Mid 20th Century
88-425: Professional wrestling streaming package NWA All Access Screenshot [REDACTED] Area served Worldwide URL N/A Registration Required Launched January 5, 2022 ; 2 years ago ( January 5, 2022 ) Current status Inactive NWA All Access was a professional wrestling streaming package offered by
176-435: A bona fide athletic contest or competition. Professional wrestling is not a combative sport. Wrestling constituting bona fide athletic contests and competitions, which may be professional or amateur combative sport, shall not be deemed professional wrestling under this Part. Professional wrestling as used in this Part shall not depend on whether the individual wrestlers are paid or have been paid for their performance in
264-415: A performing art evolved from the common practice of match-fixing among American wrestlers in the 19th century, who later sought to make matches shorter, more entertaining, and less physically taxing. As the public gradually realized and accepted that matches were predetermined, wrestlers responded by increasingly adding melodrama, gimmickry, and outlandish stunt work to their performances to further enhance
352-415: A professional wrestling exhibition. All engagements of professional wrestling shall be referred to as exhibitions, and not as matches. In the industry's slang, a fixed match is referred to as a worked match, derived from the slang word for manipulation, as in "working the crowd". A shoot match is a genuine contest where both wrestlers fight to win and are therefore "straight shooters", which comes from
440-413: A background in authentic wrestling no longer mattered. After this time, matches became more outlandish and gimmicky and any semblance professional wrestling had to catch wrestling faded. The personas of the wrestlers likewise grew more outlandish. Gorgeous George , who performed throughout the 1940s and 1950s, was the first wrestler whose entrance into the arena was accompanied by a theme song played over
528-520: A carny term for a shooting gallery gun whose sights were not deliberately misaligned. Wrestling in the United States blossomed in popularity after the Civil War , with catch wrestling eventually becoming the most popular style. At first, professional wrestlers were genuine competitive fighters, but they struggled to draw audiences because Americans did not find real wrestling to be very entertaining, so
616-513: A central authority. Nor could any of them stomach the idea of leaving the NWA themselves to compete directly with McMahon, for that would mean their territories would become fair game for the other NWA members. McMahon also had a creative flair for TV that his rivals lacked. For instance, the AWA's TV productions during the 1980s were amateurish, low-budget, and out-of-touch with contemporary culture, which lead to
704-574: A champion that Curley put forth: Dick Shikat . The National Wrestling Association shut down in 1980. In 1948, a number of promoters from across the country came together to form the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). The NWA recognized one "world champion", voted on by its members, but allowed member promoters to crown their own local champions in their territories. If a member poached wrestlers from another member, or held matches in another member's territory, they risked being ejected from
792-417: A degree. Vince Russo, the boss of WCW in 2000, completely disregarded kayfabe by routinely discussing business matters and office politics in public, which alienated fans. I watch championship wrestling from Florida with wrestling commentator Gordon Solie . Is this all "fake"? If so, they deserve an Oscar . NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship The NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship
880-404: A distinct vernacular . It has achieved mainstream success and influence within popular culture , with many terms, tropes , and concepts being referenced in everyday language as well as in film , music , television , and video games . Likewise, numerous professional wrestlers have become national or international icons with recognition by the broader public. In the United States, wrestling
968-410: A fee, a visitor could challenge the wrestler to a quick match. If the challenger defeated the champion in a short time frame, usually 15 minutes, he won a prize. To encourage challenges, the carnival operators staged rigged matches in which an accomplice posing as a visitor challenged the champion and won, giving the audience the impression that the champion was easy to beat. This practice taught wrestlers
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#17328554266911056-405: A legitimate sport. Firstly, wrestling was more entertaining when it was faked, whereas fakery did not make boxing any more entertaining. Secondly, in a rigged boxing match, the designated loser must take a real beating for his "defeat" to be convincing, but wrestling holds can be faked convincingly without inflicting injury. This meant that boxers were less willing to "take dives"; they wanted to have
1144-754: A match against Gus Sonnenberg in January 1929. Bowser then broke away from the trust to form his own cartel, the American Wrestling Association (AWA), in September 1930, and he declared Sonnenberg to be the AWA champion. This AWA should not be confused with Wally Kadbo's AWA founded in 1960. Curley reacted to this move by convincing the National Boxing Association to form the National Wrestling Association , which in turn crowned
1232-424: A more literal meaning in those places. A notable example is India's Pro Wrestling League . In numerous American states, professional wrestling is legally defined as a non-sport. For instance, New York defines professional wrestling as: Professional wrestling means an activity in which participants struggle hand-in-hand primarily for the purpose of providing entertainment to spectators and which does not comprise
1320-637: A new WWF Light Heavyweight Championship , the WWF demanded that the then current J-Crown Champion Shinjiro Otani return the WWF Light Heavyweight belt. Otani dissolved the J-Crown on November 5, 1997, by vacating all of the component titles except for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship , with the other belts being restored to their home promotions. After the dissolution of the J-Crown,
