Heartland Wrestling Association
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| Acronym | HWA |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1996 |
| Style | American Wrestling |
| Headquarters | Cincinnati, Ohio, United States (1998-current) |
| Founder(s) | Les Thatcher |
| Owner(s) | Heartland Entertainment Group, LLC (2011-current) |
| Website | HWAonline.com |
The Heartland Wrestling Association (HWA) is a Midwestern independent professional wrestling promotion based in Cincinnati, Ohio. A former developmental territory for both World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation during the 1990s, it was listed as one of the top independent promotions in the United States by The Professional Wrestlers' Workout & Instructional Guide by Harley Race, Ricky Steamboat and Les Thatcher in 2005.[1]
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History [edit]
The Heartland Wrestling Association was started in 1995 by Les Thatcher and Brady Laber, in association with his wrestling school Main Event Pro Wrestling Camp, and held the first annual Brian Pillman Memorial Show in 1998.[2]
The promotion served as the developmental territory for both World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), with alumni including wrestlers such as Mike Sanders,[3] Shannon Moore,[4] Victoria,[5] the Hardy Boyz and brothers Charlie and Russ Haas, as well as former WCW veterans Bill DeMott and Elix Skipper.[6] Among the top independent wrestlers to have competed in the promotion are Nigel McGuinness, BJ Whitmer, Matt Stryker, Shark Boy, Cody Hawk and Chad Collyer.[7] Although WWE pulled out of the HWA to cut their budget, HWA continues to have a working relationship with the promotion. The HWA was once featured in an episode of MTV's True Life in the episode "True Life: I'm A Professional Wrestler".
HWA airs a weekly TV program "Adrenaline" nationally on the America One television network. As of early-2007, HWA has produced three online pay-per-view events: "CyberClash" from the HWA Arena in Evendale, Ohio, on March 17, 2006, "Road to Destiny" from the Dayton Gym Club in Dayton, Ohio on June 10, 2006, and "CyberClash 2.0" from the HWA Arena in Evendale, Ohio on March 10, 2007.
In August 2007, the HWA seemed to be shut down, with Cody Hawk launching a new promotion called EGO Pro Wrestling. However, it wound up being a split, as the HWA found new investors and began running live events and producing new episodes of "HWA Adrenaline." The first "HWA Reborn" event occurred on November 9, 2007, with subsequent live events being announced through 2008.[8] Starting in September 2008, HWA performed at The Sorg Opera House in Middletown, Ohio. In August 2009, Jake Crist became the longest reigning heavyweight champion in HWA history. After a brief hiatus from weekly shows HWA returned starting on May 31, 2011 at the Great Miami Event Center in Hamilton, Ohio on a weekly basis known as "Adrenaline" which was every Tuesday. In addition to these events HWA ran weekend events regularly in Norwood, OH and at its home in Hamilton, OH respectively. Recently HWA was sold to new owners in Middletown, Ohio.
Roster [edit]
Male Wrestlers [edit]
- Ron Mathis
- Necro Butcher
Female Wrestlers [edit]
Tag Teams [edit]
- Jesse Emerson and Chris Hall
- The Irish Airborne
(Dave and Jake Crist) - Dr. Bones and G-Force
- Heavyweight Heroes
(Jon Murray and Clark Konner)
Managers [edit]
- Brock Guffman
Staff [edit]
- Bakesale Bob
(Ring Announcer) - Chris "The Brain" Kurtis
(Play-by-Play) - Ryan Campbell
(Play-by-Play) - Andrew "General" Grevas
(Chief Correspondent) - Tim Tatum
(President of Operations)
Referees [edit]
- Joe Kopasz
(Senior Official) - Chuck Smith
- Andy Stryker
Championships [edit]
Current champions [edit]
| Championship | Champion(s) | Previous | Date Won | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HWA Heavyweight Championship | Ron Mathis | Jake Crist | October 19, 2012 | Hamilton, OH |
Retired and inactive championships [edit]
| Championship | Last Champion(s) | Previous | Date Won | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HWA Cruiserweight Championship | Aaron Williams | Vacant | May 20, 2009 | Middletown, OH |
| HWA Television Championship | Ganger | Quinten Lee | June 5, 2007 | Cincinnati, OH |
| HWA Barroom Brawl Championship | JT Stahr | Vacant | April 21, 2006 | Cincinnati, OH |
| HWA European Championship | Nigel McGuiness | Hoss | November 4, 2003 | Cincinnati, OH |
| HWA American Luchacore Championship | Remi Wilkins | Trevor Court | October 2, 2012 | Hamilton, OH |
| HWA Tag Team Championship | Jesse Emerson & Chris Hall | Heavyweight Heroes (Jon Murray and Clark Konner) |
April 24, 2012 | Hamilton, OH |
References [edit]
- ^ Race, Harley, Ricky Steamboat and Les Thatcher. The Professional Wrestlers' Workout & Instructional Guide. Champaigne, Illinois: Sports Publishing LLC, 2005. (pg. 6) ISBN 1-58261-947-6
- ^ "Les Thatcher Bio". LesThatcher.com. Retrieved 2007-04-18.
- ^ Speer, Phil (2003-02-11). "EPWT Training Camp Testimonials". WWE.com. Retrieved 2007-04-18.
- ^ Hardy, Matt and Jeff Hardy. The Hardy Boyz: Exist 2 Inspire. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2003. (pg. 7) ISBN 0-06-052154-6
- ^ "Much To Celebrate For Victoria On Her Birthday". Retrieved 2007-04-18.
- ^ Lacroix, C. (2005-03-10). "Primetime has reached the big time". Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2007-02-22.
- ^ Horie, Masanori (1999-02-22). "View from the Rising Sun". Archived from the original on 2005-07-12. Retrieved 2007-04-18.
- ^ HWA (2003-02-11). "Heartland Wrestling Association". hwaonline.com. Retrieved 2007-12-10.
External links [edit]
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