I think it’s fair to say that, “Violent People,” despite being in my opinion a roaring success, is still in its nascent phase. It’s a new site and it’s finding its footing and more importantly its voice. Of all the writers making up this voice, I’m probably one of the least well known in our bubble. I am the sole and only host of the illustrious Talking Tourneys podcast, found on the award winning Violent People Podcast Network(just kidding! Sam runs that ship way more than I do.) That podcast has been around less than many of the other projects found on this site. There’s just less recorded history of my literal voice on the internet than Sam, Tanner, etc. So if you made the assumption this is my first foray into working on a pro wrestling website that’s fair, but you would be insanely incorrect…

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That’s right I was the owner, editor, writer, and webmaster for the first, last, and only fan site for H2 Wrestling. Located and hosted on Geocities for 6 whole months in 2004. At this point Geocities ran the world. Well it ran my world between my multiple wrestling websites and the site where my friends and I played a Dragon Ball Z Role Playing Game. H2HQ was my biggest success though. I clearly knew my audience, because I felt the need to explain that H2HQ meant H2 Wrestling Headquarters.

I guess it is possible someone reading this may be asking, what is H2 Wrestling? Maybe you opened up a browser tab to YouTube and tried to find some matches, searched eBay for out of print DVDs, looked it up on IWTV, HighSpots, and FITE, or even checked out CrazyMax for a bootleg copy of a show. Do people still use CrazyMax? If you do, don’t look up the alias I used at 16, Daniel Gibson. Yes, I stole Boobie Gibson’s name and then maybe didn’t always send people tapes and DVDs in a timely fashion. I’m sorry! Though, if you do look up Daniel Gibson and find that name on the dreaded “Bad Traders” list you’ll also recognize the name right above it!

So you went to all that trouble, exposed mine and Dom’s shame, and still haven’t found any footage of H2 Wrestling. That’s because H2 Wrestling is the greatest wrestling promotion that never existed. Created by the one and only, Court Bauer

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You probably know Court Bauer as the owner of Major League Wrestling. Before he was running MLW, for the first time, he was a diehard ECW fan trying to break into the wrestling business. He then pestered a bunch of Samoans in Pennsylvania into letting him help them run a promotion. I don’t know for a fact he was annoying about it, but he was a pro wrestling fan so I’m comfortable making that characterization. He helped Afa start WXW, supposedly even coming up with the name. Working with Afa, introduced him to Gary Albright. At this point we’re basically in the middle of the Bloodline story arc far as I understand it.

Gary was working for All Japan at the time, Court was looking to start his own promotion. MLW was first imagined as a developmental territory of sorts for AJPW. Unfortunately AJPW was about to go through an upheaval. Giant Baba passed away on January 30th, 1999. In 2000 Gary Albright also passed and the vast majority of All Japan wrestlers left All Japan to form Pro Wrestling NOAH. The deaths of Baba and Albright and the NOAH exodus put an end to any chance of a formal relationship between MLW and All Japan. Cpurt was determined to make his foray into promoting nonetheless. Court recruited a couple of ECW production workers and ran his first show, MLW Genesis on June 15th 2002. 

If I didn’t mention earlier that Court was an ECW fan you’d know it, instantly from watching this show. It took place in the ECW arena, Joey Styles was on commentary, there were tables, a spot fest six man tag, and a one night tournament to crown the inaugural MLW World Heavyweight Champion. The tournament featured Steve Corino, Jerry Lynn, LA Park, All Japan’s Taiyo Kea, Vampiro, Christopher Daniels, Malice, and The Franchise Shane Douglas.

Just like 8 years earlier Shane Douglas won the vacant title, threw it down, and refused to accept it. In a profanity laced promo where he shockingly took aim at Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan he claimed to have no need for a title of a “wanna be company.” Personally I think that’s a strange way to start a promotion, but what do I know? Strange is a good word to describe the original run of MLW. It has a roster full of guys I liked, good production values, and tv on the Sunshine Network, but none of it ever really clicked. If you go through old match listings and something looks promising the only promise is that it won’t live up to your expectations. In my estimation that is the legacy of the original MLW.

