NWA Hollywood Wrestling

Last updated
NWA Hollywood Wrestling
Founded1958 [1]
Defunct1982 [1] [2]
Headquarters Los Angeles, California, USA [1]
Founder(s)Cal Eaton [1]
Aileen Eaton [3]
Owner(s)Cal Eaton and Aileen Eaton
(1958–1966) [3]
Mike LeBell
(1966–1982) [1] [4]
FormerlyNorth American Wrestling Alliance
(1958–1961) [1]
Worldwide Wrestling Associates
(1961–1968) [1]

NWA Hollywood Wrestling (sometimes referred to as NWA Los Angeles) was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Los Angeles, California in the United States that promoted professional wrestling matches throughout Southern California. It was founded in 1958 as the North American Wrestling Alliance, a member of the National Wrestling Alliance. It broke away from the NWA in 1959 and was renamed Worldwide Wrestling Associates in 1961. In 1968, it rejoined the NWA and adopted its final name, remaining a member until closing in 1982. [5] [6] [7] [8]

Contents

History

In 1942, Frank Garbutt, vice president of the Los Angeles Athletic Club, hired former California State Athletic Commission inspector Alvah "Cal" Eaton as the promoter of the Grand Olympic Auditorium at the advice of his secretary, Aileen LeBell. Eaton and LeBell married in 1948, and over the following years the couple became major professional wrestling and boxing promoters in Southern California. [9] [3] By the early-1950s, the Eatons, along with Hugh Nichols, Johnny Doyle, and Mike Hirsch (collectively known as the "California Combine"), dominated professional wrestling in Southern California, leading to a United States Department of Justice antitrust investigation in 1955 and 1956. [10]

On July 24, 1957, Lou Thesz defeated Édouard Carpentier under controversial circumstances to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, the principal championship recognized by the National Wrestling Alliance. The decision was challenged by some members of the National Wrestling Alliance who continued to recognize Carpentier as World Heavyweight Champion.

In 1958, the Eatons created the North American Wrestling Alliance as a new vehicle for promoting professional wrestling in Los Angeles. [1] Eaton at the time was still a member of the National Wrestling Alliance, the national league that dominated professional wrestling in the United States, but had not paid dues since 1955. In October 1959, Eaton and LeBell withdrew from the NWA, recognizing Carpentier as the inaugural World Heavyweight Champion backdated to June 14, 1957, when Carpentier had originally won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. The promotion was renamed Worldwide Wrestling Associates in 1961. [1] [11]

The promotion ran events throughout Southern California, with the Grand Olympic Auditorium as its base. [7] Bookers included Jules Strongbow, Freddie Blassie, Mr. Moto, and Gory Guerrero. [1] [7] [12] The promotion developed a working relationship with the Japan Wrestling Association and New Japan Pro-Wrestling, resulting in many talent exchanges. [13] Aileen Eaton introduced a system of paying wrestlers a proportion of the gate rather than a guaranteed fee, boosting profits and encouraging wrestlers to help promote the events. [4] The promotion also pioneered the use of closed-circuit television to show matches to fans who were unable to secure tickets for live events, an early precursor to the pay-per-view model that emerged in the 1980s. [8]

In 1963, WWA World Heavyweight Champion Bearcat Wright faced Freddie Blassie in a bout that Wright was scripted to lose. Instead, Wright headbutted Blassie, dazing him, and then legitimately pinned him. Wright was subsequently stripped of the championship which was then awarded to Edouard Carpentier. [14]

Eaton died on January 10, 1966, with Aileen's son from a prior marriage Mike LeBell taking over on behalf of his mother, who by then was a major figure in boxing. [15] [16] [4] On August 18, 1968, LeBell rejoined the NWA, renaming the promotion NWA Hollywood Wrestling. The WWA World Heavyweight Championship was abandoned and the promotion began recognizing the NWA World Heavyweight Championship once more. [1]

In August 1971, the promotion set a national gate record for an event headed by a bout between Blassie and John Tolos that drew $142,158 (equivalent to $1,069,514in 2023). [13] [8]

In 1981, the promotion obtained a legacy of sorts by being the first recipient of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter award for Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic. This tactic involved the push of Tony Hernandez, who had previously wrestled in the Arizona territory as "Frankenstein", a crazed man who believed himself to be Frankenstein's monster and even wore a rubber mask depicting the creature. LeBell chose instead to push him as "The Monster", who was billed as legitimately being made in a laboratory, and use him as a top heel. After being defeated by André the Giant (who was reportedly unimpressed by the act and decided to stiff Hernandez), the Monster was unmasked - despite the mask being intended to be his real face - and turned into a child-friendly babyface. This entire arc was seen as insulting by hardcore fans. [17] [18]

