Wreaking Havok on gold rush at IMPACT’s Hard To Kill
By Mike Pankow
January 13, 2021
Opportunity is knocking for Jessicka Havok.
The 16-year veteran is looking to make some more history as she and longtime friend and partner Nevaeh vie for the IMPACT Wrestling Knockouts Tag Team Championships this Saturday night.
Havok, who previously held the women’s Knockouts Championship as a singles competitor, hopes to add to her mantle in the tournament final, as she and Nevaeh look to plow through Kiera Hogan and Tasha Steelz during IMPACT Wrestling’s Hard To Kill event pay-per-view and FITE.
Jessicka Havok makes her entrance during Bound For Glory 2019 at The Odeum in Villa Park in the Western suburbs of Chicago. Havok and her partner, Nevaeh, are competing for IMPACT Knockouts Tag Team Championships at Hard to Kill this weekend. (Photo courtesy IMPACT Wrestling)
IMPACT resurrected the championship when it announced late last year that the company would conduct a tournament to crown new champions. The titles had been dormant since 2013 after a lengthy reign by ODB and Eric Young. Stars such as Gail Kim, Madison Rayne, Tara (Lisa Marie Varon), The Beautiful People, Awesome Kong and Rosita (Thea Trinidad) were among those to have held the championships.
“Winning these titles would mean so much more than anybody can imagine,” Havok, 34, told Windy City Slam on Tuesday. “Nevaeh and I have been tagging for a very long time even before Nevaeh made her debut in IMPACT Wrestling. We are the most experienced tag team in the women’s division at IMPACT Wrestling, so I definitely think that helps us get the advantage.
“I don’t think Tasha and Kiera can get anything past us. They talk a lot, but at this point, talk is cheap. We’re ready for their shenanigans, we’re ready for anything they pull from their sleeves.”
Havok and Nevaeh defeated Tenille Dashwood and Alisha Edwards in the quarterfinals and then knocked off a dynamic duo in Jordynne Grace and Jazz in the semifinals. The victory over Grace and Jazz made Havok and Nevaeh the favorite heading into the final match and gave the duo a nice feather in its cap.
“Jordynne Grace is one of my favorite women to watch wrestle, because she doesn’t move like a girl,” Havok said. “She is a pure athlete. She’s balls to the wall, always going in, never disappoints. She is also one of my favorite people I’ve ever shared a ring with, because of these things.
“Jazz, on the other hand, is someone I’ve looked up to ever since I was a kid. I grew up watching her. I got the pleasure of becoming friends with her years ago to the point where I tell people that ‘Jazz is my wrestling mom.’ To finally share a ring with somebody I idolized for so long was so surreal to me.
“Honestly, I was on Cloud Nine. I couldn’t think of a better feeling. I think the match was awesome and then us winning made it even better. There were a lot of emotions in that, going into it and coming out of it.”
Havok’s connection with Nevaeh dates back over a decade to when both were rising through the independent ranks in Ohio, first as in-ring rivals and then as a tag team partners, including in Dave Prazak’s all-women’s promotion, SHIMMER, which is based in Chicago.
“I actually met Nevaeh at a show (possibly IWA Mid-South) where we wrestled each other,” Havok said. “We were both really, really green. I remember having such a good match with her at our experience level. We just kind of hit it off from there.
“I think we actually started tagging at Queens of Combat, which was a company that ran in North Carolina. We had something there, it worked really well. Even though she and I had such different wrestling styles and we don’t look identical like a lot of tag teams. We still are cohesive, and we still make it work. I feel like our versatile styles only help us.”
Havok says her in-ring bond with Neveah has translated into a lifelong friendship outside the ring.
“If I didn’t have wrestling in my life tomorrow, she would be one of the few people that I still talk to,” Havok said. “She is legitimately my best friend in wrestling and in life, so I trust her in anything.”
Women’s wrestling has thrived in IMPACT for over a decade and IMPACT is often credited for giving women a real chance on the national scene when many other promotions overlooked or diminished the roles of female wrestlers.
Over the last couple of years, WWE introduced a Women’s Tag Team Championship and AEW recently held a women’s tag team tournament, but IMPACT was ahead of the curve when it came to opportunity for women’s wrestlers.
With Havok and Nevaeh, along with Grace, Dashwood, current Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo, Taya Valkyrie, Rosemary, Su Yung, Kimber Lee and the legendary Rayne just to name a few, the IMPACT women’s roster is pretty stacked.
