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85-564: Pro Wrestling eXpress was established by Jim Miller and Sean "Shocker" Evans in 1994. A wrestling school, the PWX Academy, was subsequently opened at the Eastland Mall with B.A. Briggs and Jimmy Valiant as head trainers. PWX also had a weekly late-night television show that aired on WPTT . The first events were held in October and November 1995. The first PWX Heavyweight Champion, B.A. Briggs, won

170-431: A Double Chain match , when Cabana forced Corino to tap out. On October 16, 2010, Cabana defeated Corino in an "I Quit" match to end their feud. Following Steen's departure from Ring of Honor after December's Final Battle 2010 , Corino proclaimed himself a changed man and turned babyface . Corino began feuding with Mike Bennett , and the two faced each other at Manhattan Mayhem IV on March 19, with Bennett picking up

255-722: A Fight Without Honor . Although the two still hated each other, they shook hands after the match and Corino allowed Homicide to shave his head. After announcing that his retirement would come at the end of 2007, Corino began a retirement tour and traveled to various federations as a part of the tour. On October 6, 2007, Corino captured the B4W North American title in Morganville, New Jersey from then-champion Tommy Thunda. On November 3, 2007, Corino survived three rounds of an 8-man, single-night tournament in Toronto, Ontario, Canada to become

340-597: A Triangle match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship . Vince Kaplack represented PWX in the "Free For All" battle royal to be named number one contender for the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship . NWA East / PWX's The Rage ( Samu and Quinn Magnum) battled The Canadian Cartel ("Gorgeous" Michelle Starr and Crusher Carlsen), representing NWA Canada, to a no-contest. This was a semi-final tournament match to determine

425-649: A producer for the promotion's developmental brand NXT . He is best known for his tenure with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) from 1998 to 2001 and Ring of Honor (ROH) from 2002 to 2006 and 2009–2016. Corino has held the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship , the ECW World Heavyweight Championship , the MLW World Heavyweight Championship , and the 1PW World Heavyweight Championship once each, and

510-709: A three way dance ) and at Holiday Hell 2000 (against Justin Credible and The Sandman in a three way dance). Due to repeated failures of ECW paying Corino his salary, he left the company on January 7, 2001, the night he lost the ECW World Heavyweight Championship to The Sandman at Guilty as Charged 2001 . His friend Dustin Rhodes got him a contract in World Championship Wrestling , but he never got to make an appearance despite being due to debut at

595-668: A 200,000-square-foot (19,000 m ) Gimbels, some of the nation's largest stores, J.C. Penney , National Record Mart , May-Stern, Kinney Shoes , Thom McAn , and F.W. Woolworth Company moved into the mall. The first store to open was the Thorofare super market located at the western end of the plaza. When Eastland Shopping Plaza opened, downtown McKeesport suffered as J.C. Penney moved from McKeesport into Eastland Shopping Plaza. Three other McKeesport retailers, Immel's, Wander Sales, and Richard's Shoes, opened stores in Eastland. At its peak in

680-468: A barber shop, and a beauty parlor. The revival was temporary. In the 1990s, the flea market was moved off to the side in the old Gee Bee store, taking foot traffic away from the retail stores located inside the mall. The building then fell into a state of ruin. By the time the mall closed in 2005, it was only worth $ 1.38 million - less than the $ 1.4 million that Benderson Development Company paid for it 1988. By that point, trash cans holding water falling from

765-569: A bingo parlor (Eastland Social Hall Bingo), and a low power TV station, WBYD-CD . Most notable was the addition of a two-story indoor and spacious outdoor flea market in the space once occupied by Gimbels which, according to a flea market manager, drew 500 vendors and 2,000 customers per weekend at its peak. Many smaller retail stores then opened inside the mall, including Harper's Bazaar (a mom-and-pop women's clothing store run by Jim and Carol Harper), Kennywood Messenger Service (a notary and vehicle licensing service), Amer-a-Quick printing service,

850-727: A chance to now train new students and train the next generation." In an April 2015 interview, Chris LeRusso discusses the PWX Wrestleplex NWA East / PWX held the majority of its shows at the PWX Wrestleplex, located at the Eastland Mall , in North Versailles, Pennsylvania . The promotion moved its events from Eastland Mall, which was demolished in 2005, to the Jacob Woll Pavilion in Renziehausen Park during

