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Josh Abercrombie

From Alfawiki
Josh Abercrombie
Born
Joshua Raymond

(1984-04-13) April 13, 1984 (age 42)
OccupationProfessional wrestler
Years active2003–present
Known forIndependent Wrestling Association Mid-South, Juggalo Championship Wrestling, Ring of Honor, Wrestling Society X

Joshua Raymond (born April 13, 1984), who performs under the ring name Josh Abercrombie, is an American professional wrestler noted for his appearances in Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South, Juggalo Championship Wrestling, Ring of Honor, and Wrestling Society X.

2003–2005

Raymond made his debut as Josh Abercrombie in Ian Rotten's Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South (IWA Mid-South) on October 23, 2003, where he faced Steve Stone. After competing across various Midwestern independent circuits, he returned to IWA Mid-South in October 2004.

In early 2005, Abercrombie entered into a feud with Ian Rotten, including a contest within the NWA Indiana State Championship tournament. The rivalry climaxed during a barbed wire rope match in which Abercrombie humorously appeared covered in bubble wrap; despite Rotten sustaining a broken hand during the encounter, Abercrombie triumphed by submission.

Following this feud, Abercrombie resumed both singles and tag team competition alongside Brandon Thomaselli. On April 9, he claimed victory in the one-night "Simply The Best" tournament by defeating Jonny Storm and subsequently pinning El Generico in a four-way match that also featured Matt Cross and Sonjay Dutt.

On June 10, during IWA Mid-South’s inaugural event at The Arena in Philadelphia, Abercrombie bested Light Heavyweight Champion Delirious to capture his first title within the promotion and recorded his initial win over Delirious.

Throughout the summer of 2005, Abercrombie engaged in a title rivalry with Tyler Black (later known as Seth Rollins). He successfully defended the Light Heavyweight Championship in a two out of three falls match on August 19 and again in a critically acclaimed Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match on September 9.

Abercrombie participated in the Ted Petty Invitational, defeating Jamie Noble in the opening round on September 23 before being eliminated by Chris Sabin in the subsequent round.

The feud with Black culminated on October 15 with a 30-minute Iron Man tables match. Black secured victory by executing a superplex through two tables to pin Abercrombie and claim the championship. Following this defeat, Abercrombie turned heel by spitting at Black and joining forces with Brandon Thomaselli and the Iron Saints (Sal and Vito Thomaselli), launching attacks against Ian Rotten, Justin Credible, and IWA Mid-South officials.

This faction later incorporated Eddie Kingston and briefly aligned with Heavyweight Champion Jimmy Jacobs. Abercrombie and Thomaselli rationalized their heel turn by asserting that although they were regarded as top homegrown talents earlier in the year, they felt eclipsed by Black and Marek Brave during the summer. Consequently, they allied with the Iron Saints to oppose the promotion’s direction.

2006

On January 12, 2006, Tyler Black retained his title by pinning Abercrombie using Abercrombie’s own corkscrew 450° splash maneuver. Abercrombie requested a rematch, contending that Black had multiple opportunities during his reign. Promoter Ian Rotten consented under two conditions: their rematch would be their last encounter for six months, and it could only conclude by pinfall immediately following a corkscrew 450° splash.

The rematch took place on January 20. After both wrestlers executed two corkscrew 450° splashes each, Abercrombie emerged victorious to claim his second Light Heavyweight Championship. He proceeded to hold this title for an unprecedented 449 days—the longest tenure in both the championship’s and promotion’s history.

Although still portraying a heel character, Abercrombie gained fan support and distanced himself from Thomaselli and Kingston after successfully defending against Brandon Thomaselli on February 18. He renewed his rivalry with Tyler Black, leading to an August 11 hair versus mustache match where Black sported a mustache mocking Abercrombie. Despite Black winning the match, Abercrombie invoked a contractual clause specifying that it was his hair against Black’s mustache—resulting in Abercrombie retaining his mustache while Black was left with a mullet hairstyle.

Abercrombie then challenged Black to one final title contest featuring a six-month loser-leaves-promotion stipulation. This match occurred on September 30, which excluded Abercrombie from that weekend’s Ted Petty Invitational. During the bout, IWA Mid-South official Jim Fannin interfered by pulling the referee away while Black secured a pinfall. Unexpectedly, Jimmy Jacobs returned to assist Abercrombie in achieving victory as part of an arrangement between Abercrombie and Fannin. Subsequently, Fannin’s hired enforcers assaulted Jacobs—whom Fannin resented for relinquishing the IWA World Heavyweight Championship in late 2005. Despite feeling remorse for betraying his friend and mentor Jacobs, Abercrombie prioritized maintaining his position at the top.

Wrestling Society X (2006)

Abercrombie took part in the first season of Wrestling Society X, a wrestling promotion broadcast on MTV. Competing under his birth name, he teamed up with Nate Webb and "White Trash" Johnny Webb to create the redneck-themed tag team known as the "Trailer Park Boyz."

Fight Sports Midwest (2007)

On March 17, 2007, Abercrombie appeared at Fight Sports Midwest's inaugural show held in Portage, Indiana. He earned a pinfall win against Austin Aries and later joined forces with Arik Cannon to assault Tyler Black. Abercrombie and Cannon then defeated Black and Jimmy Jacobs (who was disguised as S.A.M.) in a spontaneous tag team contest, after which they exposed Jacobs' identity and caused an injury to his leg.

Return to IWA Mid-South (2009–2010)

Abercrombie made a comeback to IWA Mid-South by reuniting with Nate Webb to revive their tag team, The Trailer Park Boyz.

Ring of Honor (2009–2010)

Towards the end of 2009, Raymond wrestled in Ring of Honor Wrestling using his real name as a member of the House of Truth faction alongside Roderick Strong and Christian Able.

Championships and accomplishments

Footnotes

The IWA Mid-South Tag Team Championship was jointly held by Abercrombie, Knuckles, and Moore under the provisions of the Freebird Rule.

External links

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