Deadlock Pro-Wrestling

Last updated

Deadlock Pro-Wrestling
Deadlock Pro-Wrestling
Company type Private
Industry Professional wrestling
FoundedNovember 1, 2021;3 years ago (2021-11-01)
FoundersAnthony Douglas
James Darnell
John Blud
Headquarters North Carolina, U.S.
OwnersAnthony Douglas
James Darnell
John Blud
Website deadlockpro.com

Deadlock Pro-Wrestling (stylized as DEADLOCK Pro Wrestling), often referred to simply as DPW, is an American independent professional wrestling promotion, founded on November 1, 2021, by Anthony Douglas, James Darnell, and John Blud. [1] On December 11, DPW taped the first episode of their broadcast show, Fire, which aired five days later on YouTube. [2] Since then, new episodes of DPW's Fire and Spark programs have aired on YouTube and the promotion's streaming platform, DPW On Demand. [3] The name of the promotion is derived from the Deadlock Podcast, which is hosted by the promotion's founders. [4]

Contents

Notable mainstays for the promotion include Andrew Everett, Chris Danger, Calvin Tankman, Kevin Ku, Colby Corino, Jay Malachi, Anthony Henry, Emi Sakura, Miyuki Takase, Nicole Matthews, Mike Bailey, Bryan Keith, Tom Lawlor, and Jake Something. Other prominent wrestlers who have also been featured include Rosemary, Luther, JTG, Konosuke Takeshita, the Grizzled Young Veterans, Motor City Machine Guns, MxM, the Super Smash Brothers, Mustafa Ali, Masato Tanaka, and Roderick Strong.

Championships from other companies have been defended on DPW programming, such as Gatoh Move Pro Wrestling's Super Asia Championship and Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling's Princess Tag Team Championship.

History

On November 1, 2021, the formation of Deadlock Pro-Wrestling (DPW) was announced by Anthony Douglas (TonyPizzaGuy), James Darnell (Pulse), and John Blud (Johnny from NewLegacyInc), the hosts of the Deadlock Podcast. [1] On December 11, DPW taped their first show, Fire , which aired on YouTube on December 16. [2] The first episode of Fire introduced a tournament to crown the first DPW Worlds Champion. [2] Fire would conclude on June 3, 2022, due to the series not being considered financially successful enough to continue doing. Thus, the company would stick to its monthly event format.

On January 8, 2022, DPW produced their first internet pay-per-view (PPV) event named You Already Know, which aired on January 15. At the event, Bojack defeated Andrew Everett in the DPW Worlds Championship tournament finals to become the inaugural champion. [5] On April 16, at Forever, The Reality (Chance Rizer and Patrick Scott) defeated The Workhorsemen (Anthony Henry and JD Drake) to became the first Worlds Tag Team Champions. [6] On June 10, at Showdown In The Carolinas, Calvin Tankman defeated Kevin Ku in a tournament final to became the inaugural National Champion, [7] and on August 6, at Believe The Hype, Raychell Rose defeated Rosemary in a tournament final to became the inaugural Women's Worlds Champion. [8]

On January 14, 2023, DPW held their first live PPV event named Live 1: Ali vs KENTo. [9] On April 16, 2023, the promotion held Live 2 in New Jersey – marking their first event outside of North Carolina. On April 25 and 27, 2023, DPW held a two-night collaboration event with Gatoh Move Pro Wrestling in Japan, which marked their first event outside of the United States. [10] On December 2, 2023, DPW announced it would be touring outside of North Carolina for the year of 2024. Such locations included Texas and Illinois.

On March 29, 2024, DPW announced that they had entered into a strategic partnership with fellow independent wrestling promotions West Coast Pro Wrestling and Prestige Wrestling. [11] It was announced on June 7, 2024, all future DPW events, starting from Limit Break, would be made available on Wrestle Universe. [12]

Reception

DPW has been received very positively, gaining praise for their in-ring work, production, and fanbase. Wrestlers such as Kenny Omega and Andre Chase have publicly spoken positively of the promotion. DPW was also nominated for "Promotion of the Year" for the 2023 Fightful Awards.

