Danny Havoc

[Grimmas]

Henry/HeadCheese it's me:

A really creative deathmatch wrestler. Very charming charisma in-ring and fun promos too.

Match Recs
vs. Arik Cannon (CHIKARA, 6/23/06)
vs. Thumbtack Jack (CZW, 3/14/09)
vs. Sami Callihan (CZW, 12/12/09)
vs. Ultramantis Black (AIW, 5/23/14)
https://youtu.be/XFcmIS_Tg2E?si=6mzfdVikvJFDei1

[HeadCheese]

I asked someone who follows US Deathmatch history wrestling and knows wrestling better than me and really likes Danny Havoc for recommend these matches

vs. Andy Sumner - CZW Down With The Sickness 4Ever - A Chris Cash Tribute Show from 9/10/05

Feud vs. Sami Callihan feud - Devil Wears Prada Match (CZW, 9/12/09), Caribbean Pits (CZW, 10/25/09), Nails & Carpet Strip (IWA East Coast, 11/7/09)

With as strong recommendation on their- COD match (CZW, 12/12/09)

vs. Masada - Gusset Plate (CZW, 7/9/11)

Feud vs. Scotty Vortekz - Lighttubes, Ladders & Log Cabin (CZW, 6/9/07), Barefoot Thumbtacks, Bottle Caps & Glass (IWA Mid South, 6/21/08), and 444 Lighttubes (CZW, 6/8/13)

vs. Jun Kasai - Ragnarok'n Roll Glass Crush (CZW, 4/9/11)

Thumbtack Jack series (They have 11 singles matches between CZW, BJPW, wXw, and various other promotions)

vs. Drew Gulak - No Ropes Barbed Wire (CZW, 5/12/12)

 vs. Brain Damage (CZW, 4/7/07)

Edited 9 hours ago by HeadCheese

[brockobama]

My first favorite wrestler. Don't know that I'd be watching wrestling today—let alone involved in a process like this—without stumbling upon this skinny Iowa kid coming out to Duran Duran. "Creative" and "charismatic" are definitely the words that define his case to me. Professional wrestling is already full of seedy, unsavory characters and deathmatch wrestling perhaps even more so; that a guy like Havoc can be a beloved figure even years after his retirement and death, as the deathmatch scene has shifted in such a different direction and emphasized such different personalities, speaks to his appeal. If there's such a thing as a white meat babyface with septum piercings and a worrying affinity for Nordic black metal, then Danny Havoc is basically barbed wire Tito Santana. He does not gesture so directly toward the crowd as the all-time great faces (this is a 2000s indie dude we're talking about, after all) but I find it pretty much impossible not to buy into his best matches. A good deathmatch at least approaches life or death stakes and few were better at looking like they might literally die out there as young Havoc getting ragdolled around by the likes of Hyde and Wifebeater. In a style plagued by painfully laborious matches from less-than-stellar athletes, Havoc's svelte frame and snappy offense also stand out in a big way; he can still get bogged down in setting up the next light tube contraption to bump through but the energetic execution of said spots (and all the others in between) make for a very different viewing experience. Can't think of many times I ever felt bored watching Danny Havoc wrestle. Now, maybe that's the absolute bare minimum we'd ask of a potential Greatest Wrestler Ever and indeed, I don't know that I'm going to be able to squeeze Havoc onto my list. His career was not long (with basically no high end matches after 2012), was not especially varied, and took place almost entirely in one independent promotion that only shrank in popularity during his time there. But if you're into deathmatch wrestling, especially the American scene, there are scant few cases that outdo his. 

Will echo the recommendations above for the Thumbtack Jack, Sami Callihan, Jun Kasai (which was April 2011, not 2009 @HeadCheese), and Drew Gulak matches. He and TJ were very similar wrestlers who had a similar impact on their respective scenes, two dyed-in-the-wool deathmatch freaks who were more workrate-oriented than the guys they grew up watching. Their matches suffer somewhat from that accordant ambition and derivativeness but they're always enjoyable imo. Callihan's similar but also so much more of a live wire who brings a refreshing relentlessness (and willingness to be ridiculed; god I miss the airhorns) to CZW; their 2009 feud is a lot of fun and culminates in, for my money, the best Cage of Death (non-ROH edition) in terms of overall quality. Would call 2009 the best single year for deathmatch wrestling and the stuff that Havoc, Callihan, and TJ were doing together is a big, big part of that. (Also Havoc's peak year fwiw.) The Kasai match is the rare dream match that hits (though not quite to the level of these others) and is an interesting look at how Havoc responds to being in the ring with a much bigger star. Then that Gulak NRBW is perhaps the crown jewel of his case: a slow burn deathmatch with a guy who'd never done anything like it before, one in which he helps stir a small crowd into a brief frenzy at the thought of this bare-legged asshole finally getting what's coming to him. I had it somewhere in the back half of my top 100 matches of the decade. 

That Arik Cannon match in Chikara is also worth seeking out. Havoc takes a wicked suplex on the hardwood floor; even in "clean cut" matches just a few months into his career, it was easy to impress with the big bumping ability he had. Basically any of his bouts against the aforementioned DJ Hyde, Wifebeater, and Brain Damage illustrate the same in a deathmatch setting. 

Some more matches that might be relevant to his case: 

• vs Scotty Vortekz - Barefoot Thumbtacks, Bottle Caps, etc. match, IWA-MS KOTDM 2008 (06/21/08): Really appreciate barefoot thumbtack matches for how much they force wrestlers out of their comfort zones; asked to eschew the relatively ephemeral spectacle of bumping through light tubes, can these guys make the everyday pain of stepping on something sharp just as compelling? Think Danny does quite alright with it. And for those who are still in the mood for the death-defying spectacle, I recall the scaffold match final of this tournament being pretty good too. 
• vs Yuko Miyamoto - Death from Above Match, IWA East Coast Masters of Pain 2009 (11/07/09): Delightful deathmatch with another high energy fave of my youth. Nothing exceptional here but worth watching for how they get the most out of a few good whips into the corner and a silly swing gimmick, in a tournament setting where they have to save something for other matches. 
• vs Biff Busick - CZW Prelude to Violence (05/31/14) - Not a full-on deathmatch, more of a traditional arena brawl with a no-nonsense slugger well outside Havoc's wheelhouse. 
• vs Rickey Shane Page - CZW Tournament of Death XIV (06/13/15) and Cage of Death XVII (12/12/2015): Two matches in which Havoc, by now a grizzled vet, seeks to prove whether RSP has what it takes to join the deathmatch scene. Definitely don't get RSP becoming one of the biggest heels on the American indies for a minute without the groundwork laid here by Havoc, getting the Philly-area fans to buy into a gimmicky ex-yarder. 
• vs Alex Colon - CZW Down with the Sickness 2017 (09/09/17): Havoc's retirement match (he'd come back for a benefit show and brief Japan tour a few years later) against the guy who, by this point, was pretty comfortably the best worker on the American scene. Dramatic and enjoyable.