The name Jimmy Havoc is a long-forgotten one in wrestling, and for very good reason.
The start of AEW was a fun time in wrestling.
This new company had just been founded, blending top stars from around the world with the best of the independent scene and up-and-comers ready to make their name in the world of wrestling.
While names like Chris Jericho, Kenny Omega and Jon Moxley were the top stars in the company, they were not the only big names in the company.
While they had international appeal to the mainstream fans, the hardcore wrestling fans had their own heroes to cheer for and had hope for them to make it big in AEW.
One of those names was English Deathmatch legend Jimmy Havoc. Having made his name as the “King of the Goths” on the UK independent scene, he was the first Briton signed to AEW, beating out stars like PAC and Anthony Ogogo for that honour.
American fans may have just seen Jimmy Havoc as a lanky, pale, goth-looking wrestler who looked nothing like their favourite stars like John Cena and Brock Lesnar.
Now, while every single one of those things were true, he was so much more to the fans that truly knew him.
In the ring, Jimmy Havoc carved out a niche for himself as Britain’s premier and most deadly hardcore wrestler.
He could dish out, and take, more pain than anyone else and turned unadulterated violence into an art form that nobody had seen before.
He became most famous for his reign as the PROGRESS World Champion, and the accompanying trilogy of matches with Will Ospreay.
This was before Ospreay became a huge star in Japan and was a sneak peek at just how good The Kingpin was going to be, and also showed just how good the Englishman could be as a singles wrestler and as a deathmatch wrestler.
Jimmy Havoc In AEW
Jimmy Havoc was one of first British wrestlers to sign for AEW, in the first year of the company’s existence.
He signed a three-year deal in February 2019 and had a lot of buzz surrounding him from fans of British wrestling and Deathmatch wrestling.
AEW was committed to showcasing all kinds of different styles in their promotion, and the hardcore style was no difference.
Havoc joined a number of top hardcore wrestlers like Jon Moxley and Joey Janela. This gave the possibility for some legendary death matches on the level never seen before on mainstream TV.
Making his debut at Double or Nothing 2019, the deathmatch legend was pushed immediately in AEW.
He debuted in the first ever Casino Battle Royal and made it to the final four in the match eventually won by “Hangman” Adam Page. He got to showcase some fun hardcore spots and ingratiated himself to the AEW fans immediately.
Once AEW Dynamite started he continued to be pushed as a singles wrestler for a time. In the early days of Dynamite, he faced Darby Allin to decide the challenger for Chris Jericho’s AEW Championship.
This was before AEW had time to build up their ranking systems, as neither man had won enough matches to be considered a top contender at that time.
As you may have expected, Darby Allin picked up the win in that match and went on to face (and lose) to Chris Jericho in a Championship match on AEW Dynamite.
Meanwhile, Havoc’s push seemingly ended then, not wrestling much on TV before joining forces with Kip Sabian as the all-English tag team in AEW.
Teaming with Kip Sabian
In early 2020, Jimmy Havoc decided to move into the tag team division and aim for the AEW Tag Team Championships. Havoc decided to make an English connection by teaming up with “Superbad” Kip Sabian as a sort of “odd couple tag team”.
In the ring, their styles differed greatly. Sabian was a technically sound, high flying heel who like to annoy everyone and make out with his girlfriend (later wife) Penelope Ford, in a gimmick eerily similar to Sammy Guevara and Tay Conti in 2022.
Meanwhile, Havoc was a deathmatch wrestler, whose sloppy style in the ring was made up for by the immense pain he could dish out and take to and from his opponents inside the ring.
The pair slowly build up their chemistry on AEW Dark and became a fun tag team to watch.
They slowly picked up wins on Dark and Dynamite, climbing the ranks in the tag team division and earning themselves a tag team title shot. This came during the same time that their new name was official revealed as the Superbad Death Squad.
Their best match and biggest spotlight came in April 2020.
Jimmy Havoc and Kip Sabian, now the top ranked challengers in AEW, took on Adam Page and Kenny Omega for a chance to win the AEW Tag Team Championships.
While the pair put in a good performance (although Kip Sabian carried Jimmy Havoc for the bulk of the action), it was Page and Omega who retained their championships in a fine match.
