers over the wrestlers they support. Rave, however, had become a sort of cult recipient as fans threw rolls of toilet paper at him instead.^[2] ROH announced on November 6, 2006, that the throwing of toilet paper had been banned from all ROH shows after Jimmy Rave tried to attack a fan who threw a roll at him after his match.^[7]

Rave developed a habit of stealing other wrestlers finishers and claiming them as his own. An example would be when he began to use the Rave Clash (a copy of Styles' own Styles Clash), and said he invented it and A.J. Styles stole it from him. After losing a match to Styles in ROH where the stipulation was the loser could no longer use the Rave/Styles Clash, Rave began to use the Greetings From Ghana (a copy of Triple H's Pedigree) as a finisher and would again claim that he had in fact invented that move too.

On January 14, 2006 in Philadelphia, Rave and Alex Shelley of The Embassy attacked ROH World Champion Bryan Danielson after a successful title defense.^[8] At Tag Wars 2006, Rave, along with Shelley and Abyss, won the 2006 Trios Tournament.^[8] Rave used his title shot earned at the Tag Wars 2006, but came up short in his match with Danielson at the Fourth Anniversary Show.^[8]

In 2006, Rave had sporadically been tagging with Alex Shelley in search of the ROH Tag Team Titles, but after Shelley left the company in mid-year, Rave returned to singles action briefly.^[8] He found himself on the losing side of several encounters with Davey Richards.^[8] Soon Nana brought in a new tag partner, Sal Rinauro, and the two began working through the tag ranks.^[8]

In September 2006, Prince Nana announced his departure from Ring of Honor, ending The Embassy. Jimmy Rave would then go on a losing streak, until he scored a major upset by pinning ROH World Championship number one contender Homicide.^[8] The rest of the year and the early part of 2008, Rave feuded with Nigel McGuinness, culminating in a match on March 4, 2008, in Liverpool, England, where McGuinness finally managed to pin Rave in a Fight Without Honor to end the rivalry.^[8] Following the match, Rave was temporarily sidelined from in-ring action due to a broken jaw. In storyline the injury was credited with McGuinness hitting him with a lariat, but in reality Rave had broken his jaw a month earlier in a match against Samoa Joe. During his recuperation Rave was prescribed with pain medication, which later led to an addiction.^[9]

On May 22, 2007 it was announced that Rave had signed a contract with Ring of Honor.^[10] On August 2, 2007, however, it was announced that Rave had left both Ring of Honor and Full Impact Pro.^[11]

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2007–2009, 2011)

In August 2007 it was announced that Rave had signed a contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.^[4] He returned to the promotion at No Surrender on September 9, 2007, where he appeared alongside Christy Hemme and Lance Hoyt (later known as Lance Rock).^[12] The trio was subsequently named The Rock 'n Rave Infection, with Hemme, Rock and Rave adopting the mannerisms of a rock band and carrying Guitar Hero game controllers to the ring. He then became a jobber to the X Division, and the Tag Team division with Lance Rock, putting over such teams as Team 3D, LAX, Prince Justice Brotherhood and the Motor City Machine Guns.

In October 2008 Rave suffered a neck injury at Bound for Glory IV in the Steel Asylum match. The injury was minor as he quickly recovered and appeared at Turning Point and on Impact!.^[13]

On February 11, 2009, Rave was released from his TNA contract along with his former tag team partner, Lance Hoyt.^[14]

On June 13, 2011, at the tapings of the June 16 edition of Impact Wrestling, Rave made a one night return to TNA, losing to Austin Aries in a three–way first round match of a tournament for a TNA contract, which also included Kid Kash.^[15][16] On October 26, Rave defeated Kyle Matthews in a dark match at the Impact Wrestling tapings in Macon, Georgia.^[17]

Return to Ring of Honor (2009)

