James Edwards

[James Edwards]

James Edwards


Wrestler Name: James Edwards
Ring Name: James Edwards
Nickname(s): The Burning Heart
Gender: Male
Picbase: Zach Gilford
D. O. B.: 02/21/1995
Height: 5'9
Weight: 204

Years Pro: 2
Accolades/Accomplishments: 1x and Final Fight One Champion, 1x Fight One Vendetta Champion, 1x Fight One Outlaw Champion, 2x Fight One Unified, 1x UWL World Television Champion, 1x and longest reigning Lion's Road Iron Champion, 1x and first Seattle Pro Heavyweight Champion, 1x and first Seattle Pro Pride Champion and 2X first and longest reigning UKWF Broadcast Champion. Winner of Fight One Mill City Massacre War Games Match. Winner of Lion's Road "Iron Road" Tournament. Winner of UKWF New Year's Broadcast Battle Royal.

Hometown: Avon Station, Kentucky
Billed From: Lexington, Kentucky
Entrance Theme: "My Name is Human" by Highly Suspect
Entrance Description: The house lights go down, and the arena stays black during the garbled opening guitar rift, then, "Okay." Strobe lights move with the easy beat of the song. James appears at the top of the ramp with the hood on his ring jacket up. He takes a few moments survey everything before him. The hood goes down with the opening lyrics. Moving with the meandering pace of the music, his eyes never leave the ring. He laps the squared circle, slides under the bottom ropes, and bows martial arts style to all four corners before settling into his own.

Personality: It's complicated. James' belief in sportsmanship, toughness, and his no-nonsense style make the Burning Heart a likable figure. However, his seeming aloofness to the well-being of his opponents, rigid sense of morality, and obvious annoyance when doing interviews or attending company social functions earn him the scorn of fans and colleagues alike. Recently, James has grown concerned about the focus on the entertainment side of fighting, the growing sense of entitlement backstage, lack of opportunity based on merit, and unnecessary violence. He thinks that wrestling could be and deserves to be better. He wants to see it return to its roots as a sport built on healthy competition and rule of civilized brutality. The only way he sees to do that is to form an active counter-culture
Allies: None
Rivals: None

Strengths


1) Hurting Bombs: When James attacks an opponent with his world-class strikes their ancestors will feel it.
2) Tranquilo: Far removed from his days as walking bomb in the ring, James demonstrates a remarkable ability to detach from negative emotion during his fights. He often shows remarkable cool in the clutch.
3) Stays in the Box: James knows his limitations well. As a result, he sticks to what he does best and fights a conservative bout so that he won't have to take any many risks. He rarely makes stupid mistakes.
4) Growing Defensive Game: James is developing a rock-solid defensive game of fundamental holds, counters, and pinning combination. Thanks to this his late match energy level and overall strategy are growing by leaps and bounds.


Weaknesses


1) Gassed: The downside to James' preferred frantic pace and hard-hitting style is that his ceiling on most matches is fifteen minutes topped.
2) Wildfire: When his normally placid veneer breaks, James becomes a bull. He will charge into attack an opponent without a second thought. The result is he leaves himself open to take some massive damage.
3) White Guy Who Can't Fly: James is the living stereotype of the white boy who can't jump. Any flying maneuver he attempts have to be well thought out, and that adds to the time it takes for him to execute the move.
4) The Old Girl Won't Let Him Down: Grappling will never come easily to James, and at times he will forsake a smarter gameplan and will try to end the match quickly with strikes. This makes him an easy riddle to solve for gifted tacticians.


