Xtreme Pro Wrestling
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| Xtreme Pro Wrestling | |
|---|---|
| Details | |
| Acronym | XPW |
| Established | 1999 |
| Folded | 2003 |
| Style | Hardcore wrestling Sports entertainment |
| Location | Southern California Philadelphia Pittsburgh |
| Founder(s) | Rob Zicari, Big Dick Dudley, Kevin Kleinrock |
| Owner(s) | Rob Zicari, Tom Byron |
| Parent | Extreme Associates (1999-2003) Big Vision Entertainment (2004-present) |
Xtreme Pro Wrestling (XPW) was an independent professional wrestling promotion that was owned by Rob Zicari, who appeared on shows under the name Rob Black. Zicari appeared on-camera as owner alongside his wife Janet Romano. The promotion focused on hardcore wrestling and had connections to the Los Angeles porn industry. From 2000 to 2002, XPW held an annual deathmatch tournament called Baptized in Blood, which was XPW's version of the legendary tournament hosted by IWA-Japan in 1995.
XPW existed in two different versions: the original West Coast version and the All-New XPW East Coast invasion. The original West Coast version was mainly based in California where controversy and X-rated content were of huge importance. The East Coast invasion featured XPW garnering some success in cities like Philadelphia and Pittsburgh thanks to promotional efforts on the part of Shane Douglas.
An XPW reunion show was held in May 2008.
Contents |
[edit] The original XPW: West Coast Edition (1999-2002)
XPW was founded in the summer of 1999 on the West Coast, particularly Los Angeles, California. The promotion based its style around hardcore wrestling, featuring many violent matches reminiscent of the Japanese death matches popularized overseas. It was widely regarded as a third-rate ECW ripoff. In addition, XPW kept a huge focus on the soap opera aspect of wrestling, as the storylines involved porn stars, alternative lifestyles, profanity, and sadistic violence. The announce team for XPW consisted of Kris Kloss and Larry Rivera, with Kloss doing the play-by-play and Rivera taking on the role as a heel color commentator. Kloss' trademark was a high pitched scream when something shocking occurred in a match, typically ruining the effect of the high spot. Rivera often sided with Rob Black, and his trademark announcing consisted of referring to Kloss as "chico", using "chico" in nearly all of his sentences, and occasional wandering into Spanish announcing. In this period, the promotion's main stars were homegrown wrestlers, but many former stars of Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) passed through XPW following the fall of that promotion.
The main storyline for most of 2001 concerned heel stable called the Black Army. The Black Army was run by Rob Black, assisted by his wife (porn star Lizzy Borden), and feuded with Sabu.
Towards the end of 2001, another heel stable called the Enterprise emerged to feud with the Black Army. Originally consisting of former Black Army henchmen Steve Rizzono, Motivational Speaker TJ Rush, porn star Veronica Caine and GQ Money, the stable was completed at the Damage Inc. show when Kid Kaos won the XPW television title, turned his back on his uncle, Supreme, and aligned himself with the Enterprise. After this surprise heel turn, Kid Kaos dropped the "Kid" from his name and nicknamed himself "The Rock Superstar" Kaos.
At Baptized in Blood III in 2002, Shane Douglas made his return to XPW as the mystery opponent of Johnny Webb, and won the XPW title. Following the match, the revelation that Shane Douglas and Lizzy Borden were allies emerged, which would crush Rob Black to the point that Lizzy inherited the power of XPW. The organization would now base its operations in Philadelphia at the New Alhambra Arena.
| Xtreme Pro Wrestling | |
|---|---|
| Format | Professional wrestling |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| Broadcast | |
| Original run | 2001 – 2003 |
| External links | |
| IMDb profile | |
[edit] Incident at ECW Pay-Per-View
In 2000, Rob Black purchased six front row tickets for ECW's Heat Wave 2000 pay-per-view. The tickets for the show were given to a cadre of XPW talent, as their mission was to make it clear that ECW was on enemy's turf. At the beginning of the main event, the XPW contingent (The Messiah, Kid Kaos, Supreme, Kristi Myst, Homeless Jimmy and Kris Kloss) donned shirts emblazoned with the logo of their home company, gaining the attention of security and Tommy Dreamer. Security ejected the XPW group. A brawl in the parking lot then broke out between the XPW ring crew and the ECW locker room, but the XPW wrestlers were not involved. In the parking lot, several of the ECW wrestlers brutalized the XPW ring crew in a street fight until several of the ring crew members were left in pools of their own blood.[1]. Initial reports claimed that Kristi Myst somehow touched Francine and that prompted the incident, but Francine herself has since gone on record as saying that she was never grabbed or in any other way touched by any of the XPW crew, and other eye witnesses support the story that Francine never had a hand laid on her. XPW was not officially acknowledged on the telecast.
