Continental Wrestling Association Continental Wrestling Association ( later on “ Championship Wrestling Association ” ) was a wrestling promotion managed by Jerry Jarrett . The CWA was the name of the " governing body " for the Championship Wrestling , Inc . promotion which was usually referred to as Mid - Southern Wrestling or the Memphis territory . This promotion was a chief NWA territory during the 1970s and early 1980s while operating out of Tennessee and Kentucky . The CWA was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance until 1986 and affiliated with the American Wrestling Association until 1989 . In 1989 , the CWA merged with the World Class Wrestling Association to form the United States Wrestling Association thus ceasing to exist as a separate entity . History . The split . The professional wrestling territory commonly referred to as the “ Memphis Area ” was originally part of the NWA Mid - America promotion that was founded in the 1940s and operated in Memphis , Tennessee and in Nashville , TN , but also included stops in Chattanooga , TN , Jackson , TN , Louisville , KY , Lexington , KY , Bowling Green , KY , Evansville , IN , Birmingham , AL , Huntsville , AL , Tupelo , MS , Jonesboro , AR , Dayton , OH , Wheeling , WV and even small towns in southeastern Missouri , northern Georgia and eastern North Carolina . The " NWA Mid - American " territory was a tag team hot bed for most of its early years , featuring tag teams in nearly all of its main events , and sometimes featuring only one or two singles matches to compliment an evening of tag matches . Such teams as The Von Brauners , The Interns , The Infernos , The Bounty Hunters , Tojo Yamamoto and Jerry Jarrett , Don and Al Green , Bobby Hart and Lorenzo Parente , The Fabulous Kangaroos , Jerry Lawler and Jim White , The Fabulous Fargos , and a host of other teams were regulars . During the mid - 1970s the focal point of the territory changed from tag wrestling to singles action around the same time as Jerry Lawler ' s rise to become the " King " , and a split that forever changed the territory . In the mid - 1970s the territory split in two , with separate promoters for each half . Jerry Jarrett ended up as the promoter in charge of Memphis , Louisville , Lexington and Evansville while still part of NWA Mid - America , while Nick Gulas , who had been the primary booker , continued to promote the other half of the territory . A dispute arose between Nick Gulas and Jerry Jarrett . Many of the wrestlers in the promotion were upset at Nick Gulas for over booking Nick ’ s son George Gulas in the extremely profitable Memphis half of the territory . George Gulas was not built very well at all , he was tall and lanky but physical build was something which was not all that important to the fans in the area , but he was also not a great worker . It was very hard to believe , even for wrestling fans used to poorly built wrestlers , that George could regularly beat his larger more experienced foes . George was given matches and wins over longtime veterans of the territory without " paying his dues " . This started the rift . After Jerry Jarrett had invested 50000 Dollars into what he thought was a 10 % - share of the promotion and learned that Gulas had tricked him into paying for an option to buy only ( which by the time he learned had already expired ) he decided to go his own way . Jarrett decided to break away by starting competing cards at the Cook Convention Center in March 1977 . Nick Gulas , who lived in Nashville , eventually made " Music City " his home base , running weekly cards at the Fairgrounds and all over mid - Tennessee . Originally Gulas was backed by many of the areas top draws but Jerry Jarrett had two aces up his sleeve . First he was backed by Jerry Lawler , who had just toppled Jackie Fargo as the headliner of the area , and second was that with Lawler he had Memphis . Memphis was clearly the hot spot for the territory . Gulas did attempt to run shows in Memphis for some time but without the headliner , Lawler , he could not compete . The split between Gulas and Jarrett created the Continental Wrestling Association as a totally separate promotion run by Jarrett . In 1980 after only three years , the Gulas territory folded when Nick Gulas retired and the CWA took over some of the more profitable locations ( e . g . Nashville ) . NWA affiliate . After the split from Nick Gulas , the CWA became a National Wrestling Alliance affiliate , which entitled the CWA to NWA World Heavyweight Championship defenses . The champion would regularly tour through the territory defending the title against top contenders . With the World champion being a “ traveling champion ” the main title of the CWA was the Southern Heavyweight Title , which was nominally sanctioned by the NWA ( into 1978 ) or the AWA ( beginning in 1978 ) . The cornerstone of the CWA was the weekly Monday night shows from the Mid - South Coliseum in Memphis , where the cards regularly drew full houses . These shows were repeated in some form weekly in Louisville and Nashville ( on Saturday nights ) . Having three major shows at all three cities , and additional shows through other towns in Kentucky , Tennessee , Arkansas , Missouri , and Northern Alabama