Singapore Pro Wrestling, commonly shortened to SPW, is a

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

promotion based in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

. It was the first modern professional wrestling promotion in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...

, and was founded by Andruew Tang (known as "The Statement" Andruew Tang in SPW), the first Singaporean professional wrestler, and Vadim Koryagin, in February 2012. The promotion also has a wrestling school, in which Andruew Tang is the head coach, and SPW wrestlers, Aiden Rex, Dr. Gore, Alexis Lee and Da Butcherman work as assistant coaches. SPW is best known for producing

Dante Chen Sean Tan Li Hao (born January 20, 1996) is a Singaporean professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE where he performs on the NXT brand, under the ring name Dante Chen. He is best known for being the first Singaporean and Southeast Asi ...

(known as "Trexxus/Kaiser Trexxus" during his time in SPW), the first wrestler from Southeast Asia to sign with

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 ...

, making his debut on

WWE NXT ''WWE NXT'', also known as ''NXT'', is an American professional wrestling television program. It is produced by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, featuring performers from the promotion's NXT brand division. The show currentl ...

, on 22 September 2021.

History

Early years (2011-2014)

In 2011, Andruew Tang, an aspiring Singaporean professional wrestler, would attend a talk by Vadim Koryagin, a Russian businessman and owner of Independent Wrestling Federation (IWF), a Russia-based promotion, established in 2002. Together the two would form the nation's first pro wrestling promotion, Singapore Pro Wrestling in February 2012. They would begin to train the first generation of Singaporean professional wrestlers, including Tang, who would become "The Statement" Andruew Tang, Singapore's first professional wrestler and Kaiser Trexxus, who would become the first Singaporean in the WWE, through Vadim's coaching and expertise. SPW faced difficulties in the beginning, with many people doubting the promotion, and believing that Singaporeans "were too small". In the beginning some of their wrestlers would appear in IWF shows, but later on they would host live shows in Singapore, beginning to gain an audience. SPW would develop more regular talent, including Dr. Gore and The Eurasian Dragon, and eventually Tang and Trexxus would become trainers, after honing their talents. In 2014, SPW would grow to a size that they were able to host international talent including

Johnny Gargano John Anthony Nicholas Gargano (born August 14, 1987) is an American professional wrestler best known under the ring name Johnny Gargano. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. He is best known for his time in NXT, wh ...

and

Sonjay Dutt Retesh Bhalla (born April 7, 1982) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a producer and manager. He is best known for his time with Total Nonstop ActionImpact Wrestling under the ring name Sonjay ...

Growth and expansion (2015–2019)

A major turning point for SPW, was when they hosted a show a day before the 2015 WWE Live Event at the

Singapore Indoor Stadium The Singapore Indoor Stadium, known exonymously as the Indoor Stadium, is an indoor arena located in Kallang, Singapore. It is within walking distance of the Singapore National Stadium, and collectively form a part of the wider Singapore Spor ...

, which sold out completely. SPW would inaugurate their first title, the Southeast Asian Championship in 2015, with their first champion being "The Statement" Andruew Tang. SPW would host foreign talent, including IWF wrestler, Lokomotiv and

DDT Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, commonly known as DDT, is a colorless, tasteless, and almost odorless crystalline chemical compound, an organochloride. Originally developed as an insecticide, it became infamous for its environmental impacts. ...

wrestler,

Masa Takanashi is a Japanese professional wrestler, better known by the ring name . Takanashi was trained by Dramatic Dream Team (DDT) and has worked for the promotion since his debut in September 2003, becoming a one-time KO-D Openweight Champion, a two-time ...

, who would help the promotion grow, each winning the Southeast Asian championship. In the next year SPW would add three more titles to the promotion, the Queen of Asia, Tag Team and Singapore championships. In 2017, Rene Dupree would debut in SPW, facing Tang. Later that year,

NXT UK ''NXT UK'' is a professional wrestling television programme that was produced exclusively in the United Kingdom by the American promotion WWE. It aired on BT Sport and 5Action (previously known as Paramount Network). In the United States, th ...

