Independent circuit

In

which are deemed to be smaller and more regionalized than major national promotions.

Independent promotions are essentially viewed as a

Origins

The "indie" scene in the United States dates back to the days of regional territories. When a promoter ran opposition in even one town controlled by a National Wrestling Alliance sanctioned territory, they were often called an "outlaw" territory.^[2] This is considered by some to be a forerunner to indies since some stars of the past got their start in these low quality local rivals to the big regional territories.

The modern definition of the independent circuit came about in the middle to late 1980s and fully formed and flourished after 1990. These promotions initially sought to revive the feel of old school territorial wrestling after former territories either went national, such as WWF, went out of business, or eventually did both, such as WCW. Several indies did in fact manage to tour different towns within a region and maintain a consistent schedule.

After

and trained emergency medical personnel at each bout. After the business was thus exposed and deregulated, just about anyone could be a promoter or a wrestler since no licensing beyond a business license was then required. Many thought they could save money by holding shows in lesser towns and smaller arenas with little to no televised exposure, leading to many shows being held only once a week or once a month in local towns.

By country

United States

Independent promotions are usually local in focus and, lacking national

, serving as a venue for students to gain experience in front of an audience. As independent matches are seldom televised, indie wrestlers who have not already gained recognition in other promotions tend to remain in obscurity. However, scouts from major promotions attend indie shows, and an indie wrestler who makes a good impression may be offered a developmental or even a full-professional contract.

The advent of the Internet has allowed independent wrestlers and promotions to reach a wider audience, and it is possible for wrestlers regularly working the indie circuit to gain some measure of fame among wrestling fans online. Additionally, some of the more successful indies have video distribution deals, giving them an additional source of income and allowing them to reach a larger audience outside of their local areas.

Top 10 most-attended shows

No.	Promoter	Event	Location	Venue	Attendance	Main Event(s)
—	NWA-NE	WRKO's Taste of the Boss September 25, 1999	Boston, Massachusetts	Boston City Hall Plaza	35,000	5-0 ( Trooper Gilmore and Corporal Johnson) vs. Victor Rivera and Jay Kobain
—	IWR	Warped Tour 2002 August 3, 2003	Pontiac, Michigan	Pontiac Silverdome	19,000	Deranged vs. Tommy Starr in a UV Light Tube Death match	[4]
—	BELIEVE	BELIEVE 156 April 21, 2018	Orlando, Florida	Central Florida Fairgrounds	15,000	Aaron Epic (c) vs. Andrew Merlin for the SCW Florida Heavyweight Championship
—	AWF	Cement Belt Fair June 21, 1990	Cementon, Pennsylvania	Cementon Fairgrounds	12,500	Heidi Lee Morgan vs. Baby Face Nellie
—	WPW	OC Fair: Flower Power (Day 2) July 23, 2006	Costa Mesa, California	Washington Mutual Arena	12,000	El Hijo del Santo, Lil Cholo and Silver Tyger vs. Infernal, Super Kendo 2 and Super Parka
1.	—	All In September 1, 2018	Hoffman Estates, Illinois	Sears Centre Arena	11,263	six-man tag team match
—	WPW	OC Fair: Flower Power (Day 1) July 22, 2006	Costa Mesa, California	Washington Mutual Arena	10,000	El Hijo del Santo, Lil Cholo and Silver Tyger vs. Infernal, Super Kendo 2 and Super Parka
—	HWA	BaseBrawl July 19, 2003	Columbus, Ohio	Cooper Stadium	8,757[Note 1]	Rory Fox (c) vs. Shark Boy for the HWA Cruiserweight Championship	[5]
2.	USWA	Memphis Memories March 7, 1994	Memphis, Tennessee	Mid-South Coliseum	8,377	Jerry Lawler vs. Austin Idol vs. Brian Christopher vs. Doug Gilbert vs. Eddie Gilbert vs. Jimmy Valiant vs. Koko B. Ware vs. Moondog Spot vs. Terry Funk vs. Tommy Rich in a 10-man elimination match	[6]
—	WXW	Sportsfest July 12, 1998	Allentown, Pennsylvania	Cedar Beach Park	8,000	The Love Connection (Jay Love and Georgie Love) vs. D'Lo Brown and Owen Hart
3.	WWF	USWA vs. WWF February 17, 1996	Memphis, Tennessee	Mid-South Coliseum	7,500	WWF World Heavyweight Championship	[7]
4.	FMLL	LuchaMania USA Tour January 26, 2013	Los Angeles, California	Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena	7,000	six-man tag team match
5.	JCP	Ric Flair's Last Match July 31, 2022	Nashville, Tennessee	Nashville Municipal Auditorium	6,800	Ric Flair and Andrade El Idolo vs. Jay Lethal and Jeff Jarrett
6.	FMW / WWA	FMW vs. WWA May 16, 1992	Los Angeles, California	Cal State-Los Angeles Gym	6,250	Street Fight match	[8]
—	IWC	Big Butler Fair June 28, 2003	Prospect, Pennsylvania	Big Butler Fairgrounds	6,000	Dusty Rhodes vs. Jerry Lawler
7.	Multiple	World Wrestling Peace Festival June 1, 1996	Los Angeles, California	Los Angeles Sports Arena	5,964	Antonio Inoki and Dan Severn vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara and Oleg Taktarov	[9]
8.	ECW	November to Remember November 1, 1998	New Orleans, Louisiana	Lakefront Arena	5,800	Taz )	[10]
	JCW	Bloodymania August 11, 2007	Cave-In-Rock, Illinois	Hatchet Landings		The Insane Clown Posse (Shaggy 2 Dope and Violent J) vs. Trent Acid and The Young Altar Boys (Young Altar Boy #1 and Young Altar Boy #4)
9.	FCW	Pride September 24, 2005	Inglewood, California	Great Western Forum	5,500	Ultimo Guerrero )
10.	—	Funk Free for All October 28, 1993	Amarillo, Texas	Amarillo Civic Center	5,500	Texas Death match	[11]

