The Ladies Professional Wrestling Association (LPWA) was a

women's professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a dramatic enactment of wrestling as a spectator sport. As is the norm for this sport, women's professional wrestling is organized by wrestling federations called promotions. Some promotions are exclusively for wome ...

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

which operated in the early 1990s (ca. 1989–1992). It was considered a successor to such women's promotions as

Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling (also known by its initials as GLOW or G.L.O.W.) is a women's professional wrestling promotion that began in 1986 (the pilot was filmed in December 1985) and has continued in various forms after it left television. ...

(GLOW), but it differed in that, while GLOW slanted more toward WWF-style

sports entertainment Sports entertainment is a type of spectacle which presents an ostensibly competitive event using a high level of theatrical flourish and extravagant presentation, with the purpose of entertaining an audience. Unlike typical sports and games, whi ...

, the LPWA treated its product seriously and put its primary emphasis on in-ring athletics.

History

Thurston John "Tor" Berg (1938–2011) founded the company ca. 1989. An incident occurred in March 1991, where Berg promised Jumping Bomb Angels member Noriyo Tateno that he would give her a permanent job in the new company if she retired in Japan and moved to the United States. Berg, however, later backed out on the deal, and

Sherri Martel Sherry Schrull (née Russell; born February 8, 1958 – June 15, 2007) was an American professional wrestler and manager, better known by her ring names, Sherri Martel and Sensational Sherri. Martel began her professional wrestling career in the ...

made the incident public. The LPWA produced two television series, ''The Super Ladies of Wrestling'' and ''Ladies Championship Wrestling'' from 1990 to 1992. Many of their matches were also distributed and sold on VHS tapes. They held their first and only pay-per-view, ''Super Ladies Showdown'', on February 23, 1992 before closing down operations shortly after. Berg planned on promoting a second ''Super Ladies'' pay-per-view event in 2000, but the event was canceled. The pay-per-view was scheduled to feature women from around the world, including American wrestlers Debbie Malenko,

, Sweet Destiny and Missy Hyatt; Japanese wrestlers Chikako Shiratori, AKINO, Chapparita Asari and

Ayako Hamada is a Mexican professional wrestler. During her 20-year career, Hamada wrestled for various promotions, including All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling, Gaea Japan and Pro Wrestling Wave in Japan, Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) and Lucha Libr ...

; and Australian wrestlers Amy Action, Raya Riot, and former LPWA Champion

Susan Sexton Susan is a feminine given name, from Persian "Susan" (lily flower), from Egyptian '' sšn'' and Coptic ''shoshen'' meaning "lotus flower", from Hebrew ''Shoshana'' meaning "lily" (in modern Hebrew this also means "rose" and a flower in general), ...

Super Ladies Showdown

LPWA Super Ladies Showdown was a

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

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 g ...

from the LPWA. It took place on February 23, 1992 from the

Mayo Civic Center The Mayo Civic Center is a multi-purpose convention center and event facility in Rochester, Minnesota. The original building was built in 1938, as a gift to the city by Charles Horace Mayo, Dr. Charles H. Mayo and Mayo Properties Association (now ...

Rochester, Minnesota Rochester is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Olmsted County. Located on rolling bluffs on the Zumbro River's south fork in Southeast Minnesota, the city is the home and birthplace of the renowned Mayo Clinic. Ac ...

. It was the only PPV from the LPWA, which folded shortly after the event. The main event was a match for the LPWA Singles Championship, in which Terri Powers faced Lady X. The event also featured a tournament for the LPWA Japanese Championship.

Results

Championships

LPWA Championship

The LPWA Championship was a

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...

created in early 1990.

LPWA Japanese Championship

The LPWA Japanese Championship was a

created in 1992. The inaugural (and only) champion was Harley Saito, who won an eight-woman tournament held during the Super Ladies Showdown pay-per-view event.

Inaugural championship tournament (1992)

LPWA Tag Team Championship

The LPWA Tag Team Championship 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 ...

title created in early 1990.

LPWA Mixed Tag Team Championship

The LPWA Tag Team Championship was an existing

title recognized in early-mid 1990. In 1973, Adrian Street and Miss Linda won the World Mixed Tag Team Championship by defeating Don Kovaks and Suzie Parker in Germany. Street and Linda were still undefeated as champions when they joined the LPWA in 1990 and continued to defend the championships in the promotion.

Alumni

Wrestlers

Female wrestlers

*Allison Royal () *Alona Star *Alma Alvarez *Babyface Nellie *Bad Girl *

Bambi ''Bambi'' is a 1942 American animated drama film directed by David Hand (supervising a team of sequence directors), produced by Walt Disney and based on the 1923 book ''Bambi, a Life in the Woods'' by Austrian author and hunter Felix Salten ...

() *The Beast () *Black Venus () *Brandy Wine * Brittany Brown *

Candi Devine Candace Maria Rummel (January 1, 1958 – February 9, 2022) was an American professional wrestler better known by her ring name Candi Devine. She won singles championships in several promotions, most notably in the American Wrestling Associati ...

() *Cheryl Day
Cheryl Rusa
() *Comrade Orga Stalinska * Dawn Marie () *Dangerous Debbie T Wild *Denise Storm *

Desiree Petersen Desiree Petersen is a professional wrestler. She was born in Copenhagen, Denmark and once held the WWF Women's Tag Team Championship. Wrestling career In 1982, Desiree Petersen met Stu Hart. Hart would not train her, but referred her for train ...

