The Crist Brothers were an American

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...

consisting of brothers David Crist Jr. and John Crist, who are best known by their

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...

s Dave Crist and Jake Crist, they are best known for their time with

Impact Wrestling Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment. Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the promot ...

where Jake was a one-time Impact X Division Champion. For much of their career, they wrestled on the

Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

independent circuit In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indie circuit is the collective noun, collective name of independent professional wrestling promotions which are smaller than major televised promotions. It is roughly analogous to a minor lea ...

, most notably for the

Heartland Wrestling Association The Heartland Wrestling Association (HWA) was a Midwestern independent professional wrestling promotion based in Cincinnati, Ohio. A former developmental territory for World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation during the 199 ...

(HWA) as The Irish Airborne, where they won the HWA Tag Team Championship a record six times. They also wrestled for Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW), Chikara, IWA Mid-South (IWA MS), and

Ring of Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011, when the promotion was so ...

(ROH), as well as Canadian promotions, Far North Wrestling (FNW) and UWA Hardcore Wrestling (UWA). After years of being The Irish Airborne, they changed their name to Ohio Is 4 Killers (OI4K). The team also competed for Juggalo Championship Wrestling as The Ring Rydas, where they are former JCW Tag Team Champions. They are also known for their time in Impact Wrestling, where they are one-time

Impact World Tag Team Champions The Impact World Tag Team Championship (formally known as the TNA World Tag Team Championship) is a professional wrestling world tag team championship which is owned by the Impact Wrestling promotion. The current champions are The Motor City Mach ...

Professional wrestling career

Buckeye Pro Wrestling (2004)

Under the names Lotus and Crazy J, the Crists made their debut in Buckeye Pro Wrestling against Dean and Chet Jablonski in which they were defeated. The Airborne continued to wrestle their way through the ranks of BPW often feuding with the team of American Youth, ultimately defeating them on February 24, 2004 to become the BPW Tag Team Champions. During their time in BPW, the Irish Airborne had chances to work on cross promotion shows with

and were eventually offered a match with the HWA.

Heartland Wrestling Association (2004–2006)

Now achieving their high school goal, the Irish Airborne entered HWA. They became instant fan favorites due to their performance in BPW and the shared fan base. Their first match was a four-way tag match teaming with Viper and Zeta against 4BJ, J.T. Stahr & Jimmy Turner & Ala Hussein. Airborne had continued success in HWA leading to a tag team title championship victory against Necessary Roughness in May 2005. As success came quickly for the brothers, so did tension, ultimately leading to a bloody feud that began in the Fall of 2005 and lasted through early 2006. The feud culminated in a best of seven series in which each brother would attempt to top the other in amounts of violence and wit. The feud finally ended in one of HWA's bloodiest and most gruesome ladder matches to date. Both men realizing neither could top the other ended the feud and began to wrestle as a team once again.

Name change and Ring of Honor (2006–2007)

On January 27, 2006, the Crists were given an opportunity to wrestle a dark match in

against each other in which Lotus defeated Crazy J. The following evening they were again given an opportunity to wrestle in a dark match, this time as a tag team against

Shane Hagadorn Shane may refer to: People * Shane (actress) (born 1969), American pornographic actress * Shane (New Zealand singer) (born 1946) * iamnotshane (born 1995), formerly known as Shane, American singer * Shane (name), a masculine given name and a sur ...

Conrad Kennedy III Justin Carnes (born February 5, 1977) is an American professional wrestler. He wrestles for Northwest Ohio Wrestling as Krimson. Professional wrestling career Independent circuit (2000–present) In his debut match in May 2000, Kennedy teamed ...

in which they won. On March 4, 2006, at an Insanity Pro Wrestling show in

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

, the Airborne announced that they would be no longer be wrestling under the names of Lotus and Crazy J, but instead under their real names of Dave and Jake Crist. John decided to use the first name of "Jake" rather than John because at that moment there were too many well known Johns in professional wrestling. On March 11, 2006, at ''Arena Warfare'' the Crists were able to earn a roster spot with ROH as they took on and defeated Tony Mamaluke and

Sal Rinauro Salvatore Rinauro (born September 12, 1982) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in Ring of Honor, Full Impact Pro and National Wrestling Alliance in addition to being a member of The Embassy. He currently wrestles ...

at the old ECW Arena.

