 Rave in 2008 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | James Michael Guffey (1982-12-08)December 8, 1982 |
| Died | December 12, 2021(2021-12-12) (aged 39) Philadelphia,Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Jimmy Rave[1] Mr. XTC[1] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)[2] |
| Billed weight | 210 lb (95 kg)[2] |
| Billed from | Atlanta, Georgia "Ghana, West Africa by way of Atlanta, Georgia"[3] "The Underground"[2] |
| Trained by | Murder One |
| Debut | October 1999 |
| Retired | November 2020 |
James Michael Guffey (December 8, 1982 – December 12, 2021), better known by thering nameJimmy Rave, was an Americanprofessional wrestler. He was best known for his time withRing of Honor (ROH) andTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA).
James Michael Guffey[1] was born inAtlanta,Georgia, on December 8, 1982.[1]
Trained by Murder One,[1] Guffey debuted in October 1999 as themasked Mr.XTC. He later adopted the ring name Jimmy Rave. Rave wrestled for numerousprofessional wrestling promotions on theindependent circuit, amongst themCombat Zone Wrestling,Full Impact Pro andNWA Wildside, where he won both theNWA Wildside Junior Heavyweight Championship and theNWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship twice, toured Japan with theDragon Gate promotion on two occasions and competed in theBest of the Super Juniors forNew Japan Pro-Wrestling in 2008, and made several appearances withTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling as well as an appearance onWorld Wrestling Entertainment'sSunday Night Heat program in March 2005 losing toChris Masters.[1][2]
Rave debuted inRing of Honor in 2003. He later became a member ofThe Embassy, a stable led byPrince Nana, and was nicknamed "The Crown Jewel of the Embassy".[4]
Early on, Rave gained notoriety for having received excessiveheelheat 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 oftoilet 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.[5]
Rave developed a habit of stealing other wrestlers finishers and claiming them as his own.[citation needed] An example would be when he began to use theRave Clash, a copy of Styles' ownStyles Clash, and said he invented it and that Styles stole it from him.[citation needed] After losing a match to Styles in ROH where the stipulation was the loser could no longer use their respective version of the move,[citation needed] Rave began to use theGreetings From Ghana, a copy ofTriple H'sPedigree, as his new finisher and would again claim that he had in fact invented that move too.[citation needed]
On January 14, 2006, in Philadelphia, Rave andAlex Shelley of The Embassy attackedROH World Champion Bryan Danielson after a successful title defense.[6] AtTag Wars 2006, Rave, along with Shelley andAbyss, won the 2006 Trios Tournament.[6] Rave used his title shot earned at the Tag Wars 2006, but came up short in his match with Danielson at theFourth Anniversary Show.[6]
In 2006, Rave had sporadically been tagging withAlex Shelley in search of the ROH Tag Team Titles, but after Shelley left the company in mid-year, Rave returned to singles action briefly.[6] He found himself on the losing side of several encounters withDavey Richards.[6] Soon Nana brought in a new tag partner,Sal Rinauro, and the two began working through the tag ranks.[6]
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 contenderHomicide.[6] The rest of the year and the early part of 2007, Rave feuded withNigel McGuinness, culminating in a match on March 4, 2007, inLiverpool, England, where McGuinness finally managed to pin Rave in aFight Without Honor to end the rivalry.[6] 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 alariat, but in reality Rave had broken his jaw a month earlier in a match againstSamoa Joe. During his recuperation Rave was prescribed with pain medication, which later led to an addiction.[7]
On May 22, 2007, it was announced that Rave had signed a contract with Ring of Honor.[8] On August 2, 2007, however, it was announced that Rave had left both Ring of Honor and Full Impact Pro.[9]
In August 2007 it was announced that Rave had signed a contract withTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling.[10] He returned to the promotion atNo Surrender on September 9, 2007, where he appeared alongsideChristy Hemme andLance Hoyt, later known as Lance Rock.[11] The trio was subsequently named theRock 'n Rave Infection, with Hemme, Rock and Rave adopting the mannerisms of a rock band and carryingGuitar Herogame 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.[citation needed] AtBound for Glory, Rave competed in the Reverse Battle Royal which was won by Eric Young.[citation needed] AtTurning Point, Rave competed in theFeast or Fired but failed to win the match.[citation needed] AtFinal Resolution, The Rock 'n Rave Infection lost toLatin American Xchange (Hernandez andHomicide).[citation needed] AtDestination X, The Rock 'n Rave Infection lost a Three Way Tag Team match to determine number one contenders to the TNA World Tag Team Championship. AtLockdown, The Rock 'n Rave Infection competed in a Six Team Cuffed in the Cage match where they lost. AtSacrifice, Rave competed in aTerrorDome match which was won byKaz.[citation needed] AtNo Surrender, The Rock 'n Rave Infection (Rave, Lance Rock, and Christy Hemme) lost toCurry Man,Shark Boy, andSuper Eric in a Six-person intergender tag team match.[citation needed]
