The Dominion Wrestling Union (DWU) was the first

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. It was one of two organisations first active in the

Australasian region The Australasian realm is a biogeographic realm that is coincident with, but not (by some definitions) the same as, the geographical region of Australasia. The realm includes Australia, the island of New Guinea (comprising Papua New Guinea and th ...

, along with Australia's

Stadiums Limited Stadiums Limited is an Australian company established in the late 1890s that owned and administered four venues on Australia's east coast at West Melbourne Stadium, Sydney Stadium, Leichhardt Stadium and Brisbane Festival Hall. It was founded in ...

, and served as the country's single major promotion for 30 years until being succeeded by All Star Pro Wrestling in 1962. The DWU was initially under the control of the New Zealand Wrestling Union, a sort of governing body which promoted both amateur and professional bouts, until American promoter Walter Miller largely took over the running of professional events in 1935 and which remained under Miller's control until his death in 1959. Miller eventually established New Zealand as one of the first international territories of the

National Wrestling Association The National Wrestling Association (NWA) was an early professional wrestling sanctioning body created in 1930 by the National Boxing Association (NBA; now the World Boxing Association, WBA) as an attempt to create a governing body for professional ...

, and later the

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA ...

, from which many of the stars of the era were brought to face the country's top wrestlers. From its earliest days, New Zealand professional wrestlers were recruited from the amateur ranks including

Lofty Blomfield Meynell Strathmore Blomfield (18 July 1908 – 29 June 1971) was a New Zealand professional wrestler, known by his ringname Lofty Blomfield, who was arguably the country's most popular wrestler during the 1930s and 40s. He competed primarily for ...

in the 1930s and later Pat O'Connor,

Dick Hrstich Dick Hrstich (10 August 1920 – 12 February 2000) was a Yugoslavian/New Zealand professional wrestler, known by his ring names Ray Hrstich and Ray Gordon, who competed in the former Yugoslavia (his native country), New Zealand, Canada, and the ...

Abe Jacobs Abe Jacobs (born June 18, 1928) is a New Zealand retired professional wrestler. He was one of the first men to follow fellow New Zealander Pat O'Connor to the United States where, like O'Connor, Jacobs became a major star in the National Wres ...

John da Silva John Walter da Silva (11 June 1934 – 8 April 2021) was a New Zealand wrestler and boxer. Biography Da Silva was born on 11 June 1934. He represented New Zealand in wrestling at the 1956 Olympics and at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwe ...

and

Steve Rickard Sydney Mervin "Merv" Batt (3 September 1929 – 5 April 2015), best known by his ring name Steve Rickard, was a New Zealand professional wrestler, trainer and promoter. As a wrestler, he traveled throughout the world during the 1960s and 1970s, ...

during the 1940s and 1950s. Many others would leave New Zealand in the years following the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, such as Ernie "Kiwi" Kingston, to pursue a career in Europe and North America. When Miller died in 1959, wrestler Steve Rickard continued running the DWU for two years until founding his own promotion, All Star Pro Wrestling, in 1962. This new organisation took the DWU's spot as the country's main professional wrestling promotion for the next 30 years, and as an overseas NWA territory, until its close in the early 1990s.

History

Background

Professional wrestling bouts had been held in New Zealand as early as the 1860s, with modern professional wrestling taking shape around the turn of the 20th century, and were generally held by private and local athletic associations.

Gisborne Katene Gisborne may refer to: People *Gisborne (surname) Places *Gisborne District, a unitary authority area in northeastern New Zealand named after William Gisborne **Gisborne, New Zealand, the largest centre of population in the Gisborne Region **Gisb ...

defeated Frank Findlay for the

NWA New Zealand Heavyweight Championship The NWA New Zealand Heavyweight Championship is the primary singles title in the NWA-affiliated wrestling promotion NWA New Zealand. It is the first heavyweight championship in New Zealand and one of the oldest in the world. It was first won b ...