935-473: A complete tear out and renovation. The move was officially announced on September 24 at what would be the final show at Jacob Woll Pavilion in Renzie Park. In the main event, NWA North American Tag Team Champions Team MEGA (JR Mega and Ashton Amhurst) successfully defended the title against Patrick Hayes and then PWX Heavyweight Champion Stryder. This was the last NWA East / PWX event in which an NWA championship

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1020-589: A few try-out matches for WWE over a span of two days. Dusty Rhodes, Corino's former rival, was hopeful that WWE would sign him, but he was not offered a contract. Corino stated on his MySpace he enjoyed his time with WWE but felt he was too old school for the company. On the January 4, 2008, Corino won his third Zero1-Max United States Openweight Championship as Mr. Wrestling 3 (named after Mr. Wrestling I and II ) by beating Ricky Landell in Valdosta, Georgia. He then lost

1105-502: A former NWA East / PWX Three Rivers Champion, participated in East Coast Wrestling Association 's 15th annual Super 8 tournament . Female wrestlers Tessa Blanchard and Stacy Hunter have both had notable roles in the company. The promotion also featured talent from Extreme Championship Wrestling . Blue World Order members Stevie Richards and The Blue Meanie are former PWX Tag Team Champions. Shane Douglas held

1190-469: A gory Bullrope match at Living Dangerously . At Heat Wave 2000 , he lost to Jerry Lynn. Corino went on to win the ECW World Heavyweight Championship on November 5, 2000, at November to Remember by defeating Justin Credible , Sandman and Champion Jerry Lynn in a Double Jeopardy match; then to successfully defend it in December at Massacre on 34th Street (against Jerry Lynn and Justin Credible in

1275-600: A month later. In June 2016, PWX joined Global Force Wrestling and the Renegade Wrestling Alliance for a benefit show at Lackawanna College . Two months later, CBS Pittsburgh named PWX among the best locally based independent promotions along with the Keystone State Wrestling Alliance , International Wrestling Cartel, and Ring of Honor . The Futures Cup Tournament is an annual professional wrestling single-elimination tournament produced by

1360-821: A near three-year rivalry that lasted until SCW's close in the spring of 2000. Around this time, PWX joined the National Wrestling Alliance as NWA East. On October 24, 1998, T. Rantula represented the promotion at the NWA 50th Anniversary Show in Cherry Hill, New Jersey , where he wrestled Abdullah the Butcher . Several NWA East / PWX wrestlers also took part in the NWA 51st Anniversary Show in Charlotte, North Carolina . Brian Anthony wrestled Naoya Ogawa (Universal Fighting-Arts Organization) and Gary Steele (NWA UK Hammerlock) in

1445-536: A number of appearances for Frontier Wrestling Alliance in the United Kingdom , where he entered a short rivalry with Alex Shane . The feud culminated in the main event match of Hotwired, where Corino defeated Shane with the assistance of then FWA Heavyweight Champion, Doug Williams . As Steve Corino was a major part of ECW towards the end of its run, rumors swirled surrounding Corino possibly signing with World Wrestling Entertainment and returning to his ECW roots as

1530-569: A one-time wrestling match against fellow radio broadcaster Bubba the Bulldog of B94 . He won the NWA East / PWX Brass Knuckles Championship twice while competing for the company. "When we first went down, when they first got this building, it was a school. You know, like an elementary school. And we went down and they unhooked, like [the doors] had been chained shut, and they broke the bolt on it and unchained it. And I'm thinking 'We're gonna' find, you know,

1615-742: A part of the new version of ECW , but he squashed those rumors in a posting on his LiveJournal. Instead of signing with WWE, Corino worked in various independent promotions, including Zero-One , Hustle in Japan , Ring of Honor in the United States and both One Pro Wrestling and Celtic Wrestling in the United Kingdom . He was also president of World-1 Fighting Arts, which runs shows in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Georgia. Corino also worked for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling during its early days. Corino had matches with Low Ki and many other stars before leaving

1700-505: A promotion run by Matt and Jeff Hardy . Corino began an anti- hardcore gimmick on the independent circuit , because he felt he would have more chance of getting work if he did not work hardcore matches. He gained experience, working in Puerto Rico for the WWC, working under the ring name Lightning Kid (which had been a gimmick previously used by Sean Waltman ) and also made some appearances for

1785-426: A roll of quarters, McGuinness suspended and banned him from commentary, but then, he was reinstated as a wrestler and was scheduled to fight Whitmer in a Fight without Honor at Final Battle , but Corino announced that he was gonna have neck surgery and that his career may end. He continued to commentary with a mask under the name of Mr. Wrestling 3. Even he was taking that gimmick, Whitmer was saying that Mr. Wrestling 3

