Heavyweight Wrestling

Last updated

Heavyweight Wrestling from Washington [1] is the first weekly televised wrestling program that was produced by the WWE, which at the time was a regional professional wrestling promotion called Capitol Wrestling Corporation, a member of the National Wrestling Alliance. The show was hosted by Bill Malone (1956), Morris Siegel (1956–1959) and Ray Morgan (1959–1971) and was taped at the Capitol Arena in Washington, D.C. [2]

The show debuted on January 5, 1956, and aired until September 1971 when Vincent James McMahon moved the television tapings to eastern Pennsylvania and replaced Heavyweight Wrestling with All Star Wrestling . Morgan stayed with All Star Wrestling until he was replaced by McMahon's son Vincent K. McMahon.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WWE</span> American professional wrestling and entertainment company

World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., doing business as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and various other business ventures. The company is additionally involved in licensing its intellectual property to companies to produce video games and action figures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vince McMahon</span> American professional wrestling promoter (born 1945)

Vincent Kennedy McMahon is an American businessman, media proprietor, and professional wrestling promoter. He is the majority owner and executive chairman of WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling company, having previously served as its chairman and CEO for 40 years. He is also the founder and owner of Alpha Entertainment, which he established in 2017 to oversee the 2020 revival of the XFL American football league.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Wrestling Association</span> American professional wrestling promotion

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bruno Sammartino</span> Italian-born American professional wrestler (1935–2018)

Bruno Leopoldo Francesco Sammartino was an Italian-born American professional wrestler, best known for his work with the World Wide Wrestling Federation. There, he held the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship for more than 11 years across two reigns, the first of which is the longest single reign in the promotion's history at 2,803 days. He is overall a two-time world champion in professional wrestling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship</span> Professional wrestling championship

The NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship is a world heavyweight professional wrestling championship owned and promoted by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), an American professional wrestling promotion. The current champion is Tyrus, who is in his first reign.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vincent J. McMahon</span> American professional wrestling promoter (1914–1984)

Vincent James McMahon, sometimes referred to as Vince McMahon Sr., was an American professional wrestling promoter. He is best known for running the Capitol Wrestling Corporation, which was later renamed WWWF and WWF during his tenure and is currently called WWE, from 1953 to 1982, as well as for being the father of his successor, Vincent K. McMahon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capitol Wrestling Corporation</span> American professional wrestling promotion

Capitol Wrestling Corporation Ltd. was an American sports promotion company. It was run by Vincent J. McMahon from 1953 to 1982. Operating as the Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC), the company was originally a professional wrestling and boxing promotion and later became the sanctioning body for the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). The Capitol Wrestling Corporation is the precursor to today's WWE, as of 2023 run by Nick Khan as CEO and majority owned by McMahon's son, Vincent K. McMahon.

Turner's Arena was the name given to a 1,800 seat arena, located at 1342 W Street, near the northeast corner of 14th and W Streets, NW in Washington, DC, and originally owned by local wrestling promoter Joe Turner. One of the popular events were bouts featuring local wrestler Swift Eagle and Chief Thunderbird as detailed in the House History Man blog. A photograph and advertisement for the arena appears on page 69 of the book Greater U Street by Paul K. Williams. This venue was an early home to the Capitol Wrestling Corporation, a precursor to WWE, which was started by Vincent J. McMahon in January 1953. McMahon took over the territory from Gabe Menendez, who had succeeded Turner after his death in 1947. In addition, the arena hosted top professional boxing matches promoted by Goldie Ahearn featuring fighters such as Lou Gevinson, Lew Hanbury, and Jimmy Cooper. It was also the birthplace of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association annual basketball tournament, as well as the host to top country music acts and Jazz performances. It was renamed Capitol Arena in 1956 once Capitol Wrestling Corporation began broadcasting a syndicated weekly wrestling show from the arena every Thursday night. The arena was closed and demolished in 1965.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Dudley</span> Baseball player; professional wrestling executive

James Dudley was an American baseball player, professional wrestling manager, and professional wrestling executive. He played Negro league baseball for nine years but is best known for his time with the World Wide Wrestling Federation. Dudley was the first African-American to run a major United States arena. He worked with four generations of wrestling's McMahon family and was particularly close with Vincent J. McMahon. At age 74, he was put back on the company's payroll to show appreciation for his work for the McMahons. He also managed several wrestlers in the WWWF and was inducted into the WWF Hall of Fame class of 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antonino Rocca</span> Italian professional wrestler

Antonino Rocca was an Italian Argentine professional wrestler. He tag teamed with partner Miguel Pérez. He was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as a member of the class of 1995 and the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame in 1996.

