Danger And Violence Extreme

Danger And Violence Extreme (DAVE) was a Magisterian professional wrestling promotion that was based in Calisota, Philadelphia. The promotion was formed on September 27, 1992, by veteran wrestler Duncan Kendall, but it wasn't until 1997 that Phil Vibert, who had started working as the company's head booker in 1994, purchased it. Heidi Hyde, who was working for PWWA at the time, joined DAVE and was promoted to head booker in mid-1997. Several wrestler's careers were established by Vibert's artistic guidance, most notably Bryan Holmes, Chris Morissette, Sammy Bach, and David Stone.

DAVE was the third-largest professional wrestling promotion in Magisteria in terms of popularity for long of its history. The company's innovative approach to the sport generated a cult-like following, and they eventually secured a pay-per-view arrangement in 1999, and began broadcasting pay-per-views in January 2000. However, it was DAVE's leading performance in the 2002 high budget documentary film "Grappling with Success" that propelled him to the forefront of Magisteria.

After the death of its American equivalent in 2001, DAVE developed a cult-like following in the United States as a result of its tremendous appeal among tape traders. DAVE performed their first ever shows in the United States as part of a week-long tour in 2004, in ECW's hometown, at the  - formerly known as the  - with every show in the tour selling out.

Beginning in 2003, DAVE continued its national expansion by landing a national television deal with Extreme to show its weekly program Danger Zone TV, which aired in syndication prior to the signing of the deal. From 2005 onward, the company was virtually under siege from talent raids from bigger groups, which, combined with an injury crisis and increasing financial problems, resulted to DAVE's bankruptcy in May 2007.

Formation and early years (1992-1994)
Wrestling in the Philadelphia province was controlled at the time of DAVE's inception by two regional organizations: Premier Wrestling Federation (PWF) and Awesome Max Wrestling (AMW), both of whom were wise enough not to attack the larger two companies (NWF and GCG) at the time. Piledriver Wrestling (PDW) began as a wrestling school before Duncan Kendall purchased it and made it to stage short shows to showcase the trainees before becoming a full-time company in September 1992.

Jerry Marone was awarded the company's first world champion in 1992 after defeating 14 other men in a 15-man battle royal at the 'Reach For The Sky' live event. Manager Phil Vibert joined the organization in 1994 and was named head booker a few months later.

Prelude (1994-1995)
Following Vibert's appointment as the company's head booker, the promotion experienced an increase in edgy material, sex appeal, and modern influences from around the world. Piledriver Wrestling would therefore surpass Premier Wrestling Federation (PWF) and Awesome Max Wrestling (AMW) as the top organization in the Philadelphia region. The promotion was renamed 'Danger And Violence Extreme' in 1995.

DAVE under Phil Vibert and Heidi Hyde (1995-2007)
Between 1995 and 1996, DAVE grew to become Philadelphia's most well-known promotion of the time. Fans witnessed the birth of new stars at the period, most notably Henry Lee, Johnny Martin, JD Morgan, Vengeance, Vin Tanner, and The Wolverine.

Phil Vibert announced his full takeover of Danger And Violence Extreme in January 1997. Vibert pledged to "shake things up" and "make a real impact on professional wrestling" in a news release. Heidi Hyde joined DAVE in mid-1997 and was promoted as the head booker. DAVE had perhaps the greatest creative minds in Magisterian professional wrestling, which meant that they could easily create new, profitable stars.

The Premier Wrestling Federation and Awesome Max Wrestling were both purchased in 1998, thereby ending the Philadelphia wrestling competition. At the same time, the PWF World Championship and the AMW Universal Championship fused with the DAVE Extreme Championship to become the 'DAVE Unified Championship'.

DAVE signed a pay-per-view agreement in 1999, and the 2000 Blood and Thunder was the first to be shown on pay-per-view. DAVE was featured in the 2002 high budget documentary film Grappling with Success, and DAVE began its national growth as a result of the documentary film's critical and commercial success, resulting to a TV agreement with Extreme.

DAVE was unquestionably the dark horse and third competitor in the hot Magisterian wrestling war between the goliath National Wrestling Federation and the critical darling Golden Canvas Grappling, with record profits of around M$95,000-250,000 per month from television and pay-per-view deals combined.

Kurt Laramee, who had close relationships with fellow wrestlers such as Hardcore Killah, Stevie Vortex, and Killa Wattz, left the company in a stormy exit in 2004 after the infamous match between him and William Fletcher, which he won, but Fletcher's lack of selling led to Laramee legitimately hurting Fletcher, causing him to excessively bleed and being sent to the hospital after the show where the match took place. Vibert intended to put over Fletcher, but Laramee selfishly refused, so as a form of retaliation, he urged Fletcher not to sell every action Laramee makes. The trio joined the then-fledging hardcore company and fierce rival-turned-spiritual successor Violent Extreme Wrestling (VEW), and Laramee became their first champion, while Killah became the person with the most reigns with their World championship, a record-breaking seven reigns. William Fletcher remained a three-time Brass Knuckles champion with DAVE until the company's collapse.