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1870-736: A sold out crowd in Michigan City, Indiana. Corino's retirement tour came to an end December 28, 2007, when he wrestled his final match for the Showcase Wrestling Revolution in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. On that night he faced off with "The Prophet" Jeremy Barnoff, "The Seasoned Veteran" Brick Crawford and "Mr. Wrestling" Kevin Steen for the SWR International Championship in a fatal four way elimination match. Corino wrestled

1955-466: A tag team match that saw him team with Colt Cabana to defeat Low Ki and Homicide . On December 3 in New York City at Steel Cage Warfare , Homicide lost to Corino in a rematch from their feud of 2003 after Colt Cabana, under a mask, interfered in the match. During the match, Homicide separated his shoulder , but opted not to have surgery. As a result of his injury, Homicide was unable to compete at

2040-513: A third time on November 29, 2003, at War of the Wire in a barbed wire match . This time however, Julius Smokes threw in the towel for Homicide after Corino throttled him with a length of barbed wire . Corino offered Homicide a handshake after the match, indicating that he finally respected Homicide, but Homicide refused to shake his hand. On October 14, 2005, at Enter the Dragon , Corino returned to ROH in

2125-409: A tournament final to unify the NWA East, Pittsburgh Wrestling League and Pro Wrestling eXpress Tag Team Championships to form the new NWA Pro Wrestling eXpress Tag Team Championship. Brandon K also defeated Dirk Ciglar in a tournament final to unify the NWA East, PWL and PWX Heavyweight titles into the newly formed NWA East Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship. On December 15, 2001, NWA East / PWX hosted

2210-457: Is also Steven. Corino married Nicole Holmstock on June 14, 1997. Together they have a son, Colby (born August 28, 1996), who is a professional wrestler. Corino and Nicole divorced in 2003. On November 12, 2005, Steve Corino got engaged to his Finnish girlfriend Saana-Maria Huhtimo. They were married on May 12, 2006, in North Carolina . However, the couple separated in mid-2008, divorcing

2295-622: Is also available online via Roku and Vimeo . On May 2, 2010, NWA East / PWX took part in Deaf Wrestlefest , an annual benefit show for the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf , with Patrick Hayes successfully defending his heavyweight title against Ashton Amherst. Amherst, a longtime NWA East / PWX "heel" wrestler, served as the main antagonist in the 2013 comedy horror film Pro Wrestlers vs Zombies . On November 30, 2014, Samu

2380-603: Is an American professional wrestling hall of fame maintained by the McKeesport-based promotion Pro Wrestling eXpress ( PWX ). It was established in 2006 to honor wrestlers who have wrestled for the promotion. Number 12 ranking in NWA World Tag Team championship. Eastland Mall (North Versailles, Pennsylvania) Eastland Mall was a two-level, enclosed shopping mall located in North Versailles, Pennsylvania , situated on 57 acres (230,000 m ) of land at

2465-522: Is an annual professional wrestling single-elimination tournament produced by the Pro Wrestling eXpress (PWX) promotion, which has been held since 2008. It is held in memory of Sean "Shocker" Evans , the co-founder of PWX, who died from throat cancer on October 2, 2007. It is traditionally the promotion's second biggest event of the year after the PWX Anniversary Show. The PWX Circle of Respect

2550-713: The AWA Superstars of Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship and the WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship twice each. In addition to these titles, he has also held the ROH World Tag Team Championship once, as well as numerous titles on the independent circuit . Corino began wrestling in 1994 and spent four years working on the independent circuit. During this time, he was a part of the Organization of Modern Extreme Grappling Arts ,

2635-658: The NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship . NWA East hosted a "champion vs. champion" match between NWA East Heavyweight Champion Nikita Allanov and NWA National Heavyweight Champion Ricky Murdock the following year as well as bringing in talent from NWA New Jersey and NWA Virginia. NWA East / PXW had a close working relationship with the Allied Powers Wrestling Federation based in Commodore, Pennsylvania . The two promotions co-hosted several interpromotional shows together from 2002 to 2010. These early shows had

Pro Wrestling eXpress - Misplaced Pages Continue

2720-920: The ROH World Championship . On June 23, S.C.U.M. was forced to disband, after being defeated by Team ROH in a Steel Cage Warfare match . Since the dissolution of S.C.U.M., Corino has been working with ROH as their regular color commentator alongside play-by-play commentator Kevin Kelly and occasionally Nigel McGuinness while simultaneously having a running feud with B. J. Whitmer and The Decade . The rivalry has included Whitmer goading Corino to join The Decade, with Corino refusing, but Whitmer wasn't talking about Steve but his real-life son Colby and successfully recruiting him into The Decade. During his feud, McGuinness warned Corino that he can't attack any ROH employee or he will be suspended. After attacking Whitmer with

