Independent Wrestling Archives

Inside the (other) arena from Netflix’s ‘Wrestlers’

Posted by John Cosper | Nov 30, 2023 | Featured Home Page, Hollywood Headlock, Interviews

The vast majority of viewers who turned in to watch Wrestlers on Netflix experienced Louisville...

Big-muscled and big-hearted Ontario wrestler Rob Rage passes away

Posted by Bob Kapur | Nov 5, 2023 | Canadian Hall of Fame, Obituaries

Tragedy struck the Ontario independent wrestling scene on Saturday night, with the passing of Rob...

Before they were on Netflix: The trading cards of OVW’s Wrestlers

Posted by Josh Olsen | Sep 13, 2023 | Not Another Collectible!

When a professional wrestler debuts on a large platform, wrestling collectors take notice....

Indiana wrestler, promoter ‘Hot Stuff’ Rod Bell dies

Posted by Sanjeevan Kandasamy | Jun 26, 2023 | Obituaries

Rod Bollenbacher, who wrestled as “Hot Stuff” Rod Bell, and later promoted in Indiana,...

Witnessing the creation of King Kong JR Bundy and other laughs

Posted by "Dirty" Dan Denton | Apr 30, 2023 | Canadian Hall of Fame, Obituaries, Opinion

“Knock, knock, knocking on heaven’s door. . .” Mike Phillips passed away on April 20, 2023, and...

Pacific Cup returns for West Coast talent to shine

Posted by Ben Lypka | Apr 21, 2023 | Canadian Hall of Fame, Interviews

After a delay of over four years, the grandest one-night tournament in the history of Pacific...

Winnipeg’s Mike Phillips — Sgt. Tom Steele, JR Bundy — dies

Posted by Greg Oliver | Apr 20, 2023 | Canadian Hall of Fame, Obituaries

Mike Phillips, a veteran of the wrestling rings of Manitoba, has died. His daughter, Marie...

Jimmy the Jester dies in car accident

Posted by Joseph Casciaro | Apr 13, 2023 | Obituaries

James Pasquale, who wrestled in the US Northeast as Jimmy the Jester, has died. He was 34. Kevin...

Cody Chhun has ‘never been passionate about anything else’

Posted by Joseph Casciaro | Apr 6, 2023 | Interviews

Wrestling has been Cody Chhun’s first and only passion in life, since the young age of two...

Veteran Florida indy worker Randy Rhodes dies

Posted by Greg Oliver | Jan 10, 2023 | Obituaries

Randy Rhodes, a veteran of the Florida independent scene, has died. He was only recently diagnosed...

Iowan promoter, trainer, wrestler Jaysin Strife dead at 37

Posted by Greg Oliver | Dec 30, 2022 | Interviews, Obituaries

Jaysin Strife, a long-time wrestler, promoter and trainer, based in Council Bluffs, Iowa, has died...

NC veteran The Scrapyard Dog dead at 54

Posted by Greg Oliver | Dec 24, 2022 | Obituaries

Louis Mcnair, a veteran of the wrestling scene around the Carolinas, who wrestled as The Scrapyard...

Mat Matters: Fresh fans fun at Demand Lucha

Posted by Greg Oliver | Dec 16, 2022 | Event Reports, Opinion, Other House Shows

TORONTO – I’m old and jaded, and have no problem admitting that. I have been to so...

Wisconsin’s Damon Knight dead at 43

Posted by Greg Oliver | Dec 11, 2022 | Obituaries

Damon Knight, a veteran of US Midwest wrestling rings, has died. He was 43. One of his regular...

Willie Mack ‘having fun again’

Posted by Greg Oliver | Oct 4, 2022 | Interviews

Rather than dwell on the past, the plusses and minuses from being a contracted Impact Wrestling...

‘(Un)Controlled Chaos’ a juicy, informative, beefy book

Posted by Jamie Hemmings | Oct 3, 2022 | CAC, Gary Howard Memorial Library, Interviews

For many pro wrestling fans, if you ask them what they know about the Canadian pro wrestling...

Zoë Sager bringing the ‘zed factor’

Posted by Ben Lypka | Aug 14, 2022 | Canadian Hall of Fame, Interviews

A new wave of female talent has swept into Western Canada and at the forefront of this injection...

