IWA: MS loses lease on their arena

[Guest Jay Z. Hollywood]

From the IWA: MS message board:

 

It is with great disappointment that IWA Mid-South Hardcore Wrestling must inform the fans that we will no longer be holding weekly live events at the IWA Arena in Clarksville, Indiana come September 1st. When we say that IWA Mid-South is nothing without the support of the fans, it is the honest truth.

IWA Mid-South celebrated its biggest weekend of 2003 on August 1st and 2nd with the King of the Death Matches tournament, which packed the 2nd and 3rd largest crowds in the history of the venue at 1390 Woerner Avenue since we began holding events there in June of 2002. While the revenue generated during that weekend benefitted the company greatly, and will help enable the promotion to continue into the future, unfortunately we do not have the continued fan support week in and week out to continue holding weekly events at the venue.

 

A show was scheduled for Friday night, August 15th, which saw a barely double digit number of fans come out to support the product, and the show had to be cancelled as a result. This likely had a great deal to do with the fair going in in Louisville this weekend, but it also comes down to it being very difficult in 2003 to run profitable weekly wrestling events in this region of the country without strong fan support for all of the smaller shows in addition to the bigger events. Ever since moving into the Clarksville building, it has been a financial necessity for the attendance for the regular weekly events to steadily increase, and unfortunately crowds have not been up in recent months as needed. The landlord has, as a result, given us two more weeks to hold events at the location before IWA must say goodbye to the building that we've called home.

 

Next Saturday night, August 23rd, will be the first show of the IWA's Final Four at 1390 Woerner Avenue, with tickets available at just $8 & $7. We will then hold events on three consecutive days over Labor Day weekend, on Fri/Sat/Sun, August 29th, 30th, and 31st. The event on the 31st will remain the day that we will be shooting a pilot for local television in Louisville, and will also wind up being our farewell show at the IWA Arena. Tickets for the entire Labor Day weekend events are $25 for a weekend pass. We will announce a lineup of wrestlers who will be appearing on these events during the coming days.

 

This is not the end of IWA Mid-South Hardcore Wrestling-- not by a long shot. We made the decision in early July that the company will continue to promote professional wrestling events well into the future, despite any setbacks we experience along the way, and we still feel the same way. While we may not have the Clarksville venue come September, we will continue to run events at other locations. A return to both Indianapolis as well as the Chicago area are already in the works, and we are exploring several options regarding new venues near Louisville already. We've been giving the wrestling fans of the Mid-South the best damn show we can for almost seven years now, and that's not going to stop.

 

Mark your calendars, and if at all possible, come on out and be a part of IWA's Final Four events at the IWA Arena in Clarksville during the next two weeks. Let's send this venue out with a bang, much like we did the old House of Hardcore in Charlestown in early 2002. With your support, we can give it the farewell it deserves.

 

Second post-

 

As a follow-up to the announcement posted last night regarding IWA Mid-South's move out of the venue at 1390 Woerner Avenue in Clarksville, Indiana, here is some clarification of our current situation.

* For those wondering specifics, the move out of the IWA Arena was not a choice made by the IWA... it was a decision made by the landlord of the facility. Despite our negotiations with the owner, he ruled that we were no longer welcome at his location, and we have two more weeks to run shows there. And contrary to what some may choose to believe, we were not informed of this until Friday morning.

 

* The question has been raised as to whether or not this means IWA will cease running weekly wrestling events at all, anywhere, even once a new permanent show location is announced. The goal is to continue to run weekly shows at a new, and less financially straining facility near Louisville. We also plan on holding shows in Indianapolis and the Chicago area shortly as well.

 

* As for the Ted Petty Invitational Tournament, which was scheduled to take place on November 7th & 8th, IWA will make an announcement about those shows as soon as we have things in order concerning our venue situation. Once we have a location for the TPI, we will immediately inform the fans. For those who have purchased advance tickets to the TPI shows that would like to give up their seats and recieve refunds (rather than wait to find out the new location), you can do so at any of the upcoming events, or via the U.S. Postal Service if you cannot make it to the Arena during the coming 2 weeks. To contact the IWA directly, leave a voicemail message at 502-569-1701 with your name and telephone number.

 

We thank the IWA fans for their support during this bump in the road, and look forward to seeing everyone at the IWA's Final Four the next two weeks.

[Youth N Asia 0]

It was speculated that they would close by the end of the year. It's looking more and more likely.

[Steviekick 0]

Somewhere, Jim Cornette grins...

[Chunk 0]

I don't understand why the owner is saying they can;t run their any more as a result of bad attendence.

 

If the IWA is paying the money to lease the venue, why does it matter how many they draw?

[Sandman9000 0]

Since IWA is probably having trouble paying the lease.

 

Hopefully they'll bounce back. They've done it before.

 

Everyone needs to go to SMV and buy IWA-MS, to help the crew out. As always, I highly recommend the 2002 TPI, and the 2003 KODM.

[Chunk 0]

Since IWA is probably having trouble paying the lease.

Oh right, I can understand it if that is the case. The news update just makes it sounds as if they are being kicke dout even though they are paying the full lease on the venue.

 

Hopefully they'll bounce back.  They've done it before.

 

Hopefully. Ive just finished watching "When Hero met Punk" and I thought it was very good. Dave Prazak is outstanding on commentary.

 

I also read recently that CM Punk says he is done with IWA:MS. Anyone know whats caused that?

[Guest DeputyHawk]

at least if they're going out, they've gone out in style with the czw invasion, which was pulled off pretty sweet.

[Guest Jay Z. Hollywood]

I also read recently that CM Punk says he is done with IWA:MS. Anyone know whats caused that?

There was some sort of falling out with Ian- I think he mentions it in his chicagowrestling.com interview- I posted it on the board a while ago.

 

I also think Punk doesn't wanted to be associated with"garbage" promotions anymore, which despite the excellent wrestling, IWA still certainly is.

[JustJoe2k5 0]

To stay somewhat on topic with IWA-MS, I am planning on getting a few of their shows in the near future. I already own the Ted Petty Invitational and plan on getting Ultra Styles Clash, but I need two more. Anyone have suggestions?

[Sandman9000 0]

KODM 2003. Even if you hate blood, Homicide/Hero has been getting rave reviews.

 

When Hero Met Punk is a one match show, but that one match is a doozy.

[JustJoe2k5 0]

yeah, that particular show caught my attention. Are the deathmatches good?

[Sandman9000 0]

I own it, but haven't gotten a chance to watch.

[Chunk 0]

I'd go for When Hero met Punk as well.

 

Like I said before, I've just finished watching it, and its a very good tape if only for the main event.

 

Seeing two men wrestle for more than 90 minutes, while keeping the action at a good pace and never boring the crowd through repetativeness is worth the money IMO.

 

There was some sort of falling out with Ian- I think he mentions it in his chicagowrestling.com interview- I posted it on the board a while ago.

 

I think that might have been the interview that I read. He says he is done with IWA:MS, but he doesn't really explain why.