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Irish Whip Wrestling

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Irish Whip Wrestling
AcronymIWW
Founded2002
HeadquartersIreland
Founder(s)Simon Rochford
Owner(s)Simon Rochford

Irish Whip Wrestling (IWW) is an Irish-owned independent professional wrestling promotion established in January 2002. The company is named after a wrestling move called the 'Irish Whip'. IWW runs shows Nationally throughout the whole of Ireland, both in The Republic and Northern Ireland. The company has appeared on numerous terrestrial and digital channels and had a weekly show called WHIPLASH TV on The Wrestling Channel, which aired from 2005 to 2006 throughout the UK and Ireland.

They also released over a dozen VHS tapes and DVDs of original IWW content, shipping them to over 17 countries worldwide across five continents.

Irish Whip Wrestling was the first ever modern day wrestling promotion in Ireland & the first to tour nationally with former WWE, WCW, ECW & Japanese wrestlers. They were the first wrestling company in Ireland to produce Irish wrestling VHS & DVD content & the first and only Irish promotion to have a wrestling television show aired in Ireland.

History

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Early years (2002–2004)

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Irish Whip Wrestling (IWW) ran its first two shows in June 2002 in the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght, which featured wrestler Tatanka. After these two shows, IWW returned to the ESB National Basketball Arena on 9 October for a show that was headlined by Jake "The Snake" Roberts.

IWW continued to promote shows around Ireland through 2003 and 2004. On 2 December 2004, IWW held a show in Lucan, Dublin, and the main event featured an FWA British Heavyweight Championship match in which Alex Shane pinned Sheamus O'Shaunessy. Also in 2004, IWW opened up their 'Lock-up' training school in Dublin. Trainers at this school have included Blake Norton, "Middleman" Lee Butler and "The Pukka One" Darren Burridge. The training school has also been host to the company's Gym Wars shows which gives trainees a chance to show their skills to IWW management and to a crowd.

Growth (2005–2007)

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Drew McIntyre with the IWW International Heavyweight Championship belt at an Irish Whip Wrestling event

On 20 March 2005, IWW presented its first-ever SuperShow, held in the SFX City Theatre in Dublin. On 28 March, O'Shaunessy was crowned the first-ever IWW International Heavyweight Champion when he defeated Darren Burridge in the tournament final.[1] American wrestler D'Lo Brown unseated O'Shaunessy as IWW Champion at D-Day on 20 May 2005. Brown reigned for 126 days, before dropping the title back to O'Shaunessy at a Main Event Wrestling Event in Newcastle, England.[2][3]

Also in 2005, IWW got its own TV show called Whiplash TV, which was broadcast on The Wrestling Channel on Sky Digital. The show ran for two seasons. Throughout May and June 2006, IWW taped several episodes of its Whiplash TV show in the Laughter Lounge in Dublin City. In 2006, IWW ran shows in cities across Ireland.[4] From August to October 2006, the first ever King of the Gym tournament was held over the course of four Gym Wars events. The key IWW feud of this period was between O'Shaunessy and Drew Galloway who battled in a series of gimmick matches (Lumberjack, Two-Out-of-Three Falls, Last Man Standing)[5] between January and August 2006 until Galloway successfully defeated O'Shaunessy to win the IWW title[6] and the end their rivalry.[7]

At the beginning of 2007, the IWW Zero Gravity Championship was created, and a tournament was held to crown the first champion.[8] The 12-man tournament included wrestlers from seven countries.[8]

In March 2017, IWW held its second SuperShow, and in the main event, Vic Viper defeated Christopher Daniels to retain the IWW International Heavyweight Championship.[9] On 6 July, IWW returned to the Forum in Waterford for its Global Impact show, which was taped for DVD sales. The match between the Ballymun Bruiser and Doug Williams was featured on TV3's Diary of a Sportstar program.

In late October 2007, it ran 14 shows between 19 and 28 October. Several matches on the tour were taped for the International Hits, Vol. 1 DVD.

Return of Gym Wars; Memorial Tournament & Tours (2008–2019)

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On 1 June 2008, Gym Wars returned after a 10-month absence. Later that month, IWW returned to the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght, Dublin for the first time in six years. All the matches were taped for IWW's television show on Buzz TV.

IWW continued running shows in 2011. Around this time they branched into fundraisers, festival events and summer circuit shows.

From 2011 onward, IWW focused on showcasing Irish talent, resulting in a streamlined roster with touring performers still utilized from Canada, America, the UK, and Europe.

Irish Whip Wrestling currently tours nationally, participating in the festival and agricultural show circuit. In 2019, they held approximately 30 shows, compared to their peak of over 60 shows per year.

Hibernation

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As a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic, Irish Whip Wrestling entered a period of hibernation in 2020 and 2021.

Championships

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Current champions

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IWW International Heavyweight Championship

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Irish Whip Wrestling Heavyweight Championship
Details
PromotionIrish Whip Wrestling
Date established27 March 2005
Current champion(s)The Galway Grappler
Statistics
Most reignsSheamus O' Shaunessy (2 reigns)
Longest reignThe Galway Grappler 2,275+ days
Shortest reignSheamus O' Shaunessy (62 Days)
Youngest championDrew Galloway (21 years)

The IWW International Heavyweight Championship is the primary title for IWW. The championship was created in 2005. A tournament was held in Naas, County Kildare in March 2005 to crown the first ever champion. The former champion Mandrake was the longest reigning champion in history of the company. On 5 February 2010, the Zero Gravity Title was unified with it and it became known as the Irish Whip Wrestling Unified Heavyweight Championship. On 30 April 2011, The Supermodel defeated Mandrake for the IWW International Heavyweight championship. The Zero Gravity championship was un-unified with the International Heavyweight Championship after this match.

