The
Wire.
The indie beat, kept on the record — the small promotions and the names who passed through them, filed and sourced.
On the wire
The full wire →Chikara, founded 2002 by Mike Quackenbush and Reckless Youth in Philadelphia: lucha-flavored, season-based indie wrestling that closed for good in June 2020.
Profile of Chris Hero — Chris Spradlin of Dayton, Ohio, the CZW, ROH and PWG workhorse who twice went to WWE as Kassius Ohno and twice came back to the indies.
Profile of Colt Cabana — Scott Colton of Illinois, Ring of Honor original, two-time NWA World Champion and the podcaster who taught the indies to talk.
Archive profile of Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW): John Zandig’s 1999 start-up, Cage of Death, Tournament of Death, the ECW Arena years and the D.J. Hyde era.
Profile of Eric Gargiulo — ECW ring announcer, longtime CZW commentator beside John House, host of Pro Wrestling Radio on WBCB 1490 and a shoot-interview pioneer.
IWA Mid-South, Ian Rotten's Indiana-Kentucky promotion (1996–2022): King of the Deathmatch, the Ted Petty Invitational, CM Punk, Chris Hero, repeated closures.
A profile of Ken Anderson — Mr. Kennedy in WWE, Mr. Anderson in TNA, and a Wisconsin indie lifer who never really left the small halls behind.
Necro Butcher (Dylan Summers): deathmatch wrestler, 2002 King of the Deathmatch, Tournament of Death IV winner, ROH brawler and a face in The Wrestler.
The record of NWA Shockwave: founded in Staten Island in 2001 as the CyberSpace Wrestling Federation, in the NWA from 2005, gone without a word by mid-2007.
Profile of Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG): founded in Los Angeles in 2003 by six wrestlers, home of the Battle of Los Angeles, Reseda and the 2023 hiatus.
Archive profile of Ring of Honor (ROH): founded by RF Video in 2002, the Code of Honor, the Silkin and Sinclair years, the 2021 hiatus and Tony Khan’s purchase.
UCW-Zero, Steve Neilson's Salt Lake City indie: American Professional Wrestling roots, AWA and NWA affiliations, a 6,000 crowd in Idaho, and a 2020 stop.
Guides
All guides →The trade’s vocabulary, defined plainly and grouped by what it describes.
The pipeline from small halls to national television, and the promotions that act as proving grounds.
The indie circuit: what it is, how it runs, and why the small halls matter.
Writing about the business for a class or a blog? A clear approach to a persuasive essay turns a hot take into an argument, and an essay tutor can read it before you post.
Wrestling Wire is an independent archive and is not affiliated with WWE, TNA/Impact, the NWA or any promotion or wrestler named here. Names are used for identification and commentary. About this archive →