Wake Up Fans: There's More Wrestling Outside of the WWE

It's so sad that today's fans call themselves smart marks, yet don't know the names of Nigel McGuiness, Psycho Cyrus, Brent Albright, Gustavo Mendoza, and Krazy K—just to name a few.

It's time you branched out past Monday and Friday nights, if so, you'll discover there's a lot of great action out there just waiting for you to stumble upon it.

I get disappointed that the B/R never give articles the time of day if the organization isn't named WWE. I ask you, no I plead to you, take five minutes out of your day and get familar with an organization not recognized as the big two.

You might be surprised at the great action you might find. You'll probably be shocked to see that it's in a hot gym right down the street from you.

I will try and give you a head start by breaking down a couple promotions and a least one of their must watch stars, take a look.

Ring of Honor

Now I'm not going to go into detail about this one because my boy JLB has it covered. Just know it's got the best technical wrestling around and now they are expanding on the entertainment aspect. Throw in a new TV deal and you got the makings of the next big thing.

Pro Wrestling Alliance

Listeners of our radio show will be familiar with our friends at the PWA. They are Booker T's organization and they are based out of Texas. They regularly have big name stars such as Team 3D, 2 Cold Scorpio Jake the Snake and Mick Foley come out and challenge their superstars, which makes for some cool passing of the torch wrestling matches.

But it isn't only the establish stars that make this promotion worth watching... they have stars of their own. If you've never heard of Psycho Cyrus (pictured above), then you're in for a YouTube treat.

Just think Great Khali... if he could actually wrestle. This guy is a pure beast. Throw in the ring general Gustavo Mendoza and his always entertaining Minister of Defense, "Ruuubio," and you have the making of a captivating promotion.

Ultimate Pro Wrestling

The name says it all. Based out of California, UPW is has been taking the west coast wrestling scene by storm since 1988.

If you're not familiar with the name, you should be. UPW has graduated over 20 of it's students to the WWE. John Cena, Victoria, The Miz, Mike Knox, Jon Heidnereich and much more have either been taught the game or had their game sharpened here.

And it's time you gotten familiar with their new stars, UPW heavyweight champ Tom Howard or the tag champs the Ballard Brothers. You can't call yourself a true wrestling fan if you don't know the up-and- comers.

Independent Championship Wrestling

Based out of Miami, Fl, ICW is stacked with raw talent and captivating characters.

Just take a look at the new No. 1 contender, Joker and you can see this organization is ready to make a name for itself.

Often performing under the lights of an outdoor venue, ICW is a must see for any Miami visitor or local.

What I love about them is there aren't any household names, with the exception of Norman Smiley, yet you wouldn't know it from the performances of their wrestlers.

From the Midnight Studs to J-Biggs to Sean Phoenix to the entire locker room, these guys put everything on the line.

NWA East

If you're gonna bare the legendary name of the NWA, you better make sure you're good. You'll get no complaints from the fans of the NWA East.

Like days of old, NWA East's territory covers Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Michigan.

Don't think they're big time? It's the place where won of the best pro wrestlers in history got his start, Kurt Angle.

But that was then and this is now. Now you can see the best of the up-and-coming best. Check out Ryan Mitchell, he's a fan favorite and is going for the HBK look and feel.

All though he's not at the Heartbreak's level yet, he can drop kick a light out and is one match away from being brought up to a bigger stage.

These are just a few of the great talents not named WWE or TNA. Check them out and support them. They are the future of pro wrestling.

To find out more, listen in to Hit the Ropes Radio. This week's special guests: Former WWE Tough Enough Winner Daniel Puder and Gustavo Mendoza of Booker T's PWA.