Injury crisis and decline (2005-2007)
DAVE's high-impact, physically demanding style is infamous for shortening careers. From late 2005 to mid-2006, DAVE experienced an injury crisis that affected the majority of the company's main event scene, including DAVE's frontman Bryan Holmes. DAVE's financial power was nothing near that of its larger three competitors to go out and bring in much fresh talent, and their future had to rely heavily on the young players they had on the roster.

During the final years of the promotion, DAVE was clearly a transitional promotion, as their vast majority of the main event scene that had carried the company for so long (Bryan Holmes, Elton Rando, Chris Caulfield, Shawn Gonzalez, The Insane Heat, Genghis Rahn, Chris Morissette, Sammy Bach, David Stone, and others) were either no longer with the company or injured.

By late 2006, the promotion was experiencing financial difficulties. Until its discontinuation in 2007, DAVE was Extreme's highest-rated sports-related show. Vibert and Hyde were unable to overcome the financial difficulties, forcing them to close DAVE on May 13, 2007.

After closure (2007)
Vibert disappeared from public view for about a year after the closing of DAVE. Two years later, he resurfaced and revitalized his career as a socialist republican politician, serving as Prime Minister of Magisteria from 2014 to 2019.

Heidi Hyde would continue to work as a creative writer for professional wrestling. Hyde has been on several left-wing political podcasts, notably Vibert's Voice, outside of wrestling.

Chris Caulfield would take over DAVE's fierce rival Violent Extreme Wrestling in October 2007, shortly after retiring in the Rock And Roll Over event, rebuilding the organization with a more current product that caters to modern wrestling fans. With Caulfield's creative genius and a massive television and pay-per-view agreement thrown into the equation, VEW quickly soared to the rankings as the undisputed third-largest promotion in Magisteria.

Bryan Holmes retired from in-ring competition in 2017 and now spends his time quietly running his farm in his native Canada. Chris Morissette, Sammy Bach, and David Stone would remain in the ring. Morissette is now employed for the NWF. Bach presently works as a freelance wrestler in Japan, most notably for (AJPW). Stone now works for GCG, frequently competing in tag team fights to assist emerging stars.

2000

 * DAVE Blood and Thunder (January 16, 2000)
 * DAVE Back In Black (February 13, 2000)
 * DAVE ThunderStruck (March 5, 2000)
 * DAVE Rock And Roll Over (April 9, 2000)
 * DAVE Total Disruption (May 7, 2000)
 * DAVE The Extreme Double Header, Day 1 (June 10, 2000)
 * DAVE The Extreme Double Header, Day 2 (June 11, 2000)
 * DAVE Attitude Adjustment (July 2, 2000)
 * DAVE Extreme Warfare (August 6, 2000)
 * DAVE Zero Hour (September 3, 2000)
 * DAVE Counter Culture (October 1, 2000)
 * DAVE The Alternate Showcase (November 5, 2000)
 * DAVE Cold Day in Hell (December 3, 2000)

2001

 * DAVE Blood and Thunder (January 14, 2001)
 * DAVE Back In Black (February 11, 2001)
 * DAVE ThunderStruck (March 11, 2001)
 * DAVE Rock And Roll Over (April 8, 2001)
 * DAVE Total Disruption (May 13, 2001)
 * DAVE The Extreme Double Header, Day 1 (June 9, 2001)
 * DAVE The Extreme Double Header, Day 2 (June 10, 2001)
 * DAVE Attitude Adjustment (July 8, 2001)
 * DAVE Extreme Warfare (August 5, 2001)
 * DAVE Zero Hour (September 9, 2001)
 * DAVE Counter Culture (October 7, 2001)
 * DAVE The Alternate Showcase (November 11, 2001)
 * DAVE Cold Day in Hell (December 9, 2001)

2002

 * DAVE Blood and Thunder (January 6, 2002)
 * DAVE Back In Black (February 3, 2002)
 * DAVE ThunderStruck (March 3, 2002)
 * DAVE Rock And Roll Over (April 7, 2002)
 * DAVE Total Disruption (May 5, 2002)
 * DAVE The Extreme Double Header, Day 1 (June 8, 2002)
 * DAVE The Extreme Double Header, Day 2 (June 9, 2002)
 * DAVE Attitude Adjustment (July 7, 2002)
 * DAVE Extreme Warfare (August 4, 2002)
 * DAVE Zero Hour (September 8, 2002)
 * DAVE Counter Culture (October 6, 2002)
 * DAVE The Alternate Showcase (November 3, 2002)
 * DAVE Cold Day in Hell (December 1, 2002)

2003

 * DAVE Blood and Thunder (January 5, 2003)
 * DAVE Back In Black (February 2, 2003)
 * DAVE ThunderStruck (March 2, 2003)
 * DAVE Rock And Roll Over (April 13, 2003)
 * DAVE Total Disruption (May 11, 2003)
 * DAVE The Extreme Double Header, Day 1 (June 7, 2003)
 * DAVE The Extreme Double Header, Day 2 (June 8, 2003)
 * DAVE Attitude Adjustment (July 6, 2003)
 * DAVE Extreme Warfare (August 3, 2003)
 * DAVE Zero Hour (September 7, 2003)
 * DAVE Counter Culture (October 5, 2003)
 * DAVE The Alternate Showcase (November 2, 2003)
 * DAVE Cold Day in Hell (December 7, 2003)

