| Ben Drinkin | |
|---|---|
| |
| Details | |
| Ring name(s) | Ben Drinkin Ben Drinkin 24s Ben Drinkin 36s |
| Height | 6'4" |
| Weight | 246 lbs. |
| Born | October 28, 1980 (Port aux Basques, Newfoundland) |
| Resides | Calgary, Alberta |
| Billed From | Port aux Basques, Newfoundland |
| Debut | February 2001 |
Andrew Harrison Charles (born October 28, 1980 in Port aux Basques, Newfoundland) is a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ben Drinkin. He is best known for his time in Soul Wrestling Incorporated. Ben has also competed for Fallout, Alpha Championship Wrestling, and the Kritical Wrestling Alliance.
Ben is a one-time SWI World Champion, a one-time SWI North American Champion, a two-time SWI World Tag Team Champion (once with XS3 and once with his cousin Afternoon Drinkin), and a one-time SWI Canadian Television Champion, as well as the inaugural Fallout Television Champion and a former Fallout Tag Team Champion with Afternoon Drinkin. Ben is the 13th SWI Triple Crown Champion, and the 2nd SWI Grand Slam Champion. He was inducted into the SWI Hall of Fame in 2018.
Early life and career[]
Andrew was born to Terry and Joanne Charles. His younger brother TJ currently competes as Shorty Drinkin. His cousins Sean, Tony, Roy, and Terry also competed as Afternoon, Fat Tony, Social, and Non-stop Drinkin, respectively. Andrew began training in Windsor, Ontario at Border City Wrestling, where he met future tag team partner and close friend XS3. Andrew made his debut in 2001 as Ben Drinkin.
His first big break came when he joined the Kritical Wrestling Alliance, forming a tag team with XS3 dubbed The Rockers. They won their first match together, defeating Marc Blade and Bizzy-C. They challenged for the KWA Tag Team Championship, but lost a four corners elimination match. Ben then turned on XS3 and cost him the Grand Prix title at Royal Flush. XS3 then defeated Ben in a Last Man Standing match. Ben then went on a losing streak while constantly switching between face and heel roles. Ben then left the company after losing a ladder match against XS3 at Capitol Karnage.
Soul Wrestling Incorporated[]
Lakeside's Most Wanted and North American Championship (2005 - 2006)[]
Despite struggling to make an impact in the KWA at the time, Jonathan Rembrandt signed the Drinkin Clan to contracts with SWI. Ben made his SWI debut on June 15, competing in a battle royal for the SWI North American Championship in a losing effort. Ben then competed in the tag division, usually teaming with Shorty. In late October, Ben formed a tag team with XS3 dubbed Lakeside's Most Wanted, and the two began feuding with The Ministry over the SWI World Tag Team Championship. With help from Overkill, the two defeated The Ministry on December 28 to win the titles.
During this time, Ben also began chasing after the SWI North American title, which was held by Daniel Rebel, who cost them the titles when they defended them against The Ministry in a Steel Cage match. LMW disbanded after the match so they could focus on their singles careers. The following week, Ben defeated Rebel in a Hardcore match to win the North American title. He defended against Rebel two weeks later, then defended against the rest of the Drinkin Clan the following week. Ben then lost the title in a battle royal, which was won by Punished Fox.
The Drinkin Boyz (2006 - 2008)[]
Ben soon returned to the tag team division, teaming with Afternoon as the Drinkin Boyz. They feuded with Shorty's Soldiers (Shorty, Social, and Non-stop) after they revealed their jealousy towards not teaming with Ben. The Drinkin Boyz and Fat Tony defeated Shorty's Soldiers at Independence. The Drinkin Boyz continued to compete in the tag division, losing to The Ministry at Destiny Fulfilled, but defeating C-Code & MC Bob at Beginning Anew and The Royles at Rise of the Forces. Ben then had a minor feud with XS3 in May after costing him and Joey McFarlane the SWI World Tag Team Championship at Questions Unanswered; he did this because he wanted to challenge XS3 to a match to see who the better of the two was. Ben then lost a Falls Count Anywhere match to XS3 at Renewal, but made amends with XS3 and resumed teaming with Afternoon.
After racking up PPV victories at Disasterpiece, Unholy Confessions, and Kill or Be Killed, the Drinkin Boyz defeated Ken Williams and Jason Daniels to win the SWI World Tag Team Championship, making it Ben's second reign with the title. They lost the titles back to Williams and Daniels at Challenging Adversity. The Drinkin Boyz then competed in tag team matches and singles matches through the Underground Era. Upon SWI's mainstream return in 2009, the Drinkin Boyz opted not to sign with SWI in order to focus on Fallout, which ironically closed in February. Ben then made a brief return that year, qualifying for the Versus the World match by defeating Damien King. He was eliminated from the match by Necrosphere, and left the company soon after.
