The Encyclopedia Of MAW

[Sons of Kohral]

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The Origins of MAW

By Colton Desmond

 

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"If someone like me could become a legend, then why can't everyone?"

 

When you think wrestling, most people see images of Christian Faith in SWF, or Tommy Cornell in TCW. Some even think back to the "glory days" of DAVE and their hardcore, bloodthirsty product. Very few people think about the indys, and why would they? These barely self sufficient promotions with their niche products don't appeal to the mainstream. They are easily forgotten commodities. Yet few people realize just how important they are.

 

"I was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver back in 2005," wrestling legend Ripley "Rip" Chord says in his modest office in Bethesda, Maryland. "The doctors told me that unless I stopped drinking completely from that day forward, my liver would undoubtedly fail." Rip saw this as an ultimatum of sorts and retired from the ring in October of 2005.

 

"Even then, the doctors said that my liver might still fail and complications from that would ultimately lead to my death. I didn't want to be remembered as the 'has been' who drank himself to death. I wanted to do something that would impact the wrestling world." This something became Rip Chord's pet project; Mid Atlantic Wrestling.

 

"It started with a conversation I had with Sam Strong. Sam had just retired also and was looking into helping a lesser promotion gain more attention. I mentioned to him I was considering setting up a school to train young workers and he said, 'Hell brother, anyone can make a school! You know as well as I do that these kids will only improve if they're actually performing!' And Mid Atlantic Wrestling was born I guess."

 

Rip Chord's new dream had no shortage of potential financial backers and pretty soon, they were a publicly trading corporation. "It was crazy," Rip says, looking out the window. "I didn't expect to put on our first show for another year, but the interest we got was amazing. It seemed like everyone wanted to be a part of this." A full debut roster was assembled by November and the first show was held the very next month.

 

"The first show was amazing. I didn't even expect there to be 50 people there, but we filled up the place to capacity. In total, there were 522 people packed into an area which should only have held 300. I can't even say it was standing room only. People were sitting on each other's shoulders just say they could fit."

 

The first show, MAW The Night of Champions was a critical hit and solidified their place as THE promotion for young talent.

 

"I'm not in this for money, I have enough. I'm not in this to be the number one promotion in the world, SWF and TCW have that covered. My dream is to allow people to be able to say 15 years from now to their kids, "See that guy who's the world champion? I saw him when he was just starting out..."

[The Mystery]

I hope I could pull a simple MAW but good luck with this.

[Sons of Kohral]

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The Stuff Of Champions: A Brief History Of The Rip Chord Invitational

By Ricky Del Juarez

 

"I had this this crazy idea," Rip Chord tells me at the Professional Wrestling Correspondents Dinner in November of 2007. "A tournament in which the hottest young prospects all around the world meet and battle it out for the trophy. With most promotions, the catch is that you know the headliner for the host promotion is going to win. With my tournament though, this wouldn't be the case."

 

Unfortunately, for the first Rip Chord Invitational (which was initially called Rip Chord's Invitational Tournament) he was forced to use only his roster. Although MAW The Night Of Champions was being hailed as the "Indy Show of the Year" for 2005, the Independent Wrestling Community was still wary to send their workers to be booked by Chord. This, in a sense, forced Rip Chord to utilize only his roster for the tournament and hopefully put the final nail in the coffin to silence his critics.

 

And oh, did he do it.

 

Having the 8 man tournament as the main draw, Rip put on a 6 hour long event. At a certain point, it looked more like a convention than a wrestling show. The first four hours were filled with music, the ability to meet the wrestlers, games and a few panel discussions with the staff, workers and wrestlers themselves.

 

"The fans showed us so much love and gratitude after The Night Of Champions that this was kind of our way of giving back to them." Rip told me. The event was free and held inside White Flint Convention Center in White Flint, Maryland and the turn out was even bigger than the last show. "At a certain point, I think we stopped counting after the 700th person walked in. It was amazing and the fans seemed to love every minute of it."

 

The show itself did not disappoint. Utilizing his roster of the likes of Steven Parker, Al Coleman, Titan and others, Chord was able to put on one of the best shows ever seen for free. "It's not that the matches were particularly good, because believe me, they weren't. But the crowd was so into it, that by the time the last match of Mainstream Hernandez and Atlas played out, the crowd was deafening."

 

The "Complete Freak" Mainstream Hernandez pulled out the victory to win the first ever Rip Chord Invitational.

 

Although the show was called "an interesting case study on mob mentality" by Pro Wrestling Hits magazine and given only 3 out of 5 slams (Although, later on they rescinded this rating and it was a "Card of the Year" competitor), the fans loved the whole experience and within a few days, the internet was clamoring with support for MAW. Pretty soon, local leagues had inked trade deals with the small promotion, establishing MAW as the training ground in the United States.

 

By the time of The Rip Chord Invitational II, MAW had the ears of the entire world. So much so, that Rip Chord decided to change the format from an 8 man tournament to a 16 man one. He even added a theme to it, calling it "MAW vs. The World".

 

Rip Chord managed to lock in trades with some of the finest talents available, from as far off as Japan to as (relatively) close as Mexico. It was a true "world show" with most major regions being represented. Workers such as Darryl Devine, Nicky Champion, Mayan Idol, SUKI, and Frankie Dee were all at the show and put on spectacular matches. In the final match between Darryl Devine and Mainstream Hernadez though, the "Complete Freak" scored the pinfall and rode the wave of momentum to capture the MAW Championship the very next month.

 

The second tournament did what everyone expected. MAW is no longer looked at as the pet project of Rip Chord. It is now seen as the best place for young workers to hone their skills and get real world experience. With The Rip Chord Invitational III right around the corner, it's no doubt that the world will be watching to see what surprises old Rip has up his sleeve.

[Sons of Kohral]

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Rebirth Of The Tag Teams

By Richard Holsley

 

Mid Atlantic Wrestling used to be a Mecca for Tag Team wrestling. At its inception, MAW had seven (I repeat SEVEN) regular tag teams. Who can forget some of the classic pairings such as Bad Attitude, Call To Action and The Gods Of Thunder?

 

Although for the later half of 2007 there was only one regular tag team and it's fair to say that Tag Team wrestling stalled, as 2008 rolls around, don't think that Rip Chord is going to let it stay that way.

 

The Tag Teams

 

The Canadian Blondes

 

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Strangely enough, considered the "old guard" of Tag Teams at MAW, the 21 year olds Oscar Golden and Flash Savage make up The Canadian Blondes. Teaming regularly together since show one, the two Cannucks are two time Tag Team Champions and currently hold the belts. With a good mix of dashing good looks, strong work ethic and good athleticism, the Canadians compliment each other's weakness' and are true examples of what a tag team should accomplish.

 

C-V-2

 

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Who were the hottest two second generation wrestlers to debut in 2007? If you guessed Cameron Vessey and Casey Valentine then you're absolutely correct! Other than both being second generation wrestlers and sharing the exact same initials, these two seem tailor made for each other. Cameron Vessey is the tough guy brawler, while Casey Valentine is the charismatic technician. Not only can they beat the living hell out of you, but they can do it systematically. I wouldn't be surprised to see these two win the straps this year.

 

Hollywood Reborn

 

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The newest tag team addition looks to be the one that very well could have a huge breakout year. The British technician Curtis Jenkins, who's career might have been called stagnant up to this point is teaming up with charismatic all rounder Jefferson Stardust. Both sporting prima donna rock star gimmicks, if they can connect with the crowd, you could see their stock on the rise.