Border City Wrestling
Encyclopedia
Border City Wrestling (BCW) was an independent
professional wrestling
promotion
once based in Windsor
, Ontario
. It was the base promotion for several Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
wrestlers, including all of the former Team Canada
, Chris Sabin
and Alex Shelley
. Many BCW employees were trained by Scott D'Amore
, the owner and booker of BCW, at the Can-Am Wrestling School. The promotion merged with BSE Pro to create Maximum Pro Wrestling
in 2010.
, Chuck Fader, and "The Canadian Destroyer" Doug Chevalier. After Chevalier's departure of Ontario in 1994 as well as Fader leaving the company due to his diagnosis with throat cancer
in 2000, D'Amore became the sole owner of the company. D'Amore closed BCW for several months in 2000, but re-opened the company later that year.
In 2001, BCW began utilizing several Extreme Championship Wrestling
employees who had been left without full-time work when ECW declared bankruptcy
in April of that year. On August 29, 2001, BCW even held the "Mikey Whipwreck Retirement Bash" to honour the retirement of Mikey Whipwreck
.
After his cancer went into remission in late 2001, Fader returned to BCW as a publicist
and their kayfabe
Commissioner.
In 2001, BCW merged with Maximum Pro Wrestling (MXPW) out of Detroit. BCW/MXPW put on a few shows under the MXPW banner, however, the merger ended up being quite short-lived.
After another short hiatus the previous year, BCW returned in the Spring of 2004 after merging with rival promotion Ontario Championship Wrestling (OCW) and taking on a new partner in OCW founder James Trepanier. After the merger, BCW began running regular smaller scale shows at OCW's former venue in Windsor.
On December 12, 2004, BCW, and their partner promotion from Michigan, Prime Time Wrestling, held A Night of Appreciation for Sabu
, to raise funds to assist Sabu in paying the costly medical bills he had incurred with his serious back injury and viral infection that year. The show featured many BCW and TNA wrestlers, and the main event featured Shane Douglas
vs. Raven
with special Guest Referee Mick Foley
.
2005 was a banner year for BCW as they held 3 landmark shows in the company's history.
On January 21 they held the 4th Annual Doug Chevalier Memorial where the main event featured the culmination of a long running BCW feud between Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley for the BCW Can-Am Television Championship
refereed by Mick Foley
. The show also featured Abyss
and Jimmy Hart
.
On July 22 they held their annual WrestleFest show which was headlined by a four-way Can-Am Television Championship match between Chris Sabin, Petey Williams, Alex Shelley, and A.J. Styles
that has been since praised as one of the greatest matches in BCW history. Even more notably, the show featured one of the first reunions of the original Hart Foundation
of Bret "Hitman" Hart
, Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart
, and Jimmy Hart.
On September 15, BCW held International Incident which featured TNA wrestler Jeff Jarrett
defeating Raven
for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
with the unexpected help of America's Most Wanted
(who turned heel
in the process) only 2 weeks before TNA returned to national television on Spike TV
. This event was highly publicized as well and became known as "Controversy in Canada" to TNA fans worldwide.
After their WrestleFest event in the summer of 2006 featuring Christian Cage, BCW once again went on a hiatus, not holding a show for nearly 2 years.
On May 3, 2008, BCW held its return show, 'Awakening', in Windsor, Ontario. The show featured Al Snow
in the Main Event.
Since their 2008 revival, BCW has returned to running regularly in Windsor and the surrounding area. This has included an ECW
themed show entitled 'A Night of Extreme' on October 4, 2008 featuring Team 3D
, Jerry Lynn
, and Little Guido Maritato
as well as their 15th anniversary show on December 13, 2008, featuring Kevin Nash
.
In 2009, BCW ran several successful 3-show tours in Southwestern Ontario featuring the likes of "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan
and The Highlanders
on a regular basis.
On February 3, 2010 it was announced that owner Scott D'Amore has left TNA Wrestling and has announced that his Border City Wrestling, will be merging with Toronto's BSE Pro, run by Jason A. Brown, to become one of North America's largest independent wrestling company under the new banner, Maximum Pro Wrestling
.
