Heart of America Sports Attractions, also known as the Midwest Wrestling Association, Central States Wrestling and the World Wrestling Alliance, was an American

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 that ran shows mainly in

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

and

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

. Due to the promotion's main office and base of operations being in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

the territory was often referred to simply as "Kansas City". The promotion existed from July 1948 until it closed in 1988. The territory was one of the original

territories A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...

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 ...

with two of the six "founding fathers" of the NWA ( Paul "Pinkie" George and

Orville Brown Orville Brown (March 10, 1908 – January 24, 1981) was an American professional wrestler. He is a thirteen-time world champion and was recognized as the first NWA World Heavyweight Champion in 1948. Brown's professional wrestling career ended ...

) promoting in it.

History

Midwest Wrestling Association

Originally known as the "Midwest Wrestling Association" before the formation of the National Wrestling Alliance it controlled and booked shows territories in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa and was seen as a cornerstone of the NWA. It joined the NWA in October 1948. The territory was promoted by

Pinkie George Paul "Pinkie" George (born Paul Lloyd Georgeacopoulos; January 22, 1905 – November 1, 1993) was an American professional wrestling promoter, boxer and businessman best known as the visionary behind, and first president of, the National Wrestli ...

and the first official

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 i ...

Orville Brown (

Sonny Myers Harold "Sonny" Myers (January 22, 1924 – May 7, 2007) was an American professional wrestler, involved in the business for sixty years. Professional wrestling career Myers held prominent heavyweight championships in several territories, most ...

being the preceding unofficial one) from the creation of the NWA until 1958. The

MWA World Heavyweight Championship The MWA World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in the Kansas City, Kansas-based Midwest Wrestling Association (MWA). It was the direct predecessor of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) World ...

began in 1940, preceding the consolidation with the CSW and WWA.

Heart of America Sports Attractions forms

In 1963, wrestler/promoter Bob Geigel took over and partnered up with

Pat O'Conner James Patrick O'Conner (born 1958) is a professional baseball executive who served as president of Minor League Baseball for the 2008 through 2020 baseball seasons. Early life Born in Grove City, Ohio, O'Conner attended Wittenberg University in ...

and promoters George Simpson and Gust Karras to form "Heart of America Sports Attractions, Inc." The promotion continued to be a cornerstone of the NWA with Geigel sitting on the board of directors and even served as chairman of the National Wrestling Alliance from 1978 until 1987, the period that is considered the last "glory years" of the NWA. Central States Wrestling did not become a household name across the United States until 1973, when

Harley Race Harley Leland Race (April 11, 1943 – August 1, 2019) was an American professional wrestler, promoter, and trainer. Race wrestled in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), the American Wrestling Association (AWA), the World Wrestling Federatio ...

brought attention to CSW (and its "sister promotion" the

St. Louis Wrestling Club The St. Louis Wrestling Club was a professional wrestling promotion based in St. Louis, Missouri. It was owned and operated by Sam Muchnick. The promotion was a flagship member of the National Wrestling Alliance, and promoted primarily in the St. ...

) by winning the NWA World Heavyweight Title for the first time.

Under Jim Crockett Promotions

In 1986, Geigel sold the promotion to

Jim Crockett Promotions Jim Crockett Promotions Inc. is a family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, restarted by Jim Crockett's son and Jim Crockett Jr's brother, David Crockett. Founded in 1931, the promot ...

owner

Jim Crockett, Jr. James Allen Crockett Jr. (August 10, 1944 – March 3, 2021) was an American professional wrestling promoter. From 1973 to 1989, he was part owner of Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP), a wrestling company affiliated with the National Wrestling Allian ...

, who ran the territory from September 1986 until February 1987, where Bob Geigel bought the promotion back and co partnered with George Petraski.

World Wrestling Alliance

After stepping down as chairman of the NWA, Geigel withdrew his promotion from the NWA in late 1987 and formed a new sanctioning body known as the "World Wrestling Alliance" in an attempt to compete with the national expansion of Jim Crockett and

Vince McMahon Vincent Kennedy McMahon (; born August 24, 1945) is an American media proprietor and retired professional wrestling promoter, executive, and performer. From 1982 to 2022, he served as the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the w ...

. The move did not pay off and Geigel closed the WWA in 1989.

Central-States Championship Wrestling

The NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship is currently controlled by the NWA affiliate Central-States Championship Wrestling (CCW).

Tape library

The promotion's classic tape library is currently owned by

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

, who obtained through their purchase of World Championship Wrestling, the previous owners of the library.

Former personnel

Championships

References

External links

CentralStates.netCentral States title histories at Wrestling-Titles.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heart Of America Sports Attractions Independent professional wrestling promotions based in the Midwestern United States Sports in the Kansas City metropolitan area 1948 establishments in Missouri 1988 disestablishments in Missouri Jim Crockett Promotions National Wrestling Alliance members