Independent circuit

In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indie circuit is the collective name of independent professional wrestling promotions which are smaller than major televised promotions. It is roughly analogous to a minor league for pro wrestling, or community or regional theatre.

Specific promotions on the independent circuit are referred to as indie promotions or indies. A wrestler is said to be in the indies or working the indies if they are wrestling in one of the independent promotions, or working the indie circuit if they are performing in different independent promotions.

Origins

The indie scene in the United States dates back to the days of regional territories. When a promoter ran opposition in even one town controlled by a National Wrestling Alliance sanctioned territory, they were often called an "outlaw" territory. This is considered by some to be a forerunner to indies since some stars of the past got their start in these low quality local rivals to the big regional territories.

The modern definition of the independent circuit came about in the middle to late 1980s and fully formed and flourished after 1990. These promotions initially sought to revive the feel of old school territorial wrestling after former territories either went national, such as WWF, went out of business, or eventually did both, such as WCW. Several indies did in fact manage to tour different towns within a region and maintain a consistent schedule.

After Vince McMahon, seeking regulatory relief, gave in 1989 testimony in front of the New Jersey State Athletic Commission^[1] where he publicly admitted pro wrestling was in fact a sports-based entertainment, rather than a true athletic competition, many state athletic commissions stopped regulating wrestling. This obviated the need for complying with many expensive requirements, such as the need for an on-site ambulance and trained emergency medical personnel at each bout. After the business was thus exposed and deregulated, just about anyone could be a promoter or a wrestler since no licensing beyond a business license was then required. Many thought they could save money by holding shows in lesser towns and smaller arenas with little to no televised exposure, leading to many shows being held only once a week or once a month in local towns.

Differences between the defunct territorial system and the current independent scene

Territories held large shows in a major town each week, with smaller shows in smaller towns throughout the region on other nights of the week. Promoters in those days could fill big arenas seating well up into the thousands, while most current indie promoters struggle to draw a few hundred people at a high school gym, small venue (such as a VFW, American Legion or church hall) or local fairground.

Wrestlers in the territories could afford to make a good living for years at a time. Territories generally also had weekly television shows on local stations in each major town which were viewable over the air in all or most of the smaller towns targeted by the promotion.

In the territory system, most wrestlers would learn the basics by setting up the ring or having a job at the arena (such as setting up, selling merchandise, or refereeing matches). They would then wrestle night after night in different small towns before debuting on the television show and eventually on the main weekly event in the promotion's focal city, and then often go to other territories to learn something new from experience. Many of today's wrestlers learn their trade in a wrestling school, but scrape by learning their craft on occasional indie bookings.

By country

United States

Independent promotions are usually local in focus and, lacking national TV contracts, are much more dependent on revenue from house show attendance. Due to their lower budgets, most independent promotions offer low salaries (it is not unusual for a wrestler to work for free due to the fact most promoters can only afford to pay well-known talent). Most cannot afford to regularly rent large venues, and would not be able to attract a large enough crowd to fill such a venue were they able to do so. Instead, they make use of any almost open space (such as fields, ballrooms, or gymnasiums) to put on their performances. Some independent promotions are attached to professional wrestling schools, serving as a venue for students to gain experience in front of an audience. As independent matches are seldom televised, indie wrestlers who have not already gained recognition in other promotions tend to remain in obscurity. However, scouts from major promotions attend indie shows, and an indie wrestler who makes a good impression may be offered a developmental or even a full-professional contract.

The advent of the Internet has allowed independent wrestlers and promotions to reach a wider audience, and it is possible for wrestlers regularly working the indie circuit to gain some measure of fame among wrestling fans online. Additionally, some of the more successful indies have video distribution deals, giving them an additional source of income and allowing them to reach a larger audience outside of their local areas.

Australia

Unlike the North American or Japanese products which have large, globally renowned organisations such as WWE and New Japan Pro-Wrestling with several hundred smaller promotions, Australia only has approximately 30 smaller independent circuit promotions which exist in all but one of the states and territories, that being the Northern Territory. Tours from the North American product are regularly sold out in capital cities such as Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Brisbane.

Mexico

Lucha libre has many more independent wrestlers in proportion to the rest of North America, because of the weight classes prevalent in the Mexican league system as well as its emphasis on multiple person tag matches; just about anyone with ability can emerge from an independent promotion into either AAA or Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre and be a champion there. Independent Mexican wrestlers may use a lot of gimmicks, including some that may be based on copyrighted characters from American television shows, such as Thundercats and X-Men. (These gimmicks are often changed if the wrestler playing them makes it into AAA or CMLL; the most prominent example of non-compliance with this method is midget wrestler Chucky from AAA, whose gimmick is based on the Child's Play movies.)