in 1919 but subsequently became vacant. The first champion officially recognized by the

was Maori wrestler

Ike Robin Ihakara Te Tuku Rapana (8 November 1886 – 21 June 1968), commonly known as Ike Robin, was a New Zealand sportsman, businessman, orator and member for the Māori Anglican Church. A champion sheep shearer and professional wrestler, he was the f ...

who won the title in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

on 17 March 1925, and retired as champion the following year. Shortly before his retirement, Robin faced one-time

World Heavyweight Champion At boxing's beginning, the heavyweight division had no weight limit, and historically the weight class has gone with vague or no definition. During the 19th century many heavyweights were 170 pounds (12 st 2 lb, 77 kg) or less, tho ...

Stanislaus Zbyszko 'Jan Stanisław Cyganiewicz'' (April 1, 1879 – September 23, 1967), better known by his ring name, Stanislaus Zbyszko, was a Polish strongman and professional wrestler. He was a three-time World Heavyweight Champion at his highest profile in t ...

in a three-match series at the

Auckland Town Hall Auckland Town Hall is an Edwardian building on Queen Street in the Auckland CBD, New Zealand, known both for its original and ongoing use for administrative functions (such as Council meetings and hearings), as well as its famed Great Hall and ...

in 1926. According to one account by the ''New Zealand Railways Magazine'', one of their matches ended in a time-limit draw after having "gone on for many weary hours and when midnight Saturday chimed and Sunday commenced the match had to cease". Though separated by thousands of miles, professional wrestling as practiced in the South Pacific region would continue to follow along the same lines as in Canada and the United States.Morton, Gerald W. and George M. O'Brien. ''Wrestling to 'Rasslin: Ancient Sport to American Spectacle''. Bowling Green, Ohio: Popular Press, 1985. (pg. 72)

Early years

The New Zealand Wrestling Union was officially founded on 22 July 1930, at the Central Fire Station in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

. Its purpose was to unite the various amateur and professional wrestling associations under a governing body in order to promote events on a national scale, establish a level of professionalism and to keeping the game clean of so-called "rough-house wrestling". The sport flourished while under the control of the union and, on 22 June 1931, the New Zealand School of Wrestling was officially opened at Wellington with one-time Australian heavyweight champion “Smiler” Clark as its head instructor and operated by sportsman Pat Allen. It was the first facility to provide "ideal gymnasium conditions" for developing top level amateur talent. The first national amateur championships were held with

becoming the first heavyweight amateur champion; he entered professional wrestling shortly afterwards and became the first undisputed New Zealand Heavyweight Champion seven years later. In 1933, NZWU President H.D. Bennett travelled to Australia seeking to improve the quality of its imported talent. A year later,

Gus Sonnenberg Gustave Adolph Sonnenberg (March 6, 1898 – September 9, 1944) was an American football player and professional wrestler of German descent and World Heavyweight Champion. As a wrestler, he was National Wrestling Association world heavyweight cha ...

, Wong Buk Cheung and

Dan Koloff Doncho Kolev Danev ( bg, Дончо Колев Данев) (26 December 1892 – 27 March 1940), better known by the ring name Dan Kolov ( bg, Дан Колов), was a Bulgarian professional wrestler and mixed martial artist born in Sennik, Bul ...

agreed to tour the country.

Takeover by Walter Miller

By 1935, however, it had become difficult to find enough professionals, and American promoter Walter Miller was hired as a booking agent. He was eventually granted control of the professional wrestling groups, under the Dominion Wrestling Union, and was able to bring in many

stars of the time, the majority from Canada and the United States, to face some of the country's leading wrestlers. Miller's organisation would sign wrestlers on a seasonal basis, usually from May to November, and required wrestlers to have licensing for that period. Canadians were especially important draws as they were then subjects of the British Empire and not subject to the same taxation as were required by American wrestlers. The same year that Miller took over, Canadian wrestler

George Walker George Walker may refer to: Arts and letters *George Walker (chess player) (1803–1879), English chess player and writer *George Walker (composer) (1922–2018), American composer * George Walker (illustrator) (1781–1856), author of ''The Cos ...

