World Wrestling Professionals
Encyclopedia
World Wrestling Professionals (WWP) is a South African professional wrestling
promotion created in 2002. The internationally-televised promotion is owned by Mark Beale and Abdul Kader, and is heavily influenced by American mainstream wrestling.
WWP Thunderstrike made its television premiere in December, 2004. After just four months of airing and being the top rated sports show on SABC2, Thunderstrike was pushed one hour forward into a primetime slot (from 14:30 to 15:30). Deon Potgieter, a renowned international author and producer, was responsible creatively for the name along with many of the original storylines and wrestler personas in WWP Thunderstrike's early years. After producing and writing the first 67 episodes, Deon Potgieter withdrew his involvement from the show to produce, direct and write both seasons of the SAFTA winning hit sitcom "Family Bonds". The WWP creative team now consists of Mark Beale, Steve Debbes and Abdul Kader.
Television tapings t00k place in the Urban Brew Studios in Johannesburg
and each season was usually filmed for up to seven days in a row. The venue is referred to by the promotion as the Dome of Doom. The first and second seasons aired on Saturday afternoons.
The third series moved to a Wednesday night slot at 22:00, where the show attained its highest ratings to date. In season highlights, current WWE developmental star Ray Leppan, who went by the name Dameon Duke, defended his newly-won WWP Heavyweight World Title
for most of the season and engaged in a three-match title rivalry with Joe "Fury" Steyn, who won the championship in the third match. In the season finale, WWP main eventers took part in an eight-man tag team match with the kayfabe South African defenders taking on the foreign WDP faction.
For the fourth season, SABC2 pushed the show to a primetime slot on Saturday. PJ Black, who later went on to sign a WWE contract, was given a prominent position in the main event and feuded with Mikey Whiplash throughout the season. He went on to challenge for the WWP Heavyweight World Title
against Joe E Legend
but subsequently lost. The current and 2-time WWP World Heavyweight Champion
Tornado
formed a dream team with former arch-rival The Skull and feuded with the leaders of the WDP faction, The Weasels, with the WWP Tag Team World Title
at stake during many of their matches.
WWP wrestlers Tornado
, Jason Steele
and Ananzi were involved in training many of the wrestlers from India. In the middle of 2009, WWP held a tryout in Bombay, India, searching for athletic candidates for the show. They selected twelve candidates to be trained before the 100% De Dhana Dhan television tapings in August and September.
Bollywood film stars Isha Koppikar and Sharat Saxena
had roles in the show. Khoppikar participated as a live presenter while Saxena was the kayfabe
manager of the Indian team.
In highlights from the first season, Tornado
became the 100% Heavyweight Champion on the second show and defended the championship for most of its run until being dethroned by the much larger competitor Goonga in the final episode. Tornado won a tournament where the winner would be awarded the WWP Heavyweight World Title
, but seeing as he was already the champion he retained the championship. Sando Paaji defeated Tornado to win the 100% Championship but refused to accept the title and it was awarded back to Tornado. Ananzi and Jason Steele were featured prominently on the show, with Steele winning a title contender's tournament that lasted several weeks and Ananzi winning a crucial ladder match against Angelico
that awarded the winning team keys to a new vehicle. A controversial angle aired where one of the wrestlers competing on the Indian team died in the ring as a result of injuries inflicted by the Nigerian wrestler Kilimanjaro, which later led to an angle where the passed wrestler returned.
, Nigeria
, Greece, Mauritius
, Venezuela
, Paraguay
, and in their home country of South Africa. In November, 2008, WWP drew a sell-out crowd at Carnival City in Johannesburg
, South Africa, a first for a South African wrestling promotion since the 1980s wrestling boom. In July, 2009, WWP drew a record 20,000 fans in Lubambashi, DRC, their biggest attendance to date.
WWP Referee's (current)
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 created in 2002. The internationally-televised promotion is owned by Mark Beale and Abdul Kader, and is heavily influenced by American mainstream wrestling.