Japan

Until 1984, no independent puroresu promotion per se existed in Japan; potential talent went directly into the training dojos of either New Japan Pro-Wrestling or All Japan Pro Wrestling. (International Wrestling Enterprise also was a third-party promotion until 1981.) The advent of the Japanese Universal Wrestling Federation offered a long-sought third alternative.

From 1986 to 1988 the Japanese system went back to the two-promotion system, but then the UWF was reformed and another promotion, Pioneer Senshi, was started. Because of Japanese societal mores which implied that a wrestler was a lifelong employee of a company and thus identified with it wherever he went, neither AJPW nor NJPW made an effort to acquire wrestlers trained in other promotions; wrestlers from the major promotions who left, such as Genichiro Tenryu, Gran Hamada, Yoshiaki Fujiwara, Akira Maeda, Atsushi Onita, and Nobuhiko Takada had to start their own independent promotions in order to keep themselves in the limelight (Wrestling Association "R", Universal Lucha Libre, Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi, Fighting Network Rings, Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling, and Hustle respectively) .

As the 1990s ended, though, things began to change. Independent promotions began gaining more prominence as they were featured in major specialized media such as Shukan Puroresu and Shukan Gong magazines. With the death of Giant Baba and retirement of Antonio Inoki, which effectively broke their control over the promotions they founded, the major promotions began looking to the smaller promotions for talent.

In 2000, the first major signing from an independent, Minoru Tanaka by NJPW from BattlARTS, took place; soon after NJPW stocked the junior heavyweight division with independent talent such as Masayuki Naruse, Tiger Mask, Gedo, and Jado. On the same year, following the Pro Wrestling Noah split, AJPW was forced to fill its ranks with independent talent; Nobutaka Araya, Shigeo Okumura and Mitsuya Nagai signed up (Araya is the only one who remains, but other signings since then have been Kaz Hayashi, Tomoaki Honma, Hideki Hosaka, and Ryuji Hijikata.)

Noah admitted one wrestler from the independents, Daisuke Ikeda, to its ranks as well (Ikeda has since left, but other wrestlers from the independents that were signed included Akitoshi Saito, Takahiro Suwa, and Taiji Ishimori). Although AJPW, NJPW, and Noah remain committed to their dojos, the reliance on independents is growing as obscure talent is recognized for its ability.

United Kingdom

For most of the years of ITV's coverage of British Wrestling, the dominant promoter in the United Kingdom was the Joint Promotions cartel, which was originally modelled on the NWA and later amalgamated into a single company. Nonetheless, throughout this period, untelevised alternative promotions flourished with at least one significant competitor to Joint for live shows.

Initially the main rival was the former dominant promotion in the territory, Atholl Oakley's BWA. By the time of its demise, wrestler/promoter Paul Lincoln had established himself as a major promoter with shows featuring himself as headline heel. In 1958, when Bert Assirati was stripped of the British Heavyweight Championship, Lincoln formed the BWF alliance of promoters to support Assirati's claim, later recognising Shirley Crabtree as champion. Lincoln's BWF was eventually bought out into Joint in 1970.

Welsh promoter Orig Williams also used the BWF name, promoting from the late 1960s up until the early 2000s and then sporadically until his death in 2009. From 1982 to 1995, Williams had a Welsh language TV wrestling show "Reslo" on S4C. Brian Dixon, a referee for Williams, set up his own company Wrestling Enterprises of Birkenhead later renamed All Star Wrestling circa 1984. An alliance with promoter and former top star Jackie Pallo failed to prevent Joint gaining a five year extension on its TV wrestling monopoly from January 1982 to December 1986.

However, by the mid 1980s Dixon had won over many wrestlers and fans from Joint who were tired of the Big Daddy-orientated direction of Joint. Eventually this culminated in All Star gaining a TV show on satellite channel Screensport and later, a slice of ITV's coverage from 1987 until the end of ITV wrestling in 1988. By the end of this period, All Star had effectively replaced Joint (by now owned by Max Crabtree, brother of Shirley) as the dominant promotion in the UK.

Joint, renamed Ring Wrestling Stars in 1991, dwindled down before closing with Crabtree's retirement in 1995, All Star has continued to be the dominant non-import live promotion in the UK up to the present day. Its principal competitors since that time have been Scott Conway's TWA, John Freemantle's Premier Promotions, RBW and LDN Wrestling. Since the 1990s there have also been numerous American-style "New School" promotions.

Events and attendances

Note: Minimum attendance of 3,800.
Extreme Championship Wrestling became a national touring company after holding its first pay-per-view (PPV) event, ECW Barely Legal, on April 13, 1997. In July 1999, ECW was acknowledged as the third major U.S. promotion by Pro Wrestling Illustrated following its national television deal with TNN.

