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Top Rope Promotions (formerly known as Yankee Pro Wrestling and South Coast Championship Wrestling) is a North Eastern independent professional wrestling promotion based in New Bedford, Massachusetts and is the largest promotion in the Southern New England area rivaling other North Eastern promotions including Chaotic Wrestling, the Millennium Wrestling Federation and New England Championship Wrestling.[1] Along with its former head trainer Matt Hyson (Professionally Known as Spike Dudley), their seminars have been hosted by Ring of Honor alumni Jamie Noble and A.J. Styles. A number of independent wrestling stars have competed in Top Rope Pro Wrestling during their careers including Amanda Storm,[2][3] Andy Jaxx,[4] D. C. Drake,[5] Slyck Wagner Brown, Johnny Heartbreaker, Shark Boy, Christian York, The Metal Maniac, Robbie Ellis,[6] Rick Fuller, Dan "The Beast" Severn, Anthony Greene, and "Brutal" Bob Evans.
| Acronym | TRP |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1981 |
| Style | Professional wrestling |
| Headquarters | New Bedford, Massachusetts (1996-2000) Fall River, Massachusetts (2000-2017) |
| Founder(s) | Joe Eugenio |
| Owner(s) | Steve Ricard (2000-2017) |
| Formerly | Yankee Pro Wrestling (1994-2004) South Coast Championship Wrestling New England Wrestling (1988-1994) Whaling City Wrestling (1981-1984) |
| Website | www |
Following the close of Extreme Championship Wrestling, several ECW mainstays such as Amish Roadkill,[7] Dawn Marie, Simon Diamond, Perry Saturn, Tony DeVito, Little Guido, Jerry Lynn, Steve Corino, Justin Credible, Julio Dinero, Chris Hamrick, Big Dick Dudley and Joel Gertner had brief stints in the promotion. In recent years, TNA wrestlers Christy Hemme, Talia, Abyss, Jay Lethal, Joey Matthews, Ron "The Truth" Killings, Bubba Ray Dudley, and D-Von Dudley have also made appearances.
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The promotion began holding events in the Fall River-New Bedford area during the early-1980s, picking up the old territorial area previously run by the World Wide Wrestling Federation during the 1970s. After going through several name changes and owners, the promotion changed its name from New England Wrestling Association to Yankee Pro Wrestling during the 1990s. During this time, the promotion gained a strong following in southern New England regularly bringing in former WWF stars from the 1980s and 90s. The promotion features many wrestlers who compete for Impact Wrestling or for ROH Wrestling. The promotion also features wrestlers who have or would go on to compete for the WWE.
The promotion was purchased by head booker Steve Ricard in 2000. Under the Top Rope Promotions banner, he continued running monthly shows in the Fall River-New Bedford area as both Yankee Pro Wrestling and South Coast Championship Wrestling,[8] successfully making between $500–$5,000 a show.[9] The majority of its shows are held at the PAL Hall in Fall River, Massachusetts and the Top Rope Arena in New Bedford, Massachusetts. The promotion also ran a weekly cable television program in the local area. In 2007, the names Yankee Pro Wrestling and South Coast Championship Wrestling ceased to be used and all events were now exclusively under the name Top Rope Promotions.
In addition to monthly events at the PAL Hall in Fall River, Top Rope Promotions runs events at the Creative Auction Centers in Fall River and New Bedford, the historic Adams-Turners Hall in Adams, and the Elks Lodge in Franklin. Top Rope Promotions also appears at the annual Whaling City Festival at Buttonwood Park in New Bedford and at the annual Wolcott Country Fair in Wolcott, Connecticut. The promotion also holds annual events at Outdoor World campground in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, and also appears on occasion at The Wapping Fair in South Windsor Connecticut, however they have not been since 2008.
