HARDCORE X -- An X Wrestling Event... presented by XWA

World X Title Match
In a match for the ages, Chad Adams came out hot. Clearly trying to establish himself as the aggressor and set the tone early on. Buck Dewitt was having none of it and fought off the assault with his usual bullying tactics. The Cornerstone found himself trapped in a corner absorbing multiple hard chops several times, but he took it like a champ and battled back repeatedly. A powerbomb and several hard stomps kept Bruiser dominating until his opponent managed to get to the outside and slow his momentum.

Adams used his superior skills to turn the tables on the bigger man with fast moving attacks including dropkicks and knee strikes and even a nasty lariat. Dewitt struggled to keep up after taking a few knee stomps and surviving a figure four leglock. The two got into a brief back and forth slugfest which saw Dewitt regaining the upper hand, but it was short lived as The Cornerstone ducked away and used a back elbow smash and a second rope double axe handle to set up the Adam Bomb.

"The Cornerstone" Chad Adams is the new World X Champion

Hardcore Free-for-All
An enclosed steel cage was set up for the main event, and wrestlers were encouraged to bring the weapon of their choice. Over 50 combatants entered the cage with baseball bats, steel chairs, kendo sticks, crowbars, what appeared to be a table leg, brass knuckles, a leather strap of some kind, a fire extinguisher, a screwdriver, one guy wrapped his fist with barbed wire, and even a bowling ball found its way into the cage.

At one point, "Bad to the Bone" Marowak Black and Syrian Assassin teamed up for several eliminations including Falcon and Misthios Elias Lysander. In other action, Wiseau Sirius beat down "The Blueprint" Curtis Adams using a crowbar to deal some serious damage. Creeping Death crept up on Merwin Shakyleg Dupry and sent him home with two shaky legs courtesy of a Louisville slugger. Meanwhile, Rostam the Unbreakable and Colossal Machine used nearly every weapon available to wage their own private little war. And Maquina Sombra nearly killed Spencer Beaumont with the aforementioned bowling ball. In the end, it was Masked Hollywood in the cage with the table leg who secured the victory!

Masked Hollywood is XWA's first ever Gen X Hardcore Champion

-- X Wrestling

IWAR MAGAZINE (updated 9/15)

"Gold Tuesday is here, and you know what that means... questioning all your hold decisions until the values are posted.

"The 248th edition of the IWAR Magazine features the BWL's leading lady, Mother Dee, who is pulling double duty, as she holds the IWA Women's Championship and the IWAR Women's World Championship... at the same time! Her rise to the top has put her up against the biggest names and brightest stars, but she's managed to come out on top nearly every time. Now she is looking to lap the competition and earn the 2026 BWL Wrestler of the Year honor, and with her track record, who would doubt her?

"The IWAR's Fall Events (Bound for Glory, the Tag-team Derby, and the Triple D Cup Trios Tournament) roll into round two, and we'll see who hits the high score (and the IWA Credit!). Speaking of...

"The IWAR Draft Preview Issue is here. A big 'thank you' to every player who signed up to join this great event. Since we hit the needed number of entries (35), it triggered ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED! So now, this event includes the bonus prizes of $100 in IWA Credit and a real championship belt! Everyone should check out the profiles of all the wrestlers and then next week, we will hold the IWAR Draft (on the 23rd, most likely, but hey, things happen, so stay tuned). Who will go first?

"This issue also features a profile on Double D Christoph, who is retiring into the IWA Hall of Fame, so take a moment to read about his exciting career and learn more about this rugged superstar.

"We also have an ImagiClash to follow up on, so check out the rankings, and in our next issue, we will announce the 9th Ladder Match Battle Royal details, so don't miss out.

"Join us WEDNESDAY night, September 16th, for the LIVE edition of the IWAR Tubecast, hosted by Alex G, with Matt and any of the Creative Team members who can make the show thanks to school vacation, as we review the results, IWAR news, and Johnny B's IWA Trivia (featuring Johnny B himself offering behind-the-scenes IWA secrets, factoids, and other random fun), respond to unfiltered feedback from our players in the live chat window, and add in the usual nonsense and gibberish. It was a good run of 98 episodes, but we pulled the plug on the IWAR Gold Strategy Workshop with strategy expert Mike Cook as a result of the chaotic results in the past six months. That said, we are not leaving players in the dark, as we have created the IWAR Cheat Sheet, and if you want to get a copy of it before the next cycle, drop me a line. Our shows about How to Win in the IWA and the Multi-man Special are still available. (Both YouTube links will open in new browser windows. The IWA is not responsible for their content.)

"The IWAR Creative Team -- Mike, Derek, Scott, Jeremy, Aaron, Alex, Patrick, Ryan, Tom, Dan, Derek (no, the other one), Rob, Darren, Garrie, and I -- would like to thank our players for making the IWAR Network the best place to play in the IWA."

-- IWAR Commissioner Matt Riley

(For the latest issue, right click HERE and choose "Save Target As..." You will be downloading a PDF file with a size of 6.9MB.)

PLAYER RANKINGS WITH CLASS (updated 9/13)

Manager "Dr. Pain" Mark Duchaine has created an app that introduces the concept of weight classes (based on total roster size) into the unofficial player rankings, which aim to gauge performance in the game by number of major title victories. Wondering how you stack up using his version? Click HERE for the overall standings for the entire year thus far, HERE for his rankings that focus solely on the women's titles, HERE for those that only count men's singles gold, HERE for his rankings restricted to the men's tag belts, and HERE for the standings based on just the World and U.S. Six-man Championships. For his list of stables ranked by average points per wrestler, click HERE.

Note that Mark's system does not award bonus points for winning the same team titles more than once in a given cycle, unlike the other player-made rankings.

