Universal Wrestling Association

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Universal Wrestling Association
Owner(s)Francisco Flores
Ray Mendoza
Benjamín Mora, Jr.

The Universal Wrestling Association (UWA) was a Mexican

World Wrestling Federation (WWF), Universal Lucha Libre (UWF), and Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling
(JWP) amongst other promotions.

History

In 1974

Rene Guajardo and Karloff Lagarde and a number of young wrestles, frustrated with the lack of opportunities in EMLL. They formed the company Promociones Mora y Asociados (later Lucha Libre Internacional (LLI)), which would later become widely known as the Universal Wrestling Association (UWA), the name of its ficitional governing body which was adopted from the short-lived American-based UWA promotion ran by Lou Thesz, and held their first show on January 29, 1975 creating the first true rival for EMLL in decades.[1]

To some the promotion was known as "Lucha Libre from El Toreo de Naucalpan" (simply "El Toreo"), after the promotion's home base, El Toreo de Naucalpan, which was a building Flores had promoted wrestling in for years before the split. El Toreo de Naucalpan (a former bullring turned into an arena in 1968, now demolished and formerly located near

Metro Cuatro Caminos station) became UWA's main venue, used for major title matches, their anniversary shows and significant Lucha de Apuesta
(bet matches) events.

UWA's more relaxed approach to wrestling, combined with their willingness to promote younger wrestlers made the promotion a quick success as they drew repeated sell-out crowds at El Toreo de Naucalpan. The promotion was the first to elevate wrestlers such as El Canek, Dos Caras, Fishman, Villano III to main event status. El Canek became the "face of the UWA", holding the UWA World Heavyweight Championship no less than 13 times during the promotion's life span,[2] drawing full houses when he "defended Mexico's honor" against foreign wrestlers such as Hulk Hogan, Tatsumi Fujinami and Big Van Vader.[3][4]

The UWA also reached out to promotions around the globe and forged working relationships with the

WWF World Light Heavyweight Championship in the early 1980s, even if the promotion does not acknowledge this lineage in their official title history today.[5]

The UWA even began working with EMLL in the 1980s, co-promoting shows and allowing EMLL to book UWA wrestlers on their shows. By the early 1990s UWA began to struggle financially as several of their top wrestlers left the company to work for EMLL who could offer them more money.

In 1992 Antonio Peña broke away from EMLL, much like the UWA had 18 years earlier, and formed a new company called Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA) further affecting the UWA's finances. As the peso devaluated sharply in the mid-1990s, the UWA was forced to close its doors in 1995.[6]

Legacy

The UWA is remembered as the place where a lot of the main event wrestlers of the 1980s and 1990s for both CMLL and AAA got their starts, including El Canek, now considered a legend in lucha libre.

Los Misioneros de la Muerte (Negro Navarro, El Signo and El Texano) and matched them up against trios of popular tecnicos (good guys) and drew so many sell-crowds that other promotions began to heavily promote the trios format as well.[1]

Los Misionares de la Muerte were originally workhorse midcarders in the UWA, but their stock rose immediately in a UWA match on November 2, 1980 in a match where the three faced

Huracan Ramirez, Black Shadow, and the legendary El Santo. Santo, 63 years old at the time, suffered a legitimate heart attack during the match, which ended in a no contest while he was rushed to the hospital. The three were then re-cast as fallen angels sent to Earth to take out Santo, and were programmed against trios of other tecnicos.[7]

Championships

The Universal Wrestling Association promoted a large number of wrestling championships, spread out over several

weight classes like in professional boxing and even co-promoted championships with the WWF in the United States and with the UWF and JWP in Japan. Some UWA titles are still being used today, some in Japanese promotions who bought the rights to the belts and the name to give them a lucha libre link, others are considered more "vanity" championships, personally owned by whoever holds them and are often used more as a storyline prop, although they are at times defended and even change hands. In some cases the UWA championship belts are bought and sold by the champions.[8]
At times both CMLL and AAA have acknowledged and promoted UWA championships. This has occurred as recently as 2011.

