Empire State Wrestling

Empire State Wrestling (ESW) is a e federation that has reopened under new management with Raven Sinclair and Tommy Purr running the show. This will mark the ESW’s 7th year in business after closing down briefly in 2009. The ESW has 1 show a week called Epic Mayhem and 3 single titles.


 * ESW Triple Crown Championship
 * ESW Television Championship
 * ESW Survivor (Hardcore like) Championship

The ESW will also feature a yearly Tag Team title and a ESW Soul Survivor cup and the famed King of Philadelphia tournament.

Origins
November of 2002 Raven Sinclair and her brother Steve Sinclair went into semi retirement when the CWF closed and came up with the idea to start their own wrestling promotion and school to give back to the business. They are 4th generation wrestlers and have been in the sport their whole lives and in January 2003 they kicked off the NYCW. (New York Championship Wrestling) With some help from old friends it was a ride that lasted 6 years……

NYCW
NYCW started in the Albany area of NY. The NYCW had little to no money when it started out mostly due to Steve not wanting to lose big if it tanked. They produced their own TV show and aired it once a week for a hour on Capital News 9 on Time Warner cable Sunday nights. The show was called Ultimate Mayhem and it’s the name that stuck for the next 6 years. They had some stars when they opened the doors in Devo from the Hate Squad who came over from the CWF. Also joining them was underground wrestling icon JT Blackout along with Jack “Widowmaker” Rice whom Raven and Steve known for years from their days in the IWA. Super International wrestling stud Wilburman signed on to be their commissioner.

It was a bit of a rough go at first with a revolving door of characters coming and going but through sure will power they made it through the first couple of months and a few stars emerged. Soul Reaver, Jackyal, Larcen Night, Kid Freaking Krazy, Frank Merritt, Samuel Amos and Zander Thrash to name a few but the ESW had 2 huge stars on their hands. They were loved by all and rose to celebrity status in the ESW. Eddie and Rayne. Eddie was crowned the very first NYCW World Heavyweight Champion after a month long “Road to the Gold” Tournament. Rayne became the face of the NYCW and latter the ESW and is the all time winningest competitor in ESW history.

The NYCW didn’t have pay per views back then, hell they barely had air time to air their shows. But that didn’t stop them from having a big show and they picked a special date to launch their version of a PPV.

3-3-03 was the date when they launched Kick Ass Inc. in the Pepsi Arena in Albany NY, the home for every Kick Ass Inc. In the first year they would have 8 of these shows and it helped them build the company and help them get a TV contract on Spike TV at first. But for that to happen some things would have to change.

ESW
Steve changed the name to Empire State Wrestling with much resistance from Eddie as Spike gave them a time slot on the East coast. Steve dealt with Eddie to much of the anger from the fans and in doing so he grew the brand. They were now having shows outside of NY as demand grew and they even broke into the pay per view market. Bloody Hell was the very first PPV in February of 2004 and they eventually worked up to 12 PPV’s a year in 2005. The ESW gain notoriety and expanded their market as they grew putting shows on all up and down the East Coast, into Canada, England, Australia and later into the mid west and finally the west coast.

As the ESW grew so did it’s stars. Rayne was a Playboy Playmate of the month and had her own line of intimates at Victoria Secrets. Eddie left the ESW and became a soccer star in the Euro league. Kid Krazy became larger than life, a lady killer and a international superstar. And then there was Slipstream.

Slipstream
Slipstream came to the ESW has a no body and left as the life-force of the ESW. Slipstream won everything. He beat everyone. 5 time ESW World champion., TV champion, 2 time Survivor and Tag Team champion. 6 times was voted by the fans ESW Wrestler of the month and was voted ESW MVP of 2005 along with 2007’s Soul Survivor. Triple Crown Winner, (Held every single title) Grand Slam winner (Held every title) and the very first Elite Class member (Every title, MVP and Soul Survivor). Throw in 84 victories and 61 Main Events and you can see why Slipstream was a mega superstar in the ESW.