, then holder of the NWA British Empire Heavyweight Championship, left to compete for a rival promotion. The title was subsequently awarded to another Canadian, former Olympian

Earl McCready Earl Gray McCready (June 5 or 15, 1905 – December 9, 1983) was a Canadian amateur and professional wrestler. McCready competed in the U.S. for Oklahoma State University in folkstyle, and as a freestyle wrestler who competed for Canada in ...

, who legitimised his claim to the title by defeating Walker on 9 November 1937; his second and final reign lasted from 1940 to 1953. Other foreigners to become major stars for the DWU included Dean Detton, Ken Kenneth, John Kattan and African-American wrestler Jack Claybourne. Within a few years, Miller had successfully established the promotion as one of the NWA's first international territories. In 1937, the promotion hosted a tour which included Dr. Gordon McKenzie, Tom Meade, Don Mclntyre, Hal Rumberg, Ray Richards, Sam Stein, Jack Forsgren, John Spellman, Matros Kirilenko, King Kong Cox, Chief Little Wolf, Frank Marshall,

Rusty Wescoatt Norman "Rusty" Wescoatt (August 2, 1911 – September 3, 1987) was an American supporting actor who appeared in over 80 films between 1947 and 1965. Early life The son of Mr. and Mrs. W.W. Wescoatt, he was born on August 2, 1911, in Maui, Hawai ...

, Glen Wade, Joe Woods, Frank Judson, Don Noland, Vie Christy, Francis Fouche and

Ed "Strangler" Lewis Robert Herman Julius Friedrich (June 30, 1891 – August 8, 1966), better known by the ring name Ed "Strangler" Lewis, was an American professional wrestler and trainer. During his wrestling career, which spanned four decades, Lewis was a four-ti ...

. Lofty Blomfield was arguably New Zealand's most popular wrestler of the period. He had turned pro shortly after becoming the first national heavyweight amateur champion in 1931, and within a few years captured the

. One of the first international title defences to take place in New Zealand was to have been a "champion vs. champion" match between Blomfield and

NWA World Heavyweight Champion The NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship is a world heavyweight professional wrestling championship owned and promoted by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), an American professional wrestling promotion. The current champion is Tyrus, who is in ...

Bronko Nagurski Bronislau "Bronko" Nagurski (November 3, 1908 – January 7, 1990) was a Canadian-born professional American football player in the National Football League (NFL), renowned for his strength and size. Nagurski was also a successful professional w ...

during the late-1930s. It was primarily arranged by Miller, working in partnership with NWA promoters

Toots Mondt Joseph Raymond "Toots" Mondt (January 18, 1894 – June 11, 1976) was an American professional wrestler and promoter who revolutionized the wrestling industry in the early to mid-1920s and co-promoted the World Wide Wrestling Federation. Some of ...

, Lou Daro and Tony Stecher, and included Nagurski being offered the largest guarantee ever offered a boxer or wrestler in the Southern Hemisphere. The event was expected to have over 40,000 fans in attendance. Nagurski cancelled the trip at the last minute, however, Blomfield followed the world champion to Canada where the two wrestled to a time limit draw in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

on 17 March 1938. Blomfield was the first New Zealander to challenge for the NWA World title. Seven months later, he won a tournament to become the undisputed New Zealand Heavyweight Champion. Blomfield held the title for over a decade until his retirement on 7 June 1949. Throughout his career, Blomfield vigorously defended professional wrestling and denied frequent charges that matches were rigged.

Golden Age

Both amateur and professional wrestling were at the height of popularity during the 1950s,Adams, Yvette. ''More Than Meets The Eye: A True Story Based on the Life and Times of the Best Blind Wrestler the World Has Ever Seen''. Southbank, Victoria: Griffin Press, 2006. (pg. 151, 208) and by 1956, it was regarded as the most popular spectator sport in New Zealand along with

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

. Much of this popularity was due in part to radio broadcasts from live events in the interwar and post-WWII years; the Wellington Town Hall Concert Chamber was one of the more popular postwar venues for wrestling events. New Zealand champions also began travelling oversees, as far as

Western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West or the Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a Canadian region that includes the four western provinces just north of the Canada� ...

