The

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

professional wrestling promotion A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling that has little relationship to the rules of the amateur olympic form. "Promotion" also describes a role which entails man ...

Universal Wrestling Association The Universal Wrestling Association (UWA) was a Mexican ''Lucha Libre'' or professional wrestling promotion based in Naucalpan, Mexico State that operated from 1975 until 1995. The name of the actual promotion was Lucha Libre Internacional (LLI) ...

, which existed from 1975 until 1995 held a series of

supercard In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...

s over the years, including their annual "UWA Anniversary Show" that they held from 1976 until 1994 in late January or early February each year. Since the UWA operated before the

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...

(PPV) technology became readily available in Mexico the shows were normally taped for television broadcast.

UWA Debut Show

The

(UWA) held their debut show on January 26, 1975 featuring a mixture of wrestlers who had joined the UWA founders from

Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Co., Ltd. (CMLL; , "World Wrestling Council") is a ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City. The promotion was previously known as ''Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre'' (''EMLL'') (''Mexi ...

(EMLL) and wrestlers from the

independent circuit In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indie circuit is the collective noun, collective name of independent professional wrestling promotions which are smaller than major televised promotions. It is roughly analogous to a minor lea ...

. In the main event

Aníbal Aníbal is the Spanish and Portuguese masculine given name equivalent of Hannibal (q.v.), itself a latinization of the Greek name Hanníbas (Ἀννίβας), derived from “ḥnbʿl” in the Carthaginian language (Carthaginian Punic script, 𐤇 ...

successfully defended the

NWA World Middleweight Championship The NWA World Middleweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) between 1939 and 2010. For most of its existence, it was defended in the Mexican '' lucha libre'' promotion Consejo Mundial ...

against former champion

René Guajardo Manuel Guajardo Mejorado (January 4, 1933 – May 11, 1992), better known as René Guajardo, was a Mexican professional wrestler. Professional wrestling career René Guajardo was born in Villa Mainero, Tamaulipas, Mexico. At the age of 16, Gua ...

. Aníbal had taken the Middleweight championship belt with him when he left EMLL, but since the UWA were not members of the

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA ...

(NWA) Aníbal was stripped of the title after making an unsanctioned defense at UWA's debut show. The show featured five matches in total, including a Best two out of three falls Six-man tag team match featuring one of the UWA founders,

Ray Mendoza José Díaz Velázquez (July 6, 1929 – April 16, 2003) was a Mexican ''Luchador'', or professional wrestler, better known under his ring name Ray Mendoza. Diaz had great success in the National Wrestling Alliance, where he was a five time Wor ...

, teaming up with two up-and-coming wrestlers

Mil Mascaras Mil, mil, or MIL may refer to: Places * Mil, Syria, a village in Syria * Mil, Azerbaijan, a municipality in Beylagan Rayon * Mil, Markazi, a village in Markazi Province, Iran * Metropolitan area of Milan ( IATA code: MIL), Italy * Mill Hill Broa ...

and

El Solitario Roberto González Cruz (May 22, 1946 – April 6, 1986) was a Mexican professional wrestler who wrestled under the name El Solitario. During his career he held both the NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship and the NWA World Middleweight Cham ...

, both of whom would go on to have long distinguished careers. They faced the team of veteran

Dory Dixon Dorrel "Dory" Dixon (born February 1, 1935) is a Jamaican retired professional wrestler who worked for the majority of his career in Mexico, where he eventually became a Mexican citizen. He is currently a pastor for the Seventh-day Adventist Churc ...

who had joined the UWA to attain one last run in the main event, teaming with North American wrestler

Sunny War Cloud Sunny is a daytime weather condition. It may refer to: People * Sunny (name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Sunny (singer), member of Girls' Generation * Sunny, of Sue and Sunny, who also recorded as a solo artist ...

and the man who would later become synonymous with the UWA,

El Canek Felipe Estrada (born June 19, 1952), known as El Canek or simply Canek, is a Mexican ''luchador enmascarado'' or masked professional wrestler best known for the 20 years he worked for the Universal Wrestling Association where he held the UWA Wor ...

