Metal Mayhem Struck West Virginia With a Bang

Image by West Virginia Wrestling Federation Facebook Page

Written by Alyssa Holland

    On May 31, 2025 the West Virginia Wrestling Federation (WVWF) did a local show called Metal Mayhem. The WVWF is a independent professional wrestling group located in Parkersburg, W.Va. This was Roulette Wrestling's first independent wrestling show so we thought we would break down the night and share our thoughts.

    The night started with a promo from former Hybrid Champion Wyatt Black. Black claimed that  he was the youngest Hybrid Champion ever. He made it clear to the audience that he doesn’t care that the crowd now boos him after his heel turn. Black finished his promo stating he wanted a rematch for the title, but who exited the curtain, Rikku Saint Helen. Helen was making a return from injury caused by a Black chair shot that kept her off the card for a show or two. 

    As the match is about to begin Black says he doesn't want a normal WVWF referee and wants a brand new one. Saint Helen came prepared with her own selected referee, her father. The match was a fairly normal intergender match with of course the referee favoring his daughter when the times called. Towards the end of the match the wrestlers exchanged some chair shots. Saint Helen in the end did go chair crazy with her dad turning a blind eye as she was seeking revenge for her injury. The match concluded with a win for Rikku Saint Helen. This was a great match to watch and really made me intrigued for the rest of the show, 7/10.

    What followed was the first Fatal Four-way match of the night with BloodBeast, Judo Jones, Chris Phoenix and Dorrian Hyde. The match seemed curated for long-term fans that really knew the wrestlers well. I found myself getting a little lost in the narrative but again I do not think I was the target audience for the match and that's okay. What I did catch onto was that the Damnation stable guarded the ring with kendo sticks and would attack anyone who left the ring. This resulted in Damnation BloodBeast scoring the victory. All in all the wrestling was still great and the crowd interaction was top-tier 5/10.

    Tag team matches are a staple in wrestling and WVWF did not disappoint. Teams The Collective and Anarchy engaged in a well written tag match with tons of twists. The Collective were the clear baby faces as the crowd roared when they entered the ring. Plus with a name like Anarchy, you got to be a heel which the crowd promptly booed. The match was a great tag match with hot tags and great back and forth action. That is until Damnation interrupted the match. When this plot twist occurred Anarchy and The Collective sprung into action working together to defeat the in my opinion classic big bad. Damnation did exclaim that this was showing power and how strong they are. The match and post match angle were great 9/10.

    After the tag match was a quick promo from Jayde Mae asking for a fresh opponent to fight her at a later date which was answered by the previously mentioned Rikku Saint Helen for the WVWF Women's Championship. It was quick and straight to the point and the acting was great. The promo made me excited to see the upcoming match.

    Loveable Lester, the lead promoter, called for intermission following the Women's Champion promo. During intermission fans and talent could go pick up a special and chill outside to cool off. and yes they do provide a special as in they have a meal choice for attendees, not like chips and a drink, dinner food. 

One thing that I found also super impressive was the ability to keep kayfabe. Most of the talent were staying in character teasing each other and ignoring those who they were in a rivalry with.

    Following intermission, the wrestling started back up again with Dan Lasers v. Ben Metal. Metal seems to be the loud and expressive member of Damnation. Lasers gave the baby face superhero vibes of the match bringing along with him a manager. The match was fair with zero cheating unlike the other matches earlier in the night. Metal was a very expressive character and even with outfit malfunctions kept going like nothing changed. Lasers was also an impressive talent giving a feeling like he was straight out of classic 1980s wrestling. The match ended in knockout as Metal worked Laser's body through various submission holds. This match had great selling, pacing, and crowd interaction earning a 7/10. 

    Dae Jamison of the Collective came back out to cut a promo about his championship. Jamison stated that he wanted to defend it against the Damnation faction because they are mad he left them. Which was explaining that Dae had turned face and was previously with the big bad of the company.

    James Enoch followed up with another promo saying he wanted to explain himself to ‘Demon’ Damien Abel. Obviously this was lost on me because this is a previous plot line but it still held my interest. Enoch stated that he also is the same man he's always been and just evolved a little to win overtime. Afterwards he called out to Abel which Abel answered.

Enoch jumped out of the ring as to not fight which Abel clearly wanted to do. Enoch stated he did all this for Abel to push his career and that his wants will soon be answered. 

Immediately following the promo Abel was up against the undefeated Anthony Drake. The stipulation of this one-on-one match was that the winner goes on to fight Aaron James for his title. Abel wins the match breaking the streak of Drake. 

Because of the promo and the match building a great story I gave this segment a 8/10.

    The main event of Metal Mayhem was a triple threat deathmatch for the Mountain State Championship The original match was between the current champion “Blue Collar Beef” Dax Preacher, Josh Jade of Anarchy and former champion JC Grunge. 

However, in the middle of the show, Ryan Steel cut a promo stating he was joining the match.  Steel stated he had been in the promotion for 10 years and is the longest reigning Mountain State Champion. Hence, he deserved a title shot as well. 

Image provided by Zach Worstell

    The deathmatch did not disappoint as weapons were quickly introduced. Early on Beef and Steel battled as Jade and Grunge fought. Cheese graters, cookie sheets, chairs, baseball bats, and barbed wired bats covered the ring. Beef was bleeding early as a cheese grater was taken to his head. However, he returned the favor by taking a fork to each wrestler's eyes and shoving skewers into Steel’s and Grunge’s heads. The closing moments of the match saw Beef set up a barbed wire door as a table, which all three competitors sent him through off the top rope and a coast to coast by Grunge took out Jade preparing the inevitable pin-fall. In the end, Beef put Grunge and Steel through a miscellaneous steel pile for the win, retaining his title. The music “Real American” by Rick Derringer played as Dax Preacher loudly exclaimed that he was "Beefamania." Preacher also did add in the Hulk Hogan dance moves don't worry 10/10.

    This experience was great and the show introduced RW into new types of wrestling that we never thought we would see. Rumors spread that this clan was one to be reckoned with and they were correct. This is a highly recommended experience and we’ll certainly be making a visit again. The show's final ranking is a 9/10, I feel if the group keeps working and evolving they will truly be something great and hopefully a local household name.

Edited by Alyssa Holland and Zach Worstell