Ohio Valley Wrestling
From Iwe
| Ohio Valley Wrestling | ||
| ||
| Acronym | OVW | |
| Founded | 1997 | |
| 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 developmental professional wrestling promotion based in Louisville, Kentucky. OVW was initially a member promotion of the National Wrestling Alliance from its inception in 1997 until 2000, when it became the primary developmental territory for the International Wrestling Federation (now IWE). OVW remained in this role from 2000 until 2008. The promotion was unaffiliated from February 7, 2008 until November 2011, when it became the official and current developmental territory for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. As of December 2011, over 100 OVW alumni have appeared in IWE. OVW is now the developmental territory for Total Nonstop Action, run by owner Danny Davis.
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[edit] History
Jim Cornette was head booker of OVW for a period before being fired by IWE for slapping a student, David Carelli. He was replaced by Paul Heyman, who booked OVW until being called up to be the booker of the XCW 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, IWE announced that it had ended its relationship with OVW as a developmental territory, moving all contracted talent to Florida Championship Wrestling. However, on September 23, 2009, OVW announced via a press release from IWE that Senior EVP John Laurinaitis visited and scouted OVW wrestlers and that IWE will take "a much more active role in recruiting OVW developed talent". OVW and IWE maintained a close relationship as throughout 2008 and 2009 IWE-contracted talent would make occasional appearances on OVW shows and OVW talent has remained a large part of IWE's recruiting classes with eight members of the roster being signed to the IWE since February 2008 and many more being used on IWE programming as extras or enhancement talent. On February 22 and 23, 2010 the IWE in conjunction with OVW held a two-day tryout camp for independent wrestlers. It was the first event of this nature held outside Florida Championship Wrestling since FCW became IWE's sole developmental territory.
On September 8, 2010, in what was dubbed the company's season premiere, Danny Davis, who himself was making his return for the first time in over a year, announced that Jim Cornette was returning to his role as head booker of the company. Cornette, who is also executive producer of Ring of Honor's HD Net show, stated that Ring of Honor (ROH) talent as well as talent from other companies were going to work in OVW along with the current crop of stars and returning OVW stars in an effort to return the company to its previous reputation as the best independent wrestling company to get recruited from. A similar claim was made by Cornette during the announcement of the ROH HDnet program moving its tapings to the OVW/Davis arena.
On November 7, 2011, it was announced that OVW and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) had reached an agreement for OVW to become TNA's official training and developmental territory.. TNA's Director of Talent Relations Al Snow would take over/return as booker of the company replacing the outgoing Jim Cornette.
[edit] Television
| Ohio Valley Wrestling TV | ||
| Format | OVW | |
| Created by | 1997 | |
| Country of origin |  United States
| |
| No. of episodes | 682 (as of September 15, 2012) | |
| Production | ||
| Running time | 60 minutes | |
| Broadcast | ||
| Original channel | WKYI-CD WKYD WOBZ-LD Online | |
| Original airing | 1997–present | |
OVW currently airs a 60-minute television program Saturdays in the Louisville area on WKYI at 1:00 p.m, and on WOBZ-LD in London, Kentucky at 9:00 p.m. OVW also has streaming video via their website ovwrestling.com, where new episodes are streamed on Thursdays following the previous Wednesday's television taping. The television shows originate from the Davis Arena in the Buechel neighborhood of Louisville.
[edit] Current champions
| Championship | Current champion(s) | Date won | Won from |
|---|---|---|---|
| OVW Heavyweight Championship | Ryan Howe | January 2, 2016 | Rob Rogge |
| OVW Television Championship | Devin Driscoll | October 28, 2015 | Mitch Huff |
| OVW Southern Tag Team Championship | Band of Brothaz (General Pope & Private Anthony) | December 5, 2015 | The Van Zandt Family Circus (Dapper Dan Van Zandt & The Ringmaster) |
| OVW Women's Championship | Maria James | February 6, 2016 | Jessie Belle |
[edit] Defunct championships
| Championship | Final champion | Date won | Won from | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OVW Light Heavyweight Championship | Khris Michaels | April 12, 2000 | Sean Casey | Retired on March 1, 2001. |
| OVW Hardcore Championship | Kevin Orton | May 5, 2001 | Flash Flanagan | Retired in 2001. |
[edit] Roster
[edit] Male wrestlers
| Ring name | Real name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Adam Revolver | Jared Pridgin | |
| Alex Silva | Alec Silva | |
| Brandon Espinosa | Brandon Espinosa | |
| Khristopher Silvio | Khristopher Silvio | |
| Cliff Compton | Dominic Compton | |
| Crimson | Kevin Crimson | Also works in TNA. |
| Dylan Bostic | Dylan Bostic | |
| Eddie Diamond | Eduardo Diamond | Co-host of "The Mixtape" |
| Flash Flanagan | Khristopher Kindred | |
| James Thomas | Tom Wabs | |
| Jamin Olivencia | James Olivencia | |
| Jesse Gutierrez | Jesse Gutierrez | Also works in TNA as "Jesse". |
| Joe Coleman | Joe Coleman | |
| Johnny Spade | Josh Adamson | |
| Mohamad Ali Vaez | Ali Vaez | |
| Paredyse | James Long | |
| Randy Royal | Unknown | Inactive; suffered heart attack |
| Randy Terrez | Randy Grey | |
| Raul LaMotta | Aaron LaMotta | |
| Rob Truax | Rob Truax | |
| Rudy Switchblade | Eric Matlock | |
| Ryan Howe | Ryan Howe | |
| Sam Shaw | Samuel Shaw | |
| The Mexicutioner | Roberto De Lester, Jr. | OVW Southern Tag Team Champion |
| Timmy Danger | Unknown |
[edit] Female wrestlers
| Ring name | Real name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| December | Unknown | |
| Epiphany | Debra Frost | |
| Hannah Blossom | Lucy Knott | Contestant of TNA British Boot Camp Inactive; hasn't appeared in over 30 days |
| Heidi Lovelace | Dorthy PrangePrange | |
| Holly Blossom | Kelly Knott | Contestant of TNA British Boot Camp Inactive; hasn't appeared in over 30 days |
| Jessie Belle | Jessie Bella Smothers | |
| Josette Bynum | Josette Robinson | Secretary of General Manager Frank Miller/Trailer Park Trash |
| Scarlett Bordeaux | Scarlett Bordeaux | Inactive; hasn't appeared in over 30 days |
[edit] Other on-air personnel
| Name | Role |
|---|
[edit] Training Staff
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Al Snow | Psychology/Advanced Methodology (TNA Director of Talent Relations) |
| Danny Davis | Owner of OVW |
| Doug Williams | Occasional wrestler Also works in TNA |
| Kid Cash | Occasional wrestler Also works in TNA |
| Nick Dinsmore | Beginners Class |
| Rip Rogers | Head Trainer/Advanced Class |
