Irish Whip Wrestling

Last updated

Irish Whip Wrestling
AcronymIWW
Founded2002
HeadquartersIreland
Founder(s)Simon Rochford
Owner(s)Simon Rochford

Irish Whip Wrestling (IWW) is an Irish-owned independent professional wrestling promotion established in January 2002. The company is named after a wrestling move called the 'Irish Whip'. IWW runs shows Nationally throughout the whole of Ireland, both in The Republic and Northern Ireland. The company has appeared on numerous terrestrial and digital channels and had a weekly show called WHIPLASH TV on The Wrestling Channel, which aired from 2005 to 2006 throughout the UK and Ireland.

Contents

They also released over a dozen VHS tapes and DVDs of original IWW content, shipping them to over 17 countries worldwide across five continents.

Irish Whip Wrestling was the first ever modern day wrestling promotion in Ireland & the first to tour nationally with former WWE, WCW, ECW & Japanese wrestlers. They were the first wrestling company in Ireland to produce Irish wrestling VHS & DVD content & the first and only Irish promotion to have a wrestling television show aired in Ireland.

History

Early years (2002–2004)

Irish Whip Wrestling (IWW) ran its first two shows in June 2002 in the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght, which featured wrestler Tatanka. After these two shows, IWW returned to the ESB National Basketball Arena on October 9 for a show that was headlined by Jake "The Snake" Roberts.

IWW continued to promote shows around Ireland through 2003 and 2004. On December 2, 2004, IWW held a show in Lucan, Dublin, and the main event featured an FWA British Heavyweight Championship match in which Alex Shane pinned Sheamus O'Shaunessy. Also in 2004, IWW opened up their 'Lock-up' training school in Dublin. Trainers at this school have included Blake Norton, "Middleman" Lee Butler and "The Pukka One" Darren Burridge. The training school has also been host to the company's Gym Wars shows which gives trainees a chance to show their skills to IWW management and to a crowd.

Growth (2005–2007)

Drew McIntyre with the IWW International Heavyweight Championship belt at an Irish Whip Wrestling event IWW Champion Drew.jpg
Drew McIntyre with the IWW International Heavyweight Championship belt at an Irish Whip Wrestling event

On March 20, 2005, IWW presented its first-ever SuperShow, held in the SFX City Theatre in Dublin. On March 28, O'Shaunessy was crowned the first-ever IWW International Heavyweight Champion when he defeated Darren Burridge in the tournament final. [1] American wrestler D'Lo Brown unseated O'Shaunessy as IWW Champion at D-Day on May 20, 2005. Brown reigned for 126 days, before dropping the title back to O'Shaunessy at a Main Event Wrestling Event in Newcastle, England. [2] [3]

Also in 2005, IWW got its own TV show called Whiplash TV, which was broadcast on The Wrestling Channel on Sky Digital. The show ran for two seasons. Throughout May and June 2006, IWW taped several episodes of its Whiplash TV show in the Laughter Lounge in Dublin City. In 2006, IWW ran shows in cities across Ireland. [4] From August to October 2006, the first ever King of the Gym tournament was held over the course of four Gym Wars events. The key IWW feud of this period was between O'Shaunessy and Drew Galloway who battled in a series of gimmick matches (Lumberjack, Two-Out-of-Three Falls, Last Man Standing) [5] between January and August 2006 until Galloway successfully defeated O'Shaunessy to win the IWW title [6] and the end their rivalry. [7]

At the beginning of 2007, the IWW Zero Gravity Championship was created, and a tournament was held to crown the first champion. [8] The 12-man tournament included wrestlers from seven countries. [8]

In March 2017, IWW held its second SuperShow, and in the main event, Vic Viper defeated Christopher Daniels to retain the IWW International Heavyweight Championship. [9] On 6 July, IWW returned to the Forum in Waterford for its Global Impact show, which was taped for DVD sales. The match between the Ballymun Bruiser and Doug Williams was featured on TV3's Diary of a Sportstar program.

In late October 2007, it ran 14 shows between the October 19 and 28. Several matches on the tour were taped for the International Hits, Vol. 1 DVD.

Return of Gym Wars; Memorial Tournament & Tours (2008–2019)

On June 1, 2008, Gym Wars returned after a 10-month absence. Later that month, IWW returned to the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght, Dublin for the first time in six years. All the matches were taped for IWW's television show on Buzz TV.

IWW continued running shows in 2011. Around this time they branched into fundraisers, festival events and summer circuit shows.

From 2011 onward, IWW focused on showcasing Irish talent, resulting in a streamlined roster with touring performers still utilized from Canada, America, the UK, and Europe.

Irish Whip Wrestling currently tours nationally, participating in the festival and agricultural show circuit. In 2019, they held approximately 30 shows, compared to their peak of over 60 shows per year.

Hibernation

As a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic, Irish Whip Wrestling entered a period of hibernation in 2020 and 2021.

