| Universal Wrestling League | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Name | Universal Wrestling League or UWL |
| Established | 2005 |
| Location |  Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Founder | Jay Jefferson |
| Owner | Jay Jefferson |
| Parent Company | Championship Promotions |
| Style | Professional Wrestling |
| Website | Universal Wrestling League |
Universal Wrestling League (stylized as UWL) is an is a wrestling e-fed that was created in 2005 and is owned and operated by Jay Jefferson, based in Knoxville, TN. UWL runs a bi-weekly events presenting Universal Wrestling League from various cities across the United States mainly in the Southeast and Mid-Western United States.
History[]
Universal Wrestling League (UWL) was founded in November of 2005. UWL promised an athletic, sports based style of professional wrestling. 2005 saw an influx of new talent ready to make a name for themselves. UWL brought in names such as, Shawn Stevens, Josh Eagles, Teddy Davis, Jr. The West Brothers, and Flap Flanagan to name a few. These matches had the fans clamoring for more and had them ready to purchase any Pay-Per-View showing from UWL. With these fresh stars given championship and out front angles fans were wanting more of the UWL product.
Heading into 2006, UWL had formed a working relationship with companies from all across the globe. On August 5th, 2006 the UWL World Championship was defended outside the United States for the first time. The match was held under the Lion’s Road banner and had Shawn Stevens facing off against Lion’s Road top star, Cody Cross. The match saw Shawn Stevens lose the World Championship. 2006 continued on as a year of growth heading toward the one year anniversary of UWL.
UWL began to slowly expand. The expansion was slow for some. But, UWL took to expanding. UWL began running shows in Chicago, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. The growth of UWL came with success. Fans took to the traditional style of wrestling mixed with modern elements. UWL promoted a sports centered program which saw success.
UWL was in talks to promote events internationally. UWL would hold tours in England and events in Tokyo. The events in England were co-promoted with the help of local promoters Commonwealth Combat Sports (CCS) and in Tokyo with Pro-Wrestling NOVA. UWL would see new stars join the UWL roster. Those stars included, Cory Tyler, Robbie Venom, Xplode, Angelo Valour, Justin Brooks, and Caleb Hart. During this time. UWL would also see the rise of Robb Daniels as a key player with UWL.
In 2014 Jay Jefferson the President of UWL and head booker of UWL had major health problems and had to step away from the day to day operations of UWL and his role on the Board of Governors within the NWF. In March of 2014 Jay Jefferson appointed Eddie Jones and Justin Brooks to serve as co-head bookers of UWL. With Jay Jefferson away, UWL went into a state of chaos. UWL lost its television deal with Fox Sports Net. Despite the success in the ring and at the box office. UWL was in a state of flux. In August 2014 Jay Jefferson returned to the office and took back over his role of President of the company and returned to booking UWL. With Jay Jefferson's return he decided to shake things up. UWL debuted a new logo, new ring mats, and cutting back on the amount of championships. During this time, Jay Jefferson negotiated UWL television shows to be promoted in syndication.
At the end of 2016 cut back on events and scaled back on Television production. UWL began running 2 or 3 shows a month. The events were usually sold out, despite no television. UWL would keep this set up through 2017 and 2018. During this time UWL formed the Championship Wrestling Network (CWN). This streaming service was to air UWL and NWF member events.
In February 2019, UWL announced a restructuring of UWL. They announced that UWL would be returning to Television with a syndicated show on the American Sports Network titled, UWL Saturday Night. UWL would also return to promoting events on Pay-Per-View. UWL produces 4 to 5 events a year. UWL saw new talent and UWL debuted three new titles, Television Championship, United States Championship, and United States Tag Team Championship. During the 2020 Coronation Cup. UWL took another step in promoting live events aka house shows. It was announced UWL would promote 7 more live events in 2020 leading to the Starrzone event which ends the year for UWL.
On May 2, 2022 UWL announced it would be debuting on AGN TV with UWL Saturday Night Eruption that will broadcast every two weeks. Saturday Night Eruption would debut on June 11.
On May 6, 2022 UWL announced they would hold a live event to be streamed on Championship Wrestling Network from London from York Hall. The event would be titled, "London Calling" and held in conjunction with Heritage Combat Wrestling.
On June 11, 2022 UWL debuted on AGN TV with their television show Eruption.
In October 2022, UWL announced the creation of the Women's World Championship and the Power Championship for the women's division.
October 19, 2022 UWL announced the formation of a new match the Universal Stampede. The match will begin with two wrestlers in the ring. Every 90 seconds another wrestler will enter the match. The match will continue till all 30 participants have entered the ring. The only way to be eliminated is to be thrown over the top rope with both feet hitting the floor.
October 21, 2022 It was announced the UWL would hold a special event on November 26th to celebrate the 17th Anniversary of UWL. The event will take place from UWL home base of Knoxville, TN.
Roster[]
Current roster[]
Universal Wrestling League Roster
Personnel[]
Other[]
- Cliff Morris – Commentator
- Logan Acker – Commentator
- Abby Joseph – Backstage Interviewer
- Emily Lyle – Ring Announcer
- Boyd Aiken - Senior Referee
- Byron Evans - Referee
- Ned Irvin - Referee
Championships[]
Current Champions[]
| Championship | Champion(s) | Former Champ. | Date | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UWL World Championship | Daron Smythe | Won a Double Jeopardy Match | June 15th, 2024 | Chattanooga, TN |
| UWL Tag Team Championship | Vulgar Display of Power | Rising Aces | September 7th, 2024 | Knoxville, TN |
| Heritage Championship | Billy Danielson | Jackson Burnside | October 14th, 2023 | Chattanooga, TN |
| UWL Television Championship | Jackson Burnside | Nicole Sanders | September 7th, 2024 | Knoxville, TN |
| TWN Championship | Tony Rios | Cyrus Rinaldi | October 5th, 2024 | Knoxville, TN |