Post by styg on Jul 24, 2020 5:00:03 GMT
2001-2004 - The Early Years
Although founded in late 2001 by Ricky Sollars, much of the early history of Global Extreme Wrestling has sadly been lost over the years since, thanks in part to a fire in GEW HQ in 2006 which destroyed a lot of the records. Enough information remains to piece together a broad picture, though.
Although GEW saw success right from its inception, Sollars left the company not long after creating it and ownership passed to one of its biggest stars in Hunter, who remained at its head for many years to come. Under Hunter's guidance, GEW quickly gained a reputation for both its boundary-pushing ultraviolent matches and its commitment to a global touring schedule. These two factors propelled GEW into cult icon status, and both were still honoured by the company right up to its closure. Over the years GEW - helped by its late-night time slot and uncensored broadcast - acquired a reputation as an edgy company with a rebellious outlaw image, and Hunter was a big part in directing the promotion to that niche.
Aside from Hunter, other major stars during this period included the first ever GEW Grand Slam Champion Knuckles, and The Enigma, who holds the record for total combined championship reigns in GEW history.
2005 - Hidden Fears
Shortly after the point existing GEW records date back to (January 2005), Hunter debuted a stable designed to keep the GEW World Championship in his possession, named Hidden Fears. He was opposed by The Enigma, who formed his own faction named Playtime Over. The World Championship traded hands regularly during this time, not only on flagship show Chaos and pay-per-view events but secondary show Inferno. Although Hidden Fears were the dominant faction for much of early 2005, Playtime Over would prove to have the last laugh as The Enigma won the title shortly before GEW went into administration, making him the final World Champion.
In addition to the World, United States and Intercontinental Championships, Chaos and Inferno both had their own television championships and women often fought for these titles, most notably The Enigma's girlfriend Shadow. Shadow also often competed as an equal against the male main eventers at her boyfriend's side, providing an early role model for the women to come in later years.
The constant international schedule strained GEW's finances and the company's doors closed briefly over summer 2005, though they reopened in the autumn. As the final champion, The Enigma was awarded the belt; over the brief period GEW was open, a succession of challengers tried their hand at the title, some successfully, some less so. One man who came into his own during this period was Shawn, who had briefly held the title before (indeed, Shawn is the earliest GEW World Champion whose reign is still on record), but it wasn't until this time that he established himself as a true main event star. Other stars making names for themselves over the course of 2005 included a couple of youngsters named Luke "The Ghost" Ingamells and Randy Benitez. Sadly GEW's comeback only lasted a couple of months before the money troubles caught back up to the company and it closed down in late October.
2006 - Cerebral Disaster
Several months passed while Hunter frantically tried to work out ways to save his company, and in July 2006, GEW made its grand return. A bitter feud between Hunter and newcomer Hollywood Bull erupted over the World Championship, with the two men trading the belt back and forth. Meanwhile, Luke Ingamells and tag team partner Dean Heartly resurrected the Hidden Fears name with Hunter's blessing and dominated the Tag Team Championship scene, while various other factions went to war over the United States and International Championships.
Perhaps the event during this era which would prove to have the biggest long-term impact was the debut of a young man named K.C. McGrath; while McGrath was significantly less experienced than most of the roster at the time, he had no shortage of either raw ability or attitude. McGrath was instrumental in the introduction of the Extreme Chaos Championship, a dedicated hardcore title, and was the inaugural holder of that title.
In K.C. McGrath, Hunter saw a protégé. Taking the youngster under his wing and dubbing their alliance Cerebral Disaster, Hunter guided K.C. through a stellar rookie year which culminated in him defeating his mentor to become the youngest-ever GEW World Champion at the end of 2006. This partnership was not without cost, however; Hunter's old friend Shawn, already bitter about his own accomplishments being overlooked, was deeply slighted by Hunter's sudden and near-obsessive interest in McGrath's career and turned on them both. When K.C. took Hunter's World Championship, Hunter and Shawn finally reconciled at K.C.'s expense. Although Hunter later claimed that his betrayal of K.C. was his final test for his student their relationship never truly recovered, with the final blow coming when it emerged that K.C. had been having an affair with Hunter's wife.
2007 - New Blood
2007 kicked off with a bang as GEW introduced a second show. Although Inferno had not returned in summer 2006, the time was now right to attempt something similar again, and Mojo was introduced. The long-defunct Chaos Undisputed Championship was dusted off to serve as Chaos's top title while Mojo received the World Championship. The inaugural Chaos Undisputed Champion was the wily newcomer "Swift" Tony Wright, who controversially won a seven-man battle royale match for the belt on his debut night with GEW, going on to feud with Shawn over the title.
Meanwhile, in late 2006 and early 2007, an influx of new female stars found success in mixed-gender competition, with Ciara Jo, Kadence and Baby Dogg respectively - and in rapid succession - becoming the first women to hold the Intercontinental, Tag Team and Extreme Chaos titles. This breakthrough period of women's wrestling, building on the success of women like Shadow a couple of years earlier, would ultimately lead GEW to permanently abolish gender restrictions. Ciara Jo even became the first champion in GEW history to break the 100-day mark with a title reign.
When he found out about the affair between his wife and K.C. McGrath, Hunter waged a brutal campaign against K.C. which culminated in running him down with a car and shooting him. Following this Hunter quit as both wrestler and owner, and after a period of uncertainty GEW was bought out by Xavier Michaels and his sister Melissa; one of their first acts was to abolish Mojo. Despite the brands being condensed, both of the world titles were kept active, and Randy Benitez finally achieved his dream of world champion status when he won the Chaos Undisputed Championship.
K.C. McGrath was forced to vacate the World Championship while he recovered from Hunter's assault. A promotion-wide tournament was crowned to find a new champion, with the final occurring at Extreme Extravaganza 2007. The match came down to two men who'd been embroiled in a bitter feud, former Chaos Undisputed Champion Tony Wright and Klown, leader of the stable known as The KarnEvil. For months the two had battled over both the United States Championship and their mutual love interest Carla. At Extreme Extravaganza, Wright claimed both the World Championship and Carla. However, while Klown was unsuccessful in beating Wright for the title, he did eventually win Carla's hand in the love triangle, claiming the moral victory at least.
Wright eventually lost the World title to newcomer Venom, but after a couple of months Venom was released from his GEW contract whilst still champion. Owner Xavier Michaels won the vacant title by defeating the recently-returned K.C. McGrath, now wrestling under the name Kameron Chase, who in turn soon defeated Benitez for the Undisputed Championship. During Chase and Michaels' war, Xavier's sister Melissa was sexually assaulted and the blame was laid at Kameron's feet, and although the culprit's identity was never proven, Chase couldn't disprove it either. Their feud came to a head in a match to unify the two world titles. Chase won the match and unified the titles - but was immediately challenged by Randy Benitez, who used that moment to successfully cash in his rematch clause for the Undisputed Championship. During this period, it emerged that Xavier and Melissa were lovers in an incestuous relationship. They eventually removed themselves from the public eye while Kameron unsuccessfully chased Randy for the World Championship, a feud made all the more intense by the fact that Chase was dating Benitez' sister Becky at the time.