<i>WWF Superstars of Wrestling</i> American TV series or program

WWF Superstars of Wrestling, also referred to as Maple Leaf Wrestling in Canada was an American professional wrestling television program that was produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It debuted on September 6, 1986, as the flagship program of the WWF's syndicated programming.

WWF Championship Wrestling is a professional wrestling television program produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It aired from 1971 to August 30, 1986 and was the original television show of the WWF. Originally produced under the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) banner, Championship Wrestling featured all the stars of the WWF, interviews and championship matches. It was the flagship program of the WWWF/WWF's syndicated programming until it was replaced by Superstars of Wrestling in 1986.

<i>WCW Saturday Night</i> Former professional wrestling television series

WCW Saturday Night is an American weekly Saturday night television show on TBS that was produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Launched in 1971 initially by Georgia Championship Wrestling, the program existed through various incarnations under different names before becoming WCW Saturday Night in 1992. Although initially the anchor show of the Turner Broadcasting-backed wrestling company, the September 1995 premiere of WCW Monday Nitro airing on sister station TNT usurped the show's once preeminent position in the company, as the primary source of storyline development and pay-per-view buildup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of WWE</span> History of American professional wrestling company WWE

The history of WWE dates back to the early 1950s when it was founded in 1953 as Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC). It underwent several name changes throughout the years, from CWC to World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) in 1963 to World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1979, and to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in 2002. Since 2011, it has branded itself solely as WWE.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WWE Libraries</span> Subdisiary of American professional wrestling company, WWE

WWE Libraries Inc. is a WWE-owned subsidiary that consists of the largest collection of professional wrestling videos and copyrights in the world. It comprises not only past and current works by WWE but also the works of now defunct professional wrestling promotions dating back to the 1940s. As of 2014, the library stands at 150,000 hours of content including weekly television shows, pay-per-views, and recorded house shows. The collection represents a very significant portion of the visual history of modern professional wrestling in the United States and Canada. WWE has made their classic holdings available through numerous home-video releases, the WWE Vintage television program, and the WWE Network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">No Way Out (2009)</span> World Wrestling Entertainment pay-per-view event

The 2009 No Way Out was the 11th No Way Out professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw, SmackDown, and ECW brand divisions. The event took place on February 15, 2009, at the KeyArena in Seattle, Washington. It was the final No Way Out held until June 2012 as No Way Out's February slot was replaced by Elimination Chamber in 2010.

History of <i>WWE Raw</i> History of the WWE professional wrestling television show Raw

The history of WWE Raw began as WWF's Monday Night Raw on January 11, 1993. Over the next two decades, Raw would become the promotion's flagship show, achieving numerous milestones along the way.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SmackDown (WWE brand)</span> Professional wrestling roster division, referred to as brands, in WWE

SmackDown is a brand of the American professional wrestling promotion WWE that was established on March 25, 2002. Brands are divisions of WWE's roster where wrestlers are assigned to perform on a weekly basis when a brand extension is in effect. Wrestlers assigned to SmackDown primarily appear on the brand's weekly television program, Friday Night SmackDown, also referred to simply as SmackDown. It is one of WWE's two main brands, along with Raw, collectively referred to as WWE's main roster. The brand was discontinued for a period between August 2011 and July 2016.

Raymond Storrs Morgan was an American radio and television announcer.

References

  1. Kane III, Sheldon (August 17, 2004). "WWWF Heavyweight Wrestling From Washington DC". The History of WWE. Archived from the original on August 12, 2022. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  2. "Washington, D.C. Wrestling Television History". www.legacyofwrestling.com.