Misplaced Pages

The New England Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame and Fan Fest is an American professional wrestling hall of fame. It was established in January 2008 to honor select wrestling personalities who have made significant contributions to professional wrestling in New England and the Northeastern United States.

History

The idea for the hall of fame was conceived by Joseph Bruen, a longtime ring announcer and promoter in Massachusetts, who felt that wrestling personalities from the New England region, both regional and national, should be recognized for their achievements in pro wrestling. Inductees receive a commemorative plaque that have their names inscribed on it with the date of their induction into the hall of fame. The original Class of 2008 were inducted by Bruen's APCW Ringwars promotion; the induction ceremonies were featured at three supercards over the course of the year – Battleclash (March 29), Battlebowl (August 23), and Thanksgiving Meltdown (November 9) – all held at the American Legion in Seekonk, Massachusetts.

• APCW Battleclash (March 29, 2008) – Reverend Chain Branagan, Robbie Ellis, Sandy Starr, Cody Boyns, "Iceburg" Sonny Dee, Travis Funk, Anthony Rufo, Gary Gold, and Bert Centeno.
• ACPW Battlebowl (August 23, 2008) – Shane Simons, Tommy Degnan, "Sweet" Scott Ashworth, Brickhouse Baker, Lobsterman Jeff Costa, Rich Palladino, Jose Perez, and Terry Allen.
• APCW Thanksgiving Meltdown (November 9, 2008) – Bill Hardy, Danny Cama, Derek Molhan, Gary Apollo, Mark Amaral, Rip Morrison, "Chief" Dave Fox, Tony Rumble, and Walter "Killer" Kowalski.

Starting in 2009, the induction ceremonies have taken place at an annual banquet dinner at the Brotherhood of the Holy Ghost Charity Hall (Brightridge Club) in East Providence, Rhode Island. 2010 saw the first of the "fan fests", a two-day event in which inductees and special guests could interact with the fans, as well as the banquet dinner; one of the evening's highlights was the induction of the Savoldi wrestling family which included a speech from Angelo Savoldi who, at 95 years old, was the world's oldest living wrestler at the time. In addition to the hall of fame inductees, the event has also featured many wrestling stars at its "fan fest" weekend participating as guest speakers as well as autograph signings and Q&A sessions. The 2011 edition, for example, was hosted by longtime World Wrestling Federation ring announcer Howard Finkel and was attended by former inductees Ox Baker (2009) and "Dangerous" Danny Davis (2010) as well as Short Sleeve Sampson, The Iron Sheik, Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake, Doink the Clown, Paul Bearer, Tammy Lynn Sytch, Rosita, Balls Mahoney, Axl Rotten, Shane Douglas, Duane Gill, Armando Estrada, Kenny Dykstra, Jay Lethal, Antonio Thomas, and manager Johnny Fabulous. The Class of 2011 included Georgiann Makropoulos, Samula Anoa'i, Tito Santana, Rick Martel, and Chief Jay Strongbow; former WWF World Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund made a surprise appearance during the second half of the induction ceremony. Jamison, a 1980s wrestling personality best remembered as the hapless television sidekick of Bobby "The Brain" Heenan on WWF Primetime Wrestling, made his first-ever appearance at a wrestling event to receive the "Most Entertaining Personality Award".

The New England Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame has recognized wrestling personalities from a number of different organizations from the "territory-era" World Wide Wrestling Federation, International World Class Championship Wrestling, Killer Kowalski's International Wrestling Federation, and Big Time Wrestling to modern-day "indy" promotions such as the All-Star Wrestling, Century Wrestling Alliance, Chaotic Wrestling, the Millennium Wrestling Federation, New England Championship Wrestling, New England Wrestling Alliance, Power League Wrestling, PWF Northeast, South Coast Championship Wrestling, and Yankee Pro Wrestling. Organizations from the East Coast of the United States have also been acknowledged including the East Coast Wrestling Association, Extreme Championship Wrestling, the House of Pain Wrestling Federation, New England Championship Wrestling, as well as the National Wrestling Alliance and World Wrestling Entertainment. As of 2011, it was Rhode Island's first and only wrestling convention, and the largest event in the New England region. A third New England Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame and Fan Fest was announced for June 9, 2012, however, it has since been postponed until the summer of 2013.

