Charles Williams (January 13, 1966 – June 1, 2018) was an American

professional wrestler 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 or ...

, better known by his

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 ...

, Rockin' Rebel. He was best known for his appearances on the U.S.

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 ...

with promotions such as

Eastern Championship Wrestling HHG Corporation, doing business as Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), was a professional wrestling promotion and media company that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as National Wrest ...

Combat Zone Wrestling Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) is an American independent wrestling promotion. In 1998, John Zandig and five of his students, Ric Blade, T.C.K, Lobo, Nick Gage and Justice Pain, along with trainer Jon Dahmer, began to run professional wrestling sh ...

, Atomic Championship Wrestling, Classic Championship Wrestling, 1CW (Delaware) and Valour Pro Wrestling.

Professional wrestling career

Tri-State Wrestling Alliance

Williams trained as a professional wrestler under

The Rock 'n' Roll Express The Rock 'n' Roll Express is a professional wrestling tag team consisting of professional wrestlers Robert Gibson and Ricky Morton. The duo began teaming together in Memphis in the early 1980s, followed by Mid-South Wrestling (later to be known ...

(

Ricky Morton Richard Wendell Morton (born September 21, 1956) is an American professional wrestler, currently performing on the independent circuit. He is the current GCW Television Champion, after pinning Matt Cardona at GCW Say You Will. For most of his care ...

and Robert Gibson), debuting in December 1988 as Rockin' Rebel. In 1989 , Williams made a few appearances in the

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

losing to Honky Tonk Man and

Brutus Beefcake Edward Harrison Leslie (born April 21, 1957) is an American retired professional wrestler, best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) under the ring name Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake. He later worked for World Championship ...

. In 1990, Rockin' Rebel signed with the

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

-based Tri-State Wrestling Alliance. While touring with the TWA, Rebel became the first Tri- State Champion and had memorable feuds with The Sandman, D.C. Drake, and C.N. Redd. He also teamed with Jimmy Jannetty to form The Confederacy. They became top contenders to the tag team titles and feuded with teams such as The Super Destroyers and The Blackharts. Despite its success, the TWA ceased operations abruptly in 1991. Rebel returned to the promotion in early 1993 after it had been renamed

Independent circuit

Rockin' Rebel hit the independent circuit after leaving ECW in 1995. He then had a brief stint in

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nation ...

(WCW) and numerous dark matches with the then called

(WWF). He had successful tours of

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 ...

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

and

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

before returning to the U.S. in 1996. Throughout the mid-1990s, Rebel and fellow ECW alum

Glen Osbourne Glen Osbourne (born June 5, 1971) is an American professional wrestler, perhaps best known for his appearances with Eastern Championship Wrestling in the early 1990s, where he was the second ever, and the overall second youngest holder of the pro ...

formed a successful tag team known as Darkside. Together they won the

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

-based

Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation The Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation was a Mid-Atlantic independent professional wrestling promotion based in Essex, Maryland. Founded by promoter Dennis Wippercht and wrestler Tim "Lucifer" Burke in 1991, the MEWF was one of the leading independ ...

tag team titles five times, the

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

-based International Pro Wrestling Association tag team titles twice, and appeared regularly for the NWA. On July 25, 2000, Rockin' Rebel debuted in

. He joined Lobo's Army and remained in the stable until it dissolved upon Lobo's retirement. He then formed a stable known as Rebel's Army with Derrick Frazier, Doomsday Danny Rose and former '' Tough Enough'' contestant Greg Matthews. Rebel and Matthews continued to team together in many promotions around the independent circuit such as PWF, 3PW, PWU, and World-1. Between 2003 and 2005, Rockin' Rebel made numerous appearances with

Pro-Pain Pro Wrestling Pro-Pain Pro Wrestling, or 3PW, was a hardcore professional wrestling promotion based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It ran many shows from the former ECW Arena. Following the close of Extreme Championship Wrestling, many former ECW veterans, su ...

