The Universal Wrestling Federation was a 1986 re-branding of wrestler-turned-owner
Bill Watts' Mid-South Wrestling promotion. Watts' goal was to elevate his promotion from a relatively smaller, regional-level business, to a national-level rival of the
World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now known as
WWE). However, Watts' business strategy quickly swung from "overnight" success to catastrophic failure, resulting in the 1987 sale of the UWF to another rival:
Jim Crockett Promotions (owner of
Mid-Atlantic Wrestling,
Georgia Championship Wrestling
Georgia Championship Wrestling is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The promotion was affiliated with what had been the world's top sanctioning body of championship titles for decades b ...
, the
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and governing body owned by Billy Corgan and operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc.
Founded in 1948, the NWA be ...
(NWA)'s most important championships, and the predecessor of
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of National W ...
). The promotion began as an
NWA territory, NWA Tri-State, founded by
Leroy McGuirk in the 1950s. Tri-State/Mid-South/UWF promoted in
Oklahoma
Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...
,
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...
,
Louisiana
Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
and
Mississippi
Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...
until 1987.
Because Watts did not register the "Universal Wrestling Federation" name with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, businessman
Herb Abrams was able to use it to launch
an unrelated wrestling promotion of the same name in 1990.
History
NWA Tri-State (1950s–1979)
A former territory wrestler who was blinded in a 1950 auto accident, Leroy McGuirk eventually took over promoting a wrestling circuit covering
Oklahoma
Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...
,
Louisiana
Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
and
Mississippi
Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...
. Until 1973, "Cowboy" Bill Watts had been one of Tri-State's most popular wrestlers. After leaving Tri-State for
Eddie Graham
Edward F. Gossett (January 15, 1930 – January 21, 1985), professionally known as Eddie Graham, and Rip Rogers was an American professional wrestler. He was also the promoter and booker for Championship Wrestling from Florida and President of ...
's
Championship Wrestling from Florida
Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida professional wrestling promotion, wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it close ...
, Watts returned to Tri-State in 1975. NWA Tri-State fought a two-year promotional war against
International Championship Wrestling that included the "outlaw" promotion filing an
antitrust lawsuit against McGuirk and Watts.
Mid-South Wrestling (1979–1986)
In 1979, Bill Watts acquired the Tri-State Wrestling territory from Leroy McGuirk, and re-branded it Mid-South Wrestling (MSW; officially, the Mid-South Wrestling Association). One of Watts' first acts as owner was to withdraw the company from the
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and governing body owned by Billy Corgan and operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc.
Founded in 1948, the NWA be ...
(NWA). However, MSW would remain loosely aligned with the NWA, continuing to have the
NWA World Heavyweight Champion defend the title on MSW shows, which spiked live event sales. (During the "territory" system in place from the 1940s to the 1980s, the NWA World Heavyweight Champion would travel to each NWA-affiliated territory to defend the title against its top-drawing local star.) MSW then added
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...
to its circuit. In 1982, MSW expanded to
Oklahoma
Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...
when McGuirk closed his personal, Oklahoma-based promotion. McGuirk also formed an alliance with
Houston
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
promoter
Paul Boesch to feature Mid-South talent on shows at the
Sam Houston Coliseum (one of the most famous arenas in professional wrestling), and other parts of southeastern
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
. Mid-South used
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, third-most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge. The bulk of Shreveport is in Caddo Parish, Lo ...
as the base for its television tapings, which were first housed in the studios of
KTBS-TV
KTBS-TV (channel 3) is a television station in Shreveport, Louisiana, United States, affiliated with American Broadcasting Company, ABC. The station is owned by the locally based KTBS, LLC (owned by the Wray Properties Trust, which is managed b ...
until they were moved around 1982 to the Irish McNeel Sports for Boys club, located on the Louisiana State Fairgrounds.
In the early 1980s,
The Junkyard Dog would dominate as the company's top draw. He would also become overwhelming the most preferred local sports star who New Orleans schoolchildren wanted to meet, even more popular than big local New Orleans-based athletes
Archie Manning
Elisha Archibald Manning III (born May 19, 1949) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons, primarily with the New Orleans Saints from 1971 to 1982. He also h ...
and
"Pistol" Pete Maravich, during the 1981-1982 academic year.