Crazy Manny & Green Phantom at heart of Montreal’s IWS

Posted by Domenic Marinelli | Aug 2, 2022 | Canadian Hall of Fame, Interviews

The International Wrestling Syndicate out of Montreal, Quebec doesn’t need an introduction to...

A ‘forgettable’ conversation with a recovering Curtis Sturrock

Posted by Emanuel Melo | Jun 28, 2022 | Canadian Hall of Fame, Interviews

For the longest time, Ontario wrestling fans wondered what happened to Curtis Sturrock, who...

State of Emergency declared tops in Pacific Northwest

Posted by Ben Lypka | Jun 23, 2022 | Canadian Hall of Fame, Interviews

It’s a triple-shot that no tag team in the Pacific Northwest has ever taken on and may never...

Indy wrestlers celebrated by Cards Subject to Change

Posted by Josh Olsen | Apr 17, 2022 | Interviews, Not Another Collectible!

On January 19, 2022, the Twitter account for Cards Subject to Change (@CardsSubjectTC) shared an...

Mat Matters: Old friend, new to wrestling

Posted by Greg Oliver | Mar 29, 2022 | Event Reports, Opinion, Other House Shows

We all have them. Those friends. You know, the ones that don’t watch wrestling, don’t...

Friends, family supported Brandon Jacobs’ wrestling dreams

Posted by Bob Kapur | Jan 12, 2022 | Canadian Hall of Fame, Interviews, Obituaries

As a child growing up in Kitchener, Ontario, Brandon Jacobs watched wrestling on TV, dreaming of...

Georgia scene reeling from death of wrestler/singer Jake Slater

Posted by Greg Oliver | Jan 9, 2022 | Music for Cauliflower Ears, Obituaries

“The Real Deal” Jake Slater, a long-time veteran of the wrestling scene in southern...

Guest column: Calendar a small way to pay tribute to my friend, Curt Sturrock

Posted by Guest Column | Nov 15, 2021 | Not Another Collectible!, Opinion

By GEOFFREY COLE – Head Photographer, Shooting the Indies On October 9, my friend, Curtis...

Western Canadian manager Vinnie Valentine dies of COVID

Posted by Greg Oliver | Oct 24, 2021 | Canadian Hall of Fame, News, Obituaries

Ryan Pollard, who was known in Western Canadian rings as manager “The Infallible”...

Ontario’s ‘Hacker’ Scotty O’Shea has emergency brain surgery

Posted by Greg Oliver | Oct 10, 2021 | Canadian Hall of Fame, News

Many Ontario wrestling fans woke up on Thanksgiving Sunday to the news that Curtis Sturrock, who...

Saskatchewan’s Crusher Carlsen dies

Posted by Greg Oliver | Jun 19, 2021 | Canadian Hall of Fame, Obituaries

Kory Davis, a veteran of the Western Canadian mat wars, who wrestled as Crusher Carlsen until...

Ontario veteran Bob Biladeau dies of COVID

Posted by Greg Oliver | May 29, 2021 | Canadian Hall of Fame, Obituaries

Every wrestling journey begins somewhere, and for Bob Biladeau, who died Friday at the age of 64,...

Behind the Gimmick Table: Ontario’s Matt Garrett rose above clowning

Posted by Rasslin Merch Machine | Apr 18, 2021 | Interviews, Not Another Collectible!

Matt Garrett is done with pro wrestling, his days in the ring and as a promoter behind him. His...

Behind the Gimmick Table: Studenomics a love of Martin Dasko

Posted by Rasslin Merch Machine | Mar 21, 2021 | Canadian Hall of Fame, Interviews, Not Another Collectible!

For years peers, trainers and fans questioned Martin Dasko’s ring name: “The Latin Lover.” As the...

Behind the Gimmick Table: Lenny Lilac was always sold on wrestling

Posted by Rasslin Merch Machine | Mar 14, 2021 | Interviews, Not Another Collectible!

Lenny Lilac is a pro wrestler, manager and more, however he started in the industry much...

Douglas Summerville, dead at 44, was a Carolina indy fixture

Posted by Greg "Count Grog" Mosorjak | Mar 11, 2021 | News, Obituaries

Douglas Summerville, who died on March 10 at the age of 44 from cancer, was a fixture on the North...

