OCW : Online Championship Wrestling is known for it's top-notch roleplayers and it's unrivaled creativity. The fed has introduced videos for PPV events and superstars, has its own personal Wikipedia and MySpace page, as well as a weekly radio show (The Insider). Also among one of the first to introduce a salary system. OCW has come under fire many times and yet remains a cornerstone of the MSN circuit to this day, the company has recently come to call itself "The Home of Controversy." It is also important to note that OCW is the most profitable mainstream company on the MSN circuit.
| Online Championship Wrestling | |
|---|---|
| |
| Federation Name | Online Championship Wrestling |
| Abbreviation | OCW |
| Established | 2005 |
| Weekly shows | OCW Mayhem (Sunday 2005–Present), OCW Chaos (Monday Late 2005-Mid 2006) |
| Previous names | Online Championship Wrestling: Revolution (July 2006-Early August 2006) |
| Time open | September 2005 – Present |
| Current champion | Justin Klein |
| founder | Justin Klein |
| Owner(s) | Justin Klein (2005-End of 2006)& Bryan Williams (Early Nov 2006-early of 2007), Evan Springer (2007-Three days) Now David Devine (2007—Present) Drew Stevenson & Big Tony (July 2006-Early August 2006, OCWR) |
| Parent | MSN |
| Based in | Las Vegas, NV USA |
| Federation type | Roleplay Based |
| Pay-per-views | BiMonthly |
History
Taken from the Introduction page itself...
Friends and family of OCW Founder, Justin Klein knew that one day he would make a name for himself.
What they did not predict was the field in which he would carve out a name for himself. A lifelong fan of professional wrestling, Justin dreamed of one day competing inside the squared circle. Against his upper-class family's wishes, the handsome, Ivy-league graduate was determined to be involved in the often seedy, dog-eat-dog world of what has come to be known as Sports Entertainment. However, it wouldn't be inside the ropes where he was to make his biggest impact, but rather behind the wheel, pulling the strings of what is known as Online Championship Wrestling.
In September 2005, with financial backing from his wealthy uncle, Joseph Klein III, Justin Klein opened Online Championship Wrestling. Justin's charismatic, if not somewhat narcissistic, personality, a shitload of cash, and connections Joseph had in the media, combined to create quite an early buzz for OCW. With the publicity mills churning, wrestling fans were eager to see just what all the fuss was about. OCW rocketed up the rankings and became a major player in a cut-throat industry seemingly overnight.
However, Joseph knew his nephew was new to the tough, dog-eat-dog world of wrestling...in fact, Justin was new to the concept of "working" at all. Joseph was concerned his spoiled nephew who was used to having everything handed to him, would need someone with business savvy to help him keep up with the fastly growing company. Enter "Big Tony" - Tony Elmavic.
From the moment they met, Tony and Justin clashed. Tony was a no-nonsense, gritty, straight shooter—Justin, a flamboyant, free-spirit who's work ethic was more self-serving than straight shooting. Tony temporarily managed the OCW show Mayhem, before a debt owed to him by Joseph, gave Tony the leverage needed to become OCW Commissioner. Somehow the rocky relationship produced an amazing promotion that continued to flourish through June 2006. However this is where the controversy begins.
On June 24, after co-existing nearly 9 months, the hatred between Tony's protege, Drew Stevenson and Justin Klein boiled over. Drew challenged Justin to a one on one match. If Drew lost he would leave OCW forever. If he won, he would become sole owner of the company. Reluctant to agree to it, Drew pushed Justin's button until his pride forced him to agree. Drew would go on to win that match and OCW'R' was born. OCWR would only last a few weeks, before the Revolution died out. Justin's relentless scheming, Drew's incompetence, or a combination of both would eventually bring down the Revolution and the phase only lasted a mere 3 weeks. On July 12, Justin bought rights to the OCW name and the company would now be his to do as he pleased.
Or so it would seem. Justin's attitude, would land him in hot water once again in October 2006, when, after making a complete mockery of a rival promotion (X2WA) and running them out of business, the MSN licensing board would revoke Klein's license, forcing the long-running promotion to finally close it's doors.