provided significant profits into the early 1990s . These shows showcased a series of legendary wrestlers as they made their way through the Memphis territory ; future superstars such as Hulk Hogan performed there before the birth of Hulkamania , as well as NWA headliners such as Harley Race , Terry Funk , Jack Brisco , and Ric Flair . A who ' s who of wrestling superstars made visits to the area , usually to face Lawler . While Lawler was often a " heel " or bad guy wrestler he was still the " home team . " No matter what dirty tricks the " King " had played on the locals , when an out of town wrestler would surface , Lawler was cheered . For a while Lawler was managed by an old high school pal Jimmy Hart . That was until Lawler broke his leg in a backyard football game . During Lawler ' s absence , Hart proclaimed Paul Ellering as the " New King " of wrestling . When Lawler returned he engaged in one of the biggest feuds in the promotion ' s history . The biggest run of the promotion was the Jerry Lawler - Jimmy Hart feud which would last throughout the 1980s . Jimmy Hart ' s " First Family " included dozens of wrestlers who Hart brought in to face Lawler . Included in this list were The Iron Sheik , The Dream Machine , The Nightmares , Eddie Gilbert , Ken Patera , Jesse Ventura ] ] , [ [ Hulk Hogan , [ [ Bugsy McGraw ] ] , [ [ Kevin Sullivan ] ] , [ [ Bobby Eaton ] ] , " Killer [ [ Tim Brooks ] ] " , Paul Ellering , and countless others . The feud ended when Hart was signed by the [ [ WWE ] ] and Lawler won a match against Eddie Gilbert in which the stipulation was Hart leaving the territory . The federation also aired live Saturday - morning wrestling cards from the studios of WMC - TV in Memphis , hosted by Lance Russell and Dave Brown . In the territorial era of wrestling , many local promotions had huge ratings with their wrestling shows , but none of them topped the ratings for the weekly CWA show which drew previously unheard of shares behind the strength of Lawler ' s local popularity . Throughout the late 1970s , the 1980s and into the early 1990s , Jerry Lawler also engaged in bitter top of the card feuds with [ [ Dutch Mantell ] ] , [ [ Robert Fuller ] ] , The [ [ Mongolian Stomper ] ] , [ [ Bruiser Brody ] ] , Handsome [ [ Jimmy Valiant ] ] , [ [ Austin Idol ] ] , [ [ Rocky Johnson ] ] , [ [ Tommy Rich ] ] , [ [ Randy Savage ] ] , [ [ Rick Rude ] ] , and [ [ Bill Dundee ] ] among others . These men were on and off again partners to Lawler . One week they were allies the next week they were feuding . Of all the foes Lawler feuded with , Bill Dundee was probably his most bitter rival . The " Superstar " was easily the second biggest draw behind Lawler , despite his short frame , Dundee ' s charisma made him a draw . Fans were nearly split in the area as who they would cheer for no matter which wrestler was the " good guy . " The Mid - South Coliseum also played host to one of the most famous angles not only in the CWA but in all of wrestling , an angle that would get nationwide exposure on " Late Night with David Letterman " . Andy Kaufman comes to Memphis . In the early 1980s , [ [ Andy Kaufman ] ] would routinely wrestle women during his shows , soon proclaiming himself the “ Intergender Wrestling Champion ” where he would offer women $ 1000 if they could beat him . As part of this performance , Kaufman would imply that these matches were “ real ” and thus also imply that professional wrestling was not “ real ” , which countered the sacrosanct belief of fans in that era that wrestling was " real " . Kaufman even started appearing on the Mid - South Coliseum shows wrestling women in the undercard matches , and after winning Kaufman would berate the Memphis crowd and proclaim his own greatness in the sport . He even went so far as to claim that no woman could beat him and if they did – he would marry that woman . Enter Jerry Lawler , proud defender of wrestling and angry at Andy Kaufman for mocking the sport that made him a star , so he decided to coach one of Kaufman ’ s opponents . Kaufman still won despite Lawler ’ s coaching and gloated like it was going out of style , until Lawler had enough and pushed Kaufman , sending the comedian on a tirade . The fans loved every second of it , watching the local star defend the sport against the arrogant actor from Hollywood . When the inevitable Lawler / Kaufman match was finally held , the Mid - South Coliseum was packed to the rafters . The delighted fans saw Lawler execute two [ [ Piledriver ( professional wrestling ) # Texas piledriver | Piledrivers ] ] ( a move that was " banned " in Memphis ) after which Kaufman was carried out of the arena on a stretcher ( kayfabe ) . The following day several newspapers reported that Kaufman had in fact broken his neck . Several weeks later , Kaufman returned to the Mid - South Coliseum wearing a neck brace , and the skinny comedian vowed to get even with Lawler no matter what . The feud got national exposure in several newspapers after Kaufman ’ s supposed injury , and it would get even more press after Kaufman discussed it on " Saturday Night Live " . But that was just a preview of things to come . On July 27 , 1982 , Kaufman and Lawler were guests of David Letterman on " Late Night with