2004

 * DAVE Blood and Thunder (January 4, 2004)
 * DAVE Back In Black (February 29, 2004)
 * DAVE ThunderStruck (March 28, 2004)
 * DAVE Rock And Roll Over (April 18, 2004)
 * DAVE Total Disruption (May 16, 2004)
 * DAVE The Extreme Double Header, Day 1 (June 12, 2004)
 * DAVE The Extreme Double Header, Day 2 (June 13, 2004)
 * DAVE Attitude Adjustment (July 11, 2004)
 * DAVE Extreme Warfare (August 8, 2004)
 * DAVE Zero Hour (September 5, 2004)
 * DAVE Counter Culture (October 10, 2004)
 * DAVE The Alternate Showcase (November 7, 2004)
 * DAVE Cold Day in Hell (December 5, 2004)

2005

 * DAVE Blood and Thunder (January 2, 2005)
 * DAVE Back In Black (February 6, 2005)
 * DAVE ThunderStruck (March 6, 2005)
 * DAVE Rock And Roll Over (April 3, 2005)
 * DAVE Total Disruption (May 1, 2005)
 * DAVE The Extreme Double Header, Day 1 (June 4, 2005)
 * DAVE The Extreme Double Header, Day 2 (June 5, 2005)
 * DAVE Attitude Adjustment (July 10, 2005)
 * DAVE Extreme Warfare (August 7, 2005)
 * DAVE Zero Hour (September 4, 2005)
 * DAVE Counter Culture (October 2, 2005)
 * DAVE The Alternate Showcase (November 6, 2005)
 * DAVE Cold Day in Hell (December 4, 2005)

2006

 * DAVE Blood and Thunder (January 8, 2006)
 * DAVE Back In Black (February 5, 2006)
 * DAVE ThunderStruck (March 5, 2006)
 * DAVE Rock And Roll Over (April 9, 2006)
 * DAVE Total Disruption (May 7, 2006)
 * DAVE The Extreme Double Header, Day 1 (June 10, 2006)
 * DAVE The Extreme Double Header, Day 2 (June 11, 2006)
 * DAVE Attitude Adjustment (July 9, 2006)
 * DAVE Extreme Warfare (August 6, 2006)
 * DAVE Zero Hour (September 3, 2006)
 * DAVE Counter Culture (October 8, 2006)
 * DAVE The Alternate Showcase (November 5, 2006)
 * DAVE Cold Day in Hell (December 3, 2006)

2007

 * DAVE Blood and Thunder (January 14, 2007)
 * DAVE Back In Black (February 11, 2007)
 * DAVE ThunderStruck (March 11, 2007)
 * DAVE Rock And Roll Over (April 8, 2007)

Legacy
Throughout its thirteen-year run, DAVE provided a hardcore style with a combination of realism and highspot daredevil wrestling that was seldom, if ever, seen in NWF or GCG fights. There were almost no rules in DAVE, and they were pushing limits and pushing buttons by combining sex appeal, violence, cursing, and more violence to carve out their own niche. Referees were solely responsible for counting pinfalls, recognising submissions, and enforcing rope breaks. After the closing in 2007, the crowd was and still is incredibly devoted, and with the force of their fans, they converted previously unknown acts into cult icons.

Extreme Eliminator match
Danger And Violence Extreme is known for their Extreme Eliminator matches, which are perhaps the most popular stipulation in the company's history. The match features a bigger number of competitors, with three being the most usual. The match is formally an iron man bout, set with time limits of 20, 30, 45, or 60 minutes with the first fall not eliminating the participant who was pinned/submitted first. When a time limit occurs with two contestants matched in points, and the third competitor's points remain zero or lower than the other competitor's points, the third competitor is eliminated, and a sudden death takes place with 5-15 minutes added to the clock.

A tag format is applied in a four-man bout instead of having all of the wrestlers in the ring at the same time, however the rules from the three-man match remain.

The Hateful Eight match
Another hallmark of Danger And Violence Extreme is the Hateful Eight match (not to be confused with the 2015 Quentin Tarantino-directed film The Hateful Eight). It is an elimination steel cage bout that is usually staged for DAVE stables/four-man groups to battle against each other. In the match, there are four methods on eliminating a competitor; the two most common are pinning or submitting your opponent.

Satan's Triangle match
The Satan's Triangle match is a derivative of the three-man Extreme Eliminator, with the exception that the Extreme Eliminator's iron man match rules are not present in the match; instead, basic elimination is used, and hardcore wrestling weapons are present inside or outside the ring.

Chained Fury match
The Chained Fury bout has all of the ring ropes replaced with steel chains and all of the turnbackle pads removed, revealing the steel bolts that keep the ropes together.

In other media
DAVE stars appeared on the late-night sketch variety series The House Party Crew in 2004, with wrestlers Bryan Holmes, Chris Caulfield, and Sammy Bach in several segments.