NWA Hollywood Wrestling (sometimes referred to as NWA Los Angeles) was a

professional wrestling promotion A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling that has little relationship to the rules of the amateur olympic form. "Promotion" also describes a role which entails man ...

headquartered in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

in the United States that promoted

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 or ...

matches throughout

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban ...

. It was founded in 1958 as the North American Wrestling Alliance, a member of the

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

. 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 The California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) regulates amateur and professional boxing, amateur and professional kickboxing and professional mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds ...

inspector Alvah "Cal" Eaton as the promoter of the

Grand Olympic Auditorium The Grand Olympic Auditorium is a former sports venue in southern Downtown Los Angeles, California. The venue was built in 1924 at 1801 South Grand Avenue, now just south of the Santa Monica Freeway. The grand opening of the 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

. By the early-1950s, the Eatons, along with Hugh Nichols, Johnny Doyle, and Mike Hirsch (collectively known as the "California Combine"), dominated professional wrestling in Southern California, leading to a

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and a ...

antitrust Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust l ...

investigation in 1955 and 1956. On July 24, 1957,

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 ...

defeated Édouard Carpentier under controversial circumstances to win 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 ...

, the principal

championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

recognized by the

. The decision was challenged by some members of the National Wrestling Alliance who continued to recognize Carpentier as World Heavyweight Champion. In 1958, the Eatons created the North American Wrestling Alliance as a new vehicle for promoting professional wrestling in Los Angeles. Eaton at the time was still a member of the National Wrestling Alliance, the national league that dominated professional wrestling in the United States, but had not paid dues since 1955. In October 1959, Eaton and LeBell withdrew from the NWA, recognizing Carpentier as the inaugural World Heavyweight Champion backdated to June 14, 1957, when Carpentier had originally won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. The promotion was renamed Worldwide Wrestling Associates in 1961. The promotion ran events throughout Southern California, with the Grand Olympic Auditorium as its base. Bookers included Jules Strongbow,

Freddie Blassie Frederick Kenneth Blassman (February 8, 1918 – June 2, 2003) was an American professional wrestler and manager, known by the ring name "Classy" Freddie Blassie. Renowned as "The Hollywood Fashion Plate","Classy" Freddie Blassie with Keith Ellio ...

, Mr. Moto, and

Gory Guerrero Salvador Guerrero Quesada (January 11, 1921 – April 18, 1990), better known as Gory Guerrero, was one of the premier Mexican American professional wrestlers in the early days of Lucha Libre when most wrestlers were imported from outside Mexi ...

. The promotion developed a working relationship with the

Japan Wrestling Association The was the first professional wrestling promotion to be based in Japan. It operated from 1953 to 1973. History JWA under Rikidōzan (1953–1963) Rikidōzan, a former ''rikishi'' ( sumo wrestling practitioner) who had debuted as a Western- ...

and

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority share ...

, resulting in many talent exchanges. Aileen Eaton introduced a system of paying wrestlers a proportion of the gate rather than a guaranteed fee, boosting profits and encouraging wrestlers to help promote the events. The promotion also pioneered the use of closed-circuit television to show matches to fans who were unable to secure tickets for live events, an early precursor to the

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program g ...

model that emerged in the 1980s. In 1963, WWA World Heavyweight Champion Bearcat Wright faced Freddie Blassie in a bout that Wright was scripted to lose. Instead, Wright headbutted Blassie, dazing him, and then legitimately pinned him. Wright was subsequently stripped of the championship which was then awarded to Edouard Carpentier. Eaton died on January 10, 1966, with Aileen's son from a prior marriage Mike LeBell taking over on behalf of his mother, who by then was a major figure in boxing. On August 18, 1968, LeBell rejoined the NWA, renaming the promotion NWA Hollywood Wrestling. The WWA World Heavyweight Championship was abandoned and the promotion began recognizing the NWA World Heavyweight Championship once more. In August 1971, the promotion set a national gate record for an event headed by a bout between Blassie and

