IWC Keeps Wrestling Alive in Western Pennsylvania for 22 Years; Not even down-for-the-count amid COVID concerns

Professional wrestling has long since been a part of Pittsburgh’s DNA, with the city having nurtured such legendary talent as Bruno Sammartino, Kurt Angle and Shane Douglas. Since COVID began, however, there have been doubts about the ability for pro wrestling to remain viable.

Late last year, The GA-Zette met with the International Wrestling Cartel (IWC) during its double main event show at the Court Time Sports Center in Elizabeth, PA. No belts changed hands that night, but if one thing was proven, it’s that independent wrestling is still alive in Pittsburgh, even post-COVID. And to solidify that popularity, last month, on March 25, the IWC celebrated its 22nd anniversary in Pittsburgh.

Throughout the years, IWC has built and maintained a reputation as the biggest indie wrestling promotion in western PA, which has likely helped it through these perilous times.

Before the match I attended started, there was a sort of meet and greet set up for some of the wrestlers to sell their merchandise and take pictures with fans. Owner and promoter of IWC, Justin Plummer, discussed the struggles of returning to business during the pandemic.

“When COVID hit, all the other promotions in the area basically shut down. I mean, we all shut down for a while…so everybody just gave up–all these other smaller promotions.”

Plummer bought the company in 2014 from Chuck Roberts, a well-known wrestling announcer who is now affiliated with the World Net Wrestling Alliance. “Stuck inside, can’t do anything. So, it was really important for me to find a way–and all of us, I mean, the whole team–to find a way to give these people something to look forward to, and to give ourselves something to do, because there was nothing. And so we just adapted with the rules,” Plummer said.

While lockdown was still in effect, he had to run shows outdoors instead of indoors. “We partnered with the Brownsville Drive-in. They were looking for some different things to do… All these small businesses that came together was really cool, and they were looking for something different to draw people in. So I just talked to the guy that runs that place and we did drive-in wrestling events to where we set the ring up in the middle of the field. And everybody would park their cars in a circle, almost like Fight Club, around the ring. And the cars would go back eight, ten rows,” Plummer said.

The show that I was at, however, began with Plummer being threatened and almost beaten on stage by Jock Samson, a large cowboy wrestler in overalls. The security guards were the only ones that stood between the owner of IWC and a hospital visit.

The High Stakes Championship Belt used to be a popular title in IWC when it was created in 2001, but it was then phased out. Plummer, however, brought it back.

“Since we brought it back,” Plummer said, “the champions have always picked stipulations that favor them. Big men will do a body slam match. Technical guys will do submission matches. Hardcore guys will do No Disqualification (No DQ).”

Alexander Apollo, the longest-reigning High Stakes Champion in the IWC, however, has always chosen stipulations that favor his opponents, and somehow, he keeps on winning.

Apollo was supposed to defend his High Stakes Championship belt against four other wrestlers, but at the last minute, he added surprise guest Facade to the match, lowering his own chances of winning significantly. Facade had so many championship belts from so many other promotions that he needed another person to hold some of them for him.

Apollo ended up defending his championship. To cap off his night, he challenged submission specialist, Spencer Slade, to a submission match at the 5th Annual Pittsburgh Classic the next month. That was where his legendary run as High Stakes Champion ended.

Surprise guests are not uncommon in IWC. Kliff Klepto of the up-and-coming tag team, Brotherly Love, said that in one of their earlier fights, Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) legend, The Sandman, showed up and helped them out.

After Apollo’s victory, Brotherly Love, also known as the Whiz Kids, or the Whiz World Order, went up against the tag team of Paris Sahara and Chase Gold, the self-proclaimed “best-smelling man in professional wrestling.” Chase Gold has a habit of yelling his name before performing some of his moves, but
neither his energy nor Paris Sahara’s elegance were able to overcome Brotherly Love that night.

Brotherly Love consists of the tag-team of Ricky Dawkins and Kliff Klepto, as well as singles wrestler, “Picture Perfect” Dior Castro, the self-proclaimed son of Rocky Balboa.

“Me and Kliff, we’re from Philly,” Dawkins said. “Didn’t know each other, met each other here in Pittsburgh at the wrestling school, both going through the same thing. As soon as we started training, we just became the Philly Boys.” Castro was later “adopted” into their group.

