Tag: indie wrestling

Indie wrestler asks for help after car fire destroys merch, prevents AEW extra work & bookings

Posted on by Josh Nason

Indie wrestler Joseph Alexander is asking for help after escaping a car fire Tuesday on the way to do some AEW extra work and some weekend bookings — a fire that destroyed nearly all of his merchandise and made him miss the commitments.

Alexander shared the story and images on X Thursday, a situation he said was a traumatic experience that he initially was not going to share.

He was using his father’s car and was in Virginia when he heard a sound and then smoke followed by the car catching on fire while he was still inside (the aftermath pictured above). While he thankfully escaped before sustaining any physical damage, Alexander wrote that on Wednesday, he saw that “all my merch was destroyed, 8x10s, cards, stickers and most of my shirts.”

“As you know this stuff is very expensive and I just genuinely do not have all the funds to just whip up a new set of shirts and merch instantly,” he wrote, also noting that six shirts remained intact while sharing his CashApp (seen below) if anyone wanted to donate or buy the shirts to help.

Alexander was thankful for his safety and hopeful for future opportunities that he had to miss as a result.

“First and foremost I want to thank my lord and savior Jesus Christ for making sure I was safe unharmed and walked away alive. I hope there’s more opportunities to come with AEW and the other shows I would have done this weekend, but I am just grateful for my health. Again if you want a shirt please DM me, any donations again are greatly appreciated. Thank you!”

A pro since 2021, the 25-year-old also known as “A-Game” is a regular for Wrestling Open in addition to other New England indie promotions.

Famed Chicago venue moving away from wrestling after alleged stabbing incident

Posted on by Josh Nason

The Berwyn Eagles Club in Chicago, Illinois, is getting out of hosting wrestling shows after a recent alleged stabbing incident involving Krule.

As a result, a GCW show scheduled for June 20 had to be cancelled after owner Brett Lauderdale learned about the new policy. A new location has yet to be announced.

Lauderdale took to X Thursday afternoon to air his frustrations:

“This was directly caused by an incident (the fake stabbing) that took place at another promotions event which has caused the town, lawyers & police to be involved. It’s truly a shame to see the Berwyn Eagles and 20+ years of Chicago wrestling history come to an end like this,” he wrote.

The “fake stabbing” is a reference to a late-March incident that saw indie wrestler Krule allegedly stabbed by a fan during a brawl. This took place at his merch table during the final event for deathmatch promotion Ruthless Pro. The wrestler said he was fine afterward and there has been speculation as to whether the incident happened as described.

In a reply to a fan, Lauderdale wrote, “It wasnt a stunt, it was a lie made up by the locker room and the promoters to justify a gang beatdown.”

The final show is an AAW event set for April 24. The promotion noted on X that they were the first wrestling show in the building 22 years ago and will be the last.

“There are thousands of memories within the walls of this venue and it has had such a powerful influence on what you see on tv today. We hope to have you all join us for a final one on 4/24. Everyone at AAW is saddened by this turn of events but we will deliver a last incredible show in Berwyn only as AAW can! Let’s have a great time together!,” they wrote.

JNPO: Quebec’s newest wrestling ‘Diamond’ is ready to shine

Posted on by Josh Nason

Image: Zachary Yarymowich | Portfolio

Note: You can also listen to this show on Spotify or Apple Podcasts as well. Just search for ‘Wrestling Observer/Figure Four Online.’

On a new Josh Nason’s Punch-Out, allow me to introduce you to Zak Patterson, a 24-year-old indie standout from Quebec, Canada, who is on the cusp of becoming a bigger name on the scene.

In under four years, the product of a strong wrestling lineage has competed over 200 times and has already worked with some of the best out there like Jay White, Josh Alexander, Mike Bailey and KENTA, and has appeared for both AEW and ROH.

We talk about the aforementioned lineage, his match with White, career advice he got from Kevin Owens, and lots more. Previous “JN ID” prospects like Christian Casanova (aka WWE’s Carmelo Hayes) and reigning GCW Tag Team Champions Alec Price & Cole Radrick have gone on to big things and I expect the same with Patterson.

To end the show, I included a recent monologue from Wrestling Observer Live where I made the case that fans don’t have to be fully invested in ratings and business in order to enjoy the product.

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Maine indie promotion cancels show following Lewiston mass shooting incident

Posted on by Josh Nason

Maine indie promotion Limitless Wresting canceled their live event this Saturday in the wake of a mass shooting incident in nearby Lewiston, Maine, of which the alleged perpetrator is still at large.

The promotion announced Friday morning that Yarmouth, Maine, police and the American Veterans Hall, where they were set to run their third annual Fresh Blood event, asked that they postpone the event for the safety of talent, staff and fans.

Alleged gunman Robert Card has yet to be found as of this writing following the events of Wednesday that saw 18 people killed and more than a dozen injured in two separate incidents in Lewiston. A fund for the victims has been established.

AEW’s Ortiz, Alec Price, Allie Katch, Lucky Ali, Jay Malachi and a slew of Northeast wrestlers were booked for the event.

