The Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation was a Mid-Atlantic independent

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 mana ...

based in

Essex, Maryland Essex is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. Essex has a long history dating back to 1909. The population was 39,262 at the 2010 census and is growing in population each year. The t ...

. Founded by promoter Dennis Wippercht and wrestler Tim "Lucifer" Burke in 1991, the MEWF was one of the leading independent promotions on the East Coast during the 1990s rivaling promotions such as

East Coast Wrestling Association East Coast Wrestling Association (ECWA) is an American professional wrestling promotion A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling that has little relationship to ...

Jersey All Pro Wrestling Jersey All Pro Wrestling (JAPW) was an independent wrestling promotion based in New Jersey, United States. History 1997 Jersey All Pro Wrestling was an independent wrestling promotion that was founded by "Fat" Frank Iadeavia and Angel Surita ...

and Maryland Championship Wrestling. Among its roster included

Extreme Championship Wrestling HHG Corporation, doing business as Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), was a professional wrestling promotion and media company that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as National Wrest ...

regulars such as

Raven A raven is any of several larger-bodied bird species of the genus '' Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between " crows" and "ravens", common names which are assigne ...

Stevie Richards Michael Stephen Manna (born October 9, 1971), better known by his ring name Stevie Richards, is an American professional wrestler. Over the course of his career, Richards has performed for major professional wrestling promotions including Easte ...

, The Blue Meanie, Damien Kane, Pit Bull #2, referee "Judge" Jeff Jones, and

The Bad Breed The Bad Breed was the professional wrestling tag team of Axl Rotten with his storyline brother/real life protégé Ian Rotten. The team achieved their greatest fame in the Philadelphia professional wrestling promotion Extreme Championship Wres ...

( Ian and Axl Rotten) as well as some of the leading independent wrestlers such as Cueball Carmichael,

Johnny Gunn Thomas Brandi (born July 9, 1966) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in the World Wrestling Federation from 1996 to 1998 under the ring name Salvatore Sincere. Brandi is also known for his appearances with t ...

, Max Thrasher, Devon Storm, Morgus the Maniac, Boo Bradley, Jimmy Cicero, Hollywood Bob Starr, Ruckus, Dino Casanova, Corporal Punishment, The Bad Crew and Darkside ( Glen Osborne and Rockin' Rebel). Former

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 ...

wrestlers such as Barry Horowitz, Road Warrior Hawk, Jim Neidhart,

The Honky Tonk Man Roy Wayne Farris (born January 25, 1953), better known by the ring name The Honky Tonk Man, is an American retired professional wrestler. He previously wrestled for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE ...

and

The Headbangers The Headbangers are a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Mosh (Charles Warrington) and Thrasher (Glenn Ruth). As the name of the team implies, their gimmick is that they are a pair of metalheads, complete with heavy metal related T-sh ...

as well as

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 ...

veterans "Jumping" Joey Maggs and Disco Inferno also had short stints in the promotion.

History

Early history

Dennis Wippercht, after promoting several wrestling events during 1990, joined Tim Burke in establishing the Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation holding its first card in

Pasadena, Maryland Pasadena is a census-designated place (CDP) in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. The population was 24,287 at the 2010 census. The areas of Lake Shore, Riviera Beach and Pasadena are collectively referred to as Pasadena by residen ...

on August 2, 1991; during the event, the Lords of Darkness (

Pain Pain is a distressing feeling often caused by intense or damaging stimuli. The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with, ...

and Agony) would defeat Cream Team ( Dino Casanova and

Rip Sawyer Sidney F. Garrison (born January 26, 1965) is a retired American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Rip Sawyer. He competed in the Mid-Atlantic and East Coast independent circuit during the late 1980s and early 1990s. As one-hal ...

) to become the first MEWF Tag Team champions. Three months later, the MEWF held a fundraiser for the North Carroll High School in

Hampstead, Maryland Hampstead is a town in Carroll County in the U.S. state of Maryland. The population was 6,323 at the 2010 census. History Between 1736 and 1738, Robert Owings was assigned to "cut a new road as Christopher Gist had marked it" south from Conewag ...

to help purchase

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for its business department. The card included stars such as "Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert, A.C. Golden, Morgus the Maniac, Axl Rotten, The Cream Team ( Dino Casanova &

), female wrestlers Rusty "The Fox" Thomas and MEWF Women's Champion Heidi Lee Morgan, and midget wrestler

Haiti Kid Raymond Kessler is a Haitian retired professional wrestler, who has dwarfism, and wrestled under the name Haiti Kid in the World Wrestling Federation. Professional wrestling career He started his career in the WWWF as a babyface in 1971, teaming ...

