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Universal Wrestling Federation (Herb Abrams)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2007) |
| Universal Wrestling Federation | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Details | |
| Acronym | UWF |
| Established | 1990 |
| Style | American Wrestling |
| Location | Los Angeles, California |
| Founder(s) | Herb Abrams |
| Owner(s) | Herb Abrams |
The Universal Wrestling Federation, or UWF, was a national professional wrestling federation founded by Herb Abrams.
Contents |
Herb Abrams founded the UWF in 1990 with hopes of returning professional wrestling back to its roots. He signed top stars such as Paul Orndorff, Steve Williams, Don Muraco, Bob Orton, Brian Blair, Danny Spivey, Billy Jack Haynes, Sid Vicious, Ken Patera, Colonel DeBeers, David Sammartino, Jimmy Snuka, and Cactus Jack.[1]
He trademarked the UWF name in June 1991 because Bill Watts never bothered to trademark his version of the Universal Wrestling Federation that was sold to Jim Crockett Promotions in 1987.
Abrams was head booker of the company from 1990 to 1992. Zoogz Rift, a cult musician and manager in the UWF, took over as head booker in 1993. Zoogz Rift accompanied Abrams on several international business trips in 1993, where they managed to secure home video deals for the company. He quit in March 1994, leaving Abrams to book the September 1994 Blackjack Brawl card. Abrams was a known drug addict at the time, which was apparent in both the booking of Blackjack Brawl and his on-air appearance during the show.
In late 1995, Zoogz Rift rejoined the company as Vice President, helping to secure new television deals with both SportsChannel America and Prime Network. Abrams' death in June 1996, however, marked the end of the company. Blackjack Brawl would stand as the final UWF show.
The UWF tape library is currently owned by former wrestler Al Burke. In recent years, he has partnered with Todd Okerlund of Classic Wrestling to repackage and license the library through DirecTV and ESPN Classic Canada.
In 1990, the company signed a deal with national cable network SportsChannel America. A weekly program called "Fury Hour" debuted in September 1990 and ran until 1993.
The original announce team consisted of Herb Abrams as play-by-play man and Bruno Sammartino as color commentator. In late 1990, Craig DeGeorge replaced Abrams as play-by-play man. John Tolos replaced Sammartino as color commentator in 1992, with Carlo Gianelli joining him for play-by-play at 1994's Blackjack Brawl.
In 1995, existing episodes were repackaged to half-hour format and aired on ESPN2. ESPN Classic Canada reran original one-hour format episodes in 2004.
Beach Brawl was a professional wrestling pay-per-view. It was the only PPV from the UWF and was widely considered a failure as only 550 people attended the event and it received only a 0.1 PPV buyrate. It took place on June 9, 1991 from the Manatee Civic Center in Palmetto, Florida.
| Beach Brawl | ||
|---|---|---|
| Details | ||
| Promotion | Universal Wrestling Federation | |
| Date | June 9, 1991 | |
| Venue | Manatee Civic Center | |
| City | Palmetto, Florida | |
| Attendance | 550 | |
| Pay-per-view chronology | ||
| N/A | Beach Brawl | N/A |
- Dark match: Boris Zuhkov defeated Paul Samson[2]
- Zuhkov pinned Samson.
- The Blackhearts (Apocalypse and Destruction) (w/Luna Vachon) defeated Fire Cat and Jim Cooper(7:45)[2]
- Apocalypse pinned Cooper.
- Terry Gordy fought Johnny Ace to a double count-out in a Street Fight(6:08)[2]
- The Killer Bees (Brian Blair and Jim Brunzell) defeated The Power Twins (Larry and David Power)(12:23)[2]
- Blair pinned one of the twins.
- Rockin' Robin defeated Candi Devine to win the first UWF Women's World Championship(6:05)[2]
- Robin pinned Devine.
- Paul Orndorff defeated Col. DeBeers in a Strap match(4:15)[2]
- Orndorff pinned DeBeers.