Canada

Top 10 most-attended shows

No.	Promoter	Event	Location	Venue	Attendance	Main Event(s)
—	Lutte 2000	Alouettes Mania I August 25, 2002	Montreal, Quebec	Stade Percival-Molson	20,000	Jacques Rougeau vs. King Kong Bundy
—	LF	Alouettes Mania III July 15, 2004	Montreal, Quebec	Stade Percival-Molson	20,000[Note 2]	Jacques Rougeau vs. Kamala
—	LF	Alouettes Mania IV July 8, 2005	Montreal, Quebec	Stade Percival-Molson	20,000[Note 3]	Kurrgan with special referee Jacques Rougeau
1.	Lutte 2000	Pierre Carl Ouellet vs. Kurrgan December 30, 2001	Montreal, Quebec	Centre Bell	5,500+[Note 4]	Kurrgan with special referee Sid Vicious
2.	—	Stu Hart 50th Anniversary Show December 15, 1995	Calgary, Alberta	Stampede Corral	4,600	Bret Hart (c) vs. The British Bulldog for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship
3.	LF	Jacques Rougeau's Super Wrestling Family Gala December 27, 2008	Verdun, Quebec	Verdun Auditorium	4,300	Eric Mastrocola and Taloche the Clown for the Johnny Rougeau Tag Team Championship
4.	Lutte 2000	Pierre Carl Ouellet vs. King Kong Bundy December 29, 2000	Verdun, Quebec	Verdun Auditorium	4,000	Pierre Carl Ouellet vs. King Kong Bundy	[12][13]
5.	CWI	Brawl at the Bush II May 14, 2011	Brantford, Ontario	Brantford Civic Center	3,600	Haven, Survivor Series elimination match
6.	JRP	Richard Charland vs. Abdullah the Butcher July 15, 1995	Montreal, Quebec	Verdun Auditorium	3,500	Richard Charland vs. Abdullah the Butcher	[14]
	LF	Jacques Rougeau's Super Wrestling Family Gala December 27, 2009	Verdun, Quebec	Verdun Auditorium		Eric Mastrocola	[15]
7.	NOTP	Night of Thunder February 12, 2000	Winnipeg, Manitoba	Convention Centre	3,000	Chi Chi Cruz vs. Scott D'Amore
	LF	Jacques Rougeau Jr. Retirement Tour (Day 1) December 28, 2010	Montréal, Quebec	Verdun Auditorium		Eric Mastrocola and Sylver
8.	Lutte 2000	L'Union Fait La Force IV December 29, 1999	Montreal, Quebec	Centre Pierre Charbonneau	2,600	The Fabulous Rougeaus (Jacques Rougeau and Raymond Rougeau) vs. The Garvin Brothers (Ron Garvin and Jimmy Garvin ) for the Johnny Rougeau Memorial Tag Team Championship	[16][17]
9.	BSE	Welcome to Mexico! (Day 1) July 18, 2009	Toronto, Ontario	Harbourfront Centre	2,500	James Champagne, Incógnito, Xtremo and Blue Demon Jr.
10.	Lutte 2000	L'Union Fait la Force February 14, 1999	Montreal, Quebec	Pierre-Charbonneau Arena	2,200	14-man Battle Royal	[18][19]
	BCW	Rumble on the River July 15, 2000	Windsor, Ontario	Riverfront Terrace		Sabu (c) vs. Geza Kalman for the BCW Can-Am Heavyweight Championship	[20]

Australia

Unlike the

.

