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PRO wrestling syndicate



Eric Pleska launched Pro Wrestling Syndicate in 2007. The independent wrestling promotion ran live wrestling events in NJ, NY, and CT for nine years. Throughout approximately 100 events and a weekly television show, armed with a locker room of homegrown stars, some of the industry's biggest draws, and a talented staff, PWS grew to become one of the country's top drawing and grossing true independent promotions.



PWS General manager mick foley



WRESTLING LEGENDS AND BIG CROWDS





During PWS' tenure, average independent promotions in New Jersey commanded crowds of a couple hundred paying fans or less per event. Primarily based in Metuchen, NJ and Rahway, NJ, PWS achieved the drawing power of 1,500 - 2,000 fans per monthly live event.

PWS had a dedicated fanbase who became overly familiar with the talent roster and ongoing character storylines. Many fans purchased VIP Experience Upgrades and/or became Season Ticket holders, something that promoter Eric Pleska introduced to the realm of professional wrestling.



PWS hosted two-hour Meet & Greets before live events to allow fans to take photos with wrestlers and obtain autographs.



LEGEND APPEARANCES





Wrestling Legends who have appeared at PWS live events have included:

Superstar Billy Graham
Bret Hart
Terry Funk
Bob Backlund
Mick Foley
Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka
Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat
Stan Hansen
Captain Lou Albano
Abdullah the Butcher
Don Muraco
The Iron Sheik
Nikolai Volkoff
Ivan Koloff
Harley Race
Paul Orndorff
Rocky Johnson
Wild Samoan Afa
Tully Blanchard
Road Warrior Animal
Magnum T.A.
"Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase
Carlos Colon
Paul Bearer
Bob Orton
The Honky Tonk Man
Jimmy Hart
Virgil
Ox Baker










Lex Luger
Scott Hall & Kevin Nash
Harlem Heat
Diamond Dallas Page
Ron Simmons
Tugboat
The Godfather
Bobby Lashley
D'Lo Brown
MVP
PN News
Taz
Raven
Chyna
Lita
Torrie Wilson
Ashley Massaro
Missy Hyatt
Nicole Bass
Mickie James
Candice Michelle
The Bella Twins

Former NY Giants star Stephen Baker
Former NBA superstar Larry Johnson
Step by Step star Sasha Mitchell

Music Performers at PWS have included
Poison Pen, Pumpkinhead,
Born Talent, Low N B Hold,
The Pickle Factory, Knowledge Allah

PWS has hosted dozens of pro wrestling seminars, including ones with The Great Muta, Bully Ray, Steve Williams, Dustin Rhodes, Raven, Harry Smith, and more.









PWS ALUMNI






WRESTLERS WHO HAVE COMPETED IN PWS HAVE INCLUDED:

Trent Acid
Paul E Normus
The Zombie
Balls Mahoney
New Jack
Sabu
2 Cold Scorpio
Abyss
Adam Cole
AJ Styles
Alex Reynolds
Alex Shelley
Alexa Thatcher
The Almighty Sheik
Annie Social
Apollyon
AR Fox
Amazing Red
Andy Harner
Azrieal
B-Boy
Booker T
Brett Gakiya
Brian XL
Brodus Clay
Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake
The Briscoes
Buff Bagwell
The Bullet Club
Butterbean
Carlito
CJ Esparza
Dan Severn
Danny Demanto
Danny Duggan
Davey Richards
Demolition
Desmond Wolfe
Devon Moore
Disco Inferno
Drake Younger
"Dr Death" Steve Willliams
Dudley Boyz
EC3
Eddie Edwards
Eddie Kingston
Elijah Burke
Facade
Gangrel
Goldust
Greg "The Hammer" Valentine
Grim Reefer
"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan
Handicapped Heroes
Harry Smith
The Headbangers
Homicide
Human Tornado
Hurricane Helms
Jack Evans
Jake "The Snake" Roberts
Jay Lover
Jay Lethal
Jeff Jarrett
Jerry Lynn
Jessika Havok
Joe the Drifter
John Morrison
Justin Credible
Kamala
KAI
Kenny Omega
Kevin Steen
Koko B Ware
Lance Anoai
Lance Archer
Lance Storm
Lanny Poffo
Larry Zbyzsko
Low Ki
Lucifer Darksyde
Mantaur
Mason Ryan
Marty Jannetty
Matt Cross
Matt Hardy
Matt Macintosh
Matt Tremont
Maria Kanellis
Mentallo
Mia Yim
Michael Sain
Missy Sampson
Mr. Kennedy
Nasty Boys
Necro Butcher
New Age Outlaws
Nick Gage
Nunzio
One Warrior Nation
Portia Perez
Powers of Pain
Reckless Youth
Rey Mysterio
Rich Swann
Ricochet
Rhino
Rikishi
Rob Van Dam
Rock N Roll Express
Romeo Roselli
Samoa Joe
Sami Callihan
Samuray Del Sol
Sandman
The SAT
Scott Steiner
Sgt. Slaughter
Shockwave the Robot
Sid
Shiima Xion
Shynron
Sonjay Dutt
Talia Madison
Takaaki Watanabe
Teddy Hart
Tessa Blanchard
Timmy Aiight
Tito Santana
Tommy Dreamer
Tony Deppen
Tony Nese
Tracy Smothers
The Untouchables
The Urban Legends
The Young Bucks
Vader
Vampiro






PWS FEATURES





ORIGINAL CHARACTERS
PWS also focused on home-grown stars from the PWS Wrestling School. Some, like CPA, Black Hollywood, and "The Prince of Aesthetics" Damian Gibbs created their own personas while many others requested and received original gimmick characters from Eric Pleska, including Johnny Howl, The Lifeguard, Merry Men in Tights, Monsters Island, Nikos Rikos, Sandy Mann, and the hugely popular Habib from the Car Wash.


RETOOLED GIMMICKS
Additionally, PWS retooled and deservingly pushed numerous veterans, including The Reynolds Brothers, Mario Bokara, Fallah Bahh, Bonesaw, The Drunken Swashbuckler, The New Heavenly Bodies, The Urban Legends, and Joey Janela, who became the masked, popular Starman.



RECENTLY RELEASED SUPERSTARS
PWS became known for often booking recently released WWE stars for their first post-television appearance. These wrestlers have included Paul Birchill, Mason Ryan, Brian Myers, Tyler Reks, PJ Black, Trent Baretta, and Harry Smith amongst others.



REPRISED GIMMICKS

PWS also enjoyed booking wrestling veterans that would reprise a former character gimmick they hadn't portrayed since doing so for WWE or WCW. Often these stars would be paired against each other, such as:

Bill Irwin as "The Goon" versus Tony Atlas as "Black Superman"

El Matador" Tito Santana versus Mantaur

Phantasio vs Simon Dean



Other first-time-appearances since WWE/WCW have included Papa Shango, The Shock Master, "Young Stallion" Jim Powers, NWO Vincent, "Rap Master" PN News, The ECW Zombie, Glacier, and Phantasio. PWS also hosted the first-time reunions of Harlem Heat, and The BWO.


MARQUEE MATCHUPS
PWS has featured numerous big name matchups including RVD vs AJ Styles, John Morrison vs Jushin Liger, and various legend battles including Brutus Beefcake vs Greg Valentine, Hacksaw Jim Duggan vs Doink the Clown (Matt Borne), and Powers of Pain vs Demolition.

RETIREMENT MATCHES
Several ECW alumni had their Retirement Matches at PWS including Justin Credible, Chris Chetti, and New Jack. Jerry Lynn's final wrestling Singles Match occurred at PWS, opposite Lance Storm. To date, Larry Zbyzsko's last match took place at PWS.


