Southwest Championship Wrestling
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| Southwest Championship Wrestling | |
|---|---|
| Details | |
| Acronym | SCW |
| Established | 1978 |
| Style | American Wrestling |
| Location |  San Antonio, TX |
| Founder(s) | Joseph Blanchard |
| Owner(s) | Joseph Blanchard |
Southwest Championship Wrestling (SCW) was a professional wrestling promotion that was owned by Joseph Blanchard and based in San Antonio, Texas, from 1978 to 1985, when it was purchased by Texas All-Star Wrestling and absorbed into that company.
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] Alumni
Among SCW's star wrestlers were Adrian Adonis, Gino Hernandez, Tully Blanchard, "Bruiser" Bob Sweetan, Scott Casey, Terry Allen, Bob Orton, Jr., and Eric Embry. For most of the promotion's existence, the World Heavyweight Champion of the American Wrestling Association was recognised as SCW's top champion as well.
[edit] Commentators
During the promotion's days of national television distribution in the early 1980s, its announcers were Gene Kelly, Gene Goodsen, Steve Stack (all in English) and Rapido Rodriguez (in Spanish).
[edit] Venues
Its television matches were usually taped at The Junction, a small boxing venue in San Antonio, although occasional matches from cards at San Antonio's HemisFair Arena were also seen.
[edit] Television run on the USA Network
Starting on December 5, 1982, Southwest Championship Wrestling became the first weekly wrestling program on the USA Cable Network, airing Sundays at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time. As a result of the new national exposure, SWCW staged a one-night tournament in Houston, Texas, to determine an "Undisputed World Champion." Adrian Adonis was the winner of this tournament, and as a result he was presented with the oldest existing championship belt by Lou Thesz, as well as a brand new belt made specifically for the championship.
[edit] Cancellation
However, because of a particularly bloody match between Tully Blanchard and "Bruiser" Bob Sweetan (which USA refused to air), the inability of the promotion to keep paying USA the $7,000 per week to keep the time slot, and a monetary offer made to the cable channel by WWF owner Vince McMahon to replace Southwest Championship Wrestling with his own programming [1], USA cancelled the program (in spite of the high ratings the show was garnering for the network) and turned the time slot over to WWF All American Wrestling. Adonis' "undisputed championship" simply faded from SCW storylines within a few months and was abandoned in September 1983, and in April 1985, the promotion was sold to Texas All-Star Wrestling.
[edit] Championships (when SCW was sold in 1985)
| Title | Final champion(s) |
| SCW Southwest Brass Knuckles Championship | Tony Atlas (abandoned in 1983) |
| SCW Southwest Heavyweight Championship | Kevin Sullivan |
| SCW Southwest Junior Heavyweight Championship | Ron Sexton |
| SCW Southwest Tag Team Championship | The Maoris (title renamed & continued in Texas All-Star) |
| SCW World Heavyweight Championship | Scott Casey (abandoned in 1983) |
| SCW World Tag Team Championship | The Sheepherders (abandoned in 1984) |