2805-587: The WWE Performance Center . Shortly afterwards, it was reported that he had signed to become a full-time trainer for WWE , starting January 2017. On January 12, 2017, it was confirmed that Corino was now working for WWE. According to Pro Wrestling Torch in September 2017, Corino teaches the advanced class at the WWE Performance Center, the third of four levels of classes. In November 2018, it

2890-659: The WWF as a jobber from 1996 to 1998. In 1998, Corino debuted in Extreme Championship Wrestling as a heel manager . He stood out in ECW as a result of his "King of Old School" gimmick , where he would deride hardcore wrestlers, at one point invading a Limp Bizkit concert and protesting the immoral conduct. In late 1999, Corino took Jack Victory on as a manager, and became an advisor for Tajiri and Rhino . He then began feuding with Dusty Rhodes , who defeated him in

2975-551: The "King of Old School", defeated Vordell Walker with assistance by Jillian Hall and the "Tokyo Monster" Kahagas in Orlando, Florida to become the PWX (Pro Wrestling Extreme) Heavyweight Champion. Corino, although bloodied, successfully defended his title against Tommy "Wildfire" Rich on April 28, 2012, in Orlando, Florida. On December 28, 2012, Steve Corino made his appearance for an ECW "revival" company as he appeared for Extreme Rising as

3060-663: The "mystery challenger" for Stevie Richards ' Extreme Rising World Championship , where he was defeated by submission. In September 2014, Steve Corino defeated Doug Williams for the WAW World Heavyweight Championship in England which he would then defend in the USA in 2014 and 2015 against Curt Robinson and Joe Black. On May 9, 2015, Steve Corino made an appearance at TWE in Red Bank, Chattanooga against Ray Fury, where he

3145-507: The 1960s, Eastland Shopping Plaza employed 800 people. The upper level of Eastland was originally an open-air marketplace. After a fire destroyed much of the property and caused $ 1 million worth of damage on June 6, 1973, a roof was added and the entire mall was enclosed. At this time the "Shopping Plaza" in Eastland's name was changed to "Mall" and a Gee Bee discount store was opened. Just six years after its opening Eastland faced competition from all-enclosed Monroeville Mall , then billed as

3230-532: The 2001 NWA Clash of the Champions at the McKeesport Sportatorium in which Shinya Hashimoto defeated Steve Corino and Gary Steele in a three-way round-robin "Iron Man" match to capture the then vacant NWA World Heavyweight Championship. After the match, Hashimoto was attacked by a masked wrestler to was revealed to be former NWA world champion Dan Severn . Naohiro Hoshikawa also made his U.S. debut at

3315-624: The APWF. The APWF-NWA East war continued throughout the summer. The APWF "invasion" came to an end in McKeesport on August 2, 2002, when J.B. Destiny and Sean Stylez defeated Kid Country and Charlie Mansun. APWF promoter Chris Lash was forced to leave the National Wrestling Alliance as a result. NWA East / PWX featured a number of wrestlers who were regulars in the East Coast wrestling scene and

3400-757: The GSW Heavyweight Championship in Oberhausen, Germany which was his very last appearance in Europe. On December 8, 2007, Corino made his final Northeast appearance for B4W. He lost the North American title to Jihad in a submission match after his protege Ricky Landell had to throw in the towel. Corino won the Platinum Pro Wrestling Heavyweight Title on December 14, 2007, after defeating "The Indy Wrestling Superstar" Erico in front of

3485-399: The NWA East wrestlers won the majority, APWF wrestlers would be banned from their shows. Bubba Brewer (APWF) defeated Crusher Hansen (NWA East) in the first bout while Spiffy Sean Stylez (NWA East) won the second bout against Kidd Country (APWF) via disqualification. In the final bout, Jimmy Vega$ and Dr. Feelgood (APWF) beat Dirk Ciglar and Brandon K (NWA East) to win the NWA East contracts for

Pro Wrestling eXpress - Misplaced Pages Continue

3570-490: The PWX Heavyweight Championship in the summer of 1999. In addition to showcasing national and world NWA champions, Robert Gibson , Larry Zbyszko and other NWA legends have made special guest appearances during the 2000s. Jon Burton, a sportscaster for SportsRadio 93.7 , was recruited by NWA East / PWX promoter Jim Miller to become a "heel" wrestler for the promotion. Burton initially entered pro wrestling for

