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NWA Detroit United States Heavyweight Championship
The NWA Detroit United States Heavyweight Championship was a version of the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship contested in Big Time Wrestling from 1959 until 1980. It was first introduced as the ''Chicago version'' of the championship and contested on shows produced by Fred Kohler Enterprises before moving to Big Time Wrestling in Detroit six years later. While the National Wrestling Alliance recognized only one World Heavyweight Championship, there were multiple NWA United States Heavyweight Championships, as many NWA-affiliated promotions across the U.S. each had its own version of an "American" or "United States" championship. For most such territories—including Detroit—the U.S. Championship was the promotion's primary singles championship. Over its history, the title was held by stars including Bobo Brazil, The Sheik, Wilbur Snyder, Johnny Valentine, and multi-time AWA World Heavyweight Champions Verne Gagne and Dick the Bruiser. Title history See also {{Porta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Fred Kohler Enterprises
Fred Kohler Enterprises, Inc. was a company established by businessman Fred Kohler (1903–1969) to promote professional wrestling in Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. Kohler began promoting in 1925, and by 1942 he dominated professional wrestling in Chicago. He joined the recently founded National Wrestling Alliance in 1949, with his promotion sometimes thereafter referred to as NWA Chicago. From 1949 to 1955, Fred Kohler Enterprises was one of the most profitable and high-profile promotions in the United States due to the success of '' Wrestling from Marigold'', a program airing on the DuMont national television network. A slump in business in the late-1950s was reversed by a partnership with the Capitol Wrestling Corporation, and in 1961 Fred Kohler Enterprises drew the then-largest crowd in professional wrestling history to watch a World Heavyweight Championship bout between Buddy Rogers and Pat O'Connor at Chicago's Comiskey Park. Kohler's often-fractious relati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Hans Schmidt (wrestler)
Guy Larose (February 7, 1925 – May 26, 2012), better known by his ring name Hans Schmidt, was a Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ... Professional wrestling, professional wrestler famous in the 1950s and 1960s. His gimmick that of a German pseudo-Nazi heel (professional wrestling), heel, gained him considerable notoriety and popularized the proliferation of similar gimmicks through Canadian and American wrestling. Early life Larose was born in Joliette, Quebec, in 1925 and was an amateur wrestler in his youth. He initially pursued a career in law enforcement but dropped out of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s training academy after being disillusioned by its treatment of Indigenous peoples in Canada, Indigenous people. Wrestling career Larose used ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Don Kent (wrestler)
Leo Joseph "Joe" Smith Jr. (June 24, 1933 – June 7, 1993) was an American professional wrestler who wrestled as Don Kent and also as The Black Dragon, Doug Kent, Joe Smith and Super Medico III during his 36 years in professional wrestling. Don Kent is one half of The Fabulous Kangaroos alongside partners Al Costello, Bruno Bekkar or Johnny Heffernan. Despite being born in America, Kent was billed as Australian when he competed as a Kangaroo using the Kangaroos' "Ultra Australian" gimmick, complete with boomerangs, bush hats and " Waltzing Matilda" as their entrance music. When Kent was not one half of the Kangaroos, he mainly worked as "Bulldog" Don Kent in NWA Mid-America and Big Time Wrestling in the singles and the tag team divisions until his retirement in 1986. Professional wrestling career Kent attended St. Philip Catholic Central High School in Battle Creek, Michigan. He was recruited by the Boston Red Sox as a catcher right out of high school. Kent's father tho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Mark Lewin
Mark Lewin (born March 16, 1937) is an American retired professional wrestler. He worked for various promotions throughout his 35-year career, including Big Time Wrestling, Championship Wrestling from Florida, and the World Wide Wrestling Federation. Early life Lewin was born in Buffalo, New York. He had two elder brothers, Donn and Ted, both of whom also became professional wrestlers. He attended Lafayette High School. Professional wrestling career Lewin was trained to wrestle by his brother-in-law, Danny McShain. He debuted in 1953 at the age of 16. Lewin had great early success in a matinee-idol babyface tag team with Don Curtis, headlining in major territories like New York and Chicago. The team's brief heel turn was a shock to its many fans. The team split up in the early '60s and Mark embarked on a singles career. In 1963, Mark first tried out the "Maniac"/"Mad" Mark Lewin persona, which he would alternate consistently with his 'normal' babyface persona for th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Tony Marino
Tony Silipini (April 20, 1931 – May 28, 2021) was an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Tony Marino. Professional wrestling career Early career (1954–1963) Tony Silipini was born in 1931. He started wrestling in 1954 near his hometown of Rochester, NY. He wrestled under a number of names over the years in different areas of the country. In Australia he was called Dino Lanza. World Wide Wrestling Federation (1963–1972) Marino started wrestling in the WWWF in 1963 in preliminary matches. With the Batman craze sweeping the country in 1966, Marino created a wrestling version of the superhero. His custom outfits were created by Karl & Hildegarde's of Columbus, Ohio. He debuted the persona in the Buffalo, NY area and had a smaller wrestler dressed as Robin. Bruno Sammartino, who had purchased the promotional office in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, brought Marino into Pittsburgh as "Battman" and installed him as a major wrestler in the territory. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