Special awards

Inductees

Footnotes

• – Entries without a birth name indicates that the inductee did not perform under a ring name.
• – This section mainly lists the major accomplishments of each inductee in New England.
• – Wrestler was originally inducted as part of the inaugural Class of 2008 ceremonies but was unable to attend; their "official" ceremony took place at the 2009 edition of the New England Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame.

See also

• List of professional wrestling conventions
• List of professional wrestling halls of fame

References

1. Sullivan, Chris (April 18, 2010). "Photo of commemorative plaques at the 2010 New England Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame (Class of 2010)". New England Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame (2010 Album). CSullivan822.com. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
2. ^ Alan Wojcik; Phil Strum; Kevin Scott (May 27, 2011). "Joseph Breun, Samu, Marion Fontaine, & Shiima Xion Visit OWW Radio, archive online NOW!". Radio Shows. OnlineWorldofWrestling.com. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
3. ^ "Independent Wrestling Results - August 2008". Results. OnlineWorldofWrestling.com. August 2008. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
4. Martin, Adam; Gregory Caban (September 7, 2008). "9/7 Southeastern Wrestling, PPW on 10/4, APCW on 11/9 & CW report". WrestleView.com. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
5. Martin, Adam; Gregory Caban (October 2, 2008). "10/2 Southeastern, Mayhem, APCW, CW". WrestleView.com. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
6. ^ Action Packed Championship Wrestling (Producer) (2008-11-09). Thanksgiving Meltdown (DVD). Seekonk, Massachusetts: NEPWHOF.com.
7. ^ Action Packed Championship Wrestling (2009). "APCW Past Show Results". APCW.com. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
8. Apter, Bill, ed. (January 10, 2011). "New England Pro wrestling Fan Fest 2 Announced". 1wrestling.com. Archived from the original on May 19, 2015. Retrieved April 3, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
9. Johnson, Mike (January 10, 2011). "New England Hall of Fame Announces 2011 Inductees for This May". PWInsiderXtra.com. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
10. Meltzer, Dave (May 12, 2011). "Thurs. Update: Flair's multi-century career, Rey back on Smackdown, movie on Sheik,New England Hall". Wrestling Observer/Figure Four Weekly. F4Wonline.com. Archived from the original on 2015-05-19. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
11. Mulrenin, Bob (May 22, 2011). "New England Pro Wrestling HOF & Fanfest Report & Photos". WrestlingFigs.com. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
12. "New England Pro Wrestling Hall Of Fame Class of 2010 Ceremony Pictures". Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
13. New England Championship Wrestling (2010). "Hall of Fame". NECW.tv. Archived from the original on June 10, 2013. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
14. "HoPWF at the Apollo Civic Theatre". AllHagerstown.net. August 27, 2011. Archived from the original on October 31, 2014. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
15. ^ "NWA On Fire promoters to be inducted into New England Wrestling Hall of Fame." NWAwrestling.com. Ed. Bill Behrens. N.p., 2009. Web. Apr. 3, 2011. <www.nwawrestling.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2059:nwa-on-fire-promoters-to-be-inducted-into-new-england-wrestling-hall-of-fame&catid=216:maine&Itemid=446>.
16. ^ World Wrestling Entertainment (July 7, 2010). ""Dangerous" Danny Davis". Where Are They Now?. WWE.com. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
17. "New England Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame Class of 2012". NEPWHOF.com. 2011. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
18. "New England Pro Wrestling Fan Fest 3". NEPWHOF.com. 2011. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
19. ^ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
20. ^ Behrens, Bill (February 2, 2009). "New England Wrestling Hall Of Fame To Induct 2009 Class". Wrestlezone.com. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
21. ^ "The Scoop". Columns. Oklafan.com. July 3, 2009. Archived from the original on July 6, 2009. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