Kenny Lush part of the Punk ‘n’ Wrestling connection

Posted by Ian Carey | Mar 5, 2021 | Canadian Hall of Fame, Interviews, Music for Cauliflower Ears

The similarities between punk rock and independent pro wrestling have become increasingly apparent...

Behind the Gimmick Table: Mikey McNeely striving for originality

Posted by Rasslin Merch Machine | Feb 14, 2021 | Not Another Collectible!

Mikey McNeely is a wrestler who is hard to classify as a fit into a typical box. The same goes for...

Championship Wrestling from Hollywood is expanding to Memphis

Posted by Alexandra Robertson | Jan 30, 2021 | News

If you’re a fan of independent wrestling, you know how hard the last year has been for the...

‘Run This Ring’ is Atlas Hytower’s mindset

Posted by Matthew McFarlin | Dec 14, 2020 | Interviews

Professional wrestling holds a rich history in metropolitan Detroit, Michigan, most notably with...

Singer John Condrone, with a past in wrestling, dies from COVID

Posted by Chris Dunn | Oct 21, 2020 | Music for Cauliflower Ears, Obituaries

Singer-songwriter John Condrone passed away on October 20, 2020, from complications due to...

Guest column: New England Championship Wrestling at 20 highlights the importance of indy wrestling

Posted by Sheldon Goldberg | Oct 5, 2020 | Opinion

In the midst of a global pandemic, New England Championship Wrestling, like most independent...

Behind the Gimmick Table: A glimpse into Kingdom James’ kingdom

Posted by Rasslin Merch Machine | Sep 20, 2020 | Interviews, Not Another Collectible!

Anthony Ruttgaizer — the wrestler and manager Anthony “Kingdom” James — has a unique...

Guest column: Pandemic planning a Kaizen Pro Wrestling show

Posted by Guest Column | Aug 25, 2020 | Events, Opinion

January 25, 2020 seems like a very long time ago. That was the last time we had a Kaizen Pro...

For Scott Hunter, commentary adds narrative to wrestlers’ stories

Posted by Kari Williams | Aug 17, 2020 | Canadian Hall of Fame, Interviews

Scott Hunter has called nearly 1,000 matches in his career. But when he first stepped into the...

Wrestling with the pandemic: Ontario promoter to run drive-in show

Posted by Bob Kapur | Aug 12, 2020 | Canadian Hall of Fame, News

Despite the relief of some of the social distancing measures in Ontario, the local professional...

Ohio’s Aaron Williams combats Midwest stereotypes to become ‘baddest man alive’

Posted by Kari Williams | Jun 29, 2020 | Interviews

When his music hits, a “tie-wearing, cane-wielding crazy guy” with black eye-makeup on one side...

Carter Mason is living his childhood dream with Catalyst Wrestling

Posted by Alex Podgorski | Jun 22, 2020 | Canadian Hall of Fame, Interviews

Few wrestlers are as proud and passionate about their careers as Carter Mason. He has wrestled all...

A referee’s story: If my father could only see me now

Posted by Slam Wrestling | Jun 21, 2020 | Canadian Hall of Fame, Opinion

By EMILY PARKER – For SlamWrestling.net For most kids, summer vacations meant sleeping in,...

Ontario wrestlers go back to the yard to get back to the action

Posted by Bob Kapur | Jun 18, 2020 | Interviews

With social distancing rules preventing independent wrestling shows from running in the province,...

Portraying Hawk is quite a rush for Ontario’s Rob Rage

Posted by Bob Kapur | May 12, 2020 | Hollywood Headlock, Interviews

Young wrestling fans often dream of being in the ring. Sometimes in those dreams, they actually...

Guest column: How can Steve Gillespie be gone?

Posted by Guest Column | Feb 5, 2020 | Canadian Hall of Fame, Obituaries, Opinion

By STEVE RIVERS – For SLAM! Wrestling It was January 3, 2020. I was wrestling in a tag team...

Ageless Ontario ref is decidedly Old School

Posted by Bob Kapur | Dec 30, 2019 | Canadian Hall of Fame, Interviews

What’s black and white and grey all over? If you’ve been to an independent show in...

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