The story
IWA (1994)
Víctor Quiñones, Miguel Perez Jr and Perez wife made an attempt to start the promotion by doing TV tapings in February 1994 with local and international wrestlers. With no success Víctor Quiñones went to Japan to work on International Wrestling Association of Japan.
IWA-WWF (1999–2000)
The International Wrestling Association (IWA) had a working agreement with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in the first year of operations from 1999 to 2000, with IWA serving as the WWF's developmental territory. During that time some developmental and regular WWF talent often appeared on IWA Puerto Rico shows. That included The Rock's first and only wrestling match in Puerto Rico on April 28, 2000, at Paquito Montaner Stadium in Ponce, Puerto Rico when he teamed with Kane against the Dudley Boyz. During that year IWA began promoting two of their most popular annual events, IWA Christmas in PR and Histeria Boricua. On the second night IWA Christmas in PR Histeria Boricua on January 6, 1999 at "Juan Pachin Vicens Auditorium" on Ponce, Puerto Rico with Kane vs. The Undertaker on the main event drew 15.000 fans, the largest crowd for a wrestling event in Ponce.
IWA-PR vs. WWC
IWA adopted a strict protocol of expelling problematic fans, such as those that threw objects to the ring.
On April 1, 2001, the IWA parodied Jovica's accent and referred to WWC as an independent company with mediocre performers in a segment of El Tocotón. In June 2001, the IWA held a joint show along independent promotion Puerto Rico Wrestling Association. On July 28, 2001, it was published that the promotion had extended the contract of their top stars Ricky Banderas and Apolo for five years plus another additional year of no competing in case of abandoning the promotion. In August 2001, the IWA made efforts to exploit The Invasion angle being featured in WWF by bringing members of the regular roster and The Alliance such as Mike Awesome, Billy Gunn, Justin Credible, Tajiri, Tommy Dreamer, Hugh Morris, Steve Blackman, Hakú, Scotty 2 Hotty or Shawn Stasiak. This was combined with a move to bring Balls Mahoney, another ex-ECW figure to the company. On October 10, 2002, an extension of the contract between IWA and Telemundo was made public. On October 13, 2002, both promotions announced a card to be held on the same date and venue for October 18. Ultimately, IWA presented its event, while WWC did not hold one on that day.
In 2003, Savio Vega tried to bring Randy Savage to IWA-PR.
In May 2003, the Wrestling Observer reported that Dutch Mantel, the IWA's creative head, had applied for work at WWE and been declined. He responded by expressing that Meltzer was “100% wrong” and that he only had informal conversations with the promotion in the past. In May 2003, Rivera and Eddie Colón encountered each other in a restaurant, entering into an argument about the practices and product of their respective promotions. The IWA turned this into an angle, where they belittled Colón as a “fan” of Armando Gorbea. On May 29, 2003, a copy of a letter that WWC sent to Telemundo in response for its use of the name “TNT” was made public. In June 2003, the IWA began an onscreen storyline where Víctor Quiñones would sell the company to an unnamed buyer in order to expand and begin an internationalization of the brand. This was a tie in to a legitimate expansion, in which the promotion reached an agreement with Sunshine TV, a network based in Florida, to begin the transmission of an English version of their programming. The taped show was named IWA: Total Impact, and was narrated by Dutch Mantell and Mario Savoldi. The program was produced by the latter's filming studios. Prior to Summer Attitude 2003, the promotion contacted several small businesses to sell the tickets from the event, avoiding its regular distributor, Ticket Center. After contracting José Huertas González, the IWA used him to promote their Summer Attitude card in Telemundo's programming, including a variety show named Atrevete.
Broadcasting abroad
IWA: Total Impact debuted the first week of July, being broadcast by Sunshine Network in Florida and Latin TV in New York. During its initial run, the program was complimented by classic footage from the USWA. The promotion was expected to employ this to create a fan base in the United States, eventually hosting cards in these states. In this show, Rivera was referred to as “The Boss” instead of “Savio Vega” due to copyright claims by WWE.
