Mason-Dixon Wrestling is an American
independent wrestling
In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indie circuit is the collective name of independent professional wrestling promotions which are smaller than major televised promotions. It is roughly analogous to a minor league for pro wres ...
promotion, formerly known as Atlantic Coast Championship Wrestling which spawned up in the Clarksburg area October 1997 after a promotional rift in the WVWA between Jim Hawkins, Buddy "Bubba" Rose and Greg Shriver, based in
Nutter Fort, West Virginia
Nutter Fort is a town in Harrison County, West Virginia, Harrison County, West Virginia, United States, incorporated in 1923. The town is a southeastern suburb of Clarksburg, West Virginia, Clarksburg. Since 1996, Nutter Fort has held the West Vir ...
. It was founded by promoter Jim Hawkins in December 1998 with the first event taking place February 6, 1999 in Kingwood, West Virginia at the Camp Dawson Armory all ACCW champions were recognized as MDW title holders. Mason-Dixon Wrestling would go on to become the most active independent promotion in the state of West Virginia.
The promotion has featured former wrestling stars such as
Demolition Ax,
Greg "the Hammer" Valentine
Jonathan Anthony Wisniski (born September 20, 1951) is a retired American professional wrestler, better known as Greg "The Hammer" Valentine. He is the son of wrestler Johnny Valentine.
Over five decades, Valentine held more than 40 championships ...
,
The Barbarian,
The Iron Sheik
Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri ( fa, Øسین خسرو علی وزیری, romanized: Hossein Xosrô 'Ali Vaziri; born March 15, 1942), better known by his ring name the Iron Sheik, is an Iranian retired professional wrestler, amateur wrestler and ...
,
"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan
James Edward Duggan Jr. (born January 14, 1954), better known by his ring name "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE on a Legends contract. His best-known character is that of an American patriot, which ...
,
Doink the Clown
Doink the Clown is a professional wrestling persona originally and most popularly portrayed by Matt Osborne, who debuted the Doink persona in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1992. Doink is a clown (or evil clown) wearing traditional clo ...
,
Gangrel and from the
World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and var ...
and
Jimmy Valiant
James Harold Fanning (born August 6, 1942) is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Jimmy Valiant.
Early life
Fanning was born in Tullahoma as the youngest of five children of James and Effie Fanning. He later incorpo ...
, The Cuban Assassin,
Ricky Morton
Richard Wendell Morton (born September 21, 1956) is an American professional wrestler, currently performing on the independent circuit. He is the current GCW Television Champion, after pinning Matt Cardona at GCW Say You Will. For most of his care ...
,
Robert Gibson,
Bobby Eaton
Bobby Lee Eaton (August 14, 1958 – August 4, 2021) was an American professional wrestler best known as "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton. He was most famous for his work in tag teams, especially as one-half of The Midnight Express. Under the managem ...
and
The Assassins from the
National Wrestling Alliance. "Freebird" Buddy Rose, not to be confused with
the star of Portland Wrestling fame, was ACCW's first heavyweight and television champion. Female wrestler and manager
Luna Vachon
Gertrude Elizabeth Vachon ( ; January 12, 1962 – August 27, 2010) was an American-Canadian professional wrestler, better known as Luna Vachon.Lisa S. Davis,Ex-wrestler Luna Vachon, 48, found dead", ''Tampa Bay Online'' (August 31, 2010). Over ...
also won the short-lived
Blackberry King Championship, a male
battle royal
Battle royal (; also royale) traditionally refers to a fight involving many combatants that is fought until only one fighter remains standing, usually conducted under either boxing or wrestling rules. In recent times, the term has been used in a ...
title, in 2001.
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nati ...
's
The Stro spent much of his time in Mason-Dixon Wrestling, promoting MDW in his online articles, after being let go when WWF purchased WCW in 2001.
Smoky Mountain Wrestling
Smoky Mountain Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that held events in the Appalachian area of the United States from October 1991 to December 1995, when it was run by Jim Cornette. The promotion was based in Knoxville, Tennessee, w ...
mainstays
Tracy Smothers
Tracy Stanton Smothers (September 2, 1962 – October 28, 2020) was an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling, Smoky Mountain Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation, and Extreme Champ ...
