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48-483: Extreme Rising (formerly Extreme Reunion ) was an American independent professional wrestling promotion founded in 2012. Meant to fill the void of hardcore wrestling left behind by the defunct Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), Extreme Rising assembled a roster of ECW alumni , but later expanded to include younger talent. The promotion closed after cancelling all future shows on April 22, 2014. In January 2012, Shane Douglas announced plans for Extreme Reunion,

96-410: A champion there. Independent Mexican wrestlers may use a lot of gimmicks, including some that may be based on copyrighted characters from American television shows, such as Thundercats and X-Men . (These gimmicks are often changed if the wrestler playing them makes it into AAA or CMLL; the most prominent example of non-compliance with this method is midget wrestler Chucky from AAA, whose gimmick

144-527: A five-year extension on its TV wrestling monopoly from January 1982 to December 1986. However, by the mid-1980s Dixon had won over many wrestlers and fans from Joint who were tired of the Big Daddy -orientated direction of Joint. Eventually this culminated in All Star gaining a TV show on satellite channel Screensport and later, a slice of ITV's coverage from 1987 until the end of ITV wrestling in 1988. By

192-525: A good impression may be offered a developmental or even a full-professional contract. The advent of the Internet has allowed independent wrestlers and promotions to reach a wider audience, and it is possible for wrestlers regularly working the indie circuit to gain some measure of fame among wrestling fans online. Additionally, some of the more successful indies have video distribution deals, giving them an additional source of income and allowing them to reach

240-581: A large enough crowd to fill such a venue were they able to do so. Instead, they make use of any almost open space (such as fields, ballrooms, or gymnasiums) to put on their performances. Some independent promotions are attached to professional wrestling schools , serving as a venue for students to gain experience in front of an audience. As independent matches are seldom televised, indie wrestlers who have not already gained recognition in other promotions tend to remain in obscurity. However, scouts from major promotions attend indie shows, and an indie wrestler who makes

288-549: A larger audience outside of their local areas. Unlike the North American or Japanese products which have large, globally renowned organisations such as WWE and New Japan Pro-Wrestling with several hundred smaller promotions , Australia only has approximately 30 smaller independent circuit promotions which exist in all but one of the states and territories, that being the Northern Territory . Tours from

336-541: A major promoter with shows featuring himself as headline heel. In 1958, when Bert Assirati was stripped of the British Heavyweight Championship , Lincoln formed the BWF alliance of promoters to support Assirati's claim, later recognising Shirley Crabtree as champion. Lincoln's BWF was eventually bought out into Joint in 1970. Welsh promoter Orig Williams also used the BWF name, promoting from

384-523: A match, causing cameras to cut away from him, and he was escorted out of the arena. The inaugural event, also named Extreme Reunion , was panned by both fans and critics. The fans in attendance voiced their annoyance at the event by shouting negative chants at Douglas, who had booked himself in the main event. Former ECW Champions Sabu and Justin Credible were removed from the card on the night of Extreme Reunion for medical reasons. Douglas released

432-462: A more traditional ring attire before resuming work on the independent circuit for various promotions, including Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , Ring of Honor , Combat Zone Wrestling , and NWA Wildside . On the November 11, 2006 taping of MTV 's Wrestling Society X , Hawx debuted for the show in a losing effort to Human Tornado . At the taping the next day, Hawx teamed with Al Katrazz in

480-462: A new promotion influenced by Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). Douglas cited his dissatisfaction with the state of the professional wrestling industry as his inspiration to create the new organization. To create interest for the inaugural show on April 28, Douglas undertook a guerrilla marketing campaign, which included attending the March 19, 2012, episode of WWE Raw . Douglas stood up during

528-489: A refund. In 2012, the fledgling promotion announced an eight-man tournament to crown their first world champion, set to include former ECW Champions Sabu and Rhino ; ECW mainstays Stevie Richards , Devon Storm , and Perry Saturn ; as well as notable independent wrestlers such as Homicide , Luke Hawx , and Papadon. The two-night tournament took place at the Remember November iPPV on November 17, 2012, and

