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 promotion was born out of the Minneapolis Boxing & Wrestling Club, originally the Minnesota-based territory of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), breaking away from the NWA and becoming an independent territory in 1960.
Don Muraco is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation from 1981 to 1988, where he held the WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship on two occasions and was crowned the inaugural winner of the King of the Ring tournament in 1985. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2004 and the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2014.
Robert Keith Orton Jr., known by the ring name "Cowboy" Bob Orton, is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. He is a son of professional wrestler Bob Orton Sr., the brother of professional wrestler Barry Orton, and the father of professional wrestler Randy Orton. He is best known for his time in the WWF. He has also wrestled for several promotions in the United States, Japan, and other countries.
Anthony White better known by his ring name Tony Atlas is an American bodybuilder, powerlifter, and professional wrestler who has held multiple titles and championships in each sport. He is also known by his bodybuilding title, "Mr. USA", the nom de guerre the "Black Superman", as well as an alter ego named Saba Simba. He returned as an on screen manager for WWE, appearing on its now-defunct ECW brand. He re-signed with WWE on a legends contract in mid-2012.
Thomas Richardson is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Tommy “Wildfire” Rich. He is a one time former National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Champion and Smoky Mountain Wrestling Heavyweight Champion. He primarily appeared in Georgia Championship Wrestling and Memphis throughout the 1980s, as well as World Championship Wrestling, Smoky Mountain Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling throughout the 1990s. He is a 1974 graduate of Hendersonville High School.
Paul Worden Taylor III is an American retired professional wrestler better known by his ring name Terry Taylor and for his time as an in-ring performer in National Wrestling Alliance, World Championship Wrestling, and World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment. From 2003 until 2011, he worked as a road agent, trainer, interviewer and the director of talent relations in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. Since 2012, Taylor has worked as a trainer in WWE's developmental territory, NXT.
Larry Heiniemi is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Lars Anderson. His career spans over a decade of performing in National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) territories as well as the American Wrestling Association (AWA).
Thomas Erwin Zenk was an American professional wrestler and bodybuilder. He was best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation from 1986 to 1987, American Wrestling Association (AWA) 1988 to 1989 and with World Championship Wrestling from 1989 to 1994, as well for his tours of Japan with All Japan Pro Wrestling.
Nicholas Warren Francis "Nick" Bockwinkel was an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the American Wrestling Association (AWA) in the 1970s and 1980s.
Gregory James Bownds better known by his ring name TNT, is an Australian professional wrestler and promoter, currently owning and promoting the Australasian Wrestling Federation.
The 1980s professional wrestling boom was a surge in the popularity of professional wrestling in the United States and elsewhere throughout the 1980s. The expansion of cable television and pay-per-view, coupled with the efforts of promoters such as Vince McMahon, saw professional wrestling shift from a system controlled by numerous regional companies to one dominated by two nationwide companies: McMahon's World Wrestling Federation and Ted Turner's World Championship Wrestling (WCW). The decade also saw a considerable decline in the power of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), a cartel which had until then dominated the wrestling landscape, and in the efforts to sustain belief in the kayfabe of wrestling.
Professional wrestling in the United States, until the 1920s, was viewed as a legitimate sport. This view did not endure into the 1930s, as professional wrestling became identified with modern theatrics. The scripted nature of the art has made some critics view it as an illegitimate sport, particularly in comparison to boxing, mixed martial arts, and amateur wrestling. No major promoter or wrestler denies that modern professional wrestling has predetermined match outcomes. Despite this, promoters and fans continued to play along with the tradition of viewing the matches as legitimate competition; this has become a tradition known as "kayfabe".
Jesús Daniel Castillo Ortiz Jr. is a semi-retired professional wrestler, better known in his native country of Puerto Rico as Huracan Castillo Jr.. He competed in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) as a member of the Hispanic stable Los Boricuas in the late 1990s as Jesus.
Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), was a professional wrestling promotion and media company that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) affiliate Eastern Championship Wrestling. The following year, businessman and wrestling promoter Paul Heyman took over the creative end of the promotion from Eddie Gilbert and rechristened the promotion as Extreme Championship Wrestling.
David W. Peterson, better known by his ring name D. J. Peterson was an American professional wrestler.
Shaun Koen is a South African professional wrestler. He is the owner and promoter of the Africa Wrestling Alliance and is the promotion's current African Heavyweight Champion. Koen is a second-generation professional wrestler; his father Jackie Koen was also a competitive professional wrestler.
Africa Wrestling Alliance (AWA), formerly known as Africa Wrestling Federation, is a South African professional wrestling promotion founded in 1995. The regionally based company is owned by Shaun Koen and Koos Rossouw. It is a traditionally styled promotion influenced by the international wrestling market, such as European and American mainstream wrestling. The style encompassed by the promotion's wrestlers is referred to as Rofstoei.
Jean Paul Whittacker, better known by his ring name Johnny Palazzio, is a South African professional wrestler currently performing for Africa Wrestling Alliance. He is the current 2-time African Cruiserweight Champion and previously held the title for 4 years until he lost the title to William McQueen on 2 December 2008.
The AWF Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling championship currently inactive in the South African professional wrestling promotion Africa Wrestling Alliance, contested among tag teams. It was created on 11 December 2004. The Saint and The Gladiator were the first and last champions, having defeated The Missing Link and Trashman to win the belts on the 2-hour live special, AWF on E Slam Series Final. The titles were soon retired in early 2005 after AWA failed to secure another year of television with eTV.
The AWA Royal Rumble Championship is a professional wrestling championship in the South African professional wrestling promotion Africa Wrestling Alliance, contested in an over-the-top-rope battle royal style match held every December at AWA's Coca-Cola Royal Rumble show, usually involving up to 21 participants. It was founded in December, 1995 during the AWA's first year in existence when they were still known as the Africa Wrestling Federation. The current champion is Vinnie Vegas, who won the title on 9 December 2000.
