Looking into The Summer

Well July 4th has come and go, and the summer is in full swing. While kids rejoice during their 2 months off from school and families take vacations from their jobs, wrestling promoters are eagerly waiting for foilage and leaves to drop off the trees. The summer is not very kind to the wrestling business but I'll talk about a few promotions who will try to do some work in the summer, as well as talk about the promotions who are kicking their feet up and taking a lemonade break.

Starting in New Jersey, the summer just totally wipes out NJ promotions. With the famous Jersey shore and the ever popular Sea Side Heights, people are spending their summer time there, rather in the various dingy buildings up and down the state. It's tough to compete with girls in bikinis, thousands of bars, bbq's and parties, so wrestling takes a back door to the common fan. Why spend $15.00 on a show when can party on the boardwalk for free? Obviously if you spend money on drinking and eating, you'll have a better time, but after you spend your money, are you going to have time to watch wrestling? Most people will not.

With wrestling in a down period and with recent attendances throughout the indies in the toilet, the wise decision for many promotions is to take off. Alot of promotions are struggling to crack 40 people at shows. While if you can't draw 100 consistently, you probably shouldn't be running shows, promotions will still hold shows throughout the year. Let's take a look state-by-state of what's going on this summer.

Here is what's going on for some select NJ promotions:

JAPW- considered the top promotion by many people, including myself, of NJ, JAPW is taking the summer off. JAPW is focusing all their efforts on their huge 7th Anniversary show which takes place September 18th. JAPW is known for their Sea Side Height shows, so it could be possible to see a quick show pop-up, but as of now, it looks like it's all about the 18th. And trust me, that show looks phenomenal from top to bottom. Considering all the moves JAPW has done during the winter/spring months, JAPW is taking a well deserved break. JAPW can afford to take off the summer without losing any of their fan base. If anything, it makes their fans crave more.
For more on JAPW, go to www.japw.net

JCW- Coming off the heels of a successful J-CUP, JCW has also elected to take off for the summer. JCW has been up and down all year, but are leaving off on a good note. JCW will return on September 27th with a huge show featuring Homicide, Slyk Wagner Brown, Super Dragon and B-Boy. JCW still has to find themselves in my opinion, meaning that they need to decide if they are going to keep using south NJ guys or use guys from all over. After watching the J-Cup, JCW might've found an identity after watching the aforementioned guys wrestle. Pusing Mike Quackenbush as a main player would probably be a smart move by JCW as well.
For more on JCW check out www.jcwwrestling.com

CSWF- CSWF has been down and up and up and down in their short history. CSWF will run a show this summer, alas at the end of the summer, with a show on August 28th. DDP vs Kanyon will be headlining that show. They will also have a War Games match. I think with the card they have, it will entice NY/NJ fans to stay in their home area, as ROH and H2Wrestling will both be running in Boston that day. CSWF is probably wise to take July off.
For more on CSWF, check out out www.cswfol.com

AWA- 725 Sips Street has become one of my favorite places to be at on a Friday night. AWA has been quite a positive influence for pro wrestling. With JAPW as well as JCW scouts checking it out, AWA is being watched and AWA wrestlers are getting shots on bigger shows. Easily the biggest homegrown guy to come out of the AWA is Pinkie Sanchez, as he's getting alot of exposure in other promotions now, due to his AWA work. AWA will be running every other Friday throughout the summer. Their next show is on July 16th, and if you're looking for a wrestling promotion to follow all summer, look no further than AWA.
For more on AWA, check out www.awanj1.com

IHPW- IHPW returns this Sunday on July 11th. IHPW had a successful debut a month ago, with a solid show, despite attendance woes. IHPW is trying to build up a fan base in the summer. This is a good idea, because with the main players taking off, fans might go check out IHPW with nothing else going on. IHPW has a good chance of bringing in new fans this summer and hopefully those fans will come back when other promotions are back to running full time.
For more on IHPW, check out www.ihpw.com

SSCW- Considered as a joke by many throughout the business, SSCW looks to turn things around in September. After cancelling their June show, and postponing their July show, SSCW is taking some time off. SSCW needs to find a plan and stick with it. The promoting must get better as well, as there is never an excuse for only having less than 30 people at a show. Taking the summer off is a good idea for SSCW - hopefully they use the time to better the product and increase fan awareness.
For more on SSCW, check out www.sscwwrestling.com

