Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South

This article is about the Louisville, Kentucky, USA based wrestling promotions. For similarly named wrestling promotions, see International Wrestling Association (disambiguation).
IWA Mid-South
Acronym IWA MS[1]
Founded 1996[1]
Style Professional wrestling
Hardcore wrestling
Strong style
Headquarters Louisville, Kentucky
Founder(s) Ian Rotten
Owner(s) Vince Jones, Kevin Adams, Mike Miller
Sister IWA Deep South
IWA East Coast
IWA Texas
IWA Tri-State

Independent Wrestling Association (IWA) Mid-South (also known as IWA Mid-South, IWA-MS, and IWA Mid South Wrestling) is an independent professional wrestling promotion based in Louisville, Kentucky. It was formed by Ian Rotten in 1996.

History

Hardcore wrestling

Independent Wrestling Association: Mid-South (IWA-MS) formed in 1996 in Louisville, Kentucky. The owner, Ian Rotten,[2] is one of the first to bring hardcore style of wrestling to the United States with his feud with former tag team partner Axl Rotten. He formed the promotion shortly after leaving Extreme Championship Wrestling in the mid-1990s.[3] IWA Mid-South first came on the scene on October 10, 1996 with the first, of what would become weekly shows in Louisville, Kentucky. On April 3, 1997 IWA Mid-South crowned its first Heavyweight Champion, Tower of Doom, when he won a three way dance in the finals of a tournament.[4]

Move to Indiana

In early 2000, IWA Mid-South moved its operations to Charlestown, Indiana. In late 2000, IWA Mid-South started to make a slow shift to more technical based wrestlers and matches. During that year Dave Prazak became a featured manager, ring announcer, and commentator. He played a prominent role in bringing in Colt Cabana and CM Punk to join Chris Hero and other technical wrestlers. With this change brought the birth of the Ted Petty Invitational Tournament (TPI), then known as Sweet Science 16. The first TPI was held in 2000 and won by Chris Hero. During this time, a match featuring Punk and Hero lasted 92 minutes and has since been referred to by ESPN's SportsCenter as one of the longest sporting events.[5]

In 2002 IWA Mid-South moved its base to Clarksville, Indiana. From 2003 to 2007, IWA Mid-South ran shows in a wide variety of venues, mostly Indiana and Illinois. During this span, they had a 51-month streak of running at least one show in every calendar month.[6] IWA Mid-South then went on a planned hiatus, restarting operations with their 500th show on March 1, 2008.

On August 26, 2009, IWA Mid-South announced that it would cease its operations after the Kings of the Crimson Mask show on August 28. However, on November 3, IWA Mid-South announced that it would return with smaller budget shows, starting with Chapter 2: In The Beginning on November 20, 2009. On March 28, 2011, IWA Mid-South announced it would end operations immediately.[7]

In July 2011, IWA Mid-South re-opened under new ownership. On September 16–17, 2011 the company returned with its annual King of the Death Match tournament. During that autumn, IWA Mid-South promoted a number of small shows in the Bellevue, Illinois area. IWA Mid-South then closed down once again. In July 2013, Ian Rotten announced he was once again promoting shows under the IWA-MS banner, this time returning to the old Clarksville Arena.

Current championships

Championship Current champion Date won Days held Location
IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Championship Tracy Smothers Oct 6, 2016 67
IWA Mid-South Light Heavyweight Championship Devon Moore September 1, 2012 1,563 Bellevue, Illinois

Defunct championships

Championship: Final champion(s): Won from: Date won: Location:
IWA Mid-South Tag Team Championship Up in Smoke
(Cheech and Cloudy)		 Mickie Knuckles and Devon Moore May 3, 2008 Joliet, Illinois
IWA Mid-South Strong Style Championship Nick Gage Michael Elgin
(title announced as defunct at the Revolution Strong Style Tournament 2008)		 August 17, 2008 Joliet, Illinois
IWA Mid-South Hardcore Championship
(now merged with IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Championship)		 2 Tuff Tony
def. Delilah Starr and Mad Man Pondo to unify titles		 Delilah Starr March 4, 2000 Charlestown, Indiana
IWA Mid-South Television Championship Shark Boy Chip Fairway April 2, 1998 Louisville, Kentucky
IWA Mid-South Deathmatch Championship Devon Moore Corporal Robinson June 21, 2008 Sellersburg, Indiana
IWA Mid-South Women's Championship Daizee Haze Mickie Knuckles May 2, 2008 Joliet, Illinois

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Cagematch : IWA Mid-South (German)
  2. ↑ Bell, Jason. "Ian Rotten's Bio". Official Home of Ian Rotten. Retrieved 2007-04-18.
  3. ↑ Williams, Scott E. Hardcore History: The Extremely Unauthorized Story of the ECW. Champaign, Illinois: Sports Publishing L.L.C., 2006. (pg. 68) ISBN 1-59670-021-1
  4. ↑ "I.W.A. Mid-South Heavyweight Title". Puroresu Dojo. 2003. Retrieved 2007-04-18.
  5. ↑ "UFC News: C.M. Punk appears on ESPN SportsCenter, has a new answer regarding the difference between Dana White and WWE's Vince McMahon". prowrestling.net. December 17, 2014. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
  6. ↑ "I.W.A. Mid-South Results History". WrestlingData.com. 2010. Retrieved 2010-11-06.
  7. ↑ Gerweck, Steve (2011-03-30). "Indy group closes down in midst of real life drama". WrestleView. Retrieved 2011-03-30.
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