Photo credit: @Mouse3911
August 4th, 2019 I tuned into my first IWTV stream. Southern Underground Pro hosted All Hell Breaks Loose and I was enamored with SUP’s presentation and roster. Then came the Main Event; a fatal-four-way match. It was here that I got to see Brett Ison wrestle for the first time. His style and aura left the same impressions that drew me to Kevin Steen when I first watched the indies and I’ve been a fan ever since.
https://twitter.com/kobk4ever/status/1435062947710185482?s=21
Two years later and Brett Ison has announced that he’ll be stepping away from wrestling due to personal health issues. In his announcement, Brett cited an oral infection that had spread to his face as the cause of his health. It’s been over a month since this announcement and it’s unclear whether or not we’ll see Brett take the ring by storm once again.
I will not know until after I step away. It depends on what my options are in my situation that even brought up the idea of stepping away. Health is the main importance…
While active competition may be an uncertainty, this may not be the last we’ve seen of him. In the announcement, Brett also stated that he’s been offered a position in the wrestling world. One where he could “…pass along [his] knowledge…”
A training role has been offered to me, and helping out at shows as an agent has also been brought up with a few different people and promotions that I love and hold close to the chest. Both of which I have done while being an active wrestler so we will see what happens in the near future.
Fans of Brett’s will know that he never rolls alone in the wrestling world. He frequently has his Kill or Be Killed brothers at his side. At his side, Ison has AKIRA, Lutha, Hardway Heeter, and commentator Mose. They’re a crew that one may compare to the Second Gear Crew. Of course the rest of KOBK would have to hear this news as well and offer their feelings.
[They’re] Supportive, sad, and they understand it isn’t fully decided if I’m gone for good or just a little while but AKIRA is going strong, just making his GCW debut. Mose is grinding with the Souled Out show and in the booth doing commentary…and Heeter/Lutha are both recovering from injuries but should be back and ready to go once they are 100% and cleared.
From the initial announcement, Ison will be active in the ring until the inaugural KOBK event: Souled Out. In this time, Ison is looking to face some wrestlers that he’s been looking to get in the ring with.
I have a match with a friend of mine, can’t say where yet but I am looking forward to mixing it up again with Alex Zayne, and looking forward to the Chattanooga ICW NHB weekend in Tennessee. There is another one that is a long time coming and once it is announced I think people will be like ‘how has this not happened yet?’
On the immediate horizon, Brett will be returning to the ring at Southern Underground Pro. He has much history with SUP as he was at one time a reigning Bonestorm Champion for 336 days. On October 24th, Ison enters Basement East in Nashville, Tennessee for what may be his final time.
That place will always be so special to me…I really feel that was the place that got to witness me first hand come into my own, find confidence and myself all in the same breath that night I captured the Bonestorm title from Marko.
Originally, his final appearance in SUP was supposed to be a Bonestorm Championship match against reigning champ AJ Gray. However, as cards are always subject to change, Brett has a new opponent. Enter Ashton Starr, who has been on the rise since TampaMania weekend.
[I’m] Bummed out AJ and myself aren’t going to be able to finally have our one on one in Nashville but if I am able to come back…we will get after it. But ‘in the midst of chaos there is opportunity’…[Ashton] gets to prove he can hang and yes, maybe even beat a pillar of the company [he] making [his] debut for…I get to prove I can hang with in my opinion one of the best in the southeast region…I am very excited for it.
12/18/21
— MOSE (@moseKOBK) October 8, 2021
Ison/Davis
AKIRA/Tangra
Hoodfoot/A. Kane
Royal/Matrix
Tank/MERC
Awful/Campbell
YungGunScramble
Still got some surprises up my sleeve
Chattanooga TN
Tickets available very soon
Will be filmed for IWTV pic.twitter.com/LFCybmG7mX
The end of the line comes for Brett Ison at the aforementioned Souled Out event. As the show title implies, it’s all independently KOBK branded with Mose running and promoting the show.
KOBK Souled Out is going to be a special day for many reasons. One reason is because everyone that is on the show deserves to be. Mose is working really hard, about 98% of this show is all him, I have given my insight and input on certain things but pretty much all him. So he should get credit for putting this together. Proud of him and that it is at TWE a place that has become home while the Basement East was being rebuilt.
On a show that has fellow KOBK member AKIRA take on Damyan Tangra, Brett is set for a generational clash. His opponent: “That Dude” Jon Davis; a man who has worked in companies like EVOLVE, Ring of Honor, and GCW over his career.
Jon is one of those guys I watched when I was rediscovering my love for pro wrestling with ROH HDNet days, then meeting Jon at SUP we just clicked right away, sitting on the stage exchanging stories and him laying down wisdom through his genuine words, a great professional wrestler, one I always make sure if I am on a show to watch because I am a fan of him and his body of work. He is a test that I haven’t taken yet, faced many of who I hold to alot of the same regard. : [Eddie] Kingston and JD Drake to name a few but I have to see where I stand against him in a wrestling ring. Ready to tell that story.
When all is said and done on December 18th, Brett will step away from the ring. In reflection of his past seven years in wrestling, there’s two important things that stuck with him. The virtue of always learning, and improving the wrestling world.
I’ve always been told if you do stop learning, then get out of the business but it has always been ‘leave this business better than how you found it.’ I feel like [in] my 7 years I have proven [a lot], mostly to myself and I’m proud of what I have accomplished. I feel like Tennessee doesn’t have that stain or stigma on us as much as we used to when you talked about [Tennessee] wrestling and it’s not just because of me but [a lot] of [people] who have stepped up and put this state on their backs: Awful, Iggy, Jaden Newman, [and] AJ Gray.
Myself, along with the rest of the PWPondering staff wish Brett Ison the very best in his future. If you’re looking to support Brett, you can follow him on Twitter and check out his merch store.