In addition, he would also gain notoriety for being an African American who headlined a wrestling promotion at a time when African Americans in other promotions were billed as side acts.
Instead of the cartoon-ish characters and interviews common to the
Hulkamania-era WWF, Mid-South Wrestling's content focused on: energetic matches performed before raucous and packed crowds; characters whose personas blurred the line between good and evil; an intensely physical, athletic wrestling style; and an episodic TV show format.
The promotion ran shows in a mix of small venues and gigantic arenas. In 1980, a card pitting a "blinded"
Junkyard Dog
Sylvester Ritter (December 13, 1952 – June 1, 1998) was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and NCAA football, college football player, best known for his time in Universal Wrestling Federation (Bill Watts), Mid-South Wre ...
against Freebird
Michael Hayes in the main event drew nearly 30,000 fans for a show presented by a promotion less than one year old. In 1984, Watts came out of retirement to team with a masked Junkyard Dog (under the name
Stagger Lee) to face
the Midnight Express to cap an angle in which the Express and manager
Jim Cornette
James Mark Cornette (born September 17, 1961) is an American author, sports historian, and podcaster who previously worked in the professional wrestling industry as an agent, booker, color commentator, manager, photographer, promoter, tra ...
beat Watts on
TV. Its undercard featured a showdown between
Magnum T.A. and
Mr. Wrestling II. The 1984 show drew 22,000 fans—an unimaginably large crowd for a regional territory show.
In the mid-1980s, MSW began to expand nationally.
In 1985, longtime wrestling fan
Ted Turner
Robert Edward Turner III (born November 19, 1938) is an American entrepreneur, television producer, media proprietor, and Philanthropy, philanthropist. He founded the CNN, Cable News Network (CNN), the first 24-hour United States cable news, ...
invited Watts to air MSW's weekly TV show on Turner's
SuperStation TBS network. Turner wanted an alternative to the
World Wrestling Federation show airing in the coveted 2-hour, Saturday-evening timeslot, which the WWF had acquired when it bought out the majority ownership of
Georgia Championship Wrestling
Georgia Championship Wrestling is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The promotion was affiliated with what had been the world's top sanctioning body of championship titles for decades b ...
. (see:
Black Saturday) Turner was angered by the WWF show because McMahon had promised him it would feature matches and promos taped in TBS' Atlanta studios (as Georgia Championship Wrestling had done for years). But instead of fresh, locally-produced content, the WWF's TBS show only presented clips and highlights from ''other'' WWF TV shows – some, depending on TV market, airing at the same time the TBS show did. (Eventually, the WWF would shoot local, in-studio matches, but only infrequently, and they were usually predictable
squash matches.) MSW quickly became TBS' highest-rated show, so Watts positioned MSW to take over once Turner could force the WWF off his network. Watts' luck ran out, however, when former
Georgia Championship Wrestling
Georgia Championship Wrestling is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The promotion was affiliated with what had been the world's top sanctioning body of championship titles for decades b ...
co-owner
Jim Barnett helped broker a deal enabling North Carolina–based Jim Crockett Promotions' (led by
Jim Crockett, Jr.) to buy the Saturday timeslot from McMahon, and become TBS' sole pro wrestling show. Watts made one more attempt at going national the following year. As part of that plan, Watts replaced Mid-South Wrestling's parochial brandname with a more corporate, ambitious (and WWF-like) one: the Universal Wrestling Federation.
Universal Wrestling Federation (1986–1987)
In March 1986, MSW "went national" (the goal of the most ambitious regional promotions of this era), re-launching as the Universal Wrestling Federation, and securing a
syndication deal airing their two one-hour, weekly TV programs (the lesser show, ''Power Pro Wrestling'' debuted in 1984) in major markets across the United States.
The TV tapings were also taken out of Shreveport and moved on location at various live shows throughout the Mid-South/UWF territory. New wrestlers, mostly from
World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), joined the company, as did former WCCW co-promoter
Ken Mantell. Despite the UWF's strong early ratings and critical praise, it could not compete nationally with
Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) and the WWF, as both had stronger TV distribution and larger live event, pay-per-view (and, in the WWF's case, merchandise licensing) revenue streams. The UWF was further hurt when the oil-based economy of its richest local market—Oklahoma—fell into a severe recession in late 1986. This left the blue collar core of the UWF's fanbase with far less disposable income to spend on things like attending wrestling shows.