3655-668: The PWX Tag Team Championship. In late 1997, PWX television announcers Norm Connors and Andrew Lazarchik began holding their own wrestling events in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area under the Steel City Wrestling banner. On September 21, 1997, an interpromotional PWX-SCW show was held at Pittsburgh's Sullivan Hall. Connors and Lazarchik left the company at the end of the year, due to creative differences with PWX management, and began directly running against PWX. This led to

3740-488: The Pro Wrestling eXpress (PWX) promotion, which has been held since 2011. The Ray Mendez Memorial Tournament is an annual professional wrestling single-elimination tournament produced by the Pro Wrestling eXpress (PWX) promotion, which was held from 2005 to 2006. It was held in memory of Ray Mendez, a local wrestling fan, who had died. The winner of the tournament earned a title shot for the NWA East / PWX Heavyweight Championship. The Sean "Shocker" Evans Memorial Tournament

3825-560: The U.S. Title to SJK on March 8, 2008, at the Devil Bhudakahn Memorial Show in Munhall, Pennsylvania. He now wrestles as "Mr. Wrestling 3" Steve Corino without the mask, and sometimes as just Mr. Wrestling 3 with the mask. On July 24, 2008, Corino announced he would begin wrestling full-time again in his online blog. Corino plans to return to Japan where he has been the most successful. On July 19, 2008, Corino participated in

3910-460: The Union of Independent Professional Wrestlers Heavyweight Champion. He defeated Eddie Osbourne in the first round by pinfall, Pepper Parks in the second round by referee stoppage and "Fabulous" John McChesney in the finals by pinfall following a pair of lariat clotheslines. On November 10, 2007, Corino successfully defended the B4W North American title against Jihad. On November 24 he beat Absolute Andy for

3995-565: The Valley" event. Since August 2010, Corino has made appearances in Germany for German Stampede Wrestling. On April 23, 2011, Corino returned to WWC and defeated Carlito , Gilbert and Shane the Glamour Boy in a gauntlet match to win the vacant WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship for the second time. He would lose the title to Carlito on June 4, 2011. On January 28, 2012, Steve Corino, billed as

4080-427: The World 2016 , he will do things that he will never apologize for. At Best in the World, Corino faced Whitmer in a Non-Sanctioned Fight without Honor, but he lost after the interference of Kevin Sullivan . After Best in the World, Corino returned to commentating, but during Whitmer's matches, he was continuously berated by Sullivan. At the Final Battle event, Cody , who defeated Jay Lethal, proceeded to cause chaos in

4165-416: The body of a drug addict in here! What is this?'. And the ceilings needed to be torn out. The whole place needed to be gutted. And they have really, and not just Jim and Quinn, but all the wrestlers, trainees, and volunteers, and other people who really went in there and [...] have turned it into a great little arena. Its got great lighting, and its got a stage, and it's also a great training venue where we have

4250-480: The championship in a tournament held on October 21, 1995, in North Versailles, Pennsylvania . The first PWX Tag Team Champions were crowned in a tournament final on January 8, 1996, in North Versailles, when Sean Evans and Vince Charming defeated Brian Anthony and Paul Atlas. PWX was also one of several East Coast promotions to feature talent from Extreme Championship Wrestling . On December 13, 1996, Blue World Order members Stevie Richards and The Blue Meanie won

4335-435: The company's third to last PPV Sin . When World Wrestling Entertainment took over WCW in March 2001, they released Corino from his contract. He went on to wrestle for many of the National Wrestling Alliance regional promotions. On April 24, he won the NWA World's Heavyweight Championship. Corino continued his feud with Rhodes in his Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling promotion as well as Southern Championship Wrestling and

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4420-487: The company. During early 2010, Corino formed a partnership with Kevin Steen and together the two of them started a feud with Steen's former tag team partner El Generico and Colt Cabana. On April 3, 2010, Corino made his ROH pay-per-view debut at The Big Bang! , where he and Steen were defeated by El Generico and Cabana via disqualification, when Steen used a chair on his former partner. On September 11 at Glory By Honor IX Generico and Cabana defeated Steen and Corino in

4505-477: The event WWC Anniversary but only to lose to Eugene . Later on September 20, 2008, he participated in the event Septiembre Negro where he defeated Sabu . Recently he is one of the members of a group called "La Familia", and is in a feud with BJ for the WWC Puerto Rico Heavyweight Championship . In this feud thanks to the beatings that lead disqualification by the members of "La Familia", Ray Gonzalez saved BJ and after that Steve Corino attacked Ray Gonzalez in