Top 10 most-attended shows

No.	Promoter	Event	Location	Venue	Attendance	Main Event(s)
1.	AWF	Wrestleriot February 26, 1993	Melbourne, Australia	Festival Hall	4,000	Jake Roberts vs. Jim Neidhart	[21]
2.	AWF	Wrestleriot 2 June 18, 1993	Sydney, Australia		3,500	Road Warrior Hawk vs. Demolition Smash	[22]
	AWF	Wrestleriot 2 June 24, 1993	Melbourne, Australia			Nailz vs. Big Boss Man	[23]
	HRCW	High Risk Championship Wrestling TV July 17, 1999		Festival Hall		Nailz vs. Primo Carnera III	[24]
3.	WSW	International Incident (Day 1) October 5, 2005	Melbourne, Australia		2,500+[Note 5]	Jeff Jarrett vs. Rhino for the inaugural WSW Heavyweight Championship
4.	AWF	Wrestleriot February 25, 1993	Brisbane, Australia		2,200	Jake Roberts vs. Jim Neidhart	[21]
5.	WSW	International Assault Tour (Day 2) October 7, 2005	Sydney, Australia		2,100	Rhino (c) vs. Jeff Jarrett for the WSW Heavyweight Championship
6.	AWF	Wrestleriot 2 June 26, 1993	Adelaide, Australia		1,450	Big Bossman vs. Nailz	[25]
7.	WSW	International Assault Tour (Day 3) October 8, 2005	Newcastle, Australia		1,200+[Note 6]	Rhino (c) vs. Jeff Jarrett for the WSW Heavyweight Championship
8.	AAP / HOH	HoH 28 June 17, 2017	Sydney, Australia	Sydney Showground	1,200	Tommy Dreamer and Billy Gunn vs. The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson)
	MCW	MCW 100 August 18, 2018	Albert Park, Australia	Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre		Slex (c) vs. Will Ospreay for the MCW Intercommonwealth Championship
9.	OCW / HOH	HOH 15 June 24, 2016	East Burwood, Australia	Whitehorse Club	1,100	Andy Phoenix vs. KrackerJak vs. Carlito vs. Tommy Dreamer in a Number 1 contenders Fatal 4-Way match for the OCW Heavyweight Championship
	AAP / HOH	HOH 30 June 23, 2017				MVP vs. Jack Swagger vs. Tommy Dreamer in a Three-Way Dance
10.	AWF	Wrestleriot March 2, 1993	Adelaide, Australia		1,000	Jake Roberts vs. Jim Neidhart	[26]
	HRCW	Nailz vs. High Risk Warrior July 23, 1999	Adelaide, Australia			Nailz vs. High Risk Warrior	[27]
	AWF	Psycho Slam Tour (Day 4) August 30, 1999	Melbourne, Australia	Camberwell Civic Centre		Sabu vs. Chris Candido
	AWF	Supanova Sidney (Day 1) June 27, 2009	Sydney, Australia	Acer Arena		Spaceboy Dacey vs. Zander Bathory

Mexico

movies.)

Top 10 most-attended shows

No.	Promoter	Event	Location	Venue	Attendance	Main Event(s)
1.	Toryumon Mexico	DragonMania III May 11, 2008	Mexico City, Mexico	Arena Mexico	17,000	Ultimo Dragon, Mistico and Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Ultimo Guerrero, Atlantis and Rene Dupree
2.	Toryumon Mexico	DragonMania II May 13, 2007	Mexico City, Mexico	Arena Mexico	16,800	Último Dragón, Mil Máscaras, Marco Corleone, and Kazuchika Okada vs. Yoshihiro Takayama, Minoru Suzuki, Último Guerrero and SUWA
3.	LLE	ALL Elite February 8, 2015	Mexico City, Mexico	Arena Mexico	15,000	Dr. Wagner Jr. and La Sombra vs. L.A. Par-K and Volador Jr.	[28]
4.	TXT	Torneo Todo X El Todo December 8, 2007	Naucalpan, Mexico	El Toreo de Cuatro Caminos	12,000	16-man Torneo Todo X El Todo tournament
	Toryumon Mexico	DragonMania VIII June 15, 2013	Mexico City, Mexico	Arena Mexico		Último Dragón, Atlantis and Rayo de Jalisco Jr. vs. Último Guerrero, Hajime Ohara and Mike Knox
	LLE	December 20, 2015	Mexico City, Mexico	Arena Mexico		Rayo de Jalisco Jr., Octagón and Atlantis vs. Los Hermanos Dinamita (Universo Dos Mil, Cien Caras, Máscara Año Dos Mil)
5.	—	Lucha de Leyendas June 23, 2013	Mérida, Mexico	El Poliforo Zamná	11,500	El Hijo del Santo vs. Blue Demon Jr.
6.	LL-VIP	July 5, 2008	Monterrey, Mexico	La Arena Monterrey	10,500+[Note 7]	Atlantis vs. Blue Panther vs. Místico vs. Último Guerrero vs. Villano V vs. Tigre Universitario in a 6-way Mask vs. Mask match	[29]
7.	Toryumon Mexico	DragonMania V May 29, 2010	Mexico City, Mexico	Arena Mexico	10,000+[Note 8]	Mil Máscaras, Tatsumi Fujinami, Último Dragón and Brazo de Plata vs. Rey Bucanero, Chuck Palumbo, Atlantis and Arkángel de la Muerte	[30]
8.	Toryumon Mexico	DragonMania XI May 28, 2016	Mexico City, Mexico	Arena Mexico	10,000[Note 9]	Ultimo Dragon, Octagon and Caristico vs. Fuerza Guerrera, Tiger Ali and Mephisto	[31]
9.	Toryumon Mexico	DragonManía May 14, 2005	Mexico City, Mexico	Arena Mexico	9,914	Último Dragón, Rayo de Jalisco Jr. and Tigre Enmascarado vs. Los Guerreros del Infierno (Rey Bucanero, Tarzan Boy and Último Guerrero)
10.	The Crash	The Crash in San Luis Potosí August 10, 2017	San Luis Potosí, Mexico	El Domo de San Luis	9,000	Rey Misterio Jr., Blue Demon Jr. and Rey Fénix vs. La Máscara, M-ximo and Rey Escorpión	[32]

