Xtreme Pro Wrestling (XPW) is an American independent professional wrestling promotion owned by Rob Zicari and operated by Extreme Gifts. The promotion is known for its deathmatch style. From 2000 to 2002, XPW held an annual death match tournament called Baptized in Blood, also known as the King of the Deathmatch Tournament. Zicari originally ran the promotion out of Los Angeles from 1999 to 2002. He appeared on shows as the on-camera owner under the ring name Rob Black alongside his then-wife Lizzy Borden. The promotion focused on hardcore wrestling and had connections to the Los Angeles porn industry, as Zicari was the real life owner of the Extreme Associates pornographic film production company. In 2002, Shane Douglas, who previously wrestled for the promotion, returned to XPW as its booker and moved the "All-New XPW" to his home state of Pennsylvania. Credited to the promotional efforts of Douglas and Cody Michaels, XPW's East Coast move was initially successful in cities like Philadelphia and Pittsburgh before, ultimately, being deemed a failure and contributing to the promotion's closure in 2003. After the promotion became defunct, Big Vision Entertainment held two XPW reunion shows, Cold Day In Hell in May 2008 and XPW X in August 2009. Perros del Mal Producciones held a third XPW reunion show, Perros del Mal vs. XPW: Xtremo y Sangriento, in August 2011. In 2021, after XPW was featured on Vice's Dark Side of the Ring series, Zicari relaunched the promotion, basing it out of Rochester, New York. History Early years (1999–2002) Xtreme Pro Wrestling (XPW) was founded in summer 1999 on the West Coast, based primiarily in Los Angeles, California. The promotion based its style on hardcore wrestling, featuring many dangerous matches. In addition, XPW kept a major focus on the soap opera aspect of wrestling, as the storylines involved porn stars, alternative lifestyles, profanity, and sadistic violence. The first XPW event was held on July 31, 1999 at the Reseda Country Club. The initial announce team for XPW consisted of Kris Kloss and Larry Rivera, with Kloss doing the play-by-play and Rivera taking on the role as a heel color commentator. Kloss's trademark was screaming expletives or shrieking a high pitched scream when something shocking occurred in a match. Rivera often sided with owner Rob Black, calling him the "Donald Trump of the pro wrestling business", and his trademark announcing consisted of referring to Kloss as