Phoenix Championship Wrestling

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Phoenix Championship Wrestling
HeadquartersToms River, New Jersey
Founder(s)Don Bucci
Mike Bucci
Owner(s)Don "Donnie B" Bucci (2001-2003)
WebsitePhoenixWrestling.com
Phoenix Championship Wrestling on Myspace

Phoenix Championship Wrestling was an American

World Wrestling Entertainment
.

Stars from both promotions made appearances for PCW such as TNA's

Danny Basham
).

Mike Bucci, a mainstay of

PCW Television Champion
.

Despite the fierce competitive environment among independent Mid-Atlantic promotions, the smaller PCW had working relationships with several of its rivals allowing appearances by Nicky Benz and Ric Blade from

cable TV series, Fire Bird TV, and many of its supercards and televised events were later released on VHS/DVD by Smart Mark Video[2] and RF Video.[3]

History

Early history

In 2001, Phoenix Championship Wrestling was established in

safe working environment.[4] Bucci claimed to have gotten the idea for the "Phoenix" name while driving behind a Firebird and noticed the car's emblem.[5]

Having had previous experience as a booker and promoter in the New York-New Jersey area for the National Wrestling Alliance and the World Wide Wrestling Alliance, as well running occasional shows under Big Buc Productions in the Toms River area since 1999, Don Bucci was able to bring in independent stars he had previously worked with including Harley Lewis, The Wall, Donnie Bon Jovi, Slayer, Father Ozzy, Matt Vandal, Mike Preston and Prodigy. Though his brother Mike, Frankie Kazarian, Christopher Daniels and Samoa Joe also agreed to appearances for the promotion.[5] Kazarain, who would have a successful stint in the promotion, later said in a November 2002 interview that PCW was one of his favorite places to work and "definitely one of the best Indy feds in the country."[6]

The promotion's heavyweight title was introduced at its first card in

Lavalette, New Jersey with The Wall in the main event.[8] The following month, The Wall also joined Crowbar and Tommy Dreamer for an event at Toms River High School East on September 28, 2001.[9]

Fire Bird TV

The promotion soon began a weekly Public-access television series on

Gangrel and Bam Bam Bigelow were among the first big stars to work for the company.[5]

One of PCW's first major supercards, Winter Wonder Slam '02, was held at the Recreation Station in Toms River on January 11, 2002.

World Wrestling Entertainment.[11] Also on the card, ECW's Prodigy beat "Ramblin'" Rich Myers to become the promotion's first television champion. Myers was then a mainstay of the Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation. The next month in Toms River, Mike Bucci and Eddy Guerrero wrestled a match lasting 30 minutes. Guerrero addressed the audience after the match praising both Bucci and Phoenix Championship Wrestling. The event, according to Don Bucci, is his favorite moment and one of the most memorable in the promotion's history.[5]

Farewell to Nova

In May 2002, Mike Bucci announced he had signed a contract with World Wrestling Entertainment. Later that month, the promotion held a special event in Toms River, Farewell to Nova, which would see Bucci wrestle his last match in PCW before making his WWE debut as "

Cham Pain, Joey Matthews & Christian York. At the end of the night, he gave a farewell speech and then he and Kazarian vacated the tag team titles. Kazarian would win the PCW Television Championship from Prodigy the following night.[12] At that same event, Harley Lewis lost the PCW Heavyweight Championship to The Wall in a Tables, Ladders and Doors match. Lewis had held the title for over a year and set a 14-month record as its longest reigning champion. In addition, a match between The Prophet and "Jumbo" Joe Gunns resulted in over 500 people in the audience pelting the loser, The Prophet, with fresh produce as part of a pre-match stipulation.[5][7]
Bucci's departure from the company would be the first of many of the promotion's regular stars to sign contracts with TNA and WWE.

Russ Haas Memorial Tag Team Tournament

On August 31, 2002, Phoenix Championship Wrestling held a special tribute show for

lumberjack match. This was the second memorial show held in memory of Russ Hass, Jersey All Pro Wrestling
had held a similar event several months before.

Later years

On November 2, 2002, Diamond Dallas Page headlined a PCW fundraiser at a local middle school in his hometown of Point Pleasant, New Jersey, and participated in an autograph signing afterwards. This was one of Page's first matches following his departure from WWE earlier that year.[16]

Another major supercard, March Madness, was held in

Manchester
, Matt Vandal won a tournament to win the vacant heavyweight title defeating Frankie Kazarian in the finals.

On June 14, 2003, its last event was held at

Rob Eckos
) won the tag team titles from Kappa Tegga Kappa and Donnie Bon Jovi in a Three Way Elimination match against Frankie Kazarian and Mike Kruel to win the heavyweight title. The company, which had been in decline since Mike Bucci signed with WWE, eventually closed at the end of the summer.

