Delirious (wrestler)

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Delirious
Delirious in 2009
Birth nameHunter Johnston
Born (1980-12-19) December 19, 1980 (age 43)
Cairo, Illinois, U.S.
Spouse(s)
​
(m. 2023)​
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Delirious
Billed height5 ft 10 in (178 cm)[1]
Billed weight201 lb (91 kg)[2]
Billed fromDante's Inferno
The Edge of Sanity[2]
The Swamps of Florida
Trained byGateway Championship Wrestling[1]
DebutJuly 19, 2001[1]

Hunter Johnston

Executive Producer of Ring of Honor Television, producing and writing over 500 episodes of weekly television along with producing and writing hundreds of live events in the 2010s. He also started as the head trainer for the company's wrestling school, the ROH Dojo
in 2007.

Career

Early career

Delirious started his career in Gateway Championship Wrestling, an independent wrestling promotion based out of

St. Louis while also working at his local Best Buy. He trained Daizee Haze as a wrestler while they were both in Southeast Missouri State University. He made several appearances with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling from 2003 to 2005, his last in a match being a losing effort to Samoa Joe on TNA Impact!.[4]

IWA Mid-South (2003–2006)

Delirious started working for

Matt Sydal
, a fellow St. Louis wrestler, in Sydal's first IWA match. The two quickly developed a rivalry, wrestling several times over the next few months. Eventually, Delirious was able to beat Sydal at the second night of the 2004 King of the Death Match Tournament and won the IWA-MS Light Heavyweight Championship.

After that, Delirious began a feud with Jimmy Jacobs. The two exchanged in several matches with the title trading hands. Jimmy won the belt in early August on a Coliseum Championship Wrestling event in Evansville, Indiana. Two weeks later in Highland, Indiana, they wrestled to a double pin for the title. The belt was declared vacant. On the first night of the 2004 Ted Petty Invitational weekend, Jacobs won a Ladder match to win the vacant title. After that, Delirious went to Japan for a tour. When he returned, he won the belt on December 12. Delirious then finished the feud with a win in a Steel Cage match in Valparaiso, Indiana, on February 4, 2005.

Delirious held the Light Heavyweight title until June 11, when he lost it to Josh Abercrombie in Philadelphia. Delirious then wrestled several matches over the fall, against the likes of Roderick Strong, Ace Steel, and Brandon Thomaselli. He also formed a team with old rival Sydal. They challenged The Iron Saints for the IWA-MS Tag Team Championships on a couple of occasions, but could not win the belts.

Delirious started to appear less in 2006, but he defeated fellow masked wrestler

El Generico
in April.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2003–2005)

Delirious made his debut on TNA (while TNA was associated with NWA) on the February 22, 2003, episode of TNA Xplosion losing to Shark Boy in a singles match. On the September 24 episode of TNA Xplosion, Delirious and Curt Daniels lost to

3Live Kru. On the January 21 episode of TNA Xplosion, Delirious, Jared Steele and Masada lost to 3Live Kru. On the February 4 episode of TNA Xplosion, Delirious and Shadow lost to America's Most Wanted (Chris Harris and James Storm). On the July 14 episode of TNA Xplosion, Delirious and Sebastian lost to D-Ray 3000 and Shark Boy. On September 8. 2004, NWATNA, Delirious and Jerrelle Clark competed in a Six Way X-Division Dominance Tag Team Elimination Battle Royal which was won by Kazarian and Mikey Batts. At Slammiversary, Delirious competed in a X Division Six-way match which was won by Shark Boy. His last match in the promotion was in a losing effort to Samoa Joe
on the June 24, 2005, episode of iMPACT!.