They incorporate Cheese Whiz into their identity to pay homage to their hometown of Philly, in addition to the fact that they debuted at IWC selling cheesesteaks. Klepto discussed his early love of Cheese Whiz. “I grew up eating whiz on everything…We walk into a building, they tell us don’t whiz on this, this, and this. And somehow, by the end of the night, there’s [Cheese] Whiz on all of it.”

When asked about their favorite matches, each member of Brotherly Love had a different answer. For Klepto, it was perhaps the match where they beat
Money Shot, and The Sandman came to help them. Castro says his favorite match was “when we first teamed up, and it was us three versus Glenn Spectre, Chase Gold and Jaxon Argos.”

Their goals seem to be even loftier than that, however. Dawkins proclaims that he wants to, “Give a whiz facial on national television.” Klepto, a rapper, dreams of rap battling international superstar John Cena at Wrestlemania. Dawkins called out Cena on behalf of his friend. “You hear this, John Cena, if you’re listening, I swear you better be there, Wrestlemania 40, Philadelphia,” which will take place in April, 2024.

As for Castro, he said, “The goal for me is just to get on TV, just to get signed, but if I can give a whiz facial, I’ll be satisfied.” He also proposed beating a cow carcass in the ring, as an homage to “his father,” Rocky Balboa.

One of the more notable fights of the November night was the intergender match between Andrew Palace and Katie Arquette. Palace has close to 100 pounds over Arquette, but the latter showed a lot of dominance in the first half, manipulating her opponent’s emotions and showing off her athleticism. In the end, however, Palace piledrove her into the mat and pinned her for what seemed to be a bitter victory.

Bill Collier, the #1 contender for the IWC Heavyweight Championship, received a knee injury and eight stitches in his arm after defeating Zach Nystrom, which put his odds against champion Elijah Dean in question. Dean, however, also sustained some injuries at the hands of former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) wrestler and current hardcore legend, Matthew Justice, in an extreme rules match. Dean’s bald head was completely red with blood by the end of the fight, and if it wasn’t for interference from Zach Nystrom, it’s likely he would have lost the match.

The following month at the 5th Annual Pittsburgh Classic, Bill Collier ended up defeating Elijah Dean to become the IWC Heavyweight Champion.

Cole Karter, the Super Indy champion, also defended his belt against Derek Dillinger. Karter is perhaps better known for his time on WWE NXT, or his current run on All Elite Wrestling (AEW). In fact, much of the talent at IWC ends up going on to the “big leagues.”

Plummer named current WWE stars Joaquin Wilde and Elias, as well as AEW stars, Britt Baker and Wardlow, as wrestlers who either debuted at IWC, or otherwise wrestled there before getting signed. “You’re watching somebody progress, and the next thing, they’re a celebrity, and it’s like, ‘Oh my God, I knew that guy. I knew that girl,” Plummer said.

IWC also has an academy for aspiring professional wrestlers, called the Iron City Wrestling Academy (ICWA) where much of its talent comes from. The academy is primarily focused on beginners. “We start a class every six months,” Plummer said, “We’re doing two per year that overlap, and each class is probably between six and 12 people.”

Many of the wrestlers at the Academy end up being brought up into the IWC events. More information can be found at the promotion’s website, iwcwrestling.com

One of the main events of the night was the tag team of “The Bosnian Bone Breaker” Tito Oric and “The Lebanon Don” Joey Moses versus The Mane Event in a match that should have ended with undisputed tag team champions.

After a disqualification, and an intervention from Brotherly Love, though, a rematch was slated for the Pittsburgh Classic the next month, a three way tag match between The Mane Event, Brotherly Love, and the team of Oric and Don.

Prior to the Dec, 3 match, Dawkins said, “I’m stuffing a lead pipe in a hoagie roll, I’m stealing the Liberty Bell and we’re tearing the house down.”

“Literally,” Klepto said. “I’m tearing the house down. I’m taking everything that isn’t nailed down. I’ll take chairs, wallets–after we beat TME and Tito and Don, I’ll just start auctioning people’s stuff off outside.”

The rules for the match are officially No DQ. Ricky Dawkins, however, said, “Technically, they didn’t give it a name. They wanna be boring, and Justin Plummer, he don’t got whiz in his brain. It’s a Philly Street Fight.”

At the 5th annual Pittsburgh Classic, the tag team of Brotherly Love remained undefeated, winning the Tag Team Championship.

Story by: Yousuf Ibrahim (yli5000@psu.edu)