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576-532: A region and maintain a consistent schedule. After Vince McMahon , seeking regulatory relief, gave in 1989 testimony in front of the New Jersey State Athletic Commission where he publicly admitted pro wrestling was in fact a sports-based entertainment, rather than a true athletic competition, many state athletic commissions stopped regulating wrestling. This obviated the need for complying with many expensive requirements, such as

624-655: A singles wrestler, and participated in the final King of the Deathmatch Tournament to determine the new King of the Deathmatch Champion . He won his first round match by beating Vinnie Massaro, but lost to Supreme in the second round. Despite losing the tournament, Luke faced Supreme in a Bed of Light Tubes and Barbed Wire match at the Fallout event on October 5 and defeated him to win the King of

672-447: A video days later, apologizing for the quality of the show, and promised changes going forward. Among the changes were altering the company name from Extreme Reunion to Extreme Rising, and bringing in younger talents, such as Matt Hardy , Homicide , Jay Bradley and Luke Hawx , as well as lucha libre wrestlers, to bolster the roster. Extreme Rising held the Remember November internet pay-per-view (iPPV) on November 17, 2012, and

720-482: A week or once a month in local towns. Independent promotions are usually local in focus and, lacking national TV contracts, are much more dependent on revenue from house show attendance. Due to their lower budgets, most independent promotions offer low salaries (it is not unusual for a wrestler to work for free due to the fact most promoters can only afford to pay well-known talent). Most cannot afford to regularly rent large venues, and would not be able to attract

768-605: A winning effort against Kaos and Aaron Aguilera in a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match . On the November 14 taping, Hawx and Katrazz won again after defeating Keep It Gangsta ( Ruckus and Babi Slymm ) before losing to The Trailer Park Boys (Nate Webb and Josh Raymond ). On the February 13, 2007 episode of WSX, Hawx and Katrazz defeated Kaos and Aguilera in a TLC rematch. WSX folded shortly afterwards. On August 4, 2012 in Orlando, Florida , Hawxhurst defeated Jesse Neal to win

816-511: Is also not uncommon for veteran wrestlers who have had past tenures with major promotions to appear on independent shows, either as special attractions or as a way to prolong their careers. The "indie" scene in the United States dates back to the days of regional territories. When a promoter ran opposition in even one town controlled by a National Wrestling Alliance sanctioned territory, they were often called an "outlaw" territory. This

864-640: Is based on the Child's Play movies.) Until 1984, no independent puroresu promotion per se existed in Japan; potential talent went directly into the training dojos of either New Japan Pro-Wrestling or All Japan Pro Wrestling . ( International Wrestling Enterprise also was a third-party promotion until 1981.) The advent of the Japanese Universal Wrestling Federation offered a long-sought third alternative. From 1986 to 1988

912-573: Is considered by some to be a forerunner to indies since some stars of the past got their start in these low quality local rivals to the big regional territories. The modern definition of the independent circuit came about in the middle to late 1980s and fully formed and flourished after 1990. These promotions initially sought to revive the feel of old school territorial wrestling after former territories either went national, such as WWF , went out of business, or eventually did both, such as WCW . Several indies did in fact manage to tour different towns within

960-494: The Card Subject To Change iPPV on December 29, 2012, where Stevie Richards became the first champion by defeating Rhino in the finals. The tournament brackets were: In 2013, Richards announced via Twitter that he wanted to defend the title against Danny Doring in a video game. Doring, who was one-half of the final ECW World Tag Team Champions , and still possessed the physical belt, also put his title on