Ring of Honor (2004–2022)

Delirious debuted in the Philadelphia-based promotion Ring of Honor at Reborn: Stage One on April 23, 2004, in a losing effort against rival Matt Sydal.[2][5] Delirious continued to work for Ring of Honor sporadically throughout the next few years, gaining a cult following despite never winning a match. At Better Than Our Best on April 1, 2006, ROH's commissioner Jim Cornette said that he would face a wrestler of his choosing and if he did not win, he would be dropped from the roster. Delirious chose and defeated Ricky Reyes with the Cobra Stretch, retaining his spot on the roster.[6]

The following show, Delirious defeated Jimmy Rave, Jimmy Yang and Jimmy Jacobs in a Four Corner Survival.[7] Later in the show, Bryan Danielson granted Delirious a shot at the ROH World Championship after Danielson had retained it in five minutes against Colt Cabana. Danielson retained the belt when the referee stopped the match; Delirious' hand was also sliced on the ring post and his mask was torn by Danielson during the match.[7]

Delirious would get a second shot at the ROH World Championship in a losing effort against Bryan Danielson on May 13. Delirious went on to earn a shot at the ROH Pure Championship against Nigel McGuinness, but subsequently lost. Throughout the rest of the year, Delirious continued to impress with matches against Matt Sydal and McGuinness. On October 6, Delirious defeated Jimmy Rave, qualifying for the 2006 Survival of the Fittest final later on in the evening. Austin Aries was the first eliminated in the finals leaving The Briscoe Brothers (Jay and Mark), Delirious and Matt Sydal. Sydal and Delirious worked together to eliminate the Briscoes. They put on a tough performance, with Delirious eventually coming out on top.[8]

Delirious in 2006

His victory meant he'd receive his third shot at the ROH World Championship against Bryan Danielson. On November 3 the match took place, and once again Danielson retained despite Delirious' best efforts.[9]

Delirious then teamed with Davey Richards, challenging eventual Tag Team Champions Matt Sydal and Christopher Daniels in a Number One Contenders match.

Following his loss, Sydal and Daniels went on to feud with Adam Pearce. Pearce defeated Delirious earlier on in the year with help from Shane Hagadorn. His first match in this new feud saw Delirious team with Ace Steel to take on Hagadorn and Pearce, Delirious and Steel came out on top, but this feud was far from over. The following night, Delirious put his problems with Pearce aside to challenge Danielson. The two captains put a team of four together for an eight-man elimination tag match. Delirious chose Nigel McGuinness, Colt Cabana and B. J. Whitmer as his partners to face the team of Danielson, Jimmy Rave, Jimmy Jacobs and Shingo. Delirious was the sole survivor for his team, winning the match when he made Danielson tap to the Cobra Stretch.

Delirious lost to Adam Pearce on December 22,

CIMA, Shingo and Matt Sydal.[11] Delirious continued his feud with Pearce into 2007, defeating him in the first of six Fifth Year Festival events. He won via pinfall after placing brass knuckles in his mask and headbutting Pearce.[12] The following night, the newly turned heel Roderick Strong destroyed Delirious after shoving him off the ropes. Delirious' head smacked against the mat and he appeared to be unconscious. Strong took advantage of Delirious' condition, hitting him with a Gibson Driver both in the ring and on a barricade at ringside. Strong looked to do more damage but Roderick's former tag team partner Austin Aries ran him off.[13]

On August 3, 2007, Delirious was announced as the new head trainer of the

ROH Wrestling Academy.[14]

Delirious became more peculiar during his feud with Adam Pearce's stable, The Hangmen 3. After they stapled his mask to his face back in 2007, he began using violent tactics to defeat them such as using weapons and spitting

mist into their faces. He also changed his usual green and black attire to "Red Poison", a red and black version, at Rising Above
on December 29, 2007, to reflect his newly violent tactics.

Delirious later attempted to gain the attention of Daizee Haze only to be interrupted and overshadowed by

Kenny King
, and Rhett Titus. He teamed with Jerry Lynn to feud with them.

On August 15, 2010, Johnston replaced Adam Pearce as the head booker of Ring of Honor.[15] Since this change, Delirious has wrestled only sporadically for the promotion, when he ended his feud with Aries by defeating him in a steel cage match on the September 20 episode of Ring of Honor Wrestling.[16] Delirious made his return to a Ring of Honor ring on May 7 in Toronto, when he wrestled Colt Cabana in a Larry Sweeney tribute match.[17]

In 2014, he began to increase his appearances in Ring of Honor more, mainly in their Illinois-based shows. On May 19, 2018, he became one of the trainers at the Baltimore Dojo.[18]

International Wrestling Cartel (2005–2009)

Delirious and Matt Sydal debuted at No Excuses 2005 against each other with Delirious picking up the victory with the Chemical Imbalance II. He won IWC's biggest event of the year, the Super Indy 5 tournament, when he defeated Glen Spectre in the first round, Matt Sydal in the second and "Balls Hott" Troy Lords in the finals. He then went on to successfully defend his Super Indy title against Lords by making him tap out to a leglock submission at Summer Sizzler 3.

