AZW Hawaii
Action Zone Wrestling (AZW), is an American professional wrestling promotion founded in 2005 and based out of Honolulu, Hawaii. It has been associated with Dragon Gate since 2007.
History
The promotion was founded by actor, comedian and local wrestler/manager Daryl Bonilla, in March 2005 with the inaugural shows held on June 25, 2005 (Waianae High School) and June 26, 2005 (Farrington High School). Both events were main evented by matches between A.J. Styles and James Gibson. Both shows drew small crowds. However with an old school style booking, creative personas and matches that blended entertainment with hard hitting action AZW started to generate buzz and start drawing significant fanbase with their year end event Battleclash in December 2005.
The company has attracted talent from Japan, U.S. independents, including A.J. Styles, HENTAI, James Gibson, M-Dogg 20, Delirious, Larry Sweeney, Jimmy Jacobs, and Teddy Hart. AZW also attracted Jason "Mayhem" Miller who competed against DDB at their first annual event "Anything Goes" in October 2006 after attending AZW events as a fan.
"Anything Goes" is a unique event where the fans pick the opponents and type of match at the event. The wrestlers, the referees, and everyone in AZW does not know who they are wrestling and in what type of match until it is drawn by the fans.
In late 2006, AZW was a part of the independent feature film All for Melissa directed by Gerard Elmore, in a scene in which the main character gets involved in pro wrestling to earn some extra money. Appearing in the film were AZW wrestlers DDB, The Rage, King Makoa, Mark Anarchy, Johnny Kealoha, Roach Redding and Rocko Shinoda. Makoa played the wrestler who fights against the main character while the other AZW wrestlers played a section of fans watching the event. The movie premiered at the Hawaii Film Festival in 2008.
On September 5, 2007, Dragon Gate made its debut in Hawaii when DG participated at the AZW event "Showdown". Appearing on the event were CIMA, Dragon Kid, Shingo Takagi and Susumu Yokosuka. CIMA competed against then AZW Heavyweight Champion Kris Kavanaugh in a losing effort. Dragon Kid defeated stablemate Yokosuka, while Takagi teamed up with AZW's SABAKI to take on AZW Tag Team Champions Devilshock. Since then also appearing on AZW live events were BxB Hulk, Masato Yoshino and Naruki Doi.
AZW participated in Chikara's annual King of Trios tournament in 2008. Representing AZW were The Immortals and Akua.
AZW opened Dragon Gate's inaugural show in Hawaii at the Waikiki Shell on September 8, 2008 with a four way tag team match. Nijuu Ninkaku & SABAKI defeated Kaniala & Nebulous, Trendsetters (DDB & AkuA) and Bobby Bolt & Rocko Shinoda in a hard hitting fast paced match that set the tone for the night as well as winning over the Japanese fanbase that were in attendance.
Battleclash 5 in 2009 drew one of their largest crowds and was main evented with Mr. Athletic defeating Kaniala in a No Holds Barred match to win the AZW Heavyweight Title. The other featured match saw IWC Super Indy Champion Super Hentai retain his title against AZW fan favorite SABAKI.
AZW also holds fundraisers for the Boys & Girls Club of Hawaii, and the Samoan Cultural Community by holding FREE events for their programs. AZW also has a working relationship with the Hawaii Tiger Muay Thai Gym, sharing a gym, in which both companies hold live events regularly.
Roster
- Ahuna
- Al Ahmed
- Ativalu
- Bobby "The Lightning" Bolt
- Dementia
- DDB
- Jet Akuma
- Kaimana
- Kaniala
- Kapu La'akea
- Kenjiro Katahira
- Kenryu Takadoki
- Kona Anthony
- Krazy Chris Jones
- "Hotstuff" Kris Kavanaugh
- Mark Anarchy
- Mr. Athletic
- Nijuu Ninkaku
- "Rock Hard" Rocko Shinoda
- SABAKI
- The Rage (retired)
Guest wrestlers
- CIMA
- BxB Hulk
- Susumu Yokosuka
- Naruki Doi
- Masato Yoshino
- SHINGO
- Super HENTAI
- Delirious
- Teddy Hart
- "Sweet & Sour" Larry Sweeney
- Dragon Kid
- Jimmy Jacobs
- "The Phenomenal" A.J. Styles
- Jamie Noble/James Gibson
- The Cutler Brothers
- Sonny Samson
- "M-Dogg 20" Matt Cross
Current champions
Championship |
Champion(s) |
Previous champion(s) |
Date Won |
Location |
Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AZW Heavyweight Championship |
Mr. Athletic |
Kaniala |
December 21, 2009 |
Waipahu, Hawaii |
Battleclash 5 |
AZW Tag Team Championship |
The Polynesian Power Trip (Kaimana and Ativalu) |
Nijuu Ninkaku & SABAKI |
March 7, 2009 |
Honolulu, Hawaii |
Revenge & Retribution |
Championships
AZW Heavyweight Championship
The AZW Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world championship in AZW Hawaii. AZW Heavyweight Championship title reigns are determined by professional wrestling matches, in which wrestlers are involved in matches, pre-existing rivalries that are played out through Action Zone Wrestling shows, as well as through other companies in cooperation with AZW. The narratives surrounding the title create rivalries and feuds between various wrestlers vying for the title, which cast them as villains and heroes.
Akua won a battle royal last eliminating Lopaka to become the first AZW Heavyweight Champion at In The Beginning there was ACTION on June 25, 2005.
AZW Tag Team Championship
The AZW Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship contested for in the American professional wrestling promotion AZW Hawaii. The AZW Tag Team Championship was introduced at Halloween Hangover on October 26th, 2005, where AZW held a tag team battle royal in which the last member of a tag team standing would win to crown the first champions. DDB and The Rage were the first champions after The Rage re-entered the ring after being eliminated to toss out the Society's Rejects (Mark Anarchy & Rocko Shinoda) after they just eliminated his partner DDB to win the battle royal.