. Mendoza, Máscaras and Solitario won the match in three falls. The undercard featured several other wrestlers who had been underutilized in EMLL but would go on to become famous for their work in the UWA:

Rayo de Jalisco Máximino Linares Moreno (November 22, 1932 – July 19, 2018) was a Mexican ''luchador'' (professional wrestler) and lucha film star, better known under the ring name Rayo de Jalisco ("The Lightning Bolt from Jalisco"). He is considered to be ...

Tinieblas Manuel Leal (born June 8, 1939), better known as Tinieblas ("Darkness"), is a Mexican people, Mexican lucha libre, luchador. Professional wrestling career Tinieblas began as a body builder and stunt man who was spotted by luchadores Black Shadow ...

Dos Caras José Luis Rodríguez Arellano (born February 21, 1951) is a Mexican ''Luchador Enmascarado'' (masked professional wrestler) who wrestles under the ring name Dos Caras (Spanish for "two faces"). His most active years were in the 1970s and 1980s ...

and

Villano I José de Jesús Díaz Mendoza (June 28, 1950 – January 4, 2001), known by the ring name of Villano I (Villano Primero), was a Mexican ''luchador'' '' enmascarado'', or masked professional wrestler. He was the son of ''luchador'' Ray Mendoza, ...

UWA 6th Anniversary Show

The Universal Wrestling Association 6th Anniversary Show (''El Sexto Aniversario de Universal Wrestling Association'' in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

) was a

promoted by the

(UWA) to commemorate sixth anniversary of their debut in 1975 and was held on February 8, 1981.

UWA 7th Anniversary Show

The Universal Wrestling Association 7th Anniversary Show (''El Séptimo Aniversario de Universal Wrestling Association'' in

) was a

promoted by the

(UWA) to commemorate seventh anniversary of their debut in 1975 and was held on February 14, 1982. The main event of the evening was a

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...

match where UWA wrestler

Perro Aguayo Pedro Aguayo Damián (18 January 1946 — 3 July 2019) better known as "(El) Perro Aguayo" (Aguayo the dog) and El Can de Nochistlan (The Nochistlan Dog) was a Mexican wrestler through the 1970s to the 1990s. Aguayo was the first person ever ...

teamed up with

Abdullah the Butcher Lawrence Robert Shreve (born January 11, 1941), better known by the ring name Abdullah the Butcher, is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He has a reputation for being involved in some of the most violent and bloody hardcore wrestling matc ...

, wrestling and defeating the Japanese team of

Antonio Inoki Muhammad Hussain Inoki (born ; February 20, 1943 – October 1, 2022) was a Japanese professional wrestler, martial artist, politician, and promoter of professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. He was best known by the ring name , a homag ...

and

Tatsumi Fujinami (born December 28, 1953) is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to WWE on a legend's contract. Fujinami is most well known for his long tenure with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he was a six-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion. H ...

, representing

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares ...

, with whom the UWA had a long running working arrangement. The semi-main event saw

successfully defend the

UWA World Heavyweight Championship The UWA World Heavyweight Championship (''Campeonato Mundial peso Completo de UWA'' in Spanish) was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship originally promoted by Universal Wrestling Association (UWA) until it closed in 1995. Aft ...

against Don Corleone. Also on the card

Gran Hamada , better known by his ring name , is a Japanese professional wrestler, the first to adopt the high-flying Mexican lucha libre style. He has wrestled for New Japan Pro-Wrestling, the Universal Wrestling Federation, Michinoku Pro and All Japan Pro ...

defeated Centurion Negro to win the

UWA World Middleweight Championship The UWA World Middleweight Championship (''Campeonato Mundial de Peso Medio UWA'' in Spanish) is a professional wrestling championship originally created and sanctioned by the Mexican lucha libre promotion Universal Wrestling Association (UWA) fro ...