Independent circuit
In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indy circuit refers to the many independent promotions which are much smaller than major televised promotions. They are roughly analagous to a minor league for pro wrestling, or community or regional theatre.Specific promotions on the...
professional wrestling
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
promotion
Professional wrestling promotion
A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling. Promotion also describes a role which entails management, advertising and logistics of running a wrestling event...
once based in Windsor
Windsor, Ontario
Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. It was the base promotion for several Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling is a privately held professional wrestling promotion founded by Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Jarrett. The company broadcasts its events on television and the Internet fifty two weeks a year with over a million weekly viewers on its primary television program, Impact...
wrestlers, including all of the former Team Canada
Team Canada (TNA)
Team Canada was a heel professional wrestling stable in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, which was active from 2004 to 2006.-2004 X-Cups:In 2004, wrestling promoter and personality "Coach" Scott D'Amore brought together fellow Canadians to form his own incarnation of Team Canada in Total Nonstop...
, Chris Sabin
Chris Sabin
Joshua Harter is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Chris Sabin. He is currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , where he currently teams with Alex Shelley as The Motor City Machine Guns.After being trained by Scott D'Amore, Sabin debuted in 2000 for...
and Alex Shelley
Alex Shelley
Patrick Martin , is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Alex Shelley. He wrestles for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he currently teams with Chris Sabin as The Motor City Machine Guns. He previously gained fame on the independent circuit, working most notably for...
. Many BCW employees were trained by Scott D'Amore
Scott D'Amore
Scott Francis D'Amore is a Canadian professional wrestler, manager, promoter, booker and entrepreneur. He formerly managed Team Canada in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. He was also the former head of the creative team...
, the owner and booker of BCW, at the Can-Am Wrestling School. The promotion merged with BSE Pro to create Maximum Pro Wrestling
Maximum Pro Wrestling
Maximum Pro Wrestling is a Canadian independent professional wrestling organization, founded in 2010 with the merger of Scott D'Amore's Border City Wrestling out of Windsor, Ontario and BSE Pro Wrestling out of Toronto, Ontario.-History:...
in 2010.
History
Border City Wrestling was founded in 1993 by Scott D'AmoreScott D'Amore
Scott Francis D'Amore is a Canadian professional wrestler, manager, promoter, booker and entrepreneur. He formerly managed Team Canada in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. He was also the former head of the creative team...
, Chuck Fader, and "The Canadian Destroyer" Doug Chevalier. After Chevalier's departure of Ontario in 1994 as well as Fader leaving the company due to his diagnosis with throat cancer
Head and neck cancer
Head and neck cancer refers to a group of biologically similar cancers that start in the upper aerodigestive tract, including the lip, oral cavity , nasal cavity , paranasal sinuses, pharynx, and larynx. 90% of head and neck cancers are squamous cell carcinomas , originating from the mucosal lining...
in 2000, D'Amore became the sole owner of the company. D'Amore closed BCW for several months in 2000, but re-opened the company later that year.
In 2001, BCW began utilizing several Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1992 by Tod Gordon and closed when his successor, Paul Heyman, declared bankruptcy in April 2001...
employees who had been left without full-time work when ECW declared bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
in April of that year. On August 29, 2001, BCW even held the "Mikey Whipwreck Retirement Bash" to honour the retirement of Mikey Whipwreck
Mikey Whipwreck
John Watson , better known by his ring name Mikey Whipwreck, is a retired American professional wrestler best known for his career with Extreme Championship Wrestling where he became the third ECW Triple Crown Champion....
.
After his cancer went into remission in late 2001, Fader returned to BCW as a publicist
Publicist
A publicist is a person whose job is to generate and manage publicity for a public figure, especially a celebrity, a business, or for a work such as a book, film or album...
and their kayfabe
Kayfabe
In professional wrestling, kayfabe is the portrayal of events within the industry as "real" or "true". Specifically, the portrayal of professional wrestling, in particular the competition and rivalries between participants, as being genuine or not of a worked nature...
Commissioner.
In 2001, BCW merged with Maximum Pro Wrestling (MXPW) out of Detroit. BCW/MXPW put on a few shows under the MXPW banner, however, the merger ended up being quite short-lived.
After another short hiatus the previous year, BCW returned in the Spring of 2004 after merging with rival promotion Ontario Championship Wrestling (OCW) and taking on a new partner in OCW founder James Trepanier. After the merger, BCW began running regular smaller scale shows at OCW's former venue in Windsor.