- Bob Backlund defeated Ivan Koloff(2:23)[2]
- Backlund pinned Koloff.
- Steve Ray and Sunny Beach defeated Cactus Jack and Bob Orton, Jr.(4:02)[2]
- Beach pinned Cactus.
- Steve Williams defeated Bam Bam Bigelow to win the first UWF Television Championship(7:11)[2]
- Williams pinned Bigelow.
The UWF's first and only event that aired live on SportsChannel America.[1]
- September 23, 1994 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada [1]
- UWF Americas Championship: Dan Spivey defeated Johnny Ace to win the vacant title after Missy Hyatt threw in a towel
- UWF Junior Heavyweight Championship: Jack Armstrong defeated Mando Guerrero to win the vacant title
- Sunny Beach defeated Dr. Feelgood
- UWF Southern States Championship: Bob Orton, Jr. fought Finland Thor to a double disqualification and retained his title
- UWF Midget World Championship: Little Tokyo defeated The Karate Kid to win the vacant title
- Sampson defeated The Irish Assassin
- UWF MGM Grand Championship: Tyler Mane defeated Steve Ray to win the vacant title
- UWF Women's World Championship: Candi Divine defeated Tina Moretti to win the vacant title
- UWF World Tag Team Championship: The Killer Bees (B. Brian Blair and Jim Brunzell) defeated The New Powers Of Pain (Warlord and Power Warrior) to win the vacant title
- Lumberjack Match: Cactus Jack and Jimmy Snuka fought to a double count-out [3]
- UWF World Heavyweight Championship: Steve Williams defeated Sid Vicious to retain his title
In 1991, Herb Abrams was owed money by Steve Ray and wrongly suspected that Ray was sleeping with his wife. On May 20, 1991 at a television taping in New York City, Abrams paid Steve Williams an extra $100 for the night to break Ray's nose during their match. The ensuing shoot aired in its entirety on an episode of Fury Hour.
- UWF Americas Championship
- UWF Junior Heavyweight Championship
- UWF MGM Grand Championship
- UWF Midget World Championship
- UWF Southern States Championship
- UWF SportsChannel Television Championship
- UWF Women's World Championship
- UWF World Heavyweight Championship
- UWF World Tag Team Championship
In 1992, the UWF issued six VHS releases in the United States through Best Film & Video Corporation: Beach Brawl, Tag Team Tandems, The Best Of Paul Orndorff, The Lumberjack Match, The Steel Cage Match, and Wrestling's Greatest Champions.
In 1993, the UWF released six volumes of PAL videos in Germany through Summit International Pictures under the "Wrestling Super Champs" banner. They were all compilations of Fury Hour matches. The same six "Wrestling Super Champs" volumes were re-released in Germany through Jünger Verlag under the "Super Wrestling" banner.
Recent years have seen the emergence of UWF DVDs in Australia through Payless Entertainment. Each of the seven Region 4 DVDs contains one episode of Fury Hour. The DVDs include Body Slammin, Grand Slam, Grudge Matches, It's War, Tag Team Madness, The Main Event, and Wrestling Wars.
In Germany, a Region 0 DVD titled "Wrestling Super 4 Champs" was released containing two episodes of Fury Hour. Also in Germany, all VHS "Wrestling Super Champs" or "Super Wrestling" are re-released on DVD as "American History of Wrestling - UWF" with Volumes 1-6.
- 1990 - Worst Television Announcer (Herb Abrams)
- 1991 - Worst Promotion (UWF)
- 1991 - Worst Television Show (Fury Hour)
- 1994 - Worst Major Wrestling Card (Blackjack Brawl)
- ^ a b c Foley, Mick. Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks (p.184)
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Historical Cards", 2007 Wrestling Almanac and Book of Facts, Kappa Publications, p. 159. 2007 Edition. Retrieved on 2007-07-11.
- ^ Foley, Mick. Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks (p.185-186)
- Mick Foley (2000). Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks. HarperCollins, 511. ISBN 0061031011.
- UniversalWrestlingFederation.net - Tribute Site