The show was quickly retransmitted in other stations throughout the United States, including WCYB - TV (Bristol, Virginia), KTUD-TV (Las Vegas, Nevada), AIN Cresson (Texas), WBGN-TV (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), XCVS-TV (Shreveport, Louisiana), KBBR-TV (Baton Rouge, Louisiana), KBCB-TV (Bellingham, Washington), WRCX-TV (Dayton, Ohio), WVII-TV (Bangor, Maine), WPXT-TV (Portland, Maine), KLDT-TV (Lewisville, Texas), WBQP-TV (Pensacola, Florida), WBII-TV (Ashland, Mississippi), WBGT-TV (Rochester, New York), WYCS-TV (Louisville, Kentucky), WYLE-TV (Sheffield, Alabama), WCOM-TV (Griffin, Georgia), WLOT-TV (New York) and
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Comcast (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania). At its peak, this internationalization effort grew to include more that 100 channels.
On August 27, 2003, it was reported that a series of conversations between the promotion and TNA-NWA were in an advanced stage. The idea was to bring talent from the IWA to perform in the latter's X Division as a promotional stunt to attract Latin American audiences. In September, the promotion created a second show directed to the United States public titled Zona Impactante. Produced by Hector Moyano and Axel Cruz, the show was televised through Telemundo 40 in Orlando and América Azteca in Kissimmee. Several other stations were reportedly interested in the promotion's product. In September, the promotion lost Mantell as booker when he signed with TNA-NWA, despite the loss, both parts parted on good terms. Soon afterwards, these programs were retransmitted locally.
Apolo lawsuit
The promotion held its first show abroad for October 7, 2003, in the Kissimmee Civic Center in the city of Kissimmee, Florida. During this event, Kein Kelly joined the promotion. After participating in this card, Figueroa decided to stay in that state, being removed from the promotion's storylines. Weeks later, Figueroa made an appearance in a local promotion, No Name Wrestling (NNW) being also scheduled for a subsequent appearance the following month. Figueroa then revealed that he had left the promotion unsatisfied with a situation involving the health of one of his daughters and expected to relocate to Florida permanently. The promotion retaliated by sending a letter to NNW, TNA and WWE, informing them of the wrestler's ongoing contract and that the ring name “Apolo” was registered.
2004 opened with German Figueroa returning to NWA-TNA as part of a talent exchange, but there soon was a setback in the promotion's agreement, which was precipitated by an exclusivity clause that prevented NWA-TNA talent from appearing in an IWA cable PPV. Nonetheless, IWA continued its plans to do the PPV with its own talent and distribute it through both cable and Dish Network. The event's name was changed to “Total Impact” after being taped and prior to its distribution began on March 5, 2004. The event was sold for $19.95 and was rerun on March 6 and 11. During this month, Mantell approached the promotion and offered his services as a consultant, but the approach was declined. Shortly afterwards, Mantell signed with WWC and the promotion's working agreement with NWA-TNA was cancelled, reportedly because of disagreements regarding IWA's incursion in the PPV market. The rivalry between promotions also resulted in occasional confrontations to ensure the availabilityof a venue. On the other hand, the promotion also held friendly relations, and even some degree of working relationships, with local independent promotions such as CWF. The promotion also benefited from its previous ties with WWE, who allowed Val Venis to make a campaign for it due to not possessing any plans for him at the moment. However, it lost its narrator and producer, Hector Meléndez, to NWA-TNA, when Mantell recruited him for the same purpose.
Following the death of close collaborator Miguel Aponte, the promotion held a series of special events in his honor. The IWA responded by contacting NWA-TNA and prohibiting the use of contracted wrestler Apolo, while they had a working relationship with WWC.
Collaborations
On May 15, 2004, it was announced that “El Café del Milenio”, a television segment that originally aired in WWC's Superestrellas de la Lucha Libre, was being brought to IWA's programming. The promotion also held a benefic wheelchair basketball game.
On June 20, 2004, one of the promotion's talents, Víctor Rodríguez, died of a heart attack. The promotion then changed all of its schedule to hold a number of homages to the wrestler. From this point onwards, the momentum gained during the year was lost and the assistance was irregular. During the 2004 Summer Olympics, the promotion was forced to change the horary of its programs to accommodate Telemundo's coverage of the event.
During the summer of 2004, IWA collaborated with Ring of Honor (ROH) in a talent exchange, where several of the latter's wrestlers came in representation. On September 11, 2004, two of the promotion's talents, Carlos Cotto and Slash Venom, competed in a ROH card. The passing of tropical storm Jeanne over Puerto Rico affected the organization of cards during this month.
