New England Championship Wrestling New England Championship Wrestling ( NECW ) is an independent professional wrestling promotion based in the Northeastern United States and has promoted events since 2000 . It was owned and operated by promoter Sheldon Goldberg ( host of " The Mouthpiece Wrestling Show " on WWZN ) , Matthew West , Kyle White , and Roy Rossi and was one of the top independent wrestling promotions in the New England - area . Its roster has , at one point , included independent wrestlers Antonio " The Promise " Thomas , Slyk Wagner Brown and Rick Fuller as well its women ' s division World Women ' s Wrestling which includes some of the most prominent female wrestlers in the country such as Ariel , Sumie Sakai , Alere Little Feather , Riptide , Nikki Roxx , Lexxus , April Hunter , Malia Hosaka and Mercedes Martinez . World Wrestling Entertainment wrestlers Kofi Kingston , John Cena , Kenny Dykstra and " Hurricane " John Walters also competed in the promotion during their early careers . Former WWE announcer Kevin Kelly was also involved at one time as a booker for the promotion . History . Former editor of the " Mat Marketplace " newsletter , Sheldon Goldberg had been involved with promoters Tony Rumble and Paul Heyman in bringing Michinoku Pro to the United States during the late - 1990s . By September 2000 , Goldberg himself began holding professional wrestling events in the Boston - area , successfully selling out local venues such as Good Time Emporium in Somerville and the National Guard Armory in Quincy . Over the next several years , the promotion developed a strong following based on its traditional " family - friendly " style of professional wrestling as an alternative to the adult themed sports entertainment adopted by World Wrestling Entertainment . NECW was once a member of the National Wrestling Alliance . In 2004 , the promotion became the first to produce a weekly wrestling TV show specifically produced for distribution on the Internet through its affiliate NECW . tv website . Its weekly internet broadcasts eventually grew to an average of over 20 , 000 viewers per week in over 40 countries around the world . Its exposure was further increased through DVD releases of yearly supercards such as the popular Iron 8 Championship Tournament . In March 2006 , New England Championship Wrestling merged with PWF Mayhem . On August 16 , 2006 , the merged companies unified their championship titles in an interpromotional event in Quincy , Massachusetts . The event saw PWF Mayhem Tag Team Champions The Canadian Superstars ( J - Busta & Dave Cole ) defeat The Wild Boys ( Billy King & Mike Lynch ) for the NECW Unified Tag Team Championship , PWF Mayhem Junior Heavyweight Champion " The Talent " T . J . Richter defeated " Big Guns " Frankie Arion for the NECW Unified Television Championship and PWF Mayhem Heavyweight Champion " The Human Nightmare " Evan Siks defeated D . C . Dillinger for the NECW Undisputed Triple Crown Championship . Also in March 2006 , the company launched World Women ' s Wrestling , an all female off - shoot of the main NECW promotion . On June 11 , 2008 , NECW was one of several New England independent promotions which participated in a special benefit show for Brandon Cusick , a 5 - year - old child diagnosed with leukemia , at the Bank Street Armory in Fall River , Massachusetts . The promotion folded following its " Toxic Waltz " event on November 6 , 2010 . Return . In March 2011 , Sheldon Goldberg , on his radio show , announced that NECW would resume regular operations with an event in Carver , Massachusetts on May 14 , 2011 . On May 14 New England Championship Wrestling made their return to active operation in Carver , MA for the 2nd annual “ A FIGHT FOR ALEX ” a benefit event for a child suffering from a form of brain cancer . Championships . Iron 8 Championship Tournament . The Iron 8 Championship is a trademark annual event hosted by NECW . Eight wrestlers are selected from inside and outside of NECW to compete in four single elimination matches , in which the winners of the four matches would compete in a forty - five minute ironman match to crown an Iron 8 Champion . The Toxic Waltz . The Toxic Waltz is an annual event that originated in PWF Mayhem . The Toxic Waltz is a ten man gauntlet in which the winner would receive a Triple Crown Championship match at the winter showcase ; Genesis . The match begins with two men in the ring , and contrary to a traditional gauntlet , the loser of each fall picks the winner ' s next opponent . The tenth man selected could be anyone in or out of NECW . The last man standing would be the winner . On November 7 , 2010 , news began to spread that the 2010 Toxic Waltz would be the last event for NECW . Therefore , 2010 Toxic Waltz winner " Handsome " Johnny Hayes will face " The Real Deal " Brandon Locke for what will now be the PWF Northeast Heavyweight Championship after PWF Northeast resumes operations in 2011 . Tag Team Classic . The " Tag Team Classic " is a one - night , tag team tournament for an NECW Tag Team title shot . The tournament was introduced on September 19 , 2009 at the National Guard Armory in Quincy , MA . Round 1 . - Real Natural ( Brandon Locke and Scott Osbourne ) defeated Stupefied and Twiggy - Mike Bennett and Guy Alexander defeated T . J . Richter and Mr . Munroe - The Red Devil Fight Team ( Mikhail Ivanov and Aleksander Chekov ) defeated Davey Loomis and Alex Payne - Ryan Bisbal and Don Vega defeated 2 . 0 ( Shane Matthews and Jagged ) Semi - finals . - Real Natural vs Bennett and Alexander ended in a double - countout . As a result , the second semi - final match became the tournament finals . Finals . - Bisbal and Vega defeated The Red Devil Fight Team . Later in the night , then - NECW Tag Team Champions The Crown Jewels ( Bad Boy Jason and Darling Damon ) defeated Bisbal and Vega to retain the titles . A second annual Tag Team Classic tournament has been scheduled for September 11 , 2010 at the National Guard Armory in Quincy , MA . Breakthrough Bash . In the spring and Summer of 2010 , NECW held the first Breakthrough Bash tournament with the winner getting a spot in the annual Birthday Bash event . Round 1 . - Ray Keijimura defeated " H2O " Ryan Waters and Vinny Marseglia in a 3 - way match - Triplelicious defeated Mr . Mini - Roe - Matt Magnum defeated Marco Macc - Vinny Marseglia defeated " H2O " Ryan Waters and Mr . Mini - Roe in a " Last Chance Challenge " 3 - way match Round 2 . - Ray Keijimura defeated Triplelicious - Vinny Marseglia defeated Matt Magnum Final . - Ray Keijimura defeated Vinny Marseglia Move to cable TV . On August 9 , 2009 at NECW ' s 9th anniversary show , NECW announced that starting on January 8 , 2010 , NECW matches will air from 4 - 5PM on Fridays on Comcast SportsNet New England . That makes NECW the first pro wrestling promotion on CSNNE since the channel ( then Fox Sports Net New England ) aired TNA Impact ! from 2004 - 2005 . NECW was to tape the debut broadcast for CSNNE on December 19 , 2009 in Quincy , MA , but postponed the taping due to inclement weather . The first 4 episodes were posted on NECW ' s website after technical issues forced the show ' s debut on CSNNE to be delayed until February 2010 . During that time , CSNNE informed NECW that due to a network obligation they could not live up to the originally contracted Friday afternoon time slot for the term of the contract . The show was moved by mutual agreement to airing as a weekly original program on the Comcast On Demand service throughout New England . This is the first time a weekly pro wrestling show has been distributed in this manner and is another pioneering effort by NECW , similar to when NECW began offering weekly original wrestling programming via the Internet more than 5 years ago , long before there was a YouTube or a Hulu . NECW is now available to roughly 2 . 2 million Comcast subscribers in portions of 5 of the 6 New England states . For those that are not Comcast subscribers , the shows are made available online through the company ' s website replacing the weekly Internet - only program .