Establishment
World Wrestling Professionals was formed in 2002 by former professional wrestler Mark Beale, with the goal of taking South African wrestling to another level. For a short time WWP ran road shows on a regional level in Port Elizabeth. After 19 months of hard work in the hope of getting the product noticed, his idea for a wrestling show was picked up by SABC2.WWP Thunderstrike
The promotion, which is managed by Mark Beale, aired 1-hour pre-recorded episodes for SABC2 known as WWP Thunderstrike in the 18:30-19:30PM time-slot every Saturday. It recently completed its fourth season, which began on December 13, 2008 and ended on April 28, 2009. The fourth season was taped during May. WWP Thunderstrike signed a 5-year TV contract with SABC2 during June, 2009 that will allow them to show over 50 episodes a year until 2012.WWP Thunderstrike made its television premiere in December, 2004. After just four months of airing and being the top rated sports show on SABC2, Thunderstrike was pushed one hour forward into a primetime slot (from 14:30 to 15:30). Deon Potgieter, a renowned international author and producer, was responsible creatively for the name along with many of the original storylines and wrestler personas in WWP Thunderstrike's early years. After producing and writing the first 67 episodes, Deon Potgieter withdrew his involvement from the show to produce, direct and write both seasons of the SAFTA winning hit sitcom "Family Bonds". The WWP creative team now consists of Mark Beale, Steve Debbes and Abdul Kader.
Television tapings t00k place in the Urban Brew Studios in Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
and each season was usually filmed for up to seven days in a row. The venue is referred to by the promotion as the Dome of Doom. The first and second seasons aired on Saturday afternoons.
The third series moved to a Wednesday night slot at 22:00, where the show attained its highest ratings to date. In season highlights, current WWE developmental star Ray Leppan, who went by the name Dameon Duke, defended his newly-won WWP Heavyweight World Title
WWP Heavyweight World Title
The WWP Heavyweight World Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in the South African professional wrestling promotion World Wrestling Professionals, contested exclusively among Heavyweight wrestlers. It was created in April 2004 when WWP debuted its television...
for most of the season and engaged in a three-match title rivalry with Joe "Fury" Steyn, who won the championship in the third match. In the season finale, WWP main eventers took part in an eight-man tag team match with the kayfabe South African defenders taking on the foreign WDP faction.
For the fourth season, SABC2 pushed the show to a primetime slot on Saturday. PJ Black, who later went on to sign a WWE contract, was given a prominent position in the main event and feuded with Mikey Whiplash throughout the season. He went on to challenge for the WWP Heavyweight World Title
WWP Heavyweight World Title
The WWP Heavyweight World Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in the South African professional wrestling promotion World Wrestling Professionals, contested exclusively among Heavyweight wrestlers. It was created in April 2004 when WWP debuted its television...
against Joe E Legend
Joe Hitchen
Joseph Edward "Joe" Hitchen is a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Joe E. Legend.-Canadian independent circuit:...
but subsequently lost. The current and 2-time WWP World Heavyweight Champion
WWP Heavyweight World Title
The WWP Heavyweight World Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in the South African professional wrestling promotion World Wrestling Professionals, contested exclusively among Heavyweight wrestlers. It was created in April 2004 when WWP debuted its television...
Tornado
Steve Debbes
Steve Debbes, better known by his ring name Tornado, is a South African professional wrestler performing for World Wrestling Professionals. He is the current 2-time WWP Heavyweight World Champion and the longest-reigning title holder in the championship's history.-Early life:Steve Debbes was a...
formed a dream team with former arch-rival The Skull and feuded with the leaders of the WDP faction, The Weasels, with the WWP Tag Team World Title
WWP Tag Team World Title
The WWP World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling championship in the South African professional wrestling promotion World Wrestling Professionals, contested among tag teams of any weight. It was created in April 2004 when WWP debuted its television show, WWP Thunderstrike.- Title...
at stake during many of their matches.
| Season: | Run: | Day: | Timeslot: |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Season | December 11, 2004 to April 23, 2005 | Saturday | 14:30 to 15:30 |
| Second Season | December, 2005 to April, 2006 | Saturday | 15:30 to 16:30 |
| Third Season | November 1, 2006 to February 27, 2008 | Wednesday | 22:00 to 23:00 |
| Fourth Season | December 13, 2008 to April 28, 2009 | Saturday | 18:30 to 19:30 |
100% De Dhana Dhan
World Wrestling Professionals airs 1-hour pre-recorded episodes of 100% De Dhana Dhan for Colours TV every Saturday and Sunday. It recently completed its first season, which began on August 29, 2009, and ended on December 20, 2009. 100% De Dhana Dhan is a hybrid of reality television and wrestling based on 100% Lucha, and sees wrestlers from India facing wrestlers from South Africa in faction warfare. The kayfabe plot of the show involved the Indian wrestlers being trapped in South Africa and stumbling upon an underground fight league headed by Mark Beale and WWP.WWP wrestlers Tornado
Steve Debbes
Steve Debbes, better known by his ring name Tornado, is a South African professional wrestler performing for World Wrestling Professionals. He is the current 2-time WWP Heavyweight World Champion and the longest-reigning title holder in the championship's history.-Early life:Steve Debbes was a...
