WrestleCon
| WrestleCon | |
|---|---|
| Status | Active |
| Frequency | Annual |
| Location(s) | Various |
| Country | United States |
| Founded | 2012 |
| Organized by | Highspots |
| Website | http://www.wrestlecon.com/ |
WrestleCon is an annual professional wrestling fan convention held each spring since 2013 by Highspots, a digital professional wrestling retailer. The event features guest appearances, question-and-answer sessions, and live matches.
Traditionally, WrestleCon takes place during the weekend of, and either in or near the host city of WrestleMania - the flagship event of WWE and considered the biggest wrestling event of the year.
History and organization
The inaugural WrestleCon was a collaboration between Highspots and WWNLive.com, taking place April 5–7, 2013 at the Meadowlands Expo Center in Secaucus, New Jersey during WrestleMania 29 weekend.[1] The convention included appearances by Bruno Sammartino, Paul Orndorff, Demolition, Tito Santana, The Iron Sheik and more. It also featured live wrestling from five promotions – EVOLVE, Combat Zone Wrestling, SHIMMER, CHIKARA, and Dragon Gate USA.[2]
In 2014, WrestleCon emanated from The Sugar Mill in New Orleans, Louisiana, and featured appearances by Bill Goldberg, Roddy Piper, Edge, and Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart together as the Hart Foundation. WWNLive and its affiliated promotions did not participate in WrestleCon in 2014,[3] with the live wrestling portion of the convention being the inaugural WrestleCon Supershow headlined by Kevin Steen, Jeff Jarrett, Colt Cabana, Chris Hero, Drew Gulak, Masato Tanaka, The Suck Me Crew and more.
Beginning in 2018, the annual WrestleCon Supershow was rechristened the Mark Hitchcock Memorial SuperShow in honor of Mark Hitchcock, an artist and wrestling fan who assisted in DVD production for Highspots[4]
Originally scheduled for April 2–5, the 2020 event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[5]
Due to the lingering pandemic, WrestleCon was not held in 2021. It returned in 2022 during WrestleMania 38 weekend.
In 2022, Impact Wrestling, since reverted to its past branding as Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, began promoting events as part of WrestleCon, partnering with different promotions to produce "Multiverse" shows.
Other events held as part of WrestleCon
2013
| Event | Promotion | Date | City | Venue | Main Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EVOLVE 19: Crowning The Champion | Evolve Wrestling | April 5 | Secaucus, New Jersey | Meadowlands Expo Center | AR Fox vs. Sami Callihan in an EVOLVE Championship tournament final match | Streamed live on WWNLive.com |
| CZW at Wrestlecon | Combat Zone Wrestling | MASADA (c) vs. Jun Kasai in a World Glass, Barbed Wire & Gusset Plate deathmatch for the CZW World Heavyweight Championship | streamed live on RFVideoNow.com | |||
| SHIMMER Volume 53 | Shimmer Women Athletes | April 6 | Saraya Knight (c) vs. Cheerleader Melissa in a steel cage match for the SHIMMER Championship | Streamed live on WWNLive.com | ||
| Shoulder of Pallas | Chikara | Jushin Thunder Liger and Mike Quackenbush vs. Jigsaw and The Shard | Later released on DVD | |||
| Open The Ultimate Gate | Dragon Gate USA | Johnny Gargano (c) vs. SHINGO for the Open the Freedom Gate Championship | Streamed live on WWNLive.com | |||
| Mercury Rising | April 7 | SHINGO vs. Akira Tozawa | Streamed live on WWNLive.com | |||
(c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match
| ||||||
2014
| Event | Promotion | Date | City | Venue | Main Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5DW Live V | 5 Dollar Wrestling | April 5 | New Orleans, Louisiana | Sugar Mill | Freight Train vs. Steve Corino | |
(c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match
| ||||||
2016
| Event | Promotion | Date | City | Venue | Main Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QOC 10 | Queens of Combat | April 1 | Dallas, Texas | Hyatt Regency Dallas | Taeler Hendrix (c) vs. Jessicka Havok vs. Tessa Blanchard in a three way match for the QOC Championship | |
(c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match
| ||||||
2017
| Event | Promotion | Date | City | Venue | Main Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WrestlePro WrestleCon | WrestlePro | March 30 | Orlando, Florida | Wyndham Orlando Resort | Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Brian Cage for the GFW NEX*GEN Championship | |
