World Xtreme Wrestling (WXW) is a

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

-based

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

professional wrestling promotion A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling that has little relationship to the rules of the amateur olympic form. "Promotion" also describes a role which entails man ...

which has held events across the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and toured in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, the Middle East and South Pacific region including

American Samoa American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the International ...

and

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

. The promotion is associated with Afa Anoa'i's Wild Samoan Pro Wrestling Training Center in Minneola, Florida, and students who have competed for the promotion include

Batista Batista is a Spanish language, Spanish or Portuguese language, Portuguese surname. Notable persons with the name include: * Batista (footballer, born 1955), Brazilian football player * Dave Bautista, American actor and professional wrestler, also ...

, Chris Kanyon, Billy Kidman, Gene Snitsky and cousins Jamal (known as Umaga) and Rosey of

Three Minute Warning 3-Minute Warning was an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of cousins Matt Anoa'i and Eddie Fatu, most notable for their time with WWF/E under their ring names of Rosey and Jamal, respectively. As they were the members of the ...

Court Bauer Major League Wrestling (MLW), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in New Rochelle, New York. The promotion was founded in 2002 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by former WWE writer Court Bauer. The promotion markets its product a ...

, a member of the WWE creative team, was formerly a booker for the promotion during the mid-1990s. The promotion features in the film ''

The Wrestler The Wrestler may refer to: * ''The Wrestler'' (1974 film), an American film directed by James A. Westman * ''The Wrestler'' (2008 film), an American film directed by Darren Aronofsky * "The Wrestler" (song), a song from the 2008 film written and ...

'', where Mickey Rourke's character "Randy 'The Ram' Robinson" wrestles Tommy Rotten (portrayed by WXW wrestler Tommy Suede).

History

Trans World Wrestling Federation

Originally formed in 1970 as the Trans World Wrestling Federation in association with the original Wild Samoan Pro Wrestling Training Center, the promotion's early history is unrecorded. However, Jules Strongbow and

Yukon Jack Y'Garon Y'Garon is a demon who has clashed with Marada the She-Wolf and Dracula. Yandroth Yandroth was the humanoid Scientist Supreme of the " otherdimensional" planet "Yann" and a would-be-conqueror who, with his robot Voltorg, has fought Doc ...

have both been credited as former heavyweight champions. During the early 1990s, the promotion's roster included independent wrestlers such as Bam Bam Bigelow,

Chief Dave Foxx Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boa ...

, Billy Kidman, Chris Kanyon, Tony Stetson and Glen Osbourne.

World Xtreme Wrestling

World Xtreme Wrestling was established in 1996 as a continuation of the Trans World Wrestling Federation and continued to be owned and operated by Afa Anoa'i. In 1998, the promotion held its first live televised supercard ''Sportsfest '98'' in

Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. The city has a population of 125,845 as of the 2020 United ...

which featured several wrestlers 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 vario ...

including

Rocky Maivia Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his ring name The Rock, is an American actor and former professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he was integral to the developm ...

Mankind Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, an ...

, Owen Hart,

D'Lo Brown Accie Julius Connor (born October 22, 1970), better known by his ring name D'Lo Brown (also formatted as D-Lo Brown), is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in Impact Wrestling and WWE. Brown is also known for his ...

as well as former WWF wrestlers Doink the Clown, King Kong Bundy and The Bushwhackers. Shortly after the close of Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), several former ECW wrestlers including

Mikey Whipwreck John Michael Watson (born June 4, 1973), better known by his ring name Mikey Whipwreck, is an American semi-retired professional wrestler working for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a trainer, and global ambassador. He is best known for his career w ...

