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NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Championship
The NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship sanctioned by the National Wrestling Alliance and was defended in the US state of Hawaii. The title, which began in 1935. From February 1940 through 1942 the title was known as the Hawaii Junior Heavyweight Championship. The title was defended in the NWA affiliated promotion, Island Xtreme Wrestling Federation. Previously it was in 50th State Big Time Wrestling and Polynesian Wrestling. Title history See also *National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and governing body owned by Billy Corgan and operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA be ... References External linksWrestling-Titles.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Nwa Hawaii Heavyweight Championship 50th State Big Time Wrestling championships National Wrestling Alliance championships National Wrestling ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
50th State Big Time Wrestling
50th State Big Time Wrestling (sometimes referred to as NWA Hawaii or Mid-Pacific Promotions) was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii in the United States that promoted professional wrestling matches throughout Hawaii. The promotion was founded by Al Karasick in 1936 and became a member of the National Wrestling Alliance 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" 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. In 1979, Francis sold the promotion to Steve Rickard, who one year later sold it to Peter Maivia, who renamed it Polynesian Pro Wrestling (sometimes referred to as Polynesian Championship Wrestling). The promotion came to an end in 1988. History Mid-Pacific Promotion (1936–1961) Mid-Pacific Promotions ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Bollas
George Bollas (September 19, 1923 – January 28, 1977) was an American professional wrestler known for his masked persona of The Zebra Kid. He worked in various territories; notably in Hawaii, New York City, and England. Early life Born to Greek parents in Warren, Ohio. Bollas attended Warren G. Harding High School, where he played football. Bollas was also a talented amateur wrestler at Ohio State University, where he defeated Morris Chitwood of Indiana University to win the NCAA Heavyweight Championship. Professional wrestling career In 1947 Bollas made his debut in professional wrestling in Ohio for Al Haft. In 1948, Bollas became the Zebra Kid due to stretch marks on his body from fluctuating weight. Zebra Kid would wear a mask and striped gear. On July 7, 1949, Zebra Kid defeated Buddy Rogers (wrestler) in Ohio for Jack Pfeffer's World Heavyweight Championship. Bollas feuded with Rikidozan in 1952 in San Francisco. In early 1953, Bollas stopped using the Zebra Kid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dutch Savage
Frank Stewart (June 9, 1935 – August 3, 2013) was an American professional wrestler and wrestling promoter, best known for his time spent competing in Pacific Northwest Wrestling under the ring name Dutch Savage. Career Savage made his pro debut in 1962 in Macon, Georgia, using the ring name Lonnie Brown, then spent the next few years competing across North America, in Hawaii and in Japan (going by the ring names Mr. X and Dutch Schultz). Savage first began using his most famous ring name during a stint in the Heart of America Sports Attractions, Kansas City territory. He eventually settled in the Pacific Northwest region in 1966, splitting his time between PNW in Portland, Oregon, Portland and NWA All Star Wrestling in Vancouver, British Columbia. Savage also had a brief stint in the AWA territory where he formed a solid tag team with Hard Boiled Haggerty. However, when a trip to Japan was offered, Dutch opted to leave the AWA after only a few months. His most memorable ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jim Hady
John Hady (May 30, 1930 – January 13, 1969) was an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name "Gentleman" Jim Hady. During his wrestling career he mainly worked in Hawaii for 50th State Big Time Wrestling. Professional wrestling career Hady started his professional wrestling career in Hawaii in 1951. During his career, he worked in Ohio, Calgary, Germany in 1959, England in 1962 and Detroit. In 1960, he made his debut for American Wrestling Association in Minnesota. Then worked in Canada for Toronto's Maple Leaf Wrestling and Vancouver's NWA All-Star Wrestling. In 1964, he worked in New York City for World Wide Wrestling Federation. In 1966, Hady returned to Hawaii's 50th State Big Time Wrestling where he became a star. He became a two time NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Champion and five time NWA Hawaii Tag Team Champion. He defeated Ripper Collins for the NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Championship on March 15, 1967. Death On January 13, 1969, Hady was in a six-ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Luther Lindsay
Luther Jacob Goodall (December 30, 1924 – February 21, 1972) was an American professional wrestler, known by his ringname Luther Lindsay or Lindsey, who competed throughout the United States with the National Wrestling Alliance as well as international promotions such as All Japan Pro Wrestling, Joint Promotions and Stampede Wrestling. One of the first African American wrestlers to become a major star, he was extremely popular in the Pacific Northwest and Mid-Atlantic territory. A frequent rival and tag team partner of Shag Thomas, he also teamed with Bearcat Wright, Nick Bockwinkel, Pepper Gomez and was involved in feuds with "Iron" Mike DiBiase, Mad Dog Vachon, Beauregarde, Moondog Mayne, Tony Borne and Pat Patterson and The Hangman. For much of the early 1950s and '60s, Lindsay was billed as the U.S. Colored (or Negro) Heavyweight Champion and took part in the first interracial professional wrestling matches held in the United States. Between 1953 and 1956, he f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gene Kiniski