1408-440: A new city, attendance was high because there was a waiting fanbase cultivated in advance by the cable TV shows. The NWA's traditional anti-competitive tricks were no match for this. The NWA attempted to centralize and create their own national cable television shows to counter McMahon's rogue promotion, but it failed in part because the members of the NWA, ever protective of their territories, could not stomach submitting themselves to
1496-493: A result, the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship was vacated. Corgan's ownership took effect on October 1, 2017. The title remained vacant until March 2022 when Homicide won the title on night two of the 2022 Crockett Cup . As of November 27, 2024, there have been 130 reigns between 80 champions, 15 vacancies and one deactivation. Ken Fenelon was the inaugural champion. Danny Hodge holds
1584-497: A typical American household only received four national channels by antenna, and ten to twelve local channels via UHF broadcasting . But cable television could carry a much larger selection of channels and therefore had room for niche interests. The WWF started with a show called All-American Wrestling airing on the USA Network in September 1983. McMahon's TV shows made his wrestlers national celebrities, so when he held matches in
1672-575: A victory for all the pain to which they subjected themselves. In the 1910s, promotional cartels for professional wrestling emerged in the East Coast (outside its traditional heartland in the Midwest ). These promoters sought to make long-term plans with their wrestlers, and to ensure their more charismatic and crowd-pleasing wrestlers received championships, further entrenching the desire for worked matches. The primary rationale for shoot matches at this point
1760-466: Is a professional wrestling world championship in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). Created in 1943, the title is competed for by junior heavyweight wrestlers. The first NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion was Ken Fenelon , who was awarded the title in May 1943 by Paul "Pinkie" George , the promoter of the local National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) promotion. For the first few years of its existence,
1848-1648: Is a Vampire: NWA vs. AAA Historical events Alwayz Ready Back for the Attack Break the Barrier Into the Fire Superbowl of Wrestling When Our Shadows Fall World Wrestling Peace Festival Wrestling Summit Pay-per-view and closed circuit events (1983–1990) Pay-per-view events (2002–2004) Home bases GPB Studios Notable acquisitions Houston Wrestling (video library) Partnerships All Japan Pro Wrestling Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide Ohio Valley Wrestling Current territories NWA Chicago NWA Exodus Pro Midwest NWA JCP Southeast NWA Kross Fire NWA Texas NWA World League Wrestling Former partners All Elite Wrestling Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Global Force Wrestling Pro Wrestling USA American Wrestling Association National Wrestling Federation New Japan Pro-Wrestling Ring of Honor Total Nonstop Action Wrestling United Wrestling Network Championship Wrestling from Hollywood Combat Zone Wrestling World Championship Wrestling World Wrestling Federation Related All In Attendance records Billy Corgan Current champions Former territories Hall of Fame Hall of Heroes NWA All Access NWA (stable) Pinkie George Sam Muchnick Wrestling at
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#17328554266911936-436: Is a form of athletic theater that combines mock combat with drama , with the premise that the performers are competitive wrestlers. Professional wrestling is distinguished by its scripted outcomes and emphasis on entertainment and showmanship . The staged nature of matches is an open secret , with both wrestlers and spectators nonetheless maintaining the pretense that performances are bona fide competitions, which
2024-410: Is a true sport. Wrestlers would at all times flatly deny allegations that they fixed their matches, and they often remained in-character in public even when not performing. When in public, wrestlers would sometimes say the word kayfabe to each other as a coded signal that there were fans present and they needed to be in character. Professional wrestlers in the past strongly believed that if they admitted
2112-427: Is generally practiced in an amateur context. No professional league for competitive wrestling exists due to a lack of popularity. For example, Real Pro Wrestling , an American professional freestyle wrestling league, dissolved in 2007 after just two seasons. In other countries, such as Iran and India , wrestling enjoys widespread popularity as a genuine sport, and the phrase "professional wrestling" therefore has
2200-470: Is likened to the suspension of disbelief employed when engaging with fiction . Professional wrestlers perform as characters and usually maintain a " gimmick " consisting of a specific persona , stage name , entrance theme , and other distinguishing traits. Matches are the primary vehicle for advancing storylines, which typically center on interpersonal conflicts, or feuds , between heroic " faces " and villainous " heels ". A wrestling ring , akin to
2288-6912: The National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight reigns Jr. Heavyweight reigns Television reigns Women's reigns Women's Television reigns Women's Tag Team reigns Tag Team reigns Regional/National Mid-America reigns National reigns United States Tag Team reigns Unsanctioned/Other Full list v t e Professional wrestling streaming services Current B/R-LIVE All Japan Pro Wrestling TV Big Japan Pro Wrestling Core Triller TV NWA All Access Honor Club TNA+ New Japan Pro-Wrestling World Wrestle Universe Peacock WWE Network WWNLive Former WWE Classics on Demand Global Wrestling Network DAZN ESPN+ v t e Video on demand services Digital library Streaming media Video on demand Free or ad-supported 3ABN+ 7plus 9Now 10Play ABC iview Abema Amazon Freevee Amazon miniTV MX Player Angel Studios Arte Boutique BBC iPlayer Bilibili CBC Gem Channel 4 CONtv CSpace CTV Movies / Throwback CW Seed ERTFLIX Facebook Watch Fandango at Home France·tv Globoplay Free Haystack News Hoopla Ici TOU.TV ITVX iWantTFC Joyn Kanopy Lemino Libreflix Local Now meWATCH Mediaset Infinity MX Player My5 NASA+ Ora TV PBS PBS Kids PictureBox Films Plex Pluto TV Pop Player PPTV RaiPlay RTÉ Player RTP Play RCTI+ The Roku Channel RTVE Play Red Bull TV Revry SBS On Demand Shahid Shout! Factory TV Sling Freestream Snapchat Spuul STV Player SVT Play Stirr Telemundo TF1+ ThreeNow Toon Goggles tonton Tubi TVer Tvigle TVNZ+ tvyo S4C Clic U Vevo