Combat Zone Wrestling (2011–2012; 2014–2016)

On April 9, 2011, Jake Crist was invited to compete in Combat Zone Wrestling's "Best Of The Best X" representing Insanity Pro Wrestling. Jake Crist would go on to lose in the first round losing against Sami Callihan in a triple threat match that also involved

AR Fox AR, Ar, or A&R may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Artists and repertoire Periodicals * ''Absolute Return + Alpha'', a hedge fund publication *''The Adelaide Review'', an Australian arts magazine * ''American Renaissance'' ( ...

. The next night on April 10, 2011 at CZW's "International Incident" Jake Crist would go on to wrestle

Jon Moxley Jonathan David Good (born December 7, 1985) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Jon Moxley. He also makes appearances for New Japan Pro-Wr ...

in Moxley's final match in CZW in another losing effort. After the match Jake would be attacked by both Moxley and

Robert Anthony Robert Anthony (born June 11, 1982) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Egotistico Fantastico. He is the current NWA National Heavyweight Champion in his first reign. He has worked for All Elite Wrestling (AEW), ...

until Devon Moore made the save. Jake Crist return to CZW on May 14, 2011 in a losing effort against

Ryan Mcbride Ryan may refer to: People and fictional characters *Ryan (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) *Ryan (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) Places Australia * Division of Ryan, an elector ...

however fans chanted Please Come Back after the match. On June 11, 2011 at CZW "Prelude To Violence" Jake Crist was told by CZW Owner

DJ Hyde David John Markland (born March 1, 1978) is an American professional wrestler and promoter, better known as D. J. Hyde. Professional wrestling D. J. Hyde is the owner of Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW). Hyde purchased the promotion from its original ...

that if Crist wanted a CZW Contract then he would have to go and defeat Sami Callihan. However Callihan would go on to defeat Jake Crist again. After the match both man showed respect by shaking hands. Adam Cole and Mia Yim would come down to mock Callihan. During the verbal confrontation DJ Hyde would come out and lariat Callihan. Jake Crist would try to save Callihan but wound up attacked by DJ Hyde. On July 9, 2011 at CZW "New Heights" AR Fox would offer a CZW Wired TV Championship title match to Jake Crist. Jake Crist would go on to gain his first win in CZW by defeating AR Fox to become the new CZW Wired TV Champion. Jake's Brother, Dave Crist would also make his CZW debut celebrating with his brother on title win. On September 10, 2011, Jake Crist was originally supposed to defend his newly won title against Chrisjen Hayme. However, Hayme would withdraw from the match and be replaced by Dustin Rayz. Jake Crist would go on to retain against Dustin Rayz. Dave Crist though, would show more concern about his brothers TV title than in Jake Crists well being. After the show Dustin Rayz would confront the Irish Airborne about Dave getting involved in his match against Jake. Rayz would then challenge Dave Crist at CZW "Cerebral". Dave would go one to win that match. Jake Crist successfully defended his Wired TV title against Latin Dragon earlier that night. On April 14, 2012, Dave defeated Jake with a low blow to win the CZW Wired TV Championship. Upon entering CZW, the Irish Airborne formed the Ohio is 4 Killers stable with

Nevaeh Nevaeh is a feminine given name created by spelling the word ''heaven'' backwards. History and meaning The name Nevaeh is the word ''heaven'' spelled backwards. An erroneous belief is that the name has an Irish origin, a variation of the name ...

and Sami Callihan. On September 27, 2014, at Deja Vu, OI4K defeated the Juicy Product to win the

CZW World Tag Team Championship The CZW World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship owned and copyrighted by the Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) promotion; it is contested for in their tag team division. It was created and debuted on Februar ...

