Xtreme Pro Wrestling (XPW)

"Fuck this company and fuck Rob Black, I refuse to give this promotion the time of day, the bottom of the barrel of the business. While I have no issues when it comes to hardcore wrestling or promotions that center around that style, but this is a pathetic excuse of a company that should have never been created. Literally, go watch the Dark Side of the Ring episode if you want a full understanding of why this promotion is terrible."

[0.0] "A crappy promotion which wasn't even like a low budget ECW. It was a no-budget ECW. Rob Black tried too much to be like Paul Heyman. And say what you will about Paul E. Dangerously, but at least HE didn't do this horseshit that Rob Black did. There was some great talents in this company, Supreme, Kaos, Messiah, Vic Grimes, (and yes, even New Jack). It was a low level, West Coast version of ECW."

"Xpw was not for the faint of heart. Pushing the limits in every possible direction. You can either appreciate it for what it was or hate on it for what it wasn't."

"underrated and more underground fed than czw for the same time. a lot of potential young and talented indie wrestlers from the different promotions"

[3.0] "I gave XPW a fair shot out of curiosity and nostalgia, but honestly, it's a mess. The production is low-budget, the booking feels random, and there's way too much focus on shock value rather than actual wrestling. Some of the talent tries to make the best of it, but they're buried under chaos and questionable creative choices. The whole vibe feels like it's stuck in the early 2000s in the worst way possible. It's more of a spectacle than a wrestling show, and not in a good way."

[0.0] "porn and wrestling DO NOT MIX WELL and what New Jack said about Rob Black is the fucking truth and I don't fucking know how this company is still running, I never ever liked XPW and rob black and the spite of rob giving a title to his wife that has no wrestling experience and needs help to win her matches is fucking PATHETIC. XPW & Rob Black & His Wife ARE FUCKING PATHETIC"

[0.0] "Everything I have seen from this promotion has been garbage, they offer nothing to the Wrestling business. Mr Black is a scumbag promoter who makes VKM look like a saint and that is saying something. The "wrestling" that this promotion encourages appeals to only the lowest common denominator of violence obsessed virgins. If you have ever wondered why people have no respect for wrestling its because of promotions like this."

[0.0] "Group children, because I am going to tell you a story of someone who is extremely stubborn and pretentious, who created a company based on arrogance and garbage. Rob Black, tried to do Wrestling accompanied by Paul Heyman in the ECW, but he did not accept the stupid ideas of Rob, so this, very recently, decided to join his porn company with a newly created Wrestling company and from there the XPW was born. XPW was a very ambitious, too ambitious project, so much that it sought to give a product for adults and seek to overcome ECW as a form of revenge. Sadly for Black, the XPW had problems with the FBI for everything your company was doing. You could say that Rob tried to hit a wrestling giant. Nowadays, it continues to do events, clearly not with the same intensity and impact as 20 years ago. I cannot believe that Rob is still stubborn to give us the XPW in 1000 versions of this."

[0.0] "XPW, what a freakin' cesspool this is. Even without the terrible politics in it, Rob Black is the scummiest promoter then and now. There's nothing to describe Rob Black other than him being one of the biggest scumbags in wrestling right now. I'd rather watch Combat Zone or Game Changer rather than this crap, their booking is terrible, Black's current wife is their TV Champion (810 days WASTED) for some reason. Don't get me started with their Twitter being filled with the most usual far-right MAGA bullshit. This company is alive because sleazy Black just keeps coming and he doesn't know how to stop, and that's a bad thing. XPW is nothing but some edgy West Coast kid that tried to copy what the cool kid (ECW) was doing, then failing miserably."

"Wasn't even a pimple on the ass of ECW, complete garbage promotion run by a pornographer who literally paid his talent with porn DVD's. Tried to capitalize on the popularity of ECW but failed despite stealing a bunch of their roster. I have no idea why Shane Douglas agreed to work there and even book the shows for a period."

