| The Age of the Fall | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Stable | |
| Members | Jason Krow Ashtyn Martinez |
| Name(s) | The Age of the Fall AOTF Project 161 |
| Debut | March 8, 2009 |
| Disbanded | October 10, 2009 |
| Promotion(s) | World Wrestling Headquarters |
The Age of the Fall was a professional wrestling stable within World Wrestling Headquarters. Lead by the always-controversial Jason Krow, the Age of the Fall was formed in early 2009, and was composed of wrestlers, male and female alike, who, in Krow's words, "had a vision for something bigger, for something more, from this world". The gimmick of the stable as a whole was that of a group of radical revolutionaries, using whatever promotion for which they compete as a platform or soapbox for their message, and usually spreading their message at the physical expense of others that they believed simply "meshed into the system".
History[]
Formation[]
For weeks on end, World Wrestling Headquarters' internet outlet WWH.com received numerous cryptic messages from an anonymous source, stating messages of a coming revolution. Many people, both within and outside of WWH, scratched their heads at who could be behind what was dubbed as "Project 161", and what their real purpose was. After numerous anonymous messages, Project 161 revealed that they would make themselves known -- confirming the belief of many that this was the work of a group, not just one person -- at the March 8, 2009 Pay-Per-View event, Souled Out. Immediately, people turned to the advertised matchcard for Souled Out, thinking that someone scheduled to be on the card had something to do with Project 161; in fact, Zane Strident, Christopher Lambert, and Jason Krow were some of the most highly-suspected possible catalysts behind the impending revolution.
After the WWH Championship match between The Punisher and Jason Krow, during which 2009 Royal Rumble Match Winner Lucky Lawliet was the special guest referee, had been decided, a swarm of fans in black hoodies cut a swath through the crowd and made their way to the front row, instantly making verbal threats to Lawliet after she'd awarded the title to Krow. As Lawliet became distracted by the black-clad mob, she was attacked by newly-crowned WWH Bombshells Champion Ashley Renee, an assault that was later joined by Jack Flener, who took a barbwire-wrapped fist to the head of the battle-weary Punisher. Krow and Flener took to the task of bloodying The Punisher, as Renee incapacitated Lawliet, before Krow and Flener successfully hung The Punisher upside-down above the ring from a bungee chord. As the blood of The Punisher dripped down onto his body, Jason Krow revealed that he was, indeed, behind Project 161, declared the beginning of the Age of the Fall in World Wrestling Headquarters.
Aftermath[]
In a post-match interview, Krow declared that these events had been set into motion months in advance, and that there would soon be others involved. Sure enough, within the next week, Rocco Ross joined the stable, his first official involvement being his role in one of the many assaults against Lucky Lawliet and her allies leading into WrestleMania V. Amy Roucka-Hart, the World Heavyweight Champion at that time, also assisted in such attacks, but was never confirmed to be an official member of the stable, though she is still considered a strong ally of the group, given her connections to Jason Krow. Of course, there were numerous other feuds involving the Age of the Fall across both Inner Circle and Showdown leading into the event as well, all of which carried the same basic purpose -- winning championships for the Age of the Fall, and thus, bringing more power and leverage to the stable within WWH.
At WrestleMania V, the Age of the Fall members were fairly successful in their respective efforts. Jack Flener (accompanied by the newest member of the stable, Ariella Calaway) won the WWH No Limits Championship from then-champion Edge, and later that night, Flener and Rocco Ross won the WWH World Tag Team Championships from then-champions Christopher Lambert and Danchelle Loewan; however, Ross failed to win the Money in the Bank Ladder Match (which was won by Ross "Highlander" McLaughlin), and Jason Krow would lose the WWH Championship to Lucky Lawliet, despite Krow seeming to have the mental edge over Lawliet in prior weeks.
The following week, during a live event in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Jack Flener (now under the ring name Devin Copeland) confirmed an upcoming tournament to unify his WWH No Limits Championship with the vacant WWH International Championship, and declared his intentions to win the unified belt for the Age of the Fall. During the same event, fellow AOTF member Ashley Renee interrupted a speech by the returning Kimikura Setzu, stating her disdain at the fact that her opponent in her Bombshells Championship match, Mickie James, had (legitimately) pulled out at the last minute, and that WWH management had decided to simply nix Renee's WrestleMania match entirely, instead of simply finding her a new opponent. After an exchange of words and threats from both Renee and Setzu, Jason Krow would interfere and assist Renee in a violent, bloody beatdown of Setzu, planting the seeds for a feud between Setzu and the Age of the Fall (mainly Ashley Renee).