Japan

Until 1984, no independent puroresu promotion per se existed in Japan; potential talent went directly into the training dojos of either New Japan Pro-Wrestling or All Japan Pro Wrestling. (International Wrestling Enterprise also was a third-party promotion until 1981.) The advent of the Japanese Universal Wrestling Federation offered a long-sought third alternative.

From 1986 to 1988 the Japanese system went back to the two-promotion system, but then the UWF was reformed and another promotion, Pioneer Senshi, was started. Because of Japanese societal

respectively) .

As the 1990s ended, though, things began to change. Independent promotions began gaining more prominence as they were featured in major specialized media such as Shukan Puroresu and Shukan Gong magazines. With the death of Giant Baba and retirement of Antonio Inoki, which effectively broke their control over the promotions they founded, the major promotions began looking to the smaller promotions for talent.

In 2000, the first major signing from an independent,

.)

Noah admitted one wrestler from the independents, Daisuke Ikeda, to its ranks as well (Ikeda has since left, but other wrestlers from the independents that were signed included Akitoshi Saito, Takahiro Suwa, and Taiji Ishimori). Although AJPW, NJPW, and Noah remain committed to their dojos, the reliance on independents is growing as obscure talent is recognized for its ability.

Top 10 most-attended shows

No.	Promoter	Event	Location	Venue	Attendance	Main Event(s)
—	TPW	Tokyo Pro Wrestling in Atami July 23, 1996	Atami, Japan	Sun Beach	65,000	Kishin Kawabata and Takashi Ishikawa	[33]
1.	FMW	FMW 6th Anniversary Show May 5, 1995	Kawasaki, Japan	Kawasaki Stadium	58,250	Atsushi Onita (c) vs. Hayabusa in a No Rope Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch for the FMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship	[34]
2.	FMW	FMW 5th Anniversary Show May 5, 1994	Kawasaki, Japan	Kawasaki Stadium	52,000	Atsushi Onita vs. Genichiro Tenryu in a No Rope Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch	[35]
3.	FMW	Barbed Wire Deathmatch Tournament August 17, 1991	Tokyo, Japan	Torisu Stadium	48,221	Atsushi Onita vs. Sambo Asako in a no rope barbed wire death match tournament final	[36]
4.	UWFi	UWFi Pro Wrestling World Championship: Takada vs. Vader December 5, 1993	Tokyo, Japan	Jingu Stadium	46,168	UWFI World Heavyweight Championship	[37]
5.	AJW	Super Woman Great War: Big Egg Wrestling Universe November 20, 1994	Tokyo, Japan	Tokyo Dome	42,500	Akira Hokuto vs. Aja Kong in the V*TOP Woman Tournament final	[38]
6.	FMW	FMW 4th Anniversary Show May 5, 1993	Kawasaki, Japan	Kawasaki Stadium	41,000	Atsushi Onita vs. Terry Funk in a No Ropes Exploding Barbed Wire Timebomb Death match	[35]
7.	PWFG	Tokyo Dome Show October 4, 1992	Tokyo, Japan	Tokyo Dome	40,800	Maurice Smith	[39]
8.	WWF	SuperWrestle December 12, 1991	Tokyo, Japan	Tokyo Dome	40,000	Genichiro Tenryu vs. Hulk Hogan	[40]
	MPW	Sendai Television Broadcasting Festival: Happy!! Juni*Land (Day 2) November 5, 2006	Sendai, Japan	Sendai West Park Open Space		Yoshitsune and Rasse	[41]
9.	MPW	Sendai Television Broadcasting Festival: Happy!! Juni*Land (Day 1) November 4, 2006	Sendai, Japan	Sendai West Park Open Space	37,500	Jinsei Shinzaki and Shinjitsu Nohashi vs. The Great Sasuke and Yoshitsune
10.	FMW	Summer Spectacular August 22, 1993	Nishinomiya, Japan	Hankyu Nishinomiya Stadium	36,223	Atsushi Onita vs. Mr. Pogo in a No Ropes Barbed Wire Exploding Cage Deathmatch for the FMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship

United Kingdom

For most of the years of

cartel, which was originally modelled on the NWA and later amalgamated into a single company. Nonetheless, throughout this period, untelevised alternative promotions flourished with at least one significant competitor to Joint for live shows.

Initially the main rival was the former dominant promotion in the territory,

as champion. Lincoln's BWF was eventually bought out into Joint in 1970.

