Changes: Soul Wrestling Incorporated

Soul Wrestling Incorporated
Company Profile
Founder	Jonathan Rembrandt
Owners	Jonathan Rembrandt
Founded	May 7, 2005
Dissolved	December 31, 2017
Location	Duchess, Alberta, Canada (2005 - 2014); Calgary, Alberta, Canada (2015 - 2017)
Style	Professional wrestling
Key People	Jonathan Rembrandt; (Founder, CEO, CFO)
Homepage	http://swiwrestling.wikia.com/

Revision as of 22:00, 30 May 2017

Soul Wrestling Incorporated (SWI) is a Canadian professional wrestling company, founded in 2005 by Jonathan Rembrandt. The company was founded in Duchess, Alberta, following the closure of Duchess Championship Wrestling. The promotion is currently based out of Calgary, Alberta. SWI will cease operations after 2017.

History

Origin and first run (2005 - 2007)

Jonathan Rembrandt co-founded Duchess Championship Wrestling with Frederick Larson in June 2000. Over the years, Rembrandt became frustrated with Larson's booking decisions and poor attitude towards the wrestling industry. Eventually, Rembrandt quit the promotion on January 9, 2005, taking several disgruntled wrestlers with him. Rembrandt announced the creation of Soul Wrestling Incorporated on May 7, 2005, with weekly pay-per-views taking place every Wednesday in the Duchess Hall starting on June 8, 2005. DCW went out of business three weeks later.

In order to promote SWI from the start, a mini-tour was held in USA, England, and Japan in August. It was there that SWI's heavyweight and tag team championships would gain world title status upon being defended in those countries, thus being respectively named the SWI World Championship and the SWI World Tag Team Championship.

On April 10, 2006, SWI announced that it would no longer air weekly pay-per-views, and introduced its new show Apocalypse. The show was picked up by CBC to air every Saturday evening. In addition, SWI announced that it would start holding monthly pay-per-views for its major events, beginning with Independence in June. On June 27, 2007, SWI had a crossover show with Alpha Championship Wrestling and Fallout called Respectful Invasion. The show led to SWI developing a working relationship with ACW and Fallout.

Underground Era (2007 - 2008)

On October 16, 2007, SWI announced it would be "closing due to a financial situation". In reality, SWI had lost its television deal with CBC and its PPV deal as well, due to being unable to come to new terms. Rather than actually close its doors, SWI opted to continue on with a handful of wrestlers known only as the SWI 24 as their roster. The company soldiered on throughout late 2007 and all of 2008, holding their traditional PPV events as once-a-month cards in a building near XS3's house in Maple Creek. This was referred to as the Underground Era.

During this time, members of the SWI 24 and other alumni competed in other companies to occupy their time. This led to appearances on Alpha Championship Wrestling, Fallout, Dark Sunrise Wrestling (a company that was groomed to be the spiritual successor to SWI), and Maple Creek Championship Wrestling, which hosted a number of events featuring SWI wrestlers, including a show called SWI Lives!: One Night Only on June 26, 2008.

In a press conference on April 10, 2013, following the death of Afternoon Drinkin, Rembrandt publically acknowledged the existence of the Underground Era and SWI's continuation during that time. Rembrandt also announced that each show during the Underground Era would be available for purchase from SWI's store, with a portion of the proceeds going to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.

Second run on CBC (2008 - 2014)

On December 14, 2008, Rembrandt announced that SWI had worked out a new TV and PPV deal, which would lead to the mainstream return of SWI the following month. SWI aired four weekly hype episodes for Beginning Anew on their official YouTube channel, before resuming operations with Beginning Anew. SWI Apocalypse also resumed airing on CBC. On May 13, 2009, Maple Creek Championship Wrestling was adopted as the official developmental promotion for SWI. The relationship between SWI and MCCW would last until January 16, 2012, when MCCW decided to split from SWI. At the end of 2009, SWI began piecing together a Women's division, with the SWI Women's Championship being introduced at the following month's Beginning Anew event.

On July 18, 2010, Aftermath debuted every Sunday evening on CBC, which featured highlights from Apocalypse as well as matches. Destiny Fulfilled 2010 marked the first time SWI performed outside of Canada since 2007, with the event being held in Phoenix, Arizona. On the July 2, 2011 episode of Apocalypse, Rembrandt stepped down as on-screen commissioner and announced XS3 as his replacement. On September 1, 2012, Rembrandt took back his position as on-screen commissioner, which he held until Destiny Fulfilled, when he lost his position to Ken Davids.

