In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indy circuit refers to the many independent promotions which are much smaller than major televised promotions, particularly the current WWE and TNA promotions and WCW and ECW of the past. Professional wrestling, or pro wrestling, is a non-competitive professional Sport, where all matches are scripted by the promotion's booking staff A professional wrestling promotion (also federation or fed) is a company or Business that performs regular shows involving Professional World Wrestling Entertainment Inc ( WWE) is a publicly traded privately controlled integrated media (focusing in Television, Internet, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ( TNA) is an American Professional wrestling promotion founded by Jeff Jarrett and his father Jerry Jarrett Extreme Championship Wrestling ( ECW) was a Professional wrestling promotion that was founded in Philadelphia Pennsylvania in 1992 by Specific promotions on the independent circuit are referred to as indy promotions or indies. A wrestler is said to be in the indies or working the indies if he or she is wrestling in one of the independent promotions, or working the indy circuit if he or she is performing in different independent promotions. (For most wrestlers who have previously worked in a major nationally televised promotion, this is considered a step backward in their careers. )
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Overview
Although the following paragraphs describe the system used in North America, the basic concepts can be applied to independent promotions elsewhere.
Independent promotions are usually regional in focus and, lacking national TV contracts, are dependent on revenue from house show attendance. Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic A house show is a short Professional wrestling show run by a major promotion (such as WWE or TNA) that is not televised or taped Due to their lower budgets, most independent promotions offer low salaries (it is not unusual for a wrestler to be paid only $5 to $20 per match). Most cannot afford to regularly rent large venues, and would not be able to attract a large enough crowd to fill such a venue, so they have to make use of any 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. A professional wrestling school is a school or gym that teaches students the necessary skills to become pro wrestlers.
As independent matches are usually not televised, indy wrestlers who have not already gained recognition in other promotions tend to remain in obscurity. However, scouts from major promotions attend indy shows, and an indy wrestler who makes a good impression may be offered a developmental or even a 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 indy circuit to gain some small measure of fame among wrestling fans online. The Internet is a global system of interconnected Computer networks 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.
A few independent promotions have become major forces in the wrestling business. WWE, originally the World Wide Wrestling Federation, was an independent after breaking off from the National Wrestling Alliance; it eventually became the dominant pro wrestling organization in the USA. World Wrestling Entertainment Inc ( WWE) is a publicly traded privately controlled integrated media (focusing in Television, Internet, The National Wrestling Alliance ( NWA) is the largest governing body for a group of independent Professional wrestling promotions and sanctions various NWA More recently, TNA, originally labelled NWA:TNA, has (like many other major promotions through the years) distanced itself from the National Wrestling Alliance; with a national TV deal, a video game deal with Midway Games, and DVD distribution, has helped it grow beyond independent status. Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ( TNA) is an American Professional wrestling promotion founded by Jeff Jarrett and his father Jerry Jarrett Midway Games ( (formerly Midway Manufacturing) is an American Video game publisher. Some of the more well known indy promotions today in the United States include All Pro Wrestling, CHIKARA, Combat Zone Wrestling, Heartland Wrestling Association, Memphis Wrestling, Ohio Valley Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, Ring of Honor and its sister promotions Full Impact Pro and SHIMMER Women Athletes. All Pro Wrestling is an independent Professional wrestling promotion based in Hayward, California which was started by and is currently CHIKARA (sometimes referred to as CHIKARA Pro) is an American Professional wrestling promotion based in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. Combat Zone Wrestling ( CZW) is an American based Professional wrestling promotion, based around the 'ultraviolent' style of professional wrestling The Heartland Wrestling Association is a Midwestern independent Professional wrestling promotion based in Cincinnati Ohio. See also Memphis Championship Wrestling Memphis Wrestling is an American Professional wrestling promotion based in Memphis Tennessee. Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW is an American independent Professional wrestling promotion based in Louisville, Kentucky. Pro Wrestling Guerrilla ( PWG) is a Professional wrestling promotion that is run by wrestlers themselves as it was created by Southern California wrestlers Ring of Honor (ROH is an American Professional wrestling promotion. Full Impact Pro (FIP is an American independent Professional wrestling promotion based in Florida. SHIMMER redirects here For other meanings see Shimmer. SHIMMER Women Athletes (often referred to simply as SHIMMER is a Chicago
Although most promotions try and adhere to a high standard of wrestling integrity, independent promotions are also the most likely places to find matches involving hardcore wrestling, also referred to sometimes as "garbage wrestling". Hardcore wrestling is a form of Professional wrestling that eschews traditional concepts of match rules in favor of matches that take place in unusual environments using Since the indy wrestlers are not on TV, there are usually no restrictions on what they can say and do during matches. Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic Infamous hardcore wrestling companies include Combat Zone Wrestling and IWA Mid-South. Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South (also known as IWA Mid-South IWA-MS and IWA Mid South Wrestling is an independent Professional wrestling promotion
Independent promotions in other countries
In Mexico and Japan, which have recognized major circuits, the concept of independent circuits also exists. The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. The reliance on major promotions to acquire talent from them, however, varies widely from each other and from the North American system.