, during the decade. Although its older stars such as Blomfield or McCready retired in the years following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, a new generation of wrestlers emerged during the 1950s including Pat O'Connor,

and

. Discovered by visiting American wrestlers Joe Pazandak and Butch Levy, O'Connor was taken to the United States where he eventually became a top star for the

and the

American Wrestling Association The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The territory was originally part o ...

, Matysik, Larry. ''Wrestling at the Chase: The Inside Story of Sam Muchnick and the Legends of Professional Wrestling''. Toronto: ECW Press, 2005. and later won the

NWA World Heavyweight Championship The NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship is a world heavyweight professional wrestling championship owned and promoted by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), an American professional wrestling promotion. The current champion is Tyrus, who is in ...

from

Dick Hutton Richard Heron Avis Hutton (October 4, 1923 – November 24, 2003) was an American amateur and professional wrestler. He was a three-time NCAA champion and, as a professional, held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, making him a one-time worl ...

.Hornbaker, Tim. ''National Wrestling Alliance: The Untold Story of the Monopoly that Strangled Pro Wrestling''. Toronto: ECW Press, 2007. (pg. 209-210, 219) O'Connor was the first New Zealander to win the NWA World title and his success encouraged others to follow him to North America. A year after his world title victory, O'Connor was challenged by fellow DWU veteran Abe Jacobs in New York marking the first time two New Zealanders fought for a world heavyweight championship, and on foreign soil. Miller also continued to bring in major names such as

Al Costello Giacomo Costa (14 December 1919 – 22 January 2000) was an Italian Australian professional wrestler best known by his ring name, Al Costello. Costello was the first professional wrestler to be nicknamed "The Man of a Thousand Holds" because of ...

, Don Beitleman, The Great Zorro and Johnny Kostas. A 1956 bout between Samoan wrestler Alo Leilani and Pat O'Connor, in his first appearance since going to the US, was in front of a sellout crowd at

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The city lies on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authority encompass ...

. O'Connor also defeated Australia's Al Costello at

Carlaw Park Carlaw Park was a multi-purpose stadium in Parnell, New Zealand, Parnell, a central suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It neighboured the Auckland Domain's Northern end. It was primarily used for rugby league and had a peak spectator capacity of aro ...

in Auckland before a "tremendous outdoor crowd". It was the first outdoor event staged in New Zealand since Lofty Blomfield defeated Brother Jonathan prior to the

Lou Thesz Aloysius Martin "Lou" Thesz (April 24, 1916 – April 28, 2002) was an American professional wrestler. He was a three-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion and held the title for a combined total of 10 years, three months and nine days (3,749 ...

was scheduled to headline an American tour of the country while visiting Australia in late-1957. He was originally promoted as the NWA World Champion by then American booking agent Ted Thye, though the title was disputed between Thesz and Edouard Carpentier, and set to defend the title against Ricky Waldo and

Ski Hi Lee A ski is a narrow strip of semi-rigid material worn underfoot to glide over snow. Substantially longer than wide and characteristically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partial ...

in Wellington, Auckland and Christchurch. Though an agreement had been made between Thye and Miller, Melbourne promoter Dick Lean refused to allow them to compete for the DWU while they were still under contract in Australia. The promotion made a late bid to prevent the late cancellation, including a last minute phone conversation between Lean and then Dominion Wrestling Union secretary Bert Steele, but were unsuccessful. The promotion suffered a significant financial loss, as attendance for these events had been very high, and were forced to offer a refund to all ticket holders. In February 1959, 61-year-old

