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The True Story of TWC - the World’s First 24/7 Wrestling TV Channel (Cultaholic Wrestling video)


herbie747

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2 hours ago, herbie747 said:

TWC had nothing to do with Alex Shane though. He helped us run and book International Showdown in 2005 and did a great job. That was his only involvement besides being part of the FWA, which we aired. He also introduced us to the guys at Cage Warriors which we ended up airing. And I think he was involved with RQW (with Len Davies) too, which was on the channel for a brief period.

I've had a few dealings with Alex Shane over the years and they've all been positive. But of course, that's just my personal experience. 🙂

He sure was involved with RQW, in fact he even lived at RQW House for a while (which was a unit on a trading estate in Dagenham, Essex). It had a ring for training and a full audio studio and a small area for TV work (i.e. presenting segments). Len got rid when he was leaving to go to the US. Alex was always nice when I encountered him, but he was an absolute Carny when it came to work and getting paid for work. Would often promise the earth and underdeliver. 

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I don't know who it was with (might've been Len in the RQW days) but I recall Alex trying to raise funds for a some kind of streaming platform version of TWC in the wake of it folding.

Always had fond memories of TWC, I'd only recently started training at FutureShock at the time and it was a fantastic gateway into non-WWE stuff for me. I remember me & my grandad regularly making time to watch GAEA.

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17 minutes ago, Jesse said:

I don't know who it was with (might've been Len in the RQW days) but I recall Alex trying to raise funds for a some kind of streaming platform version of TWC in the wake of it folding.

Don’t know if that’s what was pitched to me. They were trying to launch a thing called “Adrenalize TV” and got to the point of creating mock-ups, but nothing came of it.

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Can’t remember exactly when this was. Must have been late 2000s–early 2010s.

Edited by Your Fight Site
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I really loved TWC and they introduced me to Indy wrestling with ROH and CZW. I remember me and my brother seeing a tag team do a Spanish Fly in ROH and we couldn’t believe what we were seeing! 

One of the highlights for me was checking the website listings to see what would be the next Supercard Sunday (I think that’s what it used to be called?!). Basically a “big” show from TNA, ROH or CZW.  I used to record all of them. They even had some Israeli wrestling on there at one point didn’t they or have I made that up?

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I couldn't get Sky where I was living but managed to get to watch around a few mates places. Also big up TWC for making the SkyDome the Mecca of British wrestling, innit.

I watched back some of International Showdown recently and it's weird seeing myself in a Mick Foley shirt..

 

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It introduced me to Noah, which led to me getting tapes of classic AJPW, which is still up there as some of my favourite stuff to just put on and watch.

I loved watching TNA on it too, before it went arse over tit in 07.

 

That said my abiding memory of TWC was the same Ragu advert being shown what felt like 4 times every break, put me right off spagbol. That and the showing of the erotic adventures of the 3 musketeers and dentist on the job with Bob Monkhouse, although that might have been after it was rebranded.

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I didn't have Sky, but Ladbrokes did. I was working there on a quiet weekday morning and my boss wasn't paying attention, so I was channel flipping and came across TWC. It's been so long that I'm probably remembering it wrong, but I swear I saw a match that had Al Snow doing a dance contest (The only important of part of a match is the finish, after all). Lasted about 30 minutes before he noticed with the classic "what's this rubbish!?" reaction of a non-wrestling fan.

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49 minutes ago, hallicks said:

I didn't have Sky, but Ladbrokes did. I was working there on a quiet weekday morning and my boss wasn't paying attention, so I was channel flipping and came across TWC. It's been so long that I'm probably remembering it wrong, but I swear I saw a match that had Al Snow doing a dance contest (The only important of part of a match is the finish, after all). Lasted about 30 minutes before he noticed with the classic "what's this rubbish!?" reaction of a non-wrestling fan.

Possibly a 3PW show which was trying to be the new ECW, they'd get some odd little Indies on there at times.

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29 minutes ago, Merzbow said:

Possibly a 3PW show which was trying to be the new ECW, they'd get some odd little Indies on there at times.

I don't think Al ever worked 3PW (since he was a WWE performer/trainer while they were operational), but he did do a bunch of 1PW matches in 05/06 with the likes of Blue Meanie, Chris Hamrick and Tracy Smothers that, inevitably, descended into dance contests. Could be one of those. 

Echo what many others have said about their love of TWC. It came around at a great time for me, as I was thirteen, just starting to regularly read Power Slam and was sort of getting a little bit less interested in WWE. 

I still followed and really enjoyed WWE then, but I remember gravitating more towards TNA in 04/05, mainly because of the X-Division. This was also the same time that most WWE stuff was on either Sky Sports or Box Office, two things my family could rarely afford, so TWC was a godsend. 

I must still have a bunch of tapes with random NOAH, CMLL, classic New Japan and shoot interviews up in the loft somewhere. 

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4 minutes ago, SaitoRyo said:

I don't think Al ever worked 3PW (since he was a WWE performer/trainer while they were operational), but he did do a bunch of 1PW matches in 05/06 with the likes of Blue Meanie, Chris Hamrick and Tracy Smothers that, inevitably, descended into dance contests. Could be one of those. 

Echo what many others have said about their love of TWC. It came around at a great time for me, as I was thirteen, just starting to regularly read Power Slam and was sort of getting a little bit less interested in WWE. 

I still followed and really enjoyed WWE then, but I remember gravitating more towards TNA in 04/05, mainly because of the X-Division. This was also the same time that most WWE stuff was on either Sky Sports or Box Office, two things my family could rarely afford, so TWC was a godsend. 

I must still have a bunch of tapes with random NOAH, CMLL, classic New Japan and shoot interviews up in the loft somewhere. 

He worked there at least once, I remember they even named a show after him but yeah the 1PW shows sound more likely now you mention them.

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TWC was such an exciting thing in 04, especially for someone like me who didn’t have Sky Sports so had limited access to WWE. I remember the Low Ki/Special K beatdown on Friendly TV, Doug Williams vs a masked American Dragon, Teddy Hart vs Jonny Storm in TNA, Dynamite Kid vs Rocco and Burchill vs Double Dragon vividly from the very early days. The channel got me into non-WWE wrestling, whether it was the old TNA PPVs that I’d never miss, ROH, NOAH or World of Sport - it was all so readily available and I’d give everything a go and have the channel on as much as possible. Once I moved out for uni in 06 I didn’t get as many chances to see it but I stuck around on the TWC forum until I joined up here.

Still wish I’d been able to go to International Showdown. More worthwhile than A level coursework, surely.

Edited by HarmonicGenerator
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That 7 hour Cornette shoot interview was on there, broken down into episodes of 1 or 2 hours, if I remember right. 

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