Ladies Professional Wrestling Association

The Ladies Professional Wrestling Association (LPWA) was a women's professional wrestling promotion which operated in the early 1990s (ca. 1989–1992). It was considered a successor to such women's promotions as Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling (GLOW), but it differed in that, while GLOW slanted more toward WWF-style sports entertainment, the LPWA treated its product seriously and put its primary emphasis on in-ring athletics.

Ladies Professional Wrestling Association
AcronymLPWA
Founded1989
Defunct1998
StyleWomen's professional wrestling
HeadquartersLaughlin, Nevada (1989–1992)
Founder(s)Tor Berg[1]
Owner(s)Tor Berg (1989–1992; 1998–2000)

History

Thurston John "Tor" Berg (1938–2011) founded the company ca. 1989.[1] An incident occurred in March 1991, where Berg promised Jumping Bomb Angels member Noriyo Tateno that he would give her a permanent job in the new company if she retired in Japan and moved to the United States.[1] Berg, however, later backed out on the deal, and Sherri Martel made the incident public.[1]

The LPWA produced two television series, The Super Ladies of Wrestling and Ladies Championship Wrestling from 1990 to 1992.[2] Many of their matches were also distributed and sold on VHS tapes. They held their first and only pay-per-view, Super Ladies Showdown, on February 23, 1992, before closing down operations shortly after.[3]

Berg planned on promoting a second Super Ladies pay-per-view event in 2000, but the event was canceled. The pay-per-view was scheduled to feature women from around the world, including American wrestlers Debbie Malenko, Sherri Martel, Sweet Destiny and Missy Hyatt; Japanese wrestlers Chikako Shiratori, AKINO, Chapparita Asari and Ayako Hamada; and Australian wrestlers Amy Action, Raya Riot, and former LPWA Champion Susan Sexton.[4]

Super Ladies Showdown
Super Ladies Showdown
PromotionLPWA
DateFebruary 23, 1992
CityRochester, Minnesota
VenueMayo Civic Center
Attendance400[5]

LPWA Super Ladies Showdown was a professional wrestling pay-per-view from the LPWA. It took place on February 23, 1992, from the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester, Minnesota.[5] It was the only PPV from the LPWA, which folded shortly after the event. The main event was a match for the LPWA Singles Championship, in which Terri Powers faced Lady X. The event also featured a tournament for the LPWA Japanese Championship.

Results
No.ResultsStipulationsTimes
1Mami Kitamura and Miki Handa defeated Allison Royal and Lisa StarrTag Team match3:46
2Denise Storm defeated Susan GreenLPWA Japanese Championship Tournament First Round match6:02
3Reggie Bennett defeated Yukari OsawaLPWA Japanese Championship Tournament First Round match6:19
4Shinobu Kandori defeated Desiree PetersenSingles match4:31
5Harley Saito defeated Mizuki EndohLPWA Japanese Championship Tournament First Round match7:06
6Eagle Sawai defeated Midori SaitoLPWA Japanese Championship Tournament First Round match5:43
7Black Venus (with Boogaloo Brown) defeated Rockin' RobinSingles match5:39
8Denise Storm defeated Reggie Bennett by disqualificationLPWA Japanese Championship Tournament Semi-Final match8:27
9Harley Saito defeated Eagle Sawai by pointsLPWA Japanese Championship Tournament Semi-Final match10:00
10The Glamour Girls (Judy Martin and Leilani Kai) (c) defeated Bambi and Malia HosakaTag Team match for the LPWA Tag Team Championship8:47
11Harley Saito defeated Denise StormTournament Final match for the LPWA Japanese Championship8:07
12Terri Power defeated Lady X (c)Singles match for the LPWA Championship8:36
(c) – the champion(s) heading into the match

Championships

LPWA Championship

The LPWA Championship was a professional wrestling title created in early 1990.[6]

Key
No. Overall reign number
Reign Reign number for the specific champion
Days Number of days held
No. Champion Championship change Reign statistics Notes Ref.
Date Event Location Reign Days
1 Susan Sexton January 1990 N/A N/A 1 N/A Sexton was awarded the championship.
2 Lady X January 31, 1991 LPWA show Laughlin, NV 1 388
3 Terri Power February 23, 1992 LPWA Super Ladies Showdown Rochester, MN 1 N/A
— Deactivated 1992 — — — — The championship was abandoned after the LPWA closed.

LPWA Japanese Championship

The LPWA Japanese Championship was a professional wrestling title created in 1992. The inaugural (and only) champion was Harley Saito, who won an eight-woman tournament held during the Super Ladies Showdown pay-per-view event.