Besides its ongoing relationship with ROH and the rekindled agreement with NWA-TNA, the IWA also tried to bring professional boxers into the promotion as special referees, unsuccessfully approaching Félix Trinidad and Miguel Cotto (who is the cousin of Carlos Cotto). During this timeframe, the IWA prevented the participation of some of its talents in a card held by independent promotion NWG, deviating from its previous cooperation with independents.
For Histeria Boricua 2005, the promotion contacted several international talents, including Abdullah the Butcher and Nidia. After Figueroa wrestled with independent promotion CWF, the IWA threatened the company with legal action. During the offseason, the promotion modified the horary of their shows to accommodate special programming in the channel. Leading to Histeria Boricua 2005, the IWA aired special programming to promote the event. The promotion also repackaged the content of their PPV as a DVD. The IWA also readjusted the days in which secondary wrestlers were used. In February 2005, the promotion held a massive tryout. On March 24, 2005, the IWA rekindled its relationship with WWE, reaching an agreement that would see some developmental talent arrive to the promotion without it being considered a territory itself. Along their previous working relationships with NWA-TNA and ROH, this meant that the promotion had reached accords with all three major North American promotions. Locally IWA and NWS joined forces for the Juicio Final 2005 card. Entering the summer, the IWA began coordinating a show in collaboration with International Gladiators of Wrestling, to be held at the Coliseum of Puerto Rico. As part of its alliance with WWE, Eugene was brought for the Víctor Rodríguez Memorial Cup. In July 2005, it was announced that Shane Sewell would jump from the IWA to NWS. The acquisition of an active maineventer lead to the cancellation of the collaboration between both promotions. The IWA responded by filing a legal complaint over the ownership of a ring, but the case was dismissed. In August 2005, it was reported that WWE had further plans for both IWA and WWC. In August, reports noted that the promotion was having issues running shows in its habitual venue, the José Cestero Court. However, this issue was solved within weeks. During this month, the promotion also faced other difficulties including a lawsuit filed against them by the family of Víctor Rodríguez and losing their narrator, Willie Urbina. On March 18, 2006, independent promotion PWA accused the IWA and NWS of sabotaging one of its cards, with both promotions reflecting the blame.
Death of Víctor Quiñones
On April 2, 2006, the IWA lost its founder and owner, when Víctor Quiñones suddenly died of a heart attack at the age of 46. The event lead to a series of cross-promotional homages by wrestlers and corporations that knew him, including some that were actively competing with IWA-PR at the moment such as WWC's Rico Suave and several of NWS’ employees. Advertisers and promoters also joined on the condolences. On their part, several wrestlers that began their career at IWA-PR reacted expressing both grief and gratitude. Former employees such as announcer Hugo Savinovich, referee Eliezer Rosado and managers Jorge Casanova and Joe Don Smith reacted the same. Foreign wrestlers such as Fidel Sierra, the Youngbloods, Tahitian Warrior, Angel Mexicano, Bret Sanders and Andy Anderson also made public statements. On April 8, 2006, the IWA held its own homage to Quiñones.
In June 2006, Figueroa appeared in a NWS show despite remaining under contract. The IWA responded with a number of legal actions involving the use of the wrestler and his character. On July 9, 2006, it was reported that the IWA administration and the WWC administration had discussed the possibility of cooperating with each other, even discussing a potential interpromotional angle.
During the first week of August, IWA and NWS offshoot World Wrestling Stars (WWS) announced an alliance where both promotions would share cards and cooperate on the television product. Later in the month, the promotion recovered Sewell from NWS and González made his return after a hiatus. After acquiring Joan Guzmán from WWC, the IWA debuted a new section named La Chercha, which aired along IWA classics. In November, the promotion collaborated with independent NWG in a community activity. In December 2006, it was announced that the promotion's programming would air in the western coast of Puerto Rico through WOLE-TV. Parallel to this, Zona Caliente moved to the 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. slot in Telemundo. During this time, the promotion also emphasized a lack of support from the public during its storylines, making reference to a real decline in assistance. Outside of wrestling, the promotion was involved in visits to hospital where children suffering cancer were treated.