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 Weekly'' website in 2008, becoming ''Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online''. The newsletter is often considered the first "dirt sheet", which is a wrestling publication covering the art from a real-life perspective. History The beginnings of the ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' date back to 1980, when Meltzer began an List of Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards, annual poll amongst those with whom he corresponded regarding professional wrestling. According to Meltzer, he was just a fan at first. A short time later, he began maintaining a tape-trading list, and would occasionally send match results and news updates along with tape updates. Meltzer stated that he wanted to keep his friends in college "in the loop" for his tape trading as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Lord Athol Layton
Allan Layton (20 August 1919 – 18 January 1984) known by his ring name Lord Athol Layton, was an English-Australian professional wrestler, amateur boxer, and professional wrestling commentator, best remembered as being a major wrestling attraction in the 1950s and 1960s as both a tag-team and singles wrestler. As a tag team performer, he formed a memorable team with Lord James Blears, with whom he won various championships throughout the United States and Canada. As a singles wrestler, he drew large crowds particularly in Toronto against Billy Watson and The Sheik and in Detroit against Dick the Bruiser. He also appeared as a longtime color commentator for wrestling television shows in the Ontario, New York, Ohio and Michigan territories. Early life Born in the county of Surrey in England, Layton moved with his family to Australia at the age of 13. He served in the Australian Imperial Forces during World War II, where he was Australia's Heavyweight Amateur Boxing champion ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Fritz Von Erich
Jack Barton Adkisson Sr. (August 16, 1929 – September 10, 1997), better known by his ring name Fritz Von Erich, was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, wrestling promoter, and the patriarch of the Von Erich family. He was a 3-time World Heavyweight Championship (professional wrestling), world champion and a 6-time WCWA World Heavyweight Championship, NWA United States Champion. He was the owner of World Class Championship Wrestling. Football career Adkisson attended Southern Methodist University, where he threw discus and played football. He has been reported to have played with the now defunct Dallas Texans (NFL), Dallas Texans of the NFL (not the American Football League, AFL team which became the Kansas City Chiefs), but this is not true. He was signed as a guard but was cut. He then tried the Canadian Football League (CFL). Professional wrestling career Early career and training While in Edmonton, he met wrestler and trainer Stu Hart, and Hart deci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Houston Harris
Houston Harris (July 10, 1924 – January 20, 1998) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Bobo Brazil. Credited with breaking down barriers of racial segregation in professional wrestling, Harris is considered one of the first black professional wrestlers to be a marquee name in North America. Early life Houston Harris was born on July 10, 1924, in Little Rock, Arkansas, but later lived in East St. Louis, Illinois, and Benton Harbor, Michigan. His father died when he was seven years old, which resulted in him doing odd jobs such as working on a local fruit farm for fifty cents a container. He played baseball in the Negro leagues for the House of David, where he was discovered to become a wrestler at a steel mill. Professional wrestling career Harris was trained by Joe Savoldi after meeting him at matches at the Naval Armory. Savoldi originally named Harris "BuBu Brasil, The South American Giant," where he wrestled using a sequined satin cape sti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Windsor, Ontario
Windsor ( ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is situated on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from the U.S city of Detroit, Detroit, Michigan. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Essex County, Ontario, Essex County, it is the southernmost city in Canada and marks the southwestern end of the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city's population was 229,660 at the 2021 Canadian Census, 2021 census, making it the third-most populated city in Southwestern Ontario, after London, Ontario, London and Kitchener, Ontario, Kitchener. This represents a 5.7 percent increase from Windsor's 2016 population census of 217,188. The Detroit–Windsor urban area is North America's most populous trans-border conurbation. Linking the Great Lakes Megalopolis, the Ambassador Bridge border crossing is the busiest commercial crossing on the Canada–United States border, carrying about one-quarter of the two countries' trade volume. Windsor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Bob Ellis (wrestler)
Robert Ellis (born March 15, 1929), is an American retired professional wrestler. He wrestled under the ring name, Cowboy Bob Ellis for over 20 years in various wrestling promotions in the States, Canada and Australia. He was a two-time WWA World Heavyweight Champion in Indianapolis. He is known as the inventor of the bulldog and as of 2024 is the oldest-living former professional wrestler in the world. Early life Ellis played high school football. He went on to attend McMurry College where he again played football. Ellis served three years in the United States Army as a paratrooper, making 53 jumps during the Korean War. In 1954, he briefly was signed to the Philadelphia Eagles. Ellis owned several gyms in San Angelo, Texas. Professional wrestling career Ellis was trained to wrestle by Sandor Szabo. Ellis made his professional wrestling debut in Denver, Colorado in 1957. He initially wrestled as "Bob Elliott" before becoming "Cowboy" Bob Ellis. On November 28, 1958 Elli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Detroit, MI
Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of United States cities by population, 26th-most populous city in the United States and the largest U.S. city on the Canada–United States border. The Metro Detroit area, home to 4.3 million people, is the second-largest in the Midwestern United States, Midwest after the Chicago metropolitan area and the 14th-largest in the United States. The county seat, seat of Wayne County, Michigan, Wayne County, Detroit is a significant cultural center known for its contributions to music, art, architecture and design, in addition to its historical automotive and industrial background. In 1701, Kingdom of France, Royal French explorers Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac and Alphonse de Tonty founded Fort Pontc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