Champion, at that time,

Pete Dunne Peter Thomas England (born 9 November 1993) is an English Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Butc ...

would debut in the company and face Tang in a singles match. SPW would continue to grow, developing local talent such as Alexis Lee (who would be called for a WWE tryout along with The Statement and Kaiser Trexxus), bodybuilder and the 2016 Mr. Singapore, Danie "Destroyer" Dharma, Da Butcherman, Big T, BGJ and Aiden Rex, who would all win various championships in the SPW promotion. In 2018, SPW would host its first all female event, titled Ladies Night. The main event of this show would feature

Riho is a Japanese professional wrestler and idol currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). She is a former AEW Women's World Champion. She was trained by Emi Sakura and debuted for her Ice Ribbon promotion in May 2006, at the age of nine. S ...

facing Makoto, which would become SPWs most viewed match ever. In 2019, globally-known AEW wrestler,

Kenny Omega Tyson Smith (born October 16, 1983), better known by the ring name Kenny Omega, is a Canadian-born professional wrestler. Omega is an executive vice president of All Elite Wrestling (AEW), in which he also performs. Omega is a former one-ti ...

, would also debut in the promotion, participating in a 3 on 3 tag match. Tajiri would make his SPW debut in 2019, defeating Tang. SPW would grow to have over 10,000 subscribers on YouTube, and over 10,000 followers on Instagram and Facebook combined.

Covid-19 and return (2020–present)

SPW hosted its last show of 2020, No Guts No Glory, in February, featuring then NXT UK Women's Champion,

Meiko Satomura Meiko Satomura (里村明衣子, Satomura Meiko, born November 11, 1979) is a Japanese professional wrestler. She is currently signed to the American promotion WWE performing on the NXT brand and the Japanese promotion Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestlin ...

and

Dash Chisako , better known by her ring name , is a Japanese professional wrestler. She was trained by Meiko Satomura and has worked for her Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling promotion since her debut in July 2006. For the first ten years of her career, Chisako wa ...

in the main event. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, SPW produced two seasons of an in-house show, called SPW Prove: Alive and Kicking and SPW Prove: It's A Slamdemic. During the first season of Prove, The Statement would retire Kaiser Trexxus from the promotion, who would leave to

and debut as

. Their second season was cut short as restrictions were lifted and SPW returned to a live show format, with their first private live show back on 15 April 2022, SPW: Sembawang Showdown, a private event for migrant workers of Singapore. SPW hosted their first public live show, SPW: Homecoming on 27 May 2022, that sold out in a few days. In July, SPW had their second public event of the year, SPW: Battlefront. In September, SPW would announce its partnership with ''Nothing But Cheese Burger'' to introduce the promotions 5th title, The NBCB Championship, a 24/7 championship. In November 2022, SPW hosted its 10th anniversary show, featuring the return of

, Tajiri,

, HoHo Lun and the debut of

Chris Brookes Chris Brookes (born 24 August 1991) is an English professional wrestler. He is currently signed to DDT Pro-Wrestling, where he is a two-time DDT Universal Champion. Career Progress Wrestling (2017–2019) On 24 August 2019, at Progress x ...

and Mei Suruga, SPW X: Astronomical Anniversary.

Roster

Notable alumni/guests

* Anton Deryabin * Baliyan Akki *

Ben-K is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently signed to Dragon Gate under the ring name Ben-K. Professional wrestling career Dragon Gate Debut and early career (2016–2017) Nakamura attended both Chiba Prefectural High School and Yamanas ...

* Cima * Craven *

* El Lindaman * Emman Azman *

Emi Sakura , better known by the ring name , is a Japanese professional wrestler performing for All Elite Wrestling (AEW). After starting her career in International Wrestling Association of Japan in August 1995, Sakura worked for several promotions acro ...

Hiroyo Matsumoto (born November 6, 1985) is Japanese professional wrestler, currently working as a freelancer. Emi Sakura gave her the nickname of because Matsumoto broke a wall in the Ichigaya arena during her Ice Ribbon debut. She is best known with othe ...