Instead of postponing the show, Limitless, entering its ninth year, will instead transfer any purchased tickets to their final event of the year in mid-December with refunds available to those who request them.

Wrestling Weekly: WAR’s Thomas Williams on how to build an indie wrestling brand

Posted on by Victor Sosa

On a new Wrestling Weekly, Les Thatcher and I talk to Thomas Williams, the promoter of WAR (Wrestling and Respect) in Lima, Ohio, for a conversation essential to anyone interested in promoting or knowing what goes into building a brand. 

Thanks for listening and have a great weekend~! 

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This show is brought to you by NordVPN. We are pleased to offer our listeners a special discount plus four months free all with a 30-day money back guarantee only available at this link.

Referee recovering from multiple head wounds inflicted by wrestler

Posted on by Josh Nason

Referee Lando Deltoro is recovering from multiple lacerations suffered at the hands of indie wrestler Devon Nicholson during a World Class Pro Wrestling show in Irving, Texas, Saturday.

Nicholson, in a mask and wrestling under the name Blood Hunter, had planned a spot with Deltoro where the referee was to be bloodied up after a run-in following Nicholson’s match with former WWE star Carlito. Instead, Nicholson lacerated him using what appeared to be a spike of some sort, hitting his head repeatedly and tearing an artery in the process.

Nicholson posted the video on his own YouTube channel, but later removed it although it has popped up elsewhere. Deltoro shared an image of the bloody hospital bed where he was stitched up and an image of himself after the work was done. His daughter happened to be in the crowd that night as well.

The promotion announced Sunday that they will no longer use Nicholson and will do a benefit show in the future to help with his medical bills. A GoFundMe has been started to help with Deltoro’s medical bills.

Charges have not been filed against Nicholson and he has not addressed the matter on social media even though he has posted videos and tweets since then.

Colby Cowperthwaite, the referee for the match, posted on Reddit that he knew something was “off” with Nicholson even before the match started and told Carlito to end things quickly. He said he observed Nicholson stumbling, both before he came out and coming into the ring and that no one could find him backstage for nearly ten minutes before he was set to go out.

After Cowperthwaite went to the back as intended during a post-match brawl, Deltoro was sent out for the attack spot which was the only reason why he was there. It’s believed Deltoro used his own blade, but that it didn’t work as anticipated. Cowperthwaite said he thinks Nicholson was upset that he wasn’t bleeding from his own attempts so he decided to do it himself with his own device.

Cowperthwaite called 911 when he got to the back and later spoke to police who were on site for nearly an hour even though he said booker Kevin Sullivan told him to “kayfabe the cops.” He believes Nicholson hid the weapon “because as long as he told the cops that the 3rd ref was supposed to blade HIMSELF he was fine, but what ACTUALLY happened was the direct result of Bloodhunters actions.”

Fightful spoke with several wrestlers on the show who placed the blame on both Sullivan and fellow booker Eric Embry for a lack of empathy and trying to keep the situation quiet. Another corroborated Cowperthwaite’s account of Nicholson being impaired, noting he was in his RV until it was time for the match and he “smelled like booze.”

Nicholson is known for winning a $2.3 million lawsuit against Abdullah The Butcher after the former claimed to have contracted hepatitis C following a match together which resulted in a WWE offer being pulled as a result.

JNPO: Alec Price is ready for your attention & competition

Posted on by Josh Nason

This is a free show. Just click below to listen.

Nearly a year ago, I introduced you to Christian Casanova, a standout in the Northeastern U.S. indie scene that was improving night in and night out and seemed to be on the cusp of a big opportunity. Four months later, he was signed by WWE and is now the NXT North American Champion as Carmelo Hayes.

Now, I’d like to introduce you to another potential breakout from the same region in “The Prize” Alec Price, a lean and brash young talent who has been on the run of his young career for promotions like Beyond Wrestling and Limitless Wrestling with matches against Josh Alexander, Eddie Edwards, Lee Moriarty, Daniel Garcia, JD Drake, Anthony Greene, Jake Something, Chris Dickinson and others.

We talk about what hooked him on the game, being trusted by promoters with big names in featured matches, how he hopes to raise his profile, intergender wrestling, and plenty more. 

He’s going to get his shot sooner than later, so get the info on what you should know about this 23-year-old now. 

After that, I talk about my night covering both AEW Dynamite and Rampage in Boston, the ridiculousness of “Attendance-gate” and why it’s futile to try to determine how many people are leaving an arena during a match.

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Charitable wrestling show canceled due to Joey Ryan involvement

Posted on by Bryan Rose

A March wrestling event designed to raise money for a charity was canceled Tuesday after it became public that indie wrestler and former Bar Wrestling owner Joey Ryan was involved.

The Wrestling 4 Women’s Charity show in Knoxville, TN, was scheduled for March 20th featuring AEW wrestlers Brian Cage and Sonny Kiss, Impact Wrestling’s Trey Miguel, 2 Cold Scorpio, Davey Boy Smith Jr., and JTG among others. A poster circulated on the event’s Twitter account Tuesday where Ryan could be seen on the poster.

