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BET cable channel to air UWABy JIM VARSALLONE
© St. Petersburg Times, The Urban Wrestling Alliance has inked a deal with the BET cable network with plans of airing shows Wednesday night, Saturday morning, Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon beginning in the fall. You may have seen UWA already. They currently air on UPN at 1 a.m. Mondays. The UWA is a combination of wrestling and hip-hop/rap music. The federation gives everyone an equal opportunity to succeed. "We're going to have all races," said UWA Promoter Rocky Johnson. "Everyone has the same, equal chance to become a star. If they don't make it, it won't be because they didn't get the opportunity. If they are good enough, we will sign them. That may lead to a contract with the WWF." Johnson, a former international wrestling star, has opened the first Urban Wrestling Academy, in Davie in South Florida. Plans are to start another academy in Davie in the near future. The UWA received three rings from the WWF. Prospective wrestlers will learn the ropes, including moves, bumps, mic work and psychology. Pro wrestling scouts will evaluate talent each month. "We have a lot of young talent, and we are looking to work with others -- train them to become wrestlers," said Johnson, who is also the head trainer at the academy. "We don't guarantee anything. If they have what it takes, we will find out." Johnson trained his son Dwayne, who is WWF star the Rock. For information, call (954) 476-5247. Local eventsNWA-Florida presents Armory Armageddon at the Fort Homer Hesterly Armory in Tampa on Tuesday with all three NWA World Titles on the line. NWA World Heavyweight Champ Steve Corino faces NWA Florida Heavyweight Champ"Iceman" Buck Q; NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champ Mike Thunder meets Super Junior Open winner and NWA Florida Junior Heavyweight Champ Lex Lovett; and the Heavenly Bodies will defend the NWA World Tag Team Titles against a team to be announced. IPW presents "Paybacks are Hell!" on Saturday at the Florida Wrestleplex in St. Petersburg. Main Event: Cage of Death Match: IPW Hardcore Title: Havoc (champion-representing Wrongful Death) vs. Kubiak (representing the Snack Pack) vs. Chaos (representing NWA Florida). Tickets are $10 advance and $12 at the door, and are available at Florida Wrestleplex, 4055 35th St. N, Suite 1, St. Petersburg; Discount Nutrition, 4115 Gunn Highway, Tampa, (813) 264-7339; Abbey Chiropractic Center, 1442 W Busch Blvd., Tampa, (813) 935-1118; BEST Insurance of Tampa Bay, 3704 Euclid Ave., Tampa, (813) 831-8111. Pro wrestling columnist Jim Varsallone can be reached at wrestling@tampabay.com. His Web site is at http://www.ringfury.com.
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