NWA Hollywood Wrestling continued to operate until December 1982. [2] Mike LeBell sold his interest in the territory to the World Wrestling Federation, [19] which in March 1983, began promoting shows in its former territory. [20] [10] [ self-published source ]

Championships

ChampionshipCreatedAbandonedNotes
NWA Americas Heavyweight Championship 19671982The title was first established in 1967 as a secondary championship in Worldwide Wrestling Associates. From 1968 until the promotion closed in 1982, the top singles championship in NWA Hollywood Wrestling.
NWA Americas Six-Man Tag Team Championship19691969A short-lived six-man tag team championship contested in NWA Hollywood Wrestling in 1969.
NWA "Beat the Champ" Television Championship 19511982Originally contested in NWA Los Angeles, this championship was abandoned in 1959. In 1968, it was resurrected in NWA Hollywood Wrestling.
NWA Americas Tag Team Championship 19641982Originally known as the WWA World Tag Team Championship. It was created in 1964 and defended in WWA until 1968. At that point, WWA became a National Wrestling Alliance affiliate, and the title was renamed the NWA Americas Tag Team Championship.
NWA North American Tag Team Championship (Los Angeles/Japan version) 19731981Primarily contested in New Japan Pro-Wrestling.
NWA United National Championship 19701989Primarily contested in All Japan Pro Wrestling.
NWA World Tag Team Championship (Los Angeles version) 19571982The original World Tag Team Championship of the NAWA. It was created in 1957 and abandoned in 1958 upon the NAWA leaving the NWA. The championship was reactivated in 1979.
WWA International Television Tag Team Championship 19541964Created in 1954 and abandoned in 1964. Renamed the WWA United States Tag Team Championship in 1963.
WWA World Heavyweight Championship 19571968The title was established as an offshoot of the NWA World Heavyweight Championship when Edouard Carpentier became recognized as champion in Los Angeles, when the promotion was then known as the North American Wrestling Alliance. The championship was renamed with the promotion in 1961 and was abandoned in 1968 after WWA joined the NWA and was renamed NWA Hollywood Wrestling.

