Irish Whip Wrestling


Irish Whip Wrestling is an Irish-owned independent professional wrestling promotion established in January 2002. The company is named after a wrestling move called the 'Irish Whip'. IWW runs shows Nationally throughout the whole of Ireland, both in The Republic and Northern Ireland. The company has appeared on numerous terrestrial and digital channels and had a weekly show on The Wrestling Channel, which aired from 2005–2006 throughout the UK and Ireland.

History

Early years (2002–2004)

Irish Whip Wrestling ran its first two shows in June 2002 in the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght, which featured wrestler Tatanka. After these two shows, IWW returned to the ESB National Basketball Arena on October 9 for a show that was headlined by Jake "The Snake" Roberts.
IWW continued to promote shows around Ireland through 2003 and 2004. On December 2, 2004, IWW held a show in Lucan, Dublin, and the main event featured an FWA British Heavyweight Championship match in which Alex Shane pinned Sheamus O'Shaunessy. Also in 2004, IWW opened up their 'Lock-up' training school in Dublin. Trainers at this school have included Blake Norton, "Middleman" Lee Butler and "The Pukka One" Darren Burridge. The training school has also been host to the company's Gym Wars shows which gives trainees a chance to show their skills to IWW management and to a crowd.

Growth (2005–2007)

On March 20, 2005 IWW presented its first-ever supershow, held in the SFX City Theatre in Dublin. On March 28, O'Shaunessy was crowned the first-ever IWW International Heavyweight Champion when he defeated Darren Burridge in the tournament final.
Also in 2005, IWW got its own TV show called Whiplash TV, which was broadcast on The Wrestling Channel on Sky Digital. The show ran for two seasons. Throughout May and June 2006, IWW taped several episodes of its Whiplash TV show in the Laughter Lounge in Dublin City. In 2006, IWW ran shows in cities across Ireland. From August to October 2006, the first ever King of the Gym tournament was held over the course of four Gym Wars events.
At the beginning of 2007, the IWW Zero Gravity Championship was created, and a tournament was held to crown the first champion. The 12-man tournament included wrestlers from seven different countries.
In March IWW held its second supershow, and in the main event, Vic Viper defeated Christopher Daniels to retain the IWW International Heavyweight Championship. On July 6, IWW returned to the Forum in Waterford for its Global Impact show, which was taped for DVD sales. The match between the Ballymun Bruiser and Doug Williams was featured on TV3's Diary of a Sportstar program.
In late October 2007, it ran 14 shows between the October 19 and 28. Several matches on the tour were taped for the International Hits, Vol. 1 DVD.

Return of Gym Wars; Memorial Tournament & Tours (2008–2018)

On June 1, 2008 Gym Wars returned after a 10-month absence. Later that month, IWW returned to the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght, Dublin for the first time in six years. All the matches were taped for IWW's television show on Buzz TV.
IWW continued running shows in 2011. Around this time they branched into fundraisers, festival events and summer circuit shows.
From 2011 onward IWW focused on exhibiting Irish talent. The roster of wrestlers from all over the world slimmed down. Touring performers from Canada, America, the UK and Europe were still used.

Championships

Current champions

IWW International Heavyweight Championship

The IWW International Heavyweight Championship is the primary title for IWW. The championship was created in 2005. A tournament was held in Naas, Co. Kildare in March 2005 to crown the first ever champion. The former champion Mandrake was the longest reigning champion in history of the company. On February 5, 2010, the Zero Gravity Title was unified with it and it became known as the Irish Whip Wrestling Unified Heavyweight Championship. On April 30, 2011, The Supermodel defeated Mandrake for the IWW International Heavyweight championship. The Zero Gravity championship was un-unified with the International Heavyweight Championship after this match.
#WrestlerReignsDateDays heldLocationEventNotesRef.
1Sheamus O' Shaunessy1March 28, 2005
Naas, Kildare, Ireland		IWW EventDefeated Darren Burridge
2D'Lo Brown1May 29, 2005Dublin, IrelandIWW D-Day
3Sheamus O' Shaunessy2October 2, 2005Newcastle, EnglandMEW The Northern Bash
4Drew Galloway1August 27, 2006Balbriggan, Dublin, IrelandIWW International Intermingle
5Vic Viper1January 17, 2007Baldoyle, Dublin, IrelandIWW Gym War #18Defeated Mad Man Manson, Kid Kash, and Ballymun Bruiser for vacant title.
6Mandrake1March 15, 2008Donnycarney, Dublin, IrelandIWW St. Paddy's TourDefeated Vic Viper and Eugene; renamed Unified Heavyweight Championship after Mandrake wins the Zero Gravity Championship on 5 February 2010.
7The Supermodel1April 30, 2011Birr, Offaly, IrelandIWW EventUnified with the Zero Gravity Championship.
8Captain Rooney1September 29, 2013Dundalk, Louth, IrelandIWW Event
9TJ Meehan1April 16, 2015Roscommon, Ireland
10The Ballymun Bruiser1December 3, 2016Letterkenny, Donegal, IrelandIWW Event
11The Galway Grappler1December 3, 2016+Letterkenny, Donegal, IrelandIWW Event

IWW Zero Gravity Championship

The IWW Zero Gravity Championship is professional wrestling championship in IWW. The championship was created in early 2007. The tournament to crown the inaugural champion was a 12-man tournament including wrestlers from seven different countries. On February 5, 2010 it was unified with the IWW International Heavyweight Championship and retired. It was later reactivated, after Mandrake lost the IWW International Heavyweight Championship.
#WrestlerReignsDateDays heldLocationEventNotesRef.
1Bingo Ballance1January 14, 2007Balbriggan, Dublin, IrelandIWW Zero-GravityDefeated Pac
2Bam Katraz1June 22, 2007Balbriggan, Dublin, IrelandIWW Doomsday In Dublin
3Bingo Ballance2July 6, 2007Waterford, IrelandIWW Global ImpactDefeated Pac and Bam Katraz
4Red Vinny1October 20, 2007Kilkenny, IrelandIWW 5th Anniversary National Tour
5Vic Viper1March 15, 2008Donnycarney, Dublin, IrelandIWW St. Paddy's TourDefeated Red Vinny, Bam Katraz, Bingo Ballance, and Liam Thompson
6Bingo Ballance3June 14, 2008Tallaght, Dublin, IrelandIWW Buzz TV-TapingDefeated Vic Viper, Red Vinny, and Metal Master
7LA Warren1January 30, 2009Rathcoole, Dublin, IrelandIWW Event
8Angus J. Rotanda1October 25, 2009Port Laoise, IrelandIWW Event
9Mandrake1April 30, 2011Newry, County Down, Northern IrelandIWW EventChampionship was unified with the IWW International Heavyweight Championship
10Skaterboi Jeebus1September 25, 2011Louth, IrelandIWW Event
11Cambo Cray1May 31, 2014Kilkeel, Northern Ireland
12The Galway Grappler1August 28, 2016Cashel, County Tipperary, IrelandIWW Dualla Show
13Cambo Cray2December 3, 2016Letterkenny, County Donegal, IrelandIWW Event
14The Galway Grappler2June 4, 2017Leixlip, County Kildare, IrelandIWW Event
15Bingo Ballance4June 8, 2018+Durrow, County Laois, IrelandIWW Event

King of the Gym winners