Women of Wrestling
WOW - Women Of Wrestling, aka WOW!, is a women's professional wrestling promotion founded in 2000 by David McLane, previously the founder of Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling. It is based in Los Angeles, California, and is owned by McLane and Los Angeles Lakers owner and president Jeanie Buss. The promotion launched a series of syndicated programs in the 2000-01 television seasons in 102 TV markets using a similar format of character driven performers, with names befitting a comic book series, such as Jungle Grrrl, an inmate tag-team complete with orange jump suits named Caged Heat, a Hollywood starlet named Lana Star, and the Persian Princess.
WOW programs were able to stand out from other wrestling programs by offering television viewers and live event audience an all female troupe of performers who played campy villains and heroines in all sizes and nationalities. By being the only entertainment source of its kind, WOW captured a strong adult demographic following with its primary audience, the male television audience generating 25% higher ratings than its secondary audience of young women, teens, and tweens.
After a long hiatus, in December 2014, WOW! announced their launch into digital media in 2015. Marketed as "WOW Superheroes", its characters are empowered women from all different backgrounds and professions. Season 2 of the show premiered on March 1, 2016, on YouTube. Its fourth season premiered February 28, 2017. On April 20, 2017, MGM Television announced that Mark Burnett, MGM's President, Television Group & Digital, and Jeanie Buss formed a partnership to develop new content across a range of unscripted programming and digital formats for WOW!.
Beginning with season 5, WOW will be broadcast on AXS TV. The two companies inked a deal in June 2018 for a weekly program, to be called WOW: Women of Wrestling, tapings for which commenced on October 10, 2018 at the Belasco Theater in Los Angeles, set to launch in early 2019. WOW debuted on January 18 as part of AXS's Friday Night Fights schedule that also includes New Japan Pro Wrestling and AXS TV Fights. This marked WOW's first return to network television since 2001.
Company history
Initial run (2000–2001)
WOW programming was aired in first-run syndication, often late at night and packaged with other sports-entertainment programming. The programs quickly became the highest rated wrestling shows in the markets of New York and Los Angeles and demonstrated ability regardless of the region, market size or time-period to grow each television stations audience. The promotion aired about twenty four original one-hour episodes, fielding a single pay-per-view, Women of Wrestling Unleashed. With its headquarters in Los Angeles, WOW held its live events which were taped for broadcast from the Great Western Forum in Inglewood, California. The organization's first live event attendance was a mere 400+, but its audience grew to over 5,000 customers over the period of only six events, and its website peaked in one month with slightly over 10 million unique visitors.The majority of WOW's performers were rookies to the business, recruited from backgrounds in modeling, acting, stunt work, and martial arts. Selina Majors and Thug were the trainers for the company. Jeanie Buss appeared regularly on WOW programming, although not as an in-ring participant.
Dormant (2001–2012)
Due to the ever soft and declining advertising market during this time, WOW was not able to take advantage of its momentum and ceased production after completing 24 original episodes and one live pay-per-view event. WOW ceased television production by fall 2001. WOW, although off the air in the United States after 2001, continued to exist through international distribution deals with the markets of Israel, Russia, India, Canada, South Africa, Kenya, the Middle East, Turkey, Malaysia, the Dominican Republic and other countries airing the WOW shows.David McLane would attempt to relaunch the show again a few times over the next decade, with no success. One attempt in 2002 included a partnership with Kiss frontman Gene Simmons. Starting in July 2011, the reported the WOW original shows started airing on the ABC affiliate KTNV in Las Vegas. The series continues to be distributed internationally. In 2013, Coors Light sponsored several live events in Las Vegas at the Eastside Cannery Casino and Hotel, where new programs were produced.
Relaunch (2012–present)
On May 29, 2012, McLane and Buss announced their intention to produce new episodes of the series. On Sunday, December 9, 2012, at 11 a.m. on The CW Las Vegas station KVCW, WOW! returned to television in advance of the "WOW! Pandemonium Tour 2013". WOW! kicked off the tour in Las Vegas, Nevada, with their first live event on January 19, 2013.The new programming of WOW featured some of the original WOW wrestlers such as Lana Star, Jade, Delta Lotta Pain, Loca, Thug, Jungle Grrrl and Selina Majors with the addition of new talent who auditioned for WOW in the months prior to December 9, 2012, television show. The WOW wrestlers are now referred to as "SuperHeroes". New WOW SuperHeroes are characters known as Frost, Fire, Stephy Slays, Keta Rush, La Niña and a Mexican star named Azucar. Original WOW Girl Selina Majors serves as the official trainer of WOW's new talent. Joining the roster are independent wrestlers Santana Garrett and Amber O'Neal.
On June 18, 2018, The Hollywood Reporter announced that WOW will air weekly on AXS TV beginning in early 2019. WOW returned to network broadcast for the first time since 2001 on January 18 as part of AXS's Friday Night Fights lineup. On June 2020 it was announced that AXS TV and WOW parted ways
Seasons
Superheroes (5–present)
WOW Superheroes
| Ring name | Real name | Notes |
| WOW Tag Team Champion | ||
| WOW World Champion | ||
| WOW Tag Team Champion | ||
| Formerly known as Azteca from the fifth season | ||
| Formerly known as Kobra Moon from the fifth season | ||
Other on-air personnel
| Ring name | Real name | Notes |
| Manager of Faith the Lioness | ||
| Manager of The Disciplinarian | ||
| Manager of Nikki Krampus and Serpentine |
Broadcast team
The following section pertains to announcers who cover WOW broadcasts. This group includes presenters, ringside commentators, ring announcers and backstage interviewers.| Ring name | Real name | Notes |
| Field reporter | ||
| Commentator Host | ||
| Commentator | ||
| Ring announcer | ||
| Commentator |
WOW other personnel
- Dan Masters: Announcer and backstage interviews
- Lee Marshall: Announcer
- Ed Ryba: Voiceovers
- Andrew M. Somers: Voiceovers
- Julie Day: Backstage interviews
- James Furlong: Music composer
- Josh Milton: Referee
- Jeff McGowan: Referee
- Jesse Hernandez: Referee
- Andrew Hecker: Voiceovers and director
WOW World Championship
Reigns
As of ,.List of combined reigns
As of ,.| Rank | Wrestler | No. of reigns | Combined days |
| 1 | 1 | 1,300 | |
| 2 | 1 | 881 | |
| 3 | † | 1 | + |
| 4 | 1 | 217 | |
| 5 | 2 | 132 | |
| 6 | 1 | 51 | |
| 7 | 1 | 49 |
WOW World Tag Team Championship
Inaugural tournament (2000–2001)
Reigns
As of ,.Combined reigns by team
As of ,.| Rank | Wrestler | No. of reigns | Combined days |
| 1 | 1 | 1,349 | |
| 2 | and Fire † | 1 | + |
| 3 | 2 | 42 |
Combined reigns by wrestler
WOW Unleashed
WOW Unleashed was a professional wrestling pay-per-view from Women of Wrestling. It took place on February 4, 2001, from the Great Western Forum in Inglewood, California. The PPV suffered from technical difficulties and a low buyrate. A second PPV, Spring Vengeance, was announced for April 8, 2001, during Unleashed, but never came to fruition. The announcers were Lee Marshall and former manager Bobby "The Brain" Heenan. Regular announcer David McLane, also the promotion's President, served as Master of Ceremonies.;Event results