1008-597: The Card Subject to Change iPPV on December 29, 2012. Card Subject to Change saw Stevie Richards become Extreme Rising's first World Champion by winning a tournament final over Rhino . The company had planned to offer three shows during WrestleMania 29 weekend in April 2013, but the shows were cancelled due to poor sales. After a hiatus, Extreme Rising reorganized and announced that they would resume running live shows on December 28, 2013. Steve O'Neill took control of

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1056-751: The MCW Heavyweight Championship , but said it was up to Hardy or Hawx to bring other titles. Hawx lost to Hardy in the match, who retained the MCW Championship and obtained the Extreme Rising championship belt – but was not officially recognized as champion. Independent circuit Independent promotions are essentially viewed as a minor league or farm system for the larger national promotions, as wrestlers in "indie" companies (especially young wrestlers just starting their careers) are usually honing their craft with

1104-553: The SmackDown! taping in his hometown of New Orleans , Louisiana . On the March 21, 2008 episode of SmackDown , Hawx, along with Chase Stevens and Andy Douglas , faced and lost against The Big Show in a 3-on-1 handicap match. On the June 9, 2009 episode of ECW , Hawxhurst, as Luke Hawx, teamed with Kris Lewie in a losing effort to Vladimir Kozlov in a handicap match. On the February 9, 2010 episode of ECW , Hawxhurst, under

1152-494: The United States independent circuit before being signed to a contract by Xtreme Pro Wrestling . Upon his XPW debut, Hawxhurst, under the ring name Altar Boy Luke, was placed in a tag team with Altar Boy Matthew to form The Altar Boys. To further emphasize their characters , both Luke and Matthew shaved their heads and wore white preaching robes . After Matthew left XPW due to family issues, Luke began competing as

1200-721: The ring name Altar Boy Luke , along with being the founder and current CEO of Wildkat Sports. He has appeared in box office hits like Logan and The Fate of the Furious . He also works as a consultant on Starz television series Heels . After regularly attending independent wrestling shows during his teenage years, he met "Vicious Vic" Grimes . After keeping in contact with him, Hawxhurst eventually received full training from Grimes. In 1999, Hawxhurst made his pro wrestling debut in Pensacola, Florida as Perry Douglas against Lightning Kid Jerry Riner. Soon afterwards, he toured

1248-485: The 1990s there have also been numerous American-style "New School" promotions. Note: Minimum attendance of 5,000. General Specific Luke Hawx Oren Hawxhurst (born July 8, 1981) is an American professional wrestler , professional wrestling promoter, actor , and stuntman . He is best known under the ring name Luke Hawx and is also known for his time in Xtreme Pro Wrestling under

1296-527: The Continental Wrestling Federation Championship. Since his days in Extreme Rising, Hawx started a feud against Matt Hardy. On July 19, 2014 at Maryland Championship Wrestling's Shane Shamrock Cup, Hawx and Hardy wrestled in a TLC match for Hardys MCW Heavyweight Championship and Hawx Extreme Rising World Championship (which Hawx had the physical belt). However, Hardy won the match. After the match, Hardy gave back

1344-594: The Deathmatch Title. On December 21 at the Merry F'n X-Mas event, Luke lost the title to Supreme in a House of Horrors Match. On May 24, 2008 at XPW's reunion event, Cold Day In Hell , Hawx defeated Jack Evans and Scorpio Sky in a three-way match. On August 22, 2009 at XPW's 10 Year Anniversary show, Hawx and Sky defeated Matt Cross and Tool in a tag team match. When XPW folded in early 2003, Hawxhurst changed his ring name to Luke Hawx and also adopted

1392-723: The Japanese system went back to the two-promotion system, but then the UWF was reformed and another promotion, Pioneer Senshi, was started. Because of Japanese societal mores which implied that a wrestler was a lifelong employee of a company and thus identified with it wherever he went, neither AJPW nor NJPW made an effort to acquire wrestlers trained in other promotions; wrestlers from the major promotions who left, such as Genichiro Tenryu , Gran Hamada , Yoshiaki Fujiwara , Akira Maeda , Atsushi Onita , and Nobuhiko Takada had to start their own independent promotions in order to keep themselves in