Promotion	Event	Location	Venue	Attendance	Main Event(s)
—	All In September 1, 2018	Hoffman Estates, Illinois	Sears Centre Arena	11,263	The Golden Elite (Kota Ibushi, Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) vs. Bandido, Rey Fénix and Rey Mysterio in a six-man tag team match
WXW	Sportsfest July 12, 1998	Allentown, Pennsylvania	Cedar Beach Park	8,000	The Love Connection (Jay Love and Georgie Love) vs. D'Lo Brown and Owen Hart
FMLL	Luchamania USA January 26, 2013	Los Angeles, California	Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena	7,000	Blue Demon Jr., Cien Caras Jr. and Dr. Wagner Jr. vs. El Hijo del Santo, L.A. Par-K and Rayo de Jalisco Jr. in a six-man tag team match
FMW / WWA	FMW vs. WWA May 16, 1992	Los Angeles, California	California State University	6,250	Atsushi Onita, Tarzan Goto and El Hijo del Santo vs. Negro Casas, Horace Boulder and Tim Patterson in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls Street Fight match	^[2]
ECW	Anarchy Rulz September 19, 1999	Villa Park, Illinois	Odeum Expo Center	6,000	Rob Van Dam (c) vs. Balls Mahoney for the ECW World Television Championship	^[3]^[4]
PMG	Clash of the Legends April 27, 2004	Memphis, Tennessee	FedEx Forum	6,000?	Hulk Hogan vs. Paul Wight
Multiple	World Wrestling Peace Festival June 1, 1996	Los Angeles, California	Los Angeles Sports Arena	5,964	Antonio Inoki and Dan Severn vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara and Oleg Taktarov	^[5]
ECW	November to Remember November 1, 1998	New Orleans, Louisiana	Lakefront Arena	5,800	The Triple Threat (Shane Douglas, Bam Bam Bigelow and Chris Candido) vs. New Triple Threat (Sabu, Rob Van Dam and Taz)	^[6]
ECW	Heat Wave July 16, 2000	Los Angeles, California	Grand Olympic Auditorium	5,700	Justin Credible (c) vs. Tommy Dreamer in a Stairway to Hell match for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship	^[7]^[8]
—	Funk Free for All October 28, 1993	Amarillo, Texas	Amarillo Civic Center	5,500	Terry Funk vs. Eddie Gilbert in a Texas Death match	^[9]
NWA	NWA New Jersey vs. NWA Pro June 27, 2009	Newark, New Jersey	JFK Recreation Center	5,500	Apollo (c) vs. Dimitrios Papadon for the NWA North American Heavyweight Championship
WWWoW	9-Man Battle Royal October 1, 1992	Shelby, North Carolina	[[]]	5,200	9-man battle royal	^[10]
SMW	Night of Legends August 5, 1994	Knoxville, Tennessee	Knoxville Civic Coliseum	5,000	Bob Armstrong, Tracy Smothers and Road Warrior Hawk vs. Bruiser Bedlam and The Funk Brothers (Dory Funk Jr. and Terry Funk)	^[11]
SMW	Superbowl of Wrestling August 4, 1995	Knoxville, Tennessee	Knoxville Civic Coliseum	5,000	Shawn Michaels vs. Buddy Landel for the WWF Intercontinental Championship	^[12]
NEPW	NEPW at the Lake County Fairgrounds August 24, 2002	Painesville, Ohio	Lake County Fairgrounds	5,000	Julio Dinero vs. Dick Trimmins
WXW	Sportsfest July 9, 2004	Allentown, Pennsylvania	Cedar Beach Park	5,000	Rapid Fire Maldonado (c) vs. Mana the Polynesian Warrior for the WXW Heavyweight Championship
MW	Throwback Night II August 28, 2004	Memphis, Tennessee	Mid-South Coliseum	5,000	Terry Funk and Corey Maclin vs. Jerry Lawler and Jimmy Hart with Jimmy Valiant as special referee
ASW	Dukes of Hazzard Festival June 12, 2007	Nashville, Tennessee	Music City Motorplex	5,000	Iron Cross, Bobby Houston and Jerry Lawler vs. Stan Lee, Eddie Golden and K.C. Thunder
ECW	Guilty as Charged January 9, 2000	Birmingham, Alabama	Boutwell Memorial Auditorium	4,700	Mike Awesome vs. Spike Dudley for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship	^[7]
—	Clash of the Legends June 15, 2001	Memphis, Tennessee	Mid-South Coliseum	4,700	Jerry Lawler vs. Lord Humongous with Lance Russell as special referee
ECW	November to Remember November 30, 1997	Monaca, Pennsylvania	Golden Dome	4,634	Bam Bam Bigelow (c) vs. Shane Douglas for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship	^[13]^[14]
ECW	Anarchy Rulz October 1, 2000	Saint Paul, Minnesota	Roy Wilkins Auditorium	4,600	Justin Credible (c) vs. Jerry Lynn for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship	^[7]^[15]
ECW	November to Remember November 5, 2000	Villa Park, Illinois	Odeum Expo Center	4,600	Jerry Lynn (c) vs. Steve Corino vs. Justin Credible vs. The Sandman and in a Double Jeopardy match for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship	^[7]
PWF	Pro Wrestlemania II December 10, 1993	Charlotte, North Carolina	Charlotte Coliseum	4,500	George South and Italian Stallion vs. Austin Steele and Black Scorpion
JCW	Take Me Home Charity Show February 21, 2015	Detroit, Michigan	Detroit Masonic Temple	4,500	2 Tuff Tony (c) vs. The Weedman for the JCW Heavyweight Championship
ECW	Heat Wave August 2, 1998	Dayton, Ohio	Hara Arena	4,376	Tommy Dreamer, The Sandman and Spike Dudley vs. The Dudleys (Buh Buh Ray Dudley, D-Von Dudley and Big Dick Dudley) in a Street Fight match	^[6]
JCW	Hatchet Attacks March 26, 2011	Southgate, Michigan	The Modern Exchange	4,311	Corporal Robinson (c) vs. Ian Rotten in a Barbed Wire, Tables, Ladders & Glass match for the JCW Heavyweight Championship
ICWA	[[]] October 22, 1994	Ormond Beach, Florida	[[]]	4,000	Billy Mack vs. Sonny T	^[16]
WCE	WrestleCade 5: The Final 3 Count November 26, 2016	Winston-Salem, North Carolina	Benton Convention Center	4,000	Matt Hardy (c) vs. Ryback for the WrestleCade Championship
ECW	Terry Funk's WrestleFest September 6, 1997	Amarillo, Texas	Tri-State Fairgrounds Coliseum	3,800	Terry Funk vs. Bret Hart in a No Disqualification match with special referee Dennis Stamp	^[13]^[17]