SWI announced a tour of Canada throughout the summer of 2013, wanting to branch out and promote the company outside of Duchess. On July 1, 2013, SWI announced the creation of a new developmental promotion, Future Souls Initiative (FSI). Several wrestlers that appeared in the 30-Man Battle Royal at the Beginning Anew event were signed to deals, in addition to talent from all over the world. SWI announced the creation of the SWI Cruiserweight Championship in September of that year, which would later become the SWI Canadian Television Championship. Following Independence 9, SWI held another Canadian tour in the summer, beginning in Calgary and ending in Montreal. After Unholy Confessions, SWI announced that Apocalypse would officially become a two-hour program that week.

Move to Calgary, SWI 24/7, and DESTINY (2014 - 2017)

In a press conference held before Broken Chains, SWI announced that in order to save travel costs and accommodate the talent, SWI would be relocating its headquarters to Calgary and holding all of its non-tour shows in a new building, The House of Soul, which will house both SWI events and headquarters. However, the first show would be held in the Metropolitan Centre Ballroom, due to the team finalizing preparations for The House of Soul. FSI was then announced to be moving into the Duchess Hall on a part-time basis. An interview with Rembrandt on December 5 revealed that the company would not hold a Canadian summer tour during 2015, opting to stay in Calgary to test out their new home.

An SWI Hall of Fame was created in May 2015 in order to honor those who had become legends in the promotion. XS3, Necrosphere, Ken Davids, and Overkill were announced as the first inductees. On June 22, amidst rumors of SWI's closure, it was announced that SWI had renegotiated its television and PPV deal, opting to return Apocalypse to its previous one hour runtime. In addition, FSI would be rebranded as a training academy (FSI would later close in November of that year), and Aftermath would become a YouTube exclusive show instead. Apocalypse later returned to its two-hour runtime starting in December.

SWI then announced in December that it would begin its own video-on-demand network called SWI 24/7. The network features every episode of Apocalypse, PPV, and special event, as well as every show and event from Kritical Wrestling Alliance, Duchess Championship Wrestling, and Maple Creek Championship Wrestling. The service was released on December 20 to PCs and mobile devices. On January 16, 2016, SWI announced that it had acquired DESTINY Women's Pro Wrestling and its library, adding it to SWI 24/7 in the process. SWI then held its first all-women main event at Independence 11, with Ashley Neon defeating Kayla Stevens to win the SWI Women's Championship. A tournament was held in April 2017 to crown the first ever SWI Women's Tag Team Champions, followed by 40 of SWI's past and present women's competitors main eventing Questions Unanswered in a Femme Fatale Battle Royal for the SWI Women's Championship.

The End (2017)

On May 30, 2017, SWI announced that it would cease operations after the company's Destiny Fulfilled event later that year. The remaining PPVs aside from Destiny Fulfilled and Independence 12 would be cancelled, with Apocalypse running through until the end of December. Despite the forthcoming closure, SWI announced that they would continue to maintain SWI 24/7 and the SWI Hall of Fame.

Style

SWI's main style is technical wrestling, with some puroresu and lucha libre influences serving as its undertones. Many wrestlers cited ECW, ROH, TNA, NJPW, and NOAH as their main influences when the company was first getting started. Many in SWI currently cite NXT as a source of inspiration, noting the handling of the women wrestlers and level of talent that competes in NXT. Over the years, the company has garnered praise for allowing younger talent a chance to shine.

Roster

Male wrestlers

AGP
Andreas Trinidad
Benjamin Collier
Carlos
Daniel Ness
David Besser
DJW
Dmitri Laertes
G-String
Gene Van Tyler
Hayden Wilkinson
Jason Daniels
Jeffy
Johnny Romeo
Keiji Satoshi
Kellen Sampson
Ken Williams
Kyle Madden
Manzer
Matthieu Trudeau
Nick Grant
RH Marius
Robert Russo
Ryan Benning
Sam Hawkins
Samuel Sheppard
Shorty Drinkin
Skitzy
Tannark Fisher (hiatus)
Trent Radical
XS3

Female wrestlers

1-L
Adrienne Frost
Amber “Ice” Christian
Anita Martinez
Ashley Neon
Hannah Kelly
Ikaika
Justine Vaine
Karen von Black
Kasai
Kayla Stevens
Lavanya
Sarah Bennett
Saraya Martinez
Serena
Theresa McShane
Uhane