During 2007, both the Intercontinental and United States Championships were retired only to be reactivated, and rechristened the International and Omega Championships respectively. A Women's Championship was also introduced, even though the women were free to compete for any other championships.
2008, Part One - Regime Change
Around Christmas 2007, the Michaels siblings found that the shareholders and executives had lost faith in them and they were forced out. A new majority owner, Jarred Carthellion, took control. He ruled that Kameron Chase would be allowed one final shot at Randy Benitez's World Championship. During the match, an incredibly violent ladder match, Kam was close to victory when he was interrupted by the return of his old nemesis Hunter. Hunter's return was shortly followed by that of The Enigma. The four men - all of whom had numerous issues with each other over the years - reconciled and announced their union as a force of the most dominant wrestlers in GEW history.
Under Hunter's guidance, they began a crusade against GEW's deathmatch style, declaring a return to old-school, purist values. They were opposed by former KarnEvil members Phreak and Baby Dogg, who argued that the main event talent had themselves set the violence bar so high that the new generation were being forced to go to even greater extremes to make themselves noticed. Dogg and Phreak formed a stable of their own named The Dead Precedents, which included Troy Gafgen, Rhys Matterson and Bailey Callahan, and the five began putting on displays of ultraviolence at every opportunity. Hunter and his cohorts responded by tempting back Shawn to fight for their side - only for Shawn to turn on Hunter and align himself with The Dead Precedents, declaring that Hunter had always kept Shawn in his shadow.
While Hunter and Shawn feuded, Phreak unsuccessfully challenged Benitez for the World Championship and The Enigma and Dogg began warring over the Omega Championship. Kameron Chase, meanwhile, was installed as the General Manager of Chaos. Despite being pro-Purists, Chase ended the war between them and the Dead Precedents by firing both Hunter and Shawn, announcing that GEW no longer had room for the old men of yesteryear. A secondary battle was going on during this time between Glenn Legend's The Damned and Sah'ta Thor's Empire of Blood; between injuries and betrayals, that feud ended without any real resolution beyond setting up one of GEW's longest running and bitterest rivalries: Thor and Troy Gafgen.
Kameron Chase's stint as general manager saw him bring in a lot of exciting talent like Scott Simmonds, Reese Black and James Magnum, but that aside, he proved to be an ineffectual General Manager. He stacked matches in favour of his friends, awarded title shots without rhyme or reason, and generally failed to maintain order. One particularly unsuccessful initiative was to unify the Omega and International Championships; however, in the unification match between Baby Dogg and Kirsten - a ladder match - the two wrestlers retrieved each other's title belts at the same time, meaning the titles went un-unified and they essentially swapped championships. Another legendary incident during this period saw Scott Simmonds knock down the wall of Kameron's office, revealing Kameron having a "private meeting" with one of his wrestlers, Emily Jolie.
Xavier Michaels returned to buy GEW back from Carthellion, and duly removed Kam from the position while hiring back Shawn and Hunter. Hunter and Kameron's feud resumed almost immediately. Hunter won the World Championship back during this time, only for Kameron to unseat him. Kameron however - feeling slighted by his treatment by Xavier and Hunter - soon announced that he was taking some time out. The title was put up as the prize in a match between relative newcomers Reese Black and James Magnum, respectively Chase's girlfriend and estranged best friend. Chase interfered in the match trying to help Black win, but inadvertently caused Magnum to win. Kameron and Reese tried to get the title off James, but were unsuccessful at every turn.
2008, Part Two - Commonwealth Cup
In summer 2008, all eyes turned to a new tournament instigated by GEW: the Commonwealth Cup, the winner of which would be guaranteed a title shot to be taken at the time of their choosing. Chase inserted himself into the tournament only to be taken out and replaced by Jonathan Collins, an old enemy of his and an ally of Magnum's. Collins heavily punished Chase for his many transgressions, and when Chase finally overcame Collins and banished him from GEW, an old foe from another promotion named X-Ecutioner swooped in to finish what Collins had started. He succeeded in sickening fashion, breaking Chase's neck and causing him to miss the better part of a year.
The finalists of the Commonwealth Cup were Reese Black, GEW stalwart Baby Dogg, and a fast-rising newcomer named Adam Ramsey. When the three met in the Concrete Cage, Ramsey was eliminated early on at the hands of Black and Dogg. The two women battled back and forth and the match ended in a controversial double pin. When they had recovered from their sickeningly bloody encounter, Reese and BBD met in a ladder match; this time, Dogg walked away with the decisive victory, becoming the inaugural Commonwealth Cup winner.
Xavier Michaels' second stint as GEW owner came to an end in autumn 2008, as he handed the reigns over to General Manager Shawn. Shawn hired Shane Sanders as his own replacement, and when Sanders left the position a few months later replaced her with a lawyer named Dexter Sinister in an attempt to kerb the excessive bad behaviour of the GEW roster, which had long since developed a reputation for wild partying, free love, and heavy drug abuse. Around this time GEW experienced a swell of new talent including Gabriella, Lauren McCarthy, Lynn Eberlee and Kelly Hall; these women would battle over the Women's Championship, but when champion Eberlee was released and #1 contender McCarthy took a break from the business, the title was retired. Other newcomers over this period included Shane Tallin, Oliver Queen and members of the rock band Critical Acclaim, headed up by Kameron Chase's hated cousin, and old associate of Scott Simmonds, Mark Chapman. Throughout this entire period, Magnum - who'd pledged himself a devoted slave of Shane Sanders - held onto the World Championship with victories over a who's who of talent at the time including Shawn, Reese Black, X-Ecutioner, Scott Savage and Sah'ta Thor (with the latter revealed to be his half-brother). In doing so, James became by far the longest-reigning champion in the company's history.
The year ended with tragedy, however, as Magnum's young daughter was involved in a hit and run accident. Although she eventually recovered, she remained in a critical condition for several months.
2009, Part One - Blood & Gold
2009 for GEW kicked off with Baby Dogg announcing that she'd be cashing in her title opportunity at Extreme Extravaganza, challenging for the World Championship. The champion - and Dogg's friend - James Magnum, feeling slighted by this, turned on her and began waging psychological warfare, even going so far as to accuse Dogg of having been the one to run over his daughter. It was all for naught however, as at Extreme Extravaganza 2009, Dogg ended Magnum's record 300-day reign to become the first female GEW World Champion in history. However, towards the end of the match, the returning Kameron Chase tripped Magnum allowing Dogg - who hadn't noticed the interference - to capitalise. After match, Chase turned on the fans who'd welcomed him back, bluntly stating that they hadn't cared about him while he was rehabbing his neck and that they didn't deserve his favour. He also revealed that Magnum's daughter had in fact been run over by new GEW owner Chelsea Reed - Chase's half-sister and Magnum's fiancée.
