FWA Academy
Frontier Wrestling Alliance's logo
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| Acronym | FWA |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1993 (as Fratton Wrestling Association) 1999 (Frontier Wrestling Alliance) |
| Style |
Professional wrestling Sports entertainment |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom |
| Founder(s) | Mark Sloan (Founder of Fratton Wrestling Alliance) |
| Owner(s) | Tony Simpson (Managing Director) |
| Formerly | Fratton Wrestling Association |
Frontier Wrestling Alliance (FWA) is a professional wrestling promotion in Britain. Established in 1993 as the Fratton Wrestling Association it soon became the Frontier Wrestling Alliance six years later and until 2007 when it lost a scripted inter-promotional feud with International Pro Wrestling: United Kingdom. As a result of losing the promotion was forced to close and the company XWA was founded, largely based on the old FWA with some old staff and wrestlers as well as some championships. However, in 2009 the FWA brand was relaunched again as a separate promotion to the XWA.
The FWA initially started out as the Fratton Wrestling Association in 1993 by Mark Sloan in an attempt to create a forum for serious wrestling training and performance based in Portsmouth. Renaming the promotion to the Fratton Wrestling Alliance 1999, it experienced a renovation that geared it towards national expansion and promoted its first show in February of that year, changing to Frontier Wrestling Alliance by the second show in June. The promotion soon produced a regional television programme in Portsmouth as well as founding a training academy to create its own talent. The emphasis on new wrestlers organically led to an early storyline of new, internationally influenced wrestling clashing with traditional British wrestling with some veterans brought in to help promote FWA's own performers.
The company created a British championship later that year and in 2000 also crowned tag team champions as it continued to expand, performing across the south of the country. By August FWA began promoting shows with foreign talent, initially Sabu and Dan Severn, which it would continue to do so during its first run by cross promoting with other promotions. This eventually led to the British Heavyweight Championship being won by American wrestler Christopher Daniels, the belt being defended on international soil and a joint-promoted event with American independent promotion Ring of Honor in 2003. The company used international stars to gain notoriety and were further aided in advertisement when Alex Shane became a regular presenter on national talk radio station Talksport, aiding the company's expansion into the north of England. The ties with Talksport became important when FWA promoted a show entitled "Revival" from the Crystal Palace Indoor Arena that was broadcast live on radio and later on national television, through Bravo.
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