World Xtreme Wrestling

Last updated
World Xtreme Wrestling
AcronymWXW
Founded1996
DefunctApril 13, 2024
Style professional wrestling
Headquarters Minneola, Florida
Allentown, Pennsylvania
Founder(s) Afa Anoa'i
Owner(s) Afa Anoa'i (1996-February 2024)
Afa Jr. (Since April 2024)
Parent Top Rope Productions
(1996–98)
World Xtreme Wrestling
(1998–2024)
Website WXWwrestling.com
WXW Womens League

World Xtreme Wrestling (WXW) was a Florida-based independent professional wrestling promotion which has held events across the United States and toured in Japan, the Middle East and South Pacific region including American Samoa and Guam.

Contents

The promotion is associated with Afa Anoa'i's Wild Samoan Pro Wrestling Training Center in Minneola, Florida, and students who have competed for the promotion include Batista, Chris Kanyon, Billy Kidman, Gene Snitsky and cousins Jamal (known as Umaga) [1] and Rosey [2] of Three Minute Warning. Court Bauer, a member of the WWE creative team, was formerly a booker for the promotion during the mid-1990s. [3]

The promotion features in the film The Wrestler , where Mickey Rourke's character "Randy 'The Ram' Robinson" wrestles Tommy Rotten (portrayed by WXW wrestler Tommy Suede).

History

Trans World Wrestling Federation

Originally formed in 1970 as the Trans World Wrestling Federation in association with the original Wild Samoan Pro Wrestling Training Center, the promotion's early history is unrecorded. However, Jules Strongbow and Yukon Jack have both been credited as former heavyweight champions. During the early 1990s, the promotion's roster included independent wrestlers such as Bam Bam Bigelow, Chief Dave Foxx, Billy Kidman, Chris Kanyon, Tony Stetson and Glen Osbourne. [4]

World Xtreme Wrestling

World Xtreme Wrestling was established in 1996 as a continuation of the Trans World Wrestling Federation and continued to be owned and operated by Afa Anoa'i. In 1998, the promotion held its first live televised supercard Sportsfest '98 in Allentown, Pennsylvania which featured several wrestlers from the World Wrestling Federation including Rocky Maivia, Mankind, Owen Hart, D'Lo Brown as well as former WWF wrestlers Doink the Clown, King Kong Bundy and The Bushwhackers.

Shortly after the close of Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), several former ECW wrestlers including Mikey Whipwreck, Devon Storm, Little Guido, The Sandman and Tommy Dreamer "invaded" Sportsfest 2001. In the main event, The Sandman and Tommy Dreamer were defeated by Samu and Mana.

During that year, the promotion established a women's division with Kattra becoming the first WXW Women's Champion. She eventually was stripped of the title in March 2001 after failing to defend the championship. Although BellaDonna won the title after defeating Jessica Dally on March 9, the title was again vacated. The title remained inactive for several months, but the division was reactivated following the WXW Women's ELITE 8 Tournament in Danbury, Connecticut on September 25, 2002 with Cindy Rogers winning the WXW Women's title in a battle royal at Sportsfest 2003. [5]

Although the promotion had held live television tapings at past events, WXW began airing a weekly television program, WXW Rage TV in January 2002 featuring a variety of WXW talent, including Afa, Afa Jr., L.A. Smooth, Showtime Shane Black, Havoc, Nuissance, Supreme Lee Great, and Samu. Rage TV features a rotating commentary team that has included Doc Daniels, The Bald Guy, Ben Miller, Saul Steinberk, Gerry Strauss and Nate Stein. Other independent wrestlers who have appeared on Rage TV include Salvatore Bellomo, Low Ki, John Rambo and Slyk Wagner Brown.

In early 2002, WXW promoted its first tour overseas and appeared for U.S. troops stationed in the Middle East, including Afghanistan. In August 2002, the promotion held a second tour in Asia and the South Pacific appearing for one month in Japan, Okinawa, Korea, Guam and Hawaii.

