Texas All-Star Wrestling
Encyclopedia
Texas All-Star Wrestling (TASW) is a professional wrestling
promotion
that was established by Bob Murphy in Humble
, Texas
in 1994. It is the oldest independent promotion in the state of Texas
and one of three based in the Greater Houston
area along with Booker T
's Pro Wrestling Alliance
and World of Wrestling.
It was the first successful wrestling promotion to open in Texas following the close World Class Championship Wrestling
in 1990, and the Global Wrestling Federation
in 1994. It not only remained the only major "indy" promotion in the state during the 1990s but is one of the oldest wrestling promotions in operation in the United States. The promotion has been profiled by both the Houston Press
and the Houston Chronicle
. Ken Hoffman, a longtime columnist for the Chronicle, has participated in several wrestling matches for charity. The Galveston County Daily News
has called TASW the top promotion in the entire state.
Necro Butcher
and Shawn Hernandez
, now top stars of Ring of Honor
and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
respectively, both started their careers in TASW. Samoa Joe
from TNA, Harlem Heat 2000 (Big T
and Stevie Ray
) from World Championship Wrestling
, and Tammy Lynn Sytch
, Christy Hemme
and Daivari
from World Wrestling Entertainment
have all made appearances for the promotion as well as older wrestlers such as Abdullah the Butcher
, Kamala
and "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan
, the latter holding the promotion's heavyweight title in 2003.
or another venue in the local area. Murphy and his then tag team partner rented out a bingo hall by U.S. Route 59
in Humble, Texas
and promised the owner, Casey Musick, $500 plus the proceeds from the concession stand. Renaming the building the "Humble Bingo Arena", they held their first show on January 15, 1994, which was attended by 450 fans and brought in over $2,000.
Professional wrestling had been very popular in Houston, especially during 1970s and 80s, but had considerably declined in the years following the retirement of legendary wrestling personality Paul Boesch
in 1987. It was not until the close of World Class Championship Wrestling
in 1990, and the Global Wrestling Federation
in 1994, that Murphy began promoting wrestling events after an absence of several years. It was the first successful independent promotion in Texas and, with the exception of occasional events held by Tugboat Taylor at Hofheinz Pavilion
, remained the only organization in the entire state for nearly a decade.
The shows immediately found an audience with its traditional Southern-style wrestling, rather than the "sports entertainment
" favored by mainstream promotions such as World Championship Wrestling
and the World Wrestling Federation, and established a strong and loyal following in the Greater Houston
area. Many fans were so enthusiastic at the events that many wanted to participate themselves prompting Murphy to open a small gym in the back of the Humble Bingo Arena in 1996. Within two years, this eventually evolved into the present-day training facility and wrestling school where many of the top wrestlers on the Texas "indy" circuit would be trained, most notably, Shawn "Hot Stuff" Hernandez
. Perspective students of the school were required to volunteer at events in roles such as refereeing matches, escorting wrestlers to the ring as a "valet" or acting as security for several months prior to their first match. The entire training period generally took six months to one year, though some students graduated within four to five months.
Humongous defended the TASW Heavyweight Championship against Abdullah the Butcher
at the Humble Bingo Arena on March 22, 1997. Older veterans such as "Mean" Mike Tatum, "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan
and Kamala the Ugandan Giant
also had short stints in the promotion. Both Tatum and Duggan held the TASW Heavyweight Championship during the early-2000s. Although speculated to become a major promotion, Murphy himself said in interviews that he was unconcerned about the expansion of the company and instead wanted to focus on developing younger locally-based talent and "help them make it to the next level". In addition to its Houston-based roster, Texas independent wrestlers Rasta Savage and Necro Butcher
also regularly competed in the promotion. Later stars to emerge during the next decade included Bobby 2-Badd, Mr. Mayhem, Zen-Zen, VooDoo the Xecutioner, Nasty Nick Daniels, Dylan Starr and Nark the Nevulon. River City Wrestling's Joey "Super Shot" Spector, an alumnus of the Texas Wrestling Academy
, also wrestled for the promotion early in his career.
, Houston Chronicle columnist Ken Hoffman made his pro wrestling debut against The Jester in the opening bout; he not only lost the match but had to be carried out of the ring on a stretcher. Hoffman had previously covered the promotion during the mid-1990s and would continue to make occasional appearances over the next few years donating his prize money to charities. The journalist was signed to a series of Texas Death-style matches, with no referee present and "anything goes", against The Jester. These matches were held at the Silverwings Ballroom in Brenham
on February 13, the Civic Center in Diboll
on March 5, the Humble Bingo Arena on March 6, in Port Lavaca
on March 13 and at Spring High School
in Spring, Texas
on March 20, 1999. Miss Hooters Girl 1999 winner Alisa Wong was his valet for these matches.