. On July 11, 2015, at New Heights, OI4K lost the CZW World Tag Team Championship to Team Tremendous. In Infinity Pro Wrestling, the Crist Brothers defeated Donnie and Jacob Hollows.

Juggalo Championship Wrestling (2010–2016)

The Irish Airborne debuted in Juggalo Championship Wrestling on May 16, 2010 in a losing effort to JCW Tag Team Champions Thomaselli Brothers. On May 26, the duo debuted as the masked tag team Ring Rydas. Jake, as Ring Ryda Red, and Dave, as Ring Ryda Blue, lost to Thomaselli Brothers. At Oddball Wrestling 2010, Ring Rydas defeated The Daivari Brothers (

Shawn Shawn may refer to: *Shawn (given name) *Shawn (surname) See also * Sean * Shaun Shaun is an anglicized spelling of the Irish name Seán. Alternative spellings include Shawn, Sean and Shawne. Notable persons with the given name include: Peop ...

and

Ariya Daivari Ariya Daivari ( fa, آریا داوری; born April 11, 1989) is an Iranian-American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Ari Daivari. He is best known for his time in WWE, Ring of Honor (ROH) ...

). The following night at Bloodymania IV, the duo lost in a Fatal 4 way Tag Team match that also featured the Haters, The Briscoe Brothers, and

The Kings of Wrestling The Kings of Wrestling was a professional wrestling stable that worked on the independent circuit. It was formed in Chikara as a large stable, but also appeared in numerous promotions mainly as a tag team of Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli. ...

. At 2011's Up in Smoke, the duo defeated Mad Man Pondo and

Necro Butcher Dylan Keith Summers (born July 13, 1973), better known by the ring name Necro Butcher, is an American professional wrestler. Throughout the years he has worked for various promotions, including Ring of Honor, Full Impact Pro, IWA Mid-South, Pro W ...

to become JCW Tag Team Champions. At the next JCW iPPV "St. Andrews Brawl" they defeated

the Haters The Haters are a noise music and conceptual art troupe from the United States. Founded in 1979, they are one of the earliest acts in the modern noise scene. The group is primarily the work of the Hollywood, California-based musician, artist, w ...

in their first titles defense. On July 28, the Ring Rydas lost the JCW Tag Team Championship to U-Gene and Zach Gowen. However, Gowen forfeited the championship after realizing that U-Gene cheated to win and gave the championships back to the Rydas. On December 20, 2014, at Big Ballas, Ring Rydas lost the titles against The Hooligans.

Big Japan Pro Wrestling (2013)

On September 10, 2013, Big Japan Pro Wrestling announced that the Irish Airborne, representing CZW, would be making their

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese debuts, when they take part in the 2013 Dai Nihon

Saikyo Tag League is a professional wrestling round-robin hardcore tag team tournament annually held by Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW), considered a spin-off of New Japan Pro-Wrestling's World Tag League and All Japan Pro Wrestling's World's Strongest Tag Determin ...

, which runs from September 25 to November 22. The Irish Airborne finished their tournament on October 18 with a record of two wins and three losses, failing to advance from their block.

Return to ROH (2017)

On June 4, 2017, Jake Crist competed in a gauntlet match at ROH Gateway to Gold for a chance to compete against Christopher Daniels for his ROH World Title later that night. Dave joined the commentary booth for Jake's time in the ring. Dave was not invited to wrestle for ROH due to past conflicts with other roster members. Jake was pinned by

Jonathan Gresham Jonathan Gresham (born March 20, 1988) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to Impact Wrestling. He has previously wrestled for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and Ring of Honor (ROH), where he is a former ROH World Champion, ROH Pure ...

Impact Wrestling (2017–2020)

On August 17, 2017, at

Destination X Destination X is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event held by Impact Wrestling currently in the month of August. The event primarily revolves around the X-Division, the 2005, 2006, 2009, and 2010 events had Ultimate X matches. It w ...

, Dave and Jake Crist made their

debut under the name Ohio Versus Everything (oVe), defeating Jason Cade and

Zachary Wentz Zachary Green (born April 29, 1994) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in WWE, where he performed on the NXT brand under the ring name Nash Carter and in Impact Wrestling under the ring name Zachary Wentz (or simp ...