4590-444: The event unsuccessfully challenging NWA East Triple Jeopardy Champion Paul Atlas in a Triple Threat match with Nikita Allanov. In February 2002, NWA East / PWX co-held the Best of the Best Tournament with NWA Tri-State in Titusville, Pennsylvania . Also on the show, Larry Zbyszko defeated Fabulous Frederick , Vito LoGrasso beat NWA Tri-State Champion Magnum in a non-title match, and Rocky Reynolds defeated Jason Rumble to win

4675-403: The finals of a tournament to win the vacant ROH World Tag Team Championship . They lost the title to the Briscoe Brothers (Jay and Mark) on December 16 at Final Battle 2012: Doomsday in a three-way match, which also included the team of Caprice Coleman and Cedric Alexander . On April 6, 2013, Corino became the new leader of S.C.U.M., when the stable turned on Kevin Steen, after he had lost

4760-480: The following show, Final Battle 2005 . He did show up, however, but with the intent on killing Steve Corino. Following Corino's match, Homicide ran down to the ring and attacked him. Colt Cabana ran down to the ring to save Corino, only to have Homicide pour Drano down his throat. He returned to ROH in August 2006 after a long absence, reigniting his feud with Homicide. The feud culminated on November 4 in Philadelphia , at The Bitter End when Homicide beat Corino in

4845-408: The following year. Corino married Jordan Pennypacker in 2013, and had their first child together, a son named Beckham, or "Becks" for short. Corino has repeatedly stated that his favorite old school wrestlers are Tommy Rich and Tully Blanchard . Corino has said that his favorite match while in ECW was the infamous Texas Bullrope Match against Dusty Rhodes at Living Dangerously 2000. Corino hosts

4930-401: The former mall site was purchased by Amazon with the intention of building a regional distribution center for deliveries. After some delays due to the COVID-19 Pandemic , the center officially opened in 2023. Steve Corino Steven Eugene Corino (born May 29, 1973 ) is a Canadian semi-retired professional wrestler signed with WWE as a trainer at the Performance Center and

5015-428: The largest mall in the United States, located under six miles (10 km) away. Four years earlier, Eastland saw competition from South Hills Village , the country's largest (and first two-story) enclosed mall, in Upper St. Clair and Bethel Park . Greengate Mall (now Greengate Centre ) in nearby Greensburg , Westmoreland County would also open the very same year as South Hills Village. In 1979, Century III Mall ,

5100-434: The leaky roof abounded throughout the mall. Parts of the original Gimbels facade had collapsed and the walls were showing stress cracks. The walkway was no longer heated and the tiles were so broken and floor so uneven the heels of a shopper's shoes often caught in the floor. Two tenants survived for the entire 42-year life of the mall, Valley Shoe Repair and Marc Anthony's Hair Salon. Although some tenants supported keeping

5185-402: The locker rooms and this began a feud for the WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship . On February 7, Steve Corino beat Ray Gonzalez to become WWC Universal Heavyweight Champion . On July 11 at Aniversario 2009 he lost the title to BJ. On June 26, 2010- Corino was inducted into the Legends Pro Wrestling "Hall of Fame" by Jack Blaze in Wheeling, West Virginia at their annual "LPW Rumble in

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5270-414: The mall from the bankrupt Gimbels department store two years later. For the next 20 years Eastland tried to stay afloat with a variety of unique tenants - including a PennDOT state driver's license testing center, a beer distributor (Beer World, located in the old J.C. Penney's), a distribution center for Xerox , the local magistrate's office, a professional wrestling center (PWX, owned by James Miller),

5355-439: The mall open, North Versailles Township officials wanted to see the property cleared and replaced by new retail space or housing. After a year of sitting vacant, the mall, including the theater, was razed in early 2007. Benderson Development Company, the company who owned the Eastland property at the time, proposed building a multi-use complex on the site to known as "Eastland Centre," but these plans were never realized. In 2021,

5440-440: The mall's close in 2005 it had fewer than 3,000. This demographic change took with it potential customers and employees of Eastland Mall. After Eastland Mall had already filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy , its most devastating blow came in September 1986 when Gimbels , which had developed and owned the mall, went out of business, taking most of Eastland's tenants along with it. Benderson Development Company of Buffalo, NY purchased