*Despina Montagas *

Diane Von Hoffman Phyllis Burch (April 13, 1962 – July 6, 2017) was an American professional wrestler active from 1979 to 2013. Burch wrestled under the names Diane Von Hoffman, The Teutonic Terror, and Lady Beast. She wrestled in Memphis's United States Wr ...

*Eagle Sawai *Flame *

Harley Saito Sayori Saito (斉藤さより) (December 21, 1967 – December 15, 2016) was a Japanese professional wrestler, who performed under the name of Harley Saito (ハーレー斉藤). She spent much of her career for Ladies Legend Pro-Wrestling. Car ...

Heidi Lee Morgan Heidi Lee Morgan (born June 29, 1967) is a retired American professional wrestler who competed in the World Wrestling Federation, International World Class Championship Wrestling, Ladies Pro Wrestling Association, and National Wrestling Federatio ...

* Judy Martin () *Kimmie Kozak *La Gata *Lady Lilith () * Lady X () *

Leilani Kai Patty Seymour (born January 23, 1960) is a semi-retired professional wrestler, better known by her ring name Leilani Kai. She began training with The Fabulous Moolah right after finishing high school. In the 1980s, as part of the World Wrestling ...

() *Lisa Starr *

Madusa Miceli Debrah Ann Miceli (born February 9, 1964), better known as Madusa, is an Italian-born American monster truck driver and former professional wrestler. She is currently working for National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) as a producer. In 2015, she has ...

() * Magnificent Mimi () *

Malia Hosaka Malia Hosaka (born October 7, 1969) is an American professional wrestler. She is a former NWA World Women's Champion. Professional wrestling career Malia Hosaka was trained by Killer Kowalski at the wrestling training camp run by Misty Blue Simmes ...

*Mami Kitamura *Midori Saito *Miki Handa * Miss Linda *

Misty Blue Simmes Diane Simmes (born February 8, 1956), better known by her ring name Misty Blue Simmes, is an American former professional wrestler. Career Beginning Simmes got into wrestling after learning to box and being part of an all-female boxing show. ...

() *Mizuki Endoh *Nasty Kat () *Nasty Linda () *

Reggie Bennett Reggie Bennett (born January 24, 1961) is an American former professional wrestler. She is best known for her work in ''joshi puroresu'' organizations such as All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling. Professional wrestling career Bennett began wrestl ...

() * Rockin' Robin () *Rusty "The Fox" Thomas *Samantha Pain *Shelly Francis () *

Shinobu Kandori is a retired Japanese wrestler and politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, a member of the House of Councillors in the Diet (national legislature). A native of Yokohama, Kanagawa, she ran unsuccessfully for House of Councillors in 20 ...

*Sindy Paradise * Susan Green *

Sweet Georgia Brown "Sweet Georgia Brown" is a jazz standard composed in 1925 by Ben Bernie and Maceo Pinkard, with lyrics by Kenneth Casey. History Reportedly, Ben Bernie came up with the concept for the song's lyrics – although he is not the credited lyricis ...

() * Terri Power () * Tina Moretti () * Wendi Richter *Yukari Osawa

Male wrestlers

Adrian Street Adrian Street (born 5 December 1940) is a retired Welsh professional wrestler and author known for his flamboyant, androgynous wrestling persona, brought to prominence in the 1970s and 1980s. Street was often accompanied to the ring by his long- ...

() *

Barry Horowitz Barry Horowitz (born March 24, 1959) is an American professional wrestler, best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). Early life Horowitz attended Florida State University, where he studied sports nutrition and wrestled ...

* Tim Horner

Tag Teams

*Bambi and Malia Hosaka *Bad Black and Beautiful () * The Glamour Girls (The Queen's Court) () *Locomotion () *The Mighty Mites () *The Nasty Girls () *New Team America () *Rockin' Robin and Wendi Richter *Team America ()

Mixed Tag Teams

*Adnan Al-Kaissie and Sheba *Adrian Street and Miss Linda *Barry Horowitz and Lisa Starr *Tim Horner and Malia Hosaka

Other on-air talent

Commissioner *

Wally Karbo Walter Joseph Karbo (August 14, 1915 – March 23, 1993) was an American professional wrestling promoter and co-founder of the American Wrestling Association with Verne Gagne. A longtime promoter in the Minneapolis-area, Karbo was a close associ ...

Managers *

Adnan Al-Kaissie Adnan bin Abdul Kareem Ahmed Alkaissy El Farthie ( ar, عدنان بن عبدالكريم أحمد القيسي ألفرث; born c. 1 March 1936 or 1939), better known professionally as Adnan Al-Kaissie, is an Iraqi former professional wrestler a ...

() *Ashley Kennedy () *Boogaloo Brown *Jonathan Blue * Norman () *"Queen" Christopher Love () Announcers *

Jim Cornette James Mark "Jim" Cornette (born September 17, 1961) is an American author and podcaster who has previously worked in the professional wrestling industry as an agent, booker, color commentator, manager, promoter, trainer, and occasional prof ...

* Joe Pedicino *Ken Resnik *

Nick Bockwinkel Nicholas Warren Francis "Nick" Bockwinkel (December 6, 1934 – November 14, 2015) was an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the American Wrestling Association (AWA) in the 1970s and 1980s. Bockwinkel ...

* Sgt. Slaughter () Interviewer *

Boni Blackstone Bonnie "Boni" Blackstone (born November 8, 1965) is a retired American professional wrestling announcer, commentator, model, television and radio producer. She was a popular on-air personality in regional territories of the Southern United States ...

References

External links

* {{Women's professional wrestling Independent professional wrestling promotions based in the Southwestern United States Women's professional wrestling promotions