THIS SITE IS HISTORY (focused)

If you love the IWA and you're not familiar with the IWA History Site, then you should be! The site is home to the official unofficial manager rankings that players have been using for decades -- no bias, no rule changes, just plain old points counting using the systems that were designed by the players, for the players! These rankings are updated each and every cycle before getting published in the IWA Report, and you can even find a list of each year's official rankings going all the way back to 1991!

The website isn't all rankings, though: you can also find an assortment of player records, all-time majors winners, player awards, annual contest results, and Commissioner title lineages for every league going back to 2021 -- and for some, going back much further!

Go visit the site at https://tzwainfo.wixsite.com/pbm-history-site/iwa and bookmark it today! Also, be sure to reach out to the site operator if you have any history you believe would be valuable to add to the site or even if you just want to join the efforts and help track some stuff down!

(Note: The link will open in a new browser window. The IWA is not responsible for its content.)

WOMEN'S CONTEST OF CHAMPIONS (updated 7/30)

For the latest results, right click HERE and choose "Save Target As..."

DON'T DODGE A POSSIBLE $100 IN IWA CREDIT & CHAMPIONSHIP BELT!

The IWAR Network is extending an invite to join the 2026 IWAR Draft to everyone in the IWA who is looking for leagues that are competitive, creative, and fun. This is the 10th IWAR Draft, and the setup is simple: players enter a wrestler into the draft by sending us their name, picture, and a promo (up to one full page) in which the wrestler does their best to convince the IWAR commissioners that they are worth choosing. This is a legit event, so we don't know who is going to pick whom until it happens. Below is a link to the 2026 IWAR Draft Kit, which has details on how the draft works, the history of the previous nine IWAR Drafts, and a list of wrestlers who have declared so far.

Here are the important dates to know:

• Jul. 22 (today): You have nearly 30 days to decide which wrestler(s) you are going to enter.
• Aug. 20: The deadline to submit a wrestler or team (three wrestlers max.) for the draft arrives.
• Sep. 15: The IWAR Magazine's "IWAR Draft Special" is posted, containing all the promos from the 2026 Draft Class.
• Sep. 23: The IWAR Draft is held on the IWAR Network Tubecast.
• Oct. 6: The IWAR Draft contest begins, consisting of four cycles of competition.

A player may enter up to three wrestlers into the IWAR Draft, but if you want to enter more than one and have them all be drafted, you'll need to submit a pic and promo for each. If you want both/all to go to the same league, then just enter one wrestler, since they will only be able to be drafted once. (If you've already entered multiple wrestlers and don't want them split into different leagues, let us know.) Draftees can be existing wrestlers or new ones. You can tout their IWA records, wins, resume, or talk about what this new wrestler will do when they debut (this is also a great way to return to the game!). All drafted wrestlers must remain in the IWAR Network for the duration of the event to see who can collect the most IWAR Rankings points over four cycles, which are earned on the leagues' title pages and in the IWA Report (NWL rookies are allowed to stay in the NWL until they've reached their contract limit, and their title wins will still count toward the IWAR Draft scoring). The wrestler with the most points at the end of the four-cycle period will be named the winner of the IWAR Draft. Draft picks can be traded, as can wrestlers who have already been drafted, until the final pick has been announced. *** League transfers are free for this event only. *** Wrestlers are expected to stay in their new leagues for at least 12 cycles of activity as a way to help the league they've been drafted into.

Prizes: The winner of the draft will earn an IWAR World Championship match, be featured on the cover of the IWAR Magazine, and if there are at least five rounds' worth of wrestlers to draft (35 or more), then the prize pool will get a boost: there will be $100 in IWA credit at stake, as well as a REAL championship belt for the winner! (We currently have 21 entries, with 29 days to go. That is just 14 more players, so we are very close to making it happen.)

Thanks for reading. We hope you will join in the fun!

-- Matt Riley, IWAR Commissioner

(For the kit, right click HERE and choose "Save Target As..." You will be downloading a PDF file with a size of 493KB.)

FREE WRESTLER IMAGES FOR IWA MANAGERS!

Darrin Maurer is generously allowing all IWA players to use his AI-created wrestler photos in their trash talk, free of charge! Head over to his Facebook page, AI Original Pro Wrestlers, and see if any would be a good fit for a character on your roster. While you're there, don't forget to like and follow, because he adds new images all the time.

Thanks for supporting the game, Darrin!

(The link will open in a new browser window. The IWA is not responsible for its content.)

THE UNOFFICIAL HOW TO WIN IN THE IWA GUIDE V2.0 (updated 5/1/25)

Learning the ropes in a game where those ropes are imaginary can be confusing. Back in 2018, an unofficial How to Win in the IWA video was published to help. Now, a mere seven years later, IWA Strategy Expert Mike Cook and IWAR Commissioner Matt Riley have streamlined the video to get players started down the path to higher scores. Good luck!

(Click HERE for the YouTube page. This link will open in a new browser window. The IWA is not responsible for its content.)

SPECIAL EDITION OF THE IWAR MAGAZINE: IWA TURNS 38, BRL HITS 600! (updated 4/10/23)

"This special edition of the IWAR Magazine that acts as the Unofficial History of the IWA starts in 1985 and honors the Battle Royal League reaching its 600th cycle of competition by following the growth of the game through the events, changes, wrestlers, rivalries, and more. We hope you will enjoy this trip down memory lane, and the odds are good that you will see some names you recognize. This is an update to the 2017 edition, so if you saw it before, check it out again and see all that we've added.

"Thanks to all the people who've played in the IWA and have helped to make the game so much fun."
-- IWAR Commissioner Matt Riley

For this issue, right click HERE and choose "Save Target As..." (you will be downloading a PDF file with a size of 9.8MB).