David Letterman " . Kaufman still wore the neck collar to indicate that he still had not gotten over the brutal match five months earlier . After Kaufman unleashed a profanity - laced tirade on Lawler , culminating with Kaufmann throwing a cup of coffee at him , Lawler stood up and then slapped the comedian out of his chair and off the stage . Kaufmann then continued cursing Lawler as he ( Kaufmann ) stormed out of the studio . The wild antics of Lawler and Kaufman made the NBC network executives uneasy , believing that the hatred between the two was real and that mayhem could break out at any time . Kaufman and Lawler would keep claiming that their hatred was real , that their actions were real and that they would maim one another if they got the chance . Kaufman and Lawler ' s famous feud and wrestling matches were later revealed to have been a staged " [ [ work ( professional wrestling ) | work ] ] " , as the two were actually friends . The truth about it being a work was kept secret for more than 10 years after Kaufman ' s death , until the Emmy nominated documentary " A Comedy Salute to Andy Kaufman " aired on NBC in 1995 . Coincidentally , Jim Carrey is the one who reveals the secret , and would later go on to play Kaufman in the 1999 film " Man on the Moon " . In a 1997 interview with the " Memphis Flyer " , Lawler claimed he had improvised during their first match and the Letterman incident . Although officials at St . Francis Hospital stated that Kaufman ' s neck injuries were real , in his 2002 biography " It ' s Good to Be the King . . . Sometimes , " Lawler detailed how they came up with the [ [ Glossary of professional wrestling terms # Angle | angle ] ] and kept it quiet . He also said that Kaufman ' s explosion on Letterman was the comedian ' s own idea . AWA affiliation . At the end of 1982 , Jerry Lawler had seemingly won the [ [ American Wrestling Association ] ] World Title from [ [ Nick Bockwinkel ] ] , but due to the match ' s controversial ending , the title was returned to Bockwinkel with a rematch scheduled for January 1983 . On the night of the match , manager Jimmy Hart showed up in Bockwinkel ’ s corner , face bandaged after being beaten up by Lawler in December . Near the end of the match a familiar face showed up – Jimmy Hart . In the confusion Bockwinkel managed to win the match after which Andy Kaufman unwrapped the bandages to reveal the ploy , thus reigniting Lawler ’ s feud with Kaufman . The Lawler / Kaufman feud would end in the early part of 1983 after Jerry Lawler threw a fireball at Kaufman , ending his run with the CWA . After Kaufman left , Lawler refocused his efforts on Jimmy Hart and his [ [ The First Family ( professional wrestling ) | First Family ] ] [ [ Glossary of professional wrestling terms # Stable | stable ] ] . Lawler challenging for the World title and almost winning it was a recurring theme throughout the mid - 1980s , with neither the AWA nor the NWA being willing to actually put their main title on Lawler . The NWA World title was not defended very often in the Memphis area , usually touring with companies that had more political clout in the Alliance , which meant that the CWA actually featured the AWA World champion more regularly than the group of which they were actually dues - paying members . In 1988 , plans were set in motion to actually merge the AWA and the CWA into one federation in an attempt to counter the [ [ World Wrestling Entertainment | World Wrestling Federation ] ] ’ s national expansion . The federation was renamed the Championship Wrestling Association in late - 1987 when Jerry Lawler began co - promoting with Jarrett . Subsequently , all singles titles in the CWA ( AWA Southern , CWA / AWA International and NWA Mid - America Heavyweight ) were merged in order to recognize one CWA Heavyweight Champion . On May 9 , 1988 in Memphis , Jerry Lawler took on the reigning [ [ AWA World Heavyweight Championship | AWA World Champion ] ] [ [ Curt Hennig ] ] and won the title . As the year went on the AWA / CWA alliance was expanded to include the [ [ World Class Championship Wrestling | World Class Wrestling Association ] ] out of Texas , with a title unification match set for the AWA ’ s first ( and only ) [ [ pay - per - view ] ] , [ [ AWA SuperClash III ] ] . Lawler retained the AWA World Heavyweight Championship and won the WCWA World Heavyweight Championship in controversial fashion — the match was stopped due to excessive blood loss from [ [ Kerry Von Erich ] ] - - and was declared the “ Unified World Champion ” , cementing his claim by carrying the AWA and WCCW titles with him . Due to controversies following the PPV , the CWA ( and WCCW ) broke off their relationship with the AWA and Lawler was stripped of the AWA World title . In retaliation , Lawler kept the physical AWA World Heavyweight championship belt for not getting his payoff for SuperClash III . The end of an era . After the cooperative attempt with the AWA failed , Jerry Jarrett bought WCCW from the Von Erichs and unified the two promotions as the [ [ United States Wrestling Association ] ] in 1989 , thus ending the era of Continental Wrestling Association . [ [ Category : American wrestling promotions ] ] External links . [ [ Category : Promotions ] ]