Alumni

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Tim Hornbaker (2007). National Wrestling Alliance: The Untold Story of the Monopoly That Strangled Professional Wrestling. ECW Press. pp. 330–334. ISBN   978-1-55490-274-3.
  2. 1 2 Josh Gross (9 June 2016). Ali vs. Inoki: The Forgotten Fight That Inspired Mixed Martial Arts and Launched Sports Entertainment. BenBella Books. p. 82. ISBN   978-1-942952-20-6.
  3. 1 2 3 John Grasso (14 November 2013). Historical Dictionary of Boxing. Scarecrow Press. p. 135. ISBN   978-0-8108-7867-9.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Keith Elliot Greenberg; Freddie Blassie (15 June 2010). The Legends of Wrestling: "Classy" Freddie Blassie: Listen, You Pencil Neck Geeks. Simon and Schuster. pp. 74–76. ISBN   978-1-4516-0426-9.
  5. ↑ "Worldwide Wrestling Associates". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Hollywood Wrestling". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Eddie Guerrero; Michael Krugman (2005). Cheating Death, Stealing Life: The Eddie Guerrero Story. Simon and Schuster. ISBN   978-0-7434-9353-6.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Oliver, Greg. "Los Angeles promoter Mike Lebell dies". Canoe.com . Postmedia Network. Archived from the original on February 13, 2017. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
  9. ↑ Steve Springer; Blake Chavez (1 April 2011). Hard Luck: The Triumph and Tragedy of "Irish" Jerry Quarry. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 46–47. ISBN   978-0-7627-6863-9.
  10. 1 2 Jim Wilson; Jim Wilson; Weldon T. Johnson (2 September 2003). Chokehold: Pro Wrestling's Real Mayhem Outside the Ring. Xlibris Corporation. p. 367. ISBN   978-1-4628-1172-4.
  11. ↑ Scott Beekman (2006). Ringside: A History of Professional Wrestling in America. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 101. ISBN   978-0-275-98401-4.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Superstar Billy Graham (11 May 2010). WWE Legends - Superstar Billy Graham: Tangled Ropes. Simon and Schuster. pp. 103–104. ISBN   978-1-4391-2179-5.
  13. 1 2 Tim Hornbaker (1 March 2015). Capitol Revolution: The Rise of the McMahon Wrestling Empire. ECW Press. p. 228. ISBN   978-1-77090-689-1.
  14. ↑ Steven Johnson; Greg Oliver; Mike Mooneyham; J. J. Dillon (11 January 2013). The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: Heroes and Icons. ECW Press. p. 333. ISBN   978-1-77090-269-5.
  15. ↑ Ariel Teal Toombs; Colt Baird Toombs (4 October 2016). Rowdy: The Roddy Piper Story. Random House of Canada. p. 90. ISBN   978-0-345-81623-8.
  16. ↑ Malissa Smith (5 June 2014). A History of Women's Boxing. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 113. ISBN   978-1-4422-2995-2.
  17. ↑ Kyle Dunning (19 September 2016). "Don't Try These Promotional Tactics At Home! Vol. #1". eWrestlingNews. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  18. ↑ Ryan Byers (26 October 2012). "The 8-Ball 10.26.12: Top 8 Weirdest Monster Gimmicks". 411Mania. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  19. ↑ Riesman, Abraham Josephine (2023). "Get Over, Act I". Ringmaster: Vince McMahon and the Unmaking of America. Atria Books. pp. 60–61. ISBN   978-1-9821-6944-2.
  20. ↑ Bob Backlund; Robert Harrax Miller; Roddy Piper (20 November 2013). The All-American Kid: Lessons and Stories on Life from Wrestling Legend Bob Backlund. Skyhorse Publishing Company, Incorporated. p. 451. ISBN   978-1-61321-696-5.
  21. 1 2 Patric Laprade; Bertrand Hebert (14 March 2013). Mad Dogs, Midgets and Screw Jobs: The Untold Story of How Montreal Shaped the World of Wrestling. ECW Press. pp. 1, 974. ISBN   978-1-77090-296-1.
  22. ↑ Ric Drasin. The Time of My Life. Creators Publishing. p. 94. ISBN   978-1-945630-42-2.
  23. ↑ Dick Enberg; Jim Perry (January 2004). Dick Enberg, Oh My!. Sports Publishing LLC. p. 54. ISBN   978-1-58261-824-1.
  24. ↑ Greg Oliver; Steven Johnson (16 November 2010). The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Heels. ECW Press. p. 373. ISBN   978-1-55490-284-2.
  25. ↑ Larry Matysik (14 March 2013). 50 Greatest Professional Wrestlers of All Time: The Definitive Shoot. ECW Press. p. 198. ISBN   978-1-77090-305-0.
  26. ↑ James Dixon; Arnold Furious; Lee Maughan (17 December 2015). The Complete WWE Guide Volume Six. Lulu.com. p. 162. ISBN   978-1-326-50746-6.
  27. ↑ Woody Strode; Sam Young (8 September 1993). Goal Dust: The Warm and Candid Memoirs of a Pioneer Black Athlete and Actor. Madison Books. p. 119. ISBN   978-1-4617-3052-1.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freddie Blassie</span> American professional wrestler and manager (1918-2003)

Frederick Kenneth Blassie was an American professional wrestler and manager, known by the ring name "Classy" Freddie Blassie. Renowned as "The Hollywood Fashion Plate", he was a one-time NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion, and was inducted into the WWF Hall of Fame in 1994. He is regarded as one of the greatest wrestling heels, or villains, of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aileen Eaton</span> American boxer

Aileen LeBell Eaton was an American boxing and professional wrestling promoter who was influential in the United States' west coast's boxing and wrestling scene for five decades. In 2002, she was the first woman inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

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

The NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship is a men's professional wrestling world heavyweight championship owned and promoted by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), an American professional wrestling promotion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lou Thesz</span> American professional wrestler (1916–2002)

Aloysius Martin Thesz, known by the ring name Lou Thesz, was an American professional wrestler. Considered to be one of the last true shooters in professional wrestling and described as the "quintessential athlete" and a "polished warrior who could break a man in two if pushed the wrong way", Thesz is widely regarded as one of the greatest wrestlers and wrestling world champions in history, and possibly the last globally accepted world champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Sheik (wrestler)</span> American professional wrestler (1926–2003)

Edward George Farhat was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name The Sheik. In wrestling, Farhat is credited as one of the originators of the hardcore style. In addition to his in-ring career, he was also the promoter of Big Time Wrestling, which promoted shows at Cobo Hall in Detroit until the 1980s, and was the booker for Frank Tunney's shows at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto from 1971 to 1977.