Championships

Current champions

IWW International Heavyweight Championship

Irish Whip Wrestling Heavyweight Championship
Details
PromotionIrish Whip Wrestling
Date establishedMarch 27, 2005
Current champion(s)The Galway Grappler
Statistics
Most reigns Sheamus O' Shaunessy (2 reigns)
Longest reignThe Galway Grappler 2,074+ days
Shortest reign Sheamus O' Shaunessy (62 Days)
Youngest champion Drew Galloway (21 years)

The IWW International Heavyweight Championship is the primary title for IWW. The championship was created in 2005. A tournament was held in Naas, County Kildare in March 2005 to crown the first ever champion. The former champion Mandrake was the longest reigning champion in history of the company. On February 5, 2010, the Zero Gravity Title was unified with it and it became known as the Irish Whip Wrestling Unified Heavyweight Championship. On April 30, 2011, The Supermodel defeated Mandrake for the IWW International Heavyweight championship. The Zero Gravity championship was un-unified with the International Heavyweight Championship after this match.

#WrestlerReignsDateDays heldLocationEventNotesRef.
1 Sheamus O' Shaunessy 1March 28, 200562

Naas, Kildare, Ireland

IWW EventDefeated Darren Burridge in a tournament final. [10]
2 D'Lo Brown 1May 29, 2005126 Dublin, Ireland IWW D-Day
3 Sheamus O' Shaunessy 2October 2, 2005329 Newcastle, England MEW The Northern Bash
4 Drew Galloway 1August 27, 2006141 Balbriggan, Dublin, Ireland IWW International Intermingle
5Vic Viper1January 17, 2007423 Baldoyle, Dublin, Ireland IWW Gym War #18Defeated Mad Man Manson, Kid Kash, and Ballymun Bruiser for vacant title.
6Mandrake1March 15, 20081,141 Donnycarney, Dublin, Ireland IWW St. Paddy's TourDefeated Vic Viper and Eugene
7The Supermodel1April 30, 2011883 Birr, Offaly, Ireland IWW Event
8Captain Rooney1September 29, 2013564 Dundalk, Louth, Ireland IWW Event
9TJ Meehan1April 16, 2015665 Roscommon, Ireland
10The Ballymun Bruiser1December 3, 2016552 Letterkenny, Donegal, Ireland IWW Event
11The Galway Grappler1August 6, 20182,074+ Durrow, Laois, Ireland IWW EventThis was a fatal four-way match also involving J-Money and Oisin Delaney

IWW Zero Gravity Championship

Irish Whip Wrestling Zero-Gravity Championship
Details
PromotionIrish Whip Wrestling
Date establishedJanuary 14, 2007
Statistics
Most reignsBingo Ballance (4 reigns)
Longest reignThe Galway Grappler (1,371 Days)
Shortest reignBam Katraz (14 Days)

The IWW Zero Gravity Championship is professional wrestling championship in IWW. The championship was created in early 2007. [8] The tournament to crown the inaugural champion was a 12-man tournament including wrestlers from seven countries. [8] On February 5, 2010, it was unified with the IWW International Heavyweight Championship and retired. It was later reactivated, after Mandrake lost the IWW International Heavyweight Championship.

Y#WrestlerReignsDateDays heldLocationEventNotesRef.
1Bingo Ballance1January 14, 2007159 Balbriggan, Dublin, Ireland IWW Zero-GravityDefeated Pac [11]
2Bam Katraz1June 22, 200714 Balbriggan, Dublin, Ireland IWW Doomsday In Dublin
3Bingo Ballance2July 6, 2007106 Waterford, Ireland IWW Global ImpactDefeated Pac and Bam Katraz
4Red Vinny1October 20, 2007147 Kilkenny, Ireland IWW 5th Anniversary National Tour
5Vic Viper1March 15, 200891 Donnycarney, Dublin, Ireland IWW St. Paddy's TourDefeated Red Vinny, Bam Katraz, Bingo Ballance, and Liam Thompson
6Bingo Ballance3June 14, 2008230 Tallaght, Dublin, Ireland IWW Buzz TV-TapingDefeated Vic Viper, Red Vinny, and Metal Master
7LA Warren1January 30, 2009268 Rathcoole, Dublin, Ireland IWW Event
8Angus J. Rotanda1October 25, 2009103 Portlaoise, Ireland IWW Event
9Mandrake1April 30, 2011148 Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland IWW Event
10Skaterboi Jeebus1September 25, 2011979 Louth, Ireland IWW Event
11Cambo Cray1May 31, 2014820 Kilkeel, Northern Ireland
12The Galway Grappler1August 28, 201697 Cashel, County Tipperary, Ireland IWW Dualla Show
13Cambo Cray2December 3, 2016183 Letterkenny, County Donegal, Ireland IWW Event
14The Galway Grappler2June 4, 2017369 Leixlip, County Kildare, Ireland IWW Event
15Bingo Ballance4June 8, 20182,133+ Durrow, County Laois, Ireland IWW Event

King of the Gym winners

Danno Mahony Tournament winners

Alumni

See also

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References

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  2. "MEW The Northern Bash". CageMatch. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
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  5. "IWW International Heavyweight Championship » Title Reigns". CageMatch. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  6. "New Phenom: The ICW World Heavyweight Championship Reign of Drew Galloway". November 2022.
  7. "Drew McIntyre » Matches". CageMatch. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
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Further reading