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.
Andrew also noted that the goal was to avoid a grind on the road:
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.
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.
Nevertheless, McManus remained optimistic related to growth and expansion.
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: