inception united states wrestling association
The United States Wrestling Association or USWA was a professional wrestling promotion based in Memphis , Tennessee . The company was founded when the Memphis - based Continental Wrestling Association merged with the Dallas - based World Class Wrestling Association . Jerry W . Jarrett Sr . ( born September ___MASK2___ , ___MASK73___ in Nashville , Tennessee ) is an American promoter and former professional wrestler , and the father of wrestler Jeff Jarrett . He is the co - founder and former part - owner of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling . Like World Wrestling Entertainment Chairman Vince McMahon , Jarrett was initially a promoter and became a wrestler later in life . The National Wrestling Alliance ( NWA ) is a professional wrestling governing body which has historically been the largest league of independent wrestling promotions in the world . The organization sanctions various NWA championship bouts within its member promotions . The NWA has been in operation since ___MASK89___ . Prior to the 1960s , it acted as the sole governing body for most of professional wrestling , operating as a talent and brand name franchiser for the inter - regional " territory " system . Tennessee (" Tanasi ") is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States . Tennessee is the 36th largest and the 16th most populous of the ___MASK74___ United States . Tennessee is bordered by Kentucky and Virginia to the north , North Carolina to the east , Georgia , Alabama , and Mississippi to the south , and Arkansas and Missouri to the west . The Appalachian Mountains dominate the eastern part of the state , and the Mississippi River forms the state ' s western border . Tennessee ' s capital and second largest city is Nashville , which has a population of 654 , 610 . Memphis is the state ' s largest city , with a population of 655 , 770 . The term suspension of disbelief or willing suspension of disbelief has been defined as a willingness to suspend one ' s critical faculties and believe the unbelievable ; sacrifice of realism and logic for the sake of enjoyment . The term was coined in ___MASK18___ by the poet and aesthetic philosopher Samuel Taylor Coleridge , who suggested that if a writer could infuse a " human interest and a semblance of truth " into a fantastic tale , the reader would suspend judgement concerning the implausibility of the narrative . Suspension of disbelief often applies to fictional works of the action , comedy , fantasy , and horror genres . Cognitive estrangement in fiction involves using a person ' s ignorance to promote suspension of disbelief . Catch wrestling is a classical hybrid grappling style that was developed in Britain circa ___MASK9___ by J . G . Chambers , then later refined and popularised by the wrestlers of travelling funfairs who developed their own submission holds , or " hooks ", into their wrestling to increase their effectiveness against their opponents . Catch wrestling derives from a number of different styles , the English styles of Cumberland and Westmorland wrestling , Cornwall and Devon wrestling , Lancashire wrestling , Irish collar - and - elbow wrestling , Greco - Roman wrestling , styles of the Indian subcontinent such as Pehlwani , Jujutsu and Iranian styles such as Varzesh - e Pahlavani . The training of some modern submission wrestlers , professional wrestlers and mixed martial artists is founded in catch wrestling . The American Wrestling Association ( AWA ) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis , Minnesota that ran from ___MASK19___ to ___MASK53___ . It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo . The territory was originally part of the National Wrestling Alliance ( NWA ), becoming an independent territory in the late 1950s . Continental Wrestling Association ( later on  Championship Wrestling Association ) was a wrestling promotion managed by Jerry Jarrett . The CWA was the name of the " governing body " for the Championship Wrestling , Inc . promotion which was usually referred to as Mid - Southern Wrestling or the Memphis territory . This promotion was a chief NWA territory during the 1970s and early 1980s while operating out of Tennessee and Kentucky . The CWA was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance until ___MASK77___ and affiliated with the American Wrestling Association until ___MASK52___ . In ___MASK52___ , the CWA merged with the World Class Wrestling Association to form the United States Wrestling Association thus ceasing to exist as a separate entity . In professional wrestling , kayfabe is the portrayal of staged events within the industry as " real " or " true ," specifically the portrayal of competition , rivalries , and relationships between participants as being genuine and not of a staged or pre - determined nature of any kind . Kayfabe has also evolved to become a code word of sorts for maintaining this " reality " within the direct or indirect presence of the general public . Though the staged nature of professional wrestling had been a frequent topic of conversation among the media and public since at least the latter years of the early 20th century , the professional wrestling industry did not formally acknowledge this until changes in the business during the 1980s professional wrestling boom prompted attitudes within the business to change . In ___MASK52___ , World Wrestling Federation owner Vince McMahon testified before the New Jersey state senate that wrestling was staged . Long sanctioned by New Jersey and other states as an athletic exhibition for regulation and taxation purposes , McMahon sought to eliminate oversight , and hence taxation , on the WWF ' s house shows and pay - per - view events held within the state . In general , spectacle refers to an event that is memorable for the appearance it creates . Derived in Middle English from c . ___MASK51___ as " specially prepared or arranged display " it was borrowed from Old French " spectacle ", itself a reflection of the Latin " spectaculum " " a show " from " spectare " " to view , watch " frequentative form of " specere " " to look at ." The word " spectacle " has also been a term of art in theater dating from the 17th century in English drama . Open Secret is a ___MASK89___ American film noir directed by John Reinhardt , starring John Ireland and Jane Randolph . Kentucky , officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky , is a state located in the east south - central region of the United States . Kentucky is one of four U . S . states constituted as a commonwealth ( the others being Virginia , Pennsylvania , and Massachusetts ). Originally a part of Virginia , in ___MASK6___ Kentucky became the 15th state to join the Union . Kentucky is the 37th most extensive and the 26th most populous of the ___MASK74___ United States . Professional wrestling is a dramatized athletic performance inspired by competitive combat sports . Taking the form of live events held by touring promotions , it is a unique style of combat based on a combination of adopted styles , which include classical wrestling , catch wrestling and various forms of martial arts , as well as an innovative style based on grappling ( holds / throws ), striking , and aerialism . Various forms of weaponry are sometimes used . The content  including match outcomes  is choreographed and the combative actions and reactions are performed to appear violent without injuring the wrestlers . Before the 1980s , these facts were kept highly secret , after which they were openly declared . By and large , the true nature of the content is ignored by the performing promotion in official media in order to sustain and promote the willing suspension of disbelief for the audience by maintaining an aura of verisimilitude . Fan communications by individual wrestlers and promotions through outside media ( i . e ., interviews ) will often directly acknowledge the fictional nature of the spectacle , making the predetermined nature of the sport something of an open secret . The presentation of scripted events as legitimate is known as " kayfabe ".