Reddick — The Unrestrained Use of Excessive Force
February 21st, 2008Redd Reddick returns with n inside look at the history of a tag team.
“Redd” Reddick — The Other Side of the Ropes
The Unrestrained Use of Excessive Force
.
.
This story begins in Philly in late 2000. The Indy scene was starting to wind down despite being congested with workers who were hungry for work but had very little option of doing so at the time. One fledgling promotion at that time was struggling to change that issue. It was here the seed was germinated for a future tag team. Enter a pair of young men by the names of Shaka and Brickwall Bradley, who were paired together by circumstance, as a motley crew of two for the next couple of years in the Tri-State area.
After trying their hand in singles competition early in their careers, the unlikely pair (Shaka being distinctive in appearance with facial piercings, tattoos and dreads while Bradley was over 400 lbs, yet agile) decided to join forces after little success in the local circuit. More established teams didn’t take the duo very seriously until the middle of 2001 when they beat 5 other teams in an elimination match to become the inaugural Tag Team champions for Cutting-edge Wrestling Federation. Wanting to make a bolder statement, they finally decided on a team name after their first title defense so they would be taken seriously, and the name Excessive Force came about. The team’s moniker was actually the name of the solo project undertaken 10 years prior by Sascha Konietzko, founder of the Industrial powerhouse band KMFDM, who was also a major influence on Shaka’s philosophy of life as well as the wellspring of his entrance music for most of his career. Despite the new handle and attitude, the team’s momentum was stopped cold after losing the belts 3 months later. Bradley’s demeanor took a turn for the worst going into 2002, after the tandem team appeared for the last time in CWF’s final show in Philadelphia, when Bradley came to the ring with a personal entourage and after the match, which they lost, left without his partner. Neither man would step foot in a ring in Philly for the next 3 years…
During the next few years, Shaka wandered up and down the East Coast, where he gained more experience, a few titles and a broadening perspective on wrestling, which eventually led him to go overseas to Europe in early 2006, where he met fellow journeyman Robin ‘Bull’ Lekime from Belgium and German promoter Crazy Johnny Tiger. Off and on through ‘06 and ‘07, the three men’s paths would intertwine and result in an interesting and unlikely revival unfolding. Shaka went to Belgium and challenged Bull for the Flemish Wrestling Force Heavyweight title and won his first European title in controversial fashion: Bull issued a challenge to any wrestler in attandance to a table, ladder or chair match for his title. Shaka emerged from the back and signed the contract and suddenly hit Bull with a Crimson Greeting mist attack and put him through the contract table with a Karma:Zero cutter to win the match. After regaining consciousness, Bull declared a rematch later that and regained the belt with a little help from his manager, Mr. Anderson. Prior to the interference, the two had a very even match, especially when they went toe-to-toe outside the ring. They would both later debut in convincing fashion for Johnny Tiger’s Deutsch Wrestling Allianz, whose lineage can be traced directly to Otto Wanz’ Catch Wrestling Association.
By mid-07, Lekime had decided to tap into his Spanish heritage and rename himself Roberto Lequimez, but would maintain his hard-earned ‘Bull’ nick name. The notion of Shaka and Bull teaming up also came into mind, as they discovered that they had a common in-ring philosophy. After tossing around ideas for a name for the newly formed tandem, a ghost from Shaka’s seemingly distant past would revisit him as the name Excessive Force would return, but this time, the duo would be international.
The new team was slated to debut in early September of ‘07 for DWA’s Road to Harley Night chapter 7, except for one major snag - one half of the team was missing. Due to problems back at home, Shaka, who was the founding member of both incarnations of Excessive Force, ironically had to stay home in the States. However, Bull had a back-up plan in the form of one Dr. Gangreen, who held FWF’s Belgian title and co-holder of the tag straps with Gabriel Angelfyre. Gangreen filled in for the absent Crimson Assassin and immediately became the third member of Excessive Force. In DWA, they gained an effective mouthpiece in the form of the unusual Dan ‘Mr. Hollywood’ Ried.
When Shaka finally joined in for Harley Night chapter 7 in early November, not only were all 3 members of Excessive Force present, but they were showcased in a 3 way elimination match for the DWA Tag titles against Viva Latino Loco and the flamboyant champions Mot van Kunder and Louis van Eden, collectively known as G Spot. They made a very good and aggressive showing for their debut match, even working as a well-oiled machine, as one would say in the vernacular, until one miscalculation led to Lequimez tearing the ACL of his right knee and causing his team to be ejected from the match, to the prostests of Shaka and Ried. Bull would not be cleared to return to the ring for another month and half.
The second time for Bull to enter a ring would not only be his second back in his home promotion of the FWF on 1 Feb 08 (known as Catch Cafe - A Night of the Stars), but it would also be Shaka’s return to Belgium since the two were rivals for the FWF Heavyweight title, which was won a week prior to this night by Gangreen against ‘Strong Style’ Jack Demento with Bull refereeing. (Controversial, you say? Possibly…) Ironically, we would see Shaka and Bull team up again in yet another 3 way match for gold, only this time for the FWF straps, which were held by a team they faced before. Viva Latino Loco and the newly formed combo of Homeless Tom and Jack Demento. The duo overtook both teams, convincingly and became the new FWF Tag Team champions. Knowing that they had to face the DWA Tag champions the next night in Uelzen, Shaka made the declaration ‘Tonight Belgium, tomorrow Germany, then Europe!” It should be noted that the entrance music for the new team was the track ‘Conquer Your World’ from the namesake’s album…
The following day in Uelzen during DWA’s meet and greet segment which took place a few hours before the night’s venue known as Rock ‘n Wrestling 2008, the newly crowned champions came into the ring with Gangreen and Mr. Hollywood in tow, the trio dressed in black, the duo in shades, the good Doctor with his trademark surgical mask in place and all holding their respective titles while Ried addressed the crowd in attendance in German. As he announced that the new FWF tag champions walked into Germany with their belts, they would not only leave Uelzen with them, but with the DWA titles as well. With that, the crowd balked at the declaration and the sound technician attempted to drown Ried out with music, to the fans’ amusement. Offended, the foursome left the ring but was still accosted for autographs and photo ops even after the DWA Heavyweight champion Native American Tantanka made his way to the ring. A sign of things to come?
.
.
Later that night, One half of the current DWA tag champions, Louis van Eden, announced that due to health problems, he was relinquishing the belts on behalf of G Spot, which left the titles vacant and left the top contenders which was Excessive Force and the next team (who happened to be Viva Latino Loco) to vie for the titles. As a result, in front of a sold out capacity crowd, Excessive Force made true on their boast: one double underhook spike piledriver led to them leaving Germany with not one but two tag team belts - the Flemish Wrestling Force and Deutsch Wrestling Allainz Tag Team championships. Along with Gangreen holding the FWF Heavyweight Title and Shaka holding two singles titles back in the States - the Maximum Championship Wrestling Unified and All-American Action Heavyweight titles respectively, that gives Excessive Force a total of 5 titles spread across 3 countries and 2 continents, which makes for an impressive feat even in the current state of professinal wrestling. Such a precedent has never been set even during the Territories. Conquer Your World indeed…
– “Redd” Reddick
Loading ...