Havok, left, and Sami Callihan during an appearance for Warrior Wrestling in March 2019 in Chicago Heights, Ill. (Photo by Mike Pankow)
“The thing that I love most about IMPACT Wrestling is that the women’s division has been one of the major focal points this entire time,” Havok said. “The women always get the chance to shine. That’s one of my favorite things about IMPACT. They don’t focus on just who they feel are the one or two top girls, they’re focused on the entire division. We get to have great TV time. We get to have actual full wrestling matches. It feels great to be part of that. Honestly, I put our women’s division up against any other women’s division. My opinion is we have the best women’s division right now.”
In addition to the Knockouts Tag Team Championship tournament final, Hard To Kill potentially looks like another quality show from top to bottom.
The main event is slated to be the huge crossover six-man tag team match featuring IMPACT World Champion Rich Swann and The Motor City Machine Guns against AEW World Champion Kenny Omega and IMPACT World Tag Team Champions The Good Brothers.
The Knockouts Championship is also on the line as two-time champion Purrazzo faces the challenge of Valkyrie, who is the longest reigning Knockouts Champion.
In another featured match and a battle of former IMPACT World Champions, Sami Callihan (Havok’s longtime boyfriend) rekindles his red-hot rivalry from a couple of years ago with Eddie Edwards in “Barbed Wire Massacre.”
While originally from Ohio, Havok has seen her fair share of success come in the Chicago area with independent promotions such as SHIMMER and RISE, along with AAW, where she was a two-time Women’s Champion. She also made a couple of cameo run-ins during Warrior Wrestling 4 in March 2018.
Her most memorable moment in the Chicago area, however, came in an IMPACT ring when she competed in the intergender Call Your Shot Gauntlet battle royal as part of Bound For Glory in Oct. 2019 at The Odeum in West Suburban Villa Park.
“My heart lies with the fans of Chicago,” Havok said. “Competing in the Call Your Shot battle royal, that was honestly one of the most fun moments of my life. My music hitting and everybody there just going nuts, then getting to kick some ass with women and men, it just felt awesome. I rode that high for hours after that event was over.”
Now in her second tenure with IMPACT, Havok feels there are no limits to what she can accomplish.
“I would love for Nevaeh and me to have a nice title run. I’m hoping that we can pull off this victory on Saturday.
“I would love to have another Knockouts title run at some point as well. We have a lot of amazing women on the roster already. I love to create magic in the ring with other women that are deserving. I’m grateful and happy to be in IMPACT Wrestling. Over the next year, I’m going to bust my ass and try to continue to surprise the fans.”
FOLLOW HAVOK ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Twitter: @FearHavok
Instagram: @havokdeathmachine
Twitch: twitch.tv/jessickahavok
Check out the full interview with Havok right here:
Havok talks about her career, her friendship with Nevaeh, what other matches she’s looking forward to at Hard To Kill, her time in Chicago, her dream opponents and much more!
HARD TO KILL PRIMER
CELL-EBRATION (VIRTUAL FAN FEST)
Saturday, Jan. 16, 11 a.m. (ET), 10 a.m. (CT), via Zoom
Talent guests: Rich Swann, Deonna Purrazzo, The Good Brothers, Don Callis, Eric Young, Motor City Machine Guns, Tasha Steelz & Kiera Hogan.
Cost: $110
For more details and to register: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_X8UGtY3mT96OM91LXnjNIg
MAIN CARD
Saturday, Jan. 16, 8 p.m. (ET), 7 p.m. (CT), Pay-per-view, FITE
6-man tag team match: IMPACT Champion Rich Swann & The Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley) vs. AEW Champion Kenny Omega & The Good Brothers (Karl Anderson & “The Big LG” Doc Gallows)
IMPACT Knockouts Championship: Deonna Purrazzo (c) vs. Taya Valkyrie
IMPACT Knockouts Tag Team Championship (tournament final): Havok & Nevaeh vs. Kiera Hogan & Tasha Steelz
Barbed Wire Massacre: Sami Callihan vs. Eddie Edwards
IMPACT X Division Championship: Manik (c) vs. Chris Bey vs. Rohit Raju
6-man tag team match: Eric Young, Deaner & Joe Doering vs. Rhino, Tommy Dreamer & Cousin Jake
The Karate Man vs. Ethan Page
Intergender tag team match: Tenille Dashwood & Kaleb with a K vs. Rosemary & Crazzy Steve
Catch Windy City Slam editor Mike Pankow talking local and national pro wrestling every week with Chris Lanuti on The Windy City Slam Podcast, broadcasting live on the Podbean app at noon every Monday with the podcast available Monday evenings/Tuesday mornings wherever you download podcasts or at https://windycityslam.podbean.com/.
We are looking for guests to appear on the Windy City Slam Podcast! Please contact Mike at mikepankow@windycityslam.com, message him on Facebook or DM him on Twitter.