Programming and events

Current

DPW Spark

Spark is a web television program that airs on DPW's YouTube and the company's streaming service DPW On Demand. [13] The series debuted on December 30, 2021. The series acts as a pre-show to major events.

Former

DPW Fire

Fire was the flagship program of DPW that aired DPW's YouTube channel and DPW On Demand. [14] The series debuted on December 16, 2021, originally airing on the DPW's YouTube channel, and concluded on June 3, 2022.

Major events

Deadlock Pro-Wrestling has produced 34 chronological events. The first event took place on January 8, 2022, in Raleigh, North Carolina at the Raleigh Convention Center. The Durham Armory in Durham, North Carolina has held the most events with six.

Championships and accomplishments

ChampionshipCurrent champion(s)ReignDate wonDays
held		Successful defensesLocationNotesRef.
DPW Worlds Championship Jake Something in December 2017 (cropped).jpg Jake Something 1October 19, 202424+0 Charlotte, NC Defeated previous champion Calvin Tankman at DPW Super Battle. [15]
DPW National Championship No image available.svg Adam Priest1July 7, 2024129+1 Raleigh, NC Defeated BK Westbrook and Kevin Blackwood in a Three-way match to win the vacant championship at Tag Festival. [16]
DPW Worlds Tag Team Championship Mike Bailey in February 2024.jpg
Jake Something in December 2017 (cropped).jpg 		Speedball x Something
(Mike Bailey and Jake Something)		1March 10, 20242482 Berwyn, IL Defeated previous champions The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin) at Live 5.
DPW Women's Worlds Championship 20230414miyuki2.jpg Miyuki Takase 1December 10, 20233393 Durham, NC Defeated previous champion Emi Sakura at 2nd Anniversary. [15]

Tournaments

  – Championship victory
  – Championship match loss
Accomplishment:Winner(s):Date won:Note:
Carolina Classic 2022 Lucky AliOctober 15, 2022Defeat defending champion Bojack and Kidd Bandit to win the DPW Worlds Championship at World's Strongest 2022.
Tag Festival 2023 The Workhorsemen (Anthony Henry and JD Drake)June 18, 2023Won the DPW Worlds Tag Team Championship in the finals.
Carolina Classic 2023 Jay Malachi September 17, 2023Defeat Lucky Ali to win the DPW Worlds Championship the same night.
Tag Festival 2024 Violence Is Forever (Kevin Ku and Dominic Garrini)July 7, 2024
Carolina Classic 2024 Jake Something September 15, 2024Defeated Calvin Tankman to win the DPW Worlds Championship at Super Battle 2024.
Battle of the Best 2024 Dani Luna October 19, 2024

DPW Awards

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mace (wrestler)</span> American football player and professional wrestler (born 1991)

Brennan Marcel Williams is an American professional wrestler and former football player. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Mason Madden as one-half of the tag team MxM Collection alongside Mansoor. He also performs for its sister promotion Ring of Honor (ROH) and on the independent circuit. He is best known for his tenure in WWE, where he performed under the ring names Dio Maddin, Mace, and ma.çé.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Drake (wrestler)</span> British professional wrestler

James Dowell, better known under the ring name James Drake, is an English professional wrestler and promoter. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and also performs on the independent circuit. He is best known for his time in WWE NXT where he performed under the ring names James Drake and Jagger Reid. He formed the tag team Grizzled Young Veterans with Zack Gibson in 2017, becoming the inaugural NXT UK Tag Team Champions and three-time Progress Tag Team Champions. He and Gibson run a wrestling promotion called Burning Heart Pro Wrestling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mansoor (wrestler)</span> Saudi Arabian professional wrestler (born 1995)