Historical

Top 10 most-attended shows in the 1990s
No.	Promoter	Event	Location	Venue	Attendance	Main Event(s)
1.	WXW	Sportsfest July 12, 1998	Allentown, Pennsylvania	Cedar Beach Park	8,000	The Love Connection (Jay Love and Georgie Love) vs. D'Lo Brown and Owen Hart
2.	FMW / WWA	FMW vs. WWA May 16, 1992	Los Angeles, California	California State University	6,250	Atsushi Onita, Tarzan Goto and El Hijo del Santo vs. Negro Casas, Horace Boulder and Tim Patterson in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls Street Fight match	^[2]
3.	ECW	Anarchy Rulz September 19, 1999	Villa Park, Illinois	Odeum Expo Center	6,000	Rob Van Dam (c) vs. Balls Mahoney for the ECW World Television Championship	^[3]^[4]
4.	Multiple	World Wrestling Peace Festival June 1, 1996	Los Angeles, California	Los Angeles Sports Arena	5,964	Antonio Inoki and Dan Severn vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara and Oleg Taktarov	^[5]
5.	ECW	November to Remember November 1, 1998	New Orleans, Louisiana	Lakefront Arena	5,800	The Triple Threat (Shane Douglas, Bam Bam Bigelow and Chris Candido) vs. New Triple Threat (Sabu, Rob Van Dam and Taz)	^[6]
6.	—	Funk Free for All October 28, 1993	Amarillo, Texas	Amarillo Civic Center	5,500	Terry Funk vs. Eddie Gilbert in a Texas Death match	^[9]
7.	WWWoW	[[]] October 1, 1992	Shelby, North Carolina	9-Man Battle Royal	5,200	9-man battle royal	^[10]
8.	SMW	Night of Legends August 5, 1994	Knoxville, Tennessee	Knoxville Civic Coliseum	5,000	Bob Armstrong, Tracy Smothers and Road Warrior Hawk vs. Bruiser Bedlam and The Funk Brothers (Dory Funk Jr. and Terry Funk)	^[11]
8.	SMW	Superbowl of Wrestling August 4, 1995	Knoxville, Tennessee	Knoxville Civic Coliseum	5,000	Shawn Michaels vs. Buddy Landel for the WWF Intercontinental Championship	^[12]
9.	ECW	November to Remember November 30, 1997	Monaca, Pennsylvania	Golden Dome	4,634	Bam Bam Bigelow (c) vs. Shane Douglas for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship	^[13]^[14]
10.	PWF	Pro Wrestlemania II December 10, 1993	Charlotte, North Carolina	Charlotte Coliseum	4,500	George South and Italian Stallion vs. Austin Steele and Black Scorpion

