Memphis Championship Wrestling
Encyclopedia
Memphis Championship Wrestling (MCW) was a professional wrestling promotion
run by Terry Golden, based in Memphis, Tennessee
. The promotion's first event was on February 20, 2000, and it remained active up until mid-2001. It was employed as a World Wrestling Federation
(WWF) developmental territory, so the roster was made up primarily of wrestlers being groomed for prime time or those that had already been established there but were returning from injury.
, Christian York
, Joey Abs
, Joey Matthews
, Rodrageous
, Shooter Schultz, and Spanky
- had also been dropped from their WWF contracts.
With the remaining WWF developmental talent - Steve Bradley
, Victoria
, Lance Cade
, The Island Boyz (Ekmo
& Kimo
), and the Haas Brothers (Charlie
and Russ
) - now being reassigned from Memphis, to Heartland Wrestling Association
, in Cincinnati, Ohio
- it left the promotion with little or no wrestling talent left for the business to run.
show Unleashed! aired on WLMT-TV every Saturday morning at 11:00 am and early Sunday morning at 1:30 am. The show was hosted by ance Russell],David Webb, David Jett, with Kevin Kelly
also later hosting.
After the promotion closed, the MCW television show was made up of candid interviews with many of the departing talents. Soon, these television shows would be made up of old replays and over the coming months it was eventually dropped by the television station.
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...
run by Terry Golden, based in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
. The promotion's first event was on February 20, 2000, and it remained active up until mid-2001. It was employed as a World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
(WWF) developmental territory, so the roster was made up primarily of wrestlers being groomed for prime time or those that had already been established there but were returning from injury.
History
During June 2001, it emerged that the World Wrestling Federation had dropped Memphis Championship Wrestling as their developmental territory. Several of the wrestlers - American DragonBryan Danielson
Bryan Danielson is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE where he wrestles on its SmackDown brand as Daniel Bryan, and currently holds the SmackDown Money in the Bank briefcase, which enables him to have a World Heavyweight Championship match at any time of his choosing...
, Christian York
Christian York
Jason Spence is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Christian York.-York and Matthews:...
, Joey Abs
Jason Arhndt
Jason Ahrndt is a professional wrestler best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation as part of the three man team known as the Mean Street Posse, where he was known as Joey Abs...
, Joey Matthews
Adam Birch
Adam Birch is a retired American professional wrestler, best known for his tenure with World Wrestling Entertainment , and training in WWE's developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling, as Joey Mercury...
, Rodrageous
Rodney Leinhardt
Rodney Leinhardt is an American professional wrestler, better known simply as Rodney from his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation. He is currently working on the independent circuit as RodRageous.-Career:Leinhardt trained under Tom Prichard and debuted in 1998...
, Shooter Schultz, and Spanky
Brian Kendrick
Brian David Kendrick is an American professional wrestler currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under his real name. Before joining TNA he spent several years wrestling for World Wrestling Entertainment, where he wrestled under his name, as Spanky, and finally as "The" Brian Kendrick...
- had also been dropped from their WWF contracts.
With the remaining WWF developmental talent - Steve Bradley
Steve Bradley
Steven Richard Bisson was an American professional wrestler who had competed on North American independent promotions throughout the 1990s including East Coast Wrestling Association, IWA Puerto Rico and the National Wrestling Alliance as well as spending over three years in World Wrestling...
, Victoria
Lisa Marie Varon
Lisa Marie Varon , is an American professional wrestler, bodybuilder and fitness competitor of Puerto Rican and Turkish descent...
, Lance Cade
Lance Cade
Lance Kurtis McNaught was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment where he performed under the ring names Garrison Cade and Lance Cade....
, The Island Boyz (Ekmo
Eddie Fatu
Edward Smith "Eki" Fatu was a Samoan-American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Umaga...
& Kimo
Matt Anoa'i
Matthew "Matt" Anoa'i is a professional wrestler, best known for his time on the independent circuit under numerous ring names, and his time in World Wrestling Entertainment , where he competed as Rosey....
), and the Haas Brothers (Charlie
Charlie Haas
Charles "Charlie" Doyle Haas II is an American professional wrestler and former collegiate amateur wrestler. He competes on the independent circuit, and is signed to Ring of Honor , where he is one-half of the reigning ROH World Tag Team Champions with Shelton Benjamin...
and Russ
Russ Haas
Thomas Russell "Russ" Haas was a professional wrestler. He is best known for his work alongside his brother Charlie in Memphis Championship Wrestling and Jersey All Pro Wrestling....
) - now being reassigned from Memphis, to Heartland Wrestling Association
Heartland Wrestling Association
The Heartland Wrestling Association is a Midwestern independent professional wrestling promotion based in Cincinnati, Ohio. A former developmental territory for both World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation during the 1990s, it was listed as one of the top independent...
, in Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
- it left the promotion with little or no wrestling talent left for the business to run.
Unleashed
Memphis Championship Wrestling's televisionTelevision
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
show Unleashed! aired on WLMT-TV every Saturday morning at 11:00 am and early Sunday morning at 1:30 am. The show was hosted by ance Russell],David Webb, David Jett, with Kevin Kelly
Kevin Kelly (announcer)
Kevin Foote is an American professional wrestling manager, pundit, sportscaster and ring announcer, better known by his ring name, Kevin Kelly...
also later hosting.
After the promotion closed, the MCW television show was made up of candid interviews with many of the departing talents. Soon, these television shows would be made up of old replays and over the coming months it was eventually dropped by the television station.
Championships
- MCW Southern Heavyweight ChampionshipAWA Southern Heavyweight ChampionshipThe Memphis Wrestling Southern Heavyweight Championship is a major professional wrestling title in the Memphis Wrestling promotion. The title is part of a long lineage that is best known while the title was named the AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship for Continental Wrestling Association during...
- MCW Southern Tag Team ChampionshipMCW Southern Tag Team ChampionshipThe MCW Southern Tag Team Championship was the tag team title in Memphis Championship Wrestling from 2000 until the promotion closed in 2002.-Title history:...
- MCW Television Championship
- MCW Hardcore ChampionshipMCW Hardcore ChampionshipThe Memphis Championship Wrestling Hardcore Title first champion was Bitty Little, because Little forced MCW Commissioner Al Kee Holic to award him the championship, even though a tournament had been scheduled to determine the first champion. Joey Abs gave the belt to MCW Commissioner Shooter...
- MCW Southern Light Heavyweight ChampionshipMCW Southern Light Heavyweight ChampionshipThe MCW Southern Light Heavyweight Championship was the title for lighter wrestlers in the Memphis Championship Wrestling professional wrestling promotion. It was rather short-lived, lasting from 2000 to 2001.-Title history:...