[1.0] "One of the many, many, many hardcore wrestling promotions that cropped up the late-90s to capitalize on the success ECW. Ran by notorious scumbag Rob Black, XPW tried to be the west-coast ECW, even invading Heatwave 2000 in a desperate attempt for relevance. The promotion was plagued with bad booking, bad wrestling, and happily died in 2003 when Rob got himself into trouble over his god-awful porn films. Somehow XPW was resurrected in 2021 and it is still as atrocious as before. If you want to watch deathmatch wrestling, I would not recommend XPW at all."

[4.0] "had a bad experience but im going to try and give this company some grace even with the booker being someone I do not like at all the more I look into him and some people like the body being on shows. I feel like I get the atmosphere and im going to try and enjoy myself but right now im leaving my rating as is. there show after the show I went to looked a lot cleaner in everything really (dont think thats saying much as I hated the Los Angeles church show but I also didnt watch like the last 3 matches) and that helped. I just hope I can actually watch and keep outside shit outside and just have a fun night of wrestling and violence. idk I could be way to hopeful. I am not the biggest fan of the subscription service. the idea is there but the interface doesnt feel the cleanest and its not really trying to show off anything that isn't new and it feels hard to search for older stuff. im actually curious to see the history like with Kidd Kaos, Supreme. you know trying to see what they were doing in the past. maybe they could think about doing best of matches for retired people. will say I do not at. all intend to listen too the podcast lol I get hes trying to promote it but im not trying to hear rob blacks thought ion the election when Im looking for wrestling/death matches. maybe id want to hear his opionon on death matches and some history but it seems he steers off that alot. will update this review. EDIT: they are slowly improving. there was a show I hated and then tried to rewatch but couldn't cause of the stream quality. from there theyve been making improvements and having the card not feel grimy in a sense. I hope they keep at it. n nothing to over the line has happened in the new run from what ive seen (you can find like a 2 dozen crazy stories about XPW in the 1st run) I guess you can say I can make it a guilty pleasure but not yet."

[1.0] "Only familiar with the og run, garbage wrestling trying to be ECW but lacking the talented roster. Load of rubbish."

[0.0] "How this awful promotion has managed to survive, I do not really know. It was terrible when it first opened, and somehow today, it's even worse. It doesn't help that Rob Black, piece of runny excrement that he is, is a criminal and member of a cult. It's rare that I would ever hope for this, but I sincerely hope they got out of business."

"Perhaps the most bottom of the barrel, desperate, and pathetic wrestling there is. While the original iteration actually used to have some good wrestlers and had a certain endearing charm going for it inspite of its grime and sleaze, the current iteration is just sad and embarrassing and devoid of anything worthwhile. When I say sleaze and grime, I'm not talking about the pornstars or the rampant violence. I love pornstars and rampant violence. What I am referring to is the MAGA politics that will alienate anyone with half a brain and the involvement of creeps and criminals both backstage and in the ring. Even if you agree with the politics of horrible piece of excrement, Robb Black, do you really think the politics espoused on these shows are going to be relevant in ten or fifteen years? Who am I kidding, they don't know how to read. Now, bad political beliefs and criminal activity is hardly unique to XPW in the history of wrestling, but at least other promotions have had some halfway decent wrestling to make up for it. Not XPW. Really, really, really bad deathmatch wrestling involving rejects that the rest of the industry doesn't want anything to do with, held in disgusting squalors in front of miniscule crowds of deplorable, stereotypically unwashed wrestling fans the rest of us don't want to be associated with. Every once in a while a somewhat talented wrestler will debase themselves enough to "wrestle" for XPW, reminding you that wrestling is still full of shameless carnies inspite of is attempts to reform itself in the public image. If you need inspiration to take a shower, watching an XPW show will never make you feel clean enough again."