That summer, the promotion began producing a weekly late-night series which aired on KNWS-TV. Hoffman also made a return at the "Rumble in Humble" where he unexpectedly won the TASW Cruiserweight Championship in a Three-Way Dance with Bones and "Loverboy" Joey Corman. He was helped in his victory due to outside interference from Alisa Wong and his manager Sean "The Cablinasian" Pendergast. Hoffman also entered the "Humble Rumble", a 20-man battle royale
for $15,000 and a title shot against then TASW Heavyweight Champion "Mean" Mike Tatum, but quickly eliminated himself after entering the ring. He retained the title in a rematch with Bones on February 12 and successfully defended the title for six months against opponents such as defended my title against Brother Icarus, Bonez and the Jester until finally surrendering the title to TASW promoter Bob Murphy that summer.
and Houston including Texas City
, Baytown
, Port Lavaca
, Brenham
and El Campo
. In August of that year, a story on Murphy and TASW was featured in the Houston Press
and profiled several its top stars including female wrestlers Skyler and Nadia Payne, Big Daddy from Cincinnati, Mini Stuff, Mr. Fu Ku, Spanish Fly, "Playboy" Joey Corman, Rasta Savage, Necro Butcher and Shawn Hernandez. The story received a positive response from readers, however, Warriors of Wrestling (World of Wrestling) promoter wrote a letter to the editor
criticizing the article for its "lack of research and professionalism" as well as the TASW for its inappropriate fan behavior. She requested the newspaper provide "equal exposure" and invited the author, Jesse Washington, to attend an upcoming show.
A year later, "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan
wrestled for the promotion during the summer and early fall of 2001. During this first stint with TASW, Duggan feuded Harlem Heat 2000 (Big T
and Stevie Ray
) from World Championship Wrestling
. Kamala
and Mike Tatum headlined a TASW show at the Humble Bingo Arena on February 22, 2003. Later that year, the promotion held a memorial show for one of its former stars and official announcer, Brother Icarus, at the arena on October 4, 2003. Ken Hoffman, who had wrestled him two years before, wrote a column in memory of his passing. He recalled in a later column that that during the match he secretly had Jim Adler, a celebrity tv attorney known as the "Tough Texas Lawyer", interfere in the match on his behalf. He ordered Brother Icarus to stop attacking Hoffman, who had been choking him and pulling his hair, and threatened to have Icarus arrested for assault
and battery
. When fans began booing, Adler threatened to subpoena
the entire audience as witnesses. This distraction allowed Hoffman to roll-up his opponent for the victory and quickly escaped with the belt.
The promotion was praised by The Galveston County Daily News
, the oldest newspaper of record
in the state of Texas, as "the best-run independent group in the state" and crediting Bob Murphy for keeping TASW out of the well-publicized feuding seen among rival Texas promotions. Scott E. Williams, a journalist for The Galveston County Daily News, wrote in early-2004 that TASW was "arguably the top independent wrestling group in the entire state". On January 10, 2004, several TASW wrestlers participated in a show for High Impact Wrestling at Texas City’s Nessler Center headlined by Johnny Blade and Kamala. The event also served as the professional wrestling debut of Scott E. Williams who agreed to participate as the special guest referee in the main event in exchange for a donation to The Daily News’ United Way fund. On June 5, Tom Prichard
, the top talent scout for World Wrestling Entertainment
, conducted a "no-holds-barred" clinic at TASW's wrestling school in Humble. Also that summer, Jim Duggan returned to the promotion and, at the August 7th "Tomball Streetfight" supercard, defeated TASW Heavyweight Champion Zen-Zen for the title. At the time of its 11th anniversary at the 2005 "Humble Rumble", Williams wrote "In addition to being one of the country’s longest-lived independents, TASW has become the best one in Texas".
where he and Sean Pendergast won the TASW Tag Team Championship from Scoby Gober & Bones in a Triple Threat match with Nate Slater & Rocco Carmanooch at the Humble Bingo Arena. Like his previous victory, Hoffman was helped by valet Alisa Wong and manager Sheik Ali Ramzanali. Both men donated their prize money to charity. On December 8, 2007, Tammy Lynn Sytch
made an appearance at the "Seasons Beatings" supercard at the Humble Bingo Arena. That same month, The Houston Press covered a TASW event at the Armadillo Events Center featuring Spider Boy, whom the author referred to as "the world's laziest Spider-Man
", in a match with Steve "Bones" Monckton.