| RevPro WrestleCon | Revolution Pro Wrestling | March 31 | Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs. Penta El Zero M for the RevPro British Heavyweight Championship | |||
| Pancakes & Piledrivers | The Wrestling Revolver | April 1 | Jason Cade vs. AR Fox vs. Arik Cannon vs. Caleb Konley vs. Davey Vega vs. Joey Janela (w/Penelope Ford) vs. Lio Rush vs. Serpentico vs. Trevor Lee vs. Trey Miguel vs. Zachary Wentz in a AR Fox Invitational match for the vacant PWR Scramble Championship | Later released on DVD | ||
| Best of the Best 16 | Combat Zone Wrestling | Dave Crist (w/JT Davidson) vs. Shane Strickland in a Best of the Best 16 finals match | Later released on DVD | |||
(c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match
| ||||||
2018
| Event | Promotion | Date | City | Venue | Main Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WildKat WrestleCon | WildKat Pro Wrestling | April 5 | New Orleans, Louisiana | The Sugar Mill | J. Spade (c) vs. Billy Gunn vs. Bob Holly vs. Stevie Richards for the WildKat Heavyweight Championship | |
| The Crash WrestleCon | The Crash Lucha Libre | Austin Aries vs. Penta el 0M | ||||
| RevPro WrestleCon | Revolution Pro Wrestling | April 6 | Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs. Tomohiro Ishii for the RevPro Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship | |||
| Impact Wrestling vs. Lucha Underground | Impact Wrestling Lucha Underground |
Pentagón Dark vs. Austin Aries vs. Fénix in a three way match | Streamed live on Twitch | |||
| Pancakes & Piledrivers II: The Indy Summit | The Wrestling Revolver AAW: Professional Wrestling Redefined Fight Club: PRO |
April 7 | Besties In The World (Davey Vega and Mat Fitchett) (c) vs. Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis) vs. The Rascalz (Dezmond Xavier and Zachary Wentz) in a three way ladder match for the AAW Tag Team Championship and PWR Tag Team Championship | |||
| Welcome To The Combat Zone | Combat Zone Wrestling | Will Ospreay vs. Dezmond Xavier | Streamed live on StreamCZW.com | |||
| House of Hardcore 40 | House of Hardcore | Willie Mack vs. Alex Reynolds vs. Sami Callihan in a HOH Twitch Television Championship tournament final match | Streamed live on Twitch | |||
(c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match
| ||||||
2019
| Event | Promotion | Date | City | Venue | Main Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RevPro Live in New York | Revolution Pro Wrestling | April 5 | New York City, New York | Hilton New York Midtown Hotel | Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis) vs. Roppongi 3K (SHO and YOH) | Streamed live on FITE TV |
| Pancakes & Piledrivers 3 | The Wrestling Revolver | April 6 | The Unwanted (Eddie Kingston, Joe Gacy, and Shane Strickland) vs. oVe (Dave Crist, Jake Crist, and Sami Callihan) | Streamed live on Highspots.com | ||
(c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match
| ||||||
2022
| Event | Promotion | Date | City | Venue | Main Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAA Invades WrestleCon | Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide | March 31 | Dallas, Texas | Fairmont Hotel Dallas | Psycho Clown vs. Taurus | Streamed on FITE TV |
| Zicky Dice’s Trouble In Paradise 2 | Independent | April 1 | Scotty 2 Hotty vs. Rich Swann | Streamed on Twitch | ||
| NJPW STRONG Lone Star Shootout | New Japan Pro-Wrestling | Night 1: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Chris Dickinson Night 2 (aired May 7 as an episode of NJPW Strong): Team Filthy (J. R. Kratos, Royce Isaacs and Tom Lawlor) vs. Fred Rosser, Alex Coughlin and The DKC in a six man tag team match |
Streamed on FITE TV | |||
| Multiverse of Matches | Impact Wrestling | The Good Brothers (Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson) vs. The Briscoe Brothers (Jay Briscoe and Mark Briscoe) | Streamed on FITE TV | |||
(c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match
| ||||||
2023
| Event | Promotion | Date | City | Venue | Main Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Multiverse United: Only the Strong Survive | Impact Wrestling New Japan Pro-Wrestling |
