He's a man that has almost as many nicknames as Mark Windham.  Some call him "Devastating," some call him "The Wolf, he's even been called the "King of Darkness."  Whatever you call him, you have to agree that he is one of the greatest champions the sport has ever known.

Over the past seven years, Mike Randalls has wrestled in leagues throughout the world, and held titles in all of them.  He's been a World Champion on at least nine different occasions.  In fact, Randalls was already a CSWA veteran when he entered the CSWA for the second time in 1994.  It took him little time to rush to the top of the rankings.  And when the first Enterprise World Heavyweight Tournament came along, he was poised to take his first title in the CSWA.  November 12, 1994 at Battle of the Belts X: The Fall Classic, Randalls struck gold.  In the finals of the sixteen-man tournament, Randalls met and defeated Flic Rair to become the first man to strap the EN World Title around his waist.

However, Randalls' first title reign was not destined to last long.  Just five weeks later, Mike Randalls faced his toughest opponent up to that point in the ring.   "Muppet Kid" Timmy Windham may have been young with green paint on his face, but even then, he was a true wrestler.  With the help of his bungee cord, Windham shocked the world by defeating Randalls and gaining his first singles title.

As we all know, Mike Randalls doesn't take defeat well.  He exercised the rematch clause in his contract to get a match against Windham just four day later at CSWA PRIMETIME in Jacksonville.  Randalls decided to leave nothing to chance.  As Timmy Windham came down the aisle with the gold strapped around his waist, "Cocky" Craig Miles of Full Force, one of Randalls' best wrestling buddies, attacked Muppet Kid.  Windham was barely able to walk, but he made it to the ring, where he was quickly dispatched, making Mike Randalls the new two-time EN World Champion.

Yet again, Randalls was not destined to hold the EN Title for long.  His second title reign lasted nine weeks.  In the meantime, Randalls had begun his feud with Unified World Champion Hornet (see their Feud Profile).  Needless to say, on March 9, 1995, Mike Randalls vacated the Enterprise World Title to become the new Unified World Heavyweight Champion.

Randalls became only the third man to hold the Unified Title, defeating two-time champion Hornet.  Just two months later, at Battle of the Belts XI, on May 13, 1995, his reign as Unified Champion was brought to an end by JT Tyler.

Once again, Randalls would reap his revenge.  Shortly after the loss, Randalls viciously attacked Hornet, Mark Windham, JT Tyler and GUNS.  At CSWA Apocalypse, Mike Randalls went over the edge, plunging a wooden stake through the back of GUNS' right leg.  Due to his brutality at Apocalypse, Randalls was suspended from the CSWA for almost three months, losing his return match against Tyler and his top contender status. 

After his return, the long feud between he and Hornet would eventually continue, but first another feud would take flight, as Randalls and GUNS began their deadly dance. Eventually, that feud would teeter back and forth, with Randalls hitting some of his highest and lowest points, by once again becoming EN World Champion over GUNS, but also saying "I Quit" in their Death Island match.

That match would become another turning point. The "King of Darkness" was no more, replaced by the "old", but no less dangerous, "Devastating" Mike Randalls. Randalls dropped the red eyes and the blood, and instead, returned to an all-out wrestling style. Randalls would remain in the EN World Title picture for quite a while, just staying out of reach of the Unified Championship. And in this part of his career, it would be neither GUNS, Windham, or Hornet that provided his feud, but this time, long-time CSWA Intracontinental Champion Eliminator. In their ultimate match, Randalls would once again be suspended from the CSWA, this time for putting Eliminator's wife Alicia into the WHEEL of DEATH during one of the CSWA's most dangerous matches.  Later, "Alicia" would confess that she was a fraud...an imposter look-alike to Eli's wife.

As always, he would eventually return, and again, head straight to the top. In this reincarnation, however, Randalls had little on his mind but the Unified World Championship. While lobbying for title shots at then-Unified Champion Paul Pierce, Randalls also found all three of his worst enemies in one place. Strangely enough, for a time, one would become his tag team partner, as GUNS and Randalls teamed up, in the strangest tag team combination of all time, against their common enemy, the reformed America's Team, Hornet and Mark Windham. That tenuous alliance was short-lived, as Randalls turned his attentions elsewhere, and GUNS turned his attentions toward Hornet.

