Danger And Violence Extreme

Danger And Violence Extreme (DAVE) was a Magisterian professional wrestling promotion that was based in Calisota, Philadelphia. The promotion was established on August 22, 1994, by veteran hardcore wrestler Buddy Gaines, but it wasn't until 1998 that it was purchased by Phil Vibert, who had begun working as the company's head booker in 1996. Several wrestlers' careers took off under Vibert's creative direction, most notably Bryan Holmes, Chris Morissette, Sammy Bach, David Stone, and Antonio Maxi Marquez, who became known as the 'Extreme Five'.

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 when DAVE was featured in the 2002 documentary film Grappling with Success that propelled them 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.

DAVE under Buddy Gaines (1994-1998)
Buddy Gaines, who felt that there was room for a viable alternative to the National Wrestling Federation (NWF) and Golden Canvas Grappling (GCG), decided to start up Danger And Violence Extreme (DAVE) on August 22, 1994. The first event, titled Reach For The Sky, took place on August 27, 1994. It featured seven matches, including one between Mexican luchador and Dane Kidd, who would later become The Danger Kid in the years that followed.

The second event, titled Bloodbath, witnessed the crowning of the inaugural DAVE Extreme champion, Buddy Gaines, who defeated Whisky Jack in a Texas Deathmatch. At the same time, the company began developing its international identity by co-promoting an event in Tokyo, Japan on December 17, 1994, with the Japanese promotion. In March 1995, the promotion began broadcasting their weekly series, Danger Zone TV.

Phil Vibert, once an NWF backstage interviewer and manager, returned to wrestling and signed with the promotion in 1996 after graduating from the National People's University. Although he simply intended to work as a manager, Buddy Gaines became so impressed with his ideas that he gave him the post of head booker, which he accepted. DAVE fans watched the emergence of new stars during his first year as the head booker, most notably Henry Lee, Johnny Martin, JD Morgan, Vengeance, Vin Tanner, The Wolverine, and Magnum Johnson.

In December 1996, Henry Lee, the then-Extreme champion, defeated both 3PW World Heavyweight champion Aurthur Simpson and PWF Universal champion Ernest Mason in a decisive victory that resulted in the unification of all three championships, effectively establishing the DAVE Unified championship, with Henry Lee as the inaugural champion.

DAVE under Phil Vibert (1998-2007)
Phil Vibert announced his full takeover of Danger And Violence Extreme in March 1998. Vibert pledged to "shake things up" and "make a real impact on professional wrestling" in a news release. 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.

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 collapse (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, Antonio Maxi Marquez, and others) were either no longer with the company or injured.

By late 2006, the promotion was experiencing financial difficulties. Until its discontinuation in April 2007, Danger Zone TV 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
Vibert entered politics the same year, serving as vice-mayor of Annesia City from 2008 up until 2012, after which he became the local party secretary for Annesia City. In 2016, Vibert was appointed governor and party secretary of the Federal Capital Territory. He would serve as the FCT's governor and party secretary until 2018, when he was appointed as the new Minister of Sports, Arts, and Culture by Alexander Middleton. Following the death of Alexander Middleton in 2023, Vibert served as interim chairperson until being officially elected chairperson on August 30, 2023. Vibert was elected General Secretary of the Communist Party UMSPR on September 24, 2023.

Former DAVE Unified champion 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 and succeeded DAVE 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, David Stone, and Antonio Maxi Marquez would remain in the ring. Morissette and Marquez are now both 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.

The company's fourth video game, Project Anarky 4, was released on August 22, 2021. In 2018, 2K Games approached White Death Entertainment, the game series' original developers, to continue and improve it. Project Anarky 4 was supposed to be released in July 2007, but it was canceled due to DAVE's bankruptcy filing in May 2007; the more enhanced game was later scheduled for release in August 2020, but it was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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 1, 2004)
 * DAVE ThunderStruck (March 7, 2004)
 * DAVE Rock And Roll Over (April 4, 2004)
 * DAVE Total Disruption (May 2, 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)

Active wrestlers

 * 1) The Ace
 * 2) Adonis
 * 3) AJAX
 * 4) Blood Raven
 * 5) Bobby Thomas
 * 6) Bryan Holmes
 * 7) Chris Caulfield
 * 8) Dermott Ayres
 * 9) Electrofly
 * 10) Elijah Black
 * 11) Frankie-Boy Fernandes
 * 12) Gareth Wayne
 * 13) Harlem Haynes
 * 14) Heavy Metal Anarchy
 * 15) Hysteria
 * 16) JD Morgan
 * 17) Krusher Karloff
 * 18) Lazy Joe
 * 19) Li Bingci
 * 20) Marc Raisin
 * 21) Matt Sparrow
 * 22) Merle O'Curle
 * 23) Murderous Mikey
 * 24) Neil Kernahan
 * 25) Nuzzle Bunny
 * 26) Omar Brown
 * 27) Oscar Ozymandias
 * 28) Phenomenal E
 * 29) Rockin' Ryan Turner
 * 30) Stan Manna

Managers / valets

 * 1) Carl Batch (Krusher Karloff)
 * 2) Emma Chase (Bryan Holmes)
 * 3) Gigi (Phenomenal E)
 * 4) Nicole Kiss (Frankie-Boy Fernandes)
 * 5) The Guru (Oscar Ozymandias)

Road agents

 * 1) Henry Lee
 * 2) The Insane Heat
 * 3) The Wolverine

Referees

 * 1) Jez McArthuer
 * 2) Michael Bull
 * 3) Shane Stones

Broadcast team

 * 1) Jerome Turner (Main Commentator)
 * 2) Phil Vibert (Colour Commentator)

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, its fanbase was and still is incredibly devoted, and with the force of their fans, they converted previously unknown wrestlers into cult icons. In DAVE, 'hardcore' referred to a strong work ethic, high levels of effort, dedication to the fans, and lack of fluff or filler.

Extreme Eliminator match
Danger And Violence Extreme is best 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 War To Settle The Score match
Another hallmark of Danger And Violence Extreme is the War To Settle The Score match. It is a variation of the famous originating from the American promotion  (WCW); the match usually involves two teams of either four, five, or more wrestlers locked inside a steel cage that encompasses two rings placed side by side. The match differs from the original WarGames in that the falls are scored, and the side with the most scores at the end of the 45-minute time limit wins.

It was first introduced in the 1997 Extreme Warfare event and continued the event's theme match until the 2006 Extreme Warfare event.

Chained Fury match
All of the ring ropes are replaced by steel chains in the Chained Fury match, and all of the turnbackle pads are removed, displaying the steel bolts that hold the ropes together. The chains are wrapped in barbed wire on some occasions.

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 sketches.