Shortly after Dogg's win over Magnum, her fiancé and co-Tag Team Champion Sah'ta Thor won the International Championship, making the pair double champions and establishing the Empire of Blood as the premier stable in GEW. This capped off an era of major feuds for GEW, including battles between Mark Chapman and his former guitarist Scott Simmonds; straight edger Shane Tallin's mission to punish Troy Gafgen for his hedonistic ways; and a brutal feud between Reese Black and Gabriella. It emerged that Black and Gabriella had spent time in a psychiatric institution at the same time, and while they were there, Reese had stabbed Gabs. The fans supported Gabriella as she sought revenge on Reese - until it emerged that Reese had in fact been acting in self defence, as Gabriella was the one who'd been trying to stab Black. Eventually, Reese defeated Gabriella to end the feud, but not before being stabbed in the gut by a vengeful and now twisted Gabs.
While Gabriella, Mark Chapman and newcomers Dwight Mare and Deacon Vail made the final of the second Commonwealth Cup (with Chapman proving the victor by a hair), Magnum battled both Kameron Chase and Baby Dogg, claiming that there were conspiracies against him everywhere and accusing them of colluding to screw him out of the World Championship. Dogg maintained her innocence while also demanding answers from Chase as to why he'd interfered. Chase responded by deeming Dogg ungrateful and turning on her; the three former best friends had now all become bitter enemies, and they were scheduled to meet in a three-way match for the World Championship.
In that match, Kameron and Magnum revealed that they had in fact reconciled and teamed up to get the title off Dogg and back onto Magnum. Along with Chelsea Reed, they installed a new order in GEW and christened themselves Chelsea's Angels.
2009, Part Two - Angels With Dirty Tactics
The now former World Champion Baby Dogg took the initiative in opposing the new regime, and lines were drawn; while numerous stars including Sah'ta Thor, Mark Chapman, Ripplemagne and Magnum's old tag team partner Shane Tallin backed Dogg's vow not to let Chelsea's Angels have their despotic way, others - including Scott Simmonds, Reese Black, Tony Harrison and new ace tag team The Jokers Wild - backed the owner and champion. Dogg was targeted by Kameron and Harrison, who broke her leg, removing her from the equation. Thor and Shane duly stepped up to lead The Resistance. Tallin, Magnum's former ally, managed to overcome the Angels' shenanigans to wrest the World Championship away from James. But once again, James used his pull to stack the odds in his favour in the rematch, and took the title back for his third reign.
The Resistance was dealt further blows over the second half of the year with the firing of Ripplemagne and later the announcement from Sah'ta Thor that his Empire of Blood had decided to remove themselves from the war and would instead stay neutral. Meanwhile, Baby Dogg chose not to re-sign with GEW when her contract came up during her leg rehab and she quietly retired from wrestling altogether.
In late summer 2009, a new title was introduced: the Sterling Championship, defended by default in every match involving the current champion. Tara Michaels was the first champion; over the course of the next few months, the title was established as a wild addition to the company as it passed through the hands of both rookies and veterans.
2010 - Stable Wars
With many of their major threats vanquished, the Angels controlled GEW as 2010 dawned, even bolstering their ranks by attracting Troy Gafgen and Omega Champion Bucky Skyler to their side. Anti-Angel General Manager Dexter Sinister was ousted in favour of the neutral Oliver Queen, although this backfired when Queen saw the Angels' dirty deeds first hand and refused to support them. Nonetheless, the Angels were the dominant force going into Extreme Extravaganza, with the main event - a fourway Concrete Cage match - stacked in their favour. Champion James Magnum had Troy Gafgen in his corner, while their opponents, Shane Tallin and Sah'ta Thor, were still feuding from the fallout of Thor pulling his support from The Resistance.
In the match, however, both Magnum and Tallin - the current and previous champion - were injured. The match came down to longstanding frenemies Thor and Gafgen. Ultimately Troy took the match, keeping the title within the Angels, although the injuring of Magnum dealt a blow to the Angels' morale. Thor's Empire of Blood, having been relegated to the sidelines for some time following their withdrawal from The Resistance, redoubled their efforts to be GEW's dominant faction once more. But opposition to that came from the faction Youthful Image, led by Wilde Tanke and Tommy Rogue, who had debuted in late 2009 with a similar goal. The battle between the Empire and Youthful Image dominated much of 2010, aided in no small measure by the fragile regime of Chelsea's Angels doing whatever they could to play the two sides against each other and thus keep their focus off the authority. Having overcome his cousin Kameron Chase and reconciled with him shortly beforehand (with Kam defecting from the Angels), Mark Chapman cashed in his Commonwealth Cup contract against Gafgen, but was unsuccessful in claiming the title from his onetime tag team partner. The following Commonwealth Cup final occurred at the same event, with former finalist Dwight Mare beating Angels members Bucky Skyler and Scott Simmonds in an upset.
While Angels hitman Skyler targeted Maria Giordano and Mark Chapman, the brewing tension between the various factions finally came to a head in a massive trios gauntlet match. Representing The Resistance, former Angels member Kameron Chase and Shane Tallin's wife Nikki proved victorious despite starting at a disadvantage as their partner Giordano had vanished. World Champion Troy Gafgen was pinned by relative newcomer Amy Ngoudje, representing the Empire of Blood, during the gauntlet; after the match, Chase's sister Chelsea Reed assaulted her brother and other stars, having something of a mini-meltdown. To cap off the night, Mark Chapman defeated Bucky Skyler and a group of midcarders and new figures viciously beat down Troy. In the space of just one evening, the Angels' dominance had totally crumbled.
Following Reed's meltdown GEW went into another period of administration, and broadcasts halted until early 2011.
2011 - The Asylum
When GEW returned in 2011 it was as a fragile battleground between numerous interests. Although Chelsea Reed had managed to retain majority ownership by the skin of her teeth, a coalition of other executives including Oliver Queen, Dexter Sinister and Sah'ta Thor's father Santara took over much of the day-to-day running of the company, with each individual having their own goals and interests. Troy Gafgen, as final World Champion, was given an automatic spot in the first title match back, and a tournament was initiated to find his challenger. The winner was none other than Thor; the two old rivals had recently patched up their feud, and for the second consecutive year they met at Extreme Extravaganza with the World Championship on the line. This time, it was about respect rather than bad blood, and this time, Thor walked out the victor.
During Thor's time at the top he became General Manager of the revived Inferno brand, and brokered a deal with the recently defunct promotion XWCWF, a loophole of which would have given him a stake in GEW. Many of GEW's stars - including Scott Simmonds, Thor's own sister Velvet Grey and a group of masked assailants calling themselves Nerotique Insurrection - declared war on him, believing that he was looking to take full control over GEW, something he'd been threatening for years. The XWCWF deal fell through, but not before its World Champion Javex Valerius signed with GEW - only to turn on Thor as well. And yet it was not to an enemy that Thor lost his World Championship, but one of his own lieutenants, Oliver Creed.