5525-446: The match, Corino applied a cobra clutch to Homicide, while the rest of The Group mocked New York City, instigating a worked riot . Corino and Homicide had a rematch August 16, 2003, at Bitter Friends, Stiffer Enemies which saw Corino defeated. After twenty minutes of fighting which saw both men bleeding and carrying injuries, Homicide trapped Corino in a modified STF , prompting Corino's corner man, Guillotine LeGrande, to throw in

5610-421: The mid-2000s. It also held events at The Sportatorium and The Palisades in McKeesport, Pennsylvania . In August 2011, the promotion relocated to McKeesport and established a new home venue, what was dubbed "The New PWX Wrestleplex", at the former St. Stephen's Church fellowship hall and school. The property was in such poor condition that it was necessary for a group of wrestlers, students and other volunteers to do

5695-494: The peak of a hill overlooking the Monongahela River . The mall was home to such stores as Gimbels , J.C. Penney , F.W. Woolworth Company , and Gee Bee Department Stores . The mall annex also included a two screen movie theater and auto repair center. The Gimbels department store chain began construction on Eastland Mall in 1961. After approximately two years of construction and $ 12 million of construction costs, Eastland Shopping Plaza opened on August 15, 1963. In addition to

5780-458: The previous decade. PWX Steel City TV was syndicated to Channel 26 in mid- Mon Valley and Channel 56 in Westmoreland County reaching a potential audience of 400,000 viewers. Live shows were filmed at "The New PWX Wrestleplex" using a four-camera setup and a green screen for special features. PXW programming was shown in Western Pennsylvania and parts of Ohio and West Virginia on a total of 12 over-the-air television stations. As of 2015, it

5865-503: The promotion some time later. Steve Corino appeared in the inaugural event “The Era of Honor Begins” on color commentary. Responding to a challenge from The Backseat Boyz , Homicide invited anyone in the locker room to be his partner. Steve Corino made his ROH debut and responded to his offer, resulting in the two facing the Backseat Boys later that night. In the course of the match, Corino turned on Homicide after Homicide accidentally hit him, Old School Kicking his partner and leaving

5950-399: The ring and then he pushed Corino. The night at the event, Whitmer said that a "brother" has to be sacrificed, which was revealed that Corino was about to fight Cody, who berated Corino's actions with Dusty Rhodes. In their match, Corino lost to Cody, which was Corino's last match in ROH. Corino's ROH contract expired on December 31, 2016. In November 2016, Corino worked as a guest trainer at

6035-508: The ring, enabling the Backseat Boyz to easily defeat Homicide. Homicide and Corino would then begin a four-year rivalry , with Corino criticizing Homicide's lifestyle and somewhat checkered past. The feud culminated in a match at the One Year Anniversary Show on February 8, 2003, in Queens, New York, New York . Homicide was the hometown favorite, but lost to Corino following interference from The Group ( Samoa Joe , Michael Shane , C. W. Anderson and Simply Luscious ), Corino's entourage. After

6120-488: The special guest referee and Jim Cornette at ringside, Kevin Steen defeated his former mentor, Corino, in a No Disqualification match to be reinstated in ROH. Corino later returned to ROH on May 12, 2012, when he formed the S.C.U.M. (Suffering, Chaos, Ugliness, and Mayhem) stable with Steen and Jacobs. On September 15 at Death Before Dishonor X: State of Emergency , Corino and Jacobs defeated Charlie Haas and Rhett Titus in

6205-664: The third largest enclosed shopping center in the world (at that time), opened 10 miles (16 km) away in West Mifflin to further speed the decline of Eastland. Furthermore, whereas these four malls were located in and around more affluent suburbs, Eastland was located primarily around old mill towns. Many of these communities lost vast amounts of population during the lifetime of the Eastland Mall. Braddock , which East Pittsburgh-McKeesport Blvd leads directly into two miles (3 km) away, had approximately 12,000 residents in 1963. By

6290-538: The top contenders for NWA World Tag Team Championship . A tournament final for the then vacant PWX Tag Team Championship was held at the NWA 52nd Anniversary Show in Nashville, Tennessee which saw Paul Atlas and Jimmy Angel beat Rage to become the new champions. At one point, PWX was one of three groups under the umbrella of NWA East along with the Pittsburgh Wrestling League and World Legion Wrestling. It

6375-427: The towel, awarding the match to Homicide. In the course of the match, Corino suffered a legitimate ruptured eardrum , and permanently lost most of the hearing in his left ear following a stiff slap to the side of the head from Homicide. Homicide has since stated in a shoot interview that he is not sorry for costing Corino his hearing, claiming Corino had been stiff with him the whole match. Homicide faced Corino for