. At Victory Road, they defeated The Latin American Xchange ( Ortiz and Santana) to win the

GFW World Tag Team Championship The Impact World Tag Team Championship (formally known as the TNA World Tag Team Championship) is a professional wrestling world tag team championship which is owned by the Impact Wrestling promotion. The current champions are The Motor City Mach ...

. During their reign, the championship was renamed as the Impact World Tag Team Championship. On the October 12 episode of '' Impact!'', LAX invoked their rematch clause by challenging oVe to a 5150 Street Fight at Bound for Glory. At Bound for Glory on November 5, Sami Callihan would debut as well as establish his alliance with The Crist Brothers by helping them defeat LAX, with Jake Crist low blowing Ortiz before Callihan delivered a piledriver through a table for the win. They proceeded to attack LAX after the match, resulting in a double turn, turning

heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower Human leg, leg. Structure To distribute the compressive for ...

in the process. On the January 4, 2018 episode of ''Impact!'', they lost the title to LAX, ending their reign at 164 days. The Crist Brothers and Callihan then formed a faction, which

Madman Fulton Jacob Southwick (born April 2, 1990) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling under the ring name Madman Fulton, where he was a former member of OVE (Ohio Versus Everything). He also wrestled in WWE on their N ...

would later join in March 2019. On the July 26, 2019 episode of ''Impact!'', Jake Crist defeated Rich Swann to win the Impact X Division Championship. Jake then retained his title in a five-way match at

Unbreakable Unbreakable may refer to: * '' Unbreakable: My Story, My Way'', a book written by Jenni Rivera * Unbreakable (horse) (1935–1962), a Thoroughbred racehorse and sire Film and television * ''Unbreakable'' (film series), a trilogy directed by M ...

and against Rich Swann on the August 23 episode of ''Impact!''. At Bound for Glory, Jake lost the X Division Championship to Ace Austin in an

intergender Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...

ladder match A ladder match is a type of match in professional wrestling, most commonly one in which an item (usually a title belt) is hung above the ring, and the winner is the contestant who climbs a ladder and retrieves the item. The ladder itself becom ...

also involving

Tessa Blanchard Tessa Blanchard (born July 26, 1995) is an American professional wrestler. She is best known for her time in Impact Wrestling, where she became the first female wrestler to win the Impact World Championship and is also a former Impact Knockouts C ...

, Daga, and

Acey Romero Justin Romero (born May 1, 1990) is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name Ace Romero. He is best known for his tenure with Impact Wrestling, where he performed under the ring name Acey Romero. He has previously wrestled n ...

, ending his reign at 93 days. In June 2020, Dave Crist was accused of sexual assault by his ex-girlfriend in the

Speaking Out movement The Speaking Out movement is a social movement against emotional, physical and sexual abuse in the professional wrestling industry, where people publicize their allegations of misconduct committed by powerful and/or prominent individuals. Similar ...

. On June 22, Dave was released from his contract. The mounting concerns around unprofessional behavior in the ring (refusing to apologize for causing injuries, being forced out of the locker room, etc). On December 15, Jake announced his departure from the company. On the September 2, 2021 episode of ''Impact!'', Jake answered Josh Alexander's open challenge for the X Division Championship in a losing effort.

Personal life

Jake Crist is married to fellow professional wrestler

. The couple were childhood sweethearts while attending Tecumseh High School and have a daughter, Brooklynn, who was born when both were teenagers. Nevaeh gave birth to the couple's second daughter, Johnnie, on November 23, 2015.

Championships and accomplishments

* All American Wrestling **

AAW Tag Team Championship The AAW Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship which is created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion All American Wrestling (AAW). There have been a total of 42 reigns shared betwee ...

( 4 times) *

Alpha-1 Wrestling Alpha-1 Wrestling (A1) was a Canadian independent professional wrestling promotion based out of Hamilton, Ontario. The promotion was founded by Ethan Page in 2010 after he grew tired of inviting his family to see him in crappy bars commenting "I ...