Eugene Nicholas Kiniski (November 23, 1928 – April 14, 2010) was a Canadian athlete who played football for the Edmonton Eskimos and then became a three-time professional wrestling world heavyweight champion. "Canada's Greatest Athlete", as he billed himself for promotional purposes, was born in Edmonton, Alberta.National Wrestling Alliance, The Untold Story of the Monopoly that Strangled Pro Wrestling, p. 211, Tim Hornbaker, ECW Press, 2007, Like Bronko Nagurski before him, Kiniski was one of the first world champions in professional wrestling to have a previous background in football. He is the father of professional wrestler Kelly Kiniski and international amateur and professional wrestler Nick Kiniski. Early life One of six children to Polish immigrants of local politician Julia Kiniski (and her husband Nicholas), Gene Kiniski grew up in Edmonton. At the age of seventeen, he was over six feet tall. Kiniski wrestled and played football at St. Joseph's High School. In ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hard Boiled Haggerty
Don Stansauk (April 2, 1925 – January 27, 2004) was an American professional wrestler and actor, known by his ring name, Hard Boiled Haggerty. He was previously a professional American football player, and he became a successful character actor after his wrestling career. Military service Haggerty served in the U.S. Navy on the battleship the USS ''New Jersey'' during World War II. '' The Malibu Times''. Retrieved January 23, 2021. Football career After attending and the |
Gene LeBell
Ivan Gene LeBell (October 9, 1932 – August 9, 2022) was an American actor, judoka, stuntman and professional wrestler. Nicknamed "Judo Gene" and "The Godfather of Grappling", he is credited with popularizing grappling in professional fighting circles, serving as a precursor to modern mixed martial arts. He worked on over 1,000 films and TV shows and authored 12 books. Early life Ivan Gene LeBell was born in Los Angeles, California. He started training in catch wrestling and boxing from his early childhood, influenced by his mother, "Red Head" Aileen Eaton, a promoter of both sports who owned the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles, Thomas Nilsson, ''A Conversation with "The Toughest Man Alive": "Judo" Gene LeBell Has Seen and Done It All in a 50-Year Martial Arts Career'', Black Belt magazine, February 1999 and who was the first woman to be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. LeBell took up catch wrestling under Ed "Strangler" Lewis at age 7, and later moved ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lord James Blears
Lord James "Tally-Ho" Blears (born James Ranicar Blears, 13 August 1923 – 3 March 2016) was a British-American professional wrestler, ring announcer, promoter, actor, mariner, and surfing personality. Early life Blears was born in Tyldesley, Lancashire, England in the United Kingdom on 13 August 1923. An accomplished swimmer in school, he was selected for the British swimming team for the 1940 Summer Olympics but was unable to compete due to World War II. Merchant navy career Blears enlisted in the Merchant Navy in 1940 during World War II at the age of 17. With his knowledge of Morse code he became a radio officer. Whilst serving as second wireless operator on board the , a Dutch merchant ship, his ship was torpedoed by the on 26 March 1944 during a voyage from Melbourne, Australia to Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). The survivors were taken prisoner by the Japanese and the majority were summarily executed by beheading. Blears managed to escape by leaping into the w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 various tag team combinations, during the 1960s. He then competed in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) where he won the WWF Tag Team Championship with Baron Scicluna. He was also later The Master of the Dungeon of Doom in World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Under the name "Iau Kea" he appeared in the film '' The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze'' with Moe Howard declaring "That's not a man! That's a committee!". Early life He was the great grandson of Colonel Curtis P. Iaukea, a royal chamberlain and diplomat to the court of King Kalākaua and Queen Liliuokalani and son of Honolulu Police Department Inspector Curtis Iaukea II. He attended Punahou School and the University of California Berkeley as an economics major where ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neff Maiava
Neff Alfred Maiava (May 1, 1924 – April 21, 2018) was an American Samoan professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in the United States with the Honolulu, Hawaii-based promotion 50th State Big Time Wrestling in the late-1950s and 1960s. Early life Maiava was born in Tula in American Samoa on May 1, 1924. When he was two years old, his family relocated to Laie, Hawaii, in the United States. Professional wrestling career Maiava was trained to wrestle by Al Karasik, debuting in 1952. In 1955, he wrestled for Ed Don George in Syracuse, New York, as "Prince Ulu Maiava". From 1955 to 1958, he wrestled in Canada for the Calgary, Alberta-based Big Time Wrestling promotion as "Prince Maiava". In 1956, he briefly held the NWA Texas Tag Team Championship with Ray Gunkel while working for the Dallas Wrestling Club in Dallas, Texas. In 1958, Maiava began wrestling for the Salt Lake City, Utah-based Salt Lake Wrestling Club, where he and Oni Wiki Wiki briefly held ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sam Steamboat
Samuel K. Mokuahi (May 4, 1934 – May 2, 2006) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Sammy Steamboat. Early life Mokuahi grew up in Honolulu, attending President Theodore Roosevelt High School, where he played multiple sports. Professional wrestling career Mokuahi was trained to wrestle by Lord James Blears and Lou Thesz. He debuted in the 1950s, adopting the ring name "Sam Steamboat,” the English translation of his birth name. Steamboat began his career with the Honolulu-based promotion 50th State Big Time Wrestling. He won his first championship on August 5, 1956, teaming with Billy Varga to defeat Great Togo and Tosh Togo for the NWA Hawaii Tag Team Championship. On January 25, 1961, Steamboat defeated Dick Hutton to win the NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Championship. He lost the championship to Luigi Macera on April 15, 1961. In the early 1960s, Steamboat relocated to the contiguous United States, where he competed for the Los Ang ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
