Xtreme Pro Wrestling (XPW) is an American independent professional wrestling promotion owned by Rob Zicari and operated by Extreme Gifts. The promotion is known for its deathmatch style. XPW was founded in the summer of 1999.
Many consider the existence of XPW to consist of two different versions: the original West Coast version and the All-New XPW East Coast invasion. XPW was a hardcore wrestling promotion that featured many violent matches, reminiscent of the Japanese death matches popularized overseas.
XPW also kept a huge focus on the soap opera aspect of wrestling, as the storylines involved porn stars, alternative lifestyles, profanity, and sadistic violence. The announcing duo for XPW consisted of Kris Kloss and Larry Rivera, with Kloss doing the play-by-play and Rivera taking on the role as a heel color commentator.
Kris Kloss' trademark was an inhuman high pitched scream when something shocking occurred in a match. In this period, the promotion's main stars were homegrown wrestlers.
Xtreme Pro Wrestling (XPW) was an independent professional wrestling promotion which was owned by Rob Zicari, who alongside his wife, Janet Romano, appeared on shows as the owner of the company under the name of Rob Black. The Zicaris formed XPW after being denied an opportunity to be the west coast promoters of ECW.
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Zicari originally ran the promotion out of Los Angeles from 1999 to 2002. He appeared on shows as the on-camera owner under the ring name Rob Black alongside his then-wife Lizzy Borden.
The company was originally based in southern California and gained a cult following using a combination of former ECW stars, local independent wrestlers in extremely violent hardcore matches, and porn stars as valets and managers.
Xtreme Pro Wrestling (XPW) was founded in the summer of 1999 by Robert Zicari, a pornography producer who adopted the ring name Rob Black for his on-screen role as the promotion's owner. Zicari, along with adult film actor Tom Byron, established the company in Los Angeles, California, with the intent to create a hardcore wrestling promotion modeled after Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) while incorporating elements from his adult entertainment background, such as using pornographic film stars as valets and managers.
The first XPW event was held on July 31, 1999 at the Reseda Country Club.XPW held its inaugural event, titled the Debut Show, on July 31, 1999, at the Reseda Country Club in Reseda, California.
Initial venues centered on Southern California, beginning with the debut show on July 31, 1999, at Reseda Country Club in Reseda, where multiple events occurred until the venue's sale in December 1999.
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Early shows featured local and independent talent in matches emphasizing weapons and high-risk maneuvers, setting the tone for the promotion's hardcore style. Throughout 1999 and into 2000, XPW developed its initial roster by recruiting wrestlers experienced in hardcore environments, such as Steele, Supreme, The Messiah, and Phenomenal Phil, alongside emerging talents like Kid Kaos and Kristian Blood.
Events remained localized to Southern California venues, drawing modest crowds and building a cult following through taped shows and word-of-mouth promotion.
The main storyline for most of 2001 concerned the heel stable called The Black Army. The Black Army was run by Rob Black, assisted by his wife (porn star Lizzy Borden), and feuded with Sabu. XPW was in large part responsible for catapulting Sabu back into the national spotlight after he left ECW.
Before coming to XPW, Sabu had wrestled in Mexico once over the course of his 20-year career. After joining XPW in March 2000, he started getting booked by Xtreme Latin American Wrestling every month. He had only made sporadic appearances in Canada during his 20-year career, but after joining XPW, he started wrestling for Stampede Wrestling and Border City Wrestling multiple times per month.
Towards the end of 2001, another heel stable called the "Enterprise" emerged to feud with the Black Army. show when Kid Kaos won the XPW television title, turned his back on his uncle, Supreme, and aligned himself with the Enterprise.
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The XPW insurgence into the former ECW Arena sparked a hot period for Philadelphia's indy scene with a number of companies all running at once in the market, including CZW, Ring of Honor, and XPW with XPW painting themselves as the enemy coming into the market looking to take over.
XPW debuted at the ECW Arena in June 2002 at the Hostile Takeover event, and Shane Douglas was the promotion's focal point for the rest of the year.