Inaugural championship tournament (1992)
Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
         
Denise Storm Pin
Susan Green 6:02
Denise Storm DQ
Reggie Bennett 8:27
Yukari Osawa 6:19
Reggie Bennett Pin
Denise Storm 8:07
Harley Saito Pin
Mizuki Endoh 7:06
Harley Saito Pin
Harley Saito PTS
Eagle Sawai 10:00
Eagle Sawai Pin
Midori Saito 5:43
Key
No. Overall reign number
Reign Reign number for the specific champion
Days Number of days held
No. Champion Championship change Reign statistics Notes Ref.
Date Event Location Reign Days
1 Harley Saito February 23, 1992 LPWA Super Ladies Showdown Rochester, MN 1 N/A Saito defeated Denise Storm in the finals of an eight-woman tournament to become the inaugural champion.
— Deactivated 1992 — — — — The championship was abandoned after the LPWA closed.

LPWA Tag Team Championship

The LPWA Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team title created in early 1990.[6]

Key
No. Overall reign number
Reign Reign number for the specific champion
Days Number of days held
No. Champion Championship change Reign statistics Notes Ref.
Date Event Location Reign Days
1 Team America
(Heidi Lee Morgan and Misty Blue)		 March 13, 1990 LPWA show Laughlin, NV 1 352 Team America defeated Bad, Black and Beautiful (Bad Girl and Black Venus) to become the inaugural champions.
2 The Glamour Girls
(Judy Martin and Leilani Kai)		 February 28, 1991 LPWA show Laughlin, NV 1 N/A Also billed as The Queen's Court. [7]
— Deactivated 1992 — — — — The championship was abandoned after the LPWA closed.

LPWA Mixed Tag Team Championship

The LPWA Tag Team Championship was an existing professional wrestling tag team title recognized in early-mid 1990. In 1973, Adrian Street and Miss Linda won the World Mixed Tag Team Championship by defeating Don Kovaks and Suzie Parker in Germany. Street and Linda were still undefeated as champions when they joined the LPWA in 1990 and continued to defend the championships in the promotion.[8]

Key
No. Overall reign number
Reign Reign number for the specific champion
Days Number of days held
No. Champion Championship change Reign statistics Notes Ref.
Date Event Location Reign Days
1 Adrian Street and Miss Linda January 1990 LMLW show N/A 1 N/A
— Deactivated 1990 — — — — The championship was abandoned after Adrian Street and Miss Linda left LPWA by the end of 1990.

Alumni

Female wrestlers

Male wrestlers

Tag Teams
  • Bambi and Malia Hosaka
  • Bad Black and Beautiful (Bad Girl and Black Venus with Boogaloo Brown)
  • The Glamour Girls (The Queen's Court) (Leilani Kai and Judy Martin with Christopher Love)
  • Locomotion (Big Mo/Reggie Bennett and Little Mo/Cheryl Rusa)
  • The Mighty Mites (Cheryl Rusa and Sindy Paradise)
  • The Nasty Girls (Nasty Kat/Kat LeRoux and Nasty Linda/Linda Dallas)
  • New Team America (Misty Blue Simmes and Allison Royal)
  • Rockin' Robin and Wendi Richter
  • Team America (Misty Blue Simmes and Heidi Lee Morgan, later Heidi Lee Morgan and Comrade Orga Stalinska)

Mixed Tag Teams
  • Adnan Al-Kaissie and Sheba
  • Adrian Street and Miss Linda
  • Barry Horowitz and Lisa Starr
  • Tim Horner and Malia Hosaka

Other on-air talent

Commissioner

Managers

  • Adnan Al-Kaissie (also occasional wrestler)[9]
  • Ashley Kennedy (also occasional wrestler)
  • Boogaloo Brown
  • Jonathan Blue
  • Norman (Mike Shaw)
  • "Queen" Christopher Love (Bert Prentice)

Announcers

Interviewer

References
  1. Lano, Mike (June 21, 2007). "Remembering a good friend, Sherri Martel". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 2008-11-06.
  2. "LPWA TV". Savatage. Retrieved 2010-12-24.
  3. LPWA, Inc. "LPWA History". All Women Wrestling. Retrieved 2010-10-10.
  4. "Debbi Malenko". Amy Action. Archived from the original on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2010-12-22.
  5. "Other Wrestling Cards". Wrestling Information Archive. Archived from the original on 2008-01-05. Retrieved 2008-01-11.
  6. Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  7. Hoops, Brian (February 28, 2017). "Daily pro wrestling history (02/28): Andersen & Hansen win NWA Tag Titles". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
  8. Street, Adrian. "Pedigree of Champions". Bizare Bazzar. Archived from the original on 2010-10-15. Retrieved 2010-10-10.
  9. Johnson, Steven (August 8, 2007). "Return of a "Glamour Girl"". SLAM! Wrestling. Archived from the original on 2015-04-18. Retrieved 2008-11-06.

Further reading
  • Galloway, Paul. "Sexy Sindy's Unlikely Hold on Female Wrestlingdom". Washington Post. 6 May 1990
  • Rowh, Mark and William Ray Heitzmann. Careers for Sports Nuts & Other Athletic Types. Chicago: McGraw-Hill Professional, 1997. ISBN 0-8442-4325-6
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