Universal Wrestling Association championships
Championship Last official champion(s) Date won Current/last champion(s) Date won Promotion(s) Active?
UWA World Heavyweight Championship El Canek March 18, 1994[2]
Dr. Wagner, Jr.
 June 18, 2004[9] Personal No
UWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship Aero Flash September 1995[10] The Wolf April 14, 2024 Fight of the Ring Yes
UWA World Light Heavyweight Championship Villano V January 1, 1994[11] Chessman August 18, 2007[12] AAA No
UWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship Gran Hamada September 22, 1993[13]
Súper Nova
 May 17, 2013 Personal No
UWA World Middleweight Championship El Texano February 12, 1995[14] Kyu Mogami June 20, 2019 Active Advance Pro Wrestling Yes
UWA World Welterweight Championship Shinjiro Otani December 13, 1994[15] — — — No
UWA World Lightweight Championship Loco Valentino September 22, 1994[16] Kancho Nagase September 3, 2015[17] Fight of the Ring Yes
UWA World Featherweight Championship Coralillo August 25, 1992[18] — — — No
UWA World Tag Team Championship Los Villanos
(Villano IV and Villano V) 		March 1993[19] Yapper Man #1 and Yapper Man #2 October 19, 2019[20] Michinoku Pro Wrestling Yes
UWA World Trios Championship Los Misionares de la Muerte
(Negro Navarro, Rocky Santana and El Signo) 		October 9, 1994[21] Aagan Iisou
(Shuji Kondo, Takuya Sugawara and Toru Owashi) 		October 21, 2021[22] Big Japan Pro Wrestling
Pro-Wrestling Basara 		Yes
UWA/UWF Intercontinental Tag Team Championship
Great Sasuke
 November 20, 1992 Kazma and Kengo Mashimo March 6, 2005[23] Michinoku Pro Wrestling No
UWA Intercontinental Tag Team Championship — — Kenichiro Arai and The Wolf May 8, 2023[24] Fight of the Ring Yes
UWA Asia Pacific Heavyweight Championship — —
Shogun Okamoto
 April 22, 2021[25] Strong Style Pro-Wrestling Yes
UWA World Women's Championship Zuleyma February 23, 1991[26] Miss Janeth 2002[27] Personal No
UWA World Women's Tag Team Championship Yumiko Hotta and Takako Inoue September 5, 1993[28] — — — No
UWA Women's International Championship Harley Saito February 11, 1991 — — — No
UWA Women's Junior Championship Cutie Suzuki October 10, 1991[29] — — — No
WWF Light Heavyweight Championship Aero Flash June 15, 1995 — — — No

Shows

Event Date City Venue Main Event
UWA Debut Show January 29, 1975
Mexico State
 El Toreo de Naucalpan
Rene Guajardo[30]
UWA 1st Anniversary Show 1976
Mexico State
 El Toreo de Naucalpan No record found for match results
UWA 2nd Anniversary Show 1977
Mexico State
 El Toreo de Naucalpan No record found for match results
UWA 3rd Anniversary Show 1978
Mexico State
 El Toreo de Naucalpan No record found for match results
UWA 4th Anniversary Show 1979
Mexico State
 El Toreo de Naucalpan No record found for match results
UWA 5th Anniversary Show 1980
Mexico State
 El Toreo de Naucalpan No record found for match results
UWA 6h Anniversary Show February 7, 1981
Mexico State
 El Toreo de Naucalpan El Solitario wrestled Villano III to a time-limit draw.[31]
UWA 7th Anniversary Show February 14, 1982
Mexico State
 El Toreo de Naucalpan Abdullah the Butcher and Perro Aguayo defeated Antonio Inoki and Tatsumi Fujinami[32]
UWA 8th Anniversary Show 1983
Mexico State
 El Toreo de Naucalpan No record found for match results
UWA 9th Anniversary Show January 29, 1984
Mexico State
 El Toreo de Naucalpan El Canek defeated André the Giant[33]
UWA 10th Anniversary Show 1985
Mexico State
 El Toreo de Naucalpan No record found for match results
UWA 11th Anniversary Show 1986
Mexico State
 El Toreo de Naucalpan No record found for match results
UWA 12th Anniversary Show 1987
Mexico State
 El Toreo de Naucalpan No record found for match results
UWA 13th Anniversary Show 1988
Mexico State
 El Toreo de Naucalpan No record found for match results
UWA 14th Anniversary Show January 29, 1989
Mexico State
 El Toreo de Naucalpan El Canek defeated Konnan[34]
UWA 15th Anniversary Show 1990
Mexico State
 El Toreo de Naucalpan No record found for match results
UWA 16th Anniversary Show January 27, 1991
Mexico State
 El Toreo de Naucalpan
Fatu, Great Kokina and The Samoan Savage)[35]
UWA 17th Anniversary Show January 26, 1992
Mexico State
 El Toreo de Naucalpan Chris Benoit defeated Villano III[36]
UWA 18th Anniversary Show January 31, 1993
Mexico State
 El Toreo de Naucalpan Vampiro defeated El Canek[37]
UWA 19th Anniversary Show January 30, 1994
Mexico State
 El Toreo de Naucalpan
Yamato, Villano III and Villano V defeated El Canek, Gran Hamada and Transformer[38]