In February 2008, the Houston Chronicle also covered the Texas All-Star Wrestling's 15th-annual "Humble Rumble" where a photo was taken of "BLT" Bubba Lee Travis and an 8-year-old child attending the event with his father. The event boasted a sold-out crowd and was one of the promotion's biggest show of the new year. The following month at "Scar Wars", WWE superstar Daivari
who was originally there for an autograph signing but was later involved in an alterication with Dylan Starr which led to impromptu match between the two. Later that night, he became involved in a post-match brawl after Starr interfeared in a Triple Threat match between Hector Montoya, Nasty Nick Daniels and TASW Cruiserweight Champion Chip Dumas causing a no-contest.
The promotion celebrated its 16th anniversary at the 2009 "Humble Rumble" at the Humble Bingo Arena on January 10, 2009. At the end of the year, TexasIndyWrestling.com ranked Texas All-Star Wrestling #5 of the top ten wrestling promotions in Texas.
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
promotion
Professional wrestling promotion
A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling. Promotion also describes a role which entails management, advertising and logistics of running a wrestling event...
that was established by Bob Murphy in Humble
Humble, Texas
Humble is a city in Harris County, Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area.As of the 2000 census, the city population was 14,579. The city shares a zip code with the small Houston neighborhood of Bordersville, although people who live in Bordersville still have Humble...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
in 1994. It is the oldest independent promotion in the state of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and one of three based in the Greater Houston
Greater Houston
Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown is a 10-county metropolitan area defined by the Office of Management and Budget. It is located along the Gulf Coast region in the U.S. state of Texas...
area along with Booker T
Booker Huffman
Robert Booker Tio Huffman , better known by his ring name Booker T, is a semi-retired American professional wrestler and currently signed to WWE, on its SmackDown brand, as part of the announcing team. Booker is best known for his time in both the World Wrestling Entertainment and World...
's Pro Wrestling Alliance
Pro Wrestling Alliance
Pro Wrestling Alliance is an independent professional wrestling promotion based in Houston, Texas. It was started in 2005 by Booker T.-History:The Pro Wrestling Alliance used to hold monthly events at the Pasadena Convention Center in Pasadena, Texas...
and World of Wrestling.
It was the first successful wrestling promotion to open in Texas following the close World Class Championship Wrestling
World Class Championship Wrestling
World Class Championship Wrestling ' was a regional professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter Ed McLemore, by 1966 it was run by Southwest Sports, Inc., whose president, Jack Adkisson, was better known as wrestler Fritz Von Erich...
in 1990, and the Global Wrestling Federation
Global Wrestling Federation
Global Wrestling Federation was a professional wrestling promotion based in Dallas, Texas. It started in June 1991 and folded in September 1994. At one time its shows were presented on the ESPN television network. On many weeks, the promotion provided programming five days a week airing at 4 p.m...
in 1994. It not only remained the only major "indy" promotion in the state during the 1990s but is one of the oldest wrestling promotions in operation in the United States. The promotion has been profiled by both the Houston Press
Houston Press
The Houston Press is an alternative weekly newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in Downtown Houston....
and the Houston Chronicle
Houston Chronicle
The Houston Chronicle is the largest daily newspaper in Texas, USA, headquartered in the Houston Chronicle Building in Downtown Houston. , it is the ninth-largest newspaper by circulation in the United States...
. Ken Hoffman, a longtime columnist for the Chronicle, has participated in several wrestling matches for charity. The Galveston County Daily News
The Galveston County Daily News
The Daily News, formerly the Galveston County Daily News and Galveston Daily News, is a newspaper published in Galveston, Texas, United States. It was first published April 11, 1842, making it the oldest newspaper in the U.S. state of Texas. The newspaper founded The Dallas Morning News on October...
has called TASW the top promotion in the entire state.
Necro Butcher
Necro Butcher
Dylan Keith Summers is an American professional wrestler best known by his ring name Necro Butcher. Throughout the years he has worked for various promotions, including Beyond Wrestling, Firestormpro, Ring of Honor, Full Impact Pro, IWA-Mid South, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, Big Japan Pro Wrestling,...
and Shawn Hernandez
Shawn Hernandez
Shawn Hernandez is an American professional wrestler of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent, better known by his ring names, "Hotstuff Hernandez" and "Hernandez"....