The WWH Talent Purge[]
On Monday, April 13, 2009, it was suddenly announced, without any prior warning to the roster, that Inner Circle would be closed down as a brand due to a sudden purge of talent from World Wrestling Headquarters. This incident is being reported as a "talent management mishap", though rumors quickly began flying around that Adrian Hart released a massive amount of talent in a fit of rage. In any case, one victim of the talent purge was Devin Copeland, forcing WWH Management to make a quick decision regarding the World Tag Team Championships held by Copeland and Rocco Ross. It was announced on April 15 that Krow and Age of the Fall stablemate Ashley Renee would be the new World Tag Team Champions, under a "varient" of the infamous "Freebird Rule"; however, due to a highly-negative reaction -- from fans and company employees alike, and even from Krow and Renee themselves -- about how poorly the tag title situation was handled, it was decided that, after a grand total of two days, the titles would be vacated, and held up until the end of the World Tag Cup Series tournament, in which the Age of the Fall (Krow and Renee) will compete. The status of Devin Copeland within the Age of the Fall was at that time unknown, due to Copeland's reported hesitation towards returning after the talent purge; however, Copeland was hired back, and was not in any way written out of the Age of the Fall.
After what is known now by many as the "WWH Talent Purge", Jason Krow asked for, and was granted, his release from World Wrestling Headquarters. Soon after, Rocco Ross was (kayfabe) promoted to Executive Shareholder of the company, and Devin Copeland was released from his contract as well. However, about a month later, following WWH's Final Destination Pay-Per-View, Krow and Copeland were both reinstated, and the Age of the Fall reformed. However, it was reported that Ross would not rejoin the stable; Ashley Renee, however, soon confirmed her spot in the stable, though preferring to keep her character as a tweener rather than a full-fledged heel like Krow or Copeland. Ashtyn Martinez would later be added to the stable, being Jason Krow's manager.
At WWH's Welcome to the Jungle event, Ashley Renee lost the WWH Bomshells Championship to Kayley Marie. In addition, Jason Krow and Devin Copeland failed to win a Ladder Match against Jimmy Jacobs and Rose Cortez that would determine the #1 Contenders for the WWH World Tag Team Championships; however, it should be noted that Krow suffered a legitimate jaw injury early in the match when Cortez slammed a ladder full-force into his face, forcing Krow to be helped out and Copeland to work the match two-on-one. Despite this injury, however, Jason Krow defeated Heather Phoenix via submission to win the WWH Demolition Heavyweight Championship, making himself a seven-time world champion in the process.
It was announced on June 8, 2009, the day after Welcome to the Jungle, that Ashley Renee had asked for, and was granted, her release from World Wrestling Headquarters, leaving Krow, Copeland, and Martinez in the stable. However, right around the time of the Pay-Per-View, Krow had been sending messages to an anonymous party, saying that said person "needs" the Age of the Fall, and that Krow is "only a phone call away", though it should be noted that any new Age of the Fall member would not be directly added as a replacement for Ashley Renee. Krow's recruitment of a new member and Renee's self-granted release are simply coincidental events.
Recruitment and Addition of New Members[]
On the June 15, 2009 edition of Monday Night Demolition, Devin Copeland added more gold to the Age of the Fall by capturing the then-vacant WWH Underground Championship by defeating Chris Cane in a Falls Count Anywhere match. This bout also saw the on-screen debut of new AOTF member, and Copeland's new manager, Angel Lynn. A new member to the stable, Ligeia Cariosus, was added on June 26, 2009 through the use of a message on WWH.com.
At Grindhouse, on July 5, 2009, Devin Copeland would drop the Underground Championship to Chris Hero. Later in the night, Jason Krow and Darkside competed for almost a half-hour in the "I Quit" Match for the WWH Demolition Heavyweight Championship. However, at one point in the match, Krow and Darkside, chairs in hand, suddenly turned on the referee, hitting him in the head with their respective chairs before beating him senseless. Heather Phoenix, who was backstage with Xavier Cross, attacked the General Manager and stole back the WWH Demolition Heavyweight Championship, declaring it "won" in the name of the Age of the Fall, although, technically, the contest was thrown out (and thus, Krow retained). The trio then proceeded to beat down, bloody, and suspend Xavier Cross above the ring, in a scene almost identical to that of Souled Out back in March, when the three original members -- Krow, Ashley Renee, and Copeland -- did the exact same thing to The Punisher. Following this match, the collective of the Age of the Fall was attacked by a sledgehammer-wielding Zane Strident, who first struck Copeland in the jaw before going after the rest, though all Age of the Fall members managed to get away safely in their limousine.
In the month of August, the Age of the Fall lost two of its members within the course of a couple of weeks; Ligeia Cariosus left the company due to a falling out between her and high-end management members (reportedly Adrian Hart wanted to bury the character when she declined a storyline involving her becoming his on-screen wife), and Devin Copeland requested his release from World Wrestling Headquarters, was granted it, and subsequently retired from wrestling altogether. On-screen, this sudden departure was regarded by Krow as Copeland having "betrayed" and "abandoned" the Age of the Fall; in retaliation, a video soon surfaced on Krow's blog of himself confronting Copeland's girlfriend, Angel Lynn, outside of a fitness center. Although the video feed was cut as soon as Krow produced his signature spike, in full view of Lynn, it's easily assumable that Lynn was attacked in a way so brutal that Devin Copeland has since kept an extremely low profile, not even appearing for so much as an autograph signing.