In October 2008 Rave suffered a neck injury atBound for Glory IV in theSteel Asylum match. The injury was minor as he quickly recovered and appeared atTurning Point and onImpact!.[12] atFinal Resolution, Rave competed in aFeast or Fired match but failed to win the match. AtGenesis, Rave,Kiyoshi andSonjay Dutt lost to Eric Young and The Latin American Xchange (Hernandez and Homicide) in a Six-man tag team elimination match.[citation needed]
On February 11, 2009, Rave was released from his TNA contract along with his former tag team partner, Lance Hoyt.[13]
On June 13, 2011, at the tapings of the June 16 edition ofImpact Wrestling, Rave made a one night return to TNA, losing toAustin Aries in a three–way first round match of a tournament for a TNA contract, which also includedKid Kash.[14][15] On October 26, Rave defeated Kyle Matthews in adark match at theImpact Wrestling tapings inMacon, Georgia.[16] In December 2011, Rave took part in TNA's India project,Ring Ka King, where he worked as a trainer and wrestled in a tag team withZema Ion.[17][18] On January 12, 2013, Rave took part in the tapings of TNA's One Night Only: X-Travaganza special (aired on April 5, 2013), wrestling in a seven-manXscape match, which was won byChristian York.[19]
On March 21, 2009, at ROH's seventh anniversary show, Rave made a surprise return to the company when Prince Nana announced him asBison Smith's mystery tag team partner. Rave and Smith lost the tag match to Bryan Danielson and the also returningColt Cabana when Cabana pinned Rave.[20] Rave spent the rest of the year feuding with Grizzly Redwood andNecro Butcher. On September 19 Rave was defeated by Necro Butcher in adog collar match and subsequently left the promotion.[21] Rave later revealed that ROH released him due to his drug addiction.[22]
Rave returned to Ring of Honor on December 16, 2011, appearing on an episode of the ROH Video Wire, challenging The Embassy's new Crown JewelTommaso Ciampa to a match atFinal Battle 2011.[23] At the pay-per-view on December 23, Rave was defeated following interference from members of the Embassy.[24]
On March 2, 2013, Rave made his return for Ring of Honor at their11th Anniversary Show iPPV, where he,Cliff Compton,Matt Hardy andRhett Titus, revealed themselves as the newest members ofS.C.U.M. by attacking numerous members of the ROH roster following the main event, joiningKevin Steen,Jimmy Jacobs,Rhino andSteve Corino as members of the group.[25] On June 10, 2013, it was reported that Rave was once again done with ROH.[26]
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 29Mayhem 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 toJohnny Swinger, who revealed himself to be plotting against Rave for months, while masquerading as a babyface.[citation needed] 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 hard-fought 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.[citation needed]
Rave also competed for Rampage Pro Wrestling (RPW), an organization overseen by former WWE refereeNick Patrick, and formerDeep South Wrestling owner,Jody Hamilton, debuting in May 2009 and taking over head booker duties in June 2010. Rave continued 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, at the time held byBull Buchanan. On December 6, 2009, he defeated Sal Rinauro to win the Rampage Pro Wrestling (RPW) Intercontinental Championship.[27] He also went on to form the Jimmy Rave Approvedstable, while working for RPW.[28]
In January 2010 Rave suffered a broken nose, which would sideline him for six weeks,[29] and as a result he was stripped of both the GCW Heavyweight and the RPW Intercontinental Titles.[30][31]
On February 21, 2011,Dragon Gate USA announced that Rave would be making his debut for the promotion on April 1 inBurlington, North Carolina.[32] 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 byArik Cannon.[33] On April 3 at Open the Ultimate Gate, Rave was defeated byJohnny Gargano in a singles match.[34] On July 31, Rave was given the opportunity to wrestle for theNWA World Heavyweight Championship, but was defeated byAdam Pearce in the four-way match, which also included Chance Prophet and Shaun Tempers.[35]
On June 22, 2014, Rave made his debut for Atlanta Wrestling Entertainment (AWE), defeating Drew Adler.[36] At AWE'sTo Be The Man! show on June 18, 2015, atThe Masquerade, Rave participated in a 12-man tournament for the Georgia Wrestling Crown Championship. He won his opening three-way match against Kyle Matthews and Sugar Dunkerton, then defeated Raphael King in the semifinals and finally Chip Day in the finals to win the tournament and become the first ever GWC Champion.[37] As GWC Champion, Rave made successful defenses against the likes ofCedric Alexander,Davey Richards,Gunner, Johnny Gargano, AR Fox,Sami Callihan andTommaso Ciampa until losing the title toMartin Stone.[citation needed]
Rave had two children from a previous marriage. At the time of his death in December 2021, he was living inPhiladelphia with his fiancée and fellow wrestler Gabby Gilbert.[38]
Guffey had admitted to having past problems with drug addiction, which he blamed for his underwhelming performances in 2009. After leaving Ring of Honor, he checked into rehab and eventually got a job as the director of the Peer Support, Wellness and Respite Center inBartow County, Georgia.[22][39]
Guffey announced his retirement viaTwitter on November 28, 2020, due to an infection in his left arm that required amputation.[40] On October 24, 2021, he tweeted that he had recently had both of his legs amputated due to anMRSA infection.[41]
Guffey died after a double leg amputation due to aMRSA infection at the age of 39 inPhiladelphia on December 12, 2021.[42][43]
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