Tag teams and stables

Male

The Besser Brothers (David Besser and Jeremy Besser)
Corporate Club (Daniel Ness, Sam Hawkins, and Ryan Benning w/ Biff Taylor)
The Cypress Crew (G-String and Skitzy w/ Serena)
Damage Inc. (Ken Williams and Jason Daniels)
Jeffy and Samuel Sheppard
Rock n' Roll Angels (Kellen Sampson and Gene Van Tyler)
The Risen (RH Marius and Kyle Madden)
The Unregulars (Hayden Wilkinson and Robert Russo)
The Vinyl Club (Dmitri Laertes and Joshua Parker)

Female

Black and Blonde (Kayla Stevens and Theresa McShane)
Justine Vaine and Kasai
Los Hermanas Martinez (Anita and Saraya Martinez)
Maoli Koas (Uhane and Ikaika)
Positive Pessimism (Karen von Black and Hannah Kelly)
Sheer Cold (Adrienne Frost and Amber Christian)

On-screen personnel

Adam Curtis - ring announcer
Alfred King - on-screen commissioner
Biff Taylor - manager for the Corporate Club
Calvin Jones - backstage interviewer
Christopher Wendell - referee
Chuck Fernandez - referee
Holly Jordan - referee
Jack Wringer - senior referee
Jason Thompson - referee
Lauren Terry - backstage interviewer
Mike Sturgeon - play-by-play commentator
SP Robertson - color commentator
Tony Robinson - referee

Championships

Championship	Current Champion(s)	Date Won	Previous Champion(s)	Event
SWI World Championship	Keiji Satoshi	January 1, 2017	Andreas Trinidad	Destiny Fulfilled
SWI World Tag Team Championship	The Unregulars	May 28, 2017	Rock n' Roll Angels	Renewal
SWI North American Championship	Daniel Ness	April 8, 2017	Manzer	Apocalypse
SWI Canadian Television Championship	Kyle Madden	January 1, 2017	Fat Tony Drinkin	Destiny Fulfilled
SWI Women's Championship	Lavanya	April 30, 2017	Ashley Neon	Questions Unanswered
SWI Women's Tag Team Championship	Positive Pessimism	April 26, 2017		Women's Tag Team Tournament 2017