Eddie
First ever ESW World champion, and ESW’s first big superstar. He won at will and did as he pleased. He dated Rayne and crushed her heart. 3 time ESW World champion, Tag Team champion and cancer survivor oddly is what made Eddie a household name and ESW’s very first true star.

Kid Krazy
Super Kid Krazy, Kid Freaking Krazy, Double K, it equals a record 12 time ESW Champion. 3 time World Champion, 4 time TV Champion, 3 time Survivor champion and 2 time Tag Team champion made Kid Krazy ESW first ever Triple Crown and Grand Slam winner. Always a fan favorite Kid Krazy won their hearts by beating the odds every time.

Rayne
110 victories in the ring, Grand Slam winner, 8 time Champion and a fan base the NFL Would be jealous of. She wanted to fight the boys and ended up beating them all. If you didn’t respect her you would end up picking yourself up off of the mat. There wasn’t much Rayne couldn’t do and you quickly found out once you stepped in the ring with her.

Brian Hunter
Hunter’s record might not look as impressive as the others. He only sports 41 win in the ring and is a 3 time champion in the ESW. Hunter started his ESW career 19-0. Held the ESW World title for 154 days, swept the year end awards in 2008 on his way to dominating the ESW. Not since Slipstream has the ESW seen a star as utterly dominate as Hunter.

Prozac
It’s a legacy that keeps on growing to this day. While Slipstream, Rayne, Eddie, and Hunter made their stardom and success look easy Prozac took the iron worker approach. He is has battled tested as they come, never given any respect and had to earn everything he has in the ring. The end result is ESW second ever Elite Class member joining only Slipstream to do so.

ESW V2.0
The ESW chugged along until 2009 when it was forced to close down. The Golden Age spearheaded by Steve’s brother Michael ended up being too much for VS. Michael was looking to gain control of the ESW and force his brother and sister out and when they refused to budge Michael made things real personal when he kidnapped Steve’s wife and only son. Always one to have a short fuse Steve snapped and almost killed his own brother! In the turmoil VS dropped the ESW, fans were turned off and the ESW plummet into financial trouble. Michael was jailed on kidnapping charges while Steve plead guilty to Attempted murder. To try and save the ESW Steve signed over his shares of the ESW to his nephew Double J Joe Jones.

Joe worked with Raven to save the ESW but it was too late. None of the networks wanted to touch the ESW and funds were all but dried up. Raven was forced to sell off pieces of the ESW and release the talent from their contracts. In December of 2009 after being out of action for 2 months now Tommy Purr from the CWA offered to buy out Double J of his shares in the ESW in hopes to bring the ESW back. A deal was struck between the 2 and Tommy Purr took what was left of the ESW to the CWA!

Purr worked with Raven who refused to give up hope and with help from the CWA they breathed life into the ESW. January 2010 it was announced that VS would bring back the ESW. With a outpouring of support form the fans, new management and a new direction in the company VS would take a shot on the old brand name. In February of 2010 Epic Mayhem hit the airwaves and the ESW was off and running.

ESW Hall of Fame
The guys and gals who became legends in the ESW and will be forever remembered.
 * JT Blackout.
 * Horance Pinkerton
 * Soul Reaver
 * Kid Krazy
 * Rayne
 * Eddie
 * Zander Thrash
 * Larcen Night
 * Steve Hawkins
 * Exodus
 * Steve Sinclair
 * Devo
 * Slipstream
 * Prozac
 * Widowmaker

Triple Crown winners
A list of the stars who won all 3 single titles the ESW has.
 * Kid Krazy
 * Larcen Night
 * Rayne
 * Exodus
 * Soul Reaver
 * Sick Nick
 * Darien Sunn
 * Slipstream
 * Widowmaker
 * Christian Pierce
 * Angelo Valour
 * Prozac

Grand Slammers
They won every title the ESW has to offer. World, TV, Survivor and Tag Team titles.
 * Kid Krazy
 * Larcen Night
 * Rayne
 * Slipstream
 * Prozac

Elite Class
Cream of the crop right here. Held every title, won ESW Soul Survivor and was voted ESW MVP.
 * Slipstream
 * Prozac