. Max Thrasher wrestled

in the main event. During its early years, the promotion featured such wrestlers as Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart, Road Warrior Hawk and Jake "The Snake" Roberts, however, their cruiserweight division gained a considerable following with The Lightning Kid and Jimmy Jannetty feuding over the Light Heavyweight Championship during early 1993. On July 8, 1995, the promotion held an event at the National Guard Armory in

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...

which featured Corporal Punishment, Axl Rotten, Mad Dog O'Malley and the debut of Pat Patterson, Jr. (the

kayfabe In professional wrestling, kayfabe, as a noun, is the portrayal of staged events within the industry as "real" or "true", specifically the portrayal of competition, rivalries, and relationships between participants as being genuine and not staged. ...

"son" of Pat Patterson); the card was the first professional wrestling event ever held in Annapolis. Expanding outside the Baltimore-area, the promotion regularly appeared at the ''Secret Cove'', a popular restaurant and bar in southern

Fairfax County Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria and Arlington County and forms part of the suburban ring of Washington, D.C. ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

. During the next several years, some of the top lightheavyweight wrestlers appeared in televised matches for the promotion including Mark "the Shark" Shrader, Earl the Pearl, Steve Corino, Danny Doring, Quinn Nash, Adam Flash and Joey Mercury, with whom Christian York feuded with

The Hardy Boyz The Hardys, also known as The Hardy Boyz, are an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of real-life brothers Matt and Jeff Hardy, who are currently appearing in All Elite Wrestling (AEW). The team is currently inactive due to J ...

, as well as participated in the ECWA's Super 8 Tournament during the late 1990s.

Rivalry with Maryland Championship Wrestling

In 1998, following a dispute with MEWF management and wrestlers over creative control and payment disagreements, Corporal Punishment and Mark Shrader left the promotion taking half of its roster with them to form Maryland Championship Wrestling. After a nearly 5-year rivalry, the two promotions began working together in October 2002 and eventually co-hosted Maryland Championship Wrestling's final event at Michael's Eighth Avenue in Glen Burnie, Maryland on July 16, 2003. During this interpromotional card, the MCW Championship titles were merged with Mid-Eastern Championship Wrestling most notably the Christian York winning the

Shane Shamrock Memorial Cup MCW Pro Wrestling (formerly known as Maryland Championship Wrestling) is a regional independent wrestling promotion based in Joppa, Maryland. It has regularly run events in the Mid-Atlantic region since the late 1990s. History Maryland Champions ...

as well as the MCW/MEWF Cruiserweight Championship defeating Joey Matthews, Reckless Youth, Qenaan Creed, Jay Briscoe and

Crash Holly Michael John Lockwood (August 25, 1971 – November 6, 2003) was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment from 1999 to 2003 under the ring names ...

in a six-way elimination match. The event also featured

Headbanger Thrasher Glenn Ruth (born June 13, 1969) is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name, Thrasher. For much of his career he has teamed with Mosh, most famously as The Headbangers, a pair of metal-heads known for their outrageous c ...

, Gillberg and Van Hammer.

Later years

In early 2002, Tim's wife, Donna Burke took over day-to-day running began promoting shows twice a month at Dundalk's North Point Flea Market and held a memorial show for Dino Casanova on June 20, 2002. The following year, Burke promoted a show with

Ring of Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011, when the promotion was s ...

in Glen Burnie, Maryland on January 29 and

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 var ...

Fair Hill, Maryland Fair Hill is an unincorporated community in Cecil County, Maryland, United States. Fair Hill is located at the intersection of Maryland routes 213 and 273, north of Elkton. It is home to the Fair Hill Natural Resources Management Area, a 5,613 a ...

on July 31. The promotion was unable to keep the fanbase of Maryland Championship Wrestling, however, and, within several months, the promotion became inactive after its last card at ''Hunter's Sail Barn'' in

Rising Sun, Maryland Rising Sun is a town in Cecil County, Maryland, United States. The population was 2,781 at the 2010 census. History The town which became known as Rising Sun was located in the disputed “Nottingham Lots” along the border between colonial Pe ...

on October 30, 2004; this was the first wrestling event ever held in the building.

Former personnel

Championships

* MEWF Heavyweight Championship * MEWF Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship * MEWF Cruiserweight Championship *

MEWF Light Heavyweight Championship The Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation (MEWF) Cruiserweight Championship was the primary Cruiserweight singles title in the Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation. The title was created when Ricky Blues defeated Adrian Hall at an event held in Pasadena ...

* MEWF Tag Team Championship

References

External links

Wrestling-Titles.com: Mid-Eastern Championship WrestlingCageMatch.de - Mid-Eastern Championship Wrestling
{{Professional wrestling in the United States American independent professional wrestling promotions based in Maryland Essex, Maryland