, now top stars of Ring of Honor
Ring of Honor
Ring of Honor ' is an American professional wrestling promotion, founded in 2002 by Rob Feinstein and Gabe Sapolsky. From 2004 to 2011, the promotion was under the ownership of Cary Silkin before being sold to the Sinclair Broadcast Group in May 2011...
and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling is a privately held professional wrestling promotion founded by Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Jarrett. The company broadcasts its events on television and the Internet fifty two weeks a year with over a million weekly viewers on its primary television program, Impact...
respectively, both started their careers in TASW. Samoa Joe
Samoa Joe
Nuufolau Joel "Joe" Seanoa is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Samoa Joe. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling....
from TNA, Harlem Heat 2000 (Big T
Anthony Norris
Anthony "Tony" Norris , better known by his ring name, Ahmed Johnson, is an American former professional wrestler. He is best known for his stint in the World Wrestling Federation, where he is a one time Intercontinental Champion and the first-ever winner of the Kuwait Cup.-Global Wrestling...
and Stevie Ray
Lane Huffman
Lane Steven Huffman is a retired American professional wrestler who is better known as Stevie Ray. He is best known as being part of the tag team Harlem Heat with his younger brother Booker T...
) from World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
, and Tammy Lynn Sytch
Tammy Lynn Sytch
Tamara "Tammy" Lynn Sytch is an American professional wrestling manager, personality,and occasional wrestler. She achieved her greatest success under the ring name Sunny within the World Wrestling Federation during the 1990s, and is widely considered as one of the first Divas...
, Christy Hemme
Christy Hemme
Christina Lee "Christy" Hemme is an American actress, singer, model, professional wrestling valet and former professional wrestler. Hemme is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, as a backstage interviewer and ring announcer.-Early life:Hemme was born in Poway, California, but she...
and Daivari
Shawn Daivari
Dara Daivari is an Iranian American professional wrestler, currently performing on the American independent circuit as Shawn Daivari. He is best known for his work with World Wrestling Entertainment as simply Daivari and with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as Sheik Abdul Bashir.-Career:Daivari...
from World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
have all made appearances for the promotion as well as older wrestlers such as Abdullah the Butcher
Abdullah the Butcher
Lawrence Robert "Larry" Shreve best known as Abdullah the Butcher, and also at times The Madman from the Sudan, is a semi-retired Canadian professional wrestler known as one of the most brutal or "hardcore" professional wrestlers of all-time...
, Kamala
Kamala
Kamala is a common Hindu name, usually meaning Nelumbo nucifera, the lotus. Variants include Kamal and Kamla. It is unrelated to the similar sounding name of Arabic origin meaning perfection or integrity usually spelled Kamal in English but spelled Kemal in Turkish, which appears as the middle name...
and "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan
Jim Duggan
James Edward Duggan , better known by his ring name "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment in the 1980s, when it was known as World Wrestling Federation , and World Championship Wrestling...
, the latter holding the promotion's heavyweight title in 2003.
Background and early history
Texas All-Star Wrestling was started by Bob Murphy, a 10-year veteran who wrestled throughout Texas during the 1980s, who grew frustrated with the unethical business practices of small-time promoters following the collapse of the NWA territory system at the end of the decade. With the civic center yet to be built, he considered using Humble High SchoolHumble High School
Humble High School is a secondary school located in the Humble Independent School District in Humble, Texas, United States.Humble High School , which serves grades 9 through 12, serves the city of Humble, the Moonshine Hill area of Houston, and unincorporated communities north of Beltway 8...
or another venue in the local area. Murphy and his then tag team partner rented out a bingo hall by U.S. Route 59
U.S. Route 59 in Texas
In the U.S. state of Texas, U.S. 59 is named the Lloyd Bentsen Highway, after Lloyd Bentsen, former U.S. Senator from Texas. In northern Houston, US 59 is the Eastex Freeway...
in Humble, Texas
Humble, Texas
Humble is a city in Harris County, Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area.As of the 2000 census, the city population was 14,579. The city shares a zip code with the small Houston neighborhood of Bordersville, although people who live in Bordersville still have Humble...
and promised the owner, Casey Musick, $500 plus the proceeds from the concession stand. Renaming the building the "Humble Bingo Arena", they held their first show on January 15, 1994, which was attended by 450 fans and brought in over $2,000.
