BANKIE'S HOT TAKE #110 - The End of the H2O Wrestling Center
- Bankie Bruce
- Apr 1
- 3 min read
In a surprise to me, and many Philadelphia/Southern New Jersey independent wrestling fans, it was announced the other day during TWE’s Hot To Go event in Tennessee that the H2O Wrestling Center, as per “Bulldozer” Matt Tremont, is no more.
It was fitting that the last time I was in that venue was on March 14, 2025 for Stan Stylez’ Intergender Bonanza, live on IWTV, with Marcus Mathers and Zayda Steel, two WWE ID prospects fighting over the IWTV Independent Wrestling World Championship, in the main event.
As I alluded to in my 2nd ever Hot Take (https://www.hardwayhq.com/single-post/bankies-hot-take-2), THE H2O WRESTLING CENTER IS A PERFECT VENUE FOR INDEPENDENT WRESTLING. Sadly, it’s now was.
The H2O Wrestling Center, located at 1041 Glassboro Rd in Williamstown, NJ, was the homebase for Hardcore Hybrid Organization, founded by Tremont. Originally the OTW Arena, the promotion ran its first event there on February 17, 2017 with H2O Hardcore Kingdom, in which Alex Colon won the first ever Hardcore Kingdom Tournament.
By 2018, the promotion was running there on a regular basis, as well as using the facilities as a training center for aspiring wrestlers. Men like Sean Henderson, the first ever graduate of the H2O Wrestling Academy, Marcus Mathers and Austin Luke trained under Tremont and Preacher Finneus James to begin their careers in the world of independent wrestling.
At one point, H2O was host to weekly and bi-weekly events inside of the venue. Furthermore, it was the home of the IGB for almost five years. Other promotions like Inter Species Wrestling, ICW No Holds Barred, GCW, and BloodStorm Pro ran the building as well with successful results.
Not only that, but the H2O Wrestling Center had its own Hall of Fame. People like Danny Havoc, Shane Douglas, Smart Mark Video, independent photographers, “Prime Time” Amy Lee, and vile referee Nick Papagiorgio adorned the walls with their own banner. Also, the venue was also memorialized as “the Kevin Hogan Memorial Hall”, dedicated to the late, great Kevin Hogan, one of the all-time great independent wrestling fans. The legacy behind this venue was second-to-none.
Most of all, the fans. Watching on IWTV, the H2O community, ever-loyal to the “Bulldozer”, showed up at the majority of events held at the venue. In particular, Captain Dave Spieler was always seen with his trusty phone and tripod, reporting live from the building before, during, and after events. Even during the pandemic, so many fans would come, masked-up, outside to watch the future of the Philly independent scene perform.
If nothing else, that’s who I feel for the most: the fans. From what it seems, this was sprung on the H2O Wrestling Center fans suddenly. Business is, sadly, business, but for a group of passionate and loyal fans watching the end of their home promotion and venue come after a near decade practically is heartbreaking. Although H2O is going to be a Tennessee-based promotion going forward, after a break, the heart will always be in Williamstown.
With the H2O Wrestling Center being no more, I, with hesitation, reached out to Stan Stylez of the IGB to ask about the future of the promotion with its home base closing. Thankfully, following a legal letter from Journey Burke, ESQ, the law behind the Creamy World Order, I was given this response:
The Intergender Bonanza and the CWO will soldier on! We are focused on our joint event with Focus Pro, based out of Massachusetts, with our April 26 event CREAM STAMPEDE. Rest assured, we are not going away. In fact, we will be CREAMIER than ever. You can believe that. MMM THAT’S RIGHT!
I will close it with this. As an independent wrestling fan, I almost checked out in 2019. When I went to the ISW show, main-evented by Tremont and Henderson for the King of Crazy Championship, it brought me back in a big way. The main reason was because of the building. To me, the H2O Wrestling Center was the closest thing to the ACE Arena in Union City, NJ. It was a fight club style venue, with personality and legacy.
Thank you, H2O Wrestling Center. You will never be forgotten.
Bankie Bruce
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