Future of Wrestling

Pwcompanybox
name=Future of Wrestling


acronym=FOW
established=1998
style=American Wrestling
Hardcore Wrestling
location=Fort Lauderdale, Florida
founder=Bobby Rogers
owner=Bobby Rogers (1998-2003)
parent=
sister=
formerly=
website= [http://www.thefow.com/index.htm TheFOW.com]
[http://web.archive.org/web/20030215193056/http://www.futureofwrestling.com/ FutureofWrestling.com] (original website) |

Future of Wrestling was an American independent wrestling promotion based in southern Florida during the late 1990s. Founded by Bobby Rogers, the promotion was a rival of Full Impact Pro, Independent Pro Wrestling and NWA Florida [ cite web |url=http://slam.canoe.ca/SlamWrestlingChats/blair_may01-can.html |title=SLAM! Wrestling - B. Brian Blair Chat |accessdate= |author=Blair, B. Brian |authorlink=B. Brian Blair |coauthors= |date=2001-05-04 |year= |month= |format= |work= |publisher=SLAM! Sports |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ] and featured several top independent wrestlers including Scoot Andrews, Billy Fives, Maximum Capacity, Dirty Dennis Allen, Mister Saint Laurent, Jeff Brooks, Buck Quartermaine and Wildside (Anthony Michaels & Jeff Roth) as well as World Championship Wrestling veterans Dusty Rhodes, Kevin Sullivan, Norman Smiley and Curt Henning, the latter holding the FOW Heavyweight Championship until the promotions close in 2003.

The promotion was associated with Rusty Brooks's School of Hard Knocks, which acted as its training school throughout its five year history. Former mainstays such as Lo Ki, The Shane Twins and Phi Delta Slam (Bruno Sassi & Big Tilly) [ cite web |url=http://phideltaslam.com/PDSTitles.htm |title=Phi Delta Slam Title History |accessdate= |author=Sassi, Bruno |authorlink=Bruno Sassi |coauthors=Big Tilly |date= |year=2007 |month= |format= |work= |publisher=PhiDeltaSlam.com |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ] have since signed with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. In 2005, former FOW Tag Team Champion Alvin Burke, Jr. signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment to compete in its developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling.

Others who have made appearances include former Extreme Championship Wrestling wrestlers Terry Funk [ cite web |url=http://www.wrestleline.com/columns/circa/circa083000a.shtml |title=Circa Interview: Terry Funk - In His Own Words |accessdate= |author=Burkholder, Denny |authorlink= |coauthors= |date=2000-08-30 |year= |month= |format= |work= |publisher=Wrestle-Line.com |pages= |language= |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070101043017/http://www.wrestleline.com/columns/circa/circa083000a.shtml |archivedate=2004-01-06 |quote= ] and The Sandman [ cite web |url=http://www.hardcoreiconsandman.com/history.html |title=The Sandman's Title History |accessdate= |author= |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |year=2007 |month= |format= |work= |publisher=HardcoreIcon.com |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ] as well World Wrestling Federation wrestlers Barry Horowitz, Duke "The Dumpster" Droese, Doink the Clown, Tatanka, Greg "The Hammer" Valentine, [ "The 'Hammer' Battles Tatanka at Legion Post 222 This Saturday". Miami Herald. 06 Dec 1998 ] Jerry "The King" Lawler [ cite web |url=http://www.wrestlingobserver.com/wo/news/interviews/default.asp?aID=2468 |title=Interview: Jerry Lawler |accessdate= |author=Marvez, Alex |authorlink= |coauthors= |date=2001-05-10 |year= |month= |format= |work= |publisher=Wrestling Observer |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ] and The Bushwhackers.

History

In early 1998, Bobby Rogers began promoting in local gyms and small auditoriums in the Broward-Palm Beach area with Johnny Evans being crowned as the first FOW Heavyweight Champion in May while The Masked Assassins (Masked Assassin I & Masked Assassin II) won the FOW Tag Team Championship later that month. On October 8, Pat McGuire would become the first FOW Hardcore Champion in Oakland Park, Florida. During the next year, he soon developed a talented roster of local independent wrestlers which included Al Bino, [ cite web |url=http://alanwojcik.tripod.com/archives/id11.html |title=Interview with Naphtali |accessdate= |author=Wojcik, Alan |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |year=2004 |month= |format= |work= |publisher=Alan Wojcik Archives |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ] David Babylon, [ cite web |url=http://alanwojcik.tripod.com/archives/id12.html |title=Interview with David Babylon |accessdate= |author=Wojcik, Alan |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |year=2004 |month= |format= |work= |publisher=Alan Wojcik Archives |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ] Billy Fives, [ cite web |url=http://alanwojcik.tripod.com/archives/id9.html |title=Interview with Billy Fives |accessdate= |author=Wojcik, Alan |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |year=2005 |month= |format= |work= |publisher=Alan Wojcik Archives |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ] Antonio Banks, [ cite web |url=http://alanwojcik.tripod.com/archives/id21.html |title=Interview with Antonio Banks |accessdate= |author=Wojcik, Alan |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |year=2005 |month= |format= |work= |publisher=Alan Wojcik Archives |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ] Dow Jones, "Ram Man" Johnny Evans and The Vandalz (Ricky and Tommy Vandal). [ cite web |url=http://alanwojcik.tripod.com/archives/id13.html |title=Interview with Ricky & Tommy Vandal |accessdate= |author=Wojcik, Alan |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |year=2005 |month= |format= |work= |publisher=Alan Wojcik Archives |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ] cite web |url=http://media.www.upressonline.com/media/storage/paper518/news/2002/10/17/Entertainment/Fau-Gets.Ready.To.Rumble-296642.shtml |title=FAU gets ready to rumble |accessdate= |author=Sherman, Marc A. |authorlink= |coauthors= |date=2002-10-17 |year= |month= |format= |work= |publisher=University Press |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ]