Watts sold the UWF to JCP on April 9, 1987,
and many of the UWF's top stars were either retained by JCP, or immediately left for the WWF or WCCW. Unlike the other NWA-affiliated promotions JCP had bought out in the mid-1980s, the UWF did not immediately end; JCP kept its brand—and its three championships—alive in TV storylines until December 1987, when JCP's NWA-affiliated wrestlers defeated all of the UWF wrestlers in a series of "title vs. title" unification matches, among others. Only a few UWF wrestlers were well-received by JCP's fanbase; they included
the Fabulous Freebirds,
Shane Douglas,
Rick Steiner,
Eddie Gilbert, and UWF centerpiece
"Dr. Death" Steve Williams. Most UWF imports were gone from JCP's roster within a year; however, one wrestler would go from UWF midcarder/tag team act, to breakout star in JCP, and the wrestling industry as a whole:
Sting. (Sting's partner in the UWF tag team the
Blade Runners would later become a WWF wrestling legend, too:
The Ultimate Warrior
Warrior (born James Brian Hellwig; June 16, 1959 – April 8, 2014) was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, Bodybuilding, bodybuilder and Motivational speaker, motivational speaker. Best known by his ring name The Ultima ...
.)
In October 1988, JCP, one of the biggest and late stage casualties of the "going national" war with the WWF, sold its collection of territories and titles to Ted Turner's
TBS. Turner re-branded JCP "World Championship Wrestling," naming the new company after its TBS TV show.
Ironically, "Cowboy" Bill Watts ended up running the same business that had swallowed his own: In spring of 1992, WCW hired Watts as its latest Executive Vice President; he held the role less than a year.
World Wrestling Entertainment acquired most of the Mid-South/UWF video archive, absorbing it into its
WWE Libraries
WWE Libraries Inc., branded as the WWE Legacy Department, is an American media company that consists of the largest collection of professional wrestling videos and copyrights in the world. The Legacy Department is a subsidiary of WWE, the profes ...
collection in 2012—with a notable exception: Mid-South/UWF matches taped for ''
Houston Wrestling'' which aired on
KHTV in
Houston
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
. Those rights are held by the estate of
Paul Boesch, who was the Houston territory's promoter.
Corrigan's Corner: Bruce Tharpe Talks NWA - Then and Now (Part 1)
/ref> Select episodes of Mid-South are available for viewing on the WWE Network
WWE Network is a subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and digital television network owned by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, a division of TKO Group Holdings.
The service relied on technology develo ...
and on the NBCUniversal
NBCUniversal Media, LLC (abbreviated as NBCU and Trade name, doing business as NBCUniversal or Comcast NBCUniversal since 2013) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational mass media and Show business, entertainment conglomerate (comp ...
-owned Peacock
Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred t ...
streaming service in the United States.
Storylines
The ''Battle of New Orleans'' was a long-playing brawl between Eddie Gilbert, Terry Taylor, Chris Adams and Sting, which began in the ring and spilled out into the concession area. Beer kegs, chairs, tables, popcorn machine and anything the four wrestlers could get their hands on were used in the brawl which lasted nearly 15 minutes. Sting and Gilbert fought outside the ring, when Rick Steiner came in and piledrived Shane Douglas. With Taylor on top, referee Randy Anderson made the pinfall. Later, Adams came out and told Anderson what had happened, which prompted Gilbert and Taylor to gang-up on Adams. Sting came in to even the sides, and that resulted in an all-out brawl outside the ring. Gilbert was the mastermind of this famous angle and received huge praise from fellow promoters and wrestlers.
Adams was engaged in a storyline involving Iceman King Parsons and Taylor, which evolved out of the UWF Tag Team Championship tournament in February 1987. Originally, Adams and Iceman were one of the eight teams participating, and Taylor was teamed with Sam Houston
Samuel Houston (, ; March 2, 1793 – July 26, 1863) was an American general and statesman who played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution. He served as the first and third president of the Republic of Texas and was one of the first two indi ...