# Wrestler Reigns Date Days held Location Event Notes Ref.
1 Sheamus O' Shaunessy 1 28 March 2005 62

Naas, Kildare, Ireland

IWW Event Defeated Darren Burridge in a tournament final. [10]
2 D'Lo Brown 1 29 May 2005 126 Dublin, Ireland IWW D-Day
3 Sheamus O' Shaunessy 2 2 October 2005 329 Newcastle, England MEW The Northern Bash
4 Drew Galloway 1 27 August 2006 141 Balbriggan, Dublin, Ireland IWW International Intermingle
5 Vic Viper 1 17 January 2007 423 Baldoyle, Dublin, Ireland IWW Gym War #18 Defeated Mad Man Manson, Kid Kash, and Ballymun Bruiser for vacant title.
6 Mandrake 1 15 March 2008 1,141 Donnycarney, Dublin, Ireland IWW St. Paddy's Tour Defeated Vic Viper and Eugene
7 The Supermodel 1 30 April 2011 883 Birr, Offaly, Ireland IWW Event
8 Captain Rooney 1 29 September 2013 564 Dundalk, Louth, Ireland IWW Event
9 TJ Meehan 1 16 April 2015 665 Roscommon, Ireland
10 The Ballymun Bruiser 1 3 December 2016 552 Letterkenny, Donegal, Ireland IWW Event
11 The Galway Grappler 1 6 August 2018 2,275+ Durrow, Laois, Ireland IWW Event This was a fatal four-way match also involving J-Money and Oisin Delaney

IWW Zero Gravity Championship

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Irish Whip Wrestling Zero-Gravity Championship
Details
PromotionIrish Whip Wrestling
Date established14 January 2007
Statistics
Most reignsBingo Ballance (4 reigns)
Longest reignThe Galway Grappler (1,371 Days)
Shortest reignBam Katraz (14 Days)

The IWW Zero Gravity Championship is professional wrestling championship in IWW. The championship was created in early 2007.[8] The tournament to crown the inaugural champion was a 12-man tournament including wrestlers from seven countries.[8] On 5 February 2010, it was unified with the IWW International Heavyweight Championship and retired. It was later reactivated, after Mandrake lost the IWW International Heavyweight Championship.

Y# Wrestler Reigns Date Days held Location Event Notes Ref.
1 Bingo Ballance 1 14 January 2007 159 Balbriggan, Dublin, Ireland IWW Zero-Gravity Defeated Pac [11]
2 Bam Katraz 1 22 June 2007 14 Balbriggan, Dublin, Ireland IWW Doomsday in Dublin
3 Bingo Ballance 2 6 July 2007 106 Waterford, Ireland IWW Global Impact Defeated Pac and Bam Katraz
4 Red Vinny 1 20 October 2007 147 Kilkenny, Ireland IWW 5th Anniversary National Tour
5 Vic Viper 1 15 March 2008 91 Donnycarney, Dublin, Ireland IWW St. Paddy's Tour Defeated Red Vinny, Bam Katraz, Bingo Ballance, and Liam Thompson
6 Bingo Ballance 3 14 June 2008 230 Tallaght, Dublin, Ireland IWW Buzz TV-Taping Defeated Vic Viper, Red Vinny, and Metal Master
7 LA Warren 1 30 January 2009 268 Rathcoole, Dublin, Ireland IWW Event
8 Angus J. Rotanda 1 25 October 2009 103 Portlaoise, Ireland IWW Event
9 Mandrake 1 30 April 2011 148 Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland IWW Event
10 Skaterboi Jeebus 1 25 September 2011 979 Louth, Ireland IWW Event
11 Cambo Cray 1 31 May 2014 820 Kilkeel, Northern Ireland
12 The Galway Grappler 1 28 August 2016 97 Cashel, County Tipperary, Ireland IWW Dualla Show
13 Cambo Cray 2 3 December 2016 183 Letterkenny, County Donegal, Ireland IWW Event
14 The Galway Grappler 2 4 June 2017 369 Leixlip, County Kildare, Ireland IWW Event
15 Bingo Ballance 4 8 June 2018 2,334+ Durrow, County Laois, Ireland IWW Event

King of the Gym winners

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  • 2006: Wayne Daly
  • 2007: Brother Skelly
  • 2008: Keith Connolly

Danno Mahony Tournament winners

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  • 2008: Mandrake
  • 2009: The Supermodel
  • 2010: Mandrake
  • 2011: Captain Rooney

Alumni

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "IWW International Heavyweight Title Tournament » Matches". CageMatch. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  2. ^ "MEW The Northern Bash". CageMatch. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  3. ^ "Irish Whip Wrestling – Whiplash TV S01E19" – via YouTube.
  4. ^ "Irish Whip Wrestling". Drogheda Independent. 7 June 2006. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  5. ^ "IWW International Heavyweight Championship » Title Reigns". CageMatch. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  6. ^ "New Phenom: The ICW World Heavyweight Championship Reign of Drew Galloway". November 2022.
  7. ^ "Drew McIntyre » Matches". CageMatch. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  8. ^ a b c d e "Balbriggan wrestler to face WWE star". Fingal Independent. 20 January 2007. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  9. ^ "IWW SuperShow Sunday". CageMatch. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  10. ^ "IWW International Heavyweight Championship « Titles Database « CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database". Archived from the original on 23 July 2014.
  11. ^ "Title Reigns « IWW Zero-Gravity Championship « Titles Database « CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database". Archived from the original on 5 September 2014.

Further reading

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