Former personnel

Main article: List of former Phoenix Championship Wrestling personnel

Championships

PCW Heavyweight Championship

The PCW Heavyweight Championship was the primary singles championship title in Phoenix Championship Wrestling. It was first won by Harley Lewis who defeated Dr. Hurtz at PCW's first event in Stanhope, New Jersey on March 3, 2001.[7] The title was defended throughout New Jersey for the next two years, although vacant for a 5-month period in early-2003, until its close.[17]

Wrestler: Times: Date: Location: Notes:
Harley Lewis 1 March 3, 2001 Stanhope, New Jersey Defeated Dr. Hurtz to become recognized as the first champion.[7][17]
The Wall 1 May 17, 2002 Toms River, New Jersey Won the title in a "Tables, Ladders and Doors" match at PCW's "Farewell to Nova" card.[7][17]
The Wall was stripped of the title in
Lacey, New Jersey on March 22, 2003, and remained vacant for the next several months.'[17]
Matt Vandal 1 May 3, 2003
Manchester, New Jersey
 Defeated Frankie Kazarian in a tournament final to win the vacant title.[17]

PCW Television Championship

The PCW Television Championship was the secondary singles title in Phoenix Championship Wrestling. It was first won by

cable TV series, Fire Bird TV as well as throughout New Jersey until the promotion's close in 2003.[18]

Wrestler: Times: Date: Location: Notes:
Prodigy 1 January 11, 2002 Toms River, New Jersey Defeated "Ramblin'" Rich Myers to be recognized as the first champion.[18]
Frankie Kazarian 1 May 18, 2002 Jersey City, New Jersey [18][19][20][21]
Donnie Bon Jovi 1 June 14, 2003 Toms River, New Jersey Won title in a
3-Way Dance with Frankie Kazarian and Mike Kruel at Toms River High School East; this was the last event held by the promotion.[18]

PCW Tag Team Championship

The PCW Tag Team Championship was the primary tag team title for Phoenix Championship Wrestling. It was the second championship introduced by the promotion and first won by The Backseat Boyz (Trent Acid and Johnny Kashmere) from Combat Zone Wrestling's Ric Blade & Nicky Benz in Stanhope, New Jersey on March 3, 2001. It was frequently defended in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey, with exception to the 10-month period when it was vacated, from 2001 until the promotion's close two years later.[22]

Wrestler: Times: Date: Location: Notes:
The Backseat Boyz
(Trent Acid and Johnny Kashmere)		 1 March 3, 2001 Stanhope, New Jersey Defeated Ric Blade & Nicky Benz to become the first champions.[22]
Evolution
(Nova and Frankie Kazarian)		 1 July 20, 2001 Monroeville, Pennsylvania Won the titles in a
Joey Matthews & Christian York.[22][20]
The PCW Tag Team Championship is vacated after Nova leaves the promotion for
Joey Matthews & Christian York.[22][20][7][23]
Kappa Tegga Kappa
(Andy Jaxx and Curt Daniels)		 1 March 22, 2003
Lacey, New Jersey
 Defeated The United Nations (The Prophet and Tiger Khan) to win the vacant title.[22]
The Moxie Family
(
Rob Eckos
)		 1 June 14, 2003 Toms River, New Jersey Taking place at Toms River High School East, this was the last event held by the promotion.[22]

References

  1. ^ a b Morgan, Adam; Stein, Nate (2005-10-13). "Indy Contact Sheet". News. 411mania.com.
  2. ^ Smart Mark Video (2003). "Phoenix Championship Wrestling VHS". SmartMarkVideo.com. Archived from the original on 2009-05-22.
  3. ^ RF Video (2003). "Phoenix Championship Wrestling". RFVideo.com.
  4. ^ Nason, Josh (2002-02-01). "411's Indy Spotlight 02.01.02: Donnie B." Columns. 411mania.com.
  5. ^ a b c d e Monroe, Seth (2002-08-21). "411 Interview Exclusive: Donnie B". News. 411mania.com.
  6. ^ "Frankie Kazarian (english)". Interview. Cagematch.de. 2002-11-14.
  7. ^ a b c d e f "Phoenix Championship Wrestling's Farewell to Nova - Friday, 05/17/02". DDTdigest.com. 2002-05-17.
  8. ^ Quiñones, Eric. "Angle will be good to the last drop." The Star-Ledger. 8 Aug. 2001 (Newark, New Jersey): 32.
  9. ^ Quiñones, Eric. "Austin still WWF's leading man." The Star-Ledger. 27 Sept. 2001 (Newark, New Jersey): 48.
  10. ^ a b c "Events List from Phoenix Championship Wrestling". Events List. IndyWrestlingNews.com. 2007.
  11. ^ Quiñones, Eric. "Wrestling with a Flair." Staten Island Advance. 10 Jan. 2002: D6.
  12. ^ Milner, John M. (2006-04-06). "SLAM! Wrestling: Frankie Kazarian". SLAM! Wrestling Bios. SLAM! Sports. Archived from the original on July 29, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  13. ^ Quiñones, Eric. "Just when you thought things were settled." Staten Island Advance. 10 Aug. 2002: A26.
  14. ^ "Upcoming Events". USA Independent Wrestling. August 2003.
  15. ^ Pro Wrestling Illustrated (2007). "Pro Wrestling Illustrated: Wrestling History". PWI-Online.com.
  16. ^ Quiñones, Eric. "Page turning toward a new career." The Star-Ledger. 31 Oct. 2002 (Newark, New Jersey): 34.
  17. ^ a b c d e Westcott, Brian (2003). "PCW Heavyweight Title History". Solie's Title Histories.
  18. ^ a b c d Westcott, Brian (2003). "PCW Television Title History". Solie's Title Histories.
  19. ^ Milner, John M. (2006-04-06). "SLAM! Wrestling: Frankie Kazarian". SLAM! Wrestling Bios. SLAM! Sports. Archived from the original on July 29, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  20. ^ a b c "Kaz profile". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2008-09-17.
  21. ^ "Independent Wrestling Results - May 2002". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2008-07-06.
  22. ^ a b c d e f Westcott, Brian (2002). "PCW Tag Team Title History". Solie's Title Histories.
  23. ^ "Independent Wrestling Results - May 2002". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2008-07-06.

External links

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