Sam Houston Coliseum was an indoor arena located in Houston , Texas .
46-680: The UWF Heavyweight Championship was the premier title in the Universal Wrestling Federation owned by Bill Watts . When Mid-South Wrestling Association changed its name to the UWF, the Mid-South North American Championship was retired and a tournament was held to crown a new UWF Heavyweight Champion. When Jim Crockett Promotions purchased the UWF, the title was defended in Crockett for
92-687: 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 . Taylor stole the NWA TV title belt during an NWA show, but Koloff (with help from Dusty Rhodes ) reclaimed it before their official in-ring encounter. They met at Starrcade 1987 , and Nikita unified
138-780: A charter member of the American Basketball Association, played their home games in the Coliseum. However, the Houston franchise was plagued by mismanagement and low attendance. In 1969, the team relocated and became the Carolina Cougars . The Mavericks drew less than 500 fans for most games; their final game in Houston drew just 89 fans. The Coliseum was also home to Houston Wrestling, run by legendary wrestling promoter Paul Boesch . In an event promoted by Boesch, Jack Brisco defeated Harley Race to win
184-692: A fireball at Hacksaw Jim Duggan ("blinding" him temporarily), and the Freebirds breaking Steve Williams' arm. Williams recruited Oklahoma Sooners (and future Dallas Cowboys 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
230-404: A free concert at the venue on February 6, 1993. The free show was due to security problems that forced the cancellation of a show during a previous Houston visit. The show was broadcast nationally on radio across North America and also was videotaped for the video "Bad Luck Blue Eyes Goodbye". The audio version was released on EPs, dubbed "High in Houston". This would be the last concert performed at
276-466: 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
322-570: 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 draped on him by Eddie Gilbert, Missy Hyatt cold-cocking John Tatum after joining forces with Gilbert, Skandor Akbar throwing
368-598: A regional territory show. In the mid-1980s, MSW began to expand nationally. In 1985, longtime wrestling fan Ted Turner 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 . (see: Black Saturday ) Turner
414-399: 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,
460-557: A two-year promotional war against International Championship Wrestling that included the "outlaw" promotion filing an antitrust lawsuit against McGuirk and Watts. 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
506-468: A while and was then retired. It should not be confused with the UWF Heavyweight Championship that was defended in the Universal Wrestling Federation promotion owned by Herb Abrams . That title and promotion began several years after Watts' promotion was sold. Universal Wrestling Federation (Bill Watts) The Universal Wrestling Federation was a 1986 re-branding of wrestler-turned-owner Bill Watts ' Mid-South Wrestling promotion. Watts' goal
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#1732772049753552-560: 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 UWF tag team (as The Blade Runners ) partner would later become a WWF wrestling legend, too: The Ultimate Warrior . 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
598-492: 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 against Freebird Michael Hayes in
644-545: The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA)'s most important championships, and the predecessor of World Championship Wrestling ). 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 , Arkansas , Louisiana and Mississippi until 1987. Because Watts did not register the "Universal Wrestling Federation" name with
690-761: The National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Championship at the Coliseum on July 20, 1973. Before moving to the Astrodome , it was the home of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo . By the 1970s, the arena was starting to show its age. Its fate was effectively sealed in 1971, when the NBA 's San Diego Rockets moved to Houston and insisted on building a new arena—what became the Summit —as
736-665: The Sam Houston Coliseum (one of the most famous arenas in professional wrestling), and other parts of southeastern Texas . Mid-South used Shreveport, Louisiana as the base for its television tapings, which were first housed in the studios of KTBS-TV until they were moved around 1982 to the Irish McNeel Sports for Boys club, located on the Louisiana State Fairgrounds. Instead of the cartoon-ish characters and interviews common to
782-556: 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
828-877: The University of Houston ), the Houston Cougars played home games at the coliseum. The venue also played host to the Houston Apollos, of the CPHL , from 1965 to 1969; the Houston Aeros , of the WHA , from 1972 to 1975 and the Houston Apollos of the CHL , from 1979 to 1981. The Aeros moved to The Houston Summit , which opened in November 1975 and played their final three seasons there. The Houston Mavericks ,
874-591: The Coliseum before it was demolished. In 1946, permanent ice chillers were installed in the floor to accommodate an ice hockey rink for Houston's first pro ice hockey team – the Houston Skippers of the USHL . The Skippers changed their name the following season to the Houston Huskies and called the Coliseum home until their demise in 1949. Prior to Hofheinz Pavilion being built (on the campus of
