Cody Rhodes could be prepared to revive Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling, the promotion founded by his father ‘American Dream’ Dusty Rhodes.
Recently, Rhodes and his Nightmare Factory partner QT Marshall filed a trademark for the term ‘Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling’ for entertainment services and merchandising. The filing specifically refers to “wrestling contests” and “exhibits” as applicable to the TCW term.
Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling
Dusty Rhodes started making plans for TCW in 1999 and would establish offices in East Cobb County, Georgia. At the time, Rhodes described his idea for the new promotion as “old school but with modern ideas.” The first TCW event took place in July 2000 and saw Glacier win a tournament to become the first TCW Heavyweight Champion.
The following year, TCW would host its first pay-per-view, and would also begin airing on TV. In March of 2001, Scott “The Clap” Anton and “The Extreme Dream” Erik Watts became the first TCW Tag Team Champions defeating Glacier and Jorge Estrada.
With the demise of WCW and ECW, TCW welcomed talent that the WWF did not pick up. In an August 2001 interview with Greg Oliver, Dustin Rhodes had high praise for TCW.
“TCW is the alternative to the World Wrestling Federation. To me in my mind, my opinion, and my dad’s opinion, we are the World Wrestling Federation’s competition. We are not an independent, we are a company. We want to be treated as one.”
The original TCW saw several notable names compete, including Scott Hall, ‘Hacksaw’ Jim Duggan, New Jack, Leilani Kai, Daffney, and Steve Corino. Years before he’d make it big as part of TNA Wrestling, James Storm would compete during the latter stages of the company.
The Nightmare Factory
The Nightmare Factory is Rhodes and Marshall’s training school based in Norcross, Georgia. Training seminars often feature notable names in professional wrestling, including Rhodes, Marshall, and Jerry Lynn. The Nightmare Factory is currently accepting applicants for their 2024 class.