In January 2007, the IWA debuted a new television segment hosted by Los Rabiosos. During this month, one of the IWA's talents, John Moxley, performed for WWE Heat. On February 7, 2007, the IWA announced that in March they would be hosting their first cards at Ecuador, also announcing an alliance with local promotion WAR. In March 2007, WWC and Mario Savoldi broke their working relationship, with the IWA capitalizing by bringing in the agent and Billy Kidman and Psychosis, both of which were announced to perform in their rival's cards.
On April 7, 2007, Zona Caliente returned to its original 1:00 p.m. slot. On June 2, 2007, independent promotion Puerto Rico Wrestling Alliance (PRWA) accused the IWA of preventing one of its talents from performing there. On June 5, 2007, Miguel Pérez was sued in his role as IWA promoter by DRD, who cited faults to articles IX and XVI of a regulation that had just been approved by the agency. On June 9, 2007, the IWA introduced a new intro for its shows. One of the promotion's wrestlers, Joan Guzmán, became WWS Heavyweight Champion. On June 14, 2007, the IWA joined NWG, WWR and WWS in a card named Junte para la Historia in memorial of deceased wrestler Omar Pérez Barreto. In July, the IWA held an angle where one of its wrestlers would win a WWE contract due to the impending departure of Colossus to Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW).
La Rabia, heist of the Universal Championship
The final week of the month, the promotion aired a special programming titled Mega Momentos de la IWA. However, the same day WWC contacted several wrestlers with ties to Hector Meléndez and filmed a segment with them concealing their identities. During this time, the NWA also began considering hosting the finals of a tournament to crown the new NWA World Heavyweight Champion in an IWA card, being a finalist along New York and Los Angeles. Faced with losing their talent, IWA reinforced its roster with foreign wrestlers such as Vampiro, Ricky Vega and Vito. Of the performers that left, Cotto returned weeks later.
IWA was ultimately selected to host the NWA final, with Bryan Danielson and Adam Pierce being the contenders. However, after the former underwent eye surgery he was replaced by Brent Albright. Afterwards, it was announced that Danielson would be the guest enforcer. In the event titled NWA Weekend held on September 1, 2007, Pierce became the new NWA World Heavyweight Champion. During this timeframe, the promotion made several adjustments such as holding cards every two weeks and firing several talents, including the entire Women's Division, which had been irregularly used for months. In October, the IWA continued downsizing, firing Venom due to unspecified differences. On November 22, 2007, the IWA collaborated with NWG in organizing Thanksgiving Riot. In December 2007, Williams suddenly left his office as IWA booker. On January 11, 2008, IWA announced that Zona Caliente would be airing on Video Max.
On January 5, 2008, WWC announced that Rubysnky had opted to sign with IWA following failed negotiations, in the process revealing both the character that he would take as well as the storyline. All of his teammates at los Templarios left for IWA as well.
None of La Rabia members made their scheduled appearances for the first date of the Euphoria tour. Following the absences, it was reported that there had been conversations between the group and IWA during the offseason. On January 6, 2008, Big made a surprise appearance at Histeria Boricua while carrying WWC's Universal heavyweight Championship belt and challenged the IWA World Heavyweight Champion, his former partner Lozada, to an unification match. After he made his initial appearance, WWC's merchandising executive José Roberto Rodríguez entered the building and demanded that the belt was returned, but IWA personnel had taken the belt elsewhere and Salovi confronted him. For the unification, Big carried the Revolution X-Treme wrestling belt that belonged to Rivera and lost the match to Lozada.
In an interview with mainstream newspaper Primera Hora, Colón Sr. denied that Big was still champion and warned that they would pursue a case for illegal appropriation if the belt was not immediately returned. The promoter also claimed that Meléndez and La Rabia were aware that they would be fired and decided to do a preemptive strike. For its following program, IWA announced that they would air footage of the event, which was done in an edited fashion. In an NWA Report, the IWA announced that they would retire the old belt and introduce a new one to represent the Undisputed Championship. WWC responded by airing a segment where it boasted putting down La Rabia (which is translated as “The Rabies”) and aired a segment where the commission and insisted that Big was not champion at Histeria Boricua.
The same month, IWA announced the acquisition of Cassandra and The Bad Boys from Hell's Kitchen. In February, IWA continued with its roster moves, firing Joan Guzmán and bringing in The Amazing Kong and Jeffreys. However. Weeks later Guzmán was contracted again and La Chercha was included in the programming.
From Wikipedia’s article on International Wrestling Association (Puerto Rico), shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4