When the Hall of Saints is closed, the hardcore shall walk amongst the living…. and then entertain them once again on home video. UWA Hardcore’s triumphant return is now available to buy on the glorious format of DVD [Eat it Blu-ray, your small victory over HD-DVD proves nothing!] featuring the backstage antics of UWA’s regular cast of hooligans and the breathtaking art of Mr. Derek Laufman. Epic much? Yes, but Derek’s art on this release truly is amazing, especially for fans of George Romero and the Zombie genre.
After being unexpectedly stripped of their beloved St. John’s Hall back in mid-2007, UWA Hardcore was put into hibernation until early January, when Osiris and Joe E. Slick, UWA’s owners, announced that the fed had found a new home at Downsview Park in Toronto. With the stage set for an emotional return, UWA burst back onto the scene with a fairly strong show. Fans were treated to the surprise returns of both Petey Williams, who had not been seen in UWA since 2006, and UWA Lightweight Champ Horimi Horiguchi, who wasn’t announced nor expected to make the trip from Japan. There were a few kinks in the show to be worked out, but after being out of action for so long and debuting in a new venue, it was about as good as a return as UWA could have hoped for. The potential is definitely there for UWA to expand to new heights not yet reached by the fed.
UWA has begun producing highlight reels of their shows, with Resurrection being the first. Click here to pick up the show and to see the matches of UWA Hardcore Resurrection. Highlight reel after the break on the YouTube-powered Jeritron 100.
Jump forward to the summer of 2003. UWA Hardcore has debuted and is making a name for itself on the Ontario independent wrestling scene. Long before the UWA would begin to scout talent from across North America, all of the competitors were from the local area. Standing tall among them [not literally, but you know what I mean] was the Blue Jabroni. The showcase of UWA’s inaugural show, First Encounter, was a match pitting Blue Jabroni against Tyler Sylus, the fed’s current champion and top heel. Jabroni failed to capture the title that night, but he continued to hover at the top of the rankings for a lengthy period of time. Refocusing himself on UWA’s upcoming Grand Prix 2003, he culminated his year by taking home the tournament’s trophy, and in the process, defeated the man who had given him the opportunity to do it all, Osiris. Then, with his newly won trophy in hand, he disappeared without a trace from the bright lights of UWA.
