EDITORIAL: SRW - The Hardcore History of Shore Road Wrestling

By Johnny Walters

Some of you who watch OJ-FWA may be familiar with the indy promotion SRW. The no-nonsense, smash-mouthed, in-your-face style became the best-kept secret in the New York pro-wrestling scene. In fact, several OJ-FWA performers got their start in SRW. The Spoiler wrestled here for a while before having his career take off in Japan's NOJ. Liliana, while she full-timed as a automobile magazine model, got her start, and perhaps helped define who she was as the "Hardcore Italirican," wrestling for SRW.

However, the story isn't exactly the best for all who came from the promotion. Soon after the promotion's demise, OJ-FWA picked up three of the promotion's top stars: SHALLOW, Russ Morgan, and Trent Frost. SHALLOW and Russ Morgan's ascent in the world of Japanese pro-wrestling in general, and OJ-FWA in particular, while steady, have not set the world on fire. And in the most tragic case, Trent Frost left OJ-FWA after suffering a loss at Yuuki Matsuri 2007.

So, why is it that while Spoiler and Liliana have done well for themselves, arguably the three most important participants in SRW history have not? This is what I hope to find out.

You see, I have a bit of a stake in this. I worked for SRW during this time. This is my recollection of the "hardcore history" of Shore Road Wrestling!



Part I: The Early Events


May 10, 1996: [no title]
First Sanctioned event under the name of SRW
Highlights included the Shore Road debut of Russ Morgan in a match with local star Smith Jones. Jones only survived for 30 seconds.

Also debuting on this card was Chad Brown, who won his match against SHALLOW via his infamous submission hold the Brownout, a version of the Japanese (Fujiwara) armbar.

The main event on that card was Russ Morgan, pulling double-duty, VS. The "Death-Defying" Trent Frost as he was known as at the time. Frost wins with the Death Drop.


At this point there was another event, but it goes down in the record books as a house show. Results were not recorded and the date is unknown.



May 21, 1996: [no title]
Classic old school SRW
The opening bout was a match between SHALLOW and Chad Brown. Although SHALLOW didn't win the match, he pulled off a legendary DDT which got such a strong reaction with the Shore Road crowd, it became a regular part of his arsenal.

Smith Jones returned as the Assasin and started a feud with none other than Chad Brown, who won by submission.

Jones then challenged Russ Morgan to a rematch from the first show. Russ accepted and the match was on. Taunts of "30 seconds!! 30 seconds!!" filled the air and surely played some part in Jones' defeat, which ironically came 35.43 seconds into the match.

Although Russ Morgan VS. Smith Jones part 2 had gone much like their first encounter, Morgan VS Trent Frost part 2 would have decidedly different results. The match was set for 2 out of 3 falls. Morgan gets the first pinfall after a snap suplex - Frost got the second pinfall after a flying dropkick. The match was dead even. Finally, Morgan got the win after unleashing his infamous "Hammer-Lock", a modified half crab, inspired by his idol, KEWF legend "The Hammer" Carl West.

Main event - At this point in time, Chad Brown was undefeated. He had never faced Trent Frost before this but that was soon to change. In a viciously contested match, Frost pins Chad Brown after a "hardway" tiger suplex into the barricade.


May 23, 1996: [no title]
The shortest match in SRW history
This event began with a rematch from the previous event: "Assasin" Smith Jones VS. Chad Brown, no holds barred. Jones was about to learn a lesson he would never forget. Chad Brown weakened his arm during the match and slapped on the brownout causing Jones to submit, but he didn't release the hold until he made Jones admit that Chad Brown is the man.

"Hardcore" Mark Dyson debuted in the next contest in the first of the legendary extreme matches against Trent Frost. It was the first match ever to reach a time limit draw after one hour.

Grabby Hayes defeated Smith Jones with a legdrop in the infamous battle of the cracks, a match which even left a crack in the wall of the SRW Arena.

The Recluse also debuted on this card in a match against Chad Brown. Kick to the mid-section, takedown, camel clutch and the match was over. Chad Brown had won in a record-breaking 8 seconds.



June 6, 1996: [no title]
The first championship match
SHALLOW defeats "Assasin" Smith Jones. After the match was over, Chad Brown slapped on the patented brownout and SHALLOW bashed Jones' face in with the chair. Jones made a lasting impression that can still be seen today.

Trent Frost defeats the Assasin. Russ Morgan beats Trent Frost after he was impaled on a broken chair.

At this point Chad Brown came out and challenged Frost to a rematch. Due to the fact that he and Frost were both at the top of the promotion, the match was announced as the first championship match. Chad Brown wins with the brownout and is proclaimed the first SRW World Champion.



June 12, 1996: Championship Tournament
After Chad Brown won the title, several wrestlers complained that they hadn't gotten their fair chance to win it. As a result, Chad Brown's title was declared the Intercontinental Title and a tournament would be held to determine the rightful SRW World Champion. The tournament was set for an 8 man single elimination contest. Each competitor chose a number between 1 and 8 - two of the slots were empty, which meant a bye.

Here's how it ended up:

- Both SHALLOW and "Hardcore" Mark Dyson got byes in the tournament.

