NWA All Star Wrestling (sometimes referred to as NWA Vancouver) is a Canadian professional wrestling promotion, based in Vancouver, British Columbia. All-Star Wrestling folded in 1989 but returned in 2007 no longer affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance Mark Vellios is the current owner.
Although other wrestling promotions existed in Vancouver prior to the early 1960s (particularly a predecessor of All Star's called Big Time Wrestling), All Star (an affiliate of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) for most of its existence) became the longest-lived and perhaps best-remembered of all promotions operating in the Vancouver area before or since. The promotion began coming into its own around the time CHAN-TV began broadcasting their TV program (also called All Star Wrestling) in 1962, when Gene Kiniski arrived in Vancouver and became a regular on the roster. At the time All Star began, the NWA British Empire heavyweight title was the top singles title in the Vancouver territory,[1] while the Pacific Coast tag team title initially served as the tag team championship (both titles were carried over from Big Time Wrestling); however, after the British Empire title was abandoned sometime after 1963 (when Kiniski last won it), All Star had no singles title of its own until 1970, when the Pacific Coast heavyweight title (which was first introduced in 1948 in Big Time Wrestling, but became inactive around 1958) was reactivated.
Kiniski/Kovacs era (1968–1977)edit
All Star started becoming a serious force in the Pacific Northwest wrestling scene during Kiniski's reign as NWA World Heavyweight champion (which he won from Lou Thesz in 1966), when he and Sandor Kovacs, along with Portland promoter Don Owen, joined forces to promote the territory at the start of 1968,[2] forming Northwest Wrestling Promotions as the parent company to run All Star. During this time, the promotion shared talent (including many of the sport's big names of the time) with Owen's nearby NWA affiliate Pacific Northwest Wrestling while also developing local talent. At the same time, the All Star Wrestling program began to be seen across Canada via syndication. Ron Morrier was the original host of the TV show and served in that capacity until his death on August 6, 1981; after that, former CFUN disk jockey Ed Karl took over as the host for the remainder of the show's run on CHAN-TV.
Al Tomko era (1977–1989)edit
Kovacs promoted his final All Star show on January 17, 1977,[2] before selling his share in the promotion to Al Tomko, a veteran wrestler and former Winnipeg promoter for the AWA. While the promotion managed to hold steady through the late-1970s following the sale, All Star began going into decline by the early-1980s, due partly to the aging Tomko (who was physically past his prime and had poor wrestling skills) pushing himself as the company's top star, and partly to the rise of the WWF around the middle of the decade (a situation which actually affected many other North American promotions besides All Star). Late in the promotion's NWA affiliation, during episodes of All Star Wrestling, Tomko and Ed Karl would also present and commentate on highlight clips of matches from fellow NWA affiliates Central States Wrestling and Jim Crockett Promotions, as well as matches taped at All Star's main house shows in Vancouver and Cloverdale.
Noticing the decline of the promotion, Kiniski sold his ownership stake and got out sometime around 1983, after which he began promoting shows in Vancouver in association with Stampede Wrestling and the AWA. In late 1985, Tomko withdrew All Star from the NWA and created a new sanctioning body for the company called the Universal Wrestling Alliance; those changes did nothing to reverse All Star's fortunes, however, and the promotion would eventually cease operations, holding its final event in Elk Grove, British Columbia on July 2, 1989. Mauro Ranallo, who went on to become a radio announcer for Abbotsford station CFVR (now CKQC-FM) and the TV play-by-play announcer for Pride Fighting Championships, Stampede Wrestling, King of the Cage, KVOS-TV's NWA Top Ranked Wrestling, and most recently WWE Smackdown, got his start as an on-camera personality with All Star Wrestling while still in his teens, late in the show's run.
^"WrestlingTerritories.png". Freakin' Awesome Network Forums :: Freakin' Awesome Wrestling Forum :: (w)Rest of Wrestling. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
^ abKM : Reading Topic : Sandor Kovacs career record
^ abcdefghijklmRoyal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN0-9698161-5-4.
