If you were as big as a fan of ECW as i was than you lived and breathed ECW. ECW was more than just another wrestling promotion it was a movement. After ECW's demise i was devastated and lost in a way. I thought to myself "now what?". ECW was the only wrestling organization that i followed for the longest time. After the moment i started watching ECW i lost interest in the WWF (now known as WWE). I really didn't know where to turn at this point. I started watching XPW which i thought was the west coasts answer to ECW but the wrestling was not as good or the angles. It also seemed that they were trying a little too hard to be extreme. They weren't bad but they were no ECW and now they've also met there demise.
So, is there life after ECW???
The answer is YES! The independent wrestling scene is overflowing with great talent and up and coming federations with a similar style and feel that ECW created when you attended or watched one of there shows on tv. There's a whole bunch of great indy feds out there some in which seem to be trying to re-create what ECW had by even booking some of the talent that walked through ECW's doors throughout it's great run.
First off, it's John Zandig's Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW). A great fed for all you hardcore, extreme fans. CZW is the most extreme wrestling promotion in the US today. They've even dubbed there style of wrestling as 'ULTRAVIOLENT ENTERTAINMENT'. If you love hardcore wrestling, even great high flying aerial and technical wrestling, better yet wrestling in general, than CZW is a great indy fed to check out. Former ECW stars Tommy Dreamer and Yoshihiro Tajiri have both wrestled in CZW. They showcase some of the best young up and coming talent in wrestling today. Some of there stars include Justice Pain, Kaos, The Wifebeater, Chris Hero, Sonjay Dutt, Rukus, Homicide, Spide "Nate" Webb, B-Boy and many more. Just a warning CZW is violent, hardcore wrestling like you've never seen. I seen one guy tear open a muscle in his arm, than tighten up the muscle so that the blood would squirt out like a fountain and than actually squirt the blood into his mouth and drink his own blood!!! These guys are some of the craziest wrestlers i've ever seen. CZW also just started releasing DVD's nationally so look for them at Best Buy and other DVD outlets. Oh, did i mention that they also wrestle out of the infamous ECW Arena in South Philadelphia. For more information check out www.czwwrestling.com.
Ok, so you may be wondering, "What happened to 3PW?". We'll, sadly 3PW closed down recently so i got another hot new fed for everyone to check out. Chikara Pro Wrestling is not your typical indy wrestling fed. Chikara specializes in Mexican/lucha libre style wrestling where most of there wrestlers where masks and they also use alot of comedy in there matches. This may not be for everyone but i for one absolutley love Chikara Pro Wrestling and i suggest everyone try and attend a live show atleast once in your lifetime.
Chikara is the greatest thing to hit the indy circuit in years. The shows are more family orientated so profanity and obscene gestures are not condoned but i for one have nothing wrong with that concept. Chikara offers a good mix of high flying lucha libre style wrestling and occassional violence and brawling. You really never know what to expect at a Chikara show. For instance, i've seen wild animals suchs as apes, tigers and even bears step inside the square circle and wrestling humans at Chikara show. I've seen a walking tree known as Ken the Box at Chikara shows. I've seen it all. You just have to check out what all the fuss is about.
DVD's are available at Smart Mark Video for anyone who is interested in Chikara or check out the website.
www.chikarapro.com
Other great indy feds worth checking out
IWA MID-SOUTH WRESTLING (IWA MS) (Run by Ian Rotten)
RING OF HONOR WRESTLING (ROH)
INTERNATIONAL WRESTLING SYNDICATE (FORMELY INTERNET WRESTLING SYNDICATE) (IWS) |
