The Dying Days of USWA

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The history of the United States Wrestling Alliance is unique, interesting, and ultimately tragic. The USWA was the result of a merger between Fritz Von Erich’s World Class Championship Wrestling and the Memphis-based Continental Wrestling Association and was formed with the intention of creating a third national powerhouse to compete with The World Wrestling Federation and Jim Crockett Promotions. The newly formed promotion would run shows in both Tennessee and Texas with most shows headlined by Jerry “The King” Lawler. The Dallas branch of the promotion withdrew from the USWA in 1990 after only a year of operation, leaving the USWA and reforming World Class (they closed two months later)

Fritz’s psychic powers were on the…fritz? (I’m sorry)

Other than the withdrawal of WCCW, the USWA continued on like normal for a couple more years, even though they never approached the national powerhouse position they were seeking. In 1992, the USWA signed a talent exchange agreement with the WWF that saw Lawler sign with “New York” and split his time between the two promotions.

Which went great

This arrangement would help the USWA continue on long after similar promotions closed down (WCCW, GWF, Smokey Mountain) or were sold (Jim Crockett Promotions). In fact, the USWA has the distinction of being the last full-time wrestling territory, lasting all the way to 1997! But while the USWA was kept afloat long after anyone thought it would, this blog is about the final days of the USWA, what it did right, what caused it’s demise, and some of the surprising alumni of this very special promotion.

The USWA was an anomaly, especially for the mid 1990s. Long gone were Don Owens, Jim Barnett, The Crockets, Von Erichs and more as the territories each fell to the behemoth that was the World Wrestling Federation. But while the USWA existed well into the precipice of the Attitude Era, it was never as big as hoped and wasn’t nearly as successful as previous incarnations of Memphis wrestling. While Jerry Lawler continued to be the main star of the USWA up until the final days, the magic was definitely gone. In the last days of USWA, Lawler was joined by a unique roster of Memphis locals, WWF also-rans, and even a few up-and-comers who would pay (often short) visits to Memphis before being picked up by more successful promotions like ECW and the WWF. So let’s start with a quick recap of some of the roster members you would find in the last few months of USWA.

Brian Christopher

Let’s just appreciate that this picture exists

Brian Christopher was a mainstay in Memphis, partially because Jerry Lawler was his father and partially because it’s one of the only places he wasn’t wanted by the police. He was always a decent mid-to-upper mid card guy, but never really wowed anyone.

Paul Diamond

The only picture of Paul Diamond that matters

Paul Diamond wrestled everywhere including the AWA, WWF, ECW, and WCW and by 1997, he too was in USWA. He was a solid guy to have in the USWA even if his run was underwhelming. They were considering a Badd Company reunion, but Pat Tanaka was too busy robbing lonely widows to make the trip to Memphis (allegedly).

Steven Dunn & Rex King

Because “Chip & Dale” was taken by some f$#@ing cartoon

The former WWF tag team Well Dunn (get it? Because Timothy Well and Steven Dunn…where are you going?) also ended up in Memphis after the tragedy of being a WWF tag team called Well Dunn. Steven Dunn would debut in USWA and Timothy Well would become Rex King for some godawful reason. The two actually pursued singles careers after their WWF stints, probably swearing a blood oath to never bring up Well Dunn ever again. Good call on their part.

The Spellbinder

The best picture I could find where he didn’t look like a depressed mime

Remember Phantasio, the “wrestling” magician? The one who’s finisher was the often forgotten underwear removal-rollup combination? Of course you don’t. Well here’s what he looked like.

Still better than nWo Sting

Anyway, after his WWF career magically vanished into a cloud of broken dreams and 1990s mediocrity, Phantasio made his way to the USWA as The Spellbinder. And to be fair, they actually improved the character by dropping the hokey magic and making the character have a dark past where he was declared dead and brought back to life by a dedicated EMT and came to wrestling to fight for what’s right. Way better than streamers and flaming canes (don’t ask).

Billy Joe Travis

On the right wearing vintage “1990s Discount Elvis”

Billy Joe Travis is an interesting character, to say the least. A Memphis local, the guy actually signed a WWF developmental contract while in the USWA, but never got picked up by “New York”. He also holds the distinction of getting arrested for non-payment of child support LIVE ON TV, which Jerry Lawler managed to make part of an angle because Memphis.

Not only was the locker room populated with wrestling journeymen winding down their in-ring careers in the comfort of a Memphis TV studio. More than a few more regionally and even nationally known stars actually wrestled in the USWA during its final days. Here are just a few examples.