In late 2004, WXW expanded and began holding events in Florida near the original Wild Samoan Pro Wrestling Training Center in Pensacola. WXW began holding all of its events in Minneola, Florida, and broadcasting Rage TV on their website. A new branch of WXW, called WXW C4 was created and promotes regular events in Allentown, Pennsylvania. WXW C4 is run by Samu and Afa Jr. and has a weekly television show, Blast TV.

On February 2024, Afa Jr. announced the promotion will close on April 13. [6] However on April 14, 2024, Afa Jr. confirmed via his social media that he will be taking full control of the promotion.

Women's ELITE 8 Tournament

The Women's Elite 8 Tournament is a tournament formed to offer a platform for top female wrestlers. There have been eight annual tournaments starting September 27, 2002 in Danbury, Connecticut. The last tournament was held in 2009.

2002

September 27, 2002 in Danbury, Connecticut

No.ResultsStipulations
1 Griffin defeated Jessica Dally Singles match
2 Mercedes Martinez defeated Katarina Heiss Singles match
3 Valentina vs. Traci Brooks ended in a drawSingles match
As a result of the draw, both wrestlers advanced.
4 Ariel defeated BellaDawna Singles match
5 Gail Kim defeated Nikki Roxx Singles match
6 Traci Brooks defeated Ariel Singles match
7 Griffin defeated Valentina Singles match
8 Gail Kim defeated April Hunter Singles match
9 Mercedes Martinez defeated Griffin Singles match
10 Traci Brooks defeated Gail Kim Singles match
11 Traci Brooks defeated Mercedes Martinez Singles match with Steve Wilkos as the special enforcer

2003

November 21, 2003 in Sciota, Pennsylvania

First round Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
Jessica Dally and Sarah Stock [7]
[lower-alpha 1] Battle royal Jessica Dally [7]
Sarah Stock Pin
Sarah Stock [7]
April Hunter Pin
April Hunter [7]
Ariel Pin
April Hunter [7]
Beth Phoenix Pin
Allison Danger [7]
Angel Williams Pin
Angel Williams [7]
Beth Phoenix Pin
Beth Phoenix [7]
Psycho Bitch Pin
  1. ↑ Other competitors were Alere Little Feather, BellaDawna, Frankie V, Luscious Lily, ODB, and Tara Charisma

2004

October 9, 2004 in Sciota, Pennsylvania

2005

October 23, 2005 in Allentown, Pennsylvania

2006

October 14, 2006 in Allentown, Pennsylvania

2007

November 10, 2007 in Coplay, Pennsylvania with Sunny as the special guest referee for the finals

2008

November 15, 2008 in Leesburg, Florida

2009

November 14, 2009 in Minneola, Florida

Championships

Active championships

ChampionshipCurrent champion(s)Date wonDays held
WXW Heavyweight Championship Chico Adams December 21, 20191,579+
WXW Television Championship Chico AdamsSeptember 12, 20201,313+
WXW Cruiserweight Championship Jorel Ganzy October 26, 20191,635+
WXW Tag Team Championship Controversial Inc. (Mr. C & Salazar)September 12, 20201,313+
WXW Women's Championship Marina Tucker December 21, 20191,579+
WXW Women's Tag Team ChampionshipGo Hard Life Twins
(Laur and Linda)		June 11, 20201,406+
WXW Ultimate Heavyweight Championship BLK Jeez November 2, 20191,628+
WXW Elite Tag Team ChampionshipSouth Philly's Finest
(Jimmy Konway and Luca Brazzi)		November 2, 20191,628+
WXW Ultimate Hybrid Championship Lance Anoa'i June 5, 20211,047+
WXW Diamond Division Championship Karissa RiveraMay 29, 20191,785+

Former championships

ChampionshipLast champion(s)Date won
WXW Blast Television ChampionshipBo NekodaMay 30, 2014
WXW Campeon Internacionale ChampionshipEddie GuapoJune 6, 2009
WXW Gulf Coast Tag Team ChampionshipRon Fargo and SinnAugust 21, 2004
WXW Hardcore ChampionshipJaysonJuly 11, 2003