On March 21, 2009, at ROH's 7th Anniversary Show Rave made a surprise return to the company when Prince Nana announced him as Bison Smith's mystery tag team partner. Rave and Smith lost the tag match to Bryan Danielson and the also returning Colt Cabana when Cabana pinned Rave.^[18] Rave spent the rest of the year feuding with Grizzly Redwood and Necro Butcher. On September 19 Rave was defeated by Necro Butcher in a dog collar match and has not appeared for the company since.^[19] Rave later revealed that ROH released him due to his drug addiction.^[20]

Independent circuit (2009–present)

Jimmy Rave made his debut with Great Championship Wrestling on April 3, 2009, with a victory over his trainer, Murder One. Murder and Rave would subsequently battle throughout the summer, in a series of matches in which Rave finally defeated Murder for the GCW Heavyweight Championship. Of these battles, the July 16 street fight between the two that saw them brawl all over the GCW building, and the August 29 Mayhem in Milledgeville road show match, both stand out as two of the best matches the promotion had seen in over two years. Rave lost the championship belt in September to Johnny Swinger, who revealed himself to be plotting against Rave for months, while mascarading as a babyface. Rave would eventually regain the GCW Heavyweight championship a month later in October. His feud with Sal Rinauro, which began on May 14, 2009 with a hardfought match that saw Rave win after 30 minutes of action, picked up once again, as Rinauro (returning from a hiatus from the organization) returned to challenge Rave for the GCW title on November 12, only to once again be defeated by him.

Rave currently also competes for Rampage Pro Wrestling, an organization overseen by former WWE referee Nick Patrick, and former Deep South Wrestling owner, Jody Hamilton. Rave continues to be one of the most popular stars there, defeating the likes of Adrian Hawkins, and Jeremy Vein, on his way up to contention for the heavyweight title, currently held by Bull Buchanan. On December 6, 2009, he defeated Sal Rinauro to win the Rampage Pro Wrestling (RPW) Intercontinental Championship.^[21]

In January 2010 Rave suffered a broken nose, which would sideline him for six weeks,^[22] and as a result he was stripped of both the GCW Heavyweight and the RPW Intercontinental Titles.^[23][24]

On February 21, 2011, Dragon Gate USA announced that Rave would be making his debut for the promotion on April 1 in Burlington, North Carolina.^[25] In his debut Rave entered the Breakout Challenge Series, defeating Kyle Matthews, Lince Dorado and Sugar Dunkerton in his first round match. Later in the night, Rave was defeated in the finals of the tournament by Arik Cannon.^[26] On April 3 at Open the Ultimate Gate, Rave was defeated by Johnny Gargano in a singles match.^[27] On July 31, Rave was given the opportunity to wrestle for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, but was defeated by Adam Pearce in the four–way match, which also included Chance Prophet and Shaun Tempers.^[28]

Personal life

Guffey has admitted to having past problems with drug addiction, which he blames for his underwhelming performances in 2009. After leaving Ring of Honor, he checked into a rehab and eventually got a job as the director of the Bartow County Peer Support, Wellness and Respite Center.^[20][29] Guffey blamed his addiction not on professional wrestling, but on traumatic events in his life, such as being molested as a child, his mother drinking herself to death when he was seventeen, and being locked in a youth detention center.^[9]

In wrestling

• Finishing moves

• Double underhook^[30]
• Ghanarhea^[31] (ROH) / The Move that Rocks the World^[32] (TNA / RPW) (Swinging leg hook fireman's carry slam)^[2]
• Greetings From Ghana (Double underhook facebuster)^[1] – parodied from Triple H
• Heel Hook (Single leg Boston crab / Twisting ankle lock combination)^[33]
• Rave Clash (Belly to back inverted mat slam into pinning position,^[1] sometimes from the second rope)^[34] – parodied from A.J. Styles