Viddsee Vidio Viki Virgin Media Play Vision+ ViX Voddler Xfinity Streampix XITE Xumo YouTube Kids YuppTV Subscription -based Abema Premium Acorn TV Aha Alchemiya Allblk ALTBalaji Amazon Prime Video AMC+ Ameba TV ANT1+ Apple TV+ APTN Lumi Atresplayer BBC Select Beacon Bentkey BET+ Binge BritBox Bongo BD Brown Sugar Canal+ Chorki Club illico C More Play Crave Criterion Channel Crunchyroll Curiosity Stream DailyWire+ Discovery+ Disney+ Hotstar Star d-anime Store DMM TV DocPlay Dropout Eros Now Fandor Floatplane Filmin Fox Nation Foxtel Now GagaOOLala Gaia Globoplay + live channels Telecine Great American Pure Flix Hayu Hidive History Vault Hulu Hulu Japan Icflix Iflix iQIYI Lemino Premium Max Infinity+ MGM+ Irokotv ITVX Premium iWantTFC Kocowa Mango TV Means TV meWATCH Prime Mola Motor Trend Mubi Nebula Neon Netflix Night Flight Plus Now OutTVGO Pantaya Paramount+ PBS Passport Peacock RTL+ Shahid VIP Showmax Shudder SkyShowtime Sling TV SonyLIV Spacetoon Go Stan Starz Struum STV Player+ SundanceNow Sun NXT TAPP TV Telasa The Roku Channel TIMvision Toku TV 2 Play TVING U-Next Paravi Upstream Viaplay VidAngel Videoland Vidio Premier Vision+ Premium Viu VVVVID ViX Premium Voyo Wondrium WeTV WOW Presents Plus XITE Yippee TV Youku YouTube Premium ZEE5 Rental or purchase Amazon Prime Video DLsite Fandango at Home FandangoNOW Google Play Google TV Huawei Video iTunes Store Microsoft Movies & TV Nintendo eShop Rakuten TV Sky Store The Great Courses YouTube Movies & Shows Sports All Japan Pro Wrestling TV B/R Live beIN Sports Connect Big Japan Pro Wrestling Core DAZN Wrestle Universe Eleven Sports ESPN+ Eurosport Player Fanseat Fanatiz Triller TV NWA All Access FloSports FuboTV Honor Club IMPACT! +Plus Kayo Sports Laola1 MLB.tv MLS Season Pass NBA League Pass NBL TV New Japan Pro-Wrestling World NFL Game Pass Premier Football OneSoccer Sky Sport Now Sportsnet Now Stan Sport TSN Direct UFC Fight Pass WatchAFL WatchNRL WWE Network TV Everywhere ABC AMC Premiere Bally Sports app CBS Cinemax On Demand CNN TV app DisneyNow Foxtel Go Freeform FXNOW Canais Globo HBO Go HGTV NBC Redbox Free Live TV Sky Go Sky Q Spark Sport The CW TVB Anywhere Watch TBS Ziggo Go Discontinued 123Movies AnimeLab Blim TV CNN+ Crackle DC Universe Disney Deluxe dittoTV Dplay DramaFever FOXNOW Funimation FX+ Global Wrestling Network go90 GolfTV HBO Now Hillsong Channel Now Hitchhike TV HOOQ Lightbox NBC Sports Gold Noggin On Demand PlayStation Video Popcornflix Presto Quibi Quickflix Redbox Redbox Instant Seeso Shomi Sky On Demand Sky Select Star+ Veoh Vessel Viewster Voot VRV VyRT Wakanim WatchESPN Yahoo! Screen Related Australia Canada New Zealand v t e National sports broadcasting in
2376-586: The Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling (GCCW) promotion faced Ken Mantell for the championship. During the match, the referee was knocked out and Wrestling Pro won the match, but a second referee appeared and awarded the victory to Mantell. The promoter Bob Kelly declared Wrestling Pro as the new champion and awarded him a title belt. However, Wrestling Pro was recognized as champion only in the GCCW territory and did not receive universal recognition from
2464-599: The Los Angeles version of the World Junior Heavyweight Championship by defeating Rito Romero . In 1960, Danny Hodge had a heated feud with Angelo Savoldi over the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship. During a bout between the two men on May 27, 1960 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma , Hodge's father Bill Hodge Sr. entered the ring and legitimately stabbed Savoldi. In 1973, Wrestling Pro of
2552-582: The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) distributed by FITE TV . Launched in January 2022, as part an expanded partnership between the NWA and FITE, All Access includes past and upcoming pay-per-view events, premiere episodes of NWA Power , and the Lightning One -era library of NWA television and documentary series. As of the January 3, 2023 the NWA started to phase out the All Access streaming service on FITE with
2640-609: The New Jersey State Athletic Control Board that professional wrestling is not a real sport because its matches have predetermined outcomes. Shortly thereafter, New Jersey deregulated professional wrestling. The WWF then rebranded itself as a " sports entertainment " company. In the early years of the 20th century, the style of wrestling used in professional wrestling matches was catch wrestling . Promoters wanted their matches to look realistic and so preferred to recruit wrestlers with real grappling skills. In
2728-543: The independent circuit , to internationally broadcast events at major arenas. The largest and most influential promotions are in the United States , Mexico , Japan , and northwest Europe (the United Kingdom , Germany/Austria and France ), which have each developed distinct styles, traditions, and subgenres within professional wrestling. Professional wrestling has developed its own culture and community , including
NWA All Access - Misplaced Pages Continue
2816-431: The spectacle . By at least the early 20th century, professional wrestling had diverged from the competitive sport to become an artform and genre of sports entertainment . Professional wrestling is performed around the world through various " promotions ", which are roughly analogous to production companies or sports leagues . Promotions vary considerably in size, scope, and creative approach, ranging from local shows on
2904-577: The 1920s, a group of wrestlers and promoters known as the Gold Dust Trio introduced moves which have since become staples of the mock combat of professional wrestling, such as body slams, suplexes , punches, finishing moves, and out-of-ring count-outs. By the early 1930s, most wrestlers had adopted personas to generate public interest. These personas could broadly be characterized as either faces (likeable) or heels (villainous). Native Americans, cowboys, and English aristocrats were staple characters in
2992-400: The 1930s and 1940s. Before the age of television, some wrestlers played different personas depending on the region they were performing in. This eventually came to an end in the age of national television wrestling shows, which forced wrestlers to stick to one persona. Wrestlers also often used some sort of gimmick, such as a finishing move, eccentric mannerisms, or out-of-control behavior (in