External linksedit
All Star Wrestling forum at Kayfabe Memories
NWA All Star Wrestling title histories
December 18, 2023
star, wrestling, other, uses, star, wrestling, star, wrestling, disambiguation, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, fin. For all other uses of All Star Wrestling see All Star Wrestling disambiguation This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources NWA All Star Wrestling news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2009 Learn how and when to remove this template message NWA All Star Wrestling sometimes referred to as NWA Vancouver is a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Vancouver British Columbia All Star Wrestling folded in 1989 but returned in 2007 no longer affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance Mark Vellios is the current owner NWA All Star WrestlingAcronymAll StarFounded 1960 1989 re established in 2007 present Defunct 1989 2007 StyleAmerican wrestlingHeadquartersVancouver British ColumbiaFounder s Rod Fenton as Big Time Wrestling Gene KiniskiSandor KovacsDon OwenOwner s Rod Fenton until 1968 Sandor Kovac 1968 1977 Gene Kiniski 1968 1983 Al Tomko 1977 1989 Neil Drummond 1989 Mark Vellios 2007 present ParentNorthwest Wrestling PromotionsFormerlyBig Time Wrestling Contents 1 History 1 1 Early history 1 2 Kiniski Kovacs era 1968 1977 1 3 Al Tomko era 1977 1989 2 Alumni 3 Championships 3 1 NWA sanctioned championships 3 2 UWA sanctioned championships 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksHistory editEarly history edit Although other wrestling promotions existed in Vancouver prior to the early 1960s particularly a predecessor of All Star s called Big Time Wrestling All Star an affiliate of the National Wrestling Alliance NWA for most of its existence became the longest lived and perhaps best remembered of all promotions operating in the Vancouver area before or since The promotion began coming into its own around the time CHAN TV began broadcasting their TV program also called All Star Wrestling in 1962 when Gene Kiniski arrived in Vancouver and became a regular on the roster At the time All Star began the NWA British Empire heavyweight title was the top singles title in the Vancouver territory 1 while the Pacific Coast tag team title initially served as the tag team championship both titles were carried over from Big Time Wrestling however after the British Empire title was abandoned sometime after 1963 when Kiniski last won it All Star had no singles title of its own until 1970 when the Pacific Coast heavyweight title which was first introduced in 1948 in Big Time Wrestling but became inactive around 1958 was reactivated Kiniski Kovacs era 1968 1977 edit All Star started becoming a serious force in the Pacific Northwest wrestling scene during Kiniski s reign as NWA World Heavyweight champion which he won from Lou Thesz in 1966 when he and Sandor Kovacs along with Portland promoter Don Owen joined forces to promote the territory at the start of 1968 2 forming Northwest Wrestling Promotions as the parent company to run All Star During this time the promotion shared talent including many of the sport s big names of the time with Owen s nearby NWA affiliate Pacific Northwest Wrestling while also developing local talent At the same time the All Star Wrestling program began to be seen across Canada via syndication Ron Morrier was the original host of the TV show and served in that capacity until his death on August 6 1981 after that former CFUN disk jockey Ed Karl took over as the host for the remainder of the show s run on CHAN TV Al Tomko era 1977 1989 edit Kovacs promoted his final All Star show on January 17 1977 2 before selling his share in the promotion to Al Tomko a veteran wrestler and former Winnipeg promoter for the AWA While the promotion managed to hold steady through the late 1970s following the sale All Star began going into decline by the early 1980s due partly to the aging Tomko who was physically past his prime and had poor wrestling skills pushing himself as the company s top star and partly to the rise of the WWF around the middle of the decade a situation which actually affected many other North American promotions besides All Star Late in the promotion s NWA affiliation during episodes of All Star Wrestling Tomko and Ed Karl would also present and commentate on highlight clips of matches from fellow NWA affiliates Central States Wrestling and Jim Crockett Promotions as well as matches taped at All Star s main house shows in Vancouver and Cloverdale Noticing the decline of the promotion Kiniski sold his ownership stake and got out sometime around 1983 after which he began promoting shows in Vancouver in association with Stampede Wrestling and the AWA In late 1985 Tomko withdrew All Star from the NWA and created a new sanctioning body for the company called the Universal Wrestling Alliance those changes did nothing to reverse All Star s fortunes however and the promotion would eventually