6460-413: The two companies sharing talent, however, a storyline developed which saw relations between APWF and NWA East become confrontational. A showdown of sorts took place at the McKeesport Sportatorium on July 5, 2002, pitting APWF and NWA East wrestlers against each other. According to the pre-match stipulations, the APWF would receive the contracts of NWA East wrestlers if they won the majority of the matches. If

6545-537: The victory. On May 21 at Supercard of Honor VI , Corino revealed the returning Jimmy Jacobs as the sponsor, who had helped him change his ways. Kevin Steen returned to ROH on June 26 at Best in the World 2011 , seemingly wanting redemption as well. However, after saving Corino from the House of Truth, Steen turned on him and Jacobs, before being dragged out of the arena. On December 23 at Final Battle 2011 , with Jimmy Jacobs as

6630-556: Was contested. On October 29, 2011, the New PWX Wrestleplex was opened to the public. The PWX 17th Anniversary Show featured the return of many alumni and included T. Rantula's induction into the PWX Circle of Respect. In February 2013, Channel 22 began broadcasting PWX Steel City TV on Saturday mornings. The promotion originally had a late-night television show on WPTT during the late 1990s but had been off local television during

6715-492: Was defeated. On May 22, 2015, Steve Corino became the PWF World-1 Heavyweight Champion defeating Jagger, Emmanuel Ortega and former teammate CW Anderson in a Fatal Four-Way. On March 6, 2016, Corino, along with CW Anderson, returned to Zero1 to take part in the promotion's 15th anniversary event. On the December 7 edition of Ring of Honor Wrestling on HDNet , a video was shown hyping Corino's return to

6800-671: Was eventually decided to consolidate all three groups into a single company. On June 22–23, 2001, PWX vacated all its championships to create four new titles as part of NWA East. Paul Atlas became the NWA East Triple Jeopardy Champion after defeating Jimmy Angel, Kid Cupid, Kid Ego and Scott Venom. Crusher Hansen defeated J.B. Destiny and Dean Jablonski in a three-way match for the NWA East Three Rivers Championship. The Mon Valley Monsters (Cory K and Big Poppa Gator) beat Armageddon (Rapture and Revelation) in

6885-508: Was indeed Steve Corino and was convincing Colby, that Corino replaced him for Corino's new wife and son, and Whitmer continued torturing Colby in front of Corino's eyes. At War of the Worlds , Corino returned as the Steve Corino character, admitting that he didn't want to be the "Evil Man" anymore, but after Whitmer's deeds, he promised that at the newly reinstated match that will happen at Best in

6970-604: Was inducted into the Circle of Respect at PWX's 20th Anniversary Show. Samu wrestled his last-ever match in PWX the following year when he and his son Lance Anoa'i joined Quinn Magnum in a six-man tag team match against Payton Graham, Jack Pollock and Stryder. In March 2015, the PWX Wrestling Academy was featured in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review . PWX wrestler Crusher Hanson was profiled by Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

7055-528: Was part of the Extreme Horsemen with C. W. Anderson and Barry Windham . He was also part of the Extreme Horsemen in Major League Wrestling with C. W. Anderson, Justin Credible and Simon Diamond . They were briefly managed by the legendary J. J. Dillon before MLW folded. Also, Corino went on to win the MLW World Heavyweight Championship before the promotion was folded. In 2004 Corino made

7140-478: Was revealed through a leaked script of NXT Takeover WarGames that same month that Corino is currently working with NXT as a producer as he was credited for the NXT Championship match between champion Tommaso Ciampa and The Velveteen Dream for a role as a producer for that particular match. Corino is the older brother of retired independent wrestler Allison Danger , and has a half-brother whose first name

7225-675: Was the birthplace of Crusher Hanson and Michael Tarver . Like its longtime rival SCW, the promotion regularly featured Pittsburgh "legends" such as Lord Zoltan and T. Rantula as well as many regional "indy stars" such as Bubba the Bulldog, Dennis Gregory, The Hungarian Barbarian , Lou Marconi , Frank Stalletto , Tom Brandi , Darren Wyse and Samu . It also showcased younger up and coming wrestlers including, most notably, Amazing Red , Cody Hawk, Kingdom James, Gregory Iron , Matthew Justice , Ryan Mitchell, Michael Shane , Quinson Valentino , Shark Boy , Sterling James Keenan , Xavier , and The S.A.T. (Jose Maximo and Joel Maximo). Bobby Shields,

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