ECWA Has A New Owner
Mike Tartaglia has sold the longest-running independent promotion in the U.S.
The East Coast Wrestling Association (ECWA), considered the longest-running independent wrestling promotion in the United States, is under new ownership.
Mike Tartaglia, who ran the promotion for the past decade, sold ECWA in December. Longtime matchmaker Joe Zanolle, supported by an undisclosed, highly influential investor with industry experience, has taken over.
“I’m looking to re-energize the ECWA,” Zanolle, 48, says. “I’ve been going to ECWA shows for almost half my life. It’s not just another show to me.” Zanolle says the ECWA name will stay, the Super 8 tournament will continue and the promotion’s home will remain the Asbury United Methodist Church in New Castle, DE.
There will be some changes, though, as evidenced by the Toys For Tots event last month. Several scheduled matches were altered, which just so happened to result in Mr. Ooh La La and Jay D Luscious winning the ECWA Tag Team Titles and Sam Shields betraying his fellow PCA brethren Joey Ace to win the ECWA Heavyweight Championship. Expect more roster changes in the coming months, Zanolle says, including some familiar faces and stars from yesteryear.
A couple returns have already been announced for Jan. 18, such as Chris Rockwell and Ricky Reyes (aka Cortez Castro from Lucha Underground). In a top contenders match for the ECWA Tag Team Titles, Teddy Fine and Greg Spitz will take on Travis Lee and Kyle Christopher.
A new ECWA Mid-Atlantic Championship belt is in the process of being designed, but the previously announced tournament to crown a new champion has been axed. Instead, there will be a triple threat between Napalm Bomb, Tahir James and Killian McMurphy on Jan. 18 to decide the new titleholder. Speaking of new champions, Shields will defend the promotion’s top prize against Ace in a rematch on Jan. 18.
There will also be changes outside the ring. Zanolle says ECWA’s past footage will be digitally transferred, making it more accessible to fans. In the fall, the company’s website was completely revamped with an updated roster, easy-to-navigate shop and plenty of fresh content that celebrates the promotion’s rich history. Continuing to primarily market itself through Facebook, ECWA has revived both its Twitter and Instagram pages, too.
“If anybody thought I was going to let ECWA die, you’re crazy,” Zanolle says. “We’re going to try different things. I want to keep the quality and legacy alive.”
Breeding Ground
ECWA was founded by Jim Kettner in 1967, when he promoted his first show in his backyard. He would grow the company into a breeding ground, helping develop future stars such as Christian, Christopher Daniels, Low Ki, Billy Kidman and more. After 43 years of promoting, Kettner retired in 2010 and sold the company to Tartaglia.
“Kettner ruled with an iron fist,” Zanolle says. “He had all the leverage. There was no social media. There weren’t a hundred promotions in the Northeast. He was a local promoter for WWF and had an in with PWI. Demand was high, but supply was low. If you wanted to see Low Ki or Christopher Daniels, you had to go to ECWA.”
A lifelong fan, Tartaglia broke into the sport in 1990 under the alias Mike Bruno. He started in Joel Goodhart’s Tri-State Wrestling Alliance, and even competed on the first ECW card before it was Extreme. After TWA folded, Tartaglia left pro wrestling, returning for a few matches in 1995 and 1998. In 2009, he became a promoter, resurrecting the TWA with a reunion show. After taking over for Kettner, Tartaglia merged both promotions under the ECWA banner.
The transfer of daily operations was arranged by Zanolle, a former referee and photographer for Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Booking for TWA at the time, Zanolle was very familiar with ECWA, regularly attending shows and even serving as a photographer. He has remained in Tartaglia’s inner circle ever since.
“We kept Kettner’s original crew – they all left us,” Zanolle says. “They were pissed at how they were being used and didn’t think we knew what we were doing.”
Wrestlers complaining about their spot on the card is natural. So was Tartaglia’s bellyaching, which is why Zanolle says he wasn’t shocked when the company went on hiatus in June of 2019. Running the promotion had been a struggle for quite some time, but three events pushed Tartaglia over the edge: opening a juice bar business, Atlantic City and the Super 8.