cease operations holding its final event in Elk Grove British Columbia on July 2 1989 Mauro Ranallo who went on to become a radio announcer for Abbotsford station CFVR now CKQC FM and the TV play by play announcer for Pride Fighting Championships Stampede Wrestling King of the Cage KVOS TV s NWA Top Ranked Wrestling and most recently WWE Smackdown got his start as an on camera personality with All Star Wrestling while still in his teens late in the show s run Alumni editDelta Dawn Abdullah the Butcher Al Tomko Andre the Giant The Assassins The Atomic Kid Buddy Wayne Bobby Bass Kevin Jefferies Bulldog Bob Brown The Brute Bugsy McGraw Buzz Grogan Buzz Tyler Genie Wendy Reicher JJ Jetson Crusher von Haig Road Warrior Hawk Dale Lewis wrestler Dean Ho The Idols Diamond Timothy Flowers Don Jardine Don Leo Jonathan Gentleman Jonathan Sayers Don Morrow Don Muraco Dominic DeNucci Dutch Savage Rocky Dellesara Dirty Dan Denton Bruiser Costa Blackjack Hoss Taylor Sonny Myers Dennis Stamp Terry The Ripper Rivera David Schultz Eddie Morrow Mike Allen Wildthing Steve Ray Erich Froelich Mike Roselli The A team The Blue Angel The Fabulous Kangaroos Flash Gordon The Frog Terry Tomko Athol Foley J R Foley The Flying Peacock Gama Singh Gerry Morrow Gidget Gene Kiniski Gorgeous Michelle Starr Hard Boiled Haggerty Haystacks Calhoun The Honky Tonk Man The Iron Sheik Jake Roberts Jay Youngblood Dr Jerry Graham Corey Collins John Quinn Billy Two Eagles Big John Tenta Mike Palace The Great Dave Scott Suzie Tanner Lazer Jack Smith Jimmy Snuka John Tolos Kinji Shibuya King Kong JR Bundy Killer Kowalski Joe Martin Bobby Jones Klondike Mike Mark Lewin Doug McCoil Igor Volkoff Stacy Carter The Iron Maiden The Mighty I Ton Mike Sharpe Mike Edwards Mike Webster Masa Saito Moondog Mayne Moose Morowski Neil Drummond The Wizard Todd Ole Olsen Thor Thor The Body Olsen Mauro Ranallo Playboy Buddy Rose Rick Davis Todd Tomko Rick Martel Rick Patterson Ron Starr Harley the Nightrider Ricky Hunter Rick Rude Denuda The Polish Princess Chris The Kid Nevada Ivan Gorky Greg Lake Dale Housten Mad Dog Rex Chris Colt Terry Adonis American Ninja Avalanche Tyler Randy Taylor Rip Oliver Ed Karl Joe Cagle The Robotrons Craig Bresett and Fabio Chiesa Rocky Johnson Roddy Piper Salvatore Martino The Samoans Scotty the Body Sean Regan Siegfried Steinke The BC Blondes The Sheepherders Snake Williams Stan Stasiak Steven Little Bear Tiger Jeet Singh Tony Borne Vicious Verne Siebert Tiger Dory Signh Whipper Billy Watson Mr X Guy Mitchell Shalimar Grandmaster SinghChampionships editNWA sanctioned championships edit Championship Last Champion s Active From Active Till Notes NWA British Empire Heavyweight Championship Gene Kiniski July 1959 1963 Title was promoted by All Star Wrestling s predecessor Big Time Wrestling 3 NWA World Tag Team Championship Vancouver Version The Assassins June 1966 1967 3 NWA Pacific Coast Heavyweight Championship Jay Youngblood February 9 1970 March 1981 The Pacific Coast Championship was also promoted by Big Time Wrestling between 1948 and 1958 3 NWA Pacific Coast Tag Team Championship Gene Kiniski and Hard Boiled Haggerty 1961 November 1962 Title was promoted by All Star Wrestling s predecessor Big Time Wrestling 3 NWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship Vancouver version Dan Denton May 1982 1989 Renamed the UWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship when All Star withdrew from the National Wrestling Alliance in 1985 3 NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship Vancouver version Rick Davis and Rocky Dellasera 1962 1986 3 NWA International Tag Team Championship Vancouver version Sonny Myers and Super Destroyer 1981 1985 Title abandoned when All Star withdrew from the NWA in 1985 3 UWA sanctioned championships edit Championship Last Champion s Active From Active Till Notes UWA Heavyweight Championship Sweet Daddy Sampson 1986 1989 3 UWA Tag Team Championship Robotron and the Olympian 1986 1988 3 UWA Junior Heavyweight Championship The Frog 1987 1989 3 UWA Women s Championship Cory Collins 1984 1989 3 UWA International Heavyweight Championship Timothy Flowers 1988 1988 3 UWA Canadian Junior Heavyweight Championship Vancouver version Todd Tomko Rick Davis 1985 1989 3 See also editList of National Wrestling Alliance territories List of independent wrestling promotions in CanadaReferences edit WrestlingTerritories png Freakin Awesome Network Forums Freakin Awesome Wrestling Forum w Rest of Wrestling Retrieved 25 March 2012 a b KM Reading Topic Sandor Kovacs career record a b c d e f g h i j k l m Royal Duncan amp Gary Will 2006 Wrestling Title Histories 4th ed Archeus Communications ISBN 0 9698161 5 4 External links editAll Star Wrestling forum at Kayfabe Memories NWA All Star Wrestling title histories Vance Nevada s Canadian Wrestling Results Archive Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title NWA All Star Wrestling amp oldid 1176068980, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