Armando Guerrero Llanes, better known as Mando Guerrero, is a Mexican American retired professional wrestler. He also was the trainer for the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling, an all-female professional wrestling promotion. He is a member of the Guerrero family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Tolos</span> Greek-Canadian professional wrestler and manager

John Tolos, nicknamed "The Golden Greek", was a Canadian professional wrestler, and professional wrestling manager.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Édouard Carpentier</span> French and Canadian professional wrestler (1926–2010)

Édouard Ignacz Weiczorkiewicz was a French and Canadian professional wrestler, gymnast, and a member of the French Resistance during World War II, known by his ring name, Édouard Carpentier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sammy Steamboat</span> American professional wrestler

Samuel K. Mokuahi was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Sammy Steamboat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tor Kamata</span> American professional wrestler

McRonald Kamaka was an American-Canadian professional wrestler known by the ring name Tor Kamata. He won several heavyweight and tag team championships, most notably the PWF World Heavyweight Championship in All Japan Pro Wrestling and the AWA World Tag Team Championship in the American Wrestling Association. He was a classic heel, reviled for dirty tricks in the ring, included rubbing salt in his opponent's eyes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bearcat Wright</span> American professional wrestler (1932–1982)

Edward M. Wright better known by his ring name "Bearcat" Wright was an American professional wrestler who became popular in the late 1950s and 1960s. Despite racial tension in the United States, he became wildly popular as a babyface. Wrestling in either singles competition or in tag team competition, thousands of fans would pack arenas to see him. He was the son of boxer Ed "Bearcat" Wright, and had an 8–0 record as a professional boxer himself in the early 1950s, boxing as "Bearcat Wright Jr."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Víctor Rivera (wrestler)</span> Puerto Rican professional wrestler

Víctor Rivera is a Puerto Rican retired professional wrestler. Between 1967 and 1981, he held the NWA Americas Tag Team Championship thirteen times, the NWA Americas Heavyweight Championship five times, the WWWF International Tag Team Championship, and numerous others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nelson Royal</span>

Nelson Combs was an American professional wrestler, trainer and promoter, better known by his ring name, Nelson Royal. He held the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship on six occasions along with numerous regional championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big Time Wrestling (Detroit)</span>

Big Time Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Detroit, Michigan in the United States.

Lawrence Robert Tillman (1909-1997) was an American professional wrestler and promoter. He competed throughout the United States and Canada, primarily within the National Wrestling Alliance territories, winning the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship in 1946, and promoted professional wrestling in Calgary, Canada.

Roy Shropshire was an American professional wrestler and promoter who worked for Big Time Wrestling in San Francisco from 1961 to its closure in 1981.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NWA San Francisco</span>

NWA San Francisco was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in San Francisco, California in the United States. Founded in 1935 by "The Utica Panther" Joe Malcewicz (1897–1962), the promotion joined the National Wrestling Alliance in 1949. It traded until 1961, when it folded due to competition from the upstart Big Time Wrestling promotion. The promotion's heartland was San Francisco, with the San Francisco Civic Auditorium as its core venue, but it also ran shows in other Northern Californian cities including Fresno, Oakland, Richmond, Sacramento, San Jose, Santa Rosa, Stockton, and Vallejo.

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.

Western States Sports was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Amarillo, Texas in the United States. Founded by Dory Detton in 1946, the promotion enjoyed its greatest success in the 1960s and 1970s under the management of Dory Funk and, later, his sons Dory Funk Jr. and Terry Funk, with its top performers including the Funks themselves and Ricky Romero. Western States Sports promoted professional wrestling events in multiple cities across West Texas including Amarillo, Abilene, El Paso, Lubbock, Odessa, and San Angelo, along with Albuquerque in New Mexico, Colorado Springs and Pueblo in Colorado, and the Oklahoma Panhandle. Sold by the Funks in 1980, the promotion closed in 1981.

Neil Guay is a retired Canadian professional wrestler. He is best known by his ring name The Hangman who spent his career in Calgary, Japan, New York, Montreal, Minnesota and Tennessee.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.