Professional wrestling had been very popular in Houston, especially during 1970s and 80s, but had considerably declined in the years following the retirement of legendary wrestling personality Paul Boesch
Paul Boesch
Paul Max Boesch was a professional wrestling promoter most famous for his work as an announcer and promoter for Houston Wrestling. He also spent several stints working with the Universal Wrestling Federation, World Class Championship Wrestling, and the World Wrestling Federation.-Biography:Paul...
in 1987. It was not until the close of World Class Championship Wrestling
World Class Championship Wrestling
World Class Championship Wrestling ' was a regional professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter Ed McLemore, by 1966 it was run by Southwest Sports, Inc., whose president, Jack Adkisson, was better known as wrestler Fritz Von Erich...
in 1990, and the Global Wrestling Federation
Global Wrestling Federation
Global Wrestling Federation was a professional wrestling promotion based in Dallas, Texas. It started in June 1991 and folded in September 1994. At one time its shows were presented on the ESPN television network. On many weeks, the promotion provided programming five days a week airing at 4 p.m...
in 1994, that Murphy began promoting wrestling events after an absence of several years. It was the first successful independent promotion in Texas and, with the exception of occasional events held by Tugboat Taylor at Hofheinz Pavilion
Hofheinz Pavilion
Guy V. Lewis Court at Hofheinz Pavilion, often known as simply Hofheinz Pavilion, is an 8,500-seat multi-purpose arena on the University of Houston campus in Houston, Texas. Located at 3875 Holman Street, it is home to the University of Houston Cougars men's and women's basketball teams as well as...
, remained the only organization in the entire state for nearly a decade.
The shows immediately found an audience with its traditional Southern-style wrestling, rather than the "sports entertainment
Sports entertainment
Sports entertainment is a type of spectacle which presents an ostensibly competitive event using a high level of theatrical flourish and extravagant presentation, with the purpose of entertaining an audience...
" favored by mainstream promotions such as World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
and the World Wrestling Federation, and established a strong and loyal following in the Greater Houston
Greater Houston
Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown is a 10-county metropolitan area defined by the Office of Management and Budget. It is located along the Gulf Coast region in the U.S. state of Texas...
area. Many fans were so enthusiastic at the events that many wanted to participate themselves prompting Murphy to open a small gym in the back of the Humble Bingo Arena in 1996. Within two years, this eventually evolved into the present-day training facility and wrestling school where many of the top wrestlers on the Texas "indy" circuit would be trained, most notably, Shawn "Hot Stuff" Hernandez
Shawn Hernandez
Shawn Hernandez is an American professional wrestler of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent, better known by his ring names, "Hotstuff Hernandez" and "Hernandez"....
. Perspective students of the school were required to volunteer at events in roles such as refereeing matches, escorting wrestlers to the ring as a "valet" or acting as security for several months prior to their first match. The entire training period generally took six months to one year, though some students graduated within four to five months.
Humongous defended the TASW Heavyweight Championship against Abdullah the Butcher
Abdullah the Butcher
Lawrence Robert "Larry" Shreve best known as Abdullah the Butcher, and also at times The Madman from the Sudan, is a semi-retired Canadian professional wrestler known as one of the most brutal or "hardcore" professional wrestlers of all-time...
at the Humble Bingo Arena on March 22, 1997. Older veterans such as "Mean" Mike Tatum, "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan
Jim Duggan
James Edward Duggan , better known by his ring name "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment in the 1980s, when it was known as World Wrestling Federation , and World Championship Wrestling...
and Kamala the Ugandan Giant
Kamala
Kamala is a common Hindu name, usually meaning Nelumbo nucifera, the lotus. Variants include Kamal and Kamla. It is unrelated to the similar sounding name of Arabic origin meaning perfection or integrity usually spelled Kamal in English but spelled Kemal in Turkish, which appears as the middle name...
also had short stints in the promotion. Both Tatum and Duggan held the TASW Heavyweight Championship during the early-2000s. Although speculated to become a major promotion, Murphy himself said in interviews that he was unconcerned about the expansion of the company and instead wanted to focus on developing younger locally-based talent and "help them make it to the next level". In addition to its Houston-based roster, Texas independent wrestlers Rasta Savage and Necro Butcher
Necro Butcher
Dylan Keith Summers is an American professional wrestler best known by his ring name Necro Butcher. Throughout the years he has worked for various promotions, including Beyond Wrestling, Firestormpro, Ring of Honor, Full Impact Pro, IWA-Mid South, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, Big Japan Pro Wrestling,...
also regularly competed in the promotion. Later stars to emerge during the next decade included Bobby 2-Badd, Mr. Mayhem, Zen-Zen, VooDoo the Xecutioner, Nasty Nick Daniels, Dylan Starr and Nark the Nevulon. River City Wrestling's Joey "Super Shot" Spector, an alumnus of the Texas Wrestling Academy
Texas Wrestling Academy
The Texas Wrestling Academy is a professional wrestling training school that was operated by Shawn Michaels and Rudy Boy Gonzalez...
, also wrestled for the promotion early in his career.