The following year, the promotion toured South America during which time the FOW International Championship was created with Cyborg winning the title in Lima, Peru on April 24, 1999. During the summer, both the FOW Heavyweight and International Championships switched hands returning to Lima. cite book | author=Royal Duncan & Gary Will | title=Wrestling Title Histories | publisher=Archeus Communications | year=4th Edition 2000 | id=ISBN 0-9698161-5-4 ] The promotion would also begin broadcasting its local televised events through its website and eventually DVD releases.

As its success rose, more prominent wrestlers were brought in such as Scoot Andrews and Lo Ki who both won the FOW Heavyweight Championship in early-2001 and, as a result of a three way rivalry between Independent Pro Wrestling, NWA Florida and Future of Wrestling, the FOW and IPW Heavyweight titles were unified with the NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship when NWA Florida Heavyweight Champion Buck Quartermain defeated IPW Heavyweight Champion Mike Sullivan and FOW Heavyweight Champion Scoot Andrews in a "Three Way Dance" at an interpromotional event in Saint Petersburg, Florida in April 2001. By the end of the year, Hack Meyers teamed with Dave Johnson to win the FOW Tag Team Championship from The Vandalz in Davie, Florida on December 20, 2001.

During 2002, Barry Horowitz and The Sandman enjoyed brief reigns as FOW Hardcore Champions while Norman Smiley and Curt Henning both won the FOW Heavyweight Championship later during the year. On March 13, the promotion held one of its biggest shows, King of Carnage, at the Davie Rodeo Arena in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. With over 3,000 in attendance, the supercard included Barry Horowitz, The Sandman, Christopher Daniels, the Badstreet Boys (Joey Matthews & Christian York) and ECWA Heavyweight Champion Scoot Andrews defending his title against Lo Ki and Mike Sullivan in a "Three Way Dance". In the semi-main event, Kevin Sullivan defeated Dusty Rhodes, Terry Funk and Abdullah the Butcher in a "Fatal Four Way" match while Al Bino defeated FOW Light Heavyweight Champion J-Dawg for the title in a match including Johnny Vandal. The promotion received further exposure from the show which was released on dvd soon after. [ cite web |url=http://www.lordsofpain.net/news/2003/articles/1045682106.php |title=DVD Review (FOW King of Carnage 4/13/02) |accessdate= |author= |authorlink= |coauthors= |date=2003-02-19 |year= |month= |format= |work= |publisher=LordsofPain.net |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ] [ cite web |url=http://www.411mania.com/wrestling/columns/29538/Cheap-Wrestling-For-Cheap-People-07.10.05:-When-Good-EBayers-Go-Bad.htm |title=Cheap Wrestling For Cheap People 07.10.05: When Good EBayers Go Bad |accessdate= |author=Byers, Ryan |authorlink= |coauthors= |date=2005-07-10 |year= |month= |format= |work= |publisher=411mania.com |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ]

In July, the promotion also toured Saudi Arabia with Mike Sullivan defeating Billy Fives for the FOW Heavyweight Championship on July 25 before losing the title back to Fives the following night. Later that year, it appeared at the Florida Atlantic University on October 4, 2002. During the event, FOW Light Heavyweight Champion Dave Babylon defended his title in a seven man "Kill the Man with the Belt" match. As the prematch stipulations ruled that whichever wrestler held the belt by the end by the end of the match, Babylon would lose his title several times before managing to regain it before the end of the match.

Its success was short-lived however as it's the promotion began experiencing financial difficulties, which worsened as promoter Bobby Rogers would be involved in legal problems during this time, and the promotion was forced to close in early 2003.

Roster

Others

Championships

*FOW Heavyweight Championship [ cite web |url=http://www.solie.org/titlehistories/htfow.html |title=FOW Heavyweight Title History |accessdate= |author= |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |year=2002 |month= |format= |work= |publisher=Solie's Title Histories |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ]
*FOW International Heavyweight Championship [ cite web |url=http://www.solie.org/titlehistories/itfow.html |title=FOW International Title History |accessdate= |author= |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |year=2002 |month= |format= |work= |publisher=Solie's Title Histories |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ]
*FOW Hardcore Championship [ cite web |url=http://www.solie.org/titlehistories/hcfow.html |title=FOW Hardcore Title History |accessdate= |author= |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |year=2002 |month= |format= |work= |publisher=Solie's Title Histories |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ]
*FOW Light Heavyweight Championship [ cite web |url=http://www.solie.org/titlehistories/lhtfow.html |title=FOW Light Heavyweight Title History |accessdate= |author= |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |year=2002 |month= |format= |work= |publisher=Solie's Title Histories |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ]
*FOW Tag Team Championship [ cite web |url=http://www.solie.org/titlehistories/ttfow.html |title=FOW Tag Team Title History |accessdate=|date= |year=2002 |month= |publisher=Solie's Title Histories ]

Media

* FOW King of Carnage. Prod. Bobby Rogers. DVD. Future of Wrestling/World Wrestling Network, 2003.

References

External links

* [http://cagematch.de/?id=8&nr=112 CageMatch.de - Future of Wrestling] ger