Formation The Independent Professional Wrestling Alliance was founded by independent wrestlers
Cueball Carmichael and Kevin Carson
Territorial reach Within a few years, the IPWA had established itself as the states' first successful independent promotion along with rival W.D. Woody and Ultimate Championship Wrestling based in
Hillsville, Virginia. Though there were a number of short-lived promotions both prior to and during this period, it was these two organizations which were the biggest rivals of longtime territory-era promotions Bob Ross' American Championship Wrestling (1978-), James Wells' North American Wrestling Alliance (1980–2000), and Mike and Denny Million's All-American Wrestling (1988–1996) throughout the decade. Its
light heavyweight division, in particular, counted
Mark Shrader,
Duane Gill,
Julio Sanchez,
Steve Corino, Jacey North, and both members of The Bad Street Boys. It was while feuding with York that Joey Matthews won the IPWA Light Heavyweight Championship from his tag team partner on January 9, 1999. The promotion also had a small but modest
women's division mostly consisting of its own female wrestlers but also included Brandi Wine,
Debbie Combs, and
Malia Hosaka.
Controversy On April 12, 1997, a scheduled IPWA benefit show for the
Chantilly High School in
Fairfax County, Virginia, was abruptly cancelled by the school district following a complaint by Andy Shallal of Fairfax County's
diversity training program. Shallal, then head of the Board of Education's human relations advisory committee, initially became aware of the show after receiving a
promotional flier from a parent at the school. Upon viewing the flier, which featured photos of
Salvatore Sincere,
"Wiseguy" Jimmy Cicero, and
Doink the Clown, he objected to the show on the grounds of "
ethnic stereotyping". Shallal, himself an
Arab-American and member of the
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), specifically pointed to the show's main event which featured
WWF Hall of Famer
The Iron Sheik in a
handicap match against two
midget wrestlers. A day before the show, only 27 hours to bell time, co-owner Kevin Carson received a
faxed letter from the school's assistant principal Tammy Turner that "the [Fairfax] school system will not permit this event to take place on school system property." The event was intended to have been a class project and school fundraiser for marketing students at Chantilly High, then having won local and state competitions, with the proceeds being used to fund student travel expenses for a
Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) leadership conference in
Anaheim, California. The students were involved in advertising the event, which included designing and selling the fliers in question, and were to have worked at the show. The school official had planned to lead a protest at the event if it had gone ahead. In a later interview with the
Washington Post, Shallal stated that he was "pleased by the cancellation" adding that he was "sorry it had to take this long to come to what should have been an obvious solution." the last-minute cancellation forced the two promoters to cancel talent, travel plans, equipment and lodging for local and out-of-state performers. They claimed to have attempted to accommodate the school's initial complaint with The Iron Sheik's involvement, which Shallal claimed promoted
anti-Arab and
anti-Iranian sentiments, by dropping the wrestler from the show. A second complaint filed by Shallal and the ADC over
midget wrestling, however, caused the school to cancel both the fundraiser and a second future show at
Fairfax High School. As part of its lawsuit, the promotion cited that it had previously attracted an audience of 950 at Fairfax High in December 1995. Two years later, on May 15, 1999, the IPWA participated in the
Break the Barrier supercard at Philadelphia's
ECW Arena in what was one of the largest interpromotional events ever held in the United States; representing the promotion, IPWA Heavyweight Champion Cueball Carmichael successfully defended his title against Julio Sanchez.
Final years In August 1998, the IPWA left their longtime home arena, the
Secret Cove, in
Alexandria, Virginia. The promotion had run regular shows there for nearly three years. It was unexpectedly dropped in favor of what turned out to be a one-time event held by the MEWF in November 1996 followed by a nine-month run by its rival Ultimate Championship Wrestling. Returning to the Secret Cove in the fall of 1997, a decision was eventually made to leave in favor of a bigger venue in northern Virginia though it continued to use a 700-seat facility in Chincoteague. Declining business, however, would force the IPWA's eventual close, along with many other local independents, by the spring of 2001. A few years later, on March 22, 2008, the IPWA held a reunion show in
Sewell, New Jersey featuring many of its former stars, most notably, including Buddy Landell and
King Kong Bundy. ==Former personnel==