• Signature moves

• Cross armbar^[1]
• Disco 2000 (Sitout pumphandle slam)^[35]
• Doppler Effect (Running knee strike to a seated opponent's face)^[1][2]
• From Dusk Till Dawn (Spinning headscissors takedown transitioned into either a Fujiwara armbar or a crossface)^[1]
• Fujiwara armbar^[1]
• Full nelson / Camel clutch combination^[1]
• German suplex^[1]
• Gravity Killer (Running or a standing tornado DDT)^[1]
• Hangman's neckbreaker^[1]
• Scoop brainbuster^[1]
• Spear^[1]
• STO,^[2] sometimes onto the knee^[1] or the ring apron^[36]
• Swinging neckbreaker^[1]
• Tiger suplex^[1]

• Nicknames

• "The Crown Jewel of the Embassy"^[1]

• Managers

• Jade Chung^[6]
• Daizee Haze^[1]
• Prince Nana^[1][6]
• Dave Prazak^[1]
• Mr. Milo Beasley^[1]
• Angel Williams^[6]
• Christy Hemme^[1]

• Entrance themes

• "Leave You Far Behind (instrumental remix)" by Lunatic Calm^[37]
• "The Promise" by Crook Bandoh
• "Parade of the Charioteers" by Miklós Rózsa^[38]
• "I Against I" by Mos Def
• "The House of the Rising Sun" by The Animals^[39]
• "Valor" by Dale Oliver
• "Give It To Me Jimmy" by Dale Oliver
• "Infection" by Dale Oliver^[40]

Championships and accomplishments

• Combat Zone Wrestling

• CZW Iron Man Championship (1 time)^[1]

• Full Impact Pro

• FIP Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Fast Eddie Vegas^[1]
• FIP Tag Team Championship tournament (2005)^[1]

• Great Championship Wrestling

• GCW Heavyweight Championship (2 times)^[41]

• Hardkore Championship Wrestling

• HCW Hardcore Championship (1 time)^[1]
• HCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Darin Childs

• National Wrestling Alliance

World

• NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship (2 times)^[1]

Regional

• NWA Wildside Junior Heavyweight Championship (2 times)^[1]

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI ranked him #181 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2009^[42]

• Rampage Pro Wrestling

• RPW Intercontinental Championship (1 time)^[21]

• Ring of Honor

• Trios Tournament (2006) – with Alex Shelley and Abyss^[1]

• Supreme Action Wrestling

• SAW International Championship (1 time)