22. ^ Bruen, Joseph. "The New England Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame Dinner Banquet/Induction ceremony." Declarationofindependents.net. Ed. Sean McCaffrey. N.p., 2009. Web. Mar. 27, 2011. <www.declarationofindependents.net/doi/pages/englandhof35.html>.
23. ^ "The New England Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame proudly announces that.....". Declarationofindependents.net. Ed. Sean McCaffrey. N.p., 2009. Web. Apr. 3, 2011. <www.declarationofindependents.net/doi/pages/nepw54.html>.
24. New England Championship Wrestling (June 5, 2009). "NECW's Sheldon Goldberg to Be Inducted in New England Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame". NECW.tv. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
25. Csonka, Larry (July 1, 2009). "WWE News: Tonight's Raw, Cena to Throw Out the First Pitch, More". News. 411mania.com. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
26. Annino, Christopher (July 22, 2009). "Wrestling Legend Resides in CT". Archived from the original on September 19, 2011. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
27. ^ "The Scoop". Columns. Oklafan.com. March 9, 2010. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
28. "DJ Kenny Casanova Inducted Into Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame". TheDJService.com. April 21, 2010. Archived from the original on September 18, 2012. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
29. ^ Falcon, Jimmy; James Solie (July 27, 2010). "Cloverleaf Radio Presents: Kenny Casanova". Cloverleaf Radio. BlogTalkRadio.com. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
30. Arnold, Tiffany (May 1, 2010). "Becoming John Rambo: A local wrestler is honored by his peers with Hall of Fame induction". The Herald-Mail. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
31. ^ New England Championship Wrestling (March 5, 2010). "NECW's Paul Richard & Tony Ulysses to Be Inducted in the New England Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame". NECW.tv. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
32. Dalton, Tom (April 23, 2010). "Wrasslin' royalty". The Salem News. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
33. ^ Skowronski, Ted (September 23, 2010). "New England Pro Wrestling 2011 Hall of Fame". Shockblastmedia.com. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
34. ^ Strum, Phil (May 16, 2011). "A look at the New England Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame". Poughkeepsie Journal. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
35. Gobis, Peter (March 29, 2011). "Gobis: Wrestling with ghosts of the past". The Sun Chronicle. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
36. Destefan, Ben (May 18, 2011). "Sports Spotlight: Gene Machain". The Record Herald. Archived from the original on March 8, 2023. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
37. Muldoon, Michael (May 11, 2011). "Under the Lights: Local wrestler into Hall of Fame". The Eagle Tribune. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
38. Feely, Paul (November 4, 2011). "North Reading native enters Wrestling Hall of Fame". Middlesex East. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
39. Graham, Melanie (June 3, 2010). "Former pro wrestler says he'd do it all over again". Milford Daily News. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
40. Nevada, Vance (October 10, 2010). "2011 James C. Melby Historian Honoree – Tom Burke". Cauliflower Alley Club. Archived from the original on January 6, 2011. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
41. Bruen, Joseph; Phil Strum (April 4, 2012). "Fan reflects on Strongbow's death". Poughkeepsie Journal. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
42. Gentile, Derek (April 6, 2012). "Wrestler Chief Jay Strongbow was a Pittsfield favorite". The Berkshire Eagle. Retrieved April 3, 2012.

External links

• Official website
• New England Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame on Facebook
• Promotional video for the 2010 New England Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame and Fan Fest Weekend
• New England Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame at CoonsPhotography.com

• 2008 establishments in the United States
• Awards established in 2008
• Professional wrestling halls of fame
• Halls of fame in Rhode Island
• Organizations based in Providence, Rhode Island
• Professional wrestling-related lists