P.O.W. started with six kids who had nothing better to do than wrestling in October 2001. These six guys were MC Tanna, Manimal, Bradical, The Gremlin, The Garbage Man, and Q-Thug. While Q-Thug sometimes drops by to videotape for us, The Gremlin and The Garbage Man are no longer a part of P.O.W.
The first official match was on November 6th 2001. While the guys had fun wrestling their hearts out for a crowd of nobody, their wrestling ability was far from passable. Actually, I would say that if any true wrestling fan saw this, they would Rock Bottom the guys to next week.
P.O.W. took the winter off in 2002 and reformatted their whole mindset on the wrestling scene. Gone were the real wrestling matches replaced with scripted ones. Some may ask why? Well other than being more entertaining, none of the guys wanted to have hour long submission matches anymore. This type of fighting debuted in May 2002 where Manimal faced MC Tanna in the classic schoolyard brawl at S.T. Worden. Highlights of this match include MC Tanna getting a chair thrown at him, but forgetting about the cushion side will break the impact, and Manimal kicking it. Jeremy, one of the crowd members, got a little to into it and proceeded to wham Manimal's face off the baseball cage ten times.
A few months later in August 2002, the guys tried it again and succeeded. They finally had a crowd, and while the match had it's flaws, it was the best they had done. While the tape of this match is lost, the memory is etched into peoples minds. Manimal and MC Tanna put on another amazing bout, while the next match Manimal and The Who, was much to be desired.
When school started in September 2002, they organized another event which had Justin Tense face Manimal in the most wild, hardcore match that P.O.W. had ever seen, and has yet to be matched. The record-settng crowd of 45 raving spectators will live as a classic moment forever.
Rival backyard promotion B.Y.B. came up with an idea to do an event together. While this event was less than stellar for the crowd, the match between Tanna and Manimal was one of the best they had had thus far. This would also be the last match that was between these two stellar athletes, but you can't put a cap on their amazing feud. It will defiantely pop up later down the road.
A few days after this event, a returning Bradical, MC Tanna, and Manimal went at it again in a Ladder Match which saw MC Tanna win the Hardcore Belt for a second time, but also saw Manimal injure his shoulder. On a botched powerbomb, Manimal received bone chips in his shoulder and a badly damaged AC joint, shelving him for the rest of the year.
P.O.W. was over for another winter, bringing us to 2003. One show in June costed MC Tanna's championship belt to go to The Barren of B.Y.B. fame, while Bradical and Manimal faced off in their second epic ladder match.
Later, in the steamy depths of the July heat, a 6-man elimination match was scheduled as a joint show with the B.Y.B. This memorable match ended with Manimal lifting the 250-pound Chrys Casualty for a death valley driver. The slam that was heard round the the world was also the one to end P.O.W. for the season, as the cold weather came early in 2003.
What is in store for Durham's premiere wrestling circuit? Plenty of surprises, and the same brand of technical powerhouse fun you've come to know and love will collide in the year 2004 to create the best entertainment in town! Stay tuned as we approach the summer season for news and updates. And never stop a-rockin'.