Pro Wrestling USA
Encyclopedia
Pro Wrestling USA was a professional wrestling
promotion in the United States of America in the mid 1980s. It was an attempt to unify various federations, including the American Wrestling Association
(AWA), Jim Crockett Promotions
and other members of the National Wrestling Alliance
(NWA).
had begun moves to take the World Wrestling Federation
(now World Wrestling Entertainment [WWE]) national, and bought out Georgia Championship Wrestling
. This was in total disregard to the National Wrestling Alliance
(NWA) and its territory system. Vince now had the national TBS timeslot. Despite this move being unsuccessful, McMahon was also able to air the historic "War to Settle the Score" and "Brawl to End it All" wrestling cards on MTV
; in addition, McMahon also still had the most recognized wrestler in the industry, Hulk Hogan
. In a bid to counter the new threat, various promoters across America decided to co-promote wrestling shows.
, Jerry Jarrett
(later one of the promoters behind Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
[TNA]), Verne Gagne
of the AWA
, the Continental Wrestling Association
(CWA), Ole Anderson
of GCW, Jim Crockett Promotions
, and other NWA promoters got together to co-promote wrestling shows nationally. This joint venture became known as Pro Wrestling USA.
This loose alliance of promoters from across America was to serve as a national federation. Pro Wrestling USA shows could boast, for example, an AWA and NWA World Title match on the same card.
While, at the behest of Jerry Lawler and Jerry Jarrett, the first show took place in Memphis, Tennessee
, Pro Wrestling USA shows were promoted across the member's territories. Further, many Pro Wrestling USA shows were taped in East Rutherford, New Jersey
, in the heart of the former WWF territory. This was a serious attempt to undermine the WWF, in its home turf, at a moment of financial weakness.
The peak of Pro Wrestling USA came at SuperClash
, in Chicago
. Over 21,000 people filed into Comiskey Park
on September 28, 1985. The card for the show was headlined by Ric Flair
vs. Magnum T.A.
for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
, and Rick Martel
vs. Stan Hansen
for the AWA World Heavyweight Championship
.
The arrangement, however, would only remain in existence for a few more months, as arguments between promoters, primarily Gagne and Crockett, severed the ties. Crockett opted to leave the group, and within months, the Pro Wrestling USA shows were simply repackaged AWA programs.
(USWA), again an attempt to create a third national promotion behind Jim Crockett Promotions/WCW and the WWF. However once again the union was short lived, and WCCW withdrew from the USWA and soon went out of business. Jarrett's USWA remained a major independent promotion for the next decade, but never achieved the national success intended by the CWA/WCCW merger.
The 1988 union of the AWA, CWA, and WCCW was not known as Pro Wrestling USA, and their shows were just advertised as cross-promotional events.
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
promotion in the United States of America in the mid 1980s. It was an attempt to unify various federations, including the American Wrestling Association
American Wrestling Association
The American Wrestling Association was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 to 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo...
(AWA), Jim Crockett Promotions
Jim Crockett Promotions
Jim Crockett Promotions was a professional wrestling promotion owned by Jim Crockett, Jr. until the late 1980s. It was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance and was the forerunner to World Championship Wrestling .-Early history:...
and other members of the National Wrestling Alliance
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
(NWA).
Background
By 1984, Vince McMahonVince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon is an American professional wrestling promoter, announcer, commentator, film producer, actor and former occasional professional wrestler. McMahon is the current Chairman, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of professional wrestling promotion WWE...
had begun moves to take the World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
(now World Wrestling Entertainment [WWE]) national, and bought out Georgia Championship Wrestling
Georgia Championship Wrestling
Georgia Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion whose self-titled TV program aired in the 1970s and 1980s on Atlanta, U.S., superstation WTBS. Though based in Atlanta, the company also ran live wrestling shows throughout its geographic "territory" of Georgia Georgia...
. This was in total disregard to the National Wrestling Alliance
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
(NWA) and its territory system. Vince now had the national TBS timeslot. Despite this move being unsuccessful, McMahon was also able to air the historic "War to Settle the Score" and "Brawl to End it All" wrestling cards on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
; in addition, McMahon also still had the most recognized wrestler in the industry, Hulk Hogan
Hulk Hogan
Terrance Gene "Terry" Bollea , better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American Semi-retired professional wrestler, actor, television personality, and musician currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
. In a bid to counter the new threat, various promoters across America decided to co-promote wrestling shows.
Joint venture
Jerry LawlerJerry Lawler
Jerry O'Neil Lawler is an American professional wrestler, wrestling commentator, musician, businessman, commercial artist and film actor, known throughout the wrestling world as Jerry "The King" Lawler. He is currently signed to WWE, working on its Raw brand as the color commentator and occasional...
, Jerry Jarrett
Jerry Jarrett
Jerry W. Jarrett is an American promoter and former professional wrestler, and the father of wrestler Jeff Jarrett. He is the co-founder and former part-owner of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
(later one of the promoters behind Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling is a privately held professional wrestling promotion founded by Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Jarrett. The company broadcasts its events on television and the Internet fifty two weeks a year with over a million weekly viewers on its primary television program, Impact...
