NWA Hollywood Wrestling
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] |
Formerly | North American Wrestling Alliance (1958–1961)[1] Worldwide Wrestling Associates (1961–1968)[1] |
NWA Hollywood Wrestling (sometimes referred to as NWA Los Angeles) was a
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,
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.
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 $1,069,514 in 2023).[13][8]
In 1981, the promotion obtained a legacy of sorts by being the first recipient of the
NWA Hollywood Wrestling continued to operate until December 1982.
Championships
Championship | Created | Abandoned | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
NWA Americas Heavyweight Championship | 1967 | 1982 | The 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 Championship | 1969 | 1969 | A short-lived six-man tag team championship contested in NWA Hollywood Wrestling in 1969. |
NWA "Beat the Champ" Television Championship | 1951 | 1982 | Originally 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 | 1964 | 1982 | Originally 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) | 1973 | 1981 | Primarily contested in New Japan Pro-Wrestling. |
NWA United National Championship | 1970 | 1989 | Primarily contested in All Japan Pro Wrestling. |
NWA World Tag Team Championship (Los Angeles version) | 1957 | 1982 | The 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 | 1954 | 1964 | Created in 1954 and abandoned in 1964. Renamed the WWA United States Tag Team Championship in 1963. |
WWA World Heavyweight Championship | 1957 | 1968 | The 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
- Chris Adams
- Buddy Austin[4]
- Freddie Blassie[1][7]
- Lord James Blears
- Dino Bravo[21]
- Édouard Carpentier[1]
- The Destroyer[1][8]
- Ric Drasin[22]
- Terry Funk[7]
- Billy Graham[12]
- Chavo Guerrero, Sr.[7]
- Dick Lane (announcer)[23]
- Gene LeBell[4]
- Don Leo Jonathan[1]
- Mil Máscaras[4]
- Ray Mendoza[7]
- Pedro Morales[7]
- Mr. Moto[12][24]
- Roddy Piper[7][25]
- Rikidōzan[1]
- Victor Rivera[21]
- The Sheik[26][self-published source]
- Dennis Stamp
- Sándor Szabó[27]
- Lou Thesz[1]
- John Tolos[12][8]
- Dale Valentine
- Bearcat Wright[1]
Footnotes
- ^ ISBN 978-1-55490-274-3.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-942952-20-6.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8108-7867-9.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4516-0426-9.
- ^ "Worldwide Wrestling Associates". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
- ^ "Hollywood Wrestling". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7434-9353-6.
- ^ a b c d e Oliver, Greg. "Los Angeles promoter Mike Lebell dies". Canoe.com. Postmedia Network. Archived from the original on February 13, 2017. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
- ISBN 978-0-7627-6863-9.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4628-1172-4.
- ISBN 978-0-275-98401-4.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4391-2179-5.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-77090-689-1.
- ISBN 978-1-77090-269-5.
- ISBN 978-0-345-81623-8.
- ISBN 978-1-4422-2995-2.
- ^ Kyle Dunning (19 September 2016). "Don't Try These Promotional Tactics At Home! Vol. #1". eWrestlingNews. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
- ^ Ryan Byers (26 October 2012). "The 8-Ball 10.26.12: Top 8 Weirdest Monster Gimmicks". 411Mania. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
- ISBN 978-1-9821-6944-2.
- ISBN 978-1-61321-696-5.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-77090-296-1.
- ISBN 978-1-945630-42-2.
- ISBN 978-1-58261-824-1.
- ISBN 978-1-55490-284-2.
- ISBN 978-1-77090-305-0.
- ISBN 978-1-326-50746-6.
- ISBN 978-1-4617-3052-1.
See also
- Championship Wrestling from Hollywood, brief local NWA revival in the 2010s, still running as an unaffiliated promotion