Velvet Grey managed to persuade Faline Reynolds, the protégé of Tommy Rogue and Wilde Tanke, to her side and the pair dubbed themselves The Sisterhood. While Grey focused on her brother, Reynolds - rechristened Savannah - entered a bitter, bloody feud with Tanke, claiming her onetime mentor had never shown her the respect she deserved. As proof her worthiness, Savannah won the Extreme Chaos Championship, and as proof of her seriousness, she injured Wilde's sister and Savannah's own former friend Rebecca Tanke-Grubb. The schism tore apart Youthful Image.
Throughout all this, the group who'd beaten down Troy Gafgen at the Trios Gauntlet ran roughshod over GEW's fractured roster. The stable comprised top tag team The Jokers Wild, long-time dark match competitor Serena Raine, rookies Matt Kail, Leanne Fontaine and Laurel Guerra, and a masked monster named Cerberus - a multi-time World Champion, but new to GEW. They were led by a masked, charismatic, self-proclaimed "visionary" by the name of Noumenon, who declared that GEW had gone soft and that his renegades would tear it down, strip it of its weaknesses and rebuild it as the dangerous, boundary-pushing company it had once been. This group was known as The Asylum, and they succeeded in spreading a level of chaos unseen in GEW for years.
The Asylum met a team of GEW representatives in a brutal 8-on-8 Torneo Extremo match. Team GEW fared badly, allowing their long-standing interpersonal rivalries to get in the way of their fight against the well-oiled machine of The Asylum. The Asylum went up 7-2 at one point, and despite heroic efforts from Wilde Tanke and rookie Max DiMaggio, The Asylum's Laurel Guerra was the last wrestler standing.
The instability among GEW's roster was reflected at the top as Chelsea Reed seemingly grew more and more unhinged every day. She almost totally ignored the XWCWF deal and Nerotique Insurrection, instead becoming consumed by her desire to make the lives of Kameron Chase and Mark Chapman living hells. She tried to use The Asylum as a weapon against Chase, but The Asylum only played along while it suited them, and everyone but Reed could see that the rogue faction were twisting the knife against her as well as GEW's roster.
Chelsea set a "loser leaves town" match between herself and Chase for Collision Course 2011; sensing that it was a trap, Kam intimidated her into dropping the match, but she instead forced him to face her sole remaining ally Troy Gafgen. When Chase won the match and she pushed Gafgen so far that he turned on her, she threw another tantrum. This time, the casualty was the PPV broadcast, which she sabotaged.
Most of Collision Course 2011 never aired and remains a 'lost' show, but the event went on for the live crowd. Wilde Tanke managed a small measure of revenge when he took the Extreme Chaos Championship from Savannah. In the unique fourway Shatterzone main event, World Champion Oliver Creed, Omega Champion Scott Simmonds, The Asylum's leader Noumenon and the always ambitious and controversial Sah'ta Thor collided with both belts on the line. Simmonds walked away with the World Championship, while Thor took home the Omega. The loss for Noumenon capped off a night where GEW finally managed to hand a clean sweep of defeats to The Asylum, but it was too little, too late. The Asylum had already won the war.
The following day it emerged that Reed had stolen GEW's money and disappeared, and once again, the company entered administration. This time there was no eleventh hour solution and in late summer 2011, Global Extreme Wrestling formally ceased operating for good.
2012 - Reborn Wrestling Project
With GEW's money stolen and its reputation tarnished, attempts to bring the company back were unsuccessful. But Kameron Chase and Mark Chapman weren't ready to give up, and set plans in motion to launch a successor to GEW. They found financial backing in a source nobody could have predicted: the Michaels siblings.
The new company, a hybrid of wrestling and MMA named Reborn Wrestling Project, was much smaller in scope than GEW but nonetheless attracted a slew of the company's top stars including Shane Tallin, Sah'ta Thor, Troy Gafgen, Oliver Creed, Scott "Reaper" Walker, Amy Ngoudje and Chelsea Reed's now estranged husband James Magnum. Meanwhile, Dexter Sinister headed up a legal investigation into GEW's demise and filed a claim against Reed's estate. Concurrently, an international warrant was issued for her arrest.
Although Reborn drew critical acclaim, its business model proved unsustainable and it only lasted through to spring 2013. Perhaps the biggest legacy of Reborn was the rise of rookie Erin Daniels, a former NYPD cop and new pet project of Melissa Michaels. On her way to becoming the first and only Reborn Champion she upset Kam Chase, Troy Gafgen and Mark Chapman, and went undefeated for the company's lifespan. Also undefeated was longtime 'tag team specialist' Amy Ngoudje, who was finally blossoming as a singles wrestler. Daniels/Ngoudje was booked for the title, but never happened before Reborn folded.
2013 and beyond - Scattered To The Wind
The stars of GEW and Reborn spread throughout the wrestling world following Reborn's end - save for Mark Chapman, who quit wrestling to concentrate on his music.
With the help of Melissa Michaels, Amy Ngoudje and Erin Daniels moved to Platinum Dynasty Wrestling as a tag team and quickly aligned themselves with Zack Lifer, Zero McHannon and Yun Goeun as the stable White Nights.
Kameron Chase signed with EXODUS Pro and became right-hand man to Daisuke Iwakuma in the latter's LEGION faction, with Kam serving as a silver bullet against longtime nemesis and EXODUS seikigun all-star Jonathan Collins. Chase was a key member of LEGION, holding tag team gold with Iwakuma, but when LEGION eventually fell to the EXODUS seikigun he took some time out and gradually phased himself out of wrestling altogether.
Scott Simmonds became the owner of Impact Championship Wrestling Federation, with former GEW stars including Casey Black, Lance Murphy and Jack Stokes on the books.
Sah'ta Thor moved around a number of hardcore-oriented companies including Ground Zero and Insurgency Wrestling Federation, racking up accolades and seeking new challenges while expanding The Empire of Blood into a fully fledged social and political movement, aided by many of his GEW allies. His wife Baby Dogg, meanwhile, concentrated on her new career as a fashion designer.
Shane Tallin and Nikki Song divorced, and the former's attention turned more towards training than competing, while the latter wrestled various indies, often alongside Jamie Steel.
Laurel Guerra and Leanne Fontaine, now fighting under the names Laurel Anne Hardy and Evangelista, returned to the UK to join Pro Wrestling FRONTIER. Troy Gafgen followed them there, seeking retribution for their actions in The Asylum. While dealing with Troy, Hardy and Evangelista were joined in FRONTIER and its affiliates (including WARPED Wrestling and Frontier Grappling Arts) by Serena Raine and Matt Kail; finding themselves in conflict with numerous villainous factions including The Godfathers of Wrestling, The Murder, Evil.Negativity.Disdain and most prominently AbominationZ, Hardy set in motion the reformation of The Asylum to protect WARPED and FRONTIER from AbominationZ and other factions looking to destroy them. This change of purpose made The Asylum into fan favourites despite their actions being no less brutal, something which did not sit well with many of GEW's displaced veterans.
Yet, at the close of 2013, The Asylum hosted a one-off show with a special Torneo Extremo main event - featuring other former GEW talent including Shane Tallin (in a wrestling role) and Scott Simmonds (in a non-wrestling role). Certain bridges, apparently, had been mended.