3080-460: The 1990s, WCW became a credible rival to the WWF, but by end it suffered from a series of creative missteps that led to its failure and purchase by the WWF. One of its mistakes was that it diminished the glamor of its World Heavyweight Championship . Between January 2000 and March 2001, the title changed hands eighteen times, which sapped fan enthusiasm, particularly for the climactic pay-per-view matches. In professional wrestling, two factors decide
3168-641: The Atlantic Athletic Corporation (AAC). The AAC shut down in 1960. In 1958, Omaha promoter and NWA member Joe Dusek recognized Verne Gagne as the world champion without the approval of the NWA. Gagne asked for a match against the recognized NWA champion Pat O'Connor. The NWA refused to honor the request, so Gagne and Minneapolis promoter Wally Karbo established the American Wrestling Association in 1960. This AWA should not be confused with Paul Bowser's AWA, which ceased operations just two months prior. Gagne's AWA operated out of Minnesota . Unlike
3256-6390: The Chase Links to related articles v t e [REDACTED] Professional wrestling in the United States Active promotions National promotions All Elite Wrestling Major League Wrestling National Wrestling Alliance Ring of Honor Total Nonstop Action Wrestling WWE Women's : Women of Wrestling Independent promotions AAW Wrestling All Pro Wrestling Beyond Wrestling Championship Wrestling Chaotic Wrestling Combat Zone Wrestling Coastal Championship Wrestling Deadlock Pro-Wrestling DEFY Wrestling East Coast Wrestling Association Empire Wrestling Federation Exodus Pro Wrestling Full Impact Pro Game Changer Wrestling Hoodslam House of Glory Independent Wrestling Federation Innovate Pro Wrestling Juggalo Championship Wrestling Kaiju Big Battel Keystone State Wrestling Alliance Main Event Championship Wrestling MCW Pro Wrestling Northeast Wrestling Ohio Valley Wrestling PCW Ultra Pro Wrestling Guerrilla Premiere Wrestling Xperience Reality of Wrestling Southern States Wrestling Ultra Championship Wrestling-Zero Warrior Wrestling World League Wrestling World Xtreme Wrestling Xtreme Pro Wrestling Women's: Shine Wrestling Sukeban Women Superstars United Women's Wrestling Army Puerto Rican promotions IWA Puerto Rico La Liga Wrestling World Wrestling Council Governing bodies and interpromotional alliances United Wrestling Network WWNLive Notable TV programs AEW Collision AEW Dynamite AEW Rampage TNA Impact! WWE NXT WWE Raw WWE SmackDown Notable streaming programs NWA Powerrr Ring of Honor Wrestling TNA Xplosion WWE Main Event WWE NXT Level Up WWE Speed Defunct promotions National promotions American Wrestling Association Extreme Championship Wrestling Jim Crockett Promotions Universal Wrestling Federation (Bill Watts) Universal Wrestling Federation (Herb Abrams) World Championship Wrestling World Class Championship Wrestling Independent promotions and regional territories 50th State Big Time Wrestling American Wrestling Federation Assault Championship Wrestling Big Time Wrestling (Boston) Big Time Wrestling (Detroit) Big Time Wrestling (San Francisco) Capitol Wrestling Corporation Century Wrestling Alliance Championship Wrestling from Florida Chikara Continental Championship Wrestling Continental Wrestling Association CWF Mid-Atlantic Deep South Wrestling Dragon Gate USA Extreme Rising Evolve Family Wrestling Entertainment Florida Championship Wrestling Fred Kohler Enterprises Front Row Wrestling Future of Wrestling Georgia Championship Wrestling Global Force Wrestling Global Wrestling Federation Hardcore Homecoming Heart of America Sports Attractions Heartland Wrestling Association House of Hardcore Houston Wrestling Incredibly Strange Wrestling Independent Professional Wrestling Alliance International Championship Wrestling International World Class Championship Wrestling IWA Mid-South IWF Promotions Jersey All Pro Wrestling Mason-Dixon Wrestling Memphis Wrestling Memphis Championship Wrestling Metro Pro Wrestling Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation Millennium Wrestling Federation National Wrestling Conference National Wrestling Federation New England Championship Wrestling NOVA Pro Wrestling NWA Mid-America NWA San Francisco NWA Wildside OMEGA Championship Wrestling Pacific Northwest Wrestling Phoenix Championship Wrestling Pro-Pain Pro Wrestling Pro Wrestling America Resistance Pro Wrestling Ring Warriors Smoky Mountain Wrestling South Atlantic Pro Wrestling Southern Championship Wrestling (Georgia) Southwest Championship Wrestling St. Louis Wrestling Club Steel City Wrestling Texas All-Star Wrestling Texas Wrestling Academy Top Rope Promotions Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling Ultimate Pro Wrestling United States Wrestling Association Warriors 4 Christ Wrestling West Coast Wrestling Connection Western States Sports Windy City Pro Wrestling World Wide Wrestling Alliance World Wrestling Alliance World Wrestling Association Worldwide Wrestling Associates World Wrestling Network Xcitement Wrestling Federation Women's : ChickFight Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling Ladies Major League Wrestling Ladies Professional Wrestling Association Naked Women's Wrestling League Professional Girl Wrestling Association Powerful Women of Wrestling Rise Wrestling Shimmer Women Athletes World Women's Wrestling Wrestlicious Governing bodies and interpromotional alliances American Wrestling Affiliates Global Professional Wrestling Alliance National Wrestling Association Pro Wrestling USA Wrestling Superstars Live Notable programs AEW Dark AEW Dark: Elevation AWA All-Star Wrestling AWA Championship Wrestling Before
3344-795: The Impact ECW Hardcore TV ECW on TNN ECW on Syfy Lucha Libre USA: Masked Warriors Lucha Underground MLW Fusion MLW Underground Wrestling NWA USA Superstars of Wrestling UWF Fury Hour WCW Monday Nitro WCW Thunder WCW Saturday Night WCW WorldWide Wrestling at the Chase Wrestling Society X WWE 205 Live WWE Heat WWE NXT UK WWE Superstars WWE Velocity Attendance records Hall of Fame History v t e Current championships in
3432-553: The Junior Heavyweight title was returned to the NWA, who kept it vacant until March 1999, when Logan Caine won a tournament to become champion. In 2011, The Sheik was the NWA World Heavyweight Champion but was stripped of the championship for refusing to defend against Adam Pearce . The NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion Craig Classic vacated the title in protest. Pro Wrestling Zero1 did not recognize
