.png.webp) | |
| Founded | 1991 |
|---|---|
| Style | Professional wrestling |
| Headquarters | Hayward, California |
| Founder(s) | Roland Alexander |
| Formerly | Pacific Coast Sports |
| Website | AllProWrestling.com |
All Pro Wrestling is an American professional wrestling promotion and training school, based in Hayward, California. The company was founded by Roland Alexander and managed by him until his death on November 5, 2013. It is located 45 miles southeast of San Francisco, 15 miles south of Oakland, and 35 miles north of San Jose.[1]
History
All Pro Wrestling opened in 1991 under the name, "Pacific Coast Sports". The school and its "Gym Wars" events maintained a strong local following throughout the 1990s, but it wasn't until professional wrestling's Attitude Era that APW gained national notoriety.
In 1999, All Pro Wrestling (APW) was featured as part of the documentary film, Beyond the Mat. Roland Alexander, along with wrestlers Tony Jones and Michael Modest appeared, as they were having a tryout match with the World Wrestling Federation. The spot in the film was said to have tremendously boosted the school's "Boot Camp" sign ups.
APW suffered a wrongful death lawsuit to the family of APW Boot Camp trainee, Brian Ong. On May 28, 2001, Ong was training with fellow trainee Dalip Singh, despite suffering from an earlier concussion. Singh delivered a flapjack to Ong twice, with his head striking the mat and worsening his concussion.[2] He was pronounced dead on arrival to a local hospital. Ong's family sued APW for reckless behavior. The case was filed in September 2002, and the trial was underway on June 10, 2005. After a three-week trial, on July 12, the jury voted unanimously in favor of the Ong family. APW was forced to pay $1.3 million to the Ong family.[3]
After a dispute with Roland Alexander in 2002, most of the APW roster, including trainers Michael Modest, Donovan Morgan, and Frank Murdoch left the company to start a training facility known as the Pro Wrestling IRON Tetsu Academy (now defunct). In April 2008, booker and promoter Gabriel Ramirez left the company to start his own promotion, Pro Wrestling Revolution. Former wrestling manager John LaRocca took over as head booker for the company.
In October 2005, future WWE champion Becky Lynch (using the ring name Rebecca Knox) appeared at the APW affiliated promotion ChickFight III.[4]
In December 2009, APW began televising taped shows All Pro Wrestling Gym Wars on Saturday mornings on Channel 50 / Cable 199 in the San Francisco Bay Area.[5]
On December 14, 2011, All Pro Wrestling and Vendetta Pro Wrestling announced the Vendetta Pro Tag Team Titles will now be booked in All Pro Wrestling as well. The title was renamed the APW-Vendetta Pro "Unified" Tag Team Championship and be defended on Vendetta Pro and APW events. At that time "Dos Perfectos" (Greg Hernandez and Jesse Jimenez) were the Vendetta Pro Tag Team Champions and were crowned the first APW/Vendetta Pro Unified Tag Team Champions.
Alexander died on November 5, 2013, following heart and diabetes issues, aged 59.[6]
The company is now run by head booker Markus Mac and is currently holding events at the Bayshore Community Center in Daly City, CA. After the closing of the APW Garage head trainer Jeckles opened his own school, the Puppet Masters Dojo, in Hayward, CA.[7]
Roster
Wrestlers
| Ring name | Notes |
|---|---|
| Adam Thornstowe | APW Tag Team Champion |
| Boyce LeGrande | |
| Buddy Royal | |
| Cheerleader Melissa | |
| Chris Masters | |
| Colt Cabana | |
| Daniel Torch | |
| Dalton Frost | |
| Damien Grundy | |
| Dave Dutra | |
| Douglas James | |
| Dylan Drake | |
| Jacob Fatu | |
| Jake Atlas | |
| Jeffrey Cobb | |
| Joey Ryan | |
| Jody Kristofferson | |
| J. R. Kratos | |
| Julio Pedroza | |
| Jungle Boy | |
| Karl Fredericks | |
| Kevin Michael Johnson | |
| Levi Shapiro | |
| Luster the Legend | |
| Matt Carlos | |
| Marcus Lewis | APW Universal Heavyweight Champion |
| Omega | |
| Papo Esco | |
| Rik Luxury | |
| Ryan McQueen | |
| Steven Kelly | |
| Steven Tresario | |
| Sione Finau | |
| "The Infamous" Chris Sutton | |
| Tommy Drake | |
| Truex | |
| Vinnie Massaro | |
| Virgil Flynn | |
| Wicked Wayz | |
Managers and valets
- Markus Mac (Pink Mink Inc. - Matt Carlos, Vinny Massaro, & Julio Pedroza)
- Caesar Black (Animal Farm - Will Rood, Damien Grundy & Kevin Michael Johnson)
- Brian Zane (The Classic Connection - Buddy Royal & Levi Shapiro; Papo Esco)
- Lucian D. Light (Bad Boys - Boyce LeGrande, Derek Slade, Rik Luxury, & Dominic Teizeira)
- Buddy Sotello(Master of the contract & leader of the Sotello Syndicate. Claimed that he was the attorney to George Steinbrenner, Woody Allen, Leona Helmsley and Donald Trump and that his suspenders were a personal gift from Larry King) managed Vinnie Massaro, Bison Smith(as Super Destroyer 2000), Sheik Boom Boom Comini, Sean Patrick O Doul & Dalip Singh (The Great Khali).
