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Who's Laughing Now? J. P. Steele Demands To Be Treated As A Serious Contender

Posted: Nov 20th 2009 By: CMBurnham

Few people have gone to such lengths to prove themselves as J. P. Steele. After being gone for quite a while from the wrestling ranks, Steele returned to ComPro and is determined to gain some respect. Like many others, he's going about it in drastic ways, many of which are making him enemies and causing him pain. But that's OK as far as Steele is concerned. He's a self-proclaimed "Hardcore Icon" and will do whatever it takes to prove that.

In recent weeks, Steele has demanded respect and competition, but has been unable to make much with the level given to him by ComPro owner Mike Two. Losses to Tyson Armstrong, TAP Oklahoma Heritage and MWA MAX-Division Champion Shane Morbid and ComPro Showtime Champion The Canadian Red Devil litter his resume. But it seems that the issue with the Devil has boiled over as J. P. has shown nothing but contempt for the masked star.

Steele took the fight to the Devil nearly one month ago when he received a shot at the Showtime title. Much of this match took place outside the ring, but the Devil was able to get his opponent back in the ring and put him in the sharpshooter, forcing him to tap out.. This lead to their showdown in a Fans-Bring-The-Weapons match one week later and Steele certainly took the brunt of that. Prior to the match beginning, Steele addressed the crowd and explained that he had not been tapping out last week, he was laughing very hard because the Sharpshooter tickled. As a variety of weapons including a baseball bat, cookie sheets, a water jug and a steel chair were introduced to the match, Steele began to bleed like the proverbial pig. Once again, Steele found himself in a submission situation, this time amplified by the presence of a chain wrapped around his neck by the Devil. But submission wasn't enough for the popular champion. After the referee motioned for the bell, the Devil grabbed two trash can lids and brought them into the ring. He whispered something in ring announcer Alex Bisgono's ear, then locked Steele in a camel clutch. Bisogno asked Steele if he wanted another title shot and, as Steele was unconscious by this point, the Devil manually shook his head "No" before delivering a thunderous curb stomp to the pretender to his title. But even though Steele was unconscious, the crowd demanded more and began to chant for CRD's signature move: the Faceplant. After the referees arrived from the back, the chant just got louder and the Devil knew there was only one way to solve the situation: give the fans what they wanted. So he muscled Steele's limp body into position and delivered a faceplant onto the trash can lids he'd brought into the ring earlier before finally leaving for the back.

Even after all that abuse, Steele still managed to participate in the Hardcore Halloween Battle Royal and he lasted quite a while, being the 8th man eliminated from the event. An evil scheme was hatching in his head and that scheme came to fruition the next week when he attacked the Devil after his victory over TAP Tag Team Champion Tim Rockwell. Proclaiming himself the Hardcore Icon, Steele declared war on the Devil at that point. And it was a war he was prepared to not only compete in, but to win.

With the Showtime title so close to his grasp before, Steele set eyes on claiming it decisively. And he received another title shot this past Saturday. The controversy surrounding the match continues to resonate from the fans as the closing moments seem to be disputed. Here are the FACTS as seen at the time:

After much physical abuse has been scored by Steele, he throws the Devil outside of the ring area. Referee Chance Snodgrass begins to administer the 10-count. The Devil slowly begins to recover and appears to be on the verge of reentering the ring. When the count reaches 8, the Devil is on the apron of the ring, so Steele hits a baseball-slide kick, knocking him off again. After a quick arguement with the referee, Steele tells him to hurry up and count the Devil out. Snodgrass turns around, resumes counting at 9 and quickly reaches 10. The champion had been counted out and J. P. Steele had won the match. But he hadn't won the title, since titles don't change hands on countouts or DQs. Steele either chose to ignore this rule or wasn't aware of it, as he grabbed the microphone and the belt, announced himself as the new champion and walked away with his brand new toy tightly clutched to his chest.

Typically, if a wrestler is outside the ring and the wrestler inside attempts to get too close while the count is being administered, the referee starts over from "1" after backing the other competitor up. It's unclear whether ComPro rules have written differences when it comes to their counts or if the referee made an incorrect decision. Not that it's all that important, since Steele is only a champion in his own mind. But the FACT that he has possession of the belt has to be a huge thorn in the Devil's side and obviously his first priority will be to regain that. However, even though the Devil doesn't have the physical belt anymore, he is still the champion and has to be prepared to defend the title every week at every ComPro show.

Steele's antics have certainly gotten him the attention he craved....and perhaps even more. But has he proven himself as a Hardcore Icon? That's uncertain. What he has certainly done is painted a giant target on his back. The Canadian Red Devil has set that target in his sights and hopes to regain property belonging to him very soon. And there's no promise that the regaining will be painless for Mr. Steele.

Tags: J. P. Steele, ComPro, Mike Two, Tyson Armstrong, TAP, MWA, Shane Morbid, Canadian Red Devil, Alex Bisogno, Tim Rockwell, Chance Snodgrass