Welsh promoter Orig Williams also used the BWF name, promoting from the late 1960s up until the early 2000s and then sporadically until his death in 2009. From 1982 to 1995, Williams had a Welsh language TV wrestling show "Reslo" on S4C. Brian Dixon, a referee for Williams, set up his own company Wrestling Enterprises of Birkenhead later renamed All Star Wrestling c. 1984. An alliance with promoter and former top star Jackie Pallo failed to prevent Joint gaining a five-year extension on its TV wrestling monopoly from January 1982 to December 1986.

However, by the mid-1980s Dixon had won over many wrestlers and fans from Joint who were tired of the

, brother of Shirley) as the dominant promotion in the UK.

Joint, renamed Ring Wrestling Stars in 1991, dwindled down before closing with Crabtree's retirement in 1995, All Star has continued to be the dominant non-import live promotion in the UK up to the present day. Its principal competitors since that time have been Scott Conway's TWA, John Freemantle's Premier Promotions, RBW and LDN Wrestling. Since the 1990s there have also been numerous American-style "New School" promotions.

Top 10 most-attended shows

No.	Promoter	Event	Location	Venue	Attendance	Main Event(s)
1.	ICW	Fear & Loathing IX November 20, 2016	Glasgow, Scotland	The SSE Hydro	6,193	Joe Coffey vs. Kurt Angle	[42]
2.	PROGRESS	PROGRESS Chapter 76: Hello Wembley! September 30, 2018	London, England	The SSE Arena Wembley	4,750	WALTER (c) vs. Tyler Bate for the PROGRESS World Championship	[43]
3.	ICW	Fear & Loathing X November 19, 2017	Glasgow, Scotland	The SSE Hydro	4,500	Joe Coffey (c-WHC) vs. BT Gunn (c-ZGC) in a Champion vs. Champion match for the ICW World Heavyweight Championship and ICW Zero G Championship
4.	RevPro	RevPro 11th Anniversary Show August 26, 2023	London, England	Copper Box Arena	4,072	Will Ospreay vs. Shingo Takagi
5.	PCW	Tribute to the Troops June 28, 2014	Preston, England	Harris Flights	4,000	Joey Hayes (c) vs. Carlito for the PCW Heavyweight Championship	[44]
	ICW	Fear & Loathing VIII November 15, 2015	Glasgow, Scotland	Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre		Drew Galloway (c) vs. Grado for the ICW World Heavyweight Championship	[45]
6.	TWC	International Showdown March 19, 2005	Coventry, England	Coventry Skydome	3,400	Christopher Daniels (c) vs. AJ Styles for the TNA X-Division Championship
7.	NJPW	Strong Style Evolved UK (Day 2) July 1, 2008	Manchester, England	Silver Blades Altrincham	3,000	Tomohiro Ishii (c) vs. Minoru Suzuki for the RevPro Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship
8.	NJPW	Strong Style Evolved UK (Day 1) June 30, 2018	Milton Keynes, England	Planet Ice Milton Keynes	2,546	Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki and Zack Sabre Jr.) (c) vs. CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada and Tomohiro Ishii) for the RevPro Undisputed British Tag Team Championship	[46]
9.	WCPW	True Legacy October 8, 2016	Manchester, England	Silver Blades Altrincham	2,500+[Note 10]	Kurt Angle vs. Cody Rhodes	[47]
10.	PROGRESS	PROGRESS Chapter 36: We're Gonna Need A Bigger Room... Again September 25, 2016	London, England	O2 Academy Brixton	2,400	Marty Scurll (c) vs. Mark Haskins vs. Tommy End in a Three-Way Dance for the PROGRESS World Championship	[48]

Attendance records

Note: Minimum attendance of 5,000.

• Light Grey indicates event was a free show and/or held at a major public gathering.