On December 12, 2004, BCW, and their partner promotion from Michigan, Prime Time Wrestling, held A Night of Appreciation for Sabu
A Night of Appreciation for Sabu
A Night of Appreciation was a professional wrestling benefit show held to raise funds for American professional wrestler Terry "Sabu" Brunk, who had incurred costly medical bills while hospitalized for several months after contracting a mysterious virus that at one point left him temporarily...
, to raise funds to assist Sabu in paying the costly medical bills he had incurred with his serious back injury and viral infection that year. The show featured many BCW and TNA wrestlers, and the main event featured Shane Douglas
Shane Douglas
Troy Alan Martin is an American professional wrestler and promoter, better known by his ring name "The Franchise" Shane Douglas. In the course of his career, which has spanned nearly three decades, Douglas has wrestled in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Championship Wrestling and briefly...
vs. Raven
Scott Levy
Scott Anthony Levy , better known by his ring name Raven, is an American professional wrestler, wrestling producer, wrestling writer, and occasional author and actor currently working for Juggalo Championship Wrestling , where he is co-holder of the JCW Tag Team Championship, as well as other...
with special Guest Referee Mick Foley
Mick Foley
Michael Francis "Mick" Foley, Sr. is an American semi-retired professional wrestler, author, comedian, actor, voice actor and former color commentator. He has worked for many wrestling promotions, including WWE, WCW, ECW and TNA. He is often referred to as "The Hardcore Legend", a nickname he...
.
2005 was a banner year for BCW as they held 3 landmark shows in the company's history.
On January 21 they held the 4th Annual Doug Chevalier Memorial where the main event featured the culmination of a long running BCW feud between Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley for the BCW Can-Am Television Championship
BCW Can-Am Television Championship
The BCW Can-Am Television Championship is a second-tier title contested for in the Ontario-based professional wrestling promotion Border City Wrestling.-Title history:-Source:...
refereed by Mick Foley
Mick Foley
Michael Francis "Mick" Foley, Sr. is an American semi-retired professional wrestler, author, comedian, actor, voice actor and former color commentator. He has worked for many wrestling promotions, including WWE, WCW, ECW and TNA. He is often referred to as "The Hardcore Legend", a nickname he...
. The show also featured Abyss
Chris Parks
Christopher J. "Chris" Parks , better known by his ring name "The Monster" Abyss, is an American professional wrestler currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
and Jimmy Hart
Jimmy Hart
James "Jimmy" Ray Hart is a professional wrestling manager, executive, composer, and musician currently signed with WWE. He is best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling under his nickname "The Mouth of the South." He has managed many professional...
.
On July 22 they held their annual WrestleFest show which was headlined by a four-way Can-Am Television Championship match between Chris Sabin, Petey Williams, Alex Shelley, and A.J. Styles
A.J. Styles
Allen Neal Jones , better known by his ring name A.J. Styles is an American professional wrestler currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
that has been since praised as one of the greatest matches in BCW history. Even more notably, the show featured one of the first reunions of the original Hart Foundation
The Hart Foundation
The Hart Foundation referred to several teams or stables in the World Wrestling Federation , usually consisted of members or close friends of the Hart wrestling family from Canada....
of Bret "Hitman" Hart
Bret Hart
Bret Hart is a Canadian on-screen personality, writer, actor and Semi-retired professional wrestler. Like others in the Hart wrestling family, Hart has an amateur wrestling background, including wrestling at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal College...
, Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart
Jim Neidhart
James Henry "Jim" Neidhart is an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances in the 1980s and 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation as Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart. Jim is the father of WWE Diva Natalya...
, and Jimmy Hart.
On September 15, BCW held International Incident which featured TNA wrestler Jeff Jarrett
Jeff Jarrett
Jeffrey Leonard Jarrett is an American professional wrestler and wrestling promoter. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , an organization he co-founded along with his father and in which he holds some stock but not total control...
defeating Raven
Scott Levy
Scott Anthony Levy , better known by his ring name Raven, is an American professional wrestler, wrestling producer, wrestling writer, and occasional author and actor currently working for Juggalo Championship Wrestling , where he is co-holder of the JCW Tag Team Championship, as well as other...
for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
NWA World Heavyweight Championship
The National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in the National Wrestling Alliance. Its lineage has been traced from the first World Heavyweight Championship, which traces its lineage to Georg Hackenschmidt's 1905 title and...
with the unexpected help of America's Most Wanted
America's Most Wanted (professional wrestling)
America's Most Wanted was a professional wrestling tag team consisting of "Wildcat" Chris Harris and "Tennessee Cowboy" James Storm, who competed in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
(who turned heel
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
in the process) only 2 weeks before TNA returned to national television on Spike TV
Spike TV
Spike is an American cable television channel. It launched on March 7, 1983 as The Nashville Network , a joint venture of WSM, Inc...
