Many like to say that pro wrestling is cyclical, especially when it comes to the business ebbs and flows of the top promotions. The same could be said for the smaller independent wrestling promotions scattered around the United States. At times, independent wrestling has been a booming scene, like following ECW and WCW's closures in 2001, which led to the sprouting of Ring of Honor and other like-minded, wrestling-first promotions. The mid-2010s saw the same thing happen, when an Elite-led ROH began doing big business again, while old standards like Pro Wrestling Guerilla peaked in popularity, and Game Change Wrestling burst onto the scene as a modern update of ECW and Combat Zone Wrestling. These days, however, with AEW and WWE taking in most major talent, the independent wrestling scene is a bit of a mixed bag, and that may be a kind way of putting it, as some feel indie wrestling is worse off than it's been in years.
With the larger, traveling indies now struggling, it would make sense that this would trickle down to the local independent promotions. At the same time, because of the centralized nature of local indies, many are still doing just fine. That's because, while they may not draw the headlines of a GCW or a classic era Ring of Honor, the local indies still offer a non-WWE Performance Center way for aspiring wrestlers to break into the wrestling business, and are singular focused on one thing (putting on shows) as opposed to TV deals, streaming, ect. It may not be sexy in the way PWG remained localized while also getting big, but there are still plenty of indies staying true to their area that are doing just fine. And in Indiana, there happens to be two promotions doing just that.
Oddly enough, these two promotions both operate in the general vicinity of each other in Indianapolis. That includes the first and longest running of the three promotions, Wild Championship Wrestling Outlaws. WCWO was founded by indie wrestler Don Basher back in 1997, with Basher running the promotion up to his death in 2020. The promotion didn't lose a step, however, as a Basher trainee, Joey Owens, stepped into his stead to run WCWO, which he has continued to do to this day.
While Cagematch hasn't been keeping up with WCWO that much over the last few years, listing the promotion's last show in 2023, a quick look at WCWO's Facebook shows the promotion is still active and running shows at a pretty decent clip. This past weekend, WCWO held "Victory Lane" in Indianapolis and is poised to run three shows over the next month and a half. This includes a Father's Day Bash in Frankfurt, Indiana on June 14, ironically enough one day before Father's Day, an event that's part of the Beech Grove Festival of Fireworks on July 3, and a show at the St. Paul Gym in, you guessed it, St. Paul, Indiana on July 19.
After WCWO comes Naptown All Pro, another Indianapolis-based promotion. Whereas WCWO is approaching thirty years running, Naptown is a very new promotion, sprouting up in 2022 right as the COVID-19 pandemic was beginning to wind down. And while WCWO's roster seems to be built around more local names that most wrestling fans haven't heard of, Naptown offers a combination of local stars and well-known indie talents, some of whom have even made TV. For example, Naptown's first event in April 2022 featured the likes of Calvin Tankman, Myron Reed, Sandra Moone, Isaiah Broner, Don't Die Miles, and Darian Bengston, all of whom have made their marks on the indies, or in Reed and Tankman's case, MLW. The most recent Naptown show in February similarly featured a list of who's who, including former WWE star Leon Ruff, AEW/ROH Tag Team The Infantry, who won the promotion's Tag Team Championships, AEW/ROH star Shane Taylor, and death match legend Nick Gage.
Another difference between Naptown and WCWO over the next month is that Naptown will be running one less show. The promotion's next event, 2nd Sunday: Euphoria, will take place in less than a week on June 8, running out of the Upland Brewing Fountain Square at the Back Outside Fest. Another 2nd Sunday event will occur on July 13, also at the Upland Brewing Fountain Square. No cards have been unveiled for either event on Naptown's website, though it's noted in the description for both shows that they are the last two events before Naptown Luchini, the promotion's premiere event.