MLW may not have burned bright, but it burned fast. It ran its last show in January of 2004. It was put on hiatus and then purchased by the far as I can tell, complete and totally fabricated Japanese company “WGO Properties.” The last weekend of shows featured the debut of Edward Annis aka Teddy Hart against Bryan Danielson. The match was promoted as Shawn Michaels’ top student vs the last graduate of the Hart foundation. This is back before Teddy Hart revealed himself as a despicable piece of human trash. Back then I thought he was just a lovable, amusing asshole, in a business full of assholes. I was a big fan. So was Court. He would soon describe Teddy as his “best friend in wrestling.” 

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This friendship and WGO may have spelled the end of MLW, but it meant the beginning of H2 Wrestling. Hart, Bauer, and WGO agreed to jointly fund the new promotion. Now, what exactly is H2 Wrestling? Well in their own words:

“H2 Pro-Wrestling is a truly unique organization and production. Consisting of a mixture of innovative world class wrestling with wrestlers and superstars from around the world, H2 is a throwback to the golden age of the carnival era in pro-wrestling – with a twist. Once you are admitted into the show, every moment thereafter will keep you on your feet. Indeed, the show doesn’t begin when the bell rings for the first match, but the moment you enter the door and begin to interact with the various subtle elements, questioning if the show has already begun.
H2’s philosophy is acceptance of any wrestling technique or style from around the world. H2 is the ultimate showcase for cutting edge wrestling, where you will see tomorrow’s best wrestle, respect, player hate and beyond today. From revolutionary aerial maneuvers to gritty hardcore combat to brilliant yet grueling technical displays – H2 is a true buffet of wrestling styles in highly competitive bouts.
These words symbolize what H2 Pro-Wrestling is. A surreal live event experience you will not witness elsewhere.”

Do you know what that means? I sure as hell don’t, but I was hooked. While having Teddy Hart as an executive means you’re probably not booking Steve Corino, Samoa Joe, CM Punk, or any of the other countless enemies Teddy had already made, the roster was a who’s who of my favorites

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• Teddy Hart, of course.
• The Stampede Bulldogs of Harry Smith and TJ Wilson, also of course
• Jack Evans, also, also of course
• Chris Hero as a self help/ cult leader of Heronetics
• Taiji Ishimori and Minnamino, representing Torymon X
• Kaz Miyamoto of All Japan
• Sonjay Dutt “The talk of Bollywood”
• Jamar Cunningham aka Jay Lethal but with EWR’s No Gimmicks Needed gimmick
• A tag team division anchored by The Backseat Boys, The SATs, and The Havana Pitbulls. 
• Julius Smokes working with Jack Evans
• Gary Hart managing a mysterious “Mr. X”
• Dave Prazak managing and on commentary 

H2 wrestling was going to be full of crazy spots and tons of wacky storylines. They planned on using a six sided ring, beating TNA to the punch. They also were going to have the Slamball trampolines and Matrats platforms on the top turnbuckles. It was going to be gloriously stupid.

“H2: The Experience begins when you enter the arena.” 

This was a big part of the H2 plan. As far as I can tell it mostly means two things. One, wrestlers gossiping outside the locker room to further storylines. Two, beautiful girls handing out glow sticks. Court must have gone to his first rave around this time because this was a big part of his plan. He mentioned it in every interview and a bunch of press releases.

Fans of the newest incarnation of MLW will recognize many H2 Wrestling ideas, including the Opera Cup and an Open Draft. 

Now it wasn’t all roses. Even I, quite possibly the biggest H2 Wrestling fan, saw some flaws. The biggest fan thing might not be a joke. I was running the fan site, was on the street team despite living nowhere close to an event, posting on the forum and messaging back and forth with Teddy. I was drinking the kool-aid. Which is crazy because I wasn’t even a huge MLW fan. Something about getting in on the ground floor had me completely initiated into the cult. I say this all with the appropriate level of shame.

