Three events. Twenty-eight matches. Two World Champions.
2015 marked the arrival of a new force in independent wrestling. Emerging from the cracks and grates of the concrete jungle, New York City’s new frontier began on July 10th at ‘A New Hope’. It was at this event that ‘The Southern Stomper’ Luke Hawx overcame three opponents, ‘Speedball’ Mike Bailey, ‘The Sicilian Psychopath’ Tommaso Ciampa, and ‘The Fresh Prince of Shaolin’ Rude Boy Riley, to become the first Tier 1 Champion.
The competitive landscape in Tier 1 is designed to be wide open. Some of the best and brightest have parted our curtain, and having established names sprinkled into a pool of fresh, underexposed talents ensures that there’s a constant flow of opportunity for unique encounters.
That brings us to the Six Way Elimination Fray series. The winners of these six Frays will advance to a seventh; The Final Fray. The winner of that match will receive a commemorative trophy, as well as a Tier 1 Championship opportunity. So far, three men have qualified. FEDERATED Brand Ambassador Mr. Martinez made his first talent acquisition at our debut event by ensuring victory for a brash and highly skilled young competitor by the name of VsK. On October 2nd at ‘Rumble in the Concrete Jungle’, ‘The Concrete Rose’ Sonny Kiss overcame the odds. Lastly, on December 4th at ‘Rise or Die Trying’, FEDERATED’s monstrous ace in the hole, Ace Romero, tilted the odds for his team’s chances in The Final Fray by dominating his five opponents. Three more competitors will join them in a match that will not only determine a worthy challenger to whoever the champion may be by that time, but set a new standard for chaos.
At ‘Rumble in the Concrete Jungle’, the new # 1 Contender - Rude Boy Riley - confronted Luke Hawx; challenging him to a title match on the spot, but instead found himself on the receiving end of a brutal attack at the hands of a new alliance. The Bravado Brothers, who had made their successful debut earlier that night, joined forces with the champion to take out the hopeful challenger. Hawx and his new comrades closed the show in controversial fashion by draping a confederate flag over Riley’s unconscious body.
At ‘Rise or Die Trying’, Riley got his chance for retribution, and the Tier 1 Championship. The hometown hero fought tooth and nail, and reclaimed the title for New York City; becoming its only double World Champion in the process.
We’ve seen the FIP World Heavyweight Championship defended on our turf, and had our stars travel to Florida and Ohio. Connecticut and Massachusetts are on deck. This isn’t just a New York City operation. Tier 1 is ready to change the wrestling world, and we’re getting the opportunity to do so thanks to our partnerships with WWNLive and Highspots.com.
With seasoned veterans like Gran Akuma, independent heavy-hitters such as ‘All Ego’ Ethan Page and ‘The Obsession’ Caleb Konley, as well as future stars like Sonny Kiss, ‘The Carnivore’ Alex Mason, ‘Bonesaw’ Jessie Brooks, Travis ‘Flip’ Gordon, Space Monkey, ‘Wrestling’s Richest Prize’ Darius Carter, ‘The Elite Athlete’ Mike Orlando, ‘The Unpredictable’ JGeorge, and many more, not to mention the arrivals of ‘Unbreakable’ Michael Elgin and EVOLVE Champion Timothy Thatcher for their epic never-before-seen encounter at ‘March to Victory’, Tier 1 Wrestling is poised to explode in 2016. Also, you’ll read it here first; Tier 1 will be launching a hard-hitting, deep, and highly competitive tag team division sooner rather than later. Thank you to everyone who’s made 2015 the success that it’s been.