The Lock-Up Wrestling School
The school was founded by Top Rope Promotions owner Steve Ricard and former head trainer Matt Hyson (formerly known as Spike Dudley) in 2005. Hyson had been the school's head trainer from 2005 to 2013, The school is responsible for training several independent stars such as Teddy Goodz, T. K. O'Ryan, former Ring of Honor Television Champion, former Ring of Honor Tag Team Champion, former IWGP Tag Team Champion Matt Taven and Ring of Honor wrestler Vinny Marseglia. Top Rope Promotions veteran "H2O" Ryan Waters became one of the school's trainers in 2013 after Hyson left the promotion. In 2021 Lock-up graduate Nico Silva and New England veteran Elia Markopoulos joined Waters as co-trainers. Although he stepped down as the head trainer, Hyson is still on great terms with the promotion. In 2022, both Ryan Waters and Nico Silva stepped down as trainers making Elia Markopoulos head trainer. In July 2023 Bob Evans became a trainer at the Lock-Up.
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Male Wrestlers
- AJ
- Anthony JR
- "Brutal" Bob Evans
- Brody Jackson
- Carlos Rosales
- Cesar Leo
- "World Class" Channing Thomas
- "Sweatboy" Christopher James
- Cletus
- Devin Justice
- DJ Powers
- Donny Staxx
- Elia Markopoulos
- Erik Chacha
- Ichiban
- Jobz
- "Bulldozer" John Munroe
- Johnny Pierce
- Jora Johl
- Justin Credible
- "Comrade" Kenny Casanova
- Kid V
- Koosh Bandicoot
- Leon St. Giovanni (LSG)
- Mani Aries
- Matt Hayter
- Moshpit
- The Mullet Man
- Nick Diamond
- "Powerful" Pat Garrett (PPG)
- The Politician
- Portuguese Power House (PPH)
- RALF
- Ryan Fraust
- Rylie O'Neil
- Samuel Radcliffe
- Shane Aldenoff
- Sigma
- ”The Difference” Tyler Brooks
- Viktor Vanko
- Vortex
Female Wrestlers
- Little Mean Kathleen (LMK)
- Liviyah
- Luscious Latasha
- "Bully" Sarah Jade
- Powerful Physical Educator Meghan Enos (PPE)
Managers
- ”Former WWF Hall of Famer” Sidney Bakabella
- Powerful Physical Educator Meghan Enos (PPE)
- "Comrade" Kenny Casanova
Tag Teams and Stables
- The Beastmasters ("Powerful" Pat Garrett (PPG) and Portuguese Power House (PPH) with Powerful Physical Educator Meghan Enos (PPE))
- Koosh and ChaCha (Koosh Bandicoot and Eric ChaCha)
- The Family (Donny Staxx and Anthony JR and AJ)
- The Neighborhood (Kid V and Mani Aries)
- The Ultimate Powers (The Mullet Man and Jobz)
- World Class (Channing Thomas with Sidney Bakabella)
- The Russian Invasion (Viktor Vanko and Shane Aldenoff with Comrade Kenny Casanova)
Trainers and Staff
- Steve Ricard (owner, promoter)
- Shawn Pi Jacobs (ring announcer)
- GK Durant (Referee)
- Tony Stevens (Referee)
- Andee McHahon, AJ Berube and Zeus Creighton (Production)
- Elia Markopoulos (Lock-up School Head Trainer)
- Bob Evans (Lock-Up School Trainer)
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| Championship | Current champion(s) | Date won | Event | Previous champion(s) | Days held |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TRP Heavyweight Championship | "World Class" Channing Thomas | September 9, 2022 | Summer Showdown 2022 | Nico Silva | 440 | |
| TRP Interstate Championship | "The Difference" Tyler Brooks | July 14, 2023 | Summer Showdown 2023 | Jora Johl | 131 | |
| TRP Tag Team Championship | Koosh and ChaCha (Koosh Bandicoot and Eric ChaCha) | October 13, 2023, | Nightmare on Franklin Street | The Beastmasters | 287 |
Accomplishments
| Accomplishment | Previous winner | Date won | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spindle City Rumble | Portuguese Power House (PPH) | December 29, 2023 | Spindle City Rumble | |
| Kowalski Cup | DJ Powers | November 24, 2023 | Kowalski Cup Tournament | |
| Gold Rush | Moshpit | July 14, 2023 | Summer Showdown 2023 |
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