Over the course of the past year and a half, Josh Daniels has asserted his dominance within the cruiserweight rankings in Maryland Championship Wrestling. His rise to prominence kicked into high gear on July 7, 2007 when he topped the best cruiserweights in the industry to win the annual Shane Shamrock Memorial Cup. Continuing his rise throughout the remainder of last year, Daniels reached the cruiserweight summit with a submission victory over then champion Derek Frazier on December 26 th at “Christmas Chaos” in Glen Burnie to win the prestigious MCW Cruiserweight Championship. In a match that saw Frazier tear his ACL and subsequently miss several months of competition, Daniels star continued to rise. While 2007 was undeniably the year that etched Josh Daniels name in the record books of Maryland Wrestling, 2008 brought continued dominance for him in MCW rings as he successfully defended his championship against any and all challengers.

Returning to action following his devastating injury, Derek Frazier would win this year’s incarnation of the Shamrock Cup as he began his climb back in to contention for the championship he previously held on two separate occasions. These two wrestlers were on a slow but steady collision course and it was merely a matter of time before their paths would cross inside an MCW ring. Daniels title reign was set to come full circle one week ago as the rematch with Frazier, close to a year in the making, was scheduled to take place at “Monster Mash.” A capacity crowd purchased tickets in anticipation for the big return match between two of the finest cruiserweights around. As the event got underway, MCW Commissioner Kelly Bell addressed the fans and informed them that John Daniels had opted to exercise his prerogative as champion, and that he had refused to participate in a bout with Derek Frazier. Daniels, feeling he’d successfully faced and defeated all competition within the cruiserweight division in MCW, had turned his attention to more of a strong style of grappling in recent months and felt he had nothing more to prove as a cruiserweight. Stepping into a match with Frazier would offer nothing of personal gain to Daniels and he diverted his focus to bigger and better things. MCW officials, always delivering the fans more than the price of admission, moved quickly to make alternate arrangements for the evening. The Commissioner announced that effective immediately, Josh Daniels had been stripped of the MCW Cruiserweight title and that top contender, Derek Frazier would now face fellow challenger Sabian in a match to fill the championships vacancy later in the card. As for Daniels, he would square off against newcomer Bonecrusher Sampson in a strong style match.

In a brutal and stiff contest, Josh Daniels collected an impressive victory over his larger opponent as he knocked him out, temporarily unconscious and in need of assistance to the locker room. Fans who had come anticipating an exciting cruiserweight title match still got their wish as the two top contenders faced off with the reassurance that a new champion would be crowned. Frazier and Sabian gave the fans with a world class match fit for any arena in the world. With the crowd evenly split between the two high flyers, their cheers turned to jeers as members of Daniels entourage made their way to ringside in an attempt to interfere in the match. With the referee distracted, the former champion stormed the ring laying out his adversary and opening the door for a Sabian victory ushering in a title run for the Philadelphia native. Frazier entered the evening with hopes of reclaiming the championship he lost eleven months ago. Instead he exited with a renewed rivalry with the man who took the title from him. Josh Daniels sights may no longer be on proving his worth amid the cruiserweights in Maryland, but his actions spoke loud and clear that there is unfinished business between himself and Derek Frazier.