Harvey Yorke

Yorke posing for a photoshoot in 2017.

**Harvey Layton York** (born August 29, 1996), better known as **Harvey Yorke** is an English professional wrestler and drag performer. Yorke is best known for his run in American-based promotions, most notably EWC, where competed he on the Rampage brand. Yorke also worked for EAW, where he performed on the Voltage brand. Prior to his run in the US, Yorke was known for his work in ARMBAR Wrestling.

## Early life

York was born in Ripon, North Yorkshire, England, in 1996. He was the second son of the writer and philosopher George Layton York, and his wife, Ella Nys, who was a journalist. Being a member of the prominent York family, Harvey lead a very studious life. Up until he was 13, York attended the independent school, St. Martin's Ampleforth.

York's older brother, Jackson Thomas York (1993 - 2009), committed suicide after struggling with schizophrenia. At this time, Yorke had graduated from St. Martin's, and was set to enroll in Ampleforth College. However, due to a declining mental state after the death of his brother, Harvey fell into bad habits, such as bullying his classmates and disobeying his parents. Following a fight in which he left another peer bleeding, Yorke was expelled from St. Martin's.

At the age of 15, York moved away from his family and began wrestling training in London. There, he would enroll into the WSTLND: LDN Academy, an underground wrestling school "for misfits trying to make a name for themselves".

## Professional wrestling career

### **Extreme Wrestling Corporation (2017–2018)**

#### **Television Champion and Tag Team Champion (2017)**

In early 2017, Yorke had signed a contract to work for EWC on its Rampage show. Shortly thereafter, it was announced that a new tag team, the Moors Murders, had signed with the company. Collectively, Toni Gunn and Yorke announced that they would compete at Hardcore Revolution, where he would win the number one contendership for The Moors Murders. On the March 10 episode of Rampage, Yorke made his official debut, defeating Chis Maverick. At StangleMania XII, The Moors Murders would defeat Legion and The Royal Court for the EWC Tag Team Championships. On the April 7 episode of Rampage, Yorke defeated Christopher Chambers. Tensions between The Moors Murders and The Royal Court grew however, resulting in a tag team match on April 20. The Moors Murders would win in EWC's inaugural Inferno Scaffold match, defeating The Royal Court (represented by Freddie Styles and Jason Hunter).

On the May 12 episode of Rampage, Harvey Yorke defeated Ace King with the EWC Television title on the line. On the May 26th episode of Rampage, the Moors Murders attacked Griffin Hawkins and Ace King backstage. Later that night, Toni Gunn earned a Television Championship title match. The main event saw Yorke retaining his Television Championship against Shelley Silver in a Taipei Death Match. During EWC's European Tour, President Mac announced that the winner of Rampage #416's main event will face two members of Brawl for the upcoming pay-per-view Scars and Stripes. On June 7, Michael Saint announced on Twitter that Yorke and Gunn will face off in a Hell in a Cell Bed of Weapons Match. On the June 9 episode of Rampage, Yorke defeated Gunn to retain his title. A week later, Yorke was set to defend his title against Brawl's Valora Thomas and Chase Rex. At Scars and Stripes, Yorke lost his Television title to Valora Thomas (though he was not pinned), finally ending his undefeated streak.

#### **Various appearances (2017)**

On the following July 10 episode of Brawl, Thomas confronted Gunn, which resulted in Yorke attacking Thomas from behind. Gunn signaled for Yorke to hit the Gravedancer on Thomas' manager, Mick, but were interrupted as Andrew Jackson rushed to the ring. On the July 28 episode of Rampage, Michael Saint announced that there would be a seven-man Devil's Playground match in order to declare a number one contender for the EWC Undisputed World Championship. Yorke, as well as his partner Toni Gunn, were among two of the competitors set to appear in the match. Later that night, the Moors Murders defeated the teams of Awkward, Inc. and USA-Steel. On the August 11 episode of Rampage, Yorke came up short in his efforts to win the match, as Lady Enchantra's manager, ManThing, interfered as Yorke began to escape the steel cage. Two weeks prior to the Night of Champions pay-per-view, it was announced that Yorke would compete against Nostalgia and X-Division champion Eddie Crank in a title match. Additionally, the Moors Murders would defend their Tag Team Championships against USA-Steel and the team of Prince & Stitches. The Moors Murders would retain the titles, however, Yorke walked away empty handed during the X-Division Championship triple threat.