. In a semi-finals match, Adams and Iceman wrestled against "Dr Death" Steve Williams and Ted DiBiase
Theodore Marvin DiBiase Sr. (; born January 18, 1954) is an American retired professional wrestler, manager, and color commentator. He is signed to WWE as of 2024, where he works in their Legends program. DiBiase achieved championship succ ...
until Skandor Akbar's Devastation Inc. charged the ring to attack Williams and DiBiase. The match ended when Williams and DiBiase were counted out, and Adams and Parsons won the match. Adams, who was helping Williams and DiBiase fight off Akbar and his army, wanted the match to continue, but Parsons wanted the win. After a lengthy argument, Adams and Parsons split, and Chris chose Savannah Jack as his new tag team partner. Iceman sucker-punched Savannah during a match and injured him, thus Adams had to choose another tag partner. He chose Terry Taylor, whose team lost a semi-final match to Rick Steiner and Sting. Taylor and Adams eventually won the UWF tag team titles, and held the belts for two months.
Meanwhile, Adams and Parsons engaged in a lengthy feud, which lasted for more than a decade (the two had feuded earlier in WCCW when Adams was the heel and Parsons was the babyface), with Parsons frequently referring to Adams as "Jailbird," a reference to Adams serving jail time in 1986 on an assault conviction. Taylor and Adams, who dominated the UWF tag team scene, lost a match to Steiner and Sting when Taylor kicked Adams foot off the rope as he was being pinned by Sting. A face-vs-face bout between Adams and Taylor marked Taylor's heel turn as he piledrived Adams on the floor. The Taylor-Adams war proved to be one of the most violent feuds in the UWF, with an equal intensity to the feud Adams had with the Von Erichs in World Class. The feud did have a short interruption when Taylor was injured in an automobile accident, but picked up again by the summer and carried over to World Class by 1988. Taylor and Adams promoted a famous angle in August which involved a press conference, where Taylor spoke about his situation with Adams and then left. Chris later took questions, which prompted Taylor to attack Adams with a chair. The following week, Adams conducted an interview vowing revenge against both Taylor and Eddie Gilbert.
Other famous UWF angles included promoter Bill Watts being attacked and having the flag of the Soviet Union
The State Flag of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, also simply known as the Soviet flag or the Red Banner, was a Red flag (politics), red flag with two Communist symbolism, communist symbols displayed in the Canton (flag), canton: a gold ...
draped on him by Eddie Gilbert, Missy Hyatt cold-cocking John Tatum after joining forces with Gilbert, Skandor Akbar throwing a fireball at Hacksaw Jim Duggan ("blinding" him temporarily), and the Freebirds breaking Steve Williams' arm. Williams recruited Oklahoma Sooners
The Oklahoma Sooners are the college athletics in the United States , athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman, Oklahoma, Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to ...
(and future Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...
head coach) Barry Switzer into training and getting back into the ring. It paid off on July 11, 1987, when Dr. Death defeated Big Bubba Rogers (Ray Traylor) to win the UWF Heavyweight Championship. The Freebirds became faces around that time, as they began feuding with Skandor Akbar's army as well as The Angel of Death.
A prelim wrestler, Mike Boyette, wrestled in the UWF and is believed to be one of the very few wrestlers to never win a match. Video editors for the show even put together a music video of his various losses in the ring, set to the Little River Band song " Lonesome Loser". "Gorgeous" Gary Young also competed in the UWF, claiming that he was a rookie. He actually had five years experience under his belt. Young's claims prompted Jim Ross to begin referring to him as a "five-time rookie of the year."
As the UWF's merge with "the NWA" was taking place, Terry Taylor, who held the UWF Television Championship, began an angle with the NWA World Television Champion, Nikita Koloff
Nikita Koloff (born Nelson Scott Simpson, March 9, 1959) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with Jim Crockett Promotions and its successor, World Championship Wrestling between 1984 and 1992, wher ...
. Taylor stole the NWA TV title belt during an NWA show, but Koloff (with help from Dusty Rhodes
Virgil Riley Runnels Jr. (October 11, 1945 – June 11, 2015), better known as "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, booker, and trainer who worked for the National Wrestling Alliance ...
) reclaimed it before their official in-ring encounter. They met at Starrcade 1987, and Nikita unified the two titles as the final leg of the NWA-UWF merger was finished. Williams would successfully defend the UWF Heavyweight Title on the same show versus Barry Windham. Williams immediately left to do a series of lucrative performances in Japan; the title was retired while he was in Asia.