. He later wrestled for numerous independent federations, he wrestled his last match on May 10, 2014 for JCW in a losing effort against

Q. T. Marshall Michael Cuellari (born July 16, 1985), better known by the ring name Q. T. Marshall, is an American professional wrestler signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a performer and producer. He is a co-owner and trainer of The Nightmare Factory (form ...

. He was inducted into the DWF and IWPF halls of fame in 2012, and the ACW, MWF, and 1CW halls in 2014.

Personal life and death

In the 1990s, Williams was arrested for holding his wife Stephanie hostage in a closet with a firearm to her head, also threatening to kill himself. Williams died at home in West Chester in the early hours of June 1, 2018. On June 2, the

West Goshen Township West Goshen Township is a township in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 23,040 at the 2020 census. In 2013, ''Money Magazine'' voted West Goshen as the 10th best place to live in America. West Goshen has also been ra ...

Police Department said he shot and killed his wife before shooting himself. His 10-year-old children found their bodies the next morning. On June 21, 2018, Kyros Law announced that Williams' family decided to donate his brain for CTE research.

Championships and accomplishments

*Atomic Championship Wrestling **ACW Heavyweight Championship (4 time) **ACW Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Kitt and Heavy D *Blackball'd Wrestling Organization **BWO Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Greg Matthews *

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 ...

( 1 time) - with Greg Matthews *Defiant Championship Wrestling **DCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Elite Generation Wrestling **EGW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Empire Wrestling Alliance **EWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *

Independent Pro Wrestling Alliance The Independent Professional Wrestling Alliance (IPWA, sometimes shortened to the Independent Pro Wrestling Alliance) was an American independent circuit, independent professional wrestling promotion that held events in the Mid-Atlantic United Stat ...

IPWA Tag Team Championship The IPWA Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team championship in the Independent Professional Wrestling Alliance (IPWA). The inaugural champions were Death & Destruction (Frank Parker and Roger Anderson), who defeated the Ame ...

(1 time) - with

*Liberty All-Star Wrestling **LAW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **LAW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Jimmy Jannetty *Lethal Wrestling Federation **LWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *

MEWF Tag Team Championship This is a chronological list of MEWF tag team champions. The MEWF Tag Team Championship is the oldest championship title in the Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation having been established when the Lords of Darkness (Pain and Agony) defeated Cream T ...

( 3 times) - with Glen Osbourne *

NWA New Jersey NWA or Nwa most commonly refers to: * N.W.A ("Niggaz Wit Attitudes"), a hip hop group from Compton, California, US * National Wrestling Alliance, a professional wrestling organization NWA or Nwa may refer to: Music * New Weird America, a subgen ...

**NWA North Jersey Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Northeast Wrestling **NEW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Northern States Wrestling Alliance **NSWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Nittany Valley Wrestling **NVW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Premier Wrestling Federation **PWF Universal Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *

** 3PW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Greg Matthews **3PW Tag Team Royal Rumble (2005) *Tri-State Wrestling Alliance **TWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Valour Professional Wrestling **Valour Tag Team Championship - with

Nyla Rose Nyla Rose (born August 3, 1982) is an American professional wrestler and actress signed to All Elite Wrestling, where she is a former AEW Women's World Champion. She also starred in the 2016 Canadian television series '' The Switch''. Rose beca ...

*Virginia Wrestling Association **VWA Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **VWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Jeff Collett and Nick Thunderbird *

World Wide Wrestling Alliance The World Wide Wrestling Alliance (WWWA, 3WA), formerly known as NWA Ohio, is a defunct American professional wrestling promotion. However, NWA Ohio Owner & Promoter Dave Nelson's claim of ownership of the WWWA name is disputed. History Founded ...

**WWWA Television Championship (1 time) *

World Xtreme Wrestling World Xtreme Wrestling (WXW) is a Florida-based independent circuit, independent professional wrestling promotion which has held events across the United States and toured in Japan, the Middle East and South Pacific region including American Sa ...

** WXW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rockin Rebel 1966 births 2018 deaths 2018 suicides 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers American male professional wrestlers Murder–suicides in Pennsylvania Professional wrestlers from Pennsylvania Sportspeople from Philadelphia Suicides by firearm in Pennsylvania