Promotion	Event	Location	Venue	Attendance	Main Event(s)
NWA-NE	WRKO's Taste of the Boss September 25, 1999	Boston, Massachusetts	Boston City Hall Plaza	35,000	5-0 ( Trooper Gilmore and Corporal Johnson) vs. Victor Rivera and Jay Kobain
Lutte 2000	Alouettes Mania I August 25, 2002	Montreal, Quebec	Stade Percival-Molson	20,000	Jacques Rougeau vs. King Kong Bundy
LF	Alouettes Mania III July 15, 2004	Montreal, Quebec	Stade Percival-Molson	20,000[Note 2]	Jacques Rougeau vs. Kamala
LF	Alouettes Mania IV July 8, 2005	Montreal, Quebec	Stade Percival-Molson	20,000[Note 3]	Kurrgan with special referee Jacques Rougeau
IWR	Warped Tour 2002 August 3, 2003	Pontiac, Michigan	Pontiac Silverdome	19,000	Deranged vs. Tommy Starr in a UV Light Tube Death match	[4]
BELIEVE	BELIEVE 156 April 21, 2018	Orlando, Florida	Central Florida Fairgrounds	15,000	Aaron Epic (c) vs. Andrew Merlin for the SCW Florida Heavyweight Championship
AWF	Cement Belt Fair June 21, 1990	Cementon, Pennsylvania	Cementon Fairgrounds	12,500	Heidi Lee Morgan vs. Baby Face Nellie
WPW	OC Fair: Flower Power (Day 2) July 23, 2006	Costa Mesa, California	Washington Mutual Arena	12,000	El Hijo del Santo, Lil Cholo and Silver Tyger vs. Infernal, Super Kendo 2 and Super Parka
—	All In September 1, 2018	Hoffman Estates, Illinois	Sears Centre Arena	11,263	six-man tag team match
BBWF	Caribbean Wrestling Bash: The Legends Tour September 9, 2012	San Nicolas, Aruba	Joe Laveist Ballpark	11,000	Scott Steiner vs. Billy Gunn for the Aruba Wrestling Bash Championship
WWN	WWNLive in China (Day 4) November 16, 2014	Beijing, China	Cadillac Arena	10,500	Ricochet (c) vs. Johnny Gargano for the Open the Freedom Gate Championship
WPW	OC Fair: Flower Power (Day 1) July 22, 2006	Costa Mesa, California	Washington Mutual Arena	10,000	El Hijo del Santo, Lil Cholo and Silver Tyger vs. Infernal, Super Kendo 2 and Super Parka
BBWF	Caribbean Wrestling Bash: The Legends Tour September 8, 2012	San Nicolas, Aruba	Joe Laveist Ballpark	9,000	Scott Steiner vs. Kevin Nash
HWA	BaseBrawl July 19, 2003	Columbus, Ohio	Cooper Stadium	8,757[Note 1]	Rory Fox (c) vs. Shark Boy for the HWA Cruiserweight Championship	[5]
USWA	Memphis Memories March 7, 1994	Memphis, Tennessee	Mid-South Coliseum	8,377	Jerry Lawler vs. Austin Idol vs. Brian Christopher vs. Doug Gilbert vs. Eddie Gilbert vs. Jimmy Valiant vs. Koko B. Ware vs. Moondog Spot vs. Terry Funk vs. Tommy Rich in a 10-man elimination match	[6]
WXW	Sportsfest July 12, 1998	Allentown, Pennsylvania	Cedar Beach Park	8,000	The Love Connection (Jay Love and Georgie Love) vs. D'Lo Brown and Owen Hart
WWF	USWA vs. WWF February 17, 1996	Memphis, Tennessee	Mid-South Coliseum	7,500	WWF World Heavyweight Championship	[7]
FMLL	LuchaMania USA Tour January 26, 2013	Los Angeles, California	Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena	7,000	six-man tag team match
JCP	Ric Flair's Last Match July 31, 2022	Nashville, Tennessee	Nashville Municipal Auditorium	6,800	Ric Flair and Andrade El Idolo vs. Jay Lethal and Jeff Jarrett
FMW / WWA	FMW vs. WWA May 16, 1992	Los Angeles, California	Cal State-Los Angeles Gym	6,250	Street Fight match	[8]
IWC	Big Butler Fair June 28, 2003	Prospect, Pennsylvania	Big Butler Fairgrounds	6,000	Dusty Rhodes vs. Jerry Lawler
Multiple	World Wrestling Peace Festival June 1, 1996	Los Angeles, California	Los Angeles Sports Arena	5,964	Antonio Inoki and Dan Severn vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara and Oleg Taktarov	[9]
ECW	November to Remember November 1, 1998	New Orleans, Louisiana	Lakefront Arena	5,800	Taz )	[10]
JCW	Bloodymania August 11, 2007	Cave-In-Rock, Illinois	Hatchet Landings	5,800	The Insane Clown Posse (Shaggy 2 Dope and Violent J) vs. Trent Acid and The Young Altar Boys (Young Altar Boy #1 and Young Altar Boy #4)
Lutte 2000	Pierre Carl Ouellet vs. Kurrgan December 30, 2001	Montreal, Quebec	Centre Bell	5,500+[Note 4]	Kurrgan with special referee Sid Vicious
FCW	Pride September 24, 2005	Inglewood, California	Great Western Forum	5,500	Ultimo Guerrero )
—	Funk Free for All October 28, 1993	Amarillo, Texas	Amarillo Civic Center	5,500	Texas Death match	[11]
WWWoW	Cleveland County Fair October 1, 1992	Shelby, North Carolina	Cleveland County Fairgrounds	5,200	9-man battle royal	[49]
NWA-OVW	Christmas Chaos January 31, 2001	Louisville, Kentucky	Louisville Gardens	5,010	Leviathan vs. Kane	[50]
USWA	Challenge for the Championship October 8, 1990	Memphis, Tennessee	Mid-South Coliseum	5,000	20-man tournament for the vacant USWA World Heavyweight Championship	[51]
SMW	Night of Legends August 5, 1994	Knoxville, Tennessee	Knoxville Civic Coliseum	5,000	Bruiser Bedlam and The Funk Brothers (Dory Funk Jr. and Terry Funk )	[52][53]
SMW	Superbowl of Wrestling August 4, 1995	Knoxville, Tennessee	Knoxville Civic Coliseum	5,000	WWF Intercontinental Championship	[54][55]
NEPW	Lake County Fair August 24, 2002	Painesville, Ohio	Lake County Fairgrounds	5,000	Julio Dinero vs. Dick Trimmins
WXW	Sportsfest July 9, 2004	Allentown, Pennsylvania	Cedar Beach Park	5,000	Rapid Fire Maldonado (c) vs. Mana the Polynesian Warrior for the WXW Heavyweight Championship
MW	Throwback Night II August 28, 2004	Memphis, Tennessee	Mid-South Coliseum	5,000	Terry Funk and Corey Maclin vs. Jerry Lawler and Jimmy Hart with special referee Jimmy Valiant
ASW	DukesFest 2007 June 12, 2007	Nashville, Tennessee	Music City Motorplex	5,000	Iron Cross, Bobby Houston and K.C. Thunder