#### **Return and final run with the Moors Murders (2017–2018)**

Yorke would return to EWC two months later, after being announced for the Uncensored pay-per-view on October 30. There, the Moors Murders would defeat Legion (represented by Annabelle and Olivia Saint) in a non-title match. At WrestleFest, the Moors Murders successfully defended their championships, and defeated the teams of the ReVenants, Maggie Lockheart and Nostalgia, Prince and Stitches, and Trixie and Nevaeh.

By late 2017, Yorke had signed a part-time contract with the company once again. Yorke made his return during the January 26 episode of Rampage, where he was defeated by Ace King in a falls count anywhere match. On the February 9 episode of Rampage, Yorke was defeated by King Flip. On March 26, at StrangleMania XIII, the ReVenants (represented by Rob Garcia and Darian Grey) defeated the Moors Murders, thus ending their undefeated streak and reign as Tag Team Champions. Prior to the event, was reported that Gunn and Yorke's contracts with the company had expired.

### **Elite Answers Wrestling (2017)**

#### **Various feuds and championship pursuits (2017)**

Rumors had began to speculate that Yorke had signed with another wrestling promotion, and on May 20, it was confirmed that he signed with EAW on its Voltage brand. Yorke made his debut for the company during the May 28 episode of Voltage, where he lost to Hardcore Champion Ahren Fournier. On the June 4th episode of Voltage, Yorke defeated Steve Wolf and Abelard Becker. On the June 11 episode of Voltage, Yorke lost to Maero. One week prior to Pain for Pride X, Yorke was set to appear on the June 18 episode of Showdown, where the team of Theron Nikolas, Prince of Phenomenal, and Darkane defeated the team of Yorke, Scott Diamond, and Lethal Consequences. On the second night of Pain for Pride X, Yorke was eliminated from the 24/7 Contract Battle Royal.

On July 1, Yorke continued to be a part of Voltage as part of the 2017 EAW Draft. On the July 9 episode of Voltage, general manager Kenny Drake announced an eight-man tournament, where the winner would be given the EAW Interwire Championship. Later that night, Yorke defeated Shaker Jones to advance to the semi-finals against Chris Elite. On the July 16 episode of Voltage, Yorke defeated Chris Elite to advance to the finals against Amadeus. On the July 23 episode of Voltage, general manager Kenny Drake hosted a press conference between the two tournament finalists, where the stipulation was revealed to be a ladder match. Yorke showed very little interest throughout the event, which led to him throwing water in the face of Amadeus. On the July 30 episode of Voltage, Yorke lost his opportunity to become Interwire Champion, as Amadeus taunted him before unhooking the title.

On the August 6 episode of Voltage, Yorke faced EAW World Heavyweight Champion Jamie O'Hara; the match eventually culminated in a no-contest as both men were counted out. After the match, O'Hara and Yorke battled it out. After Yorke drove O'Hara through an announcer table, Sanatorium members Amadeus and Solomon Caine rushed to the ring, accompanied by Jon McAdams. There, McAdams would assault Yorke, and thus, he would announce himself as the newest member of the Sanatorium. The following week on Voltage, the trio now known as the Nightmare attacked Chris Elite following his match against Solomon Caine. Yorke would then rush to the supposed aide of Elite wielding a barbed wire bat, but Yorke then revealed he had a personal vendetta against McAdams. On the August 20 episode of Voltage, Yorke and McAdams faced off in a no-disqualification match. As McAdams was setting Yorke up for the finish, Yorke countered with a low blow and an eye rake, then finally the Ultraviolence to pick up the win. On the September 3 episode of Voltage, Yorke defeated Anthony Leonhart. On the September 10th episode of Voltage, Yorke was defeated by Finnegan Wakefield.

Yorke would return on the November 9 episode of Voltage, where he asked general manager Kenny Drake for a title opportunity. Instead, Drake announced that Yorke would be the eighth competitor in the eight-man electric gauntlet match, where the winner would receive a title match with New Breed Champion, Finnegan Wakefield. On the November 19 episode of Voltage, Yorke defeated Cody Marshall. At the Shock Value free-per-view, Yorke outlasted seven other men to become the new number-one contender for the New Breed Championship. On the December 3 episode of Voltage, Yorke defeated Jon McAdams in the first round of King of Elite. Later that night, Kenny Drake announced that Wakefield would compete not only against Yorke, but also against McAdams with the New Breed Championship on the line. On the December 10 episode of Voltage, Keelan Cetinich defeated Yorke in the semi-final round of King of Elite. On the December 24 episode of Voltage, Finnegan Wakefield retained the New Breed Championship, and defeated Yorke and Jon McAdams to retain the New Breed Championship.

