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, 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,

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 (wrestler), Lobo, Nick Gage and Justice Pain, along with trainer Jon Dahmer, began to run professio ...

, 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 ( Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson), debuting in December 1988 as Rockin' Rebel. In 1989 , Williams made a few appearances in the World Wrestling Federation losing to Honky Tonk Man and Brutus Beefcake. 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 Eastern Championship Wrestling.

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 Natio ...

(WCW) and numerous dark matches with the then called World Wrestling Federation (WWF). He had successful tours of Japan,

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 (Republi ...

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

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), 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; ...

-based Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation 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 East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

-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 Lobo may refer to: Places *Lobo, Batangas, a municipality in the Philippines *Lobo, Texas, a ghost town *Lobo, Indonesia *Lobo, Cameroon, a town in Cameroon *Lobo Hill, near Belchite, Aragon, Spain * Lobo, Ontario, near London, Ontario, Canada Pe ...

'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. 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. 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 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 ( 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 professional wrestling promotion that held events in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United State ...

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 Amer ...

(1 time) - with Glen Osbourne *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) * Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation ** MEWF Tag Team Championship ( 3 times) - with Glen Osbourne * NWA New Jersey **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) * Pro-Pain Pro Wrestling ** 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 *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 **WWWA Television Championship (1 time) * World Xtreme Wrestling **

WXW Heavyweight Championship The WXW Heavyweight Championship is the top professional wrestling title in the World Xtreme Wrestling promotion. It was created in 1996 as the WSWF Heavyweight Championship under WXW's original name, the World Star Wrestling Federation. The prom ...

(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