Mansoor Abdul Aziz Mohamed Abdul Aziz Al-Shehail, known mononymously as Mansoor, is a Saudi-American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as one-half of MxM Collection alongside Mason Madden. He also wrestles for AEW's sister promotion Ring of Honor (ROH) and on the independent circuit. He is best known for his tenure in WWE, where he is the first Saudi wrestler to have competed in WWE.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Henry (wrestler)</span> American professional wrestler

Anthony Henry is an American professional wrestler, currently performing for independent circuit. He is best known for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and Ring of Honor (ROH). He is one-half of the tag team the WorkHorsemen with JD Drake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ChocoPro</span> Womens professional wrestling promotion

ChocoPro, first established as Bangkok Girls Pro Wrestling, is a Thai-Japanese joshi puroresu promotion founded in 2012 by Emi Sakura and Prachapoom "Pumi" Boonyatud. The promotion is known for hosting shows in Tokyo at Ichigaya Chocolate Square, where there is no wrestling ring, but instead a small performing space in the shape of a square. From May 2012 until August 2024, the promotion was known as Gatoh Move Pro Wrestling.

Gleat is a Japanese professional wrestling and mixed martial arts promotion founded in 2020 by former Pro Wrestling Noah parent company Lidet Entertainment after the acquisition of Noah and DDT Pro-Wrestling by CyberAgent. The promotion is overseen by Hiroyuki Suzuki and former mixed martial artist and professional wrestler Kiyoshi Tamura. The promotion emphasizes the use of the UWFi combat sports-based wrestling style.

Christopher Heyward III, better known by the ring name Calvin Tankman, is an American professional wrestler, currently performing on the independent circuit. He is known for his tenures with Major League Wrestling, IWA Mid-South, and Deadlock Pro-Wrestling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saki (wrestler)</span> Japanese professional wrestler

Saki Watanabe, mononymously known by her ring name Saki is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working as a freelancer and is best known for her tenure with the Japanese promotions Gatoh Move Pro Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Wave.

The DPW Worlds Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship owned and promoted by Deadlock Pro-Wrestling (DPW). The current champion is Jake Something who defeated Calvin Tankman at Super Battle to win the championship.

The DPW Worlds Tag Team Championship is a men's professional wrestling world tag team championship owned and promoted by Deadlock Pro-Wrestling (DPW). The Reality x NDA were the inaugural champions. The current champions are Speedball x Something, who are in their first reign as a team and individually. They defeated The Motor City Machine Guns at DPW Live 5 on March 10, 2024. The titles have been defended in the main event of four major DPW events.

The DPW National Championship is a professional wrestling championship owned and promoted by Deadlock Pro-Wrestling (DPW). It is the secondary championship in DPW. Calvin Tankman was the inaugural champion. The current champion is Adam Priest, who is in his first reign. He won the vacant title by defeating Kevin Blackwood and BK Westbrook at Tag Festival on July 7, 2024 in Raleigh, North Carolina. The title has been defended in the main event of four major DPW events.

The DPW Women's Worlds Championship is a women's professional wrestling world championship owned and promoted by Deadlock Pro-Wrestling (DPW). Raychell Rose was the inaugural champion. Miyuki Takase is the current champion in her first reign. She defeated Emi Sakura at the DPW 2nd Anniversary on December 10, 2023. The title has been defended in the main event of two major DPW events.

<i>DPW Fire</i> American professional wrestling television program

DPW Fire is a professional wrestling streaming television program produced by Deadlock Pro-Wrestling (DPW) that premiered on December 16, 2021, on YouTube. It was considered DPW's flagship program and is one of the company's two programs, along with its second main program, Spark. Due to the series not being financial enough to continue, Fire concluded with its final episode on June 3, 2022. Though, the company would still stick to its format of monthly major events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MxM Collection</span> American professional wrestling tag team

MxM Collection is a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Mansoor and Mason Madden. They are currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and its sister promotion Ring of Honor (ROH). They also make appearances in the independent circuit. They are also known for their tenure in WWE, as a stable with Max Dupri and Maxxine Dupri called the Maximum Male Models and went by the ring names of mån.sôör and ma.çé.

