 | |
| Acronym | ER |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2012 |
| Defunct | 2014 |
| Style | Hardcore wrestling |
| Headquarters | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA |
| Founders |
|
| Formerly | Extreme Reunion |
| Predecessor | Extreme Championship Wrestling |
Extreme Rising (formerlyExtreme Reunion) was an Americanindependentprofessional wrestling promotion founded in 2012. Meant to fill the void ofhardcore wrestling left behind by the defunctExtreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), Extreme Rising assembled a roster ofECW alumni, but later expanded to include younger talent. The promotion closed after cancelling all future shows on April 22, 2014.
In January 2012,Shane Douglas announced plans for Extreme Reunion, a new promotion influenced byExtreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). Douglas cited his dissatisfaction with the state of the professional wrestling industry as his inspiration to create the new organization.[1] To create interest for the inaugural show on April 28, Douglas undertook aguerrilla marketing campaign, which included attending the March 19, 2012, episode ofWWERaw. Douglas stood up during a match, causing cameras to cut away from him, and he was escorted out of the arena.[2]
The inaugural event, also namedExtreme Reunion, was panned by both fans and critics. The fans in attendance voiced their annoyance at the event by shouting negative chants at Douglas, who had booked himself in the main event. FormerECW ChampionsSabu andJustin Credible were removed from the card on the night ofExtreme Reunion for medical reasons.[3][4][5] Douglas released a video days later, apologizing for the quality of the show, and promised changes going forward.[6] Among the changes were altering the company name from Extreme Reunion to Extreme Rising, and bringing in younger talents, such asMatt Hardy,Homicide,Jay Bradley andLuke Hawx, as well aslucha libre wrestlers, to bolster the roster.[7]
Extreme Rising held theRemember Novemberinternetpay-per-view (iPPV) on November 17, 2012, and theCard Subject to Change iPPV on December 29, 2012.Card Subject to Change sawStevie Richards become Extreme Rising's firstWorld Champion by winning a tournament final overRhino.[8] The company had planned to offer three shows duringWrestleMania 29 weekend in April 2013, but the shows were cancelled due to poor sales.[9] After a hiatus, Extreme Rising reorganized and announced that they would resume running live shows on December 28, 2013.[10][11] Steve O'Neill took control of the promotion and said that he secured a deal that would put them on local television markets in the Philadelphia area.[12] Extreme Rising subsequently became the first promotion to run shows in theECW Arena after it reopened.[10]
On April 22, 2014, Extreme Rising cancelled all upcoming events and closed their social media accounts.[13] The cancellations came three days before a scheduled show in Philadelphia and scheduled talent said they were notified via text message. O'Neill advised those who had purchased tickets to contact their bank or credit card company to get a refund.[14]
In 2012, the fledgling promotion announced an eight-man tournament to crown their first world champion,[15] set to include formerECW ChampionsSabu andRhino; ECW mainstaysStevie Richards,Devon Storm, andPerry Saturn; as well as notable independent wrestlers such asHomicide,Luke Hawx, and Papadon. The two-night tournament took place at theRemember November iPPV on November 17, 2012, and theCard Subject To Change iPPV on December 29, 2012, where Stevie Richards became the first champion by defeating Rhino in the finals.[8]
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The tournament brackets were:[16]
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | ||||||||||||
| Stevie Richards | Sub | |||||||||||||
| Papadon | ||||||||||||||
| Stevie Richards | Sub | |||||||||||||
| Luke Hawx | ||||||||||||||
| Luke Hawx | Sub | |||||||||||||
| Perry Saturn | ||||||||||||||
| Stevie Richards | Sub | |||||||||||||
| Rhino | ||||||||||||||
| Sabu | ||||||||||||||
| Devon Storm | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Devon Storm | ||||||||||||||
| Rhino | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Rhino | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Homicide | ||||||||||||||
In 2013, Richards announced viaTwitter that he wanted to defend the title againstDanny Doring in a video game. Doring, who was one-half of the finalECW World Tag Team Champions, and still possessed the physical belt, also put his title on the line in a "defunct promotion vs. defunct promotion match". After his declarations, Extreme Rising asked Richards to return the title for referring to them as "defunct".[17]
Despite this, Richards continued to be champion into 2014. Richards was defeated byLuke Hawx in what was billed as a title match at anEast Coast Wrestling Association (ECWA) show in Delaware; however, Extreme Rising said the match was not for the title and continued to recognize Richards as champion.[18] Despite the statement, Hawx continued to proclaim himself champion and was to defend the title against Matt Hardy on July 20, 2014, atMaryland Championship Wrestling (MCW). Extreme Rising owner Steve O'Neill issued a press release denying that they had sanctioned the match.[19] According toDan McDevitt of MCW, the match would be for theMCW Heavyweight Championship, but said it was up to Hardy or Hawx to bring other titles.[20] Hawx lost to Hardy in the match, who retained the MCW Championship and obtained the Extreme Rising championship belt – but was not officially recognized as champion.[19]
| Reign | The reign number for the specific champion listed |
|---|---|
| Location | The city in which the title was won |
| Event | The event promoted by the respective promotion in which the title was won |
| † | Indicates the title changes not recognized by Extreme Rising |
| No. | Wrestlers | Reign | Date won | Location | Event | Days held | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stevie Richards | 1 | December 29, 2012 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Card Subject To Change | 427 | DefeatedRhino in the tournament finale.[8] He was the only champion recognized by Extreme Rising.[18] |
| 2 | Luke Hawx | 1† | March 1, 2014 | Newark, Delaware | ECWA live event | 140 | Extreme Rising did not recognize this change.[18] |
| 3 | Matt Hardy | 1† | July 19, 2014 | Joppa, Maryland | MCWShane Shamrock Memorial Cup 2014 | <1 | Defeated Hawx in aTables, Ladders, and Chairs match. Officially, neither Extreme Rising nor MCW recognized the match as a title match for the Extreme Rising title, but Hardy and Hawx claimed it as a title change.[19] |