Heartland Wrestling Association
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| Acronym | HWA |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1996 |
| Style | American Wrestling |
| Headquarters | Cincinnati, Ohio, United States (1998–current) |
| Founder(s) | Les Thatcher |
| Owner(s) | Philip Austin Stamper (2015–current) |
| Website | HWAonline.com (inactive) |
The Heartland Wrestling Association (HWA) is a Midwestern independent professional wrestling promotion based in Cincinnati, Ohio. A former developmental territory for both World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation during the 1990s, it was listed as one of the top independent promotions in the United States by The Professional Wrestlers' Workout & Instructional Guide by Harley Race, Ricky Steamboat and Les Thatcher in 2005.
The Heartland Wrestling Association was started in 1996 by Les Thatcher and Brady Laber, in association with his wrestling school Main Event Pro Wrestling Camp, and held the first annual Brian Pillman Memorial Show in 1998.
The promotion served as the developmental territory for both World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), with alumni including wrestlers such as Mike Sanders,Shannon Moore,Victoria,The Hardy Boyz and brothers Charlie and Russ Haas, as well as former WCW veterans Bill DeMott and Elix Skipper. Among the top independent wrestlers to have competed in the promotion are Nigel McGuinness, B.J. Whitmer, Matt Stryker, Shark Boy, Cody Hawk and Chad Collyer. WWE would later end its relationship and pulled financial support out of the HWA to cut their budget. The HWA was once featured in an episode of MTV's True Life in the episode "True Life: I'm A Professional Wrestler".
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