920-438: The Coliseum. On July 10, 1968, The Doors performed at the Coliseum with the opening band Moving Sidewalks , featuring Billy Gibbons who would go on to form ZZ Top less than a year later. Supergroup Cream played there on October 24, 1968. Jimi Hendrix played at the venue on June 6, 1970, three months before he died. Ike & Tina Turner performed at the Coliseum on July 31, 1971. Trapeze (band) performed at
966-464: The Colisseum on Saturday, October 21, 1972. The show was recorded and released as a double live album in 2021 called "Trapeze Live in Houston 1972." Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band played here November 9, 1974, and again on September 13 and 14, 1975. Roxy Music performed here on February 29, 1976. The First National Women's Conference , a milestone for the modern women's movement,
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#17327720497531012-570: 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. In March 1986, MSW "went national" (the goal of the most ambitious regional promotions of this era), re-launching as
1058-493: 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
1104-636: 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 characters defeated all of the UWF characters 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
1150-649: 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. A former territory wrestler who was blinded in a 1950 auto accident, Leroy McGuirk eventually took over promoting a wrestling circuit covering Oklahoma , Louisiana and Mississippi . Until 1973, "Cowboy" Bill Watts had been one of Tri-State's most popular wrestlers. After leaving Tri-State for Eddie Graham 's Championship Wrestling from Florida , Watts returned to Tri-State in 1975. NWA Tri-State fought
1196-461: 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 co-owner Jim Barnett helped broker a deal enabling North Carolina-based Jim Crockett Promotions' (led by Jim Crockett, Jr. ) to buy
1242-600: 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
1288-635: 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. Sam Houston Coliseum Located at 801 Bagby Street in Downtown Houston , the Coliseum and Music Hall complex replaced the Sam Houston Hall , which was a wooden structure that had been erected on the site for the 1928 Democratic National Convention and torn down in 1936. The Public Works Administration contributed $ 1,329,508 to
1334-832: The company from the National Wrestling Alliance (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 [1940s-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 to its circuit. In 1982, MSW expanded to Oklahoma when McGuirk closed his personal, Oklahoma-based promotion. McGuirk also formed an alliance with Houston promoter Paul Boesch to feature Mid-South talent on shows at
1380-437: 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
1426-559: The end of the show as a mob of about 1,000 teenagers rushed the stage, their instruments being destroyed as a result. On November 21, 1963, United States President John F. Kennedy gave a speech in the Houston Coliseum, on what would be the last night of his life. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas the following day. On August 19, 1965, The Beatles performed at the Coliseum. On August 20, 1967, James Brown performed at
UWF Heavyweight Championship - Misplaced Pages Continue
1472-593: The estate of Paul Boesch , who was the Houston territory's promoter. Select episodes of Mid-South are available for viewing on the WWE Network and on the NBCUniversal -owned Peacock streaming service in the United States. 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
1518-572: 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
1564-451: 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
1610-582: 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 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
1656-677: 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. 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
1702-537: 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
1748-583: 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 collection in 2012 -- with a notable exception: Mid-South/UWF matches taped for Houston Wrestling which aired on KHTV in Houston . Those rights are held by
1794-481: The project designed by architect Alfred C. Finn . Groundbreaking ceremonies were held on November 4, 1936. The arena opened in November 1937 and had a capacity of 9,200. It was built in conjunction with the Houston Music Hall , which was adjacent to the Coliseum. On October 14, 1956, Elvis Presley 's concert at the Coliseum ended abruptly, as he and his band were taken away by police escort, just before
1840-419: 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
1886-621: 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 . In a semi-finals match, Adams and Iceman wrestled against "Dr Death" Steve Williams and Ted DiBiase until Skandor Akbar's Devastation Inc. charged
UWF Heavyweight Championship - Misplaced Pages Continue
1932-801: 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
1978-448: 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,
2024-592: Was held at the Coliseum in November 1977. Prince performed here on February 24, 1980. Ozzy Osbourne with Randy Rhoads played at the venue on June 7, 1981, and February 17, 1982. Stevie Ray Vaughan with Double Trouble (band) performed at the venue on November 24, 1989, on his last tour before Vaughan's tragic death in a helicopter crash nine months later. Ice Cube and Too Short bought their Straight From The Underground Tour to Sam Houston on December 23, 1990, with Yo-Yo , D-Nice , Kid Rock , Poor Righteous Teachers , and King T . The Black Crowes played
2070-416: 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
2116-419: 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 ,
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