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al} "Jimmy Rave Profile". Online World of Wrestling. http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/j/jimmy-rave.html. Retrieved 2009-02-10. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} "Jimmy Rave". Rampage Pro Wrestling. http://rampageprowrestling.net/?page_id=1556. Retrieved 2011-08-27. 
3. ^ "Jimmy Rave". Twitter. http://twitter.com/#!/TheJimmyRave. Retrieved 2011-08-27. 
4. ^ ^{a b} Kapur, Bob (2007-10-29). "Jimmy Rave in TNA for the long haul". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2007/10/29/4615930.html. Retrieved 2008-03-14. 
5. ^ "RPW Superstars". Rampage Pro Wrestling. http://rampageprowrestling.net/?page_id=1145. Retrieved 2011-08-27. 
6. ^ ^{a b c d} Clevett, Jason (2005-05-31). "Nana an honorable Prince". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2005/05/31/1065310.html. Retrieved 2008-03-14. 
7. ^ "ROH Newswire for the week of November 5". ROH Newswire. Ring of Honor. http://www.rohwrestling.com/news/Article.aspx?id=961. Retrieved 2006-11-06. ^{[dead link]}
8. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} "Past results". Ring of Honor. http://rohwrestling.com/live/events/past-event. Retrieved 2011-09-26. 
9. ^ ^{a b} "Wrestling Addiction – Jimmy Rave talks his Drug Addiction – New Podcast". I Want Wrestling. 2011-09-19. http://iwantwrestling.com/2011/09/19/wrestling-addiction-jimmy-rave-talks-his-drug-addiction-new-podcast/. Retrieved 2011-09-20. 
10. ^ ROH Wrestling
11. ^ 411mania.com: Wrestling - Jimmy Rave leaves Ring of Honor
12. ^ Sokol, Chris (2007-09-10). "No Surrender delivers on Angles and a new TV deal". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/PPVReports/2007/09/10/4483932.html. Retrieved 2009-02-10. 
13. ^ Sokol, Chris; Sokol, Bryan (2008-11-10). "Turning Point: Mafia gains momentum". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/PPVReports/2008/11/10/7361596.html. Retrieved 2009-02-10. 
14. ^ Jimmy Rave Released By TNA Wrestling
15. ^ Tedesco, Mike (2011-06-14). "Spoilers: Impact Wrestling for June 16". WrestleView. http://www.wrestleview.com/viewnews.php?id=1308026713. Retrieved 2011-06-14. 
16. ^ Keller, Wade (2011-06-16). "Keller's TNA Impact report 6/16: Ongoing coverage of Slammiversary fallout on Spike TV". Pro Wrestling Torch. http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/tnaimpact/article_50815.shtml. Retrieved 2011-06-16. 
17. ^ Tedesco, Mike (2011-10-27). "Spoilers: Impact Wrestling for November 3". WrestleView. http://www.wrestleview.com/viewnews.php?id=1319690678. Retrieved 2011-10-27. 
18. ^ Martin, Adam (2009-03-22). "3/21 ROH Results: New York City". WrestleView. http://www.wrestleview.com/news2009/1237748429.php. Retrieved 2010-01-29. 
19. ^ Martin, Adam (2009-09-20). "9/19 ROH Results: Chicago Ridge, IL". WrestleView. http://www.wrestleview.com/news2009/1253460874.php. Retrieved 2010-01-29. 
20. ^ ^{a b} Ron (2011-08-26). "Interview with Jimmy Rave of Rampage Pro Wrestling". The Road to Mania Blog. http://maniaweekend.blogspot.com/2011/08/interview-with-jimmy-rave-of-rampage.html. Retrieved 2011-08-27. 
21. ^ ^{a b} Cannon, John (2009-12-12). "RPW Results from 12-6-09 in Warner Robbins, GA". Wrestling News Center. http://wrestlingnewscenter.blogspot.com/2009/12/rpw-results-from-12-6-09-in-warner.html. Retrieved 2010-01-16. 
22. ^ "Rampage Pro Wrestling, 02/05/10, in Warner Robins, GA". Wrestling Georgia Wrestling Fans. http://westgawrestlingfans.blogspot.com/2010/01/rampage-pro-wrestling-020510-in-warner.html. Retrieved 2010-03-14. 
23. ^ "Results: Great Championship Wrestling, 01/28/10, from Phenix City, AL". Wrestling Georgia Wrestling Fans. http://westgawrestlingfans.blogspot.com/2010/02/results-great-championship-wrestling.html. Retrieved 2010-03-14. 
24. ^ "TV Recap: Rampage Pro Wrestling, 03/06/10". Wrestling Georgia Wrestling Fans. http://westgawrestlingfans.blogspot.com/2010/03/tv-recap-rampage-pro-wrestling-030610.html. Retrieved 2010-03-14. 
