The Voice of “Judas” At AEW Revolution

By
Jim LaMotta
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After last weekend’s All Elite Wrestling Revolution pay-per-view, fans were buzzing on social media about many aspects of the stellar event. The AEW Tag Team championship bout was called a potential early match of the year candidate by many pundits after the Young Bucks challenged the team of Kenny Omega and Adam Page for what became a thirty-minute spectacle that combined incredible athleticism and dramatic story telling. There was also the thunderous ovation for the unique persona of Orange Cassidy when he actually tried. Cody’s battle against the dastardly Maxwell Jacob Friedman had fans rallying for the grandson of a plumber to get a measure of revenge against the villain.

But, at the top of the card, “Le Champion,” who has put together one of the accomplished careers in the history and in many ways put himself in a league of his own, Chris Jericho defended the AEW World Championship against, Jon Moxley. Moxley, who rejuvenated his career when he arrived in the Khan-owned organization last May, has shown the wrestling world what he can truly bring to the table with his work in AEW as well as his successful stint in New Japan, where he recently competed against the legendary Minoru Suzuki. Following a physical contest that saw Moxley suffer a nasty gash near his eye, perhaps a rebuttal from the headbutt that he delivered to Jericho during the weigh-in last week on Dynamite, Moxley finally claimed the belt. Post-match, he gave the fans in attendance in Chicago a passionate speech about what the championship means to him and how those that support the company made it possible.

However, there was still a singular voice that garnered an immense amount of attention and praise when the pay-per-view went off the air. As the proprietor of “A Little Bit of The Bubbly” prepared to make the walk to the ring with his stablemates, Ortiz and Santana, by his side, the lyrics of Fozzy’s hit song, “Judas” echoed throughout the arena. Instead of guitar riffs and drums accompanying the popular verses, a melodic voice opened the song and a choir joined in for a special introduction that added to the atmosphere of the big time main event.


A beautiful young lady with bright eyes and an even brighter smile contributed to the solo portion of the performance, as her smooth vocal skills projected a combination of a powerful and graceful deliver of an almost gospel version of the rock song. But, who was this soulful singer and how did a choir end up in Chicago for a professional wrestling pay-per-view?

As is often the case with many discovers in the music industry, the newest contributor to “Judas” was found by sheer coincidence on social media. A true multi-media entrepreneur, the musician, podcaster, and pro wrestler, Chris Jericho ventured to sea in recent years with his “Rock and Wrestling Rager,” a cruise that took fans of different genres on a voyager to the Bahamas while they enjoyed concerts, wrestling matches, and live podcasts. With the second trip onto the ocean of this project, the very unique setup hosted an edition of Dynamite that saw fans on the ship sing along as the over thirty-year pro walked through the entrance way, a trend that has become common with crowds since that time.

Meredith Bell, a lifelong singer and performer, saw the clip of the audience participation and decided to post her own rendition of the wrestling theme on social media.


“I figured it was pretty cool, so why not take a shot at it myself? I recorded myself singing a cover of Judas utilizing the Acapella app. I did every individual part, ran through it a few times then posted the finished product. I didn’t expect for it to be noticed at all, I just did it for fun,” She explained.


With over three and a half million Twitter followers, it seemed doubtful that the busy superstar would find the acapella video of his song, but somehow, not only did the wrestling champion see it, he was very impressed with Meredith’s vocal style. In just a few days, what started as just a fun side project for Twitter became an opportunity for her to put together a group to perform live at an AEW event.

Originally from Richmond, Virginia, she began singing in her grandfather’s church choir when she was just a toddler and was a natural performer, participating in theater and stage productions throughout high school and college. Even after she moved to Philadelphia when she competed college, Meredith continued to pursue music, starting a rock band of her own, Palaceburn, as well as continuing the traditional performances of singing in a variety of roles. As much as the canvas of the squared circle is the stage of the All Elite grapplers, Meredith gets an equal adrenaline rush anytime she gets the chance to perform, considering music a true passion.


“Singing and performing mean absolutely everything to me. It’s the one thing I know, hands down, that I’m good at. I have always loved singing and since my tenure with Palaceburn, I’ve been working very hard to get noticed and get my music out there,” she commented.

A diehard wrestling fans since her middle school days, originally fascinated when she saw Gangrel’s Brood rise through the flames, the chance to perform on an AEW card brought together two of her favorite aspects of the entertainment industry, music and the ring.

“It was a surreal experience. What made it even more special is that the fans were so supportive, singing along to every word. Their voices were tremendous, it made me feel really good to know that they were into it. It’s been wild. You don’t realize how many people are watching you at an event like that until you open your phone and all your apps crash because there are so many responses. Most of the feedback has been so positive, and I’m thankful for that. Shows that all of our hard work paid off,” Meredith said.


One of the perks for Meredith and her choir group as guest of Le Champion was that Jericho himself attended their rehearsal and complimented them on their skills, something that she cites as one of the highlights of the experience. With her social media presence growing from the pay-per-view exposure, Meredith remains extremely thankful for the hospitality she was shown by the AEW staff, and enthusiastically looks to the future with aspirations of either eventually touring nationally with a band, or making it big as a voice of the sports entertainment field. Along with her singing, Meredith recently began working as a ring announcer for Chikara, one of the most well-known independent groups in the business.

Where Meredith Bell goes from here in the wrestling or music industry remains to be seen, but her story is a reminder of how true talent shines through and what can be accomplished with years of hard work. She took a chance to post her vocal skills on social media and less than two months later, she found herself singing on pay-per-view. Her dedication to performing was seen by over 10,000 people live in Chicago and thousands more on the pay-per-view broadcast so it’s safe to say that the talented performer has a bright future.

If you would like more information about Meredith, you can follow her on Twitter and Instagram @meredithbellpb
To listen to more from Palaceburn, go to soundcloud.com/palaceburnrocks

What do you think? Comment below with your thoughts, opinions, feedback and anything else that was raised.

Until next week
-Jim LaMotta

E mail [email protected] | You can follow me on Twitter @jimlamotta

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