By Jeff Wilen @JAWBreaker386 / Headline Surfer
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Atomic Legacy Wrestling (which airs on Triller TV) will be at the Daytona Beach Ocean Center this Sunday, July 27th.
There is so much wrestling history in the Ocean Center, and ALW will add to that.
For wrestling relevance and moments, the Ocean Center is a lock on the Mount Rushmore of wrestling arenas - right next to Madison Square Garden in New York and two other arenas of your choice.
The Daytona Beach Ocean Center opened in 1985, and records indicate that it began hosting wrestling events with CWF in 1986.
WCW eventually took over the arena, starting with several Clash of the Champions events and one of the first matches in the career of Lex Luger (who, at the time, was considered the "next Hulk Hogan"
Then, of course, there was the infamous Hogan heel turn and the formation of the New World Order with local legend Kevin Nash and the late Scott Hall in 1996, just over 29 years ago. That moment not only spearheaded WCW over WWE in the "Monday Night War," but it forced WWE to launch into the "Attitude Era."
Eventually, not so long after the Hogan-Vince Russo drama here in 2000, WCW faded away from Daytona Beach, and the Ocean Center became "home" to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. TNA's 10-10-10 event was another big Ocean Center moment - with Jeff Hardy turning heel (Hogan was involved in that too).
WWE has held multiple shows here over the years as well - I remember one night where they taped a whole month's (or more) of WWF Superstars matches (must have been 50+ or more 1-2 minute matches that night, one after another after another).
The Ocean Center also hosted CEO/NJPW When Worlds Collide in 2018 and AEW Fyter Fest in 2019.
Next up: ALW this Sunday! This is HISTORY - ALW in an ARENA after 8 1/2 years of hard work by Alex Red, who held his first Atomic show on February 11, 2017. This is the first independent professional wrestling promotion from the state of Florida to run an arena!
Congrats to Alex Red - the build of this card and adjustments have been very well done!
Doors open at 5:30 p.m. for ALW's "Star Spangled Slammer 9."
A Meet and Greet runs from 5:30 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. (note: it's up to each individual wrestler whether they will charge money - hint - bring cash).
There will be a pre-show match from 6:30 p.m. to 6:45 p.m.
An introduction and Ozzy Osbourne 10-bell salute is scheduled for 6:55 p.m.
The main card begins at 7 p.m., with a 15-minute intermission and show curfew at 10:30 p.m.
Nine matches are scheduled, and the card is subject to change. As of press time, I counted 11 matches:
* Main event: Matt Cardona (Zach Ryder) vs. birthday boy Nic Nemeth (Dolph Ziggler).
* Steel cage match for the ALW Heavyweight Championship: Rob Ryzin vs. Jason Dugan vs. Ken Anderson (Mr. Kennedy).
* Kenta (GHC Heavyweight Champion) vs. Shelton Benjamin (presumably with MVP) vs. Bobby Fish.
* ALW Next Level Championship: Oddyssey vs. champion Marquise Mills.
* MWO Women's Championship: Teal Piper the daughter of wrestling icon Rowdy Roddy Piper (with Deimos) vs. champion Amber Nova (with Russ Rollins).
* Leva Bates and Victoria Crawford (Alicia Fox) vs. Kaci Lennox and Renee Michelle.
* Izzy Moreno vs. Aleah James. Note: Elayna Black (Cora Jade) will not appear.
* The Good Brothers (Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson) vs. TBD.
* Dog collar match for the ALW Hardcore Championship: Tony Devito vs. champion Mad Man Fulton.
* TLC Match: The Backseat Boyz (with Violent J of the Insane Clown Posse) vs. Ink Inc.
* A battle royale - including El Ridiculoso, Vernon Black, Axx Clover, Jamie Stanley, The Dread Xpress, Luke Justice, Ryan The Sensei, Deimos, Bobby Knows Best, TCW World Heavyweight Champion and Seabreeze High graduate Dominic Pacheco, and more!
Previously announced and may or may not appear include Gangrel and Sinn Bodhi.
Go to ticketmaster.com NOW to order tickets, and be a part of wrestling history in the legendary Daytona Beach Ocean Center.
Parking is $15 at the parking garage, followed by the back arena lot. Do NOT enter the parking garage or the arena off A1A - construction is a mess and both parking garage entrance roads will likely be closed (enter from the other side of the Ocean Center).
Event T-shirts will also be available for sale.
As wrestling announcer Freddie Miller used to say, "Don't miss it ... be there!"
Follow me on @JAWBreaker386 on X (Twitter).
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