In the age where Indy wrestling is the rage, chances are that if a former Superstar has brought attention to a promotion, there are others who have started their own. Some of the promotions that have been started by other wrestlers have seen success, and it’s a trend that’s not new.
Back in the day, you had wrestlers like Stu Hart and the Von Erichs starting their own promotions which gained prominence as new generations came up and made an impact on pro wrestling as a whole. The promotions gained reputations this way and were looked at as stomping grounds for today’s talents and legends.
It’s a trend that is still happening today, and while some are sleepers, there are others who have garnered attention and are making a difference in the Indy scene today. One such promotion is Pro Wrestling Guerilla, which is run by Indy stars Joey Ryan, Excalibur, and Super Dragon. Their big event BOLA (Battle of Los Angeles) is held annually and is a big attraction for hardcore Indy fans.
Here we will look at some old and some current promotions that were started by wrestlers.
10- Carlos Colon
Colon is a big name in Puerto Rico, where he currently runs World Wrestling Council – Puerto Rico’s main wrestling promotion. It has housed talents such as Bruiser Brody, Ric Flair, Randy Savage, amongst others in the 1980s.
The promotion is still going strong after being in the business for over four decades. One big name that has come from the promotion was Carlito, who is Colon’s son in addition to Primo and Epico, who currently wrestle under The Shining Stars gimmick. Colon has made a couple of appearances for WWE in the past, but his contribution to pro wrestling lies in the great things he’s done for the scene in Puerto Rico.
9- Matt and Jeff Hardy
The current WWE RAW Tag Team Champion created OMEGA (Organization of Modern Extreme Grappling Arts) Championship Wrestling in 1997 with help from a couple of friends. It is based out of North Carolina, where the Hardy’s are from. The promotion was created because there weren’t a lot of places for the brothers to wrestle at the time.
While the promotion folded upon the Hardys joining WWE, it was resurrected in 2013 for good. The promotion is still going strong by joining forces with Jeff Jarrett’s Global Force Wrestling. The brothers have enlisted other Indy talents, primarily TNA wrestlers, to make appearances for the promotion.
8- Eugene
Eugene was perhaps one of the most beloved characters from the Ruthless Aggression Era. The “nephew” of Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff would win over the WWE fans and left a lasting impression. After his run in WWE, Eugene wrestled independently for a number of years going all over the world.
He had also served as a trainer for NXT for a short time. Last year, he started the promotion Mid-West All Pro Wrestling. It is based out of South Dakota and also serves as a wrestling school, where he is also the head instructor at the promotion.
7- Brian Kendrick
Kendrick has been in the WWE previously and is currently wrestling in the Cruiserweight Classic tournament. While in and out of the WWE, Kendrick started up his own school which includes his promotion Wrestling Pro Wrestling.
The promotion serves as training grounds for aspiring wrestlers who want to learn the trade. It essentially gets the graduates started and a chance to hone their craft before going off to other promotions. The school was featured on Total Divas, as Kendrick had a hand in helping train Eva Marie prior to her working in NXT. It gave viewers a firsthand look at how wrestling training really is.
6- Luke Gallows
Gallows started the promotion WrestleMerica in his home state of Georgia, which has expanded all over the state and in North Carolina. Because of his ties with both WWE and NJPW, Gallows is able to bring in popular wrestlers to his shows with an impressive crowd turnout.
You will see the state’s most popular Indy wrestlers at WrestleMerica, which also has a TV deal in Georgia that airs once a month. The promotion is one of the hottest in the state of Georgia thanks to Gallows. I have attended a couple of these shows and they are worth the long drive.
5- Jeff Jarrett
Although Jarrett was in the WWE in the 90s as an aspiring country singer, his career really took off after leaving the WWE. Over the years, Jarrett has started two big promotions, and we will begin with the newest one, Global Force Wrestling.
GFW started in 2014, making waves upon its inception and was able to acquire much of today’s well known Indy talent to wrestle for the promotion. GFW has many partnerships ranging from TNA to NJPW, which helps them out tremendously. Jarrett was also able to secure TV deals in the UK and New Zealand to air broadcasted shows.
4- Tommy Dreamer
ECW original Dreamer started up the promotion House of Hardcore back in 2012. He wanted to create a promotion that had the spirit of ECW, and interestingly, the promotion is actually named after the ECW training school, of the same name.
Dreamer has been successful with House of Hardcore, continuing to run big events since the first one in went on floors in 2012. To this day, Dreamer has done over eighteen events with House of Hardcore, bringing in names such as Edge, The Sandman, Bully Ray and Tommaso Ciampa. House of Hardcore also secured a global TV deal via Fight Network in 2015.
3- Booker T
WWE Hall of Famer Booker T’s Reality of Wrestling is based out of Texas and has produced many talents since its inception in 2005. One of those talents is Ember Moon of NXT, who Booker has praised time and time again. The promotion started out as Pro Wrestling Alliance and was renamed in 2012.
They have weekly YouTube shows in addition to airing shows on a local television station. Booker T has brought in names such as Rob Van Dam to his shows. The promotion also has a school that has a two-year training program for those who want to become pro wrestlers.
2- Jeff Jarrett (once more)
Jarrett was one of the founders of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling better known as TNA. Jarrett served as president until 2012 until Dixie Carter took over. The promotion was associated with NWA until 2004 and had the World titles named after the same. TNA started off real hot, offering a more versatile form of pro wrestling and was considered the number two promotion behind WWE at one time.
While TNA is currently in a slump, the promotion is still staying afloat and is home to former WWE talents who’ve gotten another chance at reviving their careers. That is something that’s been consistent with TNA if anything else.
1- Antonio Inoki
WWE Hall of Famer Antonio Inoki started New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) back in 1972, and it’s been standing strong ever since. Even though Inoki doesn’t run the promotion anymore, he had a major part in establishing the reputation it upholds.
While NJPW is real hot right now, truth is. it always has been. NJPW is one of the biggest promotions in the world and is the go-to promotion overseas. NJPW was the place to go to when pro wrestlers wanted more seasoning and expansion of their talent.
It is the biggest promotion in Japan, with many pro wrestlers having come from there to the WWE, including Cruiserweight Classic star Kota Ibushi, Gallows, Finn Balor, and Karl Anderson.
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