Although founded in late 2001 by Ricky Sollars, much of the early history of Global Extreme Wrestling has sadly been lost over the years since, thanks in part to a fire in GEW HQ in 2006 which destroyed a lot of the records. Enough information remains to piece together a broad picture, though.
Although GEW saw success right from its inception, Sollars left the company not long after creating it and ownership passed to one of its biggest stars in Hunter, who remained at its head for many years to come. Under Hunter's guidance, GEW quickly gained a reputation for both its boundary-pushing ultraviolent matches and its commitment to a global touring schedule. These two factors propelled GEW into cult icon status, and both were still honoured by the company right up to its closure. Over the years GEW - helped by its late-night time slot and uncensored broadcast - acquired a reputation as an edgy company with a rebellious outlaw image, and Hunter was a big part in directing the promotion to that niche.
Aside from Hunter, other major stars during this period included the first ever GEW Grand Slam Champion Knuckles, and The Enigma, who holds the record for total combined championship reigns in GEW history.
2005 - Hidden Fears
Shortly after the point existing GEW records date back to (January 2005), Hunter debuted a stable designed to keep the GEW World Championship in his possession, named Hidden Fears. He was opposed by The Enigma, who formed his own faction named Playtime Over. The World Championship traded hands regularly during this time, not only on flagship show Chaos and pay-per-view events but secondary show Inferno. Although Hidden Fears were the dominant faction for much of early 2005, Playtime Over would prove to have the last laugh as The Enigma won the title shortly before GEW went into administration, making him the final World Champion.
In addition to the World, United States and Intercontinental Championships, Chaos and Inferno both had their own television championships and women often fought for these titles, most notably The Enigma's girlfriend Shadow. Shadow also often competed as an equal against the male main eventers at her boyfriend's side, providing an early role model for the women to come in later years.
The constant international schedule strained GEW's finances and the company's doors closed briefly over summer 2005, though they reopened in the autumn. As the final champion, The Enigma was awarded the belt; over the brief period GEW was open, a succession of challengers tried their hand at the title, some successfully, some less so. One man who came into his own during this period was Shawn, who had briefly held the title before (indeed, Shawn is the earliest GEW World Champion whose reign is still on record), but it wasn't until this time that he established himself as a true main event star. Other stars making names for themselves over the course of 2005 included a couple of youngsters named Luke "The Ghost" Ingamells and Randy Benitez. Sadly GEW's comeback only lasted a couple of months before the money troubles caught back up to the company and it closed down in late October.
2006 - Cerebral Disaster
Several months passed while Hunter frantically tried to work out ways to save his company, and in July 2006, GEW made its grand return. A bitter feud between Hunter and newcomer Hollywood Bull erupted over the World Championship, with the two men trading the belt back and forth. Meanwhile, Luke Ingamells and tag team partner Dean Heartly resurrected the Hidden Fears name with Hunter's blessing and dominated the Tag Team Championship scene, while various other factions went to war over the United States and International Championships.
Perhaps the event during this era which would prove to have the biggest long-term impact was the debut of a young man named K.C. McGrath; while McGrath was significantly less experienced than most of the roster at the time, he had no shortage of either raw ability or attitude. McGrath was instrumental in the introduction of the Extreme Chaos Championship, a dedicated hardcore title, and was the inaugural holder of that title.
In K.C. McGrath, Hunter saw a protégé. Taking the youngster under his wing and dubbing their alliance Cerebral Disaster, Hunter guided K.C. through a stellar rookie year which culminated in him defeating his mentor to become the youngest-ever GEW World Champion at the end of 2006. This partnership was not without cost, however; Hunter's old friend Shawn, already bitter about his own accomplishments being overlooked, was deeply slighted by Hunter's sudden and near-obsessive interest in McGrath's career and turned on them both. When K.C. took Hunter's World Championship, Hunter and Shawn finally reconciled at K.C.'s expense. Although Hunter later claimed that his betrayal of K.C. was his final test for his student their relationship never truly recovered, with the final blow coming when it emerged that K.C. had been having an affair with Hunter's wife.
2007 - New Blood
2007 kicked off with a bang as GEW introduced a second show. Although Inferno had not returned in summer 2006, the time was now right to attempt something similar again, and Mojo was introduced. The long-defunct Chaos Undisputed Championship was dusted off to serve as Chaos's top title while Mojo received the World Championship. The inaugural Chaos Undisputed Champion was the wily newcomer "Swift" Tony Wright, who controversially won a seven-man battle royale match for the belt on his debut night with GEW, going on to feud with Shawn over the title.
Meanwhile, in late 2006 and early 2007, an influx of new female stars found success in mixed-gender competition, with Ciara Jo, Kadence and Baby Dogg respectively - and in rapid succession - becoming the first women to hold the Intercontinental, Tag Team and Extreme Chaos titles. This breakthrough period of women's wrestling, building on the success of women like Shadow a couple of years earlier, would ultimately lead GEW to permanently abolish gender restrictions. Ciara Jo even became the first champion in GEW history to break the 100-day mark with a title reign.
When he found out about the affair between his wife and K.C. McGrath, Hunter waged a brutal campaign against K.C. which culminated in running him down with a car and shooting him. Following this Hunter quit as both wrestler and owner, and after a period of uncertainty GEW was bought out by Xavier Michaels and his sister Melissa; one of their first acts was to abolish Mojo. Despite the brands being condensed, both of the world titles were kept active, and Randy Benitez finally achieved his dream of world champion status when he won the Chaos Undisputed Championship.
K.C. McGrath was forced to vacate the World Championship while he recovered from Hunter's assault. A promotion-wide tournament was crowned to find a new champion, with the final occurring at Extreme Extravaganza 2007. The match came down to two men who'd been embroiled in a bitter feud, former Chaos Undisputed Champion Tony Wright and Klown, leader of the stable known as The KarnEvil. For months the two had battled over both the United States Championship and their mutual love interest Carla. At Extreme Extravaganza, Wright claimed both the World Championship and Carla. However, while Klown was unsuccessful in beating Wright for the title, he did eventually win Carla's hand in the love triangle, claiming the moral victory at least.
Wright eventually lost the World title to newcomer Venom, but after a couple of months Venom was released from his GEW contract whilst still champion. Owner Xavier Michaels won the vacant title by defeating the recently-returned K.C. McGrath, now wrestling under the name Kameron Chase, who in turn soon defeated Benitez for the Undisputed Championship. During Chase and Michaels' war, Xavier's sister Melissa was sexually assaulted and the blame was laid at Kameron's feet, and although the culprit's identity was never proven, Chase couldn't disprove it either. Their feud came to a head in a match to unify the two world titles. Chase won the match and unified the titles - but was immediately challenged by Randy Benitez, who used that moment to successfully cash in his rematch clause for the Undisputed Championship. During this period, it emerged that Xavier and Melissa were lovers in an incestuous relationship. They eventually removed themselves from the public eye while Kameron unsuccessfully chased Randy for the World Championship, a feud made all the more intense by the fact that Chase was dating Benitez' sister Becky at the time.