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Template:Infobox company
-|company_name = Soul Wrestling Incorporated|founder = Jonathan Rembrandt|owners = Jonathan Rembrandt|foundation = May 7, 2005|location = Duchess, Alberta, Canada (2005 - 2014)<br/><b>Calgary, Alberta, Canada (2015 - present)</b>|style = Professional wrestling|key_people = <b>Jonathan Rembrandt</b><br/>(Founder, CEO, CFO)|homepage = http://swiwrestling.wikia.com/|company_image = SWIlogo2014.jpg|dissolved = }}
+|company_name = Soul Wrestling Incorporated|founder = Jonathan Rembrandt|owners = Jonathan Rembrandt|foundation = May 7, 2005|location = Duchess, Alberta, Canada (2005 - 2014)<br/><b>Calgary, Alberta, Canada (2015 - 2017)</b>|style = Professional wrestling|key_people = <b>Jonathan Rembrandt</b><br/>(Founder, CEO, CFO)|homepage = http://swiwrestling.wikia.com/|company_image = SWIlogo2014.jpg|dissolved =December 31, 2017 }}
-'''Soul Wrestling Incorporated''' ('''SWI''') is a Canadian professional wrestling company, founded in 2005 by [[Jonathan Rembrandt]]. The company was founded in Duchess, Alberta, following the closure of [[Duchess Championship Wrestling]]. The promotion is currently based out of Calgary, Alberta.
+'''Soul Wrestling Incorporated''' ('''SWI''') is a Canadian professional wrestling company, founded in 2005 by [[Jonathan Rembrandt]]. The company was founded in Duchess, Alberta, following the closure of [[Duchess Championship Wrestling]]. The promotion is currently based out of Calgary, Alberta. SWI will cease operations after 2017.
 ==History==
 ===Origin and first run (2005 - 2007)===
@@ Line 24: / Line 24: @@
 On July 18, 2010, [[Aftermath]] debuted every Sunday evening on CBC, which featured highlights from Apocalypse as well as matches. [[Destiny Fulfilled]] 2010 marked the first time SWI performed outside of Canada since 2007, with the event being held in Phoenix, Arizona. On the July 2, 2011 episode of Apocalypse, Rembrandt stepped down as on-screen commissioner and announced XS3 as his replacement. On September 1, 2012, Rembrandt took back his position as on-screen commissioner, which he held until [[Destiny Fulfilled#December 2012|Destiny Fulfilled]], when he lost his position to [[Ken Davids]].
-SWI announced a tour of Canada throughout the summer of 2013, wanting to branch out and promote the company outside of Duchess. On July 1, 2013, SWI announced the creation of a new developmental promotion, [[Future Souls Initiative]] (FSI). Several wrestlers that appeared in the 30-Man Battle Royal at the [[Beginning Anew#2013|Beginning Anew]] event were signed to deals, in addition to talent from all over the world. Following [[Independence#Independence 9|Independence 9]], SWI held another Canadian tour in the summer, beginning in Calgary and ending in Montreal. After [[Unholy Confessions#2014|Unholy Confessions]], SWI announced that Apocalypse would officially become a two-hour program that week.
+SWI announced a tour of Canada throughout the summer of 2013, wanting to branch out and promote the company outside of Duchess. On July 1, 2013, SWI announced the creation of a new developmental promotion, [[Future Souls Initiative]] (FSI). Several wrestlers that appeared in the 30-Man Battle Royal at the [[Beginning Anew#2013|Beginning Anew]] event were signed to deals, in addition to talent from all over the world. SWI announced the creation of the SWI Cruiserweight Championship in September of that year, which would later become the [[SWI Canadian Television Championship]]. Following [[Independence#Independence 9|Independence 9]], SWI held another Canadian tour in the summer, beginning in Calgary and ending in Montreal. After [[Unholy Confessions#2014|Unholy Confessions]], SWI announced that Apocalypse would officially become a two-hour program that week.
-=== Move to Calgary, SWI 24/7, and DESTINY (2014 - present) ===
+=== Move to Calgary, SWI 24/7, and DESTINY (2014 - 2017) ===
 In a press conference held before [[Broken Chains#2014|Broken Chains]], SWI announced that in order to save travel costs and accommodate the talent, SWI would be relocating its headquarters to Calgary and holding all of its non-tour shows in a new building, [[The House of Soul]], which will house both SWI events and headquarters. However, the first show would be held in the Metropolitan Centre Ballroom, due to the team finalizing preparations for The House of Soul. FSI was then announced to be moving into the Duchess Hall on a part-time basis. An interview with Rembrandt on December 5 revealed that the company would not hold a Canadian summer tour during 2015, opting to stay in Calgary to test out their new home.
 An [[SWI Hall of Fame]] was created in May 2015 in order to honor those who had become legends in the promotion. XS3, [[Necrosphere]], Ken Davids, and [[Overkill]] were announced as the first inductees. On June 22, amidst rumors of SWI's closure, it was announced that SWI had renegotiated its television and PPV deal, opting to return Apocalypse to its previous one hour runtime. In addition, FSI would be rebranded as a training academy (FSI would later close in November of that year), and Aftermath would become a YouTube exclusive show instead. Apocalypse later returned to its two-hour runtime starting in December.
