Pro Wrestling USA Pro Wrestling USA was a professional wrestling promotion in the United States of America in the mid 1980s . It was an attempt to unify various federations , including Jim Crockett Promotions , the AWA , and other members of the NWA . Background . By 1984 , Vince McMahon had begun moves to take the World Wrestling Federation national , and bought out Georgia Championship Wrestling . This was in total disregard to the NWA and its territory system ; Vince now had the national TBS timeslot . Despite this move being very unsuccessful , McMahon was also able to air the historic " War to Settle the Score " and " Brawl to End it All " wrestling cards on MTV ; in addition , McMahon also still had the most recognized wrestler in the industry , Hulk Hogan . In a bid to counter the new threat , various promoters across America decided to co - promote wrestling shows . First attempt . Jerry Lawler , Jerry Jarrett ( later one of the promoters behind NWA : TNA ) , Verne Gagne of the AWA , the CWA , Ole Anderson of GCW , Jim Crockett Promotions , and other NWA promoters got together to co - promote wrestling shows nationally . This joint venture became known as Pro Wrestling USA . This loose alliance of promoters from across America was to serve to act as a national federation . Pro Wrestling USA shows could boast , for example , AWA and NWA World title bouts on the same card . While , at the behest of Jerry Lawler and Jerry Jarrett , the first show took place in Memphis , Tennessee , Pro Wrestling USA shows were promoted across the member ' s territories . Further , many Pro Wrestling USA shows were taped in East Rutherford , New Jersey , in the heart of the former WWF territory . This was a serious attempt to undermine the WWF , in its home turf , at a moment of financial weakness . The peak of Pro Wrestling USA came at SuperClash , in Chicago . Over 21 , 000 people crammed into Comiskey Park on September 28 , 1985 . The card for the show was headlined by Ric Flair vs . Magnum T . A . for the NWA title , and Rick Martel vs . Stan Hansen for the AWA title . The arrangement , however , would only remain in existence for a few more months . Arguments between promoters , primarily Gagne and Crockett , severed the ties . Crockett opted to leave the group , and within months , the Pro Wrestling USA shows were simply repackaged AWA programs . Aftermath . Jim Crockett Promotions would expand nationally by itself , and eventually ( after a sale to Ted Turner ) become World Championship Wrestling . Nearly a decade after Pro Wrestling USA , WCW would eventually overtake the WWF in the ratings . Similarly , the Universal Wrestling Federation would also become a national federation for a short while . SuperClash II — an all AWA affair — on May 2 , 1987 at San Francisco ' s Cow Palace would draw 2 , 800 . Second attempt . In 1988 , three of the Pro Wrestling USA federations made a second attempt to unify their federations . This second attempt would be made between Fritz Von Erich ' s WCCW ( a Texas based territory ) , Jerry Jarrett ' s CWA ( based out of Memphis ) , CWF and the AWA . Under the arrangement , Jerry Lawler , a wrestler for the CWA , won the AWA World Title . Lawler would defend the title against WCCW ' s Terry Taylor . Lawler then began a feud with WCCW ' s World Champion , Kerry Von Erich . The payoff match happened at a joint pay - per - view , in Chicago , Illinois , named AWA SuperClash III , on December 13 , 1988 . It would be the AWA ' s only pay per view , as SuperClash 1 , 2 , and 4 weren ' t pay - per - views . Also on the card was David McLane ' s POWW Lingerie Street Fight Battle Royal . By this time , the WWF had firmly been established as a national federation , and Jim Crockett Promotions had bought out many NWA territories and also gone national , and was being sold to Ted Turner as World Championship Wrestling . SuperClash III did a fraction of the buy - rate an equivalent WWF or Crockett / WCW pay - per - view would have done ( Where NWA ' s Starrcade ' 88 did a 1 . 8 , SuperClash III did a . 5 ) . While AWA placed the official attendance at 1 , 672 , many suspect that only a fraction of this number ( 1 , 000 or less ) attended the Chicago Pavilion . The show saw a Unified World Champion crowned after Jerry Lawler defeated Von Erich , though this title seemed to be purely symbolic , a lesser unified version of the All Japan Triple Crown . The numbers Gagne gave the other promoters were drastically different to those he told the general public . This led the WCCW , CWA and CWF to feel short changed , accusing Gagne of lying to them about the show ' s revenues . As a result of Gagne ' s apparent deception , Jerry Lawler refused to defend Gagne ' s AWA title for the AWA promotion . The merged promotions quickly disbanded . Lawler kept the AWA Championship belt for himself , and a new belt was introduced in the AWA to symbolize the AWA title . WCCW , which was depending on a strong buy - rate for SuperClash III to survive at this point , ended up insolvent . Briefly , there was an official union of some of the promotion who co - promoted SuperClash III . WCCW merged with Jerry Jarrett ' s CWA , to form the USWA , again an attempt to create a third national promotion behind Jim Crockett Promotions / WCW and the WWF . However once again the union was short lived , and WCCW withdrew from the USWA and soon went out of business . Jerry Jarrett ' s USWA remained a major independent promotion for the next decade , but never achieved the national proclaim intended by the CWA / WCCW merger . The 1988 union of the AWA , CWA , CWF , and WCCW was not known as Pro Wrestling USA , and their shows were just advertised as cross - promotional events . References . http : / / sports . webshots . com / album / 233875666HLDThh