Mike Randalls would secure his spot in the upper echelon of wrestling history by advancing through IRONMAN of CHAMPIONS III. In IOC3, Randalls would come back from a loss against Julius Godreign, defeating Mark Windsor and long-time enemy GUNS to put himself in one final match. In their fourth singles match in history, Mike Randalls would once again pull out the win over Hornet to become a two-time Unified World Champion, matching a feat previously owned solely by Hornet.  Randalls held on to the title until a controversial loss to Hellion.  The Unified Championship Committee dissolved following that match, the CSWA closed its doors as Merritt dealt with his legal issues, and Mike Randalls soon followed into semi-retirement.

There can be no doubt that Randalls' career is legendary, both in the CSWA and elsewhere.  He has achieved the pinnacle of the sport again and again, against the best the sport has had to offer.  He recently signed a major contract with the CSWA, renewing his association where he once had so much success.  "The Wolf" is back, and although the fangs aren't bared yet...we all know that it is only a matter of time before they strike.  Randalls has a history of choosing his prey, and as evidenced in his return, he's not afraid to go after the leader of the pack.

FEUD PROFILE:
Mike Randalls vs. Hornet

Both of these men have held the Unified World Heavyweight Championship.  They are both considered not only two of the greatest CSWA champions,  but two of the greatest wrestlers of all-time in the sport.  And, as often happens, when two men want to be king of the mountain...

It all began just after Randalls' entry in the CSWA for the second time in 1994.  In Mike Randalls' first CSWA stint, during Hornet's second CSWA World Title reign, Mike had left titleless, without making a name for himself.  In his return, Randalls was determined to change all that.  During his absence, Randalls had gained experience in the independents, amassing several titles in the interim.  He had also gained on other thing , something Mike likes to call "The Darkness."

Randalls began his second foray into the CSWA by going straight to the top.   He entered the Enterprises World Championship Tournament as a five-seed, having established his technical prowess.   In one night, Randalls defeated former Unified Champion Tsunami, future CSWA World Champion Troy Windham, and top-seeded four-time USN Champion Bonecrusher, all to reach the finals against former Ironman of Champions competitor Flic Rair.  Randalls became the first EN World Champion, and made himself the top contender to Hornet's Unified World Championship. 

However, the world would have to wait.  Randalls got caught up in feuds against Timmy Windham and HEAT.  Hornet hadn't been dodging Mike Randalls; he had his hands full with an old foe, Ray S. Cornette and his CORPORATION.  Cornette had swindled two CSWA Board of Directors members into selling their seats to him.  Cornette entered as the top-ranking BOD member disguised as 'a Japanese businessman.'  At CSWA THANKSGIVING SPECTACULAR 1994, he revealed himself, and just as in the past, went immediately after Hornet and Mark Windham.  Cornette suspended Windham from the CSWA indefinitely.  

In order to save his friend's career and rid the CSWA Board of Directors of Cornette, Hornet agreed to a WHEEL of DEATH match, pitting his Unified World Title and Mark's career against Cornette's two seats on the BOD.  That left just one problem:  Windham and Hornet needed a third partner for the WHEEL OF DEATH match, one of the most dangerous matches in the sport.  And they didn't need just any partner, but one willing and able to fight to the finish.  One man offered his help, and that man was Mike Randalls.

However, Randalls didn't offer to help out of the goodness of his heart.  In exchange for his help in the WHEEL match, Hornet agreed to sign a contract to two matches against Randalls.  The first was to be a non-title match, the second with the Unified Title on the line.

At SUPER BOWL BLAST '95, the WHEEL OF DEATH match proved a success for the team of Hornet, Randalls and Windham.  Even with interference from Hornet's former protege Wildstar, they defeated the CORPORATION and escaped from the triple cage unharmed.  Windham was reinstated, Hornet still held on to the title, and now the world was once again ready for the Hornet/Randalls showdown.

The world got its first taste just a couple of weeks later.  Mike Randalls came out victorious in their encounter, pinning Hornet in a rather short mtach.  The world might have been shocked; however, Hornet's historically bad back had been reinjured beginning during the WHEEL OF DEATH, and continuing at Mike Roiter's hands during  CSWA PRIMETIME in San Diego a few days before the confrontation.  So while many hailed Randalls as the next Unified Champion, others argued that he couldn't beat a healthy Hornet.