Top 10 most-attended shows in the 2000s
No.	Promoter	Event	Location	Venue	Attendance	Main Event(s)
1.	PMG	Clash of the Legends April 27, 2004	Memphis, Tennessee	FedEx Forum	6,000?	Hulk Hogan vs. Paul Wight
2.	ECW	Heat Wave July 16, 2000	Los Angeles, California	Grand Olympic Auditorium	5,700	Justin Credible (c) vs. Tommy Dreamer in a Stairway to Hell match for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship
3.	NWA	NWA New Jersey vs. NWA Pro June 27, 2009	Newark, New Jersey	JFK Recreation Center	5,500	Apollo (c) vs. Dimitrios Papadon for the NWA North American Heavyweight Championship
4.	NEPW	NEPW at the Lake County Fairgrounds August 24, 2002	Painesville, Ohio	Lake County Fairgrounds	5,000	Julio Dinero vs. Dick Trimmins
	WXW	Sportsfest July 9, 2004	Allentown, Pennsylvania	Cedar Beach Park		Rapid Fire Maldonado (c) vs. Mana the Polynesian Warrior for the WXW Heavyweight Championship
	MW	Throwback Night II August 28, 2004	Memphis, Tennessee	Mid-South Coliseum		Terry Funk and Corey Maclin vs. Jerry Lawler and Jimmy Hart with Jimmy Valiant as special referee	^[18]
	ASW	Dukes of Hazzard Festival June 12, 2007	Nashville, Tennessee	Music City Motorplex		Iron Cross, Bobby Houston and Jerry Lawler vs. Stan Lee, Eddie Golden and K.C. Thunder
5.	ECW	Guilty as Charged January 9, 2000	Birmingham, Alabama	Boutwell Memorial Auditorium	4,700	Mike Awesome vs. Spike Dudley for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship
5.	—	Clash of the Legends June 15, 2001	Memphis, Tennessee	Mid-South Coliseum	4,700	Jerry Lawler vs. Lord Humongous with Lance Russell as special referee
6.	ECW	Anarchy Rulz October 1, 2000	Saint Paul, Minnesota	Roy Wilkins Auditorium	4,600	Justin Credible (c) vs. Jerry Lynn for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship
6.	ECW	November to Remember November 5, 2000	Villa Park, Illinois	Odeum Expo Center	4,600	Jerry Lynn (c) vs. Steve Corino vs. Justin Credible vs. The Sandman and in a Double Jeopardy match for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship
7.	MW	Throwback Night July 10, 2004	Memphis, Tennessee	Mid-South Coliseum	3,758	Jerry Lawler and Jimmy Hart vs. Corey Maclin and Kamala	^[19]
8.	ECW	ECW on TNN April 8, 2000	Buffalo, New York	Flickinger Center	3,700	Super Crazy (c) vs. Yoshihiro Tajiri and Little Guido in a 3-Way Dance match for the ECW World Television Championship	^[7]
9.	ECW	ECW on TNN June 24, 2000	Villa Park, Illinois	Odeum Sports & Expo Center	3,500	Justin Credible (c) vs. The Sandman for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship	^[7]
9.	MW	Throwback Night III: A Nightmare in Memphis October 30, 2004	Memphis, Tennessee	Mid-South Coliseum	3,500	Jerry Lawler and The Rock 'n' Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson) vs. Corey Maclin, Stan Lane and Jackie Fargo	^[20]
10.	ECW	Hardcore Heaven May 14, 2000	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	The Rave	3,400	Justin Credible (c) vs. Lance Storm and Tommy Dreamer in a 3-Way Dance match for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship	^[21]

