This weekend, Windsor, Ontario’s Border City Wrestling (BCW) announced a 25th Anniversary show at St. Clair College (site of the most recent Impact tapings) on Saturday, October 6, 2018.
Stay tuned. #BCW25 pic.twitter.com/C9zzBT1DbP
— Border City Wrestling (@bcwonline) June 30, 2018
Founded in 1993 in Windsor, Ontario, Canada by two wrestlers – Canadian indie grappler “The Canadian Destroyer” Doug Chevalier and Scott D’Amore – alongside Chuck Fader, BCW instantly created a brand unique to Canadian indie wrestling, bringing in then-current WWE Superstars – such as Edge, Christian, The Rock, Mark Henry and others – as well as bringing in ECW and TNA/Impact stars in the 2000s, and integrating them with emerging Canadian indie talent and homegrown stars from their own acclaimed Can-Am Wrestling School. Apart from being The Rock’s only indie appearance and having moments such as having the NWA World Heavyweight title change hands at a BCW event, International Incident, in 2005 (that saw Jeff Jarrett defeat Raven), BCW has also been a breeding ground for many of today’s top stars, including WWE Superstars Rhyno, Bobby Roode and Eric Young, Impact stars Moose, Rosemary, Petey Williams and Sienna, 2x All Japan Triple Crown winner Joe Doering, ROH tag team Motor City Machine Guns, WWE Cruiserweight Classic competitor and Canadian indie legend Tyson Dux and NJPW’s KUSHIDA to name a few. Prior to WWE bringing back ECW following the promotions demise, BCW also became the home of many ECW stars, including Tommy Dreamer, Shane Douglas and Sabu and one of the first indie promotions in North America to showcase New Japan stars, when Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and others came to Windsor in 2014.
At twenty five years old, BCW is also one of the longest running Canadian wrestling promotions in history. Last year, with owner Scott D’Amore assuming a mantle of leadership with the new Impact Wrestling management executive team, BCW entered into a partnership with Impact and Anthem Entertainment, with several matches from BCW appearing on Impact television. Since then, they’ve hosted one Impact One Night Only: March Breakdown as well as the current round of Impact tapings airing on PopTV.
Hitting 25 years old, BCW is now the second longest running active promotion, behind Quebec’s Northern Championship Wrestling (nCw), and the 7th longest running promotion in history. Here’s a look at where BCW ranks for longest tenured Canadian promotions:
- Maple Leaf Wrestling, Toronto, ON (NWA/WWF Affiliate) (1930 to 1986), 56 years
- Stampede Wrestling, Calgary, AB (1948-1989; 1999-2008), 50 years
- International Wrestling Association (IWA), Montreal, QC (1935 to 1975), 40 years
- Northern Championship Wrestling (nCw), Montreal, QC (1986 to present), 32 years
- All Star Wrestling, Vancouver, BC (NWA Affiliate) (1962 to 1989), 27 years
- West Four Wrestling Alliance/International Wrestling Alliance, Winnipeg, Manitoba (1974 to 2000), 26 years
- Border City Wrestling (BCW), Windsor, ON (1993 to present), 25 years
- Elite Canadian Championship Wrestling (ECCW), Vancouver, BC (1996 to present), 22 years
When contacted for details, BCW executives were excited for the event. While coy about who will appear for the huge event, one thing fans can expect is a fun run through BCW’s rich history. “I think what people can look forward to is a celebration of 25 years of quality wrestling,” BCW owner and Impact Executive VP Scott D’Amore told us. “Our goal is to feature stars from the various eras of BCW – LaSalle Arena, the 2 Ciociaro Club runs (B-ECW & TNA/Controversy in Canada), right up to the St. Clair College Events. We’ll also feature some of the best current talent out there.”
