Indie Promoters To Make Announcement
New Jersey may never be the same.
The Wrestling Estate has learned that three New Jersey-based independent wrestling promoters will be making a major announcement this week.
Those indie promoters are Dave Swan of UWA Elite, Colin West of Synergy Pro Wrestling and Ryan Kavanaugh of ECWA/WORLD-1 Wrestling. Although no details have been released, it’s interesting timing considering what’s happening elsewhere in the wrestling world. AEW and Impact Wrestling have been working together since December, and now New Japan has entered the fray. That’s in addition to AEW having previously shared talent with MLW and NWA.
Swan launched UWA Elite in 2011 with a focus on family-friendly, episodic pro wrestling featuring colorful characters and compelling stories. Notable names like Jay Lethal, KTB and Brandon Kirk have cut their teeth in UWA.
Synergy was founded in 2017 by Dan and Heather Funkenstein, owners of Funkenstein Wrestling Superstore. West was brought on board as creative director, and in 2019, he took over the promotion. Over the past three years, the company has evolved from P.G. sensibilities to a more mature product. “The Bulldozer” Matt Tremont was the first Synergy Champion, followed by Frightmare, Matt Macintosh, Kirk and now Jordan Oliver.
In March, West presents the Synergy Offseason Special, a new series of 60-minute episodes airing exclusively on IWTV. Synergy also joins IWTV’s Showcase of the Independents LIVE at noon EST on April 10 in Tampa, FL. #SynergyVS pits Synergy’s best against the best of the independents.
ECWA is considered the longest-running independent wrestling promotion in the United States. Jim Kettner created the company in 1967, when he promoted his first show in his backyard, and it grew into a breeding ground for 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 Mike Tartaglia. At the end of 2019, longtime matchmaker Joe Zanolle took over with the help of Kavanaugh. On May 1, ECWA presents the 25th annual Super 8 tournament, the predecessor for all tournaments on the indie scene.
If those three indie promoters do indeed work together, that would change the landscape of the Garden State. After all, it’s rare for wrestling promotions of any size to join forces. In the 1980s, the AWA, Jim Crockett Promotions, Continental Wrestling Association and Georgia Championship Wrestling formed a coalition known as Pro Wrestling USA in an effort to combat the national expansion of WWE. Thanks to greed, distrust and inflated egos, the union didn’t last long.
Hopefully, today’s promoters have learned from the past. Plus, West is familiar with both promotions: he broke into the business in UWA Elite as a commentator and recently managed his longtime client Archadia at the 2020 ECWA Super 8. Perhaps another coincidence is that all three promotions are scheduled to run live events in April.
Be sure to follow @UWAElite, @synergywrestle and @ECWA1967.
Follow @TheWrestlingEst for updates to this story as more information comes to light.
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