3520-479: The NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship. The tournament to determine the first J-Crown Champion was held over four nights, from August 2 to August 5, 1996, the same dates that NJPW's annual G1 Climax event took place, promoting two major tournaments on one tour. Jushin Thunder Liger is credited with coming up with the idea for the J-Crown. The inaugural champion was The Great Sasuke . While Último Dragón
3608-408: The NWA, at which point his territory became fair game for everyone. The NWA would blacklist wrestlers who worked for independent promoters or who publicly criticized an NWA promoter or who did not throw a match on command. If an independent promoter tried to establish himself in a certain area, the NWA would send their star performers to perform for the local NWA promoter to draw the customers away from
NWA All Access - Misplaced Pages Continue
3696-477: The NWA, which only allowed faces to be champions, Gagne occasionally allowed heels to win the AWA championship so that they could serve as foils for him. In August 1983, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), a promotion in the north-east , withdrew from the NWA. Vince K. McMahon then took over as its boss. No longer bound by the territorial pact of the NWA, McMahon began expanding his promotion into
3784-399: The NWA. 49 days after his initial loss, Mantell defeated Wrestling Pro to claim both versions of the title. In March 1976, Hodge vacated the title after being injured in a car accident, marking the end of his record seventh reign as champion. In December 1979, after the title was vacated, Steve Keirn defeated Chavo Guerrero in the finals of a tournament to win the title. However, Keirn
3872-2486: The United States Sports broadcasting contracts in the United States Broadcast Major Networks CBS Sports CW Sports ESPN on ABC Fox Sports NBC Sports Other Scripps Sports Telemundo Deportes TUDN on Univision Cable General beIN Sports beIN Sports en Español CBS Sports Network ESPN ESPN2 ESPNews ESPN Deportes FS1 FS2 Fox Deportes Next Level Sports TUDN (Univision Sports) TyC Sports Pro league affiliated MLB Network Extra Innings Strike Zone NBA TV NBA League Pass NFL Network NFL RedZone NHL Network NHL Center Ice Occasional AXS TV CBS Sports : Nickelodeon NBC Sports : CNBC USA Network Universo TNT Sports : HBO TBS TNT TruTV College specific ACC Network Big Ten Network ESPNU SEC Network Sport specific Fox Soccer Plus Golf Channel MAVTV Racetrack Television Network Tennis Channel Willow Gambling FanDuel TV FanDuel Racing Outdoor The Cowboy Channel The Action Channel Outdoor Channel Sportsman Channel World Fishing Network Pursuit Channel Streaming General DAZN ESPN+ FloSports Red Bull TV Stadium Venu Sports Pro league affiliated MLB Network MLB.tv MLS Season Pass NBA League Pass NFL+ ( NFL RedZone ) NFL Sunday Ticket NHL.TV Occasional Apple TV+ Max ( TNT Sports ) Netflix Paramount+ ( CBS Sports ) Peacock ( NBC Sports ) Prime Video ( MGM+ ) The Roku Channel Tubi ( Fox Sports ) Sport specific T2 Gambling FanDuel TV+ Outdoor Cowboy Channel+ MyOutdoorTV Combat sports TrillerNet Triller TV+ TrillerPass Honor Club TNA+ UFC Fight Pass WWE Network v t e Regional sports broadcasting in
3960-2039: The United States FanDuel Sports Network Detroit Miami Florida Sun Midwest Indiana Kansas City North Cleveland Ohio Great Lakes Southeast South Southwest Oklahoma New Orleans Los Angeles West SoCal Wisconsin Fenway Sports Group NESN SportsNet Pittsburgh MSG Entertainment MSG Network MSGSN MSG Western NY NBC Sports Regional Networks Bay Area Boston California Philadelphia SportsNet New York (part ownership) Sinclair Broadcast Group Nevada Sports Net Marquee Sports Network (part-ownership) YES Network (part-ownership) Spectrum Sports Hawaii Kansas City Los Angeles Spectrum SportsNet SportsNet LA SportsNet New York (part ownership) Gray Television Arizona's Family Sports Gulf Coast Sports & Entertainment Network Peachtree Sports Network Silver State Sports & Entertainment Network Independent Altitude Sports BYU TV Sports Chicago Sports Network Cyclones.tv LFSN Longhorn Network MASN MLB Local Media Monumental Sports Network Root Sports Northwest Space City Home Network Buckeye Cable Sports Midco Sports Nevada Sports Net Scripps Sports (local broadcast) SWX Right Now v t e Defunct television sports networks in
4048-2857: The United States National America One American Sports Classics American Sports Network Back9Network Baseball Network CNN/SI ESPN 3D ESPN Classic ESPN Goal Line & Bases Loaded ESPN Events Football Network Fox Soccer Lorimar Sports Network Mizlou NBCSN NHL Network (1975–1979) NewSport One World Sports ONTV Olympic Channel Speed SportsChannel America Stadium College Sports Sports Network Universal Sports Network Regional 4SD ACC RSN Arizona Sports Programming Network/Cox Sports AT&T SportsNet Root Sports Utah AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain Bally Sports Arizona New Orleans San Diego Carolinas SE Comcast SportsNet Southeast Southwest Cox Sports Empire Fox Sports Networks Carolinas Chicago Houston Tennessee GiantsVision Hawkvision MountainWest NBC Sports Chicago NBC Sports Northwest Oregon Sports Network Pac-12 Network PASS Sports Prime Sports Prime Sports Upper Midwest PRISM Royals Sports San Diego Cable Sports Network Spectrum Spectrum Sports Carolinas Florida New York Ohio Texas Wisconsin SportsChannel Cincinnati Los Angeles Philadelphia Sports Time Sportsvision Sportsvue Victory Sports One Syndication Raycom Sports ( ACC Network ) Big 12 Network SEC TV TVS Out-of-market ESPN College Extra ESPN Full Court ESPN GamePlan NCAA Mega March Madness MLS Direct Kick NASCAR Hot Pass O. Out-of-market sports packages P. Premium channel Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=NWA_All_Access&oldid=1242523603 " Categories : National Wrestling Alliance 2022 establishments in
4136-599: The United States Internet properties established in 2022 Internet television channels Subscription video streaming services Professional wrestling streaming services Streaming media systems Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description with empty Wikidata description Professional wrestling 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Professional wrestling (often referred to as pro wrestling , or simply, wrestling )
4224-401: The arena's loudspeakers, his being Pomp and Circumstance . He also wore a costume: a robe and hairnet, which he removed after getting in the ring. He also had a pre-match ritual where his "butler" would spray the ring with perfume. In the 1980s, Vince McMahon made entrance songs, costumes, and rituals standard for his star wrestlers. For instance, McMahon's top star Hulk Hogan would delight
