Prairie Wrestling Alliance
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Acronym | PWA |
---|---|
Founded | 2001[1] |
Defunct | 2022 |
Style | American Wrestling |
Headquarters | Edmonton, Alberta, Canada |
Founder(s) | Kurt Sorochan Tex Gaines Hercules Ayala |
Owner(s) | Kurt Sorochan Nizar Watfa |
Website | www |
The Prairie Wrestling Alliance (PWA, formerly Prairie Wrestling Association)[2] was a independent wrestling promotion based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and founded 2001. The PWA was co-owned, operated, and promoted by Kurt Sorochan.[3] Lance Storm is a former booker with the promotion.
History
The PWA was established in March 2001 by Kurt Sorochan, Tex Gaines, and Hercules Ayala.[4] Their first shows were outside of Edmonton due to the difficulty of getting a promoter's license.[4] Their first show in Edmonton drew over 700 people.[4]
In 2003, they put on monthly events, which got mostly good reviews.[5] The following year in 2004, however, they put on fewer shows due to scheduling conflicts.[6] The company relaunched its shows in October 2004 with Night of Champions.[6]
The PWA currently runs shows monthly in Edmonton, AB at the Northgate Lions Senior Recreation Center & Calgary, AB at the Century Casino.[7] On January 20, 2014, the PWA announced that they would start running shows in Red Deer, AB on May 22, 2014.[8] On May 31, 2014, the PWA ran its first show in Lloydminster Sask/Ab.
The PWA closed down in 2022.
Alumni
- Michael Allen Richard Clark
- Shaun Moore
- "The Thickness" Reid Matthews
- Brandon Van Danielson
- "God's Gift to Wrestling" Michael Richard Blais
- Jack Pride
- "The Omen" Gabriel Lestat
- Mephisto
- Sheik Akbar Shabaz
- Chris Steele
- Kenneth Anthony
- Jeff Tyler
- Bobby Sharp
- Kenny Stryker
- Aiden Adams
- Colton Kelly
- "Kid Chocolate" Mo Jabari
- Nightmare
- The Titan
- "Spaceman" Beri Grayson
- Maxton Flexwell
- El Asesino
Women
- Kat Von Heez
- Zoë Sager
- Gigi Ray
- Taryn from Accounting
Managers
- Dr. Kyoto - Millennial Rebels
- Thaddeus Archer III - M.A.R.C & Andy Anderson
Factions
- The Western Lions: Michael Richard Blais/Brandon Van Danielson
- The Millennial Rebels: Kenneth Anthony/Colton Kelly/Dr. Kyoto
- The Above Average Joes: Kenny Stryker/Aiden Adams/Zoë Sager
Staff
Referees
- Michael "The Fitz" Fitzpatrick
- Robert Young
- Gregory Thomas
Announcers
- What About Ivan
- Big Bad Boris
Commissioners
- Edmonton: Thaddeus Archer III
- Calgary: Duke Durrango
Alumni
Male wrestlers
- Abdullah the Butcher
- Booker T
- Bully Ray
- Bushwacker Luke
- Colt Cabana
- Christian Cage
- Johnny Devine[5]
- Devon
- Mick Foley
- Teddy Hart
- Homicide
- Frankie Kazarian
- Jay Lethal
- Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart
- Samoa Joe
- Tiger Singh(Jinder Mahal)[9]
- Harry Smith
- Al Snow
- A.J. Styles
- TJ Wilson
- Apoc
- Mattias Wild
- Lance Storm
- Ravenous Randy
- Rohan Raja
- Amir Jordan
- Brett Morgan
Female wrestlers
PWA Hall of Fame
The PWA Hall of Fame is a professional wrestling hall of fame maintained by the Prairie Wrestling Alliance. It was established in 2008 to honor select wrestling personalities, mostly alumni of the Edmonton-based promotion. The induction ceremony for the Class of 2008, the inaugural inductees into the Hall of Fame, took place at the PWA's "Night of Champions VI" held at the NAIT Gymnasium on June 20, 2008. Duke Durango, a longtime "journeyman" wrestler and former PWA Champion, led the class, which included Stampede Wrestling mainstays Hercules Ayala, The Cuban Assassin, The Great Gama and Gerry Morrow.[10]
# | Year | Ring name (Real name)[a] | Inducted by | Inducted for | Notes[b] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2008 | Duke Durango[11] (Jordan Clarke) | 2008 | Wrestling | Won the PWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time) |
2 | 2008 | Hercules Ayala (Ruben Cruz) | Wrestling | Co-founder of the Prairie Wrestling Alliance; longtime mainstay of Stampede Wrestling[12] | |
3 | 2008 | The Great Gama (Gadowar Singh Sahota) | Wrestling | ||
4 | 2008 | Gerry Morrow (Gerard Ethifier) | Wrestling | ||
5 | 2008 | The Cuban Assassin (Ángel Acevedo) | Wrestling | ||
6 | 2009 | Red Thunder[13] | Wrestling | Won the PWA Canadian Tag Team Championship (1 time) | |
7 | 2009 | Johnny Devine[13] (John Parsonage) | Wrestling | Won the PWA Canadian Tag Team Championship (1 time) | |
8 | 2009 | Michael Fitzpatrick[13] | Refereeing | ||
