Independent Wrestling Association Mid - South Independent Wrestling Association ( IWA ) Mid - South ( also known as IWA Mid - South , IWA - MS , and IWA Mid South Wrestling ) is an independent professional wrestling promotion based in Louisville , Kentucky . History . Independent Wrestling Association : Mid - South ( IWA - MS ) formed in 1996 in Louisville , Kentucky . The owner , Ian Rotten , is one of the first to bring hardcore style of wrestling to the United States with his violent feud with former tag team partner Axl Rotten and formed the promotion shortly after leaving Extreme Championship Wrestling in the mid - 1990s . IWA - MS first came on the scene on October 10 , 1996 with the first , of what would become weekly shows in Louisville , Kentucky . On April 3 , 1997 IWA Mid - South would crown its first Heavyweight Champion , Tower of Doom , when he won a three way dance in the finals of a tournament . In early 2000 IWA Mid - South would move its operations to Charlestown , Indiana . Many changes were made to IWA and its roster while in Charlestown . In late 2000 IWA started to make a slow shift to more technical based wrestlers , and matches . During that year Dave Prazak became a featured manager , ring announcer , commentator and he played a prominent role in bringing in Colt Cabana and CM Punk to join Chris Hero and others to get IWA Mid - South recognized for its technical matches as well as its hardcore . IWA : MS became known as a place to see the best up and coming Indy wrestlers in the Midwest , and many of its alumni now wrestle for WWE , TNA , and ROH . With this change brought the birth of the Ted Petty Invitational Tournament ( TPI for short ) , then known as Sweet Science 16 . The first TPI was held in 2000 , named after former ECW , WCW , and WWE wrestler Rocco Rock , and won by Chris Hero . In the years after its birth the TPI has become one of the most respected tournaments in the wrestling world . Along with the Ted Petty Invitational tournament their annual King of the Death Match Tournament is among their highest drawing shows . IWA Mid - South has also been notable for the how frequently they run shows . From 2000 to 2005 , they ran over 50 shows each year on average ; from 2006 to 2008 they ran over 30 shows each year . In 2002 IWA Mid - South would once again move its base to Clarksville , Indiana following a disagreement with the landlord of the Charlestown building over rent . While in Clarksville IWA would introduce another tournament a strong style tournament . IWA Mid - South would again leave the Clarksville building , also known as the IWA Arena , after another disagreement with the landlord over rent . From 2003 to 2007 , IWA Mid - South ran shows in a wide variety of venues , mostly Indiana and Illinois . The Lincoln Center in Highland , Indiana , the Hartman Recreation Center in Joliet , Illinois , and the Don Preston Recreation Center ( also known as the " MidloDome " ) in Midlothian , Illinois , were the three most prominent venues . During this span , they had a 51 - month streak of running at least one show in every calendar month . That streak ended with the December 7 , 2007 , show " A Rotten Farewell " , which featured an Ian Rotten retirement match ( He returned to wrestling in 2008 ) . IWA Mid - South then went on a planned hiatus , restarting operations with their 500th show on March 1 , 2008 . On August 26 , 2009 , IWA Mid - South announced that it would cease its operations after the Kings of the Crimson Mask show on August 28 . However , on November 3 , 2009 , IWA Mid - South announced that it would return with smaller budget shows , starting with Chapter 2 : In The Beginning on November 20 , 2009 . Since returning in November 2009 , IWA - Mid South has run in Addison , Illinois , Bellevue , Illinois and Litchfield , Illinois . On March 28 , 2011 , IWA Mid - South announced on their message board that it would end operations immediately . In July 2011 IWA Mid - South re - opened under new ownership . On September 16 & 17 , 2011 the company returned with its annual King Of The Deathmatches tournament . The show received rave reviews from those who attended , with Drake Younger been crowned the eventual winner . Autumn 2011 , saw IWA Mid - South promote a number of small shows in the Bellevue , Illinois area . Attendances for these shows were lower than anticipated , however the shows still received positive reviews from fans and critics .