The XWF

[wrestlingrecap]

The XWF: Part One

What if I told you in late 2001 there was a wrestling promotion backed by Shark Tank investor Kevin Harrington that could have very well challenged the WWE and brought back competition to the business? With a roster that included the likes of Hulk Hogan, Curt Hennig, Road Warriors and a young AJ Styles, the company was built for success both short and long term. However, Vince McMahon must have sensed competition and snatched up the major talents.

I'm taking a look at the company and their three pilot episodes that were used to pitch to various networks.

wrestlingrecaps.com/2017/07/02/the-xwf-part-one/

[James Fabiano]

So "X" was meant to stand for "Xcitement." #themoreyouknow

Now, if only we can figure out what the "X" in WXO stood for.

Good article, BTW.

[Deleted]

A couple years ago I found the xwf collection at a Walmart bargain bin for $2.The shows weren't very good but they were a interesting watch.  

[DASH 243✅]

Never watched it but I remember some really cheesy late night commercial, trying to get you to buy there DVD.
Found it

[Joe Neglia]

Fun Fact: The very first XWF card saw Josh Mathews beat AJ Styles

Even if Vince doesn't take several of the top names, I really don't see this lasting longer than it did. The biggest mistake was putting Jimmy Hart in charge. Forgoing his Hogan cronyism, nice a guy as Jimmy is, he had zero experience in that role and had never shown an aptitude for it prior.

Their second biggest mistake was the insistence of going the Global Farce route of trying to shop outdated footage over and over. If they were going to stand a chance, they had to bite the bullet and tape a second "pilot" they could shop.

Back to the Hogan cronyism, that's the third biggest mistake. The Nasty Boys, Horace, Brutus as "Brute Force", Duggan...how he didn't find a way to squeeze HTM in there too I dunno. Between that and the slew of has-beens that were brought in (Greg Valentine in 2001???), it wasn't going to gain traction with fans wanting something new.

[________ has left the building]

Don't see how a bunch of wrestlers who were considered old back in the early 2000's was going to be a threat to a WWF that was hitting on all cylinders. If anything Vince rehiring Hogan, Perfect, and some others was a mercy killing and spared them a slow death.

[thegame415]

I went to an XWF show in 2001. The main event was Vampiro vs Curt Hennig vs Buff Bagwell.

I got a picture with the XWF title and Josh Mathews tripped on the turnbuckle during his entrance.

[agent817]

I see that Amazon has a DVD set of this. Would this be a waste of money if I were to purchase it?

[Deleted]

Jul 5, 2017 21:43:44 GMT -5 agent817 said:

I see that Amazon has a DVD set of this. Would this be a waste of money if I were to purchase it?

If you can get it cheap, maybe not.

[The Dark Order Inferno]

I can understand why they went with old guys for a show that was effectively a pitch reel for networks, you're going to get more interest if you have guys they've heard of than you are if you've got the future (but not present) of the sport. Spike wanted TNA to sign name after name based on the stupid theory that big names equal success, TNA'smanagement also bought into that, most of the other promotions that sprang up around that time also tried it to some extent. We know now it doesn't work but back then it probably seemed sound.

[Can you afford to pay me, Gah]

I get the idea with the name talent to help draw the fans who only knew WWE or WCW. Problem is that first Hogan only was in one match and it wasn't even a TV taped match. The names they had regularly was Piper (non wrestling role so not bad) Hennng who could still go as WWE signed him. Vampiro best you got in a current star at the time. Bagwell who well was Bagwell (not a big fan), and yeah you had Duggan, Valentine and ext who never had a match. The new talent they tried to introduce to us none Crusierweights where horrible. Like Hail, Ian Harrison, and ext. None really showed anything impressive for 2001 as they all wrestled like it was 1984. Crusierweights where a talented group, same group TNA used to start the X Divison minus Billy Fives and Mathrews. The Tony and Lawler Announce team wasn't bad. Tag Team divison was all about veteran tag teams and the Shane teams again a bunch of washed up teams.

I think they had more shows that never saw the light of day. I know Rey Mysterio and Konnan teamed there because I remember reading about it.

[wrestlingrecap]

Jul 6, 2017 11:26:46 GMT -5 Can you afford to pay me, Gah said:

I get the idea with the name talent to help draw the fans who only knew WWE or WCW. Problem is that first Hogan only was in one match and it wasn't even a TV taped match. The names they had regularly was Piper (non wrestling role so not bad) Hennng who could still go as WWE signed him. Vampiro best you got in a current star at the time. Bagwell who well was Bagwell (not a big fan), and yeah you had Duggan, Valentine and ext who never had a match. The new talent they tried to introduce to us none Crusierweights where horrible. Like Hail, Ian Harrison, and ext. None really showed anything impressive for 2001 as they all wrestled like it was 1984. Crusierweights where a talented group, same group TNA used to start the X Divison minus Billy Fives and Mathrews. The Tony and Lawler Announce team wasn't bad. Tag Team divison was all about veteran tag teams and the Shane teams again a bunch of washed up teams.

I think they had more shows that never saw the light of day. I know Rey Mysterio and Konnan teamed there because I remember reading about it.

Yeah, there are several shows that were not recorded or at least released. I'm planning on including those in the final part of the series. 

[chazraps]

Jul 5, 2017 21:43:44 GMT -5 agent817 said:

I see that Amazon has a DVD set of this. Would this be a waste of money if I were to purchase it?