25. ^ "News alerts". Dragon Gate USA. Archived from the original on 2011-03-01. http://www.webcitation.org/5wqvO7ywV. Retrieved 2011-03-14. 
26. ^ McNeill, Charles (2011-04-04). "4/1 DGUSA in Burlington, N.C.: Live report on CIMA vs. Gargano standout match, PAC & Ricochet vs. Taylor & Tozawa, Helms, Fairplay, Rave". Pro Wrestling Torch. http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/Arena_Reports_10/article_48977.shtml. Retrieved 2011-04-02. 
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28. ^ Ron (2011-07-31). "7/31 NWA results at Ohio State Fair: Pearce captures NWA World Title pinning Rave, battle of former WWE wrestlers". Pro Wrestling Torch. http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/Arena_Reports_10/article_51799.shtml. Retrieved 2011-08-01. 
29. ^ "Former TNA/ROH wrestler talks how he kicked drug addiction habit". Pro Wrestling Torch. 2011-08-27. http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/quicknews/article_52680.shtml. Retrieved 2011-09-01. 
30. ^ Ziegler, Jacob (2006-04-27). "ROH - Hell Freezes Over DVD Review". 411Mania. http://www.411mania.com/wrestling/video_reviews/39619/ROH---Hell-Freezes-Over-DVD-Review.htm. Retrieved 2009-10-22. 
31. ^ Berman, Samuel (2007-01-30). "The Independent Mid-Card 01.30.07: Danielson vs. Rave". 411Mania. http://www.411mania.com/wrestling/columns/50208. Retrieved 2009-10-22. 
32. ^ Keller, Wade (2008-05-09). "KELLER'S TNA IMPACT REPORT 5/8: Joe & Nash vs. Steiner & Angle, Several Stips Established in Final Sacrifice PPV Hype". PWTorch. http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/TV_Reports_9/article_25543.shtml. Retrieved 2009-10-22. 
33. ^ Vetter, Chris (2007-04-27). "DVD Review: ROH, "Dedicated," (1-26-07), with Joe-Nigel, Hero-Homicide, Briscoes-Aries & Strong". PWTorch. http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/DVDs_-_VGames_-_Books_25/article_20117.shtml. Retrieved 2009-10-22. 
34. ^ Garoon, Brad; Ziegler, Jacob (2007-05-14). "ROH - Fifth Year Festival: NYC DVD Review". 411Mania. http://www.411mania.com/wrestling/video_reviews/54206/ROH---Fifth-Year-Festival:-NYC-DVD-Review.htm. Retrieved 2009-10-22. 
35. ^ Goodman, Larry. "NWA WILDSIDE TV REVIEW EPS 277". Midwest Wrestling. http://www.midwestwrestling.com/midwest/AroundNWA.htm. Retrieved 2009-10-22. 
36. ^ Martin, Adam (2008-08-29). "Impact Results - 8/28/08 (Angle vs. Nash, Sting finally speaks, more)". WrestleView. http://www.wrestleview.com/news2008/1219994119.shtml. Retrieved 2010-03-14. 
37. ^ "Wrestler Entrance Music". Online World of Wrestling. http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/information/music/enter/. Retrieved 2009-12-28. 
38. ^ Berman, Samuel (2007-01-30). "The Independent Mid-Card 01.30.07: Danielson vs. Rave". 411Mania. http://www.411mania.com/wrestling/columns/50208/The-Independent-Mid-Card-01.30.07:-Danielson-vs.-Rave.htm. Retrieved 2010-01-16. 
39. ^ Csonka, Larry (2006-12-09). "ROH Chicago Spectacular Night 1 Results 12.08.06". 411Mania. http://www.411mania.com/wrestling/tv_reports/48430. Retrieved 2010-01-16. 
40. ^ "Rock-N-Rave (Infection)". The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. http://www.ascap.com/ace/search.cfm?requesttimeout=300&mode=results&searchstr=482521037&search_in=i&search_type=exact&search_det=t,s,w,p,b,v&results_pp=25&start=1. Retrieved 2010-06-20. 
41. ^ "G.C.W. Heavyweight Title". Wrestling-Titles. http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/ga/gcw/gcw-h.html. Retrieved 2009-11-17. 
42. ^ Editors, PWI (August 2009). PWI 500. http://www.pwi-online.com. 

External links

Professional wrestling portal

• Jimmy Rave on Twitter
• Jimmy Rave at the Internet Movie Database
• Online World of Wrestling profile

Persondata
Name	Rave, Jimmy
Alternative names	Guffey, James; Mr. XTC
Short description	Professional wrestler
Date of birth	December 8, 1982
Place of birth	Atlanta, Georgia
Date of death
Place of death