Jim Londos Christos Theofilou ( el, Χρήστος Θεοφίλου; January 2, 1894 – August 19, 1975), better known as "The Golden Greek" Jim Londos (Greek: Τζίμ Λόντος), was a Greek American professional wrestler. Londos was one of the most p ...

wrestled New Zealander Fred Wright at Auckland's

Western Springs Stadium Western Springs Stadium is a stadium in Auckland, New Zealand. Built within a natural amphitheatre, it is primarily used for rugby union matches during the winter and for speedway during the summer. It is also occasionally used for large concer ...

in front of 6,000 fans. The match ended in controversy as Londos' opponent hit the referee with a haymaker and disqualified and received some attention by the Auckland media.

Final years

Although he relented slightly in his later years, Miller had maintained a strict control over the sport and talent throughout his 30-year involvement with the promotion. He was specifically dedicated to the older-style popularised by the

Gold Dust Trio The Gold Dust Trio was a group of promoters who controlled the world of professional wrestling during the 1920s while also making several fundamental changes to the industry's business model and operations that would ultimately change the directio ...

and, with "gimmick characters" and less focus on athleticism becoming popular in the US, believed that "American gimmickry" would drive away fans in New Zealand. Miller died in 1959 and was succeeded by

who ran the Dominion Wrestling Union for next three years. In 1961, the amateur side of the sport decided to break away from the New Zealand Wrestling Union and was accepted into the International Amateur Wrestling Federation, followed by the New Zealand Olympic and British Empire Games Associations. Rickard established the All Star Pro-Wrestling in 1962 which succeeded the DWU as the single major promotion in the country.

Championships based at DWU

later continued by All Star Pro-Wrestling *

NWA British Empire/Commonwealth Championship (New Zealand version) The New Zealand version of the NWA British Empire/Commonwealth Championship was a professional wrestling heavyweight championship defended in the National Wrestling Alliance-affiliated Dominion Wrestling Union from 1929 to 1953 and in All Star ...

later continued by All Star Pro-Wrestling *

NWA Australasian Heavyweight Championship The New Zealand version of the NWA Australasian Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling regional heavyweight championship recognized by the National Wrestling Alliance and competed for by wrestlers in the Australasian region. It wa ...

later continued by All Star Pro-Wrestling

Alumni

This is not an exhaustive list, as DWU was the only national promotion in New Zealand until 1962 and many wrestlers, both New Zealanders who competed for a brief time and then retired, or foreigners who came for a single tour, were booked.

New Zealanders

Ray Clarke Ray Clarke (born 25 September 1952) is an English retired professional footballer who played in England for Tottenham Hotspur, Swindon Town, Mansfield Town, Brighton and Newcastle United, in the Netherlands for Sparta Rotterdam and Ajax Amst ...

Al Hobman Allan "Al" Hobman (23 April 1925 – 21 September 2008) was a New Zealand professional wrestler, trainer and promoter. Hobman was one of the first homegrown stars to emerge from the Dominion Wrestling Union, and later Steve Rickard's All Star-P ...

* Anton Koolmann * Pat O'Connor *

* Fred Wright

Foreigners

* Ali Bey *

Paul Boesch Paul Max Boesch (October 2, 1912March 7, 1989) was an American professional wrestler and promoter, most famous for his work as an announcer and promoter for Houston Wrestling. He also spent several stints working with the Universal Wrestling Fed ...

*"Hangman" Howard Cantonwine * Wong Buck Cheung * Vie Christy *

Wee Willie Davis William "Wee Willie" Grundy Davis (December 7, 1906 – April 9, 1981) was an American film actor and professional wrestler. He was born in New York City and died in Louisville, Kentucky, aged 74. He worked in the Jefferson County Jail in Louis ...

Dean Detton Dean Henry Detton (June 27, 1908 – February 23, 1958) was an American professional wrestler and World Heavyweight Champion who was active in the early portion of the twentieth century. Previously he was a proficient University of Utah football ...

