the close of World Class Championship Wrestling in 1990, and the Global Wrestling Federation in 1994, that Murphy began promoting wrestling events after an absence of several years. It was the first successful independent promotion in Texas and, with the exception of occasional events held by Tugboat Taylor at Hofheinz Pavilion, remained the only organization in the entire state for nearly a decade. The shows immediately found an audience with its traditional Southern-style wrestling, rather than the "sports entertainment" favored by mainstream promotions such as World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation, and established a strong and loyal following in the Greater Houston area. Many fans were so enthusiastic at the events that many wanted to participate themselves prompting Murphy to open a small gym in the back of the Humble Bingo Arena in 1996. Within two years, this eventually evolved into the present-day training facility and wrestling school where many of the top wrestlers on the Texas "indy" circuit would be trained, most notably, Shawn "Hot Stuff" Hernandez. Prospective students of the school were required to volunteer at events in roles such as refereeing matches, escorting wrestlers to the ring as a "valet" or acting as security for several months prior to their first match. The entire training period generally took six months to one year, though some students graduated within four to five months. Humongous defended the TASW Heavyweight Championship against Abdullah the Butcher at the Humble Bingo Arena on March 22, 1997. Older veterans such as "Mean" Mike Tatum, "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan and Kamala the Ugandan Giant also had short stints in the promotion. Both Tatum and Duggan held the TASW Heavyweight Championship during the early-2000s. Although speculated to become a major promotion, Murphy himself said in interviews that he was unconcerned about the expansion of the company and instead wanted to focus on developing younger locally based talent and "help them make it to the next level". In addition to its Houston-based roster, Texas independent wrestlers Rasta Savage and Necro Butcher also regularly competed in the promotion. Later stars to emerge during the next decade included Bobby 2-Badd, Mr. Mayhem, Zen-Zen, VooDoo the Xecutioner, Nasty Nick Daniels, Dylan Starr and Nark the Nevulon. River City Wrestling's Joey "Super Shot" Spector, an alumnus of the Texas Wrestling Academy, also wrestled for the promotion early in his career. Ken Hoffman and The Houston Chronicle On January 16,