Jimmy Rave

[Grimmas]

Discuss here.

[JRGoldman]

I think you could make a case that Jimmy Rave had the best ROH match for Nigel, Punk, AJ Styles, and maybe even Bryan (that title match is an overlooked classic). He did so while being one of the only people in ROH to get reliable heel heat. For wrestling fans, first impressions can often color what people think of a worker for far too long and I think that has happened at various points with Rave. When he first started in ROH, people really hated him not because of anything he was doing character wise, but because there was a perception that he was not as good a worker as the rest of the roster. Gabe was wise to use that and start the whole Embassy gimmick, but even when his matches started getting routinely very good, it was attributed to Alex Shelley being a part of the tag stuff or his opponent carrying him in singles stuff. I think it's sort of fitting that he has been nominated at the same time as Roman Reigns, as Roman has run in to similar criticisms over the past few years. How many times can fans claim a great match was a carry job until a performer is given his due? With Rave, I'm not sure that time ever came because after his jaw injury in ROH, he never really had an in ring show case in a national spotlight. He had that awful guitar hero gimmick in TNA, right? After that I think he's just done southern indies. Whenever something has surfaced it's been great, but it hasn't really worked it's way back to the majority of wrestling fans, or those who shape the opinions of the majority of wrestling fans. All that being said, he's probably right on the cusp of my ballot. If he gets a vote from me, it's probably in the 90 to 100 range, and it probably happens knowing full well that I'm leaving someone objectively better off of the ballot. I just don't think he should be dismissed out of hand in comparison to the other indy workers and mid 2000s ROH roster that will inevitably place much higher than him.

[Tim Cooke]

Rave had a really good 2005 but I don't think there is room for him on my list. The Punk feud, the 7/23 Styles match, and the Generation Next vs. Embassy blow off cage match are all worth watching.

[Dylan Waco]

One of the most fascinating guys to think about for something like this because on the surface he seems like an almost silly candidate, but when I really break it down - especially because I'm one of the few guys who closely follows Southern indies - he actually has a good case for inclusion.

 

While his early Wildside run wasn't other worldly, he was very good, very young, and added a lot both to the early days of the promotion, and the later period when he was around. His matches their weren't always good, but they were almost always entertaining, and never bad.

 

I have not watched any of the CZW matches in years, but remember thinking Rave was really good there, to the point where I was cheering for him to become a breakout star.

 

ROH Rave I always liked as an almost trollish character, who nearly always overachieved, had great matches with a bunch of different people, and delivered in feuds more often than not in a promotion where not all of the feuds worked.

 

But what puts him over the top to me is his Southern indie run where he has been great as a face and a heel for years now. He's one of these guys you can put on a card v. anyone and he will have a good match 90 percent of the time, and a great match more often than you think. He also can carry feuds on these shows which even a lot of the better Southern indie guys aren't particularly good at. The Jimmy Rave Approved act helped get a lot of young guys (Hollis, Posey, Day) get exposure, and led to lots of good matches. His rivalry with Kyle Matthews has produced a bunch of good matches over the span of several years. He was absolutely awesome in Rampage when that promotion was open and doing weekly t.v. This year he is hovering around top ten status in the World for me and has several more big time opportunities on the horizon.

 

I don't really know that I could see someone including him without the Southern indie stuff, but if you've followed him on that scene he is a very viable contender. I'd take him over a bunch of indie darlings, including ones who I really like and have had individual years that may have been better than the best Rave year.

[JRGoldman]

I figured I'd bump this because Rave has been receiving a ton of praise for his performances recently, from Dylan and others. I'm not sure three awesome matches in the SCI and a new match against AJ are enough to change peoples minds, but I think it's probably good to strike while the iron is hot and revisit some of his work, especially for those of us who are going to rank a bunch of 2000s indy guys on the lower half of the ballot.

[kingliam]

One of the most fascinating guys to think about for something like this because on the surface he seems like an almost silly candidate, but when I really break it down - especially because I'm one of the few guys who closely follows Southern indies - he actually has a good case for inclusion.

 

While his early Wildside run wasn't other worldly, he was very good, very young, and added a lot both to the early days of the promotion, and the later period when he was around. His matches their weren't always good, but they were almost always entertaining, and never bad.

 

I have not watched any of the CZW matches in years, but remember thinking Rave was really good there, to the point where I was cheering for him to become a breakout star.

 

ROH Rave I always liked as an almost trollish character, who nearly always overachieved, had great matches with a bunch of different people, and delivered in feuds more often than not in a promotion where not all of the feuds worked.

 

But what puts him over the top to me is his Southern indie run where he has been great as a face and a heel for years now. He's one of these guys you can put on a card v. anyone and he will have a good match 90 percent of the time, and a great match more often than you think. He also can carry feuds on these shows which even a lot of the better Southern indie guys aren't particularly good at. The Jimmy Rave Approved act helped get a lot of young guys (Hollis, Posey, Day) get exposure, and led to lots of good matches. His rivalry with Kyle Matthews has produced a bunch of good matches over the span of several years. He was absolutely awesome in Rampage when that promotion was open and doing weekly t.v. This year he is hovering around top ten status in the World for me and has several more big time opportunities on the horizon.