* Jack Forsgren * Francis Fouche *

Ed Don George Edward Nye "Ed Don" George Jr. (June 3, 1905 – September 18, 1985) was an American amateur and professional wrestler, and wrestling promoter. A former Olympic freestyle wrestler, George competed in the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics and turned pro ...

Gorgeous George George Raymond Wagner (March 23, 1915 – December 26, 1963) was an American professional wrestler known by his ring name Gorgeous George. In the United States, during the First Golden Age of Professional Wrestling in the 1940s–1950s, Gorgeou ...

Eric Holmback Eric Holmback (April 16, 1916 – January 16, 1965) was an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Yukon Eric. Holmback spent the majority of his career in Southern Ontario, Canada, where he won the NWA Canadian Open Tag T ...

(Yukon Eric) * Leo Jenson *

Brother Jonathan Brother Jonathan is the personification of New England. He was also used as an emblem of the U.S. in general, and can be an allegory of capitalism. His too-short pants, too-tight waistcoat and old-fashioned style reflect his taste for inexpensi ...

* Paul Jones * Frank Judson *

John Katan John Katan (July 12, 1901–March 9, 1968) was a Ukrainian Canadian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, trainer and wrestling promoter, promoter. A journeyman wrestler, Katan appeared throughout the world competing in nearly 6,000 match ...

* John Keatos * Matros Kirilenko * Bob Kruse *

* King Kong Cox *

* Alo Leilani * Chief Little Wolf *

* Floyd Marshall * Frank Marshall * Roy McClarty *

* Don Mclntyre * Dr. Gordon McKenzie *

Tom Meade Thomas Meade (19 January 19391 August 2013) was an American automobile designer and dealer best known for his ''Thomassima'' series of custom cars based on Ferrari engines and chassis. He was based in Modena, Italy from the early 1960s through t ...

Freddie Meyer Frederick A. Meyer, IV (born January 4, 1981) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played parts of seven seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Philadelphia Flyers, New York Islanders, Phoenix Coyotes, and ...

* Rene Michot * Andy Moen * Don Noland *

George Pencheff George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

* Martin Plestina *

Ray Richards Raymond William Richards (July 16, 1906 – September 18, 1974) was an American football player and coach on both the college and professional levels, including head coach for the Chicago Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). Richard ...

* Hal Rumberg *

Steve Savage Stephen Read Savage (born June 6, 1948) is an American middle-distance runner. He competed in the men's 3000 metres steeplechase at the 1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () an ...

* "Jumping" Joe Savoldi * Oki Shikina *

John Spellman John Dennis Spellman (December 29, 1926 – January 16, 2018) was an American politician who served as the 18th governor of Washington from 1981 to 1985 and as the first King County Executive from 1969 to 1981. Spellman was elected governor in ...

Joe Stecher Joe Stecher (April 4, 1893 – March 29, 1974), sometimes spelled Joe Stetcher, was an American professional wrestler and three-time World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion. Known for his ferocity, tremendous leg strength and extensive knowledge o ...

* Ray Steele *

Sam Stein } Samuel Stein (born January 11, 1988) is an American professional poker player from Los Angeles who lives in Henderson, Nevada. He won his first World Series of Poker bracelet at the 2011 World Series of Poker where he made two final tables and ...

* Glen Wade *

* Rusty Westcoatt *Joe Woods *

Jim Wright James Claude Wright Jr. (December 22, 1922 – May 6, 2015) was an American politician who served as the 48th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1987 to 1989. He represented Texas's 12th congressional district as a ...

Abe Yourist Abe Harry Yourist (September 9, 1909 – November 9, 1991) was a Russian-American professional basketball player. He played for the Toledo Jim White Chevrolets in the National Basketball League in one game during the 1941–42 season. In college ...

* Zebra Kid

References

External links

Pro-Wrestling in Oceania (Australia & New Zealand) at WrestlingScoutDWU Title Histories
{{Professional wrestling in New Zealand New Zealand professional wrestling promotions 1929 establishments in New Zealand 1961 disestablishments in New Zealand