| Acronym | PGWA |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1992 |
| Style | Women's professional wrestling |
| Headquarters | North Carolina |
| Founder | Tom Randolph[1] |
| Website | LadySports.com |
TheProfessional Girl Wrestling Association (PGWA) is an Americanwomen's professional wrestlingpromotion. The aim of the PGWA is to preserve and promote "Old School"Women's professional wrestling. Based in North Carolina, the organization frequently sponsors matches and whole cards in theMid-Atlantic andMid-South states, as well as inMexico and theUnited Kingdom[2] through partnerships with other regional promotions. From its founding in 1992 until her death in mid-2008, the Commissioner of the PGWA wasPenny Banner.[3]
The company sets up wrestling matches for independent female wrestlers—wrestlers that are not signed to a major company—video tapes the matches and sells them to help promote their careers.[1] Because the women do not sign exclusive contracts, they are free to wrestle in other promotions or major wrestling companies.[1] Unlike many female-only wrestling organizations, PGWA does not overly emphasize the sexuality of the female wrestlers, nor does it promote them as "eye-candy",[1] but rather stresses their skills and ability.
PGWA matches tend to run 15 to 30 minutes, as opposed to the usual 5 to 10 minutes often allotted female wrestlers by promoters. This allows wrestlers to display a full range of their abilities, rather than having to focus on a few key moves in the short span of time their match allows.
The Professional Girl Wrestling Association (PGWA) was founded in 1992 in North Carolina by sportswriter Tom Randolph.[1][3] Randolph brought a video camera to one ofSusan Green's training sessions and later videotaped a match between her andJudy Martin.[1] Green later became the promotion's first champion.[1]
In 2002, the promotion began holding events in theUnited Kingdom and Europe.[2] The 2004 show "Summer Heat", filmed inNashville, Tennessee, had the largestcard in the promotion's history to that time with 16 women wrestling at the event.[4] In October 2004, PGWA co-promoted the firstChickFight tournament, which later became an annual event, withAll Pro Wrestling.[5] In November 2008, after the death of Penny Banner, Susan Green became the new commissioner of the PGWA.[6]
Concurrent with the launch of the PGWA in 1992, the promotion began selling a women's wrestling newsletter calledConnections. Shortly, this was transformed into a quarterly magazine titledLadySports (3 issues of a sister magazine,LadyBoxer, were also published in the late 1990s). The PGWA staff also frequently supplied photographs and feature articles to such newsstand publications asWrestling Eye,PWI,WOW! andFighting Females. Since the mid-90s, a LadySports Online website has also been maintained. With the cessation of the quarterly magazine, publishing efforts were shifted to the website, which not only offers downloads of PGWA matches and features on PGWA talent, but also provides coverage for non-PGWA women, from wrestlers to valets and referees.
| Wrestler: | Times: | Date: | Location: | Notes: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Susan Green | 1 | 1992 | Charlotte, North Carolina | [3] |
| Judy Martin | 1 | 1999 | [7] | |
| Susan Green | 2 | 1999 | ||
| Angel "Riptide" Orsini | 1 | 2000 | Thomasville, North Carolina | |
| Lexie Fyfe | 1 | 2001 | Charlotte, North Carolina | Won the title in athree-way dance against Riptide andBrandi Alexander[8] |
| Leilani Kai | 1 | July 2002 | Branson, Missouri | Won at the "Battleground: Branson" event |
| Pippa L'Vinn | 1 | November 2003 | Raleigh, North Carolina | [2] |
| Nikki Roxx | 1 | April 23, 2005 | Manchester, England | Won at an event entitled "St. George's Daymes"[2] |
| Tracy Taylor | 1 | November 15, 2008 | Millersville, Tennessee | Won at the "A Banner Night" event |
| Nemesis | 1 | April 16, 2011 | Millersville, Tennessee | Won at "Spring Fling '11" |
| ThunderKitty | 1 | August 4, 2017 | Wilmington, Ohio | Relinquished belt May 4, 2018 due to injury |
| Allie Parker | 1 | July 4, 2018 | Las Vegas, Nevada | Awarded belt after being recognized as the top contender |
| Jennifer Thomas | 1 | June 15, 2019 | Los Angeles, California | Won at the SessionGirls all-women's PPV Relinquished belt August 15, 2021 due to injury |
| Kasey Fox | 1 | September 25, 2021 | Mount Airy, North Carolina | Won at the "Darlings of the Ring" all-women's event Relinquished belt on May 1, 2023 due to inability to defend it in a scheduled match |
| Savannah Sweet | 1 | May 27, 2023 | Covington, Kentucky | Won at the "Revolution Rising II: Queens of the Midwest" all-women's event |
| Riley Matthews | 1 | April 27, 2024 | West Union, Ohio |
RotY retired