Historical

Top 10 most-attended shows in the 1990s

No.	Promoter	Event	Location	Venue	Attendance	Main Event(s)
1.	WXW	Sportsfest July 12, 1998	Allentown, Pennsylvania	Cedar Beach Park	8,000	The Love Connection (Jay Love and Georgie Love) vs. D'Lo Brown and Owen Hart
2.	FMW / WWA	FMW vs. WWA May 16, 1992	Los Angeles, California	California State University	6,250	Street Fight match	[8]
3.	ECW	Anarchy Rulz September 19, 1999	Villa Park, Illinois	Odeum Expo Center	6,000	Rob Van Dam (c) vs. Balls Mahoney for the ECW World Television Championship	[56][57]
4.	Multiple	World Wrestling Peace Festival June 1, 1996	Los Angeles, California	Los Angeles Sports Arena	5,964	Antonio Inoki and Dan Severn vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara and Oleg Taktarov	[9]
5.	ECW	November to Remember November 1, 1998	New Orleans, Louisiana	Lakefront Arena	5,800	Taz )	[10]
6.	—	Funk Free for All October 28, 1993	Amarillo, Texas	Amarillo Civic Center	5,500	Texas Death match	[11]
7.	WWWoW	October 1, 1992	Shelby, North Carolina	9-Man Battle Royal	5,200	9-man battle royal	[49]
8.	SMW	Night of Legends August 5, 1994	Knoxville, Tennessee	Knoxville Civic Coliseum	5,000	Bruiser Bedlam and The Funk Brothers (Dory Funk Jr. and Terry Funk )	[52]
	SMW	Superbowl of Wrestling August 4, 1995	Knoxville, Tennessee	Knoxville Civic Coliseum		WWF Intercontinental Championship	[54]
9.	ECW	November to Remember November 30, 1997	Monaca, Pennsylvania	Golden Dome	4,634	Bam Bam Bigelow (c) vs. Shane Douglas for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship	[58][59]
10.	PWF	Pro Wrestlemania II December 10, 1993	Charlotte, North Carolina	Charlotte Coliseum	4,500	George South and Italian Stallion vs. Austin Steele and Black Scorpion

Top 10 most-attended shows in the 2000s

No.	Promoter	Event	Location	Venue	Attendance	Main Event(s)
1.	PMG	Clash of the Legends April 27, 2004	Memphis, Tennessee	FedEx Forum	6,000?	Paul Wight
2.	ECW	Heat Wave July 16, 2000	Los Angeles, California	Grand Olympic Auditorium	5,700	Stairway to Hell match for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship
3.	NWA	NWA New Jersey vs. NWA Pro June 27, 2009	Newark, New Jersey	JFK Recreation Center	5,500	Apollo (c) vs. Dimitrios Papadon for the NWA North American Heavyweight Championship
4.	NEPW	NEPW at the Lake County Fairgrounds August 24, 2002	Painesville, Ohio	Lake County Fairgrounds	5,000	Julio Dinero vs. Dick Trimmins
	WXW	Sportsfest July 9, 2004	Allentown, Pennsylvania	Cedar Beach Park		Rapid Fire Maldonado (c) vs. Mana the Polynesian Warrior for the WXW Heavyweight Championship
	MW	Throwback Night II August 28, 2004	Memphis, Tennessee	Mid-South Coliseum		Terry Funk and Corey Maclin vs. Jerry Lawler and Jimmy Hart with Jimmy Valiant as special referee	[60]
	ASW	Dukes of Hazzard Festival June 12, 2007	Nashville, Tennessee	Music City Motorplex		Iron Cross, Bobby Houston and K.C. Thunder
5.	ECW	Guilty as Charged January 9, 2000	Birmingham, Alabama	Boutwell Memorial Auditorium	4,700	Mike Awesome vs. Spike Dudley for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship
	—	Clash of the Legends June 15, 2001	Memphis, Tennessee	Mid-South Coliseum		Jerry Lawler vs. Lord Humongous with Lance Russell as special referee
6.	ECW	Anarchy Rulz October 1, 2000	Saint Paul, Minnesota	Roy Wilkins Auditorium	4,600	Justin Credible (c) vs. Jerry Lynn for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship
	ECW	November to Remember November 5, 2000	Villa Park, Illinois	Odeum Expo Center		Jerry Lynn (c) vs. Steve Corino vs. Justin Credible vs. The Sandman and in a Double Jeopardy match for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship
7.	MW	Throwback Night July 10, 2004	Memphis, Tennessee	Mid-South Coliseum	3,758	Jerry Lawler and Jimmy Hart vs. Corey Maclin and Kamala	[61]
8.	ECW	ECW on TNN April 8, 2000	Buffalo, New York	Flickinger Center	3,700	Super Crazy (c) vs. Yoshihiro Tajiri and Little Guido in a 3-Way Dance match for the ECW World Television Championship	[62]
9.	ECW	ECW on TNN June 24, 2000	Villa Park, Illinois	Odeum Sports & Expo Center	3,500	Justin Credible (c) vs. The Sandman for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship	[62]
	MW	Throwback Night III: A Nightmare in Memphis October 30, 2004	Memphis, Tennessee	Mid-South Coliseum		Jerry Lawler and The Rock 'n' Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson) vs. Corey Maclin, Stan Lane and Jackie Fargo	[63]
10.	ECW	Hardcore Heaven May 14, 2000	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	The Rave	3,400	Justin Credible (c) vs. Lance Storm and Tommy Dreamer in a 3-Way Dance match for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship	[64]

