Defunct Memories: World Wrestling All-Stars
From the ashes of ECW and WCW, World Wrestling All-Stars was intended to be an alternative to WWF, but despite an impressive list of names attached to the promotion, the vision was simply far too ambitious for a promoter who never promoted wrestling before.
World Wrestling All-Stars was founded in 2001 by Australian concert promoter Andrew McManus, who decided there was enough of an opportunity to carve out his own live event niche.
In 2002, Andrew McManus would elaborate on his vision of WWA to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
"Realistically, we're not trying to take on America. Our approach is to go to territories that don't get live wrestling on a grand scale. When I say live wrestling, I mean a product that's equally produced in talent to a WWF show. That's why it's important to maintain a presence in the marketplace by using top guys."
Andrew also noted that the goal was to avoid a grind on the road:
"We're only doing 70 shows a year, which appeals to people with lifestyles with families. We'll run America once or twice a year just to keep our brand value. But the overall percentage of our shows will be 95 percent outside of America."
Vince Russo was originally set as the booker of the promotion, but due to not being able to commit to the role, he would recommend Jeremy Borash instead.
With Jeremy now filling the role of the booker, the promotion featured several WWF/WCW/ECW alumni such as Jeff Jarrett, Sting, Road Dogg, Scott Steiner, Psicosis, Juventud Guerrera, Rick Steiner, Jerry Lynn, Shane Douglas, Buff Bagwell, Lex Luger, Stevie Ray, Sabu, Disco Inferno, and Gangrel.
Acquiring established names without a home was part of Andrew’s hiring strategy.
"The beauty of the World Wrestling All-Stars is that it's the all-stars, I can add names as Vince [McMahon] drops talent or someone becomes available. I might grab four or five new names for the tour of Australia [in May]. You may see one group on the first 16 shows, but the next 16 shows you may not."
WWA also boasted a roster of young talent who would eventually sign with TNA that included A.J. Styles, Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, and Shark Boy.
Bret Hart served as the original Commissioner until eventually being replaced by Sid Vicious.
The first PPV was called, Inception and took place on October 26, 2001, from the Sydney Super Dome in Sydney, Australia. Their debut event would impressively draw 8,500 fans, but the show was critically panned due to bizarre comedic antics, short matches that were devoid of quality, questionable production value, and a general lack of direction. While some journalists expressed hope, it was clear this promotion was doomed from the start.
The script for the show was originally written by Vince Russo and Andrew considered this show to be a learning experience.
"I'm learning a lot about pay-per-view and a lot of those influences on the first show came from Vince. Vince wrote the original script before he left and we went along with it, although we chopped some of it and changed some things. I don't think having a comedic side is bad. But the way, I would like to see our position as having a little bit of everything."
Nevertheless, McManus remained optimistic related to growth and expansion.
"Trying to come into America without TV is difficult, we all understand that. However, the opportunity is there. I'm not saying we will have a weekly show in 2003 or 2004, but obviously our objective is to try and end up with a weekly TV show. Whether it's two or three years, I can't say honestly. It would require a change in philosophy from the company being 95 percent offshore."
Note: I made the decision to watch Inception in its entirety several years ago and it was every bit as confusing as originally viewed. With all due respect to Jeremy Borash and the talent involved, this show appeared to have been booked by inexperienced personnel, which likely derived from Vince Russo’s original script.
The company would then tour the UK live events.
The second PPV event titled Revolution was held at the Aladdin Casino Center (now Planet Hollywood) in Las Vegas, Nevada. Due to the two Cruiserweight bouts, this event was better received than the first PPV, but an advertised Randy Savage would apparently no-show his main event match against Jeff Jarrett for the WWA World Heavyweight Championship. This forced the promotion to frantically search for a replacement while ultimately settling on Brian Christopher. As you can imagine, fans felt ripped off.
In total, the company ran three more PPVs along with tours throughout Europe and Australia.
Unsurprisingly, due to a lack of revenue which included a dwindling attendance, no television deal, and losing several of their marquee names, WWA officially folded in 2003.
In 2015, Andrew McManus was arrested in Australia in connection with the alleged importation of 300 kilograms of cocaine and money laundering.
Two years later, Wade Brewer purchased the company from Andrew McManus.
When asked by 411 Mania about the prospect of future events, Wade responded with the following statement:
“At the moment, the focus needs to be placed on brand awareness, we’ve re-released our first two pay-per-view events for online streaming on our pivotshare account, and formed a partnership that also makes them available on the Highspots Wrestling Network. As for future events and tours, get connected with our social networks and when the time is right, you’ll be the first to receive the big announcements”.