Sarah Slack better known by her ring name Heidi Howitzer is an American professional wrestler currently working as a freelancer and is best known for her time with Women of Wrestling and Lucha Libre & Laughs. She has also competed in Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling where she is a former Princess Tag Team Champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arisu Endo</span> Japanese professional wrestler

Arisu Endo is a Japanese professional wrestler currently competing in Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling (TJPW) where she is one half of the current Princess Tag Team Champions alongside Suzume.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hunter Raynor</span> American professional wrestler (born 2005)

Hunter Raynor is an independent professional wrestler from Princeton, North Carolina. He is known for his wrestling character, which has earned him the nickname "Based". Raynor has wrestled for promotions all over the United States, including Deadlock Pro-Wrestling, Firestar Pro Wrestling, and Ring Wars Carolina.

References

  1. 1 2 Rumsey, Connel (November 1, 2021). "DEADLOCK Pro-Wrestling Officially Announced". WrestleTalk. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 "DPW Fire Episode 1 Review". Parts Unknown Press. December 17, 2021. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  3. ↑ "DPW On Demand". dpwondemand.com/. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  4. ↑ "DEADLOCK - Pro Wrestling Lifestyle & Culture". DEADLOCK. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  5. ↑ Lambert, Jeremy (January 16, 2022). "DPW You Already Know Results (1/15): First-Ever DPW Worlds Champion Crowned". Fightful. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  6. ↑ DeFelice, Robert (April 24, 2022). "DPW Forever 2022 (4/23) Results: First DPW Tag Champions Crowned". Fightful. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  7. ↑ Alexander, Brady (July 17, 2022). "DPW: Showdown In The Carolina's Results – 7/16/22". BodySlam.net. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  8. ↑ Lambert, Jeremy (August 15, 2022). "DPW Believe The Hype Results (8/13): Konosuke Takeshita, Dante Martin, Rosemary In Action". Fightful. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  9. ↑ DEADLOCK Pro Wrestling [@deadlockpro] (December 21, 2022). "🗣 NEW DPW SHOW ANNOUNCEMENT..." (Tweet). Archived from the original on January 17, 2023. Retrieved February 23, 2023– via Twitter.
  10. ↑ Brookes, Chris [@OBEYBrookes] (March 26, 2023). "‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️ @deadlockpw x @gatohmove_jp 4.25 Shin Kiba 1st Ring 4.27 Shinjuku FACE LFG! 🔥#ChocoPro" (Tweet). Retrieved April 22, 2023– via Twitter.
  11. ↑ @deadlockpro (March 29, 2024). "As of today, DPW has entered into a strategic partnership with West Coast Pro Wrestling & Prestige Wrestling! The very best independent professional wrestling coast-to-coast" (Tweet). Archived from the original on August 20, 2024. Retrieved August 20, 2024– via Twitter.
  12. ↑ @W_UNIVERSE_eng (June 7, 2024). "DEADLOCK Pro Wrestling (DPW) @deadlockpro now on #wrestleUNIVERSE VOD!!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on August 20, 2024. Retrieved August 20, 2024– via Twitter.
  13. ↑ "Spark". dpwondemand.com/. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  14. ↑ "Fire". dpwondemand.com/. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  15. 1 2 Lambert, Jeremy (December 18, 2023). "DPW 2nd Anniversary Results (12/16): Three New Champions Crowned". Fightful. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  16. ↑ @deadlockpro (July 1, 2024). "[BREAKING] Bryan Keith has suffered an injury & with no available timetable on his return, Keith will vacate the DPW National Championship. The Bounty Hunter held the belt for 323 days including 5 defenses, a record breaking number in both regards" (Tweet). Archived from the original on August 20, 2024. Retrieved August 20, 2024– via Twitter.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.