Former personnel

Main article: List of former Universal Wrestling Association personnel

See also

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 978-0-06-085583-3
    .
  2. ^
    ISBN 0-9698161-5-4
    .
  3. ISBN 968-6842-48-9
    .
  4. ^ a b L.L. Staff (2008). "Lucha Libre: Conoce la historia de las leyendas de cuadrilátero". El Canek (1952) (in Spanish). Mexico. p. 15. Grandes Figuras de la Lucha Libre.
  5. World Wrestling Entertainment
    . Retrieved July 12, 2010.
  6. ^ Ocampo, Ernesto (30 April 2015). "The Fall of the UWA//Toreo". superluchas.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  7. ^ Dave Meltzer (February 18, 2009). "El Santo". Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
  8. ^ Súper Luchas staff (January 3, 2006). "2005 Lo Mejor de la Lucha Mexicana". Súper Luchas (in Spanish). issue 140.
  9. ^ "Universal Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Title". wrestling-titles.com. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
  10. ^ "Universal Wrestling Association World Light Heavyweight Title". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved 2009-02-28.
  11. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4
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  12. ^ "Universal Wrestling Association World Light Heavyweight Title". wrestling-titles.com. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
  13. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4
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  14. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4
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  15. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4
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  16. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4
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  17. ^ "Universal Wrestling Association World Lightweight Title". wrestling-titles.com. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
  18. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4
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  19. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4
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  20. ^ "Universal Wrestling Association World Tag Team Title [Japan]". Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
  21. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4
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  22. ^ "U.W.A. World Trios Title". Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved October 9, 2015.
  23. ^ "UWA/UWF Intercontinental Tag Team Title". Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
  24. ^ "UWA Intercontinental Tag Team Titles". WrestlingData. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  25. ^ "Real Japan Pro-Wrestling Results: 2021". PuroLove.com (in German). Retrieved August 10, 2021.
  26. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4
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  27. ^ Box y Lucha staff (January 19, 2003). "2002: considerar detrás". Box y Lucha Magazine (in Spanish). issue 2593.
  28. ^ "U.W.A. World Women's Tag Team Title". Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
  29. ^ "UWA/ Junior Title". wrestling-titles.com.
  30. ^ "UWA Debut Show". ProWrestlingHistory. January 29, 1975. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
  31. ^ Centinela, Teddy (February 7, 2015). "En un día como hoy... 1981: Aniversario independiente, Solitario vs. Villano III por el Campeonato Mundial de Peso Semicompleto UWA". Súper Luchas (in Spanish). Retrieved July 6, 2015.
  32. ^ "7th Anniversary Show". ProWrestlingHistory. February 14, 1982. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
  33. ^ "9th Anniversary Show". ProWrestlingHistory. February 12, 1984. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
  34. ^ "14th Anniversary Show". ProWrestlingHistory. January 29, 1989. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
  35. ^ "16th Anniversary Show". ProWrestlingHistory. January 27, 1991. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
  36. ^ "17th Anniversary Show". ProWrestlingHistory. January 26, 1992. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
  37. ^ "18th Anniversary Show". ProWrestlingHistory. January 31, 1993. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
  38. ^ "19th Anniversary Show". ProWrestlingHistory. January 30, 1994. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
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