, Jason Steele
Jason McGinn (wrestler)
Jason McGinn is a South African professional wrestler currently performing for World Wrestling Professionals.-Professional wrestling career:McGinn was a prominent competitor in South African strongman tournaments in 2003 and 2004 before becoming a professional wrestler...
and Ananzi were involved in training many of the wrestlers from India. In the middle of 2009, WWP held a tryout in Bombay, India, searching for athletic candidates for the show. They selected twelve candidates to be trained before the 100% De Dhana Dhan television tapings in August and September.
Bollywood film stars Isha Koppikar and Sharat Saxena
Sharat Saxena
Sharat Saxena is an Indian actor working in Bollywood films. He has acted in nearly 160 Bollywood films.Saxena started his career in the early 70s and has mainly played either supporting roles of a father, uncle or villainous roles....
had roles in the show. Khoppikar participated as a live presenter while Saxena was the 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...
manager of the Indian team.
In highlights from the first season, Tornado
Steve Debbes
Steve Debbes, better known by his ring name Tornado, is a South African professional wrestler performing for World Wrestling Professionals. He is the current 2-time WWP Heavyweight World Champion and the longest-reigning title holder in the championship's history.-Early life:Steve Debbes was a...
became the 100% Heavyweight Champion on the second show and defended the championship for most of its run until being dethroned by the much larger competitor Goonga in the final episode. Tornado won a tournament where the winner would be awarded the WWP Heavyweight World Title
WWP Heavyweight World Title
The WWP Heavyweight World Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in the South African professional wrestling promotion World Wrestling Professionals, contested exclusively among Heavyweight wrestlers. It was created in April 2004 when WWP debuted its television...
, but seeing as he was already the champion he retained the championship. Sando Paaji defeated Tornado to win the 100% Championship but refused to accept the title and it was awarded back to Tornado. Ananzi and Jason Steele were featured prominently on the show, with Steele winning a title contender's tournament that lasted several weeks and Ananzi winning a crucial ladder match against Angelico
Adam Bridle
Adam Bridle, better known by his ring name Angélico, is a South African-born professional wrestler who was raised in Spain, currently performing for International Wrestling Revolution Group and World Wrestling Professionals...
that awarded the winning team keys to a new vehicle. A controversial angle aired where one of the wrestlers competing on the Indian team died in the ring as a result of injuries inflicted by the Nigerian wrestler Kilimanjaro, which later led to an angle where the passed wrestler returned.
| Season: | Run: | Day: | Timeslot: |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Season | August 29, 2009 to November 22, 2009 | Saturday and Sunday | 21:00 to 22:00 |
Roster Split (2004-2006)
The roster was previously divided into two factions, namely Alkebulan and Def Faxion. The kayfabe storyline entailed that the factions adopted different cultural beliefs, with Def Faxion being based on modernity and materialism, while Alkebulan bore opposite traits, deeply rooted in myth and tradition. Each faction had a championship which was regularly competed for on the WWP Thunderstrike show. The final Def Faxion Heavyweight Champion was The Blacksmith and the final Alkebulan Heavyweight Champion was Ananzi. In late 2006 with the premiere of the third season, the factions were dropped and focus was placed on traditional Heavyweight, Tag Team, Female and Cruiserweight divisions.Touring
Despite the promotion being mainly a product produced for television since 2004, it regularly holds road show tours in various parts of the world such as India, Democratic Republic of the CongoDemocratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
, Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, Greece, Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
, Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
, and in their home country of South Africa. In November, 2008, WWP drew a sell-out crowd at Carnival City in Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
, South Africa, a first for a South African wrestling promotion since the 1980s wrestling boom. In July, 2009, WWP drew a record 20,000 fans in Lubambashi, DRC, their biggest attendance to date.