Delirious in the ring in 2009

He then started to be accompanied by women's wrestler Daizee Haze at ring side. He successfully defended his title against "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels at Uncaged Fury. At No Excuses 2, Delirious began a feud with "The Fabulous" John McChesney. Haze distracted McChesney enough for Delirious to roll him up and grab his tights for the win to retain his title. At Reveangence 3 Delirious defeated McChesney again with some help from Daizee Haze. At November Pain 2, Delirious faced McChesney once again, but this time Haze was barred from ringside. Daizee disguised herself as a wrestling fan but McChesney caught on before she could intervene, resulting in McChesney powerbombing Daizee onto Delirious to get the win. At New Beginning 2, Delirious faced Sterling James Keenan to try to stop Keenan's road to the title. He was not successful, as Keenan hit the MK Ultra for the victory. He then took a break from IWC and did not return until several months later. He returned at November Pain 3 as he was scheduled to be partners with Super Hentai to face "The Shooter" Brent Albright and Sebastian Dark but it ended up being a 6-man tag team match after Shirly Doe and Delirious' rival John McChesney was added to the match. Shirly Doe picked up the victory by pinning Sebastian Dark after an over the shoulder back to belly piledriver to pick up the win for himself, Delirious, and Super Hentai. Delirious appeared at IWC's 100th show Call to Arms 4 on December 8, 2007, and defeated Eric Young. Throughout the spring and summer of 2008, he unsuccessfully went for the Super Indy title against Larry Sweeney and the IWC Championship against Dennis Gregory. Along with this, Gregory began making chauvinistic threats to Daizee Haze. This eventually climaxed with Delirious and Haze defeating Gregory and Sara Del Rey at Boiling Point 3. Two months later, at Promotional Consideration Paid For By the Following: Day 2, Delirious finally regained the Super Indy title, pinning Jason Gory in a Fatal Four Way match that also involved Super HENTAI and Larry Sweeney.

Chikara (2005–2014)

Incoherence making their entrance at Pro Wrestling Guerrilla's ¡Dia de los Dangerous! event

In

Player Dos
) in Cleveland, Ohio at Laying in the Gutter, Looking at the Stars.

On May 23, 2009, Delirious was revealed as the new third member of the rudo (heel) stable The Order of the Neo-Solar Temple, joining UltraMantis Black and Crossbones, after having been abducted by them a month earlier. He was under the influence of UltraMantis' Eye of Tyr, a mysterious jewel that had the ability to control the mind of anyone, so long as it was touched on their foreheads. He came out wearing the colors of the Order and did not run around and scream at the opening bell. He defeated Arik Cannon that night, using UltraMantis Black's Praying Mantis Bomb finisher. The next night, he and the Order defeated the Super Smash Bros. and Create-A-Wrestler, Delirious again using the Praying Mantis Bomb to pick up the win. On November 22, 2009, at Season 8 finale Three-Fisted Tales Delirious and UltraMantis Black defeated Delirious' former team mates Hallowicked and Frightmare to earn their third point, which means that they can now challenge for the Campeonatos de Parejas.[20] However, that same night UltraMantis lost possession of the Eye of Tyr to Tim Donst and the rudo stable Bruderschaft des Kreuzes, led by Ares and Claudio Castagnoli.[21] Delirious and UltraMantis Black used their three points to get a match for the Campeonatos de Parejas on February 28, 2010, at A World of Comforting Illusions, but were defeated by the defending champions The Colony (Fire Ant and Soldier Ant), after Ares came out and used the Eye of Tyr to release Delirious from under the influence of UltraMantis, at which point he went crazy and ran out of the arena.[22]

Delirious in his BDK attire in August 2010

Delirious returned to Chikara on May 22 at Aniversario Zehn, revealing himself as the newest member of BDK and helping Ares defeat UltraMantis Black in a singles match.