1440-595: The North American product are regularly sold out in capital cities such as Melbourne , Sydney , Perth and Brisbane . Lucha libre has many more independent wrestlers in proportion to the rest of North America, because of the weight classes prevalent in the Mexican league system as well as its emphasis on multiple person tag matches; just about anyone with ability can emerge from an independent promotion into either AAA or Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre and be

1488-541: The belt to Hawx. In 2016, Hawx was a 2-time World Heavyweight Champion in World Association of Wrestling , a British Wrestling organisation run by the family of WWE Women's wrestler Paige . He first won the title by defeating Zak Knight on May 14, only to lose it to Mr. Anderson on September 16. Hawk regained the title the very next night in a rematch, holding it for another 91 days before losing it to Brad Slayer . In early 2012, Shane Douglas announced

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1536-542: The belt, while announcing that he had earned himself a championship match on April 26. However, Hawx didn't give back the belt. On the September 1, 2003, Hawxhurst, reusing his Altar Boy Luke gimmick, made his World Wrestling Entertainment debut as he teamed with Mortis and defeated Big Bad Jon and Travis Tomko in a tag team dark match before the taping of SmackDown! . On July 10, 2007, Hawxhurst received another WWE tryout match and lost to Chuck Palumbo at

1584-461: The death of Giant Baba and retirement of Antonio Inoki , which effectively broke their control over the promotions they founded, the major promotions began looking to the smaller promotions for talent. In 2000, the first major signing from an independent, Minoru Tanaka by NJPW from BattlARTS , took place; soon after NJPW stocked the junior heavyweight division with independent talent such as Masayuki Naruse , Tiger Mask , Gedo , and Jado . On

1632-553: The end of this period, All Star had effectively replaced Joint (by now owned by Max Crabtree , brother of Shirley) as the dominant promotion in the UK. Joint, renamed Ring Wrestling Stars in 1991, dwindled down before closing with Crabtree's retirement in 1995, All Star has continued to be the dominant non-import live promotion in the UK up to the present day. Its principal competitors since that time have been Scott Conway's TWA, John Freemantle's Premier Promotions, RBW and LDN Wrestling. Since

1680-457: The first round and later interfered in the main event, where he legitimately injured Matt Hardy during Hardy's match against Shane Douglas. On March 1, 2014, Hawx defeated Extreme Rising World Champion Stevie Richards in a non-title match at an ECWA event, following interference from "The Greek God" Papadon. Afterwards, Hawx took possession of the title belt and declared himself the new champion, leading to Extreme Rising demanding him to return

1728-573: The foundation of the Extreme Rising promotion, with its inaugural event, Extreme Reunion, to be held on April 28, 2012. At the event, Hawx made his debut for the promotion as a heel by venting his frustrations about Douglas and the reunion show itself before he was escorted from the building by security. He later returned to distract Stevie Richards in the event's opening match, which ultimately cost The Blue World Order their tag team match against The Full Blooded Italians . On June 29, Hawk

1776-537: The goal of being noticed and signed by a major national promotion such as WWE , All Elite Wrestling (AEW) (which also owns Ring of Honor (ROH)), or Total Nonstop Action Wrestling in the United States, Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide or Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre in Mexico, or New Japan Pro-Wrestling , Dragongate , All Japan Pro Wrestling , World Wonder Ring Stardom or the CyberFight promotions in Japan. It

1824-533: The independents that were signed included Akitoshi Saito , Takahiro Suwa , and Taiji Ishimori ). Although AJPW, NJPW, and Noah remain committed to their dojos, the reliance on independents is growing as obscure talent is recognized for its ability. For most of the years of ITV 's coverage of British Wrestling, the dominant promoter in the United Kingdom was the Joint Promotions cartel, which