PG Walker

Still a goofy name, just less jockstrappy mask

In between runs as jockstrap mask-wearing Aldo Montoya and young bald punk Justin Credible, PJ Polaco spent a very short run in the USWA as PJ Walker. He then joined PG-13 and became the revolutionary gimmick PG Walker. His run there was underwhelming, but he was there a short time. He’s the real winner here.

PG-13

The entire 90s in one picture

PG-13 (JC Ice and Wolfie D) were USWA regulars in years past, but 1997 was their prime, so to speak. They hold the…let’s say “honor” of working for, and being fired from, the WWF, WCW, USWA, and ECW in the same year span. Their USWA careers spanned years. Their WWF careers as “the white rapper guys in the Nation of Domination” lasted a few months. In between major firings (Note: JC Ice is a dick), they returned to USWA while bragging about “moving onto bigger and better things” in ECW. And why shouldn’t they? Their ECW careers lasted a long and triumphant 1 match. During which, they wrestled the Dudley Boyz and pissed off the Sandman (I only recommend one of those things) because, again, JC Ice is a dick.

The Truth Commission

South African governmental transition references. Who said wrestling wasn’t culturally relevant?

Prior to boring and confusing WWF fans with their references that no one got and members no one cared about, The Truth Commission (Kurrgan, The Commandant, and the other two) started out as a faction in the USWA. Because when you think South African Paramilitary group, you want to try that out in Memphis, Tennessee. The group actually had a fifth masked member, the former Mantaur, but he was dropped before they made their debut on the main roster. First time being cut was actually a good thing. Anyway, they spent a cup of coffee in the USWA before moving up. That wasn’t memorable either.

Nation Of Domination

With all the subtlety of any Hulk Hogan movie

Another group that got its start in the USWA was the Nation of Domination, the black power group reminiscent (who am I kidding? ripoff) of the Nation of Islam. The group included aforementioned tag team/douchebag package deal PG-13, and such colorful names as Kareem Olajuwon (so subtle), Sir Mohammad Elijah (Men on a Mission’s Mo), Brakkus (a german bodybuilder with the body of a god and the wrestling skills of a houseplant), Shaquille Ali (Tracy Smothers in the second most embarrassing gimmick of his career), Randy X, and Queen Moisha (Jacqueline “Miss Texas” Moore before being teamed with Marc Mero actually became a step up). The group was nothing short of a joke, but did lay the groundwork for the more successful Faarooq-led group in the WWF later on.

Doomsday

If Jason Voorhees had a pretty good closeline

Probably the most famous and successful talents visiting the USWA at this time Glenn Jacobs. After a string of awful, terrible, “why am I still in this business? why, god, why?” gimmicks, one of which involved him dressing and acting like Kevin Nash’s Diesel character to prove some moronic point that 3 people cared about, Jacobs was sent to USWA to learn how to wrestle wearing a mask. He did so as the masked Doomsday, a silent monster who destroyed everything in his path, often defeating opponents 2 or 3 at a time. (that sounds familiar) This, of course prepared him for his return to the WWF as, you guessed it, Gangrel. Wait, let me check my notes again. Oh…Kane. He was Kane.

The Downfall

Like all wrestling territories, the demise of the USWA was the result of poor attendance. Though they had a local television deal in Memphis and even regional syndication through America One television, the USWA simply wasn’t drawing like it once did. Adapting to the changing wrestling landscape, the USWA started holding shows on Thursday nights, which failed to draw the crowd needed to continue on much longer. While the Louisville and Nashville crowds remained consistent, the Memphis crowds (which used to carry the promotion) kept dwindling, with one event in 1996 drawing a record low 372 fans. The USWA only made $1,800 for that show. The following night’s cockfight did better than that. I know I just made that up, but there’s a 50-50 chance I’m right. Not only that, but their venue, The Big One flea market pavilion had a roof more crooked than Jerry McDevitt’s spine, which lead to serious leaks.

Eventually, Jerry Lawler and Larry Burton bought the promotion from Jerry Jarrett then sold it to XL Sports Ltd. faster than rats got off the Titanic. The USWA still went out of business anyway, making the Titanic metaphor apt, and XL Sports eventually sued Larry Burton for fraud. Multiple courts of law agreed with XL Sports and awarded the company over $2 million in damages. Rumor has it the case was “I bought the USWA” and the judge immediately awarded them the money. And with that, the USWA died. Started as a potential competitor for the WWF and WCW, it died a slow, painful death drawing mere hundreds into a water-damaged flea market. I wish I had something funnier for this. I wish I could end it with a joke, a laugh, or even a quip about the demise of the last real territory. But I can’t. So instead, here’s a picture of Brian Christopher dressed as the fattest member of a boy band.

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