Two Underground Rap Stars' Unlikely Background in Pro Wrestling

Pro wrestling's visibility has gone in and out of the mainstream over the years, but its popularity has rarely waned. In fact these days, besides the juggernaut that is WWE, there seem to be more promotions than ever. Besides groups like TNA and Ring of Honor, there's even an Insane Clown Posse wrestling promotion. Yes, Insane Clown Posse wrestling meaning a promotion sponsored by the infamous underground rap group made up of Shaggy 2 Dope and Violent J. While such a link between wrestling and underground rap is unusual, it's not weird if you consider the entertainment career history of Shaggy 2 Dope and Violent J. The Insane Clown Posse wrestling connection goes way back to the '80s, before Shaggy 2 Dope and Violent J were even very involved in underground rap. As teens, in fact, Shaggy 2 Dope and Violent J were more interested in wresting than underground rap, and met in the northern Detroit backyard wrestling circuit. The earliest incarnation of Insane Clown Posse wrestling was their early made-up promotions, which they called Tag Team Wrestling and National All-Star Wrestling. Eventually, Violent J started a bona fide career in indie pro wrestling, bringing Shaggy 2 Dope along with him. Not long after, though, both Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope became disillusioned with the backstage politics of indie pro wrestling. They then quit to pursue their other passion, underground rap. (In fact, this is when they definitively settled on the stage names Shaggy 2 Dope and Violent J.) In the ensuing years Insane Clown Posse underground rap music would take precedence over Insane Clown Posse wrestling. But Shaggy 2 Dope and Violent J never forgot that early passion. After Insane Clown Posse found success in underground rap, the Insane Clown Posse wrestling connection again resurfaced. A pro wrestling tag team asked ICP to record its theme song. Eventually Insane Clown Posse wrestling came closer to the mainstream when Shaggy 2 Dope and Violent J appeared as a tag team act in the late '90s for then-major promotions like WCW. Eventually, they decided to start their own Insane Clown Posse wrestling promotion in 1999, naming it Juggalo Championshit Wrestling. At the beginning, this Insane Clown Posse wrestling project was largely made up of parody matches, with ICP themselves and other underground rap stars and entertainers performing under pseudonyms. Eventually, though, the Insane Clown Posse wrestling promotion got much more serious. JCW started signing a number of established stars from the hardcore and indie pro circuits, and even changed its name in 2006 to the more printable Juggalo Championship Wrestling. Shaggy 2 Dope and Violent J rarely actually wrestle themselves now, but they work on JCW almost as much as they do their various underground rap projects. Juggalo Championship Wrestling now puts on live shows around the country, and offers pay-per-view events and DVDs. In fact, Shaggy 2 Dope and Violent J have dedicated a big chunk of the entertainment at their annual Gathering of the Juggalos summer festival to the JCW and indie pro wrestling. That makes it probably the only summer festival to showcase both music and wrestling almost equally. But it's just another way these underground rap stars continue to pay homage to their unusual roots. Resource Box To learn more about Insane Clown Posse wrestling or just the music by these underground rap stars, visit the official Insane Clown Posse web site at http://www.insaneclownposse.com.

How Can I Watch Juggalo Championshit Wrestling?

The Insane Clown Posse wrestling promotion, known as JCW -- once short for Juggalo Championshit Wrestling -- has become a major force in the indie pro wrestling world in recent years. Yes, that's Insane Clown Posse, the Detroit rap duo known for performing outrageous lyrics in circus-worthy face paint. But Insane Clown Posse wrestling isn't as far-fetched as it sounds! In fact, the history of Insane Clown Posse wrestling goes back several decades to the beginning of ICP's career. In fact, Shaggy 2 Dope and Violent J, the members of ICP, began their entertainment careers as indie pro wrestlers. Eventually they moved on to making music, but the Insane Clown Posse wrestling love remained. After sponsoring several one-off matches throughout the years, the group finally founded its own Insane Clown Posse wrestling promotion in 1999. It was initially known as Juggalo Championshit Wrestling. Early Juggalo Championshit Wrestling matches drew heavily from backyard and hardcore styles. But most of the early Juggalo Championshit Wrestling stars were actually performers from other disciplines performing under fake names. In fact, most of Juggalo Championshit wrestling generally consisted of parody matches meant to be humorous. Over the years, though, Shaggy 2 Dope and Violent J decided Juggalo Championshit Wrestling needed to take the sport a little more seriously. In 2006, Juggalo Championshit Wrestling officially became the more printable Juggalo Championship Wrestling. Also, the old parody-type focus of Juggalo Championshit Wrestling was dropped in favor of a new juggalo wrestling promotion that featured actual wrestlers. The new Insane Clown Posse wrestling roster grew to include known names from the indie pro and hardcore wrestling circuits. These days, there are numerous juggalo wrestling events throughout the country on a regular basis. Many Insane Clown Posse wrestling shows also combine a musical element. For example, juggalo wrestling shows scheduled in October 2011 also included performances by Psychopathic Records acts like Dark Lotus. As such, Insane Clown Posse wrestling shows are much sought after by fans of both these musical acts, and fans of indie pro wrestling in general. The best way to see juggalo wrestling is, of course, to buy tickets to a live performance. However, this may be hard depending on your location, as many juggalo wrestling events take place in the northeast and the midwest. Once a year, though, the biggest juggalo wrestling event takes place at ICP's annual summer Gathering of the Juggalos event in Illinois. If you're a huge juggalo wrestling fan, it may be worth saving up for a ticket -- the other musical performances activities at the festival justify the price, anyways. If an in-person show isn't possible, though, don't worry. Every Insane Clown Posse wrestling show is also available as a pay-per-view online. You can order a code in advance that will allow you to watch a stream of the events through the various official Insane Clown Posse sites. What's more, all of these juggalo wrestling pay-per-views are archived online so you can order them and watch them any time afterwards. Finally, you can get a bunch of juggalo wrestling DVDs through Insane Clown Posse and Psychopathic Records. The company's online stores offer DVDs of both past juggalo wrestling pay-per-views and huge matches at the Gathering of Juggalos. Resource Box If you want to learn more about juggalo wrestling in general, the best place to start is the Insane Clown Posse web site at http://www.insaneclownposse.com. That's where you'll find basic information about all of ICP's projects, as well as a link to their online store, where you can also purchase Insane Clown Posse wrestling DVDs and merchandise.