wrestling association acronym uswa founded 1989 defunct 1997 style american wrestling headquarters memphis tennessee 1989 1997 founder s jerry jarrett fritz von erich owner s jerry jarrett 1989 1997 kevin von erich 1989 1990 jerry lawler 1997 formerly continental wrestling association world class championship wrestling pro wrestling usa the united states wrestling association or uswa was a professional wrestling promotion based in memphis tennessee . the company was founded when the memphis based continental wrestling association merged with the dallas based world class wrestling association . contents 1 history 1.1 foundation 1.2 wccw withdraws 1.3 talent exchange with the wwf 1.4 status as the last full time wrestling territory in the united states 1.5 struggling to stay relevant during the monday night wars 1.6 closure 2 major uswa cities 3 championships of uswa 4 alumni of uswa 5 talent exchange wrestlers in uswa 6 references 7 external links history edit foundation edit the 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 . wccw withdraws edit the 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 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 . talent exchange with the wwf edit 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 . dallas wrestler gentleman chris adams spent a few months in the uswa in an angle involving brian christopher and toni adams splitting his time between memphis and dallas gwf during this time frame . status as the last full time wrestling territory in the united states edit 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 . struggling to stay relevant during the monday night wars edit 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 . as 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 . closure edit the big one flea market . 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 . major uswa cities edit memphis tennessee dallas texas nashville tennessee louisville kentucky evansville indiana jackson tennessee jonesboro arkansas tupelo mississippi tuckerman arkansas kennett missouri championships of uswa edit uswa unified world heavyweight championship 1 uswa southern heavyweight championship 2 uswa tag team championship 3 uswa texas heavyweight championship 4 uswa television championship 5 uswa women s championship 6 uswa junior heavyweight championship 7 uswa middleweight championship 8 alumni of uswa edit steve keirn stan lane sabu sapphire rob van dam lanny poffo doug gilbert jimmy hart jerry lawler randy hales bill dundee big business brown 9 brian christopher spellbinder ricky morton robert gibson todd champion jeff jarrett master of pain the punisher jimmy valiant butch reed billy jack haynes austin idol kamala eddie gilbert koko b. ware junkyard dog sid vicious j.c. ice nightmare danny davis wolfie d flex kavana john tatum stacy carter terry funk chris youngblood mark youngblood dutch mantell tom prichard pat tanaka paul diamond eric embry tommy rich gorgeous george iii buddy landell chris bullock brian lee brickhouse brown jesse james armstrong miss texas the harlem knights chris adams toni adams scotty anthony robert fuller the texas hangmen marty jannetty the masters of terror the harris brothers tracy smothers cody michaels jerry lynn downtown bruno steve doll doomsday christmas creature billy travis cowabunga the ninja turtle or cowabunga ii nightmare freddy steve austin william g. dutch nichols joey maggs bull pain the sandman brakkus scott studd rex king bert prentice mike samples todd morton ric hogan talent exchange wrestlers in uswa edit home promotion in parenthesis owen hart wwf bret hart wwf mr. perfect wwf razor ramon wwf randy savage wwf papa shango wwf kerry von erich wccw chris adams gwf and wccw sensational sherri wwf luna vachon wwf bob backlund wwf eddie gilbert gwf men on a mission wwf giant gonz lez wwf the headshrinkers wwf tommy dreamer ecw psycho sid vicious wwf tatanka wwf ahmed johnson wwf beulah mcgillicutty ecw vince mcmahon wwf jim duggan wwf shawn michaels wwf sunny wwf mankind wwf doink the clown wwf big van vader wcw and wwf lex luger wwf harvey wippleman wwf isaac yankem the new diesel wwf sgt. slaughter wwf the undertaker wwf the rock n roll express smw the godwinns wwf the bushwhackers wwf the bodydonnas wwf the smoking gunns wwf the orient express wwf steve lombardi wwf jimmy hart wwf 1 2 3 kid wwf justin bradshaw wwf bam bam bigelow wwf mark henry wwf references edit u.s.w.a. unified world heavyweight title . puroresu dojo . 2003 . retrieved 2007 10 09 . u.s.w.a. southern heavyweight title . puroresu dojo . 2003 . u.s.w.a. tag team title . puroresu dojo . 2003 . u.s.w.a. texas heavyweight title . puroresu dojo . 2003 . u.s.w.a. television title . puroresu dojo . 2003 . u.s.w.a. women s title . puroresu dojo . 