NLPW: A QUICK HISTORY LESSON
Next Level Pro Wrestling (NLPW) launched with its inaugural television taping on June 20, 2020, at the height of the pandemic, with a mission to spotlight Northern California wrestling through weekly, sports-entertainment–style storytelling featuring professionally trained athletes. The first title introduced was the NLPW Tag Team Championship, captured by Justin Caton and Samoan Sap of The Vigilance Committee. On September 1, 2020, NLPW crowned its first Heavyweight Champion via tournament when MMA legend Stephan Bonnar prevailed, giving the promotion immediate credibility. On December 19, 2020, NLPW staged its first annual Christmas Chaos, featuring the debut of the Chaos Rumble; winner Johnny Ink became the inaugural NLPW Television Champion.
In 2021, NLPW expanded to monthly events and, by mid-year, moved into its first permanent home, The WrestlePlex. July 2021 marked the debut of the flagship summer event Battle for Freedom. That November, NLPW launched its women’s division and introduced the NLPW Women’s Championship, later renamed the NLPW Valkyries Championship.
On March 10, 2022, NLPW premiered its first weekly streaming series, Thursday Night Throwdown, on the Zeebo platform. The promotion broadened its footprint in 2023 with city-funded and charity events and added the Cruiserweight and Futures Championships. In 2025, NLPW introduced a second weekly series, 1UP.
CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
HONORED ALUMNI
“The American Psycho” Stephan Bonnar is forever etched into the history of Next Level Pro Wrestling as its inaugural Heavyweight Champion, claiming the title in 2020. Already world-renowned for his career in mixed martial arts, a UFC Hall of Famer, Bonnar brought a fighter’s mentality and toughness that immediately elevated NLPW, giving the young promotion instant credibility. His background as a trailblazer in MMA, where he competed in some of the sport’s most pivotal and influential bouts, carried over into wrestling, where his intensity and grit made every match feel like a war.
Bonnar’s battles with Tony Vargas, Synn, and others helped establish the Heavyweight Championship as the top prize in NLPW. His ability to transition seamlessly from combat sports into professional wrestling inspired not only fans, but also a generation of wrestlers who looked up to him as proof that fighting spirit transcends disciplines. Tragically, Bonnar passed away in 2022, leaving behind a legacy that still looms large over combat sports. In NLPW, he is honored not just as the first champion, but as a pioneer whose contributions helped lay the foundation for everything the company has become. For wrestlers who now chase the same gold he once held, and for fans who witnessed his reign, “The American Psycho” will always be remembered as a champion, a fighter, and a legend.