9 | 2010 | Phoenix Taylor[14] | Wrestling | Won the PWA Championship (1 time), PWA Commonwealth Championship (1 time) and PWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) | |
10 | 2010 | Chris Steele[14] | Wrestling | Won the PWA Championship (3 times) and PWA Tag Team Championship (2 times) | |
11 | 2010 | Hart family[15] | Wrestling | ||
12 | 2011 | Marky Mark[16] | Wrestling | Won the PWA Mayhem Championship (1 time), PWA Cruiserweight Championship (1 time) and PWA Canadian Tag Team Championship (2 times) | |
13 | 2011 | Tex Gaines[16] | Wrestling and Promoting | Co-founder of the Prairie Wrestling Alliance | |
14 | 2011 | Kurt Sorochan[16] | Promoting | Co-founder of the Prairie Wrestling Alliance | |
N/A | N/A | Samoa Joe (Nuufolau Joel Seanoa) | Wrestling | ||
N/A | N/A | Jeanette Sorochan | |||
N/A | N/A | Janie Roznicki | |||
15 | 2013 | Sgt. Hazard[11] (Don Ferguson) | Kurt Sorochan | Wrestling | Co-founder of the Prairie Wrestling Alliance |
16 | 2013 | Big Bad Boris[11] | Kurt Sorochan | Promoting and Television Production | Longtime head of production for the Prairie Wrestling Alliance |
17 | 2013 | Dusty Adonis[11] | Kurt Sorochan | Wrestling | Won the PWA Cruiserweight Championship (3 times) |
- a – Entries without a birth name indicates that the inductee did not perform under a ring name.
- b – This section mainly lists the major accomplishments of each inductee in the promotion.
Defunct championships
Championship | Final Champion(s) | Previous | Event | Date Won | Location |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
PWA Championship | Chris Steele | Michael Allen Richard Clark | PWA Battle at the Dome 2 | March 5, 2022 | Calgary, AB |
PWA Commonwealth Title | Shawn Spears | Shaun Moore | PWA Night of Champions | June 22, 2019 | Edmonton, AB |
PWA Canadian Tag Team Titles | The Above Average Joes (Kenny Stryker & Aiden Adams) | The League (Davey O'Doyle & Brayden Parsons) | PWA Night of Champions | June 22, 2019 | Edmonton, AB |
PWA Mayhem Title | "The Thickness" Reid Matthews | Kenneth Anthony | PWA Fruition | February 23, 2019 | Edmonton, AB |
PWA Women's Title | Zoe Sager | GiGi Rey | PWA Battle at the Dome 2 | March 5, 2022 | Calgary, AB |
References
- ^ "PWA's seventh anniversary a success".
- ^ "Prairie Wrestling Alliance (PWA)". cagematch.net.
- ^ "Promoters ponder pros and cons of bringing in big names".
- ^ a b c Clevett, Jason (June 16, 2005). "PWA continuing to grow". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
- ^ a b Clevett, Jason (January 8, 2004). "A look at Western Canadian Wrestling in 2003". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
- ^ a b Clevett, Jason (October 12, 2004). "Bulldogs Ironmen at PWA show". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
- ^ "Home". pwawrestling.ca.
- ^ "73 Wrestling Wallpapers for FREE".
- ^ Oliver, Greg (February 23, 2010). "Tiger Raj Singh ready for WWE experience". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
- ^ "Christian Cage and Al Snow set to headline Night of Champions! Great Gama, Cuban Assassin, Gerry Morrow and Hercules Ayala to join PWA Hall of Fame! Friday, June 20!". PWAWrestling.ca. Prairie Wrestling Alliance. June 2008. Archived from the original on June 15, 2008.
- ^ a b c d Sorochan, Kurt (Host) (September 17, 2013). 2013 PWA Hall of Fame Ceremony (DVD). Edmonton, Alberta: YouTube.
- ^ Love, Spencer (January 23, 2020). "Stampede Wrestling Legend Hercules Ayala Passes Away at 69". Win Column Sports Network.
- ^ a b c Clevett, Jason (July 7, 2009). "Rain doesn't dampen Edmonton supershow". Canadian Online Explorer. SLAM! Wrestling.
- ^ a b Clevett, Jason (June 20, 2010). "Championship calibre matches make PWA Supercard". Canadian Online Explorer. SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
- ^ Clevett, Jason (June 16, 2010). "Booker T enjoying life away from the spotlight". Canadian Online Explorer. SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
- ^ a b c Martin, Jeff (April 19, 2011). "PWA Hysteria Show Review". RentAThugComics.com. Heat: The Space Age of Pro Wrestling.
External links
- PWA Official Website
- v
- t
- e
interpromotional alliances
- AWA Superstars of Wrestling (2005–2007)
- National Wrestling Alliance (1948–2017)
- United Wrestling Network (2013–2020)
- Pro Wrestling Alliance (2024)
- Fight Network
- Sportsnet 360
- WWE Network (Canada)
- The Sports Network
- Attendance records
- Canadian Death Tour
- Hart wrestling family
- Superstars of Wrestling
- WWE in Canada
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