#Awa wrestling ring pro#
#Awa wrestling ring professional#

His signature phrase was 'From coast to coast, continent to continent, and border to border'. Rod Trongard's voice was featured on the AWA's weekly ESPN broadcasts, reaching millions of homes around the world. In 1989, they taped from the Rochester, Minnesota Civic Center until their final taping on August 11, 1990. The ESPN tapings in Las Vegas often took place in front of small, silent crowds. Both the WWF on the USA Network and the NWA on TBS were able to draw more crowds than the AWA's ESPN program. Ultimately, Gagne and ESPN settled on the Showboat Sports Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada. When Gagne inked the deal with ESPN later that same year, he along with the ESPN management felt that another location for the AWA television tapings was necessary.

However, in early 1985, AWA promoter Verne Gagne made the decision to hold some television tapings at the Tropicana Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Following the disastrous Team Challenge Series, the AWA lost its contract with ESPN and became virtually inactive by late 1990.įor many years, the AWA held their television tapings in their home base of Minneapolis, Minnesota (for their syndicated All-Star Wrestling program), at the WTCN television studios. However, weekly AWA shows were not treated with any priority by the cable network, sometimes being delayed, preempted by live programming, or suffering from occasional changes in time slot, making it difficult for fans to tune in on a regular basis. In September 1985, the AWA began airing weekly programming on ESPN, giving the promotion the national exposure already enjoyed by the World Wrestling Federation (on USA Network) and the NWA's Georgia/ World Championship Wrestling (on TBS). Along with the ownership of the AWA intellectual property by the WWE, all episodes are available on the WWE Network. On February 26, 2008, ESPN Classic began reairing AWA Championship Wrestling episodes.

#Awa wrestling ring pro#

It was a continuation of the earlier ESPN program Pro Wrestling USA, the co-operative venture between the American Wrestling Association (AWA) and several National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) affiliates (most notably Jim Crockett Promotions).

#Awa wrestling ring professional#

American professional wrestling TV seriesĪWA Championship Wrestling is a professional wrestling television series that aired on cable sports network ESPN from 1985 to 1990.