The Batiri.[33] At the following pay-per-view, Under the Hood on December 2, Delirious, Kobald, Kodama, Obariyon and Ophidian were defeated in a ten-man tag team match by UltraMantis Black, Frightmare, Hallowicked, Blind Rage and Crossbones, with Delirious being pinned by UltraMantis for the win.[34]

After Chikara's one-year hiatus, Delirious returned to the promotion, re-joining BDK on October 26, 2014.[35] On December 6 at Tomorrow Never Dies, Delirious was defeated by UltraMantis Black and was, as a result, forced to leave the promotion. After the match, Delirious used the Eye of Tyr to turn Hallowicked and Frightmare against UltraMantis.[36]

Pro Wrestling Noah (2009–2011)

In late 2009 Delirious began working for Japanese wrestling promotion

2011 Nippon TV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League. After two wins and two losses, Delirious and Edwards finished third in their block, missing the finals of the tournament.[44]

Return to Impact Wrestling / TNA (2022–present)

On September 23, 2022, Delirious made his return at

Impact X Division Championship.[45]

Major League Wrestling (2022–present)

On October 30, 2022, Delirious made his Major League Wrestling Debut at Fightland, teaming with Mini Abismo Negro he was defeated by Microman and Lince Dorado.[46] He now works as a producer for MLW.

Personal life

On November 14, 2023, Johnston married former ROH Women of Honor competitor Mandy Leon.[47]

Championships and accomplishments

1This is a "gimmick" title defended under the 24/7 rule by Larry Sweeney in a number of independent and regional promotions. Both Delirious and Colt Cabana held the title multiple times during a 3-Way Dance against Sweeney at an IWA Mid-South show on December 30, 2005.

