AWA All-Star Wrestling

AWA All-Star Wrestling
Starring	American Wrestling Association roster
Country of origin	United States
Production
Running time	120 minutes
Release
Original network	First-run syndication
Original release	1960 – 1990

AWA All-Star Wrestling is a syndicated television series featuring wrestling matches as promoted by the American Wrestling Association (AWA). All-Star Wrestling footage (And AWA footage as a whole) is now owned by World Wrestling Entertainment.

During the 1960s and early 1970s, the All-Star Wrestling television series was essentially a one-hour paid advertisement for the AWA's house shows. This meant that third party advertisers were almost nonexistent. In the early 1970s, as wrestling became more popular, national companies such as McDonald's and local companies such as car dealerships bought commercial spots on the shows.

Every two weeks, many of the wrestlers who were currently working the house shows for the AWA would assemble at a studio in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They would wrestle jobbers (wrestlers who constantly lose) in squash matches (one-sided victories) that seldom lasted for more than a few minutes each. Then, they would do as many different interviews as were needed. These interviews were tailored to whatever opponents they were scheduled to meet at the various house shows during the coming two weeks. In the meantime, editors would splice together the appropriate interview and wrestling footage for each individual house show and send the canned one-hour production to the TV stations in the respective market.

The AWA bought 60 or 90 minute time slots each week at the TV stations. The shows usually aired on a Saturday or Sunday mornings (when TV time was relatively inexpensive). The shows throughout the 1960s-on through the early 1970s were shot in black and white.

The March 9, 1986 edition of AWA All Star Wrestling featured a new show opening, with a change from the "old time" grainy open which was similar to the WWWF/WWF All-Star opening. The new one featured the AWA logo flying through space.

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