Highspots might have it cheaper. They had it marked down for a while.

[Welfare Willis]

Jul 3, 2017 9:15:58 GMT -5 James Fabiano said:

So "X" was meant to stand for "Xcitement." #themoreyouknow

Now, if only we can figure out what the "X" in WXO stood for.

Xcrement.

["Playboy" Don Douglas]

Jul 7, 2017 2:26:32 GMT -5 Welfare Willis said:

Jul 3, 2017 9:15:58 GMT -5 James Fabiano said:

So "X" was meant to stand for "Xcitement." #themoreyouknow

Now, if only we can figure out what the "X" in WXO stood for.

Xcrement.

I thought that was XPW.

[Chainsaw]

Jul 7, 2017 17:29:35 GMT -5 "Playboy" Don Douglas said:

Jul 7, 2017 2:26:32 GMT -5 Welfare Willis said:

Xcrement.

I thought that was XPW.

You're both right.

[Dragonfly]

My favorite moment of the tapings was a random Jerry Lawler comment about Emory Hail. In the promo introducing Hail, Jimmy Hart spent most of the time making really bad "hail" puns. He was also wearing a coat with his client's face on it. Roughly halfway through the match, Lawler says "tell Jimmy his coat looks like Hail." It's silly, but it's what I remember the most. Well, that and Ian Harrison, who looked like he did all the steroids in the greater Orlando area.

I have a huge obsession with the late 1999 to early 2003 wrestling scene. One of these days, I'm going to watch all of the failed/wannabe promotions from that time period in order. (XPW, WXO, i-Generation, TCW, MECW, XWF, WWA and maybe some of those RF Video Elks Lodge shows. The only one not available at all is the original IWC.) It'll be expensive, tedious to collect and most likely terrible, but it'll be a hell of a lot of fun.

[Deleted]

I remember The Kat (Lawler's wife at the time) was called Kitten and just stood behind the announcers. I hope they didn't waste too much money on that.

[wrestlingrecap]

Jul 7, 2017 20:49:46 GMT -5 Dragonfly said:

My favorite moment of the tapings was a random Jerry Lawler comment about Emory Hail. In the promo introducing Hail, Jimmy Hart spent most of the time making really bad "hail" puns. He was also wearing a coat with his client's face on it. Roughly halfway through the match, Lawler says "tell Jimmy his coat looks like Hail." It's silly, but it's what I remember the most. Well, that and Ian Harrison, who looked like he did all the steroids in the greater Orlando area.

I have a huge obsession with the late 1999 to early 2003 wrestling scene. One of these days, I'm going to watch all of the failed/wannabe promotions from that time period in order. (XPW, WXO, i-Generation, TCW, MECW, XWF, WWA and maybe some of those RF Video Elks Lodge shows. The only one not available at all is the original IWC.) It'll be expensive, tedious to collect and most likely terrible, but it'll be a hell of a lot of fun.

I'm glad I'm not the only one obsessed with that era of wrestling. I've gotten a lot of shows for ICW, and USA Pro shows at the Elks Lodge. Add 3PW into the mix as well. I don't know why I dig the era so much. 

[Dragonfly]

Jul 7, 2017 23:31:14 GMT -5 wrestlingrecap said:

Jul 7, 2017 20:49:46 GMT -5 Dragonfly said:

My favorite moment of the tapings was a random Jerry Lawler comment about Emory Hail. In the promo introducing Hail, Jimmy Hart spent most of the time making really bad "hail" puns. He was also wearing a coat with his client's face on it. Roughly halfway through the match, Lawler says "tell Jimmy his coat looks like Hail." It's silly, but it's what I remember the most. Well, that and Ian Harrison, who looked like he did all the steroids in the greater Orlando area.

I have a huge obsession with the late 1999 to early 2003 wrestling scene. One of these days, I'm going to watch all of the failed/wannabe promotions from that time period in order. (XPW, WXO, i-Generation, TCW, MECW, XWF, WWA and maybe some of those RF Video Elks Lodge shows. The only one not available at all is the original IWC.) It'll be expensive, tedious to collect and most likely terrible, but it'll be a hell of a lot of fun.

I'm glad I'm not the only one obsessed with that era of wrestling. I've gotten a lot of shows for ICW, and USA Pro shows at the Elks Lodge. Add 3PW into the mix as well. I don't know why I dig the era so much. 

That whole period, especially 2001, always felt like one of those post-apocalyptic, "the wise man in the cave is actually a UNIVAC computer shielded from the nukes" Twilight Zone episodes. All of the hallmarks are there:

- A slick talking con man who promises the world but delivers nothing (John Collins of MECW infamy)
- People who pulled an "On the Beach" and moved to Australia to avoid the fallout (WWA)
- Guys who pretended nothing was wrong (XWF and 3PW)
- Guys who felt we needed to embrace the past (TCW and TNA)
- People who somehow survived but found themselves in a world they were wholly unfamiliar with (XPW and IWC, the latter of which was the product of a nine-way brand split)
- People who would do anything to survive (anything connected to RF Video).

TNA and ROH survived, but were less "WCW and ECW 2.0" and more "quaint little medieval villages built amongst the wreckage of Atlanta and Philadelphia." The fact that something that popular could collapse that quickly and that massively is fascinating to me.