 SWCW - Southwest Championship Wrestling (1978-1985) In 1978, San Antonio promoter Joe Blanchard pulled out of his relationship with Fritz Von Erich and the Dallas office. He was determined to start a promotion and capitalize on the big markets in Eastern Texas. First, he targeted Houston and it was a huge failure. Afterward he formed a relationship with Houston promoter Paul Boesch that helped Blanchard's group get some traction. From there, they built up their contacts and relations steadily. They brought in some of the best Texas natives, some great Latin or faux-Latin talent, some of the most established names and some of the best workers of the day. Southwest Championship Wrestling became popular for their reliance on traditional wrestling and blood. As the promotion grew so did their marketability. They secured a national cable deal with USA, which propelled them to another level. They aligned themselves with Georgia Championship Wrestling, which gave them a tremendous talent pool to draw from at the time. They began running shows outside their region in California, Ohio and Georgia. However, it all fell apart very quickly. First, the Houston office realigned with Mid-South. Second, they lost their deal with USA and the WWF took over. Third, Georgia severed ties due to their own problems. Fourth, Blanchard's partner Fred Berhend sold their local TV time slot to Fritz Von Erich. The promotion imploded and Blanchard sold out to Berhend, who would start a new promotion from Southwest's ruins. Abdullah The Butcher Adrian Adonis Terry Allen (Magnum TA) Tony Atlas Tully Blanchard Nick Bockwinkel Johnathan Boyd Bruiser Brody Tim "Killer" Brooks Rick Casey (Wendell Cooley) Scott Casey Carlos Colon Colosso Colosetti Tiger Conway Jr. Bobby Duncum Dynamic Duo (Tully Blanchard & Gino Hernandez) "Cowboy" Bob Ellis Eric Embry The Fabulous Ones (Stan Lane & Steve Keirn) Manny Fernandez Bobby Fulton Dory Funk Jr. Terry Funk Gordman & Goliath Mike Graham El Gran Markus The Grapplers (Len Denton & Tony Anthony) Chavo Guerrero Stan Hansen Gino Hernandez Ray Hernandez (Hercules) The Iron Sheik "Hangman" Bobby Jaggers Buddy Landel Jerry Lawler Jos LeDuc Jose Lothario Ken Lucas Al Madril Wahoo McDaniel Mil Mascaras The Mongolian Stomper Ricky Morton Blackjack Mulligan Bob Orton Jr. Al Perez Tom Prichard Ivan Putski Bull Ramos "Wildfire" Tommy Rich Billy Robinson Buck Robley The Road Warriors (Hawk & Animal) Rock-N-Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson) Tito Santana Buzz Sawyer Bob Sweetan The Sheepherders (Luke Williams, Butch Miller, Johnathan Boyd) Dick Slater Chicky Starr Adrian Street Kevin Sullivan Sweet Brown Sugar (Skip Young) Lou Thesz Tonga John (Meng) Dale Valentine (Buddy Roberts) "The Boogie Woogie Man" Jimmy Valiant Larry Zbyzsko The Zambuie Express (Kareem Muhammad & Elijah Akeem) |