WXW Hall of Fame

There are currently 28 inductees in the hall of fame, from 2013-2016. [14]

Inductees

YearRing name
2013 Dave Batista
Doc Daniels
Gene Snitsky
Kamala
Salvatore Bellomo
Samu
Sugaa
Traci Brooks
2014 Gangrel
Jimmy Snuka
L.A. Smooth
Mercedes Martinez
The Perfect Creation
(Richard J. Criado)
Scott Matthews
Tommy Suede
2015 Afa Anoaʻi Jr.
Eddie Guapo
Kattra
Kris Krude
Ricky Santana
Rikishi
2016 Bill Apter
The Bald Guy
Homicide
Jessica Dally
Ken Patera
Low Ki
Reno Anoa'i

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosey (wrestler)</span> Samoan-American professional wrestler (1970–2017)

Matthew Tapunu'u Anoaʻi was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his tenure in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), under the ring name Rosey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wild Samoans</span> Professional wrestling tag team

The Wild Samoans was the professional wrestling tag team of Afa Anoaʻi and Sika Anoaʻi in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). The Samoans held 21 tag team championships around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mercedes Martinez</span> American professional wrestler

Jazmin Benitez is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Mercedes Martinez. She also appears for AEW's sister promotion, Ring of Honor (ROH), where she is a former ROH Women's World Champion. She is also known for her time in WWE, primarily on the NXT brand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afa Anoa'i Jr.</span> American professional wrestler

Afa Anoaʻi Jr. is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the professional wrestling promotion WWE in the late 2000s under the ring name Manu. He now owns BattleField Pro Wrestling, a promotion based in Pennsylvania.

Lloyd Anoaʻi is an American professional wrestler and professional wrestling manager and producer for Qatar pro wrestling ,and World of War wrestling in South Africa. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) under the ring names Tahitian Savage, Fred Williams, and Lloyd Lanui and for his appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) under the ring name L.A. Smooth. Making his acting debut in the movie The Wrestler and on the trailer commercial for Brisk Tea for his cousin Dwayne Johnson's movie Hobbs & Shaw and other movies. He is one of the three sons of professional wrestling patriarch Afa Anoaʻi and a member of the Anoaʻi family.

The Anoaʻi family is a family of professional wrestlers originating from the Samoan Islands. Family members have comprised several tag teams and stables within a variety of promotions, most notably WWE. Famous members of the family include Roman Reigns and WWE Hall of Famers Rikishi, Yokozuna, and the Wild Samoans. Other notable members include The Usos, Umaga, Rosey, Jacob Fatu, and Solo Sikoa, among others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danny Burch</span> British professional wrestler

Martyn Harris is an English professional wrestler best known for his time with WWE, where he performed on the NXT brand under the ring name Danny Burch. He is a former one time NXT Tag Team Champion with Oney Lorcan. He has worked in the British independent circuit under the ring name Martin Stone with promotions such as Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW), Frontier Wrestling Alliance (FWA), and International Pro Wrestling: United Kingdom (IPW:UK).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westside Xtreme Wrestling</span> German professional wrestling promotion

Westside Xtreme Wrestling, commonly shortened to wXw, is a German professional wrestling promotion based in Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. wXw has been one of the leading professional wrestling promotions in Germany, and most of its events have been held in the Ruhr district, primarily in Oberhausen. Since 2013, wXw regularly tours throughout Germany, adding tour stops outside the country including Switzerland, the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom.