March 30 | Los Angeles, California | Globe Theatre | Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Mike Bailey | Streamed on FITE TV |
| TJPW Live in Los Angeles | Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling | March 31 | 121000000 (Maki Itoh and Miyu Yamashita) (c) vs. Magical Sugar Rabbits (Mizuki and Yuka Sakazaki) for the Princess Tag Team Championship | Streamed on FITE TV | ||
| Nervous Breakdown | Prestige Wrestling | March 31 | Time Splitters (Alex Shelley and KUSHIDA) and Ultimo Dragon vs. Team Filthy (Jorel Nelson, Royce Isaacs, and Tom Lawlor) in a six man tag team match | Streamed on Highspots.com | ||
(c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match
| ||||||
Supershow events
| Event | Date | City | Venue | Main Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WrestleCon Supershow (2014) | April 5, 2014 | New Orleans, Louisiana | The Suger Mill | Masada defeated D. J. Hyde[6] |
| WrestleCon Supershow (2015) | March 28, 2015 | San Jose, California | San Jose Airport Hotel | Rob Van Dam and Sabu defeated The Hardy Boyz (Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy) in a No Disqualification tag team match[7] |
| WrestleCon Supershow (2016) | April 2, 2016 | Dallas, Texas | Hyatt Regency Downtown | Jeff Hardy won a Six-Person Monster's Ball Match, also including Abyss, Andrew Everett, A. R. Fox, Trevor Lee, and Pentagón Jr.[8] |
| WrestleCon Supershow (2017) | March 31, 2017 | Orlando, Florida | Wyndham Orlando Resort | The Hardy Boyz (Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy) defeated The Lucha Bros (Pentagón Jr. and Rey Fénix) |
| Mark Hitchcock Memorial SuperShow (2018) | April 5, 2018 | New Orleans, Louisiana | The Sugar Mill | Golden☆Lovers (Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi) defeated Chuck Taylor & Flip Gordon |
| Mark Hitchcock Memorial SuperShow (2019) | April 4, 2019 | New York City, New York | Hilton New York Midtown | Will Ospreay defeated Bandido[9] |
| Mark Hitchcock Memorial SuperShow (2020) | April 2, 2020 | Tampa, Florida | The Ritz | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic |
| Mark Hitchcock Memorial SuperShow (2022) | March 31, 2022 | Dallas, Texas | Fairmont Dallas | The Briscoe Brothers (Jay Briscoe and Mark Briscoe) defeated The Rottweilers (Homicide and Low Ki) |
| Mark Hitchcock Memorial SuperShow (2023) | March 30, 2023 | Los Angeles, California | Globe Theater | El Hijo del Vikingo (c) defeated Black Taurus and Komander to retain the AAA Mega Championship |
| Mark Hitchcock Memorial SuperShow (2024) | April 4, 2024 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 2300 Arena | Paul Walter Hauser defeated Sami Callihan in a Philly Street Fight |
| Mark Hitchcock Memorial SuperShow (2025) | April 17, 2025 | Paradise, Nevada | Pearl Theater at Palms Casino Resort | TMDK (Zack Sabre Jr., Shane Haste and Bad Dude Tito) vs. Michael Oku, Flip Gordon and Hechicero |
See also
References
- ^ Hernandez, Sergio (2012-07-16). "Official WrestleCon Announcement With DGUSA, EVOLVE, CHIKARA, CZW, SHIMMER, More!". Cageside Seats. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
- ^ IRodC (2012-09-02). "Wrestlecon Line-up and Guests Announced". Cageside Seats. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
- ^ Ivanovic, Rex (2013-07-05). "WWNLive promotions will not be at Wrestlecon". Cageside Seats. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
- ^ "WrestleCon Mark Hitchcock Memorial Supershow 2018 (April 05, 2018)". BackBodyDrop.com. 2018-04-06. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
- ^ Clark, Ryan (2020-03-17). "Breaking News: WrestleCon Convention Cancelled, Being Held Liable For $100,000+ Reservation Costs". eWrestlingNews.com. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
- ^ "Complete WrestleCon SuperShow Results 4.05.14". ProWrestling.com. 2014-04-06. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
- ^ "WrestleCon Supershow Results – San Jose, CA (3/28) | Wrestling-News.Net". www.wrestling-news.net. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
- ^ "4/2 WrestleCon Supershow Results - Hardy vs. Storm main event, Team GFW/Jarrett vs. Team Joey Ryan, Blanchards, Cabana, Progress Title match". Pro Wrestling Torch. 2016-04-03. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
- ^ WrestleCon live results - F4W Online.com