Their second match was a month later at WINTER'S WARRIORS VI.  Many critics claimed that Randalls would coast to the Unified Title.  Hornet's back was still not at 100 percent, although he had proved he was able to wrestle.  Just after the electrified steel cage match between Mark Windham and Mickey Benedict, Unified Champion Hornet and EN World Champion Mike Randalls climbed into the steel cage.  The match was scheduled to be two of three falls.  In the first fall, Randalls seemed to have the match under his control.  But Hornet was able to hang on long enough to change the momentum and steal the first fall from Mike. 

In the second fall, it seemed that Hornet would easily retain the title.  However, when referee Ben Worthington was caught between the two men and knocked silly, the match began to change.  The team of Full Force, Miles and Collins, quickly appeared at ringside in order to aid their best compadre.  The two tossed a metal chair into the ring, which Randalls used on Hornet's injured back to put him down on the mat.  Randalls tossed the chair back over the cage, woke Worthington, and pinned Hornet to get the second fall.

It all came down to the third fall, which seemed even at first.  Both men were tired, but they continued to fire back at each other.  Randalls gained an advantage a few minutes into the match, as Hornet's back began to slow him down, making him unable to counter some of Randalls' attacks.  Randalls taunted Hornet, telling him that "The Darkness," Randalls' mysterious force, would be triumphant.  At that, Hornet simply responded, "Then it's time to bring in some light."  To that, he added, "Hit it, Marvin!"  Marvin Parsons, the CSWA's light and sound technician flicked the switch.  As Hornet whipped Randalls into the ropes, you coudl hear a hum as electricity began pulsing through the steel cage.

Hornet grabbed Randalls by the back of the head as he came off the ropes, thrusting him over the other set of the ropes into the now-electrified steel cage.  Randalls began to shake violently as his body came in contact with the buzzing steel for what seemed an eternal moment.  Finally, his body fell to the mat, still shaking, where Hornet hooked the leg and got the third fall win.

But the Hornet/Randalls saga was far from over.  Hornet had been seriously injured in the match between the two.  While Randalls was quickly able to shake off the effects of his short electrifying moment, Hornet was unable to heal his back injury without time to rest.  He would not be given that time.

Mike Randalls quickly pooled his lawyers and pulled a mysterious 'return clause' out of his contract with Hornet.  CSWA officials ordered a rematch with the Unified Title on the line at an empty Merritt Auditorium, just three days after Winter's Warriors.  In that rematch, Hornet tried to end the match quickly, starting out with a quick series of moves.  Randalls had different plans, however.  He survived Hornet's early onslaught without being pinned and then began his own assault, catching Hornet's injured back with each blow.  In a matter of ten minutes, Mike Randalls would dethrone the man many called 'invincible,' to become the new Unified World Champion.

Months later, the feud renewed in an unlikely place.  Hornet agreed to assist another CSWA wrestler GUNS, with a predicament he had in the AAWC.  Hornet posed as "El Toro", when GUNS was forced to be at ringside during a match between Randalls and "El Toro" for the AAWC Title.  Hornet defeated Randalls, winning the title, although not without a series of interference during the match by GUNS, who attacked Hornet savagely afterwards.  The rest of that match and beyond continues in the Hornet/GUNS Spotlight.

Shortly thereafter in the CSWA, Mike Randalls lost the Unified Championship to JT Tyler in late spring 1995.  In response, Randalls went on a tirade, attacking everyone.  He posed as Junior Hornet in order to attack Hornet at CSWA APOCALYPSE, the same event in which he thrust a wooden stake through the back of GUNS' leg.  The attacks earned Mike a three-month suspension from the CSWA, and a loss of his contendership for the Unified World Championship.

Upon his return, things picked up where they left off, with a twist or two..  During an "I Quit" match between Randalls and Tom Adler, the CORPORATION attacked Randalls.  Hornet made the save, but Randalls and Hornet immediately signed a match to face each other at CSWA SHOWTIME in Las Vegas on October 29, 1995.  The match wasn't for a title or for a shot at the Unified Championship, it was simply for revenge.  After a ref bump, the plan became clear, as GUNS madae his return, bionic knee and all, to reap revenge on Randalls for the staking.

It appears that things would stay calm between the two for a while.  Randalls once again had his hands full with Windham and GUNS, while Hornet was busy staying out of the hands of "Antichrist" Jim Williams and defending his Unified Championship.  But the true depths of Randalls' cunning and depravity were just beginning to be known.