Sting, Rick Steiner, Eddie Gilbert, Missy Hyatt, announcer Jim Ross, Brad Armstrong and the aforementioned Taylor became permanent NWA roster members, among others. The Freebirds, Savannah Jack, Iceman King Parsons, matchmaker Frank Dusek, and promoter Ken Mantell joined the new Wild West Wrestling promotion, which later merged with World Class Championship Wrestling. "Gentleman" Chris Adams, who initially stayed with Jim Crockett Promotions post-UWF, left due to a money dispute and returned to World Class in November 1987. DiBiase, Big Bubba Rogers, One Man Gang, and Sam Houston joined the WWF, joining fellow UWF alumnus " Hacksaw Jim Duggan", who the WWF had signed in February 1987. The Sheepherders, who originally joined Crockett after the merger, left in mid-1988 for the WWF, where they were renamed the Bushwhackers. Terry Taylor also departed, appearing in World Class for a few months (feuding with Chris Adams and Kevin Von Erich), then the WWF in mid-1988 as ''The Red Rooster''. Taylor would go on to have a long WWF/WWE career behind-the-scenes, holding various management and creative team roles.
Former personnel
Announcers
Mid-South's main television broadcasting team included Bill Watts and Boyd Pierce, with KTBS-TV staff announcer Reisor Bowden serving as ring announcer. Jim Ross joined Mid-South after the closure of Leroy McGuirk's Tri-State promotion in Oklahoma, and remained through the transition to UWF. Bill Watts's son Joel Watts was later added to the Mid-South/UWF broadcasting team, and also worked behind-the-scenes as a producer of the TV program.
Following Jim Crockett Promotions' purchase of the UWF, both Bill and Joel Watts exited the promotion and Jim Ross was joined by various partners including Magnum T. A., Michael P.S. Hayes and Missy Hyatt. Veteran JCP announcer Bob Caudle became Ross's permanent partner near the closure of UWF. Frank Dusek and Toni Adams also served as ringside commentators during the course of its UWF tenure; both of whom moved on to World Class.
Wrestlers of NWA Tri-State/Mid-South/UWF
* Chris Adams
* Toni Adams
* Afa
* Skandor Akbar
* André the Giant
* Angel of Death
* Brad Armstrong
* Bill Ash
* The Assassin
* "Mr USA" Tony Atlas
* Ox Baker
* The Barbarian
* Jessie Barr
* Pat Barrett
* Black Bart
* Don Bass
* Brian Blair
* Tully Blanchard
* Nick Bockwinkel
* Mike Bond
* Matt Borne
* Mike Boyer
* Bruiser Brody
* Leroy Brown
* The Brute
* King Kong Bundy
* Ray Candy
* Coco Samoa
* Charlie Cook
* Wendell Cooley
* Tiger Conway Jr.
* Jim Cornette
James Mark Cornette (born September 17, 1961) is an American author, sports historian, and podcaster who previously worked in the professional wrestling industry as an agent, booker, color commentator, manager, photographer, promoter, tra ...
(Manager)
* Dennis Condrey
Dennis Condrey (born February 1, 1952) is an American retired professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the Continental Wrestling Association, Jim Crockett Promotions and World Championship Wrestling ...
* Art Crews
* Dark Journey
* John Davidson
* Rick Davidson
* Ted DiBiase
Theodore Marvin DiBiase Sr. (; born January 18, 1954) is an American retired professional wrestler, manager, and color commentator. He is signed to WWE as of 2024, where he works in their Legends program. DiBiase achieved championship succ ...
* Shane Douglas
* Jim Duggan
James Edward Duggan Jr. (born January 14, 1954), better known by his ring name "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. He is best-known for his time in World Wrestling Federation (now WWE), where he won the first ...
* Bobby Duncum
* Frank Dusek
* Bobby Eaton
* Eli the Eliminator
* Paul Ellering
* Fishman
* Ric Flair
Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Flair's career spanned 50 years.
He is ...
