The World Wrestling Association was an
Indianapolis
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
-based
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 ...
which was operated by
Dick the Bruiser
William Fritz Afflis (June 27, 1929 – November 10, 1991) was an American professional wrestler, promoter, and former NFL player, better known by his ring name, Dick the Bruiser. During his NFL days he played four seasons with the Green Bay Pac ...
and his business partner
Wilbur Snyder
Wilbur Snyder (September 15, 1929 – December 25, 1991) was an American American football, football player and professional wrestler.
Wrestling career
Snyder's wrestling debut occurred during football's 1953 off-season. He was trained by Sandor ...
.
It was affiliated with the larger
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 ...
and recognized its champions, along with its own and those of the Indianapolis-based
Powerful Women of Wrestling. It ran from 1964 to 1989.
History
The World Wrestling Association (WWA), operating under the legal name Championship Wrestling of Indiana, Inc., was established in 1964 by William Afflis and Wilbur Snyder.
The duo purchased the Indianapolis NWA promotion in 1964 from its longtime owner
Jim Barnett, who at that time was attempting to start up a promotion in Australia. The name of the promotion was taken from the former promotions in the Chicago and Los Angeles areas.
In 1965, the WWA purchased the Chicago-based
Fred Kohler Enterprises
Fred Kohler Enterprises, Inc. was a company established by businessman Frederick Koch (1903–1969) – known professionally as Fred Kohler – to promote professional wrestling in Chicago, Illinois in the United States.
Kohler began promo ...
from
Fred Kohler
Fred Kohler (April 20, 1888 – October 28, 1938) was an American actor.
Career
Fred Kohler was born in Kansas City, Missouri or in Dubuque, Iowa. As a teen, he began to pursue a career in vaudeville, but worked other jobs to support himself. ...
. In May of the same year, the promotion ceased promoting events in Detroit.
The promotion developed wrestlers such as
Bobby Heenan
Raymond Louis Heenan (November 1, 1944 – September 17, 2017) was an American professional wrestling manager, color commentator, wrestler, and comedian. He performed with the American Wrestling Association (AWA), the World Wrestling Federation ...
and
amateur wrestler Greg Wojciechowski
Gregory M. Wojciechowski (born 1951) is a former American amateur wrestler and professional wrestler, best known by his ring name The Great Wojo, who competed primarily for the Indianapolis-based World Wrestling Association during the 1980s, most ...
. Wojciechowski wrestled for the WWA under the name "The Great Wojo" and held the WWA World Heavyweight Championship three times.
In later years,
Scott Steiner
Scott Rechsteiner (born July 29, 1962), better known by the ring name Scott Steiner, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA).
Steiner is perhaps best known for his time in World Championshi ...
got his start in the WWA under his real name, Scott Rechsteiner.
A talent sharing agreement with
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 ...
(AWA) head (and longtime champion)
Verne Gagne
Laverne Clarence Gagne (February 26, 1926 – April 27, 2015) was an American amateur and professional wrestler, football player, wrestling trainer, and wrestling promoter. He was the owner and promoter of the Minneapolis-based American Wrestling ...
brought forth other talent, including
The Crusher and
Baron von Raschke
James Donald Raschke (born July 30, 1940) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Baron von Raschke.
Early life
Raschke was a three-year letterman with the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Cornhuskers wre ...
. The WWA also put on joint wrestling events with the AWA starting in 1966. In 1971, the WWA returned to promoting events in Detroit in competition with NWA Detroit until 1975.
The WWA tried to make a go of it in the mid-1980s, when
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 ...
's
World Wrestling Federation
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 ...
(WWF) was buying regional promotions across the country, but the Bruiser's advancing age and the talent drain to the WWF was too much and the WWA ceased promoting matches in 1989.
Championships
*
WWA World Heavyweight Championship
The World Wrestling All-Stars (WWA) World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in World Wrestling All-Stars. It was the primary championship in the WWA. The title was sanctioned by WWA as their world ...
*
WWA World Tag Team Championship
The WWA World Tag Team Championship was the primary tag team title in the Indianapolis
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. A ...
Notes
References
*
External links
WWAsuperstarwrestling.comWWA title histories at Wrestling-Titles.comWorld Wrestling Association alumni at Cagematch.netWorld Wrestling Association alumni at Wrestlingdata.com
{{Professional wrestling in the United States
Independent professional wrestling promotions based in the Midwestern United States
1964 establishments in Indiana