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The low light of the promotion was “Party Boy” Matt Martel aka Matt Striker. The H2 website was full of biographies and live journals of the wrestlers. This was the most e-fed fed in history. To describe Matt Martel’s post “Partying and Politics Might Not Mix” as problematic is the biggest understatement in the history of wrestling. It’s not just disgusting and hateful; for some reason it’s very, VERY explicitly sexual. I’m about to quote a bunch of it so consider this a trigger warning for all sorts of things. I’m sorry.

“We arrived at the pig’s apartment in the Village, it was a typical college scene a couple of sorority girls who u know have never been licked correctly, all of them had that little tattoo on the small of their back and they where drinking wine coolers.”

“Aye Papi, you are hung like a pringles can” I laughed… I said “I like to think of it more like a Snapple bottle with a tennis ball on top” as she held me with both hands I could see she was having trouble approaching the deed.”

“I put my massive hog back in my pants and went out of the bathroom. Of course I never went back I feel you keep shit with shit, so she belonged in the bathroom stall.”

“A “nose job” is when you put the hole of your hog up to a nostril of the person performing on you and bust your stone up their nose. Usually most of it will come back through their sinus but some of it drips back down their nose kind of like if they have a head cold and had just sneezed. Usually their eyes will be watery and just as they go to wipe it from their nose you smash them in the face with either a fist (if it’s a guy in Pete’s case) or an open hand palm strike for the ladies.”

If you think I’ve taken them out of context(what could that context possibly be ?) or want to read for yourself here’s the link:

https://web.archive.org/web/20040607224228/http://h2wrestling.com/view/v.php?a42

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I have no contemporary memory of this, but I like to think it would’ve scared me off. I like to think I would read this and posted immediately to H2HQ admonishing the promotion and urging everyone to not support it.  On the other hand I can’t imagine missing one, much less two posts on the website so the far more likely truth is I was a shitty teenager who read it and ignored it. I told you I was a massive Teddy Hart fan, I obviously wasn’t a great judge of character.

I have to imagine it wasn’t Matt Striker writing this, personally. Not that Striker isn’t capable of saying stupid shit, he’s proven he has no problem with that during Matt Riddle’s latest MLW run. I just assume most indie wrestlers are too lazy to be writing that much. I’m assuming it was Court Bauer. Court Bauer, the writer, who soon after this would be hired by WWE. Court Bauer who claims he wrote for Eastbound and Down(he didn’t.) Court Bauer who runs a wrestling company in 2024.

The first show was scheduled for June 26th, 2004 with Taiji Ishimori vs Minnamino for the UWA Welterweight title, Chris Hero vs Kaz Miyamoto, the debut of Mr. X, and a main event of Teddy Hart vs Jack Evans for The Opera Cup. It was postponed to July and ultimately never happened. Why? Because Teddy Hart is Teddy Hart. He went on a bunch of wrestling radio shows starting more fights and claiming he was bringing in Rob Feinstein. 

H2 was supposed to have a double header with Ring of Honor. Fresh off RF being caught in a pedophilia sting and rumors of him still working for ROH(he was,) ROH told Court to shut Teddy up. Teddy is not known for ever shutting up. Teddy quits and pulls his money. Soon after, Court resigns as well and “WGO Properties” shutters yet another wrestling promotion. 

Earlier I called H2 Wrestling, “the greatest wrestling promotion that never existed.” I think that is true. It’s also probably a good thing it never existed. Between the Matt Martel filth and Teddy Hart’s true nature always bubbling to the surface it was destined to fail. It’s for the best that it failed so fast it didn’t have a chance to damage the career of any of the wrestlers involved. 

At the end of the day Ring of Honor and ECWA started my obsession with indie wrestling, but H2 Wrestling is when I truly became a member of the vaunted Internet Wrestling Community.