** A1 Tag Team Championship (1 time) *Absolute Intense Wrestling **AIW Tag Team Championship (1 time) *American Pro Wrestling Alliance **APWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) *Collective League Of Adrenaline Strength And Honor **CLASH Championship (1 time, current) - Jake * Combat Zone Wrestling **

( 1 time) ** CZW Wired TV Championship (

2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...

) – Jake (1), Dave (1) **Best of the Best 16 – Dave *Destination One Wrestling **D1W Tag Team Championship (1 time) **Harvest Cup (2014) – Dave *

** Impact X Division Championship ( 1 time) – Jake **

Impact World Tag Team Championship The Impact World Tag Team Championship (formally known as the TNA World Tag Team Championship) is a professional wrestling world tag team championship which is owned by the Impact Wrestling promotion. The current champions are The Motor City Mac ...

( 1 time) *

** HWA Heavyweight Championship (2 times) – Jake ** HWA Tag Team Championship (3 times) **

HWA Television Championship The HWA Television Championship was a title contested in the Heartland Wrestling Association. It was introduced on January 6, 2004 when the HWA Cruiserweight Championship was renamed. Quinten Lee was made the HWA Television Championship as he ...

(2 times) - Lotus (Dave) (1), Crazy J (Jake) (1) **HWA Heartland Cup (2011) – Jake *Infinity Pro Reign **Infinity Pro Duos Championship (1 time) *Insanity Pro Wrestling **IPW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time) – Jake **IPW Tag Team Championship (2 times) **IPW Junior Heavyweight Championship (5 times) – Dave (2), Jake (3) **IPW Super Junior Heavyweight Tournament – Dave (2004, 2006), Jake (2005) *IWA East Coast **IWA East Coast Tag Team Championship (1 time) * Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South **

IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Championship The IWA World Championship is the major title in the Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South based in Louisville, Kentucky. The title debuted at the "Crowning of a Champion" event on April 3, 1997, when Tower of Doom won a twelve man tournamen ...

(4 times, current) – Dave (1), Jake (3, current) **IWA Mid-South Junior Heavyweight Championship (3 times, current) – Jake ** First Triple Crown Champion – Jake *International Wrestling Cartel **IWC Tag Team Championship (1 time) * Juggalo Championship Wrestling ** JCW Tag Team Championship (5 times) *Northwest Ohio Wrestling **NOW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) – Dave **Glass City Tournament (2016) – Dave * Pro Wrestling Illustrated ** Ranked Jake No. 135 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2018 ** Ranked Dave No. 140 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2018 *Rockstar Pro Wrestling **Cicero Cup (2014) – Jake **Rockstar Pro Championship (3 times) – Jake (2), Dave (1) **Rockstar Pro American Luchacore Championship (1 time) – Dave **Rockstar Pro Tag Team Championship (2 times) – Jake and Aaron Williams (1), Jake and Ron Mathis (1) **Rockstar Pro Trios Championship (1 time) – Dave with Sami Callihan and Jessicka Havok *

Style Battle Style Battle was an American professional wrestling promotion founded in 2017 by former Ring of Honor booker and Dragon Gate USA vice president, Gabe Sapolsky. On November 22, 2016, it was announced that WWNLive would be debuting a new promotion n ...

**Style Battle #1 – Dave *Xtreme Intense Championship Wrestling **XICW Xtreme Intense Championship (1 time, current) - Jakehttps://www.cagematch.net//?id=5&nr=639 **XICW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – Dave with Aaron Williams, Dezmond Xavier, Kyle Maverick, Trey Miguel and Zachary Wentz

References

External links

Jake Crist's Impact Wrestling profile
*
IrishAirborne.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crist Brothers, The American male professional wrestlers Impact Wrestling teams and stables Independent promotions teams and stables Japanese promotions teams and stables Living people Professional wrestlers from Ohio Ring of Honor teams and stables People from Dayton, Ohio Year of birth missing (living people)