Ken Hoffman and The Houston Chronicle
On January 16, 1999, at the TASW's 6th annual "Rumble in Humble" supercardSuperCard
SuperCard is a high-level development environment that runs on Macintosh computers, under OS 8 and 9, and OS X. It is inspired by HyperCard, but includes a richer language, a full GUI toolkit, and native color .The programming language used by SuperCard is called SuperTalk, and is largely based on...
, Houston Chronicle columnist Ken Hoffman made his pro wrestling debut against The Jester in the opening bout; he not only lost the match but had to be carried out of the ring on a stretcher. Hoffman had previously covered the promotion during the mid-1990s and would continue to make occasional appearances over the next few years donating his prize money to charities. The journalist was signed to a series of Texas Death-style matches, with no referee present and "anything goes", against The Jester. These matches were held at the Silverwings Ballroom in Brenham
Brenham, Texas
Brenham is a city in east-central Texas in Washington County, Texas, United States, with a population of 16,147 according to the 2009 census. It is the county seat of Washington County...
on February 13, the Civic Center in Diboll
Diboll, Texas
Diboll is a city in Angelina County, Texas, United States. The population was 4,476 at the 2010 census. Diboll is named for J. C. Diboll, a local timber salesman.-Geography:Diboll is located at ....
on March 5, the Humble Bingo Arena on March 6, in Port Lavaca
Port Lavaca, Texas
Port Lavaca is a city in Calhoun County, Texas, United States. The population was 12,248 at the 2010 census. The County had a 3.6% growth which brought the county population to 21,381. The city itself is bringing in more business into the area. It is the county seat of Calhoun County...
on March 13 and at Spring High School
Spring High School
Spring High School is a public secondary school located in the Spring CDP in unincorporated Harris County, Texas, United States.Spring High School, which serves grades 9 through 12, is a part of the Spring Independent School District. Spring High School's mascot is the lion. School colors are...
in Spring, Texas
Spring, Texas
Spring, Texas is a census-designated place within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Houston in Harris County, Texas, United States, north of Downtown Houston. The population was 54,298 at the 2010 census...
on March 20, 1999. Miss Hooters Girl 1999 winner Alisa Wong was his valet for these matches.
That summer, the promotion began producing a weekly late-night series which aired on KNWS-TV. Hoffman also made a return at the "Rumble in Humble" where he unexpectedly won the TASW Cruiserweight Championship in a Three-Way Dance with Bones and "Loverboy" Joey Corman. He was helped in his victory due to outside interference from Alisa Wong and his manager Sean "The Cablinasian" Pendergast. Hoffman also entered the "Humble Rumble", a 20-man battle royale
Battle Royale
thumb|260px|Cover of the 2009 expanded edition, ISBN 978-1-4215-2772-3 is a 1999 Japanese novel written by Koushun Takami. The story tells of schoolchildren who are forced to fight each other to the death....
for $15,000 and a title shot against then TASW Heavyweight Champion "Mean" Mike Tatum, but quickly eliminated himself after entering the ring. He retained the title in a rematch with Bones on February 12 and successfully defended the title for six months against opponents such as defended my title against Brother Icarus, Bonez and the Jester until finally surrendering the title to TASW promoter Bob Murphy that summer.
21st century
By 2000, TASW was regularly drawing between 300 to 800 fans each month at its home arena in Humble and also promoted shows in other cities outside Harris CountyHarris County, Texas
As of the 2010 Census, the population of the county was 4,092,459, White Americans made up 56.6% of Harris County's population; non-Hispanic whites represented 33.0% of the population. Black Americans made up 18.9% of the population. Native Americans made up 0.7% of Harris County's population...
and Houston including Texas City
Texas City, Texas
Texas City is a city in Chambers and Galveston counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 41,521 at the 2000 census. It is a part of the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown, Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
, Baytown
Baytown, Texas
Baytown is a city within Harris County and partially in Chambers County in the Gulf Coast region of the U.S. state of Texas. Located within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area, it lies along both State Highway 146 and Interstate 10. As of 2010, Baytown had an population of 71,802...
, Port Lavaca
Port Lavaca, Texas
Port Lavaca is a city in Calhoun County, Texas, United States. The population was 12,248 at the 2010 census. The County had a 3.6% growth which brought the county population to 21,381. The city itself is bringing in more business into the area. It is the county seat of Calhoun County...
, Brenham
Brenham, Texas
Brenham is a city in east-central Texas in Washington County, Texas, United States, with a population of 16,147 according to the 2009 census. It is the county seat of Washington County...
and El Campo
El Campo, Texas
El Campo is a city in Wharton County, Texas, United States. The population was 10,945 at the 2000 census, making it the largest city in Wharton County.-Geography:...