[0.0] "An awful promoter and person booking a bunch of terrible people. The only upside to this is that when things constantly go wrong, you don't have to feel bad about who they happen to. Guy accidentally sets himself on fire? Well he was outed for abuse so no real worry there (plus he did the fire spot and it backfired somehow? ). Don't watch, hope it gets shut down for good."

[0.0] "People have almost died multiple times in this company, and I feel like none of those incidents are brought up enough in a world where people are not too shy to constantly bring up the ECW Mass Transit incident (hey, the guy involved in that is involved in one of those incidents here that I'm talking about! What a wooooorld! ). I don't have a problem with deathmatches, and yes, I mean REAL deathmatches that respect the niche. XPW is full of just straight up nonsense and egregious spots that are only violent or gross, and make no sense in the world of wrestling. But, I am not the least bit surprised considering who the owner is."

[0.0] "Rob Black is a Piece of Shit, and XPW is somehow *WORSE* than it was in 2001. Shame that MASADA and Shlak have basically been confined to here, and it's only a matter of time until the entirety of the Speaking Out Movement shows up because "You can't cancel me" Fuck Rob Black, Fuck XPW."

[0.0] "This federation is the worst ever federation ive seen in wrestling, the things that were showcased here are... no... really... just no... this shit is definietly not for me and I hate the fact people are booked in federation like that, even after ages when XPW returned, weve got some... I'm not gonna even say it, but the spot with someone nuts... that was hurting my eyes when I saw it, I cant take this federation for real."

[2.0] "Get 2 bums off the street, offer them a piece of pizza and voila, you can have your exclusive XPW match ready. If there was a term to refer to the opposite of wrestling, it would probably be XPW, or anti-wrestling. Even in the underground world of deathmatches, it is interesting to see how a product as mediocre as this company exists. I give it 2 points because 5% of the time it's fun to watch them kill each other."

[1.0] "XPW is the epitomize of the lowest common denominator. Its a promotion based fully on shock value. Even in deathmatch, that can only take you so far. XPW gets boring very quickly. Meh."

"Omg seeing all the comments from the new age Nancy boy deathmatch thinks spouting their hatred for Rob Black is hilarious! XPW was great back in the day. Every time I found a new XPW DVD at FYE I'd scoop that shit up and be stoked to get home and watch it, and it NEVER DISAPPOINTED! It was brutal, shocking, wild and intriguing. Everything I wanted in my Deathmatch wrestling. The new reboot of XPW is no different. Great, entertaining product that is just as brutal and shocking as the original. Great to see them book guys like Necro Butcher and Drake Younger and not pander to the douchebag cancel culture pansies that make up a growing portion of the Deathmatch community. XPW is bringing Deathmatch back to its ROOTS and I'm here for it!"

[0.0] "The lowest of the low, genuinely one of the most reprehensible wrestling promotions to ever exist. Terrible owner, terrible wrestlers (both as wrestlers and as people), terrible everything. Just utterly vile. Fairly or not, I give any wrestler that works there a massive side eye."

[0.0] "Basically the stupid stepchild of ECW. Actually, I take that back. The stupid byproduct of CZW and IWA Mid-South. Another hardcore promotion run by a total scumbag."

[0.0] "Bottom of the barrel trash wrestling that employs wrestlers that have been charged with domestic violence."

[0.0] "Horrific, horrendous, disgusting. Wtf is the promotion. Just awful, I wish there were negative numbers because XPW deserves it."

[0.0] "I'll never understand how this company can continue to exist, yet we had to lose ECW. I would've preferred seeing this company sink, even when it was still a second-rate Heyman ripoff show, and since it's return, it's become a festering boil on the ass of not just wrestling, but society as a whole. The day this company inevitably files for bankruptcy, I'll be a happier wrestling fan to say the least."

[0.0] "This might be the one, the all-time worst Pro-Wrestling promotion. Even the corniest, most cliché Wrestlicious-style company couldn't compete with this one."