### **Hiatus (2018)**

Following his release with EWC in March, Yorke decided to take a hiatus from wrestling in order to focus on other interests. Since coming to terms with his sexuality, Yorke has experimented with cross-dressing. He considers gender to be "a social construct", and as of late February 2018, he has been performing in various gay bars across America as a drag queen, under the stage name Stabitha Killmore 666. York is also part of the drag family "the Haus of Killmore" and is the drag daughter of Lilith Killmore.

When interviewed by the Sports Observer Online, York stated that he "needed a break [from wrestling]" in order to follow "other interests, drag being one of them". Yorke also opened up about drug abuse and a declining mental state. He stated that "the main reason for [his] hiatus was to better himself mentally as well as physically," and that "when [he] returns to wrestling, expect [him] to comeback better and stronger than ever before".

## Other media

Yorke made his EAW video game debut as a playable character in EAW 2K18.

## Personal life

York is a Catholic. Both on and off screen, he has cited The Rolling Stones and Black Sabbath to be his favorite bands. In his spare time, he reads and collects comics, and cites Hellblazer to be his favorite comic. York's wrestling persona was inspired by DC's fictional supervillain The Riddler, as well as the 1962 dystopian novel A Clockwork Orange.

In 2015, York began dating Camila Scorpio while the two were involved in a European tour. They were engaged in 2016, until York came out as gay, thus confirming his separation from Scorpio. Since 2017, York has been in a relationship with Alexander Healy, who he met during his run with EWC. They share a home in Chicago, Illinois.

He is friends with fellow professional wrestlers Toni Gunn and Ryan Marx. He was also friends with the late Brody Sparks, who he once referred to as an "extraordinary friend, and a gifted in-ring competitor." York would later pay tribute to Sparks by performing the Illumination II, an armbar variation.

In March 2018, York was convinced by friends and family to enter rehab for alcoholism and prescription drug abuse. He has stated that getting clean has "changed his perspective on life" and that he's "never felt happier".

## Professional wrestling highlights

* **Finishing moves**
	+ *Ultraviolence* (Full nelson flapjack)
	+ *Gravedancer* (Running stomp to the back of the head of a bent-over opponent)
	+ *Killing Joke* (Fireman's carry gutbuster from the top rope)
	+ *Ninth Symphony* (Sitout double underhook powerbomb)
* **Signature moves**
	+ *Disorder* (Leaping clothesline 2012–2017 or a feint top rope dive, transitioned into a rebound lariat – 2017–current)
	+ *Illumination II* (Crucifix armbar) – used in tribute to Brody Sparks
	+ *Sedative* (Crossface chickenwing)
	+ *The Ludovico Technique* (Rolling release suplex onto the ring apron)
	+ *Singin' in the Rain* (Pumphandle neckbreaker)
	+ *A Call for Blood* (Spinning back fist, with aide of brass knuckles)
	+ *Tearjerker* (feint handshake, followed by a low blow)
	+ Snapping opponent's fingers
	+ Swinging neckbreaker
	+ Underhook suplex
	+ Pele kick
	+ Triangle choke
	+ Kneeling reverse piledriver
	+ Pop-up death valley driver
	+ Brainbuster
	+ Jackknife powerbomb
* **Managers**
	+ Xander Healy
	+ Ricki Kray
	+ Rebecca Kray
* **Nicknames**
	+ "The Devil of Violence"
	+ "Ultra Violent"
	+ "The Saint of Violence"
* **Entrance themes**
	+ "Still Remains" by Alter Bridge (EWC; March 10, 2017 – April 7, 2017)
	+ "A Box Full of Sharp Objects" by The Used (EWC; February 27, 2017 – April 21, 2017; used as part of The Moors Murders)
	+ "Quantum Flux" by Northlane (EWC, April 7 – current; EAW, May 28, 2017 – September 10, 2017)
	+ "The Saw is the Law" by Whitechapel (EWC; July 28, 2017 – current; used as part of The Moors Murders)
	+ "Back to School (Mini Maggit)" by Deftones (EAW; November 19, 2017 – December 24, 2017)

### **Championships and accomplishments**

* **Extreme Wrestling Corporation**
	+ EWC Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Toni Gunn
	+ EWC Television Championship (1 time)