Professional Girl Wrestling Association
Encyclopedia
The Professional Girl Wrestling Association (PGWA) was founded in 1992. The aim of the PGWA is to preserve and promote "Old School" women's pro wrestling. Based in North Carolina, the organization frequently sponsors matches and whole cards in the Mid-Atlantic
and Mid-South
states, as well as in Mexico
and the United Kingdom
through partnerships with other regional promotions. From its founding in 1992 until her passing in mid-2008, the Commissioner of the PGWA was Penny Banner
.
PGWA matches tend to run 15 to 30 minutes, as opposed to the usual 5 to 10 minutes often allotted female wrestlers by promoters. This allows wrestlers to display a full range of their abilities, rather than having to focus on a few key moves in the short span of time their match allows.
's training sessions and later videotaped a match between her and Judy Martin
. Green later became the promotion's first champion.
In 2002, the promotion began holding events in the United Kingdom
and Europe. The 2004 show "Summer Heat", filmed in Nashville, Tennessee
, had the largest card in the promotion's history to that time with 16 women wrestling at the event. In October 2004, PGWA co-promoted the first ChickFight
tournament, which later became an annual event, with All Pro Wrestling
. In November 2008, after the passing of Penny Banner, Susan Green became the new commissioner of the PGWA.
The Rookie of the Year Award was retired after 2003 and replaced with the fan-voted Most Promising Wrestler Award. It was revived in 2010.
The Most Promising award was retooled after '08 into the Wrestler of the Year award
This award is determined by fan balloting at ProWrestlingDigest.com
Mid-Atlantic States
The Mid-Atlantic states, also called middle Atlantic states or simply the mid Atlantic, form a region of the United States generally located between New England and the South...
and Mid-South
Mid-South
Mid-South may refer to:*The East South Central States*The region centered on the Memphis and Little Rock MSAs, including portions of West Tennessee, northern Mississippi, and northeastern Arkansas, as well as the Missouri Bootheel and extreme northwestern Alabama; see Memphis metropolitan...
states, as well as in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
through partnerships with other regional promotions. From its founding in 1992 until her passing in mid-2008, the Commissioner of the PGWA was Penny Banner
Penny Banner
Mary Ann Kostecki , better know by her stage name Penny Banner, was a professional wrestler. She was best known for her time spent in the American Wrestling Association...
.
Purpose
The company sets up wrestling matches for independent female wrestlers—wrestlers that are not signed to a major company—video tapes the matches and sells them to help promote their careers. Because the women do not sign exclusive contracts, they are free to wrestle in other promotions or major wrestling companies. Unlike many female-only wrestling organizations, PGWA does not overly emphasize the sexuality of the female wrestlers, nor does it promote them as "eye-candy", but rather stresses their skills and ability.PGWA matches tend to run 15 to 30 minutes, as opposed to the usual 5 to 10 minutes often allotted female wrestlers by promoters. This allows wrestlers to display a full range of their abilities, rather than having to focus on a few key moves in the short span of time their match allows.
History
The Professional Girl Wrestling Association (PGWA) was founded in 1992 in North Carolina by sportswriter Randy Powell. Powell brought a video camera to one of Susan GreenSue Green
Susan Tex Green is an American professional wrestler. She began wrestling at the age of 15 and was trained by The Fabulous Moolah. She was the frequent tag team partner of Sandy Parker, with whom she won the National Wrestling Alliance 's NWA Women's World Tag Team Championship. The title reign,...
's training sessions and later videotaped a match between her and Judy Martin
Judy Martin (wrestler)
Judy Hardee is a former female professional wrestler known as Judy Martin. Martin is a former WWF Women's Tag Team Champion. She held the title with partner Leilani Kai as The Glamour Girls...
. Green later became the promotion's first champion.
In 2002, the promotion began holding events in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Europe. The 2004 show "Summer Heat", filmed in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, had the largest card in the promotion's history to that time with 16 women wrestling at the event. In October 2004, PGWA co-promoted the first ChickFight
ChickFight
ChickFight is an all-female professional wrestling promotion based in San Francisco, California. It is cited as the home promotion of female professional wrestler, Cheerleader Melissa.-History:...
tournament, which later became an annual event, with All Pro Wrestling
All Pro Wrestling
All Pro Wrestling Gym Wars is a professional wrestling television program produced by APW which originally aired weekly on Saturday mornings on KFTY Channel 50 in the San Francisco Bay Area, beginning December 5, 2009. The series features the professional wrestlers of All Pro Wrestling competing in...
. In November 2008, after the passing of Penny Banner, Susan Green became the new commissioner of the PGWA.
