Acronym WSL Defunct 2009 Headquarters Rochester, Minnesota | Founded 1996 Style American Wrestling | |
Founder(s) Dale Gagner
Jonnie Stewart | ||
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.
Contents
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 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. Dale Gagner began using the pseudonym "Dale Gagne", (removing the letter "r" from his name). This was in reference to his family relationship to Verne Gagne, the original owner of the American Wrestling Association.
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, and Gagne and Stewart 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 Gagne, 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. However, The United States Patent and Trademark Office later indicated that the request was abandoned in February 2008.
On October 29, 2008, a settlement was reached between Gagne and WWE. The court ruling prohibits Gagne from certain uses of the AWA name or any other derivatives. As a result, the organization was renamed to AWA Wrestling Superstars Live. In a press release sent out October 30, 2007, the organization announced that it will no longer sanction independent territories. Gagne 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 Gagne and Stewart, AWA Wrestling Superstars Live championship reigns are recognized from 1996 and forward.
Members
Wrestling Superstars Live had members in the United States, Canada, England and Australia.