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NWA Americas Tag Team Championship
The NWA Americas Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team title in the National Wrestling Alliance's NWA Hollywood Wrestling based out of Los Angeles, California. The championship began as the WWA World Tag Team Championship for Worldwide Wrestling Associates in 1964. However, when WWA became an NWA affiliate on October 1, 1968, its name was changed to NWA Hollywood Wrestling and the title was renamed the NWA Americas Tag Team Championship in January 1969. The title served as the top tag team championship in the promotion until 1979 when it was relegated to serve as a secondary tag title since the company created its own regional version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship. The championship lasted until the promotion closed on December 26, 1982. Title history See also * National Wrestling Alliance * NWA Americas Heavyweight Championship The NWA Americas Heavyweight Championship was the top singles championship in the National Wrestling Alliance's L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
NWA Hollywood Wrestling
NWA Hollywood Wrestling (sometimes referred to as NWA Los Angeles) was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Los Angeles, California in the United States that promoted professional wrestling matches throughout Southern California. It was founded in 1958 as the North American Wrestling Alliance, a member of the National Wrestling Alliance. It broke away from the NWA in 1959 and was renamed Worldwide Wrestling Associates in 1961. In 1968, it rejoined the NWA and adopted its final name, remaining a member until closing in 1982. History In 1942, Frank Garbutt, vice president of the Los Angeles Athletic Club, hired former California State Athletic Commission inspector Alvah "Cal" Eaton as the promoter of the Grand Olympic Auditorium at the advice of his secretary, Aileen LeBell. Eaton and LeBell married in 1948, and over the following years the couple became major professional wrestling and boxing promoters in Southern California. By the early-1950s, the Eatons, along wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hard Boiled Haggerty
Don Stansauk (April 2, 1925 – January 27, 2004) was an American professional wrestler and actor, known by his ring name, Hard Boiled Haggerty. He was previously a professional American football player, and became a successful character actor after his wrestling career. Career After attending Pasadena City College and the University of Denver, Stansauk was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the eighteenth round of the National Football League entry draft in 1950. He played defensive tackle and, after a season with the Lions, was traded to the Green Bay Packers. Over the next two seasons, Stansauk played in 15 games and recovered two fumbles. Haggerty served in the U.S. Navy on the battleship the USS ''New Jersey'' during World War II. '' |
Karl Gotch
Charles Istaz (August 3, 1924 – July 28, 2007) was a Belgian-born German-American professional wrestler and trainer, best known by his ring name Karl Gotch. In Japan, Gotch was known as the "God of Wrestling" due to his influence in shaping the Japanese professional wrestling style. He was no relation to earlier wrestler Frank Gotch. Early life Istaz was born in Antwerp, Belgium to a Hungarian father and German mother. He grew up in Antwerp, on the waterfront. He learned Greco-Roman wrestling in his early years and from the beginning he was a very well known sportsman. He wrestled in "The Hippodroom", a notable sports center in Antwerp, where amateur fights like boxing matches, savate matches and wrestling matches were fought. During World War II, Istaz was a forced laborer in the " REIMAHG" at Kahla. (Lager E - Kahla) Amateur wrestling career Istaz excelled in amateur wrestling and experienced a major breakthrough in his career by competing as Charles Istaz for Belgium ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Víctor Rivera (professional Wrestler)
Víctor Rivera (born May 25, 1944) is a retired Puerto Rican professional wrestler. Between 1967 and 1981, he held the NWA Americas Tag Team Championship 12 times, the NWA Americas Heavyweight Championship five times, the WWF International Tag Team Championship, and numerous other titles. Professional wrestling career In the late 1960s, Rivera wrestled in Los Angeles' Worldwide Wrestling Associates (which later became NWA Hollywood Wrestling in 1968), where he won the WWA World Tag Team Championship with Pedro Morales. In December 1969, Rivera teamed with Tony Marino at Madison Square Garden to win the WWWF International Tag Team Championship in 2 straight falls from Professor Toru Tanaka and Mitsu Arakawa. Rivera and Marino defended the belts successfully against teams like Killer Kowalski and Waldo Von Erich, as well as Kowalski & Krippler Karl Kovacs. They lost the championship against another undefeated team, The Mongols ( Bepo and Geto Mongol) on June 15, 1970, 2 falls to 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karl Istaz
Charles Istaz (August 3, 1924 – July 28, 2007) was a Belgian-born German-American professional wrestler and trainer, best known by his ring name Karl Gotch. In Japan, Gotch was known as the "God of Wrestling" due to his influence in shaping the Japanese professional wrestling style. He was no relation to earlier wrestler Frank Gotch. Early life Istaz was born in Antwerp, Belgium to a Hungarian father and German mother. He grew up in Antwerp, on the waterfront. He learned Greco-Roman wrestling in his early years and from the beginning he was a very well known sportsman. He wrestled in "The Hippodroom", a notable sports center in Antwerp, where amateur fights like boxing matches, savate matches and wrestling matches were fought. During World War II, Istaz was a forced laborer in the " REIMAHG" at Kahla. (Lager E - Kahla) Amateur wrestling career Istaz excelled in amateur wrestling and experienced a major breakthrough in his career by competing as Charles Istaz for Bel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Killer Karl Kox
Herbert Alan Gerwig (April 26, 1931 – November 10, 2011) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name of Killer Karl Kox, who competed in the National Wrestling Alliance as well as international promotions such as All Japan Pro Wrestling, the International Wrestling Alliance and World Championship Wrestling during the 1960s and 1970s. Career Gerwig began his career in 1956. Rumors were that in 1957, Kox earned the name, Killer, when he performed his famous finishing move, the brainbuster, on his opponent by holding him upside down for a period of time and allowing the blood to rush to the brain. As a singles heel through the sixties, he was a top-of-card fixture battling well-established crowd favorites such as Mark Lewin, Spiros Arion, Tex McKenzie, Dominic Denucci and Mario Milano. Enormous numbers from Australia's nascent ethnic community turned out to support Arion, Denucci and Milano, and Kox risked riots at every appearance. On February 21, 196 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ricky Romero (wrestler)
