Ohio Valley Wrestling
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) is an American independent professional wrestling promotion based in Louisville, Kentucky. OVW is mostly recognized for its up-and-coming wrestlers and serves as the official primary training ground for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). OVW is run by owner Danny Davis and the organization was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance (as NWA Ohio Valley Championship Wrestling) from 1998 until 2001, when OVW became part of the WWE developmental program. Jim Cornette was head booker of OVW for a period before being fired by WWE for slapping a student (although he is still part-owner of the company). He was replaced by Paul Heyman who booked OVW until being called up to be the booker of the ECW brand. Greg Gagne was supposed to be booker after Heyman but his knowledge of OVW was limited so the booking was extended to also include Al Snow and Danny Davis. Gagne was later released from the company leaving booking to Snow and Davis.
OVW wrestlers are often used as jobbers, or "enhancement talents", for WWE to make their stars look better, particularly when WWE runs shows within a few hours of the Louisville area. Sometimes OVW wrestlers are even used as plants for WWE shows. Of the stars who have been called up from OVW to WWE, a number of them first established themselves as heels, and the majority of them (such as Ken Kennedy, Randy Orton, MNM, Chris Masters, Rob Conway and the Spirit Squad) adopted the personalities of egotistical heels.
Contents |
[edit] Television
The OVW currently airs a one-hour television program Saturdays on WBKI-TV in Louisville at 11:00 p.m. Eastern Time, on WKRC-TV in Cincinnati, Ohio at 1:00 p.m., and on WOBZ-LP in London, Kentucky at 9:00 p.m. The television shows originate from the Davis Arena in Louisville, and fans are invited to attend tapings on Wednesday nights free of charge. [1]
[edit] Current Champions
| Championship | Current champion(s) | Date won | Won from |
|---|---|---|---|
| OVW Heavyweight Champion | Idol Stevens | March 14, 2007 | Paul Burchill |
| OVW Television Champion | Shawn Spears | March 17, 2007 | Boris Alexiev |
| OVW Southern Tag Team Champions | Cody Runnels and Shawn Spears | December 13, 2006 | The Untouchables (Deuce Shade and Domino) |
| OVW Women's Champion | Katie Lea | November 1, 2006 | Beth Phoenix |
[edit] Defunct Championships
- OVW Hardcore Championship (2000 - 2001)
- OVW Light Heavyweight Championship (1999-2001)
[edit] Ohio Valley Wrestling Triple Crown
 |
This article or section may contain original research or unattributed claims. Please help Wikipedia by adding references. See the talk page for details. |
Ohio Valley Wrestling has a hierarchy similar to WWE, with a Heavyweight, Television, and Tag Team titles. This is a less notable triple crown, because it is technically on the independent circuit, but is possible to make an impressive resume for a wrestler.
[edit] List of OVW Triple Crown Champions
The following is a list of individuals who have won the OVW Heavyweight, Television, and Tag Team titles.
[edit] Roster
[edit] Alumni
This is a list of current superstars that joined either RAW, Friday Night SmackDown!, or Extreme Championship Wrestling after completing their training at OVW.
[edit] Monday Night Raw
- Shelton Benjamin
- Lance Cade
- Carlito (Carly Colone)
- John Cena (The Prototype)
- Kenny Dykstra (Ken Doane)
- Armando Alejandro Estrada (Hazem Ali)
- Eugene (Nick Dinsmore)
- Charlie Haas
- Mickie James
- Johnny Jeter
- JTG (Jayson Paul)
- Maria Kanellis
- Chris Masters (Chris Mordetsky)
- Robbie McAllister (Derek Graham-Couch)
- Rory McAllister (Russell Murray)
- Melina (Melina Perez)
- Johnny Nitro (John Hennigan)
- Randy Orton
- Shad (Shad Gaspard)
- Victoria (Lisa Marie Varon)
[edit] Friday Night SmackDown!
- Batista (David Michael Bautista)
- The Boogeyman (Marty Wright)
- Cherry (Kara Drew)
- Deuce (James Reiher, Jr.)
- Domino (Cliff Compton)
- Jillian Hall
- Mark Henry
- K.C. James (Kurt Sellers)
- Chris Kay - referee
- Ken Kennedy (Ken Anderson)
- Paul London
- Michelle McCool (Michelle McCool-Alexander)
- Mike "The Miz" Mizanin
- Queen Sharmell (Sharmell Sullivan-Huffman)
- Idol Stevens (Aaron Stevens)
[edit] ECW
- Ariel (Shelly Martinez)
- Elijah Burke
- Mike Knox (Mike Hettinga)
- Rene Dupree (René Goguen)
- Kelly Kelly (Barbie Blank)
- Bobby Lashley (Franklin Roberto Lashley)
- CM Punk (Phil Brooks)
- Kevin Thorn (Kevin Fertig)
- Sylvan (Sylvain Grenier)
- Snitsky (Eugene Snisky)
- Trinity (Stephanie Finochio)
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
| History |
|---|
| Black Saturday | Monday Night Wars | Montreal screwjob The Invasion | Brand Extension | WWE Video Library |
| Programming |
| Current programming | Former programming | Pay-per-view | Ratings |
| Developmental territories |
| Ohio Valley Wrestling | Deep South Wrestling, LLC |
| Subsidiaries |
| WWE Films | WWE Niagara Falls | WWE Records | WWE Video Games | WWE Home Video | WWE Books |
| Other wrestling organizations acquired |
| World Championship Wrestling | Extreme Championship Wrestling |
| Defunct subsidiaries |
| Coliseum Video | World Bodybuilding Federation | The World | XFL |
| Talent |
| Alumni | Current roster| Diva Search | Draft Lottery | Hall of Fame | Tough Enough |