Top 10 most-attended shows in the 2010s
No.	Promoter	Event	Location	Venue	Attendance	Main Event(s)
1.	—	All In September 1, 2018	Hoffman Estates, Illinois	Sears Centre Arena	11,263	The Golden Elite (Kota Ibushi, Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) vs. Bandido, Rey Fénix and Rey Mysterio in a six-man tag team match
2.	FMLL	Luchamania USA January 26, 2013	Los Angeles, California	Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena	7,000	Blue Demon Jr., Cien Caras Jr. and Dr. Wagner Jr. vs. El Hijo del Santo, L.A. Par-K and Rayo de Jalisco Jr. in a six-man tag team match
3.	JCW	Take Me Home Charity Show February 21, 2015	Detroit, Michigan	Detroit Masonic Temple	4,500	2 Tuff Tony (c) vs. The Weedman for the JCW Heavyweight Championship
4.	JCW	Hatchet Attacks March 26, 2011	Southgate, Michigan	The Modern Exchange	4,311	Corporal Robinson (c) vs. Ian Rotten in a Barbed Wire, Tables, Ladders & Glass match for the JCW Heavyweight Championship	^[22]
5.	WCE	WrestleCade 5: The Final 3 Count November 26, 2016	Winston-Salem, North Carolina	Benton Convention Center	4,000	Matt Hardy (c) vs. Ryback for the WrestleCade Championship	^[23]
6.	NEW	Six Flags Slam Fest June 15, 2019	Jackson, New Jersey	Six Flags Great Adventure Theme Park	3,700	Jon Moxley vs. Caz XL	^[24]
7.	CWI	Brawl at the Bush II May 14, 2011	Brantford, Ontario	Brantford Civic Center	3,600	Haven, Lanny Poffo, Brutus Beefcake and Bushwhacker Luke vs. Big Daddy Hammer, Virgil and The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags) in a Survivor Series elimination match
8.	—	[[]] February 17, 2013	Chicago, Illinois	Congress Theatre	3,500	Blue Demon Jr., Imágen Nocturna and Piloto Suicida vs. L.A. Par-K, El Hijo del Santo and Rayo de Jalisco Jr.	^[25]
	LU	Austin Warfare March 15, 2016	Austin, Texas	Austin Music Hall		Cage, Prince Puma and Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Jack Evans, Johnny Mundo and PJ Black
	ROH	Supercard of Honor XI April 1, 2017	Lakeland, Florida	Lakeland Center		Christopher Daniels (c) vs. Dalton Castle for the ROH World Championship
9.	NEW	Wrestling under the Stars (Day 1) August 1, 2015	Wappingers Falls, New York	Dutchess Stadium	3,341	Rey Mysterio Jr. and Alberto El Patrón vs. The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson)
10.	NEW	Wrestlefest March 3, 2017	Waterbury, Connecticut	Crosby High School	3,300	Kurt Angle vs. Cody Rhodes in a Steel Cage match

