The AIWA In Arizona

For many years the AIWA out of Maywood, California was a credible Indy promotion, runnign shows in the Los Angeles suburbs and airing their product on public access cable.  Dr, Jerry Graham did his last stint as a wrestler here, relying on name value alone and having little more to give. The late Stephen de Leon had several main events for this office, prior to dying in a nasty motorcycle wreck. Thrillseeker Terry Zeller, Victor Rivera, Harry Hell, The Mercenaries, Badd Blood, Bubba Storm, Rainbow, Guerrero Azteca, Super Chicano, Bubba  Storm, Mark Kissel, Tec 9,  Steve Dalton, Country Boy Calhoun, Luscious Laura, Alex Knight, Tormenta, The Universal Playboy, The Samoan Bulldog, Spike Cantillo, Handsome Jack Studd, Johnny Legend, The Sewer Rat, The Ballards, Flame, The Duchess of Discipline, MTV, The Time Traveler, Lightning Cheryl Russo, Athena 2000, Chris Daniels and Thrashmaster were just some of the crew. Ed Ahrens had a good thing going with his promotion.

In the late 1990s, the AIWA made efforts to run seem shows in Arizona, though invading the state was not  an objective. They simply sold shows to various fund-raising groups on the Colorado River, which were not terribly far from their home base.

Aside from Jack Studd, Tec 9 and their other regulars, Ahrens booked some Arizona people from Phoenix for these cards as well. The Navajo Kid (later known as The Navajo Warrior), The Soviet and The Ranger to round out the deal.

For better or worse, some of the AIWA action may be seen on the DVD, 50 Years of Arizona Wrestling,  via http://www.prowrestligndvds.com

The office could have developed a strong base in Arizona had he wanted to, but Ahrens did not seem to see this as his calling. Thus, the AIWA continued to draw well in California without ever gaining a strong grip on neighboring Arizona.