In mid-2002, XPW relocated primary operations eastward, securing an exclusive lease with the New Alhambra Arena (also known as the ECW Arena or Viking Hall) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for regular tapings and live events until mid-2003. This shift enabled events like the October 5, 2002, Fallout show, drawing on the venue's established reputation for intense independent wrestling crowds.
As XPW continued to run on the East Coast, the risque storylines that made XPW infamous were quickly phased out, and a majority of XPW's west coast employees were not a part of the "All-New XPW." The relocation to the East Coast also resulted in many former ECW stars passing through XPW, whether it be on a regular basis or one-night appearances.
The Downfall of XPW
In April 2003, Rob Black and Lizzy Borden were indicted on obscenity charges due to pornographic material produced by XPW's parent company, Extreme Associates. Federal agents in Pittsburgh had ordered the offending material, which depicted scenes of rape, urination, and murder.
The stress of the trial took its toll on the owners of the company, and XPW could no longer be subsidized financially. The trial took a financial toll on Black and Borden, and the two could no longer financially subsidize XPW, with the promotion going out of business.
The company closed in mid 2003 due to decreasing crowds and the Zicari and Romano being indicted on obscenity charges. The couple would plead guilty in 2009 and were senatnced to a year in prison.
The Hardcore Failure of Extreme Rising
Although XPW shows no signs of ever returning again, XPW DVDs exist and are distributed by Xtreme Entertainment Group, who purchased the rights to XPW's video library from Rob Black in 2004. XPW matches have been extras on several different independent wrestling DVDs, including Forever Hardcore and the Hardcore Homecoming series.
In December 2006, Big Vision Entertainment released a 2-disc DVD set called After the Fall that features some of the best matches from XPW's history. The 2-disc set focuses on the debuts and "Best of..." matches of many ECW alumni who were a part of XPW, as well as matches that have gone previously unreleased and even unaired on television.
In 2004, Big Vision Entertainment bought the companies intellectual property and video library. BVE promoted reuion shows in 2008 and 2009 and appears to have plans to run events regularly.
After the promotion became defunct, Big Vision Entertainment held two XPW reunion shows, Cold Day In Hell in May 2008 and XPW X in August 2009.
Between 2008 and 2011, three XPW reunion shows were held, two in Los Angeles and a third in Tultitlan, Mexico. The first was Cold Day in Hell, held on May 24, 2008. The event came about when Big Vision Entertainment, the owners of XPW, worked on MTV's Wrestling Society X which featured many XPW alumni.
A second XPW reunion show called Ten Year Anniversary Spectacular! took place on August 22, 2009.
A third and final XPW reunion show, called Perros del Mal vs. XPW: Xtremo y Sangriento was held on August 20, 2011. The show was a co-promoted event with the Perros del Mal promotion in Tultitlan, Mexico.
Matt Cross & Scorpio Sky wrestled to a time limit draw, only to have Luke Hawx come out and challenge Matt Cross to put his XPW Tag Team Titles on the line (despite his partner Josh Prohibition not being in attendance). Cross accepted, asking Sky to be his partner. However, after Scorpio agreed, Luke Hawx revealed that Sky was in fact HIS partner.
In late 2011 it was announced by the official XPW site MEXPW and through various social media that XPW will to return under a new name; MEXPW(Mexican Xtreme Pro Wrestling), following the success of a Perros del Mal show entitled "XPW vs Perros del Mal"; which featured numerous XPW alumni taking on the regular Perros del Mal roster.
PDM-XPW PDM Vs. MTVâs Wrestling Society X was wild, fast-paced, and explosive. With a mix of pro wrestling and punk rock music, it was a perfect fit for MTV.
In 2021, Rob Black began promoting XPW shows again.
The first event of the revived XPW, Rebirth, streamed on FITE TV pay-per-view from the Main Street Armory in Rochester, New York on November 7, 2021.
XPW's Killifornia event took place at the Derby Room in Pomona, California on April 9, 2022. During the event, sixteen wrestlers competed in Baptized in Blood, XPW's signature deathmatch tournament, for the XPW King of the Deathmatch Championship.
The tournament was won by Shlak. Beautiful Disaster took place on June 25 and featured an eight-woman tournament to determine the first holder of the XPW Women's Championship.