Staff
- Markus Mac (APW Booker)
- Sparkey Ballard (Senior Official)
- Shane Mai (Production Director)
APW Championships/Accomplishments
Current championships
| Championship | Current champion(s) | Reign | Date won | Days held | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| APW Universal Heavyweight Championship | Marcus Lewis | 1 | September 3, 2022 | 501+ | Daly City, CA | Won a battle royal to win the vacant championship at APW Bay Area Bash 2022. |
| APW Worldwide Internet Championship | Levi Shapiro | 1 | June 15, 2019 | 1,677+ | Daly City, CA | Defeated Will Hobbs at Bay Area Bash. |
| APW Junior Heavyweight Championship | Chris Bey | 1 | September 3, 2022 | 501+ | Daly City, CA | Defeated Dave Dutra, Midas Kreed and Marcus Lewis to win the vacant title at APW Bay Area Bash 2022. |
| APW Tag Team Championship | The Bad Boys (Derek Slade & Dominic Teixeira) | 1 (1, 1) |
September 3, 2022 | 501+ | Daly City, CA | Defeated La Rebelion Amarilla (Bestia 666 & Mecha Wolf), The Stoner Brothers (Rick Scott Stoner & Scott Rick Stoner), and Matt Carlos & Rik Luxury for the vacant titles at APW Bay Area Bash 2022. |
APW Junior Heavyweight Championship
| APW Junior Heavyweight Championship | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Details | |||||||||||||||||
| Promotion | All Pro Wrestling | ||||||||||||||||
| Date established | October 12, 1996 | ||||||||||||||||
| Current champion(s) | Chris Bey | ||||||||||||||||
| Date won | September 3, 2022 | ||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
Reigns
| No. | Overall reign number |
|---|---|
| Reign | Reign number for the specific champion |
| Days | Number of days held |
| <1 | Reign lasted less than a day |
| + | Current reign is changing daily |
| No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | ||||
| 1 | Super Diablo | October 12, 1996 | APW Night Of Champions & Legends | Modesto, California | 1 | 113 | Defeated Erin O'Grady to become the inaugural champion. The exact length of the reign is uncertain due to Diablo vacating it in an inexact date between January and March of 1997. | [8] |
| — | Vacated | February 2, 1997 | Title vacated due to unknown circumstances. | — | — | — | ||
| 2 | Erin O'Grady | March 22, 1997 | APW Terra Nova Terror '97 - O'Grady Returns Home | Pacifica, California | 1 | 49 | O'Grady defeated Donovan Morgan to win the vacant title. | [9] |
| 3 | Chris Cole | May 10, 1997 | APW Modest Makes His Move | Hayward, California | 1 | 146 | [10] | |
| — | Deactivated | October 3, 1997 | — | — | — | — | The title had been abandoned and deactivated. | |
| 4 | "Jungle Boy" Nate Coy | August 17, 2018 | APW Sucker Free | Daly City, California | 1 | 302 | The title was reactivated. This was a four way match also involving Manny Faberino, Marcus Lewis and Steven Tresario. | [11] |
| 5 | Jake Atlas | June 15, 2019 | APW Bay Area Bash | Daly City, California | 1 | 80 | [12] | |
| — | Vacated | September 3, 2019 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 6 | Steven Tresario | September 27, 2019 | APW War At The Shore 2019 | Daly City, California | 1 | 1,010 | This was a four-way elimination match also involving Lucas Riley, Manny Mars and Starboy Charlie for the vacant title. | [13] |
| — | Vacated | July 3, 2022 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 7 | Chris Bey | September 3, 2022 | APW Bay Area Bash 2022 | Daly City, California | 1 | 501+ | Defeated Dave Dutra, Marcus Lewis, and Midas Kreed for the vacated titles at APW Bay Area Bash 2022 | |
Defunct Championships
| Championship | Champion | Previous | Date Won | Date Retired |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| APW Above The Law/Future Legends Championship | Cheerleader Melissa | Mariko Yoshida | May 3, 2005 | Fall 2005 |
| APW/Vendetta Pro Unified Tag Team Championship | Ochoa Joshua Champions 2011 WWE | Pink Mink, Inc. ("Magnificent" Matt Carlos & "Wrestling Personified" Rik Luxury) |
October 26, 2013 | January 2014 |
Tournaments/Special events
See also
References
- ↑ "About APW". allprowrestling.com. Retrieved April 14, 2010.
- ↑ "The Great Khali and Brian Ong". greatkhali.net. Archived from the original on December 23, 2009. Retrieved January 17, 2010.
- ↑ "Hayward Jury Slams All Pro Wrestling School: Awards in Excess of $1.3 Million to Parents of Young Man Who Died Because of Reckless Training". findarticles.com. 2005. Retrieved January 17, 2010.
- ↑ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Rebecca Knox (Becky lynch) vs Madison 2005". YouTube.
- ↑ "APW on TV Tomorrow Morning!". allprowrestling.com. Retrieved January 17, 2010.
- ↑ "Roland Alexander passes away". F4WOnline.com. Retrieved November 6, 2013.
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/ALLPRODOJO
- ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (October 12, 1996). "APW Night Of Champions & Legends". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
- ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (March 22, 1997). "APW Terra Nova Terror '97 - O'Grady Returns Home". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
- ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (May 10, 1997). "APW Modest Makes His Move". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
- ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (August 17, 2018). "APW Sucker Free". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
- ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (June 15, 2019). "APW Bay Area Bash". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
- ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (September 27, 2019). "APW War At The Shore 2019". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
External links
- All Pro Wrestling official website
- All Pro Wrestling Youtube Channel
- All Pro Wrestling's Top Graduates
