According to a report from WWE Network News, the WWE has purchased a portion of Heartland Wrestling Association's tape library. WWE bought HWA's tape library from the year 2001 to 2002 according to HWA's founder, Les Thatcher. The time frame from 2001 to 2002 contains a total of 48 shows.
HWA acted as a developmental territory for WWE. Superstars such as John Cena, Dean Ambrose, The Hardy Boyz, Charlie Haas, his brother Russ Hass, Raven and several more, wrestled at this promotion in their developing years.
Ring of Honor and TNA stars like Nigel McGuinness, Shark Boy, Raven and B.J. Whitmer to name a few have also wrestled in this promotion.
HWA used to act as a developmental brand for World Championship Wrestling too, but that ended after WWE bought the company in 2001. According to “The Professional Wrestlers’ Workout & Instructional Guide” by Harley Race, Ricky Steamboat, and Les Thatcher — HWA was named one of the top independent promotions in the United States.
Founder Les Thatcher, also mentioned that he's not sure whether this footage will appear on the WWE Network. He said that it's up to the company now. As of June 2015, HWA is run and owned by wrestler/promoter, Philp Austin Stamper.
Apart from HWA, WWE also owns footage from WCW/Jim Crockett Promotions, Georgia Championship Wrestling, Global Wrestling Federation, Smoky Mountain Wrestling, Maple Leaf Wrestling, Stampede Wrestling, Mid-South territories, AWA, and ECW.
WWE also owns footage from its other previous developmental territories like Ohio Valley Wrestling, Memphis Championship Wrestling, and Deep South Wrestling.
Over the last few weeks, rumours that WWE is looking to add more material to their library, have surfaced. Recently NWA President Bruce Tharpe was seen at NXT TakeOver: The End backstage with Triple H discussing the sale of the Houston Wrestling library, which is considered one of the largest and the most important libraries in the industry.
No official word has been out regarding the Houston Wrestling library as of yet. The video below shows a match between John Cena and Russ Hass at HWA:-
The video below shows a segment between Dean Ambrose and Cody Hawk at HWA:-
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