Based on the page to buy tickets, it would appear Bar Wrestling was actually promoting the show, using a new email address for the charity.

That led AEW owner Tony Khan to say on Twitter that he would remove talent from the event if Ryan were involved, but would still donate to the charity. That offer also came into question with Khan asking if the charity was even real.

Soon thereafter, the group announced on their now deleted Twitter account that they were canceling the whole show while implying they did nothing wrong:

“We apologize for riling everyone up. It is clear that we’re in over our heads. We’ll say that everybody booked was fully aware of all details including going through AEW’s 3rd party booking system for talent. Rather than put talent in a tough situation, we’ve canceled the show.”

At one point, the event had been announced as airing on FITE TV. However, the organization said on Twitter that they were not carrying the event.

Coming out of last summer’s #SpeakingOut movement, Ryan was accused by multiple women of sexual assault. He is attempting to fight some of those charges in court as he has several lawsuits going. Ryan was released from Impact Wrestling (who he is suing) following the allegations and was edited off all previous episodes of Being The Elite that he was involved in. 

Left My Wallet: Love & basketball (and hip hop) with Lee Moriarty

Posted on by Antonio Garza

Left My Wallet returns with one of the brightest up-and-coming stars on the independent scene today: Lee Moriarty!

The Pittsburgh, PA, native has been making a name for himself in Game Changer Wrestling, Beyond Wrestling, and countless other promotions and now he stops by to talk about a myriad of subjects.

While not a huge sports fan, he does love basketball so we explored his love of Jimmy Butler and why he likes the hard nosed Miami Heat forward. We talked about his own experience with martial arts and sports growing up and what spawned his love of Bruce Lee.

Finally, we talk hip hop and delve into his love of all things Wu Tang Clan and how the combination of Bruce Lee, World of Sport, and Wu-Tang have influenced him as both a worker and graphic artist.

This is a quick and fun show that will bring you inside the world of one of my favorite current indie standouts.

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JNPO: Inside the demented evolution of Danhausen

Posted on by Josh Nason

Editor’s Note: This is a free podcast. Just click the red button below to listen.

Image courtesy of Basil Mahmud

For hundreds of past and present indie wrestlers, there comes a point when they need to do something new with their character. Either it’s become stale for the fans, themselves, or a combination of both. Bookings come less and less, motivation drops, and the reason they got into the business to begin with is hard to find.

For Donovan Danhausen, that came in 2018, roughly three years after he started in the business. Admittedly a generic, tattooed/bearded wrestler, he needed a spark for himself and his character. From there began the creation of Danhausen, a campy, fun, horror movie-esque character that blends a lot of pop culture threads together. 

Needless to say, but it worked. He finds himself in demand around the U.S., including dates with Ring of Honor. He and fellow indie sensation Warhorse are putting on Warhausen’s WrestleVania during WrestleMania weekend in Tampa, and he’s booked at a ton of shows through Mania week.

In this interview, you will learn about the evolution of the Danhausen character, the inspirations, working for ROH, his approach to Patreon, haunted houses, what fans can expect from WrestleVania, how quickly he can paint his face, and more. 

Just click below to listen:

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Left My Wallet: Tony Deppen

Posted on by Antonio Garza

“Left My Wallet” returns with a chat featuring Pittsburgh sports with independent wrestling standout Tony Deppen!

Tony is a lifelong Pittsburgh sports fan so we delved into his thoughts on the Steelers surprising season, their QB situation, Mike Tomlin, and if he misses Antonio Brown.

We then switched it up to Tony’s favorite sport, baseball. We talk about the disappointment in being a Pirates fan, Andrew McCutchen, who is the next Pirate to leave, as well as some minor league baseball.

Finally, Tony tells about playing some curling with Orange Cassidy. Yes, you read that right.

It’s a fun show and a chance to get to know one of the most innovative independent stars out there today.

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JNPO: A look at today’s indie wrestling scene

Posted on by Josh Nason

Image: SunnyD Photography / Limitless Wrestling

With so much of a shift this year in talents signing with WWE, Ring of Honor, Impact Wrestling, MLW, and other places, I wanted to get a sense of what it takes to run an indie wrestling organization given those challenges added on top of everything else.

Several weeks ago, I took in my first Limitless Wrestling show, a group that runs out of Maine — a state of 1.3 million spread out people and not exactly known for being a hotbed of wrestling. Yet, the group is three years old and has brought in talent like Chris Hero, Zack Sabre Jr., LAX, Brody King, Jimmy Jacobs, Donovan Dijak, and others while mixing in emerging New England talent.

On this week’s free Josh Nason’s Punch-Out, I talked to Limitless owner Randy Carver about all that and more. Among the topics:

  • Balancing a card (and budget) with both local talent with bigger name talent and what he’s learned about that process
  • The process of replacing those big names when they fall out due to injury and how he had to make three such changes for his last show
  • Why he’s all in on intergender matches
  • Why he’s optimistic for the year ahead even with the aforementioned talent signing craze

Check the first in what might be a series with indie promoters around the country at different stages of their promotion’s run:

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