4312-418: The art of staging rigged matches and fostered a mentality that spectators were marks to be duped. The term kayfabe comes from carny slang. By the turn of the 20th century, most professional wrestling matches were "worked" and some journalists exposed the practice: American wrestlers are notorious for the amount of faking they do. It is because of this fact that suspicion attaches to so many bouts that
4400-550: The audience by tearing his shirt off before each match. The first major promoter cartel emerged on the East Coast, although up to that point, wrestling's heartland had been in the Midwest. Notable members of this cartel included Jack Curley , Lou Daro, Paul Bowser and Tom and Tony Packs. The promoters colluded to solve a number of problems that hurt their profits. Firstly, they could force their wrestlers to perform for less money. As
4488-424: The cartel grew, there were fewer independent promoters where independent wrestlers could find work, and many were forced to sign a contract with the cartel to receive steady work. The contracts forbade them from performing at independent venues. A wrestler who refused to play by the cartel's rules was barred from performing at its venues. A second goal of the wrestling cartels was to establish an authority to decide who
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#17328554266914576-418: The case of heels). The matches could also be gimmicky sometimes, with wrestlers fighting in mud and piles of tomatoes and so forth. The most successful and enduring gimmick to emerge from the 1930s were tag-team matches. Promoters noticed that matches slowed down as the wrestlers in the ring tired, so they gave them partners to relieve them. It also gave heels another way to misbehave by double-teaming. Towards
4664-423: The character in shows must be considered fictional, wholly separate from the life of the performer. This is similar to other entertainers who perform with a persona that shares their own name. Some wrestlers also incorporate elements of their real-life personalities into their characters, even if they and their in-ring persona have different names. Kayfabe is the practice of pretending that professional wrestling
4752-508: The commission. The Commission did on very rare occasions hand out such authorizations, such as for a championship match between Jim Londos and Jim Browning in June 1934. This decree did not apply to amateur wrestling, which the commission had no authority over. Wrestling fans widely suspected that professional wrestling was fake, but they did not care as long as it entertained. In 1933, a wrestling promoter named Jack Pfefer started talking about
4840-540: The current fashion of wrestling is the universal discussion as to the honesty of the matches. And certainly the most interesting phrase of this discussion is the unanimous agreement: "Who cares if they're fixed or not—the show is good." Newspapers tended to shun professional wrestling, as journalists saw its theatrical pretense to being a legitimate sport as untruthful. Eventually promoters resorted to publishing their own magazines in order to get press coverage and communicate with fans. The first professional wrestling magazine
4928-1725: The division. See also [ edit ] List of professional wrestling streaming services References [ edit ] ^ "NWA Announces NWA All Access Expansion On FITE, NWA Powerrr Returns To YouTube On Delay" . Fightful.com . 5 January 2022. ^ "NWA Expanding Partnership With FITE TV, Billy Corgan and Nick Aldis Comment" . pwmania.com . 6 January 2022. ^ "NWA Powerrr Is Returning To YouTube, New FITE TV Deal Launched" . wrestlingnewssource.com . 5 January 2022. ^ "NWA All Access on FITE being phased out, Power to debut weekly on YouTube" . Fightful.com . 3 January 2022. v t e National Wrestling Alliance Championships Primary World's Heavyweight ( reigns ) World Jr. Heavyweight ( reigns ) World Women's ( reigns ) Secondary Television ( reigns ) National ( reigns ) Mid-America ( reigns ) Women's Television ( reigns ) Tag team World Tag Team ( reigns ) United States Tag Team ( reigns ) Women's Tag Team ( reigns ) Programming Current Powerrr Former Primetime Live Shockwave USA Pay-per-view and major events Current pay-per-view events Anniversary Show Crockett Cup 312 EmPowerrr Hard Times Nuff Said Samhain Pop-Up Events New Years Clash By Any Means Necessary PowerrrTrip 1 2 The World
5016-405: The end of the 1930s, faced with declining revenues, promoters chose to focus on grooming charismatic wrestlers with no regard for their skill because it was charisma that drew the crowds, and wrestlers who were both skilled at grappling and charismatic were hard to come by. Since most of the public by this time knew and accepted that professional wrestling was fake, realism was no longer paramount and
5104-597: The facade of kayfabe as best as they could. In 1989, Vince McMahon testified before the New Jersey government that professional wrestling was not a true sport and therefore should be exempted from sports-related taxes. Many wrestlers and fans resented McMahon for this, but Lou Thesz accepted it as the smart move as it gave the industry more freedom to do as it pleased, and because by that point professional wrestling no longer attempted to appear real. The demise of WCW in 2001 provided some evidence that kayfabe still mattered to
5192-470: The first place. "Double-crosses", where a wrestler agreed to lose a match but nevertheless fought to win, remained a problem in the early cartel days. At times a promoter would even award a victorious double-crosser the title of champion to preserve the facade of sport. But promoters punished such wrestlers by blacklisting them, making it quite challenging to find work. Double-crossers could also be sued for breach of contract, such as Dick Shikat in 1936. In
5280-610: The game is not popular here. Nine out of ten bouts, it has been said, are pre-arranged affairs, and it would be no surprise if the ratio of fixed matches to honest ones was really so high. The wrestler Lou Thesz recalled that between 1915 and 1920, a series of exposés in the newspapers about the integrity of professional wrestling alienated a lot of fans, sending the industry "into a tailspin". But rather than perform more shoot matches, professional wrestlers instead committed themselves wholesale to fakery. Several reasons explain why professional wrestling became fake whereas boxing endured as