Training Facilities
World Wrestling Professionals has five training facilities scattered across South Africa. Shows are sometimes independently held by the training facilities in their respective regions showcasing their top students.| Location: | Managed by: |
|---|---|
| Wembley Arena, Durban | Tornado Steve Debbes Steve Debbes, better known by his ring name Tornado, is a South African professional wrestler performing for World Wrestling Professionals. He is the current 2-time WWP Heavyweight World Champion and the longest-reigning title holder in the championship's history.-Early life:Steve Debbes was a... |
| Roodepoort, Johannesburg | Ananzi |
| Wynberg, Cape Town | Abdul Kader |
| Wembley Arena, East Rand | Terri Middoux |
| Port Elizabeth | The Blacksmith |
Active Championships
| Championship: | Champion(s): | Held since: |
|---|---|---|
| WWP World Heavyweight Championship | Tornado Steve Debbes Steve Debbes, better known by his ring name Tornado, is a South African professional wrestler performing for World Wrestling Professionals. He is the current 2-time WWP Heavyweight World Champion and the longest-reigning title holder in the championship's history.-Early life:Steve Debbes was a... |
July 11, 2009 |
| WWP All-Africa Heavyweight Championship | Kwaito Kid | January 2011 |
| WWP World Ladies Championship | Venus | November 5th 2010 |
| WWP World Cruiserweight Championship | Angelico | January 10, 2010 |
| WWP World Tag Team Championship | Blacksmith and 'The School Boy" | July 2010 |
Inactive Championships
| Championship: | Champion(s): | Won: |
|---|---|---|
| WWP Def Faxion Heavyweight Championship | The Blacksmith | June 2004 |
| WWP Alkebulan Heavyweight Championship | Ananzi | December 2005 |
Heavyweight Division
- Ananzi
- AresMarco JaggiMarco Jaggi is a Swiss professional wrestler and wrestling trainer, known by his ring name Ares , who primarily competes in European and American independent promotions. For much of his career, Jaggi teamed with Claudio Castagnoli and Marc Roudin as part of Swiss Money Holding...
- Badshar Khan
- Big Joe Dozer
- The Blacksmith
- Brock Lesnar
- Danger Anna
- Fury
- Ganya Joker
- Giant Warrior
- Goonga
- Jason SteeleJason McGinn (wrestler)Jason McGinn is a South African professional wrestler currently performing for World Wrestling Professionals.-Professional wrestling career:McGinn was a prominent competitor in South African strongman tournaments in 2003 and 2004 before becoming a professional wrestler...
- Joe E Legend
- Jogiya
- Koombang
- Kilimanjaro
- Kwaito Kid
- LX-Extreme
- Mr Wrestling
- Nightmare
- Ryan Cage
- Sando Paaji
- Sangram Singh
- Terri Midoux
- Thakur
- Tiger Rapta
- TornadoSteve DebbesSteve Debbes, better known by his ring name Tornado, is a South African professional wrestler performing for World Wrestling Professionals. He is the current 2-time WWP Heavyweight World Champion and the longest-reigning title holder in the championship's history.-Early life:Steve Debbes was a...
- Ultimate Commander
- Xterminator
Cruiserweight Division
- AngelicoAdam BridleAdam Bridle, better known by his ring name Angélico, is a South African-born professional wrestler who was raised in Spain, currently performing for International Wrestling Revolution Group and World Wrestling Professionals...
- Devon Shooter
- Du Congo
- Ewa Borabora
- Jack Attack
- King Kobra
- Koombang
- Lizzard
- Mikey Whiplash
- Murat
- The Playa
- Rooivalk
- Super X
- Zizou Middoux
Ladies Division
- Akilah
- Allison Wilder
- Alicia
- Alpha Female
- Black Magic
- Kiara
- Ms Hilton
- Pippa La Vinn
- Scorn
- Venus
Tag Teams
- The French Connection (Terri Middoux and Zizou Middoux)
- The Blacksmith and Devon Shooter
- Tornado and Ananzi
- Kilimanjaro and Kwaito Kid
- Angelico and Ryan Cage
- SuperXTreme (Super X and LX-Extreme)
- Tornado and Skull
- Th Weasels {Mark Beale and Blacksmith}
Factions
- WDP (Weasel Domination Party): Mark Beale, Joe E Legend, Kilimanjaro, Ares, Terri Middoux and Zizou Middoux
Other On-Air Talent
- Roland Gaspar (Ring Announcer and Backstage Interviewer)
- Elana Africa (Color Commentator)
- Mark Beale (General Manager)
- Sharad Saxena (Manager)
WWP Referee's (current)
- Jaco van der Westhuizen (started in 2005)
- Charl C van Tonder (started in 2004)
Key people
- Mark Beale (CEO)
- Abdul Kader (Chairman)
- Steve DebbesSteve DebbesSteve Debbes, better known by his ring name Tornado, is a South African professional wrestler performing for World Wrestling Professionals. He is the current 2-time WWP Heavyweight World Champion and the longest-reigning title holder in the championship's history.-Early life:Steve Debbes was a...
(Technical Co-Director)