Top 10 most-attended shows in the 2010s

No.	Promoter	Event	Location	Venue	Attendance	Main Event(s)
1.	—	All In September 1, 2018	Hoffman Estates, Illinois	Sears Centre Arena	11,263	six-man tag team match
2.	FMLL	Luchamania USA January 26, 2013	Los Angeles, California	Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena	7,000	six-man tag team match
3.	JCW	Take Me Home Charity Show February 21, 2015	Detroit, Michigan	Detroit Masonic Temple	4,500	2 Tuff Tony (c) vs. The Weedman for the JCW Heavyweight Championship
4.	JCW	Hatchet Attacks March 26, 2011	Southgate, Michigan	The Modern Exchange	4,311	Corporal Robinson (c) vs. Ian Rotten in a Barbed Wire, Tables, Ladders & Glass match for the JCW Heavyweight Championship	[65]
5.	WCE	WrestleCade 5: The Final 3 Count November 26, 2016	Winston-Salem, North Carolina	Benton Convention Center	4,000	Matt Hardy (c) vs. Ryback for the WrestleCade Championship	[66]
6.	NEW	Six Flags Slam Fest June 15, 2019	Jackson, New Jersey	Six Flags Great Adventure Theme Park	3,700	Jon Moxley vs. Caz XL	[67]
7.	CWI	Brawl at the Bush II May 14, 2011	Brantford, Ontario	Brantford Civic Center	3,600	Haven, Lanny Poffo, Brutus Beefcake and Bushwhacker Luke vs. Big Daddy Hammer, Virgil and The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags) in a Survivor Series elimination match
8.	—	February 17, 2013	Chicago, Illinois	Congress Theatre	3,500	Blue Demon Jr., Imágen Nocturna and Piloto Suicida vs. L.A. Par-K, El Hijo del Santo and Rayo de Jalisco Jr.	[68]
	LU	Austin Warfare March 15, 2016	Austin, Texas	Austin Music Hall		Cage, Prince Puma and Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Jack Evans, Johnny Mundo and PJ Black
	ROH	Supercard of Honor XI April 1, 2017	Lakeland, Florida	Lakeland Center		Christopher Daniels (c) vs. Dalton Castle for the ROH World Championship
9.	NEW	Wrestling under the Stars (Day 1) August 1, 2015	Wappingers Falls, New York	Dutchess Stadium	3,341	Rey Mysterio Jr. and Alberto El Patrón vs. The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson)
10.	NEW	Wrestlefest March 3, 2017	Waterbury, Connecticut	Crosby High School	3,300	Kurt Angle vs. Cody Rhodes in a Steel Cage match

Footnotes

See also

• List of professional wrestling terms
• List of professional wrestling memorial shows

References

General

• "Indies". ProWrestlingHistory.com.
• "The History of Wrestling at the Mid-South Coliseum". ProWrestlingHistory.com.
• "The Complete History of Smoky Mountain Wrestling". ProWrestlingHistory.com.

Specific

Further reading

• ISBN 1591099498
  .
• Snyder, Ronald (2017). Wrestling's New Golden Age: How Independent Promotions Have Revolutionized One of America's Favorite Sports. Sports Publishing.
  ISBN 978-1683580201
  .
• ISBN 978-1773055763
  .

External links

• IndyProWrestling.com
• Independent Wrestling TV
• YouTube.com
  . Til We Make It.
• Monday, Michael (November 17, 2017). "The Bottom Rope: Inside the world of independent wrestling".
  YouTube.com. NJ Advance Media
  .
• Sharma, Ishaan (July 7, 2021). "How Indie Wrestling Is Different From WWE (& How It's The Same)". TheSportster.com.
• Mathewson, Dan (August 26, 2019). "The Problem with "Indie Wrestling" (hint: it's not the wrestling)". ProWrestlingStudies.org.