UWA- AKA Frankie Starz Fights With Everyone Championship Wrestling, UWA does have good talent on their shows. Unfortunately, some fans might have a problem supporting it, due to Starz's actions on various message boards and hotlines. Regardless of Starz's actions, they do have decent shows. Some of their shows are for free, so you get your money's worth either way. UWA is also doing some good things as they hold a benefit show on July 18th for an injured Marine.
For more on UWA, check out www.uwa-nj.cjb.net

Other promotions will hold shows throughout the summer. NWS is in the middle of their Summertime Tour. While the shows are more family oriented, NWS does deliver strong shows. For more on them check out www.nwswrestling.com
ECPW, XOW, PIW and others will run shows as well. While those three might not be the strongest shows around (and PWI is about to debut their first show on July 16th), it is wrestling, and it's a way to pass time and find wrestling in the summer.

Looking at NY,where there aren't that many shows, we see that NY will have little activity this summer.

USA PRO
Originally scheduled to run on July 25th, USA PW has cancelled that show due to problems stemming from the people involved with the Middleton building. USA Pro was going to run in August, but decided not to with their friendly little brother, ICW running in July. USA Pro will take the summer off and run on September 17th, setting up a huge USA PW/JAPW Back to Back weekend. USA PW still has the problem of having long shows, but everyone already knows that going in. No other promotion combines name talent with indy talent every show.
For more on USA PW, check out www.usaprowrestling.net

NYWC
One of the strongest promotions around, and most consistent, NYWC will be running shows this summer. NYWC has shows set for this Saturday, as well as on July 24th for the Stengel Cup. NYWC will be around this summer and that is good for NY fans. One problem NYWC is going to have is lack of star power, as most of their wrestlers lost their place of training. Nuke will have alot of pressure on his shoulders as the main man in NYWC.
For more on NYWC, go to www.nywcwrestling.com

ICW
Met with a family crisis, ICW was forced to cancel their return show. ICW does have the potential to have good shows, but their future is shaky. ICW hasn't announced a rererererereturn date yet, but once it's announced, look for the announcement on the DOI.
For more on ICW, check out www.icwimpact.com

Other promotions who ran in NY such as LXW and GCW look like they have no future of running shows again, at least not in the forseeable future. It looks like NYWC is where it will be at this summer, and that is a good thing for them.

Let's take a gander over at Pennsylvania

WXW- WXW is a year round promotion, and the summer shouldn't affect them. If anything it will probably increase their attendance. Their annual Sportsfest show is this Friday. (Look for a preview of this show soon) They also will be running on Sunday. WXW hardly has bad shows, and should continue to be doing their thing throughout the summer.
For more on WXW, go to www.wxwwrestling.com

CZW- With Best of The Best IV and Tournament of Death III both scheduled in the summer, CZW might be the strongest promotion to run in the summer. CZW doesn't get much burn on the DOI site, but that should change soon, as CZW has been consistent and strong since 1999. CZW has suffered below-normal attendance figures due to the waning interest in pro wrestling in recent shows. Hopefully that will change soon.
For more on CZW, go to www.czwwrestling.com

Ring of Honor- What can be said about ROH that hasn't been said before? ROH will have an interesting summer, as every show will be analyzed due to all the backstage drama. ROH has a busy summer with shows on 7/17 as well as on 8/28. Hopefully the bullshit is behind them and ROH will go back to having kickass shows.
For more on ROH, go to www.rohwrestling.com

Other promotions running in PA are 3PW, IWA PA, CCW, among others. 3PW will have AJ Styles vs Chris Daniels. IWA PA runs only 4 shows a year, so I'm not sure what they are doing this summer. There are other little promotions running as well.

Connecticut is a grab bag as it seems that ACW is dead. CCW has done a wonderful job with their last few shows. Once they announce their next date, look for the news here. DPW will also make its debut as well, and look for information on that shortly.

Other notable promotions running this summer in the New England area are H2W and NECW. NECW has a good reputation and will have their Iron tournament in August. H2 debuts on July 31st, and returns on August 28. Both promotions should be holding quality shows.

The one interesting date this summer is August 28th. With ROH and the presumed internet favorite, H2 running on the same day, within miles of each other, hopefully both promotions can work out a deal where one show is in the afternoon and the other is in the evening. If they can't get to an agreement, talent and fans will be split and both promotions will lose potential dollars.

Well enjoy the summer. One thing that will not close this summer is the DOI, so keep checking out the site, as we continue to bring you all the reviews, news, interviews and more.

Thanks for reading.

Sean "The MiC" McCaffrey
BULLSMC@aol.com