PWS MANAGERS & VALETS
Abdullah the Butcher
Amber O'Neal
Ashley Massaro
Becky Bayless
Brittney Savage
Edward Jackson
Ox Baker
Poison Pen
Shelly Martinez
Talia Madison/Velvet Sky
Terri Runnels


PWS ANNOUNCERS
PWS announcers have included Chris Norman, Stephen D'Angelis, Larry Legend, and David Adams.

PWS commentators have included Ashe Samuels, Nate Stein, Sam Roberts, Peter Rosenberg


PWS REFEREES

PWS refs have included Brett Lauderdale, Rich Bass, Cory Price, Vinny Lax, and Matt Bennett.

PWS AUTHORITY FIGURES
PWS General Manager: Mick Foley

PWS Commissioners have included Necro Butcher, The Iron Sheik, Saved By The Bell star "Mr Belding" Dennis Haskins, and The Insane Clown Posse

PWS has also hosted several Kaiju Big Battel events.



BIG NAME STARS IN ACTION



Pictured: Great Muta battles Sami Callihan - photo by Victoria Longtin



In addition to PWS' major marquee matches, the popularity of its female division led to the womens wrestling promotion PWS Bombshells, which held regular live events in New Jersey.


In addition to PWS' larger monthly events, the promotion held additional events at venues in parts of New York including Brooklyn, Long Island, Queens, and Westchester County. PWS also regularly held fundraiser events at multiple Knights of Columbus facilities in NJ and regular outdoor shows for various groups including street fairs, festivals, and private events.








BEYOND PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING



When it came to talent booking, PWS crushed it. PWS also put a focus on booking non-wrestling personalities at its events. Perhaps the most memorable was when Saved By The Bell television show star "Mr. Belding" Dennis Haskins agreed to appear at a PWS event and get physically involved during a match. Haskins hitting a Stunner in the PWS ring on another wrestler made front page news on Yahoo.com and television coverage on TMZ.


Other non-wrestling personalities to appear at PWS include NBA Legend "Grandmama" Larry Johnson, iconic boxer Butterbean (who also appeared on Hulk Hogan's wrestling training reality show), former NY Giants wide receiver Stephen Baker, Step by Step television show star Sasha Mitchell, and several hip hop stars, including Poison Pen.


Commentators Sam Roberts from the Opie & Anthony radio show and at-the-time former college radio DJ Peter Rosenberg got their start in pro wrestling at PWS events. Both have gone on to have huge careers. Peter is an on-air talent for Hot 97, and both he and Sam regularly appear with WWE.




Iconic music stars The Insane Clown Posse appeared at PWS' annual Wrestle Bowl events as its special guest Commissioners, as appointed by PWS on-screen General Manager Mick Foley.



Numerous news sites including TMZ.com covered ICP's appearances at PWS events.


PWS also established working relationships with a variety of wrestling news sites and magazines, many of which sent staff to cover PWS events. Wrestling guru Bill Apter was a favorite, frequent guest at events.



PWS ON TELEVISION



In 2008, PWS became the first wrestling promotion with a 24/7 streaming internet channel on its website. In 2014, PWS launched a weekly Youtube show, Monday Night Mayhem. The 30-minute episodes that dropped every Monday at 11 pm featured promos, vignettes, wrestling matches, and previews of upcoming events.


The internet show's popularity led to Eric Pleska and his business partner at the time purchasing television time to air PWS on cable.
PWS worked with a media company, FYI Media, who acted as a third party to negotiate a cable deal to air PWS Wrestling on television.

PWS accepted a deal to air on New York City-based station WLNY and signed a one-year contract with FYI Media, for which PWS paid a monthly fee to FYI Media for 60 minutes of weekly air time.

WLNY's coverage included all of metro New York City, surrounding NY counties, and New Jersey and Connecticut areas.


PWS Wrestling began airing on WLNY every Saturday night in January 2015. PWS produced the episodic content in-house, which featured wrestling matches, recurring segments, and promo material. The premiere episode garnered a viewership of more than 200,000. Episodes were later released on Youtube and eventually on other cable networks in various cities, including Boston, Denver, Philadelphia, and Minneapolis.