,
Bobby Blaze and
Brad and Bart Batten also made regular appearances. Independent wrestlers Chance Prophet, DOA,
Kid Kash
David Tyler Cash (born July 31, 1969) better known by his ring name Kid Kash, is an American mixed martial artist and professional wrestler, best known for his tenures with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), Impact Wrestling, Total Nonstop A ...
,
Frederick of Hollywood, T. Rantula, and J-Rocc have also appeared for the promotion. Its local talent, such as
Luke Gallows
Andrew William Hankinson (born December 22, 1983) is an American professional wrestler, who is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Luke Gallows.
Hankinson began his career in 2005 and participated i ...
, eventually went to
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and va ...
. Another veteran, Brian Logan who spent 4 years in MDW also defeated
Larry Zbyszko
Lawrence Whistler (born December 5, 1951), better known by the ring name Larry Zbyszko, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is perhaps best known for his feud with his mentor, Bruno Sammartino, during the early 1980s as well as his w ...
to win the
AWA World Heavyweight Championship in 2008.
History
Atlantic Coast Championship Wrestling (1997-1998)
A lifelong wrestling fan, attorney Jim Hawkins became involved with the West Virginia Wrestling Alliance after meeting the owner at an event in
Clarksburg, West Virginia. He initially invested $3000 into the organization, but after the money ran out and differences with another promoter, he and Buddy "Bubba" Rose began promoting MDW events in the old WVWA area.
The first Atlantic Coast Championship Wrestling show was held in Clarksburg on October 11, 1997, and featured
"Freebird" Buddy Rose defending the MDW TV title against Col. Payne (Boomer Payne of
NWA East fame). Two more championship titles were introduced later that year. The first, MDW Tag Team Championship was won by
Brad and Bart Batten on November 1 never defending their titles when a week later The Country Cousins (RJ Stomper and Cousin Elmer) won a match on Nov. 8th 1997 in Kingwood to claim the vacated titles and becoming the 2nd champions. A third title was added at the end of the year, the MDW Light Heavyweight Championship, won by Joey Austin with his victory over Bobby Kane on December 13, 1997 in Buckhannon.
Hawkins was able to build a strong following, partly due to his ability to bring in older veterans from the old
Georgia and Carolina territories, and the promotion proved popular in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. One of its first memorable shows, recalled Hawkins, featured
The Rock 'n' Roll Express
The Rock 'n' Roll Express is a professional wrestling tag team consisting of professional wrestlers Robert Gibson and Ricky Morton. The duo began teaming together in Memphis in the early 1980s, followed by Mid-South Wrestling (later to be known ...
at an event in Buckhannon. Despite the limited time available to promote the show, it proved very successful. The ending to the main event set up a future rematch, but it never occurred.
The promotion's home territory was originally based in the Clarksburg-Fort Nutter area of north-central West Virginia. They were especially popular in Kingwood and Buckhannon, but also ran regular shows in
Lost Creek,
New Martinsville,
Morgantown,
Parsons
Parsons may refer to:
Places
In the United States:
* Parsons, Kansas, a city
* Parsons, Missouri, an unincorporated community
* Parsons, Tennessee, a city
* Parsons, West Virginia, a town
* Camp Parsons, a Boy Scout camp in the state of Washingt ...
and
Shinnston, West Virginia
Shinnston is a city and former coal town in Harrison County, West Virginia, United States, along the West Fork River. In 1778, Levi Shinn constructed his log home along what is now Route 19; today it is the oldest standing structure in north-cen ...
.
Hawkins served in several roles aside from promoting which included, as part of his in-ring persona "Gentleman Jim", a ring announcer, manager and occasional wrestler. He once joked in an interview, Gentleman Jim' is lost somewhere in the archives. You may see someone that resembles me getting
jobbed as a Masked Assassin once in a blue moon, but I can't confirm that it will be me in the tights."
Several of its wrestlers were featured in a news article by ''
The Charleston Gazette
The ''Charleston Gazette-Mail'' is the only daily morning newspaper in Charleston, West Virginia. It is the product of a July 2015 merger between ''The Charleston Gazette'' and the '' Charleston Daily Mail''. The paper is one of nine owned by HD ...
'' in September 1998.