A month and a half after his successful defense at Grindhouse, Krow successfully defended the WWH Demolition Heavyweight Championship against Matt Statham in a Clockwork Orange House of Fun Match at SummerSlamm, on August 23, 2009. This match was the climax of a short feud that centered mainly around Statham's cousin and mentor, Ash DuBois, attempting to oust Krow from his position as champion in the name of DuBois, known to be a former partner and heated rival of Krow. Whether the Age of the Fall will continue any kind of feud against the Statham and DuBois collective ("The Nation of Revenge") is unclear, though it would seem likely, given that the group's inception was entirely for the purpose of doing just that -- gaining revenge -- on Krow for all of his transgressions, especially against Ash DuBois over the years. On September 8, 2009, it was confirmed that both Heather Phoenix and Zachriel "Darkside" Donahue had been released from their WWH contracts, with WWH officials citing "multiple failures to appear to work scheduled events" as the main reason; the same day also saw usually-managerial member Ashtyn Martinez renegotiate her contract so as to become an active in-ring competitor, though she will apparently still serve as Jason Krow's manager.
Disbandment[]
After the untimely and abrupt releases of Donahue and Phoenix, the stable as a whole was numerically crippled, reduced to Jason Krow and Ashtyn Martinez at the time, though they temporarily added Thorn Viduata to their ranks. On September 5, 2009, it was announced that Demolition would be merged with the Inner Circle and Showdown brands, due to a high number of released talent within the company, mostly caused by Wellness Policy violations involving marijuana. Therefore, Jason Krow's Demolition Heavyweight Champion would be unified with Inner Circle's World Heavyweight Championship in a title unification match against Dominick Starr at the upcoming X-Games Pay-Per-View. Shortly thereafter, Krow lost two consecutive matches on Inner Circle -- the first being a Triple Threat Tables match against Dominick Starr and long-time foe Zane Strident, where Strident put Krow through a table to get the win; the second being a standard Triple Threat match against Matt Statham and Aiden Payne, where Payne defeated Krow by pinfall. Soon after, Jason Krow appeared to have gone into seclusion; he didn't appear at house shows, autograph sessions, or other scheduled appearances, and seemed to have vanished from the public eye entirely, leading many people to believe that Krow had, perhaps, been released from the company again, thus vacating the WWH Demolition Heavyweight Championship in the process.
A few days later, however, Krow re-emerged through a recording sent to WWH.com, declaring the death of the Age of the Fall as both a stable and a revolution, and vehemently blaming the fans for its demise. He would later make a public appearance at a house show in San Francisco, California, continuing to explain that the WWH fans (and pro wrestling fans in general) were the reason that he and so many others constantly suffer injuries and setbacks, physical and mental. At X-Games, on October 11, 2009, Krow defeated Starr to win the World Heavyweight Championship for the second time, albeit he used the ropes for illegal leverage during the deciding pinfall. He would later go on to dedicate his new title reign entirely to himself and himself only, as opposed to his "last cursed reign" that he dedicated to and defended for a "godforsaken revolution"; many fans feel that this was the final nail in the coffin of the Age of the Fall in World Wrestling Headquarters, as Krow began displaying a new, more selfish and self-indulging attitude, and completely dismissing the opinions of the fans, positive or negative.
In Wrestling[]
- Members
- None (Stable Disbanded)
- Former Members
- Jason Krow (Leader)
- Ashtyn Martinez
- Thorn Viduata
- Rocco Ross
- Ariella Calaway
- Ashley Renee
- Ligeia Cariosus
- Devin Copeland
- Zachriel "Darkside" Donahue
- Heather Phoenix
- Finishing and Signature Moves
- Lights Out (Vertebreaker / Diving double foot stomp combination)
- Code Omega V2 (Powerbomb / Contra Code combination)
- Stalling vertical suplex / Diving or springboard crossbody combination
- Full nelson facebuster / Reverse STO combination
- Dragon sleeper / Slingshot elbow drop combination
- Powerbomb / Lung-blower combination
- Signature Objects
- 8-inch metal spike (Krow)
- Entrance Music
- "The Haunted" (Scream Intro) by Walls of Jericho
Championships and Accomplishments[]
- World Wrestling Headquarters
- WWH Championship (1 time) - Jason Krow
- WWH Demolition Heavyweight Championship (1 time) - Jason Krow
- WWH Bombshells Championship (1 time) - Ashley Renee
- WWH World Tag Team Championships (2 times) - Devin Copeland & Rocco Ross (1 time), and Jason Krow & Ashley Renee (1 time)
- WWH No Limits Championship (1 time) - Devin Copeland
- WWH Underground Championship (1 time) - Devin Copeland