BANKIE'S HOT TAKE #125: "The Chosen One" Caleb Konley and his custom $100,000 JCW Lunacy Heavyweight Title
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
I will be completely honest. It took me a long time to get behind watching Juggalo Championship Wrestling.
I should’ve watched from the beginning, in truth. The Insane Clown Posse, who have been running JCW since December 1999, are, in my opinion, the most underappreciated and underappreciated brand builders of all time. Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope have been able to transcend music to an absolute independent entertainment entity. They are DIY to the max.
Also, Vince Russo had joined late last year as a writer of the Lunacy shows. Despite what people say, he truly is the greatest wrestling writer of all time. Even if you take away the Attitude Era, his work with “The Powers That Be” and The New Blood in WCW, Sports Entertainment Xtreme in TNA, and even his on-again/off-again writing with Rocky Mountain Pro was tremendous. (I even wrote a Hot Take on my fandom of “The Filter” character in RMP, which you can read about here.)
However, I was burned out from wrestling, believe it or not.
I had a lot of personal issues transpire in a short amount of time, which made enjoying things way more difficult. However, pro wrestling also really turned a downward swing after WrestleMania XL in 2024 for me, especially on a creative level. The performers inside the squared circle are truly next level, but the storylines and angles for the television show really aren’t there right now.
Over the past few months, I began watching clips of JCW promos. In particular, the one where “Cowboy” James Storm and Mr. Russo talking about the Coal Miner’s Glove on a Pole match. The Storm mention of the blindfold cage match, and Vinny Ru’s “You can’t always hit a home run” retort popped me.
Also, the resurgence of Big Vito as a character was a genuine surprise. The unsung hero of WCW in 2000, watching the intense Italian showcase his character work was a refreshing surprise. Watching clips of his wild cursing segments had me laughing.
So, about a month ago, I buckled. I tuned into a live premiere of JCW Lunacy on June 18. By the end of the episode, I was hooked.
The flow of the program just fit. Similar to the Attitude Era and every other stage of Mr. Russo’s career, Lunacy had story threads, character development, and decent wrestling. Everyone seemed like they were involved in one form or the other.
I immediately went back and started watching all of the older episodes, beginning with Mr. Russo’s debut as the “investor” in JCW in November 2025.
The most enjoyable part of binge watching Lunacy was the rise of Caleb Konley as Mr. Russo’s “Chosen One”, culminating on that 6/18/26 episode with Konley winning the JCW Lunacy Heavyweight Championship.
And that is where the HOT TAKE truly takes shape.
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I remember Caleb Konley as a member of the Premier Athlete Brand with Anthony Nese in EVOLVE and Dragon Gate USA, holding the Open the United Gate Championships in the mid-2010s. To be completely honest, I never realized the extent of how deep his career has been.
The epitome of independent wrestling journeyman, Konley has been EVERYWHERE. From EVOLVE, DGUSA, and FIP to ROH, CZW, TNA, GCW, and a majority of independents in between, Konley has been absolutely consistent with his career. For over 20 years, he has not quit on himself, in spite of the tough times.
By the way Mr. Russo made it to JCW, Konley was a former JCW American Champion, but the 50% Owner had bigger plans. Similar to a certain Southern wrestler during the late 90’s/early 2000s, Russo saw Caleb as “the Chosen One”. For those who might not remember, during Jeff Jarrett’s final eighteen months in WCW, he was “the Powers That Be” and the New Blood’s handpicked future World Champion.
To many, that was a tremendous honor for Konley to receive. But, he had to EARN it.
Throughout 2026, Konley had to work tirelessly to show Mr. Russo that he had that killer instinct and that he was worthy of the JCW Lunacy Heavyweight Championship. After pinning both Nic Nemeth AND Riddle at JCW Strangle-Mania: Viva Las Violence on April 17, 2026 in a four-way elimination match for the title, he took his eye off the prize and, following a Popeye-style moment with a white substance, CoKane pinned him with a chokeslam to retain the belt.
After upending Nemeth in a fantastic battle a few weeks later, Mr. Russo decided to put Konley through Four Weeks of Hell and if Konley won all of his matches, he would receive one more chance at the gold.
In one month of Lunacy television, Konley, by hook or by crook, defeated the Soultaker, ERNEST “THE CAT” MILLER, the Pimp and Gimp Connection of the Human Tornado & Zack Gowen, and Krule to get that chance. And on June 18, 2026, thanks to assistance from the grunge rocker Steven Flowe and Mr. Russo, Konley pinned CoKane to achieve his destiny and become the JCW Lunacy Heavyweight Championship!
On the next episode of Lunacy, Mr. Russo had a celebration for Konley, as well as Flowe and the Ring Rat. After giving Flowe a Golden Guitar for his service, the big unveiling happened.
Mr. Russo gave Konley, all decked out in a suit, a custom-made $100,000 JCW Lunacy Heavyweight title, complete with “the Chosen One’s” face on it. For Mr. Russo not being a belt mark, this was a side to behold.
For me, this is definitely a throwback to the Attitude Era and Stone Cold Steve Austin with his own custom WWF Championship belt. The Smokin’ Skull not only defined “the Texas Rattlesnake", but also defined the Attitude Era itself.
This is something not unlike what Matt Cardona did for himself as GCW Champion or Jeff Hardy as TNA World Champion in Immortal. It adds an extra layer of depth to the character of Konley. As “The Chosen One”, you get all the perks that go along with being the champion.
Mr. Russo even laid down a stipulation to Konley as Lunacy Heavyweight Champion, as the “Jack Tunney Rule” is being enforced, meaning only one title defense a month. Anything to honor a Hardway HQ Hall of Famer is good for us.
I think Violent J and Vince Russo, as well as Caleb Konley, need to be commended for this. It’s a total dedication to the product and the character, as well as an investment into the future.
I am looking forward to seeing the next set of shows dedicated to “the Chosen One” Caleb Konley as JCW Lunacy Heavyweight Champion. I think the story will be who will be the one to chase and take the title off of him. The bigger story: who is going to cover Konley’s face on the championship, Lance Storm Canadian Champion style?
Check out JCW Lunacy. It’s just a good program.
Bankie Bruce
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