Mexico
Lucha Libre has many more independent wrestlers in proportion than the rest of North America, because of the weight classes prevalent in the Mexican league system as well as it's emphasis on multiple person tag matches; just about anyone with ability can emerge from an independent promotion into either Asistencia Asesoria y Administracion or Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre and be a champion there. Lucha libre ( Spanish for "free wrestling" is a term used in Mexico and other Spanish-speaking areas to refer to a certain form of Professional wrestling Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA (Spanish for "Assistance Consulting and Administration" is a Lucha Libre Professional wrestling promotion 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. ThunderCats is an American Animated television series that was developed and produced by Rankin/Bass Productions debuting in 1985 The X-Men is a team of fictional Superhero characters in Comic books published by Marvel Comics. (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 movie. Child's Play is a 1988 Horror film written by Don Mancini and directed by Tom Holland. )
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. Year 1984 ( MCMLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1984 Gregorian calendar) Professional wrestling in Japan is commonly referred to as in Japanese, short for "professional is a major Professional wrestling federation in Japan and is a member of the National Wrestling Alliance, founded by Antonio Inoki in 1972 ( AJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established in 1972 (International Pro Wrestling also was a third-party promotion until 1981. This page describes the two promotions that have administered the International Wrestling Alliance titles in Japan Year 1981 ( MCMLXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 ) The advent of the Japanese UWF offered a long-sought third alternative. The original Japanese based Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF was a Japanese professional wrestling promotion from 1984 to 1986, formed by 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. Pioneer Senshi ( Japanese for "Pioneer Soldier" or "Pioneer Warrior") was the first-ever independent promotion in Japanese
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, Yoshiaki Yatsu, Atsushi Onita, and Nobuhiko Takada had to start their own independent promotions in order to keep themselves in the limelight. Mores (ˈmɔːreɪz are norms or customs Mores derive from the established practices of a society rather than its written Laws. Genichiro Tenryu (天龍源一郎 Tenryū Gen'ichirō) real name Genichiro Shimada (嶋田源一郎 Shimada Gen'ichirō, born February 2 better known by his Ring name, (b 27 November 1950 is Japanese professional wrestler, the first to adopt the high-flying Mexican Lucha libre style is a Japanese Actor, and professional wrestler who has worked for New Japan Pro Wrestling, Pro Wrestling (born January 24, 1959) is a Japanese Professional wrestler, also known as Kwik-kik-Lee for his time on the British Wrestling Yoshiaki Yatsu (谷津嘉章 Yatsu Yoshiaki) is a Japanese Professional wrestler. Atsushi Onita (大仁田 厚 Ōnita Atsushi) (Born October 25, 1957) is a Japanese former Politician and retired Professional Nobuhiko Takada ( Japanese:髙田延彦 born April 12 1962) is a Japanese Mixed martial arts fighter and Professional wrestler
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. Shohei Baba ( Baba Shōhei, January 23 1938&ndashJanuary 31 1999 was a Professional wrestler and co-founder of All Japan Pro Wrestling. real name, born February 20, 1943) is a Professional wrestling promoter and retired Japanese Professional wrestler and mixed martial In 2000, the first major signing from an independent, Minoru Tanaka by NJPW from BattlARTS, took place; pretty soon NJPW stocked the junior heavyweight division with independent talent such as Masayuki Naruse, Tiger Mask IV, Gedo, and Jado. Battlarts (格闘探偵団バトラーツ Kakutō Tentei-dan Batoratsu, Fighting Investigation Team Battlarts is a Professional wrestling promotion based in In Professional wrestling, a cruiserweight is a wrestler weighing below 220 lb (100 kg sometimes 215 is a Japanese professional wrestler. Career Naruse debuted in Fighting Network RINGS in 1992 Yoshihiro Yamazaki (born October 20, 1970) best known by his ring name Tiger Mask (IV (タイガーマスク is a Japanese Keiji Takayama (born February 20 1969 better known as Gedo, is a long time Professional wrestler. better known by his Ring name (born September 28, 1968) is a Japanese professional wrestler, best known for his work in New Japan Pro 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. Pro-Wrestling NOAH is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion, founded in 2000 by former All Japan Pro Wrestling ace Mitsuharu Misawa Kazuhiro "Kaz" Hayashi (born January 2 1973 in Tokyo Japan) is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working for All Japan Pro Tomoaki Honma (本間朋晃 Honma Tomoaki) is a Freelance Japanese professional wrestler currently touring ) NOAH admitted one wrestler from the independents, Daisuke Ikeda, to its ranks as well (Ikeda has since left, but other wrestlers from the independents to be signed include Akitoshi Saito, Takahiro Suwa, and Taiji Ishimori). Daisuke Ikeda (池田大輔 Ikeda Daisuke born February 13 1968) is a Japanese Professional wrestler who is currently wrestling in the is a Japanese professional wrestler who currently works for Pro Wrestling NOAH, where he is one half of the current GHC Tag Team Champions with Bison Smith. better known by his Ring name SUWA, is a retired Japanese professional wrestler, formerly of Pro Wrestling NOAH. is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working for Pro Wrestling NOAH. Although AJPW, NJPW, and NOAH remain committed to their dojos, the reliance on independents is growing as obscure talent is recognized for its ability.
See also
External links
- List of independent promotions
- Indy Wrestling News, a site that covers indy wrestling news
- Prohiowrestling.com, a site covering Ohio Indy Wrestling
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