, Devon Storm, Little Guido,

The Sandman The Sandman is a mythical character in European folklore who puts people to sleep and encourages and inspires beautiful dreams by sprinkling magical sand onto their eyes. Representation in traditional folklore The Sandman is a traditional charact ...

and Tommy Dreamer "invaded" ''Sportsfest 2001''. In the main event, The Sandman and Tommy Dreamer were defeated by Samu and Mana. During that year, the promotion established a women's division with Kattra becoming the first WXW Women's Champion. She eventually was stripped of the title in March 2001 after failing to defend the championship. Although BellaDonna won the title after defeating Jessica Dally on March 9, the title was again vacated. The title remained inactive for several months, but the division was reactivated following the WXW Women's ELITE 8 Tournament in

Danbury, Connecticut Danbury is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, located approximately northeast of New York City. Danbury's population as of 2022 was 87,642. It is the seventh largest city in Connecticut. Danbury is nicknamed the "Hat City ...

on September 25, 2002 with Cindy Rogers winning the WXW Women's title in a battle royal at ''Sportsfest 2003''. Although the promotion had held live television tapings at past events, WXW began airing a weekly television program, ''WXW Rage TV'' in January 2002 featuring a variety of WXW talent, including Afa, Afa Jr.,

L.A. Smooth Lloyd Anoa'i (born May 7, 1971) is an American professional wrestler and professional wrestling manager. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) under the ring names Tahitian Savage, Fred Williams, and Lloyd ...

, Showtime Shane Black, Havoc, Nuissance,

Supreme Lee Great Jon Trosky (born November 12, 1980) is an American College Professor at Penn State University Hazelton, an actor / stuntman in the Screen Actors Guild professional wrestler known by his ring name Supreme Lee Great, who competed in North American ...

, and

Samu Samu or SAMU may refer to: Places * Samu, Sierra Leone * Samu, South Khorasan, a village in South Khorasan Province, Iran * As-Samu, a town in the Hebron Governorate of the West Bank * Samu, Sarawak, Malaysia, a settlement near Kerangan Pinggai * ...

. ''Rage TV'' features a rotating commentary team that has included Doc Daniels, The Bald Guy, Ben Miller, Saul Steinberk, Gerry Strauss and Nate Stein. Other independent wrestlers who have appeared on ''Rage TV'' include

Salvatore Bellomo Salvatore Bellomo (June 18, 1951 – February 9, 2019) was a Belgian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. His career spanned over 40 years; he is perhaps best known for his appearances in the United States with the World Wrestling Federa ...

, Low Ki, John Rambo and Slyk Wagner Brown. In early 2002, WXW promoted its first tour overseas and appeared for U.S. troops stationed in the Middle East, including

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. In August 2002, the promotion held a second tour in Asia and the South Pacific appearing for one month in

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

and

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. In late 2004, WXW expanded and began holding events in Florida near the original Wild Samoan Pro Wrestling Training Center in Pensacola. WXW began holding all of its events in Minneola, Florida, and broadcasting ''Rage TV'' on their website. A new branch of WXW, called WXW C4 was created and promotes regular events in Allentown, Pennsylvania. WXW C4 is run by Samu and Afa Jr. and has a weekly television show, ''Blast TV''.

Women's ELITE 8 Tournament

The Women's Elite 8 Tournament is a

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

formed to offer a platform for top female wrestlers. There have been eight annual tournaments starting September 27, 2002 in Danbury, Connecticut. The last tournament was held in 2009.

2002

September 27, 2002 in Danbury, Connecticut

2003

November 21, 2003 in Sciota, Pennsylvania

2004

October 9, 2004 in Sciota, Pennsylvania

2005

October 23, 2005 in Allentown, Pennsylvania

2006

October 14, 2006 in Allentown, Pennsylvania

2007

November 10, 2007 in Coplay, Pennsylvania with Sunny as the special guest referee for the finals

2008

November 15, 2008 in Leesburg, Florida

2009

November 14, 2009 in Minneola, Florida

Championships

Active championships

Former championships

WXW Hall of Fame

There are currently 28 inductees in the hall of fame, from 2013-2016.

Inductees

References

External links

* * {{Professional wrestling in the United States Sports organizations established in 1996 American independent professional wrestling promotions based in Pennsylvania