1872-416: The late 1960s up until the early 2000s and then sporadically until his death in 2009. From 1982 to 1995, Williams had a Welsh language TV wrestling show "Reslo" on S4C. Brian Dixon, a referee for Williams, set up his own company Wrestling Enterprises of Birkenhead later renamed All Star Wrestling c.  1984 . An alliance with promoter and former top star Jackie Pallo failed to prevent Joint gaining

1920-405: The limelight ( Wrestling Association "R" , Universal Lucha Libre , Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi , Fighting Network Rings , Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling , and Hustle respectively) . As the 1990s ended, though, things began to change. Independent promotions began gaining more prominence as they were featured in major specialized media such as Shukan Puroresu and Shukan Gong magazines. With

1968-457: The line in a "defunct promotion vs. defunct promotion match". After his declarations, Extreme Rising asked Richards to return the title for referring to them as "defunct". Despite this, Richards continued to be champion into 2014. Richards was defeated by Luke Hawx in what was billed as a title match at an East Coast Wrestling Association (ECWA) show in Delaware; however, Extreme Rising said

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2016-417: The match was not for the title and continued to recognize Richards as champion. Despite the statement, Hawx continued to proclaim himself champion and was to defend the title against Matt Hardy on July 20, 2014, at Maryland Championship Wrestling (MCW). Extreme Rising owner Steve O'Neill issued a press release denying that they had sanctioned the match. According to Dan McDevitt of MCW, the match would be for

2064-426: The need for an on-site ambulance and trained emergency medical personnel at each bout. After the business was thus exposed and deregulated, just about anyone could be a promoter or a wrestler since no licensing beyond a business license was then required. Many thought they could save money by holding shows in lesser towns and smaller arenas with little to no televised exposure, leading to many shows being held only once

2112-687: The promotion and said that he secured a deal that would put them on local television markets in the Philadelphia area. Extreme Rising subsequently became the first promotion to run shows in the ECW Arena after it reopened. On April 22, 2014, Extreme Rising cancelled all upcoming events and closed their social media accounts. The cancellations came three days before a scheduled show in Philadelphia and scheduled talent said they were notified via text message. O'Neill advised those who had purchased tickets to contact their bank or credit card company to get

2160-506: The ring name Perry Wallace, lost to Ezekiel Jackson . In June 2011, Hawxhurst and fellow professional wrestler Orlando Jordan founded WildKat Sports & Entertainment , a professional wrestling school located in Hawxhurst's hometown of New Orleans , Louisiana . The school is also home to WILDKAT , which was formerly known as NWA WildKat during its 10-month-long stint as a National Wrestling Alliance territory . The promotion

2208-534: The same year, following the Pro Wrestling Noah split, AJPW was forced to fill its ranks with independent talent; Nobutaka Araya , Shigeo Okumura and Mitsuya Nagai signed up (Araya is the only one who remains, but other signings since then have been Kaz Hayashi , Tomoaki Honma , Hideki Hosaka , and Ryuji Hijikata .) Noah admitted one wrestler from the independents, Daisuke Ikeda , to its ranks as well (Ikeda has since left, but other wrestlers from

2256-584: Was able to defeat Richards in an "Extreme Respect" match following assistance from Sylvester Terkay . The following night, Richards defeated Hawx in a rematch, but was attacked by Hawx after the match. Hawx took the mic and once again called out Douglas before being forced to the back security. Hawx then competed at Extreme Rising's first iPPV event Remember November, entering the Extreme Rising World Championship Tournament. He defeating Perry Saturn by submission in

2304-464: Was originally modelled on the NWA and later amalgamated into a single company. Nonetheless, throughout this period, untelevised alternative promotions flourished with at least one significant competitor to Joint for live shows. Initially the main rival was the former dominant promotion in the territory, Atholl Oakley 's BWA. By the time of its demise, wrestler/promoter Paul Lincoln had established himself as

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