. In August of that year, a story on Murphy and TASW was featured in the Houston Press
Houston Press
The Houston Press is an alternative weekly newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in Downtown Houston....
and profiled several its top stars including female wrestlers Skyler and Nadia Payne, Big Daddy from Cincinnati, Mini Stuff, Mr. Fu Ku, Spanish Fly, "Playboy" Joey Corman, Rasta Savage, Necro Butcher and Shawn Hernandez. The story received a positive response from readers, however, Warriors of Wrestling (World of Wrestling) promoter wrote a letter to the editor
Letter to the editor
A letter to the editor is a letter sent to a publication about issues of concern from its readers. Usually, letters are intended for publication...
criticizing the article for its "lack of research and professionalism" as well as the TASW for its inappropriate fan behavior. She requested the newspaper provide "equal exposure" and invited the author, Jesse Washington, to attend an upcoming show.
A year later, "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan
Jim Duggan
James Edward Duggan , better known by his ring name "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment in the 1980s, when it was known as World Wrestling Federation , and World Championship Wrestling...
wrestled for the promotion during the summer and early fall of 2001. During this first stint with TASW, Duggan feuded Harlem Heat 2000 (Big T
Anthony Norris
Anthony "Tony" Norris , better known by his ring name, Ahmed Johnson, is an American former professional wrestler. He is best known for his stint in the World Wrestling Federation, where he is a one time Intercontinental Champion and the first-ever winner of the Kuwait Cup.-Global Wrestling...
and Stevie Ray
Lane Huffman
Lane Steven Huffman is a retired American professional wrestler who is better known as Stevie Ray. He is best known as being part of the tag team Harlem Heat with his younger brother Booker T...
) from World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
. Kamala
Kamala
Kamala is a common Hindu name, usually meaning Nelumbo nucifera, the lotus. Variants include Kamal and Kamla. It is unrelated to the similar sounding name of Arabic origin meaning perfection or integrity usually spelled Kamal in English but spelled Kemal in Turkish, which appears as the middle name...
and Mike Tatum headlined a TASW show at the Humble Bingo Arena on February 22, 2003. Later that year, the promotion held a memorial show for one of its former stars and official announcer, Brother Icarus, at the arena on October 4, 2003. Ken Hoffman, who had wrestled him two years before, wrote a column in memory of his passing. He recalled in a later column that that during the match he secretly had Jim Adler, a celebrity tv attorney known as the "Tough Texas Lawyer", interfere in the match on his behalf. He ordered Brother Icarus to stop attacking Hoffman, who had been choking him and pulling his hair, and threatened to have Icarus arrested for assault
Assault
In law, assault is a crime causing a victim to fear violence. The term is often confused with battery, which involves physical contact. The specific meaning of assault varies between countries, but can refer to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, or in the more...
and battery
Battery (crime)
Battery is a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact, distinct from assault which is the fear of such contact.In the United States, criminal battery, or simply battery, is the use of force against another, resulting in harmful or offensive contact...
. When fans began booing, Adler threatened to subpoena
Subpoena
A subpoena is a writ by a government agency, most often a court, that has authority to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of subpoena:...
the entire audience as witnesses. This distraction allowed Hoffman to roll-up his opponent for the victory and quickly escaped with the belt.
The promotion was praised by The Galveston County Daily News
The Galveston County Daily News
The Daily News, formerly the Galveston County Daily News and Galveston Daily News, is a newspaper published in Galveston, Texas, United States. It was first published April 11, 1842, making it the oldest newspaper in the U.S. state of Texas. The newspaper founded The Dallas Morning News on October...
, the oldest newspaper of record
Newspaper of record
Newspaper of record is a term that may refer either to any publicly available newspaper that has been authorized by a government to publish public or legal notices , or any major newspaper that has a large circulation and whose editorial and news-gathering functions are considered professional and...
in the state of Texas, as "the best-run independent group in the state" and crediting Bob Murphy for keeping TASW out of the well-publicized feuding seen among rival Texas promotions. Scott E. Williams, a journalist for The Galveston County Daily News, wrote in early-2004 that TASW was "arguably the top independent wrestling group in the entire state". On January 10, 2004, several TASW wrestlers participated in a show for High Impact Wrestling at Texas City’s Nessler Center headlined by Johnny Blade and Kamala. The event also served as the professional wrestling debut of Scott E. Williams who agreed to participate as the special guest referee in the main event in exchange for a donation to The Daily News’ United Way fund. On June 5, Tom Prichard
Tom Prichard
Thomas Prichard is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, working in their developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling as a trainer using his ring name Tom Prichard...