References

^ "Vince McMahon has transformed pro wrestling from a - 03.25.91 - SI Vault". Archived from the original on 2014-04-07. Retrieved 2013-08-06.
^ ^a ^b Meltzer, Dave (July 20, 1992). "Vader makes title history, title belt lawsuit, Bash 92, real names". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. Anyway, what this means is we've been underestimating the crowds of the Lucha Libre shows and that the original 5/16 show really did draw 6,250 (tickets were $20, $15 and $10 for that show and more freebies so the house was probably well under six figures but probably still in excess of $70,000).
^ ^a ^b Cawthon, Graham. "Yearly Results: 1999". TheHistoryOfWWE.com.
^ ^a ^b Mac, Eddie (September 19, 2016). "This Day in Wrestling History (Sept. 19): Happy Birthday Renee Young!". CagesideSeats.com.
^ ^a ^b Alvarez, Bryan (June 17, 1996). "Brian Pillman future after Humvee accident, Ilio DiPaolo bio, WCW and WWF big gates over the weekend, tons more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. Actual attendance at the World Wrestling Peace Festival was 5,964. I incorrectly misinterpreted the number of comps as being about 1,500 less than it actually was, although in no way did it look like there were anywhere close to 6,000 in the building but that is a legit figure.
^ ^a ^b ^c Cawthon, Graham. "Yearly Results: 1998". TheHistoryOfWWE.com.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Cawthon, Graham. "Yearly Results: 2000". TheHistoryOfWWE.com.
^ Marcoccia, Luke (July 11, 2020). "ECW: 5 Best Matches In Their Final Year (& 5 Worst)". TheSportster.com.
^ ^a ^b Meltzer, Dave (November 8, 1993). "Oro dies in the ring, Sid Vicious vs. Arn Anderson stabbing incident". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. 7,200 tickets were given away, enough to fill the Civic Center. About 5,500 showed up, a surprising amount of whom were certainly old enough to remember the weekly Thursday night cards from the 60s and 70s, and many of whom were kids who came largely to see the Big Bossman of WWF television fame.
^ ^a ^b Meltzer, Dave (October 12, 1992). "Hugely successful WWE tour, terrible ratings, Von Erich sentencing". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. 10/1 Shelby, NC (WWWOW - 5,200 fair grandstand show): [...] Van Dam won Battle Royal
^ ^a ^b Meltzer, Dave (August 14, 1994). "New goofy WCW gimmicks, SMW all-time record, AAA return to LA disappoints, Mr. August wins G-1 again, tons more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. Wrestling set its all-time attendance and gate record on 8/5 in Knoxville for the "Night of the Legends," drawing 5,000 fans and $40,000.
^ ^a ^b Meltzer, Dave (August 14, 1995). "Future of ECW and the Sunshine Network, controversial angle, revamped SummerSlam card, Collision in Korea, tons more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. The live attendance for Jim Cornette's show was 4,600 paid and slightly in excess of 5,000 in the building, both of which would be new company records. The old record for the "Night of Legends" last August in the same building was 5,000 fans, but 4,400 paid. The gate was $37,500, just a tad shy of the $40,000 record set last year.
^ ^a ^b ^c Cawthon, Graham. "Yearly Results: 1997". TheHistoryOfWWE.com.
^ ^a ^b Meltzer, Dave (December 8, 1997). "nWo Nitro plans that never panned out, ECW November to Remember coverage, Big Daddy passes away, Frank Shamrock to UFC, and more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. The November to Remember PPV, billed ahead of time as ECW's showcase event of the year, fell far short of the mark in that regard. As a promotion, it was the most successful by far in company history. For a group that has only drawn 2,000 fans on two occasions in its nearly five year history, it destroyed all existing company records with a sellout crowd of 4,634 (4,218 paying about $103,900, plus another $43,930 in merchandise which are phenomenal figures for a company of that size) at the Golden Dome in Monaca, PA on 11/30.
^ Pantoja, Kevin (February 28, 2015). "Random Network Reviews: ECW Anarchy Rulz 2000". 411mania.com.
^ Meltzer, Dave (October 31, 1994). "Flair "retires", Rougeau retires, Halloween Havoc review, Kawada wins Triple Crown for the first time, tons more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. 10/22 Ormand Beach, FL (ICWA - 4,000 free festival show): [...] Billy Mac b Sonny T
^ Meltzer, Dave (September 22, 1997). "Huge issue w/ Fritz Von Erich Bio, USWA & AJW troubles, Terry Funk "retirement" in Amarillo, Fall Brawl report, & much more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. The show drew nearly a full house of 3,800.
^ Campbell, Jason. "Throwback Night II". ProWrestlingHistory.com.
^ Campbell, Jason. "Throwback Night". ProWrestlingHistory.com.
^ Campbell, Jason. "Throwback Night III". ProWrestlingHistory.com.
^ Pantoja, Kevin (February 15, 2016). "Random Network Reviews: Hardcore Heaven 2000". 411mania.com.
^ Nemer, Paul (March 27, 2011). "3/26 JCW iPPV Results (Raven, Eugene, Conway)". Wrestleview.com. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
^ Lea, Chris (November 26, 2016). "WrestleCade 2016 in Winston-Salem". WXII-TV.
^ Crowther IV, Rob (June 17, 2019). "Jon Moxley, Mick Foley Rock Northeast Wrestling's Packed Six Flags Slam". ThePopBreak.com.
^ "Llego su Majestad LA Park a Chicago" [His Majesty LA Park has arrived in Chicago]. TheGladiatores.com (in Spanish). February 21, 2013. Retrieved April 2, 2022. En Chicago el nombre de LA Park es garantía de poder y el pasado 17 de Febrero volvió a llenar el Teatro Congress el inmueble resulto insuficiente para un público que materialmente se volcó en la arena rompiendo el record de asistencia ya que cerca de 3500 personas se dieron cita para ver a su ídolo. [In Chicago the name of LA Park is a guarantee of power and last February 17 he once again filled the Congress Theater, the building was insufficient for an audience that materially poured into the arena, breaking the attendance record as about 3500 people gathered to see their idol.]

[WWF-1] "Vince McMahon has transformed pro wrestling from a - 03.25.91 - SI Vault". Archived from the original on 2014-04-07. Retrieved 2013-08-06.

[WO1992-JUL20-2] Meltzer, Dave (July 20, 1992). "Vader makes title history, title belt lawsuit, Bash 92, real names". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. Anyway, what this means is we've been underestimating the crowds of the Lucha Libre shows and that the original 5/16 show really did draw 6,250 (tickets were $20, $15 and $10 for that show and more freebies so the house was probably well under six figures but probably still in excess of $70,000).

[Cawthon-1999-3] Cawthon, Graham. "Yearly Results: 1999". TheHistoryOfWWE.com.

[CSS-4] Mac, Eddie (September 19, 2016). "This Day in Wrestling History (Sept. 19): Happy Birthday Renee Young!". CagesideSeats.com.

[WO1996-JUN17-5] Alvarez, Bryan (June 17, 1996). "Brian Pillman future after Humvee accident, Ilio DiPaolo bio, WCW and WWF big gates over the weekend, tons more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. Actual attendance at the World Wrestling Peace Festival was 5,964. I incorrectly misinterpreted the number of comps as being about 1,500 less than it actually was, although in no way did it look like there were anywhere close to 6,000 in the building but that is a legit figure.

[Cawthon-1998-6] Cawthon, Graham. "Yearly Results: 1998". TheHistoryOfWWE.com.

[Cawthon-2000-7] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Cawthon, Graham. "Yearly Results: 2000". TheHistoryOfWWE.com.

[Sportster-8] Marcoccia, Luke (July 11, 2020). "ECW: 5 Best Matches In Their Final Year (& 5 Worst)". TheSportster.com.