During 2007, both the Intercontinental and United States Championships were retired only to be reactivated, and rechristened the International and Omega Championships respectively. A Women's Championship was also introduced, even though the women were free to compete for any other championships.
2008, Part One - Regime Change
Around Christmas 2007, the Michaels siblings found that the shareholders and executives had lost faith in them and they were forced out. A new majority owner, Jarred Carthellion, took control. He ruled that Kameron Chase would be allowed one final shot at Randy Benitez's World Championship. During the match, an incredibly violent ladder match, Kam was close to victory when he was interrupted by the return of his old nemesis Hunter. Hunter's return was shortly followed by that of The Enigma. The four men - all of whom had numerous issues with each other over the years - reconciled and announced their union as a force of the most dominant wrestlers in GEW history.
Under Hunter's guidance, they began a crusade against GEW's deathmatch style, declaring a return to old-school, purist values. They were opposed by former KarnEvil members Phreak and Baby Dogg, who argued that the main event talent had themselves set the violence bar so high that the new generation were being forced to go to even greater extremes to make themselves noticed. Dogg and Phreak formed a stable of their own named The Dead Precedents, which included Troy Gafgen, Rhys Matterson and Bailey Callahan, and the five began putting on displays of ultraviolence at every opportunity. Hunter and his cohorts responded by tempting back Shawn to fight for their side - only for Shawn to turn on Hunter and align himself with The Dead Precedents, declaring that Hunter had always kept Shawn in his shadow.
While Hunter and Shawn feuded, Phreak unsuccessfully challenged Benitez for the World Championship and The Enigma and Dogg began warring over the Omega Championship. Kameron Chase, meanwhile, was installed as the General Manager of Chaos. Despite being pro-Purists, Chase ended the war between them and the Dead Precedents by firing both Hunter and Shawn, announcing that GEW no longer had room for the old men of yesteryear. A secondary battle was going on during this time between Glenn Legend's The Damned and Sah'ta Thor's Empire of Blood; between injuries and betrayals, that feud ended without any real resolution beyond setting up one of GEW's longest running and bitterest rivalries: Thor and Troy Gafgen.
Kameron Chase's stint as general manager saw him bring in a lot of exciting talent like Scott Simmonds, Reese Black and James Magnum, but that aside, he proved to be an ineffectual General Manager. He stacked matches in favour of his friends, awarded title shots without rhyme or reason, and generally failed to maintain order. One particularly unsuccessful initiative was to unify the Omega and International Championships; however, in the unification match between Baby Dogg and Kirsten - a ladder match - the two wrestlers retrieved each other's title belts at the same time, meaning the titles went un-unified and they essentially swapped championships. Another legendary incident during this period saw Scott Simmonds knock down the wall of Kameron's office, revealing Kameron having a "private meeting" with one of his wrestlers, Emily Jolie.
Xavier Michaels returned to buy GEW back from Carthellion, and duly removed Kam from the position while hiring back Shawn and Hunter. Hunter and Kameron's feud resumed almost immediately. Hunter won the World Championship back during this time, only for Kameron to unseat him. Kameron however - feeling slighted by his treatment by Xavier and Hunter - soon announced that he was taking some time out. The title was put up as the prize in a match between relative newcomers Reese Black and James Magnum, respectively Chase's girlfriend and estranged best friend. Chase interfered in the match trying to help Black win, but inadvertently caused Magnum to win. Kameron and Reese tried to get the title off James, but were unsuccessful at every turn.
2008, Part Two - Commonwealth Cup
In summer 2008, all eyes turned to a new tournament instigated by GEW: the Commonwealth Cup, the winner of which would be guaranteed a title shot to be taken at the time of their choosing. Chase inserted himself into the tournament only to be taken out and replaced by Jonathan Collins, an old enemy of his and an ally of Magnum's. Collins heavily punished Chase for his many transgressions, and when Chase finally overcame Collins and banished him from GEW, an old foe from another promotion named X-Ecutioner swooped in to finish what Collins had started. He succeeded in sickening fashion, breaking Chase's neck and causing him to miss the better part of a year.
The finalists of the Commonwealth Cup were Reese Black, GEW stalwart Baby Dogg, and a fast-rising newcomer named Adam Ramsey. When the three met in the Concrete Cage, Ramsey was eliminated early on at the hands of Black and Dogg. The two women battled back and forth and the match ended in a controversial double pin. When they had recovered from their sickeningly bloody encounter, Reese and BBD met in a ladder match; this time, Dogg walked away with the decisive victory, becoming the inaugural Commonwealth Cup winner.
Xavier Michaels' second stint as GEW owner came to an end in autumn 2008, as he handed the reigns over to General Manager Shawn. Shawn hired Shane Sanders as his own replacement, and when Sanders left the position a few months later replaced her with a lawyer named Dexter Sinister in an attempt to kerb the excessive bad behaviour of the GEW roster, which had long since developed a reputation for wild partying, free love, and heavy drug abuse. Around this time GEW experienced a swell of new talent including Gabriella, Lauren McCarthy, Lynn Eberlee and Kelly Hall; these women would battle over the Women's Championship, but when champion Eberlee was released and #1 contender McCarthy took a break from the business, the title was retired. Other newcomers over this period included Shane Tallin, Oliver Queen and members of the rock band Critical Acclaim, headed up by Kameron Chase's hated cousin, and old associate of Scott Simmonds, Mark Chapman. Throughout this entire period, Magnum - who'd pledged himself a devoted slave of Shane Sanders - held onto the World Championship with victories over a who's who of talent at the time including Shawn, Reese Black, X-Ecutioner, Scott Savage and Sah'ta Thor (with the latter revealed to be his half-brother). In doing so, James became by far the longest-reigning champion in the company's history.
The year ended with tragedy, however, as Magnum's young daughter was involved in a hit and run accident. Although she eventually recovered, she remained in a critical condition for several months.
2009, Part One - Blood & Gold
2009 for GEW kicked off with Baby Dogg announcing that she'd be cashing in her title opportunity at Extreme Extravaganza, challenging for the World Championship. The champion - and Dogg's friend - James Magnum, feeling slighted by this, turned on her and began waging psychological warfare, even going so far as to accuse Dogg of having been the one to run over his daughter. It was all for naught however, as at Extreme Extravaganza 2009, Dogg ended Magnum's record 300-day reign to become the first female GEW World Champion in history. However, towards the end of the match, the returning Kameron Chase tripped Magnum allowing Dogg - who hadn't noticed the interference - to capitalise. After match, Chase turned on the fans who'd welcomed him back, bluntly stating that they hadn't cared about him while he was rehabbing his neck and that they didn't deserve his favour. He also revealed that Magnum's daughter had in fact been run over by new GEW owner Chelsea Reed - Chase's half-sister and Magnum's fiancée.