. This event was highly publicized as well and became known as "Controversy in Canada" to TNA fans worldwide.
After their WrestleFest event in the summer of 2006 featuring Christian Cage, BCW once again went on a hiatus, not holding a show for nearly 2 years.
On May 3, 2008, BCW held its return show, 'Awakening', in Windsor, Ontario. The show featured Al Snow
Al Snow
Allen Ray Sarven is an American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name of Al Snow. He is best known for his work in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment and currently works for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as a road agent.-Early career:Sarven...
in the Main Event.
Since their 2008 revival, BCW has returned to running regularly in Windsor and the surrounding area. This has included an ECW
Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1992 by Tod Gordon and closed when his successor, Paul Heyman, declared bankruptcy in April 2001...
themed show entitled 'A Night of Extreme' on October 4, 2008 featuring Team 3D
Dudley Boyz
Team 3D was a professional wrestling tag team, consisting of Brother Ray and Brother Devon, formerly sporadically joined into a stable by Brother Runt on several intervals...
, Jerry Lynn
Jerry Lynn
Jeremy "Jerry" Lynn is an American professional wrestler who is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
, and Little Guido Maritato
James Maritato
James Maritato is an American professional wrestler, of Italian origin, currently working on the independent circuit. He is best known for his work in World Wrestling Entertainment and Extreme Championship Wrestling under the ring names Little Guido Maritato and Nunzio.-Starting out:While...
as well as their 15th anniversary show on December 13, 2008, featuring Kevin Nash
Kevin Nash
Kevin Scott Nash is an American professional wrestler and actor. As of 2011, Nash is signed to a five year contract with WWE under their WWE Legends program and appears as part of their Raw brand roster...
.
In 2009, BCW ran several successful 3-show tours in Southwestern Ontario featuring the likes of "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan
Jim Duggan
James Edward Duggan , better known by his ring name "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment in the 1980s, when it was known as World Wrestling Federation , and World Championship Wrestling...
and The Highlanders
The Highlanders
The Highlanders may refer to:*Highlanders , a professional rugby union team*Highlanders , a British Army infantry regiment*The Highlanders Shinty Club, a shinty club representing the British Army...
on a regular basis.
On February 3, 2010 it was announced that owner Scott D'Amore has left TNA Wrestling and has announced that his Border City Wrestling, will be merging with Toronto's BSE Pro, run by Jason A. Brown, to become one of North America's largest independent wrestling company under the new banner, Maximum Pro Wrestling
Maximum Pro Wrestling
Maximum Pro Wrestling is a Canadian independent professional wrestling organization, founded in 2010 with the merger of Scott D'Amore's Border City Wrestling out of Windsor, Ontario and BSE Pro Wrestling out of Toronto, Ontario.-History:...
.
Border City Wrestling
| Championship: | Current champion(s): | Held since: |
|---|---|---|
| BCW Can-Am Heavyweight Champion BCW Can-Am Heavyweight Championship The BCW Can-Am Heavyweight Championship is the top title contested for in the Ontario-based professional wrestling promotion Border City Wrestling.-Title history:... |
Tyson Dux Tyson Dux Tyson Moody is a Canadian professional wrestler, known by his ring name Tyson Dux , and is currently wrestling for various independent promotions. He is the nephew of martial artist Frank Dux-Career:... |
March 28, 2009 |
| BCW Can-Am Tag Team Champions BCW Can-Am Tag Team Championship The BCW Can-Am Tag Team Championship is the tag team title contested for in the Ontario-based professional wrestling promotion Border City Wrestling.-Title history:... |
Vacant | |
| BCW Can-Am Television Champion BCW Can-Am Television Championship The BCW Can-Am Television Championship is a second-tier title contested for in the Ontario-based professional wrestling promotion Border City Wrestling.-Title history:-Source:... |
Vacant |
Roster
|