Pro-Pain Pro Wrestling, or 3PW, was a hardcore professional wrestling promotion based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Considered an attempt at reviving Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), it ran many shows from the former ECW Arena.[1]
The promotion was founded in 2002 by ECW alumni Jasmin St. Claire and Brian "The Blue Meanie" Heffron, later being joined by ECW founder Tod Gordon. Many former ECW veterans, such as Raven, The Sandman, Al Snow and Sabu, made up the roster of the promotion. The promotion closed in 2005 after encountering financial difficulties.
History
The promotion was founded by Jasmin St. Claire and Brian "The Blue Meanie" Heffron and they were later joined by former Extreme Championship Wrestling promoter Tod Gordon.[2] In the beginning, 3PW brought in wrestling greats like Dusty Rhodes, Terry Funk, Abdullah The Butcher and Bam Bam Bigelow to add to the roster.[3][4][5] The first 3PW shows ran at the ECW Arena, but when XPW Owner Rob Black signed an exclusive lease to the arena,[6] 3PW moved to The Electric Factory.
In 2004, 3PW had a show featuring a Blue World Order reunion with Blue Meanie and Stevie Richards.[7] The next month, 3PW hosted an NWA Florida X Division Championship match between Roderick Strong and Mikey Batts.[8]
In December 2004, however, problems began to surface. 3PW booker Tod Gordon resigned, walking out during a 3PW event following an argument with 3PW officials when there was apparently no money to pay wrestlers, security and other staff for the event.[9] In April, Jasmin St. Claire was officially replaced as CEO by Richard McDonald.[10] Rockin' Rebel took over as booker, but he and the Blue Meanie soon became involved in a business dispute with Pro Wrestling Unplugged owners Johnny Kashmere and Trent Acid.[11] When St. Claire stopped receiving her royalty checks, she responded by putting the promotion up for sale in a one-day auction on eBay although, no one responded to the $180,000 asking price.[12] Blue Meanie attempted to resurrect the company, but was unable to find an investor. The company's final show was on June 18, 2005. In 2007 Force Entertainment began Professionally repacking and distributing 3PW Events throughout Australia commercially and through the companies' websites, as such the DVD releases started turning up in supermarkets, video stores, and retail outlets.
Alumni
Male wrestlers
Stables and tag teams
Managers and valets
Commentators and interviewers
Other personnel
Championships
3PW World Heavyweight Championship
3PW Tag Team Championship
External links
References
- Jones, Mitchell. The Blue Meanie Interview Wrestling101.com, 2003-12-09^
- Bodkin, Bill. Slammies DailyTargum.com, 2003-04-24^
- Magee, Bob. As I See It - 3/25/2003: Looking for a wrestling alternative? Pwbts.com, 2003-03-25^
- Murdoch, Eddie. An Introduction to the US Indy Wrestling Scene Wrestling101.com, 2003-11-08^
- Inside the Ropes: 3PW Broadcast From Hell OnlineOnslaught.com, 2005-02-23, retrieved 2008-04-20^
- Tuleva, R. Jonathan. Ring of controversy SouthwestPhillyReview.com, 2003-01-09^
- Newsline 1wrestling.com, 2004-01-04, retrieved 2007-12-21^
- Wojcik, Alan. Interview with Roderick Strong Alan Wojcik Archives, 2004^
- DeBlasi, Anthony. 3PW News: Tod Gordon & Wrestlers Walk Off Tonight's Event; Owner Absent; Money Issues, & More Wrestling-News.com, 2005-01-15^
- Tremley, Matthew. Indy News: Jasmin St. Claire removed as owner of 3PW LordsofPain.net, 2005-04-07, retrieved 2007-12-21^
- DeBlasi, Anthony. Rockin Rebel On Wrong Side Of Indy Wrestling Once Again; Incident At PWU Today Wrestling-News.com, 2005-05-26^
- Young, Doc. Jasmin St. Claire Tries to Sell 3PW on E-Bay ProWrestling.com, 2005-04-09, retrieved 2020-05-11^
- Furious, Arnold. The Furious Flashbacks – 3PW This One's For You 411mania.com, December 6, 2010^
- Magee, Bob. AS I SEE IT - 9/29/2003: Philadelphia indy wars, version 2.0 PWBTS.com, Pro Wrestling's Between The Sheets, September 29, 2003^
- Kristian Pope, Ray Whebbe. The Encyclopedia of Professional Wrestling: 100 Years of History, Headlines & Hitmakers Krause Publications, 2003^
- Scott E. Williams. Hardcore History: The Extremely Unauthorized Story of the ECW Sports Publishing LLC, 2006^
- R. D. Reynolds. The Wrestlecrap Book of Lists! ECW Press, 2007^
- Kristian Pope, Ray Whebbe. The Encyclopedia of Professional Wrestling: 100 Years of History, Headlines & Hitmakers Krause Publications, 2003^
- Scott E. Williams. Hardcore History: The Extremely Unauthorized Story of the ECW Sports Publishing LLC, 2006^
- Bill Apter. Is Wrestling Fixed? I Didn't Know It Was Broken! ECW Press, 2015^
- Scott E. Williams. Hardcore History: The Extremely Unauthorized Story of the ECW Sports Publishing LLC, 2006^
- Scott E. Williams. Hardcore History: The Extremely Unauthorized Story of the ECW Sports Publishing LLC, 2006^
- Independent & Forign(sic) Wrestling - August 2002 onlineworldofwrestling.com, retrieved 2008-07-06^
- Independent Wrestling Results - October 2002 onlineworldofwrestling.com, retrieved 2008-07-06^
- 3PW "Year End Mayhem" onlineworldofwrestling.com, retrieved 2008-07-06^
- Power Slam Staff. What's going down... Elsewhere Power Slam Magazine, SW Publishing LTD, August 2003^
- 3PW "That's Incredible" onlineworldofwrestling.com, retrieved 2008-07-06^
- 3PW House Show "Raven's Rules" onlineworldofwrestling.com, retrieved 2008-07-06^
- 3PW The Future is Now onlineworldofwrestling.com, retrieved 2008-07-06^
- Brian Hoops. Daily pro wrestling (04/17): WCW Spring Stampede 1994 Wrestling Observer Newsletter, April 17, 2020, retrieved April 17, 2020^
- 3PW 5 Star 4 Way onlineworldofwrestling.com, retrieved 2008-07-06^
- 3PW Show onlineworldofwrestling.com, retrieved 2008-07-06^
- 3PW Show onlineworldofwrestling.com, retrieved 2008-07-06^
- 3PW Till We Meet Again onlineworldofwrestling.com, retrieved 2008-07-06^