[0.0] "Lmao it's incredible that wrestlers or fans would give xpw the time of day. Beyond the general shittiness of dudes like Masada or Rob Black, there's just not a whole lot going on that's interesting"

[0.0] "Fuck this promotion and everything to do with it, it started as a wannabe ECW but it just turned into a pile of dogshit. Horrible gimmicks, horrible wrestling, and horrible people."

[0.0] "This promotion was absolutely insane and not in a good way. Company did not care about the safety of the workers at all. Had multiple gruesome moments in its history and not enough good wrestling to justify that."

[7.0] "It was a company of shock and awe, XPW is now trying to become something different with an actual focus on wrestling. Bit sadly Rob Black is still meddling with xpw and screwing things up, making them more convoluted then it needs to be. Updating it now that the new shows ate going on are amazing, XPW actually feels like a real company now and not garbage. Rob Black still meddling with stuff though."

[0.0] "WOW! What a shit promotion. Even if we disregard the fact that the promotion was just basically the stupid stepchild of ECW, the owner from everything I have heard is a real POS human being. Wouldn't patronize this MOFO if I had all the world's currency."

[1.0] "Began as an ECW immitation. When I heard it was coming back I'd hoped it'd be revamped for the present, but it's the exact same unwatchable content as before it folded. I love wrestling in all its forms, except XPW. I simply can't find anything good about it, even when they book great talent."

[0.0] "The owner is an terrible human being who employees equally terrible human beings. The company itself is another ECW wannabe."

[1.0] "A knockoff ECW with none of the charisma, star power or prestige as the original. And ran by a degenerate, sleazy, douchey porn director who fancied himself as the second coming of Paul E. Let it be said that there was only ever one promotion that made ECW look like it was the big leagues and that was XPW. Rob Black if you can read this, go fuck yourself you pitiful excuse for a human being. The only reason XPW doesn't rate an absolute 0 is because it gave guys like Messiah exposure and an audience."

"XPW is like a car crash, something you don't want to see, but can't look away from. From porn star valets, to deathmatch tournaments, to being a stop off for former ECW stars and upcoming talent...they had a bit of everything. While I didn't care much for trying to up the ante on the ultra violence, I did enjoy some of the characters that came out of there. From The Messiah to "White Trash" Johnny Webb and Kaos, these were fun personas you wouldn't see on a normal wrestling program. As I said, XPW was a car crash, you don't know why you'd watch, but couldn't look away."

[0.0] "Truly horrible. I do not watch hardcore bullshit wrestling and nor do i respect it but that's not the reason i give this promotion a big ole ZERO. The owners were the most unprofessional douchebags ever who just thought 'oh, ECW did very well and it's a good idea to make this garbage more extreme and have people literally throw each other off of a 40 foot high scaffold. ' Although some talented wrestlers did the mistake of joining the promotion, the production and the booking was so awful that it didn't matter if they had any decent wrestlers in the company. The camerawork was so poor that half of the time you couldn't even see what was going on in the ring. Unfortunately had segments with awful sleazy pornstar humor. Also Rob Black is a horrible person who has been involved in numerous scandals and had his employee's finger cut off in order to give him a lesson for sleeping with his wife. How classy."

[0.0] "A history of dangerous and unnecessary stunts. Awful owners, infamous matches. Sure, there were a few good matches, but at what cost."

[7.0] "This promotion is pretty good. Even though it was ran a porno guy, they had decent wrestling and some old ECW guys. The production quality was really good and had some good storylines. It was cool to see the deathmatch tournaments too. Not as violent as CZW, IWA MS, GCW but not bad. One problem was that a lot of their big stars didn't stay long and some of the matches weren't very good. While some wrestling wasn't great and was sloppy, they did have guys like M Dogg 20, Josh Prohibition, and Jonny Storm who put on excellent matches and others like Koas, Messiah, and Homeless Jimmy were real good."

[0.0] "XPW was a promotion that was filled with terrible wrestlers, and it was owned by a terrible human being."

