Wrestling Superstars Live

Wrestling Superstars Live

Acronym	WSL
Founded	1996
Defunct	2009
Style	American Wrestling
Headquarters	Rochester, Minnesota
Founder(s)	Dale Gagner Jonnie Stewart
Owner(s)	Dale Gagner
Formerly	AWA Superstars of Wrestling

Wrestling Superstars - Live! was a governing body for a group of independent professional wrestling promotions and sanctioned various championships. It was founded in 1996 by Dale Gagner and Jonnie Stewart.

History

In 1996, Dale Gagner and his associate Jonnie Stewart, former American Wrestling Association (AWA) employees, began using the AWA name in the state of Minnesota, falsely claiming with the authorization from the Minnesota Secretary of State, and formed an organization known as AWA Superstars of Wrestling. They began the organization as a continuation of the American Wrestling Association, which closed in 1991.

By 2005, the organization began to franchise the AWA Superstars of Wrestling name, selling memberships to existing independent promotions around the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Japan. Several members of AWA Superstars of Wrestling were former members of the National Wrestling Alliance. In 2007, most of the memberships were terminated by Dale Gagner after defrauding members. Gagner and Stewart then began co-promoting shows with a small number of regional promoters instead.

Lawsuit, renaming and reorganization

On April 26, 2007 World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) filed a lawsuit against Dale Gagner, citing trademark infringement, as WWE owned some American Wrestling Association properties due to their purchase after the AWA's closure.

In a move to sidestep WWE, Jonnie Stewart, with the help of a Chicago-based copyright law firm, attempted to trademark the name "American Wrestling Alliance" instead.

On October 29, 2008, a settlement was reached between Gagner and WWE. The court ruling prohibits Gagner from use of the AWA name or any other derivatives. As a result, the organization was renamed to Wrestling Superstars Live. In a press release sent out October 30, 2007, the organization announced that it will no longer sanction independent territories. Gagner and Stewart noted that each of the remaining territories would be individually assessed.

Championships

When the organization was formed in 1996, Wrestling Superstars Live claimed the lineages and names of original American Wrestling Association Championships. However, following WWE's filed lawsuit against Gagner and Stewart, AWA Wrestling Superstars Live championship reigns are recognized from 1996 and forward.

Championship	Final Champion	Date won	Location	Previous holder
World Heavyweight Championship	Keith Walker	February 21, 2009	Michigan City, Indiana	Ricky Landell
World Light Heavyweight Championship	Kirby Mack	January 7, 2007	Pottstown, Pennsylvania	T.J. Mack
World Tag Team Championship	Team Vision (Chasyn Rance and Mister Saint Laurent)	April 18, 2008	Fayetteville, West Virginia	Vacant - Won the 2008 Mountain Mayhem and defeated Team Macktion (Kirby Mack & T.J. Mack) in the Finals
Fighting World Championship	Keith Walker	September 13, 2008	Waukesha, Wisconsin	Ricky Landell

• The United States Championship was abandoned in December 2007.
• The AWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship was re branded as the International Junior Heavyweight Championship
• The AWA Japan Women's Championship was retired in 2007

Members

Wrestling Superstars Live had members in the United States, Canada, England and Australia.

Promotions

Promotion	State	Years
All Action Wrestling	Western Australia	(2007/11 - 2009/05)
AWA Florida	Florida	(2005 - 2011)
Brew City Wrestling	Wisconsin	2004 - 2008/12
AWA Rush	Minnesota	2007
Elite Canadian Championship Wrestling	British Columbia	2006
Pinnacle Pro Wrestling	Washington	2005-2007
Canadian Wrestling Federation	Manitoba	2005/08 - 2007/04
Carolina Wrestling Federation	North Carolina	2005 - 2007
Hawai'i Championship Wrestling	Hawaii	2006 - 2007
Platinum Pro Wrestling	Indiana	2009
NCW National Championship Wrestling	Tennessee	2007 - 2010
Millennium Wrestling Federation	Massachusetts	2005/03 - 2007
Mountaineer Wrestling Association	West Virginia	2004 - 2008
Pro-Wrestling WORLD-1	Pennsylvania	2004 - 2007
Pro Wrestling Zero1	Japan	2004/10 - 2007/12
Rocky Mountain Championship Wrestling	Colorado	2005/01 - 2008
Spinebuster / WORLD-1 South	Georgia	2005/07 - 2008
Supreme Championship Wrestling	Indiana	2005 - 2007
Ultra Championship Wrestling-Zero	Utah	2005/02 - 2007
West Coast Wrestling Connection	Oregon	2007 - 2008

Roster

Wrestlers

• Nick Bockwinkel
• Andrew Fallon
• Aaron Aguilera
• Brian Lawler
• Basham
• The Damaja
• Joanie "Chyna" Laurer
• "Illustrious" Jonnie Stewart
• Kamala and Kim Chee
• "King of Old School" Steve Corino
• Phil Davis
• Lee Amberg
• Sean Davis
• Superstar Billy Graham
• Ariya Daivari
• Ace Steel
• Danny Dominion
• Twin Turbo's (Larry and Steve Gligorivic)
• G.Q. Gallo
• Adam Pearce
• DDP
• Larry Huntley
• Ricky Landell
• Navajo Kid
• Lightning Blind Mike
• Jerry "The King" Lawler
• Sherri Martel
• Luscious Johnny V
• Jesse "The Body" Ventura
• Kirby Mack
• Mick Foley
• "The Underwear Model" Eric Priest
• King Kong Bundy
• Dale Gagner
• Zach Gowen
• "Dr. Death" Steve Williams
• Dusty Rhodes
• Jimmy Boogie Woogie Man
• C T Night "The Boss"
• Virgil
• CM Punk
• N8 Mattson
• The New York Gangster
• Mister Saint Laurent
• Noah Lott
• Jimmy "The Mouth of the South" Hart
• Sam Houston
• The Ninja
• JP Dangerously
• Chris Norte
• Buff Bagwell
• Justin Roberts
• The Terrorist
• The Spirit Squad (Ken Doane & Mike Mondo)
• Chasyn Rance
• Sonny Roselli
• Alex Silva
• Jimmy Snuka
• Sgt. Slaughter
• The Iron Sheik
• Sheik Adnan Al-Kaissey
• Larry Zbyszko

Tag teams and stables

• Team MackTion (Kirby Mack and T.J. Mack)
• The Basham Brothers (Doug Basham and Danny Basham
• The Heartbreak Express (Phil Davis and Sean Davis)
• The Heart Throbs (Antonio Thomas and Romeo Roselli)

Company executives

• Dale Gagner - President
• Jonnie Stewart - Executive Vice-President

External links

• Wrestling-Titles.com