Ohio Valley Wrestling
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Ohio Valley Wrestling logo | |
Acronym | OVW |
---|---|
Founded | 1998 |
Style | Sports Entertainment Professional wrestling |
Headquarters | Louisville, Kentucky |
Founder(s) | Danny Davis |
Owner(s) | Danny Davis |
Formerly | NWA Ohio Valley Championship Wrestling |
Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) is an American independent professional wrestling promotion based in Louisville, Kentucky. OVW is run by owner Danny Davis and the organization was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance (as NWA Ohio Valley Championship Wrestling) from 1998 until 2000, when OVW became part of the WWE developmental program, which it was a member of until February 7, 2008. Jim Cornette was head booker of OVW for a period before being fired by WWE for slapping a student, Anthony Carelli (who is currently in the WWE as Santino Marella). He was replaced by Paul Heyman who booked OVW until being called up to be the booker of the ECW brand. Greg Gagne was supposed to be booker after Heyman, but his knowledge of OVW was limited so the booking was extended to also include Al Snow and Danny Davis. Gagne was later released from the company, leaving booking to Snow and Davis.
On February 7 2008, WWE announced that they had ended their relationship with OVW as a developmental territory, moving all contracted talent to Florida Championship Wrestling. [1] However, on September 23, OVW announced that WWE Sr. VP John Laurinaitis visited and scouted OVW wrestlers and that the WWE will take "a much more active role in recruiting OVW developed talent."[2]
OVW runs five live events on average per week. It is considered to be the last of the wrestling territories. No other independent wrestling company in the United States runs that many shows per week.
Television
OVW currently airs a one-hour television program Saturdays on WBKI-TV in Louisville at 11:00 p.m. Eastern Time, on WKRC-TV's sister station, the CinCW in Cincinnati, Ohio on Saturday afternoons at 1:00 and Sundays at noon, on WOBZ-LP in London, Kentucky at 9:00 p.m, and on Lexington, Kentucky's CW affiliate WKYT at 11:00 p.m. The television shows originate from the Davis Arena in Louisville. [2]
Current champions
Championship | Current champion(s) | Date won | Won from |
---|---|---|---|
OVW Heavyweight Championship | Anthony Bravado | June 25 2008 | Nick Dinsmore |
OVW Television Championship | Rudy Switchblade | August 27 2008 | J.D. Michaels |
OVW Southern Tag Team Championship | APOC & Vaughn Lilas | September 10 2008 | Darriel Kelly & Josh Lowry |
OVW Women's Championship | Serena | August 9 2008 | Josie |
Defunct championships
Championship | Final champion | Date won | Won from | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
OVW Light Heavyweight Championship | Chris Michaels | April 12 2000 | Sean Casey | Retired on March 1 2001. |
OVW Hardcore Championship | Randy Orton | May 5 2001 | Flash Flanagan | Retired in 2001. |
Roster
Male wrestlers
- Adam Revolver
- Al Barone
- Ali Akbar
- Anthony Bravado
- APOC
- Ashley Stefan Streetman
- Brett Wellington
- Caden Matthews
- Chris Cage (Chris Pavone)
- Darriel Kelly
- Dewey "Nine Fingers"
- Dirty Money
- Dre Blitz "the Soul Cat"
- Gavin Garrison "the Professor"
- Igotta Brewski
- Jamin Olivencia
- Johnny Punch
- Josh Lowry
- Lightfoot
- Los Rojo 1
- Los Rojo 2
- Lumpy Magoo
- Moose
- Omar Akbar
- Outlaw
- Pat Buck
- Ramón
- Ranger Milton
- Raúl
- Rob "Iron Man" Conway
- Rudy Switchblade
- Ryback
- Scott Cardinal
- Sergio
- Shiloh
- Supergloves
- Ted "The Trailer" McNaler
- "Tubby" Tommy McNaler
- Turcan Celik
- Vaughn Lilas
Female wrestlers
Tag Teams/Stables
- Chris Cage & Sergio
- Darriel Kelly & Josh Lowry
- The Insurgency (Ali & Omar Akbar, Pat Buck, Turcan Celik, & Bin Hamin)
- Jamin Olivencia, APOC & Vaughn Lilas
- Los Locos (Ramón & Raúl Loco)
- Los Rojos (Los Rojo 1 & Los Rojo 2)
- The Mobile Homers (Dewey, Ted "the Trailer" McNaler, "Tubby" Tommy McNaler, & Adam Revolver)
- Scott Cardinal & Dirty Money
- Theta Lambda Psi (Ashley Stefan Streetman, Brett Wellington, Gavin Garrison, & Pledge Moose)
- The War Party (Lightfoot & Outlaw)
Other on-air talent
- Kenny Bolin - Commentator
- Bill Clark - Referee
- Dean Hill - Commentator/Ring Announcer
- Bin Hamin - Manager of the Insurgency
- Karl "Twinkletoes" Martin - Commentator
- Ruben Ramos - Referee
- Ray Ramsey - Referee
- Stephanie - Backstage interviewer
- Sucio - Backstage interviewer/Announcer; Assistant to Josie
- Joe Wheeler - Referee
Inactive talent
- Timmy Baltimore - Commentator/Ring Announcer; Returning soon.
- Sara Del Ray - Currently on the independent circuit.
- Nick Dinsmore - OVW Troubleshooter; out of action due to a knee injury.
- Joey Matthews (Adam Birch) - Currently on the independent circuit.
- J.D. Michaels - Injured indefinitely.
- Tank Toland - Wrestling in Ring Of Honor.
Alumni
- Batista
- Beth Phoenix
- Charlie Haas
- CM Punk
- Cody Rhodes
- Deuce
- Jillian
- John Cena
- JTG
- Katie Lea Burchill
- Kelly Kelly
- Kofi Kingston
- Lance Cade
- Melina
- Mickie James
- Paul Burchill
- Paul London
- Randy Orton
- Santino Marella
- Shad
- Snitsky
- Big Show
- Carlito
- Curt Hawkins
- DH Smith
- Festus
- Jesse
- Kenny Dykstra
- Maria
- Maryse
- Mr. Kennedy
- Natalya
- Ryan Braddock
- Scotty Goldman
- Shelton Benjamin
- Victoria
- Vladimir Kozlov
- Zack Ryder
- Armando Estrada
- Bam Neely
- Boogeyman
- Elijah Burke
- Evan Bourne
- Gavin Spears
- Jack Swagger
- John Morrison
- Mark Henry
- Ricky Ortiz
- The Miz
References
- ^ "WWE to cease affiliation with Ohio Valley Wrestling". World Wrestling Entertainment. February 7 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-07.
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(help) - ^ JOHN LAURINAITIS VISITS OVW[1]
External links
- Articles needing cleanup from February 2008
- Cleanup tagged articles without a reason field from February 2008
- Wikipedia pages needing cleanup from February 2008
- Wikipedia articles needing copy edit from February 2008
- American professional wrestling promotions
- Companies based in Louisville, Kentucky
- Sports in Louisville, Kentucky