Mason-Dixon Wrestling (1998-)
On December 20, 1998, the promotion changed its name to Mason-Dixon Wrestling promoting the first MDW card on Feb. 6, 1999 in Kingwood, WV at the Camp Dawson Armory. Shortly thereafter, Punchy McGee became the first MDW Tri-State Heavyweight Champion when he defeated "Pitbull" Bob Brown in
Nutter Fort, West Virginia
Nutter Fort is a town in Harrison County, West Virginia, Harrison County, West Virginia, United States, incorporated in 1923. The town is a southeastern suburb of Clarksburg, West Virginia, Clarksburg. Since 1996, Nutter Fort has held the West Vir ...
on March 13, 1999. This would replace the television title, abandoned by T. Rantula the previous year, as the promotion's secondary championship title.
The next month, Mason-Dixon Wrestling performed at a fundraiser held at Montgomery Middle School for the
Valley High School Band Boosters. When two female band members passed out from
heat exhaustion Heat exhaustion is a severe form of heat illness. It is a medical emergency. Heat exhaustion is caused by the loss of water and electrolytes through sweating.
The United States Department of Labor makes the following recommendation, "Heat illness ...
earlier in the year, it was decided that it would be necessary to purchase light weight summer uniforms for the rest of the band members. The idea to involve the promotion came from the Band Boosters vice president whose brother, Spider Crowley, suggested that wrestling events would bring in a large audience. Another show was held at a community center in
Nitro, West Virginia
Nitro is a city in Kanawha and Putnam counties in the State of West Virginia, named after a World War I era nitrocellulose plant built by the government. The population was 6,518 according to the 2021 Population estimates.
History
Nitro was in ...
where 17-year-old "Sensational" Steve Smith, working as part of MDW's security and ring crew, was profiled by ''
The Charleston Gazette
The ''Charleston Gazette-Mail'' is the only daily morning newspaper in Charleston, West Virginia. It is the product of a July 2015 merger between ''The Charleston Gazette'' and the '' Charleston Daily Mail''. The paper is one of nine owned by HD ...
''.
Over the next several years, Hawkins would continue to bring in former stars from the NWA, WWF, ECW and WCW. Among these included
Demolition Ax,
Greg "the Hammer" Valentine
Jonathan Anthony Wisniski (born September 20, 1951) is a retired American professional wrestler, better known as Greg "The Hammer" Valentine. He is the son of wrestler Johnny Valentine.
Over five decades, Valentine held more than 40 championships ...
,
The Barbarian,
The Iron Sheik
Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri ( fa, Øسین خسرو علی وزیری, romanized: Hossein Xosrô 'Ali Vaziri; born March 15, 1942), better known by his ring name the Iron Sheik, is an Iranian retired professional wrestler, amateur wrestler and ...
,
"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan
James Edward Duggan Jr. (born January 14, 1954), better known by his ring name "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE on a Legends contract. His best-known character is that of an American patriot, which ...
,
Doink the Clown
Doink the Clown is a professional wrestling persona originally and most popularly portrayed by Matt Osborne, who debuted the Doink persona in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1992. Doink is a clown (or evil clown) wearing traditional clo ...
,
Gangrel and Tony Nardo from
WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vari ...
and
Jimmy Valiant
James Harold Fanning (born August 6, 1942) is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Jimmy Valiant.
Early life
Fanning was born in Tullahoma as the youngest of five children of James and Effie Fanning. He later incorpo ...
, The Cuban Assassin,
Ricky Morton
Richard Wendell Morton (born September 21, 1956) is an American professional wrestler, currently performing on the independent circuit. He is the current GCW Television Champion, after pinning Matt Cardona at GCW Say You Will. For most of his care ...
,
Bobby Eaton
Bobby Lee Eaton (August 14, 1958 – August 4, 2021) was an American professional wrestler best known as "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton. He was most famous for his work in tag teams, especially as one-half of The Midnight Express. Under the managem ...
and
The Assassins.
Tracy Smothers
Tracy Stanton Smothers (September 2, 1962 – October 28, 2020) was an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling, Smoky Mountain Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation, and Extreme Champ ...