The Yokozuna Benefit Memorial Show was a professional wrestling event produced by World Xtreme Wrestling (WXW) promotion which took place on 29 November 2001, at the Lehigh Valley Sports Zone in Allentown, Pennsylvania. It was held in memory of wrestler Rodney "Yokozuna" Anoa'i, the nephew of promoter Afa Anoa'i and former two-time WWF World Heavyweight Champion, who died of pulmonary edema in Liverpool, England during a tour of Europe the previous year. The show served as a benefit show for his widow and two children, Keilani and Justin. Eleven professional wrestling matches were featured on the event's card, with two including championships.

wXw Shotgun Championship Professional wrestling championship

The wXw Shotgun Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the German promotion Westside Xtreme Wrestling. All of the matches disputed for the title are broadcast on wXw's YouTube channel. The first champion was crowned on August 18, 2013. Ilja Dragunov defeated Tony Blunt in the finals of a tournament to become the first champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swerve Strickland</span> American professional wrestler (born 1990)

Stephon Strickland is an American professional wrestler and rapper. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Swerve Strickland and is the leader of Mogul Embassy.

Lance Anoa'i is an American professional wrestler who recently wrestled for Major League Wrestling (MLW) under his real name. He is a former MLW World Tag Team Champion. He is married to Canesha White and he has two kids named Olivia and Peyton. He is a member of the Anoaʻi family.

Sean Maluta is an American professional wrestler currently competing on the independent circuit. He made a number of appearances with WWE and took part in the first Cruiserweight Classic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shigehiro Irie</span> Japanese professional wrestler

Shigehiro Irie is a Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist best known for his work in DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT). Irie has also competed for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW), and a number of North American independent promotions in the past.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J. T. Dunn</span> American professional wrestler

Johnny Davis Jr. is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name J. T. Dunn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joey Janela</span> American wrestler

Joseph Janela is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to Game Changer Wrestling (GCW), where he is the promoter of the Joey Janela's Spring Break events. He also performs on the independent circuit. Janela is most known for his work with promotions such as All Elite Wrestling (AEW), Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG), Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW), and Major League Wrestling (MLW).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacob Fatu</span> American professional wrestler

Jacob Samuel Fatu is an American professional wrestler currently a free agent. He is best known for his time in Major League Wrestling where he is a former MLW National Openweight Champion and a former one-time MLW World Heavyweight Champion, the latter being the longest reign in the title's history at 819 days.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ace Austin</span> American professional wrestler

Austin James Highley, better known by the ring name Ace Austin, is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). He also makes sporadic appearances for New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he is a member of Bullet Club.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Rotation</span> German professional wrestler

Axel Halbach is a German professional wrestler better known by his ring name The Rotation. He is currently working for the German promotion Westside Xtreme Wrestling where he is a former wXw Academy Trophy Champion. He is the current reigning wXw Shotgun Champion in his first reign. He also is the innovator of the grueling and exhausting „rotation-drill“.

References

  1. ↑ Milner, John M. and Richard Kamchen (2006-04-25). "Umaga". SLAM! Wrestling. Archived from the original on July 14, 2012. Retrieved 2007-04-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. ↑ Milner, John M. (2005-10-23). "Rosey". SLAM! Wrestling. Archived from the original on July 14, 2012. Retrieved 2007-04-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. ↑ Powell, Jason (2003-04-27). "Powell interviews and profiles latest WWE creative team member, Court Bauer". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2007-04-12.
  4. ↑ Shaffer, Eric. "Top Rope Productions Title Histories". WXW Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-04-18.
  5. ↑ "WXW Women's ELITE 8 Tournament". Wrestlers Female. 2009-06-11. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
  6. ↑ "AFA JR. COMMENTS ON THE CLOSING OF WXW | PWInsider.com". www.pwinsider.com.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Matches « 2nd Annual Women's Elite 8 « Tournaments Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Matches « 3rd Annual Women's Elite 8 « Tournaments Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Matches « 4th Annual Women's Elite 8 « Tournaments Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Matches « 5th Annual Women's Elite 8 « Tournaments Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Matches « 6th Annual Women's Elite 8 « Tournaments Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Matches « 7th Annual Women's Elite 8 « Tournaments Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Matches « 8th Annual Women's Elite 8 « Tournaments Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
  14. ↑ "SUPERSTARS". World Xtreme Wrestling.

Further reading

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.