2003 . u.s.w.a. junior heavyweight title . puroresu dojo . 2003 . brian westcott royal duncan and gary will 1998 . uswa middleweight title history . solie s title histories . cs1 maint uses authors parameter link big business brown s website . big biz . retrieved 2012 01 01 . external links edit official website memphis wrestling history regional territories uswa cagematch.de united states wrestling association german v t e professional wrestling in the united states active promotions national promotions ring of honor total nonstop action wrestling wwe notable programs impact wrestling lucha underground ring of honor wrestling wwe nxt wwe raw wwe smackdown notable independent promotions and wrestling territories all american wrestling all pro wrestling championship wrestling from hollywood chaotic wrestling chikara combat zone wrestling cwf mid atlantic funking conservatory east coast wrestling association empire wrestling federation evolve full impact pro global force wrestling heartland wrestling association house of hardcore independent wrestling association mid south independent wrestling federation iwa east coast jersey all pro wrestling juggalo championship wrestling main event championship wrestling maryland championship wrestling mason dixon wrestling memphis wrestling millennium wrestling federation national wrestling league new england championship wrestling nwa anarchy nwa force one pro wrestling nwa smoky mountain wrestling ohio valley wrestling omega championship wrestling pro wrestling america pro wrestling guerrilla reality of wrestling resistance pro wrestling ring warriors southern states wrestling top rope promotions ultra championship wrestling zero united wrestling coalition west coast wrestling connection world league wrestling world xtreme wrestling women s promotions double trouble wrestling shimmer women athletes shine wrestling women superstars uncensored governing bodies and interpromotional alliances allied independent wrestling federations national wrestling alliance pro wrestling international united wrestling network wwnlive defunct promotions national promotions american wrestling association extreme championship wrestling universal wrestling federation herb abrams world championship wrestling jim crockett promotions notable programs awa all star wrestling awa championship wrestling ecw hardcore tv ecw on tnn wcw nitro wcw pro wcw saturday night wcw thunder wcw worldwide wrestling society x notable former independent promotions and wrestling territories american wrestling federation assault championship wrestling capitol wrestling corporation century wrestling alliance championship wrestling from florida continental championship wrestling continental wrestling association deep south wrestling dragon gate usa extreme rising family wrestling entertainment front row wrestling future of wrestling georgia championship wrestling global wrestling federation hardcore homecoming heart of america sports attractions central states wrestling incredibly strange wrestling independent professional wrestling alliance international championship wrestling international world class championship wrestling lucha libre usa major league wrestling memphis championship wrestling mid eastern wrestling federation mxw pro wrestling national wrestling federation nwa mid america nwa wildside pacific northwest wrestling portland wrestling phoenix championship wrestling pro pain pro wrestling pro wrestling usa smoky mountain wrestling southern championship wrestling georgia southwest championship wrestling steel city wrestling texas all star wrestling texas wrestling academy turnbuckle championship wrestling ultimate pro wrestling united states wrestling association universal wrestling federation bill watts mid south wrestling warriors 4 christ wrestling windy city pro wrestling world wide wrestling alliance world wrestling alliance world wrestling association worldwide wrestling associates world class championship wrestling xcitement wrestling federation xtreme pro wrestling women s promotions chickfight gorgeous ladies of wrestling ladies major league wrestling ladies professional wrestling association professional girl wrestling association powerful women of wrestling women of wrestling women s extreme wrestling world women s wrestling wrestlicious governing bodies and interpromotional alliances global professional wrestling alliance national wrestling association pro wrestling usa wrestling superstars live retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title united states wrestling association & oldid 739796500 categories american professional wrestling promotionsworld class championship wrestlingcontinental wrestling associationcompanies established in 1989companies disestablished in 1997joint ventureshidden categories cs1 maint uses