The Invasion of Kick Ass Wrestling

As a teenager my life was pro-wrestling, and thankfully I found myself living in Memphis, Tennessee which was home to two major wrestling promotions at the time. There was Power Pro Wrestling, which was a feeder organization into the WWF that aired Saturday mornings, and then there was Kick Ass Wrestling, Memphis' own version of ECW which aired at 1:30 AM on Sunday mornings. Over time, there was some financial disagreements, and Kick Ass Wrestling was bought and turned into Memphis Championship Wrestling and Power Pro Wrestling collapsed. KAW only operated for a few short years (I think the TV tapings lasted around eighteen months), but it made an impact. The wrestling was dirty, violent, and tapings were often held in bars or at the New Daisy Theater. The opening segment was beautifully edited to AC/DC's Shoot to Thrill (which of course is muted on all the YouTube videos 🤬) and the entire show felt on the verge of being out of control. It was clearly a low-rent ECW, but it was my ECW…