When the Spryfield Arena lights dimmed on April 5th, and the NWA-ACCW’s debut show had ended, local wrestling fans should have been able to draw two fairly solid conclusions: that quality wrestling had returned to the Maritimes, and that the face of the promotion would not be a “face” at all.
JB Havoc is the first man in 35 years to wear the NWA (Atlantic) Canadian Heavyweight Championship belt. The significance and importance of that distinction is not lost on Havoc. He is fully aware of his title’s history; he just doesn’t care.
This attitude has rubbed some observers the wrong way. Inside and outside of ACCW, Havoc has his detractors. They call him a rule-breaker, a loose cannon, a backstage cancer. They claim he’s taken shortcuts and whisper about stripping him of his title.
Like the historical importance of his belt, Havoc is aware of these sentiments. Similarly, Havoc doesn’t care about the naysayers, either. JB Havoc does not give any thought to public opinion, be it good or bad. He is not interested in being a fan favourite, or popular with the other wrestlers, or even if he is in the Board of Directors’ good favour.
He is JB Havoc, the Monster of the Maritimes, and he cares only about the gold … that, and how much pain he can deliver to anyone who tries to take it from him.
Whether others like it or not, it cannot be argued that this single-mindedness hasn’t served Havoc well. Long before the ACCW’s opening bell, this Monster of the Maritimes promised – in a taped video promo – to hurt his opponent. He said bad things would happen to Jaxon Furey in their title bout, and guaranteed that he, JB Havoc, would walk away the victor.
All of those prophecies came to pass, as Havoc’s focus and intensity propelled him to a savage victory that suited his personality. Furey, and the ACCW Chairman, were left discarded on the floor; regarded more as inconveniences than men. Their pain and suffering may have come at Havoc’s hand, but did not merit his consideration. Only the belt he took from the ring mattered.
In the days that followed, much was said, and many questions were raised, in regards to that match, and the Monster of the Maritimes who became champion. In a rare moment of calm, perhaps at the eye of Havoc’s storm, JB sat down with the Ghost Writer to address some of those questions.
Ghost Writer: With the injury, are you now – or when will you be – able to fight?
JB Havoc: Right now, it’s looking pretty good. Either way, though, I’m always ready for a fight!
GW: OK. A ‘fighting champ’ who loves to fight! Well, as champ, you have the belt. You’ve said that the belt equals power to you, and you can do what you want to do. What DO you want to do?
JB: Win the NWA World Heavyweight title.
GW: Alright, well, speaking of the World title, are you offended that Dupree is trying to ‘go over your head’, and straight to the World title instead of fighting you for the Canadian belt?
JB: It just goes to show that I don’t have anybody out there who wants to be a contender. There’s nobody who wants to face me! They all saw what happened on April 5th and that’s the way I do business! If you want to see a chain wrestling match, don’t pay to see JB Havoc. I’m going to be quick and effective.
GW: Well, there seems to be some confusion over the #1 Contender’s situation. And that may be partially due to what you’ve just said: that no one right now is willing to face you. If it was your call, though, would you rather face XXL, Rene Dupree, or have a rematch with Jaxon Furey?
JB: I’ll fight all three of them in a 3-on-1 if the money’s right! I don’t really care. I don’t have any need or want to face Furey again, because he’s a nobody. XXL? If he thinks what Rene did to his face was bad, he’d better not get in the ring with me … I’m not a nice guy, you know what I mean?
GW: I think I understand exactly … So, let’s switch gears slightly. There’s talk that you may not be able to keep the belt, because some people are saying that you “stole” the title. Do you have a reaction to that?
JB: I came in, I hit a guy with a chair before the bell rang. The referee rang the bell, we finished with a 1-2-3. I didn’t steal nothin’! If people are mad, it’s because they would never be clever enough to come up with a plan like that on their own.
GW: Ok, so you feel – as you’ve written – that it was a clean finish and you’re justified to wear the belt at this point?
B: Once the bell rang, I didn’t use any weapons, or illegal tactics. What happens before the match, is what happens before the match. Richard Boudreau, the ‘great and powerful’ Chairman, is empowered by the NWA to stop the match from happening before the bell rang, but he’s the one who let it go forward.
GW: OK. So, by allowing the match to start, you feel that the Chairman ‘sanctioned’ it in a sense. That would legitimize the outcome of the match. But, as far as the overall situation with the Chairman is concerned, are you afraid of any fallout from the punching of Mr. Boudreau?
JB: No. Not at all. In fact, I think he was faking the punch because it seems pretty funny that he gets knocked down, then on camera he looks fine until he realizes he’s on camera, and then he starts holding his head.
GW: So it may not have been as bad as the Chairman is leading us to believe. Still, the question that I would have for you, and what a lot of people seem to want to know, is: WHY did you do it?
JB: Well, if you look at the video, he kind of came at me from a back angle, so I was just defending myself. Chairman or not, as soon as that bell rings, he has no authority to be in my ring. And so he just got what was coming to him and, y’know, a good lesson taught to him! Next time he decides he wants to interfere, he won’t do it while there’s a match in progress…
GW: No, probably not. So, in closing, can I just ask…
JB: You’ve asked enough! And wasted too much of my time already! All anybody needs to know is that JB Havoc is the champ … whether anyone likes it or not!
With that, the storm’s eye abruptly closed, and the interview was over. As champion, Havoc may have had other obligations, but the interview was not time wasted, as it gave us all a rare insight into the thoughts of the Monster of the Maritimes.
It is now clear that Havoc is prepared to defend his Canadian Heavyweight Championship with the same merciless aggression he used to pursue it. He is prepared to fight his way through the promotion’s entire roster – and its Board of Directors if necessary – to maintain his death grip on the gold.Havoc has served notice to not only the ACCW, but the NWA as a whole, now that he’s publicly set his sights on the World title. With Rene Dupree having already challenged NWA World Heavyweight Champion Rob Conway, and (at least currently) holding the #1 Contender status for Havoc’s Canadian title, a collision between these two goliaths seems inevitable, if not imminent.
The ACCW’s next show is scheduled for June (date & location TBA), and will feature an 8-man Title Tournament to crown the new NWA Junior Heavyweight Canadian Champion. That title, when decided, will be defended cross-promotionally within the Canadian branches of the NWA.
Just as the Jr. Champ will be on the move, this connection with other NWA-branded promotions will herald a wave of established talent flowing through the Maritimes in the coming months. Some names scheduled to appear in the near future include Tyson Dux, former Ring of Honor champion Kevin Steen, and – interestingly – current NWA World Heavyweight Champion Rob Conway.
Whether any, all, or none of these men are coming for Havoc is unknown. What is known, is that – as champ – he is a target. And whether the challenges come externally, or from within the ACCW roster, they will be coming.
Either way, for JB Havoc, that’s just fine. He doesn’t care who he has to go through to accomplish his goals. He cares about the gold … and delivering pain.
He loves to intimidate. He loves to fight. And he loves being the champ. Whether anyone else likes it or not.