Henry Romero (May 24, 1931 – January 15, 2006) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, "Rapid" Ricky Romero. Romero was best known for his appearances in Texas during the 1970s. Professional wrestling career He wrestled in every major market between 1955 into the 1980s. Ricky tagged with the likes of Pedro Morales in the World Wrestling Association (WWA), Terry Funk and Nick Bockwinkel in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), and Rito Romero in the WWF. He got his huge break, when Dory Funk Sr. brought him into the Amarillo, Texas area during a time of segregation between races. Ricky Romero was the first Hispanic wrestler in the area and gained a fan given nickname "SuperMex". In 1972 he beat Terry Funk in a most popular wrestler contest in Amarillo, was a top draw for Gory Guerrero in El Paso, Texas as well as for Fritz Von Erich in Dallas, Texas, and Paul Boesch in Houston, Texas. He was such a top draw in the Rocky Mountain area Colorad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pedro Morales
Pedro Antonio Morales (October 22, 1942 – February 12, 2019) was a Puerto Rican professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in the United States with Worldwide Wrestling Associates (WWA) and the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF). Debuting in 1959, Morales originally came to prominence with WWA in the 1960s, where he held the World Heavyweight Championship and World Tag Team Championship. In 1970, he joined the WWWF, winning its World Heavyweight Championship and United States Championship. In a second run with the by-then World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in the 1980s, he won the Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship and Tag Team Championship, establishing himself as the promotion's first Triple Crown Champion. He retired from professional wrestling in 1987. A popular champion, Morales had particular appeal to his native Puerto Ricans and the wider Latino audience. The first Latino to hold a world heavyweight championship, his combined reign as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wrestling Observer Newsletter
The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four Weekly'' website in 2008, becoming ''Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online''. Issues are offered in print and digital. The newsletter is often considered the first " dirt sheet", which is a wrestling publication which covers the art from a real-life perspective. History The beginnings of the ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' date back to 1980, when Meltzer began an annual poll amongst those with whom he corresponded regarding professional wrestling. According to Meltzer, he was just a fan at first. A short time later, he began maintaining a tape-trading list, and would occasionally send match results and news updates along with tape updates. Meltzer stated that he wanted to keep his friends in college "in the loop" for his tape trading a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gorilla Monsoon
Robert James Marella (June 4, 1937 – October 6, 1999), better known by his ring name of Gorilla Monsoon, was an American professional wrestler, play-by-play commentator, and booker. Monsoon is famous for his run as a villainous super-heavyweight main eventer, and later as the voice of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), as commentator and backstage manager during the 1980s and 1990s. He also portrayed the on-screen role of WWF President from 1995 to 1997. In professional wrestling, the staging area just behind the entrance curtain at an event, a position which Marella established and where he could often be found during WWF shows late in his career, is named the "Gorilla Position" in his honor. Early life Marella attended Jefferson High School in Rochester, New York, becoming a standout athlete in football, amateur wrestling, and track and field. At the time, he weighed over 301 pounds (136.53 kg) and was affectionately called "Tiny" by his teammates. Marella wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aurelian Smith
Aurelian "Grizzly" Smith (August 1, 1931 – June 12, 2010) was an American professional wrestler. He was the father of professional wrestlers Jake "The Snake" Roberts, Rockin' Robin, and Sam Houston. Smith began wrestling in 1958. After retiring in the late-1970s, he held various backstage positions with promotions including Mid-South Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation, and World Championship Wrestling. Smith has been the subject of allegations of abuse from multiple people, including several of his children. Professional wrestling career Smith began competing in professional wrestling in Texas, but he worked on an oilfield part-time as well. Smith also competed in Georgia, where he challenged Freddie Blassie for the NWA Georgia World Heavyweight Championship but was unable to win the title belt. While wrestling in Texas, Smith met Luke Brown, who he followed to Oklahoma. Smith, who had wrestled under the ring names Jake Smith and Tiny Anderson, began competing as Gr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Luke Brown (wrestler)
Carl Dennis Campbell Sr. (July 28, 1935 – November 12, 1997) was an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name ''Luke "Big Boy" Brown''. He is most noted for being one-half of a tag team in the 1950s and 1960s known as the Kentuckians, along with Grizzly Smith. Professional wrestling career Brown began his professional wrestling career in 1958, traveling with carnivals. Wrestler Frankie Townsend gave him the name "Man Mountain Campbell", which Brown used up until 1961. For a short period during this time he tagged with Stan Stasiak, and they were the first tag team to ever hold the NWA International Tag Team Championship (Toronto version). They defeated Ivan and Karol Kalmikoff on June 8, 1961 in a tournament to win this title. In 1961, Brown also began teaming with Grizzly Smith. The duo became known as The Kentuckians, and they were known for their long beards, dungarees, and cow horn. Brown, as Man Mountain Campbell, had his first main event match on Apr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