. Wrestling legend and multiple time world champion

Lou Thez Aloysius Martin "Lou" Thesz (April 24, 1916 – April 28, 2002) was an American professional wrestler. He was a three-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion and held the title for a combined total of 10 years, three months and nine days (3,749 d ...

served as the referee for both championship matches. In the opening match UWA's premiere ''

rudo Rudo ( sr-cyrl, Рудо) is a town and municipality located in Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 7,963 inhabitants, while the town of Rudo has a population of 1,949 inhabitants. It is f ...

'' (bad guy) Trio, ''

Los Misioneros de la Muerte Los Misioneros de la Muerte (Spanish for the Missionaries of Death') was a Mexican ''Lucha libre'', or professional wrestling Trio that has been credited with making the two out of three falls six-man tag team match the most common match form in ...

'' (

El Signo Antonio Sánchez Rendón (born September 4, 1954), is a retired Mexican ''Lucha libre, luchador'', or professional wrestling, professional wrestler best known under the ring name ''El Signo'' (Spanish language, Spanish for "The Symbol"). Rendón w ...

Negro Navarro Negro Navarro (born June 12, 1957) is the ring name of Miguel Calderón Navarro, a Mexican ''luchador'', or professional wrestler. Navarro works as a Freelancer on the Mexican independent circuit as well as making regular appearances for Inter ...

and

El Texano Juan Conrado Aguilar Jáuregui (November 26, 1958 – January 15, 2006), better known by his ring name El Texano, was a Mexican ''Lucha libre, Luchador'', or Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. From the early 1970s to the early 2000s, ...

) defeated NJPW representatives

Kuniaki Kobayashi Kuniaki Kobayashi (小林邦昭) (born January 11, 1956) is a retired Japanese Junior Heavyweight professional wrestler most notable for being the generational rival of the famous Tiger Mask character in Japanese pro wrestling. He wrestled numer ...

Masa Saito was a Japanese professional wrestler better known as Mr. Saito or , who wrestled for 33 years around the world. He had success as a singles wrestler, winning the AWA World Heavyweight Championship in 1990, and as a tag team wrestler with multip ...

and

George Takano , born June 23, 1958, is an American-Japanese retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler better known under the ring name . He was also billed from Uganda under the alias The Cobra, a Lucha libre#Masks, masked wrestler Glossary of prof ...

UWA 9th Anniversary Show

The Universal Wrestling Association 9th Anniversary Show (''El Noveno Aniversario de Universal Wrestling Association'' in

) was a

promoted by the

(UWA) to commemorate seventh anniversary of their debut in 1975 and was held on January 29, 1984. The only confirmed match results found for the 9th Anniversary show was from the main event as

defended the

against the French

André the Giant André René Roussimoff (; 19 May 1946 – 28 January 1993), better known by his ring name André the Giant, was a French professional wrestler and actor. Roussimoff was known for his great size, which was a result of gigantism caused by exce ...

in one of El Canek's most famous matches. El Canek successfully defended the championship, actually bodyslamming André the Giant during the match, a feat very few people have done through Andre's career.

UWA 14th Anniversary Show

The Universal Wrestling Association 14th Anniversary Show (''El Decimocuarto Aniversario de Universal Wrestling Association'' in

) was a

promoted by the

(UWA) to commemorate seventh anniversary of their debut in 1975 and was held on January 29, 1989. This event, like all other Anniversary shows took place at ''El Toreo De Naucalpan''

bullfight Bullfighting is a physical contest that involves a bullfighter attempting to subdue, immobilize, or kill a bull, usually according to a set of rules, guidelines, or cultural expectations. There are several variations, including some forms wh ...

ing arena, the UWA's "home arena". The main event was a high profile

match where champion

successfully defended against one of

Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Co., Ltd. (CMLL; , "World Wrestling Council") is a ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City. The promotion was previously known as ''Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre'' (''EMLL'') (''Mexi ...