[edit] The All-New XPW: East Coast Invasion (2002-2003)
XPW debuted at the former ECW Arena in June 2002 at the Hostile Takeover event, and Shane Douglas was the promotion's focal point for the rest of the year. Controversy arose when XPW signed an exclusive lease with the New Alhambra Arena, preventing other independent promotions from holding shows at the venue. As XPW continued to run on the East Coast, the risque storylines that made XPW infamous were quickly phased out, and a majority of XPW's west coast employees were not a part of the "All-New XPW." The relocation to the East Coast also resulted in many former ECW stars passing through XPW, whether it be on a regular basis or one-night appearances. At one point, Kris Kloss was dropped from the announcing booth and replaced with former ECW commentator Joey Styles; this would only last for one event, as Styles only commentated on XPW's Exit Sandman event.
[edit] The End of XPW
In April 2003, Rob Black and Lizzy Borden were indicted on obscenity charges due to pornographic material produced by XPW's parent company, Extreme Associates. Federal agents in Pittsburgh had purchased the offending material, which depicted scenes of rape, urination, and murder. The stress of the trial took a toll on the owners of the company, and XPW could no longer be subsidized financially. In January 2005, the charges were dropped but on December 8, 2005 an appeals court revived the charges (See United States v. Extreme Associates).
Big Vision Entertainment, the video distribution company owned by XPW co-founder Kevin Kleinrock, assumed control of the XPW name and video library in 2004.
[edit] Cold Day in Hell (2008)
| Cold Day in Hell | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Details | ||
| Promotion | Xtreme Pro Wrestling | |
| Date | May 24, 2008 | |
| Venue | Aviation Park | |
| City | Redondo Beach, California | |
An XPW reunion show called Cold Day in Hell took place on May 24, 2008 at Aviation Park in Redondo Beach, California. Big Vision Entertainment filmed this show for eventual DVD and Blu Ray release.
[edit] Results
- Dynamite D Tribute Battle Royal: Carnage defeated Robbie Phoenix, Stepfather, Exciter, Sexy Chino, Youth Suicide, and more students of Dynamite D
- Miss Xtreme Pageant (hosted by Joey Ryan): Nicky defeated Trina Michaels and three other women
- Opening: Kris Kloss and Kaos
- Kaos defeated Vampiro
- GQ Money (w/ Bo Cooper) defeated Angel The Hardcore Homo (w/ Kraq)
- J-Love forced Leroy the Ring Crew Guy to clean up the ring
- Sandman defeated Pogo the Clown
- Raven and Johnny Webb defeated Khan Kussion and Homeless Jimmy (guest referee: Terry Funk)
- Tool attacked ring announcer Ron Head
- Team Rev Pro (Ron Rivera, Disco Machine and Joey Ryan) (w/ Mr. McPhenom and CW Anderson) defeated Team XPW (Jardi Frantz, Vinnie Massaro and X-Pac)
- Luke Hawx defeated Jack Evans and Scorpio Sky
- The Gangstas (New Jack and Mustafa) defeated The Westside NGZ (Big Rott and Chronic)
- XPW King of the Deathmatch Championship: Supreme defeated Necro Butcher to retain his title
[edit] Legacy
The only XPW pay-per-view was "The Best of XPW", a compilation of highlights which aired in August 2003.
As of 2008, the first two seasons of XPW's weekly television series have been released on DVD by Big Vision Entertainment. XPW matches have also been extras on several other Big Vision wrestling DVDs, including Forever Hardcore and the Hardcore Homecoming series.
Several XPW alumni worked for Wrestling Society X, which was produced by Big Vision Entertainment.
[edit] Championships
- XPW World Heavyweight Championship (1999-2003)
- XPW World Tag Team Championship (2002-2003)
- XPW King of the Deathmatch Championship (2000-2002, 2008)
- XPW Television Championship (2001-2003)
- XPW European Championship (2003-2005)