While a match with the Young Bucks would come weeks later, it was the end for the Superbad Death Squad. Their chemistry was growing as a team, they were getting good fan reactions and were finding their voice in the division, and all seemed well for Jimmy Havoc in AEW.
Then, the Speaking Out campaign began.
Speaking Out
In the wake of the #MeToo movement, British wrestling (and wrestling in general) had their own awakening.
The “Speaking Out” movement was a chance for women abused by men in wrestling to speak out, tell their stories and reveal their abusers to the world.
Some (but not all) of these names were some of the biggest stars in independent wrestling. Marty Scurll of ROH and NJPW, David Starr and Joey Ryan were just some of the names included, but in AEW Jimmy Havoc was named as an abuser by former partner Rebecca Crow.
Crow said that Havoc mentally and verbally abused her over the years, including saying that he would threaten to kill himself or attempt to harm himself during arguments or if she tried to leave him.
She also revealed he did this whilst drinking, revealing a drinking problem AEW were unaware of.
Before releasing him, AEW assisted in Havoc getting help for his issues, even issuing a Tweet wishing him well in getting help. However he was released soon after and played no more part in the growth of All Elite Wrestling, ending his tag team with Kip Sabian once and for all.
Jimmy Havoc’s New Job
After leaving AEW, he returned to England. He was unceremoniously kicked out of the company after a stint in rehab, and never mentioned again by AEW.
Fans expected him to chance his arm on the UK independent scene. like other “Speaking Out” wrestlers like Joey Ryan and David Starr attempted to.
Jimmy Havoc was released by AEW on August 13th 2020, 18 months in to his 3 year deal with the promotion.
However, Jimmy Havoc did not try to wrestle again. He left the business completely, removing himself from the community that shaped his life for the past 20 years.
He was effectively chased out of town, but the fact he didn’t even try to get back in to promotions he made his name in, like PROGRESS, or wrestle in smaller promotions around the country speaks volumes on the crimes he committed.
He left the wrestling business for good. His wrestling career was no more. His name was cast aside, with his crimes making his unemployable.
No fan was going to pay to watch Havoc cause untold amounts of pain inside the ring after realising he has done the exact same to women outside of it.
Instead of wrestling, he focused on new employment. Jimmy Havoc’s new job was being a delivery driver in Kent in England.
A photo went around social media last year showing Havoc, without his usually wrestling attire and signature eye-liner, taking a selfie in a mirror wearing a “DPD” shirt (DPD is a delivery company in the UK” (image below)
Jimmy Havoc is retired from the wrestling business and has moved on with his life after being accused of (and admitting) doing some horrible things to women in his past.
It is best that the wrestling world does not forget what he did. But still to move on and put that chapter of his time in wrestling behind us and move forward.
Jimmy Havoc has not wrestled since his release from AEW, and is retired from wrestling completely.
Only time will tell if he will step into the ring again, although it will definitely not be for a major company, like AEW and WWE.
This is both the most informationally, and cringe writing I’ve ever read.
To think that no fan would watch him anymore is just laughable, and make you seem like out of touch with reality of things. Specially if someone has been going under treatment.
In your eyes no one should get a second change?
The fact you think he left because he did things, and not because maybe wrestling hours pain etc make him drink and so become toxic.
Makes me believe you wrote this with out actually doing some research into mental states of some of the abusers.
Now don’t think I’m saying he did not do anything wrong, I’m saying you did wrong by still accusing him, and not letting him move on with this article, even though those are your last words.
Kinda petty to think of it.
Thanks for your comment.
I don’t think fans will watch him again after what came out. He was never a huge star in the first place and people take sexual abuse very seriously now (which is a good thing).
Of course people deserve a second chance. He has had one. He has found a new job and carried on with his life. He can return to wrestling if he likes – but no promoter has to book him and fans don’t have to watch him.
I can only infer what I have researched about the man. And let’s be honest – if he hadn’t gone to rehab, he’d have been fired by AEW straight away.
There were no sexual assault claims against him. It was obviously a toxic relationship where both people played their own role. He seems like he really got himself together since the release from AEW. I really think people would watch him wrestle again, but he looks healthier away from the ring. Best wishes to him!