20th Anniversary

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Published on Saturday, 14 January 2012 15:56

Written by Tim Dolan

Janaury 1992 seems so far away.  To be exact, 20 years ago.  20 years ago this month the AIWF was founded by Dean Puckett. If you were sitting in that building when it all began and went around the locker room asking the question, Where do you see the AIWF in 20 years, you would have probably gotten the answer of out of business.  No one in independent wrestling expects a company to stay in business for 20 years, and the AIWF has officially done just that.  20 years ago Dean Puckett thought that he could make the AIWF the largest independent wrestling company in the world, and over the years he has pulled it off.  He will tell you it took the help of a lot of people to pull it off, but the facts are laid on the table.  The AIWF is still here, it has become the largest sanctioning body in the world, and it is not going away.

Fast forward to September 2006.  I walked in the door of the Wentworth NC National Guard Armory expecting just to see a wrestling show.  My employer had just relocated me to the Rockingham County, NC area, and I just wanted to get away from work and enjoy an indy wrestling show.  I showed up to the armory and much to my suprise I see wrestlers that I have worked with in the past that I had no idea would be there.  After talking with them they introduced me to Dean Puckett, and the rest we shall call is history.  From 2006 on I began helping form this worldwide phenomenon, building their website, working on their marketing strategies, and even throwing my hat in at the shows.  Honestly even in 2006 I didn't expect the company to still be in business, but that is only because most indy wrestling companies now a days only last 2-3 years. I would have never dreamed it to become this large, but then again I have learned over the last 5 years not to doubt Dean Puckett.  With the vision he laid out, we were able to get people that wanted to help us build this dream, and now, we are all keeping the vision of the AIWF alive, through the affiliate program, through titles, through TV shows, and through the fans that go out each and every weekend and watch an AIWF or AIWF Sanctioned show.  On any given weekend we could have 75-100 sanctioned shows.  Would you have thought that back in 1992 in Mt. Airy, NC? 

As I sit here in my office writing this, there are a ton of memories that come back to me over my 5 plus years with the AIWF, but imagine the memories that have been created over the 20 years of the AIWF.  I will never forget when War won the AIWF World Heavyweight title, or when Justin Flash defeated Alpha Omega (Steven Hayes) to win his first Heavyweight title.  How about Wargames 2010 in the sold out Winston Salem National Guard Armory. Deal with the Steel in the standing room only Wentworth National Guard Armory?  Over the years I have had many fond memories to remember of the AIWF and their shows, and I'm sure you have as well.  With our new website comes many new and exciting things, and one of which is the integration of facebook.  As almost a Happy Birthday to the AIWF, below on the comment section please tell us your favorite AIWF memory over 20 years, we would love to hear it!  And since the AIWF covers more than 100 companies, it doesn't have to be just us, it can be a memory from any of our affiliates.

In closing, I say this.  Thank you AIWF for 20 years in indy wrestling.  Thank you Dean Puckett for your vision, and thank you fans for being there for us for the last 20 years.  Here's to 20 more!

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