During the early days of JAPW, they featured wrestlers who were established in the New Jersey independent wrestling scene looking for that big break.
Due to JAPW increasing popularity, it was considered the hottest ticket in Bayonne at the time, and fans craved blood and violence like their ECW counterparts.
Then on March 28, 1998, JAPW did something their critics and other New Jersey promoters never thought they would do: last a year and put on a their First Anniversary Show and Convention.
That show attracted some of biggest names in business including Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Dudley Boyz, Rob Van Dam, Tommy Dreamer, Paul Heyman, The Wild Samoans, Al Snow, Shane Douglas, and Abdullah the Butcher.
Glenn "The Maniac" Strange, "Lightning" Lou Diamond, Kane "D", Homicide, Jay Lover, and Low Life Louie led the way with their extreme, hardcore, and brutal style.
During the spring of 2000, the City of Bayonne revoked JAPW's entertainment license, preventing the promotion from running events at Charity Hall.
This was done to appease the local politicians who were now fully aware of Jersey All Pro Wrestling and their reputation.
On September 18, 2000, New Jersey governor Whitman signed into law bill number A2304 banning extreme wrestling.
But in November 2000, ECW was facing bankruptcy, and JAPW had plans to put on a show called "South Philly Invasion."
JAPW was planning to go back to their roots, but once again politics from Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission put a quick stop to it and prevented the show from moving forward.
While a top force in the JAPW tag team division, Da Hit Squad also elevated other wrestlers into future stars with their ability to put over other opponents.
The Briscoe Brothers, Dixie, Insane Dragon, Deranged, JT Jobber, and many others benefited from working with Da Hit Squad.
Dixie and Insane Dragon were two local Bayonne brothers who got their starts the JAPW Wrestling School also had a breakout year.
Dixie and Insane Dragon became fan favorites and underdogs while on their quest to capture the JAPW Tag Team Championship.
On May 18, 2001, at Youth Gone Wild, Dixie and Insane Dragon defeated Da Hit Squad to become the JAPW Tag Team Champions.
Over 600 fans attended the memorial event while over 50 professional wrestlers from around the United States showed up and donated their salary for that evening.
JAPW was in talks to do business with California based Xtreme Pro Wrestling when XPW was making its East Coast debut in 2002.
Jeff Shapiro sold Charity Hall to a developer, and the promotion was forced to look for another venue to house the shows.
JAPW held their events once a month in small venues such as the Rahway Rec Center, and the Golden Door Charter School in Jersey City.
On May 22, 2010, Japanese legend Jushin Thunder Liger made his debut for JAPW, wrestling Homicide in the main event of the show in which he lost.
In May 2011 JAPW hosted NJPW in the United States during their Invasion Tour 2011: Attack on East Coast.
[3] The NJPW tour caused heavy financial losses for JAPW,[4] leading to the promotion going on a hiatus from 2010 until April 14, 2012, when they held their 14th Anniversary Show in Rahway.