Prairie Wrestling Alliance
AcronymPWA
Founded2001[1]
StyleAmerican Wrestling
HeadquartersEdmonton, Alberta, Canada
Founder(s)Kurt Sorochan
Tex Gaines
Hercules Ayala
Owner(s)Kurt Sorochan Nizar Watfa
Websitewww.pwawrestling.ca

The Prairie Wrestling Alliance (PWA, formerly Prairie Wrestling Association)[2] is an independent wrestling promotion based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, since 2001. The PWA is co-owned, operated, and promoted by Kurt Sorochan.[3] Lance Storm is a former booker with the promotion.

History

The PWA was established in March 2001 by Kurt Sorochan, Tex Gaines, and Hercules Ayala.[4] Their first shows were outside of Edmonton due to the difficulty of getting a promoter's license.[4] Their first show in Edmonton drew over 700 people.[4]

In 2003, they put on monthly events, which got mostly good reviews.[5] The following year in 2004, however, they put on fewer shows due to scheduling conflicts.[6] The company relaunched its shows in October 2004 with Night of Champions.[6]

The PWA currently runs shows monthly in Edmonton, AB at the Northgate Lions Senior Recreation Center & Calgary, AB at the Century Casino.[7] On January 20, 2014, the PWA announced that they would start running shows in Red Deer, AB on May 22, 2014.[8] On May 31, 2014, the PWA ran its first show in Lloydminster Sask/Ab.

Roster

Current Active Roster

  • Michael Allen Richard Clark (PWA Champion)
  • Shaun Moore
  • "The Thickness" Reid Matthews (PWA Mayhem Champion)
  • Brandon Van Danielson
  • "God's Gift to Wrestling" Michael Richard Blais
  • Jack Pride
  • "The Omen" Gabriel Lestat
  • Mephisto
  • Sheik Akbar Shabaz
  • Chris Steele
  • Kenneth Anthony
  • Jeff Tyler
  • Bobby Sharp
  • Kenny Stryker (PWA Tag Team Champion)
  • Aiden Adams (PWA Tag Team Champion)
  • Colton Kelly
  • "Kid Chocolate" Mo Jabari
  • Nightmare
  • The Titan
  • "Spaceman" Beri Grayson
  • Maxton Flexwell
  • El Asesino

Women

  • Kat Von Heez
  • Zoë Sager
  • Gigi Ray
  • Taryn from Accounting

Managers

  • Dr. Kyoto - Millennial Rebels
  • Thaddeus Archer III - M.A.R.C & Andy Anderson

Factions

  • The Western Lions: Michael Richard Blais/Brandon Van Danielson
  • The Millennial Rebels: Kenneth Anthony/Colton Kelly/Dr. Kyoto
  • The Above Average Joes: Kenny Stryker/Aiden Adams/Zoë Sager

Staff

Referees

  • Michael "The Fitz" Fitzpatrick
  • Robert Young
  • Gregory Thomas

Announcers

  • What About Ivan
  • Big Bad Boris

Commissioners

  • Edmonton: Thaddeus Archer III
  • Calgary: Duke Durrango

Alumni

Male wrestlers

Female wrestlers

PWA Hall of Fame

The PWA Hall of Fame is a professional wrestling hall of fame maintained by the Prairie Wrestling Alliance. It was established in 2008 to honor select wrestling personalities, mostly alumni of the Edmonton-based promotion. The induction ceremony for the Class of 2008, the inaugural inductees into the Hall of Fame, took place at the PWA's "Night of Champions VI" held at the NAIT Gymnasium on June 20, 2008. Duke Durango, a longtime "journeyman" wrestler and former PWA Champion, led the class, which included Stampede Wrestling mainstays Hercules Ayala, The Cuban Assassin, The Great Gama and Gerry Morrow.[10]