From April 2000 until March 2003, XPW ran a locally televised TV show, simply known as XPW TV. In November 2002, Kris Kloss was removed from XPW TV's announcing booth and replaced with former ECW commentator Joey Styles.
At Baptized in Blood III in 2002, Shane Douglas made his return to XPW as the mystery opponent of Johnny Webb, and won the XPW title. Following the match, the shocking revelation that Shane Douglas and Lizzy Borden were allies emerged, which would crush Rob Black to the point that Lizzy inherited the power of XPW.
In 2002, Shane Douglas, who previously wrestled for the promotion, returned to XPW as its booker and moved the "All-New XPW" to his home state of Pennsylvania. Credited to the promotional efforts of Douglas and Cody Michaels, XPW's East Coast move was initially successful in cities like Philadelphia and Pittsburgh before, ultimately, being deemed a failure and contributing to the promotion's closure in 2003.
At various times during the companies existence, it produced weekly one hour TV shows that aired in various markets around the country. A "best of" PPV also aired in Auguist 2003.
Xtreme Pro Wrestling (XPW) distinguished itself through stipulations that emphasized unregulated violence, drawing from Japanese deathmatch traditions while amplifying risks with everyday hazardous materials.
Championships
The XPW World Heavyweight Championship serves as the top singles title in Xtreme Pro Wrestling, representing the promotion's flagship achievement since its original establishment on November 26, 1999.
The XPW King of the Deathmatch Championship highlights XPW's signature emphasis on extreme, weapon-heavy contests and remains active following multiple vacancies and revivals.
Homeless Jimmy captured the vacant title on February 25, 2024, via a Hellsgate Gauntlet match victory over competitors including Dirty Ron, Dr.
| Championship | Description |
|---|---|
| XPW World Heavyweight Championship | Top singles title in XPW. |
| XPW King of the Deathmatch Championship | Championship emphasizing extreme, weapon-heavy contests. |
| XPW Television Championship | Title defended on XPW's locally televised TV show. |
Central to this emphasis was the annual King of the Deathmatch Tournament, debuting at the Baptized in Blood event on February 26, 2000, in Hollywood, California, where Supreme emerged victorious in an eight-man competition featuring stipulations like beds of lightbulbs wrapped in barbed wire, as seen in the opening round bout between Kronus and Carlito Montana.
The tournament produced the XPW King of the Deathmatch Championship, with Supreme securing the inaugural reign lasting 259 days. Subsequent editions in 2001 (February 24, Van Nuys, California, won by Vic Grimes) and 2002 continued the tradition, culminating in events like Baptized in Blood III: Night of Champions on July 20, 2002, in Pico Rivera, California, which highlighted defenses involving fire, explosives, and raw sewage in notorious stipulations.
Xtreme Pro Wrestling (XPW) contributed to the hardcore wrestling landscape by amplifying the emphasis on deathmatch stipulations, incorporating elements like barbed wire beds, fire, and explosive devices drawn from Japanese influences, which went beyond the typical ECW-style brawls.
Recruitment emphasized wrestlers experienced in hardcore and deathmatch styles, with owner Rob Black drawing from the Southern California independent scene to build a roster capable of delivering extreme content modeled after Extreme Championship Wrestling. High-profile bookings included veterans like Sabu and Terry Funk for signature events, often on a per-appearance basis to headline shows without long-term commitments.
Xtreme Pro Wrestling (XPW) distinguished itself through an intense focus on hardcore wrestling, elevating deathmatch formats to a core element of its programming from its inception in 1999.
Under owner Rob Black, the promotion adopted a style influenced by Japanese hardcore promotions like Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW), incorporating extreme weapons such as barbed wire-wrapped lightbulbs, glass panes, and scaffolds, often resulting in significant bloodshed and injury risks.
While praised by some for pushing wrestling's boundaries, XPW's deathmatch-heavy format drew criticism for prioritizing excessive violence over narrative coherence and athlete safety, with reviewers noting a lack of storytelling and frequent botched high-risk maneuvers leading to real harm. Black's vision, informed by his adult film industry background, integrated pornographic elements into storylines, further amplifying the promotion's transgressive reputation, as detailed in documentary accounts of its operations.
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