Klein would not go down without a fight though. Refusing to let his detractors revel in the death of the controversial OCW, Justin, along with his lawyer, Samuel Shyster would appeal the decision. MSN's attorneys had a strong case: Klein and his company had been fined multiple times by the FCC, and threatened with slander and libel lawsuits from MSN circuit talent like Jay Hansen, Drew Stevenson, Jim Best, Cassidy Michaels, Matt Matlock, and The Giant to name a few. However, claiming that MSN were disciminating against Klein on the basis of sexual orientation, Shyster was able to settle out of court with the Powers that Be at MSN on a compromise. Klein would be granted a promoter's permit, instead of a full license. In order to be an accredited MSN promotion he would have to disclose financial statements that he had a 50% percent co-owner who was fully licensed.
Unhappy with the way things were going with the co-owner recommended, by the MSN Board, Bryan Williams, Klein decided to step down from his position all together, and take time off to focus on his personal life.
Meanwhile, it wasn't long before the stress of running a multi million dollar corporation began to take its toll on an inexperienced Bryan Williams and after only a few short months of heralding the company, Williams sold the company to a man named David Devine.
Devine would take the reigns and instantly rejuvenate the company. Ratings soard during the first few months of his tenure. Devine would make some changes though that would take OCW in a new direction. For better or worse would be a topic feverishly debated by the fans. Justin would meet with Devine in the Spring of 2007 to talk about the possibility of signing on as a member of OCW's competitive roster. A deal was reached and Klein found himself grappling on a regular basis with the likes of Dillon Durst, Bryan Williams and Sean Hunter.
Devine and Klein's relationship would soon turn sour though. Angered over a referee's decision in his match against Sean Hunter, as well as Devine's decision to enlist longtime enemies of Klein - Tara Wilson and Kevin Sane - into General Manager positions, Klein made it known that he was not happy with the way Devine was leading the company that would forever be associated with his name.
And it was perhaps that contempt, that would lead him to the latest shocker in OCW's storied history. Secret meetings between Klein and Hall of Famer, Kevin Sane - who was fired from his General Manager position by Devine on May 23, 2007 - would result in the unholiest of alliances. Disbanded from the MSN Licensing Committee from ever privately and solely owning an MSN licensed promotion, Klein, who still has copyright to the OCW name, persuaded Sane to start up a wrestling company under his OCW trademark and sharing 50/50 ownership in order to supersede the MSN restrictions. With no chance of winning a lawsuit over the OCW name, Devine soon folded and Klein and Sane were in business.
However, it soon became apparent to all that Kevin Sane was not cut out to run a wrestling organization, his work ethic was non-existent, his backstage attitude was obnoxious and he failed to impress the shareholders. Justin soon realized why David had fired Kevin from his general manager's position. The grim realization set in that hiring a high school drop-out to co-own a business venture might not have been the best decision. After missing yet another deadline to update the OCW.com site Justin was fed up and used his leverage within the company to fire Kevin. Deranged and disgruntled, Kevin attempted to set fire to the OCW Headquarters, police were able to stop him in time before the entire building went up in flames, but the databases were wiped out. Kevin would later go on deny setting the fire despite providing officials with a signed confession, Sane was later heard blaming Justin for the fire, even though he wasn't in Las Vegas at the time.
Unique Salary System
OCW boosts a unique salary system that helps keep opponents, contenders, and jobbers, in check. Usually people with the higher salary get shots at the bigger titles, while people with the lower salaries wrestle the lower matches and have a better chance of being fired. Extremely high salary can get you options such as, being GM for a day, specializing a PPV, getting a title shot, or getting into OCW Hall of Fame.
Slammy Awards
The company also hosts the annual Slammy awards. A show where fans and wrestlers vote for the nominees of certain categories. The award has categories ranging from Most Popular Superstar to Best Shopzone Item.
Current PPV Events
OCW Living Nightmare - October
OCW Snowbrawl - December
OCW St. Violentimes Day - February
OCW April Anarchy - April
OCW Immortality*** - June
- Immortality is a Wrestlemania like event
OCW Munich Massacre - August
OCW Living Nightmare II - October
OCW Snowbrawl II - December
OCW St. Violentimes Day II - February
OCW April Anarchy II - April
OCW Immortality II - July
OCW Uncivil War - September
OCW Living Nightmare III - October
Current OCW Champions
OCW Undisputed Champion: Big Tony
OCW Women's Champion: Phoenix
OCW Intercontinental Champion: Cid Valentine
OCW Hardcore Champion: Vacant
OCW Internet Champion: Carson Van Zandt
OCW Women's Internet Champion: Defunct
OCW Tag Team Champions: Vacant
Resources
Online Championship Wrestling [1]