Heart of America Sports Attractions
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| Heart of America Sports Attractions |
|
|---|---|
| Details | |
| Acronym | CSW |
| Established | July 1948 |
| Folded | 1988 |
| Style | American Wrestling |
| Location | Kansas City, Missouri |
| Founder(s) | Orville Brown |
| Owner(s) | Orville Brown (1948–63) Bob Geigel (1963–86, 1987-88) Jim Crockett, Jr. (1986-87) |
| Parent | National Wrestling Alliance |
| Sister | St. Louis Wrestling Club |
| Formerly | Central States Wrestling |
| Website | CSW Remembered |
Heart of America Sports Attractions, also known as Central States Wrestling and the Midwest Wrestling Alliance, was an American professional wrestling promotion that ran shows mainly in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa[1]. Due to the promotion’s main office and base of operations being in Kansas City, Kansas the territory was often referred to simply as “Kansas City”. The promotion existed from July 1948 until it closed in 1988. The territory was one of the original territories of the National Wrestling Alliance with two of the 6 “founding fathers” of the NWA (Paul "Pinkie" George and Orville Brown) promoting in it[2]. In 2005 the “Central States Wrestling” name was revived by the National Wrestling Alliance's NWA Midwest franchise. The new Central States Wrestling promotion is based in Lawrence, Kansas but except for the name has no other connection to the Heart of America Sports Attractions promotion.
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] Midwest Wrestling Association
Originally known as the Midwest Wrestling Association before the formation of the National Wrestling Alliance it controlled and booked shows territories in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa and was seen as a cornerstone of the NWA. The territory was promoted by Pinky George and the first ever NWA World Heavyweight Champion Orville Brown from the creation of the NWA until 1958.
[edit] Heart of America Sports Attractions forms
In 1958, wrestler/promoter Bob Geigel took over and partnered up with Pat O'Conner and Harley Race to form "Heart of America Sports Attractions, Inc." The promotion continued to be a cornerstone of the NWA with Geigel sitting on the board of directors and even served as chairman of the National Wrestling Alliance from 1978 until 1987, the period that's considered the last "glory years" of the NWA.[2] Central States Wrestling did not become a household name across the United States until 1973 where Harley Race brought attention to CSW (and it's "sister promotion" the St. Louis Wrestling Club) when he won the NWA World Heavyweight Title for the first time.[1]
[edit] Under Jim Crockett Promotions
In 1986, Geigel sold the promotion to Jim Crockett Promotions owner Jim Crockett, Jr., who ran the territory from September 1986 until February 1987, where Bob Geigel bought the promotion back and co partnered with George Petraski[3].
[edit] World Wrestling Alliance
After stepping down as chairman of the NWA, Geigel withdrew his promotion from the NWA in late 1987 and formed a new sactioning body known as the World Wrestling Alliance in an attempt to compete with the national expansion of Jim Crockett and Vince McMahon. The move did not pay off and Geigel closed the WWA in early 1989.[3]
[edit] Tape library
The promotion's classic tape library is currently controlled by World Wrestling Entertainment obtained through their purchase of World Championship Wrestling, who owned the rights. The Central States Wrestling footage may be used in either future DVD releases, TV Specials or on their Video on Demand channel WWE 24/7 (See WWE Tape Library.)
[edit] Central States headliners
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[edit] Championships
| Championship: | Last Champion(s): | Active From: | Active Until: | Notes: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NWA World Heavyweight Championship | Still Active | n/a | n/a | As a member of the NWA CSW Recognized the NWA World title as the top title in the promotion |
| NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship | Akio Sato | May 18, 1950 | 1989 | The top promotional title of Central States Wrestling[3] |
| NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship | Harley Race | September 16, 1972 | February 1986 | The top promotional title of sister promotion St. Louis Wrestling Club recognized in Kansas City as well[3] |
| NWA World Tag Team Championship (Central States version) |
"Bulldog" Bob Brown & Bob Sweetan | June 1958 | 1979 | The Central States version of the World Tag Team Championship was abandoned twice between 1960 and 1973[3] |
| NWA North American Tag Team Championship | Great Togo & Tokyo Joe | December 19, 1963 | 1973 | During their run with the titles Great Togo and Tokyo Joe were “upgraded” to the Central States version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship[3] |
| NWA Central States Tag Team Championship | Rick Patterson & Steve Ray | February 26, 1971 | April 1988 | Was briefly promoted in 1961 but not used regularly until it replaced the Central States version of the NWA World Tag Team championship in 1979 as the main tag team title of the promotion[3] |
| NWA Central States Television Championship | Masa Chono | 1977 | 1988 | [3] |
| NWA United States Championship (Central States Version) |
Eddie Sharkey | August 24, 1961 | September 1968 | [3] |
| World Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Championship | Mike George | 1988 | 1988 | [3] |
[edit] References
- ^ a b Kristian Pope & Ray Whebbe (2nd Edition 2003). The Encyclopedia of Professional Wrestling: 100 Years of History, Headlines & Hitmakers. Krause Publications. ISBN 978-0873496254.
- ^ a b Hornbaker, Tim (2007). National Wrestling Alliance: The Untold Story of the Monopoly that Strangled Pro Wrestling. ECW Press. ISBN 978-1550227413.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Royal Duncan & Gary Will (4th Edition 2006). Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