[WO1993-NOV08-9] Meltzer, Dave (November 8, 1993). "Oro dies in the ring, Sid Vicious vs. Arn Anderson stabbing incident". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. 7,200 tickets were given away, enough to fill the Civic Center. About 5,500 showed up, a surprising amount of whom were certainly old enough to remember the weekly Thursday night cards from the 60s and 70s, and many of whom were kids who came largely to see the Big Bossman of WWF television fame.

[WO1992-OCT12-10] Meltzer, Dave (October 12, 1992). "Hugely successful WWE tour, terrible ratings, Von Erich sentencing". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. 10/1 Shelby, NC (WWWOW - 5,200 fair grandstand show): [...] Van Dam won Battle Royal

[WO1994-AUG14-11] Meltzer, Dave (August 14, 1994). "New goofy WCW gimmicks, SMW all-time record, AAA return to LA disappoints, Mr. August wins G-1 again, tons more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. Wrestling set its all-time attendance and gate record on 8/5 in Knoxville for the "Night of the Legends," drawing 5,000 fans and $40,000.

[WO1995-AUG14-12] Meltzer, Dave (August 14, 1995). "Future of ECW and the Sunshine Network, controversial angle, revamped SummerSlam card, Collision in Korea, tons more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. The live attendance for Jim Cornette's show was 4,600 paid and slightly in excess of 5,000 in the building, both of which would be new company records. The old record for the "Night of Legends" last August in the same building was 5,000 fans, but 4,400 paid. The gate was $37,500, just a tad shy of the $40,000 record set last year.

[Cawthon-1997-13] Cawthon, Graham. "Yearly Results: 1997". TheHistoryOfWWE.com.

[WO1997-DEC08-14] Meltzer, Dave (December 8, 1997). "nWo Nitro plans that never panned out, ECW November to Remember coverage, Big Daddy passes away, Frank Shamrock to UFC, and more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. The November to Remember PPV, billed ahead of time as ECW's showcase event of the year, fell far short of the mark in that regard. As a promotion, it was the most successful by far in company history. For a group that has only drawn 2,000 fans on two occasions in its nearly five year history, it destroyed all existing company records with a sellout crowd of 4,634 (4,218 paying about $103,900, plus another $43,930 in merchandise which are phenomenal figures for a company of that size) at the Golden Dome in Monaca, PA on 11/30.

[411mania-2015-15] Pantoja, Kevin (February 28, 2015). "Random Network Reviews: ECW Anarchy Rulz 2000". 411mania.com.

[WO1994-OCT31-16] Meltzer, Dave (October 31, 1994). "Flair "retires", Rougeau retires, Halloween Havoc review, Kawada wins Triple Crown for the first time, tons more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. 10/22 Ormand Beach, FL (ICWA - 4,000 free festival show): [...] Billy Mac b Sonny T

[WO1997-SEP22-17] Meltzer, Dave (September 22, 1997). "Huge issue w/ Fritz Von Erich Bio, USWA & AJW troubles, Terry Funk "retirement" in Amarillo, Fall Brawl report, & much more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. The show drew nearly a full house of 3,800.

[18] Campbell, Jason. "Throwback Night II". ProWrestlingHistory.com.

[19] Campbell, Jason. "Throwback Night". ProWrestlingHistory.com.

[20] Campbell, Jason. "Throwback Night III". ProWrestlingHistory.com.

[21] Pantoja, Kevin (February 15, 2016). "Random Network Reviews: Hardcore Heaven 2000". 411mania.com.

[22] Nemer, Paul (March 27, 2011). "3/26 JCW iPPV Results (Raven, Eugene, Conway)". Wrestleview.com. Retrieved April 1, 2022.

[23] Lea, Chris (November 26, 2016). "WrestleCade 2016 in Winston-Salem". WXII-TV.

[24] Crowther IV, Rob (June 17, 2019). "Jon Moxley, Mick Foley Rock Northeast Wrestling's Packed Six Flags Slam". ThePopBreak.com.

[25] "Llego su Majestad LA Park a Chicago" [His Majesty LA Park has arrived in Chicago]. TheGladiatores.com (in Spanish). February 21, 2013. Retrieved April 2, 2022. En Chicago el nombre de LA Park es garantía de poder y el pasado 17 de Febrero volvió a llenar el Teatro Congress el inmueble resulto insuficiente para un público que materialmente se volcó en la arena rompiendo el record de asistencia ya que cerca de 3500 personas se dieron cita para ver a su ídolo. [In Chicago the name of LA Park is a guarantee of power and last February 17 he once again filled the Congress Theater, the building was insufficient for an audience that materially poured into the arena, breaking the attendance record as about 3500 people gathered to see their idol.]

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