Preferred Match Type(s): MMA Rules
Least Favourite Match Types: Anything involving weapons

Wrestling Style:  Already considered one of the most talented and hardest hitting strikers in the world barely two years into his career, James will always consider them his bread and better. The manner in which he uses them will depend on his mindset. When he is focused and calm, James will use heavy, well-timed blows to conserve energy and cause the most damage to his opponent. Not a particularly talented chain wrestled, there is nothing pretty about his ground game; he will latch onto a body part like a Doberman and stretch his foe for all they are worth. Submissions are his way of recovering after being rocked or to slow down large or faster opponents. Due to a dearth of athleticism, James' aerial moves take some time for him to set up and are usually only for last-ditch efforts when nothing else has worked. The newest addition to James arsenal is a variety of takedowns, martial arts throws, and flash pins for defensive or momentum shifting purposes. These are ugly as sin, but are designed to hurt more than anything because James always will put a little extra something on them.



Finishers

Note: James likes to cycle through his finishers every few weeks to keep his opponents guessing.

1) Violent Gospel (Running PK Kick to a seated opponent. No one gets up from the Gospel)
2) Foxfire (Fisherman Buster)
3) The Graveyard Cough (Twister)


Signature Moves:
1) Half-Cut (Half Nelson Suplex)
2) Night Comes to the Cumberlands (Takeover Sleeper Choke)
3) Pole Shift (Rebound Spinning Wheel Kick)
4) Double Tap (Consecutive Spinning Backfists)
5) Second Gospel (Hammerlock Transitioned into a Short-Arm Bicycle High Knee. This move can also be used as a finisher)

Moveset:
1) Strikes: In spite of his progression as a well-rounded wrestler career, James best friend on offense is his striking game. Well versed in a patient and methodical method, Edwards will make each hit count whether the opponent is standing, kneeling or laying prone on the canvas. He does not discriminate in which part of the body to use. Slaps, kicks, chops, knees, jabs, elbows, and headbutts are all in play.
2) Holds, Throws, and Pins: In an attempt to add an element of surprise to his attack, James is beginning to incorporate a variety of traditional olympic wrestling takedowns, judo throws, jiu-jitsu grappling, lucha style quick pins, and southern wrasslin' tosses. They are not pretty in the least bit but get the job done.
3) Suplex Variations
- German
- Dragon
- Backdrop
- Snap
- Tiger
- Butterfly
- Sambo
- Waist Lock
- Northern Lights
4) Submission Holds
- Single Leg Crab
- Standing Arm Triangle Choke
- Heel Hook
- Knee Bar
- Kimura
- Crossface
- Omoplata
5) Aerial Moves
- Diving Headbutt
- Diving Double Knee Facebuster
- Diving Lariat
- Diving Leg Lariat
- Springboard Enzguri
- Springboard Forearm
6) Cutter Variations
- Rolling
- Cravat
7) Gourdbuster Variations
- Belly-to-Back
- Fireman's Carry
8) Reverse DDT
9) Ace Crusher
10) Snap Powerslam
11) Folding Powerbomb
12) Leaping Double Foot Stomp
13) Double Underhook Brainbuster
14) Counter Moves
-Running STO
-Hurriacanrana
-Head scissors takedown
-Superkick

Biography: “Ain’t much to talk about,” is usually how James Edwards will reply when someone tries to dig up details about his past. Rumors, unconfirmed of course, suggest it wasn’t particularly pleasant, whatever happened birthed a highly individualistic, head-strong fighter. James burst onto the scene in Fight One in May 2015 with a quick, submission defeat. Over the next year he defied the odds and rose up the ranks, winning highly personal feuds against Corey Grant and Johnny A.M. When Fight Closed last summer, James was its final champion and capture four of the company’s five sanctioned championships. During 2016, James freelanced and fought in several promotions. Successful runs in North Atlantic Wrestling and Boardwalk Wrestling bookended a run in the Universal Wrestling League. Bitter wars with Ryan McCollum and Mark Smart cheapened a World Television Championship win, and James quietly exited the League in September 2016. Throughout the autumn and into the new year has been the most successful time in James’ career. He was the inaugural UKWF Broadcast Champion, won the rebooted Seattle Pro’s World Championship, and is in the midst of a record-setting reign as Lion’ Road Iron Champion.