Starrcast Files To Trademark Name Of Another Defunct Promotion

It just wouldn't be Conrad Thompson if he didn't have something up his sleeve. Following another well-received Starrcast — the pro wrestling convention that Thompson owns and promotes — that included the highly-successful Ric Flair's Last Match event in Nashville, TN, "the Podfather" may now be sticking to the wrestling promoting game, if a new trademark filing is anything to go by. 

Thompson, whose background is in mortgage brokering, found success in pro wrestling through podcasting after meeting "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair in 2013. When Flair was approached to create the "Wooooo! Nation" podcast by CBS, he personally asked Thompson to be the co-host. Thanks to the connections he made on "Wooooo! Nation," Thompson created an empire of podcasts with wrestling legends such as Eric Bischoff ("83 Weeks"), Bruce Prichard ("Something to Wrestle With") and Jim Ross ("Grilling JR"), and would eventually create his own podcasting network, AdFreeShows. He would also ultimately get engaged to Flair's daughter. In 2018, Starrcast became Thompson's next brainchild — the convention initially coincided with AEW pay-per-view events, but the most recent incarnation piggybacked on WWE's SummerSlam premium live event. 

Ric Flair's Last Match was promoted by Jim Crockett Promotions, with Thompson reviving the legendary promotion that ran wrestling shows for decades until ceasing operations in 1993. Many thought Thompson might keep Jim Crockett Promotions alive moving forward — and he still might — but now, another defunct promotion has joined the speculation.

According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Starrcast LLC Limited Liability Company Alabama has applied for the trademark Southwest Championship Wrestling. The filing notes that the trademark intends to be used for entertainment purposes, such as putting on wrestling events, and merchandising. The principal filing was made on August 5, 2022, and is still currently active.

When looking back in the history of pro wrestling, there have been two Southwest Championship Wrestling promotions, both of which were based out of the state of Texas. The first — and more recognized — was promoted by former NWA Texas Heavyweight Champion Joe Blanchard in San Antonio from 1978 to 1985, before being sold to Texas All-Star Wrestling and ultimately becoming defunct in 1986. The second promotion that ran under the Southwest Championship Wrestling name briefly operated in 1996 and, according to Cagematch, held just one show.

As of this writing, it remains to be seen whether any or all of these past promotions are set to be revived, or if Thompson could potentially be starting his own promotion under the Starrcast banner. Either way, it's an intriguing turn of events following the profitable Ric Flair's Last Match event.

A previous version of this story incorrectly claimed that Starrcast applied for the trademark Southern Championship Wrestling. We apologize for the error.