(CMLL)'s most popular heavyweights

Konnan Charles Ashenoff (born Carlos Santiago Espada Moises; January 6, 1964),''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'', Dave Meltzer, ed., May 10, 2010, issue.Sims, Steve"Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame/Founded by Dave Meltzer - Konnan". Accessed August 1, 2016. O ...

. The show also featured a young Japanese wrestler by the name of

Yoshihiro Asai Yoshihiro is a Japanese masculine given name, and less commonly, a surname. There are dozens of different ways to write the name in kanji. Some examples of possible writings *義弘, "justice, vast" *義広, "justice, wide" *義寛, "justice, g ...

, a man who would later become known as Último Dragón, a name he adopted while wrestling in Mexico.

UWA 16th Anniversary Show

The Universal Wrestling Association 16th Anniversary Show (''El Decimosexto Aniversario de Universal Wrestling Association'' in

) was a

promoted by the

(UWA) to commemorate seventh anniversary of their debut in 1975 and was held on January 27, 1991. This event, like all other Anniversary shows took place at ''El Toreo De Naucalpan''

ing arena, the UWA's "home arena". In the main event UWA's most popular wrestlers,

and

, defeated a team called The Hawaiian Beasts, consisting of Samoans Fatu, Kokina (Later known as Yokozuna) and Nikozuna (also known as the Samoan Savage).

UWA 17th Anniversary Show

The Universal Wrestling Association 17th Anniversary Show (''El Decimoséptimo Aniversario de Universal Wrestling Association'' in

) was a

promoted by the

(UWA) to commemorate seventh anniversary of their debut in 1975 and was held on January 26, 1992. This event, like all other Anniversary shows took place at ''El Toreo De Naucalpan''

ing arena, the UWA's "home arena". The main event was a high profile

WWF World Light Heavyweight Championship The WWF Light Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) promotion. The title was challenged by light heavyweights at a maximum weight of 215 lbs (before deactivation, ...

defense with champion

Chris Benoit Christopher Michael Benoit (; May 21, 1967 – June 24, 2007) was a Canadian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He worked for various pro-wrestling promotions during his 22-year career including most notably the WWE, World Wrestlin ...

defeating UWA's top Mexican Light Heavyweight

Villano III Arturo Díaz Mendoza (March 23, 1952 – August 21, 2018) was a Mexican professional wrestler who performed under the ring name Villano III (in Spanish Villano Tercero). Díaz was a second-generation wrestler, son of ''luchador'' Ray Mendoza an ...

in a match that went over 42 minutes of non-stop action. The fifth match of the night featured the rivalry between

El Hijo del Santo Jorge Ernesto Guzmán Rodríguez (born August 2, 1963) is a Mexican ''luchador enmascarado'', or masked professional wrestler and political activist, best known under the ring name, El Hijo del Santo ("The Son of the Saint"). Guzmán is the yo ...

and

Negro Casas José Casas Ruiz (born January 10, 1960) is a Mexican professional wrestler (called a ''Luchador'' in Spanish) and trainer working for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) under the ring name Negro Casas. He is the son of former wrestler turn ...

, a rivalry that would continue for years, even after both wrestlers joined

(CMLL). On the night Hijo del Santo teamed up with

and

to defeat Casas,

and Fishman. The show also had appearances of Buffalo Allen, Kokina, better known as "Bad News" Brown and Yokozuna in the

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

(WWF). In the third match

made his last anniversary show appearance as he teamed with his brothers

Villano IV Tomás Díaz Mendoza (born April 9, 1965) is a Mexican professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Villano IV (''Villano Cuarto''). Within the stable Los Villanos, he has wrestled for Universal Wrestling Association (UWA), AAA, and Wor ...

and

Villano V Raymundo Díaz Mendoza Jr. (born March 22, 1960) is a Mexican professional wrestler, who has performed under the name Villano V (Villano Quinto, which means "Fifth Villain") until he was unmasked on March 20, 2009, after which he became known a ...

to defeat Baby Face, Killer and Canadian Tiger.