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Delirious". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved January 30, 2010.
  2. ^ a b c "Delirious". Ring of Honor. Archived from the original on June 19, 2010. Retrieved 2010-12-23.
  3. ^ "Delirious Impact Profile". ImpactWrestling.com. Archived from the original on December 17, 2022. Retrieved December 17, 2022.
  4. ^ Online World of Wrestling – TNA Impact report, June 24, 2005
  5. ^ Online World of Wrestling – ROH results, April 23, 2004
  6. ^ Online World of Wrestling – ROH results, April 1, 2006
  7. ^ a b Online World of Wrestling – ROH results April 22, 2006
  8. ^ Online World of Wrestling – ROH results, October 6, 2006
  9. ^ Online World of Wrestling – ROH results, November 3, 2006
  10. ^ Online World of Wrestling – ROH results, December 22, 2006
  11. ^ Online World of Wrestling – ROH results, December 23, 2006
  12. ^ Online World of Wrestling – ROH results, February 16, 2007
  13. ^ Online World of Wrestling – ROH results, February 17, 2007
  14. ^ ROH Wrestling Archived June 10, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  15. ^ Caldwell, James (August 16, 2010). "ROH News: Ring of Honor removes head booker, replaces with head trainer at wrestling school". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved August 16, 2010.
  16. ^ Valvo, Anthony J. (September 24, 2010). "ROH on HDNet Recap – 9/23/10". WrestleView. Archived from the original on October 1, 2010. Retrieved 2011-04-30.
  17. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on July 17, 2012. Retrieved May 8, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link
    )
  18. ^ "ROH anuncia la apertura de su nuevo Dojo de entrenamiento". May 19, 2018.
  19. ^ Online World of Wrestling – Chikara results
  20. ^ ""Three-Fisted Tales" ~ Live Results". Chikarafans.com. Archived from the original on January 3, 2010. Retrieved November 23, 2009.
  21. ^ "The Brüderschaft Have Formed". Chikarafans.com. Archived from the original on January 3, 2010. Retrieved February 28, 2010.
  22. ^ Ford, Kevin (March 7, 2010). "The CHIKARA Special 3.07.10: A Day Late, a Dollar Short". 411Mania. Retrieved March 7, 2010.
  23. ^ Radican, Sean (August 15, 2010). "Radican's Chikara DVD review series: "Anniversario Zehn" – Pink Ant-Fire Ant, 8 Man Tag main event". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved August 16, 2010.
  24. ^ Ford, Kevin (June 20, 2010). "100 Percent Fordified: CHIKARA Aniversario Elf". 411Mania. Retrieved June 21, 2010.
  25. ^ Ford, Kevin (July 4, 2010). "The CHIKARA Special 7.04.10: Wlid and Young". 411Mania. Retrieved July 4, 2010.
  26. ^ Carroll, John (October 24, 2010). "Chikara Torneo Cibernetico show review". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Archived from the original on October 27, 2010. Retrieved October 24, 2010.
  27. ^ Radican, Sean (May 13, 2011). "Radican's Chikara DVD review series – "King of Trios 2011 Night 2" 4/16: F.I.S.T. vs. Osaka Pro, RDV tournament, Quackenbush & Toyota & Jigsaw vs. Michinoku Pro". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
  28. ^ "UltraMantis Black blog". Chikara. April 11, 2011. Archived from the original on June 23, 2011. Retrieved 2011-04-17.
  29. ^ Rinehart, Colin (May 4, 2011). "The X Review: CHIKARA King of Trios 2011 Night One". 411Mania. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
  30. ^ Ford, Kevin (February 14, 2012). "100 Percent Fordified: Chikara The Thirteenth Hat". 411Mania. Retrieved February 25, 2012.
  31. ^ Ford, Kevin (March 28, 2012). "100 Percent Fordified: Chikara A Death Worse Than Fate". 411Mania. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  32. ^ Ford, Kevin (March 29, 2012). "100 Percent Fordified: Chikara Caught in the Spider's Den". 411Mania. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  33. ^ Radican, Sean (June 2, 2012). "Radican's Chikara "Chikarasaurus Rex" iPPV review 6/2 – live coverage of event from Philaldephia". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved June 2, 2012.
  34. ^ "Past results". Chikara. Archived from the original on October 17, 2013. Retrieved 2012-12-02.
  35. ^ Nunnally, Doug (October 27, 2014). "Chikara report 10-26 Richmond, VA". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  36. ^ Higham, Joshua (December 7, 2014). "12/6 Chikara 'Tomorrow Never Dies' iPPV live report from Philadelphia: Chikara announces UK tour & Royal Rumble Sunday matinee in Philly and more". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved December 7, 2014.
  37. ^ "NOAH Autumn Navigation 2009 – Tag 1". Cagematch. Retrieved April 25, 2010.
  38. ^ "NOAH Autumn Navigation 2009 – Tag 2". Cagematch. Retrieved April 25, 2010.
  39. ^ "NOAH Autumn Navigation 2009 – Tag 3". Cagematch. Retrieved April 25, 2010.
  40. ^ "NOAH Autumn Navigation 2009 – Tag 4". Cagematch. Retrieved April 25, 2010.
  41. ^ "NOAH Autumn Navigation 2009 – Tag 6". Cagematch. Retrieved April 25, 2010.
  42. ^ "NOAH Autumn Navigation 2009 – Tag 9". Cagematch. Retrieved April 25, 2010.
  43. ^ "NOAH Spring Navigation 2010 – Tag 10". Cagematch. Retrieved April 25, 2010.
  44. ^ "第5回日テレG+杯争奪ジュニア・ヘビー級タッグリーグ戦4戦目を終えて エディ＆デリリアス組コメント". Pro Wrestling Noah (in Japanese). July 28, 2011. Retrieved July 28, 2011.
  45. ^ "Victory Road 2022 Full Results – IMPACT Wrestling". Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  46. ^ "Delirious debuts in MLW Oct 30 in Philly". MLW: Major League Wrestling® |. October 18, 2022. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  47. ^ Tessier, Colin. "Delirious And Mandy Leon Get Married, Damian Priest Attends Ceremony". Fightful.com. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  48. ^ "Roster". Action Packed Wrestling. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  49. ^ a b c d e f g h "Delirious at Chikarafans.com". Chikarafans.com. Archived from the original on January 3, 2010.
  50. ^ "I.W.A. Mid-South Light Heavyweight Title". Archived from the original on September 20, 2008. Retrieved August 2, 2007.
  51. ^ "1-Pro Wrestling 2007 Results". 1pwonline.co.uk. Archived from the original on October 9, 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-08.
  52. ^ Solie's Title Histories: IWC – INTERNATIONAL WRESTLING CARTEL
  53. ^ Solie's Title Histories: NWA – NATIONAL WRESTLING ALLIANCE/
  54. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2007". Retrieved June 8, 2017.
  55. ^ NTV G+ Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League 2011 at purolove.com retrieved on September 29, 2018
  56. ^ Online World of Wrestling

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