Subhojeet Mukherjee on February 18, 2024
WWE Hall of Famer Afa Anoa’i has accomplished a lot in the business and he trained the pro wrestlers of tomorrow in his promotion WxW. Unfortunately, he has recently announced that the promotion will be shutting down this year.
Afa Jr. took to his Facebook and expressed his emotions in a letter, reflecting on his lifelong involvement in pro wrestling and the significant role his father, Afa the Wild Samoan, played in building a wrestling dynasty. He revealed that WxW will be shutting down after April 13th, which will be the promotion’s last show.
Long post warning lol ”I’ve been trying to find the right words for this letter for a few hours now and I’m struggling! Emotions are running wild within me. So please bear with me, this might get a little long.”
”My whole life, literally! Every single day of my life has involved Pro Wrestling. And i really mean that literally, as my Father Afa the Wild Samoan was released from his contract at the time with the WWF for leaving tour to watch my birth! And as we all know, my pops getting fired on my birth would never stop him from building a Dynasty. And that was a work in progress long before that Oct 1984 night.”
Recounting his childhood immersed in wrestling, he shared memories of training in the Connecticut backyard, moving to Pennsylvania, and the establishment of an official training center under Jordan Lanes in Allentown, PA. Afa Jr. acknowledged his father’s impact on WWE’s developmental camp and successful promotions like TWWF & WXW, where active WWE wrestlers performed in independent events.
”I’ll sum up my childhood real quick for you all. It’s very simple. Pro Wrestling! I was literally in a ring before I could walk on my own, because we had a ring in our back yard! My father would train and mold our entire family in that Connecticut back yard. All my cousins from Yokozuna to Rikishi, and my brothers Sam and Lloyd, and all of pops friends and potential prospects just trying to get their feet in the door. Until we moved to Pennsylvania and my pops had an official training center under Jordan Lanes in Allentown PA! That’s where i really began to understand the importance of my fathers role in this industry. At that time, my father was really setting the standard in pro wrestling training as he was the original WWE developmental camp.”
”At that time he was the only sanctioned camp in the world backed by WWE themselves. And to think, all this started in a Connecticut back yard! And sure enough, my father was back on the road with WWE managing my Brother and Cousin as THE HEADSHRINKERS. The funny thing is thou, Pops never slowed down! He kept is training center open and offered a place for the superstars to train. And he was also a successful pro wrestling promoter (TWWF & WXW) who kept the Allentown/North East Pa Wrestling territory alive even after Wwe left. Pops would run shows that would feature active WWE wrestlers! We have had so many contracted wrestlers on my fathers events it’s crazy to look back!”
”People like, Owen Hart, Yokozuna, Rikishi, Savio Vega, Bruno Sammartino, Dlo Brown, Mark Henry, The Rock, Undertaker, Kane, Roaddogg, Chris Jericho, Mick Foley, Eddie Guerrero, Too Cool, like literally I can keep going all day long but you get the idea! All contracted wrestlers performing in the independent level for our fans! My father pulled that off! And there hasn’t been an independent promoter since able to accomplish that neither! And that’s just the contracted lol not even to mention the ones that would leave my fathers company and head into superstardom! Guys and girls like, Billy Kidman, Kanyon, Snitsky, Eric Young, Beth Pheonix, Matt Striker, Gail Kim, Mercedes Martinez, Low Ki, Homicide, Trent Acid, Umaga, Rosey and Batista. And trust me. I’ve left a lot out of this one too lol.”
”Fast forward a bunch of venue changes and locations, pops settled in down in Minneola Fla where we kept WXW alive. While down there he continued to train superstars of today while promoting shows at his local city hall. My father has trained and groomed literally thousands of people within our great industry. Not just stars! But everyone in between because for every one star my dad would train, there was hundreds and hundreds of others as well.”
Afa Jr. thanked his father for providing a platform for dream-chasers, wrestlers, and fans and bid a fond farewell to WXW, recognizing it as one of the greatest wrestling companies.
”Last night at his WXW event he announced that he will be closing WXW and April 13th will be the final WXW event ever! I never thought i would see a day where WXW wasn’t there! This announcement caught me off guard and really I’ve been struggling to process it. WXW has always been more than some indy to me. WXW was always more than the training center. WXW was my safe place, my escape, my home team! I represented WXW just as proudly as I’ve represented the worlds top company. And i did that with pride! WXW is home to me. But like all great things, time waits for nothing! And it’s time for WxW to take its place among the stars as one of the GREATEST professional wrestling companies to ever open!”
”The memories WXW have created over the years will last forever! So thank you to my father, for giving so many people a place to chase their dreams! Thank you to all the wrestlers over the years! You all have impacted our lives in so many ways. Thank you to all the fans and friends and family who have supported WXW all these years! Thank you to WXW for giving me my start and everything i know about this great industry! Thank you to all of the help who have helped in any way! Thank you to all of the sponsors and production teams and agents and all the back stage stuff that’s important to keeping things going. Thank you to everyone who took the time to read this! I’ll sign off with this! It’s something I’ll never forget and it’s something i know a-lot within remember as well!”
“The Bigger, the Best! BETTER THEN THE REST!”
farewell WXW! I miss you already!
Love
Afa Jr
(First ever WXW Grand Slam Champion)”
This is certainly sad news as WxW truly helped train so many professional wrestlers who would go on to become major players in the business. Nonetheless, all things come to an end and fans will now appreciate the promotion for its contributions to the industry over the years.
What do you think of WxW shutting down for good? What is your favorite memory from the promotion? Let us know in the comments section below!
February 18, 2024 3:36 pm
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