Indy (professional wrestling)

Indy is short for "independent" and is sometimes spelled "indie". In professional wrestling, the "indy circuit" refers to the many independent wrestling promotions which are much smaller and have lower budgets than the WWE. As such, most of these promotions offer low salaries (it's not unusual for a promoter to stiff a wreslter or give hime/her only $5-$20); their matches are usually not televised, thus the indy wrestlers who have not already gained recognition in other promotions remain in obscurity; and they have to make use of any open space, such as a field or a bingo hall to set up the ring because they can not afford to rent a large arena.

When a wrestler is said to be "in the indies" or "working the indies", it means he/she is wrestling in one of the independent promotions, or performing in one indy promotion and then moving to another. For most wrestlers who have previously worked in the WWE or WCW, this is considered a step backward in their careers.

Although most attain to a high standard of wrestling integrity, independent promotions are the most likely places to find outrageous "garbage" matches. Since the indy wrestlers are not on television, there are usually no restrictions on what they can say and do during matches. The New Jersey based Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) is one of the most infamous "garbage" indy promotions, as the wrestlers use weapons like weed whackers and staple guns.

See also: Professional wrestling slang