Shortly after Dogg's win over Magnum, her fiancé and co-Tag Team Champion Sah'ta Thor won the International Championship, making the pair double champions and establishing the Empire of Blood as the premier stable in GEW. This capped off an era of major feuds for GEW, including battles between Mark Chapman and his former guitarist Scott Simmonds; straight edger Shane Tallin's mission to punish Troy Gafgen for his hedonistic ways; and a brutal feud between Reese Black and Gabriella. It emerged that Black and Gabriella had spent time in a psychiatric institution at the same time, and while they were there, Reese had stabbed Gabs. The fans supported Gabriella as she sought revenge on Reese - until it emerged that Reese had in fact been acting in self defence, as Gabriella was the one who'd been trying to stab Black. Eventually, Reese defeated Gabriella to end the feud, but not before being stabbed in the gut by a vengeful and now twisted Gabs.
While Gabriella, Mark Chapman and newcomers Dwight Mare and Deacon Vail made the final of the second Commonwealth Cup (with Chapman proving the victor by a hair), Magnum battled both Kameron Chase and Baby Dogg, claiming that there were conspiracies against him everywhere and accusing them of colluding to screw him out of the World Championship. Dogg maintained her innocence while also demanding answers from Chase as to why he'd interfered. Chase responded by deeming Dogg ungrateful and turning on her; the three former best friends had now all become bitter enemies, and they were scheduled to meet in a three-way match for the World Championship.
In that match, Kameron and Magnum revealed that they had in fact reconciled and teamed up to get the title off Dogg and back onto Magnum. Along with Chelsea Reed, they installed a new order in GEW and christened themselves Chelsea's Angels.
2009, Part Two - Angels With Dirty Tactics
The now former World Champion Baby Dogg took the initiative in opposing the new regime, and lines were drawn; while numerous stars including Sah'ta Thor, Mark Chapman, Ripplemagne and Magnum's old tag team partner Shane Tallin backed Dogg's vow not to let Chelsea's Angels have their despotic way, others - including Scott Simmonds, Reese Black, Tony Harrison and new ace tag team The Jokers Wild - backed the owner and champion. Dogg was targeted by Kameron and Harrison, who broke her leg, removing her from the equation. Thor and Shane duly stepped up to lead The Resistance. Tallin, Magnum's former ally, managed to overcome the Angels' shenanigans to wrest the World Championship away from James. But once again, James used his pull to stack the odds in his favour in the rematch, and took the title back for his third reign.
The Resistance was dealt further blows over the second half of the year with the firing of Ripplemagne and later the announcement from Sah'ta Thor that his Empire of Blood had decided to remove themselves from the war and would instead stay neutral. Meanwhile, Baby Dogg chose not to re-sign with GEW when her contract came up during her leg rehab and she quietly retired from wrestling altogether.
In late summer 2009, a new title was introduced: the Sterling Championship, defended by default in every match involving the current champion. Tara Michaels was the first champion; over the course of the next few months, the title was established as a wild addition to the company as it passed through the hands of both rookies and veterans.
2010 - Stable Wars
With many of their major threats vanquished, the Angels controlled GEW as 2010 dawned, even bolstering their ranks by attracting Troy Gafgen and Omega Champion Bucky Skyler to their side. Anti-Angel General Manager Dexter Sinister was ousted in favour of the neutral Oliver Queen, although this backfired when Queen saw the Angels' dirty deeds first hand and refused to support them. Nonetheless, the Angels were the dominant force going into Extreme Extravaganza, with the main event - a fourway Concrete Cage match - stacked in their favour. Champion James Magnum had Troy Gafgen in his corner, while their opponents, Shane Tallin and Sah'ta Thor, were still feuding from the fallout of Thor pulling his support from The Resistance.
In the match, however, both Magnum and Tallin - the current and previous champion - were injured. The match came down to longstanding frenemies Thor and Gafgen. Ultimately Troy took the match, keeping the title within the Angels, although the injuring of Magnum dealt a blow to the Angels' morale. Thor's Empire of Blood, having been relegated to the sidelines for some time following their withdrawal from The Resistance, redoubled their efforts to be GEW's dominant faction once more. But opposition to that came from the faction Youthful Image, led by Wilde Tanke and Tommy Rogue, who had debuted in late 2009 with a similar goal. The battle between the Empire and Youthful Image dominated much of 2010, aided in no small measure by the fragile regime of Chelsea's Angels doing whatever they could to play the two sides against each other and thus keep their focus off the authority. Having overcome his cousin Kameron Chase and reconciled with him shortly beforehand (with Kam defecting from the Angels), Mark Chapman cashed in his Commonwealth Cup contract against Gafgen, but was unsuccessful in claiming the title from his onetime tag team partner. The following Commonwealth Cup final occurred at the same event, with former finalist Dwight Mare beating Angels members Bucky Skyler and Scott Simmonds in an upset.
While Angels hitman Skyler targeted Maria Giordano and Mark Chapman, the brewing tension between the various factions finally came to a head in a massive trios gauntlet match. Representing The Resistance, former Angels member Kameron Chase and Shane Tallin's wife Nikki proved victorious despite starting at a disadvantage as their partner Giordano had vanished. World Champion Troy Gafgen was pinned by relative newcomer Amy Ngoudje, representing the Empire of Blood, during the gauntlet; after the match, Chase's sister Chelsea Reed assaulted her brother and other stars, having something of a mini-meltdown. To cap off the night, Mark Chapman defeated Bucky Skyler and a group of midcarders and new figures viciously beat down Troy. In the space of just one evening, the Angels' dominance had totally crumbled.
Following Reed's meltdown GEW went into another period of administration, and broadcasts halted until early 2011.
2011 - The Asylum
When GEW returned in 2011 it was as a fragile battleground between numerous interests. Although Chelsea Reed had managed to retain majority ownership by the skin of her teeth, a coalition of other executives including Oliver Queen, Dexter Sinister and Sah'ta Thor's father Santara took over much of the day-to-day running of the company, with each individual having their own goals and interests. Troy Gafgen, as final World Champion, was given an automatic spot in the first title match back, and a tournament was initiated to find his challenger. The winner was none other than Thor; the two old rivals had recently patched up their feud, and for the second consecutive year they met at Extreme Extravaganza with the World Championship on the line. This time, it was about respect rather than bad blood, and this time, Thor walked out the victor.
During Thor's time at the top he became General Manager of the revived Inferno brand, and brokered a deal with the recently defunct promotion XWCWF, a loophole of which would have given him a stake in GEW. Many of GEW's stars - including Scott Simmonds, Thor's own sister Velvet Grey and a group of masked assailants calling themselves Nerotique Insurrection - declared war on him, believing that he was looking to take full control over GEW, something he'd been threatening for years. The XWCWF deal fell through, but not before its World Champion Javex Valerius signed with GEW - only to turn on Thor as well. And yet it was not to an enemy that Thor lost his World Championship, but one of his own lieutenants, Oliver Creed.