-SWI then announced in December that it would begin its own video-on-demand network called [[SWI 24/7]]. The network features every episode of Apocalypse, PPV, and special event, as well as every show and event from [[Kritical Wrestling Alliance]], Duchess Championship Wrestling, and Maple Creek Championship Wrestling. The service was released on December 20 to PCs and mobile devices. On January 16, 2016, SWI announced that it had acquired [[DESTINY Women's Pro Wrestling]] and its library, adding it to SWI 24/7 in the process. SWI then held its first all-women main event at [[Independence#Independence 11|Independence 11]], with [[Ashley Neon]] defeating [[Kayla Stevens]] to win the SWI Women's Championship.
+SWI then announced in December that it would begin its own video-on-demand network called [[SWI 24/7]]. The network features every episode of Apocalypse, PPV, and special event, as well as every show and event from [[Kritical Wrestling Alliance]], Duchess Championship Wrestling, and Maple Creek Championship Wrestling. The service was released on December 20 to PCs and mobile devices. On January 16, 2016, SWI announced that it had acquired [[DESTINY Women's Pro Wrestling]] and its library, adding it to SWI 24/7 in the process. SWI then held its first all-women main event at [[Independence#Independence 11|Independence 11]], with [[Ashley Neon]] defeating [[Kayla Stevens]] to win the SWI Women's Championship. A tournament was held in April 2017 to crown the first ever [[SWI Women's Tag Team Championship|SWI Women's Tag Team Champions]], followed by 40 of SWI's past and present women's competitors main eventing [[Questions Unanswered#2017|Questions Unanswered]] in a Femme Fatale Battle Royal for the SWI Women's Championship.
+=== The End (2017) ===
-On April 30, 2017, following the conclusion of [[Questions Unanswered#2017|Questions Unanswered]] with a 40-woman Femme Fatale Battle Royal as the main event, Jonathan Rembrandt announced that the women wrestlers would get their own show in June as well as house shows, something not done by SWI since 2005. The show was revealed to be [[Fearless]], with episodes being taped in advance and airing on SWI 24/7. The women will also get their own special events on SWI 24/7. Despite this, the SWI Women's Championship and the newly created [[SWI Women's Tag Team Championship]] will still be defended at [[Independence]] and [[Destiny Fulfilled]].
+On May 30, 2017, SWI announced that it would cease operations after the company's [[Destiny Fulfilled#2017|Destiny Fulfilled]] event later that year. The remaining PPVs aside from Destiny Fulfilled and [[Independence#Independence 12|Independence 12]] would be cancelled, with Apocalypse running through until the end of December. Despite the forthcoming closure, SWI announced that they would continue to maintain SWI 24/7 and the SWI Hall of Fame.
 ==Style==
-SWI's main style is technical wrestling, with some puroresu and lucha libre influences serving as its undertones. Many wrestlers cited ECW, TNA, NJPW, and NOAH as their main influences when the company was first getting started. Many in SWI currently cite NXT as a source of inspiration, noting the handling of the women wrestlers and level of talent that competes in NXT. Over the years, the company has garnered praise for allowing younger talent a chance to shine.
+SWI's main style is technical wrestling, with some puroresu and lucha libre influences serving as its undertones. Many wrestlers cited ECW, ROH, TNA, NJPW, and NOAH as their main influences when the company was first getting started. Many in SWI currently cite NXT as a source of inspiration, noting the handling of the women wrestlers and level of talent that competes in NXT. Over the years, the company has garnered praise for allowing younger talent a chance to shine.
 ==Roster==
@@ Line 60: / Line 61: @@
 *[[Manzer]]
 *[[Matthieu Trudeau]]
-*[[Mr. Besser]]
 *[[Nikos|Nick Grant]]
 *[[RH Marius]]
@@ Line 76: / Line 76: @@
 *[[1-L]]
 *[[Adrienne Frost]]
-*[[Amara Ridley]]
 *[[Amber Christian|Amber “Ice” Christian]]
 *[[Anita Martinez]]
 *[[Ashley Neon]]
-*[[Breanna Hodgins]]
 *[[Hannah Kelly]]
 *[[Ikaika]]
-*[[Jordan Newport]]
 *[[Justine Vaine]]
 *[[Karen von Black]]
 *[[Kasai]]
 *[[Kayla Stevens]]
-*[[Koda Steele]]
 *[[Lavanya]]
-*[[Rosie Smith]]
-*[[Sakura Maeda]]
 *[[Sarah Bennett]]
 *[[Saraya Martinez]]
-*[[Selina Taylor]]
 *[[Serena]]
-*[[Taylor O’Byrne]]
 *[[Theresa McShane]]
-*[[Tonya Montana]]
 *[[Uhane]]
@@ Line 115: / Line 106: @@
 ==== Female ====
-*Amara Ridley and Breanna Hodgins
 *[[Black and Blonde]] (Kayla Stevens and Theresa McShane)
-*[[Irish Banzai]] (Sakura Maeda and Taylor O'Byrne)
 *Justine Vaine and Kasai
 *[[Los Hermanas Martinez]] (Anita and Saraya Martinez)
@@ Line 123: / Line 112: @@
 *[[Positive Pessimism]] (Karen von Black and Hannah Kelly)
 *[[Sheer Cold]] (Adrienne Frost and Amber Christian)
-*[[Team Australia]] (Koda Steele and Rosie Smith)
 ===On-screen personnel===
@@ Line 157: / Line 145: @@
 |-
 |[[SWI World Tag Team Championship]]
+|The Unregulars
+|May 28, 2017
 |Rock n' Roll Angels
+|[[Renewal#2017|Renewal]]
-|January 14, 2017
-|The Cypress Crew
-|Apocalypse
 |-
 |[[SWI North American Championship]]