, the top talent scout for World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
, conducted a "no-holds-barred" clinic at TASW's wrestling school in Humble. Also that summer, Jim Duggan returned to the promotion and, at the August 7th "Tomball Streetfight" supercard, defeated TASW Heavyweight Champion Zen-Zen for the title. At the time of its 11th anniversary at the 2005 "Humble Rumble", Williams wrote "In addition to being one of the country’s longest-lived independents, TASW has become the best one in Texas".
Recent years
On May 20, 2007, the promotion had its first card at the Armadillo Event Center where it held a 10-man "Hardcore Street Fight" inside a steel cage as the main event. The promotion and its school was again featured in the Houston Chronicle three months later. Scoby Gober, a three-time TASW Hardcore Champion, was interviewed for the story. On October 13, Ken Hoffman also made a return appearance as TASW's "SlamFest '07" supercardSuperCard
SuperCard is a high-level development environment that runs on Macintosh computers, under OS 8 and 9, and OS X. It is inspired by HyperCard, but includes a richer language, a full GUI toolkit, and native color .The programming language used by SuperCard is called SuperTalk, and is largely based on...
where he and Sean Pendergast won the TASW Tag Team Championship from Scoby Gober & Bones in a Triple Threat match with Nate Slater & Rocco Carmanooch at the Humble Bingo Arena. Like his previous victory, Hoffman was helped by valet Alisa Wong and manager Sheik Ali Ramzanali. Both men donated their prize money to charity. On December 8, 2007, Tammy Lynn Sytch
Tammy Lynn Sytch
Tamara "Tammy" Lynn Sytch is an American professional wrestling manager, personality,and occasional wrestler. She achieved her greatest success under the ring name Sunny within the World Wrestling Federation during the 1990s, and is widely considered as one of the first Divas...
made an appearance at the "Seasons Beatings" supercard at the Humble Bingo Arena. That same month, The Houston Press covered a TASW event at the Armadillo Events Center featuring Spider Boy, whom the author referred to as "the world's laziest Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
", in a match with Steve "Bones" Monckton.
In February 2008, the Houston Chronicle also covered the Texas All-Star Wrestling's 15th-annual "Humble Rumble" where a photo was taken of "BLT" Bubba Lee Travis and an 8-year-old child attending the event with his father. The event boasted a sold-out crowd and was one of the promotion's biggest show of the new year. The following month at "Scar Wars", WWE superstar Daivari
Shawn Daivari
Dara Daivari is an Iranian American professional wrestler, currently performing on the American independent circuit as Shawn Daivari. He is best known for his work with World Wrestling Entertainment as simply Daivari and with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as Sheik Abdul Bashir.-Career:Daivari...
who was originally there for an autograph signing but was later involved in an alterication with Dylan Starr which led to impromptu match between the two. Later that night, he became involved in a post-match brawl after Starr interfeared in a Triple Threat match between Hector Montoya, Nasty Nick Daniels and TASW Cruiserweight Champion Chip Dumas causing a no-contest.
The promotion celebrated its 16th anniversary at the 2009 "Humble Rumble" at the Humble Bingo Arena on January 10, 2009. At the end of the year, TexasIndyWrestling.com ranked Texas All-Star Wrestling #5 of the top ten wrestling promotions in Texas.
Roster
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Championships
| Championship | Champion(s) | Previous champion(s) | Date Won | Location | Event | ||||
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| TASW Heavyweight Championship | Mysterious Q | N/A | N/A | Humble, Texas Humble, Texas Humble is a city in Harris County, Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area.As of the 2000 census, the city population was 14,579. The city shares a zip code with the small Houston neighborhood of Bordersville, although people who live in Bordersville still have Humble... |
Summer Jam 2010 | ||||
| TASW Hardcore Championship | |||||||||
| TASW Cruiserweight Championship | Amien Rios | N/A | March 5, 2011 | Humble, Texas Humble, Texas Humble is a city in Harris County, Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area.As of the 2000 census, the city population was 14,579. The city shares a zip code with the small Houston neighborhood of Bordersville, although people who live in Bordersville still have Humble... |
Humble Rumble XVI 2011 | ||||
| TASW Tag Team Championship | Rockstar Robbie & Ruthless Ryan Davidson | N/A | July 10, 2010 | Humble, Texas Humble, Texas Humble is a city in Harris County, Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area.As of the 2000 census, the city population was 14,579. The city shares a zip code with the small Houston neighborhood of Bordersville, although people who live in Bordersville still have Humble... |
Summer Jam 2010 |