[TNA]), Verne Gagne
Verne Gagne
Laverne Clarence "Verne" Gagne , is a retired American professional wrestler, football player, and professional wrestling trainer and promoter. He was the former owner/promoter of the American Wrestling Association , based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which was the predominant promotion throughout...
of the AWA
American Wrestling Association
The American Wrestling Association was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 to 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo...
, the Continental Wrestling Association
Continental Wrestling Association
The Continental Wrestling Association was a wrestling promotion managed by Jerry Jarrett. The CWA was the name of the "governing body" for the Championship Wrestling, Inc. promotion which was usually referred to as Mid-Southern Wrestling...
(CWA), Ole Anderson
Ole Anderson
Alan Robert Rogowski , better known by his ring name of Ole Anderson, is a retired professional wrestler and a promoter. He held numerous NWA World Tag Team Championships with Gene Anderson, who was portrayed as his brother...
of GCW, Jim Crockett Promotions
Jim Crockett Promotions
Jim Crockett Promotions was a professional wrestling promotion owned by Jim Crockett, Jr. until the late 1980s. It was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance and was the forerunner to World Championship Wrestling .-Early history:...
, and other NWA promoters got together to co-promote wrestling shows nationally. This joint venture became known as Pro Wrestling USA.
This loose alliance of promoters from across America was to serve as a national federation. Pro Wrestling USA shows could boast, for example, an AWA and NWA World Title match on the same card.
While, at the behest of Jerry Lawler and Jerry Jarrett, the first show took place in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, Pro Wrestling USA shows were promoted across the member's territories. Further, many Pro Wrestling USA shows were taped in East Rutherford, New Jersey
East Rutherford, New Jersey
East Rutherford is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 8,913. It is an inner-ring suburb of New York City, located west of Midtown Manhattan....
, in the heart of the former WWF territory. This was a serious attempt to undermine the WWF, in its home turf, at a moment of financial weakness.
The peak of Pro Wrestling USA came at SuperClash
SuperClash
SuperClash was a wrestling event promoted by the American Wrestling Association. This was often viewed as AWA's flagship supercard.-SuperClash:SuperClash 2 was held at the Cow Palace in Daly City, California on May 2, 1987....
, in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. Over 21,000 people filed into Comiskey Park
Comiskey Park
Comiskey Park was the ballpark in which the Chicago White Sox played from 1910 to 1990. It was built by Charles Comiskey after a design by Zachary Taylor Davis, and was the site of four World Series and more than 6,000 major league games...
on September 28, 1985. The card for the show was headlined by Ric Flair
Ric Flair
Richard Morgan Fliehr is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ric Flair. Also known as "The Nature Boy", Flair is one of the most well-known professional wrestlers in the world....
vs. Magnum T.A.
Magnum T.A.
Terry Wayne Allen is a retired American professional wrestler, best known under the ring name Magnum T.A..-Early years:...
for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
NWA World Heavyweight Championship
The National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in the National Wrestling Alliance. Its lineage has been traced from the first World Heavyweight Championship, which traces its lineage to Georg Hackenschmidt's 1905 title and...
, and Rick Martel
Rick Martel
Richard Vigneault is a retired Canadian professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation between 1980 and 1995 under the ring name Rick Martel...
vs. Stan Hansen
Stan Hansen
John Stanley Hansen, Jr. is an American former professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Stan Hansen. As a wrestler, Hansen was well known for his stiff wrestling style, which he attributes to poor eyesight, as he is nearly blind without glasses...
for the AWA World Heavyweight Championship
AWA World Heavyweight Championship
The American Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship and the highest ranked championship in the defunct American Wrestling Association. All AWA trademarks, including the AWA World Heavyweight Championship, are now owned by WWE...
.
The arrangement, however, would only remain in existence for a few more months, as arguments between promoters, primarily Gagne and Crockett, severed the ties. Crockett opted to leave the group, and within months, the Pro Wrestling USA shows were simply repackaged AWA programs.
After Pro Wrestling USA
WCCW, which was depending on a strong buy-rate for SuperClash III to survive at this point, ended up insolvent. Briefly, there was an official union of some of the promotions who co-promoted SuperClash III. WCCW merged with Jarrett's CWA, eventually to form the United States Wrestling AssociationUnited States Wrestling Association
The United States Wrestling Association or USWA was a professional wrestling promotion based in Memphis, Tennessee. It was founded by former CWA owner Jerry Jarrett.-Foundation:...
(USWA), again an attempt to create a third national promotion behind Jim Crockett Promotions/WCW and the WWF. However once again the union was short lived, and WCCW withdrew from the USWA and soon went out of business. Jarrett's USWA remained a major independent promotion for the next decade, but never achieved the national success intended by the CWA/WCCW merger.
The 1988 union of the AWA, CWA, and WCCW was not known as Pro Wrestling USA, and their shows were just advertised as cross-promotional events.