* The French Angel
* The Grappler
* The Grappler II
* "Gorgeous" Jimmy Garvin
* Mike George
* Robert Gibson
* Eddie Gilbert
* Terry "Bam Bam" Gordy
* "Crazy" Luke Graham
* The Great Kabuki
* Chavo Guerrero
* Hector Guerrero
* "Playboy" Garry Hart
* Stan "The Lariat" Hanson
* Freebird Michael "P. S." Hayes
* "Gorgeous" Gino Hernandez
* Hercules Hernandez (Hercules WWE)
* Tim Horner
* Mike Hudspeth
* Rock Hunter (wrestler turned manager)
* Missy Hyatt (Manager)
* The Iron Sheik
* Bill Irwin
* Savannah Jack
* Cactus Jack
* Don Jardine (The Spoiler)
* Junkyard Dog
Sylvester Ritter (December 13, 1952 – June 1, 1998) was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and NCAA football, college football player, best known for his time in Universal Wrestling Federation (Bill Watts), Mid-South Wre ...
* Leilani Kai
* Kamala
* Cajun Kenly
* Killer Khan
* King Cobra
* Krusher Khruschev
* Sonny King
* Kelly Kiniski
* "The Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff
* Nikita Koloff
Nikita Koloff (born Nelson Scott Simpson, March 9, 1959) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with Jim Crockett Promotions and its successor, World Championship Wrestling between 1984 and 1992, wher ...
* "Killer" Karl Kox
* Kortsia Korchenko
* "The Big Cat" Ernie Ladd
* Buddy Landel
* Charlie Lane
* Jose Lothario
* Arn Anderson
Martin Anthony Lunde (born September 20, 1958), better known by his ring name Arn Anderson, is an American professional wrestling Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Agent, road agent, author, and retired professional wrestler. Although he ...
* Mad Dog Boyd
* Velvet McIntyre
* Dutch Mantel
* Judy Martin
* Mil Máscaras
* The Masked Superstar
* Hiro Matsuda
* Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels (born Michael Shawn Hickenbottom on July 22, 1965) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he is the Senior Vice President of Talent Development, Creative, and oversees the creative aspects of th ...
* Butch Miller
* The Missing Link
* The Mongolian Stomper
* Ricky Morton
* "King Kong" Mosca
* "Captain Redneck" Dick Murdoch
* Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart
* Mr. Olympia
* One Man Gang
George Gray (born February 12, 1960) is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, better known by his ring name (The) One Man Gang. For three years in the WWE, World Wrestling Federation (WWF), he was Akeem "The Africa ...
* Paul Orndorff
* Bob Orton, Jr.
* Pork Chop Cash
* "Iceman" King Parsons
* Tank Patton
* Al Perez
* David Peterson
David Robert Peterson (born December 28, 1943) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as the 20th premier of Ontario from 1985 to 1990. He was the first Liberal officeholder in 42 years, ending the so-called Tory dynasty.
Back ...
* "Leaping" Lanny Poffo
* Big John Quinn
* Tom Renesto jr
* Johnny "Crash" Rich
* Wendi Richter
* "Hacksaw" Butch Reed
* "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes
* Buddy Roberts
* Jake Roberts
* Col. Buck Robley
* "Blade Runner" Rock (The Ultimate Warrior)
* Big Boss Man
Ray Washington Traylor Jr. (May 2, 1963 – September 22, 2004) was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler best known for his appearances with the WWE, World Wrestling Federation (WWF) under the ring name (The) Big Boss Man, a ...
* Bob Roop
* Billy Romeo
* Vinnie Romeo
* Nelson Royal
* The Russian Brute
* Brett Sawyer
* Buzz Sawyer
* Tom Shaft
* Sika
* "Iron" Mike Sharpe
* Dick Slater
* Vladic Smirnoff
* Snowman
* Bob Stabler
* Joe Stark
* Tom Statan
* Dennis Stamp
* Rick Steiner
* Sting
* Adrian Street
* Chief Jay Strongbow
* Big John Studd
* Sunshine
* The Super Destroyer
* Bob Sweetan
* Magnum T. A.
* "Hollywood" John Tatum
* Terry Taylor
* "Big" Tug Taylor
* Edcar Thomas
* Tony Torres
* The Turk
* "Handsome" Johnny Valentine
* Jack Victory
* Doug Vines
* Nikolai Volkoff
* Kerry Von Erich
Kerry Gene Adkisson (February 3, 1960 – February 18, 1993), better known by his ring name Kerry Von Erich, was an American professional wrestler. He was part of the Von Erich family of professional wrestlers. He is best known for his time with ...
