The World Wrestling Association was an Indianapolis-based professional wrestling

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. It was affiliated with the larger American Wrestling Association 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. 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 Federati ...

and amateur wrestler Greg Wojciechowski. 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 (AWA) head (and longtime champion) Verne Gagne brought forth other talent, including The Crusher and Baron von Raschke. 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 ...

's World Wrestling Federation (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