,
Bobby Blaze and
Brad and Bart Batten from
Smoky Mountain Wrestling
Smoky Mountain Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that held events in the Appalachian area of the United States from October 1991 to December 1995, when it was run by Jim Cornette. The promotion was based in Knoxville, Tennessee, w ...
were also part of the regular roster. Just'n Kace, best remembered as manager of
The Iron Sheik
Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri ( fa, Øسین خسرو علی وزیری, romanized: Hossein Xosrô 'Ali Vaziri; born March 15, 1942), better known by his ring name the Iron Sheik, is an Iranian retired professional wrestler, amateur wrestler and ...
on the independent circuit, came out of retirement to become one of the promotion's top managers. By the summer of 2000, MDW was promoting regular events throughout West Virginia and in parts of Ohio and Pennsylvania.
On November 16, 2002, The Soviet Terrors (Nikita Allanov & Zubov) won the vacant MDW Tag Team Championship in an 8-team tag team tournament held at the Mileground Armory in Morgantown. Allanov & Zubov defeated The Premier Players in the opening round, Zero Tolerance in the semi-finals and Jack Miller & Kid Apollo in the finals to win the tournament in what would be the last MDW Mileground Armory show. The next day, Brock Singleton beat MDW Heavyweight Champion Mason Hunter via disqualification at Sam's Sportsgarden in
Fairmont, West Virginia.
The Stro, one of many ex-WCW stars on the independent circuit, was a highly visible figure in the promotion. On July 22, 2005, The Stro defeated The Barbarian at an MDW house show and headlined its annual event at the ''2006 Blackberry Festival''.
On August 11, 2006, Trent "Switchblade" Zimmerman was present with
Demolition Ax at the ''Capitol Wrestling Legends Fanfest'' at the Doubletree Hotel in
Rockville, Maryland.
On March 4, 2007, Mason-Dixon Wrestling held a fundraiser with the Preston County Literacy Volunteers at the Craig Civic Center in Kingwood, West Virginia. The Barbarian and
The Stro were in attendance. Proceeds from the event, according to founder Susie Huggins, went to fund the PCLV's
Ruby Read mobile library, computer classes in the Kingwood Library, and one-on-one tutoring for adults. Later that year,
Lorelei Lee
Amy Janas (born June 22, 1982), better known by her ring name Lorelei Lee, is an American former professional wrestler. She is best known by her appearances in SHIMMER Women Athletes.
Professional wrestling career
Mason-Dixon Wrestling (2006â ...
and Sin-D continued their long-running feud as they faced each other at an MDW event at Riverfront Park in
Ravenswood, West Virginia.
In July 2008, the promotion held one of its event at the
United States naval base near
Sugar Grove, West Virginia Sugar Grove is a community located in Pendleton County, West Virginia, United States. Its ZIP Code is 26815. It is located within the United States National Radio Quiet Zone.
The community was named for a sugar orchard at the original town site ...
which was attended by most of its personnel.
Demolition Ax,
The Stro and The Cuban Assassin appeared on the show while Bob Keller & Shane Shadows beat Tee Time Anthony & Roughhouse Matthews for the MDW Tag Team titles. Mason-Dixon Wrestling was part of the ''Lost Creek Community Festival'' held on September 26, 2009. Other entertainment included a
carnival,
car show, a pretty-baby contest and the
Dodge Raminator Monster Truck.
Roster
Singles roster
Tag team roster
Championships
Current championships
*
MDW Heavyweight Championship
*
MDW Tri-State Heavyweight Championship
*
MDW Light Heavyweight Championship
*
MDW Tag Team Championship
MDW Blackberry King Championship
The MDW Blackberry King Championship is a singles title in Mason-Dixon Wrestling. It was first won by
Luna Vachon
Gertrude Elizabeth Vachon ( ; January 12, 1962 – August 27, 2010) was an American-Canadian professional wrestler, better known as Luna Vachon.Lisa S. Davis,Ex-wrestler Luna Vachon, 48, found dead", ''Tampa Bay Online'' (August 31, 2010). Over ...
at the
West Virginia Blackberry Festival in
Nutter Fort, West Virginia
Nutter Fort is a town in Harrison County, West Virginia, Harrison County, West Virginia, United States, incorporated in 1923. The town is a southeastern suburb of Clarksburg, West Virginia, Clarksburg. Since 1996, Nutter Fort has held the West Vir ...
on August 3, 2002, and is defended mainly in
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...
.
References
{{Professional wrestling in the United States
Independent professional wrestling promotions based in the Southern United States