United States Wrestling Association (Wrestling Territories) Southern States
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Jerry Lawler vs. Terry Gordy USWA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2aL54sKMNgJeff Jarrett
In 1989, The United States Wrestling Association (USWA)
was formed by the merging of Jerry Jarret's Continental Wrestling Association (CWA) and Fritz Von Erich's World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW).Jarret promoted shows in Tennessee, Texas, Kentucky, Indiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri.
USWA Kerry Von Erich VS The Punisher (Undertaker)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlT2hyOQ92UThe USWA was founded as an attempt to create a third national promotion, alongside Jim Crockett Promotions/WCW, and the WWF (now known as WWE). The USWA was created through a merger of the WCCW (from Texas) and the CWA (based in Memphis). It originally promoted shows, usually headlined by Jerry Lawler, in both Tennessee and Texas.
The History of the USWA Unified World Title
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YM6CC5MIgsThe Dallas promotion (formerly WCCW), which was 40 percent owned by the Von Erich family, withdrew from the USWA in September 1990 due to a revenue dispute. According to Skandor Akbar, there were lawsuits involved, most notably when Jerry Jarrett was sued by Kevin Von Erich. That promotion reverted back to the World Class name, but ceased operations two months later due to lack of revenue.
Jerry Jarrett and Jerry Lawler brought the USWA back to Texas, but only on a limited basis, while promoters Joe Pedicino, Max Andrews, and Boni Blackstone were getting the new Global Wrestling Federation ready for a spring 1991 debut at the Sportatorium. Several of the former World Class and USWA Dallas wrestlers joined the new GWF, while others from the old CWA remained with the USWA
3/8/1989 - USWA - Steve Austin vs.The Undertaker
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMFga9ssHh8Because of the changes in the wrestling business in the late 80's and early 90's, the USWA had a working relationship with Vince McMahon and the WWF. When Jerry Lawler signed with the WWF, many of the WWF's stars wrestled in the USWA and kept it alive. In 1992, the USWA began a talent exchange with the WWF, which saw Lawler sign on to Vince McMahon's federation, while several high profile WWF stars appeared in the USWA
WWF stars who often competed in the USWA were Owen Hart, Bret Hart, Razor Ramon, Shawn Michaels and Lex Luger.
The USWA survived for years. Despite being the last full-time wrestling territory in the United States after the national expansion of the WWF, the USWA was able to reinvent itself as a territory for young, up and coming wrestlers to make their names in professional wrestling, to one day perhaps work for either the WWF or World Championship Wrestling (although their working relationship with the WWF is better known, the USWA also had a brief working relationship with WCW in 1995).
USWA Tag Team Champions: Fabulous Ones (Stan Lane & Steve
Keirn) (with Jim Cornette) vs. Cody Michaels & Jerry Lynn
Pit Bulls (Pit Bull Rex & Pit Bull Spike) vs. "Nightmare"
Danny Davis & TD Steele
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NroIgDlYXUIIt was also the promotion where 23 year-old Flex Kavana got his start–now better-known as The Rock.
The wrestling landscape changed in 1995 - the Monday Night Wars began, with WWF and WCW battling for cable television supremacy on Monday nights each and every week. Unfortunately for the USWA, their biggest crowds came every Monday night at the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, Tennessee. With a growing wrestling viewership on Monday nights that could watch pay per view-quality wrestling matches for free on television, the live attendance at the marquee events for the USWA began to dwindle. A move to Thursday nights did not help what was becoming inevitable - the demise of the USWA.
USWA Championship Wrestling May 12, 1990
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvJ_IzNxNAEPart 1 of 2 of the Evansville, Indiana feed includes a USWA Tag Team Title match between The Southern Rockers (Steve Doll & Rex King) vs. The Uptown Posse (Brickhouse Brown & Sweet Daddy Falcone) in the WMC-TV studio in Memphis; Jeff Jarrett & Billy Joe Travis vs. James Rapp & David Hinkle in the Dallas Sportatorium; The ? White Boys (Tony Anthony & Jimmy Powell with Ronnie P. Gossett) vs. Chico Torres & Al Clipton in the Sportatorium.
A combination of a poor line up, sub-standard venue, lack of talent and holding the show on a Thursday night led to a show on October 3, 1996 drawing the smallest crowd in the history of Memphis wrestling: just 372 fans, paying $1,800, to the Big One Flea Market. The future of the promotion was being questioned, following the previous week's resignation of general manager Randy Hales. The Louisville and Nashville crowds had stayed consistent, but the Memphis crowds, which in the past had carried the promotion, had fallen over the past few months. In addition, the Big One (Flea Market) pavilion was less than inviting, the zigzag roof of its original owner (The Treasury Stores) causing its major leaking problem.
Although Lawler was working for the WWF, he and Larry Burton ended up buying the USWA from Jarrett and immediately selling it to businessman Mark Selker's company XL Sports Ltd. in early 1997, and the USWA went out of business by November of that year, resulting in a nasty lawsuit between Burton, Selker, and Lawler.
In a civil RICO trial, a Federal District Court jury in Cleveland, Ohio eventually returned a verdict on which judgment was entered. The jury determined that Larry Burton and his son Jason Bertman had engaged in racketeering and awarded XL Sports treble damages in the amount of $2,595,000. The jury also determined that Mr. Burton was liable for fraud and conversion, and awarded XL Sports $235,000 in compensatory damages and $3,300,000 in punitive damages. The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upheld all these judgments.
Comments
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I used to watch this on syndication here in Detroit. I don't remember much but I do remember Flex Kavana
Who would have known that he would transform into...
I'm surprised Vince hasn't bought the USWA library yet. I wonder what's the hold up.