John Tolos John Tolos, nicknamed "The Golden Greek", (September 18, 1930 – May 28, 2009) was a Canadian professional wrestler, and professional wrestling manager. Professional wrestling career Tolos was born on September 18, 1930, in Hamilton, Ontar ...

that sold $142,158 worth of tickets. In its last years, the promotion obtained a legacy of sorts by being the first recipient of the

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 W ...

award for Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic. This tactic involved the push of Tony Hernandez, who had previously wrestled in the Arizona territory as "Frankenstein", a crazed man who believed himself to be

Frankenstein's monster Frankenstein's monster or Frankenstein's creature, often referred to as simply "Frankenstein", is a fictional character who first appeared in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus''. Shelley's title thus compare ...

and even wore a rubber mask depicting the creature. LeBell chose instead to push him as "The Monster", who was billed as legitimately being made in a laboratory, and use him as a top heel. After being defeated by Andre the Giant (who was reportedly unimpressed by the act and decided to stiff Hernandez), the Monster was unmasked - despite the mask being intended to be his real face - and turned into a child-friendly babyface. This entire arc was seen as insulting by hardcore fans. NWA Hollywood Wrestling continued to operate until folding on December 26, 1982. In March 1983, the

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 va ...

began promoting shows in its former territory.

Championships

Alumni

* Chris Adams * Buddy Austin *

Lord James Blears Lord Blears (born James Ranicar Blears, August 13, 1923 – March 3, 2016) was a British-American professional wrestler, ring announcer, promoter, actor, mariner, and surfing personality. Early life Blears was born in Tyldesley, Lancashire, ...

Dino Bravo Adolfo Bresciano (; August 6, 1948 – March 10, 1993) was an Italian-Canadian professional wrestler and promoter, better known by the ring name Dino Bravo (). After training under Gino Brito, he started his career in Montreal in the 1970s, ...

* Édouard Carpentier * The Destroyer * Ric Drasin *

Terry Funk Terrence Funk (born June 30, 1944) is an American retired professional wrestler, rapper, disc jockey and actor. Funk is known for the longevity of his career – which spanned more than 50 years and included multiple short-lived retirements – a ...

Billy Graham William Franklin Graham Jr. (November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American evangelist and an ordained Southern Baptist minister who became well known internationally in the late 1940s. He was a prominent evangelical Christi ...

* Chavo Guerrero, Sr. * Dick Lane (announcer) * Gene LeBell *

Don Leo Jonathan Don Heaton (April 29, 1931 – October 13, 2018), also known as Don Leo Jonathan, was an American-Canadian professional wrestler. Professional wrestling career Jonathan, nicknamed "The Mormon Giant" was a second generation star (his father was f ...

* Mil Máscaras * Ray Mendoza *

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 ...

* Mr. Moto *

Roddy Piper Roderick George Toombs (April 17, 1954 – July 31, 2015), better known as "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, was a Canadian professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and actor. In professional wrestling, Piper was best known to international audiences for his ...

Rikidōzan (born Kim Sin-rak; ; November 14, 1924 – December 15, 1963), better known as Rikidōzan (), was a Koreans in Japan, Korean-born Japanese wrestler who competed in sumo and professional wrestling. He was known as The Father of Puroresu, and on ...

* Victor Rivera * The Sheik * Dennis Stamp * Sándor Szabó *

Dale Valentine Dale Hey (June 16, 1947 – November 26, 2012) was a Canadian-American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Buddy Roberts. Primarily a tag team wrestler, Roberts is known for his appearances as one of The Hollywood Blonds in the 1 ...

* Bearcat Wright

Footnotes

External links

Worldwide Wrestling Associates at WrestlingTitles.comNWA Hollywood Documentary
{{Professional wrestling in the United States 1958 establishments in California 1982 disestablishments in the United States Independent professional wrestling promotions based in California Professional wrestling in Los Angeles

History

Championships

Alumni

Footnotes

See also

External links