Velvet Grey managed to persuade Faline Reynolds, the protégé of Tommy Rogue and Wilde Tanke, to her side and the pair dubbed themselves The Sisterhood. While Grey focused on her brother, Reynolds - rechristened Savannah - entered a bitter, bloody feud with Tanke, claiming her onetime mentor had never shown her the respect she deserved. As proof her worthiness, Savannah won the Extreme Chaos Championship, and as proof of her seriousness, she injured Wilde's sister and Savannah's own former friend Rebecca Tanke-Grubb. The schism tore apart Youthful Image.
Throughout all this, the group who'd beaten down Troy Gafgen at the Trios Gauntlet ran roughshod over GEW's fractured roster. The stable comprised top tag team The Jokers Wild, long-time dark match competitor Serena Raine, rookies Matt Kail, Leanne Fontaine and Laurel Guerra, and a masked monster named Cerberus - a multi-time World Champion, but new to GEW. They were led by a masked, charismatic, self-proclaimed "visionary" by the name of Noumenon, who declared that GEW had gone soft and that his renegades would tear it down, strip it of its weaknesses and rebuild it as the dangerous, boundary-pushing company it had once been. This group was known as The Asylum, and they succeeded in spreading a level of chaos unseen in GEW for years.
The Asylum met a team of GEW representatives in a brutal 8-on-8 Torneo Extremo match. Team GEW fared badly, allowing their long-standing interpersonal rivalries to get in the way of their fight against the well-oiled machine of The Asylum. The Asylum went up 7-2 at one point, and despite heroic efforts from Wilde Tanke and rookie Max DiMaggio, The Asylum's Laurel Guerra was the last wrestler standing.
The instability among GEW's roster was reflected at the top as Chelsea Reed seemingly grew more and more unhinged every day. She almost totally ignored the XWCWF deal and Nerotique Insurrection, instead becoming consumed by her desire to make the lives of Kameron Chase and Mark Chapman living hells. She tried to use The Asylum as a weapon against Chase, but The Asylum only played along while it suited them, and everyone but Reed could see that the rogue faction were twisting the knife against her as well as GEW's roster.
Chelsea set a "loser leaves town" match between herself and Chase for Collision Course 2011; sensing that it was a trap, Kam intimidated her into dropping the match, but she instead forced him to face her sole remaining ally Troy Gafgen. When Chase won the match and she pushed Gafgen so far that he turned on her, she threw another tantrum. This time, the casualty was the PPV broadcast, which she sabotaged.
Most of Collision Course 2011 never aired and remains a 'lost' show, but the event went on for the live crowd. Wilde Tanke managed a small measure of revenge when he took the Extreme Chaos Championship from Savannah. In the unique fourway Shatterzone main event, World Champion Oliver Creed, Omega Champion Scott Simmonds, The Asylum's leader Noumenon and the always ambitious and controversial Sah'ta Thor collided with both belts on the line. Simmonds walked away with the World Championship, while Thor took home the Omega. The loss for Noumenon capped off a night where GEW finally managed to hand a clean sweep of defeats to The Asylum, but it was too little, too late. The Asylum had already won the war.
The following day it emerged that Reed had stolen GEW's money and disappeared, and once again, the company entered administration. This time there was no eleventh hour solution and in late summer 2011, Global Extreme Wrestling formally ceased operating for good.
2012 - Reborn Wrestling Project
With GEW's money stolen and its reputation tarnished, attempts to bring the company back were unsuccessful. But Kameron Chase and Mark Chapman weren't ready to give up, and set plans in motion to launch a successor to GEW. They found financial backing in a source nobody could have predicted: the Michaels siblings.
The new company, a hybrid of wrestling and MMA named Reborn Wrestling Project, was much smaller in scope than GEW but nonetheless attracted a slew of the company's top stars including Shane Tallin, Sah'ta Thor, Troy Gafgen, Oliver Creed, Scott "Reaper" Walker, Amy Ngoudje and Chelsea Reed's now estranged husband James Magnum. Meanwhile, Dexter Sinister headed up a legal investigation into GEW's demise and filed a claim against Reed's estate. Concurrently, an international warrant was issued for her arrest.
Although Reborn drew critical acclaim, its business model proved unsustainable and it only lasted through to spring 2013. Perhaps the biggest legacy of Reborn was the rise of rookie Erin Daniels, a former NYPD cop and new pet project of Melissa Michaels. On her way to becoming the first and only Reborn Champion she upset Kam Chase, Troy Gafgen and Mark Chapman, and went undefeated for the company's lifespan. Also undefeated was longtime 'tag team specialist' Amy Ngoudje, who was finally blossoming as a singles wrestler. Daniels/Ngoudje was booked for the title, but never happened before Reborn folded.
2013 and beyond - Scattered To The Wind
The stars of GEW and Reborn spread throughout the wrestling world following Reborn's end - save for Mark Chapman, who quit wrestling to concentrate on his music.
With the help of Melissa Michaels, Amy Ngoudje and Erin Daniels moved to Platinum Dynasty Wrestling as a tag team and quickly aligned themselves with Zack Lifer, Zero McHannon and Yun Goeun as the stable White Nights.
Kameron Chase signed with EXODUS Pro and became right-hand man to Daisuke Iwakuma in the latter's LEGION faction, with Kam serving as a silver bullet against longtime nemesis and EXODUS seikigun all-star Jonathan Collins. Chase was a key member of LEGION, holding tag team gold with Iwakuma, but when LEGION eventually fell to the EXODUS seikigun he took some time out and gradually phased himself out of wrestling altogether.
Scott Simmonds became the owner of Impact Championship Wrestling Federation, with former GEW stars including Casey Black, Lance Murphy and Jack Stokes on the books.
Sah'ta Thor moved around a number of hardcore-oriented companies including Ground Zero and Insurgency Wrestling Federation, racking up accolades and seeking new challenges while expanding The Empire of Blood into a fully fledged social and political movement, aided by many of his GEW allies. His wife Baby Dogg, meanwhile, concentrated on her new career as a fashion designer.
Shane Tallin and Nikki Song divorced, and the former's attention turned more towards training than competing, while the latter wrestled various indies, often alongside Jamie Steel.
Laurel Guerra and Leanne Fontaine, now fighting under the names Laurel Anne Hardy and Evangelista, returned to the UK to join Pro Wrestling FRONTIER. Troy Gafgen followed them there, seeking retribution for their actions in The Asylum. While dealing with Troy, Hardy and Evangelista were joined in FRONTIER and its affiliates (including WARPED Wrestling and Frontier Grappling Arts) by Serena Raine and Matt Kail; finding themselves in conflict with numerous villainous factions including The Godfathers of Wrestling, The Murder, Evil.Negativity.Disdain and most prominently AbominationZ, Hardy set in motion the reformation of The Asylum to protect WARPED and FRONTIER from AbominationZ and other factions looking to destroy them. This change of purpose made The Asylum into fan favourites despite their actions being no less brutal, something which did not sit well with many of GEW's displaced veterans.
Yet, at the close of 2013, The Asylum hosted a one-off show with a special Torneo Extremo main event - featuring other former GEW talent including Shane Tallin (in a wrestling role) and Scott Simmonds (in a non-wrestling role). Certain bridges, apparently, had been mended.