The Drinkin Clan, Drinkin Boyz, and departure (2010 - 2012)[]
On the June 5, 2010 episode of Apocalypse, Ben, Afternoon, and Shorty returned to SWI as the Drinkin Clan, attacking Monty James before being chased off by Blackwolf. The trio lost to Blackwolf, Monty, and Necrosphere at Independence. After a failed tag title shot, Shorty left the company in October, leaving Ben and Afternoon to continue as the Drinkin Boyz. The two competed in a tag team turmoil at Destiny Fulfilled, where they were eliminated by Bad Attitude Inc. before causing them to get eliminated by Team England. The Drinkin Boyz then lost to Bad Attitude Inc. at Beginning Anew, which caused Afternoon to turn on Ben. The two faced off at Challenging Adversity, with Ben losing by countout after Afternoon delivered the Beer Bash from the apron to the guardrail, (kayfabe) injuring his cousin. Ben took a leave of absence to tend to his family.
Ben then returned on the April 7, 2012 episode of Apocalypse as a face, confronting Monty James over his attack on XS3 the week prior. Ben then lost to Monty in his return match. Ben then saved Afternoon (then named Adrastos Dionysus) from being attacked by Colossus Rhodes and Jarod Barnes the following week. The reunited Drinkin Boyz teamed with Edgemaster to defeat Colossus, Jarod, and Benjamin Collier at Questions Unanswered. Ben then faced Tannark Fisher at Renewal to determine the #1 contender to the SWI World Championship at Independence in a losing effort. The Drinkin Boyz then challenged for the SWI World Tag Team Championship at Independence in a Tag Team Turmoil, where they eliminated three teams before being eliminated by the champions The Stones. The Drinkin Boyz teamed with Selina Taylor to defeat The Stones and Mary Jane in a non-title No DQ match at Disasterpiece, but lost a title match involving The Stones to The Brothers Grimm (who were disguised as Los Opuestos) at Unholy Confessions.
The Drinkin Boyz were scheduled to compete at Destiny Fulfilled for the SWI World Tag Team Championship before Afternoon's second heart attack forced him to retire. Ben left SWI to tend for his cousin, who would pass away on April 4, 2013. Ben made a return on the December 21, 2013 Old School episode of Apocalypse, teaming with Shorty and Kellen Sampson to defeat Hayden Wilkinson, Robert Russo, and Devon McMichael.
The Drinkin Bros. (2014 - 2015)[]
At Independence 9, Ben returned and answered TANK's open challenge, quickly defeating him with the AOK. Ben then defeated him again on the following episode of Apocalypse, then reunited with Shorty to chase off Bad Attitude Inc. The two brothers, now known as the Drinkin Bros., defeated Bad Attitude Inc. a week later. Ben then qualified for the Versus the World match at Versus the World, but was eliminated by TANK. Following numerous unsuccessful bids for the SWI World Tag Team Championship, Ben won his first title since 2008, when he defeated Manzer to win the SWI Canadian Television Championship. His reign only lasted 15 days, however, when he lost it back to Manzer at Challenging Adversity due to botched interference from Shorty.
On June 13, following a loss to Kellen Sampson and Gene Van Tyler, the Drinkin Bros. turned heel by attacking them after the bell, resulting in Kellen and GVT turning face. The Drinkin Bros. were then eliminated by Kellen and GVT (who would then become Rock n' Roll Angels) from contention in a Tag Team Turmoil match at Independence 10. The Drinkin Bros. then unsuccessfully challenged The Stones for the SWI World Tag Team Championship at Unholy Confessions and Betrayal. The Drinkin Bros. would then end their feud with The Stones at Broken Chains, where they lost in a Falls Count Anywhere #1 Contenders match.
The Drinkin Clan, World Champion, and departure (2016 - 2017)[]
Ben then became the leader of the newly reformed Drinkin Clan, which added to their group the returning Selina Taylor at Destiny Fulfilled, the returning Fat Tony and the newly debuting All Night Drinkin at Beginning Anew. Ben would then begin a new feud with XS3 in February, when XS3 prevented Fat Tony and All Night from interfering in the Drinkin Bros.' match against Rock n' Roll Angels at Challenging Adversity. Ben managed to defeat XS3 for the first time in his career at Rise of the Forces. At Renewal, Ben defeated Andreas to win the SWI World Championship for the first time, following interference from the returning Social and Non-stop Drinkin. His victory made him the thirteenth Triple Crown winner and the second Grand Slam winner. He then retained the title against Andreas and Sam Hawkins in a triple threat match at Independence 11. Ben then lost the title to Mikey Stone on August 13. He lost a Four Corners Elimination match at Betrayal for the championship; although he eliminated then-champion Mikey Stone, he was eliminated by eventual winner Andreas Trinidad after All Night Drinkin turned on the Drinkin Clan. Ben then entered the Destiny Fulfilled Tournament, defeating Sam Hawkins in the quarterfinals but losing to Keiji Satoshi in the semifinals.