5368-455: The government. They pledged to stop allocating exclusive territories to its promoters, to stop blacklisting wrestlers who worked for outsider promoters, and to admit any promoter into the Alliance. The NWA would flout many of these promises, but its power was nonetheless weakened by the lawsuit. Paul Bowser's AWA joined the NWA in 1949. The AWA withdrew from the Alliance in 1957 and renamed itself
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#17328554266915456-513: The independent. By 1956, the NWA controlled 38 promotions within the United States, with more in Canada, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand. The NWA's monopolistic practices became so stifling that the independents appealed to the government for help. In October 1956 the US Attorney General's office filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NWA in an Iowa federal district court. The NWA settled with
5544-471: The industry was anything but a competitive sport. The first wrestling promoter to publicly admit to routinely fixing matches was Jack Pfefer . In 1933, he started talking about the industry's inner workings to the New York Daily Mirror , resulting in a huge exposé. The exposé neither surprised nor alienated most wrestling fans, although some promoters like Jack Curley were furious and tried to restore
5632-487: The industry's inner workings to the New York Daily Mirror , maintaining no pretense that wrestling was real and passing on planned results just before the matches took place. While fans were neither surprised nor alienated, traditionalists like Jack Curley were furious, and most promoters tried to maintain the facade of kayfabe as best they could. Not the least interesting of all the minor phenomena produced by
5720-498: The members of wrestling cartels as the champion drew big crowds wherever he performed, and this would occasionally lead to schisms. By 1925, this cartel had divided the country up into territories which were the exclusive domains of specific promoters. This system of territories endured until Vince McMahon drove the fragmented cartels out of the market in the 1980s. This cartel fractured in 1929 after one of its members, Paul Bowser , bribed Ed "Strangler" Lewis to lose his championship in
5808-437: The platform used in boxing , serves as the main stage ; additional scenes may be recorded for television in backstage areas of the venue, in a format similar to reality television . Performers generally integrate authentic wrestling techniques and fighting styles with choreography , stunts , improvisation , and dramatic conventions designed to maximize entertainment value and audience engagement. Professional wrestling as
5896-714: The promotion's closing in 1991. In the spring of 1984, the WWF purchased Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW), which had been ailing for some time due to financial mismanagement and internal squabbles. In the deal, the WWF acquired the GCW's timeslot on TBS . McMahon agreed to keep showing Georgia wrestling matches in that timeslot, but he was unable to get his staff to Atlanta every Saturday to fulfill this obligation, so he sold GCW and its TBS timeslot to Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP). JCP started informally calling itself World Championship Wrestling (WCW). In 1988, Ted Turner bought JCP and formally renamed it World Championship Wrestling. During
5984-430: The return of weekly airings of NWA Powerrr to YouTube on Tuesday nights. Programming [ edit ] All NWA pay-per-view events. Premiere episodes NWA Powerrr , the promotion's flagship show. All episodes of NWA television series, including NWA USA . Ten Pounds of Gold , a documentary series chronicling the journey and career of the current NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion as well as others in
6072-440: The stamina for an hours-long fight. Audiences also preferred short matches. Worked matches also carried less risk of injury, which meant shorter recovery. Altogether, worked matches proved more profitable than shoots. By the end of the 19th century, nearly all professional wrestling matches were worked. A major influence on professional wrestling was carnival culture. Wrestlers in the late 19th century worked in carnival shows. For
6160-426: The territories of his former NWA peers, now his rivals. By the end of the 1980s, the WWF would become the sole national wrestling promotion in the U.S. This was in part made possible by the rapid spread of cable television in the 1980s. The national broadcast networks generally regarded professional wrestling as too niche an interest, and had not broadcast any national wrestling shows since the 1950s. Before cable TV,
6248-500: The title that same day. The Cobra's second reign as champion continued until August 1, 1985, when NJPW separated from the NWA. During the course of The Cobra's reigns, Les Thornton was recognized as champion by Georgia Championship Wrestling . The Georgia title was vacated when Thornton joined the NWA's rival the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). Following Thornton's move to the WWF, Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) awarded
6336-519: The title to Hector Guerrero on July 13, 1984, with JCP claiming that Guerrero had won a tournament for the championship in Los Angeles, California . Guerrero later lost the championship in a match against Mike Davis and, at Starrcade '84 , Davis lost the title to Denny Brown . When NJPW separated from the NWA in August 1985, NWA vice president Shohei Baba recognized Brown as the official champion. In May 1988, champion Nelson Royal left JCP while holding
6424-507: The title was contested largely in Iowa , where George's NWA promotion was based. On July 14, 1948, the NWA was established by George and his partners as a governing body for various regional wrestling promotions in the United States, after which the World Junior Heavyweight Championship became the property of the alliance. At the founding meeting of the NWA governing body in Waterloo, Iowa , Billy Goelz
6512-575: The title, after which the championship began being defended in independent promotions until it was abandoned in December 1989. In 1995, the championship was re-established by Japan's Wrestle Yume Factory (WYF) promotion, with Masayoshi Motegi being the first champion under the WYF banner. In 1996, the J-Crown tournament was held to unify eight different championship belts from five different organizations, including