* Koko B. Ware
* "Cowboy" Bill Watts
* Luke Williams
* "Dr. Death" Steve Williams
* Barry Windham
* Ed Wiskoski
* Mr. Wrestling II
* Yoshiaki Yatsu
*Gary Young
* Oliver Humperdink
Tag Teams and Stables
* The Fabulous Freebirds ( Michael Hayes, Terry Gordy, and Buddy Roberts)[
* The Samoan Warriors ( Afa and Sika)
* Devastation Inc. ( Skandor Akbar, The Samoan Warriors, ]One Man Gang
George Gray (born February 12, 1960) is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, better known by his ring name (The) One Man Gang. For three years in the WWE, World Wrestling Federation (WWF), he was Akeem "The Africa ...
, Killer Khan, Vladic Smirnoff, Savannah Jack, Leroy Brown, Ted DiBiase
Theodore Marvin DiBiase Sr. (; born January 18, 1954) is an American retired professional wrestler, manager, and color commentator. He is signed to WWE as of 2024, where he works in their Legends program. DiBiase achieved championship succ ...
, Kamala, The Missing Link, and Bill Irwin )
* The Rat Pack (Ted DiBiase
Theodore Marvin DiBiase Sr. (; born January 18, 1954) is an American retired professional wrestler, manager, and color commentator. He is signed to WWE as of 2024, where he works in their Legends program. DiBiase achieved championship succ ...
, Hacksaw Duggan, and Matt Borne)
* Ted DiBiase and Hacksaw Duggan
* Ted DiBiase and "Dr. Death" Steve Williams
* Ivan and Nikita Koloff
Nikita Koloff (born Nelson Scott Simpson, March 9, 1959) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with Jim Crockett Promotions and its successor, World Championship Wrestling between 1984 and 1992, wher ...
* The Lightning Express ( Brad Armstrong and Tim Horner)
* Rock 'N Roll Express ( Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson)
* The Jive Tones ( Pez Whatley and Tiger Conway)
* The Midnight Express ( Bobby Eaton and Dennis Condrey
Dennis Condrey (born February 1, 1952) is an American retired professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the Continental Wrestling Association, Jim Crockett Promotions and World Championship Wrestling ...
)
* Junkyard Dog
Sylvester Ritter (December 13, 1952 – June 1, 1998) was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and NCAA football, college football player, best known for his time in Universal Wrestling Federation (Bill Watts), Mid-South Wre ...
and Dick Murdoch
* Junkyard Dog and Mr. Olympia
* Junkyard Dog and Killer Karl Kox
* The Sheepherders ( Butch Miller and Luke Williams)
* Terry Taylor and Chris Adams
* The Blade Runners ( "Blade Runner" Rock and "Blade Runner" Flash)
* Hot Stuff International, Inc. ( Hot Stuff Eddie Gilbert, Rick Steiner, "Blade Runner" Rock, and "Blade Runner" Sting)
* H & H International, Inc. (Hot Stuff Eddie Gilbert, Missy Hyatt, Rick Steiner, Sting, and Jack Victory)
* John Tatum and Jack Victory
* The Bruise Brothers ( Pork Chop Cash and Mad Dog Boyd)
* The Super Destroyer and The Grappler
* The Graplers (The Grappler and The Grappler #2)
* Mr. Wrestling II and Tiger Conway Jr
* Mr. Wrestling II and Col. Buck Robley
* One Man Gang and Killer Khan
* Hiro Matsuda and Yoshi Yatsu
* The Davidsons (Rick Davidson and John Davidson)
* "Hacksaw" Butch Reed and Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart
* The Pretty Young Things ( Koko Ware and Norvell Austin)
* The Fantastics ( Bobby Fulton and Tommy Rogers)
Championships
NWA Tri-State
Mid-South Wrestling
Universal Wrestling Federation
References
External links
TRIBUTE PAGES for Legends of Mid-South
Tri-State/Mid-South Title Histories
UNIVERSAL WRESTLING ARCHIVES
{{Jim Crockett Promotions
Independent professional wrestling promotions based in the Southwestern United States
Jim Crockett Promotions
National Wrestling Alliance members
Professional wrestling in Arkansas
Professional wrestling in Louisiana
Professional wrestling in Mississippi
Professional wrestling in Oklahoma
Professional wrestling in Texas
de:Universal Wrestling Federation#UWF (Bill Watts)