 

I don't really know that I could see someone including him without the Southern indie stuff, but if you've followed him on that scene he is a very viable contender. I'd take him over a bunch of indie darlings, including ones who I really like and have had individual years that may have been better than the best Rave year.

 

Is there any good, modern Rave floating about on Youtube/Dailymotion that is worth checking out? Used to really enjoy him in ROH but have literally seen nothing since.

[Timbo Slice]

Scenic City Invitational.

[SomethingSavage]

Jimmy Rave vs Drew Galloway and Rave vs. Kyle Matthews, both from within the last year, are up for free on YouTube. They're worth checking out.

[kingliam]

Scenic City Invitational.

 

When I get paid, I'm going to check that out for sure. Wanted something in the interim though.

[Dylan Waco]

Unfortunately a lot of the really fun and interesting Rave on the indies stuff was during his stint in Rampage, the majority of which was lost when that promotion closed up. That said he's still got some matches available for free on YouTube that I like a lot. Here are a few.

 

v. Kyle Matthews from 2013

 

 

v. Drew Adler from early this year

 

 

w/Kyle Matthews v. Caprice Coleman and Cedric Alexander from 2012

 

 

Elimination tag Jimmy Rave Approved v. Team DSCW (one of my favorite indie matches ever)

 

[Timbo Slice]

That elimination tag was fucking outstanding when I first saw it. Rave is absolutely top notch in it.

[Dylan Waco]

I went back and watched a lot of ROH era Rave over the last couple of weeks and it seems pretty clear to me he was the best actual heel in the history of that promotion. By that I mean he's the only person in that company who I think was truly hated by the fan base, played on that, and was able to carry his end of matches by relying on the sort of things you would expect out of a heel. I love Danielson, but the "fake heel" criticism that Bix, Kevin Cook, and others used to levy against him really is true - Danielson was a great worker in ROH, he was not really a great heel because he wasn't really a heel at all. Rave on the other hand was sniveling, sneering, heel brat that you just wanted to see get his ass beat.

 

In the particulars the Styles match mentioned above is a legitimate classic with Rave totally rising to the occasion. I'd rate it in the top ten AJ singles matches ever and I hold AJ in very high esteem. Also Jimmy is awesome in The Embassy v. Generation Next War Games match which is really one of the best ROH matches ever to my mind, at least when it comes to capturing a real feeling of escalation and drama. I also loved the entire Punk feud on rewatch. Punk deserves a lot of credit for being...well...Punk. He was over as fuck and it clearly helped the matches. But I thought Rave was right there with him in the ring, probably actually the better of the two in the Cage Match blow off. I also love the Danielson match, and really enjoyed the Nigel match as a match that was a virtual Jimmy carry job (I know that sounds nuts, but just watch the match). His comeback at the Hammerstein is on YouTube and is really a great moment where Jimmy gets the return pop, gives that great "fuck you" look and is immediately the hottest heel there. Match is really good too.

 

I've seen a bunch more of him from this year and he's going to rate very highly for me in 2015, but I'm at the point where after a rewatch I feel really comfortable rating him on my ballot. I honestly think he's a top ten ROH guy, and while that doesn't get you on my list, when I combine it with the stuff in Rampage, CZW, Wildside, and the the last couple of years in the South, he's there.

[Childs]

The Styles match you're referring to as a classic, is that the ROH one from '05 or the recent one?

[Dylan Waco]

The ROH one, though I thought this years was a low end MOTYC

[AstroBoy]

It's been a long time since I saw that Rave/Styles ROH match but I remember loving it at the time. I distinctly remember complaints that it wasn't violent enough and didn't have enough crazy spots which is completely ridiculous. The suplex off the apron through the table was a really brutal and organic spot and the whole thing was plenty hate-filled.

[tim]

I remember watching that Style match once years ago and thinking it was an unheralded top rate ROH classic. Rave's ROH heel run feels like something a lot more forgotten than it should be, he was really hot and a very unique element in the promotion at the time.

[Exposer]

I want to put Jimmy on my ballot. I need to watch his 2000s stuff before I make a final decision. I loved the Styles Finisher match. With that said, he's been incredible in the last few years. He was probably the best wrestler in the world in 2015. He had a MOTYC with Anthony Henry at SCI, the SCI Final, & the AJ match from Piedmont, AL. He also had a great match I saw live against KT Hamill that has never been put up. He's already had two or three great matches this year. He's a brilliant worker who knows how to work with each wrestler he's in the ring with. He finds new ways to put his matches together depending on his opponent and has developed a hard hitting style which is a nice cherry on top.

[Clayton Jones]

Sadly his career has come to an end but it sounds like once I dig deeper into his later work on the southern indies (I really like what I've seen previously) he's going to have a real shot at my ballot. The best heel I ever saw live. Is there anything he added since 2016 that I should keep my eyes out for?

[KB8]

I went though a bunch of 2000s ROH late last year and I think I agree with Dylan's point in this thread about him being the best heel ROH ever had. Of all those candidates from that indie boom period I'd have him pretty high. Not sure yet if that gets him on a GWE 100 - I'd probably need to jump into the southern indie run mentioned in here at some point - but he was pretty great and I definitely never paid enough attention to him in the past.