Ho Ho Lun Wong Yuk Lun (born July 19, 1987), better known by his ring name Ho Ho Lun (Hoholun, 何顥麟), is a Hong Kong professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with WWE, where he competed in their Cruiserweight Classic tournament and in their ...

Indi Hartwell Samantha De Martin (born 17 August 1996) is an Australian professional wrestler, best known by the ring name Indi Hartwell. She is signed to WWE, performing on the NXT brand, and was a member of The Way. She is a former NXT Women's Tag Team C ...

* Issei Onitsuka *

Jake de Leon Mark Gabriel G. Javellana, better known by his ring name "The Senyorito" Jake de Leon, is a Filipino professional wrestler most commonly known for his time with Philippine Wrestling Revolution. Early life Mark Gabriel G. Javellana is a native o ...

Jason Lee Jason Lee may refer to: Entertainment *Jason Lee (actor) (born 1970), American film and TV actor and former professional skateboarder *Jason Scott Lee (born 1966), Asian American film actor * Jaxon Lee (Jason Christopher Lee, born 1968), American v ...

* Jibzy *

Joaquin Wilde Michael Paris (born October 5, 1986) is a American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Smackdown brand, under the ring name Joaquin Wilde. He is a member of Legado Del Fantasma. Paris began his career in 2004 ...

* Kasey *

* Lokomotiv * Makoto * Mark Davis *

* Matt Cross *

* Mei Suruga *

Michael Nakazawa , better known by the ring name , is a Japanese professional wrestler and judoka signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Early life Nakazawa attended Tokai University before studying abroad in the United States were he obtained an MSc Sports Scienc ...

* Nor "Phoenix" Diana *

Reika Saiki is a Japanese actress and former bodybuilder, singer, idol and professional wrestler. Saiki was trained for a career in pro wrestling in the Wrestle-1 dojo under Akira Nogami and Kaz Hayashi, and made her debut in March 2016. In June of the sam ...

* Rene Dupree *

* Shaukat *

Susumu Yokosuka , better known by his ring name , is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to Dragon Gate. He is not related to fellow Dragon Gate wrestler and long term ally/rival Masaaki Mochizuki, who debuted much earlier for WAR. Professiona ...

* Tajiri * Yuki Kamifuku * T-Hawk * Shaukat * Wolfgang

Progression of champions

SPW Southeast Asian Championship

The SPW Southeast Asian Championship is the regional championship, and the primary and most prestigious title of the Singapore Pro Wrestling promotion. There have been a total of 9 reigns shared between 6 different champions. The current champion is Aiden Rex, who won the title at SPW Homecoming in May 2022. The Statement Andruew Tang was the inaugural champion, also holding the belt for the most times, being 4, and having the record for the longest reign at 826 days.

SPW Singapore Championship

The SPW Singapore Championship is the national championship and the secondary title of the Singapore Pro Wrestling promotion. There have been a total of six reigns. The current champion is Black Arrow. The inaugural champion was the Eurasian Dragon who won the belt in 2016.

SPW Queen of Asia Championship

The SPW Queen of Asia Championship is the women's title of the Singapore Pro Wrestling promotion. The current champion is Alexis Lee.

SPW Southeast Asian Tag Team Championships

The SPW Southeast Asian Tag Team Championship are the

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...

titles of the Singapore Pro Wrestling promotion. The title is currently held by

and

, the Calamari Drunken Kings.

SPW NBCB Championship

The SPW Nothing But Cheese Burger Championship, commonly shortened to the NBCB Championship, is the 24/7 title of the Singapore Pro Wrestling promotion, meaning it must be defended at all times, and opponents can demand a match on their own accord. Destroyer Dharma is the current NBCB Champion.

References

External links

* * *{{Official website, https://www.spw.com.sg/ Professional wrestling promotions Entertainment companies established in 2012 Companies of Singapore Entertainment in Singapore 2012 establishments in Singapore Professional wrestling in Singapore