This is a list of

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 ...

promoters in the United States.

Pioneer-era (1900s–1940s)

This section lists notable professional wrestling promoters, especially those of the "Farmer" Burns-Frank Gotch and "

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 ...

"-eras, active prior to the formation of 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 ...

(NWA) in 1948. *Dark Red indicates founding members of the National Wrestling Alliance. *Light Red indicates later members of the National Wrestling Alliance.

Territory-era (1940s–1980s)

This section lists notable professional wrestling promoters during the " Golden Age of Professional Wrestling" following the creation of the

(NWA) in 1948. While most promoters operated specific wrestling "territories" as members of the NWA, a number of so-called "outlaw" promotions were also prominent during this period. *Dark Red indicates founding members of the National Wrestling Alliance. *Light Red indicates members of the National Wrestling Alliance. *Green indicates territory-era promoters who are still active.

Modern-era (1990s–present)

This section lists notable professional wrestling promoters from the collapse of the National Wrestling Alliance territory system in the early 1990s up to the 21st century.

Footnotes

* – Entries without a birth name indicates that the individual did not perform under a

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...

. * – This includes the individual's entire time in the wrestling industry as opposed to activities as a promoter. * – Prior to the formation of the

(NWA) in 1948, many promoters did not publicly operate under a formal company. Instead, wrestling was independently promoted out of major cities and were only loosely affiliated under 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 ...

. * – This section lists the promotions in which the individual was the owner rather than being employed in a subordinate role such as booker or road agent.

References

;General *Hornbaker, Tim. ''National Wrestling Alliance: The Untold Story of the Monopoly that Strangled Pro Wrestling''. Toronto: ECW Press, 2007. ;Specific

External links

*{{YouTube, id=v19gXrPpBTc, title=Wrestling Roundtable 6/21/09 (Part 2): Best/Worst Promoters Promoters Sports owners