Universal Wrestling Federation ( Herb Abrams ) The Universal Wrestling Federation ( UWF ) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Herb Abrams . Edited episodes of the promotion ' s television show " Fury Hour " currently rerun on ESPN Classic . History . Herb Abrams founded the UWF in 1990 with hopes of returning professional wrestling back to its roots . He signed top stars such as Paul Orndorff , Steve Williams , Don Muraco , Bob Orton , Jr . , Brian Blair , Danny Spivey , Billy Jack Haynes , Ken Patera , Colonel DeBeers , David Sammartino , and Cactus Jack . He trademarked the UWF name in June 1991 because Bill Watts never bothered to trademark his version of the Universal Wrestling Federation that was sold to Jim Crockett Promotions in 1987 . Abrams was head booker of the company from 1990 to 1992 . Zoogz Rift , a cult musician and manager in the UWF , took over as head booker in 1993 . Zoogz Rift accompanied Abrams on several international business trips in 1993 , where they managed to secure home video deals for the company . He quit in March 1994 , leaving Abrams to book the September 1994 Blackjack Brawl card . In late 1995 , Zoogz Rift rejoined the company as Vice President , helping to secure new television deals with both SportsChannel America and Prime Network . Abrams ' death in June 1996 , however , marked the end of the company . Blackjack Brawl would stand as the final UWF show . The UWF tape library is currently owned by former wrestler Al Burke . In recent years , he has partnered with Todd Okerlund of Classic Wrestling to repackage and license the library through DirecTV and ESPN Classic Canada . Fury Hour . In 1990 , the company signed a deal with national cable network SportsChannel America . A weekly program called Fury Hour debuted in October 1990 and ran until 1993 . In 1995 , existing episodes were repackaged to half - hour format and aired on [ ESPN2 . These same episodes began airing on ESPN Classic on January 8 , 2008 . They can be seen Tuesday through Saturday at 1 : 00am and 1 : 30am ET . ESPN Classic Canada reran original one - hour format episodes of " Fury Hour " in 2004 . Results . Beach Brawl . Beach Brawl was the UWF ' s first and only live pay - per - view event . It was widely considered a failure because of its low attendance and pay - per - view buyrate of 0 . 10 . Blackjack Brawl . Blackjack Brawl was the UWF ' s first and only live television event that aired on SportsChannel America . Steve Williams / Steve Ray shoot . In 1991 , Herb Abrams was owed money by Steve Ray and wrongly suspected that Ray was sleeping with his wife . On May 10 , 1991 at a television taping in New York City , Abrams paid Steve Williams an extra $ 100 for the night to break Ray ' s nose during their match . The ensuing shoot aired in its entirety on an episode of " Fury Hour " . Home video . In 1992 , the UWF issued six VHS releases in the United States through Best Film & Video Corporation : " Beach Brawl " , " Tag Team Tandems " , " The Best Of Paul Orndorff " , " The Lumberjack Match " , " The Steel Cage Match " , and " Wrestling ' s Greatest Champions " . In 1993 , the UWF released six volumes of PAL videos in Germany through Summit International Pictures under the " Wrestling Super Champs " banner . They were all compilations of Fury Hour matches . The same six " Wrestling Super Champs " volumes were re - released in Germany through Jünger Verlag under the " Super Wrestling " banner . Recent years have seen the emergence of UWF DVDs in Australia through Payless Entertainment . Each of the seven Region 4 DVDs contains one episode of " Fury Hour " . The DVDs include " Body Slammin " , " Grand Slam " , " Grudge Matches " , " It ' s War " , " Tag Team Madness " , " The Main Event " , and " Wrestling Wars " . In Germany , a Region 0 DVD titled " Wrestling Super 4 Champs " was released containing two episodes of " Fury Hour " . Also in Germany , the " Wrestling Super Champs " VHS compilations were re - released on DVD in six volumes as " American History of Wrestling - UWF " .