6600-505: The trial, witnesses testified that most of the "big matches" and all of the championship bouts were fixed. By the 1930s, with the exception of the occasional double-cross or business dispute, shoot matches were essentially nonexistent. In April 1930, the New York State Athletic Commission decreed that all professional wrestling matches held in the state had to be advertised as exhibitions unless certified as contests by
6688-471: The truth, their audiences would desert them. Today's performers don't "protect" the industry like we did, but that's primarily because they've already exposed it by relying on silly or downright ludicrous characters and gimmicks to gain popularity with the fans. It was different in my day, when our product was presented as an authentic, competitive sport. We protected it because we believed it would collapse if we ever so much as implied publicly that it
6776-547: The two titles. McGuirk vacated the title in February 1950 after being blinded in a car accident , forcing him to retire. Verne Gagne won the vacant title in November 1950, defeating Sonny Myers in the finals of a tournament, after which he was presented with the title belt by McGuirk. Gagne lost the title to Danny McShain one year later in November 1951. In May 1952, McShain unified the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship with
6864-441: The vacancy and declared Classic as the real champion . In 2014, NWA re-established its working relationship with NJPW. The champion at that time, Chase Owens , defended the title on several NJPW events. During the working relationship, Jushin Thunder Liger and Tiger Mask IV held the title. On May 1, 2017, Billy Corgan 's company, Lightning One, Inc., purchased the NWA, including its name, rights, trademarks, and championships. As
6952-535: The way of proceedings: the "in-show" happenings, presented through the shows; and real-life happenings outside the work that have implications, such as performer contracts, legitimate injuries, etc. Because actual life events are often co-opted by writers for incorporation into storylines of performers, the lines between real life and fictional life are often blurred and become confused. Special discern must be taken with people who perform under their own name (such as Kurt Angle and his fictional persona ). The actions of
7040-420: The wrestlers quietly began faking their matches so that they could give their audiences a satisfying spectacle. Fixing matches was also convenient for scheduling. A real ("shoot") match could sometimes last hours, whereas a fixed ("worked") match can be made short, which was convenient for wrestlers on tour who needed to keep appointments or share venues. It also suited wrestlers who were aging and therefore lacked
7128-425: Was Wrestling As You Like It , which printed its first issue in 1946. These magazines were faithful to kayfabe . Before the advent of television, professional wrestling's fanbase largely consisted of children, the elderly, blue-collar workers and minorities. When television arose in the 1940s, professional wrestling got national exposure on prime-time television and gained widespread popularity. Professional wrestling
7216-760: Was J-Crown Champion, the titles appeared on World Championship Wrestling (WCW) programming, as Dragon also held the WCW Cruiserweight Championship and the NWA World Middleweight Championship at the time. When Liger was champion, he lost the WAR International Junior Heavyweight Championship to Yuji Yasuraoka on June 6, 1997, in Tokyo, Japan . Liger, however, continued to defend the J-Crown with seven titles instead of eight. As part of their introduction of
7304-488: Was challenges from independent wrestlers. But a cartelized wrestler, if challenged, could credibly use his contractual obligations to his promoter as an excuse to refuse the challenge. Promotions would sometimes respond to challenges with "policemen": powerful wrestlers who lacked the charisma to become stars, but could defeat and often seriously injure any challenger in a shoot match. As the industry trend continued, there were fewer independent wrestlers to make such challenges in
7392-568: Was previously considered a niche interest, but the TV networks at the time were short on content and thus were willing to try some wrestling shows. In the 1960s, however, the networks moved on to more mainstream interests such as baseball, and professional wrestling was dropped. The core audience then shrunk back to a profile similar to that of the 1930s. In 1989, Vince McMahon was looking to exempt his promotion (the World Wrestling Federation ) from sports licensing fees. To achieve this, he testified before
7480-601: Was recognized as champion by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), as well as the Los Angeles and Florida NWA territories , but not by the NWA as a whole. The title Keirn held was later renamed the NWA International Junior Heavyweight Championship . In 1983, the title had splintered into two different lineages. The NWA recognized champion was The Cobra , who worked for NJPW. The Cobra held the title from November 3, 1983 until July 28, 1985, when he lost it against Hiro Saito . However, he regained
7568-562: Was recognized as the governing body's World Junior Heavyweight Champion; the governing body additionally retroactively recognized all previous holders of the Iowa championship as former NWA World Junior Heavyweight champions. Between 1948 and 1952, the title was unified with other junior heavyweight titles. After becoming NWA champion in November 1949, Leroy McGuirk , who also held the National Wrestling Association 's World Junior Heavyweight Championship , defeated Iowa Champion Billy Goelz to unify
7656-415: Was something other than what it appeared to be. I'm not sure now the fear was ever justified given the fact that the industry is still in existence today, but the point is no one questioned the need then. "Protecting the business" in the face of criticism and skepticism was the first and most important rule a pro wrestler learned. No matter how aggressive or informed the questioner, you never admitted
7744-417: Was the "world champion". Before the cartels, there were multiple wrestlers in the U.S. simultaneously calling themselves the "world champion", and this sapped public enthusiasm for professional wrestling. Likewise, the cartel could agree on a common set of match rules that the fans could keep track of. The issue over who got to be the champion and who controlled said champion was a major point of contention among
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