[8.0] "XPW as its most commonly known (The first 3 LA years) was a company that was based on characters, entertainment and memorable moments rather than conventional wrestling. They brought big production shows and big money to the West Coast wrestling scene at a time when nearly every other company was running with small budget in small buildings in front of smaller crowds. XPW was one of the biggest companies in US at the time. They tried to jump on the wave of momentum created by ECW. Yeah sure, but people need to understand that XPWŽs product (from 1999-mid 2002) was completely different. It was way more darker, x-rated and differently booked & presented. It had a unique Cali-LA vibe to it. Comparing everything to ECW is lazy just because they used some of the same ME guys/also did bold stuff. XPW did FMW style deathmatches. XPW put lots of effort in to creating different unique characters and made creative promo videos for almost every wrestler in their company. Imo XPWŽs mistakes were abandoning their LA roots & trying to move in to the East Coast, and spending too much money, and not pushing local talent enough. The back office situation also became problematic. There is so many misinformed people telling false rumors, lies and myths about XPW. They did have some good local/homegrown talent like Kaos, Luke Hawx, Vic Grimes, The Messiah, Nosawa, Mexicos Most Wanted etc. XPW has its place in wrestling history. Many could learn from their production and ambition. They showed how to market a product for adult audience and created their own world. VitruvioK wrote: "With no XPW there would be no Combat Zone Wrestling. " - This is a crazy statement and makes no sense. CZW started at the East Coast in NJ as a wrestling school in 98Ž before XPW started at the West Coast. CZW starting with Zandig has no relation to XPW or to the West Coast. Also their products were completely different. In closing: at its best XPW was an exciting alternative."

[6.0] "A promotion that is on EWR is a promotion that has made a name for itself, no doubt about it. With no XPW there would be no Combat Zone Wrestling. Better? Worse? dk, but it's a fact."

[8.0] "XPW was far from perfect, but carried the hardcore torch in the early 2000s. Great mix of veterans and young talents. XPW brought insane deathmatches and some interesting characters (to say the least)."

[0.0] "Horrible promotion. They had some very talented wrestlers but the shows were just so boring. Their attempt at a new ECW failed horribly and poor booking really caused its downfall. The matches that were supposed to be extreme were definitely disappointing and not like an extreme match should be."

[1.0] "XPW aimed to be a sleazier, more extreme version of ECW, but missed the point that it wasn't the grittiness or extreme violence that made ECW great, it was the excellent booking and compelling storylines. To be sure, some good talent - including ex-ECW and WCW stars, as well as independent talent - passed through XPW, but it wasn't enough to make up for poor writing, poor production values and general irresponsibility. I guess when you look at who was running this thing, nothing should be surprising."

[0.0] "Garbage Los Angeles area promotion that hired ECW wrestlers, yet had terrible matches up and down the card. Advertised a bloody and uncensored Super Crazy match on a DVD. It was censored. Notorious porn scumbag/XPW owner Rob Zicari is believed to have hired two men to invade former XPW wrestler Messiah's home in order to cut of his thumb and possibly, his phallus. Messiah was able to thwart off his attackers, but only after they cut off his digit."

[0.0] "XPW was the absolute worst wrestling promotions of all time. It was run by two of the worst human beings to have ever been involved in the business, the storys were more akin to sleazy direct to video movies and pornography than wrestling, an assortment of poorly used pro wrestlers, and some of the worst matches I have seen in my life. Those 18 people who rated it higher than 2, may I please smoke what you are smoking? Do not watch this promotion. Not out of curiosity, not out of intrigue, not even in a historical sense. There is nothing for you here except pain and misery."

[2.0] "Straight up garbage everything sucked. Some higher named talent should be ashamed to have worked there."

[3.0] "Originally this place sucked. Was completely terrible and embarrassing to pro wrestling. It redeemed itself under Shane Douglas, who was marginally smarter than the previous owner Rob Zicari, who was and is a POS human being."