50th State Big Time Wrestling (sometimes referred to as NWA Hawaii or Mid-Pacific Promotions) 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 mana ...

headquartered in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the isla ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

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 Hawaii. The promotion was founded by Al Karasick in 1936 and became 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 ...

in 1949. In 1961, Karasick sold the promotion to "Gentleman" Ed Francis. Along with his business partner Lord James Blears, Francis created a "

golden age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the '' Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages, Gold being the first and the one during which the G ...

" of professional wrestling in Hawaii that lasted throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, with ''50th State Big Time Wrestling'' becoming one of Hawaii's most-watched programs. The promotion came to an end in 1979 when Francis sold his interest to Steve Rickard.

History

Mid-Pacific Promotions was founded in 1936 by Russian emigrant Al Karasick. Assisted by booker Bobby Bruns, Karasick staged weekly shows in Honolulu's Civic Auditorium, which he managed. Thanks to Hawaii's tropical climate, Mid-Pacific Promotions emerged as a popular destination for wrestlers looking for a "working vacation", with high-profile wrestlers such as Lou Thesz and

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

visiting Hawaii. In 1949, Karasick joined the

. In the early-1950s, Karasick began expanding into Japan, lobbying NWA president

Sam Muchnick Samuel Muchnick (born Jeshua Muchnick, August 22, 1905 – December 30, 1998) was an American professional wrestling promoter from St. Louis, Missouri. He is often regarded as wrestling's equivalent of Pete Rozelle (the forward-thinking commission ...

to recognise Japan as his territory. By the 1960s, Hawaii was established as a hub for American wrestlers travelling to and from Japan. In 1961, Karasick retired from promoting, selling the territory to "Gentleman" Ed Francis, who rebranded it "50th State Big Time Wrestling". Francis continued promoting weekly Wednesday shows at the Civic Auditorium, with the venue regularly sold-out. Shortly after Francis took over the promotion, a bout between

Native Hawaiian Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, First Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians) ( haw, kānaka, , , and ), are the indigenous ethnic group of Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawa ...

wrestler

King Curtis Iaukea Curtis Piehau Iaukea III (September 15, 1937 – December 4, 2010) was an American professional wrestler better known as King Curtis Iaukea. Iaukea won championships in several of the major regional U.S. promotions, both as a single and in vario ...

and Samoan wrestler Neff Maiava resulted in a violent riot. Francis appointed Lord James Blears as booker, with Blears quickly gaining a name for his "outrageous" and "goofy" characters. The promotion's top stars included Johnny Barend, Curtis Iaukea, Don Muraco, Neff Maiava, Peter Maivia, and Sammy Steamboat. The promotion helped introduce several concepts that later became ubiquitous in professional wrestling, including the steel cage match and the backstage interview. Johnny Barend became infamous for his outlandish interviews, which began with him emerging from a coffin while smoking a cigar. In 1967, Barend married Annie Lum in the ring at the Honolulu International Center shortly before a title match. Francis secured a Saturday afternoon live television slot on KHVH-TV. As the promotion increased in popularity, it moved to

KGMB KGMB (channel 5) is a television station in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States, serving the Hawaiian Islands as an affiliate of CBS. It is owned by Gray Television alongside NBC affiliate KHNL (channel 13) and Kailua-Kona–licensed Telemundo ...

and increased its output to two programs a week: a taped show featuring interviews, vignettes and replays on Friday nights and a live show on Saturday afternoons. Hosted by Francis and Blears, ''50th State Wrestling'' was at one point the most watched television program in Hawaii. Television tapings rotated between

Kauai Kauai, () anglicized as Kauai ( ), is geologically the second-oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands (after Niʻihau). With an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), it is the fourth-largest of these islands and the 21st largest islan ...

, and

Maui The island of Maui (; Hawaiian: ) is the second-largest of the islands of the state of Hawaii at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2) and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is the largest of Maui County's four islands, whic ...

. After the Civic Coliseum closed in 1974, Francis ceased promoting for three years. In June 1977, he revived the promotion in the

Honolulu International Center The Neal S. Blaisdell Center is a community center near downtown Honolulu, Hawaii. The complex has a multi-purpose arena, concert hall, exhibition hall, galleria, meeting rooms, Waikiki Shell and others. Constructed in 1964 on the historic Wa ...

. With costs rising and revenues falling, Francis sold the promotion to Steve Rickard in 1979. With Francis no longer promoting,

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 Wrestl ...

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 ...

expanded into Hawaii.

Championships

Alumni

* Johnny Barend * Dick Beyer * Joe Blanchard * Lord James Blears *

Nick Bockwinkel Nicholas Warren Francis "Nick" Bockwinkel (December 6, 1934 – November 14, 2015) was an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the American Wrestling Association (AWA) in the 1970s and 1980s. Bockwinkel ...

Russ Francis Russell Ross Francis (born April 3, 1953) is a former American football player who was a tight end for thirteen seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the New England Patriots and San Francisco 49ers. Francis finished his ...

* Mr. Fujiwara *

Giant Baba , best known by his ring name , was a Japanese professional wrestler, promoter, and professional baseball player. He is best known as a co-founder of All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), a promotion he founded in 1972 along with Mitsuo Momota ...

* Ripper Collins * Hard Boiled Haggerty *

* Killer Kowalski * Pampero Firpo * Neff Maiava * The Missing Link * Sweet Daddy Siki * Sammy Steamboat *

Ray Stevens Harold Ray Ragsdale (born January 24, 1939), known professionally as Ray Stevens, is an American country and pop singer-songwriter and comedian, known for his Grammy-winning recordings " Everything Is Beautiful" and " Misty", as well as novel ...

* Tosh Togo * Maurice Vachon * Bill Watts * Billy White Wolf

Works

* Ed Francis (2012) ''Gentleman Ed Francis Presents: 50th State Big Time Wrestling!''

Footnotes

External links

50th State Big Time Wrestling

Mid-Pacific Promotions at WrestlingTitles.com
{{Professional wrestling in the United States 1936 establishments in Hawaii 1979 disestablishments in the United States Companies based in Honolulu National Wrestling Alliance members Professional wrestling in Hawaii