The world of pro wrestling has entertained fans for years, and despite WWE’s global dominance, it isn’t the only show in town. Independent wrestling promotions have reached record consumers, no longer relying on print or online magazines to provide recaps, as most events are now streamed live for fans worldwide. There are plenty of livestream options for wrestling, but there is a company out of Detroit, MI, looking to elevate its product beyond their hardcore fans: Juggalo Championship Wrestling (JCW).
JCW was founded in 1999 by two men who have seen massive success as a hip-hop duo and have shared just as much success as wrestlers from the late 80s to now, and that’s the Insane Clown Posse (ICP). Their musical success has seen them sell over 11 million records worldwide. Although they’ve always run JCW their way—wild and geared more toward adults—ICP’s Joseph Bruce, also known as “Violent J,” aims to transform his wrestling promotion into a legitimate program that can be enjoyed not only by ICP fans but also by any wrestling enthusiast.
A few weeks ago, JCW kicked off their now weekly wrestling program, which streams every Tuesday night on the Psychopathic Records YouTube page. Violent J opened the show in the premiere episode by saying, “Welcome to the new era of JCW.” When asked why he felt the need to open the show with that statement, Violent J was more than excited to answer the question that fans eagerly wanted to hear.
“There’s been times in JCW’s 27-year history that we buckled down and got really serious,” said Violent J. “We used to have a show called Slam TV every week, which was streamed live. We were really serious about it, but then we would get involved with music again, and we would get pulled away from wrestling. It’s been like that for JCW’s whole 27-year career.”
He continued, “This era is different because we are setting up the company so that it remains a top focus even when Shaggy (The other half of ICP) and I can’t be around. We have guys in the office that are working to keep this thing full-time. I haven’t set a real goal for myself in like 10-15 years. I had three goals in my life, and I accomplished all of them. My goal now is to see JCW become successful. I haven’t set a bar to where I want JCW to be, but I do know I’ll know when I’m happy with it.”
When Violent J speaks about JCW, his passion for the company and its new approach to reaching a wider audience is evident. There has been plenty of backlash from the wrestling industry on how JCW has run its business in the past and Violent J wants to change all of that with a more structured approach. “I’m on a mission to get JCW some respect. We’ve been a nationally touring wrestling company for 27 years. It’s often been looked at as a novelty promotion because it’s called Juggalo Championship Wrestling (JCW), but Juggalo is just a nickname for a type of human being. We often get overlooked because of the name Juggalo.”
After watching the first three episodes, it is clear that JCW still has its edgy content, but now with a more structured approach and some solid commentary to complement the action in the ring. It’s a fun show that will keep you entertained for the 45-minute runtime and is not filled with promos that suck up a bunch of time. Violent J admitted that things were “pretty wild” in the past and catered to a “select audience,” but now the goal is to attract a broader base of wrestling fans.
One way to demonstrate the company’s new direction is to take the show on the road. These weekly shows they have on YT will lead to their big PPV event on October 30, also known as “Devil’s Night” in Detroit. This event will feature one of their wrestling shows and finish with a concert by Violent J and his partner Shaggy 2 Dope as the Insane Clown Posse. The tour will roll into next year, but not before stopping in Japan for Violent J’s retirement match and another PPV event. “I’m going to have a six-man tag retirement match for Big Japan on December 30. The next day, we are going to do a JCW PPV show from Japan, which will be available on YT PPV when we return from taping it.”
At 52, Violent J is still having fun being involved in wrestling. Although he will be on the road a ton for the next 12 months, he looks forward to those moments when he sits in the back of the bus, writing the show for the next day as they travel from one venue to another. Violent J says those times are “some of the best hours of my life.” With a more focused approach and utilizing YouTube to stream his shows, Violent J looks to put JCW on the map as a legitimate wrestling promotion that should be taken as seriously as any other successful indie wrestling promotion.
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