High Stakes
In November of 2017, ECWA expanded its territory to Atlantic City.
Looking to branch out from the oversaturated South Jersey market, Tartaglia booked a room at The Showboat with the hopes of becoming a permanent attraction in the area. The first event happened during Thanksgiving weekend and featured WWE Hall of Famers Tito Santana and Tony Atlas. Zanolle says the first show went “okay,” but the hotel management quickly revealed themselves to be “imbeciles.”
“I never liked us going to Atlantic City,” Zanolle says. “The Showboat allowed another promotion to put up fliers when this was supposed to be our new home. Then we had to cancel The Boogeyman because a third party affiliated with the hotel pulled out of paying for the show the week of. Mike told guys the situation and asked if they could take a pay cut. Some said yes, some said no. Those who said no, he still used and paid them.”
A South Jersey businessman, Tartaglia has dabbled in various industries over the past 20 years. In November of 2018, he went full-time with his juice bar Fruiggie Juice And Bowls in Sewell, NJ. As a result, he was working well over 12 hours a day, only taking off on select holidays. Squeezing in time for his family, there simply weren’t enough hours in the day to juggle the responsibilities that come with running ECWA.
His breaking point came at the Super 8 in April, the company’s biggest event of the year. For almost a quarter century, the tournament has become a launching pad for undiscovered, up-and-coming talents to get noticed throughout the industry. Previous winners include Tommaso Ciampa, Low Ki, Christopher Daniels, Xavier Woods and Richard Holliday.
The 2019 edition of the tournament consisted of all second- and third-generation wrestlers. Tartaglia brought in talent from all over the country, big names like Brian Pillman Jr., Wes Brisco and Marshall and Ross Von Erich. He expected the bleachers of South Philadelphia High School to be packed as many of these young studs rarely, if ever, came to the Tri-State Area.
However, only 125 people showed up.
“I thought the idea was good,” Zanolle says. “I guess people didn’t care about stars’ kids.”
Tartaglia and Joel Goodhart, who Zanolle says financially contributed to the event, took a bath. Instead of the sweetheart deal that ECWA has with the Asbury United Methodist Church, South Philly High School charged by the hour for renting out the building. That’s on top of paying for the travel expenses of all the participants, including flying in the Von Erichs from Hawaii. Zanolle wanted to add another big name, but couldn’t afford to bring in Kevin Von Erich as well, and Chavo Guerrero Jr. declined because the next day was Easter.
“I would have rather had it in a packed house in Delaware,” Zanolle says. “Joel’s argument was he wouldn’t make enough to pay the boys if we could only fit 200 people. Well, we didn’t get that many, anyway.”
Two months later, Tartaglia cancelled the next event in June and suspended operations for the summer. “There is no money in independent wrestling,” Tartaglia told The Wrestling Estate. “Most people involved do it because they love it. As long as I don’t lose money, it’s okay.”
The roster, fans and even fellow management voiced their displeasure in Tartaglia’s decision, but remained hopeful that the company would return in healthier shape than ever before. They got their wish in September, as ECWA returned for its 52nd Anniversary Show. Nearly 100 attendees witnessed an exhilarating triple threat main event between then-ECWA Heavyweight Champion Joey Ace, Kekoa and Ty Awesome.
“Mike would say other Delaware promotions will cancel shows all the time, and nobody bats an eye,” Zanolle says. “We cancelled one show and everybody flipped out. I told him that’s because we have a reputation. We’re reliable.”
ECWA New Year’s Resolutions takes place Saturday, January 18, at the Asbury United Methodist Church in New Castle, DE.
For tickets and more information, visit ecwaprowrestling.com.
You can also join the ECWA Pro Wrestling Facebook group for the latest news, match announcements, promos and more.
Check back with The Wrestling Estate for live coverage of the 24th annual ECWA Super 8.
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