Catch Wrestling Association
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Acronym | CWA |
---|---|
Founded | 1973 (as IBV) |
Defunct | 1999 |
Headquarters | Austria Germany |
Founder(s) | Nico Selenkowitsch |
Owner(s) | Otto Wanz |
Sister | Verband Der Berufsringer |
TheCatch Wrestling Association(CWA) was aprofessional wrestlingorganization based inAustriaandGermanythat was founded as theInternationalen Berufsringer Verbandes(IBV) in 1973. Since the late 1980s it has been known as the CWA in honour of the promotion'sWorld Heavyweight Championship- this has since become a common retronym for the entire history of the organisation. It was founded by Nico Selenkowitsch and run by him until the late 1980s when he was succeeded by long-term championOtto Wanzand Peter Wilhelm.
The CWA featured a traditional brand of mat wrestling mixed with various “Strong Man” competitions. During the late 1970s the then IBV overtook the oldVerband der Berufsringerto become the dominant promotion in the German/Austrian wrestling territory, maintaining a high profile even after the invasion ofWWFcirca 1990. After its closure it was replaced in 2000 by the European Wrestling Promotion (EWP), which was renamed the Catch Wrestling Promotion (CWP) in 2023.
The company was engaged in talent-share agreements with other wrestling promotions, includingNew Japan Pro-Wrestlingand theAmerican Wrestling Association.These agreements expanded the opportunities given to many European wrestlers. CWA's biggest card was theEuro Catch Festival,which was held twice a year (it was held inGraz,Austriain the summer, while in the winter, it was held inBremen,Germany).
Matches were fought usingEuropean rules,including dividing matches into three-minute rounds and having the possibility of a victory byknockout.One distinct feature of the CWA, later bequeathed to EWP, was the playing of pop music records during the breaks between rounds. Rings were noticeably larger than in other European territories and often were covered in advertising/sponsorship messages. The CWA World Heavyweight Championship was recognized as the legitimate European World Championship as counterpart to theAWA,NWAandWWFtitles in North America, theUniversal Wrestling Associationtitle in Mexico,NJPW'sIWGP Heavyweight Championshipin Japan and the Mountevans "WWA" World Heavyweight title in the UK. A championship claimed to be the CWA version was contested betweenKendo NagasakiandGiant HaystacksatFairfield HallsCroydonin 1991 beforeBBCcameras for the documentary "Masters of the Canvas" screened the following year.[1](although at the time the actual holder wasRambo).[2]
Until the launch ofEurosport'sNew Catchprogramme which it shared with the French EWF, the promotion did not have its own TV show but nonetheless from 1980 taped many of its matches for the home video market using highly professional multi camera arrangements. Inspired by this, rival VDB also released home videos in rougher setups using single handheld cameras. Some of the CWA matches were aired in Wales, United Kingdom, onOrig WilliamsWelsh language wrestling showResloonS4C.Many have since been uploaded to YouTube.[3]
Championships
[edit]Alumni
[edit]- André the Giant
- Chris Benoit[9]
- Ludvig Borga (Tony Halme)
- Robbie Brookside (Robert Brooks)
- Duke Droese/Marshall Duke (Mike Droese)
- Dave "Fit" Finlay[9]
- Tatsumi Fujinami
- John Hawk (John Layfield)
- Ulf Herman (Ulf Nadrowski)
- Barry Horowitz
- Don Leo Jonathan (Don Heaton)
- Marty Jones
- Owen Hart
- Texas Scott (Scott Hall)
- Takayuki Iizuka
- Fuji Yamaha (Michiyoshi Ohara)
- Jean-Pierre Lafitte/Carl Wallace (Carl Ouellet)[9]
- Chris Jericho (Chris Irvine)
- Joe E. Legend (Joe Hitchen)
- Bob Orton Jr.
- Baron von Raschke
- Rhino Richards (Terry Gerin)
- Road Warrior Hawk (Michael Hegstrand)
- Paul Roma (Paul Centopani)
- Lance Storm (Lance Evers)
- Hiro Yamamoto (Hiroyoshi Yamamoto)
- Bull Power (Leon White)[9]
- Otto Wanz[9]
- Ultimate Warrior (Warrior)
- Papa Shango (Charles Wright)
- Larry Cameron[10]
- Shinya Hashimoto
- Giant Haystacks
- Akira Nogami
- Joe-Joe Lee (Satoshi Kojima)
- Kendo Kashin (Tokimitsu Ishizawa)
- Buffalo Peterson/Heavy Metal Buffalo/Maxx Payne (Darryl Peterson)
- The Warlord (Terry Szopinski)
- Rambo (Luc Poirier)
- Mad Bull Buster (Anthony Durante)
- Osamu Nishimura
- BonecrusherDan Sileo
- David Taylor
- Cannonball Grizzly (Paul Neu)
- Ice Train (Harold Hogue)
- The Great Kokina (Rodney Anoa'i)
- Jushin Thunder Liger (Keiichi Yamada)
- Shaun Koen
- Mile Zrno[11]
- Flyin' Scorpio/2 Cold Scorpio (Charles Scaggs)
- Salvatore Bellomo
- Drew McDonald
- Bruiser Mastino (Mike Hallick)
- Steve Regal (Darren Matthews)
- Rip Rogers
- Derrick Dukes
- Moondog Rex[12]
- The Barbarian
- Bastion Booger
- Dan Collins[13]
- Tiger Mike (Mike Lozansky)[14]
- Mark Mercedes[15]
- Kendo Sasaki (Kensuke Sasaki)
- Tony St. Clair
- Franz Schumann
- Sgt. Slaughter
- Mamdouh Farag
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^Arena - Masters of the Canvas BBC 1992
- ^CWA World Heavyweight Championship - Wrestling Titles - Retrieved 25 May 2023
- ^CWA matches 1979-1999 Retrieved May 25 2003
- ^"Catch Wrestling Association Heavyweight Title".Wrestling-Titles.com.Retrieved2009-09-26.
- ^"Catch Wrestling Association Intercontinental Heavyweight Title".Wrestling-Titles.com.Retrieved2009-09-26.
- ^"Catch Wrestling Association World Tag Team Title".Wrestling-Titles.com.Retrieved2009-09-26.
- ^"Catch Wrestling Association World Junior Heavyweight Title".Wrestling-Titles.com.Retrieved2009-09-26.
- ^"Catch Wrestling Association World Middleweight Title".Wrestling-Titles.com.Retrieved2009-09-26.
- ^abcde"Catch Wrestling Association".Online World Of Wrestling.Retrieved2008-02-12.
- ^"Larry Cameron".Archived fromthe originalon 2011-11-22.Retrieved2011-03-29.
- ^"Mile Zrno".Archived fromthe originalon 2011-11-22.Retrieved2011-03-29.
- ^"Randy Culley".Archived fromthe originalon 2011-11-16.Retrieved2011-03-29.
- ^"Dan Collins".Archived fromthe originalon 2012-03-03.Retrieved2011-03-29.
- ^"Mike Anthony".Archived fromthe originalon 2011-11-14.Retrieved2011-03-29.
- ^Kreikenbohm, Philip."Matches « Mark Mercedes « Wrestlers Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database".www.cagematch.net.
External links
[edit]- Catch Wrestling Associationat Online World Of Wrestling
- Catch Wrestling Associationon Pro-Wrestling Title Histories