Ben resumed his feud with XS3, culminating in a Loser Leaves SWI Street Fight at Destiny Fulfilled. Ben lost the match and left SWI as a result. Ben returned for one night only at RewindMania, teaming with Selina, Waylon Kenney, and Kelsey Ayami to defeat the Monstourage. Ben was inducted into the SWI Hall of Fame in 2018.
Fallout and Alpha Championship Wrestling (2006 - 2011)[]
Ben signed with Fallout in February 2006, debuting on March 19 in a loss to Riot McConnell. A week later, Ben won a battle royal to become the inaugural Fallout Television Champion. He then entered a feud with "Dangerous" Nick Alger, competing in a 2/3 Falls match for the title on May 1. The last fall of the match took place in a ladder match five days later, where Ben lost the title. During this time, Ben also competed in a couple of matches for ACW, losing to Jonny Hughes and then teaming with Afternoon in a loss against the Upper Echelon.
Shortly after losing the Television title, Ben was joined by Afternoon and Selina, and the Drinkin Boyz began competing in the tag team division. The Drinkin Boyz won the Fallout Tag Team Championship on December 11 and defended the titles against numerous teams. They lost the titles to The Royles on February 18, and Fallout soon went into hiatus. The Drinkin Boyz then returned to Fallout upon the company's return, turning heel by turning on Edgemaster. The Drinkin Boyz would then join Team SWI along with Edgemaster and Damage Inc. later in the year, but then left the stable in January, turning face. The feud with Team SWI never materialized after Fallout's cancellation.
The Drinkin Boyz competed for the ACW Tag Team Championship at Spring into Hell 2009, but suffered a burial loss against the Road Steelers. Ben has hinted that the reason for the lack of offense from the Drinkins was due to XS3 leaving the company in the manner that he did. The Drinkin Boyz then teamed with XS3 to defeat their former Team SWI stablemates on ACW's final show, Goodbye Game.
Personal life[]
Andrew was married to Selina Taylor on January 5, 2008. The couple have had two children together, Daniel William (March 7, 2010) and Cassie Leah (June 21, 2013). Andrew is also the godfather to XS3's daughter Kayla.
In wrestling[]
- Finishing moves
- AOK (Front facelock into leaping cutter)
- Trademark moves
- Abdominal stretch
- Bulldog
- Dr. Feelgood's Secret Recipe (Leaping complete shot)
- Drinkin Drive (Running leaping shoulder block followed by second running leaping shoulder block to rising opponent)
- Fireman's carry double knee gutbuster
- Gordbuster
- Inverted powerslam pancake
- Jawbreaker
- Knife edge chops to the neck
- Russian leg sweep into lariat
- Spinning Neck Chop Series
- Standing lariat
- Super Superkick (Diving thrust kick)
- Vertical suplex
- Vertical suplex to gutbuster
- Managers
- Afternoon Drinkin
- Jessica Fantastica
- Selina Taylor
- Nicknames
- "The Hardcore Drunk"
- "The Mountain Crest Crippler"
- "Newfoundland's Favorite Son"
- Entrance themes
- "Live Wire" by Motley Crue (June 8, 2005 - January 1, 2009; June 5, 2010 - February 27, 2011; April 7, 2012 - December 13, 2012; June 29, 2014 - January 1, 2017; December 29, 2017)
Championships and accomplishments[]
- Fallout
- Fallout Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Afternoon Drinkin
- Fallout Television Championship (1 time)
- Soul Wrestling Incorporated
- SWI World Championship (1 time)
- SWI World Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with XS3 (1) and Afternoon Drinkin (1)
- SWI North American Championship (1 time)
- SWI Canadian Television Championship (1 time)
- SWI Hall of Fame (Class of 2018)
- Thirteenth Triple Crown Champion
- Second Grand Slam Champion
- Feud of the Year 2016 - The Drinkin Clan vs. SWI
- Match of the Year 2015 - vs. The Stones vs. Rock n' Roll Angels vs. The Risen (Kill or Be Killed)