World Championship Wrestling (Australia)
Acronym | WCW |
---|---|
Founded | 1964 |
Defunct | 1978 |
Headquarters | Melbourne, Australia |
Owner(s) | Jim Barnett |
World Championship Wrestling was an Australian professional wrestling promotion that ran from 1964 until 1978.
History[]
The promotion gained publicity through television programs on the Nine Network which were presented at noon on Saturdays and Sundays.
An average of 6,500 people attended in the first three months of the promotion's existence, a crowd of 8,000 attended a show on 7 November in Melbourne when the first title change in the new promotion took place as Dominic De Nucci defeated Killer Kowalski. WCW also promoted throughout Southeast Asia, particularly in Singapore and Hong Kong.
When WCW began operations in 1964, the promotion created the International Wrestling Alliance as a sanctioning body for WCW's original championships, the IWA World Heavyweight and World Tag Team Championships. WCW joined the National Wrestling Alliance in August 1969, but they continued to recognize the IWA World championships until 1971, when they were abandoned in favor of new NWA-sanctioned titles (see below).
In 1978, the Nine Network ceased coverage of WCW; with no TV coverage promoters were facing financial ruin, leading to the decline of professional wrestling in Australia. The "World Championship Wrestling" name was reused in 1982 by Georgia Championship Wrestling in the United States for its own TV program, which became the roots of the American promotion of the same name. At the time, the promotion's former owner, Jim Barnett, was one of the owners of Georgia Championship Wrestling.
Documentaries about the promotion were released in 2007 called Ruff, Tuff N Real[1] and Over the Top Rope in 2017.[2]
Roster[]
- Abdullah the Butcher
- Allan Pinfold
- "Amazing Antonino Argentino" Rocca
- André the Giant
- Andreas Lambrakis
- Angelo "Little Jumping Joe" Savoldi
- Antonio Pugliese
- Apache Bull Ramos
- Big Bad John
- Brute Bernard
- Bugsy McGraw
- Bulldog Brower
- Bruiser Brody
- Bruno Sammartino
- Butcher Brannigan
- Bobby Shane
- Bob Roop
- Ciclón Negro
- Chief Billy White Wolf
- [3]
- Dale Lewis
- Dennis McCord
- Dennis Stamp
- Dick Murdoch
- Dominic De Nucci
- Donna Christianello
- Dr. Jerry Graham
- Dusty Rhodes
- Evelyn Stevens
- George Barnes
- Harley Race
- "Haystacks" Calhoun
- Jack Claybourne
- Jack Brisco
- Jerry Brisco
- Jimmy Golden
- John da Silva
- [4]
- [5]
- Killer Karl Kox
- Killer Kowalski
- King Curtis Iaukea
- Larry Hennig
- Larry O'Dea
- Lars Anderson
- Lorenzo Parente
- Mario Milano
- Mark Lewin
- Max Steyne
- Max Tamboola
- Michael Cleary
- The Missouri Mauler
- Murphy the Surfie
- Mr. Fuji
- Nikita Kalmikoff
- Ox Baker
- Pat Barrett Paddy
- Pat Patterson
- "Playboy" Gary Hart
- Ray Stevens
- Red Bastien
- Ripper Collins
- Roy Heffernan
- Sheik Wadi Ayoub
- Skandor Akbar
- Skull Murphy
- Spiros Arion
- The Spoiler
- Steve Rackman
- The Medics ( and Dale Lewis)
- Tiger Singh
- Tex McKenzie
- (Hiro 'The Great' Tojo and Hito Tojo)
- Tony Kontellis
- Tony Parisi
- The Von Steiger Brothers
- Waldo Von Erich
- Ron Fuller
Championships[]
Championship: | Final champion(s): | Active From: | Active Till: | Notes: |
---|---|---|---|---|
IWA-sanctioned championships | ||||
IWA World Heavyweight Championship | King Curtis Iaukea | October 1964 | 1971 | WCW joined the NWA in August 1969, but continued recognizing its own world champion until 1971.[6] |
IWA World Tag Team Championship | Kurt and Karl Von Steiger | June 1966 | 1971 | [6] |
NWA-sanctioned championships | ||||
NWA Austra-Asian Heavyweight Championship | 28 April 1972 | December 1978 | [6] | |
NWA Austra-Asian Tag Team Championship | André the Giant and | 2 December 1972 | December 1978 | [6] |
See also[]
References[]
- ^ "Ruff Tuff and Real: Legends of Australian Wrestling (Video 2007) - IMDb".
- ^ http://overthetoprope.com.au/
- ^ http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/bios/c/con-tolios/
- ^ http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/bios/j/john-tolios/
- ^ http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/bios/k/ken-medlin/
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
External links[]
- Australian professional wrestling promotions
- Entertainment companies established in 1964
- Entertainment companies disestablished in 1978
- Defunct companies of Australia
- Companies based in Melbourne
- Professional wrestling in Australia
- Sport in Melbourne
- Nine's Wide World of Sport
- Australian sports television series
- National Wrestling Alliance members
- 1964 establishments in Australia
- 1978 disestablishments in Australia