In January 1996, Alicia Flair, the wife of the Eliminator (Eli Flair) and sister of Poison Ivy, returned to the CSWA.  Previously thought dead in a car accident, rumor surrounded her return.  For Hornet, her return was 'devastating.'  After seeing her for the first time, Hornet began having strange, vivid dreams and acting erratically.  As he began to remember more and more of the dreams, Hornet realized that they were about himself and Alicia.  In the dreams, while purely accidental, he was the cause of the collision that took Alicia's life.  Hornet confessed this to Eli, Ivy and Alicia.  While Alicia claimed to understand and befriended Hornet, Ivy was furious.  She ended the ongoing relationship between Hornet and herself, and ordered him to stay away from her sister.  In the meantime, Jim Williams claimed Hornet's 'accident' was nothing of the sort.

But there was another force at work...Mike Randalls.  It came to light that he had been drugging Hornet for three months, causing him to have the bizarre dreams, and planting messages in his make Hornet believe he was the cause of Alicia's death.  

Once the truth was known, things exploded.  Hornet not only defeated Jim Williams in their electrified cage match at WINTER'S WARRIORS VII, but also shocked the world by turning on his 'friend' GUNS and helping Mark Windham, revealing a two-year plot between the two.  America's Team was reunited, and GUNS had little choice but to turn to their other natural enemy, Mike Randalls, for help.

The four met up in a tag match at the first card after WW7.  America's Team added a member, as Paul Pierce was brought in to help Hornet and Windham get the upper hand on Randalls and GUNS.   The guerilla tactics continued for weeks, as Hornet tried to take the brutality back to Randalls.  In Chicago, Hornet and Pierce tied a bag over Randalls' head and attempted to hang him.   In Boston, Hornet cost Randalls his USN Championship by interfering on behalf of Aaron Reno.  Later in the night, Hornet escaped Randalls' revenge by leaving in his limo...with Tom Adler handcuffed to the door handle.

It would be months before Randalls and Hornet were alone on opposite sides of the same ring again.  The brutality and gang warfare mentality continued, as Randalls and GUNS added Vince Bailey and his cronies to their side, while America's Team enlisted the help of former CSWA World Tag Champs CS Express.  Outside the two factions, Alicia had convinced the Eliminator to exact revenge on Mike Randalls.  That led to another WHEEL of DEATH match, in which Randalls actually put Alicia in the WHEEL, and was subsequently suspended and sent to Green Valley for evaluation.

While Randalls was suspended from the CSWA, Hornet's feud with GUNS would reach fever pitch, leading to Hornet leaving the CSWA following FISH FUND XI.  Randalls, however, would return, continuing his feud with GUNS, as well as starting a new one with Julius Godreign.

The final Randalls/Hornet match would take place outside of any league barriers, including the CSWA.  The two men who had competed at different times in the AAWC, UWA, NWC,  and so many other contemporary leagues, met up in the third IRONMAN of CHAMPIONS.  Hornet seemed to be focused solely on his match with GUNS, which he won.  Randalls seemed out of the running early, after what most critics called an upset loss to Julius Godreign.  But in the end, it came down to one final match, between two men who had stood on opposite sides of the ropes for most of their careers.  "The Greatest American Hero" vs. "The Wolf", winner takes the Unified World Title.

FISH FUND XI  was subtitled "The End of an Era," meant to symbolize the "Loser Leaves CSWA" match between Hornet and GUNS.  But, in retrospect, it was this match that ended the era.  The two top talents in the world against each other...not about animosity or revenge, they had spent that all against their other opponents.  It was simply about the gold, about proving they belonged on the pinnacle.  And so they did.  Randalls went on to capture the Unified World Championship for a second time.  The CSWA fell into limbo with the arrest of co-owner Chad Merritt on charges of murdering "The Red Midget" Lyle Tallman.

The era ended.....

...until now.  The Wolf is back.  The Hero is back.  And while neither of them have come out and said that they want to renew their old feud...it almost seems inevitable that at some point, something will spark one side or the other.  Two sides of the same coin.  The question is, what makes up the metal in between? 

The CS Tribune SPOTLIGHT shines the light on CSWA wrestlers, their careers, and their feuds, giving you an in-depth look at what makes and breaks the best in the sport.