- Trent Frost faced Russ Morgan in a match set for 15 minutes. Neither man wanted to lose their shot at the title and the match went past the time limit. Instead of calling it a draw, they decided to go into a sudden death fight where the winner would advance. Frost won after a flying kick to the back of Morgan's head.

- Smith Jones once again submitted to the brownout, and Chad Brown was in the semi-finals. In the first second round match up, SHALLOW pinned Mark Dyson after a DDT. Dyson was busted wide open and the match went down as the bloodiest match in SRW history up to that point.

- Chad Brown defeated Trent Frost in a bitterly contested battle.

- Zero advanced to the finals to face Chad Brown, who, during the encounter, landed a full impact knee drop on SHALLOW which severely injured his ribs. SHALLOW had no choice but to submit to the brownout (giving him his first loss via submission). Your winner, and new SRW Champion, Chad Brown. Instead of having to drop his Intercontinental Title, the two belts were unified.



June 20, 1996: [no title]
The last appearance of Chad Brown
Chad Brown was now the most powerful man in the promotion. He had an unbreakable, unstoppable hold that no one had ever escaped from, and he held the SRW championship. But he was a marked man and the first person to challenge him for his title was Russ Morgan. Chad Brown went to work on the arm setting up the brownout, but Morgan would have none of it. He took Chad Brown to the mat and locked him in a body scissors. The pain was too intense. Chad Brown submitted and lost his title to the second SRW champion, Russ Morgan. Chad Brown was so upset over this loss that he quit the federation.



June 25, 1996: The Extreme Match
By this time SRW was starting to get some recogniton. An exhibition match was set for June 25th, the first week of summer vacation for most of SRW's young audience. Trent Frost would once again fight "Hardcore" Mark Dyson in an extreme match, this time dedicated to Dyson's then girlfriend, Liliana, the future "Hardcore Italirican." After an intense staredown, the match was on. This battle was truly extreme and saw several weapons come into play, including a metal briefcase and some wooden chairs. Dyson threw Frost down the arena stairs, but Frost eventually recovered and hit the whiplash on Dyson. Trent Frost wins the match when Dyson is no longer able to continue. A neck injury keeps Dyson out of action for a while.



July 10, 1996: The Hardcore Match
This was the first match to take place outside of the old SRW arena. The main event was a 4-corner elimination match: SHALLOW VS "Hardcore" Mark Dyson VS Trent Frost VS Russ Morgan. Dyson was the first to be eliminated after a DDT by SHALLOW. But SHALLOW was hurting and Morgan quickly eliminated him with the Hammer-Lock (giving SHALLOW his last ever loss via submission). It was down to the final two competitors. Russ Morgan and Trent Frost redefined SRW's limits of hardcore as they battled out into the street. The desire to win was so strong in each man that neither one of them would quit and the match ended in a draw.



July 19, 1996: Hurricane Havoc
This event is considered by many to be the best event of the old arena days.
In the opening bout Grabby Hayes was set to face Smith Jones in a rematch from the battle of the cracks. However, Jones failed to appear and he was replaced by "Hardcore" Mark Dyson. Grabby Hayes used his weight to his advantage, but Dyson held his own and got the win with a bulldog takedown.

The Recluse returned to action for the first time since his record-breaking loss against Chad Brown to face SHALLOW in what would turn out to be a short match. SHALLOW dominated him and won with a submission victory when Recluse surrendered to a headlock.

It was now time for the main event - A championship match between champion Russ Morgan and his challenger Trent Frost. By this time there was quite a rivalry developing between these two men. Neither fighter had any advantage over the other and each battle was always intensely close fought. This match would be no exception.

Highlights:
- Frost breaks a hard plastic suitcase across Morgan's back with the arabian legdrop - Morgan hits the sidewalk slam on the outside
- Frost crashes down on Morgan with the hurricane drop
- Morgan nails Frost with a pile driver onto the iron radiator.

Each competitor took his opponent to the edge of defeat numerous times, but when all was said and done it would be Russ Morgan who walked away with the title after he won the match in a sudden death time limit extension.



July 26, 1996: The Execution of Extreme
The opening bout was a triangle match between Grabby Hayes, "Assasin" Smith Jones, and The Recluse. Jones eliminates Recluse with a low blow, but Jones is soon eliminated himself after a legdrop by Grabby Hayes.

After the match, Smith Jones issued a challenge to anyone who was willing to fight him in a no holds barred match. It looked like Jones had bit off more than he could chew though as Trent Frost answered his challenge. Frost was still angry about his loss at the last event and he took out his aggression on Jones using any weapon he could find.

The main event would be SHALLOW's shot at the SRW Championship as he challenged Russ Morgan. This match saw several incredible maneuvers, such as SHALLOW's flying hurricarana takedown and Morgan's powerbomb. On this occasion SHALLOW was the better man. He took Morgan down to the mat with a roll up and pinned him for the three count. SHALLOW became the new SRW Champion.

This was the last event to be held in the old arena on Shore Road. The battle scars were showing and any other matches would've surely destroyed the place. At this point it looked like SRW was over. It took some time to get things back in order, but almost a month after the last event, SRW was back and better than ever. There was a new arena, a new ring, and also a new camera to record the action. But there was also something more important than that - A new attitude. Shore Road Wrestling as we know it today was born.

More on that era next time!