LadySports
Concurrent with the launch of the PGWA in 1992, the promotion began selling a women's wrestling newsletter called Connections. Shortly, this was transformed into a quarterly magazine titled LadySports (3 issues of a sister magazine, LadyBoxer, were also published in the late 1990s). The PGWA staff also frequently supplied photographs and feature articles to such newsstand publications as Wrestling Eye, PWI, WOW! and Fighting Females. Since the mid-90s, a LadySports Online website has also been maintained. With the cessation of the quarterly magazine, publishing efforts were shifted to the website, which not only offers downloads of PGWA matches and features on PGWA talent, but also provides coverage for non-PGWA women, from wrestlers to valets and referees.PGWA Championship
| Wrestler: | Times: | Date: | Location: | Notes: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Susan Green Sue Green Susan Tex Green is an American professional wrestler. She began wrestling at the age of 15 and was trained by The Fabulous Moolah. She was the frequent tag team partner of Sandy Parker, with whom she won the National Wrestling Alliance 's NWA Women's World Tag Team Championship. The title reign,... |
1 | 1992 | Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009... |
|
| Judy Martin Judy Martin (wrestler) Judy Hardee is a former female professional wrestler known as Judy Martin. Martin is a former WWF Women's Tag Team Champion. She held the title with partner Leilani Kai as The Glamour Girls... |
1 | 1999 | ||
| Susan Green | 2 | 1999 | ||
| Angel "Riptide" Orsini Angel Orsini Angel Orsini is an American professional wrestler, bodybuilder and former mixed martial arts fighter, best known by her ring name Riptide... |
1 | 2000 | Thomasville, North Carolina Thomasville, North Carolina Thomasville is a city in Davidson County in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 21,354 at the 2010 census. The city is notable for its furniture industry as are its neighbors of High Point and Lexington. This Piedmont Triad community was established in 1852 and hosts the state's... |
|
| Lexie Fyfe Lexie Fyfe Mary Beth Bentley , is an American professional wrestler. She has wrestled in various independent wrestling promotions, most notably for Shimmer Women Athletes and has had tryouts for both WWE and WCW.-Early life:... |
1 | 2001 | Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009... |
Won the title in a three-way dance against Riptide and Brandi Alexander |
| Leilani Kai Leilani Kai Patricia Schroeder , better known by her stage name Leilani Kai, is a semi-retired professional wrestler. She began training with The Fabulous Moolah right after finishing high school... |
1 | 2002 | Branson, Missouri Branson, Missouri Branson is a city in Taney County in the U.S. state of Missouri. It was named after Reuben Branson, postmaster and operator of a general store in the area in the 1880s.... |
Won at the "Battleground: Branson" event |
| Pippa L'Vinn | 1 | November 2002 | Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh... |
|
| Nikki Roxx | 1 | April 23, 2005 | Manchester, England | Won at an event entitled "St. George's Daymes" |
| Tracy Taylor | 1 | November 15, 2008 | Millersville, Tennessee Millersville, Tennessee Millersville is a city in Robertson and Sumner counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The population was 5,308 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Millersville is located at .... |
Won at the "A Banner Night" event |
| Nemesis | 1 | April 16, 2011 | Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home... |
Rookies of the Year
- 1994-Molly McShane
- 1995-Regina Hale
- 1996-Joanie LaurerJoanie LaurerChyna is a former American professional wrestler, actress, pornographic actress and former bodybuilder. She is best known for her career with the World Wrestling Federation from 1997 to 2001, where she was billed as "Chyna: 'The Ninth Wonder of the World'"...
/Lee (AKA Chyna) - 1997-Brandi "Babydoll" Collins
- 1998-Strawberry Fields
- 1999-Sweet Destiny (AKA Little Jeanne)
- 2000-Amber Holly
- 2001-Mia Martinez
- 2002-Christie RicciChristie RicciChristie Mathis is an American professional wrestler better known by her ring names, Christie Ricci and Glory. She is the current and inaugural Wrestlicious Champion....
- 2003-Venus
- 2010-Nemesis
The Rookie of the Year Award was retired after 2003 and replaced with the fan-voted Most Promising Wrestler Award. It was revived in 2010.
Most Promising Wrestler of the Year
- 2004-Persephone
- 2005-Nikki Roxx
- 2006-Josie (aka Sojourner Bolt)
- 2007-Roxi
- 2008-Josianne Pussycat
The Most Promising award was retooled after '08 into the Wrestler of the Year award
Wrestler of the Year
- 2009-Josianne Pussycat
- 2010-Jessie Belle Smothers
This award is determined by fan balloting at ProWrestlingDigest.com