Post by ipwgreg on Sept 6, 2010 17:22:36 GMT -5
On Oct. 23rd of 2004 I got married to a wonderful woman who understood my love of the wrestling business. Like I said before, we took almost all of 2005 off. Returning I believe July of 2005. Returning yes, but not to the dismal shows run in Martinsville in front of record low crowds.
In 1997, Fountain Sq. was the home of Circle City Wrestling. Stars like Flash Flanagan, Mike Samples, Rip Rogers, Mike Awesome , Sabu, Brian Christopher and many others did good business there. In 1999 down the street at Raymond and Sherman, Insane Wrestling Alliance was running weekly shows and while not doing as well financially the shows were exciting. In 2001, also at Raymond and Sherman, Interstate Championship Wrestling was running shows in the same building with stars like Abyss, Chris Harris, and Rob Williams. We came to terms with the fact that Wrestling had a history in that area. Yet those old buildings were no longer available.
The Salvation Army building came to our attention for a number of reasons. Don Bashers Wild Championship Wrestling Outlaws , or WCWO, had run a show there, and done ok. Dozer had also run a show there under the guise of NWA Indianapolis. Dozer had also done a private show there for Stanley Kahns sons Bar Mitzvah with a lot of top tier NWA TNA talent at the time. Mike and I spoke with Basher, and he let us know he had no intention of coming back, that financially it didn’t work out for him. Dozer’s ( may he rest in peace) NWA affiliate didn’t get off the ground and he left the area, and wrestling altogether I believe. So Mike and I made the move. We were coming home.
Now, I don’t know a lot of the inner workings of the Salvation Army. I do know it is a wonderful organization that helps tens of thousands of people all across the nation. There are a lot of Youth League activities at the building and we are proud to be affiliated with them. We do a fundraiser there once a year and they are always gracious about it. When we first spoke with them about running IPW there, they were hesitant about letting another company in. Apparently, during one of the NWA Indianapolis shows, someone threw someone else into a coke machine, causing some damage. I was not there, I know no actual details.
We had been shut down for nearly a year, did we really want to start this up again ? Honestly, yes we did. This business gets in your blood, it truly becomes a part of you. In some ways it defines you as a person. There is a reason you hear so many of the people involved refer to each other as “ Brother” and it isn’t to make fun of Hulk Hogan Brother. There is a camaraderie involved that I have only seen before in the strongest churches. I know that both Mike and I longed to be back with our extended family, and so we opened the doors to IPW once again.
We had kept the Heavyweight title alive through having a good working relationship with N.E.W. in Shelbyville. The other championships I believe were vacant, maybe not the Jr. but I am sure the Mid-American title was. You will have to forgive my poor memory on these details. We set about starting out the new home with some familiar faces in the ring. Calling on a lot of old friends, we realized some of them just weren’t going to make the grade. Some others had matured to a point that their level of performance was outstanding while others level had dropped drastically. The first show did well enough that we booked the building for the remainder of the year, and have continued to do so for the last five.
Like I said, You CAN come Home Again.
In 1997, Fountain Sq. was the home of Circle City Wrestling. Stars like Flash Flanagan, Mike Samples, Rip Rogers, Mike Awesome , Sabu, Brian Christopher and many others did good business there. In 1999 down the street at Raymond and Sherman, Insane Wrestling Alliance was running weekly shows and while not doing as well financially the shows were exciting. In 2001, also at Raymond and Sherman, Interstate Championship Wrestling was running shows in the same building with stars like Abyss, Chris Harris, and Rob Williams. We came to terms with the fact that Wrestling had a history in that area. Yet those old buildings were no longer available.
The Salvation Army building came to our attention for a number of reasons. Don Bashers Wild Championship Wrestling Outlaws , or WCWO, had run a show there, and done ok. Dozer had also run a show there under the guise of NWA Indianapolis. Dozer had also done a private show there for Stanley Kahns sons Bar Mitzvah with a lot of top tier NWA TNA talent at the time. Mike and I spoke with Basher, and he let us know he had no intention of coming back, that financially it didn’t work out for him. Dozer’s ( may he rest in peace) NWA affiliate didn’t get off the ground and he left the area, and wrestling altogether I believe. So Mike and I made the move. We were coming home.
Now, I don’t know a lot of the inner workings of the Salvation Army. I do know it is a wonderful organization that helps tens of thousands of people all across the nation. There are a lot of Youth League activities at the building and we are proud to be affiliated with them. We do a fundraiser there once a year and they are always gracious about it. When we first spoke with them about running IPW there, they were hesitant about letting another company in. Apparently, during one of the NWA Indianapolis shows, someone threw someone else into a coke machine, causing some damage. I was not there, I know no actual details.
We had been shut down for nearly a year, did we really want to start this up again ? Honestly, yes we did. This business gets in your blood, it truly becomes a part of you. In some ways it defines you as a person. There is a reason you hear so many of the people involved refer to each other as “ Brother” and it isn’t to make fun of Hulk Hogan Brother. There is a camaraderie involved that I have only seen before in the strongest churches. I know that both Mike and I longed to be back with our extended family, and so we opened the doors to IPW once again.
We had kept the Heavyweight title alive through having a good working relationship with N.E.W. in Shelbyville. The other championships I believe were vacant, maybe not the Jr. but I am sure the Mid-American title was. You will have to forgive my poor memory on these details. We set about starting out the new home with some familiar faces in the ring. Calling on a lot of old friends, we realized some of them just weren’t going to make the grade. Some others had matured to a point that their level of performance was outstanding while others level had dropped drastically. The first show did well enough that we booked the building for the remainder of the year, and have continued to do so for the last five.
Like I said, You CAN come Home Again.