PWS produced and aired television commercials for its live events which aired throughout the metro NY and NJ areas. The commercials, which aired on numerous stations, including during area broadcasts of WWE programming, often featured PWS General Manager Mick Foley.


Television programs such as The Late Show with Larry Wilmore, MTV True Life, and TMZ filmed segments at PWS events. In recent years, Vice TV's Dark Side of the Ring has utilized PWS footage on numerous episodes.






PRESS





Pro Wrestling Syndicate has been featured in numerous printed publications ranging from Pro Wrestling Illustrated to the New York Daily News. Additionally, PWS has received international press in various publications in Mexico and Japan.



PWS Championships



Development



Pro Wrestling Syndicate had several title belts including:


The PWS Championship, introduced in 2008, was first held by Devon Moore after a victory over Kenny Omega. Other PWS Champions have included Trent Acid, Butterbean,Sami Callihan, Matt Hardy, Bonesaw, Mario Bokara, Fallah, Habib from the Car Wash, and Matt Macintosh.


PWS introduced a secondary title, known as the Tri-State Title, originally held by Tony Nese in 2011. In 2015, when PWS began airing on television, the title was revamped as the PWS Television Championship, initially held by Brian Myers.


The PWS Tag Team Titles have been held by The Urban Legends, Black Hollywood, The Heavenly Bodies, They Reynolds Brothers, and The Handicapped Heroes (Zach Gowen & Gregory Iron)


PWS had a specialty match featured on events known as The Suicidal Six Way. These fast paced matches featured six wrestlers competing in a One Fall bout. In 2012, Starman became the first PWS Suicidal Six Way Champion. Other champions included Alex Reynolds, The Drunken Swashbuckler, Matt Macintosh, Habib, Amazing Red, Bobby Wayward, and Andy Harner.





By 2016, PWS' run on television ended, as did Pleska's relationship with his business partner. Shortly after, Pleska regained sole ownership of the promotion he started nine years prior.


Pleska promoted one final PWS event at the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, NJ. Headlined with appearances by numerous wrestling legends and the retirement match of the first wrestler Pleska ever booked for PWS, Necro Butcher, the event held at a concert venue Pleska attended regularly, sold out. The event netted the highest earnings of any PWS event.



Shortly after, Pleska sold PWS and all of its assets. Title Match Wrestling purchased the highly sought-after video library, including nearly 100 live events, 52 hours of "Monday Night Mayhem," and a year's worth of PWS' weekly television show. Its owner, Telly Bistus, is an award-winning producer with extensive experience in a Top-10 TV market. Pleska then sold other assets, including PWS' social media accounts and physical items, including guardrails, wrestling ring parts, and several hundred folding chairs. He then sold PWS Bombshells, and its video library, to Combat Zone Wrestling.


Finally, Pleska sold the remains of PWS, including five custom-made title belts, event banners, the PWS website, the PWS name, unsold merchandise, and other assorted items to Brooklyn-based promoter Frank Mayor. The total sale of assets exceeded expectations.





PWS t shirt design by Bump Drunk



PWS t shirt design by Bump Drunk



Former NBA superstar Larry Johnson



Rey Mysterio vs Amazing Red



Rob Van Dam vs AJ Stles



Scott Steiner riding a Harley to the ring



Samuray Del Sol (Kalisto) vs Mil Mascaras



Big Van Vader vs Jay Lethal



Sami Callihan vs Kevin Steen



PWS MATCHES





A handful of some memorable PWS matches from over the years.



AJ Styles vs Rob Van Dam



New Jack vs Necro Butcher



Suicidal Six Way Match



Tony Nese & Sami Callihan vs KAI & The Great Muta



Teddy Hart vs Jack Evans



Habib From The Car Wash & Rey Mysterio vs Matt Macintosh & Amazing Red



Eric Pleska and Balls Mahoney



Eric Pleska and New Jack