UWA 18th Anniversary Show

The Universal Wrestling Association 18th Anniversary Show (''El Decimoctavo Aniversario de Universal Wrestling Association'' in

) was a

promoted by the

(UWA) to commemorate seventh anniversary of their debut in 1975 and was held on January 31, 1993. This event, like all other Anniversary shows took place at ''El Toreo De Naucalpan''

ing arena, the UWA's "home arena". In the main event

Vampiro Ian Richard Hodgkinson (born May 31, 1967), better known by his ring name Vampiro, is a Canadian semi-retired professional wrestler who most recently served as director of talent for Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA). He also worked for Lucha Unde ...

defeated

to win the

. This ended Canek's 11th, of an eventual 15, title reign. In the semi-main event foreigners Crash the Terminator, Eddie Watts and Goliath el Gigante UWA's Mexican representatives

and ''Los Cowboys'' (

and Silver King). Further down the card ''

'' (

and Black Power II) retained the

UWA World Trios Championship The UWA World Trios Championship is a tag team professional wrestling championship created by the Mexican Universal Wrestling Association and defended there until the UWA closed in 1995. Since then, the championship has been defended in various p ...

when they wrestled to a time limit draw against challengers Dr. Wagner, Jr.,

Scorpio, Jr. Rafael Núñez Juan (born October 11, 1966) is a Mexican ''Luchador'' or professional wrestler who is best known under his Ring name Scorpio Jr. Núñez is the son of professional wrestler "Scorpio", and was trained by his father and Rafael Sala ...

and Shu el Guerrero.

UWA 19th Anniversary Show

The Universal Wrestling Association 19th Anniversary Show (''El Decimonoveno Aniversario de Universal Wrestling Association'' in

) was a

promoted by the

(UWA) to commemorate seventh anniversary of their debut in 1975 and was held on January 30, 1994. This event, like all other Anniversary shows took place at ''El Toreo De Naucalpan''

ing arena, the UWA's "home arena". The 19th Anniversary Show was the last anniversary show promoted by the UWA as it closed its doors in February, 1995, less than a month after its 20th anniversary.

was the only wrestler who worked on the 19th anniversary show that also wrestled on the UWA's

Debut show In business and engineering, new product development (NPD) covers the complete process of bringing a new product to market, renewing an existing product or introducing a product in a new market. A central aspect of NPD is product design, along wi ...

. Canek teamed up with

and

Transformer A transformer is a passive component that transfers electrical energy from one electrical circuit to another circuit, or multiple circuits. A varying current in any coil of the transformer produces a varying magnetic flux in the transformer' ...

in the main event, losing to the team of Yamato and ''Los Villanos'' (

and

, sons of UWA founder

). In the semi-main event Karloff Lagarde, Jr. defeated

Celestial Celestial may refer to: Science * Objects or events seen in the sky and the following astronomical terms: ** Astronomical object, a naturally occurring physical entity, association, or structure that exists in the observable universe ** Celest ...

to win the

UWA World Welterweight Championship The UWA World Welterweight Championship is a championship in professional wrestling that is primarily contested for in various Lucha Libre promotions in Mexico. In 1993, the championship was recognized by the Japanese professional wrestling promoti ...

. The opening match was a rare appearance of ''

Mini-Estrellas The term ''Mini-Estrella'' (Spanish for "Mini-Star") is used in lucha libre to describe a division of short professional wrestlers or ''luchadors'', some of whom have dwarfism. The Mexican ''Mini-Estrellas'' is comparable to Midget wrestling prac ...

'' in the UWA as their popularity had only reemerged in the early 1990s, UWA brought in Fuercita Guerrera and teamed him up with ''Mini-Estrella'' legend Pequeño Goliath who defeated Pequeño Chucky and Micro Konnan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Universal Wrestling Association Shows Lucha libre Sport in Mexico Professional wrestling-related lists Professional wrestling shows Mexico sport-related lists