# Year Ring name
(Real name)[a]
Inducted by Inducted for Notes[b]
1 2008 Duke Durango[11]
(Jordan Clarke)
2008 Wrestling Won the PWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
2 2008 Hercules Ayala
(Ruben Cruz)
Wrestling Co-founder of the Prairie Wrestling Alliance; longtime mainstay of Stampede Wrestling[12]
3 2008 The Great Gama
(Gadowar Singh Sahota)
Wrestling
4 2008 Gerry Morrow
(Gerard Ethifier)
Wrestling
5 2008 The Cuban Assassin
(Ángel Acevedo)
Wrestling
6 2009 Red Thunder[13] Wrestling Won the PWA Canadian Tag Team Championship (1 time)
7 2009 Johnny Devine[13]
(John Parsonage)
Wrestling Won the PWA Canadian Tag Team Championship (1 time)
8 2009 Michael Fitzpatrick[13] Refereeing
9 2010 Phoenix Taylor[14] Wrestling Won the PWA Championship (1 time), PWA Commonwealth Championship (1 time) and PWA Tag Team Championship (1 time)
10 2010 Chris Steele[14] Wrestling Won the PWA Championship (3 times) and PWA Tag Team Championship (2 times)
11 2010 Hart family[15] Wrestling
12 2011 Marky Mark[16] Wrestling Won the PWA Mayhem Championship (1 time), PWA Cruiserweight Championship (1 time) and PWA Canadian Tag Team Championship (2 times)
13 2011 Tex Gaines[16] Wrestling and Promoting Co-founder of the Prairie Wrestling Alliance
14 2011 Kurt Sorochan[16] Promoting Co-founder of the Prairie Wrestling Alliance
N/A N/A Samoa Joe
(Nuufolau Joel Seanoa)
Wrestling
N/A N/A Jeanette Sorochan
N/A N/A Janie Roznicki
15 2013 Sgt. Hazard[11]
(Don Ferguson)
Kurt Sorochan Wrestling Co-founder of the Prairie Wrestling Alliance
16 2013 Big Bad Boris[11] Kurt Sorochan Promoting and Television Production Longtime head of production for the Prairie Wrestling Alliance
17 2013 Dusty Adonis[11] Kurt Sorochan Wrestling Won the PWA Cruiserweight Championship (3 times)
  • a – Entries without a birth name indicates that the inductee did not perform under a ring name.
  • b – This section mainly lists the major accomplishments of each inductee in the promotion.

Current champions

Championship Champion(s) Previous Event Date Won Location
PWA Championship Chris Steele Michael Allen Richard Clark PWA Battle at the Dome 2 March 5, 2022 Calgary, AB
PWA Commonwealth Title Shawn Spears Shaun Moore PWA Night of Champions June 22, 2019 Edmonton, AB
PWA Canadian Tag Team Titles The Above Average Joes (Kenny Stryker & Aiden Adams) The League (Davey O'Doyle & Brayden Parsons) PWA Night of Champions June 22, 2019 Edmonton, AB
PWA Mayhem Title "The Thickness" Reid Matthews Kenneth Anthony PWA Fruition February 23, 2019 Edmonton, AB
PWA Women's Title Zoe Sager GiGi Rey PWA Battle at the Dome 2 March 5, 2022 Calgary, AB

References

  1. "PWA's seventh anniversary a success".
  2. "Prairie Wrestling Alliance (PWA)". cagematch.net.
  3. "Promoters ponder pros and cons of bringing in big names".
  4. 1 2 3 Clevett, Jason (June 16, 2005). "PWA continuing to grow". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
  5. 1 2 Clevett, Jason (January 8, 2004). "A look at Western Canadian Wrestling in 2003". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
  6. 1 2 Clevett, Jason (October 12, 2004). "Bulldogs Ironmen at PWA show". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
  7. "Home". pwawrestling.ca.
  8. "73 Wrestling Wallpapers for FREE".
  9. Oliver, Greg (February 23, 2010). "Tiger Raj Singh ready for WWE experience". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
  10. "Christian Cage and Al Snow set to headline Night of Champions! Great Gama, Cuban Assassin, Gerry Morrow and Hercules Ayala to join PWA Hall of Fame! Friday, June 20!". PWAWrestling.ca. Prairie Wrestling Alliance. June 2008. Archived from the original on June 15, 2008.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Sorochan, Kurt (Host) (September 17, 2013). 2013 PWA Hall of Fame Ceremony (DVD). Edmonton, Alberta: YouTube.
  12. Love, Spencer (January 23, 2020). "Stampede Wrestling Legend Hercules Ayala Passes Away at 69". Win Column Sports Network.
  13. 1 2 3 Clevett, Jason (July 7, 2009). "Rain doesn't dampen Edmonton supershow". Canadian Online Explorer. SLAM! Wrestling.
  14. 1 2 Clevett, Jason (June 20, 2010). "Championship calibre matches make PWA Supercard". Canadian Online Explorer. SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
  15. Clevett, Jason (June 16, 2010). "Booker T enjoying life away from the spotlight". Canadian Online Explorer. SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
  16. 1 2 3 Martin, Jeff (April 19, 2011). "PWA Hysteria Show Review". RentAThugComics.com. Heat: The Space Age of Pro Wrestling.
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